President and secretary of W. J. Foss & Company of Springfield; treasurer of Foss & Bump, Incorporated; and president of the Mortgage and Investment Company, was born in Hudson, Columbia County, New York, June 11, 1881. His father was Charles Henry Bump, Sr., his mother Mary Augusta (Shattuck) Bump. The name is derived from Boneloz of Normandy, a fief held from the Earl of Melleut, and the family Bompas, as the name came to be known in England. It has for centuries been conspicuously and widely in the legal annals of the country, and honorably mentioned in public affairs. It has passed through a series of transitions. During the latter centuries of the Norman conquest it was Bompas; and had changed to Bompasse at the time the first representative of the family came to America in 1621. At a later date it was Bumpus, and finally in the land of brevity Bomps and Bump. Edward Bompasse came to America in 1621 in the ship “Fortune” landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts, November 9 or 11. He became the father of seven or eight children, among them four sons, John, Edward, Joseph, and Jacob, born in 1636, 1638, 1639, and 1644 respectively. The sons in turn were the progenitors of large families. John had five sons: John, Samuel, James, Edward, and Jeremiah, born between the years 1673 and 1692, and duly recorded. Joseph had a family of eight, among them, Joseph and James, born in 1674 and 1679; Jacob had two sons, Benjamin and Jacob, born in 1678 and 1680. Charles Henry Bump, a descendant of these pioneer Bumps and great-great-grandfather of the last man to bear the name of Charles Henry Bump, lived in Milton Center, or in Shingleville, and the line of descent is traced as follows
(I) Charles Henry Bump, of Shingleville, or Milton Center, had a large family.
(II) James Allen Bump, his son, was born in 1775 and died in 1834. He married Elizabeth Stern, and they became the parents of five children.
(III) James Allen Bump, Jr., their son, was born in 1817 and died in 1880. He was the first agent for the New York Central Railroad Company at Hudson, New York; he furnished wood for the company and was the first conductor on the Hudson & Berkshire Railroad. He married, in 1842, Mary Augusta Shattuck, and they were the parents of five children: 1. Mary Elizabeth, born in 1843; died in 1853. 2. Sarah, born 1845, died 1920. 3. Charles Henry, of further mention. 4. Caroline, born 1850, died 1897. 5 and 6. twins, Arthur and Allen, born in 1853.
(IV) Charles Henry Bump, third child, was born in Hudson, New York, September 8, 1848, and died in April, 1921. He received a thorough education at Spencertown Academy and at Hudson Private Institute. In 1874 he married Emma Weeks, born in 1854, died in May, 1904; daughter of Robert Weeks, and they became the parents of four children: 1. Mary, born in 1875, died in 1877. 2. James A., III, born in 1878. 3. Charles Henry, of further mention. 4. Lawrence Woodward, born in 1884 and cashier in the National Bank at Great Barrington, Massachusetts; he married, in 1909 Edith Davis, and they have a daughter, Helen, born in 1911.
(V) Charles Henry Bump, the subject of this review, attended the primary and grammar schools of his native city, and was graduated from the high school. Following his father and his grandfather, he began his active business career as a clerk in the office of the New York Central Railroad at Hudson. At the age of twenty-two he was promoted chief clerk and transferred to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he was assigned to duty in the offices of the Boston & Albany Railroad. Three more years he remained in railroad employment. Having saved something for wider ventures, and desiring to gain experience in a different line, he associated himself with W. J. Foss in the Berkshire Mill and Supply Company of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, as clerk and bookkeeper. He bought an interest in the company after two years and was made secretary, a position he held for several years. His executive ability, however, brought him a wider opportunity and in 1912 when the W. J. Foss Company of Springfield, was organized, Mr. Bump was made president and secretary. Under his efficient management this company has grown and prospered, reaching out through its progressive traveling men Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire, and going as far North as Burlington, Vermont Mr. Bump’s energies were not wholly occupied even by this venture and sought new conquests. He organized, in 1919, the firm of Foss & Bump, Inc., in Springfield, for the manufacture of leather belting and he is treasurer of the corporation. Interested in the welfare of the community, his activities have been given as well as his means to the furtherance of the civic, economic and political affairs of Springfield. He has served as a member of the Common Council. He is a member of Springfield Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; a Past High Priest of Berkshire Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, Pittsfield; of Berkshire Commandery, Knights Templar, Pittsfield; and of Melha Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Springfield. He is also a member of the Realty Club and of the Rotary Club.
Mr. Bump was married on September 12, 1905, to Esther Boardman, born in Derby, Connecticut, daughter of Daniel and Mary (Young) Boardman, residents of Hudson, New York, at the time. Mr. and Mrs. Bump are the parents of Charles Kilbourne, born June 1, 1907; and of Boardman Bump, born December 8, 1908.
