William B. Bement, the son of a Connecticut farmer and blacksmith, was born at Bradford, N. H., in 1817. His education was obtained in the district schools and in his father’s blacksmith shop. His mechanical aptitude was so clear that he was apprenticed to Moore & Colby, manufacturers of woolen and cotton machinery at Peterboro, N. H. His progress at first was rapid. Within two years he became foreman, and on the withdrawal of one of the partners, was admitted into the firm. He continued there three years, already giving much thought to machine tools, for which he saw the rising need. In 1840 he went to Manchester and entered the Amoskeag shop when it was just finished, remaining there two years as a foreman and contractor under William A. Burke, to whom we have referred elsewhere. From there Bement went to take charge of a shop for manufacturing woolen machinery at Mishawaka, Ind. Unfortunately it was burned to the ground while Bement had gone back to New Hampshire for his family, so that when he returned with them he found himself without employment and with only ten dollars in hand. For the time being he worked as a blacksmith and gunsmith, and made an engine lathe for himself in the shop of the St. Joseph Iron Company, which gave him permission to use their tools in return for the use of his patterns to make a similar machine for themselves. Much of the work in making this lathe was done by hand as there was no planer within many hundred miles. The St. Joseph Iron Company, seeing his work, offered him the charge of their shop, to which he agreed, provided the plant were enlarged and equipped with proper tools. This was done, but just as everything was completed this plant also was burned down. Bement had plans for another shop ready the following day, went into the woods with others, cut the necessary timber, and a new shop was soon completed. He remained there for three years, constructing a variety of machine tools, one of which was a gear cutter said to have been the first one built in the West, or used beyond Cleveland. [Illustration: FIGURE 52. COLEMAN SELLERS] [Illustration: FIGURE 53. WILLIAM B. BEMENT] He returned to New England as a contractor in the Lowell Machine Shop under Burke, who had gone there from the Amoskeag Mills in 1845. On account of Bement’s resourcefulness and skill in designing, Burke induced him to relinquish his contracts and take charge of their designing, which he did for three years, his residence at Lowell covering in all about six years.