Masonry Magazine October 2008 Page. 52
MY MASONRY LIFE STORY
By Peter Hildebrandt
ADAM STICKNEY:
Deep Roots in the Masonry Trade
ADAM STICKNEY IS THE SIXTH GENERATION IN A LINE OF BRICKLAYERS that began with James Grady when he left Ireland for Salem, Mass., in the 1850s. When James arrived in the United States, he could neither read nor write. He was a stonemason, and his son, Michael, followed in his footsteps. Michael started what became a large masonry company in Beverly, Mass., "Mike Grady and Sons." At one time 300 people worked for Grady, including tile cutters from Italy.
"He was pretty much the largest one around back then," says Adam. "I believe that was in the 1880s. Michael eventually became very sick and signed the business over to his son, Jim. Michael came to disown Jim, who he felt had basically stolen the company right out from beneath him, as family lore has it. Jim ended up giving all the money he'd acquired to Laurence Grady, his son."
Michael also had another son, Frank, who is Stickney's great-grandfather. Frank had a son, Mike, who founded another "Mike Grady and Sons Masonry."
Adam's grandmother's maiden name was "Grady," and his grandfather served in World War II. When the war ended, Adam's great-grandfather, Frank, got his son, Stephen, into masonry. He got involved in work on a large power plant in Salem.
"All he did all day was cut brick on a wet saw," says Adam. "After he did all that and left the job, they told him he could have the saw."
Stephen met a friend, Cecil Farnsworth, whose father was a foreman at the union. Adam's grandfather, Stephen, and Farnsworth started their own masonry company together.
Adam's grandfather's name was originally "Szickne." "But when [Stephen] started his company, he found no one could find him in the phone book," says Adam. "That's when he decided to change his name, so it wouldn't be such a problem for people trying to figure out the spelling of his name. His parents