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'The Lewis Publishing. Ca

GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY

OF THE

STATE OF VERMONT

A RECORD OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF HER PEOPLE IN THE
MAKING OF A COMMONWEALTH AND THE
FOUNDING OF A NATION

COMPILED UNDER THE EDITORIAL
SUPERVISION OF
HON. HIRAM CARLETON
OF MONTPELIER

" Knowledge of kindred and the genealogies of the ancient families deserveth the highest praise. Herein
consisteth a part of the knowledge of a man's own self. It is a great spur to virtue
to look back on the wofth of our line." — Lord Bacon.
"There is no heroic poem in the world but -is at the bottom the life
of a man."— Sir Walter Scott.

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK CHICAGO
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY '
1 9 O 3

VERMONT.

By John H. Flagg.
Thy very name doth symbolize
Thy verdant peaks that proudly rise,
As if to buttress with their might
The unpropped dome of heavenly light.
The beauty of thy matchless hills
The ravished eye with rapture fills,
While thy fair fields and fertile plains
Bear flocks and herds and bounteous grains.
Thy Druid forests still conceal
The eagles that high o'er them wheel,
And shelter well the panting deer
When driven from the open near.
Thy hillside homes and hamlets all
Proclaim content and thrift withal; —
No servile lines yet mark the face
Of thy courageous, sturdy race.
No trembling slave yet breathed thy air
Who felt his shackles bind him there,
For by the ancient Bill of Rights*
All men stood equal on thy heights.
Such land is thine, sons of thy birth,
Whose sires, with blood, paid Freedom's worth ;
Who vanquished each invading foe
And swept him back, or laid him low.
O happy land, by heaven caressed,
Where all are free and none oppressed,
Thank well those sines whose master hand
Built from thy rock and not thy sand !

*Vermont in July, YITH — fourteen years anterior to ad
mission into the Union — was first on this continent to pro
hibit slavery by constitutional provision.

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GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY.

INTRODUCTORY.

The history of Vermont, civil, political and military, has been written by yarious authors
and at various times, each succeeding writer adding a new chapter of annals, or treating his sub
ject from a different view point. Such history is, however, splendid narrative that it is, princi
pally concerned with what has been accomplished by the. people in the mass, and takes little note
of individuals, except those so pre-eminent as leaders as to come under the full glare of "fame.
Hence it follows that genealogical and family memoirs are of peculiar importance,, including,
as they do, the personal annals- of those who make heroes pos'sible — those who have marched in
the ranks of progress, bearing the heat and burden of the day — portraying the spirit which actuated
them, and holding up: their effort for an example to those who come afterward. As was written
by Martineau, ' 'To have had forefathers renowned for honorable deeds, to belong by nature to those
who have bravely borne their part in life and refreshed the world with mighty thoughts and healthy
admiration, is a privilege which it were mean and self-willed to despise. It is as a security given
for us of old, which it were falsehearted not to redeem; and in virtues bred of a noble stock, mel
lowed as they are by reverence, there is often a grace and ripeness wanting to. self-made and brand-
new excellence. Of like value to a people are heroic national traditions, giving them a de
terminate character to sustain , among the tribes of men, making them familiar with images of great
and strenuous life, and kindling them with faith in glorious possibilities."
The State of Vermont affords a peculiarly interesting field for a study of family 'traits, in
dividual character and personal achievement's. To its soil cairie a sturdy people, men, and
women, too, of brawn and brain and conscience, their hearts fervent in reverence of God and love
for religious and personal liberty. Predominantly English, they were alike to that overflow from
Plymouth, which, under the leadership of Thomas Hooker, migrated from Massachusetts to Con
necticut, inspired by the purpose of escaping the influence which would exclude all but church
members from "the liberties of the pommonwealth," meaning the right to form and administer
their own lbcal governments. Of the Vermont pioneers it was said by a deep thinker, "A certain
process of natural selection had drawn out of the colonies of Connecticut and Massachusetts, and
grouped in Southern Vermont, a collection of men superior in physical frame, in intelligence and
. information, in mental vigor and independence of thought upon the principles of civil liberty and
civil government." Hon. Edward S. Isham, , "Address on Ethan Allen, a Study of Civic
Authority," delivered before the Vermont Historical Society, November 2, 1898. They had
traversed an unbroken wilderness, infested with savages and wild beasts, to conquer primeval na-

VI

INTRODUCTORY.

ture and contend with a rigorous climate. They were no mere adventurers, but actual home-
makers, whose sole belongings were a few domestic animals, an axe and a plow. The habitations
which they builded were log cabins, and here they reared children of athletic frame and rugged
constitution, and possessing their own manly virtues.
It was not long before the Vermont pioneers found occasion to. exhibit their marked in
dividuality and independence of thought. They made stout protest when a . great injustice was
visited upon them — when they were told that their land titles were invalid, and that they must make
repurchase from privileged speculators deriving their so-called rights from another coloay. It
was then that their "Green Mountain Boys" held their meetings to devise plans to defeat those
/\who would despoil them. One of their famous gather
ing places was " the Catamount Tavern," at Benning
ton, with its sign reared upon a tall pole — a stuffed
catamount skin, with grinning jaws, and facing toward
New York, the abode of the oppressor. The building
was used at a later day by the Council of Safety, which
directed public affairs until a constitutional government
was established. The historic old edifice was burned
on March 30, 1871, and perished with it the great storie
over the fireplace in the parlor, upon which had been
the catamount tavern. carved the words "Council Room," to commemorate
the purposes for which the apartment was used in Revolutionary days.
At bottom the land title question turned upon the political relations of the entire territory!
and the settlers in convention at Bennington, resolved upon maintaining their rights' by force of
arms, and, for that purpose, organized a military force which was placed under the command of
Colonel Ethan Allen. This vigorous action moved the writer previously quoted to remark that
"the practical assertion of independence and the actual autonomy of Vermont date at least from
1764, and it is justly declared to have been the first actual autonomy on either American continent
since the wreck of the great Indian monarchies of Mexico and Peru."
The events referred to, now appear to have formed a prologue to the Revolutionary strug
gle which was soon to dawn. The maladministration of the courts had become insufferable. The
people had been subjected to vexatious suits and false imprisonments, principally with reference to '
their land titles, and, so they declared, "contrary to the laws ofthe province and the statutes of the
crown." This condition of affairs led up to occurrences which made the old Westminster Court
House and the first State House at Windsor veritable Shrines of Freedom.
The "Westminster Massacre" marks one of the crucial points of Vermont history. The
people had protested against the conduct of the courts, pronounced it dangerous^ to trust their
lives and fortunes in the hands of those whom they deemed the. foes of American liberty, arid de
clared their intention "to resist and oppose all authority that would not accede to the resolves of
the Confine, ntal Congress." The crisis came when (March 10th, 1775) forty men waited upon
Chief Justice Thomas Chandler and requested that no court beheld. Justice Chandler was dis
posed to temporize, but events were hurrying along. On March 13th, understanding that the
Tories, under Sheriff Paterson, were determined upon taking possession of the court-house at
Westminster, the Whigs, under the leadership of Azariah Wright, anticipated them with something
like an equal force, and seized the, building. At midnight, Sheriff Paterson, with his men, under
took to dispossess the occupants. There was a collision in which ten of the Whigs were wounded,
two of them mortally and seven were taken prisoners, while two of the sheriff's party were slightly

INTRODUCTORY. vji
-wounded.. --/This bloodyaffair occurred five weeks before ,:that of Lexington, thus "consecrating
rby bloodshed,- in- avowed participation hi, the cause pf the7 colonies, . an open attack upon the
authority and power of the King."
t - In -Dorset* on July 26, 1776, assembled that -convention which is said to have been the first
body in the territory of Vermont: to assume general legislative functions in the development of
civil government. The scene.then changes again to the court-house in Westminster, where, on
January 15, ,1777, without a dissenting voice, it was decreed "that the district of land commonly
.called and known by the name of New Hampshire Grants be a new- and separate State." .Here,
¦ top,, two days, later, the convention, speaking for the people of Vermont, declared their inde
pendence of Great Britain and of all other governments claiming jurisdiction, and appointed a
' committee of war.''
The. "Old Constitution House" in Windsor commemorates -the first constitutional conven
tion and the first State-Legislature. Here, in June, 1777, was held an, adjourned meeting, of the
Westminster convention, when a committee was appointed to draft a constitution, and a call was ,
made. upon the towns to elect delegates to establish a State government, .and here, July 2nd,
following, pursuant- to that call, assembled those who were chosen for the momentous task as
signed them. The pencil of the artist has preserved to /us a representation of the humble edifice
which was the scene of their week's labors. It would be worth much could we be afforded a
glimpse of the men themselves. . It was an assemblage of plain farmers, probably without what
may be termed a lettered man among them, yet were they men of no ordinary mould. Great, as
was their strength of character, and broad as was their mental scope, they were building far better
than they knew. The setting to the picture was highly dramatic. A state of war already existed. ,
-Information had just been received of the evacuation of Fort .Ticonderoga before the advancing
army of General Burgoyne. The British troops, the right arm of the. crown, flushed with victory
and proud in their arrogant might, were about to overrun the land, whose inhabitants were al
ready fleeing from their homes, forsaking property, to procure safety for their families. The very
elements, -too, seemed to conspire against these builders of a State, as they sat in the little tavern
at Windsor. , A violent storm was raging, and voices were scarcely td be - heard , above its. din.
At another time, and in another State, occurred a somewhat similar scene which was depicted by
the Quaker poet, Whittier, when affrighted ones declared it the Lord's day of judgment* and
clamored for an adjournment. But one of their number, John Davenport, said,' Let God do his '
work, let us see to ours. Bring in the candles." There were John Davenports in Windsor that
meinorable day of 1777. Not affrighted by advancing foe or war of the elements, they held them
selves to their task, read their constitution paragraph by paragraph, amending it with con
summate care, and adopting it in regular order, producing what has been pronounced by high
authority, to be, that of Pennsylvania not excepted, an organic act which was the purest con
ception of democracy, the best formulation of man 's_ rights, that the world had ever seen up to
that time." It contained the first ban put upon slavery in all America. It went beyond the con
stitution of Pennsylvania, product of the wisdom of Penn and Franklin, in providing for com
pensation for private property taken for public uses, in claiming for the people the right of
establishing and controlling the internal police, in guarding the right of hunting. and fishing
against exclusive privilege, and, by the creation of a Council of Censors, making provision against
the hasty enactment of laws. And, splendid monument to~its authors, this selfsame constitution
laid a deep and ample foundation for the present excellent educational system of the State, in its
provision that "A school or schools shall be established in each town for the convenient in
struction of youth, with such salaries to the masters paid by each town making proper use of"

viii INTRNDUCTORY.
school lands in each town, thereby to enable them to instruct youth at low prices. One Grammar
school in each county and one University in the State ought to be established by direction of the
General Assembly."
At Windsor, on March 12th, 1778, assembled the first legislature of the State of Vermont,
and from that time there was organized civil government. Local and sovereign government there
had been long before. As was said by Ethan Allen, in his "Vindication of Vermont:" "During
near two years in the first of the war with Britain, the inhabitants of these contested lands
governed themselves, and managed their internal police under direction of committees and con
ventions, as they had * done from the commencement of their controversy with the
government Of New York, " and Governor Chittenden wrote that "the inhabitants of Vermont
had lived in a state of independence from their first settlement, governing themselves,
until their State government was formed in January, 1777, by committees and conventions in the
manner afterward followed in the other States on their first separation from the British govern
ment." v
The names of Dr. Jones Fay, Thomas Chittenden, Heman Allen and Reuben Jones^ among
the foremost in the great work of State building, are preserved. So, too, are those of Nathaniel
Chipman, statesman and jurist, and of Ira Allen, diplomat and financier. So, also, are the names
of Ethan Allen arid Seth Warner, sterling patriots and incomparable soldiers, while to the memory
of the heroes of Bennington, and located near the site of the Continental store house which was
v the objective point of General Burgoyne's supply-seeking detachment, whose appearance resulted
in the historic engagement, rises the stately Battle Monument, in appearance somewhat remindful
of the Washington Monument at the national capital.
Thus it appears that while the leaders in public affairs, civil and military, are readily
identified, we know little concerning those who were their aiders and supporters. To them is
reared a general monument containing few if any names. Yet the history of the State which was
founded through their effort affords ample attestation that they labored not in vain, and that the
i spirit which animated the sires was transmitted to the sons, who have preserved, in remarkable
degree, their inherited mental and moral characteristics. During the Civil war, the men of that
period shed an added lustre upon their State, while in the arts of peace, in statemanship, in affairs
and in letters, the men of the present generation and their progenitors have borne a full part. It
is to connect these with their splendid ancestry that the present work has been undertaken, and
its pages will serve to show that '
"it is indeed a blessing when the virtues
Of noble races are hereditary,
Ahd do derive themselves from the imitation
Of virtuous ancestors."

THREE STATUES OF ETHAH ALLEH, IH VERHOHT.

INDEX,

Abernathy, Charles P., 506
Abernethy,v Frank D., 155
- Agan, Prank W., 647
Alexander, Willard H., 160
¦ AHen, Charles E., 173
Allen, Heman W., 153
Allen, Joseph D., 171
Allen, Mrs. Julia E. S., 447
Allen, The Family, 170
Archibald, Thomas H., 632
Arthur, John A., 712
Atkins,. .George W, 234
Auld, Joseph, 465
Averill, George C., 448
Backus, Fred E., 537
Backus, Quimby S., 536
Bailey, Abner B., 19
Bailey, Horace W, 642
Bailey, Norman A., 159
Baldwin, Orange A., 678
Baldwin, Oscar D., 502
1 ! Baldwin, Walter N., 501
Bancroft, Charles DeF, 699
Barber, Orion M., 391
Barclay, William* 500
Barden, Merritt C, 68
Barney; Dorrance G., 229
Barrows, Augustus, 377
Barstow, John L., 478
Bartlett, Edward J., 39
Batchelder, Arch M., 71
Beach, Ferdinand, 354
Beckett, George, 563
Benedict, George G., 244
Benjamin, John E., 588
Beniamin, Samuel W., 591
Berry, Walter H., 225
Bickford, George Hamilton, 93
Bickford, George Harrison, 92
Bingham, Albert L., 290
Bingham, Henry S., 274
Bisbee, Edward W., 188
Bisbee, Elijah W., 189
Bixby,' Henry A., 350
Blackmer, Annie (Hilling), 299
Blackmer, Franklin, 300
Blackmer, John C, 240

Blackmer, S. H., 300
Blodgett, G. S., 316
Boardman, 178
Boardman, Harland P. S-, 140
Booth, Henry H., 582
Booth, Henry W., 216
Bottum, Julius O., 482
Bouton, Jennette B., 584
Boutwell, James M., 164
Bowles, Robert J., 452
Boyce, William A.," 302
Boyd, Gilbert A., 469
Bradley, Gilbert W., 224
Bradley, John W., 612
Bradley, William I., 561
Braisted, Adelbert W, 357
Bridgman, Dorman, 595
Briggs, Frank T., 531
Briggs, William A., 363
Bristol, Russel T., 437
Brooks, Lynn B., 274
Brown, Andrew C, 348
Brown, Joseph G., 350
Brown, Martin A., 636
Brown, Rufus E., 612
Brown, Sherrod, 511
Bryant, Lester A., 529
Bryant, William N., 631
Buck, James H., 628
Buckham, Matthew H., 221
Bullard, Vernon A., 461
Bullock. Elmer J., 287*
Burbank, Albin_ S., 644
Burdett, Cornelia C. L., 120
Burdett, Jesse, 122
Burdick, John L. F., 402
Burgess, Merrett E., 219
Burt, Henrv A., 389
Burt, J. Oliver, 218 -
Bushnell, James, 386
Buswell, Charles F., 187
Byington, Alfred A., 252
Cabot, Norman F., 168
Cain, Albert L., 535
Canfield, Eli H., 344
Canfield, Martha, 344
Canfield, Thomas H., 392

Cannon, LeGrand B., 462
Carleton, Hiram, 85
Carney, John V., 207
Carter, Joseph, 592
Chamberlin, Solon T., 475
Chapin, Willis F., 43
Chapman, Charles A., 487
Chase, Charles- S., 162-
Childs, Asaph P., 60
Chittenden, Thomas, 1
Clark, Albert B., 266
Clark, Charles E., 20
Clark, Joseph, 95
, Clark, Marvin W., 713
Clark, Osman D., 259
Clark, William C, 601
Clarke, John M., 351
Clemons, Seneca S., 336
Cochran. Alexander, 583
Cole, William A., 498
Collins Elvin M., 504
Colton, Henry C-, 262
Colton, Willard C, 263
Colvin, Harvey E., 265
Conant, Edward, 606
Conant, Henry G, 513
Converse, Charles A., 553
Converse, John H., 542
Converse, The Family, 539
Coyell, Arthur E., 57
Cowles, Josiah, 419
Crandall, George H., 58
Crane, Ephraim, 632
Crane, Willard, 182
Cristy, Robert C, 660
Crosby, Edward, 626
Crosby, Edward C, 625
Cross, Lewis B-, 443
Crowell, George E., 146
Cummins, Albert O., 291
Currier, Paschal W., 61
Cushman, Harry T., 233
Cutler, Harry M, 263
Cutler, Herman E., 62
Daggett, George, 320
Darling, Charles M., 677
Darling, Elmer A., 677

INDEX.

Darling, Henry G., 676
Davenport, Edgar- H., 510
¦ Davis, Frank E., 186
Dean, Fred H., 505
Dean, Marion H., 499
Denny, Andrew E., 320
Derby, Buel J., 495
Dewey, Albert G., yy
* Dewey, Arthur J., 52
Dewey, John J.,- 79
Dewey, William S., 79
Dillingham, Paul, 10
Dillingham, William P., 13
Dodge, GrenviUe M., 49
Doud, Silas D., 715
Drake, Thomas S., 555
Drew, Luman A., 466
Drysdale, Robert S., 215
DuBois', William H., 378
Dubuc, John B., 556
Dumas, J. Julian, "527
¦ Dunnett, Alexander, 581 .
Dustin, Gardner W., 496'
Dwinellj Franklin A., 203
Dyer, Douglass H.,. 413
Dyer, Horace H., 445
Eastman, Frank L., 477
Eaton, Arthur G., 246
'Edmunds, George F., 711
Egerton, Charles 'B^, 314
Egerton, Joseph..!' y rr.4.
Egerton, The T". -,-ki. 37 t
Egerton, V,T:";am B., 64*. *>;';'.
Eldridge, George H., 719 '
Ellis, Edward D., 633
Emerson, Samuel F., 231
Englesby, Leverett. B.,, 264
Estey, 87 ..-. • .-:
Fairbanks, Edwatd-T,, 118
Fairbanks, Erastus; .109
Fairbanks, Franklin, ri I
Fairbanks, Henry,- 116,
Fairbanks, Horacej '112
Fairbanks, Joseph* P./ 117
Fairbanks, Thaddeus, 113
Fairbanks, TheFamily, 108
Fairbanks; WilKaffi'P., 118 , t
Farnham, Roswelf, 375
Farrington, Frederick H., 600
Fay, Alland G., 298
Fay, Ellery C, 9
Ferguson,. Alfred, 473
' Ferrin, Albert W., 282
Field, Frederic, G., 453
Fillmore, Leland L., 206
Fiske, Henry C, 675
Fleetwood, Frederick G., 705
Foote, George A:, 418
Foote, Williams' B., 716 ' J
Forbush, Charles A.,. 054
Foss, James M., 454
Foster, Austin S., 627
Fowler, Harvey K., 132
Francisco, M. J., 54 •
Fuller, Levi K, 380 ";'',; '
P'ullerton, James K., 339" -

Gates, Joel H., 329
•Gay, Frederick, 208
Gay, The Family, 596
Gee, William H., 507
Gill, Daniel O., 449
Gillette, Leon H., 409
Gilmore, Charles C, 455
Gleason, Louis P., 243
Gleason, Samuel M., 673
Gleed, Philip K., 704
Godfrey, Mrs. -S. L., 386
Godfrey, S. L., 386
GoocteU, -.Tylpr-Il, 3£>o->- -r .-,--
Goode«o;ugh, Je$asfE.y28o /
Go®dh«er-Hei»ywA;i'»634. *.
Goodrich, Eugene, 294
Gordon, Alexander, 566
Gordon, Matthew -M,,- 298-
Gove, Webster N., 471
Grant, Lowell C., 366
Graves, Collins Mo,;. 222 ~ -.-¦¦.
Greene," Channing B.,-,6S9
Greene, Lester H., 127. .. :..
Greenleaf, W-illiam L., 685 , -.-.-..
Grout, josiah, 62r^. , .u -." :'.'. ,,
Grout, Lewis, 193 1- , ,
Grout, Miss Annie L., 200 . .v..
Grout, Mrs. Lydia B., 198 *. .¦".
Hall, George A., 639
Hall, Henry D., 579' ',..,'•
Hamlen, Lafayette, 373
. Hamlen, Mortimer T., 372
Hanks, Wilbur E.', 531
Hartness, James/671 -¦¦
Haselton, Seneca, 14
Haskihs, Fred G., 526 r
Hatch, Jo D., 305 ".
Hathorn, Ransom E„ 6S0
Hays, Lindsay M., 656 : ••¦¦
Heath, Charles^Hf, 286 '
Heaton, Charles' H.-, 167
Heaton, Homer W., 165
' Henry, William1 W., 387
Hickok, Henry -P., 249
¦' Hickok, Horatio, 135
, Hickok, The Family, 649 . .
•' Hicks, Toseph 5T^2s8-';fi: - ' ,.-•
Hill, Frank N., 522 ' • ,«' ¦'-.
Hill, S. C.,'459' ; 't^S"- *>*
- Hoit, Theophilus, 56- ¦'¦'-"'"*/. -v
Holbrook, Frederick, 646
HolbrooK, Frederick;-^
Holden,' George B., 1-31 •'"
Holden, John S-, 340
Holton, Henry D., 128
Hooker, Emory G., 184
Hopkins, John H., '9S -
Hopkins] Theodore A:, 101
Horsford, Frederick H-. 572 ' ,
Houghton, Edmund. C, 119
Houghton, James C, 97
Houghton, Mial B., 214
. Howard, Oliver O., 36 -
Howden, William S., 481.
Howland, Frank G., 295
Hubbell, Elijah D., 146
- Hubbell, Gertflude C, 14S

Huling, Mrs. Sophronia, 323
Humphrey, Albert O., 438
Hungerford, Edward, 141
Hungerford, Mrs. Maria B., 143
Hunt, Edmund G., 489
Huntington, Lewis B., 175
Huntley, William E-, 328
Huse, Hiram A., 136
Imlah, John, 686
Irish, Homer, 557
Jackson, Samuel N., 256
James, John A., 353-
Jenne, James N., 666
Johnson, George E., 362
Johnson, Horatio S., 300
Johonnott, Albert, 270
Jones, Hugh J. M., 192
; Jones, MaryE., 590 - ;,
Joyce, Charles H., 64 /
Kellogg, Daniel, 286
Kelton, Otis N., 624,. :
Kemp, Harlan W., 158 . ,-,.
. Kenyon, Henry L., 322 i , • .
¦Keyes, Samuel, 667
King, Clark, 368 , . :
Kinsley, Edward, 212
Knight, Eugene W., 68
Laird, Fred L., 289
Lamson, Guy A'-., =29 - - J. -¦ •
Landon, Fred, 523
Landon, Mills J-.,'.l8
Larrabee, Elm'ef E:, 216 - ¦
Lasher, Frank, 226 : '_¦¦ --
Lathrop, Ernest-M-, '309' "¦ ~
Lawrence, William A.,--S33< '
Leland, George F., 665 -rs/.-.'i .
Linsley, George L., 254- ¦ -¦:¦¦ ,
Livingston, James H., 334>" , L
Livingstojfi, J., O., 24&>t..:r.tl"A ..-.•
Luce, Byron H., 658 .' ' ;' -: ¦ )
Lyman, Edward, 664 -trr .-' .'¦' rv.
Mansur, ZopHar M., 663f- '" ^ ¦'-¦
.Marr,' Charles, 'SV3 - WW"-, .'-'"
. Marshall, -Willie* W., 568ffl? •'-'-
'{ Martin, Allen, 364 . " :W£ji£ .-;'
' Martin, HowaSd P., 35 "''''- -""'-'¦-
' Mason, Charles M., 2if8-:£': T" f
,: Mason, Mrs. Andrew JlJsilS*-1 .•*'
,7 M'attison, Clayton- S., 2S8 ^ "*-¦'
,. Matt-ison, William P., 228
McGee, Charles L., 483
Meacham, James' B., 433'
Merriam -1 Bert E., 702
¦Michaud; John S., 123 ;
Miller, Jackson, 28
Miller, Norris R., 514
Miner, Charles'- E., 241
Moody, George E., 21 1 '
Morrill. Justin. S., 83- ,
Morse,':Frederick W., 283 ,
Morse, George W., 352 '.'
Moseley, John L., 303 •

, INDEX.

xi

Moulton, Clarence E., 365
Murray, Daniel, 347
Newton, William D., 364
Nichols, Levi H., 430
Noble, Robert, 269
North, Clayton N., 694
Noyes, Albert L., 176
Noyes, Harry A., 178
Nutting, David H., 609
Ormsbee, Ebenezer J., 82
Packard, William L., 610
Page, Carroll S., 32
Page, Dan I., 51
Page, John B., 8b
Page, Leslie T./370
Parish, Luke, 706
Parish, The Family, 70S
Parker, The Family, 616
Parmenter, George W-, 191
Parmenter, Jerome B., 326
Parsons, H. Ellsworth, 371
Partch, William H., 515
Pearl, Isaac L-., 663
Peck,, Cassius, 272
Peck, Charles W., 690
, Peck, 'Roswell K., 163
Peck, Theodore S., 490
Peck, Warren, 421
Peckett, John B'., 688
Perrin, George K., 57
Perrin, Justus N.', 63
Perry, Crosby A., 337
Pettee, Frederick G., 683
Phelps, Edward J., 708
Phelps, Henry A., 33
Phelps, Nelson D., 508
Pierson, James S., 342
Pike, Paphro D., 662
Pilon, Edward, 577
Pingree, Samuel, E., 16
Pirie, James K., 534
.Place, Roswell' H., 639
. Plumley, Frank, 472
Porter, Edwin, 327
Potter. Henry J., 383
Powell, Edward H., 307
Powell, Mrs. Edgar S., 159
Powers; Horace H., 691
Pratt, William Z.-, 603
Proctor, Redfield, 44
Puffer, Norman M., 330
Putnam, Lewis, 94
Putnam, Warren E., 404
Racette, Joseph W., 205
Randall, George W., 220
Randall, Walter B., 161
Raniiy, Alfred P., 681
Ray, Leonard C, 564
Read, I.avant M-, 643
Read, Myron A., 411
Read, Ruth, 411

Redfield, Timothy P., 484
Reeves, Thomas, 638
Richardson, Orville H., 524
Roberts, Daniel, 397
Roberts, George F., 703
Roberts, Robert, 401
Robinson, Frank P., 706
Robinson, George W-, 280
Robinson, John, 519
Robinson, Mrs. Alfred, 277
Roby, Rodney, 261
Rogers, Henry, 422
Rogers, Phebe H., 422
Root, Henry C, 345
Root, Henry G., 235
Roscoe, Alfred P., 427
Ross, James, 686
Ross> Jonathan, 574
Russell, George S., 407
Russell, Ira, 367
Russell, Sidney E., 415
Sawyer, Clarence P., 594
Sawyer, Harry W., 37s
Sawyer, John W., 374
Sawyer, Lincoln H., 375
Seaver, Harley. T., 611
Seaver, The Family, 611
Shackett, Frank L., 480
Shepard, Almond C, 625
Sheridan, William J., 559
Sibley, Moses D., 59
Slocum, Charles H., 669
Small, 179
Smith, Charles P., 467
Smith, David C, 239
Smith, Donald, 517
Smith, Dudley B., 586
Smith, Elisha, 431-
Smith, John E.; 516
Smith, Seward P., 437
bneden, George W., 530
Sparhawk, George E. E., 276
Spaulding, Albert C, 184
Spaulding, Cyrus M.,, 185
Sprague, Farnham M., 278
Sprague, Natlian T., 640
Squire, Frederick N., 318
Stannard, George J., 24
Starr, Parley, 456
Start, Henry R., 343
Stevens, Alonzo J., 267
Stevens, Charles H., 268
Stewart, Charles C, 566
Stewart, John W., 40
Stone, Charles H., 497
Stone, George E-, 23
St. Peters, Joseph L., 451
Stranahan, Farrand S., 306
Taggart, John R., 692
Talcott, Frank, 43
Taylor, Archibald, 567
Taylor, Frank T., 595

Thayer, Nelson, 432
Thomas, Charles A., 15
Thompson, Charles F., 571
Thompson, Charles H., 572
Thompson, - The Family, 570
Tiffany, Eli, 435
Tinker, Charles A., 613
Tinkham, Henry C., 284
Torrey, Henry A. P., 236
Trull, Edgar V., 338
Twitchell, Fred F., 712
Tyler, Royall, 629
Van Patten, William' J., 148
Varney, Mervin P., 521
Varney, William H. H., 440
Vilas, Martin S., 416
Viles, Jesse S., Jr., 152
Walbridge, Edward, 228
Walbridge, Henry S-, 325
Walbridge, James E., 180
Walbridge, James H., 217
Wales, Torrey E., 106
Walker, James O., 429
Wallace, William S., 594
Warren, Charles C, 202
Warren, Charles D., 672
Watson, Oliver L, 315
Webster, Dan P., 355
Weeks, John E., 537
Welling, Charles" J
Wells, Burt H.A
Wells, EJi £1; 90
Wells, Wilham, 332
Weston, Eugene S., 423
Weston, Sidney H, 324
Whitcomb, Friend N., 502
Whitcomb, Will A., 520
Whitcomb, William E., 520
Wicker, Cassius M., 73
Wicker, Cyrus W., 72
Wilbur, LaFayette, 30
Wilcox, Henry F., 668
Willard/ Guy N., 470
Willard, Hymon G., 471
Williams, Frank S-, 310
Wilson, David S., 335
Wilson, James M., 503
Winch, John H., 328
Wing, George W, 106
Wing, Joseph A., 105,
Wood, Lyman P., 361
Woodbury, Urban A., 151
Woolson, William D., 653
Worthington, William R., 426
Wright, Clayton J., 135
Wright. Daniel C, 687
Wright, Ethan M„ 717
Wright, Homer E., 13s
Wright, Smith, 134
Wyman, Cyrus W., 156
Yale, Caroline, 587
Yale, Martha, =187

'^mx.^ '-'J.

THOMAS CHITTENDEN.
FIRST GOVERNOR OF VERMONT.

STATE OF VERMONT.

THOMAS CHITTENDEN.
Thomas Chittenden, first governor of Ver
mont, and a potent factor in the creation of the
commonwealth, was one of the most unique fig
ures of his time. His splendid public services
were of enduring value, and his purity of char
acter and strong personality marked him as in
every way a leader of men in the formative days
of the state and the community.
He was of Welsh origin, and his family name
is derived from the two words Chy-tane-den
(or dirO, meaning a castle or place of defence in
a valley between the mountains. Another form
of the name in Crittenden, and Senator John J.
Crittenden, of Kentucky, was related to the Chit
tenden family of Connecticut and Vermont. The
Vermont family of Chittenden is descended from
William Chittenden, of Cranbrook, Kent, Eng
land, who came to Guilford, Connecticut, in
1639. -^e was ^ae fatner of three sons, of whom
Thomas, the eldest, was the father of William,
who was the father of Ebenezer. Ebenezer,- son
of him last named',' Was the father of four sons,
Ebenezer, Thomas, Timothy and Bethuel. Of
these, Thomas became the first governor of Ver
mont, and Bethuel the first Protestant Episcopal
minister in the Same state. Their mother was
named Johnson, and she was a cousin of Presi
dent Johnson, of Columbia College,
Thomas Chittenden was born January 6, 1730,
in East Guilford, Connecticut. His father was a
farmer, whose humble circumstances forbade his
affording to his son other educational advantages
than those of the common- schools of the day.
1

The lad labored upon the paternal farm until
he Was eighteen years old, when lie went to sea
as a common sailor. England and France were
then at war, and his vessel was captured by a
French cruiser. When he regained his liberty he
found himself friendless and without means in.
a West Indian port. He made his way home iri
great discomfort, determined upon a rural life,
from which he was destined to be called by the
exigencies of the stirring times which soon fol
lowed. A year before- attaining his majority he
married Elizabeth Meigs, a New England wo
man of much strength of character and amiabil
ity- of disposition, who proved a most efficient
helpmeet to her young husband, affording him a
healthy encouragement and sympathy at every
step of his active career. Industrious and frugal,
the young couple soon acquired a home, and after
wards added considerable land property to their
-possessions. Mr. Chittenden steadily grew in
favor with his fellows, and was advanced from
one to another position of honor and usefulness.
For six years he represented the town in the
Cojonial Assembly, and he was also' colonel of mi
litia. In 1774 he became one of the first settlers
in the Winooski valley, on the south side of the
river of the same name, and about" twelve miles
above its union with Lake Champlain. In this
beautiful region he felled the trees out of which
he buikled his log cabin, his wife and children
making their bed upon boughs of evergreen until
their humble, home was completed. This was not
to be long an abode of peace. In 1775 the valley
was threatened by British and Indians, and in the
following year the settlers in the Wiriosski val-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ley, now about forty families, found it necessary
to seek safety elsewhere. Burying his preservable
household effects in the sand, Chittenden aban
doned his home, and made his way across the
mountains and through dense forests, he and his
wife journeying afoot, utilizing their animals for
the conveyance of their children, ten in number.
Purchasing a farm at Arlington, Chittenden there
made his home for the next ten years, and when
peace was restored, he returned to his former
home in the Winooski valley, in the town of Wil
liston, where he passed the remainder of his life.
From the first, he bore an active and prom
inent part in the struggles of the settlers against
the aggressions of New York and of the mother
country. He was chosen one of the thirteen mem
bers of the famous Bennington "Council of Safe
ty," and was made president of that remarkable
body which exercised all the powers of govern
ment—legislative, executive and judicial — until
the adoption of the constitution and the election
of state officers. This Council reflected at all
times the spirit of two men of extraordinary abil
ity — Ira Allen, the secretary, through whose en
terprise ahd ambition the most important meas
ures were broached, and Thomas Chittenden, the
president, whose great sagacity, excellent judg
ment and commanding personality enabled him
to consummate purposes which Otherwise had
failed. Allen proposed recruiting a regiment for
the defence of the province, the means to be de
rived from the confiscation and sale of property
belonging to the Tories, and Chittenden procured
the adoption of the measure. To the enthusiasm
aroused by tliis action was due similar effort in
New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and which
made possible the victor}- at Bennington, and, ul
timately, the capture of Burgoyne's army. Dur
ing the same period Mr. Chittenden aided the rev
olutionary cause most efficiently. With Allen
he went to Philadelphia at the opening of the
struggle, in order to ascertain the disposition and
intentions of the congress, with whose purposes
he was fully in sympathy and whose measures
he earnestly' advocated until the independence of
the colonies was acknowledged.
Governor Chittenden was a prime leader in
the more arduous work of. effecting the organiza
tion of the state of Vermont and the formulation
and adoption of its organic law.' In the conven

tion at Dorset, in July, 1776, as chairman of a
committee having charge of the matter, he pre
sented a compact binding the members to the
creation of a state, ahd this was adopted, receiv
ing the signatures of every member of the con
vention save one. At a later session in Westmin
ster, in January, 1777, a committee of which Mr.
Chittenden was a member reported the "Vermont
Declaration of Independence," embodying his
ideas presented by a similar committee, at a
prior session, and outlining a constitution -for the
proposed "State of New Connecticut, alias Ver
mont," and this was subsequently adopted, on
July 2d of the same year. Mr. Chittenden was
elected the first governor of the new state in
March, 1778, and by annual re-elections he was
continued in that office during the remainder of
the revolutionary period. He directed the affairs
of the infant commonwealth with remarkable
sagacity and in a spirit of unalloyed patriotism,
and amid difficulties of the utmost magnitude.
In x 780-8 1 the Vermont frontier was left de
fenceless, every available man having been sent
to Washington's little army. In this strait,
British emissaries sought to stimulate in Ver
mont a feeling of hostility to congress, for its
apparent neglect, and to lead her people to an
abandonment of the patriot cause and to union
' with Great Britain. The narrative of these
events is too lengthy for place here. It is only
necessary to recite the fact that in order to save
the state from a threatened invasion by the Brit
ish from Canada, Governor Chittenden engaged
in certain diplomatic relations with the British
agents which afforded excuse for his enemies
to charge him with,disloyalty to the cause of in
dependence. These charges, however, were aft
erwards disproved when it was discovered that
Governor Chittenden's alleged negotiations were
known to Washington, and that their only pur
pose was to defeat the British plans by holding
their troops in Canada in a state of inactivity.
Governor Chittenden was continued in. the
gubernatorial office by successive re-elections,
with the exception of a single year, until" 1797,
the year of his death, when he resigned. His
defeat in 1789 was due to his loyalty to Ira Al
len and to his desire to reimburse mm for his
large personal expenditures for state purposes.
and for his rare diplomatic skill in thd creation

OLD COURT HOUSE, WESTMINSTER.

OLD CONSTITUTION HOUSE, WINDSOR,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

of the infant government. To effect his object,
Governor Chittenden made a grant of public lands
to Allen, an act for which he had no legal au
thority, and which brought upon him much criti
cism and broughj: about his defeat for re-election.
His bearing in this crisis was that of simple dig
nity. The election having been thrown into the
legislature, it became his duty to announce the
choice of Moses Robinson as his successor. Said
he : "Since I find that the election has not gone
in my favor by the freemen, and that you, gentle
men, would prefer some other person to fill the
chair, I can cheerfully resign to him the honors
of the office I have long since sustained, and sin
cerely wish him a happy administration, for the
advancement of which my utmost influence shall
be exerted." In reply, the legislature said that
the people "felt a grateful, sense of the many and
good services he had rendered them and wished
for him on his retirement from his arduous la
bors all the blessings of domestic ease." A year
later those who had antagonized Governor Chit
tenden with such severity withdrew their charges
against him and abandoned their opposition to
the Allen land grant, and he was again elected
to the chair which he had so long occupied with
conspicuous ability. Among his public services,
no act was more generally salutary in its effects
than his procuring of the legislation known as
the, "betterment" and " quieting" acts of 1781 and
1786, and under which were effectually settled
many disputed questions of title growing out of
the controversies with reference to the New
Hampshire and New York land grants. This
legislation was the product of his own brain, and
was proposed and enacted in face of the determ
ined opposition of nearly all the lawyers in the
state, who questioned its legality or utility for
want of precedent. In the discharge of his public
¦duties he bore himself with unaffected dignity.
-One curious fact is related of him. Ordinarily
¦careless as to his dress, he preserved a broadcloth
coat capable of being turned inside out — the one
.-side blue, which he displayed when he occupied
his seat as governor, and the other side scarlet,
which was shown when he acted as commander-
in-chief of the militia. His traits of character
were thus summarized by Ethan Allen : "He was
the only man I ever knew who was sure to be
Tight in all, even the most difficult and complex

cases, and yet he could not tell or seem to know
why it was so." Thompson said "He had a rare
combination of moral and intellectual qualities
— good sense, great discretion, honesty of pur
pose and an unvarying equanimity of temper,
united with a modest and pleasing address," and
E. P. Walton said: "He did not tower like an
ornate and graceful Corinthian column, but was
rather like the solid Roman arch that no convul
sion could overturn and no weight could crush."
Governor Chittenden ever endeared himself
to the people about him by his cheery good nature
and largeheartedness. With every opportunity
to amass an ample, fortune, when he died he left
to his family little more than the homestead farm.
How his means were disposed of is told in the
annals and traditions of the state which he aided
in making. In two seasons of great distress,
once when the people left their crops ungathered
on account of the troublous times, and again,
when the crops on the east of the mountains in
the present Orange and Washington county re
gion had been ruined by frost and many were
facing starvation, Governor Chittenden provided
corn to scores of families, refusing all compensa
tion- with the remark that he had no corn to sell
to people who were in danger of starving.
By his marriage with Elizabeth Meigs, Gov
ernor Chittenden became the father of ten chil
dren. Noah, who passed his life in Jericho, was
a farmer and a man of importance in the com
munity. He became sheriff of the county (Chit
tenden) which was named for his sire, judge of
probate and of the county court, representative
in the legislature for three years and state coun
cillor for eight years. Martin was educated at
Dartmouth College ; he lived a conspicuously
usjful public life, serving as representative in the
legislature, clerk and judge of the county court,
as member of congress for ten years and as gov
ernor of Vermont for two years. Giles was a
farmer and occupied many public offices. Tru
man, the youngest of the sons of Governor Chit
tenden, inherited the homestead and lived to old
age. He was state councillor for twelve years,
judge of probate for eleven years, and he held
numerous other offices. He was a man of great
benevolence and kindness, and was the steadfast
friend and defender of the widow and orphan and
all in distress. Of the daughters, Mabel mar-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ried Thomas Barney, of Jericho; Betsy became
the wife of James Hill, of Charlotte; Hannah
married Colonel Isaac Clark, who was an officer
in the war of 1812, wherein he won the sobriquet
of "Old Rifle;" Beulah married, first, Elijah Ga-
lusha, of Arlington, and (second) Matthew Lyon,
of Kentucky; Mary married Jonas Galusha, of
Shaftsbury, who was for two years governor of
Vermont ; . and Electa married Jacob Spafford,
of Richmond, Vermont. From all these came a
numerous progeny whose descendants are now
found in almost every state of the Union, and
many of whom have lived honorable and useful
lives in nearly every reputable calling.
FREDERICK HOLBROOK.
Frederick Holbrook, of Brattleboro, Vermont,
"war governor" of that state, to the best interests
' of which his useful and honorable life of almost
ninety years has been assiduously devoted, is a
descendant of one of the oldest families of New
England, which traces its origin, as do most of
the inhabitants of that region, to the older Eng
land across the sea. The first ancestor settled
near Boston, where at the present day many of
the name may be found.
John Holbrook, grandfather of ex-Governor
Holbrook, settled at Weymouth, Massachusetts,
and, beyond this fact, only one detail of his life
has come down to us, but that one is extremely
significant. The record states that he married
Sibyl Lynn, granddaughter of Governor Brad
ford, and further adds that the lady was a woman
of great force of character. The simple fact that
John Holbrook was the choice of a woman who
came of the oldest and best blood in New Eng
land, and who was herself possessed of a remark
able personality, speaks volumes both for his
social standing and his moral worth. Is it not
possible that some of the forceful and high-
minded traits which were so conspicuous in the
character of ex-Governor Holbrook may have
been, in part, at least, transmitted to him by this
granddaughter of Governor Bradford?
John Holbrook, father of ex-Governor Hol
brook, was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts,
July 10, 1761. At the beginning of the Revolu
tionary war his father removed with his family to
Dorchester, Massachusetts, and there, through

the kindly instruction of some British officers
who were stationed at the place, John acquired
the art of surveying and became proficient in
mathematics. It is difficult to say whether this-
incident testifies more forcibly to the kindness
and largemindedness of the British officers, or to-
the personality of the lad who elicited such proofs-
of friendship. This knowledge, together with
the ability to draw and sketch, which had also-
been imparted to him by the good-natured Brit
ish officers, was of the greatest use to him in
after life. On attaining the age of twenty-one
years, he went to Newfane, Vermont, and re
ported to the Hon. Luke Knowlton for employ
ment as a land surveyor. In this art Judge
Knowlton obtained work for him, in the course
of which he ran town and division lines in the
vicinity of Newfane, or, as it is now called, New-
fane Hill. It was extremely interesting to hear
Mr. Holbrook, in the latter part of his life, relate
his experience as a land surveyor in those early-
days, when the county of Windham was so-
largely in a primeval state, being covered with
almost unbroken forests ; how he made journeys.
in the winter on snowshoes, camping out at night,
and sleeping on a bed extemporized from hemlock
boughs, with a tent or covering of the same ma
terial. His food at these times consisted of thin
slices of pork, spread over brOwn Indian bread.
Not long after coming to Newfane Mr. Hol
brook opened a small country store in the ell of
what is now almost the only one of the primitive
houses left standing in the place. It was his
custom to take produce and articles of barter on
pack horses to Greenfield, Massachusetts. The
road was simply a bridlepath, laid out- or defined
through the dense forest by marked trees, and.
leading along the valley of the west river through
the then unsettled region of East Brattleboro.
The various articles which he carried he would
exchange for dry-goods and groceries, loading-
the horses for the return journey with these com
modities. In this connection, it is interesting to-
note, as showing the changes wrought in the
course of a generation, that Mr. Holbrook's eld
est daughter, Mrs. William Fessenden, was the
first lady who rode in a wheeled carriage from
Newfane to Greenfield. After accumulating his
first one thousand dollars, Mr. Holbrook removed
to Brattleboro, Vermont, buying the old mills.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

5

which stood where Hines and Newman afterward
built their machine shop, and also buying a
house, which in later years was converted into an
inn, and is now known as the American House.
In one part of the house he opened a country
store, his family occupying the remainder. At
that period, and in those sparsely settled regions,
nearly all trade was necessarily by barter, little or
no money being in circulation. It speedily becom
ing evident to Mr. Holbrook that he must seek an
outlet for the produce and other articles taken in
his trade, he formed a connection with David Por
ter, a leading merchant of Hartford, Connecticut,
under the firm name of Porter & Holbrook, at
Hartford, Connecticut, and of Holbrook & Por
ter, at Brattleboro, Vermont. The farmers' pro
duce and articles of domestic industry and handi
work, taken at the store in Brattleboro in ex
change for goods, were sent to Porter & Holbrook
at Hartford, and dry-goods and groceries were
sent thence to Holbrook & Porter at Brattleboro.
Mr. Holbrook was one of the original directors
of the old Phoenix Bank of Hartford, holding
that office many years, and it is remembered that,
among other benefits which he conferred on the
city, he brought the first bank bills to Brattleboro
that eyer circulated there.
Nor was Mr. Holbrook's business enterprise
limited to the undertakings already mentioned,
but he established the first line of flat-bottomed
boats which ever ran on the Connecticut river
from Brattleboro to Hartford, forming for many
years the principal means of exchanging heavy
freight with the seaboard. In those early days,
when so large a portion of the surface of the
•country was primeval forest, protracted summer
drouths seldom or never occurred; the soft,
spongy soil of the forests, protected from tlie
sun by the dense shade of the trees, yielding,
very gradually, the moisture from the melting
snows and the heavy rains, kept the Connecticut
river and its tributaries fuller streams through
the summer and autumn, than is the case now.
Hence these flat-bottomed boats could make reg
ular trips about once a fortnight through the en
tire seasons of spring, summer and autumn. Mr.
Holbrook's enterprise in conducting this line of
boats is humorously illustrated by the following
anecdote: Deacon Townshend, one of his com
petitors in trade at Brattleboro, once inserted in

the Brattleboro Reporter an advertisement
headed, "money makes the mare go." Mr. Hol
brook, the next w*ek, placed an advertisement
in the same paper, with the following heading:
"Money makes my boats go as well as Deacon
Townshend's old grey mare."
Mr. Holbrook's energy was such that his
undertakings were not limited to domestic trade,
but he opened a slaughter-house on the neigh
boring1 island in Hinsdale, New Hampshire,
where large quantities of beef, pork, hams, ton
gues, etc., were packed and cured for market, and
sent, by the Hartford firm, mainly to the West
Indies, in exchange for West India goods.
About the year 1809-10 Mr. Holbrook sold his
house, store, mills and other property to Francis
Goodhue; who came to Brattleboro from Weth
ersfield, where he had owned an extensive and
valuable farm in "Wethersfield Boro," which he
had recently sold to "Consul" William Jarvis.
Mr. Goodhue at once began business in Brattle
boro, where he was a leading and conspicuous
citizen during the remainder of his life.
After thus disposing of his property Mr. Hol
brook removed to Warehouse Point, Connecti
cut, where he lived for two or three years, until
the death of his son-in-law, William Fessenden,
who had married his eldest daughter, Patty Hol
brook. William Fessenden, one of the most en
terprising of the early business men of Brattle
boro, was extensively engaged in paper-making,
printing, book-binding and the sale of books,
and was the publisher of the first newspaper
printed in 'Brattleboro, The Reporter. By reason
of the fact that his son-in-law died very sudden
ly, at the early age of thirty-six, leaving a young
family and an extensive business, Mr. Holbrook,
deeming it his duty to do so, returned to Brattle
boro, assumed the business of his son-in-law,
and after settling his estate carried on the busi
ness in all its branches and also added thereto.
He took into partnership Joseph Fessenden,
brother of William, and also a son-in-law, having
married Mr. Holbrook's second daughter, and
under the firm name of Holbrook & Fessenden
conducted for many years an extensive business
in paper-making and the printing, manufacture
and sale of books. The post and letter papers
made at the mill belonging to this firm had a large
sale, owing to their pure whiteness and clearness.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

These qualities were due largely to the fact that
the very pure spring water for which Brattleboro
has long been famous was employed in the manu
facture of the paper. This paper, and that made
by the Brandywine mills, were the leaders, for
quality, of all papers then in the American mark
ets. At about sixty years of age Mr. Holbrook
mainly withdrew from active business, and en
joyed for- the remainder of his life a period of
well earned leisure. In the northern part of the
village he built a house, surrounded by extensive
grounds, and there passed the rest of his days in
the enjoyment of the many sources of pleasure
to be found in a quiet country life.
Mr. Holbrook was closely identified with the
Congregational church of Brattleboro, where he
held the office of deacon, and was foremost in all
its work of benevolence, aiding the cause of re
ligion by every means in his power, above all,
by that most potent of all means, the force of
example. Of Mr. Holbrook's political prefer
ences we know only that he must have been, first,
a Federalist, and then a Whig, as was evinced by
his admiration for Alexander Hamilton, and his
dislike of "Tom Jefferson," as he was wont to
style the founder of the Democratic party.
Mr. Holbrook married, November 30, 1786,
Sarah Knowlton, aged nineteen, daughter of
Hon. Luke Knowlton, who came to Vermont
from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, where most of
his family were born. He was one of the first
settlers and most influential citizens of Windham
county, and was one of the earliest judges of the
supreme court of the state and also of the Wind
ham county court. Mrs. Holbrook was a lady
of much personal beauty and grace of manner,
and during her after life in Brattleboro had great
influence in the social life of the town. She was
also a woman of remarkably strong and beautiful
Christian character, which found its fullest ex
ercise in the duties of wife and mother, which
she was peculiarly fitted to discharge. Mrs.
Holbrook had many recollections of life in Ver
mont in the early days, and one of the reminis
cences which were listened to with thrilling in
terest by her grandchildren and great-grand
children was the following: One day, when she
and her mother happened to be the only inmates
of the house, they heard a great noise outside,
and going to the window saw a big bear in the

act of ripping, the boards from the pig-pen, and
then, seizing a pig, carry it off to the woods.
near by. When the men of the family returned
they were told of the incident, and, with guns in
hand, started in pursuit, tracking the bear by his-
foot-prints in the snow, and also by the blood of
the pig. They finally overtook and shot the mon
ster, dragged him home, cut from his carcass
several good bear steaks for consumption by the
family and made of his skin a comfortable robe for
the bottom of the sleigh. It may. perhaps be a
matter of surprise to their descendants that the
early settlers should have taken up their abode in
situations as exposed as the great elevation of
Newfane Hill appears to be, but we are told that
there were several inducements for the selection
of such a habitation, the chief among them being
that they were there comparatively safe from sur
prise by the Indians. The savages, it seems,
made annual journeys along the valleys of the
Connecticut and its tributaries from Canada to-
Long Island Sound, in order to enjoy the fish
and oysters from the salt waters. Moreover, by
dwelling on the hills, they escaped the malarial
fevers to which the settlers in the soft, damp
soil of the valleys were exposed.
Frederick Holbrook, son of John Holbrook
and Sarah (Knowlton) Holbrook, was born in
East Windsor, Connecticut, February 15, 18 13.
He was the youngest of a family of ten children,
and the only one born out of Vermont, during a
brief residence at Warehouse Point, returning to
Vermont an infant in his mother's arms. He
was from the first surrounded by home influences
of the kind best calculated to strengthen such
a character as he afterward developed, and he
was equally fortunate in his preceptors. For two
years he studied at the Berkshire Gymnasium,
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he enjoyed the
instruction of Professors Dewey and Hopkins,
the latter, Matthew Hopkins, afterward president
of Williams College. Having completed his edu
cation, in the course of which mathematics re
ceived a large share of his attention, he visited
Europe, thoroughly explored England, Scotland
and Ireland, and also spent some time on the
continent. In consequence of his habits of ob
servation and reflection this European tour con
tributed largely to the formation of his character
and subsequent beliefs. Returning home in 1833,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

he devoted his energies mainly to a pursuit which
had always possessed especial attractions for him,
that of farming, applying to it the results of the
information which he had gained in regard to the
art while traveling in Europe. Noticing with
alarm the decay of an industry so essential to the
greatness and prosperity of our country, he wrote
a series of articles on agriculture, remarkable for
their vigor of style and accuracy of statement,
which were published in the leading agricultural
journals of the United States. In response to the
solicitations of Luther Tucker, proprietor of the
Albany Cultivator, he prepared some articles
which were so enthusiastically received that he
was induced to agree to supply contributions of
this nature permanently. Mr. Holbrook's theo
ries were always submitted to the test of experi
ment before being laid before the public. He was
no mere doctrinaire, but could guide the plough
and swing the scythe as well as wield the pen
with elegance and force.
NMr, Holbrook's public official life began with
his election to the office of register of probate*
for the district of Marlboro, and in 1850 he was
elected to the presidency of the Vermont State
Agricultural Society, of which he was one of the
founders, the first address delivered before the
association having come from his lips, and for
eight consecutive years he was elected to this
position. In 1849 and 1850 he represented his
fellow citizens in the "state senate, and, while a
member of that body and acting as chairman of a
special committee on -agriculture, he proposed a
petition to Congress for the establishment of a na
tional bureau of agriculture, which project re
ceived the indorsement and commendation of the
president of the United States in his message to
Congress. It was favorably received by the rep
resentatives of the several states, by whose act
ion- — approved by the chief magistrate — the de
partment of agriculture became a reality.
As a natural result of these beneficent serv
ices, in 1861 Mr: Holbrook was placed in the
gubernatorial chair of Vermont by a gratifying
majority of votes. Called to this post of gravest
responsibility in one of the darkest hours of out
national history, Governor Holbrook proved him
self to be the man for the hour and the place.
His courage was unfailing, his hope and cheer
unfaltering. They inspired not only the people

of his own state, but the overburdened soul of our
martyr president.
Governor Holbrook's Thanksgiving procla
mation of November 11, 1861, while it applies
especially to the dark days in which it was issued,
will always be a source of inspiration to the
Anglo-Saxon race on this side of the sea, as the
following sentences from its preface will abund
antly prove: "Until the coming of that blessed
kingdom when 'the wolf shall dwell with the
lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the
kid, and the calf, and the young lion and the fat-
ling together, and a little child shall lead them,'
human life, whether individual or collective, must
be a conflict, and its achievements the result of
toils, trials, fortitude, ¦ and faith. The discipline
of adversity rather than the softer influences of
prosperity gives character and power to a people.
As the most precious odors exhale their choicest ^
fragrance when incensed or crushed, so a peo
ple chastened by adversity develop their finer
and nobler qualities, acquire fortitude to bear
with lofty cheer the trials by which themselves
and their institutions are proved; and energy to
surmont difficulties and triumph over evil. It
was throug-h dangers and difficulties that our fa
thers first made a lodgment on the shores of New
England ; and amid discouragements, privations
and sorrows which would have overwhelmed the
spirits and shaken the faith of other men, that
they instituted and observed a day of Public
Thanksgiving and Praise." Recounting the var
ious reasons for thanksgiving, foremost among
which was the fact that men of all parties, pur
suits and shades of opinion rallied spontaneously
to the defense of the Union, he adds : "Let the
fervent prayer arise for wisdom and virtue to
guide us in this momentous period, that we may
acquit ourselves as becomes a people so favored
by ancestry and God. And though in our thanks
giving at this time there may be less of carol than
of solemn sound, yet, if thinking of father, hus
band, brother, or son, now upon the tented field
or in the soldier's grave, let us remember that it
is noble to battle or die for our country ; and if
affection must drop a tear to the memory of the
departed, let us also give thanks for their unsel
fish endeavors and heroic death in a grand and
righteous cause."
Gloriously did the Green Mountain state re-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

spond to these ringing words, sending forth over
thirty thousand soldiers to the defense of free
dom, two of Governor Holbrook's own sons be
ing among the number. In all his following
proclamations we hear the same heroic note,
strengthening and quickening the sources of our
national life.
In 1862 Governor Holbrook, in one of his
messages to the legislature, expressed the hope
that the state would ever, "gratefully remember
the patriotic devotion manifested by those who,
unable to bear the arms and endure the hardships
of the soldier, have nobly aided and encouraged
others to do so," adding, that "the lasting thanks
of every patriot are due to the women of Ver
mont." Governor Holbrook's utterances during this
trying time in reference to the financial problems
then before the state, were marked by the same
calm, courageous wisdom which characterized all
his expressions in regard to public affairs. Un
der the guidance of Governor Holbrook Vermont
was the first state in the Union to provide hos
pitals for its soldiers. The preservation of life
and the benefit to health which were thus insured
it is impossible to estimate. For his inspiration
in this, as in all other noble and wise endeavors,
Vermont owes its war governor an incalculable
debt of honor and gratitude.
Since his retirement from the leadership of
his state Governor Holbrook, never an office-
seeker, has declined t6 be again drawn into pub
lic life, but in various ways, as a private citizen,
his best efforts have been devoted to the welfare
of the community. Chairman, for many -years,
of tlie board of trustees of the Vermont Asylum,
his object has ever been the best good of the pa
tients and the best welfare of the institution. As
legislator, governor and private citizen, his ca
reer has been that of a public benefactor.
Ex-Governor Holbrook is now (1902) ap
proaching his ninetieth birthday. As the years
pass, each bringing with it some increase of hon
or, his personal friends and the public unite in
sending congratulations on each anniversary of
his birth. His vigor, both mental and physical,
is unimpaired, and his interest in public affairs
as keen as ever. He thus describes himself at the
age of eighty-eight: "I am happy and con
tented. I try to make myself useful. I walk

several miles every pleasant day. I attend to my
correspondence. I do my own writing. I read
aloud several hours daily, largely from the poets
and works of imagination. This tends to prevent
introspection when one is old. I try to be a
young old man." It is surely the wish of all who
read this description of a happy, beneficent old
age that it may be prolonged for many years.
When the New York Evening Post celebrated its
centennial, ex-Governor Holbrook sent a letter
of congratulation in which he said that he remem
bered, when he was a boy, seeing his father, who
was probably a subscriber to the paper before the
birth of the ex-Governor, sitting by his blazing
wood fire of an ' evening, with a copy of the
Evening Post in one hand, and in the other an oil
lamp, by the light of which he scanned every page
of the paper.
Ex-Governor Holbrook married, January 13,
1835, Harriet, daughter of Joseph Goodhue, of
Brattleboro. Their children are: Franklin F.,
born March 1, 1837 ; appointed military agent of
Vermont in caring for her soldiers, in the autumn
of 1 86 1 ; filled acceptably that position throughout
the entire course of the war, and is now a manu
facturer of agricultural implements in Boston.
William C, born July 14, 1842, enlisted in the
Fourth Vermont Volunteer Militia; was com
missioned lieutenant: subsequently commisisoned
colonel of the Seventh Vermont Volunteer
Militia, and is now a judge in New York. John,
born July 17, 1852, was, until his decease, en
gaged in business in Pennsylvania.
Franklin F. Holbrook, son of ex-Governor
Holbrook and Harriet (Goodhue) Holbrook,
married Anna, daughter of Joel Nourse, of the
firm of Nourse, Mason & Company, of Boston.
They have three children: Frederick, an engi
neer and contractor, at present engaged upon the
subway of New York city, where he has con
tracts amounting to over one million dollars.
Among the other important contracts, handled by
Mr. Holbrook, was the Oregon Short Line Rail
road. He married, in New York, a daughter of
Norman S; Cabot, and they have three children.
Percy, the second son of Franklin F. Holbrook,
is engaged in the manufacturing bu^ness, is also
a railroad engineer by profession and has had
charge of the construction of Several railroads
running through the state of Oregon, since which

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

time he has been identified with manufacturing
in New York city, with a company who manu
facture a device, of which he is the inventor and
patentee. Franklin F. Holbrook also has a
daughter, who is a distinguished artist, and is
president of the art department of the Risley
School for Ladies in New York.
ELLERY CHANNING FAY.
The Fay family, which has been represented
in the seventh, eighth and ninth generations, re
spectively, by John Fay, Daniel Bishop Fay and
Ellery Channing Fay, who became prominent in
the public affairs of the commonwealth, had its
origin in David Fay (i), who came from Eng
land and settled at Sudbury, Massachusetts, prob
ably about 1650. His family came later.
John (2), son of David, came to America in
1656, when eight years of age, and located at
Marlboro, Massachusetts. In 1668 he married
Mary Bingham, who bore him four children, of
whom John was the oldest. He became the father
of four other children by a second marriage, and
he died December 5, 1690.
John (3),) son of John, was born in Marl
boro,. Massachusetts, November 30, 1669, and
died January 5, 1747, aged seventy-eight years.
He married Elizabeth Wellington, and they be
came the parents of ten children.
Stephen (4) , son of John, was born in Haver
hill, Massachusetts, May. 5, 1715, and died May
¦if, 1 78 1. He rernoved to Bennington, Vermont,
where he kept the most noted tavern in that part
of the state. It was called the Catamount Hotel,
and was the headquarters of. the American officers
at the time of the battle of Bennington. Stephen
Fay was the father of eleven children ; one of his
daughters became the wife of Governor Moses
Robinson, and another was married to General
David Robinson.
John (5), son of Stephen, was born December
23, ,1734, and he was killed in the battle of Ben
nington, August 16, 1777. His wife, who was
Mary Fisk, died fifteen days later. They were the
parents of eight children.
Nathan (6), son of John, was born in Ben
nington, November 15, 1760, and died February
18, 1838. His home was at Richmond, Vermont,

from the time when he was eight years old. He
was the father of ten children.
John (7), son of Nathan, was born in Rich
mond, Vermont, July 31, 1783, and died in Wil
liston. He was a farmer by occupation, and rep
resented his town in the legislature. He married
Polly Bishop, a daughter of Daniel and Edith
( Steel) Bishop, of Jericho, Vermont, and to them
were born the following named children: Ros
well B., who married Ann Cuttler, of Richmond,
and to whom were born five children ; Electa, who
became the wife of Reed Brown, of Williston, and
bore him seven children ; Roxana, who became the
wife of Cory Thompson, of Jericho, and to whom
were born five children; Daniel Bishop, named
further hereinafter; Julius, who married Susan
Swift, of Monkton, and afterward Georgiana
Livingston, of Burlington, each of whom bore
him a child; Ransom, who died at the age of nine
teen years; Hiram John, who married Hester
Morton, of Williston, and to whom were born
five children ; and Edith, who became the wife of
John Whitcomb, of Williston, to whom she bore
one child.
Daniel Bishop Fay (8), second son and fourth
child of John, was born in Richmond, Vermont,
July 8, 1 8 19. He was educated in the common
schools of his native village. He was a farmer by
occupation, and a man of strong traits of charac
ter, upright and enterprising. He represented
Williston in the legislature in 1864, when he
served on the mileage and debenture committees,
and in 1865, when he was a member of the com
mittee on agriculture. He was a Universalist in
religious belief. December 31, 1843, he married
Amelia M. Taylor, who was born January 9, 1825,
a daughter of Brimage and Miriam (Taplin)
TJJaylor, of Williston. Of this marriage were born
three children : Ransom T., born October 4, 1844,
who was a soldier during the Civil war, serving
in Company E, First Vermont Cavalry Regiment ;
Odella A., born April 28, 1865, and who was,
married to. Clayton J. Wright, of Williston, Octo
ber 2, 1899: and Ellery Channing Fay.
Ellery Channing Fay (o,), only surviving son
of Daniel Bishop Fay, was born August 10, 1846,
in Williston, Vermont. He was afforded an exr
cellent English education, beginning in the com
mon school, and then taking an advanced course
in the Williston Academy under the preceptorship

IO

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

of the scholarly. Professor Cilley. From 1872 to
1877 he was engaged in mercantile business. In
1877 he removed to Jericho and purchased the
farm where he now resides, and gives his atten
tion to the management of "his landed and other
interests. He is numbered among the most active aiid
progressive citizens of his county, and he has
labored industriously to promote its interests in
industrial, educational and social lines. He has
occupied numerous local offices. In 1890 he rep
resented Jericho in the legislature, and served as
chairman of the committee on agriculture. In
1898 he was elected from Chittenden county to a
seat in the state senate, and served as chairman
of the committee on printing, and on the general
committee. During his legislative terms he made
a most creditable record, known as a most indus
trious and capable member, and entirely devoted
to the furtherance of the well-being of his county
and the state:
Mr. Fay was married January 10, 1868, to
Miss Louise Wright, born June 8, 1847, a daugh
ter of Smith and Clarissa (Loggins) Wright, of
Williston. Three children were born of this mar
riage: Herbert Ransom, born January 21, 1869,
and died July 1, 1885 ; Ellery Wright, born May
16, 1887: and Josephine Louise, born February
5, 1889. The mother of these children died Jan
uary 13, 1900. Mr. Fay was married October 30,
1901, to Miss Melissa Hapgood, born August 31,
1861, a daughter of John and Deborah (Blair)
Hapgood, of Jonesville.

HON. PAUL DILLINGHAM.
The Dillingham family of Waterbury, Ver
mont, represented in the present generation by
Senator William Paul Dillingham, traces its an
cestry, and with it that of the Paul family, whose
members intermarried with it, to the early colonial
days of New England. In its various generations
it has been remarkable for its men of great in
tellect and ability, and those who have filled high
places in civil and military life.
The parent stock was of Governor Win
throp's colony, and from it came those who were
conspicuous in the establishment of those institu

tions upon which the United States of to-day
were founded. Of these was Paul Dillingham,
who was a soldier in the French war, and glori
ously fell in the assault on Quebec which pre
ceded the surrender of that famous stronghold
to Wolfe, in September, 1759. He was a son of
John and Esther (Paul) Dillingham, and his
mother was born in Taunton, Massachusetts, in
1701. Paul Dillingham was also born in the-
town named, and he married, December 18, 1753,^
Annie Paul. Their son Paul, born in Middle
boro, Massachusetts, October 10, 1759, rendered.
faithful service' during the Revolutionary war-
In Boston, in April, 1782, he enlisted in Captain-
Abbott's company of Colonel Tappan's regiment,
from which he was transferred to Captain-
Strong's company, Colonel Jackson's regiment of
the Massachusetts line, and thence to Captain-
Dix's company in the same regiment. May 17,
1784, he married Hannah Smith, a daughter of
Job Smith, who was sheriff of Franklin county,.
Massachusetts. In 1799 Paul Dillingham was a.
resident of Shutesbury, Massachusetts, and in-
1805 he settled with his family in Waterbury,.
Washington county, Vermont, and tilled a farm.
He died July 14, 1848, at the ripe age of eighty-
nine years.
Governor Paul Dillingham, son of Paul and'
Hannah (Smith) Dillingham, filled a large place
in public life during a long and exceedingly act
ive period. He was born in Shutesbury, August
10, 1799. When he was six years old his parents
removed to Waterbury, Vermont, where he began
his education in the common schools. For two-
years he was a student in the Washington coun
ty grammar school at Montpelier, then under the
masterly charge of Seneca White, a graduate of
Dartmouth College, and here he acquired what
was equivalent to a broad academical education,.
and formed a taste for learning which remained
with him throughout his life, and led to a most-
generous acquisition of knowledge. In 1820,.
when he had just attained his majority, he com
menced the study of law under the preceptorship-
of IHon. Dan Carpenter, of Waterbury. with
whom he formed a partnership in 1824, when he-
had been admitted to the bar, and this association-
was pleasantly and profitably maintained until
Mr. Carpenter was elevated to the bench.
Mr. Dillingham's service at the bar covered!

PAUL DILLINGHAM.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ir

the long period of fifty-two years, terminating
with his retirement in 1875, when he had reached
the age of seventy-six years. In deep knowledge
of law and as an advocate before a jury, he con
stantly maintained his position at the head of a
bar, which during his time was of great ability
and has never been surpassed in the history of the
commonwealth. During all these years he was
also conspicuously identified with public affairs.
From 1829 to 1844 he was town clerk of Water
bury. He was a representative in the legislature
in 1833, 1834, 1837, 1838 and 1839. From 1835
to 1837 he was state's attorney for Washington
county. He was a member of the constitutional
convention of 1836, and he proved so useful a
member that he was returned to the succeeding
constitutional conventions in 1857 and 1870. In
1841-2 and 1861 he was a state senator from
Washington county.
In 1843 Mr. Dillingham was elected to Con
gress, in which body he served during two ses
sions and was a member of the judiciary com- •
mittee. He strongly favored the admission of
Texas as a state, and gave his support to the
policy of President Polk which precipitated the
war with Mexico. In this he was not moved by
any sympathy with slavery, or desire to aid in its
extension ; he was a firm believer in that doctrine
of manifest destiny, as it was termed, which, to
his mind, had determined territorial expansion.
One of his speeches upon this subject, delivered
before the house of representatives, was couched
in terms which now, in the light of the events of
1846^48 and in those more momentous ones dur
ing the administration of the lamented President
McKinley, seem almost prophetic.
His manly independence and sterling patriot
ism were splendidly exhibited when the war of
the Rebellion broke out. He was one of the most
masterly leaders of the Democracy in his state
during what has been termed the intellectually
golden era of the party. In the state conventions
he had met with Saxe, Eastman, Smalley, Kel
logg, Stoughton, Thomas, Field, Chittenden, Po
land, Redfield, Davenport and others, — an array
of talent such as no political organization in Ver
mont had known before or has seen since, — and
with these he debated in intense earnestness, and
his wit and eloquence flashed brightly against
them. His personal force of character had been

a potent factor in making- his section of the state
strongly Democratic. But he came to the parting
of the ways. The firing upon the flag at Fort
Sumter aroused his patriotism, and, regardless
of long associations, he severed the political affili
ations of a lifetime on the moment. He had con
sented to the utmost verge of concession under
the constitution to retain the southern states in
harmonious relation with the Union, but when
that Union was attacked he ceased to be a partisan
and aligned himself with that party which was-
pledged to its maintenance, and against that
which was temporizing, if not antagonistic to
what seemed to be the only method for preserving-
the Union. !He had hoped for the obliteration
of party lines in the great crisis, and that the en
tire north should unite for the preservation of
nationality. This was not to be, and he became
identified with the Republican party, and he re
ceived warm welcome to its ranks. As a member
ofthe state senate in 1861, he was a leader in de
vising- and supporting measures for the support
of the government, and his labors found fruit in
the regiments of Vermont patriots which were
organized for war service, and in their arming
and equipment. In the following year (1862)
his services and influence were recognized in his
nomination for lieutenant governor, and he was-
elected three times successively to that position.
On the expiration of his third term he was
elected governor in 1865 by a majority of 16,714,
and in 1866 he was re-elected by the largely in
creased majority of 22,822. He proved a most
energetic and broadminded executive officer, and '
his administration was adorned by a monumental
work, the establishment of the State Reform
School, which grew out of a recommendation
which he had made in his first message to the
legislature. His power with his fellows was due not only
to his great ability, but to his commanding per
sonality. ' He had a fine presence in his splendidly
proportioned frame, rising to a height of full six
feet. His face was at once intellectual and benev
olent; his eye was of magnetic quality, and his
voice was capable of all modulation from that of
soft persuasion to that of resonant denunciation
of what was morally wrong. He had an effective
command of language, and his knowledge of the
Scriptures and of classic English was encyclo-

12

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

pedic. To this ample mental equipment was added
a profound acquaintance with the thoughts and
mental processes of men. His panegyrist (Hon.
B. F. Fifield) epitomized his powers in the fol
lowing pregnant sentences : "When in his best
mood, he played upon the strings of men's hearts
with the facility that a skilled musician plays upon
the strings of a guitar, and made them respond to
emotions of laughter, anger, sympathy or sor
row, whenever he pleased, and as best suited the
purpose of his case."
In his personal life Mr. Dillingham was a sin
cere Christian. He was an influential layman in
the Methodist Episcopal church, and was the
first lay delegate from the Vermont conference
to the quadrennial general conference in Brook
lyn, in 1872, in which body he took a high posi
tion. He lived for fifteen years after his retire
ment from the law, passing his days in serene
repose, yet keeping well in touch with men and
events, and exercising an influence for good
throughout the community. He died at Water
bury, July 26, 1 89 1.
Governor Dillingham was twice married. His
first wife was Sarah Partridge Carpenter, eld
est daughter of his intimate personal friend and
law preceptor and associate, Hon. Dan Carpen
ter : the marriage occurred October 4, 1827, and
Mrs. Dillingham died September 20, 1831. Of
this marriage were born two children, Eliza Jane,
born October 22, 1828; and Ellen S., born No-/
vember 22, 1830, and who died December 15,
» 1875, ^e wife of Joshua F. Lamson. Governor
Dillingham's second wife was Julia, a younger
sister of his first wife, who was born at Water
bury, Vermont, December 3, 1812, and whom he
married September 5, 1832. Of this marriage
were born five children, Caroline; Cnarles; Ed
win; William Paul, whose sketch follows; and
Frank Dillingham.
Caroline, born February 21, 1834, was mar
ried November 27, 1855, to Hon. Matt. H. Car
penter, a distinguished lawyer and statesman of
Wisconsin. Colonel Charles Dillingham was born in Wa
terbury, February 18, 1837. He was among the
first in the state to respond to President Lincoln's
call for troops at the outbreak of the Civil war,
and in May, 1861, recruited Company D, of the
Second Regiment, and he served in the Army of

the Potomac until the organization of the Eighth
Regiment, Vermont Volunteer Infantry, of which *
he was major, later being lieutenant colonel. He
participated in the capture of New Orleans and
also of Port Hudson. For a score of years fol
lowing the war he was in business in New Or
leans, Louisiana, whence he removed to Hous
ton, Texas, where for twelve years he vyas re
ceiver and president of the Houston & Texas
Central Railroad, and he is now president of the
South Texas National Bank of Houston. He
married, in November, 1863, Fannie M, Cutter,
of Cleveland, Ohio, and they became the parents
of two children.
Major Edwin Dillingham was born in Water
bury, May 13, 1839. He acquired an excellent
academical education, and took up the study of
law when nineteen years of age in the office of his
brother-in-law, Hon. Matt H. Carpenter, in Mil
waukee, Wisconsin. After a few months he en
tered the Poughkeepsie (New York) Law School,
from which he was graduated in the autumn of
1859, shortly before attaining his majority. He
was subsequently a student under the preceptor-
ship of his father, and in September, i860, he
was admitted to the Washington county bar, and
it wras said of him that, though the youngest, he
was one of its most promising members. He be
came law partner of his father, but in July, 1862,
he left his office to recruit a company for war
service. This body became Company B, Tenth
Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, of which he was
unanimously chosen captain. Soon after taking
the field he was assigned to duty as assistant in
spector general on the staff of Brigadier General
Morris, commanding First Brigade, Third Di
vision, Third Army Corps, Army of the Potomac.
He was aide-de-camp to the officer named in the
battle of Locust Grove, November 27, 1863, and
while bearing an order to his own regiment his
horse was shot under him and he was taken pris
oner. He was incarcerated in Libby Prison,
Richmond, Virginia, until the following March,
when he was paroled, and afterwards exchanged.
Returning to his regiment he was promoted to
major, June 17, 1864. At the famous battle of
Winchester, September 4, 1864, he was wounded
in the thigh by a twenty-pound cannon shot, and
died two hours afterward, and this sad event was
thus written of by a comrade : "While the fight

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

IS

was still raging up over the hill; he died, and
this was the end of a beautiful, harmonious life.
Young, handsome, brilliant, brave amid trials,
cheerful amid discouragements, upright, and
with that kindness of heart which characterized
the true gentleman, blended with firmness and
energy as. a commander, he was ever respected
by all of his command and loved by all of his com
panions. 'A fairer and lovelier gentlenjan
The spacious world cannot again afford.'
We long shall miss him in our camp."
Frank Dillingham was born in Waterbury,
Vermont, December 9, 1848. He is now (1902)
United States consul in Auckland, New Zealand.
He married Miss Minnie Laura Sneath, of San
Francisco, June 3, 1882.
HON. WILLIAM PAUL . DILLINGHAM.-
Hon. William Paul Dillingham, a distin
guished lawyer, whose life of signal usefulness
in public affairs has found recognition in his
election to the United States senate as successor
to the eminent statesman, Hon. Justin S. Morrill,
was the third son of Governor Paul and Julia
(Carpenter) Dillingham, and was born in Water
bury, Vermont, December 12, 1843. He began
his education in the common schools of his native
village, and his instruction was supplemented by
a liberal English and classical course in Newbury
Seminary and the Kimball Union Academy, at
Meriden, New Hampshire. He read law under
the masterly tutorship of his brother-in-law, Hon.
Matt H. Carpenter, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
and his father, Governor Paul Dillingham, at
Waterbury, Vermont. He was admitted to the
bar at the September term of the Washington
county court, in 1867, when twenty- four years of
age, and immediately entered into partnership
with his father, as a member of the firm of P. Dil
lingham & Son, and this association was main
tained until the retirement of the former named.
For some years afterward the junior Dillingham
practiced alone. In 1890 he formed a partner
ship with Hon. Hiram A. Huse, late state li
brarian of Vermont, under the firm name of
Dillingham & Huse. In 1892 Mr. Fred A. How

land was admitted to the firm, when the style was
changed to that of Dillingham, Huse & Howland.
At the bar Mr. Dillingham commanded the
confidence and admiration of his colleagues and
of the bench. To fine literary abilities and deep
knowledge of law, he added a fine presence and
consummate strength as a speaker. A master of.
his case, he develops it in a masterly way, in rap
id and energetic delivery, yet ever With felicity
of form and clearness of enunciation. He is at
his best as an advocate before a jury, and is
noted for his capability of conveying his mean
ing in such terms as to be incapable of miscon
struction. In 1872 and again in 1874 he was
elected state's attorney for Washington county,.
and in that position he acquitted himself most
creditably and served the people most tisef ully..
During his terms of office the criminal docket^was
unusually lengthy, and his duties were unusu
ally arduous. Two causes' celebre, which at
tracted public attention throughout the state, and
in which he obtained convictions' against skillful
defenses, were the trial of Magoon for the mur
der of Streeter, and that of Miles for the Barre
bank robbery.
Outside the line of his profession Mr. Dil
lingham began his public career in 1866, when.
he was appointed secretary of civil and military
affairs, to succeed Charles M. Gay, who removed
from the state, and he was, called to the same posi
tion during the administration of Governor
Asahel Peck, 1874-76. He represented Water
bury in the legislature in 1876 and' again in 1884,
and was senator from Washington county in 1878
and again in x88o. During his legislative terms-
he was a leader in the Republican ranks, and
much important legislation of the period was of
his authorship. When the' new tax law of 1882
Was enacted, he was appointed commissioner of
state taxes, and he held that office for six years.
In 1888 he was the Republican candidate for gov
ernor; and was elected by the largest majority
ever given in the state for a candidate for that
high office. His^administration was marked by
ability and conscientious devotion to public inter
ests. ^
During the presidential campaign in which his
gubernatorial candidacy occurred, Governor Dil
lingham performed most effective work as a
speaker for Harrison and Morton, and the splen-

*4

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

did result in the state was largely attributable to
his fervent effort. In October, 1900, he was
elected United States senator to fill the vacancy
occasioned by the death of Hon. Justin S. Mor
rill, and in 1902 he was elected for a full term.
No more eloquent tribute to his character and
¦capabilities could have been paid him than his suc
cession to that eminent statesman who, after
twelve years' service as congressman, was an hon
ored senator for the unexampled term of thirty-
four years, and until his death. Mr. Dillingham
did hot enter, the august body to which he was
called as a stranger to its leaders. In many cam
paigns and national conventions of his party he
had rendered signal service, and he was placed
upon some of the most important committees,
those of transportation routes to the seaboard,
•of the District of Columbia, of Indian depreda
tions, of postoffices and post roads, of privileges
and elections, of territories, and of that first
named he was made chairman.
In religion Senator Dillingham is a member
of the Methodist Episcopal church ; he was a lay
delegate from Vermont to the general conference
of the church in Omaha, in-i893, and he is presi
dent of the board of trustees of the Vermont
Methodist Seminary. On December 24, 1874,
.Senator Dillingham was married to Miss Mary
E. Shipman, a daughter of the Rev. Isaiah H.
and Charlotte R.' Shipman, of Lisbon, New
Hampshire. She died April 25, 1895, leaving
one child, Paul Shipman Dillingham. Paul
Shipman Dillingham was born October 27, 1878,
at Waterbury, Vermont. He was afforded a most
liberal education. Beginning in the public schools,
he was fitted for college at Williston Seminary,
Easthampton, Massachusetts, entered Dartmouth
College, where he remained two years, after
which he completed the junior and senior courses
in Columbia University. He chose a business
career, and now occupies a position with the Na
tional Life Insurance Company of Montpelier,
Vermont. " '
SENECA HASELTON.
Seneca Haselton, of Burlington, a prominent
Vermont jurist and lawyer, belongs, on the pater
nal side, to a family which has been for several
generations honorably represented in the state,

and is a lineal descendant, through his mother,
of John Eliot, "the Apostle to the Indians," the
story of whose long and beneficent life, devoted
to the welfare of the "red men," will always live
in the pages of our colonial history.
David Haselton, grandfather of Seneca
Haselton, passed his life as a farmer in West-
ford, Vermont. The fact that he was known as
"Captain Haselton" seems to indicate that he had
had at some period in his life a military career.
He married Hannah Mooer, a descendant of
Abraham Mooer, and was the father of a numer
ous family.
Amos Haselton, son of David and Hannah
(Mooer) Haselton, was born in Westford, Ver
mont, and graduated from the University of Ver
mont in the class of 1829, after which
he entered the ministry of the Metho
dist Episcopal church, in which he labored
as a preacher for the remainder of his life, being
a highly esteemed member of the Methodist con
ference. The name of his wife was Amelia
Frink. The Rev. Mr. Haselton died in 1857.
Seneca Haselton, son of the Rev. Amos and
Amelia (Frink) Haselton, was born February 26,
1848, in Westford, Vermont. His early edu
cation was obtained in the public schools of Jer
icho and Underhill, and the academies of Under
hill and Barre. He then entered the classical de
partment of the University of Virginia, from
which he graduated with high honors in 1871.
During his college course he taught several terms
in Barre, Shelburne, Richmond and Waterbury,
and for a year after his graduation from the
university he occupied the position of associate
principal of Barre Academy. In 1873 he began
the study of law in the office of Wales & Taft,
at Burlington, but soon after accepted the chair
of instructor of mathematics in the University of
Michigan, at the same time pursuing his pro
fessional studies in the law department of that
institution. In April, 1875, he graduated and
was admitted to the bar, after which he returned
to Burlington, where he attained a very high
rank as a general practitioner.
Judge Haselton is a strong adherent of the
Democratic party, and has always taken an active
and leading part in both city and state politics.
For many successive terms he was city judge,
and in 1886 represented Burlington in the legis-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

15

lature, serving on the judiciary committee. In
1888 he was appointed a member of the state
examining committee on admission to the Ver
mont bar, and the following year served as chair
man of the same.- Two years later he was chosen
mayor of the city of Burlington, to which po
sition he has been twice re-elected. His term of
office was characterized by exceptional prosperity
on the part of the city. A school building of rare
beauty was erected, and an important modifi
cation of the system of the city determined upon.
An electric railway was secured through a con
tract which makes the enterprise especially ad
vantageous to the business interests of Burling
ton. In 1894 Judge Haselton received the appoint
ment of United States minister to Venezuela,
proving himself equal to the discharge of the
duties of the position at that peculiarly trying
period. From July, 1900, until April, 1902,
Judge Haselton was reporter of decisions of the
supreme court. Later he was appointed judge,
and, April 3, judge of the supreme court.
CHARLES A. THOMAS.
Charles A. Thomas, a leading farmer and
highly respected citizen of Monkton, Vermont,
belongs to a family which has been for more
than a century represented in the state. John
Thomas, his great-grandfather, was born about
1760, in Connecticut, whence he emigrated to
Vermont, being one of the first settlers in the
, town of Monkton, in the section now known as
Barnumtown. His wife's name was Rebecca
Carter. John Thomas, Jr., son of John and Rebecca
Thomas, was born November 30, 1791, in Con
necticut, and came with his parents to Vermont.
In 1814 he established himself on the farm in
•the eastern part of the town, which is now in the
possession of his descendants, and built the house
in which they are now living. Here he spent die
remainder of his life, and died October 3, 1843.
He married Bolina Smith, a native of Monkt|n.
George Thomas, son of John, Jr., and 'Bolina
Thomas; was born August 25, 1817, on the hotfe-
stead in -Monkton, Vermont, where he recei-fed

his education in the common schools and followed
the occupation of a farmer, being the owner of
one of the largest farms in this vicinity. January
1, 1840, he married, first, Caroline Barnum, a
native of Monkton, daughter of John and Abigail
Barnum. She died March 2, 1842, leaving a son,
George R. Thomas, now a resident of Monkton.
The father married, second, July 17, 1849, Mary
A. Holmes, who was born in 1823 in the northern
part of the town, a daughter of Jonathan Holmes,
who came from Dutchess county, New York, in
1797. The family of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas con-.
sisted of three children, two of whom are living.
Mrs. Thomas survived her husband and, died
September 16, 1901, at the age of seventy-eight.
Mr. Thomas died December 14, 1886.
Charles' Arthur Thomas, son of George and
Mary A., (Holmes) Thomas, was born March
23, 1853, on the homestead in Monkton, Vermont,
where he passed his early years, receiving his
education in the common schools of the town,
and assisting his father on the farm. In jointure
with his brother he became the owner of the
fine estate of three hundred acres on the death of
his father, and er«:ted the commodious new
buildings, including the creamery. The brothers
keep fifty cows and twenty-five head of other
cattle. In politics Mr. Thomas is a Republican, and
takes an active part in town affairs, having served
as selectman for a number of years, and filled
the office of lister for some years. He was audi
tor for three years, and in 1900 represented the
town in the state legislature, serving on the
general committee. He is a very popular man
in the community, foremost in every enterprise
connected with the improvement of the town.
Andrew Holmes Thomas was born April 13,
1855, and he lived all his life on the parental
homestead. December 5,1 1889, he married Oc-
tavia Roscoe, a native of Starksboro, and descendr
ant of an old Monkton family. She died Janu
ary 14, 1895, leaving a daughter, Arletty Bolina.
Mr. Thomas was married March 13, 1901, to
Mary E. Harris, of Charlotte, daughter of
James A. and Anna (Hawes) Harris, natives of
Halifax, Vermont, and Brattleboro, respectively.
Mrs. Thomas was born January 2, 1860, in Hali
fax, Vermont.

x6

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

HON. SAMUEL E. PINGREE. '
The Hon. Samuel E. Pingree, ex-governor of
the state of Vermont, is a representative of one
of the oldest families of New England, the mem
bers of which, in the different generations, have
been prominent in colonial, revolutionary and na
tional annals. Moses Pengry (i), the founder
of the family in America, came from England in
the earlier half of the seventeenth century and
settled in Massachusetts. It will be seen that
the original spelling of the name differed from
that employed by the present representatives of
the family, some of whom have retained the orig
inal termination. The first information which
we have of Moses Pengry is contained in "a
deed to him of real estate, dated the twelfth day
of the first month, 1641." It is probable that his
arrival in the colony had taken place several years
prior to that- time. He married Abigail, the
daughter of Robert Clement. It is said of him in
Felt's "History of Ipswich," that "he set up salt
works here in 1652; was selectman, and often in
town business ; was deputy to the general court
in 1665 ; and was deacon ofthe First church. He
lived long and usefully on earth, as one preparing
for a heritage in heaven."
Aaron Pengry (2), third child of Moses and
Abigail (Clement) Pengry, was born in 1652,
and married Ann Pickard, of Rowley. No other
details of his life have reached us. He died Sep
tember 14, 1 7 14.
Aaron Pengry (3), son of Aaron and Ann
(Pickard) Pengry, was born' in 1683, and mar
ried Elizabeth, daughter of Stephen Pearson, of
Rowley. She died in 1736, and in 1740 Aaron
Pengry married, as his second wife, a widow
named Martha Clemens, of Middleton. He died
in 1770, aged eighty-seven years.
Stephen Pengry (4), second child of Aaron
and Elizabeth (Pearson) Pengry, was born Jan
uary 22, 1712, in- New Stile. He married twice,
having three children by the first wife, and seven
by the second. He died October 21, 1794.
William. Pengry (5), youngest child of Ste
phen and his second wife, was born March 15,
1771, in Rowley, Massachusetts. The Pengry
Genealogy tells us that, "he went to Salisbury,
New Hampshire, in 1783, to live with his broth
er Aquila, and to learn the clothier's trade."

He was twice married ; held the offices of captain,
selectman, and justice of the peace, and was often
called upon to act as arbitrator. After working
for some years at his trade he became a farmer,
and enjoyed the t reputation of unusual" physical
strength. He died January 24, 1846.
Stephen Pingry (6), second child of William
Pengry, was born April 7, 1795, in Salisbury,
New Hampshire. The exchange of e for i in
tlie family name would seem to have been a purely
arbitrary alteration. Stephen Pingry was thrice
married. "He succeeded his father in the busi
ness of carding wool and dressing cloth, and
afterward went into the lumbering business. He
also carried on farming, and owned at the time
of his death about seven hundred acres of land,
besides a considerable amount of bank and rail
road stocks, with no debts of any kind. He was
an energetic man, of decided opinions, and ex
erted great influence in his town, Salisbury, New
Hampshire, where he lived during his whole life.
He held the offices of selectman and justice of the
peace, and twice represented his town in the leg
islature." As a business man he was very suc
cessful, became wealthy, and his public and official
life, as a whole, extended over a period of thirty'
or forty years. Pie was the father of four sons :
Benjamin; William; Samuel E., mentioned .' at
length hereinafter; and Stephen M. Mr. Pingry
died February 6, 1870.
Samuel E. Pingree (7), son of Stephen and
Judith (True) Pingry. was born August 2, 1832,
in Salisbury, New Hampshire. He and his broth
ers subjected Pingry patronymic to further modi-t
fication, by changing the orthography of the last
syllable, so that it assumed the form of Pingree,
which it now bears. After the usual preliminary
studies, pursued in the academies ¦ at Andover,
New Hampshire, and Mclndoe Falls, Vermont,
Samuel E. entered Dartmouth College, graduat
ing from that institution in the class of 1857?
Having selected the law as a profession, he
studied in the office of his cousin, the Hon. A. P.
Hunton, of Bethel, and was admitted to the bar
of Windsor county at the December term of
1859. Soon afterward he opened an office at Hart-
.forcl, and at once commenced to build up an ex
cellent legal reputation.
Just at this juncture occurred the outbreak of
the Civil war, immediately followed by Presi-

O Ctr>rrJ^ (Q v (J 'Iavqt\jl^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

17

dent Lincoln's patriotic call to arms for the de
fense of the nation. To this Mr. Pingree prompt
ly responded, throwing aside the gown of the
legist for the uniform of the soldier, and exchang
ing the dialectics of the forum for the stern logic
of the sword. Assisting to raise Company F of
the Third Vermont Volunteers, he' himself enlisted
as a private, and was chosen to the first lieu
tenancy of the company. In August, 1861, he
was promoted to the captaincy ; and on the 27th
of September, 1862, was commissioned as major
of the regiment "for meritorious conduct." His
next promotion was to the lieutenant colonelcy,
on the 15th of January, 1863.
These brief statistics indicate the salient points
of his progress in military rank, in a soldiery ca
reer of singular bravery and brilliance Colonel
Pingree's period of service was passed in regions
where the bullets flew thickest, and the most
exhausting demands were made on the physical
and moral resources of the patriot armies. The
first important battle in which he was engaged
was at Lee's Mills, Virginia, on the 16th of April,
1862, where he lost a thumb, and was also
wounded in the hip. Four companies of his regi
ment had been ordered to cross a stream and to
capture a battery and rifle-pits, and, the senior
captain being disabled, Captain Pingree was
placed in command of the detachment. The
charge was made, the battery was captured, but
nearly half the heroes engaged in the enterprise
fell dead or wounded upon the field. Captain
Pingree's injuries were of such severity as to
v confine him for ten weeks in a hospital at Phila
delphia, loss of blood and consequent exhaustion
having brought on fever. When sufficiently re
covered he returned to his regiment at Harri
son's Landing, Virginia. The army of the Poto
mac was soon placed temporarily under the com
mand of Major General Pope. The battle of
South Mountain, the three days' conflict at An-
tietam under General McClellan, and the sharp
engagement at Funkstown followed in quick suc
cession. Captain Pingree's regiment, as part of
the First Vermont Brigade, took an active part
in the first battle of Fredericksburg December 12,'
13 and 14, and subsequently in the second battle
of Fredericksburg, that of St. Mary's Heights,
and in the two days' fight at Salem Church and
Banks' Ford. The decisive battle of Gettysburg

followed on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of July, 1863,
in which the First Vermont Brigade held the
left of the national line, but had not much oppor
tunity for the illustration of their combative qual
ities. The circumstances were widely different
in the sanguinary battle of the Wilderness, Vir
ginia, fought on the 5th and 6th of May, 1864.
in which ail the field officers of the Second Ver
mont Regiment were either killed or wounded.
Lieutenant Colonel Pingree was placed in com
mand of that regiment, retaining that position
until the organization was honorably mustered.
out of the service of the United States. In the
the first seventeen days of that destructive cam
paign the Vermont brigade lost more than half
its members in .killed, wounded and missing..
Colonel Pingree bore an effective part in the fol-
following battles, — of Spottsylvania Court House.
May 9, 10, 11 and 12, 1864; North Anna River,.
Cold Harbor, June 1 and 3 ; at Petersburg and on
the , Weldon Railroad, where he was field,
officer of the day in command of the picket line,
and where he narrowly escaped capture, together-.
with a portion of his command. At the capture
of this railroad he was a member of a party that.
tore Up the road, in which enterprise they losf
four hundred men killed and taken prisoners/
their force being surrounded by a superior force
of the enemy. Colonel Pingree also participated in
the battles of Lewinsville, Rappahannock Station,
South Mountain and Fort Stevens, besides vari
ous other minor engagements. The last days of
his patriotic service as a soldier were devoted to
assistance in turning the flank movement of the
Confederate General Early on Washington, his
command arriving there just in time to aid in
saving the capital of the nation from destruction.
On, the 27th of July, 1864, he was honorably mus
tered out of the military service of the United
States, after having served for two months longer
than ,f he period of his enlistment.
After his return to civil life Colonel Pingree
resumed the practice of his profession at Hart
ford, Vermont. Painstaking industry and careful
attention to all the legal business interests of his
clients have gained the confidence of a large circle
of friend's, a circle which is of necessity, con
stantly expanding. In whatever he engages his
characteristic thoroughness of thought ahd action
is almost certain to insure success, and at the same

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

time to command an attention so favorable as to
increase his labors by awakening the desire to
commit public interests to his judicious and
watchful care. In 1868 and 1869 he was state's
attorney for Windsor county. During his term
of office Hiram. Miller was indicted for the mur
der of Mr. and Mrs. Gowan. The case was one
that had evoked unusual popular excitement. Col
onel Pingree had charge of the prosecution, and
conducted it with masterly skill and efficiency.
The accused criminal was duly convicted and
hanged. In the time of the celebrated St. Albans raid
from Canada, Colonel Pingree raised and was
colonel of the Eighth Vermont Regiment as
frontier troops to protect the frontier on the bor
der of Canada. They wrere encamped on the fair
grounds at White River Junction for ten days'
drilling and getting ready to march at a moments
notice. They were held in reserve until the
trouble and threatened danger subsided.
In political affairs Colonel Pingree is not an
Office-seeker in any sense of the word, but neither
has he been a selfish office shunner, the one char
acter being, in the light of social ethics, as obnox
ious as the other. He has been town clerk of
Hartford forty-three years, barring the period of
absence in the army, propably the longest term
in the history of the office in the state. He has
been trustee of the Vermont Academy and also of
the State Normal School at Randolph for many
years, and president of the White River Savings
Bank since its organization in 1886. In 1868 he
he was a delegate at large to the national Repub
lican convention at Chicago, being one of four
from Vermont. In the fall election of 1882
Colonel Pingree was elected lieutenant governor
of the commonwealth by the Republican party,
receiving 35,856 votes, against 14,442 cast for
E. N. Ballard, Democrat; 1534 for J. G. Jenne,
Greenbacker, and- two scattering. His popularity.
is indicated by the fact that his vote was the
largest of any cast for the state officials, the com
pliment thus bestowed being all the more com
plimentary in view of the fact that he had had no
legislative experience. Notwithstanding this, he
filled the chair of president of the senate with
dignity, and with an impartiality of ruling that
commended itself to the praise of all, displaying
in this position the thorough efficiency which dis

tinguished him as one of the brave sons whom
Vermont sent forth to save the national Union in
the hour of its grievous peril and deep distress.
In 1884 Colonel Pingree was elected to the high
est office in the gift of the state, being placed by
the votes of the Republican party in the guber
natorial chair. This important office he filled for
two years with the same zeal, efficiency and sound
judgment which have marked his whole career.
In 1886 ex-Governor Pingree was appointed
chairman of the state board of railroad commis
sioners, which office he held for eight years.
Ex-Governor Pingree is a member of Tracy
Post, G. A. R., and has been a delegate to various
conventions. In 1870 he was chosen president
of the Reunion Society of Vermont Officers, and
in 1872 delivered an excellent and scholarly an
nual address before 'the members of that asso
ciation. He has been secretary and treasurer of
the Third Regiment Reunion Society since its
organization, and has held the last named office
in the Hartford Memorial Society since the or
ganization of that body. He is a member of the
Medal of Honor Legion, having received a con
gressional medal of honor from Congress, which
was issued, as the inscription its bears indicates,
"for distinguished bravery and courage exhibited
in the battle of Lee's Mills, Virginia." Contrary
to the rule insisted on by ethical philosophers,
ex-Governor Pingree's extreme modesty doubt
less prevented the attainment of higher military
rank, but perhaps the very extremity of the
modesty may furnish the explanation of this ex
ception to the general rule. Ex-Governor Pin
gree is a Baptist in religion, but attends the
Methodist Episcopal church, and .is a teacher in
the Sunday-school.
Ex-Governor Pingree married, September 15,
1869, Lydia M., daughter of Sandford and Mary
(Hinman) Steele, of Stanstead, province of
Quebec. Misg, Steele was the sister of Judge
Benjamin H. Steele^ of the supreme court of
Vermont, the latter being a classmate and inti
mate friend of Ex-Governor Pingree.
MILLS JONATHAN LANDON.
Mills Jonathan Landon, of New Haven, son
of Elisha H. and Charlotte (Hoyt) Landon, was
born in New Haven, December 14, 1845, and has

ETHAN ALLEN MONUMENT.
GREEN MOUNTAIN CEMETERY, BURLINGTON.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

19

been for many years a prominent and active
citizen of the town, eyer ready to advance the
general welfare. Elisha H. Landon was born
October 1, 1800, in Salisbury, Connecticut, a son
of Rufus Landon, who served in the Montgomery
expedition against Quebec, and spied out the
beauties of the Champlain valley on his return.
His wife was a member of the Peck family,
which has many representatives in Connecticut
and Vermont In 182 1 Elisha H. Landon came
to New Plaven, Vermont, to join a sister, wife
of Jonathan Hoyt, who was for several 'years
sheriff of Addison county, many years a magis
trate, and surveyor of highways for the county.
Mr. Landon was married, July 12, 1825, to
Charlotte Hoyt, born September 13, 1805, in New
Haven, a daughter of Ezra and Jerusha (Phelps)
Hoyt. Ezra Hoyt was a son of Ezra and Sarah
(Seymour) Hoyt, of Lanesboro, Massachusetts.
Ezra Hoyt, Jr., was born October 16, 1770, in,
Lanesboro, Massachusetts, and came to New
Haven in- 1792. He was a large landholder and
lived on tlie site of the present Congregational
parsonage. He was a man of fine presence, and
a courtly gentleman of the old school, and had
many friends. He represented New Haven in the'
legislature nine times, was a member of the
governor's council in 1828-29-30; and was for
five successive years judge of the Addison county
court, being again elected in 1823. In 1824 he
was elected first judge of the New Haven pro-
Date district and held the office. five years. He *
died August 5, 1831. Jerusha Phelps, his second
wife, was born March 28, 1782, in New Haven,
Connecticut, was a daughter of Matthew and
Thanks Phelps. Matthew was a son of Samuel -
and Ruth Phelps. Samuel was a son of Samuel
Phelps, and was born in 1710, in Windsor, Con
necticut, and died in 1754. His wife died in
1750. Matthew Phelps was born June 4, 1746,
in Harrington, Connecticut, and died February
26, 1817, in New Haven, Vermont. He was a
•captain in the militia. His second wife, Thanks,
was a daughter of John and Thanks Phelps, of
Norfolk, Connecticut, and widow of Andrew
Moore. She died February 17, 1823, in New
Haven. Jerusha (Phelps) Hoyt died August 17,
1855. The Phelps family was among the first in
Windsor, Connecticut, and has contributed many

able men to the military, judicial and other
branches of the public service of this country.
Mills J. Landon received his education at
Beeman Academy, at New Haven, and Black
River Academy, at Ludlow. He is and always
has been a practical farmer and dealer in young '
stock. He has made a specialty of the dairy
business, breeding Durham cows to quite an ex
tent, has a well laid-out and productive farm
which he carefully cultivates, and is one of the
succesful farmers of Vermont.
In political faith he is a Republican and has
held many town offices, including selectman, lister
and justice of the peace, which last position he
held for many years past. He represented his
town, in the legislature in 1886, and served on
the committee on the grand list. While there
he made a most conservative record, and reflected
credit upon the place of his nativity. Mr. Lan
don is a Freemason and is affiliated with Libanus
Lodge No. 47, A. F. & A. M., of Bristol. He
has been a member of the Congregational church
since 1868, and has held for many years the posi
tion of treasurer of the local society. He also
served as chairman of the building committee of
the beautiful new church edifice recently erected
in New Haven. \
He was marreid on February 25, 1868, to
Harriet L., daughter of Deacon Oliver and
Louisa Dexter, of Windham county. Of this
marriage three children survive: Charlotte L.,
Marianne F. and Ralph Dexter. The elder
daughter is the wife of Frank L. Shackett, else
where mentioned in this work. The younger is
a graduate of Beeman Academy, of New Haven,
and Middlebury College, and has been for the
past two years preceptress of the Beeman
graded school, successor of the former academy. -
The son is a graduate of Beeman Academy in the
class of 1900, and is now an able assistant on the
home farm.
ABNER B. BAILEY.
The above named gentleman is a prominent
and well-to-do citizen of West Dummerston,
Windham county, and has been through a long
life-time intimately connected with the business
interests of his state and county. He is a man of

20

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

fine intelligence, of high integrity of character,
and of the shrewdest business ability. The com
petence which he ha.s accumulated during his
life is strictly and .solely the result of his own
labors, he having started in life at the early age
of nine years on the long journey to success,
which he has now completed, though it has been
rilled with many obstacles and pitfalls. His de
termined will and persistent effort have over
come them all, and he is now enjoying the fruits
of his labor.
Abner B. Bailey was born in Dummerston,-
Windham county, January 14, 1821, on the old
Bailey homestead, now owned by his brother,
Silas A- Bailey. David Bailey, father of Abner
B. Bailey, was born in Westminster, Massachu
setts, on September 9, 1780. He came to Dum
merston, Vermont, with his parents in 1798 and
settled on the old homestead where he died in
1867. He was a man of much influence during
his life time, and was for a large number of years
justice of the peace of his district. The parents
of Daniel Bailey; were Dudley and Ruhamah
Dunsten Bailey.
Abner B. Bailey received his education in the
district schools, though it was somewhat limited
by the fact that he found it necessary to leave
home early and engage in work for himself. He
remembers that even at the age of nine years he
went out to work for different farmers near his
home. In this kind of a school he was brought
to manhood, and it might be said that he has never
graduated from it, although he is at the present
time is not attending the sessions of that school
so regularly as he has in the past. In his man
hood he took up the trade of the carpenter, and
became a building contractor, many .of the
houses in West Brattleboro and Putney being
evidence of his skill in that line. He continued
this business for some years, and then located in
West Dummerston on a farm of twenty-five acres.
He has lived in his present location since 1867,
and during that time he has been intimately con
nected with the business and social interests of
the community. He was for years one of the trus
tees of the Windham County Savings Bank, and
also one of the building committee in building the
new Savings band and served as selectman for
seven years. In 1870 he was the delegate from
his town to the constitutional convention of Ver

mont. In political matters he has always affiliated?
with the Republican party, though he has not
sought for political places.
Mr. Bailey's marriage occurred in 1843, the
lady's name being Caroline A., the daughter of
Lyman and Lydia (Bennett) Huntley. Mr.
Bailey has the reputation of being exceedingly
openhanded, and his purse and time are always at
the service of downtrodden humanity, be it in
his own community or in other parts of the world.
He is a man who is exceedingly popular among-
his associates, and in his declining years he re
ceives and merits the respect of a very large circle
pf friends and acquaintances. His advice and.
counsel were often solicited by those of his ac
quaintances. He was called upon to help settle
numerous estates as executor and administrator,.
appraiser and commissioner.
CAPT. CHARLES E. CLARK, U. S. N.
The annals of the American navy contain no-
brighter pages than *those upon which are nar
rated the splendid achievements of Captain
Charles E. Clark, who, in 1898, as commander of
the battleship "Oregon," brought his noble vessel
from the far Pacific to Cuban waters, at phe-'

CAPT. CHARLES E. CLARK'S BIRTHPLACE, BRADFORD.
nomenal speed, arriving at Santiago de Cuba in
time to act a gallant part in the destruction of the-
Spanish fleet.
Charles Edgar Clark was born in Bradford,
Vermont, August 10, 1843. His parents were
James Dayton and Mary (Sexton) Clark, both

(Lr^JljiLajiJ^,

&XM

The Lewis' Pu'bttshmy po.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

21

of whom were natives of the State, the former
born in Bradford and the latter in Brookfield. He
was educated in the common schools, and in i860,
shortly after coming to the age of seventeen was
-appointed to the United States Naval Academy.
In 1863 he was made acting ensign, and assigned
to duty on the steam sloop "Ossipee," of the
Western. Gulf Blockading Squadron, and was
thus engaged until the close of the civil war, par
ticipating in some of the most notable naval oper
ations conducted by the heroic Farragut. In the
.battle of Mobile Bay, August 5, 1864, a few days
before his twenty-first birthday, Ensign Clark
commanded the forward division on board his
ship, which rammed the rebel ironclad "Tennes
see," Adrniral Buchanan's flagship, and he per
sonally answered the hail from the officer who
tendered surrender. In operations against Fort
Morgan, from the beginning of the bombard
ment until the surrender, August 23, 1864, En
sign Clark commanded the quarterdeck division.
In 1865 he was assigned to the steamer "Vander-
t>ilt?" attached to the Pacific Squadron. He was
promoted to master, November 10, 1866, and to
lieutenant, February 21, 1867. In the latter year
: he was transferred to the "Suwanee," and he re
ceived his commission as lieutenant-commander
on March 12, 1868. He witnessed the bombard
ment of Valparaiso by the Spanish fleet and its
defeat by the batteries at Callao. The "Suwanee"
was wrecked July 7, 1868, sear the northern ex
tremity of Vancouver Island, and Lieutenant-
Commander Clark was left in command of a party
of sailors on Hope Island, after the remainder of
the crew had been taken off by H. M. S. "Spar-
rowhawk," and he and his men were afterwards
taken on board the Steamer "New World."
In 1868-69 Lieutenant Commander Clark was
on duty on board the receiving-ship "Vandalia,"
at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In 1869-70 he
was with the North Atlantic Squadron, first on
the steamer "Seminole," and then on the iron
clad "Dictator." For the next three years he
was on duty at the Naval Academy, and during
this period (in 1871) he was with the "Saratoga"
oh her practice cruise. In 1873-74 he was on
the coast defense monitor "Mahopae," on the-
North Atlantic station, and .from 1874 to 1877
on the "Hartford," "Monocacy" and "Kear-
sarge," on the Asiatic station. Returning home,

he was (in 1877) placed on duty in the Boston
Navy Yard, where he remained for two years. In
1879-80 he was attached to the torpedo instruc
tion station at Newport, Rhode Island. From
July to December, 1881, he was executive officer
of the training-ship "New Hampshire," and com
manded the vessel in 1882-83. He was promoted
to commander on November 15, 1881.
Commander Clark was assigned to the com
mand of the steamship "Ranger," and had charge
of the survey of the west coast of Mexico and
Central America, 1883-86. From 1887 to 1881 he
was inspector of the Ninth Lighthouse District,
with station at Chicago, Illinois. From May,
1891, to November, 1893, he was on ordnance
duty at Mare Island Navy Yard, San Francisco.
From 1893 to 1894 he commanded the "Mohi
can," in the Pacific station, and a squadron of
six war vessels and two revenue cutters which
cruised in Behring Sea to enforce the regulations
agreed upon by the Paris Tribunal. From No
vember, 1894, to November, 1895, he served on
various boards and general courts-martial, and
for ten months afterward commanded the receiv
ing-ship "Independence." Promoted to Captain,
June 21, 1896, he was assigned to the command
of the double-turret coast defense monitor "Mon
terey." Captain Clark had now completed more than
a third of a century of active service, and during
the greater part of this period he had been
afloat. He had begun his career under the eye
of the naval hero of the civil war, whose "D — n
the torpedoes ! Go ahead !" has gone for all time
into the lexicon of American sailors, side by side
with Lawrence's "Don't give up the ship!" It
is reasonable to believe that Ensign Clark ac
quired something of the intrepid, and determined
spirit of his old commander, Farragut, and that
his subsequent life was colored by the splendid
example of the illustrious Admiral.
Early in 1898, Captain Clark was in command
of the battleship "Oregon," then stationed at
Puget Sound. When war with Spain became
imminent his vessel was ordered to Key West,
Florida, to strengthen the Atlantic squadron.
There was every necessity for speed. No steam
vessel had ever attempted so long and continu
ous a voyage, and marine experts the world over
questioned if machinery would endure so severe

22

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

a test. Captain Clark raised no question, inter
posed no objection, expressed no fear. Sailing
promptly on March 14th, the "Oregon" arrived
at San Francisco on the 19th, and resumed her
voyage the same day. At Callao, Peru, April
5th, Captain Clark received warning that the
Spanish torpedo vessel "Temaravio" was prob
ably lurking the Straits of Maqulan, and that
Spanish agents in various South American ports
were plotting the destruction of the "Oregon."
Without stopping at Valparaiso, the "Oregon"
hurried on to the Straits of Magellan, making a
safe but stormy passage through the tortuous
channels abounding in inlets whence an enemy
might easily sally and without observation until
within dangerous nearness. Here she was joined
by the gunboat "Marietta," whose incapability
to sail more than twelve knots compelled the
"Oregon" to reduce speed. Arriving at Rio de
Janeiro on April 30th, Captain Clark was there
informed that war existed, and that a Spanish
squadron under Admiral Cervera had left the
Cape Verde islands bound west, and he was given
instructions- by cable to remain in Brazil should
he deem that necessary for the safety of his ves
sel. With supreme confidence in his snip and
crew, Captain Clark expressed the conviction
that "the 'Oregon' could steam fourteen knots for
hours, and in a running fight might beat off or
cripple the Spanish fleet." After resting and
cleaning his machinery, Captain Clark left
Rio on May 4th, and five days later coaled at
Bahia. She was sighted at Barbadoes on May
1 8th, and on the 24th reached Jupiter Inlet,
Florida, having covered the distance of 16,764
miles from San Francisco in sixty-six days, or,
deducting stoppages, in fifty-five days of actual
steaming, without accident. This voyage, the
most remarkable in steam marine annals, was
marked by two supreme tests — the endurance of
machinery and of human effort — and without
failure in either. The lofty spirit manifested by
Captain Clark was reflected in every man of his
crew, and each one conducted himself as though
the safety of the ship (and none could tell what
mighty interests dependent upon it) were in his
individual keeping.
Captain Clark had to this time given splendid
exhibition of his capabilities as a sailor, and he
was now to display incomparable gallantry in

action. Joining Sampson's fleet off Santiago,
the "Oregon" and "Marblehead" engaged the
shore batteries at Guantenamo, covering1 the
landing of a party of forty marines from the
former named vessel, and this was the first land
ing in force by Americans on the shores of Cuba,
and the first warranted raising of the United
States flag upon its soil. July 3d, the Spanish
fleet essayed its passage out of the harbor of
Santiago. The "Oregon" took position at the
head of the United States line of battleships, Cap
tain Clark on the forward turret whence he could
command an unobstructed view, and engaged
each one of the enemy's vessels until they were
destroyed. Treating a couple of torpedo destroy
ers to a passing fire, the "Oregon" stood for the
"Maria Teresa," Admiral Cervera's flagship,
which caught fire and was run ashore. He then
¦engaged the "Almirante Oquendo," and, aided
by the "Texas," drove her to the beach. For
¦nearly an hour the "Oregon" was engaged against
the "Vizcaya," which also ran ashore. Sinking
the "Furor" with a six-inch shell, the "Oregon"
then engaged the "Cristobal Colon," the last of
the Spanish fleet, which was driven ashore at the
mouth of the Rio Torquino, forty-eight miles
west of Santiago. From the time when she fired
the first shot from her forward 6-pounder until
the "Cristobal Colon" headed for the shore, the
"Oregon" fired 1,776 shots. The Spanish officers
-declare it was the fire from her secondary batteries
that mainly drove their men from their guns and
forced their ships to beach, and afforded ample
confirmation of the truth of Captain Clark's as
sertion, contained in his official report: "I am
persuaded that but for the officers and men of
the "Oregon" who steamed and steered the ship
and fought and supplied her batteries, the "Cris
tobal Colon" and perhaps the "Vizcaya" would
have escaped."
On July 7th a squadron was detached from
Sampson's fleet to cruise after the fleet of Ad
miral Camara, and this was placed under the
command of Commodore Watson. Captain
Clark was appointed by Commodore Watson as
his chief-of-staff, at the same time being left in
command of his vessel. Commodore Watson's
squadron was disbanded after Admiral Camara's
fleet had returned to Spain, and shortly after
wards Captain Clark was granted leave of absence

BENNINGTON BATTLE MONUMENT.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

23

m order to- restore his health, which was much
impaired through his many months of phenom^
enal service with its tremendous responsibilities
and consequent severe strain upon his physical
and mental systems. He returned to duty in
March, 1899, and was appointed to the command
of the League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, and was subsequently appointed
Governor of the Naval Home, near the same city.
Captain Clark was married, in 1869, to Miss
Mary Louisa, daughter of William Davis, of
Greenfield, Massachusetts, and two daughters
have been born of this marriage.
GEORGE ETHAN STONE. i
George Ethan Stone, a quietly successful busi
ness man of Vergennes, is a son of Charles Stone
and a grandson of Dr. Dan Stone, a pioneer set
tler of Monkton, Vermont, further mentioned in
this xwork, under the head Of Charles H. Stone.
The subject of this sketch was born September
13,- 1843, in Monkton, where his father was a suc
cessful farmer. In his early boyhood he attend
ed the district school of the neighborhood. The
untimely death of his father, when he was but
fourteen years old, compelled him to begin early
to maintain himself. During the following sum
mer he worked on the farm of a neighbor for thej
period of seven months, receiving therefore the
sum of five dollars per month, with board. Dur
ing the next season he was considered worth a
little more and received six dollars per month for
his services. After two years with his elder
brother on the home farm, he again took service
with a neighbor, and his labors now commanded
ten dollars per month. In the meantime he re
ceived some instruction in the local schools in
the winter months, and he spent one and one-
half terms at a select school maintained in the
neighborhood. At the age of twenty years he began teaching
and so continued through four' successive win
ter terms, and before the close of this period
took up the cultivation of his mother's land, which
he continued to handle successfully. About 1875
he bought a form of one hundred and thirty-five
acres in the town of Monkton, which he still owns
and operates. Before this time, however, in
1873, he had established himself in business at

Vergennes, engaging in the purchase of butter
for the market, and this he continued for a long
period. For a considerable time he operated
here with a partner, but he also conducted
a similar enterprise independently at different
.points in this section of the state, and bought
butter at. Brandon for a period of ten years.
During this time he also had markets at Fair-
haven, Castleton and other points, so' that his
time was busily occupied by visits to his six
butter markets.
In 1883 Mr. Stone bought out the general
store of P. & M. T. Bristol at Vergennes, which
he conducted ten years, and continued to buy
butter for cash in connection with this business
for some time. In 1885 he became owner of the
former residence of Judge John Pierpoint, now
known as the Prospect House, a delightfully lo
cated property on Main street, Vergennes. \ Upon
closing out his store in 1893, he began remodeling
and enlarging the hotel property and has since
continued to operate it as a hotel, making a
specialty of accommodating summer visitors to
this beautiful lake region; though he entertains
travelers and others at all seasons of the year.
The house stands 611 a hill, overlooking the valley
of Otter creek and Lake Champlain, with the
Adirondack mountains as a background, and the
views from its -windows have given it the ap
propriate title of "The Prospect." The Green
mountains are also visible from its windows,
which adds to its desirability as a place of summer
abode. Mr. Stone is one of those energetic and active
men who cannot be kept out of promising enter
prises, and he is constantly adding to his activities
and sources of income. In December, 1900, he
established a grocery and- provision store oppo
site the hotel, largely as an annex to that insti
tution's business, and has enjoyed a profitable
trade with the general public, while catering to
the wants of his guests. In 1888 he purchased a
farm of one hundred acres in the town of New
Haven, and this he manages personally, through
the employment of capable help. He makes a
specialty of hay and grain for the market, and is
very successful as a farmer.' From the crop of
1900 he marketed twelve cars of .hay, besides
other valuable products. ,
While active in business, Mr. Stone gives some

24

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

attention to the moral development of the com
munity, and is a friend of school and church
work. He is a deacon of the Congregational
church at Vergennes, and his children have re
ceived the best educational training. In politics
a firm supporter of the principles enunciated by,
the Republican party, he has never sought or
accepted any public office. With sound, judg
ment and industrious application, he has earned
and merits the success which came to him as a
business man. Of quiet tastes and refined man
ners, he strives to be agreeable to his guests, al
ways a gentleman whom it is a pleasure to meet.
On May 24, 1870, he married Mary Adelaide
Bristol, the latter a daughter of Philo and Pru
dence (Rugg) Bristol, natives respectively of
Panton, Vermont, and Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Mrs. Stone was born February 4, 1848, in Pan-
ton. Four children complete the family circle
of Mr. Stone. The eldest, George William,
graduated at Middlebury College, taught school
for some time and is now studying law at Atlan
tic City, New Jersey. Wilfred Judson, the sec
ond, graduated at Middlebury College in 1902
and is now principal of the Union Free School
at North Bangor, New York. Henry Harold
and Mary Alice are students of the local school,
and reside at home.
GEORGE JERRISON STANNARD.
George Jerrison Stannard, brigadier and
brevet major general of volunteers in the United
States army, of St. Albans, Vermont, was born
in Georgia, Vermont, October 20, 1820. The
Stannard family is of English descent and ex
hibits the best characteristics of the old Anglo-
Saxon stock. The grandfather of General Stan
nard emigrated from Connecticut to Vermont and
settled in Fairhaven. His father, Samuel Stan
nard, married Rebecca Petty, to whose material
influence the future soldier patriot was greatly in
debted. The sixth son of his parents, and the
heir of such advantage as the parental farm af
forded, he grew up in the old homestead about
four miles south of the village of St. Albans. His
early education was received in the common
schools, and was supplemented by two terms of
study in the academies of Georgia and Bakers-
field, Vermont.

Between the years of fifteen and twenty he
toiled on the parental acres in summer and taught
school in winter. His infirm health/ forbade
classical education and dictated active employ
ment. For this service the alternating physical
and intellectual labors had been an admirable
preparation. In 1845 he accepted the position of
clerk to the St. Albans Foundry Company, which
consisted of Gardner G. Smith, W. C. Smith and
S. P. Eastman. Efficient in discharge of duty,
in the course of about a year his employers placed
him in charge of the business, which he held un
til i860, when he formed a copartnership with
Edward A. Smith, of St. Albans, leased the
foundry and became joint partner of the business.
The outbreak of the war found Mr. Stannard
industriously occupied in his usual vocation, but
he was prepared to sustain the authority of the
constitution and the laws. Being of military
taste, at the age of sixteen he joined the "Flood-
wood Militia." This characteristic design had
been derisively bestowed upon the citizen-sol
diery, whose appearance on parade was held to
resemble that of the sticks of wood cast upon the
shore by the freshet. The title was uncompli
mentary and may have fortified the determination
of the young volunteer to make himself a com
plete soldier.
In 1837, when the state militia was called out
during the excitement by the Canadian insur-
reaction, he was the orderly sergeant of his com
pany. Not long after that he was elected second
lieutenant, but had not received his commission
when the militia was disbanded. Following years
witnessed his activity in raising a militia force in
Vermont, that consisted of independent volunteer
companies. In 1856 he assisted in the organiza
tion of the Ransom Guards at St. Albans, and
was chosen first lieutenant of the company. In
this new relation his talent for command was ap
parent, and was soon fully acknowledged by his
appointment to the colonelcy of the Fourth Regi
ment of Vermont Volunteer Militia, when that
body was organized in 1858, holding the second
rank in the state.
In April, 1861, when came the summons to
arms for the defense of the government, it stirred
the martial element in Colonel Stannard's spirit,
before President Lincoln's proclamation could
reach him. When that message reached St. Al-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

25

bans he immediately telegraphed the offer of his
services to Governor Fairbanks. His is the sin
gular honor of being the first Vermonter to volun
teer for the help of his country.
He then offered his regiment to supply1 the
requisition of one from Vermont. The acceptance
of the offer was subsequently notified by the
state authorities in special session. A regiment
of ten companies, called from the First, Second
and Fourth regiments of the state militia, was
formed and placed under the command of Colonel
John W. Phelps, Colonel Stannard was re
served for appointment to one of the two addi
tional, that, as was decided, should be raised.
The Second Vermont Volunteer Militia was
organized in May and Mr. Stannard was com
missioned as lieutenant qolonel, himself concur
ring with the governor in the opinion that an
experienced West Point graduate should have
the chief command, and Captain Henry Whiting,
•of Michigan, was appointed colonel. The regi
ment was mustered into the service of the United
States at Burlington, Vermont, May, 1861, by
Colonel John Rains, who afterwards joined the
rebel army, and left for the scene of apprehended
"hostilities on the 6th of June.
Attached to Howard's Brigade, it showed in
the first battle of Bull Run, and came into action
near the close of the conflict while covering the
retreat of the national army. Colonel Howard
complimented the Second for its steadiness un-
-der fire. Colonel Stannard exemplified the ut
most bravery and self-possession. Soon after
ward the command of the Third Vermont was
tendered to him, but with characteristic modesty
he declined the proffer. In the fall of 1861 the
Vermont regiments were brigaded and stationed
near the Chain Bridge. Lieutenant Colonel
Stannard was the first to cross that structure at
the head of a detachment, and frequently lead
-scouting parties into territory occupied by the in
surgents. His reputation for success in this
¦species of service rose so high that he was often
detailed to accompany scouting detachments from
other commands. With the Second Vermont he
marched and skirmished until May, 1862, when
he was commissioned as colonel of the Ninth
Vermont, returning home to recruit and organize
nis new command; he effected the task by July
and departed for the front. In August he was

stationed with his regiment at Winchester, Vir
ginia, but withdrew before the advance of Stone
wall Jackson in September to Harper's Ferry,
and was there infamously surrendered on the 15th
by Colonel D. P. Miles, who commanded the post,
together with all the forces under that officer's
control to the enemy. Colonel Stannard earnest
ly but unavailingly protested against this trait
orous action. The national troops were at once
paroled by the rebels, who hastened to join Gen
eral R. E. Lee in Maryland. Colonel Stannard
objected to release upon parole and justly
urged that the care of eleven thousand
persons would seriously embarrass the
enemy at that crisis. He resolutely
refused to sign the parole for himself or regiment.
Their release was effected by a parole given by
some other officer of a higher rank. Had his
policy been adopted, the force of the invaders
would have been badly crippled. The Ninth Ver
mont was ordered into parole camp on the ist
of January, 1863, and there employed in guarding
an extension camp of prisoners at Chicago until
March. On the- nth of March, 1863, Colonel Stan
nard was appointed brigadier general of volun
teers by President Lincoln. , The United States
senate confirmed the appointment on the same
day. Parting with the Ninth Vermont, which
had been ordered to North Carolina, at Baltimore,
he assumed command of the Second Vermont
Brigade, consisting of Twelfth, Thirteenth, Four
teenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth regiments, to
which he had been assigned, and was stationed on
the Occoquan and Bull Run. The duty of this
brigade was to guard the lines below Washington
and also the Orange and Alexandria Railroad
from Bull Run to the Rappahannock. On June
20, 1863, it was ordered to join the army of the
Potomac under General Hooker, in opposing
Lee's second invasion. Holding the line of the
Occoquan till the army had passed, General
Stannard hastened to join the First Corps under
General Reynolds, which led to advance. This
he did with such vigor that he effected the junc
tion on the Cemetery Hill on the close of the first
day's engagement in the battle of Gettysburg.
General Stannard's opportune arrival was1
hailed with gladness by the Seventh Army Corps,
which had lost its gallant commander, and well

26

THE STATE .OF VERMONT.

nigh half its number on the second day of the
fight. He had temporary charge of the position
held by the federal batteries on the left slope of
Cemetery Hill. In the afternoon he was ordered
to the left and front to repel Long-street's assaults,
which followed the route of the Third Corps.
His brigade eagerly sprang into the gap, pre
vented the capture of two batteries, rescued an
other from the grasp of the foe, and captured two
rebel guns and some prisoners.
On the third and last day of the strife came
the supreme opportunity of General Stannard's
military career. He discovered its importance,
seized it in its flight, improved it to the utter
most and thereby won a name and fame immortal
on the records of American history. Holding
that portion of the front line on the left center so
gallantly re-established by himself on the pre
vious night, with three regiments of his brigade,
the Twelfth and the Fifteenth having been de
tached for other service, he held the most ad
vanced position in that part of the field. For that
reason he was the first to feel the brunt of the
final desperate assult of the enemy on Friday
afternoon. Pickett's strong division of Longstreet's corps,
composed of fresh and veteran Virginians, con
stituted the right of the attacking force ; Heath's
division, supported by two brigades, constituted
the left: in all it numbered about eighteen thou
sand men. Compactly and swiftly the great col
umn pressed forward. The federal artillery
ploughed great gaps through their ranks, which
were closed as rapidly as they were made.
Heading for the left of the Union center,
where General Doubleday was posted, they came
in contact with Stannard's Vermont Brigade.
These, with the other members of Doubleday's
division, were in lines five deep, and well
strengthened by hasty intrenchments of rails and
stones. As admitted by their inflexible oppo
nents, the Confederates slightly moved to the
left. This movement exposed Pickett's center to
a flank from Stannard, which threw it into con
fusion and was the forerunner of a series of dis
asters to the splendidly brave assailants. All that
mortal courage could do was achieved by Pick
ett's veterans, but they could not overcome the
disciplined, enthusiastic and fearless patriots

who encountered them. To advance, stand or
retreat under the withering fire that smote them
in front and flank, was -equally impossible. They
flung themselves upon the ground with hands up
lifted in total surrender. Not one of four es
caped, the others were dead or prisoners. What
ruined them, the prisoners declared, was the fire
of Stannard's Brigade on their flank, as they
found it impossible to contend with them in that
position, and they drew off all in a huddle to get
away from it. Wilcox, who failed to support
Pickett, now moved forward as if to renew the
attack, but chilled by a fierce artillery fire, he was
compelled to move back. *
To Stannard, who struck the first sharp -blow
in this fight, it was reserved to strike the last.
He launched the Sixteenth Vermont and half of
the Fourteenth upon the retreating force, and cut
off some hundreds, in fact, nearly the whole body,
from its rear, and the Confederates had failed,
the victory was lost, and before night fell they
were in desponding retreat.
The critical moment was when General Stan
nard struck the charging division of Pickett upon
the flank. That blow disabled them, it decided
the issue of the engagement and probably that of
the rebellion. The deadly fire of the Vermonters
delivered at half pistol range, was more than
mortal antagonists could stand. Three thousand
of the survivors marched into the Union lines as
prisoners. To have been the directing genius in this su
preme crisis of the nation's fate, and to have-been
equal to the emergency, is a unique and eternal
honor to General Stannard. He himself did not
escape injury — a Shrapnel shot from Longstreet's
cannon, as if envious of his happiness, buried
itself in the muscles of his right thigh. The ball
was removed on the field, which he refused to
quit, and which he would not consent to leave
until the enemy was beaten, his own wounded
men cared for and his brigade relieved from duty
on the front line. Several balls from sharp
shooters had passed through his hat and clothes,
but failed to hit him. His coolness and gallantry
were contagious. No troops were steadier or
more effective than the Vermonters. Stannard's
order for the flank attack on the charging Con
federates' was pregnant with as marvelous conse-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

27

quences as Wellington's "Up Guards, and at
them !" on the field of Waterloo. That culminat
ing glory of his soldiery career shines with im
perishable luster.
General Stannard did not linger in convales
cence. As soon as he was fitted for light duty he
took command of the troops in garrison at New
York Harbor. In May, 1864, he rejoined the
Army of the Potomac in its last advance upon
Richmond, was assigned to the Tenth Corps, and
soon afterwards was placed in command of the
First Brigade, Second Division of the Eighth
Corps under W. F. Smith, a Vermonter like him
self. His new brigade had a fighting reputation,
and increased it under his control. At Cold Har
bor, foremost in the fray, Stannard received a
fresh wound from a minie-ball in the thigh. Two
of his staff slain and three wounded, only one
regimental commander was left untouched. Stan
nard, bleeding and unassisted, rallied and brought
off under a tremendous fire the shattered rem
nants of his command. The glory of Spartan
fortitude, but not of Waterloo victory, was his
own last fateful day.
On the 14th of June he lead the advance of
the Eighteenth Corps on Petersburg, and seized
some of the enemy's works within three fourths
of a mile of the city;
Assigned next to the command of the First
Division of the Eighteenth Corps, he established
headquarters within musketry range of the en
emy's works. Part of his lines were within a
hundred yards of their fortifications. He was
again wounded by an accidental pistol shot from
an officer of his own division. The suffering of a
permanently maimed finger was the result, and
not this only. Weakness from pain became so
great that he could no longer mount his horse,
and at the end of three weeks he was invalided.
Returning to duty as soon as strength would
allow, he was once more charged with perilous
and exhausting service.
On the 29th of September he lead the advance
of the Tenth and Eighteenth Corps on the north
of the James against the defences of Richmond,
and was charged with the enterprise of storming
Fort Harrison. That important rebel post
mounted fifteen heavy guns and poured a destruc
tive fire upon Stannard's columns as they ad

vanced, over open ground, and through abattis, to
the assault. The fort was captured and held.
Stannard rode unhurt to the muzzle of the enem
ies, artillery, but four members of his staff were
struck by his side. The gallant and meritorious
exploit received due recognition in the shape of
a major general brevet, under the date of Octo
ber 28, 1864. E°rt Harrison was too vital to the
Confederate defense to be allowed to remain in
Stannard's possession, and was assaulted on the
next day by Generals Hoke and Field. The
works faced only in one direction. A rude breast
work, thrown up only the night before, alone pro
tected from an attack in the rear. Behind this
slight cover, and unaided by artillery, Stannard's
division repulsed with heavy loss three resolute
charges of the enemy. As the first of these ended,
a bullet from the retiring assailants shattered his
right arm, while from an exposed position he
encouraged his men, and made amputation at the
shoulder a matter of necessity. Several months
of enforced retirement ensued after the op
eration. But General Stannard was not permitted an
undisturbed repose. The St. Albans raid recalled
the notice of the national government to the un
protected northern! frontier, and in December,
1864, he was placed in charge of the Vermont
section of it, with headquarters at St. Albans.
Thenceforward he continued in the department
of the east until February, 1866, when, as ordered,
he reported for duty to General O. O. Howard,
and was assigned to service in connection with
the freedman's bureau at Baltimore. On the
27th of June of the same year he resigned.
General Stannard's claims upori his country
were of the most meritorious and unquestionable
character. Having sacrificed business prosperity
for its welfare, lost his good right arm in its ser-
vice, fought heroically through all the period
of perils for its rescue, and established a reputa
tion without reproach, those claims were properly
acknowledged on his retirement to civil life as
Collector of Customs for the district of Vermont.
This office he occupied until 1872.
The leading events in which he took an active
part, were the battles of Bull Run, Lee's Mills,
Yorktown, Williamsburg, Golding's Farm, Win
chester, Harper's Ferry, Gettysburg, Drury's

28

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Bluff and Cold Harbor. General Stannard was
taken prisoner of war September 15, 1862, and
exchanged January 9, 1863. He was mustered
out June 27, 1866. No general was held in higher
esteem, not only by his government for brave
deeds, but his. subordinates and these whoxwere
in touch with his private life.
G. A. E. RESOLUTIONS.
At a regular meeting of the Stannard Post
No. 2, held December 3, 1886, the following
preamble and resolutions. were passed:
IV her eas . On the first day of June, 1886, our
.honored namesake, Major General George J.
Stannard, was summoned from his post of duty
to the silent camping-ground of the dead, and
this Post, which bears his name, has not placed
upon its records this the deep sense of bereave
ment they feel, and the loss they have sustained
in the death of our illustrious comrade, therefore
be it, Resolved, by Stannard Post No. 2, Depart
ment of Vermont, Grand Army of the Republic,
That they will tenderly -cherish the memory of
his great, services as a brilliant military com
mander in defence of our country, his sterling
qualities as a patriot, and his many praiseworthy
traits of character as a citizen.
Resolved, That in paying this tribute to the
memory of General Stannard, they honor Ver
mont's greatest captain, whose life of self-sacri
fice and deed of bravery and devotion in our
Country's hour of peril, will shine with undying
luster, and while they cannot attain to the sum
mit of his fame, they will ever strive to imitate
his virtues.
Resolved, They are deeply grateful to the
senators and representatives of Vermont for the
generous appropriations voted at the recent ses
sion of the general assembly toward an erection
of a suitable monument at the grave of our dis
tinguished soldier.
Resolved, That they will ever extend their
warmest sympathy to the widow and daughters
of our beloved comrade in their great sorrow.
Resolved, That these resolutions be enrolled
upon the permanent records of this Post and that

the adjutant transmit a copy of them to the
afflicted family.
Headquarters Stannard Post No. 2, G. A. R.,
Burlington, Vermont, December 3, 1886.
Official Wm. C. Schroder, Post Adjutant. "
Mr. Cunningham, S. V. Commander.
Per order of the Post
E. H. Trick, Post Commander.
O. P. Ray, S. V. Commander.
Brave and fearless as a great general and
patriot, stern and resolute when serving his
country, but mild, genial and companionable
when with friends or surrounded by his home cir
cle ; a kind and affectionate husband, and lenient
father and a friend to those who were less
favored than he ; the loss of such a man not only
his family feels, but he left such a record that the
nation mourned his demise.
General Stannard was married in September,
1850, to Emily, daughter of Jeremiah Clark, of
St. Albans, and three daughters and one son were
born.
JACKSON MILLER.
Jackson Miller, one of the noted agriculturists
of Williston, Vermont, is a worthy descendant of
an old and honored English family. The line of
descent is as follows : Thomas Miller, a native
of England, emigrated to this country, and lo
cated in the state ' of Massachusetts. His~ son,
John Miller, was the father of the following
named children: John, Thomas, Ebenezer and
Samuel. John Miller, Sr., was killed by the In
dians in a skirmish which took place in Spring
field, Massachusetts. Samuel Miller was the
father of these children : Samuel, Jonas, Thomas,
Benjamin, Ichabod, Ruth, Mehitable . and Sarah
Miller. Thomas Miller was the father of five
children: Sarah, Thomas, Ruth, Solomon and
David Miller.
Solomon Miller, great-grandfather of Jack
son Miller, was born October 9, 1731, and after
receiving the usual education in the district
schools he engaged in the occupation of manu
facturing agricultural tools. He was united in
mariage to Miss Desire Smith in 1756, and nine

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

29.

children were born to them : Solomon and Sam
uel, who died in infancy ; Solomon (2) ; Samuel
(2), born in 1764; Elisha, born in 1766, died in
1847: Desire, born in 1769, died the same year;
Epaphus, born in 1770, died June 25, 1850; Anna
and Alexander, born in 1776, died in 1844. One of
the above named sons had the honor of being the
founder of Middlebury College. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Miller died in Wallingford, Vermont, in
the year 1807.
Elisha Miller, grandfather of Jackson Miller,
was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1766.
He acquired his education in the district school,
and later he removed to Wallingford, Vermont,
where his time and attention were occupied in
shoemaking and tanning. Subsequently he lo
cated in Williston, Vermont, making the journey
from Wallingford in a sleigh. While a resident
of Wallingford, Vermont, Mr. Miller was united
in marriage to Miss Loraine Jackson, a daughter
of Abraham Jackson, one of the first settlers of
, that section. She was also the first white child
born in that town. Mrs. Miller died in 1806,
and Mr. Miller married, in 1807, Miss. Sarah
Elliott, and by these two marriages he became the
father of seventeen children, all but two of whom
were born in Williston, Vermont.
Elisha Miller, father of Jackson Miller, was
born in Wallingford, Vermont, August 4, 1792.
He acquired his education in the common schools
of his native town. He participated in the war
of 1812, serving on the frontier, and by a peculiar
oversight of the military authorities he was never
discharged from the service, and thus he remained
a soldier until his death. Politically Mr. Miller
was a member of the Whig party and afterwards
a Republican, and served as justice of the peace
for many years. He was a consistent member of
the Congregational church for several years, but
eventually became a freethinker.
On March 9, 1825, Mr. Miller married Miss
Angeline Munson, who was born in Williston,
Vermont, August 24, 1804; and died in Williston,
March 6, 1878. Four children were born to this
union, namely: John Harrison, born in Willis
ton, Vermont, July 13, 1827, died January 10,
1840. Norman Elliott, born July 23, 1830, mar
ried March 9, 1853, Miss Mary Ann McBurney,
who was born in Edinburg, Scotland, April 14,
1835, daughter of Sarah McBurney, and died

September 25, 1887; they had three children:.
Ellen A. E., born July 28, 1856, married Professor
Otis S. Johnson, of Bakersfield, who died in Jan
uary, 1886; Samuel H, bom April 4, 1858, died
December 5, 1873 > S. Louise, born June 27, 1867;,
Norman E. Miller was a member of the state
legislature in 1822. Jackson was born May 27,
1833. Ellen Elizabeth was born November 29,
1836, and died January 31, 1840.
Jackson Miller, son of Elisha and Angeline
Miller, was born in Williston, Vermont, May 27,
1833. He attended the common school of the
town, and later was a student in the Burlington:
high school. After his graduation from the latter-
school he decided to follow the occupation of his,
ancestors, that of farming, and he has met with
a well merited degree of success. L He has made-
a specialty of dairy products, for which he al
ways finds a ready market.
Mr, Miller is a firm adherent of the principles
of the Republican party, and he has been chosen.
to fill the offices of justice of the peace, selectman,.
school director and superintendent of schools, all
of which duties he has performed with credit to*
himself and to his fellow townsmen. In religious.
thought Mr. Miller is independent. Mr. Miller
was united in marriage, October 29, 1856, to Miss
Hannah A. Ferre, who was born August 20,.
1838, a daughter of Eliza K. L. Ferre, who was.
born September 2, 1806, and died February 2,
1892. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs..
Miller, namely: Charles E., born August 12,.
1858, and Laura Angeline, bom January 4, 1867,.
married, September 6, 1894, Mr. R. L. Parker,
engaged in the wholesale tobacco and cigar trade
in Burlington, Vermont; they have one child,
Laura Jackson, born August 2, 1895.
GUY A. LAMSON. 6
Guy Adams Lamson, of Williston, Vermont,
was born January 7, 1879, a son °f Anderson E.
and Mary (Fobes) Lamson. He began his edu
cation in .the public schools of his native place
completed a course in the Essex high school,
and took advanced studies in the Troy Confer
ence Academy, in Poultney, Vermont. While
a student in the latter named institution he
was a member of the Delphin Society, and
president of the. commercial class. The greater

30

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

part of his mature life has been passed in
mercantile pursuits in Williston, where his in
terests are cast, and where he is regarded as
among the stable and enterprising members of the
community. Mr. Lamson was married February 13, 1901,
to Miss Florence Chase. She was born in Bur
lington, May 3, 1880, a daughter of George
D. and Sarah (Minckler) Chase. Of this mar
riage was born a son, Harold Chase Lamson,
March 8, 1902.
LA FAYETTE WILBUR.
The Wilbur family of Vermont, in its own
history and in that of the families with which its
members, have intermarried, presents an interest
ing chapter of New England genealogy, which
has been written in extenso by one of its descend
ants in the eighth generation, La Fayette Wilbur,
a prominent lawyer and author of Jericho.
The founder of the family was Samuel Wild-
bore (which was the original form of the name),
of Boston and Taunton, Massachusetts, who died
September 29, 1656; he married Ann Bradford.
Shadrach (2), of Taunton (Rayorham), died in
February, 1697-8, he married Mary Dean, who
died December 27, 1691. Shadrach (3) was born
December. 5, 1672, and died November- 8, 1749;
he married Joanna Neal, bora May 27, 1680.
Philip (4), of Rayorham, who wrote his name
Wilbore, married Mary Leonard, of Taunton,
December 29, 1737. David (5), of Royorham
and Westmoreland, New Hampshire, was
born in 1743, and died August 2, 1819,
at Watervilie (Coit's Gore), Vermont. He
married Tibitha Briton, who was born April
11, 1748, and died March 28, 1840, at
the age of ninety-two years. William (6) was
the first to give the family name its present form
of Wilbur. He was born August 13, 1772, at
Westmoreland, New Hampshire, and died April
19, 1835, at Waterville, Vermont. William (7)
was born March 8, 1801, in Westmoreland, and
died at Waterville, March 7, 1882. La Fayette
(8) was born May 15, 1834, at Waterville. Earl
M-. (9) and Ralph W. (9) were born at Jericho,
A^ermont, April 26, 1866, and March 30, 1869,
respectively. The material ancestry of La Fayette Wilbur

begins with Ann Bradford, wife of Samuel Wild-
bore, and she was a daughter of Thomas Brad
ford, of Dorcaster, Yorkshire, England. Mary
Dean (2) married Shadrach Wilbore, of Taunton,
and died March 27, 1691. Joanna Neal (3), born
in Braintree, Massachusetts, May 27, 1680, mar
ried Shadrach Wilbore, of Taunton. Phoebe
White (4), born in 1726, at Taunton, married
Abijah Wilbore, of Rayorham, and. died August
26, 18 12. Rachel Wittam (5) married Abijah
Wilbore. Asenath Wilbore (6), born April 13,
1770, married William Wilbur, her second cousin,
and died February 26, 1832. Betsy Fuller (7),
born October 6, 1802, married William Wilbur,
February 21, 1826, at Westmoreland, New Hamp
shire, and died November 12, 1888, at Eden, Ver
mont. Mercy Jane Morse (8), born May 12,
1840, married La Fayette Wilbur, January 9,
1861, and their children were Earl Morse Wil
bur and Ralph William Wilbur. Dorothea Dix
Eliot (9) ) married Earl Morse Wilbur, of Port
land, Oregon, June 30, 1888, and Alice Dunbar
Heustis (9) of Boston, Massachusetts, married
Ralph William Wilbur, June 26, 1894.
William Wilbur (7) was a -farmer and mer
chant. His parents removed to Waterville, Ver
mont, when he was about two years old, when the
region was mostly a wilderness and the settle
ment went by the name of Coit's Gore. He had a
common school education, but being a man of
strong character he made this the foundation for
an ample equipment for the duties of life. He
came to occupy various important town officer,
was postmaster for over twenty years, and in 1842
and 1844 represented the town of Waterville in
the legislature. He was a member of the Congre
gational church, in which he was a deacon for the
period of forty years, until his death. In politics
he was originally a Whig, and he connected him
self with the abolition party at its formation. He
became a Free-soiler afterward, and when the
Republican party came into being he affiliated
with it and was one of the most earnest supporters
during the remainder of his life.
His son, La Fayette Wilbur (8), was born
during one of the most severe snow storms known
in the history of Vermont, two feet deep, May 15,
1834. Considering the conditions at the time, he
was highly favored in an educational way. He
began his studies in the district school at Water-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

3i

ville, and subsequently attended academies at
Bakersfield, Underhill Center, Fairfax and Mor-
risville. He took up the study of law under the
preceptorship of a local lawyer, Thomas Gleed,
who was interested in him, and he was admitted
to the bar, Lamoille county in December, 1851,
and from that time to the present has been actively
and usefully occupied with the duties of his pro
fession in Chittenden and adjoining counties. A
lawyer of an old school, his practice has been al
most entirely confined to civil law, and his meth
ods have been marked by absolute precision and
conscientious devotion to the real principles of
jurisprudence, trickery and indiscretion being
constantly avoided. It has been the good fortune
of several who subsequently took highly respect
able positions at the bar, to receive their instruc
tion under his guidance.
Deeply versed in knowledge of the growth
and development of his state, and loyally devoted
to the preservation of its history, he performed a
monumental work in the production of his "Early
History of Vermont," in four volumes of some
four hundred and fifty pages each, published in
1889-1903, and of his "Life of La Fayette Wilbur
and Family Genealogy." Both of these excellent
works have been utilized to good advantage in the
writting of this history of Vermont, and orders
for these works have been received from all parts
of the United States, also from London, England.
His is the only full history of the state ever writ
ten. In early life Mr. Wilbur was a member of
the Congregational church, and for many years
was clerk of that body in Jericho, and superin
tendent of the Sunday-school. He subsequently
became a member of the Unitarian church in Bur
lington, with which he is yet connected. He was
one of the founders of the Republican party, and
cast his first vote for Fremont. During the Civil
war he was a zealous member of the Union Lea
gue. He -has held various town offices, and is a
member of the Masonic order.
Mr. Wilbur was married to Miss Mercy Jane
Morse, of Underhill, a daughter of Calvin and
Mercy (Mead) Morse. Her father was a farmer
and was distantly related to Professor S. F. B.
• Morse, the inventor of the telegraph. She was
educated in the public schools, and in the acade
mies in Johnson and Bakersfield. Of her mar

riage with Mr. Wilbur were born two children:
Earl Morse Wilbur was born in Jericho, Vermont,
April 26, 1866. He entered the University of
Vermont, when sixteen years of age, and was
graduated in 1886. He taught Latin, Greek,
German and French at Fishkill on the Hudson,
New York, in 1887. He entered the Harvard
Divinity School in 1887, and graduated in 1890,
and was ordained as a Unitarian minister. He
preached in the city of Portland, Oregon', for
eight years, from 1890 to 1898, and now preaches
in Meadville, Pennsylvania, and is instructor in
the Theological School in that city. He was mar
ried at Portland, Oregon, June 30, 1898,': to
Dorathea Dix Eliot, a daughter of Thomas L.
Eliot, D. D.
Ralph Williams Wilbur was born at Jericho,
Vermont, March 30, 1869, He was educated in
the common schools, in an academy and at the
high school in Burlington, Vermont, and at the
University of Vermont, and also graduated from
the business college at Burlington, Vermont, and
at the Boston University School of Law, grad
uating from the last named in 1892. The same
year he began the practice of law at Portland,
Oregon, where he now resides. He married
Alice Dunbar Heustis, of Boston, June 26, 1894.
The following is the genealogy of the families
closely allied with that of Wilbur:
Robert Fuller (1), of Salem and Rehoboth,
married Sarah Bowen; they died May 10, 1706,
and October 14, 1676, respectively. Jonathan
(2), of Attleboro, was born at Salem about 1640,
married Elizabeth Wilmarth, and died February
10, 1709. Robert ,(3) was born at Attleboro,
March 2, 1673, and died in 1710; he married for
his second wife Mary Titus, who was born March
30, 16JS1, and died in 1779. Josiah (4), of Reho
both, was born at Attleboro, November 18, 1704,
and died in January, 1753 ; he married Mehitable
Ormsbee, October 22, 1728, and she died in
March, 1779. Noah. (5), of Rehoboth, Wren-
. tham and Westmoreland (locating in the place
last named in 1779), was born March 17, 1728-9,
and died in March, 1809; he was twice mar
ried, first to Dorothy Hunt, who died in 1762,
and then to Esther Ware, born May 30, 1739,
and died in March, 1809. Joshua (6), of
Westmoreland, born February 10, 1774, and died
April 22, 1849, married Mercy Felt, June 22,

32

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

1801 ; she was born December 14, 1776, at Wren
tham, and died at Waterville, Vermont, Decem
ber 17, 1862; she was the daughter of Joshua
Felt, son of Aaron and Mary (Wyatt) Felt.
Joshua Felt was born June 21, 1751, at Lynn,
Massachusetts, and lived at Parkersfield, Keene
and Westmoreland, New Hampshire; he served
in the first company which marched from Lynn
to Lexington, April 19, 1775, and he was wound
ed at Concord ; he died about 1822, at Westmore
land. Betsy Fuller (7), daughter of Joshua (6),
was born at Westmoreland, October 6, 1802, and
died November 12, 1888; she married William
Wilbur, of Waterville, who was born at West
moreland, and died March 7, 1882. La Fayette
Wilbur (8), was born May 15, 1834, in Water
ville; January 9, 1861, he was married to Mercy
Jane Morse, who was born May 12, 1840. Their
children are elsewhere mentioned in this sketch.
The Morse family begins with Samuel Morse,
born in England, in 1585, who came to America
in 1635, and died in Medfield, April 5, 1654; his
wife was named Elizabeth. Daniel (2), of Med
field, was born in 1613 and died June 5, 1688 ; his
wife, who was Lydia Fisher, died in 1690.
Jonathan (3), of Sherborn, was born in 1643, and
died August 30, 1727; his wife was Mary Bar
bour. Jonathan (4), of Sherborn, born July 11,
1667, married Jane Whitney. Paul (5), born
February 14, 1700, and died in 1760, married
Sarah Sheffield. Daniel (6), born July 27; 1735,
and died in 1808, married Ruth Morse, his fourth
cousin, January 25, 1758, and she died August
1, 181 1. Levi (7), born January 8, 1772, at
Dublin, New Hampshire, and died February 9,
1818, at Jericho, Vermont, married Sally Grimes.
Calvin (8), born January 7, 1804, at Dublin,
died at Jericho, Vermont, September 11, 1880.
He married Mercy Mead. Mery Jane (9) be
came the wife of La Fayette Wilbur.
The founder of the Mead family was William
(-1), who came from England to Stamford, Con
necticut, about 1635 ; he was born in 1600 and
died in 1663 ; he married Ruth Hardy, who died
September 19, 1657. John (2), of Horseneck
(Greenwich), Connecticut, was born in 1634 and
"died in 1699; he married Hannah Potter.
Jonathan (3) was born in 1665, and died
in 1727 ; his wife was named Martha. Tim
othy (4), born in 1701, removed to Manchester,

/
Vermont, with his wife, who was Martha Weeks,
and six children, in 1769, and there they both
died. Captain Zebulon Mead (5), born at Horse-
neck in 1729, settled in Rutland, Vermont, in 1770,^
and died January 26, 1787; he married Anna
Thompson, and after her death he married Mercy
Carey, who was born in 1735 and died 'February
3, 181 1. Martin (6), born at Pittsford, Ver
mont, March 17, 1767, and died May 6, 1850, re
moved to Underhill, Vermont, in 1807; he married
Freelove Wright, November 12, 1796; she was
born October 28, 1774, and died November 24,.
1858. Mercy (7), born at Pittsford, Vermont,
January 11, 1807, died December 26, 1881, mar
ried Calvin Morse, who was born at Dublin, Ver-,
mont, in 1804, and married January 14, 1830, and
died September 11, 1880. Mercy Jane Morse
(8), daughter of Calvin and Mercy (Mead),
Morse, became the wife of La Fayette Wilbur.
CARROLL S. PAGE.
Hon. Carroll' S. Page, of Hyde Park, Vermont,
former Governor of the state and favorably known
throughout its bounds for his persistent and suc
cessful efforts in the encouragement and develop
ment of local industrial enterprises, was born in
Westfield, Vermont, January 10, 1843. His par
ents, Russell S. and Martha Malvina (Smalley)
Page, were both natives of Hyde Park.
His grandparents on both his father's and
mother's side were among the first settlers of that
town. His mother's grandfather, Capt. Jedediah
Hyde, came to Hyde Park soon after the Revolu
tionary war, in which he served as captain, sur
veyed and chartered the town and gave to it his-
name "Hyde" Park.
Mr. Page was educated in the common schools-
of Hyde Park, at the People's Academy in Mor-
risville, Vt., the Lamoille County Grammar
School at Johnson, 'Vermont, and the Lamoille
Central Academy at Hyde Park, Vermont.
Among the public positions held by him may
be mentioned that of Representative from Hyde
Park to the legislature of Vermont, 1869-72,
Member of Vermont state senate 1874-1876;-
member of Republican state committee, 1884-
1888 ; chairman of Republican state committee, '
1 884- 1 888; inspector of finance of Vermont,
1884-1888; governor of Vermont, 1890-1892.

The state of Vermont.

33

Mr. Page has been quite extensively interested
in banking and has been director of the Lamoille
County National Bank since 1874, and its presi
dent for the last ten or more years. He organized
the Lamoille County Savings Bank and Trust
Co. in. 1889 and has been its president since its
organization. His maxim during his whole
banking life has been, "Vermont money should
be kept in Vermont tp foster Vermont industries
and to develop Vermont enterprises," and during
his entire management of the two banks at Hyde
Park neither of these two institutions have ever
loaned a dollar outside of Vermont.
It is perhaps as a dealer in green Calfskins
that Mr. Page is best known to the financial
world, his business in this line extending from
the Pacific ocean on the west to Asia in the east,
and being regarded among the trade as the largest
m its line in this country, if not in the world.
Governor Page was married April 11, 1865,
to Miss Ellen Frances, daughter of Theophilus
Hull and Desdemona (Jackson) Patch of John
son, Vermont. Three children were born of this
marriage; Theophilus Hull, who died in 1898
leaving two children, Carroll G. and Proctor H. ;
Russell S., who is. now associated with his father
in business at Hyde Park, and Alice.
HENRY ALEXANDER PHELPS.
* Henry Alexander Phelps, of Barre, Vermont,
belongs to one of the oldest families of New Eng
land, the founder of which left his ancestral home
in the older England and joined himself to one of
the earliest companies of those fearless and de
voted men who crossed the sea to found a nation
on the shores of the new world.
William Phelps (1), the erhigrant ancestor,
was born August 19, 1599, in the old town of
Tewkesbury, England, beneath whose walls flows
the' Avon, which, not far off, mingles its waters
with those of the Severn, the two rivers richest,
perhaps, in all England, in poetical associations.
In early life -William Phelps allied himself with
the Puritans, with a company of whom he sailed,
in 1630, for the colony of Massachusetts Bay,
where he found a home in the settlement of Dor
chester, removing thence, in 1635, to Windsor,
Connecticut. There, we are informed, he mar
ried his second wife, whose name was Mary
3

Dover. In regard to his first wife history is en
tirely silent. The death of William Phelps prob
ably took place at Windsor, Connecticut, on the
homestead where his descendants remained for
three-quarters of a century.
Timothy Phelps (2), son of William and Mary
(Dover) Phelps, was born September 1, 1639,
probably at Windsor, Connecticut. From the
fact that he was known as "Lieutenant" Phejps, it
is evident that he was a soldier in the colonial
army, the frequent Indian wars doubtless render
ing his military career an active one. He mar
ried, May 19, 1661, Mary Griswold, and, in all
likelihood, died on the homestead where he had
passed his life.
Nathaniel Phelps (3), son of Timothy and
Mary (Griswold) Phelps, was born January 27,
1677, at Windsor, Connecticut. While still a
young man he removed to Hebron, Connecticut,
where he planted another homestead. He marr
ried, March 28, 1700, Hannah Bissell, and, no
doubt, passed all the latter part of his life in the
place whither he had migrated.
Solomon Phelps (4), son of Nathaniel and
flannah (Bissel!) Phelps, was born July 29, 1716,
in Hebron, Connecticut, where he appears to have
passedhis entire life. He, married, May 11, 1738,
Temperance Barber.
Bissell Phelps (5),. son of Solomon and Tem
perance (Barber) Phelps, was born February 16,
1754, at Hebron, Connecticut. He was only
twenty-one when "the embattled fanners" of Lex
ington and Concord "fired the shot heard 'round
the world," and not long after he enlisted in
Washington's army, in which he held a captain's
commission from Quartermaster General Ne
hemiah Hubbard. After participating in the
campaigns of the first two years of the war, he re
signed, re-enlisting in the army of Lafayette, un
der whom he served during the remainder of the
war. When the restoration of peace allowed him
to return home, Captain Phelps removed from
Hebron, Connecticut, to Middlefield, Massachu
setts, where he remained only a few years, travel
ing, in 1 79 1, with his two yoke of oxen, to Waits-
field,' Vermont, where he was one of the earliest
settlers. Captain Phelps married, January 12,
1775, Lovina Skinner, after whose death, on
March 28, 1802; he married, February 27, 1803,
Sally Waterman, who Was bom January 31, 1772,

34

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

at Killingly, Connecticut. The eventful life of
Captain Phelps was prolonged beyond the limit
of four score and ten years, his death occurring
in Waitsfield, Vermont, October 25, 1845. His
wife attained almost to the state of a centenarian,
dying April 6, 1871, after passing her ninety-ninth
birthday. Alexander Phelps (6), son of Bissell and Lo
vina (Skinner) Phelps, was born October'6, 1780,
at Hebron, Connecticut. While he was still a
child the family removed, first, to Middlefield,
Massachusetts, and then to Waitsfield, Vermont,
which was his home during the remainder of his
life. He married Rachael Steele, daughter of
John and Sarah (Cobb) Steele, of Tolland, Con
necticut, where she was born June 19, 1780.
Alexander Phelps died May 29, 1826, and his
wife survived him many years, her death oc
curring at Waitsfield, Vermont, July 8, 1857.
David Martin Phelps (7), son of Alexander
and Rachael (Steele) Phelps, was born October
10, 1824, at Waitsfield, Vermont, and was edu
cated in the schools of that town. During his
youth and early manhood Mr. Phelps was a farm
er, but his marked talents for a business career
attracted attention, and in response to urgent re
quests he abandoned the pursuit of agriculture
and removed to Burlington, Vermont, in order to
become the representative of several commercial
houses. Mr. Phelps was a member of the Re
publican party, in the interests of which he was
extremely active, and by which he was held in
honor, being sent by his fellow townsmen to rep
resent them in the state legislature. During the
Civil war Mr. Phelps was indefatigable in his
labors for the enlistment of men, as well as for the
support of the army in the field and the relief of
the sick and wounded in the hospitals. He was
a member and also a deacon in the Congregational
church. Mr. Phelps married, at Waitsfield, May
28, 1857, Zilpha Brooks Dewey, born at Mont-
pelier, Vermont, January 22, 1825, a descendant
of Thomas Dewey, who came to America in 1633,
and was the founder of the Dewey family in this
country. Mr. and Mrs. Phelps were the parents
of two children,- — Nelson Dewey, born at Waits
field, Vermont, February 27, 1859; and Henry-
Alexander, also born at Waitsfield, Vermont, Oc
tober 15, 1861, and mentioned at length herein

after. The death of Mr. J Phelps took place Sep
tember 18, 1869, and that of his wife October 31,
1894, in Barre, Vermont.
Henry Alexander Phelps (8), younger son of
David Martin and Zilpha Brooks (Dewey)
Phelps, was born in the town of Waitsfield, Wash
ington county, Vermont, October 15, 1861, and
received his early education in the district schools
of his native town, afterward becoming a student
at the Montpelier Seminary. He lived on the
homestead until he attained his majority, and in
1883 went to Barre, Vermont, where he was em
ployed in a store. On January 1, 1885, his broth
er, Nelson Dewey Phelps, purchased the hardware
business of Orvis Jackman, on North Main street,
and in this business Mr. H. A. Phelps in the fol
lowing summer purchased an interest, after which
the establishment was conducted under the firm
name of Phelps Brothers. On January 1, 1892,
the firm moved to the Gordon block, where the
extension and development of their business have
been such that they have to-day one of the best
appointed stores in Vermont, in which they are
conducting a very flourishing trade. They are
also extensively engaged in plumbing and heating
and are known to be large dealers in real estate.
In politics Mr. Phelps is a Republican, but
has only once in his life accepted office, when he
: acted as bailiff of Barre, before the incorporation
g;of the town as a city. Mr. Phelps married, Oc-
|jtober' 29, 1885, in Montpelier, Vermont, Isabel
BMaud Putnam, born at Cabot, Vermont, June 15,
1862, daughter of Enpch D. and Mary (Stone)
Putnam, and a descendant of John Putnam, wdio
was born in England, and came to America in
1634, where he settled in Salem, Massachusetts.
Mr. and Mrs. Phelps are the parents of six chil
dren, — Evelyn Zilpha, born May 16, 1887; Mil
dred Isabel, born October 12, 1888; Mabel, born
February 12, 1892, and died February 13, 1892;
Katharine Elizabeth, born April 5, 1894; Alden
Dewey, born June 9, 1895 ; and Nelson Putnam,
born January 7, 1898. In the commercial circles
of Barre Mr. Phelps is regarded as an experienced
business man and a trustworthy counselor in
mercantile affairs, and by the community he is
respected as a public-spirited citizen, ever ready
to aid in every movement having for its object the
welfare of the citv in which he resides.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

35

HOWARD PRENTICE MARTIN.
The Martin family, of which Howard Pren
tice Martin, of Marshfield, Vermont, is a repre
sentative in the present generation, was prominent
in the colonial period, several of its members hav
ing held office, and others having served as patriot
soldiers in the army of the Revolution. Among
the latter was Jesse Martin, the grandfather of
Howard Prentice Martin, who took part in the
first, and, in some respects, the most memorable,
of the conflicts in that long struggle for inde
pendence, the battle of Bunker Hill. Whether he
was present at Lexington, where the "embattled
farmers" shed the first blood which flowed in
the struggle for freedom, we do not know, but
on that greater battlefield, where General Put-
man said, "Save your powder ; don't fire till you
can see the whites of their eyes,'"' there is no
doubt that he bore his full part. The best proof
of this is to be found in the fact that he received
a slight wound, one of those wounds of which the
possessors and their descendants were prouder
than they would have been of the Decoration of
the Garter. While not severely wounded himself,
- it was his lot to witness the infliction of a fatal
wound on one the loss of whom was one of the
greatest disasters of this disastrous day, the la
mented General Warren. Mr. Martin, to his lat
est day, never lost the impression left upon his
mind by the sight of the death of this youthful
patriot. In the autumn of 1800 Mr. Martin, with
his wife, Naomi Hopkins, and seven children,
came from Francistown, New" Hampshire, to
Montpelier, now East Montpelier. In the fol
lowing spring he settled on a farm on Maple Hill,
in the town of Marshfield, Washington county,
Vermont, but finally made his home in Plainfield,
Vermont, where he died November 3, 1832. He
left the memory of a man of strong character, and
his eighty-one years were spent in the servic of
his country, both as a soldier and citizen. Mr.
Martin's only daughter died at an early age. His
sons were : James, William, Jesse, Allen, Eben
ezer and Joshua Baxter.
Joshua Baxter Martin, son of Jesse and Na
omi (Hopkins) Martin, was born in Francistown,
New Hampshire, February 26, 1800, and attended
the district school. He remained on the home
stead and followed the occupation of farmer.

Mr. Martin began his political life as a Whig,
but on the organization of the Republican party-
he enrolled himself as one of its first members.
He was a public-spirited man, and his townsmen
testified to the respect in which they held him
by making him, at different times, selectman, col
lector of taxes, and overser of the poor, which last
named office he held for many years. Mr. Martin
married in June, 1825, Betsey Shepard, daughter
of William and Betsey (White) Shepard. Their
children were Willard Shepard; George Flint,
' who died at the age of twenty-four ; Laura, who
died at the age of twenty-four ; Caroline M., who
died at the age of eighteen; Nancy, who died in
infancy; Henry Hopkins, who resides in Will-
iamstown, Vermont ; Howard Prentice ; and Ellen
Augusta, who married W. J. Batchelder and re
sides in Plainfield, Vermont. Mr. Martin died
January 17, 1879, and his wife survived him until
October 2, 1882.
Howard Prentice Martin, son of Joshua Bax
ter and Betsey (Shepard) Martin, was born on the
homestead in the town of Marshfield, Washington
county, Vermont, April 22, 1845, and his edu
cation was received at the district schools and the
Barre Academy. He remained on the farm, as
sisting his father, until he reached the age of
twenty-one, after which he worked the farm and
in time came into possession of the property by
purchase. Mr. Martin has devoted the greater
portion of his life to farming, on the subject of
which he has very progressive and advanced ideas.
He has in various ways greatly improved the porp-
erty, and is now the owner of one of the finest
farms in the town. He combines the character
of an enterprising agriculturist with that of a
thorough business man, and is an extensive dealer ,
in live-stock. Mr. Martin is a Republican, and
the esteem in which he is held by his townsmen
is best indicated by the fact that he has filled all
the offices of the town except that of town clerk.
He has held the office of justice of the peace for
more than thirty years, and represented the town
in the state legislature in 1884 and 1885. He is a
member of the Knights of Pythias, Lodge No.
14, at Marshfield, Vermont.
' Mr. Martin married, September 28, 1869, Lu-
cetta Wooster, daughter of Stephen Wooster. By
this marriage there were two children, Stephen,
who died in infancy, and Curtis Leland, born

36

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

May io, 1872; the latter married Mabel Eaton
Emery, March 9, 1897, and they had one child,
Stephen Howard, born March 1, 1899: Mr. Mar
tin's first wife died November 23, 1874, and on
January 25, 1876, he married Mrs. Sarah Ann
Pitkin, daughter of William and Lucinda (Fos
ter) Orcutt. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have one son,
Walter Howard, born April 4, 1879, who mar
ried, March 13, 1901, Viola De Etta Buxton, and
resides with his parents.
OLIVER OTIS HOWARD.
MAJOR GENERAL, U. S. A., RETIRED.
The family from which is descended Major-
General Oliver O. Howard is one of the most
ancient and honorable in New England. The
emigrant ancestor was John Haward (as the
family name appears), who came from England
and settled first in Duxbury, Massachusetts,
about 1635, was an original settler at West
Bridgewater in 1651, and was licensed to keep an
ordinary in 1670. He was surveyor of highways
in 1657, ensign in 1664, and lieutenant in 1689,
selectman in 1678, deputy in 1678, and represen
tative to the general court in Plymouth in 1683.
He died about 1700. His wife was Martha,
daughter of Thomas Hayward. Thomas Hay
ward came from England (perhaps in the For
tune) in 1632, and returned for his wife and chil
dren, whom he brought in the Hercules, in 1635.
He was a freeman at Duxbury in 1646, and was
an original settler and proprietor of Bridgewater.
The line of descent from the emigrant John
(1) Haward is as follows: Major Jonathan,
(2) (who was first to give the family name the
form of Howard), married Sarah Deane, born
November 9, 1668, at West Bridgewater. Seth
(3), born November 15, 1702, married, in 1735,
Mary Ames, born in 1717 and died in 1758. Cap
tain Jesse (4) , born July 20, 1740, was an officer
in the Massachusetts militia during the Revolu
tionary war arid moved to Easton, Massachu
setts; in 1 76 1 he married Melatiah Dunbar, born
in 1741, died in 1814. Captain Seth (5), born
November 21, 1762, moved from West Bridge-
water to Leeds, Maine, about 1800. In 1782,
he married Desire Bailey, born January 23, 1762,
died December 28, 1829. Seth died January 5,
1844.

Rowland Bailey Howard "(6), born July 29,
1795, at Leeds, Maine, was a farmer. He mar
ried, February 29, 1828, Eliza Otis, who was born
December 10, 1804, and died December 14, 1888,
at Glencoe, Illinois. She was a daughter of
Oliver Otis, who was born in Scituate, Massa
chusetts, November 8, 1768, and died at Hallo
well, Maine, September 28, 1844. Oliver Otis
was son of Ignatius, born February 2, 1731, died
at Scituate, in 1802, son of Ensign Otis, born in
1691 ; son of Captain Stephen Otis, commander .
of militia, born in Scituate, in 1661, died in 1733;.
son of John Otis, born in Barnstable, England,
died at Scituate, Massachusetts, January i6r
1684; whose father was John Otis, born in Glas
tonbury or Barnstable, England; both were emi
grants from Barnstable, England, to Hingham,.
Massachusetts in 1635 ; John, Sr., died May 31,
1657, in Weymouth, Massachusetts.
Oliver Otis Howard (7), son of Rowland B..
and Eliza (Otis) Howard, was born in Leeds,
Maine, November 8, 1830. He was reared on the-
paternal farm and began his education in the
district schools, and afterward in the academies-
in Monmouth and Yarmouth, Maine, largely
paying for his tuition with money earned in
teaching school. He then entered Bowdoin Col
lege, from which he was graduated in 1850, with
the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts. He-
received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws
from Bowdoin College, from Waterville (Maine)
College and from Shurtleff (Illinois) College in-
1865, and from the Gettysburg (Pennsylvania)
Theological Seminary in 1866.
In 1850, on leaving college, he entered the
United States Military Academy at West Point,
from which he was graduated in 1854; being-
fourth in his class in general standing. He was
at once commissioned second lieutenant' in the
ordnance department, and assigned to duty at the
Watervliet Arsenal; in 1855 he was commander
of the Kennebec Arsenal, and in 1856 was again
on duty at the Watervliet Arsenal. Later in the-
same year he was ordered to Florida, where he
served under General Harney as chief of ord
nance in the Seminole campaign. From 1857 to
1861 he was instructor of mathematics in the-
Military Academy at West Point. At the open
ing of the Civil war he resigned his commission-
as lieutenant in the regular army to enter upon'

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

37

service in the volunteers, as the war department
then refused officers permission to take higher
commands in the volunteers and still remain in
the regular army.
He organized the Third Regiment of Maine
volunteers, of which he was commissioned colonel,
-and with it took the field Under General Mc
Dowell in Virginia. In the battle of Bull Run he
•commanded a brigade in which was the Second
Vermont Infantry Regiment. The non-commis
sioned officers of that regiment presented him
with a sword, which was always used by him
•during his service in the army. This brigade' was
among the last to hold the ground near the cen
tral portion of the field. September 3, 1861, he
was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers,
and commanded a brigade during all the early
operations in 1862, including the independent ex
pedition to the Rappahannock, under General
Sumner. He served under General McClellan on
the Peninsula, and participated in the battles of
Y'orktown, Williamsburg and Fair Oaks. For
"his conduct in the latter action, in which he was
twice wounded and two horses shot under him, he
received the congressional medal of honor at a
later day. While recovering from Uie amputation
of his right arm, he aided in recruiting troops in
Maine, and in about ten weeks after the battle iq
-which he was wounded, he returned to the front
and was assigned to the command of the Second
Brigade, Second Division, Second Corps, which
Tie commanded in the second battle of Bull Run,
and received credit for his successful command
of the rear guard during the retreat. At the bat
tle of Antietam he succeeded to the command of
the division when General Sedgwick , was
wounded, and he also commanded it in the battle
of Fredericksburg, participating in the dreadful
assault upon Mary's Heights. November 29,
, 1862, he was promoted to major general of vol
unteers, and in April following he was assigned
by the president to the command of the Eleventh
Corps, which he commanded in the battles of
Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In the latter,
after commanding the arduous fighting of, the
first day, he selected and occupied Cemetery Hill
with his reserve troops. This was the key to the
Union position and made possible the victory
which was to follow, and for his sagacity and
courage in seizing upon this ground, he received

the commendation of his commander, General
Meade, and the "thanks of Congress," one, of the
privileges of the latter being admission at all
times to the floor of the senate and house of rep
resentatives. General Howard with the Eleventh Corps
(less one division under General Hooker's com
mand) and the Twelfth Corps under Slocum were
both sent to Tennessee to reinforce the Army of
the Cumberland. For his conduct at the battle of
Wauhatchie he received warm commendation
from General Thomas. His activity was so con
spicuous in, the battle of Missionary Ridge, that,
at the request of General Sherman, he was sent
with that officer to the relief of Knoxville. In
April, 1864, General Howard was assigned to
the command of the Fourth Corps, which he
cornmanded in all the operations under General
Sherman against Atlanta, including the engage
ments at Dalton, Reseca, and about Kenesaw
Mountain. After the fall of the lamented Mc-
Pherson, in the battle of Atlanta, General How
ard was by order of the president made his suc
cessor as commander of the Army of the Tennes
see. He fought the battle of Ezra Chapel alone
with the Army of the Tennessee, and his march
on Lovejoy was so prompt as to find the enemy in
divided force, and render Atlanta no longer ten
able. In the march to the sea General Howard
commanded the right wing of Sherman's army,
and his troops were the first to establish com
munication with the outside world and effect the
capture of Savannah, by Hazen's (one of his
division commanders) assault upon Fort McAl
lister, under his own eye, and with Sherman at
his side. In January, 1865, with the remainder of
Sherman's army, General Howard's troops
marched through the C.arolinas, forcing the
Salkehatchie, and passing through 1 Columbia to
Bentonville, where was fought a severe engage
ment, the last engaged in by General Sherman's
army, which resulted in the surrender of General
Joseph E. Johnston, with his army, the last con
siderable rebel force in the field. March 13, 1865,
General Howard received the brevet of major
general in the regular army, and on December 21
he was made a brigadier general.
Immediately after the close of the Civil war
General Howard was assigned to duty, May 12,
1865, as commissioner of the bureau of refugees,

38

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

freedmen and abandoned lands, of which he had
charge for the next seven years, and was abund
antly successful in its administration, particularly
in its industrial and its educational features, hav
ing founded- many permanent 'institutions of
learning such as Howard University, Hampton
Institute, Atlanta University, Lincoln, Fiske,
Straight and others. On complaints about his
administration of the freedmen's bureau' there
were two investigations ; one in 1870 by a com
mittee of Congress, which ended in a vote of
thanks to him by the house of representatives;
the other was by a court of inquiry composed of
seven general officers of the army, which ended
in complete acquittal of all the charges preferred
against him, and in unrestricted commendation.
In 1872 General Howard was chosen by Gen
eral Grant, then the president, and sent to make
peace with the only Indian tribe then at war with
the government, namely the Chiricahua Apaches ;
and also to settle numerous difficulties with other
tribes in Arizona and New Mexico ; all this Gen
eral Howard thoroughly accomplished without
arms. He was assigned to command the Depart
ment of the Columbia, in August, 1874. During
the next six years he, in command, passed
through two Indian wars, one the Nez Perces
war, in 1877; the other the Piute and Bannock,
in 1878. He brought these wars, after many bat
tles and long, fatiguing campaigns, to a success
ful termination. In the spring of 1879 another
Indian tribe called the "Sheepeaters" becoming
rebellious in points near the Salmon river, he sent
out and captured them enmasse, brought them in
as prisoners, put them at work at Vancouver and
their children at school. In the winter of 1880-
81 he was assigned to the command of the West
Point Military Academy, which he held for two
years. July 13, 1882, he was assigned to com
mand the Department of the Platte, to which he
gave successful administration until his promo
tion to a major general in the regular army,
March 19, 1886. He then passed to the military
division of the Pacific, which included the' De
partment of the Columbia, to California, and Ari
zona. This division he administered to the satis
faction of the war department and the president
until November, 1888, when he was transferred
to the command of the military division of the At
lantic. This division he held until the divisions

were discontinued, after which he commanded
the Department of the East, which was substan
tially the same as the division of the Atlantic, un
til his retirement by law, November 8, 1894.
General Howard is an interesting and^indus-
trious writer. Among his published volumes are
"Donald's School Days," "Henry in the War,"
"Nez Perce Joseph," "Agenor de Gasparin,"
"General Taylor," in the "Great Commander
Series," "Isabella of Castile," "Indians of North
America," and "Fighting for Humanity." From
1865 to the present time he has been a frequent
contributor to leading journals and magazines,
his most recent writings being a series of mon
ographs under the title "Cuban Sketches of the
Spanish War." He has also delivered lectures
upon the lives of Grant, Sherman, Thomas and
Slocum, as well as upon war and other topics of
interest, before large and interested audiences.
During his entire life he has been a sincere and
unaffected exponent of an active practical Chris
tianity, devoting himself to personal as well as
public effort in behalf of temperance, religion,
and of benevolent, charitable, philanthropic and
educational work, and in defending and aiding
the helpless and oppressed, as when he sought to
lead the freedmen to education and usefulness,
to befriend the Indians, and to afford protection
to the Chinese. His pure personal example and
solicitude for his fellows was peculiarly marked'
in his military life, beginning with his service
as a young lieutenant in Florida and continuing
during the Civil war and the Indian campaigns.
He exhibited great activity in promoting the use
fulness of the Young Men's Christian Association
in the army camps during the Spanish war.
Since 1895 he has organized and directed the
management of the Lincoln Memorial University
for White Mountaineers, at Cumberland Gap,
Tennessee. General Howard has been allied with the Re
publican party from the date of its founding, and
has always been an ardent advocate of its prin
ciples. In 1896 and again in 1900 he took the plat
form in advocacy of the election of McKinley to
the presidency, and delivered numerous -forceful
addresses; and, in the former year, in company
with several veteran officers of the Civil war, he
made a notable political tour of the country. He is
connected with numerous societies, among which

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

39

are the American Tract Society, of which he is
president; the American Bible Society, of which
he is one of the managers; the Congregational
Club and the Author's Guild, of New York city;
and is an honorary member of the New England
Society, the Historical and Genealogical Society
and the Union League Club, all of New York
city. He is also a member of the leading patri
otic societies, the Society of the Cincinnati, the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion ; and various
Civil war societies, the Potomac, the Cumberland
and the Tennessee. He is a resident of Burling
ton, Vermont, and a member in Stannard Post,
G. A. R., and the Algonquin Club, of that city.
In 1884, while in Europe attending the man
oeuvres of the French army, he received the dec
oration of "Commander" in the Legion of Hon
or from the president of the French Republic.
. General Howard was married at Portland,
Maine, February 14, 1855, to Miss Elizabeth
Ann Waite, who was born and educated in that
city. Her parents were Alexander Black and
Lucretia Strickland (Whitman) Waite. Her fa
ther, a ship-builder and owner, was a native of
Falmouth, Maine, born April 24, 181O, married
December 6, 183T, ind died December 7, 1849;
his wife was born June 6, 1809, and died June
30, 1857. The line of descent of Alexander B.
Waite (7) was: (1) Sergeant Thomas Waite,
of Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1646; (2) Jonadab,
born in 1667, at Newbury, Massachusetts, died in
I737 '< (3) John, 1701-1769, a ship captain sailing
between Newbury and Portland; (4) Benjamin,
Newbury, Massachusetts, 1725-1812, a major and
mustering officer at Portland during the Revolu
tionary war; (5) John, Falmouth, Maine, 1751-
1838, a ship-builder; (6) Ebenezar, 1776-1852,
a caulker at Falmouth, then a farmer at Turner,
Maine. The children born to General Oliver Otis and
Elizabeth Arm (Waite) were:
Guy, born in Augusta, Maine, December 16,
1855 ; A. B., Yale, 1875 ; lieutenant colonel, Uni
ted States Army; killed in battle, October 22,
1899, m Philippine Islands ; he married Jeannie
Woolworth, at Omaha, Nebraska, February 14,
1884; two children, Helen, born in 1884, and Otis
Woolworth, born in 1887.
Grace Ellen, born in Augusta, Maine, June
22, 1857; attended Vassar College; married Cap

tain James T. Gray, at Portland, Oregon, Sep
tember, 1879; children: Elizabeth H, born in
1880, died in .1895 : Mary Augusta, born in 1882 ;
Grace Whitman, born in 1884; Jeanie, born in
1885 ; Howard, born in 1887.
James Waite, born at West Point, New York,
December 1, i860; graduate Andover Academy,
Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute, Gottingen Uni
versity (C. E.), Germany, 1888; married Adel-
heid Bodemeyer, at Gottingen, in 1888 ; one child,
Hildegard, born in 1889.
Chancey Otis, born in Augusta, Maine, May
3, 1863 ; married Alice G. Rustin, at Omaha, Ne
braska, in 1886; children: Mary, born in 1887;
William Rustin, born in 1889 ; Harvey F., born in
1892 ; Alden L., born in 1897.
. Johri, born in Washington city, June 15, 1866 ;
attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and
graduate of the Infantry and Cavalry School,
United States Army, 1895 ; major, United States
Army ; married Emily Britton, at San Francisco,
California, in 1895.
Harry Stinson, born in Washington city, July
25, 1869; special student University of Vermont;
graduate of New York University Law School,
LL. B., 1899, admitted to Vermont bar, October
26, 1900.
Elizabeth, born in Washington city, Septem
ber 19, 1871 ; married, at Burlington, Vermont,
October 29, 1902, to Joseph Bancroft, of Wil
mington, Delaware.
EDWARD JUSTUS BARTLETT.
The Bartlett family, which as been prominent
in state and national history from the colonial
period to the present time, is represented in the
present genration by Edward Justus Bartlett, a
leading citizen of Plainfield, Vermont, who, hav
ing been placed by his townsmen in positions of
honor and trust, has faithfully justified, by the
manner in which he has discharged his duties,
the confidence reposed in him.
Like so many of the best citizens of Vermont,
he comes of Massachusetts stock, his grandfather,
Solomon Bartlett, brother of Hon. Josiah Bart
lett, whose name appears as the second of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence, hav
ing emigrated in 1790, or a little later, from
Brookfield, Massachusetts, to Hanover, New

40

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Hampshire. A few years after he removed to
Orange, Vermont, and, later, to Plainfield, in the
same state, where he died. During the Revolu
tionary war he served his country in the field as
his brother did in the council chamber. Farming
was the occupation of his life, and he cultivated
the farm where his grandson, Joseph E., now
lives. He was four times married, and was the
father of seven children, of whom two sons,
Chauncey and Levi, settled in Plainfield.
Levi Bartlett, son of Solomon Bartlett, was
born in Hanover, New Hampshire, in November,
1800. When he was about eighteen years old he
came to Orange, Vermont, with his father, and,
later, to Plainfield. He cultivated the farm now
in the possession of his son, Joseph E. Bartlett.
During the latter part of his life Mr. Bartlett
was a Republican. He was an extremely upright
and public-spirited citizen, held various town of
fices and represented the town of Plainfield in the
state legislature. Mr. Bartlett was a member of
the Methodist church at Plainfield, of which he
was steward for many years. He married Nancy
Batchelder, daughter of Joseph and Alice (Boutr
well) Batchelder. His wife was directly de
scended from the Rev. Stephen Batchelder, who
was born in England, and decided to cast in his
lot with those who sought religous freedom in
the new world. He sailed from London, with sev
eral of his family, on the 9th of March, 1632, in
the ship Wiiliam and Francis, arriving in Bos
ton, June 5, 1632, and settled first in Lynn, Mass
achusetts, and later in Hampton, New, Hamp
shire. Mr. and Mrs. Bartlett were the parents
of six children, namely: George Putnam died
in infancy; George D. died in infancy; Mary
Jane married D. M. Perkins; Solomon married
Abbie Reed ; Joseph E. married Clara Hutchin
son; and Edward Justus.
Edward Justus Bartlett, son of Levi and
Nancy (Batchelder) Bartlett, was born in the
town of Plainfield, Washington county, Ver
mont. May 18, 1843, and was educated, as have
been many of our best informed citizens, at the
district schools of his native town. Mr. Bartlett
has, all his life,, devoted himself to the business
of agriculture, being engaged both in general
farming and dairying. His farm is beautifully
situated, and is conducted on the most advanced

principles, all the latest improvements being
found in operation there.
Mr. Bartlett is a Republican, and in his polit
ical life has received repeated proofs of the es
teem in which he is held by his townsmen, hav
ing filled the offices of lister, selectman, road
commissioner, justice of the peace, and also rep
resented his town in the state legislature in 1890.
Mr. Bartlett was district deputy grand master of
District No. 7, I. O. O. F., of the state of Ver
mont. He is a charter member of Arcadia Lodge
No. 53, I. O. O. F., at Plainfield, Vermont, and
also of Pleasant Valley Lodge No. 42, Rebekah
Lodge, I. O. O. F., of the state of Vermont.
Mr. Bartlett married, December 27, 1865,
Mary A. Nye, and had one child, Clinton Arthur,
born September 5, 1869. His wife having died
November 6, 1879, Mr. Bartlett married, April
9, 1881, Hattie P. Kidder, daughter of Ezra and
Mary Kidder. By this marriage he had one child,
Ray Kidder, born June 26, 1889J. Mr. Bart-
lett's second wife died November 9, 1900. His
elder son, Clinton Arthur, married March 29,
1900, Maud L. Austin. His younger son, Ray
Kidder, lives at home with his father.
JOHN WOLCOTT STEWART.
John Wolcott Stewart, of Middlebury, one of
the foremost citizens of Vermont, a lawyer of
high capability, a master of affairs in financial
circles and one who has rendered useful service
in the legislative councils of the state and nation,
is a native of the commonwealth, descended from
an ancient and honorable New England ances
try. His first ancestor on the paternal side was
Robert Stuart, of Edinburg, Scotland. Sam
uel, his son, emigrate^ first to Londonderry, Ire
land, and from thence with the historical Scotch-
Irish colony which crossed the Atlantic and setr
tled in Londonderry, New Hampshire, in the
early part of the eighteenth century. Samuel
Stuart was the father of five sons and five daugh
ters, of whom John was the eldest. Leaving Lon
donderry, he finally fixed his residence at Cole-
raine, Massachusetts, and died there. The spell
ing of the family name was altered about the time
of the death of Samuel Stuart to Stewart, in

TheZevris Publishing t

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

4i

which form it has been preserved to the present
day. John Stewart, familiarly known as Captain
John, was born in Londonderry, New Hampshire,
in 1744. He was a man of marked characteris
tics and took an active part in the French and
Revolutionary wars. At the early age of fifteen
years he killed an Indian in a notable fight in the
forest, and subsequently he became a member of
the farnous band of courageous frontiersmen
known as Rogers' Rangers. He accompanied the
¦expedition of General Montgomery against Que
bec, and was near that gallant officer at the time
of his death. After that he happened to be in
Bennington, paying his addresses to the lady who
afterward became his wife, at the epoch of the
battle in that place, and led a company of patriot
soldiers in that decisive conflict. In 1777 he mar
ried Huldah Hubbell, by whom he became the fa
ther of five children.
Ira Stewart, the second son of Captain John,
was born July 15, 1779. He settled first in New
Haven, Vermont, and in 1810 removed to Middle-?
bury, this state, of which in the following years
he was one of the leading citizens. He entered
into the mercantile business with his brother, No
ble, but the latter died in 1814, and Ira con
ducted thenceforward the business alone until his
own death in 1855. He served his fellow-citizens
in both branches of the state legislature, was a
member of the Middlebury College corporation,
and was actively interested in everything per
taining to the welfare of the villagers. October
29, 1814, he was married, to Betsey, daughter of
Wolcott Hubbell, of Lanesboro, Massachusetts.
Three children were born to them. One of whom,
a daughter, died in infancy, and the others, who
were sons, were named Dugald and John Wol-
*ott, survived.
John W., son of Ira and Betsey (Hubbell)
Stewart, was born November 24, 1825, in Middle
bury, Vermont. After preparation in Middle
bury Academy, he entered Middlebury College
and graduated with honor in 1846. Adopting the
legal profession, he began reading law in the
office of Horatio Seymour in Middlebury, and re
mained there until January, 1850, when he was
admitted to the bar of Addison county. Com
mencing practice at Middlebury, he conducted it
alone until 1854, when he contracted a co-part

nership with ex-United States Senator Phelps
and maintained the connection until the death of
the latter in April, 1855. His association'with
Senator Phelps proved to be very valuable in
many respects. Early in his professional career
Mr. Stewart identified himself with the political
affairs of his native state. Honors have been
showered upon him thick and fast by his fellow
citizens, who in this way practically acknowledge
his many sterling intellectual and moral qualifi
cations, and particularly his patriotic public spir
it, in the years 1852, 1853 and 1854 he held the
office of state's attorney for Addison county. In
1856 he was elected to the lower house of the
Vermont legislature, and served therein as chair
man of the committee on railroads. The matters
affecting the consolidation of the Vermont Cen
tral Railroad interests came before his commit
tee, and attracted much and close public attention.
His services proved so acceptable to his constit
uents that he was re-elected jn the following year,
and was also reappointed to his former position
on the railroad committee. In 1857' the state
house at Montpelier was destroyed by fire, and a
strong movement was set on fopt to make Bur
lington the capital of the state, but. this move
ment Mr. Stewart resisted. Although one of the
members from the "West Side" of Vermont, he
was influentially active in the legislative debates
on the question of removal, favoring the retention
of Montpelier as the Capital, and Was largely in
strumental in carrying the point in favor of the
old location.'
In 1 86 1 Mr. Stewart was returned to the state
senate from Addison county, and served on the
judiciary committee, of which the late United
States Senator Edmunds was chairman. The
members of the Vermont senate in that session
were probably the most able that the citizens of the
Green Mountain state have ever chosen. Not
only Mr. Edmunds, but also F. E. Woodbridge
and C. W. Willard — who were afterward elected
to the Congress of the United States — Roderick
Richardson and other gentlemen prominent in
state affairs, were among the members. Elected
to the senate of 1862, Mr. Stewart again served
on the judiciary committee, and as chairman of
the committee on rules. In 1864 he was returned
to the lower house from Middlebury, and served
on the committees on joint rules and the judiciary.

42

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

In 1865, 1866 and 1867 he was a member of the
house, and at each session was elected presiding
officer of the body. As incumbent of the speak
er's chair his ruling were received with great
favor, and the reputation for ability, faithfulness,
and impartiality then established was such that on
his election to the house in 1876 he received the
singular compliment of unanimous election to his
old post — the speakership.
One of the changes in the organic law of the
state effected by the constitutional convention of
1870 was that by which the sessions of the legis
lature were made biennial, instead of annual, as
formerly. Mr. Stewart was the first governor of
Vermont elected under the new order of things,
and filled the chief magistracy with great honor
and acceptability from 1870 to 1872. His in
augural address was brief, businesslike, and
statesmanly. Delivered nine years before the re
sumption of specie payment, it contained the fol
lowing just and sagacious recommendation : "It
is held by a recent decision of the Supreme Court
of the United States, that the provisions of the
Legal Tender Act are not retroactive and that
debts contracted prior to its passage are payable
in coin. ... I respectfully recommend the
prompt recognition of the supreme judicial au
thority of the country, by an enactment authoriz
ing our treasurer to pay in coin that portion of
our debt falling within the decisions referred to."
This equitable recommendation was promptly
acted upon. An. additional expense of sixty thou
sand dollars was incurred, but the probity of the
commonwealth was placed beyond question. In
this as in other particulars Vermont is an ex
cellent exemplar to her sister states.
Governor Stewart's recommendations in re
spect to public education, and also in reference to
the jails of the state exhibited keen foresight and
were adopted by the legislature. His administra
tion had fallen in the "piping times of peace," and
nothing occurred to develop special executive
ability. The ordinary routine of state affairs was
conducted with dignity and skill, and his whole ca
reer as governor was one of honor to himself and
of credit to the state. He has not given his whole
time to the practice of his profession, but has de
voted a portion of it to the management of finan
cial institutions. He was chosen a director of the

Middlebury Bank in 1858, and for several
years prior to 1881 he served as president with
great acceptance, and gave much evidence of his
entire fitness for the position. In 1881 the pres
sure of other engagements upon his time forced
him to decline a further re-election.
The redistribution of seats in Congress, agree
ably to the population of each state, that followed
the United States census of 1880 occasioned a loss
to Vermont of one member. Governor Stewart
was elected by the Republicans of the new first
congressional district to the Forty-eighth Con
gress, and received fifteen thousand six hundred
and thirty-eight votes, against six thousand and
nine cast for L. W. Redington, Democrat; eight
hundred and sixty-five for C. W. B. Kidder,
Greenbacker; and thirty-six scattering. His
long-service in both branches of the Vermont leg
islature and his excellent gubernatorial adminis
tration gave promise that was amply fulfilled of
good and influential service in national legisla
tion. He was re-elected to Congress in 1884,
1886 and 1888. Since the expiration of his eight
years in Congress Governor Stewart has returned
to the active practice of law — to the work of a
profession which he adorns and whose members
are all his admirers and friends.
Governor Stewart is a typical Vermonter of
the best quality. Like most notable excellent
men, he is most highly appreciated where he is
best known. Middlebury certainly knows of no
official honor that she would not bestow nor of
any official duty that she would not entrust to
her '"favorite son." Possessed of a lucrative legal
practice and ever widening acquaintance with
men and things, his high reputation as a lawyer is
established, and his professional services are in
great demand. Not only is he frequently called
upon to appear in the highest law courts of Ver
mont, but also of those in other states. His posi
tion in the foremost ranks of citizens and pro
fessional men is unchallenged. The state is hon
ored by the, nurture and services of such sons
as he. John Wolcott Stewart was married November
21, i860, to Emma, daughter of Philip Battell, of
Middlebury. Five children were born to them,
three of whom, two daughters and one son, are
still living. The son, Philip, graduated from Yale

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

43

University in 1886, was admitted to the bar in
Massachusetts, and is now a banker at Colorado
Springs, Colorado. The daughters, Elga and
Jessica, reside at home.
FRANK TALCOTT.
Frank Talcott, one of the leading agricul
turists of Williston, was born in Williston, Octo
ber 13, 1873, a son of Lewis H. Talcott, and a
grandson of the late Roswell Talcott, who was
among the first of the native-born citizens of the
place. Deacon Jonathan Talcott, the great
grandfather of Frank Talcott, was born in 1773.
After his marriage he settled in Williston, taking
up one hundred and forty acres of land about
two miles south of the present village, where he
cleared and improved a farm, in addition keep
ing a public house. He married Jerusha Morton,
who was born March 1, 1778. He was a man of
strong religious convictions, and a deacon in the
Congregational church. He died while in the
prime of manhood, leaving two children : Ros
well, the next in line of. descent; and Jerusha,
who becarne the wife of Leonard Smith. On
December 21, 1803, his widow married Dr. Seth
Cole, by whom she had three children, as fol
lows: Betsey, born September 22, 1804, died
August 1, 1891 ; Morton, born March 16, 1807,
died April 28, 1864; and Seth L., who died Jan
uary 27, 1861. Mrs. Cole died April 8, 1857.
Roswell Talcott, a life-long resident of Willis
ton, was born in 1798, and died September 1,
1893. Following the occupation in which he was
reared, he carried on general farming on the old
homestead with much success. He married, Feb
ruary 1, 1824, Lodicia Holt, daughter of Smith
Holt, who "was born in Ashford, Connecticut,
in 1757, settled in New York state in 1793, and
there reared his family, Lodicia being born there.
She died October 19, 1887, in Williston. Five
children were born of their union, as follows:
Seth Cole, born January 24, 1825, , resides in
San Francisco, California ; Jerusha Caroline, born
December 31, 1827; Lydia Janet, born November
2, 1831, died July 1, 1847; Lewis H., father of
Frank -'and Jonathan Roswell, born May 3, 1844,
is a resident of Oakland, California.
Lewi's H. Talcott was born in Williston, June
27, 1836, and here acquired his early education,

attending the common schools and the academy.
Obtaining a thorough knowledge of the various
branches of agriculture under the wise tuition
of his "father, he assisted in the management of
the home farm until 1862, when he went to Cali
fornia, where he engaged in farming and dairy
ing for four years. Returning to his former
home in 1866, he has since been extensively en
gaged in general farming and dairying, having a
landed estate of twelve hundred and fifty acres.
A man of great enterprise and energy, he organ
ized the first co-operative creamery in the state
of Vermont, in 1891, and is now interested in
three creameries in the neighborhood. He is
prominently identified with the local public offices,
besides which he represented his town in the leg-
' islature in 1872, and was state senator in 1896.
He is a stanch Republican in politics, and a
member of the Universalist church. He married,
in 1858, Lucy Root, who was born in Williston,
a daughter of Zimri arid Amelia (Atwater) Root,
and a granddaughter of Arnold Root, who came
from Montague, Massachusetts, to Williston in
1800. Into their household five children were
born, namely: Seth R, born March -12, i860,
died December 12, 1864; George M., born June
3, 1862, died August 9, 1883; Charles R., bom
May 16, 1867, died March 5, 1886 ; Jane E., born
September 30, 1870, died March 27, 1887; and
Frank. Frank Talcott was educated at Goddard Sem
inary and the University of Vermont, and has
since carried on general agriculture with marked
success, being a prominent member of the farm
ing community of his native town. He is an
active member of the Republican party, and
served as selectman in 1899, 1900 and 1901. Fra
ternally he belongs to the Ethan Allen Lodge,
F. & A. M: On August 25, 1897; Mr. Talcott
married Clarinda Stuart, a daughter of Robert
and Lucia (Bingham) Stuart, of Westford, Ver
mont.
WILLIS F. CHAPIN.
Willis F. Chapin, of Essex Center, Vermont,
can trace his ancestry back to 1642, when Deacon
Samuel Chapin settled in Springfield, Massachu
setts. His son, Japhet Chapin, was the father of
a son named David Chapin, who resided in Chico-

44

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

pee, Massachusetts, and his son, Benoni Chapin,
who was born January 24, 1726, was the founder
of the family in Connecticut. His son Ichabod
Chapin was born September 26, 1760. He learned
the trade of tanner, which he followed in connec
tion with his farming pursuits. He was an active
and earnest member of the Congregational
•church, and was noted for the wonderful memory
lie possessed. He was united in marriage to
Miss Asenath Smitli, of Goshen, Connecticut, and
they took up their residence in Jericho, Vermont,
in 1786. He died May 16, 1843. His son, My
ron Chapin, was born March 6, 1794, and mar
ried Miss Ruth Currier. Their son, Albert F.
Chapin, was the father of Willis F. Chapin.
Albert F. Chapin was born in Jericho, Ver
mont, December 9, 1825. He was a self-educated
man, and taught school for many years. He
resided in Essex Center, Vermont, from 1871,
and followed the occupation of farming. He was
elected to the position of superintendent of
schools, and he retained this office for many
years. On November 25, 1853, Mr. Chapin mar
ried Miss Sarah Palmer, a resident of Underhill,
Vermont. Two children were born to them:
Willis Fremont ; and Carrie Palmer, who was born
in 1862, and married G- .E. Humphrey, of Bur
lington, Vermont. The father of these children
died September 2, 1888.
Willis Fremont Chapin, only son of Albert
F. and Sarah Chapin, was born in Underhill, Ver
mont, October 23, 1857. He derived his educa
tion at Essex Classical Institute, and upon the
completion of his studies he engaged in farming,
making a specialty of dairy products, at which he
was eminently successful.
Mr. Chapin has held many offices of trust and
responsibility, among which may be mentioned
that of selectman, a position he held for four
years ; he held the positon of town clerk for three
years ; was justice of the peace, and he was chosen
to represent Essex Center in the legislature in
1898. Mr. Chapin is a notary public, and he
"has served in the capacity of president of the
"board of trustees of the Essex Classical Insti
tute; he is a commissioner of the cemetery, and
fraternally is a rr .ember of the Ethan Allen Lodge,
A. F. & A. M.
Mr. Chapin was united in marriage Septem
ber 21, 1878, tc Miss Ellen Andrews, daughter of

Gideon B. and Polly (Buel) Andrews, of Hunt
ington, Vermcmt. Mr. Andrews was born in
Richmond, Ve/mont, and when quite a boy came
to Essex, where he married Polly Buel, and they
removed to Huntington, where they resided until
death. Mr. Andrews died November 20', 1893;
his wife died June 30, 1896. Five children were
born to Mr. and Mrs. Chapin, namely : Claudius,
born October 6, 1880, a student of the University
of Vermont ; Sarah B., born in 1882, now engaged
as a teacher; Jeanette A., born in 1884, also en
gaged in teaching ; Albert Franklin, bom in /1886,
a student in the Essex Classical Institute; and
Carrie P. Chapin, born in 1888.
HON. REDFIELD PROCTOR.
Hon. Redfield Proctor, of Proctor, Vermont,
former governor of the state and United States
senator, is a native of the soil, born in Proctors-
ville, Jun'e 1, 1831. His ancestors were of ex
cellent English stock. The first of the family to
come to America was Robert Proctor (1), who in
1643 was a freeman and in prosperous' circum
stances in Concord, Massachusetts. In 1653 he
and others obtained a grant of land six miles
square, upon which was founded the town of
Chelmsford. He married Jane, eldest daughter.
of Richard Hildreth, the ancestor of the family
of that name in America. He died April 28,
1697. Of his twelve children, seven were sons,
and all became heads of families which were
planted throughout Massachusetts, Vermont and
New Hampshire.
Samuel (2), tenth child of Robert Proctor,
born in Chelmsford, September 16, 1665, and died
January 17, 1757, was one of the grantees of the
land which became Townshend. The christian
name of his wife was Sarah, but her surname is
unknown. Their children were also twelve in
number. Thomas (3), second son and third child of
Samuel, was born in Chelmsford, December 12,
1698. He married Hannah, daughter of Isaac
and Sarah Barron, who bore him four children.
Their second son and fourth child,
Leonard (4), founder of the Proctor family
in Vermont, was born in Chelmsford; January
16, 1734. He was a selectman in 1770, 1778 and
1779. He was among the most active of the Rev-

iemdeto TsmsmMSMiam mwBXBismm.i

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

45.

olutionary patriots, and was second lieutenant in
Captain Minot's company, which marched from
Westford to Lexington -at the alarm of -April 19,
1775. He participated in various engagements,
including those of Lexington, Trenton and Mon- '
mouth. He was one of the committee of corre
spondence in 1780, and was one of its commit
tee of thirteen, "to take under consideration the
new form of government." In 1781 he was a
captain, and was head of one of the five classes
into which the town was divided for army en
rolling purposes. After the war he removed to
Cavendish, Vermont, where he founded in an un
known forest the village of Proctorsville, which
derived from him its name, and where he died,
June 3, 1827. He married, in 1760, Lydia Nut
ting, who died November 16, 1767; and Decem
ber 25, 1769, he married Mary (died September
3, 1827), daughter of Captain Jabez Keep.
Leonard Proctor was the father of twelve chil
dren, of whom the two eldest, Philip and Abel,
were also Revolutionary war soldiers.
Jabez (5), tenth child of Captain Leonard
Proctor, was born in Westford, Massachusetts,
April 22, 1780, and was three years old when his
parents removed to Vermont, in which state he
lived to become one of its most influential and
honored citizens. Vigorous and versatile, he was
for many years not only a farmer and a merchant,
but was also a manufacturer, and on a large scale,
considering the conditions. He was a Whig, and
actively participated in public affairs. At differ
ent times he was a member of the governor's
council,- and judge of probate. He was a presi
dential elector in 1824 and in 1836, and in the
latter year, as chairman of the delegation, cast
the vote of the state at Washington for William
Henry Harrison. His wife Betsey, daughter of
Isaac Parker, of Westford, Massachusetts, to
whom he was married in 1817, bore him four
children. He died in 1839.
Redfield (6), youngest child of Jabez and
Betsey (Parker) Proctor, was born in Proctors
ville, June i, 1 83 1. He was graduated in 1851
from Dartmouth College, and three years later
received the degree of Master of Arts from the
same institution. He studied in the Albany (New
York) Law School, from which he was graduated
in 1859, and he was admitted to the bar at Al
bany, and also at Woodstock, Vermont. Dur

ing a portion of the years i860 and 1861 he prac
ticed with his cousin Judge Isaac F. Redfield, at:
Boston, Massachusetts. In June, 1861, Mr..
Proctor enlisted in the Third Regiment, Ver
mont Volunteers, in which he was commis
sioned as lieutenant arid quartermaster, and his-
command at once went to the front. In July he-
was assigned to duty on the staff of General.
"Baldy" Smith, and in October he was promoted
to the rank of major of the Fifth Regiment, Ver
mont Volunteers, with which he served about.
twelve months in front of Washington and upon-
the Peninsula. In October, 1862, Major Prdctor
was promoted to the colonelcy of the Fifteenth
Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, an organization/
recruited for nine months' service, which per
formed much arduous campaigning. In the me
morable and decisive engagement at Gettysburg,
the regiment was posted on the famous Cemetery
Hill during a part of the second day's struggle.
In August, 1863, it was mustered out of service,
and Colonel Proctor returned to civil life. He
faithfully performed his duty, and was recognized
as a most efficient officer. Speaking of -his ser
vices, a Vermont newspaper stated that "none but
those who served with him and were in a position-
to know, can ever understand pr appreciate his
untiring zeal for the welfare* of -his men, his un
swerving honesty in dealings with the govern
ment, and his fearless execution of every trust his
position demanded."
Colonel Proctor now established himself in
Rutland, and entered into partnership for the
practice of law with W. G. Veazey, afterwards
associate judge of the supreme court.
In 1869 Colonel Proctor, preferring an active
business life, accepted the position of manager
qf the Sutherland Falls Marble Company, near
Rutland. The quarries had been opened in 1836
by a company which failed the following year,
In 1853 a new company was formed, which
operated the quarries for three years, when the
property came into the possession of the Suther
land Falls Company. When Colonel Proctor took
charge,, ten gangs of saws were in operation.
Under his supervision the business was greatly
enlarged, and in 1880 his company united .with
the old Rutland Marble Company, formed in
1863. This consolidation was perfected through -
the orgariization, on September 30, 1880, of the

46

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Vermont Marble Company, with Redfield Proctor
as president. Since its organization in 1880, the
Vermont Marble Company has steadily grown
until to-day it is by far the largest industry in the
state, and much the largest marble concern in the
world. Its principal producing plants are located at
Proctor, Center Rutland, West Rutland and
Pittsford, and the town of Proctor from a small
hamlet has grown to a prosperous village of
some twenty-five 'hundred people, all actively
identified with the marble business. When Col
onel Proctor first took hold of the marble busi
ness it was comparatively a small affair, but, ow
ing to his business sagacity, foresight and energy,
it has grown to large proportions. In its num
erous quarries thousands of blocks are quarried
each year, and under its" huge piling derricks
there are kept constantly on hand from ten to
fifteen thousand quarry blocks from which a se
lection can always be made of different varieties
of marble. In its mills something over two hun
dred and fifty gangs of saws are operated contin
uously from Monday morning to Saturday night,
sawing out the rough material from the block that
later is sent to the shop to come out as a finished
product. While the marble business was started pri
marily for the purpose of supplying the monu
mental trade, to-day it caters to every use to
which1 marble can be put, and, while the monu
mental business is still its principal output, it
now has large shops devoted entirely to the fin
ishing of Exterior and interior building work.
Senator Proctor early conceived the idea of es
tablishing branch yards at convenient points over
the country for the distribution of marble, and
the company now has branches in Boston, New
York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis
and San Francisco.
Believing that the best results can be obtained
only when friendly relations exist between the
employer and the employe, efforts have been made
all the time to improve the condition of the labor
ing men employed in this business. For many
years model tenement houses have been furnished
to the men at low rentals. A garden patch has
been given to everyone for the asking. A well
equipped hospital and a system of district nurs
ing free, to the employes and their families has

been of great benefit. The twenty-five hundred
men employed by the company are covered by an
accident insurance at the expense of the company
and without cost to them, which in case of acci
dent insures them one-half their weekly wages
and doctor's care, and, in case of death, five hun
dred dollars to their families. A well equipped
library and a Young Men's Christian Association
building have been furnished for the enjoyment
of the people. Its stores, from which anything
can be supplied, are upon a co-operative basis, a
committee from the men taking an active part in
the management of the same and the entire profits
being distributed to the employes. In 1889, when
Governor Proctor went into President Harrison's
cabinet as secretary of war, he turned the presi
dency and the active management of the company
to his son, Fletcher D. Proctor, who has held that
position since that time.
The public career of Senator Proctor, which
has been as honorable to himself as it has been
useful to the people, began with his election as a
selectman of the town of Rutland in 1866. In
1867 he was elected to the lower house of the
state legislature, in which he served as chairman
of the committee on elections. Again a member
of the house in 1868, he served upon the com
mittee on ways and means., Returned to the state
senate from Rutland county in 1874, he was
elected president pro tern., and discharged the du
ties of the position most capably. In 1876 he was
elected lieutenant governor on the same ticket
with Governor Fairbanks, receiving a majority of
23,825 votes over his Democratic competitor. In
1878 he was elected governor, receiving 37,312
votes against 17,247 cast for W, H. H. Bingham,
the Democratic candidate; 2625 for C. C. Mar
tin, Greenbacker; 750 for C. W. Willard, Re
former ; and thirty-two scattering.
His familiarity with questions of state was
illustrated by the. skillful and thorough manner
in which they were discussed in his inaugural ad
dress. He made a strong appeal for a reduction
of state expenses, calling particular attention to
the great increase in court costs, which, had
doubled "between i860 and 1876, and recommend
ing the appointment of a special committee to con
sider the subject. This was the begining of the
great reduction which has since been made in this
the largest item of state expenses. His sugges-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

47

tions in regard to a law requiring each taxpayer
to make return under oath, and in regard to the di
rect payment of special taxes to the state, were
afterwards adopted, and have proved important
provisions of the present very satisfactory tax law.
During the term of Governor Proctor, the first
general savings bank law was passed, in accord
ance with his recommendation, the savings banks
having been previously under no uniform law.
His suggestion in regard to divorce was also
acted upon, and a law was enacted which has
proved salutary and in harmony with enlightened
public sentiment. His recommendation that
special legislation should be avoided where the
object sought could be obtained under the general
law has now become the settled policy of the state.
It is also of interest to note that the present gen
eral law authorizing the formation of corporations
was drawn and introduced, by him while he was a
member of the senate, and has since been in gen
eral use in the organization of business corpora
tions. Governor Proctor also recommended a re
vision of the statutes, and a law was passed au
thorizing him to appoint commissioners for that
purpose. Under this act he appointed the
late Hon. Charles W. Willard and Judge Veazey.
His discussion of the use of the pardoning power
and his allusions to national affairs also deserved
and received particular attention.
Governor Proctor delivered a retiring message
in which he again forcibly discussed the question
of court expenses, and illustrated the evils which
had crept in and which had led to the great in
crease. He also argued the question of state tax
ation, and again urged the payment of special cor
poration taxes direct to the state, and the general
system of taxation which is now the law of the
state. His foresight and ability for constructive
legislation was shown by the unusual number of
important measures recommended by him and
enacted into law during his term or since that
have stood the test of time and are still the law of
the state.
March 4, 1889, Governor Proctor was called
to the cabinet of President Harrison as sec
retary of war. His conduct of that high office
was characterized by the loftiest patriotism, and
his influence permeated every portion of his
great department. The inauguration of our pres

ent system of seacoast defenses was work to
which he gave special attention. The first of our
modern high-power guns for coast defense were
manufactured and mounted during his term of
office, and the first appropriation for the pur
chase of sites for these defenses was made
through his urgent appeals to Congress. Al
though it was a time of peace, his work in the
department for the general improvement and effi
ciency of the army was of lasting value. Among
other measures inaugurated by him were the
abolition of the post trader system, which had led
to much corruption and dissipation at army posts,
the abolition of Sunday inspections, which had
made Sunday the hardest working day of the
week, and the inauguration of the system of effi
ciency reports, and of examinations for promo
tions, which are still continued, and have proved
very effective in stimulating the officers of the
army to diligent work.
One incident during his service in the 'war de
partment attracted very general attention. It is
the custom to put the flag which floats over the
war department at half-mast for thirty days on
the death of any former secretary of war. Jeffer
son Davis died while Senator Proctor was secre
tary of war, and the mayor of New Orleans offi
cially notified him of Mr. Davis' death for the
evident purpose of compelling a public expression
from the secretary of his purpose. Senator Proc
tor replied to the telegram as follows :
War Department, Washington, Dec. 7, 1889.
To the Hon. James A. Shakespeare, Mayor of
New Orleans, La. :
Your telegram informing me of the death of
Mr., Davis is received. In refraining from any
official' action thereon I would not, and hope I
do not, add to the great sorrow of his family
and many friends. It seems to me the right
course and the best one for all. You will, I am
sure, understand that its adoption is prompted
also by a sincere wish and purpose to act in
that spirit of peace and good will which should
fill the hearts of all our people. Redfield Proctor,
Secretary of War.
This reply met with universal approval from
the northern press and from the leading papers
through the south, but by some of the minor

48

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

southern papers he was bitterly attacked. He was
hanged in effigy at Tupelo, Mississippi.
After nearly three years' service in the war de
partment he resigned, December 7, 1891, to ac
cept the appointment of United States senator
from Vermont. In October, 1892, he was elected
to the same position for the remainder of the
term, ending March 4, 1893, and for the full term,
ending March 4, 1899, and in 1898 was re-elected
for another full term, ending March 4, 1905.
A single incident will illustrate his character
and the deep conscientiousness which govern
his actions and utterances. During the session of
Congress in 1897-8, as in the preceding session,
there was much earnest discussion concerning
affairs in Cuba, where a revolution was in prog
ress. Among senators, as among the people at
large, there existed wide differences of opinion as
to the character, condition and prospects of the
insurgents and the treatment of the people by the
Spanish troops. Recognition of the independence
of Cuba was strongly and persistently opposed.
It was impossible to learn the truth from news
paper reports or partisan speeches. Under these
circumstances, in February, 1898, Senator Proc
tor visited Cuba, going at his own expense and on
his own responsibility, in order that, he. might be
able from personal observation to speak and act
wisely in reference to this important matter. He
spent considerable- time on the island, traveled
quite extensively, conversed with American con
suls, Spanish officers, business men of various na
tionalities, and visited hospitals and places where
reconcentrados were herded together. March 17th
he gave to the senate an account. of his observa
tions. This speech, by reason of its calm and dis
passionate style, as well as on account of the un
questioned sincerity and ability of its author,
was accepted by all parties as a final and authori
tative statement of the conditions in Cuba and
had a powerful influence in determining the ac
tion of the nation -'with reference to those condi
tions. It was translated wholly or in part into
most of the languages of the civilized world.
Senator Hoar said in a public address that in his
opinion "the resolutions of congress demanding
the evacuation bf Cuba by Spain, which brought
on the war, were the result, not of the destruction
of the Maine, but of Senator Proctor's report that
a half million people were being starved to death

at our very doors," and ex-President Harrison,
in taking the chair at a meeting of the Red Cross
Society at Elberon, New Jersey, said: "That
quiet recital made by Senator Proctor in the
United States senate aroused the nation. I do
not think there has been made in any legislative
assembly of the world in fifty years a speech that
so'powerfully- affected public sentiment. And yet
there was not a lurid adjective in the speech."
Senator Proctor has been three times a dele
gate to the Republican national convention, and
in 1888 and 1896, at the conventions that nomi
nated Harrison and McKinley the first time, he
was chairman of the delegation. The action of
Vermont in the convention of 1888, where the
chairman announced on every ballot "Vermont
casts her eight v6tes for Benjamin Harrison,"
was a leading factor in determining the result.
Vermont was the only state which gave her entire
vote on every ballot. President Harrison evinced
his personal regard for Mr. Proctor, departing
from precedent by taking two of his cabinet from
New England, the selection of Mr. Blaine being
a foregone conclusion.
In the convention of 1896 Senator Proctor
was asked by Governor McKinley's friends to
serve as permanent chairman of the convention,
but declined in favor of another Vermonter, Sen
ator Thurston. At that convention the present
postmaster general, the Hon. Henry C. Payne, of
Wisconsin, with four or five other prominent
western men, with Senator Proctor as the only
eastern representative, framed the gold plank of
the platform of 1896 several days before the con
vention met, and there was not a word changed
in it except to add after the clause in regard to
international silver coinage the words, — "which
we pledge ourselves to promote."
At the urgent request of the national commit
tee Senator Proctor took charge of the campaign
on the Pacific coast in 1896, and the result of it
in California and Oregon, where the party was
badly divided by personal and local antagonisms,
gave evidence of his ability to bring together dis
cordant elements to work enthusiastically in har
mony for the general result. His work was ac
knowledged by both the national and state com
mittees in very strong letters and telegrams, some
of which were published at the time.
The Senator has been honored to a marked

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

49

degree by the personal friendship of Presidents
Harrison, McKinley and Roosevelt, all of whom
made him visits at his home in Vermont. Presi
dent McKinley invited him to a seat in his cabi
net, but he preferred to remain in the senate. His
long service, strong common sense and good
judgment give him a high standing, and his opin
ion is much esteemed by his colleagues and by
the administration, as well as in the national coun
cils of his party, where his work has been notable.
His long service has brought him to good places
on committees, and he is now a member of the
committtees- on agriculture, military affairs, the
Philippines and postoffices. He has the unique
position of being at the head of two committees,
being chairman of the committee on agriculture
and acting chairman of the committee on military
affairs. Senator Proctor was married May 26, 1858,
to Emily J., daughter of Hon, Salmon F. Dutton,
of Cavendish, Vermont. Five children, four of
whom are living, are the issue of their union, —
Arabella* G„ wife of Frederick G. Holden ;
Fletcher D., who became superintendent of the
Vermont Marble Company in 1884 and its presi
dent in 1889; Fanny G'.,who died at the age of
twenty years ; Emily D., and Redfield Proctor, Jr.
GENERAL GRENVILLE M. DODGE.
GrenviUe Mellen Dodge, civil engineer, Coun
cil Bluffs, Iowa, and who rendered conspicuous
military service during the Civil war, was born
in Putnamville, Danvers, Massachusetts, April
12, 1831, son pf Sylvanus and Julia T. (Phillips)
Dodge. He attended the public school in winter,
meanwhile Working industriously in various em
ployments. He devoted his leisure hours to
study, and in 1845 .was able to enter Durham
(New Hampshire) Academy. The following
year he entered Norwich (Vermont) University,
a military college, and graduated from the college
as a civil engineer in 1850, and from Captain
Partridge's Military School in 185 1, taking his
diploma in the scientific course.
¦ He began his active career at Peru, Illinois,
where he engaged in surveying. In the winter of
185 1 he entered the service of the Illinois Central
Railroad Company and' made surveys for that
road between Dixon and Bloomington, Illinois.
4

He then became connected with the engineer
corps of the Rock Island Railroad, and soon after
ward was commissioned to survey its Peoria
branch. While thus engaged he wrote a letter
home, which was published, prophesying the
building of the first Pacific Railroad, and indicat
ing its general line across the continent, a line
which in later years he constructed. Under the
direction of Mr. Dey he made the surveys of the
Mississippi & Missouri, now the Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific Railroad, from Davenport, Iowa,
to Council Bluffs, and he was assistant engineer
during the construction of the road from Daven
port to Iowa City. In 1853 he niade a reconnais
sance west of the Mississippi river with a view
of determining the location of a Pacific railroad,
and the bill authorizing the construction of the
Union Pacific Railroad, which was adopted by
Congress in 1862, was largely based upon his sur
veys and reports. November 11, 1854, he re
moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and engaged in
mercantile pursuits. Later- he established the
banking house of Baldwin & Dodge, which was
finally merged in the Pacific National Bank, with
Mr. Dodge as president, and this institution be
came the present Council Bluffs Savings Bank, of
which his brother, N. P. Dodge, is president.
From 1853 to i860 he continued his surveys for
the Union Pacific Railroad under the patronage
of Henry Farnham and Thomas C. Durant, and
was connected with all the railroad interests in
Iowa and Nebraska.
In 1856 he organized and equipped the Coun
cil Bluffs Guards, of which he was elected cap
tain, and in 1861 he tendered its services to the
Governor of Iowa, it being one of the first com
panies in the state to offer under the call for
troops for the suppression of the rebellion. This
proffer was declined, it being deemed inexpedient
to withdraw troops, from the western border of
Iowa. Early in 1861 Captain Dodge was ap
pointed on the staff of Governor Kirkwood, who
sent him to Washington, where he obtained six
thousand stands of arms, with ammunition, for
the use of Iowa troops; While engaged upon this
errand the Secretary of War offered him a cap
taincy in the regular army, but this he declined,
whereupon Secretary of War Cameron tele
graphed Governor Kirkwood recommending that
Captain Dodge be made colonel of an Iowa regi- ¦

5o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ment. Governor Kirkwood at once commissioned
him as colonel of the Fourth Regiment, Iowa Inr
fantry, and authorized him to recruit and com
plete its organization at Council Bluffs, A
fortnight later Colonel Dodge, with his regiment,
was in active service in northern Missouri.
When the Army of the Southwest was organized
under General S. R. Curtis, Colonel Dodge was
assigned to the command of the Fourth Brigade,
Fourth Division, and he led the advance in the
capture of Springfield, Missouri. He was en
gaged in the battle of Pea Ridge, where he was
wounded, and where his gallant conduct brought
him promotion to the rank of brigadier general.
November 15, 1862, he was assigned to command
of the Second Division of the Army of the Ten
nessee, and actively engaged thereafter against
the Confederate, forces under Forrest and- Roddy
in West Tennessee and Mississippi. With two
divisions of the Sixteen Army Corps he joined
Genera] Sherman at Chattanooga May 4, 1864.
He was commissioned major general May 22, on
the recommendation of General Grant, in recog
nition of his services during the operations about
Corinth and in the Vicksburg campaign. He
took part in all the operations of General Sher
man which culminated in the fall of Atlanta, and
on August 19th fell 'dangerously wounded, and
was sent home as soon as he was able to be moved.
While exhibiting all the traits which mark the
accomplished soldier and general, in conduct in
campaign and battle, General Dodge's engineering
skill was also of vast advantage to Generals
Grant and Sherman who relied upon him in large
degree for the rebuilding of many large railroad
bridges which had been destroyed by the Con
federates, and which were necessary for provid
ing subsistence and munitions of war to the army.
This splendid service was never forgotten by
Generals Grant and Sherman, and they paid fer
vent tribute to General Dodge in their "Memoirs"
as well as by word of mouth in presence of mili
tary assemblages subsequent to the war. Return
ing, to duty he was assigned to the command of
the Department of Missouri, relieving General
Rosecrans December 2, 1864. General Dodge
subsequently took command ' of all the United
States forces serving in Kansas, Colorado, Ne
braska, Utah, Montana and Dakota west of the
Missouri river,' and conducted an aggressive and

successful campaign against the Indians. - At the
conclusion of these operations, at his own earnest
request, he was relieved, and May 30, 1866, his
resignation was accepted.
In July, 1866, the Republicans of the Fifth
Congressional District of Iowa nominated Gen
eral Dodge for Congress, an honor which was en
tirely unsought. In Congress he was recognized
as an authority on all questions relating to the
army, and he was active in forrriulating and pro
moting the bill to reduce the army to a peace foot
ing, and in other important military legislation.
He declined a re-election to Congress in order to
give his sole attention to his duties as chief en
gineer of the Union Pacific Railroad. He
planned the iron bridge across the Missouri river
between Council Bluffs and Omaha, and in one
year directed the locating, building and equipment
of five hundred and sixty-eight miles of road.
May 10, 1869, he witnessed the consummation
of his great purpose, the uniting of the Union
Pacific with the Central Pacific at Promontory '
Point, Utah, eleven hundred and eighty-six miles
from the eastern terminus on the Missouri river.
In 1 87 1 General Dodge was appointed chief en
gineer of the California & Texas Railway Con- "
struction Company, and he built the Texas & Pa
cific railroad from Shreveport, Louisiana, to Dal
las, Texas, and from Marshall via Texarkana to
Sherman. He also made the preliminary surveys
to determine the thirty-fifth parallel route, and
partially built eastward some two hundred miles
of road. In 1874 General Dodge visited Europe, pri
marily on account of his health, and until 1879
he spent a portion of each year abroad. During
this period, at the solicitation of President Grant,
he met the German and Italian engineers engaged
in building the St. Gothard tunnel, and also ex
amined the system of internal improvements in
various parts of Europe. In January, 1880, he
organized the Pacific Railway Improvement Com
pany, of which he became president, and com
pleted a large section of the Texas & Pacific road.
He was subsequently president and prompter of
various railroad organizations in the United
States and Mexico. In 187 1 and 1886 the Chinese
government invited the aid of General Dodge in
carrying out certain internal improvements, but he
declined. Since the Spanish- American war he has

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Si

surveyed various railroad routes in Cuba. It is
not too much to say that no man of his day con
tributed so much to the establishment of transcon
tinental railroads, and he has been to the present
time a constant inspiration to railroad projectors
and builders throughout the land.
General Dodge enjoys the distinction of being
the last surviving corps commander of the old
Army of the Tennessee, which was organized and
long commanded by Grant, who was succeeded by
Sherman. General Dodge was an original mem
ber of the Society of the Army of the Tenriessee,
and has been its president since the death of Gen
eral Sherman. He was vice-president of the
Grant Monument Association, and he was com
mander of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion
of the state of New York in 1897-8. He is a
member of the Union League, Colonial, United
States and other clubs, and of the Grand Army
of the Republic. He was a delegate at large from
Iowa to the national Republican conventions at'
Philadelphia, Chicago and Cincinnati, and he has
taken an active part in every presidential cam
paign beginning with that which resulted in the
first election of Lincoln. When war was declared
with Spain in 1893 General Dodge was proffered
by President McKinley a commission as major
general, which he declined on account of his years
and professional duties. He was appointed one
of the commissioners to investigate the conduct
of the war department during the war with Spain.
He has taken ari active interest in Norwich Uni
versity, of which he has long served as trustee, and
Dodge Hall was built and donated "by him to the
institution. He is an honorary member of the
New York Society of Vermonters.
DAN IRA PAGE.
Dan Ira Page, a highly respected citizen of
Plainfield, Vermont, was born in the town of
Plainfield, Washington county, Vermont, Jan
uary 10, 185 1, a son of Ira Fuller and Eunice
Page About the year 1810 Daniel Page, grand
father of Dan Ira Page, removed from Goffs-
town, New Hampshire, where he had been a
resident for many years, and settled on a farm in
the town of Marshfield, Washington county, Ver
mont, where he was engaged for the -remainder of
his life in the production of a' general line of gar

den products. He was united in marriage to
Miss Rebecca Fuller, and eight children were
born to them ; Mark M., Lovina, Seth F., Daniel
B., Ira Fuller, Nathaniel C, J. Parker and Clar-
rissa F. Page.
Ira Fuller Page, fifth child in order of birth
bom to Daniel and Rebecca Page, was born in
the town of Marshfield, Washington county, Ver
mont, March 2, 18 16. He attended the district
schools of his birthplace, and after completing
his education learned the trade of blacksmith,
which occupation ' he pursued in the Village of
Plainfield for the following seven years. He was
then engaged in teaming for a number of years,
transferring freight between Plainfield and Mont
pelier, and subsquently became interested in
mercantile trade in Plainfield with Dennis Moul
and his brother-in-law, William Bancroft. This
connection continued for some years, but finally
Mr. Page purchased the interest of his partners,
and conducted the business successfully for nearly
ten years, owing to his energy, determination and
perseverance, directed by an evenly balanced
mind and by honorable business principles. At
the expiration of that period of time he traded
the store property for a farm in the town of
Plainfield, where his son, Dan Ira, now resides,
while he remained in the village for the re
mainder of his life. In his political affiliations
Mr. Page was a firm adherent of the principles
of the Democratic, party, and he always took an
active interest in all matters that pertained to the
welfare and advancement of the town. For a
number /of years he served as overseer of the
poor, and he. also acted in the capacity of town
treasurer. On March 4, 1840, Mr. Page was
united in marriage to Miss Eunice Bancroft, who
was born April 29, 1815, a daughter of Asa and
Mahnda (Tyler) Bancroft. Their children were :
Mason Tyler, born February 12, 1841, now a
resident of Barre, Vermont ; Josephine May, born
May 1, 1843, died January 12, 1892 ; Anna Lu-
ella, born August 3, 1845, died November 6,
1870 ; Emma Rebecca, born February 2, 1848,
and resides with her brother, Dan Ira, on the
old homestead; Dari Ira; Alice Patience, born
February 9, J.855, died November 22, 1873. The
father of these children died November 12, 1897,
and his wife died January 3, 1888.
Dan Ira Page, second son of Ira Fuller and

52

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Eunice Page, acquired his education in the dis
trict schools of Plainfield, Vermont. After com
pleting his studies he was employed for a few,
years in his father's store, and when the latter
disposed of his store and located on a farm, young
Dan Ira ' assisted him in the management of it,
and in due course of time succeeded to the old
homestead, where he has resided up to the present
time (1902), and devotes his time and attention
to farming and dairying. His farm is well cul
tivated, neat and thrifty in appearance, and is
furnished with all conveniences and accessories.
Mr. Page is a Democrat in his political views,
and has always taken an active part and interest
in all movements tending toward public improve
ment. He has been honored by his townsmen with
the office of selectman, a position which he held
for over eight years, and at the present time he
is a member of that board ; he proved himself to
be an efficient officer and is worthy of the respect
and esteem of his fellow citizens. On November
28, 1877, Mr. Page married Miss Melvina Tay
lor Martyn, who was born January 31, 1857, a
daughter of Albe Fisk and Catherine (Taylor)
Martyn, of Plainfield, Vermont. Their children
are: Catherine Alice, born in Plainfield, Ver
mont, July 12, 1882 ; and Raymond Dan, born in
Plainfield, Vermont, December 5, 1886.
ARTHUR J. DEWEY.
Fortunate is the man who has back of him an
ancestry honorable and distinguished, and happy
is he whose lines of life are cast in harmony there
with. In person, in talents and in character, Mr.
Dewey is a worthy scion of his race; though his
life has been one rather of modest reserve than of
ambitious self-seeking, he has, nevertheless, occu
pied a leading position in the historic town of
Bennington, where he is now the postmaster. His
ancestral history is one of close connection with
the annals of the Green Mountain state, and
through different generations the family has been
represented by men of strong force of character,
loyal in citizenship, public-spirited and progres
sive. The first Vermont ancestor was the Rev.
Jedediah Dewey, who came to Bennington from
Westfield, Massachusetts, on the 24th of May,
1763, to accept the pastorate of the first church or
ganized in this state. He was greatly loved and

respected by all who knew him. He had a strong
admiration for Shakespeare, was a deep student of
that master of English poetry, and when he was
laid to rest in the cemetery at Bennington Center,
an appropriate quotation of that loved author was
carved upon his tombstone. Rev. Dewey was
twice married and left a large family of chil
dren. He passed away December 24, 1778, but
left the impress of his individuality upon the in
tellectual and moral development of the com
munity with which he was associated.
One of his sons was Captain Elijah Dewey,

ARTHUR J. DEWEY.
who was born in Westfield, Massachusetts, on
the 28th of November, 1744, and came to Ben
nington with his father in the fall of 1763. He
was a private in the first militia company formed
in this town, in October, 1764. He had not then
attained the age of twenty years but won distinc
tion in military circles and served as a captain
in a company raised in Bennington for service in

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

53

the Revolutionary war. _ He was among the he
roes who won fame during the war for independ
ence, making the term "Green Mountain boys" an
honored one from that day to the present. With
his company he participated in the engagement at
Ticonderoga, and was again present when that
fort, was evacuated by General St. Clair in July,
1777, being also at the head of his company at
the famous battle of Bennington, which occurred
on the 1 6th of August, of the same year, the
Green Mountain boys there covering themselves
with glory by their spirited and heroic attack on
the British troops. He was also in active service
at Saratoga at the time of the surrender of Gen
eral Burgoyne in October, 1777, and was a brave
and loyal officer, valiantly aiding in winning in
dependence and establishing the American re
public. He also served in various stations of civil
life, the people honoring him by election to the
general assembly, in. which he served in 1786,
1787, 1788, 1796, 1812 and 1813. He largely
aided in promoting the legislation enacted during
those terms and took art active part in forming
the laws cf the state. He was also a member of
the council of censors in 1792. He was a Fed
eralist in his political affiliations, and in 1796 and
again in 180O headed the list of presidential
electors of his state. -Captain Dewey was a man
of sound and discriminating judgment and of un
tiring integrity, and faithfully and capably per
formed whatever he, undertook. As a public of
ficial, his record was one above reproach, and his
efforts in behalf of the state proved of the great
est benefit. His death occurred October 16, 1818,
and thus passed. away an honored citizen, whose
loyalty was proved in both civil and military
circles. Eldad Dewey, the brother of Captain Dewey,
was the great-grandfather of Arthur J. Dewey.
In 1774 he built the old family homestead, which
is still standing and is yet occupied by his de-
, scendants. He continued to improve his farm,
which at that time covered a large part of the vil
lage, much of the town at the present day hav
ing been laid out upon land which he once owned.
He was a progressive agriculturist and was also a
valued citizen. His son Jedediah Dewey was the
father of Charles Edward Dewey.
Charles Edward Dewey was born in Benning

ton at the old family home, November 29, 1826,
and in the common schools of the locality, ac
quired his education. Early in life he became
actively connected witti. the ochre trade, but dur
ing the greater part of his business career car- --
ried on agricultural pursuits in conjunction with
his manufacturing interests. He lived at the old
family home, around which cluster many inter
esting historic associations; under its sheltering
roof reposed some of the hardy rangers just before
the famous battle of Bennington; here many dis-
-tinguished, guests have been received, and the old
place is an interesting landmark, which through
more than a century has looked upon scenes of
importance connected with American history. Mr,
Dewey was married on the 5th of February, 1856,
the lady of his choice being Martha Hamlen, a,
daughter of Samuel I. Hamlen, of Cleveland,
Ohio, and seven children have been born to them :
Mary, the wife of Charles Merrill, of Benning
ton ; Arthur J. ; Sarah, who married Dr. B. C.
Jenney; George H. ; Charles H. ; Edward E. ;
and Editji M. Dewey.
In his political, views Charles Edward Dewey
has been a Republican from the organization of
the party and has held a number of town offices,
including that of selectman. He has also been an
important factor in educational circles, and as
trustee of the schools of Bennington his labors
have been effective. He was one of the building
committee which had in charge the organization
of the graded high school building. He belongs
to the Congregational church, is a charter mem
ber of the Vermont Historical Society and,of the
Bennington Battle Monument Association. He
still resides on the old home farm, which is now
in the heart of the village, and his brother Elijah,
a prominent and wealthy farmer, also lives on the
ancestral home.
Arthur J. Dewey was born at the old home
stead in Bennington, which has been occupied by
his ancestors for more than one hundred and
twenty-five years. Like all who have borne the
name, public offices have been conferred upon
him. He represented Bennington in the state leg
islature for two years, has been president of the
village of Bennington, and at the present time is
serving as postmaster, having been appointed to
the latter position by President McKinley in

54

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

1897. His administration of these offices has
gained for him high commendation, for he is not
ably prompt and reliable in the discharge of all
his public duties.
M. JUDSON FRANCISCO.
The two allied families of Francisco and
Holmes, to which M. Judson Francisco is related
by ancestry and marriage, are among the most an
cient and honorable in New England. The earliest
American ancestors were Henry Sampson and
Ann Plummer of the company of Pilgrims who
came to Plymouth on the Mayflower in 1620. The
direct line of ancestry is traced as follows : Caleb
Sampson, who married Mercy Standish, a daugh
of Alexander Standish, the eldest son of the re^
nowned Captain Miles Standish and Mercy Al
den, the daughter of John Alden; David Samp
son, who was united in marriage to Mary Chaffin ;
Jonathan Sampson, who married Mary Chandler ;
William Sampson, who was joined in marriage to
Judith Merrill ; and Daniel Sampson, who married
Mary Woods.
John Francisco, father of M. Judson Fran
cisco, was one of the early pioneers of West Ha
ven, Vermont, taking up his residence there in
the year 1795. He was an active participant in
the war of 18 12, and displayed great bravery at
the battle of Plattsburg. After the termination
of that struggle he returned to Ticonderoga on
one of Commodore M.cDonough's vessels, and
thence marched to his ' home in West Haven,
Vermont, where he resided for eighty-three years.
Mr. Francisco had the distinction of being the
first preceptor of Horace Greeley, the great
American journalist, and for many years the ed
itor of the New York Tribune.
M. Judson Francisco was born at West Ha
ven, Vermont, August 5, 1835, and his early edu
cation was obtained at the Castleton (Vermont)
Seminary. In 1852 he entered Oberlin College,
and after completing his studies in that institu
tion spent several years in traveling through the
western and southern states. After his return he
became a student in the Albany College, | and
after his graduation was appointed principal of
the Northwestern College at Fort Wayne, Indi
ana. While a resident of that city Mr. Francisco
took an active part in recruiting volunteers for

the service of the United States, and in this man
ner incurred the displeasure and opposition of
the Knights of the Golden Circle and the Ku
Klux Klan and was finally involved in a riot in
cited by members of these disloyal organizations.
Leaving Fort Wayne, Indiana, Mr. Francisco ac
cepted the presidency of the Pennsylvania Col
lege of Trade and Finance at Harrisburg, Penn
sylvania, and with the co-operation of Governor
Geary, ex-Governor Curtin, Senator Cameron
and Hugh McCullough, who was then acting in
the capacity of Secretary of the United States
Treasury, he founded a large and flourishing in
stitution, the graduates of which are now filling
positions in the government and at the head of
large corporations. After acting in this capacity
for several years his health failed, and he was
compelled to relinquish his position and return
to his native state, where, at its mineral springs,
he found renewed strength, and he then entered
upon that sphere of activity which has made his
name familiar iri every city in the United States.
When the English fire insurance companies
were negotiating for admission into the United
States Mr. Francisco assumed the general man
agement for the state of Vermont of the North
British and Mercantile Insurance Company of
Edinburgh, Scotland, and the Liverpool, London
and Globe Insurance Company of London, Eng
land. Later he was appointed manager for Ver
mont, New Hampshire and northern New York
of several other large companies, and while in
the service of these corporations he made his
memorable argument before the joint committee
of the senate and the house of representatives in
opposition to the "valued policy bill." He had
also the distinction of writing the largest fire in
surance policy ever issued in New England, the
face value of which was two million one hundred
thousand dollars.
In 1887 Mr. Francisco was elected president
of the Rutland Electric Light Company, arid after
operating it tor twelve years sold it to the pres
ent company. He was the organizer and has
been a director in the Rutland Trust Company for
nearly, a quarter of a century ; is president of the
Holmes & Griggs Manufacturing Company of
New York, and is the senior member of the firm
of M. J. Francisco & Sons, of Rutland, Vermont.. •' •'
He became a member of the National Electric

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

55

Light Association of the United States in 1888,
was appointed a member of the executive commit
tee, -and at the convention of this association, held
in Providence, Rhode Island, was elected second
vice-president, was appointed first vice-president
at the St. Louis convention-, and at the conven
tion which convened at Washington, D. C, was
elected president. His first work on electric
- lighting was published in 1890 and went through
two editions, and two editions were printed of
his review, of the "Postmaster General's Limited
Post and Telegraph Bill," which was delivered
before the committee of the senate and house of
representatives at Washington, D. C, in 1891.
Two years later he was called before the Massa
chusetts legislature as an expert upon the subject
of municipal ownership, and in 1897 the Con
necticut legislature employed him in the same ca
pacity. He is the author of "Municipal Owner
ship and its Fallacy," which went through four
editions; "Government, State and Municipal
Ownership," and of "Municipalities versus Pri
vate Corporations," which has reached its fifth
edition. He has also contributed many articles
to the leading magazines and journals of this
country and Europe, and is recognized as the best
authority on this subject, being called to all the
principal cities of the United States to discuss the
question of public utilities. He is the ex-presi
dent of the Rutland Association of Underwriters,
a member of the American Institute of Electrical
Engineers, of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science and a member of the
Masonic fraternity. In his political affiliations
he is an adherent of the principles of the Repub
lican party.
In 1863 Mr. Francisco married H. Margaret
Holmes, a daughter of Israel Holmes, who up to
the time of his death was a prominent resident
of Waterbury, Connecticut. Two children were
born to them, I. Holmes, who married Estelle
Tytler, of New York city ; and Don C. Francisco,
both of whom are associated in business with
their father in the management of the oldest in
surance office in western Vermont. They also
conduct a large summer -hotel known as "Lake
View in the Pines," situated on Lake St. Cather
ine, near Poultney, Vermont.
Mrs. Francisco traces her descent through
Israel and Ardelia (Hayden) Holmes, to Abigail

Shepherd and Daniel Hayden; to Major Joseph,
Shepherd and Abigail Hodges; to Lieutenant
Elijah Hodges and Elizabeth Reed; to Thomas
Reed and Sarah Tisdale; to Joseph Tisdale and
Mary Leonard, who were married in 1681 ; to
Major Thomas Leonard and Mary Watson; to
Ensign Watson and Phoebe Hicks; to Robert
Hicks and Margaret Winslow; to James Hicks
and Phoebe Allyn ; to Rupert Hicks and Evesond ;
to Thomas Hicks and Margaret Atwood ; to John
Atwood ; to John Hicks, of Gloucester, England,
the lineal descendant of Sir Ellis Hicks, who was
knighted by Edward the Black" Prince, on die
field of Poitiers, September 9, 1456.
Israel Holmes, father of Mrs. Francisco, was
sent to England to discover the method of manu
facturing brass and tubing, and tp procure ma
chinery and men, but when the object of his visit
was discovered by the English government and
the manufacturers of brass they adopted every
plan possible to defeat his project. After the
manufacture of brass kettles was attempted in
this country, Mr. Holmes made another voy
age to England, but the English government and
manufacturers had now become fully aware of
the nature and object of his repeated visits, and
every plan was adopted toentrap him, as English
law at that time prohibited the employment of
men or machinery in a foreign country. A de
tective Was sent to him who represented that he
wished employment in the United States and
that he was a skilled workman in brass, but Mr.
Holmes knew by looking at his hands that he
was not a brass worker, and informed him that
he could not assist him in any way. The govern
ment thought at last they had secured enough in
formation to hold him, sent an officer to make
the arrest, but Mr. Holmes escaped by a rear
exit and reached Liverpool, where he managed
to hire the captain of a small ship to take him
out and intercept the vessel upon which his ma
chinery and employes were secreted. After his
arrival in the United States he immediately com
menced the manufacture of brass and brass ket
tles, and. this was the foundation of the business
in this country, which has . since developed into
one of the largest industries now in existence.
He devoted nearly thirty years to the establish
ment and development of large and flourishing
factories in Connecticut and New York, which

56

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

gave employment to thousands of men, and at his
death the care of these extensive interests de
volved upon Mr. Francisco, who was appointed
, trustee of his estate. Mr. Holmes was^alsp the
founder of the firm of Holmes, Booth & Hayden,
Plume & Atwood Manufacturing Company of
Waterbury, Connecticut, and Holmes & Hotch-
kiss Manufacturing Company, the largest firms
in this line of industry in the world.
THEOPHILUS HOIT.
After an honorable and active business career
Mr. Hoit is now resting from his labors, and is
regarded as one of the most highly respected citi
zens of Saxton's River, Vermont. He is a, de
scendant of Joseph Hoit, the founder of the
American branch of the family, who was an origv
inal settler of Salisbury, Massachusetts, where he
acted in the, capacity of selectman in 1681 and
was also chosen moderator of the town meeting.
The line of descent is as follows : John Hoit, son
of Joseph Hoif, became the father of John Hoit,
who was the great-great-great-grandfather of
Theophilus Hoit.
Joseph Hoit, great-great-grandfather of The
ophilus Hoit, was born July 14, 1666, and his en
tire life was spent in the occupation of tilling the
soil. He was one of the prominent men of the
town and served as selectman and member of the
grand jury. Ort October 5, 1702, he was united
in marriage to Dorothy Worthen.
John Hoit, great-grandfather of Theophilus
Hoit, was born July 2, 1703, and on December
15, 1726, married Mary Eastman of Salisbury,
Massachusetts, and the following named chil
dren were born to them : Captain Joseph, who
married Sara Collins for his first wife, and for
his second wife he selected Ruth Clough Brown,
of Poplin ; they resided in Brentwood ; their chil
dren were John, Jonathan, David, Benjamin,
Samuel and Eastman Hoit.
Eastman Hoit, . grandfather of Theophilus
Hoit, married Martha Clough and resided in
Southampton until 1765, when he removed with
his family to Windsor, Vermont, and later set
tled in Westmoreland, New Hampshire, where
his death occurred. Their children were : Han
nah, born in 1767, became the wife of Thomas
Quinby; Sara, born in 1769, became the wife of

Jacob Clement; John, born April 30, 1771, mar
ried Joanne Terry ; Martha, born in 1773, wife of
Timothy Flanders ; Theophilus, born February 4,
1775; Mollie, born March 19, 1777, became the
wife of James Clement and later was the wife
of Jesse Evans ; Richard B., born in 1779, mar
ried Rhoda Merril ; Mary Wilson ; Jonathan, born
November 17, 1782, married Mary Eastman; and
Joseph, born July 21, 1786, married Betsy
Quinby. Theophilus Hoit, father of Theophilus Hoit,
was born February 4, 1775, and after acquiring
a common school education he was engaged in
farming for a short period of time ; subsequently
he was employed as a guard in the state prison
at Windsor, Vermont. After his retirement from
this office he was engaged in mercantile and farm
ing pursuits at Westmoreland, New Hampshire,
where he was chosen by his fellow townsmen to
serve as town clerk, selectman and to various
other local offices. After his marriage to Miss
Sobrina Shaw, a daughter of Abiatha Shaw,' who
served during the Revolutionary war as a major
fifer and lived to be over ninety years of age,
Mr. Hoit went west and settled in Wisconsin,
where his death occurred.
Theophilus Hoit, son of Theophilus and So
brina (.Shaw) Hoit, was born in Westmoreland,
New Hampshire, February 19, 1813, and his
educational advantages were obtained in the pub
lic schools of Westmoreland. At the age of thir
teen years hie left home, and for two years worked
upon a farm, after which he went to Sharon, Ver
mont, where he learned the trade of wool-carding,
cloth-dressing and weaving ingrain carpets,
and manufacturing cassimeres, a good trade in
those days. He then spent two seasons in Keene,
New Hampshire, and in 1835 he came to Saxton's
River and for one year worked for J. T. Butlen
and Ammi Smith as a manufacturer of satinets;
in 1836 he obeyed the advice of Horace Greeley
to go west, and having accumulated some capital
he invested in village lots in Niles, Michigan, only
to see their value vanish in the panic of 1837.
The following spring he returned to Saxton's
River and. entered the service of A. M. Smith in
the old woolen factory, where he remained until
the building was destroyed by fire in April, 1847.
The next month the privilege was purchased by
George Perry, J. A. Famsworth and Mr. Hoit,

VweVVaX'i^JU^? cJ'W'vL'

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

57

and they erected a mill which was devoted to the
manufacture of woolen goods. This enterprise
proved very successful, and Mr. Hoit remained
a'partner in the firm until his retirement, in 1866,
from the active pursuits of business life, having
accumulated a sufficient competence to allow hirn
to spend the remaining years of his life in ease
and comfort.
On March 13, 1839, Mr. Hoit was united in
marriage to Miss Mary D. Chandler, a native of
Petersham, Massachusetts, who died in 1888,
leaving two children, Ellen H, wife of Dr. Henry
D. Holton, of Brattleboro ; and Abby H, widow
of the late Charles L. Hubbard. Mrs. Hubbard
has one child, Carrie, now wife of Rev. Henry L.
- Ballou, of Chester, Vermont. Dr. and Mrs. Bal
lou have two children, Earle H. and Paul H.
Ballou.
ARTHUR ELLSWORTH COVELL.
For over a century the family of Covells have
made the town of Berlin, Vermont, their home.
Such are the substantial people from whom the
strength of our couritry is drawn, and upon them
rests the decision of many questions of public
policy. The first members of the family to come to
this town were the great grandparents of the sub
ject of this sketch; Ruel and Nancy (Hubbard)
.Covell moved from Glastonbury, Connecticut, to
Berlin in the latter part of the Eighteenth century.
.Their son, Elijah Hubbard Covell, was born in
the latter place July 9, 1802; he received such
educational advantages as the district schools of
the time afforded, and then followed farming as
his_ pursuit in life- He was a man who took an
active interest in the affairs of the town, and
filled many of the positions of trust; he repre
sented his fellow townsmen in the state legislature
in 1850-51' this was the first election on anti-
slavery principles, and he was chosen on that plat-
• form. He belonged to the Methodist church and
was a man of great strength of '< character ; this
is shown by his faithful performance of his official
.duties. In 1829 he married Sarah Poor, the
daughter of Job Poor, of Berlin ; the Poor family
are of English stock, who settled in Massachusetts
at an early day, and were prominent in that state.
Elijah Covell died on January 7, 1885.
Stephen Hollister Covell, the father of our sub

ject, had his birth in the town of Berlin, on Feb
ruary 2, 1 83 1. After receiving his education in
the district schools he farmed all the rest of his
life on the place on which has since passed to
his son. From the formation of the Republican
party he was active in its, councils, and like his
father, he held nearly all the offices of the town
and was a member of the state legislature in the
year 1872. He was a member of the Methodist
church; a man of good principles, was a worthy
citizen and held in high repute by all. His wife
was Mary Jane Poor, the daughter of John and
Susan' (Clark) Poor, born November 24, 1835;
the marriage took place on January 26, 1864. Mr.
Covell died May 5, 1890, and his wife still sur
vives, enjoying the love and respect of her family
and friends. The children were: Nettie Jose
phine, born May 15, 1865 ; Elmer Hollister, who
was born June 24, 1868, and died July 10, 1870 ;
Arthur Ellsworth, our subject; Alice Bertha, who
was born May 23, 1873, and died July 25, 1901,
married Elmer C. Dewey and became the mother
of two children, Charles Stephen, born June 5,
1897, and Arthur Elmer, born May 18, 1900.
Arthur Ellsworth Covell was born on the 22<1
day of August, 1870, on his father's farm in Ber
lin ; in accordance with the advance of the times
he not only received suclj instruction as the pub
lic school could afford, but also took a course in
the Montpelier Seminary. On his return from
school he began farming, and in connection carries
on a dairy business. He not only believes in the
principles of the Republican party, but works for
the success of the party. He has held the office
of selectman, at this writing, for five consecutive
years, and has given excellent satisfaction. The
honored residence of this family for so long a
period* of years in the town of Berlin shows that
a man may have honor even in his own country,
if he is worthy of it, as Mr. Covell certainly is.
GEORGE KINNEY PERRIN.
Ever since the great-grandfather of our sub
ject settled in the town of Berlin one hundred and
thirteen years ago, until the present time, the
Perrin family have been numbered among the
most prominent of its citizens and have aided in a
very substantial way the growth and development
of that noted little community. Thomas and

58

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Jerusha (Porter) Perrin, were the great-great-
grandparents of George Kinney Perrin. Their
son Zachariah, was born in Hebron, Connecticut,
March 18; 1750; in 1781 he married Mary Tal
cott, a native of Glastonbury, that state, and in
March, 1789, with his wife and two children he
settled in the eastern part of the toWn of Berlin.
He was one of the first settlers and took an active
part in the organization' of the town. He was
an ardent supporter of the cause of education, and
was a consistent member of the Congregational
church. His death occurred May 28, 1838, and
that of his wife on September 11, 1828.
Porter Perrin was the second son of the above
parents, and had the distinction of being the first
male child born in the town of Berlin, his birth
having occurred on the ist day of February,
1790. There he received his early training, and
on November 15, 1815, was married to Lucy Kin
ney, who was a daughter of Rev. Jonathan Kin
ney, and was born in Plainfield, Vermont, Octo
ber 4, 1796. He made farming his vocation iri
life, and was the wealthiest man in the town ; like
his father, he was interested in education and
contributed liberally to the support of the Con
gregational church: He was also active in the
public life of his town and held many offices.
While the old Whig party was in existence he
voted with it and was afterwards a Republican.
He died. May 17, 1871, and his wife passed away
December 9, 1878.
The father of the subject of this brief biog
raphy was Jonathan Edward Perrin, who was
born on his father's farm November 25, 1818.
He attended the schools of his native place and
the Washington Grammar School of Montpelier,
Vermont. At the age of twenty-one he left home
and worked for one year on a farm in Connecti
cut ; then going west to Terre Haute, Indiana, for
three years he was engaged in transporting grain
in flatboats to New Orleans ; after this he clerked
in a grocery store in Cincinnati for about eight
years. He then entered the employ of the Little
Miami Railroad, in the same city, where for seven
teen years he was shipping and receiving clerk,
and was highly appreciated by the officials of the
road for the efficient manner in, which he trans
acted their business. Returning to Berlin, he
took charge of his father's farm and was engaged
in this pursuit the rest of his life. As a Repub

lican he was chosen to the office of lister. His
church membership was with the Congregational.
His death occurred October 20, 1878. On May
25, 1853, he had married Amanda Cyntha Hos
ford, born May 3, 1827, the daughter of Jared
Hosford. Their children^ were George Kinney,
our subject; Helen, born December 25, 185,7, and
Henry Martin, born June 1, 1861.. The mother
resides with the younger son and daughter.
The eldest son' of these parents, George Kin
ney, had his birth in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio,
on the 8th of December, 1855 ; there he attended
school until thirteen, and upon the return of his
father to Berlin he finished his schooling in that
place and in the Barre Academy at Barre, Ver
mont. When he was twenty-two years of age he
made his way to Colorado and for five years en
joyed the rough and healthful life of a sheep and
cattle ranch. Then returning to Berlin, he made
this his home till 1890. For two years he was in
Pittsford, Vermont, and then came back to Ber
lin, which he has made his home ever since. He
owns a fine farm property and engages in general
farming. Mr. Perrin's marriage was celebrated on De
cember 8, 1890. He then became the husband of
Lou D. Andrew, born April 11, 1862, in Pitts
ford, Vermont, the daughter of Austin A. and
Lucy J. (Richardson) Andrew. Their one son,
Henry Edward, was born in the town of Berlin
May 1, 1897. In politics Mr. Perrin is a Demo
crat, differing in this respect from his father. He
has held the offices of selectman, lister, law agent
for the town and justice of the peace. In 1900 he
lacked only one vote of being chosen to repre
sent his town in the state legislature. In Sep
tember, 1902, he was elected to represent his town
in the state legislature. These positions of trust
and honor show the high regard in which Mr.
Perrin is held by his fellow townsmen.
GEORGE HENRY CRANDALL.
Among the many families of Washington
county, Vermont, whose residence there has been
established for the long period of a century, and.
who have contributed much to the business and
social prestige and prosperity of this section, men
tion must here be made of the family of George
Henry Crandall. The first one of that name to

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

59

take up a permanent residence in this county was
John Bradley Crandall,! the grandfather of our'
subject. His native state was Connecticut. He
married Betsy Burnett, and about the year 1803
located in the town of Roxbury, Washington
county. By occupation he was a farmer, but he
also practiced law to some extent, and on account
of his marked ability as a pettifogger received the
appellation of "Judge." His wife was a remark
able woman, who attained the great age of one
hundred and seven years.
Daniel Burnett Crandall was the son of these
parents, and was born in the town of Roxbury,
Vermont, January 4, 1804; after gaining a com
mon school education he settled down to farming
as his life work. On February 9, 1832, he 'mar
ried Lydia Bailey, who was born in the town of
Berlin July 4, 1804. He resided in Roxbury un
til 1840, then removed to Berlin, and in 1863 took
up his abode in Brookfield, Vermont, where he
lived till his death on November 6, 1872. iHis
wife passed away in Brookfield May 14, 1875.
George Henry Crandall is a son of these par
ents, and had his birth in Roxbury on January
10, 1836. He came to Berlin with his parents
when but four years of age and there received
his elementary education, supplementing this with
a course in Barre Academy. He made his home
under the parental roof until his marriage, arid
then located in Duxbury, where he lived, for twen
ty-two years. Since that time he has made the
town of Berlin his permanent home. On June 14,
1857, was celebrated his marriage to Adaline A.
Turner, who was born September 29, 1833, and
was the daughter of Samuel C. and Almira (Mun-
son) Turner, of Duxbury. Their family record
is as follows : Arthur George was born December
8, 1858, married December .8, 1887, Lucinda Rix
Perrin, ,and they now reside in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania ; their children are : Charles. New
ton, born February 13, 1892; Edward Burton,
born December 13, 1894, and Alfred, born De
cember 22, 1901. Their second son, Charles Tut-
ner, was born September' 15, 1863; on April 9,
1887, he married Lillian Grace Andrews, and
they have the following children: Richard An
drews, born December 23, 1888 ; Freda May, born
July 8, 1891 ; 'Robert George, born March 19,
1894, and Marian Lucy, born October 29, 1895;
this family are also residents of the city of Phila

delphia. Mabel Louisa Crandall was born March
15, 1866, and was married March 15,' 1886, to
Norman W. Frink; they have one child, Bertha
Mabel, born March 6, 1887, and they live in Mont
pelier, Vermont. Georgiana, the second daugh
ter, was born August 4, 1871, was married De
cember 25, 1893, to Fred V. Winslow, and be
came the mother of Bert Crandall on July 10,
1895, and Harold Frederick on July 8, 1896, the
latter dying November 11, 1901. The next
daughter was Marian Florence, born in October,
1873 ; she married Bert Selden Currier on De
cember 25, 1893, and they have George Crandall,
born September 1, 1895, and Julia May, born
June 22, 1900; their home is in Roxbury. The
sixth child was Jessie, born December 23, 1875.
Stella Adeline was born September 9, 1881.
Always active, energetic and public-spirited,
Mr, Crandall has been foremost in many enter
prises conducive to the good of his community.
He has followed farming all his life, and carries
on very extensive operations in this line. While
a resident of Duxbury his Republican partisans
voted him the offices of selectman, lister and su
perintendent of schools. In 1870 he was the rep
resentative of that town in the constitutional con
vention at Montpelier, an assemblage remarkable
for the intellectual standing of its members. In-
the town of Berlin he has held the office of select
man for six years, lister three years, constable
two years, school director four years, and in 1896
represented the town in the, state legislature to
the fullest satisfaction of his constituents. His
success has been the result of his strong charac
ter and natural ability, and in this work he is
ascribed a place as one of the representative citi
zens of Washington county.;
MOSES DAVIS SIBLEY.
Moses Davis Sibley, of Essex Center, Ver
mont, eldest son of Timothy and Abby (Davis)
Sibley, was born in Westford, Vermont, May 5,
183 1, a descendant of Ebenezer Sibley, who set
tled in Vermont in the latter part of the eighteenth
century. After the customary public school edu«
cation Moses Davis Sibley engaged in agricul
tural pursuits on the old homestead until 1894.
He derived great pleasure from this 1 occupation,

6o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

and he cultivated his land in such a manner that
it yielded him an abundant harvest.
On November 6, 1854, he was united in mar
riage to Miss Hannah S. Henry, born in West
ford, Vermont, December 14, 1834, a daughter
of Benjamin and Julia A. (Hall) Henry. Four
children were born to them, one of whom died in
infancy. Those who reached rnaterity are : Adna
M., born October 16, 1855, died in Milton, May
20, 1899, married Miss Hattie E. Rogers, born
July 2, 1856, and they have two sons : Berton W.,
born March 28, 1877, received his education at
Northfield, Vermont, and served his country dur
ing the Spanish- American war, and is now a lieu
tenant in the service of the United States navy;
and Leon A., born May 30, 1878, who is employed
as an express messenger. Harriet E., born in
Westford, April 21, 1857, married at Westford,
January 8, 1879, Walter M. Button, born at Shel
don, Vermont, December 18, 1852, and the fol
lowing named children were born to them : Cas
sius Davis, December 20, 1879, Chester Free
man, October 4, 1881, Lottie Mae, January 6,
1884, Bertha Gertrude, October, 1885. Myrtle
Edna, January 29, 1888, Frances Ellen, March
29, 1893, and Merritt Eugene Button, October
22, 1896 ; of these children, Chester F. married at
Colchester, Vermont, January 10, 1902, Ruth O.
B. Carey. Edward D., born December 25, 1865,
has followed the occupation of farmer in West
ford, Vermont, and in New York state ; on Febru
ary 8, i893> he married Miss Minnie M. Henry, of
King, New York, a daughter of Josiah Henry;
five children have been born to them, namely:
Guy Henry, born June 29, 1894 ; Ethel, born June
19, 1896; Edna Hannah, born August, 10, 1898;
John M., born January 3, 1900 ; and Edith Nancy,
born in Essex Center, December 19, 1901.
Mrs. Moses D. Sibley was a consistent mem
ber of the Congregational church of Essex Cen
ter, Vermont, and her death occurred November
7, 1897.
ASAPH P ARM ALEE CHILDS'.
Asaph Parmalee Childs, a prominent business
man and public-spirited citizen of Bennington,
was borri in Wilmington, Windham county, Ver
mont, June 10, 1840, a son of Major A. B. and
Hannah (Lamb) Childs. Major Childs was the

first merchant in Wilmington, was postmaster
there for more than a score of years, and also
served as sheriff, brigadier general of militia aiid
deputy grand master .of Masons.
Asaph P. Childs began his education in the
public schools and afterward entered Power's In
stitute in Bernardston, Massachusetts, in which
he was graduated in 1859. Having determined
upon the law as his profession, he entered upon a
course of study in the office of the late Charles
N. Davenport, and the present congressman, Kit-
tredge Haskins, but the breaking out of the Civil
war aroused his spirit of patriotism and tem
porarily turned him aside from this purpose.
Entering as a private in Company F, Sixteenth
Vermont Regiment, in 1862, Colonel W. G. Veazy
commanding, his business qualifications attracted
the attention of his superiors, and he was detailed
for duty in the quartermaster's department, be
ing stationed for a long period at various mili
tary posts, with headquarters at the national cap
ital and in Virginia with Generals Casey and
Stoughton, Colonel A. P. Blunt and Major Hi
ram Smith, the latter of , Jamestown, New York,
and others. When the Confederate troops ad
vanced upon Fairfax Court House and station,
Mr. Childs was placed in charge of a great fed
eral supply train, which he safely hastened over
the Orange & Alexandria Railroad into Wash
ington, just as the enemy appeared on Arlington
Heights. At a later day he had the sad duty of
being one of the escort of the body of the. la
mented President Lincoln, after his assassination,
from the dwelling opposite "old Ford's theater to ¦
the White House; he had only a few days before
attended Lincoln's last public reception. In 1865
and the early part of 1866 he served in the com
missary department in Tennessee and Texas, and
was honorably discharged late in the latter year,
long after, the close of the war, having been in
the Union service for more than, three years.
After his discharge from the army Mr. Childs
was for some time employed in the quartermaster
general's office in the old Corcoran Art building
near the war department at Washington. During
a brief stay at his home in 1864 he was admitted
to the bar- in Windham county, and while dis
charging his clerical duties under the government
at W ashington, devoted his spare hours to further
preparing himself for his chosen profession in the

-rt

z.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

61

Columbia Law College, in which he was grad
uated in June, 1867, being then admitted to prac
tice in the federal courts. Pie has not, however,
engaged in practice, but his knowledge of law has
afforded him excellent equipment for the many
arduous duties which have devolved upon him,
chief .among them being those pertaining to the
positions he has occupied for more than thirty
years as state agent and agency director of the
New York Life Insurance Company and special
agent of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of
New York. For several years Mr. Childs was
editor and proprietor of the Bennington (Ver
mont) News, Gazette, and Reformer, and he also
published the daily Centennial, which contained
the official record of the famous Bennington Bat
tle Monument Celebration, also the addresses, ac
counts of the festivities, notes of early Vermont
battles and heroes and of valued relics of the Rev
olutionary era, with other items incident to such
heroic times and deeds, which proved to be a pub
lication of rare historic value. The lamented Eu
gene Field was a distant cousin of Mr. Childs.
A broad-minded Democrat in politics, but al
ways independent and aggressive, placing public
interests before mere party purposes, Mr. Childs
has been throughout his life a conspicuous figure
in political circles. In 1876, in the Tilden cam
paign, he was a candidate for Congress in the
first Vermont district, most successfully leading*
a forlorn hope simply for the sake of principle.
From 1882 until 1884 he represented Bennington
in the state legislature, and has held various im
portant offices. In 1896 he affiliated with the
sound money wing of his party, being chosen del
egate to the famous Indianapolis convention.
Public-spirited in the highest degree, he conferred
upon the people of his native town, Wilmington,
a benefit for all time in the presentation, in 1897,
of a soldiers' monument. He is a charter member
of Custer Post, G. A. R., of Bennington, in which
he is a past commander and has frequently been
a delegate to the national encampments, and was a
member of the commission to which was ap
pointed the duty of procuring designs for the
monument to the Sixteenth Vermont Regiment at
Gettysburg, fixing its location upon the advance
ground it occupied during the glorious battle
there fought. Mr. Childs is prominent in Ma
sonic circles, having attained the thirty-second de

gree, Scottish Rite, and in 1867 accompanied
President Andrew Johnson to Boston, upon the
occasion of the dedication of the Masonic Tem
ple in that city. He is also an Odd Fellow and a
Knight of Pythias, and a member of the Forest
and Stream Club of Wilmington, which was or
ganized by him.
¦ Mr. Childs has been twice married, his first
wife having been Sarah P. Cady, daughter of
Lewis Cady, Esq., of Bennington, Vermont.
Three daughters were born to themi who still
survive, Ethel, Lucy and Mollie Stark Childs;
Mrs. Childs died in 1897. In 1898 Mr. Childs
married Mrs. Clara M. Sherman, widow of Hon.
Carlos Sherman, of Castleton, Vermont. She is
the. daughter of Rev. Levi H. Stone, a long- '
time eloquent pastor of the Congregatiorial faith,
chaplain of the Vermont house of representatives,
and the first chaplain from Vermont in the Union
army. Mrs. Childs's ancestry, in fact, included -
a long line of prominent clergymen, and the Stone
and Sherman families*.embrace many names dis
tinguished in both civil and military life, Mrs.
John Hay\ wife of the secretary of state, among
them. The Stone brothers sailed the first ship
into the harbor of New Haven, Connecticut, and
purchased land titles from the king.
PASCHAL WHITNEY CURRIER.
Paschal Whitney Currier, one of the prom
inent and respected citizens of Montpelier, Ver
mont, is a worthy descendant of Ezekial Currier,
who was one of the early settlers in the town of
Orange, Orange county, Vermont, and who ob
tained his literary education in the district schools
of his native town, and later pursued d theologi
cal course which enabled him to become a min
ister in the Methodist denomination; in addi
tion to this vocation, he also followed agricultural
pursuits. Sabin Currier, son of Ezekial Currier, was
born in the town of Orange, Orange county, Ver
mont, March 29, 1807. His education was ac
quired in the district schools of his native town,
and being reared upon a farm he naturally fol
lowed that vocation, remaining upon the old
homestead until after his marriage, which oc
curred October 11, 1832, to Miss Almira Rich
ardson, who was born February 4, 181 2, a daugh-

62

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ter of Andrew Richardson, of Orange, Vermont.
Mr. Currier, accompanied by his wife and his
worldly goods, made the journey on an ox sled
from his native town to Lawrence, St. Lawrence
county, New York, where he remained for thir
teen years engaged in the occupation of farming.
At the expiration of that period of time he re
turned to the homestead in Orange, Vermont,
and devoted his time and attention to the labor
of a general farmer and sugar-raiser and pro
ducer. He became one of the leading men of the
town, taking an active interst in local affairs, and
being elected to fill positions of trust and respon
sibility. These duties he performed in such a
manner as to win and hold the respect and esteem
of all his fellow citizens. He was also an active
and earnest member of the Methodist church of
Orange, Vermont. The children born'"to Mr.
and Mrs. Currier were: Mary Jane, born Au
gust 31, 1833, died September 19, 1869; Rosilla,
born April 28, 1837, died March 11, 1839; and
Paschal Whitney. The father of these children
died July 11, 1853, and *his wife passed away
April 23, 1885. ,
Paschal .Whitney Currier, only son of Sabin
and Almira Currier, was born in Lawrence, Law
rence county, New York, February 27, 1842. H.is
"preliminary education was acquired in tlie com
mon schools, and this was further supplemented by
, a course of study in the Barre Academy at Barre,
Vermont. After completing his studies he pur
sued the occupation of farming for two years and
a half in the town of Hardwick, Caledonia county,
Vermont ; he then purchased a farm in the eastern
section of the town of Berlin, Washington coun
ty, Vermont, which he cultivated for a short
period of time. He then located at Berlin Cor
ners, where he now owns the finest farm in the
county, with buildings on it which cannot be sur
passed in size and modern improvements by any
in that vicinity. Here he remained for about
twenty-six years, engaged in general farming,
and as he follows the most practical methods his
farm presents a very neat and thrifty appearance.
Mr. Currier is now a resident of the city of Mont
pelier, havnig erected a commodious house on
Nelson street, where he has a magnificent view
of the city, valleys and mountains which are noted
for their beautiful scenery.
In his political affiliations Mr. Currier is a

Republican, and being honored and respected
by his fellow citizens, he was elected to the office
of selectman, a position which he held for a num
ber of years, discharging the duties of it both
creditably and honorably. On October 22, 1863,
Mr. Currier was united in marriage to Miss
Sarah Poor, daughter of Gardner D. and Bethier
Poor, of Berlin, Vermont. The ceremony was
performed by the Rev. A. L. Cooper.
HERMAN EDGAR CUTLER.
Herman Edgar Cutler, one of the prominent
and successful business mn of the town of Plain-
field, Vermont, was born in the town of Orange,
Orange county, Vermont, November 27, 1849, a
son of Jacob and Mary Cutler. Jacob Cutler
was also born in the town of Orange, Orange
county, Vermont, in the year 1819. He attended
the district schools of his native town, and upon
attaining young manhood chose the occupation
of a farmer for his life work. He was a man
that possessed very strong characteristics, and
exerted a wonderful influence for good in the
community. Politically he was a firm adherent
of the principles of the Republican party, and
was honored by his townsmen by being chosen to
serve in the capacity of selectman, lister, justice
of the peace, a position he held' for a number of
.years, and representative of the town in the state
legislature for two terms. Mr. Cutler was united!
in marriage to Miss Mary Waterman, who was
born in the town of Orange, Vermont, in . the
year 1824. Five childm were born to them, *•
namely: George William, a resident of Barre,
Vermont ; Jennett, wife of Curtis A. Martin, who
reside in the town of Marshfield, Vermont ; Her
man Edgar ; Wilbur A., a resident of Barre, Ver
mont; and Merton E., who also resides in the
same town. Mr. Cutler died in August, 1900,
and his wife's death occurred in the year 1896.
Herman Edgar .Cutler, second son of Jacob
and Mary Cutler, acquired the education that was
afforded by the district schools ofhis riative town,
and the rest of his boyhood days were spent in
assisting his father with the work upon the farm.
In 1874 he engaged in farming in the town of
Marshfield, Vermont, where he continued until
1882,. when he purchased a grist mill in the vil
lage of Plainfield, Vermont. He subsequently re-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

63

moved there, and operated the mill successfully
until 1895, when he disposed of the property
very advantageously, and has since devoted his
time and attention to dealing in stock and fine
horses ; he admires a fine horse, and is considered
one of the best judges of their merits and quali
ties in that part of the state. In his business
course he is ever honorable and reliable, and his
success is the well merited reward of his own
efforts. His sterling worth commends him to the
confidence of all, and his neighbors and friends
entertain for him a high regard.
Mr. Cutler is a Republican in his political
preferences, and keeps well informed on the issues
of the day, thus giving an intelligent support to
the principles in which he so firmly believes.
While a resident of Marshfield, Vermont, he held
the offices of lister and justice of the peace, and
after his removal to the town of Plainfield was a
member, and served as chairman for over four
teen years, of the board of selectmen, and was
also chosen to represent the town in the state
legislature" in 1886. Pie is a prominent member
of the lodge at Plainfield of the Independent
Order of Odd lellows. Mr. Cutler takes an active
interest in all measures that are advanced to better
the social and political welfare of the city.
Mr. Cutler was united in marriage, February
25, 1874, to Miss Emma Theresa Gilman, who
was born October 28, 1852, a daughter of Solo
mon Loomis and Diantha (Powers) Gilman.
Two children have been born to them, namely:
Arthur Gilman, born July 3, 1883; and Isabel
Diantha, born November 25, 1884, died June 9,
1885.
JUSTUS NEWTON PERRIN.
In March of the year 1789, before. Washing
ton was inaugurated president of the original
thirteen colonies, and two years before the famous
Green Mountain country became a member of the
Union, Zechariah Perrin, with his wife and four
children, niade his Way from Hebron, Connect
icut, and settled in the town of Berlin, thus being
one of the very oldest settlers and one of the
original founders of the present town. Zech
ariah was the son of Thomas and Jerusha (Por
ter) Perrin, was born in Hebron, Connecticut,
March 18, 1750, and in 1781 married Mary Tal
cott, a native of Glastonbury, Connecticut. In

coming to Vermont he conveyed his family and
provisions on a sled drawn by two yoke of oxen ;
he came by the Connecticut and White rivers to
Brookfield, which was then the end of the road ;
the remainder of the way was marked by blazed
trees and was covered by snow three feet deep.
He took an active part in the organization and
settlement of the town of Berlin, was prominent
in the founding of schools and was a consistent
member of the Congregational church, for the
support of which he contributed liberally. He
lived to rear a large family, and in his occupa
tion of farming accumulated a large property.
He died May 28, 1838, at the age of eighty-eight,
and his wife died September 11, 1828.
Porter, the second son of Zechariah and Mary
Perrin, was born February 1, 1790, on the old
homestead located by his father in 1.789, being
the first male child born in the town. His edu
cation was" obtained in the common schools and
at Randolph Academy; November 15, 1815,
he married Lucy Kinney, who was the daughter
of Rev ..Jonathan Kinney, of Plainfield, Vermont,
and was born October 4, 1796. By occupation
a farmer, he probably accumulated more property
than any one in that business, in the town before
his time ; a great part of this he gave away during
his life time for charitable and religious pur
poses and to his many children. All his dealings
were characterized by a strict regard for justice,
and he was one of those sturdy, upright men upon
whom the nation depended for its. strength in the
early times. In politics he was a Whig arid later
a Republican; he held many of the town offices.
His death occurred May 17, 1871, that of his wife
December 9, 1878. Their children were as fol
lows : Jonathan Edwards, born November 25,
1818, died Qctober 20, 1878; Eliza, born Novem
ber 14, 1820,, died January 6, 1892; Justus New
ton, our subject; Emeline, born December 24,
1824, died October 10, 1853 ; George Kinney, born
May 23, 1827; Henry Martin, born June 23,
1829, died January 7, 1896; Lucy, born July 9,
1831, died July 1, 1833; Porter Kendrick, born
September 13, 1833 ; Joseph Newcomb, born Oc
tober 7, 1835, died October 26, 1863; William
Burton, born January 19, 1839.
Justus Newton Perrin was born on his father's
homestead on the 21st of November, 1822. Re
ceiving his early training in the district schools

64

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

and in the academy at Thetford, Vermont, and
being inured to the discipline of farm life, he fol
lowed that as his life occupation; at the present
time he attends to his affairs with a vigor that
would shame many a younger man. His political
views are those of the Republican party and he
has served as superintendent of schools for
over twenty years* and as a further mark
of his ability in public affairs "he repre
sented his town in the state legislature in
1863 and 1874. In religion he is. a Congrega
tionalism and has been a deacon in that
church for many years. As a leading citizen of
his own town he deservedly ranks high in the
estimation of his friends and neighbors. **
Mr. Perrin was first married December 22,
1847, to Arethusa Rosette Hosford; she died
March 27, 1855, having borne two children, Lucy
Helen, born November 15, 1848, and Harriet
Eliza, born April 7, 1850. He contracted a sec
ond marriage on January 13, 1858, Mary Wild,
the daughter of Elisha and Lucinda (Rix) Wild,
becoming his wife; she was born in West Fairlee,
Vermont, April 22, 1827. The children of this
marriage are: Porter and Elisha, twins, born
November 1, 1858; Mary, born April 25, i860;
Justus Newton, born November 23, 1863; and
Lucinda Rix, born July 1/5, 1867. This is a very
brief record of a family that have for years been
prominent in affairs of private and public life
in their town of Berlin.
CHARLES HERBERT JOYCE.
Charles Herbert Joyce, of Rutland, Vermont,
ex-member of Congress from the first Vermont
district, was born near Andover, England, Jan
uary 30, 1830. His grandfather, Thomas Joyce,
was a resident of the village of Wherwell, near
Andover. Charles, son of Thomas Joyce, born in
November, 1808, was one of a family of twenty-
one children. He emigrated to the United States
of America in the summer of 1836, and settled in
the town of Waitsfield, Vermont. He was a ma
son by trade. He married Martha Eliza, daugh
ter of Thomas Grist, and to them were born two
sons and two daughters, all of whom are yet liv
ing. Charles Joyce died April 24, 1877, in his
seventieth year.
Charles Herbert Joyce, son of Charles and

Martha E. (Grist) Joyce, came to this country
with his parents when six years old, and all his
scholastic training has been of distinctively Amer
ican character. After passing through the public
schools of Waitsfield, he studied in the Waits
field and Northfield academies, and also in the
Newbury Seminary. He labored by the side of
his father, and afterward taught school in order
to support himself while preparirig for his profes
sion. He began his law studies in 1850, when twen
ty years of age, in the office of John L. Buck and
F. V. Randall, in Northfield, and finished his read
ing under the preceptorship of F. F. Merrill, of
Montpelier. In his youth he had served during
three sessions as a page in the state legislature,
and while a law student he was appointed assist
ant state librarian, and one year afterwards he ,
was made librarian, these appointments affording
him excellent opportunities for special studies in
professional and general literature. He was ad
mitted to the bar of Washington county in Sep
tember, 1852, and the same year he entered upon
the practice of his profession in Northfield. ' In
1856 he was elected state's attorney of Washing
ton county, and he was re-elected in the following
year. He had already built up an excellent per
sonal practice, and the position to which he was
called served to bring him into a larger field of
usefulness and prominence, and forward the foun
dation for his future high professional success.
As state's attorney he greatly distinguished him
self by his zeal and ability in the prosecution of
Ariel Martin, of Calais, Vermont, charged with
the murder of two residents of that town. Two
eminent lawyers (Paul Dillingham and Luther
L. Du'rant) appeared for the defendant, but Mr.
Joyce so arrayed his evidence and made such a
logical, presentation that he obtained a convic
tion. He also prosecuted one Simmons, indicted
for subornation of perjury against a prominent
business man of St. Albans. The crime was one
of peculiar turpitude, attracting great attention,
and Mr. Joyce was warmly complimented when
he procured a conviction and the guilty man was
sentenced to ten years imprisonment in the peni
tentiary. The outbreak of the Civil war interrupted foi
a time the professional career so auspiciously be
gun. At the first call of President Lincoln for

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

6,5

troops, he recruited a company of volunteers, ex
pecting to get the company into the first regiment,
but was unable to accomplish his purpose. Three
.'.'months later, however, June 7, 1861, he received
•from Governor Fairbanks a commission as major
in the Second Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, the
first three-year regiment to leave the state. July
10th, the regiment went into active service in Vir
ginia, under General Oliver O. Howard. Major
Joyce was ' present with his command .in' the bat
tle of Bull Run, and rendered excellent service in
leading the line of battle until it was finally
'. VvAushed, and in withdrawing and reforming the
¦regiment in good order. Major Joyce was also
with his regiment during McClellan's campaign in
1862, and participated in the battle at Lee's Mills,
April 16, and at Williamsburg, May 5. On June
7 he was promoted to the lieutenarit colonelcy.
A series of engagehients in which his splendid
regiment was prominently engaged soon followed.
The battle at Golding's Farm on June 27 was fol
lowed by that of Savage Station on the 28th, and
the latter was one of the sharpest engagements
of the war. June 30th, occurred the battle of
' White Oak Swamp, which was really part of the
battle of Malvern HilL Then followed the occu
pation of Harrison's Landing, where the regiment
remained until August 16. September 2nd, it
marched into Maryland. Near Burkettsville, Col
onel Joyce was incapacitated by a disability due to
arduous service and exposure, and was obliged to
leave his post for a time. He was engaged in the
second battle of Bull Run, and in the sanguinary
struggle in and near Fredericksburg, December
12 and 13, where his regiment was closely en
gaged and suffered severely. His old complaint
recurred with fresh violence, and he was con
strained to resign his commission in January,
1863. His retirement was a source of deep regret
to himself and to his comrades, and to his su
perior officers, who had frequently, in their official
reports, commended his personal gallantry and
soldierly qualities. While unable to again take
the field, Colonel Joyce bore a most useful part
during the remainder of the war in aiding the re
cruiting of fresh troops and otherwise affording :
loyal Support to the government.
In the summer .of 1863 Colonel Joyce located
in Rutland and renewed the practice of his pro
fession. He soon took a foremost place at the

bar, and from that time has been concerned in
much of the most important litigation in his por
tion of the state. Among his most notable cases
was that of the state against four men, three of
whom were named Plumley, indicted for murder.
An old feud between the Plumley and Balch fam
ilies had resulted in a fight, in which one of the
latter named was killed. The trial lasted twenty-
eight days, and during the entire contest. Colonel
Joyce conducted the defense with a spirit and re
sourcefulness which challenged the admiration of
the bar of the entire state. Colonel Joyce made
the closing argument for the defense, and pre
sented his case in masterly style, and was at once-
recognized as one of the first jury advocates in
the state, and this in face of the fact that the
evidence against his clients was of such a char
acter that' but one was acquitted, while the second
was convicted of murder, the third was sentenced
to imprisonment for twenty years, and the fourth
for life. It is presumable that to his masterly de
fense Was largelly due the ultimate mitigation of,
the sentences passed upon two of his clients byia
partial commutation of punishment.
In 187.4 Colonel Joyce was engaged to assist
the state's attorney in the prosecution of John P*
Phair for the murder of Anne Frieze, at Rutland,
under the most horrible circumstances. The case
had attracted wide-spread attention, and many
notable persons attended the trial. The press of
the day highly commended Colonel Joyce for the
masterly manner in which he closed the final ar
gument for the state.- Another splendid victory
achieved by him at the bar was in the celebrated
case of Calvin B. Inman, of Poultney, tried for
the shooting of Patrick Sennott, at the September
term of Rutland county court, 1889. Colonel
Joyce -made the closing argument for the defense;
and during its delivery the large courtroom was-
crowded with people from all parts of die county.
A death-like stillness was preserved by the vast
audience until he closed, when the deep murmur
of applause showed the effect produced by the
fiery and eloquent words, of the advocate. The
prisoner was acquitted. The Rutland Daily Her
ald, in its editorial, said that "Colonel Joyce was
eloquent and impressive. It was the effort of his
life. He was inspiring ; he was pathetic ; and with
the magical witchery of a silver tongue he painted'
a portrait so touching, so saddening that at times

66

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

there was scarcely a dry eye in the audience.
Again, in characterizing the affray and that which
led. up to it, he gave full rein to his terrible power
of denunciation." Colonel Joyce has rendered to his community,
to the state and to the nation, services of signal
usefulness, and his name has an honored place
in the annals of legislative bodies in the most im
portant epochs. In 1869 he was elected as a Re
publican to represent Rutland in, the lower house
of the state legislature, in which body he served
as chairman of the committee on elections, and
also on the joint committee 'under the fourth joint
rule. His services, proved so acceptable to his
constituents that he was returned in the following
year, and was honored by election to the chair of
speaker of the house. One of the youngest men
who ever occupied the position, he acquitted him
self with a degree of ability which would have
been creditable to a veteran presiding officer and
parliamentarian. At the close of the session he
was presented with a silver tea service by the
members of the .house. ^
In 1874 Colonel Joyce was elected from the
first Vermont congressional district to the forty-
fourth Congress, receiving 9,638 votes against
2,597 f°r H. W. Heaton, the Democratic candi
date, and 1,635 f°r C. W. Willard, the independ
ent Republican aspirant. He was re-elected in"
1876, receiving 14,496 votes against 7,057 for
Childs, Democrat, and eighteen scattering. In
-1878 he was elected for a third term, receiving
12,600 votes against 5,867 cast for J. J. R. Ran
dall, Democrat, and seventeen scattering. In 1880
he was elected for a fourth term, receiving 15,-
645 votes, against 6,771 for J. J. R. Randall,'
Democrat ; 358 for C. C. Martin, Greenback ; and
thirty-seven scattering.
His fourth election to Congress, and that in
.consecutive order, was an unusual compliment,
but it was richly merited. Colonel_ Joyce has
proved from the first his ability as a legislator
and statesman, and his constituents honored, him
for his services and talents. In the forty-fourth
Congress he served upon the committees on pri
vate land claims, on expenditures in the depart
ment of justice, and on the select committee sent
to investigate the election frauds in Louisiana.
In the forty-fifth Congress he served on the com
mittee on pensions and expenditures, and in the

forty-sixth Congress on the committee on post-
offices and post roads. In the forty-seventh Con
gress he received more ample recognition, and
was appointed chairman of the select committee
on pensions and back pay ; a member of the select
committee appointed to audit the accounts of ex
penditure incident to President Garfield's sick
ness and burial; a member of the committee ap
pointed to collect and suitably report upon all the
facts connected with the alcoholic liquor traffic; ,
and also a member of the committee on invalid
pensions. Colonel Joyce was a frequent and effective
speaker in the national house of representatives,
and many of his speeches attracted attention not.
only in his state but throughout the country. One
of his most memorable orations was delivered in
opposition to the granting of Mexican war pen
sions to persons who participated in the late re- _
bellion. It bristled with telling points. "It will
be seen, Mr. Chairman," said he, "that it is pro
posed by this bill not only to repeal section 4716,
but to go further, and pension every man— Jeffer
son Davis and all— who was engaged in those
wars, whether he fought in the Confederate army
or not during the late rebelhon. Now, sir, while
we only pension Union soldiers who lost life,
limb or health in saving the government, it is pro
posed by this bill to pension all these men who
fought to destroy it, whether, invalids or not. To
my mind this has much the appearance of grant-'.
ing privileges to the Confederate which we deny
to and withhold from the Union soldier, and is in
fact offering a premium for treason."
In his speech on the United States marshal
bill, and in favor of impartial suffrage, occurs
the following pertinent passage ; "If the govern^
ment has power to preserve its own life ; if it has
the power to put its foot on the neck of treason,
put down revolution, and crush redhanded rebel- -,-
lion ; if it has the constitutional strength to guard
and protect the very citadel of American liberty,
and the very ark of our political covenant — then
surely it must have the power to protect the voter
from Democratic intimidation, and guard the bal
lot-box from Democratic fraud and corruption."
His speech on "The Policy of the Government
in Relation to Pensions" was a statesman-like )
presentation of the entire subject, and embodied.1
the mature conclusions of his long experierice in

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

67

, matters connected with the pension list. It- was
full of pertinent and quotable statistics, and closed
with a peroration whose eloquent tribute to- the
'bravery of our patriotic soldiers was greeted with
'•• great applause. In 1876 he made speeches on the
death of vice-president Wilson ; on the presenta
tion of the statute of Ethan Allen ; on early re
sumption of specie payments; on the centenniaL
celebration of the American independence ; in 1878
on the. repeal of the resumption act and the re-
.•&'$p0nertzatibn of silver; on the election of presi
dent and vice-president; on the tariff; in 1879,
on the policy of the Democrats in forcing ari extra
session of Congress by failing to pass the regular
appropriation bills; in 1880, on commercial re
ciprocity between this country and Canada; on
the apportionment of representatives to the na
tional Congress ; and on the policy of the govern
ment in relation to pensions.
Colonel Joyce's position on the vexed question
of Chinese influx is equally manly and outspoken.
Summarizing his objections to the passage of
the Chinese immigration bill he said:
"In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, and to sum up
my objections to this bill, permit me to say that
I am opposed to it, because it is in violation of
the terms of the treaty of 1880 with China ; be
cause it is hostile to the spirit of our institutions ;
"because it. is in direct antagonism with the great
principles of our civilization; because it is in con
tradiction of the policy we have always pursued
toward all other nations; because it is a bold and
unwarrantable repudiation of our national dec
larations on this subject; because it is a false and
unnecessary admission in a public law that we
nave been wrong for two hundred and eighty
years ; because it is building the same wall against
China which she kept up against the world for
,;' 'centuries, and which we helped England to pull
down; because it is a deadly blowat pur growing
commerce with one of the richest kingdoms on
the globe ; because it is a palpable violation of the
« terms of the Republican platform of 1880; be-
¦'.. cause foreign immigration more than anything
''else has built up this country, and given us pros
perity and greatness ; because 105,000 Chinamen.
' even if they are as bad as gentlemen claim, dis-
trlbuted among fifty million Americans, can give
¦no just cause of alarm."
>';: ¦'', In addition to these notable speeches must also

be named that against the repeal of the resump
tion act delivered January 26, 1878; and that on
the "Alcoholic Liquor Traffic — Its Effects upon
the Industries and Business of the Country — •
What it Costs the People— The Duty of Con
gress," delivered on the 3d of April, 1880.
Colonel Joyce is one of the most popular and
forpible platform speakers in Vermont. His first
marked effort was in advocacy of the election of
General John C. Fremont to the presidency in
1856. Ever since that day he has been; an active
and influential participant in every presidential
campaign to the present time. Nor has his effort
been confined to his own state. He has been heard
in New Hampshire, New York and Indiana,
where he received as hearty a welcome as ai home.
He is still in the very prime of a late manhood,
although somewhat troubled by the complaint
which necessitated his resignation during the war.
He was in possession of a lucrative legal practice
at Rutland until his retirement in 1900, and his
place in the forefront of the Vermont legal fra
ternity was unquestioned. There were few of his
compeers who did not dislike to be in antagonism
to him before the courts. Four consecutive elec
tions to Congress constitute indisputable proof of
' his popularity. Characteristic decision and cour
age voice themselves in his speeches. In the na
tional legislature his reputation was that of an
entirely conscientious and industrious representa
tive, whose unspotted character and clear record
commanded the admiring respect of all his asso
ciates. Brave as a soldier and efficient as an
officer, he would doubtless have risen to high com
mand in the armies of the Union had not disease
supervened and forbidden further service.
Colonel Joyce was married February 21, 1853,
to Rouene M., daughter of Gurdon Randall, of
Northfield. Two children, a son and a daughter,
both of whom are living, were born of this mar
riage. His daughter is tlie wife of T. C. Craw
ford, at one time correspondent of the Chicago
Times Bureau, and resides at present in London,
England. To Mrs. Crawford were born two chil
dren, Jack Randall and Inez Grace. Colonel
Joyce's son, Charles P. F. Joyce, is a physician
residing in Kingston, New Hampshire. He mar
ried Margaret Pierson in July, 1895. The mother
df these children died May 26, 1902.

68

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

DR. EUGENE WILLIAM KNIGHT.
This young and progressive representative of
the dental profession in the Green Mountain
state has made a flattering success, of his busi
ness, and is looked upon as one of the most
progressive of that most necessary fraternity.
He has been in business in Bellows Falls since
the year 1885, and during that time has obtained
recognition as the leader of his profession in his
community. He is very loyal to the town- of his
adoption, and invests the results of his success
ful operations in enterprises that wiU advance its
interests. In 1901 he erected a handsome office
building in which he now operates, one of the
most complete structures that can be found in
the state of Vermont exclusively devoted to the
practice of dentistry.
Dr. Knight is of Scottish extraction, the or
iginal American ancestor being Benjamin
Knight, though it does not appear just what re-.
move in relationship he was from the immediate
subj ect of this sketch. Coming within the bounds
pf positive knowledge, the grandfather of Dr.
Knight was Ira Knight; and was born in Marlow,
New Hampshire, where he lived at what is called
Knight's Corners (named after him), he being a
very large owner of real estate in that section.
He was a man of prominence and . held . many
offices of public trust in his community., ,
Eben P., the son of Ira Knight, was educated
at Marlow Academy, and upon arriving at ma
turity learned the currier's trade. He later
abandoned this business and dealt largely in cat
tle and sheep. He married Elvira Richardson,
the daughter of Jonathan Richardson,- who bore .
her husband one son.
Dr. E. Wr. Knight was born in the town of
Marlow, New Hampshire, September 15, 1863,
and was educated, as was his father, before him,.
'at Marlow Academy. He early discovered an
aptitude' for the subject of dentistry, and at the
age of eighteen he began the formal study .of the
profession under Dr. O. M. George, of Bellows
Falls. He finished the required preliminary
study, and was licensed to practice in his native
state in 1884. He immediately began practice
in his native town, opening branch offices at Al-
stead and Gilson, neighboring towns, in each ,
or which he spent ten days alternately. This

arduous work he continued for a period of
seven and one-half years,: and so exacting were
its requirements that his health "began to fail
him, and it became necessary for him to make
a change. He thereupon located in Bellows.
Falls in 1890, where he has since resided, and
is succeeding most admirably. Dr. Knight uses-.
the most modern and advanced methods in his
business, and is alert and wide-awake to every
advance made in his rapidly developing busi
ness. He is a worthy member of the New Hamp
shire. State Dental Society, and at whose yearly
meetings he is a regular attendant. In 1885 Dr..
Knight married Alberta, the daughter 'oi Louis
C. Lovell, of Rockingham, Vermont, and who-
has become the mother of two bright and sturdy
sons, Leroy and Ralph. Dr. Knight is of a.
most social and genial nature, and finds delight
in attendance upon the sessions of the Inde
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, in which organ
ization he is also a member of the Golden Rule
Encampment and Skitchewaug Canton. In
Masonry he is past master of the St. Paul Lodge-
No. 30, and is also a Knight Templar of Holy
Cross Commandery, No. 12, and is a Shriner of
Mount Sinai Temple. Besides being a genial.
¦good fellow, Dr. Knight has made a reputation
for himself as a nimrod. His greatest delight
is in the pursuit of the chase, and he has one
of the most complete outfits of dogs and guns
which can be found in the state. His offices are
crowded with specimens of his skill in marks
manship which have been made beautiful by the
taxidermist's art. By untiring industry and,
sound judgment Dr. Knight has won a merited
success in all his undertakings, and is in all
respects worthy the high regard in which he is
held by his fellow men.
MERRITT C. BARDEN.
Merritt C. Barden, of West Pawlet, Vermont,
a leading farmer and a citizen who has frequently
been intursted by his neighbors with offices of
honor and trust, traces his descent from Richard
Barden, said to be from Solsbury, England, who,
with two brothers, supposed to be William and
Thomas, came on the ship Elizabeth to the ex
treme .south of New Bedford, Massachusetts,
where in 1732, he deeded to his three sons, Sam-

~v

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

69

¦"uel, Thomas and Joseph, all of Tiverton, Massa
chusetts, the year of the immigration being 1702.
He had two nephews, Timodiy arid .Thomas.
John Barden, whose brother, named Timothy,
was killed in the Revolution at Bloody Pond near
Lake George, lived at Freetown, Massachusetts,
'married Lydia Barrows, and was the father of
the 'following children : Juda, Kezia, Lydia, Lou-
rania, Bethuel, Lemuel and Noah. John Barden,
whose father's name was Noah, died about 1812.
in Freetown, and his soil Bethuel, who was born
there in 1763, removed, in 1818, to Vermont, and
Settled in the town of Wells, where he passed the
remainder of his life, being an extensive .farmer
and a member of the Baptist church. In early
Hfe he was a sea faring man. He married Mary
Crapo, and their children were: Peleg; Juda;
Lydia; Polly; John, who was in the Vermont
legislature fourteen years ; and Shubel, who was
born in 1 791 at Freetown.
Shubel, grandfather of Merritt C. Barden,
also was a very prosperous farmer ahd a member
of the Baptist church. He served in the state
militia. He married Lydia, daughter of the Rev.
D. Pierce, a Baptist clergyman of Dighton, Mas
sachusetts, and their children were: Julia Ann,
who marrjed Edward Solard, a Baptist clergy
man; Abigail, who became the wife of Calvin
Farrar ; Betsey, who married John Farrar ; Caro
line, who married Nelson Louis; Shubel, who
married Amy Cook ; Henry, who died unmarried ;
and Horace. Shubel Barden, the father of the
family, died in 1859.
Horace Barden, the son of Shubel and Lydia
{Pierce) Barden, was born December 6, 1822,
in the town of Rupert, Rutland county, and was
educated in the district schools. He owned two
hundred and eighty acres of land iri his native
town, the same being a part of the estate Of his
father, and he spent his entire life there as a
farmer. Politically he was a Republican. He mar
ried Alma Eliza Bartlett, a member of the Church
of Christ, and loved by all who knew her. She
descended from an ancierit family of Norman
origin, the earliest known ancestor, Adam Bart
lett, having been an esquire in the retinue of
Brian, a knight who accompanied William the
Conqueror to England. A castle appears as the
crest of the coat of arms which was granted by
Edward the Black Prince to John Bartlett for

taking the- castle of Fonteroy in France. The
seat of the family was in Sussex.
John Bartlett, the founder of the American
branch of the family, settled at Weymouth, Mas
sachusetts, before 1666, and his sort Jacob lived
in Providence, where he was a landowner. He
belonged to the Society of Friends, as did his
sons, one of whom, Joseph, was a blacksmith and
farmer in the town of Providence, Rhode Island,
being made a freeman in 1746. Pie was a mem
ber of the town council, and he and his wife were
often called upon to serve the Society of Friends,
being members of the Smithfield monthly meet
ing. They were very pious people, much inter
ested in the religious training of their children.
The name of his wife, whom he married in 1744,
was Abigail Aldrich. Joseph Bartlett, who was
of a poetical turn of mind, and had composed
several poems, died December 1, 1791. One of
their sons, Jacob, born February 24, 175 1, in
Cumberland, Rhode Island, removed to Danby,
Vermont, being the first in the town to carry on
blacksmithing. He was a member of the Society
of Friends, and married, first, Juda, and, after
her death, Anna, both daughters of Samuel Cook,
of Smithfield, Rhode,, Island. He died in Pawlet,
January 14, 1837, and was buried in the Friends'
yard at Granville, New York. Of his children,
Daniel, born August 7,-1791, married Eliza Pot
ter ; after his death she married Joseph, a younger
son of Jacob Bartlett. Daniel, Joseph and Eliza
were buried in the Friends' burying ground at
Danby, Vermont. Among the children of Dan
iel and Eliza (Potter) Bartlett, was Alma Eliza,
born May 3, 1822, mentioned above as the wife
of Horace Barden. (See Bartlett Genealogy, also
Loveland.) Mr. and Mrs. Horace Barden were the parents
of the following children : Mary E., who died at
the age of twelve years; John J., who died at the
age of twenty-seven years ; Merritt C, mentioned
at length hereinafter ; Harvey E., who is a manu
facturer of specialties at Wallingford, Vermont,
married Ida Smith, and has one child, Frank;
Eugene, who died at eight years of age; Henry
Bartlett, who is engaged in business as a
manufacturer with his brother at Wallingford,
married Anna Northrop, and they have the fol
lowing children : John, Etta,' Clifford and Zella,
the last of whom died when five years old. Mr.

7°

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Barden died September i, 1897, and Mrs. Barden
died December 20, 1901.
Merritt C. Barden, son of Horace and Alma
Eliza (Bartlett) Barden, was born October 13,
1852, at Rupert, Vermont, and received his edu
cation in the district schools of his birthplace. He
has all his life followed agricultural pursuits, and
not retains the old homestead. He is, also the
owner of another farm situated in the town of
Pawlet, where he now resides, and on these two
estates, comprising about five hundred and sixty
acres, he makes a specialty of dairying, keeping.
altogether no fewer than seventy head of cattle,
in addition to several horses. He has patented a
number of inventions of great usefulness to the
dairy industry. Among these is a cream sepa
rator, from which he derived a substantial sum.
Iri politics he is a Republican, and has held vari
ous offices, having for several years held the posi
tion of selectman, and in 1898 represented his
town in the legislature, where he served on the
committee on agriculture. He is a Mason, affiliat
ing with Morning Flower Lodge at Pawlet, and
with Poultney Chapter No. 10. He is a mem
ber of Friendship Lodge No. 45, I. O, O. F., at
West Pawlet, and is first violinist in the West
Pawlet Orchestra.
Mr. Barden married Estella F. Sheldon, and
their children are: M. Eugene; Bertha M., who
married Burt Nelson, a farmer of Pawlet, and
has one child, Barden ; Zella, who died in infancy ;
and Ray K. Barden. Mrs, Barden traces her de
scent from Isaac Sheldon, her great-grandfather,-
and from Isaac, her grandfather, who was born
and passed most of his life in the town of Rupert,
where he was an extensive farmer, and a member
of the Masonic fraternity. He married Rebecca
Spear, daughter of Ashel and Mariam (Phillips)
Spear, and their children were: Isaac S., Henry,
Enos P., Lavinia, Marilla, Asahel and William.
William Sheldon, father of Mrs. Barden, was
born in 1-813, in Cattaraugus county, New York,
and removed to Bennington county, Vermont,
where he Owned a farm of over eight hundred
acres, liavirig been at one time one of the largest
landowners of the town, and a man of considera
ble wealth. He served in the state militia, and
was a Republican in politics. He married Anna,
daughter of Sylvester Smith, and they were the
parents of the following children: 1. Thomas

died in infancy. 2 Albert M. is the second. 3.
Lorin F., who was born December 23, 1844; at
Rupert, Vermont, attended the district schools
ahd Burr and Burton Seminary, and remained
on his father's farm until reaching the age of
twenty-one, when he married Adalaide, daughter
of Nathan and Sophronia Baker, whose: son
Henry S. Baker; P. H. D., is principal of the
Humbolt school, St. Paul, Minnesota, Lorin F.
Barden engaged in farming iri the town of
Rupert, where he remained until 190 j. when he
removed to the village of West Powlet, still re
taining his farm of four hundred acres, where he
devotes special attention to dairying, and the
making of maple sugar. He is a Republican,
having served as lister for several years, and
also as justice of the peace. He is master of
Morning Star Lodge, F. & A. M., of Powlet,
a member of Poultney Chapter No. 10, R. A. M.,
and of the Modern Woodmen of America, and
has passed all the chairs in the lodge of Odd
Fellows. He has four children : Myrtle F., who
married A. W. Burdick, a merchant at West Paw
let, and has one child, Harold P. ; Pearl and Al
bert, both of whom died in infancy; and Alice
N., who resides at home. 4. Isaac S. and Nancy
R.,- twins, the latter of whom died at the age of
twenty years, and the former married May Dings,
and they have two sons and two daughters:
Willie O., who married Lottie Hatch ; Willis O.,
who married Minnie Hart ; Rose, who married
Arthur Boueville ; and Lizzie, who married Max
Waite. 5. Estella F. is mentioned above as the
wife of Merritt C. Barden.
Mrs. Sheldon, the mother of Mrs. Barden,
is descended from Martin Smith, who was
born in 171:8, and in. 1770 or 1772 re
moved with his ' family from Connecticut to
Rupert, Vermont. During the Revolutionary
war, when Burgoyne and his army were descend
ing from the north, Martin Smith succeeded in
removing his family in safety to Connecticut,
where, after a long and perilous journey, they
found a place of refuge. He served as cavalry
man in the Revolution. He died in 1814, leaving
the following children: Stephen, Truman, Cal
vin, Jonathan and Esther. Of these, Stephen
married Anna Munson, and they had nine chil
dren, among whom was Sylvester, who married
Nancy Harmon, and his daughter Anna is men-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

tioned above as the wife of William Sheldon, and
the mother of Estella F., who became the wife
of Merritt C. Barden.
* ARCH MEAD BATCHELDER.
Arch Mead Batchelder, a prominent manu
facturer of Plainfield, Vermont, and who has
renderd useful public service in various import
ant, positions, is a descendant in the eighth gen
eration- from that Batchelder ancestor from
whom have sprung many whose names have ap
peared in honorable connection upon various
pages of New England history.
Stephen Bachiler (as the family name origin
ally appeared),' a clergyman, was born in Eng
land, and sailed, March 9, 1632, in the ship Will
iam and Francis, arriving at Boston, June 5 ; he
went immediately to Lynn, Massachusetts.
Stephen Batchelder (2), son of the Rev.
Stephen Bachiler, born in England, came to
America with his father, and became a resident
of Hampton, New Plampshire, where he held
many positions of honor and trust. He died Jan
uary 2, 1710. His son .
'Thomas Batchelder (3), was born in Hamp-
' ton, New Hampshire, in 1685. He was with Col
onel Shadrach Walton's command, in the expedi
tion against Port Royal, in 1710, and he died
February 10, 1774: He was twice married, to
vMary Moulton, and then to -Sarah Tuck.
* . Nathaniel Batchelder (4), son of Thomas
Batchelder, was born in Hampton, New Hamp-
, j'shire, May 10, 1722, and he married Hannah But
ler; of that place, November 29, 1743. He served
in the colonial militia, and bore the rank of cap
tain. About 1756 he removed to Sandown, New
K$in|sttre, and died October 11, 1784. His son
:: Jonathan Moulton Batchelder (5), was born
in Sandown, May 26, 1766. He located in Plain-
field, Vermont, and was a farmer by occupation ;
his death occurred October 8, 1827. His wife
was Judith Boutwell. Their son
James Batchelder (6) was born February 5,
X794; he was a farmer, and died May 24, 1875.
He was twice married ; first to Olive Lamson,
Seffeiiiber 30, 1816, and after her death to Sophia
-Johnson. James Merrill Batchelder (7), son of James
Batchelder, was born April 8, 1829, in Plainfield,

Vermont. Pie was educated in the district schools-
of his native town, and at the Newbury Academy.
He was an enterprising man in the place of his
nativity, and conducted a large business in lumber
and milling. He was prominent in public affairs,
recognized as a leader in all riiovements conducing
to the advancement of the village and county,
and occupied various local positions of honor and
trust, and represented his town in the legislature,
where his service was most useful and honorable.
He was married October 15, 1852, to Miss
Amanda M'. Lawrence, born November 8, 1833,
in Marshfield, Vermont, daughter of Spencer and
Mary (Parker) Lawrence. The children born of
this marriage were : Arch Mead, born April 30,
1855,; Mary Lawrence; born in October, 1857,
now deceased ; Frank L., born in April, 1859, now
deceased ; Olive' L. and Mary L., who both died
in infancy. The father died October. 23, 1899.
Arch Mead Batchelder (8), eldest child in the
family last named, was born April 30, 1855, in
Chicago, Illinois, where his parents were then
residing. The family soon returned to Vermont,
and Arch Mead received his education in that
state, in the district schools of Plainfield, the
Goddard Seminary at Barre, and Norwich Uni-
versity at Northfield. By the time he had at
tained his majority he was well equipped for the
duties of life, and at the age of twenty-one he
became associated in business with his father,
under the firm name of J. M. Batchelder & Son.
In the following year (1877) they built their ex
tensive mills, which were adapted for both steam
and water power, and were utilized in the manu
facture of all descriptions of hard and soft lum
ber. The firm soon built up a large trade, and
came to be known as among the extensive opera
tors * in their line in the state. The senior
Batchelder died in 1899, and since that time Arch
M. Batchelder has conducted the business alone,
extending its scope from year to year. Of ex
cellent ability, he has not only prospered person
ally, but he has contributed largely to the de
velopment of the commercial and social interests
of the community, taking a leading part in all
Pleasures tending to those ends. He has been
called to various public positions, serving for
some years as town auditor, and in 1902 he was
elected to represent Plainfield in the state legisla
ture, serving on the railroad committee.

72

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

In politics he is a Republican, and is regarded
as a leading exponent of the principles and poli
cies of his party. Pie has attained to high rank
in the Masonic fraternity, holding membership
in Wyoming Lodge No. 80, F. and A. M. ; King
Solomon Chapter No. 8, R.- A. M., of Montpelier;
Mt. Zion Commandery No. 9, K. T. ; Vermont
Consistory, thirty-second degree, Scottish Rite;
and the Order of the Mystic Shrine. He is also
a member of Arcadia Lodge No. 53, L.O. O. F.,
of Plainfield, and of Marshfield Lodge K. of P. ;
and of the' Vermont Fish and Game Club. Mr.
Batchelder was married January 1, 1877, to Miss
Emma Best, a daughter of William and Harriet
(BroWn) Best, of Northfield, Vermont. Two
children born of this marriage died in infancy.
CYRUS ¦ WASHBURN WICKER.
' Cyrus Washburn Wicker was the scion of
an old Massachusetts family and conserved the
honor of the family in a marked degree. He
was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts, August
12, 18 14, and removed with his parents to Or
well, Vermont, when he was two years of age. His
grandfather, William Wicker, accompanied the
family to their new home in the Champlain Val
ley, just south of Mt. Independence; of Revolu
tionary fame. He was of Scotch and English line
age, and, lived to a good old age — eighty-four
years — having survived his wife but a short time.
His son Lemuel was born in Hardwick in 1783,
and was therefore thirty-three years of age when
he removed to Vermont:
The mother of the subject of our sketch was
the second wife of Lemuel Wicker. She was the
daughter of George Haskell, of Hardwick, Mas
sachusetts, and from her the oldest son, Cyrus,
doubtless derived the .energy and persistency for
which he was so remarkable. He was but eleven
years old when his father died, and from that
time, he was compelled by circumstances to take
care of himself. He worked for two years on a
farm in tlie neighborhood, and then spent two
summers on the Champlain Canal, being rapidly
promoted from the towpath to the helm. About
1829 he went to Cornwall, Vermont, to live
with his uncle, Benjamin F. Haskell, a prominent
merchant of that place. Here he remained until

1835, dividing his time between the schoolroom
and the store, and thus securing a practical busi
ness education. ¦.,'.
When he was twenty-one, he made brief visits
in his native town in Massachusetts , and at the
home of another uncle, Bela B. Haskell, of
Waldoboro, Maine. Vermont, however, was the
home of his choice, and he soon returned, and
in 1837 opened a store in North Ferrisburg, as
a branch of the Cornwall store. After a few
years the partnership between his uncle and him
self was dissolved, and Mr. Wicker began busi
ness on his own account, gradually extending it
from year to year, until in 1877 he retired from
mercantile business and devoted himself to other
interests. The confidence reposed in his ability
and integrity by his fellow townsmen is indicated
by the fact that he was called upon to fill 'nearly
every position of authority and responsibility
in their gift.
He was a justice of the peace nearly forty
years, represented the town in the state legisla
ture, and was assistant judge of the county court,
besides serving several years as county commis
sioner, and also as trustee of the United States
deposit fund for the support of schools. Judge
Wicker inherited many traits of his Puritan an
cestors. He wrestled with fate and obtained her
blessing, albeit rather grudgingly given. A Ver
monter with such ancestry as his would almost
of necessity be a man of sterling integrity and
great will power, with an unlimited Capacity for
hard work, and a vast amount of nervous energy.
His youthful nickname was "Drive."
He surmounted every difficulty and was
victorious over circumstances. He was esteemed
by his neighbors and all the country round for
his thorough honesty and strong common sense.
He was constantly consulted by his fellow towns
men on matters affecting private and public wel
fare, and no one was ever heard to regret having
taken His advice. He was a member of the legis
lative committee that framed and reported a bill
which was passed by the legislature of Vermont
and became a law in 1858, making any man com-
ing within the borders of that stalwart little state
a free man, notwithstanding the famous "Dred-
Scott decision," which of course it violated; as
it also did the Constitution of the United States, =
but little cared the men of conscience of Vermont

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

73

what they violated, when a question of right was
involved. A man of decided principles,- outspoken and
uncompromising, Mr. Wicker always wielded an
influence for good in the community. He was an
anti-slavery man and a member of the Free-
soil party until the Republican party was formed.
His home was known as one of the underground
railway stations for fugitive slaves, and he was
always ready to plead the cause of the poor and
neady. Mr. Wicker married Maria Delight Halladay,
of Shoreham, Vermont." She was a helpmate for
him in the' truest sense. "The words of King
Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught
him," give a faithful description of her char
acter. Mr. and Mrs. Wicker had three sons, Henry
C. Wicker, for some years traffic manager of the
Chicago & Northwestern Railway and president
of the Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway Com
pany ; Cassius M. Wicker, a sketch of whose life
will be found elsewhere in this work ; and Lerhr
uel Theodore, • who died when but three years of
¦age. Mr. Wicker was for a time a member of the
Wesleyan Methodist church, but his preference
-was for the Congregational church; and for many
years he was a deacon in the Congregational
•church at Ferrisburg. He died respected and
-honored by all, at his home in North Ferrisburg,
May n, 1888. From that time until her death,
April 9, 1903, his widow made her winter home
with her younger son in New York city.
CASSIUS M. WICKER.
Cassius Milton Wicker, railroad president
and manager, financier and investigator, was born
in North Ferrisburg, Addison county, Vermont,
August 25, 1846, son of Cyrus Washburn and
Maria Delight (Halladay) Wicker.
His father, Cyrus Washburn Wicker, was
lorn in Hardwick, Massachusetts. His ancestors
were among the early settlers of Massachusetts,
and the family is of ancient and honorable de
scent. He traces his ancestors back to William
Wicker, who settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts,
in' 1719; The family were of Scotch-Irish de

scent, and owing to their religious views were
regarded with suspicion by the intolerant Puri
tans of that section. The town records show that
on May 20, 1720, Constable Joseph Scarborough
was directed "to warn William Wicker and his
family to depart this town or to -give bonds to
the selectman," and that on the 26th day of
May, the constable duly reported: "I have
warned said William Wicker and his family to de
part this town; he having been here near two
months and came from Dorchester." Forced out
of Roxbury, William Wicker settled in Leicester,
where he died in 1769. His son, Jacob Wicker,
who served in the northern army of the Revolu
tion in several campaigns,, married Abial Wash
burn, sister of Colonel Seth Washburn, of Wash
ington's staff. By this marriage the family of
Jacob Wicker became lineal descendants of
James and Susanna Chilton and Mary, their
daughter, passengers on the Mayflower. James
Chilton died aboard that frail vessel in Province-
town harbor, and' was buried on Long Point.
His wife Susanna died the first winter and was
buried in "Wheatfield." Mary, historians de
clare, was the first white woman to set foot on
Plymouth Rock. She married John Winslow.
Her body lies in King's Chapel burial ground,
Beacon street, Boston, where these historical
facts are recorded and preserved in bronze. Mr,
Wicker also has two other Mayflower ancestors,
William Latham and Elder Brewster.
Mr. Wicker's wife, Augusta Carroll French,
was a daughter of Governor Charles Augustus
French, of Illinois, during whose administration
as governor of that state, the Illinois Central
Railroad was chartered and its construction com
menced, Governor French being ex-officio
director. . It was during his administration also
that the Mormons were driven out of Illinois.
When Mr. Wicker was on his first trip to the
Pacific coast, before there was a railroad to Salt
Lake City, the small delegation of which he was
a member was received by Brigham Young. A
member of the delegation, in conversation with
the Mormon prophet, referred to the fact that
Mr. Wicker was a son-in-law of Governor
French, and thoughtlessly asked "what became
of the real estate holdings of the Mormons when
they left Illinois." Brigham Young gave the
speaker and Mr. Wicker one piercing glance and

74

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

with a profound bow, silently left the room. The
crestfallen member realized his blunder when
he was informed that all their holdings had been
confiscated by the state of Illinois, by an act of
ihe legislature enforced by Governor French.
It was during a trip to Denver, a year later,
upon completion of the Kansas Pacific Railway,
that Mr. Wicker had the peculiar experience of
having his train "held up" for an hour and a
quarter by a herd of buffalo passing in front of
the engine, covering the plains as far as the eye
could reach. It was on this trip also that he
came to know Chief Colorow of the "Coloradoes,"
then a large tribe of Indians at deadly war with
the Cheyennes. By reason of information ob
tained from this chief, Mr. Wicker was able to
advise Governor Evans, the first territorial gov
ernor of Colorado, ' that the "Cheyenne Indians
were burning and pillaging in South Park,"
rare experiences for a middle-aged business man
of to-day. Those interested in the study of American
history have noticed without doubt, that in early
annals of that history Virginia was not only the
Mother of Presidents but of most of the promi
nent ¦ men of the time. Later, Massachusetts
took the lead, and very few outside of, that com
monwealth presumed to count themselves among
the chosen men of the nation. In our own time,
Ohio claims to have succeeded to the Virginia
title "Mother of Presidents," but there is one
state which makes no claim to greatness, as com-
« pared with- sister states, and yet, if greatness
consists in doing good service, she certainly has
a right to that claim, for she has given to her
country a host of great men. It may yet be said
as significantly of Vermont as in olden times it
was prophesied should be said of Zion, "This
man was born there." Even now, whenever a
national roll of honor is called, a noble army of
Green Mountain boys answer "Adsum."
If any one. is sufficiently, curious to run over
the first ten volumes of the "National Cyclo
pedia of American Biography," he will find
there about three hundred names of distinguished
men "born in Vermont." Moreover, although
the fact that these men have achieved sufficient
success in life to be given a place in such a work
counts for much, still we may go farther and
discover in tlie list some especially distinguished,

e. g., President Chester A. Arthur, Senators Proc
tor, Morrill and Edmunds ; William F. Vilas, sec
retary of the interior and postmaster general; E.
J. Phelps, diplomat and United States minister to
Great Britain ; Secretary Shaw of the treasury ;
H. C. Ide, jurist and United States, commissioner
to Samoa: Governor- Levi P. Morton, Stephen A.
Douglas ; the poet, John G. Saxe ; the artist,
William H. Hunt; the architect, Richard M.
Hunt ; and the sculptor, Hiram Powers ; Brigham
Young; John Barrett, diplomat, and United
States consul to Siam ; Captain Clark, of the
Oregon ; Admiral Dewey.
.We also note that the men of Vermont have
achieved success in many varied callings. We
find in the list distinguished clergymen, edu
cators and authors, journalists, editors and pub
lishers, bankers, financiers and lawyers, jurists,
railroad presidents and managers, physicians,
surgeons and scientists, diplomats, congressmen,
and United States senators, civil, electrical and
mechanical engineers, ^artists, sculptors and arch
itects, astronomers, geologists and chemists, in
ventors, manufacturers and promoters, generals,
admirals and bishops, United States ministers
and United States district attorneys ; even an offi
cer of the Legion of Honor Of France; a Mor
mon prophet' or two, and the founder of the
Oneida Community. Clearly ajl the "isms" did
not originate on Boston Common. According to
our record, which is, of course, incomplete, Ver-'
mont has given presidents to a dozen different
universities, besides her own two, as well as-
governors to several states.
In the Civil war, Vermont sent more soldiers-
to the front, in proportion to her population,
than any other state in the Union. She had
more killed and wounded, in proportion to her
number of soldiers in service, than any other
state. She captured more standards in propor
tion to the number of her ¦ regiments than any
other state, and at the end of the war she brought
back and returned to the governor every stand
ard she took to the war. There seems to remain
but one thing for her to do, i. e., to bring for
ward a Presidential candidate. He would cer
tainly be elected, for "there is so such word as
'fail,' in the bright lexicon" of the Green Moun
tain state.
There is, besides, a curious sameness and sug-

THE STATE OF VERMONT. .

75-

gestiveness in the words and phrases Used to
.;. describe these men of Vermont. "Indomitable
;%;; persistency," ^untiring energy," "unusual habits
'-'.)' of purpose," "a well ordered and well balanced
•:t||#nd;' "shrewd," "persevering," "faithful,"
--;-',; "earnest," "positive," "self-reliant," "resourceful,"
-4;;gMd," "resolute," "firm," "full of shrewdness,
tact and enterprise." These and similar phrases
occur |epeatedly, therefore, it seems almost suffi
cient to ; say in description of the subject of our
sketch, that he is a Vermonter of the Vermonters,
with -all of the distinguishing characteristics of
a -Vermonter and a few of his very own.
•Addison says, "It is not in mortals to com
mand success; we can do more; we can deserve
it." That Mr. Wicker has done, and the fates,
although proverbially blind, have dimly recog
nized his merit. He is a masterful man, full of
resources. , When he was a boy, his father used
to say he "never worried about Cassius. If he
. got into a- tight place, he always got out of it."
He has been in a great many tight places since
his boyhood days, but he has' always got out of
them. His early education was that of the com
mon .schools, supplemented by the academies of
Williston and Middlebury, Vermont. He re-
, 'cfived his first business training in his father's
country store. This was in the days before the
war, when anti-slavery agitation was intense.
, His father's home was one of the Champlain
Valley underground railway stations to Canada,
and often when he rose in the morning he would
find a dark face in the family circle which had
not been there when he retired at night. The"
^'fjroih/ have never ceased to take interest in the
' elevation of the ' negro race, but their benevol
ences are ^carefully concealed from the public
gaze. When -Mr. Wicker was twenty-one, he left
home and went to St. Louis, where, in the course
of a year, he found himself in charge of the
Star Union Line at East St. Louis. For three
•ygars he was cashier of the People's Dispatch
fast .freight line at St. Louis. A little incident
which occurred while, he was check clerk for the
Star Union Line will illustrate one of his most
marked characteristics— forgetfullness of self
and readiness to assist others. One evening the
Sfeeight Klerks of the various' railroads centering
;;;.j8|pQsite St. Louis gave a dance, which Mr.

Wicker attended, although unused to such
gaieties, coming as he did, from the "land of
steady habits." While returning by boat to St.
Louis in the small hours of the morning, one of
the young ladies of the party came out from the
brightly lighted cabin, walked across the deck,
evidently under the impression that the boat had
reached the landing, and in a moment was under
the rail and in the water. . Mr. Wicker was
standing near by, clad in a heavy Irish- frieze
overcoat, with. a navy revolver in his pocket.
Throwing his hat on the deck and calling to his
friends to be quick with a boat, he jumped over
board and seized ' the young woman struggling;
in the water. As the boat swung in toward shore
it brought the rescuer and his burden in die rear
of the wheel, and, in spite of all his efforts, the
waves caused by the agitation of the water swept
over their heads and the current bore therii rapid
ly down stream, while the water, thick with
anchor' ice, chilled them to the bone. After a.
tinie the drowning woman ceased to struggle,
hut her would-be rescuer did not release his
hold until he realized that without a boat it would
be impossible to get his burden ashore, even if '
he could bring her . to the surface. When he-
came to the surface himself, the skyline revealed
some Ohio river steamers moored to the levee.
He gave one last try, for help and went down,
again, at the same-time plunging landward, sot
that his head struck the side of one of the Ohio?
river boats, which, fortunately, unlike the Mis- '
sissippi river boats, are built without much-
upper works overhanging the hull. His friends
had followed down the levee from one steamboat
to another, guiding themselves by his cries for
help, but without finding an available rowboat.
After* a few moments of clinging to the boat,
tooth and nail, he was assisted on board by
means of a coat let down to him. He was so-
utterly exhausted by his efforts that he could
neither stand nor speak', and it was days before
his lungs regained their normal condition! This
was his trial by water ; the trial by fire came later,
in the great Chicago.fire, a part of which he was.
Leaving the People's Dispatch, he became
Chinese emigrant agent of the North Missouri
Railway. His territory embraced the great west
from Chicago, St. Louis and Memphis to the
Pacific coast. From August, 1871, to December,

¦*6'

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

' 1876, he Was assistant general . freight agent of
the Chicago and Northwestern Railway, with
the additional duty of settling the claims- for
losses resulting from the Chicago fire of Octo
ber, 1 87 1. From December, 1876, to January,
1880, Mr. Wicker was successively general
agent, assistant general freight agent and traffic
manager of the Baltimore & Ohio Railway's
trans-Ohio divisions. From 1880 to the spring
of 1883 he was in charge of iron mining and
furnace properties in northern- Michigan, and
from the spring of 1883 to the fall of the same
year he was general manager of coal mining
interests at Springfield, Braidwood, Tracy and
Wilmington, Illinois, operated by the Central Illi
nois Coal Company.
In 1883 he became commissioner of the Chi
cago Freight Bureau, having in charge the tran-
portation interests of the wholesale merchants
and manufacturers of Chicago, and in 1885 took
into the bureau the management of the transpor
tation interests of the board of trade, the stock
yards and the lumber dealers of the city of Chi
cago. In 1887 he removed to New York and was
m^de vice president of the Colorado Eastern
road; in 1889, Vice president of the Fort Worth
¦& Rio Grande, and president of the Zanesville
& Ohio River Railway. In 1893 he became vice
president of the Brooklyn, Queens County and
Suburban road. He was one of the "three bad
men" that fought through and won the Brooklyn
strike in 1895. In 1894 he was also made presi
dent of the North Shore Traction Company of
Massachusetts. This company owned all the
stock of the Lynn and Boston road and a con
trolling interest in several other railroad com
panies. One of the most ' notable financial
..achievements of Mr. Wicker was the discharge
of the mortgage of the Lynn & Boston Railroad.
It was greatly desired by the directors to consoli-
-date five other railroads with the Lynn & Boston,
and bring out a $5,400,000 first mortgage bond
on the whole property, retaining, however, the
.name of the Lynn & Boston. Railroad. The
transaction could more easily have been accom
plished in New York, but it alarmed staid Boston
financiers, and many and dire were the threats
-of those holdirig the bonds if their securities
were interfered, with, even though three years'
interest as a bonus was offered for them, with

but seven years to run. The directors met in
New York only to receive the report of the Bos
ton and New York attorneys that the mortgage
could not be discharged. This was, a discourag
ing- situation. Mr. Belmont declared his want
0
of confidence in the management, and that he
would wipe his- hands of the whole transaction. ¦ ¦
Mr. Wicker's clear perception, grasped the situa- , ,
tion, and he frankly told the directors he believed^.;
the mortgage could be discharged. Almost as
a forlorn hope he was instructed to attempt the
legally impossible. Ten days later he reported
from Boston that the mortgage -would be dis-.
charged, adding, "The engravers are now at
work on the new first mortgage bonds of
the Lynn & Boston Railroad Company." This
message was so astounding in the face of the
assertions as to its utter impossibility by probably
the best legal talent in Boston and New York,
that some of the New York bankers could not ;
believe it, and sent a secret emissary to Boston
-to investigate. It was a triumphant moment for
Mr. Wicker when he returned and received the
congratulations of the New York, bankers in
terested.. He had simply thrown his marvelous.
-energy and persistency into the work, and suc
ceeded in convincing one after another of the '-'.. ,
trustees of the mortgage that it would not only
be lawful but : expedient to do just what they,.
as a body, had determined not to do. Action of
the trustees authorizing the Old Colony. Trust
Company to receive principal and interest to date ' '
of maturity of the bonds quickly followed, thus
enabling them to discharge the smaller mort
gage and make room for the greater one on the
•consolidated properties.
In the early organization of the Chicago Union
Traction Company, Mr. Wicker was its first vice
president, but, differing with its management,
•parted with his holdings and resigned.
He has been vestryman and treasurer of All
Angels church (Episcopal), New York, for sev
eral years; is trustee of the Washington Savings
Bank ; director and chairman of the board of
directors of the Bank of Discount; managing
director of the Hudson Valley -Railway Com
pany; director" and president of the Dillon-Gris- ..'.".
wold< Wire Company ; was prominent in the or- .
ganization of the Bankers' Money Order Asso
ciation, of which he is a director and vice presi-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

IT

dent, and is a special partner in the house of
Wicker Brothers. He also serves as director in
numerous financial organizations, and the fact
that he possesses a vital energy so powerful that
he can throw it into any work and grasp the
general features of an enterprise, while at the
same time he masters and retains a full knowl
edge of the details, taken along with his good'
judgrnent and wide experience, is sufficient guar
antee of success in his special work.
He is a member of many societies and clubs,
among others the Union League, Colonial (board
of igpvernors), Lotos, Lawyers', Church, At
lantic Yacht and St. Andrew's Golf Club of New
York, and the Union League Club of Chicago.
He served as a lieutenant in the Vermont militia,
and is an enthusiastic patrori of the arts, being
a member of tlie Metropolitan Museum of Art,
the American Geographical Society, America's
Founders and Defenders ; is president of the Chi
cago Society of New York, one of the ,member-
ship committee of the Society of Mayflower De
scendants; and also a member of the executive
cottiniittee and chairman of the membership com
mittee of the Pilgrims of America.
Mrs. Wicker died in 1889. Mr. Wicker has
a daughter, Miss Lucy Southworth - Wicker, a
graduate of Smith College, and a son, Cyrus
French Wicker, a junior in Yale University.
They bid fair to develop the same push, energy
and strength of character as their forebears.
A granite monument in the family plot in the
burying ground at North Ferrisburg, Vermont,
bears, among other names, that of a son, an
other Yale student, "Henry Halladay Wicker,
lost at sea off Marblehead." .
. Mt. Wicker resides on West End avenue in
New York. His summer home, however, is the
old homestead at North Ferrisburgh, Vermont,
near Lake Champlain, where he was born. He
has never lost interest in the Green Mountain
* state, and his favorite pastime is coaching from
and to .New York, spring and fall, as well as
.about the fixate during the summer. He is an
authority on roads and routes, and claims that
in seven years' coaching, he has, with one excep
tion, never taken luncheon 'under a roof; always
from the iunch basket in the open, under some
sheltering tree. His jnother was one of the
coaching party until she was eighty-two years

of age, when feebleness prevented longer con
tinuance of the pleasure. The New England.
home has been enlarged and added to by its pres
ent occupant, without destroying its "Old Home"
look, as only a dweller of a city can appreciate
and adapt the suggestions of nature in beauti
fying the country habitation of man.
ALBERT G. DEWEY.
The Rev, B, F, Dwight, in his "Notes on.
the Early History of the Dewey Family," pub
lished in the "New/ York Genealogical and Bio
graphical Record," remarks that "mechanical in
stinct, tastes and capabilities haye been leading
characteristics of a large number of the Dewey
family," and the truth of the observation finds. „
ample exemplification in the person of Albert G..
Dewey and his immediate descendants.
Albert Gallatin Dewey, known as the founder -
of one of the most important manufacturing in
dustries in New England, was a descendant of
Thomas Dewey, who emigrated to America from.
Sandwich, Kent, England, in 1633, and settled.
in Dorches.ter, Massachusetts, Joshua, the
grandfather of Mr. Dewey, came from Lebanon,,
Connecticut, and was (in 1766) one of the first
settlers in the town of Hartford, near Quechee-"
village, where in 1770 he built the first frame
house in the town. He served as a minute-man.
in the Revolutionary war. John, son of Joshua.
Dewey, born May 29, 1774, at Hartford, was a
man of sterling moral character and of high.
standing in the community. He married Mary
Wright, of Lebanon, New Hampshire, and their-
children were: Albert Gallatin, Eliza Baldwin,
Mary Lyman, Juliette Amanda Melvina andv
John Jasper, .Mr. Dewey died November 23,
1823, on the old homestead.
. Albert Gallatin Dewey, son of John and Mary
(Dwight) Dewey, was born December 16, 1805,
at Quechee village, Vermont. His father died..
when he was eighteen years pld, and he set out
to take a man's part in providing for the support
of the family. Out of necessity, his educational.
advantages had been the most meagre. Leaving
home, he served a three years' apprenticeship
with a carpenter, Elihu Ransom, receiving as his...
sole compensation his board and clothing, and_
worked over time to earn extra wages in order-

78

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

to assist his family. At the end of his term of
service he was discharged as a journeyman, re
ceiving' from his master the customary gift of
a freedom suit of clothes. For several years
afterward he successfully- followed his trade, and
in 1 83 1 obtained employment in the machine
shop of Daniels & Company, of Woodstock, Ver
mont. Here he had opportunity to display his
mechanical skill and that power of mechanical
analysis which enabled him to master all the
technicalities and principles of construction of
any piece of machinery, no matter how new to
him, and in the short space of' four months from
the day he began work his ability was so ap
parent that he was sent out to set up machinery
in various places, and he was thus successfully
occupied for five years.
In 1836, in. company with others, Mr. Dewey
built a factory on the Ottauquechee river, one mile
and a half below Quechee village, for the manu
facture of woolen fabrics. The venture proved
-unsuccessful, however, and at the end of two
years he found himself deeply involved.
With admirable determination, he continued to
operate the mill, employing a force of from thirty
to sixty operatives.. During the twelve years
from 1838 to 1850, there was scarcely a day
when he could have met the claims of his credit
ors, even at the sacrifice of all he possessed, but
he honorably kept his creditors fully informed
of his affairs, and by close economy promptly
met his paper at maturity, at the same time pay
ing his workmen in full on every pay day. Mean
while he spared no pains to improve the quality
of his goods, giving his personal attention to the
minutest details, exhibiting that carefulness
which demonstrated that his heart was in his
work, and only satisfied with the- acme of ex
cellence. As a result, he made for, his mills a
splendid reputation, and their product was eager
ly sought by the largest buyers, in the best
markets. Until 1841 lie used fine wool alone, but
that year he began the use of "rag-wool," which
was obtained by tearing soft woolen rags into
fibres for cloth manufacture. This rag-cloth, as
it was termed, first made in this country at Que
chee, Vermont, had been previously known in
England as "shoddy," but this term was not
known in the United States until the Civil war
-period. It is, however, due to the rriemory of

Mr. Dewey, and to those who were his business
associates during that great struggle, to record
the fact that the "shoddy" goods of their manu
facture, made for army and navy clothing and
blankets, and amounting in value to many hun
dreds of thousands of dollars, were of the high
est quality, showing as much superiority over
dishonest products as appears in any line of
manufactures, and passing the most rigid
scrutiny of the expert inspectors representing the
war and navy departments. In 1846 Mr. Dewey
acquired all the machinery in use by Daniels &
Company, at Quechee, who were then the only
manufacturers of shoddy in this country, and
from that time until 1848, when the Rays, of
Franklin, Massachusetts, engaged in the business,
he was the only American manufacturer making
and using shoddy yarn and weaving it into cloth,
and his development of this important depart
ment of industry entitles him to. a share of that
honor which is. the meed of a master of mechanic
art. April 1/1858, the firm of A. G. Dewey &
Company was formed by the association with
Mr. Dewey, as equal partners, of his brother-in-
law, Justin F. Mackenzie, and of his wife's
nephew, W. S. Carter. Their mill contained two
sets of machinery, with a capacity of about four
hundred and fifty yards of textile fabrics per
day. A few years later another set of cards was
added, increasing the production to seven hun
dred yards daily, and this average rate prevailed
until 1870, when the firm purchased the mill
(previously leased by them), and repaired and
enlarged it. New and improved machinery was
substituted for the old, and as a result, in 1873,
the capacity was increased to one thousand three
hundred yards per diem. In 1873 Mr., Carter
died, and John Jasper Dewey, son of the senior
partner, purchased the Carter interest in the firm.
January 1, 1876, William S. Dewey, eldest son
of the senior partner, was admitted to equal
partnership. A man of marked public spirit, Mr. Dewey
was called to many offices of trust and honor. He
represented the town of Hartford in the legisT*:
lature in 1850, 185 1, J863 and 1864. In that
body he was known as one of the most active and
zealous of patriots, and his splendid effort Was.
constantly exerted in promoting such measures
as would most efficiently aid the administration

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

79

of ''President Lincoln in its1 struggle to perpetuate
the Union. In 1858 Mr. Dewey was elected a •
timber of the board of selectmen, and he held
that Office until 1866. During the Civil war he
displayed excellent ability in the onerous work
of filling Vermont's quota of troops. Every re
quisition made upon the town was promptly met,
at a fftinimum of expense, and all needed pro
vision was made for the support of the soldiers'
families. In 1869 Mr. Dewey was elected to'the
state senate from Windsor county, arid was re
elected in 1870. While thus ever ready to act
the part of a good citizen, and to. participate in
a proper manner in public affairs, Mr. Dewey
was in no sense ambitious, and his public dis
tinction was simply a recognition of his worth
and usefulness. He was ever deeply interested
in promoting the welfare of the general public,
and was an active promoter and one of the
original incorporators of the railroad between
White River Junction and Woodstock, in which
he was a large -itodcholder. He was elected a
member of the board of directors, and on the
death of President Peter T. Washburn, in Feb
ruary, .1870, was chosen to fill the vacancy, and
he occupied the office until January, 1883, when
he declined a further, re-election^
Mr. 'Dewey was riiarried June 18, 1840, to
Emily, daughter of the Hon. William :,StrCirig, of
Hartford, Vermont. Three children were born
of this marriage : William Strong Dewey ; John
Jasper Dewey; and Emma F., who became the
wife of Henry C. Denison, Esq., of New Bed
ford, Massachusetts. Mrs. Dewey died April 23,
1875, and Mr. Dewey married, August 26, 1876;
Miss Evaline Trumbull, of Hartford, Vermont.
The death of Mr. Dewey occurred August 26,
1886.., William, Strong Dewey, son of Albert Gallatin
arid Emily (Strong) Dewey, was born in Quechee,
Vermont, August 3, 1841. On th'e mother's side
he is the eighth ^generation from Elder John
Strong, who cameto America from Plymouth,
England, and settled in Dorchester, Massachu
setts, in 1630. The subject of this sketch re
ceived his early education in the public schools;
at Newbury (Vermont) Seminary; at the Green
Mountain Institute in South Woodstock, Ver
mont, and under -Hosea Doton in Pomfret. He
graduated from Norwich University in 1863. He

was a member of the company of college students
which served for three months in the Seventh
Squadron of Rhode Island Cavalry, in the Civil
war, in 1862. His tastes and associations — his
father being a leading woolen manufacturer —
inclined him to a business career. For this he \
fitted himself by a course in Comer's Commercial
College and by two years' service in the office
of Taft & Parker, mill-owners and manufactur
ers. April 1, 1866, he entered the firm of J. C.
Parker & Company, woolen manufacturers, at
Quechee, and remained in it until April, 1876,
when he sold his interest, and became a member
of the firm of A. G. Dewey & Company. When
the A. G. Dewey Company was incorporated in
1890, he was" elected treasurer of the company,
which position he retains to the present time.
Mr. Dewey is a Republican in politics and rep
resented the town of Hartford in the legislature
in j886. He has held various .. local offices of
responsibility and trust, is a trustee of the Ottau-
quechee Savings Bank; director in the Wood
stock (Vermont) National Bank, and director in
the Ticonderoga (New York) Pulp and Paper
Company. He served as aide-de-camp dn the
staff of Governor Pingree, in 1884, with rank
of colonel, and is a member of the Lakota Club
of Woodstock. He is unmarried.
John Jasper Dewey, son of Albert Gallatin
and Emily (Strong)1 Dewey, was born April 8,
1846, at Quechee, Vermont. He was educated
at the Green Mountain 'institute, and at Nor
wich University, arid graduated from the latter
institution in 4865/. with the degree of Bachelor
of •'Science,' and -rank of valedictorian. Subse
quently he attended Comer's Commercial College
at Boston, Massachusetts, and then entered his
fathers factory to learn the business; He be
came a member of the firm in 1873, and, on
the incorporation of the company in 1890, was
elected president. During his connection with the
establishment, the plant has been practically re
built, equipped with modern machinery, and its
production . increased three and one-half times.
Mr. Dewey has been president of the Wood
stock Railway Company since 1895. He is also
a director of the Exeter Machine Works at Ex
eter, New Hampshire, a director of the Wood
stock Electric Company, and is a trustee of Nor
wich University, from which institution he has

8o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

received the degree of Master of Science. Politi
cally he is a Republican, and in 1902 represented
his town in the legislature, in - which body he
served on the judiciary and insurance commit
tees. He is a member of the Lakota Club of
Woodstock. He married, January 19, 1869, Anna
Frances, daughter of Erasmus B. Metcalf , of Bos
ton, and to them were born five children : Alice,
who married Gilbert D. Kingman, and resides.
at New Bedford, Massachusetts; Ida Gertrude;
Anna M., who married George E. Mann, of
Quechee, connected with the Dewey mill's.
and to them were born three children, William
Dewey, Elizabeth and Richard Dewey; Mary
M.'j Emily Strong Dewey.
JOHN BOARDMAN PAGE.
The Page family of Vermont has been con
spicuous in the commercial, financial and political
history of the commonwealth through several
generations past. The grandfather of John
Boardman Page was Dr. William Page, son of
John and Hannah (Robbins) Page, of New Fair
field, Connecticut, who lived in Charlestown, New
Hampshire. He was a prominent citizen of that
town, having twice represented it in the Vermont
assembly, when Charlestown was a part of Ver
mont, and four times in the New Hampshire
legislature. Pie served as surgeon of the New
Hampshire regiment of the Revolutionary army,
of which Daniel Reynolds was colonel. He built
the canal at Bellows Falls. He married Chloe
Todd, to whom was born, September 2, 1779,
William Page.,
The latter entered Yale College at the age
of thirteen years, graduated in due course, and
assisted his father as. assistant engineer in the
construction of the Bellows Falls canal. He re
moved thence to Rutland, where he resided from
1806 to his death, in 1850. He was cashier of the
first bank of Rutland organized under the state
laws. He was also deacon of the Congregrational
church, and a public-spirited citizen, and he had
to a remarkable degree the confidence and respect
of his fellow townsmen. He married Cynthia
Amanda Hickok.
John Boardman Page, son of William and
Cynthia Amanda (Hickok) Page, was born Feb

ruary 25, 1826, at -Rutland, Vermont. Pie was
educated in the public schools in Rutland and
at Burr and Burton Seminary, Manchester, Ver
mont. At the age of sixteen years he entered'
the employ of the Bank of Rutland, and when
his father resigned the cashiership ori account
of advancing years, John B. Page was appointed
cashier. He was elected president of the bank
in 1861, and continued as such after its reorgani
zation as the National Bank of Rutland. Mr..
Page's remarkable business capacity was early
recognized, and he became prominently connected
with various important railroad and business en
terprises. He was trustee of the Rutland Sc.
Burlington Railroad -Company till he resigned this-
position in 1867, to become president of the Rut
land Railroad Company at the date of its or
ganization in July of that year. He remained
president of the Rutland Railroad Company un
til August 1, 1883. From 1873 to J88i ne was
president of the Continental Railway and Trust
Company, organized, to build the New York, West
Shore & Chicago Railroad, afterwards known as
the West Shore Railroad. He was for many
years a director in the Champlain Transportation-
Company, which controlled the steam navigation-
of Lake Champlain, and was identified with the
project to connect the waters of the St. Law
rence and Lake Champlain by the Caughnawauga
ship canal. He was a director of the Howe Scale ^
Company- from 1869 tQ 1885, and, having ac
quired a controlling interest in that corporation, .
he removed the shops from Brandon to Rutland
in 1878, He was treasurer of the Howe Scale
Company from 1876 to 1885, and a director ofs
the Dorset Marble Company, 1871 to 1885.
Mr. Page was called to many civil offices '
of responsibility and trust. Few men, if any, in
the history of Vermont, have held more or more
important offices in civil life. He was the first
treasurer of the. village of Rutland, 1848 to 1850,
and a trustee of the village in the years 1849,/
i860, 1869, 1876 and 1877. He was treasurer
of the town of Rutland from .1849 to 1856. He
was elected to the legislature in 1852, when he
was twenty-six years of age, and subsequently
represented Rutland in the house of representa- -
fives in the years 1853, 1854 and 1880. During
his last term in that body he prepared and intro-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

81

duced a bill reforming the tax laws of Vermont
(then much needing amendment) , the main prin
ciples, of which were subsequently incorporated
in the state statutes. He was nominated for state
treasurer, on the Republican ticket, in i860, and
held the- office by successive re-elections for seven
years, covering the Civil war and the most im
portant period in die financial history of the state.
He disbursed during this period,, on state account,
four million six hundred and thirty-five thousand
one humdigd and fifty dollars, principally for mili
tary expenses.- He favored and promoted much
of the important military legislation of that time,
including the laws for adding the state pay of
seven dollars a month to the government pay of
-the; soldiers, and the law permitting soldiers to
allot their pay so that it could be drawn by the
selectmen of their respective towns for the sup
port of their family during their absence in the
field. He was appointed allotment commissioner
for Vermont by President Lincoln. His arduous
and responsible services as treasurer were recog
nized by the people in a call to the / chief magis
tracy of the state. He .was elected governor of
Vermont in 1867, re-elected in 1868, .'•fay'- a larger
majority than had been given to any other candi
date for that office up to that time. He was tnen-
forty-one years of age, and the youngest man
that ever held- that office, being a few days
younger than Governor Van Ness was when the
latter was inaugurated^' His administration was
a successful and honorable one. After retiring
from the governorship he declined further politi
cal office, with the exception of a term in the
legislature. During the maturer years of his life
Governor Page had an important place in the
religious life of the community. Joining the Con
gregational church in 1858, he ;S)ery;ed on several
important committees of the church and society.
He was chairman of the building committee for
the new Congregational church on Court street,
Rutland. He was a deacon of the church for
the last fourteen years of his life, and superin
tendent of the Sunday-school for twelve years.
He served as a member of : the prudential com
mittee, and as the moderator Of the society. He
was strongly interested in Christian missions in
foreign lands. He was a corporate member of
the American board of commissioners for foreign

missions,' and through his instrumentality the
annual meeting of the board in 1874 was held
in Rutland, the only meeting of the board ever
held in Vermont. The arrangements for this
meeting and for the accommodation of the large
numbers of persons from many states who attend
ed it, were conducted by Governor Page with
extraordinary energy and success. Moved by
the appeal of Joseph Neesima, he led the move
ment at that meeting which culminated in the'
establishment of the Christian college in Japan,
of which Neesima became the president. The
power of his personality was again strikingly
shown at a meeting of the board of Providence,
Rhode Island, in 1877, when he. led a movement
to raise the debt of the board. The officers of
the board deemed the effort inexpedient at that.
time, but he persisted and' in a couple of hours
succeeded in raising forty-eight thousand dollars,
which covered the entire debt. One-fourth of
this amount was pledged by Vermonters, the larg
est single pledge being Governor Page's, for five
thousand dollars. The scene during the progress
of the effort and upon the announcement that the
debt of the board had been wiped out, was one
of the most impressive in the history of. the Amer
ican board, and Governor Page held thereafter
a high place in the regard of all friends of Con
gregational missions.
Mr. Page married, June 14, 1848, in Boston,
Mary Ann Reynolds. She died May 15, 1872,
at Nice, France. Of this marriage were born
four children : Susan Reynolds, who died in in
fancy ; William Reynolds, Edward Dirnmock and
Helen Louisa Page, all now living. He was mar
ried a second time, June 9, 1875, t0 Harriet Ellen
Smith, of Winchester, New Hampshire. Their1
children are: Catherine Rebecca, John Hickok,
Henrietta Richardson and Margaret Ellen Page,
all living. Governor Page died October 24, 1885,
and was buried in Evergreen cemetery, Rutland,
which he had largely helped to establish and
adorn. As will be seen from the facts stated,
Governor Page was a man of marked personality,
of remarkable energy and executive ability, and
of high traits of personal character. He had
the power of making and- holding many friends,
and his name has an honored place in the history,
of his state.

82

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

HON. EBENEZER JOLLS ORMSB'EE.
Ebenezer J. Ormsbee, ex-governor of . Ver
mont, an eminent lawyer of the city of Brandon,
Vermont, and veteran of the Civil war/was born
in Shoreham, Vermont, June 8S 1834, a son of
John Mason and Polly (Wilson) Ormsbee. The
educational advantages enjoyed by Mr. Orms
bee were obtained in the common schools of the
vicinity and the academies of Brandon and South
Woodstock, his time being divided equally be-»
tween the farm and the schools until he attained
his majority, after which he taught school for
a number of winters. Desiring to become a
member of the legal profession, he began the
study of law in the office of Briggs
& Nicholson, at Brandon, in 1857, and
four years later was admitted to the bar of Rut
land county at the March term of court. Instead
of entering upon the practice of his profession,
however, he enlisted in the. "Allen Grays," a mili
tary company of Brandon, in April, 1861. Sub
sequently this company was known as Company
G, First Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, and on
April 25, 1861, he was elected second lientenant
and was with his compariy in the service of the
United States during the term of its enlistment,
which covered a period of four months. After
his return home he again enlisted, this time with
Company G, Twelfth Regiment, Vermont, Vol
unteers,' and on September 22, 1862, was com
missioned captain of the company. This regi
ment was attached to the Second Vermont Bri
gade, commanded by General Stannard, which
became the Third -Brigade in the Third Division
of the First Arfny Corps, Army of the Potomac,
and taking a most prominent part in the Gettys
burg campaign. Captain Ormsbee was mustered
out of service July 14, 1863, having shared the
dangers" and hardships with his men during the
entire term of enlistment.
Upon his.' return to Brandon ,• Vermont,
Captain Ormsbee associated himself with Anson
A. Nicholson in -the practice of law, and a few
years later he entered into partnership with Hon.
Ebenezer N. Briggs, with whose son he was
subsequently interested in a business relation at
Brandon for mariy years. In politics he has al
ways been, an ardent advocate of the principles
and policy of the Republican party, and was

elected a member of the state Republican com
mittee. In 1868 he was appointed assistant
United States internal revenue assessor, serving
as such until 1872 ; was state's attorney for Rut
land county from 1870 to 1874; town representa
tive from Brandon in the general assembly of the
state in 1872, and seriator from Rutland county
in that body in 1878. He received the appoint
ment, and served from 1880 to 1884, as a trustee
of the Vermont Reform School, and resigned from
this position to accept the office of lieutenant-
governor of the state, and in 1886 he was chosen
to serve in the capacity of governor. . He dis- ¦
charged the onerous duties' of this office with
dignity and great diplomatic skill. In August, :
1 89 1, he was appointed by President Harrison to :
treat with the Piute Indians at Pyramid Lake, ¦
Nevada; the object being to secure by payment
of a consideration their relinquishment of claim
on a part of this reservation. After spending one
morith there Mr. Ormsbee succeeded in negotiat
ing -satisfactory terms for purchase, but his task
was a difficult one and required considerable tact
and diplomacy in dealing with the chiefs. He
performed this work so satisfactorily that Presi
dent Harrison appointed him a United States
land commissioner at Samoa, in company with a
representative of the English and German gov
ernments to adjust private claims' of citizens of
these" governments, the claims aggregating three
thousand six hundred, and representing many
millions of dollars. This commission was created
in accordance with the Burton Act, ahd the com
missioners were engaged from November, 1891,
to November, 1893, when he returned to this
country and resumed the practice of his pro- '
fession. Mr. Ormsbee is a member of St. Paul's
Lodge, F. & A. M., of Brandon, and -for many
years has been a comrade of the C J. Ormsbee.
Post No. 18, G. A. R., at whose annual memorial
services he has been speaker and participant- for
a number of years. In his religion he is a firm
believer in the tenets of the Protestant Episcopal
church. In 1862 Mr.- Ormsbee' was united in marriage
to Jennie L. Briggs, a daughter of the Hon. E. N.
Briggs, of Brandon, Vermont. - After the death
of his wife he married Frances (Wadhams) Dav
enport, a daughter of William L. Wadhams, of ;
Westport, New York, in 1867.

**t£Asm.*. <LA-~&-Kjl, 0

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

*3

HON. JUSTIN S. MORRILL.
Justin S- Morrill, United States senator from
Vermont, was born in Strafford, April 14, 1810.
His family in the United States had for its foun
der and Englishman, whose three sons settled in
or near Salisbury, Massachusetts, and from the
third of whom Senator Morrill was in the line
of direct descent. . Joseph, his ancestor, moved
from Salisbury, Massachusetts, to Chichester,
New Hampshire, .where he died. His son, Smith
Morrill, moved about 1795 to Strafford, where
he "was one of the earliest settlers. Nathaniel,
son of Smith Morrill, known as Colonel Nathan
iel, from his rank in the militia, was the father
of Senator Morrill, He was a farmer, and he
also made scythes and fanning tools, carrying
ori an extensive business for the times. He was
a man of much force of character, and greatly
respected by all who knew him.
Justin S. Morrill received an academical edu
cation, and at the age of fifteen entered a country
store, where his compensation was forty-five dol
lars for a year's service. With his meagre sav
ings he went to Portland, where he found em
ployment with a shipping merchant, and next in
a large dry-goods store, where his more liberal
wages enabled him to purchase books, which he
studied out of business hours. He thus finished
a liberal course of classical reading, and . also
read Blackstone's Commentaries, but without
any intention of becoming a lawyer. After three
years of mercantile experience in Portland, he
returned to his native town and formed a part
nership with Judge Harris, a connection which
¦only ended with the death of Judge Harris in
1855. Mr. Morrill, however, had ceased his act
ive effort as a merchant in 1848 to engage in
farming. In 1854 Mr. Morrill received the unanimous
Republican nomination of his district to a seat
in Congress/and was elected by 8,380 votes,
against 5,848 for Parker, his Democratic com
petitor, and 2,473 f°r O. L. Shaffer and other
minor candidates. For the thirty-fifth Congress
he received 13,695 votes, against 4,358 cast for
Chase, the nominee of the Democrats ; for the
thirty-sixth Congress, 11,576 votes, against 4,806
in favor of Chase, " his former competitor; for
the thirty-seventh Congress, 12,555 votes, against

3,295 for Davenport, the Democratic candidate;
for the thirty-eighth Congress, 11,538 votes, 4,785
recorded for the same contestant ; and for the
thirty-ninth Congress, 12,409 votes, against 4,793
cast for Ormsby, the new Democratic aspirant.
The remarkable uniformity of the returns serves
to indicate the unshaken hold of Mr. Morrill
on the regard of his fellow citizens. Twelve
consecutive years of legislative labor were in
cluded between December 3, 1855, when he took
his seat in the hall of the house of representatives,
and March 3, 1867, when he left it to- enter the
senate. Mr. Morrill was elected to the United States
senate in 1866 by the legislature of Vermont, re
ceiving two hundred and thirteen votes in the
house, against sixteen cast for T. P. Redfield, and
a unanimous vote from the senate. He was re
elected for six successive ternis, ahd, at the last
election, he had reached his eighty-seventh year.
When he died his congressional service had ex
ceeded that of any living colleague, and had cov-
_ ered the long period of nearly forty-four years,
thirty-two years, of which were in the senate.
In the house of representatives Mr. Morrill
served upon the committee on agriculture arid
territories, and also upon the committee on ways
and means. During the thirty-ninth Congress he
was chairman of the latter body, and thus became
what is technically termed the leader of the
house. The bill granting public lands to agricul
tural colleges was introduced by him in 1858, but
was vetoed by President Buchanan after it had
obtained the sanction of ooth houses. It was
re-introduced in 1862 by Mr. Morrill, who ably
advocated, it. in a speech on June 6, 1862, and its
enactment was secured mainly through his in
strumentality. To all the projects of pro-slavery
propagandism he opposed an inflexible antagon
ism. In 1856 he opposed the admission of Kan
sas' to the national Union under the terms then
proposed, and, as a member of the select commit
tee of fifteen (of which Mr. Stephens of Georgia
was chairman) appointed to investigate all mat
ters in connection with the applicant territory, he
presented a minority report, prepared by himself,
against the Lecompton Constitution.
Mr. Morrill's fame rests chiefly on the basis
of sound political econoriiy. His first speech on
the tariff was delivered in the hoflse February

84

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

6, 1857, when he opposed a measure introduced
by Mr. Campbell of Ohio, mainly on the ground
that it unduly favored the interests of manufac
turers, and was not sufficiently considerate of the
welfare of agriculturists. He was even then pre
paring a system of import duties intended to con
serve and promote the interests of all classes,
which he introduced. April 23, i860, and which
became the law of the United States in 1861. It
is only truth to remark that the "Morrill Tariff"
was, under the then existent circumstances, a
masterpiece.i of political wisdom. It imparted a
beneficent stimulus to American manufacturers,
inciting inventors and capitalists to embark in
new and untried enterprises, and it went far in
providing means for carrying on the war for
the preservation of the Union, placing his name
beside that of Alexander Hamilton, of whom
it was said, "He smote the rock of the public
credit, and streams of revenue gushed forth."
With old fashioned notions respecting a proper
\ currency, Senator Morrill opposed and voted
against, the issue of greenbacks in 1862, but after
their incorporation into the currency he deprecated
any attempt to, suddenly retire them.
Senator Morrill performed the principal part
of the labor in preparing the first and several
subsequent internal tax bills of the Civil war
period, and was chairman, of the sub-committee
charged with the duty of formulating their pro
visions. March 12, 1862, he explained and gave
a forecast of the operations of what was fhe
initial measure of the vast internal-revenue sys
tem.. Mr. Boutwell, commissioner of internal
revenue, afterward affirmed that it was "the most
perfect system ever devised by any nation."
In the senate, Senator Morrill riiade able
speeches on different -subjects related to the na
tional finances and the public debt. One of the
most important of these was that delivered May
9, 1870, on "the Reduction of Taxation." He
assumed that, owing to the policy of our present
administration, we shall soon be able to part with
all direct taxation, or all internal taxes; and the
only subject that will then remain for serious con
sideration will be the subject of the tariff," and
he thoroughly explained the principles of the Re
publican party as related to the question in hand.
Senator Morrill opposed the passage of the
bill making eight hours the length. of a legal

day's work for all laborers, workmen and me
chanics in the employ of the United States, stat
ing, among other reasons, that it applied only to-
those employed by the general government, and
was therefore anti-Republican and offensive to-
all other laboring men. While advocating a-
modification of the civil tenure act, he opposed its
repeal or suspension. In his judgment the law
was not intended to be a restraint upon the power
of one president only, but to-be a part of the-
permanent policy of the country, and was in.
entire harmony with the spirit and letter Of the
national organic law. In the debate on the aboli-'
tion of the franking privilege of members of
Congress, he spoke in favor of that measure, not;
on the grounds of economy, but for other reasons,
which, to him, was valid and satisfactory.
Senator Morrill did not favor an extension.
of the national domain, and the annexation of
St. Domingo was a project of which he could..
not approve. He performed admirable service as
a member of the committee on finance and of the.
committee on education and labor, and as chair
man of the committee on public buildings and.
grounds. In the forty-seventh Congress he held.
the position of chairman of the committee on_
finance, and a member of the committees on edu
cation and labor, public buildings and grounds..
He was also a member of the select commit
tees on the census and on library accommodations, .
but was excused from service on the two last.
named because of the exacting nature of his duties.
as chairman of the committee on finance, to which
positiori he was called in 1877, succeeding Hon.
John Sherman, who then entered the cabinet or
President Hayes. Among the public bills intro
duced by Mr. Morrill were those related to the
entry and withdrawal of distilled spirits, to the -
application of the net proceeds of public lands.
and patents to educational purposes, to the amend
ment of the law relative to the circulation of
national banks, and to the appointment of a tariff
commission, and the passage of the latter bill
was in great measure due to his personal influence
and effort.
The Public services of Senator Morrill were
summarized in the following pregnant utterances
of Hon. George F. Hoar, of Massachusetts, in,
a memorial address delivered in the senate of the-
United States, on February 22, 1899 :

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The Lev/is Publishing Co.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

55

It would be impossible, everi by a -most careful
study of the history of the country for the last
forty years, to determine with exactness what was
due to Mr. Morrill's personal influence. Many
of the great policies to which we owe the suc
cessful result of the Civil war— the abolition of
slavery ; the restoration of peace ; the new and
enlarged definition of. citizenship ; the restoration
of order; the establishment of public credit; the
homestead system ; the foundation and admission
of new states : the exaction of apology and repara
tion from Great Britain; the establishment of the
doctrine of expatriation; the achievement of our
manufacturing independence; the taking by the
United States of its place as the foremost nation
in the world in manufacture and in wealth, as it
was alreay foremost in agriculture; the creation
, of our vast domestic commerce; the extension of
our railroad system from one ocean to the other — ¦
were carried into effect by narrow majorities, and
would have failed but for the wisest counsel.
When all these matters were before Congress,
there may haye been men more brilliant or more
powerful, in debate, but I can not think of any
wiser in counsel than Mr. Morrill. Many of them
must have been lost, but for his powerful sup
port. Many owed to him the shape they finally
took. But he has left many a personal monument
in our legislation, in the glory of which no others
can rightfully claim to rival him. To him is due
the great tariff, that of 1861, which will always
pass by his name, of which every protective tariff
since has been but a modification and adjustment
to conditions somewhat changed, conditions
which, in general, so far as they were favorable,
were the result of that measure. To him is due
the first anti-Polygamy bill, which inaugurated
the policy under which, as we hope ahd believe,
that great blot on our national life has been for
ever expunged. The public buildings which or
nament Washington, the extension of the Capitol
gcounds, the great building where the state, war
and navy departments have their home, the Na
tional Museum buildings, are the result of stat
utes of which he was the author, and which he
conducted from their introduction to their enact
ment. He was the leader, as Mr. Winthrop in
his noble oration bears witness, of the action
of Congress which resulted in the completion of
the Washington monument after sp many years'
delay. He conceived and accomplished the idea
of consecrating the beautiful chamber of the old
house of representatives as a memorial hall where
should stand forever the statues of the great men
of the states. So far, of late, as the prosperity

and wise administration of the Smithsonian In
stitution has depended upon the action of Con
gress, it has been due to him. Above all, the
beautiful, National Library building, unequaled
among buildings of its class in the world, was in
a large measure the result of his persistent effort
anw powerful influence, and stands as an endur
ing monument to his fame. There can be no
more beautiful and enviable memorial to any man
than a portrait upon the/ walls of a great college
in the gallery where the likenesses of its benefac
tors are collected. Mr. Morrill deserves this ex
pression of honor and gratitude at the hands' of
at least one great institution of learning in every
American state. To his wise foresight is due .the
ample endowment of agricultural or technical col
leges in every state in the Union.
Senator Morrill was for many years a mem
ber of the board of regents of the Smithsonian
Institution at Washington city, and a trustee of
the University of Verriiont and of the State Agri
cultural College. He was married September
17, 185 1, to Ruth B. Swan, daughter of Dr.
Caleb and Ruth (Barrill) Swan, of Eastori, Mass
achusetts. Two children were born of this mar
riage: Justin Harris Morrill, who died in child
hood; and James Swan Morrill, wfao became a
lawyer, and now resides in Strafford, Vermont.
Mrs. MorrilLdied May 13, 1898, arid her husband ~
survived her but a. few months, his death oc
curring December 28, following.
HIRAM CARLETON.
Hiram Carleton, of Montpelier, Vermont,
prominent as a lawyer, in public affairs and as
an authority on the history of the state, is of
early Colonial lineage. Edward Carleton, the
immigrant ancestor of the family in the United
States, was the sixteenth in descent from Bald
win de Carleton, of Carleton Hall, near Penrith,
Cumberland county, England, where he and his
descendants had their residence for more than six
hundred years from about the time of the con
quest, A. D. I066. Edward Carleton was a mem
ber of the company which, under the Rev. Eze
kiel Rogers, settled in Rowley, Massachusetts, in
1639. This company arrived at Boston from
England in 1638, and it is a notable fact that •
the ship which bore them brought over the first
printing press introduced into the English-speak-

86

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ing colonies of North America. This press was
set up in the house of Henry Dunstor, the first
president of Harvard College. Edward Carleton
was selected to make the surveys for the com
pany, and was for five successive years the dep
uty from Rowley to the general court of Massa
chusetts Bay. During his service in that body
he was selected to execute important commiss
ions. He returned about 1651 to England, where
he died. His wife was Eleanor Denton. Their
son, Lieutenant John Carleton (1), was born in
England about 1636; and died in Haverhill, Mass
achusetts, March, 1668. He married (probably
in England) Hannah Jewett, of Rowley. During
his brief residence in Rowley he held several
offices of trust. He left at his death four young
sons, John, Joseph/Edward and Thomas, from
whom have descended nearly all of the name of
Carleton in New England.
Joseph (2) was born in Haverhill, March 2,
1662, and , died in 1742. Pie married Abigail.
daughter of Captain Christopher Osgood,, of
Andover, Massachusetts, August 2, 1694. Jere
miah (3), born March 3, 17 15, married Eunice
Taylor. .
Lieutenant Jeremiah Carleton (4), born in
,1743, lived in Lyndeboro, New Hampshire. His
wife was Lois Hoyt. On the alarm occasioned
by the invasion of Burgoyne in 1777, with nine
teen others of his townsmen, he enlisted and
marched to the defense of Ticonderoga. Of Lieu
tenant Carleton's brothers, David was killed at
Bunker Hill ; Ebenezer was a member of General
Washington's Life Guard: and. Captain Osgood
Carleton, afterwards a noted teacher of mathe
matics' in Boston, at various times during the war
was employed by the government in the trans
portation of money between Philadelphia and
New England.. Piis responsibility was for many
millions of dollars, and was faithfully and success
fully discharged.
Jeremiah (5), bom xVIay 10, 1777, died in
Barre, Vermorit, in 1840. His wife was Deborah
Edwards, of Montpelier, Vermont.
David Carleton (6) was born September 2,
1809, in Barre, where he died April 11, 1888.
He succeeded his father, Jeremiah (5), in the.
occupancy of the homestead farm upon which
he was -born, and there lived until his death. He

was a man of unblemished . Christian character,
of rare intelligence and extensive information,
and was especially interested in educational mat
ters. He was one of the projectors of Barre
Academy, served as one of its trustees, and was
a member of the prudential committee of the in
stitution from its inception. He married, Septem
ber 30, 1837, Mary, daughter of Benjamin I. and
Hulda (French) Wheeler, who died May 9, 1902.
Hiram Carleton (7), son of David and Hul
dah (Wheeler) Carleton, was born August 28,
1838, at Barre, Vermont. He prepared for col
lege at Barre Academy, when Dr. J. S. Spaulding
was its principal,- and graduated from the Uni
versity of Vermont in i860, at the age of twenty-
two. After his graduation he was for a tirrie
principal pf the Hinesburg Academy, and after
wards of Keeseville Academy, in New York. H?
studied law with Ephraim E. French, Esq.,, of
Barre, and was admitted to the Washington coun
ty bar in 1865. In 1866 he located in Waits
field; where he began, and continued for ten
years, the practice of his profession. He then
changed his residence to Montpelier, in order to
become a member of the firm of Heath & Carle
ton, which was maintained until 1883, when he
was appointed judge of probate for the district
of Washington, by Governor Barstow. This
office he has since continuously held, re^
ceiving at several elections the . vote of
all parties. During his residence in Waits
field he was the representative from that
town to the- general assembly in 1869 and 1876, *
At the session of 1869 he was a member of the
house committee on education, and in 1870 its
chairman. During his chairmanship of this com
mittee the law permitting the establishment of
the town' system of schools was passed. This
law met with much opposition in the house, and
it was largely due to his prudent management that
the act passed this branch of the legislature. This
law was the foundation on which, in- 1892, the
state built its present system of schools. Mr?
Carleton was for two years state's attorney for
Washington county, receiving his election in
1870. In the same year he was the delegate front
Waitsfield to the last constitutional conventiori.
Judge Carleton was for six years president of.
the Vermont. Historical Society. He is a mem
ber of the Vermont Bar Association, and has

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

87

' *been its treasurer for the last twenty years. He
is also a member of the Vermont Society of the
, Sons of the American Revolution, and of Aurora
Lodge No. 22, F. & A. M. He is one of the trus
tees of the Washington county grammar school,
and for the last twenty-three years has been its
treasurer. He is a member of the Congregational
church, and is a Republican in politics.
, Judge Carleton was married in Chesterfield,
New York, October 26, 1865, to • Miss Mary
Elizabeth, daughter of Lothrop Pope and his wife,
Mary Ball,- of that town. She was educated at
the Keeseville Academy. Her father was the
"seventh in descent from Thomas Pope, who was
.of Plymouth, Massachusetts, born in 1608. Her
: ^mother; Mary Ball, was the great-granddaughter
of the Rev. Eliphalet Ball, the founder of BaU-
ston, New York, and the granddaughter of Col
onel John .Ball, a Revolutionary officer. Two
.children, Frederick Pope Carleton and Mary Ball
Carleton, were born to Judge and Mrs. Carleton.
Frederick Pope Carleton was born November
3, 1866, and was educated in the public schools
of Montpelier. He is a lawyer, and has been fot
.six years city attorney. He married, June 10,
.1897, Miss Molly Rockwell Brisbin, and to them
-was born a daughter, Frederica Brisbin, Sep
tember 29, . 1898;
Mary Ball Carleton was born September 14,
1876, and was educated in the public schools of
Montpelier. She was married October 10, 1900,
to Mr. Harris Hard Walker, of Burlington, Ver
mont, where they now reside. They are the
parents of a daughter, Elizabeth, born November
1, 1901. Mr. Walker is general agent of the
.New York Life Insurance Company.-
ESTEY.
In three successive generations, representatives
of the Estey family of Vermont have made
the name familiar wherever American commerce
has spread, as manufacturers of a musical in
strument of approved value. Its ancestry dates
to the earliest colonial times.
The American branches of the family were
presumably planted by three brothers who came
from England. Jeffrey Estey (or Easty, as the
name frequently appears) was an early settler
at Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts. He was

probably a Quaker. His wife, Elizabeth, Dore
him two childre'n, Edward and Isaac. Isaac,
known as Sergeant Eastey, lived in Topsfield,
Massachusetts, and was selectman from 168 1 to'
1687. His wife Mary, born in Yarmouth, Eng
land, who came with her parents, William and
Joanna (Blessing) Towne, was a victim of the
Salem witchcraft persecutions, and was executed
September 22, 1692, as had been her sister, Re
becca Nourse, previously. Jacob, son of Isaac
and. Mary Eastey, the fifth son in the family of
nine children, inherited the homestead and lived
in Topsfield. He was selectman in 1725, and
died in 1732. His wife, Lydia Elliott, bore him
five children. Of these, Isaac, born in 1715,
lived in Topsfield, Massachusetts, until 1740,
when he removedr to Sutton, Massachusetts. He
subsequently settled in Royalston, Massachusetts,
and his mother was the first adult female who
died in that town, between 1767 and 1769. He
was selectman in 1768-69, and died in 1792. His
wife, Sarah Gould, bore him two children, Jacob
and Hepsibah. Jacob, born August 10, 1744,
removed to Royalston with his father and in-r
herited the homestead. He was a. man of im
portance, serving as selectman for several years,
and also as assessor. He married Sarah Cham
berlain, and they both died in 1829, aged, re
spectively, eighty-five and eighty years. Their
children were Isaac, Sarah, Israel, John, Joseph
and Polly. The first-born of these, Isaac, born
April 7, 1773, died December 26, 1834, in Hins
dale, New ¦ Hampshire, where, with his brother,
Israel, he set up and operated a sawmill, but
the venture proved disastrous, and was his finan
cial ruin. His wife was Patty Forbes, who bore
him eight children,
Jacob, sixth child of Isaac and Patty (Forbes)
Estey, was adopted when four years old by a
wealthy family of Hinsdale. When thirteen
years old he walked to Worcester, Massachusetts,
and joined an elder brother. For four years he
labored upon farms, and when seventeen appren
ticed himself to a plumber. He became an ex- ,
pert workman, and before he came of age he
established a business of his own in Brattleboro,
Vermont, with his hard-earned savings of two
hundred dollars as his sole capital. He was suc^
cessful from the beginning, and in 1848 he erected .
a large building on Main street for workshop

88

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

purposes. This proved the faeginning of his for
tune and the foundation of the' family fame.
He had rented the upper story of his building
to Hubbard & Carpenter, who there began the
manufacture of a small melodeon. The firm was
unfortunate, and Mr. Estey took an interest in
the business in liquidation of his claim for rent,
and two years later he bought out their interest
and took personal charge of the business, which
was so small that six men constituted the entire
working force. Abandoning his plumbing busi
ness, he gave himself with enthusiasm to the
new enterprise, and soon had an increased num
ber of men engaged in producing instruments
of his own devising. The fame of his melodeon
spread rapidly, and he erected a second and,
larger factory, but in 1857 both his establish
ments were destroyed by fire. Undeterred by this
disaster, Mr. Estey at once rebuilt them, but in
1864 they were again burned, down, and these
were also speedily replaced, ahd a larger building
was erected near Whetstone for the storing of
the immense stocks of fine lumber which were
constantly needed.
In 1866 -Mr. Estey brought into partnership
with himself his "son, Julius J. Estey, and his
son-in-law, Levi K. Fuller, and the combined
abilities of the three were of great advantage to
the business,. increasing its volume and enhancing
the value of the product. But this success was
achieved at great cost. In 1869 the sudden over
flow of a nearby stream brought death to one
. of the workmen, swept away thousands of dol
lars' worth of valuable material, and threatened
the safety of the factory itself. To provide against
such danger in the future, the company resorted
to higher ground, upon which were erected nine
large buildings, each three stories in height, with
large dry houses, immense, packing and storage
departments, engine rooms, etc. The interests of
this great business, which he had developed from
a merely experimental condition until it had be
come one of the most important establishments
for the manufacture of musical instruments in
the world, claimed the attention of Mr. Estey
.until almost the moment of his death, April 15,
1890. It was his fortune, through his own earnest
endeavor, to make himself a real benefactor to
humanity. To his home city he gave its princi
pal industry, affording support to' hundreds of

families. To the world at large he gave, as the
fruit of his skill and industry, an instrument
which has brought exquisite pleasure to hundreds
of thousands', not only in America, but throughout
all the civilized world, and even to the islands of
the sea.
Mr. Estey was a man of great nobility of char
acter. Benevolent, educational and religious in
stitutions in many portions of the country were
continually aided through his generosity, and the
afflicted and deserving poor in his own town and
neighborhood were ever the recipients of his
bounty. He was one of the first and most ener
getic and liberal movers in the establishment of
the Baptist church in Brattleboro in 1840, and
from that day until his death he was one of its
most liberal supporters. Destitute of political
ambition, yet he was prominent in civil affairs,
called to nearly all elective offices by a people
who valued him for his great ability and sterling
integrity, and he accepted every trust as an im
perative duty. Besides filling nearly all local posi-;
tions, at various times, he represented Brattle
boro in the legislature in 1868-69, and was a
member of the state senate in 1872-73, in both
positions acquitting himself with great credit,
and recognized as a most industrious and sa
gacious legislator., In 1876 he was brought into
favorable prominence by being named for the
gubernatorial office, in the Republican state con
vention, and received the fine compliment of one
hundred and forty-four votes on the first ballot,
and without any effort upon his own part.
Mr. Estey was married May 2, 1837, to Desr
demona, daughter of .David and Anna (Kendal)
Wood, of Brattleboro. Three children were born
of this union : Abby E. is the widow of ex-Gov
ernor Levi K. Fuller, deceased, and Julius J.
Estey is mentioned below.
Julius J. Estey, son of Jacob and Desdemona
• (Wood) Estey, was born in Brattleboro in Jan
uary, 1845, and died March 7, 1902. He re
ceived his education in the public schools of his
native city and at the Norwich Military Institute.
On attaining his majority he became associated
with his father as junior member of the firm of
J. Estey & Company. By disposition, tastes and
training he was in all ways fitted to become, in
course of time, the manager of the great business
Which his sire had founded. When the Estey

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

89

Organ Company was incorporated, he became the
treasurer, and occupied that position until 1896,
when he ^^tpe president, with his sons, J. Gray
Estey arid J. Harry Estey, respectively, as vice
president and treasurer. Besides directing in a
masterly way the business of the corporation, Mr.
Estey was also actively interested in various other
commercial and financial institutions, and was
president of the People's Bank of Brattleboro,
president of the Estey Piano Company of New
York city, and a director in the Estey Manufac
turing Company of Owosso, Michigan.
He was zealously interested iri the mainte
nance of the military establishment of the state,
to which he unstintiugly afforded his personal
efforts and means. His connection with the Na
tional Guard dates from 1874, when he organized
the Estey Guards of Brattleboro, of which he was
-chosen captain. In , 1876 he was appointed as
aide-de-camp, with the rank of colonel, on the
staff of Governor Horace Fairbanks. In 1881
She was elected lieutenant colonel of the Vermont
National Guard, and 's^rysfi with that rank until
1886, when he was elected colonel. In 1892 he
was made brigadier general. It has been said
of him, upon the highest authority, that he was
an excellent tactician and disciplinarian, and that
the troops under his command came to be among
ihe most soldierly in ail the New England states.
At the same time he commanded the affection as
well as the respect of his men in a far higher
;j§egi;$e, than is common in military life.
'-••' General Estey was ah active Republican, and
was repeatedly a delegate to state conventions,
and in 1888 was a delegate-at-large to the national
convention. He was elected to the legislature
in 1876, and to the state senate in 1882,
serving in both positions with credit to himself
and usefulness to his constituency and to the
¦commonwealth, affording his aid to the forma
tion and enactment of various salutory laws re
lating to the National Guard and to educational
and industrial interests. He was deeply inter
ested in education, and was for many years a
trustee of Mount Hernion (Massachusetts)
School for young men, and of Northfield (Massa
chusetts) Seminary for young ladies, both found
ed by Mr. D. L. Moody, the evangelist, as well as
treasurer of the latter named institution and of
Vermont Academy at Saxton's River. In religion

he was a Baptist, exemplary in life, and earnest
and liberal in support of his church and its allied
interests. He was for a number of years president
of the board of managers of the Vermont Bap
tist state convention, and president of the Baptist
State Sunday-school Association. He was also
deeply interested in the work of the Young Men's
Christian Association; he was president of the
Brattleboro body from its organization, also serv
ing as chairman of the state executive committee
and presiding at various state gatherings. In his
personal character he was a 'model of Christian
manhood, and every act of his life reflected his
gentleness, sympathy and broad charity.
General Estey married, October 29, 1867, Miss
Florence Gray, who was born in Cambridge, New
York, August 24, 1848, a daughter of Dr. Henry
C. Gray, and a descendant in the seventh genera
tion from Matthew ( 1 ) and Joan Gray, who were
among the Scotch-Irish immigratns that landed in
Boston, August 4, 1718. , They removed to Wor
cester, where they acquired large tracts of land
and where they lived the remainder of their lives.
The line was continued through their son, Mat
thew, who received a deed of the Worcester
homestead in 1735. Reuben, next in descent,
succeeded to the possession of the home farm.
Joseph Gray, his eighth child, settled in Pelham,
New Hampshire. He served as a soldier in the
Revolutionary war, and subsequently became one
of the leading physicians of his county, practicing
until his death in 1812. He married Lucy, daugh
ter of Samuel Bancroft, arid they became the par
ents of nine children, of whom Henry Gray, born
in Hudson, New Hampshire, May 27, 1783, suc
ceeded to the profession of his father. He mar
ried, November 23, r8o8, Margaret Carpenter,
who died August 24, 1863, at an advanced age.
She bore him teri children. Dr. Henry C. Gray,
the eldest child, was born January 7, 1810, and
settled- as a physician in Cambridge, New York,
where he died February 10, 1877. March 31, 1834,
he married Jeannette Bullions, of Cambridge,
New York, and they reared several children,
among them being Florence C. Gray, who became
the wife of Julius J. Estey. General and Mrs.
Estey became the parents of three children: Ja
cob Gray, Julius Harry and Guy Carpenter Estey;
the last riamed died in 1897.
J. Gray Estey, eldest son of General Estey,

90

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

was born August 2, 1871. He began his educa
tion in the public schools of Brattleboro, and
pursued advanced studies at Vermont Academy
and the Massachusetts School of Technology. At
the age of twenty he entered the Estey Organ
Company's factory and worked his way through
all of its various departments, acquainting himself
intimately with all the details of the business,
mechanical as well as administrative. He served
for a time as superintendent of the manufactur
ing department, later became vice president, and
succeeded to the presidency after the death of his
father. In lineal descent the third of his family
to be identified with the mammoth institution of
which he is the head, he brings to its management
all the excellent qualities inherited from his sire
and grandsire, together with an artistic apprecia
tion of his great opportunity to. contribute to the
happiness of mankind, and that commendable
sentiment- which moves him to perpetuate the es
tablishment as one of the most eloquent memorials
of the highly useful lives of those who have pre
ceded him in the duties now devolved upon him
self.. He early became connected with the National
Guard of Vermont, in which he enlisted as a
private, and the Estey Guards, of which he after-
wardsbecame captain, eventually rising (in 1899)
to the rank of colonel commanding the regiment.
During the Spanish- American war he served with
his regiment, which was stationed at Chickamau-
-ga, Tennessee. Colonel Estey was married to
Miss Mattie Poor, a daughter of Leverett Poor,
a prominent leather manufacturer of Peabo.dy,
Massachusetts. Of this marriage were born two
children, Jacob Poor and Joseph Gray Estey.
J. Harry Estey, second, son of General Estey,
was born in Brattleboro, July 9, 1874. He was
educated in the high school in the city named,
and then entered the office of the Estey Organ
Company, of which he has been treasurer for
several years past. He has been connected with
the National Guard of Vermont for several years;
having enlisted as a private in the Estey Guards.
During the Spanish- American war he served as
lieutenant, and he is at present the adjutant of
the regiment. He is a member of Brattleboro
Lodge, F. & A. M. He married, June 19, 1895,
Miss AUethaire Chase, daughter of the late E.

H. Chase, of Louisville, Kentucky, and to then*
have been born two children, Paul Chase and
AUethaire Gray.
EDWARD WELLS. • ¦;,$
The well known firm of Wells, Richardscf^
& Company, of Burlington, has at its head, in the-
, person of Edward Wells, one who is a descendant.
from one ofthe oldest and most honored families-
of Normandy, a house. which played a conspicuous.
part in the government of that province previous
to the conquest of England. As early as 794 a.
branch of the Vaux family (from- Which the name
of Wells is derived) inhabited the Provence Nor
mandy, and were allied by marriage to most of
the sovereign princes of Europe. In .1140 they
disputed the sovereignty of Provence, with t-lie-
house of Barcelona, and in 1173 acquired the:
principality of Orange by marriage with.Tiburze^
heiress of Orange. In .1214 William, Prince of
Vaux and Orange, assumed the title of King of,
Aries and Vienna, -which dignity was. confifm,&i§|
to him by Frederick II. A branch of the family
was founded in England after the conquest by
Harold De Vaux, a near connection of Williaai;<
the Conqueror. At this time was adopted the
surname of De. Vallibus.
. - The Wells family of Vermont runs back to-,
Hugh Wells, of Essex, England. Hugh Wells-
was born in, or about, the year 1590, emigrated:;!.
to New England in 1635 and settled either in
Salem or in Bister. In the following year he re
moved to where is now the city of Hartford^
Connecticut, and he was included amongs the •
earliest settlers of that locality, and was subset
quently known as a citizen of considerable local
influence. Thomas Wells, eldest son of Hugh
Wells, was born in 1620 at Colchester, England,
and came with his parents to America in 1635.
He finally settled at- Hadley, Massachusetts, in
1659, and was a resident of that place until, his
death in 1676. Ebenezer Wells, the eleventh child!
of Thomas Wells, was born in Hadley, July 4, 1668, '
removed to Hatfield, and died there. , Thomas
Wells, the second child of Ebenezer .Wells, was
born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, September. 23,
1693. He was the first physician and surgeon in
this branch of the family, and died at Deerfield,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

9*

March 7, 1745. Joseph Wells,, the third child of
Dr. Thomas Wells, was born in Deerfield, Octo
ber 8, 1731, and died in Greenfield, December
22, 1804. Roswell Wells, the fifth child of Joseph
Wells, was born in Greenfield, September 9, 1769.
Up to. this time the family name had been spelled
Welles, but Roswell dropped the last e in the
exercise of that passion for brevity, time-saving
and vanity so characteristic of the New Eng-
lander. . He removed to Waterbury, Vermont,
about 1805, and died there July 26, 1826.
William Wellington Wells, eldest son of Ros
well, Wells, after the usual academic preparation,
entered the University of Vermont and graduated
from there in 1824. Deciding to take up the
profession of law, he entered the office, of Charles
Adams in Burlington, completed his preliminary
studies, and was admitted to practice at the Chit
tenden county bar. After the death of his father
he returned to Waterbury and administered the
estate. There he soon became so much interested
in business that he abandoned all idea of leading
a professional life, and identified himself with the
Ordinary interests of his family and town. . In
1827 he became a member of Piutchins, Wells
¦& Company, of Waterbury. He erected, a tannery
at Waterbury in 1830, and in. 1835 purchased the
grist mill near his" tannery. He also owned and
conducted a dry-goods store, in Waterbury Cen
ter. He represented Waterbury in the legislature
for years. His death occurred . April 9, 1869,
beloved by all. William W. Wells. was married
to Eliza, second daughter of Judge Dan Carpen
ter, January 15, 1.831. They had ten children,
two of whom died in infancy ; Roswell, Edward,
William, Curtis, Sarah C, wife of James W.
Brock, of Montpelier, Vermont ; Charles, Henry,
Frederick H.
Edward Wells, son of William W.- Wells, was
born October 30, 1835, in Waterbury, Vermont.
He there began his education in the common
schools and supplemented the instruction thus re
ceived with a course in the Bakersfield Academy,
but was not privileged to enter college. At the
early age of seventeen years he. entered upon em
ployment in a dry-goods store at Montpelier, in
which he remained for about twelve months. Re
turning home he spent the following two years in
a dry-goods store in Waterbury. From there he
passed to the wholesale flour store of his father,

where he remained for three years, leaving in the
spring of 1857 to go to the territory of Kansas.
In this new and promising region he spent nine
months, but, finding that his health suffered
impairment, he returned home and resumed cleri
cal work in his father's store at Waterbury Cen
ter. There he remained until September 6, 1861,
when he joined the army of the Union as a mem
ber of the Fifth Regiment of Vermont Volun
teer's. He served for a tinie in the regimental
band, but his busines capabilities became known
at headquarters, and he was detailed as a clerk
in the quartermaster's department under Colonel
P. P. Pitkin, with whom he served for nearly
three years. His service in this position was so
conspicuously useful and capable that when he
returned home at the expiration of his term of
service, in 1864, the officer under whom he had
served; who is now quartermaster general of the
state of Vermont, called him to duty in his office,
and he was so engaged for two years, until the
gigantic business of the Civil war had1 been
brought 'to a close.
Mr. Wells then entered the office of John A.
Page, state treasurer; as a principal clerk; . and.
acted in that capacity until March, 1868, when he
became a member of the wholesale, drug firm of
Henry & Company, which had -but recently trans
ferred the seat of its business' operations from
Waterbury to Burlington. July 1, 1868, the com
plex business of the firm was amicably disposed
that a large number of proprietary medicines and
other articles of -which the firm had control were
separated from the wholesale drug department
proper. In this disposition Mr. Wells became
head of the partners, assuming charge of the lat
ter business, and, an association was formed un
der the style of Wells, Richardson & Company.
Their new departure was successful from the
beginning, and, with the energy, and shrewd
foresight, the transactions of the house were rap
idly increased, in volume aiid value. The Wells,
Richardson & Company incorporated under the
name of Wells and Richardson Company, in i882„
with Mr. Edward Wells as president, a position
which he occupies to the present time.
Mr. Wells has always been actively interested
in various other large enterprises, and has served
as 'president of the Burlington Trust Company;
vice president of the Burlington Safe Deposit

'92

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Company; vice president of the Burlington Cot
ton Mills ; president of the. Home for Aged Wo
men ; trustee of the Fletcher Free Library Fund.
He belongs to the Sons of the American Revolu
tion ; Algonquin and Ethan Allen Clubs. A Re
publican in politics, he was elected to the legisla
ture in 1890 and proved himself a most useful
member of this body, serving upon the ways and
means and banking committees, and occupying
the chairmanship of that last named.
He married, April 26, 1858, Martha Frances,
-daughter of Lucius Parmelee, of Waterbury, who
-died November 25, 1876, leaving a daughter,
Anna Parmelee Wells, who was married on June
12, 1901, to James Greenleaf Sykes, of New
"York, and they have two daughters, Martha
Greenleaf Sykes, born May 14, 1902, and Eliza
beth Wells Sykes, born May 5, 1903. Mr. Wells
was again married, October 14, 1879, his bride
being Effie E. Parmalee, a half-sister of the
former Mrs. Wells.
, REV. GEORGE HARRISON BICKFORD.
Rev. Bickford, one of the ablest clergymen of
"the Vermont Methodist conference, did a noble
work for the cause of religion, and was cut off
in the promise of manhood by an untimely death,
July 10, 1869. He was born December 2, 1834,
in Danville, Vermont, a descendant of an old and
honored New England family.' His ancestors
-came from England and located in America in the
.sevepteenth century. Eli Bickford, grandfather
-of the subject of this sketch, was a soldier of the
-patriot army in the Revolution, going from New
Hampshire, arid was made a prisoner and carried
to England for confinement. Being ingenious and
¦ enterprising, he escaped several times, and each
;time received the reward offered for the return of
prisoners by giving himself up. This seemed to
he a favorite method with some of replenishing
their slender purses. Mr. Bickford was finally
-exchanged and returned to his home. After,
peace was restored he married Lydia Webster, of
the celebrated New Hampshire family of that
name, and was among the first ten householders to
settle in Danville, Vermont, where he continued
to reside until his death, at the age of one hundred
.and one years, seven months and six days. He
-cleared a farm in the wilderness, which was the

home of his son John Bickford, through life.
John Bickford was born on this farm. His life
was one of peaceful industry, and he was for
many years an active member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. He married Maria Colby, who
-was also born in Danville, and who died June 28,
1868, at the age of sixty-six years. He lived to
be seventy-seven years old, passing away Novem
ber 13, 1870. Their son, whose name heads this
article, conferred honor upon a worthy name.
George Harrison Bickford was educated in his
native town, laying the foundation in the district
school, and, being of studious mind and quick
perception, was rapidly advanced. He graduated
from Philips Academy at Danville at the age^of
twenty-three years, having in the meantime as
sisted in the labors of the home farm during the
intervals of study. At the age of nineteen years
he dedicated his life to the service of God, and
pursued his studies with the view of preparing
himself for the Christian ministry. After two
years at the Newbury (now Montpelier) .. Semi
nary, he pursued an advanced college course for ..
two years at the same institution, but was forced,!
by ill health to forego further study. He began
preaching at the age of twenty-four years, and-
joined the conference in 1859. His first charge
was at East St. Johnsbury, and he subsequently
labored in his Master's cause at St. Johnsbury,
Marshfield, Groton, Lyndon and Barton. While
stationed at the last named place, he was grad
ually compelled by disease to lay aside his labors,
and finally died, but as long as he had strength to
lift his voice in discourse or songs of praise and
rejoicing, he continued to do so. His demise was
the result of derangement of the digestive appara
tus, and he passed gradually away, performing all
his duties until February before his death, and he
continued to preach once a. day for some time
after that, relinquishing public services only when
he was unable to stand in the pulpit. A contemp
orary said of him : "In this death, the Vermont
conference has lost one of its best men ; — one of
the best in personal devotion, one of the best in
varied talents adapting him to his work, and one
of the best in usefulness." He was buried at
Danville July 13, 1869. A talented preacher, Mr.
Bickford was in demand outside of his own con
ference, and received calls from a church in Iowa
and in the city of Chicago.

The Zems Pubtisfonq Cp

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

93.

August 19^1858, Mr. Bickford was married to
' Miss Abigail B. Giffin, who was born July 7, 1833,
in Sutton, Vermont, and reared in Marlow, New
Hampshire. Her parents were Reuben and Elizar
beth (Sawyer), Giffin, both natives of New Hamp
shire, the former bom in Marlow and a son of
Patrick and Rachel (Hickey) Giffin, of north Ire
land, and of Scotch ancestry. Three childreri
were given to Mr. and Mrs. Bickford. Elizabeth
M., the eldest, graduated from Montpelier Sem
inary and was subsequently, for two years, art
teacher and preceptress off that institution. In
1889 she married Dr. Herbert L. Gale, of Barre,
Vermont, and died in Barton, Vermont, October
28, 1894, aged thirty years. The second, Her
bert J. Bickford, is a prominent attorney of New
York, being a member of the firm of Evarts, Sher
man & Tracy, formerly Evarts, Choate & Beeman,
of 52 Wall street. The third, George H. Bick
ford, is the subject of a sketch in this work. In
1886 Mrs. Bickford was married to Joseph Owen,
who was born in Glover, Vermont, and was for
many years a prominent citizen of Barton, Ver
mont, where he died April 23, 1900, at the ad-r
vanced age of eighty-two years. He was a faith
ful member of the Methodist church.
The following tribute to the memory of Rev.
George H. Bickford was written shortly after his
death by Rev. William A. Robinson, pastor of
the Congregational church at Barton: "The
death of Rev.. George H. Bickford, of this village,
.though not an eve;rit unexpected, is felt most
deeply by all who knew him. It is fitting that we
should here refer tp this afflicting dispensation
from the point of our personal relations with him
and our personal affliction in his death. Others
will, doubtless/speak for his church, whose loss
is so great for his brethren in the ministry of his
own denomination, who mourn for a brother loved
and tried, and may, perhaps, more properly refer
to the bereavement borne with such Christian
strength and fortitude by her who is left with her ,
tender children to the care of Him who is the God
Of the widow and the fatherless. For all these,
our sympathy is strorig, because we, too, are
touched with a peculiar and personal sorrow. It
is impossible that two, cordially co-operating in_
the work of the Master in any village, should fail
to be bound together by ties whose strength death
only reveals. But the circumstances attending

Brother Bickford's entrance upon his ministry
here were such that a more than ordinary order
was given to the attachment we felt for him, and^
which ever seemed fully reciprocated on his part.
For several weeks, while his church edifice was-
being repaired and beautified, our congregations
met together, while the pastors alternated in the
supply of the pulpit. In this way we soon learned
his spirit, and felt his power as an earnest and.
able preacher of the gospel. Like every other-
soul, that knows, in any good measure, the heighth
and breadth of Christ's love and Christ's truth,.
our brother lived and loved, and preached as a
Christian rather than a sectarian. For this we-
loved him. For this he has as sincere mourners
in the church to which we are minister as in his,
own. The singleness of purpose with which he-
preached Christ and Him crucified forbade his
ever forgetting the essential oneness of the body
of Christ. His own heart experience of the vital
realities of the gospel, attested by his walk and.
conversation, as well- as by his most peaceful and
triumphant death, so opened his heart to all who-
tried to walk by the same rule, that his intercourse-
with them was genial and fraternal in a rare de
gree. Though weighed down with physical in
firmities and suffering, he so exercised his minis
try here, even to the last, that this whole com
munity recognized his worth and admired his-
spirit. Amid- the precious memories which, we
cherish and which we hope may quicken our faith
and our devotion in the Master's work, we must
gratefully, tearfully, embalm that of our true-
friend and beloved brother, Rev. George H..
Bickford."
GEORGE HAMILTON 'BICKFORD.
George Hamilton Bickford, a prominent busi
ness man of Hardwick, is among the leading
granite manufacturers and dealers of the state.
He was born October 10, 1868, in Barton, Ver
mont, a son of Rev. George H. Bickford, a well
known minister of the Methodist Episcopal de
nomination, and whose biography appears above.
George H. Bickford acquired his elementary
education in Keene, New Hampshire, after which
he completed the full course at the Montpelier
Methodist Seminary, being there well fitted for
college. Entering then Wesleyan Univetsity, at.

94-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Middletown, Connecticut, he was graduated with
the class of 1 89 1, ranking second in a large class
¦of students, and receiving special honors in Eng
lish literature and history. The following year
he spent . in Pennsylvania, being instructor at
Haverford College, in English literature and
political economy, and having charge of athletics.
Entering then the New York office of Ginn &
Company, publishers, he remained in their employ
about two and one-half years, resigning his posi
tion in October, 1894. Coming to Vermont, Mr.
Bickford became connected with the firm of PIol-
•den, Leonard & Company, woolen manufacturers.
In 1896 this firm purchased the granite quarry at
Woodbury, Vermont, one of the largest plants
of the kind in the state, and organized for busi
ness under a charter as the Woodbury Granite
Company, with John S. Holden as president,
Charles, W. Leonard as vice president and George
H. Bickford as general manager and treasurer.
Locating in Hardwick in 1898, Mr. Bickford at
once began the erection of a large cutting plant,
becoming head of the newly organized firm of
Bickford, More & Company, but still retaining
his connection with the former company. In
1902 the Woodbury Granite Company , absorbed
the firm of Bickford, More & Company, which
employs about two hundred and fifty men in the
Hardwick sheds, besides which it has a large
amount of work done in New York city and in
other parts of New England. The granite obtained
from, the Woodbury quarries is one of the finest
¦grades known, being especially free from imper
fections of all kinds, and is in great demand for
superior grades of work, a large amount of busi
ness being done at both the New York and Hard
wick offices. The members of this firm are also
majority owners of the Hardwick & Woodbury
.Railroad, which runs from the quarries to Hard-
Tvick, and connects with the St. Johnsbury and
Lake Champlain Railway. This road operates
a special mountain engine, with a much greater
capacity than the ordinary engine, the quarries
heing located at the highest railroad point in the
state. This firm quarries large blocks of granite
for building purposes, making a specialty of vault
and monumental work.. Its pay roll, which is
very large, is a great stimulus to the trade at
Hardwick. In 1902 the Woodbury Granite' Com
pany opened a quarry in Bethel, Vermont,' where

the erection of a cutting plant is contemplated.
Mr. -Bickford is treasurer of the above men
tioned railroad company, and a trustee Of the
Vermont Methodist Seminary of Montpelier.
Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to the blue
lodge, at Bennington, Vermont. Mr. Bickford
married, October 9, 1894, Alice A., eldest daugh
ter of John S. Holden, senior member of the
firm of Holden, Leonard '& Company, and they
have one child, George Lloyd, born July 12,
1897. Mr. and Mrs. Bickford are active mem
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church at Hard
wick.
¦LEWIS- PUTNAM.
The Putnam family of Vermont, which,
through all the days beginning in the colonial
times, has been famous in the history of New

LEWIS PUTNAM.

England, had one of its most typical representa
tives in the person of Lewis Putnam-, who was

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

95

-for half a century one of .the most prominent
and useful citizens of Brattleboro. He was de
scended from Adonijah Putnam of colonial
times, who was born in Sutter, October 6, 1744,
became a resident of Guilford, Vermont, where
he died in 1791. His sons were John, Elijah,
Asa, Lemuel, Jonah, Israel and Jared.
Lemuel, son of Adonijah, was born in Guil
ford, April 3, 1780, and died December 26, 1825.
He married Tabitha Goodwin, who was born
May 24, 1784, and died December 6, 1858. Their
children were: Mary, born July 25, 1807/ and
-died in 1858, and who married twice, first to
George Brown, next to a Kidney ; Sarah, born
June 20, 181 1, who became the wife of Richard
Hathaway, and died August 21, 1837; Jonas,
oorn February 22, 1814, and died May 19, 1891,
married Cynthia Daniels; Lewis, the immediate
subject of these memoirs ; Edwin, born March 18,
1820, and died June 21, 1884.
Lewis Putnam was the last survivor of the
children of Lemuel and Tabitha (Goodwin) Put
nam. He was born in Guilford, Vermont, April
¦9, 1816. His boyhood years were passed in his
native village, where he acquired his education
in the common schools. While yet a youth he
-removed to Brattlebpro, and lived in the home of
Patty Fessenden, a sister of Governor Holbrook:
Miss Fessenden for many years conducted the
old Brattleboro Reporter, and became widely-
known as a. writer in a day when newspaper pur
suits were deemed outside woman's sphere. It
is - presumable that this excellent woman left a
salutary impression upon young Putnam, whom
she regarded with sisterly interest, and that her
influence aided him. in his acquisition of knowl
edge. Mr.- Putnam began his business life as a
plumber and lead-pipe dealer, and he accumulated
considerable means. He engaged in other busi
ness pursuits, and aided largely in the improve
ment of the village, one of his enterprises being
the erection Of the first three or four -houses on
the newly opened Prospect street. At a later
day he became interested in a 'shoddy manu
factory, but this venture proved disastrous;
however, he was undismayed, and through judi
cious investments and energy he was enabled to
repair his losses. He was conspicuous in com
munity affairs, and was at various times a lieu
tenant in the old militia organization, bailiff for

a humber of years,, and a trustee of the' Cemetery
Association. He was a man of marked person
ality and unblemished character. Devotional in
his disposition, he inclined to spiritualism, and
in his later years he made his summer residence
at Lake Pleasant, and there attended the spiritual
ists' meetings. ' He possessed excellent intel
lectual powers, and was a ready speaker upon
any ©ccasion enlisting his attention, at times
rising to real eloquence in advocacy of his views.
He was kindly in every thought of his heart,
and was a genial and sympathizing neighbor and
friend. His death occurred September 22, 1895,
in his home in Brattleboro, where his remains
are interred in Prospect Hill cemetery.
Mr.. Putnam was twice married. His first
wife, to whom he was united in 1840, wa's Miss
Fannie Streeter, who died in 1847 > she was the
mother of one child, George, who died in in
fancy. In 1848 Mr. Putnam was married to
Miss Lydia Ward, of Orange, Massachusetts,
who died in 1886. Of the latter marriage were
born two children, Wallace and Mary.
Wallace Putnam, only son of Lewis and
Lydia (Ward) Putnam, is a leading musicaf in
strument manufacturer, head of W. W. Putnam
& Company, reed organ manufacturers at Staun- '
ton, Virginia. He began as, an employe with the
Estey Organ Company, of Brattleboro, Vermont,
where he learned the business thoroughly, arid
he was afterward a superintendent of the tuning
department in the Bell Organ Factory, at Guelph,
Ontario, Canada, from. 1884 to 1892. He de
signed a portable organ, now famous as the
"Little Giant Organ," and this led to the making
of a full- line of chapel and parlor organs, for-
which purpose the Staunton (Virginia) factories
were erected. Miss -Mary J. Putnam, only
daughter of Lewis and Lydia (Ward) Putnam,
makes her residence in the old family home
stead at Brattleboro, Vermont, hallowed to her
through its tender memories of her parents.
JOSEPH CLARK.
Joseph Clark, for many years a highly re--
spec-ted and influential citizen of Milton, Ver
mont, and the most prominent and enterprising
man of affairs. in tlie northern part of the' state,

96

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

was born in ,1795, in Bridport, Vermont, whither
his father had removed from Connecticut, in
which state the son passed his boyhood and re
ceived his education.
Mr. Clark was the . eldest of nine children,
and seems to have been sensible, at a very early
age, of the, responsibilities which devolved upon
him, as he began tp assist in the support of the
family when hardly, more than a boy. At the
age of twenty he removed to Milton, Vermont,
and engaged in the lumber business, clearing
land, and cheerfully accepting all the hardships
involved in the life of a lumberman more than
, eighty years ago. From the very beginning of
his independent career he showed those traits
of industry, perseverance and enterprise .which
were such potent factors in the great success
which attended him in after life. In the course
¦ of time Mr. Clark enlarged the scope of his- un
dertakings, building a number of grist and woolen
mills, and becoming the most prominent factory
owner in that region. His purchases of land were
very extensive, comprising hundreds of acres in
Vermont, whence great quantities of lumber
were sent to Quebec in large rafts. One of his
manufactures was that of spars for vessels, for
which he found a ready market in New York
city. Mr. Clark was also one of the railroad
pioneers of Vermont, and in partnership with
John Smith and Lawrence Brainard, built the
Vermont & Canada Railroad from Essex Junc
tion to Rouses Point, New York; the Vermont
Central Railroad was built earlier, and extended
from Burlington to White River Junction.
[Governor Paine acted in the capacity of presi
dent of this road, with Dr. John Peck as one
of its directors.] After its failure Messrs. Smith,
Clark & Brainard were made receivers. Later
Mr. Smith died, and his son, Governor J. Greg
ory Smith, was appointed to take his place. Mr.
, Clark and Mr. J. G. Smith were the builders
and owners of the Vermont Junction Railroad
from Swanton, Vermont,' to St. Johns, province
of Quebec. Mr. Clark remained a director and
receiver of these roads up to the time of his death,
never allowing his advancing years to interfere
with the discharge of the duties of his position.
Every day his familiar figure was seen in the
offices at St. Albans, Vermont, and never did
he fail to attend a meeting of the directors or

receivers, even when, in order to do so he was
obliged to take the journey to Boston, Massa
chusetts. The financial interests of the state had' a..
wider scope and greater vigor imparted to them
by Mr. Clark's energetic administration of af
fairs. In conjunction with Dr. John, Peck he
organized the bank known as the Farmers &
Mechanics Bank of Burlington, and served as
director of this institution until it went out of
existence. In addition to these many diversi
fied interests. Mr. Clark was also an extensive
dealer in real estate, a branch of business in
which his efforts were attended with the same
degree of success and benefit to himself and the
community which marked all his other under
takings. To any one familiar with the many
and great enterprises which absorbed the largest
portion of Mr. Clark's attention in his daily life,
it might seem that a man so occupied might justly
consider himself absolved from all political du
ties, but this large-minded and public-spirited
citzen viewed the matter iri an entirely different
light. From none of the responsibilities involved
ih his position as a leader in the community did
he ever shrink. He was an active member of
the Republican party, his fellow citizens testify
ing to their confidence in him by electing him
three times to represent them in the senate. It
was always one of the objects of his life to
promote the interests of the community in which
he resided. His interest in religious matters was
very sincere and was practically manifested, he
being the architect, in a financial sense, of no
fewer than three churches in the town pf Milton.
Mr. Clark married Lois Lyon, who was bom
in 1805, in Colchester, Vermont. Six children".
were born to them, only two of whom are living
at the present time (1903), a daughter, who i
became the wife of Edward W. Peck, of Bur
lington, Vermont; and a son, Jed P., who resides '
on the old estate ih Milton, Vermont, where
his father erected a beautiful house, rich in all
the comforts arid attractions of an ideal resi
dence. In 1879 Mr. Clark passed away, haying
completed his eighty-fifth year, deeply regretted^
by the community in which his life had been '
a benefaction. Mrs. Clark, who, like her hus
band, was a sincere Christian, died at the age of
seventy years.

THE STATE OF VERMONT..

97

JAMES CLAY HOUGHTON.
James Clay Houghton, deceased, for many
years an active and honored citizen of Mont
pelier, was born at Petersham, Massachusetts,
September 2, 1841, and died at Naples, Italy,
March 4, 1902, whither he had gone in search of
rest.. He was a son of the late Rev. James Clay
Houghton, and a direct descendant in. the eighth
generation from John Houghton, the iriimigrant,
the line of descent being as follows : John,, John,
Jacob, Ensign Jacob, Abraham, Captain, William
H, Rev. James C. and James C.
John Houghton (2), the first of the family of
whom we have any definite record, was born in
1650, and for sixteen terms, from 1690 until
1724,' represented the town of Leicester, Massa
chusetts, in the general court. He married Mary
Farrar, who was born in 1648. Jacob Houghton,
born April 17, 1674, married Rebecca Whitcomb,
who was born December 9, 1671. Ensign Jacob
Houghton, born in 1696, served in the Leicester ,
Massachusetts, militia as ensign of his company.
He married Mary Willard, who was born in 1705.
Abraham Houghton, born November 27, . 1725,
served as a soldier in ,1744. His wife, whose
maiden name was Sarah Duvall, was born March
22, 1733-34-
Capt. William H. Houghton was born March
23, 1774. He married Marilla Clay, who was
bom July 14, 1780, a daughter pf Lieutenant
James Clay, and granddaughter of Captain James
Clay. Captain Clay, who married Lydia Walker,
was a man of prominence in -the Revolution,
serving as captain of a company in the Conti
nental army, and being chairman of the commit
tee of safety jn 1776. Lieutenant James Clay,
who married Elizabeth Warren, was also in the
Revolutionary army, receiving his commission
as first lieutenant in Captain Wilson's company,
Colonel Putney's regiment, October 19', .1779.
Rev. James C. Houghton was born in Sutton,
Vermont, May 13, 1810, and died April 29, 1880.
He was a man of scholarly attainments, obtaining
his education at Amherst and Dartmouth Colleges
and at the theological school at East Windsor
Hill, Connecticut. Entering upon his profes
sional labors as a Congregational minister, he
had charge of churches in Petersham and South
Wilbraham,, Massachusetts, and in Chelsea, Mid-
7

dletown and Royalton, Vermont, having success
ful pastorates in each place. After his retirement
from the ministry, he lived for a time in Burling
ton, Vermont, but died at the home of his son,
James Clay Houghton, in Montpelier. He mar
ried, in 1840, Julia Morton, who through one of
her ancestors, Eleanor Barnett, was a descendant
of the Earl of Yorkshire, or Leicestershire,
England, whose eldest son inherited the paternal
estate, while the other three sons eriiigrated to'
America. These three brothers had money, also*
drew a dowry, which they sold to a gentleman in
Boston. One ..of these three brothers, Robert
Morton, settled in East Windsor, Connecticut,
where he became a large landholder. His son,
John Morton, was the father of James Morton,
whose daughter, Julia -Morton, married Rev.
James C. Houghton. Of ' their nnion three
children were born, namely: James Clay, the
subject of this sketch;' Joseph Goodhue, of
Stamford, Connecticut, and Julia M., of Mont
pelier, Vermont.
James - Clay Houghton attended the public
schools of Petersham, Massachusetts, the East
Windsor Hill (Connecticut) Academy, and re
ceived .the degree of Bachelor of Arts from
Amherst College in 1862. After his graduation
from that institution he studied lay for two
years, was afterwards depiity clerk of the
Orange county court at Chelsea, Vermont, for
a ¦ short time, resigning to become cashier of
the Orange County National Bank, a position
that he retained until 1871, when he accepted.
the cashiership pf the First National Bank at
Montpelier. In 1874 Mr. Houghton was made
one of the directorate of the" National Life In
surance Company, with which he was identified
until his sudden death, as above mentioned..
Entering the office of the company as its treas
urer in 1885, he performed the responsible-
duties of that position with great ability and
fidelity until 1897, when he was chosen vice-
president, in January, 1901, being elected its
president. During the twenty-eight years in
which Mr. Houghton was connected with this
company, he devoted his time and energies to
advancing its interests, enlarging its operations,
and being largely instrumental in making it one
of the most popular and successful institutions.
of the kind in New England. His untiring inT

98

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

dustry, zeal and sterling integrity were recog
nized by his associates, who keenly felt their
loss. Although not an aspirant for political
honors, Mr. Houghton served as treasurer of
the Montpelier board of public instruction for
many years; was several times a delegate to
county, district and state Republican conven
tions, and in 1886 represented his city in the
state legislature. He was also treasurer of the
town of Montpelier. Although a Congregation-
alist in his religious faith, he attended the Episco
pal church. At the time of his death he was
president of the Wood Art Gallery, a trustee of
the Washington county grammar schpol, and a.
director of the First National Bank," all of Mont
pelier. Fraternally he was identified with the
Masonic order, being a Knight Templar.
Mr. lioughton married, in 1869, Miss Grace
R. Blackwell, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Two children were born of their union, namely:
Edward Rittenhouse Houghton, of Boston,
Massachusetts ; and Grace Morton Houghton,
of Montpelier. From the many encomiums and resolutions
of esteem and respect passed by the various
societies and business organizations of which Mr.
Houghton was a member, the following appre
ciative words from Hon. J. A. De Boer, vice pres
ident of the National Life Insurance Company,
sent out to all agents of the company, are selected
as representatives :
"The essential characteristics of James C.
Houghton were absolute honesty, a faculty for
constant work, fidelity to every trust, and a
certain charming personality, which, coupled
with many acts of kindness, brought and held
him the friendship of men. No one in the
community where he lived and did his work en
joyed a larger measure of profound personal
affection and respect, and no man's death could
bring to those who knew him best a more sincere
sense of personal loss. While he discharged
innumerable services for his banks, his town, its
schools and all its other forms of educational and
moral life, to say nothing of recurring private
trusts, it was essentially as a director and
officer of the National Life Insurance Company
that he gave his largest and most conspicuous
service. The burden of his thought and work
was placed there, and it is not wholly incorrect

to suppose that in some degree its responsibilities
and care contributed to his comparatively early
death. "It is impossible for us under this sudden
and heavy blow to properly inventory our feel
ings, and make a true estimate of. the man whom
we have so intimately known as an s associate
and so sincerely respected as an officer and a ¦
man. He left us but yesterday for the seas in
search of well earned rest. The seas return him
to his home and his native shores to rest forever,
leaving us the memory of a good, strong, faithful
and noble life spent in the service of his race."
And also a portion 'of the resolution of the
Society of Colonial Wars : "Mr. Houghton was
a man of sterling character. He bore the burden
of important private and public ( trusts with
marked ability and the highest fidelity. He-
rendered valuable service in many local and
responsible offices. He fulflilled His duties as a,
citizen with constant and unselfish attentiori. In
his private life he was all- that was estimable and
of good report, exemplifying the character of a .
Christian gentleman, and winning by his unvary
ing courtesy and kindness the esteem of all who
were brought in contact with him in the" various
relations of life."
JOHN H. HOPKINS, BISHOP OF VER
MONT.
John Henry Plopkins, first bishop of Vermont,
was a descendant of that Hopkins family of Eng
land which was conspicuous in the reign of Rich
ard II. In the reign of William III, Isaac Hop
kins was granted an estate in Ireland, where he
maried Mary Fitzgerald. From them the line of
descent runs through the eldest son in two suc
ceeding generations to Thomas, who became a
merchant in Dublin, and who married Elizabeth
Fitzakerly. John Henry Hopkins, only child of the pair
last named, was born in Dublin, January 30,
1792. While he was reared in an atmosphere of
culture and refinement, his parents did not con
nect themselves with a church until after he had
taken orders. The family emigrated to the
United States in 1800, finally locating in Trenton,
New Jersey, where the father opened a girls'
school. The son, John Henry, remained in Ptiila-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

99

delphia, where his parents had sojourned for a
time, and there he entered upon Work in a count
ing-room. The business was distasteful to him,
however, and he found congenial occupation in
coloring the plates for the first volume of Wil
son's "Birds of America,"" a task in which he
<exemplified genuine artistic talent. He next en
gaged in iron-working and superintended fur
naces near Pittsburg, but after about three years
abandoned the business, which had resulted dis
astrously. In 1816 he began the study pf law at
Greensburg, and he completed his studies in Pitts-
hurg, where he was admitted to the bar in 1818.
He at once entered uppn a successful professional
career, and his income reached the sum of five
thousand dollars, a most liberal reward in those
days. Meantime his religious character had been de
veloping rapidly, and he was soon moved to aban
don the profession wherein he had distinguished
liimself in high degree, to devote himself to
church work. While a young man, in Philadel
phia, he had connected himself with a literary so
ciety, arid he had been drawn into debate as to the
history and authenticity of Christianity, and,
making a close study of his subject, he proved a
formidable defender of the church against the
attacks of an array of bright young men who
were pronounced deists. In the course of his in
vestigations he subsequently read a volume by
Hannah More, and • imbibed her religious and
philanthropic'spirit to such a degree that he en
gaged, earnestly but modestly, in missionary work
among, the iron-workers with whom his lot was
- cast for the time, reading to them from the Bible,
Prayer Book, and volumes of sermons. After his
removal to Pittsburg he became an attendant of
Trinity church and a valuable aid to the rector
in the conduct of the music of the service. In
1823, before conceiving the idea of entering the
priesthood, he was. licensed by Bishop White as
a lay reader, and this gave new direction to his
life. He disposed of his law business, took up a
deeper study of theology, in which he was already
well advanced, with the result that he was or
dained deacon on December 14th of the same
year, and priest on May 12th following. ,He had
already been placed in charge of the church, and
he devoted himself entirely to promoting its use
fulness ; he erected a new house of worship, and

quadrupled its number of communicants within
a year, and in the seven years following he or
ganized as many new churches in what is now the
diocese of Pittsburg.
Mr. Hopkins first sat in a diocesan convention
in 1824. In 1826 he was successful in his oppo
sition to a proposition for the alterations and
shortening of the liturgy. The year following he
was nominated as a coadjutor to Bishop White,
' and failed of election by only one vote. In 1828
he was elected to the rectorate of St. Stephen's,
in New York, but declined. He was intensely in
terested in the training of young men for the min
istry, and successfully tutored not less than eight.
He had hoped to establish a diocesan theological
school, but his efforts were not properly seconded,
and in 183 1 he accepted a call as assistant in
Trinity church, Boston, being led to take this step
by reason of the promise of aid in the establish
ment of a school of theology there. In Septem
ber of the same year a class of seminarians' was
formed at his residence, with himself, the bishop
and two clergymen as teachers.
Mr. Hopkins was elected bishop«of the, diocese
of Vermont in May, 183 1, and after visiting the
field he made known his acceptance, and was con
secrated in St. Paul's, New York, October 31.
1832. Establishing his seat at Burlington, he
gave himself without stint to his new duties, and
labored earnestly and successfully in the forma
tion of new parishes and in supplying them with
clergy. He practiced the utmost economy in or
der to aid in church work, and was content with
the modest salary of twelve hundred dollars and
a rectory, and labored with his own hands where-
ever he found a task needing his effort. He
painted the tablets and adornments of the chancel
of his church, drew the plans and superintended
the- building of the church in Brandon, and la
bored similarly for the church at Rutland.
For some years his effort was given to the
object which had lain close to his heart from the
beginning of his ministerial career, the creation
of a diocesan school. He was successful in pro
viding splendid buildings, erected in part upon
his personal credit, and in placing in them large
classes of students who were deeply imbued with
feelings alike to 'his own. The disastrous com
mercial and financial revulsion of 1837 wrecked
the enterprise, however, and he sought aid in

IOO

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Great Britain, but was only able to secure a trifle
more than four thousand dollars. This sum was
wholly inadequate, and the school was abandoned,
while Bishop Hopkins, with loss of all his per
sonal means, was constrained to depend in part
for his support upon the proceeds of lecturing,
and to erect a new residence on property pur
chased for him at Rock Point. The old indebt
edness was harrassing to him for many years. In
1854 he was arrested in Boston for a balance of
one thousand dollars and interest. He was at
once bailed by a couple of friends. At a later day,
Bishop Hopkin's effort bore fruit in the foun
dation of the Vermont Episcopal Institute, when
the debt before mentioned, with all others allied
to it, were fully discharged.
During all these and succeeding years, Bishop
Hopkins left an enduring impress upon the
church and clergy of his day, and was especially
strong in canonical legislation. ,In the diocesan
convention of 1836 he effected a salutary revision
of the constitution and canons of the diocese, and
in the case against Bishop Doane, of New York,
he effectually aided in effecting such changes in
the canon law as to make the trial of a bishop de
pendable upon a board of. inquiry composed of
eminent clergymen and laymen. Holding to the
highest standards of personal purity, upon the
trial of Bishpp Onderdonk of New York, he voted
for the deposition of that prelate.
While busily occupied with the duties of his
high office, Bishop Hopkins was an industrious
and forceful writer. After having given a num
ber of pamphlets to the public, in 1833 he pub
lished his first volume, "Christianity Vindicated,"
and this was followed by "The Primitive Creed"
in 1834, and "The Primitive Church" in 1835.
All these works were widely circulated, and com
manded such respect that Harper Brothers of
fered to publish any succeeding work from his
pen, without question. In 1836 he published an
essay on "Gothic Architecture," a work which
had immense weight with church-builders. In
1837 he published "The Church of Rome," in
which he contrasted her primitive conduct with
that of the day in which he wrote, and made a
candid examination of her claims to universal
spiritual sovereignty, and this, reprinted in Lon
don, received unstinted praise from the Angli
can ministry. In 18.44 ne published several letters

on "The Novelties Which Distrust Our Peace,"'
and "Sixteen Lectures on the Causes, Principles.
and Results of the British Reformation." All.
these attracted wide attention, and were peculiarly
gratifying to the low-churchmen. One of his
most notable pamphlets was that on "The True
Principles of Restoration to the Episcopal Office,"
a strong vindication of the refusal to remit the
sentence pronounced against Bishop Onderdonk'.
In 1848 he began a "Commentary of the Bible,"'
but- laid this aside to write "A History of the
Confessional," published in 1850, in opposition to-
its introduction into the Episcopal church. In.
1854 he published "The End of Controversy Con
troverted," a refutation of Milner's "End of Con
troversy," which latter work had until then been.
deemed by Roman Catholics an unanswerable ar
gument for adherence to Rome. In 1857 he pub
lished "The American Citizen : His Rights and.
Duties According to the Spirit of the Constitu
tion of the United States," and in 1861 his "Let
ter on the Bible View of Slavery." The latter-
work provoked great opposition throughout the-
state. He pronnounced slavery as not a sin per
se, but as an institution which for various rea
sons was objectionable and should be abrogated.
by agreement. He held to the abstract right of
secession from the Union by the slave states, but
that this was a question for the supreme court.
He also antagonized the efforts to commit the
church to the support of the national administra
tion, holding that neither church nor state was
justly capable of intruding upon the domain of
the other. In 1864 he published "A Scriptural,.
Ecclesiastical and Historical View of Slavery
from the Days of the Patriarch Abraham' to the
Nineteenth Century," which went through seven.
editions. In 1866 he published "The Law of
Ritualism," which was reprinted in England and
produced a deep impression there as well as in the-
United States. In this he favored ritualism and
ornate ceremonials, but relieved of 'Romish inno-r
vations. His last work, published after his death,.
was "A Candid Examination of the Question.
whether the Pope of Rome is the Great Anti-
Christ of Scripture," and was characterized by
entire fairness and great dignity.
Bishop Hopkins became presiding bishop of
the Protestant Episcopal church in the United
States, by reason of the death of Bishop- Brow-

c7.

&>ts?zJ-

Fn^^-hy KBIMVs. Sms, ITow ItSrK..

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

IOI

nell. He came to his high place at an auspicious
time. His attitude during the Civil war period
enabled him to exert a commanding influence in
effecting a reunion of the churches in the two
sections of the country. Even before the close of
the war he had been invited to exercise Episcopal
functions in Louisiana, but he deemed it wise
to decline. Now he issued a letter in which he
invited the bishops and delegates to resume their
seats in the general convention, and the invitation
was cordially accepted. The year 1866 brought
him universal distinctions, for in it he presided at
the consecration of Bishop Cumriiins of Kentucky
and Wilmer of Louisiana, and at Easter came to
the provisional rectorship of St. Paul's church
In Burlington, and was honored with a joyous
golden wedding celebration. In 1867 he at
tended the Lamberth Conference of Bishops held
xipon invitation from the Archbishop pf Canter
bury. He was received with high consideration,
and took an active part in the deliberations of the
conference. His reception at Burlington, on his
return home, by the assembled clergy of the
state, was deeply affecting. December 1, 1867,
he preached for the last time in St. Paul's church.
He was then growing infirm, but, immediately
after the following Christmas, he began visita
tions in his diocese, confirming larger classes than
ever before. His last sermon was preached in
Plattsburg, New York. Returning home he was
attacked with double pleu-pneumonia, and on
January 9, 1868, while seated in his chair, his son
Theodore offering the commendatory prayer, he
passed away.
Bishop Hopkins was married May 8, 1816, to
Melusina, daughter of Casper Otto Muller, of
Harmony, Pennsylvania, who was a German, a
native of Hamburg, and among whose ancestors
. for several generations were ministers of the Lu
theran church. Bishop and Mrs.- Hopkins were
the parents of thirteen children, and of the eight
' sons five became graduates of the -University of
Vermont.
REV. THEODORE AUSTIN HOPKINS.
The Rev. Theodore Austin Hopkins, A. M.,
was the fourth son of the Right Rev. John Henry
Hopkins, D. D„ LL. D. He spent almost fifty
years of his useful life in Burlington, and, being

a man of great will power and character, his life
developed various important enterprises.
He was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, May
21, 1828, and was brought to Vermont at the age
of four years. To one looking over his life, it
seems clear that it was, from the first, a prepara
tion for his work of twenty-one years at the Ver
mont Episcopal Institute. In his boyhood, after
a few reluctant years of school, he was called to
the farm at Rock Point.
Bishop Hopkins had lost his, fortune in the
panic of 1837. He migrated with his large fam
ily to a wild tract of land north of Burlington,
chosen for the beauty of its scenery. Here he es
tablished a homestead and laid out a farm and
pastures, the remaining acres being left for wood
land. Theodore and his brothers flung themselves
into this new life with great enthusiasm. They
learned how to bujld barns and sheds. They
could name a tree from its bark, its mode of
growth, its leafage, or, if it had passed into fire
wood, from the way it burned. In time they in
herited and made ungainly machines for cutting
and hauling itimber, and for pulling out stumps.
They studied at odd hours and read in the old
library. Nor were the arts neglected. The
young folks .copied their father's paintings in oil
and water colors, "they helped prepare the litho
graphic plates for "The Vermont Drawing-
Book," and they all learned the piano. This hard-
worked instrument was kept in tune by the moth
er, whose delicate and perfect ear and firm hand
qualified her for the task. Afterward, there was
a family orchestra. The Bishop wrote off the
score in parts, composing much of it. Theodore's
t instrument was the flute. The one thing they
never thought of studying was how' to play. The
Bishop's theory was that variety Of occupation
was all the recreation needed.
The Bishop's study was the large family par
lor, where, unmindful of domestic noises and Con
stant "practicing," he calmly pursued his theo
logical studies, painted the family portraits and
wrote special music for the whole metrical
psalms, which was always used in family prayers
after the reading of the entire psalter for the day.
Theodore had no idea at this time of studying
' for the ministry. He wanted to make money to
pay off the farm indebtedness. No doubt he was

102

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

often a great trial to the thrifty housekeeper,
whose one thought was to use the overworked
farm horses to replenish her larder. The boy
stood guard over them and for some years it was
"nip and tuck" between the kitchen and the farm.
One of the most powerful influences in .mould
ing the character, habits and culture of this large
family of boys, was that of the remarkable man,
their eldest brother, afterward the Rev. Dr. J. H.
Hopkins. At that time he was busy maturing the
strength and the learning which afterward made
him such a power in 'the church, but even when
absent from them he never forgot the large family
of younger brothers sequestered in Vermont. Al
ways scholarly, accurate, artistic, above all things
unworldly, he gave them liberally of his best. He
brought into this impressionable household a
wind of the outer world, a consciousness of the
vast interests of past and of current history which
widened and ennobled their lives.
Theodore was not to spend his life in farming
and money-making as he had planned. When he
was nearly eighteen years of age an explosion of
blasting powder almost cost him his sight. His
wise brother took advantage of the enforced se
clusion that followed to bring the family forces
to bear on the boy, and in the end he found him
self fully launched into college life. He entered
the University of Vermont in 1846. He sup
ported himself in the first vacation by teaching
district school; during the others, he tuned and
sold pianos and taught the flute. At first he was
severely pinched by poverty, but he would con
tract no debts. For three years he boarded him
self in his own room, and when graduated he
stood near the head of his class, and had saved
three hundred dollars over liabilities.
In 185 1 he entered the General Theological
Seminary in New York. During the three years'
course he supported himself by private teaching
and by traffic in pianos. His fine tenor voice,
afterward spoiled in the service of his boys at the
Institute, brought him positions in the choirs of
three of the principal churches in the city. While
in the seminary he joined other students in con
ducting a large missionary work in the city of
New York. At this time he imported from
France a valued piano mecanique.
He was graduated in 1854, and ordained dea
con by his father. On invitation of Rev. Dr.

Stephen H. Tyng to begin his ministerial work
in New York, he, with others, planted St.
George's Mission, on Avenue A, near .Nineteenth
street, and a church was afterwards built there
which proved permanent. In 1884 the Rev. Dr.
H. W. Lee, of St. Luke's, Rochester, called the
Rev. Mr. Hopkins to be his assistant. Seven
weeks later Dr. Lee was consecrated bishop of
Iowa, and the whole weight of parochial duty fell
at once upon Mr. Hopkins. More than one thou
sand people claimed his pastoral care. Each. Sun
day three services were read and three sermons
preached, and for seven months thereafter Mr.
Hopkins averaged seven sermons and addresses
a week, also visiting nearly the whole parish at
their homes, as well as the sick and poor, and
without assistance. /
When St. Luke's called Dr. Watson to its
rectorate, about twenty of the leading families
formed a new parish (Christ church) and pur
chased a lot on East avenue and began the build
ing of a chapel. Mr. Hopkins organized the par
ish, and held the first service in May, 1855. The
parish has ranked as the most important (next to
St. Luke's) of the Episcopal churches in
Rochester. Mr. Hopkins accepted the call to St.
George's, St. Louis, in July, 1855. He found an
attendance of only one hundred and three per
sons, and a debt of $14,500 unpaid for ten years.
hanging over the edifice, which had been adver
tised for sale. The ladies raised $1700, and then,
by request of the vestry, Mr. Hopkins collected
money enough to liquidate the debt. He suc
ceeded in five weeks, and felt that he had been
the honorable means of restoring to the church
a noble edifice that had cost seventy-five thousand
dollars. One month after he began his rectorship
at St. George's, he went back to Rochester and
married Miss Alice L., daughter of Isaac Doo
little, originally from New Haven, Connecticut,
his father, Bishop Hopkins, going from Burling
ton to Rochester to perfom the ceremony, which
took place before a densely crowded congregation
in St. Paul's church, in Rochester, August "8,
1855. Three weeks later found Rev. Mr. Hopkins
in St. Louis, hard at work, but he was still- only
a deacon. In October, 1855, ne requested his
father's services in one more sacred relation, that
of his ordination to the priesthood of St. George's

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

'03

church, before an unusually large congregation.
He was instrumental in building that church up,
and later the people erected a building at a cost
of two hundred thousand dollars, and it is now
the leading Episcopal church of St. Louis.
Educational work now claimed the attention
of Mr. Hopkins. . He went to Lancaster, Penn
sylvania, on invitation of Dr. (afterwards Bish
op) Bowman, in 1858, where he founded the
Yeates Institute for boys, thereby securing a
four thousand dollar endowment that had been
offered by Miss Catherine Yeates. For three
years Mr. Hopkins- taught this school, at the
same time serving as rector of St. John's church -
(with an assistant) during the first year of his
school. The Yeates Institute has continued to
prosper. These years were really a transition period in
which he outgrew the crudities of his early min
istry, at the cost of much suffering and mistaken'
effort, and finally found himself (in i860) at the
beginning of the work of mature manhood, into
which he threw the best energies of the twenty-
one years of his middle life, the establishment of
the Vermont Episcopal Institute, the greatest
work of his life.
When he opened the school it had not a cent
of endowment. It was, in its ground and equip
ments, in a most crude condition. Up to the very
opening day, workmen and teams surrounded the
building. There were only five acres of half -civ
ilized grounds, and it was by no means clear, who
had the real control of these, whether Mr. Hop
kins or certain theological students who claimed
the entire freedom of the settlement, and were a
puzzling element with which to deal. It was some
months before order was evolved out of this
chaos of conflicting wills, but Mr. Hopkins mas- *
tered it at last. One of the first things to con
sider was a suitable play and drill ground for the
future cadets. Several huridred drain tiles were
laid in the adjacent pasture which was thus made
-available for the boys' use, while still good pas
turage. In fact, the whole Point proper was
at the service of the school, though Mr. Hopkins
had not the use of the garden, orchard or fields.
For the first year or two he 'hired his horses and
cows from the farm, but gradually escaped from
this extreme inconvenience, and provided the

Institute with the full needful equipment, in
cluding pigs and a family dog.
In due time the boys arrived, nearly a score
of them, largely collected by the vigorous efforts
of Mr. Hopkins' brother-in-law, Hon. T. H.
Canfield, who proved his loyal devotion to Bishop
Hopkins' plans by putting his time and great
powers of persuasion at the service of the new
school so dear to the heart of its founder. In
this new experience the Bishop's theories of fam
ily training proved themselves mistaken. He had
never allowed his boys to learn to skate, holding
this to be a useless expenditure of time and
strength, and perhaps dangerous. As soon as the
first ice formed over the lake, Mr. Hopkins per
ceived that to skate over it was as native to boys
as for birds to fly, and that he must learri the art.
Most reluctantly he must have dared the slippery
plain, and he never became a graceful skater.
Perhaps he never enjoyed it, but for speed and
daring surpassed all. The excursion of the schpol
across the lake became a regular feature of the
winter at Rock Point, but the boys touched no ice
not at first tested by the master.
No boy could pass two years at the Institute
without acquiring much familiarity with music,
both vocal and instrumental. What member of
the family could ever forget the famous me-
canique? This was a grand piano which Mr.
Hopkins had imported for a wealthy citizen of
Rochester, New York. It had passed into a vig
orous old age when Mr. Hopkins found himself
able to buy it. He took his first trip abroad to
purchase for it many boxes of new excellent
music. The mecanique gave the school many an
evening of fun and pleasure, and the boys ac
quired unconsciously an accurate acquaintance
with at least the surface of this classical- music.
They were also organized into a chapel choir.
This, being a school duty, was not so welcome,
but they learned well the chants and hymns, At
last the ambition seized them to form an orches
tra. The late Francis E. Camp, then in college,
was their instructor in the several instruments.
Professor Brenton Whitney taught the piano at
the Institute, and he was much amused at one of
their programs comprising three overtures !
Every year a class for confirmation was
formed. Of course the attendance on this was

104

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

voluntary, but the number that came was always
a surprise. No doubt this was greatly due to a
relaxation of school duties. Still, as they passed
on into life, a large proportion of these boys grew
into Christian men.
Mr. Hopkins was above all things a pains
taking teacher. He had his grasp on every lad
put under his charge; his aim was to instill one
new idea at every lesson and he would hold his
class until this one was mastered. This he would
do quite regardless of the lapse of time and the
impatience of the assistant teachers. He used
to say that he aimed his teaching at the dullest
boy in the class, being sure that if he had mas
tered the thought the others must have done so.
Certainly the boys did not enjoy this practice,
but they learned. It is safe to say that no one who
had gone through this drill in arithmetic, Latin,
or Greek, ever forgot it. "Forming the partici
ples on the arrows" was to trace the elusive Greek
or Latin verb through all its convolutions until
the hopeless tangle grew clear and simple. The
master's great delight was to break down the
muddle of a boy's brain, and form therein clear
ness, method and a sure procedure.
Mr. Hopkins' rules for writing are a good
example of the exactness of his methods. Every
boy was required to follow them closely. "Even
height; even slope; even distance apart; shore
heads and tails, and solid columns." The "Rock
Point Cadet" was the school paper, published
once a year. Every boy had to write a composi
tion for it, and these were all copied in the labori
ous hand just described, corrected by Mr. Hop
kins himself, who shrank from no amount of this
arduous labor. Yearly, at the closing of school,
the boys were called upon to exhibit their powers
of elocution. Every boy was required to speak,
and parents and friends were invited, and there
was some very fine renderings, long remembered.
For the entertainment of the school, Mr. Hop
kins had procured an excellent magic lantern with
a collection of beautiful views, and an exhibition
of these made many a gala time. The large din
ing room was emptied and prepared, all tasks
were called off, and the boys and the neighbors
collected for a merry evening. In early days this
same basement room served for charades and
theatricals, in which the reigning young lady,
generally a family guest, was expected to take a

leading part, sometimes helped out by "talent"
imported from Burlington. A stage was impro^
vised at one end of the room, and all manner of
"properties" brought from above, which must
all be returned to their places before the family
slept. Mr. Hopkins also frequently gave lec
tures upon his travels abroad.
A unique custom should be chronicled here.
When the boys were in bed, and the bells signaled
"lights out," Mr. Hopkins would take some
niche of the long hall whence his voice could
reach every dormitory, and, provided with a
lamp and a book of familiar songs, with his well
worn voice, which never altogether lost its sweet
ness, would give forth song after song till all had
sunk into sleep. The boys asked often for these
lullabies. A favorite niece has recorded her recollec
tions of her uncle Theodore as setting off for
town in his big rockaway loaded with errands for
the boys and for the house, and noting them in his
well-worn pocket tablet, chatting pleasantly with
the lady sitting behind, who must often take the
reins while he interviewed the butcher and the
baker and the rest. There was no telephone in
those days, nor any trolley. But life there had
many compensations for a dear lover of nature.
The whirr of the grasshoppers, the croaking of
the frogs, the noiseless flight of the bats, the ex
quisite scenery of Rock Point, all delighted him.
He laid out the grounds of the Institute in ter
races, fertilizing the reluctant clay soil, as some
one has said, by the tablespoonful, till it bore the
most luxuriant grass and vegetables. He loved
bees and could tell the queen bee in swarming
time ; he would pick her out and watch while the
busy perilous mass settled about her and then
carried her with the swarm to her selected hive.
Equal to his love for bees was his hatred for cur-
culios and potato beetles. His boyhood's mas
tery of tools availed him here. Tools of the gar
den, the carpenter shop, and even of the plumber,
he was skilled in the use of all. But his life was
one long series of experiments ; he used to say it
could be summed up in the maxim, "Do it over
again." After twenty-one years of this unremitting
service Mr. Hopkins resigned his post and retired
to private life. He built a house for his family on
the five acres now called Apple Grove. On these

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

105

grounds he expended his gathered wealth of ex
perience, culled from his years at the Institute.
They were his very own, and he felt a certain
tenderness for every clod and spray. But a few
short years were allotted him to enjoy them. On
his return from Europe he spent these in the
service of the town and of the church, helping
vacant parishes, giving lectures with his magic
lantern in the villages around, or concerts with
the mecanique.
At last, in 1889, he returned home from a
Sunday in Randolph, very tired. He said he had
come for a few days' entire rest. The end came
quickly. One last glimpse of the beauty his soul
loved was vouchsafed him; In his delirium a
:stray sunbeam, coming through the window of
the next room, painted rainbow tints on the ceil
ing above him. . He called the family to admire
them, and passed soon into his last unconscious
ness. Such was the life of one of the best and most
loved citzens of the city of his adoption. All the
traits which adorn the devoted husband and kind
and indulgent parent, a self-made man of broad
intellect, and a cultured Christian gentleman,
were manifested in his character and disposition.
He left an honored name that will always be
cherished by future generations in. Burlingtori.
He was survived by his wife (who has con
tributed many particulars to this article) and
three of the children who were born to them :
John H., the present rector of the Church of the
Ephiphany in Chicago, Illinois ; Richard Austin,
a resident of Vermont; and Edith R., connected
with St. Barnabas House, in New York city.
JOSEPH- ADDISON WING.
The eminent lawyer and exemplary citizen
here sketched, whose professional career extended
over the phenomenal period of more than a half-
cntury, was a native pf the state of Vermont,
born in East Montpelier, October 29, 1810. Mr.
Wing was. a son of Josiah ahd Polly (Gray)
"Wing. He was reared on the homestead farm,
and his education was acquired in greater part
through his own unaided effort. His instruction
was limited to that afforded by the ill provided
•district school during a few brief winter terms,
and a short period in the Washington county

grammar school at Montpelier. But he was am
bitious and studious, and he added to his informa
tion by close application to such books as were
contained in the little family library or that he
could procure by purchase or from friends.
When twenty-two years of age he .began the '
study law under the preceptorship of Merrill
¦& Spaulding, in Montpelier, and four years later
(in 1836) he was admitted to the bar of Wash
ington county. Shortly before this he bad opened
an office and entered upon practice at Plain-
field, Vermont. On June 9, 1858, he removed to
Montpelier and formed a partnership with
Rodney Land and N. A. Taylor. Six years
later Mr. Taylor retired, and Messrs. Wing and
Land continued their professional association
until about 1870, when the latter removed to
Boston. Thenceforward Mr. Wing practiced
alone, with the exception of a period of about two
years, when he was associated with his son,
George W. Wing.
Mr. Wing's period of practice, as has been
noted, covered a period of nearly sixty years,
, and this long term of service could not be paral
leled, if it can be equalled in length, in the
history of the Vermont bar. He delighted in his
calling, and seemed to pursue it for very love of
it rather than as a means of mere livelihood. The
fees he exacted were always most moderate, and
he never refused his assistance to a wOrthy client,
no matter how faint the prospect of remunera1-
tion. Among his colleagues he was known as a
master of his profession, deepy read in all
branches of the law, resourceful in all that honor
would admit, scrupulously careful in the prep
aration of his cases and clear and convincing in
his pleadings and argument. His counsel was
sought from all portions of the state, and his
-judgment was implicitly depended upon when he
pronounced against litigation, as he did in many
cases where he felt that the ends of justice
would not be subserved or his client would be
worsted. He was in his profession what he was
in his personal life — honest and upright.
In religion he was identified with the Church
of the Messiah. In politics he was a Whig, and
when that party passed out of existence and
lines were newly drawn on slavery restriction
and the maintainance of the Union, he allied
himself with the Republican party.

io6

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Mr. Wing was married January i, 1840, to
Miss Sam'antha Elizabeth Webster, of Cabot. Six
children were born of this marriage: George
W. ; Florence A., who became the wife of Collins
Blakely; Annette, who became the wife of
Arthur D. Farwell ; Alice M. ; Elizabeth B. ; and
John G. Wring. Mr. Wing died March 28, 1893.
The Vermont Bar Association took appropriate
action with reference to his death, and an "In
Memoriam" paper read before that body by Judge
Melville E. Smilie has been freely drawn from
in the writing of this sketch.
George W. W7ing, eldest son of Mr. Wing
and the latter's successor in professional work,
was born in Plainfield, Vermont, October 22,
1843. Mr. Wing's line of descent is as follows :
Mathew Wing, tlie emigrant ancestor, was one
of four sons who came with their widowed
mother from England on the ship William and
Francis, leaving England March 9, 1632, and
settled in Sandwich, Massachussetts. The de
scent from him is through John, Daniel, John,
Samuel, David, Josiah, Joseph A. and George W.
He acquired his education in the district schools,
in Barre Academy, in the Washington county
grammar school in Montpelier and in Dartmouth
College, graduating from the last named institu
tion iri 1866. He read law under the tutorship
of his father, and was admitted to the bar in
1868. He had previously served as assistant state
librarian in 1864-6, and was elected secretary and
librarian of the state library in November, 1902.
From 1867 to 1873 he was a deputy secretary of
state, during the later years also serving as a
clerk in the state treasury, under State Treasurer
John A. Page. He then entered upon the practice
of his profession in Montpelier, for which he was
amply prepared by hereditary predisposition as
well as by training, and in which he has risen to
a position of usefulness and prominence.
Various public honors have been conferred
upon him, and he has brought to every station
abilities of a high order and scrupulous fidelity
to the trusts reposed in him. In 1882 he was
elected to the legislature, and in that body was
appointed upon the ways and means committee
and the grand list committee, in both of which
positions he acquitted himself most usefully and
creditably. He bore a leading part in the fram
ing of the coiporation tax law, and formulated

that instrument, a law which is notable for the
clearness and precision of its terms and for its
beneficial provisions. As a member of the grand
list committee he rendered invaluable service in
so formulating the measure revising and consoli
dating the tax and grand list statutes that they
were absolutely flawless, and his advocacy of the
new measure before the house was masterly and
convincing. In his connection with various other
enactments, whether in support or in opposition,
he gave evidence of those qualities of discernment
which mark the wise and capable legislator.
Toward the close of President Arthur's admin
istration he was appointed postmaster at Mont
pelier, and, while a staunch Republican, his
official conduct was so irreproachable that he was -
permitted to serve out his term under the admin
istration of President Cleveland. In 1890 he was
elected a village trustee, in 1892 president of the
corporation, and when Montpelier became a city,
in 1895, he was elected as the first mayor.
Mr. Wing is an orator of no mean ability,
and a fellow lawyer has said of him "He enter
tains and instructs, whether before the jury or
court, or upon the stump. He is at once scholarly
and practical, and has an enviable power of illus
tration peculiar to himself." He has taken high
rank in the Masonic order, having attained to
the thirty-third degree, Scottish Rite. Mr. Wing
has filled all the offices in the local body of the
Masonic fraterriity, and has been grand master
of the Grand Lodge of the state and grand high
priest of the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the
state, and grand commander of the Grand Com-
mandery of the state; also grand patron of the
Order of the Eastern Star. He is treasurer of
the Farmers' Trust Company, an Iowa corpora
tion having its eastern office in Montpelier.
Mr. Wing was married, December 1, 1869,
to Miss Sarah E. Forbush, a daughter of Dr.
Orlando P. and Millie (Hendee) Forbush. Mrs.
Wing died in April, 1871, leaving one child,
Sarah F. Wing. October 1, 1882, Mr. Wing
was married to Miss Ida I. Jones, daughter of
Stephen F. and Caroline C. (Stone) Jones.
HON. TORREY E. WALES. -
Hon. Torrey Eglesby Wales, who will long"
be remembered by the citizens of Burlington

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

107

and vicinity as a prominent lawyer and an hon-
'ored and highly esteemed citizen, was born in
Westford, Chittenden county, Vermont, June 20,
1820. His paternal grandfather, Shubael Wales,
was a native of Brimfield, Massachusetts, as was
also our subject's father, Danforth Wales, who
was born in the year 1785.
Coming to Vermont when a youth, the lat
ter learned the clothier's trade in Pittsford, and
after serving his apprenticeship located at West
ford, where he established the first clothing man
ufactory in the county. Beginning in a modest
way, he labored with courage and persistency,
-gradually enlarging his operations, and met with
eminent success in his efforts, developing a large
business for the time. He was a man of un
bounded energy and unusual business ability, and
in addition to attending' to his manufacturing
interests also carried on a successful trade in gen
eral merchandise, owned and operated a lumber
mill and a flour mill and was interested to some
extent in other industries. He was also influ
ential in local affairs, -serving as selectman and
town clerk, and represented Westford in the state
legislature, while for a time he was a colonel
in the militia. Mr. Wales was first married to
Louisa, a daughter of Ebenezer Sibley, of West
ford, Vermont. She died in early womanhood,
in 1822, leaving one son, Torrey E- For his
second wife Mr. Wales chose Alice Cushman, by
whom he had one daughter, Louisa S., the wife
of Charles Kimball. Danforth Wales was' a typi
cal representative of the self-made men of our
country, who have won success iri all walks of
life by their own perseverence and industry. He
was a Freemason, and attended the Congrega
tional church.'* His death occurred wheri he had
reached the sixty-fifth milestone on the journey
of life. '
Torrey E. Wales received his early mental
training in the local schools. Determining, how
ever, to secure a liberal education, he entered
the University of Vermont in 1837/ in which in
stitution he was graduated with the class of 1841.
His father having suffered reverses in his busi
ness, the son was thrown chiefly upon his own re
sources, but he managed with industry and
energy to pay his own way through college,
and graduated with honor. Deciding to become
a lawyer, he accordingly entered the office of the

late Archibald Hyde, and later studied under the
preceptorship of Asahel Peck, subsequently jus
tice of the supreme court and governor of Ver
mont. Mr. Wales was admitted to the bar of
Chittenden county in the spring term of 1845,
and in the following year began the practice of his
profession in Burlington, but,' having inherited a
tendency to pulmonary disease, some alarming
symptoms forced him to go south. His wife hav
ing some family connections in the state of Mis
sissippi, he went thither and taught for three-
years in the family of a planter near Holly
.Springs, there receiving impressions of southern
plantation life which never faded from his mem
ory. Returning to Burlington, he opened a law
office at the head of Church street and gradually-
built up a successful practice. He continued'
alone until about 1857, when he formed a par-
triership with Russell S. Taft, who had been a
, student in his office and in time became the hon
ored chief justice of the supreme court of Ver
mont. This relationship continued for the un
usual period of twenty-one years, being finally dis
solved in 1878, and in the spring of 1882 Mr.
Wales' son, George W. Wales, succeeded Judge-
Taft, the firm name becoming Wales & Wales,
remaining thus until the death of the junior mem
ber in 1890.
Judge Wales' sterling" qualities and ability in.
his profession soon' brought him into prominence;
and in 1853 he was elected state's attorney, hold
ing that office for three consecutive years. He-
was a selectrlian of the town in 1854, before the
organization of the city, was the second mayor
of Burlington, holding that position for two years,
in 1866 and 1867, and again in 1870 he served
as acting mayor in the place of D. C. Linsley, re
signed. He was an alderman during the years of
1869, 1870, 1871, resigning in the latter part of
the last mentioned year, but was again elected
alderman of his ward in 1874. During the years
of 1883 and 1884 he was city attorney, while in-
1868, 1869, 1876 and 1877 he wTas a representa
tive to the state legislature. Previous to this-
time, in 1862, he was elected judge of the pro
bate court, holding that office "continuously until
1898. Among the minor offices held by Judge
Wales was that of county auditor of Chittenden
county and street commissioner, and he was also-
one of the earliest members of the old Boxer fire

ao8

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

-company and a charter member of the Algonquin
club. His military service was confined to mem
bership in the "Howard Guard," Burlington
Company of uniform militia before the war. In
addition to his many other interests, Judge Wales
was one of the directors of the old Farmers &
Mechanics' Bank until it was wound up by the
•organization of the national bank system, and he
was for many years and until his death a director
in the Merchant's Bank. He was one of the
founders of the Mary Fletcher Hospital in 1876,
of which he was one of the trustees, and was also
president of the board of managers of the Home
for Aged Women. Pie served as president of the
Burlington Manufacturing Company; as presi
dent of the Farmers & Mechanics' Savings In
stitute and Trust Company; as vice-president of
the Merchants' National Bank ; as president of the
Burlington Law Library and as treasurer of the
Governor Chittenden Memorial Association. For
many years he was a member of the board of trus
tees of the University of Vermont, and for fifteen
years. served as deacon in the College Street Con
gregational church.
In February, 1846,, Judge Wales married
Elizabeth Chickering Mason, of Burlington, a
•daughter of Sells Mason. She passed away in
¦death April 12, 1886, after becoming the mother
of two children, George W. and Henry H., but
the latter died at the age of two and one-half
-years. George W. Wales, the elder son, was born
July 10, 1855, and was educated in the Univer
sity of Vermont, after which he acted as private
secretary for Senator- Morrill and for Senator
Dawes, while later he was secretary of civil and
military affairs for Governor John L. Barstow.
He studied law in the office of Wales & Taft,
and after his admission to the bar entered into
partnership with his father, as previously stated,
continuing as junior member of the firm of Wales
•& Wales until his death, in 1890. He was a bright
and promising lawyer, a valued citizen and a man
of sterling integrity and worth. He was a di
rector of the Mary Fletcher Hospital and of the
Burlington Savings Bank, and in his social re
lation was an active member of the Episcopal
church arid of the Young Men's Christian Asso
ciation. Judge Wales' second marriage occurred in
July, 1888, at the Quincy House, Boston, to Mrs.

Helen M. White, nee Mason, a daughter of G. L.
Mason, of Boston, Massachusetts. She was a
niece of his first wife, and her death occurred
in 1896. After the death of his second wife
Judge Wales resided in his home on College
street, having the devoted care of his daughter-
in-law, Mrs. George W. Wales, in his declining
years. He passed into eternal rest on the 5th of
July, 1902. In his high office of judge and in his
private practice he was the friend of the widow
and orphan, and many such will "rise up and call
him blessed." As a citizen he was public-spirited
and devoted to the best interests of the city and
community, and in politics he was an earnest Re
publican from the organization of the party until-
he ceased to care for the things of earth. In his
private life he was all that is estimable, and he
will ever be remembered as a good officer, a good
citizen and a good Christian.
TITE FAIRBANKS FAMILY OF ST.
JOHNSBURY, VERMONT.
All of the Fairbanks name in this country
are the descendants of Jonathan Ffayerbanke,
a Puritan of some means, who came to Boston
in 1633, bringing with him the house framed of
English oak which he eregted in Dedham in 1636,
and which has been occupied by a Fairbanks
family ever since, being still' standing, and likely'
to be kept in its present condition by the incor
porated "Fairbanks Family in America." Richard
Ffayerbanke, the first postmaster and the early
innkeeper of Boston seems to have been a cousin
of Jonathan, but he had no sons to bear the name.
The virility of the Fairbanks stock is attested by
the fact that more than five thousand now living
trace their ancestry to the immigrant Jonathan,
and in hundreds of places they have made the
name honorable. George, the second son of
Jonathan and of his wife Grace, came with his
father from England (the town of Sowerby in
the West Riding of Yorkshire) , resided in Ded
ham until 1657, then removed to Sherborne, now
Medford, where he was selectman and an honored
citizen. PL's fourth child, Eliezur, born June 8,
1655, became a leading man in Sherborne, married
Martha  -A- His sixth child, "Captain"
Eleazur, born in Sherborne, December 29, 1690,
married Martha, daughter of Captain Samuel -

GOVERNOR OF VERMONT, 1852-3, 1860-

MetrtfpolttimMlwIttmj &&,jrmmj Ca. Boston,.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ioc>

BuUard, December 25, 1712, and died there Sep
tember 19, 1741. His eleventh child, Ebenezer,
known as "Deacon Ebeneezer," born June 1, 1734,
married, July 2, 1761, Elizabeth Dearth, removed
to Brimfield in 1783, and died there June 6, 1812.
He was one of the minute-men who went to Lex
ington April 19, 1775, with the rank of lieutenant,
and was afterward in the Revolutionary army.
His second son, Joseph, born in Sherborne,
November 1, 1763, moved with his father to'
Brimfield, surrendered to his cousin Rufus his
opportunity to join his childless uncle Joseph in
Halifax and become heir to his large property,
feeling that he ought to remain with his father
until the newly purchased farm was paid for.
This having been placed out of danger, he bought
a neighboring farm for himself, and marrying
Phebe Paddock, brought not only his bride but
also her father and mother to the new home. It
seems probable that her filial devotion, she be
ing unwilling to leave her parents, as well as
his own obligation to his father, was influential
in deciding him to decline the golden opportun
ity offered him in Halifax, and he won his wife.
The ancestry of Phebe Paddock, mother of •
Erastus, Thaddeus and Joseph P. Fairbanks, is
interesting. Burke's "Vicissitudes of Families"
gives the record of the honorable family of Say
er, from the beginning of the fourteenth century.
In the troublous times of Henry VIII, Richard
Saver broke with his family, over the question of
the church, and with his wife Anne Bourchier
Knivent went to Holland. She was a descendant of
Sir John Bourchier, Earl of Ewe, by Arihe Plan
tagenet his wife, who was a granddaughter of
Edward III. John Bourchier Sayer, son of
Richard and Anne, married a daughter of Admi
ral Sir John Hawkins. His, eldest son John
Bourchier married into the family of Count Eg
mont, the victim of the Duke of Alva, and died
in 1629. His elder son, Richard, became a dis-.
ciple of John Robinson in Leyden, broke with
his Catholic parents in Amsterdam, and in 1630
came with the last of the Pilgrims to Plymouth
colony, married Dorothy Thatcher, and later re
moved to Yarmouth. . He had three sons, Knivet,
Paul 'and .Silas, and one daughter Deborah who
married Zechariah Paddock. This Deborah
Sears (as the family had come to write the name)
was the daughter of the honorable houses of

Plantagenet, Knivet, Bourchier, Egmoiit and"
Hastings. Robert Paddock, the father of Zechar
iah, was living in Plymouth in 1634, and prob
ably earlier, with his wife Mary, and died July
25, 1650. Zechariah, second of his five children*
was born in Plymouth, March 20, 1636, married.
Deborah Sears in 1659, represented Yarmouth
as deputy three successive years, and died May
1, 1727. The record says "he left of his own
posterity forty-eight grandchildren and- thirty-
eight great-grandchildren, and he obtained the-
character of a righteous man." Of his eight-
children, Zachariah the second was born Ap'rili
14, 1664, lived in Yarmouth, married Bethia  ,.
and, after her death, a second wife Mary H.
Thatcher, widow of Deacon Thacher, of the
South church, Boston, in 1708, and died leaving
thirteen children. Of these the eldest, Ichabod,
born June 1, 1687, lived in Yarmouth, Middle
boro and Fall Brook, married Joanna Faunce,
daughter of "the Godly Elder Faunce," who was
ruling elder in Plymouth from 1686 to 1741. His.
care preserved Plymouth Rock. Of the nine chil
dren of Ichabod and Joanna Paddock, James,.
born April 11, 1730, was the youngest. He mar
ried Ann Huxham, of Fall River, and lived in-
Western, Holland, Dartmouth and Brimfield. Of;
their ten children, the second, Phebe, born Sep
tember 8, 1760, died May 5, 1853, who married".
Joseph Fairbanks, October 21, 1790, was the sec
ond and her brothers, James born March 17, 1765,
and Ephraim, born January 4, 1780, judge of the-
supreme court, are honored name's in Vermont.
WTith such an ancestry, a worthy Puritan on
their father's side, arid an Jionored Pilgrim on
their mother's Erastus Fairbanks, born October
28; 1792^ Thaddeus, borri January 17, 1796, and
Joseph Paddock, borri November 26, 1806, in
herited what was strongest and finest in both
lines.
ERASTUS FAIRBANKS.'
Nearly all who bear the name of Fairbanks.
in America have Jonathan for their father. This
"Jonathan Fayerbancke" came in 1633 from Sow-
erby, West Riding of Yorkshire, to Boston. Three-
years later he built in Contentment, now Dedham,
a house which has been continuously owned and
occupied by the family for more than two and a-

I 10

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

half centuries — a quaint and notable structure, un
changed to-day in the midst of modern surround
ings. Industry, sobriety, thrift, good citizenship
have been well marked characteristics of all
branches of this family from the first.
In the seventh generation from Jonathan, was
Joseph of Brimfield, a farmer and mechanic of
the substantial New England type. His wife,
Phoebe Paddock, was a woman of remarkable
strength and energy of mind — a strain of Planta-
igenet blood was in the family. The dignity, force
and character of Joseph and Phoebe Fairbanks
found wider scope for influence in their three
:sons, Erastus, Thaddeus and Joseph P., founders
of the Fairbanks Scale industry.
Erastus was the pioneer of this family. He
was born at Brimfield, Massachusetts, October
28, 1792. At the age of nineteen, he made his
way up into the obscure township of St. Johns
bury, in northeastern Vermont. For ten years
thereafter he was trained in" a severe school of
¦ discouragements and adversities. But his faith
was strong and his sense of duty rigorous. "Res
olutely he handled the simple and obvious ele
ments of his destiny. He shrunk from nothing,
complained of nothing, but tried his young
strength on the objects and opportunities that
met him, wrestling for the prizes of life in a con
fident brave way, all unconscious that he was
wrestling with the angel of God, little thinking
that even then he had power as a prince and pre
vailed." Out of successive reverses, he brought
habits of frugality, industry, persistence, ma
tured religious convictions and character, prac
tical knowledge of men and of various business.
Meantime his parents and brothers had fol
lowed him to St. Johnsbury, where operations
were begun on a small water power in "Fair
banks' Village" for the manufacture of stoves,
plows, and other articles needed in the rural com
munity. Presently the inventive genius of his
brother Thaddeus hit upon the device of a plat
form on which a loaded wagon could be drawn
and weighed. This was the signal for a new
-order of things. The invention was patented in
1830, and shortly afterward the three brothers,
-men of strong individuality, tenacious purpose
and generous ideals, established the firm of E.
and T. Fairbanks & Company for the manufacture
and marketing of the Fairbanks platform scales.

Erastus Fairbanks as head of the firm was already
recognized as a man of mark, and of uncompro
mising sincerity. His skilful and energetic man-'
agement of affairs brought him into wider rela- ¦
tions with men. In 1836 he was sent to the leg
islature and at once took rank as a leader, especi
ally in every issue of education and good morals.
One of his colleagues in the house who served
with him on important committees says : " In the
execution of his official duties he was ardent, con
scientious and faithful : he retained the confi
dence of all parties, and I can confidently say that
no man of my acquaintance in Vermont com
manded more unqualified respect than he. Pos
sessing good, practical sense, ready discrimina
tion and great quickness of perception, he was a
sagacious and prudent politician, a safe and ju
dicious counselor and a successful business man."
He was chosen a presidential elector of the
Whig party in 1844., again in 1848, but declined
a nomination to Congress. Meanwhile he was
vigorously pushing the construction of the Con
necticut & Passumpsic River Railroad, of which
he was the first president, and in November,
1850, he greeted the arrival of the first locomo
tive that ran into St. Johnsbury.
Two years later, 1852, he was elected gover
nor of Vermont. " His administration was firm
and judicious, eminently healthful in its tone."
Amongst other important legislative acts, he had
the satisfaction of affixing his signature to the
prohibitory liquor law, which with some, modi
fications remained in force for fifty years.
Temporary opposition to this measure brought
in a Democratic governor at the next election.
But in i860 Erastus Fairbanks was called a sec
ond time to the front, and, as it proved, to be
known now as the war governor. At the first
stage of the war the situation was exceedingly
embarrassing, but such confidence had the peo
ple in Governor Fairbanks' wisdom and integrity
that "the extra session of legislature which met
eight days after the firing upon Sumpter, had
the good sense to place at his disposal a million
of dollars, putting no check upon the use of it
only as his judgment might deem prudent and
best. To those acquainted with his good judg
ment, strict integrity, his high sense of impartial
right, his systematic business habits, early and
continuously trained to grasp business matters

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

m

on a large scale — the result was no surprise."
In acknowledgment of his delicate and laborious
official acts the senate and house passed joint
•resolutions of appreciation and thanks. On his.
retirement from office it was found that "the sal
ary to which he was entitled was never touched,
and it still remains in the treasury- of the state,
another evidence of his generous love for Ver
mont, whose interests were dearer to him than
his own, and an honor to both people and execu
tive." During his entire life Governor Fairbanks
was a leader in the support of public morals, of
political and business integrity, and religion. He
was for fifty years a pillar in the Congregational
church, he served officially on many benevolent:
boards to which he gave liberal contribution of
money, time and personal attentions. He was a
corporate member of the American Board . of
Foreign Missions, and one of the three laymen of
the committee of thirteen on the deputation to
India. In 1849 he was made president of the
Vermont Domestic Missionary Society, earn
estly supporting its work for the moral welfare
of the state until his removal by. death. He was
for twenty years a member of .the corporation
of the University of Vermont, from which insti
tution he received the honorary degree of LL.
D. in i860.
Erastus Fairbanks' life in Vermont covered
fifty-two years. During every year of that per-.
iod he made himself felt as "a positive quantity
and power" in" manifold ways. His life was a
continuous contribution to good citizenship, to
the improvement of town and village affairs., to
the promotion of industrial enterprises, of educa
tion, of sound morals, to the healthy development
of all public interests. His death at St. Johns
bury, November 20, 1864, at the age of seventy-
two, removed from earth a man of great original
force, noble presence, wide and varied usefulness.
Family memoranda.— Erastus Fairbanks mar-.
ried, May 30, 1815, Lois, daughter of Samuel
and Lois (Chamberlin) Crossman, of Peacham.
Their children were: Jane, born December 3,
1816, married Ephraim Jewett, January 26/1837.
died March 29, 1852. George, born January 21,
1819, died April 20, 1843. Horace, born March
21, 1820, died March 17, 1888. Charles, born
December 8, 1821, died February 8, 1898. Julia,

born June 9, 1824, married John H, Paddock,
February 11, 1857, died June 10, 1884. Frank
lin, born June 18, 1828, died April 24, 1895.
Sarah, born June 30, 183 1, married Charles M.
Stone, May 4, 1858. Emily, born March 4, 1833,
married Rev. C. S. Goulde, May 5, 1859.- Ellen,
born July 27, 1836, died May 28, 1843.
Franklin Fairbanks, son of Erastus Fair
banks, was born June 18, 1828, and died April
24, 1895. His early familiarity with the foundry
and machine shops of- Fairbanks village stimu
lated a native aptitude for mechanical pursuits
and easily determined what his course in life was
to be. After completing his academic studies he
entered the scale factory in his eighteenth year,
and became familiar with details of draughting,
construction and practical mechanics, also with

THE FAIRBANKS' MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCE.
various office work. Nine years later, in 1856,
he was admitted to partnership in the firm, of
which h^ father, Erastus Fairbanks, was presi
dent. His connection with the scale business
covered fifty years, his life in St. Johnsbury sixty-
eight years.
Besides a natural turn for mechanics, he had
an ingenious and inventive mind, and as the de
mand for scales of various sorts increased he se
cured patents for: new devices and adjustments,
among them the revolving beam for letter bal
ances, adopted by the government for use in the
postoffice. He served for many years as superin
tendent of the corporation of E. & T. Fairbanks
& Company, and after the death of his brother
Horace, in 1888, he succeeded to the presidency

112

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

of this, and of other business organizations at
home and elsewhere.
From early life he took generous interest in
public affairs and many expressions of popular
confidence came naturally to him. He became
an accomplished presiding officer, often called to
the chair at political or religious conventions. He
was a member of the staff of Governor Hiland
Hall in 1858, also of Governor Erastus Fairbanks
in i860. During the Civil war he superinteded
the manufacture of artillery and harness irons
for the government. He represented St. Johns
bury in the state legislature in 187 1-2-3, and the
last two years of this period he was speaker of
the house. For some twenty years he was an
active member of the state Republican committee.
He was a member of the Masonic fraternity ; in
1877 ne received the honorary degree of A. M.
from -Dartmouth college. He appreciated the
honor and this opportunity of serving as direc
tor or exucutive officer in various corporations,
railway, telegraph, mining, manufacturing,
banking, and aided to give a practical turn to
whatever was in hand.
His keen appreciation of the natural ¦ world
made him., very; observant .of its, aspects
and productions. He kept metorologieaf tables,
studied stars and , rocks and trees , and - living-
things. Few birds flew among the , hills . that
he could not identify by peculiarities of - color,
song or habits. He became an enthusiastic col
lector of objects of interest of every sort — min
erals, birds, insects, mammealia, also specimens
representing a wide range, of entomology and
archeology. These collections, which were more
than half a century's accumulation of increasing
ly rare value ai\d variety, were placed in a capa
cious building, incorporated and presented to
the town of St. Johnsbury in 1891, under the
name of the Museum of Natural Science — this
was designed to be one of the educational fea
tures of the town, affiliated with the Academy,
Athenaeum and Union Schools. In the class
room of the museum the graded schools hold reg
ular sessions for nature study under guidance of
the director.
Colonel Fairbanks did much for the good of
society : he was full of geniality and kindly humor
always interested in children and young people.
He maintained most friendly acquaintances with

the factory men,- and did much in this way to
secure good feeling and business prosperity.
For more than thirty years he was superinten
dent of the North church Sunday school. Also^
for a long time he was on the international Sun
day school lesson committee. He was a trustee
of St. Johnsbury Academy, of Northfield Semi
nary, founded by Mr. Moody, of Rollins College,
Florida. In these and other services to the in
terests of education, of religion and of missions
he worked with zeal, multiplying the wholesome
influences of a Christian life.
He married December 8, 1852, Frances A.,
daughter of Rev. Summer G. and Pamelia
(Stone) Clapp, of St. Johnsbury. Children:
Mary Florence, born July 26, 1859, married,
September 8, 1886, Dr. J. T. Herrich, of
Springfield, Massachusetts; Ellen Henrietta,
born June 29, 1862, married January 29; 1896,
Frank H. Brooks, of St. Johnsbury ; two other
children died 'in infancy.
Horace, the second son of Erastus Fairbanks,
was born at Barnet, March 21, 1820, and died in
New York city, March 17, 1888. In the Cale
donia county grammar school and Phillips Ando
ver Academy he received excellent academic
training and at the age of twenty he became con
fidential clerk of the firm of E. and T. ^Fairbanks
& Company, then in the tenth year orthe scale
manufacturing busiriess. Three years later he-
was admitted to partnership. At that time the-
annual sales were about fifty thousand dollars:
he lived to see this volume of business*' sixty-
folded, to three million dollars in a single year.
On the death of Erastus Fairbanks he became
president of the firm and subsequently of the-
corporation, which position he held till his own
death twenty-four years later, His administra
tive and business abilities, his skillful manage
ment of the finances and the confidence which his
personal character inspired, gave increasing scope
and stability to the business, and brought the
corporation through successive periods of finan
cial stress with steady progress and well estab
lished credit.
His services were sought by many other asso
ciations. He was director and president of the
First National Bank of St. Johnsbury, an officer
of the Tamarack Mining Company, one of the
leading incorporators of the Maritime Canal

The Lewis Publishing Co

L.-.JL.Struc7t

Wyy-^-*-^ (TPUsA—fwJW^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

"3

Company of Nicaragua, organized for the con
struction of a ship canal across the isthmus. He
was one of the fqunders and supportors of the
St. Johnsbury Academy, a trustee of the Uni
versity of Vermont, and of Andover Theological
Seminary, a corporate member of the American '
Board. In 1868 Mr. Fairbanks went to Portland to
unfold a plan which he had been maturing for a
railroad from Portland to Ogdensburg, by way
of the White Mountain Hotel and St. Johnsbury.
This was at the time regarded with disfavor as
an impracticable scheme; ultimately, however, it
was entered into heartily by Portland 'capitalists
and others who became convinced of its feasi
bility and importance. It took nine years to com
plete the construction; on the 17th of July, 1877,
the last spike was driven by Horace Fairbanks,
president of the Vermont division. .
He was not a man of political ambitions ; he
accepted public responsibilities when they came to
him, as a trust to be seriously held. He was, a
delegate from Vermont to the National Republi
can convention of 1864 and 1872, on which occa
sion Lincoln and Grant were nominated for their
second terms. He was made presidential elector
atdarge in 1868, and in the following year was
elected state senator from Caledonia county, but
was detained from his seat by sickness.
Early in the canvas of 1876, his name' began
to be mentioned as a candidate for governor of
the state. This was without his consent and
wholly contrary to his wishes. He distinctly
said so and refused to be considered a candidate.
At the nominating convention, neither of three
leading candidates being able to carry its vote,
Horace Fairbanks was nominated unanimously
by acclamation. The first tidings of this reached
him by a telegram which said, "You are to be gov
ernor of Vermont in spite of yourself." He was
elected by a majority of 23,721 votes. St. Johns
bury gave him more than the total number of
votes polled in any previous election. His inaug
ural message attracted wide attention for its
plain and vigorous handling of matters needing
reformed and advanced methods, notably the man-f
agement of prisons and jails. Many of his recom
mendations were promptly adopted : his adminis
tration was progressive, judicious and whole
some. 8

Iii the welfare of the town of. which he was
a life-long honored citizen, Governor Fairbanks
was deeply interested. Churches, schools and
public works never failed to receive from him
cordial attention and generous support. In 1871
he presented to the town the noble institution
endowed and incorporated under the name of the
St. Johnsbury Athenaeum. This included the
free public library building, opened with eight
thousand volumes, also the art gallery of paint
ings and statuary containing representative works
of American and foreign artists. The central
feature of the art gallery is "The Domes of the
Yosemite," one of Bierstadt's masterpieces. The
collections of engravings and books illustrating
the history of art are of great value.
Horace Fairbanks was a man of fine and noble
nature, of great dignity of presence and sweet
ness of character. He united breadth of view
with firmness of personal convictions. The reso
luteness with which he held his matured opinions
was graced with an unfailing courtesy and gen
tleness. To a native fineness of perception and
taste he added the refinements of a generous cul
ture and familiarity with the world's best thought
and art. The mark of distinction was on all
that he originated or did. His modest and beau
tiful home "Pinehurst," with its park-like sur
roundings', as well as the characteristic features
and equipments of the Athenaeum and the North
church embody and perpetuate much of his ripe
thought and sentiment. He was iarge and no
ble in his liberality. "He was good for every
mood. He carried the health of the mountain
wind with him, whithersoever he went. He was
the center of sacred friendships. He made the
kingdom,, of God visible in this world by the nat
ural nobility of his nature, by inward goodness
and faith." His sudden death in the prime of
his usefulness was universally lamented.
He married, at Derry, New Hampshire, Aug
ust 9, 1849, Mary E., daughter of Captain Janies
ahd Persie (Hemphill) Taylor. Children, Helen
Taylor, born December 17, 1854, died March 18,
1864. Agnes, born August 12, i860, married
Ashton R. Willard, , of Boston, September 19,
1886. Isabel, born November 6, 1881, married
' Albert L. Farwell, of St. Johnsbury, September,
1889, died July 2, 1891.
Thaddeus Fairbanks, mechanic, inventor

H4

THE STATE 'OF VERMONT.

and philanthropist, was born in Brimfield, Massa
chusetts, January 17, 1796, and died in St. Johns
bury, Vermont, April 12, 1886. He was rather
a Puritan than a Pilgrim ; men saw first strength
of character and then warmth of feeling. When
' he was born the family was in rather straitened
circumstances. It was slow work paying for the
farm, though Joseph Fairbanks was a carpenter
as well as farmer, the seasons were bad, crops
failed, Mr. and Mrs. Paddock were sick much ,
of the time and their expenses were heavy, and
in the years when the boys should have gone to
some academy there was no money to send them.
Thaddeus in later years used to speak of how
large the dollar seemed that must be paid for an
arithmetic. And he was so slenderly organized
and sick so much, that he was unable to always
attend the poor common schools of the neighbor
hood. A nervous child, growing too fast to ever
be strong, suffering in play with the rougher chil
dren, he spent his time with his mother and his
gentle grandmother. He describes his bashful
ness and timidity, how much it cost him to do
an errand and how he dared not begin to speak
until he had thought through what he would say.
So he acquired the silent, or slowly deliberate
habits that clung to him through life, and the
thoughtfulness that made men so constantly seek
his advice, and in mastering his timidity he ex
hibited a true heroism. In some ways he was
courageous enough. When he was five years old
he was found running on the high plates of a
building that his father was raising. His me
chanical tastes and inborn skill very early ap
peared as he began to use his father's tools, mak
ing articles convenient for the house, and keep
ing toy machinery at work by the brook behind
. the house. He inherited, and all his life culti
vated, the family tastes that made his father a
carpenter, and that are indicated in the inven
tory of the estate of Jonathan the immigrant, who
died in 1668. — "In the workeing celler, Item, 2
vices and one turneing laeth and other Seuch
things" and "In the haf e , chamber, Ite, many
Smalle tooles for turneing, and other the like
work," and indicated as well in the conveniences
¦ of the old house.
The Brimfield farm hardly afforded scope for
the enterprise of Joseph Fairbanks and his sons ;
Erastus followed his uncle Ephraim Paddock in

to Caledonia county, Vermont, and in May, 1815,
Joseph, after the death of Mr. and Mrs. Paddock,
sold all his property, and, coming to Vermont,
bought a water power on Sleeper's river in the
southwest corner of the town of St. Johnsbury,
where the Fairbanks Scale factory is located.
There he and his son Thaddeus built a dam and
a grist mill and sawmill, meeting the urgent need
of the new country, the family meanwhile living,
as pioneers do, in a rough board cabin. In a
shop over the gristmill they also made carriages,
and in 1892 a wagon was exhibited that had been
used every year since the father of the owner
bought it of Thaddeus Fairbanks in 1819. In
the summer of 181 8 Thaddeus Fairbanks built
a good double house in which his parents lived
the remainder of their lives, and to which, Jan
uary 17, 1820, he brought his bride, Lucy Peck
Barker (born April 29, 1798, died December
29, -1866), whose father Barnabas was in the
battle of Bunker Hill, also his father John was
a lieutenant in the Revolutionary army. Lucy's
mother Ruth, belonged to the honorable Peck
family of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The attention of Thaddeus Fairbanks, whose
mother's brothers, two of them, were iron-wor-'
ers, was directed to the iron mine of Franconia,
New Hampshire, and in 1823, he built a small
iron foundry near the sawmill, and the next year
was joined by his brother Erastus, who gave up
his store at Barnet, and, uniting his business ex
perience with the practical skill of Thaddeus,
formed the firm of E. & T. Fairbanks. They
began the manufacture of cast-iron stoves, pat
enting one which displaced the kitchen fireplaces,
and in 1826 Thaddeus patented a cast-iron plough
and introduced it against the prejudice of the
farmers, who believed in the wooden plough with
steel point, and said that his new kind "would
break all to pieces." For stoves and ploughs
he made the patterns largely with his own hands,
moulded many of them, improved the blast
furnace, and attended to the melting, mixing the
iron, and studying how to make strong castings.
In 1829-30 there was a great demand for hemp,
all the farmers were raising it, and E. & T. Fair
banks built three of the great Haynes hemp-
dressing machines, thirty-two feet long, with
sixty-five pairs of fluted rollers geared together,
between which the hemp straw was drawn.' Mr.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

i'5

Fairbanks made the gear wheels, and a machine
for fluting the rollers. In 1830 he patented a
hemp-dresser, and wasrnade manager of the St.
Johnsbury Hemp Company. Buying the hemp
straw which cost fifteen dollars a ton, it was
important to weigh it more accurately than could
he done by the rude lever hung from a high gal
lows frame, with chains taking hold of the
axles of the cart. Mr. Fairbanks first balanced
a platform on a single A-shaped lever, with de
vice to keep it from tipping, and then it occurred
to him that by using two such levers the four cor
ners of the platform could be supported, one lever
hung by its tip from the other at the center of
the scale, and that other with a long arm reach
ing to the rod connecting with the scale beam.
It is understood that various arrangements
of compound levers had been previously pro
posed, but with Mr. Fairbanks this was an
original invention, and the leading scale-maker
of England, who had been previously making
the giant Roman balances, like great steel
yards, to weigh . carts suspended by their
axles, had heard pf a platform scale, and
he bought the right to patent Mr. Fair
banks' device in Great Britain, and he and his
sons have built up a great business in this line.
Mr. Fairbanks at once saw that the plan of the
hemp scale could be adapted to other sizes for
other uses, and designed store, platform and coun
ter scales, and later canal-boat and railway-track
¦scales. Before his death nearly a thousand modi
fications were placed upon the market, ranging
from the scale that would weigh one tenth of a
grain to one that would accurately weigh five
hundred tons.
In designing these he had nothing to guide
him, everything must be original. He says, "I
had to consider the strength of material, the shape
that would secure the greatest strength with the
least material, and' the symmetry and beauty of
outside appearance. These, especially the last,
required a great amount of study. No one can
be sure beforehand what the taste of the public
will approve. f That I succeeded in what I aimed
at is shown by the fact that now after fifty years
the scales are made after the same design, and
other makers follow the same. My evenings, and
sometimes nights, were spent in this study, for
1 must be at the shop all day. My habit was to

make the plans complete in niy mind before com
mencing to put them on paper." This, which was
written twenty-five years ago, is still true of the
construction and style of the American scales.
By his night work Mr. Fairbanks became no
mean draftsman, and, having to build so much,
first shops, and then tenement houses, churches,
and academy buildings, he grew into an accom
plished architect as well, his taste being excel
lent, as many buildings in St. Johnsbury show.
Piis real strength of character is proved by
the difficulties which he overcame in the growth
of his business, a growth so rapid that it did not
furnish capital for its own needs, in the lack of
skilled workmen, he having to train all his men,
and in the necessity of building his own machines
for the scale work, some of these machines be
ing very ingenious, and requiring much more
inventive ability than the scales themselves. The
Fairbanks scale was not a pair of scales, shells,
as in the even balance, but a scale (scala-ladder)
named from the equal divisions of the scale beam
which is a scale of equal parts.
It is interesting to note the effect of this in
vention upon the methods of doing business, and
its influence, second only to the uses of steam
and electricity. We hear ho more of measured
bushels, of gallons, of chaldrons, or of articles
sold by count. Everything is weighed, and the
scale holds the business world to accuracy and
strict integrity, being an absolutely reliable arbi
ter between buyer and seller.
Besides the scale, the cast-iron plough, and the
cast-iron stove, Mr. Fairbanks invented a re
frigerator in which the ice is placed above the
. articles to be cooled, upon which the cooled air,
having deposited its tainted vapors, descends
from the ice, and an effective circulation is kept
up. He had no capital to invest in building re
frigerators, and gave away his patent Which
afterwards was valued at over- a million of, dol
lars, and, after a series of hard-fought patent
suits, the evidence of the priority of his invention
was declared to be "perfectly cqnclusive." This
arrangement first proposed by him is now fol
lowed in all modern refrigerators, refrigerator
cars, and in the great packing houses, and this
invention, like that of the scale, the stove and
the cast-iron plough, has proved revolutionary.
The Fairbanks scales have won the highest

H6

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

awards in almost numberless mechanical and ag
ricultural fairs and in all the world fair exposi
tions, receiving twenty awards by the judges at
Chicago in 1893. Mr. Fairbanks also received
the knightly decoration of the Order of Francis
Joseph, and decorations from the King of Siam
and the Bey of Tunis, for the scales are adapted
to all standards of weight, and go to all coun
tries. Mr. Fairbanks felt most keenly the lack of
educational opportunity, consequent upon ill
health and poverty, and he was most intensely
interested in providing for others. He and his
son have made a liberal education possible for
more than a hundred students in academies and
colleges ; he endowed a professorship in Middle
bury College, where he was a ^trustee, • gave lib
erally to many western colleges, and for St.
Johnsbury Academy, which he and his brothers
established in 1842, he provided, in buildings,
for current expenses, and for invested fund,
more than two hundred thousand dollars. He
was also for many years the largest contributor
to the work of the Vermont Domestic Mission
ary Society, and not less to the foreign work, and
to other objects a liberal giver.
Mr. Fairbanks never had good health, but
perhaps on this very account took such care of
himself that few men have lived as long or ac
complished as much. With old age his eyes be
came dim, but his mind was always clear, and
he received his thirty-fifth patent on his nineti
eth birthday. Although so taciturn, he was an
attractive man, and made a strong impression
on those who met him. A little child taken to
church for the first time saw him come in and in
an awed whisper asked, "Mama, is that Jesus?"
He died April 12, 1886. On the day of his fun
eral all business was suspended, the public build
ings were draped in mourning, and hundreds
came to look once more on his face, and joined
the procession to his grave. A man of fine native
gifts, of Christian faith, and of spiritual insight
and force, Mr. Fairbanks was successful above
most men in his chosen lines of work, and was
useful wherever he was successful.
Henry Fairbanks, manufacturer and inven
tor, St. Johnsbury, was born in St. Johnsbury,
Vermont, May 6, 1830, the only son of Sir Thad

deus, the famous inventor, and Lucy Peck (Bar
ker) Fairbanks. The family, so widely known
and highly honored in Vermont and other states,
trace their descent from Jonathan Fairbanks, who
emigrated to this country from Sowerby, York
shire, England, in 1633, and settled in Dedham,
Massachusetts, where he built, in 1636, a house
which is still standing. The line descends
through Captain George, who died in 1682 ; Elie-
zur, born 1655, who was selectman of Sherborn,
Massachusetts; Captain Eleasur, born 1690,
member of the general court; Deacon Ebenezer,
born 1734; and Joseph, born 1763, to Thaddeus,.
who was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts, in
1796, and in 181 5 came thence with his father to
Sf. Johnsbury, then a new settlement, where they
owned the falls of Sleeper's river, and did a thriv
ing business as millers and manufacturers of car
riages. Henry Fairbanks received his early educa
tion at Lyndon Academy, for three terms; at
Pinkerton Academy, Derry, New Hampshire, for
a year, and in St. Johnsbury Academy, then
newly established by his father and uncles. Here,
1842-7, he fitted for college under Principal J.
K. Colby. But his mechanical tastes were strong
in him, and he spent more time in the shops than
in school. In 1848 he took passage, for his
health, in a sailing vessel for Europe, where he
spent nearly a year. Returning to Dartmouth
College in the spring of 1850, he was graduated
in 1853, ranking high, especially in mathematics
and physics. From college he went to And-
ever Theological Seminary. In the spring . of
1856 he again laid down his books, and in com
pany with Principal Taylor, of Phillips Andover
Academy, went through Egypt, Palestine, Greece,
Italy and Switzerland, where he made the ascent
of Mont. Blanc, then a rare feat. Returning, he
re-entered the seminary and graduated in the
class of 1857.
He was ordained in 1858, and took up work
under the auspices of the Domestic Missionary
Society in behalf of the weakest churches of Ver
mont, doing a work that resulted in bringing
new life to many churches that were nearly ex
tinct, and in giving a permanent ministry to more
than twenty churches. Hoping for improvement
of health, in i860 Mr. Fairbanks accepted the

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

117

chair of physics and later that pf natural history
in Dartmouth College, which he filled with suc
cess, till in 1869 he returned to St. Johnsbury.
There he was perfecting various inventions, and
-preaching where there was no other supply, and
doing much religious work. He was the first
president, under its new constitution, of the con
vention of Congregational ministers and churches
of Vermont, and later and until now. president
•of the Vermont Domestic Missionary Society.
For some years after 1875 the state convention
of the Young Men's Christian Association car
ried on an evangelistic work in Vermont, result
ing in large additions to the churches, and Mr.
Fairbanks was prominent in this work, after the
first year having charge, and directing it as sec
retary. He has for twenty-five years been, a
-corporate member of the American Board of
Foreign Missions, has been a member of five
-of the . national councils of Congregational
churches, and was a delegate to the international
council in London in 1891, in which year he
-traveled with his family in Europe, also to the
international council in Boston in 1899. He
has been since 1870 a trustee of Dartmouth Col
lege, and for many years president of the trustees
-of St. Johnsbury Academy.
Of late years Mr. Fairbanks has devoted him
self more to business, developing some of his in
ventions, for which he has. received a score and
a half of patents, and has given more and more
attention to the extensive business of E. & T.
Fairbanks & Company, of which corporation he
is vice president.
Mr. Fairbanks married, in "Hanover, New
Hampshire, April 30, 1862, Annie S., daughter
¦of Professor Daniel J., D. D. (of Dartmouth
'College), and Jane M. (Aiken) Noyes. She died
September 11, 1872; and May 5, 1874, he con
tracted a second marriage with Ruthy, a daugh
ter of Phineas and Jacintha (Barker) Page, of
Newport, Vermont. The children of the first
marriage are: Arthur, born in November, 1864;
Robert Noyes, born in November, 1866; Lucy,
horn in October, 1868; Charlotte, born in De
cember, 1871. Of the second marriage, Albert
Thaddeus, born in July, 1876, died in December,
1891 ; Marion, born in April, 1881 ; Dorothy,
horn in March, 1887; Ruth Comfort Fairbanks,
horn in May, 1892, died in September, 1893.

JOSEPH PADDOCK FAIRBANKS.
Joseph P. Fairbanks, was born November
26, 1806, died May 15, 1855. Iri November,
1828, after admission to the bar and a year's
practice with his uncle Judge Ephraim Paddock,
he opened a law office on St. Johnsbury Plain.
The current of events, however, was opening, for
him a different course, and in 1833 he accepted
the call of his older brothers to join them in the
manufacture of the newly invented platform
scales. To this enterprise he brought versatil
ity of mind and business abilities of the very first
order. Much of the early success of E. & T.
Fairbanks & Company was due to his sagacity,
minute attention to details, facility in dealing with
men arid circumstances. His mind was alert,
capacious, always hungry. While discharging
his business duties expertly and successfully, he
also prosecuted wide and exact studies in his
tory, literature, science and problems of social
order. On taking his seat at Montpelier in the legis
lature of 1845, it was evident to all that here was
a man who carried the public welfare as a burden
on his heart. His denunciation of slavery and
of the Mexican war, his appeals for legislative
action in the interest of temperance and of popu
lar education, commanded attention and assent.
He did much in many ways to secure the final
adoption of the prohibitory liquor law, and it
was chiefly through his influence that the bill in
troduced by him "For the Improvement of Com
mon Schools" became a law. This however, was
but the beginning of his laborious efforts to se
cure for the state of Vermont educational ideals
and reiprms. His voluminous correspondence
with Ex-Gevernor Eaton, first superintendent of
schools under the new law, reveals his watchful,
eager anxiety for practical results, his energetic
efforts to awaken and sustain public interest, his
quiet way of making up deficits, his profnotion
of state and county educational associations and
establishment of The Vermont School Journal.
Partisan interests in the legislature of 1,851 caused
the School Act to be negatived — a heavy blow
to its originator, who, looking on the state be
reft of a superintendent of schools, remarks : "I
have so loved Vermont, and felt so proud of her
reputation wherever I have traveled in other

n8

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

parts of the Union, that I can hardly endure the
thought of her degredation." But the toils of
these years were not without ultimate results,
though he died without the sight thereof ; the ef
ficient system of public schools now in force
owes more than most men know to the far-sighted
plans and exacting labors of Joseph P. Fair
banks. He also took the leading part in founding St.
Johnsbury Academy in 1842, a school which from
the first has ranked among the best in New Eng
land, and to which the Fairbanks Brothers ulti
mately contributed several hundred thousand
dollars. His activities for the public good took wide
range. He had no liking for political office or
popular fame, but in quiet ways he was con
tinuously influencing public opinion toward
higher standards of life and character. He sent
out hundreds of pages of letters and press arti-
, cles on almost every theme of current import
ance^ — such as farming and stock-raising, prac
tical science, meteorology, homelife, books and
reading, religious and political issues, the Sab
bath, slavery, temperance, education, missions,
benevolence. A good while before the publica
tion of Irving's "Life of Washington" he was
urging that author to serve his countrymen by
writing a history of the United States. In, the
columns of one of the Boston papers he advo-^
cated the establishment of a city public library
two years before the corner stone of that insti
tution was laid.
These miscellaneous activities did not en
croach upon his business efficiepcy; his work in
the firm of which he was junior partner was con
sidered expert and invaluable; he was selected
to be first president of the Passumpsic Bank;
many important and delicate trusts were com
mitted to him. He could stoutly maintain his ,
personal convictions without ever alienating the
love and confidence of those who differed from
him. He served the church with ardent devo
tion. He was aboundingly and modestly benevo
lent, distributing multitudes of gifts anonymously
and with a fine sense of adaptation; his purse was
open freely to every worthy cause; the larger
part of his property was bequeathed to benevo
lent objects, religious and educational. He
crowded a long life into a few years and died

as a consequence, prematurely, at the age of
forty-eight. He married, in Derry, New Hamp
shire, June 11, 1835, Almira Taylor, daugh
ter of Captain James and Persis (Hemphill)
Taylor, and left two sons, Edward Taylor and
William Paddock.
Rev. .Edward Taylor Fairbanks, D. D.,
St. Johnsbury, was born in that town, in Cale
donia county, May 12, 1836, son of Joseph P,
and Almira (Taylor) Fairbanks; his ancestral
history is given above. He was educated at
St. Johnsbury Academy and Phillips Andover
Academy, Massachusetts. He graduated from
Yale College in 1859, and took the theological
course at Andover Seminary.
Mr. Fairbanks spent two and a half years
abroad for study and travel in Europe and the
east. He was ordained pastor of the First Con
gregational church of St. Johnsbury Center, Jan
uary 1, 1868. From January- 30, 1874, to July
15, 1902, he was pastor of the South Congrega
tional church of St. Johnsbury, completing, with
one exception, the longest continued active pas
torate of the Congregational order in the state,
during this period. He has a responsible part
in the management of the St. Johnsbury Acad
emy, the Athenaeum and the Museum, and is
foremost in all movements looking toward the
welfare of his native town. In 1893 the Univer
sity of Vermont conferred upon him the honor
ary degree of Doctor of Divinity.
He is the author of the history of the St.
Johnsbury, also of "The Wrought Brim, twelve
discourses given in the South Church,"
- He was married in Derry, New Hampshire,
July 9, 1862, to Emma Cornelia, daughter of
Guy C. and Sally M. Taplln, of Montpelier ; they
have one child: Cornelia Taylor Fairbanks.
William P. Fairbanks was born July 27,
1840 and died December 15, 1895. He inherited
in a marked degree the business abilitites of his
father Joseph P. Fairbanks. After graduation
from St. Johnsbury Academy, he entered Dart
mouth College, but left before completing his
course there, to engage in business. He spent
some years in the office of E. & T. Fairbanks
& Company, was admitted to partnership and
on the incorporation of the company in 1874 he
was appointed secretary and treasurer. He was
also secretary and treasurer of the St. Johns-

ST. JOHHSBURY ATHEHECTH.

ART GALLERY OF ST. JOHHSBURY ATHEHEUH. Interior.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

bury & Lake Champlain Railroad Company,
and held offices of trust in other corporations!
He represented his native town with ability
in the legislature of 1884-1886. He was a mem
ber of Governor Pingree's staff. Tn 1888 he
went to New York, accepting the position of
secretary of "Fairbanks & Company" of that
city, where he remained till his death, which oc
curred suddenly December 15, 1895.
William P. Fairbanks was a man of force
and strong personality. He was sagacious,
facile and exact in business, always moving with
a sort of military precision toward his mark,
fulfilling his duties with celerity, strictness and
skill. He made strong friendships. Quiet in
his tastes and ways, he was also strikingly in
dependent in thought and act ; spirited, generous
and manly.
He married, in St. Johnsbury, April 18, 1861,
Rebecca, daughter of Nathan and Mrs. Huldah
Pike, of Waterford. Children— Almira T., born
February 12, 1865, married Herbert W. Blodg-
ett, of St. Johnsbury; Mabel, born August 14,
1871, rnarried Birney A. Robinson, of Proctor;
Joseph, born December 12, 1881.
EDMUND C. HOUGHTON.
Edmund C. Houghton, deceased, son of
Charles Elmer and Mary Houghton, entered upon
the active duties of life as a merchant, and pur
sued that vocation for a number of years in Ar
lington, Vermont. He faithfully served in sev
eral town offices, was elected several terms as
selectman, and was frequently called upon to
occupy different offices in the village corpora-
tion,f and acted in the 'capacity of graded school
trustee. So conscientiously did he perform his
duties that he won the approval' and approbation'
of his constituents.
Mr. Houghton was a very prominent figure
in Masonic circles, and he held successively the
various offices, until several years since he lacked
but a few votes of being elected grand master
of the state of Vermont. He was several times
master of Tucker Lodge No. 48, deputy grand
master of Grand Lodge and past eminent com
mander of Taft Commandery.
Mr. Houghton was twice married, his first
wife having been Miss Alice McKee, of Winfield,

119

New York. One daughter, Mary, was born to
them, but she died when nearly sixteen years of
age, and was interred beside her mother, who had
previously passed away. In 1882 Mr. Hough
ton married Mrs. Anson Canfield, of Arlington.
They resided in that city until about three years
ago, when Mr. Houghton's health began to fail,
and he went west to the state of Washington,
and from there to southern California in the
hopes of recuperating his lost strength, but all
was of no avail, and his death occurred in Pas
adena, California.
Charles Elmer Houghton, the father of Ed
mund C, was born in- Rowe, Franklin county,
Massachusetts, March 10, 1818, and died May 12,
1890. He was the son of Jonathan and Melinda
(McLeod) Houghton, his ancestry being Eng
lish on his father's, side and Scotch on his
mother's. His early educational training was received
in the common schools. He could almost' be
styled a self-educated man, for he was always
particularly interested in scientific subjects,
studying them at every opportunity. Mr. Hough
ton was one of the best known men, not only in
his own county, but in the state as well. He had
the executive ability of a successful business man,
was a keen reader of men, and held the leadership
among his fellows because of certain character
istics which he possessed to an eminent degree.
He had his own way to make in life, yet he found
time to devote to public enterprises, and, like the
typical Vermonter, early acquired traits of perse
verance that won for him place and honor in the;
commonwealth, as well as a competence. He en
tered mercantile life in Shaftsbury, in 1841, with
his brother, the late J. C. Houghton. In 1855,
leaving the fine business that the two had jointly
built to the junior brother, he removed to North
Bennington, where he engaged in commercial
enterprise with his younger brother, R. L. Hough
ton. Subsequently he took the whole concern
and carried it on until 1863, when he associated
with it his son, Edmund C, to whom he sold out
in 1865, in order to give his attention to his du
ties as vice-president and manager of the First
National Bank of North Bennington, which had
recently been organized ; the. office, of vice-presi
dent he held until his death. He had held official
connection with four Bennington banks, and was

120

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

the trusted associate of a company of solid busi
ness men. At the time of his death he was the
treasurer of the Bennington and Rutland Rail
road Company, and for many years was on the
board of directors. He had also been actively
connected with several large paper mills in that
section. Early in life Mr. Houghton served on the
regimental commander's staff. He had repre
sented the town of Shaftsbury in the legislature,
and had also held the offices of assistant judge,
constable, selectman, lister and postmaster while
a resident of that place. For two terms he was
a member of the state senate, and took a leading
position there. He was a presidential elector
in 1876, was for six years a director of the state
prison, had been county treasurer, and member
of the Republican state and county committees.
He was active in Masonry, belonging to the lodge
and the commandery. Pie was also a member of
the committee of the Bennington Historical So
ciety which prepared the bill in 1876 which after
ward became the charter of the Bennington Bat
tle Monument Association. On November 1,
1838, he married Mary E. Hutchins, who survived
him, with two children: EdmUnd C. and Helen
C. Houghton (Now Mrs. Cole.)
CORNELIA C. (LATHROP) BURDETT. 1
Cornelia C. (Lathrop) Burdett, of Arlington,
widow of the late Jesse Burdett, is a woman of
culture and occupies a place of prominence in
the religious and" social circles of the town and
county. She was born in Arlington, Vermont,
August 5, 1 83 1, a daughter of John Brownson
Lathrop. She comes of distinguished English
ancestry, being a lineal descendant in the eighth
generation from Rev. John Lothropp, the immi
grant, and in the eleventh generation from John
Lowthropp, the first ancestor of whom we have
any authentic record.
John Lowthropp was a resident of Cherry-
Burton, England, in the early part of. the six
teenth century, owning extensive estates there.
His name appears on the Yorkshire Subsidy Roll
of 1545. Robert Lowthropp, of Cherry Burton,
England, married Ellen  , and died in
1558. Thomas Lothropp, the next in line of de
scent, was bcro in Cherry Burton, England, and

lived there until 1576, when he removed to York
shire, England, where his death occurred in
1606. Pie married, first, Elizabeth Clark, who
died July 29, 1574. His second wife, Mary,
was buried at Eton, England, January 6, 1588.
He was again married, to Jane  .
Rev. John Lothropp, the founder of the
American family of Lathrop, was baptized in
Yorkshire, England, December 20, 1584. He
was graduated from Queen's College, Cam
bridge, England, with the degree of B. A. in
1605, and was subsequently a preacher in the
first Episcopal church organized in London,
England, but for non-conformity was impris
oned two years. On being released he emigrated
to Massachusetts, arriving early in 1634, and lo
cating in Scituate, where he was chosen pastor
of the church on January 19, 1634. He subse
quently removed to Barnstable, Massachusetts,
where died November 8, 1653. His wife, whose
maiden name was Anna Hammond, died Feb
ruary 20, 1687-8. Among their children was
a son Samuel, who was the next in line of descent.
One of the granddaughters of Rev. John Loth
ropp married John Huntington, and from them
the family of General U. S. Grant was descended.
Samuel Lothrop, born in England, came to
America with his parents in 1634, and lived first
in Scituate, and then in Barnstable, Massachu
setts, where he became a man of great influence.
Removing to Connecticut in 1648, he settled,
in New London, then called Pequot, receiving s
a large grant of land on the west side of the Pe
quot river. He improved a homestead, which
he sold in 1661, to the Reverend Gershom Bulk-
ley. In 1668 he became a resident of Norwich,
Connecticut, where he lived until his death, Feb-.
ruary 29, 1700. On November 28, 1644, he was
married in Barnstable, Massachusetts, to Eliza
beth Scudder; and in 1690 married Abigail
Doane, who was born January 29, 1632, and died
in 1734. Israel Lathrop, born in October, 1659, in New
London, Connecticut, died March 28, 1733. He
married, April 8, 1686, Rebecca Bhss. Benja
min Lathrop, born July 31, 1699, married, No
vember 13, 1718, Mary Adgate, who died March
26, 1739-40. Mary Adgate was a daughter of
Thomas Adgate, Jr., and Ruth Brewster. The
latter was -a daughter of Benjamin Brewster and

w

W;,.-n

icyVYisXic^ £ (d^tctiM^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

121

Anna Dart. Benjamin Brewster was a son of
Jonathan and Lucretia Brewster and Jonathan
Brewster was a son of Elder William Brewster,
who was born in 1560 at Scrooby, England, and
came over in the Mayflower. Benjamin La
throp again married, June 15, 1741, Mary Worth
ington Jones, who died August 4, 1770. Arunah
Lathrop, who was born December 1, 1735, died
June 22, 1817. The name of his first wife was
Martha, and of his second Sarah ; the latter died
April 11, 181-5..
Benjamin Lathrop, born in Norwich, Con
necticut, April 1, 1769, removed to Sunderland,
Vermont, when a young man, and resided there
-.until his death, July 4, 1822. He married in
Sunderland, Vermont, September 27, 17,95, Caro-
iline Cornelia Brownson, who was born April
.3, 1778, and died April 29, 1829. She was a
daughter of General Gideon Brownson, and a
lineal descendant in the fifth generation from
-Richard Brownson, the immigrant, the line of de
scent being thus traced : Richard, Cornelius, Tim
othy, General Gideon, Caroline Cornelia. Rich
ard Brownson was one of the original settlers
of Farmington, Connecticut, and the pioneer
mill-owner of that town; his wife, Elizabeth,
¦united with the Farmington church in 1653,
and he became a member in 1654, and both died
in Farmington, his death occurring in 1687,
and hers in 1694. Cornelius Brownson, born
in 1648, probably in Farmington, Connecti
cut^ settled in Woodbury, Connecticut, in 1690,
-and died there in May, 1732; he married a lady
¦by the name of Abigail. Timothy Brownson,
¦born June 14, 1701, died in 1776; on April 30,
1729, he married Abigail, daughter of Samuel and
-Hannah Jennery, and among their sons were Gid
eon, the next in line of descent, and Nathan.
Nathan Brownson, born in May, 1741, was dep
uty purveyor of hospital for the Southern army
from March 27, 178 1, until the close of the Revo
lutionary war.. He subsequently served as gov
ernor of Georgia. His death occurred November
-6, 1796. General Gideon Brownson was born in Salis
bury, Connecticut, November 3, 1739, and died
October 9, 1796. Pie served with distinction in
the Revolutionary war, taking a prominent part
in many of its noted engagements. He began his
official military career in 1771, being appointed

on July 27th of that year a captain in the troop
of two hundred and sixty volunteers, organized
by General Ethan Allen under the name of the
"Green Mountain Boys," and served in that ca
pacity until December, 1775. He was subse
quently a captain in Warner's Additional Conti
nental Regiment, receiving his commission July
5, 1776; on August 16, 1777,. he was wounded
at the battle of Bennington; was commissioned
major on July 16, 1779, and wounded at Lake
George the same month, being also subjected
to much ill usage at the hands of the Indians,
barely escaping death ; during the following win
ter he took an active part in the expedition
against Canada, and endured untold sufferings
and hardships while imprisoned in Montreal, his
health becoming so impaired that he was un
able afterwards to take any active part in mili
tary affairs, or to perform any hard labor. He re
tired from the service on January 1, 1781. He
married Catherine White, daughter of Isaac and
Eleanor (Rindress) White, and granddaughter
of William White, of England. One of General
Brownson's cousins, Mary Brownson, married,
June 23, 1762, Colonel Ethan Allen, and her
body, with the remains of her two children, lie
in the churchyard at Arlington, Vermont. Caro
line Cornelia Brownson became the wife of Ben
jamin Lathrop, as mentioned above, and men-
son, John Brownson Lathrop, was the next in
line of descent.
John Brownson Lathrop was born in Sun- ¦
derland, Vermont, August 29, 1800, and died
in Rutland, Vermont, November 1, 1886. He
spent his youthful days on the old homestead, af
terwards being engaged for a few years as the
proprietor of a stage line. Settling in Arling
ton, Vermont, in 1829, he was a hotel-keeper of
note until 1854, when he retired from that busi
ness, accepting a position as station agent of the
Western Vermont Railroad Compariy at Arling
ton, an office that he filled for several years. He
was. deeply interested in town affairs, and filled
many of the more important offices, being town
clerk from 1834 until 1845 ; postmaster from
1843 until 1846 ; and a representative to the state
legislature in 1849. He was an Episcopalian in
religion, and took a prominent part in the build
ing of the St. James Protestant Episcopal church.
At the time of his death he was the oldest Mason

122

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

in the state' of Vermont, being a charter mem
ber of Green Mountain Lodge, F. & A. M. On
November 17, 1827, he married Olive Amanda
Hill, of Sunderland, Vermont, by whom he had
one child, Cornelia C. Lathrop. Mrs. Olive
(Hill) Lathrop was directly descended from
Noah Scranton, who was an officer in the patriot
army in Captain Hand's company, in 1776, dur
ing the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Lathrop was a
daughter of Abner Hill, son of Ezra Hill, whose
wife, Olive Scranton, was a daughter of Noah
Scranton above referred to. The Hills were de
scended from James Hill, an English immigrant
of the .latter part of the seventeenth century,
who, located in Massachusetts.
m ' Cornelia C. Lathrop received her preliminary
education in the church schools, later studying
at Hoos/ck Falls, under Rev. Dr. Lord, complet
ing her education at Tyler Institute in Pitts
field, Massachusetts. She is actively interested
in the Daughters of the American Revolution,
of which she has been a member for several years,
much of the time serving in an official capacity.
For eight years she was state regent of Vermont,
from 1 89 1 until 1900, and in addition to or
ganizing fifteen chapters did nearly all of the
work of the state in that particular line. Mrs.
Burdett was one of the charter members of the
Vermont Society of Colonial Dames and her in
fluence and interest have been valuable factors
in the development and work of that patriotic
organization. She is a member of the auxili
ary of the Episcopal church, and takes an active
interest in church affairs. She married, Octo
ber 21, 1851, Jesse Burdett, who was born in
Brookline, Vermont, January 19, 1826, a son of
Jacob Burdett, and a direct descendant in the
eighth generation from Robert Burdett, the line
of descent being as follows : Robert Burdett, born
in 1637 ; Thomas, born in September, 1655 ;
Thomas, bom in 1683 ; Jabez, born in 171 3 ; Ja
cob; Jacob, born in 1771 ; Jacob, born March
3, 1793 ; and Jesse.
Jacob Burdett, the paternal grandfather of
Jesse, married a Miss Simmons, a descendant in
the sixth generation from William Simmons,
born in 1644, the line being continued through
his son, James, born in 1658; Lieutenant James
Simmons, the next in line of descent, was born
in 1686, and his son Caleb, the succeeding an

cestor, was born in 1714, and his son, Jesse Sim
mons, father of Mrs. (Simmons) Burdett, was
born in 1748, his birth occurring in Billerica,
and he was a noted musician, being a composer
of considerable ability, and the first organist em
ployed in Boston. Jacob Burdett and his wife
were the parents of Jacob Burdett, who married
Rebecca Talbot.
Jesse Burdett was reared and educated in the
public schools of Newfane, Vermont, where his
parents then resided, and there served an appren
ticeship at the blacksmith's trade, which he fol
lowed for a number of years. He located at Ar
lington in 1849., In 1852, upon the completion
of the Western Vermont Railway, he accepted
a position as conductor on that road. In this
capacity he won many friends, being efficient and
genial ; he remained with the company until 1854,
when he became a conductor on the Troy & Bos
ton Railroad, remaining as such until i860, when
he became connected with the Hudson River
Railway in a similar capacity. His ability was
recognized and appreciated by the officials of
that road," and in 1861, he was made train master,
later appointed assistant superintendent, and then.
promoted to the office of superintendent, a posi
tion that he held two years. In 1871 Mr. Bur
dett was appointed superintendent of the Rut
land division of the Vermont Central Railway,
and for the ensuing twenty-five years performed
with efficiency and fidelity the duties devolving
upon him in that capacity. In 1896, when the
Rutland Railway Company regained possession
of the Rutland railway, Mr. Burdett was made
general superintendent of the road, and held the
position until his death, at Rutland, February
23, 1897. He was a man of sterling integrity
and worth, well meriting the high esteem in
which he was held, and his death was mourned
by a wide" circle of friends. Politically he was a
Democrat, and though , not an office-seeker.
served in various town offices in Arlington, and
was a representative to the state legislature in
1867. He was an active member of St. James
Episcopal church of Arlington, serving as vestry
man for twenty years, and being senior warden
at the time of his death.
On October 21, 185 1, he married Cornelia
C. Lathrop, and one son was born of their union,
John Lathrop Burdett, who is a descendant, on

The Zewis FdlhshraQ Co.

j/^2*^ &^y

</i^u^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

I2J.

the maternal side, in the twelfth generation from
John Lowthropp, of England, and in the. ninth
generation from Rev. John Lothropp, the immi
grant ancestor. John Lathrop Burdett was
educated by private tutors, and in Dr. Hunter's
School, in New York city. He began his busi
ness career with the Hudson River Railroad
Company as a clerk, was then promoted to the
office of assistant paymaster of the New York
Central Railway Company, a position that he
held a few years. He is now paymaster for the
same company, and pays out to the employes
one hundred thousand dollars per month. He is
a resident of New York city, where he is prom
inent in musical circles, and in a number of
literary and social organizations, being president
of the Manuscript Society.
RT. REV. JOHN S. MICHAUD, D.D.
- The Right Reverend John S. Michaud, D.
D., bishop of Burlington, is a native of the
"Queen City" of Vermont ; of French and Irish
extraction, his ancestors on his father's side hav
ing been for several generations residents of the
province of Quebec, while those on his mother's
side lived in Ireland from the days of the Mile
sian colonization. Benoni Michaud, grandfather
of Bishop Michaud, and Judith Labelle, his grand
mother, were born and died in Canada, in the
parish of St. Andre, Islet du Portage, diocese
of Quebec, the former living, in his native prov
ince to the ripe age of seventy-five years. .
Stephen Michaud, son of Benoni and Jud
ith (Labelle) Michaud, was born July 22, 1812,
in the parish of Sti Andrew, diocese of Quebec,
and during most of his life followed the occupa
tions of' farmer and merchant in the city of
Burlington. Here, as the cathedral records show,
he was married to Catherine Rogan, on the nth
day of July, 1841, by the Rev. Jeremiah O'Cal-
laghan, who was then pastor of t the Catholic
church at Burlington.- Miss Rogan was the
daughter of John! Rogan and Mary McHaie, and
was born on March 28, 181 1, in the parish of
Glenfarne, county Leitrim, diocese of Kilmore,
Ireland. Two children were born to them as
the fruit of their union, one of whom is the
present ' bishop of Burlington. Stephen Mich
aud died of typhus fever at the early age of

thirty-six years; but his wife is still living at
the advanced age of ninety-two.
Thus it will be seen that in the ancestry of
Bishop Michaud were blended two nationalities
—the French and Irish, the Latin and the Celt.
Those .- familiar with the personality and labors
of Bishop Michaud will be able to trace in his
character and career, the influence exerted by
the union of two different races.
John S. Michaud, son of Stephen and Cath
erine (Rogan) Michaud, was born November
24, 1843, at Burlington, Vermont, and was bap
tized on the 26th day of the same month. His
boyhood was passed in this city, where he at
tended its parochial and commercial schools and
other educational institutions. His schooldays,
it would seem, began at a very early period of
his existence, for he has still a distinct recollec
tion of having often been borne to and from the
old schoolhouse upon the shoulders of one of
the larger boys. His good mother was always
a fervent believer in education and its benefi-
cient influences, and this may explain her anxi
ety to have her boy well grounded in secular
knowledge from his very childhood. But she was
a woman of lively, faith and deep religious con
victions as well, and early sowed in her young.
son's heart the good seeds which were after
wards to develop and produce such abundant
and excellent fruits.
Some years before the advent of Burling
ton's first bishop, the saintly Louis de Goes-
briand, a school had been opened by the Rever
end Father O'Callaghan. To this humble cradle
of learning the present bishop was sent ; and it
was during this time that he first heard those-
mysteious whisperings of the Holy Spirit which"
come to certain souls, and which. are recognized
and interpreted by masters 1 of the religious life
as the invitation of the Divine Master to come and.
follow Him.
But, upon the arrival, of the new bishop and"
its consequent religious revival, . those, inspira
tions from on high took more definite . shape in
the mind and heart of the young John , Michaud :
he became an altar-boy, and loved to serve at the
-throne of the. recently appointed Bishop, won
dering the while as he gazed upon the. hand
some but ascetic face of the youthful prelate,..
that there could be a greater man in the church

524

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

than the venerated Father O'Callaghan, but lit
tle dreaming that he himself was destined one
<lay to become that greater personage in the
¦Catholic church of his native state.
Owing to his, father's premature death, which
occurred on the 29th of January, 1847, a fee
ing of responsibility took possession of him,
which, together with his profound sense of grat
itude to his widowed mother, would not allow
him to avail himself of the opportunities then
afforded him of acquiring a college training,
much as his heart yearned to take the only sure
path which leads to the priesthood.
From the age of twelve to that of twenty-
one, he was employed in the lumber industries
of Burlington, filling successively almost every
post from that of the small boy in the mill to that
of the expert lumberman, advancing rapidly,
through the miltiform conditions of this vast
business, from one position of trust to another
of greater responsibility, and mastering the while
with consummate skill every branch and feat
ure of the trade until he was promoted to cleri
cal work in the main offices of Lawrence Barnes
-'& Company. In the winter season and at other
odd times he attended special classes and devoted
himself to school work. As a result he was the
first graduate from the Bryant & Stratton Com
mercial College, established in this city in the
•early sixties.
Thus the sacrifice which he made for a num
ber of years, whilst he labored diligently to re-
•quite his beloved parent in a measure, only served
to display, and, at the same time, to develop
more and more that indomitable courage and per
severing energy and industry which have marked
his career in after life both .as priest and ¦ as
bishop. The month of September, 1865, ' how
ever, brought him in part to the realiza
tion of his most cherished hopes and
wishes. He went to Montreal College, un
der the direction of the Sulpicians, where
he remained till he had finished his Versifica
tion, having as a classmate the present bishop of
Valley-field, province of Quebec. From here
he went to Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mas
sachusetts, and after pursuing his studies in
rhetoric and philosophy at this celebrated seat
of learning, graduated with high honors, ob

taining the degree of A. B. in June, 1870. The
following fall found him in St. Joseph's Theo
logical Seminary, Troy, New York, where he
continued his course of studies for three years,
and was finally elevated to the holy priesthood
on the 7th day of June, 1873, by the late Bishop
Wadhams of Ogdensburg, New York.
These facts on which are based the narrative
of Bishop Michaud's career as a clergyman bear
the stamp of authenticity, having been supplied
by Father Delany, who for a number of years
acted as private secretary to Bishop Michaud.
During the early period of his priesthood
the present Bishop of Burlington was settled
for a time at Newport, Vermont, whither he was
sent by the bishop in September, 1873, taking
charge of the neighboring missions of Albany,
Barton and Lowell.
Upon his arrival in Newport, Father Michaud
found as the entire church property only two
glass candlesticks. Before the following year
he had purchased a piece of land from Orville
Robinson, upon which he erected a beautiful '
little church dedicated to the service of God un
der the title of "Star of the Sea." In rapid suc
cession, under his seemingly magical touch,
churches rose at Albany and Lowell. In New
port a cemetery was bought and a parochial resi
dence constructed. At Barton he purchased a
protestant meeting house and turned it into a
church for his little flock in that village.
It was during his pastorate in this part of
the state that the -frightful epidemic of smalh-
po'x, which visited the country at that time, made
its greatest ravages in and around Newport.
Father Michaud, who was frequently called
upon to administer to the sick, finally fell a vic
tim to the dread disease after having attended
the nineteenth patient infected with the plague.
But his career was not destined to end here,
and after' lingering many weeks in an enfeebled
condition, with great care he regained his health
and strength.
Shortly afterwards the Rt. Rev. Bishop de
Goesbriand, moved by, Father Michaud's mar
vellous successes, confided to his care, in addi
tion to his already extensive parish, the mis
sions at Island Pond on the east, at Ely-Cooper
Mines on the south, Wells river and as far as
Peabody station in the direction of Montpelier.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

I2£

He had as his assistants, successively, the Rev.
E. R. Maloney and the Rev. J. M. Coathuel,
the latter remaining his faithful auxiliary until
the end of his six years' arduous toils and trials
in this first field of his activity.
In May, 1879, Father Michaud was recalled
to Burlington to assume charge of the con
structing of St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum on
North avenue, an imposing structure which he
completed in 1883. In the meantime he had
had charge of Bennington and North Benning
ton, in the absence of Father O'Dwyer, as well
as Fairfield, Underhill and Charlotte; and had
been later appointed pastor of St. Stephen's
church at Winooski Falls. Here he constructed
a pastoral residence and purchased several acres
of land just back of the church for further build
ing purposes.
After a much needed rest spent in Europe,
Father Michaud returned to receive a new ap
pointment, and was given charge of the parish
of St. Francis de Sales at Bennington, October
16, 1885. Although the parish was possessed
of a church edifice at the time, it was the ardent
wish of the bishop and the people of Bennington
to have a new structure raised to God's honor
and worship in their progressive town. With
his characteristic energy the" newly appointed
pastor undertook the task: and, four years after
the ground was broken, in 1888, one of the grand
est church edifices in New England stood as a
monument to the faith and generosity of the
people of Bennington and to the zeal and abil
ity of Father Michaud.
Bishop de Goesbriand, who had begun to
feel the weight of his years, some time previ
ous to 1892 applied to Rome for a coadjutor to
relieve him in part of his burdensome duties.
When, thereforej it became known throughout
the state that a new bishop was to be appointed
and several candidates for the high office had
been chosen, priests, indeed, of exceptional mer
its and rare qualifications, all eyes were turned
upon the subject of this sketch : — they saw none
so well fitted to assume episcopal responsibilities.
His intimate and extensive knowledge of the dio
cese, his ability as a financier, his disinterested
devotedness in the cause of religion, his unabat-
ing zeal and untiring energy in upbuilding both
the material and spiritual church, his sterling

qualities as a citizen and. a man, and his un
assuming virtues as a priest and a Christian, all*
marked him out as the happiest choice that could
have been made among the clergy of the entire
province, as well as the most worthy ecclesias
tic of his own diocese to succeed Vermont's pi
oneer bishop, Louis de Goesbriand-.
Whilst , Father Michaud was busily engaged
in putting the finishing touches to his beautiful"'
church at Bennington, the Holy Father in the-
Eternal City was putting the final stroke to the
document that made him the future head of the-
church in the diocese of Burlington.
On April 4, 1892,' he was named coadjutor-
bishop, and on the 29th of June, following, his.
consecration took place in the cathedral at Bur
lington, the Most Rev. J. J. Williams, archbishop >
of Boston, assisted by the Rt. Rev. Dennis M._
Bradley, of Manchester, New Hampshire, and.
the Rt. Rev. Henry Gabriels, of Ogdensburg,.
New York, performing the ceremony amidst a
large concourse of prelates, priests and people.,
It is not unworthy of note that the sermon-
preached on this occasion was delivered by the-
Rev. Father Beaven, of Holyoke, Massachusetts,
a classmate and the' life-long friend of Bishop -
Michaud and the present bishop of Springfield.,
In Father Michaud's elevation to the dignity
of the Episcopate, it may well -be said: "Digitus-
Dei his est". It was another manifestation of
the Blessed Mother's signal protection of her
children, peculiarly committed to her care, and of
God's special providence over the destines of his
church in the Green Mountain state; whilst" it
furnished a new evidence of Rome's proverbial"
wisdom, as events in the subsequent decade have-
abundantly borne testimony.
* Great as has been Bishop Michaud's activity •
in the sphere of the priesthood, it was surpassed"
by his labors as a bishop. The narrative of
Father Delany, on which the following recital
is based, gives but a faint idea of the enormous.
amount of work accomplished by the bishop.
Although in his immediate work he has the as-
assistance of three priests, the labors and respon- ¦
- sibilities devolving upon him by reason of his
position are of the most onerous nature. He-
has charge of all the property of the Catholic
church in the state of Vermont, comprising-
eighty-six church, school and hospital buildings,.

126

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

included in fifty-six parishes, with a membership
of seventy thousand souls.
One of his first acts after his consecration
as bishop w.as the incorporation of the diocese,
.an act whereby the diocese of Burlington was
-constituted a corporate body with power to
legally- hold and administrate all Catholic church
property within the state of Vermont, and whose
far-reaching advantages, even from an economic
point of view, can be fully understood only by
those intimately acquainted with the ecclesiasti
cal affairs of the diocese.
Among the churches which have been built
under the direction and supervision of Bishop
Michaud are those of St. Catherine's, at Shel-
hurne, St. Anthony's in this city, and of the
Holy Family, at Essex Junction, where a parish
house was also purchased.
In St. Johnsbury, where a new parish was
-formed to include the English-speaking Catho
lics, a substantial brick church and house have
been erected ; at Barton, at Richford and at Poult
ney imposing church buildings have likewise been
constructed; the beautiful marble structure, of
the Sacred Heart church at Rutland has been
raised, and another of the' same material is be
ing built at Middlebury; while Montpelier is in
possession of a magnificent granite edifice on
the high road to completion.
Bishop Michaud has completed the cathedral,
-raising the main tower to a height of one hun
dred and sixty-five feet, at the top of which has
been placed a beautiful statue of the Immaculate
Conception in bronze, of heroic dimensions. He
has also built a mortuary chapel, behind the altar
of which repose the remains of the late Bishop de
Goesbriand, and a crypt for the altar of the sacred
relic of the chains of St. Peter. He has, more
over, completed the plans for the construction
of a hospital in this city on the site of the old
St. Joseph's College, which has been razed to
-the ground. The hospital will be an annex
to the Fanny Allen Hospital, which the Bishop
founded ten years ago in the vicinity of Bur
lington. A new church and parish house have been
erected at Keeler's Bay, Grand Isle ; a parsonage
at Alburg. another at Fair Haven, one at Bristol,
one at Bellows Falls, one at Ludlow, one at Pitts

ford and still another at Castleton. Parishes
have been formed at Pittsford, at Bristol, at
Keeler's Bay, at Barton, at Woodstock, at Spring
field, at Manchester, at Essex Junction; at Rich-
ford, at Bennington and at Shoreham; a new
house and church built in Manchester, a new
church at Pownal, a church and house at Wood
stock, Arlington church enlarged and beautified,
churches at Highgate, Montgomery and Hyde
Park enlarged and beautified, a parochial resi
dence at Windsor, a church at Hard
wick, a church and house at Graniteville,
a church, and house at Readsboro, a large
brick church and house at White River
Junction, also a fine brick church at Lyn-
donville with a town clock, a new church and
house at Milton, an elegant brick church at Un
derhill, a new residence at Fairfield and also a
fine house for the priest at Barton.
But the spiritual needs of the diocese have
not alone engrossed the attention and engaged
the exertions of Bishop Michaud ; the educational
interests of his flock, as well, have found him a
firm friend and ardent promoter. Besides the
many and varied improvements made in his ca
thedral church and parish, under his direct sup
ervision, and through his inspiration, the im
posing school buildings recently constructed by
him in this city clearly evince his deep solici
tude for the intellectual, as well as the religious
advancement of his people. Apart from this,
however, his concern for the promotion of edu
cation in his diocese is accentuated by the fact
that numerous schools and institutions of learn
ing have been constantly established in this
city or elsewhere. In St. Joseph's parish, this
city, a new school building and residence for
the ladies teaching in said schools, have been built.
In the French parish at Bennington a parochial
residence and school have been erected; at St.
Albans in St. Mary's parish similar provisions
on a grand scale have been made, while in the
same city, in connection with the Church of the
Holy Angels, a convent with large schoolrooms
attached has been built ; at Bennington a magnifi
cent school building and a convent have likewise
been erected for St. Francis de Sales parish. In
addition to the fine parish house built in the city ¦
of Barre, a house for the Sisters of Mercy and

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

127

for' educational purposes has been lately pur
chased, and Sf. Peter's at Rutland has doubled
its school facilities, having one of the best schools
in the state. \
Especially notable have been Bishop Mich
aud's labors in the cause of benevolence and char
ity. Many organizations of a charitable and be
nevolent character have been established through
out his diocese, which owe their origin mainly
to his inspirations. Not least among the great
works of this kind was the institution of the
Fanny Allen Hospital. This hospital, which has
accommodations for fifty patients, is under the
charge of the Sisters of the Hotel Dieu, who are
all trained nurses. It was founded by the bishop
in 1894.Another, important undertaking was the pur
chase of a suitable site and building for an in
dustrial school for boys/ This institution is lo
cated at Winooski Park, and is in charge of the
Oblate Fathers of the Sacred Heart, who have,
in connection with it,- a novitiate for aspirants
to their congregation ; also a hospital at St. Johns
bury in charge of the Sisters of Providence.
These accomplished enterprises, great as they
are, do' not satisfy the energy and enthusiasm
with which Bishop Michaud devotes himself to
his work. Not content with the present flourish
ing condition of his diocese, which testifies so
strongly to his labors in the past, he is constantly
planning new achievements, and also has in con
templation the formation of many other parishes
in different parts of the state.
The Bishop, however, always asserts, when
speaking with his priests and friends, that the
great successes in the diocese must of right be
credited to the zeal and prudence of the clergy,
and to their loyalty to Holy Mother the church,
and also to the constant generosity and co-opera
tion of the Catholic laity of Vermont.
Throughout his entire career Bishop Michaud
has been a tireless worker, and scores of churches,
schools and charitable institutions which had
their inception in him, or in a large degree, owed
their founding and firm establishment to his ef
forts, stand as monuments to his zealous inter
est in the cause of religion and his sincere love
.for Christian education and suffering human
ity.

LESTER HENRY GREENE.
Lester Henry Greene, president of the Lester
H. Greene Company of Montpelier, was born in
Plattsburg, New York, October 26, 1863, a son
of Rufus L. Greene. Rufus L. Greene, a native
of Swanton, Vermont, was interested in nautical
pursuits in his early life, for several years being
a pilot on the lakes, living during a part of the
time in Plattsburg, New York. On retiring from
that occupation he settled permanently in Swan-
ton, Vermont. He married first, Sarah Rylie,
who died in 1868, leaving two children: Lester
Henry and Earle Francis, of Montpelier.formerly
hospital steward in the United States army, serv
ing in China and the Philippines. He married,
second, Florence L. Truax, by whom he has two
children, Wilbur and Eva.
Lester Henry Greene was educated in Swan-
ton, Vermont, being graduated from the high
school, after which he was employed in a drug
sfore in that town for four years. Going then to
St. Johnsbury, Vermont, he continued in the same
occupation for a year, when he returned to Swan-
ton, where he bought a drug store, Which he con
ducted for a year. Locating in Montpelier in
1882, he worked as a druggist 'until 1887, when
he purchased the Bascomb drug store, which he
managed with eminent success until April, 1901.
During his career as a pharmacist Mr. Greene
obtained a thorough knowledge of drugs' and
their uses, and utilized this knowledge in prepar
ing a remedy for coughs and colds, placing it
on the market under the name of "Greene's War
ranted Syrup of. Tar." This syrup became so
favorably known throughout the country, and
the demand for the remedy so great, that he sep
arated it from his drug business, and on Septem
ber 10, 1898, a company was formed- for its man
ufacture and sale, being incorporated under the
state law, with L. H. Greene as president. This
comp'any has erected a three-story building,
seventy-four by seventy-four feet, in which it em
ploys a large force, manufacturing this medicine
for the wholesale trade.
Mr. Greene is a Republican in politics, and
has served as alderman of .ward 1.' He is prom
inent in social and fraternal circles, being presi
dent of the Apollo Club of Montpelier; a mem-

128

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ber of Aurora Lodge, F. & A. M., of which he is
treasurer; of King Solomon Chapter, R. A. M. ;
of Montpelier Council, R. & S. M. ; of Mt. Zion
Commandery, K. T. ; and of Mount Sinai Temple,
Mystic Shrine. Mr. Greene married, December
2, 1892, Nell E. Gates, of Highgate Springs, Ver
mont, a daughter of C. S. Gates. The only child
born of their union, Ina F., died at the age of five
and one-half years.
HENRY DWIGHT HOLTON.
Henry Dwight Holton, A. M., M. D., one of
the most distinguished physicians of New Eng
land, treasurer for nine years of the American
Public Health Association and president of that
body in 190 1-2, professor of therapeutics and
general pathology in the medical department of
the University of Vermont from 1873 to 1886,
late president of the Vermont Medical Society
and vice president of the American Medical
Association, one of the. founders and recently
president of the board of trustees of the Pan-
American Medical Congress, secretary of the
state board 'of health (second term) ,_ president
of the American Congress on Tuberculosis held
in New York city in June, 1902, honorary presi
dent of the Congress on Tuberculosis to be held
in Washington, District of Columbia, April,
1904, and formerly a senator of Vermont, was
born in that state, in the town of Rockingham,
July 24, 1838, and since 1867 has been a resident
and one of the most prominent and .public-
spirited citizens of Brattleboro. Dr. Holton is a
son of the late Elihu Dwight Holton and Nancy
(Grout) Holton, for many years residents of
the village of Saxton's River in the town named
above. Through his father he is ,of Puritan
ancestry, descending from William Holton, who
came from Ipswich, Suffolk county, England, to
Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1634, and later
was one of a band of one hundred pioneers who
pushed into the wilderness andr-founded the town
of Hartford, Connecticut. Returning "to Massa
chusetts in 1654, William Holton settled at
Northampton, became a deacon of the first church
established in that town, and a magistrate; and
was the representative of the town to the general
court, taking a conspicuous part in the legisla
tion enacted during his term of office, and making

the first motion on record in that body to pro
hibit the sale of intoxicating drinks. On the
maternal side Dr. Holton's lineage rung back
through 'English ancestors to Germany, when
the name was variously written Groot, Grote and,
when Latinized, Grotius, the last made famPus
by the great Dutch patriot, philosopher and the
ologian. On both sides he descends from sturdy
Revolutionary stock, his paternal great-grand
father Holton, born in Northfield, Massachusetts,
July 10, 1738, serving in Captain John Burke's
company of Colonel Timothy Ruggle's regiment,
and under Ethan Allen at Ticonderoga; and his
maternal grandfather, John Grout, of Spencer,
Massachusetts; also fighting for independence in
the American army.
A predilection for the study of medicine led
to the subject of these memoirs adopting that
profession immediately- upon completing his
English education, which was obtained in the
local public schools and the acadeiny of- his
native village. For a time he studied under that
eminent physician, Dr. J. H. Warren, of Boston,
and -later under Valentine Mott, of New York,
the most famous American surgeon of his gener
ation. Pursuing the regular course in the- med
ical department of the University of New York,
he was graduated in i860 with the degree of
Doctor of Medicine. His earliest practice was
as physician to the Williamsburg (now part of
Greater New York) Dispensary. Drawn back
to his native state by ties of affection as well as
of interest, he established himself in practice at
Putney, whence, in 1867, ne removed to Bf attle
boro, his present place of residence. Devoted
to his profession, the young pupil of the illustri
ous Mott and the scholarly Warren made rapid
advances, and, having proved his skill by the
successful performance of numerous capital
operations, soon took a leading rank among his
medical associates.
In the course of years his fame as an operator
spread over a wide region, and, coupled with his
activity in all that relates to the advancement' of
medical science, and the safe-guarding of the
public health, brought him a national repute.
Quite early in his career he was chosen a member
of the Connecticut River Medical Association,,
and, after serving five years as its secretary, was
elected its president in 1867. He joined the Ver-

y^*z^9)

The Lewis fuMislima Co

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

129

mont Medical Society in 1861, and twelve years
later was honored with its presidency. In 1864,
as a young physician and surgeon of great
prominence, he was elected a member of the
American Medical Association. This highly
representative body sent him, in 1875, as a dele
gate to the International Medical Congress at
Brussels ; and in 1880 elected him to the office
of vice president.
In 1873 Dr. Holton was called to the chair
of materia niedica and general pathology in the
medical department of the University of Ver
mont. When he entered upon the duties of this
professorship the medical , class numbered but
forty students. His coming proved epoch-mak
ing. Other medical men of distinguished 'ability
and wide reputation were persuaded to connect
themselves with the school, which soon rivaled
the older ones of Boston, New York and other
cities, not only in the brilliancy of its faculty,
but likewise in the number and earnestness of
its matriculants. After thirteen years of assidu
ous and single hearted labor in the building up
of this now well known medical school — having
during much of that period the cordial co-opera
tion of the late Professor James L. Little, of
New York, and that of other distinguished med
ical men — Dr. Holton resigned his professor
ship. During his connection with the school its
classes had steadily increased in number, and at
the time of his retirement two hundred and sixty
students were enrolled. More than thirteen
hundred matriculants had pursued their studies
successfully, and had been graduated with the
degree of Doctor of Medicine within this period.
It was a result which astonished the medical
world, and which was a source of deepest satis
faction as it was likewise of great honor to Dr.
Holton, who, keeping fully abreast of the prog
ress in medical education, urged entrance exam
inations and written examinations for the medical
degree, and also a classification of students in
order that the required work might be done
more systematically and thoroughly— reforms
Which he was finally successful in havings
adopted. Although burdened with the duties .of his
professorship and the cares of a large practice,
Dr. Holton found time to devote himself to
much useful labor in other directions. Elected
9

by the state ^legislature, in 1873, a trustee of the
University of Vermont and State Agricultural
College, he was -retained in this office by success
ive re-elections for a period of eighteen years.
In the year mentioned he was also appointed
medical examiner to the Vermont Asylum for
the Insane. It is doubtful if Vermont has within
her borders a warmer friend of education than.
Dr. Holton. For twenty-five years he was a
member of the school board of Brattleboro, serv
ing as its chairman during fifteen years. He has-
also served since its organization as a trustee of
the Brattleboro Free Library, in the formation
and development of which he took a very active
part. A Republican in politics, and willing to serve
the people at any cost of his own time and com
fort, Dr. Holton was elected to the Vermont sen
ate in 1884, and as chairman of the committee on
education labored zealously in behalf of the
schools and colleges of the state. While in the
senate he served also as chairman of the commit
tee on the insane asylum, and as a member of the
joint committee on the house of correction. In
1888 he was elected representative from Brattle
boro to the Vermont general assembly, and served
on the committees on education, ways and means,
and public health. In 1892 Dr. Holton was
appointed commissioner from Vermont to the
Nicaragua Canal Convention, held in New Or
leans; and in the same year was elected treasurer
of the American. Public Health Association at
the meeting held in the City of Mexico. In the
following year he was named one of the Vermont
commissioners of the Columbian Exposition,
Dr. Holton was active in the organization of the
Pan-American Medical Congress, a body com
posed of representatives of all the countries in
this hemisphere, which met in Washington in
1893. As chairman of the executive committee
and president of its board of trustees, he had a;
leading part in shaping and carrying out the
work of the congress, and making it the great
success it was. At the same time he made the
acquaintance ' of the best men in every country
represented. Dr. Holton was a delegate-at-
large from Vermont to the national Republican
convention held at 'St. Louis in June, 1896,
which nominated President McKinley, and was
active in the campaign which secured his election.
In all local, affairs he has been most usefully

13°

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

active as a private citizen, and his judgment and
integrity have been amply tested and never
found wanting. Several leading corporations
have availed themselves of his ability and ser
vices, the Vermont National Bank of Brattleboro
being one, in which he has been a director since
1 88 1 ; and the Brattleboro Gas Light Company
of which he has been president since 1883. He
is also president of the Brattleboro Home for the
Aged and Disabled. Dr. Holton is a member of
the Boston Gynecological Society; of the Rocky
Mountain Medical Society ; of the Vermont
state board of health; of the British Medical
Society; of .the American Association for Ad
vancement of Science ; of the American Academy
of Medicine; an honorary member of the Maine
Academy of Medicine; member of the executive
committee of the New England Education
League; member of the executive committee of
American Invalid Aid Society, and member of
the National Conference of Charities and Correc
tion. Since 1897 he has been president of the
board of trustees of Leland and Grey Seminary,
at Townshend, Vermont, an endowed institution
in which both sexes are prepared for college. A
recent appointment is that of commissioner to the
Mexico National Exposition of Mechanical
Arts, soon to be held in the City of Mexico.
Few men in his profession have been called
to so many positions of honor and trust ; and not
the least remarkable fact in connection with this
large demand fo'r his services is the success with
which he has invariably discharged the duties
devolving upon him, however varied their char
acter pr heavy their consumption of his tiriie and
attention. Throughout the long and busy years
of his active practice he has not failed to give
his profession the benefit of his wide and varied
experience, contributing freely to medical litera
ture. He began his literary efforts by reporting
his brilliant preceptor's (Mott's) clinics for the
press. In 1880 he published "The Posological
Tablet," a compact pocket volume, now in its
second edition, which contains the doses of all
well known remedies by both the apothecaries'
and metric system, and antidotes for poisons.
This was probably the first work in which the
two standards were presented together. Cases
in practice have been published by him from time

to time in various medical journals. Some of
his published addresses and articles are: "Medi
cal Legislation,"' the president's address before
the Vermont Medical Society; '"Bacteria of
Enteric Fever," delivered by invitation before
the Virginia Medical Society ; "Obituary of Dr.
Joseph Draper;" ."Oration on State Medicine,"
(by election) before the American Medical Asso
ciation; "Progress of Medicine;" "Diphtheria
as it has occurred in the United States ;" "A New
Apparatus for Retaining a Dislocated Clavicle
in Place:" "Cancer;" "Causes and Prevention of
Tuberculosis," the president's address at the
American Congress on Tuberculosis, New York,
June 2, 1902; and "Problems in Sanitation,"
presidential address before the American Public
Health Association, New Orleans, December 9,
1902. Dr. Holton has lectured with success on
popular themes before various societies, his sub7
jects being "Doctors," "Patriotism," "A Visit to
Mexico," and "The Need of Sanitation." Of
late years he has been, a collaborator on The
Sanitarium, published in New York city.
In part recognition of his scholarship and
devotion to the cause of education, the University
of Vermont conferred upon him, in 1881, the
honorary degree of Master of Arts. Of the
many honors and compliments that have come
to him, it is doubtful if any is more valued than
the sincere appreciation which is entertained for
him by the fellow citizens of all classes and
creeds. In a larger degree than falls to the lot
of most men Dr. Holton has received this honest
regard, his professional and civic virtues com
pelling the recognition. Genial as well as
scholarly, he has many friends and admirers,
professional and lay, in all parts of the Union,
and is known and honored in the north and south
as a most earnest disciple of science, an able
promoter of international harmony, and an
accomplished gentleman of unblemished char
acter. His published addresses exhibit a high
order of ability, literary as well as medical. His
"Address on State Medicine," delivered before
the American Medical Association at Baltimore,
in May, 1895, is one of the ablest presentations
of this subject ever made, and abounds in valu
able suggestions.
Dr. Holton was married November 19, 1862,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

131

to. Miss Ellen, eldest daughter of Theophilus and
Mary Damon (Chandler) Hoit, of Saxton's
River, Vermont. (See memoirs of Theophilus
Hoit,- this work/)
GEORGE B. HOLDEN.
, George B. Holden, town clerk of Arlington,
is prominently identified with the mercantile and
agricultural interests of this town, being its only
coal merchant, and the owner of three productive
farms. A native of Arlington, he was born Sep
tember 15, 1828, a son of Cyrus A. Holden. He
comes of substantial New England ancestry, his
paternal grandfather, John Holden," having been
born and reared in Barre, Massachusetts. Re
moving to Vermont at an early day with his fam
ily, he settled first in Sunderland, Bennington
county, where he remained but a short time;
coming from there to Arlington as a pioneer of
the town, he devoted the remainder of his long
life to general farming, dying here at the ad
vanced age of eighty-seven years. He married
Abigail Chipman, daughter of Amos Chipman,
another pioneer of Arlington, who came at an
early day from Connecticut. She', too, lived to
a ripe old age, dying at the age of eighty-five
years. Eleven children were born of their union,
namely: Cyrus A., John, Abby, Lucy, Beulah,
Willard, Amos, William, Nelson, Mary Ann and
Eliza, each of whom lived to be more than fifty
years old. ,
Cyrus A. Holden was born iri Barre, Massa
chusetts, July 28, 1794, and was there reared and
educated. 'On attaining his majority he came to
Arlington, Vermont, where he was subsequently
engaged in agricultural pursuits until his retire
ment from active business a few years prior to
his death, which occurred at the venerable age
bi ninety-eight years. He married Lavinia Hard,
daughter of Belus Hard, and granddaughter of
Zadock Hard, an early settler of Arlington. Za-
dock Hard migrated to Arlington, Vermont from
Newtown, Connecticut, in 1768, becoming a pi
oneer of the town. For several years he was pros
perously employed as a tiller of the soil and a tav
ern-keeper, also serving as justice of the peace. He
married, first, Chloe Nobles, of Brookfield, Mas
sachusetts ; ten children were born to their union,
Hannah, Lemira, Belus, Chloe, Lucy, Noble,

Jesse, Zadock, Sylvanus and Sarah. His second
wife was a Mrs. Fenn. He was a member of the
Episcopal church. Belus Hard, father of La
vinia Hard, was born in New Milford, Connec
ticut, and lived there until eight years of age,
when he came with his parents to Arlington, mak
ing the journey on horseback with his mother.
In his earlier life he engaged in farming, but
was afterward a clothier, carrying on business
first in Arlington, and later in Canada. He died
in Arlington at the age of seventy-nine years.
His wife, whose maiden name was Ruth Ells
worth, died at the early age of twenty-five years,
but the four children born of their union all lived
more than fourscore years. They were both
members of the Episcopal church. Cyrus A. and
Lavinia (Hard) Holden had four sons : Charles
H, Deming C, George B. and Willard. The
eldest of these, Charles H. Holden, was for many
years employed as conductor and station agent
on the Rensselaer & Saratoga Railroad (after
ward the Delaware & Hudson Railroad), and
subsequently was proprietor of the Holden House,
Saratoga. He was prominent in Masonic cir
cles, having taken the thirty-second degree, and
was past grand master of the state of New York.,
Demihg C. Holden met his death accidently when
a young man ; Willard Holden died in childhood.
George B. Holden was educated in the pub
lic schools of Arlington, and at the Burr and
Burton Seminary, after which he was in the em
ploy of the Rutland & Washington Railway Com
pany for four years. The following nine years
he was engaged in mercantile business in Man
chester, then settled permanently in his native
town in 1874. Purchasing a farm in Arlington
in that year, Mr. Holden turned his attention to
the pursuit of agriculture, in which he met with
such marked success that he has since bought
two other farms, being now the owner of three
good farming ¦ estates. Since 1882 he has also
carried on an extensive coal business, being the
only coal dealer in the place. He is active and in
fluential in public affairs, and has filled many
town offices with fidelity and ability. For several
years he was a member of the Arlington school
'board ; has been town clerk since 1881 ; and ex-
officio has served as justice of the peace a num
ber of terms. He is a Republican in politics, and
a member of the Episcopal church, in which he

132

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

has been vestryman and senior warden for a num
ber of years. His family are also members of the
Episcopal church.
Mr. Holden married in 1864, Marion S. Rule,
who was born in Arlington, Vermont, a daughter
of Henry Fade. Mr. Rule was born in Scotland,
but came to this country when four years of age ;
he followed the trade of a stone and marble cut
ter throughout his active life, living in Arling
ton until his death, at the age of ninety-two
years; he married Mary Canfield, one of the
seven children of the late Nathan Canfield, of
Arlington. Mr. and Mrs, Holden are the par
ents of four children ; Charles S. ; Edward H.
and Mary L., twins ; and Florerice M., a teacher
in the public schools of Arlington. Charles S.
Holden, the oldest child, now in the employ of
the Boston & Maine Railway Company, married
Mary Crowley, by whom he has two children,
Walter and Harold. Edward H. Holden is an
attorney who read law under the preceptorship of
Messrs. Barber & Darling, with whom he is now
engaged in the practice of his profession in Ben
nington, having been admitted to the bar in 1899;
Mary L. Holden married Clarence E. Adams, a
former merchant of Arlington, who died in 1898;
since the death of her husband Mrs. Adams has
resided with her father, and has acted as assist
ant town clerk, doing a large amount of cleri
cal work in the office.
HARVEY KLAPP FOWLER.
Judge Harvey Klapp Fowler, the oldest law
yer in active practice in southern Vermont, is
also master in chancery and deputy county clerk,
offices which he has held for more than forty-
consecutive years. He was born in Pough-
keepsie, New York, January 1, 18 18, a son of
Jacob Fowler. His great-grandfather, Jacob
Fowler, first of the name, was born and reared
in Westchester county, New York, but removed
to Unionvale, Dutchess county, New York,
where he purchased eight hundred acres of land,
from which he improved a farm, living there the
remainder of his days.
Jacob Fowler, second, the Judge's grand
father, was born in Unionvale, New York, and
there spent his life, dying about 1866. Pie inherited
e, portion of the parental homestead, on which he

was successfully engaged in farming during his
years of activity. Of his union with Phcebe
Vail, a native of the same town, six children were
born, as follows : Phoebe ; Israel ; William ;
Jacob, father of Judge Fowler; Joseph; and
Hubbard. Both parents were members of the
Baptist church.
Jacob Fowler, third, was born on the ancestral
homestead, January 7, 1784, and was educated
in the schools of Unionvale and at Washington,
New York. He began life for himself as clerk
in a store, and subsequently went into business
on his own account as a merchant, continuing
until 18 1 2, when he settled on a farm at Union
vale, near Poughkeepsie, and was there employed
as a tiller of the soil until a short time before his
death, when he sold his estate. He died in 1849,
aged sixty-six years. He married Ruth Klapp,
a native of Freedom, Dutchess county, New
York, daughter of Jesse I. Klapp, and grand
daughter of Stephen Klapp, a prominent miller
of Dover, New York. Jesse I. Klapp was born
and brought up in Dover, New York, but settled
permanently in Freedom (now La' Grange),
New York, where he bought a large tract of
land, erected a grist mill, and was engaged in
farming and milling until his death, in 1828. Of
his union with Susan Baldwin, a native of
Dutchess county, six children were born, namely:
Elisha ; Isaac ; Susan ; Ruth, mother of Judge
Fowler ; Mary, who married Joseph Weeks, of
New York; and Caroline, who became the wife
of Gilbert I. Vincent. The mother of these
children was a Quaker: After her death Mr.
Klapp married again. Jacob Fowler and his
wife, Ruth Klapp, became the parents of thirteen
children, five sons and eight daughters, Harvey
K. being the fifth child. One son, Nathaniel,
Fowler, served in the Civil war as captain of
Company K, Twenty-Second New Yprk Volun-*
teer Infantry, and took part in the battle of
Antietam. The mother died in 1847, aged fifty-
six years.
Harvey K. Fowler received his elementary
education in the schools of' Verbank, Dutchess.
county. On August 20, 1837, he came to Man
chester, Vermont, and took a course of study at
the Burr and Burton Seminary, spending four-
years in that institution, during two years of the
time teaching school in the winter terms. In_

\ &

HARYEY K. FOWLER.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

133

1841 he began the study of law with Sergeant
& Miner, the, Senior member of the firm after
ward being lieutenant governor of Vermont;
while Mr. Miner represented his district in
Congress^ Mr. Fowler was admitted to the bar
in 1843, aild at once entered into a co-partnership
with Leonard Sergeant, becoming junior member
of the firm of Sergeant & Fowler, which stood at
the head of the legal profession for several
years. I11 1852 Mr. Harvey formed a partner
ship with the late Daniel, Roberts, of Burlington,
with whom he continued three years, when he
bought out "the interest of Mr. Roberts, and has.
since continued alone. On his adniission to the
bar in 1843, he was appointed registrar of pro
bate, and, the judge being a layman, Judge
Fowler performed the duties pertaining to his
office for him for a number of terms, afterwards
holding the office of judge himself at different
times for a period covering twenty-eight years,
and up to his eighty-second year of age,, when he
retired. On resigning his office, in a most felici
tous address to the convention assembled he
nominated his successor, Judge Edgerton, of
whom a brief sketch may be found elsewhere in
this work. While in office Judge Fowler was
eminently successful, none of his decisions having
been reversed, and none of his acts being
censured. In i860 Judge Fowler was appointed deputy
county clerk by Samuel H. Blackmer, and has
held the office continuously until the present day,
also being master in chancery since his admission^
to the bar. As a general law practitioner he has"
been professionally interested in. many important-
cases, assisting, among others, in the trial of
Jesse C. Dayenport for the murder of Samuel
Wilson, the Judge being oh the defense; the
defendant was sent to. the Asylum for the Insane,
from, which he was discharged. -He was also
one of the defenders of Cole, Reeves and Fitz
gerald, who were arrested for the burning of a
factory and other buildings in Bennington, but
were acquitted. He took the testimony in the
celebrated Railway Bond case, in Bennington,
spending seventy-eight days and crippling one
hand^ the testimony covering fourteen hundred
typewritten pages. • .
On January 1, 1844, Judge Fowler married
Mary J. Noble, who was born in Hebron, Ver

mont, a daughter of Luke Noble and his wife,
Martha (Sergeant) Noble. Martha Sergeant
was a daughter of Dr. John Sergeant, and a lineal
descendant in the fifth generation from William
Sergeant, who came from England in 1638, was
made a freeman in Maiden, Massachusetts, and
was a lay preacher for several years. The line
was continued through his son, John; the next
in line of descent being Isaac; then John, father
of Martha, who became the wife of Luke Noble.
Dr. John Sergeant died at the age of eighty-
eight years. He was a leading physician arid a
citizen of much prominence. His wife was
Delight Bell. One of the Sergeant family was
Lieutenant Governor Leonard Sergeant, who
¦married Phoebe Raymond, who was born in
Dorset, Vermont, in July, 1793, and died in
1836. Delight Sergeant, a sister of Lieutenant
Governor Sergeant, went as a missionary to the
Cherokee Indians in Georgia, where she married
an Indian chief, Elias C. Boudinott, who built a
fine house in Mississippi, where they were forced
to settle, hut on account of hostility in the tribe
he Was killed by an enemy, and she returned
with her six children to Vermont, and lived in
Manchester until her death in 1894. Judge and
Mrs. Fowler became the parents of four children :
Frances J., Warren, Edmund H. and Joseph W.
Frances J. Fowler is a woman of culture and
refinement, and for many years was a teacher of
art, having pupils first in White Plains, New
York, then in Kentucky, and later in Peace Insti
tute, Raleigh, North Carolina. She is an accom
plished linguist as well as an artist, having
studied the German language in Germany, where
she went in company with a German lady whose
father was a general in the Prussian army, at
the .same time taking lessons in Italian. She
subsequently taught art in Wells College, where
Miss Frances Folsom (later Mrs. Grover Cleve
land) was her pupil, afterwards becoming one
of the faculty at Drury College, where she
remained four years. She then made a second
trip abroad, visiting Palestine, Greece, Italy, and
going as far north as the North Cape. Since her
return to Manchester in 1898, she has built a fine
residence in the village. -
Warren Fowler, who is engaged in the insur
ance business in West Lebanon, New York, mar
ried Mary J. Finch, by whom he has four chil-

134

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

dren, namely : Mary ; Frances, wife Of Henry
Bull, proprietor of a grocery, has one child,
Dorothy ; Warrena ; and Edwina. Edmund H.
Fowler, a farmer in Sunderland, Vermont, mar
ried Sybil Woodcock, and they have three chil
dren. Joseph W. Fowler, a lawyer and insurance
agent in Manchester Center, married Hattie
Dole, who died* leaving one child, Arthur. He
then married Hattie Walker, by whom he has
two children, Paul W. and Earle. Mrs. Judge
Fowler died September 7, 1902.
Judge Fowler is a Republican in politics. He
has been identified with the Masonic order for
more than half a century, and belongs to
Adoniram Lodge, F. & A. M., of which he is
past master; to Adoniram Chapter, R. A. M., of
wdiich he is past high priest ; to the Order of the
Eastern Star, F. & A. M. He is also an Odd
Fellow, being the oldest member of the lodge at
Factory Point.
SMITH WRIGHT.
Smith Wright, deceased, who was one of the
enterprising and influential citizens of Burling
ton, Vermont, was born at the old Wright home
stead in Williston, Vermont, March 8, 1823.
Elisha Wright, grandfather of Smith Wright,
was born in the year 1759 and was a descendant
of Scotch ancestors. He was a resident of Marsh
field, Connecticut, where he was engaged in ag
ricultural pursuits, and previous to the year 1797
he located in Williston Vermont, being among
the earliest settlers of that town. That section
of the state at that time was nothing but a wil
derness, but Mr. Wright possessed resolute pur
pose and unconquerable industry, and in time was
enabled to overcome all obstacles, and he met
with gratifying success in his occupation of farm
ing. He was united in marriage to Miss Aseneth
Brigham, who was born in 1768 and died in 1855 ;
Mr. Wright's death occurred in the year 1832.
John Wright, father of Smith Wright, was
born on the old Wright homestead in the south
ern part of the town of Williston, Vermont, in
1797. Here he obtained the limited education
that was afforded by the district school, and up
on attaining manhood he devoted his time and
attention to the vocation of farming, and met
with a large degree of success in this under

taking. Mr. Wright took an active part in the
political affairs of the town, and the records .
shpw that as early as 1825 he was elected grand
juror; he also filled other positions of trust and
responsibility. He was a prominent member of
the Masonic fraternity, being one of the founders
of North Star Lodge, for which he acted in the
capacity of -first junior warden. He was an
earnest and consistent member and supporter of
the Methodist church of Williston. Mr. Wright
was united in marriage to Miss Polly Holt, who
was born in 1799, a daughter of Smith Holt, of
Kenne, Essex county, New York, who was for
merly a prominent resident of Litchfield, Con
necticut. Seven sons were born of this union,
and those who grew to manhood were all suc
cessful, influential men of business in the state.
Mr. Wright died July 3, 1874, and his wife
passed away in August, 1881.
Smith Wright acquired his early education in
the comriion schools of Williston, and this was
further supplemented by a course of study in the
Hinesburg Academy. The early years of his
life were spent in assisting with the work upon
the farm, and later he accepted a position as
traveling salesman. About the year 1850 he ,
entered the poultry business jn a small way, and
five years later was associated with his brother
John W. W right in the shipping of poultry from
Canada. At the same time they established the
famous poultry market at Perth and Smith's
Falls in the province of Ontario, which proved
to be the largest concentrating markets in the
- country for dressed poultry up to the time of the
McKinley tariff. He was the pioneer in refrig
eration, having established at Williston in 1871
the first commercial refrigerator, and for the
following fifteen years he devoted himself to this
line of trade, storing for other packers as, well
as for himself. In 1886 'Mr. Wright admitted
his three sons into partnership, under the style
of Smith Wright & Sons, and for several years
they were the largest dealers in frozen poultry
in this country, and in addition to this they con
ducted a large trade in butter and eggs. They
were the first to introduce the method of hold
ing butter by freezing. Up to this time butter
was held in cold storage and it was thought in
jurious to freeze the same, but by their experi
ments they demonstrated that it was a far super-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

135

ior method, and within a very short time it revo
lutionized the method of holding butter in stor- »
age. At different times Mr. Wright was en
gaged in general mercantile business in Williston,
and during the greater part of his life he devoted
his time to farming. He also acted in. the capac
ity of president of the Home Savings Bank of
Burlington, from the time of its organization
in 1894 untif his decease.
In his political affiliations Mr. Wright was a
Whig up to the time of the organization of the
Republican party, when he joined their ranks.
' He was chosen to represent the town of St.
George in the legislature in 1852-1853-1860-1861,
and for the years 1869 and 1870 he acted as as
sistant judge in the Chittenden county court; he
was 'elected to fill the position of county com
missioner from 1880 to 1886, was representative
of the town of Williston in the legislature in 1884,
and served as senator from Chittenden county
in 1886 and 1887. He was also appointed post
master, of Williston, and held that position from
1872 to 1884. He was a prominent member pf
North Star Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons,
at Richmond, Vermont.
On April 25, 1844, Mr. Wright was united in
'marriage to Miss Clarissa Angelina Loggins,
who was born at Milton, Vermont, April 7, 1825,
, a daughter of Sheldon and Alma (Barney) Log-
gins. Mrs. Wright had three brothers who were
in the army, and one in the navy, during the prog
ress of the Civil war. The following named chil
dren were born of this union : Mary Ann, born
in July, 1845, married, in 1879, Gilbert' Harris,
a successful lumberman of Moira, New York,
and they reside in Essex Junction, Vermont.
Louisa Josephine, born irt May, 1847, died in
January, 1900, married in 1868, Hon. Ellery C.
Fay, a prominent farmer of Jerico, Vermont, and
they had three children, Herbert R., born Jan
uary 1, 1869, who died July 1, 1885, aged fifteen
years; E. Wright and Josephine Fay. Hpmer •
Elisha, born November 12, 1858, was united in
marriage in 1 881 to Miss Judith Harris, and they
have two children, John Harris and Mary Ange
lina W right ; their residence is at Essex Junction,
Vermont. Clayton John and Clinton Smith
(twins) were born February 26, 1864; Clayton
John married, in 1899, Miss Odella A. Fay, and
Clinton Smith married, in 1896, Miss Abbie L.

Fay. The three sons reside at the old homestead
at Williston, and conduct the business of Smith
Wright & Sons. They are all prominent in the
business and political affairs of the town and
county, and have held many offices of trust;
Clayton J. Wright is the present member of the
legislature from Williston, and Homer E. Wright
is a member of the Republican state committee.
The mother of these children died in Whiton in
July, 1889, and Mr. Wright married, in 1893,
Miss Ella Lawrence, who survives him and re
sides on Elm street in Burlington, Vermont. Mr.
Wright's death occurred November 26, 1899.
HORATIO HICKOK. .
Horatio Hickok, deceased, was for many
years a prominent business man of Burlington.
He was born in New York city, February 21,
1845, a son of Dr. Wiliam C. Hickok. His pa
ternal grandfather, Samuel Hickok, born - in
Berkshire county, .Massachusetts, September 4,
1774, married Hannah Collard, who was born
in Devonshire, England, October 1, 1777.
William Collard Hickok was a native of Bur
lington, Vermont, his birth occurring September
14, 1802. After his graduation from the Uni
versity of Vermont he studied medicine, and be
gan the .practice of his profession in New York
city, remaining there successfully employed in
his chosen vocation until 1850, When he returned
to Burlington, where he lived retired until his
death, June 12, 1883. On June 26, 1826, he mar
ried Laura Ann Piatt, who survived him a few
years, dying May 7, 1894. Both he arid his wife
were members of the First Congregational
church. Of their six children, three grew to
years of maturity, as follows: William H., of
Philadelphia; Horatio, the subject of this sketch;
and Frank, of Columbus, Ohio.
Horatio Hickok was but five years old when (
he came with his, parents to Burlington, where he
acquired his rudimentary education, subsequently
attending the Vermont University for one year
and finally graduating from Williams College, in
Williamstown. After leaving school he pur
chased the interest of the junior partner in the
firm of Matthews & Davis, manufacturers of
boxes, the firm name becoming Matthews &
Hickok, later through a change of partners be-

136

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ing Horatio Hickok & Company. In connection
with his manufacturing interests he also dealt
extensively in lumber, carrying on a profitable
business unitl his death, and was likewise , for a
number of years president of the Baldwin Re
frigerating Company. He was a Republican in
politics, and a member of the College Street Con
gregational church ; was a member of the Algon
quin Club and the Lake Champlain Yacht Club.
Mr. Hickok was married January 16, 1875,
to Miss Harriet Whiting, who was born at St.
Albans, Vermont, a daughter of Enoch B. Whit
ing, and granddaughter of Enoch Whiting.
Enoch B. Whiting was born in Amherst, Massa
chusetts, February 26, 1816. Coming to Ver
mont as a young man, he was for thirty years ed
itor of the Saint Albans Messenger, making it
one of the leading papers of; the state. He died
iri Burlington, April 3, 1898. He married Mary
L. Fairchild, who was born in Georgia, Vermont,
March 21, 181 7, a daughter of Philo Fairchild,
who was born in Arlington, Vermont, January
2, 1788, and a lineal descendant of Thomas Fair-
child, one of the original proprietors of Stratford,
Connecticut, and its first magistrate. Stephen
Fairchild, the great-great-grandfather of Mrs.
Hickok, born in 1725, married Lillian Beardsley,
and removed in 1765 to Arlington, Vermont, la
ter, with his three sons, Stephen, Jr., Daniel and
Joel, being the first settler of Georgia, Vermont.
Stephen Fairchild and his son Stephen, Jr., were
soldier in the Revolutionary war, and were both
taken prisoners. The line of descent was contra
cted through Stephen Fairchild, Jr., father of
Joel Fairchild, who was the paternal grandfather
of Mrs. Plickok. Of the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Hickok seven children were born, namely : Con
stance ; Laura Piatt, who died in childhood ; Mary
Whiting ; Kate Morton ; Harriet Elinor ; Doro
thy; and Marjorie. Mr. Hickok passed away
April 2, 1898.
HIRAM AUGUSTUS HUSE.
Hiram Augustus Huse was born at Randolph,
Vermont, January 17, 1843 ; parents Hiram Syl
vester Pluse, a man of great mental power and
absolutely honest character, and Emily Morgan
(Blodgett) Huse, a woman of infinite self-sac
rifice, charity and simple goodness; his family

moved to Wisconsin in 1845; he had his home
, there until 1868 ; was educated in a district school,
at Willard Seminary in Watertown, Wisconsin,
at a normal school in Dixon, Illinois, and him
self was a teacher in elementary schools for sev
eral terms prior to i860; completed his second
ary education at Randolph, Vermont, in the.
Orange County Grammar School; entered Dart
mouth College in 1861, suspending study there
to serve as a private in the Civil War; enlisted,
August 19, 1862, in Company F, Twelfth Regi
ment, Vermont Volunteers; mustered out with
honor July 14, 1863, at the close of the Gettys
burg., campaign; returned to Hanover, New
Hampshire, and graduated from Dartmouth in the-
class of 1865 ; entered the law school at. Albany,
New York, and graduated therefrom in 1867; re
turned to Vermont in 1868, and, until 1872,
practiced law at Randolph as a member of the Or
ange County Bar ; during part of said time served
as assistant principal of the State Normal School ;
moved to Montpelier, Vermont, his final and per
manent residence, in 1872, entering the law office
of Heaton & Reed ; after initial work at the State
Library, became State Librarian in 1873, and so
remained during life; for about a decade fol
lowing 1873 helped edit The Green Mountain
Freeman; was in law partnership with William
A. Lord, 1876-8; represented Montpelier In the
general assembly in 1878; was state's attorney
for Washington County in 1882-4; was in law
partnership with Clarence H. Pitkin during
1883-90; formed, in 1890, a lasting partnership
with William I'. Dillingham, United States Sena
tor, and Fred A. Howland, Secretary of State;
was the general counsel of the National Life In
surance Company- during the four years next
preceding his death; was" a member of the Ver
mont Society, Sons of American Revolution, of
Brooks Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of
Aurora Lodge, Free & Accepted Masons, of the
trustees of Heaton Hospital and the Union
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, all of Mont
pelier; was always a prolific and authoritative
writer on historical and biographical subjects per
taining to Vermont,, articles from his pen ap
pearing everywhere; was always a leading citi
zen, counsellor and leader in local and state
affairs, being not only one of the best known
but one of the most constructive influences in

The Leu/is Publishing ¦-.Co..

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

i37

Vermont; true worth and absolute integrity
characterized everything he was and did through
out his whole life; was married in Randolph,
Vermont, January 30, 1872, to Miss Harriet
Olivia, daughter of Melzar and Eunice Harriet
(Smith) Woodbury; his wife and their two
children survive, Harriet Emily (wife of Carlos
C. Bancroft, of Montpelier), and Ray Woodbury
Huse, of the same city ; died September 23, 1902,
at Williamstown, Vermont; rests, truly loved,
honorably mourned and remembered, in Green
Mount Cemetery, by the stream and near the peo
ple whom he loved and served with all his great
ability and virtue for thirty years, a great, true-
hearted man.

There is a picture of this man in my study.
When it meets the eye, it invariably inspires but
one thought, that it represents a character, which,
when measured by all the standards of those vir
tues which distinguish the most eminent and de
serving biographies, is not surpassed in quality
by any, and whose owner attained to a less con-
spicious position in human affairs for no other
reason save that of opportunity. He spent his
life and did his work, amid surroundings which
contributed not inuch to personal opportunity
but which, for all that, enabled him to exemplify
in his- life the best there is in a true gentleman,
scholar^ and man of affairs. The work he did
was itself, actually great, but the character and
soul of the man surpassed his mere work, and of
these I wish to speak.
Mr. Huse always distinguished between the
man of memory and the man of trained mind.
The latter he had in a remarkable degree, in
deed he may be said to have trained and dis
ciplined a naturally strong mind by half a century
of the most assiduous study and work. Men in
stinctively felt before him that they stood in the
presence of a strong will, a comprehensive mind,
a learned man and an absolutely impartial and
able judge. This made him influential. At
the same time, his tireless arid ubiquitous read
ings, sustained by a most retentive. memory, en
abled him to extend his reach in a great many
directions, and, thereafter, as circumstances of
business or of conversation might require, he was
able to and he actually did at all times, disclose
facts, data and conclusions therefrom in the most

marvelous abundance. He was at once a good
judge of the value of a fact and of the value of
its use, although, of course, he varied in the de
gree of its effective use at different times: This
combination in him of a good memory and a
trained mind, joined with a love for humanity
. and directed to the acquisition and the expression
of the truth, gave him his power. It resulted in
universal respect for him and his opinions, an
achievement of essential character and a truly
successful life.
Mr. Huse,' like all his contemporaries, had in
finite pride in his native state, but, mainly and'
especially, I think, because its people had con
tributed in such conspicuous manner to the great
events and progress of the United States. He
was somewhat cosmopolitan, at least broad
enough not to limit his interests and affections
to'the state alone. They reached out to and took
firm grasp on a profound love of the nation as
a whole, and it was always pleasing to him to
note progress and prosperity in every section of
the United States. In these respects he was not
a partisan, and no mere trimmer either. It was
said that there was in him a strain of Tndian
blood. This is not at all confirmed, but might have
been sustained as a fact, if consideration was
given to the strength of his face, his great shaggy
head, his clear-cut profile, his searching -eye and
the dignity of his presence. He had the love of
the Western Continent in his veins, however ; but ¦
always paramount was. his own country, its insti
tutions, its great history, its powerful people, its
illimitable wealth. To his mind the United
States leapt into quick comparison with old Rome
and still more ancient Greece in their prime arid
with the more modern European dynasties. In
such comparisons the free institutions of his
native land, founded on the political equality .of
men and their rights to independent thought and
action, gave him the utmost satisfaction and
exalted his own attitude toward public affairs.
He was a continuous and careful student of
his country's history and, in fact, a student al
ways. To spend several days in fixing a single
fact was with him a pastime. Perhaps he did
not always care so much for the fact as for
honesty and perfection of method in its pursuit.
Honest intent and a true result, constituted for
him the major share of compensation in all effort.

138

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

In this respect he was singularly honest. And he
made nice distinctions, also, holding gossipy trifles
about men and women in derogation, and insisting
that their large acts and prime motives should
define their character. He disposed of events in
like manner, detesting any act by which a foible
of conduct or an accident of detail was made to
spot the character of a great man or a great event.
Nothing was too humble to escape his study.
History, science, theology, politics, law, the state,
news, editorial, trade statistics, reviews, litera
ture, everything in which the brain of man ex
pressed its activity, interested him. Not with re
gard to any order of precedence, however, except
that such subjects interested him most which
most interested others. And so it was that even
strangers, as well as friends, could always com
mand his great amount of information on all
subjects and, also, his special ability for research
in bringing light to matters on which information
was sought. The story is not wanting that he
would even drop the practice of law for a day,
in order, as the librarian of the people, to spend
that time in examination and study of some his
toric or literary fact. This free and constant
use of himself to help others to knowledge and
correct opinions was one of Mr. Huse's greatest
attributes and moulded his life into one of special
service to his times. No one takes his place in
that regard. If he had a fault at all, and that
may be referred to here, as well as elsewhere, it
was only in the use or manner and not in the
quality and extent of his information. Some
times it seemed as if the great knowledge that he
had was badly or illy deranged.' At least the
confused and involved manner in which he ex
pressed himself at such times was indicative of
that. He seemed on such rare occasions to be
oppressed by his own wealth of ideas and hardly
able to arrange and present them clearly, losing,
so to speak, the control and direction of their
count. This was never true of his writings, par
ticularly when done by his own hand, his style
being always perspicuous and his language most
forceful and select. And, indeed, this was also
true, particularly when roused, of most of his
arguments and speeches, which would clearly lay
down their premises, logically and incontroverti-
bly proceed with their middle terms, and climax
up. to a positive conclusion, which would strike

its hearers as something fixed and established, not
by mere declaration, but by qualified and sus
tained reasoning. He deserved the great repu
tation which he had for scholarship throughout
the state.
I do not undertake to judge him as a lawyer.
In that thing, which was his profession, his work
was the mixed and varied effort of the country
squire. Being a correct as well as a right thinker
he naturally enjoyed, admired and honored the
profession of the law. Being a humanitarian, no
client, however humble, was refused his aid.
Being an honest man, lie worked within the limits
which pure honesty exacts. He was said to be
by his associates the ablest lawyer in active prac
tice at his bar. A laymen, acquainted with his
abilities in other directions, would be prepared to
accept this statement. For it was certainly true
that Mr. Huse had great talent and exact train
ing, and to these he added the rule of conduct
in his professional work of expressing no opinion
without thorough study of the subject. I think,
however, that his best work as a lawyer is less
written in court records than on the statutes of
his state, and was less often brought to final issue
before judge and jury than carefully perfected
and applied within the sanctity of his own office.
He joined the services of the lawyer, the jury and
the judge in all of his work, and concluded that
service in counsel and in adjustment of the cause
more frequently out of court than in. He was a
legitimate influence in the law, and, in his own
town and county and, to some extent, in the' state,
stood as a faculty of law. His aid in the prepa
ration of pleadings and his counsel to others in
the profession was very extensive, and was more
generally bestowed without than with gratuity.
His instructions traveled. Therefore he taught
others and helped them on in their -professional
careers. He constantly advised the use of
equity. To so act over a long term of years was
to prove himself a master in law, preferring
what was just to what was the law, when equity
and law. were in conflict. The doctorate degree
would have fitted him. That it was not conferred
is merely a proof that the universities have not
yet come to distinguish between mere publicity
and strong, silent work. Mr. Huse, like natural
laws, worked quietly, influencing his professional
associates by example. Perhaps nothing truer.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

139

or better can be said of his work in law than that
he always aimed to do what was right, recog
nizing that men and things were not perfect and
that their thoughts and relationships could not
always be exact. That was why he stood ready
to compromise difficulties instead of propagating
them, and was always prepared to counsel an
amicable adjustment of all disputes. If, how
ever, this proved impossible, no man would fight
harder, hit more direct,, and maintain the action
longer and out of mere ample resources through
his great knowledge of the law and of practice
than Mr. Huse, and no client in that case would
have a more earnest, more loyal or more skillful
support. He believed, however, that ability and
honesty were pretty nearly synonymous in law, in
business, in scholarship and in action. That was
why he admired Abraham Lincoln so profoundly
above all other public men of his day, and caused
him to make nice discriminations in his friend
ships for men.
Pie was, further, a good associate,. prepared to
pass over the defects in others and especially" to
recognize and publish their virtues. His partners
in law, Lord, Pitkin, Dillingham, Howland, all had
always his entire confidence and commendation.
He respected their opinions, testing same by
checks of his own. He never claimed what was
riot his, referring here to ideas, opinions, plans
or even expressions . of thought. He was as
honest in handling other people's ideas as their
money, and as anxious to account for one as the
other. He was no plagiarist, but took delight in
pushing other men to the front, in court, in public
meeting and on the rostrum. It was an exper
ience of joy and satisfaction ' to observe the
anxiety with which he followed his student's first
case and his pride in the success of the man, the
lawyer' and the friend. He made a good nomi
nator but a poor nominee, much preferring to
place others than to seek a place for himself. This
normal attitude of mind, such was the generous,
whole-souled nature of Mr. Huse, made it
natural for him to regard his associate as an
able lawyer, his friend as a tactful politician, his
comrade as an entertaining friend, his chance
acquaintance as a man of merit, and his fellow
director as an able man of affairs: This was by
no means all optimism or mere makeshift policy,
but an honest recognition of the law that most

men have merit, and that it is right- to concede
this rather than to practice a pernicious criticism
of others upon the theory that their loss may
signify the chance of some fragment of gain for
oneself. He demonstrated his tendency in this
respect by his readiness to accept amendment to
his motions, although he would always fight and
fight well for any matter 'in which he thought
himself unqualifiedly right. He was great
enough, however, to give the benefit of any
doubt to his opponent in all debate or in any
transaction, and nothing better than this can be
said of any man to his more lasting credit and
honor. He was fond of saying 'that "the man
stands above the dollar." I have read this Or
nearcl it somewhere else and before he used it,
but from Mr. Huse it always came with the force
of a command or a law. His own needs were
few in terms of dollars ; in terms of the head and
che heart they were large and filled only by books,
family and friends. He was compelled to thought
and action in local and state affairs. This was
apparently his sole excuse for being in politics
and keeping cut of office ; but, no matter where
he was, his motives and his acts were always
honest and able, so that his death created a pro
found and universal public as well as private
regret. It would be injustice to Mr. Huse to omit
mention of his great love of family, father and
mother and of the old places in Randolph and
Wisconsin. The- places where he lived at any
time became sacred to him, wherever they were.
The line he trod on picket duty in war times be
came a part of his recoverable memory. The
spot where he buried his dog he revisited again.
In like manner he clung to his esteem for men
with whom he was associated, and was exceed
ingly slow to discontinue an old friend. No
case of his having done so even recurs to mind.
It is difficult to designate this characteristic, but,
for the want of a better term, it may be called cam
araderie in its best manifestations. Tp him it sig
nified personal loyalty, filial duty, local affection
and good faith. It enabled him to be tenderly
true to ail the associations of childhood, home,
school, college and town, and to all the people
whom he came to know and who came to know
him in all these places during' life. It sanctified
his friendship and enabled him to win quick and

14°

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

hold fast- innumerable acquaintanceships. He pre
ferred the loss of a business chance to the sacri
fice of any sort of obligation due to association.
-Did he practice this virtue? Always, and it
explains exactly why his fellow citizens held him
in such great esteem and his death created a
vacancy which no one can fill.
It was said of Mr. Huse that he had no
particular regard for money. This must be so,
or some part, at least, of what has already been
said of him cannot be so. He seldom thought of
money — not that this was an entire virtue ; it was a
¦characteristic. Men cannot always do some other
things well and at the same time accumulate gold.
"This was true of Webster, and it is said that
Emerson lost his savings on railroad stocks and
had his boy put through college and his home
restored by friends. Why not? He will, for all
thatj, outlive the other New England writers and
alone survive the provincialism of his time and-
place. When Mr. Huse returned to his Maker,
whom he trusted and loved, the good was not all
gone. People by the hundreds will retain and
take courage from the example of his noble life,
and young men and associates in law will con
tinue to feel the inspiration and direction of both
his method and his thought. The curious fact
was that our people hardly knew what their loss
was until sudden death snapped the thread of
his mortal life. If was like ' turning a useful
stream from their doors. His services in law
were probably never compensated for by half,
hut it is certain that his public services always
were, yet only and always through, the pleasure
which the consciousness , of their performance
gave him as an act of duty to the state.
It may be that this estimate does not do jus
tice to Mr. Huse. It is founded, however, upon
a very long and most intimate acquaintance with
him and his acts, and is conceived in the sole de
sire to record an honest impression of a very
' honest man, whose success in life was truly great,
truly honorable and truly earned. Jos. A. De Boer.
H. P. S. BOARDMAN, M. D.
Dr. Harland Page Smith Boardman is one of
the most successful physicians and surgeons of
Montpelier, Vermont, and a prominent resident

of that city. He has much natural ability, but is
withal a close student and believes , thoroughly
in the maxim "there is no excellence without
labor." His devotion to the duties rp£ his pro
fession, therefore, combined; with a ..compre
hensive understanding of the principles, of the
science of medicine, has made him a most suc
cessful and able practitioner, -whose prominence
is well deserved.
Dr. Boardman was born in Middlebury, this
state, October 26, 1850, and is a lineal descendant
of Timothy Boardman, who came to Vermont
from Connecticut at a very early day and cleared
and improved a farm at what is known as Board-
man Hill, West Rutland. He served in the navy
during the Revolutionary war, fighting valiantly
for the freedom of the colonies. His son, Timothy
Boardman, the Doctor's grandfather, took up
arms against the mother country in the second
war with England, in 18 12. He was born in
Rutland and followed farming throughout life.
In early manhood he married Sally Tupper, and
to them were born six children, namely- : Darius,
Timothy, Hannah, Louisa, Norman W., and
Sarah Ann, who died at the age of twenty-
three years! The father of this family died in
1871, and his wife passed away at the age of
forty-four years.
Timothy Boardman (third of the name), the
father of Dr. Boardman, was born on the 2nd of
March, 1818, and made farming his life occupa
tion. He wedded Miss Mary P. Smith, a daugh
ter of Jonathan and Nancy (Pierce) Smith, of
Chester, Vermont, and by this union two children
-were born, but the only daughter, Mary Nancy,
died at the age of three years. The mother died
in 1890, and the father now makes his home with
the Doctor. He is an active and earnest member
of the Congregational church, to which his wife
also belonged.
Dr. Boardman received his literary education
at Middlebury College, where he was graduated
in the class of 1874, and then began his prepara
tion for his chosen profession, attending lectures
at the Cleveland Homeopathic Hospital College
at Cleveland, Ohio, where he was graduated in
1877, with the degree of M. D: He began
practice at Cambridge, Vermont, where he spent
one year, and in April, 1878, opened an office' in
Woodstock, this state, where he remained until

/*&

&Q?

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Mi

April, 1 88 1. He was next at Ludlow until April,
1885, when he came to Montpelier, and has since
successfully engaged in practice at this place.
He has one of the most perfectly equipped offices
for electrical treatment in the United States'. He
is a close and thorough student, and in 1900 was
graduated from the New York Electro-
Therapeutics Clinic an*d Laboratory, of which M.
A. Cleaves is dean. "He is thoroughly up-to-date
in his methods of treating all kinds of diseases.
In this branch of medical science he is an en
thusiast and has • built up a lucrative practice.
During the year of 1902 he has effected some
wonderful cures with the X-rays in inoperable
cancers -and malignant growths. Among the
cases cured is one of tuberclous glands, one
large epithelioma and one small one; one large
double sarcoma of the head and face; 'three cases
of carcinoma of the breast and one carcinoma of
the nose. These growths were all from five to
twenty years' standing, the youngest person
being fifty-nine and the oldest eighty years of age.
Dr. Boardman is one of the most prominent and
influential members of the Vermont State
Homeopathic Medical Society, in which he has
served as president, vice president and treasurer,
and was chairman of the board for ten years,
On the 3d of June, 1880, Dr. Boardman was
united in marriage with Miss Mary G. Griswold,
a daughter of William B. Griswold, of Wisconsin,
and by this union were born two children : Mary
Adaliiie, born December 11, 1885; and Margaret
G., who was born August 23, 1889, and died
August 23, 1890. Fraternally Dr. Boardman is
a Royal Arch Mason, and politically is a stanch
supporter of the Republican party. He is senior
deacon in the Congregational church, with which
he holds membership, and is a pleasant, ^ genial
gentleman who makes many friends and is held
in high regard by all who know him.
EDWARD, HUNGERFORD.
£dward Hungerford was born in Wolcottville
(now Torrington), Connecticut, September- 20,-
1829, descended on. the side of both father and
mother from New England colonial ancestry.
His father, John' Hungerford, born in Southing
ton, . Connecticut, August 29, 1787, died in Wol
cottville, Connecticut, August 29, 1856, and came

in direct line from Thomas- Hungerford, who*
appears in the records of the town of Hartford,
Connecticut, as having received, in the year 1639,.
an allotment of land in a distribution made at
that time. Prom this Thomas Hungerford, who-
is supposed to have come from Thetford, in Nor
folk county, England, are descended most of the
Hungerfords in this country. The family history
in England runs back' to the year 1160, and in
cludes several names among the nobility. The
family seat was Farley Castle, in the Hants.
The father of Edward Hungerford was born?
to a lot of self-denial and earnest effort, under
which he achieved unusual success as one of the,
leading manufacturers and business men in Litch
field county. In middle life he conducted a, for
that time, large woolen mill, and in later years "be
came the sole owner of the first brass and brass-
rolling mill established in America,- — the pioneer
of the vast industries of that character which now
line the course of the Naugatuck river in his na
tive state. He was a man of marked public spirit,.
strict integrity, and firm religious convictions,
who always advocated higher ideals of character
and conduct.
The 'mother of Edward Hungerford, Char
lotte Austin, was born March. 2, 1800, in Tor
rington, Connecticut, of which township Wol
cottville was a manufacturing and trading center..
Her father was Nathaniel Austin, a farmer in
moderate circumstances, and her mother was a
Mills and near relative of Samuel J. Mills, of
Torrington; famous as the prime mover and lead
ing spirit in the formation of the great-
foreign missionary enterprise in this coun
try,- with which his name will be for
ever associated. Nathaniel Austin moved
in middle life to Ohio, and was one of the
founders of Austinburg in that state, which took
its name from the Austin family. He left several
daughters in their native town, and among these-
daughters Charlotte, who was married to John
Hungerford, on the" 5th of June, 1820.
She led a life of great activity in the com
munity and the church, and was one of the lead
ing spirits who gave to the place its moral char
acter and its enterprise. A woman or rare beauty,.
keen intellect and deep religious sense, she reared
a large family of 'children, and died March 1,
1894, lacking but a few hours of the age. of

142

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ninety-four years. She retained to the last all
her faculties and her interest in the affairs of
church and state, which she often expressed with
earnest voice and flashing eyes.
The Hungerford name has not been without
honor. The Hartford county bar remembers
with pride its distinguished lawyer, William
Hungerford, a brother of the subject of this
first half of the last century; and acknowledged
now to be one of its foremost men is Frank L.
Hungerford, a younger brother of the subject of
this sketch ; while another brother, U. T. Hunger
ford, is a recognized leader among the larger
dealers in copper and brass wares in New York
city, a business to which he was introduced by
his father. A branch of this family in Water-
town, New York, is of high standing in wealth
and influence.
Edward Hungerford, reared in his native vil
lage of Wolcottville, experienced the disadvan
tages and some of the advantages of being the
son of the leading manufacturer of the place.
The ambition of his mother and her religious con
victions early devoted him to the Christian min
istry, — but ill health, during a portion of his col
lege course at Yale, diverted him from that pur
pose, and immediately after his graduation from
Yale in 185 1, he entered on a course of chemical
study in the laboratory of that college under the
direction of Professor Norton; Here he became
acquainted with George J. Brush, his junior in
years, but a more advanced student in that de
partment, who afterwards became distinguished
as professor and head of the Sheffield- Scientific
School. Through him Mr. Hungerford received
an invitation to become student and assistant with
himself to Professor -Benjamin Silliman, the
younger, in the Medical School of Louisville,
Kentucky. After a year of study under this direction,
Mr. Hungerford went to the German University
of Goettingen in Hanover, where he spent three
years pursuing studies preparatory to making
geology his specialty. Leaving Goettingen in the
autumn of 1855, he went to Berlin, where he pur
sued preparatory studies in paleontology. In
the spring of 1856 he journeyed through. Ven
ice, Milan, Genoa and Rome to Naples, where he
spent most of the time allowed him in Italy, study
ing the volcanic formations around that center.

He returned to his home in Connecticut in
the summer of 1856, in time to see his father be^
fore his death. In the autumn of that year Mr.
Hungerford was invited by Professor J. D. .Whit
ney to act as his assistant in the state geological
survey of Iowa, in which work he continued until
the close ofthe summer campaign of 1857. This
work led him through large sections of Iowa,
at a time when one might ride for .days over vast
stretches of wild prairie, with only an occasional
new settlement. The work of such a preliminary
survey is necessarily rapid, and tests both the
accuracy and acumen of the observer, but our
young student had. the satisfaction of being told
by his superior, after the work had ben carefully
reviewed, that the conclusions embodied in his
report had been confirmed in every particular.
On returning east in the midsummer of 1857,
Mr. Hungerford was invited to the professorship
of natural sciences in the University of Vermont,
and entered on his labors here in the following
, autumn. His scientific instruction was continued '
in the university until August, 1861, when the
finances of the institution became embarrassed on
account of the Civil war, which had drawn ?. large
number of its students to the battlefields of the
country. Some curtailment of expenses became
necessary, and, August 7th of that year, the cor
poration "voted that the professorship of chem
istry and geology be discontinued at the close of
the present half year, and that Professor Hun-
gerford's services be then discontinued, by reason
of financial embarrassments."
In December of the same year the corporation
passed the following resolution, on the motion
of Dr. Wocester, one of its leading members,.:
"Resolved that in discontinuing the professorship
of chemistry and geology, and the service of its
incumbent, the corporation would be considered
as acting under constraint pf pecuniary neces
sity, and with great regret, and that they appre
ciate the fidelity and ability with which Mr. Hun
gerford has discharged the duties of his profes
sorship. "Resolved that the secretary be requested to
furnish Professor Hungerford a copy of the above
resolutions." At the expiration of the half year Mr. Hun
gerford closed his duties in the university, Jan- '
uary 1, 1862, after a terni of service of a little

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

H3

over four years. In the meantime, September 1,
1859, he had married Miss Maria A. Buell, of
Burlington, and one daughter had been born to
them. The burdens of the Civil war were bear
ing heavily upon the colleges of the country,
and Mr. Hungerford purchased and retired to
what was then known as the Reed Place, on
Winooski Park, in Colchester, an idyllic place
of orchards, grassy slopes and terraces, , with
the cataracts of Winooski river rushing through
gorges cut in the limestone cliffs. Here he
•spent several years, purchasing in the mean
time the larger so called Penniman farm, to the
old Colonial house of which he removed his
family. This house was burned in December,
1902. After the close of the war, and while the old
love for study was returning, Mr. Hungerford
found himself in vigorous health, with a family
"growing up around him. He had interested
himself in religous work in the state,' and was
drifting towards the Christian ministry, to which
his early training had predisposed him. At the
same time there lingered with him the fascina
tion of scientific pursuits. A decision between
the two courses was forced upon him by
approaches made to him by Marietta College,
Ohio, and also suggestions in behalf of the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania, with the result that he
finally decided definitely to enter the Christian
ministry. In the winter of 1871-2 he was called to the
pastorate of Center church in Meriden, Con
necticut, where he labored with the usual varied
successes during a period of eight years, when
he returned to his home in Burlington, and after
a stay of three years, responded in the autumn
of 1883, to a call from the Congregational church
in Adams, Massachusetts, where he remained
somewhat over three years, until January, 1887.
Returning to Burlington in the spring of 18,87,
he has resided here, with an occasional prolonged
absence, until the present time, engaging, as at
other periods, when free to do so, in varied liter
ary pursuits.
¦In his earlier days in Burlington, in aid of
the Medical College, in which he was active, he
issued for sale, at a fair, a little work of fancy,
"Migration of the Fairies," which would hardly
be counted worthy of mention here, save that a

dispute has arisen over its authorship, in conser
quence of a statement, made by Miss Hemen-
way, to the effect that Mrs. De Witt Clarke wrote
it. Miss Hemenway's mistake doubtless arose
from the fact that Mrs. Clarke wrote a little
poem for the book, which was her only contribu
tion to it. The underlying fact of this fancy was
the introduction into this country of the German
fairy literature.
During quite a portion of Mr. Hungerford's
pastorate in Meriden, a loeal paper published his
weekly sermons, and he wrote a historical vol
ume of over seventy pages entitled "Centennial
Sermons," on the one hundreth anniversary of
the founding of Center church.
Aside from a few contributions to natural sci
ence, some articles published . in literary magar
zines have attracted their share of public atten- »
tion. The chief articles so published are "Buddr
hism and Christianity," in The New Englander,
1874; "The Rise of Arabian Learning," Atlantic
Monthly, 1886 ; "Intellectual Mission of the Sarr
acens," Atlantic Monthly, 1886; "Spiritual
Preaching for Our Times," Century Magazine,
1886; "The Arabian Brothers of Purity," And- .
over Review, 1889 ; "Prayers, Subjective and Ob- •
jective," Andover Review, 1890, and same article,
Congregational Review, London England; "Our
Summer Migration, A Social Study," Century
Ma.ga.aine, 1891.
In the year 1889, was published, by Hough
ton, Mifflin & Company, his "American Book of
Church Services," a volume of over four hun
dred pages, which involved extended examina
tion of the liturgies of the Christian church, and
was received with generous appreciation by the
religious press and the Christian public. His
latest contribution to the subject of public wor
ship is contained in a little volume under the
title, " The Common Order of Morning Wor
ship." MRS. MARIA BUELL HUNGERFORD.
Maria Buell Hungerford, wife of Edward
Hungerford, was the daughter of Frederick Buell,
born in Litchfield," Connecticut, June 21, 1792,
and of Eliza Whelply Hickok Buell, born, Bur
lington, Vermont, April 8, 1801. She was born
in Burlington, Vermont, October 12, 1827,, in

144

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

the house where she and her husband still live,
and which came to her from the estate of her
father. The place originally extended along Wil
lard street to within about two hundred feet of
College street. She gave from jt to the
Third Congregational church and society,
the site of its present parsonage. Buell
street and Hungerford Terrace have been
lately carried through- it. The place, thus
and by subsequent sales reduced to about
four acres, was laid out into lawns, walks
and driveways, after the death of her mother in
1875. The pine grove still standing upon it is
part of the original forest. The, house was built
by her grandfather, Colonel Ozias Buell, for his
son Frederick, on the occasion of the son's mar
riage to Eliza Whelply Hickok, daughter of Sam
uel Hickok, which marriage took place August
16, 1820. The building was begun in 1818, and
finished soon after the marriage.
Frederick Buell, father of Maria Buell and
son of Ozias Buell, who was born in Litchfield,
Connecticut, April 8, 1769, and of Abigail Cot-
ten, was a merchant in company with his father
Ozias, occupying a store on a part of the prop
erty of the father and at the corner of Pearl and
Union streets. He died in July, 1835, leaving a
son, Mortimer Catlin, who died at Brattleboro,
Vermont, July 27, 185 1; and the daughter Ma
ria, who was reared under the care of her mother
and the' fondness of her grandfather.
Eliza Whelply Hickok Buell, the mother of
Mrs. Hungerford, was the daughter of Samuel
Hickok, who was born at Sheffield, Massachu
setts, September 4, 1774, and of Hannah Col
lard, born at Barnstable, Devonshire, England,
October 1, i777- A woman of quiet tastes, of
wide reading and strong religious tendencies, she
spent her life, with rare and brief interruptions,
in Burlington, where she was universally es
teemed for her high character, benevolence, and
activity in religious and charitable enterprises.
In liberality she joined hands with her brother,
Henry P. Hickok, often subscribing an equal
amount with him for objects in which they were
.interested. With him she was one of the found
ers cf College Street church, and an equal donor
in the erection of its place of worship.
In her girlhood Maria Buell belonged to a
narrow circle of intimates, which included names

still well known and treasured in Burlington. She
was sent for higher education to the celebrated
Miss Dutton's school in New Haven, Connec
ticut, and when her uncle by marriage and the
celebrated scholar the honorable ¦ George P.
Marsh was elected to represent his district in the
national Congress, she accompanied Mr. and Mrs.
Marsh to Washington, and was a member of
their household. When later Mr. Marsh became
United States minister to Turkey, she was in
vited to be one of the ministerial household in
Constantinople, and was thus brought in contact
with the diplomatic circle of that capital. With
Mr. and Mrs. Marsh she- traveled up the. Nile in
a dakabeah as far as the second cataract, under
conditions' which gave her peculiar opportuni
ties to meet and observe the people. She also
made with them the journey by camel through
the desert to Mt. Sinai and Palestine.
It was under the incumbency of Mr. Marsh'
that the famous Kossuth incident occurred, and
the breaking out of the Crimean war. When Mr.
Marsh was sent to Greece to settle with that gov
ernment the mixed questions which arose over
the missionary Dr. King, she spent the time with
Mr. Marsh's family in Athens, and subsequently
traveled with them through Sicily and Italy.
These opportunities for travel under the most fa
vorable conditions, and for contact with scholars
and statesmen, as well as with the people of
these countries, had a special educational value
for Miss Buell in literature, art and social life.
On her return from Europe she traveled with her
uncle, Mr. James W. Hickok, and the then cele
brated railroad king, William B. Ogden, through
the northwest into Wisconsin, then in the begin
ning of its development. Since her marriage she
has indulged strong domestic tastes, and devoted
herself to her husband and children, encouraging
their literary tendencies and their ambitions for
usefulness. The children of Edward and Maria B. Hun
gerford are: Caroline Marsh, bom October 11,
i860, married Silas R. Mills, now head of the' vo
cal department in the music school of Smith Col
lege, Northampton, Massachusetts. Charlotte
Eliza, born May 18, 1863, married William Zant-
zinger, of New York city, a lawyer. Frederic
Buell, born December 2, 1864, married Mary
Post, of New Britain, Connecticut, in which place

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

M5

he is practicing law. Katharine Emma, born
August 23, 1869, married John F. Herman, mer
chant of Boone, Iowa. Frank Edward, born
November. 15, 1870, died at Meriden, Connec
ticut, December 19, 1875.
GERTRUDE C. HUBBELL.
Among the old and honored families of Ben
nington, Vermont, is numbered the Hubbell
family, who trace their ancestry back to "Hubba
the Dane," A. D. 867. The surname Hubbell is
of Danish origin, taken from Hubba's Hill, sit
uated near Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire,
Wales. The progenitor of the family in Amer
ica was Richard Hubbell, a son of Francis. He
was born in Plymouth, England, in 1627, and
came to the new world about 1645, settling in
the New Haven colony. On the 7th of March,
1647, he took the oath of fidelity to the govern
ment, which oath has always been faithfully
kept, patriotism and loyal Iotjc of country hav
ing been marked characteristics among his
numerous descendants. In 1650 he married
Elizabeth Meigs, a daughter of John Meigs,
and they became the parents of a large family
of children, including James Hubbell, who was
born in Fairfield, Fairfield county, Connecticut,
in 1673. He married Patience Smith and made '
his home in what is now called Easton, Connec
ticut, where he died in October, 1777, at the ex
treme old age of one hundred and four years.
Elnathan Hubbell, a son of James, was.
born in Stratford, Fairfield county, Connecti
cut, September 22, 1717, and married Mehita
ble Sherwood. Hei removed to Bennirigtori, :
Verriiont, soon after the settlement of. the
town, and his name appeared. on a petition to
the king, among those of other inhabitants,
in 1766. He was one of the ten rescuers
of Remember Baker, who was -/captured by
Monro and his party in the interests of the
New York larid claimants. He was a mem
ber of the first Congregational church of Ben
nington, which was the first church built in
the state.. He died at this place in 1788 and was
buried in the family lot in the old historic ceme
tery, where his wife was also laid to rest.
, Aaron Hubbell, a son of Elnathan, was born

in Stratford, Connecticut, September 14, 1757,
and accompanied his parents on their removal to
this state. He was twenty years of age at the
time of the battle of Bennington, in which he bore
an active part, being a member of Captain
Samuel Robinson's company of militia, and he
afterward became lieutenant of the company.
After the successful assault on Baum's redoubt,
he was placed as one of the guards set over the ¦
prisoners captured in the action, numbering over.
six hundred, who were marched to the Bennington

E. D. HUBBELL.

meeting-house. Many who were wounded died
and were buried in the cemetery near the meeting
house. Lieutenant Hubbell held the office of jus
tice of the peace for many years, and was greatly.

10

146

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

respected for his integrity and good judgment..
He was deacon of the old First Congregational
church. He was twice married, his first wife
being Sarah, daughter of Captain Elijah and
Eunice (Brush) Dewey, and to them were born
five children, one son and four daughters. His
second wife bore the maiden name of Lucinda
Moody. She was born in Woodbury, Connecticut,
January 18, 1770, and retained vivid recollections
of seeing General Washington, when as com
mander-in-chief of the American army he passed
through Farmington on one occasion; she mar
ried Aaron Hubbell, March 11, 1798, and became
the mother of one son and four daughters. The
eight daughters of this family were remarkable
for their intellectual gifts and earnest Christian
principles. They were all married in the same
room of the old homestead. Aaron Hubbell died
on the 26th of December, 1844, and his wife
Lucinda passed away October 3, 1864, when
nearly ninety-five years of age, yet she retained
al her faculties to the last. Her memory of
early days was keen and her narratives were
replete with interest.
Elijah Dewey Hubbell, son of Aaron and
Sarah (Dewey) Hubbell, was born on the 8th
of May, 1790, and spent his entire life in Ben
nington. , In early manhood he was united in.
marriage to Miss Laura Squier, a daughter of
Hon. Truman Squier, and to them were born
five children, two sons and three daughters, the
former being Elijah Dewey and Philip Tichener,
neither of whom married. Elijah D. died when
thirty-one years of age and Philip T. departed
this life in December, 1901, aged sixty-nine
years. After a useful and well spent life the
father died February 3, 1864, honored and re
spected by all who knew him. Of a social dis
position, he made hosts of warm friends, and he
was highly esteemed by all who knew him, as a
man of unblemished character and strict integ
rity. He was honored for many years with the
office of first selectman in the town and with
other important trusts, was twice elected to the
state legislature, and his official . duties were
always most capably and satisfactorily per
formed. His daughter, Gertrude C, the only sur
vivor of the family, is still living at the old home
stead in Bennington Center, where she was born,
the house having been built by her father in 1820.

GEORGE E. CROWELL.
George Emerson Crowell, editor and one of
the founders of the well known periodical "The
Household," originally and for a quarter, of a
century published in Brattleboro, Vermont, but
now in New York City, possesses to a rare de
gree those qualities of mind, shrewd business
insight and great literary tact, which are bound
to win success for him in any publication he
may undertake. When he, in company with Mr.
Millikin, in 1868, started this journal, the outlook
was anything but encouraging, — barely capital
enough to issue the first number and just thirteen
paid-up subscriptions, but from that extremely
modest beginning it increased until its circulation
numbered eighty thousand, including patrons in
every state and territory in the Union and with
thousands in foreign lands. It was Mr. Crowell
alone who accomplished this great work, having "
after the first six months been the sole manager
of the monthly. His unwavering courage and
other sterling traits of character, undoubted pro-,
moters of his remarkable success, he has most
assuredly inherited from his good English an
cestors. He belongs to that numerous family
which is traditionally descended from Oliver
Cromwell, and it is a well established fact that
when the descendants of that great leader of
the commonwealth left England they decided to
drop the "m" from the name, thus changing it
to Crowell. Of this particular line one of the
first to appear in this country did valiant service*
in the Colonial wars ; another, Cheney Emerson,
an uncle of Nathaniel Crowell, served as a soldier
in the Revolution and subsequently located in
Illinois. Nathaniel Crowell, the father of our
subject, was a man of influence in his community.
He resided for some time in Concord, New
Hampshire, and later in the town of Hopkinton.
Having in his youth learned the cabinet-maker's
trade, he later followed that occupation for many
years, and being an exceptionally skillful work
man, his services were greatly in demand both
in Concord and Hopkinton. During his young
manhood he married Ester Stone Day, and they
had three children, the eldest of whom, a son,
died in infancy, and the second in order of birth
is the subject of this review. The daughter of
the family, Mary Rebecca, resided on a farm

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

147

in Fairlee, Vermont, and was the wife of Charles
N. Wise, by whom she had . four children,
Charles M., Harriet E., Annie E., and Carrie M.
George Emerson Crowell was born in Massa
chusetts, at Manchester, on the 29th day of Sep
tember, 1834, and was but two years old when
"he was taken by his parents to Concord, New
Hampshire, while a short time afterward the
family removed to a farm in Hopkinton, where
he spent the greater part of his youth. In the
district schools of the neighborhood he received
his education, developing those quick perceptive
powers and a taste for good literature which
pre-eminently distinguished him in later years.
At the early age of thirteen he left school and
took up the active duties of life, working on
the farm during the summer months and in a
shoemaker's shop in the winters. He ,did not,
however, abandon his interest in intellectual pur
suits, but joining the Philomathic Club, an
organization in his town patterned after the old
Spectator Club which flourished in the days of
Addison, he spent his spare moments in the
preparation of work which had not a little to
•do with the development of his literary powers.
He was still living on the farm at the opening
of the Civil war, when, in response to the Presi
dent's call for troops, . he enlisted for nine
months' service in the Sixteenth Infantry, Regi
ment of New Hampshire. Going with his
company to the Gulf, he did valiant fighting
in the Louisiana campaign. About this time,
after the death of his father, he inherited the
home farm and with it, unfortunately, a heavy
mortgage. It was to remove this incumbrance
that, after returning from the war, he decided
to embark upon a literary career. Conscious of
his ability, he came to Brattleboro in 1866 and
readily secured a position on the editorial staff
of the Vermont Record and Farmer, published by
Daniel L. Millikin. With courage and determi
nation he went to work, and on a salary of
fifteen dollars a week was enabled to place in
the bank fifty dollars a month toward paying
off the mortgage. After two years' successful
experience on this journal he received a propo
sition from his publisher to assist in the start
ing of a new periodical, which should be entirely
devoted to household matters, and after due con

sideration accepted the offer, publishing the
first number in January, 1868. The Household
seemed in every way to meet the demands of
the people as no other periodical had ever done
before, and it met with encouragement from the
start, but unfortunately, however, its growth was
much retarded at first by want of ready capital.
Mr. Millikin sold his interest to Mr. Crowell
after the first issue, the latter thus becoming its
sole owner. Strict economy, which he had be
come an adept at practicing, enabled him to
keep the publication afloat, and shrewd devices
in the course of time really made it. a paying
enterprise. The original journal numbered six
teen pages, and by the offer to add four more
when the circulation should reach twelve thous
and copies he greatly enlarged the number of
subscriptions. Later he offered to every newly
married couple a year's free subscription, and in
this way received many thousand' subscribers,
who continued to take the paper thereafter. By
similar methods Mr. Crowell succeeded in the
course of five years in putting the paper on a
firm foundation, and he consequently experienced
no financial difficulties. In fact, the periodical
paid far beyondf the wildest dreams of the origi
nators, securing 'the largest circulation of any
similar journal in the country. As a wise busi
ness man Mr. Crowell invested his m'oney in
such a way as to bring in large dividends, and
at the same time to benefit his fellow citizens.
He still owns an interest in the Carpenter Organ
Works, the Brattleboro Jelly Company, and origi
nated and has control of the water works system
of the city of Brattleboro, receiving a charter
from the legislature with a capital of two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, nearly all of which
is owned in the family. He has also invested
largely in real estate, and has greatly improved
the west side of the town by purchasing one hun
dred and fifty acres there and putting up houses
for people in moderate circumstances.
In 1875 Mr. Crowell married Mary Spencer,
of Brattleboro, a refined woman, who has taken a
sympathetic interest in all his undertakings.
They have had six children, of whom three are
now living, two sons and one daughter. The
family reside in their elegant home on High
street, which Mr. Crowell recently purchased

148

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

from a New York gentleman, but has remodeled
and greatly improved it and filled it with works
of art. It was formerly the home of the Con
federate General Buckner, who built it. As a
business man Mr. Crowell has ever kept before
his mind a clear arid steadfast purpose, from
which he has never for a minute wavered. In
literature he has distinguished himself by clear
ness of style, directness of expression and a re
markable talent in conceiving of popular taste.
He is noted for his benevolence and public spirit,
and Highland Park, a thirty-acre tract near the
heart of Brattleboro, consisting of beautiful
grounds and drive-ways, is open as a public- re
sort. Here he has erected a cottage, which he
has put at the disposal of Dr. Judson, of New
York, and which has been occupied by numerous
parties of poor children who are sent here for
rest and recreation at the cost of the Fresh Air
Fund of New York and Brooklyn. Mr. Crowell
and his family are members of the Baptist church.
WrILLIAM JAMES VAN PATTEN.
The Van Patten family of Vermont, repre
sented in the present generation by William J.
Van Patten, of Burlington, affords an example
of the blending of two of the most vigorous and
enterprising peoples — the Dutch and Scotch, —
and the narrative is peculiarly interesting, pre
senting at various points the names of those who
were conspicuous in colonial history, in times of
war and times of peace, in all the region from that
of the Massachusetts colony to New Amsterdam.
The family, the original form of whose name
was Van Putten, originated in Holland. Its seat
may have been in the town of Putten in the north
of Holland, or the village of Putten near Rot
terdam. In 15 io the Van Putten of that day was
granted a coat of arms (as shown in the state
library at Albany, New York,) for, as told by
family traditions, services rendered to the reign
ing prince. But, as the story continues, "with the
usual Dutch obituary," the Van Putten who was
thus honored shortly afterwads fell out with the
policy of the noble grantor, and his estates were
confiscated to the use of the state, and are so held
to the- present day. It is surmised that a member

of the Van Putten family was that Arent Zemms-
sen, who was killed in the Indian war of 1643,
when his buildings and all houses but a few, in
Pavonia, at Hoboken, West Jersey, were burned ;
for elsewhere in the records his name appears as
Arent Zemmsen Van Petten, whose widow mar
ried Sibert Classen and whose farm was taken
from them unlawfully by Governor Kieft.
The American progenitor of the present Van
Patten family was Claas Frederickse Van Petten
(as the name appears in his generation), who
was born in Holland in 1641, son of Frederick
Van Petten. He came to America in 1664, when-
twenty-three years of age, and settled at Schen
ectady, New York. He first worked on the farm
of William Zellers, and in 1668 he bought of
Martin Sesselsteyn a farm known as farm No.
8, and shown on the plat of "Farms of Schenec
tady in 1664," paying for it in installments of
one hundred ten beaver skins. In 1703 he bought
of S. L. Glen the greater part of farm No. 3, and a
village lot which includes what are now lots 39,
40 and 41 on Washington street. At a subse
quent time he also owned a farm on the Hudson
river, toward Poughkeepsie. These large pos
sessions attest his importance, and he was, be
sides, (in 1690) a justice of the peace under ap
pointment of Governor Leisler. He) married
Aeffie, a daughter of Arent Bradt and Catalyntje.
She died January 23, 1728, and he died Octo
ber 3, same year, at the advanced age of eighty-
seven years. They were the parents of seven
childrn, of whom the eldest was
Arent Van Petten (2), probably born in 1678.
He was an enterprising man, a carpenter by trade,
and he constructed forts under contract with
Governor Hunter. With two others he received
a patent for five hundred acres of land. He mar
ried, April 10, 1703, Jannetje Cohyn, a daughter
of Philip Conyn, of Albany. They were the par
ents of ten children, of -whom the youngest was
Dirk Van Petten (3), who was born January
3, 1724. He married Rebecca Van Antwerpen,
June 1, 1750, and of nine children born to them
the fifth was
Frederick Van Patten (4), who was bom
March 23, 1761. He was living in Glenville in
1839, when he was seventy-eight years old. The '
Van Petten family was numerous by this time,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

149

and forty-three of the name served during the
Revolutionary war, and among the eleven whose
Christian name was Frederick/ it is presumable
that this Frederick was one, although he would
have been quite young. He married, in 1788,
Jacomyntje Van Ryck, a daughter of Hendrick
Van Ryck. They had eight children, of whom
whom the eldest was
Nicholas Van Patten (5), who was born
March 10, 1789, and died December 22, 1830. He
married Elizabeth Van Valkenburgh, and of
their eight children the seventh was .
William Henry Van Patten (6), who was
born March 8, 1824, and died January 16, 1850.
He married Mary Vanderpool, who was born in
May, 1827, and died October 25, 1865.
Mary Vanderpool was directly descended
from John Douglas, who was born in Scotland,
and who, as appears from the "Documentary
History of New York," was enrolled as a "soul
dier," and "with all Cheerfulness and Readi-
nesse," "took the oath of fidelity to their Majts
William & Mary King & Queen of Engld," Octo
ber' 26, 1689. Further entries show that John
Douglas (as the name now appears) received
from the colonial government of New York pay
for military service from November 18, 1697, to
May 1, 1698, and that his regiment of three
huridred men, commanded by Colonel Richard
Irigolsby, was stationed "at the frontier of
Albany." John Douglas married Catherine
Lockhart, and to them were born five children,
among whom was Isabella, who married John
Vanderpool, sori of Malachi and Margaret
(Vanagen) Vanderpool. Of this marriage were
born six children.
John Vanderpool, third child and second son
of John and Isabella (Douglas) Vanderpool,
enlisted in the Connecticut army when he was but
sixteen years old. He served as a private in
the campaign against Quebec, and was near the
spot where fell the lamented General Mont-
gomery. He was honorably discharged at the
erid of the war, and his name was borne ripon the
Revolutionary pension rolls so long as he lived.
His cousin James Douglas also served in the
army ranks and died in service.
William James Van Patten (7), son of Will
iam Henry and Mary (Vanderpool) Van Patten,
was born September 9, 1848, in the village of

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee.
Upon the death of his father, which occurred a
year or two later, his mother returned to her
friends in the east, and since that time has been
a resident of Vermont. During his boyhood
days he lived with his mother in, Bristol and
Middlebury, where he received his education in
the public schools.
In 1864 he located in Burlington, and entered
the drug business as an employe of Mr. A.' C.
Spear, at that time the leading druggist of the
city and region. He was so employed for four
years, at the end of which time he was engaged
by the wholesale drug firm of Henry & Company
to take charge of their drug department. Henry
& Company were the predecessors of the present
business of Wells & Richardson Company, and
Mr. Van Patten has therefore been in the busi
ness continually since that time. In 1872 he was
admitted as a partner in the business, and in
that year the name of the firm was changed to
Wells, Richardson & Company. In 1883 the
business was incorporated as Wells & Richard
son Company, and Mr. Van Patten was made
secretary,' a position which he occupies at the
present time. His active business career has
been connected with this successful firm, and to
his energy and ability no small part of its success
is due. A man of large affairs, Mr. Van Patten has
long been identified with enterprises which form
an important part of the commercial and financial
interests of the city. In fact, it may be said that
several of the principal manufacturing industries
in all this region have been built up and are suc
cessfully continued inj great measure through
his energy and under his direction. These are
the Champlain Manufacturing Company, the
Malted Cereals Company, the Vermont Con
densed Milk Company, .and the Queen City Cot
ton Company. He is president of the two first
named, and treasurer of the third.
With general appreciation of his public
spirit and capability, in 1894 he was strongly
solicited to lay aside his indisposition to enter
upon public office, and he was elected to the
mayoralty by a large majority, and the following
year he was re-elected by what was all but equiv
alent to a unanimous vote. During, his term of
office many public improvements were made,

15°

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

the more .notable ones being the establishment
of a paid fire department, and the improvement
of the streets under the commission for perma
nent improvements, for which a fund of one
hundred thousand dollars was voted. Much
other work of public usefulness was accomplished
during his administration. Since that time Mr.
Van Patten has served on various public commis
sions, and always to the furtherance of public
interests. This narrative would not properly serve its
purpose were we to omit mention of those ser
vices of Mr. Van Patten which have grown out of
his genuine philanthropy, and humanitarianism,
for such records are potent agencies in assuring
the continuance of good works when the task
falls, as fall it must, into other hands. Without
doubt one of the most useful institutions in all
the state is the Adams Mission Home, with its
excellent buildings on College street in Burling
ton, overlooking Lake Champlain. Erected by
Judge Timothy Follett for a private residence at
a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars, the prop
erty was purchased by Mr. Van Patten, who de
voted it to its present purpose. As president of
the managing corporation, he has always taken
a leading part in its conduct, and it is not too
much to say that he affords it a vital inspiration
and direction which is most sagacious.
Another institution which owes much to his
deep sympathy for the unfortunate, is the Kurn
Hattin Homes for the care and training of in
digent children, located at Westminster, Ver
mont. He has been deeply interested in this
since 1894, when he afforded his aid to its estab-
lisment, the gift of the large and substantial
building which is the principal house and home
for boys being but a share of his benefactions.
He has also charged himself with its oversight
and conduct, and continues to serve as president
of the managing board, a position to which he
was chosen wnen this commendable charity was
inaugurated. He has also served for several
years in the secretaryship of the Mary Fletcher
Hospital. It would be impossible to .find where Mr. Van
Patten does not touch and impress with- his
genial personality the life of the community,
and ever on the side of that which is true and
beautiful. WTien the Christian Endeavor move

ment was inaugurated, he became interested in
it immediately, and was made the treasurer of
the United Society of Christian Endeavor when'
it was first organized in 1883,. and he has been
a member of its board of trustees from that time-
to the present. In 1885 he was elected president
of the United Society of Christian Endeavor,
which office he held for two years, and until Dr.
Francis E. Clark resigned his pastorate to devote
himself wholly to the work of that splendid or
ganization. Mr. Van Patten was the presiding
officer of four of the great national Christian-
Endeavor conventions — at Old Orchard in 1885,
at Saratoga in 1886 and 1887, and at Chicago in
1888. He has also been active in the work of
the Y'oung Men's Christian Association, and was
the president of the organization for seven years,
from 1882 to 1889. It was at this time, and.
largely through his efforts, that the substantial
building was erected which is owned and occu
pied by the local association. In many ways he-
has shown his patriotic regard for the defenders
of the Union, the members of the Grand Army
of the Republic and the Sons of Veterans, and'
it was through his suggestion that the annual
supper given to these organizations by the-
Women's Auxiliary of the Young Men's Chris
tian Association was first inaugurated. When
ever he has had opportunity he has shown his
good Will toward every man who ever went forth
to the defense of his country.
In religion Mr. Van Patten is a Congrega-
tionalist, and he has been an officer in his church
for a full quarter of a century. His political'
affiliations are with the Republican party. Loyally
devoted to the state which is his home, to its-
eminent position in the history of the nation,-
and to his ancestry which , bore so splendid a-
part in its making, he warmly cherishes- his con
nection with three notable bodies, the Society
of Colonial Wars, Sons of. American Revolution,.
and the Vermont Antiquarian Society.
In 1874 Mr. Van Patten was married to Miss-
Harriet P. Lemon, a daughter of A. R. Lemon,
Esq. Four children have been born to the union,.
of whom three, Mary, Charles and Elizabeth,.
are living. The family residence is at 386 Pearl
street, one of the substantial places of the city,
where he is surrounded with all which makes an
ideal home.

,THE STATE OF VERMONT.

151

URBAN ANDRAIN WOQDBURY.
Governor, Urban Andrain Woodbury, whose
life of patriotic service and public prominence
forms a most honorable chapter of Vermont his
tory, is directly descended from two of the earli
est families of the colonial period. In the paternal
line he is eighth in lineal descent from John
Woodbury, who came from Somersetshire, En
gland, and landed at Cape Ann, Massachusetts,
in 1624; and he is eighth in descent from Gov
ernor Simon Bradstreet, who landed in Massa
chusetts in 1630 ; ninth in descent from Governor
Thomas Dudley, of Massachusetts, who also came
in 1630; and fifth in descent from John Porter,
who was adjutant in 1738. The parents of Urban
A. Woodbury were Albert M. and Lucy L.
(Wadleigh) Woodbury, the former a native of
Cavendish, Vermont.
Urban A. Woodbury was born in Acworth,
New Hampshire, July 11, 1838, and was two
years old when his parents returned to Vermont
from a temporary residence in the former state.
He received a common school education in Mor-
ristown, Vermont, and completed his literary
studies in. the' People's Academy in Morrisville.
He then entered the medical department of the
University of Vermont, from which he was grad
uated in 1859. However, circumstances turned
him aside from- the profession, and he never en
gaged in practice.
When the storm of Civil war broke, his patri
otic ardor was aroused, and little' more than a
month after the firing upon Fort Sumter, he en
listed as a private in Company H, Second Regi
ment Vermont Volunteers, May 25, 1861, and
shortly afterward was promoted to a sergeantcy.
His regiment was a part of the force led toward
Richmond by General McDowell and into the
bloody and disastrous battle of Bull Run, July
21, 1861. Here Sergeant Woodbury lost his
right arm by piece of a shell, and, lying prostrate
on the field, was taken by the rebels. He was
held prisoner at Richmond, Virginia, for more
than two months, and was paroled October 5th,
and two weeks later, being incapacitated for field
service, was discharged. A year later the nation
was in great need of additional troops, and Mr.
Woodbury gave his effort to the recruiting of a
company which became Company D, Eleventh

Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, of which he was
commissioned captain, November 17, 1862. He
was transferred, June 17, 1863, to the Veteran
Reserve Corps, a body of veteran' soldiers who,
like himself, unable to endure the hardships and
exposure of the march, were capable of garrison
ing important posts and supply depots, thus free
ing thousands of able-bodied men for duty at the
front. In March, 1865, when the Confederacy
had been hammered to pieces, and peace was as
sured, Captain Woodbury resigned.
After the war Captain Woodbury made his
permanent residence in Burlington, Vermont, and
became general manager of the lumber business
of J. R. Booth. His power of application, his
keen sagacity, capable managerial powers and
ability as a financier brought splendid success to
the business, and enabled him to engage in other
ventures, prominent among them being the Van
Ness House, Burlington, one of the most com
pletely equipped hotels in the state, of which he
is yet the owner and proprietor, and he has also
constantly conducted large real estate transac
tions, to the advancement of the material inter-,
ests of the coriimunity and to his own advantage.
It is, however, the public career of Governor
Woodbury that claims our greater attention, for
it is in public service that he has been peculiarly
active and useful. In 1881 he was elected alder
man for a term of two years, and in his second
year was called to the presidency of the board.
In 1885 he was elected to the mayoralty, and was
re-elected in the following year. He gave the
same careful consideration to public interests that
he did habitually to his own affairs, and his ad
ministration was marked by various advantageous
innovations. ' # A Republican in politics, he was an earnest
and capable exponent of party principles. In
1882 he was appointed aide pn the staff of Gov
ernor John L. Barstow. In 1888 he was elected
lieutenant governor on the same ticket with Gov
ernor William P. Dillingham, and, presiding over
the senate, he displayed all the qualifications of
a parliamentarian. In 1894 he was elected gov
ernor, and during his two years' administration
he added to his high reputation as a director of
large affairs. In 1898 lie was called to a position
for which he was eminently fitted, and the ap
pointment was also a splendid personal compli-

152

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ment, — that of membership on the commission
appointed by President McKinley to investigate
the conduct of the war department in the war
with Spain. The duties committed to this body
were of the most trying and delicate character.
Public clamor was loud against the department,
and to properly deal with the subject in con
troversy required great sagacity and a high de
gree of moral courage. How well the commission
acquitted itself is a matter of history which will
stand for all time. In the labors of procuring and
weighing testimony and of formulating a judg
ment, Governor Woodbury bore a leading part,
and the impress of his strong personality, judicial
spirit and eminent fairness was felt at every stage
of the proceedings. Yet his every duty was dis
charged with the same modesty that characterized
him in all his previous bearings, in other official
positions and in private life, his only and con
stant end being to faithfully execute every trust
reposed in him.
Governor Woodbury is a member of various.
leading patriotic and fraternal associations. His
principal interest attaches to the Society of the
Colonial Wars and the Sons of the American
Revolution, in both of which he derives member
ship through the services of distinguished an
cestors, and to the Military Order of the Loyal
Legion and the Grand Army of the Republic, to
which he belongs by virtue of his own patriotic
effort and honorable battle scars. In Masonry
he has attained to the thirty-second degree, Scot
tish Rite, and is also affiliated with the local
lodge of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias.
Captain Woodbury was married February 12,
i860, to Miss Paulina L., second daughter of Ira
and Sarah Darling, of Elmore. Six children have
been born of this marriage: Charles Lincoln,
Minnie Stannard, Gertrude Frances, Edward
Philo, Lila Darling and Mildred Dorothy.
JESSE SUMNER VILES, Jr.
The beautiful city of Montpelier numbers
among its inhabitants no more useful citizen than
Jesse S. Viles, Jr., whose lifehas been one of con
spicuous personal success and 'vastly advantage
ous to the community. Mr. Viles is a descend
ant of one of the oldest and most entirely repre
sentative families of New England. Its progeni

tor was John Viles (Vyols, in the original form
of the name), who was a native of England and
came to America about 1630 or 1632, and set
tled in Boston, Massachusetts. He was twice
married and reared a large family. He died about
1689, leaving a large estate for those days. His
grandson, John Viles, was born in 1701, and was
married in 1731, in Westertown, Massachusetts,
to Sarah Bemis, who was born in 1703. John
Viles, their son, was born June 12, 1750, and
married, first, Hannah Warren, November 1,
1775. His second marriage was to Mary War
ren, August 5, 1784. Jesse Viles, son of John
and Mary- (Warren) Viles, was born April 17,
1794. He married Sally Jones, May 18, 1818.
Jesse Sumner Viles, son of Jesse and Sally
(Jones) Viles, was born in Weston, Massachu
setts, March 28, 1819. He was educated in the
public schools of his native town. He is a mem
ber of the Unitarian church, and in politics is a
Republican. He has always followed agricultural
pursuits and yet resides on the old homestead
farm in the town of Weston. He married, April
27, 1847, Lany Ann Waldruff, who was born at
Catskill, New Y'ork, April 7, 1821, and their chil- -
dren, all born in Wreston, are named as follows: '
Mary Ann, born October 29, 1848, who married
J. Albert Norris, December 29, 1870, and re
sides at Townsend, Massachusetts ; Olive Robin
son, born November 2, 185 1, who resides with
her parents ; Elizabeth Jones, born November 4,
1853, who resides with her parents ; Emma Fran
ces, born June 21, 1855, who married George R.
Steadman, and resides in Weston; Jesse Sum
ner, Jr., further named below, born March 5,
1858 ; Henry L. Dalton, born December 23, 1859,
who married Myrtie Wymari, December 27,
1893, and resides in Weston ; William Robinson,
born July 12, 1861, who married Mary Bodkin,
October 6, 1896, and resides in Denver, Colorado;
Ella M., born February 18, 1864, who married
Walter F. Baker and resides in Lincoln, Massa
chusetts; and George Albert, born December 11,
1867, resides in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jesse Sumner Viles, Jr., son of the parents
named above, was educated in the public schools
of his native town. When not quite, sixteen
years of age he took employment with a clothing
firm in Boston, in February, 1874, with whom
he remained for about three years, when he en-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

153

gaged as traveling salesman for the same firm,
covering the states of New Hampshire, Vermont
and northern New York. He followed this oc
cupation for twelve years, and wag known as one
of the most successful salesmen on the road,
and commanded a large salary.
September 1, 1886, he purchased the Pavilion
Hotel in Montpelier, Vermont, and placed it
under a manager, as his contract with his employ
ers obliged him to remain with them yet two
years. In 1888 he was released, and he took
personal charge of his hotel property and busied
himself energetically in its improvement. He
added another story, making thirty-five ad
ditional rooms, rebuilt the kitchen entire, put in
an elevator and improved the sanitary conditions
by new plumbing. As a result of these and con
stantly succeeding improvements the hotel is as
modern and complete in its appointments as
means and skill could make possible, and is noted
throughout all New England as a beautiful and
restful home for the traveler and summer tourist.
It contains one hundred and sixty large and airy
rooms, each one with its steam radiator and
electric light, bath rooms and closets are on every
floor, and pure spring water for drinking and
culinary purposes is piped in from four splendid
springs on the summit of the mountain a mile
distant. The culinary department is not sur
passed in the state. Milk and cream are brought
in daily from Mr. Viles' fine farms, one on the
Northfield road, a part of the Tower estate, and
the Junction farm, the one purchased in 1893,
and the other in the following year. He also
bought about one huridred acres on the hills to
the rear of the hotel, and oh this tract are located
the .springs which afford the hotel water supply.
The hotel itself is delightfuly situated and com
mands a beautiful view of Capital Park, with
its majestic elms surrounding the state build
ings. In 1895 Mr. Viles purchased the water privi
lege of a grist mill, sawmill and shingle mill in
the town of Middlesex, this giving him control
of the water power of that town. In connection
with this he erected an electric plant of fifteen
hundred horse power, which furnishes light and
power to Middlesex, Montpelier and Barre, and
in Montpelier and Barre the power is extensively
used in the granite works and in running stone

dressing machinery. The Viles electric plant has
proved a remarkable success, and has been one of
the most important factors in developing the
granite business in this part of the state.
In all Mr. Viles' business career is a striking
example of success attained throughout industry
and well directed effort. Beginning life as boy
in a store, he advanced himself by sheer force of
character and the development of his natural
abilities entirely unaided by capital inherited
from any source. Mr. Viles is of a quiet, re
served disposition, and deliberate, but of uncon
querable resolution when he has once decided
upon a course of conduct. He is altogether des
titute of political ambition, and his connection
with public concerns is confined to those purposes
which are of advantage to the community. He
is a Republican in his views, but maintains an
independent position. He is a member of the
Monitor Lodge, F. & A. M., of Waltham, Massa
chusetts. He married, November 29, 1899, Mrs.
Florence Porter, widow of the late Hon. Charles
Wacott Porter. She was born in Montpelier,
Vermont, February 18, 1864, the daughter of
Charles Wesley and Olive (Eaton) Bailey, of
Montpelier. Mr. arid Mrs. Viles have one daugh
ter, Katharine Bailey,' born in the city .of Mont
pelier, Vermont, September 28, 1900. They re
side on .Western avenue, in one of the finest resi
dences in the city.
' HEMAN W. ALLEN.
¦ The Allen family,- represented in the present
generation by Heman W. Allen, of Burlington,'
Vermont, is one of ancient and honorable New
England ancestry, descended from Walter Allen,
who came from England and was a resident of
Newbury, Massachusetts, in and possibly before
1640. He died in Charlestown, Massachusetts,
on the 8th of July, 1681, at the age of eighty
years. His son, John Allen, who was probably
born in England, lived in Newbury, Massachus
etts, until 1662, whence he moved to Sudbury,
that state, and there his death occurred on the ist
of December, 171 1, when he had reached the age
of eighty years. His name appears conspicuously
in colonial annals, for when, Sudbury was at
tacked by the Indians during King Philip's war

154

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

in 1676, he was one of the supporters, and his
loss, as proved before the general court, was es
timated at sixty pounds, a considerable sum in
that day. In 1688 he was one of the number who
took the public stock of ammunition, which would
indicate that he was a militia or minute-man. It
is probable that his son Thomas was killed dur
ing one of the French and Indian wars, in 1689.
In the records of that event it is presumable that
John Allen, the father, was he whose name ap
pears among others on a petition setting forth
that "some of us for ourselves, others for our chil
dren and servants who were last winter impressed
into dreadful service, where, by reason of cold
and hunger and in tedious marches many scores
of miles in snow and water, and lying on the snow
by night, having no provisions but what they
could carry on their backs, besides side arms and
ammunition, it cost many of them their lives."
Benjamin Allen, a son of John Allen, was
born January 30, 1662, and died August 12, 1721,
at Weston, Massachusetts. Zebadiah, a son of
Benjamin Allen, was born January 19, 1702, in
Weston, and died of smallpox, January 2, 1777,
at the age of seventy-five years. Zebadiah, a son
of Zebadiah Allen, Sr., was born March 12, 1734.
He served during the Revolutionary war, and in
1776 was, commissioned first lieutenant of the
First Company, Seventh Regiment, and was cred
ited to Worcester county, Massachusetts. John
Allen, a son of Zebadiah Allen, Jr., was born in
Barre, Massachusetts, May 5, 1764, and died on
the nth of October, 181 1. He married Hannah
Robinson, who was a lineal descendant of the
Rev. John Robinson of Puritan memory.
John Allen, a son of John, Sr., and Hannah
(Robinson) Allen, was born on the 24th of Sep
tember," 1798, at Barre, Massachusetts. In 1820
he removed to Chittenden county, Vermont,
where he was for some time a school teacher, hav
ing among his pupils the young lady who after
ward became his wife. In the following year
he purchased land, ahd soon afterward was joined
by three of his brothers, Artemas, Horatio and
Denison, all of whom became prosperous farmers
and highly respected citizens. John Allen was a
man of high character and great ability, and was
prominent in public affairs during the formative
period of the commonwealth, having represented
his town in the legislature for four years, also

represented his county in the senate for one year,
and was assistant judge for two years. In the
year following his arrival in Vermont, he was
united in marriage to Clarissa Rice, one of
the nine children of Samuel Rice, who had come
from Barre, Massachusetts, some years previous
ly. At one time all of the Rice family were mem-
' bers of the Congregational church, Mr. and Mrs..
Rice and nine children. Mr. Allen died at West
ford, Vermont, on the 23d of August, 1856.
Heman W. Allen, a son of John and Clarissa
(Rice) Allen, was born in Westford, Vermont,.
on the 3d of April, 1844, and received his early
education in its public schools. Entering upon
his business career at the age of fifteen years as •
a clerk in a country store in Westford, he gained.
the practical knowledge and experience' of busi
ness methods which eventually enabled him to be
come a successful merchant. His future was ac
cordingly assured, but the Civil war broke out
and his patriotic spirit moved him to join the
ranks of the volunteers who were called upon by
the immortal Lincoln to aid in maintaining the
Union. Early in the year 1862, when eighteen;
years of age, he enlisted in Company A, Thir
teenth Vermont Infantry, in which he served im
the notable campaign of the Army of the Potomacr
in Virginia in 1862 and 1863, and also, with Gen
eral Stannard's brigade, took part in the three:
days' fight at Gettysburg. When his term of en
listment expired, in 1863, he was anxious to re-
enlist for further service, but at the earnest so
licitation of his mother he went to Eastman's-
College at Poughkeepsie, and completed his
schooling, which had been interrupted by his en
tering the army, and after completing the course-
there was retained for some months as an in
structor. Coming to Burlington on the 29th of March,.
1864, Mr. Allen entered the employ of Edward.
Lyman, proprietor . of the leading dry-goods
house in this city. In 1848 Edward joined Elias.
Lyman, then a dry-goods merchant in Burling
ton, and three years later Edward Lyman be
came sole owner and manager. To. this accom
plished merchant and noble man came young Al
len, who by intelligent and industrious application
to his duties so won his way into the confidence
and trust of his employer that in the fall of 1868-
he was admitted to a partnership, the firm name

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

155

becoming Lyman & Allen. This connection was
continued until the death of Mr. Lyman in 1890,
and through this period of more than a quarter
of a century the most pleasant and harmonious
relations existed between them. Success has at
tended the enterprise, their capable management,
unquestioned reliability and energy having se
cured for them a very liberal patronage. After
the death of Mr. Lyman Mr. Allen purchased his
interest, in the store, and associated with him
Frank D. Abernathy, who had been a junior part
ner, in the firm,of Lyman & Allen since 1885, and
these gentlemen formed the firm of H. W. Allen
& Company, which conducts to-day, as it has for
years, the leading retail and jobbing dry-goods
house in all this region, its trade extending
throughout the state and over northern New
York, The firm has fully maintained the high
reputation which was enjoyed by the one which
it succeeded, besides steadily increasing its field
of operations in times of more strenuous effort
and sharper competition. It may also be said of
Mr. Allen that he has been an active factor in the
work of development along modern lines, for the
period of his entering the firm was conincident
with the death of the old system of a mercantile
house being sought for by its customers, and the
inauguration of those new methods which made
it necessary for merchants to work their trading
territory as a farmer tills his grain fields. How
successful this arduous effort has been, is at
tested by the high place the firm of H. W. Allen
& Company occupy in the mercantile world. Be
sides giving close personal attention to the con
duct of the large mercantile business with which
he is 'connected, Mr. Allen has also been long
identified with other enterprises which form an
important part of the commercial and financial
life of Burlington, and in whose inception and
development he has been a leading spirit. He
has been a member of the directorate of the Ver
mont Electric Company from the time of its or
ganization, and in the Merchants National Bank
he succeeded the late Edward Lyman as a direc
tor in 1890, and the late Judge Wales as vice
president in 1902.
Mr. Allen has been twice married. On the
19th pf May, 1869, he wedded Miss Jeannie D.
Dods, of Burlington, who died on the 30th of
August, 1875. In 1881, on the 30th of June, he

was united in marriage to Miss Juliette W. Keel-
er, a daughter of William and Orissa (Chamber?
lain) Keeler, of South Hero, Grand Isle county,
Vermont. One son, Edward Lyman Allen, was
born of this marriage on the 3d of November,.
1886. and he is now attending St. Paul's School
at Garden City, Long Island, where he is prepar
ing for college. Mr. and Mrs. Allen are com
municants of the Protestant Episcopal church,
and he has been a- member of the vestry of St.
Paul's church of Burlington for more than twenty
years and a junior warden for more than ten
years. He is a member of the board of trade;
also of the Sons of the American Revolution, in
which his riiembership is derived from his hon
ored ancestors ; of the Society of Colonial Wars ;
of the Algonquin Club, of which he was president
in 1901 ; and of the Nineteenth Century Club
of Burlington. He maintains pleasant rela
tions with his old army comrades by his-
membership in Stannard Post No. 20, G. A.
R. After returning from army service he
gave his aid to military establishment in the
state, and from 1864 until 1867 served as
first lieutenant of Company I, Second Regiment
of Vermont Militia, while from 1894 until 1896.
he served on the staff of Governor Woodbury
as inspector of rifle practice of the Vermont-
National Guard, with the rank of colonel. A
Republican in his political affiliations, he has al
ways been an earnest exponent of the principles-
of the party and a recognized leader in its coun
cils. In 1896 he was elected to the state senate,.
in which body his ability found instant recogni
tion, and he was appointed to the chairmanship-
of the committee on corporations and to mem
bership on the committees on banks, claims, mil
itary affairs, and game and fisheries. In all the
relations of life he is regarded with real affection
for his fine personal qualities and with confidence
for his sterling ability and integrity.
FRANK D. ABERNETHY.
Frank D. Abernethy, of the well known mer
cantile firm of H. W. Allen & Company, Burling
ton, Vermont, is a native of the state, born in-
New Haven, December 26, 1858. His paternal'
grandfather came from Connecticut in 1786 to-
the Berkshire Hills, as a farmer, and passed his

156

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

last days in New Haven, Vermont, where he
and his wife, by remarkable coincidence, both
died on the same day, and of the same age, forty-
seven years. Their children were four in num
ber, all sons, and all are deceased.
Of the family mentioned, Ira Abernethy was
born in New Haven, Vermont, in 1804. He was
a prosperous farmer, and he owned one of the
largest farming tracts in all that region. From
1850 to 1865 he was an extensive and successful
wool dealer. He was a man of high character,
and was called to various positions of honor and
trust, serving as captain of militia and in all
the local offices. He married Mary Lawrence,
who was born in Monkton, Vermont, in 1832.
Her father came from Bennington, Vermont, and
was an early settler at Monkton, where he was a
man of influence and prominence, and where he
died at the age of seventy-six years.' Ira and
Mary (Lawrence) Abernethy were both members
of the Congregational church. To them were
horn two children.
Dr. Julian W. Abernethy, eldest child of the
parents last named, was graduated from Middle-
"bury College and Yale College, and" is now prin
cipal of the Berkley Institute, Brooklyn, New
Y'ork. He possesses acknowledged literary
ability, and is author of a standard work treating
npon "English Literature in America," a depart
ment in which he is a recognized authority. His
widowed mother makes her home with him.
Frank D. Abernethy, the other child of Ira
and Mary (Lawrence) Abernethy, was reared in
New Haven, Vermont, his native town. He was
a student in Bristol Academy, where he was fitted
for college, but preferred a business career and
took up his residence in Burlington, Vermont,
where he entered the dry goods house of Lyman
& Allen in the capacity of clerk, in October, 1880.
Devoting his unremitting attention to the busi
ness, he manifested such ability- and enthusiasm
that in 1885 he was admitted to partnership in
the firm, the name, however, remaining un
changed. This association continued until the
death of Mr. Lyman in 1890, when Mr.Abernethy
"became equal partner with Mr. Allen, under the
firm name of H. W. Allen & Company.
As is to be said of Mr. Allen, his partner,
Mr. Abernethy had grown up in the business,
and he had. borne a full share in all the work of

its development. In his time, the business' had
quadrupled in volume, and the premises have
been greatly extended. The buiding, the most
attractive of mercantile edifices in the city,with its
three entrances, has a frontage of one hundred
and twenty -five feet and a depth of one hundred
feet, with three floors, the interior specially fitted
with all modern appliances for the rapid and
correct dispatch of business. The sales force
numbers sixty-three people, who handle every
thing desirable in dry-goods, including the
most desirable novelties from foreign as well as
domestic looms. In all the conduct of the busi
ness, the personality of Mr. Abernethy is felt in
every department, his oversight extending to
every department, and, in addition, to him 'is
mainly committed the personal purchase of goods
in markets abroad.
Mr. Abernethy is a communicant of the
Protestant Episcopal church, and his political
affiliations are with the Republican party. He is
a leading member of the Burlington board of
trade, and his aid is afforded to every enterprise
advantageous to the community, whether in com
mercial, moral or educational lines. Possessing
fine social qualities, he is a highly esteemed
member of various literary and social bodies —
the Young Men's Christian Association, in
which he is a cheerful and efficient worker; the
Algonquin Club, the Ethan Allen Club, the
Masonic fraternity, and several golf clubs.
CYRUS WARREN WYMAN.
Cyrus W. Wyman, of Brattleboro, has for
the the past forty-six years prominently identi
fied himself with the business interests of his
city. First as a merchant, later as a banker and
railroad investor, he has been especially influ
ential. Being now rather advanced in years, he
has somewhat relinquished his strenuous activi
ties in business and is enjoying the quiet of his
pleasant home, which he erected in 1864, and
which was, by the way, the first residence built
on Oak street.
Mr. Wyman comes of a family of an irre^
proachable record, and, in fact of many excellent
attainments. His grandfather, Uziah Wyman,
a man of great intellectual strength, inherited
from his forefathers a talent. for music. Born

tatt^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

i57

in Walpole, New Hampshire, he resided in that
place for some time. Intellectually ambitious, he
received an education far superior to the average
man of his day, obtaining special instruction in
music. When the Revolutionary war broke out
he enlisted and did some valiant service for his
country; For a regular occupation he engaged in
farming, which he carried on rather extensively,
and, exercising both skill and science in his labors;
met with unusual success. At the same time he
gave not a little time to the profession of music.
He did considerable work in composition, was an
expert player, and in both branches of his art
won for himself a wide and excellent reputation.
He spent his last days in the town of Rocking
ham. He had six children, Uziah, John, Lydia,
Rhoda, Sibyl and Thomas.
Thomas Wyman, father of Cyrus W., was.
for many years a successful agriculturist of
Walpole and was also interested in public
affairs. Born in that place, February 17, 1791,
he spent his early days there, and upon reaching
manhood settled upon a Walpole farm and en
gaged in agriculture with much success. Dur
ing the war of 181 2 he served in the infantry
as a volunteer substitute for his employer, who
was a man in mature life and of large family.
Later he returned to his farm, which he con
tinued to manage with his usual good results
for many years. He spent his last days in the
town of Grafton and died in 1879 at the advanced
age of eighty-eight. During his' early manhood
he married Hulda Gilbert, who was born May
7, 1800, and they had nine children : Cyrus W.,
is mentioned below; Hiram, born January 8,
1826,. was a machinist at Springfield, Vermont;
he riiarried Lucy Wilson and they had one child,
Ella, who married H. H. Slack, an ex-repre
sentative. Eli never married and died while at
tending Chester Academy. Judge Asa A., was
an assistant to the county judge for some time,
was also state senator, representative and a law
yer who did an extensive business in the way of
settling estates, acting as guardian and filling
other positions of trust; he died suddenly at
Montpelier, Vermont, November 9, 1894, at the
age of sixty-four years ; he married Martha East
man, and, after her death, Abby Wellman, a
teacher of excellent repute. Chauncey married
Jennie Alexander, of Athens; as a vocalist he

was the first to travel with Moody, the noted
evangelist, and was credited by that great
preacher with more than doubling the attendance
at meetings. Martha died at the age of ten
years. Sophia married a Methodist Episcopal
minister, who was pastor of a church in the town
of Townsend for several years, but who is now
residing in and postmaster of the town of
Athens, Vermont; they have two children,
Charles and a daughter who died in childhood.
One died in infancy in 1842. Edwin born May
27, 1844., died August 27, 1898.
Thomas Wyman was a man of force of"
character, who won the esteem of all whp knew
him. As a person keenly interested in public-
affairs he served his town as selectman and sur
veyor of the highways for some time, exercising-
both fidelity and marked ability in the perform
ance of his duties.
Cyrus _Wr. Wyman possessed those natural
gifts and attainments which fitted him for follow
ing either a professional or a business career. In.
the Saxon River Seminary he secured an edu-.
cation quite sufficient to prepare him for teach
ing and as a schoolmaster he embarked upon life
for himself. He taught for one term in the town.
of Grafton, another in Stratton, receiving part.
of his salary by the arduous "boarding around"
practice, which was then in vogue. Later he-
secured a position as clerk in a country store,
and remaining there for four years became suf
ficiently well grounded in business methods to
engage in store-keeping for himself. Going to-
Cambridgeport he opened a shop with a large
stock of general goods. He had no difficulty in.
securing custom, and greatly enlarged his trade
by contracting to supply goods to die workmen
on the Valley Railroad, which was then being
'built. His business proving highly profitable,.
he remained here for five years. Then, in 1856,
he came to Brattleboro and, opened a similar
establishment. In this larger town he was even
more successful in his business, and for eighteen
years carried pn a highly profitable trade. Mr.
Wyman was one of the incorporators (1870) of
the' Brattleboro Savings Bank, of which he be
came treasurer and filled his position with
marked efficiency for sixteen years. He is now
serving both as trustee and as a member of the
investment committee. Besides attending to his

i58

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

banking business he has become largely in
terested in railroads, has purchased considerable
stock in two prominent lines, and served as sec
retary and treasurer -of the Northampton & Am
herst Railroad up to 1902, and as a trustee of
the Springfield line. Because of hi -5 wise and
shrewd business ability Mr. Wyman is often
given the management of property for large
corporations, and he is also called upon to act
as administrator. One estate which he recently
settled wras valued at ninety thousand dollars,
and sc thorough was "the confidence placed in
him that he was not required to give a bond.
Mr. ' Wyman married Charlotte Bruce, a
most estimable woman and they have had three
children: Emma, who married Edward C
Crosby ; Helen, now the wife of Nathan D. Allen,
who has for eight years been warden of the state
prison at Charlestown, Massachusetts; and
Annie, who married Frederick J. Coudrey, of
Weathersfield, Connecticut, and the head steward
of the state prison of Connecticut, and they have
two children, Wyman Coudrey and Charlotte A.
As a business man Mr. Wyman is well known
throughout the state, and for many years served
as trustee of the Vermont Mutual Fire Insurance
Company of Montpelier. In social and religious
circles he stands high in his town, and he is one
of the substantial members of the Congregational
church.
HARLAN WESLEY KEMP.
Harlan Wesley Kemp, of Montpelier, is ac-
- tively identified with the business interests of the
city as secretary of two of its leading insurance
companies. He was born April 5, 1858, at Wor
cester, Vermont, a son of Phineas Allen Kemp,
and grandson of Aaron Kemp. His great
grandfather, Benjamin Kemp, a life-long resident
of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, married Judith
Reed. Aaron Kemp was born January 1, 1.784, in
Fitchburg, Massachusetts. Removing to Ac-
worth, New Hampshire, in his earlier life, he
worked at his trade many years, moving to Wor
cester* in 1839, and died October 3, 1864, at
Cornish, New Hampshire. He was an active
member of the Congregational church. On March
8, 1806, he married Dolly Allen, daughter of

Phineas and Abigail (Danforth) Allen. She died
June 27, 185 1, aged seventy-seven years. Of
their union eleven children were born, nine of
whom grew to years of maturity.
Phineas Allen Kemp was born in Acworth,
New Hampshire, December 18, 1815, and was'
there reared and educated. Under- his father's
instruction he learned the cooper's trade, also
becoming familiar with the labors incidental to
farm life. Removing to Vermont in 1840, he pur
chased land on Flampshire Hill, Worcester, and
was successfully engaged in general farming until
1892, when he retired from active pursuits. Since
that time he and his wife have lived with their
son, Harlan W. Kemp, in Montpelier. While
living in Worcester he was quite prominent in
public affairs, serving as selectman, and repre-'
sented the town in the state legislature in 1853,
1869 and 1870. He was an old-line Whig in his
early days, casting his first presidential vote for
William Henry Harrison. He married, October
13, 1840, Betsey Blanchard, a daughter of Sam
uel and Margaret (Wither spoon) Blanchard, and
who was born in Acworth, New Hampshire,
June 20, 1820. Her father, Lemuel Blanchard,
born January 23, 1763, at Shutesbury, Massa
chusetts, a son of Nathaniel Blanchard, was a"
farmer by occupation, and served as a soldier in
the Revolutionary war, enlisting July 25, 1779,
in Captain Elihu Lyman's company, Colonel
Elisha Porter's (Hampshire county) regiment,
and was discharged August 31, 1779; he was in
service at New London, Connecticut. He died
September 2, .1855. He settled on a farm in Ac-
worth, New Hampshire, living there until the
death of his wife, May 6, 1840. Mr. and Mrs.
Phineas Allen Kemp are the parents of five chil
dren, as follows: Dean Gustavus, born Novem
ber 8, 1 84 1, was for many years a prominent ,
physician of Montpelier, where his death occurred
September 3, 1898 ; Solon Merritt, born July 21,
1843, died in 1852; Clara Adrienne, born Febru
ary 26, 1845, died December 8, 1862; Lenette-
Alena, bom April 10, 1857, wife of Leroy A.
Flint, of Montpelier, Vermont; and Harlan
Wesley. Harlan Wesley Kemp received his education
at the Washington county grammar school and
the Montpelier Seminary. Subsequently study
ing law with S. C. Shurtleff, he was admitted to

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

159

the bar in September, 1880, at Montpelier, where
he at once began the practice of his profession.
From 1885 until 1890 he was in partnership with
John H. Senter, but since that time has carried
on business alone. In 1885 Mr. Kemp became
identified with the Union Mutual Fire Insurance
Company as its treasurer, continuing as such
until 1896, when he was made both secretary and
treasurer, positions which he has since filled. He
is also secretary of the American Fidelity Com
pany of Montpelier. Mr. Kemp has served the
public in-many official capacities, being state's at
torney for Washington county from 1884 until
1886; national bank examiner from 1890 until
1893 ; and a representative to the state legislature
in 1898. He was captain of Company H, First
Vermont Militia, for three years. He is a Repub
lican in politics, and a supporter of the Congrega
tional church. Fraternally he is a member of the
Masonic order, belonging to Aurora Lodge, No.
22, F. & A. M. ; to King Solomon Chapter, No.
7; to Mt. Zion Commandery No. 9, K. T. ; and
to the Mystic Shrine.
Mr. Kemp married, December 13, 1881, Sarah
A., daughter of Christopher C. and Elizabeth
(Stone) Putnam. They have two children,
namely : Margie Belle, born September 27, 1882 ;
and Bessie Eliza, born March 28, 1885.
MRS. EDGAR S. POWELL.
Mrs. Edgar S. Powell, daughter of Homer
and Alvira (Baldwin) Clark, was born at Char
lotte, Vermont. Homer Clark was born in Con
necticut, and at the age of twenty-one years ac
companied his uncle Amos Clark to Charlotte,
Vermont, whither they went as pioneers. They
cleared a tract of land and commenced the cul
tivation of the soil, which occupation they foL
lowed together. Amos Clark was prominently
identified with every movement instituted for the
advancement of the town, which had gradually
grown to some proportions since he . becaine a
set-tier there ; naturally his deep interest was re
warded by his being selected to fill many im
portant public offices. Besides these, he served
as deacon in the Baptist church for over thirty
years. Upon his death, which occurred in his
sixty-fifth year, his nephew, Homer Clark, be
came the owner of the farm, which he conducted

successfully for the remainder of his life. His
wife, Alvira Baldwin, was born in Connecticut
and came to reside in Charlotte with an aunt.
Their family consisted of thirteen children, eight
of whom are still living, namely : Mrs. Edgar S.
Powell ; Mrs. V. M. Reed, of Addison, a sketch
of whose life appears elsewhere in this work;
Harriet, wife of Frederick Lyman, of Hinesburg ;
Mrs. George Foote, of Charlotte, elsewhere men
tioned in this book; George A., of Charlotte;
Jennie, wife of Louis Prindle, of Charlton, Mas
sachusetts; J. Clark, of Hinesburg; and Braton,
of Charlotte. The father of these children died
in his seventy-six year, his wife at the age of
seventy-nine years ; they were both faithful mem
bers of the Baptist church, of which he acted as
deacon for forty years.
Mrs. Edgar S. Powell was married in 1849;
her six children are as follows : Mrs. George
E. .Prindle, of Charlotte, who had two sons, Ed
win, who married Carrie Clark, and Harris Prhv'
die Mrs. O. P. Reed, of Charlotte, was the
mother of four children, namely: Orrin B.,
Edith, George and Ina Reed. Mrs. John W:
Bradley, widow of John W. Bradley, of Burling
ton, has two children, Florence, of Burlington,
and John Bradley, of Hartford, Connecticut.
Mrs. William Kellogg, of Charlotte, had four
children: Luna, wife of George WaJston, of
Monkton, Vermont; Lewis, William and Car
lotta Kellogg. Wesley, of Charlotte, married
Addella Bassett, of New Haven, Connecticut;
their two children are Irene and Niles. Mrs.
Cyrus E. Gove has one son, Elmer E. Gove. Both
Mr. and Mrs. Powell are members of the Method
ist Episcopal church, of which he was steward:
Mrs, Powell at present resides in South Burling
ton, Vermont.
NORMAN A. BAILEY.
Norman A. Bailey, of Readsboro, is a sub
stantial member of the farming community, and
a highly respected citizen. He was born May
30, 1849, on what is known as the Steams home
stead, a son of Apollos Bailey, and a grandson of
Caleb Bailey, both life-long residents of this
town. He is of English ancestry, and comes of
sturdy pioneer stock, his great-grandfather,
James Bailey, having come to Readsboro at a'

i6o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

time when settlers were few and far between.
From a tract of unbroken land he cleared and
improved a good farm, residing here until his
death. Caleb Bailey was born at Douglass, Massa
chusetts, and came with his parents to Reads
boro, Vermont, when fourteen' years old. He was
prominent in town affairs, serving as selectman,
and representing the town in the state legisla
ture three years. He was one of the founders
of the Methodist Reform church, of which he
and his wife were active members. He married
Mercy Stearns, whose brother was the original
owner of the farm on which Mr. Bailey now re
sides, and they reared a large family of children,
of whom but one, Michael Bailey, is now living.
The grandfather died at the age of eighty-seven
years, and the grandmother in the ninety-sixth
year of her age.
Apollos Bailey was born on the old Bailey
homestead in Readsboro, September 23, 1813,
and there grew to years of maturity, obtaining
his early education in the district schools.
Settling as a farmer on the Stearns homestead,
which had belonged to his mother's brother, he
was there successfully engaged in agricultural
pursuits until his death, when seventy-seven
years old. A citizen of sterling worth, public-
spirited, and of sound judgment, he took great
interest in advancing the welfare of the town,
and served as selectman twelve years, as over
seer of the poor fifteen years, and as a represent
ative to the state legislature three years. He
married, first, Belinda' Dalrymple, who was born
in Whitingham, daughter' of James and Belinda
(Davis) Dalrymple, who reared six children,
namely : Shepherd ; Nathaniel ; James ; Saloma,
second wife of Apollos Bailey; Belinda, first
wife of Mr. Bailey ; and Sally. He married, sec
ond, as above stated, Saloma Dalrymple, sister
of his first wife, and to this union two children
were born, the only living one being Norman A.,
the subject of this sketch. The mother lived to
the advanced age of ninety-two years.
Norman A. Bailey was educated in the com
mon and select schools of Readsboro, on the home
farm being trained to habits of industry and
thrift. He assisted his father in his agricultural
pursuits, subsequently taking control of a farm
of one hundred and fifty acres, and later buying

two farms of one hundred acres each, having.
now three hundred and fifty acres of land de
voted to general farming, although he makes a
specialty of dairying, running a retail milk route
to the village. On one of his farms Moses Brown
discovered the first gold found in this locality,
and one plant is now in active operation. Mr.
Bailey is a Republican in politics, but has per
sistently declined all official honors. He is one
of the stockholders of the Brown Mining Com
pany, and attends the Universalist church.
Mr. Bailey married, in 1869, Julia A. Whit
ney, a native of Halifax, Vermont. Her father,
Jotham Whitney, a son of Philip Whitney, was
born in Halifax, and was there engaged in farm
ing and as a tanner, until his retirement from
the active pursuits of business. Mr. Whitney
married Fanny M. Fairbanks, who was born in
Heath, Massachusetts, and they became the
parents of six children, of whom four, are living,
namely: Julia A., now Mrs. Bailey; Alice, wife-
of Lysander Blanchard ; Jennie, wife of George
Gould; and Charles Whitney, of Readsboro..
Both Mr. and Mrs. Whitney are living, and Mrs.
Whitney is a member of the Baptist church.
WILLARD HUNTINGTON ALEXANDER
Willard Huntington Alexander, for many-
years a prominent and highly esteemed citizen
of Brattleboro, Vermont, was born in Montague,
Massachusetts, September 14, 1806, and died at
his home in Brattleboro, November 10, 1891.
His father, Ebenezer Alexander, was born in
1760 in Winchester, New Hampshire, where he
wes a prominent agriculturist. He spent the
latter years of his life in Boston, where he died.
Of his union with Rhoda Scott, ten children were
born, namely: Emery, Eusebia, Oliver, Mary
B., Henry F., Octavia, Merab, Ebenezer H.,
Miriam S., and Willard H, the immediate sub
ject of this memoir.
Willard H. Alexander settled in Chesterfield,
New Hampshire in early manhood, and there
carried on general farming on a somewhat ex
tended scale until 1852, being one of the most
intelligent and thrifty agriculturists of his.
neighborhood. Coming then to Brattleboro, he-
soon became identified with the highest interests.
of the place, occupying a prominent position in

T^z^^V-^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

161

.political, and church affairs. In early manhood he
was one of the leading members of the Orthodox
Congregational church. Politically he was a
steadfast Democrat, with independent tendencies,
voting always with the courage of his con
victions. In his earlier years he took a lively
interest in local military affairs, serving as
captain of a company of militia.
Mr. Alexander married Eunice Lawrence
Scott, daughter of Elijah Scott, of Chesterfield,
New Hampshire. She survived him several
years, dying September i, 1901, at the venerable
age of eighty-nine years. Seven children were
born of their union, as follows: Charles E., a
resident "of Chesterfield, New, Hampshire, mar
ried Ellen A. Harris; Serotia; Elijah S., was
for several years in business in Chicago, Illinois,
as a merchant, and later in the manufacture of
paint and a patent rail splice, in the latter occu
pation acquiring great wealth ; Henry W., a resi
dent of Brookline, Massachusetts, and a busi
ness man of Boston, married Mary Jane Clark;
John R, married Mary Perry ;. Emma Augusta,
deceased ; and Edward Francis, who died at jhe
age of forty-five years.
WALTER BEACH RANDALL.
Walter Beach Randall is one of the public-
• spirited citizens of Shaftsbury, Vermont, to
whose energy and foresight the locality is in
debted for many improvements. While, as a
prosperous business man, he has given close at
tention to his private affairs, he has never for
gotten or ignored the bond of common interest
which should unite the people of every com
munity, and he is always ready to promote prog
ress in every line.
A native of the Green Mountain state, he was
born in Sandgate, February 22, 1833, a son of
' Walter and Eunice (Sherman)" Randall, both
natives of Connecticut. His paternal grand
father, Asa N. Randall, came to Vermont from
Connecticut about 1800 and settled at Sandgate,
where he took up a large tract of land, spending
the remainder of his life near the center of the
town. There he died at the age of fifty-five
years, but his wife, who bore the maiden name
of Hannah Baldwin, survived him many years,
being eighty years old at the time of her death.
11

Their other children, besides the father of our
subject, were Levi, Flora, Sophia and Norman.
The last named was born at the removal of the
family to Sandgate.
Walter Randall, our subject's father, was a
lad of nine years when he came with his parents
to Vermont, and he was reared and educated at
Sandgate. After reaching man's estate he be
came a clothier, having a factory for making
cloth, and he turned out some very fine work.
He was a leading and prominent citizen of his
town, and was called upon to fill the offices of
town clerk and treasurer for about a quarter of
a century. His political support was always
given to the Republican party. After a useful
and well spent life he died at the age of eighty-
two years, and his wife passed away at the age
of seventy-eight. In the family of this worthy couple were the
following named children: Flora S., born
December 28, 1819, married Daniel P. Walker,
who resided in Manchester, Vermont, until 1-871,
when they removed to Illinois and there died:
their children were Herbert; Mrs. Alida Mun-
son ; Albert, a resident of Illinois ; and Sherman,
a resident of Washington. Evi S., born Sep
tember 7, 1821, is deceased, leaving one daughter
Ella. Miriam M., born October 17, 1823,- is also
deceased. She married J. S. Thomas and left
two children, Alida and Clara. Rhoda A., born
January 6, 1827, married C. J. Hurd, of Sand
gate, and is now a widow living in Cambridge;
she has four children: Juan L., a resident of
Chicago, Illinois; Albert J., of Eagle Bridge,
New York : Florence, who married J. C. Barnett
and lives in North Adams, Massachusetts; and
C. Jarvis, a resident of Cambridge, New York.
Murray N., born May 24, 1829, is deceased.
Walter Beach, of this review, is the youngest of
the family.
Walter Beach Randall attended the common
schools of his native town, and for a portion of
two terms was a student in the Burr & Burton
Seminary at Manchester, Vermont, going ten
fniles over the mountains on his way to and from
that institution. While in school there his father
made an engagement for him to teach in district
No. 8, Sandgate, the. compensation for four
months' service being thirty-six dollars, or nine
dollars per month, but the young man had the

l62

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

privilege of "boarding around," which in those
days was regarded by many as a treat. He was
early, thrown upon his own resources, and,
owing to his father's infirm health, was obliged
to contribute very largely to the support of the
family from the time he was eighteen years of
age. At first he engaged in farming, pursuing
that calling for about thirty years, but in 1883
moved to Shaftsbury and accepted the position
of station agent for the Rutland Railroad, serv
ing in that capacity six years. He was also post
master of the place for eight years, and while
in charge of the office also conducted a general
store, which he still carries on with good success,
his son being the present postmaster.
On the 19th day of January, 1858, Mr. Ran
dall was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte A.
Peck, the only child of the union of Smith and
Aveline (Brownell) Peck. When quite young
she lost her mother, who was a native of Sand
gate and the first wife of Smith Peck, a farmer
of that town. He is still living in 1902 at the
advanced age of ninety-three years. To Mr.
and Mrs. Randall were born three children, as
follows: Evi S., born May 15, 1859, is now a
merchant of Cambridge, New York; he married
Anna Palmer, of English descent, and they have
one child, Harry. Jessie S., born March 3, 1867,
died January 8, 1871. Farrand B., the present
popular postmaster of Shaftsbury, was born
April 12, 1870, and has spent his life in this
section with his father, his, education being ac
quired in the common schools of North Benning
ton. He is a member of the Masonic order and
is now filling the office of school director in his
district. He married Alice Buck, of Shaftsbury,
a daughter of David Buck, and they have two
children. Walter Beach and Marjorie.
Mr. Randall has always taken a very active
and prominent part ' in public affairs, and his
fellow citizens recognizing his worth and ability
have honored him with several important official
positions, the duties of which he always faith
fully and satisfactorily performed. In 1856 he
served as superintendent of schools in Sandgate ;
represented his town in the legislature in 1863,
1864 and 1865 ; was lister in 1871 and again in
1 88 1 and 1882 ; second selectman from 1865 to
1874; justice of the peace for ten years subse
quent to 1868; town clerk and treasurer from

i860 to 1882; and assistant judge of the county
court in 1880 and 1882. Since moving to Shafts
bury he has served as selectman, being elected
to that office unknown to himself, and serving
in that capacity in 1893 and 1894. His public
as well as his private life has been above re
proach and he retired from office as he entered
it with the respect and confidence of his constit
uents and those he represented.
CHARLES SUMNER CHASE.
Charles Sumner Chase, of Whitingham, is
an attorney-at-law and court stenographer of Ben-

CHARLES SUMNER CHASE.
nington and Windham counties. He was born in
Whitingham, May 13, 1855, a son °f Abraham
Chase, and a lineal descendant of Aquilla Chase,
the immigrant, who came to America from Eng
land in 1640, settling in Massachusetts. The
Chase family is. among the oldest in the history

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

163

.<of England, its ancestry being traced through
records as far back as the twelfth century.
Benjamin Chase, the grandfather of Charles
.S., was born in Sutton, Massachusetts, and came
with his father, David Chase, to Whitingham,
Vermont, in 1810. He earned his living by the
sweat of his brow, being an industrious and
thrifty farmer. He married Sarah Sprague, who
was born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, and they
reared the following named children: Sumner;
Jemima : Merrick ; Abraham, the only one now
living; Royal and Luana. The grandfather was
active in political matters, holding many of the
town offices, and both he apd his wife were mem
bers of the Universalist church.
, Abraham Chase was born on the paternal
homestead rin Whitingham, educated in the dis
trict schools, and became one of the most ex
tensive farmers and large landholders of the town
owning several valuable estates. Since retiring
from active pursuits he has lived in the village,
heing now eighty-two years of age. A man of
public spirit and enterprise, he has contributed
his full share towards advancing the interests of
Whitingham, and has never shirked official re
sponsibilities, having served as lister, selectman,
¦etc. He married Catharine Reed, daughter of
Jason and Catharine (Rames) Reed, who reared
a large family, of whom Catharine, now Mrs.
Chase,, is the only surviver. Neither Mr. nor
Mrs. Reed is living, the former having died at
the age of fifty years, and the latter, who was a
woman of scholarly attainments and a brilliant
conversationalist, lived to the age of eighty-eight
years. Abraham and Catharine (Reed) Chase
became the parents of five children, as 'follows :
Oscar R., of Readsboro, a farmer; Augustus L.,
formerly a prominent physician of Boston, now
a resident of Randolph, Massachusetts, was presi
dent of the State Medical- Society, and is now on
the Massachusetts medical examining board ; Au
gusta L., wife of G. A. Boyd, of Readsboro,
a sketch of whom may be found on another page
pf this work; Charles S., with whom -this sketch
Is chiefly concerned; and Frank L., who died at
the age of four years.'
Charles Sumner Chase completed his general
education in the public schools and in private
study at Whitingham, and read law with the
late H. N. Hicks, later studying with H. W.

Brigham, of Whitingham, and was admitted
to the bar in 1880. He immediately began the
practice of his profession, making a specialty
of land law, and is now one of the oldest lawyers
in practice in Bennington and Windham counties.
In 1876 Mr. Chase was appointed court ste
nographer for Bennington and Windham
counties, in. 1878 for Rutland and Bennington
counties, and in 1883 again for Bennington and
Windham counties. During all of this time he
has been in attendance upon all trials as court
stenographer, among the thousands of cases in
which he has taken testimony being sixteen cele
brated murder trials. He has been justice of the
peace since his admission to the bar, and for
ten years was attorney for the Hoosac Tunnel
& Wilmington railroad, in the building of which
he took an active part. He was one of the
managers and- -directors of the Moses Newton
Shoe Company from its incorporation until the
burning of the factory, and is an extensive real-
estate dealer, having owned a number of farms
in this and adjoining towns. He is a Republi
can in, politics, and a member of Unity Lodge,
F. & A. M., of Jacksonville, and of Pearl Chapter
of Eastern Star, of which he is now patron.
Mr. Chase married, January 19, 1881, Carrie
E. Brigham, who was born in Boston, a daugh
ter of John A. Brigham, formerly a baker in
Whitingham, but now living retired ' in South
Braintree, Massachusetts. Mr. Brigham mar
ried, first, Emily Parmalee, who bore him four
children, of whom Mrs. Chase is the only living
one. Mrs. Emily Brigham died at the age of
thirty-nine years, and Mr. Brigham married
Olivia Harvey, -by whom he had one child, Ethel.
Mr. and Mrs. Chase have three children, namely :
Robert M., a student at Mount Hermon, Massa
chusetts ; Harry B., a student at Wilmington high
school, and Paul A. Chase-.
' ROSWELL K. PECK.
Prominent among the business men of Mont
pelier stands Roswell K. Peck, who is now pro
prietor of the leading hardware store and plumb
ing and heating establishment of this city. He
is one of the native residents of Montpelier, his
birth having occurred here March 26, 1850. He
is a son of William Nelson and Julia Ann

164

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

(Clark) Peck. His father was born in Mont
pelier in 181 1, and was a son of Ichabod Peck,
who came from Connecticut to the Green Moun
tain state with two brothers prior to the year
1800. A farmer by occupation, he devoted the
greater part of his life to that pursuit, but during
the war of 1812 he served as a sutler of the army.
He was the-father of two sons and three daugh
ters; John Quincy Adams; William Nelson;
Emily, the wife of Silas Fisher; Clarissa, the
wife of John Folsomj and Maria, the wife of
A. L. Page.
At the age of sixteen years William Nelson
Peck, who had hitherto remained under the
parental roof, left home in order to learn the
tanner's trade, and early in life he engaged in
that business for himself, following it success
fully in Montpelier for more than a half century.
During the latter part of his life he carried on
agricultural pursuits for a few years. As a
companion and helpmeet for life's journey he
chose Julia Ann Clark, a daughter of Oliver
Clark, a native of New Hampshire. Mrs. Peck
was born in Moretown, Vermont, and by her
marriage became the mother of four sons :
James S., who was born in 1839, served through
out the Civil war and at the close of the war re
ceived the title of adjutant general, became a
lawyer by profession and filled the office of post
master of Montpelier under the appointment of
President Garfield; he wedded Mary Blake, of
Chelsea, Vermont, and died in the year 1884.
George A. is now a business man of this city.
Roswell K. and John W. are associated in busi
ness as hardware dealers. The father died in
1899, while his wife passed away in 1882.
Roswell K. Peck at the usual age entered the
public schools, and continued his studies until
he completed the high school course by gradua
tion. After putting aside his text books he
entered his father's tannery and learned the
trade, which he followed continuously until
1874, when he engaged in business for himself
as a member of the firm of Peck & Cummins. In
1884 the father, W. Nelson Peck, retired, and the
firm name then became Peck & Cummins, the
partner of our subject being A. O. Cummins.
This relationship was maintained until 1894,
when they closed out the business. In that year
Mr. Peck purchased the stove and tinware busi

ness of D. Dewey & Son, and with his brother
John W. Peck, who was engaged in the plumbing
business, established the firm of Peck Brothers;
they now conduct the principal business in their
line in Montpelier, having a liberal patronage,
so that their growing trade brings to them an
excellent financial return.
On the 12th of December, 1876, Mr. Peck
was united in marriage to Miss Ada N. Pettin-
gill, a native of Richmond, McHenry county,
Illinois, and a daughter of A. M. and Emily
(Johonnott) Pettingill, who had moved from
Barre, Vermont, to Illinois. Two children grace
the union of Mr. and Mrs. Peck: Julia Emily,
born May 5, 1879; and Martin W., born on the
14th of December, 1881. The former is a gradu
ate of Smith College and the latter of Dartmouth
College, with the class of 1902. The family at
tend the Unitarian church, and in his political
affiliations Mr. Peck is a Republican.
JAMES MEAD BOUTWELL
James Mead Boutwell, mayor of Montpelier,
is a typical representative of the self-made men
of Vermont, who have achieved success in life
through honest effort, thrift and good judgment.
A native of Montpelier, he was born May 6,
1856. His father, Plarry S. Boutwell, a son of
Colonel Levi Boutwell, was born in Lebanon,
New Hampshire, in 1824. In early life he was
employed as a stage driver, later becoming a con
ductor on the Vermont Central Railroad, after
which he was the first conductor on the Mont-'
pelier & Wells River Railway. On leaving that
position he established himself in the livery busi
ness in Montpelier, continuing until 1873, when
he resumed work on the railroad, with which
he was identified until his retirement from active
pursuits. He is a member of the Masonic fra
ternity, belonging to Aurora Lodge No. 22, and
King Solomon Chapter No. 7, R. A. M. He
married Lucy E. Mead, daughter of Joel and
Lucy (Langdon) Mead. She was born in Mont
pelier and died November 2, 1892. Two chil
dren were born of .their union, namely: Levi,
who died at the age of eight years, of diph
theria, being the first victim of that dread disease
in Washington county; and James M., with
whom this brief sketch is chiefly concerned.

f f

iU£^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

165

James Mead Boutwell was educated in the
public schools of Montpelier, after which he
learned the. machinist's trade, entering a shop at
the age of sixteen years. Shortly after this he
became fireman on the Montpelier & Wells River
Railroad, a year later being made engineer, a
position which he retained until 1888, when he
was appointed assistant superintendent of the
Barre Railroad. Resigning that office on May
io.' 1890, he turned his attention to the granite
industry, accepting the position of manager of
the Langdon granite quarries, which he purch
ased in 1895, and has since operated, these be
ing among the most valuable quarries in Ver
mont. He is also manager of the Wetmore &
Morse Company quarries, and is carrying on an
extensive and lucrative business, being one of
the leading quarrymen of the state.
Politically Mr. Boutwell is a stanch Republi
can, and has served the municipality as alderman.
In the spring of 1902 he received the Republi
can nomination for mayor of the city, and was
elected without opposition, having the largest
vote ever received by any man for any office in
the city, a fact proving his popularity with both
parties. Fraternally he is a prominent mem
ber of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to
Aurora Lodge No. 22, F. & A. M. ; to King
'Solomon Chapter No. 7, R. A. M. ; to Mont
pelier Council No. 4, R. & S. M.; to Mount
Zion Commandery No. 9, K. T. ; and to the
Mystic Shrine. Mr. Boutwell married, April
29, 1880, Jennie E. Rumsey, a daughter of
Charles Rumsey, of Wells River, Vermont. No
children have been born to them. In 1902 Mayor
Boutwell was appointed a member of the rail
road commission by Governor McCollough
HOMER WALLACE HEATON.
This distinguished lawyer, splendid citizen
and general philanthropist, whose beauty of char
acter and useful life work are held in affection
ate remembrance by the people of Montpelier,
was a descendant of an ancient -and honored
English -family. His patronymic is borne by
several ' parishes _in the counties of Lancaster,
York and Northumberland, England. Eaton, the
name of another New England family, and also
that of parishes in the counties of Leicester,

Chester, Notts and Salop, in England, is another
form of the same family designation. It also
appears to be the primary form in the ancestry
of Homer W. Heaton, which is the form in which
the name usually appears in the United States
as well as in the mother country.
Nathaniel Heaton, the first American ancestor
of whom full and authentic records have been
preserved, was born in Chelmsford, Massachu
setts, about 1752. He was a farmer by occupa
tion, and removed from his native place to
Swanzey, New Hampshire, and after residing
there some years went thence to Hanover, in the
same state, where he died. Gershom, his son,
was born in Swanzey, May 10, 1772, and re-
, moved in 1795 to Berlin, Vermont. He was a
physician, and he successfully practiced his pro
fession for nearly thirty years. He then re
tired, and devoted himself to agriculture, for
which he had always cherished a foridness, and
in which he was eminently successful. He mar
ried, June 19, 1803, Polly, a daughter of Mathew
Wallace, formerly ' of Peterboro, New Hamp
shire, whose forefathers were settlers from Scot
land, established in the north of Ireland. The
children born of this marriage were : an infant,
born May 4, 1804, who lived only eighteen days ;
Volney Proctor, born -March 25, 1805, and -died
July 14, 1813; Homer Wallace, born August 25,
181 1 ; a daughter, born February 2, 1813, who
died when but a few days old;' Rosamond Pen-
field, born January 8, 1814 ; and Volney Thomas,
born November 3, 1816.
Homer Wallace Heaton, son of Gershom and
Polly (Wallace) Heaton, was born in Berlin,
Vermont, where he was reared and received his
preliminary education. He subsequently studied
for a year in the St. Lawrence Academy, at
Potsdam, New York, and for two years in the
Washington county grammar school in Mont
pelier, Vermont. Having determined upon the
law as his' profession, he then entered upon its
study with Colonel Jonathan P. Miller and
Nicholas Baylies, Jr., of Montpelier, and he was
admitted to the bar of Washington county in No
vember, 1835. In the same year occurred the dis
solution of the law firm of Miller & Baylies, and
the establishment of that of Miller & Heaton, Mr.
Heaton becoming the junior member as successor
of his old instructor. This association was con-

1 66

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

tinued until 1839, when the failing health of
Colonel Miller obliged his retirement from active
practice, and in September of that year Mr.
Heaton formed a partnership with Charles Reed,
under the style of Heaton & Reed. The latter
named firm existed until the decease of Mr.
Reed in 1873, after which time Mr. Heaton con
tinued in practice alone. He was numbered with
those of the highest rank of his profession in the
state. In commercial and real estate affairs he
particularly excelled. Cautious, conservative and
comprehensive in the management of his cases,
he was successful in their prosecution, and he
was in great request as a safe and judicious coun
sellor. Throughout his life Mr. Heaton was identi
fied with the Democratic party. In early manhood
he cast his first presidential vote for the re-elec
tion of Andrew Jackson, and he shared to the
full the anti-nullification and anti-secession prin
ciples and utterances of that great leader. When
the "irrepressible conflict" broke into actual hos
tilities at Fort Sumter, he promptly accepted the
issue raised by the south. An earnest and
patriotic war Democrat, he delivered many pow
erful speeches in support of the government and
the prosecution of the war for the maintenance
of the Union. Communities of pronounced Dem
ocratic sentiments were particularly honored by
his presence and addresses. He exerted his every
power to promote enlistments in the Union army.
"Country first and party second," was the maxim
upon which he acted. Many of his former politi
cal associates allied themselves then and thence
forth with the Republicans, but Mr. Heaton, as
a staunch partisan of the Jeffersonian school,
while equally antagonistic to slavery and seces
sion, yet held allegiance to the Democratic party
as the exponent' of political principles having
nothing in common with the evils which he felt
called upon to combat. This manly and high
principled course commanded the confidence and
respect of his fellow citizens, however they might
differ with him in opinion. His sterling hon
esty, stainless probity and political consistency
found such recognition that, notwithstanding the
fact that the party of which he was so active
and conspicuous a member was in perpetual
minority in the state, he was frequently called to
important public positions. In 1839, 1841, i860

and in 1861 he was state's attorney for Washing
ton county. He held this position during the first
two terms under election by the legislature, and
during the last two terms by popular vote. When:
Joshua Y. Vail, the old county clerk, resigned his
office, Judge Isaac F. Redfield and the county-
judges tendered the vacant place to Mr. Heaton,.
who declined the proffer. In 1848 Mr. Heatona
represented Montpelier in the state legislature,,
and was candidate of his party for the speaker
ship of the' house, but was defeated through a.
combination of the Whigs and Free-Soilers. At
the annual election in 1869 he was candidate of"
his party for the chief magistracy of the state..
In 1870, at the first biennial election, he again.
occupied the same position. On neither occasion
was there the slightest prospect of success, but he-
preferred the courage of his convictions to that:
advancement which surely would have come to;
him had he seen fit, in the party changes, to act
with the majority. In both elections he led his-
ticket by thousands of votes, and this was doubt
less due to his patriotic efforts during the Civil-
war period. In 1872 and 1874 he was the Derrf—
ocratic nominee for Congress from the first con
gressional district. In 1872 he was also a candi
date for presidential elector. In the same year
he was a delegate in the national Democratic
convention at Baltimore which nominated Horace
Greeley for the presidency.
During his legislative service Mr. Heaton-
favored the charter for the National Life Insur
ance Company of Vermont, and he was a mem
ber of the select committee of three to whom the-
bill was referred, and he made to the house favor
able report upon the same. He was afterward .
chosen a director of the corporation, and served.
upon its finance committee for several years. In.
the same legislative session he introduced a bill-
for the incorporation of the Vermont Bank, and.
secured its passage. He was subsequently chosen^
a director of the institution, and served for two-
years as its president. When the Montpelier
Savings Bank and Trust Company was organized
in 187 1, he was chosen a trustee, and was at the
same time elected president. Beginning business
with a capital of $50,000, the institution was suc
cessful from the outset, and came to hold deposits
amounting to $2,438,851.98 (July 1, 1902). This
success was .attributable in considerable degree

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

167

to the careful and conservative guidance of Mr.
Heaton, aided by an able board of trustees. Mr.
Heaton's experience and knowledge of general
financial principles and relations, combined with
his careful scrutiny of the smallest details of
business, were always apparent in the manage
ment of the institution.
A few years previous to his death, Mr. Hea
ton ' conferred a listing benefit upon his com
munity and upon suffering humanity by the crea
tion of the Heaton Hospital at Montpelier. His
appreciation of the need for such an asylum had
come to him out of his own observation and ex
periences. His father, who was a physician,- had
found it necessary to travel to Hanover, New
Hampshire, to submit to a difficult surgical oper
ation. He himself, in 1877, while in the per
formance of a professional duty, had fallen upon
a rock and sustained a fracture of the femur
which made him a cripple. There were then
but two hospitals in Vermont. In 1895 he bought
ten acres of land near Seminary Hill, Montpelier,
upon which he erected a hospital building, and he
procured the incorporation of the Heaton Hos
pital (public and non-sectarian) , to which he
conveyed the property by deed °f gift- In J898
he contributed four thousand dollars toward the
erection of a second building, bringing his dona
tions to the institution up to the munificent sum
of thirty thousand dollars. The average num
ber of patients annually cared for is eighty-five,
and the annual expenditures are upwards of eigh
teen thousand dollars. The institution is as com
pletely equipped as any metropolitan hospital,
and has performed a truly beneficent work, amply
fulfilling the hopes of the venerable humanitar
ian, who was its founder, and who, at the open
ing (seated while he spoke, because of his in
firmities), said:
"Now, then, why is it that all these people
take so large an interest in this institution? On
some other matters there are differences of opin
ion now existing in regard to the things that are
interesting the people of this city; differences
more or less sharp, not to say acrimonious; but
here they are united. Now, is it from a mere
whim ? Is it because it is fashionable to do this ?
Now, I submit, is if not from a higher motive?
It is from a Heaven-inspired incentive, from the
Father and Son, our Savior, and the people are

led to believe that it is for the amelioration of
the physical suffering of humanity itself, a high
and religious motive, and no other could so 'act
upon a community and a people as this has."
In 1896 a Ladies Aid Association was. formed
to assist in providing- furniture, table and kitchen
ware, delicacies and comforts for the sick, read
ing matter, etc., and the presiding officer from the
beginning has been Mrs. Charles H. Heaton, a
daughter-in-law of the founder of the hospital.
July 1, 1841, Mr. Heaton was married to
Miss Harriet Stearns, a daughter of John Stearns,
of Boston, Massachusetts. Mr. Stearns was of
an old New England family, and was prominent
as a man of affairs : he was the first president of
the Montpelier Bank. Four children were born
of this marriage, of whom only Charles H. is
living. Mrs. Heaton died April 26, 1859, aSeA
forty-two years, and her husband died January
28, 1899. Of their children Homer W. died De
cember 16, 1894, aged thirty-six years ; James S.
died November 17, 1901, aged fifty-five years;
John H. died in infancy.
. Charles H. Heaton was born in Montpelier,
Vermont, November 2, 1844. He received a
liberal education, after the fashion of his state,
where the people have built school houses and
raised* men and women of whom, through suc
cessive generations, the American nation has been
justly proud. Mr. Heaton has taken a very prom
inent position in fraternal matters and in the
Masonic order he has been especially so. He
is grand treasurer of the general grand council
of R. & S. M. for the United States, elected at
Minneapolis in 1891. He is grand junior warden
of the Grand Cornmandery, K. T., of Vermont;
recorder of Mt. Zion Cornmandery No. 9, K. T.,
of JMontpelier, Vermont; present recorder and
potentate (1889) of Mt. Sinai Temple, A. A-
O. N. M. S. ; Montpelier Council No. '4, R. &
S. M. ; has received all the degrees in Scottish
rite Masonry, including ¦ the thirty-third degree.
He is past lieutenant commander of the Vermont
Consistory, thirty-second , degree ; past grand
sovereign of the Red Cross of Constantine, and
appended orders in the state of Vermont; is .a
member of Aurora Lodge and King Solomon's
Chapter, R. A. M. ; and was secretary of both
bodies for several years 'in Montpelier; he was a
representative of the Imperial Council of the A.

i63

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

O. N. M. S. from Mt. Sinai Temple, Montpelier,
for two years and was chairman of the location
committee at Chicago in 1889. In 1891 he re
ceived the appointment of second provincial
grand marichal of the order of Scotland, H. R.
M., for the United States, August 25, by 111.
Josiah H. Drummond, of Maine; he is also an
honorary member of Medinah Temple, Chicago,
Illinois, and a member of the Masonic Veterans'
Association of Vermont, and an honorary mem
ber of Islam Temple of San Francisco. In poli
tics Mr. Heaton has always been a consistent
Democrat and is chairman of the town commit
tee of his native city and one of the commis
sioners of Green Mountain cemetery ; was a mem
ber of the board of selectmen of Montpelier for
four years. In the Scottish Rite bodies in his
native city Mr. Heaton holds an honorary posi
tion as charter member of them all, and has at
tended every session of the supreme council of
the northern jurisdiction since he received the
thirty-third degree grade in 1885 at Boston, Mas
sachusetts, Charles H. married Sarah L. Morse, only
daughter of Edward R. Morse, of Montpelier.
Two children have been born to them : Clifton
M. and Ruby M.
NORMAN FRANKLIN CABOT.
The Cabots are of Norman origin. Among
the names on "The Ancient Role," given by Stow
(Chronicles of England, John Stow, London,
1632, page 107), of "the Chief Noblemen and
Gentlemen Which Came into England with Will
iam the Conqueror," is that of Cabot. Men of
that name settled in the island of Jersey at a very
early period, and were large landowners. Notice
of the family in Jersey in 1273 is to be found in
the public records office in London, and of houses
built and occupied by them in the early part of the
seventeenth century, when they were holding
prominent positions in the community. There
are still two parishes inhabited exclusively by
Cabots, a race which in numbers and social cus
toms is not unlike a Scottish clan.
Some time in the latter half of the seventeenth
century Francois Cabot, of St. Trinity, Jersey, a
large landowner and wealthy man, married Su-
sanne Grouchy, who belonged to the same family

which a century later gave to the world the fam
ous Marshal Grouchy, wdiose military laurels
were won on almost every battlefield of the re
public, the. empire and the restoration, but is
chiefly known by the distinction which attended
him as a commander in the army of Napoleon.
¦ The American branch of the family traces its
descent through the following generations:
George and Jean Cabot (1), sons of Francois
and Susanne (Grouchy) Cabot, emigrated to New
England about the year 1670, the former becom
ing the ancestor of "the Connecticut River Cab
ots," as they have been called, and the descend
ants of Jean remaining in or riear Boston. George
Cabot married very advantageously, uniting him
self with Abigail, daughter of Benjamin and
Abigail (Veren) Marston, of Salem, Massachu
setts, A son and a daughter survived him.
Marston Cabot (2), son of George and Abi
gail (Marston) Cabot, was graduated at Harvard
College in the class of 1724, entered the ministry
and took- charge of a parish in Killingly, Con
necticut, in 1729. He there married, in 1731,
Mary, daughter of the Rev. Josiah and Mary
(Partridge) Dwight, of Dedham, Massachusetts.
Mr. and Mrs. Cabot were the parents of thirteen
children. That the former attained to some dis
tinction as a preacher seems to be indicated by
the fact that some of his sermons were published.
He died before reaching his fiftieth year.
Marston Cabot (3), son of Marston and
Mary (Dwight) Cabot, migrated with his broth
er Sebastian to Hartland, Vermont; where the
two followed the occupation of farthers. Mars
ton Cabot owned a tract of four thousand acres.
He married Mary Levina, daughter of Noah Sa-
bin, of Pomfret, Connecticut, and was the father
of five children, of whom four were named as
follows: Marston, mentioned at length herein
after ; Levina, who became the wife of. Alba Lull,
of Hartland ; Sophia, who married Thomas Boyn
ton, of Windsor; and Calista, who married,
first, David Smith, of Windsor, and second, Sam
uel Patrick.
Marston Cabot (4), son of Marston and Mary
Levina (Sabin) Cabot, inherited a considerable
farm as his share of the paternal estate. From
the fact that he held the office of county surveyor,
it is presumable that he was a man of some
scientific knowledge, and as he is mentioned in

4>^(

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THE STATE OF VERMONT.

169

the record as Captain Marston Cabot, it is evi
dent that he rendered, at some period of his life,
military service. He married Mary, daughter
of Jonathan and Polly (Maes) Rogers, living at
Springfield, Vermont, who were of the Scotch-
Irish emigration that settled in Londonderry,
New Hampshire, between 1718 and 1730. Cap
tain and Mrs. Cabot passed their lives on their
farm in Hartland, where nine children were born
to them, all of whom removed from New Eng
land in early life, going westward or to the south,
•except the seventh son, Norman Franklin, who
finally returned to his native state.
Norman Franklin Cabot (5), seventh son of
Marston and Mary (Rogers) Cabot, was born
January 20, 1821, in Hartland, Vermont. He
was a very energetic and ambitious boy, both in
work and play. At the age of nine he lived for a
year with his uncle, Ephraim Rogers, in Spring
field, Vermont, doing a man's work on his farm.
Later he was at school in Woodstock, and from
there, in 1836, went south — a long journey in
those days for a boy of fifteen to take alone —
to Mr. Bailey, a native of Woodstock, who was of
the firm of Bailey & Hamilton, merchants at El-
berton, Georgia. Mr. Bailey made him one of his
•own household, treating him as a son, and in re
turn young Cabot worked for Bailey &; Hamilton
in any capacity that tended 'to the promotion of
their interests. The first year he rode on horse
back a thousand miles through the gulf states.
Messrs. Bailey & Hamilton said he was the best
clerk they ever had in their employ, and when,
in 1839, he decided to go to Wetumpka, Ala
bama, on the Coosa river, fourteen miles from
Montgomery, in order that he might be at the
head of a business of his own, they made every
possible effort .to keep him in Elberton, recom
mending him to a fine position in the bank of the
place. In Wetumpka he led a mercantile life for
seventeen years, under five different partnerships.
The merchants of those days in the south had an
extensive field for operations, being the medium
of- supply and exchange for the surrounding
plantation country. In 1844 Francis W. Brooks,
¦son of Captain William S. Brooks (retired from
the sea : of the Medford, Massachusetts, Brooks
family), of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, and
Brattleboro, Vermont, went to Alabama to set
tle a business claim, and remained there. He soon

entered into a business relationship with Mr.
Cabot, under the name, Cabot, Tullis & Company.
This was the beginning 'of a life-long connection
with the Brooks family. The firm dissolved in
1850, when Mr. Cabot decided to try his chances
in California, whither he went with George J.
Brooks in 1851, the year following the gokf ex
citement. On this trip they crossed the Isthmus
of Panama on foot. Mr. Cabot entered with his
usual zeal into the rough mining and camping
life of the California of that period, but returned
to Wetumpka the following year, and, on De
cember 13, 1853, married Miss Lucy T. Brooks,
who had joined her brother Francis in Alabama
after the death of their mother. His business in
Wetumpka was checked at one time by fire, and
again by flood, but he started afresh with as much
courage as if nothing of serious import had oc
curred, displaying on these occasions the remark
able recuperative power and cheerfulness in the
face of disasters which distinguished him through
the whole course of his life. His last partnership,
that of Houghton, Allen & Company, included
Mr. Albert F. Houghton, one of the founders
of the publishing house of Houghton, Osgood &
Company. Mr. Cabot had a great love for the southern
people, with whom his best years had been spent,
artd where his deepest attachments had been
formed, although his political sympathies were
altogether with the north. He was never a slave
holder. He at no time concealed his views con
cerning the evil of slavery, or his belief in the
Union, but, while consistently and fearlessly
holding the attitude of a Union man in the bitter
ante-bellum days, he succeeded, where most
failed, in keeping secure his friendships with men
and women of the south.
Realizing the need of change from continual
business activity in a warm climate, Mr. Cabot.
decided to return to Vermont in 1857, and set
tled in Brattleboro, the home of Mrs. Cabot's
family, where he built his present residence' at
6 Terrace street, and where he bought the land in
the Connecticut river opposite, known as "tlie
island." This land he purchased for a farm. He
lost heavily through unpaid debts in the south,
consequent upon the opening of the war. In 1861
a flood washed away his farm, and in 1862 he
was glad to accept an offer to manage the whole-

170

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

sale paper bouse of his three brothers-in-law, do
ing business under the firm, name of George J.
Brooks & Company. This firm, which had its
establishment in San Francisco, was the largest
house in its line of business on the Pacific coast,
and steadily controlled, by methods of sound en
terprise and strict integrity, the trade in paper as
far west as the Sandwich islands. The fortunes
of the three Brooks brothers had been gained
through this , business. Mr. Cabot made such a
success pf his undertaking that he retired again,
in 1865, to Brattleboro, and led there a life of
leisure for seven years. But further losses in in
vestments in insurance companies, following the
great fires in Chicago and Boston, brought about
his acceptance of the treasurership of jthe Ver
mont Savings Bank in the autumn of 1872. This
position he held until January 1, 1902, when he
resigned oh account of advancing years, his
eighty-first birthday coming at the end of the
same month. Under his guidance the bank grew,
from one of $1,200,000 to an institution of more
than $3,500,000, deposits, eventually becoming
the second largest in the state. This growth was
maintained through all panics elsewhere, and in
spite of the multiplication of eleven other banks
in the immediate vicinity of Brattleboro, and was
due to Mr. Cabot's judgment, faithfulness and
high ideal of his responsibilities to an institution
of trust. •Whatever success has been attained by Mr.
Cabot as a business man has been largely owing
to the unusual concentration of mind which he
brought to bear upon it, and also to the amount of
time which he devoted to it. During the twenty-
nine years he was treasurer of the Vermont Sav
ings Bank he took only one vacation of three days,
for the purpose of attending the funeral of his
mother. He was always in the bank half an hour
before the time of opening, and remained in his
office long after its closing hours. His heart was
always in his work. His remarkable memory was
also a great element in his success.
His love of family has been ardent. He cared
for his mother for forty years, and assisted at the
business ventures of brother and sisters, nieces
and nephews. He has been the executor of six
estates of the Brooks family, his judgment and
time being ever ready to assist friends and all-
who came within his interest. His chief recrea

tions have been in horses and gardening and ini
his social life, the circle of which was illuminated
by the keenest wit and gaiety. In politics Mr.
Cabot is an ardent Republican,, and, although
deafness in later years has debarred him fram be--
ihg an active participant in the political world, -
he has kept in touch with, and felt the deepest
concern in, all the movements of his time.
ALLEN FAMILY.
Allen is the name of an ancient family in the
county of Durham, England, and -of, another
family in the county of Essex, England. In
a book entitled "The Allen Family" from 1568-
to 1882, compiled by Hon. William Allen and re
vised by Joshua Allen, it says, "George Allen,
born in England about 1568, under the reign of"
Queen Elizabeth, is the ancestor of the famijy-
that settled in Martha's Vineyard. In 1635,.
when the Puritans were emigrating in great num-"
bers, to escape the persecution of Archbishop-
Laud, under Charles I, George Allen and his-
family came to Afnerica, and settled in Saugus-
Lynn. Three years previous, Samuel Allen, -with-.
his two brothers, Matthew Allen arid Thomas ',
Allyn— as he spelled his name, — came fram.
Braintree, Essex county, England, and settled.
first in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Subsequently-
all three of the brothers removed to Connecticut, i
In 1637 George Allen joined with Edmund Free
man and others in the purchase of the town
ship of Sandwich. When this town was incor
porated George Allen was chosen deputy — the-
first officer in the town, — and served in that
capacity for several years. He was a conscien
tious Puritan, and a member of the Baptist-
church. He had ten sons, some of whom emi- '
grated to this country before he came, and settled
in the vicinity of Boston. After the purchase of
Sandwich, several of his children removed to-
that town with their families.
George Allen died in Sandwich, May 2, 1648.
In his will he named his five sons, Matthew,
Henry, Samuel, George and William, and also-
made provision for his "five least children," with
out naming them.
Samuel Allen (i), one of the sons of
George,, was born 'in England. He came to-
Bostori, Massachusetts, in 1628. On July 6,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

171?

J635, it is recorded that he was a freeman in
Braintree. He married, first, Ann  , Who died
September 29, 164 1. Their children were Sam-
aiel ; Joseph ; James ; Sarah, married Lieutenant
Josiah Standish, son of Miles; and Mary, mar
ried Nathaniel Greenwood. Samuel married,
second, Margaret Lamb, widow of Edward
Lamb. They had one child, Abigal, who mar
ried John Cary.
Samuel Allen (2), was born in Brain
tree or Duxbury, November 10, i63'2. He mar
ried Sarah Partridge, daughter of George Part
ridge, of Duxbury, Massachusetts, in 1658. He
settled in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, iri
1660. He was a deacon, town clerk and repre
sentative. His children were Samuel, Ezriel,
Mehitable, who married Isaac Alden, grandson
of John Alden; Sarah, who married Jonathan
Cary ; Bethiah, who married John Pryer ;
Nathaniel ; Ebenezer ; Josiah ; Elisha and
Nehemiah. ' Samuel Allen (3), was born December
4, 1660, 'married, first, Rebecca Cary, grand
daughter of Miles Standish. She died in 1697.
Their children were Samuel, Ephriam, Timothy,
Joseph, died young, and Mehitable. He mar
ried, second, Mary Alden, granddaughter of
John Alden. Their children were Joseph, Ben
jamin, Mary, Rebecca, Matthew, Seth and
Abigal. Timothy Allen (4), was born in Bridg
water, Massachusetts, February 22, 1691. He
removed to Norwich, now Lisbon, Connecti
cut, and married, October 11, 1714, Rachel
Bushnell, of Norwich, Connecticut. Their chil
dren were Timothy, born 17 15, who graduated
at Yale College in 1736; Daniel, Rachel, Rebecca,
Seth, Ebenezer, Thankful, Hezekiah, and Phine
has, born in 1 731.
Phinehas Allen (5), was born at Wind
ham, Connecticut, July 24, 173 1. He died De
cember 21, 1776. He married, first, Alice Cady,
who died May 13, 1764. Their children were
Asher,' Phinehas, Cady, Diarca and Comfort. He
married, second, Elizabeth (Sargent) Johnson,
a widow, February 5, 1765. Their children were
Alice, Elizabeth, Experience (died in infancy),
Experience and Epenetus.
Phinehas Allen (6), was born in Mans-'
field, Connecticut, October 29, 1.758. In May,

1777, he enlisted for three years in the Revolu- .
tionary army; served under General McDougal
at Germantown, Pennsylvania ; wintered at
'Valley Forge, was in the battle of Monmouth,
June 28, 1778, and at the storming of Stony
Point, New York, July 16, 1779, and along the
Hudson in 1780, when he was discharged. He
married Sibbel Bickriell, of Enfield, New Hamp-
shire, March 9, 1785, and settled at Poland, New
York, where he died September 6, 185 1, in his
ninety-third year. His wife died December 21,
1846, aged eighty year's. Their children were
Sibbel, Jason, Horace, Delia, Polly, Phinehas,.
Lucia, Joseph Dana, Alice and Sumner.
. Joseph Dana Allen (7), was born October
16, 1799, at Burlington, Otsego coimty, New
York. He died at Burlington, Vermont, October
12, 1878.
Charles Edwin Allen (8), was born No-.
vember 28, 1838, at Burlington, Vermont.
JOSEPH DANA ALLEN.
Joseph Dana Allen, a highly accomplished?
civil engineer, and a prominent pioneer in rail
way and canal construction in New England,.
New York and the west, was born October 16,
1799, at Burlington, Otsego county, New York..
He was early thrown upon his own resources,;
and after a thorough preparation enterer Nor
wich Military University in 1821, then presided
over by Captain Alden Partridge, late command
ant at West Point, and an able instructor in-
civil engineering, the profession which Mr.
Allen had adopted. For ' two years after his
graduation ih 1825 he was assistant professor pf
civil engineering in the university, and then, re
signed to accept the position of engineer of the
Connecticut River Navigation,, Company, a cor
poration organized for the improvement of, the
navigation of that river from Barnet, Ver
mont, to Hartford, Connecticut. In the year
following he entered into an engagement with
a company of New York capitalists to pre
pare a plan for a system of public works, then
projected, by which the waters on the south
shore of Long Island were to be connected
so as to form an unbroken inland chan
nel for ocean vessels from the eastern end of
Long Island to New York harbor. After com-

172

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

pleting these surveys and making his report
thereon, he took charge of the Worcester division
¦of the Blackstone Canal, then constructing, to
¦connect the interior of Massachusetts with Long
Island Sound. His next work' was the laying out
aud building of the Cumberland and Oxford
Canal, to communicate between the lumber re
gions of Maine and the sea at Portland. In 1830
Mr. Allen's services were demanded by the New
York Canal Board, to aid in planning and per
fecting the elaborate system then under consider
ation to connect the new "west with the sea
board. As chief engineer he' constructed the
Black River and Chemung Canals, after which he
took charge of the building of the northern di
vision of the Chenango Canal, between Bing-
hampton and Utica. In 1836 the construction of
railroads began to be considered, and, by reason
of his recognized ability, Mr. Allen was chosen
to determine the route and plan the construction
of the first road leading out of New York city,
connecting with the junction of the canal and
river at Albany, and now known as the New
York & Harlem Railroad. He also directed the
laying out of the Utica & Oswego Railroad, the
completion of which was prevented by the finan-
ciat panic of 1837. In 1838 he was appointed
engineer of the Erie Railroad from Binghamton
westward, then under the presidency of the
eminent banker Jonas G. King, of New York,
and directed the course of construction of that
line. Notwithstanding the fact that railroad con
struction was then in its infancy, Mr. Allen's
methods in his work at this early day have since
been adopted throughout the country, a fact
which abundantly testifies to his skill and
efficiency. He subsequently directed the course and con
struction of the Chenango Canal from Bingham
ton to Tioga Point, New York, and also the
Chemung Canal from Elmira to the same place.
During the four years then following he was in
charge as engineer in chief of the enlargement
of the Erie Canal west from Little Falls; but
his incessant and responsible labors for about
sixteen years had greatly impaired his health,
and, in the hope that a change of occupation
might be a benefit to him, he purchased an in
terest in the* Onondaga salt works at Syracuse,
New York. Disappointed in the. hoped for

health, he soug'it his end by an entire aban
donment of business for a time, and removed
to Burlington, Vermont, where he ever after
lived. In 1845 he organized the Winooski
Cotton Mill Company, and for two years
was its president. This office- he relin
quished in the belief that his improved health
would permit him to renew the practice of his
profession. He accordingly accepted the posi
tion of consulting engineer of the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad, and directed the laying
out of that line in Wisconsin. He was at the
same time appointed chief engineer of the Erie
Canal ; but ill health again overtook him, and he
practically retired permanently from the active
duties of the profession. He afterward, in the
same capacity of chief engineer of the Albany &
Northern Railroad, directed its plan and con
struction, and still later laid out the northern ex
tension of the Rutland railroad line. He prepared
the complete and accurate surveys of the city of
Burlington, together with the maps and data,
upon which was based the system of street im
provements afterward carried into effect. In
1856, at the request of the government of the
United States, he took charge of the erection of
the government buildings, postoffice, custom
house and marine hospital, in Burlington, and
completed them with his usual painstaking skill.
He was for a long time director of the Mer
chants' Bank at Burlington, and was frequently
in requisition to perform other private and pub
lic trusts. As has been said, his active life in his chosen
pursuit covered a period of but a little more than
sixteen years, and yet few have accomplished
such prodigious and gratifying results in a much
longer lifetime. His enforced retirement from
activity was especially irksome to his energetic
nature, which sought and found a partial alle
viation in those liberal studies which enlighten
and elevate the character. He was a man of
modest and retiring disposition, of a liberal cul
ture, and of rare moral qualifications and ster
ling sense and judgment. His integrity and pur
ity of character were particularly marked. In
all that he did he was conscientious to a remark
able degree, and the minutest details of his pub
lic and official work, as well as of "the minor and
personal concerns of his life, invite the most

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

17$

critical scrutiny. His mind was a storehouse of
facts and principles always ready for use, while
his systematic thoroughness and clear per
ceptions of the questions with which he had to do,
made his advice often sought and highly val
ued. He Was for many years a consistent mem
ber of the Episcopal church.
Mr. Allen was married January 22, 1836, to
Miss Eliza R. Johnson. She was the eldest
daughter of John and Rachel (Ferry) Johnson.
One daughter and two sons were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Allen, Charlotte Augusta, who died in in
fancy; Charles E. Allen, of Burlington, Ver
mont ; and John J. Allen, of Brooklyn, New York.
Mr. Allen died on the 12th of October, 1878,
leaving his widow and the sons, before mentioned,
surviving. His widow died May. 18, 1890, aged
ninety years.
John Johnson and his wife Susanna came
from Hern Hill, in Kent county, England. He
was probably among those who went to Agawam
(now Ipswich), Essex county, Massachusetts,
in 1632, or among the emigrants who came in
1630. He is first named among the "Earliest
Settlers" of Ipswich in 1635. He was one of
the proprietors of that town, as is showri by a
deed given by his son Thomas, in 1715. He re
moved with his family to Andover, and became
one of the proprietors in 1657. He took the oath
of allegiance February 11, 1678, and his name
appears on the list of taxpayers in 1679. His
wife died in Andover, September 12, 1683, and
he did not long survive her. Among his children
was Timothy Johnson (1), born about 1644.
He married December 15, 1674, Rebecca, daugh
ter of John and Rebecca Aslett, born in Andover,
May 6, 1652. He was a constable in 1676. He
died in Andover, March 15, 1688. He had six
children, John, Timothy, Mary, Samuel, Peter
and Mercy.
Captain Timothy Johnson (2), was the sec
ond child, born March 25, 1679, married May 3,
1705, Catherine Sprague, born in 1682. She died
February 22, 1758, in Andover, where they lived
and all the children were born. He was select
man nine years and representative in the gen
eral court three years. He died in the King's
service at Louisburg, Cape Breton Island, De
cember 16, 1746. Among his seven children
was Asa Johnson (3), who was born March 27,

1716, married about 1736, Anne

of

Charlestown, Massachusetts, who was born 1719,.
and died April 10, 1792. He died in Andover,
March 2, 1749, where aU his children, except
the eldest, were born. His children were Anne,.
Asa, James, Timotliy, Benjamin, William and,
"Nabe." Benjamin Johnson (4), was born May 24,.
1744. He married Elizabeth Boardman, of Pres
ton, Connecticut, born September* 29, 1746^ and
soon after removed from Andover, Massachu
setts, to Canterbury, New Hampshire. He was a.
corporal in Colonel Stickney's regiment, in Gen
eral Stark's brigade and distinguished himself
at the battle of Bennington, and was a member .
of Major Benjamin Whitcomb's Independent-
Company of Rangers. After his discharge, Feb
ruary 1, 1781, he returned to his farm. He had
twelve children, the third of whom was John
Johnson (5), who was born at Canterbury, New
Hampshire, December 2, 1771. He married,
first, in 1799, Rachel Ferry, of Granby, Massa
chusetts. She died at Essex, Vermont, August
20, 1806, leaving two children living, Eliza.
Rachel, who married Joseph D. Allen; and Ed
win Ferry, the distinguished civil engineer and
projector of the Northern Pacific Railroad. John
Johnson married, second, Lurinda Smith, of
Richmond, Vermont. They had five children,
She died at Williston, Vermont, March 21, 1866,
Mr. Johnson was well known throughout Ver
mont as a land surveyor, and designer and builder-
of bridges, dams and riiills. In 1812 he was ap
pointed surveyor general of the state of Vermont,
and held the office for ten years. In 1817 he was
selected by the commissioners, under the treaty
of Ghent, to superintend, en the part of the
United States government, the survey of our ¦
northeastern boundary, and his final report, made
in 1820, was the basis of the treaty of 1842. He
was highly esteemed for his upright character
and professional ability. Young men frequently
studied with him to qualify themselves for the
profession of engineering. ' He died at his resi
dence in Burlington, Vermont, April 30, 1842.
CHARLES EDWIN ALLEN.
Charles Edwin Allen, a well known lawyer
and leading citizen of Burlington, Vermont, was

174

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

horn November 28, 1838, in the city of which he
is' a resident, and is the son of Joseph Dana and
Eliza R. (Johnson) Allen. Mr. Allen received
his early education in the public and high schools
of his native city, and in August, 1859, was grad
uated from the University of Vermont. During
the year 1861 he studied law with the Hon. Is
aac F. Redfield, at Windsor, and in 1862 and
.1863 with Hom.Milo L. Bennett, in Burlington.
In September of the latter year he entered the
Albany Law School (Union College), from
which institution he was graduated in June, 1864.
For three years he practiced his profession in the
New York courts, and in the spring of 1867 re
turned to Burlington, where he opened an office,
making a specialty of patent law. In 1867 and
1868 he was local editor of the Burlington Free
Press, and also reported for New York papers.
In politics Mr. Allen is a Republican, and has re
ceived repeated proofs of the confidence and es
teem with which he is regarded by his party and
his fellow citizens. In 1878 he was elected al
derman from the first ward for two years, and re
elected in 1880. In 1882 he was elected city as
sessor, and in 1883 school commissioner, to which
office he was re-elected in the following year, and
successively chosen for terms of two years until
1896, when he declined a re-election. During
this period, with the exception of one year, he
served as clerk of the school board, and his an
nual reports of the census and condition of the
city schools are highly estemed for their accuracy
and completeness. In September, 1886, he was
elected city clerk, which position he has held by
continuous re-elections until 1903.
In 1870 Mr. Allen was chosen secretary of
the Alumni Association of the University of Ver
mont, and has held the office since that time. He
is a member of the Algonquin Club, of the Ver
mont Press Association, and has published in
pamphlet form statistics of the town and city of
Burlington from 1763, including complete me
teorological observations since 1840, and is the
author of several historical papers connected with
his native town. He is a member of the Protest
ant Episcopal church, in which he holds the office
of vestryman, and is also superintendent of the
Sunday school. He has frequently served as del-
¦•egate to diocesan conventions.
Mr. Allen married, October 31, 1867, Ellen

C, daughter of Elias and Cornelia (Hall) Ly
man. They have three children : Joseph Dana,:
Lyman and Florence Lyman.
Richard Lyman was born in High Ongar,
Essex county, England, in 1580, embarked with
his family in the ship Lyon, from Bristol, Eng
land for New England, in August, 163 1, and ar
rived at Boston, Massachusetts, November 4.
He first settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
He became a freeman of the general court, June
11, 1635, a°d removed to Hartford, Connecticut,
in October of that year. His will is in the Trum
bull collection at Hartford. He died in August,
1640. He was one of the original proprietors
of Hartford in 1636. His wife Sarah died in
1641. Among his five children was Lieutenant
John Lyman, who was born in High Ongar, Sep
tember, 1623, and came to Boston with his
father's family. He married Dorcas Plumb, of
Branford, Connecticut, and settled in Northamp
ton, Massachusetts in 1654, and died there Aug
ust 20, 1690. He commanded the Northampton
soldiers in the Falls fight above Deerfield, May
18, 1676. He had ten children, of whom the
eldest son was Captain John Lyman (2), who
was born August 1, 1660, lived at South Farms,
and died there November 8, 1740. He married
Mindwell (Sheldon) Pomeroy, widow of John
Pomeroy. She died April 8, 1735. Their third
son was Elias Lyman (3). He was born May
15, 1710, at South Farms, Northampton. He
was among those called out for the defense of
Bennington in the Revolutionary war. He mar
ried Hannah Allen, of Northampton, April 8,
1736. Their eldest son was Elias Lyman (4),
born August 18, 1740, at Northampton. He
was a farmer, and also kept public house. He
married Hannah Clapp, of Easthampton, Octo
ber, 1764. She died August, 1813. He died
March 2, 18 16. His second son was Elias Lyman
(5), born February 23,^1768. He first estab
lished himself in trade in Weathersfield, Ver
mont, and subsequently in White River Junction,
Vermont, where he engaged in cotton manufact
ure with his elder brother Justin, of New York,
and was very successful. He. married Anna
White, of Hatfield, Massachusetts, December 30,
1790. He died November 22, 1830. She died
February 11, 1844. Of their nine children, the
sixth Was' Elias Lyman (6).

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

i,"5-

Elias Lyman was horn July 8, 1800, af Hart
ford, Vermont. He first commenced business in
Norwich, Vermont and represented that town in
the legislature in 183 1. Three years later he re
moved to Burlington, Vermont, where he became
a successful merchant. On April 14, 1842, he
married Cornelia J. Hall, of Troy, New York.
They had three children; a son, who died in in
fancy ; a daughter, Ellen C, who married Charles
E.' Allen, of Burlington, Vermont, October 31,
1867 ; and a son Elias, who married Harriet E.
Phelps, of Burlington, October 20, 1880. In
1850 Mr. Lyman was compelled to retire from
active business on account of ill health, but he
continued to manifest his interest in various im
portant enterprises as long as he lived. He was
a man of sound judgment and scrupulous hon
esty, and posessed the respect and confidence of
all who knew him. He died September 5, 1870,
- his wife died February 7, 1882.
LEWIS B. HUNTINGTON.
For fprty-nine years Lewis B. Huntington
was a well known figure in business circles of
Montpelier. Throughout that entire period he
conducted a restaurant, and his capable manage
ment of his business interests brought to him
a handsome competence that now enables him
to live retired in the enjoyhient of a well earned
rest. He is numbered among the native sons
of the Green Mountain state, for his birth oc
curred In the town of Washington, on the 16th
of 'December, 1829. He is a son of William M.
and Nancy (Calef) Huntington.
The ancestral line is follows: William M.,
the father of our subject, was the son of William,
born in Lebanon, Connecticut, May 26, J775>
and married, March 22, 1795, Elizabeth Derby,
who was born October 22, 1778; she died in
1826. He was a farmer and died in Washington.
He represented the town in the state legislature
twice, and was a man of public note and prom
inence. He was the. son of James Huntington,
who was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, April
25, 1728. He married Hannah, daughter of
Jonathan Marsh. He was for several summers
the town shepherd. He was so conscientious
that he refused taking care of his sheep on the
¦Sabbath, and a boy was employed by the town

for this service. He died December 10, 18 12.
His wife died in 1795. He was the son of Caleb
Huntington, who was born in Norwich, Con
necticut, February 8, 1693-4. He married, Jan
uary 28, 1720, Lydia Griswold, who was born
May 28, 1696. They lived in Lebanon, Con
necticut. He was the son of Samuel Hunting
ton, born in Norwich, Connecticut, March 1,
1665, where he married Mary, probably daugh
ter of William Clark, ofWethersfield. He re
moved to Lebanon in 1700. He took an active
part in public affairs in Norwich. He was a
large land owner in Norwich and Lebanon, and
took an active part in military affairs, holding
the title of lieutenant. He died in Lebanon, May
10, 1717, and his wife, October 5, 1743. He was
the son of Simon Huntington,' who was born in
England in 1629, and was not far' from four
years old when his parents came to America,
where they located in Saybrook, Connecticut. ¦
There he married Sarah, daughter of Joseph
Clark, of Windsor, and later of Saybrook, Con
necticut. In 1660 he joined the colonists who
settled Norwich. He was deacon of the church
and a prominent man. He died June 28, 1706, :
and his wife in 1721.
'William M. Huntington, father of Lewis B.,
also born in Washington, was a farmer by occu
pation, and as a partner and helpmeet for life's
journey he chose Nancy Calef. They became
the parents of six children: Cynthia Amelia,
the wife of William Freeman; an infant; Lewis*
B. ; William Lawson, who- is living in Barre,
Vermont, near, the town of Washington; Porter
is .a blacksmith, in Washington; Lester, who was
a merhber of Company C, of the Twelfth Rhode
Island "Volunteer Infantry; but did not go to war,
as he died soon after enlistment. The parents
were members of the Congregational church,
and were earnest and consistent Christian people,
who commanded the good will and the esteem
of all with whom they came in contact. The
father was called to his final rest at the age of
eighty-two years, and the mother died when
eighty-six years of age.
Lewis B. Huntington was reared upon the
home farm, where he early became familiar with
the work of field and meadow, being engaged in
this, way during the summer months, while dur
ing the winter seasons he attended the public

176

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

schools. About the time he attained his majority
he became a resident of Montpelier, and here
established a small restaurant in May, 1852. By
close application to business, by an earnest desire
to please his customers and by his reasonable
prices and business foresight, he gradually se
cured a large patronage, and for forty-nine years
conducted his restaurant, meeting with excellent
success in his undertaking, until, with a hand
some competence acquired for the evening of
life, he put aside business cares and is now living
retired. In October, 1852, Mr. Huntington was- united
in marriage to Miss Alma J. Parker, daughter
of E. P. Parker, of Washington, Vermont. They
have become the parents of four children:
Wilder, who died at the age of forty years;
Charles E., also deceased; Frank, who is en
gaged in business in Montpelier; and Florence,
the deceased wife of Albert W. Ferrin. Mr.
Huntington exercises his right of franchise in
support of the men and measures of the Repub
lican party, and for two years he served as alder
man elected on that ticket. He has a very wide
acquaintance in the city, and enjoys the friend
ship of many with whom he has come in contact
because of the possession of sterling character
istics which have made him popular with those
whom he has met.
ALBERT L. NOYES.
The Noyes family of Vermont, of which Al
bert L. Noyes, now deceased, was a representa
tive member, holding a prominent and conspicu
ous position for more than a quarter of a cen
tury in business and political circles of northern
Vermont, where he was chiefly distinguished as a
banker and financier, trace their ancestry to the
Rev. William Noyes, who acted in the capacity
of rector of the parish Choulderton, Wiltshire,
England, from 1602 to 1621 ; he was united in
marriage to a sister of the Rev. Robert Parker, a
learned Puritan divine.
The progenitor of the American branch of the
family was the Rev. James Noyes, a son of the
Rev. William Noyes ; he came to New, England in
1634, preached first at Medford, later at Water-
town, and at the time of his death, which oc
curred in 1656, was the pastor of a church at

Newbury, Massachusetts. The Rev. James
Noyes married Sarah Brown, a native of Erig^
land, who accompanied her husband and his
brother Nicholas Noyes and cousin Thomas
Parker, to this country, sailing in the ship Mary
and John.
Rev, James Noyes, son of the Rev. James and
Sarah (Brown) Noyes, officiated as -the pastor
of a church at Stonington, Connecticut, for over
fifty years. He was united in marriage to Dor
othy Stanton, a daughter, of Thomas Stanton, one
of the original proprietors of Hartford. Among-
their children was a son named John Noyes, who
married Mercy Breed, and ariiong the children
born to them was a son, Deacon John Noyes, who-
was engaged in agricultural pursuits in the town
of Stonington, Connecticut, where his death oc
curred. He was twice married, and one of his-
sons, Oliver Noyes, who was born in Stonington,
Connecticut, May 9, 1755, later became one of
the pioneers of the town of Hyde Park, Vermont-;.
he married for his first wife Thankful Clark, and
the following named children were born to them :
Oliver, Breed, Rebekah, David Prentiss and Jo
seph Clark Noyes ; Mr. Noyes chose for his sec
ond wife, Eunice Babcock, and they were the par
ents of Jesse Billings, Gilbert and Eunice Noyes.
The father of these children died in Hyde Park,
Vermont, December 6, 1829, aged seventy-five
years. Breed Noyes, second son of Oliver and Thank
ful Noyes, was born in 1786, married Sarah,
Keeler, who was born in 1791, and their chil
dren were : Breed, Caroline, Lucius Hubbell,
Carlos Sanford, Mary, Edgar, Morillo, Carolus,. ,
and Kimetia. Mr. Noyes died at Hyde Park,,
Vermont, December 28, 1834, survived by his
widow, whose death occurred October 10, 1852.
Lucius Hubbell Noyes, second son of Breed
and Sarah Noyes, was born in Hyde Park, Ver
mont, April 24, 181 1. He became a successful
merchant and was one of the representative citi
zens of the town, filling a responsible place in its-
business and financial affairs. He was largely
instrumental in the formation of the Lamoille
County Bank, in 1855, and served as its first
president; his brother, Carlos S. Noyes, also-
served in the same capacity for a number of
years. His three other brothers, Edgar, Morillo
and Carolus, were successful and prominent men,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

'77

the two latter for many years residing in Bur
lington, Vermont. Lucius H. Noyes married, in
Hyde Park, June 5, 1836, Diadamia J. Smalley,
who was born in Hyde Park, August 1, 1816, the
daughter of Francis and Martha P. (Hyde)
Smalley, and the granddaughter of Jedediali
Hyde, who served as captain in the war of 1812.
Their children, who were all born in Hyde Park,
Vermont, were: (1) Lucia Helen, wife of
Waldo Brigham, son of Asa and Sally Brigham,
and their children were: Julia, wife of Henry
Moses McFarland; Mary, wife of James Buck-
ham, of Melrose, Massachusetts; and Blanche
Brigham. (2) Albert Leigh, of whom mention
is made in the latter part of this sketch. (3)
Henry Morillo was born in 1846 at Hyde Park,
where he resided throughout his life. He received
his education in the Lamoille Central Academy.
At the age of fifteen he entered his father's store
and remained in his employ until he was twenty-
' three years old, when, in company with his broth
er, Edward Lucius Noyes, they purchased the
stock of goods and conducted the store for a short
period of time. He then engaged extensively, in
the produce business, and was esteemed as a re
liable and competent business man by his towns
men. In 1877 he was elected^ town clerk, and
held that office thirteen consecutive years, and
for several years he served as lister.. He was a
member of the Lamoille county Democratic state
committee from 1888 to 1894, when he was ap
pointed postmaster. In 1870 Mr. Noyes mar
ried Melbra Kelley, daughter of the Hon. A. M.
Kelley, of Elmore, and two sons and three daugh
ters have been born to them. (4) Edward Lu
cius, born at Hyde Park in 1849, was educated
at the Lamoille Central Academy and at East
man's Business College at Poughkeepsie, New
York. He began his business career in company
with his brother, Henry M. Noyes, but the panic
of 1873 involved them in financial embarrassment,
In 1875 he went to "Nevada, and later to Cali
fornia, where he held a clerkship until the year
1878, when he returned to the New England
states. In 1880 he became actively associated
with the National Bank, and for nearly a .decade
of years has acted in the capacity of cashier. He
was postmaster of the town of Hyde Park dur
ing the first administration of President
Cleveland, -and as -the Democratic candidate for
12

representative, in 1892, polled more than the en-
'tire vote of his party. In 1873 he married Josette
F. Blanchard, and three children have been
born to them : Grace Alice, Isadore D. and Al
bert Leigh Noyes. (5) Ammi Barber, of St.
Johnsbury, Vermont, further written of below.
(6) Mabel Julia, wife of Roger William Hul-
burd, a son of Benjamin Franklin Hulburd, who
is a practicing attorney at Hyde Park. (7) Milo.
(8) George. (9) Julia Emma. (10) Grace
Melvina. The four last named died in child
hood or early youth.
Ammi. Barber Noyes was born at Hyde Park,
January 13, 1857. He was educated at the acad-
, emies at Hyde Park and Morrisville, being fitted
for college at the age of sixteen. After a year
with his brother Albert, in the Lamoille County
National Bank, he left Hyde Park to take a posi
tion in the wholesale flour and grain office of
Joel Fletcher, at St. Johnsbury, resigning in 1879
to take the position of assistant cashier of the
First National Bank of St. Johnsbury, from
which position he was called to the office of the
E. & T. Fairbanks Company in 1883, and. re
mained with them until 1887, when he entered the
heavy hardware business in company with 'the
late Arthur Wilder. He continued in that en
terprise for ten years; when failing health neces
sitated the settling up of the business. During
the last five years his time has been devoted to
insurance and loans, and such business as would
give active out-of-door employment. He has
-been a trustee of the Passumpsic Savings Bank
since 1887, and a member of the investing board,
and was for a time director of the Merchants'
National Bank. June 12, 1879, he married
Emily J. Bowles, and five children have been born
of the marriage : Leigh, midshipman at An
napolis ; Isabel and Noel, two little girls ; Barbara
and Agpes, dying the same week in 1882 of diph
theria, aged three and a half years and twenty
months respectively. Mr. Noyes has always been
an active- Republican, being the exception in the
family. He has never aspired to office, although
frequently urged to accept candidacy.
Albert Leigh Noyes, eldest son of Lucius H.
and Diadamia Noyes, was born January 18, 1840,
attended the Bakersfield and Morrisville acad
emies and Johnston Normal School, where he ac
quired a liberal education. He began his busi-

i78

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ness career as cashier of the Hyde Park National
Bank, then the only bank in the county, and his
long and faithful service in this highly responsible
position was characterized throughout with such
care and ability that at the time of his death, it
may be said the bank never suffered the loss of a
single dollar. His whole mind and energies were
centered in the bank, of which he was for twenty-
five years the practical head and ruling spirit.
His name became a synonym, in business trans
actions, for honesty and integrity, and to his
earnest effort and personal attention to all the
duties of the banking business may be attributed,
in a great measure, the good name of the institu
tion he so successfully managed. He possessed
a fine discriminating judgment, and was able to
measure correctly the abilities of men with refer
ence to their financial qualifications.
In addition to his duties at the bank, Mr.
Noyes was associated for several years with ex-
Governor Carroll S. Page in the lumber business,
operating as many as thirty-five mills at one time
throughout Lamoille county, and this was the
largest business of its kind ever conducted by a
single firm in the state. Mr. Noyes was a Demo
crat in politics, a member of the state committee,
and although never an aspirant for political office
he took a keen interest in the affairs, of his state,
and his counsel was frequently sought by party
leaders. He was a liberal and public-spirited
man, and gave freely to all worthy, charitable and
religious objects.
Mr. Noyes' was united in marriage to Ellen
C. Boardman, daughter of Almond Boardman,
of Morristown. She was a woman of more than
usual ability,, always well informed as to current
events, and taking an active interest in all local
affairs. She was especially interested in all
charitable undertakings, for the furtherance of
which her work and aid were freely extended.
Her kindness to the sick and afflicted was espe
cially well known.
In January, 1887, Mr. Noyes, who had for a
number of years been a sufferer from asthma,
undertook a journey to southern California in
hopes that the climate there might be of benefit to
him. The journey proved too much for him. He
had overestimated his strength, and, after reach
ing his destination, lived only a few days. He
died at Pasadena, California, February 16, 1887,

at the age of forty-seven years. His wife, Ellen
C. Noyes, survived him about ten years; dying
October 7, 1897, at Hyde Park, Vermont, where
she had continuously resided since her marriage.
Harry A. Noyes, the only child of Albert L.
and Ellen C. Noyes, was born June 4, 1871, at
Hyde Park. He received his preliminary educa
tion at the Lamoille Central Academy, and was
graduated from the University of Vermont in
1893 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and
from the New York Law School in 1898 with
the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was ad
mitted to the New York bar the same year, and
thereupon located in practice at Elmira, New
York. He remained there three or four years,
returning in 1902 to Hyde Park. He is a director
in the Lamoille County National Bank.
On November 2, 1898, Harry A. Noyes mar
ried Lillian Valleau, daughter of Andrew Z.
Valleau, of Napanee, Ontario, whose ancestors
were French Huguenots, emigrating to America,
in 1685. They have one daughter, Natalie Noyes.
BOARDMAN.
Ozias Boardman, of Morristown, Vermont,
was born in Canaan, Connecticut. When only
nineteen years of age, in the year 1793, he went to
Morristown, Vermont, where he began clearing
up land purchased by his father eight years pre
vious and shortly before his death. He built a
log house on the land, which was located on the
Lamoille river, just south of the Hyde Park town
line, and two years later brought his mother and
two brothers from Connecticut to their new home ;
in Vermont. Ozias married Lydja( Whitney, and
their children were Almond (i);.Lorinda (2),
who married Harry Davis, and they soon after
moved to Iowa; Elisha (3),. who became an ex
tensive wool merchant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin;
Norman (4) , who was a prominent lawyer in
Lyons, Iowa; Fidelia (5), who married Curtis''
Merriam, a farmer in South Dakota.
Almond Boardman was born May 16, 1807,
and died January 21, 1891. Until his marriage he
lived on the home farm with his father Ozias. In
1830 he married Jemima Goodale, of Morristown,
and they moved to Hyde Park, where he pur
chased a farm. He remained in Hyde Park
twelve years, when with his wife and three chil-

/

^?<^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

179

dren he returned to the old home in Morristown
to assist his father in carrying on the farm. Here
he lived until within a few years of his death.
The children of Almond and Jemima Boardman
were:. Cornelia M., Henry A., Charles C,
Alma F. and Ellen C. Cornelia married Leander
S. Small, of Morristown; Henry went to Cali
fornia, where he died at the age of forty-two
years : Charles and Alma died young ; Ellen mar
ried Albert L.-, Noyes, of Hyde Park.
Mr. Boardman was known as a well-to-do
farmer, always interested in his occupation, which
he. considered most honorable. As a young man
he was a successful school teacher, having re
ceived a very good education for his day.- He
served his town in various official capacities, be
ing justice of the peace, and selectman for many
years. He represented both Hyde Park and
Morristown- two years each in the state legisla
ture, where his services were often sought on im
portant committees.. He often alluded to the fact
that in the many' times he was called to serve on
justice and petit juries, he was never "objected
off," a record in which he felt considerable pride.
He desired the good opinion of his townsmen,
and his life was such that he gained it, and he
had the respect of the entire community.. He was
public-spirited and generous.. Ih his religious be-
' lief he was a Universalist. He led a most honor-
; atfle and upright life; and died at the age of
eighty-four years..
! SMALL.-
r
s George Small, father of Leander S. Small,
was born at Amherst, New Hampshire, July 1,
1789, removing to Morristown in 1818, where he
' resided in the same neighborhood until his death.
He married Orpha Wilkins, of Amherst, and they
had five sons and five daughters: Lucinda (1),
a-Leander S. (2), George F. (3), Joseph B.'(4),
Lydia (5), Hiram M. (6), Harriet (7), Vernon
W. ,(8), Nancy (9), Mary (10).
Mr,. Small was a strictly honest man, always
conscientious, but ever active, genial and social,
and had the respect and esteem of all who knew
him. To illustrate one trait of his character, his
father, a soldier in the Revolutionary war and
the father of fourteen children, found it rather
hard to keep even with the world, and had accu

mulated debts before his death. George, as a
matter of course, went to work to pay up his fa
ther's creditors, which he did to the last penny.
At this time he was employed as stage-driver,
and as such became a very popular and notable
character. A ride with him was an event to be
remembered, and to his sayings was attached al
most oracular importance. After coming to
Morristown he engaged in farming, and was hon
ored by various public offices, having served two
terms in the legislature, and many times as justice
of the peace, selectman and lister. Although, con
servative and a Democrat, he was an admirer and
follower of Lincoln and his administration, and
an advocate of the conduct of the war. He died
May 27, 1875..
A brief account of the children of George and
Orpha Small follows : Lucinda married Alvinza
Rand, of Morristown; Leander S. is the subject
• of the sketch below ; George F. married Caroline
Keeler, and became a farmer in Morristown;
Joseph B. married Sarah L. Chittenden, of Wil
liston, and was for many years a successful mer
chant in Winooski, later became treasurer and is
now vice-president of the Winooski Savings
Bank ; Lydia A. married W. Herrich, a merchant
in Winooski; Hiram M. married Laura Edson,
of Randolph, and became a well-to-do farmer in
Morristown; Harriet and Vernon both died
young; Nancy married Chandler Parsons, of St.
Albans; Mary- married Eliab Blossom, a mer
chant of Winooski.
Hon. Leander S." Small was born at Morris
town, December 3, 1820. He was reared on the
farm and educated in the common schools. At
twenty-one he took up the study of law in the
office of Butler & Wilkins, at Stowe, and was ad
mitted to the bar in 1845. He then, as partner,
entered the office of the late Hon. George Wil
kins at Stowe, where he remained for three years,
when, owirig to ill health, he gave up for a time
the practice of law and devoted his. attention to
teaching. In 1852 he came to Hyde Park, opened
a law office and there practiced his profession for
many years. In 1853 he married Cornelia M.,
daughter of Almond Boardman, of Morristown.
In 1861 he was elected county clerk and served
for seven years. In 1878 he was elected second
assistant judge, and in 1880 first assistant. He
was a successful practitioner, well versed in the

i8o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

law, of which he was always a close student, and
his knowdedge of elementary law was considered
remarkable. He was, too, an untiring worker in
behalf of his clients, and would labor as faith
fully to effect an amicable settlement when he be
lieved it for their interests as in his preparation
for trial. He was frequently called upon to act
as referee, which position his impartial judgment
and sound legal training enabled him always to
fill very satisfactorily. He began the practice of
law in ill health, and at a time when he was
obliged to compete with some of the strongest
legal talent of the state, but soon proved himself
a good lawyer, and at the time of his death was
the oldest member of the bar in the county, both
in years of service and age, except his former
partner Mr. Wilkins.
Judge Small was a man of cheerful disposi
tion, kind and neighborly to all, and a decided
humorist! He enjoyed a good story, usually had
one appropriate to the occasion, and delighted in
telling it, in which art he was a master. His
stock of wit and anecdotes was inexhaustible.
During the last few years of his life, when,
through paralysis of the limbs, he was confined
to his chair, this trait of character did not desert
him. His stories were not forgotten, and he was
always cheerful and hopeful. He died March
22, 1896.
JAMES EDWARD WALBRIDGE.
The name borne by the subject of this review
is one which has been long and conspicuously
identified with the annals of Vermont history,
and the family record, from the colonial epoch
down to the present time, has been one which
reflects credit on the commonwealth. It is a
well attested maxim that the greatness of a state
or nation lies not in the machinery of govern
ment, nor even in its institutions, but in the
sterling qualities of its individual citizens, in
their capacity for high and unselfish effort and
their devotion to the public good. In these par
ticulars those who have borne the name of Wal
bridge have conferred honor and dignity upon
the nation.
James Edward Walbridge, one of the rep
resentative citizens and influential business men
of Bennington, is a native son of the county,

having been born in Bennington Falls on the
14th of December, 1855, being a son of Henry
Stebbins Walbridge, who was born in Benning
ton on the 13th of November, 1829. The
original American progenitor was Henry Wal
bridge, who emigrated to the new. world from
Dorsetshire, England, and became numbered
among the early settlers in Connecticut, as is

JAMES EDWARD WALBRIDGE.
evident from records extant, the same showing
that at Preston, that, state, on Christmas day of
the year 1688, he married Anna Amos, while
his death occurred at Norwich, Connecticut,
July 25, 1729. From him the line of direct de
scent to J. E. Walbridge is traced through
Ebenezer, son of Henry and Anna Walbridge,
his birth having occurred in Norwich, Con
necticut, on the 15th of May, -1705. His son,
Ebenezer, was bom in the same town, December
20, 1738, and became the father of Stebbins
Walbridge, who was born in Bennington, Ver-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ISI

mont, August io, 1770, where also occurred the
birth of his son, Stebbins D. Walbridge, on the
25th of March, 1801, he being the grandfather
of our subject. Ebenezer Walbridge, Sr., mar
ried Mary Durkee, and she died at Norwich, '
Connecticut, May 19, 1794, having become the
mother of seven children. 'Ebenezer Walbridge
subsequently married Elizabeth Leffingwell Hyde,
who bore him four children.
Ebenezer, son of Ebenezer, Sr., died in Ben
nington, Vermont, on the 3d of October, 1819.
In 1760, at Northfield, Washington county, he
married Elizabeth Stebbins, who was born Octo
ber .8, 1736, and who died September 24, 1822,
their: children having been ten in number. He
was an original grantee of the town of Georgia,
Franklin county, Vermont, on the 17th of Aug
ust, 1763, and his name appears on the town
records of Bennington in 1770. He rendered
distinguished service as a patriot soldier in the
war of the Revolution. March 3d,, 1776, he
was a lieutenant and adjutant in Colonel Warn
er's regiment of "Green Mountain Boys," while
on July 5th following, he was found enrolled
in the company of Captain Brown. In October,
1776, he was commissioned first lieutenant of
Colonel Seth Warner's regiment, and at Fort
Ticonderoga he held this office in the company
of Captain Elijah Dewey. As adjutant he par
ticipated in the battle of Bennington, August 16,
1777, and here his brother Henry was killed..
On the 1 2th of the following November Ebenezer
Walbridge was made brigade major, while on
' the:,23d of April, 1778, he was commissioned lieu
tenant-colonel of the Second Regiment Vermont
militia. In September of that year he was elected
a representative in the legislature of Vermont,
and on the 8th of November, 1780, was appointed
to the office of state auditor. In April of the
following year he was one of a committee of
three who signed the only letters of credit ever
issued by the state of Vermont. On April 2,
1782, he was chosen commander of a company of
one hundred and fifty men who were to march
to Windham county to assist in defending the
boundary line. He was a member of the state
council from 1786 until 1795, and was one of the
most honored and influential men of his time in
the state. For more than half a century he was a

prominent and devoted member of the Congre
gational church.
Stebbins ' Walbridge, , son of Ebenezer
and Elizabeth (Stebbins) Walbridge, mar
ried Betsy Denio, who was born October 30,
1769, at Greenfield, Massachusetts, and who died
at Bennington, March 26, 1836. ' He subsequently
married Fanny Walbridge, who died in Roch
ester, New York. Of the first marriage eight
children were born, there being no issue of the
second union. Mr. Walbridge was grand juror
of Vermont from 1834 to 1837, inclusive. He
was an extensive farmer at Bennington Falls and
also owned the paper mill which had been estab
lished and operated by his father, this being the
first paper mill in the state. Later he trans
formed this into a woolen mill, this being like
wise the first enterprise of the sort to be estab
lished in the state. About the mill had grown up
a settlement, and this became known as Paper
Mill Village. There his father had erected in
1786 a fine mansion, and the same is still stand
ing, in an excellent state of preservation. Steb
bins Walbridge took an active interest in public
affairs and did much to. further the growth and
material prosperity of the community. He died
in the old homestead, June 19, 1850.
Stebbins D. Walbridge, son of Stebbins Wal
bridge, was born in the Paper Mill Village, and
his death occurred August 27, 1885. September
22, 1824, he married Harriet Hicks, who was
born in Bennington on the 20th of March, 1803,
and who died August 31, 1832. She was a
daughter of James Hicks, who was born May 7,
1765, and who died December 14, 1837. On the
26th of April, 1835, Stebbins D. Walbridge mar
ried Eliza Ann Skinner, who was born on the
18th of April, 1816. By his first wife Stebbins D.
Walbridge was the father of eleven children, of
whom only three are living, at the present time,
Colonel James Hicks Walbridge, who was born
in North Bennington in 1825 ; Henry S. ; and
Edward, who was born August 13, 1831. To
the second wife were born three children, of
whom but one survives, Warren S. Walbridge,
of Des Moines, Iowa.
Henry Stebbins Walbridge was born at Ben
nington Falls, on the 13th of November, 1829,
and on Christmas day, 1854, he married Maria

182

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Woodward, of Woodford, this county, and they
have four children : James Edward ; Herbert S.,
a resident of North Bennington; Flora Letitia,
the wife of Rev. William L. Bailey, of Colorado ;
and Effie M., the wife of Walter R. White, of '
North Bennington. Henry S. Walbridge was for
a number of years engaged in the carriage busi
ness, but in 1870 came to North Bennington,
where he established himself in the manufactur
ing of stereoscopes, in which he has ever since
successfully continued operations.
James E. Walbridge passed his early years
in North Bennington, in whose public schools he
received his educational training. At the age of
sixteen years he became associated with his fa
ther in business and remained with him in charge '
of the manufacturing of stereoscope lens, of which
the younger man was the projector, while his
father conducted carriage manufacturing. At
the age of twenty-one he secured control of the
carriage business which had been conducted by
his father, and conducted the same for several
years, finally disposing of the business to some of
his employes. He then, in 1883, came to Ben
nington, wdiere he had. previously opened for his
brother a small general store, and to this he gave
his personal attention until the following year,
when he purchased his present large and sub
stantial business block, which has a frontage of
fifty feet and a depth of seventy-five feet, com
prising a large double store and being three stor
ies in height. In connection with his now exten
sive business operations, Mr. Walbridge not only
utilizes this large building but also four ware
houses, his stock and business being the largest
of the sort in the state. The house handles fur
niture, stoves, ranges, lamps, crockery, glass
ware, tinware, etc., and in connection Mr. Wal
bridge conducts an undertaking business, his
equipments being of the best in every particular
and including two fine hearses. The establish
ment draws its trade from a wide radius of coun
try, and the enormous volume of business speaks
in no equivocal way of the executive ability of
our subject and his upright and honorable meth
ods. Mr. Walbridge gives allegiance to the Repub
lican party and takes a proper interest in public
affairs of a local nature, though he has never
sought the honors' of political office. He served

as a member of the school board in Bennington
for a period of four years. Fraternally he has
completed the circle of the York Rite degrees in
Freemasonry, and has held the official chairs in
the lodge, chapter, council and cornmandery,
while he is also a member of both the lodge and
canton of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
is a charter member of the local lodge of Knights
of Pythias, and a member of the Improved Order
of Red Men and the Foresters of America. His
beautiful residence, which he erected in 1893, is
one of the finest homes in the city, being located
so as to command a magnificent view of the sur
rounding country. He has also erected in Ben
nington three other dwelling houses.
In North Bennington, on the 3rd of October,
1876, Mr. Walbridge was united in marriage to
Miss Idella J. Blood, who is a, native of Grafton,
Vermont, and the daughter of David S. and Mary
(Farnham) Blood. Of this union seven chil
dren have been born, namely : Fanny M., a suc
cessful and popular teacher in the public schools
of Bennington, she having been graduated in
Bishop Hopkins' Hall, an excellent institution in
Burlington : P'lorence A., also a successful teach
er, and who is a graduate of the normal school
at North Adams, Massachusetts; Edith V., a
Poultney, Vermont, graduate and now teaching;
Mary, Edna, Henry B., and Harriet Elizabeth.
WILLARD CRANE.
Willard Crane, an enterprising and success
ful lumber dealer and also manufacturer of Bur
lington, Vermont, was born in Washington, New
Hampshire, May 9, 1830, a son of Ziba and Rox-
anna (Proctor) Crane. The origin of the family
is not definitely known, but it is thought that the
American branch was founded by emigrants- from
Suffolk, England, who located in Milton, Massa
chusetts, about the year ,1648. Joseph Crane,
grandfather of Willard Crane, was born in Mil
ton, New Hampshire, in 1758, and removed from
there to Washington, New Hampshire, in 1782
or 1783. He was then twenty-five years of age,
and he at once set about to clear up a tract of
land ; the country at that time was nothing but a
wilderness. He spent the remainder of his life
there and died at the age of eighty-five years.
Ziba Crane, father of Willard Crane, was

¦ -•• - -mi?,

oa^£l^^ci

THE STATE OF VERMONT.'

183

born November 19, 1796, at Washington, New
Hampshire, and was one of eight children. He
obtained the limited education that was afforded
by the village school, and after completing his
studies learned the trade of blacksmith, which he
worked at for many years, and in addition he fol
lowed agricultural pursuits. In 1845 ne Pur"
chased a farm of his own, and his diligent atten
tion to his work insured him good crops; his
profits were judiciously invested so that he was
able to spend his last days in comfort and plenty.
He was generous and sympathetic, made friends
easily, and he justly deserved the high regard in
which he was uniformly held. He married Rox-
anna Proctor, who was born in Washington, New
Hampshire, August 15, 1800." Four children
were born to them, three of whom are now living :
Roxanna M. married Henry Smith, of East
Washington, New Hampshire; Willard; David
G. There is one half-sister, Mrs. Fletcher. The
mother of these children was the first wife of Mr.
Crane; her death occurred April 27, 1844; she
was an earnest and consistent member of the Bap
tist church. Mr. Crane's death occurred Octo-
, ber 21, 1885, when he had attained the age of
eighty-nine years.
Willard Crane spent his boyhood and youth
in a manner similar to most boys. The common
schools afforded him his early educational priv
ileges, and later he found it possible to attend an
academy for a few years. He then entered upon
his business career, and receiving some temporary
assistance from his father he began the manufac
ture of lumber in his native town, but his'busi-
ness ability soon brought him to the notice of
Lawrence Barnes, then a resident of Nashua,
New Hampshire, with whom he arranged to exe
cute some important commissions, first in Nashua,
then in New York. city, in Three Rivers, prov
ince of Quebec, and lastly in Burlington.. In the
fall of 1858 he resumed business on his own ac
count, entering into partnership with his younger
brother, David G. Crane, in the control of a lum
ber yard, which they have conducted up to the
present time (1903). The success which has at
tended their efforts has come to them through
energy, determination and perseverance, directed
by an evenly balanced mind and by honorable
business principles. The firm of W. & D. G.
Crane is now one of the oldest in Burlington ; in

connection with their yards in the latter named
city, they were interested for several years in the
wholesale lumber establishment of W. G. Wat
son & Company, of Muskegon, Michigan, and in
the retail lumber business of O. Woods & Co.,
of Natick, Massachusetts. As his financial re
sources have increased Mr. Crane has made judi
cious investments in other directions, and is now
a representative of many iriiportant enterprises,
including the Queen Anne Screen Company, the
Burlington Venetian Blind Company, and the
Vermont Shade Roller Company, for which he
acts in the capacity of president. He also occu
pies the presidency of the Lang & Goodhue Manu
facturing Company, manufacturers of water
works and other heavy iron work, and he had an
interest in the Burlington Shoe Company, which
was burnt out in 1902. His identification with
the financial institutions of Burlington covers a
period of over fifteen years' service as a trustee
of the Burlington Savings Bank, and he is also
a member of the directorate of the Vermont Elec
tric Company, which supplies Burlington with
both power and light. He has sold out his inter
est in the latter named corporation to parties who
took possession January 1, 1903. Mr. Crane is a
business man of prominence, and his masterful
ability, keen discrimination and sound judgment
are manifest in the successful conduct of his
varied interests. He»is a worthy example of the
public-spirited American citizen, who, while
promoting his individual prosperity, is not un
mindful of the public good, having a deep and
abiding interest in .his fellow men, and his sup
port is withheld from no measure or movement
which he believes will prove of public benefit. In
his political adherency he is a Democrat, but the
honors* or emoluments of public office have never
allured him from the paths of business. He is a
zealous and active member of the First Baptist
church of Burlington, and in 1886 was one of
the members of the board of trustees of the Ver
mont Academy at Saxtons River, which is con
ducted by the Baptist denomination of Verriiont.
He has served for twenty-one years on the Baptist
state board, and for a number of these years he
was connected with General Estey, of Brattle
boro, Vermont.
On November 5, 1856, Mr. Crane was married
to Miss Harriet P. Miller, of Lempster, New

184

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Ham'pshire, a daughter of Aaron and Melissa
(Wilder) Miller. Aaron Miller was born in
Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, June 12, 1800; he
spent his entire life in that section of the state
and was prominently identified with the business
and political affairs of the town. He married
Melissa Wilder, who was born in Sullivan, NeW
Hampshire, a daughter of Luther and Phcebe
(Merrill) Wilder, the latter named having been
born in Bath, Maine ; she reared a family of six
children, all of whom are now deceased.
Melissa (Wilder) Miller, mother of Mrs.
Crane, had a family of eight children, two of
whom are still living, J. Wesley and Mrs. Crane ;
Mrs. Miller died in the year 1849, at tne aSe °*
forty-eight. years. The two children born to Mr.
and Mrs. Crane are: Arthur G, born May 5,
1858 ; he was united in marriage to Miss Mary J.
Richardson, and their two children are: Ver
non PL, born June 21, 1882; and May Harriet,
born March 5, 1893. Stella H., born March 23,
1866, is now the wife of R. A. Arms ; their two
children are: Merton Hinsdale, born April 15,
1894; and Willard Crane Arms, born February
6, 1896.
EMORY GOLDSMITH HOOKER, M. D.
Emory Goldsmith Hooker, M. D., deceased,
late of Waterbury, was a well known and pros
perous physician. He was born in Cabot, Ver-
riiont, February 19, 1839, a son of Liberty Holmes
Hooker. His paternal grandfather, Parker
Hooker, was born and reared in Connecticut.
Removing from there' to Vermont, he became a
pioneer settler of Peacham, where he redeemed a
homestead from the wilderness, and was after-
Wards engaged in agriculutral purusits during
the remainder of his active career. The maiden
name of his wife was Mary Blanchard.
Liberty Holmes Hooker was born in Peacham,
Vermont, but spent a large part of his life in
Cabot, being engaged in general farming and
lumbering. He married Eunice E. Blake, whose
father, Enoch J. Blake, migrated to Vermont
from Moultonboro, New, Hampshire. Of the
large family of children born of their union, ten
grew to years of maturity, as follows : Lorenzo
K., Flora Ann, Orman V., Emory G, Sanford

O., Fannie, Amos I'., Albert O., Lyman S. and
Maty. Emory G. Hooker completed his early educa
tion in the Barre Academy, afterwards studied
medicine with Doctor Clark at Montpelier^ then
attended lectures at the University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor, and was graduated from the C0I7
lege of Physicians and Surgeons of New York
city with the class of 1865. Being well equipped
professionally, Dr. Hooker established himself as
a physician in Waitsfield, Vermont, where he re
mained sixteen years. In 1880 he settled in Wat
erbury, where his medical knowledge and skill
was recognized and appreciated by all, his prac
tice having been extensive and lucrative. ' Po
litically he was a Republican; professionally he
belonged to the Vermont State Medical Society;
and fraternally was a member of Winooski Lodge,
Free and Accepted Masons, which he had served
as master four years'; also of the chapter, Royal
Arch Masons, of which he had been high priest';
was district deputy worshipful master of Dis
trict No. 5 ; was a member of Mount Zion Corn
mandery, Knights Templars ; and of Vermont
Consistory, thirty-second degree; beirig one of the
most active and prominent Masons of the county.
On December 28, 1865, Doctor Hooker mar
ried Catherine L. Kneeland, daughter of Henry
Kneeland, of Waterbury. Of their union two
children have been born, namely: Harold Olin,
who died at the age of six and one-half years;
and Jessie Mary, who married B. F. Atherton,
by whom she has one child, Beatrice Hooker.
Dr. Hooker died August 13, 1902, having had a
long and honorable career.
ALBERT C. SPAULDING.
Albert Clark Spaulding, an influential citizen
and prominent man of affairs in Burlingtqri, Ver
mont, is descended from an old Massachusetts
family, the members of, which have, in the dif
ferent generations, occupied leading positions iri
th.e community. The date of the founding of the
family on American soil was 1619, when Edward
Spaulding came from England and settled in Vir
ginia, but subsequently he removed to the Ber
muda Islands, and about 1634 took up his abode
in Braintree, Massachusetts. The line of descent
is traced through his son Andrew, who was borri

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

185

in 1652, to Andrew Spaulding, whose birth oc
curred in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, in 1678,
and the latter's son, James, was born in that town
in 1714. The next in the line of descent is James
.Spaulding, Jr., who was born in Westford, Mass
achusetts, in 1748, and he served as a soldier
during the Revolutionary war, participating in
the battle of Lexington. His son, Captain Jona
than Spaulding, became the great-grandfather of
the subject of this sketch, and was born in Ashby
of the old Bay state on the 10th of August, 1770,
and in 1819 he joined the company of sturdy pio
neers who prepared the way for civilization in
what was then the wilderness of Vermont, where,
after his labors had met with merited success, he
died in the town of Jericho. Hosea Spaulding, a
¦son of Jonathan, was born December 27, 1794, in
Ashby, Massachusetts, and followed the occupa
tion Of a saddler, in which he was so successful
as to be able during the latter years of his life to
retire from business. He married Lucy Kidder,
who was born in Ashby, Massachusetts, in 1796,
and they became the parents of three children.
Mr. Spaulding died at the age of eighty years,
and his wife survived almost to the limit of a
century, passing away at the age of ninety-three
years. He was actively engaged in business in
Jericho, Vermont, to which town he had removed
after his marriage and prior to 1820, until the
time of his death, and during that time accum
ulated a modest fortune, filled all of the offices in
the town and was regarcled as one of the leading
men of his community.
Cyrus M. Spaulding, the youngest child of
Hosea and Lucy (Kidder) Spaulding, was borri
in Jericho, Vermont, in 1827, and in that town
he received his education, after which he dis
played his taste for a commercial career by em
ploying the limited facilities for such a life which
the time and his place of abode afforded him. As
a country merchant and dealer in general produce
his enterprise was such that after a time he re-
' moved to Burlington, and he became very active
In the financial affairs of the town, becoming one
of the organizers of three of the banks, the First
National Bank,, the Howard National Bank and
the Burlington Trust Company. In the last
named institution, as well as in the First National
Bank, he was a director, while of the Howard Na
tional Bank he was- vice-president, and was the

first president of the Burlington Trust Company.
He was a director in the Baldwin Refrigerator
Company, and had business interests in Massa
chusetts, being iri partnership with W. P. Clark,
a produce merchant in Lawrence, that state. Nor
were his commercial connections confined to New
England, for he was also extensively engaged in
a number of western enterprises. During the lat
ter years of his life Mr. Spaulding made his home
in Burlington, having sold his business to his son,
Albert C, and during the entire period of his resi
dence in this city he was a most prominent figure
in business and financial circles. He was united"
in marriage to Abbie Gould, who was born in
Chittenden county, Vermont, being a daughter of
Daniel Gould, a miller of Winooski, this state.
In their family were three children: Albert C,
the immediate subject of this review; Helen M.,
who became the wife of H. E. Percival, of Bur
lington; and Ernest J., who is engaged in busi
ness with his brother. The family attended the
College Street church. Mr. Spaulding died on
the 8th of May, 1900, at the age of seventy- three
years, having been actively engaged in business
for more than half a century, but his widow is
still living and now makes her home with her son
Albert C. It is a significant fact and one well
worthy of being called to the attention of those
whose time is much absorbed by the demands of
business, that the arduous nature of Mr. Spauld-
ing's occupations, both as a merchant and finan
cier, never caused him to become unmindful of'
the political duties of a citizen. He always took
a keen interest in public affairs, and cheerfully
assumed the responsibilities which "his. standing
in the community necessarily involved. His fel
low citizens manifested their appreciation of this
trait in ' Mr. Spaulding's character by sending
him, iri 1876, to represent them in the state sen
ate. In all respects, politically, commercially and
socially, his whole career was that of an honor
able and public-spirited citizen.
Albert Clark Spaulding, a son of Cyrus M.
and Abbie (Gould) Spaulding, was born on the
10th of June, 1850, in Jericho, Vermont, where
he received his education, after which he engaged
in business with his father, in course of time suc
ceeding him as the head of the firm. In 1886 he
removed to Burlington, where, in company with
John Van Sicklen, he bought out the business of

1 86

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Van Sicklen, Seymour & Company, later re
organized under the name of Spaulding, Kimball
& Company, the oldest firm engaged in the whole
sale grocery business and the one having the most
extensive connections throughout the state of
Vermont. So great is Mr. Spaulding's energy
that the demands of this business, absorbing as
they are, do not furnish sufficient occupation for
it, and various .; other large interests share the
benefit of the impetus imparted by his ability and
enthusiasm. He is prominent in financial circles,
being a director of the Howard National Bank,
the Baldwin Refrigerator Company and the Rut
land Railroad. In addition to filling these posi
tions he also discharges the duties of treasurer
of the Lake George Steamboat Company and the
Lake Champlain Transportation Company. His
versatility is no less remarkable than his energy,
which is shown not only in the many different di
rections in which his abilities are exerted, but by
the fact that he finds time, amid all the cares
which devolve upon him by reason of the oner
ous nature of his duties, to take an interest in
agricultural pursuits. He is the owner of a large
farm in Essex, Vermont, over the management of
which he presides with all the ability, energy and
enthusiasm which are so characteristically dis
played in his other vocations.
Mr. Spaulding was married on the 17th of
February, 1874, to Emma J. Douglass, a daugh
ter of Milo Douglass, of Jericho, Vermont, but
• now a resident of Essex Junction. They are the
parents of one son, Frank Douglass, who is a stu
dent at Princeton College and will graduate with
the class of 1905. .In politics Mr. Spaulding is. a
Republican, and gives a due portion of his atten
tion to public affairs, but has always firmly re
sisted the solicitations of "his friends to accept
office. He is a member of the Algonquin and
Ethan Allen Clubs, also of McDonough Lodge,
F. & A. M., of Jericho, and the Knights of Pyth
ias of Burlington.
FRANK ELLIOTT DAVIS.
Frank E. Davis, station agent at Whitingham
and general baggage agent of the Hoosac Tun
nel & Wilmington Railroad, and postmaster at
Davis Bridge, is a native of Whitingham, born
May 22, 1848, and a son of Freeborn Garrettson

and Sarah (Brown) Davis. He comes of pioneer
stock, his great-grandfather, Nathaniel Davis,
having been an early settler of this section of Ver
mont, and the original owner of the land now oc
cupied by Frank E. Davis, it having been in the
family for four generations.
Ebenezer Davis, the grandfather of Frank
E., was an itinerant preacher of the Methodist
denomination, having an extensive circuit ride

FRANK ELLIOTT DAVIS.

throughout southern Vermont, and in the north
western part of Massachusetts, going as far as
Leyden. He died at the age of ninety-two
years, loved and respected by all. His first wife,
Hannah Dalrymple, bore him seven children,*
most of whom lived to a good old age. His
second wife, Dorothy Adams, lived to the ad
vanced age of ninety-one years ; she had no chil
dren. Freeborn G. Davis spent his entire life of
seventy-six years in Whitingham, carrying on
general farming on the ancestral homestead. He

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

187

was a staunch Republican in his political re
lations, and served as- selectman for .a number of
terms. He married Sarah Brown, a daughter of
Amos and Mary (Tarble) Brown, who reared a
large family' of children, of whom but one is
now livirig, Elliott, a resident of Fond du Lac,
Wisconsin ; Amos Brown, who lived to the' ven
erable age of ninety-five years, was one of the
leading farmers of Whitingham, and a citizen
of prominence, serving as selectman, justice of
the peace, and as a representative to the state
legislature. Sarah (Brown) Davis died when
but thirty-five years old, leaving but one child,
Frank E. Mr. Davis subsequently married for
his ^second wife Charlotte Hurd, of Bennington,
Vermont, who died at the age of eighty-one
years, leaving one child, Sylvester Davis, of
Cfiarlemont, Massachusetts. '
Frank E. Davis grew to manhood on the old
homestead, remaining there until of age. Em
barking in business on his own account in 1869,
he was a general merchant in Readsboro 'for
two years, then disposed of his store and went
to Turners Falls, Massachusetts, where he was
a -photographer for eighteen months. Return
ing to Whitingham, he assisted in the manage
ment of the home farm until- his health began to
fail, when he entered the employ of E. J. Bull
ock, and for two and one half years assisted
in the conduct of the latter's mercantile busi
ness at Readsboro. He subsequently had charge
of a hotel at Sadawga for one season, after which
he accepted his present position with the Hoosac
Tunnel & Wilmington Railway Company, be
coming station agent, baggage master, express
agent, and telegraph operator. He was ap
pointed postmaster by President McKinley, dur
ing his first administration.
Mr. Davis is a Republican of the stalwart
type, and has rendered his town valuable service
in many offices of importance. He was lister
three years, being chairman of the board one
year: was selectman eleven consecutive years,
several times being unanimously elected to the
office, and serving as chairman of that board;
was a member of the school board six years, be
ing chairman three years; was superintendent of
schools a number of terms ; was a trustee of the
public library three years'; and a justice of the
peace eight years. Fraternally he belongs to Ris

ley Lodge, formerly the Deerfield Valley Lodge;
I. O. O. F., of which he was secretary three
years; to the Grand Lodge of the Knights of
Honor ; to the Good Templars ; and to the local
Grange. He is an active member of the Metho
dist Episcopal church, in which he has served
as trustee and steward.
Mr. Davis married, August 21, 1874, Ida Bul-
lard, who was born in North Adams, Massa
chusetts, a daughter of J. Bullard, formerly an
overseer in a cotton mill in that city, but who,
since the death of his wife, Olive (Sweet) Bul
lard, has lived with his daughter, Mrs. Davis,
the only survivor of his three children. Mrs.
Davis was graduated from the Westfield Nor
mal School, and subsequently taught school
several terms, first in North Adams, and later
in Turners Falls, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs.
Davis have three children: Rockwell, Sara and
Elliott. Rockwell Davis, in business at Wilming
ton, Vermont, married Etta, Thayer, of Charle-
mont, Massachusetts. Sara Davis married
Ernest Faulkner, who was killed by the explosion
of a locomotive- boiler on the Hoosac Tunnel &
Wilmington Railroad; she has one child, Ernest-
tine Faulkner. Elliott Davis, the youngest child,
now twenty years of age, is engaged in agri
cultural pursuits on the ancestral horriestead,
carrying on his father's farm most successfully.
CHARLES FREMONT BUSWELL.
Charles Fremont Buswell, proprietor of the
Union Card Company and of a large book and
stationery store, is one of Montpelier's most en
terprising and successful business men. He was
born July 14, 1856, in Worcester, Vermont, a
son of 'George M. Buswell, and his paternal
grandfather, Ebenezer Buswell, born October 17,
1789, married Jane Kemp. George M. Buswell
was born in Acworth, New Hampshire, January
20, 1823, and grew to man's estate on the ances
tral homestead. In his early, life he learned the
shoemaker's trade, which he followed to some ex
tent in his New Hampshire home. He subse
quently removed to Vermont, locating first at
Worcester, then residing in various towns in this
state, eventually settling permanently in Mont
pelier, where he was engaged in the grocery busi
ness until his death, October 4, 1874. He mar-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ried Laura A. Cooper, on January i, 1850. Her
father, William H. Cooper, a native of Alstead,
New Hampshire, married Abigail Kemp, and
soon after removed to Worcester, Vermont, where
he engaged in farming pursuits, becoming one
of the leading farmers of the community, and a
citizen of much prominence. Two children were
born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. George M.
Buswell : Charles F., and Lillie E. Lillie E.
Buswell married Thomas J. Keegan, of Mont
pelier, and they have three children : Frederick
A., Harold Cooper, and Laura Emma.
Charles F. Busweil is a self-made man in the
highest sense implied by the term, developing
from a very small beginning the largest print
ing plant ih Vermont. During his boyhood days
he attended the public schools of Montpelier,
and assisted his father in the grocery store, in
the meantime establishing quite a business as a
dealer in old postage stamps, of which he had
quite a collection. In connection with this in
dustry, or pastime, he purchased a small printing
press and some type, paying nineteen dollars for
the entire outfit, and began printing cards and
envelopes, thus inaugurating an industry that
merged into a good business, which he called the
Union Card Company. He subsequently opened
an office at 30 Main street, but his business so
increased that he had to have additional room,
and he took the .second floor of the building in
which he was already occupying the first floor
and basement. In 1897 the business had as
sumed such proportions that more commodious
quarters were needed, and he moved to his pres
ent location on Main street, in the Golden Fleece
building, where he has the first floor, fifty ' feet
by one hundred and fifty feet, with' basement.
In his work Mr. Buswell keeps in use five job
presses, four large cylinder presses, and an auto
matic press, having all the business he can attend
to in this line, it being the most extensive of the,
kind in the state. In connection with this, he has
one of the largest and finest equipped blank book
and stationery stores in Vermont, his store be
ing centrally iocated at 32 State street: The suc
cess which he has achieved as a manufacturer and
merchant is due entirely to his own industry,
foresight and practical judgment.
Notwithstanding that his private interests en
gross so much of his time, Mr. Buswell is ac- -

tively identified with the material progress of
the city in which he resides, and has served as
village trustee, and, since its incorporation, three
years as alderman of the first ward. Politically
he is a Republican, and fraternally is an Odd
Fellow, belonging to both lodge and encamp
ment. In May, 1882, Mr. Buswell married Em
ma L. Murphy, of Northfield, Vermont, a daugh
ter of William Murphy. Two children have been
born of their union, George W., and Arthur, who
died at the age of four years.
EDWARD WYATT BISBEE.
Thomas Bisbee (then written Besbedge), the
common ancestor of the New England family of
Bisbee, was one of those persons who came to
New England' soon after the landing of the
Mayflower Pilgrims, in order that they might
enjoy more perfect religious freedom. The rec
ords show that he sailed from Sandwich, Kent,
England, in the ship Hercules, John Witherly,
master, with his wife, six children and three
servants, and they landed at Scituate Harbor
(Massachusetts) in the spring, of 1634. There
are many circumstance's which tend to show that
he was a man of some wealth and position in
the old country, and a man of influence in
Plymouth colony. He brought certificates, from
Thomas Warren, rector of St. Peter's at Sand
wich, and from Thomas Harmon, vicar of Hed-
corn of his conversion and conformity to the
orders and discipline of the' church, and that
he had taken the oaths of allegiance and
supremacy. He became a member of Lothrop's
church; the first gathered at Scituate, and was
chosen one of its first deacons.
Tn 1638 he bought a house in Duxbury and
moved there. In 1843 he was chosen represent
ative from Duxbury to the general court. He
was one of the grantees of Seipicon (now
Rochester), but the grant was not accepted, and
Mr. Bisbee subsequently moved to Marshfield,
where his name appears on. a petition to the
general court. He afterwards moved to Sud
bury, Massachusetts, where he lived several years,
and died March 9, 1674. The only children of
Thomas Bisbee, whose names appear upon the.
record, are as follows: Elisha, m. Alice, m.
Mary, m. The name of the wife of Thomas

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

189

Bisbee does not appear upon the records of
Plymouth colony, which are equally silent re
specting three of his children.
" Elisha Bisbee, son of Thomas the settler, in
1644 kept a ferry in Scituate, where Union
Bridge now stands. His house was a tavern.
Children: Hopestill, John, Mary, Elisha and
Hannah. John Bisbee, the second son of Elisha, born
in 1647, at Scituate ;• married. Joanna Brooks, at
Marshfield, September 13, 1687. He moved to
Pfmbroke and died there September 24, 1726.
His wife died August 21, 1726. Children: Mar
tha, John, Elijah, Mary, Moses, Elisha, Aaron
and Hopestill.
John Bisbee, the eldest son, born September
15, 1690, at Pembroke, was married. to Mary
Oldham, of Marshfield, 1710.11; but moved
soon after to Pembroke, and died there August
2, 1772. He must have had two wives, as the
records of Pembroke give the name of his wife
Rebecca, and make Rebecca mother of the chil
dren : Abner, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah and John.
Abner Bisbee, the eldest son, born July 31,
1734, at Pembroke, is the founder of the Bisbee
family in Vermont. He enlisted in the- French
and Indian war from Massachusetts, under Gen
eral Amherst, became captain of a company of
rangers, and often traversed the wilds of Ver
mont. In 1763 he settled six miles from Fort
No. 4, in what is now Springfield, Vermont.
Several years thereafter he married Miss Hall,
daughter of Captain Hall. During the Revo
lutionary war he was captain of a scouting party,
and held two commissions that are now in
possession of his descendants, one signed by Gov
ernor Clinton or New York, the other by Gover
nor Chittenden. In 1772 he owned six hundred
acres of land in Springfield. He held important
offices there, represented that town in the general
assembly, and died there in 1805. Children:
Elizabeth, Abner, John, Elisha, Sally, Elijah and
Gael. The children all lived and died in Ver
mont. John Bisbee, the second son, born in Spring
field, married Nancy Chamberlain, of Weathers-
field, December 1, 1801. He was a farmer by
occupation. He moved to Waitsfield, Vermont,.
in the spring of 1836, and previous to that time
had lived in Springfield. Children : Elizabeth

(died in 1828), Nancv, Arathusa, Mary J., John
B., Elijah W. and Elizabeth.
Elijah Wyatt Bisbee, son of John and Nancy
(Chamberlain) Bisbee, was born in Springfield,
Vermont, August 17, 1816. He received a good
common school education, and successfully
taught district schools several years previous to
his marriage. He moved with his parents to
Waitsfield in 1836, and there married Lydia D.
Brown on January 31, 1845. He lived in Waits
field until. March, 1864, when the family moved
to Moretown, and the father died there. Febru
ary 23, 1897. He was a farmer by occupation,
a Republican in politics, arid attended the Congre
gational church. During several years after 1864,
and until the death of Mr. Merriam, he bought
butter and farm produce for J. W. Merriam &
Company of Faneuil Hall market, Boston. He
held many town offices, and served several years
as selectman of Moretown. He favored im
proved methods of farming, and was a friend and
supporter of dairymen's meetings, where he
freely participated in the discussions. He served
as president of the Agricultural Society in the
community in which he lived, "Mad River
Valley ;" also as president of Washington County
Agricultural Society. Children- : Edward Wyatt,
died in infancy ; Lucy Jane, died in infancy ; Bur
ton Dewey; Edward Wyatt; Arthur Brown;
John Chamberlin; and Daniel Ralph. Accord
ing to the desire of both father and mother all
of the sons received an academical education, and
what the children have accomplished in life is
due to the efforts of their parents.
Lydia Dewey BroWn, born in Royalton, Ver
mont, December 23, 1821, was a daughter of
Artemas and Eunice (Dewey) Brown. She was
educated in the public schools of Hanover, New
Hampshire, and at Thetford Academy, and is a
member of the Congregational church. The par-
nets of Artemas Brown moved from Connecticut
to Guilford, Vermont, where he was born Decem
ber 31, 1879. Eunice Dewey was of the eighth
generation of descendants from Thomas Dewey,
founder of the Dewey family in this country.
Thomas Dewey (then written Deawy) emi
grated to America from Sandwich, Kent, Eng
land, as one of the early settlers under Governor
Winthrop and Rev. John Warham. Some think
Thomas came in the Lyon, which arrived at

190

THE STATE OF VERMONT..

Salem in February from Bristol, England ; but
•this could not be, as the records of the colony
show he was here on August 26, 1633 ; others
think he came in the Griffin, which arrived Sep
tember 4, 1633. He married Frances Clark,
relict of Joseph Clark, at Windsor, Connecti
cut, March 22, 1639. He died at Windsor in
May, 1648. Children: Thomas, Josiah, Anna,
Israel and Jedediah.
Josiah Dewey, deacon, sergeant, second son
of Thomas the settler, baptized at Windsor, Con
necticut, October 10, 1641, died at Lebanon, Con
necticut, September 7, 1732. . He learned the
carpenter's trade and located at Northhampton,
Massachusetts. In February, 1668, he was
granted land in Westfield to pay him for build
ing the minister's house, and moved there in
1670. On November 6, 1662, at Northampton,
he married Hepzibah Lyman, daughter of Rich
ard and Hepzibah Lyman, of Northampton. She
died at Lebanon, Connecticut, June 4, 1732.
Children: Hepzibah; Mary, died in infancy;
Josiah : John ; Ebenezer ; Nathaniel ; Joseph, died
in infancy; Elizabeth; Joseph, died in infancy;
Benjamin, died in infancy; and Experience.
Josiah Dewey, son of Josiah, born December
24, 1666, at Northampton, Massachusetts, died
about 1750, at Lebanon, Connecticut. He was
a farmer of Westfield, Massachusetts, until he
removed to Lebanon, Connecticut, about 1696,
as one of the first settlers; January 15, 1691, he
married Methitable Miller, of Westfield, Massa
chusetts (daughter of William and Patience
Miller), born at Northampton, Massachusetts,
July 10, 1666. Children: William, Josiah,
Joseph, John, Mary, Mehitable.
William Dewey, son of Josiah, born January,
1692, at Northampton, Massachusetts, died No
vember 10, 1759, at Lebanon, Connecticut, of
smallpox caught at Albany; married Mary
Bailey, July 2, 1713. Children; Mercy; Wil
liam, died in infancy; William, died in infancy;
Simeon; Jerusha; Hannah; Zerviah; Elijah; and
Ann. .Simeon Dewey, son of William, born May 1,
1718, at Lebanon, Connecticut, there died March
2, 1751, where he was a farmer, and married
March 29, 1739, Anna Phelps, born August 6,
1719. died September ,25, 1807, at Hanover, New
Hampshire. She married again, November 27,,

1765, Noah Smith, who died in February, 1776,
and she moved to Hanover, New Hampshire,
where all her children then living ultimately
settled. Children: Theoda, died in infancy;
William, died in infancy; Simeon; William; Amy
and Benoni.
William Dewey, son of Simeon, born Janu
ary 1.1, 1746, at Lebanon, Connecticut, died June
10, 1813, at Hanover, New Hampshire. He
lived at Hebron, Connecticut, until 1776, when he
located on Connecticut river, four miles above
Dartmouth College, where he carried on farming
and mechanical operations. He married, in 1768,
Rebecca Currier, daughter of Andrew, and Re
becca (Rockwell) Currier, of Colchester, Con
necticut, and born March 19, 1747, died July 6,
1837. Children: Anna, Simeon, William,
David, Asa, Israel, Lydia, Henry, Parthenia,
Oliver, Eunice, Elias, Andrew and a son born
August 9, and died August 11, 1791.
Eunice Dewey, born April, 7, 1784, in Hano
ver,- New Hampshire, died in Waitsfield, Ver
mont, September 27, 1851. Married Artemas
Brown, October 21, 1819. He was a farmer in
Royalton, Vermont. In 1827 he bought the old
Dewey homestead at Hanover, New Hampshire.
In 1842 he sold that farm, and moved to Waits
field, Vermont. Children, born in Royalton :.,(:
Lydia Dewey, Lucy Maria and Harriet Pinneo.
Edward Wyatt Bisbee, son of Elijah W. and
Lydia D. (Brown) Bisbee, was born in Waits
field, Vermont, February 27, 1856. His edu
cation was received in the district schools and
at Barre Academy, from which he was graduated
in June, 1875. At intervals during his attend- -
ance at the academy, and after he had registered
as a law student, he successfully taught school in
Warren, Roxbury, Waitsfield, Barre, West Fair-
lee, South Royalton, and in the grammar school
of Claremont, New Hmapshire. He studied law
at Montpelier in the offices of Heath '& Carleton '
and of Joseph A. Wing. He Was admitted to the
Washington county bar at the September term
of court, 1879,. and located in Barre, in Novem
ber, 1879. He has since practiced his profesion
there. He has been an enterprising and success
ful young man of independent thought and
action, prominently identified with the interests
of Barre, and has held various offices there.
Until he became personally interested in the

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

191

Barre Water Company, a corporation organized
to supply the municipality and its, inhabitants
with water for fire, sanitary and domestic pur
poses, with the right of eminent. domain, he was
counsel for the town and village of Barre. He
has taken to the supreme court several important
cases' of local interest. He was counsel for the
town in litigation concerning the town hall, which
involved the question, as a citizen who refused
to pay his tax expressed it: "To see whether
the town has the right to build a building with
a stage in it for theatricals, heated with the steam
engine, and lighted with lightning." The case
is reported in 60 Vt. p. 530; His first case in
the supreme court, where he appeared for the
National Bank of Barre, reported in 56 Vt. p.
582,||ivolved a question as to the extent national
banking associations are subject to the laws of
the state in which they are located. He was
state's ' attorney for Washington county from
r866 to 1890. In 1892 he was one of the incorpo
rators and commissioners to effect the organi
zation of the Barre Savings Bank and Trust
Company, and is one of the directors of, and
counsel for, that bank. He is also one of the trus
tees named iri the will of the late L. F. Aldrich,
in which Mr. Aldrich bequeaths to seven trus
tees to serve during their lives about fifty thous
and dollars, with few restrictions, for the estab
lishment of a public library in Barre. He is a
Republican in politics, and attends the Universal
is! church. In 1899 he was appointed, by Presi
dent McKinley, postmaster in Barre, reappointed
by President Roosevelt in 1903, which office he
now holds. He is a member of the executive
board of the New England Postmaster's Associ
ation. Mr. Bisbee took the M. M. degree in Granite
Lodge, F. & A. M., March 29, 1882. He is a
member of . the Granite Chapter No. 26 ; St.
Aldemar Cornmandery No. 1 1 ; Vermont Con
sistory;- and Mount Sinai Temple, Mystic Shrine.
He is a zealous Mason and contributed his por
tion to have a chapter and cornmandery in Barre.
When Granite Chapter was chartered in 1892,
he was elected second officer, and was the second
person to serve as its high priest. When St.
Aldemar ' Cornmandery was constituted in 1896,
he was elected its first eminent^ commander.
He was married January 20, 1886, at Mont

pelier, to Julia B., daughter of John and Maria
(Wilson) Snow. Julia Bell Snow was born in
Chelsea, Vermont, September 30, 1857, was edu
cated in the public schools of her native town and
in the graded, schools of Montpelier. She is an
accomplished pianist. John Snow, her father,
was born in Royalton, Vermont, August 21, 1807,
and died at the home of his daughter in Barre,
January 19, 1893. Before the age of railroads
he was well known as the owner of large stage
routes in Vermont and Massachusetts. His an
cestors settled along the south shore of Massa
chusetts Bay. He married Maria Wilson in
Chelsea, Vermont, January 6, 1844. Maria Wil
son was born in Chelsea, November 14, 1822,
died in Montpelier, April .27, 1889; she was a
daughter of William Wilson. William Wilson
was born in Bradford, Vermont, May 25, 1797,
died in Chelsea, October 19, 1872 ; married Octo
ber 21, 1 82 1, 'Mary Godfrey, born July 30, 1798,
died April 15, 1871.
GEORGE W.. PARMENTER.
The record of business activity forms a lead
ing chapter in the history of every community in
this present epoch of the world's progress. It
is therefore meet that the leading business men
should be mentioned in every volume purporting
to give a pen picture of the life of any town or
cityt George W. Parmenter is engaged in dealing
in ice, in Montpelier, and his straightforward
business methods, his capable management and
his enterprise, have made him a reliable and suc
cessful business man. He was born in East
Montpelier, Vermont, August 26, 1841, and is a
son of L. M. and Eunice (Barton) Parmenter.
The father was also born in East Montpelier
and was a son of Moses Parmenter, who removed
from Sudbury, Massachusetts, to the Green
Mountain state when a young man. Moses Par
menter served his country as a soldier in the war
of 1812. By his marriage he became the father
of three sons and three daughters: L. M., Ed
ward, Harrison, Mary, Laura and Fanny. The
father of these children passed away at the age
of eighty-four years.
L. M. Parmenter was reared to farm life,
early becoming familiar with all the duties that
fall to the lot of the agriculturist. When old

192

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

enough to enter upon an independent business
career, he chose the pursuits to which he had
been reared. He wedded Eunice Barton, and
they became the parents of seven children : Mary
Jane, the wife of B. F. Buxton ; Marcus, of La-
conia, New Hampshire ; George W. ; John W.,
who is a resident of Manchester, New Hamp
shire; Milo, who is living in Lamar, Colorado;
Eunice the wife of Charles Freeman ; and Calvin,
who resides in Montpelier. L. M. Parmenter
filled some offices of public trust and responsibil
ity, including those of selectman and justice of
the peace, and he was a member of the Metho
dist Episcopal church, his life having been per
meated by his Christian faith.
George W. Parmenter followed farming until
he was twenty-five years of age. At that time
he came to Montpelier and worked for R. H.
Whittier in the meat business for fifteen years, on
the expiration of which period he turned his at
tention to the ice trade, and now has control of
that line of business in this city, because of his
reliable methods, his careful management and his
earnest desire to please his customers, combined
with reasonable prices.
Mr. Parmenter was married in 1866 to Miss
Jane F. Sanders, a daughter of Willard Sanders,
of East Montpelier. By this union there are
four children : George, who is a graduate of
the medical department of the Vermont Univer
sity, having completed the course in 1902 ; Fanny,
the wife of J. F. Sheldon, of Springfield, Massa
chusetts,' is a violinist and has gained considerable
reputation because of her skill; Nellie, whose
musical talent is manifested as a pianist, and who
also plays the cornet and other instruments ; and
Walter, who died at the age of four and one half
years. Mr. Parmenter is a member of the Inde
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. He also belongs
to the Methodist Episcopal church and is now
serving as one of its stewards ; for many years
he led the choir in that church. The family pos
sess exceptional musical ability and are a valued
addition to the musical circles of this city.
HUGH J. M. JONES.
Hugh J. M. Jones, one of the enterprising
young business men of Montpelier, Vermont,
was born in Ebensburg, Cambria county, Penn

sylvania, February 6, 1865, a son of Hugh and
Eliza Jones. Hugh Jones, his father, was a
native of Wales, where he was born in 1830, a
son of Even and Ann Jones, who came to this
country when Hugh was only two years of age.
They settled in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania, and
later they removed to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania,
where they remained for the balance of thir lives.
Hugh Jones was a pupil in the public schools
of that town, and entered his mercantile career
by engaging in the grocery business, at which
he continued until 1864, when he enlisted as a
private in the Two Hundred and Fourth Volun
teer Pennsylvania Infantry. He was soon pro
moted to the rank of second lieutenant, then to
acting captain. He participated in many battles.
of the Civil war, and was killed at the battle of
Fort Steadman, March 25, 1865. Lieutenant
[ones was survived by a widow and six small
children, the eldest child ¦ being twelve years of
age'and the youngest six weeks old, at the time
of his death. The mother was a native of Wales,
and was brought to this country by her parents
when she was two years of age. The children
of Hugh and Eliza Jones were: Marshall W.,
now a member of the firm of Jones Brothers,
and a resident of Winchester, Massachusetts;
Annie E., wife of David E. Pritchard, of Pitts-.,'!
burg, Pennsylvania; Seward W., a member of ^
the firm of Jones Brothers and a resident of
Newton Highlands, Massachusetts ; Dayton E.,
a member of the firm of Jones Brothers up to
the time of his death, which occurred August
15, 1902; Hugh J. M. Jones, hereinafter men-.
tioned; and Maggie E., the wife of S. Heber
England, of Zanesville, Ohio.
Hugh J. M. Jones ' removed in the spring
of 1877 to Zanesville, Ohio, where he received
his education in the high school, and in 1883
was engaged in the capacity of clerk in a mer
cantile business there ; later he was employed in
the granite trade in the firm of Jones Brothers.
This firm was organized, in 1883 by Marshall
W. and Seward W. Jones, and in 1884 Dayton
E. went with the firm, and later was taken in
as partner, and a year later Hugh J. M. went
into the firm as traveling salesman and in 1899
became a member of the firm. The business
offices are located in Boston, Massachusetts, and
the quarries and manufactories are situated at

The Lewis Publishing Co

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

193

Barre, Vermont. This is the most extensive
plant of its kind in the world. Mr. Hugh J.
M. Jones removed- to Montpelier, Vermont, in
the spring of 1896, and has complete charge of
the quarry and manufactory department of the
work, and he gives employment to three hundred
men. Mr. Jones has attained a high position in the
Masonic fraternity, being a member of the Free
and Accepted Masons, Royal Arch Masons,
Knights Templar, and is also a prominent mem
ber of the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Jones holds mem
bership in the United Commercial Travelers and
the Apollo Club. He has served as a member of
the school board and of the park commission,
and he acts in the capacity of director of the
Young Men's Christian Association and of the
art gallery. He is also a consistent member and
attendent of the Congregational church of Mont
pelier, Vermont.
On July 9, 1899, Mr. Jones was united in
marriage to Miss Dell B. Brandom, of Mt.
Sterling, Ohio, a daughter of William B., and
Julia A. (Simpson) Brandom. Four children
have been born to them, namely: Robert B.,
born January 8, 1891 ; Marjory D., born May 2,
S1894; Hugh Brandom Jones, born August 23,"
1899; and George L., born February 17, 1892,
and died August 10, 1892.
William B. Brandom, father of Mrs. Jones,
was a son pf Charles and Susan (Keiger) Bran
dom. Charles Brandom was the son of Ezekial
Brandom, who came to this country from Eng
land, settled in Virginia and participated as a
soldier during the Revolutionary war. His wife,
'Susan Brandom, was the daughter of John B.
Keiger, who attained to the rank of lieutenant
¦colonel during the Revolutionary war. Julia A.
Simpson, the mother of. Mrs. Jones, was the
daughter of James W. and Sarah (Pickerel)
Simpson, the former named being a son of James
Simpson, of Virginia.
REV- LEWIS GROUT. '
The Rev. Abner Morse, the distinguished
genealogical historian, traces the lineage of the
Grout family to Sir Richard Groutte, of Walton,
in the county of Derby, England, who was
knighted in 1587 and belonged to an ancient
13

family that had its home at one time in Corn
wall, in the western part of England. The family
originated in Germany, where they bore the name
of Grotius or Groot, alias Grote, and were be
lieved to be the descendants of the Grudii or
the "Great," of whom Caesar speaks as among
the courageous and daring tribes of Belgic
Gaul, upwards of fifty years previous to the
Christian era. Captain John Grout, a son of Sir

RESIDENCE OF LEWIS GROUT.
Richard, came to this country about 1634 and
settled in Watertown and Dudley, Massachusetts,
whence his grandson, John, eventually came to
Westminster, Vermont, where he had a son,
also named John, who, in 18-10, began to make
his home on a new hill-top and heavily timbered
farm in the southwestern part of Newfane. In
181 1. he married Miss Azubah Dunklee, a -daugh
ter of Jonathan Dunklee, who came from Brim
field, Connecticut, to West Brattleboro among the
earliest settlers of the town. Mr. and Mrs. Grout
had nine children, eight sons and one daughter.
Lewis Grout, the eldest of the nine children,
was born on the farm at Newfane on the 28th
of January, 18 15, and there began to drink in
the beauty, fragrance and freshness of that
natural scenery, the love of which grew with his
years and eventually led to the writing of the
two renowned sermons, "God in Nature" and
"All Nature a Witness for God," which recently
found their way into print. For the privilege
- of giving him his christening name, his grand
father Grout made him a small present, with the
fruit of which, sixty dollars, together with a

194

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

strong faith in the grace of that God he had
promised to serve, he began after coming of age,
to prepare for college, supplementing his slender
means from time to time by teaching, first in a
district school and afterward in a ladies' semi
nary at New Haven, and for two years after
his graduation in a classical, mathematical and
military school, a feeder of the academy at West
Point. Entering Yale in 1838, the prizes he
there won and the high appointments he held at
the junior and senior exhibitions testified to his
diligence and success in study, while his religious
activity as a Christian worker in both the col
lege and in the city, especially during that time
of great spiritual awakening under the evange
listic labors of Elder Knapp and Dr. Kirk, whom
he heard daily for two months and whom he
tried to aid in their day 'by day overcrowded
inquiry meetings, was a good preparation for,
his mission work in later years. For two years
he pursued his theological studies at Yale, and
for one year was a student at Andover, where he
graduated,' in 1846.
After a few months of rest, or rather of
change from study and teaching to business en
terprises and preaching, on the 8th of October,
1846, Mr. Grout appeared before an ecclesi
astical- council in Springfield, Vermont, by which
he was ordained as a missionary of the Ameri
can board for America. At the close of the
ordaining sermon, which was preached by
Professor Park, of Andover, he was married to
Miss Lydia Bates, of Springfield, with whom,
after supper, he started on a bridal tour, their
faces set toward the east. The next day brought
them to Boston, and the following found them
on board a gallant ship rushing their way in the
van of a storm to the haven they sought beyond
the sea. Two months of speedy sailing brought
them to the Cape of Good Hope, where they re
mained for six weeks, during which time they
formed the acquaintance of many people and
learned much that proved helpful to them in
after years in mission work. Finally landing
at Natal after a rough and adventurous voyage,
they there changed their ship for a tented wagon,
the standard number of twelve oxen and the
needed number of Zulus to man the team, to go
to the home of another missionary, who, with his
familv, had come with a similar team to escort

them to their abode, some forty miles distant.
On account of heavy rains and swollen streams,
the journey, usually made in two days, was pro
longed to four, and during the trip they had a
thrilling adventure in fording a stream. Having
given a few months to the study of the Zulu
language, and an exploration of the field, Mr.
Grout made choice of a beautiful site for a mis
sion station at the source of the Umsunduzi, about
thirty miles north of Durban, to which the
enterprising chieftain, Umusi, of the Amagabe
tribe gave him a hearty welcome. The morning
after his arrival the herder boys from the sur
rounding hills coming down to see him, hailed
him as "white man, teacher, king," and inquired
for the book they heard he would bring. Of
these and their mates, boys and girls, he- soon
formed a school, which sometimes numbered
twenty or thirty pupils. And from these and
others he eventually organized a small church,
to which additions w^ere made from time to time
during the years of his labors in that field, in
which he was greatly aided from the first by
his wife and eventually by his daughter.
When the American Zulu mission first
entered upon work in Natal, the entire region
was occupied and ruled, as it had been from time
immemorial, by the natives, the aboriginal tribes
and their chieftains. When the British govern
ment took possession of the district in 1842-3,
directly from the Dutch, indirectly from the na
tives, they set apart large portions here and
there as reserves, or permanent locations for
natives, their word and honor being solemnly
pledged to this permanence. But when the colon
ists, Dutch and English, became numerous, they
began to study how they could get possession of
these reserves by compelling the natives to
abandon them and either leave the -colony or enter
the service of the white men on such terms as
he might dictate, claiming that only about four
teen thousand of that people had any aboriginal
right to the colony. Upon all this Mr. Grout
looked as false, unjust, unwise and in every way
wrong. He had already' written an extended
history of each and all of the tribes, proving that
the natives in Natal, numbering about eighty-
three thousand when the English took possession
of the country, instead of being "foreigners,
aliens and intruders," as the above colonists

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

'95

called them, were bona tide aborigines of the dis
trict, fully entitled to a permanent abode in the
colony, to a free and ample possession of the
soil and. to the blessings of personal liberty. But,
in a commission appointed by he lieutenant gov
ernor of the colony to take evidence, this report
was thrown out. However, this gentleman was
soon superceded by another, whose views, the
result of minute inquiry, were identical with those
given in Mr. Grout's report, and at a later date
the Hon. D. Moodie, for many years the able apd
faithful colonial secretary of the Natal govern
ment and speaker of the legislative council, in
a public lecture at the capital, speaking of the
very important service the American mission
aries had rendered the government, said: "It
is true that when invited to give this evidence
one of them gave more of the truth than was
desired, and his evidence was specially con
demned in the lieutenant governor's dispatch,
as well as included in the general censure, as
[ 'emulating from persons who saw but one side
of the picture.' And yet these foreigners gave
what their censors did not attempt to meet, —
the true side of the picture, — and if they did not
conceal their contempt for the conduct pursued
in ignoring our just obligations, no honest
Englishman will blame them." While Dr.
Colenso was considering accepting the appoint
ment as bishop of Natal, he made a vsit of ten
weeks in the colony, during which time he spent
some days with Mr. Grout. Returning to Eng
land, he published a book in which he criticised
the American missionaries' rule not to admit of
a man's having more than one wife in the church
as "quite unanswerable and opposed to all the
plairi teachings of our Lord." After rutrning
to Natal he published a pamphlet in the same
strain, and the spirited discussions which fol
lowed between these two parties were sent to
the New Englander, the editor of which wrote
a careful review of them, among other things
speaking of the Bishop as "too much of a
theorist," and of Mr. Grout as knowing the
Zulus thoroughly, further adding that "His ounce
of mother wit is worth more than the Bishop's
bushel of learning." After the public discussion
was virtually ended, Mr. Grout received a
courteous note from the Bishop, in which he
sent him "his best thanks" for a copy of his ser

mon preached at the opening of the Congre
gational chapel, and concluded by saying;
"Believe me to be, amidst all our little conflicts,
ever your true brother in Christ Jesus."
The night, before Mr. and Mrs. Grout sailed
for Africa was passed at the home of one of the
secretaries of the American board in Boston,
who in the course of the evening expressed to
Mr. Grout the hope that he would give his best
attention to careful study of the Zulu language,
analyze it and reduce its forms and principles
to a grammatical system. No sooner had he set
foot on African soil than he began to study the
subject of which he had been put in charge, —
a study which he kept steadily in view and in
the investigations of which he was ever getting
new facts, words, idioms, principles until he had
completed his grammar of the language and had
it printed a his station, Umsunduzi, in Septem
ber, 1859. It would take too long to name the steps
by which he advanced in the prosecution of this
enterprise or the difficulties with which he had ta
contend, some of which are briefly sketched in
the "Introduction." to the grammar, and some are
briefly referred to in the South African papers.
In analyzing the sounds of the Zulu language
Mr. Grout found that the alphabet which had ¦
been used was neither sufficient nor in all respects
appropriate, and moved that something more
simple, ample and better fitted to the require
ments of the language be made. He was ap
pointed one of a committee to provide needed.
letters and make the needed changes, but
upon finding that other missionaries in various
parts of the wide field were discussing similar
movements, he proposed that a general committee
be appointed, made up of members in both Africa
and other lands, to devise such new letters and
a general standard alphabet as might be sufficient
and appropriate for all newly written languages,
and thus prepare the way for bringing in a general
information. Such a committee was named by
the American Zulu mission. Mr. Grout prepared
an essay on the subject "A plan for effecting
a reform- orthography of the South African dis
tricts," which was published in the Journal of
the American Oriental Society and widely circu
lated. He also wrote an essay for tlie same
journal on the phonology and orthography of the
Zulu and kindred districts in South Africa, to aid

196

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

the general committee in what they might at
tempt. The plan was generally approved by
missionaries in Africa and by the ablest philo
logical, literary and scientific scholars in other
parts of the world, with some of whom Mr.
Grout had an interesting correspondence on the
character and importance of the subject under
consideration. At length a certain number of the
general committee, secretaries of great mission
ary societies and eminent philologists united in
calling Dr. Lepsius, professor of the university
and members of the Royal Academy of Berlin,
to their aid, and they kindly undertook the work
here spoken of and finished the admirable ,
treatise, the "Standard Alphabet." Nor was it
long before the "Standard" came to have the
hearty approval and high commendation of
literary and missionary associations and of dis
tinguished philologists in every part of the
world. In the meantime Mr. Grout wrote an elaborate
essay on the nature, origin, growth and essential
traits of the different families of language, to
gether with the grounds on which they have been
classified, all of which were eventually put into
the form of two lectures and delivered before
the literary and philological club of Maritzburg
and other places, and then sent, by request, to
Sir George Grey's magnificent library of African
books, in Cape Town. At the request of the
South African auxiliary to the British and
Foreign Bible Society of South Africa, Mr.
Grout prepared an essay on the affinities of some
of the African languages, in acknowledging the
receipt of which the secretary of that society
expressed his hearty thanks in well chosen
words. v
At a later date the Rev. Mr. Grout wrote a
critique (which was published) on a work en
titled "A Comparative Grammar of the South
African Bantu Languages," by J. Torrend, S.
J., of the Zambezi Mission. Of this work he
remarks that, while in outward appearance it
leaves nothing to be desired, as. an authority on
the subject of which it treats it is extremely un
satisfactory. He. remarks, in the first place, that
Mr. Torrend has been singularly unfortunate in
his choice of a standard, having ignored the
Zulus, together with the other better specimens
of the Bantu, and selected the Tongas, in all re

spects a very insignificent people. Moreover, it
appears that all his knowledge of the Tonga
language has been derived from three boys whose
very identity as Tongas was, to say the least,
doubtful. It would seem that Mr. Torrend had
not supplemehted this very slender epuipment for
writing a grammar of the language, by a sojourn
among the people by whom it is spoken, since all
that he ever knew of the Tonga language he
acquired in Cape Colony, and yet on the title-
page of his grammar he puts himself down as
"of the Zambezi Mission." Mr. Grout remarks
that Mr. Torrend appears to be as uninformed
in regard to their character as he is evidently
ignorant of their language. He speaks of them
as "a free, unbroken, independent race," whereas
Dr. Livingston and other authorities describe
them as "servile, inferior and degraded." While
he says that he "equally considers the several
groups of Tonga people in different parts of
South Africa to represent the aborigine's with
respect to their neighbors," he really takes "the
Tonga of the middle Zambezi" for all com
parative purposes throughout t his work. Dr.
Livingston and others who follow the Tshuana
pronunciation, changing sg into k, generally say
Batoka instead of Batonga.
Mr. Grout remarks in conclusion, that the
facts which show the degradation of the Tongas
might be urged with great force in favor of
mission work among that people, but that they
can hardly be cited as arguments for the adoption
of their language as a standard of linguistic
authority. Neither can it be said that this work
is calculated as it claims to be, to aid in the best of
preparation for the best of mission work in South
Africa by increasing the knowledge of historic
truth and sound linguistic science, while as an ef
fort in the interests of Bantu scholarship it must
be regarded as a failure.
When Natal became settled as a British col
ony the Christian portion of the people began to
form churches and other such institutions as they
had in other lands whence they came, only modi
fying them according to their new environments,
in all of which work Mr. Grout was ever ready to
lend them such a helping hand as his special mis
sion work would allow. At the dedicating of a
Congregational chapel at Durban he preached a
sermon in which he aimed to set forth the polity

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

197

and doctrines generally held by that denomina
tion. The sermon was spoken of and printed in
the local papers as an eloquent portrayal of the
characteristics of true worship and a scriptural
constitution of the Church of Christ, peculiarly
appropriate to the occasion. In this work of
daily teaching, together with preaching at the
station and often at an out-station On the Sabbath,
teaching 'architecture, agriculture, or how to train
oxen, use the cart, plow, hoe, trying to serve as a
magistrate, physician, dentist, to practice, indeed
about every kind of profession, trade and pursuit,
meantime making tours of observation in the sur
rounding regions, studying the language and writ
ing a grammar, translating the Bible' and printing
books — in a word, trying to serve every interest
of the natives and of the colonists, Mr. Grout
, found in tithe that he was drawing too heavily
hipon his vital forces, and by the time he had fin
ished his grammar of the Zulu language he was
obliged to rest, give up the field and return to his
native land. Leaving Natal he arrived with his
family in Boston June 7, 1862, and after a season
' of rest he preached a year at Saxtons River and
for two years in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts,
and while there he completed a valuable work
which he had begun in Afrjca, entitled "Zulu-
land," with maps and illustrations largely from
original photographs. After a pleasant pastorate
of 'two years at Feeding Hills an urgent call came
to Mr. Grout from the American Missionary As
sociation to serve that society in New England,
especially in Vermont, and New Hampshire, to
gether with an extended tour through the south,
as agent for their work among the freedmen,
the Indians and the Chinese. Entering upon this
iwork at the close of the war, he continued therein
until 1884, When he withdrew and gave a year tc^
the collection of funds for Atlanta University.
He rounded out twenty years, lacking five months,
in diligent, faithful and successful service in be
half of the three most despised and needy races
that were at that day calling for aid and instruc
tion at our hands. June 14, 1885", he entered upon
the duties of a parish at Sudbury, in western
Vermont. The importance of the place was en-,
hanced from its being a popular resort for great
numbers of guests from the cities in the summer.
Mr. Grout's ministrations were blessed there in
many ways, especially in that the church,- though

small, was more than trebled in numbers and
strength during his little more than three years'
labor there.
The health of his family, however, made it
necessairy for him to be with them and he returned
to his abode in West Brattleboro in September,
1888, and there gave himself to other forms of
service in his Master's great vineyard. Among
these was the writing of eighteen articles _for the
Funk & Wagnall's "Encyclopedia of Missions,"
such as sketches of the Soudan, sketches
of most of the African races, and sketches
of about ten of the different missions
among the Zulus and neighboring tribes. Then
came a call from Natal and the board in Bos
ton to revise his Zulu grammar for a new edition,
to which reference has already been made. In
August, 1892, he had the honor of being appointed
a member of the advisory council of the World's
Congress auxiliary at the Columbia Exposition
on African ethnology; where he was also honored
with an invitation to address the same congress
on "The place and power of each family of Afri- -
can languages as factors in the development of
Africa." With this also came an urgent request
jfrom both secretary and chairman to "Be^ sure to
come in person not only to present his own paper
but also to take part in the deliberations." Not
being able to do this, he sent in his essay, which
was greatly cofnplimented by the , secretary.
Mr. Grout now turned from his more direct mis
sionary, parochial and philological labors, and re
sumed those historical studies which had refer
ence to the origin, growth and experience of the
West Brattleboro Congregational church, in
which he had been previously interested, 'and went
on to jjrepare a second discourse on that subject,
which was published in 1876 and extended from
the dawn of civilization in this region, or from
1724., though the church was not organized until
about 1770. In 1876 he made .Yale College a
gift of a hundred volumes of African books, such
as grammars and dictionaries, translations, Afri
can songs, tales, proverbs from tribes in almost '
every part of the continent, and in 1902 he made
a similar donation of African books to the Smith
sonian Institute. The part Mr. Grout took with
his pen in defending the Boer cause in the late
Anglo-Boer strife — in his opinion an effort to de
fend the cause of truth, right, justice and hu-

r98

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

manity — should not be forgotten. His address
before the Brattleboro Professional Club, No
vember 14, 1899, on the Boer and the British in
South Africa, grew out of his having been a
missionary of the American board for fifteen
years among the natives. The address passed
through three editions, had a wide circulation
and brought the author many appreciative letters
from all directions.
At Springfield, Vermont, October 8, 184.6, Mr.
Grout was united in marriage to Miss Lydia
Bates. Their children were: Annie L., born at
Umlazi Mission, Natal, July 28, 1847 ! and Lewis
Paulinus, born at Umsunduzi Mission, Natal, No
vember 5, 1858, died at the same place, January
2, 1859. On October 8, 1896, they celebrated
their golden wedding, and on this occasion Mr.
Grout was led to prepare "A Partial List of the
Fruits of His Pen," for his many friends.
Though not a native of Brattleboro, yet on ac
count of his having come here to live at an early
age and from the deep interest he has ever taken
in the town, it was a pleasure for Mr. Grout to
fender it in his later years a pleasant service by
writing two sermons on "The Early History of
its First Church," and subsequently, in 1899, a
monograph on the origin and early life of the
town, which was sometimes called "The Olden
Times of Brattleboro." MRS. LYDIA B. GROUT.
Mrs. Grout, the youngest of Deacon Phineas
Bates' twelve children, was born |in Springfield,
Vermont, August 16, 1818, and from her ances
tors, the Lincolns of Lincolnshire, England, and
John Rodgers, the martyr, she inherited' an inde
pendence of thought and expression which she
exercised for nearly eighty years. 'She acquired
her early education in the district school, and this
was supplemented by instruction in various higher
schools, including a boarding school in Greenfield,
taught by a daughter of Noah Webster. The fol
lowing two years were spent as a governess in a
slaveholder's family in Maryland, and they were
to her years of valuable experience. The fam-,
ily was large, of high standing, one of the old,
distinguished, historic families of the state, and,
being members of the Episcopal church, her
abode in this family naturally served to develop
her social, intellectual and religious life, ahd'

prepared her to entertain several English bishops
and other clerical dignitaries with grace and ease
at her own home in Natal in after years. She
was a. strong anti-Mason, an abolitionist and a
teetotaler, and her natural good sense, tact and
wisdom, young as she was, found illustration in
her ability to hold her situation and make herself

yku.

-* — -3. <<^L,

desirably permanent as a. governess, wdiile at the
same time she cherished and expressed the warm
est sympathy to and for the slaves around her
and in the family where she was teaching. In
1843, desiring a higher education, she entered
Mount Holyoke Seminary, of which Mary Lyori
was then principal, and joined the class of '46,
which celebrated its semi-centennial by a reunion
at the college in 1896. Mjss Lyon's teaching,
counsel, example and influence proved most help-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

199

ful, and in 'all the after years of her life Mrs.
Grout never failed to feel the marvelous, inspir
ing and uplifting momentum she received at that
institution. A deep mutual interest .in
foreign missions, careful study and knowl
edge of the Bible, together with a mutual
regard for its teachings as the only in
fallible guide in all matters of religious
doctrine and duty, were strong bond's of at
tachment between her teacher and herself. Only
a few months after bidding adieu to her alma
mater Mrs. Grout accompanied her husband to
the foreign field, and in the many peculiar and
exhaustive toils and trials which she was forced
to endure, found she had abundant need for all
the endowments of her nature and for all her at
tainments in knowledge, wisdom, grace and
strength. Some portions of the voyage were
rough in the extreme, but the only apparent
effect upon her was to bring out and strengthen
her faith and prove her fitness for the work to
which she had been appointed. She was always
. frail and of a delicate constitution, naturally timid
and retiring, yet, in times of great difficulty and
threatening danger, her perfectly calm, quiet, yet
resolute and courageous spirit, together with the
readiness and ease with which she would rise
jnto the fullest measure of trust in God and an
unqualified repose in His wisdom and love, were a
cheer and marvel to all who knew her. In the
very opening of the mission work to which she
had given her life, when necessity seemed to be
laid upon her to remain alone, save with her
infant and two Zulu servants, for weeks, among a
rude people and ^n a region infested with wild
-beasts, while her husbannd .went inland to pre
pare a hurrible cottage in which to live, Mrs.
Grout's uniform spirit of self-denial, her patience
and courage, trust in God and zeal for His work,
were truly and grandly heroic. One of her great
est deprivations was the lack of congenial society
or opportunity for frequent communion with kin
dred spirits. There were months at a time when
she saw no white face except those of her own
family, and yet this privation was met in part
and relieved in various ways. At one time she
had with her the entire mission^ parents and chil
dren, numbering nearly fifty, and, at other times,
she would have as guests distinguished visitors
on an outing from the capital of the colony or

from the seaport, or from some English, Scotch ,
or German mission, or Bishop Colenso with some
of his helpers ; or the Bishop of Cape Town with
his traveling companions ; or the governor of the
colony with a retinue of associates or subordin
ates ; or a group of military officers ; or some Af
rican traveler, hunter, philologist, or other scien-
entific explorer, any and all of whom found in
Mrs. Grout an agreeable, generous and hearty
hostess. She was a devoted student and lover of
God's works in nature, and in her African life
she found a rich field for such studies, which
proved a delightful alleviation for some of the
privations to which she was subjected. Mrs.
Grout made the humble cottage in that strange
country a refined home, learned the Zulu lan
guage, and came close to the natives in their ev-
ery-day life, taught the women and children how
to- read and write, how to sew, how to make
clothing, how to make bread and butter, and how
to live clean and decent lives. She gathered them
in' Sunday schools and Bible classes, and did all
that an earnest ahd devoted 4 Christian woman
could to aid her husband .irivthe establishment
and building up«, of a • ;j$^rfch, ..a school, pure
Christian homes, a widely extended civilization
and an enduring- Christian community, at and
around the beautiful station, Umsunduzi, where
their mission lot was cast. Mrs. Grout retained
to the last days of her life the love of study and
of good books which -characterized her youth ;
she was well.read ih natural science, and was
especially proficient as a. student in botany. She
also had a natural taste for history, and knew the ,.
ways of living; and the methods of government of
many peopi'e^fej|.the earth, and she also took a
keen interestiii'- 'current literature and the general
news* of the day.
The illness that terminated her life began in
December, 1896, and was doubtless due to the
natural decline of her advancing years. She bore
her sufferings with calmness and patient resigna
tion, and her life ebbed away in peace and quiet
ness at her home in West Brattleboro, Vermont,
April 27, 1897. The funeral services were con
ducted April 29, 1897, and began with a prayer
¦ at. the house by' the Rev. F. S. Smith, of the West
Brattleboro Baptist church; services in the Con
gregational church were as follows: Hymn, "I
Heard the Voice of Jesus Say;" reading of the

200

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Scriptures, remarks and prayer by Mrs. Grout's
pastor, the Rev. J. H. Babbitt ; hymn, "The King
of Love My Sheperd is." The interment was in
the Wrest Brattleboro cemetery.

MISS ANNIE L. GROUT.

Annie L. Grout, only daughter of the Rev.
Lewis and Lydia B. Grout, was born July 28,
1847, at Umlazi Mission station, in Natal, South,

Africa. Previous to leaving Natal, as she did,
with her parents, March 12, 1862, for this coun
try, she assisted - her mother in her school for
the natives. Shortly after arriving in this country
she entered Professor Olcott's Glenwood Semi
nary, after which, in 1864, she went to Mount
Holyoke Seminary, where she remained for two

years, then returned to Glenwood for two years
more, and in 1868 entered the Abbott Academy,
Andover, Massachusetts, from which- she was
graduated in 1870. The following year she es
tablished a select boarding school, Belair Insti
tute, in her father's house in West Brattleboro,
Vermont. After being engaged in this work for
four years she was obliged to abandon it on ac
count of her mother's ill health. For one year
she was a teacher in Philadelphia, and in Septem
ber, 1875, she accepted a position as teacher in
the Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia. At the
end of two years impaired health compelled her
to return home and take a complete rest, and after
being partially restored to health she resumed her
teaching for a short, period of time, and then took
a position as clerk in Mrs. George E. Crowell's
"Household" printing and publishing office.
When this work was transferred to Boston she
went there with it and served as clerk until the
enterprise was well established in its new quar
ters. She then returned to her home, where, in
addition to social and domestic duties, she de
voted herself in large measure to those nature
studies in which she had begun to take a deep in
terest before she left Natal. It was in the prosecu
tion of these studies that she discovered a fern,
the Asplenium trichomanes, var. Incisum, not be
fore known to have been found in this country.
Miss Grout was' a member of the Vermont Botan
ical Club, and at its second annual meeting in
Burlington, in February, 1897, she read an essay
on "Some Ferns that Grow in Brattleboro,"
which was reported in the papers as "one of the
most delightful, interesting and instructive of
the many valuable papers presented at the meet^
ing. It was her work to show, as she did, that
here in this corner we have some of the rarest
plants of the state. Her paper was a revelation
of the beauty that lies all about us for the eye
trained to study nature in some of her sweetest
tracings." Her garden, with its variety of flow
ers and fruit, all of her own planting, putting in
a most welcome appearance each in its own time,
testified to her love of the pure arid beautiful, as
well as to her skill and success in garden work.
She made several large and choice herbariums,
which, in accordance with a memorandum found
among her effects after death, were all given to
the Brattleborro high school, together with all her

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

201

books and pamphlets relating to the subject of
botany. The gift was spoken pf in one of the
local papers as "a collection containing many
valuable specimens not often found iri the posses
sion of private individuals." Especially notice
able is a large portofolio of ferns containing many
rare varieties found only in Africa. The .collec
tion of minerals she made was, by her direction,
given to a fellow student in that line of study,
who said of this gift in a local newspaper : "This
collection consists of about two hundred and
fifty specimens, many of which are rare and very
fine, having been collected in all parts of this
.country and in Africa." -
Miss Grout was one of the first to take an
active part in the organization of a literary club,
and after her decease, her father received a
letter of sympathy from a cornmittee of the -club
in which they spoke of her as "a faithful and able
worker and charter member of the club, and for
a long time our efficient and painstaking secre
tary." She was also a lover of birds, and after
her decease it was said in "A Tribute to her
Memory," which a committee of the Bird Club
addressed ' to her father, "One of the first to
propose the formation of a bird club in Brattle
boro, and one of the most interested, active and
efficient in carrying on its work, was Miss Annie
L. Grout. Always a lover and student of nature,
especially in plant life, and more recently in her
observation of birds, which she tempted with food
to frequent the shrubbery about her home, she
was in sympathy with every movement to awaken
and extend interest in these things, sp closely
related, as they are, to onr own welfare and hap
piness." She was secretary and treasurer of the
club from the time of its organization to the time
of her decease. January 4, 1901, the "Vermont
Phcenix" published an article from her pen which
gave a list of more than one hundred and fifty
Brattleboro birds. In all of her various fields of
activity and many sources of improvement and
enjoyment, nothing was ever anticipated, experi
enced or remembered with more of satisfaction
than her occasional spending of a few days or
weeks in East Northfield during the summer
meetings of conferences held at that. place. Here
she availed herself of every opportunity of ac
quiring biblical, religious and spiritual instruction,

inspiration and strength, and to those best ac
quainted with her it was evident that in this way
especially, as in others also, she was making a
marked and healthy progress in the divine life.
Her death occurred March 18, 1901, after a
few days' illness with the grippe, which resulted
in pneumonia. The funeral services, held March
21, at the church and conducted by her pastor,
the Rev. L. M. Keneston, were largely attended.
In his discourse Mr. Keneston said "Annie Grout
was a Christian. From the tender age of twelve
years, teaching the natives in the remotest corner
of the dark continent about the Saviour she had
always been taught to love, and to the very close
of her life blessing those whom the world had
passed by, the blacks in our southland, and the
poor and friendless anywhere she -found them —
oh, what a company of. earth's outcasts will rise
up to call her blessed." In closing his address,
Mr. Keneston recited a poem of which the fol
lowing lines are the first stanza :
"Servant of God, well done,
Now haste thee to thy home.
A heavenly mansion waits for thee,
Thy Father bids thee 'come' " —
and of which another stanza of touching signifi
cance in this connection is :
"Thou livest evermore,
In loving . hearts enshrined,
Thy only thought in life's last hour,
The dear ones left behind."
An interesting obituary of Miss Grout, in the
"Phcenix," of March 22, 1901, from the pen of
her pastor, closed with saying: "She was for
many years a teacher iri the Congregational Sun
day-school, and, although well versed in the
ScripTures, spent much time in the direct prepara
tion of the lesson in hand. She was collector for
the Mcintosh 'School for colored people, and was
deeply interested in that work. One of her last
acts was to arrange with a friend for the comple
tion of the canvass, and the sending of funds to
that school. Identified with the activities of her
own church, her interest and benefactions yet
reached out to a broader sphere, and, according
to her ability, she spared no effort to assist in
every noble cause, but bestowed her means and
her strength unsparingly for others.

202

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

CHARLES CARLTON WARREN.
The Warren family of Vermont, which traces
its ancestry to the early days of the Massachusetts
colony, now widely dispersed throughout- the
country, has a prominent representative in the
person of Charles Carlton Warren, of Waterbury,
a man of great enterprise^ and public spirit, and
one of the leading manufacturers of the state.
The American progenitor of the family was
John Warren, who came from England with
Governor Winthrop in the ship Arabella, arriv
ing at Salem, Massachusetts, June 12, 1630. One
of his descendants was Ebenezer, who first ap
pears in Leicester, Massachusetts, in 1744. The
history of the family was similar to that of the
pioneers of the period, — clearing forests, making
famous and founding little communities with
their humble churches and insignificant schools,
— until shortly before the Revolutionary war.
Elijah Warren, son of Ebenezer, 'was born in
Leicester, Massachusetts, August 27, 1759. He
was a tanner by, trade, and he followed that use
ful calling throughout his life. He was a conti
nental volunteer soldier during the Revolutionary
war, and participated in the battle of . White
Plains, New York. In 1781 he married Elizabeth,
bom May 4, 1763, and a daughter of Amos and
Mary Belcher (Henshaw) Wheeler, of Worces
ter, Massachusetts, and their six children were
Amos, Joseph, Betsy, Lydia, Mary W. and Char
lotte. The mother of these children died March
30, 1800, and the father married June 21, 1801,
Mary Belcher Wheeler, who was born December
19, 1774, and was a sister of his former wife. Of
this marriage were born two children, Louisa A.
and Henry E. Elijah Warren died July 18, 1843,
and his second wife died August 15, 1851. It is
of interest to note that on September 17, 1863,
there was a remarkable meeting of' his children at
the arxestral homestead, when every one born
to him was present. Some of the older ones had
left home before younger ones were born, and
this was the first and only time in their lives
that all were assembled together.
Amos, eldest child of Elijah Warren, was
born on the family homestead July 25, 1782, and
was educated in the common schools of the neigh
borhood. In early life he settled at Woodstock,
Vermont. He was a man of sterling character

and great industry, a tanner by occupation, and
he accumulated considerable means, but met with
reverses during his later years. He was a mem
ber of the Episcopal church. He married Sophia
Holmes, who was born May 13, 1782, and bore
him eight children : Charles Walton, ¦ Henry A.,
Caroline- A., Mary E., Lucy Ann, Amos W., So
phia H. and George Washington Warren. The
mother died June 27, 1825, and the father mar
ried October 3, 1825, Mrs. Caroline (Shurtleff)
Chapman, who was born August 10, 1783. One
child, Harriet Wood, was born of this marriage. ¦
The mother died September 13, 1852, and the
father took for his third wife, June 14, 1854,
Sally Beers, who died February 3, 1865, aged
sixty -five years, and her husband survived her
little more than three "weeks, dying February
26th.' Charles Walton Warren, eldest son of Amos
Warren, was born October 25, 1806, in Wood
stock, Vermont, where he received his education
in the public schools. He was by occupation a
tanner and farmer, and was a capable- business
man and acquired considerable property. His
personal character was unsullied. He was a Con-
gregat'ionalist in religion, a Republican in poli
tics, and a member of the Masonic fraternity. In
early manhood he removed to Hartland, where
he passed the remainder of his life. December
27, 1829, he married Julia M. Perry, of
Hartland, who bore him three children: Nor
man Charles, born August 14, 1830, and died
October 2, following ; Elizabeth A., born April 1,
1834, and died November 2, 1867; and Charles
Carlton, of whom further mention is , made be
low. The father died January- 15, 1875, and the
mother June 13, 188 1.
Charles Carlton Warren,- only surviving child
of the parents named, was born February 11,
1843, m Hartland, Vermont. He received an ex
cellent English education, beginning in the com
mon schools of his native village, and afterwards
attending Union Academy, at Meriden, New
Hampshire. In 1862, although but nineteen
years of age, his patriotic fervor moved him to
enter, the army and engage, in the great battles for
the preservation of the Union. A most capable
musician, he became a first-class member of the
band attached to the headquarters of the First
Vermont Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Army

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before the younger were born, and even their father never saw them all together ; theirTames, places ofe^ceand i^eoiU^^m^^ * **"* StatM
Amos Warren, Woodstock, Vt., July 25, 1782. Ma™ w ri,,,-,; r • u n, „ ™
Joseph Warren, Leicester, Mass , Jan. 8 1784 Chariot" & ^Sb?n' Z& May»23' 1J90'
Betsey Bond, Lisbon, III., Oct. 17, 1785. Lou i« A W I, t^' Mass., Aug. 8, 1792.
Lydia Warren, Leicester, Mass., March 29, 1788. fey t J^^jSMSTi^ l!^

The mother of the first six, Elizabeth Wheeler, born Mav 4 1763 died Marr-h Rf> isnn ti, i t .i -
^i,1!74' ££ Au^USt 15> 1851- The father- Elijah Ware^, bom Aug 27 1759 died Tut 1 1 1843 All of rfcr** 'T Ma'y ?' Wheeler. ™ter of Elizabeth, born
 AU the children of the first marriage are still living and the circle ha! remaned unbroken ne'arTv li f„ £ "f grandparents lived to be between 80 and 90 years
^excursion of the lakes, traveled over 1600 miles to the meeting ^oU^W&L^Tt^^t^l^^^0"1 °. * "iTl ,Mrs' Bond and Mrs" ChaPin- takin& the
The only saddening thought upon this last occasion was that they would blhold e^ach othtr no rri^re Worcester and had the above photograph taken in a group.

Dec.
old.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

203

Corps, with which he was connected until it
was honorably mustered out of service in 1864,
when the speedy end of the Rebellion was assured.
He had participated in all the stirring campaigns
of the Army of the Potomac during this long pe
riod, and, while technically known as no-combat
ants, the .band was. frequently under fire in some
of the most momentous battles, and bore a useful
part in bringing the wounded from the field of
carnage. Interesting incidents of his service were
the rapid march of his command from the front
to New York city to aid, in putting down the draft
riots, its return to Virginia, and its marching into
, Richmond, among the first federal troops to enter
the rebel capital, which had for four years bade
^defiance to the national authority.
Returning home Mr. Warren engaged in the
tanning business in Hartland, in association with
his father, and he was afterwards similarly en
gaged with Wilson Britton. In 1868 the plant
was destroyed by fire, and Mr. Warren leased a
new tannery in Waterbury, which he conducted
in partnership with Homer & Wyeth, of -Boston.
He subsequently purchased the property and de
voted it to the manufacture of harness and rein
leather. Most of his time being taken up at the
tannery in producing the high-class leather he
handles, and not having much time to devote to
office work, he conceived the idea, and put it into
execution, of dictating his enormous correspond
ence to the phonograph, which could be repro
duced at any time on the typewriter by the regu
lar office assistants. The business developed rap
idly, and in 1899 had grown to such mammoth
proportions that he formed a stock company for
its conduct, the Warren Leather Company of
Morrisville, now one of the most important man
ufacturing corporations in the state, of which he
has been president to the present time.
In 1887 Mr. Warren purchased a large farm
in the village of Waterbury, which he conducted
and devoted largely^ to dairying, while he was also
managing his leather manufactory. In 1889 he
sold the farm to the state, and upon it was erected
the present fine insane asylum.. In 1890 he was
appointed a member of the state fish commission,
and also a director of the state fish hatchery, and
he was a prime mover and principal agent in the
establishment of the first fish hatchery in the
state. This was, in the beginning, an innovation

which was stoutly antagonized in various quar
ters, as being a chimerical scheme and invblying
useless expense. Firm in the conviction of the
great usefulness of the system when once fairly
established, the board persisted in face of all ob
stacles and with grudged and meagre appropria
tions, and finally achieved success, rewarded at a
later day by the approbation of the people of the
state, among whom were those who had been the
most determined opponents. To this satisfactory
conclusion Mr. Warren was the chief contributor.
He is a Republican in politics-, and a non-secta
rian in religion. - He is a member of Edwin Dil
lingham Post, G. A. R., and of Vermont Lodge
No. 18, F. and A. M. of Windsor.
Mr. Warren was married' to Miss Ella F.
McElroy, daughter of Jerry and Florella (Broad-
wick) McElroy. Her father was born in
Middlesex, Vermont, a son of Robert Craw
ford McElroy, who was born in Chester
field, New Hampshire, September 13, 1775. Flo
rella Broadwick was a daughter of Robert, who
came from .Scotland and settled in Waterbury,
Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Warren have two chil
dren : Kate Grace, born February 4, 1876, was
married June 15, 1898, to H. B. Cram, of New
York city, and to them were born two children:
Harkness Warren, born'July 17, 1899, and Mil
dred, born October 18, 1900. The other child of
Mr. and Mrs. Warren is Charles Carlton, Jr.,
who was born September 29, 1888.
FRANKLIN A. DWINELL.
The subject of this sketch finds an appropri
ate place in the history of those men of business
arid enterprise in the state of Vermont whose
force of character, whose sterling integrity,
whose fortitude amid discouragements, whose
good sense in the management of complicated
affairs have contributed to the development of
the resources of this noble commonwealth. His
career has not been helped by accident, or luck,
or wealth, or family, or, powerful friends. He is,
in the broadest sense, a self-made man, being
both the architect and builder of his own fortune.
Mr. Dwinell was born in East Calais, Ver
mont, May 23, 1848, his parents being Albert and
Irene Davis (Rich)' Dwinell. The ancestry can,
be traced back through many generations to

204

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

France. - Michael Dunnel was a native of France
and became the progenitor of the family in Amer
ica. Crossing the Atlantic to the new world, he
spent his last- days in Topsville, Massachusetts,
in 1717. Among his children was Thomas Doe-
nell, who was the fourth in order of birth in a
family of nine. He was born in 1672, married
Dinah Brinstdell, of Lynn, Massachusetts, and
died in Topsville, in 1747. In their family were
nine children, the eldest being Jonathan Dun-
nell, who was born in June, 1702, and died in
Millsbury, Massachusetts in 1782. He married
Mahitable Kenney. They were the parents of
eleven children, the fourth of whom was Arche-
laus Dwinel. He was born in Topsville, Massa
chusetts, in 1 73 1 and served as a soldier in the
English army in the French and Indian war. He
married Martha Perkins, and died November 13,
1758, at the early age of twenty-seven years.
Three children were born to Archelaus and Mar
tha Dwinel, and the eldest was given the father's
name. He was born in Boxford, Massachusetts,
in 1754, and when the country determined to
throw off the yoke of British oppression he joined
the American army and served under Washing
ton in the Revolutionary war. He married Olive
Hall, a daughter of Deacon Willis Hall,of Sutton,
Massachusetts, and they were the great-grand
parents of our subject. The grandfather, Israel
Dwinell, was the third in order of birth in a fam
ily of six children. He was born in Croydon,
New Hampshire, October 8, 1789, and was mar
ried on the ist of April, 1813, to Phila Gilman, of
Marshfield, Vermont. She died June 1, 1864,
and his death occurred February 20, 1874. Among
their children was Albert Dwinell, the father of
our subject. He was the fifth in a family of ten
and was born in East Calais.
Albert Dwinell has been engaged in farming
and merchandising through many years and is a
representative of business interests, occupying a
prominent position in commercial circles. He has
been honored with a number of local offices, and
has also represented his district in both branches
of the state legislature, where his loyal support
of the measures in which he has believed has
proved an important factor in moulding the laws
enacted during his terms of service. He is a
Republican in his political affiliations, and is un
swerving in his advocacy of the principles of the

party. Long a faithful member of the Congre
gational church, for more than a quarter of a
century he has served as superintendent of the
Sunday-school, and his efforts in behalf of the
church have been far-reaching and beneficial To'
know Albert Dwinell is to esteem and honor him,
for his life has been upright, and in all its rela
tions he has been true to duty and to the trust re
posed "in him. He married Irene D. Rich, a
daughter of Samuel Rich, and they became the
parents of three children: Franklin A., Clarence
Rich and Dell Burton.
Franklin A. Dwinell, whose name introduces
this record, pursued his early education in the
common schools and afterward entered Barre
Academy, in which he was graduated with the
class of 1868. He then entered upon his active
business career as an employe in his father's
store at East Calais, where he remained until
1874. In that year he went to Plainfield, where
he engaged in merchandising on his own ac
count, carrying on operations successfully at that
point for a number of years. In 1885 the Far
mer's Trust Company was organized and Mr.
Dwinell was elected its president, ' at once tak
ing an active interest and part in its manage
ment, his labors contributing in a very large
measure to its prosperous career. In the mean
time, in the spring of 1890, Mr. Dwinell had re
moved to Montpelier, and in 1898 had accepted
the position of inspector of investments in the
National Life Insurance Company. He also be
came interested in a number of local business
enterprises, as a director in the Wetmore &
Morse Granite Company, a director of the Mont
pelier Building & Construction Company, and a
director in the First National Bank of Mont
pelier. His -sound business judgment, his keen
discrimination and sagacity have made his coun-t
sel valued in business circles.
In East Montpelier, on the 15th of December,
1869, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Dwi
nell and Miss Hattie A. Hammett, a daughter of
Lawson and Asenath (Clark) Hammett. By this
marriage two children have been born, Elbert
Hammett and Melvin Raymond. The former
was graduated in Harvard College in 1896, com
pleted a course in the Harvard Law School in
1900, and is now successfully practicing in Kan
sas City, Missouri; while M. Raymond, the

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

205

younger. son, is in the actuary's department of
the National Life Insurance Company. The
mother died November. 15, 1884, and Mr. Dwinell
was again married on the 5th of June, 1894, his
second union being with Miss Anna J. Chandler,
a daughter of the late honored Dr. C. M. Chand
ler, of Montpelier.
Mr. Dwinell is a prominent member of the'
Masonic fraternity and is a past master of the
blue lodge. He has also .taken the degrees of
Royal Arch Masonry and of the cornmandery,
and is a member of the Mystic Shrine. He be
longs to Bethany church of Montpelier, and in
his political views is a stalwart Republican, tak
ing a very deep and active interest in the work of
the party, its growth and the extension of its
influence. Positions of public trust have been
conferred upon him, and for a number of years
he served as town clerk and treasurer of Plain-
field. In 1878 he was elected to the legislature
and in 1890 -was chosen to represent his 'district
in the state senate, where he served as president
pro tem. He is one' of the honored and respected
citizens of the Green Mountain state, and has
attained to a distinguished position in financial
and- political circles.
JOSEPH WILLIAM RACETTE, M. D.
The world instinctively pays deference to the
man whose success has been worthily achieved.
During the years of his connection with a pro
fession which ranks among the most important
to which man, gives his energies, Dr. Racette has
ever commanded the highest respect by reason
of his skill and ability and his sterling personal
worth. He is engaged in practice in Benning
ton, and a hrge patronage attests the confidence
reposed in him by the public.
Dr. Joseph William Racette is a native of
Quebec, Canada, .his birth having occurred in that
city on the 27th of March, 1867. His father was
born in France and at an early age crossed the
Atlantic to Canada with his parents, being reared
and educated in the city of Quebec. Through
out his life he followed farming, an occupation
which had been the pursuit of his ancestors for
many generations, and in the community where
he lived he , was accounted a most prosperous
farmer. He married Philomena Belleville, who

was also* born in Quebec, and was a daughter
of Augustus and Agatha (Walboisert) Belle
ville. Her father was a successful. farmer, whose
life span covered the long period of eigthy-nine
years, while his wife, reached the advanced age
of fourscore years. By her marriage Mrs. Ra
cette became the mother of seven children, of
whom four are yet living : Winnifred, J. W., -
Alfred and Pamelia. The parents are still living
on the ojd homestead in Quebec, and enjoy the
warm regard of many friends in that locality.
Dr. Racette spent his early youth under the
parental roof in his native city, and after at
tending the common schools continued his educa
tion in the National •University, from which in
stitution he was graduated in 1889. With a
broad general knowledge to serve as a founda
tion upon which to rear the superstructure of
professional learning, he began preparations for
the practice of medicine, becoming a student in
the Albany Medical school of New York. Desir
ing to attain a high degree of proficiency, he af
terward went abroad, spending some time in
Rome and France and Germany, in investigat
ing the hospitals and colleges and gaining a
knowledge of the methods pursued therein. He
took a special course of study in ' Notre Dame
Medical College in Rome, and then ' returned to
America. Taking up his abode in Bennington,
he has since successfully engaged in practice
here, and his advancement has been continuous,
for as the years have passed he has demonstrated
his ability to successfully cope with the problems
which are continually confronting the physician.
He is very accurate in diagnosing a case and an
ticipating complications that may arise, and his
efforts toward the alleviation of human suffering
have*been most effective.
In 1894 the Doctor was united in marriage
to Dorile Amyot, who was born in Cohoes, New
York, and is a daughter of Bruno and Zoe
(Ducharme) Amyot. The father is a wholesale
dealer in- horses, and still makes his home in Co
hoes. Mrs. Racette was one of nine children, and
the others are all still living in Cohoes. By her
marriage she became the mother of three chil
dren, George, Eva and William. In his political
affiliations the Doctor is a' strong Republican, be
lieving firmly in the principles of the party, al
though he is not active in political work. He is

206

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

a member of the Knights of Columbus, served '
as trustee of the order for two years, and also
belongs to the Foresters fraternity and the Catho
lic Loyal Legion. In the line of his profession
he is now connected with the Bennington County
Medical Society, the Vermont State Medical So
ciety and of the Union Medical Society, of the
last named of which he is serving as vice presi
dent, having jurisdiction over six counties, viz:
Bennington, Berkshire, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Al
bany, Windham. Dr. Racette is an extremely
busy and successful practitioner, constantly over
burdened by demands for his services, both pro
fessionally and socially. He is a man of the high
est and purest character, an industrious and am
bitious student, and a gifted teacher of surgery.
Genial in disposition, unobtrusive and unassum
ing, he is patient under adverse criticism, and in
his expressions concerning brother practitioners
is friendly and indulgent.
LELAND Le GRAND FILLMORE, M. D.
The state of Vermont, with its' pulsing indus
trial activities and rapid development, has at
tracted within its confines men of marked ability
and high character in the various professional
lines, and in this way progress has been main
tained and social stability fostered. He whose
name initiates this review is accorded recogni
tion as one of the able and successful physicians
of the state, and by his labors, his high intel
lectual attainments and his sterling characteris
tics, has justified the respect and confidence in
which he is held by the medical fraternity and
the local public.
Dr. Leland LeGrand Fillmore was born
in Bennington, February 24, 1874, and traces his
ancestry back to England. The first of the name
in America, John Fillmore, crossed the Atlantic,
located in Boston, and was captured by pirates.
He was a seafaring man, and after being cap
tured he and a companion killed some of the pi
rates and ran the ship into Boston harbor. The
great-great-grandfather of Dr. Fillmore was Na
thaniel Fillmore, Sr., a resident of Bennington,
and it was in this city that Nathaniel Fillmore,
Jr., the great-grandfather, was born and reared.
He was a farmer by occupation, and when the
country became involved in the war with Eng

land, which resulted in the establishment of the
republic, he participated in the battle of Ben
nington, where the Green Mountain boys covered
themselves with such glory that the history of
their contest has since found a prominent place
in the annals of the nation. Elijah Fillmore, the
grandfather of the Doctor, was also a farmer and
followed that pursuit throughout his entire life.
A very prominent and influential citizen, he was
called to represent his district in the state legis
lature for a number of terms, and was very active
in securing many measures that were passed dur
ing his connection with the assembly. After a
long, useful and honorable career, he.passed away
at the age of sixty-nine years. His wife, who
bore the maiden name of Sarah Armstrong, was
born in Bennington and came of a family that
was also represented in the Revolutionary battle
which occurred here. She became the mother of
seven children; including Elijah Fillmore, Jr.
The latter was educated in the common
schools of Bennington, and, like his ancestors,
devoted his attention throughout his business ca
reer to agricultural pursuits. He also took a very
prominent part in public affairs, and many im
portant interests were intrusted to him. He served
as the administrator of several large estates, and
was very conscientious and faithful in the per
formance of his duties. He filled the office of
selectman, and was widely known as one of the
influential and leading residents of his town. In
his political views he was a Democrat and one
of the staunch supporters of Samuel J. Tilden.
He held membership in the Grange,1 being one of
its active representatives. 'He died at the age Pf
sixty-nine years. He was twice married, his first
union being with Abigail Chase, who was born
in the town of Bennington, and by her marriage
became the mother of four children : Millard, now
of California ; Marshall ; Edwina and Eldora, de
ceased. The mother died at the age of thirty
years, and for his second wife Mr. Fillmore chose
Arianna Thayer. They became the parents of
three sons, of whom two are yet living, Henry
D. and Leland L. The mother passed away at
the age of forty-eight years.
Dr. Fillmore spent his early life in Benning
ton, and in the common schools began his edu
cation, which was supplemented - by a course in
the high school. When the time came to make

THE, STATE OF VERMONT.

207

choice of a profession which he desired to make
his life work, he determined to prepare for the
practice of medicine and became a student in the
Albany Medical College, from which he was
graduated with the class of 1896. His initial
practice was as an interne in Albany Hospital,
a position which he held through successful com
petitive examination and thus put his theoretical
knowledge to the practical test. In the fall of
1897 he removed to Sheffield, Vermont, remain
ing an active member of the medical fraternity
of that place until 1900, when he located at Ben
nington, where he has since engaged in general
practice, haying already won a large business.
In 1897 Dr. Fillmore was united in marriage
to Miss E. Josephine Moore, a daughter of David
E. Moore.. She was born in Manchester, Ver
mont, and her father was a native of Bennington.
He still resides in that city and is serving as
street commissioner. David Moore married El
len Luther, a native of Dorset, Vermont, and they
|became the parents of two children who are yet
lliving, Ellen and Robert. To the Doctor and his
wife has been born a daughter, Gladys E. In
his political affiliations Dr. Fillmore is a Demo
crat, and keeps well informed on the issues of
the. day, but has never sought or desired office.
Closeiy associated with the military, interests of
the state for a number of years, he belonged to
Company K. First Vermont Infantry, in which he
held the rank of sergeant. Fraternally he is con
nected with Mt. Anthony Lodge, -Free and Ac
cepted Masons, in which he is now serving as
junior steward, and he also belongs to the Junior
Order of the United American Mechanics. He
also belongs to the town and state medical so
cieties, and through intercourse with his fellow
practitioners keeps in touch with the advanced
thought of the day, so that he is widely read in
his profession,' and his ability is of no inferior
' order.
JOHN VOSE CARNEY.
High on the roll of eminent men of Vermont
who have made thejr homes in Bennington, is
found the name- of the Hon. John V. Carney,
who is now serving as judge of the probate court
of District No. 1, and who as a member of the
state senate left the impress of his individuality

upon the. legislature of the commonwealth. In
a republic where honor is won -through public
service and usefulness, one may well be proud
of achievement, since merit and ability are the
foundations upon which advancement rests, and
the men who occupy conspicuous positions as
leaders of public thought and action are they in
whom skill and intrinsic worth are recognized.
Loyalty in citizenship and a deep and abiding in
terest in the welfare of his state won. for Mr.
Carney high rank in its councils, and gained for
him judicial distinction.
Judge Carney was born in Newcastle, Maine,
November 6, 1835, and his father, Daniel Car
ney, was likewise a native of that state. For
many years, however, the latter engaged in busi
ness in Boston, but, as time advanced and he
had acquired a handsome competence, he retired
from business life, spending his last days in New
castle, where he passed away at the age of eighty-
six. For many years he had served as postmaster
in the village of Sheepscot. He wedded Mary
Wheeler, who was born in Boston and was a
daughter of Captain Josiah Wheeler, one of the
valiant soldiers of the Revolutionary war. The ,
latter was also an attendant at the famous Boston
Tea Party, on which occasion the colonists, no
longer willing to meet the excessive tax on tea,
threw that product overboard into the sea. Cap
tain Wheeler was a master mechanic and attained
a most prominent position in the line of his
chosen calling. He was the architect of the Bos
ton state-house, and also planned many other of
the fine buildings of that city. Daniel and Mary
Carney had a large family, inculding Emmeline,
who became Mrs. Eastman and is living in
Sheepscot; Mrs. Ann Chase; Mrs. Henrietta
Cole, of Fall River, Massachusetts ; Addison and
Edmund, also of Sheepscot; Franklin G. and
John. The mother passed away at the age of
eighty years. The parents were both members
of the Episcopal church, and Mr. Carney served
for many years a vestryman ol the old Trinity
church in Boston, where his remains are, interred.
Judge Carney spent his early years in New
castle, Maine, and for three years resided in
Worcester, Massachusetts, where he learned the
machinist's trade. In 1854 he came to Benning
ton, and, therefore, for almost half a century has
been a resident of this place. For some time he

208

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

was connected with its industrial interests as a
manufacturer of knit goods. He was interested
in a shoddy mill, but lost considerable in that en
terprise, on account of the destruction of the
plant by fire in 1876. In that year he was one
of the assistant judges of the county court, and
he was in the fall elected judge and filled that
position for two years. In 1884 he was chosen
senator for the term of two years. To each ques
tion which came up for attention he gave his care
ful consideration, and his earnest thought and ef
forts had no little effect in influencing the work
of the senate. In 1892 he was elected judge of
the probate court and by re-election has since
been continued in that office. No higher testi
monial of faithful and capable service could be
given than the fact that by popular ballot he has
been five times chosen for one position. He has .
also held a number of town offices, including that
of appraiser of property. The Republican party
has ever had his strong alleginace, and his efforts
in its behalf have been effective in promoting its
growth and success.
In 1854 Judge Carney was united in marriage
to Susan A. Abbott, a daughter of Asa and Sallie
Abbott. Her father was born in Holden, Massa
chusetts, but spent his last days in Bennington,
Vermont, where he died at an advanced age.. In
the family were four children, who are still liv
ing: Eleanor, who became the wife of Henry
Bradford; Miss.Annice; Mrs. Carney; and L.
F. Abbott, who married Miss Laura Hancock.
To Judge Carney and his wife was born one
daughter, Laura Jeannette, the widow of Clif
ford N. Hodgkins, by whom she had one daugh
ter, Allura May, who is now living with the
Judge and his wife.
In addition to his business and official duties,
Judge Carney has been connected with public
affairs and was one of the incorporators of -the
Bennington County Savings Bank. He had also
contributed to the moral progress of the commun
ity, being a most prominent and active worker
in both church and Sunday-school. He belongs
to the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he
has served as trustee, steward and class-leader,
and in the Sunday-school he has been superin
tendent. His life, has been an honorable, useful
and active one. Not so abnormally developed in
any direction as to become a genius, he has yet

given due attention to all the interests of life
which should concern him. He is deyoted to his
family^ loyal in his citizenship, faithful in office
and trustworthy in all business relations. Well
fitted to become a leader in public thought and
action, by his efforts he has been potent in shap
ing not only the policy of his adopted city but
also of the commonwealth, and well may Judge
Carney be numbered among the representative
men of the Green Mountain state.
FREDERICK GAY.
The old and honorable Gay family of Ver
mont, represented in the eighth generation by
Frederick Gay, of Burlington, formerly one of
the leading manufacturers of the state, was
founded by John Gay, who came about 1630 from
England to America. Pie settled at Watertown,
and was one of the grantees of the great division
of the Beaver Brook Plough lands. He was one
of the proprietors of Dedham, where he died,
March 4, 1688. His wife was Joanna, the widow
©f one Baldwicke.
Samuel, son of John, was born March 10,
1639, and died April 15, 1718, upwards of sev
enty-nine years of age. Under his father's will
he received a grant of land in Medfield, and was
selectman in 1698. He married November 23,
16G1, Mary, a daughter of Edward Bridge, of
Roxbury, Massachusetts, and she died April 13,
1 7 18. Timothy, son of Samuel, was born Sep
tember 15, 1674, and died May 26, 17I9. The -
name of his wife was Patience. Timothy, son of
Timothy, was born December 29, 1703, and he
was married in Stoughton, February 10, 1727,
to Azubah Thorpe. He died March 29, 1793,
when more than eighty-nine years of age, and his
wife died December 9, 1773.
Solomon, son of Timothy and Azubah
(Thorpe) Gay, was born February 24, 1741. He
was a minute-man during the Revolutionary war,
and was one of the immortal band which resisted
the British troops at Lexington. He married
Abigail Gould, February 4, 1762.
Daniel, son- of Solomon, was born August,
1768, and died October 4, 1851. He was among
the early settlers of the town of Stockbridge,
Vermont, and the village of Gaysville was named
in his honor. He married Kate Emma Lamber-

Lwtoi^^Lc^L <£*

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

209

ton, who died January 3, 1819, leaving to him
four children : Daniel, Jr., Paul W., Merrick and
Dwight. . His second wife was Eunice, the widow
of True Whitcomb.
Merrick, third son of Daniel, was born No
vember 15, 1802, in Gaysville, where his entire
life was spent, and where he rose to great prom
inence and exerted a potent influence for good
in all the relations of life. In his early manhood
he engaged in a "•' mercantile business, which
proved most successful. At a later day he was
associated with others in the' establishment of a
woolen manufactory. He afterward purchased
the interest of his associates and conducted the
business in partnership jvith his son Nelson, and
during the Civil war they transacted a large busi
ness in manufacturing goods for*the use of the
army. He .was for many years a ;director in the
National White River Bank at Bethel, and for
several years its president.
He was during all these years~ conspicuously
useful in public affairs. For thirty years he held
;?the offices of town clerk and treasurer, and' was
succeeded by his son Nelson, and the two occu
pied these positions for more than half a century.
He represented his town in the general .assembly
for four years, and his "service^ was so warmly
appreciated that he was, electedf to the state sen
ate. At the expiration of his term in the latter
body he was re-elected, but was unable to take his
seat on account of ill health.
Merrick Gay was married September I, 1828,
to Sar^iH Maria Whitcomb. She was a. daughter
Of "Major Paul Whitcomb, who was born in
Stockbridge, a son of Lot Whitcomb, who came
from Hardwick, Massachusetts, and was among
the early settlers of Vermont. The family was
founded by John Whitcomb, the emigrant an
cestor, who was in Dorchester, Massachusetts, as
early as 1633. In 1654 he removed to Lancaster,
Massachusetts, where he died, September 24,
1662. His son Robert married the daughter of
General James Cudworth in 1660. Their son
James, born in 1666, married Mary Parker in
1694, and died in Rochester in 1728. Thejr son
Nathaniel, born in 1697,, moved to Hardwick in
1742, and was selectman for five years. His
first wife was Rosella Coombs, and his second
wife was Phoebe Blackman. Lot, son of Nathan
iel, was born in Hardwick, Massachusetts, May 2,
14

1739; he removed to Vermont in 1795 and laid
the foundation for the town of Barnard,
Merrick Gay died November 7, 1866, and his
wife died March 6, 1896. Their children were
as follows : Harvey D., born December 19, 1829,
settled in Columbus, Ohio, where he married,
December 19, 1855, Virginia Wolcott; he re
moved to Vinton, Iowa, where he became a very
successful merchant, and died July 24, 1878.
Nelson, born February 22, 1832, and died
May 7, 1887, was a man of great enterprise. He
was associated with his father in business, and
was prominent in public affairs, occupying all the
local offices, representing his town in the general
assembly and senate, and serving on the bench as
assistant judge. He was married January 26,
1869, to Olivia M. Blodgett, of Randolph, Ver
mont, and they became the parents of two chil
dren, Sarah M., born June 10, 1870, and Nelson
M., born April 26, 1875, who married Lucia D.
Skinner, and now lives in Boston.
Charles M. Gay, born July 10, 1834, gradu
ated from the University of Vermont, embraced
the law as his profession and settled in Madison,
Wisconsin. At the breaking out of the Civil war
he returned to Vermont and became editor of the
"Rutland Herald." He subsequently located in
Boston, and became a member of the publishing
house of Littell & Gray. After retiring from busi- -
ness he spent several years abroad, and died in
New York city, April 1, 1900. He married, Jan
uary 15 1859, Maria S. Shaw, of Burlington,
and their children were Minnie, born October 5,
i860, who became the wife of Dr. F. H. Daniels,
of New York city; and Charles M., Jr., born
January 23, 1871, now an architect in New York
city. r
Jennie S., born October 24, 1837, was married
to Hiram H. Gilson, December 25, 1862, and died
May 8, 1892. Mary F., born in June 1840, died
January 19, 1842. Merrick, born in January,
1844, died June 3, 1846. Frederick, born August
14, 1848, is referred to at length below. Minnie
M., born August 6, 1853, was married Decernber
23, 1885, to Rev. Joseph R. Roblin, of Picton,
Ontario. Frederick Gay, of the last named family, re
ceived his early education in the common schools
in his native village, and further prosecuted his
studies in Randolph Academy and Norwich Uni*

2IO

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Versity. He was eighteen years of age when his
father died, and he shortly afterward engaged in
woolen manufacturing in association with his
brother Nelson. In 1874 the brothers set up at
Gaysville a factory for making ivory buttons, the
business being carried on under the firm name of
Gay, Kimball & Gay. In 1880 the business had
so far outgrown their capacity that the firm re
moved to Rutland, where larger buildings and
more ample machinery were successfully utilized
for several years.
In 1 89 1 Frederick Gay located in Burlington
and formed a partnership with James B. Hender
son, under the firm name of Gay& Henderson,
in a wholesale and retail coal business, which
they continued to conduct upon a large , scale.
They are largely interested in real estate, having
built many houses in the city. Mr. Gay is also
interested in the wholesale cigar business of C.
F. Rockwood & Company. He is a man of ex
cellent ability in all commercial lines, and takes
an active part in all the movements promising
advantage to the community in promoting its
material and social interests.- In religion he is a
Universalist, and in politics a, Republican. He is
a member of the Society of Colonial Wars and of
the Algonquin Club.
Mr. Gay was married October 9, 1872, to
Miss Laura J. Baker, a native of Morristown,
Vermont. Her parents were Andrew and Hulda
(Wilkins) Baker, who were the parents of three
children : Mrs. Gay ; Clara L., who died at the age
of eighteen years; and Frank P., of Gaysville.
Mr. and Mrs. Gay are the parents of one child,
Robert H., born July 3, 1876. He is a graduate
Of Philips Andover Academy, Yale College and
the Harvard Law School, und is a practicing at
torney in New York city.
ELMER ELLSWORTH LARRABEE.
Elmer E. Larrabee, who is superintendent of
the electric light system at Bennington, is a na
tive of the Pine Tree state, his birth having oc
curred in Bath, Maine, on the 19th of February,
i860. His father, James R. Larrabee, was a na
tive of Phippsburg, Maine. He was reared in
that town and acquired his education in its public
schools. Early in life he went to- sea, sailing to
many foreign lands, but finally he abandoned the

water and took up his abode in Bath, where he
engaged in carpentering for many years. His
death occurred on the 20th of September, 1884,
when he was sixty-four years of age. He mar
ried Lucretia Davis Elliott, who was born in
Brunswick, Maine, a daughter of Ephraim and
Rachel ("Williams) Elliott. Her father was a

ELMER ELLSWORTH LARRABEE.
farmer by occupation and at one time served as a
captain in the state militia, but when the war
with England was in progress he was too young
to enlist. In the community where he made his
home he was a highly respected citizen, and his
death, which occurred when he was seventy-four
years of age, was mourned by many warm friends.
His wife was born in -Phippsburg, Maine, and by
her marriage became the mother of thirteen chil
dren, among whom are : Harriet, who became the
wife of P. M. Reid, of Bath, formerly of the
Chicago Inter-Ocean, and who: is author of a
"History of Bath." and other historical publi-1
cations; Rachel, who married Charles Sylvester,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

21 I

-of Racine, Wisconsin ; Louise, the wife of L. F.
Adams, of Bath ; Lydia, the wife of P. O. Rogers ;
and Matilda, who married Thomas B. Cutting,
both of the latter of Bath, Maine. All of these
are now living in Maine, but the other members
of the family have passed away. The mother
died at the very advanced age of eighty-eight
years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Elliott were consis
tent members of the Baptist church, closely fol
lowing the teachings of that denomination. By
the marriage of James R. and Lucretia D. Larra
bee four sons and a daughter were born, but only
two are living: Jennie, the wife of Charles H.
Norton, of Bath, Maine; and Elmer E. The
mother died at the age of sixty-seven years, in the
faith of the Baptist church, of which both she and
her husband had long been active members, dom
-everything in their power to promote the growth
and increase the influence of the church.
Elmer E. Larrabee spent his early youth in
Bath, Maine, and attended the common schools
there until fourteen years of age, when he put
aside his text books and entered upon his busi
ness career, learning the ship- joiner's trade. He
followed that pursuit in his native city until the
electric light plant was instituted there, and he
was given charge of the inside wiring. When
the plant was completed, he was given the super
intendence of the business and occupied that po
sition until 1891, when he came to Bennington
to take charge of the electric plant in this town,
and is now (1902) president of the company
operating the same. He is also a director of
the electric railroad, company and of the Ben
nington & Hossic Valley Railroad Company.
In 1878 was celebrated the marriage- of Mr.
Larrabee and Miss Flora S. Leonard, who was
born in Bath, Maine, a daughter of Thomas and
Catherine Leonard. Her father was born in
Windsor, Nova Scotia, and there became a house
carpenter. He afterward removed to Bath,
where he resided for many years, and through
a long period was connected with building in
terests of that place; but at the present time he
is living retired. His wife was also a native of
Nova Scotia, and by their marriage they be"
came the parents of the following children, be
sides Mrs. Larrabee: Charles, a resident of San
Francisco, California ; Maude, of Bath, Maine ;
Jennie, at home ; E. Randall, who is engaged in

the drug business in Bath ; and Fred A., who is
also living in that city. The home of Mr. and
Mrs. Larrabee has been blessed with one son,
Harold D., who was born in Bath, and after at
tending the public schools in that place, continued
his education in the high school of Bennington.
He was graduated from the Massachusetts In
stitute of Technology and is now in the employ
of the General Electric Company, of Schenectady,
New York.
In his political views Mr. Larrabee is a Re
publican, and socially is connected with the Red
Men. He has never sought public office, yet
for two years was a member of the city council
of Bath. He thoroughly enjoys home life and
takes great pleasure in the society of' his family
and friends. Those who know him personally
have for him warm regard, and his success in
business, from the beginning of his residence in
Bennington, was uniform and rapid. He has
always supported those interests which are cal
culated to uplift and benefit humanity, while .
his own high moral worth is deserving of the
highest commendation.
GEORGE EUGENE MOODY.
George Eugene Moody, one of the prosperous
and progressive business men of Waterbury, Ver
mont, is a descendant of Elisha Moody, who set
tled in Corinth, Vermont, in the early part of the
eighteenth century. He was a miller by trade,
and followed that vocation successfully for many
years. He was the father of two sons and sev
eral daughters ; the names of the sons were Jos
eph and Elisha Moody.
Joseph Moody, grandfather of George Eu
gene Moody, attended the district schools of his
birthplace, and in later years became what was
known in the early days, before the advent of
the railroad, as a drover. He delt extensively in
the buying and selling of live-stock, which he dis
posed of very advantageously in Boston, Massa
chusetts. He also speculated in real estate, from
which he derived a goodly profit, and, in fact,
all his business was in the trading line. In his
political affiliations Mr. Moody was a Democrat,
and he served as justice of the peace for many
years, and transacted most of the legal business
of the town.

212

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

After his marriage to Miss Avis Chesley,
daughter of George Chesley, Mr. Moody removed
to Waterbury, Vermont, where he continued in
the same line of trade for many years, being ably
assisted later on by his sons who were in partner
ship with him. Six sons and three daughters
were born to them : Daniel, Nathaniel, William,
Elisha, Joseph, George, Avis, Betsy and Ange
line Moody. The family were all earnest and
consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal
church of Waterbury, Vermont. Mr. Moody
died in 1859, and his wife had died some time
previously. George Moody, youngest son of Joseph and
Avis Moody, and the father of George Eugene
Moody, was born in Vershire, Vermont, Septem
ber 20, 1822. After receiving the education that
was afforded in the district school, he assisted his
father in the management of his business, and
later became an extensive dealer in live-stock on
his own account. He was also actively interested
in the real estate trade, in which he did considera
ble speculating.
On December 8, 1843, Mr. Moody married
Miss Lucia Eddv, who was born in Waterbury,
Vermont, May 8, 1822, a daughter of "William
and Jane (.Smith) Eddy; the former named, who
was born in Massachusetts, was a son of Thomas
Eddy, who participated in the Revolutionary war,
and who married Miss Elizabeth Putnam, a niece
of General Israel Putnam, who won considerable
fame and renown in the war of the Revolution.
Seven children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Moody, namely : George Eugene ; Edwin B. ; Lu
cia Euphasia ; Sarah Elizabeth ; Emma Caroline ;
Rev. Calvin, pastor of a Congregational church
in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Nettie E., who
acted for many years in the capacity of teacher
in the high and grammar schools.
George Eugene Moody, eldest son of George
and Lucia Moody, was born in Waterbury, Ver
mont, January 6, 1845. He acquired his early
education in the common schools, and later re
ceived an academic course. After his graduation
he was engaged in teaching school for many
years. He then followed the occupation of farm
ing, and in addition to this he has been actively
interested in various enterprises, all of which have
proved most successful and remunerative. For
the past twenty-five years he has been engaged in

the manufacture of brick, and for the same length
of time he has been one of the most extensive
shippers of live-stock. He has also an interest in
lumber manufacturing and dealing, in the granite
business, in the wrapper manufacturing, and in
mercantile business, the firm . being known as
Moody & Luce. Mr. Moody was one of the
prime promoters of the electric railroad operating
between Waterbury and Stowe, and, in connec
tion with Mr. George H. Almon and C. P. Mc-
Mahon, he caused to be established in 1898 the
electric plant at Bolton Falls which furnishes
light for Waterbury and power for the Montpel
ier & Barr Railroad.
Mr. Moody is also widely known in political
circles as a leading representative in the Republi
can party of the state, and has occupied numer
ous positions of trust and influence. He repre
sented the town of Waterbury in the state legis
lature in 1886 and 1900, has served in the capac
ity of selectman for nine years, besides filling
other local offices.
Mr. Moody was united in marriage, March
8, 1866, to Miss Alma Huse, who was born in
Waterbury, Vermont, a daughter of Eben and
Lydia (Fisk) Huse, the former named being a
son of William Huse. Of this union three chil
dren have been born : the first, a daughter, died
in infancy; the second, Inez Eugenia, born No
vember 23, 1867, and died December 8, 1894,
was a graduate of the Vermont University of
the class of 1894; the third a son, Mark Huse
Moody, born May 11, 1876, graduated from
Minard Commercial School, 1894, and Montpel
ier Seminary in 1898, and now holds the respon
sible position of manager of the wrapper factory,
besides acting in the capacity of postmaster of
the town of Waterbury, Vermont, being appointed
in April, 1898, and re-appointed in April, 1902.
He married, June 20, 1900, Lucy Helen Gaffield,
of Bradford, Vermont, daughter of George E.
and Jennie E. Gaffield.
EDWARD KINSLEY.
Judge Edward Kinsley, of Bennington, Ver
mont, bears in his veins some of the best blood
of our early colonists, and is in every way a
splendid type of our best American citizenship.
He was born at the old homestead February 26,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

213

1827, and is descended from good old Revolu
tionary stock. The family name was originally
spelled Kingsley, but there is a tradition to the
effect that one of his ancestors hated the king
so much that he dropped the "g" from his name,
and to this day most of his descendants spell
the name without it.
John Kinsley, Judge Kinsley's grandfather,
was born in Rhode Island, and was a son of
Samuel Kinsley, who was a blacksmith by trade
and who was a soldier in the patriot army in
the war of the Revolution, serving under General
Washington at Valley Forge. One of the broth
ers of grandfather Kinsley, .Daniel Kinsley,
eventually located in northern Vermont, where
he resumed the original spelling of the name,
Kingsley, and where many of his descendants now
reside. In i768John Kinsley came to Bennington,
Vermont, and purchased a large tract of land,,
most of which our subject owns to this day. He
at once turned his attention to clearing the land
and built a log house on the site where his
grandson's residence now stands. His occupation
was that of farming, which he continued to fol
low throughout his active business life. When
the colonists took up arms against the mother
country, he and his two brothers, Daniel and
Nathaniel, joined Captain Dewey's company, as
did his also his two oldest sons, being among
the famous "minute men" in the battle of Ben
nington. General Stark's troops camped near his
home, and he joined them on their way to Ben
nington, riding horseback along the old bridle
path which ran near his place, and which was
the only road at that time. He died at the ad
vanced age of ninety years, and his wife was
also quite old at the time of her death. She
bore the maiden name of Thankful Washburn,
and was a daughter of William Washburn.
They were members of the Presbyterian church,
and were- among the most highly respected and
honored citizens of the community in which they
lived. In the family of this worthy couple were
the following children: John, Jr., who was born
August 27, 1749; Rhoda, born April 12, 175 1 ;
William, born, April 16, 1753; Thankful, born
September 26, 1754; Mary, born October 30,
1756; Beulah, who was born October 10, 1758,
and died March 4, 1759; Roger, born Febru

ary 7, 1760; Abisha, who was born March 18,
1766, and died August 9, 1859.
Abisha Kinsley, the youngest in this fam
ily, was only two years old when brought by his
parents to Bennington, where he was educated in
the common schools. He remained on the home
farm with his father until the latter's death, and
then took charge of the place, purchasing the
interests of the other heirs. In 1826 he built
the house now occupied by our subject, and con
tinued his residence there until called from this
life at the age of ninety-three years. As one of
the popular and influential citizens of his com
munity, he was prominently identified with pub
lic affairs, and was called upon to fill several
official positions of honor and trust, the duties
of which he most faithfully and satisfactorily
performed. For fourteen' years he served as
selectman of the town, when the salary of that
office was only seven dollars per year, and he
was also justice of the peace for a number of
years. In politics he was an old-line Whig, and
in religious faith , was a Universalist, to which
church his wife also, belonged. Abisha Kinsley
was twice married, his first wife being Hulda
Millard, a native of Bennington, Vermont, by
whom he had six children, all now deceased.
For his second wife he wedded Eunice Green, a
daughter of Henry Green, who came to this state
from Keane, New Hampshire, in pioneer days,
and settled at Bennington Center, where he died
at an advanced age. Mrs. Kinsley was seventy-
eight years of age at the time of her death, and
of her five children only two are now living, these
being Edward, and an older brother, Charles.
Upon the old homestead farm at Bennington
Edward Kinsley has spent his entire life. His
early education was obtained in the common
schools of the neighborhood, and he subse
quently pursued his studies under the direction
of a private tutor, as did also his - brothers and
sisters. His parents having died, he came into
possession of the farm at the age of twenty-two
years, and has since carried it on with marked
success. For a time he and his brother engaged
in agricultural pursuits in partnership, but he
finally purchased the latter's interest and has
since been alone in business. His place, consist
ing- of one hundred and sixty-four acres of land,

214

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

is under a high state of cultivation and is de
voted to general farming.
On the 25th of September, 1857, Mr. Kins
ley was united in marriage to Miss Harriett "B.
Rudd, who was born in Bennington and was a
daughter of David Rudd, who lived near the
Kinsley homestead. Her grandfather, Joseph
Rudd, was one of the heroes of the Revolution
ary war and a pioneer of Bennington, where the
greater part of his life was passed; his wife,
Sarah Story, was the mother of several children,
and lived to the extreme old age of ninety-eight
years, dying in 1845. Mrs. Kinsley is the ninth
in order of birth in a family of twelve children,
the others being Abbie and Sabina, both de
ceased : Elijah, who was born April 8, 1816, and
is still living, his home being near that of our
subject; Martha, John and David, all three de
ceased; Elizabeth, widow of Stearns Harris and
a resident of Hoosick, New York ; Sanford, also a
resident of Hoosick ; Catherine and Lester, both
'deceased; and Aaron, who completes the family.
Mr. and Mrs. Kinsley have no children of
their own, but have an adopted son and daughter.
The latter is Addie, who first married Sanford
Rudd and by that union had two children : Al-
lura L.. and Kinsley S., named for her foster
father ; her second husband is Emery Leland,
now a resident of Emery, Michigan. Glen, the
adopted son, remained with Judge Kinsley until
nineteen years of age, in the meantime receiv
ing a good education in the schools of Benning
ton. He was then given his time and went to
Omaha, Nebraska, where he engaged in herding
cattle for a time. Subsequently, in connection
with a brother, he followed surveying at St. Paul,
Nebraska, which was then a new town. Later
he started a national bank in partnership with
some gentlemen of that place, and engaged in the
banking business for a number of years with
marked success. He next went to San Bernard
ino. California, where he studied law and was ad
mitted to the bar, being now engaged in success
ful practice in that state. He is also acceptably
serving as clerk for three different counties and
is tax collector for two counties. He is married
and has three daughters.
In his political views Mr. Kinsley is a stal
wart Republican, and, like his father, has always
taken a very active and prominent part in pub

lic affairs. He filled the office of assessor in 1865.
and 1867, and again in 1897-98-99. For the long
period of twenty-seven years he was justice of
the peace, and was associate judge of Benning
ton county in 1881 and 1882. He was .thoroughly
impartial in meting out justice, his opinions be
ing unbiased by either fear or favor, and his fidel
ity to any trust reposed in him is above question.
He is regarded as one of the leading and most
highly respected citizens of Bennington.
MIAL B. HOUGHTON.
Dr. Mial B.# Houghton is the oldest, Irom
point of years of practice, veterinary surgeon of
Bennington, and his success has placed him in the
front rank among the representatives of the pro
fession in this part of the state. He was born in
Shaftsbury, Vermont, on the 14th of October,
1849. His father, Nelson Houghton, was also
a native of that place and Was a son of Timothy
Houghton, whose birth occurred in Connecticut.
The first representatives of the name in the new
world came from England and settled in the
Charter Oak state in colonial days. Grandfather
Houghton left Connecticut and became one of
the pioneer settlers of Shaftsbury, Vermont,
where he secured a large tract of land covered!
with native timber, and devoted his remaining
days- to the improvement of his property, his ef
forts as an agriculturist bringing to him a good
financial return. He married Frances Gawyer,.
who was born in Connecticut and was of French-
Spanish lineage. Her father was a French
major, but her mother was born in Spain. By
the marriage of Timothy and Frances Houghton
were born ten children. The mother was a con
sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal'
church and died in that faith at the age of eighty-
six years.
Nelson Houghton was reared in Shaftsbury
and after arriving at years of maturity married"
Almira Herrington, who was born in Shafts
bury. They began their domestic life in a log
cabin, in true pioneer style, but the little home-
was brightened by the presence of four children,
of whom three are yet living, Timothy and Rufus,.
both of whom are residents of Dover, Vermont;
and Mial. Nelson Houghton devoted his entire-
life to agricultural pursuits and prospered in his

THE STATE OF, VERMONT.

215

undertakings, so that as the years passed he was
enabled to add to his place all the comforts of
civilization. The little log cabin was replaced
by a substantial and commodious frame resi
dence, and it was in that home that he died, at
the age of fifty-eight years. He gave his political
support to the Whig party, and on that ticket
was called to a number of local offices, in which
he discharged his duties with marked ability and
fidelity. His wife died at the age of forty-one
years. ,
Dr. Houghton spent his early life at the old
home in Shaftsbury, pursued his education irt its
public schools and in 1863 came to Bennington,
where he remained until 1870. In that year he
went to New York, where he remained for one
year employed as a salesman. The Soummond
Brothers had a large shipping business and also
engaged in the manufacture and sale of lightning
xods, and of the latter department of their busi
ness Mr. Houghton had charge for two years.
In. 1872 he attended lectures in the American
Veterinary University (now Leobard's Veterin
ary University),, and for two years and seven-
months was a student at that college. At that
time his mother's health failed, and, he returned
to ; Bennington to manage the disposal of the
property of the estate. It was at that time that
he established his livery business, and was also
proprietor of a meat market in 1877-8. In con
nection with his livery he began the practice of
veterinary surgery, which he has since followed
with excellent success.
;; On the 20th of December, 1880, Dr. Hough
ton was united in marriage to Miss Helen Wood,
a daughter of Franklin Wood, a native of Woodr
ford, Vermont. Mr. Wood was a machinist by
trade, and becoming connected with a mill, grad
ually wOrked his way upward and was made sup
erintendent and general manager of all contracts.
He married Sarah Crawford, and they became the
^parents of two children, Helen, and Charles A.
To Mr. and Mrs. Houghton has been born a
daughter, Ethel Houghton. Doctor Houghton
is a firm believer in the principles which consti
tute the. Republican platform and always en
dorses the policy of the party by his ballot, but
has never had time or inclination to seek public
office. He is a member of the Stocks Insurance
Company of Boston, and belongs to the Sons of

the American Revolution, holding membership
with the chapter of New York, of which he has
twice been elected vice-president. He belongs
to Company K, Vermont National Guards, and
was one of the four original members appointed
to draw up a charter and since that time he has
held all of the important offices in the organiza
tion. He is connected as examiner with the Hu
mane Society, and belongs to tlie American Vet
erinary Association. He is a very successful man,
doing a good business and having a large prac
tice among the best people in this part of the
state. He and his wife are members of the
Baptist church and have a large circle of friends
in Bennington.
ROBERT SHIELLS DRYSDALE.
Robert Shiells Drysdale is an active factor in
commercial circles in Bennington. His success in
all his undertakings has been so marked that his
methods are of interest to the commercial worlds
He has based his business principles and actions
upon strict adherence to the rules of( industry,
economy and unswerving integrity. His enter
prise and progressive spirit have made him a
typical American in every sense of the word, and
he well deserves mention in the history of the
state. What he is to-day he has made himself,
for he began in the world with nothing but his
own energy and willing hands to aid him. By
constant exertion and good judgment, he has
raised himself to the prominent position which he
now holds, having the friendship of many and
the respect of all who know him.
Mr. Drysdale was born in Prairie du Chien,
Wisconsin, on the 3d of March, 1862. His fa
ther, Alexander Drysdale, was born in Tillicoul
try, Scotland, but when a young man came to
America and took up his residence in Prairie du
Chien,' where he was engaged in business as a
railroad contractor. He followed that pursuit for
a number of years and then returned to the east,
locating in Leeds, New York, where he accepted
the responsible position of superintendent in
Hunt, TilHnghast & Company's woolen mill, oc
cupying that position for a number of years. It
was in 1873 that he took up his abode in Benning
ton, where he established a store known as the

216

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Mill store. Subsequently he was connected with
the River street store, and he spent his remain
ing days in Bennington, where he died in 1884,
at the age of fifty-two years, He was a very suc
cessful merchant, and made a close study of the
needs and wishes of the public, and by his honor
able dealing secured a very liberal patronage. He
married Agnes Best, who was born in White
water, Wisconsin, and they became the parents of
five children, namely": Mrs. Captain Rendall, who
is living in London, England ; Robert S. ; Janette,
who makes her home with her brother, Robert;
and two who have passed away. The mother was
called to her final rest when thirty-eight years of
age. Both parents were members of the Presby
terian church and were people of the highest
respectability, enjoying the warm regard of a
large circle of friends.
Robert S. Drysdale spent the greater part of
his youth in Leeds, New York, where he pur
sued his education in the graded schools until
eleven years of age. He then went to Dollar,
Scotland, where he attended school until fifteen
years of age, after which he returned to this
country, and took up his abode in Bennington,
where his father had in the meantime "embarked in
business. He entered his .father's dry-goods store
as a clerk and continued with him until the lat
ter's death. In 1888 he established his present
store in Bennington and has since successfully
carried on merchandising, being the proprietor of
the leading establishment in this place and also
in this portion of the state. His business occu
pies three floors of a large store, one hundred by
forty-two feet, and he employs, fourteen clerks.
He carries a large and well-selected stock of dry-
goods, carpets, shoes, curtains and paper hang
ings. His trade is steadily increasing and al
ready brings to him a good return.
On the 9th: of October, i960, Mr. Drysdale
was united in marriage to Miss Bridget Meagher,
who was born in Bennington. The Democratic
party receives the stanch support of Mr. Drys
dale, who believes most firmly in its principles.
For three terms he was elected annually to the
position of chief engineer of the fire department,
and in 1888 was president of the State Fireman's
Association. Fraternally he is connected with
the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and
with the Red Men.

HENRY W. BOOTH.
Henry W. Booth, deceased, was one of the
most active and useful business men of Benning
ton, and one of its most exemplary and public-
spirited citizens. The Booth family is of Scotch
origin, and dates back to early colonial times.
Roger C. Booth located in Bennington in early
life, and pursued a successful career as a stone
cutter, and died at the advanced age of. eighty
years. His son Asahel, who lived to the same
age, became a prominent manufacturer, and op
erated the Wadding Mills in Bennington during
his entire active life.
Henry W., son of Asahel Booth, was a native
of Bennington, as was the father, and was born
April 7, 1830. He received an excellent educa
tion, beginning his studies in the common schools
of his home village, and taking advanced courses
at Manchester in the Burr and Burton Sem
inary, and Westfield Academy in Massachusetts.
He began his business life in association with his
brother, in the general dry-goods line in Benning
ton, whence he removed to Erie, Pennsylvania,
where he was engaged for seven years in a gro
cery business. He subsequently removed to New
York city, and afterward located permanently in
Bennington, where he was senior member of the
knitting mills firm of Booth & Valentine, and was
otherwise actively identified with commercial en
terprises until his death, which occurred in 1885.
He was deeply respected for his business ability,
integrity and sterling traits of personal charac
ter. He took a deep interest in. all movements
looking to the advancement of the community in
material, moral and social ways, and was par
ticularly active in the maintenance of the free li
brary, and in extending the scope of its useful
ness. He was elected to numerous important lo
cal offices, and was a member of the fraternity of
Odd Fellows.
Henry W. Booth was married January 1,
1852, to Miss Mary Squire, who was also a na
tive of Bennington, born in the present Cooper ,
house, on Main street. Her parents were Buckley
ahd Lucretia (Norton) Squire. Her father was a
tanner and conducted a large establishment for
many years, and was also interested in a chair
manufactory ; he was a man of high character and
a leader in all worthy public movements, for many

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

2 17

years a selectman, and occupied other important
local offices; he died at the age of sixty-eight
years. He was a descendant of Saxton and Syl
via (Newell) Squire, the former a Revolutionary
soldier, who enlisted at the early age of sixteen
years, and became drum major and subsequently
captain in the patriot army. In the more recent
generations the family has been prominently iden
tified with the manufacturing interests of the
region.
JAMES H. WALBRIDGE.

Colonel James H. Walbridge, a veteran of
the Civil war and one of the prominent and
esteemed citizens of North Bennington, Ver
mont, was born July 29, 1826, in Paper Mill
Village (now Bennington Mills), Vermont.
Stebbins D. Walbridge, his father, was born
March 25, 1801, in Paper Mill Village and
after attending the common schools of the
- town, he followed the occupation of farming,
and in addition to this purchased a woolen
mill, which he operated successfully for many
years. His entire life was spent in the vil
lage in which he was born, where he was
elected to serve in various local offices of
trust. -He was united in marriage to Miss
Harriett Hicks, who was born in Bennington
. Center, and five children were born to them,
all but one of whom lived to be over seventy
years old. Mr. Walbridge and his family
were active and consistent members of the
Universalist church, and his death occurred
August 27, 1885, at the age of eighty-two
years, and his wife passed away in August
1832. James H. Walbridge obtained his educa
tion in the common schools of his native town,
and when he reached the age of sixteen years
went to the Massachusetts coast, off Hing
ham, to fish for mackerel, but returned home
in the fall and was engaged for one year in
his father's woolen mill ; he then decided to
return to the mackerel fishing again, but not
liking the occupation any better, he returned
again to his father's woolen mill at Paper
Mill, where he remained for one year. At
the expiration of that period of time he located
in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was em

ployed in a paper mill for two years, and with the
Berkshire Paper Company for one year. In
April, 1842, he started all alone for California,
making the journey from Massachusetts by rail
road and boat until he arrived at the head of
Chagres river; then he traveled fifty- four miles
by land to Panama and from there to San Fran
cisco. He then went into the mines, and after
securing quite an amount of gold returned to
San Francisco, and three years later sent to New
York for a printing press, which he took with
him to Sacramento, and up to the year 1857 con
ducted a' printing office, meeting with a large de-

JAMES H. WALBRIDGE.

gree of success. In 1856, while he was residing
in San Francisco, he became identified with the
peace and order committee known as the "vig-

218

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ilantes," and he also enrolled with the Home
Guard, and still has in his possession the certi
ficate of membership. He also assisted in the
hanging of four men from the windows of the
fort, and remembers all of its horrible details.
In 1857 he returned to his native village in Ver
mont and purchased the old property belonging
to General Ebenezer Walbridge, where he was
engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1861, when
President Lincoln issued his first call for troops.
He at once organized Company A, Second Ver
mont Regiment, this being the second regiment
organized in the state, and of which he was
placed in command. Later he enlisted for three
years and participated in the following named
battles : first battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861,
Lee's Mills, Millersburg, Savage Station, White
Oak Swamp, Campbells Gap, Antietam, Fred
ericksburg, where he lost one hundred and seven
men, Mary's Heights, Solon Heights, second bat
tle of Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Lunkstown
and Rappahannock Station. For the heroism
he displayed on the field of battle, he was pro
moted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, January
8, 1863, and to that of colonel February 9, 1864;
through exposure he contracted spinal disease,
from which he never fully recovered, and he was
discharged for disability April 2, 1864. He com
manded his regiment during the exciting times of
the draft riot in 1863, and after his discharge
from the service of the United States army, he
returned to Bennington, Vermont, and was em
ployed as assistant assessor and department col
lector of internal revenue. He retained this posi
tion for fifteen years, after which he was em
ployed with the Panama Railroad for one year.
He then located in North Bennington, and re
sided in the house which he had built in i860;
for a number of years he has been in the employ
of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Ver
mont, and has succeeded in building up a very
extensive business.
Mr. Walbridge is a firm and staunch adherent
of the principles of the Republican party, and has
served as selectman for three years, justice of the
peace for a number of years, village trustee, a
member of the committee on highways, and a
member of the school board for several years. He
is also a prominent member of Custer Post, G.
A. R., and he had the honor of being called upon

to deliver the address June 20, 1887, at the twen
ty-fifth annual reunion of his regiment.
On March 3, 1862, Mr. Walbridge was united
in marriage to Miss Eliza A. Burgess, who was-
born in Hoosick, New York. Her death occurred
April 25, 1862. On February 26, 1867, he mar
ried for his second wife Mrs. Delia Bruce, who-
was born in White Creek, Washington county,
New York, daughter of Elihu Perry, a natiye of
White Creek, who followed farming as an occu
pation all his life and who married Miss Sarah
Sherman: to them five children were born, of
whom but one survives, Mrs. Walbridge. Aaron
Perry, grandfather of Mrs. Walbridge, was a
prominent farmer of "White Creek, and was an
active participant in the war of the Revolution.
He married Miss Anna Hoag, whose mother lived
to be over one hundred years old. Mr. Wal
bridge had one child by his second wife, George
Hicks Walbridge, who acquired his education in
the common schools, graduated from Cornell Uni
versity, and subsequently became a civil engineer,
he located in New York city, where he was con
nected with, the J. G. White Electrical Supply
Company in the capacity of secretary and treas
urer; he married Miss Mary Taylor, of Ithaca,
New York.
J. OLIVER BURT.
J. Oliver Burt, senior member of the firm of
Burt Brothers, dealers in men's furnishing goods
at Bennington, has advanced to a prominent posi
tion in commercial circles from a humble clerk
ship, and his life history illustrates the power of
enterprise, industry and perseverance in the active
affairs of life. His paternal grandfather was a
farmer of this locality, but died before- the birth
of our subject. The grandmother bore the maid
en name of Catherine Knox, and was a descend
ant of one of the old families of New England;
her death occurred in Bennington, when she had!
attained the advanced age of eighty-seven years-
She had quite a large family but only one is now
living, Mrs. David Rockland, who resides on a
farm just without the corporate limits of this vil
lage and is now eighty-four years of age.
Job H. Burt, one of this family, was born in-
Bennington, was reared and educated there and!
throughout his life carried on agricultural pur-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

219

suits on the place which is still known as the Burt
homestead. He married Ellen Moulds, a native
of England, who came to the United States when
her father brought his family to the new world,
and settled in Bennington, where he lived to an
advanced age. To Mr. and Mrs. Burt were born
three children, all of whom are yet living: J.
Oliver; Nellie C, the wife of William Scott, of
Hagaman, New York ; and Sidney A., who is as
sociated in business with his brother.
J. Oliver Burt was born on the old family
homestead, October 29, i860, and at the usual age
entered the public schools, continuing his educa
tion in the high school. When but a boy he en
tered upon his business career as an employe in
the clothing store cf C. G. Cole and lias since been
connected with this line of commercial interests.
His close application and reliability won him pro
motion from time to time, and he was admitted to
a partnership in the business, continuing his asso
ciation with Mr. Cole until 1893. 'The partner
ship was then dissolved, and in partnership with
his brother Sidney, he established the store which
they still own, and which is proving to them a
profitable source of income. They carry a large
and well-selected stock of men's furnishing goods,
and their straightforward dealing and earnest de
sire to please have secured to them an extensive
patronage. In 1884 J. Oliver Burt was married to Miss
Hattie Burgess, a native of Bennington and a
daughter of Henry and Mary (Woodward) Bur
gess, both natives of this place and the later a
/daughter of Arnold Woodward, a farmer who
was born in Woodford, Vermont. Henry Bur
gess was engaged in the livery business for a
number of years, and still makes his home in
Bennington, where he is dealing extensively in
live stock. He and his wife had five children, all
of whom are living : Mrs. Burt ; Olive, at home ;
H. W., a practicing veterinary surgeon of Ben
nington ; Mrs. E. M. Aiken, a widow residing in
Springfield, Massachusetts ; and Charles A., of
California. To the marriage of Mr. Burt and his
wife were born seven children : Curtis S., Cole,
Kathryn, Barbara, Eugene, Harriet and Roger.
Mrs. Burt holds membership in the Baptist
church, and Mr. Burt is a member of the board
of trustees. In his political views he is a stalwart
Republican, but has never sought or desired the

honors or emoluments of public office, preferring
to give his time and attention to his business
affairs.
MERRETT ELIAS BURGESS,
When a citizen of worth and character has
departed this life, it is proper that a record of his
honorable and useful career be perpetuated and a
tribute of respect and honor be accorded his mem
ory. The late Merrett E. Burgess lives in the
memory and affection of his family and friends as
a devoted husband, kind neighbor and public-
spirited citizen. During the long years of his
residence in the village of Bennington he was to
the people all that is required in good citizen
ship, public enterprise and sympathetic friend
ship. In the love of his family he found his cares
lightened, and in the respect of his fellow citi
zens he received the reward of his faithfulness.
No man was more honored in the community and
few had done more for the advancement of the-
general good. Mr. Burgess was a man of most
kindly nature, of marked executive ability and
genuine public spirit, and this brief memoir wilB
be read with satisfaction by those who knew the
man and recognized his sterling worth of char
acter. He was summoned into eternal rest on the
27th of September, 1896, in the prime of his no
ble and useful manhood, and the community felt
a sense of personal loss when he was thus called
from the scene of his earthly labors.
Mr. Burgess was a scion of one of the old'
and prominent families of the Green Mountain
state. He was born in Bennington county, near
the historic site of the battle of Bennington, the-
date of his nativity being July 16, 1845. He was
a son of Richmond Burgess, who was born at
White Creek, New York, the son of Archibald'
Burgess, who removed thence to Hoosick, New
York, being one of the first settlers in that local
ity, where he devoted his life to agricultural pur
suits, passing away at the age of eighty-seven
years. Richmond Burgess married Sarah Rock-
wood, who was born in Newfane, Windham coun
ty, Vermont, on the 22d of December, 1816, be
ing the daughter of Samuel J. Rockwood, who
was a soldier in the continental line during the-
war of the Revolution. She was one of a family
of fourteen children and is the only one now sur-

220

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

viving, having attained the venerable age of
eighty-six years and still remaining in the old
home in Bennington. Four of her five children
are still living and all are residents of Benning
ton, namely : Henry ; Richard ; Sarah, the wife
of William R. Woodward; and Frank; all being
members of the Baptist church, of which Mrs.
Burgess has been a devoted adherent from her
youth up.
Merrett E. Burgess was reared in Bennington
and secured his educational discipline in the pub
lic schools. He began his independent business
career by engaging in the livery business in Ben
nington, continuing in the same until 1866, when
he went to Chicago, Illinois, where he continued
his residence about two years. Mr. Burgess re- _
turnel to Bennington in 1870 and became pro
prietor of the Putnam House stables, which he
conducted until 1883, keeqing about one hundred
and seventy horses and having the largest livery
business in the state. His industry was unflag
ging, his business ability of the highest order, his
integrity of the most inflexible nature, and he
achieved a noteworthy success through his able
and discriminating efforts ; he accumulated a for
tune, having an estate valued at more than one
hundred thousand dollars at the time of his death.
He took a deep interest in his city and did much
to further its progress and substantial upbuild
ing. He erected several houses, including the
present family residence and also the hotel ad
joining and the express office, with the extensive
stables in the rear of the hotel building. He was
the owner of a fine farm in Bennington county,
and on the same he erected a fine dwelling, which
is picturesquely located at the foot of Mount
Anthony, while he also retained possession of the
old homestead farm which had been his father's.
In politics he gave his support to the Republican
party, and his religious faith was that of the Bap
tist church, of which his widow and children are
members. On the 28th of March, 1871, was solemnized
the marriage of Mr. Burgess to Miss Jennie
Mussey, who was born in the city of Lowell,
Massachusetts, the daughter of Alvy and Lucre
tia (Powers) Mussey, both of whom died when
she was a mere child and left three children, all
of whom are living, namely : Emma, who resides
near Saratoga, New York ; Nellie, who is the wife

of Charles E. Gilman, of Cohoes, New York ; and
Jennie, the widow of the subject of this memoir.
Mrs. Burgess was reared and educated in Ben
nington, where she has thus spent practically her
entire life, and where she has the loving esteem
of a wide circle of friends. Her two children are :
John H., who remains at the parental home,
having been associated with his father in busi
ness and now giving his entire attention to the
management of the estate ; and Annie Louise, who
is the wife of Sidney S. Pike, and who has one
son, Sidney S., Jr.
HON. GEORGE W. RANDALL.
George W. Randall, an enterprising citizen of
Waterbury, whose active life extended over al
most two-thirds of a century, and who has ren
dered his state useful service in a legislative ca
pacity, is descended from two old and well known
Vermont families. His father, Oliver C. Ran
dall, was the son of William and Dolly (Wingate)
Randall, and his mother, who was Electa Coffin,
was a daughter of Moses and Lydia (Dustin)
Coffin. Lydia Dustin was a daughter of Thomas
Dustin, who was a son of Thomas Dustin, of In
dian war fame.
George W. Randall was born in Waterbury,
September 18, 1825. He was deprived of his par
ents when he was only five years old, and he had
scarcely emerged from infancy when he was
obliged to make his own way in the world, with
his own strength and character as his only capi
tal and resources. He managed to secure the
rudiments of an education in the common schools
of his native village, and when sixteen years of
age became apprenticed to a blacksmith, in whose
employ he remained for three years, and during
this time he not only performed all the tasks de
volving upon him and gained a thorough prac
tical knowledge of the trade, but he added largely
to his store of knowledge by industriously ap
plying himself during his spare hours to all such
books as he could procure, and these studious
habits characterized all his after life. After his
apprenticeship had ended, he took brief courses
in the Stowe and Bakersfield academies, paying
his own expenses out of his meagre earnings. His
advancement was, however, rapid and substan
tial, so much so that he entered upon the duties

, yt

The Lewis Thbblifh;hu

larving uu

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

221

of. a school teacher and acquitted himself most
creditably, displaying such aptitude for the call
ing as to assure his success in the educational
field. He had another ambition, however, and after
a brief schoolroom experience he entered the of
fice of Hon. Paul Dillingham, in Waterbury,
and took up a course of law reading. Later his
attention was attracted by the reports from the
newly discovered gold fields in California, and in
August, 1849, he sailed for that region, and, re
gardless of the ravages of the yellow fever,
crossed the Isthmus of Panama, and finally
reached San Francisco. His experiences were
varied — at times serious and then, again, ludi
crous. The night of his arrival he paid fifty
cents for the privilege of sleeping upon a pile of
shavings, and the next day he earned a dollar
an hour for five hours' labor at a blacksmith's
forge. He went on to the gold mines, where he
worked for seventeen months, and then returned
home, with six thousand dollars in gold dust, as
the. reward of his efforts. Two years later he
again went to California, but was so unfortunate
as to contract that dreadful disease, yellow fever,
and was the only survivor of a company of thirty
men. When he finally recovered he was so debili
tated that to longer remain in that climate was
out 'of the question, and he returned to his native
state and gave his attention to farming and the
real estate and lumber business. His operations
in the latter line were large and remunerative
from the beginning, and he is yet owner of large
tracts of timber land, and of sawmills in Bolton
and Waterbury.
In early life Mr. Randall was a Whig, but
when the party went out of existence he allied
himself with the Republicans, and from the day
of Lincoln has been numbered among the most
active and influential of their number in his state.
At various times he was called to public positions
of important usefulness. He had occupied var
ious positions, and in 1872 he was elected to the
legislature, and proved a most industrious and ca
pable member of that body. One of his most
creditable accomplishments was in securing ap
propriations for the establishment of the State
Reform School, a result which was in large meas
ure due to his influence and persistent effort.
During a subsequent term of service in the same

body (in 1882) he served upon the railroad com
mittee. In 1890 he was elected to represent
Washington county in the state senate, and he
rendered valuable service as chairman of the
committee on the care of the insane and as a mem
ber of the committee on claims.
In recent years Mr. Randall has lived a com
paratively retired life, in the ¦enjoyment of. well
earned repose. He maintains, however, close
touch with all that affects his property interests,
and affords his counsel and influence to all move
ments designed to advance the interests of the
community. Mr. Randall was married June 21,
1854, to Leefie, daughter of John White; she
died in 1874. He was then united to Belle, a
daughter of Henry and Betsey (Woodward)
Gleason, and of the union were born two children,
Pearl and George W. Randall, Jr. George W.
Randall, Jr., was married January 7, 1903, to
Eva Luce, of Duxbury, Vermont, and they re
side in Waterbury, Vermont. Pearl Randall
graduated from Wellesley College with the class
of 190 1.
MATTHEW HENRY BUCKHAM, D. D.
Matthew Henry Buckham, D. D., president of
the University of Vermont and State Agricult
ural College, located at Burlington, Vermont, was
born July 4, 1832, in Hinckley, Leicestershire,
England, coming from substantial Scotch ances
try on the paternal side of the house, and from
equally distinguished English stock on the ma
ternal side. His father, the Rev. James Buckham,
was an independent clergyman of England for
fourteen years, but after his emigration to Amer
ica, in 1834, he preached as a Congregational min
ister in Vermont and Canada; he died at Bur
lington, Vermont, at the age of ninety-two years.
His mother was, before her marriage, Margaret
Barmby, of Yorkshire.
Matthew Henry Buckham, son of the parents
named, made his preparatory studies under his
father, who was an accomplished classical scholar.
He obtained his bachelor's degree at the Univer
sity of Vermont in. 185 1, at the age of nineteen,
receiving the highest honors of his class, and the
next two years served as principal of the Lenox
Academy in Massachusetts. After a year's ex
perience as tutor in languages at his alma mater,

^22

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

he went abroad for study and travel, and spent the
years 1854-6 mainly in England and Germany.
Upon his return he was made professor of Greek
in the University of Vermont, a position which
he retained until his promotion to the presidency
in 1871, acting also as professor of rhetoric and
English literature in 1856-7 and 1863-71. At
the date last named he assumed the duties of the
¦chair of political and social science.
Mr. Buckham's presidency of the University
of Vermont is not only by far the longest in the
history of the institution, but has embraced the
period of greatest expansion as to numbers and
facilities. During his administration the main
college edifice has been reconstructed, a new
building for the Medical College purchased and
fitted up, a building and plant for the department
•of mechanical engineering added, the Billings
library, Converse dormitory, and Williams
Science Hall, three structures of unsurpassed
beauty and fitness for their uses, erected ; in
190 1 a magnificent gymnasium was erected at a
cost of twenty-five thousand dollars, and fitted
up with all of the most modern appliances ; a
dormitory for young women students was added ;
an agricultural experiment farm purchased and
necessary buildings put up, and three houses pro
vided for professors' residences. Additional pro
fessorships have been endowed, the library funds
increased, and the library greatly augmented;
"laboratory facilities multiplied, additional courses
and the elective system of studies introduced, and
the work of the experiment station much ex
tended. The number of academical and scientific
¦students has risen from sixty-seven in 1871 to
two hundred and ninety-seven in 1897; and of
medical students from forty-eight to two hundred
and two. The teaching staff has been increased
from a total of fourteen in 1871 to fifty-three in
1897, gains which indicate a well founded confi
dence in the wisdom and prudence of President
Buckham's leadership.
His active interest in popular education is at
tested by his service as town superintendent and
city school commissioner, as also by his member
ship in the Vermont state board of education from
1867 to 1874. In 1876 he was a member of the
"board of examiners at the United States Military
Academy at West Point. His publications have
"been chiefly baccalaureate and other sermons and

educational addresses, with an occasional maga
zine article. He has an enviable reputation in
Vermont and adjoining states as a thinker and
speaker on religious, educational and social top
ics. He is master of a singularly lucid style,
sententious and forcible, but never attracting at
tention to itself. In the development of his
thought he is logical and progressive. His rank
as scholar had fitting recognition in 1877 in the
bestowal of the degree of Doctor of Divinity by
both Dartmouth and Hamilton colleges. In 1900
he received the degree of LL. D. from Middle
bury College.
Mr. Buckham was married December 3, 1857,
to Miss Elizabeth Wright, of Shoreham, Ver
mont. Of their four sons, the eldest, James, is a
journalist; John Wright is a clergyman; Robert
Barmby is a lawyer; and Charles Wyman is an
architect. A daughter, Mary, is married and re
sides in Chicago. Mr. Buckham married for his
second wife, in September, 1897, Martha G. Ty
ler, a daughter of the Rev. Josiah Tyler, D. D., a
missionary among the Zulus in 1849-89, and later
of St. Johnsbury, Vermont.
COLLINS MILLARD GRAVES.
Mr. Graves is a law student with the well-
known law firm of Barber & Darling, in the city
of Bennington, and as a representative of one of
the old and honored families of this common
wealth well merits consideration in this compila
tion. The name- borne by our subject has been
identified with the annals of American history
from the early colonial epoch, the lineage being-
traced back in a direct way to Admiral Thomas
Graves, who was born in Ratcliffe, "England, on
the 6th of June, 1605, and who died in Charles
town, Massachusetts, on the 31st of July, 1653.
From 1632 until 1635 he was master of several
ships sailing between England and America, and
in 1643 he was master of the Tryal, the first ship
ever built in Boston! As a reward for the capture
of a Dutch privateer in the English channel, dur
ing Cromwell's protectorship, he was appointed
to the command of a ship of war and was made
a rear admiral, while he was presented with a sil
ver cup by the owners of the ship. On the 7th of
October, 1639, he was admitted to membership in
the church at Charlestown, as was also, simul-

THE 'STATE OF VERMONT.

223

taneously, his wife, whose maiden name was
Catherine Coytmore. He became one of the
prominent citizens of the Massachusetts colony,
and, so far as authentic records are available, fig
ures as the original American progenitor of the
family of which the subject of this sketch is a
member. Collins M. Graves is a native son of the town
of Bennington, where he was born on the 7th of
November, 1871, a son of the late William R. and
Flora (Millard) Graves. The father was born
in Bennington, a son of Luther R. and Sarah
Maria Graves. He received his early education in
the public schools and Yates Seminary, in Ben
nington, and later completed a course in East
man's Business College, at Poughkeepsie, New
York. Upon returning to Bennington he became
identified with the business of his father, Luther
R. Graves, who was conducting a large business
and was one of the honored and influential citi
zens of the place. Eventually he became a mem
ber of the firm of Graves, Root & Company, tin
ware manufacturers, and he had the general su
pervision of this important enterprise for about
a score of years, becoming one of the leading busi
ness men of tlie city and commanding unequivocal
confidence and esteem in the community where
practically his entire life was passed. He dis
posed of his interests in the concern mentioned in
the year 1890, and thereafter lived retired until
called from the scene of life's activities, his death
•occurring on the ist of December, 1895. He was
a man of marked intellectuality and sterling char
acter, and his identification with local interests
was of a most intimate character in many direc
tions. He was one of those concerned in the
organization and incorporation of the First Na
tional Bank of Bennington, becoming a member of
its original directorate, and thus continuing to
serve until the time of his demise. In politics he
gave a staunch allegiance to the Republican par
ty, and his religious faith was that of the Baptist
church, in the work of which he took a most
prominent part as one of its board of trustees for
many years, as superintendent of the local Sun
day-school and as organist and chorister. He was
a talented musician and took a deep interest in the
"divine art."
On the 16th of April, 1865, he was united in
marriage to Miss Flora Millard, who was born

in North Adams, Berkshire county, Massachus
etts, a daughter of George Millard, who was
prominent in business and public affairs in that
state and who was an influential member of the
Masonic fraternity. He established the first shoe
factory in North Adams, and was otherwise con
spicuously concerned in the industrial activities
and material advancement of the town. He even-
ually became a resident of Bennington, and here
likewise he took a prominent part in public af
fairs and in furthering the advancement of local
interests. He died here in the year 1873, hon
ored as a man and as a worthy and valuable citi
zen. The maiden name of his wife was Chloe
Macomber, and she died in 1889, at the age of
seventy-five years, both having been zealous mem
bers of the Baptist church. Of their five chil
dren, Henry, Alden and Mrs. William Graves
are living at the present time. The mother of
Mr. Collins M. Graves retains her residence in
New York, while she holds the esteem and affec
tion of all who have come within the sphere of her
gracious and kindly influence. Of her five chil
dren two are living, Collins M., the immediate
subject of this sketch; and Russell, also a resi
dent of Bennington.
Collins M. Graves remained in his home town
until he had attained the age of nineteen years,
having availed himself of the advantages af
forded in the excellent public schools of Benning
ton, where he prepared himself for a collegiate
course. At the age noted, in 1891, he was
matriculated in Brown University, in Provi
dence, Rhode Island, where he was graduated as
a member of the class of 1895, receiving the de
gree of Bachelor of Arts. After his graduation
he went to New York city, where he was identi
fied with the real estate business for a period of
three years, at the expiration of ' which he re
turned to his native town, and here took up the
study of law in the office of the well-known arid
representative firm of Barber & Darling, prose
cuting his technical studies with energy arid
marked powers of assimilation and securing ad
mission to the bar of the state in 1903. He is
thoroughly devoted to his profession, is a careful
student and has that natural predilection, rein
forced by broad and thorough education, which
ever makes for success in this exacting field of en
deavor. In politics he is an uncompromising ad-

224

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

yocate of the principles and policies of the Repub
lican party, but the only official positions he has
held were that of tax appraiser and his present
connection as the Bennington representative of the
Republican town committee. Fraternally Mr.
Graves is identified with the Masonic order, the
Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Pro
tective Order of Elks, and also with the Greek
letter society, the Delta Kappa Epsilon, of his
alma mater, Brown University, in connection with
which he has taken a promient part. His inter
est in all that makes for the well-being of the
community is distinctive, and he is a member of
the Baptist church, while he is a member of the
directorate of the local organizations, Young
Men's Christian Association and Young Men's
Association, of both of which he formerly served
as president. On the 24th of June, 1897, Mr. Graves was
united in marriage to Miss Florence Dewey
Ouackenbush, who was born in Pittsfield, Massa
chusetts, a daughter of Cebra Quackenbush, who
is of staunch Holland ancestry and who is a re
tired capitalist. Mr. and Mrs. Graves are the
parents of two sons, Cebra Q. and William R.
Their home is a center of gracious hospitality, be
ing one of the attractive modern residences of
Bennington and having been erected by Mr.
Graves in 1901.
GILBERT W. BRADLEY.
Gilbert W. Bradley, of Manchester Depot, is
actively identified with its business progress, be
ing proprietor of the Bradley Patent Butter Pack
age Works, a leading industry of the town. He
was born October 7, 1839, in Sunderland, Ver
mont, which was likewise the birthplace of his
father, the late Gilbert Bradley.
He comes of colonial ancestry, being a direct
descendant in the eighth generation from Stephen
Bradley, the immigrant. The ancestral line is
traced as follows : Stephen, born in 1642, died
June 20, 1702; Stephen, born October 1, 1668,
married Sarah Ward, and died in 1702;
Stephen, born August 5, 1696, married
Jemima Cornwall, and died June 16, -1782;
Joseph, born June 24, 1720, married Sybil
Meigs, and died in 1809 ; Lemuel, who was born
February 26, 1750, and died December 11, 1800,

married, first, Lucy Baker, and married, second,
Mercy Washburn; Ethan, born in 1776, in Guil
ford, Connecticut, died March 24, 1845; Gilbert;
and Gilbert W. Of the descendants of Stephen
Bradley, Joseph Bradley, of the fourth generation,
with five of his sons, participated in the battle of
Bennington. The first "council of safety" was
held at the house of Joseph Bradley at Sunder
land. Of his sons, Lemuel was a captain, and
Gilbert a major in the patriot army. The Brad-
leys and Aliens rescued Seth Warner from the
British and Tories while the captive was being
taken to Albany-
Ethan Bradley removed from Connecticut to
Vermont, becoming a pioneer of Sunderland. He
married Christiance Wood, by whom he had sev
eral children, namely: Franklyn, a noted physi
cian, practiced first in Williston, Vermont, and
later in Indiana; Gilbert, father of Mr. Bradley;
William, deceased; Harriet married William
Bowker, of Sunderland ; Collins, who was associ
ated with William H. Seward for many years in
settling large land claims ; Olive, who became the
second wife of William Backus ; Maria, the first
wife of William Backus ; Lemuel, now living in
Marshall, Michigan, a violinist of note, married
Laura Warner, a most talented woman.
Gilbert Bradley, born October 28, 1801, was
reared and educated in Sunderland and Manches
ter. Embarking upon a mercantile career when
a young man, he was first located in Burlington,
then removed to Sunderland, where he was a suc
cessful merchant and a citizen of prominence for
more than half a century.. He lived to a ripe old
age, dying at the age of eighty years. He married
Mary Lockwood, who was born in Manchester,
Vermont, a daughter of Alonzo Lockwood, a
prosperous farmer, noted for his intelligence and
wit. Of the union of Mr. Lockwood with a Miss
Purdy, the following children were born : Susan ;
Mary, who became Mrs. Bradley; William, an
Episcopalian minister, died in Maryland; and
Myrtle. Gilbert Bradley and his wife reared four
children : Almena M., who married Convis Par
ker, formerly of Rupert, Vermont, now of Wash
ington, D. C., died in 1869, leaving a daughter,
Carrie B., who was with the Century Company
for a number of years; Gilbert W., the eldest-
child; Herbert N., of New York, married Mar
garet E. Broadhead, by whom he has two chil-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

225

dren, Mary B., born June 26, 1886, and Herbert
N., Jr., born October 31, 1887; and John C, su
perintendent and manager of the Pratt & Letch-
worth Steel Works at Buffalo, New York, mar
ried Fannie M. Baker, by whom he has three chil
dren, Helen M., born April 17, 1S78, Edith S.,
born December 3, 1879, and John H., born June
25, 1882. The mother who died at the age of
sixty years, was a devoted member of the Congre
gational church.
Gilbert W. Bradley attended the common
schools of Sunderland, the Burr and Burton
Seminary, a Methodist school in New York,
and Essex Academy. He was subsequently
engaged as a general merchant in Sunderland un
til 1887, when he established his present business
in Manchester, locating his plant near the Rut
land Railway station, and having his own tracks
to the works. In his factory, which is furnished
with special machinery for the making of both
the packages and the metal parts, he manufact
ures from selected Green Mountain spruce pack
ages of various sizes, lining the inside of some of
them with paraffine, rendering them absolutely
tasteless, odorless, dust and damp proof ; this is
an original device of Mr. Bradley. He has built
up an extensive trade in these packages, orders
for his goods coming from every section of the
Union. He also makes a large variety of turned
goods, in which he carries on a lucrative business.
Mr. Bradley, while a resident of Sunderland,
served as selectman and superintendent of schools.
He united with the Congregational church many
years ago, and is a member of Adoniram Lodge,
Free and Accepted Masons.
Mr. Bradley married, January 4, 1864, Laura
A. Hill, whose father, Jerome Hill, spent his en
tire life of threescore and ten years in Sunder
land, serving much of the time during his active
career as postmaster and station agent. Of Mr.
Hill's marriage with Laura Lathrop, of Manches
ter, Vermont, the following children were born:
Laura A., now Mrs. Bradley; Inez, the eldest
child, is the wife of Captain D. H. Dyer, a sketch
of whom may be found on another page of this
volume ; Julius, living on the Hill homestead,
married Nellie Fisk ; and Hattie, wife of Charles
Graves, formerly of Sunderland, Verniont, but
now a resident of Dakota. The mother of the
children lives with her son on the old home farm.
15

Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Bradley are the parents of
four children, namely: Harry, deceased; Romeo
H., engaged in business with his father, being,
manager of the works ; Misses Jane E. and Annie
L. Bradley.
WALTER H. BERRY.
Walter H. Berry, proprietor of the Walloom-
sac Inn at Bennington Center, one of the most at
tractive, homelike and popular hotels in the state,
was born January 14, 1862, in Lansingburg, New
York. His father, John Berry, a native of Lon
don, England, came to America when young, lo
cating first at Watertown, New York, where he
followed the business of a house painter for sev
eral years. Removing from there to Lansing
burg, he was engaged in business on his own ac
count until his death, at the early age of thirty-
five years. He married Maria Peltier, who was
born in Albany, New York, of French ancestors.
Her father and grandfather, both sea captains, i
fought under Napoleon. The grandfather of Mr.
Berry was born on Good Friday, 1776, in Paris,
and married Phebe Tillock, who was born in
Boston, Massachusetts, in February, 1787.
Walter H. Berry has one sister, Alfretta, who
makes her home with him. He received his early
education in the common schools and the Lan
singburg Academy, and began life for himself as
a railroad man, for many years being employed as
locomotive engineer on the Fitchburg Railway.
Retiring from that work in 1891, he has since had
charge of the Walloomsac Inn, which is beauti
fully located in the heart of one of the most at
tractive and picturesque mountain regions of New
England, with an elevation of one thousand feet
above the sea level. Under his management sub
stantial improvements have been made in every
department of the house, which has now full ben
efit of the excellent sanitary system introduced
into Bennington in 1891 at a cost of upwards of
twenty thousand dollars. Many places of historic
interest are to be found in Bennington, or near,
while the Berkshire Hills are within easy driv
ing distance, and the Mount Anthony golf course
is within five minutes' walk. A pleasant, genial
man, of unfailing courtesy, caring for his guests
most wisely and generously, Mr. Berry is one of
the most popular landlords to be found, and his

226

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

inn is one of the best patronized of the mountain
hotels. Politically Mr. Berry is a stanch Republican,
and an active member of his party, being now
chairman of the town committee. He is also one
of the trustees of the village at Bennington Cen
ter, and a trustee of the public funds of the town.
Fraternally he- belongs to Jerusalem Lodge, No.
355, F. & A. M., of Lansingburg ; of Apollo
Chapter, R. A. M., of Troy, New York; of Apollo
Cornmandery, K. T., of Troy; and of Oriental
Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the
Mystic Shrine. He is also an honorary member
of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.
FRANK LASHER.
From an early age Frank Lasher has been de
pendent upon his own resources. When but a

FRANK LASHER.

boy he started out to make his way in the world,
an<! that he stands to-day among the successful

representatives of industrial interests in his por
tion of the state is due entirely to his own efforts.
Mr. Lasher steadily advanced until he occupied
the office of vice-president and superintendent of
the Lasher Stocking Company, of Bennington,
and has been, since the recent purchase of the
plant by Mr. Olin Scott, the active manager of
the establishment, in which are utilized many use
ful devices of his own invention.
Mr. Lasher is a native of the Empire state,
his birth having occurred in Ancram, Columbia
county, New York, on the 13th of October, 1856.
His father, Philip H. Lasher, was also born in
that county, pursued his education in the public
schools, and throughout the greater part of his
life followed farming in Livingston, spending,
however, a few years in the west. He died of
typhoid fever at the age of forty-three years, in
the midst of a useful and busy career. In early
manhood he had wedded Helen Mink, who was
born in Livingston, as was her mother, who bore
the maiden name of Catherine Smith. The latter
had a family of three sons and four daughters,
and of the daughters but one, Mrs. Lasher, sur
vives. Of her brothers, Robert made his home in
Kalamazoo, Michigan, was engaged in railroad
contracting and became a very prominent and in
fluential citizen; Ezra was a veterinary surgeon,
and Philip, an engineer. Mrs. Lasher makes
her home in Churchtown, New York. Mr. and
Mrs. Philip H. Lasher had eight children, and
six of the number are yet living : Emily, who mar
ried George M. Easeland, a farmer residing at
AVest Stockbridge, Massachusetts ; Russell, a res
ident of Bristol, Connecticut; Frank, of this re
view ; Mary, the wife of James McGinness, of
Waterville, Connecticut ; Sarah, wife of Charles
Ruic, a lawyer of Farmington, Connecticut;
and Katherine, who was formerly engaged in
teaching school, is a graduate of the New York
Hospital and has traveled much in the United
States and Europe.
Frank Lasher spent the first four years of his
Hfe in Livingston, New York, and in i860 accom
panied his parents on their- removal to the west.
He was in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, and
then returned to Gallatin, New York, where he
remained for two years, going thence to Phil-
mont, where he received limited educational privi
leges. Owing to his father's death it became

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

227

necessary for him to earn his own livelihood, and
he began work in a knitting factory at Philmont,
being connected with it until 1875, during which
time he familiarized himself with every depart
ment of the business and became an expert work
man. He was promoted from time to time, and
for two years before severing his connection
with that industry was assistant foreman of the
establishment, although at the time he left he was
only eighteen years of age. He then accepted
a position as overseer of a knitting and finishing
room in the new mill of George W. Phillips, in
whose employ he remained two years, and then
entered upon an engagement to instruct in the
knitting business one of the sons of Mr. Welling
ton, who had become proprietor of the new mills
and had placed his son in them to acquire a
thorough and practical knowledge of the business.
Mr. Lasher was thus engaged for nine months
and then came to Bennington.
Here he was made overseer of the knitting
mill owned by George A. Wattles, occupying that
position for four and a half years, which was fol
lowed by two and a half years' service for George
Rockwood in the same capacity. In 1885 he ar
ranged with H. E. Bradford to superintend his
knitting machinery. His comprehensive knowl
edge of the business, practical ideas and excel
lent management always enabled him to com
mand important positions, but his ambition went
beyond serving in the employ of others, and
eventually he found it possible to engage in busi
ness on his own account. Possessing much nat
ural mechanical ability, which his years of ex
perience had fostered, he was always experiment
ing with methods for perfecting machinery used
in knitting establishments. When only twelve
years of age, while in the knitting mill at Phil
mont, he conceived the idea which was subse
quently embodied by him in what is known as a
stop-motion device, which is used to-day through
out the world in connection with knitting ma
chines. Since that time Mr. Lasher has devoted
all of his leisure time to experimenting. For a
long period he worked upon a stocking machine,
which he had so far perfected that in 1883 he
had it patented. He also patented what is known
as the Lasher half hose. In 1885 he entered into
partnership with W. H. Bradford of the firm
of H. E. Bradford Compan}', and the company

proceeded to manufacture the Lasher half hose,
Mr. Lasher being one of the company and also
holding a position as superintendent of the knit
ting department. This business relation was
maintained until 1891, when the Lasher Stock
ing Company was organized and a factory, one
hundred and fifty by forty feet and two stories
high, was built for the purpose of manufacturing
machinery for this industry and also to manufac
ture the hose. The output of the new concern is
two hundred dozen pairs of hose per day, and a
large number of skilled operatives are employed.
Mr. Lasher has the general management of the
, plant. The product, is widely shipped and brings
to the stockholders a good return on their in
vestment. Mr. Lasher has also invented knitting
machines and has taken out a number of pat
ents, and at this time is working upon several
others, destined to prove of great value in this
department of industrial activity. He is con
stantly studying how to improve machinery in
order to produce maximum results with a mini
mum amount of labor and has already given to
the world inventions of much practical value.
In July, 1901, a partnership was formed by
Messrs. Lasher and W. H. Bradford under the
firm name of Bradford and Lasher to manufact
ure spring needle ribbed knitting machinery, the
device being the invention of Mr. Lasher, and a
plant is located at Bennington.
On the 14th of November, 1877, was cele
brated the marriage of Mr. Lasher and Miss
Martha E. Pulver, who was born in Columbia
countv, New York, and is a daughter of Andrew
J. Pulver, in whose family were three children :
Augustus, who is living in North Adams, Mas
sachusetts ; Mrs. Lasher ; and Henry. Mr. Pul
ver spent his life in Columbia county and died
there at the age of sixty-six years, while his wife
passed away at the age of forty-five years. Both
were devout members of the Methodist Episco
pal church. Mr. and Mrs. Lasher have a daugh
ter, Myrtle Edith. Mrs. Lasher is a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church, taking an ac
tive interest in its work and the extension of its
influence. In his political affiliation Mr. Lasher
is a Republican, and while he keeps well in
formed on the issues of the day has never sought
or desired office, preferring to devote his time and
attention to his business interests. He deserves

228

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

great credit for what he has accomplished, for
while his labors have brought to him prosperity
they have also proved of great value to the in
dustrial world by reason of the inventions which
he has perfected.
WILLIAM P. MATTISON.
William P. Mattison, deceased, was one of
the most progressive and enterprising citizens of
South Shaftsbury, and for many years was prom
inently identified with the business interests of
that place. Upon the commercial activity of a
community depends its prosperity and the men
who are now recognized as leading citizens are
those who are or have been at the head of exten
sive business enterprises. Mr. Mattison was a
man of broad capabilities, who carried forward
to successful completion whatever he undertook.
He was born in Shaftsbury on the 22d of De
cember, 1828, a son of Reuben and Eunice (Slye)
Mattison. His great-grandfather, Thomas Mat
tison, came from Rhode Island in the latter half
of the eighteenth century and was the first town
clerk of Shaftsbury, the earliest deed on record in
that town bearing his signature. William P.
Mattison acquired his early education in the pub
lic schools of his native township, supplemented
by a course at North Bennington Academy. For
several years he was employed in teaching at Ben
nington and Hillsdale, New York, but on his re
turn to Shaftsbury he gave his attention to the
manufacture of squares for several years, while
devoting his spare time to the study of law, which
he hoped to adopt as a profession.
On the 9th of August, 1853, Mr. Mattison
was united in marriage to Miss Sarah C. Stickle,
a daughter of William P. and Catherine (Sharts)
Stickle, of Hillsdale, New York, and to them
were born five children, namely : Katherine A.,
now the wife of Charles F. Chapin, of Waterbury,
Connecticut ; Frederick L. ; May V., widow of the
late George A. Bruce, of South Shaftsbury, Ver
mont ; William R., deceased ; and Clayton S. Mat
tison. Some time after his marriage Mr. Matti
son removed to Hillsdale, New York, but in 1861
returned to Shaftsbury and entered the employ of
the Eagle Square Company. He gave much time
to the study of square-making and the improve
ment of the machinery. The company with

which he was connected carried on business as a
partnership concern until 1864, when it was in
corporated, and three years later Mr. Mattison
was elected secretary and treasurer, being pro
moted to the position of vice president in 1883.
In 1880 the plant of the company was destroyed.
by fire, and he was entrusted with the responsible-
task of erecting the new buildings and providing
them with improved machinery. In this he was
very successful, and the company has since been
more prosperous than ever before. He was a man
of good business and executive ability, whose keen
discrimination and sound judgment were shown.
in his capable management of what is to-day a.
leading industrial concern of Shaftsbury.
Politically Mr. Mattison was originally an old-
line Whig and subsequently a Republican from
the formation of that party, and was its candidate-
for many official positions of honor and trust both
in Shaftsbury and Hillsdale. In 1872 he repre
sented his town in the state legislature, and was.
interested in all matters pertaining to the manu
facturing interests of the commonwealth. Six
years subsequently he was chosen state senator
from Bennington county, and while in the upper
house was a member of several important com
mittees. In 1858 Mr. Mattison had the misfor
tune to lose the sight of his right eye by accident,.
which disqualified him for service in the Civil.
war, but his patriotism and loyalty to country
were always above question, and were manifested
in many different ways. He always took a lively
interest in the upbuilding and progress of his na
tive town, to whose material welfare he was so-
large a contributor.
EDWARD WALBRIDGE.
Among the old and honored families of Ben
nington, Vermont, probably none stand higher im
public esteem than the Walbridge family, which
has a worthy representative in the subject of this
sketch, who now occupies the old homestead of
his great-grandfather, General Walbridge, the
house having been erected in 1786. He was born
August 13, 1831, on a farm on the opposite side-
of the river, and in this neighborhood he has made-
his home throughout life, being prominently iden
tified with its agricultural interests. His paternal
grandfather, Stebbins Walbridge, married Betsy

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

229

Denio, who was bo.ni in Greenfield, October 30,
1769, and was a daughter of Seth C. Denio, whose
birth occurred in 1736.
Stebbins D. Walbridge, the father of our
subject, married Harriet C. Hicks, also a native
of Bennington and a daughter of James and
Thedde (Kellogg) Hicks, whose home was in
Bennington Center, where both died, and who
reared a large family, namely: Charles, Uhle,
James, John, Emma, Betsy, Margaret, Mary Ann
and Harriet C. Our subject's maternal great
grandfather, John Hicks, was a prominent figure
in Revolutionary times and assisted in throwing
the tea into Boston harbor. Later he was killed
in the battle of Lexington.
Edward Walbridge spent his boyhood and
youth on his father's homestead farm and was
educated in the common schools of the neighbor
hood. In the meantime gold had been discovered
on the Pacific slope and in 1853 he went to Cali
fornia, landing in San Francisco, whence he went
up the Fraser river, where he was engaged in the
express business. Returning to the Green Moun
tain state in 1859, he took up his residence upon
the old home farm and has since given his atten
tion to agricultural pursuits, owning and operat
ing a fine farm of ninety acres located in a part
of the town formerly known as Walbridgeville.
The Walbridge homestead, now occupied by Mr.
Edward Walbridge and his family, is the house
trected by General Walbridge in 1786. Near its
site was once a thriving village, containing paper,
grist, woolen and iron mills, and here were manu
factured the first steel squares ever made.
On the 28th of January, 1862, Mr. Walbridge
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Sears, a
daughter of Benjamin R. and Betsy (Robinson)
Sears. Her father was a native of Bennington
and a son of Jared Sears, and her maternal grand
father was Colonel Robinson. Her mother died
at the advanced age of eighty-three years. Ben
jamin R. Sears was a prominent contractor and
builder, who erected many churches and dwell
ings in Hoosick Falls and Bennington, and at the
latter place also built the Soldiers' Home. He
built the Hunt, now Holden & Leonard, mill, and
had general supervision of the erection of all
the buildings of that concern, aggregating a cost
of six hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars.
He also took a very active and prominent part in

public affairs, serving as selectman and repre
sentative to the state legislature, and was one of
those who, with George Robinson, started the
project to build the Bennington battle monument.
After a useful and well spent life, he passed away
in 1887 at the age of eighty years. Mrs. Wal
bridge died in 1882, leaving one child, Harriet
Hicks Walbridge, who was then only twelve years
old, but who now presides with grace and dignity
over her father's home, and is a very popular
young lady, having a host of friends. '
In his political affiliations Mr. Walbridge is a
Democrat, and as a public-spirited and progres
sive citizen has taken a commendable interest in
public affairs. He has acceptably filled the offices
of assessor and justice of the peace, and never
withholds his support from any enterprise which
he believes will prove of public benefit. He and
his daughter attend the Congregational church
at Bennington Center, and occupy a prominent
position in social circles.
DORRANCE G. BARNEY.
Dorrance G. Barney, a prosperous farmer of
East Arlington, was born in the house he now oc
cupies, October 19, 1839, a son of Nathan F.
Barney, who was born and lived and died in this
same house. The first one of this name to reach
American soil was Jacob Barney, who came from
England to Salem, Massachustts, in 1634. Jacob
Barney, Jr., married Ann Wilt in 1660. Joseph,
son of the latter, was born March 9, 1673, and
his son, Daniel, was born in 1697, and is said to
have represented Rehoboth in the general court
of Massachusetts for eighteen years. Daniel's
four sons were Daniel, Constant, David and Be-
niah. Constant Barney was born in Rehoboth,
Massachusetts, and there grew to man's estate.
He served as a soldier in the Revolution, being
in the battle of Ticonderoga. He came to Arling
ton, Vermont, as a pioneer, and located on the flat
near Chiselville. He had the following chil
dren : Anna, born August 1, 1754: Molly, Au
gust 2, 1756; Urana, August 30, 1758; Jeffrey A.,
August 31, 1760; Constant, born August 14,
1762, died January 12, 1791 ; Hannah, born Au
gust 29, 1764; Daniel, bora June 17, 1766; Reu
ben, the next in line of descent; Asa, born Sep-

230

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

tember 14, 1770; and Job, born February 10,
1773- Reuben Barney, grandfather of Dorrance G.,
was born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, June 4,
1768, and died at East Arlington, Vermont, in
1844. Coming to this town as a young man, he
bought a tract of heavily timbered land, and clear
ing a space erected the house now occupied by Mr.
Barney, moving into it in 1792. He was a suc
cessful farmer, a citizen of influence, active in
public affairs, and served many years as justice of
the peace, being familiarly known as "Squire"
Barney. He married Molly Hard, who was born
September 25, 1773, in New Milford, Connec
ticut, and died January 28, 1845, m East Arling
ton. She was a daughter of Zadoc Hard, who
came from New Milford to East Arlington at an
early period of its settlement. The Hard family
were Episcopalians, but Reuben Barney and his
family were members of the Baptist church. They
reared a family of eleven children, namely :
Almy, Sally, Lyman W., Zadoc H., Chloe H.,
Job B., Reuben B., Mary Ann, Mortimer F., Na
than F. and Lucy B.
Nathan F. Barney was born April 13, 1813,
and died August 19, 1889. Succeeding to the oc
cupation in which he was reared, he resided on
the old homestead during his entire life, being
profitably engaged in general farming and lum
bering, in addition to which he was engaged to
some extent in manufacturing and speculating.
He was a Democrat in politics, and took an intelli
gent interest in local affairs, serving as selectman
and as lister. He married Fanny Canfield, a na
tive of Arlington, Vermont, and a daughter of
Enos Canfield and a Miss Beers, who were the
parents of eight children : Bingham ; Louis ;
Charlotte ; Maria ; Sarah, now Mrs. McCauley ;
Fanny, who became Mrs. Barney ; Phoebe ; and
Enos. Mr. Canfield and his family were prom
inent members of the Episcopal church, in the
building of which he was very active, even the
children taking such a deep interest in its erec
tion that they went without butter on their bread
that the money thus saved might help pay ex
penses ; Fanny was then a girl of sixteen years.
Of the union of Nathan F. and Fanny (Canfield)
Barney, two children were born, Reuben and
Dorrance G. The mother died January 15, 1890,
aged seventy-five years.

Reuben Barney, the elder son, was graduated
from the Albany Medical College, after which he
was one of the house physicians of Bellevue Hos
pital, New York city, for one year. He served
for one year as a surgeon in the army during the
Civil war, and subsequently located in Schenec
tady county, New York, going thence to Chilli-
cothe, Missouri, where he is now one of the lead
ing physicians. He married Martha Prindle, by
whom he has four children, namely : Reuben, a
physician of Chillicothe, Missouri ; Percy C, a
civil engineer, employed in the Boston navy yard;
Mortimer, a physician, practicing with his father ;
and Hawley, a physician in San Francisco, Cali
fornia. Dr. Reuben Barney is a thirty-second de
gree Mason, and his wife is at the head of a
chapter of the Eastern Star.
Dorrance G. Barney was educated in the com
mon schools of Arlington, and at Burr and Bur
ton Seminary, living beneath the parental roof-
tree until 1866. Starting then in business as a
manufacturer of brush-maker's supplies, he con
tinued until his mill was burned in 1882. Lo
cating then in Arlington, he continued in the same
occupation there until 1885, when that mill, too,
was burned. Nothing daunted, however, he pur
chased another mill, which he operated success
fully until 1890, when he sold out his manufactur
ing interests. Since that time Mr. Barney has
devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits on
the ancestral homestead, and makes a specialty of
dairying and lumbering, keeping a fine grade of
Jersey cattle. He is a Democrat in his political
affiliations, and has rendered the town good serv
ice as selectman, auditor and lister. He and his
family are members of the Episcopal church.
Mr. Barney married, in 1864, Mary Vaughn.
Her father, George Vaughn, a native of Shafts
bury, Vermont, came to Arlington in 1847 an(l
resided here until his death in 1900, at the ad
vanced age of eighty-five years. He was a Dem
ocrat, and held the offices of lister and select
man. He married Emily Parker, who was born
in Sandgate, Vermont, a daughter of George
Parker, who spent his last years in Arlington,
dying when eighty years of age; George Parker
and his wife Alice were the parents of ten chil
dren, namely : Ann ; Lucetta ; Celia ; Alvira ;
Emily, who married George Vaughn ; Hannah ;
Jane ; Alanson ; Washington ; and George ; Mrs.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

231

Parker died at the age of fourscore years, and
both she and her husband were members of the
Methodist Episcopal church. Of the union of
George and Emily (Parker) Vaughn, four chil
dren were born: Curnel, deceased; Parker, de
ceased ; Evelyn ; arid Mary, wife of Mr. Barney.
Mr. and Mrs. Barney have two children,
George M. and Fannie. George M. Barney is
engaged in the insurance business in Portland,
Maine, and is also general agent for the Travel
ers' Insurance Company of Hartford, Connect
icut. He is a very able business man, and presi
dent of the board of underwriters of life insurance
of Portland ; and is prominent in Masonic circles,
belonging to the various organizations from the
blue lodge to the temple of the Mystic Shrine.
He married Lou Dunkin, a daughter of Cap
tain A. A. Dunkin, a schooner captain, lost in
the same storm with The City of Portland dur
ing the great blizzard of 1888. Fannie Barney
is the wife of James Dalgliesh, a florist in Wash
ington, District of Columbia. She is a member
of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
SAMUEL FRANKLIN EMERSON.
Samuel Franklin Emerson, a prominent edu
cator, member of the faculty of the University
of Vermont, a resident of Burlington, Vermont,
is a descendant of one of the oldest and most
honored families of New England, in which
the clerical element has largely predom
inated. The ancestor who brought this name to
shores of the new world, was Thomas Emerson,
of Sedgefield parish, county Durham, England,
who was a passenger on the ship Elizabeth Ann
in 1635, and settled at Ipswich, Massachusetts,
in the Bay colony. He was a man of considerable
property and before long became a landed pro
prietor, for the Ipswich deeds record the transfer
for a farm of one hunder and twenty acres, the
Turkeyshore farm, to Thomas Emerson, in 1638.
In 1646, he was one of the "seven men" entrusted
with the fiscal and prudential affairs of the set
tlement. The family coat of arms was : Per
fessi indentes vert and or a bend engrailed
argent chevron with three lions passant of the
first ; bezanti crest : A demi lion rampant vert
bezanti grasping a battle-axe gules headed
argent. Thomas Emerson's wife's first name

was Elizabeth, and he was the father of seven
children. He died at Ipswich, Massachusetts,
May 1, 1666, bequeathing his property to his
heirs in a curious document of quaint phrase
ology and extreme minuteness of detail, which
is still preserved in the archives of Salem,
Massachusetts. Joseph Emerson, third child of Thomas and
Elizabeth Emerson, was born in England, in
1620. Where his education was received i= not
stated, but it is possible that he may have been
one of the first students of the infant university
of Harvard. He was a clergyman of the Puritan
order. In 1648 he became a freeman of Ipswich,
and in the same year we find him preaching at
York, Maine. He was a resident of Wells and
is on record as "paying submission to Massa
chusetts," for which, we read, he "suffered at
the hands of the Maine magistrates." He seems
to have been a man of the determined disposi
tion which we should lcok for in a c'ergyman of
the seventeenth century in Puritan New Eng
land, for his name appears on a petition to Crom
well, asking him to confirm the jurisdiction of
Massachusetts over Wells. It may readily be
taken for granted that the home government, as
administered by Cromwell, found in the Rev.
Joseph Emerson one of its most vigorous sup
porters. On December 1, 1669, he settled in
Meriden, Massachusetts, but after the destruc
tion of the place by the Indians, he retired to
Concord, where he died January 3, 1680. Mr.
Emerson married Elizabeth Woodmansey. of
Boston, and after her death he took for his sec
ond wife, Elizabeth Bulkeley, daughter of Rev.
Peter Bulkeley, of Concord, Massachusetts, and
they had seven children.
Peter Emerson, third child of Joseph Emer
son and Elizabeth (Bulkeley) Emerson, was, born
at Meriden, Massachusetts, in 1673. He seems
to have been possessed of considerable real
estate, for his name appears frequently in trans
fers of property. He married, November 11,
1696, Anne Brown, daughter of Captain John and
Anna (Fish) Brown, of Reading, Massachu
setts ; he removed to the last named place, where
he died in 1749. He had ten children.
Brown Emerson, fourth child of Peter and
Anne (Brown) Emerson, was born April 16,
1704, at Reading, Massachusetts. He married,

232

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

January 17. 1725, Sarah Townsend, of the same
place, and he died there in 1774, having a family
of ten children.
John Emerson, sixth child of Brown and
Sarah (Townsend) Emerson, was born, or bap
tized, April 5, 1739; the record is undecided as
to which of the events took place on this date,
but as in those days baptisms were usually sol
emnized at a very early age, the uncertainty is
hardly material. He married Katherine Eaton,
and their family consisted of eleven children.
They resided at South Reading and Ashby,
now New Ipswich and Hancock, New Hamp
shire, and Reading, Vermont.
Brown Emerson, seventh child of John and
Katherine (Eaton) Emerson, was born at Ashby,
Massachusetts, January 8, 1778. He graduated
at Dartmouth College in 1802, studied for the
ministry, and in 1 805 was settled at Salem,
Massachusetts, as assistant of Dr. Daniel Hop
kins, pastor of the South Congregational church.
Here he remained until his death, a period of
sixty-seven years, his pastorate probably being-
one of the oldest on record. The fact that he
held this position for nearly three quarters of
a century, a period during which political and
religious questions were powerfully agitating the
whole country, affords abundant proof of the
statement that he was a man of a high order of
physical and intellectual vigor. In 1835 Dart
mouth College conferred upon him the degree of
D. D. Dr. Emerson married, October 29, 1806,
Mary Hopkins, daughter of Dr. Daniel Hopkins,
and became the father of ten children. He closed
his long and useful life, July 25, 1872.
Edward Brown Emerson, third child of
Brown and Mary (Hopkins) Emerson, was born
February 10, 1812. The traits of character
which he early displayed were such that he was
educated with the ministry in view, and at thir
teen he was fitted for college. He was educated
at Dartmouth, graduating in 1832, and went
immediately to Central Seminary, where he grad
uated in 1835. His health preventing him from
entering the foreign mission field, he went as
a home missionary to Maine and then went to
the west, after which he settled at South Canaan,
Connecticut ; Norwich, Vermont ; Heath, Massa
chusetts ; and Monroe, Connecticut. As his
record shows, Mr. Emerson possessed an in

domitable spirit which physical weakness was
unable to subdue, and when incapacitated for
pastoral duties, he opened a school for boys at
Stratford, Connecticut, where he died, January
17, 1888. Mr. Emerson was a man of deep re
ligious character and great mental activity. He
married, May 10, 1841, Ann Lummus, of Salem,
Massachusetts, and six children were born lo
them. Samuel Franklin Emerson, fourth child of
Edward Brown and Ann (Lummus) Emerson,
was born at Norwich, Vermont, August 26,
1850. He graduated from Yale College in the
class of 1872, taught at Stratford, Connecticut,
for three years and graduated from Union Theo
logical Seminary in 1878. This was followed by
two years of study in Tulbingen and Berlin, Ger
many, as fellow of Union Theological Seminary.
He was appointed to the professorship of Greek
in the University of Vermont, 1881 ; received the
degree of Ph. D. from Amherst in 1885, and was
transferred to the chair of history and sociology
in 1889, which he still occupies. He has filled
the pulpits of a number of churches in this sec
tion of the state, and has delivered lectures on
ecclesiastical subjects, in the state and beyond its
boundaries. He married in New York, December 28, 1881,
Mary Brayton Hitchcock, born in Brunswick,
Maine, daughter of Dr. Roswell Dwight and
Elizabeth Anthony (Brayton) Hitchcock. Dr.
Hitchcock was born in East Machias, Maine,
graduated from Amherst and Andover Seminary,
and occupied the chair of apologetics at Bowdoin
College, in Brunswick, Maine, where his daugh
ter, Mary Brayton, was born in the house occu
pied by the poet Longfellow. Dr. Hitchcock
accepted a call to the professorship of church
history in Union Theological Seminary, New
York, and became president of the seminary in
1 88 1. Of Dr. Hitchcock's high place as a scholar
and pulpit orator it is needless to speak. On his
mother's side, Dr. Hitchcock was related to
Longfellow. On her mother's side Mrs. Emerson
was related to the Brayton who founded the cot
ton industry in Fall River. One of her brothers
was a graduate of Annapolis Naval Academy,
and at one time served with Admiral Dewey;
and another brother is a lawyer of New York
city. Samuel Franklin and Mary Brayton

THE . STATE OF VERMONT.

233

(Hitchcock) Emerson have three children, all
born in New York city: R. Dwight Hitchcock,
born January 24, 1884, and will graduate from the
University of Vermont in 1904; Margaret
Longfellow, born April 25, 1886; and Mary
Brayton, born February 1, 1894.
The predominant clerical element in the
Emerson family is notably represented by Dr.
Brown Emerson, of Salem, Massachusetts, his
two brothers, Reuben and Noah, and his two
sons, Edward Brown and Daniel Hopkins, all
being clergymen. His daughter, Catherine,
married a clergyman, and among his grandchil
dren are seven clergymen, including grand
daughters married to clergymen.
HARRY THAYER CUSHMAN.
Prominent in public affairs of Bennington,
now serving as municipial judge, Harry T. Cush
man has left the impress of his individuality up
on public life. He is a man of marked force of
-character, of superior ability in the line of his
chosen profession, and the distinguished posi
tion to which he has attained is the result of
merit, learning and laudable endeavor.
Judge Cushman was born in Bennington, May
6, 1866, his parents being the late J. Halsey and
Martha Louise (Thayer) Cushman. His father,
J. Halsey Cushman, was a native of the Empire
state, but when a young man came to Benning
ton and received part of his education here. He
followed the printer's trade, and later took up
the study of law under the preceptorship of John
L. Stark. After his admission to the bar he con
tinued to engage actively in the practice of law
until the Civil war was inaugurated, when feel
ing that his chief duty was to his country, he en
listed in the Fourth Vermont Regiment, Volun
teer infantry, of which he subsequently served as
-quartermaster. When hostilities had ended and
the preservation of the Union had been won
through the valor of the northern troops, Mr.
Cushman returned to Bennington, and when he
"had recovered from ill health, brought on by the
hardships and rigor of war, he once more re
sumed his law practice. He also became identi
fied with journalistic interests and was editor of
the Bennington Banner until 1877. In his politi
cal views he was a staunch Republican, and was

a ready and convincing speaker, who many times
made political addresses in support of his party
and its principles. He also attended its conven
tions, and exerted considerable influence in the
district in which he resided, but he never sought
the honors or emoluments of public office, his
relations being a freewill offering to his party.
Socially he was identified with Mount Anthony
Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. He married
Martha Louise Thayer, a native of Bennington
and a daughter of Nelson Thayer, who attained
his education in this city and spent the greater
part of his life here. In early years he fol
lowed farming, and at one time was the owner
of a brickmaking plant, winning success in his
undertakings, but in the latter years of his life
he lived in retirement, passing away at the age
of ninety years. His wife bore the maiden name
of Lucretia Elwell, and was born "over the moun
tains." By her marriage she became the mother
of the following children : Edward, who was a
lieutenant in the Union army and was killed at
the battle of Gettysburg; Caroline, who became
the wife of William Riddell ; Oscar; Ruell H. ;
Emeline, who became Mrs. Gould; Mrs. Mary
J. Hamlin; Mrs. Nellie Hughes; Corinna, the
wife of James B. Mecham ; Dexter J. ; Mrs.
Cushman ; and one who died in childhood. All
of the family were members of the Congrega
tional church, and the grandmother of our sub
ject lived to the very advanced age of ninety
years. The parents of Judge Cushman were
also consistent Christian people, and belonged
to the Congregational church. His father died
in 1877, and his mother passed away in March,
1898, at the age of seventy-one yars.
Judge Cushman was their only child, and in
the graded schools of Bennington, Vermont, he
acquired his literary education, entering upon
his business life as a grocery clerk. Before a
year had passed, however, he became an oprator
in the Bennington telephone exchange and was
soon promoted to the position of superintendent,
holding that position until the closing of the ex
change. For a few months he was also in the
office of the Bennington Banner, but, wishing to
make the practice of law his life work, in 1887
he began studying under William B. Shel
don. For three years he continued his reading,
and was then admitted to the practice of law in

234

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

all the courts of the ftate, at the general term of
the supreme court of Vermont in 1890. His ad
vancement in his profession has been continuous,
coming to him in acknowledgment of his thor
ough mastery of the law and his ability in hand
ling intricate litigated interests. Two years
after his admission he was appointed master in
chancery. He formed a partnership with his
former preceptor, and they enjoyed a large and
lucrative practice. Mr. Cushman was one of
the counsel for the defense in the noted case of
State vs. Bent and Roberts, reported in the sixty-
fourth Vermont reports. He was also associate
counsel for the defense in the case of the State
vs. Bradley, an important criminal trial that
attracted wide interest. In the preparation of
his cases he is thorough and exhaustive, and
when he enters the court room he is well equipped
to meet any attack of the opposition. He masters
his points with the skill of a military general,
and while giving due prominence to each detail
he never loses sight of the important point upon
which the decision of every case finally turns.
Judge Cushman was married April 7, 1897,
to Miss Jessie McCullough Temple, the wedding
being celebrated in Bennington. The lady is a
daughter of John and Mary (Eadie) Temple.
Her father was born in Scotland and came to
this city as superintendent of the woollen mills.
He is now living at Mankato, Minnesota,
and % his wife, who was also a native
of the land of the heather, is still spared
to him. They reared a large family, all
of whom, save one who died in infancy,
are yet living, namely : Thomas, who resides at
Fort Plain, New York; Jessie M. ; Mary; Mar
garet ; John, who is also a resident of Fort Plain ;
and Alexander, Lillian, Victoria, William and
Webster, all of Bennington.
In public affairs Judge Cushman has been
very prominent, being well fitted for leadership.
The Republican party finds in him a strong ad
vocate, and as a campaign speaker he did effect
ive service in the presidential campaign of 1892.
He is president of the Young Men's Republican
Club and does everything in his power to pro
mote the growth and insure the success of his
party. Many positions of public honor and
trust have been accorded him. He has been
clerk of the Bennington school district and presi

dent of the village corporation. In 1882 he was
appointed assistant state librarian, and in 1891
served as one of the committee of 'fifty of the Ben
nington Battle Monument and state centennial
celebration, acting as chairman of the committee
which had in charge the entertainment of guests.
His work was performed in a most satisfactory
manner, to the delight of all official guests who
attended the services. He was also one of the
charter members and organizers of the State
Firemen's Association, and was honored with
an election to its presidency in 1892, and re
elected in 1893. He is also an honorary member
of the Stark Hose Company. He continued in
the active practice of law until January, 1894,
when he was appointed clerk of the county of
Bennington, in which office he is now serving.
He is also judge of the municipal court, having
been appointed December 28, 1901, to succeed
Judge Darling, who resigned to become assistant
secretary of the navy. Socially he is connected
with Mohegan Tribe No. 6, I. O. R. M. He is
chief of records in the local tribe, and for many
years has held that office. Viewed in a personal
light, Judge Cushman is a strong man, strong
in personality, in citizenship, in his honor and
in name. Over his record there falls no shadow
of wrong nor suspicion of evil, and he is
held in high regard throughout the state and
wherever he is known, and especially in Ben
nington, the place of his residence, he is greatly
beloved by many friends.
GEORGE WASHINGTON ATKINS
George Washington Atkins, whose death oc
curred October 15, 1902, was a leading repre
sentative of the business interests of Waterbury,
Vermont, where for several years he had been
successfully engaged in the wholesale grocery
business, having been the senior member of the
firm of G. W. Atkins & Son. Of excellent busi
ness and executive ability, he won success by his
well directed, energetic efforts, and the prosper
ity that came to him was certainly well deserved.
A native of Vermont, Mr. Atkins was born
in Duxbury, February 19, 1830, a son of James
and Lucy L. (Locke) Atkins, and grandson of
Timothy and Hannah (Jones) Atkins. The
grandfather, who was a farmer by occupation,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

235

settled on what has long been known as the At
kins homestead on Perry Hill, and there fol
lowed his chosen vocation during the remainder
of his life. In early manhood he married Han
nah Jones, a daughter of Major Jones of Revolu
tionary fame, and they became the parents of nine
children, namely : Horace ; William ; Galen ; Har
ry, who also fought for American independence ;
Albro; James; George, who served with distinc
tion as a captain in the continental army ; Lucinda,
who married Ware Tappan and her son, M. W.
Tappan, became attorney general of the state ;
and Betsey, who married John Adams of Water
bury. All of the sons were over six feet tall and
weighed over two hundred pounds. Their father
was a man of fine physique and unusually
straight. James Atkins, the father of George W., was
born in Claremont, New Hampshire, and when
young learned the shoemaker's trade, which he
followed in Duxbury, Vermont, for many years.
In his family were seven children, as follows :
Charles, Caroline, Mary and Betsey, all now de
ceased ; James Willard, a resident of New Hamp
shire ; Galen Henry, of Owego, New York ; and
George W., of this review.
On reaching manhood George W. Atkins
came to Waterbury, Vermont, in 1854, and en
tered the employ of I. C. & S. Brown, for whom
he clerked twelve years, while during the follow
ing three years he was a member of the firm. At
the end of that period he removed to Burlington
and became associated with Van Sicklen, Sey
mour & Company, wholesale grocers, being a
member of that firm for nine years. He then sold
his interest in the business and returned to
Waterbury, where he formed a partnership with
L. H. Haines, under the firm name of Atkins &
Haines. They conducted a large wholesale and
retail grocery and feed store, and carried on busi
ness together until 1900, when the firm was
changed to G. W. Atkins & Son. They were
among the most enterprising, energetic and pro
gressive business men of the city and enjoyed an
excellent trade.
In 1858 Mr. Atkins was united in marriage
to Miss Amelia L. Brown, a daughter of Amos
Brown, of Milton, Vermont. They had one son,
Fred E., who was born in 1864, and who has
succeeded his father in business. He married

Florence Eddy, by whom he has a son, Harold
S., born February 14, 1888. Mr. Atkins was a
prominent Mason, having been a member of the
blue lodge, chapter, cornmandery and Mystic
Shrine, while religiously he attended the Congre
gational church, and politically was identified
with the Republican party. Beginning life for
himself without capital, he always made the most
of his opportunities, and by straightforward, hon
orable dealing- secured the public confidence and
the public patronage. He accumulated a nice
property, and his life illustrates what can be ac
complished through industry, perseverance, good
management and a determination to succeed.
HENRY GREEN ROOT.
Henry Green Root, deceased, late of Ben
nington, where he was a leading manufacturer
and prominent in political affairs,, was born in
Greenfield, Massachusetts, September 18, 1818,
son of Elisha and Betsey (Moseley) Root. His
early education was received in the public schools
of his native town, and this was supplemented
by a course of study in Deerfield and Fellen-
burg Academies. At the age of seventeen years
he entered the employ of Boynton & Whitcomb
at Templeton, Massachusetts, to learn the manu
facture of tinware. Four years later he formed
a partnership with Luther R. Graves, and soon
after that date they established themselves in
Bennington under the firm name of Graves &
Root. This partnership continued in existence
for more than fifty years, and for a long period
they were the largest manufacturers of tinware
in Vermont. They established the second
national bank instituted in Vermont (now First
National Bank of Bennington), with Mr. Graves
as president and Mr. Root as vice president, po
sitions which they continued to occupy up to
their decease.
Mr. Root took a prominent part in the Ben
nington Battle Monument Association's work
and was chairman of the executive committee
having in charge the centennial celebration of
the famous battle at that place. He was for
more than thirty years a director of the Vermont
State Agricultural Society, and served as presi
dent of that organization three years.
Formerly a Whig, he early cast his political

236

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

fortunes with the young Republican party, and
continued a staunch supporter of that party
throughout his life. He was for several years
a member of the state Republican committee,
of which he was chairman ; and he represented
his town in the legislature in 1850 and 1857. In
i860 he was presidential elector at large from
Vermont, and voted for Abraham Lincoln. In
1866 he was elected to the state senate, in which
body he served two terms. He was always
active in the promotion of Vermont's varied in
terests, and was widely and favorably known
in all parts of the state. From 1857 Mr. Root
was a member of the Congregational church,
and was a member of its board of trustees for
many years, and was president of that board.
On December 23, 1846, Mr. Root was united
in marriage with Catharine L., daughter of
Samuel H. and Sylvia (Squires) Blackmer, of
Bennington. She died in September, 1887. Two
children were born of their union : Samuel H.
Root, now of Dumont, New Jersey; and Kath
erine E., now Mrs. William A. Root. On Jan
uary 23, 1889., Mr. Root married Mary G., daugh
ter of Dr. Nathan and Esther (Conkey) Gale,
of Orwell, Vermont. Mr. Root died June 1,
1899, in San Diego, California, where he had a
winter residence for nine years prior to his
-decease.
PROFESSOR HENRY A. P. TORREY.
Henry A. P. Torrey, deceased, who was a
prominent and influential citizen of Beverly,
Massachusetts, traced his ancestry back to Will
iam Torrey, of Combe St. Nicholas, in the county
of Somerset, England, where he died in June,
1557, leaving a will in which he mentions
Thomasyne, his wife, and every one of his chil
dren v/ithout naming them.
Philip Torrey (2), son of the above William
and Margaret, his wife. His will is dated in
1604; he mentions his son William and daughter
Dorothie, also his wife Margaret.
William Torrey (3), son of Philip and Jane,
his wife. His wife died in April, 1639, at which
date he was still living. The date of his death
is unknown ; his son Philip had previously died.
Philip Torrey (4), son of William and Alice,
liis wife, died in June, 1621, leaving a will dated

April 21, 1621, in which he mentions three
daughters, Anne, Mary and Sarah, and four sons,
William, James Philip and Joseph. The will of
the wife Alice is dated in 1634, and mentions by
name the same seven children, and states that
the daughter Mary was deceased. These four
sons all emigrated to America in 1640, and
located within a few miles of Boston, Massachu
setts, and seem to have been the ancestors of all
the early families of the name in America. Will
iam and Joseph first located in Weymouth, James
in Scituate, and Philip in Roxbury. Although
Philip reared a family, it is not learned that he
had any son to transmit his family name to later
generations ; he died in Roxbury in 1686. Joseph
removed to Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and sub
sequently to Newport, Rhode Island, where he
was prominently active in public affairs ; he died
there in 1675. Nothing is learned concerning his
descendants. James was accidentally killed
by an explosion of powder in Scituate in July,
1664 ; surviving him were five sons and five
daughters. William Torrey (5), of Weymouth, Massa
chusetts, son of Philip, was usually designated
as "Captain William Torrey," having first held
the title of lieutenant and later that of captain.
He was born in Combe St. Nicholas, Somerset
shire, England, in 1608. The church records
show that he was baptized on December 21, 1608.
On March 17, 1629, he was married to Agnes
Combe, of Combe St. Nicholas. She died before
he left England, and he was appointed adminis
trator of her estate. In 1640 he came to America,
bringing with him two sons, Samuel, born in
1632, and William, born in 1638, and settled in
Weymouth, which was thereafter his home. It
is believed that he brought his second wife with
him from England. Six children were born to
him in Weymouth, namely: Naomi, Mary,
Micaiah, Josiah, Judith and Angel. He also
took two small children of his brother James,
after their father's death, and brought them up^
with his own family, namely: Jonathan and
Mary, both of whom are, in some of the records
of early history, erroneously referred to as his
own children. William Torrey was clerk of the
house of representatives, and a distinguished
scholar and author. His "Discourse on Futuri
ties," written in 1687 in the seventy-ninth year

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

237-

of his age, has a preface by the Rev. T. Prince,
which gives an interesting notice of Samuel
Torrey. This pamphlet was published in 1757,.
and a copy is in the hands of Joseph A. Torrey,
of Manchester, Massachusetts, also in the Boston
public library. He died in Weymouth, June 10,
1690. He was the earliest ancestor who resided
in America. Samuel Torrey (6), the oldest son of Captain
William Torrey, was born in 1632 in England,
came to New England when but eight years old,
and attended Harvard College three years, and
would have taken his degree of Bachelor of Arts
in 1650, at the age of eighteen years, but the
college term was then lengthened to four years,
and therefore he and several other students left.
He was an excellent scholar, and was ordained
to the ministry December 14, 1664, or February
14, 1665, to succeed the Rev. Thomas Thacher
as pastor of the Congregational church at Wey
mouth. He was a fellow of Harvard College,
and was elected president in 1684, at the death
of President Rogers, but declined. He married
Mary Rawson May 15, 1657, at Hull. He was
afterward married to Mrs. Mary Symmes, widow
of Captain William Symmes, of Charlestown,
July 30, 1695, at the age of sixty-three years.
There is no record of any children by either mar
riage, and he probably died childless. He
preached over fifty years, and died at the age of
seventy-five years, on April 21, 1707. Five days
before his death he preached at the public feast;
he was a freeman from the year 1669.
William Torrey (6), the second son of Cap
tain William Torrey (5), was two years old
when his father came to America. He inherited
his father's name and estate, and also held
his father's place in the estimation of his
neighbors, was elected to many town of
fices and much respected in the church.
He married Deborah Green, daughter of
John Green, and the following named
children were born to them : William, John,
Samuel, Joseph, Philip, Haviland, Josiah and
Jane Torrey. His death occurred January 11,
1718, and his wife died February 8, 1729. He
was the father of Joseph Torrey — the first of
the long series of members of the family by the
name of Joseph Torrey.
Joseph Torrey (7), the fourth child of Will

iam Torrey, was born in Weymouth in 1678. He
married, March 28, 1704-5 Elizabeth Symmes,
who was a daughter of the Mrs. Mary Symmes
who became the second wife of his uncle, the
Rev. Samuel Torrey. His occupation given in
the probate record is "Trader." His daughters.
were Mary, who married David Lovell, and De
borah, who married David Nash, and is said to.
have "Moved down East." His sons were the
Rev. Joseph and Zachariah, of the latter of
whom little is known except that he was a.
currier of Middletown, Connecticut, in 1738.
Rev. Joseph Torrey (8), from whom all the
Torreys in Killingly are descended, was the
eldest son of Joseph Torrey, and was born in
Weymouth, October 8, 1707. He studied the
ology, and was pastor of a church in South
Kingston, Rhode Island, practicing medicine at
the same time. He married Elizabeth Wilson,
by whom he had seven children : Joseph ; SamueL
Holden; Oliver, who died young; Elizabeth,
Ann, Mary and Lucy. He afterward married
Elizabeth Fisk, daughter of the Rev. John Fisk,
first pastor of the church in Hull, and of Abigail
Hobart, who was a daughter of the Rev. Ne
hemiah Hobart, of Newton. He had eight chil
dren: John, Oliver, William, Abagail, Sarah,
Elizabeth, and two who died young. He had,
thus two wives by the name of Elizabeth, two
daughters Elizabeth, and two sons Oliver. His
death occurred in the summer of 1789 at the age
of nearly eighty-two years.
Dr. Joseph Torrey (9), the eldest son of
the Rev. Joseph Torrey, was born in Killingly,
February 22, 1733. He married, in December,
1757, Hannah, daughter of the Rev. John Fisk
and Abagail Hobart; she was born September-
12, 1728. Seven children were born to them :
Hobart, Nehemiah, Elizabeth, Oliver, Hannah,
Joseph and Lucy Torrey. The father of these
children died February 19, 1804, at the age of
seventy-one years.
Dr. Joseph Torrey (10), the sixth child in
order of birth born to Dr. Joseph Torrey, was
born in North Killingly, March 18, 1768. He
married, March 8, 1794, Mary Cutler, daughter
of the Rev. Manassah Cutler, LL. D., of Hamil
ton, Massachusetts. The following named chil
dren were born to them : Sophia, born in Row
ley, February 19, 1795, died aged six months;.

238

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Joseph, born in Rowley, February 2, 1797 ; Charles
Cutler, born in Danvers July 9, 1798, died in
1827; George, born in Danvers, March 31, 1801,
died in 1854; Augustus, born in Salem, May 12,
1805, died November 1, 1880; Manassah Cutler,
born in Salem, May 7, 1807, died in Pelham,
New Hampshire, in 1837; he was married to
Harriet Atwood, of Pelham, New Hampshire.
The father of these children resided in Rowley,
South Danvers, Salem and Beverly. He was a
physician of note, and his death occurred in
Beverly, December 10, 1850, at the age of eigthy-
two years.
Professor Joseph Torrey (11), the second
child and oldest son of Dr. Joseph Torrey, was
born in Rowley, Massachusetts, February 2,
,1797. He graduated at 'Dartmouth College in
1816 and at Andover Seminary in 1819. He
was ordained a minister of the gospel and in
stalled at Royalton, Vermont, in 1824; entered
the University of Vermont as professor of Latin
and belles iettres in 1827 ; was professor of intel
lectual and moral philosophy in 1842 ; was acting
president of the university from 1862 to 1867.
He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity
from Harvard College in 1850. He married, in
August, 1830, Mary Mosely Paine, who
was born in 1807, daughter of John and Sally
Rice (Pa-jne) Mosely. Their children were:
Mary Cutler, born May 28, 1831 ; Joseph, born
December 25, 1832; Sarah Paine, born December
26, 1834; John Paine, born January 21, 1838,
died July 22, 1863 ; and Muriel Rice, born in
March, 1840, died in infancy. Professor Torrey
died in Burlington, November 27, 1867, aged
seventy years, and his wife died March 23, 1840.
Dr. Augustus Torrey (11), the fifth child of
Dr. Joseph Torrey ( 10), was born in Salem, May
12, 1805. He married Deborah Cox, March 6,
1834. Their children were: Anna Stevens, born
April 10, 1835, died September 28, 1890; Henry
A. P., born January 8, 1837, died September 20,
1902 ; E. Elliugwood, born January 17, 1839 ; Jos
eph Cutler, born June 30, 1841, died February 19,
1881; Samuel W, born December 12, 1843;
Helen M. Stevens, born September 8, 1847 ; and
Augustus, born November 21, 1850, died August
20, 1902. Dr. Torrey died November 1, 1880,
and his wife passed away October 14, 1880, at
the age of seventy-two years.

George Torrey ( 1 1 ) , fourth son of Dr. Joseph
Torrey (10), was born in South Danvers, March
31, 1 80 1. He married Eunice Bowker, daughter
of Joel Bowker, of Salem. Their children were:
Charles Cutler, born January 4, 1827; George,
born in 1830 ; Joseph Augustus, born May 1,
1832; Mary Elizabeth, born in 1834, died in in
fancy ; and Mary Elizabeth, born June 2, 1836.
George Torrey died in Michigan, June 30, 1854.
Joseph Torrey (12), the eldest son of Pro
fessor Joseph (11) and Mary Mosely Paine Tor
rey, was born in Burlington, Vermont, December
25, 1832. He graduated at the University of
Vermont in 1852, and at Andover Theological
Seminary in 1858 ; was ordained pastor of the
Congregational church in East Harwick, Ver
mont, May 30, i860, where he remained fifteen
years. He was then settled in Yarmouth, Maine,
pastor of the First parish in that place. He re
mained there from February, 1875, until Febru
ary, 1885 ; was pastor of the Congregational
church at Bar Harbor, Maine, from 1885 to
October, 1890, when he removed to Lynn, Mas
sachusetts. He resided there for three years,
preaching in various pulpits about half the time.
In 1893 he accepted an invitation to the pastorate
of the Congregational church at Shirley, Massa
chusetts. He married, August 29, 1861, Maria
Thorpe Noble, who was born in Charlotte, Ver
mont, December 19, 1834, a daughter of William
and Ann Noble. Their children were : Joseph,
born in East Hardwick, July 15, 1862; Charles
Cutler and John Paine, born December 20, 1863,
the latter dying in infancy, January 7, 1864;
and Elliot Bouton, born January 7, 1867.
Alary Cutler Torrey, eldest child of Professor
Torrey (11), was born May 28, 1831, in Burling
ton, Vermont, and has made her home there.,
John Paine Torrey, the fourth child of Pro
fessor Joseph Torrey (n), was born in Burling
ton, January 21, 1838; graduatedd from the Uni
versity of Vermont in 1858, and from the Union
Theological Seminary in 1863 ; died in the same
year at Beverly, Massachusetts.
Sarah Paine Torrey, third child of Professor
Joseph Torrey (11), was born in Burlington,
Vermont, December 26, 1834. She married-
Henry A. P. Torrey, second child of Augustus
Torrey, July 13, 1865. Their children are Lucy
Wheeler, born in Vergennes, Vermont, June 13,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

259

1866; Henry Augustus, born in Burlington, Ver
mont, August 29, 187 c; and John Cutler, born
in Burlington, Vermont, April 19, 1876.
Charles C. Torrey, first son of George Torrey
(11), was born January 4, 1827; he graduated
from the University of Vermont in 1849 ; married
Adelaide L. Damon, of Reading, Massachusetts,
in 1854, and their children are : Mary Cutler,
born August 2, 1856, died July 17, 1871 ; Daniel
Temple, born February 2, 1859 ; Sarah Serena,
born September 12, i860; Emily Redington,
born August 10, 1863 ; and John Paine, born
May 13, 1870.
George Torrey, second son of George Torrey,
(11), married Georgiana Garland, and their chil
dren are : Henry Smith and Kate Torrey.
Joseph A. Torrey, third son of George Tor
rey (11), married, April 16, 1862, Charlotte
Amable Parsons, and their child Charlotte was
born February 4, 1863.
Mary Elizabeth Torrey, daughter of George
Torrey (n), married Dr. and Rev. Fred 0.
Barstow, and their children are : Henry Edes ;
Eunice Amy, born in 185 1; Annie Miller, born
in 1854; and Fannie Olney, born in i860.
Dr. Samuel W. Torrey, fourth son of Augus
tus- Torrey (11), married, May 25, 1870, Eliza
beth J. Robinson, of Burlington, Vermont, and
their children are: Mary Cutler, born December
10, 1871 Anna, born October 22, 1875 ; Sarah,
born October 29, 1877 ; Elizabeth, born February
3, 1882; and Margaret, born October 16, 1884.
Helen M. S. Torrey, sixth child of Augustus
Torrey (11), married, June 21, 1871, Alban
George Andren, of Gothenburg, Sweden, and
their children are : Carl Augustus, born March
7, 1874: Thekla, born March 2, 1876; and Helen
Torrey, born May 13, 1877.
Augustus Torrey, seventh child of Dr. Au
gustus Torrey (11), married, June 18, 1878, Let-
tie S. Durant, of Montpelier, Vermont ; their one
child is Lettie, born June 6, 1879. Mrs. Torrey
died June 20, 1879. Augustus Torrey then mar
ried Charlotte Foote.
Henry A. P. Torrey, second child of Dr. Au
gustus (11) and -Deborah (Cox) Torrey, was
born January 8, 1837. His death occurred Sep
tember 20, 1902. His father, Dr. Augustus Tor
rey, translated Neander's History of the Chris
tian Church in five large volumes, and was also

the author of "The Theory of Art," as well as
biographies of Professor James Marsh and Rev.
Worthington Smith.
The death of Professor A. P. Torrey occurred
September 20, 1902.
DAVID C. SMITH.
To discover that the above named has been a
very busy man, it is only necessary to glance at
the occupations which have taken up his time
during his long and useful life. Butchering,
farming, dealing in cattle and selling agricultural
implements constitute his main employment at
present, but further examination discloses many
other things of a varied kind in the catalogue of
his activities. He has served the people often
both in private and public capacities, and it is
nothing more than just to say that he has always
performed the particular service to the best of his
ability. He has held the most important of the
town offices, is now prosecuting agent and justice
of the peace, and has been representative in the
legislature, 1880-1882. His family and himself
are conspicuous figures in all the different depart
ments of church work, and altogether it mav be
said with truth that Mr. Smith has done his full
share in making the wheels of progress go round
and keeping his community well to the front with
those of its class in the state. With these pre
liminary remarks an effort will be made to out
line the main events in the lives of himself and
those intimately connected with him by blood or
marriage. For the purposes of this biography the family
history begins with the grandparents, Wallace
and Sally Smith, who spent part of their lives on
a farm in Rutland county, and had three children,
who, like themselves, have long since passed away.
One of the latter, named Enoch P., was born at
Clarendon in 1792, and when twenty-one years of
age went to the town of Shrewsbury, Vermont,
in the employ of Colonel Finney ; he then farmed
there and in 1865 removed to Shelburne, where
he died in 1876. He was a man of some conse
quence in his native county and rose to the rank
of captain of one of the local militia companies.
He married Lydia Hammond, a native of Mount
Flolly and member of a family quite prominent in
the affairs of Rutland county. Her father, Jede-

240

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

diah Hammond, was a justice of the peace and
lawyer, and represented his town in the legisla
ture for thirteen years away back in the days
when it was necessary to ride horseback to the
state capital. Enoch P. and Lydia (Hammond)
Smith had four children, of whom the two now
living are Mary, a resident of Burlington, and the
subject of this sketch.
David C. Smith, only surviving son of his
parents, was born at Rutland, Vermont, January
8, 1840, spent his early years in Shrewsbury, and
was engaged in farming until 1865, when he ac
companied his father to Shelburne. Since his
arrival in this county Mr. Smith has had a varied
experience on many different farms, spending
periods of three or four years on each, until finally
he settled down to his, present place of two hun
dred acres, where he is engaged chiefly in stock-
raising. He buys and sells cattle both for fatten
ing and dairy purposes, butchers extensively and
keeps a meat market at the village. He also
handles a great many agricultural implements
and keeps on hand a full line of farm tools. Mr.
Smith's political affiliations are with the Repub
lican party, and it is as a representative of that
organization that he has been elected to the many
offices he has filled. He served as selectman for
two terms of three years each and was chairman
of the board during a third of that time. He
was elected lister of the town three different
times, retained the office seven years in all, and
was chairman of the board three years. At the
present time he is prosecuting agent of the town
and justice of the peace, both of which duties are
discharged with the vigor and impartiality that
have ever characterized his official acts. In 1880
the town elected Mr. Smith to the legislature, and
in that body he served as a member of the com
mittee on corporations, proving an active and in
telligent representative. On three different oc
casions his party has honored him by election as
delegate to Republican state conventions, where
his advice has always been valued by the leaders
and workers.
On January 4, 1865, Mr. Smith was married
to Frances Adelaide Smith, a native of Perkins-
ville, Vermont, and daughter of George W. and
Fanny (Fish) Smith. Her father worked in a
woolen factory in early life and later as a car
penter in Shrewsbury, where he died at the age

of seventy-nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
have two children: George E., a merchant at
Shelburne Falls, who married Hattie Havens;
and Fanny, wife of Walter Webster, clerk in a
store of Shelburne village. The family are mem
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church and quite
prominent in itsreligious and philanthropic work.
Mr. Smith has been steward for thirty years,
member of the Sunday-school since childhood and
superintendent for many years. Both Mr. Smith
and wife are teachers of classes, and their chil
dren also take an active part in church work. The
daughter, who has been organist for many years,
is an unusually accomplished lady. She gradu
ated from the University of Vermont and taught
successfully in the high school. The son has
been superintendent and teacher in the Sunday-
school ; he attended a commercial college and ex
hibits much of the talent for business that has
characterized his honored father.
JOHN COLLINS BLACKMER.
John Collins Blackmer, one of the longest es
tablished and most prosperous merchants of
Manchester Depot, was born in this town, Au
gust 25, 1840, a son of the late Hiram J. Black
mer. His paternal grandfather, Jonathan Black
mer, of Connecticut birth and breeding, was one
of the early pioneers of Dorset, Vermont, lo
cating there between 1790 and 1800. He was a
physician, and built up a large practice in his
new home, his ride extending many miles in
either direction. He died while yet in the prime
of a vigorous manhood, at forty years of age. His
wife, whose maiden name was Harmon, and who
was a daughter of Reuben Harmon "the coiner,"
of Vermont historical fame, died at the age of
thirty-nine years, having borne him three chil
dren, none of whom are now living. Dr. Black
mer was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Hiram J. Blackmer lived in Dorset, Vermont,
his native town, until twenty-five years old, ac
quiring his education in the public schools and
in the Bennington Academy. In 1820, at the
age of twenty years, he entered into the mercan
tile business on his own account, continuing five
years. Coming then to Manchester, Vermont,
he was one of the leading merchants of the town
from 1825 until 1852, when be transferred his

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

241

residence and business to Attica, Indiana, where
he continued in business until 1865, thereafter
living in retirement from active pursuits. He
died in 1884, at the age or fourscore and four
years. He married Fannie Collins, who was born
in Manchester, Vermont, a daughter of Elijah
Collins, and granddaughter of Nathaniel Collins,
a native of Connecticut, and one of the thrifty
pioneer farmers of Manchester, Vermont, where
he settled when a young man. Elijah Collins
married Electa Bull, of Manchester, whose father
also came here from Connecticut, and they reared
three sons and two daughters, none of whom sur
vive ; she died at the age of seventy-four years,
and her husband at the age of seventy-five years ;
she was a deely religious woman, and a member
of the Episcopal church. Of the union of Hiram
J. Blackmer and his wife, three sons were born,
of whom John C. is the only one living. Harmon
C, a miner in Colorado, died in 1897; and Col
lins, a bookkeeper, died in Indiana.
John C. Blackmer attended the common
' schools of Manchester, and the Burr and Bur
ton Seminary, after which he was employed as
a clerk in a store in Sunderland for a year. Go
ing then to Indiana, he was in the employ of a
dry-goods house until 1862, when he enlisted in
the Sixteenth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serv
ing in that regiment as private and sergeant ; was
discharged on account of wounds received at
Richmond, Kentucky, and after re-enlisting in
the One Hundred and Sixteenth, served as first
lieutenant and was also first lieutenant in the
One Hundred and Thirty-fifth, to which he was
transferred. He took part in several important
engagements, at Richmond, Kentucky; at Blue
Springs, Walker's Ford and Tazewell, Tennes
see ; and at the siege of Vicksburg. He was mus
tered out in September, 1864. Resuming his
former position in Indiana, he ramained there un
til 1865, when he returned to Vermont, locating
in Sunderland, which was his home for three
years. In 1869 Mr. Blackmer settled in Man
chester, opening a store of general merchandise
at the Depot, which was then but sparsely set
tled, and in the time that has since elapsed has
contributed in no small measure to its growth and
development. He has lent material assistance to
all projects conductive of the welfare of the place,
erecting many buildings, helping lay out streets,
16

and giving such aid as he could to progressive
enterprises. Mr. Blackmer married, in May, 1874, Janet
Pratt, a native of Shushan, New York, where her
father, E. M. Pratt, a merchant, spent his eighty
years of life, and her mother, whose maiden name
was Fanny Lyman, born in Walton, New York,
died at the age of seventy years. Janet Pratt
was the only one of a family of four children to
grow to years of maturity. Mr. Blackmer is a
Republican in politics, and a member of the Epis
copal church. He has been postmaster at Man
chester since 1874, save during President Cleve
land's second administration. He belongs to
Skinner Post, No. 24, G. A. R., of which he was
commander for ten years ; he is a member of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion, and Ad
oniram Lodge, F. & A. M., of Indiana. Both Mr.
and Mrs. Blackmer are members of the Eastern
Star, Mrs. Blackmer having held all the offices
in the chapter, and served as grand matron of
the state of Vermont. She was also department
president of the Women's Relief Corps, of Ver
mont, and was regent of the local chapter of the
Daughters of the American Revolution, and has
been especially active and interested in the cause
of temperance as a member of the Woman's
Christian Temperance Union of Vermont. Man
chester Depot has a Camp of Sons of Veterans
named Lieutenant J. C. Blackmer Camp No. 60.
CHARLES EDMUND MINER.
Charles Edmund Miner, of Burlington, well
and favorably known in commercial and financial
circles during a long and active life, is a lineal
descendant of one of the oldest families known in
the history of New England. He traces his line
age through the male line in England uninter
ruptedly from the year 1346, to the time of the
immigration of his earliest American ancestor,
who was Thomas Miner (1). Thomas Miner
was born in Chew Magna, Somersetshire, Eng
land, April 23, 1608, and died in Stonington,
Connecticut, October 23, 1690. Thomas Miner
came to America in his twenty-second year, in
Governor Winthrop's company, leaving England
at the port of Yarmouth, in the ship Arabella,
April 8, 1630, and arriving at Salem, Massachu
setts, June 12. He marched- through the woods

242

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

to Charlestown, where he afterwards became one
of the leading men of the colony, and foremost in
establishing the first church there. The family
probably removed to the Connecticut colony in
1646. April 23, 1633, Thomas Miner married
Grace Palmer. Next in line of descent is Cle
ment (2), born April 23, 1640, who married, No
vember 26, 1662, widow Frances Willey. He died
in October, 1700, and she died January 6, 1672.
William Miner (3), son of Clement, born No
vember 6, 1670, married in 1691. His son Cle
ment (4) was born in 1696, married Esther Lee
in 1723, and their son Andrew (5), born in 1725,
married Priscilla Bosworth, of Norwich, Con
necticut, November 4, 1749.
Roswell (6), son of Andrew, was born Sep
tember 25, 1753. He was a Revolutionary war
soldier, and served in New York and on Long
Island, and participated in the battle of White
Plains. He married Zibeah Cotton, who was
born April 5, 1760. The pair removed to Shel
burne, Vermont, and purchased land there, under
a deed bearing date May 5, 1794. This land has
been owned ever since by their direct descendants,
and is now (1902) in possession of their great-
grandson, Charles Edmund Miner.
Roswell Miner died November 15, 1809, and
his wife died May 15, 1834, and their remains,
with those of several of their children, repose
in the cemetery about one mile west of the home
stead farm. Their children were Samuel, Ros
well, Philander and others.
Samuel Miner (7), oldest son of Roswell
Miner, was born June 19, 1783, and died May 15,
1854. November 19, 1812, he married Azubah
Boynton, who was born January 6, 1790, and
died June 22, 1821. Their children were : Mar
tin Luther, born September 12, 1813 ; Sarah
Adelia, born July 25, 1816; Lydia Sabriah, born
January 31, 1819; and Ruth P., born June 12,
1821. Martin Luther Miner (8), eldest son of Sam
uel Miner, was a highly respected resident of the
town of Shelburne, and was a life-long supporter
of the Methodist church of that town. He was
married June 10, 1838, to Clarinda Crossman,
who was borri July 30, 1808. Their children
were Aurelia Azubah, born July 15, 1839, and
Charles Edmund, born August 4, 1842. Martin

Luther Miner died July 11, 1882; Clarinda C.
Miner died December 24, 1895.
Charles Edmund Miner (9), only son of Mar
tin Luther Miner, was reared upon the homestead
farm and received his education in the neighbor
ing schools, supplemented by a mercantile course
in Bryant and Stratton's Commercial College,
Burlington, Vermont. He engaged in wholesale
business for many years, residing in Burlington,
A^ermont. He married Mary Frederica Griffin,
of Williston, Vermont, February 11, 1873.
Through his ancient and honorable ancestry,
Mr. Miner is a member of the Society of Colonial
Wars and the Society of the Sons of the Amer
ican Revolution. He is also a member of the
Algonquin Club of Burlington, Vermont. A life
long Republican, he has been associated with the
various civic and national reforms to be credited
to that party.
CAPTAIN J. O. LIVINGSTON.
Captain J. O. Livingston was one of the few
soldiers of the Civil war who received a gold
medal from Congress in recognition of bravery.
He was also for many years a well known lawyer
of Montpelier, and is now living retired. To the
soldiers who fought and suffered, giving several
of the best years of their early manhood to the
preservation of the country under whose flag
they were born, — to these heroes, universal trib-
bute of gratitude is given, and it is fitting that
their patriotic services should find mention in the
annals of county, state or nation.
Captain Josiah O. Livingston was born in
Walden, Vermont, February 3, 1837, and is a
son of Wheaton and Melissa M. (Burbank) Liv
ingston. He was reared by his sister, Mrs. Far
rington, of Walden, and was educated in trie com
mon schools and in the academy at Morrisville;
Vermont, thus acquiring a good literary educa
tion. Determining to make the practice of law
his life work, he then became a student in the
office and under the direction of the firm of Gleed
& Hendee, well known attorneys, and in 1861 he
was admitted to the bar. He entered upon the
practice, but could not long content himself to
remain at home while the country was endan
gered by the spirit of rebellion in the south.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

243

It was, therefore, in May, 1862, that Captain
Livingston offered his services to the govern
ment, and was assigned' to Company I of the
Ninth Vermont Volunteer Infantry. He was
commissioned a lieutenant, and his regiment was
mustered into service July 9, 1862. He partici
pated in the battle of Harper's Ferry, and was
there, taken prisoner, but was afterward paroled.
Subsequently he was sent to Chicago, Illinois,
with his regiment, where he was engaged in
guarding prisoners until March, 1863, when he
went to Fortress Monroe, acting as escort to pris
oners who were to be exchanged. He afterward
took part in the siege of Suffolk, about that time.
In September, 1863, his regiment was assigned
to Fortress Monroe and Yorktown, and later to
the Department of North Carolina, and there re
mained until August, 1864. In September, in
the latter year, he joined General Butler's army,
on the James river, and on the 29th of September
he was at the attack made on Richmond. He like
wise participated in the battle of Chapin's Farm
and Fair -Oaks. On the 2d of February, 1864, his
regiment was guarding the railroad from New-
"bern, North Carolina, to the coast. The guard
consisted of about three hundred and fifty guns,
and" they withstood the approach of an army of
three thousand men. Withstanding the enemy
as. long as possible, the Union troops were with
drawn across Newpont river, and, under concen
trated fire, Captain Livingston (then adjutant)
with Lieutenant Jewett and Lieutenant Peck, of
the same regiment, set fire to and destroyed the
county road and railroad bridges, and saved the
Union troops from capture. For this gallantry
Congress awarded him a gold medal. He was
¦commissioned first lieutenant on arriving at the
front, in October, 1862, and was detailed as regi
mental adjutant. He served as adjutant until
October, 1864, when he was commissioned cap
tain of Company G, and was mustered out with
the rank of captain on the 9th of June, 1865.
Mr. Livingston's health had become some
what impaired during his arduous army service,
but as soon as possible he resumed the practice
of law, establishing an office in Orange county,
Vermont, where he remained until 1869, when
he removed to Montpelier, and was an active
member of the legal profession until 1884, when
he retired to private life.. He has filled the office

of city assessor for twenty years, and was also
a grand juror six years.
On the 15th of November, 1866, occurred the
marriage of Mr. Livingston and Miss Alice M.
Kent, daughter of Ezekiel and Minerva A.
(Curtis) Kent, of Calais, Vermont. In his po
litical affiliations the Captain is a Democrat, and
socially he is connected with several civic and
military organizations. He belongs to the Ma
sonic fraternity, and was commander of Brooks
Post, G. A. R., four years, while for four years
he served as adjutant general of the department.
He is likewise a member of the Loyal Legion,
and of the Society of the Medal of Honor. ' As
a citizen, he is patriotic and public-spirited, and
is found as true to-day to his country and her wel
fare as he was when he wore the nation's
blue uniform and protected the stars and stripes
upon southern battlefields.
LOUIS POMEROY GLEASON.
. Louis Pomeroy Gleason, of Montpelier, is
conspicuously identified with the mercantile in-'
terests of this section of Washington county as
head of the firm of L. P. & H. C. Gleason. He
was born in Warren, Vermont, September 15,
1 84 1, a son of Huzzial Gleason, and grandson of
Winsor Gleason. He comes of substantial New
England stock, being a descendant in the fifth
generation from Isaac Gleason, a native of
Peterboro, New Hampshire, and in the fourth
generation from Elijah Gleason, a life-long resi
dent of the same town.
Winsor Gleason was born in Peterboro, New
Hampshire, and was there reared to agricultural
pursuits. Subsequently removing to Langdon,
New Hampshire, he carried on farming and
lumbering until his death. He married, first, in
Peterboro, his cousin, Sarah Gleason, by whom.
he had five children, namely: Mary, Winsor,
Curtis, Laura and Joseph. He married, second,
Martha Follett, who bore him three children,
Huzzial, Solomon and Horace.
Huzzial Gleason was born on the paternal
hometsead, in Langdon, New Hampshire, in
February, 1802. Leaving home at the age of
seventeen years, he came to Wraitsfield, Vermont,
where he secured work as a farm laborer. Be
ing industrious and prudent, he accumulated

244

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

money, which he invested in land, and was there
engaged in tilling the soil on his own account
until 1827, when he exchanged that farm for one
in Warren, Vermont. Removing to that town,
he carried on general farming with excellent re
sults until 1873, when he sold his farm, and
settled in the village of Waitsfield, where he
lived retired until his death, in 1889. At the
time of the Civil war he served as selectman of
Warren, where for many years he was a deacon
in the Congregational church. In 1827 he mar-,
ried Emily H. Richardson, daughter of .James
Richardson, and a lineal descendant in the sev
enth generation from Thomas Richardson, the
immigrant ancestor, the line of descent being
thus given: Thomas, Nathaniel, John, Caleb,
Captain John, James and Emily H. Captain
John Richardson (5), born in Roxbury, Massa
chusetts, February 11, 1737, was a soldier in the
Revolutionary war. He married, first, in 1757,
Ruth Sawtelle, and married, second, Rebecca
Moore. James Richardson (6) was one of the
three original proprietors of Warren, Vermont,
removing there from Templeton, Massachusetts.
The maiden name of his wife was Adah Hinds.
Emily H. Richardson (7) married Huzzial
Gleason, and they became the parents of four
children, as follows : James Richardson, born
December 28, 1828, is a well-to-do merchant in
Waitsfield, Vermont, and a citizen of prominence,
having been town clerk for forty years, post
master for thirty-three years, and a representa
tive to the state legislature ; Carlyle Johnson, de
ceased, was for many years a lawyer in Mont
pelier; Emily M., died unmarried; and Louis
Pomeroy, the special subject of this sketch.
Louis P. Gleason acquired his early educa
tion in the district schools, and at the West
Randolph Academy, afterwards beginning his
business career as clerk in a store at Waitsfield.
Coming to Montpelier in 1861, he clerked in the
postoffice for some time, and in 1863 secured
a situation as clerk in the dry-goods establish
ment of J. W. Ellis & Company, remaining with
the firm in that capacity until 1869, when he
was admitted to partnership, becoming junior
member of the firm of Ellis & Gleason. He sub
sequently bought out the senior member of the
firm, and carried on the business alone for
awhile, afterward taking a partner, the firm

name being L. P. Gleason & Company, but, since
the admission to the firm of his nephew, L. P.
&'H. C. Gleason. In addition to carrying a com
plete stock of dry-goods, Mr. Gleason added,
in 1886, a line of furniture, and established an
undertaking department, carrying on both suc
cessfully until the present time, being now one
of the foremost merchants of Vermont. He is,
a director of the Vermont Mutual Fire Insur
ance Company, and a member of the standing
committee. He has served as vestryman in the
Episcopal church for many years, is a Democrat
in politics, and a member of the Masonic
fraternity. On February 22, 1870, Mr. Gleason married
Anna Louise Timothy, daughter of Helon B.
and Louisa (Smith) Timothy, who removed
to Niagara, New York, when their daughter
was young. Mr. and Mrs. Gleason are the
parents of three children, namely : One that died
in infancy; Carlyle Joslyn, a graduate of Am
herst College, and of the Harvard University
Law School, is now in New York city; and
Frederick Elijah, a student at Yale University.
GEORGE GRENVILLE BENEDICT.
George GrenviUe Benedict, of Burlington, edi
tor in chief of the Burlington Free Press, and
well known for his literary work in historical
fields, is descended in both ancestral lines from
English immigrants of the early colonial times.
The paternal ancestry begins with Thomas Bene
dict, who landed in Massachusetts Bay in 1638.
He married Mary Bridgum, who came over in
the same ship with him ; he later moved to Long
Island, where he was a magistrate, legislator,
lieutenant in the Jamaica company of foot infan
try, and a pillar in both- the church and the com
munity. From him have descended upwards of
thirty-three hundred Benedicts, whose names ap
pear in the "Genealogy of the Benedicts in Amer
ica" published at Albany, New York, in 1870.
The line of direct descent to George G. Benedict
is as follows: Thomas Benedict, born in 1617,
married Mary Bridgum, and they had five sons
and four daughters. John, second son of Thomas,
born in Southold, Long Island, was a freeman of
Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1680, selectman in
1689, a deacon in the church, and representative

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

245

in the general assembly in 1722 and 1725; he
married Phebe Gregory of Norwalk, and they
liad six sons and a daughter. James, fifth son of
John, born in Norwalk, January 5, 1685, was an
ensign, captain, justice of the peace for Fairfield
county, representative for the town of Ridge
field, Connecticut, a general assemblyman for the
colony for nine years between 1740 and 1752,
and deacon in the church ; he married Mary Hy
att, of Norwalk, and they had four sons and
five daughters. Peter, the eldest son of James,
was born in Ridgefield, March 20, 1714, and re
sided in North Salem, Connecticut, being a dea
con in the church ; his wife was Mrs. Agnes (Ty
ler) Heaton, of Branford, Connecticut, and they
had five sons and three daughters.
Abner, the third son of Peter, was born in
North Salem, November 9, 1740. He graduated
from Yale College, studied theology with the fa
mous Dr. Joseph Bellamy, was pastor of the Con
gregational church in Middletown, Connecticut,
for fourteen years, during which period he pro
cured the emancipation of all the slaves held in
his parish. He was chaplain of a Connecticut
regiment in the continental army in the Revolu
tion, and was in the retreat from Long Island and
in the battles at White Plains and Harlem.
Among his writings was a treatise on submarine
-navigation for war purposes which antedated by
a hundred years the methods now used in the
navies of the United States and Europe. He
married Lois Northrop, of New Milford, Con
necticut, and they had two sons and three daugh
ters. Joel Tyler, oldest son of Abner, born at Mid
dletown, Connecticut, September 6, 1772, was
admitted to the bar of Fairfield county, Connec
ticut, in 1794. Six years later he became a Pres
byterian clergyman and was settled successively
in several churches in his own state and New
York. He was chaplain of the Twenty-fifth Reg
iment of Connecticut militia, and was a promi
nent divine and eloquent preacher. He married
Currance Wheeler, of Southbury, Connecticut,
who bore him four sons and two daughters.
George Wyllys, oldest son of Joel Tyler, was
born at Stamford, Connecticut, January 11, 1796,
and graduated from Williams College in 1818.
"He was" tutor in that college three years and was
then principal of the academy in Newburgh,

New York. In 1825 he became a professor in
the University of Vermont, to which position he
gave twenty-three years of the prime of his life,
filling successively the chairs of mathematics,
natural philosophy and chemistry. He was also
for many years secretary of the board of trustees
and treasurer of the corporation. In 1847 he-
organized the Vermont and Boston Telegraph
Company and built the first telegraph line from
Burlington to Boston by way of Montpelier and
Concord, New Hampshire, also lines from Bur
lington to Montreal, and to Ogdensburg, New
York, and from Springfield, Massachusetts, to
St. Johnsbury, Vermont. In 1853 he became the
chief proprietor and editor of the Burlington
Daily and Weekly Free Press, and retained his
connection with the paper for thirteen years. In
1 814 he served in Captain J. Howell's company
of New York militia which marched for the de
fense of New York against the British. He was
twice elected state senator, in 1855 and 1856. He
married Eliza Dewey, of Sheffield, Massachu
setts, and six sons were born to them. The sec
ond of these sons was George GrenviUe, whose
paternal ancestry has thus been shown, and he
is also of colonial lineage on his mother's side,
whose family will now be traced.
Thomas Dewey, the first settler, came to Bos
ton from England in 1633, as is supposed, from
Sandwich, near Devon. , He became a freeman
in Dorchester, Massachusetts, May 14, 1634, and
later moved to Windsor, Connecticut, where he
was married to Mrs. Frances Clarke, March 22,
1639. He was cornet of the town troop and a
deputy to the general court of Connecticut. His
second son, Josiah, was the ancestor of Hon.
Charles Dewey, of Montpelier, Vermont, and of
Admiral George Dewey, of Manila fame. Jed
ediah, the fourth son of Thomas, born in Wind
sor, Connecticut, December 15, 1647, was mar
ried about 1671 to Sarah Orton, of Farmington,
Connecticut, and they removed to Westfield, Con
necticut, where he was cornet of the town troop.
James, the ninth child of these last named par
ents, was born April 3, 1692, in Westfield, Con
necticut, and married Elizabeth Ashley, who be
came the. mother of nine children. Stephen, the
oldest son of James, born in Westfield, Connecti
cut, May 13, 1 7 19, was one of the earliest set
tlers in Sheffield, Massachusetts. He was a cap-

246

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

tain in Colonel William AVilliams' regiment
of infantry, raised for the invasion of Canada in
1758, and was also captain in Colonel Jonathan
Smith's regiment of Massachusetts infantry in
the war of the Revolution, serving at New York
in 1776 and at Saratoga in 1777; he married
Joanna Taylor, and they had ten children.
Stephen, Jr., the oldest of these children, born in
Sheffield, Massachusetts, September 8, 1760,
married Elizabeth Owen, who bore him two sons
and seven daughters. Eliza, their third daughter,
was born in Sheffield, October 5, 1793, and on
June 5, 1823, married George Wyllys Benedict.
These two lines of descent thus converge and
meet in George GrenviUe Benedict, the second
son of the last mentioned parents, who was born
in Burlington, Vermont, December 10, 1826. He
prepared for college in the academy in Burling
ton; was graduated from the University of A7er-
mont in 1847; and in 1850 he received from the
same institution the degree of Master of Arts.
After leaving college he was a teacher in the
Washington Institute in New York city for about
a year, and for the three years following was oc
cupied in building and superintending the lines
of the Vermont and Boston Telegraph Company,
of which company he was president from i860
to 1865. He became associate editor and propri
etor of the Burlington Free Press in 1853. He
has been postmaster of Burlington, and from
1889 to 1893 was collector of customs of the dis
trict of Vermont under President Harrison.
In August, 1862, Mr. Benedict enlisted as a
private in Company C, Twelfth Regiment Ver
mont Volunteers. In January following he was
promoted to a lieutenancy and was subsequently
detailed as aide-de-camp on the staff of General
George J. Stannard, commanding the Second
Vermont Brigade. He received a medal of hon
or, awarded by Congress for distinguished con
duct in the battle of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. He
was mustered out of service, July 14, 1863. He
later served as assistant inspector general of state
militia with the rank of major, and in 1866 was
aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor Paul Dil
lingham, with the rank of colonel.
On returning from the field, Colonel Benedict
resumed his connection with the Burlington
Free Press in the capacity of editor in chief,
which position he has occupied to the present

time, a period of nearly half a century. He has
been president of the Vermont Press Association,
president of the Vermont Historical Society,
president of the Vermont Society of Sons of the
American Revolution, governor of the Vermont
Society of Colonial Wars and state military his
torian, in which capacity he prepared the his
tory of 'Vermont in the Civil War," in two vol
umes. He also published "Vermont at Gettys
burg," and a volume of army letters entitled
"Army Life in Virginia."
In 1869 he was elected state senator from
Chittenden county, serving on the committees on
educational and military affairs. He was re
elected for the following term, and served upon
the same committees, being chairman of each of
them. He is a member of the Grand Army of
the Republic and of. the Military Order of the
Loyal Legion. He has been for thirty-sev.en
years a trustee and secretary of the University of
Vermont, and has also served as school commis
sioner of Burlington. As an active Republican,
he has been secretary and chairman of the state
committies of his party,' and a delegate to state
and national conventions. One of his brothers,-
Judge Charles L. Benedict, was for thirty-two-
years United States judge of the eastern district
of New York ; another brother, Robert D., is the
acknowledged leader of the admiralty bar of
New York ; and another, B. L. Benedict, has been
for many years clerk of the United States circuit
court in the eastern district of New York.
Mr. Benedict was married in 1853 to Miss
Mary A., daughter of Edward Kellogg, Esq., of
Canaan, New York; she died in 1857, leaving
a daughter, Mary Frances. In 1864 he was mar
ried to Miss Katharine A., daughter of the Rev.
Calvin Pease, D. D., of Rochester, New York,
and ex-president of the University of Vermont.
A daughter who was born to them died in infancy
and a son, Professor George Wyllys Benedict,
of Brown University, Rhode Island, was born
January 12, 1872.
ARTHUR G. EATON.
Arthur G. Eaton, cashier of the First Na
tional Bank of Montpelier, Vermont, was born
in Calais, Vermont, December 1, 1862, a son of
Arthur G. Eaton, Sr. He comes of early colonial

THE STATE OF A^ERMONT.

247

ancestry, being a direct descendant in the ninth
generation from John Eaton, the immigrant, the
lineage being thus traced : John, John, Thomas,
David, David, Jacob, Sylvester C, Arthur G,
Sr., Arthur G.
John Eaton (1), with his wife Abigail, came
from England to Massachusetts in 1635, settled
first in Watertown, then moved to Dedham,
where both united with the church in 1641, and
where his death occurred, November 17, 1658.
John Eaton (2) was born im Watertown, Massa
chusetts, in 1636, but later removed with his
wife Alice to Dedham. Thomas Eaton (3) was
born in 1675, probably in Dedham, Massachu
setts. In 1697 he married Lydia Gay, and re
moved to Woodstock, Connecticut, where his
six younger children were born. In 1723 he be
came a resident of Ashford, Connecticut, where
he lived until his death, in 1748. He was a black
smith by trade^ and a large landowner. He
united with the church in 1735. David Eaton
(4) was born in Woodstock, Connecticut, in
1706. He was an active church member, and
prominent in town affairs, serving as constable,
collector and selectman. The line was continued
through his first wife, Diana Davis, of Concord,
David Eaton (5) born in Ashford, Connecti
cut, August 4, 1738, removed to South Hadley,-
Massachusetts, thence to Hanover, New Hamp
shire. He was sergeant during the Revolutionary
war under General Jonathan Chase. The line of
descent was continued through his union with
his second wife, Abigail Curtis. Jacob Eaton
(6), born at South Hadley, Massachusetts,
March 12, 1766, settled in Calais, Vermont, in
1816. Of his union with Lydia Babbitt, eleven
children were born, Sylvester C. being the tenth
child. Sylvester C. Eaton (7) was born in Hard
wick, Vermont, in 1809. He studied law, and
practiced his profession in Plainfield, Vermont,
until 1845, when he entered the ministry of the
Universalist denomination, settling first in Straf
ford, Vermont. He was subsequently appointed
state missionary, being located in different
places in the state, including Hartland, Hard
wick and Northfield, residing in the latter place
until his death, January 7, 1886. He married
Marcia Jane Hall, who was born July 16, 1815,
a daughter of Jonathan Chase and Lydia

(Payne) Hall, and a lineal descendant in the
sixth generation, on the paternal side of Edward
Hall, a proprietor of Rehoboth, Massachusetts,
in 1658, and his wife Hester, or Ester, the line
being continued through Benjamin and Sarah
(Fisher) Hall, Benjamin and Betty (Black)
Hall, Nathaniel and Prudence (Chase) Hall,
Jonathan Chase and Lydia (Payne) Hall, and
Marsia Jane Hall. Her paternal grandmother,
Prudence (Chase) Hall, was a daughter of
General Jonathan Chase, of Revolutionary, fame.
Arthur G. Eaton (8) was born in Plainfield,
Vermont, November 2, 1836. Reared on the
home farm, he obtained his education in the dis
trict school, and at the academy in Glover, A^er-
mont. During the Civil war, in July, 1862, he
enlisted in Company I, Ninth Vermont Volun
teer Infantry, went to the front with his regi
ment, was taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry,
and after being paroled was sent to Chicago,
Illinois, where his death occurred, November
8, 1862. He married, in 1858, Ellen M. Chace,
by whom he had three children, namely: Fred
erick L. ; Euloeen M., wife of Frank N. Field,
of Chicopee, Massachusetts ; and Arthur G., the
subject of this biographical sketch. Ellen M.
(Chase) Eaton was born in C,a\ais, Vermont,
October 2, 1839, a daughter of Nelson Chase.
Nelson Chase was born in Petersham, Massa
chusetts, February 18, 1802. He subsequently
located in Calais, Vermont, where he was a sur
veyor and farmer until 1835. Coming then to
Montpelier, he became junior member of the
firm of Marsh & Chase, manufacturers of pianos
and musical instruments, continuing in the busi
ness six years. Returning to Calais in 1841, he
became active in public affairs, serving as town
clerk a number of terms ;" as registrar ten years ;
and as judge of probate. He died in 1882. His
wife, whose maiden name was Hicks, was a
daughter of Gideon Hicks, who married Sally
Peck, of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and became
a pioneer of Calais, A'"ermont, where he cleared
and improved a good farm. They reared six
children, and Clarissa, the eldest child, became
the wife of Nelson Chase. She died in 1884.
Arthur G. Eaton (9) was brought up in
Montpelier, where his widowed mother removed
with her family in- 1864, and received his edu
cation in the Washington county grammar

248

THE STATE OF A^ERMONT.

school. Beginning the battle of life as clerk in
a book and stationery store, he remained in that
position two years. In 1885 he entered the First
National Bank as a clerk, and was subsequently
promoted throught the intermediate positions
until he became cashier of the institution, an im
portant -position that he has ably filled since
1895. February 10, 1881, Mr. Eaton enlisted in
Company H, Vermont National Guard, serving
in various offices, such as corporal, sergeant,
-sergeant major, lieutenant and captain. At the
breaking- out of the Spanish-American war,
serving as regimental adjutant, he went south
with his regiment, serving under Colonel Clark
from May 16 until October. Fraternally he is
a member of the Aurora Lodge, F. & A. M., ;
and of the Apollo Club. He is a member of the
Unitarian church. Mr. Eaton married, October
14, 1 89 1, Alice Drew, daughter of Henry W.
Drew, of Montpelier, Vermont.
CHARLES H. MASON.
In a profession in which advancement de
pends upon individual merit, upon close appli
cation and unfaltering- effort, Charles Henry
Mason has gained high standing, being recog
nized as one of the leading lawyers of Benning
ton. He was formerly judge of the municipal
court, and upon the bench his decisions were fair
and impartial, winning him the confidence and
approval of the public and the profession. He
is numbered abong the native sons of the Green
Mountain state, his birth having occurred in
Royalton, March 3, 1856. His father, Henry
Mason, was a native of AA'oodstock, Connecticut,
born in 1819, and was a son of Sally (Morse)
Mason, also a native' of Woodstock, and her
father was a brother of Samuel F. B. Morse,
of telegraphic fame. Henry Mason, the father
of our subject, was reared and educated in his
native city and afterward came to Vermont, lo
cating in Royalton. He spent his last years up
on a farm and died at the age of forty. He had
one sister, Mrs. Sarah Crocker, and she is still
living. He married Jerusha Mosher, who was
¦"born'in Royalton, a daughter of Nicholas Mosher,
a farmer and trader, who spent his entire life
at Royalton, where he died at the age of sixty-
seven years. Nicholas Mosher had six children :

Charier, of Fitchbury, Massachusetts ; Chester,
now deceased ; Sarah ; Betsey ; Nancy ; and
Amanda. Mrs. Mason, the mother of our sub
ject, is still living, making her home in Hart-
' ford, Vermont, at tlie age of seventy- four years.
She holds membership in the Methodist Episco
pal church, with which her people are all identi
fied. Judge Mason pursued his education at Royal-

OHARLES H. MASON.

ton Academy and the State Normal School in
Randolph, and at the age of sixteen he began
teaching in Royalton. Later he followed the
same pursuit in AVoodstock and Barnard, and
subsequently went to AVichita, Kansas, where he
spent a year in his position. His health failing
him, he returned to the State Normal at Ran
dolph, and upon his recovery began the study
of law under the direction of N. L. Boyden, of
Randolph, Vermont. Later his preceptor was
William C. Johnson, of AVoodstock, and subse
quently he studied in the office of D. C. Denison,
of Royalton, being admitted to the bar at the
May term of the Windsor county court in 1883.
He located in Bennington the same year, and for

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

249

almost two decades has been identified with the
legal profession of this city. He was village at
torney from 1884 to 1 89 1 ; in 1885 he was ap
pointed municipal judge to fill out an unexpired
term. In 1886 he was elected to that office and
served until 1887, when he resigned. Through
the three succeeding years he was village at
torney, and in 1891 he was elected state's at
torney, receiving the entire vote of the county
save sixty-three votes; he served for a term of
two years in that capacity. He has been most
loyal and capable in the discharge of his official
duties, winning high commendation on account
of the promptness and fidelity with which he
has met the public obligations devolving upon
him. In 1889 Mr. Mason was united in marriage
to Miss Milissa Huling, a daughter of Daniel
Huling. Her grandfather, Daniel Huling, Sr.,
was of English descent and on coming to Ver
mont located in Shaftsbury, whence he removed
to Bennington, his death occuring in this place
when he had attained the age of eighty years.
He invested his money in western land and be
came very wealthy. His wife, who bore the
maiden name of Henrietta Vaughn, was born in
Shaftsbury, Vermont, and they became the par
ents *of ten children, of whom three are still
living; Milo and Columbus, who are residents
of North Bennington ; and Anna, the wife of
the late Franklin Blackmer, of Bennington
Center. The mother of this family died at the
age of seventy years. Daniel Huling, Jr., the
father of Mrs. Mason, was a farmer and money
broker and spent his entire life in Bennington,
where he became very prominent in politics as
well as successful in business. He married
Sophrona Chase, who was born in Whitingham,
Vermont, and was a daughter of Samuel Chase,
whose birth occurred in the same town. Samuel
Chase was a farmer by occupation and spent his
last days in Bennington, where he died at an ad
vanced age. His wife, who in her maidenhood
was Betsey Clement, was born in Dracut, Massa
chusetts, near Lowell, and by her marriage be
came the mother of six children, but only two
are now. living, the son being Pelham Chase, of
Iowa, while the daughter is Mrs. Huling, the
mother of Mrs. Mason. Mr. Huling, the father
-of Mrs. Mason, passed away at the age of fifty-

seven, but his widow still survives him and has
reached the age of fourscore years. In their
family were three children: Mrs. Mason; Ed
ward C, of Chicago; Henrietta, now Mrs.
Julian Starrett, also a resident of Chicago. The
parents were members of the Baptist church and
were people of the highest respectability and
worth. In his political views Mr. Mason is an earnest
Republican, having supported that party since
age gave him the right of franchise. He is
identified with the Masonic fraternity, being
made a Mason in Rising Sun Lodge No. 7. He
subsequently affiliated with Mt. Anthony Lodge
No. 13 (Bennington), in which he has held all
the chairs. He is also a Royal Arch Mason.
He belong to Mohegan Tribe No. 6, I. O. R.
M., and in many of its official positions he has
rendered to the order capable service. In ad
dition, Judge Mason is a member of the Benevo
lent and Protective Order of Elks, Fish and
Game Club, and was an honorary member of
Custer Post G. A. R. Mr. Mason is a lover
of fine horses and owns some of the best in
the state. His chief source of recreation is in
dirving some of the representatives of his stables.
He is well known in Bennington, where he has
long made -his home, and at the bar he has gained
high rank. His mind is analytical and inductive.
In reasoning he is sound and logical, and in the
presentation of a case and before court or jury
he is strong and forceful, winning many nota
ble decisions in favor of his clients. Of the two
important murder cases tried by Judge Mason,
the defendant whom he prosecuted is now serv
ing a life sentence, while the one who was de
fended by him was sentenced, but after two years
was pardoned.
HENRY PEARL HICKOK.
The annals of Burlington, through the pro
gressive nineteenth century, would be incom
plete without a sketch of him whose name intro
duces this review, for through many decades
his career was inseparably interwoven with the
industrial and commercial life and the social,
educational and moral advancement of the city.
Samuel Hickok, father of Henry Pearl
Hickok, came to Burlington at an early day, and

250

THE STATE OF A^ERMONT.

entered upon a successful business career which
gave him prestige as one of the leading mer
chants throughout the northern part of the state.
For half a century he was thus identified with
the commercial interests of Vermont, and
through this channel his son was introduced
into the busy affairs which largely make up the
sum of human existence. Mr. Hickok died in
1849. Henry Pearl Hickok, son of Samuel Hickok,
was born August 27, 1804, in Burlington, Ver
mont, at the family residence, then at the corner
of Main and St. Paul streets. Having pursued
his preliminary education in the schools of Bur
lington, Henry P. Hickok matriculated in the
University of Vermont, and was graduated in
that institution in the class of 1827. At the time
of his death he was one of the oldest living
alumni. He studied theology at Yale College
and Andover Seminary with the intention of de
voting his life to the ministry, and, throughout
the years' of his manhood he was a most earnest
supporter of the cause of Christianity. For a
year or two he supplied the pulpit of the Con
gregational church in Georgia, Vermont, and of
a church in Peru, New York, but his father's
retirement from business, combined with his own
failing health, led him into other fields of labor,
and for almost fifty years he was a most import
ant factor in the business life of his native city.
It was in 1855 when Mr. Hickok formed a
partnership with H. W. Catlin under the firm
name of Hickok & Catlin and succeeded to the
ownership of the store which had long been his
father's property. Marked business 'ability, ex
ecutive force and sound judgment made him a
prosperous merchant, and the firm met with most
creditable and gratifying success. But the efforts
of Mr. Hickok were by no means confined to one
line of endeavor, and his wise counsel guided to
successful completion many of the industrial.
and financial interests of Burlington. In 1852
he was instrumental in organizing the Pioneer
Mechanics' Shop Company, the pioneer indus
trial concern of the city. The manufacturing
prosperity of Burlington dates from that time,
and has been both continuous and reliable. Mr.
Hickok was one. of the donors of the land oc
cupied by the first great pioneer shop building,
became the heaviest stockholder and the presi

dent of the company, and in time, purchasing
the interests of the others, the sole proprietor.
In 1858 there occurred a disastrous fire which de
stroyed the building and its ccntents, causing a
loss of one hundred and fifty thousand do'lars
to the owners and lessees. Mr. Hickck then be
ing the principal stockholder suffered greatly
through this disaster. Later he sold what re
mained of the plant to Lawrence Barnes, but
always remained a friend of the manufacturing
interests of the city and was interested to a
greater or less extent in various enterprises. To
his efforts was due the organization of the
Winooski Lumber Company, at the falls, a steam
mill being erected at Underhill and extensive
business there carried on. Writb the banking in
terests of the city his name is also inseparably
interwoven. In 1854, when the Merchants'
Bank, having suffered losses, was on the eve of
failure, he, with other prominent citizens, went
to the rescue and supplied additional capital to-
once more place it upon a paying basis. He was
then elected president, and under his able admin
istration it entered upon a prosperous era which
continued until 1865, when, on the adoption of
the national banking system, the Merchants',
with largely increased capital, was merged into
the Merchants' National Bank, which continued
to hold its place as the leading and most reliable
financial institution of the city. Mr. Hickok
remained as president of the latter from the time
of its organization until his death in 1884, and
through this services of more than twenty years
he bore an unassailable "reputation and won a
name for the bank which any similar institution
might well envy. He possessed keen insight;.
was an exceptionally gocd judge of men; was-
ambitious, yet safely conservative; and, above
all, was honorable, even in the small transactions,
defrauding no one of a single cent. Such quali
ties cannot fail to secure success.
Mr. Hickok was a man of well rounded char
acter, who, though controlling extensive busi
ness interests, yet found time for the develop
ment of his intellectual and moral nature. The
cause of education ever found in him a warm
friend, and with a marked appreciation of its real
value he did all in his power to promote the
cause of the schools of our land. To his labors
is largely attributable the formation of the Union

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

25 r

high school district, which served as a foundation
upon which was reared the superstructure of the
present school system of Burlington. He was its
first clerk, and in 1852 became a trustee of the
State University, in which office he was con
tinued until his death, a period of thirty-two
consecutive years. He was secretary of the Uni
versity from 1853 until 1862, and a member of
its executive committee for eighteen years, and
in these various official connections he performed
most effective and beneficial service. His time,
talent and money advanced the welfare of that
institution of learning, and the influence and re
sult of his labors in that direction are most far-
reaching. Mr. Hickok was for twenty years one of the
most prominent members of the First Congre
gational church, and when his father, the elder
deacon Hickok, died in 1849, he was elected to the
vacant position, in which he served until the or
ganization of the Third Congregational church in
i860. He was one of the leaders in the movement
which resulted in the formation of the latter, a
work which was rendered expedient alike by the
growth of the community and by the' increase of
the First church. Upon the formation of the
new society he was chosen one of the first three
deacons and also a member of the prudential
committee, holding both offices until his death.
He was the largest contributor to the original
building fund of the society, to its parsonage
fund, and, for many years, to the annual ex
penses of the church. All that he could do to
advance the cause of the church was done will
ingly and gladly. He responded freely to the
requests for aid that came from the different
benevolent organizations of the church and from
the missionary societies, but above and beyond
this were his private benevolences, frequently
known only to himself and his God. Not the
slightest ostentation was connected with his
giving, and his charity was not only to relieve
some temporal want, but often consisted of that
help which goes from man to his brother man,
enabling him to better meet the trials and diffi
culties of life. Such a spirit prompted him to
assist many young men to secure college educa
tions and business positions, and not a few of
Burlington's citizens owe their rise in the world
to the aid which he gave them in the beginning

of their careers. Loyalty to his country was
manifested at all times, yet he never sought or
desired office and never occupied a public posi
tion, save in 1852, when he represented his dis
trict in the state legislature.
Mr. Hickok married, in 1834, Maria Buell,
daughter of Colonel Ozias Buell, of Burlington,
A'ermont. She was born in Kent, Connecticut,
and after coming to Burlington, Vermont, at
tended school where the Van Ness Hotel now
stands. Between the Unitarian church and the
school house at that time extended a dense pine
grove, covering what is now the business center
of the city, and only an old path marked the
course among the trees to the place of, learning.
Mrs. Hickok was her husband's associate, con
fidante and active co-worker in all things, and
their home life was rendered ideal by Mr.
Hickok's devotion to her and to their only child,
Harriet B. In connection with this description
of Mr. Hickok's domestic relations may be men
tioned the fact that his sister, Eliza, who took a
great interest in all religious matters and benev
olent undertakings, was of great assistance to
him in all his enterprises in this direction. A
biographical sketch of the Rev. Edward Hunger
ford, who was related by marriage to the family
of Mr. Hickok, will be found elsewhere in this
volume. Colonel Ozias Buell, father of Mrs. Hickok,.
belonged to one of the oldest and most prominent
families of Burlington, whither he went from
Litchfield, Connecticut. Colonel Buell was a
man well known and highly respected, not cnly
for his social standing and his connection with
the militia, but for his active interest in religious
matters, an interest which he manifested in many
ways, and notably in donating the land where the
Winooski avenue church now stands. Mrs.
Buell, his wife, had a daughter, who married
George P. Marsh, United States ambassador to
Constantinople, and later to Greece and Italy,
making his home in Florence, and afterward in
Rome, where he died, having represented the
United States government there for twenty-two
years. In 1881 Mr. Hickok sustained a severe be
reavement in the death of his wife, a bereave
ment which was the more keenly felt by reason
of his advancing age and failing health. Not-

252

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

withstanding these hindrances, he attended to
his business duties and church work, as far as
his strength permitted, to the last. He died in
1884, at the age of eighty years, and any monu
ment erected to his memory and to commemorate
his virtues will have become dim and tarnished
by time ere the remembrance of his noble ex
ample will cease to exercise an influence upon
the community in which he lived and labored to
such goodly ends.
ALFRED ANSON BYINGTON,
If one desires to gain a vivid realization of the
rapid advancement made in the development and
substantial upbuilding of the section of Vermont
with which this publication has to do, he may
listen to the stories and reminiscences of men
who are still living here, and whose memories
constitute an indissoluble chain linking the earlier
days with this later epoch of prosperity and
proud accomplishment, as the twentieth century
swings in to the cycle of the ages. The subject
of this review, one of the prominent and influen
tial farmers of Chittenden county, and one who
has well upborne the prestige of an honored name,
is a native son of the Green Mountain state and
a representative of one of the old and distin
guished families of New England, with whose
history the name became inseparably linked in the
colonial days, being intimately concerned in the
formation of the grandest republic the world has
ever known. It is well that records concerning
such sterling families be perpetuated on printed
pages, and in accomplishing this end works of
this nature exercise their maximum usefulness
and prove of permanent value from an historical
standpoint. Alfred A. Byington, well known as the owner
of one of the model farms of Charlotte, is a native
of Williston, Chittenden county, Vermont, where
he was born on the 17th of April, 1830, so that
lie has now passed the psalmist's span of three
score years and ten, but in this vigorous mental
and physical make-up he sets at naught the state
ment further made by the scriptural writer. He
is a son of Anson Byington, the place of whose
birth was in Hinesburg, Vermont, and who was
long numbered among the prominent and hon
ored farmers of this town. He died in Charlotte,

January 16, 1 870, at the venerable age of eighty-
two years, one .of the revered patriarchs of the
community in which he had lived and labored to
so goodly ends. He was a son of the Rev. Justus
Byington, who was born in Great Barrington,
Massachusetts, on the 7th of April, 1763, being
in turn the son of David Byington, who was born
in Branford, Connecticut, February 17, 1734, and
removed to Waterbury, Connecticut, where he
was a manufacturer of wheels used in woolen
factories ; he was a soldier in the Revolutionary
war, and died in Farmington, Connecticut.
The father of David Byington was David
Byington, born in Branford, November 30, 1702,
and the son of John Byington, of Branford — a
weaver. Rev. Justus Byington, the grandfather,
was a valiant soldier in the war of the Revolu
tion, in which he rendered yeoman service in
securing to the colonies independence from the
English crown. He enlisted three times, the first
time at the age of fourteen. He resided for a
number of years in Hinesburg, thence removing
to Charlotte and finally taking up his abode in
Morley, St. Lawrence county, New York, where
he passed his declining days, his death occurring
on the 22d of April, 1839, at the age of seventy-
six years. He took unto himself a wife, in the
person of Miss Lucy Hinsdill, who was born in
Canaan, Connecticut, on the 2d of August, 1759,
and who died at Morley, New York, on the nth
of November, 1852, having long survived her
husband and having been ninety-three years of
age at the time of her demise. Of this union were
born ten children, all of whom are now deceased.
In order of birth they are as follows : Anson,
born January 6, 1788; Lucy, December 16, 1790;
Archibald, September 7, 1792; Milo, August 7,
1794: Orrilla, September 7, 1796; John, October
8, 1798; Betsey, September 17, 1800; Lorain,
July 18, 1802; Justus, July 9, 1805; and Wesley,
December 28, 1807.
Anson Byington, the father of our subject,
was born in the town of Hinesburg, as has al
ready been noted, the date of his nativity having
been January 6, 1788. He was first married to
Miss Lorrin McEwen, and they had one child,
Teresa P., who was born September 14, 1807,
and became the wife of John Halsey, of Lisbon,
New York. After the death of his first wife An
son Byington married Miss Theoda Cunningham,

^ sf. s3(,~^^

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

253,

who was born on the 9th of September, 1787, and
who died in Williston in 1850. Fourteen chil
dren were born of this union, as follows : Hiram
Fayette, born January 22, 1813; Maria Mary,
May 9, 1814; Norman Hensdili, September 20,
1815; Laura Lemira, December 28, 1816; Alme-
dea Amanda, March 16, 1818; Harry Harmon,
March 28, 1819; Alma Amanda, August 28,
1820; William Worth, January 9, 1822;
Myron Monroe, May 18, 1823; Sidney
Seymour, September 13, 1824; Lucy Lavina,
June 4, 1826; Hiram Hubert, October 8,
1827 ; Emily Ermina, October 18, 1828 ; and Al
fred Anson, April 17, 1830. Of this number the
subject of this sketch is the youngest, and is
one of the three who survive, the others being
his brother William, who is a resident of Elkhorn,
Wisconsin, and Emily Ermina, who first married
William H. French, of Williston, Vermont, and
after his death became the wife of William H.
Lewis, of Lynn, Wisconsin. Anson Byington de
voted practically his whole life to agricultural
pursuits, being thus engaged for a number of
years in Hinesburg, later in Williston and still
later in Nicolville, while his last days were passed
in Charlotte, where he died January 16, 1870. He
was a man of marked individuality and sterling
integrity, commanding uniform confidence and
esteem, and while a resident of Williston he
served in a number of local offices of trust and
responsibility. Being a protectionist and an ad
mirer of Henry Clay, his political support in his
earlier years was given to the Whig party, but
during the latter years of his life the great ques
tion of slavery becoming one of the most mo
mentous which the nation has ever been called
upon to face, and to him the institution was utter
ly odious, so that he became one of the stanchest
of abolitionists. He was one of the original
organizers of the old Liberty party, casting his
vote for Gerrit Smith, of New York, for Presi
dent in 1848, and subsequently for John P. Hale,
of New Hampshire, for the same office, in 1852 ;
but when the Republican party was organized in
1856 he voted for John C. Fremont for Presi
dent. He and his wife were devoted members of
the Congregational church in Williston, and he
was one of the effective local preachers of the
same, ever being moved by a deep humanitarian
spirit.

Alfred A. Byington, who figures as the imme
diate subject of this review, passed his youthful
days in Williston, receiving his early educational.
training in the common schools there maintained
and in the Williston Academy, supplementing the
same by a course of study in the Academy at
Bakersfield, which was conducted under the-
supervision of a Mr. Spaulding, an able instructor
and one who stood high in the educational circles-
of the day. After leaving school Mr. Byington
put his scholastic requirements to practical test
by engaging in teaching, in which line of en
deavor he did successful work in the district
schools of Williston and Hinesburg. It was about
this time that the discovery of gold in California
became exploited throughout the Union, drawing
so many venturesome spirits to the Pacific coast
in search of the treasure of the new Eldorado.
Our subject became thoroughly imbued with the
prevailing gold fever, and, in 1850, joined the
band of argonauts who went to California by the
Panama route, where he arrived in due course
of time, after having endured the dangers and
hardships necessarily incidental to such a journey
in the memorable period. Mr. Byington remained"
in California until 1857, and he gives many inter
esting reminiscences in regard to the stirring life
of the pioneer days in the Golden State. He re
calls the fact that at one time milk sold for one
dollar a gallon and potatoes at sixteen dollars per
bushel, while other supplies demanded equally
high prices, so that, while many of the miners -
made large amounts of money, a very consider
able portion of their hard-earned gold was neces
sarily expended in the- procuring of provisions.
In 1857 Mr. Byington returned to the east
by the Panama route, and upon reaching his na
tive county he turned his attention to farming,
having operated farms in Hinesburg and Shel
burne until 1869, when he took up his abode on
his magnificent homestead, which comprised
four hundred acres and which immediately ad
joins his present home farm, whose area is two
hundred acres. On the farm first mentioned,
he continued to reside until 1893, when he re
moved to his present place, which is improved
with excellent buildings, erected by him, and
which has all the conveniences and accessories
of a truly model farmstead, the land being ex
ceptionally productive by reason of the scientific-

254

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

methods employed in its cultivation, while the
owner also devotes particular attention to dairy
ing, in which department of his farm enterprise
he has met with corresponding success, his place
being pointed out as one of the best farms in the
state ; its attractiveness is the greater by reason
ot its beautiful location, a fine view being com
manded of the mountains and of Lake Cham
plain, the picturesque sight being a source of
never-lessening pleasure to those appreciative
¦of the beauties of nature.
On the 6th of September, 1858; Mr. Bying
ton was united in marriage to Miss Mary A.
Marsh, who was born in Hinesburg on Septem
ber 27, 1834, being a daughter of Hon. Joseph
Marsh, who there passed the greater part of his
life, engaging in farming, his death occurring at
the age of seventy-eight years. Mr. Marsh was
more familiarly known as Judge Marsh, having
"been associate judge of the county court for a
number of years. He was honored by his towns
people by being elected several times a member
of the legislature and also state senator and to
other honorable positions. He was for many
years, until his death, a deacon of the Congre
gational church. He was born in Hinesburg,
Vermont, while his wife was born in Williston,
Vermont, her maiden name being Maria Taylor,
and she died April 19, 185 1. They became the
parents of three daughters and three sons, and
one of the daughters still survive, Jennie, the
¦wife of Frederick Maeck, of Hinesburg, who
died in 1887. To our honored subject and his
¦wife have been born six children, concerning
-whom we enter brief record as follows : Charles
M., who was born in Hinesburg on the 10th of
February, i860, married Agnes Frost, and they
have three children, Merle E., Alfred Stanley
and Bemice A., the family home being the for
mer residence of 'his father in Charlotte, Vermont.
Jennie M., who was born in Hinesburg on the
31st of August, 1862, was married in 1883 to
•George W. Prindle, and they reside in East
'Charlotte, having three children, Leon D., Jessie
E. and Lester M. Burton L., who was born in
Shelburne on the 2nd of March, 1866, married
Alice Williams, in Charlotte, and they reside on
the Marsh farm in Hinesburg, being the parents
¦of three children, Marsh M., Hazel A. and Janice
J. Anna L., who was "born fm Shelburne, Ver

mont, June 22, 1868, is at home. Ethel S., who
was born in Charlotte on the 8th of March, 1871,
is now at home. Percy F., the youngest of the
children, was born in Charlotte on the 5th of
September, 1876, and is also at home. All of
the children received excellent educational ad
vantages and all were successful and popular'
teachers for varying intervals with the exception
of the youngest, who has never engaged in ped
agogic work.
Mr. Byington identified himself with the Re
publican party at the time of its organization
and has ever continued a stanch advocate of its
principles and policies, while he has taken an
active interest in public affairs and been given
gratifying evidences of local confidence and es
teem, since he has not only served as selectman,
of which office he was incumbent for three terms,
but also as lister for two terms, as justice of the
peace for a full decade and school director for
the first five years of the town system, he was
also honored in being elected to represent his
town in the legislature of the state in 1890, prov
ing a valuable member of the legislative body
and bringing to bear a strongly deliberative
mind and a mature judgment in representing the
interests of his constituents and the people of
the state at large. He and his family have been
for many years zealous members of the Congre
gational church. Mrs. Byington passed away
on the 4th of April, 1898.
GEORGE L. LINSLEY.
George L. Linsley, deceased, who for many
years was a prominent factor' in the commercial
interest of Burlington, Vermont, came from an
old and distinguished family. The first members
spelled their name Linsly, as shown by old papers
and documents. In the early days the Linsleys
owned almost all of Addison county, Vermont,
and ranked as the most prominent family in the
county. Not only certain traits of character have
been handed down to succeeding generations,
which have marked them as successful men, but
the family names have been carefully perpetuated
to show that those who have borne them before
can be looked back upon and regarded with just
pride. The first of whom there is any record in
America, was Abiel Linsley, whose immediate

THE STATE OF A^ERMONT.

255

family came from England ; Abiel Linsley was
born in 1700. He had a son Abiel, who was born
in 1730, and another son Jacob, who was born in
1747. Abiel who, previous to the Revolution, was
engaged in trade with the Indians on the borders
of Lake Erie, settled in Cornwall, Vermont, soon
after the war ended; he died May 17, 1800, aged
seventy years.
Judge Joel Linsley, son of Abiel, Jr., was born
in Litchfield, Connecticut, February 7, 1756.
Early in the year 1775 he settled at Cornwall,
Addison county. A^ermont. From the history of
Cornwall published in 1862 is taken the follow
ing: "Early in 1775 the Hon. Joel Linsley, of
Waterbury, Connecticut, made a pitch on the lot,
on which he continued to reside until his death.
His first dwelling, like those of his neighbors, a
log cabin, was sixty or eighty rods west of that
in which he afterwards lived. He became an ex
tensive landowner, having acted as surveyor, and
thus became familiar with the unoccupied lands.
His work as a surveyor began early in 1775."
When Ticoncleroga was abandoned»to the British
in 1777, the settlers all fled to the south and did
not return until after the war was ended. In*
the winter of 1774 about thirty families came into
the town of Cornwall from Connecticut. The
town was organized and Joel Linsley was elected ,
town clerk, in which position he served the town
for thirty-five years. He represented the town
in the general assembly from 1793 to 1797, in
clusive, also in 1799 and 1801, and in 1808 and
1809. He was assistant judge of Addison county
court from 1793 to 1800, and chief justice of the
same court from 1801 to 1806, and was a member
of the constitutional convention of 1793. He
was also a prominent Mason of the Union Lodge
in Middlebury. Judge Linsley belonged to that class of men
whose energy, enterprise and intelligence go far
in forming the character of the town in which
they live. In every office he held, his duties were
discharged with marked ability and faithfulness.
His cheerful disposition, quaint humor and love
of anecdote were prominent traits of his char
acter, and won for him many friends, among
whom was numbered Ethan Allen of Ticonder-
oga fame. His personality was a striking one,
his complexion being dark and swarthy, and his
hair very black. Judge Linsley had a brother

Horace, whose sons were Gilbert F., Darius M.,
Horace and Joel.' Judge Linsley married Lavinia
Gilbert, who bore him eight children: Sally,
Betsy, Horace, Joel Harvey, Gilbert, Charles, Lu
cius and Julius. He died February 13, 1819,
Joel Harvey Linsley, D. D., one of Judge
Linsley's sons, was born July 15, 1790. He was
first a student for the bar, and was admitted and
practiced for some years ; afterwards, not finding
this profession congenial, he studied for the min
istry and commenced preaching. He was in
stalled as pastor of the Park Street church, Bos-
tonj four years, and for ten years afterward was
president of the Marietta College, Ohio. He pre
pared for college at the Addison county grammar
school, and under the instructions of the Rev.
Jedidiah Bushnell. He received the degree of
Doctor of Divinity in 1837.
Charles Linsley, son of Judge Joel Linsley,
was born August 29, 1795, in Cornwall, and was
educated for a mercantile life, and was thus en
gaged for several years. But his tastes led him
into a different calling, and he entered the legal
profession. He was for many years engaged in
an extensive practice in Middlebury, Vermont,
and received appointments to several responsible
positions. He moved to Rutland, but later re
turned to Middlebury. As a lawyer he was
learned, profound and forceful ; was a keen ob
server and ranked with such men as Daniel Chip-
man. Judy and Phelps, Horatio Seymour, Rob
ert B. Bates, and Peter Star. Under the admin
istration of President Polk he was made district
attorney of Vermont for four years, and under
President Buchanan, collector of the district. He
was railroad comptroller of the state in 1856, and
a member of the legislature of 1862, when he re
turned to Middlebury. At the opening of the
Rebellion he took the side of the government, and
gave it his most earnest support until the day of
his death. He was an earnest Christian, and was
confirmed in St. Stephen's church by the Rev.
Bishop Hopkins in June, 1834. He married Miss
Sarah Chipman, who was born in 1805 ; her fa
ther, Daniel Chipman, born in Salisbury, Connec
ticut, October 22, 1763, moved to Middlebury,
A^ermont, in 1794, later to Ripton, Vermont,
where he resided until his death and became one
of the representative citizens of the town.
George L. Linsley, son of Charles and Sarah

256

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

(Chipman) Linsley, was born April 2, 1833, in
Middlebury, Vermont, where he resided until he
was eighteen years of age, receiving an academ
ical education. He then went west, and in con
nection with his brothers D. C. Linsley and
Charles J. Linsley, entered upon his first railroad
enterprise, the construction of the Illinois Central
Railroad. Shortly afterward he was engaged in
the construction of a railway from Danville to
Lexington, Kentucky, after which, with his fa
ther and brother, he purchased and conducted for
several years a large farm in Kankakee, Illinois.
In 1859 Mr. Linsley returned to Burlington, and
with his brother, D. C. Linsley, built the branch
of the A^ermont and Canada road from the central
dock in Burlington to Essex Junction. The tun
nel under North avenue was opened at this time,
and soon after the completion of this work, in
company with his brother, D. C. Linsley, he built
a further link of the Vermont and Canada road
extending from St. Albans to St. John, province
of Quebec. Mr. Linsley again returned to Bur
lington and located what has become the longest
established coal business in the city, having an
office south of the Central Vermont depot ; he was
engaged in that branch of trade up to the time
of his death, carrying on a large jobbing as well as
retail trade.
In 1865 Mr. Linsley ai*d his brother, D. C.
Linsley, and Messrs. Luther Whitney, of Keese-
ville, and S. S. Churchill, began the construction,
in the northern section of the lumber district, of
the mills known as Linsley's Mills, which were
operated for several years under the firm name of
S. S. Churchill & Company. The mills were
erected for the purpose of sawing bridge timber
from squared timber from Canada, which prod
uct was shipped to all points in New England.
As the lumber business of Burlington increased.
facilities for dressing lumber were added and for
a number of years the firm conducted a thriving
trade in this, line. In 1872 the Central Vermont
Railroad Company increased its freight yard to
such an extent that more room was needed to ac
commodate the increasing business, and the large
plot of land near the mills was filled in under
Mr. Linsley's personal supervision. Flumes were
constructed, and water being pumped from the
lake against the bluff west of the Battery, tlie
sand was carried down on to the lake shore. In

this way nearly fifteen acres of yard room were
practically redeemed from the lake. In 1880 Mr.
Linsley was appointed general manager of the
Burlington and Lamoille Railroad, a position he
held up to the time of his death, being retained by
the Central Vermont after the road passed into
the hands of that corporation. Mr. Linsley was
also a director for many years of the Burlington
Gaslight Company ; in his business relations he
was always regarded as thoroughly honorable and
upright, and a man of the strictest integrity. Hev
was a member of St. Paul's church of Burlington,
and served for a number of years as a member of
the vestry.
On October 19, 1864, Mr. Linsley was mar
ried at St. Paul's church in Boston, Massachus
etts, to Miss Faustina A. Wright, who was born
in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, a daughter
of George S. Wright, who was born at Westford,
Massachusetts, in the year 1805, and was suc
cessfully engaged for a number of years in the
lumber, sash and blind trade in Burlington, Ver
mont; subsequently he removed to Nashua, New
Hampshire, where his death occurred in the sev
entieth year of his age. Mr. Linsley died Novem
ber 20, 1899, in New York city, in the fifty-sev
enth year of his age ; the remains were brought to
Burlington, and the funeral services were held in
St. Paul's church, Burlington, Vermont. He was
survived by his widow and a daughter, Mary
Chipman, wife of Dr. E. L. Saunders, of Hart
ford, Connecticut, who is engaged as a surgeon
on the Massachusetts nautical training ship, the
Enterprise.
REV. SAMUEL NELSON JACKSON.
The Rev. Samuel Nelson Jackson, M. D., is a
retired Congregational minister living in Bur
lington, Vermont. He is the second son of Ho
ratio Nelson Jackson and Eliza Maria Hollister,
and was born in Brome, province of Quebec,
Canada, December 21, 1838. His grandfather,
the Rev. John Jackson, born in 1771, was a na
tive of Petersham, Massachusetts, and a graduate
of Dartmouth College in 1792. He was ordained
the first pastor of the Congregational church at
Gill, Massachusetts, in 1798, and there his chil
dren, five sons and three daughters were born.
His wife, Rebecca Rogers, was the daughter of

[//2>x^*-^**^ /2.j?£X~£^A£*2<0'>£-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

257

Josiah Rogers, a wholesale merchant in New Ips
wich and Petersham, Massachusetts, and at one
time paymaster in the Revolutionary war. She
was born in 1771, and died in 1855. I*1 l&12 the
Rev. John Jackson removed with his family to
the eastern townships of what was then known as
Lower Canada. He purchased a farm of three
hundred acres in Brome, and for several years
was one of the pioneer preachers in those towns.
He died there in 1844. Four of his sons pos
sessed themselves of adjoining farms which be
came known as "The Jackson Neighborhood,"
while a fifth was a medical practitioner in the
village. Horatio Nelson Jackson, the father of the
subject of this sketch, born in 1810, was married
to Eliza Maria Hollister in 1833. She was born
in Hinesburg, Vermont, in 1801, and was a
daughter of Stephen Hollister and Sarah Far-
rand. Her grandparents, Jonathan and Mehit
able Hollister, were from Fairfield, Connecticut,
while her maternal grandparents, Dr. Samuel
Farrand and wife Anise Washburn, were from
New Midford, Connecticut, and Sandy Hook,
New York, respectively. Miss Hollister was edu
cated at a select school in Vergennes, conducted
by a Miss Smith, and for two years was a pupil
of the celebrated Mrs. AVillard in Middlebury.
For thirty-five years Mr. and Mrs. Jackson
lived on their farm in Brome, Canada, and were
held in high esteem by all who knew them. They
were largely instrumental in founding and sus
taining the Congregational church in that town,
of which Mr. Jackson was the senior deacon, as
also one of Her Majesty's justices of the peace.
In 1869 they removed to Montreal, where Mrs.
Jackson died in 1881, her husband surviving her
fifteen years, dying in 1896. They had three chil
dren, Joseph Addison Jackson, M. D., a physician
in Manchester, New Hampshire, who died Feb
ruary 20, 1903 ; Rev. Samuel N. Jackson, M. D.,
of Burlington, Vermont; and John Henry Jack
son, M. D., a physician in Barre, Vermont, and a
professor in the medical faculty of the State Uni
versity. The Rev. Samuel N. Jackson, M. D., was edu
cated in Dr. Jacob Spaulding's Academy in Barre,
A^ermont, and in the Congregational College and
McGill University, Montreal. In addition to his
classical and theological courses, he studied for
17

two years in McGill Medical College and received
the degree of M. D., from the medical department
of the University of Vermont. Some of his earlier
years were spent in. the territory of Nebraska,
where he was a printer, and ultimately part pro
prietor and editor of a western paper.
On April 26, 1866, Dr. Jackson was united in
marriage to Miss Mary Ann Parkyn, of Mon
treal. Miss Parkyn's father was a native of St.
Austell, Cornwall, England, and was born in
1807 ; he became a resident of Montreal in early
manhood. He and the Hon. John Molson were
the proprietors of St. Mary's foundry and ma
chine shop, where a large business was done.
Later, on his own account, Mr. Parkyn con
structed a number of steamboats, among which
was the first iron vessel made on this continent.
On retiring from business he was made chief
steamboat inspector by the Canadian government,
which position he relinquished, and embarked in
a large scheme for the development and use of
the hydraulic power on the Lachine Canal at St.
Paul, Montreal. Here he established several
factories and flouring mills, the largest, "The
Mount Royal Mill," absorbing his attention up
to the time of his death in 1876. The mother of
Miss Parkyn was Margaret Holmes, who was
born in 1810 and died in Montreal in 1847. Her
father, James Holmes, was from Lochwinnoch,
Renfrewshire, Scotland, and her mother, Bar
bara Brodie, was a daughter of William Brodie,
the Laird of Bankside, Kilbirnie, in Ayrshire,
Scotland, an estate which had been in the posses
sion of the family for more than three centuries.
The mother of Barbara Brodie was a Burns,
cousin of Robert Burns, the poet. But two of Mr.
and Mrs. Parkyn's children survive, James Park-
lyn, of Chicago, Illinois, and Mrs. Jackson.
The Rev. Samuel Nelson Jackson was or
dained pastor of St. Paul's Union church, Mon
treal, in 1866, and remained in charge until 1871,
when he removed to Toronto to assume the pastor
ate of Zion Congregational church. That pastor
ate he held until 1877, when he accepted a call to
the First Congregational church at Kingston,
Ontario, filling that office for seventeen years.
During his professional career in Canada, Dr.
Jackson held at different times various ecclesias
tical offices in the Congregational denomination.
Among these were the editorship of the Canadian

25S

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Independent and the Congregational Year Book,
the secretaryship and afterwards the treasurer-
ship of the Home Missionary Society. He was
chairman of the Congregational Union of Ontario
and Quebec, and for ten years lecturer on Con-
gregational polity and church history in the Con
gregational College at Montreal. In 189 1 Dr.
Jackson was one of the delegates to the Interna
tional Congregational Council held in London,
England, before which body he delivered an ad
dress on the "Claims of Canada on the Sympathy
and Aid of the Congregational Churches of Eng
land and the United States." At the request of
the Congregational Union of Ontario and Que
bec he wrote and published in 1894, "A Handbook
of Congregationalism," a volume of more than
two hundred pages, embracing outlines of de
nominational history, polity, practices, etc., two
editions of which have been exhausted.
In 1895 Dr. Jackson was invited to become the
pastor of the Congregational church in Barre,
Arermont, whereupon he resigned his charge in
the city of Kingston, and assumed the new duties,
which he continued for six years. His retirement
from active church duties occurred at the close
of the year '1900, when he carried out a long cher
ished purpose of extensive travels on the con
tinent and' in the east. He was accompanied by
Mrs. Jackson and their son, the Rev. AV.
Parkyn Jackson.
The Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Jackson have had
seven children, the two eldest of whom, Maggie
Parkvn and Forest Holmes, died in Montreal.
The oldest of the five surviving sons is Dr. John
Holmes Jackson, who in 1891 married Miss Caro
line D. Smalley, daughter of Colonel and Mrs.
B. B. Smalley, of Burlington, Vermont ; they re
side in Burlington, Arermont, and have one child,
Bradley Smalley Jackson. The second is Dr.
Horatio Nelson Jackson, who married, in 1899,
Miss Bertha R. Wells, daughter of General and
Mrs. AVilliam "Wells, of Burlington, Vermont, in
which city they reside. The Rev William Parkyn
Jackson, formerly a Congregational minister,
in Canada, is now exercising his ministry in Ver
mont. Samuel Hollister Jackson is an attorney
at law. The youngest son is Dr. Joseph Addi
son Tackson; in 1902 he married Miss Eva F.
Fairbank. daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles E.
Fairbank, Oakland, California; they have one

child, Mary A. Parkyn Jackson, born April 14,
1903. WTien Dr. Jackson returned from abroad he
purchased a residence in Burlington, where he is
now living a retired life, after thirty-eight years
of active ministry spent in four parishes.
JOSEPH HENRY HICKS.
Joseph Henry Hicks, a mill owner and oper
ator, farmer, and the first selectmen, of Man
chester, was born in this town, October 22, 1847,
a son of Joseph Hicks. He comes of pioneer

JOSEPH HENRY HICKS.

Vermont stock, his great-grandfather, Daniel
Hicks. Sr., having migrated to A'ermont in 1787.
settling in Manchester, where he took up land not
far from the Depot, in what is now known as dis
trict No. 12. His children, Benjamin. Hannah,
Daniel, and Mary, all excepting; the oldest, spent
their lives in Manchester.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

>59

Daniel Hicks, Jr., the grandfather of Joseph
H., came here with his parents when a small boy,
and following in the footsteps of his ancestors,
became a tiller of the soil, laboring with the energy
and perseverance characteristic of the early pio
neer to improve a homestead, continuing in active
pursuits until near the close of his long life of
¦eighty-five years. His wife, whose maiden name
was Olive Glazier, survived him, dying at the ad
vanced age of ninety-five years. They were the
parents of ten children, namely: Joseph, Polly,
Hannah, Ruth, Harrison, Rhoda, Daniel, Olive,
•Louis, and James. Of these but one survives,
Olive, wife of Joel Wright, of Manchester
Depot. Joseph Hicks, father of Joseph H., grew to
man's estate on the ancestral homestead, near the
¦Depot, receiving a good common-school educa
tion and a thorough training in agriculture. Dur
ing the greater part of his active career, he car
ried on general farming, including cattle and
poultry dealing, and for many years kept a hotel.
Prior to his death, which occurred at the vener
able age of ninety-two years, he resided in the
village of Manchester. He served in various
town offices, being selectman, constable and over
seer of' the poor, and was a strong anti-Mason.
Both he and his wife were members of the Bap
tist church. The maiden name of his wife was
Flavia Wilcox. She was born in Sunderland, a
daughter of Chitman Wilcox. Of the seven chil
dren born of their union, five are living, as fol
lows : Sarah, widow of Sewell Bourn ; Lucy,
wife of John AVilcox. of New York ; William, of
Manchester Center ; Ellen, wife of Merritt John
son ; and Joseph H.
Joseph Henry Hicks assisted in the labors in
cident to farm life during his boyhood and youth,
attending the public schools of Manchester and
the Burr and Burton Seminary. At the age of
twenty-one, he began farming and milling for
himself. In 1880 he purchased a sawmill, which
he has since operated successfully, and has en
larged his plant by adding a lumber and planing
mill, one of the largest in this section, in which
•he carries on a profitable business in the manu
facture of clothes racks and chairs. Mr. Hicks
is a steadfast Republican in politics, served as
third selectman in 1892, was afterward road com
missioner, and in 1-901 was elected first selectman.

Mr. Hicks married, May 27, 1869, Sarah
Eddy, who was born in Manchester, a daughter
of Daniel D. Eddy, granddaughter of Stephen
Eddy, and great-granddaughter of James Eddy,
a native of Rhode Island, and an early settler of
Adams, Massachusetts, where he spent his last
years. Stephen Eddy was born and reared in
Adams, Massachusetts, coming from there to
Manchester, Vermont, in 1810, afterwards re
moving to Hoosick, New York, then to Wayne
county. His wife, Sally Dane, daughter of Job
Dane, a revolutionary soldier, died at the age of
seventy years, having borne him nine children, of
whom Daniel D. is the only survivor. Daniel D.
Eddy was born in 181 1, in Manchester, Vermont,
where he spent his early life. He is a man of ver
satile talents, and has been employed in various
lines of business, including those of tanner, cur
rier, shoemaker and farmer. He carried on tan
ning and currying in Bennington and Manchester,
but is now living on his farm in Manchester, a
hale and hearty man, retaining in a remarkable
degree his youthful and mental vigor. He married
Lucy Ann Taylor, who was born in this town, a
daughter of Arad Taylor, and granddaughter of
Jonathan Taylor, a pioneer of Manchester; she
was the youngest of a family of five children, of
whom three are living. Mr. and Mrs. Hicks are
both members of the Daughters of Rebekah, in
which Mrs. Hicks has held the office of secretary.
Mr. Hicks is a member of Adoniram Lodge, No.
42. F. & A. M. ; and of Hope Lodge, I. O. O. F.,
of which he is treasurer. Both formerly belonged
to the Good Templars, and both are members of
the Baptist church.
COLONEL OSMAN DEWEY CLARK.
Colonel Osman Dewey Clark, of Montpelier,
secretary of the National Life Insurance Com
pany, was born in this city, November 26, 1855,
a son of the late John Wesley Clark, and a direct
descendant in the ninth generation from Edward
Clark, the immigrant. The line of descent is thus
traced : Edward Clark ( 1 ) , the founder of the
branch of the Clark family from which the Col
onel is descended, was living in Haverhill, Massa
chusetts, in 1650, in Portsmouth, New Hamp
shire, in 1663, later removing to Kittery, Maine,
and dying in 1675; Edward Clark (2), who was

260

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

born in 1622, and died in 1682, married Dorcas
Bosworth, who died February 13, 1681 ; Ham-
miel Clark (3), a resident of either Haverhill or
Methuen, Massachusetts, married, August 20,
1678, Mary Gutterson; Samuel Clark (4), who
died May 21, 1751, married, August 14, T721,
Abigail Gutterson; Samuel Clark (5), who died
June 9, 1782, married, March 22, 1749, Hannah
Harris; Silas Clark (6), whose birth occurred
June 29, 1763, and his death in 1838, married, at
Windham, New Hampshire, September 14, 1786,
Elizabeth Campbell, who was born March 28,
1766, and died September 5, 1847; Oliver Clark
(7), who was born in Acworth, New Hampshire,
January 27, 1794, and died in 1878, married, May
1, 181 5, Lucia Brown, who was born May 1,
1795, and died July 1, 1885 ; Captain John Wesley
Clark (8) ; and Colonel Osman Dewey Clark (9).
Silas Clark (6), the first of the family to lo
cate in Vermont,' settled as a farmer in Berlin,
where he reared a family of twelve children, Oli
ver being the fifth child. Oliver Clark (7) was
a prosperous farmer of Berlin, and was active in
local affairs, serving his townsmen in various
offices of trust and responsibility. Of his union
with Lucia Brown the following named children
were born : Julia Ann, March 9, 1816 ; Septimas,
July 17, 1817; Luther, October 25, 1819; Val
entine O., May 23, 1821 ; Silas, February 29,
1824; Lucia, May 26, 1826; John W., the father
of Osman D. ; Louise L., July 24, 1832 ; and Car
oline M., August 29, 1833.
Captain John Wesley Clark (8) was born in
Moretown, Vermont, October 22, 1830, and re
ceived his education in the common schools and at
Newbury Seminary. He began the battle of life
when but a lad, and by his persistent energy and
good judgment overcame all obstacles. In 1849,
more than a year before attaining his majority,
he took the overland route for California, at Lit
tle Rock, Arkansas, joining a party of sixty who
were making the trip in typical "prairie schoon
ers," provisioned for several months. Reaching
the point of his destination, he was engaged in
mining and mercantile pursuits for several years,
and took an active part in public affairs, serving
for sometime as sheriff of Mariposa county, and
being a member of the Vigilantes. On his return
to A^ermont he established himself in business in
Montpelier, being successfully engaged as a car

riage manufacturer until the breaking out of the
Civil war. On September 28, 1861, he entered
his country's service as quartermaster of the Sixth
Vermont Volunteer Infantry, and participated in
several important engagements, including the bat
tles of Lee's Mills, Williamsburg, Golding's
Farm, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp,
Crampton's Gap, Antietam, Fredericksburg,
Maryland Heights, Gettysburg, and others of
minor importance. While in charge of a wagon
train guarded by convalescent soldiers, on July
28, 1863, near White Plain, Virginia, he was
wounded while repelling a charge of rebel cav
alry, for gallant conduct during the engagement
being awarded a medal of honor by Congress.
On April 7, 1864, he was promoted to captain and
assistant quartermaster of volunteers. Return
ing to his home at the close of the conflict, he re
sided in .Montpelier until his death, August 4,
1898. A wide-awake, energetic man, possessing
great force of character, liberal-minded and sym
pathetic, he was recognized as a patriotic, loyal
citizen, and his portrait, entitled "A Vermont
Hero," rightfully occupies a conspicuous position
in the Wood Art Gallery at Montpelier. He was
a member of the Loyal Legion, Vermont Corn
mandery. Captain J. W. Clark married, in 1854,
Betsey Ann Dewey, daughter of Osman and Re
becca (Davis) Dewey, and great-granddaughter -%¦
of Jacob Davis, the founder of Montpelier. She
is still living, making her home with her only son,
Colonel Osman D. Clark, in the house where her
entire married life has been spent.
Osman Dewey Clark was graduated from
Amherst College with the class of 1876, after
which he turned his attention to the study of law,
and was admitted to the Washington county bar
in September, 1879. He at once began the prac
tice of his profession in the office of Clarence H.
Pitkin, in Montpelier, also conducting a local fire
insurance business until 1885. Entering the office
of the National Life Insurance Company as as
sistant secretary, he continued in that capacity un
til 1899, when he was elected secretary of the
company, a position that he still retains. En
listing in Company H, First Vermont National
Guards, September, 1880, as a private, he served
through all the grades to lieutenant colonel, and
received his commission as colonel of the regi
ment on January 10, 1898. At the breaking out

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

261

of the Spanish- American war, Colonel Clark went
with his regiment to the front, serving from May
16, 1898, until November 7, 1898. On April 1,
1899, he resigned his position.
He is prominently identified with several pa
triotic and fraternal organizations, being a mem
ber of the Sons of the American Revolution ; of
the Loyal Legion, to which his late father also
belonged ; to the Medal of Honor League ; to the
Military Order of Foreign Wars, of which he is
•commander ; to Aurora Lodge, F. & A. M. ; King
Solomon Chapter, R. A. M. ; the council, R. &
S. M. ; Mount Zion Cornmandery, K. T. ; and to
Mount Sinai Temple, Mystic Shrine. He is also
a member of Apollo Club, which he has served as
president, and was one of the city Republican
-committee seventeen years, and later of the state
Republican committee. Colonel Clark married,
November 29, 1882, Elizabeth DeWitt Atkins, by
i'i whom he has two children, namely: DeWitt At
kins, born July 10, 1886; and Barbara, born Sep
tember 12, 1889. August 12, 1902, he married
Lucy Harriett Jacobs, of Montpelier.
RODNEY ROBY.
The Roby family are descendants of an old
and honored English ancestry, and they trace
their history back to Henry Roby, the progenitor
¦of the American branch of the family, who emi-
-.'. .grated from England in 1639 and took up his
'-,?;,. Residence in New Hampshire. Rodney Roby,
whose name has been prominently identified with
the building interests of Burlington, Vermont,
"was born in Corinth, Orange county, Vermont,
October 26, 1827. Ebenezer Roby, his father,
was born May 26, 1790, and was united in mar
riage to Miss Mehitable Toplin, who was born
June -8, 1 79 1 ; the following named children were
horn to them: William, born March 18, 18 13,
died June 6, 1848, was the first member of the
family to locate in Burlington; John, born Feb
ruary 22, 1815 ; Hylas, born March 26, 1817, died
March 13, 1890; Lorinda, born April 18, 1819,
died December 25, 1865; Cyrus, born July 24,
1821 ; Caroline, born November 30, 1823 ; Rod
ney; Joseph, born December 20, 1834, was for
many years a prominent druggist in Burlington,
snd his death occurred October 4, 1871.
For many years after the Roby brothers set

tled in Burlington, they engaged in their chosen
occupation of building, working by the day; in
185 1 they organized a company under the firm
name of H. Roby & Brothers, and by looking
carefully after their interests, being honest and
reliable, and proving themselves to be shrewd and
far-seeing men of business, the firm grew in prom
inence and for fifty- four years ranked among' the
representative firms in the city of Burlington.
During that period of time they erected many of
the largest business blocks, public buildings and
palatial residences, which stand as monuments
of their skill and handiwork; some of the more
prominent buildings were E. W. Peck's residence,
Fletcher Hospital, Wells & Richardson's block,
Henry Johnson & Lord's block, Chittenden coun
ty court-house, Merchants National Bank, R. B.
Stearns & Company's block and express office,
and many others. Rodney Roby performed the
principal part of the drawing for the firm, and he
also superintended the construction of the man
sard roof for the custom house in 1869, and in
1874 he performed a similar work on the Platts~
burg (New York) custom house. The firm con
sisted of Hylas & Rodney Roby, the other broth
ers having previously dissolved their connection
with the firm, and in 1890 upon the death of Hy
las Roby, Rodney Roby, having accumulated a
comfortable competence, retired from the active
duties of a commercial life to enjoy the fruits of
his long business career. In his political affilia
tions he was a firm adherent of the principles of
the Republican party, but never sought or held
public office, preferring to devote his time and
attention to his profession.
On January 17, 1854, Mr. Roby married Miss
Katherine Davidson, and one child was born to
them, Mary C, now the wife of Charles E. Kat-
telle, a prominent jeweler of Boston; they have
one son, Walter Roby Kattelle. Mrs. Roby died
in 1854, and on May 9, 1877, Mr. Roby married
for his second wife Mrs. Harriet A. Sheldon,
nee Hubbard, to whom two daughters were born,
Grace L. and Florence H. Roby. Mrs. Roby is a
descendant of Scotch ancestors, some of whom
participated in the colonial wars. On the paternal
side she is a direct descendant of Lazrus Hub
bard, who served seven months and five days in
the Revolutionary war, being in the battle of Bun
ker Hill and other engagements ; he married Miss

262

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Abigail Gilmore on February 23, 1764, and his
son, Jesse Hubbard, father of Mrs. Roby, fol
lowed agricultural pursuits in Cambridge, Ver
mont, and later removed to Burlington, Vermont,
where he died in 1884, at the age of eighty-seven
years ; his wife, Aurisa Wilson, who was born in
Cambridge, A^ermont, was the mother of four
children, Mrs. Rodney Robey being the only sur
viving child ; Mrs. Hubbard died January 5, 1883.
On the maternal side Mrs. Roby is a lineal de
scendant of Sir Colin Campbell, a nephew of Sir
Robert Bruce, the greatest king Scotland ever
had; he became the first of the great family of
Argyle which afterward enjoyed such power in
the highlands. One of the prominent members
of this family was Daniel Campbell, who de
scended from Sir John Campbell, Duke of Argyle-
shire in the reign of King William ; he had a son,
Henry Campbell, who came to America in 1733,
and became the American ancestor of this branch
of the family. Mrs. Roby is a Daughter of the
American Revolution, belonging to the Green
Mountain Chapter in Burlington, Vermont. John
Roby and Cyrus Roby, two brothers of Rodney
Rob}'', retired from business, live in Burlington,
Vermont.
HENRY CHAPIN COLTON.
Henry Chapin Colton, a representative busi
ness man of Montpelier, is president of the Colton
Manufacturing Company, one of the leading in
dustries of this section of Vermont. He was born
at Enfield, Massachusetts, May 26, 1836, of Pur
itan stock, being a direct descendant in the sev
enth generation from Quartermaster George Col
ton, the immigrant, the lineage being thus traced :
George, Thomas, Ebenezer, Henry, Henry, David,
Henry Chapin.
Quartermaster George Colton (1) emigrated
from Sutton, Caldfield, England, to Windsor,
Connecticut, prior to 1644, the year in which he
married Deborah Gardner, of Hartford, Connec
ticut. Removing to Springfield, Massachusetts,
in 1645, ne settled in the southern part of the
township, in what is now Longmeadow, being its
first settler. Like most of the early settlers of
New England, he was a Puritan, of strong relig
ious convictions, unfaltering in his support of the
church, which he served in various capacities. He

was active in civil affairs, being chosen deputy to
the general court in 1669, and again in 167 1. In
1668 he was appointed quartermaster of the
Hampshire Troop, of which John Pyncheon was
captain; was appointed ensign in 1681, and pro
moted to lieutenant in 1688. He died December
17, 1699.
Thomas Colton (2) born May 1, 1651, in
Longmeadow, Massachusetts, where he spent his
entire life, dying September 30, 1728. He was a
man of eminent piety, and a famous Indian fight
er ; was commissioned lieutenant in 1686 by Jo
seph Dudley; twice commissioned as captain in
1690 by Simon Bradstreet, and 1699 by the Earl
of Belle Mont. On September 11, 1677, he mar
ried Sarah Griswold, a native of Lyme, Con
necticut. Ebenezer Colton (3), a life-long resident of
Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and, undoubtedly, a
farmer by occupation, was born July 23, 1696, and
died August 19, 1765. He married Deborah
Chandler, of Enfield, Connecticut.
Henry Colton (4), born at Longmeadow,
Massachusetts, January 8, 1738, was a resident of
that town during his entire life, probably being
engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death,
November 11, 1787. On March 2, 1777, he en
listed as a private in Captain Gideon's company,
Colonel David Leonard's regiment, at Spring
field, Massachusetts, with his comrades march
ing to reinforce the northern army at Ticon-
deroga. He was discharged from the service
April 10, 1777.
Henry Colton (5), born in Longmeadow,
February 8, 1771, followed, without doubt, the
ancestral occupation to which he was reared.
He went to New York state, where he died." On
October 4, 1797, he married Lydia Booth, of En
field, Connecticut, a daughter of Captain Joseph-
Booth, a soldier in the Revolutionary army.
David Colton (6), born at Longmeadow,
Massachusetts, October 3, 1803, married, first,
April 23, 1829, Azuba Chapin, daughter of Job
and Abia (Gilligan) Chapin. She was born in
Ludlow, Massachusetts, July 1, 1799, and died,
at Enfield, Massachusetts, March 29, 1850, and
was buried in Greenwich. He married, second,
October 22, 185 1, Mrs. Lydia A. Litch, who died
October 1, 1882.
Henry Chapin Colton (7) worked at the shoe-

:he state of Vermont.

263

maker's trade in North Brookfield, Massachusetts,
until seventeen years old, then served an appren
ticeship of four years with Theodore W. Chapman
at the silver-plating trade, continuing as a jour
neyman plater until 1857, when, on account of
the great financial panic, he was thrown out of
employment. ' Coming to Montpelier in the spring
of 1858, he entered the employ of Fisher & Strat-
ton as a journeyman, remaining in that position
until 1861, when he purchased the interest of Mr.
Stratton, and embarked in business on his own ac
count as junior member of the firm of Fisher &
Colton. In 1885 E. P. Johnson bought out Mr.
Fisher, and the business was carried on under the
firm name of Johnson & Colton until the death of
Mr. Johnson, in 1891. Mr. Colton purchased the
interest of his late partner, but a short time after
wards sold a two-thirds interest to W. E. Adams
and Frank M. Corey, the business name being
changed to the Colton Manufacturing Company.
On January 1, 1902, two of Mr. Colton's sons,
Theron F. and Harry S., were admitted to the
firm, Mr. Colton remaining as president and gen
eral manager. This firm is carrying on an exten
sive business, manufacturing hardware, harness,
all kinds of nickle and silver-plated ware, employ
ing about seventy men, and shipping goods to all
parts of the United States and Canada, having a
branch office in Chicago, Illinois. Politically Mr.
Colton is a Republican.
Mr. Colton married, in 1863, Mary Ferry,
daughter of Thomas and Catherine Ferry. Of
their union four sons have been born, namely:
Willard Chapin, Theron F., Harry S. and Edwin
Arthur. Willard Chapin Colton was born at
Montpelier, Arermont, October 4, 1866. He was
educated in the common schools, and removed in
1886 to Massachusetts, where he now resides.
On February 5, 1901, he married Elizabeth B.
Peck, daughter of George A. and Isabella (Bar
rows) Peck, of Montpelier. Theron Ferry Col
ton, born in Montpelier, January 25, 1868, is the
western representative of the Colton Manufac
turing Company, having control of the branch
office in Chicago, Illinois. In July, 1898, he mar
ried Eva Clark, of Brooklyn, New York, and
they have one child, Richard Clark. Harry Smith
Colton, born January 22, 1869, is a member of the
Colton Manufacturing Company. He married,
January 3, 1895, Alice Frank, of Brookfield, Ver

mont, and they have three children, Henry Frink,
born May 27, 1896; Raymond Morse, born Octo
ber 12, 1898; and Norma Wilma, born August
11, 1902. Edwin Arthur Colton, born in Mont
pelier, August 15, 1876, was graduated from Am
herst College, and is now a medical student at Co
lumbia University.
HARRY MORTON CUTLER.
Harry Morton Cutler, of Montpelier, treasurer
of the National Life Insurance Company, is a
young man of good financial and executive abil
ity, and a fine representative of the native-born
citizens of this place, the date of his birth being
December 15, 1867. He is a lineal descendant in
the ninth generation from John Cutler, the immi
grant ancestor, the line of descent being as fol
lows : John, Thomas, Jonathan, David, Jonathan,
David, Timothy Bigelow, Marcus Morton, Harry
Morton. John Cutler (1) emigrated from Sprowston,
county of Norfolk, England, to America, em
barking on the Rose of Yarmouth, April 18, 1637,
and locating in Hingham, Massachusetts,with his
wife Mary and seven children. On June 10,
1637, he had a lot assigned him, and resided in
that town until his death, in February, 1638.
Thomas Cutler (2) was born in England, be
tween 1635 and 1637, and came to America with
his parents in 1637. He married Mary Giles,
daughter of Edward and Bridget Giles, and lo
cated in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Jonathan
Cutler (3) was born in that part of Charlestown
that is now called Reading, Massachusetts, Janu
ary 14, 1677, and died in December, 1721.. He
was a tailor by trade. On January 10, 1716-7,
he married Abigail, daughter of John and Eliza
beth Gale. David Cutler (4) was born in Fram
ingham, Massachusetts, in October, 1721, and
died in April, 1783. He settled permanently in
that part of Mendon, Massachusetts, that was in
corporated as Milford. He married Mehitable,
daughter of Jonathan and Susanna Whitney, and
they became the parents of seven children. Jon
athan Cutler (5), born in Mendon, Massachus
etts, June 23, 1747, moved to Vermont in 1781,
and was one of the original petitioners for the
town of Montpelier, afterwards serving as its first
town treasurer. After the death of his first wife

264

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Mary, he married Betty Lillie, who died at Mont
pelier, Arermont, in 1800. David Cutler (6), born
in Montpelier, October 4, 1783, married Abigail
Carroll, a daughter of Daniel Carroll, and a niece
of Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence. Of the eleven chil
dren born of their union, Timothy was the second
child. David C'utler died November 21, 1840, and
his widow died August 17, 1877, at the advanced
age of ninety years.
Timothy Bigelow Cutler (7) was born in
Montpelier, Vermont, April 3, 1809, and died
February 20, 1875. He was a farmer by occupa
tion. In 1833 he married Freelove Wheeler, who
survived him, and is now, April, 1902, living in
Montpelier. The following children were born of
their union : Mary Jane ; Emeroy, who married
Silas Ordway ; Henry died in 1839; Marcus Mor
ton, the next in line of descent; Lorenzo, who
served in the Civil war as a member of Company
C, Thirteenth Vermont Volunteer Infantry, died
while in the army; Albert; and Harriet, wife of
Abijah W. Hall. '
Marcus Morton Cutler (8) was born in Mont
pelier Vermont, December 30, 1839, and was here
reared and educated. Hearing that Fort Sum
ter had been fired upon, while he was in the west,
he enlisted, April 22, 1861, in Company B, Sev
enth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, was made ser
geant of the company, and participated in sev
enteen hard-fought battles of the Civil war. He
was several times wounded, at the battle of Ring
gold, Georgia, being so seriously injured as to in
capacitate him for further active duty. Return
ing to Montpelier at the- close of the war, he was
traveling salesman for C. H. Cross & Son for
awhile. In 1871, in company with J. V. Bab-
cock, he opened a drug store, which he conducted
under the firm name of Babcock & Cutler for
twenty years, when he sold out. Being then
elected president of the Union Mutual Fire In
surance Company of Montpelier, he filled that po
sition until his death, August 11, 1896. He was
selectman of Montpelier for a number of terms,
also serving as trustee of the village, and was a
member of the Free and Accepted Masons. He
married, first, Caroline A. Gray, a daughter of
Lorenzo and Fannie (Stevens) Gray. She died
September 6, 1872, leaving two children, Harry
Morton; and Emma, who married George R.

Ehle, of Chicago, Illinois, by whom she has one
child, Francis. Mr. Cutler married, second,
Mary, daughter of Eben Stevens.
Harry Morton Cutler (9) completed his early
education at the Montpelier Seminary. After
leaving school he accepted the position of col
lector for the First National Bank of Montpelier,
of which he was made teller in 1884, afterwards
being promoted to assistant cashier. In 1889 he
was elected assistant treasurer of the National
Life Insurance Company, retaining that position
until 1897, when he succeeded Mr. J. C. Hough
ton as treasurer of the company, a position that he
is now filling, having, also, been a director since
1900. Politically Mr. Cutler is a Republican, and
was a member of the first board of park commis
sioners. He is a member of the Sons of the
American Revolution, of the Apollo Club, or
ganizer and first president of the Montpelier
Country Club.
On May 15, 1890, Mr. Cutler married Nellie,
daughter of E. D. and Jennie F. Hyde, of Mont
pelier. Three children have been born of their
union, namely : Richard Hyde, born January 10,
1892 ; Elizabeth Haines, born July 14, 1895 ; and
Edward DeLorme, born July 9, 1898.
LEVERETT BRUSH ENGLESBY.
During a long and active life Hon. Leverett
Brush Englesby occupied a leading position at the
bar of Arermont, gave his most capable effort to
advancing the interests of his native city, and
was known throughout the state as one of the
most prominent members of the Masonic fra
ternity. He was born in Burlington, February 20,
1827, the second son of Ebenezer T. Englesby
who was for many years the president of the
First Bank of Burlington, and of Adela (Brush)
Englesby. He fitted for college in the academy
at Burlington, entered the University of Vermont
at the age of fourteen years, and graduated in the
class of 1845, among his classmates being Hon.
Charles Dewey, of Montpelier, the Rev. Dr. N.
G. Clark, the Rev. C. E. Ferrin, the Rev. Dr.
Cutler, of Worchester, Massachusetts, and
others of prominence in various high walks of
life. He prepared for his chosen profession
in the Cambridge Law School, which he at
tended for one year, and in the office of Phelps

LEYERETT B. EHGLESBY.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

265

& Smalley, of Burlington. He was admitted to
the Chittenden county bar in 1848, where he soon
took rank as a careful, trustworthy and compe
tent lawyer.
Mr. Englesby represented Chittenden county
in tlie state senate in 1865-66, and during the lat
ter year he was president pro tempore of that
body. From 1867 to 1869 he was state's at
torney for this county. He held at different times
responsible positions under city government,
serving as city auditor, assessor and city attorney.
Mr. Englesby was elected in 1866 a trustee of the
University of Vermont, and he held this office
at the time of his death, having been also for ten
years a member of the executive committee.
He at all times gave to the institution the most
sincere interest and thoughtful attention, and at
his death the university lost a faithful friend
and a worthy admirer.
Mr. Englesby united with Washington
Lodge, F. & A. M., May 7, 185 1, and was elected
master in 1855 and held that office until 1859.
He was elected grand master of the Grand Lodge
of Vermont in 1862, holding this office with
signal ability until 1868, when he declined re
election on account of ill health. He was grand*
high priest of the cornmandery for one year,
and served as its prelate for one year. The
faithful and successful discharge of his duties
while in these offices brought to Mr. Englesby
the esteem and honor of his brethren, and his re
tirement was deeply deplored. Mr. Englesby
was a sincere Christian, a man of calm, deliber
ate judgment, strength and integrity of charac
ter, and was highly respected and deservedly
beloved. He was actively identified with the
city of Burlington during his entire life, giving
thoughtful interest to its affairs, and opposing
all which he considered could not promote its
best interest.
Mr. Englesby was twice married, first to
Miss Amelia' Francis, who bore him two sons,
Leverett F., now of AVashington, D. C, and
Ebenezer, who died. For his second wife he
married, in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1869, Miss
Mary R. Hudson, a daughter of William and
Annie (Miller) Hudson. Of this union there
was born a son, William Hudson, in 1872, who
graduated from the collegiate department in
1894 and then from the medical department

of the University of Vermont in 1897. He
studied in New York for two years and is now
engaged in practice in Burlington, making a
specialty of eye, ear, nose, and throat. He mar
ried Miss Maud French, of Malone, New York,
and one son, Hudson, was born of this marriage.
Mr. Englesby died January 27, 1881. On
Wednesday following a public memorial service
was held by the Grand Lodge of Vermont, F.
& A. M., in the city hall of Burlington, to tes
tify to the honor in which its distinguished
member was held by the fraternity. The exer
cises were of the most dignified and touching
character, and were attended by a large concourse
of the fraternity from various portions of the
state, and by the community at large.
HARVEY EDMUND COLVIN, M. D.
Dr. Harvey Edmund Colvin, an eminent
homeopathic physician of Burlington, Vermont,
was born March 20, 1854, in Keeseville, Essex
county, New York, a descendant of an old and
honored English ancestry. Daniel Colvin, father
of Dr. Harvey E. Colvin, was born in Chester
field, Essex county, New York, in 1825, where he
was reared and obtained an excellent education
in the common schools. Subsequently he de
voted his attention to farming, at which occupa^
tion he continued for the remainder of his life,
and in the pursuit of which he met with a large
degree of success. He was united in marriage to
Miss Betsy Brown, who was born in 1828, and the
following named children were born to them,
eight of whom are living at the present time
(1902): John; Harriett; Ruth A.; Amy L. ;
George ; Charles ; Henrietta, who died September
22, 1899; .Albert, mentioned below; and Harvey
Edmund Colvin. The father of these children
died August 16, 1876, and his wife's death oc
curred November 26, 1890.
Dr. Albert Colvin, brother of Dr. Harvey E.
Colvin, and for a number of years a prominent
physician, obtained his early literary education in
the common schools of Keeseville, after which he
entered the Cleveland, Ohio, Homeopathic Col
lege, from which he was graduated with the de
gree of Doctor of Medicine in 1870. Subsequent
ly he commenced the practice of his profession in
Burlington, A'ermont, where his skill and ability

266

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

gained him high rank among the members of the
calling to which he had devoted his energies. He
was one of the most successful homeopathic phys
icians in this section, and up to the time of his
death, November 7, 1880, enjoyed a large and
constantly increasing patronage, which his broth
er continued and increased.
The early life of Dr. H. E. Colvin was spent
on his father's farm, and his educational advan
tages during that period of his life were such as
the district school afforded. After taking a course
of study in the high school in Keeseville, New
York, he matriculated in the Chicago Homeo
pathic Medical College, from which he was grad
uated with high honors on March 30, 1880, and he
also pursued a course of medical study under the
efficient preceptorship of E. H. Pratt, A. M.,
M. D.,, of Wheaton, Illinois, from 1877 to 1880,
Dr. Pratt then acting in the capacity of professor
of anatomy in the Chicago Homeopathic Col
lege. In 1880 Dr. Colvin established an office in
Burlington, Vermont, where he soon acquired a
large and select patronage among the leading
families of the city, a number of whom had previ
ously been patients of his brother. He conducts
a general practice of medicine and surgery, but
makes a specialty of diseases of Women and chil
dren, being particularly well skilled in that branch
of the science. Dr. Colvin has been a close and
thorough student, and his knowledge is very
broad and exact, while his skill in the sick-room
is most marked and commendable ; he is the oldest
homeopathic physician in active practice in Chit
tenden county, Vermont. He was formerly a
member of the Algonquin Club, but now holds
membership in the Ethan Allen Club. For many
years he has been a member of the American In
stitute of Homeopathy, the only society to which
he has time to devote.
ALBERT BLANCHARD CLARK.
Albert B. Clark, general manager and
treasurer of the Readsboro Chair Manufactur
ing Company at Readsboro, Vermont, is a young
man of rare business and executive ability. He
was born in Poultney, Rutland county, Ver
mont, September 4, 1872, a son of Albert A.
Clark. His paternal grandfather, Andrew Clark,
a life-long resident of the Green Mountain

state, was born and reared in Wells, but for
many years has carried on a thriving business
as carriage manufacturer in Poultney, where he
is now living. His wife, who was a Potter,
died in young womanhood. She was a mem
ber of one of the historic families of Rutland
county. Albert A. Clark was born at Wells, Ver
mont, but when a boy removed to Poultney,
where he completed his education and learned
the trade of carriage maker, which he followed
until about thirty years old. Locating then at
Middletown Springs, Vermont, he became con
nected with A. W." Grays, a manufacturer of

ALBERT BLANCHARD CLARK.
horse-power machines, as his general agent,
and has since been very successful in selling these
machines. He married Katherine Ray, who was
born at Tinmouth, Rutland county, Vermont,
a daughter of Eli Ray. Mr. Ray, a native of
Tinmouth, was engaged in agricultural pur
suits during his active life, first in Tinmouth,.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

267:

then in Shoreham, where he lived three years,
and later in Hampton, New York, where his
death occurred in 1899. His widow whose
maiden name was Priscilla Waite, was born in
Hartford, New York, and is now living in
Poultney, A^ermont. Both parents belonged to
the Episcopal church, of which the mother is still
a member. Four children blessed their union,
of whom three are now living, as follows : Mai
den ; Katherine ; and Adelaide, widow of the late
Henry Hibbard, of Orwell, Vermont.
Albert B. Clark acquired his rudimentary edu
cation in the public schools of Middletown, Ver
mont, after which he further pursued his studies
at the Troy Conference Academy of Poultney,
then took a business course in the Albany
Business College. He was subsequently in the
paper business in New York until 1890, when he
accepted the position of bookkeeper with the
Readsboro Chair Manufacturing Company, of
which he was made secretary. Proving himself
a 'keen, wide-awake man of business in both
of these positions, his worth was recognized by
the company, of which he was made general
manager and treasurer in 1901, and one of the
board of directors. This company is one of the
best known in the Union and receives orders
from all parts of the country, a recent one being
a two thousand dollar order for chairs from
Helen M. Gould, while another is an order for
chairs from the new Congregational Library in
Washington, the finest public building in the
LTnited States. Among other prominent build
ings which they have assisted in furnishing may
be mentioned the Concord (New Hampshire)
house of representatives ; the Leland Stanford
University, Calif orna ; different Jesuit colleges ;
and many of the leading theatres of the country,
including the P. T. Barnum Theatre in Bridge
port, Connecticut. This firm also manufactures
a patent adjustable desk for schoolrooms.
Employment is given to two hundred and sixty-
five men, Mr. Clark having sole management of
the entire plant.
Mr. Clark married, September 4, 1895,
Florence H. Alger, daughter of Rev. R. T.
Alger, of Dorchester, Massachusetts. Mr.
Alger was formerly master of the Boston
school, but after entering the ministry had charge
of a church in Hinsdale, Massachusetts, then

in Becket, Massachusetts, and for five years
preached in Readsboro. He is now living in re
tirement. He married Katherine Dunbar, of.
Cochessett, Massachusetts. She died at the age of
forty years, having borne her husband three chil
dren, of whom Mrs. Clark is the only survivor.
Mrs. Clark was educated at Mt. Holyoke Semi
nary, after which she taught school several years,
first in Columbia, South Carolina, and later im
Readsboro. Mr. and Mrs. Clark have had two
children, namely: Roland M. and Robert Alger
Clark,, of whom the former is deceased. Po
litically Mr. Clark is a Republican, and fratern
ally he is a member of Unity Lodge, F. & A. M.,.
Jacksonville, Vermont. He and his family are-
members of the Baptist church, of which he is
clerk.
ALONZO JACKSON STEVENS.
This gentleman was for many years a lead
ing citizen and prominent manufacturer of?
Winooski, Vermont, and a representative of
a family which for over a century has been
among the most respected in the state. His
grandfather, Abram Stevens, was born in Kill
ingworth, Connecticut, and at the age of
sixteen entered the American army under
Seth Warner and was a colonel under Mont
gomery in the bloody fight at Quebec. Aft
er the winning of independence had been accom
plished, he returned to Salisbury, Connecticut, but
later removed to Vermont. He lived a few years
at Burlington and then came to Essex during the
early settlement of that town, of which he was-
elected constable at the first town meeting. He
became a large landowner and was favorably
known throughout the county ; his death occurred
in 1830. His son Alonzo was born about 1790 at Essex,.
Vermont, and he was also one of the successful
farmers of that locality. He married Susan, the
daughter of Samuel' Sinclair, an early settler of
Essex from Connecticut, whose death occurred-
in 1835. Mrs. Stevens died in August, 1840, aged'
forty-nine years, but her husband survived many
years and passed away in i860.
Alonzb Jackson Stevens was the son of these
latter parents and was born in Essex, Chittenden
county, Vermont, April 1, 1828. He received as

268

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

good an education as could be obtained without
attendance at institutions of higher grade than
the common schools, and for several years after
attaining to majority worked at the trade of
joiner and carpenter. In 1855 he went to Wi
nooski to work as a millwright for the firm of Ed
wards and W'hite. Oscar AVhite, the junior mem
ber of the company, soon afterward died, and his
death was shortly followed by the destruction of
the shops by fire. In 1858 the land on which
they had stood was purchased by A. B. Edwards
and Mr. Stevens, and they formed a partnership
tinder the name of Edwards and Stevens, which
remained unchanged until 1868, when Frank Ju-
bell was admitted to partnership, and an exten
sive business was carried on for a number of
years, by Edwards, Stevens and Company. In
the manufacture of mill-gearing and shafting,
iron and brass castings, and wood-working ma
chinery, the firm occupied a leading position and
¦employed a large number of men. On January
1, 1898, the main building of the plant was de
stroyed by fire, and in the spring of 1898 Mr.
Jubell sold his interest to the other partners. On
July 14, 1899, Mr. Edwards died, and Mr. Ste
vens conducted the business alone as surviving
partner until April, 1900, when it was purchased
"by his son ; it is run under the name of Stevens
Machine Company.
Mr. Stevens was decidedly Republican in pol
itics. He served as one of the selectman of Col-
-chester for several terms, and represented his
town in the legislature in 1869, 1870 and again in
1894, the last two terms being of two years' dura
tion, under the system of biennial elections then
introduced. He was also elected one of the sen
ators from Chittenden county in the summer ot
1886, and received various other evidences of the
¦esteem of his fellow townsmen. He was also
¦active in local affairs, serving as village trustee
and treasurer for many years, and in fact held
-at one time or another all the offices in the gift
of his townsmen, He was a charter member and
•director of the Winooski Savings Bank, and was
its vice president from 1892 till his death. Mr.
Stevens was the pioneer in the manufacturing in
dustry in Winooski, and in company with Mr.
Edwards built a large number of houses; factories
and other buildings, always giving his time and

means with unstinted public spirit for the welfare
of the community.
Mr. Stevens was a member of the Masonic
order, and also of the Home Guards, in which he
held the commission of lieutenant. Although not
a member of any religious body, he was a regular
attendant of the Congregational church, and took
an active interest in its affairs and contributed to
its support, being the treasurer for many years.
In September, 1858, Mr. Stevens married Miss
Alary J., daughter of Hiram and Mary Rood, of
Colchester, and they had four children: Clark,
who died at the age of six months ; Mary Ellen,
who married F. E. Thompson, of Colchester;
Charles H., the present proprietor of his father's
business; and Hattie M., who died May 12, 1894,
at the age of twenty-one. The death of Mr. Ste
vens took place at his home in Winooski, Au
gust 17, 1900, when he was seventy-two years of
age. At the time of his decease he was the oldest
business man in the town, where he is remem
bered as an uupright and fearless citizen, faith
ful in the discharge of every duty, of unques~
tioned integrity both in business relations and in
public life, and in social circles distinguished for
his genial manners and kindness of heart.
CHARLES H. STEVENS.
Charles H. Stevens, a prominent man of af
fairs in Winooski, Vermont, was born in this
city on the 26th of June, 1867, and is the only son
of Alonzo Jackson and Mary J. (Rood) Stevens.
He received his preparatory education in the
graded schools of his native town, afterward
spent three years in the Burlington high school, of
which he is a graduate, and on the 26th of June,
1889, graduated in the department of civil engi
neering in the University of Vermont. Previous
to this time, however, he had been employed dur
ing vacations in his father's factory, but after his
graduation went to eastern Tennessee, where he
spent one year engaged in railroad surveying.
Returning on the expiration of that period to Ver
mont, he re-entered his father's establishment, be
ing- placed after a time in charge of the business.
In 1898 he received the appointment of assistant
engineer of Winooski, in consequence of which he
resigned the position which he held in his father's

GUY C. HOBLE.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

269

establishment and returned to the practice of his
profession, the work of surveying for the sewer
age system having been conducted under his di
rection. This work being completed, he again
took charge of his father's business, which he suc
cessfully managed until the 24th of April, 1900,
when he purchased the plant and has since con
ducted it very successfully. In this extensive es
tablishment twenty-five workmen are given em
ployment in its various branches, which include a
large foundry, where all kinds of castings are
made, and a machine shop furnished with all
the latest machinery, where are made rotary bed-
planers, box-board power matching machinery,
hoop shavers, general mill repairs and mill sup
plies. The work turned out is of a high class and
is sent to all parts of the country.
On the 30th of September, 1891, Mr. Stevens
was united in marriage to Frances E. McBride,
a daughter of George L. and Emma McBride, the
former of whom, a farmer by occupation, is now
living at Colchester, Vermont. Four children
were born to this union : Loren A., Emma J.,
Lizzie F. and Hattie M. Mrs. Stevens died
March 18, 1902, in Southern Pines, North Caro
lina, whither she had gone in search of health,
and in the loss of his most estimable wife Mr.
Stevens passed through a terrible bereavement.
Although in failing health, she was slowly recov
ering when the sad news was received of her
sudden death. As a woman she was greatly ad
mired and as a wife and mother was tenderly
loved by her husband and children, to whom she
was deeply attached, and throughout the commu
nity she was greatly esteemed by all who knew
her. Mr. Stevens gives his political support to the
Republican party, and takes an active part in pub
lic affairs, enjoying in a high degree the esteem
and confidence of his townsmen. He has served
as selectman for one year and as a trustee of the
village for two years, acting as clerk of the board
during the same length of time. He is a member
of Webster Lodge No. 61, F. & A. M., in which
he holds the office of junior warden, and also
belongs to the Winooski Steamer Company, of
which he was foreman for three years. He is an
attendant at the Congregational church, where he
succeeded his father in the office of treasurer.
Amid his various and pressing duties Mr. Stevens

finds time to maintain the association's of his col
lege days, holding membership in the Phi Delta
Theta society.
ROBERT NOBLE.
Robert Noble, president and general man
ager of the St. Albans Manufacturing Company,
has risen to his present responsible positioni
through honest and earnest perseverance in those:
paths which lead to real success. He is de
scended from an honorable ancestry on both.
the paternal and maternal sides. The progenitor
of the American branch of the Noble family was.
Thomas Noble, who was born in 1632, came-
to this country before the year 1653, and his
death occurred in the town of Westfield, Massa
chusetts, January 20, 1704. The line of descent
from Thomas Noble is as follows: Mark, John,.
Captain Eli, Robert, Sylvester Campbell, Guy
Chaplin, and Robert Noble.
On the maternal side Robert Noble is de
scended from Thomas Dewey, the emigrant an
cestor, from whom descended Jedediah, Jede
diah, Martin, Archibald, Reuben, Jerusha Dewey.
Mr. Noble is also related to the Safford fam
ily, whose earliest ancestor was Thomas Safford,.
a proprietor of Ipswich in 1641 ; he purchased.
a farm of Henry Kingsbury, February 8, 1648,.
and was made a freeman December 19, 1648.
The origin of the Safford family is not definitely
known, but Ipswich was so named because it is -
the port where many of the inhabitants took
shipping in England, and the name is still found.
in that town. Deacon Joseph Safford, who died
in Bennington, Vermont, June 25, 1775, was born.
in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1705, and would:
appear to be the son of John, born before 1670,
son of Joseph, son of Thomas Safford. The line
of descent is as follows : Joseph Safford, of"
Ipswich, born in 1631, married, March 6, 1660,
Mary Baker, and their children were: Mary,
Samuel and John. John Safford came from
Staffordshire, England, to America in 1670 and'
settled in Ipswich ; he married Abagail Morton,
and their children were Joseph, John, Solomon,
Abigail and Sarah. John Safford, son of John,
born February 28, 1687-8, probably in Ipswich,
settled in Norwich, Connecticut, and was united
in marriage to Lydia Read, and the following-

2JO

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

•named children were born to them: John, Jo
siah, Lydia, Zedekiah, Elisha, Saviah, Labia and
Silas Safford. John Safford, first of the last
named family, settled in Fairfax, Vermont, in
1789, having removed from Bennington; his
-children were: Hiram, John and Silas Safford.
Silas Safford probably married Lucretia Story,
and their children were: Reuben, Henry,
Hiram, Charlotte and Polly Safford. Polly
.Safford married Reuben' Lovegrove, great
grandfather of Robert Noble, of Burlington.
Robert Noble, son of Guy Chaplin Noble,
¦was born in St. Albans, Vermont, January 2,
1868. His preliminary education was acquired
in the public schools of his native city, after
which he pursued a course of instruction in the
;academy at Saxtons River, Vermont. In 1888
.Mr. Noble entered his father's employ, where he
remained until the death of the latter, which oc
curred the following year. On May 1, 1893, he
became actively connected with the Northern
Supply Company, and prior to this date he was
engaged for a short period of time in the general
freight office of the Central Vermont Railway,
in St. Albans. By displaying excellent business
ability, diligence and skill he was rapidly pro
moted from one position to another, until June
15, 1804, he assumed the responsible position of
president and general manager of the Northern
Supply Company with headquarters in Burlington
Vermont. He also succeeded his father in the
-presidency of the St. Albans Manufacturing
'Company, and on March 4, 1901, he -was ap
pointed general manager of the same company.
In his political affiliations, Mr. Noble supports
the men and measures advocated by the Republi
can party, and has served as a member of the
police commission, also treasurer of the Repub
lican city committee. He is a prominent mem
ber of Washington Lodge, F. & A. M., and
socially is a member of the Algonquin and the
Ethan Allen clubs. Mr. Noble is also a member
of the Society of the Sons of the American
Revolution and the Society of Colonial Wars,
having served in the latter named society in the
capacity of deputy secretary, secretary, lieutenant
governor, deputy governor and is the present
deputy governor general. On January 15, 1896,
Mr. Noble was united in marriage at Woodsville,
New Hampshire, to Miss Mary Harrington Cum

mings, the daughter of George S. and Mary
(Harrington) Cummings. They have one child,
Guy Chaplin Noble, born August 30, 1900. In
religious life Mr. Noble adopts the views of his
father and mother and is a member of the First
Baptist church of Burlington.
ALBERT JOHONNOTT.
Albert Johonnott, of Montpelier, now living
practically retired from business pursuits, has con
tributed his full share in developing the manu
facturing and mercantile interests of Washing
ton county. A native of Barre, Vermont, he was
born January 18, 1826, a son of Peter Johonnott,
Jr., a man of great prominence in his day.
Peter Johonnott, Sr., the grandfather of Al
bert Johonnott, was born July 20, 1772, in Bos
ton, Massachusetts, of Huguenot ancestry, being
a descendant in the third generation from one
Daniel Johonnott, who emigrated to America
from La Rochelle, France, in 1666, being one of
a body of Huguenots who left the country at that
time. Peter Johonnott, Sr., who, with one sister,
was left an orphan when young, served an ap
prenticeship at the tanner and currier's trade,
which he subsequently followed in Boston for a
short time, then in Hartford, Connecticut. In the
spring of 1795, accompanied by his wife and
baby, he started for Vermont, making the nine
days' trip on horseback, the pathway being
marked by blazed trees. Locating on the Robert
Morse farm, at the old "flat," he established him
self at his trade, beginning by cutting down hem
lock trees, peeling the bark, cutting it up with an
axe, then digging out troughs to tan hides in, pro
ducing the first year five hides, or ten sides, of
leather, an output that was increased threefold the
second year. There being no money in circula
tion in those days, these hides were dressed on
shares, the tanner having one-half of the leather
made, a full year being required to get out the
stock. In order to enlarge his operations, he built
a small tannery at what is now South Barre, but
that not being sufficient to meet the demands of
his increasing business, which required better ad
vantages for breaking and pulverizing the bark,
he attached a granite boulder, four feet in diam
eter, and one foot thick, to a twelve-foot wooden
shaft, which he attached to a post in the center of

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

a circle, on the outside edge of which the bark
was laid, and the stone rolled over it by horse
power until the bark was sufficiently pulverized.
In 1830 he further increased the capacity of his
plant by purchasing an iron bark mill, by which
the bark was ground by horse power, grinding
a half cord of bark in a day, this method of grind
ing being continued until 1863. In 1828, in part
nership with two of his sons, Edward S. and Pe
ter, Jr., he opened a currying shop and leather
store in Burlington, Vermont, the leather being
conveyed to that place by teams, and there
dressed. A few years later one of the sons, Ed
ward S., embarked in the tannery business in Chi
cago, Illinois, being succeeded in the Burlington
firm by his brother Leonard. In 1840 Peter, Jr.,
and Leonard bought their father's interest in the
Burlington establishment, and the father subse
ts;,; quently devoted himself to the care of his farm
as long as able. In 1854 he removed to Solon
Mills, Illinois, where he spent his declining years
with his daughter, Mrs. Louise Crosby, dying
?$¦ August 24, 1865.
Peter Johonnott, Sr., married, first, Ruth Shel
don, who bore him four children, namely: Pe
ter, Jr., Ruth, Asa and Edward S. He married,
second, Sarah Wheaton, by whom he had four
children, Leonard, Louisa, Sarah and Mary Ann.
Peter Johonnott, Jr., was born in Hartford,
Connecticut, March 6, 1798, and died in Mont
pelier, Vermont, January 29, 1867. He grew to
manhood in Barre, learning the tanner's trade of
his father. He embarked in business on his own
account, as above mentioned, in company with
his father and brother, in Burlington, as a cur
rier and a manufacturer of boots and shoes, the
latter business being then carried on in an entirely
different manner from the one now in vogue. It
was then the custom for the head of the family
to buy leather 'from the tanner, carry it to the
manufacturer, who made it up to meet the needs
of the family, Thanksgiving day being the
especial time for new boots and shoes in each
household., Peter, Jr., remained in business with
his father or brothers until 1849, when the busi
ness was sold out to his son Albert, the special
subject of this sketch, and to Thomas J. Blan
chard, who had married Sarah Johonnott, a sis
ter of Peter, Jr. He subsequently devoted his
time and attention to agricultural pursuits, liv

ing on his honiestead until 1854, when he removed
to Montpelier, where his death occurred, July 4,
1872. On March 3, 1825, he married Nancy
Blanchard, daughter of General Asa Blanchard,
and they became the parents of five children,
namely : Albert, Emily, Mary Ellen, Martha and
Fred. Albert Johonnott was engaged in business in
Barre and Burlington as a manufacturer of leath
er, boots and shoes, from 1849 until 1863, when
he became associated with W. N. Peck in the
building of a tannery at Berlin, Vermont. In No
vember, 1863, he formed a partnership with Mr.
Peck and with his brother Fred Johonnott, and
was engaged in the manufacture and sale of leath
er until 1874, opening stores in Burlington and
Montpelier. Mr. Peck withdrawing from the
firm in 1874, the business was subsequently car
ried on most successfully under the firm name of
A. & F. Johonnott, until 1892, when Albert Jo
honnott retired from active business, having been
the most extensive manufacturer in his line in the
state. In 1894 Mr. Johonnott became a silent
partner in the firm of Johonnott & Hall, furniture
dealers, and is also vice president of the Capitol
Savings Bank. The larger part of his time, how
ever, is taken up in looking after his own prop
erty interests, and in administering upon estates
left to his care. He has served as director in sev
eral banking institutions ; was town clerk and
town treasurer in Barre for a number of terms ;
served as selectman in Montpelier for ten or more
years ; was vice president of the Morse Granite
Company from its organization; and is identified
with many other industries.
Mr. Johonnott married, June 29, 1853, Mary
J. Parker, who was >born in Plainfield, New
Hampshire, a daughter of Joseph Parker. She
died August 11, 1882, leaving two children, Ar
thur P. and Nellie. Arthur P. Johonnott was
graduated from Goddard Seminary, at Barre, was
first engaged in business with his father, but in
1894 embarked in the furniture and undertaking
business in partnership with Frank Hall, and is
now carrying on an extensive and lucrative busi
ness as head of the firm of Johonnott & Hall.
Fraternally he is an Odd Fellow. He married,
fanuarv 1. 1878, Cora King, daughter of Hon.
Clark King. She died April 17, 1881, leaving
one daughter, Cora K. Nellie Johonnott, young-

272

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

er child of Albert Johonnott, married, October 22,
1879, George C. Kellogg, by whom she has two
children, Mary Goddard and Henry J. Kellogg.
Mr. Johonnott married, second, December 30,
1884, Mrs. Rachel T. Chamberlain, of Barre, Ver
mont.
HON. CASSIUS PECK.
Hon. Cassius Peck, who has been prominent
in politica! affairs and in agricultural circles, do
ing much in both lines to advance the interests
of his portion of the state of Vermont, was born
in Brookfield and now makes his home in Bur
lington. His natal day was March 3, 1842, and
he comes of one of the old New England fami
lies, the ancestry being traced back through
many generations to Henry Peck, who was the
founder of the family in America, and who came
to Boston on the ship Hector, June 26, 1637,
and settled in New Haven, Connecticut in 1638.,
The line comes on down through Benjamin,
first, second and third. Benjamin Peck, fourth,
married Nancy Conner, and among their children
was Reuben Peck, whose wife bore the maiden
name of Charity French. Of this marriage oc
curred the birth of Thomas Peck, the grandfather
of our subject. He was born in Canterbury,
Connecticut, on the 15 th of August, 1762, and
when the country became involved in the war
with England because the coloriists could no
longer endure the yoke of British oppression, he
joined the American army, and after the estab
lishment of peace he emigrated to Vermont,
settling in Brookfield, where he followed shoe-
making and farming. He was there married in
1793 to Priscilla Howard, a daughter of William
Howard, a farmer of Woodstock, Connecticut,
whose wife was a sister of Thomas Knowlton,
the famous commander who fell at Harlem
Heights, in 1776. Thomas Peck died on the
1 8th of March, 1826. Reuben Peck, the father of
our subject and the son of Thomas and Priscilla
(Howard) Peck, was born in Brookfield, Vermont
in 1799. He became a farmer and also engaged
in the manufacture of steel forks, gaining a wide
reputation in that line. He was prominent in
business and public affairs, being a successful bus
iness man of the community as well as one who
took a deep interest in the public welfare. He

served in various town offices, discharging his
duties with marked promptness and fidelity.
Socially he is connected with the Masonic fra
ternity, while his religious faith was indicated by
his membership in the Congregational church.
In politics he was a Whig in early life, and after
ward became a stanch Republican. On the 26th
of June, 1829, he was united in marriage to
Hannah Edson, who was born in Brookfield and
was a daughter of Captain Amasa Edson. Reu
ben Peck passed away in March, 1885, and his
wife died in February, 1859. They were the
parents of the following named children: Mar
tha, the eldest, died in infancy; Marcus, born
June 26, 1834, succeeded his father in the manu
facture of steel forks, and carried on a very large
business, being a prominent and representative
citizen of Brookfield; he was likewise active in
political circles, filling all of the town offices and
representing his district in both houses of the
state legislature; he was married~June 26, 1859,
to Mary E. AVilcox, of Brookfield. Aurelia, the
next member of the Peck family, was born April
10, 1836, and died September 10, 1867. Cassius
is the next younger. Marshall, born August 22,
1846, is a graduate of Dartmouth College and of
Andover Theological Seminary; after teaching
and serving as principal for a time in Northfield
Academy, Vermont, he went to India as a mis
sionary, but the following summer returned to
his native land and soon afterward died, passing
away in August, 1874.
Cassius Peck was reared upon the home farm,
under the parental roof, and pursued his edu
cation in the Newbury and Randolph academies,
but at the breaking out of the Civil war he put
aside all business and personal considerations in
order that he might aid his country in the preser
vation of the Union. He enlisted on the 12th
of September, 1861, in what was known as
Company F, First United States Sharpshooters.
This was a famous company of picked men, and
had the credit of introducing into use the Sharpe's
rifles. Mr. Peck participated in all the battles
of the Army of the Potomac, serving gallantly
as second sergeant and receiving a medal of
honor from congress in recognition of his bravery
and loyalty. He was honorably discharged Sep
tember 12, 1864, having participated in thirty-

OiAA-A^of oteJ*^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

273

seven hard-fought battles, so that he returned to
his home with a most creditable military record.
On the 30th of April, 1868, Mr. Peck was.
united in marriage to Miss Luna Sprague, who
was born December 8, 1845, in Brookfield, Ver
mont, and was a daughter of Asa and Mary
(Keith) Sprague. The young couple began their
domestic life on the old Peck homestead,
where Mr. Peck followed farming successfully
until February, 1897. He was a very progress
ive agriculturist and took advantage of the im
proved methods of farming. He added many im
portant factors to the facilitating of farm work,
and his home and everything about the place in
dicated the supervision and careful management
of the enterprising owner. He was also one of
the promoters of the state grange, and in this
work was largely assisted by his estimable wife.
In 1897 he was elected superintendent of the
experimental farm located at Burlington, and is
now acting in this capacity. His fitness for the
position has been well demonstrated in the care
and supervision which he has given to the place.
Everything is neat and thrifty in appearance, and
his thorough understanding of various products
cultivated and the needs which they have,
together with a knowledge of the kind of soil
best adapted for different crops, — all these have
made him a valued superintendent. He is like
wise one of the trustees of the State Agricultural
College and a member of the board of control.
To Mr. and Mrs. Peck have been born the
following children: Mary Aurelia, born March
26, 1869, is a graduate of the University of
Vermont, of the class of 1896, and is now the
wife of Dr. C. A. Shaw, of Northfield, by whom
she has two children (twins), Arthur and Alden,
born in August 1900; Luna Almeda, born Octo
ber 31, 1870, died March 21, ¦ 1881 ; Marshall
Knowlton, born September 2, 1872, was educated
at Randolph, afterwards engaged in teaching
school and married Fanny Knapp, and died at
Parkersburg, West Virginia, on the 1st of March,
1896: Jennie May, born August 22, 1874, was
also educated at Randolph and became a teacher,
and was married January 3, 1899, to Arthur M.
Flint, in the clothing business at Thomaston,
Connecticut; Edith Hannah, born July 29, 1876,
was married May 5, 1896, to Charles Abner Bige-

low, of Brookfield, and died July 11, 1901, leav
ing one child, Dorothy May, who was born in
1897; Cassius Reuben, born July 1, 1880, was
educated in Randolph and in Burlington, and
was graduated from the University of Vermont
in 1902, on the completion of the law course,
and passed a creditable examination for entrance
to the bar; Florence Keith, born May 15, 1882,
died on the,22d of December, of the same year;
Mildred Sprague and Marcus Ripley (twins),
born June 25, 1884, of whom the former is a
student in the State Normal School; Arthur
Keith, born April 5, 1888, and Bessie Frances,
borrt January 27, 1890, are at home. Mrs. Peck
was a writer of considerable note in Vermont,
and from her pen came many poems for the
entertainment of social gatherings. She had a
poetic nature, keenly, alive to beauty, and her
writings afforded great pleasure to her friends
and die general public. She died September 6,
1901, and her loss was deeply mourned, not only
by her immediate family, but also throughout
the entire community.
In his political views Mr. Peck has always
been a Republican, unfaltering in his advocacy
of the principles of the party, and his fitness
for leadership has caused him to again and again
be called to public office by the vote of his fel
low citizens. He has filled all of the township
offices, and in 1882 and again in 1886 was chosen
to represent Brookfield in the state legislature,
while in 1896 he was elected to represent his
county in the state senate. His course in the
general assembly has ever been one above re
proach. He gave each question which came up
for settlement his earnest and careful consider
ation, and when once he had determined upon a
course which he believed was right, neither fear
nor favor could swerve him from it. Socially
he is identified with the Grand Army of the
Republic, with the Sons of the American Revo
lution and with the state grange, also with the
Masonic fraternity, in which he has attained the
Royal Arch degree. In his private life he is
distinguished .by all that marks the true gentle
man, and in his official career he has maintained
marked patriotism and unfaltering devotion to
the general good, which he has ever placed be
fore self-aggrandizement.

18

274

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

LYNN B. BROOKS.
Lynn B. Brooks, of Montpelier, is carrying on
a thriving mercantile business as head of the firm
of Brooks & Berry. He was born in East Mont
pelier, A^ermont, September 4, 1859, a son of
Christopher C. Brooks, and of Scotch-Irish an
cestry. His paternal great-grandfather Brooks,
born in Ireland, of Scotch progenitors, emi
grated to America about 1826, bringing with him
two sons, with one of whom he settled in Can
ada, while the other son, Christopher, located in
Burlington, A^ermont, and was the next in line of
descent. Christopher Brooks married, first, Eli
za Nobles, and lived for a number of years in
Burlington, A^ermont, where their two older sons,
Christopher C. and John, were born. They sub
sequently removed to Richmond, Vermont, where
other children were added to their household, in
cluding William, James, Noble, Margaret and
Thomas. After the death of his first wife, Chris
topher married Mrs. Stockwell, who died soon
after the birth of their only son. He married,
third, Mrs. Morehead, by whom he had three chil
dren. In religion he was a Methodist.
Christopher C. Brooks was born in Burling
ton, Vermont, October 11, 1827, and was there
reared and educated. While young he spent a
short time in the west, then located in East Mont
pelier, Vermont, on the old Captain Phinney farm,
where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits
until his death in February, 1898. He was a
Democrat in his political affiliations, and served in
the various offices of the town. He married Sarah
G. McKnight, a daughter of Putnam McKnight.
Further parental and ancestral history may be
found elsewhere in this work, in connection with
the sketch of Edwin P. McKnight. She survived
him, dying December 30, 1901.
Lynn B. Brooks, the only child born of their
union, was well trained in the various branches
of agriculture during his youthful days, receiv
ing instruction from his father while on the home
farm, and attended first the district school, com
pleting his studies at the Goddard Seminary.
Coming to Montpelier in 1885, he entered the em
ploy of W. AV. Park, remaining with him as clerk
for five years. On April 1, 1890, he entered into
partnership with his former employer, and con
tinued tlie grocery business under the firm name

of Park & Brooks until the following June, when
Mr. Park died, and his son-in-law, W. C. Berry,
purchased an interest in the business, the firm
name becoming Brooks & Berry. Four years la
ter AV C. Berry sold out his interest in the con
cern to C. J. Berry, but the firm name remained
unchanged. In the fall of 1902 Mr. Brooks pur
chased the interest in the business from his part
ner, and is now conducting the business alone. A
large and lucrative trade in fancy and staple gro
ceries has been established, Mr. Brooks being
among the best patronized grocers of this vicin
ity- Mr. Brooks is not an aspirant for official fa
vors, but has served for two years as a member
of the board of village, trustees. Socially he be
longs to the Apollo Club. On February 1, 1888,
Mr. Brooks married Flora M. Morse, who was
born in East Montpelier, Vermont, October 7,
1859, a daughter of Sylvanus and Laminta T.
(Leland) Morse, of Grafton, Vermont. Mr. and
Mrs. Brooks have one son, George L., born Feb
ruary 5, 1895.
HENRY STEPHEN BINGHAM.
A man's reputation is the property of the
world. The laws of nature have forbidden isola
tion. Every human being submits to the con
trolling influence of others, or as a master spirit
wields a power either for good or evil on the
masses of mankind. There can be no impropriety
in justly scanning the acts of any man as they
affect his public and business relations. If he is
honest and eminent in his chosen field of labor,
investigation will brighten his fame and point the
path that others may follow with like success.
From among the ranks of quiet, persevering yet
prominent citizens — prominent on account of
what he has done in commercial circles — there is
no one more deserving of mention in a volume of
this character than Henry S. Bingham, who is
now numbered among the leading representatives
of commercial interests of Bennington.
Mr. Bingham was born in Bennington, Ver
mont, February 9, 1850, and has' ever since made
this place his home. His ancestral line can be,
through his father Hiram Bingham, traced back
through many generations to Deacon Bingham,
who was the progenitor of the family in America.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

275

Deacon Thomas Bingham was baptized on the
5th of June, 1642, in Sheffield, England, and
crossing the Atlantic to America spent his last
days in Windham, Connecticut, where he died on
the 1 6th of January, 1729, his remains being in
terred in the cemetery there. His eldest child,
Thomas Bingham, Jr., was born December 11,
1667, in Norwich, Connecticut. He was married
on the 17th of February, 1691, to Hannah Backus,
a daughter of Lieutenant William Backus. He
was the only one of the family who settled in
Norwich, and thus he succeeded to the privileges
of his father as a proprietor of the town. He
died on the 5th of April, 1710, leaving a family
of eight children, the youngest being Deacon Jo
seph Bingham, who was born June 4, 1709, in
Norwich, and died at Bennington, Vermont, on
the 4th of November, 1789, having served as a
lieutenant in a company of provincial troops dur
ing the French and Indian war, but some years
afterward broke his hip and was thus prevented
from joining the colonial forces and participating
in the battle of Bennington. He was, however,
a resident of this place at the time the memorable
engagement with the British troops occurred
here. He was married on the 25th of November,
1 73 1, to Ruth Post, who was born October 15,
171 1, and was the second daughter of Samuel
and Ruth (Lathrop) Post. Among their chil
dren was Calvin Bingham, whose birth occurred
in Norwich, Connecticut, October 8, 1750, and on
the 6th of January, 1777, he married Lydia Den
ton, a daughter of John Denton, whose ancestors
came from England.
Calvin Bingham was a deacon of the first
'church established in Bennington. His life was
devoted to agricultural pursuits, and through
most of his life he resided in this place. He died
on the 19th of February, 1831, when eighty years
of age. In his family were thirteen children, of
which the youngest was Stephen, who became the
father of Hiram Bingham, who was born in Ben
nington, A'ermont, December 16, 1821, and de
voted his life to merchandising. He was edu
cated in the public schools, and for a number of
years occupied the position of bookkeeper for the
Furnace Company, but subsequently became asso
ciated in business with Daniel McEowen. Their
relationship was maintained for a number of years
as proprietors of a general mercantile establish

ment, with which Mr. Bingham continued to be
connected until about 1856, when he sold his in
terest to his partner.
A few years subsequent to this Hiram Bing
ham established himself in a similar line of busi
ness on West Main street, and at the opening of
the Civil war was for a time in partnership t&
lations with George Rockwood & Company, man
ufacturers of hosiery. He next devoted his at
tention to business as a jobber in underwear, and
in his business interests met with well merited
success, for his careful management and keen in
sight, combined with industry, proved an excel
lent foundation upon which to rear the super
structure of prosperity. He was also prominent
in other lines of life, and left the impress of a
strong nature upon political and church circles:
He long served as a deacon in the Second Congre
gational church, of which he Was a faithful mem
ber. In politics he was known as a stalwart Re
publican, and was frequently called to public of
fice. Mr. Bingham was twice married. He first
wedded Lucy Lillie, the wedding being celebrated
on the 8th of November, 1843, but when little
more than a year had passed she was called to her
final rest, on the 17th of April, 1845. Mr. Bing
ham afterward married Adelaide C. Rogers, on
the 5th of February, 1849. She was a daughter
of Jonathan and Catherine Rogers. Her father
was born in New Haven, Connecticut, was a
dealer in boots and shoes and conducted a profit
able business. Her mother was Catherine God
frey, granddaughter of Brigadier General George
Godfrey, of Taunton, a Revolutionary hero. To
Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Bingham were born two
children, Henry S. and Mary A.
The elementary education of Henry Stephen
Bingham, acquired in the common schools, was
supplemented by an academic course, and when he
entered upon his business career he became con
nected with Henry F. Dewey, in 1870, in the man
ufacture of paper boxes. He also succeeded his
father in the underwear jobbing business, and is
now a leading factor in commercial and industrial
circles of Bennington.
' On the 2d of January was celebrated his
marriage with Miss Fannie Thresa Loring, a
daughter of the late Joseph Henry Loring, whose
sketch will be found elsewhere in this volume.
They have now two children, Loring Dewey and

276

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Ella Adelaide. The son was born in Bennington,
pursued his early education in the public schools.
He attended the St. Johns Military Academy at
Manlius, New York, also the Peekskill Military
Academy. He has also been associated with his
father in the underwear business at Bennington
and at Syracuse.
Politically Henry S. Bingham is a Republican,
and upon that ticket has been elected to a number
of town offices. He was president of the village
in 1894, and in the same year was chosen to rep
resent his district in the state legislature. In
1898-9 he served on the staff of Governor Smith
with the rank of colonel. In December, 1900, he
was appointed railroad commissioner for a two
years' term, and reappointed in 1902. He is also
trustee of the Free Library, and was a member of
the Vermont National Guards. Fraternally he is
connected with the Mount Anthony Lodge No.
13, F. & A. M., with the Temple Chapter No. 8,
R. A. M., with Taft Cornmandery, K. T., and the
Oriental Temple of Troy, Mystic Shrine. The
Sons of the American Revolution also number
him with their members. His wife is secretary
and registrar of the National Society of the Co
lonial Dames of America in the State of Vermont.
He is ranked among the straightforward and en
ergetic business men of his community, and such
success as he has had has by no means been the
result of fortunate circumstances. It has come to
him by well directed effort and an evenly
balanced mind, and by honorable business princi
ples. He has made the most of his opportunities,
and could never justly be called extravagent un
less it was in his benevolence. In manner he is
quiet and straightforward, saying just what he
means without the addition of useless compliment.
He is not slow to condemn injustice and dis
honesty, nor is he slow to reward faithfulness.
Although rather retired and conservative before
the public, he commands the respect of all with
whom he comes in contact.
GEORGE E. E. SPARHAWK, M. D.
Dr. George E. E. Sparhawk, one of the most
prominent physicians, and probably the oldest
of the Homeopathic school in active practice in
the state of Vermont, was born iri Rochester, Ver
mont, February 20, 1829, a son of the Rev.

Samuel Sparhawk, who was born in Templeton,
Massachusetts, January 1, 1801 a descendant of
Scotch ancestry. The Rev. Samuel Sparhawk
was a minister in the Congregational church,
and officiated in that capacity in Massachusetts,
while visiting relatives, on occasions also in
Albany, New York, and in Vermont. His death
occurred in November, 1869, in the town of
Pittsfield, Vermont. He was located for the last
thirty years in Randolph.
George E. E. Sparhawk acquired his pre
liminary education in the Orange county gram
mar school at Randolph, Vermont, and this was
supplemented by a course of study in the West
Randolph Academy, from which he graduated
with the class of 1850. In the meantime, for
six consecutive years a portion of his time was
devoted to the occupation of teaching, and thus,
as the result of his own exertions, he was en
abled to acquire a broad general education.
Choosing the medical profession for his life work,
he pursued a course of reading under the com
petent preceptorship of Dr. Gibson, of Sharon,
Vermont, with whom he remained from 1849 to
1852. In March of the latter year he became
a student in the Vermont Medical College at
Woodstock, and at the end of the spring term
he entered the office of Dr. William F. Guernsey,
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with whom he re
mained only a few months. He further pros
ecuted his studies in the Hahnemann Homeo
pathic Medical College of Philadelphia, this be
ing at the time the only homeopathic college in
the world, from which he graduated in March,.
1853, in the fifth class of that celebrated insti
tution, with the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
The following June Dr. Sparhawk chose his
native town, Rochester, for the field of his labor,
and practiced his profession in partnership with
Dr. H. W. Hamilton. He continued his con
nection with this gentleman until January, 1854,
when he purchased the latter's interest and con
tinued the practice alone. He was the pioneer
of the "new school," as homeopathy was then
called, and for many years was the only phy
sician of this school in the state of Vermont.
Like any exponent of a new science he met with-
much opposition, but being convinced of its su
periority over the old system, he adopted its-
practice altogether, and the excellent results

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

277

which he obtained in cases of a most serious
character, which attracted attention and finally
recognition from the most learned members of
the medical profesion, demonstrated the wisdom
of his course. In 1856 he formed a partnership
with Dr. C. B. Currier, to whom afterward he
sold his practice on account of the failing health
of his wife. He then located in West Randolph,
Vermont, where he practiced his profession, also
maintaining an office in Gaysville, Vermont.
After the death of his wife, which occurred in
December, 1858, he removed to Gaysville, where
he became conspicuous through his masterly skill
in relieving the sufferings of his patients ; he re
mained here until November 25, 1878, when he
located in Burlington, Vermont, where he has
since remained. He is very careful in the diag
nosis of a case, is sympathetic and considerate in
the sick-room, and for these reasons, combined
with his ability, which is recognized as of the
highest order, his services are in great demand
in cases of the gravest character, where the best
medical skill is required.
Dr. Sparhawk, believing that there was a
wider field for the practice of his chosen specialty,
laid the foundation in 1886 for the magnificent
building known as the Sparhawk Sanitarium,
which was completed in 1887 with every modern
improvement and with accommodations for
twenty-five patients. This institution is under
the personal supervision of Dr. Sparhawk, ably
assisted by an eminent corps of physicians.
Thousands of patients, many of whom have been
pronounced incurable by other physicians, have
been restored to perfect health. Dr. Sparhawk,
believing that much good could be accomplished
by the use of baths, in 1895 added a beautiful
annex, containing Turkish, vapor, electric and
numerous other kinds of bathing facilities, which
will accommodate twenty-five people at the same
time. The reputation of this establishment for
effecting cures has spread throughout the Union,
and patients are received from every state.
Since 1897 the Doctor has been relieved of the
most arduous duties connected with his prac
tice by his son. Dr. Sam Sparhawk, who is a
graduate of the University of Vermont, and also
from the Hahnemann Medical College of Phila
delphia, Pennsylvania. In addition to his pro
fessional duties, Dr. Sparhawk has devoted some

time to agricultural pursuits. He owns two mag
nificent farms, where are raised all the vegetables
as well as the milk, butter and poultry used at the
sanitarium. Dr, Sparhawk aided in founding the Vermont
Homeopathic Society in 1854, and it was largely
through his instrumentality that the charter was
obtained in 1858 ; he has filled almost every office
in the society, acting in the capacity of secretary
for over twenty years and is one of its most
honored and valued representatives. In 1859 he
became a member of the American Institute of
Homeopathy, and in 1884 joined the American
Obstetrical Society. He holds membership in
the Congregational church of Burlington, Ver
mont, and socially is a member of White River
Lodge No. 90, Free & Accepted Masons of
Bethel, Vermont, his name being on the roll of
its charter members. His political support is
given to the Republican party ; he keeps well in
formed on the issues and questions of the day,
but has never sought or desired office, prefer
ring to devote his time and energy to his pro
fession. On March 4, 1854, Dr. Sparhawk was united
in marriage to Miss Lucy Ann Griswold, of
Randolph, Vermont. After the death of his
wife, which occurred December 2, 1858, the Doc
tor married, June 18, 1867, Miss Mary A. Hen-
dee, of Pittsford, Vermont, and to them have
been born two children: Fred, born December
5, 1870, died October 26, 1879; and Sam, born
September 6, 1869, married, in 1898, Miss
Frances A. Hall, of Burlington, Vermont, and
they have two children, Sam, Jr., and George H.
Sparhawk.
MRS. ALFRED ROBINSON..
One of the most highly esteemed ladies of
Bennington Center is Mrs. Alfred Robinson,
who is a representative of an old and honored
family of that locality, being a daughter of Gay
R. Sanford, who was for many years prominently
identified with the commercial and industrial in
terests of Bennington. He was a native of
Derby, Connecticut, and a son of Captain Ray
mond and Rebecca (Chatfield) Sanford, in whose
family were two sons. The family was founded
in Connecticut in early colonial days. On the

278

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

attempt of the colonies to throw off the yoke of
British oppression, Captain Raymond Sanford
entered the continental army, and was made a
lieutenant of the Sixteenth Company, Second
Regiment in 1777, being commissioned captain
on the 17th of October, 1779. He was a promi
nent Mason, joining King Hiram's Lodge in
¦1773, and in 1790 he became a charter member
of Hart Lodge No 22, A. F. & A. M., of AVood-
bridge. After the Revolutionary war he re
moved from his old home in Connecticut to Ben
nington, Vermont, where he continued to make
his home until called to his final rest in 1805. His
, wife died at a good old age. Both were earnest
and consistent members of the Presbyterian
church, and were held in high regard by all who
knew them.
Gay R. Sanford, the father of Mrs. Robin
son, was reared and educated in Derby, Con
necticut, and later went to Plymouth, that state,
where he learned the carpenter's trade. He sub
sequently traveled extensively through the south,
in the interest of a mercantile firm, being thus
employed for some years, and on his return to
Connecticut he located at Harwinton, where he
conducted a store for some time. In 1831 he re
moved to Bennington, Vermont, and in this city
continued to make his home throughout the re
mainder of his life. Here he operated a cotton
factory and was also proprietor of two stores.
He was a wide-awake, energetic and reliable
business man, and was able to carry forward to
successful completion whatever he undertook.
In his political affiliations he was first a
Whig and later a Republican, and in his
social relations was connected with Wood-
bridge Lodge, A. F. & A. M. He died on
the 9th of November, 1853, at the age of
sixty-six years, honored and respected by all
who knew him. His wife departed this life
October 23, 1859, at the age of sixty-three.
She bore the maiden name of Hannah Brown
and was a daughter of Captain Park and Sarah
(Curtis) Brown, of Southbury, Connecticut,
who were the parents of thirteen children ; Mrs.
¦Brown was fifty years of age at the time of her
death. Mr. and Mrs. Sanford had seven children,
of whom Mrs. Robinson is the eldest, and all
are yet living. One of the family, Charles R.

Sanford, is a well known undertaker and prom
inent citizen of Bennington Center, where he is
conducting an extensive business. He married
Miss Maria Robinson, a daughter of Deacon
John F. Robinson, of Bennington Center, who
died at the age of fifty years. By this union was
born a daughter, May, who is now the wife of
William B, Jennings, of Cleveland, Ohio, and
has one child, Nancy. During the winter months
Mrs. Robinson makes her home with her
brother Charles R. Sanford. Another brother,
William' M. Sanford, is a resident of Troy, New
York.
FARNHAM MANNING SPRAGUE.
Farnham Manning Sprague, of Readsboro,
is filling the position of foreman of the repair

FARNHAM MANNING SPRAGUE.
shops connected with the • Hoosac Tunnel and
Wilmington Railroad in a most capable man
ner. He was born in Whitingham, Vermont,

THE STATE OF VERMONT:

279

June 23, 1858, a sort of Manning Sprague. He
is of excellent English ancestry, and is directly
descended from William Sprague, the immigrant,
his lineage being thus traced : William, Jonathan,
William, Nehemiah, Elias, Jonathan, Nehemiah,
Manning, Farnham M.
William Sprague (1), was born in Upway,
county of Dorset, England, a son of Edward and
Christina Sprague, the former of whom died in
1614, leaving three sons, Ralph, Richard and
William, all of whom came to this country in
1629, in the interest of the Massachusetts Bay
Company. William located first in Naumkeag,
now Salem, going from there to Charlestown,
and Boston, thence, in 1636, to Hingham, Massa
chusetts, where his' death occurred in 1675. He
married Mellicent Eames. Jonathan Sprague
(2), was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, May
28, 1648, and died in September, 1741, having
lived in Hingham, and in Providence and
Smithfield, Rhode Island. The maiden name of
his wife was Mehitable Holbrook.
AVilliam Sprague (3), a native of Smithfield,
Rhode Island, died in 1768. He and his wife,
Abigail, were the parents of Nehemiah D.
Sprague (4), who married in 1738, Mercy
Brown. Elias Sprague (5), born in Smithfield,
Rhode Island, June 16, 1744, married, August
5, 1764, Mercy Bassett, and died February 15,
1799. Jonathan Sprague (6), who was born in
Smithfield, Rhode Island, December 9, 1765, and
died in Thompson, Connecticut, October 29,
181 5, married Patience Pixley. Nehemiah
Sprague (7), born in Uxbridge, Massachusetts,
spent the larger part of his active life as a black
smith in Whitingham, Vermont, where his death
occurred in 1872. Of this union with Polly Farn
ham nine children ware born, of whom two sur
vive, Charlotte, wife of Samuel Tyler, of Jack
sonville, Vermont; and Francis SpragUe, of
Wardsboro, Vermont. Both he and his wife
were active and consistent members of the Meth
odist Episcopal church.
Manning Sprague (8), was born in Whiting
ham, Vermont, and died November 19, 1900, in
Readsboro, Vermont. He was reared in Whit
ingham, where he attended the district schools
and the academy, after which he turned his at
tention to agricultural pursuits. From 1867 to
1890 he pursued the vocation of farming, and was

an esteemed and respected citizen. He was a
Democrat in his political affiliations and belonged
to the Baptist church. He married Fanny Wil
lard, who was born near Hinsdale, New Hamp
shire, a daughter of Washington Willard. Mr.
Willard spent the earlier years of his life as a
shoemaker in Hindsdale, New Hampshire, later
removing to Wisconsin, where he died at the
advanced age of fourscore years. By his mar
riage with Miss Furbush seven children were
born, four of whom survive, namely: Mrs.
Louisa Welsh; Hannah; Phineas, of Charle-
mont, Massachusetts ; and Fanny, widow of Man
ning Sprague, of Readsboro. Mrs. Sprague bore
her husband seven children, of whom but two are
living, Theodore, of Readsboro; and Farnham
M., the special subject of this sketch. She is
a member of the Baptist church.
Farnham M. Sprague (9), lived in Whiting
ham until ten years of age, then came with his
parents to Readsboro, where he completed his ed
ucation in the common schools. Learning then
the trade of machinist, he soon proved himself a
skillful workman in the mills, and rose from one
position to another, until placed in charge of the
machine work in the National Metal Edge Box
Company's factory. In 1893 he entered the shops
of the Hoosac Tunnel & Wilmington Railroad
Company, and after a short time was made fore
man and master mechanic, two responsible po
sitions which he held for some time. On ac
count of the increase of business he was forced
to resign as master mechanic, and has since de
voted his entire time and attention to the general
repairing of the rolling stock of the road, hav
ing a number of men in his employ.
Mr. Sprague married, in 1880, Hattie Jewell,
a native of Monroe, Massachusetts, and a daugh
ter of Edward K. Jewell, a farmer, now resid
ing in Whitingham, Vermont. She died at the
age of twenty-seven years, leaving two children,
Blanche E., and Lena H. Mr. Sprague mar
ried, second, in 1892, Etta Chase, who was born
in Readsboro, Vermont, a daughter of Joseph
and Clarinda Chase, the former of whom is a
native of Pelham, Massachusetts, while the latter
was born" in Whitingham. She is one of a
family of four children: Clara, wife of J. F.
¦Megnault; Allie J.; Etta, now Mrs. Sprague;
and Laura, wife of George M. Guernsey. Mr.

28o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Sprague is a- firm adherent of the Democratic
party, and notwithstanding that the town is a
Republican stronghold, has held the office of
water commissioner, and represented Readsboro
in the state legislature in 1890. He belongs to
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is an
active member of the Baptist church, of which he
is deacon and trustee and superintendent of the
Sunday school.
CHARLES HENRY HEATH.
Charles Henry Heath, late of Montpelier,
Vermont, was born in Woodbury, Vermont,
November 4, 1829, a son of Elias and Ruth
(Blanchard) Heath. He acquired his early edu
cation in the public schools of Woodbury, the
Washington Grammar school and the People's
Academy, at Morrisville. After his graduation
from the latter institution he entered the Uni
versity of Arermont, from which he was graduated
in 1854, and three years later this same insti
tution conferred upon him the degree of Master
of Arts. The four years following his graduation Mr.
Heath acted in the capacity of principal of the
academy at Morrisville, which at that time ranked
as the best school of its kind in the state of
Vermont. During the time he was principal of
the school he studied law in the office of Mr.
Thomas Gleed, of Morrisville, Vermont, and was
admitted to the bar of Lamoille county court in
December, 1858. He practiced his profession at
Plainfield, Vermont, until 1872, when he re
moved to Montpelier, and continued his practice
up to the time of his death, which occurred July
12. 1889.
On February 9, 1859, Mr. Heath was united
in marriage to Miss Sarah Eliza Putnam, daugh
ter of Dr. David Wing and Rebecca (Caldwell)
Putnam, of Morrisville, Vermont.
Mr. Heath was a Republican in politics, and
he commenced his political career early in the
sixties by serving as state's attorney for the
county for two years, and for the years 1868,
1869 and 1870 he was chosen to represent the
people in the state senate, and was subsequently
made a trustee of the state library. The cause
of temperance had an ardent supporter in Mr.
Heath, who firmly believed that most of the

troubles in this world were from the source of
intemperance. He was also an adherent of the
principles of Free Masonry, being advanced to
the degree of knight templar. Mr. Heath was
a man of very broad principles, and whatever
commended itself as helpful to humanity was sure
to enlist his hearty co-operation. He possessed
a wonderful memory and whatever he observed
seemed indelibly impressed upon his mind. He
was also a liberal thinker in his religious views.
GEORGE WADSWORTH ROBINSON.
The Robinson family, of which the subject
of this sketch was a worthy representative, has
long been prominently identified with the history
of Bennington Center. The first of the name to
locate here was Captain Samuel Robinson, who
on returning from one of the campaigns of the
continental army in the French and Indian war
passed through Bennington Center, in 1761,
and being impressed by the attractiveness of this
locality determined to settle here. He was the
moderator of the first town meeting, or "propri
etors' meeting," as it was then called, February
11, 1762, and since that time members of the
family have borne quite an active and prominent
part in the affairs of the town and county.
General David Robinson, the eighth child of
Captain Samuel Robinson, was born in Hard
wick, Massachusetts, November 22, 1754, and
came with his father to Bennington, Vermont,
in,i76i. When the colonists took up arms
against the mother country at the outbreak of
the Revolutionary war, he joined the continental
army, and as a private participated in the battle
of Bennington, but afterwards rose by regular
promotion to the rank of major general. He con
tinued his connection with military affairs until
1817, when he resigned his commission. For the
long period of twenty- two years, ending in 181 1,
he efficiently served as sheriff of Bennington
county, and was then appointed United States
marshal, which office he filled until 1819. He
was always deeply interested in everything con
nected with the growth and prosperity of Ben
nington, and was recognized as one of the most
valued and useful men of the community, as well
as one of its most distinguished and popular cit
izens. He died on the 12th of December, 1843,

JfyttyEB.maZaSons. ysw-J$&

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

281

at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. In
early life he married Miss Sarah Fay, a daugh
ter of Stephen Fay. Captain Heman Robinson,
the youngest son of this worthy couple, spent
his entire life at Bennington, where he died at
the age of fifty years. He wedded Miss Betsey
Wadsworth, a daughter of Joseph Wadsworth,
and twelve children blessed this union, one of
whom was George Wadsworth Robinson.
The last named was born in Bennington
Center on the 14th of January 1819, and his pri
mary education, acquired in the public schools
•of that place, was supplemented by a course at
the Bennington Academy. After arriving at
man's estate, he went to New York city, where
he was employed as clerk in a carpet store, and
.he. was offered an interest in the business, but at
the earnest solicitation of his grandfather, Gen
eral Robinson, he returned to Bennington in 1843,
to take charge of the general's estate. He later
became proprietor of the Walloomsac House and
also engaged in auctioneering, being a very active
man throughout life. He finally disposed of his
"hotel. He built three observatories on Mount
Anthony and devoted considerable time to that
pursuit. On the 8th of April, 1840, Mr. Robinsin was
united in marriage to Miss Jane E. Hinsdill,
-whose father was Joseph N. Hinsdill, of Hins-
dillville, who was a native of Bennington and
the proprietor of the first woolen mill in the
state. At the time of his death, which occurred
when he was forty-eight years of age, Mr. Hins
dill owned every house in the village which bore
his name. He married Miss Joanna Nichols, a
cousin of Charles Foster, ex-secretary of treas
ury, and to them were born ten children, of whom
nine reached years of maturity; one son, Joseph
N., became cashier of the Bennington Bank and
surveyor general of the state. Mr. and Mrs.
Robinson had ten children, namely : Mrs. Sam
uel B. Hall, who is a resident of North Benning
ton and has four sons, Deming, Robinson,
Carter and Lincoln ; Mrs. Charles F. Sears, who
makes her home in Atlantic City, New Jersey;
Carrie, a resident of Bennington Center ; David,
who is now engaged in farming in the state of
Washington ; Heman, . who is employed in the
mint in California; George A., who is at home
-with his mother; Chester, Fannie and Agnes,

deceased; and Jennie E., also at Bennington
Center. Throughout life Mr. Robinson was a staunch
supporter of the men and measures of the Dem
ocratic party, and for a number of years he filled
the office of postmaster at Bennington Center.
He was a charter member and the first president
of the Bennington Historical Society, to which
organization he devoted much time and labor
with most gratifying results. He was also
actively interested in the erection of the Ben
nington Battle Monument, for which he collected
a large amount of money, and as a public-spir
ited and progressive citizen he gave his support
to every enterprise calculated to advance the
moral, social or material welfare of his native
place. He was a man highly honored and es
teemed by all who knew him, and well merited
the regard in which he was held. His widow
survived him until June 3, 1902, when she
passed away at the old .homestead in Bennington
Center, at the age of eighty-two years, sur
rounded by a host of friends and acquaintances
who esteemed her highly for her sterling worth.
The following is an extract from a local paper,
The Banner :
"The impressive, characteristic in the char
acter of Mrs. Robinson was her gentleness.
There was such an element of quiet and gentle
ness about her that few would be aware of her
abilities. She had a remarkable memory and
would repeat many a psalm and hymn and poem
for the benefit of her children. Her love of home
and devotion to her family were of the deepest
kind. Often would she get her children to repeat
with her these lines :
'Let not soft slumber close your eyes
Before you've recollected thrice,
The train of actions through the day.
AVhere haye my feet sought out the wayL
What have I sought that I could shun ?
What duties haye I left undone?
Or into what new follies run?
These self-inquiries are the road,
Which lead to virtue and to God.'
"But her thought was not confined to her
own home, and again and again she would in
quire about friends and neighbors after she was
unable to get to see them herself. One of her

202

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

favorite hymns was, 'How firm a foundation, ye
saints of the Lord,' and it was expressive of her
Christian faith. She united with the Old First
church, January '5, 1834, when in her fifteenth
year, and was a consistent member for sixty-
eight years. She showed her interest in the
church to the very last, being greatly interested
in the preparations for re-opening the church for
services the Sunday before her death, after the
long absence necessitated by extensive repairs.
"Her passing to the other life was beautiful
and peaceful, so gentle that the friends could
hardly tell the exact moment it came.
"Homeward.
"She sat at peace in the sunshine
Till the day was almost done,
And then, at its close, an angel
stole over the threshold stone.
He folded her hands together,
He touched her eyelids with balm,
And her last breath floated upward
Like the close of a. beautiful psalm.
No tender, yet sad, farewell,
From her quivering lips was heard.
So softly she crossed the quiet stream
That it was not by a ripple stirred.
She was spared the pain of parting tears,
She was spared all mortal strife.
It was scarcely dying, she only passed
In a moment, to endless life.
Weep not for the swift release
From earthly pain and care,
Nor grieve that she reached her home and rest
Ere she knew that she was there.
But think of the sweet surprise,
The sudden and strange delight
She. felt as she met the Savior's smile
And walked with him in white."
George A. Robinson, who lives in the old
homestead, has made farming his life occupa
tion and still carries on that pursuit with good
success. During his boyhood he attended the
common schools of Bennington Center and also
the Mount Anthony Seminary. Politically he
is identified with the Republican party, and is
now (1902) efficiently serving as village clerk.
He belongs to the Vermont Society of- the Sons
of the Revolution and the Vermont Historical

Society, and is a member of the old First church
at Bennington Center, in which his father was
president of church and society.
ALBERT WHITMAN FERRIN.
Albert Whitman Ferrin, known as a most
capable financier and man of affairs, was born
July 4, 185 1, in Johnson, Vermont, son of Whit
man George and Harriet Matilda (Harris) Fer
rin, of old and well known families. Whitman
G. Ferrin was born in Croydon, New Hamp
shire, July 9, 1818, son of John and Hannah
(Jacobs) Ferrin. John was born December 25,
1789, at Newport, New Hampshire, son of Zeb
ulon and Lydia (Coburn) Ferrin. Zebulon
first married Lydia Coburn, at Newport, Sep
tember 25, 1783, and for his second wife married
Chloe, the widow of James Winter, at Croydon,
October 8, 1812. He disappeared from Croydon
in 1818. His son John was a farmer; he re
moved in 1820 to Morristown, Vermont, and be
came a man of prominence, occupying various
town offices and serving in the legislature, where
he was noted as the largest man in that body.
He married Hannah Jacobs, who was born
August 10, 1794, and died November 9, 1874, a
.daughter of Whitman and Hannah (Walker)
Jacobs. WTiitman Jacobs was a pensioner of
the Revolutionary war, and a son of the Rev.
Whitman Jacobs, of Royalston, Massachusetts.
The Rev. Whitman Jacobs was born May 3,
1727, at Bristol, Massachusetts (now in Rhode
Island) ; he was married October 1, 1744, to Re
becca B. Jacobs, who died at Royalston, Massa
chusetts, December 15, 1754. His second wife
was Rebecca Grow, whom he married June 3,
1773. He organized the first Baptist church in
Thompson, Connecticut, and he was so famous
as a pulpiteer that people came great distances
to hear him preach. In 1769 he came to Royals
ton, where he died March 27, 1801. He was the
father of fifteen children.
Nathaniel, father of the Reverend Whitman
Jacobs, was born June 26, 1683, at Hingham,
Massachusetts. He removed to Bristol, Massa
chusetts (now in Rhode Island), and in 1729 to
AVoodstock, then in Massachusetts and now in
Connecticut, where he bought a large tract of

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

283

land and lived until 1742, when he went
to Thompson, Connecticut, and bought two
large tracts of land, for which he paid fifty-four
hundred dollars. He then opened an inn which,
as the half-way house between Hartford and
Boston, and known as the "Jacobs Inn," was
famous to the travelers of the day. Lafayette,
the gallant Frenchman who rendered such val
uable service to the patriot cause during the Rev
olutionary war, made it his stopping place while
journeying from New York to. Boston, and
when he had departed it was found that he had
left behind him his Masonic apron, which is
now worn by George Jacobs, who occupies the
old homestead farm upon which the famous old
inn is yet standing. Washington was also a
guest there while passing through the country.
On one occasion Washington's coachman drove
away without his master, whom he supposed had
taken his seat in the vehicle, but Washington
was so fleet of foot that he ran and overtook
the fast-flying horses, and when on the step of
the coach waved his hand in farewell to his host.
Nathaniel Jacobs married, October 22, 1713,
Mercy Whitman, and he died February 22, 1772.
His son John succeeded him in the proprietor
ship of the Jacobs Inn.
Joseph Jacobs, father of Nathaniel Jacobs,
'born in Hingham, Massachusetts, May 10, 1644,
was a son of Nicholas Jacobs, who was the pro
genitor of the family in 1633. He first settled
at Watertown, Massachusetts, where he became
a freeman in 1636, was. commissioned in 1646 to
try small cases, and was a deputy in 1648-9.
With his wife Mary and two children he removed
to Hingman, where he died, June 5, 1657.
John and Hannah (Jacobs) Ferrin were the
parents of seven children. Rebecca, the oldest,
.was three times married, and her children were
Governor George. W. Hendee, one of the most
conspicuous men of his day, and is still living;
•and Henry C. Fisk, of Morrisville. Lydia mar
ried Sylvester Gates, and two daughters were
born to them, May Gates Cheney, still living, and
Maria, deceased. Whitman G. is further men
tioned below. Harrison died without issue.
John died unmarried. Elmira and Almira,
twins; Elmira is the widow of Elisha Parker,
and now resides in Middlefield, Connecticut;

and Almira, deceased, married Moses Weld Ter*
rill, and became the mother of five children.
Whitman G. Ferrin received a high school
¦education in Morrisville and Montpelier. He
read law under the preceptorship of Luke P.
Poland, was admitted to the bar, and practiced'
in Wolcott, Johnson, Hyde Park and Mont-'
pelier, Vermont. In 1859 he removed to Mont
pelier and formed a partnership with F. F. Mer*
rill, who died shortly afterward, and he after
ward practiced alone. He was a man of splen
did legal attainments, and cared for a very ex
tensive practice in the supreme and inferior
courts. In 1866 and 1868 he served in the legis
lature, and was state auditor from 187 1 to
1877. He was one of the incorporators and the
first treasurer of the Montpelier Savings Bank
and Trust Company, and occupied that position
until 1878, when he was succeeded by his son;
He was an organizer and a zealous supporter of
the church of the Messiah (Unitarian), and
assisted liberally in the building of its house of
worship. He was a man of excellent social
qualities, and was seld in high esteem in the
community. December 25, 1843, ne married
-Matilda Harris, who was born in Stowe, July
21, . 1824, a daughter of Joel and Mahitabel
(Akeley) Harris. Her father was born in
'Stowe, September 17, 1796, and died September
22, 1862. He was a farmer, a son of Joel K.
Harris, born July 8, 1766, who was son of
Nathaniel, born at Colchester, Connecticut,.
April 2, 1743, who was a son of Jonathan, born
at Montville, Connecticut, January 15, 1705,
who was son of Lieutenant James Harris, born
in Boston, April 4, 1673, who was the eldest
son of James Harris, who was born in Boston,
in 1640. Lieutenant James Harris married
(1696) Sarah, daughter of Samuel Rogers, of
New London. In 1750, when seventy-seven
years of age, he married a daughter of Joseph'
Henry, of New London, and he died February
10, 1757, aged eighty-four years.
Whitman G. Ferrin was the father of four
children: Alma T., born in Wolcott, Vermont,
November 21, 1845, married, March 18, 1868,
William P. Richardson, of New York; Albert
Whitman, written of below; Charles H., born
in Johnson,. December 11, 1852, who became a

284

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

merchant and is now retired, married Ida Rob
inson, and to them were born two children,
Whitman G. and Winnie; and Harriet M., born
in Hyde Park, January 31, 1858, who became the
wife of Dr. Homer C. Brigham, of New York.
The parents of these children died, respectively,
in June 1896, and February 11, 1892.
Their eldest son, Albert Whitman Ferrin,
was educated in the public schools of Mont
pelier. He read law under the preceptorship of
his father, but relinquished his studies, after
being nearly prepared to enter upon practice, in
order to take service with the Montpelier Sav
ings Bank & Trust Company at the time of its
organization. He opened the books of that cor
poration August 1, 1871, and continued to act
as clerk until 1878, when he succeeded his
father in the teasurership, a position which he has
¦since occupied, discharging his duties with signal
ability and to the entire satisfaction of the direct
orate and patrons. He is also county treasurer
of Washington county, and is identified with
various important enterprises, among which are
the Lester H. Greene Company and the Sabine
Machine Company.
He has attained to high rank in the Masonic
¦order; is a member of Aurora Lodge No. 22,
Keystone Chapter R. A. M., Mount Zion Corn
mandery, K. T., and of Mt. Sinai Temple, Mysti,c
Shrine. In politics he is a Republican. Mr.
Ferrin was married, December 24, 1874, to Miss
Florence Huntington, a daughter of L. B. Hunt
ington, and of this marriage were born two chil
dren: Florence, born September 17, 1879, who
is a teacher of French and German in the Mont
pelier high school; and Homer, born July 27,
1884, a cadet in the Norwich University, at
Northfield. The mother of these children died
in August, 1884. June 12, 1889, Mr. Ferrin
was married to Miss Laura Sabin, a daughter
of Charles S. and Emily M. Sabin. Of this
-marriage was born a son, Charles, November
2J, 1892.
HENRY CRANE TINKHAM, M. D.
Dr. Henry Crane Tinkham, physician and
dean of the medical department of the University
¦of Vermont, is a descendant of an old and fa
mous New England family, some of whose mem

bers participated in the Revolutionary war.
Ephraim Tinkham, the progenitor of the Ameri
can branch of the family, was born in England
about 1614; he emigrated to this country in the
spring of 1630, and settled in Plymouth, Massa
chusetts. His son, Ephraim Tinkham, was bom-
August 5, 1649 ; his son, John Tinkham, was bom
August 23, 1680; his son, Amos Tinkham, was
born July 10, 1729. His son, Seth Tinkham,
was born September 28, 1761 ; he was a man of
fine physique, and performed many marvelous
feats of strength and endurance. He also joined
the army as a soldier during the war of the
Revolution, and participated in that memorable
and world-famous battle of Bunker Hill, where
he displayed great courage and daring. He was
united in marriage to Miss Sarah Nichols, and
their son, Peter Tinkham, was reared on the old
ancestral estate and followed the occupation of
farming. He married Miss Pethana Stone, and
four children, were born to them, three of whom
grew to years of maturity; Ann, Jane and Sam
uel Stone Tinkham.
Samuel Stone Tinkham, father of Henry
Crane Tinkham, was born in Cornish, New
Hampshire, April 7, 1818. He was reared by
his grandfather on a farm, which the latter pur
chased in Windsor, Vermont, in 1828; he re
mained there until 1838, when he removed to
Rochester, A^ermont, where he was engaged in
agricultural pursuits until 1850, when Samuel
Stone Tinkham removed to Brownington, Ver
mont, where he resided, engaged in the occu
pation of farming until 1880, when he took up
his residence in Newport, Vermont, where he re
mained until the year 1896, when he finally set
tled in Burlington, Vermont, where he now re
sides with his son, Henry Crane Tinkham. Mr.
Samuel Stone Tinkham was united in marriage,
February 3, 1848, in Rochester, Vermont, to Miss
Clarrissa, daughter of Elijah and Ruth (Crane)
Richmond. Three children were born of this
union, namely : Edson Scott, born June 2, 1850,
now a farmer of Brownington, Vermont; Dr.
Henry Crane; and Francis Samuel, born April
16, i860, now engaged in the capacity of cashier
of the savings bank of Newport, Vermont. The
mother of these children died September 4, 1896.
Henry Crane Tinkham, second son of Sam
uel Stone and Clarrissa Tinkham, was born in

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

285

Brownington, Vermont, December 7, 1856. He
acquired his early education in the public schools
of his native town, and this was supplemented
later by a course of study in the Derby Academy.
Subsequently he attended the medical department
of the University of Vermont, from which he was
graduated in 1883 with the degree of Doctor of
Medicine and Surgery. Immediately after his
graduation he located in Burlington, Vermont,
where he entered upon the practice of his pro
fession, making a specialty of surgery. His de
votion to his chosen calling is deep and abiding,
and his ability, both natural and acquired, has
won him recognition as a most capable member
of the medical fraternity. He has been associated
with the medical department of the University
of A^ermont since his graduation, in the various
capacities of demonstrator of anatomy, adjunct
professor of anatomy and professor of anatomy;
the latter position he held for the year 1895. He
was elected professor of clinical surgery, and
was also called upon to fill the honorable position
of dean of the medical department in 1899, which
position he still occupies.
Dr. Tinkham is a prominent member of the
Vermont State Medical Society, the American
Medical Association, the Burlington Clinical
Society, and the Knights of Pythias. He serves
in the capacity of school commissioner of Bur
lington, Vermont, and is an earnest, consistent
member of the Congregational church. On
October 17, 1886, Dr. Tinkham was united in
marriage to Miss Clara E. Day, daughter of
Albert Day. Two children have been born to
them, one of whom died in infancy, and Mable
Tinkham.
FREDERICK W. MORSE.
Frederick W. Morse, the genial passenger
and freight agent for the Montpelier & Wells
Railroad, was born in Duxbury, Vermont, Sep
tember 12, 1844, his parents being Samuel and
Caroline (Randall) Morse. The father was born
in Bolton, Vermont, December 8, 1809, and was
a son of Joseph and Susanna (Gleason) Morse.
Throughout his business career Joseph Morse
carried on agricultural pursuits. He served his
country in the war of 18 12 and participated in
the famous battle of Plattsburg. His death oc

curred when he had attained the age of sixty
years, and his wife passed away in 1867 at the
ripe old age of eighty-two years. They were
the parents of eight children, Samuel, Lorenzo,
Russell, Allen, Edwin, Jane and Chauncey and
Charles, twins.
Samuel Morse, the father of Frederick W.,
was reared on the old home farm, and later in.
life engaged in the hotel business, being proprie
tor of the old Stage House at Waterbury, Ver
mont. In addition to the care of the hotel he en
gaged in farming, and was a man of considerable
prominence and influence in his locality. His
fellow townsmen manifested their confidence in.
his ability and his loyalty of citizenship by elect
ing him their representative to the state legisla
ture. He married Caroline Randall, a daugh
ter of William and Dolly Randall, who removed:
from Dover, Massachusetts, to the Green Moun
tain state. Her father lived to the advanced age
of ninety-two years. To Mr. and Mrs. Morse-
were born the following children: Leonard, de
ceased; Merinda; William, who has also passed-
away; Orin A., of Boston,. Massachusetts ; Ran
som J., of Chicago, Illinois; and Frederick W.
The mother of this family died in 1849 and the
father afterward married Maria Windgate, by
whom he had one child, Bertram B., of Chicago.
In his political affiliations Mr. Morse was a
Democrat prior to the Civil war, when he joined.
the ranks of the Republican party, which formed
the nation's bulwark at the time the south at
tempted to overthrow the Union. His death oc
curred on the 8th of August, 1899.
Frederick W. Morse pursued his education.
in the common schools. At the age of sixteen
years he enlisted and for four years was con
nected with the Army of the Patomac. In 1865
he went with that command to Mexico, in a busi
ness capacity but not as a soldier. There his
health failed and he returned to the United"
States. Soon afterward he secured a position as
commercial traveler, thus serving until 1872. In
that year he returned to the east, and in 1874 ac
cepted a clerkship in the general office of the
Montpelier & AVells Railroad. In October of
the same year he was made cashier of the road.
In May, 1878, he was promoted to general pas
senger agent and in 1881 became freight agent.
He filled all three positions until April, 1895,.

286

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

when he assigned the duties of the financial de
partment to others and took the entire charge
of the traffic department. He is well qualified
to meet the heavy responsibilities which devolve
upon him in this connection. During his long
identification with railroad interests he has
thoroughly mastered the business in all its
departments, and not a little of the success of
the company is due to his efforts. He is also the
secretary and treasurer of the Barre Branch
Railroad, and is engaged in the coal business
in the capital city.
In .1871 occurred the marriage of Mr. Morse
and Miss Adeline L. Sparks, of Bowdoinham,
Maine. She died in 1894, and he was again mar
ried in 1896, his second union being with Helen
D. Kempton, of Montpelier. By this union there
is one child, Randall Kempton. Mr. Morse is a
prominent Mason, is a past master of the lodge,
high priest of King Solomon Chapter, R. A. M.,
and generalissimo of Mt. Zion, Cornmandery, K.
T. He has also taken the thirty-second degree of
the Scottish rite and belongs to the Ancient Arabic
-Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is
also a worthy representative of the order of Odd
Fellows. In his political views he is a Democrat,
and served as postmaster of Montpelier from
1888 until 1892, filling the office with marked
ability. His unswering purpose, his unquestioned
fidelity, his unfaltering honesty and his unchang
ing will have commanded the respect of all.
DANIEL KELLOGG.
Hon. Daniel Kellogg, deceased, for many
years an eminent lawyer and judge of the state
-of A^ermont, was born at Amherst, Massachusetts,
February 10, 1791. After acquiring his educa
tion in the common schools of his native town he
entered Williams College, from which he was
-graduated in 1810. Shortly after his graduation
he pursued a course of reading in the law office
of General Martin Field, of Newfane, and in 1814
began the practice of his profession at Rocking-
liam. For a number of years he acted as state's
attorney for Windham county and judge of pro
bate for the district of Westminster, secretary to
the old governor and council of Vermont during
the administrations of Governor Butler and Gov-
pernor Van Ness, United States district attorney

for the state of Vermont twelve years during the
administrations of General Jackson and Mr. Van
Buren, adjutant and inspector general of the
state, represented the town of. Rockingham in the
general assembly, and for two years was state sen^
ator for Windham county. In 1843 he was
chosen president of the- state constitutional con
vention, and was judge of the superior court of
the state from 1845 to 1852.
At the time Judge Kellogg, was elected an as
sistant justice of the supreme court he was in the
enjoyment of a lucrative practice in the judicial
district for which he was chosen. Although at
the time he was open and undisguised in his de
votion to the Democracy, and had accepted the po-»
sition of United States district attorney for the
state, yet his fidelity in the discharge of his of->
ficial duties, discretion and sterling honesty, his
learning and ability as a lawyer, all conspired to
secure an election from his political opponents,
being the first Democrat to be elected to that posi
tion in the state of A^ermont. His personal popu
larity was so great in his judicial district that he
secured an almost unanimous vote from the mem
bers of the general assembly representing the dis
trict for which he was chosen, and although a
large majority of the members were radically op
posed to his- political opinions, yet they candidly
supported him for an office which has always been
regarded as the highest and most honorable in
the state. In his department he was kind and
courteous toward his professional brethren and
judicial associates. During an extensive practice
of more than fifty years his fidelity to his clients
was never questioned; his social, political and
business relations were characterized by great
frankness and sincerity, and his whole life was
distinguished by the most perfect integrity. He
was a careful and laborious student, precise and
painstaking' in the preparation of his cases, and his
examination and presentation of authorities and
indicated great industry and research.
Although Judge Kellogg was one of the most
decided and influential Democrats in the state,
yet he heartily disapproved of the action of the ad
ministration in the Kansas outrages, and also its
inaction near the commencement of the late Civil
war. When that awful strife was fully inaugur-
ated he said : "I know of no other way but to
stand by the old flag, come what may; all else

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

287

is with me of secondary consideration ; my party,
my church may perish, but save my country."
Judge Kellogg was married three times, his
first wife having been Jane McAfee, of Rocking
ham, his second wife, Merab Ann Bradley, daugh
ter of William C. Bradley, and his third wife,
Miranda M. Adlis, daughter of Asa Aldis, of St.
Albans, A^ermont. They removed to Brattleboro,
Vermont, and both the Judge and his wife con
tributed greatly to the welfare and attractions of
that town. To the Episcopal Society, then strug
gling to obtain a foothold and a church building,
their influence and material aid was indispensa
ble and will ever be gratefully remembered. They
purchased the estate of Hon. John Phelps on High
street, and erected a handsome residence. Mrs.
Kellogg, by the exercise of her taste and culture,
intellectual attainments and instructive conversa
tion, rendered her home one of the most attrac
tive in the city. In her early life she was a pupil
in the Troy Seminary, under the preceptorship
of Mrs. Emma AVillard, and graduated with high
^honors from that institution, which at that time
had a reputation unexcelled in this country. The
following named children were born of the first
marriage: Henry, born August 23, 1823, grad
uated at Williams College in 1843, engaged in the
study of law with Hon. William C. Bradley, of
Westminster, Vermont; he was drowned while
bathing in the Connecticut river, June 18, 1844 ;
and George B., born in November, 1825, studied
law with Hon. Asa Keyes, of Brattleboro, Ver
mont; he commenced the practice of his profes
sion in Rockingham in 1846, and removing to
Brattleboro in 1855, was appointed postmaster
in 1861, state's attorney for Windham county
three years, adjutant and inspector general for the
state from 1854 to 1859, and represented the town
of Brattleboro in the general assembly two years ;
he was active in the recruiting of the Vermont
Cavalry Regiment and was appointed lieutenant
colonel of it during the- Rebellion, at the conclu
sion of which he was honorably discharged and
resumed the practice of his profession in St.
Louis, where he died in November, 1875. Of
the children born of the second marriage, were:
Sarah B., born in August, 1831, married in No
vember, 1855, Henry A. Willard, of Washington,
District of Columbia, where she now resides ;

Daniel, born April 9, 1834, served as postmaster
at Brattleboro, Vermont, from 1862 to July, 1868,
and was united in marriage, May 2, 1861, to Miss
Margaret W. May, of Brattleboro, Vermont.
ELMER JAMES BULLOCK.
Elmer J. Bullock, of Readsboro, is a well
known business man, actively identified with the
development of the mercantile, manufacturing
and mining interests of this town. He was born
July 21, 1849, in. AVhitingham, Vermont, a son

ELMER JAMES BULLOCK.

of James Bullock and grandson of Nathaniel
Bullock, Jr. His great-grandfather, Nathaniel
Bullock, Sr., was born in Connecticut, but spent
his last years in Royalston, Massachusetts, be
ing among the pioneer settlers of that town. He
was an industrious farmer, deeply religious, and
an active member of the Baptist church.
, Nathaniel Bullock, Jr.; was, born, in Royals-

238

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ton, Massachusetts, and grew, to manhood on the
ancestral homestead, where he was engaged in
farming for many years, also working at the
shoemaker's trade a part of the time. He sub
sequently moved from there to Readsboro, com
ing with his wife and four children on an ox
sled, locating on the farm now known 'as the
Bradley Stowe farm. Two years later, his wife
having died, he went to South Shaftsbury, Ver
mont, where he followed his trade for two years,
then moved to Monroe, Massachusetts, where he
followed farming for a while. Coming from
there to Readsboro, he kept a hotel a few years,
then married again and settled on North Hill,
where he resided until his death, at the age of
eighty years. He married, first, a Miss Ballou,
who was a relative of President Garfield's mother.
She bore him two sons and two daughters, one
son being James, the father of Elmer J. Bullock.
He married, second, Mrs. Esther Bailey.
James Bullock was born in Royalston,
Massachusetts, and lived with his father in
various Vermont towns during his earlier days,
also spending a few. years in Monroe, Massachu
setts, and coming from there to Readsboro.
Starting in business for himself in this town, he
built a store whech he managed a few years.
Disposing of that property, he was associated
for some years with Michael Sanford, in the
conduct of a general store and the postoffice, in
which he was succeeded by his son when the
latter was fourteen years of age. The latter was
subsequently engaged in business at Greenfield
and Wilmington. In 1870 father and son erected
a store in Readsboro, which was conducted un
der the firm name of James Bullock & Son. They
carried on a substantial mercantile trade for
twelve years, being the first merchants in town
to win conspicuous financial success. In 1882
Mr. Bullock went to Charlemont, Massachusetts,
where he was engaged in general merchandis
ing until his death, in December, 1885. He
served as justice of the peace for a number of
terms. He married Cynthia L. Baker, who was
born in Readsboro, a daughter of Calvin and
Cvnthia (Wralker) Baker, the former of whom
came from Massachusetts to Readsboro, where
he worked at his trade of a cabinet-maker for
awhile, then moved to Hawley, Massachusetts,

afterwards settling as a farmer in Rowe, Massa
chusetts, where he died at the age of eighty-five
years. Both he and his wife were active and
consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Elmer J. Bullock was educated in the com
mon schools of Readsboro, attending until four
teen years of age, when, on account of his fine
penmanship, he entered the store in which his
father had previously been employed, and was
there engaged as clerk and assistant in the post-
office until the store changed hands as above
noted. ,
For four years he was engaged in the real
estate and insurance business in North Adams,.
Massachusetts, giving it up to take charge of his
father's affairs. He subsequently bought back
the old store in which he first started in busi
ness, continuing as a merchant until 1889, when
he was burned out, but soon after built the block
known as the Bullock block. He was afterwards-
active in causing the establishment of the Reads
boro Chair Company, serving as its treasurer
and subsequently for four years as its manager.
He then resumed his former mercantile business,
continuing it successfully until 1898. In the
latter year he erected a mill for general wood
working, which he continues to operate, and has
since been interested also in local mining.
properties. Mr. Bullock is a Republican in politics, and
a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging
to Jacksonville Lodge, F. & A. M. He has
served as school director, was first president of
the village corporation, and was influential in,
having the co-operative creamery, of which he
was president for awhile, located there. He is-
a talented musician, for ten years being leader
of the brass band. He is a member of the Baptist
church, and sings in the choir. He has also sung,
without remuneration, for funerals during the-
last thirty-five years. Mr. Bullock married, first,
in 1869, Fannie E. Carpenter, daughter of George-
Carpenter, a fanner and hotel-keeper in Reads
boro. He married, second, May 29, 1890, Laura-
L. Drury, who was born in Richmond, Vermont,
daughter of Samuel Drury, a butcher in that
town. Mr. and Mrs. Bullock have two chil
dren, Minnie Drury and James Elmer Bullock.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

289

FRED LESLIE LAIRD.
Mr. Laird, who is an attorney at law in Mont
pelier, Vermont, was born at Plainfield, Vermont,
September 26, i860, a son of the late Henry
Sperry Laird and Van Lora S. Laird. His
paternal grandfather, John Laird, a farmer at
Woodbury, Vermont, was twice married. Joseph
the only child by his first wife, is deceased. He
married for his second wife Eliza Davis, who
bore him twelve children, namely : Henry Sperry,
Loren, James, John, Lemuel, Cynthia, Lucretia,
Hattie, Eliza, Sarah, Mary and Dorothy. Henry
Sperry Laird was born in Woodbury, Vermont,
July 19, 183 1, and died August 2, 1899, in
Marshfield, Vermont. As a young man he en
gaged in the lumber business at Plainfield, Ver
mont, remaining there until 1869, when he re
moved to Marshfield, where he owned and oper
ated an extensive business in the manufacturing
of lumber, being one of the leading business men
of the place for many years. He served his
townsmen in various offices of trust and respon
sibility, and was a representative from the town
of Marshfield to the state legislature in 1886. In
1858 he married Van Lora Dwinell, the daughter
of Joseph and Sarah Dwinell of Marshfield, and
a granddaughter of William and Ruth Dwinell,
who, in the early part of the nineteenth century,
came to Marshfield, Vermont, from New Hamp
shire. Four children were born of this union:
Harry L., a farmer and lumber dealer of Marsh
field ; Fred Leslie ; Hattie, who died at the age of
eleven months; and a boy who died in infancy.
Fred Leslie Laird received his diploma from
the Montpelier Seminary in 1880, and was grad
uated from Dartmouth College with the class of
1884. He subsequently studied law with Joseph
A. Wing, of Montpelier, for one year, and then
served, in 1885-86, as deputy county clerk for
Washington county. The following year he con
tinued his studies in the office of S. C. Shurtliff,
of Montpelier, and was admitted to the bar in
October, 1887. Since that time Mr. Laird has
been engaged in the practice of his chosen profes
sion in Montpelier. He has served in many of
ficial capacities, and in 1900-01-02 was a member
of the munipical board of aldermen, representing
ward four. In politics he is a Republican.
On November 19, 1888, Mr. Laird was mar
is

ried to Nelly Cox, of Randolph, Maine, a daugh
ter of Barnett A. and Victoria L. (Bailey) Cox.
Of their union five children have been born : Al
bert Cox, Henry Sperry, Frederick Leslie, Jr.,
James Tyler and Joseph De Boer.
JONAS ELI GOODENOUGH.
Jonas Eli Goodenough, of Montpelier, was
born in Berlin, Vermont, October 22, i860, a son
of Alonzo Edgar Goodenough. He comes of
patriotic pioneer stock, being a descendant in the
fifth generation from Joseph Goodenough, one of
the first settlers of Berlin, Vermont, and a Revol
utionary soldier, the line of descent being as fol
lows : Joseph, Jonas, Jonas, Alonzo Edgar, Jonas
Eli. Joseph Goodenough (1), the first of the family
of whom we have any definite record, served in the
French and Indian war as paymaster in the Brit
ish army. At the breaking out of the Revolution
ary war, he held the rank of second lieutenant
in the colonial army. At the battle of Lexington,
April 19, 1775, he took a prominent part, being
first lieutenant of the Sudbury (Massachusetts)
Company. From July 1, 1778, until May 31,
1779, he was sergeant of a company detailed to
guard a magazine at Sudbury. In 1798, in com
pany with his son Jonas, he came to Vermont, lo
cating in the town of Berlin, where he purchased
from John Taplin five hundred acres of what
was then known as the "Governor's Right."
Clearing a small space in the timber, he built a
log house, then returned to his home in Sudbury.
In the winter of 1799, shortly after the death of
his wife, with his son Jonas, and the latter's wife
and child, he started for their frontier home, ar
riving in Berlin about the middle of March. In
the rude log cabin which he had previously
reared, he spent the remainder of his life. His
sons, Jesse and William, also removed to Berlin,
settling on the original purchase of land.
Jonas Goodenough (2) a native of Sudbury,
Massachusetts, was engaged in farming and lum
bering in his new home in the wilderness, and
also did a good deal of teaming, hauling freight
from Boston to Montreal. He was successful in
his labors, and accumulated a good property for
those days. He married Betsey Rice, of Sudbury,
and they became the parents of the following

290

THE STATE OF A^ERMONT.

named children : Jonas ; Jesse ; Abigail, who mar
ried Alden Doten; and Charles.
Jonas Goodenough (3) was born in Sudbury,
Masachusetts, December 20, 1795. He was edu
cated at the old academy in Montpelier, being
fitted for college, after which he taught in the
district schools for twenty-five winters, during
the summer seasons being engaged in farming.
He also owned and operated a sawmill, carrying
on an extensive business as a lumber manufac
turer. He was active and influential in local af
fairs, serving as selectman and justice of the
peace. He lived to a good old age, dying Decem
ber 23, 1882. He married Lucy Doten, daughter
of Isaac and Abigail (Le Baron) Doten, of Pom
fret, A^ermont. She was born October 18, 1801.
The name of Doten was originally spelled Doty,
and the line of descent is as follows : Edward
Doty, '(1), who came to America in the May
flower, and who married Faith Clarke; John
Doty (2), who married Elizabeth Cook; John
Doty (3), who married Mehitabel Nelson;. John
Doten (4), who changed the family name from
Doty to Doten, and who married Lydiah Dun
ham; Edward Doten (5), who married Johannah
Whiting; Isaac Doten (6), who married Abigail
Le Baron.The children of Jonas and Lucy (Doten)
Goodenough were Alonzo Edgar; Melissa, who
married Hiram Carleton ; Byron ; and Annette,
who married, first, Sidney Marsh, and second,
Oliver Drake, of Hartford, Connecticut. Jonas
Godenough married for his second wife Relief
Bailey, from which union no child was born.
Alonzo Edgar Goodenough (4) was born in
Berlin, Vermont, August 14, 1823, being reared
on the ancestral homestead, and obtaining his ed
ucation in the district school. At the age of eigh
teen years he learned the tailor's trade, which he
followed in Montpelier, Barton and Johnson,
Vermont. Retiring from his trade in 1859, ne re"
turned to the old home farm, on which he was
afterwards engaged in agricultural pursuits until
his death, May 24, 1874. He married, first, in
June, 1856, Ehzabeth Roulston, of New Haven,
Conecticut, a daughter of Andrew and Eunice
(Skinner) Roulston, who emigrated to this coun
try from Ireland. She died January 31, 1871,
having borne him five children : Marion Eunice,
wife - of Charles F. Chase, of Concord, New

Hampshire; Jonas Eli, the subject of this sketch;
Edgar Alonzo; Charles, who died at the age of
three years ; and John F. Of his subsequent
union with Caroline Rowell, one child was born,
Lucy, who lived but two and -one-half years.
Jonas Eli Goodenough (5) acquired his early
education in the district school, afterwards at
tending the Montpelier Union school. He subse
quently studied dentistry, which he practiced
three years, being later employed as a teacher in
the public schools. He entered the Montpelier
postoffice as clerk in 1884, was made assitant
postmaster in 1888, and in 1892 was appointed
postmaster by President Harrison, a position
which he retained from August 1, 1892, until
September 1, 1894. In December, 1894, he ac
cepted a position in the ofece of the National Life
Insurance Company of Montpelier, with which
he has since been associated. During the ses
sion of the state legislature of 1894, Mr. Good-
enough was assistant sergeant-at-ar'ms. Politi
cally he is a Republican, and fraternally is prom
inently identified with the Masonic fraternity,
having attained to the Scottish Rite degrees and
the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Goodenough married,
February 18, 1890, Eliza Holden, of Middlesex,
Vermont, a daughter of James and Catherine
(Bruce) Holden.
ALBERT L. BINGHAM, M. D.
Dr. Albert L. Bingham, a general practitioner
of AVilliston, Vermont, was born on the Bingham
homestead in Binghamville, Franklin county,
Vermont, on the 26th of June, 1853.
The first American ancestor was Thomas
Bingham, of Sheffield, England, who emigrated
to Norwich, Connecticut, about 1660. He mar
ried Mary Rudd, by whom he became the father
of eleven children. Of these, the eighth, Sam
uel, was twice married, lived to be the father
of twelve children and died in 1760. Lemuel,
son of Samuel Bingham, was born in 1713 ; mar
ried Flannah Perkins in 1737, six children being
the result of their union and he died in 1788.
Elias, youngest child of Samuel Bingham, was
born in Windham, Connecticut, and married
Vashti Elderkin in 1776. She died in 1804, after
having borne ten children to her husband. He
was subsequently twice married and outlived all

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

2QI

"his wives, dying in 1829. Elias Bingham, Jr.,
was born in the same town as his father, July 22,
1779. He married for his third wife, Martha
Robinson, of Stowe, Vermont, April 6, 1805,
eleven children being the fruit of their marriage.
Benjamin F. Bingham, the sixth child of Cap
tain Elias, Jr., and the father of Albert L., was
born May 30, 18 19, and was reared on the farm
which was purchased from the selectmen of the
town by his father in 1809, the latter having come
to this state from Windham, Connecticut. The
only compensation that was required for this
tract of land was that they perpetually pay to
the town the small sum of twelve cents per acre
annually, and to build and operate a saw or grist
mill on the premises, and the old mill is still in
operation. Benjamin F. acquired his education
in the public schools of that time, and after com
pleting his studies, pursued the occupation of
farming on the old homestead, which is still
•owned by his family. Politically, he was an
ardent supporter of the Republican party and
held various local offices in addition to being
¦chosen to represent the town in the state legisla
ture of 1872. Mr. Bingham was united in mar
riage September 13, 1841, to Miss Alice Smedley,
a daughter of Joseph and Deliverance (Fowler)
Smedley, the former being the son of a revolu
tionary soldier. Five children were born of this.
union, namely : Charles W., now a merchant of
Buffalo, New York; Marcellus A., the present
probate judge of Chittenden county; Albert L.,
-of this review ; Lucia A., the widow of Robert
Stuart, of Williston, and George C, manager of
the Buffalo department of the American Ag
ricultural Chemical Company. The father of
these children died December 16, 1888, and his
wife passed away on the 9th of January, 1890.
Dr. Albert L. Bingham attended the normal
school in Johnson and was later prepared for col
lege at the New Hampton Institute in Fairfax.
He subsequently entered the medical department
of the University of Vermont, in which he com
pleted the studies in 1875, and later took a post
graduate course in the medical department of
the University of New York, graduating in that
institution in 1880. Immediately after his grad
uation in the University of Vermont, he began
the practice of his profession at Williston, where
he has since enjoyed an extensive and lucrative

patronage. He has attained a high position in
the medical fraternity, as he has given his thought
and effort to perfecting himself in his chosen
calling, and he is actively associated with the
county and state medical societies.
Although his time is fully occupied with his
professional duties, he takes an active interest in
the political affairs of the town, where he has
repeatedly held the various local offices and was
chosen as its representative in the state legis
lature of 1888. Fraternally he is a prominent
member of the Masonic order, being past master
of North Star Lodge, No. 12, also a member of
Waterbury Chapter, AVaterbury Council, Bur- .
lington Cornmandery and Mt. Sinai Temple, No
bles of the Mystic Shrine. On the 26th of Sep
tember, 1879, Dr. Bingham was united in mar
riage to Miss Jennie Welch, who was born in
Williston, A^ermont, a daughter of the late Dr.
A. C. and Abigail (Chittenden) Welch and a di
rect descendant of Governor Thomas Chitten
den.
ALBERT OREN CUMMINS.
The deserved reward of a well spent life is an
honored retirement from business in which to en
joy the fruits of former toil. To-day, after a use
ful and beneficial career, Albert Oren Cummins
is quietly living at his pleasant home in Mont
pelier, Vermont, surrounded by the comfort that
earnest labor has brought him. He was born in
that city on the 3d of August, 1829, and is a
worthy representative of an old and highly re
spected New England family, tracing his ances
try back to Isaac Cummins, who was probably
born in England in 1601, and was among the
early colonists that settled at Salem, Massachu
setts ; his death occurred in 1677. In his family
were four children, namely : John, born in 1630 ;
Isaac, Jr., Elizabeth and Ann.
Isaac Cummins, Jr., was born in 1633, and
was married November 27, 1659, to Mary An
drews, by whom he had several children, but the
three eldest died in infancy. In order of birth
they were Isaac, born September 15, 1664; John,
born June 7. 1666 ; Thomas, June 27, 1670 ; Mary,
February 16, 1671 or 2; Rebecca, April 1, 1674;
Abigail ; and Steben, February 27, 1680. The
last named was killed by the Indians in July 1706.

292

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

John Cummins, of this family, was born in
Topsfield, Massachusetts, and died between May
8, and July 16, 1722. He married Susannah
Towne, a daughter of Joseph Towne, and to them
were born the following children : Joseph, who is
mentioned below; John, who was baptized July
17, 1692; Isaac, born December 25, 1695; David
born April 15, 1698; Mary, born May 15, 1700;
Susannah, born June 3, 1701 ; Stephen, born
August 3, 1706; Samuel, born February 14, 1708;
and Rebecca, who was baptized November 1,
I7I3- Joseph Cummins, son of John, was born in
Topsfield, Masachusetts, January 26, 1689, and
died of smallpox on the 24th of December, 1729.
He was married May 22, 17 12, to Abigail Este,
whose grandmother Mary was executed for be
ing a witch. Abigail's death occurred January
10, 1730, as the result of the same dread disease
which caused her husband's death. They had
children: Joseph, born July 27, 1713; Jacob, May
12, 1717; Abigail, December 16, 1721 ; Daniel,
December 4, 1724; Moses, October 9, 1726.
Jacob Cummins was born in Topsfield, May
12, 17 17, and in early life learned the carpen
ter's trade, which he followed for many years.
In 1733 he removed to Sutton, Massachusetts,
where he was married on the 21st of January,
1740, to Miss Mary Marble, and to them were
born eleven children, five sons and six daughters.
All of the sons entered the Continental army dur
ing the Revolutionary war, and valiantly fought
for the freedom of the colonies. The names and
dates of birth of their children were as follows :
Mary, May 5, 1741 ; Jacob, July 21, 1742 ; Daniel,
October 17, 1743; Jesse, November 6, 1745; Bet
sey, July 29, 1747; Hannah, October 4, 1748;
Free, August 3, 1751; Asa, November 4, 1753 ;
Zipporah, October 17, 1756; Anne, April 28,
1758 ; and Huldah, May 20, 1763.
Daniel Cummins, the third in order of birth,
was the great-grandfather of our subject. His
early life was spent in Sutton, and from there he
removed to Auburn, Massachusetts, where he
worked at his trade, that of a shoemaker, until
life's labors were ended. On the 16th of May,
1765, he was united in marirage with Rachel
Hayden, who was a woman of more than ordin
ary intelligence and capability. They became

the parents of the following children: Daniel,
born January 22, 1766; Elisha, January 22, 1768;.
Jacob, January 12, 1770; John, February 1, 1772;
Rachel, February 3, 1775 ; Lydia, April 10, 1779;
Simon, August 8, 1781 ; Safford, January 17,
1784; and David, August 10, 1787. Of this fam
ily, Elisha, Jacob, John, Simon and Safford came
to Vermont and located in and near Montpelier,
and cleared and improved three farms in Mont
pelier and two in Berlin, Washington county,
making for themselves homes in the midst of the
wilderness and laying a foundation for the pres
ent beautiful city. They were all industrious,
frugal men and reared large families.
Elisha Cummins, grandfather of Albert Oren,
was born in Auburn, Massachusetts, and was a
young man when he came to Montpelier, with
whose development and upbuilding he became
prominently identified. He married, February
3, 1796, Miss Rachel Eddy, and in an ox cart
they traveled from Oxford, Massachusetts, to
their new home on what was then the frontier.
As a Democrat he took an active and prominent
part in local politics and served as selectman of
his town. He died November 21, i860, and his
wife passed away on the 12th of November,
1852. Their children were Joel, born February
10, 1797; Sophia, February 25, 1799; Oren, Feb
ruary 20, 1 80 1 ; Avery, April 8, 1803 ; Amassa,'
May 18, 1805 ; Elmira, January 1, 1808; Lorinda,
who was born January 11, 1810, and is still living,
the wife of Luke Bowen; Luman and Lucius,
twins, born March 10, 1812.
Oren Cummins spent his entire life in Mont
pelier. A man of considerable mechanical genius,
he invented the first cyclometer ever made, and
also invented locks of different kinds. On the
31st of May, 1827, he married Miss Betsey
Wheeler, who was born November 24, 1802, a
daughter of Jerathmel B. and Sybil (French)
AVheeler, also early settlers of Montpelier, who
were from Rehoboth, Massachusetts. Her father
was a man of more than ordinary ability, and-
served as the> first town clerk of Montpelier. Mr.
and Mrs. Cummins became the parents of five
children, namely : Henry M., born April 28, 1828,
died August 7, 1881 ; Albert Oren is the next
of the family ; Timothy S., born January 7, 1833,
is a retired locomotive engineer and makes his

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

293

home in East Montpelier; Elizabeth, born July
26, 1837, is the wife of Henry S. Towne; and
Luther AV., born July 6, 1 841, is an engineer liv
ing in Waterbury, Connecticut. In early life the
father affiliated with the Democratic party, but
became a Republican on the organization of that
political party, and continued one of its stanch
adherents. He died on the 21st of April, 1884,
honored and respected by all who knew him, and
his wife, who was a consistent and faithful mem
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church, passed
away February 22, 1878. He was called upon
to fill a number of local offices of honor and
trust. In early life Albert O. Cummins attended the
district schools near his boyhood home, and com
pleted his education in the Washington county
grammar school. Subsequently he engaged in
teaching in the public schools during the winter
months for thirteen terms, and also conducted a
select school for two fall terms. For some years
he worked in shoe factories in Milford and Wor
cester, Massachusetts, and became foreman for
the firm of Draper & Houghton of the latter place.
He subsequently formed a partnership with W.
N. and R. K. Peck and successfully engaged in
business as a tanner and currier for twenty-four
years. They built a large plant in Montpelier
and enjoyed an excellent trade, being able to give
employment to a large number of men. For sev
eral years Mr. Cummins was eastern agent for a
banking company, and is now vice president of
the First National Bank of Pierre, South Dakota.
After a long, busy and useful life he has now
laid aside all business cares and is living retired,
enjoying the fruits of former toil.
Mr. Cummins was first married at Millbury,
Massachusetts, November 24, 1853, to Miss
Maria P. Merriam, a daughter of Amassaand
Philena K. Merriam, who also belonged to a
good old New England family. By that union
were born two children : Fannie Maria, born Sep
tember 13, 1854, was married October 15, 1875,
to F. E. Pitkin, who died March 26, 1897, leav
ing one child, Carrol A. Elizabeth, born October
19, 1858, was married June 18, 1882, to Charles
H. Moore, an attorney of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and
died August 6, 1885 ; their only child died in in
fancy. The mother of these children departed
this life March 3, 1862.

On the 9th of December, 1863, Mr. Cummins
was again married, his second union being with
Miss Mary F. Ellis, of Hardwick, Vermont, a
daughter of Timothy A. and Jane (Dow) Ellis.
Five children bless this marriage. Mertie J., born
February 17, 1867, died May 19, 1868. Berton
A., born April 3, 1869, received a good high
school education and also took a business course
at Bryant & Stratton Commercial College. He
then accepted a position in a national bank at
Sioux City, Iowa, and from there wert to Pierre,
South Dakota, as assistant cashier in the First
National Bank of that place; the second year of
his residence there he was made cashier and
later president of the Bankers' Association of
Dakota. He was married, April 3, 1890, to Miss
Clara Belle Merrick, of Sioux City, Iowa, and
they had two children, Albert Oren, born Feb
ruary 24, 1893, died February 26, 1896; and
Aline, born February 19, 1897. Flora M., second
daughter of our subject, was born April 11, 1875,
and was married October 2, 1895, to Frank E.
Howe, of Brattleboro, Vermont, by whom she
has two children, Edmund Perry, born December
14, 1896; and Paul Cummins, September 19,
1900. Harle Oren, the next of the family, was
born July 11, 1877, and is a graduate of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, June,
1902, with the degree of B. S.; he pursued a
course in mining and mechanical engineering. He
is private assistant of Professor R. H. Richards,
head of the mining department of the above in
stitution. He is author of a book of short stor
ies called "Welsh Rarebit Tales." Another child,
Mary Hessie, born April 13, 1884, died Novem
ber 30, 1884. Mr. Cummins is engaged in com
piling a genealogy of the Cummins family in
America. Mr. Cummins affiliates with the Republican
party and has taken quite an active and influential
part in local politics, serving as a member of the
board of assessors three years and as water com
missioner when the water works were put in. He
is what the world terms a self-made man, his suc
cess in life being due to his own industry, per
severance and good management, and now in his
declining years he can well afford to lay aside all
business cares and live in ease and retirement.
He is widely known and is universally respected
and esteemed*.

294

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

EUGENE GOODRICH.
Among the leading agriculturists and dairy
men of Chittenden county, Eugene Goodrich,
whose portrait appears herewith, ranks among
the first and is probably the largest in the latter
named class, not only in the county, but in the
state of Vermont. He is the son of Blossom
Goodrich, who was for many years a leading
farmer and a prominent and highly respected
citizen of Richmond, A^ermont, and belonged to
a family which has been more than a century res
ident in the state. The date of their emigration
from England is unknown, but the first ancestor
to come to Vermont was Daniel Goodrich, the
grandfather of Blossom Goodrich. Of this
grandfather we know that he died in AVells, and
that his son, also named Daniel, went to Rich
mond about the year 1811, and settled on a farm
now occupied by his grandson, Jerome Goodrich,
the son of Blossom Goodrich. Daniel Goodrich,
son of Daniel, died in Forestville, New York,
September 21, 1852, leaving three daughters and
four sons, one of whom was Blossom Goodrich.
Blossom' Goodrich was born January 11, 1812,
in Richmond, Vermont, where he was educated
in the district schools. On reaching manhood,
he determined to follow the occupation of his
father, which was that of farming, and accord
ingly settled upon the homestead in Richmond,
where bv virtue of diligence and calculation, he
increased the original limits of a small farm until
the acres numbered four hundred and fifty. In
politics Mr. Goodrich was a Republican. It was
his habit to abstain from office, though he voted
whenever he deemed it his duty to do so, and
voted with an intelligent and definite purpose.
He was, by preference of creed, an adherent of
the Universalist church, and to that church con
tributed the benefit of his financial support.
Mr. Goodrich married, January 2, 1834, Na
omi, daughter of Zebulon Morton. She was born
January 22, 1809, near Hartford, Connecticut,
and was taken by her parents to Williston in
181 1. Mr. and Mrs. Goodrich were the parents
of nine children, of whom six are living, named
as follows: Cornelia, born October 31, 1834, be
came the wife of Lorenzo D. Whitcomb, of Essex
Junction, and died December 17, 1881, leaving
three children, Laura F., Edgar W. and James

AV. ; Eleanor, born June 30, 1836, now living in
Henry, Illinois ; Harriet, born December 7, 1837,
now living in Lincoln, Nebraska; Frederick Je
rome, born September 5, 1839, now. occupying
the farm settled by his grandfather; Eugene,
mentioned at length hereinafter ; Morton B., born
August 21, 1843, died September 30, 1849;
George, born June 13, 1845, now living in Wil
liston, near the farm of his father and near the
town line between AVilliston and Richmond;
Laura F., born September 21, 1850, died May 19,
1863 : and Charles, born September 21, 1852, now
living on a part of the old homestead with his
brother George. Mr. Goodrich lived for a few
years at Norwood, Michigan, and then returned
to Williston, where he died at the age of eighty-
two, leaving as a legacy to his descendants, the
inestimable 'blessing of the memory of a well-
spent life, a life devoted to his family, his
friends, the community in which he lived, and
the furtherance, to the utmost of his power, of
every good cause which was brought to his no
tice. Mr. Goodrich survived his wife but a
short time, her death having taken place at the
age of eighty-four.
In addition to the children who survive him,
Mr. Goodrich had thirteen grandsons of his sur
name. Arthur, Raymond, Frederick, Harry,
Morton, Blossom, Clifford, Clarence, and the five
sons of his son, Eugene : Arthur, Raymond,
Frederick, Harold and William. He also had'
thirteen granddaughters of his surname : Mary,
Naomi, May, Bell, Dora, Georgia, Flora, Daisy,
Maud, Laura, and three daughters of his son
Eugene : Mary, Caro Florence and Grace Ellen,
the latter deceased.
Eugene Goodrich, fifth child and second son
of Blossom and Naomi (Morton) Goodrich, was
born October 6, 1841, in Richmond, where he re
ceived his education, after which he assisted his
father until January, 1862, when he settled on a
farm of four hundred acres near his present
abode. Here he established milk routes, keep
ing sixt}- cows and buying large quantities of
milk. In T891 he moved to Essex Center and
rented a farm of two hundred and fifty acres,
on which he continued the dairy business until
1898, when he removed to his present farm of
four hundred and fifty acres, situated a mile
and a half from the city hall of Burlington, and

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

29.5

near AVinooski, A^ermont. Here he keeps one
hundred cows and they produce more milk than
any herd of its size in this section, and he also
buys large quantities of milk, handling seven
hundred and fifty quarts per day and using three
wagons for its distribution. Mr. Goodrich has
himself built up the large trade which he now
conducts, having given it his constant personal
attention. He is the owner of the largest farm
inside the limits of the city of Burlington, where
he is not only one of the oldest milk dealers, but
one of those having the most extensive connec
tions. In politics Mr. Goodrich is a Republican, al
though he is bound so closely to his party but
that he casts his vote independently when in his
judgment the interests at issue so require. He is
a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal
church. Mr. Goodrich was married to Miss
Mary A. Brown, a native of the state of
New York. Her father, Hamilton Brown, also
a native of the same state, was a son of Captain
¦Hamilton Brown, also born there, who removed
to .Scranton, Iowa, where he died. The children
born to Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Goodrich were
eight in number, seven living, named as follows :
Arthur, born April 29, 1867, now living in Es
sex, on the farm formerly occupied by his fa
ther; he married Miss Jennie Becknell, and to
them were born two children, Dana and Eu
gene. Grace Ellen, born September 16, 1870,
and died January 19, 1874. Mary Ellen,
born December 9, 1871 ; she married Albert
Wyman, and to them were born three children,
William, Mary and Abel J. Raymond, born
September 1, 1873, is now a resident of the state
of Washington; Frederick, born April 18, 1875,
and Harold, born September 27, 1881, are both
associated in business with their father. Caro
Florence, born February 21, 1884, and William,
born March 10, 1888, are at home with their fa
ther. Mrs. Eugene Goodrich died October 27,
1895, at the age of forty-six years.
FRANK GEORGE HOWLAND.
The family of Howland, represented in the
eighth generation by Frank George Howland, a
prominent citizen and man of affairs in Barre, is
one of the oldest of New England families, and

through its various generations has been conspicu
ously identified with the history of that region. It
springs from Henry Howland ( 1 ) , who was born
in England and probably came to Plymouth, Mas
sachusetts, before 1625. He was noted for his in
tegrity, thrift and uprightness, and also for his
steadfastness in his religious belief. He married
Mary Newlander. He died January 17, 1671, and
his wife died June 17, 1674, both at the old home
stead in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
Samuel (2), their son, was born in Duxbury,
Massachusetts. He settled in Freetown, Massa
chusetts, where he became a large landholder and
prominent in the affairs of the town, and was
selectman and assessor of the town in 1694. His
wife's name was Mary. He died in Freetown
in 1716. Joshua (3), their son, was born in Freetown,
Massachusetts. He lived for a time in Taunton,
but the greater part of his life was passed in the
place of his nativity. He was married December
5, 1709, to Elizabeth Holloway, of Taunton, and
she dying, he was married February 17, 1725, to
Dorothy Lee.
John Howland (4), son of Joshua and Eliza
beth (Holloway) Howland, was born in Free
town, Massachusetts, in 1710. He married, Oc
tober 28, 1736, Abigail (or Elizabeth) Peirce,
daughter of Isaac and Abigail Peirce, of Mid
dleboro, Massachusetts. He died in Freetown
in 1790, and his wife died in 1786.
Eseck (5), their son, was born in Middleboro,
Massachusetts, September 15, 1760. He moved
to Plainfield, Vermont, where he was a successful
farmer. He finally removed to East Montpelier,
where he died September 15, 1841. His wife,
who was Phoebe Sears, of Middleboro, Massa
chusetts, and to whom he was married in 1778,
died May 30, 1846.
Eseck Howland (6), their son, was probably
born in Middleboro, Massachusetts, about 1793.
At the time of the British raid from Canada,
during the war of 1812, he was. living in Barre,
Vermont. He, with others, took possession of the
cannon belonging to the town, hauled it to Bur
lington, Vermont, while the battle of Plattsburg
was being fought, and they were crossing Lake
Champlain to engage in the fray, but did not reach
the scene of the engagement until it was over.
He married Rhoda Holt. His second marriage

296

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

occurred early in 1825, to Laura Holden, who
was born in Windsor, Vermont, February 22,
1800, and who died at the residence of her son
George, in East Montpelier, Vermont, January 21,
1874, surviving her husband, who died in 1872.
Their children were all born in Barre, Vermont.
This family contributed largely to the army in
the Civil war of 1861.
George Howland (7), son of Eseck and Laura
(Holden) Howland, was born in Barre, Vermont,
March 18, 183 1. His education was received at
the district school. In early boyhood he began
earning his own livelihood as a clerk in Mont
pelier, Vermont. He then located in Boston,
Massachusetts, and was in the employ of a firm
in that city for a number of years. In April,
1866, he returned to East Montpelier, Vermont,
and located on the farm where he now resides.
He has always been a successful farmer, and has
borne a large share in public offices. He is a
director in the National Bank of Barre, and also
a director in Barre Savings Bank and Trust
Company, and he has held the office of selectman,
lister, constable and deputy sheriff. In 1882 he
was elected to represent the town of East Mont
pelier in the state legislature, and served for a
term of two years, and is one of the county road
commissions. In politics he is a Republican. A
man of remarkable force of character and broad
intelligence, he has filled many positions of honor
and trust, with fidelity and ability and to the full
satisfaction of his constituents. He married,
April 19, 1859, Angeline Buszell, who was born
September 3, 1830, in Tunbridge, Vermont. Their
children are : Frank George ; and Merrick E.,
born March 26, 1870, and resides with his parents.
Frank George Howland (8), eldest son of the
parents named above, was born in Boston, Massa
chusetts, August 27, 1863. His education was
received in the public schools in East Montpelier,
Vermont, where his father located on a farm in
April, 1866. He afterward entered the Vermont
Methodist Seminary at Montpelier, Vermont,
and he was graduated from that institution in
1884. He taught school for one term, and secured
a position in the National Bank of Barre as clerk,
February 16, 1885. He served in this position
until January 1, 1887, when he was made cashier
of the same bank, and has served in that capacity
to the present time. In 1892 he secured the char

ter for the Barre Savings Bank and Trust Com
pany and was chosen as the' first treasurer of this
institution, a position which he yet occupies. He
also secured the charter for the Barre and Mont
pelier Traction and Power Company, in 1892,
of which he was made treasurer in 1899. In
1892 he was elected to represent the town of
Barre in the state legislature, and he rendered
service of signal usefulness during his official
term. He has held the office of justice of the
peace since 1890. In all his varied relations, as
man of affairs, in official position and as citizen,
he has acquitted himself with unsullied integrity
and ability of the highest order. In politics he
is a Republican. He is a member of the Epis
copal church of the Good Shepherd in Barre.
Mr. Howland was married March 29, 1888,
to Miss Mary Wells, daughter of Sidney 0.
and Irene A. (Heath) Wells, of Barre. She was
born June 27, 1864. Her father was born in
Woodbury, Vermont, November 13, 1836. He
was a last manufacturer until he removed • to
Barre, Vermont, in 1878, when he became en
gaged in the granite business as a member of the
firm of Smith & Weils, until 1883, when the style
was changed to Wells, Lamson & Company. He
was an accomplished business man. He was a
Republican in politics, and served in the legisla
ture in 1872. He died in Barre, Vermont, April
22, 1892. His wife was born August 13, 1835,
in Woodbury, Vermont, where she died Decem
ber 20, 1872. Mr. and Mrs. Howland were the
parents of one child, Doris Irene, born March 8,
1900, who lived only two days.
CAPTAIN BURT HEATH WELLS.
The Wells family, represented in the present
generation by Burt Heath AVells, an active busi
ness man of Barre, and prominent in public and
military affairs, traces its ancestry to English im
migrants who came to America in the latter part
of the seventeenth century. The first of the name
known in Vermont was Isaac Wells, who came
from southern New Hampshire. He. had left
home surreptitiously, to carve out his own for
tune, and, a barefooted boy only seventeen years
old, he reached the site of Montpelier, where was
then standing only one house, about 1790. Such
independence and pluck, characteristic of the

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

297

New Englander of his day, could not but com
mand success. He labored hard, and endured
privations, but he prospered and reared a large
and excellent family. He was a carpenter by
trade, and bore a large share in building up the
embryo town of Woodbury, in which he settled.
He was twice married. His first wife, who was
Tabitha Bennett, bore him thirteen children,
Schuyler, Susan, Hiram, Tabitha, Benjamin,
Mandana, Calistie, Isaac, Laura and Clara
(twins). Charlotte, Stephen and Celia. His sec
ond wife, whose name is unknown, bore him five
children, William, Elvira, Alvah, George and
Tibatha. The father of this remarkable progeny
lived to the extreme age of ninety-two years.
Isaac, of the family thus named, was born in
1804 and died in 1882. He was a farmer by occu
pation. He married Susanna, a daughter of
Jazeb Town, and their children were Janette, Sid
ney O, Irving, Henry C, Lucy, Ella and Frank.
Sidney Orman, eldest son of Isaac, was born
in AVoodbury, November 13, 1836. He received
a high school education, and became a successful
business man, and was noted for his integrity,
ability and enterprise. For many years he was a
manufacturer of lasts. In 1878 he located in
Barre, and engaged in granite manufacturing as
a member of the firm of Smith & Wells, which in
1883 became AVells, Lamson & Company. He
¦occupied various positions of honor and trust,
and served as captain of militia for three years,
and was elected to the legislature in 1872. He was
a Universalist in religion and a Republican in
politics. He was married to Irene Abbott Heath, who
was born in Woodbury, August 13, 1835, a daugh
ter of Elias and Ruth (Blanchard) Heath, and
she was a teacher in the People's Academy in
Morrisville prior to her marriage. On the ma
ternal side she was a direct descendant from
George Abbott, who settled in Andover, Massa
chusetts, in 1643. Her father was a cabinet
maker and farmer, a prosperous and highly re
garded citizen, and held many local offices. He
died in 1870, aged seventy-nine years, and his
wife died aged thirty-eight years, both at Wood
bury. Sidney Orman Welis and wife had five
children, Burt Heath, Mary, Dwight Sidney, Lucy
and Charles Henry.
Burt Heath Wells, eldest son of Sidney O.

and Irene Abbott (Heath) Wells, was born De
cember 9, i860, at Woodbury, Vermont. He re
ceived his early education in the district school
in his native village, and in Union School, Mont
pelier. In 1872, when twelve years old, he was a
page in the house of representatives in the Ver
mont legislature, and his intercourse with men ot
affairs was potent in stimulating his ambition for
knowledge and ultimate advancement in life.
When fifteen years of age he left home, and was
for several years engaged in farm labor, applying
his earnings to supporting himself while attending
school during the winter months. When twenty
years old he came to Barre and apprenticed him
self to a tool sharpener. After two years' serv
ice he took up the trade upon his own account,
and followed it until October 24, 1890, when he
was appointed postmaster at Barre by President
Harrison, and his elevation from so humble a
position in life to one so important occasioned no
little surprise in the community. In his new place
he manifested excellent business qualifications and
a peculiar aptitude, and he introduced various
substantial innovations, among them adding new
mails and establishing a Sunday service, greatly
to the advantage of the community. He occupied
the office for three months beyond the four years'
term for which he was commissioned, and re
linquished it January 20, 1895. In March fol
lowing he was elected city clerk and treasurer,
and in that twofold position acquitted himself so
satisfactorily that he has been re-elected at each
of the succeeding seven elections to the present
time, and in 1902 he was paid the unusual compli
ment of receiving every vote cast for the candidate
for that office. In 1901 he became a member of
the pharmaceutical firm of Rickert & Wells, at
Barre, operating the best equipped drug store in
Vermont. Mr. Wells was for several years prominently
connected with the A^ermont National Guard.
He enlisted in Company E, First Regiment, July
7, 1886, and less than a fortnight later, July 18,
1886, he was commissioned first lieutenant. Jan
uary 6. 1887, he was promoted to the captaincy,
and served in that capacity until May 2, 1892,
when he resigned, greatly to the regret of the com
pany and regimental officers. During the more
than five years of his commanding the company,
he brought it up to a splendid efficiency, and

298

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

under his leadership it was awarded three out of
four prizes for superiority in drill, in competitive
exhibition in which all the troops in the state
participated. He has attained a high rank in the
Masonic order, holding membership in Granite
Lodge, in which he passed all the stations, and is
now a past master ; Granite Chapter, R. A. M.,
in which he has served as principal sojourner ;
St. Aldemar Cornmandery, K. T. ; Gamaliel
AA^ashburn Lodge of Perfection, fourteenth de
gree ; Princess of Jerusalem, sixteenth degree ;
and Ruth Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star.
In religion he inclines to Universalism, and at
tends and is liberal in his support of the church
of that sect. In politics he is a Republican, and
has frequently served in local and state conven
tions of his party.
Captain Wells was married at South Wood
bury, Vermont, April 19, 1881, to Miss Nellie
Farnsworth, a daughter of Nathaniel and Lu
cinda (Batchelder) Farnsworth. Her father
served throughout the entire Civil war, in Com
pany H, Fourth A^ermont Volunteer Regiment,
rising to the rank of sergeant, and his service ex
tending from July, 1861, to June, 1865, after the
restoration of peace. He died in 1873 from dis
ease contracted during his military service. To
Captain and Mrs. Wells were born, in Barre, three
children, Marjorie Irene, born March 25, 1884,
and died January 3, 1898; Stanley Heath, born
May 28, 1889, and died April 24, 1890; and
Mary Lucinda, the only one now living, who was
born August 19, 1891.
MATTHEW M. GORDON.
This well known attorney of Barre, Vermont,
is one of the younger members of the Washington
county bar, but his prominence is by no means
measured by his years ; on the contrary he has
won a reputation which many an older practi
tioner might well envy. Prominence at the bar
comes through merit alone, and the high position
which he has already attained attests his super
iority. Mr. Gordon was born in East Clifton, Can
ada, on the 4th of April, 1870, and is a son of
worthy Scotch-Irish parents, William and Eliza
(Hamilton) Gordon. The father was born in
Ireland in 1829, and when a young man emigrated

to Hamilton, Canada. In early life he served a-.
seven years' apprenticeship to the shoemaker's-
trade, and after thoroughly mastering that occu
pation, followed it quite successfully until about
fifty years of age, when he turned his attention to
farming. He was married in Canada in 185 1 to-
Miss Eliza Hamilton, a daughter of James Ham
ilton, who came to the new world from the north
of Ireland, and settled in Canada. By this union-
were born thirteen children, of whom twelve
reached years of maturity. They were Elizabeth,
who died in childhood ; James, now deceased ;
John H. ; George A.; Thomas, deceased; Mary-
Elizabeth, deceased ; Archibald, deceased ; Joseph ;
Matthew M. and Margaret, twins ; Hannah Bell,.
deceased ; Henry J. ; and Wesley A. The father
died in 1898, but the mother is still living at the
present writing in 1903.
Matthew M. Gordon was educated in the-
Montpelier Seminary and the Syracuse University
at Syracuse, New York, graduating from the law
department of the latter institution in 1898. The
following year he was admitted to the bar and
opened an office in Barre, Vermont, where he has
since built up a large and lucrative practice, which.
is constantly increasing. He has met with excel
lent success in his chosen profession, and is ac
counted one of the best lawyers of his county.
On the 25th of July, 1900, Mr. Gordon married
Miss Nora A. Cutler, of Bethel, Vermont. She
is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church,
and he is connected with the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows, being a past chief patriarch of
the encampment, the Rebekahs, the Improved'
Order of Red Men, the Royal Arcanum and the
Clan Gordon. His political support is given the
men and measures of the Republican party, and he
takes quite an active interest in public affairs..
ALLAND G. FAY.
Alland G. Fay, judge of the city court, at
Barre, A^ermont, is a prominent member of the
legal fraternity. He was born in Brookfield, Ver
mont, December 4, 1856, a son of Gardner Fay.
His paternal grandfather, Henry Fay, was born-
October 5, 1805, and died in 1886. He was a
cooper by trade, carrying on a prosperous busi
ness in Calais, Vermont, f°r many years, also

FRAHKLIH BLACKMER.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

299'

owning and operating a sawmill most success
fully. His wife, whose maiden name was
Sophronia Bancroft, was born in Calais, Ver
mont, August 22, 1808. Two sons and two
daughters were born of their union, namely:
Willard, Gardner, Sarah and Theresa.
Gardner Fay was born October 4, 1829, in
Calais, Vermont, and there learned the carpen
ter's trade, which he followed in Orange county,
in Brookfield, and Wililamstown, until the break
ing out of the Civil war. Enlisting Au
gust 1, 1862, n Company I, Tenth Vermont
Volunteer Infantry, he served with his reg
iment in the Army of the Potomac, and was
in constant active service until he was killed
on the field of battle, November 27, 1863,
at Orange Grove, Vermont. ' He married Cath
erine M. Sancry, by whom he had three sons,
namely: Alland G, the subject of this sketch;
Frank I., born October 1, 1859, is a watchmaker
and jeweler at Willimantic, Connecticut; and
Willard E., born December 8, 1861, a blacksmith
in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. The mother
married for her second husband E. H. Aller, and
died December 18, 1892.
Alland G. Fay completed his elementary ed
ucation at Goddard Seminary in Barre, after
which he studied law in the office of Heath &
Carleton at Montpelier, remaining with them
from 1881 until his admission to the bar, in Oc
tober, 1884. Establishing himself as a lawyer in
Plainfield, Vermont, he remained there three
years. In 1887 he located in Montpelier as a
partner of the late Charles H. Heath, with whom
he was associated until Mr. Heath's death, in
July, 1889. From January 1, 1890, until Decem
ber, 1892, Mr. Fay was in partnership with
George W. Wing, in Montpelier, then settled in
Lancaster, New Hampshire, where he was in ac
tive practice until August, 1895. Returning then
to Vermont, he settled in Barre, where he has
built up a fine practice. On December 1, 1900,
he was appointed to his present position as judge
of the city court. While yet a student he served
as assistant county clerk for Washington county,
and in 1886 was assistant secretary of the sen
ate. He is a stanch Republican in politics, and
is broad and liberal in his religious views, being
a member of the Universalist church. Judge
Fay married, December 15, 1886, Carrie B. Cree,

who was born in Montpelier, Arermont, May. 13,
1861, a daughter of Luther and Mary P. (Brad
ley) Cree.
' ANNIE (HULING) BLACKMER.
Mrs. Annie (Huling) Blackmer, widow of
the late Franklin Blackmer, was born in Shafts
bury, Arermont, a daughter of Daniel Huling. She-

S. H. BLACKMER.

comes of substantial colonial stock, her paternal:
ancestors having lived in Providence, Rhode
Island, where her grandfather and her great
grandfather and her great-great-grandfather, each
named Alexander Huling, were born and reared.
One Alexander Huling, a native of Providence,
Rhode Island, came to Bennington, Vermont, on-
August 16, 1777, the day of the famous battle-
fought here, witnessed the engagement and set
tled here permanently, dying at the age of seven
ty-nine vears. He and his wife were both mem
bers of the Baptist church. Daniel Huling, ax

30o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

life-long resident of Shaftsbury, Vermont, was a
man of considerable prominence in the town, be
ing for many years actively identified with its
best interests, and filling most satisfactorily the
various town offices within the gift of his fellow
citizens. He had nine children, of whom but
three survive, namely: Columbus, of North
Bennington; Mrs. Blackmer, and Milo, also of
North Bennington. Both parents belonged to
the Universalist church.
Annie Huling married, August 13, 1861,
Franklin Blackmer, who was born in Benning
ton Center, September 28, 1823. He came of
New England stock, being a descendant in the
fourth generation from Samuel Blackmer, the
line being continued through Samuel, Samuel,
and Franklin. The first Samuel Blackmer spent
;his entire life in Providence, Rhode Island. Sam
uel Blackmer, the father of Franklin, was en
gaged in agricultural pursuits during his earlier
life, but was afterwards county clerk and probate
judge for a quarter of a century.
Franklin Blackmer spent his entire life in
Bennington Center, where he carried on an exten
sive mercantile business until his death. Mr.
and Mrs. Blackmer became the parents of
three children, of whom but one is now living,
Samuel H. Blackmer, who has succeeded to the
business established by his father, and is now
carrying on an extensive and lucrative trade in
this locality. He married Fannie A. Abbott, who
was born in Bennington, daughter of Lyman Ab
bott, and they have one child, Samuel Howard
Blackmer.
HORATIO SETH JOHNSON.
Horatio Seth Johnson, a prosperous and pro
gressive fanrier and one of the largest land
holders of Williston, is a fine representative of
the native-born citizens of this town, the date
of birth being October 22, 1841. He is of Eng
lish ancestry, the immigrant from which he is
descended, having come from England to Amer
ica in colonial times, settling on that part of the
coast of Maine that is now occupied by the city
of Bath. After enduring the privations and
hardships that beset the early settlers of this
country, one of his sons sailed away in search of
a more desirable location just after the colonial

war broke out ; later he settled in Windham, Con
necticut, but he never returned home, not even
to visit the grave of his father, or to claim his
share of the parental estate. His name was Jo
siah Johnson, and the line was continued through
his son David Johnson, who married Joanna
Palmertree. The next in line of descent was their
son, Dan Johnson, who married Mary Wood, and
located in Williston, Vermont, as one of the orig
inal proprietors of the town. He took up a tract
of land that was in its primitive condition, and
by energetic persistence wrested a farm from the
forest. His son, Nathan Johnson, the grand
father of Horatio S., was one of the first chil
dren born of white parents in Williston, his birth
occurring in 1789 on September 24.
Nathan Johnson succeeded to the occupation
in which he was reared, becoming one of the
well-to-do farmers of the town and a citizen of
much influence, aiding all movements for ad
vancing the welfare of the place and continuing
it actively until his death, February 3, 1867. He
was a devout church member, in politics being
at first an old-line Whig and later a Republican.
He married Polly Bennett, who was born March
22, 1789, and died November 22, 1861. Five
children blessed their union, as follows : William,
born August 16, 181 5; Dan, father of Horatio
S. ; John, born October 30, 1819 ; Mary, born
October 5, 1823, died February 1, 1901 ; and
Myron, born September 1, 1826.
Dan Johnson, a life-long resident of Willis
ton, was born December 26, 1817, and died No
vember 19, 1887. Reared on a farm, educated in
the district schools,. he became a tiller of the soil
by occupation, and settled permanently on the
homestead now owned by Horatio S- A man of
good ability and sound judgment, he was held
in high respect, and as a public-spirited citizen,
was called upon to fill the various offices within
the gift of his fellow townsmen. He was a
steadfast Republican in politics, and a member
of the Universalist church. He married in 1839,
Sarah A. Marshall, who was born July 30, 1821,
a daughter of Louis and Nancy (Mead) Mar
shall. She survived him, passing away April 29,
1901. Of the children born of their union, the
following is the record: Horatio S., the special
subject of this sketch; Nathan, born February
13, 1844, fought during the Civil war in the

*0Ul^/ls<i~ST/L_

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

30*

First Arermont Cavalry, was wounded and left
in the rebel lines, but recovered and died January
4, 1870; Henry Marshall, born March 21,- 1847,
resides in Sigourney, Iowa; Leonard A., born
September 4, 1848, is a resident of Richmond,
Vermont; AVilliam Bennett, born November 3,
1849, lives at Essex Junction, Vermont; Sarah
Jane, born December 29, 1850, married Alfred
Read, of Essex Junction ; Luella Nancy, who was
born April 18, 1855, married George Perry, of
Battle Creek, Michigan, and died January 5,
1879 ; and Marcia, born May 26, 1862, died Jan
uary 13, 1891.
Horatio S. Johnson grew to manhood on the
home farm, receiving his early education in the
common schools, later attending the Williston
Academy under the late Joseph Cilley. After
leaving school he spent two years in California,
then settled on the old Marshall homestead in
AVilliston, where he has since been extensively
engaged in agricultural pursuits, owning about
fourteen hundred acres of land and making a
specialty of dairying. He has always taken an
intelligent interest in public matters, and has
served with ability and credit in the various
town offices. In 1894 he represented his town
in the state legislature, serving on the commit
tee on claims, and was largely instrumental in
securing an appropriation to erect the magnifi
cent monument which marks the resting place of
Governor Thomas Chittenden, the first governor
of Vermont. Politically he is a Republican, and
is a member of the Universalist church of Wil
liston. .
On June 28, 1864, Mr. Johnson was married
to Miss Alice C. McEwen, who was born at
Hinesburg, Vermont, February 25, 1845, the
daughter of Augustus McEwen. To this union
three children have been born, two of whom died
in infancy, and the remaining one, Belle Augusta,
was born April 8, 1887. The McEwen family,
which is thus closely connected with the John
sons, has a long history, and it would be especially
interesting at this point.
Robert McEwen came from Dundee, Scot
land, and in early life attached himself to the sect
known from their leader as the "Cameronians,"
being historically the Covenanters. At the age of
eighteen in 1679, he was engaged in a battle with
the king, and in 1685 many of the persecuted

Christians, being in bonds and imprisonment,.
were sent on board a ship of war of fifty guns
by the Scotch government for the purpose of
colonizing the Isthmus of Darien. The com
mander of the ship died a few days after they
had been at sea, and the passengers brought the
ship toward New York, and ran her ashore
near Amboy, New Jersey. These facts are de
tailed in the following passage in Robert Mc-
Ewen's account book : "On June 18, 1679, 1 was
in one engagement in Scotland at Bothwell's-
Bridge, I then being the age of eighteen years.
The fifth day of September, 1685, we set sail from.-
Scotland to come to America, we landed at Am
boy, New Jersey, the 18th of February. I came
to Stratford, in New England, 1686. June 30,
1695, I was married to Sarah Wilcoxson in Strat
ford." Tradition has it that, after being landed
at Amboy, eleven of the passengers, having heard
of the freedom of the people in Connecticut, came
on foot to Stratford. Robert McEwen died in
1740, aged seventy-eight years. A slightly dif
ferent account of this first American ancestor of"
the McEwen family is that the vessel encoun
tered a heavy gale, and the poor and half-starved'
exiles on board had all they could do to keep the-
hulk afloat, finally being compelled to run it
aground at Amboy, where they formed a settle
ment, calling it Perth from their place of embarka
tion in Scotland. Robert McEwen was a tailor by
trade, and was one of the early settlers of Strat
ford, Connecticut. His book of accounts of work
done and charges made and other items, is a small'
parchment-covered quarto, and is still in exist
ence and in the possession of a descendant, Rob
ert McEwen. Seven children were born of his-
marriage to Sarah AVilcoxson.
George, one of these children, married Eliz
abeth Beardsley, and in 1742 he removed to New
Milford, Connecticut, where in the following-
year he took part in organizing the first Episco
pal church of that town, and during the remain
der of his life was zealous in its upbuilding and
the extension of its zone of influence. He died
January 18, 1786, in the eighty-fourth year of
his life, and his tombstone is still to be seen in
the old cemetery of the place. His wife lived
to be eighty-eight years old, dying on December
16, 1792. They probably had several children,
but the line of descent comes through John, some,-

3° 2

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

•of whose descendants still reside in New Mil
ford, Connecticut. On April 29, 1754, he was
-married to Elizabeth Hill, and they had six chil
dren. George McEwen, the son of John, located in
Hinesburg, Vermont. On November 12, 1783,
he married Mercy Wright, of Shaftsbury, Ver
mont, and in the following summer he built a
cabin on his land in Hinesburg. To this rude
dwelling, in the next February, he moved his
family from Shaftsbury, conveying his property
-on a sled drawn by a yoke of oxen, and driving
two cows and a horse. Their pilgrimage was
difficult on account of the depth of the snow and
the lack of roads, but they arrived on the 26th
•of the month, and, as an illustration of their
rough life .at first, they took their meals for a
few days on the cover of a wash tub. In the
summer of 1785 he built a log house, in which
they lived till July 19, 1797, when their two-story
brick house, the first constructed of that material
in the town, was completed. George McEwen
attended closely to his affairs, but he also served
his fellow citizens several years as proprietor's
clerk, and afterwards as town clerk. He died of
an epidemic on February 27, 1813, and left behind
him six sons and three daughters, all of whom
are now dead, although numerous descendants
are living in Chittenden county, Vermont, and
St. Lawrence county, New York. His wife died
in Hinesburg, Vermont, December 26, 1847, aSe(i
eighty-three years. She had been the only phy
sician in Hinesburg before the advent of her suc
cessor in AVilham B. Marsh, and when Hine
Meecham came into light on April 1, 1785 —
the first white child of the town, being named
from that circumstance Hine — Mrs. George Mc
Ewen acted as midwife and was drawn to the
scene of this birth on a hand-sled. She was the"
mother of nine children, whose names are James,
Charles, Augustus, Carleton, Ransom, George,
Caroline, Rebecca and Mercy Morenda. Augus
tus and Carleton both served in the war of 1812.
Augustus was born December 17, 1788, and
on February 5, 18 12, married Phebe Ray, to
whom were born seven children. Phebe McEwen
died on November 2, 1840, and on April 27, 1842,
Mr. McEwen was married to Bolina Palmer, of
-whose children Ellen married Curtis Andrews;
Alice C. married Horatio S. Johnson; Anne E.

was the next in order of birth ; Kate A. married
Noble D. Partch, and Maude L. died June 16,
1893. The father of these children died De
cember 31, 1872, and the mother, January 18,
1890.
WILLIAM ANDERSON BOYCE.
William Anderson Boyce, a prominent and
prosperous attorney at law of Barre, Vermont,
was born in Newbury, Vermont, December 3,
1839. He is a great-grandson of Captain Wil
liam Boyce, who was a resident of Newburyport,
Massachusetts, where in 1760 he was united in
marriage to Miss Sarah Anderson, and the fol
lowing named children were born to them : Hugh,
Joseph, James, Sarah, Robert, William, Labella
Margaret, Samuel and John Boyce.
James Boyce, grandfather of William A.
Boyce, was born in Newburyport, Masachusetts,
March 22, 1768. He received his education in
the district school, and when he attained the age
of seventeen years he located in Newbury, Ver
mont, where he married Miss Abigail Hazel-
tine, and ten children were born of this union,
Richard Titcomb Boyce being the fourth in order
of birth. Richard Titcomb Boyce, son of James and
Abigail Boyce, was born in Newbury, Vermont,
June 24, 1808, was a farmer, united in marriage
at Topsham, Vermont, December 2, 1830, with
Joanna Banfield of Corinth, Vermont. Eleven
children were born to them, viz: Allen R., Car
oline, Elizabeth A., Mary A., James M., William
A., Osmon B., J. Wesley, Martha J., Caroline A.
and George P. Mr. Boyce lived in Newbury
until the spring of 1843, when he moved with his
family to Guildhall, Vermont. He lived in Guild
hall until the spring of 1854, then moved to
Granby, Vermont. He enlisted as a private sol-
died in the war of. the rebellion and was at the
battle of Gettysburg in Colonel Redfield Proc
ter's regiment. After his return from the war,
most of his later years were spent at the home
of his daughter Mary A., in Stark, New Hamp
shire. For many years his love of fishing and
hunting could only be excelled by a veritable
"Isaac Walton" or a "Davy Crockett." After a
few months of sickness he died at the home of
his son Allen R. Boyce, at West Burke, Vermont,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

303

"October 5, 1896. His wife, Joanna (Banfield)
Boyce, was born in Corinth, Vermont, October
1, 1808. She was a noble Christian woman, a de
voted wife and mother, beloved by all who knew
her, and her children could but "rise up and call
Tier blessed." She left her earthly abode for a
better home August 2, 1865.
William Anderson Boyce, third son of Rich
ard T. and Joanna Boyce, acquired his early edu
cation in the common schools of Newbury, Ver
mont, and later pursued a course of study in the
Barre Academy. He was reared upon his fath
er's farm, and after attaining young manhood,
was engaged as a teacher in the public schools of
the state for several years ; in this undertaking
he met with marked success, as he had all the
characteristics which were essential for this posi
tion. He was also appointed to fill the respons
ible position of principal of the Cabot high school
I for two years. Having decided to engage in
the profession of law, he entered the office of L.
C. Wheelock, where he pursued a course of study,
and later he was in the office of E. E. French,
where he completed his studies. He was ad
mitted to the Washington county bar at the
March term in 1869, and shortly after this he
opened an office in Barre, Vermont, and at once
¦engaged in the active practice of his chosen pro^-
fession. Business increased to such an extent
that in January, 1875, his brother O. B. Boyce
was admitted into partnership, and the firm con
ducted an extensive and lucrative business in
Washington and Orange counties until the firm
was dissolved in 1895, owing to the death of O.
B. Boyce. In connection with the law, Mr.
Boyce has conducted a large insurance business,
and he has also been extensively and successfully
-engaged in real estate transactions. He has acted
in the capacity of director and vice president of
the Barre Savings Bank and Trust Company,
and he did much to assist in procuring for Barre
her present railroad advantages. Mr. Boyce has
been well trained in the school of experience, is
strong in. his convictions, self-reliant, tenacious
of his own rights as well as the rights of others ;
he has never used intoxicating liquors, and his
¦efforts have always been directed to promoting
the cause- of temperance ; he has never used to
bacco in apy form, as his robust physique and
healthful countenance may well attest.

Mr. Boyce is a firm adherent of the principles
of the Republican party ; his sterling worth and
pronounced ability led to his' selection for official
honors, and he has served as assessor and town
treasurer, justice of the peace, and was appointed
to serve as judge of Barre city court for two
years ; he was chosen to represent the town of
Barre in the state legislature for the years 1872
and 1873. He has always been particularly inter
ested in the cause of education, and for several
years has acted in the capacity of superintendent
of schools in Barre, Vermont. Mr. Boyce is a
member of Hiawatha Lodge No. 20, I. O. O. F.,
and was representative to the Grand Lodge of
Vermont for two years. He is also an earnest
and faithful member of the Methodist church,
and has acted as superintendent of the Sunday
school for twenty years. He was chosen to act
as a member of the Methodist general conference
held in New York city in May, 1888.
CAPTAIN JOHN LUTHER MOSELEY.
Captain John Luther Moseley, of Northfield,
Vermont, is now living a retired life in the enjoy
ment of a rest which he has truly earned and
richly deserves by reason of his industrious efforts
of former years. Accomplishment and progress
ever imply labor, energy and diligence, and it was
those qualities that enabled our subject to rise
from the ranks of the many and stand among the
successful few.
Captain Moseley was born on the 4th of
March, 1840, in Northfield, a son of John and
Lydia C. (Knight) Moseley. The birth of John
Moseley occurred in Montpelier in 1801, and his
early life was spent upon a farm. Being left
fatherless when a mere child, he was early thrown
upon his own resources and during his boyhood
spent some time in New York state. On his re
turn to Vermont he lived with the late John
Torry, at Bethel, and at that place he was united
in marriage with Miss Lydia C. Knight, a daugh
ter of Perly Ayres Knight, of Oakham, Massa
chusetts. He then purchased a farm in the town
of Northfield, Washington county, and success
fully conducted the same until his wife's health
failed, when he sold the place and removed to
Northfield Center, where she died in 185 1. Sub
sequently he wedded Sarah Child, of Boston, who

304

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

died in 1857, and for his third wife he married
Mrs. Eliza Dean, whose death occurred in July,
1866. He survived them all and passed away at
the home of our subject in 1871. In religious
faith he was an Episcopalian, while his first wife,
the mother of our subject, was a member of the
Congregational church. By their union four chil
dren were born, one son and three daughters,
namely : Harriet A., who married Noah Clark,
of Randolph, and died in 1861 ; Lois Ellen, who
became the third wife of Noah Clark; John
Luther, of this review ; and Ida Annette, who died
in infancy. Captain Moseley remained under the parental
roof until 1859, after which he spent a year in
Randolph. His education was obtained in the
local district schools, the Northfield Academy and
the Orange county grammar school. Hardly had
the echoes from Fort Sumter's guns died away
when he offered his services to the government
to assist in putting down the rebellion, enlisting
about the middle of April, 1861, in Company F,
First Vermont Volunteer Infantry, and serving
until the following August, when he was mustered
out, as his term of enlistment had expired. In
October, however, he re-enlisted, this time becom
ing a member of Company K, Seventh Vermont
Volunteer Infantry, and on the organization ot
the company was chosen first lieutenant, in which
capacity he served until January, 1864, when he
was transferred to Company E and commissioned
captain of the same, holding that rank until dis
charged from the service in April, 1866. For
five long years he served his country faithfully
and well on southern battlefields, and participated
in nearly all the engagements in which the Army
of the Gulf took part.
After the war Captain Moseley returned to
Northfield and became associated with Captain
William H: Boynton in the meat and provision
business, which they carried on together for many
years, building up a large and lucrative trade.
This connection continued until the death of Cap
tain Boynton in 1885, after which our subject
conducted the store alone until 1891, when he re
tired from the business, having acquired a com
fortable competence which enables him to lay
aside all business cares and spend the remainder
of his life in ease and quiet.
On the 2d of October, 1864, Captain Mose

ley was united in marriage with Miss Clara A.
Boynton, of Pepperell, Massachusetts, a daugh
ter of Isaac and Nancy (Boynton) Boynton.
Three sons were born to them, namely: Riley
Boynton, who died at the age of nine years;
Harry Chester, who married Miss Nellie Judd
and is now engaged in the provision business in
Northfield; and John Pool, who is now an insur
ance surveyor in the employ of the Ferris Map
Company of New York City.
Captain Moseley is a member of the Congrega
tional church, and is quite prominent fraternally,
being connected with De Witt Clinton Lodge,
A. F. & A. M., and William H. Boynton Post,
G. A. R., of which he is a charter member, and
in which he has filled all the offices, serving as
adjutant for ten years. Originally he was a char
ter member of Johnson Post. The Republican
party has always found in him a stanch supporter
of its principles, and he has taken quite an active
and influential part in local politics, serving as
village trustee and selectman, and as chairman of
the board for many years. He was .elected a
member of the corporation of the Savings Bank
and a trustee in 1900, and is also a trustee of the
Norwich University. Public-spirited and pro
gressive, he has ever taken a commendable inter
est in everything calculated to advance the moral,
intellectual or material welfare of his town and
county, and as a citizen he ever stands ready to
discharge any duty devolving upon him, his
patriotism being manifest in days of peace as well
as when he followed the old flag to victory on
southern battlefields.
ALLEN MARTIN.
Allen Martin, an eminent attorney of Essex
Junction, Vermont, is a descendant of Aaron
Martin, a native of Connecticut, and who moved
to the state of Vermont in the early part of the
eighteenth century. His son, Allen Martin, was
born in Williamstown, this state, and he became
the father of Henry Martin, who was born in
Barre, Vermont, June 7, 1829. Henry Martin
received his education in the common schools of
his native town, and later in life removed to
Williamstown, where he purchased a farm, and
there was successfully engaged in the raising of
a general line of garden produce. He was united

Qlte^n % '^^Zfcu

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

305

in marriage to Miss Lestina Phelps, of Barre,
Vermont, and two children were born of that
union : Sidney I., a farmer, of Williamstown,
and Clayton H., who died in February, 1902. For
his second wife, Mr. Martin married Miss Lois
N. Bond, a daughter of Stephen B. Bond of Top-
sham, Vermont, and the only child born of that
union was given the name of Allen. Henry Mar
tin was one of the representative men of his town,
and was chosen to serve as selectman and lister,
positions which he creditably filled for many
years. He died on the nth of July, 1900.
Allen Martin, the only son of Henry and Lois
Martin, was born in Williamstown, Vermont,
August 14, 1875, his educational training having
been received in the Goddard Seminary, at Barre,
Vermont, and in the St. Johnsbury Academy.
After his graduation in the last named institu
tion, he decided to enter the legal profession,
and accordingly entered the office of Hon. John
W. Gordon, of Barre, where he pursued a course
of study in that calling. He was admitted to the
bar on the 14th of October, 1898, and just one
month later began practice in Essex Junction,
where he is now enjoying an extensive patronage.
In addition to his private practice, he has served
in the capacity of administrator for several es
tates. He was admitted to practice in the United
States courts in February, 1899.
Mr. Martin was married on the 14th of Jan
uary, 1903, to Miss Kizzie Bates, a native of Illi
nois and a daughter of Job Bates, who is now
living a retired life at Essex Junction after a long
life devoted to agricultural pursuits. He has
served his fellow townsmen as lister, selectman
and grand juror, his public duties having ever
been discharged to the entire satisfaction of his
constituents. Mrs. Martin is the eldest of his
eleven children, and one of her brothers, James,
has just returned from China and the Philippine
Islands, where he served for three years in the
United States service.
In politics, Mr. Martin has always been a
stanch Republican, and has served as delegate
to the county convention. In 1900 he was elected
president of the village in which he lives ; in 1901
was elected treasurer of said village, and in
March, 1902, was elected town clerk for the town
of Essex, and he is now the present village treas
urer and town clerk, and he withholds his sup-
20

port from no movement or measure which he be
lieves will prove of public good, his influence be
ing marked in promoting the best interests of the
town. He is a prominent member of the Masonic
order, and of Mt. Mansfield Lodge, No. 18,
Knights of Pythias, of which he was chancellor
commander in 1902, and is also a member of the
Modern Woodmen of America.
When only twenty years of age, Mr. Martin
delivered the Memorial Day address at Windsor,
Vermont, and since then his services have been
frequently in demand for similar occasions. His
success in life has come to him through energy,
determination and perseverance, directed by an
evenly balanced mind and honorable business
principles.
JO D. HATCH.
Hon. Jo D. Hatch, deceased, for many years
the efficient mayor of the city of Burlington, Ver
mont, was born in Norwich, Vermont, January
21, 181 1, a son of Reuben and Eunice (Dennison)
Hatch. The early years of' Mr. Hatch's life were
spent in attending the primitive schools of his na
tive town, and this was supplemented by his
entrance, in 1826, as a student at Dartmouth Col
lege, from which institution he was graduated
with honor in 1830; among his classmates were
President Smith, the Hon. W. H. Duncan and
John H. Noyes, of Oneida cohimunity fame. Af
ter his graduation Mr. Hatch returned to Wind
sor and engaged in mercantile pursuits, being
the proprietor of a general store; by frugal and
industrious habits, coupled with sound business
judgment, he accumulated a fortune and became
one of the prominent and influential men of the
town. He was often urged by his friends to allow
his name to be used for some leading county or
state office, but only twice would he appear as a
possible candidate ; then he was unanimously
elected to represent the town in the state legisla
ture for 1853 and 1854, and was chosen senator
from Windsor county in 1857 and 1858. After
having retired from business pursuits, Mr. Hatch
removed to Burlington in 1861, and being an in
timate personal friend of Governor Smith, he
interested himself in the Vermont Central, Ver
mont and Canada, and other railroads, and with

306

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

the late Joseph Clark, Lawrence Brainern, John
Smith and others, did much in shaping the legisla
tion that has given Vermont one of the finest
lines of railroads in the country. He took an ac
tive part in local and state affairs, being elected
in 1870 a member of the board of aldermen,
which office he held until 1876, when he resigned
in order to accept the responsible position of
mayor. At that time the city had a bonded debt
of $409,312.13, and a tax of two dollars and fifty
cents on the hundred, and it was largely through
his judicious and persistent efforts that the tax
in 1882 was but one dollar on the hundred. When
he vacated the office of mayor in 1883, the bonded
debt of the city had been reduced to $42,679.71,
and the sinking fund of the city increased $43,-
824.26; the long term in which he was the in
cumbent of the office shows the esteem in which
he was held by his fellow citizens. Few men in
the state enjoyed a wider acquaintance than he,
his kind heart and amiable disposition making
him popular with all classes; as a business man
he proved his ability to become an executive and
leader, and his public record was untarnished in
every respect.
After giving up public life Mr. Hatch was a
familiar figure on the streets of Burlington, mak
ing his headquarters at the Algonquin Club, of
which he was the vice president in 1891 and
chosen to act in the capacity of president the fol
lowing year, and it was in that organization that
he spent many pleasant afternoons for several
years prior to his death. Like many men who
reach the ripe old age of eighty-seven years, he en
joyed "living in the past," and related many stories
of his boyhood days with the "boys," as he termed
them ; his mental faculties were well preserved for
one of his age, and being a good story teller, his
society was always sought by his friends.
On April 5, 1832, Mr. Hatch was united in
marriage to Miss Frances Forbes, a daughter of
General Abner Forbes, of • Windsor, Vermont,
where Mrs. Hatch was born and where her father
lived all his life. Of the children born to Gen
eral Forbes, only one is now living, Gustavus
Forbes, of Newton Center, Vermont. Four chil
dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Hatch: Pattie
F., wife of D. C. Linsley, deceased; Josephine
R, wife of Rodney S. Wires, deceased; Eliza
beth, who became the wife of Isaac Green, now

deceased; and William D., who died in infancy.
Mr. Hatch died May 21, 1898; his last days were
not associated with pain, or severe sickness, but
he passed away with nothing but the natural
wearing out of the body, weighted down with
more than fourscore years of useful life. The
domestic life of Mr. Hatch was a pleasant one,
he being a devoted husband and a kind, indulgent
father. His wife passed away October 13, 1883.
FARKAND STEWART STRANAHAN.
Grandfather Farrand Stranahan was born in
Cooperstown, New York, in 1778, and was
reared and educated there, taking up law as his
profession and becoming very prominent in pub
lic affairs. During the war of 1812 he assisted in
raising a regiment in Otsego county and was then
made its colonel. He was a man of fine military
bearing, six feet high, of influential personality,
and in all respects a model commanding officer.
During the war he was taken prisoner by the
British and confined in Canada for some time.
He was twice elected to the state senate, and was
one of the seventeen senators who voted against
giving the electoral college to the people. He
spent most of his life at Cooperstown and died
there in 1826. His wife was Sarah Stewart,
born in 1768, and died in 1824, and her father,
General Charles Stewart, was commissariat and
general of the issues on the staff of George
Washington in the Revolution.
The only child of these parents was Farrand
Stewart Stranahan, who was born at Coopers
town, New York, April 24, 181 2, and died in
1845. After he had completed his education in
the public schools of Cooperstown he went to
New York city when still young and there be
came a broker, which business he followed all his
life, and was very successful. He was married
to Miss Caroline Curtis, who was born in Troy,
New York, in 1815, the daughter of Zachariah
and Sarah Curtis, and her death occurred in
1843. She was the mother of six children, but
the only ones living are Farrand Stewart, and
John, the cashier of the Welden National Bank
at St. Albans, Vermont. The parents were both
members of the Episcopal church.
Farrand Stewart Stranahan, the third of the
name in three successive generations, was born

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

307

to the last mentioned parents in New York city,
February 3, 1842. He attended the public schools
of the metropolis, but when he was seventeen
years old, in 1859, he came to Vermont, which
was to be his home thenceforth, and in which he
was to achieve a high place in public and business
life. His first important position was that of pay
master on the Vermont Central Railroad, which
he received in 1865 ; from 1867 to 1871 he was
in business in St. Albans, and at the close of that
period was appointed treasurer of the National
Car Company, and he still holds this place. In
1886 he became cashier of the Welden National
Bank of St. Albans and was made its vice pres
ident in 1892; he is also a director of the Cen
tral Vermont Railroad and was vice president of
the Missisquoi road. He is an officer in the Na
tional Despatch Line, and vice president of the
St. Albans Messenger Company.
The foregoing remarks will give the reader
some idea of Mr. Stranahan's prominence in bus
iness life, but throughout his life he has been con
cerned more or less with the affairs of state and
nation. His first great service was performed in
the cause of a united government when he was
scarcely of age, for it was in August, 1862, that
he enlisted in Company L, First Vermont Cav
alry. He was successively promoted from first
sergeant to the rank of second and first lieuten
ant, and shared in all the battles of his regiment
until the winter of 1864, when he was appointed
aide-de-camp on the staff of General George A.
Custer and served with that brilliant general un
til September following, when he received an
honorable discharge and returned home. Be
cause of this service he is a member of A. R.
Hurlbut Post, G. A. R., of which he has .been
commander, and is also a member of the Loyal
Legion. Mr. Stranahan's civil record is also worthy of
note. He is a Republican in politics and as a
representative of that party served as trustee of
the village of St. Albans and represented the
town in 1884 ; four years later he was elected to
the state senate, was trustee of the state reform
school from 1888 to 1892, and in the latter year
received his crowning reward by being elected
lieutenant governor of the state of Vermont.
Furthermore Mr. Stranahan is president of the

St. Albans Cemetery Association, of which he
was one of the incorporators.
On August 26, 1862, Mr. Stranahan was mar
ried to Miss Miranda Aldis, daughter of Hon.
Lawrence and Fidelia (Gadcomb) Brainerd, and
the two children of this union are Mabel Fidelia,
deceased, and Farrand Stewart. Mrs. Stranahan
is prominent in social circles, being state regent
of the Daughters of the American Revolution,
president of the Needle Work Guild, and is one
of the board of managers of the Warner' House.
EDWARD HENRY POWELL.
Colonel Edward Henry Powell, a lawyer and
banker who has rendered valuable service to the
state, a veteran of the Civil war, and a promin
ent citizen of Burlington, Vermont, is a descen
dant of .an honored New England ancestry.
Roland Powell, great-grandfather of E. Henry
Powell, was a native of the state of Connecticut,
whence he removed and became one of the pion
eer settlers of the town of Richford, Vermont,
where he engaged in agricultural pursuits for
the remainder of his life.
Bradford Powell, grandfather of E. Henry
Powell, was born in Richford, Franklin county,
Vermont, was reared upon a farm, and after
completing his studies devoted his attention to
the occupation of farming. He occupied a very
prominent position in the town, being regarded
as a man of strong character, excellent business
ability and sterling integrity, and for a number
of years he was the incumbent of a responsible
office in the custom house at Richford. He was
united in marriage to Clarissa Goff, a daughter
of Hezekiah Goff, of Deerfield, Massachusetts,
where her birth occurred. Mr. Goff came to
Richford as a pioneer, having served three en
listments during the Revolutionary war ; his
death occurred in Richford in 1846, at the age
of ninety-seven years. The following named
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bradford
Powell: Jay, Emily, Seraphine, Diana, Marcia,
Herman, Harry, Bradford and Delight, all of
whom are now deceased. Mr. Powell died at the
age of forty years, survived by his wife, who died
in the eighty-first year of her age.

308

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Herman Powell, father of E. Henry Powell,
was born in Richford, Franklin county, Vermont,
was educated in the common schools of the
neighborhood and subsequently followed farm
ing on the old homestead for a number of years.
He then purchased a farm in Fairfield, Vermont,
which consisted of about two hundred p.cres, in
the cultivation of which he attained fair- success.
He took a keen interest in all matters of public
concern, and although not an active politician or
desirous of office, he from time to time served
the community in the capacity of selectman and
lister. Mr. Powell married Julia S. White, born
in Sheldon, Vermont, a daughter of Deacon Joel
White, who was a prosperous farmer of that
town ; Mr. White married a Miss Noble, and
they reared a family of four children, namely:
Noble, Calvin, John and Julia White ; the mother
of these children died in early womanhood. Five
• children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Powell, all of
whom are living at the present time (1903) : E.
Henry; Charles A., engaged in the hardware and
furniture business in Richford, A^ermont; Emily
A., a resident of Milton, Vermont; Homer E., a
citizen of Milton, Vermont ; and Ella, wife of R.
C. Darling, of Milton, Vermont. The mother of
these children died in the seventieth year of her
age. Both Mr. and Mrs. Powell were actively
associated with the Baptist church of Richford
and North Fairfax, Mr. Powell acting in the
capacity of deacon for many years. His death
occurred when he had attained the age of seven
ty-six years.
E. Henry Powell was born in Richford,
Franklin county, Vermont, September 3, 1839,
and until he reached the age of sixteen years he
attended the common schools of that town. He
then entered the Potsdam Academy, where he
remained one term, and a year later became a
student in the New Hampton Institute at Fair
fax. He taught school for nine terms during
these years. In .i860 he entered the University
of Vermont, where he remained until the follow
ing year, when the war broke out and he enlisted
as a private on July 17, 1862. He was promoted
to the rank of first sergeant before leaving the
state, and at the expiration of a little more than
one year's service in that capacity was ordered
before General Casey's examining board for pro
motion in colored troops. Owing to the credit

able examination he passed, he received a com
mission as lientenant colonel dated November
27, 1863, and was assigned to the Tenth United
States (Colored) Troops, which regiment he
commanded much of the time until nearly fifteen
months after the close of the war. From De
cember, 1865, the regiment was one of four com
prising a brigade, and Colonel Powell acted as
commander, owing to his seniority of rank. The
command was a "Separate Brigade and the East
ern District of Texas." After his discharge as
lieutenant colonel from the service of the United
States, he returned to Richford, Vermont, hav
ing studied law while in service and been ad
mitted to the bar in Texas. In 1866 he estab
lished a general practice in his native town, where
he continued until June, 1892, and in all his pro
fessional effort he has enjoyed the respect and
esteem of his colleagues at the bar and the con
fidence of his clients. In 1874 the Richford Sav
ings Bank & Trust Company was organized with
Colonel Powell as president, and he is still serv
ing in the same capacity.
In 1892 Colonel Powell removed to Burling
ton, Vermont, in order to accept the position of
treasurer of the University of Vermont and State
Agricultural College, which he still retains. The
same year he was elected one of the directors of
the Burlington Trust Company and is still serv
ing in that office. In politics he is an adherent
of the principles of the Republican party. He
served as inspector of customs from 1866 to
1869: was state's attorney from 1872 to 1874;
representative from 1874 to 1876; state senator
from 1878 to 1880; was chosen state auditor in
1878 and re-elected continuously for fourteen
years, the longest period, with one exception, in
the history of the state. Colonel Powell is a
member of the Grand Army of the Republic; of
the Loyal Legion, and Sons of the American
Revolution. On November 30, 1864, Colonel Powell mar
ried Ellen G. Rowell, oldest daughter of Adon
iram Judson Rowell, a merchant and prominent
business man at North Troy, Vermont, who
served as captain and commissary of subsistence
in the army. Mr. Rowell married Lucy A. Rich
ardson, who was born at Concord, New Hamp
shire, and the following named children were
born to them : Ellen G. ; William R., who was a

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

3°9

lawyer and died at Methuen, Massachusetts ; Dr.
George B. of Barton Landing, Vermont ;- Charles
J. of Denver, Colorado; Miss Ardell, of Barton
Landing, Vermont; and Mrs. L. R. Bean, of
Newport, Vermont. Mr. Rowell died at the age
of forty-five years. Two children were born of
this marriage to Colonel and Mrs. Powell :
Blanche P., wife of William A. Spring, of Dres
den, Germany, a prominent American dentist ;
and Max L. who is a graduate of. the University
of Vermont and now associated with his father
in the law and insurance business, The latter
has taken quite an active part in political affairs,
having held the offices of deputy "auditor of ac
counts^ asistant clerk of the house of represen
tatives, secretary of the state senate, and a mem
ber of the school board. Mrs. Powell died at
the age pf thirty-four years. On October 1, 1877,
Colonel Powell married Mrs. Georgiana Reed
Bailey, , of Montpelier, Vermont. She was the
"youngest daughter of Thomas Reed and Mary
Bowlend, and widow of George W. Bailey, Jr.,
''¦secretary -of state at the time of his death. Her
father was a prominent lawyer and banker, whose
death occurred at Montpelier, Vermont, at the
age of seventy-five 'years. His wife Mary, who
¦ was born in Massachusetts, and, died at the age
of seventy-nine years, was the mother of six
-..children : George B. Reed, of Cambridge, Massa
chusetts; William, who died in Milwaukee; Ed
ward D., who died in Buffalo; Charles A., of
Chicago; Josephine R. Poland of Montpelier,
ATermont ; and Mrs. Powell. Two children were
born of this second marriage: Thomas Reed, a
graduate of the University of Vermont, now in
Harvard Law School; and Gertrude Reed, a stu
dent in Smith College. -'...,
' ERNEST McAULEY LATHROP.
Ernest M-. Lathrop, one of the representative
and honored citizens of Arlington, Vermont, has
for over thirty years been prominently identified
with the industrial interests of this section of the
state, and makes his home about three-quarters
of a mile from the village, in a house that was
erected about 1784. He was born on the 12th
of October, 1849, in Manchester, of which place
his father, Eli Bronson Lathrop, was also a na
tive, his birth having occurred there January 22,

1822. His paternal grandfather, Hubbell La
throp, who was born February. 26 (or January
19), 1779, conducted a distillery in Manchester
for many years and also engaged in farming to
some extent. His father, was Arurtdah Lathrop,
who was born December 1, 1735, arid died June
22, 18 17. The latter was twice married and his
second wife, Sarah, died on the nth of April,
1815. Hubbell Lathrop was married March 27,
1802, to Laura, daughter of Colonel Eli' Brown
son, who was an officer in the patriot army at the

ERNEST McAULEY LATHROP.
battle of Bennington. She was born May 30,
1785, and died January 13, 1-841 ; her husband's
death occurred March 19, 1842.
Eli B. Lathrop spent his entire life in Man
chester and followed farming as an occupation.
He married Miss Sarah B. McAuley, of Arling
ton, a daughter of AVilliam McAuley, who was a
stonecutter and dealer, making his home at dif
ferent times in Arlington, Vermont,, and New

3io

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

York city. He died in the former place at the
age of sixty-seven years. For his first wife Mr.
McAuley chose Miss Sarah Canfield, a native of
Arlington, by whom he had two daughters, one
of these being Mrs. Lathrop. For his second
wife, Mr. McAuley married Lucy Lathrop, who
was also born in Arlington, and to them were
born six children, two of whom are still living,
William and Anna, residents of Colorado. Their
mother died at the age of sixty-two years. Eli
B. Lathrop and wife had a family of six children,
and but two of them are now living : Ernest H.,
and Sarah Ann, who reside with their mother
on the. old homestead in Manchester, Vermont.
The father passed away at the age of sixty-five
years. He was one of the prominent and influ
ential citizens of this community, and was hon
ored with several town offices, such as selectman,
lister, etc. He was one of the leading farmers
of the town and a devoted member of the Epis
copal church.
Ernest M. Lathrop spent the early years of his
manhood in Manchester, and his preliminary ed
ucation, acquired in its common schools, was sup
plemented in a course at Burr and Burton Sem
inary. At the age of twenty he came to his
present home in Arlington, and in 1871 bought
the mill property which he still owns, consisting
of a sawmill, grist and feed mill, which he has
since successfully operated, employing a number
of hands. In 1883 Mr. Lathrop added to his
plant, the manufacturing of doors, sash and
blinds, which branch has developed greatly, and
is now bis leading industry. He also owns a
good farm of fifty acres, which is well improved
and under a high state of cultivation.
On September ' 5, 1877, Mr. Lathrop was
united in marriage to Miss Emma C. Youngs,
who was born in Dansville, New York, but sub
sequently made her home in Michigan up to the
time of her marriage. Her father, Richard
Youngs, was born near Batavia, New York,
and was a son of Richard Youngs, Sr., who was
a veteran of the war of 1812 and spent the later
years of his life in Michigan, where his death oc
curred. Mrs. Lathrop's paternal grandmother,
Otis, was the mother of sixteen children, the
youngest of whom lived to be over sixteen years
of age. Of these there are now living the follow
ing : James, a resident of Big Rapids, Michigan ;

William, of Youngstown, Ohio, and Revilo.
Their mother died at the age of eighty-six years.
Mrs. Lathrop's father went West when a young
man and took up his residence in Michigan, where
he engaged in business as a contractor throughout
the remainder of his life, dying there at the age
of sixty-nine years. He married Lydia Bartlett,
who was born in Arlington, Vermont, and was
a daughter of Josiah and Elizabeth (Austin)
Bartlett, early settlers of West Arlington, and in
whose family were three children. After his
death, his wife married Abner Squires, a large
land-owner of West Arlington. She died at the
age of sixty-five years. Mr. and Mrs Youngs
were active and consistent members of the Pres
byterian church, in which he served as deacon
and superintendent of the Sunday school. In
their family were five children, three of whom
are living, namely : Charles, a resident of Carle
ton, Michigan ; Emma C, wife of our subject,
and Harriet, who married George Townsend.
Since attaining his majority, Mr. Lathrop has
always been affiliated with the Republican party,
and has taken quite an active and prominent part
in public affairs, holding the office of selectman
a number of years, and serving as chairman of
the board some time. He also represented his
town in the legislature in 1898, serving on the
claim committee and is a recognized leader in
political circles. In religious faith he is an Epis
copalian. Fraternally, he is a member of Red
Mountain Lodge, No. 63, F. and A. M., of which
he has been treasurer, while his wife is a very
prominent and active member of the Eastern
Star, No. 41, having filled the offices of marshal,
associate conductress, conductress and associate
matron. Mr. Lathrop is' also an honorary mem
ber of Dudley Post, G. A. R., and both are held
in the highest esteem by all who know them.
FRANK SIMON WILLIAMS.
Frank Simon Williams, a prominent member
of the legal profession of Barre, Vermont, was
born at North Troy, in the town of Troy, Orleans
county, Vermont, January 27, 1872, a son of
Simon Lamphire and Amelia Phoebe Williams.
Simon Lamphire Williams, father of Frank
Simon Williams, was born in the town of Fair
fax, Franklin countv, Vermont, November 14.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

3"

1844. He was a son of Chauncey and Orphie
(Lamphire) Williams. His education was re
ceived at the district school, and later he learned
the trade of tanner and currier, which occupation
he continued to pursue for the balance of his life.
Industry, application to business and persever
ance, combined with the strictest integrity of
character, made him one of the representative men
of that section of the state. In politics he was a
firm adherent of the principles of the Republi
can party, and in his religious belief he was a
free-thinker. In 1869 he was united in marriage
to Miss Amelia Phoebe Comstock, daughter of
John Comstock, who was the son of one of three
brothers who came from England and settled in
S wanton, Franklin county, Vermont. Mr. Will
iams's death occurred in the town of Westford,
Chittenden county, \rermont, February 13, 1873,
caused by the explosion of a steam boiler.
Frank Simon Williams attended the district
schools of his native state, later was a student in
the high school at Columbus, Wisconsin, and sub
sequently entered the Goddard Seminary at
Barre, Vermont, from which he was graduated
in the year 1895. Desirous of becoming a mem
ber of the legal fraternity, he commenced the
study of law in the office of Richard Hoar at
Barre, A^ermont, and was admitted to the bar in
October, 1899. He immediately established him
self in an office in Barre, where he has since suc
cessfully practiced his chosen profession. Since
he was thirteen years of age he has had to face
the world alone, and in order to obtain money
enough to secure his education he learned the
carpenter's trade, which he worked at for several
years. He is a man of very strong characteristics,
and his life demonstrates the possibilities that
are open to young men of courage and ambition
who have the will to do, accompanied by an hon
orable and steadfast purpose.
His political affiliations are with the Republi
can party, and he always takes a keen interest in
all matters that pertain to the welfare of his town
and county. He is an earnest and faithful mem
ber of the Universalist church of Barre, Ver
mont. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias,
and is also connected with the Order of United
American Mechanics. Mr. Williams was united
in marriage, July 25, 1899, to Miss Sarah Low,
daughter of A. T. and Eunice (Achorn) Low, of

Rockland, Maine, the former named being sheriff
of Knox county for twenty-four years. Mrs.
Williams acquired her education in the high
school at Rockland, Maine.
THE EGERTON FAMILY.
The Egerton family of Vermont can trace
tlieir history back to the time of Charles I, King
of France, and the line of descent is as follows :
Charles I, King of France, who had Pepin Le
Bref, King of France, who had Charlemagne, Em
peror of the West, who had Louis I, the Pious,
King of France, who had Charles II, the Bald,
King of France, who had Judith, m. Count Bald
win I. who had Baldwin II, Count of Flanders, m.
Etheiwida, dau. of Alfred the Great, King of Eng
land, and had Arnolph, the Great, Count of Flan
ders, who had Baldwin III, Count of Flanders,
who had Arnolph II, fifth Count of Flanders, who
had Baldwin IV, sixth Count of Flanders, who
had Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, m. Adela, dau.
of Robert, King of France, who was a son of
Hugh Capet, King of France, and had Matilda,
m. William the Conqueror, seventh Duke of Nor
mandy, King of England, and had Gundred, m.
William, Earl of Warren, in Normandy, created
Earl of Surrey iri England (d. 1089), and had
AVilliam, second Earl of Warren and Surrey
(d. 1 135), m. Lady Isabel, granddaughter of
Henry I, King of France, and had Gundred de
Warren, m. Roger de Newburgh, second Earl of
Warwick, and had Waleran de Newburgh, fourth
Earl of Warwich (d. 1205), m. Alice, dau.
of John d'Harcourt, and had Alice de New
burgh, m. William de Manduit, Baron of
Hanslape (d. 1250), and had Isabel de Manduit,
m. William, fifth Baron of Beauchamp and Elm-
ley, and had Walter de Beauchamp, Baron of
Alcester and Powyke, who had Giles de Beau
champ, who had Roger de Beauchamp, first Baron
of Bletsho (d. 1379), who had Roger, second
Baron Beauchamp of Bletsho, who had John,
third Baron Beauchamp of Bletsho, who had
Margaret de Beauchamp, m. Sir Oliver de St.
John, Knt., of Penmark in Glamorgan, and had
John de St. John, m. Alice, dau, of Sir Thomas
Bradshaw, and had John de St. John of Bletsho,
m. Svbil, dau. of Morgan ap Jenkyns, ap Philip,
and had John de St. John, Knt., m. Margaret,

312

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

dau. of Sir Thomas Walgrave, and had Oliver St.
John, of Bletsho, m. Agnes Fisher, and had
Thomas St. John, of Bletsho, who had Oliver St.
John, Knt., M. P., of Caysho, m. Sarah Odell, of
Bedfordshire, and had
Elizabeth St. John, b. 1605 ; she was an ac
complished and beautiful woman and married, as
his second wife, August 6, 1629, Rev. Samuel
Whiting, son of John Whiting, mayor of Boston,
England ; on account of her husband's non-con
formist views they were obliged to leave Eng
land and came to Hingham, Massachusetts, in
1636: Mr. Whiting was a graceful and eloquent
preacher; he died in 1679 and his wife in 1677;
they had Elizabeth Whiting, b. 1654, m. Rev.
Jeremiah Hobart, b. 1630 ; he died in 1715 and his
wife in 1733 ; they had
Dorothy Hobart, b. 1679, who was married
April 19, 1704, to Daniel Mason, son of Daniel
Mason, b. 1652, d. 1736; the elder Daniel Mason
was a son of Major John Mason, b. 1600, m.
1639 to Anne Peck, dau. of Rev. Robert Peck ;
Major John Mason was lieutenant in the British
army, came to America in 1630, was deputy gov
ernor of Connecticut and a major general in the
colonial army ; Daniel Mason and Dorothy Hobart
(who d. 1733) had
Jeremiah Mason, b. March 4, 1705; he mar
ried Mary Clark, b. 1704, dau. of Thomas Clark,
of Haddam, Connecticut; Mr. Mason d. 1779 and
his wife 1799; they had
Mary Mason, b. December 26, 1736; she mar
ried, April 15, 1756, as his second wife, her sec
ond cousin, Nathan Huntington, b. July 22, 1726;
he was a son of David Huntington, b. 1697, d.
1771, who married, June 30, 1725, Mary Mason,
who was a daughter of Hezekiah Mason, b. 1677,
d. 1726, this last being a son by a second wife of
the elder Daniel above mentioned ; Nathan Hunt
ington (who d. 1818) and Mary Mason had Ed-
nah Huntington, b. January 15, 1760; she mar
ried, probably about 1780, Ariel Egerton ; she died
December 2, 1813.
The first of the name to be found in this coun
try were John and Richard Egerton, who came
to Saybrook, Connecticut, in 1632. John Eger
ton, Earl of Bridgewater, who died in 1649, na(^
four sons ; on the death of the eldest son, the
second son, John, succeeded to the father's title
and estates in England, and according to the

family tradition this one was the John who came
to Saybrook and returned to England, probably
about 1660. The younger brother, Richard, re
mained in Connecticut and became the founder
of the family in America.
I. — 1. Richard Egerton, married Mary Syl
vester, April 7, 1653 j at the town meeting held
in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1655, Richard Eger
ton is recorded as being present ; in 1660 John and
Richard by reciprocal deeds divided their land in
Norwich ; in 1668 Richard took his oath as one
of the thirty-nine freemen of Norwich ; in 1672
he was elected fenceviewer, and townsman (the
same as selectman) in 1676; he died in March,
1691 : he had nine children: 2. Mary b. Feb
ruary 3, 1655. 3. Elizabeth, b. December 25,
1657. 4. Anna, b. September, 1659. 5- Jonn>
b. June 12, 1662; m. Mary Reynolds and died
soon after, leaving an infant son John, afterwards
known as Lieutenant John Egerton, who was the
father of Captain Elisha Egerton, of the Revolu
tion. 6. Richard, b. March 10, 1665, m. Jan
uary 4, 1692, Elizabeth Scudder, and d. 1729;
she d. 1762. 7. Sarah, b. April, 1667 ; m. Joseph
Reynolds. 8. Samuel, b. May, 1670. 9. Lydia,
b. April, 1675. 10. Joseph, b. March 8, 1677;
m. Elizabeth Pratt, was one of the first settlers 01
Lebanon, Connecticut.
II — 8. Samuel Egerton, m. April 18, 1703,
Alice Ripley, b. September 17, 1683, dau. of
Joshua Ripley and Hannah Bradford, who was
the dau. of Major William Bradford, a son ot
Governor William Bradford of Plymouth colony ;
Samuel lived in the west part of Norwich, and
when the town was divided this part took' the
name of Franklin; he died in 1748; his children
are: 11. Samuel, b. March 15, 1704; m. Marga
ret Abel ; d. September 21, 1780. 12. Perez, b.
January 14, 1705. 13. Joshua, b. February 26,
1707. 14. John, b. April 25, 1708. 15. Will
iam, b. April 25, 1708. 16. Mary, b. May 17,
1713- 17- Elijah, b. December 1, 1715. 18.
David, b. August 28, 1718. 19. Alice, b. Decem
ber 25, 1721. 20. Daniel, b. July 10, 1725.
HI — 15. William Egerton lived in Franklin,
Connecticut; m. November 6, 1733, Lydia Bar
stow, dau. of Job Barstow (this name is some
times given as Bestor) ; he died in 1760; his chil
dren are: 21. Asa, b. March 28, 1736. 22.
Submit, b. May 15, 1738; d. same day. 23. Mar-

THE STATE OF VERMONT,

313

tha, b. April 3, 1739. 24. Zeruiah, b. August
8, 1 741. 25. Alice, b. August 28, 1744., 26.
Rebeckah, b. April 3, 1747. 27. Lebbeus, b.
July 12, 1749. 28. Ezra, b. 1752. 29. Lavinia,
b. July 6, 1754. 30. Ariel, b. October 8, 1757.
IV — 30. Ariel Egerton married, probably
about 1780, Ednah Huntington, dau. of Nathan
Huntington, above mentioned; he removed to
Brookfield, Vermont, about 1797 and died there
October n, 1838; he was a non-commissioned
officer in the Revolutionary army and served sev
eral years ; he was a prominent business man in
Brookfield for many years; his children are: 31.
Lydia, b. July 30, 1781 ; m. Abial Chamberlain ; d.
June 4, 1858. 32. Mary, b. January 25, 1783 ;
d. about 1845, unmarried. 33. William, b. Jan
uarys, 1785; m. Sophia Hubbard, had six chil
dren; d. about 1840. 34. Charles, b. December
11, 1786; removed to northern New York, mar
ried, had two children, and the four died between
1845 an<i 1850. 35. Ariel, b. June 8, 1789. 36.
Eber, b. October 6, 1792; died April 13, 1817, un
married. 37. Nathan Huntington, b. July 7,
1794; died about 1837, unmarried. 38. James
Harvey, b. September 7, 1796. 39. Ezra, b. Au
gust 29, 1801, died August 8, 1803.
Ariel's first wife died December 2, 1813, and
about 1817 he married a widow Stratton and had
by her: 40. Lavinia, b. about 1821 ; married and
went west.
V — Ariel Egerton, third son of Ariel and Ed
nah Egerton, was born June 8, 1789. After having
spent his boyhood in the town of Brookfield, Ver
mont, he removed to Northfield and was engaged
in the occupation of teaching school in district
No. i, and the following year he was a teacher
in No. 3 ; he had all the qualifications to make a
successful and popular instructor, and was called
upon several times to finish out the term of other
teachers who had not the power to control their
pupils. In 181 5 he erected a house and store in
Centervillage and that was the first building built
there for business purposes ; he continued in the
mercantile trade for several years, and finally
purchased a grist mill and chair factory in the
southern portion of the village, which he con
ducted successfully until 1835.
Mr. Egerton was one of the first citizens of
the state to note the injurious effects arising from
the use of liquor, and he became actively inter

ested in the cause of temperance. During the
winter of 1826 he invited the residents of the
neighborhood to attend a meeting, which was
held in the school house, and listen to some state
ments about the use and abuse of intoxicating
liquors. About forty people were present, and
that was, as we believe, the first attempt in the
state of Vermont, aside from pulpit addresses, to
present the temperance question in a public lec
ture. He addressed audiences in other parts of
the town, and in other villages, and one address
which was delivered in the Center meeting house
was published in the Montpelier Watchman and
in other newspapers in the state. He was instru
mental in organizing several temperance societies
and divisions of Sons of Temperance, and was
an ardent advocate of the prohibitory law until
and after its adoption by the state. In his relig
ious views he favored the Protestant Episcopal
church, but living where there was no church of
that denomination, he united in worship with
the Methodists and Congregationalists. In poli
tics he was an anti-slavery Whig, and later be
came an adherent of the Republican party.
He was united in marriage, November 28,
1813, to Miss Abigail Proctor Keyes, daughter of
Captain Abel Keyes, who was born in Putney,
Vermont, in September, 1773. Captain Keyes
removed to Northfield, Vermont, about 1796,
where he served the town as lister, selectman,
justice of the peace and representative to the
legislature of Vermont. The history of North-
field says : Captain Keyes was in many respects
a most remarkable man, having robust health,
ceaseless activity and untiring energy, but he also
had a restless temperament which kept him ever
on the move, so that he left to others the pleasant
task of reaping the reward of his labors. In
1839 he removed to Lake Zurich, Illinois, where
he was appointed postmaster of the town, and
subsequently he located in Lake Mills, Wisconsin,
where his death occurred September 26, 1843.
Captain Keyes was the son of Daniel Keyes, of
Westfield, Massachusetts, who was the son of
Moses Keyes, of Chelmsford, and he in turn was
the son of Solomon Keyes, who was one of the
earliest settlers of Chelmsford, coming there
from England in 1664. The folowing named
children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Egerton:
(1.) Almira Ednah, born September 6, 1814,

3'4

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

married William D. Bragg, and their children
were: Julia Louisa, born August 22, 1837; Agnes
Elizabeth, born February 4, 1840 ; William Clar
ence, born June 22, 1855 ; and Elmer Porter
Bragg, born September 29, 1857. Agnes Eliza
beth Bragg married William Dempster Hoard,
who was born October 10, 1836; he was a soldier
during the war of the rebellion. Later he set
tled in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, and for many
years published the Jefferson County Union and
Hoard's Dairyman, and he had a national repu
tation as a lecturer on dairy subjects. He was
elected governor of the state of Wisconsin in
1889, and in 1895 was the department com
mander of the Grand Army of the Republic of
Wisconsin. (2.) Laura Esther, born November
3, 1816. (3.) Olive Smith, born October 6,
1818. (4.) Cynthia Maria, born January 2, 1821,
married, May 25, 1846, the Rev. Ambrose Smith,
who was a minister of the Congregational church
of Northfield, and their children were: Frances
Egerton, born April 8, 185 1, Lyndon Ambrose,
born July 15, 1854, graduated from Dartmouth
College and is a member of the legal profession
in Montevideo, Minnesota, where he has served
as lieutenant governor for the past two terms ; he
married Miss Dora Rogers. Justin Harvey was
a graduate from Dartmouth College, after which
he studied for the ministry ; he was a member of
the publishing firm of Ginn & Company, Boston,
for several years, and is now acting in the capac
ity of professor of modern history in Dartmouth
College. (5.) Abby Sophia, born April 15, 1823.
(6.) Charles Bestor, born March 6, 1825, fitted
for college at Thetford Academy, entered Dart
mouth College, was in academic department and
medical department, and graduated from Berk
shire, Massachusetts, Medical College ; later went
to Ironton, Ohio, where he practiced medicine,
was also a druggist and was elected as judge of
probate of Lawrence county, serving fourteen
years. He retired about 1885 and died Decem
ber 1, 1900. He married Miss Emeline Tourney
and their son, Charles Bestor, is a resident of
Ironton, Ohio, where he acts as treasurer of
Lawrence county, succeeding his brother, James
Tourney Egerton, who had held the office the
constitutional term; William Ariel Egerton, a
younger brother of Charles Bestor, acts as super
intendent of the C. E. Abbott Company. (7.)

John Starkweather, born January 10, 1827, and
died in 1852; and (8.) Joseph Keyes, born Oc
tober 20, 1829. The father of these children died
September 20, 1859, at Queechy, Vermont, sur
vived by his wife, who then took up her residence
with her eldest son in Ironton, Ohio, where she
died June 4, 1887, in the ninety-second year of
her life.
AT. — Joseph Keyes Egerton, youngest child
of Ariel and Abigail Proctor Egerton, was born
in Northfield, Vermont, October 20, 1829. He
acquired his education at the Thetford Academy,
Thetford, Vermont. On March 4, 1845, he com
menced his business career by engaging as clerk
in the store of J. C. Brooks, in Hartford, Ver
mont, where he remained for four years ; he was
employed one year at Cleveland's store in Brook
field, Vermont, and one year with Camp &
Thayer in Northfield, Vermont. He then re
moved to Queechy, Vermont, where he conducted
a store and acted in the capacity of postmaster
from 1853 to i860; he then located in Norwich,
Vermont, where he was engaged in mercantile
trade, and was elected to fill the offices of town
treasurer, justice of the peace and town agent.
After remaining in this town for some years he
returned to Northfield, where he now resides.
Mr. Egerton has been engaged in the manufac
turing of roofing slate, and for some years acted
as president of the Northfield Slate Company,
and is now serving as treasurer of the Union
Slate Company of Northfield. He has also been
interested in the fire insurance business for twen
ty-five years, holding agencies for the Aetna, the
Home, the Insurance Company of North Amer
ica, the Continental, the Phcenix of Hartford, the
Sun, the Phoenix of London, the Springfield, the
Vermont Mutual, the. Union Mutual, and he has
transacted some business in life and accident in
surance. He has won the confidence and respect
of these different companies, and has given entire
satisfaction to every insurer.
Mr. Egerton has been a Republican in poli
tics ever since the organization of that party, and
has served in town and county committees for
many years. He was elected to fill the offices of
town clerk, auditor and justice of the peace, also
other positions of trust and responsibility. He
joined the Odd Fellows lodge in Northfield in
1850, and he has served as noble grand of the

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

3i5

lodge and chief patriarch of the encampment ; he
was also grand patriarch of the grand encamp
ment of Vermont in 1892 and 1893, was also
grand representative to the sovereign grand lodge
of the United States in 1894 and 1895, and is
now a member of Northfield Lodge and Eureka
Encampment of Northfield, Vermont. Mr. Eger
ton joined the Freemasons in 1854, and was
elected master of United Brethren Lodge in
Hartford for several years, was a member of the
Grand Lodge of Vermont for twelve years, was
grand lecturer of the same lodge for seven years
up to 1869, and is now a member of King Solo
mon Chapter, Montpelier, Vermont, and of De-
witt Clinton Lodge of Northfield. He became a
member of the Sons of Temperance in 1849 and
has been connected with temperance organizations
ever since. He holds membership in the Protes
tant Episcopal church of Northfield, and has
served as treasurer and senior warden.
On December 25, 1856, Mr. Egerton was
united in marriage to Miss Sarah Frances Tyler,
and their children were: Edith Kingsbury, born
July 3, 1858, died August 12, 1861 ; and Fred
erick Tyler, born July 13, 1862, died March 4,
1887. Mrs. Egerton died February 2, 1886, and
Mr. Egerton married, October 20, 1887, Miss
Emily L. Abbott, who died September 5, 1897.
He contracted an alliance, December 10, 1899,
with Miss Mary Hickson, daughter of Richard
Gregory Hickson, of Windsor, Vermont, who
was a son of Sir George Hickson, of Gregory
Castle, county Kerry, Ireland.
OLIVER L. WATSON, M. D.
Throughout a long period Dr. Oliver L.
Watson devoted his time, energy and attention to
the humane work of alleviating human suffering
and prolonging life through the administration
of medical agencies, and now he is living retired
in the enjoyment of a richly deserved rest. He
was born in Worcester, Vermont, on the ist of
May, 1828, and is a son of Oliver and Esther
(Brown) Watson. His father was born in Con
necticut, October 8, 1785, and when a boy learned
the carpenter's and joiner's trade, serving seven
years' apprenticeship under the direction of an
Englishman. Thus he thoroughly mastered the
business, but when he had completed his term of

service he had no capital to aid him in starting
out in life. Making his way to Montpelier, he
followed his chosen pursuit in this city, and also
in Worcester, and adjoining towns. He was a
master workman on the state-house that was de-
strowed by fire, and he followed carpentering and
building throughout his entire life. He found
recreation from his labors in gardening, and took
great pride in his work in that direction, pro
ducing some of the finest vegetables that were
ever raised iti his section of the state. On the
29th of May, 1 81 7, he married Miss Esther
Brown, a daughter of Amasa Brown, of Worces
ter, Vermont, but formerly of Winchendon,
Massachusetts. Her mother bore the maiden
name of Sybil Stoddard, and Mr. and Mrs.
Brown were numbered among the pioneer resi
dents of Worcester. There were but three fam
ilies who remained in that town during the ex
tremely cold and memorable winter of 181 6, the
Browns being one of these. Mr. Brown served
as town clerk and was a member of the state leg
islature, being widely recognized as a leader of
public thought and action. He was also one of
the original members of the Congregational
church of Worcester. To Oliver and Esther
Watson were born eight children : Edwin C,
born May 26, 18 18, was a member of the firm of
French, . Watson & Company, manufacturers, of
Hartford, Vermont, and died in that town on the
20th of December, 1885 ; Sybil Eliza, born April
21, 1820, married Nelson H. Caswell, on the 4th
of July, 1843, an(i sne is still living at the ad
vanced age of eighty-two years ; Caroline B., born
November 26, 1822, was married on the 27th of
March, 1842, to Alvin Colby, and died September
13, 1889; Amasa B., born February 27, 1826,
went to Michigan, was wealthy and prominent in
Grand Rapids, Michigan where he was inter
ested in manufacturing, banking, lumbering, etc.,
was a self-made man, was married October 7,
1856, to Martha A. Brooks, and died September
18, 1888; the doctor is the next of the family;
Esther L., born September 14, 1830, died March
26, 1852 ; Olive O., born November 27, 1832, be
came the wife of James Rice, on the 13th of No
vember, 1854, and died August 29, i860; and
Algernon Sydney, born February 6, 1838, died
July 19, 1880. The father of this family was a
member of the Congregational church, and in

316

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

his political views was an old-line Whig. He
died August 29, 1870, and his wife passed away
on the 3d of November, 1872.
In the common schools Oliver L. Watson ac
quired his early education, and then, determin
ing to make the practice of medicine his life
work, he became a student in the office of Dr.
Charles Clark, and also continued his reading
under the direction of Dr. Macomber, of Wor
cester, Vermont, and subsequently was grad
uated in the medical department of the State
University in 1864. He began practice in Wa
terbury Center, where he remained for one year,
and then removed to Middlesex, where he con
tinued in practice for four years. His next place
of residence was at West Thompson, where he
met with success in his undertakings, contin
uously following his profession there until 1890,
when he retired from active life and took up his
abode in Montpelier. He had always remained
a close and earnest student of his profession,
keeping in touch with advanced thought con
cerning science, and thus his labors were effect
ive and ' his business proved a profitable one.
On the 19th of August, 1852, Dr. Watson
was united in marriage to Miss Nancy C. Dar
ling, a daughter of Leonard and Mary Darling,
of Worcester, and to this union were born three
children : Milton B., born June 4, 1853, was a
student in Dartmouth College and died on the
28th of August, 1872. Horace L., born Octo
ber 22, 1862, was graduated at the University
of Vermont, in July, 1887, and is now a prac
ticing physician of Montpelier ; he wedded Mary
Watson, of Woodbury, this state, and they have
two children: Harold L., born in April, 1893,
and Marion E., born in 1896. Jessie Cornelia,
born December 12, 1872, is the wife of Dean
Hayes, and they have one child, Leslie Watson,
who was born in April. 1898. In 1877 the Doc
tor was called upon to mourn the loss of his
wife, who died on the 7th of October, of that
year. He afterward married Delia A. Peake on
the 13th of October, 1880. She is a daughter
of John and Melissa (Hall) Peake, and by her
marriage she became the mother of one child:
Edwin Clyde, who was born June 22, 1884, and
died March 21, 1891.
Dr. Watson still retains his membership in
the Vermont Medical Society, and at one time

was the president of the AVhite Mountain Med
ical Society. His political support has been
given the Republican party since its organiza
tion, and upon that ticket he has been elected
and has served in various public offices. He was
justice of the peace, was constable and deputy
sheriff. In connection with his professional
duties, he engaged in the pension business and
accumulated a large property. He has passed
the seventy-fourth milestone on life's journey,
and in the evening of life receives the veneration
and respect which should ever be accorded one
who has reached an advanced age.
MAJOR G. S. BLODGETT.
For forty-seven years Gardner S. Blodgett
was prominently connected with the business in
terests of Burlington, Vermont, and is a most
honored and respected citizen of the Green Moun
tain state. Throughout the Civil war he per
formed most important service for the govern
ment, and at all times he has been loyal to his
country, zealously devoting his energies to the
promotion of its welfare.
Major Blodgett was born in Rochester, Ver
mont, November 10, 1819. His father, the Rev.
Luther P. Blodgett, was born at Cornwall, Ver
mont, May 15, 1783, was graduated at Middle
bury College, in August, 1804, devoted his life to
the work of the ministry and died in Cooperstown,
New York, January 26, 1862. The ancestry of the
family is traced back to Samuel Blodgett, of
Salisbury, Connecticut, who was a French
Huguenot. The family had its origin in Brittany,
where the name was spelled Blojed.
Major Blodgett was educated in the common
schools and in Jericho Academy, and entered upon
his business career as a clerk in a country store.
He was afterward employed as a salesman in a
wholesale dry-goods house in New York city for
three years, on the expiration of which period
(1852) he returned to Vermont and was ap
pointed mail agent on the Burlington and Boston
route. In 1854 he invented and patented a gal
vanized iron portable oven, which is now in use
throughout almost the entire civilized world. The
government of the United States was also a large
purchaser, securing the ovens for army use in
camp and field.

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

317

At the outbreak of the Civil war Major Blodg
ett entered the Union service and performed du
ties of the greatest importance and responsibility.
He was commissioned by President Lincoln as
captain and assistant quartermaster, United States
Volunteers, August 3, 1861 ; captain and assist
ant quartermaster, United States Army (regu
lar service), July 2, 1864; and was brevetted
major March 13, 1865, for faithful and meri
torious service during the war. His services
began with the First Vermont Cavalry Regiment,
at Burlington. He filled the twofold position of
assistant quartermaster and assistant commissary
of subsistence, and upon him devolved the ardu
ous duty of feeding and equipping the command,
this, too, in face of what appeared to be insuper
able obstacles. Captain Blodgett received from
the quartermaster general of the United States
Army a requisition upon the treasury department
for one hundred and ten thousand dollars, as pay
ment for the horses purchased for the regiment,
and a further requisition from the commissary
general, United States Army, for fifteen thousand
dollars to pay for the subsistence of the men, at
a rate of thirty cents a day. The requisitions
were disregarded, and Major Blodgett visited the
treasury department at the national capital, only
to be informed that the matter must await the
usual red-tape circumlocutory process. Major
Blodgett was strenuously urgent, however, and
his pertinacity was rewarded, and within three
days he was on his return to Burlington. In
little more than a month the regiment was fully
clothed and equipped, and on its way to the front.
With the prestige of thus promptly conduct
ing affairs, Major Blodgett was ordered, in May,
1862, to Annapolis, Mar)'lail(i> under assignment
to duty as chief depot quartermaster. This was
one of the most important bases of supplies for
the great Army of the Potomac, as well as for
the troops operating in North Carolina, and he
had it in charge during the remainder of the year.
It was under him that was built the great parole
camp accommodating about fifteen thousand men,
and where were received the thousands of prison
ers of war paroled at Richmond, Belle Isle and
elsewhere. In 1864 Major Blodgett was ordered
to Baltimore to relieve Colonel Alexander Bliss
of his duties as chief quartermaster of the Eighth
Army Corps, which was under command of Gen

eral Lew Wallace, with the understanding that it
could not relieve him of his duties at Annapolis.
This additional position of acting chief quarter
master at Baltimore necessitated his keeping two
sets of books and office clerks, one in each city.
He remained in the latter position until the con
centration and reorganization of the Ninth Army
Corps, when he resigned his position at Baltimore.
The duties devolving upon Major Blodgett
were most arduous during the reorganization of
the Ninth Corps (Major General Ambrose E.
Burnside) at Annapolis. This command num
bered six thousand men, and all were to be re-
clothed and equipped. During his service at the
Annapolis depot Major Blodgett disbursed nearly
two million dollars in cash, issued one hundred
and fifty thousand uniforms, fifty thousand tents,
three hundred thousand blankets and immense
quantities of camp and garrison equipments, to
gether with nine million pounds of grain and
forage, two hundred thousand tons of coal for
government steamers, and the enormous amount
of lumber required for the barracks for the parole
camp, army hospitals and other camps. He pro
vided transportation for many thousand paroled
prisoners forwarded from Annapolis, and in his
accounting with the government five years
elapsed before they were finally balanced to a
cent. While stationed at Annapolis, in addition to
the service already mentioned, Major Blodgett
laid out the national cemetery, selecting the site,
purchasing the ground, and later interred therein
three thousand of the brave boys in blue who had
laid down their lives on the altar of their country.
Major Blodgett has the name of all these soldiers
aside from those who were unknown. He also
attended to the manufacture of the coffins, and
was ordered by the secretary of war to paint all
the government houses in Annapolis, which he
did. He had authority to go into open market
and buy any supplies he needed, which was an
unusual privilege for a subordinate officer, but it
indicated his standing with the government of
ficials and the confidence reposed in him. To
those who know Major Blodgett it is unnecessary
to say that this confidence was never betrayed in
the slightest degree. Major Blodgett also super
intended the erection of a smallpox hospital at
Annapolis, and made his own plans, which re-

3»8

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

ceived the approval of the quartermaster general,
and which superceded plans already made by a
government architect, the change resulting in a
saving of between twelve and fourteen thousand
dollars. The close of the war rendered the Annapolis
depot unnecessary, and it was abandoned. Major
Blodgett was then ordered to Washington city
to succeed Colonel Bliss, who had charge, under
Quartermaster General M. C. Meigs, of all rail
road and river transportation. This was as ardu
ous a task, perhaps, as could fall to his lot, for he
was chargeable with the transportation to their
homes of the vast number of troops now released
from service, as well as with the carriage to
arsenals and depots of the great quantities of
military stores for which there was now no use in
the field. During his four years' service Major
Blodgett had been absent from his post of duty
but ten days, and he asked of General Meigs a
leave of absence for a like period. He passed
but one night at home, returning to Washington
city the next day. But he held on his knee his
little son, and the conviction came to him that
his family now needed him rather than did the
government, and he accordingly resigned, in Oc
tober, 1865, six months after the war had ended.
It is not too much to affirm that no man in
all the vast army of the Union performed more
useful service than did Major Blodgett. His
duties were always performed with promptness
and accuracy, and he aided very materially in
promoting the efficiency of the army by providing
it, without delay, with all that was necessary to
its existence. He had a certain reward in
the consciousness of duty well done. Again,
he had been brought into official relations
with some of the greatest men of the day, — the
lamented Lincoln, Secretary of War Stanton and
his assistant, Charles A. Dana, General Grant,
General Wood, General John A. Dix, General
Burnside, General Meade and others, and he en
joyed the personal friendship and esteem of these
distinguished statesmen and soldiers. In 1873
Major Blodgett was again called into the service
of the government for a brief time in the capacity
of assistant United States commissioner to the
Vienna exposition.
On retiring from the army Major Blodgett
resumed his place in the commercial circles of

Burlington, where he had entered upon business
in 1854, as a member of the firm of G. G. Blodgett
& Company, jobbers of sheet and galvanized iron
and dealers in steam, hot water and hot air fur
naces, plumbers' material, stoves and ranges. For
forty-seven years he occupied the same store
building, and enjoyed a very large and profitable
trade, his honorable business methods, enterprise
and energy commending him to the public con
fidence and patronage. At length, having ac
quired a handsome competence, he disposed of
his commercial interests and returned to private
life, where he is now enjoying the rest which he
has so truly earned and richly deserves. In all
the relations of life he has been found true and
faithful to duty, and as a citizen, business man
and in social life he has commanded the respect
and regard of all with whom he has been brought
in contact. Major Blodgett is a valued member of the
Congregational Society, and is connected with
various military societies. He is a charter mem
ber of the Vermont Cornmandery of the Military
Order of the Loyal Legion, which was organized
October 15, 1891, at which time he was chosen
its treasurer, a position which he has occupied to
the present time. He also holds membership
with the Sons of the American Revolution, the
Society of the Army of the Potomac, and Stan
nard Post, G. A. R.'
On May 5, 1849, Major Blodgett was mar
ried, in New York, to Miss Sarah E. Ellis, a na
tive of New Bedford, Massachusetts. One son
was born of this union, Frank J., now an eminent
physician, who makes a specialty of the treat
ment of diseases of the eye, ear, nose and throat,
and is assistant surgeon of the Manhattan Eye
and Ear Infirmary and of the New York Hos
pital.
FREDERICK NEWELL SQUIRE.
Of the commercial interests of Bennington,
Professor Frederick N. Squire has long been a
representative, and for many years has been con
nected with the jewelry trade. His success in
business is the reward of diligence, enterprise
and a laudable ambition, guided by sound judg
ment and practical experience. He has the dis
tinction of being the longest established business

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

3i9

man in Bennington, where he entered mercan
tile life on May 1, 1854.
Mr. Squires was born November 8, 1831, in
Bennington, at the same location where he still
resides, and on the paternal and maternal sides is
descended from ancestry honorable and distin
guished, representatives of both families haying
been Revolutionary soldiers. His grandfather,
Saxton Squire, was born June 4, 1758, in Dur
ham, Connecticut, a son of Samuel and Annie
Squire. His name appears three times on the rec
ords of Durham, in connection with the Revo
lutionary army. He first enlisted as a drummer
boy, in 1775, being then only sixteen years of age,
becoming a member of the First Connecticut Reg
iment under General Wooster; it was the first
regiment raised in response to the first call for
troops issued by the legislature of the state,
the organization being effected May 2, 1775.
The drummer boy was promoted to the position
of drum major on the 10th of August, 1778, and
was discharged on the 2nd of May, 1780. He
came to Bennington in 1786 and here engaged in
farming and in the tanning business, carrying
on these occupations throughout his entire life.
He married Sylvia Newel, who was born in
Connecticut in August, 1765, and both died in
Bennington, the former in 1828, at the age of
sixty-seven years, while the latter survived
until May 13, 1832, when sixty-seven years of
age. A daughter of Saxton Squire, by his first
wife, lived to the very advanced age of ninety-
three years. Both were members of the old
First Congregational church of Bennington, and
exerted a strong influence on the moral de
velopment of the community. In the family
were the following named: Dorcas, who was
born in May, 1873; Alson, born January 25,
1784; Norman, born July 27, 1787; Fannie,
born February 27, 1789; Buckley; Newell, born
June 5, 1794; Albert, born September 6, 1796,
and Sylvia, born July 11, 1800.
Newell Squire was born in Bennington Cen
ter, and after acquiring a common school edu
cation, learned the tanner's trade, which he fol
lowed for many years. He is said to have been
the best snare drummer in the state. The family
has long been famous for musical talent, and
its members have been prominent in musical
circles for many years. Mr. Squire took a deep

interest in politics, kept well informed on the
issues of the day and supported the men and
measures of the Republican party. He spent
his entire life in Bennington and died at the age
of eighty-six years. He married Ruth Black
mer, a native of Bennington and a daughter of
Samuel Blackmer, whose birth occurred in this
place, as did that of his father, who also bore
the name of Samuel Blackmer. Samuel Black
mer was a farmer by occupation and spent his
entire life in Bennington, where he died at the
age of sixty-three years ; his wife, who bore the
maiden name of Ruth Howard, was born across
the mountains and died at the age of thirty-nine
years, and by her marriage she had become the
mother of seven children. Mr. and Mrs. Squire
had three children, but the only one now living is
Frederick N. Henry Squire, cousin of the latter,
and a son of Buckley Squire, is a celebrated tenor
singer and has traveled all over the world, sing
ing in many of the leading cities, but still makes
his home in Bennington and generally spends the
summer months there.
Frederick N. Squire was reared and
educated in Bennington. He learned the tanner's
trade with his father, but upon attaining his ma
turity, abandoned that pursuit and became con
nected with' the jewelry business. He is now
proprietor of the oldest and finest store in his
line in Bennington, it having been established
in 1854. He carries a splendid stock of goods
and draws his patronage from among the best
families of this part of the state. The store
would be a credit to a city much larger than
Bennington and the proprietor would be a valued
addition to the mercantile circles anywhere.
On the 26th of November, 1872, Mr. Squire
married Miss Alfretta A. Clark, a daughter of
Robert Clark, an engineer, who was the first
man to take a train over the Troy and Ben
nington Railroad, and who died at the age of
seventy-one years ; Mr. Clark's wife, who bore
the maiden name of Amelia Frogly, died at the
age of sixty-five years, and of their large family,
Mrs. Squire is the only survivor.
Mr. Squire's son Robert, who was associated
with him in the store and who was not only a prac
tical jeweler, but also a capable and experienced
optician, is now traveling for the American Self-
Wind Electrical Clock Company, of New

320

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

York. He married Harriet Willard, of Holy
oke, Alassachusetts, and they are now living in
New York city. Ruth, the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Squire, is recognized as one of the finest
pianists in the state and has a large class of pu
pils. She has inherited the musical taste and
talent of the family, is a pupil of Professor
Joseffs, of New York city, and her proficiency is
marked. Mr. Squire is a valued factor in mu
sical circles here and for more than ten years
was a teacher of vocal music in the public schools
of Bennington, while for forty years he has
been the leader of the church choir. He was
also the leader of the famous Bennington quar
tet which sang together for sixteen years at
St. Peter's church. In politics he is a stanch
and active Republican and fraternally is con
nected with Mt. Anthony Lodge No. 13, F. &
A. M. He is prominent and influential, hon
ored and respected by all, and in the history of
the Green Mountain state, he well deserves men
tion as a leading citizen of Bennington, and
also has a wide acquaintance in other parts of
Vermont.
GEORGE DAGGETT.
George Daggett, of Winooski, Vermont, was
born in Montpelier, Vermont, September 18,
1835. He is a descendant of Arthur Daggett,
who was one of the earliest settlers of East Mont
pelier, where he purchased a large tract of land,
which he cleared up and cultivated. This ground
is now the property of Louis Colburn. Mr. Dag
gett was one of the representative men of that
section of the state, and was frequently called
upon to occupy local positions of trust and re
sponsibility. His son, Arthur Daggett, grand-fa
ther of George Daggett, was born in Sutton Mas
sachusetts. He received his education in the dis
trict school of his native town. He was on the
lake on his way to participate in the battle of
Plattsburg when it was fought.
Freeman Daggett, father of George Daggett,
was born in Montpelier, Vermont, June 20, 1807.
Fie was reared on his father's farm, and acquired
his education in the common schools of East
Montpelier. He learned the trade of millwright,
and followed this occupation for the balance of
his life. He was an honest, industrious man

and won the respect and esteem of his fellow
townsmen. He was appointed to the office of
deputy sheriff of Washington county, which posi
tion he filled both honorably and creditably for
many years. He was an earnest, conscientious
member of the Universalist church. Mr. Dag
gett married Miss Calista Ingalls, and one child
was born to them, George Daggett. Mr. Dag
gett died September 11, 1865, and his wife passed
away August 29, 1866-, in Winooski, Vermont.
George Daggett, only child of Freeman and
Calista Daggett, attended the public schools of
his native town, and resided upon the old home
stead, engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1866,
when he removed to Winooski Park, town of
Colchester, Vermont, where he finished a beauti
ful, commodious residence. He planted a variety
of shade trees and shrubbery, which entirely sur
round the house and add greatly to the beauty
and attractiveness of the place. Although never
learning a trade, Mr. Daggett is one of the finest
mechanics in Vermont, and he has finished the
interior of the structure in a most artistic man
ner, showing both skill and good taste in the
decorations. He continues his farming opera
tions here, and is now the possessor of a finely
cultivated, productive tract of land.
On December 23, 1863, Mr. Daggett married
Miss Sarah E. Hamblin, daughter of M. B.
Hamblin, of East Montpelier. Her death oc
curred October 22, 1885. Mr. Daggett was
united in marriage, April 29, 1892, to Miss Mary
F. Dudley, born in Brighton, Massachusetts ; she
was brought to Woodbury, Vermont, when an
infant and placed in the charge of her uncle, Mr.
Joel W. Celley, who reared and educated her.
She was the daughter of Francis and Susan
(Celley-) Dudley, the former named being a son
of Samuel Dudley and a descendant of Governor
Thomas Dudley.
ANDREW E. DENNY.
As the river whose deep and steady current,
winding among fair landscapes, past blossom
ing fields and through busy towns, blessing mil
lions of people, and enhancing the wealth of
nations, affords little of that wild and romantic
scenery which startles the traveler or delights
the artist; so those lives which contribute most

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

321

toward the improvement of a state and the well-
being of a people are seldom the ones which fur
nish the most brilliant passages for the pen of
the historian or biographer. There is, in the
anxious and laborious struggle for an honorable
competence and a solid career of the business
or professional man fighting the everyday battle
of life, but little to attract the idle reader in
search of a sensational chapter, but for a mind
thoroughly awake to the reality and meaning of
human existence, there are noble and immortal
lessons in the life of the man who without other
means than a clear head, a strong arm and a
true heart, conquers adversity and, toiling on
through the work-a-day years of a long career,
finds that he has won not only wealth, but also
something far greater and higher — the deserved
respect and esteem of those with whom his
years of active life placed him in contact.
Although Mr. Denny is now largely living
retired, he is still an active factor in financial
circles, being the president of the Northfield
Savings Bank, of Northfield, Vermont. He was
born in the town of Northfield, in what is now
South Northfield, August 4, 1832, and is of
English lineage, tracing his ancestry back to
Thomas and Grace (Cook) Denny, natives of
that land. Their son Edward Denny was born
in Cowles, England, and became the founder of
the family in the new world. His son, Colonel
Samuel Denny, of Leicester, Massachusetts, was
born on the 22d of April, 1731, and died in the
old Bay state September 20, 1817. He married
Elizabeth Henshaw on the 29th of September,
1757. A most distinguished and influential cit
izen, he served as a lieutenant colonel at the
battle of Lexington and participated in many
other important engagements of the Revolution
ary war. In 1778 he was chosen as a repre
sentative to the general court and was a mem
ber of the convention to ratify the constitution
of the United States in 1788. His name figures
prominently on the pages of American history -
and well may the family be proud of so dis
tinguished an ancestry. Daniel Denny, the
grandfather of Andrew E. Denny, was born in
Leicester, Massachusetts, January 7, 1764. He
served as collector of taxes and held a num
ber of town offices. Emigrating to Vermont,
he became one of the early settlers of North-
21

field and took an active part in the pioneer de
velopment and progress of that place. He mar
ried Betsey Spooner, a native of Hartland,
Vermont, whose father was the first lieutenant
governor of the Green Mountain state. Their
children were Paul S., born in 1792; Aseneth,
born in 1794; Adolphus, in 1796; Amassa, in
1798; Sarah, in 1800; Samuel, in 1803; Harriet,
in 1805 ; Eliza, in 1807, and Joseph, in 1810. The
father of this family died in 1821.
Samuel Denny, the father of our subject, was
born in Northfield, Vermont, September 3, 1803
and was reared upon the old home farm, while
in the common schools he acquired his educa
tion and afterward engaged in teaching for many
years, being one of the successful educators of
this part of the state. He was also prominent
in public affairs and filled a number of town
offices. For many years he was justice of the
peace, and his rulings were strictly fair and im
partial. His public career is one over which
there falls no shadow of wrong. He was always
true to his duty, whether it was of a public or
private nature, and his genuine worth won him
the regard of all with whom he was associated.
In his political views he was an old-line Whig
until the dissolution of the party, when he joined
the Republican party, remaining one of its stal
wart supporters until his death, which occurred
in 1874. He was united in marriage with Pru
dence Ellis, a daughter of Jabez and Prudence
(Mack) Ellis, the former a native of Lenox,
Massachusetts. Both Mr. and Mrs. Denny were
consistent and faithful members of the Congre
gational church, in which he long served as a
deacon, and for many years was also superin
tendent of the Sunday-school. His wife was
also active in religious work, and her long life,
covering ninety years, was in harmony with
Christian principles. She was called to her final
rest in 1898. In the family of this worthy
couple were seven children: Harriet Elizabeth,
the widow of L. B. Whittemore; Andrew Ellis,
whose name introduces this record; Addison
Ward, who was a wholesale dry goods merchant
of Boston, but is now deceased; Leland H., who
died in childhood ; George B., of Montpelier ;
Amassa Miles, who died at the. age of sixteen
years ; and Prudence Isabelle, who died at the
age of thirteen years.

322

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Andrew E. Denny spent the days of his boy
hood and youth upon his father's farm, re
maining there until twenty years of age. During
that period he became familiar with all depart
ments of farm work, and he also pursued his
education during that time iri the district schools
and in Thetford Academy. When a young man
of twenty years, he went to California, at
tracted by the discovery of gold upon the Pacific
slope. Journeying by way of the Nicaragua
route, thirty-six days had passed from the time
when he sailed from New York until he arrived
at San Francisco. In the Golden state he fol
lowed mining and ranching for five years, and
on the expiration of that period returned to his
native town, where for eight years he carried
on agricultural pursuits. He then came to the
village of Northfield and for thirty-three years
was an active factor in mercantile circles here,
owning and controlling a large store, whose
liberal patronage proved a profitable source of
income. Although he has retired from active
business interests he is still a factor in the man
agement and control of some of the important
enterprises, including the woolen mills at Goulds-
ville. He has also served as a trustee and the vice
president of the Northfield Savings Bank, and is
now its president. This is one of the leading
financial institutions in this part of the state, and
the fact that at its head stands a man of such well
known reliability and business probity as Mr.
Denny, is an indication that the bank is one well
worthy of public patronage.
On the 6th of June, 1861, occurred the mar
riage of Mr. Denny and Miss Annette Ashley
Ainsworth, of Northfield, a daughter of Henry
and Fannie (Jones) Ainsworth, who had form
erly resided in Claremont, New Hampshire. By
this marriage there has been born one son, Ad
dison Orcutt, who is now engaged in business
in Boston. He married Hattie Fay, of that city,
and they have two children: Mildred Wood
and Evelyn Whittemore.
Mr. Denny exercises his right of franchise
in support of the men and measures of the Re
publican-party, and has served as selectman of
the village and also as trustee. He is one of the
leading and influential members of the party in
this portiori of the state, and his fellow towns
men, recognizing his worth and ability, have

called him to represent them in the state leg
islature, where he served in 1870-71 and 1874-5.
He is numbered among the most prominent and
honored men in this portion of the Green Moun
tain state, and his influence has been of no re
stricted order, for in political circles his opin
ions have carried weight and aided in moulding
the public policy. He is a man of genial and
social nature, and one who is most appreciative
of the qualities which go to make up the sum
of human happiness. A man of strong individ
uality and indubitable probity, one who has at
tained to a due measure of success in the affairs
of life, and whose influence has ever been exerted
in the direction of the good, the true and the beau
tiful, this honored gentleman assuredly demands
representation in this volume.
HENRY LYMAN KEN YON.
Henry Lyman Kenyon, an honored veteran
of the Civil war, and the present town clerk and
treasurer of Northfield, Vermont, is a man
whose worth and ability have gained for him
success, honor and public confidence. He enjoys
the well earned distinction of being what the
public calls a "self-made man," and an analyza-
tion of his character reveals the fact that enter
prise, well directed effort and honorable dealing
have been the essential features in his success.
A native of the Green Mountain state, Mr.
Kenyon was born in Bennington county, May
23, 1839, and when a child was adopted by Jesse
W. and Orpha (Soper) Kenyon. He was reared
upon a farm and his boyhood was passed in
hard work with a short respite during the win
ter season in which to attend the district schools.
On attaining his majority, his capital consisted
of a strong heart, a pair of willing hands and
the determination to succeed.
Coming to Northfield, Mr. Kenyon obtained
a situation in a marble shop, but shortly after
ward the Civil war broke out and he was one
of the first to respond to his country's call for
aid in putting down the rebellion. On the 2nd
of May, 1 86 1, he enlisted for three months in
Company F, First Vermont Volunteer In
fantry, which was assigned to the Army
of the Potomac, and he served at New
port News until his term of enlistment
expired. He then returned to Dorset, Ver-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

323

mont, but on the 28th of August, 1862,
he re -enlisted for nine months, this time becom
ing a member of Company C, Fourteenth Ver
mont Volunteer Infantry. With his regiment
he aided in the defense of Washington, D. C,
and served as regimental clerk until mustered
out of service June 30, 1863. For a third time
he entered the army, September 3, 1864, enlist
ing at Arlington, in Company E, Fifth Ver
mont Volunteer Infantry. He participated in
the battles of Gettysburg and Cedar Creek, and
for a part of the time was detailed as clerk at
the Vermont brigade headquarters. The war
having ended and his services being no longer
needed, he was finally discharged June 19, 1865,
and returned home with a war record of which
he may be justly proud.
Mr. Kenyon was married January 20, 1864, to
Miss Mary E. Hill, a daughter of Alvah and
Sarah (Hall) Hill, and two children blessed this
union, namely: Sadie E., who was born May
17, 1865, and died August 2, 1895, and Helen
M., who was born March 20, 1870, and was
married September 24, 1901, to Willard D.
Allen, of St. Albans, Vermont. The wife and
mother departed this life February 15, 1889.
In 1866 Mr. Kenyon settled in Northfield,
where he engaged in clerking .in a store for a
time, and then embarked in mercantile business
on his own account as a member of the firm of
Kenyon & Emerson. Subsequently the firm was
changed to Kenyon & Newell and still later it
became Kenyon & Soper. Mr. Kenyon contin
ued to engage in merchandising quite success
fully until 1885, when he was appointed post
master of Northfield, and for the following five
years devoted his attention to the duties of that
office. In 1892 he was elected town clerk and is
still filling that position in a most creditable and
acceptable manner, at the same time serving as
town treasurer.
Fraternally Mr. Kenyon is an honored mem
ber of De Witt Clinton Lodge No. 15, A. F.
& A. M., of which he has been secretary for
twenty-three years and is past commander of
Boynton Post, G. A. R. In 1890 he ably rep
resented the town of Northfield in the state leg
islature. He is widely and favorably known and
is justly regarded as one of the representative
and prominent men of his community.

MRS. SOPHRONIA HULING.
Mrs. Sophronia (Chase) Huling was born
in Whitingham, Vermont, December 3, 1821,
and comes of old New England families" Her
paternal grandfather was Abraham Chase, who
married Betsey Rich, who belonged to a very
prominent family of Rhode Island. Their son,
Samuel Chase, was also a native of Whiting
ham, Vermont, born March 5, 1799. After ar
riving at years of maturity, he married Betsey
Clement, of Whitingham, who was born in
Dracut, Massachusetts, near Lowell. She was
one of a large family, including four pairs of
twins, David and Daniel being the eldest, then
followed Betsey and Richard, Charles and
Clarissa and Frederick and Fannie. All lived to
mature years, were married and had families of
their own, with the exception of Richard, who
died when only a few weeks old.
To Samuel and Betsey (Clement) Chase were
born : Charles Chase, the eldest, January 24,
1820, died January 27, 1826; Sophronia, De
cember 3, 182 1, the subject of this review;
Freeman Barber (deceased), born July 7, 1824,
was for a number of years a resident of Benning
ton; Abigail, January 19, 1828, was mar
ried July 8, 1848, to Elijah Fillmore, but both
are now deceased, they had four children :
Millard, who married Veda Eyler; Eldora, the
wife of William J. Randall, now deceased ; Mar
shall P., who wedded Mary C. Ellsworth and
resides in California, and one who died in in
fancy. Samuel P., born June 15; 1832, is living
in Marshalltown, Iowa; has two sons, one
of whom, Horace, is married and resides in
Woonsocket, Long Island, where he is superin
tendent of a large force of mechanics and has one
son, Arthur, now sixteen years of age; Miner
Chase, the second child of S. P. Chase, engaged
iri the furniture and undertaking business in
Allerton, Iowa, is married and has three chil
dren : Mabel, Maud and Irene. Perham Chase,
the youngest member of the family of Samuel
and Betsey Chase, now living in Marshalltown,
Iowa, was married December 30, 1858, to Huldah
E. Craig. Sophronia (Chase) Huling was married on
the 28th of January, 1840, to Daniel Huling, Jr.,
of Bennington, a son of Daniel Huling, Sr, of

324

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

this place. Both father and son were agricul
turalists. Daniel Huling, Jr., was active, pro
gressive and successful in business affairs and
was also prominent in political circles. He held
many offices of trust in his native town, and was
esteemed' and honored by all who knew him, be
cause of his upright life and the influence
he exerted in behalf of all measures for the gen
eral good. He has one surviving sister, Mrs.
Annie Blackmer, of Bennington Center, who has
one son, Huling Blackmer, who is a member of_
the firm of Chandler & Blackmer, of that place.
To Mr. and Mrs. Huling were born five
children: Sophronia M., born September 24,
1842, and who died in childhood; Edward C,
who was born October 26, 1844, and is now liv
ing in Chicago; Henrietta, (Mrs. Starrett, of
Chicago), who was born February 26, 1847, and
has been twice married ; Melissa, who was born
February 19, 1849, and is the wife of C. H.
Mason, of Bennington ; Catherine, who was born
May 29, 1852, and died June 26, 1866. There
are several grandchildren, born to the only son
of Mrs. Huling, namely, Walter, Edward B.,
Clarence and Gertrude, the nast named the wife
of George Gaylord, of Chicago, the marriage
having taken place in October, 1901.
Daniel Huling died November 15, 1876, at the
age of fifty-seven years, his birth having oc
curred on the 10th of April, 1819. He passed
away at the old family homestead in Bennington,
where Mrs. Huling is still living, at the age of
eighty years.
SIDNEY H. WESTON.
Sidney Hervey AVeston, of Winooski, Ver
mont, a prominent member of the honorable class
of self-made men, was born in Chesterfield, Essex
county, New York, December 16, 1824, and was
the son of Harvey and Matilda (Mace) Weston.
His boyhood was destitute of educational ad
vantages, and w.as spent in assisting in the culti
vation of an unimproved farm, but at the age of
twenty years he purchased his time of his father,
and went to Waltham, Vermont ; later he went
home and then went to Mr. Scilly's select school at
Underhill and supported himself while attending
the school. After attaining his majority he went
to New York, with some money which he had

saved, but shortly after went to Essex, Vermont,
where he bought a farm at Butler Corner, im
proved it, bought another farm, raised cattle and
sheep and went into the butcher .business also.
Shortly after he purchased the old hotel, of which
he became proprietor, at the same time keeping
a livery stable. He purchased a part of his pres
ent farm, which he has since added to until he
possesses an estate of five hundred acres in the
town of Colchester, and also a large number of
acres in South Burlington, Vermont, besides hav
ing sold the government a part of the land on
which Fort Ethan Allan now stands. He owns
twenty-two hundred acres of land. He bought
the, Burlington Lime Company for fourteen
thousand dollars, and the Penniman & Noyce
lime business for seven thousand dollars, consoli
dated them and now owns and runs them suc
cessfully. Agricultural pursuits, however, have
not occupied all his time. Among other com
mercial enterprises he has been extensively en
gaged in the meat, grocery, ice and lumber busi
ness, being one of the organizers of the Winooski
Lumber Company and now its owner. He has
large interests in lumber, iron and hotel property
and mercantile business in New York. He early
became interested in the Winooski Savings Bank,
and in 1878 was made president, which office he
has since held. He incorporated the Winooski
Aqueduct Company, which supplies Winooski
with water. In politics he is a Republican, and
his fellow citizens have paid him the compliment
of sending him two consecutive terms to represent
them in the state legislature. Mr. Weston is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, to
the support of which, as well as to its building
fund, he has contributed liberally, in addition to
giving his services, for many years, as superin
tendent of the Sunday-school. He is a member
of Webster Lodge, F. & A. M.
Mr. W^eston married, in 1847, Philinda Ford,
daughter of Warren Ford, of Essex, Vermont.
Their children are: Warren F., born February
4, 1849, was in business with his father, died in ,
November, 1892: Matilda, born April 15, 185 1,
married George F. Tobey, of the firm of To-
bey & Catlin, of WTinooski, Vermont; Hervey
Si, born March 12, 1857, was a wholesale dealer
in provisions, also owned the ice business in
Winooski, died January 9, 1892 ;- Ina M., born

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

325

November 5, i860, married George B. Catlin, of
the firm of Tobey & Catlin; and Clarence G,
born October 26, 1863, is employed by his father.
Mrs. Weston died April 28, 1887, and Mr.
Weston married, December 30, 1890, Mrs. Har
riet Bartram, daughter of Joseph Fairbanks, of
Sheldon, Vermont.
HENRY STEBBINS WALBRIDGE.

don, Liverpool, Stuttgart, Amsterdam, Paris,
and Australia being very large. He is one of the
oldest established manufacturers of this locality,
and has obtained many patents on his manufac
tures. He is president of the company with which
he is identified, while his son, Herbert S. Wal
bridge, is secretary and treasurer. Politically he
is a Republican, but has persistently refused all
official honors. He belongs to the Methodist

Henry Stebbins Walbridge,
manufacturer of stereoscopes at
North Bennington, was born No
vember 13, 1829, at Bennington,
on one of the ancestral properties
located across the river from the
North Bennington road. A brief
history of the Walbridge family
may be found on another page of
this volume, in connection with the
sketch of J. Edward Walbridge.
Mr. Walbridge lived on the paren
tal farm until eight years of age,
then spent an equal number of
years with his grandparents, who
lived near, attending in the mean
time the common schools of North
Bennington. The following five
years he was engaged in mackerel
fishing, afterwards being employed
in general farming until 1861.
Embarking then in the manufac
turing business, he carried on
wagon-making for several years,
at the same time being employed
to some extent in grinding . lenses.
In 1876 Mr. Walbridge began
making the entire stereoscope,
and has since built up an extensive
trade, employing at the present
time twenty-five men, and as head
of the H. S. Walbridge Company
owning and operating two finely
equipped factories, in which the
latest improved machinery is used.
He manufactures a superior line
of stereoscopas, which are sold
in al! parts of the Union, and in the leading
cities of foreign countries, his orders from Lon-

HENRY STEBBINS WALBRIDGE.

Episcopal church, of which he has been steward
many years.
Mr. Walbridge married, December 25, 1854,

126

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Maria AVoodward, a daughter of Arnold and
Jane (Rogers) Woodward, formerly of Guilford,
but later of Woodford, Vermont, where both
parents spent their declining years, Mr. AVood
ward dying at the age of eighty-five years, and
his wife at the age of threescore and ten years.
Mr. and Mrs. Walbridge have four children: J.
Edward, a sketch of whom may be found else
where in this biographical work; Herbert S., in
partnership with his father, married Rose Buck-
man, by whom he has one child, Henrietta ; Flora
L., wife of Rev. W. L. Bailey, resides in Colo
rado; and Effie M., wife of Walter R. White,
a hotel proprietor and mill-owner at North Ben
nington, has four children, Ralph, Wells G., Les
lie and Edward.
JEROME BONAPARTE PARMENTER.
The practical creator of the Troy Daily
Press and its publisher and editor for many
years was the gentleman whose name is the cap
tion for these memoirs. He was born in 1839
in Pittstown, near Johnsonville, in Renssalaer
county, New York, and died at his home in
Bennington, Vermont, April 27, 1891. The Troy
Daily Press was established by Hawley Broth
ers in 1867, but it was not until the following
year, when it was purchased by Mr. Parmenter
and Charles C. Clark, that it obtained recogni
tion as a valuable and progressive journal. The
editorial leaders, which for a long time were
principally from Colonel Parmenter's pen, were
scholarly and vigorous, attracted wide interest
and favorable comment and were generally of a
character to mould and influence public senti
ment. Mr. Clark's -death occurred February 12,
1873, and Colonel Parmenter subsequently be
came the owner of the establishment, and his
sole proprietorship continued until April 1, 1883,
when George E. Eaton, who died January 17,
1 89 1, purchased an interest therein. This part
nership continued until the formation of the
Troy Press Company, in which Messrs. Par
menter and Eaton then had a controlling interest.
In December, 1889, the holdings of both of these
gentlemen in the concern were disposed of, and
Colonel Parmenter's connection with the Press
ceased. Jerome Bonaparte Parmenter was the young

est son of Dr. Aziel F. Parmenter. The family's
descent is traced from Jehan Parmentier, a dis
tinguished navigator, who was born in Dieppe,
France, in 1694. Jacques Parmentier, a painter
of celebrity, who was called to England in 1676
to decorate Montague House (afterward the
British Museum), was a descendant of Jehan
Robert Parmentier, the founder of the American
family, and settled in Braintree, Massachusetts
in 1648. His son, Benjamin, in 1716 removed
to Newport, Rhode Island; he became the fa
ther of a son also named Benjamin, who was the
father of John Newton Parmenter. Dr. Aziel
Parmenter, the second son of the last-named,
graduated from a Massachusetts medical col
lege, was a successful teacher for some years,
married in 1820 and eventually located near
Johnsonville, where his children were born.
Jerome B. Parmenter received his initial
schooling under most favorable auspices — at
home under the preceptorship of his cultured
father. He was graduated from Union College
in 1857, one of the youngest men -who ever re
ceived a diploma from that time-honored institu
tion. Immediately thereafter he entered upon
the study of law with his brothers, Roswell A.
and Franklin J. Parmenter. He had just begun
his- practice when the call to arms summoned
the patriotic young men to enlist in defense of
the imperiled Union. He became a captain in
the One Hundred and Sixty-Ninth New York
Volunteer Infantry, a regiment in which Colonel
Parmenter proved a brave and capable officer.
Disabled during the siege of Charleston by the
concussion produced by the explosion of a shell
while he was acting colonel of the regiment, he
was sent to the Beaufort, South Carolina, hos
pital. His injury proved permanent, necessi
tating his retirement from the service in De
cember, 1863, when he resigned his commission.
Returning to Troy in 1864, he resumed the prac
tice of law in association with his brothers until
his newspaper connection was formed as above
set forth. Colonel Parmenter married Miss
Emma Stewart, of Bennington, Vermont, and
he made his residence in that village for some
years prior to his decease. His son, Edward,
born in 1869, resides in Bennington. He mar
ried in July, 1891, Bessie A., daughter of Ernest
Amador, late of North Adams,. Massachusetts,

JEROHE B. PAR1EHTER,

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

327

now of Paterson, New Jersey; they have a son,
Ray Edward Parmenter, born January 26, 1897.
Colonel Parmenter did something more than
formulate interesting articles and express opin-
ons. He was accounted the most correct writer
of English of the capable journalists of New
York. His literary culture was thorough. He
loved good books, good deeds, good pictures and
incidentally it may be mentioned that one of his
favorite pastimes was the use of the artist's
brush, 'and there is in the possession of the
members of his family "a number of pictures of
creation which attest his artistic skill and taste.
The strength and virility of his political articles
gave to many the impression that he was a com
bative man. This was not the fact. His was
a gentle, sympathetic nature. He was ardent
and impulsive, and his impulses always led him
in the direction of generosity. He had a cath
olic benevolence and was tolerant of anything
except meanness. There was a seeming reserve
in his manner that induced some to think him
cold and distant. Those who knew him best can
bear testimony that this view wronged the man.
His friends knew he was warm and genial and
that his soul was filled with poetry, and that his
heart sorrowed over all the misfortunes of his
fellow creatures.
EDWIN PORTER, M. D.
The world has little use for the misanthrope.
The universal truth of brotherhood is widely
recognized, also that he serves God best who
serves his fellow men. There is no profession or
line of business that calls for greater self-sac
rifice or more devoted attention than the medical
profession, and the successful physician is he
who through love of his fellow men gives his
time and attention to the relief of human suffer
ing. Dr. Porter has long been one of the ablest
representatives of his noble calling, having suc
cessfully engaged in practice at Northfield, Ver
mont, for almost half a century.
He was born at that place, April 24, 1826, a
son of Benjamin and Sophia (Fullerton) Por
ter. The birth of his father occurred at what
was known as Vallentown, Connecticut, in 1788,
and his paternal grandfather, Rev. Mathias Por
ter, was also a native of that state. The latter

was a graduate of Brown University, and as a
minister of the Congregational church, engaged
in preaching iri Connecticut for some years, but
finally, in 1790, removed to Plainfield, New
Hampshire, where he passed the remanider of
his life, dying there at the advanced age of
ninety-two years. His wife was eighty-eight
years at the time of her death. This worthy
couple had a family of six children, five sons
and one daughter, namely: Isaac, who was a
graduate of Brown University and a physician
in New Hampshire and Massachusetts through
out his active business life ; Benjamin, the father
of our subject; John, a prominent physician of
Duxbury, Massachusetts ; Jabez, a farmer of
New Hampshire; William, a teacher, who died
at the early age of thirty years ; and Phoebe,
who became the wife of Rev. Mr. Walker, of
Massachusetts. Dr. Benjamin Porter was educated at Leb
anon (New Hampshire) Academy, and in early
life taught school for a time. He studied medi
cine with his brother Isaac, and later attended
lectures at Hanover, New Hampshire, in Dart
mouth College. Coming to Northfield, Vermont,
in 1816, he at once opened an office and was not
long in building up a large and lucrative prac
tice, which he enjoyed throughout life. In early
days he had to take many long drives over very
rough roads in visiting his patients. He was an
old-line Whig in politics, and for a number of
years had charge of what was known as the sur
plus money for the state. In addition to his
professional duties, he dealt largely in real es
tate, and- was one of the most successful and
prosperous men of the community. He was also
an active and prominent member of the Congre
gational church and a liberal contributor to its
support, while fraternally he was connected
with the Masonic order. After a long, useful
and well spent life, he passed away in 1876, hon
ored and respected by all who knew him. His
wife had died in 1863, at the age of sixty-two
years. She was a daughter of Edward Fuller-
ton, who came to Northfield from Newfane and
lived to the extreme old age of ninety-nine years
and six months. Dr. and Mrs. Porter were the
parents of four children, namely : Elizabeth,
born in 1823, became the wife of Dr. J. B.
Smith, of Brookfield, Vermont; Edward and

328

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Edwin were twins, and the former, who was en
gaged in mercantile business in California for
thirty years, is now living retired in that state;
Benjamin F., born in 1833, is a real estate broker
of California. Dr. Edwin Porter attended the University of
A'Termont and after leaving that institution, stud
ied medicine with his father until he entered
Hanover Medical College, where he received his
degree of M. D. Since then he has engaged in
active practice at Northfield, and has met with
marked success in his chosen calling. Prosperity
has attended his well-directed efforts and he is
now one of the largest real estate owners in the
place. In 1867 Dr. Porter was united in marriage
with Miss Caroline Carpenter, a daughter of
Judge Heman Carpenter, of Northfield, and
born in Middlesex; in 1891 he was called upon
to mourn the loss of his estimable wife. Politi
cally, the Doctor has always been identified with
the Democratic party, and socially, he was for
man}- years a member of the Conversational
Club, and served as its president. He is also a
member of the A^ermont Medical Society.
Wherever he goes he wins friends and has the
happy faculty of having ability to retain them.
His popularity has made him a great favorite in
all circles.
W. E. HUNTLEY.
AVilliam E. Huntley, after passing many years
of his life in the cultivation of the soil, is now
living in pleasant retirement in Essex Center,
A^ermont. He was born in Duxbury, Vermont,
July 16, 1827, a son of the Rev. Isiah and Eunice
(Corse) Huntley. The former named was born
in Marlowe, New Hampshire, in 1787, and re
moved with his parents to Vermont in the early
part of the nineteenth century. Early in life he
became the minister of the Freewill Baptist
church, and later of the Baptist church, and he
continued to preach in Vermont for more than
half a century, in Chittenden county, Fairfax, Col
chester, Westford, Essex and Jericho. In 1852
he represented the town of Essex in the legisla
ture. Four of his brothers were also ministers
of the gospel ; Calvin was a Freewill Baptist,
Nathan was a Methodist, Leland was a Baptist,

Isiah was a Baptist, and Allen was a Christian;
Selden, the other brother, was a blacksmith by
occupation. Mr. Huntley was united in marriage
to Miss Eunice Corse, who was born in Green
field, Massachusetts, and removed to Vermont
about the same time that her husband's family
settled there. Mr. Huntley died at the age of
nearly eighty-three years, and his wife died at the
age of fifty-seven years.
W. E. Huntley, son of the Rev. Isiah and
Eunice Huntley, acquired his education in the
Jericho Academy. During the summer months
he worked for two years upon a farm ; after com
pleting his studies he taught school for six win
ters, and subsequently he learned the trade of
carpenter. Some years later he purchased • a
farm in Westford, which he cultivated for seven
years. In the early part of 1859 he removed to
Essex, where he pursued the occupation of farm
ing so successfully that he was enabled to retire
in later life with an ample competence and enjoy
some of the fruits of his labor. Owing to his
industry, good management and economy, he was
able to contribute very liberally to the cause of
missions. In the year 1884 he gave his first sub
scription to the missionary societies, and in the
course of eighteen years he had contributed
thirty-five thousand three hundred dollars. In
this way he was permitted to advance the cause
of Christianity. In 1850 Mr. Huntley was united in marriage
to Miss Eunice R. Williams, a daughter of Ed
mund Williams, of Essex Center. Two children
have been born to them, namely: Eva A. and
Ella M. Huntley. Ella M. is now the wife of
Frank Biglow, and they reside on the farm pre
sented to them by Mr. Huntley; they have two
children, Lucy Rachael Biglow and Grace Hunt
ley Biglow. Mrs. Huntley died in 1877, and Mr.
Huntley, in September, 1897, was united in mar
riage to Miss Adell A. Osgood.
JOHN H. WINCH, M. D.
John H. Winch, M. D., a well known and
prosperous physician of Northfield, was born in
this town, July 30, 1855, a son of Deacon William
Winch. Deacon Caleb Winch, his paternal grand
father, spent his early life in Troy, New Hamp
shire. In 1826 he settled in Northfield, \rermont.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

329

where he was actively engaged in general farm
ing until his death, in 1848. He was for many
years a deacon in the Congregational church, and
in his political relations was first an old-line
Whig, later becoming a Republican. His wife,
whose maiden name was Eliza Farrar, survived
him a short time.
Deacon William Winch was born in Troy,
New Hampshire, in 1819, but was reared and
educated in Northfield, Vermont. He was a
farmer by occupation, for several years having
charge of the estate of Governor Paine. He was
a deacon in the Congregational church, serving
faithfully for more than forty years, holding the
office from the time he was first chosen until his
death, in 1884. In 1844 he married Lydia Nye,
who survived him, dying in 1896. She was a
daughter of John F. and Orelia (Catlin) Nye,
the former of whom, a soldier in the war of
1812, spent the greater part of his life in Barre
and Northfield, Vermont, coming to this state
from New York. Deacon and Mrs. Winch wert
the parents of seven children, one of whom died
in infancy, the others being as follows : Rev.
George W., a Congregational minister at Hol
yoke, Massachusetts; C. M., a farmer in Barre;
Susan E., wife of H. G. Carpenter, of Chelsea,
Vermont; Wallace F., who died at the age of
twenty-two years; John H., the subject of this
sketch; and Samuel W., a blacksmith at North-
field. John H. Winch was educated at the North-
field high school and at the University of Ver
mont, being graduated from the medical depart
ment of the latter institution with the class of
1880. Dr. Winch at once settled as a practi
tioner in Northfield, meeting with such success
in his professional labors that he has remained
here since, having a large and remunerative prac
tice. The Doctor is a Republican in politics, has
been for eight years a member "of the local school
board, and represented Northfield in the state leg
islature in 1896 and 1897. He is a member of the
Vermont State Medical Society, and of Northfield
Lodge, I. O. O. F. He attends the Congrega
tional church, of which he is a valued member.
The Doctor married, November 10, 1880,
Ella Sylvester, a daughter of Seneca Munroe and
Amanda (Holden) Sylvester. Mr. Sylvester was
born in Barre. Vermont, about 1828, and died in

1870. Doctor and Mrs. Winch have one child,
Cecil S., born in 1888. This year (1902) Cecil
S. is sergeant at arms in the legislature at Mont
pelier, in the session of 1902. Dr. Winch is a
member of the Washington County Medical So
ciety. He is also a member of the Republican
county committee and chairman of the Republican
town committee.
JOEL H. GATES.
Joel H. Gates, president of the Howard Na
tional Bank and of the Burlington Cotton Mills
of Burlington, Vermont, is a descendant of
Thomas Gates, who was born in the county of
Essex, England, in 1327, and the family history
is traced in England through ten generations
down to Stephen Gates, of Hingham, Norfolk
county, England, who came to this country in
1638 on the ship Diligent, and settled in Hingham,
Massachusetts. Thomas Gates, grandfather of Joel H. Gates,
was a lineal descendant of Stephen Gates, of
Hingham, Massachusetts, fifth generation.
Thomas Gates was born at Stow, Massachusetts,
June 5, 1755. He spent the early years of his life
in his native state, and when a young man re
sponded to the Lexington alarm, and from it en
listed into the army before Boston, and partici
pated in the siege of that city which occurred in
1775. On June 4, 1778, Mr. Gates married Miss
Lydia Hale, of Stow, Massachusetts, and the fol
lowing named children were born to them : Levi,
Betsey, Sally, Stephen, Hannah, Mary, Jonathan
and Lydia. All the these children were born at
Stow, Massachusetts. Mr. Gates died February
14, 1833, and his wife passed away June 17, 1817.
Stephen Gates, father of Joel H. Gates, was
the second son born to Thomas and Lydia Gates.
He spent the early years of his life in Stow,
Massachusetts, where he acquired a common
school education. After attaining young man
hood he removed to Townsend, Vermont, and
after remaining there a few years removed to
Royalston, Massachusetts, where he pursued the
occupation of farming for the remainder of his
life. On September 26, 1811, Mr. Gates married
Miss Lodema Prentice, of Townshend, Vermont,
where she died June 9, 181 5. Two children were
born of this marriage, Sophia and Wealthy. Mr.

33°

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Gates married, November 23, 1820, for his sec
ond wife, Miss Comfort Graves, of North Lev
erett, Massachusetts, and to them were born five
children : Charles W. ; Stephen ; Lodema ; Joel
H. ; and Laura M., who resides with her brother
Joel H. Gates. The father of these children died
at Royalston, Massachusetts, October 19, 1847,
and his wife's death occurred at Burlington, Ver
mont, March 25, 1877. Both Mr. Gates and his
wife were earnest and consistent members of the
Baptist church of Royalston, Massachusetts.
Joel H. Gates, youngest son of Stephen and
Comfort Gates, was born in Royalston, Massa
chusetts, November 22, 1831. He attended the
common schools of that town and rerhained under
the parental roof until he attained the age of six
teen years. He located in Brattleboro, Vermont,
in 1851, when he and his brother Stephen com
menced the manufacture of furniture, remaining
there until 1858, when they removed to Burling
ton, and continued the furniture business until
1880. This undertaking was successful from the
beginning, and the business steadily increased
from year to year ; for a number of years they had
a large warehouse in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
where they employed a large number of hands
finishing and shipping their goods to all sections
of the United States. Mr. Gates resided in Phil
adelphia from i860 to 1865, and was engaged in
the supervision of this extensive trade. In 1880
the furniture business was given up, and their
mills changed to the manufacture of cotton goods,
and later, in 1888, a stock company was organized
to continue the business, Mr. Gates acting in the
capacity of president of the company. The mills
employ about three hundred hands, and are now
in successful operation. In 1870 Mr. Gates, in
connection with a number of prominent citizens,
organized the Howard National Bank, and was
appointed one of its first directors ; in 1892 he was
elected vice president, and in 1894 was chosen to
fill the responsible position of president, the du
ties of which he has performed- thoroughly and
faithfully up to the present time. Mr. Gates is
the only survivor of the original incorporators of
the bank, which is one of the most flourishing na
tional banks in the state of Vermont. In 1902
they erected the granite building on the corner of
College and Church streets, which is one of -the
finest bank edifices in northern Vermont. Mr.

Gates personally supervised the entire construc
tion of the building until its completion. This
was characteristic of the habits of a lifetime of
hard work and frugality which have brought their
own reward, as Mr. Gates is to-day one of the
largest property owners in the city of Burling
ton, Vermont, and also one of its most prominent
and successful business men. The courteous and
kindly manner of Mr. Gates has won for him the
uniform regard of all whom he has met in busi
ness or social life.
Mr. Gates has been twice married. November
22, 1855, he married Miss Catherine J. Goodell,
of Orange, Massachusetts, and the following
named children were bOrn to them: Arthur,
Clarence L., Minnie L., Stephen J. and Katie M.
Gates. The mother of these children died De
cember 23, 1892, at Burlington, Vermont, and
Mr. Gates married for his second wife Mrs. Ed
wina L. Sanborn, of Waterbury, Vermont.
NORMAN MARTIN PUFFER.
Prominent among the energetic, far-seeing
and successful business men of Bennington is the
subject of this sketch, Colonel Norman M. Puffer.
His life history most happily illustrates what may
be obtained by faithful and continued effort in de
votion to an honest purpose. Integrity, activity
and energy have been the elements leading to his
success, and his connection with industrial inter
ests has been of decided advantage to this por
tion of the state, promoting its material welfare
in no small degree. He is a partner in and the
treasurer of the ' Bennington Knitting Company,
and has advanced to this creditable position in the
business world entirely through his own efforts.
Colonel Puffer is of German lineage on the
paternal side, and of English descent on the ma
ternal side. Samuel T. Puffer, born October 3,
1765, and died October 5, 1842, married Joanna
Eames, born November 3, 1766, and died No
vember 27, 1820; both were natives of Connecti
cut. They were the parents of thirteen children,
Joanna, Phineas, Aaron, James, Luther, Sophia,
Elijah, Clarissa, Elijah IL, Martin, Windsor,
Mary Ann and Samuel. Martin, of this family,
was born May 2, 1802, in Connecticut, where he
was reared and learned the machinist's trade,
which he followed throughout his entire life. He

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

33i

married Mary Ann Follett, and in 1830 removed
with his family to Bennington, where he died at
the age of fifty-two years. He was a member of
the militia, serving with the rank of lieutenant,
and in 1840 he was commissioned captain, and
was well known throughout his portion of the
state as an accomplished officer. His wife, who
was born in 1809, long survived him, and died
in 1892 at the advanced age of eighty-three years.
Both were members of the Universalist church
in early life, but later united with the Methodist
denomination. Mrs. Puffer was born in Paw-
tucket, Rhode Island, and by her marriage be
came the mother of six children, five of whom are
yet living: Norman M., referred to at length
hereinafter; Maria, widow of George Raymond,
formerly of Bennington and latterly of Grand
Rapids, Michigan; Clarissa, the wife of Henry
Tifft, of Hoosick Falls, New York; Charlotte,
who married C. E. Green, of New York city;
Wales W., deceased; and Alfred E., of Des
Moines, Iowa.
Norman M. Puffer, of the before named fam
ily, was born May 4, 1847, i*1 Bennington, Ver
mont. He acquired his education in the common
schools and was but a boy whose studies were
unfinished when he laid his books aside and en
listed in his country's service to quell the rebellion.
He was only fourteen years old when he enlisted
in the Second Regiment of Vermont Volunteers,
in 1861, being among the first in the state to offer
his services to the government. He became a
drummer boy and served with the regimental
band until it was disbanded by order of Congress.
He re-enlisted in June, 1862, as a musician in
Company E, Tenth Vermont Infantry, with which
he remained almost throughout the war, and he
was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps,
September 30, 1864, a veteran of only seventeen
years of age. He was mustered out June 29, 1865.
The historian of his regiment says that he was
one of the best drummers in the Army of the Po
tomac, and that he was always brave and ever
ready to do his duty. His brother Wales was
also a member of the regimental band, and his
brother Alfred served in the navy until the close
of the war. Norman M. Puffer was present at
the surrender of General Lee, and also took part
in the grand review in Washington, which fol
lowed the surrender of the southern troops at Ap

pomattox — this being the most splendid military
pageant ever witnessed on the western hemis
phere, continuing two days. The drum which was
given him at the beginning of the war he carried
until 1863, when a new one was furnished him.
He then sent the old one home by a comrade, but
it never reached its destination and was lost sight
of for thirty-five years. In 1898 it was found at
a camp fire display which was being held in Pitts
field, Massachusetts, by a Grand Army post. A
drummer of that post, when on a parade at the
National Grand Army encampment in Washing
ton, in 1892, broke his drum and purchased for
two dollars in a pawn shop the drum which had
belonged to Puffer. The instrument was retained
by the Grand Army post of Pittsfield until the re
union mentioned, when Colonel Puffer's name and
address were discovered on the inside of the
drum, and he recovered it. It is still in his posses
sion, a prized relic of the times when he followed
the starry banner of the nation upon southern
battlefields. In 1872 Colonel Puffer entered the employ of
the Valentine Knitting Company, and through
faithfulness and capability won promotion from
time to time until he was made superintendent of
the finishing department. In 1884 he became a
member of the firm, and in 1887 was elected treas
urer of the company, in which capacity he has
since served. The house manufactures men's,
women's and children's underwear on an exten
sive scale, employing eighty skilled operatives in
the factory, and the product is shipped to all parts
of the country. The house is widely known for
its reliability and the excellence of the workman--
ship, and not a little of its success and enviable
reputation is attributable to the efforts of the
treasurer. He is also a director of the Benning
ton County National Bank.
Colonel Puffer is one of the most prominent.
Grand Army men in the state. In 1873 he as
sisted in organizing Custer Post, and in 1889
Sixth Corps Post No. 112, and has several times
occupied the position of post commander and
was commander of the Department of Ver
mont in 1896-7. He has been many times a dele
gate to state and national encampments, and his
collection of badges worn on such occasions is re
markably large and complete. He has also per
formed staff duty for General W. G. A^eazey and

332

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

General J. G. B. Adams in the capacity of aide-de
camp. He is also quite prominent in the order of
Odd Fellows, with which he has been identified
since 1872 ; he has occupied all the chairs in
Stark Lodge No. 9 ; in 1883 he became a member
of Bennington Canton, of which he was the first
captain; he afterwards organized the regiment,
and he was elected its colonel in 1885, and served
in that capacity by successive re-elections until
1890; in 1890 he was elected grand patriarch of
the grand encampment ; and grand representative
to the Sovereign Grand Lodge in 1891, in St.
Louis., and in 1892 in Portland, Oregon. In the
Masonic fraternity he is affiliated with Mount
Anthony Lodge No. 13, Temple Chapter No. 8,
and Taft Cornmandery No. 8. He is also a mem
ber of the order of Red Men, and has served as
senior sagamore and in other of the highest of
ficial positions. In politics he is a Republican.
His efforts in behalf of all these interests which
enter into the best life of a progressive and well
ordered community, have been continuous and
energetic, and he has ever been a prime leader in
all worthy movements. He has frequently served
as a village trustee, and as village president in
1898. On November ij, 1873, Colonel Puffer was
united in marriage with Olive F. Blackmer, a
daughter of , Warren and Betsy (Mattison) Black-
-mer. Her father was a native of Bennington,
Vermont, born November 23, 18 10, and died
April 8, 1889. He was a son of Jason and Hul
dah (Wright) Blackmer, the former a native of
Bennington, born April 24, 1770, and died March
9, 1849, and his wife a native of Deerfield, Massa
chusetts. Jason Blackmer was a son of Samuel,
born in 1740, and died April 5, 1813, by his mar
riage with Abigail Bronson, born in 1740, and
died September 4, 1834. Samuel was the only
child of one Blackmer, who came from Taunton,
Massachusetts, and located in what was then a
trackless wilderness, but is now the site of the
beautiful village of Bennington. Warren and
Betsy (Mattison) Blackmer were the parents of
nine children, Holland, Elmer, Dennis M., Anna
Eliza, Barbara C, Marion L., Olive F., Effie C,
and one who died in infancy. Of these, Dennis
M., Marion L. and Olive F. are now living. Olive
F., who is the wife of Colonel Puffer, takes an act
ive and helpful interest in the AVoman's Relief

Corps, auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Re
public, and in 1901 she served as president of the
Department of Vermont. She has also held high
official position in the order of the Eastern Star.
Mrs. Puffer is a zealous and devoted attendant of
the Congregational church of Bennington. Col
onel and Mrs. Puffer have a living son, Louis
Blackmer Puffer, born July 24, 1886, who is a
student in the Bennington high school. Two chil
dren are deceased, Florence, who died September
11, 1875, and Warren B., who died December 13,
1883, aged seven years.
GENERAL WILLIAM WELLS.
General William Wells, deceased, a native of
Vermont, during an active life held a dis
tinguished place in the public and commercial
affairs of the country. In the Civil war he proved
himself a splendid soldier, and won from Gen
eral Sheridan this commendation : "He is my
ideal of a cavalry officer."
Hugh Wells, a descendant of an old Eng
lish family, was born about 1590 in the county
of Essex, England, and from him the line of
descent to General William Wells in the seventh
generation is unbroken. Hugh Wells was mar
ried in 1619, and emigrated to America in 1635.
He remained in Boston for a time, and subse
quently aided in founding a colony in Hartford,
Connecticut. He died in Wethersfield, Connecti
cut, in 1645.
Thomas Wells, the first child of Hugh Wells,
was born in Colchester, England, in 1620, and
was taken with his parents, in 1635, to America.
In 165 1 he married Mary Beardsley, of Wethers
field, Connecticut, daughter of William Beards-
ley, of England. In 1659 he went to Hadley, and
lived there until his death, in 1676.
Ebenezer Wells, eleventh child of Thomas
Wells, was born at Hadley, Massachusetts, July
4, 1668, and died at Hatfield, Massachusetts. His
second child, Dr. Thomas Wells, was born at
Greenfield, Massachusetts, September 25, 1693,
and died at Deerfield, Massachusetts, March 7,
1745. The third child of Dr. Wells, Joseph
Wells, born in Deerfield, Massachusetts, October
8, 1731, died at Greenfield December 22, 1804.
The fifth child of Joseph, Roswell Wells, was
borri in Greenfield, Massachusetts, September 9,

srOk&uitc^cx^ ^^u^jc?

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

333

1769, and in 1805 moved to Waterbury, where he
died July 26, 1826, aged fifty-seven years. His
wife was Pamelia White, a descendant of Pere
grine White, the first white child of civilized par
entage born on the North American continent.
Of this marriage were born two children, William
Wellington and Roswell Wells.
William Wellington Wells, father of General
Wells, was sixth in descent from the original im
migrant, Hugh Wells, and was born October 28,
1805, in Waterbury, Vermont, where he died
April 9, 1869. He was a man of liberal educa
tion, excellent business qualifications and sterling
character. He was graduated from the Uni
versity of Vermont in 1824, and studied law. He
was turned away from the profession, however,
by reason of family considerations, and gave his
attention to mercantile manufacturing affairs in
Waterbury, and was numbered among the most
successful men of affairs in the state. His wife
was Eliza Carpenter, born May 10, 1806, a
daughter of Judge Dan Carpenter. She sur
vived her husband four years, and died August 5,
1873. They were the parents of ten children, of
whom nine were sons.
The third child in this family, William Wells,
seventh in lineal descent from the original im
migrant, was born December 14, 1837, in Water
bury, Vermont. He began his education in the
common schools of his native town, and mas
tered the higher branches in Barre Academy and
Kimball'Union Academy, the latter named insti
tution being in Meriden, New Hampshire. While
in Barre he performed a remarkable piece of
work, using an odometer in surveying for a
county map of Caledonia county, a task which
occupied him for two months in his seventeenth
year. From the age of nineteen until the spring
of 1861 he was his father's assistant in his ex
tensive business. After the outbreak of the Re
bellion he and three of his brothers became sol
diers of the army of the Union.
September 9, 1861, William Wrells enlisted as
a private soldier, and assisted in raising Company
C of the First Regiment, Vermont Cavalry ; was
sworn into the United States service October 3,
1861 ; promoted first lieutenant October 14,
1861, and captain, November 18, 1861 ; promoted
major, October 30, 1862; colonel, June 4, 1864;
appointed brevet brigadier general of volunteers,

February 22, 1865 ; May 16, 1865, upon the per
sonal solicitation of Generals Sheridan and Cus
ter, he was- commissioned brigadier general; and
he was appointed brevet major general of volun
teers, March 30, 1865, "for gallant and meri
torious service," having received more promo
tions than any other Vermont officer during the
war. He distinguished himself repeatedly in action.
He was in the thickest of the fight at Orange
Court House, Virginia, August 2, 1862 ; and com
manded the Second Battalion, First Vermont
Cavalry, in the repulse of Stuart's Cavalry at
Hanover, Pennsylvania, June 30, 1863. In the
famous and desperate cavalry charge on Round
Top, Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, he commanded
the leading battalion, rode by the side of General
Farnsworth, the brigade commander, and, almost
by a miracle, came out unharmed, while his com
mander fell in the midst of the enemy's infantry.
A few days later, in the savage cavalry melee at
Boonsboro, Maryland, he was wounded by a
sabre cut. At Culpepper Court House, Virginia,
.September 13, 1863, he charged the enemy's ar
tillery with his regiment, and captured a gun,
and was again wounded, by a shell.
After the return of the regiment from the Kil-
patrick raid, in March, 1864, Major Wells was
detached and placed in command of the Seventh
Michigan Cavalry (which had lost its com
mander) for a month. He commanded a bat
talion in Sheridan's cavalry battle of Yellow
Tavern, Virginia, May 11, 1864, in which Gen
eral Stuart, the greatest Confederate cavalry gen
eral, was killed. In the cavalry fight at. Tom's
Brook, A^irginia, October 9, 1864, General Wells
commanded a brigade of Custer's division; and
at Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864, his brigade
took a foremost part in turning the rout of the
morning into a decisive victory at nightfall, cap
turing forty-five of the forty-eight pieces of ar
tillery taken from Early's fleeing army. Major
Wells served under Generals Kilpatrick, Sheridan
and Custer, and was with Kilpatrick in his
famous raid on Richmond, and with Wilson in
his daring foray to the south of that city. At
Appomattox, on the morning of the surrender of
the Army of North Virginia, his brigade had
started on its last charge, and was stopped by
General Custer in person.

334

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

From September 19, 1864, to April 9, 1865,
he was several times in command of the Third
Cavalry Division. The departure of Sheridan
and Custer for Texas left him as the ranking
officer and last commander of the Cavalry Corps.
At the grand review of the Army of the Potomac
in Washington city, May 22, 1865, he commanded
the Second Brigade of Custer's Division of the
Cavalry Corps, which led the advance. A medal
of honor was awarded General Wells by Congress
"for distinguished gallantry at the battle' of Get
tysburg, July 3, 1863."
His military career may be summarized by
saying that he participated in seventy cavalry en
gagements, in eighteen of which he led a brigade
or division, and his service in the field was contin
uous from the date of his muster in until the close
of the war. January 15, 1866, he was honorably
mustered out of the United States service, having
been held in useful service for eight months after
the war had ended, a fine testimonial to his sol
dierly ability. The official record speaks for it
self, and General Wells' military career through
out four years and a half in the war of the re
bellion evinces the highest personal qualities of a
cavalry commander, combining coolness, prompt
ness and daring intrepidity with most thoughtful
consideration for his men.
Soon after General Wells's return to civil life
he became a partner in a firm of wholesale drug
gists- at Waterbury. In 1868 they transferred
their business to Burlington, which was there
after his residence. He represented the town of
Waterbury in the legislature of 1865-66, being
chairman of the military committee and an influ
ential legislator. In 1866 he was elected adjutant
general of Vermont, and held the office until
1872, when he was appointed collector of customs
for the district of Vermont, a position which he
filled' with efficiency and credit for thirteen years.
At the end of that time he resumed his active con
nection with the business house known the world
over as the Wells & Richardson Company.
In 1886 he was state senator from the county
of Chittenden. He was active in veteran sol
diers' societies ; was one of the presidents of the
Reunion Society of Vermont Officers, and presi
dent of the Society of the First Vermont Cavalry.
He was one of the trustees, and first president of
the Vermont Soldiers' Home, and was a member

of the Gettysburg Commission in 1889-90. He
was the first commander of the Vermont Com
mandery of the Loyal Legion, and would have
been re-elected had he lived until the coming an
nual meeting of the Commandery. He was a
member of Stannard Post, No. 2, G. A. R., De
partment of Vermont, and would have been made
department commander several years ago had he
been willing to accept an election as such. He
was a member of the Vermont Society of Sons
of the American Revolution.
General Wells was identified with many im
portant business enterprises in the city, being
president of the Burlington Trust Company,
president of the Burlington Gas-Light Company,
president of the Burlington Board of Trade, di
rector in the Burlington Cold Storage Company,
director in the Rutland Railroad Company and
director in the Champlain Transportation Com
pany. He was a member and a vestryman of St.
Paul's church, and was one of the trustees of the
Young Men's Christian Association of Burling
ton, and one of its most liberal supporters. Few
men, if any, touched the life of the community in
which he lived in so many important capacities.
His sudden death from angina pectoris, in
New York city, April 29, 1902, removed, while in
the prime of life, a most genial, courteous and
kind-hearted man, a gallant soldier, and one of
the most respected citizens of the Green Moun
tain state.
General Wells was married January 18, 1866,
to Miss Arahanna Richardson, who was born
July 20, 1845, in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. To
them were born two children: Frank Richard
son and Bertha Richardson. Frank Richardson
Wells was born February 1, 1871, in Burlington,
Vermont, and was married in California, Novem
ber 7, 1900, to Miss Jean Mary Hush, of Oak
land, California. Bertha Richardson Wells was
born April 23, 1873, and was married in Burling
ton, Vermont, July 6, 1899, to Dr. Horatio Nel
son Jackson, of Burlington, Vermont.
JAMES HENRY LIVINGSTON. •
James Henry Livingston, of Bennington, was
born at Cold Spring, New York, February 18,
1847. His father, Alexander Livingston, born
in New York, died at the age of seventy-three

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

335

years, in 1881. He married Lovina Boyce, who
was born in A'ermont, and died in 1875, aged six
ty-four years. Of their union nine children were
born, James H. being the seventh in succession
of birth. James H. Livingston received his primary ed
ucation in the schools of Cambridge, New York,
whither he removed with his parents in 1851.
Entering the office of the Cambridge Valley News
when a lad of thirteen years, he began work at the
printer's trade, completing his apprenticeship in
the office of the Rutland Courier in Rutland, Ver
mont. Going to Boston, Massachusetts, when
sixteen years old, he remained there a year, then
went to New York city, where he secured employ
ment as ticket agent and telegraph operator in a
railway office. Three years later he returned to
' his trade, for a time publishing a commercial
newspaper, Daily Arrival, in New York city,
which he subsequently sold and resumed his place
at the case, serving as compositor and reporter on
the daily papers of New York until 1871. In the
meantime, however, Mr. Livingston had contin
ued his studies with the intention of fitting himself
for a professional career, reading law to some ex
tent, and for two years studying medicine, after
which, during the winter of 1867-8, he was in the
Bellevue Hospital College. Since that time he has
paid especial attention to such studies as would
be of benefit to him in his journalistic work.
Locating in Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1871, Mr.
Livingston remained there two years, being edi
tor of a weekly newspaper each year. In 1873 he
removed to Hoosick Falls, New York, where he
established the Rensselaer County Standard,
which he conducted until 1880, when he disposed
of it. Embarking then in the dry-goods business,
he lost, in a few months, the accumulations of his
seven years of labor. With characteristic enter
prise, however, he began life anew in Greenfield,
Massachusetts, establishing a weekly newspaper,
the Greenfield Sittings, which he managed alone
for a year. Selling one-half interest in this paper
in 1882, he removed to Brattleboro, Vermont, and
took a half interest in , both the Brattleboro Re
former and the Bennington Reformer, and in
company with Charles H. Davenport published all
three of these papers for a year. Dissolving part
nership with Mr. Davenport in 1883, Mr. Liv
ingston accepted the Bennington Reformer as his

share of the property, and settled in Bennington,
where he has since resided. In March, 1902, he
sold out his interest in the Reformer to Frank E.
Howe, and turned his attention, temporarily, to
the job printing business.
Mr. Livingston married, in 1875, Miss Ella
May Saunders, daughter of Horace and Adelaide
Saunders, of Berlin, New York, and into their
household five children have been born, namely:
Mabel, born in 1876; Ida, born in 1879; Eva, born
in 1 88 1, died at the age of ten months ; and Grace
and Guy, twins, born in 1887. Mr. Livingston
is secretary of the board of trade of Bennington
and has taken an active interest in advancing the
general welfare of the city of his adoption. He
is a member of Stark Lodge No. -8, I. O. O, F. ;
Monument Lodge No. 8, K. of P., and Benning
ton Lodge No. 567, B. P. O. E.
DAVID SEYMOUR WILSON.
The late David Seymour Wilson was an un
dertaker and furniture dealer at Manchester Cen
ter, where he was prosperously engaged in mer
cantile business for more than forty years. He
was born in Townshend, Vermont, March 16,
1836, a son of Isaac Boyd Wilson, and grandson
of Samuel Wilson. His great-grandfather,
whose name was probably James, who was was
of Scotch-Irish ancestry, emigrated from Lon
donderry, Ireland, to Londonderry, New Hamp
shire, was one of its earliest settlers, and there
spent the remaining years of his life.
Samuel AAllson grew to manhood in London
derry, New Hampshire, afterwards removing to
Grafton, Vermont, where he labored with the
early pioneers in clearing and improving a home
stead, on which he lived until his sudden de
cease, July 6, 181 1. His wife, whose maiden
name was Margaret Thompson, was born in Graf
ton, Vermont, August 6, 1771, and died March
17, 1848, having borne her husband the following
children: Robert, born November 13, 1795, died
June 5, 1832 ; James F., born June 26, 1797, died
December 7, 1865 ; Isaac B., father of David S. ;
Jane, born January 30, 1801, died June 16, 1833 ;
John, born November 13, 1803, a seafaring man,
was wrecked on one of his voyages ; Gilman, born
August 28, 1806, died July 20, 1881 ; William,
born April 23, 1808, died February 17, 1834; and

336

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

David, born March 6, 1810, died November 12,
1834.
Isaac B. Wilson was born in Grafton, Ver
mont, February 15, 1799, and died in Manchester,
Vermont, March 12, 1876. He was reared and
educated in the place of his birth, but began the
battle of life for himself in Townshend, Vermont,
as junior member of the mercantile firm of Shaf
fer & Wilson. He was subsequently engaged in
manufacturing, in company with Judge Shaffer,
in Cambridgeport, going from there to Athens,
Vermont, where he was engaged in general mer
chandise, and was also postmaster for three years.
Coming then to Manchester, he located in that
part of the town known as Factory Point, where
he carried on a remunerative trade in general mer
chandise for more than thirty years, continuing
in active business pursuits until his death. He
was influential in all affairs pertaining to the
management of the town, serving as selectman,
overseer of the poor, etc. He also did a large
amount of financial business for others, during
the Civil war making out all papers for the pay
ment of bounties to the soldiers, borrowing money
to make the payments, the amount being subse
quently returned him by the town, which raised
funds for that purpose. He was a firm Repub
lican in politics. Of his union with Thankful
Bayley, the daughter of an Athens, Vermont,
farmer, three children were born, but only one is
now living, Cordelia, wife of A. W. Pettibone, of
La Crosse, Wisconsin. The mother died at the
age of eighty years, January 11, 1876.
David S. Wilson was educated in the com
mon schools of Manchester and at the Burr and
Burton Seminary, after which he learned the
cabinet-maker's trade, which he followed four
years as a journeyman. Going to Brandon in
1858, he remained there a year, and then returned
to Manchester. In i860 Mr. Wilson established
himself in business at Factory Point, locating
in the original part of the building which
he occupied up to the time of his re
cent death as a furniture dealer, the
building at that time being only one-fourth
as large as now. From time to time, as his trade
demanded, he added to his establishment and
his stock, and when he died had the distinction
of being the one of the largest furniture dealers
in southern Vermont, the oldest established mer

chant in Manchester, and had been in the under
taking business longer than any one else in the
county, if not in the state, having taken up his
two lines of business simultaneously. He was a
strong Republican in politics, and as a representa
tive to the state legislature in 1880 served on the
committee on highways, bridges and ferries. He
was one of the charter members, a director, and a
vice president of the Factory Point National
Bank of Manchester.
Mr. Wilson married, October 1, 1861, Rox-
anna A. Eddy, daughter of the -late Jeremiah
and Mary (Boorn) Eddy, of Manchester. Mr.
Eddy, a farmer, died in early manhood, leaving
three children: James, who was killed by being
thrown from a horse; Ann, wife of Norris Car
penter, of West Hoosick, New York; and Rox-
anna A., now Mrs. Wilson; Mrs. Eddy lived to
a good old age, dying at the age of eighty-four
years, and was a member of the Baptist church,
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson had one child, Miss Mary
B. Wilson. Mrs. Wilson attended the Baptist
church.
SENECA SHERMAN CLEMONS, M. D.
Dr. Seneca S. Clemons, one of the longest
established and best known physicians of Man
chester Center, was born January 23, 1842, in
Wallingford, A^ermont, a son of James Clemons,
Jr. His paternal grandfather, James Clemons,
Sr., served in the war of 18 12, and died on the
field, at the battle of Plattsburg. His widow sub
sequently died in AVallingford, Vermont, from a
sunstroke. They were the parents of five chil
dren, none of whom are living.
James Clemons, Jr., was born in Wallingford,
Vermont, and there spent his sixty-nine years of
earthly life, being engaged principally in agri
cultural pursuits. He married Rachel Sherman,
a native of Wallingford, and a daughter of
George and Rachel (Congdon) Sherman, who
were born and reared in Rhode Island, but settled
on a farm in Wallingford after the battle of
Plattsburg, in which Mr. Sherman took part;
Mrs. Sherman, who died at the age of eighty-four
years, reared six children. Of the union of Rachel
Sherman with James Clemons, Jr., eight children
were born, of whom six are now living, namely:
Henry, a farmer in AVallingford; Seneca S.; Lo-
raine, wife of Livingston Derrick, of Wrallingford :

djsZ^CJ 4if.^xl^^ir^L//fi0,

THE STATE OF ArERMONT.

337

Mary E., of AVallingford; Abbey, also of that
town : and Sarah, wife of George Crary, of Wall
ingford. Francis died in childhood, and George
E., at the age of thirty-eight years. The mother
died March 31, 1901, aged eighty nine years.
Both parents attended the Congregational church.
Seneca S. Clemons received his elementary
education in the public schools of his native town,
and was graduated from the medical department
of the University of A^ermont with the class of
1865. Beginning the practice of his profession
at Manchester Center immediately after receiving
his degree, he met with such encouragement in
the way of patronage that he has continued here
until the present time, being one of the most suc
cessful and popular physicians of this locality,
and being the oldest in point of practice in the
county. He is a Republican in politics, and
served as United States examining surgeon from
1868 until 1882. He is a member of the Benning
ton County Medical Society; of Adoniram Lodge
No. 42, Free and Accepted Masons, in which he
has held the office of junior warden ; and of Hope
Lodge, No. 50, Independent Order of Odd Fel
lows, in which he served one term as noble grand.
He belongs to the Baptist church.
Dr. Clemons rnarried, in 1869, Annie E. Dan
forth, who was born in East Rupert, Vermont, a
daughter of Captain A. J. R. and Abigail (Har-
wood) Danforth, who were the parents of ten
children, five boys and five girls, four of whom
are now living : Oliver H., of East Rupert ; Vesta ;¦
Mary E., wife of Dr. J. E. Hitt, of Granville;
and Jennie A., wife of Charles N. Williams,, of
Dorset. Annie E., wife of Dr. Clemons, died in
1890, aged forty-six years, leaving three chil
dren, as follows : Charles F., who was graduated
from Yale University in 1895, tutored in Phila
delphia, Washington and London until 1899,
when he went to Butte, Montana, with the Shan
non Copper Company, from there going for the
same company, December 31, 1901, to Honolulu,
where he is now practicing law in partnership
association with Judge Austin Whiting; Mabel,
wife of Harry C. Danforth, a farmer in East Ru
pert; and Abbie E., wife of Frank McGuire of
Manchester. Dr. Clemons afterward married
Mrs. Nancy Carney, daughter of John Moore,
who spent his long life of ninety years in Man
chester. 22

CROSBY ALPHEUS PERRY, M. D.
Crosby A. Perry, M. D, a prominent physi
cian of Readsboro, A'ermont, was born in Con
cord, Vermont, March 1, 1838, a son of the late
Micah and Susan (Woodbury) Perrv. He comes
of Revolutionary stock on both the paternal and

CROSBY ALPHEUS PERRY, M. D.
maternal sides and has the distinction of being
the youngest son of a soldier of the Revolution
in the state. He has inherited the patriotic zeal
that characterized his ancestors, and is himself a
veteran of the Civil war.
Micah Perry was one of the youngest soldiers
in the Continental army. He was born in 1760,
was a soldier in the patriot army at the age of
sixteen. At the same time there enlisted in the
same command his father, Benjamin, and Jon
athan Woodbury, Dr. Perry's maternal grand
father. All were in the battle of Bennington,
served throughout the war and survived. Micah

338

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Perry was twice married, and while his first wife
was living he resided in Royalston, Massachu
setts. They had ten children. Subsequently set
tling in Concord, Vermont, he there carried on
general farming until his death, in 1840, at the
age of eighty years. His second wife, Susan
Woodbury, was born and brought up in Concord,
Vermont, the home of her father, who was a sol
dier in the Revolution, and also fought in the war
of 1 8 12. She was one of a family of fourteen
daughters, and she . reared eleven children, of
whom but three survive, namely : Jackson M.
Perry, an agriculturist, who resides on the
homestead farm in Concord, which tract has been
in the family for one hundred and twenty-five
years ; Mrs. Harriet L. Ellis, of Winchendon.
Massachusetts ; and Crosby A., the special sub
ject of this sketch, who was the last born of the
second union.
Crosby A. Perry received his academical edu
cation at Burnham Academy, Farmington, Maine ;
then taking up the study of medicine he entered
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, of
Pennsylvania, from which institution he was
graduated with the class of 1859. The
following two years Dr. Perry practiced
medicine in New York, but gave - up his
professional career in 1861 that he might serve
his country, first as a volunteer nurse and subse
quently as a private in Company E, Fifth Mass
achusetts Volunteer Infantry. He served until
December 2, 1864, when he received his honorable
discharge. Settling in East Wallingford in 1868,
he remained there two years in the practice of
his profession, then removed to Rutland, where
he continued his practice until 1873, when he
removed to Readsboro, his present home. Dur
ing the years that have since elapsed he has
gained the confidence of the community in which
he resides, and has built up a large practice.
Dr. Perry is a stanch Republican in politics,
and takes a keen interest in public matters. He
has filled various town offices with acceptability
to all concerned, serving for ten years as select
man : for nine years as lister; as justice of the
peace twenty-two years ; as superintendent of
schools nine years ; and for thirty-eight years was
a member of the school board. He is prominent
in the Odd Fellows order, belonging to Deerfield
A'alley Lodge, No. 3, I. O. O. F., in which he

has held all the offices ; to the Grand Lodge, which
he has served as grand master; and also was
representative to the Sovereign Grand Lodge.
He is an active member of the A. L. Pike Post,
G. A. R., in which he has filled all of the offices,
and for several years served as commander, be
sides which he was at- one time on the staff of
General Peck as deputy commander. He like
wise belongs to the Deerfield Valley Medical As
sociation, in which he has refused all offices, al
though he was elected its president. He is a
Universalist in his religious views.
Dr. Perry married, first, April 27, 1869, Ida
B. Cutler, who was born in Wallingford, daugh
ter of Edward A. and Electa M. Cutler. Mr.
Cutler was a well known hotel-keeper, and after
his death Mrs. Cutler, who had become familiar
with the business, purchased the Sadawga Spring
House at AVhitingham, and managed it success
fully until her death. Mrs. Ida B. Perry died at
the age of forty-nine years, leaving four children,
namely: Carl S., Grace A., Forest C. and Ed
ward A. Perry. Carl S. Perry is a business man
of Clarksburg, Massachusetts, and the remaining
children reside at Readsboro. Dr. Perry mar
ried, second, October 16, 1901, Daisy E. Dunn,
a native of Rowe, Massachusetts.
EDGAR A^ALENTINE TRULL, M. D.
Edgar Y . Trull, M. D., one of the leading
physicians of Manchester, has been in active prac
tice in this village for a quarter of a century. He
was born in Cohoes, New York, August 26, 1854,
a son of the late Stephen V. Trull. John Trull,
the Doctor's paternal grandfather, spent his early
life in Cambridge, a part of the town of Jackson,
New York, and there subsequently engaged in
agricultural pursuits. He thereafter purchased a
farm in Illinois, and carried on his chosen occu
pation most successfully for several years ; then
returned east, and spent the declining years of his
life with his son, Stephen V. Trull, at Cohoes,
New York, dying there at the age of seventy-six
years. He was much interested in state and na
tional affairs, and was widely known as a political
speaker of note. His wife, whose maiden name
was Rebecca A^alentine, was born in Adams, New
York, and died aged seventy-five years. She was
a member of the Baptist church. Five children

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

339

were born of their marriage, namely: Rebecca,
Abigail, Samuel, Stephen V. and Ezra.
Stephen V. Trull was born in Jackson, New
A'ork, and there grew to man's estate, receiving
a common school education. He located first in
Troy, New York, where he worked for awhile in
an axe factory, then removed to Cohoes, New
York, continuing his employment as an axe-maker
there for a time. Subsequently turning his atten
tion to railway work, he accepted the contract for
raising all the bridges on the Erie canal between
Albany and Buffalo, New York. He also built
the AVay lock at West Troy, New York, after
ward having charge of the construction of a sec
tion of the railroad between Mechnicsville and
Schuylerville, New York. Going then to South
Brighton, Framingham, he took the contract to
build a dam for the Boston water works. Return
ing to New York at the expiration of two years,
he superintended the building of the double track
on that part of the New York Central Railway
lying between Albany and Schenectady. Settling
then in Amsterdam, New York, Mr. Trull opened
a stone yard, and for many years carried on an
extensive business, having much of the city street
contract work, continuing his residence there un
til his death, at the age of sixty-eight years. He
was an earnest Republican in his political affilia
tions, and while living in Troy, New York, served
as one of the three capitol police commissioners
appointed by the governor. He was also quar
termaster of the Thirtieth New York Regiment,
which he raised in Cohoes, New York, under Gov
ernor Morgan. Fraternally he was a member of
the Free and Accepted Masons and of the Inde
pendent Order of Red Men.
Stephen V. Trull married Allison Drysdale,
who was born in Troy, New York, a daughter ot
John Drysdale, a prominent citizen of Cohoes.
Air. Drysdale was born and reared in Scotland,
and there married Isabella Bellmain, a native of
that country. Soon after their marriage the
young couple emigrated to America, locating in
Cohoes, New York, where Mr. Drysdale estab
lished a wheelwright's shop, in which he did con
siderable state work, and in later life was super
intendent of streets of the city of Cohoes. Five
children blessed their union, namely : John ;
George; Allison, who became the wife of Ste
phen V. Trull ; Jane ; and Isabella. Mrs. Drysdale

who died at the age of fifty-eight years, was a
member of the Presbyterian church. Mr. and
Mrs. Trull became the parents of six children,
four of whom grew to years of maturity, three
of them now living, namely : Edgar V., the
special subject of this sketch; Elmer, of Amster
dam, New York ; and Elsie, wife of William Gra
ham, of West Troy, New Yrok.
Edgar V. Trull received his preliminary edu
cation in the public schools of Cohoes, after his
graduation from the high school working with
his father for a year. Deciding then upon a pro
fessional career, he began the study of medicine
with Dr. Billings, afterward attending lectures at
the medical department of the Union University,
Albany^, New York, from which he was graduated
in 1875. Dr. Trull began the practice of his pro
fession in New Scotland, New York, a year later
settling in Cohoes, New York, where he remained
two years, during which time he was police sur
geon. Coming then to Manchester, Vermont, he
has continued here since, and to-day controls a
large local practice, and has a firmly established
reputation as a skillful and progressive physi
cian. The Doctor has written much on medical
topics, and is a member of both the State Medical
and the Bennington County Medical Societies.
He is a Republican in politics, and a member of
the Congregational church.
On October 30, 1877, Dr. Trull married Miss
Katherine Efner, a daughter of John Efner, a
life-long resident of Middleburg, Schoharie coun
ty, New York. Mrs. Trull was born in Mid
dleburg, New York, and died in Manchester, Ver
mont, at the early age of thirty years. Of the
three children born of their union, but one is now
. living, Bertha E. Trull. The Doctor married, sec-
ond, October 11, 1887, Harriet A. Purdy.
JAMES K. FULLERTON.
Among the representative citizens of Water
bury, Vermont, is numbered James K. Fullerton,
who is now so efficiently serving as clerk of the
town. A native of AVashington county, he was
born in Berlin on the 2d of January, 1837, and be
longs to an old and highly respected family of this
state. His paternal grandfather, Edward Fuller-
ton, was a native of England, and on his emigra
tion to America in 1786 settled in Vermont, where

340

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

he continued to make his home throughout life,
his occupation being that of farming. In his
younger years he served as major in the state mi
litia. He was united in marriage with Miss Alary
McCollough, who was born in the north of Ire
land, and came to the United States in the latter
part of the eighteenth century, locating in A'er-
mont. By this union were born the following
children : Edward, Horatio, John, Calvin, Han
son, Sophia and Mary. The father of this family-
died about 1850, at the advanced age of ninety-
nine years and six months, and the mother passed
away at the age of eighty-seven years.
Horatio Fullerton, the father of our subject,
was born in Northfield, Washington count}-, Ver
mont, in 1799, and was reared upon a farm.
Throughout life he continued a resident of his na
tive county, living first in Berlin and later in
AA^aitsfield. He married Miss Sophia Jeffords, a
daughter of Moses Jeffords, and they became the
parents of six children, namely: Mary Ann, de
ceased ; Henry, a resident of Montpelier ; Caro
line ; George H., of Waitsfield ; James K., of this
review-; and Calvin F. After a useful and well
spent life the father died in 1886, and his wife
departed this life in 1881.
On the home farm James K. Fullerton passed
the days of his boyhood and youth, and received
a good practical education in the district and high
schools. On starting out in life for himself he
first engaged in clerking in a store in Waitsfield,
and later had charge of a store in Brookfield, Ver
mont, for three years. In 1864 he removed to
Waterbury and accepted the position of cashier
in the Waterbury National Bank, which he held
for five years. At the end of that period he em
barked in the dry-goods business at Waterbury as
a member of the firm of -Richardson & Fullerton,
which connection continued for fifteen years. Mr.
Fullerton was next engaged in the fire and life
insurance and also the real estate business, which
he carried on for some time with good success.
In 1895 he was elected town clerk and has since
filled that office : he served as town treasurer for
fifteen years. His political support is given the
men and measures of the Republican party, and
he takes quite an active and prominent part in
local politics. His official duties have always been
most faithfully and satisfactorily performed, and

in all the relations of life he has been found true
to every trust reposed in him.
In 1863 Mr. Fullerton was united in marriage
with Sophia Burnham, a daughter of Judge Arial
Burnham, and to them have been born four chil
dren, as follows : James Burnham, Henry H.,
Lema S. and Dean S.
JOHX STEDMAN HOLDEN.
John S. Holden, who resides in Bennington,
claims Alassachusetts as the state of his nativity,
his birth having occurred in Charlton, on the 9th
of May, 1845. His father, Lewis Holden, was a
native of Barre, Massachusetts, in which place the
grandfather and great-grandfather, both bearing
the name of Nathan, were also born, reared, and
resided there for many years. The grandfather
was a farmer by occupation and married Experi
ence Clark, by whom he had eleven children, all of
whom reached years of maturity, while three are
still living, namely : Parker, a resident of Wor
cester, Massachusetts : Harriet, the wife of Mil
ton Stone, of Barre : and Alary, the wife of Amos
Pike, of AVorcester. The parents both died when
forty-seven years of as;e.
Lewis Holden was reared in the old home in
Barre, and to the public school system of that
place was indebted for the educational privileges
which he enjoyed. Throughout his entire life he
\\ as engaged in business as a shoe manufacturer
and in farming. He was united in marriage to
Eliza A. Howlett, who was born in AVoodstock.
Connecticut.. Her father, John Howlett. was al
so a native of Woodstock and was a shoemaker
by trade; his death occurred in Charlton, Alassa
chusetts, when he had attained the very advanced
age of eighty-seven years. His wife, Airs. Bet
sey Howlett, passed away at the age of forty-one
years. The)- were the parents of four children,
namely: Caroline, wife of Charles Bosworth;
Rosella, wife of Charles French; Ira; and ATrs.
Holden. To Mr. and Airs.. Lewis Holden were
born eight children : Charles L., a resident of Pal
mer, Alassachusetts; Julia, now deceased, who
married George L. Rockwell, of Hartford, Con
necticut ; Henry P., who was with his brother,
John S. for a number of years, and who passed
away in April, 1900 : John S. ; Gilbert, who has

$

\

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

34i

also departed this life ; Daniel F., who lives in
Palmer, Massachusetts ; Elizabeth A., the wife of
Frank B. Pope, of Bennington; and Anna, who
became the wife of Edward E. Hart, of Benning
ton. The father of this family was called to his
final rest at Charlton, in 1863, but the mother is
still living (1902) at the ripe old age of eighty-
five years, making her home in Bennington with
her daughter, Mrs. F. B. Pope, as did her hus
band. Mrs. Holden holds membership in the
Alethodist Episcopal church, and her life has ever
been in harmony with, its teachings and princi
ples. John S. Iiolden spent the early years of his
life in Charlton, Alassachusetts, and pursued his
education in the common schools and in Nichols
Academy, Dudley, Alassachusetts. Later he at
tended Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Alassa
chusetts, and was fitted for a business career by
a course in Eastman's Business College at Pough-
keepsie, New York. Subsequently he went to
Hartford, Connecticut, and while in that city
served on the police force for three years, being
the youngest man ever appointed to the position
in that city up to that time. He afterward em
barked in general merchandising in Palmer, Mas
sachusetts, operating three stores in connection
with his brother, Henry P. Holden. He was next
engaged in the operation of an oil refinery on
the A'liller farm, in Franklin county, Pennsyl
vania, which he conducted for a number of years,
and then sold out to the Standard Oil Company.
His next venture was the building and operating
of a woolen mill at Palmer, Alassachusetts. In
this enterprise he was associated with his brother
Henry P., and with the aid of a superintendent
they operated their mill for seven years, on the
expiration of which period our subject sold his
interest to his brother Henry P. and to Superin
tendent Fuller. In the. meantime he had become.
financially interested in a wire mill which em
ployed three hundred operatives, and was the
largest industrial concern of Palmer, Massachu
setts, but in 1892 he disposed of .his stock in that
business. In 1889 Mr. Holden, in connection with Char
les AV. Leonard, bought the mills known as the
Bennington Woolen Mills, and operated them up
to 1892 under the name of John S. Holden Man
ufacturing Company, and in 1892 Arthur J. Hol

den, son of Mr. John S. Holden, was taken into
the partnership, which has since been known as
Holden, Leonard & Company ; they employ three
hundred and fifty men. The company also oper
ates the Oneko Woolen Mills at New Bedford,
Massachusetts, where they employ three hundred
operatives. In 1897 Mr. Holden, in connection
with Air. Leonard, purchased the Woodbury
Granite Company, became president of the com
pany, was also a member of the directorate and
the largest stockholder. The Hardwick & Wood
bury Railroad was also purchased by
Alessrs. Holden & Leonard, Air. Holden serving
as president of the company. In 1890 he removed
to Bennington and purchased the John V. Hall
House. Air. Holden is of resourceful business
ability, forms his plans readily, is determined in
their execution and carries forward to successful
completion whatever he undertakes.
In 1868 the marriage of Air. Holden and Miss
Jennie E. Good ell, a daughter of Cyrus Goodell,
of Hartford, Connecticut, was celebrated. Cy
rus Goodell was born in Glastonbury, that state,
and was in the insurance business for many years
but died in 1872 at the age of seventy-one years.
His wife bore the maiden name of Almira Burr.
She was born in Hartford, Connecticut, as was
her father, James Burr, who was a very promi
nent and influential citizen there. Alfred E.
Burr, one of the early proprietors of the Hartford
Times, was a brother of Almira Burr. To Mr.
and Mrs. Goodell were born three children, of
whom Mrs. Holden alone survives. Air. and
Mrs. Holden have five children : Arthur J. Hol
den ; Alice H., wife of George H. Bickford, of
Hardwick, Vermont ; Lula J. ; Florence E., wife
of Theodore L. Thomas of New York; and
Clarence L., a student. In his political views Mr.
Holden is a Republican, staunch and earnest in
his advocacy of the principles of the party. For
four years he was a trustee of Bennington vil
lage and its president for one year ; he is also the
president of the Bennington County Bank, and
since 1890 has been one of its directors. He and
his family are prominent and active members and
workers in the Congregational church. For a
number of years he has been one of its trustees,
and both his son and daughter are teachers in the
Sunday-school. Fraternally he is a member of
Mt. Anthony Lodge, Free and Accepted Ma-

342

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

sons. Mr. Holden has attained a due measure of
prosperity in the affairs of life, and his influence
has ever been exerted for good.
JAMES SMITH PIERSON.
Vermont has had her heroes in the great
struggle for freedom and right, upon land and
water, in some of the greatest battle of modern
times. She has had her orators in legislative halls
and her statesmen in the Senate and Congress of
the nation, who have reflected honor and glory
upon the state. To each and all praise should be
given, but it has remained for one of her sons,
James Smith Pierson, to carve for himself a
niche in the temple of fame ; in the line of inven
tions, unsurpassed, if, in fact, equalled by any
man of modern times.
He came of that rugged ancestry for which
Vermont has been ever famous, his forefathers
having been pioneers of the town of Shelburne,
who suffered the privations and hardships inci
dent to that life. Here they made a clearing in
the primeval forests, and by incessant toil and
thrift rose to a place in advance of their neigh
bors. They located upon a tract of land where
the Webb farm now stands, a large part of which
they at one time owned ; they erected a log cabin,
which was in time succeeded by a stone house,
the first of its kind in this section. Some member
of the family had learned the art of carpet-mak
ing, and the floors of the dwelling were later cov
ered with these, which at that time were consid
ered great luxuries and rare curiosities, and which
people drove miles from all directions to see.
Here the father of James S. Pierson, Smith F.,
was born August 29, 1802 ; he followed the voca
tion of a farmer, and was a man who was very
highly respected by all who knew him, and died
aged eighty-two years. His wife, who was Miss
Lydia B. Tabor, was born in Shelburne, Vermont,
her family, like her husband's, being pioneers of
that town; she died at the age of seventy-six
years. James Smith Pierson, son of the parents
named, was born in Shelburne, December 8,
1840. After attending the public schools of
Burlington until he was seventeen years of age,
he went to Janesville, AVisconsin, where he found
employment as a clerk in his brother's store for a

few months. He then returned to Burlington,
where he was occupied in learning the trade of a
machinist until 1862, when he enlisted as a pri
vate in Company C, Twelfth Regiment, Vermont
Volunteers, but was discharged on account of
sickness before his term of service expired. For,
nearly five years, owing to disease contracted
while in the army, the state of his health prevented
any active -employment. He next removed to the
city of New York and gave his attention to the
development of Professor Lowe's invention of
water gas, the success of which is due largely to
the improvements he invented and perfected in
the apparatus for manufacturing the gas, which
is now universally used in America and has re
duced the cost of gas millions of dollars per year.
He was for several years engaged in constructing
gas works in seventy of the largest cities in this
country, and for two years was general super
intendent of the United Gas Improvement Com
pany of Philadelphia, the largest gas corporation
in the world ; he received a salary of ten thousand
dollars per year. After accumulating a fortune
he returned to Burlington, where he purchased
his father's farm, and substantially improved it.
He also became interested in the gas works, which
he practically rebuilt, and to which he added his
attachments. He took an active interest in the
management of this plant up to the time of his
death. He was a director in the Burlington and
Waterbury (Connecticut) Gaslight Companies,
and president of the latter, also a director in the
Burlington Electric Light Company, and had
official connection with various other gas com
panies. Had Mr. Pierson lived, the extent to which his
inventive faculties might have demonstrated
themselves, is almost incomprehensible. He held
the patent on an invention for placing telegraph
wires underground, which has been used exten
sively throughout the world. He also patented
what is now known as the "chute" coal wagon,
used in all the large cities throughout the Union.
He also patented a machine for stamping and
cutting soap, and had a number of others in
progress. He constantly -studied the best works
upon mechanism, and was a deep thinker.
Mr. Pierson was an adherent of the Republican
party, but never sought or held any office. He
belonged to several social organizations in the city

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

343

of Burlington and attended the Protestant Epis
copal church. His death occurred April io, 1898.
He married, December 7, 1872, Lucille, daughter
of James and Elenor (Pelletreau) Blake, of
Brooklyn, New York. They adopted a daughter,
Constance. Mrs. Pierson's father, James Blake,
was a very prominent silk (Corticelli) manufac
turer and died at the age of sixty-three years.
Her mother, who had seven children, died at the
age of sixty -four years.
HON. HENRY R. START.
Judge Henry R. Start, of the supreme bench
of Vermont, and a resident of Bakersfield, in that
state, traces his descent from Captain Moses
Start, who emigrated to Vermont in the latter
part of the eighteenth century, and was an active
and prominent figure in the town of Bakersfield.
He married Alargaret Gould, and was the father
of a large family.
Simeon Gould Start, son of Captain Moses
and Margaret (Gould) Start, was born July 28,
1805, in Bakersfield, Vermont, and spent his youth
on the farm, his education being obtained in the
district schools and supplemented by a wide fund
of general information in his later years. His
early life was devoted to agricultural pursuits
and a clerkship in a country store. He early in
vested his modest savings in a farm in Bakers
field, which he conducted successfully until 1865,
when he removed into the village, and during the
last few years of his life he was chiefly engaged
in the public affairs of the town. He was for
merly a Democrat, but during the Civil war acted
with the Republican party, and after 1872 was an
independent in his political views. Honestly dis
charging the duties of many town offices, he was
the principal trial justice of the peace for more
than a quarter of a century. He represented the
town in the legislature of 1872, and was ever con
sidered a man of marked and original personality.
Mr. Start married, October 2, 1833, Mary
Sophia, daughter of Comfort and Sophia (Corse)
Barnes. Of this marriage there were born : Rolo
N. ; Orza G, who is assistant judge of the Frank
lin county court ; Charles M., who was formerly
attorney general of Minnesota, and is now chief
justice of that state; Lorenzo B. ; A'lerritt L. ;
Henry R., mentioned at length hereinafter; and

Ella S., deceased. Mrs. Start died April 22,
1862, and on April 10, 1865, Mr. Start married
Mrs. Betsey Perkins, who is still living, at the age
of ninety-three. In 1893, at the age of eighty-
eight, Mr. Start closed his long life of activity
and usefulness.
Henry R. Start, son of Simeon Gould and
Mary Sophia (Barnes) Start, was born December
28, 1845, at Bakersfield, Vermont. He was edu
cated in the common schools of his native town,
and in the Bakersfield and Barre academies. At
this time the Union was in the throes of the great
civil strife, and his patriotic blood was stirred by
the call to arms. Although under twenty years
of age, he enlisted in Company A, Third Regi
ment, Vermont Volunteers, and was discharged
in July, 1865.
Returning to Franklin county, he began the
study of law with M. R. Tyler, and was admitted
to the bar at St. Albans, Vermont, at the April
term of the county court in 1867. He immediately
began practice in Bakersfield, and, while retain
ing his residence in that town, formed a partner
ship with A. P- Cross, of St. Albans, the firm be
ing under the name of Cross & Start, and estab
lishing a large practice. From 1876 to 1878
Judge Start was state's attorney for Franklin
county. In 1890 he was elected to the judgeship
of the supreme court, being accorded the almost
unprecedented tribute of an election without op
position. His experience in the trial of cases had
given him a wide range of knowledge which
especially fitted him for the position he was called
upon to fill, and until the present time (1903) he
has discharged the duties of the office in a manner
so thoroughly creditable to himself and so entirely
satisfactory to the people of the state, as to need
no further comment here.
In 1880 Judge Start was elected a senator
from Franklin county, and served on the judici
ary committee and as chairman of the joint stand
ing committee on the reform school. From 1880
to 1888 he was one of the trustees of the Vermont
Reform School, and was, the last named year,
one of the presidential electors who cast the vote
of Vermont for Harrison and Morton. In 1890
he was elected representative from Bakersfield,
and at the beginning of the session of that year
was chosen speaker of the house of representa
tives. He has always taken an active part and in-

344

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

terest in the affairs of his county, and it has been
his ambition to advance the interests of his con
stituents for the benefit of all concerned. In all
the positions in which he has been placed he has
creditably acquitted himself, and has a wide circle
of friends. Judge Start married, June I o, 1869, Ellen S.,
daughter of Stillman S. and Sarah E. Houghton,
and their children are : S. Gould, born September
23, 1870, graduated from Bellevue Aledical Col
lege. New York city, is a practicing physician in
Cambridge, Vermont, and married Nettie Ellen-
wood : Guy H., born November 5, 1873, in Ba
kersfield, A'ermont, educated there, later gradu
ated from the PJoston Law School, is now practic
ing law in Bakersfield, and married Anna Potter,
of that place ; Mabel S., born April 16, 1878, is
now at home with her father ; and Burdette H.,
born Alay 23, 1885, is now a student in Bingham
Academy. Airs. Start died July 12, 1890.
MARTHA CANFIELD.
Miss A'lartha Canfield, of Arlington, was born
in New York city, a daughter of Eli H. Canfield,
and a direct descendant in the sixth generation
from one of the early colonial settlers of New
England, Thomas Canfield, who was located in
Connecticut as early as 1646. Jeremiah Canfield,
through whom the line was continued, was born
in Wethersfield, Connecticut, and was there
reared and married. He had a son, Asariah, and
the latter's son, Israel Canfield, born in Alilford,
Connecticut, A'larch 13, 1731, married Alary
Sackett and located in Arlington about 1775.
Of his children, Nathaniel Canfield was born on
the old homestead, in Arlington, Vermont, April
14, 1785. He followed the business of tanner
and currier and the trade of a shoemaker in con
nection with general farming, and was active in
military affairs, belonging to the local militia, and
being quite prominent in town matters. His wife,
whose maiden name was Almera Hawley, lived
to the advanced age of eighty-seven years. She
was a very bright, active woman, highly esteemed
throughout the community; she was a daughter
¦of Zadock Hard Hawley and Rhoda (Everts)
Hawley. Eli H. Canfield, father of Alartha Canfield,
was born in Arlington, A^ermont, June 8, 1817,

and died in. this town June 3, 1898, aged eighty-
one years. After leaving the district schools of
his native place, he attended the Manchester
Seminary and the Bennington Academy. At the
age of seventeen years he taught school in Bristol,
Pennsylvania, going from there to Alexandria,
A'irginia, where he completed the course at the
Theological Seminary. He settled as a pastor in
Ohio, afterwards accepting a call to Brooklyn,
New York, where he had charge of Christ church
for twenty years, being very successful and popu
lar as rector. He was subsequently located in

ELI H. CANFIELD.
North Adams, Massachusetts, for awhile, then
returned to Arlington, Vermont, where he spent
the last twenty-five years of his life. He married
Martha Crafts Hulme, who was born in Burling
ton, New Jersey, a daughter of John and Martha
(Crafts) Huime, who were Quakers. Mr. Hulme
was a merchant tailor, who spent his sixty years
of life in Burlington, which was likewise the na
tive place of his wife, who died at the age of forty
years. Captain Jehial Hulme, the paternal great-
great-grandfather of Miss Martha Canfield, built
the first frame house in Arlington, and officiated
as lay reader, in 1764, at the first Episcopal ser-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

345

vice held in Vermont, and for twenty years there
after. Of the union, of Eli H. and Martha
(Hulme) Canfield, four children were born, of
whom but two are now living, namely : James H.
and Aliss Martha Canfield.
James H. Canfield was educated in the Brook
lyn, New York, Polytechnic Institute, and at
Williams College, after which he was professor
of political economy and English literature at the
State University in Lawrence, Kansas, for a few
years, later serving as chancellor of the Univer
sity of Nebraska at Lincoln. He subsequently
left there to assume the presidency of the State
University at Columbus, Ohio, where he remained
until accepting his present position as librarian
at Columbia University. He is a man of great
activity, doing much to promote the interests of
the Young Men's Christian Association, in which
he is an earnest worker, and is a lecturer of con
siderable note, speaking on a variety of subjects.
In 1902 Air. Canfield delivered the address before
the International Young Alen's Christian Asso
ciation convention at Christiana, Sweden, and in
the same year had the degree of Lit. D. by Ox
ford. Mr. Canfield married Flavia Camp, who
was born in Wisconsin, a daughter of Albert and
Martha (Barney) Camp, and of their union two
children have been born, James A. and Dorothy.
James A., a paper manufacturer in Columbus,
Ohio, married Stella Elliott, by whom he has one
child, Charles Elliott. Arthur Graves Canfield,
now professor of French and Romance languages
in Michigan University, Ann Arbor, is a cousin
of Aliss Martha Canfield.

HENRY C. ROOT.

*

The most elaborate history is, perforce, a mer
ciless abridgment, the historian being compelled
to select his facts and materials from manifold de
tails and to have recourse to a seemingly intermin
able array of documents of both public and pri
vate nature, thus rendering the work of assimila
tion and abridgment one of far greater magnitude
than is superficially evident. This applies to spe
cific as well as generic history, and in the former
category biography is placed. In every life of
honor and usefulness there is no dearth of inci
dent, and yet in summing up the career of any

man the writer must needs touch only the more
salient points, giving the keynote of each char
acter but eliminating all that is superfluous to the
continuity of narrative.
Within the pages of this work will be found
individual mention of many prominent and influ
ential citizens who are representatives of pioneer
families of the Green Alountain state. Of this
number a distinguished representative is Judge
Root, to whom this sketch is dedicated, and who is
now practically retired from active business, re
taining his home in the attractive city of Burling
ton and enjoying the rewards of his former years
of well directed endeavor. He has passed the
psalmist's span of threescore years and ten, but
retains marked physical vigor and unimpaired
mental strength and vitality, his status being such
as to serve as an object lesson of the value of
right living. It is a matter of gratification to be
able to here offer a brief review of his ancestral
and personal career, and such an epitomized rec
ord will be of permanent value in an historical
sense. Henry C. Root is a native son of Chittenden
county, having been born in the township of Char
lotte, on the 20th of April, 1830, a son of Noble
Root, who was born in Lanestown, Massachusetts,
a son of Gad Root, a native of the same place,
where he was reared and educated and where he
continued to reside for a number of years after
hjs marriage. He removed from Massachusetts
to Chittenden county, Vermont, where he became
one of the pioneers of the town of Charlotte, pur
chasing a farm near Baptist Corners and erect
ing thereon a brick house. The dwelling is still
standing and the farm is now owned by Solon
Lane. There the grandfather of our subject de
voted his attention to agricultural pursuits during
the remainder of his life, being summoned to his
reward at the age of sixty-seven years, having
• been influential and prominent in local affairs of
a public nature, and having been an active and
zealous member of the Congregational church, in
which he held the office of deacon for many years,
He married Miss Loomis, who likewise was a na
tive of the old Bay state, and they became the
parents of two children, both of whom are now
deceased, and one of whom was the father ol
Judge Root. After the death of his first wife,
who passed away in middle life, Gad Root con-

346

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

stimulated a second marriage, and had five chil
dren, of whom three are living at the present time.
Noble Root, father of our subject, was a mere
child at the time of his father's removal to Chit
tenden county, and on the old homestead, in the
town of Charlotte, he was reared under the in
vigorating- discipline incidental to a farm, receiv
ing such educational advantages as were to be had
in the public schools of the locality and period.
Here he was engaged in farming for a number of
years after attaining his majority, and then re
moved to St.Lawrence county, New York, where
he was similarly engaged for a period of years, at
the expiration of which he returned to Charlotte,
where he passed the rest of his life, .dying at the
age of seventy-two years, the place where his de
clining years were passed being known as the
Judge Newell farm. In politics he gave his allegi
ance to the -Republican party from the time of its
organization, and his attitude was that of an earn-
est, honorable and public-spirited citizen, while he
wielded unmistakable influence in connection with
public affairs in his section, having been for a
number of years incumbent of the office of select
man and having filled various other positions of
trust. He was a man of unimpeachable integrity,
and all who knew him accorded to him the fullest
measure of respect and confidence. Noble Root
married Aliss Polly Lowrey, who was born in
Charlotte, the daughter of Nehemiah Lowrey, a
native of Massachusetts and one of the pioneer
farmers of this section of Chittenden county,
where he became the owner of a fine landed estate,
the same being now the property of Ransom
Beers. Mrs. Root survived her honored husband
and attained the age of seventy-eight years, hav
ing been a devoted and consistent member of the
Congregational church and having gained the af
fection of all who came within the immediate
sphere of her noble and gracious influence. Of
her four children, Judge Root is the only one sur
viving. Henry C. Root was reared in his native town,
and early began to assist in the work of the home
farm, while he is indebted to the public schools
of Charlotte for the initial educational discipline
which was his. Later he continued his studies in
a local select school, and still farther supplemented
his literary attainment by attending an academy
at Bakersfield, where he made so excellent use of

his opportunities that he became eligible for ped
agogic work, having been for two terms a success
ful and poular teacher in the district schools of
his native county and having also taught in Es
sex, St. Lawrence county, New York, after the
removal of the family to that locality. There he
became associated with his father in farming op
erations, in which he continued after the return
of the family to Chittenden county, where he had
charge of the paternal farm for a number of
years, and where he later was associated in the
same line of enterprise with his brother. There
after he continued his agricultural industry alone,
and he attained prestige as one of the progressive
and prosperous farmers of the county, having for
merly been the owner of a fine farm of two hun
dred and twenty-four acres, devoted to general
farming, and of this place he still retains one hun
dred and twenty-four acres, to which he gives
his general supervision, though he retains his res
idence in the city of Burlington, where, in Feb
ruary, 1902, he purchased his present home, which
is one of the attractive residence properties of the
beautiful little city.
In politics Judge Root arrayed himself as a
stanch advocate of the Republican party at the
time of its organization, and he has ever continued
such, and has been an active and effective worker
in a local way. His fellow citizens have called
upon him to serve in various positions of marked
trust and responsibility, and he has thus been in
tenure, at various times, of nearly all the township
offices, including that of selectman, of which he
was incumbent for a term of three years, while
during one year of this interval he held the office
of chairman of the board. He served as lister for
six years, and was elected to the distinguished of
fice of judge of the county court, in which capac
ity he served four years, his rulings invariably
bearing the mark of mature judgment and abso
lute impartiality, and his course while on the
bench gaining to him a further hold upon pub
lic confidence and regard. He thus acted as asso
ciate judge of the county court for two terms, and
his administration was altogether admirable. He
has served as delegate to the various county, dis
trict and state conventions of his party for many
years, and has wielded an unmistakable and bene
ficial influence in the party councils. His re- ¦
ligious faith is that of the Congregational church,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

347

to whose support and that of its collateral benev
olences he has been a liberal contributor, while he
has taken an active art in the practical work of the
church. In 1850 Judge Root was united in marriage
to Aliss Alma L. Wright, who was born in Lewis-
ton, Vermont, and who died at the age of thirty
years, leaving three children, namely : Frederick,
who is a successful farmer of Charlotte, being as
sociated with his brother in this line of enterprise ;
Alary L., who is a teacher in the Clark Institute,
at Northampton, Massachusetts ; and William N.,
who is a representative farmer of Charlotte, where
he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Wicker,
who has borne him two children, Frank and Kath
erine. Judge Root consummated a second mar-
, riage, with Miss Mary P. Beers, who was born
in Charlotte, and of this marriage two children
have been born : George H., who is in the employ
of the Standard Oil Company at Burlington, and
who married Miss Stella Russell, the children of
this union being Marjorie and June; and Cassius
D., who is a commercial traveler.
DANIEL MURRAY.
Daniel Murray, a retired merchant of Burling
ton, was for many years one of the leading busi
ness men of this city. He was born at Orwell,
Vermont, August 22, 1822, a son of Asahel Mur
ray. He is of Scotch ancestry, being a lineal de
scendant in the fifth generation from Jonathan
Murray, the immigrant, the line of descent being
as follows : Jonathan, Jonathan, Eber, Asahel,
Daniel. Jonathan Murray (1), with his wife, whose
maiden name was Anna Bradley, emigrated to
this country in 1680 from Scotland, settling in
Connecticut. They reared a family of nine chil
dren, Thankful, Daniel, Anna, Jonathan, Hope,
Selah, John, Eber and Hester. Jonathan Murray
(2) married a woman of Irish descent, by whom
he had the following named children: Eber,
Amasa, Alabel, Asahel, Jonathan, Daniel and Ste
phen. Deacon Eber Murray (3) was born and reared
in Guilford, Connecticut, the home of his ances
tors. Removing to Vermont in 1783, he settled in
Orwell, here taking up land that was in its prim
itive wildness, with bears, wolves and other wild

animals roaming through the dense forests. By
energetic activity he cleared a good farm, from
which he extracted an income sufficient to keep
himself and family in comfort. He was a devout
worker in the Baptist church, of which he was
deacon, doing a great deal of pioneer missionary
work in that early time, when settlers were tew
and far between, by traveling over the mountains,
carrying the comforts and consolations of relig
ion to the people. In a tract entitled "The Worth
of a Dollar," published by the American Tract
Society, a touching incident is related of Deacon
Alurray's kindness to a poor woman, to whom he
gave a dollar to buy a Bible, and by his generosity
was the cause of awakening a powerful revival of
religion in a town lying between the Connecticut
and Onion rivers. Deacon Alurray's first wife
died young, leaving three daughters, as follows .
Elizabeth, who married AVilliam Buck; Azuba,
who married William L. Bush ; and Alabel, who
became the wife of a Mr. Palmer. The Deacon
married, second, Abigail Dunning, who was born
November 17, 1752, and died June 1, 1836. Five
children were born of this union, Dorcas, born
April 24, 1782, married Selah Murray; Daniel
Scott, born July 17, 1784; Daniel, born May 8,
1786; Asahel, born May 19, 1788; and Lydia,
born Alarch 4, 1790, married Harvey Murray.
Asahel Murray (4), born Alay 19, 1788, in
Orwell, resided here until his death, July 1, 1854.
Succeeding to the occupation in which he was
reared, he became one of the prosperous agricult
urists of the town, and a citizen of prominence,
serving with ability in the various offices within
the gift of his fellow townsmen. He was a vol
unteer in the war of 1812, but was never in actual
service. On January 3, 1810, he married Polly
Murray, a daughter of Jonathan Murray, and
niece of Deacon Eber Murray. Five children
were born into their household, namely : Emily,
born January 6, 1812, married William T. Bas-
comb; Elizabeth, born April 26, 1814, married
Thurman Rich; Jonathan Hull, born December
26, 1815, who married Huldah Martin, was a very
religious man, belonging first to the Baptist
church, and later to the Adventist society; Sea-
land, who was born December 20, 181 7, and mar
ried Emily M, Blackman, was a school teacher,
first in A^ermont, then in Ohio, where he lost his
eyesight, after which he returned to Orwell, re-

548

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

maining here until his death ; and Daniel, the sub
ject of this sketch.
Daniel Murray (5) was reared on the an
cestral homestead, receiving his elementary edu
cation in the district schools, after which he at
tended Newton Academy at Shoreham, later be
ing fitted for college at the Hinesburg Academy,
under the instruction of Air. Durkee, in the mean
time teaching school five winters, thus earning
money to defray his expenses. Coming to Burl
ington in 1847, he was clerk in a mercantile estab
lishment for a few years, when, in 1857, having
by thrift and economy saved some money and ob^
tained a thorough knowledge of the business, he
opened a store in this city, and from that time
until his retirement from active pursuits he was a
prominent factor in the mercantile interests of
Burlington. Although mindful of his own affairs,
he has never shirked the responsibilities of office,
but has served as assessor, as alderman and as
fire warden. In politics he is a Republican.
Air. Murray married, September 10, 1844,
Mary Blackman, a daughter of Joseph and Betsey
(Prindle) Blackman, who came from Connecti
cut to A^ermont in 1790, locating in Hinesburg.
The only child of Air. and Airs. Murray, Charles
Augustus Murray (6), was born May 8, 1847.
He married Alary A. Welch, daughter of Dr.
A. C. Welch, of Williston. She is descended from
Governor Chittenden, the first governor of Ver
mont. They have two children, Bessie Edmond-
ston and Katherine Chittenden. Bessie Edmond-
ston Murray (7) married Frank Curtis Weeks,
and they have one son, Charles Murray Weeks
(8). Katherine Chittenden Alurray (7) married
Dan George Emery, of Boston, Alassachusetts, by
whom she has two children, Alary Chittenden
Emery and Gwendoline Murray Emery (8).
ANDREAV CHANDLER BROWN.
Colonel Andrew Chandler Brown, of Mont
pelier, retired from active business pursuits, was
born at Sutton, Vermont, July 10, 1828, a son of
Elisha Brown, and a direct descendant in the
eighth generation from Chard Brown, the immi
grant ancestor, the line of descent being as fol
lows : Chard, John, James, Andrew, Elisha, An
drew, Elisha, Andrew C.
Chard Brown ( 1 ) emigrated from England

in the ship "Martin" to Boston, Alassachusetts,
landing in July, 1636, and bringing with him his
wife, Elizabeth, and their son, John, then eight
years old. Going first to Salem, Massachusetts,
lie stayed there but a short time, being unable to
endure the intolerance of the first church Puri
tans, but joined the Roger Williams colony at
Providence, Rhode Island, where he bought for
his home lot the land now occupied by Brown
University. He was a surveyor by profession,
and in 1640 was one of a committee of three ap
pointed to report to the Providence colony a writ
ten form of government, and this form was
adopted and used by the colonists until the return
of Roger Williams from England, in 1644, with
the first charter. In 1642 Chard Brown became
the first ordained settled pastor in the colonies.
He died about 1665.
John Brown (2) came with his parents from
England in 1636, and died in Providence, Rhode
Island, in 1706. He was a surveyor, and an
elder in the Baptist church. He inherited the
home lot, which he sold in 1672 to his brother,
James Brown, who resold it to John Abbott, but
whose great-grandsons, John and Moses Brown,
more than a century later, repurchased and pre
sented it to the College of Rhode Island, which
was then removed from Warren, Rhode Island,
to its present site in Providence ; the corner stone
of University Hall was laid by John Brown, one
of the donors, and in 1804 the name was changed
to Brown University. John Brown married
Alary, daughter of Obadiah and Catherine
Holmes, of Newport, Rhode Island.
James Brown (3), born in 1666, died October
28, 1732. He was a member of the town council
from 1705 to 1725 ; town treasurer from 17 14
until 17 18; was an elder in the First Baptist
church and served as pastor of the same from
1726 until 1732. His wife, Mary Harris, daugti-""
ter of Andrew and Mary Harris, was born De
cember 17, 1671, and died August 10, 1736.
Andrew Brown (4), born September 30,
1706, died February 12, 1783. In 1730 he re
moved from Providence, Rhode Island, the place
of his nativity, to Gloucester, Rhode Island, buy
ing a large tract of land on the east side of Che-
pachet river. He served as the first town clerk
of West Gloucester. He married Mary Knowl
ton, a daughter of Elisha Knowlton.

Ivk

•:¦•-¦' ¦¦:vS;%f

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

349

Elisha Brown (5) was born Alay 11, 1744,
married Huldah Arnold, of Smithfield, and lived
in the house built for him by his father, who
deeded to him a portion of the homestead in
Gloucester. Andrew Brown (6) was born in Gloucester,
Rhode Island, March 20, 1776, married Sally, or
Sarah, daughter of Captain Jaklan and Anna
(Harris) Putnam. In the latter part of 181 1 or
early in 1812 he moved with his wife and four
children to Billymead, Caledonia county, Ver
mont, later known as Sutton, where he lived until
1847, when he moved to Newbury, Vermont. A
few years later he moved to St. Johnsbury Cen
ter, A^ermont, where he resided until his death
about 1858. He is buried in St. Johnsbury
Center. His wife survived him, dying Alay 27,
1866, in Berlin, Vermont, where she was buried.
Elisha Brown (7), born Alay 14, 1802, in
Gloucester, Rhode Island, moved with his parents
to Sutton (then called Billymead), Vermont, in
181 2, and was there engaged in agricultural pur
suits in his early life. From 1833 until 1840 he
was an itinerant Methodist preacher. In 1840
he settled in Newbury, Vermont, where he re
sided until 1855, when he became a resident of
Montpelier. He subsequently had charge for a
few years of the Methodist church in Berlin, Ver
mont, then returned to Montpelier, and made his
home with his son Andrew C. until his death,
February 11, 1881, at the age of seventy-eight
years and nine months. In 1826 he married
Phoebe, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth
(Whitney) Fletcher. She died at Newbury,
Vermont, April 29, 1850, aged forty-four years.
Colonel Andrew C. Brown (8). was gradu
ated from Newbury Seminary in 1847. He had
previously taught school a few terms, and had
also learned the printer's trade, partly paying his
educational expenses by his labors. From 1849
until 185 1 he taught school in Waitsfield, Arer-
mont, having among his pupils men subsequently
distinguished in public life. In the year 185 1
he went to Oxford, New Hampshire, going from
there to Bradford, Vermont, in 1852, where
from 1852 until 1854 he published and edited
"The Northern Inquirer," a newspaper devoted
to the interests of the Whig party, taking a promi
nent part in securing the first election of Hon.
Justin S. Morrill to the national House of Repre

sentatives. Removing to Alontpelier in October,
1854, he became foreman and business manager
of the Aermont Watchman, and three years later
was made editor of that paper, a position he re
tained until 1862. During that year, 1862, he
assisted in organizing the Thirteenth Vermont
A^olunteer Infantry, nine months' men, was
elected captain of the Alontpelier company, and
on the organization of the regiment was promoted
to lieutenant colonel, serving in that capacity
with the regiment until Alay, 1863, when he re
signed to accept the appointment of commissioner
of the board of enrollment for the First congres
sional district of Arermont, with headquarters at
Rutland, Vermont. He was honorably dis
charged from the service in 1865. He is a mem
ber of Brooks Post, No. 13, G. A. R., of Mont
pelier, and a member of the commandery of the
state of Vermont of the Afilitary Order of the
Loyal Legion of the United States.
Returning to Alontpelier, Colonel Brown at
once established the first distinctive insurance
agency ever established in this city, and con
ducted a most successful business until 1889,
when he turned it over to his youngest son, Jos
eph G. Brown. The Colonel has also had other
interests, having served as official reporter of the
house of representatives of the state legislature
from 1865 until 1880 ; from 1880 until November
1, 1897, he was a lessee of the American Bell Tele
phone Company for the territory in Central Ver
mont, and built up an extensive telephone plant,
covering the entire counties of Washington and
Lamoille, with branches extending into Cale
donia, Orange, Chittenden, Franklin and Orleans
counties. From this plant he derived a good in
come. In 1897 he sold it to the American Bell
Telephone Company interests, and has since lived
retired from the activities of business.
Colonel Brown married. May 1, 185 1, Lucia
Almira, daughter of Joseph and Anna (Stod
dard) Green. She was born at Fayston, Ver
mont, Alarch 12, 1830. Of their union five chil
dren were born, namely : Ella Lavonia ; Rome
Edwin Chandler, born September 18, 1859, died
July 6, i860 ; Rome G. ; Edwin E. C, born Janu
ary 22, 1865, died Alarch 9, 1882, when about
seventeen years of age ; and Joseph G. Ella L.,
born Alay 28, 1854, married Dr. Charles A.
Bailev, bv whom she had two children:

35°

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Lucia M., born June 2, 1881 ; and Lavonia, born
April 20, 1888, and died June 2, 1890. Rome G.
Brown, born June 15, 1862, was graduated from
Harvard University with the class of 1884. He
studied law with the Hon. B. F. Fifield at Mont
pelier, A^ermont, for three years, the last six
months of which he was also connected with the
law office of Heath & Willard, at Montpelier,
Vermont. Admitted to practice by the supreme
court of Vermont, October 24, 1887, on Decem
ber 7, 1887, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota,
and entered the law office of Benton & Roberts,
composed of Reuben C. Benton and William P.
Roberts. He was admitted to practice in the
courts of Minnesota' February 9, 1888, and Janu
ary 1, 1890, he became the junior member of the
firm of Benton, Roberts & Brown, and since the
dissolution of the firm by the death of Colonel
Benton on January 5, 1895, he has been engaged
in practice alone in Minneapolis. He was ad
mitted to practice in the supreme court of the
United States on Alay 27, 1895. He has been
very successful as an attorney, making a specialty
of water power cases, and is retained as counsel
by some of the most prominent corporations
of Minnesota. May 25, 1888, he married Mary
Lee, daughter of Hon.. S. Dwight Hollister, of
Marshfield, Vermont, and they have two chil
dren, namely: Edwin Chandler, born July 8,
1891 ; and Dorothy, born July 19, 1896.
Joseph G. Brown, the youngest son of Colonel
and Mrs. Brown, was born November 21, 1866.
After completing his course of study in the
Washington county grammar school he entered
his father's office, and has succeeded him in the
insurance business, having had full ownership
and control of it since 1889, and is also a member
of the Ryle & McCormick Company, manu
facturers of granite at Alontpelier. He has
served the municipality of Montpelier in many
important offices, and has done much to advance
its material interests. He was a trustee of the
village of Montpelier one year; a lister in 1892,
1893 and 1894; was elected mayor of the city
in 1900 and was re-elected in 1901 with no oppo
sition ; he served on Governor Smith's staff from
October, 1898, to October, 1900, with the title
of Colonel; and for four years was secretary of
the board of trade. Fraternally he is a member
of Aurora Lodge, F. Sr A. Al. : of the Vermont

Lodge, I. O. O. F. ; and of the Apollo Club, of
which he was president in 1901. He is also an
officer of the Country Club, organized in 1902.
On July 9, 1889. he married Helen Woolson,
daughter of S. C. Woolson, of Montpelier, and
they have two children, Ruth Lydia, born May
29, 1892, and Chandler Woolson, born November
20, 1897.
HENRY A. BIXBY.
Robert Bixby, the grandfather of this suc
cessful farmer and dairyman of South Burling
ton, A^ermont, was a native of Massachusetts,
but later moved to Tinmouth, Vermont, where he
died. He had a son named Orick L., who was
also born in Massachusetts, but was reared and
educated in Vermont, and then followed farming
for a number of years at Mt. Holly. He later
made his residence in Jericho, where the last
thirty-five years' of his life were passed, but his
death occurred in South Burlington when he was
seventy years of age. His wife was Miss Mary
A. Shedd, who was born at Bethel, Vermont, of
a good old family. These were very worthy and
esteemed people, and he was a Republican in
political belief, and she was a member of the
Universalist church and liberal in religious
thought. She died at the age of seventy-one,
and of her twelve children, four are now living:
Henry A. ; George, whose home is at Burling
ton, Vermont : Charles, who lives at Cambridge,
and Susan, who married Irving Pulman and re
sides at Bristol.
Henry A. Bixby was born to these parents
at Mt. Holly, Vermont, August 3, 1845, and he
spent, the earlier years of his life in his native
place and at Jericho. After completing his ed
ucation he assisted his father about the farm,
but his ambition was to own and operate a farm
of his own, and he accordingly purchased a
good tract of land at Lincoln, Vermont, where
he remained for three years. In 1872 Jae took
his present farm near South Burlington, consist
ing of one hundred and forty-three acres of well
cultivated and nicely improved land. From the
thirty-five head of cows on his place he sup
plies many families of the city with milk, and
his land produces about one hundred tons of
hay each season, besides affording pasture and
other farm products.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

35i

Mr. Bixby has, like his father, adhered to the
Republican principles and has held several impor
tant local offices. He was on the board of select
men for two years and is its chairman at the
present time; in 1892 he was elected representa
tive of the town of South Burlington. He is
liberal in his religious views, as was his mother,
and is highly esteemed as a citizen and neighbor.
In 1868 Air. Bixby was married to Miss Hannah
Colby, a native of Lincoln, Vermont, and the
daughter of Rodney and Eliza Colby, the former
a prosperous farmer of Lincoln, but now de
ceased; the latter was one of a number of chil
dren and was born in New Boston, New Hamp
shire, in 1815, the daughter of Jonathan Colby;
a native of New Hampshire, a carpenter, who
died at the age of sixty-six, and of his wife,
Hannah Wilson, the daughter of Samuel Wilson,
a farmer and native of New Boston, where he
died at the age of one hundred and one years.
Mrs. Bixby is one of two living children, her sis
ter being Mrs. George Bixby. Two children
were born to this union, but the son, Fred, died
at the age of ten years; Evelena, the daughter,
is the wife of Arthur Curry, a gardener of South
Burlington and they have one daughter, Edith.
JOHN M. CLARKE, M. D.
Dr. John Murray Clarke, an eminent physi
cian and surgeon at Burlington, Vermont, and
who also acts in the capacity of proprietor of the
Lake View Sanitarium at Burlington, was born
September 21, 1847, at Concord, Vermont. He
is the son of Charles C. Clarke, who was born
in New Hampshire and educated in the crmmon
schools of his native town; later he pursued a
theological course and was ordained a minister
of the gospel. He followed this calling in the
states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and
Vermont. He had clear and logical ideas of
what work of a church in a community should
be, and these ideas he carefully put into prac
tice; he always impressed his hearers with the
conviction that he sought to aid them to a better
personal life and a broader scope of mental vis
ion. He married Miss Alice Mash, and four chil
dren were born to them, two of whom are now
living — Dr. John M. Clarke and Elizabeth, now
Mrs. Herbert W. Ford. The Rev. Mr. Clarke

died at the age of sixty-five years and his wife
died at the age of seventy-two years.
Dr. John M. Clarke acquired his preliminary
education in the public schools of Massachusetts
and Vermont ; subsequently he pursued a regular
course of study in the University of Vermont.
He then began the study of medicine under the
competent preceptorship of Dr. D. W. Hazel-
ton, a prominent medical practitioner of Ver
mont. He commenced the active duties of his
profession in 1873 and for nine years acted in
the capacity of assistant physician at the Ver
mont State Asylum for the Insane at Brattle
boro. Dr. Clarke acquired much experience
during his connection with this institution, and
this, combined with a comprehensive understand
ing of the science of medicine, well qualified
him to become the manager and proprietor of
the Lake View Sanitarium, which he opened on
October 1, 1882, at Burlington, A^ermont. It was
located between North avenue, a charming drive
leading out of the city, and the shore of Lake
Champlain; it is just north of the beautiful and
historic Battery Park. The grounds comprise
about ten acres of beautiful lawns, groves, gar
dens and orchards and are traversed by pleasant
driveways and walks. The house, which was
partially constructed by the late Sion, E. How
ard, was intended for a private residence; Dr.
Clarke purchased it and entirely remodeled it
for its present use. It is a three-story and base
ment substantial brick building and is situated
upon the highest portion of the grounds ; it fronts
on North avenue and is set well back from the
street, having in the foreground a spacious lawn
dotted with ornamental shade trees and clumps
of flowering shrubs. The rooms are large, high
and well lighted, as nearly all of them receive
the sunlight direct; they command picturesque
and beautiful views of the lake, river and moun
tain scenery. The rooms facing east have the
view of the Winooski river and its valley, with
the range of Green mountains beyond ; those
facing south and west have the view of the city
of Burlington and Lake Champlain with the
lovely Burlington and Shelbuni bays, and the
range of the picturesque Adirondack mountains
across the lake, and those facing north see the
lake again gemmed with many islands; in fact,
the location cannot be surpassed for beauty and

352

THE STATE OF A^ERMONT.

variety of scenery in ali d'rections. The insti
tution is intended for private patients, and is the
only institution of the kind in the s ate of Ver
mont. Its purpose is the cure of nerve us and
mental diseases, inebriety and the cpium habit;
the family plan is carried out in the care and
treatment of the inmates to the greatest possible
extent. They are given free access to every part
of the house and grounds and considered as
members of one large family, participating in
their social enjoyments when health and strength
will permit, and at all times they are allowed a
great amount of personal liberty. The house
has a capacity for the comfortable accommoda
tion of twelve to fifteen patients and is provided
with all modern conveniences, including the most
approved sanitary arrangements. Dr. Clarke
employs only the most competent as;isants, and
the number of patients being limited, it affords
him abundant time for the study and treatment
of each case. This institution is not designed
for the residents of the state of Vermont only,
as the patients now undergoing treatment are
from various sections of the country, and suit
able cases will be received from any state in the
Union. Dr. Clarke is a prominent member and ex-
president of the A'ermont State Aledical Society,
the Burlington County Medical Society and the
Connecticut River Valley Aledical Society. He
has written quite a number of instructive articles
on different branches of his profession, which
have been read before medical societies and also
published. Dr. Clarke is prominently affiliated
with the Atasonic order, being past mas'.er of
Burlington Lodge, past high priest cf the chap
ter, commander of the commandery, and he has
attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish
Rite. He has passed all the chairs in the Scot
tish Rite, .also passed all the chairs in the coun
cil. In his religious beliefs he is a consistent
member and supporter of the Universalist
church, and in a social way is connected with
the Algonquin Club.
Dr. Clarke was united in marriage on April
2, 1874, to Aliss Julia Gleason, who was born in
Connecticut, a daughter of Harvey and Sarah
(Colburn) Gleason. They have one child living,
Alice Gleason, born September 15, 1878; she was
married October 14, 1897. to Edward P. Wood

bury, second son of ex-Governor Woodbury. Air.
and Airs. Woodbury have two children. Murray
Clarke AVoodbury, born October 7, 1898, and)
Elsa P., born February 7, 1901.
GEORGE W. MORSE.
George W. Morse, an attorney at law in Wa
terbury, Vermont, was born in Duxbury, A'er
mont. Alarch 23, 1847, a son of Truman Alorse.
His grandfather, Walter Alorse, was a pioneer
settler of Duxbury, A'ermont, going there
when a young man, and taking up a tract of wild
land, from which he cleared and improved a good
homestead, residing on it until his death.
Truman Alorse lived on the home farm in
Duxbury until 1847. Coming from there to
Waterbury in 1847, he was successfully engaged
in agricultural pursuits in this vicinity until his
death, in 1889. He was one of the leading Dem
ocrats of this section of the county, serving with
ability in various town offices, and was a mem
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. He mar
ried, first, Alary Strickland, a daughter of Oliver
Strickland, and they became the parents of five
children : Frances, who died in 1876, married
C. P. Stephens ; George W, the special sub ect
of this brief sketch ; Carrie, wife of C. J. Hart,
of AVaterbury ; Willis A., a farmer in Waterbury ;
and Ella, wife of J. A. Batchelder, of Water
bury. Alary (Strickland) Morse died in 1867
and Air. Alorse married, second, Airs. Alary
(Butler). Roberts.
George W. , Alorse was graduated from the
Waterbury high school, after which he was in
the employ of C. P. Stephens, a lumber manu
facturer and dealer, for awhile. Beginning the
study of law with C. F. Clough, of Waterbury,
he was admitted to the bar in 1881, and has
since followed his profession most successfully
in Waterbury, where he has built up a large and
lucrative practice, being a most able and skilful
lawyer. He takes a keen interest in the welfare
of the town and village, being a promoter of
all enterprises conducive to its advancement,
and has rendered excellent service in many of
fices of trust and responsibility. He was town
treasurer eight years ; lister eight years ; was vil
lage clerk and treasurer, end served as post
master five years, being appointed by President

^tsucc^

The Lews Publishing Co.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

353

Cleveland. He is a member of Winooski Lodge,
F. and A. M., and affiliates with the Republican
party, having left the Democratic renks.
Air. Morse married first, in 1882, Ella F.
Joslyn, a daughter of Frank AV. Joslyn. She
died in 1887, leaving one child, Florence F. Mr.
Alorse married, second, in 1896, Nellie C. Ha
selton, daughter of Albert and Eveline (Deavitt)
Haselton, of Moretown, Vermont.
JOHN ANGELL JAMES.
Diversified interests claim the attention of
John A. James, who is now successfully engag
ing in stock-raising, agriculture and dairying,
and each industry returns to him a good income.
He has resided in Addison county throughout his
entire life, and has ever been a prominent and
active worker in its progress and development.
His father, Samuel James, was born in Wey-
bridge, Addison county, on the 13th of August,
1822, and he is descended from a family of un
doubted worth and respectability, his ancestors
for a long period having been prominent factors
in the development of this section of the Green
Mountain state. His paternal grandfather, Dan
iel James, came to this commonwealth from
Rhode Island and located as early as 1788 in the
town of Weybridge, where he cleared and im
proved a farm, but was a cooper by trade. He
subsequently made a trip to the AVest Indies, and
after returning to this country located in New
York, his death occurring at Truxton, that state.
Samuel James, his son, was born in Weybridge,
Vermont, being reared on the farm on which our
subject now resides, and the residence which he
erected is still standing. His death occurred on
the old home place in 1868, when he had reached
the age of seventy-eight years, and the com
munity thus lost one of its representative citizens,
for he ever took an active part in the advance
ment of his native locality and for many years
held the office of selectman. His wife, who bore
the maiden name of Prudence Kellogg, was born
in Amherst, Massachusetts, and was a daughter
of John Kellogg, a farmer of that place. They
became the parents of the following children :
John K., Mary E., Daniel, Roxey Al., Samuel,
Edwin, Martha and Henry, and of this once large
family Samuel is now the only survivor. Mrs.
23

James was called to her final rest at the age of
eighty-one years, passing away in the faith of
the Congregational church, in which Air. James-
served as a deacon throughout nearly his entire
life, and he took an active part in the erection of
the present house of worship of that sect in Wey
bridge. Samuel James, Jr., was reared on the old '
James homestead in Weybridge, receiving his
early education in the district schools of the
neighborhood, while later he became a student in
the Aiiddlebury Academy. Agricultural pursuits
have claimed his attention throughout his active
business career, but aside from this he has found
time to devote to the public affairs of the county,
having served as a selectman and for a time was
chairman of the board of selectmen, and in 1880
he was called upon to represent his town in the
legislature. On the 16th of June, 1852, he was
united in marriage to Susan Payne, who was born
in Norwich, Vermont, a daughter of Horace and -
Sarah (Blood) Payne, the former of whom was
also a tiller of the soil, and his death occurred at
the age of seventy years, while his wife reached
the age of seventy-three years. Air. and Mrs.
James became the parents of the following chil
dren : John A., of this review ; Horace P., pastor
of the Congregational church at North Yakima,
state of Washington ; Daniel, who died in 1877 ;
Frank H., who makes his home with his brother
John A. ; Alary, the wife of James B. Adkins, of
Belehertown, Alassachusetts ; Susan, wife of
Charles O. Harvey, of Weybridge ; Gertrude, the
wife of E. S. Roland, of East Corinth, A^ermont;
Harriet, who married AVilliam J. Roberts, pro
fessor of civil engineering in the Agricultural
College at Pullman, Washington ; and Charles S.,
who is with his father. The family have long
been connected with the Congregational church,
in which the father has served as a deacon for
thirty-three years.
John Angeli James received his education in
both the district and graded schools of Aiiddle
bury, and after putting aside his text-books he
engaged in agricultural pursuits and was for a
time a teacher in Cornwall, Addison county. Un
til his twenty-first year he remained under the
parental roof, devoting his time to the work of
the home farm, and for the following three years
he operated his father-in-law's place. He then,

354

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

by purchase, became the owner of the old James
homestead, on which he has ever since resided.
The home place consists of one hundred and
eighty acres, while in connection with his brother
he also owns a tract of seven hundred acres, their
entire possessions consisting of about thirteen
hundred acres located near \\reybridge and Corn
wall and here they keep from one hundred and
twenty to one hundred and fifty cows, doing an
extensive dairy business, and on a large scale they
are also engaged in the raising of blooded sheep
and thoroughbred cattle. His property yields
him excellent returns and he is regarded as one of
the most successful and progressive business men
of this part of Addison county.
The marriage of Mr. James was celebrated
in this town on the 15th of April, 1874, when
Aliss Orpha Jewett became his wife. She is a
daughter of Philo and Eliza (Landon) Jewett
and a granddaughter of Samuel Jewett, one of
the early settlers and the largest land owner in
the town of Weybridge. The father was also a
successful business man, and throughout his
active career was engaged in farming, while in
addition he also speculated largely in western
lands and in loaning money. His death occurred
when he had reached the eighty-ninth milestone
on the journey of life. His wife was born in
Cornwall, Vermont, and by her marriage with
Mr. Jewett she became the mother of the follow
ing children : Elizabeth, who married Oliver
P. Scoville, of Lewistown, New jersey; Harriet
E., wife of S. W. Elmer, of Addison, Vermont;
Samuel, deceased; Edson B., a resident of Ben
ton tlarbor, Michigan; Lucy A., the wife of B.
\\r. Crane, of Bridport, Vermont ; Emma C, who
became the wife of Solomon Jewett, and died in
California ; Catherine C, who married C. H.
James, a half brother of our subject, and resides
in Cornwall ; and Orpha, the wife of John A.
James. The mother, who reached the age of
ninety-two and one-half years, died September
17. 1902, at the home of her daughter, Mrs.
James. Mr. and Mrs. James have become the
parents of four children, namely : Grace E., who
received her education in Aliddlebury College,
and lias just returned from a trip to the Jfacific
coast ; Emma C, who died 111 1897, at the age of
sixteen years ; J. Perry, who died at the age of
sixteen months ; and Samuel E., who is still in

school. Mr. James is a Republican in political
principle, and has been honored with a number of
public offices. He was chosen to represent his
town in the legislature in 1890, where he served
as a member, of the committee on agriculture;
was a member and also chairman of the board of
selectmen for a number of years ; for three years
was the lister of his township ; was elected chair
man of the town committee; and has served as
a road commissioner, as a justice of the peace and
in many other offices. For many years he has
been a member of the Addison County Agri
cultural Society, taking an active part in its work,
and for a long period he has served as its director,
being also for some time treasurer, and he was
also active in the local Grange during its exist
ence. He, too, is a member and active worker
in the Congregational church, and is of the fourth
generation of his family to hold the office of
deacon therein. Airs. James is an active worker
in the different societies of the church. Both
are held in high regard in the community, and
their home is celebrated for its gracious hospi
tality.
FERDINAND BEACH.
Ferdinand Beach, for more than half a cen
tury a prominent and wealthy citizen of Bur
lington, Vermont, was born in the year 1820, in
Westford, Vermont. He attended the district
schools of that place, after which he studied at
the Jericho Academy, where he graduated.
Whether the decided preference which he after
ward showed for a mercantile career was then
undeveloped, or whether, in chcosing the pro
fession of the law, he yielded to influence, it is
impossible to say, but certain it is, that on grad
uating he entered the office of a prominent lawyer
in Milton, Vermont, and there pursued a course
of legal study, the result of which seems to have
been to convince him that the profession was un-
suited to him, for after completing his studies
he abandoned it without an attempt to practice
and abruptly changed the whole course of his life.
Feeling, no doubt, that his pronounced taste for
commerce should determine his choice of an oc
cupation, he went to Jericho and engaged in
business as a partner of his father-in-law, Eras
tus Field. He was the owner of much real es-

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

355

tate in and near Burlington, Vermont, these pos
sessions being of such magnitude and importance
as to require his personal attention. For this
reason he retired from business in 1841, and re
moved to Burlington, where, during the many
years of life which remained to him, he found
sufficient employment in caring for his exten
sive property. His death, which took place in
1900, removed from Burlington the well-known
figure of an old and honored citizen.
Air. Beach married in the year 1850, Cornelia
Field, born February 10, 1829, daughter of
Erastus and Maria (Potter) Field. Erastus
Field was located in Westford, Vermont, until
183 1, when he entered the hotel business in Jer
icho, where he was justice of the peace for many
years, holding this office at the time of his death.
Air. and Mrs. Field had two children: Cornelia
Potter, who was born in Westford, and became
the wife of Ferdinand Beach, and Ellen Potter,
who married H. Percival, a planter of Georgia.
Air. and Mrs. Beach had two children: a son
who died at the age of five years, and a daughter,
Kate, who is still living, and is the wife of
Charles Vaughan. Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan have
one daughter, Cornelia. Mrs. Beach survives
her husband, and is still a resident of Burlington,
Vermont, and her daughter, Mrs. Vaughan, re
sides with her.
DAN PEASLEE WEBSTER, M. D.
The Webster family is an old and honored
one, and its members were natives of both Scot
land and England. John Webster, the progeni
tor of the American branch of the Webster fam
ily, was a native of Glasgow, Scotland, whence
he removed to Warwickshire, England; later he
and his three sons emigrated to this country and
settled in New England. One of his sons located
in Connecticut, one in the western part of the
state of Massachusetts, while John Webster, Jr.,
the ancestor of our subject's branch and the eld
est son settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The
father of these sons died in 1642.
John Webster, eldest son of John Webster,
was united in marriage to Miss Mary Shatswell,
and eight children were born to them. Of these,
Hannah, whose name is the first of the Webster
family to appear on the record of Haverhill, Mas

sachusetts, married Alichael Emerson, and their
daughter, also named Hannah, was united in mar
riage to Thomas Dustin ; she is the woman who
was captured by the Indians and taken to an
island in the Merrimac river; she killed and
scalped her captors, numbering ten Indians in all,
and escaped in a canoe, bringing the scalps to her
home in Haverhill, where she received a large
bounty for them. The line of descent from John
Webster, Jr., and Mary Shatswell, his wife, is as

DAN PEASLEE WEBSTER, M. D.
follows: Stephen, born in 1637, died in 1694,
married Miss M. Hannah Ayer, who died in
1676, and of their seven children Nathan was
born November 24, 1674, and died August 16,
1741 ; he married Miss Sarah Lowe, and of their
five children Jonathan, the second son, was born
December 13, 1715, and died July 4, 1796; he
married Miss Abigail Dustin, who was born Oc
tober 25, 1717, and died August 28, 1782. Of
their twelve children Nathan was born May 5,
1741, and died August 2, 1788; he married, May

356

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

5, 1765, Aliss Hannah Bailey, who was born Jan
uary 19, 1741, and died October 6, 1815.
Of their twelve children Jonathan was born
July 21, 1775, and died January 14, 1866; he
married, March 11, 1806, Miss Lucy Sterling,
who was born June 8, 1876, and died May 26,
1859. Jonathan AA^ebster was a native of Wood
stock, Vermont, but later removed to Weston,
Vermont, where he died. He was a member of
the Vermont militia during the Revolutionary
war, and also took an active and aggressive part
in the anti-Alason excitement. He was a promi
nent man in the political affairs of the town and
held various town offices of trust and responsi
bility. He was a member and attendant of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and was familiarly
known as "Captain Webster," having held that
commission in the organization of the home
guards during the Revolution. The following
named children were born to Mr. and Airs. Web
ster : Alarjorie, Amos Bailey, Lucy, Miranda,
Livonia, Alonzo, Susan, Jonathan, ' Brewster,
Norman, Harvey and Irwin Webster.
Alonzo Webster, father of Dan P. Webster,
was born at Weston, Vermont, and received his.
education at the Newbury Seminary. He chose
the profession of the ministry for his life work,
and became a clergyman in the Methodist Episco
pal denomination; his first charge was at Brat
tleboro, later at Greenfield, and subsequently at
Northfield and Chesterfield, New Hampshire.
At all these places he preached the gospel with a
marked degree of success. Mr. Webster was the
editor of the Vermont Christian Messenger at
Northfield, and was presiding elder of the
Springfield district for several years. During the
war of the rebellion he served as chaplain of the
Sixteenth ?nd Sixth Regiments, A^ermont Infan
try, and toward the close of the war as chaplain
of the Sloane Hospital, Alontpelier. At the close
of the war, his health failing him, he went south,
where he located permanently, and became the
presiding elder for the district of South Carolina.
He also acted in the capacity of president of the
Claflin University at Orangeburg, South Caro
lina. Mr. Webster was united in marriage to Miss
Laura Ann Peaslee, who was born at Washing
ton, Vermont, and three children were born to
them : Eugene Alonzo, the second child, born

February 16, 1848, received his education at
Wesleyan University at Middletown, Vermont,
and later became a resident of Orangeburg, South
Carolina, where he became the collector of in
ternal revenue for that state during the adminis
trations of Presidents Harrison and McKinley
and a part of Cleveland's second term. He was
a firm adherent of the principles of the Republi
can party and served as a member of the Repub
lican state and national committees up to the time
of his death, which occurred September 17, 1901.
He was twice married, his first wife having been
Aliss Josephine Dutton, and his second wife Aliss
Emma Dickinson, of Chelsea, Vermont. Hattie,
the third child of Alonzo Webster, was born in
1857 and died in 1863. The father of these chil
dren died August 15, 1887, aged sixty-nine years,
and his wife died at the age of sixty years.
Dan Peaslee Webster, eldest of the children of
Alonzo and Laura (Peaslee) Webster, was born
in iNorthfield, Vermont, December 7, 1846. His
elementary education was acquired in the com
mon schools and the Newbury Academy. He
then entered the University of Vermont, and in
1867 he was graduated from the medical depart
ment with the degree of Doctor of Medicine. He
first located in Putney, Vermont, where he suc
cessfully practiced his profession for sixteen
years ; he then removed to Brattleboro, where his
devotion to the duties of his profession, combined
with a thorough understanding of the principles
of the science of medicine, has made him a most
successful and able practitioner, whose promin
ence is well deserved. Dr. Webster has acted as
surgeon general on the staff of Governor Asahel
Peck, and he also held the same position on the
staff of Governor Levi K. Fuller, and for a long
period of time he served as surgeon of the Fuller
Light Battery. During the progress of the Civil
war he accompanied his father, when the latter
was chaplain of the Sixteenth Vermont Regiment,
and was present at the battle of Gettysburg!
Dr. Webster was elected in 1872 and again in
1874 to represent the town of Putney in the state
legislature, and in 1878 he was chosen a state
senator from Windham county ; during the fall
of the same year he was elected by joint assembly
railroad commissioner, discharging the duties of
that office both creditably and honorably until
1880. He served from 1895 to 1897, inclusive,

THE STATE *0F A'ERMONT.

357

as chairman of the board of selectmen of Brattle
boro. He is a member of Brattleboro Lodge, No.
102, F. & A. M., Fort Dummer Chapter, R. A.
M., and Beausant Commandery No. 7, Brattle
boro.- He served as deputy grand master of the
Grand Lodge of A^ermont from 1876 to 1881, and
was elected and served three years as eminent
commander of Beausant Commandery, K. T., of
Brattleboro, and is at present (1902) right
eminent grand commander of Grand Comman
dery. K. T.,-of State. Dr. Webster is also a
thirty-third degree Alason. He is a member of
the Connecticut River and the Vermont State
Aledical Associations. Dr. Webster was ap
pointed by President AfcKinley, in Alarch, 1898,
postmaster at Brattleboro, and was re-appointed
by President Roosevelt in March, 1902.
On January 9, 1868, Dr. Webster was united
in marriage to Aliss Ada White, daughter of
Charles H. and Alaria (Howard) White, of Put
ney, A7ermont. Mrs. Webster died in South Caro
lina, Alarch 14, 1887, leaving three children:
Hattie A.-, Harry P. and Dan C. Webster. On
November 1, 1889, Dr. Webster contracted a sec
ond alliance, with Miss Alabel Julia Waterman,
daughter of Hon. E. L. and Jennie E. Water
man, of Brattleboro, Vermont. Hattie A. Web
ster married W. H. Cary, a native of South Caro
lina, who was, at the time of his demise, in July,
1901, general manager of a sugar plantation near
Cienfuegos, Cuba. He left one son, Daniel
Webster Cary. His widow now resides in
Brattleboro. Harry P. Webster is assistant
treasurer of Vermont Savings Bank, Brattle
boro. Dan. E. Webster, a traveling represen
tative of Farson-Leach & Company, bankers and
brokers, of New York city, married Elizabeth P.
daughter of the late William H. Cary, of New
town, Bucks county, Pennsylvania.
ADELBERT AV. BRAISTED.
The family of which the subject of this re
view is a worthy representative has long been
identified with the annals of American history
and the name has been cne of prominence in
New England and divers other sections of the
Union, where representatives of the family have
become disseminated. The original American
ancestor of the Braisted family came from Hol

land in the early colonial epoch, and established
a home in Sparta, Sussex county, New Jersey,
where have lived many of his descendants. The
name was originally spelled Brasted, and this or
thography is retained by the majority of the
family of. the present generation, the father of
our subject having adopted the form Braisted,
as the spelling more clearly indicates the correct
pronunciation of the name.
William Braisted, the great-grandfather of
Adelbert W., was born in New Jersey, the orig
inal location of the ancestors having been is
Sussex county, that state. He was. born in the
year 1776, and he married Mary Hines. In 179;
they removed from New Jersey to Bridport,
Vermont, where he became the owner of a large
tract of land, which he cleared and improved
and the same v/as long known as the "Old
Braisted farm." His wife died in 1846, and a
short time afterward he went to the home of his
son William, the grandfather of Adelbert W., and
there remained until his death, in 1858, at the
patriarchal age of ninety-one years. He was a
man of great ambition and distinctive, mentality,
and both he and his wife were devoted and con
sistent members of the Baptist church. Their
eleven children were as follows : Jchn, Benja
min, William, Mary Ann, Betsey, Charlotte, Par-
melia, Arpey, Polly, Sophronia and Darius, all
being now deceased. The line of direct descent
to the subject of this review is traced through
William, the third of the above children.
William Braisted was born in New Jersey
on the 14th of October, 1794, and was three
years of age at the time of his parents' removal
to what was then the wilderness of Addison
county, Vermont. He was reared on the pioneer
farmstead, near Bridport, and there continued
to follow agricultural pursuits for a long tern*
of years. There occurred his marriage to Mis:
Anna Russell and they continued to make theii
home in Bridport until 1836, when they re
moved to Essex county, New York, where Mr
Braisted purchased a farm near Whallonsburg
and there he passed- the remainder of his long and
useful life, his death occurring on the 24th of
May, 1875, at the ripe age of fourscore years.
He had been a soldier in the war of 1812, and
was accounted one of the most influential men
of Essex county. His wife died April 13, 1885,

358

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

aged nearly eighty-six years. Both were worthy
members of the Baptist church and were folk
of sterling character. Mrs. Anna (Russell)
Braisted was one of a numerous family, and was
of Scotch lineage. Of her children we incorpo
rate the following brief record, the date of birth
appearing in connection with each name, while
the first seven of the children were born in Brid
port, Vermont, and the other four in Essex
county, New York: William R., born October
3, 1820; Jonathan Fletcher, November 22, 1822;
Oran Darius, January 29, 1825 ; Polly Ann, Au
gust 27, 1826; Evalina,A., January 23, 1829;
Myron Orville, February 17, .1831 ; Nathan
Russell, April 16, 1833; Millie Almira, June 15,
1835; Julia E., September 28, 1837; Nelson
Paris, Alarch 3, 1840, and Amy Sophrona, April
11, 1842.
Of these children further record may be
given as follows : ( 1 ) Jonathan F. Braisted, who
went to California in 185 1, passed three years
in the Golden state, where he endured many
hardships, but was quite successful as a gold-
seeker. After his return, he married Mary E.
Vial, November 22, 1854, and shortly afterward
purchased a farm at Westport, New York,
where he maintained his home until his death,
which occurred October 13, 1902, his wife having
died June 6, 1902. He had five children: George,
a farmer, married Abbie Stafford, of Iowa, and
they reside in Grundy county, that state, being
the parents of two sons, Oran and Dee ; May E.
is the wife of Hardy Sherman, a farmer of AVest-
port, New York, and they have two daughters,
Annie and Elsie; Fred C, married Julia Sher
man, of Westport, and they now reside at Hart
ley, Iowa, where he is engaged in the under
taking business, and they have one son, Chester;
Millie E. is the wife of George 'DeSelhorst, a
farmer of Iowa, and they have two children,
A^era and Floyd ; Dana, who is postmaster in
the village of Westport, New York, married
Lizzie Gardner, who died- June 1, 1902. (2) Oran
D. Braisted died on the 26th of February, 1852,
while en route to California, and was buried at
sea. (3) Polly Ann Braisted married Joab Staf
ford, a farmer of Eseex county, New York, and
she died Alarch 11, 1886, her husband passing
away four days later. They had two daughters :
Agnes, who married Charles Tucker, and who

died in 1875, leaving two daughters, Cora and
Minnie A.; and Ellen L., who is the wife of
Warren A. Tucker, of Boquet, Essex county,
New York, where their one son, Ervin, is a mer
chant and also incumbent to the office of post
master. (4) Evalena A. Braisted was married in
1854 to Adam K. Stafford, who died in 1894 at
his home in Essex county, New York, six chil
dren having been born of this union : Anna M.,
who died Nocember 2, 1902, aged forty-eight
years; Alma A., who is the wife, of Howard
Walker and who has two children, Lina and
Gardner; Watson, who married Eliza Stafford
and who is a farmer in Hamilton county, Iowa,
having six children, Edith, Celia, Myron, Louis,
James and Arthur; Myron clieel at the age of
thirteen years ; Paris married Fannie Stafford,
and he is' a merchant of Whallonsburg, New
York, their children being Howard and Ernest;
Burton, who is a teacher in Iowa, married Car
rie Archer and they have four children, Violet,
Marie, Harold and Maurice. (5) Myron 0.
Braisted was a soldier in the war of the rebel
lion, having served for three years as sergeant
in Company I, Ninth New York Cavalry. He
married Sallie Safford, of Essex county, New
York, and they have one daughter, Ida. Louisa,
who is the wife of Albert Cook. Air. Braisted
lives on the old homestead in Essex county, New
York. (6) Nathan R. Braisted married Adaline
Alore, of Chautauqua county, New York, where
they were living at the time of the outbreak of
the Civil war, in which he served three years
as sergeant of Company D, One Hundred and
Twelfth New York Volunteer Infantry, and
after the war he removed to Sac county, Iowa,
where he still owns a farm, the family at present
having their home in Oklahoma, where he has a
farm. In his family were four children, namely:
Nelson, who died in 1880, at the age of thirteen
years ; Anna, who is the wife of Rev. William
Grey, a clergyman of the Baptist church, and
they were missionaries in China for a period of
seven years, being now residents of Iowa and
having four children, Bessie, Allen, Adaline and
William ; Fred, who is a prominent lawyer at Ida
Grove, Iowa, is married and has two children,
N. Russell and Helen; and Alva, who is a cler
gyman of the Baptist church and a resident of
Oklahoma. (7) Millie A. Braisted was married

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

359

in 1860 to Edson Gates, who died in Winona,
Minnesota, in 1894, his widow still maintaining
her home there. , They became the parents of
three children, all of whom are deceased, and
they adopted Jessie Alaude Gates, a daughter of
his brother, she being now a student in the
Northwestern University, at Evanston, Illinois.
(8) Julia E. Braisted married John L. Reynolds
and she died in i860. (9) Nelson P. Braisted was
a soldier in Company A, First A^ermont Cavalry,
and died of typhoid fever at Alexandria, Vir
ginia, in 1862, at the age of twenty-two
years and while in the service of his
country. (10) Amy S. Braisted became the
wife of John R. Mather, who served three
years in the war of the rebellion as a member
of Company D, Fourth Illinois Cavalry, and
they now reside in AVhallonsburg, New York,
where he is postmaster. They have had four
children, Nelson E., superintendent of the water
works in Clinton, Massachusetts, married
Louisa Bowser and they have two daughters,
Lillian A. and Grace L. ; Ernest R. Mather mar
ried Julia L. Stafford, and they reside in Provi
dence, Rhode Island, being the parents of four
sons, Alton S., John R., Harland E. and Craw
ford N. ; Lillian E. is the wife of James H.
Rice, a merchant of Whallonsburg, New York,
and they have two children, Herman W. and
Carlisle M. ; William B. Alather is a resident of
New Ulm, Minnesota.
William R. Braisted was reared in his native
town of Bridport, Vermont, until the age of
sixteen years, having received his educational
training in the public schools. At the age noted,
he accompanied his parents on their removal to
Essex county, New York. In 1845, when about
twenty-five years of age, he made a trip to Illi
nois, which was then considered as the far west,
the trip being made by way of the Great Lakes
and by stage. He remained a short time and
then returned to Essex county, New York, where
he was a successful teacher for a number of
years. He was later employed as superintendent
of the Putnam Iron Forge Works at New Russia,
New York, but he eventually came to Bridport,
Vermont, where he effected the purchase of his
grandfather's old homestead, and was here en
gaged in farming until the close of his long and
honorable life, his death occurring on the 14th of

February, 1901, at the age of eighty years. He
was a leading and influential citizen of his district,
taking an active part in local affairs and having
been incumbent of all the important offices with
in the gift of his townsmen, including that of town
representative in 1874-5 in the state legislature.
He was a man of high intellectuality and inflex
ible integrity, and commanded uniform confidence
and esteem.* On the 15th of October, 1856, Wil
liam R. Braisted was united in marriage to Aliss
Amelia Maria Allen, who was born in Bridport,
being the daughter of Ebenezer Allen, whose
wife was a daughter of Philip Stone, the first
white settler in the town, and who was com
pelled to endure many vicissitudes and hardships
in thus establishing his home in the primitive
wilds, being driven out and burned out by Indian
depredations several times. Many of his de
scendants still remain in that locality. Airs.
Braisted was one of four children, of whom two
are deceased, her death having occurred on the
28th of September, 1878. Airs. Lucinda Walker,
another of the daughters, also deceased, had
three children — Gustavus R. ; Albert, who was
killed at the battle of Gettysburg ; and Selden Z.
Fidelia, wife of Lyman Southard, is a resident
of California, and has one daughter, Airs. Rose
Loutz. Aliss Caroline Allen remains on the old
homestead. Mrs. Braisted was a member of the
Congregational church, and was a noble and
earnest Christian woman, her influence in shap
ing the lives of her children having been most
gracious and beneficent. Her three children are
as follows : Alna C, born February 9, 1859, is the
wife of Osmond Greely Frisbie, of AVestport,
New York (and they had three children, William
Henry, bom January 27, 1884; Earl Osmond,
born June 12, 1887; and one daughter, born Alay
31, 1889, died August 19, 1899) ; Cora A., born
October 1, i860, is the wife of Harris Wr. Staf
ford, of Iowa (and has three children, Harris
Adelbert, born July 13, 1885 ; Ray Russell, born
September 21, 1889 ; Clay William, born Alarch
31, 1903) ; Adelbert is the immediate subject of
this sketch.
Adelbert W. Braisted was born in Bridport,
Vermont, on the 17th of Alay, 1865, and is now
incumbcnt of the office of bookkeeper and is one
of the board of directors of the Bennington A\rater
Company, and is also engaged in the real estate

360

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

business, is a representative of Henry W. Put
nam. He secured his preliminary educational dis
cipline iu the public schools of his native town,
and at the age of nineteen became a student in
Beeman Academy of New Haven, A'ermont,
where he completed a course of study, and theri
devoted two years to traveling in diverse sections
of the Union. , On the expiration of that period
he came to Bennington, where he accepted a
clerkship in the grist mill of Mr. Henry W>. Put
nam, on North street. He retained this position
fifteen months, when he was promoted to his
present position of looking after the large prop
erty and manufacturing interests at Bennington
of Henry W. Putnam, who now resides in San
Diego, California.
In Alay, 1894, Mr. Braisted was united in
marriage to Aliss Laura Belle Murphy, a daugh
ter of Deacon AArilliam and Electa (Pierce) Mur
phy, the former of whom was born in Benning
ton September 6, 1832, and the latter in Massa
chusetts, Alarch 26, 1844. Her father was a
carpenter by trade, and was for many years identi
fied with building interests in Arermont, but is
now living retired from active business. He en
listed in April, 1861, in Company A, Second Ver
mont Atolunteers, was taken prisoner at the first
battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, while assisting
a wounded comrade from the battlefield ; ex
changed in February, 1862 ; was wounded at the
battle of the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, and mus
tered out of service June 20, 1864, after having
participated in nearly all the great battles of the
war of the rebellion. William E. Murphy is the
father of two children, the younger being Nelson
P., who is secretary and treasurer of the Alark
Manufacturing Company of Herkimer, New
York. The elder of the children is Mrs. Braisted,
who was born in Bennington, and who has here
passed her entire life, and is a devoted member
of the Congregational church, in whose work she
takes a deep and active interest. Air. Braisted
has shown marked interest in military affairs,
having served for three years as sergeant of Com
pany K, First Regiment, of the National Guard
of Vermont. He exercises his right of franchise
in support of the men and measures of the Repub
lican party, and fraternally is prominently identi
fied with the Knights of Pythias, being a mem
ber of Monument Lodge, No. 8, at Bennington,

in which he has passed all the chairs, and is now
deputy grand chancellor, while he has also rep
resented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of the
state. He is known as a young man of fine busi
ness ability and unwavering integrity, and his
personality is of that genial type which wins
strong and lasting friendships, while his course
has ever been such as to gain him unequivo
cal confidence and esteem. Mr. and Mrs. Brai
sted have one child, a son, William Adelbert, born
August 27, 1902.
CHARLES EDWARD WELLING.
Charles Edward Welling, president of the
Stark Paper Company, at North Bennington, has
the distinction of being the oldest man actively
engaged in business in the town. He was born
October 16, 1823, at Hoosick, New York, a son
of Edward AI. AVelling, and of Welsh ancestors.
Edward Al. Welling, a native of Nova Scotia,
came from there with his parents- to Pittstown,
New York, about 1800. Learning the carpen
ter's trade, he followed that occupation for many
years. Settling in North Bennington, then called
Sages City, in 1824, he purchased land from
which he improved a farm, and built many mills,
school houses, dwellings, churches -and business
establishments of this vicinity, in 1833 erecting
the stone mill now in use. He continued actively-
employed in milling and farming until his death,
at the age of seventy-five years. He was identi
fied with town affairs, serving as selectman a
number of terms, and attended the Universalist
church, which he assisted in building, and was
afterwards one of the trustees. He married, in
1821, at Hoosick. New York, the place of her
birth, Amelia Russell, by whom he had three chil
dren, of whom two grew to years of maturity,
namely: Charles E., the subject of this sketch;
and Evaline A., born January 27, 1827, married
Charles Thatcher, Jr. The mother died at the
age of seventy-three years.
Charles Edward Welling obtained his early
education in the district schools of North Ben
nington, completing it at Castleton (Vermont)
Seminary. He learned the carpenter's trade un
der the supervision of his father, with whom he
worked several years, assisting in the build
ing of many houses, , mills, etc., and from

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

361

1844 until 1850 being engaged with him
in the manufacture di starch. In 1850
Air. Welling formed a partnership with his
brother-in-law, Mr. Thatcher, with whom he
carried on an extensive mercantile business for a
number of years, being also among the larger
paper manufacturers of this locality. In 1876
Mr. Welling exchanged his interest in the store
for Mr. Thatcher's mill interest, in the same year
buying of D. Hunter & Company the State Line
Mill, which he and his sons ran as an independent
enterprise for a year or more, when the Stark
Paper Company was organized. Mr. Welling
was made president of the company, and has re
tained the office until the present time, managing
the affairs and operating- the two mills to the en
tire satisfaction of all concerned, manufacturing
some books and printing paper, but making a
specialty of wall gapers of all kinds.
An energetic, public-spirited citizen, Mr. Well
ing has long occupied a position of influence in
the town, and is one of the most active promoters
of its progress. He served as postmaster of North
Bennington ten years, as auditor four years, as
selectman, justice of the peace, and represented
his town in the state legislature in 1888. For a
number of years he was one of the school com
mittee, and gave material assistance in erecting
the beautiful new school building, which is one
of the finest in this section of the state. As one
of the directors of the North Bennington Boot
and Shoe Company he took an active part in its
management for several years, and since 185 1
has served as a director of the National Bank of
North Bennington. As one of the leading Re
publicans of this vicinity he has served on the
state committee, and as chairman of the Repub
lican county committee. Fraternally he is an Odd
Fellow. Mr. Welling married, in 1850, Sarah D.
Thomas, who was born in Brattleboro, Vermont,
a daughter of Elihu H. Thomas. Mr. Thomas
was a paper manufacturer in his earlier days, but
in 1849 went with the gold seekers to California,
where he spent several years. Returning to Ver
mont in 1872, he lived for a while in Jacksonville,
then settled in North Bennington, where he died
at the age of seventy-three years. He mar
ried Abigail Bangs, of Guilford, Massachusetts,
by whom he had nine children, two of whom are

living, William, of White Creek, New York, and
Elihu, of Brattleboro, Vermont. Mr. and Mrs.
AVelling became the parents of five children, of
whom but three survive, namely: Edward D.,
Hattie S. and George B. Both sons are in busi
ness with their father. Edward D. Welling mar
ried, first, Emily Douglas, who died in early
womanhood, leaving one child, Alice M. He
married, second, Cora B. Middleton. George
B.e Welling married Aria AlcKay, and they are
the parents of two children, Charles McKay and
(Edward T.
LYMAN P. WOOD.
Lyman P. Wood, a prominent merchant and
public-spirited citizen of Burlington, Vermont, is
descended, like so many of the leading men of the
Green Mountain state, from Massachusetts stock.
Asel Wood, grandfather of Lyman P. Wood, was
born in Northhampton, Alassachusetts, and was
proprietor of a stage line between that place and
Worcester, Alassachusetts, before the time of rail
roads. He died at the age of eighty.
Andrew Wood, son of Asel Wood, was born
in 1827, in Northampton, Massachusetts, where
he spent his early years, and where, after reach
ing manhood, he engaged in the West India drug
business. Later he went to Montreal, where he
carried on the business of a wholesale importer of
wooden ware until he retired, in 1875, to North
ampton, Massachusetts, where he died in 1881, at
the age of fifty-four. Air. Wood was a Repub
lican in politics, and a remarkably Successful busi
ness man. He married Lois Childs, daughter of
Otis Childs, a farmer of Conway, Alassachusetts.
Mr. and Mrs. V^ood had six children, two of
whom are living : Walter C, a physician and
surgeon of Brooklyn, New York; and Lyman P.
mentioned at length hereinafter, Mrs. Wood,
who was born in 1838, and is still living, resides
with her elder son in Brooklyn, New York.
Lyman P. Wood, son of Andrew and Lois
(Childs) Wood, was born May 20, 1 871, in Mon
treal, and passed his boyhood in Northampton,
Massachusetts, where he received his primary ed
ucation, after which he became a student in St.
Johnsbury Academy, where he remained two
years, graduating in 1887. He was then employed
in the general store of the Fairbanks Scale Com-

362

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

pany, the largest in that part of the country, where
his ability speedily attracted notice, as was evi
dent from the fact of his being shortly promoted
to the position of manager of the department of
the line of goods in which he is now a dealer. In
1897 he went to Burlington, Vermont, and bought
an interest in the Bee Hive carpet department,
originally owned by Peck Brothers, and in the
spring of 1901 transferred that department to its
present site ; this business was established
over fifty years ago. Air. AVood has a very flour
ishing business, occupying two floors and neces
sitating the employment of over twenty people.
His stock of goods is very large, his being the
only establishment which deals exclusively in
these special lines.
Air. Wood is a Republican in politics, and in
1901 was elected a member of the board of alder
men for two years. He is a member of the Ethan
Allen Club and also of the Mohegan Club. Mr.
AVood, with his wife, is a member -of the College
Street church, where he serves on the prudential
committee. Air. Wood married June 8, 1893, Mary P.
Putney, daughter of Charles E. Putney, a well
known educator, who had charge for twenty
years of St. Johnsbury Academy and is now pro
fessor of Greek in the Burlington high school.
Professor Putney has a daughter Ellen who is
also engaged in teaching. Mrs. Wood is a grad
uate of St. Johnsbury Academy and of Smith
College. Air. and Airs. Wood have three chil
dren — Ellen, Louise and Charles. Mrs. Wood,
on the maternal side, is a descendant of the cele
brated Brooks family, being a cousin of Bishop
Phillips Brooks.
GEORGE EDDY JOHNSON.
George Eddy Johnson, clerk of the United
States circuit and district court, district of
Vermont, was born in Huntington, Vermont,
January 18, 1842, a grandson of John Johnson,
who was born in 1780, and upon attaining young
manhood located in AVallingford, Vermont,
where he was interested in agricultural pursuits.
He was familiarly known as "Captain Johnson."
Joel M. Johnson, father of George E. John
son, was born in AVallingford, Vermont, in 1815,
and the early years of his life were spent in ac

quiring an education in the district schools. Sub
sequently he took up his 'residence in Huntington,
Vermont, where he established a boot and shoe
manufactory, which he successfully conducted
for many years. In his political affiliations he
was an adherent of the Republican party, always
taking an active interest in local affairs, and he
served the town in the capacity of postmaster,
town clerk and treasurer. Mr. Johnson was
united in marriage to Martha Eddy, born in 1818,
in AVallingford, Vermont, a daughter of George
Eddy, one of the early settlers of that town. Later
Air. Eddy located in Huntington, Vermont,
where he pursued the occupation of farming with
such success that he was enabled many years be
fore his death, which occurred in the seventy-
sixth year of his age, to retire from the active
duties of life and take a well-earned rest. One
child was born to Air. and Airs. Johnson — George
Eddy. Both Air. Johnson and his wife were lib
eral in their religious views. Air. Johnson died
in the fifty-fourth year of his age, and his wife
passed away in July-, 1890.
George E. Johnson spent the early years of
his life in Huntington, Vermont, and acquired
his educational training in the common and select
schools of the vicinity. In March, 1868, after his
father's death, he was appointed postmaster of
the town, and discharged the duties of that office
with credit both to himself and his fellow-citi
zens. From 1868 to 1891 he was the incumbent
of the offices of town clerk and treasurer. After
his removal to Burlington, A^ermont, he was en
gaged for a short period of time in clerical work,
after which he received the appointment of clerk
in the revenue office. In 1872 Mr. Johnson was
appointed deputy clerk of the United States cir
cuit and district courts, which position he held
until 1885, when he was promoted to the position
of clerk, which he has since filled, being the
oldest officer of this court ; he was also appointed
United States commissioner in 1880, is still serv
ing, and has a large amount of business in this
capacity. Mr. Johnson is a member of the Ma
sonic fraternity, a member and one of the found
ers of the Algonquin Club, and has been its secre
tary since its organization. He formerly acted in
the capacity of secretary for fifteen years of the
Ethan Allen Engine Company, from which the
Ethan Allen Club was formed. This organization

THE STATE OF A^ERMONT.

363

is composed of the most prominent and influential
men iri the city of Burlington, Vermont. Mr.
Johnson takes a keen and active interest in relig
ious affairs, being a clerk and treasurer of the
Unitarian church of Burlington.
On January 18, 1864, Mr. Johnson was united
in marriage to Martha Torrey Clark, who was
bom in Pawlet, Vermont, a daughter of Philip
R. Clark, an enterprising and prosperous agricul
turist of that town. Airs. Johnson and Ann B.
Bromley, widow of Dr. George W. Bromley, are
the only surviving children of a family of four
who were born to Mr. Clark and his wife, who
died some years ago in the town of Huntington,
Vermont.
WILLIAM ADAMS BRIGGS.
AVilliam A. Briggs, prominently identified
with the National Life Insurance Company of
Montpelier, Vermont, was born July 31, 1848,
at Keene, New Hampshire, a descendant on the
paternal side of Jeremiah Stiles, who enlisted in
the Continental army April 21, 1775, was pro
moted to the rank of captain in Colonel Paul Dud
ley Sargent's regiment, and participated in the
battle of Bunker Hill. Subsequently he made a
report of the battle to the Continental Congress,
then sitting in New York, and also a report of
the death of General Warren. The progenitor
of the American branch of the family was prob
ably Clement Briggs, who came to Plymouth,
Alassachusetts, in 1621, and the line of descent
is as follows : William Briggs, born in 1645,
married Sarah Macomber ; William, born in 1667,
married Mehitable Blake; Eliphalet, born in 1704,
married Abigail Gary; Captain Eliphalet, born
in 1734, married Mary Cobb; Eliphalet, born in
1770, married Elizabeth Stiles ; Eliphalet, born in
1788, married Lucy Brown; William Sheldon,
born in 1817, married Nancy Ann Adams; and
William Adams Briggs, born in 1848, married
Emelia Frances Whitney.
William Sheldon Briggs, father of William
A. Briggs, was born in Keene, New Hampshire,
September 17, 181 7, was a merchant by occupa
tion, in his politics an adherent of the Republican
party, and in his religion a firm believer in the
doctrines adopted by the Congregational church.

He married Nancy Ann Adams, born in Mt.
Vernon, New Hampshire, December 13, 1821,
a daughter of Daniel Adams, author of "Adams'
Arithmetic," etc. Daniel Adams was a son of
Daniel, born at Townsend, Massachusetts, Sep
tember 21, 1773, son of Daniel, born July 29,
1746, son of Captain Daniel, born in 1720, son
of Captain Daniel, born in 1690, son of Joseph,
son of John, son of Henry, son of William, son
of Richard, son of John, son of Thomas, son of
Roger, son of Sir John A. Adams, who was de
scended through Lady Elizabeth Gournai and
Hugh de Gournai by direct descent from Em
peror Charlemagne. ' Mr. Briggs died Alay 28,
1901, his wife having passed away February 14,
1868. William Adams Briggs attended the Keene
high school, from which he was graduated ; from
1868 to 1870 he studied music in Boston, and
during the years 1870 and 1871 pursued a course
of musical instruction in Berlin, Germany. Upon
his return in September, 1 871, he located in Alont
pelier, Vermont, where he was engaged as organ
ist in Bethany church and teacher of music in
Goddard Seminary, Barre, Vermont. In 1884 he
decided to: adopt a different line of occupation,
and during that and the following year was con
nected with the- Vermont state exhibit at the New
Orleans Exposition, and in December, 1885, en
tered -the employ' of the National Life Insurance
Company, in which position he is serving at the
present time ('1903).
He is a , member of Aurora Lodge No. 22,
F. & A. M. ; King Solomon Chapter No. 7, R. A.
Al., in which he is past high priest; Montpelier
Council No. 4, R.. & S. Al. ; Mt. Zion Command
ery No. 9, K. T., in which he is past commander ;
Mt. Sinai Temple, N. Al. S., in which he is past
potentate; Vermont Consistory, thirty-second de
gree, Ancient Accepted Order of Scottish Rite
Masonry. He is also connected with the Alontpe
lier Country Club and the Apollo Club of Alont
pelier, Vermont, and the Vermont Society of Sons
of 'the American Revolution.
On November 27, 1872, Mr. Briggs married
Emelia Frances Whitney, daughter of Nathan
and Nancy' Augusta (Hay) Whitney, whose an
cestors took a prominent part in the Revolution
ary war, also in King Philip's war.

364

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

WILLIAM DUTTON NEWTON.
William Dutton Newton, prominently and
highly useful in the commercial and social life of
Bennington, is a representative of a class of
enterprising and progressive sons of Vermont
who have come from an old and honored New
England ancestry. His great-grandfather, David
Newton, was born March 25, 1753, at Milford,
Connecticut, and married Alary Hazen. born Seo-

WILLIAM DUTTON NEWTON.

tember 11, 1754, and a daughter of Joseph Hazen,
of Norwich, Connecticut. They were the parents
of sixteen children, and all of this unusually large
family came to years of maturity; among these
was Sheldon Newton, the grandfather of Will
iam Dutton Newton. The father died December
29, 1830, at the ripe age of eighty-six years, and

the mother, September 24, 1823. In "The Old
and the New," an "occasional" magazine pub
lished in Hartford, Vermont, are some interesting
incidents in the history of the Newton family
of which David Newton was the founder. He
set out a tree whenever a child was born in his
family, and there are to-day standing in the door-
yard of his former home sixteen stalwart birth
day trees. Of these children, ten were sons and
all were more than six feet in height when they
attained maturity. David Newton
made carts, and sometimes accepted
land in payment therefor, upon one
occasion receiving a deed to thirty
acres of land for a cart.
Sheldon Newton was born in
Aliddletown, Connecticut, whence he
removed to Hartford, Vermont, as
one of the pioneer settlers of the
place. His home was for years in a
little log cabin, and as he lived a most
industrious and frugal life, in course
of time his efforts and sacrifices
were rewarded, and he was enabled
to take his place as a prosperous
farmer and to command all the
comforts and even luxuries which
the conditions of the times would af
ford. He was twice married, his
second wife being Nancy Wilder,
who bore him three children, all of
whom are now deceased. The pa
rents were both members of the
Congregational church, and lived
earnest and consistent Christian lives,
both passing away at about the age
of seventy-five years. 1
John Newton, youngest child of
the parents last named, was born and
reared upon the homestead farm at
Hartford, and acquired his education
in the neighborhood schools. He
was a life-long farmer, and passed
his life industriously and usefully, enjoying
the esteem and confidence of the entire
community. His wife was Alary Jane
Dutton, also a native of Hartford, and they
became the parents of five children, all of whom
are now living : AA-flliam Dutton ; John, who lives
in Utica, New York ; and Alia, Carrie and Louis

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

365

S., all of whom reside in the village where they
were born, and all maintain their allegiance to
the church of their parents. The father died at
the age of seventy-three years, and the mother
at the age of sixty-two years.
William, Dutton Newton, eldest child in the
family, was born on the homestead farm, August
31, 1850. He obtained his education in the neigh
borhood school, and until his eighteenth year his
time during working seasons was occupied with
farm labors. He then went to Rutland, where
he passed three years in learning the trade of
machinist. In 1874 he came to Bennington and
found employment at his trade with Olin Scott,
with whom he remained for two years. For three
years afterward he was connected with Holden's
Mills, where he had charge of the woolen machin
ery repair work. With the savings from his earn
ings, he purchased a small store and shop, and
conducted a plumbing business, and this venture
proved a most successful one, bringing him all
the town trade in that line. He at the same time
sold hardware and built up so large a patronage
that it soon became necessary for him to remove
to a larger building. Three years later the neces
sity for more ample accommodations was so urg
ent that he erected his present large business
block, renting a portion of it to Mr. Ritchie for
use as a dry-goods store. Twelve years later his
tenant moved into a building of his own, and Mr.
Newton's entire building now houses a most
complete hardware and plumbing stock and equip
ment. Known to be an accomplished mechanic,
and keeping in stock all goods known in the hard
ware trade, Mr. Newton has been able to com
mand the best patronage of the community, and
his business has been constantly increasing.
Mr. Newton was married August 12, 1874,
to Miss Mary L. Burtis, a native of Illinois, and
a daughter of William and Rachel (Hakes) Bur
tis. Her father was a carpenter and builder, and
passed his last days in Troy, New York, where
he died at the age of forty-eight years. After the
death of her mother, the daughter came to Ben
nington, where she met her future husband. Mr.
and Mrs. Newton became the parents of five
children, of whom three survive: Neile J., who
was, in 1901-2, a teacher of elocution in the
School for the Blind at Nashville, Tennessee;
Frank Burtis Newton, who is a student of phar

macy, in Chester, Vermont; and Lillian. The- de
ceased children were Fred, who died at four and
one-half years of age ; and Mabelle, who died at
six and one-half years. The family oc
cupy a beautiful home, built by Air. New
ton. All are members of the Methodist
church, which they actively support in all
its lines of effort. Mr. Newton affiliates with
the Republican party, and is a member of the fra
ternity of Odd Fellows, and has occupied all the
chairs in both subordinate lodge and encamp
ment.
CLARENCE EGERTON MOULTON.
The Moulton family, of Alontpelier, of which
Clarence Egerton Moulton, actuary of the Na
tional Life Insurance Company, is a representa
tive, is descended from Phineas Moulton, who in
1788 came from Monson, Alassachusetts, and set
tled in Randolph, Vermont, where in 1793 he
purchased a farm which is yet in the possession
of his descendants. His son Horace was bom
June 26, 1794, on the homestead farm, which he
cultivated during his active life. He married
January 25, 1826, Lucy Smith, who was born in
1809, and their deaths occurred, respectively,
August 21, 1862, and November 12, 1885.
Justin H., son of the parents last named, was
born June 14, 1830. and was also reared on the
home farm, which he managed most successfully,
and was particularly identified with the breeding
of fine stock. He was married August 18, 1861,
to Hannah Olivia Perrin, who was born in Ran
dolph, April 13, 1840. She was a daughter of
Philander and Hannah S. (Egerton) Perrin. Her
father was born in Randolph, Vermont, Alay 18,
1808, and died Alarch 4, 1885, a son of Noah and
Olive (French) Perrin, who were born, respect
ively, February 23, 1770, and March 30, 1777,
and died, respectively, January 20, 1857, and Sep
tember 15, 1834. Philander Perrin was educated
in the Randolph grammar school, graduated in
law, was admitted to the bar and practiced liis
profession successfully in Randolph Center, and
afterward at West Randolph. He occupied va
rious responsible official positions, and was at
different times town clerk, postmaster and pro
bate judge. May 28, 1839, he 'was married to
Hannah S. Egerton, born April 16, 1813, died at

366

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Randolph, November 14, 1888, a daughter of
AAilliam Egerton, who was born August 28, 1763,
was married February 19, 1788, to Hannah Blod
gett, who was born March 3, 1769 ; these parents
died, respectively, October 15, 1834, and Febru
ary 2, 1849. William Egerton was a son of Asa
Egerton, who was born in March, 1736; he was
one of the first settlers of Randolph, obtained the
charter for the town (which he named), and was
its military captain. He was married in 1759 to
Hannah Griswold, and their deaths occurred,
respectively, Alay 1, 1798, and November 16,
I765- Justin H. and Hannah Olivia (Perrin) Moul
ton were the parents of three children — Clarence
Egerton, further mentioned below ; Lucy H., born
March 22, 1867, who was married to Arthur Ed
win Lane, September 16, 1890, and to whom has
been born a daughter, Marjory; and Mary Ada,
born August 20, 1871.
Clarence Egerton Moulton was born in Ran
dolph Center, Vermont, September 29, 1863. He
began his education in the West Randolph graded
schools, and then entered Dartmouth College,
Hanover, New Hampshire, from which he was
graduated in June, 1889. For two years after
ward he served as bookkeeper on the Green
Mountain Stock Farm. In 1891 he removed to
Montpelier, where, October 1, he entered upon
employment in the treasury department of the
National Life Insurance Company. He mani
fested a particular aptitude for his work, and in
January, 1897, he was advanced to the position
of assistant treasurer. In April, 1902, he was
appointed actuary. He enjoys the confidence and
esteem of the management of this important in
stitution which he serves. He is fond of genteel
sports and is a stockholder of the Montpelier
Country Club, •member of the Apollo Club of
Montpelier and the Mt. Mansfield Trout Club.
In religion he is an Episcopalian and in politics a
Republican. Mr. Moulton was married September 18,
1895, to Aliss Inez Mary Blanchard, born in
Barre, Vermont, January 11, 1869, a daughter of
Azel N. and Ellen Sara (Lane) Blanchard, and
a granddaughter of AVilliam' Blanchard.
Azel Norman Blanchard, who served in Com
pany F, First 'United States Sharpshooters, in
the war for the Union, was born February 16,

1843, at Randolph, Vermont, a son of William
Blanchard, born February 20, 1795, who lived
in Brookfield and Randolph, Vermont, and of
Alary Hunt, born November 15, 1802, at Bain-
tree, Vermont, died September 17, 1867. Wil
liam was a son of Barnard Blanchard, born in
Worcester, Alassachusetts, July 12, 1774, died
November 28, 1857, and of Phebe (Young)
Blanchard, born in Leicester, Massachusetts.
Barnard was a son of Josiah Blanchard, born in
Worcester, Massachusetts, died in Barre, Ver
mont. Ellen Sara Lane was born August 13, 1849,
at Plainfield, Vermont, daughter of Willis Lane,
born in Barre, Vermont, June 30, 1810, died in
Plainfield, Vermont, in June, 1884, and of Laura
Cutler, born in Orange, Vermont, June 20, 1814,
died at Montpelier, Vermont, January, 1896.
Willis Lane was the son of Joseph Lane and Pris
cilla Gillingham. Laura Cutler was the daughter
of Jacob Cutler, born about 1788, at Sunapee
Lake, New Hampshire, and of Betsey Watts, of
Beverly and Salem, Alassachusetts. Jacob Cutler
was the son of John Cutler, born about 1746, and
of Elizabeth Cutler. John Cutler served as pri
vate and corporal in the war of the American
Revolution, Captain Ezra Newhall's company,
Colonel Mansfield's regiment; called to Lexing
ton, April, 1775, also May to August, 1775. His
residence was at Lynn, Massachusetts.
LOWELL C. GRANT.
One of the earliest New England families,
represented in the present generation by Colonel
Lowell C. Grant, of Burlington, Vermont, was
that of whom the ancestor was Mathew Grant, a
native of England, born -in 1610, who came, Alay
30, 1630, to Boston Harbor, Massachusetts, where
he remained until 1635, when he removed to
Windsor, Connecticut. He was the father of
Samuel Grant, born in 1645, wno was an ancestor
of a patriot soldier whose name will be honored
for all time — General Ulysses S. Grant. Samuel,
the son of Samuel, was born in 1672; his son
Ephron was born in 17 14, and Ebenezer, son of
Ephron was born in 1740.
Oliver Grant, son of Ebenezer Grant, was
born in 1770. He was a farmer by occupation
and a man of sterling character, and lived a use-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

367

ful and successful life. His son, Edwin L., was
born in 1800. He inherited the paternal traits
of character, and was also a farmer, and for
some years was a town constable. He died at the
age of forty-three years. He married Sarah E.
Ladd, born in Sterling, Connecticut, in 1805, and
two children were born of this marriage — Lowell
C. (further written of below) and Charles L.,
who is engaged in the sinking or artesian wells in
Hartford, Connecticut. The mother is yet living
in Danielson, Connecticut.
Lowell C. Grant, son of_Edwin L. and Sarah
E. (Ladd) Grant, was born March 23, 1853, in
Tolland, Connecticut. He began his education
in the public schools of his native village, and
afterward completed a course in the Rockville
high school. At the age of eighteen years he
took a situation in a retail lumber business in
Rockville. Three years later he removed to Bur
lington, Vermont, and entered the lumber yards
of Sheppard, Davis & Co., with whom he remained
for three years, then taking employment in the
lumber yards of J. R. Booth, the most extensive
in New England, where he labored industriously
for twelve years, occupying the responsible posi-
- tion of bookkeeper and cashier. For a time he
was associated with L. G. Burnham in a picture
frame and art goods business. Later he became
interested in a china business, in which he con
tinued until January 1, 1902, when he sold out.
During these years Mr. Grant has extended
his activities into various other channels, and
has long been interested in the Venetian Blind
Company of Burlington, in which he occupies the
position of director, and in the Home Savings
Bank, in which he is a trustee. He has also been
called to various important positions of honor and
trust. He has served for some years as a mem
ber of the board of assessors. In 1894 he was
elected city treasurer, and he has been re-elected
in each succeeding year, and is now serving his
eighth consecutive term, covering a longer period
than any other similar official in the state. During
his incumbency of this office the business has
more than doubled in volume, and during the
past year (1902) more than half a million dollars
passed through his hands. In all his relations he
has proved himself sagacious and trustworthy,
and commands the respect and confidence of the
entire community. His public spirit and devotion

to public interests found exemplification in his
peculiarly useful services in connection with the
volunteer fire department. For four years he
was chief engineer, for a number of years fore
man of Star Hose Company, and since treasurer
of the Vermont State Firemen's Association. In
all public movements conducing to the welfare of
the community and the advancement of its inter
ests he is recognized as a leader, and he acts with
that enthusiasm which assures success.
Colonel Grant is prominent in various frater
nal organizations, and has occupied high official
positions which have given him a broad acquaint
ance and great popularity throughout the state.
He has passed all the chairs in the commandery
of the Masonic order, has attained to the thirty-
second degree, Scottish Rite, is a noble in Mt.
Sinai Temple,. Mystic Shrine; for twenty-eight
years he has been a member of the Masonic order
and for three years member of the Veterans' As
sociation. In Odd Fellowship he has passed all
the chairs in Greeri Mountain Lodge No. 1 and
Green Mountain Encampment No. 3 ; has been
for four years department commander of the Pa
triarchs Militant of the state. In these positions
he has acquitted himself most creditably, and won
the deserved gratitude of his fellow-members in
these associations. He is also a prominent mem
ber of the Algonquin Club and the Ethan Allen
Club. In politics he is a Republican. In 1875
Colonel Grant was married to Miss Nellie F.
Todd, born in 1858, in Burlington, only child
of Charles and Helen (Reynolds) Todd. Her
father, a native of Vermont, is deceased.
IRA RUSSELL.
The subject of this brief sketch is one of the
venerable and honarable citizens of Burlington,
Vermont, and is a member of a family which
has been prominently identified with the growth
and development of this section of the Green
Mountain state, where the name has ever stood
for the highest integrity and for the best order
of citizenship. Ira Russell was born in Shelburne,
Chittenden county, on the 10th of July, 1819, be
ing a son of Elihu and Matilda (Cook) Russell,
the former of whom was born in Harrisburg,
Vermont, on the 6th of January, 1796, and who
died on the 20th of January, 1854. He was a

36iS

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

son of Charles and Pearl Russell, the former of
whom was born in Cambridge, New York, whence
he came to Vermont as the original representative
of the family in this state and as one of its early
pioneers. He purchased a large tract of unim
proved land in Hinesburg, and as the years passed
he succeeded in reclaiming the same and placing
it under effective cultivation, while he also kept
a hotel which was largely patronized by the trav
eling public in the early days. He had four chil
dren — Perry, Alildred, Elihu and Lois.
Elihu Russell was reared and educated in his
native county, having completed his early educa
tional discipline in the Harrisburg Academy, and
having rendered his due quota of assistance in
the clearing and improving of the homestead
farm- He continued to devote his attention to
agricultural pursuits in his mature years, con
ducting operations on a large scale, and it may
be appropriately noted that he was thus associated
with his father and brother in the cultivation
of twelve hundred acres of land. His political
support was given to the old-line Whig party,
and he was called upon to serve. in various local
offices of trust, including those of selectman and
justice of the peace. His religious faith was that
of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which both
he and his wife were zealous and active workers.
His wife, whose maiden name was Malinda Cook,
was born in 1796, and her death occurred in 1879,
their children being as follows : William P., who
was born on the 24th of December, 181 7, died on
the 25th of January, 1847; Ira is the immediate
subject of this sketch; Phoebe, who was born on
the 21st of October, 1821, became the wife of
George Lyon, and her death occurred on the 19th
of January, 1862 ; Luthera, who was born on the
31st of July, 1823, married Abraham Russell,
and her death occurred on the 20th of January,
1899 ; Eliza, born October 25, 1825, married Air.
Bounton, and she died September 26, 1861 ; Clar
rissa, born November 12, 1827, married George
Pierce; Amy, born July 27, 1830, died on the
24th of July, 1837 ; Hannah, born on the 7th of
August, 1832, became the wife of Dr. Langdon,
and her death occurred on the 18th of January,
1876. Ira Russell was reared on a farm, then went
to Warren, New York; was engaged twelve
years in a store ; then sold oat and come to Bur

lington, Vermont, where he purchased a grocery
and provision business, which he conducted very
successfully for many years. He married in July,
1842, Ruth P. Miner, daughter of Samuel Miner,
and born at Shelburne, Vermont; They have had
two children — Ellen, who married Asa Withull,
and now deceased ; William P., also deceased,
who had three children, Alable, who married
Luke Hall, dealer in musical merchandise in Bur
lington, Vermont, and they have one child, Ruth
Russell ; Louise ; and Alice, who married Dr. John
Hodge, a dentist in Burlington. Air. Withull
was with Ira Russell in business for many years
while in Warren, New York.
Mr. Russell has held all the town offices. He
is a member of the Alethodist church, and has
been trustee and steward for fifty years.
Mrs. Russell's father, Air. Withull, came
from New Hampshire with his , father, Roswell,
as a pioneer to Shelburne, A'ermont, and spent
the rest of his life there. Her father was
a farmer, and died in 1871. Her mother, Eliza
beth Bynington, had four children, Airs. Russell
being the only one. living.
CLARK KING.
A man's reputation is the property of the
world. The laws of nature have forbidden isola
tion. Every human being submits to the controll
ing influence of others, or, as a master- spirit,
wields a power either for good or evil on the
masses of mankind. There can be no impropriety
in justly scanning the acts of any man as they
affect his public and business relations. If he is
honest and eminent in his chosen field of labor, in
vestigation will brighten his fame and point the
path that" others may follow with like success.
From among the ranks of quiet, persevering, yet
prominent citizens — prominent on account of
what he has done in commercial circles — there is
no one more deserving of mention in a volume of
this character than Clark King. He has also won
distinction in connection with political affairs.
Unlike many business men he has not allowed the
responsibilities of an active busin- >s career to
overshadow his duties of citizenship, and in the
legislative councils of the state he has rendered
valued service to the commonwealth.
Mr. King was born in Alontpelier on the 8th

o

2/?A>WUisU7

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

369

of October, 1830. His father, Dr. Nathaniel C.
King, was a native of Rochester, Massachusetts,
born July 19, 1789, his parents being Deacon
Jonathan and Mary (Clark) King. When six
teen years of age Dr. King began teaching school,
and three years later he took up the study of medi
cine, having determined to make its practice his
life work. In connection with Dr. Foster, of
Rochester, he, visited patients, and under the di
rection of his preceptor mastered many of the
best text books upon medical principles. When
twenty-two years of age he went to Hanover,
New Hampshire, where he attended medical lec
tures, and in 181 2 he settled in North Montpelier
for the practice of his chosen vocation. In 1814
he served as a surgeon on the Plattsburg expe
dition during the second war with England. He
met with excellent success in his profession, but
about 1817 he relinquished it in order to engage
in merchandising in connection with his father-
in-law. In the new venture he prospered and be
came one of the wealthy men of the state. He
took a deep and abiding interest in everything
that pertained to public progress and advance
ment, and in 1849 and J850 he manifested his
loyalty to Vermont by earnest labor in behalf of
the commonwealth while representing his district
in the state legislature. Through a long period
he served as justice of the peace, and probably no
justice of the state during the same period had a
larger local business to attend to. He was a gen
tleman of strong mentality, of marked force of
character, of excellent executive ability and un
wavering integrity. In manner he was genial and
courtly, and a fund of anecdote heightened his
conversation. In early manhood he was united in
marriage to Miss Fannie Davis, a daughter of
Nathaniel Davis, one of the founders of the town
of Alontpelier. To them were born the follow
ing named : Elsie Caroline, who was born April
6, 1818, and is now deceased ; Edward Davis, who
was born October 5, 1820, and died June 24,
1825 ; Diana F., who was born June 10, 1826, and
is the widow of Sumner Putnam, her home be
ing in Montpelier : Clark, who was born in Janu
ary, 1828, and died on the 24 of June of that
year; and Clark, whose name introduces this re
view. Dr. King was called to his final rest on ¦
the ist of December, 1882, and was the oldest
man living in his town at the time, having at-
24

tained the age of ninety-three years. His wife,
who was born March 31, 1794, passed away No
vember 20, 1847.
Clark King pursued his education in the dis
trict schools and academy at South Woodstock,
Vermont. When his native town was divided he
became a resident of the portion known as East
Alontpelier. For a number pf years in early life
he carried on general farming, but later turned
his attention to the produce business, which
claimed his time and energies for thirty years and
in return for his labor brought to him desirable
success. He is now retired, for his activity in
business circles secured for him a comfortable
competence, that enables him to rest from his
labors in the evening of life. For ten years he
was a director in the Alontpelier National Bank,
and in 'financial and social circles his word was as
good as any bond ever solemnized by signature
or seal. On the 29th of August, 1855, in Barre, Ver
mont, Clark King was united in marriage to
Rhoda R. Dodge, a daughter of Andrew J.
Dodge, and to them have been born the following
named : Cora became the wife of A. P. Johnnott,
and died leaving a daughter, Cora K. Nathaniel
C, born June 4, 1861, was educated in the Uni
versity of Vermont at Burlington and Columbia
College of New York, and is a prominent physi
cian of Brockton, Massachusetts ; he married
Alice Porter, of that place. Charles Carroll, born
January 13, 1863, completed his literary studies
in Harvard College, is also a graduate of Har
vard Law School, and is now practicing law in
Brockton ; he married Etta Allen and is a leading
and influential resident there, is a warden and
chairman of the board of trustees of the Uni
tarian church, and in politics is a stanch Re
publican. The Republican party also receives the en
dorsement and aid of Clark King, who has been
called to many local offices in the town of East
Alontpelier. From 1867 until 1870 he served as
chairman of the board of selectmen, and from
1872 until 1874 he represented AVashington coun
ty in the state senate, leaving the impress of his
individuality upon the legislation enacted during
that period. For a quarter of a centuy he has
been a trustee of Goddard Seminary of Barre,
Vermont. It would be difficult to find one who

37o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

takes a more unselfish yet active interest in pub
lic affairs for the benefit of his town and state
than does Mr. King. His life record is most
commendable. His success has been by no means
the result of fortunate circumstances, but has
come to him through energy, labor and persever
ance, directed by an evenly balanced mind and by
honorable business principles. He has made the
most of his opportunities, and thus he has pro
gressed steadily. In manner he is quiet and
straightforward, not slow to condemn injustice
and dishonesty, nor is he slow to reward faithful
ness. He commands the respect of all with whom
he comes in contact, and his successful career is
an admirable object of emulation.
LESLIE THOMAS PAGE, M. D.
Dr. Leslie Thomas Page, of Wilmington, Ver
mont, was born in Burlington, Maine, April 14,
1866. He can trace his ancestry back three gen
erations to Jesse C. Page, who was born in New
Hampshire, probably in the town of Conway,
where he was a prosperous farmer. Thomas
Page, grandfather, of Dr. Page, was born dn Con
way, New Hampshire, where he spent his child
hood and acquired his education in the district
schools. He chose farming as an occupation, and
later removed to Burlington, Penobscot county,
Maine, and became one of the pioneers of the
town. He was a man possessed of very progres
sive ideas, and was very successful in all his un
dertakings. He built a saw mill, also a lumber
mill, and operated both to advantage. He had a
farm of one thousand acres, which he cultivated
to a state of perfection, and he erected a fine
residence. He was united in marriage to Miss
Elizabeth Charles, born in Lovell, Maine. Eleven
children were born to them. John and Herman
alone survive. The remaining children were
Dean, Norman, Jerry, Jesse, Kate, Elizabeth,
Dorcas and Hannah. The parents of these chil
dren were members of the Congregational church,
in which they took an active interest, contributing
generously to its support. Air. Page gave each of
his sons a farm for their own use. He died at the
age of seventy-five years.
Norman Page, father of Dr. Page, was also
born in Conway, New Hampshire, February 19,
1 8 19, where he was reared on the old homestead.

At the age of six years his parents removed to
Burlington, Maine, where he received his educa
tion in the common schools. He followed farm
ing as an occupation, and in addition to this he
was the proprietor of a store and had large lum
ber interests. He was also very successful in the
buying and selling of land. He was joined in
marriage to Miss Hannah Springer, born in Se-
bec, Maine, a daughter of John Springer, who
was born in Washington county, Maine, and who
conducted a millwright business there for some
years, but subsequently removed to Lincoln,
where he spent the remainder of his life, dying
at the age of eighty-one years. Five children
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Page, viz: Angie,
wife of Edwin A. Reed, of Springfield, Maine;
Agnes E., now residing in Portland, Maine;
Earle S., who resides on the homestead farm in
Burlington, Maine; Grace A., who resides in
Tacoma, Washington; and Leslie T. Page. The
sisters have all been engaged in teaching, an oc
cupation in which they have been very success
ful. Mrs. Page was a devoted member of the
Congregational church, as are her daughters. Mr.
Page died at the age of seventy-four years, and
his wife passed away in her sixtieth year.
Dr. Leslie T. Page spent his childhood days
in Burlington, Vermont, where he acquired his
preliminary education in the public schools, and
later he attended the Lee Normal Academy.
While pursuing his academic and professional
studies he taught school for about seven years,
which proved to be a valuable experience for him
in later years. After spending two years in the
study of medicine in the office of Dr. S. W.
Bragg, of Lincoln, Maine, he entered the medical
department of the University of Vermont, from
which he was graduated in 189 1. He commenced
the practice of his profession in Lincoln, Maine,
remaining there for one year. He then removed
to Brattleboro, Vermont, where he spent three
years as assistant physician at the Brattleboro Re
treat. Being naturally a careful student, he had
an excellent opportunity while in this position to
make an extensive examination into the nature of
nervous diseases and the approved methods of
treatment. On January 1, 1895, Dr. Page re
moved to Wilmington, Vermont, where he has
built up an extensive practice, not only because
of his professional skill, but also as a result of

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

37i

his social and genial characteristics. In addition
to his many professional duties Dr. Page has
creditably served the town in the capacity of
health officer, and has also served as a member,
trustee, and been a director for three years of
the village school board.
Fraternally, Dr. Page is a member and past
worshipful master of Social Lodge No. 38, F. &
A. M., belongs to Mount Horeb Chapter No. 93,
R. A. M., (Mattawan K. E. A. G.,) to Beause-
ant Commandery No. 7, K. T., of Brattle
boro, Vermont, and to Mt. Sinai Temple, Nobles
of Mystic Shrine, of Montpelier; he is a past
master in the blue lodge of Wilmington, Ver
mont. Dr. Page was united in marriage to Miss
Laura Fowler, September 25, 1895. She is the
daughter of Thomas and Olive (Hale) Fowler.
Mr. Fowler was born in Pittsfield, .Maine, where
he pursued the occupations of farmer and lum
berman, and later removed to Milo, Maine, where
he died in 1902, at the age of eighty years ; his
wife survives, and of the ten children born to
them six are still living, viz : Oscar ; Ida ; Etta,
wife of Oscar Thomas ; Alma ; Laura ; and Harry
Fowler. One child has been born to Dr. and
Mrs. Page, Agnes Fowler Page.
H. ELLSWORTH PARSONS.
H. Ellsworth Parsons, town clerk and treas
urer of the town of Readsboro, is a representa
tive citizen and one of the foremost business
men of the place. He was born in Readsboro,
April 23, 1863, a son of the late Elijah Parsons.
His paternal grandfather, Joseph Parsons, a na
tive of Conway, Massachusetts, came to Reads
boro as a pioneer, arid was here engaged in
farming for a number of years. Later he went
west, and died in Wisconsin, at the age of sev
enty-three years. His first wife, whose maiden
name was Rachel Battles, bore him six children,
among them being Benjamin, Elijah, father of
H. Ellsworth and Philena. She was a member of
the Methodist Episcopal church.
Elijah Parsons, a life-long resident of Reads
boro, died at his home in this town, August 10,
1899, aged seventy-seven years. Choosing the
vocation to which he was reared, he was engaged
in general farming the greater part of his life,
being a successful agriculturist and a citizen of

prominence. Active in town affairs, he filled
various offices with credit to himself and to the
satisfaction of his constituents, for a number of
terms serving as selectman. He was liberal in
his religious views, and a member of the Univer
salist church. He married Nancy A. Bowen, who
was born July 14, 1826, in Monroe, Massachu
setts, a daughter of James Bowen. James
Bowen was a native of Richmond, New Hamp
shire, but went to Alonroe, Massachusetts, as a
pioneer, later settling in Readsboro. Of his
union with Abigail Estey, a sister of James
Fisk's mother, he had the following named chil-

H. ELLSWORTH PARSONS.
dren: Emily, Euburto, Horatio, Lorenzo,
Orrin, Albert, and Nancy, who married Elijah
Parsons. The last named is still living, and of
her six children, four survive, namely : Hattie A.,
Lovane S., Herbert A., and Harvey E., the special
subject of this sketch. Minora Imogene and
Emma Adelaide are deceased.
H. Ellsworth Parsons received his early educa-

372

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

tion in the common schools of Readsboro, com
pleting his school life in the North Adams high
school, after which he taught school in Monroe
and in Readsboro. Learning the jewelry trade
when young, he has since followed it more or
less, having a jewelry store in Readsboro. He
has also been undertaker and furniture dealer,
and is the manufacturer of what is known as
"Parson's Aura Nervo Remedies." In 1894 he
erected a fine residence, besides which he is part
owner of the Corporation building, or Bullock's
block, and is manager of the Readsboro opera
house. In politics he is a staunch Republican,
and an active worker in his party. He was
elected town treasurer in 1886, filling the posi
tion so efficiently that he has been re-elected to
the same position every year since ; has served as
town clerk since 1895 : as justice of the peace two
years, and is now superintendent of the public
schools of Readsboro.
Air. Parsons married, Alay 29, 1883, Vesta
C. Mason, who was born in Plainfield, Massa
chusetts. Her father, Ira Alason, was born in
Cummington, Massachusetts, the birthplace of
his father, Nathan Mason. Ira Mason was en
gaged in agricultural pursuits during the greater
part of his long and useful life of eighty-two
years, and was an influential member of the com
munity, serving with fidelity in the various of
fices of the town. He married Celia Gurney, a
native of Ashfield, Alassachusetts, and she is
still living. Her father, Joseph Gurney, who
served in the war of 1812, married Olive Torrey,
who bore him eight children. He was a son of
Joseph Gurney, Sr., of Ashfield, who was a sol
dier in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Parsons
has one sister living, Olive, wife of William
Goldthwait, of Lowell, Massachusetts. Mrs.
Parsons is a woman of culture and refinement,
and of recognized ability. After completing
her education at a select school, she began teach
ing as a girl of sixteen, a profession that she fol
lowed successfully for five years, having charge
of schools in Monroe, then in Hawley. later at
Savov, coming thence to Readsboro. She is now
one of the school directors, being the first woman
elected to this office, and for the last three years
has been a trustee of the public library. She is
also a notary public, county reporter for the
Deerfield Valley Times, does a large amount of

the clerical work of the town clerk's office, and
assists her husband in his jewelry business. Mr.
and Mrs. Parsons are the parents of three chil
dren, namely : Carl E., a student in the North
Adams high school ; Verne E., and Lucile V..
Parsons.
MORTIMER T. HAMLEN.
The financial and commercial history of Ver
mont would be very incomplete and unsatisfac
tory without a personal and somewhat extended
mention of those whose lives are interwoven so
closely with the industrial, financial and political
development of the state. When a man or a se
lect number of men, have set in motion the ma
chinery of business, which materializes into
a thousand forms of practical utility, or where
they have carved out a fortune or a name from
the common possibilities, open for competition to
all, there is a public desire, which should be
gratified, to see the men, so nearly as a portrait
and a word artist can paint them, and examine
the elements of mind and the circumstances by
which such results have been achieved.
A'lortimer T. Hamlen finds an appropriate
place in the history of those men of Vermont
whose force of character, whose sterling integ
rity, whose fortitude amid discouragements,
whose good sense in the management of compli
cated affairs and marked success in establishing
large industries and bringing to completion great
schemes of trade and profit, have contributed in
an eminent degree to the development of the vast
resources of this noble commonwealth. His
career has not been helped by accident or luck,
or wealth or family or powerful friends. He is,
in its broadest sense, a self-made man, being
both the architect and builder of his own fortune.
Alortimer T. Hamlen was born in Benning
ton on the 26th of May, 1855, and traces his
ancestry back to Isaac and Polly Hamlen. The
former was born in Cummington, Massachusetts,
November 25, 1748, and the latter was born April
18, 1754. Among their children was Joshua
Hamlen, whose birth occurred in Cummington
on the 17th of September, 1787. He married
Electa Shaw on September 20, 1810; she was
born October 3, 1788. Mr. Hamlen was a hatter
by trade, and for some years followed that pur-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

373

suit in his native city, but in 1827 removed to
Bennington and later engaged in farming, pur
chasing the tract of land upon which our subject
lives, in 1844. There he carried on agricultural
pursuits until his death, which ocurred Decem
ber 30, 1869, while his wife, surviving him for a
number of years, passed away on the third of
April, 1878. In their family were five children,
which number included Lafayette Hamlen, who
was born in Cummington, Massachusetts, Janu
ary gg,, 1824. He was reared upon the old home
farm and his elementary education was supple
mented by an academic course. For some years
he was associated in agricultural interests with
his father upon the old -homestead, but in 1858
"began dealing ih ice, and the business which he
"then established has since been carried on. In
1864 he began the manufacture of splints for sur
gical purposes, especially for use of the soldiers
in the Civil war. He did a large business in that
line, carrying on operations until 1866, when, the
¦demand having decreased, he turned his attention
to the wholesale petroleum business, which he
¦conducted with good success until selling out to
the Standard Oil Company in 1897. In that
year he established a cider rriill and vinegar riianu-
" factory and these are still operated by his son.
To some extent he engaged in the real estate
.; business here. He built a number of dwellings
on Union street and several in other sections of
- Bennington. In public affairs he was quite
prominent and served as trustee of his village for
many years, but refused all other offices, pre
ferring to give his time and energies to his pri
vate busines interests. His political endorse
ment was given to the Republican party, and he
attended the Congregational church, in which he
held official positions.
Lafayette Hamlen was united in marriage to
Miss Mary J. Thayer, who was born in Wards-
boro, Vermont, September 30, 1825, a daughter
of Nelson Thayer, whose birth occurred March
29, 1798. Nelson Thayer followed agricul
tural pursuits and spent the greater part of his
life in Bennington, where he died in 1874. His
wife was Lucretia Elwell, who was born June 3,
1801, and by whom he had twelve children.
Those still living are Mrs. Hamlen, who makes
her home with her son Mortimer; Oscar C, of
Erie, Pennsylvania ; Mrs. William C. Riddell, of

Buffalo, New York ; R. H. who is also living in
Buffalo; Mrs. J. B. Meachem, of Bennington;
Mrs. Enos S. Gould, of Buffalo ; and Mrs. Nellie
Hughes, of Erie, Pennsylvania. To Lafayette
and Alary J. (Thayer) Hamlen were born two
children, but the daughter died February 28, 1888,
at the age of thirty-one years, leaving two chil
dren, Marguerite and Carl Martin. On both
sides Mr. Mamlen is connected with distinguished
relatives. Hannibal Hamlen was descended
from the ancestry from which our subject traces
his descent, The latter's father was also a second
cousin of Senator Dawes, and Mrs. Lafayette
.Hamlen is alsO collaterly connected with
Millard Fillmore, president of the United States.
Mrs. Hamlen has several brothers and sisters
still living. One of her brothers, Edward, was
a second lieutenant in the Union army during the
Civil war and acted as a captain in the Fourteenth
Vermont Regiment in the battle of Gettysburg.
He lived to -return home and later became con
nected with a store in the south, but soon after
ward made his way to the north and died at the
comparatively early age of thirty years. A
sister, Martha, became the wife of Halsey Cush
man and the mother of Harry T. Cushman, a
representative citizen of Bennington-; she died at
the age of seventy-three years. Another sister,
Mrs. C. G. Meachem, is still living in Benning
ton. Ancestors on both sides of the family were
in the patriot army in the war of the Revolution.
Mortimer T. Hamlen, the son of Lafayette
Hamlen, acquired his early education in the com
mon schools of Bennington, took an academic
course at Manchester and afterwards enjoyed the
advantages of a collegiate course in the Univer
sity of Vermont, in Burlington, taking a special
course of four years in chemistry, and gaining a
comprehensive and accurate knowledge of that
science both in theory arid practice. For eight
een months he was engaged in the drug business
in Pennsylvania, but on the expiration of that
period returned to Bennington and joined- his
father in business, practically having charge of his
extensive interests. During the past eight years
he has been in full control of the cider and vine
gar business of this town, employing five men
throughout the year and sometimes having a
force of eight men in the summer months. He
is also engaged in the wholesale and retail ice

374

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

business, and his sale of that product is large and
constantly growing. He owns an extensive
•farm, on -which, he raises all the supplies for his
stock. His business interests are extensive and
varied, completely occupying his time. In poli
tics he is a Republican, but has no desire for pub
lic office, even if he had the opportunity to seek
political preferment. His integrity stands as an
unquestioned fact in his history.
JOHN W. SAWYER.
John W. Sawyer, a prominent business man
of Whitingham, is a miller, a lumber manufac
turer and dealer and a prosperous farmer. He
was born October n, 1832, in Whitingham,
which was the birthplace of his father, the late
Houghton Sawyer. Phineas Houghton Sawyer,
his grandfather, was one of a family of four
brothers, two of whom, George and Abner, re
mained in Calais, Maine, the town in which they
were born, while Silas, the oldest of the family,
removed to Templeton, Massachusetts, and
Phineas migrated from Calais to Vermont. Lo
cating in Whitingham in 1803, he took up land,
later bought a mill property and water privileges,
and was here employed in general farming and
milling until his death, in 1846, at the age of six-
t)'-six years. His wife, whose maiden name was
Rebecca Orcutt, was born in Athol, Massachu
setts, and died in Whitingham at the age of
eighty-five years. They reared four sons and one
daughter, as follows : Houghton ; Emory,
spent his early life in Whitingham, then removed
to Brattleboro, where he operated a grist mill
until his death ; Mary, a life-long resident of this
town, married Foster Willis : Abner settled in Sa
vannah, Georgia, where he at first drove a stage
between that city and Darien, a distance of sixty-
five miles, later having a livery business in Sa
vannah, where his widow, formerly Harriet E.
Calkins, is now living ; and George H., who lived
in Boston, Massachusetts, a few years, rigged out
a ship in 1849, .went to California, where he was
engaged in mining a number of years, afterwards
being in the grain business in Milwaukee until
his health failed, when he moved to. Brattleboro,
Vermont, where he spent his last years.
Houghton Sawyer, a life-long resident of
Whitingham, was one of the leading farmers

of the place, and was also extensively engaged
in lumbering. A man of integrity, honorable in
all of his dealings, he had the confidence of the
entire community, and filled many offices of trust,
being chairman of the boards of selectmen and
listers, trial justice and town treasurer many
years, and having charge of the settlement of
many large estates. In his early days he was
a Whig, later an Abolitionist, then a Free-soiler
until the formation of the Republican party, when
he became one of its stanchest supporters. He
was an active member of the Methodist church,
contributing liberally towards its support, and
serving for many years as class leader. He mar
ried Almeda Brown, who was born in Phillips-
ton, Massachusetts, a daughter of Nathan
Brown, who was born in Lexington, Massachu
setts, where his father took an active part in the
battle of Lexington, on April 19, 1775. Of their
union nine children were born, seven daughters
and two sons, and of his family seven have passed
away as follows: Martha A., who married Lu
cius Murray, died at Boston Highlands; Keziah
R., died in Brooklyn, New York; Elizabeth, died
in Whitingham ; Faustina, died in Brooklyn, New
York ; Harriet, died in Whitingham ; Charles H.,
died in Whitingham; and Martha A., who died
in August, 1852, at North Adams. The two
living are John W. and Mary J., wife of Gusta
vus Foster, of Boston Highlands, Massachusetts.
Neither of the parents is living, the father hav
ing died at the age of sixty-seven years and the
mother when eighty-four years old.
John W. Sawyer obtained an excellent edu
cation in his early days, and from the age of
fifteen until nineteen years taught school in
Whitingham or Brattleboro. Going to Gardner,
Massachusetts, he worked in a chair factory for
awhile, then went to Templeton, Massachusetts,
where he remained five years. The ensuing five
years he carried on a milk and grocery business
in Brooklyn, New York, but on account of ill
health returned to AVhitingham. Entering then
into a co-partnership with his father, he carried on
farming and milling for six years under the firm
name of H. & J. W. Sawter, during that time
building a large mill and the house which he now
occupies. In 1866 he bought his father's interest
in the various enterprises and conducted the en
tire business alone until 1881, when he sold out

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

375

to his son Lincoln, with whom he has since been
associated. In 1899 the plant was enlarged by
the erection of the present grist mill, which is
equipped with the latest improved machinery.
Mr. Sawyer has never been an aspirant for offi
cial honors, his private interests demanding his
entire attnention, but he is a member of Unity
Lodge No. 89, F. & A. M., of Jacksonville, to
which his son also belongs.
Mr. Sawyer married October 17, 1855, Ca
lista D. Gillette, a daughter of Dr. Waters Gil
lette, who was one of the leading physicians of
Bennington county, practicing medicine in Whit
ingham for upwards of sixty years. Doctor Gil
lette was very prominent in the town, and served
as representative to the state legislature. He
lived to the venerable age of ninety-one years.
His wife, whose maiden name was Brittinna
Whitney, bore him nine children, of whom four
are living — E. F., of Shelburne Falls ; Abbie,
who married Chester B. Newell, of Wollaston,
Massachusetts; Ransom W., of North Heath,
Massachusetts ; and Cora B., wife of John Gould,
of North Adams, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs.
Sawyer are the parents of six children, viz:
Nellie C, Charles W., Harry Waters, Lincoln
H., Clara S. and one child that died in infancy.
Nellie C. Sawyer, formerly a school teacher,
married Wallace Cook, of Brattleboro, and died
in February, 1892, aged forty-four years ; Charles
W. died at the age of twenty years.
Harry Waters Sawyer Hved beneath the
parental roof until eighteen years old, then went
to Gardner, Massachusetts, where he was em
ployed in the chair factory, or as traveling sales
man, until 1885, when he went to South Dakota,
where he had a real estate and loan agency in
Miller until 1898. Since then he has resided at
Sioux Falls, where he was at first secretary for
the railway commissioners, but is now in the
real estate business. He married Grace E.
Strong, and they have one child, Pierre Sawyer.
Lincoln H. Sawyer, who purchased his father's
business in 1881, and has since conducted it most
successfully, is a man of influence, and repre
sented Whitingham in the legislature in 1900,
serving on the committee on manufactures. He
was elected on the Democratic ticket, although
the town is a Republican stronghold. In 1890
he married Clara V. Negus, of Charlemont, Mas

sachusetts, and they have two children, Vesta
S. and Houghton N. Clara S. Sawyer married,
March 11, 1891, E. J. Roberts, of Jacksonville,
by whom she has two children, Raymond S., born
December 10, 1895, and Calista C.
HON. ROSWELL FARNHAM.
Hon. Roswell Farnham, of Bradford, ex-
governor of Vermont, was the thirty-seventh
governor of the state. He was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, July 23, 1827, a son of Roswell
Farnham, Sr., and a direct descendant in the
eighth generation from Ralph Farnham, the im
migrant, the line of descent being as follows :
Ralph, Ralph, Ephraim, Ephraim, Benjamin,
John, Roswell, Roswell.
Ralph Farnham ( 1 ) , with his wife, emigrated
from Farnham, England, to America in 1625,
subsequently settling in Andover, Massachusetts.
His grandson, Ephraim Farnham (3), was one
of the signers of a petition still extant, addressed
to Governor Shute of the province of Massachu
setts Bay asking permission to make a settlement
on the "Merrymake" river, and was one of the
original settlers of the town which was granted
by Massachusetts in 1725 under the name of
Pennacook, was incorported as Rumford in
1762, and, having become a part of New Hamp
shire, was again incorporated as Concord, becom
ing the capital of the state. He was a citizen of
prominence in Pennacook, serving as selectman
and as deacon of the Congregational church. His
wife was Priscilla Holt. Ephraim (4) married
Molly Ingles, and lived in Concord, New Hamp
shire. Benjamin Farnham (5) the second son of
Ephraim, Jr., married Anna Merrill, by whom
he had fifteen children. John Farnham (6), the
second son of the parental household, married
Sarah Thompson, of Concord, New Hampshire,
and they reared eight children.
Roswell Farnham (7) was in business on
Court street, Boston, for many years. Subsequent
ly removing to Haverhill, Massachusetts, he was
there engaged in manufacturing boots and shoes
for the southern market until the great financial
panic of 1838 and 1839, when his entire fortune
was swept away. Coming then to Vermont, he
bought a farm in Bradford, and was here engaged
in agricultural pursuits until his death, Decern-

376

THE STATE OF A^ERMONT.

ber 20, i860. He married, first, Ruth Bixby, of
Piermont, New Hampshire, and after her death
married her sister, Nancy Bixby, who was the
mother of Laura A. Farnham and Hon. Roswell
Farnham. Nancy Bixby's father, Captain David
Bixby, was born at Boxford, Massachusetts, in
1755. Twenty years later he fought in the bat
tles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, subsequently
participating in several battles of the Revolution.
He was also a privateer, and while returning
with considerable prize money was captured and
sent to Dartmoor prison, England, where he was
confined for seventeen months, suffering untold
privations and hardships. On being liberated he
returned to Massachusetts and settled in Haver
hill, where he married Nancy, daughter of Dr.
Pecker, for whom a street in that city is named.
About 1795 he removed with his family to Pier
mont, New Hampshire, where his death oc
curred, December 18, 1848. Ruth (Bixby) Farn
ham was the mother of Cyrus Conant Farnham,
who died at Memphis, February 25, 1863.
Roswell Farnham (8) was reared on his
father's farm, attended the district schools, fitting
for college at the Bradford Academy, where he
went through the freshmen and sophomore
classes. In September, 1847, he entered the
junior class of the University of Vermont, from
which he was graduated in 1849, and which, in
1852, in the month of August, conferred upon
him the degree of A. M. For several years he
taught school with eminent success, in 1862 be
coming principal of the Bradford Academy,
which, with the aid of his accomplished wife,
he conducted successfully for two years. During
all of this time he had been reading law and had
studied with Robert AlcK. Ormsby, then a lead
ing lawyer of Bradford, and after his admission
to the bar, in 1857, was in partnership with Mr.
Ormsby for awhile, after which he opened an
office for himself, soon gaining many friends in
the profesion and a remunerative practice. His
ability and high personal attributes were recog
nized and appreciated by his fellow townsmen,
and, in 1859, he was elected by the Republicans
as state's attorney, being afterward twice re
elected. During the Civil war he gave up his profes
sional labors to serve his country on the first call
for troops, going out as second lieutenant of Com

pany D., First Vermont Volunteer In
famy, and was soon made provost mar
shal on the staff of Colonel J. W. Phelps.
He was commissioned captain of a com
pany in August, 1862, subsequently promoted
to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and before the
close of the war acted as colonel of the Twelfth
Vermont Volunteer Infantry. Lieutenant Colonel
Farnham commanded the regiment with notable
efficiency- in the repulse of the Confederate Gen
eral Stuart's attack upon Fairfax Court House,
December 28, 1862. In the Gettysburg campaign
the regiment was attached to the Third Division
of the First Army Corps. Soon after the battle
of Gettysburg Colonel Farnham was mustered out
with the command on the expiration of his term
of service. Returning to Bradford Mr. Farnham re
sumed his practice in his chosen profes
sion, soon becoming one of the most in
fluential citizens of the place.- In 1868 he was
elected to the state senate, re-elected in 1869, and
served on several important committees, proving
himself a wise and able legislator. In 1876 he
was a delegate to the national Republican con
vention, which, in session at Cincinnati, nominated
Rutherford B. Hayes for the presidency, and was
also presidential elector the same year. In 1880
he was unanimously nominated for governor of
Vermont by the Republican convention, and was
elected by a majority of 25,000, -the largest vote
ever cast in the state up to that time. During his
term of administration the prison buildings were
rebuilt and the state reform school was enlarged.
He was held in high regard by the people of the
state, in his public and private relations with them
standing as a man of the strictest integrity. He
was a member of the Congregational church, and
contributed liberally towards its support.
On December 25, 1849, Mr. Farnham married
Mary Elizabeth, eldest daughter of Captain
Ezekiel and Nancy (Rogers) Johnson, of Brad
ford. Captain Ezekiel Johnson was a native of
Bradford, a son of James and Jane (Swyer) John
son, and was a lineal descendant of Thomas John
son, who came from England in 1634 and settled
in Massachusetts. Nancy Rogers was born in
Newbury, Vermont, daughter of Samuel and
Ruth (Stevens) Rogers, who were among the
early settlers of A^ermont. Of the children born

CjjuuLy. ---!'- -¦-*

TX

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

377

to Roswell and Mary E. Farnham three are living,
namely: Charles Cyrus, a lawyer, residing at
Buffalo, New York; Florence Mary, wife of
Colonel E. G. Osgood, of Bellows Falls, Ver
mont; and William Mills, of Buffalo, New York.
Governor Farnham passed away peacefully at
his home in Bradford on Monday, January 5,
1903. At his funeral on the following Thursday^
Rev. H. J. Kilbourn said :
"Possessed of a forceful nature, an alert mind
which could see an opportunity and seize it, he
nevertheless in early life deemed it his strength
to surrender the control of his destinies to the
will of God. Possibly it is not known to many
that his strong early ambition was to be an artist,
to speak to the men of his world by the brush
and canvas, to portray the aisles of the forest, the
tenderness of the sunset, the majesty of the, sea,
Or the hopes and passions in the human face, to
follow in the steps of Angelo and Titian, Rubens
and Rembrandt. Had he done so Vermont would
to-day have been noting the loss of a painter. But
with him there was one word greater than inclina
tion — it was duty — and it led him to the more
prosaic task of teaching school, which was the
¦first step in the ascent to his later honors. But
a kindly providence gave him in after years that .
power almost as much to be coveted, of word
-painting. Recall, any of you who were present
at the reunion of the Vermont officers, December
12, 1877, his description of what Vermont men
•experienced in the Civil war. It was. the old am-
ibition of boyhood that fired him as he said : 'Let
the broad canvas contain all your sufferings and
heroism upon the peninsula, reeking with the
poisonous vapors of the swamps of the
Chickahominy, from Williamsburg to Mal
vern Hill. Put in that first attempt at
warfare at Big Bethel; paint then the gate
¦of the mountains at Harper's Ferry, with
¦every eminence bristling with cannon and
gloomy with treachery. Putin bloody Antietam,
with its cornfields laden with the harvest of the
dead. The blood shed on St. Mary's Height at
Fredericksburg will color your picture with such
a crimson tint as will cast its horrible gleam far
down the vista of time. And finally catch upon
your brush the brilliant and crimson rays of the
setting sun, and in the very center of your grand
panorama, high above all, paint the final surren

der of the rebel hordes at Appomattox Court
House in such colors as shall give a light
to your whole canvas. Paint the caps of the ex
ultant soldiers in the air, and in some way
give voice to their loud hurrahs. And as you fin
ish your first effort in the arts, inscribe above it,
in letters of living light: "This did Vermont
for posterity !" ' After the spell of these burn
ing words, who shall not. say that Heaven did not
guide him into the exercise of his noblest pow
ers ?"
AUGUSTUS BARROW.S.
Augustus- Barrows, deceased, was for many
years prominently identified with the commercial
interests of Burlington, Vermont. He was born
on the 24th of May, 1844, in the city of Bur
lington, and was the son of George E. Barrows,
who was born in Wallingford, this state, in 1804.
After acquiring his education in the public
schools of his native city, the latter learned the
trade of a hatter, and engaged in that occupation
for a number of years. Removing thence to Bur
lington, Vermont, he embarked in the grocery
business, and his success in that enterprise was
the result, of good judgment, careful management
and diligence in business. He married Miss
Harriet Marshall, who was born in Williston-,
this state, in 181 7, arid they became the parents
of eight children^ two 'of whom are still living,
Lucy M., the wife of Horace L. Bundy, of
Hartford, Connecticut; and Louis M., a promi
nent resident of Burlington, Vermont. George
E. Barrows passed away in death in 1873, when
he had reached the age of sixty-nine, years, and
his wife's, death occurred in ,1887, when in her
seventieth year.
- Augustus Barrows, a son of George E. and
Harriet Barrows, obtained his education in the
common schools of Burlington, and after com
pleting hjs education, being then fifteen' years
of age, entered his father's grocery store, where
he remained until he attained his majority. He
then purchased his father's old store, conducting
the same successfully for a number of years, but
later engaged in the wholesale crockery and paper
trade, at that time being the only one in that oc
cupation in the city of Burlington, and he thus
continued for the following twenty-five years.

378

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

On the expiration of that period, however, his
health failed, and he was forced to retire. Sub
sequently he entered the real estate business, and
while thus engaged constructed a number of tena-
ment houses, also the Barrow's block, which is
situated on the east side of Church street, erected
a number of houses which he afterwards dis
posed of, built a beautiful residence on South
Union street, Burlington, where he resided for
many years, and also the handsome house in
which his widow now makes her home. He also
erected Kathleen Temple, which served as a
memorial to his beloved daughter Kathleen, and
he sold a number of lots in what was then called
Barrowsville, it having been largely through his
instrumentality that real estate interests devel
oped so rapidly in the city of Burlington. He was
one of the best known and most efficient real es
tate men, and his word was considered as good
as his bond. In his political belief Mr. Barrows
was a firm supporter of the measures adopted by
the Republican party, and in his fraternal rela
tions he was a member of the Masonic order and
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
On the 21st of May, 1873, Mr. Barrows was
united in marriage to Miss Mary L. Larue, who
was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1850,
being a daughter of John C. Larue, who was
born in New Jersey in 1801. Mr. Larue was a
man of sterling qualities, and served for many
years as judge of the supreme court of Louis
iana. For his wife he chose Miss Mary L.
Mintzer, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsyl
vania, a daughter of William Mintzer, and Mrs.
Barrows was their only child. The father died
when he had reached the age of fifty-four years,
and his wife passed away when only twenty-four
years of age. One child came to bless the home
of Mr. and Mrs. Barrows, Kathleen Larue. Mr.
Barrows was called to his final rest on the 7th
of November, 1897, passing away at his late
residence, 328 North avenue, in Burlington, Ver
mont, and his widow still survives.
WILLIAA1 HENRY Du BOIS.
William Henry Du Bois, one of the foremost
citizens of Randolph, is a native of West Ran
dolph, born March 24, 1835, and a grandson of
Dr. Joseph Du Bois, an early resident of the ad

joining town of Braintree, Vermont. The last
named was born August 1, 1775, in Providence,
Rhode Island. After attaining his degree as doc
tor of medicine he settled, about the beginning of
the nineteenth century, in Braintree, and became
very successful in practice. He died June 14,
1840, in Randolph, Vermont. His wife, Polly
Spear, was born August 7, 1781, in Braintree,
Massachusetts, and died in Randolph, Massachu
setts, October 10, 1853. They had eleven chil
dren, most of whom lived and died in Randolph,
Massachusetts. Earl Cushman Du Bois, eldest child of Dr. Jo
seph and Polly Du Bois, was born October 6,
1799, in Braintree, Vermont, and Was a farmer,
being also engaged in teaming between Randolph
and Boston. In his day all freight had to be moved
by wagon, and he maintained six-horse teams,.
in partnership with Samuel Mann and others.
May 21, 1822, he married Anna Lamson, who
was born August 24, 1803, south of the village
of West Randolph, and was a daughter of Thomas
Lamson, who came to Randolph in 1785. His
marriage, May 12, 1785, was the second in the
town, the bride being Anna, daughter of Gideon
and Rachel (Heath) Martiri.- (See Lamson, in
this work. ) Mr. Du Bois continued to reside dur
ing all his married life in the village of West
Randolph, where he purchased twenty acres of
land in 1848, on which he erected a house. Here
he died, November 17, 1854. His widow sur
vived him until January 21, 1893, passing the last
twenty years of her life at the home of her young
est son, whose name introduces this article. She
was the mother of seven children.
William H. Du Bois began his business career
at a very early age. He received an academic-
education in his native town, interspersing his
studies with service in his brother's store, and.
was for one year a clerk in another store before
he was eighteen years of age. In 1852 he began
a year's engagement in a store at Randolph, Mas
sachusetts, and at the end of this service went
to Boston to enter the wholesale shoe store of his
uncle, Wales Tucker, as bookkeeper. In 1856
he was admitted as a partner in the firm of James
Tucker & Company^ wholesale shoe dealers, of
Boston, where he continued very successfully
eight years, being compelled to retire temporarily
at the end of . that period, by reason of ill

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

379

health. After a period of rest and recuperation
in his native state his health was restored and he
was enabled to engage in business again. In
December, 1867, he went to New York city and
became a member of the wholesale shoe jobbing
house of Du Bois, Magovern & Company, of
which his brother, Gilman B. Du Bois,
was also a member. At the end of five
years he retired permanently from active mercan
tile pursuits, and has ever since made his home
in his native place, contributing much toward its
financial, moral and educational growth. He im
mediately erected his present handsome residence
on South Main street, where hospitalityy good
cheer and a refined influence reign.
He was largely instrumental in establishing
the West Randolph graded schoool, one of the
best and most successful of its kind in the state,
and was continuously a member of its board of
management twenty-one years. For the same
period he was treasurer of the West Radolph
district, and since the incorporation of the village
of West Randolph, in 1876, he has served it as
treasurer. Previous to 1875 no organized bank
had ever been established in the town of Randolph,
and the establishment of the Randolph National
Bank at Randolph, May 8, 1875, was the result
of his enterprise and executive ability. This has
filled an urgent need of the community, and, with
a capital of $100,000, it has steadily paid divi
dends to the stockholders and largely benefited
this section of the state. Mr. Du Bois has con
tinually held the presidency of the bank, and was
chairman of the board of water commissioners at
the time of the construction of the village water
works, and continued eleven years on the board.
He has also served many years as treasurer of the
town of Randolph, which position he still fills.
In 1896 he was instrumental in organizing a free
public library for the town, and was elected one
of the five trustees to manage it. At the end of his
term of four years he was re-elected to the same
position for a period of five years, and continued
to act as secretary and treasurer of the board. In
1901 his old friend and schoolmate, Colonel Rob
ert J. •Kimball, volunteered to supply a building
and furniture, and the care of its construction has
fallen chiefly upon Mr. Du Bois. The building
is a handsome and substantial one, reflecting
credit upon ail concerned in its erection, and occu

pies a convenient site on Main street. The library
now includes more than five thousand volumes,
and is highly creditable to the town.
Having faith in the governmental principles
of the Republican party, he has ever been a firm
adherent of its policy, and exercised a powerful
influence in its councils, both locally and at large.
His service to his state has been as cheerfully,
widely and efficiently rendered as those exercised
in the interest of his home town, and with the
same fidelity, energy and executive ability that
have well ordered his private affairs. His elec
tion to the legislature from the town of Randolph
in 1876 was characterized by the largest majority
ever given a representative from the town. He
served in that legislature on the committee on
banks and education and the joint special commit
tee on state expenses. In the same year he was
appointed inspector of finance by Governor
Horace Fairbanks, being successively reappointed
by Governors Proctor and Farnham, holding the
position six years. From 1882 to 1890 he con
tinuously held the office of state treasurer.
Again, in 1892, he was appinted in
spector of finance by Governor Fuller,
and filled the post two years. He was elected in
1892 to represent Orange county in the state sen
ate, and served in the session of that year as chair
man of the committee on finance and on the joint
standing committee on state and court expenses,
and was a member of the committee on railroads
and several special committees.
Mr. Du Bois was the first state officer to rec
ommend to the legislature a direct tax on corpora
tions in the state. Governor Proctor, in his mes
sage to the legislature in 1878, endorsed the rec
ommendation made by the inspector of finance in
his 'report, of a one-half of one per cent, tax on
savings bank deposits, and a law was enacted for
the purpose. This has become the settled policy
of the state, and the tax upon all kinds of corpora
tions, through subsequent enactments, now af
fords nearly $500,000 annually toward state ex
penses. January 1, 1862, William H. Du Bois was
married to Aliss Anne Eliza Gilbert, daughter of
Myron J. and Jerusha (Fanning) Gilbert, of
Brandon, Vermont. She was born April 20, 1844,
in Troy, New York, and died in West Randolph,
May 31, 1887. Widely known and much beloved,

38o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Mrs. Du Bois was active in the social and relig
ious life of the state, being a prominent member
-of the First Baptist church of West Randolph.,
The fine-toned bell which calls people to worship
in the building of that society was presented by
Mr. Du Bois in memory of his lamented wife.
She was the mother of nine children, five of whom
are now living. Mr. Du Bois was married June
5, 1888, to Adeline Lucy, youngest daughter of
Horace and Lucy (Smith) Moulton, of West
Randolph. The surviving children of Mr. Du Bois are
briefly mentioned, as follows : Mary Susan, a
graduate of Smith College, in the class of 1893,
is a teacher in the Randolph high school. Charles
Gilbert, graduated from Dartmouth College in
1891, and has since been connected with the
Western Electric Company, being now sec
retary of the company, with headquarters in
Chicago. Clara Adelaide, a graduate of Mount
Holyoke College, was married September 6, 1890,
to Homer B. Bell, a merchant of Randolph. Anne
Lamson graduated in 1894 from the Randolph
high school, and subsequently from Smith Col
lege. John Henry graduated from the former
institution in 1896, subsequently spending two
years at Dartmouth College.
LEVI K. FULLER.
Levi K. Fuller, deceased, who has served in
the capacity of lieutenant governor and governor
of the state of Vermont, was born February 24,
1841, at Westmoreland, New Hampshire. He is
a descendant of a long line of distinguished an
cestors. The progenitor of the American branch
of the family was Dr. Edward Fuller, who, ac
companied by his wife and son Samuel, set sail
from England in the year 1620 in the illustrious
ship Mayflower, which brought the little band
of Pilgrims to Plymouth Rock. On November
6, 1620, \Villiam Butler, a youth who was en
gaged by them as a servant, died and was buried
at sea ; Edward Fuller and his wife died shortly
after coming to this country, but their son Samuel
lived, married and had four children. Edward
Fuller arrived in Boston in 1630, and his son
John Fuller was one of the first proprietors of
Salisbury in 1640, and perhaps of Ipswich in
1648. He settled in Lynn, Massachusetts, in

1646, where his death ocurred April 2, 1676.
John Fuller, son of John Fuller, was a resident
of Lynn in 1644, where he died June 2, 1666,
and surviving him were three sons, John, William
and James. John Fuller was a resident of Lynn,
and served for five years as lieutenant in the
state militia; he died April 29, 1695. His sons
were: John, Thomas, Edward, Elisha, Joseph
and Benjamin. Matthew Fuller resided in Plym
outh in 1640, and removed to Barnstable in 1652,
was a surgeon general in the Plymouth colonial
forces irt 1673, and was appointed to the rank of
captain in 1675, in which year he died. Robert
Fuller, of Salem, Massachusetts, was made a free
man of the colony in 1658; later he removed to
Rehoboth, Alassachusetts, and was granted a
deed for land in that town on May 28, 1696. He
was twice married, his first wife, Sarah,
was buried in Rehoboth, October 14, 1676; his
second wife, Margaret, died at Rehoboth, Janu
ary 30, 1697 or 1700. His death occurred May
10, 1706. Their children were: Jonathan,
born in 1640 ; Elizabeth, born in 1645 > Mary,
born in 1647; Samuel, born in 1649; John, born
in 165 1 ; Abigail, born in 1653, and Benjamin,
born in 1657. Robert and William Fuller were
admitted freemen of Rehoboth, June 2, 1641, and
Robert Fuller registered as a land purchaser in
1652. The original purchasers of Attleboro,
Massachusetts, October 2, 1665, were: John
Ormsby, Robert Fuller, Jonathan Fuller, Thomas
Ormsby and Jacob Ormsby. Salem town granted
to Robert Fuller, April 1, 1643, twenty acres of
land at Jeffries Creek.
Jonathan Fuller, eldest son of Robert Fuller,
was born in 1640, married in Rehoboth, Decem
ber 14, 1664, Miss Elizabeth Wilmarth, born in
Rehoboth, April 4, 1647, a daughter of Thomas
and Elizabeth Wilmarth. Mr. Fuller died, and
his estate was divided, August 3, 1709, by his
widow Elizabeth Fuller. Their children were:
Jonathan, born December 23, 1665 ; David, born
September 11, 1667; Daniel, born August 6,
1669 ; Robert and Thomas, twins, born June 28,
1671, Robert dying the same year; Robert, born
Alarch 2, 1673; Nathaniel, born May 1, 1675;
Elizabeth, born Alay 12, 1678; Sarah, born April
23, 1680; Noah, born in February, 1682-3, and
Esther. Robert Fuller, son of Jonathan and Eliza-

/f^UA*

The Lewis PuWshina Co

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

381

beth Fuller, was born March 2, 1673. He Was
married twice, his first wife having been Miss
Elizabeth Shephardson, who died September 28,
1701 ; he then married Miss Mary Titus, who
was born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, March 30,
1681-2. Their children were: Josiah, born
November 18, 1704; Sarah, born in 1707; Eliza
beth, born in 1710, and Robert.
Josiah Fuller, eldest son of Robert Fuller,
was born November 18, 1704. He was united
in marriage to Miss Mehitable Ormsby, and the
following named children were born to them :
May, Oliver, Isabel, Caleb and Noah, born
March 28, 1739. The father of these children
died in 1754, and his wife pased away in March,
1779. Noah Fuller, son of Josiah and Mehitable
Fuller, was born at Wrentham, Massachusetts,
March 28, 1739. He became a member of the
medical profession, from the practice of which
he acquired a goodly competence. On the 6th
of April, 1779, he purchased one hundred acres
of land from Zethon Bailey, in the town of West
moreland, New Hampshire, it being in latitude
three, range three and division two, the deed of
which was recorded July 19, 1780. He erected
a log house on this ground, but subsequently he
built a large two-story house on the first road
that was built from East Westmoreland to Surry.
He was married to Miss Dorotha Hunt, who was
born January 17, 1743, and died August 16, 1762 ;
they had one child, Josiah, who was born No
vember 16, 1761. Mr. Fuller was then united in
marriage in 1763, to Miss Esther Ware, of
Wrentham, Massachusetts, who was born June
10, 1739. Their children were: Noah, born
May 28, 1764; Robert, born March 4, 1766; Es
ther, born January 25, 1768; Dorotha, born Jan
uary 21, 1770, died March 20, 1-861 ; Abigail,
born February 1, 1772 ; Joshua, born February
io, 1774; Sibyl, born June 15, 1777; Joseph,
born July 30, 1779; and Betty, born August 10,,
1783, died July 10 1797. Mr. Fuller died and
was interred in the old cemetery in Surry, New
Hampshire, and his wife died in May, 1809.
Joseph Fuller, fourth son of Noah and Es
ther Fuller, was born in Wrentham, Massachu
setts, July 30, 1779. He was joined in marriage,
January 30, 1803, at Westmoreland, to Miss
Anna Knight, who was born January 7, 1779, a

daughter of Josiah Knight, of Worchester,
Massachusetts. The following named children.
were born of this union : Luther K., born May
8, 1805, in Franconia, New Hampshire, died.
July 26, 1852; Betsey, born July 23, 1808, at
Franconia, New Hampshire, died July 21, 1871 ;
Christopher C, born July 16, 1809, at Westmore
land, New Hampshire, died March 28, 1877;..
Washington, born November 1, 1812; Mary K,
born October 8, 1&14, died July 21, 1858; Simon,
born August 3, 1816, died April 23, 1824; John,
born May 25, 1818, died Alarch 11, 1824; Lucy
K, born May 21, 1820; and Lydia, who changed,
her name to Ellen, was born September 27, 1823..
Mr. Fuller's death resulted from injuries re
ceived in a fall in his shop, and his wife died
from paralysis of the left side.
Washington Fuller, third son of Joseph and
Anna Fuller, was born in East Westmoreland,
New Hampshire, November 1, 1812. He was
united in marriage in Ashby, Massachusetts, De
cember 10, 1838, to Miss Lucinda Constantine,.
who was born at Mt. Holly, Vermont, July 3,.
1812, a daughter of Jacob and Eunice (Sawin)-
Constantine, the latter named being the daughter •
of Jonathan and Mary (Whitney) Sawin. Their
children were: George W., born September 11,
1839, at Westmoreland, New Hampshire; Levi
K, born February 24, 1841, and died October
10, 1896 ; and Mary Ann, born September 18,
1845, at Westminster, Vermont, died October 18,
1880, at Springfield, Massachusetts, and was in
terred at Brattleboro, Vermont.
Levi K. Fuller, second son of Washington-
and Lucinda Fuller, was born February 24, 1841,
on the homestead of Noah Fuller, then owned
by Joseph Fuller. In 1845 his parents removed
to Westminster, Vermont, and young Levi at
tended the public schools until he attained the age •
of thirteen years, when, with only twenty-five
cents in his pocket, he left his father's residence,
determined to make a place for himself in the
world. Coming to Brattleboro he learned the
trade of printer in a Brattleboro office, and in his
leisure hours studied and practiced the science of
electricity until he thoroughly understood it, and
at the same time learned the art of telegraphy.
Shortly after this he applied himself to mechanics
and in order to become familiar with this line of
work he served an apprenticeship as a machinist

382

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

at Boston, Massachusetts, where he also attended
an evening school. Mr. Fuller was intended by
nature to be a scientist, and few men. have ever
been better equipped mentally to study and prac
tice scientific problems. He was one of the first
electricians in America or any other country to
note the influence of the aurora borealis upon
telegraph lines ; at that time he was serving as
night telegraph operator, and the press of the
country and scientists of high attainment gave
him full credit for his important discovery. He
was devoted to the study of astronomy, and in
his observatory in Brattleboro he had one of the
finest equatorial telescopes in the east. In i860
Mr. Fuller became actively connected with the
Estey Organ Company's factory, and he demon
strated his value to the company in so large a
degree that six years later he was admitted as a
member of the great corporation. His re
sources as an inventor were great, and over a
hundred patents have been issued to cover his
many devices. He was a prominent member of
the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
of the American Society for the Advancement of
Science and the Astronomical Society of the
Pacific. In 1873 President Grant appointed Mr. Ful
ler a commissioner to the Vienna Exposition, but
he declined the honor as his business interests
at home demanded all his time and energy. The
best proof of the esteem in which he was held
by his fellow citizens is the fact that he occupied
two of the highest offices within their gift. In
1886 he was nominated and elected, by a hand
some majority, lieutenant governor of the state
of Vermont, and two years later, by an increased
majority, he was elected to the responsible po
sition of governor. He made his mark as a
public official, and his administration of the af
fairs of the state was regarded as a model of
excellence. Governor Fuller, in 1874, founded
what was known as the Fuller Battery, and
equipped and otherwise supported it for two years
when it was turned over to the state. Vermont,
through him, was the first state to be supplied
with the rifled guns. This battery was nation
ally noted for its efficiency.
On May 8, 1865, Mr. Fuller was united in
marriage to Miss Abby Emily Estey, who was
born September 21, 1842, at Brattleboro, Ver

mont, a daughter of Jacob and Desdemona
(Wood) Estey. Mrs. Fuller is a descendant of a
fariiily whose name is said to have been derived
from the colony located about fifteen miles to the
south of Padua, Italy, in the seventh century.
The members of the family soon spread west
ward, and now they are to be found in France,
England and America. The progenitor of the
family in America was Jeffrey Estey, who was
one of the original inhabitants of Salem in 165 1.
His wife's name was supposed to be Elizabeth
Esticke. Isaac Estey, said to have been a son of
Jeffrey Estey, was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Town, daughter of William Town, of
Topsfield; Jacob Estey, fifth son of Isaac and
Mary Estey, was united in marriage to Miss
Lydia Eliott; Isaac Estey, second son of Jacob
and Lydia Estey, settled the first place west of
the common, near the foot of Jacob's hill. He
was one of the eight persons who "embodied"
with the First Baptist church of Royalston, Mas
sachusetts, in 1768, and became its first deacon.
He was a man of considerable property and a
highly respected citizen. His aged mother came
to town with him, rode in a chaise which it re
quired several men to steady and help over the
obstructions of the way, and was the first adult
female that died in Royalston. Mr. Estey was
united in marriage, November 1, 1743, to Miss
Sarah Gould. Jacob Estey, son of Isaac and
Sarah Estey, was born in Sutton, Alassachusetts,
August 10, 1744, and succeeded his father on the
farm and in the deaconship ; he was united in
marriage, March 19, 1772, to Miss Sarah Cham
berlain, daughter of Simeon Chamberlain. Mr.
Estey died in 1829, at the age of eighty-six years,
and his wife died the same year, at the age of
eighty. Isaac Estey, son of Jacob and Sarah
Estey, was born April 7, 1773, and was united
in marriage November 26, 1801, to Miss Patty
Forbes, eldest daughter of James and Abigail
Forbes ; Jacob Estey, third sOn of Isaac and Patty
Estey, was born September 30, 1814, and was
united in marriage to .Miss Desdemona Wood,
and their child, Abby Emily Estey, born Septem
ber 21, 1842, became the wife of Levi K. Fuller.
Mr. Fuller's death occurred October 10, 1896.
Governor Fuller was active in his identifica
tion with the Sons of the American Revolution,
was one of its early members and served as its

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

383

presiding officer in the state of Vermont. Mrs.
Fuller is a member of the Daughters of the Amer
ican Revolution. Governor Fuller was active
especially in advancing the interests of certain
educational institutions, and in the cause of ed
ucation generally. He was president for many
years and up to the time of his demise, of the
board of trustees of Vermont Academy, and its
central building, known as Fuller Hall, was his
gift to that institution, which was the recipient
also of numerous other donations by him.
He took a lively interest in the upbuild
ing of the colored people of the south,
and served for some years as a mem
ber of the board of trustees of Shaw Uni
versity, and the firm of which he was a mem
ber erected one of the structures of that institu
tion for the education of colored women, known
as Estey Hall. Among his scientific attain
ments, Governor Fuller was recognized as an
authority on accoustics ; and, incidental to his in
terest in this direction, he collected, at an ex
pense approximating ten thousand dollars, the
historic tuning forks of the world, including those
of many of the great master composers and mu
sicians. He it was, too, who largely by individ
ual effort succeeded in establishing a national
pitch. No less distinguished an authority than
Professor Koenig accorded to ' Governor Fuller
the very first rank of attainment along this line.
As a youth Air. Fuller united with the Ruggles
Street Baptist church and continued to be con
nected with that denomination throughout his
life and was a liberal contributor to its benefac
tions.
HENRY J. POTTER, M. D.
No history of Bennington could be complete
without mention of the late Dr. Henry J. Potter,
who for more than half a century was engaged
in the practice of medicine at this place. He was
the oldest physician of the city, and perhaps of
the state, and in years of continued connection
with the medical fraternity one of its active rep
resentatives. Distinguished honors came to him
in the line of his chosen calling, for his merit was
widely acknowledged and his skill unquestioned.
He was one of the most honored residents of Ben
nington, and with pleasure we present his record
to the readers of these volumes.

Dr. Potter was a native of Pownal, Benning
ton county, Vermont, where his birth occurred
on the 13th of July, 1828, his parents being Joseph
and Sally (Gardner) Potter. The family was
founded in New England at an early date, and
the grandfather of Dr. Potter, Zara Potter, was
a native of Rhode Island. He was united in
marriage to Anna Walker. Like her husband,
she was of English and Scotch descent, and her
people were also among the first settlers in New
England. Emigrating to the Green Mountain
state, Zara Potter took up his abode in Pownal,
where he spent his remaining days, passing away
on the 3rd of August, 1834, at the age of seventy-
five years. His wife, who was born November
1, 1768, died in November, 1808. In the family
were nine children, among whom was Joseph
Potter. He was born in Pownal, Vermont, and
was there reared to agricultural pursuits.
Throughout his entire life he engaged in farm
ing and was a progressive and enterprising ag
riculturist. When he had attained to years of
maturity, he married Sally Gardner, a native of
Pownal, Vermont, and a daughter of Daniel
Gardner, who was also a farmer and a prominent
and influential resident of his town. He reared
a large family, and held membership in the Bap
tist church. Joseph Potter had seven children, of
whom two are yet living, the sisters our subject,
being Mrs. Zadoc Pratt, of Bennington, and Mrs.
Henry Burt, of Pownal.
In the city of his birth, Dr. Potter spent the
days of his boyhood and youth, removing to
Bennington in 1846. His early education, ac
quired in the common schools, was supplemented
by study in Bennington Academy. Determining
to make the practice of medicine his life work,
he began preparing for this calling in 1848 and
was graduated in medicine in 1851. He then
opened an office for the practice of medicine and
surgery in Bennington, where he remained till
his death. From the beginning he enjoyed a
good practice, and his patronage steadily in
creased as the years went by. He was a close
and earnest student pf his profession, interested
in whatever tended to bring to man the key to
that mystery which we call life. He was iden
tified with the State Eclectic Medical Society, in
which he was honored with the presidency for
two years, while for ten years he was chairman

3«4

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

of the board of censors. _ He also belonged to
the National Eclectic Medical Association, to the
Union Medical Association of Massachusetts,
the American Association of Physicians and
Surgeons, and to the New England Eclectic
Medical Association. In the last named he was
chairman of the board of censors and second vice
president. On the 1 6th of June, 1850, Doctor Potter was
united in marriage to Aliss Susan Gibson, who
was born in Alendon, Vermont, a daughter of
Roswell and Hannah (Edson) Gibson, the
former native of Grafton, Vermont, and the
latter of Maine. The father, however, removed
to central New York, and the mother's people
were early settlers of Mendon, Vermont. In the
family of Air. and Mrs. Gibson were ten children,
of whom six are yet living, namely : Mrs. Pot
ter ; Alonzo, a resident of Syracuse, New York ;
Blake, who is living in Grand Rapids, Michigan ;
Cyrus, of Bennington, Vermont; Mrs. Ora Por
ter, of Syracuse, New York, and Irving E., who
is also in Bennington. The parents were both
consistent and faithful members of the Baptist
church, and Mrs. Gibson lived to be over ninety
years of age. Dr. Potter and his wife have but
one living child, Henry J., who was educated in
the public schools of Bennington and in Poultney,
Seminary of Poultney, Vermont, where he
was graduated. Following in the pro
fessional footsteps of his father, he took
up the study of medicine under the direction of
Dr. Swinburn, the owner of a private sanitarium
in Albany, New York. He also attended lectures
in the Albany Medical Schools, and was grad
uated in 1887, since which time he has been in
practice in Bennington, where he has gained an
enviable reputation. He is also a member of many
of the leading medical and fraternal organiza
tions. He was married in 1887 to Norma Wood
ruff, of Rutland, whose father was a prominent
and influential resident of that place.
Dr. Henry J. Potter and his estimable wife
celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on
the 15th of June, 1900, on which occasion more
than four hundred guests were present, all being
over fifty years of age. In speaking of this oc
casion, the Bennington Banner, published June
22, 1900, said: "The guests were received at
the door and in due time were presented to the

good doctor and his estimable wife, who stood
in the same room, and in the same corner and on
the same floor where the wedding ceremony was
pronounced June 16, 1850. In near proximity
was the clergyman, the Rev. Edward Conover,
who had officiated on that distant occasion. This
gave an interest to the reception not always ac
corded, and which was a delight to all present.
After a few moments of social enjoyment, each
in turn was invited by a group of relatives into'
the dining-room, where elegant refreshments
were served by them, and the return to the par
lors, both in the afternoon and evening, was fol
lowed by surprises not 'down on the bills.' On
the first occasion named, the Rev. Doctor Wash-
burne, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal church,
spoke as follows : 'My dear Doctor and Mrs.
Potter: It is an unusual thing for persons to-
celebrate their "golden wedding" — perhaps not
another man or woman in this assembly have
been thus privileged. In this very house, in this
room and in this very corner of the room, you
were married fifty years ago. This house was not
then your property, only the bride in it. Oh,
the mystery of this corner on that occasion — but
kodaks were not in order — we know that you did
not receive congratulations by telegraph or tele
phone, and that your wedding tour was not by
steam or ^electric cars. We have usually been
obedient to your commands, for it seemed to be
to our interest to do so, but we have disobeyed
you on this occasion — and I am requested by a
few of your friends to present you with this
purse as a token of our friendship and esteem.
You have done well to gather these comforts for
the evening of life and Mrs. Potter has done well
to stand by you in the "better and the worse" of
life. Alay the remaining years of life be sunny
and happy.'
"The purse contained fifty-five dollars in gold
and was made up by the official board of the
church of which Dr. Potter has been for years a
member, augmented by a few other near friends.
"The Rev. Edward Conover, in 1850, was pas
tor of the Baptist church of this village. In the
half century just ended, he has held various pas
torates, but a few years ago retired from regular
ministerial duties, and has returned to pass his
remaining days in town. During the evening
another surprise was in store for Doctor and

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

385

Mrs. Potter and their guests, this time by Mr.
Conover, who read the following original poem:
"Fifty years, ah yes ! these fifty years have sped,
How fast time's onwa"rd way has been !
How fraught with hopes, anon with fears, with
dread,
Could any gifted one these years have seen?
A seer himself with wisest way,
Could not have looked along these years,
Divining to this bride and groom that day,
Their many joys, their sometimes tears.
Unknowing 'tis to all, this book of life,
Howe'er its page begins with fairest seeming,
No hand of ours, nor plan of man is rife
To thwart the solemn, wondrous meaning.
'Tis best a loving Father keeps these days
Locked in His own most loving care,
Else life would be a fearful, sad amaze,
And naught but gloom such life would wear.
And yet with kindest hand this Father's love
Has filled with richest blessings from Himself,
These fifty years' of married troth,
And made these lives to each, a truest wealth.
Fifty years ! great things have come and gone,
They've left a mark as ne'er before,
Events have hardly waited to be born
E'er other happenings claimed the floor.
These friends have had of life its blessed share,
Theirs has been true union, not two minds,
A century's half! such length of time is rare,
They've often sung 'Blest be the tie that binds.'
They've often heard the fickle vows of those
Who, on this same holy road, have started
And merely for a married life have posed,
And in a trice have up and parted.
Along these fifty years the wrecks are strewn,
Of short-lived homes and hearts deserted,
Simply because these holy vows have grown
To be a nothing, a thing too often flirted.
25

But look you on this grandly gladdening sight
That meets each guest, this golden nuptial day,
And then decide as well you might
This marriage clearly came to stay.
I am so glad that fifty years ago,
They honored me as chaplain for the occasion,
They're my credentials here and now, to show
That well done honest work seeks no evasion.
The years will come and go and life flow on as
ever,
And yet this bond that bound so long ago,
A bond so many, many try to sever,
Will only yield to kindly death we know.
We're here to-night to greet these friends
And make for them this glad ovation,
Beseeching still as life for them its way yet wendir
The best and blest of every situation.
And since the grave will surely part us all,
And fondest nuptial ties therein be broken,
Kind Heaven come down, these dear ones call
With sweetest words that can be spoken.
Or when at last these eyes are holden
And the Heavenly city draweth near,
May they pass to where the gates are golden
And the eyes undimmed by tear.
May they reach at last the home immortal,
Without which no earthly union is complete,
Welcomed gladly, welcomed at the portal,
And their dear blessed Savior gladly greet.
"There were presented, also, an original
poem, engrossed in gold, in antique booklet
form, by James W. White, and another poem by
Miss Minnie L. Blackmer. The former poem
was read by the Rev. Doctor Washburne, fol
lowing that of Mr. Conover's. There were nu
merous other remembrances from relatives and
family friends. This was one of the pleasantest
events that has ever occurred in Bennington. The
homestead was profusely decorated with flowers
and potted plants, several floral pieces being
among the loving remembrances noted above. In
common with hundreds of others, the Banner
hopes that the 'seventy-fifth anniversary' may

386

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

find the two in health, ready for its enjoy
ment." Not only did Dr. Potter win distinguished
honors in the line of his profession, but was also
long recognized as one of the most influential
and prominent men of Bennington. He left the
impress of his individuality upon matters of much
importance to the" city and was long a leader in
public thought and action. In 1872 he was
chosen to represent his district in the State Leg
islature, where he served for a term of two
years. From 1870 to 1876 he was connected
with the school board of Bennington, and for
two years was its president. For a number of
years he was also justice of the peace, and filled
other positions in which he showed himself wor
thy of the trust and responsibility reposed in
liim. His political support was given the Re
publican party, and his opinions carried weight
in its councils. He frequently attended his county
.and state conventions as a delegate, and his
work in behalf of Republican principles was ef
fective and far-reaching. Long a consistent
member of the Alethodist Episcopal church, for
more than thirty years he served as one of its
stewards. Fearless in conduct, faultless in
honor, and spotless in reputation, no man in Ben
nington commanded to a higher degree the con
fidence and respect of his fellow-citizens than Dr.
Henry J. Potter, whose lamented death occurred
March 8, 1902.
AIRS. S. L. GODFREY.
Airs. S. L. Godfrey, who has long resided in
Bennington, and is held -in the highest esteem by
a very extensive circle of friends, was born in
Woodford. A^ermont, August 19, 1819. Her fa
ther, Lebbeus Barney, was a son of Rufus Bar
ney, one of the officers of the Revolutionary war,
who served with the rank of captain, having com
mand of a company of Vermont troops. He par
ticipated in the battle of Bennington, where the
"Green Alountain Boys" covered themselves with
glory in the splendid attack which they made on
the enemy, the British troops far outnumbering
the American forces. Captain Barney was a very
prominent and influential man, and spent the last
years of his life in Bennington, where he was
held in the highest regard. The mother of Mrs.

Godfrey was a daughter of James Bushnell, also
of Revolutionary fame, for although he was too
young to enlist and take part in the regular ser
vice, he aided his country by driving a provision
wagon. The story is told of him that on one very
cold day he was driving along when he met
George Washington. The latter asked him why
he did not put on his overcoat, and he replied that
he did not own one, whereupon Washington took
his own coat off and requested Mr. Bushnell to
put it on, and when answered "But that will
leave you without one," Washington said "I have
another one." The next .day James Bushnell re
turned the overcoat to the great general, who then
presented him with another overcoat for his own.
To Mr. and Mrs. Rufus Barney were born
several children, including Lebbeus Barney, the
father of our subject. He was born in Benning
ton and was a worthy representative of an hon
ored family ever noted for straightforwardness
in all life's relations. He was upright in all his
dealings with his fellow men, was reliable in busi
ness and ever commanded the respect and con
fidence of all with whom he came in contact. He
never sought or desired official preferment, but
was a stanch advocate of Republican principles.
He married Anna Bushnell, and both are long
since deceased. They were the parents of ten
children, of whom two are living: Mrs. God
frey, and J. Hampton Barney, of Jersey City.
After attaining womanhood the daughter gave
her hand in marriage to Samuel L. Godfrey, who
was born in Bennington on the nth of September,
1809. His mother's name was Sarah S. (Stiles)
Godfrey, and his father was born in Taunton,
Massachusetts, April 7, 1786, and his mother was
a native of Bennington, born on the ist of Feb
ruary, 1788. Samuel L. Godfrey was educated
in the public schools of Bennington, and then en
tered commercial circles as proprietor of a gen
eral store, which he conducted throughout his
business career. He enjoyed a liberal patronage,
and his straightforward business policy and un
questioned probity commended him to the con
fidence of all. He was recognized as one of the
leading and influential residents of Bennington,
and his fellow townsmen, recognizing his ability
and worth, called him to public office. He served
as selectman and as justice of the peace, dis
charging his duties with promptness and

S. L. GODFREY.

JAHES BUSHHELL.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

387

fidelity. His political support was given
the Republican party, and he strongly en
dorsed its principles, believing they were
best calculated to conserve the public good.
He held membership in the Baptist church, and
took an active interest in its work and contributed
liberally to its support. His death occurred in
Bennington in 1878, when he had reached the
age of sixty-nine years. No man was ever more
respected or more fully enjoyed the confidence of
the people of Bennington, and his loss was deeply
felt throughout the community as well as in the
home circle.
Mr. Godfrey is survived by his widow and
son Rufus B. Mrs. Godfrey, like her husband, is
a Baptist and has led an earnest, consistent Chris
tian life. She had four children, but Rufus B.
is the only one now living. He was born- in Ben
nington and makes his home with his mother. He
is indebted to the excellent public school system
of Bennington for the educational privileges
which he enjoyed, and since his father's death he
has had charge of the business. In connection
with his mother, he owns an ochre mine, and in
its operation is meeting with a high degree of
success, its product finding a ready and profit
able sale on the market. He, too, is an ad
vocate of Republican principles, and keeping
well informed on the issues of the day, is ca
pable of supporting his position by intelligent
argument. He has served as county commis
sioner and justice of the peace, and his efforts
in behalf of the public welfare have been bene
ficial and far-reaching.
GENERAL WILLIAM WIRT HENRY.
General William Wirt Henry, for many years
a prominent citizen of Burlington, Vermont, dis
tinguished both by his military and civil record,
is descended on the paternal side from Massachu
setts stock. The founder of the Henry family
in America emigrated to this country from York
shire, England, in the early portion of the
eighteenth century, the first ancestor who appears
in our colonial history being Luther Henry, a
resident of Shutesbury, Alassachusetts. His
son, Sylvester Henry, who was a carpenter, re
moved to Vermont about 1795 and settled in Wa
terbury, in which town buildings which he helped

to construct are still standing as monuments to
his skill. James AL, the son of Sylvester Henry,
who was born in Waterbury in 1809, twice rep
resented the town in the legislature. He was
one of the leaders in the cause of temperance,
taking an active part in the Washington move
ment, and for twenty years lecturing at irregular
intervals in aid of sobriety and total abstinence.
In his later years he was engaged in the drug
business. He married in January, 1831, Matilda,
daughter of Peter Gale, whose wife was of an
old English family named Tottingham. James
M. Henry was the father of eight children.
William Wirt Henry, eldest son of James
M. and Matilda (Gale) Henry, was born No
vember 21, 1831, at Waterbury, Vermont, and
received his primary education in the common
schools of the town, afterward becoming a stu
dent at the People's Academy of Morrisville,
Vermont, where he graduated in the autumn of
1849. During the following winter he taught
school at Wolcott, Vermont, and in the spring
joined the company of the "argonauts" in Cal
ifornia, where, fpr seven years, he led the life of
a miner, and in 1857 returned, by way of the
Isthmus to Waterbury, where he engaged in the
drug business, becoming a member of his fa
ther's firm of J. M. Henry & Sons.
On the breaking out of the Civil war, Mr.
Henry sold his interest in the business and de
voted himself to military service. He recruited
a company, in which he took his place as a
private ; this company became Company D, Sec
ond Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, and in it he
was commissioned first lieutenant, May 21, 1861.
He was mustered into service June 20, 1861, and
was present at the first battle of Bull Run, July
21, 1861. Soon after that disastrous defeat, his
health failed, and on the 5th of November, 1861,
he was mustered out on a surgeon's certificate.
Being told by physicians that it was absolutely
necessary for him to lead an outdoor life, he
purchased a farm and occupied himself thereon,
and, to the surprise of both his friends and phy
sicians, completely recovered. He again entered
the service, August 26, 1862, with the commission
of major of the Tenth Vermont Volunteers,
and during the following winter served on the
Potomac. On the 17th of October he was pro
moted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and on

388

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

April 26, 1864, to the colonelcy of his regiment,
which he commanded in the battle of the Wil
derness. On the night of the second day's fight,
when the Confederates turned the right of the
line and captured Shaler's Brigade, his regiment
and that of Colonel Townsend, the One Hundred
and Sixth New York, stopped the break and
perhaps saved the army from destruction. For
this gallant achievement, he received honorable
mention in the reports of the commanding gen
eral. Colonel Henry participated in the san
guinary engagements of Spottsylvania and
Talopotomy Creek, and also in that of Cold Har
bor, in which he was wounded, losing the fore
finger of his right hand. He also commanded
his regiment at the battle known as the first
Petersburg and at those of Weldon River, Mono
cacy Creek and Cedar Creek. At the battle of
Monocacy Creek, Colonel Henry was slightly
wounded, but at Cedar Creek, on October 19,
1864, he served as a target for the bullets of the
enemy no fewer than four times, and for his
gallantry on this occasion, he was awarded a
medal by Congress. On the 7th of March 1865,
he was breveted brigadier general "for merito
rious services in the battles at the Wilderness,
Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, Peters
burg, Cedar and Monocacy Creeks." The im
portance of the gallant stand made at the Mono
cacy may be estimated in the light of General
Grant's statement, that he credited the Third
Division of the Sixth Army Corps with having
saved Washington by the stubborn fight it made
with Early at that point. Through the winter
of 1864, General Henry was disabled by illness
and on December 17, 1864, was honorably mus
tered out of the military service of the United
States, having taken part in fifteen regular bat
tles, as well as in a number of skirmishes. Gen
eral Henry's military record is honorable and
brilliant, illustrating the best qualities of the gen
uine soldier and patriot, and exhibiting the char
acteristics of the born, disciplined and competent
commander. At the close of the war, General Henry re
turned to his business in Waterbury, and in 1868
removed to Burlington, establishing the old firm
there under the name of Henry & Company. In
1870 this partnership was dissolved, the firm
becoming Henry & Johnson, and later under

going a final change to Henry, Johnson & Lord,
under which title it is now doing business.
General Henry's record as a public man began
during his residence in California, where he was
appointed, in 1856, constable in White Oak town
ship, Eldorado county. Since his retirement
from military service, General Henry has not
neglected the political interests of the state and
of the nation which he has served so bravely
and so well, but has cheerfully accepted the bur
dens and responsibilities which naturally fall u>
his lot. In 1865, 1866 and 1867 he represented
the citizens of Washington county in the state-
senate. In each of these years he served as
chairman of the committee on claims, and also-
on the committee on the reform school. In 1874
he was elected state senator from Chittenden
county, and in view of his previous admirable
record, was again appointed to the chairmanship
of the committee on claims. In 1869, 1870 andf
1 87 1 he was one of the board of aldermen of
the city of Burlington, officiating during the last
two years as president of the board, and in 1887
and 1888 was elected to the mayoralty. In April,
1879, he was appointed United States marshal
for the state of Vermont, in the place of General
George P. Foster, deceased. May 1, 1883, he
was re-appointed for four years by President
Arthur, holding the position, in all, for seven-
years, and for two years filling the office of im
migrant inspector. General Henry remained in'
business until his appointment as consul to Que
bec by President McKinley. At the expiration
of his term of service, he was re-appointed for
four years by President McKinley.
General Henry is a member of the Grand
Army of the Republic, being the second to be-
honored with the election to the position of de
partment commander in the state of Vermont,
and he has also been admitted to the Order of
the Loyal Legion and the Society of the Army
of the Potomac. General Henry is a member of
the Aliasonic fraternity, having received his first
degrees in Aurora Lodge, Montpelier, in 1858,
having been a charter member of the lodge at
Waterbury and also past master and having been
a charter member of Burlington Lodge, Burling
ton. He has enjoyed the honor of grand master
and grand representative of the Sovereign Grand'
Lodge of Masons, and that of past grand master

Oishry^js^ J$- &^<jXZ,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

389

•of the I. O. O. F. He is also a member of the
i-fSiights of Pythias.
;'¦'¦' ' General Flenry married August 5/1857, Mary
Jane Beebe, daughter of Lyman and Mary (Sher
man) Beebe, of Granville, New York. Mr.
Beebe followed the occupation of a farmer for
many years in Waterbury until his retirement
from active life ; Mrs. Beebe passed away at
the home of General Henry. General and Mrs.
Henry were the parents of five children: Ber
tram; Mary Matilda, who became the wife of
Frederick S. Pease, of Burlington, Vermont;
Ferdinand Sherman; Kate Beebe, who ftiarried
W. H. Hopkins, of Poughkeepsie, and Carrie
Eliza. Mrs. Henry died ... in) - 1871, and of her
children, Mrs. Pease is the^sole survivor. A
irother and sister of Mrs. Henry are still living :'
Mr. Charles Beebe and Mrs. G. M. Lord, of
Burlington, Vermont. In December, 1872, Gen-
¦eral Henry married Valera Y., daughter of Tim
othy J. and Srisan P.- (White) Heaton, of Wa
terbury, Vermont.
HENRY A.- BURT.
Henry Adams Burt, eighth child of Augustus
and Mary (Lafferty) Burt, was born in Sheldon,
Franklin., county, Vermont, February 10/1828.
He Us a direct descendant (seventh generation)
<»f Henry; Biir.jfc} ,,-who ' came, from England to
America, in- 1635 and settled in Springfield, Mas
sachusetts.' in 1640. He was a prominent- man
ih his time,' arid among his descendants are num
bered one president of the United States, one
president of Yale College, senators and repre
sentatives in Congress, soldiers of fame, judges
and leaders in the professions and business world
for nine generations. •
Henry A. Burt, .the subject of this article,
was educated in the public schools at Bakers
field Academy, the Franklin county grammar
school, St. Albans, Vermont, and graduated from
the University of Vermont in . 1849 with high.
honors, numbering among his classmates such
men, as Professor M. K. Petty, William G. Shaw,
ex-Governor Roswell Farnham, Elnathan E.;
Higby, William AV. Robertson and Rev. Edwin
Wheelock. After his graduation, he was princi
pal of the Franklin county grammar school for
two terms, and then resigned on account of ill

health. His father was a leading member
of the Franklin ' county bar, and his brother,
James S., although a young man, had won his
Way to the front by his ability and legal acumen,
and, at the time of his death in 1862, was rec
ognized as one of the brightest young lawyers in
the state. The .subject of this sketch read law
in the office of his father and brother, and was
admitted to the Franklin county bar in Decem
ber, 1852.
With a well disciplined mind, studious habits,
and untiring in his work, he early took high rank
in his chosen profession, and to-day stands
among the first lawyers in the Greert Mountain
state. He was state's attorney of Franklin county
in 1860-1-2; was the legal adviser of the re
ceivers of the Vermont division of the Portland
& Ogdensburg Railroad; attorney for the Na
tional Union Bank of Swanton, and has been
identified with the more important litigation of
his county for many years,, still holding a large
and lucrative practice in the state and federal
¦ courts. He has always been a staunch Republican
and has represented the town of Swanton in the
general assembly, having been elected town rep-
. resentative three different times; twice 'elected to
the state senate from Franklin county, and was
recognized as an able and conservative legisla-'
tor. In 1897 he was appointed .commercial agent
of the United .States - at Stanbridge; Quebec, and
held that position until lie resigned in 1898. He
has held various offices in the "town, of S wanton,-
and has always been identified with its' busi
ness and commercial interests, its educational,
moral and' religious welfare, and has long held'
the office of senior warden of Holy Trinity
ehurch.. He has also been president of Swanton
village. *
• In December,. 1852, he married Olive Lyman;
daughter of Daniel and Harriet (Hawley) Ly--
man, of Jericho, A'ermont, and first opened an
office in ' Fairfield, Vermont, where he resided
until ,1856, since which time he has resided in
Swanton, Vermont. Mrs. Burt was' a lineal
descendant of Richard Lymari, one of the original
proprietors of Hartford, Connecticut, where he
died in 1640. She was a woman of rare attain
ments, a devoted wife, a loving mother and valued
friend. She died May 8, 1898, leaving two chil
dren, Henry Augustus, '. a lawyer- by profession,

390

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

associated with his father, and Ellen Cornelia,
wife of Rev. Edward S. Stone, a graduate of
the University of Vermont and of the General
Theological Seminary of New York. Another
daughter, Mary Harriet, married Wallace E. To-
bin, then a merchant of Alburgh, Vermont; she
died December 27, 1886, leaving a son, Lyman
Burt Tobin, born December 25, 1886, now a
member of the Swanton high school. The son,
Henry Augustus, is a graduate of Norwich Uni
versity, and his daughter, Amy M. Burt, is a
graduate of the University of Vermont, class of
1900, and is now a teacher of English and his
tory in the St. Albans high school, at St. Al
bans, Vermont.

TYLER DAVID GOODELL.
Tyler David Goodell, proprietor of the Good
ell House at Readsboro, has given a practical
demonstration to the traveling public and to the
world at large, that a hotel managed on strictly
temperance principles can be run successfully, in
Vermont, at least. He was born in Readsboro,
November 10, 1849, a son of David Goodell.
The earliest ancestors of whom he has definite
knowledge resided in Connecticut, where his
great-grandfather, David Goodell, was born and
reared. His son, Harvey, when a young man,
penetrated the wilds of western Massachusetts,
and taking up land in the town of Monroe,
erected a log cabin, into which he soon brought
as his bride, Miss Ann Sherman, a young lady
of fourteen years, and a native of Colerain,
Massachusetts. In that humble log house they
spent a large portion of their long lives, subse
quently erecting a modern dwelling. There they
reared the fourteen children born of their marri
age, of whom twelve lived to attain maturity,
among them being a son David, who was the
father of Tyler D. Goodell. Three are still living,
namely : Rufus, of Peoria, Illinois ; Betsey, wife
of Otis F. Littlejohn, of Mattapan, Massachu
setts ; and Amy, wife of Fayette Snow, of Rowe,
Massachusetts. Harvey Goodell, in addition to
tilling the soil, became the pioneer teamster of the
county in which he resided, making a specialty of
taking farm produce to Boston, and bringing
back goods for the local merchants, his return

loads being a heterogeneous collection of mer
chandise. David Goodell, father of Tyler D., grew to
manhood on the parental homestead in Alonroe,
Massachusetts, receiving his education in the
district schools. When a young man he entered

TYLER DAVID GOODELL.
upon a mercantile career, traveling on the road
as a peddler of "Yankee notions" for several
years, after which he established himself in busi
ness in Readsboro, A''erniont. Going from there
to North Adams, Massachusetts, he was clerk
in a store until his removal to Whitingham,
where he had charge of the local hotel for awhile.
Subsequently removing to South Readsboro, he
carried on an extensive business as a dealer in
cattle, horses, sheep and wool until 1884, when
he located in Whitingham, Vermont, where he
resided until his death, November 11, 1894. He
was active in politics, at one time being promi
nent in the Know-Nothing party, and never
shirked the responsibilities of office, serving as

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

39i

selectman, justice of the peace, and as a member
of the school committee, both in Monroe and in
Whitingham. Fraternally he was a member of
Wilmington Lodge Free and Accepted Masons.
He married Sabrina Hicks, a native of Monroe,
who died at the age of fifty-eight years. She
was a daughter of Rev. Jonathan Hicks, a
pioneer Reformed Methodist minister and cir
cuit rider, who preached in Alonroe and vicinity
for over forty years. Mrs. Goodell was a not
able housewife and was equal to any emergency.
During the Civil war, when cotton goods were at
fabulous prices, she, with an old-fashioned loom,
wove over twelve hundred yards of linen and
flannels. Four children were born into the pa
rental household, two of whom survive, namely:
Charles H., of Adams, Massachusetts, and Tyler
D., the special subject of these memoirs.
Tyler D. Goodell was reared beneath the pa
rental roof-tree, and received his early educa
tion in the common schools, remaining at home
until twenty-five years old. Then with his
brother, Charles, he adjusted his father's affairs,
after which, in 1875, he settled in Readsboro, Ver
mont. From that time until 1885 he had the con
tract .to carry the mail from here to Hoosac Tun
nel, Massachusetts, likewise driving a stage be
tween the two places, a distance of eleven miles.
Purchasing his present hotel property in 1884 Mr.
Goodell has rebuilt and enlarged the house until
it accommodates fifty guests with comfort, and
has managed it most successfully, winning the
kindly regard and good will of his numerous
patrons by his genial courtesy and prompt atten
tion to their needs. In politics Mr. Goodell is a
staunch and steadfast Republican and an active
worker in the interests of his party. He served
as a member of the house in the state legislature
in 1880, 1886, 1892 and 1894, and as a member
of the state senate in 1900. He has filled sev
eral of the local offices. In 1880, when he was
first chosen as a representative, he .was the first
Republican that had been elected to that position
for twenty years. He was again elected in 1886,
when he served on the general committee that
passed four-fifths of all the bills brought before
the house, in 1892 was one of the committee on
elections, and in 1894 served on the committee
on banks. In 1900 he served as chairman of the

joint committee of the house of correction in the
state senate.
Mr. Goodell has been twice married. He
married, June 25, 1871, Flora A., second daugh
ter of Rev. Jeremiah Gifford, a well-known min
ister of Readsboro, who preached for a number of
years in this and adjoining towns. She died three
years later at the early age of twenty-one years,
leaving two children, namely: Hallie T., a
prosperous and popular merchant of Monroe
Bridge, Massachusetts, and Readsboro, Vermont.
In the former place he has been town
clerk since reaching his majority, and has
also served as town treasurer and tax collector.
Flora Ellen, the second child, married, Septem
ber 26, 1895, Clifford G. Brown, a grain merchant
of Readsboro, by whom she has two children,
Mabel and Eveline. Mr. Goodell married,
February 12, 1879, Ida M. Robertson. Of this
union four children have been born, of whom are :
Earl W., manager of his brother's store in Reads
boro and Harvey E., 'who assists his father in
the management of the hotel, and an infant son,
Richard Hicks Goodell.
ORION M. BARBER.
Orion M. Barber, a prominent member of
the Vermont bar, and the present state auditor,
who has at various times also rendered highly
useful public service in other important posi
tions, is a native of the state, born in Jamaica,
Windham county, July 13, 1857. He comes
from an old and honored New England family,
many members of which were conspicuous in
the higher walks of life. His paternal grand
father, Daniel M. Barber, was born in Massa
chusetts, July 2, 1777, and died in June, 1843, at
the age of sixty-six years. He was a farmer by
occupation and a man of much force of charac
ter, and his mental vigor was inherited by his
descendants. He married Rhoda Cushing, who
was born March 23, 1781, and died December 9,
1833. She was a daughter of Solomon and
Polly (Burr) Cushing, and her mother traced
her ancestry to a Boston family of 1638, among
whose descendants were many who became noted
figures in the history of Massachusetts— j udges
in the state courts and upon the supreme bench

392

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

of the United States, and one as a congressman
from 1830 to 1837, and one of the number was
a Harvard graduate in 1825.
David Al. and Rhoda (Cushing) Barber were
the parents of Emmons D. Barber, who was born
in Townshend, Vermont, where he spent a use
ful life and died in Wardsboro, in 1898, at the
age of sixty-three years. He was a farmer by
occupation, a man of intelligence, and sterling
character. He was married to Lucia A. Pierce,
a daughter of Abijah Pierce, who was born in
Jamaica, Alay 29, 1792; her death occurred
March 19, 1885.
Orion M. Barber, son of Emmons and Lucia
A. (Pierce) Barber, began his education in the
common schools and pursued advanced courses
in Bernardston (Massachusetts) Academy and
the Institute of South Woodstock and subse
quently took a classical course at Leland and
Gray Seminary at Townshend, Vermont. With
this ample preparation and after teaching school
for several terms and holding the position of
school superintendent in Arlington, he entered
upon the study of law under the masterly pre
ceptorship of J. K. Batchelder, in Arlington. He
afterward entered the Albany (New York) Law
School and was graduated from that institution
in 1882. Immediately afterward he entered upon
practice in association with his law preceptor be
fore named, and the partnership was maintained
for six years. During the eight succeeding years
Mr. Barber practiced alone, and in 1896 became
a law partner of Judge Darling, of Bennington.
This relationship has been profitably continued
to the present time, in the interests of a
clientele fairly representative of the largest
personal and corporate concerns in the state. The
principal burden of labor has devolved upon Mr.
Barber since the beginning of the Roosevelt ad
ministration, when Judge Darling was called to
the position of assistant secretary of the navy,
necessitating his presence in Washington city
during the larger part of the time. The firm
maintains offices in Arlington as well as in Ben
nington, and their law library is famed as the
most extensive in the state.
Mr. Barber, in addition to caring for his
large practice, has at various times given atten
tion to important official duties committed to
him. In 1886-87 he served as state's attorney

for Bennington county. In 1892 he was made
a member of a committee appointed to revise
the Vermont statutes, and two years later was
made chairman of a committee charged with the
editing and publication of the same. While he
was thus employed, he was also, in 1894, ap
pointed by Governor Woodbury and confirmed
by the senate, to the office of railroad commis
sioner for a term of two years. In 1898 he was
elected state auditor and he occupies that position
at the present time, having been re-elected in
1900 for a two years' term.
Mr. Barber holds high rank in the State Bar
Association, in which he maintains a deep inter
est. In politics he is a Republican, and he is
favorably known throughout the state as a most
earnest and capable exponent of the principles
and policies of that party. He has taken an active
part in every local and county convention since
attaining his majority. He has also figured
prominently in the various state conventions; in
1896 he was one of the delegates to the national
convention which nominated McKinley for the
presidency ; in 1902 he performed yeoman service
as state manager of the campaign for General
McCullough, the regular Republican nominee
for governor, in the most severe contest that was
ever waged for the gubernatorial chair in Ver
mont, and the success of his candidate before the
legislature attests the value of his services in
this connection. Mr. Barber was married June
30, 1898, to Miss Alice Norton, a daughter of
Luman P. Norton, and a native of Bennington.
Of this union were born twin daughters, Lucia
P. and Mab N. Barber. Mr. Barber has been a
member of the Masonic order since attaining his
majority and has taken the degrees of the coun
cil, chapter and commandery, and is a Noble of
the Mystic Shrine.
THOMAS HAWLEY CANFIELD.
The first arrival in America of this branch
of the Canfield family was Thomas, who settled
in Milford, Connecticut in 1646, coming from
Yorkshire county, England. His grandson Na
than, removed to Arlington, Vermont in 1768 and
Nathan's son Samuel was the father of the sub
ject of this sketch, Thomas Hawley Canfield,
born March 29, 1822 in Arlington, Vermont. His

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

393

mother, Mary Ann Hawley, was also of English
descent, her ancestor, Joseph Hawley, of Derby
shire, England, migrated to Stratford, Connecti
cut early in the seventeenth century.
Vermont west of the Green Mountains, was
chiefly settled about 1760 by people from Con
necticut, who received titles to their lands by
charter from Benning Wentworth, the colonial
governor of New Hampshire. Several families
came to Arlington to make it their home, prom
inent amongst whom were the Canfields, Haw-
leys, Wards, Aliens and Bakers, who, during the
•early troubles arising from disputes concerning
the New Hampshire grants, were most active
leaders in the struggle.
Thomas H. Canfield was brought up on a
farm and received his early education in the com
mon school of his native town. He was after
wards sent to Burr and Burton Seminary in Man
chester, where he was fitted for college at four
teen years of age. Not desiring to enter college
so early, he worked for two years on his father's
farm, after which he became a student in the Troy
Episcopal Institute.
He was inclined to pursue a scientific course,
but Bishop Alonzo Potter, then acting president
of Union College, Schenectady, persuaded him
to abandon his idea of becoming a civil engineer
and he entered Union College as a junior in the
fall of 1839. Before the completion of his col
lege course, he was summoned to Vermont by the
sudden death of his father, to care for his wid
owed mother and only sister, and again took up
the burden of farm life. Finding agricultural
labor too severe for his slender constitution, he
removed in 1844 to Williston, where he became a
merchant. In the same year he married Elizabeth Ann,
only daughter of Eli Chittenden, a grandson of
the first governor of Vermont. She died in 1848
and he subsequently married, in i860, Caroline
Amelia, daughter of the Right Reverend John
Henry Hopkins, first bishop of Vermont, by
whom he had three daughters and two sons :
Emily, John Henry Hopkins, Marion, Flora and
Thomas Hawley Canfield, Jr.
"• In 1847 Mr. Canfield moved to Burlington
and became, at twenty-five, junior partner in the
then well known firm of Follett & Bradley,
thenceforth Bradley & Canfield, wholesale mer

chants and forwarders in northern Vermont.
He felt he was too young and inexperienced for
such a responsible position, but soon his talents
and ability found full scope in developing the
large transportation interests of the firm. There
were no railroads in those days in Vermont, and
all kinds of merchandise had to be transported
by this line of boats. Bradley and Canfield had
extensive wharves and warehouses, as well as
a line of boats to New York and Boston for
transportation; their wharves were also the reg
ular landing place for passenger steamers and
other vessels. This was a business requiring
capital and care and executive ability. Here Mr.
Canfield first developed those powers of man
agement of men and affairs that accomplished so
much for the public good during all his after life.
About this time Professor Morse brought his
telegraph into practical operation. Mr. Can-
field, in connection with other public minded cit
izens, by visiting towns all along the route, suc
ceeded in getting stockholders and organizing a
company for the first telegraph line from Mon
treal to Troy, New York, on which was sent
the first message, February 2, 1848.
His next enterprise was in connection with
the introduction of railroads into Vermont. His
firm, Bradley & Canfield, with others, engaged
in building one from Bellows Falls by way of
Rutland, to Burlington, which was completed in
December, 1849.
At the same time they built the Rutland and
Washington Railroad from Rutland to Eagle
Bridge, New York, connecting at that point with
a railroad to Troy and Albany and thus opened
the first line of railroad to New York, as well as
to Boston from northwestern Vermont. While
these roads were being built, this same firm, in
connection with T. F. Strong and Joseph and
Selah Chamberlain, built the Ogdensburg Rail
road from Rouses Point to Ogdensburg, as well
as other railroads in New York and Pennsyl
vania. Mr. Canfield had now a large fleet of boats
engaged in the transportation business. Here
tofore two days were required for mails and
passengers to go between Burlington,
Montreal and New York. Air. Canfield first pro
posed to make a clay line between these cities.
He endeavored to enlist Governor Morgan, pres-

394

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ident of the Hudson River Railroad, in the plan,
but was coldly received, for the governor believed
it was simply impossible. After several inter
views, however, he consented to make the trial
on condition that Mr. Canfield would guarantee
his company from any loss. From New York to
Montreal, the distance is about four hundred
miles, requiring an average speed of forty miles
an hour to accomplish the trip in one day. Ac
cordingly, Alay 15, 1852, at six a. m., a train left
Chambers Street depot, New York, carrying as
passengers the superintendents of the Hudson
River and Troy and Boston Railroads, who, with-
Mr. Canfield and several reporters, alone dared
risk their lives upon such a crazy enterprise. Had
not the New York papers for that morning been
on board, the public could not have believed that
such a quick passage had been made. Since then
there has been no further trouble on that point,
and two daily trains from New York to Montreal
have been a matter of course.
Mr. Canfield next established a line of pro
pellers between Ogdensburg and the upper
Great Lakes, which opened a route by the lakes
and the St. Lawrence for all western products,
which hitherto had formed their outlet only
through the Erie canal and the roads from Al
bany. While engaged in this enterprise, he formed
the acquaintance of Air. Edwin F. Johnson, an
experienced engineer, whose full and accurate
information regarding the unexplored country
lying between the Great Lakes and the Pacific
Ocean impressed him with the importance of a
railroad across the continent by the northern
route, and determined him in the resolve to devote
his life to the accomplishment of that vast under
taking. As an initial step he contracted with
others in 1852, before there was any railroad
into Chicago from the east, to build what is now
known as the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad,
from Chicago to St. Paul, Minnesota, and to
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. In those days railroad
building was slow, materials difficult to get, cap
ital timid, contractors inexperienced, and before
the railroad was finished to Fond du Lac, the
panic of 1857 stopped all work, embarrassing
the company and contractors. Before the com
pany could be reorganized, the war of the rebel
lion came on, when the urgent necessity of a rail

road to the Pacific caused the government to se
lect the middle route, granting it lands and a
money subsidy, with the understanding that the
same money subsidy should at some future day
be given to both the northern and southern
routes. But this was never carried out by Con
gress and the railroads by both these routes had
to be built by private enterprise, with the land
grant, but without any money subsidy from the
United States government.
Soon after the war broke out the govern
ment assumed control of the railroads of the
country. Colonel Thomas S. Scott, of the Penn
sylvania Railroad, was made assistant secretary
of war and general manager, having for his spe
cial duty the collecting of the armies of the United
States. He sent for Mr. Canfield and placed him
in charge of all the railroads about Washing
ton as assistant manager.
At this time Washington was surounded by
the Confederates, and all communication cut
off by land and water, except by the Balti
more & Ohio Railroad, with a single track. On
this line all passengers and troops, all supplies
for army and citizens, everything had to be
taken. Thirty to forty trains of about thirty-five
cars each, were run daily in the constant fear that
the enemy might intercept them at any time. With
the honorable exception of the superintendent,
William Prescott Smith, the enemy controlled
the western end of this road, while between Bal
timore and Washington it was guarded, especially
at the culverts and bridges, by a regiment under
the command of Colonel John H. Robinson, of
Binghamton, New York.
Naturally President Lincoln and cabinet were
fearfully anxious. Only after repeated inter
views and frequent assurances could Mr. Can-
field satisfy the president that he could keep open
communication with Washington on this single
track (by adding eighteen miles of side tracks)
over which three hundred thousand soldiers were
to be transported, besides all supplies for the city
and the soldiers in and around Washington, pro
vided the government would furnish troops
enough to protect the line from destruction.
This rigid system of guarding the railroad!
from Baltimore to Washington, by day and by
night, the employment of experienced, loyal rail
road officers whom he knew he could rely on and

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

395

the implicit obedience of all his employes, enabled
Mr. Canfield to carry out his contract, without
an accident of any kind or the loss of a single
life. On leaving Washington in April, 1862, Mr.
Canfield took charge of the steamers on Lake
Champlain as superintendent and treasurer.
He remained for about three years in
Burlington, but his mind and thoughts
were still absorbed with his favorite pro
ject, and in 1866 he conceived and organized
the syndicate to construct the Northern Pacific
Railroad, the magnificent enterprise, in connec
tion with which he was most widely known. The
space of this article forbids more than a bare men
tion of his indefatigable labors for many years in
its behalf. When the contract with Messrs. Jay
Cooke & Company was under consideration for
negotiating the bonds of the Northern Pacific
Railroad Company, Mr. Cooke required
that that his own engineers should first
examine the country through which the
road was to be built, before signing the
contract, and if their report was favorable, he
would execute it. Mr. Canfield was selected by
the directors of the Northern Pacific to conduct
Mr. Cooke's party from the Pacific coast east and
to show them a practicable route for a railroad.
He met them at Salt Lake City, June 9, 1869,
took them to Sacramento by rail, thence by stage
nine hundred miles to Olympia, Washington
territory. After exploring the bays and harbors
of Puget Sound, he returned to Portland, ascend
ed the Columbia river to Walla Walla, then the
end of the settlements. Here he procured four
teen horses for the trip of five hundred miles
across the inountains to Helena, Montana. All
the provisions from Walla Walla through the In
dian territory, had to be carried on horseback,
for there were neither roads nor settlers, and his
party slept on the ground at night without a tent
or other covering than a blanket. From Helena
he came on to the Yellowstone river, where Liv
ingston now is, one thousand miles east from
Puget Sound, which was 'about as far as Sitting
Bull, then in command of that country, would
allow him to come. In this trip he had to cross
the two main ridges of the Rocky mountains sev
eral times, back and forth, to examine different
passes in order to satisfy Mr. Cooke's engineers

that a line across them was feasible. Once he
encountered an Indian outbreak, when nearly all
his horses were stolen by the Indians ; had this
occurred at an earlier stage of the journey the
party might all have perished for want of food
and transportation. After four months' absence,
and traveling about eight thousand miles, Mr.
Canfield was able to show to the entire satisfac
tion of the engineers a practical route, and their
report being favorable, Mr. Cooke executed the
contract for negotiating one hundred million dol
lars of the bonds of the company, and the
work of construction was at last commenced.
Mr. Canfield was both director of the road,
and, later, president of the Lake Superior &
Puget Sound Land Company. In this last office
his duties consisted largely in buying lands all
along the surveyed route for the Northern Pacific
Railroad, and laying out and platting and adver
tising cities for the future millions that were to
come and settle in them. Of these no less than
twenty-three towns from Lake Superior to Puget
Sound were made ready for occupation through
his labors, some of which have developed into
large and prosperous cities.
The bankruptcy of Mr. Cooke in 1873 once
more caused a change in Mr. Canfield's plans.
From this time on he devoted himself mainly to
his wheat farm, Lake Park, Minnesota, which at
tracted great interest as one of the first to show
what crops might be produced on the rich prairie
lands under careful, intelligent management.
Here he labored with untiring zeal and varying
success, always intending, as age drew on, to
return to his home in Burlington, Vermont,
where his family had resided in quiet comfort
while he was traveling, toiling and working out
his endless schemes for public welfare.
CAUGHNAWAGA CANAL.
While engaged in transportation on Lake
Champlain about 1849, Mr. Canfield was very
positive that a ship canal from Caughnawaga,
above the Lachine rapids, in the St. Lawrence
river, to Lake Champlain, was imperatively nec
essary to the full development of the country.
He had frequent interviews in Montreal with the
Hon. John Young, Benjamin Holmes, Harrison
Stephens, Peter McGill, Messrs. Holton and Mc-

396

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Pherson, forwarders, all men of broad views and
-extended knowledge of the vast west on both
-sides of the line. Mr. Young had already agi
tated the subject in Canada, and there was no
man in the States or Dominion who was better
informed upon the subject, or who could present
it in a more convincing and magnetic manner.
Meetings were arranged for by Air. Canfield to
hring this matter before the public iri Burlington,
August 14, 1849, and Saratoga, August 21, which
were addressed by Mr. Young, Judge Follett,
Charles Adams, Esq., and many other prominent
men from Montreal, Troy, Albany, Whitehall
and other cities. A committee was appointed of
prominent citizens in the States and Canada, to
devise measures to carry on the enterprise. A
¦survey was made, and it looked as if the project
was about to be accomplished. But when the
charter was granted by the parliament of Can
ada, unexpected opposition arose, the result being
so impracticable, Mr. Young and his friends con
cluded not to proceed with the undertaking.
In 1897 the project was again agitated. Mr.
Canfield, as earnest as ever, exerted himself to
the utmost to bring forward his convictions re
garding his chosen route. At a large meeting
of prominent business men brought together in
Cleveland, September, 1897, for consultation on
the question of canals in the east, he made his
maiden speech (for he had always avoided speak
ing in public), which was received with great
enthusiasm. He showed clearly that the only
practicable outlet from the great lakes to the
ocean, for large vessels, was through the Caugh-
nawaga ship canal, Lake Champlain, the Lake
Champlain canal enlarged and the Hudson river.
Through this outlet it would be possible for west
ern producers to send east without breaking bulk,
and through this alone. Much interest was
awakened by the facts he brought forward to sus
tain his argument. As the importance of the
subject grew, commissioners were afterwards ap
pointed by the government of the United States
and Canada, and Congress appropriated two hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars towards surveys
to be made. Mr. Canfield was in close connec
tion with the commissioners, who gladly con
sulted him, relying greatly on his judgment and
practical knowledge of the whole subject, from
beginning to end, from New York to Duluth. On

his last visit east, only a month before his death,
he stopped in Washington by request of the com
missioners to look after the bill in Congress for
appropriation toward surveys mentioned above;
and on his return to Minnesota, a few days later,
he met these gentlemen in Detroit by appoint
ment. At this time everything looked bright
and promising toward the realizing of his cher
ished hopes for nearly fifty years, and he was
very sanguine that before many months had
passed the work would be actually begun, and his
children might see the mighty ocean steamers
sailing through beautiful Lake Champlain, en
route from Duluth to New York. He never lost
confidence iri the fact that this canal would be
built, sooner or later, for the necessities of trade
and commerce would demand it, but he did not
live to know the result or failure of all these en
deavors. CHURCH WORK.
Air. Canfield was twice instrumental in en
larging St. Paul's church, Burlington, in 1852
and again in 1867- He headed the subscription
lists generously, and persuaded others to sub
scribe, while Bishop Hopkins gladly furnished
the Gothic plans for the building. In after years
he aided Trinity Mission, Winooski, Vermont,
and St. Paul's, Brainerd, Minnesota, in the same
way, from plans this time drawn by Rev. Dr.
John Henry Hopkins, Jr. Besides these, he assisted
many other struggling missions in various ways.
But he always felt that his crowning work for
the church was the building of the Bishop Hop
kins Hall, Rock Point, Burlington. He carried
out in so doing the life-long desire of Bishop
Hopkins, and was thus inspired to devote himself
with all his energy to the enterprise, winning con
fidence by his courage, acquiring gifts of money
and giving largely himself, till in less than two
years the hall was built, the grounds laid out, and
everything made ready for occupation, and en
tirely free from debt.
Mr. Canfield represented Vermont as delegate
in six general conventions of the church: In
Philadelphia, 1856; in Richmond, Virginia, 1859;
in New York, 1874; in Boston, 1877; in Chicago,
1886; in Minneapolis, 1895. For several years
he was a member of the standing committee of
the diocese, and was the most active trustee of

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

397'

the A^ermont Episcopal Institute, from its incep
tion, in 1854, till the day of his death. For six
teen years he was junior warden of St. Paul's
parish, Burlington. Honored and beloved by
Bishop Hopkins and Bishop Bissell, their closest
interests always in behalf of the church were
marked by harmony and entire confidence and
trust. Nothing could keep Mr. Canfield away
when needed for trustee meetings or the sessions
of the Vermont diocesan conventions, and these
bishops knew they could, always depend upon him
for faithful, loving service. He was present at
the diocesan conventions for forty-four consecu
tive years, part of the time as delegate and for the
last thirty-five years as the devoted secretary,
coming often from Minnesota for the special pur
pose. The church schools at Rock Point, the Ver
mont Episcopal Institute for boys, and the Bishop
Hopkins Hall for girls, built through the energy,
liberality, determination and hard labor for years,
of both Bishop Hopkins and Mr. Canfield, were
successful and self-supporting so long ps Mr.
Canfield retained a controlling influence in the
board of trustees, and the confidence of the
bishop. The rent for the first twenty-one years
of the boys' school, under the management of
Rev. Theodore A. Hopkins, carefully invested by
Mr. Canfield, as treasurer of the institution,
amounted to over nine thousand dollars, which,
added to five thousand dollars left by Bishop
Hopkins towards the girls' school of the future,
was a great addition to the funds for the hall in
1888. Mr. Canfield was always interested in the
country and in politics, but never allowed his
name to be brought forward for office of any
kind. A Whig in the days of that party, he was
afterwards a strong Republican, always voting
in line with the leaders.
Mr. Canfield possessed marked characteristics.
Strong and courageous and determined in will
power, he was gentle and persuasive in manner,
leading others by influencing their judgment,
never by coercion. Hopeful, buoyant, resource
ful and far-seeing, he was always the strongest
when others were cast down, and quick in ex
pedients to restore hope, and bring wrong to
right again. Bright and genial, ready to aid
everybody at all times with advice, or money, or.

both, he helped many a man to make or mend his
fortunes, or his character. He had hosts of
friends everywhere, among young and old. His
tender care of very old people was one of his
most marked traits. He was generous to a fault,
and never quick to suspect bad motives. He was
a perfectly honest, upright God-fearing man,
for fifty years a consistent member of the
Protestant Episcopal church. Never in his
life was he known to use tobacco in any
way, to play cards, to drink, to dance,
or to fritter time away in amusement, or
even vacations. During all his active business
career of over fifty-five years, he rarely took a
day for recreation, finding all the rest he required
in change of occupation, and full satisfaction and.
enjoyment in whatever work he was engaged,
and in conquering such difficulties as arose from
time to time in all of his various projects. He
was domestic in his tastes, and devoted to his
family. Business calling him so frequently from
home was a constant and severe trial borne most
uncomplainingly by him for the good of the cause
— for the work he believed he was destined to-
accomplish for the benefit of the country at large
for millions yet to come. Few men have lived.
fuller, busier lives than his. The Rev. Dr. Wick
ham, for over thirty years the principal of Burr
and Burton Seminary in Manchester, Vermont,
knowing Mr. Canfield's career from boyhood,.
wrote to the editor of the Manchester Journal:
"If Burlington can boast of her Edmunds, the-
leacler of the United States Senate, and of her
Phelps, the eminent jurist and distinguished, rep
resentative at the court of St. James, she has not
another citizen that has honored her more than
Thomas Hawley Canfield."
Mr. Canfield died suddenly, January 20, 1897,
while sitting at his desk in Lake Park, Becker
county, Minnesota, aged nearly seventy-five. His
body was laid beside his son, John, in the private,
consecrated cemetery at Rock Point.
Recquiescat in pace.
HON. DANIEL ROBERTS.
During the unprecedented period of sixty-
seven years, Daniel Roberts, of Burlington, was
one of the most gifted, industrious and successful
practitioners in the courts of Vermont, and dur-

'398

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ing his long and busy life, he has also adorned
various important positions and made notable
contributions to the literature of his profession.
His descent was from Ephraim Roberts, of Wa
tertown, Litchfield county, Connecticut, who
served in the continental army and was made an
invalid in the service, after which he returned
home and his death occurred July 5, 1776. He
married Phoebe Clark and they left two sons,
Daniel and Ephraim.' Daniel, the eldest, was or
phaned in his tender years and served a seven
years' apprenticeship to a cloth-dresser, was also
a school teacher for about seven years, and for
thirty years followed his trade in Wallingford,
Vermont, after which he removed to Manchester.
He married Almira Bishop and he and his wife
were fond of good reading and were musically
inclined, the one being a performer on the flute
and the other a charming singer. They died at
ages of seventy-nine and eighty-four years, re
spectively, and their remains lie buried at Man
chester, Vermont.
Daniel Roberts, the fifth of the eleven chil
dren born to Daniel and Almira Roberts, was
born at Wallingford, Vermont, May 25, 181 1.
He was studiously inclined from his earliest
years, and at the age of fourteen entered Mid
dlebury College, in which he graduated when
eighteen years of age. He then read law under
Harvey Button, of Wallingford. Mr. Roberts
was admitted to the bar of Rutland county in
the year of his attaining his majority, and he
then made a trip down the Mississippi river, vis
iting Grand Gulf, Natchez and New Orleans. In
1833 he went to Jacksonville, Illinois, where he
had relatives living, and for two years was as
sociated with Murray McConnell, a distinguished
member of the Illinois bar. Here he met a former
classmate in the person of him who afterward
became known as the sainted Rev. Dr. Truman
M. Post, of St. Louis, and he also made the ac
quaintance there of Stephen A. Douglas, who was
then a young lawyer active in local politics, but
who afterward became famous in national affairs.
In 1835 Mr. Roberts returned to Vermont on a
visit, but he was destined to make his stay per
manent. For twenty years he practiced in Man
chester, having succeeded to the business of
Milo S. Bennett, who became judge of the su
preme court, and in 1856 he removed' to Bur

lington, where he formed a partnership with Lu
cius E. Chittenden, this association being main
tained until 1861, when Mr. Chittenden became
register of the United States treasury.
Mr. Roberts was actively engaged in his
profession until shortly before his death, which
occurred October 6, 1899, and in his later years
his son Robert was associated with him. The
uninterrupted continuity of his professional
record is shown by the fact that his name first
appeared in the state reports in 1837, and is
found in every volume down to the year 1897,
when he made his last argument before the su
preme court. His first case (9th Vermont)
called for deep research in English law, and his
brief was learned and exhaustive — in his own
opinion he never drew one surpassing it. In ad
dition to the large practice in the United States
court, his engagements were mainly in Chitten
den, Addison, Rutland and Bennington counties.
He was attorney for Governor Page and the Rut
land Railroad Company, and later for the Ver
mont Central Railroad Company in its various
and extensive litigation. He was absorbed in
his profession, seemingly pursuing it for love,
and he did not suffer his attention to become
drawn from it by scheming for money-getting or
for political distinction. He was conscientiously
thorough in the preparation of his cases, and was
combative and vigorous in their conduct. Deeply
read in all branches of the law, he was peculiarly
resourceful, and in a trial was seldom taken at
a disadvantage by the tactics of an opponent.
He was strong before a jury, even in his later
years, With his sonorous and well carrying voice,
his command of language and his capability, on
occasion rising to heights of real eloquence. He
was pre-eminently a safe counselor and adviser,
and his advice was widely sought because of his
known immaculate rectitude, which would not
suffer him to lead a client astray or into diffi
culty. He had no liking for criminal law, but ap
peared in a few cases, some of which were of
peculiar dramatic interest or involved an inter
esting legal principle. He had not been long en
gaged in practice when, with Harmon Canfield,
also a young attorney, he was assigned by Chief
Justice AVilliams to defend Archibald Bates, who
was charged with shooting his brother's wife one

THE STATE OF A/ERMONT.

399

¦evening as she sat near a window nursing her
child. A verdict of murder in the first degree
was brought in, and the condemned man was.
hanged in the presence of a great multitude on
Bennington Hill, February 8, 1839, this being
the last public execution in Vermont, all suc
ceeding ones having been within the walls of the
prison. This trial was one of the notable events
in the early career of Mr. Roberts. He said
that, though he defended the prisoner with in
tense earnestness, he never spoke to him before,
during or after the trial, nor did he attend the
execution. At the June term of 1863, two men,
Purcell and Costello, were jointly indicted for
the murder of a fellow Irishman, who was stab
bed one night as they were all on their way from
the Dorset Mountain quarries, each one having
been drinking heavily. It was absolutely certain
that one of the defendants had committed the
murder, but it was uncertain which was the
guilty party, and there was no evidence of con
spiracy between them. Purcell was allowed a
separate trial upon demand, and was defended
by Mr. Roberts, who secured an acquittal on ac
count of the uncertainty of the case, and it ap
peared in the trial that it was more probable that
Costello committed the deed. The latter, tried
at a subsequent term of court, also was acquit
ted, as in his trial it seemed that Purcell must
be the guilty person. Each verdict appeared to
be clearly right, and yet the result of the two
trials was that a murderer was acquitted, but
which was he? In the case of the state versus
McDonald (32 Vermont Reports, page 491) a
notable instance is found where the law on homi
cide is involved. Mr. Roberts' brief on the case
is particularly pointed and in the opinion of Chief
Justice Redfield, is worth study. On a second
trial of McDonald he was very properly con
victed of manslaughter and sent to the peniten
tiary for life, where he died of consumption.
In 1878, under a contract with the judges of
the supreme court and by authority of the legis
lature, he completed a digest of the decisions of
the supreme court down to and including vol
ume 48, entitled "Roberts' Vermont Digest," and
he afterward published a supplement, this book
having since become a standard encyclopedia of
the law of Vermont. Had he been less devoted
to his profession, public honors would naturally

have come to him, although by temperament he
was not a politician in the generally accepted
sense. As it was, he was called to various im
portant positions. In 1853-4 he was a bank com
missioner, and in 1865-6 was special agent of the
United States treasury department, and 1868-9
was state's attorney for Chittenden county, and
as such surprised the public by doing his full of
ficial duty, thus becoming a disturber of the
comfort of many, especially in the prosecution
of liquor venders. During the first term of
President Grant and through the influence of
Senator Edmunds, he was offered the solicitor-
ship of the treasury, which he declined. At one
time in his youth he served as brigade inspector
of militia. From his earliest years, Mr. Roberts was a
determined enemy to slavery, and was, in turn,
as parties disappeared, a Liberty party man,
a Free-Soiler and a Republican, and he was at
times put forward as a candidate to head what
was known to be a forlorn hope, where the only
end to be subserved was the crystalization of
public sentiment. In 1840 he headed the Free-
soil state ticket and received more than a thou
sand votes, a gain of about seven hundred over
that cast for Birney, the presidential candidate
of the party. In the same year he was the orator
at the Bennington- county celebration of eman
cipation in San Domingo. During these years
he frequently aided in assisting fugitive slaves to
Canada and freedom. On occasion, when the
minister would refuse to give notice from the
pulpit of anti-slavery meetings, he would rise
from his seat in the choir and' make the an
nouncement himself. In 1841 the famous abo
lition journal, The Emancipator, contairied an
earnest declaration of principles from his pen.
in 1850 he was a Free-soil candidate for Con
gress, but was of course defeated; was a prime
factor in the organization of the Republican party,
to which he steadfastly adhered except in 1872,
when he supported Greeley, and during the
Civil war, unable to enter the military service on
account of his age, he supported the govern
ment by every means in his power, and con
tributed largely to filling the ranks of the state
regiments. Mr. Roberts was much in demand as a speaker
on various notable occasions, having been the or?-

400

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

tor of the Vermont centennial celebration at Ben
nington in 1877, and was one of the speakers at
the semi-centennial reunion of his college class
at the commencement in 1879, when he received
the degree of Doctor of Laws. In a later year
he made the address of welcome to, the visiting
society of the Grand Army of the Potomac, and
he presided at the services held in memory of
President Garfield. A man of fine literary tastes,
he was an enthusiastic and diligent reader, and
he particularly delighted in the old English au
thors now too little read. In his early life he
wrote verses of considerable merit, some of which
are preserved in Hemmenway's "Poets and Poetry
of Vermont." He held a warm affection for
young men, and particularly for those making
their beginnings in law, while to the younger
members of the bar he was the freely consulted
encyclopedia of law. When interrogated by
them, he generally began with a mild reprimand
for their lack of scholarship, and then gave them
in generous measure all the advice they re
quired. It was the sad yet pleasant duty of Robert
Roberts to read a memorial sketch of his hon
ored sire before the Vermont Bar association,
October 23, 1900, and in this he said: "As a
man Daniel Roberts was a product of Vermont.
He was born here, educated here, made sacrifices
to remain here, and here alone he was moulded
by the" discipline of a long, long life of varied
activities and experiences. He loved Vermont's
hills and valleys, streams, forests and song birds.
He was, therefore, and of right ought to have been
in character, simple, primitive, strong, indepen
dent and religious. But from what source came
his quaint and lively humor, his poetic sense, his
love of letters and music, and quick intelligence
in matters of form and balance? These flowers
of the spirit are not supposed to flourish on the
Puritan stock. But in his case, as in Sampson's
riddle, 'Out of the strong came forth sweetness.'
A friend has written of him, T think he was the
most multifarious man among us, the man capa
ble of appreciating and enjoying the greatest
number and variety of things which interest
men of vigorous minds and healthy impulses. He
could enjoy a good story, a good song, a good
argument in court, a good book, a good sermon,
a good friend, a good action, and he was at the

same time discerning and generous in his esti
mates and judgments.' To me this seems a true
and just estimate."
In July, 1837, Mr. Roberts was married to
Caroline Diantha, a daughter of the Rev. Ste
phen A'lartindale, Jr., and his wife, Diantha
Kent. Mr. Martindale was descended from Ed
ward Martindale, who came from England to-
Westfield, Massachusetts, in 1730. Ger
shom, seventh son of Edward, was born in
1725, and died in December, 1775. He married
Bathsheba Nash, who died May 27, 1808, at
Dorset. Their third son, Stephen Martindale,
was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1759
and moved to Dorset, Vermont. At the age of
eighteen years he was in the battle of Benning
ton, and during the war of 18 12 was lieutenant
colonel commander of the Second Regiment,
First Brigade of Vermont Militia, consisting of
volunteers and drafted men, and was probably
at the battle of Plattsburg. He was a repre
sentative in the Vermont legislature from Dor
set in 1794, 1802 and 1828. He married Huldah
Smith, a daughter of Simeon and Rachel (Dib
ble) Smith, both probably born in Lenox, Mas
sachusetts, whence they removed to Dorset, Ver
mont. Simeon Smith was first lieutenant in
John Paterson's Massachusetts Regiment from
May to December, 1775 ; captain in Warner's
Additional Continental Regiment, July 5, 1776;
and was retired January 1, 1781. He was sur
prised and captured at Fourteen Mile Island,
Lake George, July 15, 1779, with eight others
and nine were killed at the same time, most of
them from Colonel Warner's regiment at Fort
George. He was taken to Montreal, where he
suffered hardships from which he never re
covered. His death occurred in 1786, and that
of his wife in 1813, and both lie buried at Dor
set. An account of his capture is contained in-
the Haldimand manuscripts in the British Mu
seum in London.
Stephen Martindale, jr., a son of the above-
named Stephan Martindale, was born in 1787, in
Dorset, Vermont, and died in 1847 in Walling
ford, that state. Evidence of his military service
is contained in various documents possessed in
the Roberts family. Among these are his warrant
as sergeant major in his father's regiment, over
the signature of Stephen Martindale, lieutenant-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

401

colonel commander, dated July 26, 181 2, and his
commission as adjutant in the same regiment,
signed by Governor Martin Chittenden, May 2,
1814. He was in camp at Plattsburg in 1812.
Letters from him are preseryed written from
camp at Burlington, Vermont, dated September
11 and October 11, 1812; also a plan in ink
made at Plattsburg, showing the harbor at
Plattsburg, the location of the batteaux, the en
campment of the United States troops and Ver
mont militia and the house in which he was quar
tered, all drawn by his own hand and addressed
to his wife, with his signature, "S. Martindale,
Jr., sergeant major," and dated October 20, 1812.
He became a Congregational minister at Tin
mouth and afterward at Wallingford, Vermont.
He married Diantha Kent, of Dorset, Vermont,
she being a daughter of Cephas Kent, Jr.,
and his wife Lydia Sheldon. Cephas Kent, first,
with his wife, Hannah Spencer, moved, prior to
1777, from Suffield, Connecticut, to Dorset, Ver
mont, where they kept an inn. Hemmenway's His
torical Gazeteer says : "At this historic tavern,
September 26, 1776, was held a general conven
tion of fifty-one members, representing thirty-
five towns, where it was resolved that they de
clare this a free and independent district." He
was the first representative from Dorset to the
state legislature in 1778, and he and his wife lie
buried in that town and on his tombstone is a
most interesting epitaph recounting his virtues.
Cephas Kent, Jr., son of the above Cephas Kent,
enlisted at Dorset in the summer of 1776, at the
age of twenty-one years, and went on the cam
paign into Canada, and the Roberts family have
a copy of his war diary. Three or four of his
brothers were in the battle of Bennington. Four
children were born to Daniel and Caroline Dian
tha (Martindale) Roberts; Mary; Caroline M. ;
Stephen M., who is a physician; and Robert, a
lawyer. Robert Roberts, youngest child of Daniel
and Caroline Diantha (Martindale) Roberts,
was born in Manchester, Vermont, in 1848 and
was educated in the Burlington high school, the
Burr and Burton Seminary, of Manchester, and
the University of Vermont, graduating with
honors at the last named institution in 1869. He
afterward completed the course at the Columbia

College Law School of New York, and was ad
mitted to the bar of Chittenden county at the
September term, 1871. Since then, with the
exception of one year in Europe spent in study
and travel, there acquiring a speaking
knowledge of French, since perfected, and
two years of practice in Chicago, 1876-7,
he has been constantly engaged in prac
tice in Burlington. For some years he
was associated with his talented father, whose
gifts and tastes he inherited in a marked degree.
During the years of 1874, 1878 and 1880 he was
official reporter of the state senate and a press
correspondent from the capitol. In 1882, on the
Republican ticket, he was elected to the legisla
ture from the city of Burlington, and was placed
upon two important committees, the judiciary
and revision of bills, being chairman of the last
named. From 1887 until 1889 he was city attor
ney of Burlington, while in 1890 he was elected
to the state senate for a term of two years, serv
ing as chairman of the judiciary committee. In
his legislative services, he displayed high qual
ities as a law-maker, and left his impress upon
many important pages of the statute books of
the commonwealth. His most notable public
service in the senate was in leading the opposi
tion to the bill to remoye the State Agricultural
College from Burlington. The bill passed the
house by a very large majority, but was fought
to its death in the senate. In 1889, after a sharp
contest, he was elected to the mayoralty of Bur
lington, and was re-elected in 1900 by a large
majority, proving himself a most sagacious and
progressive executive. He is now engaged
under contract with the state in the work of pre
paring a digest of all decisions of the supreme
court of Vermont. A man of broad intelligence
and warm human sympathies, he has a marked
influence in the community. He is a fluent and
, graceful speaker, and is frequently heard with
pleasure upon public occasions on political, ed
ucational and social topics. His social associa
tions are with the Algonquin and Ethan Allen
clubs, and he was president of the last named
for several years ; is a trustee of the University of
Vermont, a member of the advisory board of the
Home for Destitute Children, a trustee of the
state library, a director of the Merchants' Na-

26

402

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

tional Bank, of Burlington and president of the
Society of the College Street Congregational
church. Air. Roberts was married October 20, 1886
to Miss Minnie Elizabeth Lyman, a daughter of
Edward and Alinerva (Briggs) Lyman, of Bur
lington. The Lyman family has been a leading
one in Windsor county, Vermont, for a century
past. The father of Mrs. Roberts, born in Wood
stock, this state, became a prominent merchant
and banker of Burlington.
JOHN L. F. BURDICK, AL D.
John L. F. Burdick, who was a prominent
physician of Winooski, Vermont, was descended
from an ancient New England family, which
originated in England and first appears in the
form of Burdette, of which the present family
name is a corruption. The great-great-grand
father of John L. F. Burdick, was a captain of
an English vessel, and after passing most of his
life on the ocean settled in Rhode Island. Thence,
during the eighteenth century, Elijah and Lybius
Burdick, half-brothers, emigrated to the vicinity
of Hoosick Falls, New York. The latter after
ward settled in Warren county, New York, while
Elijah became one of the first settlers in West
ford, Vermont, as stated in the history of that
town. In that town, on the 30th of January,
1790, was born Nathaniel, father of John L. F
Burdick and the third of the six children of
Elijah Burdick and his wife, Rhoda. Rhoda
Burdick died in Westford in the early part of
the last century. Elijah died on the 29th of De
cember, 181 5. Nathaniel Burdick married Man-
Benjamin, of New York state, immediately after
which event he went to Ira, Rutland county, re
maining there until about 1841. He then passed
about three years in Westford, and removed to
De Kalb, St. Lawrence county, New York, where
he spent the remainder of his days, until Alarch
11, 1863. He was a farmer of more than usual
intelligence and performed the duties that fell to
his lot with a cheerful readiness that commanded
the esteem of his fellow-townsmen and acquaint
ances. He was a member of the old Democratic
party until the time of Fremont, for whom he
voted, and after whose defeat he always advo
cated the principles of the Republican party.

Although not an office-seeker, he was jus
tice of the peace for some time while residing in
Ira, and after his removal to New York, was
honored by an election to the legislature of that
state, a more difficult position to attain than a
corresponding office in Vermont. His wife sur
vived him until January 10, 1872, when she died
in Rossie, New York, at the home of her daugh
ter, Julia R. Wetmore. They had seven chil
dren, named as follows in the order of their birth :
Thomas Benjamin, Charles W., Julia R., Mary
L., John L. F., Emily A. and Horace W., all of
whom are deceased. Three of the brothers,
Thomas B., Charles W. and John L. F., practiced
medicine. John Lafayette Burdick was born in the town
of Ira, Rutland county, Vermont, on the 16th
of December, 1824, where were born also all of
his brothers and sisters. He attended the com
mon schools of his native town until about his
seventeenth year, after which he pursued his
studies for two years in a select school in West
ford, one term in Potsdam, New York, and four
years in Gouverneur Academy, New York, receiv
ing a thorough mathematical training at the lat
ter institution under the tuition of Dr. J. W.
Armstrong, of Gouverneur. He was then en
abled to enter Union College one year in ad
vance. He remained in this institution one year
and a half, being forced to withdraw during his
junior year by a severe attack of typhoid fever.
In the fall of 1849 he t0°k a tour through the
Atlantic and Southern states for the recovery of
his health, an object which he accomplished in
about a year. AVhen he was again able to en
gage in some active occupation, he was pur-
suaded to open a select school in Westford, Ver
mont, which he taught very successfully for two
terms, having a regular attendance of no fewer
than eighty pupils. The two school years imme
diately following the summer of 1850 were
passed as principal of the graded school at
Winooski, but the fall terms of 185 1 and 1852
were occupied in attendance upon lectures at the
Castleton Aledical College. By dint of thorough
and persistent study, he was graduated from
that college in the fall of 1852. He at once
opened an office in Winooski and prosecuted a
successful and growing practice up to the time
of his death.

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

403

Dr. Burdick's first political affiliation was
with the Democratic party of ante-bellum times.
His sympathies and better judgment were alien
ated, however, during the agitation of the Free-
soil arguments, from which time he was a
straightforward member of the Republican party.
As a consequence of his high social and profes
sional station he was repeatedly urged to enter
the field as a candidate for political office, but
persistently and firmly declined, believing that
he could better perform his mission by confining
his activities to his practice, and to a solution of
the questions it involved. He was an enthusiastic
student and practitioner of medicine. His fellow
physicians appreciated this fact, and manifested
their appreciation by several gratifying elections
to high positions. For example, he was elected to
the presidency of the old Chittenden County Med
ical Society a number of times, and was twice
president of the Burlington Medical and Surgical
Club. He was one of the attending physicians
of the Mary Fletcher Hospital every year from
its inception till his death. He was gratified by
these evidences of confidence in him, because it
was his delight to deserve the esteem of his fel
lows in the medical profession.
Although not members of any church, Dr.
and Mrs. Burdick had a strong preference for
the Baptist denomination, in accordance with
family tradition. As there was no Baptist church,
however, in Winooski, they regularly attended
and contributed to the support of the Congrega
tional church.
November 16, 1851, Dr. Burdick married Miss
Anna L., daughter of Eli Warren Burdick, of
Westford, she received an academical education
at Bakersfield, Vermont. They had one child, a
daughter, Lucy Florence, born September 17,
1874, who pursued her studies at home until en
tering the University of Vermont, from which
she graduated in the class of 1895. She after
ward taught two years in public schools, since
which time she has given her attention to the
study of music. Miss Burdick also assists stu
dents of the university to pass examinations in
mathematics, in which science she is considered
most remarkably proficient. She is a member of
the Phi Beta Kappa Society and is very popular
in college circles.
On December 11, 1897, Dr. Burdick died, un-

feignedly regretted by all who had ever been
brought within the sphere of his influence. His
death left a void in the community in which so
many years of his long and useful life had been
passed, and a few members of which had not had
cause to bless him for the skill and kindliness
with which for nearly a half century he had led
the life of an ' enlightened, benevolent physician,
and an honorable and high-minded man. Among
the characteristics which caused Dr. Burdick to
be universally beloved was the pleasure which it
afforded him to aid the young in obtaining an
education, his predilections in this regard having
been fostered by his experience as a teacher.
Airs. Dr. Burdick died at the age of sixty-five.
Mrs. Burdick's sister, Mrs. L. E. Ballard, who
for a number of years followed the profession
of teaching and was prominently known in edu
cational circles, was a granddaughter of Elijah
Burdick, mentioned in the sketch of Dr. John L.
F. Burdick as one of the pioneer settlers of West
ford, Vermont. Eli Warren Burdick, son of Eli
jah, spent his life as a farmer in Westford, where
he died at the age of seventy-eight. His wife,
Julia C. Burdick, was born in Rhode Island, and
was, with her husband, a member of the Baptist
church, in which Mr. Burdick took an especially
active part, being for many years the leader of the
choir. Their family consisted of four children,
two of whom are living : Mrs. L. E. Ballard, men
tioned at length hereinafter; and Airs. Julia F.
Dyke. Mrs. Ballard was educated in the New Hamp
ton Institute in Fairfax, Vermont, and later was
for some time a teacher in the common schools
of Winooski, where for fifteen years she was a
leading educator, having charge of a department,
and filling the position of an influential worker in
the cause of education. She became the wife of
Alfred Cow les Ballard, July 2, 1868, who for a
number of years was one of the leading lawyers of
Winooski, Vermont.
Alfred Cowles Ballard, a native of Goshen,
Connecticut, passed his boyhood in Tinmouth,
Vermont, and was a graduate of the University
of Vermont. During- the Civil war he enlisted in
Company B, Ninth Regiment, Vermont Volun
teers, in which he was commissioned second lieu
tenant, and later promoted first lieutenant, and
with his regiment participated in the most impor-

404

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

tant campaigns of the Army of the Potomac. At
the end of his period of service he was honora
bly discharged, and returned to Winooski, where
he engaged in the practice of his profession. Mr.
Ballard was deeply interested in politics, in which
he took the active part for which his gifts as a
public speaker peculiarly fitted him. In the forci
ble and eloquent addresses which he was solicited
to deliver in all parts of the state, his influence was
always exerted on the side of high principle and
enlightened progress. Mr. Ballard was an earn
est temperance worker, and did all in his power to
advance the cause of education, acting for six
years as superintendent of schools in Winooski,
Vermont. He was active in Masonic circles, and
occupied a high place in the regard of all who
knew him, whether socially or professionally.
Mr. and Mrs. Ballard were members of the Con
gregational church, to which Mrs. Ballard still
belongs. Both took an active part in church work,
Mr. Ballard being superintendent of the Sunday-
school in which his wife was a teacher, she be
ing also organist of the church for nearly twenty
years. Mrs. Ballard is interested in education,
particularly in the work of the young ladies of
the University of Vermont. The pleasant elo
cution evenings given by the latter annually
originated through her, and she gave the first
prize of fifty dollars in gold, which has been kept
up by others ever since.
Mr. Ballard died on the 28th of November,
1874, at the comparatively early age of forty
years. It was felt that by his death not only his
family and immediate friends, but the whole com
munity had sustained a serious loss. Since the
death of her husband Mrs. Ballard has resided
with the family of Dr. Burdick.
WARREN EDWARD PUTNAM, M. D.
Dr. Warren E. Putnam, of Bennington, Ver
mont, known throughout the state for his excel
lent professional attainments and for his literary
accomplishments, is descended from one of the
earliest and most worthy New England families,
which, in its various generations, for nearly seven
centuries has contributed of its members those
who have been" signally useful in every honorable
walk of life.
The family comes of old English stock, the

original name having been De Puttenham. The
earliest mention of the family, so far as known, is
found in the "Domesday Book," compiled by or
der of William the Conqueror, and is seen among
the three thousand names there enumerated.
Puttenham, Herts county, England, was the first
known seat of the family and is mentioned in
the great survey ordered by King William. The
village, as is seen, bore the family name and does
so to this day. The "De" was dropped from the
name in the thirteenth century, and "Puttenham"
was changed into the anglicized form of Putnam
in the fifteenth century. The former estate and
home of the family in the parish of Puttenham
and Aston Abbotts is now owned and occupied
by the Earl of Roseberry.
The coat of arms which has been borne by the
Putnams from early times, prior to the visita
tions, was first granted to Sir George Puttenham,
of Sherfield, and to Nicholas Putnam, of Penne,
and is described in the Visitations of Bucks, by
Harvey, in 1566 and 1634 and in the Visitations
of Hampshire in the latter year. These arms are
also described by Burke in his "General Armory."
They consist of a sable between eight crosses
crosslit-fitchee, argent a stork of the last beaked
and legged gules. Crest, a wolf's head gules.
Dr. Putnam's genealogical descent, so far as
known, is as follows : Simon De Puttenham, liv
ing in 1 199 ; Ralph De Puttenham, of Puttenham,
born in 1217; Richard, born in 1263; John, 1291;
Thomas Puttenham, reign of Edward I; Roger,
high sheriff for Herts in 1322; Henry, 1300-
1350; Sir Roger, 1320-1380; William Puttenham,
of Puttenham and Penne, 1370-1452; Sir George,
1408- 1473; Nicholas Putnam, of Penne, born in-
1460; Henry, living in 1527; Richard, 1523-
1556: Nicholas, of Wingrave, died in 1598; his
son John was the first member of the family to-
come to America. The names of the wives of
the English ancestors are, not given for lack of
space, but several of them were of noble blood.
The genealogical line here given is all from rec-j
ord and is believed to be absolutely correct. Johrl
Putnam, of Aston Abbotts, county of Bucks, Eng
land, mentioned above, was born about 1580, and?
came to America in the year 1634. His wife,,
Priscilla Gould, to whom he was married in Eng
land, was admitted to the church in Salem, Mas
sachusetts, in 1641, and he became connected with

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

405

it six years later, and was made a freeman the
same year. In 1644 the town of Salem voted that
"a patrol of two men be appointed each Lord's
Day to walk forth during worship and take notice
of such as did not attend worship, and who were
idle, etc," and to present such cases to the magis
trates. All those appointed were men of stand
ing in the community, and for the ninth day those
designated were John Putnam and John Haw
thorne. John Putnam was a farmer and exceeding
ly well off for that day, and he must have been a
man of considerable education, for he wrote a
fair hand, as is shown by deeds on record. He
died suddenly, in Salem village, Massachusetts,
December 30, 1662, aged about eighty years, and
the following account of that event was written
in 1733 by his grandson, Edward Putnam : "He
ate his supper, went to prayer with his family,
and died before he went to sleep."
Lieutenant Thomas Putnam, eldest son of
John and Priscilla Putnam, was baptized at Aston
Abbotts, county of Bucks, England, March 7,
1614, and died at Salem village, Masachusetts,
May 5, 1686. It is of record that he participated
in the famous "Narragansett fight," being lieu
tenant of a troop of horse. He was married at
Lynn, Massachusetts, August 17, 1643, to Ann,
daughter of Edward and Prudence (Stockton)
Holyoke, who came from one of the most promi
nent and aristocratic families in the colony, and
were founders of the present city of Holyoke,
Massachusetts. She occupied in the church the
"principal pew" reserved for women, the leading
church distinction in that day. Her death oc
curred September 1, 1666. Lieutenant Thomas
and Ann (Holyoke) Putnam were the grandpar
ents of Major General Israel Putnam, and great-
grandparents of Major Genet A Rufus Putnam.
Ann Holyoke was also the great-aunt of Edward
Holyoke, president of Harvard University from
1737 to 1769. After the death of his first wife
Lieutenant Putnam married, September 14, 1666,
Mary Veren, widow of Nathaniel Veren, a
wealthy merchant of Salem. She died in March,
1694. On November 11, 1672, Lieutenant Put
nam was made chairman of the committee to
carry on the affairs of the parish. He was the
wealthiest citizen of Salem.
Sergeant Thomas, son of Lieutenant Thomas
and Ann (Holyoke) Putnam was born in

Salem, Masachusetts, January 12, 1652; on Feb
ruary 2 of the same year he was baptized in the
First church, and he died in Salem May 24, 1699.
September 25, 1678, he was married to Ann,
youngest daughter of George and Elizabeth
Carr, of Salisbury, where she was born June 15,
1661 ; her death occurred at Salem June 8, 1699.
Thomas Putnam received a liberal education and
wrote a fine, clear hand. Many of the records
of the witchcraft trials, in which he took a promi
nent part, were written by him. He was the
largest taxpayer in Salem, and a man of great
influence in the Massachusetts colony.
Seth Putnam, son of Sergeant Thomas, was
born in Salem, in Alay, 1695, and died in Charles
town, New Hampshire, November 30, 1775.
September 16, 1718, he was married to Ruth,
daughter of John Whipple ; she was born in 1692
and died in Charlestown February 1, 1785. Seth
Putnam aided in forming the first church in
Charlestown and was one of the first ten mem
bers. August 14, 1753, the first town meeting
was held in that place, and he was chosen a tith
ing man. He was highly respected in the com
munity, and his tombstone bears the inscription,
"The memory of the just is blest."
Thomas Putnam, the sixth son of Seth and
Ruth Putnam, was born in Billerica, October 22,
1728, and died in Charlestown, New Hampshire,
August 20, 1814. He was married in Lunen
burg, Alassachusetts, January 24, 1754, to Rachel,
daughter of Captain Ephraim and Joanna (Bel
lows) Wetherbee, of Charlestown, Massachu
setts ; she was born April 3, 1733, and died June
12, 1812. Thomas Putnam took part in the
F'rench and Indian wars as soon as he was able
to bear arms, for in 1750 we find him the fourth
name on the rolls of Captain Steven's company.
He was prominent in both civil and religious af
fairs. He was one of the first members of the
church in Charlestown and was afterwards a
deacon. In Acworth he was the first justice of
the peace; he was moderator of the town meet
ings there in 1775 and 1779, and selectman from
1772 to 1778, with the exception of 1774 and
1777, his service being during the most important
years of the Revolutionary war period.
Seth Putnam, son of the last mentioned par
ents, was born in Lunenburg, Masachusetts, Sep
tember 16, 1756, and died in Putnam, Upper

406

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Canada (now Ontario), September 3, 1827. He
was married on February 14, 1790, to Sarah
Harding, who was born in Nova Scotia May 14,
1763, and who died in 1827. When Seth Put
nam was nineteen years old he was a private in
Captain Samuel Wetherbee's company in Colonel
Isaac Wyman's regiment, which marched to re
inforce the northern army in June, 1776. He
afterward became an officer in the Revolutionary
army. He was also a member of the famous
"Boston Tea Party." He became a pioneer in
Canada, where he purchased a large tract of
land, and was a successful farmer up to the time
of his death. He built the great macadam high
way for the government, one hundred and sixty
miles in length, from Hamilton, Upper Canada,
to Chatham, Upper Canada.
Thomas Putnam, the son of Seth and Sarah
(Harding) Putnam, was born in Delaware, Up
per Canada, October 28, 1804, and died Alarch
26, 1880. In his youth, in his father's house, he
witnessed the historic interview between Gen
eral Proctor and Tecumseh, the night previous to
the battle of the Thames, in which the great In
dian chief was killed. General Proctor made the
house of Seth Putnam his headquarters at that
time. In 1825, the year he attained his majority,
Mr. Putnam located in Dorchester, Upper Can
ada, where he laid the foundation of an extensive
mercantile and manufacturing business, and be
came so prominent a citizen that in 1839 the name
of the town was changed to that of Putnam in
his honor. Air. Putnam first married Nancy Dy-
gert, daughter of Sylvanus Dygert, a prominent
citizen of his county ; by her he had a son and a
daughter, Alarshall S. B. Putnam and Harriet
A. Putnam. He next married Nancy Harris,
daughter of the Rev. John Harris, of Boston, one
of the best known clergymen of his day, who
never had but one pastorate and held that for
forty years. She was also the grandniece of
General Nicholas Herkimer, who commanded the
American forces at the battle of Oriskany, one
of the. pivotal battles of the Revolution, where,
having received a fatal wound, he still continued
to command his troops while calmly smoking his
pipe, saving his one thousand men from utter
annihilation at the hands of overwhelming num
bers under command of Sir John Johnson, Jos
eph Brant, the famous Indian chief, and the no

torious Butlers. Congress erected an imposing
monument to his memory a few years ago. It
is placed over his grave two miles east of Little
Falls, New York, and may be seen on the south
side of the New York Central Railroad, near a
large red brick house, his home. Nancy Harris
was also near kin to the Van Rensselaers, as was
his first wife, and also, by marriage, grandniece
of General Philip Schuyler. Thomas Putnam had
six sons and one daughter; Dr. Putnam, the sub
ject of this sketch, was the youngest son of the
second wife. During the troublous times in
cident to the Canadian rebellion of 1837-38 Air.
Putnam sympathized with the supporters of re
sponsible government, and thus became an object
of suspicion to the Tory party then in power, so
much so, in fact, that he was obliged to remain
in concealment many weeks to save himself from
imprisonment and probably a worse fate. He
had previously, in anticipation of trouble, con
structed a secret chamber in his house which
could be entered only through a concealed sliding
panel. He remained in this room six weeks, dur
ing which time British soldiers searched the
house more than once. This chamber was stpl
to be seen in the old mansion a few years ago,
and may be there still. He greatly aided the
rebel cause with both money and influence. Mr.
Putnam was appointed a magistrate by the gov
ernor and held the office for forty-two years ; this
is a life appointment in Canada. He refused all
other public offices which were frequently tend
ered him. Air. Putnam, always known in his
county as the "Squire," met with business re
verses late in life which left him only a very mod
erate competence after honorably satisfying the
honest demands of every creditor in full, although
not compelled to do so by law at the time, his
losses having been clue to the dishonesty of a
partner whom he trusted. Thomas Putnam's
eldest brother, General William Putnam, whom
the historian Thellier, in his "History of the
Canadian Rebellion," speaks of as "the brave and
chivalrous, although too daring Putnam," com
manded the rebel troops at the battle of Windsor,
where he fell at the head of his men, shot through
the brain. His career for the last two years of
his life, to quote the words of a prominent writer,
was one of "the most romantic" in the annals of
the country. He served as an aide de camp to

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

407

General Sir Isaac Brock at Lundy's Lane, and
was with that gallant soldier when he fell mor
tally wounded at Queenstown Heights, holding
his head upon his knee until Brock breathed his
last. He was afterwards commissioned captain
of the London Guards, which position he held
ten years previous to the Canadian rebellion of
1837-38. It is from this long line of distinguished ai>
cestors that Dr. Putnam has come, and he was
born to the last named parents in Putnam, Can
ada, May 6, 1857. He acquired his preliminary
education in the village schools, and afterward
graduated from the Brantford Collegiate Insti
tute in Canada. He. studied medicine in the
Cleveland (Ohio) Homeopathic Aledical Col
lege, from which he was graduated with honors,
and he subsequently took post-graduate courses,
attending lectures and clinics in St. Thomas Hos
pital, London, England, hospitals in Paris, France,
and later in Chicago. After his return from
abroad he practiced his profession for twelve
years at Hoosick, New York. In 1893 he moved
to Bennington, Vermont, • where he has built up
a large and lucrative practice. His high profes
sional standing is attested by his connection with
leading medical societies, among which are the
Vermont state Homeopathic Aledical Society, the
Vermont State Sanitary Association, the Peeks-
kill (New York) Aledical Society, the Medical
Society of Northern New York, the Cleveland
Homeopathic Alumni Association and the Ameri
can Institute of Homeopath}-. In 1896 Governor
Grout appointed him to the position of surgeon
general of the state of Vermont, with the rank
of brigadier general, a splendid testimonial to his
professional ability and personal worth; he did
not serve, however, as he was not a member of the
National Guard. He is loyally devoted to the
interests of his town, and an active participant in
all movements having for their end the advance
ment of the community. He is an influential
member of the executive committee of the Ben
nington board of trade. His political affilia
tions are witii the Republican party, but he has
had little ambition to hold office; he has been
village trustee and in March, 1902, was elected
by a large majority to the office of president of
Bennington. He is also president of the Ben
nington board of health. Through his distin

guished ancestry he holds membership in a num
ber of patriotic organizations : the Bennington
Battle Alonument and Historical Association,
A^ermont Chapter of the Sons of the American
Revolution, and the Vermont Society of Colonial
Wars. He is also an honorary member of Cus
ter Post, G. A. R., of Bennington. He delights
in literature and kindred avocations, and is the
possessor of a valuable collection of curios,
among them many rare and ancient coins which
he gathered while traveling in Syria, Asia Minor
and Africa.
On October 7, 1887, Dr. Putnam was mar
ried to Aliss Anna Sherwood Hawks, a member
of one of the most highly respected families of
Brooklyn, New York. Her father, who died in
that city at the age of fifty-four, was a member
of tlie firm of Knowlson & Company, bankers
and brokers in Wall .Street ; her mother, who was
Aliss Annie Sherwood, is widely known as a
writer of much ability, being the author of the
hymn "I Need Thee Every Hour," and of many
others ; she now makes her home with her daugh
ter, Mrs. Putnam. The members of the Putnam
family are highly regarded for their excellent
traits of character and their usefulness in the
community, and their home is the center of many
pleasant gatherings.
GEORGE SAMUEL RUSSELL.
For many years George S. Russell has been
identified with the agricultural interests of Ad
dison county, and he now makes his home in
Aiiddlebury. His birth occurred in Shelburne,
this state, on the 21st of February, 1846, being
a son of Harry Russell, also a native of that place,
his birth there occurring in September, 1812.
The paternal grandfather, Thomas Russell,
claimed Hinesburg as the place of his nativity,
and his father, Charles Russell, came to the
Green Alountain state from Connecticut, being
one of the first settlers of Hinesburg. In com
pensation for the service which he rendered in
surveying the town, he was given a tract of
land, and he finally became the owner of six
hundred acres. Thomas Russell also followed
the tilling of the soil as a life occupation, and
in Sheburne, this state, he owned one hundred
acres, which he continued to cultivate until his

403

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

life's labors were ended in death in 1816. His
wife bore the maiden name of Azuba Rogers, and
was a native of Connecticut. She bore her hus
band four children, and her death occurred in
Malone, New York, at the age of eighty years,
passing away in the faith of the Methodist Epis
copal church, of which she was long a faithful
member. Harry Russell spent his entire life in the
place of his nativity, where he was engaged in
agricultural pursuits, and his death, which oc
curred at the age of eighty-three years, was oc
casioned by his being thrown from a wagon. He
held many of the town offices and was a riian
of much influence in his community. He mar
ried Maroa Reed, who left two children at her
death, Joshua C, the elder, born in 1836, died in
Shelburne in 1878, and Imogene Maroa married
Egbert B. Wilmot and died in May, 1898, in
Orange, New Jersey. For his second wife, Mr.
Russell chose Sarah Miner, a native of Shel
burne where her father, Samuel Miner, was num
bered among the early settlers, the latter's fa
ther, Roswell Aliner, having come to this state
from Connecticut in 1794. The Miner family
was planted in America by Thomas Miner, who
came from England in 1630 with Governor John
AVinthrop. Landing at Salem, he settled in
Charlestown, Alassachusetts, removing later to
Stonington, Connecticut, where he died in 1690,
at Ihe age of eighty-three years. Roswell
Miner, who settled in Shelburne was his grand
son. The line has been traced to Sir Henry
Aliner, of Mendippi Hills, Somersetshire, Eng
land, who died there in 1359.
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Miner became the pa
rents of a number of children, but only one is
now living, Mrs. Ira Russell, of Burlington, Ver
mont. Samuel Miner's widow drew a pension
for his services in the war of 1812. Of the
five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Harry Rus
sell, four are now living, George S., of this re
view ; Henry AV., of Hinesburg ; Noble M., a
resident of Red Rock, California; and Edmond
A., on the old home farm in Shelburne. The
mother departed this life at the age of fifty-two
years, in January, 1869.
George S. Russell was reared and received
his elementary education in the schools of Shel
burne, afterward pursuing his studies at Essex

Center, and subsequently entered Shelburne
Academy. At the age of twenty-three years he
located on the farm which he still owns, in the
town of New Haven, which consists of two
hundred and eighty acres of rich and fertile land,
and in addition, he also owns another tract of
one hundred and forty-seven acres. Until 1901
he engaged in general farming and stock-raising,
and is recognized as one of the leading agricul
turists of this part of the county. At the pres
ent time he makes his home in Middlebury, a
part of the time, but retains a place of abode on
the farm, which is located on the main road
from Vergennes to Middlebury, being distant
six miles from the latter . place. In 1869 Mr.
Russell was united in marriage to Amanda C.
Carter, who was born in Monkton, Vermont, in
which place her father, Harry W. Carter, was
also born. He was a son of Solomon Carter, a
native of Connecticut, born in October, 1785. The
last named was a son of Solomon Carter, with
whom he came from Connecticut to Vermont
before 1800. Solomon Carter, Jr., was called
to his final rest at the age of eighty-two years,
July 10, 1868. His wife, who bore the maiden
name of Laura Peck, was born in New Haven,
Vermont, and was a daughter of William Peck,
whose history will be found in that of Warren
Peck, in this volume. Mr. and Mrs. Solomon
Carter became the parents of six children, four
of whom grew to maturity, but all are now de
ceased and the mother's death occurred at the age
of forty years. Harry W. Carter, the father of
Mrs. Russell, was reared on a farm in New Ha
ven, and after reaching his twenty-first year, re
turned to Monkton, where he continued to reside
for the succeeding twenty-five years. His last
days were spent in his home in New Haven,
where he died March 23, 1888, at the age of
seventy-five years. He was married to Eliza
Beers, a native of Ferrisburg, where her father,
Elnathan Beers, was a prominent farmer, he hav
ing come to this state from Connecticut, and his
death occurred at the age of eighty-seven years.
Her mother, who was in her maidenhood, Sally
Capron, was a native of Rhode Island, and she
became the mother of five children, but of this
number Mrs. Caroline Collins is the only sur
vivor, and she resides in Monkton, having
reached the age of ninety-six years. Her mother

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

409

•passed away at the age of eighty-seven years.
Mr. and Mrs. Carter had one child, Mrs. Rus
sell, and the mother was called to her final rest
March 8, 1888, at the age of sixty-eight years.
The union of Mr. and Mrs. Russell has been
blessed with one son, Leroy C, who was born
May 23, 1874. He is a graduate of the Mid
dlebury College, taught school three years in
JSfew York towns, pursued the study of law in
Burlington, and is now engaged in practice at
Middlebury. He married May Rockwell, of
Ashtabula, Ohio, and they have one child, George
L. Mr. George S. Russell gives his political sup
port to the Republican party, and he has served
as chairman of the board of selectmen, as a jus
tice of the peace and in 1894 was called upon
to represent his town in the legislature. His re
ligious preference is indicated by his member
ship in the Congregational church, of which his
wife and son are also members.
LEON H. GILLETTE, M. D.
Dr. Leon H. Gillette, a skilful! and prosperous
-physician of AVilmington, Vermont, is a native of
the state, born in Whitingham, March 15, 1869.
He comes of honored pioneer stock, being a di
rect descendant of one of the early settlers of the
town of Wilmington, in the following direct line.
Timothy Gillette (1), with his sister Milly,
moved from Connecticut and settled in Wilming
ton in the year 1784, taking up land in the north
west part of the town and clearing the same for
a farm. Of his marriage with Lydia Waters
five children were born: Oliver, who lived to
old age and died unmarried; Deborah, who also
lived to old age and died unmarried; Timothy,
Jr., who married Beulah Fitch ; Sylvia, who died
unmarried; and Lydia, who married Samuel
Negus, Jr.
Timothy, Jr. (2), and his wife were the par
ents of four children, Fitch, Waters, Calista, El
liott. Fitch married Melinda Yeaw, who lived
but a short time : later he married Sarepta Yeaw,
a sister of the first wife; one child was born of
this union, who died in infancy, the wife passing
to her rest a few years later, while Fitch lived to
the ripe old age of eighty years and died March
4, 1880. Calista died at eighteen years of age,

unmarried. Elliott died in early manhood, un
married. Waters Gillette (3) was born and reared in
Wilmington. After securing all the education
furnished by public schools of the time and hav
ing decided upon a professional career, he read
medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. Pulsifer,
and completed his professional education at the
old State Medical College at Castleton, from
which he was graduated in 1831, and he located
in Wilmington as a first field of labor. June 28,
1832, he was united in marriage to Aliss Brit
tania Whitney, of Alarlboro, Vermont. They re
moved to Readsboro, Arermont, in 1834, where

LEON H. GILLETTE, M. D.
Dr. Gillette continued in his professional work
until 1840, being prominent in public affairs, and
representing the town in the legislature of 1838.
In 1840 he removed to Whitingham, where he
labored as an active practitioner until his retire
ment from active pursuits in 1881, completing a
full half century of active practice. He was a

4io

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

very successful physician, caring for an extensive
patronage and having a remarkably large terri
tory to cover, making his visits on horseback.
Pie was held in high esteem throughout the coun
ty, served them three times in the state legisla
ture from Whitingham, and held various town
offices of honor and trust. He died July 7, 1892,
at the advanced age of ninety-one years, and his
wife died September 8, 1885, at the age of sev
enty-two years. She was a woman greatly re
spected by a large circle of friends.
Dr. Waters and Brittania (Whitney) Gillette
were the parents of nine children : Calista D.,
born June 16, 1833 ; she was married October 17,
1855, to John W. Sawyer, of Whitingham, who
survives her, and she died in 1876. Barnicia,
born January 13, 1835, died August 30, 1854,
aged nineteen years, unmarried. Henry O., born
December 18, 1836 ; he was married to Miss
Sophronia Reed October 29, 1863, and died De
cember 19, 1877, aged forty-one years. Sabrina
A., born May 28, 1839, died November 29, 1862,
aged twenty-three years, unmarried. Elliott F.,
born June 12, 1841 ; he was married October 16,
1867, to Miss Luana Newell, and they are the
parents of two children, Edith and Charlie, living
at Shelburne Falls, Alassachusetts. Winslow
AV., born October 22, 1843, died September 28,
1845, aged two years. Abigail M., born Sep
tember 2, 1845 ! married, October 16, 1867, the
late Chester B. Newell, of Whitingham ; she is
still living at Wollaston, Alassachusetts ; they
were parents of four children, Baxter, Myrtie,
Infant and Cherry. Ransom W., born Novem
ber 27, 1847 > ne was married to Eliza Read, of
Heath, Alassachusetts, who died in 1893, and
they were the parents of four children, Edgar,
Grace, wife of Arthur Summer, of Heath,
Blanche, and Nellie, who died April 19, 1901.
Cora B., born January 18, 1850; she was mar
ried January 1, 1873, t0 tne late John T. Gould, of
North Adams. They were the parents of two
children, Ethel and Spurr, both of whom are de
ceased. Henry O. Gillette (4), third child and eldest
son of Dr. Waters and Brittania (Whitney) Gil
lette, was born and reared and acquired his aca
demical education in Whitingham and at the Gil
lette homestead in that town. He was engaged
in agricultural pursuits until his death at the

age of forty-one years, December 19, 1877. He
served in the Civil war as lieutenant of Company
F, Sixteenth Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, and
fought gallantly at the battle of Gettysburg. He
was a staunch Republican in politics, served in
various town offices, and represented the town in
the legislature in 1876. He was a member of
Jacksonville Lodge, F. & A. M., and was identified
with the Universalist church and was one of its
generous supporters. He married Sophronia
Read, October 29, 1863. She was born in Heath,
Alassachusetts, a daughter of John and Jane
(Burrington) Read, who reared the following
named children : Sophronia ; Lizzie, deceased ;
Benjamin, of Northampton, Alassachusetts;
Frederic ; Eliza, wife of R. W. Gillette, deceased ;
Nellie, wife of Edwin B. Hale, of Bernardston,
Alassachusetts. John Read, who was a farmer,
died at the age of seventy-six years, in 1893 ; his
widow is now living (1903). Both were identi
fied with the Universalist church.
Henry O. Gillette and Sophronia (Read) Gil
lette were the parents of six children, five of
whom came to years of maturity and four of
whom are still living : AVallace L., of Turner's
Falls ; Leon H. ; John R., of Whitingham, who
married Miss Blanche Goodnow, of Whitingham,
daughter of Air. and Airs. Charles Goodnow, and
they have one daughter, Leah, aged ten months;
Henry O., Jr., also of Turner's Falls, Alassachu
setts ; and Herbert, who was reared on the home
farm, subsequently engaged in real estate busi
ness in the west, later became assistant secretary
of state of South Dakota, and died at the age of
thirty-six years. The widowed mother of this
family makes her home at Turner's Falls.
Leon H. Gillette (5), third son in the family
last named, received the rudiments of his educa
tion in AVhitingham and was fitted for college at
Powers' Institute, Bernardston, Alassachusetts.
He was graduated from the medical department
of the University of Vermont in the class of 1891.
The following four years Dr. Gillette was located
in Whitingham, and then removed to Wilming
ton, where he has built up a lucrative practice.
He is identified with the more prominent medical
and fraternal organizations of the vicinity, being
a member of the State Aledical Society; the
AVindham County Aledical Society, of whose
board of censors he is a member; and the Ameri-

HYROH A. READ.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

411

can Medical Association. He is a member of
Ridgley Lodge, No. 16, I. O. O. F., of Jackson
ville, Vermont.
Dr. Gillette was married to Miss Fannie Per
sens, October 30, 1890. She was born in Ber
nardston, Massachusetts, a daughter of Edgar
and Ellen (Clough) Persens, now residents of
Leominster, Massachusetts, both of whom were
identified with the Unitarian church. Mrs. Gil
lette was one of a family of seven children, of
whom six are living: Oler Persens, of West
Fitchburg, Massachusetts, who married Miss
Carrie Ingram ; Charles, of Maynard, Massachu
setts, who married Fannie Bardwell ; Addie, who
married J. W. Litch, of Lowell, Massachusetts ;
Nellie, who married Frederic Strong, of South
Fladley Falls, Massachusetts ; and Cora, who mar
ried Ernest Rumery, of Winchendon, Massachu
setts. Dr. and Mrs. Gillette are the parents of
six children, Waters, Corrinne, Gertrude,. Mar
garet, Cleon and Linwbod. The parents are sup
porters of the Universalist church.
RUTH READ. i
On what was once known as the Hawley
farm, a large and valuable tract of land, near
the village of Shelburne, resides a lady who has
long been conspicuously identified with the agri
cultural interests of her community. She is
now the most prominent representative of a
widely known and influential family who came
originally from Lincolnshire, England, and who
have for generations been active in the industrial,
social and political life of Vermont. Some of
them rose to positions of great prominence and
influence, while others in a less conspicuous way
were factors in the development of their respective
communities. Miss Ruth herself has constituted
one of the strongest links in this genealogical line
and is widely known for her strength of character,
business ability and interesting personal traits.
She manages with marked skill the extensive es
tate inherited from her late lamented father, and
shows that she has inherited the strong qualities
for which that honored gentleman was noted
during his lifetime. With a certainty that any
details concerning an old family like this will
prove entertaining, an effort will now be made to

present in outline the salient features of the his
tory of Miss Read's more immediate ancestors.
Joshua Read, grandfather of Miss Ruth, was
born in Alansfield, Connecticut, February 28,
1762, a son, of Amasa Read. Joshua Read came
from Mansfield, Connecticut, as far back as 1785,
and was one of the earliest pioneers of this part
of Vermont. He located on a tract of two hun
dred acres of land adjoining that now occupied1
by his granddaughter and erected one of the first
farm houses in the town. Aliss Read cherishes
and preserves the original deed given by Ethan
Allen to Joshua,Read, bearing date June 30, 1785.
Most of this land is still held by Miss Ruth Read.
He spent most "of his life on this place and died
April 30, 184.6, at the residence of one of his sons,
after reaching the ripe old age of eighty-four
years. He held "the office of justice of the peace
for a good many years and was a good business
man. He married Orphena Hurlburt, a, native of
Connecticut, born November 5, 1766, and by her
had ten children, of whom six grew to maturity,
but all are long since dead, the mother herself
passing away December ,28, 1812. Her sister
was the wife of Remember Baker, distinguished
in the early history of Vermont. The Hulburts
were of Welsh origin. Joshua Read was
married a second time, to Ruth Steward, who
is now also numbered with the dead. He was a
man of enterprise and industry, accumulated val
uable real estate and for many years was a lead
ing citizen of the. town, where he filled offices of
trust. He was a member and deacon in the Con
gregational church.
Myron Alanson Read, son of Joshua and fa
ther of Miss Ruth, was born on his father's farm
in Shelburne and received his principal education
in the academy at Burlington. In 1830 he pur
chased the farm now owned by his daughter and
began that business career which is so remarkable
for what he did and the methods pursued in its
accomplishment. His beginning was quite mod
est, as he was only able at first to buy about
twenty-five acres of land, but this was steadily
increased from time to time by that industry and
persistence so characteristic of the typical New
Englander until at length he found himself pos
sessed of a fine estate of three hundred acres.
He devoted his place to general farming, but
raised a great deal of stock of different kinds

412

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

and managed his affairs with such skill that all
the departments were made to show profit in the
long run. He was a member of the Republican
party in Vermont, and advocated its principles
with great earnestness during the formation of
that great organization. He held various town
¦offices at different times, such as lister and se
lectman, filling the latter office far many years
with the good judgment which always char
acterized the management of his own affairs. He
joined the Masonic fraternity early in life and
during all the subsequent years was devoted to
the principles and active in the interests of that
ancient and honorable order. He was also much
interested in whatever might benefit agriculture,
that noble calling to which he had devoted his
own life, and his zeal made him a very useful
member of the Grange, of which he was a charter
member, as well as other farmers' associations.
He had three brothers and two sisters, all older
than himself, and each of them filled their parts
in the various walks of life in such a way as to
reflect credit upon the family. The most dis
tinguished was Almon H. Read, who studied
law and practiced his profession with marked suc
cess in Montrose, Pennsylvania. He became
quite conspicuous in politics, was a member of
the legislature and at the time of his death was
a member of Congress from his district. Joshua,
a younger brother, was a farmer and died in
Shelburne at the comparatively early age of
thirty-five years. Orphena, eldest of the sisters,
became the wife of Jonathan Lyon, and ended her
earthly pilgrimage as long ago as 1828. Ralph,
third of the brothers, was a farmer in Shelburne
ail his adult life, filled the office of justice of the
peace many years, and died in the '70s when sev
enty-five years old. He was the father of seven
children, two of whom, Dr. Henry Hurlburt and
Miss Cornelia, are now living in Shelburne, on
the paternal estate. Clarissa, the youngest
daughter, married Samuel Whitney and died
some years ago in Lebanon, Illinois. Alyron A.
Read married Julia, daughter of Elhanan W.
Spear, one of the early settlers of Shelburne. The
last named was prominent in business as a farmer
and owner of a shoe shop and tannery, and rep
resented the town in the legislature. He mar
ried Louisa Saxton. who died at the early age of
nineteen years, after giving birth to an only

daughter, who became the wife of Myron A.
Read. Of the latter's five children, the four now
living are Cassius, of New York city ; Giles, of
Rincon. New Mexico; Clayton, of Burlington,
Vermont; and Miss Ruth, the immediate subject
of this sketch. Orpha L., the fourth child, died
September 11, 1896, at the age of fifty-eight years.
She was a person of intelligence and refinement,
and a fine musician. Naturally of a retiring dis
position, she was prevented by ill health from tak
ing a very active part in the management of af
fairs. Both parents are now dead, the mother
having passed away January 13, 1843, at the age
of thirty-five, and the father on September 25,
1891, when eighty-five years old. They were
pious members of the Episcopal church and ex
emplary Christians, who taught morality and re
ligion both by precept and example.
Ruth Anna Julia Read, youngest of the chil
dren, was born on her father's farm in Shelburne
and there spent the happy days of her girlhood
amid the delightful home surroundings and un
der the care of the most affectionate of parents.
She was given an excellent education in the com
mon schools and the Female Seminary at Bur
lington, after which she taught school for some
years with flattering success at different places.
Eventually she deemed it her duty to return home
and take care of her father in his old age and by
her filial attentions well repaid this venerable par
ent for the care bestowed upon herself in the
days of her youth. Since his death she has been
managing her patrimonial estate with an energy
and business ability that would have delighted
him who instilled into her mind those lessons of
economy and thrift that ever accompanied his
own operations. Besides general farming, Miss
Read devotes much attention to dairying, that de
partment of agriculture so suitable for women,
and has one of the neatest establishments of the
kind in all the country around. In fact, her
products enjoy an enviable local fame, and there
is no greater treat for her friends than to partake
of the milk and butter of this well conducted
manufactory of those indispensible table necessi
ties. She keeps about eighteen cows of the best
grades for dairying purposes, employing two
men in the summer season to look after outdoor
work, and it is safe to say that no other farm of
similar size in Vermont is better managed than

THE STATE . OF VERMONT.

4i5

that presided over by this worthy daughter of an
honored ancestry. Miss Read is chairman of the
board of trustees of the Shelburne Free Library,
and is otherwise interested in the progress of the
community.
DOUGLASS HENRY' DYER.
. The Dyer family of Vermont, honored in all
its generations by its members, who haye lived
lives of the most exemplary personal conduct and
of great usefulness to their fellows,
owes its foundation to William and
Mary Dyre (the original spelling),
who were residents of Boston, Mas
sachusetts, but fifteen years after the
coming of the "Mayflower." This
couple were presumably cousins,
whose parents came in that famous
vessel. They became obnoxious on
account of their religious sentiments,
and William Dyre was driven out of
the Massachusetts colony to the' new
settlement formed by Roger Williams,
and was one of those who purchased
Rhode Island. His wife, a minister
in the Society of Friends,, was ar
rested in Boston and sent to prison
and condemned to death by hanging,
but was reprieved after the noose had
been put about her neck. In 1660
she was again summoned to court in
Boston, charged with being a Quaker,
and was executed upon the gallows.
Her husband, who had not em
braced her religious faith, occupied
various public positions.
Among the descendants, of this
pair were many of the best families
of Delaware and Maryland. Their
eldest son, Samuel, a man of public
importance in Rhode Island, mar
ried Anne, daughter of Captain Ed
ward' Hutchinson, a granddaughter
of the famous Anne Hutchinson, and a grand-
niece of the great poet, John DrydenS. Their
son Edward, born iri 1670, was father of his
namesake, Edward, who was father of another
Edward, born in 1725. Henry, son of Edward
last named, was born in 1759, in North Kingston.

He and all of vhis brothers were Revolutionary
war soldiers. He married Sarah Coy, and they
removed to Shaftsbury, Vermont, where they
reared a family.
Heman Dyer, son of Henry and Sarah Dyer
(to which form the family name had been
changed), was born in Shaftsbury, Vermont,
September 10, 1810. When six years of age his
parents removed to Manchester, and here his
early youth was passed. He was a diligent stu
dent, and when fifteen years of age began the

DOUGLASS HENHY DYER.

study of Latin. He taught school and pursued
his studies during the same time. He subse
quently went to Ohio, where he became a student
in Kenyon College, and took his literary degree.
Having studied for the Protestant Episcopal min
istry, he was ordained by Bishop Mcllvaine. In

414

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

1840 he established a classical school in Pitts
burg, Pennsylvania, which he conducted for three
years, when he was called to a professorship in
the Western University of Pennsylvania, and
subsequently became its chancellor. About this
time, when thirty-four years of age, he received
the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Trinity
College, Hartford. In 1849 he left the university,
and until 1854 was connected with the American
Sunday School Union in Philadelphia. In the
latter year he was elected manager of the Prot
estant Episcopal Society for the Promotion of
Evangelical Knowledge. In 1861 and subse
quently he was editor of the publications of the
society and corresponding secretary of the Ameri
can Church Missionary Society. In 1862 he de
clined election as the first bishop of Kansas.
During the Civil war he was industrious in
Christian Commission work, and aided in found
ing the Philadelphia Divinity School. In 1869
he was the victim of a railroad accident, his train
going into the Hoosick river during a flood, and
he was badly bruised, while his nervous system'
received permanent injury. Yet in the succeed
ing years he -was prominent in church affairs, in
directing missions and as a member of various
conventional bodies and committees, and was for
some years engaged in ministerial work in va
rious important parishes in New York city and
vicinity. In 1832 he was married to Miss Almira
Douglass, of Gambier, Ohio, a daughter of Arch
ibald Douglass, who was in charge of business
affairs about Kenyon College while he was a
student there. Dr. Dyer has written his auto
biography in a remarkably interesting volume of
more than four hundred pages, entitled, "Records
of an Active Life," 1886.
Douglass H. Dyer, son of Dr. Heman and
Almira (Douglass) Dyer, was born August 26,
1842, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. When a boy
of twelve he came to Alanchester, where he at
tended Burr and Burton's Seminary, while a
member of the family of his father's brother,
David Dyer. On his nineteenth birthday, August
26, 1 86 1, his patriotic fervor led him to enlist in
Company E, Fifth Vermont Infantry, which was
attached to the Sixth Corps. He participated
in the battles of Young's Mills, April 5 ; Lee's
Mills, April 16; Williamsburg, May 5, all in
1862, and in August following he was discharged

for disability. Having recovered in April, 1864,
he re-enlisted in the Seventeenth Regiment of
Vermont Infantry, and, with the rank of sergeant,
took part in the battles of Cold Harbor and the
Wilderness. On September 16, 1864, he was
commissioned captain and quartermaster, and
was assigned to duty in New York city to take
charge of the transportation of the Department
of the East. He was honorably mustered out of
service January 8, 1866.
On leaving the army Captain Dyer returned
to Manchester, Vermont, where he followed farm
ing until 1 90 1, when he bought an elegant resi
dence on upper Main street, retaining the owner
ship of a one-hundred-and-fifty-acre farm, which
was bought by his grandfather more than a cen
tury ago. A man of broad intelligence and high
moral principle, he is held in great esteem in the
community. With his family he attends the
Protestant Episcopal church. He is a Republican
in politics, and has served as lister and as grand-
juryman, and, by the election of 1902, became
justice of the peace. Commendable pride in his
own honorable military record and in that of his
comrades has moved him to zealous interest in
Grand Army affairs. He is a member of Spencer
Post No. 24, and has served as commander, and
he was among the organizers of the Association
of Survivors of Company E, Fifth Vermont Reg
iment. He is secretary of the body and has com
piled a voluminous record, containing the names
of all who were ever members of the regiment,
together with the story of the forty engagements
in which it bore a part, and much other valuable
historical matter. He is also a leading spirit in
the annual association reunion, which is one of
the most important affairs >of the community. He
is also a member of Adoniram Lodge No. 42,
F. & A. M.
Captain Dyer was married February 22, 1869,
to Miss Inez Hill, daugter of Jerome and Laura
(Lathrop) Hill. Mr. Hill was a farmer and a
man of high character; his death occurred in
1868, and his widow is yet living in Sunderland.
Mr. and Mrs. Hill were the parents of four chil
dren, of whom Mrs. Dyer was the eldest; the
others were Laura, living in Manchester; Julius,
living in Sunderland ; and Harriet, living in South
Dakota. Five children were born to Captain
and Mrs. Dyer, of whom Harry D., Lena A. and

SIDHEY E. RUSSELL.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

4i5

an infant are deceased. Those living are Heman
J., who married Miss Nellie M. Felt, and Frank
Dyer.
SIDNEY ELIHU RUSSELL.
For many years one of the prominent fac
tors in connection with the industrial activities
of the town of Charlotte, Chittenden county, and
one who held prestige as an able, honorable and
progressive business- man was Mr. Russell, who
for twenty years was successfully engaged in
mercantile pursuits in the village of Charlotte
arid who was one of the representative citizens
of this locality.'
Sidney E. Russell clairried the old Empire
state as the place of his nativity, having been
born in Massena, New York, on the 29th of Jan
uary, 1845. His father, Abraham Russell, was
born at White Creek, that state, being a son of
Henry Russell, who was likewise born in White
Creek, where he was reared on a farm and where
he was identified with agricultural pursuits for
a number of years after attaining maturity. He
eventually removed to Fort Covington, New
York, where he continued farming operations
until his death, at the age of fifty years. In the
locality last mentioned, Abraham Russell grew up
under the invigorating discipline of the farm, re
ceiving a common school education. He contin
ued farming for a number of years and his life
was cut short in its prime, since he died at the
age of forty-nine years, at Potsdam, New York,
"where he had been engaged in agriculture. His
wife, whose maiden name was Lutheria Russell,
(no relative) , was' born in Shelburne, Chittenden
county, VermontJ a daughter of Elihu Russell,
one of the early s.ettlers of this section. She
survived her husband, entering into eternal rest
in 1889, at the age of seventy-three years and
having passed the evening of life in Charlotte.
Both she and her husband were consistent and
zealous members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. They became the parents of five chil
dren, of whom three are living, namely: Ira,
who is a resident of Burlington, and who is in
dividually mentioned elsewhere in this work ;
George, a prominent physician of Massena, New
York, and Clara, the wife of Charles T. Holmes,
of Charlotte.

The youthful days of Sidney E. Russell were
passed in his native town, to whose public s.chools
he was indebted for his early educational train
ing. He there continued his residence until he
had attained the age of nineteen years, when, in
1864, he came to Burlington, Vermont, where he
was employed as a clerk in a mercantile estab
lishment until 1877, when he came to Charlotte,
where he effected the purchase of his store and
business, and here, through1 his enterprise, energy,
discrimination and liberal dealing, he built up an
excellent business, gaining the confidence and
esteem -of the community and being known as a
progressive and public-spirited citizen. His-
store was well arranged and equipped and the
stock of general merchandise very select and
comprehensive, so that he was able to success
fully cater to a large and representative patron-
. age, controlling a trade which extended through
out the territory normally tributary to the town
and giving employment to a corps of four clerks.
In politics he gave his allegiance to the Repub
lican party, and though never an aspirant for of
ficial preferment, he at all times showed a loyal
and active interest in public affairs of a local na
ture. Fraternally he was identified with Bur-
tington Lodge, No. 100, F. and A. M., and he
iwas one of the leading members of the Congre
gational church of Charlotte, being president of
its board of trustees.
In 1868 Mr. Russell was united in marriage
. to Miss Mary D. Blethen, who was born July 30,
1850, in Burlington, and they became the parents
of three children, namely: Stella, who is the
wife of George H. Root, of Burlington, and has
two children, Marjorie and June; Maude,
wife of Stanton Williams, successor of Mr. Rus
sell in business; and .Mary, wife of Frank R.
Falby, of Gnarl°tte. Both the latter were edu
cated in the high school at Burlington. For over
-twenty years, Mr. Russell was connected with
the business interests of this town, and was al
ways ready to lend his aid, both personally and
financially, to the people's good. Chosen by the
people to represent them at the coming legisla
ture, he had given intelligent study tp the im
portant questions that would have come before
him for action, and it is safe to say that he would
have been an influential member of the house
of representatives had he survived to fill his du-

416

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ties. He was quiet and retiring in his inter
course with the people, but was a man of de
cided opinions and tenacity of purpose, and in his
death, which occurred on the 21st of September,
1902, the town of Charlotte lost an excellent
citizen.
MARTIN S. VILAS.
This gentleman, a prominent member of the
Chittenden county bar, is a representative of an
old and honored Vermont family. His paternal
grandfather, Moses Vilas, was a native of Graf-
• ton, Alassachusetts, born there March 19, 1771,
from which place he removed to Randolph, Ver
mont, and about 1800 came to Sterling, now a
part of the town of Johnson. He was thus one
of the early settlers of Lamoille county, and his
journey thither was made through dense forests,
the pathway marked by blazed trees, and his
young wife, with her babe in her arms, rode the
. horse, while he walked and led the animal. He
located in the heart of the wilderness and there
cleared a spot for cultivation and built a rude
house. His industry was rewarded, and he
eventually acquired a property of eight hundred
acres. He was a man of unblemished character
and almost unerring judgment, and was regarded
with utriiost confidence throughout the com
munity. He was the first town clerk in Sterling,
and was also a trial justice of the peace, and in
this capacity his striking personality, his shrewd
judgment and ready wit found expression in
quaint and forceful phraseology, and to this day
utterances of "Squire" Vilas are often repeated
in the neighborhood where was his home. His
wife was Mercy Flint, daughter of Samuel Flint
and a sister of General Martin Flint, of Randolph,
and her birth occurred on March 25, 1777, in
either Randolph, Vermont, or Connecticut, from
which state her parents came. She bore her
husband ten children, and died in Colchester
Alarch 9, 1861, at the age of eighty-four, while
her husband died in Johnson Alarch 7, 1849, aged
seventy-eight. Those of the children of these parents who
came to maturity were endowed with the same
strong mental characteristics which marked their
father, and they played useful and honorable parts
in life. William R. was an early settler in Bur

lington, where he became prominent in public
and business affairs. The firm of W. R. and F.
C. Vilas, later Vilas, Loomis & Company, was-
established by him, did an extensive business
for many years and was always synonymous with
business integrity and progress. At the time of
his death he was the president of the Burlington
Savings Bank.
Samuel F. Vilas entered upon a mercantile
career and conducted a large business in tinware,
employed a number of traveling salesmen ; he was
the founder of the Vilas National Bank at Platts
burg, New York, where he removed in 1836, be
came a millionaire, and at his death in 1886 had.
been for forty-five years one of the leading busi
ness men of northern New York.
Levi B. Vilas was born February 25, 181 1,
was admitted to the bar at St. Albans in 1833,
appointed the first postmaster of Morrisville in.
1834, and from this town was elected a member
of the constitutional convention in 1835, repre
sented Johnson in the state legislature in 1836 and
1837, removed to Chelsea in 1838, which town.
he represented in 1840-41-42-43, and was the
Democratic candidate for speaker during these
years, was the Democratic candidate for Congress
in 1844, was state senator from Orange county
in 1845-46 and president pro tern, of the senate
during these years, was judge of probate in
Orange county for three years, was Democratic
candidate for United States senator in 1848-
against Hon. William Upham and was a member
of the constitutional convention of Vermont in
1S50. In 1 85 1 he removed to Madison, Wiscon
sin, represented the Aladison district in the as
sembly in 1855, T868 and 1873, was mayor of
Madison in 1861, was Democratic candidate for
secretary of the state in 1865, speaker of the as
sembly in 1873, was regent of the state university
for twelve years, and several times the Demo
cratic candidate for United States senator in the
Wisconsin legislature ; his son, William F., made
a splendid record during the Civil war, was post
master general and secretary of the interior under
President Cleveland, and in 1891 had the honor
of being the only Democratic United States sen
ator ever elected from Wisconsin.
The only living child of Moses and Mercy
Vilas is Harrison M. Vilas, who is a native of
Sterling, Vermont. He completed his education

^^rxf^t/^c

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

417

in Johnson Academy and was then a school teach
er for a short time. In 1834 he went to Burling
ton, where he was clerk for his brother and in the
general store of Sion E. Howard. He subse
quently engaged in mercantile business in Platts
burg, New York, whence he returned to Johnson,
where for a number of years he was located as a
merchant, and in December, 1854, came to Col
chester, where he purchased a farm and some
years later added another farm to his property,
which from that time till 1895 he continued to
supervise, and was known as one of the most ex
tensive farmers in the town. He is now living
retired at the venerable age of eighty-five, with
mental and physical faculties unimpaired. In his
younger life he served in various offices in La
moille county, and in 1845 was elected major of
the Thirteenth Regiment of Vermont Infantry,
which office he held till the organization was dis
continued, at which time he was in command of
the regiment. He was closely associated in a
personal and political way with Judge Russell S.
Page, father of Ex-Governor Carroll S. Page
(Sketch elsewhere in this volume.) and was
prominent in politics before his removal to Col
chester. Major Vilas married Mary J. Hathaway,
daughter of Samuel and Harriet (Barker) Hath
away. Her father was a native of Savoy, near
North Adams, Massachusetts, where he was born
of good old Puritan stock on March 4, 1801, came
,as a pioneer to Fairfax, Vermont, where he was
a prominent farmer, and died at the age of eighty-
three in Fairfax, October 2, 1884. His wife was
the daughter of Pitman Barker, one ofthe early
settlers of Tinmouth, Vermont, and a descendant
of an early English emigrant* to the new world.
Harriet Barker was married to Samuel Hathaway
at Tinmouth, December 3, 1821. She was born
in Tinmouth, Vermont, Alarch 22, 1806, and died
in Fairfax, Vermont, February 11, 1886, within
less than a month of eighty years of age. The
children of Samuel and Harriet Hathaway were
Eliza B. Fairbanks, of Georgia ; P. V. Hathaway,
of Middlebury, Vermont, a consistent member of
the Episcopal church ; and Alary J. To the union
of the last named and Alajor A7ilas were born
eight children, of whom four are now living:
Homer E., ticket agent for the New York Central

Railroad at Albany, New York ; AValter F., en
gaged- in the real estate business at Seattle, Wash
ington; Alartin S. ; and Frank H., who is with
his brother in Seattle. The mother of these chil
dren died at the age of sixty-five years ; she was-
a most exemplary woman and an attendant at
the Congregational church.
This brings us to the consideration of the life
of the third living child of the last named parents,
Martin S. Vilas. He passed his boyhood in Col
chester, Vermont, and early was earnestly de
voted to study, obtaining his preliminary educa
tion in Winooski and in the Burlington high
school. Entering the University of A'ermont in
1890, he was graduated from there in 1894 with
the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Having taught
for a while as principal of the Williston Academy-
to defray the expenses of his college course, he
was appointed, immediately after graduation, to
the principalship of the Lamoille Central Acad
emy in Hyde Park, Vermont, where he served
most acceptably for two years. He also gave his
services as a tutor to private pupils, and later was
principal of the high school in Montpelier, Ver
mont, and principal and superintendent of the
schools in Randolph. He then took a post gradu
ate course in political science at Harvard College,
at the same time assisting as a teacher, and in
1899 received the degree of Master of Arts from
the University of Vermont for post-graduate
work done in English and Greek.
He was thus admirably equipped for the
higher departments of educational work, but his
ambition led him into a different field. Return
ing to Burlington, he entered the law office of
Judge J. AV. Russell, where he read law and also
conducted a real estate business. On the death
of Judge Russell he completed his studies with
Hon. Henry Ballard, and was admitted to the bar
in 1901. He at once began practice, opening an
office at the corner of Main and Church streets,
and also expanding the scope of his real estate
transactions. Air. Vilas is a believer and an exponent of
hard, systematic work, and he attributes whatever
of success has come to him largely to such work.
A reader of books and a life-long student, he re
tains a deep interest in education and its advance
ment, and endeavors to carry into business and

27

4i8

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

professional life the attention to detail and ana
lytical research which are essential to the pure
student striving to get the truth.
But he is an examiner of practice as well as
of precept, of values and prices as well as of the
ories, capable of managing a farm or a business,
a schoolroom or a law office.
An advocate of the strenuous and the strong,
Air. A'ilas is fond of athletics and given to
abundant exercise and a vigorous form of life.
In the legal profession, while his experience
has not been of great length, it has been wide
enough to indicate a decided preference and apti
tude for the work of the courtroom and particu
larly for criminal practice. He earns his suc
cess, and will earn, by the devotion to duty and
to the public which has marked his past, all that
shall come to him in the future.
GEORGE ALEXANDER FOOTE.
The subject of this sketch is of the third gen
eration of his family in Chittenden county, Ver
mont, where he holds marked prestige as a suc
cessful farmer and merchant of the town of
Charlotte, which is the place of his birth, the
date of his nativity being July 24, 1839. His fa
ther, Johnson H. Foote, was likewise a native
of Charlotte, having been born on the old pa
rental homestead, in the year 1802, a son of Sim
eon Foote, who located here in the pioneer days,
having come hither from Connecticut, where he
was born and where the family had been estab
lished for several generations. He continued to
be engaged in agricultural pursuits during the
entire course of his active business career and
retained his home here until within a few years
prior to his death, when he removed to Sandusky,
Ohio, where he died at the age of nearly seventy
years. His wife, whose maiden name was Phebe
Beach, was born in Charlotte, and she lived to
attain the patriarchal age of ninety years, her
death occurring at Freeport, Illinois. Both she
and her husband were consistent and zealous
members of the Congregational church. They
became the parents of seven children, all of whom
are now deceased, the father of our subject hav
ing been the eldest in order of birth.
Johnson H. Foote was reared on the old
homestead farm, where he was born, and received

a common school education. He continued his
identification with agricultural enterprise
throughout the entire course of his long and sig
nally useful and honorable life, passing away
May 30, 1875.
In politics he accorded an uncompromising
support to the Republican party, having identi
fied himself with the same at the time of its or
ganization, and he served in various offices of
local trust and responsibility, ever ordering his
course in such a way as to retain the respect and
good will of his fellow men. In early manhood
he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Alex
ander, who likewise was a native of Charlotte,
where she was born on the 17th of May, 1803, a
daughter of Elisha Alexander, who also was
numbered among the honored pioneers of this
county. Johnson H. and Sarah (Alexander)
Foote became the parents of two sons and three
daughters, and of the number our subject is now
the only survivor. His mother, who was a
birthright mefnber of the Society of Friends, re
mained stanch in that simple and noble faith until
the silver cord of life was loosed and she was
called to her eternal rest, April 13, 1875, at the
age of seventy-three years.
George Alexander Foote, whose name ini
tiates this sketch, grew up under the invig
orating discipline of the old homestead farm and
his educational advantages were such as were
afforded in the public schools maintained in the
vicinity of his home. He continued to be as
sociated with his father in his farming enterprise,
and in 1867 they purchased a tract of two hun
dred acres, located in the eastern part of the
town, and here they established themselves in a
very successful dairying business, being progres
sive in their methods and carrying forward op
erations, with marked discrimination and ability.
They continued to be actively concerned in the
management of this fine farm estate, of which
he became sole owner at the time of his father's
death, up to the year of 1889, when his son as
sumed the supervision and management of the
place and Mr. Foote then engaged in the mer
cantile business at Alexander's Corners, where
he conducted a general store and built
up an excellent business, continuing oper
ations in the line until 1896, when he
leased his house and store and removed to

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

419

the village of Charlotte, In 1898 he took up his
abode on his present attractive little farm, known
as the Strong place, the same being eligibly lo
cated and comprising three acres, devoted prin
cipally to the raising of fruits and vegetables, so
Mr. Foote finds ample scope for his efforts
while he is still relieved of the heavier work
and responsibilities which have devolved upon
him for so many years. He is -thus living in
ideal semi-retirement, retaining a general super
vision of . his extensive and varied interests
in the county and enjoying the esteem and friend
ship of a wide circle of acquaintances in his na
tive locality where he has lived and labored to
goodly ends and where he has ever maintained
a high reputation as a sincere and upright citi
zen and as one deeply interested in all that goes
to conserve the general welfare and advance the
material prosperity. of the community. In poli
tics Mr. Foote (gives an unequivocal support to
the Republican party, though he has never been
unduly partisan in local affairs, where no issue
is involved.. For three years he served as a mem
ber of the board of selectmen, having been chair
man of the same for one. year, while for the long
period of fourteen years he has been incumbent
of the office of lister of the township, of which he
is in tenure at the time of this writing and in
which he has the distinction of having served for
the longest consecutive period of any man ever
elected to the office in . the town, while he was
chairman pf the board of listers for several years.
In 1898 Mr. Foote was elected to represent Char
lotte in the state legislature, in which connection
he rendered effective service and amply justified
the suffrage of the constituency who had hon
ored him with the preferment. He has taken, an
active part in the work of his party, having been
a delegate to the county, district and state con
ventions and having been one of the influential
members of the town committee. In 1902 he was
appointed a justice of the peace, to fill a vacancy
and was elected for the full term in 1903. Fra
ternally Mr. Foote' is identified with the time-
horored order of Freemasonry, being identified
with Friendship Lodge, No. 24, Free and Ac
cepted Masons, in Charlotte, of which he has
been a member for fifteen years and in which he
held the office of treasurer for four years. He
is one of the leading members of the Methodist

Episcopal church at Charlotte, being a member
of its board of trustees and also its treasurer,
while both he and his wife take an active part
in forwarding the spiritual and temporal work
of the church.
On the 15th of January, 1862, Mr. Foote was
united in marriage to Miss Martha A. Clark, who
was born in this township, being a daughter of
Homer Clark and a representative of one of the
prominent pioneer families of the county. Mr.
and Airs. Foote have one son, Darwin, who was
born on the 20th of May, 1863, and who now has
charge of the homestead farm, as has already
been noted. He married Miss Florence Gove, a
daughter of Franklin F. Gove, of Lincoln, Ad
dison county, and they have three children, — ¦
Stella, Floyd and Ruth.
JOSIAH COWLES.
The bard of Avon has most truly said : "The
purest treasure mortal times afford is spotless
reputation; that away, men are but gilded loam
or painted clay." The life and career of the hon
ored subject of this sketch have been such as to
gain to him a justly merited reputation for integ
rity and honor in all the relations of life, and as
a native son of Addison county, Vermont, where
he has consecutively maintained his home for a
period of nearly four score of years, he is well
entitled to consideration in this compilation, be
ing one of the venerable citizens and prominent
agriculturists of the township of New Haven,
where he has passed his entire life, ever main
taining the prestige of an honored name.
Josiah Cowles was born on a farm about three
miles to the south of his present homestead, the
date of his nativity being June 6, 1823. His
father, John Cowles, was born in Amherst, Mas
sachusetts, December 20, 1779, and was there
reared to maturity. From his native state he
came to Vermont in 1802, settling in the town of
New Haven as one of its pioneers, and here be
coming the owner of a farm of one hundred and
fifty acres, which he developed and improved
and upon which he continued to reside until his
death, July 27, 1839, in his sixtieth year, our sub
ject having been a lad of but sixteen years when
thus deprived of the father's solicitous care arid
guidance. The original representative of the

420

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Cowles family in America emigrated hither from
England in the early colonial epoch, and his de
scendants are now to be found in the most di
verse sections of our great national domain, while
the name has continued to be consecutively iden
tified with the annals of New England, the orig
inal progenitor having settled in Massachusetts in
the early or middle part of the seventeenth cen
tury. Our subject's mother, whose maiden name
was Deborah Warner, was likewise born in Am
herst, Alassachusetts, May ii, 1782, as was also
her father, Josiah, who there passed his entire
life, he also being a representative of an early col
onial family. Deborah (Warner) Cowles was a
woman of noble character, devoted to her chil
dren and her home, and exemplifying in her daily
life her deep Christian faith, having been a mem
ber of the Congregational church, as was also
her husband, whom she survived by many years,
having attained the venerable age of eighty-six
and having entered into eternal rest August 12,
1863. Of her seven children the subject of this
sketch is the youngest and the only one now liv
ing, the names of the others, in order of birth,
having been as follows : Mary, Martin, Martha,
Oliver, Polly, Elvira and Parthenia.
Josiah Cowles was reared on the old home
stead farm where his birth occurred, and his early
educational discipline was such as was afforded
in the common schools of the locality and period.
He continued to remain at the parental home until
the death of his father, shortly after which, when
sixteen years of age, he entered the home of his
brother-in-law, Julius Eldridge, a successful far
mer of this town, and there remained until he
had attained his legal majority, having assisted
in the work of the farm and continued his edu
cational discipline as opportunity presented. At
the age of twenty-one years Mr. Cowles inau
gurated his independent career by purchasing a
farm of sixty acres, lying contiguous to the old
homestead where he was born, and there he put
forth his best energies in carrying on general
farming until 1853, when he disposed of his place
and effected the purchase of his present fine
homestead farm, which comprises one hundred
and twenty acres of exceptionally fertile land and
upon which he has made the best of improvements
Diligence, good judgment and well directed effort

brought to Mr. Cowles a due measure of success
in connection with his operations as a farmer, and
he gained prestige as one of the substantial and
progressive agriculturists of this county and his
course has ever been such as to commend him
to the confidence and esteem of all who know
him. He has been a witness of and aided ma
terially in the development and progress of this
section, ever showing a lively interest in all that
touches the general welfare and standing ready
to lend his aid and influence in the promotion ot
worthy objects. The years rest lightly upon him
and he is enjoying that repose and comfort which
constitute the just reward for years of assiduous
toil and endeavor.
In politics Mr. Cowles has given an unfalter
ing allegiance to the Republican party from the
time of its formation, and he took an active part
in local affairs of a public nature in former days,
while distinctive evidence of popular confidence
and esteem were accorded him in his election to
offices of trust and responsibility. He was in
cumbent of the office of selectman for four years,
and during most of this period was honored with
the position of chairman of the board. He served
as lister of the town for three years, — 1852-4.
— and in all the relations of life he has. ever shown
himself to be animated by a spirit of sincerity,
justice and impregnable integrity. For the last
fifteen years he has held the office of poormaster,
and in this capacity he did most effective and
faithful work in caring for the unfortunate poor
who required the aid of the town. Air. Cowles
is a man who has read extensively and with good
judgment, and he has thus most effectively sup
plemented the somewhat limited educational
training of his youth, while he has been deeply
appreciative of the value of educational advan
tages and has taken marked interest in the cause.
He is one of the original trustees of Beeman Ac
ademy, at New Haven, and one of only two sur
viving members of the board appointed when the
institution was established, while it should be a
matter of record in this connection that from the
time of the first meeting of the original board
down to the present, — a period of more than
thirty-five years, — he has never yet failed to be
in attendance at a meeting of the trustees. He
was one of those prominently concerned in the

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

421

organization of the Addison County Agricul
tural Society, and for many years was actively
identified with its affairs, and he was also iden
tified, as an original member, with the New Eng
land Agricultural Society. He has been a mem
ber of the Congregational church from his early
manhood and, in addition to contributing liber
ally- to the support of the local organization, he
also took an active part in the various depart
ments of church work, having been a teacher in
the Sunday-school and having also served for a
time as superintendent of the same. His wife
also was a devoted and zealous worker in the
church. That Mr. Cowles is honored as one of
the pioneers of New Haven town needs scarcely
be said, but it may consistently be mentioned that
there are living in the town at the present time
only three persons older than himself.
On the 8th of April, 1845, Mr. Cowles was
united in marriage to Miss Betsy Champlin,
who was born in this town on the 14 th of May,
1821, being one of a large family of children. Her
father, Thomas Champlin, was born on the nth
of December, 1776, and died on the 26th of De
cember, 1828. Thomas Champlin was twice
married, and Mrs. Cowles was one of the two
children of the second union. Her mother was
Sophia Henman, born September 16, 1785. Mrs.
Cowles proved a devoted wife and mother, and
the loving companionship continued for nearly
half a century, her death occurring on the 14th
of September, 1888. Her life was one of signal
gentleness and beauty and her memory is en
shrined in the hearts of all who came within the
sphere of her gracious influence. Mr. and Mrs.
Cowles became the parents of four children, con
cerning whom the following brief record is made :
Julius E., who was born June 16, 1846, and who
now has charge of the old homestead farm of
his father, married Miss Emma Thompson, and
they have two daughters, Belle and Helen. Silas
B., who was born February 13, 1849, and who is
a successful merchant in the city of Tacoma,
Washington, married Miss Fannie Applegarth,
and they had one son, Leland. She died Feb
ruary 4, 1891, and he subsequently married Mary
Hopper, who bore him a son, Silas Hopper. Deb
orah S., born in 1853, is the wife of Benjamin J.
Fisher, a prominent farmer of New Haven. Al

ma B., who was born in 1855, is the wife of Ai
mer B. Bull, of Ferrisburg, this county, having
one child, Allie.
JUDGE WARREN PECK.
Back to the old Charter Oak state must we
turn for the ancestors of the Peck family, for its
members were long identified with the interests
of Connecticut, and in its progress and develop
ment they ever bore their part. The line of de
scent is traced to Paul Peck, the great-great-
great-grandfather of our subject, who was
a resident of Hartford, Connecticut, and later his
sons, one of whom was Ebenezer, settled in Mil
ford, that state. The latter's son, William, was
born in Kent, Connecticut, in 1759. About 1785
he came with his brother Abel to the town of
New Haven, Vermont, and there they spent the
remainder of their lives. Both were brave and
intrepid soldiers in the war for independence.
William Peck married Rebecca Spooner, who was
born on the 25th" of January, 1761, and died in the
year 1839. Her father, Ebenezer Spooner, was
born on the 29th of May, 1724, and died in 1800.
He was a son of AVilliam and Alice (Blackwell)
Spooner, the former of whom was born May n,
1680, and the latter on the 8th of May, 1681.
Alice (Blackwell) Spooner was a daughter of
John S. and Sarah (Warren) Blackwell, and the
latter was a daughter of Nathaniel Warren,
whose father, Richard Warren, was a member of
the heroic little band that came to this country
on the Mayflower.
The paternal grandfather of our subject was
Warren Peck, and he was born in New Haven,
Vermont, on the 19th of October, 1789. He was
killed by an accidental fall at the early age of
thirty-three years, on the nth of February, 1822.
His wife, Fannie Carter, was born in Warren,
Connecticut, a granddaughter of Captain Joseph
Carter, a Revolutionary soldier. His son, Eras
tus C. Peck, was born Alarch 20, 1810, in Monk-
ton, Vermont, and was reared near the old farm
which for six generations had been the family
home, his death there occurring May 1, 1887,
when he had reached the seventy-seventh mile
stone on the journey of life. For his wife he
chose Nancy Aliddlebrook, whose father, Theo-

422

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

philus Aliddlebrook, was born in Trumbull, Con
necticut, in 1763, and his death occurred in 1854,
in Ferrisburg, Vermont. He was a son of
Stephen Middlebrook, who was born June 30,
1 73 1, was captain of a company from Fairfield in
the Revolutionary war and died in 1795. The lat
ter was a son of John, a grandson of Joseph and
a great-grandson of Joseph Middlebrook, the lat
ter being one of the first settlers in this country.
Airs. Peck made her home with her daughter,
Mrs. A. D. Hayward in Weybridge, Vermont,
where she died April 23, 1903. She was bom
August 16, 1812, in Ferrisburg.
Judge Warren Peck, the immediate subject
of this review, was reared on the old home farm
and received his education in Ben Allen school at
Vergennes. He chose farming as his life occu
pation, and in his agricultural labors he has met
with a high and well merited degree of success.
He formerly owned and operated a tract of one
hundred acres, but his landed possessions now
consist of one hundred and eighty acres, which
is divided into two farms. By his ballot he sup
ports the men and measures of the Republican
party, and his fellow townsmen have elected him
to many positions of honor and trust. For four
years he held the position of selectman; was a
lister for many years, being for a part of the time
chairman of the board; in 1892 he represented
his district in the legislature, during which time
he was a member of the committee on agricul
ture; and in 1898 he was elected to the important
office of assistant judge of Addison county, in
which he served for two years ; and for the past
twenty years he has served as justice of the peace.
He was at one time a director of the Vergennes
Agricultural Society, is now a member of the Ad
dison County Agricultural Association and is a
member of the Sons of the American Revolution.
The marriage of Mr. Peck was celebrated in
1867, when Miss Susan E. Lattin became his
wife. She was born March 15, 1837, in Newtown,
Connecticut, and is a daughter of Granville Lat
tin, who was born in 1810, and died in 1880. He
was a son of Nathan, who was born in Septem
ber, 1773, and died in 1845. The latter's father
Benjamin, was born in 1736, and died in 1802.
The first Lattin in America was Richard, who
came from England in 1638, landing at Boston.
He went to Long Island in 1654, and died at

Hempstead in 1672 or 1673. The union of our
subject and wife has been blessed with two chil
dren, Mark C, who married Rena C. Partch, by
whom he has one son, George W., and resides in
New Hayen ; and Lewis C, a farmer of this lo
cality. The latter married Clara Bisbee, and
lives on the original Peck homestead. The fam
ily are held in the highest regard by all who have
the pleasure of their acquaintance.
PHEBE HOLMES ROGERS.
The Rogers family is one of the oldest in this
part of the Green Mountain state, and was
founded on American soil as early as 1635, when
the first of the name, John Rogers, crossed the
Atlantic from England. The paternal grand
father of our subject, Joseph Rogers, was born
in North Adams, Massachusetts, April 2, 1773,
a son of Stephen Rogers, of Marshfield, Massa
chusetts, born June 25, 1748. Joseph Rogers sub
sequently came to Addison county, Vermont,
where he followed agricultural pursuits, and
in 181 1 erected the present Rogers home
stead. His death occurred September 30, 1866,
when he had reached the good old age of ninety-
three years. His wife, who was born in Dutchess
county,. New York, May 10, 1772, bore the
maiden name of Jemima Holmes. By her mar
riage, she became the mother of four children,
and her death occurred at the age of seventy-
seven years. She attended the Friends' meet
ings. Henry Rogers, son of Joseph, was born in
Granville, New York, on the 14th of February,
1804, and in the primitive schools of those times
he received his early educational training. He
was early inured to the work of the farm, which
continued to be his vocation for a number of
years, and for a short time thereafter he devoted
his attention to mercantile pursuits. Later, how
ever, he returned to the old home farm, and on
an extensive scale, engaged in the purchase and
sale of butter and cheese, having in 1835 pur
chased as high as fifty thousand dollars' worth
of that commodity. This continued to be his
occupation for a number of years, and at one
time he owned six hundred acres of land, on
which he kept about sixty cows. His life's labors
were ended in death, September 16, 1875, in his

tSliAyrx

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

423

seventy-second year. He was a public-spirited
and progressive man, and it was owing to his un
tiring efforts that the depot and postoffice at Fer
risburg were established. He held all the local
offices within the gift of his fellow townsmen,
and his influence was far-reaching and effective.
March 31, 1834, Mr. Rogers was united in mar
riage to Susan Martin, who was born April 22,
1814, and was a daughter of Edward and Eliz
abeth (Chase) Martin, who settled in Ferris
burg, Vermont, in 1794. Edward Martin was
the proprietor of the first hotel established in this
town, and his father was also a well known hotel
man, owning and conducting a hostelry at Danby,
Vermont. Elizabeth Chase was an own cousin
of the celebrated Ethan Allen. Her death oc
curred at the age of eighty-four years. Mrs.
Rogers was the youngest of her parents' thirteen
children, and she reached the age of eighty-three
years ere she was summoned to her final rest.
She attended the Congregational church, and
throughout the locality in which she made her
home, she was loved and esteemed for her many
noble characteristics.
Miss Phebe Holmes Rogers is now the only
survivor of the family. She received her edu
cation in the Burlington Seminary and in the
Packer Institute in New York, and since her fa
ther's death, she has given her supervision to the
farm of one hundred and eighteen acres, which is
devoted to general farming. This is one of the
old ancestral homes of Addison county.
EUGENE SIDNEY WESTON, M. D.
Greater than that of almost any other field of
endeavor to which a man may devote his atten
tion is tiie responsibility which rests upon the
physician and surgeon, since the very issues of
life and death .are in his hands and upon his dis
crimination and nicety of judgment frequently
depends the retention, of that which is prized
above all else, — the boon of life. Thus none
should enter this noble profession lightly or with
out a thorough technical preparation and a full
comprehension of the self-abnegation and the re
sponsibilities involved. The attractive little town
of New Haven, Addison county, Vermont, has
in Dr. Weston an able and honored representa
tive of the medical profession, and his prestige

in the same offers the most conclusive evidence
of his discernment and discretion in the diagnos
ing and treatment of disease and in the handling
of delicate surgical cases, while his broad human
sympathy and unvarying kindliness have gained
to him the high regard of those to whom he has
so ably ministered during the long years of his
active professional work.
Dr. Weston is a native son of the old Green
Mountain state, having been born in the town of
Cavendish, Windsor county, on the 14th of Au
gust, 1847, being a son of Freeman F. AVeston,
who was born at Sandy Hill, New York, in Feb
ruary, 1822, a son of Jacob Weston, who was
likewise a native of the state and a representa
tive of a family established in America in the
early colonial epoch. Jacob Weston chose as a
companion and helpmeet on the journey of life
Miss. Polly Russell, who was born in Cavendish,
Vermont, where her father, Noadiah Russell, had
the distinction of being the second settler, de
veloping a farm in the midst of the sylvan wilds,
planting the first apple orchard and becoming a
man of prominence and distinctive influence in
the pioneer community. He rendered yeoman
service in the Continental army during the war of
the Revolution, having been a clerk in the com
pany commanded by Daniel Comstock and hav
ing served from the initiation of the grent conflict
until the 30th of June, 1781. He died iri Caven
dish at a good old age. The great-grandmother
of Dr. Weston in the agnatic line bore the name
of Weston prior to her marriage and was a
daughter of Dr. Weston, who was the original
settler in the town of Springfield, Vermont, and
one of the first physicians in that section of the
state. Jacob Weston died in New York and his
wife lived in Vermont until her death, at the age
of seventy-five years. Of their children is en
tered the following brief record : Freeman is men
tioned below ; Adeline died unmarried ; Daniel
and Morris each died at the age of twenty-one
years; Hiram, who was one of the California
argonauts of 1849, having made the voyage by
way of Cape Horn, was murdered in that state
about the beginning of the Civil war ; and Len-
ora died in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, having been
the wife of Judge George AVeeden, who occupied
a position on the probate bench there.
Freeman AA'eston was reared in Cavendish

424

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

and his early mental discipline was secured in
the somewhat primitive district schools of the
place and period. As a young man he was em
ployed for several years in a woolen mill, but
later turned his attention once more to the great
basic industry- to which he had been reared, be
coming one of the successful and representative
farmers of Chester, Windsor county, where he
continued his agricultural operations until his ad
vanced age led to his retirement, the closing-
years of his life being passed in the home of his
daughter, Mrs. Sawyer, in Andover, where he
died on the loth of January, 1897, at the age of
almost seventy-five years. In May, 1846, Free
man Weston was united in marriage to Aliss
Sarah J. Evans, who was born in Rockingham,
Vermont, a daughter of Jesse Evans, a prominent
farmer and cattle drover of that section, where he
died at a great age. He married Dolly Bixby,
who was born in Rockingham and who died at the
age of sixty-five years. They became the par
ents of two children, both of whom are now de
ceased. Freeman and Sarah J. Weston were the
parents of six children, of whom four are living
at the present time, namely: Flora E., who is the
wife of James O. Sawyer, a farmer of Andover ;
Edgar W., a farmer in the vicinity of Charles
City, Iowa ; Adeline AL, the wife of John E.
Hancock, a farmer of East Hardwick, Vermont ;
and Eugene S., who is the eldest of the surviving
children and who figures as the immediate sub
ject of this sketch. Their mother died at the age
of forty-seven years, having been a devoted mem
ber of the Congregational church, as was also
her honored husband, who survived her many,
years. Dr. Eugene S. Weston was reared to the age
of twelve years in Cavendish, where he attended
the district schools, and at the age noted he ac
companied his parents on their removal to Ches
ter, where he continued his studies in the local
academy until his intrinsic loyalty and patriotism
led him to respond to the call of a higher duty
and to go forth in defense of his country, whose
integrity was now menaced by armed rebellion.
At the outbreak of the war, when he was but
fourteen years of age, he ran away from home for
the purpose of enlisting, but was unable to ac
complish his design, on account of insufficient
age, and was summarily taken back to his home,

where he recalls the fact that he received paren
tal discipline of that strenuous sort which is
prone to leave certain anatomical traces. His
patriotic ardor, however, was not dampened by
either chastisement or delay, and on the 27th of
August, 1864, when seventeen years of age, he
enlisted as a member of Company C, Seventh
A^ermont Volunteer Infantry, with which he re
mained in active service as a private for one year,
or until the close of the war. His regiment was
attached to the Thirteenth Army Corps, under
General Canby, and for thirteen days was under
fire in and about the city of Mobile, Alabama, a
number of his regiment having been killed in
these various skermishes. At the close of the war
he was mustered out as a youthful veteran who
had faithfully performed his assigned duties, and
he received his honorable discharge on the 14th
of July, 1865. He then returned to his home
and resumed his studies in the Chester Academy,
so thoroughly improving his opportunities in the
line as to become eligible for pedagogic honors,
engaging in teaching at intervals and thus earn
ing the funds with which to defray his academic
expenses. After completing his prescribed course
in the academy Dr. Weston began the work of
specific preparations for that profession to which
he had determined to devote his life and in which
he was destined to attain so marked success. He
began reading medicine under the preceptorship
of Dr. Z. G. Harrington, of Chester, devoting
himself to his study with marked energy and
ready assimilation. In 1870 he attended a course
of lectures in the medical department of the Uni
versity of Vermont and later at Dartmouth, and
in 1871 was graduated in the medical department
of the "university, receiving his coveted degree of
Doctor of Aledicine and being thoroughly well
equipped for the work of his profession. He en
tered upon the practice of med.icine at Heath,
Massachusetts, later removing to Colrain, Alassa
chusetts, where he remained until 1875, then go-
in to Pittsfield, Alassachusetts, where he
was engaged in professional work until
1877, passing the ensuing year at Jamaica,
Vermont, and then locating at Newfane,
where he built up a large and representative prac
tice and where he continued to maintain his home
until 1896, when he came to New Haven. Here
he controls a large and important general prac-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

425

tice and has the highest esteem and confidence of
the community, while his fine professional ability
and careful observance of the ethics of the un
written professional code have gained to him the
regard of his medical confreres, among whom he
is well known, being one of the honored members
of the Vermont State Medical Society and also
that of the state of Massachusetts. He has made
valuable contributions to various medical publica
tions and has also presented able papers before
the medical societies with which he is identified.
For the past six years the Doctor has been a mem
ber of the board of pension examiners of Addi
son county, in which capacity he has rendered
most efficient service.
Dr. Weston is recognized as one of the
leaders of the Republican party in this section of
the state and he has taken an active part in pub
lic affairs for a number of years past. While a
resident of the Newfane he was the candidate
of his party for representative in the state legis
lature in 1892, being elected by a gratifying ma
jority and proving a valuable working member of
that body, in which he was assigned to member
ship on the military and other important commit
tees. The popular appreciation of his services
was manifested in his being chosen as his own
successor at the next regular election, and
thus he served as a member of the ses
sion of 1894 also, and at this time he
was made a member of the joint committee
(house and senate) on public health, in which
connection his services were of distinctive value,
and was also chairman of the military committee.
In the time honored fraternity of Freemasonry
Dr. Weston occupies a most conspicuous posi
tion in the state, having been an enthusiastic and
appreciative worker in the same for the past thir
ty years and having been called to offices of high
distinction in the connection. He affiliates with
Blazing Star Lodge, No. 23, Free and Accepted
Masons, at Townsend, in which he has passed the
various official chairs, having been elected to the
office of worshipful master for four terms. In
the capitular branch of the order he holds mem
bership in Fort Dummer Chapter, No. 12, at
Brattleboro, being past high priest of the same,
while he is also prominently connected with the
grand lodge and grand chapter 'of the state, be

ing in 1893 and 1894 grand lecturer of the for
mer and is past grand high priest of the latter,
while he is also a member of the general grand
chapter of Royal Arch Alasons of the United
States and of the Alasonic Veterans' Association.
As grand lecturer of the grand lodge the Doctor
has traveled extensively throughout the state,
having made an unequaled record in this connec
tion, in that each year since incumbent of the of
fice he has visited each of the thirteen districts
into which the state jurisdiction is divided and al
so attended fourteen annual conventions. The
Doctor retains a vital interest in his old com
rades of the Rebellion and is a valued member of
Dunton Post, No. iro, Grand Army of the Re
public, at Bristol, having formerly affiliated with
Birchard Post, No. 65, at Newfane, of which he
served as commander. The religious faith of the
Doctor is indicated in his holding membership
in the Congregational church, as does also his
wife. In conclusion we offer a brief resume of the
domestic chapter in the life of Dr. Weston. On
the 6th of June, 1871, he was married to Miss
Eva S. Hall, who was born in Athens, Vermont,
being a daughter of Richard H. Hall, who was
one of the substantial and influential farmers of
Windham county, and who died at the age of
eighty-four years. His wife, whose maiden name
was Mary E. Crowley, was born at Mount Holly,
Vermont, and she died at the age of seventy-six
years, being survived by three children, — Airs.
Weston ; Alfred A., who is a prominent member
of the A^ermont bar, residing in St. Albans ; and
Ella M., widow of Fred AVood, of Cambridge-
port, Vermont. Dr. and Mrs. Weston have four
children, namely: Lena AL, who completed her
education in Brattleboro, is now the wife of Bert
L. Gates, a railroad engineer, residing in London
derry, Vermont ; Alfred F., who likewise com
pleted his education in Brattleboro, is a success
ful contractor and builder of New Haven: he
married Miss Nettie L. Hinman and they have
two children, Mildred B. and Eva May; Bertha
E., a graduate of the Beeman Academy, is at the
parental home, both she and her elder sister hav
ing been successful teachers ; and Grace F., the
youngest of the children, is a student in the pub
lic schools.

426

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

WILLIAM RILEY WORTHINGTON.
In the mighty procession of earnest, faithful
workers who with steadfast devotion to the duties
before them go perseveringly on their way, and
who by honest and business-like methods
win a substantial degree of success, is to be
named AVilliam R. A\rorthington, of North
Bennington, Vermont, a descendant of an
old and honorable family of New England.
There is much in his career that is worthy
of honor. He furnished an example of de
votion to country, having risked life and
limb in its service, cheerfully and not count
ing the cost ; of fidelity to home and family ;
of industry in the performance of certain
tasks committed to him, and of consideration
of subordinates. And these are among the
qualities which have secured for him a wide
spread esteem.
He was born November 3, 1837, in New
fane, Vermont, son of William C. and Prin
cess A. (Winchell) AVorthington. William
G. Worthington was born in Feeding Hills,
Massachusetts, where he was reared and be
came a cabinet-maker by trade. Later in life
he took up pattern-making, and did general
repair work in the mills at Chicopee. He
removed to Newfane, Vermont, and later to
AA'estfield, Massachusetts, where he was en
gaged in an organ factory. He returned to
Chicopee, and thence removed to North
Bennington, Vermont, where in 1865 he
took a position as general repairer in the
mills, and was so engaged until his death in
1875, at the age of sixty-four years. His
wife was a native of Springfield, Alassa
chusetts. She was a devoted wife and
mother, and an exemplary member of the
Methodist Episcopal church ; she died at the
age of sixty-four years. Her father was a
soldier in the war with Great Britain in 1812,
and died in the service of .his country; her
mother, who was a Woolcott, was married three
times, and her first husband became the grand
father of William R. Worthington through her
only child ; she died at the age of sixty-six.
William R. AVorthington was one of seven
children, of whom six came to maturity, but of
whom he is now the only one living. His early

years were passed at home, in North Adams,
Alassachusetts, where he received his education.
Before fairly entering upon young manhood he
bent his efforts towards contributing to the fam
ily support, by working in a cotton mill. Later he

WILLIAM RILEY WORTHINGTON.

took employ-ment in a machine shop in Holyoke
and made his residence in that city, where he
afterwards entered the AA^hiting shops, in which
he worked steadily for three years. The outbreak
of the Civil war aroused his partiotism, and he
volunteered for military service. He was a mem
ber of the garrison at the important Springfield
(Massachusetts) Armory until August, 1862,
when he enlisted in Company I, Tenth Massachu
setts Volunteer Infantry, in which he performed
the full duty of a soldier for the term of two years-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

427

With the Sixth Army Corps he participated in
the momentous campaign beginning with the bat
tle of Antietam, and ending with the desperate
engagements in the Wilderness, and was twice
wounded. Honorably discharged from the army, he re
turned to Holyoke, Massachusetts, where he
worked for three years in the Hampden Mills.
He' then removed to. North Bennington, Vermont,
and took charge of a room in the carding and
spinning department of the Vermont mills. After
three years thus engaged, he removed to Staf
ford county and purchased a farm, which he
cultivated for eighteen months. Returning to
North Bennington, he was employed in a ma
chine shops for two years, when he again took
charge of a carding and spinning room. He
abandoned this work on account of a throat ail
ment and removed to New London, Connecticut,
where he followed locomotive work for a time.
He then finally returned to North Bennington,
where during the years succeeding he was va
riously occupied, in a machine shop and as pro
prietor of a livery stable which he purchased.
Upon the death of his brother, he took charge
of two mills in the capacity of superintendent,
conducting one for five years, until it was closed,
and the other for more than twenty years, having
charge of as many as two hundred and fifty em
ployes. Aleantime he had disposed of his stable
and in 1882 he opened the present store in Ben
nington for his son. Upon retiring from the
mills in 1897, he came to the present store in
North Bennington. He had begun the latter busi
ness in 1890. in a building twenty-six by forty-
six feet, which he stocked with a full supply of
clothing, boots and shoes, men's furnishing
goods, etc. In all his long and varied business
career, he displayed all the characteristics of a
well equipped man of affairs, and maintained
an unsullied reputation for integrity.
Mr. Worthington has always borne a useful
part in public affairs, and has rendered material
aid in the promotion of all interests of the com
munity. He was repeatedly elected village trus
tee, and has also filled the office of selectman with
much credit. In 1902 he was elected a trustee of
the graded school at North Bennington, and is re
garded as one of the most useful members of
the board. In politics he is a Republican, and

with his family he attends the Congregational
church. Mr. Worthington has been twice married.
His first wife was Miss Martha Hewes, born in
Williamstown, Massachusetts, to whom he was
united in 1856, and who died in 1858. His sec
ond wife was Miss Charity Alden, of a promi
nent family in Ludlow, Massachusetts. Four chil
dren were born of this marriage, of whom one,
Lizzie E., is deceased. Those living are Nettie
E., who married Edward D. Whipple, of Cleve
land, Ohio, and to whom were born two chil
dren, Jesse and Gladys ; Edwin H., of Troy, New
York, who married Mamie Allsaver and to whom
were born two children, Helen and Josephine,
and Martha, who married Benning Hall, and to
whom were born two children, Leland and Ruth.
ALFRED PAINTER ROSCOE.
Throughout his entire business career Alfred
P. Roscoe has been an active factor in the public
affairs of Addison county, and is widely recog
nized as a political leader who is laboring earn
estly for the success of his party. Close study
has given him a keen insight into the important
political problems, and he is ever actively inter-
' ested in the issues of the day that affect the nat
ional weal or woe. A native son of the town of
New Haven, he has here spent his entire life,
and his birth occurred on the 26th of October,
1861. His paternal grandfather, Alfred P. Ros
coe, came from New York to the Green Moun
tain state, where he was engaged in mercantile
pursuits until his life's labors ended in death in
November, 1873, at the age of sixty-six years.
He served as town clerk, as justice of the peace,
as auditor, and three times represented his town
in the legislature. He married Miss Elvira Ladd,
of Monkton, and they became the parents of two
sons and one daughter, — Mary, who married J.
G. Wellington, cashier of the Bank of Middle
bury for many years; Alfred M., mentioned be
low ; and Henry C, a merchant of New Haven.
The mother of these children died at the early age
of thirty-three years, passing away in the faith
of the Congregational church, of which she was
long a valued member.
Alfred AL Roscoe was born October 7, 1836,
in Monkton, this state, and received his education

428

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

in the schools of Alanchester, Vermont, and Fort
Edward, New York. After completing his edu
cation he entered his father's store as clerk and
later was admitted to a partnership in the busi
ness, thus continuing for a number of years, their
business being conducted under the name of A.
P. Roscoe & Son. Later A. M. Roscoe carried
on the business with his brother, the firm name
then beipg Roscoe Brothers, and they were ex
tensively engaged in the general trade of coun
try merchants. This partnership was subsequent
ly dissolved, after which Mr. Roscoe engaged in
farming. Subsequently he re-purchased the busi
ness, in partnership with E. S. Leavenworth,
and in the spring of 1881 he bought Mr. Leaven
worth's interest, thereafter continuing business
alone until his death, which occurred February
8, 1885, at the age of forty-eight years. He was
married in January, 1859, to Orra Bingham, who
was born September 7, 1833, in Granville, Ver
mont, a daughter of Lucius and Lovina (Riford)
Bingham, the former a native of Cornwall, and
the latter of Braintree, Vermont, born July 21,
1801. Mr. and Mrs. Bingham had the. following
children: Mary J., now the widow of Joseph
Bowdish, residing in Middlebury ; Orra, the wife
of Alfred M. Roscoe ; Christina L., widow of
Daniel C. Steele, of Lebanon, New Hampshire;
Ellen L., the widow of O. M. Chapin
and a resident of Bristol, Vermont ;
Adeline, the wife of E. W. Bird, of Mid
dlebury ; and Chauncey J., also of that town. The
mother of these children was called to her final
rest January 3T, 1874, at the age of seventy-two
years. The father, who was engaged in farming
in Cornwall and Warren during the greater part
of his life, died March 11, 1851, at the age of for
ty-seven years. He was born April 3, 1804, and
was long a valued member of the Congregational
church. Mr. and Airs. A. AL Roscoe became the
parents of five children, four of whom are still
living, Alary E., of New Haven, Vermont; Al
fred P., of this review ; Kate R., the wife of Will
iam AV. W arren, of Springfield, Massachusetts ;
and Edward M., principal of the high school at
Waterbury, this state. One son, Henry, died at
the age of seven years, and the mother passed
away February 25, 1902, at the age of sixty-eight
years. Mr. Roscoe held the office of town clerk
for a number of years, was a member and for a

time chairman of the board of listers, was a del
egate to county conventions, represented his town
in the legislature in 1876 and was a very promi
nent man in his locality. He died February 8,
1885. Alfred P. Roscoe became a student in the Bee
man Academy, at New Haven, but on account
of ill health was obliged to leave the institution
at the age of sixteen years, and he then entered
the local post office in the capacity of clerk.
From the ist of March, 1885, until June 15, 1886,
he was the postmaster at New Haven and in 1887
was made town clerk, being since re-elected to
that position each year to the present time, the
first year by ballot and afterward by acclamation.
On the 16th of December, 1893, he succeeded H.
P. Palmer, deceased, as town treasurer, to which
office he has also been continuously re-elected,
his term of service now covering ten years. In
1889 he was again called to the office of post
master of New Haven, serving four years, and
again on the 1st of July, 1897, and in 1901. Air.
Roscoe has also been called upon to represent his
town in the legislature, being elected to that im
portant office in 1896, when not a single ballot
was cast against him. He has served as a dele
gate to county and 'state conventions, was chair
man of the delegation to the state convention in
1898, and again in 1902 at the convention which
nominated AlcCullough for the office of gover
nor. For a number of years he filled the position
of justice of the peace, and at the present time is
serving as chairman of the town committee. As
a public official his course has been worthy of
commendation, and he ever strives to promote the
welfare of his fellow men.
The marriage of Air. Roscoe was celebrated
in 1897, when Aliss Alary A. Hathaway became
his wife. She was born in Adams, Alassachusetts,
where her father, Rufus B. Hathaway, is en
gaged in agricultural pursuits. She was one of
thirteen children and of these nine are now living,
as follows : Harriett, a teacher in North Adams,
Vermont ; Annie AL ; Ida B., wife of H. Clarence
Parsons, of Fairfield, Massachusetts; Mary A.,
the wife of our subject; Edward; Ella F. ; Ar
thur ; Elizabeth ; and Daniel. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Hathaway are still living. The latter was born in
Stamford, Vermont, Alay 28, 1833, her maiden
name being Annie Bratton. Air. Hathaway was

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

429

born July 3, 1832, on the farm where he now re
sides. Of the two children born to Mr. and Mrs.
Roscoe one survives, — Alfred Mortimer, born
April 24, 1 90 1. Mr. Roscoe is a member of the
Addison Agricultural Association, of which he
served as assistant secretary many years, and
from 1897 to January, 1903, was its efficient
treasurer. His religious views connect him with
the Congregational church, in which he is also
holding the office of treasurer, and he has always
been interested in the promotion of education and
religion and the welfare of the community at
large.
JAMES O. WALKER.
James Otis Walker, one of the well known
citizens of Addison county, who is devoting his
energies to farming and the buying and selling of
hay and whose efforts in that direction result in
making him one of the substantial citizens of the
community, was born on the farm on which he
now resides, on the 28th of January, 1840. This
farm was also the birthplace of his father, Zuriel
Walker, and it was purchased by his grandfather,
Obadiah Walker, in early pioneer days. The
latter was born in Connecticut, but in an early
day he came to Addison county, Vermont, where
he spent the remainder of his life. He became
very prominent in the public affairs of his local
ity, and was at one time called upon by his fellow
citizens to represent his town in the legislature,
while throughout his life he enjoyed the un
bounded confidence and esteem of all with whom
he had business or social relations. He married
Elizabeth Tupper, and they became the parents
pf five children. After his death his widow was
again married, and her death occurred at the
age of eighty years.
Zuriel Walker was reared on the old Walker
homestead in Addison county, and in early life
he was apprenticed to a clothier, but as that occu
pation did not prove congenial to his taste he soon
abandoned it and turned his attention to agricul
tural pursuits, owning and operating two hun
dred acres of well improved and fertile land. He,
too, became very prominent in the public life of
his locality, and during the years of 1832-33-34
he represented the town in the legislature, while
for two years, in 1848 and 1849, he was a member

of the state senate. For the long period of twen
ty-five years he was a justice of the peace, was
the town clerk for thirteen years and also held
many other oflices, ever discharging his public
duties to the entire satisfaction of his constitu
ents. As a companion on the journey of life Mr.
Walker chose Miss Mary Johnson, whose father
Philo Johnson, came to Vergennes from Connec
ticut in pioneer days. Mr. and Mrs. Walker
reared a family of ten children, seven sons and
three daughters, and five of the number are still
living, namely: Henry H., a resident of Burling
ton, Vermont; Solomon, also of that city; James
O, of this review ; and Alary M. and Maria A.,
both of Burlington, this state. The mother of
this family was called to her final rest at the age
of seventy years, dying in the faith of the Aletho-
dist Episcopal church, of which she and her hus
band were worthy and consistent members, and
in which the latter long held the office of class
leader. James O. AValker has spent his entire life on
the farm on which he now resides, and to the
school system of A7ergennes and Addison county
he is indebted for the educational privileges
which he enjoyed in his youth. When the time
came for him to choose a life occupation he se
lected the vocation which his father and grand
father had followed and has ever since been en
gaged in the tilling of the soil. For a number of
years he was associated with his father, or until
the latter's death, and for the past eighteen years,
in connection with his agricultural pursuits, he
has dealt in hay, being for a time in partnership
with Henry T. Booth. In both branches of his
business he is meeting with a well merited de
gree of success, and has long been numbered
among the foremost business men of Addison
county. The marriage of Mr. Walker was celebrated
in 1865, when Miss Alargaretta AL Brady became
his wife. She was born in Charlotte, Vermont,
and by her marriage has become the mother of
four children, three of whom died when young,
and the surviving daughter, Jane, is the wife of
Frederick H. Walker, president of the Walker
Grocery Company, of Burlington, a sketch of
whom will be found elsewhere in this volume.
Mr. Walker, of this review, casts his ballot in
favor of Republicanism, staunchly advocating the

43°

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

principles set forth by the party. His fellow
townsmen have recognized his worth and abil
ity and have called him to the office of select
man. He is a member of Dorchester Lodge, No.
I, A'ncient Free and Accepted Masons, of Ver
gennes, and attends the Congregational church.
LEVI H. NICHOLS, M. D.
Levi H. Nichols, M. D., a skillful and highly
successful physician of Stanford, Vermont, was
born in Halifax, Windham county, Vermont,
August 29, 1843, a son of Greene C. Nichols. His
grandfather, Deacon Arad Nichols, a life-long
resident of Halifax, Vermont, was a farmer by
occupation, and by dint of unceasing toil,
wrested a farm from the wilderness, making it
yield a good living for himself and family. He
was born November 11, 1782, and lived to a ripe
old age. His wife was born February 9, 1785.
Both were members of the Baptist church, in
which he served as deacon for a long period. They
were the parents of eight children, as follows:
John, born July 4, 1808; Sally, born May 30,
1810; Arad, born January 5, 1812; Greene, born
January 24, 1814; Samuel, born September 11,
1815; William, born January 14, 1817; Matilda,
born December 1, 1823, and Gilbert, who was
born in 1824, died March 26, 1843.
Greene C. Nichols, born on the the ancestral
homestead at Halifax, Vermont, January 24, 1814,
began his independent career as a farmer in the
place of his nativity, there meeting with eminent
success in his labors. Removing to Stamford,
he enlarged his operations by establishing a saw
mill, which he managed in conjunction with gen
eral farming and lumbering until his death, at
the age of seventy-six years. He was a public-
spirited man, prominent in the ranks of the old-
line Whigs and Republicans, and served his fel
low townsmen in numerous positions of trust,
including that of selectman and justice of the
peace. He was a Baptist in religion, and for
many years a deacon in the church. On May 10,
1837, he married Keziah Fairbanks, who was
born September 22, 1818, and they became the
parents of five children, as follows: Daniel G.,
born February 24, 1838, died in infancy; Daniel
G., the second, born February 19, 1841, died Au
gust 18, 1864; Levi H, the immediate subject

of these memoirs ; Keziah A., born March 28,
1850, and Ruth, born August 27, 1853.
Levi H. Nichols was but four years of age
when his parents located at Stamford, their first
home being in a log house, which the father sub
sequently replaced by a substantial frame struct
ure. Remaining with his parents until twenty-
one years old, he assisted in the home work, a
part of the time running the mill. During this
time, however, he was preparing himself for a
professional career by the reading and study of
the best medical works. After attaining his ma
jority, he studied medicine with Dr.Homer Bush
nell and attended three terms at the Albany Med
ical College. Returning to Stamford, Dr. Nich
ols established himself as a physician, and in the
quarter of a century that has since elapsed, has
won an extensive and lucrative practice in this
locality, his professional knowledge and ability
being widely appreciated and known. He has
ben especially successful in the treatment of ty
phoid fever, and as a health officer has greatly
improved the sanitary condition of the town,
particularly by instructing the people of his com
munity in regard to the care of the water sup
plies. Politically, the Doctor is a Republican, and
fraternally, is a member of Social Lodge, No. 28,
F. and A. M., of Wilmington, Vermont. He also
belongs to the State Medical and the Northern
Berkshire Medical societies. He attends the Bap
tist church, of which his wife is a member, and
gave material assistance toward the erection of
the new church building by helping to raise
money for its construction, and by serving as
one of the building committee.
Dr. Nichols married, first, in 1868, Cynthia
Jilson, the daughter of a well known farmer of
Stamford. She died at the age of twenty-two
years, having borne two children, of whom but
one is living, Hattie AL, who married Miner
Wright, of Sadawga, by whom she has one
child, Walter M. Wright. Dr. Nichols married,
second, Jennie AL Prentice, who was born in
Middlefield, Massachusetts, a daughter of Joseph
Prentice. Mr. Prentice was born in Worthing
ton, Massachusetts, where he learned the
trade of a scythe maker, which he followed
in connection with farming in the towns of
Worthington, Cummington, and North Adams,
living in Massachusetts until shortly before his

ckq <?b - csK-i<>J-i>A '-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

43i

decease at Stamford, Vermont, January 20, 1884,
at the age of sixty-eight years. Of the
union of Joseph Prentice and Elvira J.
Ayers, of Cummington, four children were born,
of whom three survive, namely : Joseph Monroe
Prentice, of North Adams, Massachusetts, Sarah
Sebia, wife of Charles N. Brown, of Stamford,
Vermont, and Jennie M., wife of Dr. Nichols.
The deceased child was Emma C. Prentice, who
died August 22, 1847. Mrs. Prentice died in
1874, aged fifty-six years. She and her husband
were devoted and consistent members of the First
Congregational church. Jonathan Prentice, fa
ther of Joseph Prentice, rendered valuable service
in connection with militia organization in prepar
ing for the war of the Revolution. Mrs. Dr.
Nichols is a member of the Baptist church, and
has served as president of the Ladies' Aid. So
ciety.
ELISHA SMITH.
Representing as he does one of the oldest fam
ilies of Addison county, the subject of this review
is well entitled to an honored place in the rec
ords of this section of the Green Mountain state.
The family has borne an active part in the devel
opment of this section and the line of descent
is traced to Samuel Smith, who came from his
native town of Parsippany, New Jersey, to Ver
mont in 1770. He was born in 1720, became a
prominent factor in the early history of the state,
and here he spent the remainder of his life, dy
ing November 11, 1798, at the age of seventy-
eight years. His wife, Hannah Allen, was born
in 1726, and died December 22, 1800. They were
the parents of nine children. Nathan Smith, his
son and the grandfather of our subject, was born
April 16, 1752, in Parsippany, New Jersey, but
in 1770 came with his father to Bridport, Addi
son county, Vermont, where he followed agricul
tural pursuits. He was a valiant soldier during
the memorable war for independence, in which he
served as a "minute man," and was present at
the taking of Ticonderoga. He was captured
during the service and was taken as a prisoner to
Canada, where he was held for nineteen months,
but on the expiration of that period made his es
cape and started to return to Vermont. On the
way, however, he was recaptured, but ultimately

escaped and returned to his home, where his
death occurred February 19, 1835, near the close
of his eighty-third year. His wife, who bore the
maiden name of Wait Allen, was a cousin of the
famous Ethan Allen, and was a native of Tin
mouth, Vermont. She became the mother of four
children, all of whom are now deceased, and her
death occurred December 13, 1830, at the age of
sixty-six years.
Hiram Smith, a son of Nathan, was a native
of Bridport, born March 17, 1793, and his en
tire life was spent on the old home place in Ad
dison county, where he passed away in death
May 10, 1867, at the age of seventy-four years.
He took an active part in the public affairs of his
county and was called upon to serve in many pub
lic positions, ever discharging his duties to the
entire satisfaction of all concerned. As a com
panion on the journey of life he chose Anna
Starkweather, a native also of Vermont, her birth
occurring March 3, 1796, in Stowe, this state, and
her father, Elisha Starkweather, was a prominent
minister of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
reared three children, but Elisha is now the only
survivor of the family. The mother was called ¦
to her final rest June 13, 1855, at the age of fifty-
nine years, dying in the faith of the Baptist
church, of which she was a worthy and consist
ent member, while her husband was identified
with the Universalist denomination.
Elisha Smith was born December 1, 1828, in
Bridport, and spent the early years of his life in
a number of different localities, residing in Brid
port, and attending school at Williston, Bakers
field and Shoreham. After putting aside his text .
books to engage in the active duties of life he
embarked in agricultural pursuits with his father,
thus continuing until his twenty- third year, at
which time he became the owner of a farm in
West Addison. Continuing the cultivation of
that tract for the succeeding twelve years, he then
came to his present place, which is located on the
town line of Addison and Bridport, and he is
now the owner of two hundred and seventy-five
acres of fertile and well improved land. " His
farming operations have been carried on in late
years in partnership with his son. At one time
our subject was the owner of about nine hundred
acres of larid, being for many years one of the
most extensive farmers in this part of Addison

432

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

county, and in addition to general farming he was
also largely engaged in the raising of horses and
a fine grade of sheep. In every sense he is a pro
gressive and up-to-date farmer, pursuing his
methods in a thoroughly business like way and he
reaps a substantial and satisfactory reward.
When twenty-three years of age, on December
18, 1851, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to
Ellen Whitford, a native daughter of Addison,
where her father Peleg AVhitford was also born,
and he was long one of the prominent farmers
of the town, but is now deceased. His wife bore
the maiden name of Caroline Trask. Four chil
dren have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs.
Smith, namely : Anna T., now Airs. Edward Goff,
whose husband is a farmer of this county, and
they have four children, George, John, Evelyn
and Ellen; Cyrus, also a farmer of Addison
county, married Alma Hamilton, of Bridport, and
they have four children, Alary H., Carrol C,
Alabel E. and Herman E. ; Benjamin W. is at
home ; and Cora Ellen is also with her parents.
She is a graduate of Wellesley College and has
been a teacher in Middlebury for a number of
years. Mrs. Smith received her education in
Arergennes and Burlington, Vermont, and she al
so followed the profession of teaching for a time.
Air. Smith gives his political support to the Re
publican party, but he has never cared to accept
public preferment, although he has been called
upon to serve as selectman for a number of years,
also as lister for one year, and twice he repre
sented his town in the legislature. In religious
faith, he is a Universalist. He has had a wide
acquaintance among the leading business men of
the county, and, while quiet and unassuming, is
influential in public matters and helpful to all
worthy local interests.
NELSON THAYER.
Through the greater part of the nineteenth
century Nelson Thayer was an honored resident
of Bennington, and many still remember him
pleasantly on account of qualitie? which made
him popular with his associates and won him the
respect of all with whom business or social rela
tions brought him in connection. At the time
of his demise, he was one of the oldest citizens
of Bennington. His birth occurred on a farm

just at the eastern limits of the village, March 29,
1798, and with the exception of a few years
which he passed at Wardsboro, Vermont, he
spent his entire life in this city and county. He
was a descendant in direct line of one of the
oldest and most honored Pilgrim families of
New England, and his own career added luster
to an untarnished family name.
In Rupert, Vermont, on the 18th of March,
1824, Air. Thayer was united in marriage to Aliss
Lucretia Elwell, and they began their domestic
life in Wardsboro, Vermont, where for three
years Mr. Thayer conducted a general mercantile
store, and then returned with his family to Ben
nington in 1827, soon afterward occupying the
old family homestead of Simeon Thayer. In the
same year, with his wife and a child of ten
months, he went by way of the Erie canal to
Lodi, beyond Buffalo, to visit a sister. That was
a long journey in those days, and it seemed quite
an undertaking to make the trip. When they
were living in Wardsboro, Mr. Thayer purchased
the first cooking stove ever taken to that village,
and people came for miles to see it. His wife had
been accustomed to using a stove before her mar
riage and found it a severe test on her patience
to cook at a fireplace. After removing to the
farm near Bennington, Air. Thayer conducted a
large brickyard, manufacturing the brick used
in the construction of many of the best buildings
of this place, including the Free Library build
ing. He also purchased a large tract of moun
tain land, and speculated in lumber on a large
scale. After the death of his son, when Air.
Thayer was sixty-five years of age, he sold the
farm and built a fine house in the village, in
which he made his home until his death. He
was fond of travel and in his later years spent
much of his time in visiting his children, several
of whom lived in Buffalo, New York, and in
Erie, Pennsylvania. In his business affairs he
was enterprising and progressive, and carried
forward to successful completion whatever he
undertook, brooking no obstacles that could be
overcome by persistent and honorable effort. He
met with gratifying success and secured a compe
tence for the evening of life.
To Mr. arid Airs. Thayer were born eight
children who are yet living, while four have de
parted this life. Those who still survive are Mrs.

JAMES B. MEACHAM.

THE STATE OF A^ERMONT.

43$

L. D. Hamlen, of Bennington ; Mrs. W. C. Rid-
dell, of Buffalo; Mrs. R. K. Hughes, of Erie;
Mrs. J. B. Meacham ; Mrs. Enos Gould, of Buf
falo; O. C. Thayer, of Erie, Pennsylvania;
R. H. Thayer, of Buffalo, New York; and D.
J. Thayer, of Pittsburg. One son, Edward, laid
down his life for the Union at the time of the
Civil war. Very strong were the family ties in
the Thayer household, great and enduring af
fection existing between the parents and children.
Mr. Thayer was a man of unquestioned probity,
of strong purpose and upright, honorable man
hood. In public office he was faithful to the trust
reposed in him and in business life was straight
forward and reliable. To his friends — and they
were many,— he was kindly and considerate, but
his highest and most noble qualities were mani
fest at his own fireside in the midst of the family
circle. He passed away at the age of seventy-
six vears, and his loss was mourned throughout
the entire community.
Mr. Thayer was survived for some time by his
wife, who had been his able assistant as well as
faithful companion for so many years through
the journey of life, but death reunited them. Mrs.
Thayer was born in Rupert, Vermont, June 3,
1 80 1, and passed away in her ninetieth year. She
survived her husband seventeen years and spent
her last days with her children, dying at the home
of her daughter, Mrs. Enos Gould, in Buffalo.
She reared a family of children who are certainly
a credit and honor to her, and her three surviv
ing sons. and one of her grandsons acted as pall
bearers at the funeral. A local paper said of her :
"Mrs. Thayer's numerous household appar
ently limited her sphere of activity. She was at
home most of her days, and it was here that her
wisdom and efficiency were displayed. The prob
lem which often seems a vexatious one, of ade
quately caring for each member of a large fam
ily, found in her a complete solution. No house
was ever kept better than hers, no family of chil
dren more comfortably provided for. It was at
home that her force of character produced its
admirable results, and who shall say that its scope
was circumscribed ? Her influence over her chil
dren was destined to be widely felt. Through
them she found an extended sphere, and who
shall say that her strong life of unusual quick
ness of perception, of rare decision and of prac-
28

tical faith found not its great opportunity ? Airs.
Thayer's ambition for her children was a promi
nent characteristic. They were at school, invari
ably and promptly. They were at the church
services, and represented their mother in an en
larging area of social duties. They were where-
ever they could reasonably hope to receive or be
stow a benefit ; and the motive of their useful
ness in its beginning was to be found at home in
the mother's heart. It is not to be wondered at
that these sons and daughters have risen up to
call her blessed. The strong tie binding them
to their mother is unbroken. Her last words
were for her children. With a perfectly clear
mind she entreated them without exception to
meet her in Heaven. And the love with which
these children bear their mother in memory fails
of expression. Perhaps no lines can have better
answered to their feeling than these read at the
burial service :
"Sleep, mother, sleep, with your hands on your
breast,
Poor weary hands, they needed their rest;
Well have we loved you, but God loved you best,
'Tis thy God giveth rest !"
JAMES B. MEACHAM.
For many years a distinguished member of
the bar, James Bartlett Meacham was honored
and respected by all by reason of his sterling per
sonal worth as well as his professional ability.
A native of Alassachusetts, he was born in Will
iamson, November 27, 1828. His ancestry could
be traced back through several generations to
James Meacham, who was born March 19, 1733,
and on the 22d of June, 1756, married Lucy
Rugg. His death occurred July 28, 1812, and his
wife passed away June 22, 1803. Among their
children was James Hawkins Meacham, the
grandfather of our subject. He was born Decem
ber 25, 1769, and was married September 30,
1795, to Nabby Warner, a sister of Seth Warner.
He died March 26, 1837, and her death occurred
April 16, 1862. They had six children, Eliza;
Lucy, who died in infancy ; James, Abigail, Eme-
line and Lucy. Of this family James Meacham
was the father of our subject. He was born in
Williamstown, Alassachusetts, February 3, 1805,

434

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

and on the 20th of November,- 1827, married Al
mira Bartlett. His death' occurred May 20, 1883.
His sister Emeline reached the eighty-second year
of her age. She was born in Williamstown in
1812, in the house in which she died and was a
member of the fourth generation of Meachams
to occupy that place. She was greatly attached
to her home, and it is said that she was never
away from it for more than six weeks at a time.
From the age of twelve years she held member
ship in the Congregational church, and' her life
was that of a sincere and devoted Christian.
James Bartlett Meacham spent' the days of
his childhood and youth in the place of his na
tivity, and his early education was supplemented
by a course in Williams College, from which
"he was graduated with the class of 1852. In 1854
he became a resident of Bennington, and until
his death remained one of the valued and re
spected citizens of the community. He studied
law in the office of James L. Stark, then one of
the leading attorneys of this part of the state,
and was subsequently associated in practice with
J. Halsey Cushman. Mr. Meacham was a coun
selor, not an advocate. His unwavering loyalty
to his clients was well known, and he had a good
clientage, connecting- him with many of the most
important law matters of his district. His knowl
edge of jurisprudence was comprehensive and ac
curate, and he was therefore well qualified to
give advice on knotty legal problems. For many
years Air. Meacham was collector of taxes in
Bennington, and his fidelity to the public inter
ests was well known. He frequently served as
administrator of estates and his honesty was pro
verbial. He also held the office of village attor
ney and was town agent for several years, while
other offices of trust and responsibility he filled
-with loyalty- and skill.
On October 29, 1862, Mr. Meacham was
-united in marriage to Miss Corinna Thayer, a
daughter of Nelson and Lucretia Thayer, of Ben
nington, in which city she was born, April 6,
1841, and here she still makes her home. Three
children were born of this union, but Edward,
who was born on the 16th of March, 1865, died
on the 13th of October, 1885. The second- son,
William, born in Bennington, December 30, 1867,
is married and is now engaged in business in
Baker City, Oregon. James Bartlett, Jr., was born

in Bennington, March 29, 1875, and is now lo
cated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A nephew,
Dr. Franklin Aleacham, was a major and sur
geon of the United States Volunteers in the
Philippines, being chosen from a large nuhiber
to take charge of the hospital there during the
recent war. He now makes his home in Salt
Lake City, Utah, where he has a large practice.
He married and has twin daughters, Frances and
Helen. Mr. Meacham continued an active and hon
ored member of the bar of Bennington until about
a y-ear prior to his death, when he was taken ill
and never rallied, passing away on the 17th of
July, 1893. Thus a useful and noble life was
ended; a career in which diligence, enterprise,
close application and honesty won a just reward,
and gained for bim the respect and confidence of
all with whom he was associated. A meeting
of the Bennington bar was called to take action
upon the death of Air. Meacham and passed the
following resolutions :
"Resolved, that in the death of James Bart
lett Aleacham, Esquire, we are called upon to
mourn the death of one long associated with the
bar. That he has by his uniform rectitude, firm
ness of character, faithfulness to principle, un
swerving integrity and courtesy, in the continu
ous practice of his profession, since December,
1857, left a memory which it will be forever pleas
ant for his large circle of professional and public
friends to recall.
"As a lawyer, faithful to the interests en
trusted to him ; as a counselor, conservative and
conscientious ; as a citizen, kind of heart and gen
erous in his impulses, against whom no word of
calumny has ever been justly spoken, in his death
we recognize a public and professional loss.
"Resolved, that to his family, we, the profes
sional associates of the deceased, offer this sin
cere token of sorrow and respect, conveying to
them our regret and sympathy in their deep be
reavement." Honorable in business, loyal in citizenship,
charitable in thought, kindly in action, true to
every trust confided to his care, the life of James
Bartlett Aleacham was of a high type of man
hood. He was one of the lawyers of the Ver
mont bar who lives in the memories of his con
temporaries encircled with the halo of a gracious

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

435

presence, charming personality, profound legal
wisdom, purity of public and private life and the
quiet dignity of an ideal follower of his calling.
He was for many years in active business at the
Bennington bar, and comparatively few may en
dear themselves to so great an extent to their
professional associates and to those with whom
they come in contact in the discharge of public
duties. ELI TIFFANY.
The business success of Eli Tiffany has been
so distinctive that his methods are of interest to
the commercial world. He has based his
business principles and actions upon strict
adherence to the rules which govern in
dustry, economy and strict, unswerving in
tegrity. His enterprise and progressive
spirit have made him a typical American
in every sense of the word, and he well
deserves mention in this history. What he
is today he has made himself, for he began
in the world with nothing but his own
energy and willing hands, to aid him. By
constant exertion, associated with good
judgment, he has raised himself to the
prominent position which he now holds,
having the friendship of many and the re
spect of all who know him.
Mr. Tiffany is a son of John and Eliza
beth (Alarsden) Tiffany, and was born in
Horbury, in the West Riding of Yorkshire,
England, September 9, 1830. His father
and grandfather were also natives of the
same land. The latter, Abraham Tiffany,
was an engineer, and followed that voca
tion throughout his entire life. His wife,
also a native of Yorkshire, became the
mother of a large family, but all have now
passed away. Both grandparents died in
Yorkshire. It was in the family home there
that the father of our subject was reared.
He became a carder in a woolen mill and
was always identified with manufacturing
interests. He married Elizabeth Marsden,
who was born in England, as were her par
ents. Mrs. Tiffany was one of a large fam
ily, and by her marriage she had nine children,
four of whom are still living: Frank, who is

associated in business with Eli ; Sarah Ann, a
widow residing in England ; and Jenny, who is
also a widow. The father of this family died
in England at the age of seventy-six years, and
his wife passed away at the age of ninety-two.
They were both members of the Episcopal church
and were consistent Christian people.
In the land of his nativity Eli Tiffany spent
the clays of his boyhood and youth. His educa
tional privileges were limited, for at an early age
he began to earn his own living by working in a
woolen mill, where he was employed until nineJ
teen years of age. On Alarch 4, 1851, he landed

ELI TIFFANY.

in America, whither lie came because of the fav
orable reports of the business opportunities af-

436

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

forded in the new world, and resolved to take ad
vantage of these. Coming to Waterbury, Con
necticut, he was employed to take charge of the
new machinery for the Waterbury Knitting Com
pany. In 1857 he removed to Meriden, Connecti
cut, where he was employed in a similar capacity
by the firm of Powell & Parker for two years, and
then went to Glastonbury, Connecticut. While
there he invented an automatic ribbed knitting
machine, on which he received a patent, May 1,
i860. In 1858 he had removed to Thompsonville,
Connecticut, and subsequently connected himself
with George Cooper in the manufacture of the
knitting machine which he had evolved from his
fertile brain. The year 1866 witnessed his re
moval to Cohoes, New York, where he formed a
partnership under the firm name of William
Wood & Company, for the purpose of producing
knit cuffs and drawer bottoms for underwear-
knitting mills throughout the country.
In 1870 Mr. Tiffany came to Bennington,
where the firm of Tiffany & Cooper was formed
for the purpose of constructing ribbed knitting
machinery, and soon an extensive business in this
line was built up. In 1874 the original patents
were extended, and in 1880 Mr. Tiffany estab
lished a new industry in connection with his
brothers, independent of the firm of Tiffany &
Cooper. The new house engaged in the manu
facture of knit underwear, and the excellence of
the quality and the reliability of the firm soon se
cured a flourishing business and made the con
cern a profitable one. During the early part of
1886 the firm of Tiffany & Cooper was dissolved,
our subject purchasing the interest of his part
ner and admitting his son Frank M. Tiffany, and
the business was carried on under the firm of E.
Tiffany & Son. In 1890 another son, Louis L.,
became a partner, and in 1896 Air. Eli Tiffany
bought the business of Tiffany & Sons, and sub
sequently there was a consolidation of the business
established by the sons with the parent house,
and the present firm. Tiffany Brothers, is ac
counted one of the most modern industrial inter
ests of Bennington, furnishing employment to a
large number of workmen. They have a large
patronage, construct ribbed knitting machinery,
and their machines have not only been introduced
widely in the United States and Canada, but are
also used to a considerable extent throughout the

world. Within the past year (1902) they have
sent a number of machines to South America.
Mr. Tiffany possesses exceptional inventive
genius, especially along the lines of knitting ma
chines. He has secured no less than fifteen
patents for different devices, and these have
proved of great practical benefit to the world of
trade, as well as being a source of income to him
self. In 1888 he purchased an interest in the
Colombia Navigation & Commercial Company, of
which he was the vice-president, this concern do
ing a very successful business in trading and in
carrying freight and passengers along the coast
and up the rivers of the United States of Colom
bia in South America.
In August, 1863, was celebrated the marriage
of Mr. Tiffany and Aliss Phoebe E. Cooper, of
Thompsonville, Connecticut, a daughter of James
and Ann (Glover) Cooper. After thirty years
of happy married life she was called to her final
rest on the 29th of April, 1893, leaving three
children, Frank M., Louis L. and Wiliam J. One
child died in infancy.
Although a Republican in politics and a firm
advocate of the principals of his party, Mr.
Tiffany has never sought political prominence.
He has, however, for the past ten years served as
a trustee of the Bennington graded schools, and
the cause of education finds in him a warm friend,
who does all in his power to raise the standard of
the schools and make education a means of prac
tical benefit to the young. Socially he is identi
fied with the Improved Order of Red Men, and
he belongs to the Alethodist Episcopal church.
Public-spirited and progressive, he is a liberal
contributor to any worthy cause or movement
that tends to advance the welfare of men, or pro
mote the progress and upbuilding of his city.
About twenty years ago he revisited his old home
in England, spending some months in roaming
about among his childhood haunts and renewing
the acquaintances of his earlier years. He has
traveled quite extensively, gaining that culture
and broad knowledge which only travel can
bring. In 1893 he went to the West Indies and
visited Carthagena in the United States of
Colombia, but his deepest affections is for the
land of his adoption, and America has no more
loyal son than Eli Tiffany. Few men are more
prominent or more widely known in the enter-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

437

prising city of Bennington. He has been an im
portant factor in business circles, and his popu
larity is well deserved, as in him are embraced
the characteristics of an unbending integrity, un-
abating energy and industry that never flags.
He is public spirited and thoroughly interested in
whatever tends to promote the moral, intellec
tual and material welfare of Bennington.
SEWARD P. SMITH.
Few residents of Addison county are better
known or more highly esteemed than Seward P.
Smith, the popular proprietor of the Mountain
View Inn, located in Addison, about ten miles
from the city of Vergennes and not far distant
from Middlebury. The Smith family is one of
the oldest and most honored ones in the Green
Mountain state, and they trace their line of de
scent to Samuel Smith, the great-great-grand
father of our subject. With his wife, Hannah,
he came to this state from New Jersey, casting
in their lot with the early settlers of Bridport,
and in that town their son Luther was born. The
latter's son, Selwyn, followed the tilling of the
soil as a life occupation. Jonas Smith, the son
of Selwyn, was born in Bridport, Vermont, but
he was reared and received his education in the
town of Addison. He, too, chose the work of the
farm as his occupation through life. On the 7th
of December, 1876, he was united in marriage to
Mary E. Pond, who was born in Addison, where
her father, Alvin D. Pond, resided for a number
of years. Her paternal grandfather, David Pond,
was one of the early settlers of that place and was
one the most prominent farmers of the county.
His wife was born near Lake Champlain, and her
.father was captured by the Indians. She died at
the age of sixty years. Alvin D. Pond, the father
of Mrs. Smith, also followed agricultural pur
suits on an extensive scale, and his last days were
spent in Addison, being called to his final rest
at the age of eighty-three years. He was a fine
musician, and for forty years was the leader of a
choir. His wife, who bore the maiden name of
Rhoda Gage, was born in Addison in 1819, be
ing a daughter of. George A. Gage, one of the
early pioneers of that place. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
became the parents of two sons, Seward P. and
George. The mother passed away in 1901, and

both she and her husband were members of the
Baptist church.
Seward P. Smith was born in New York, on
the 26th of May, 1878, and in addition to the
education which he received in the common
schools he was also a student for a time in the
Burlington Business College. After completing
his education he was employed as clerk in the Sil-
lick House, thus continuing until he came to his
present place, in 1897. The Mountain View Inn,
which furnishes accommodations for sixteen peo
ple, is located on Grand View Mountain, over
looking Lake Champlain valley and the Adiron
dacks. The view from this charming inn is mag
nificent, encircling as it does twenty-five differ
ent towns and cities and the principal peaks of
the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains, and
during the year 1901 it was visited by five thou
sand people. Mr. Smith is a charming host, and
the guests at the Mountain View Inn receive the
most courteous treatment. He is married and has
one son. RUSSEL TITUS BRISTOL.
For many years Russel T. Bristol occupied a
conspicuous place among the leading business
men of Addison county. His career was that
of an honorable, enterprising and progressive
business man, whose well rounded character also
enabled him to take an active interest in educa
tional, social and moral affairs, and in all life's
relations he commanded the respect and confi
dence of those with whom he came in contact.
Mr. Bristol was born May 29, 1822, and was a
grandson of Aaron and Sybil Bristol, natives of
Harwinton, Litchfield county, Connecticut. In
1785 they came to the Green Mountain state,
permanently taking up their abode in Panton.
Aaron Bristol, who was born in 1742, was called
to his final rest in 1823. To this worthy couple
were born eight children, Sybil, Chauncey, Levi,
Rhoda, Philemon, Olive, Aloses and Noah. The
last, named was born in Panton, Vermont, Sep
tember 26, 1789. With his brother Moses he in
herited the old farm their father had purchased
on coming to this state, which they continued to
operate in partnership until the death of Moses,
in 1826. The latter was born in 1786, and was a
soldier during the war of 1812. In 1827 Noah

43«

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Bristol erected the residence in which his son's
family still resides, and in this dwelling he closed
his eyes in death, May 12, 1838, at the age of
forty-nine years. For his wife he chose Anna
Stafford, who was born in Essex, Essex county,
New York, July 13, 1794, and died in Panton,
Vermont, October, 1865. They became the par
ents of nine children, none of whom are now liv
ing. They were Philo, Lydia (died at age of
three years), Philemon L., Abigail, Russel T.,
Sybil, Stafford, Abel and Lydia. The eldest
daughter became the wife of Rufus Eno. Sybil
married Watson Alorgan, and Lydia married
Charles Haywood.
Russel T. Bristol, whose name introduces
this review, was reared on the old Bristol farm
which his grandfather purchased in pioneer days,
receiving his primary education in the district
schools of the neighborhood, which was supple
mented by attendance at the schools of Vergen
nes and the academy at Ferrisburg. After com
pleting his education he was employed as an in
structor in different educational institutions for
a time, and later turned his attention to agricul
tural pursuits, owning and operating over one
hundred and twenty acres of fertile and well im
proved land. Fie was enterprising and progres
sive, and his diligence won for him a comfort
able competence. In addition to his agricultural
labors he was also for twenty years a director in
the Bank of Vergennes, and in many other enter
prises he was equally prominent and well known.
For years he operated a cash butter market at
Vergennes, being, with his brother, a pioneer in
that line. Although his attention was largely
given to his business interests, he found time to
devote to the public welfare, and he was called
upon to serve in many local offices, being for a
time the lister of his township and he also occu
pied the position of selectman.
On the 28th of September, 1847, Mr. Bristol
was united in marriage to Alartha Jane Thomp
son, who was born in New Haven, A^ermont,
January 27, 1828, and in that town her father,
James Thompson, was born December 23, 1799,
and spent his entire life, being summoned into
eternal rest December 6, 1884, when he had
reached the age of eighty-five years. His wife,
Abigail Eldred, was born in Rhode Island, and
thev became the parents of nine children, all of

whom grew to years of maturity and seven are
still living. Seven children came to brighten and
bless the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bristol, as fol
lows : AVillard R., who was married in 1876 to
Alary A. Richards, of Cornwall, and resides in
\7ergennes, Vermont ; Edwin S., who resides near
the old home farm ; Ernest J., who was married
in 1878 to S. Imogene Harris, and resides in
Panton ; Carlton D., who was married in 1876 to
Anna M. Elitharp, of Bridport, Vermont, and
subsequently to Carrie Stone, and lives in Walt
ham ; Alice J., who was married in 1881 to Sidney
AI. Flarris, of Panton; Arthur H., a resident of
Aliddlebury ; and Wallis H., who was married in
1886 to Cornelia L. Sibley, and resides in Ver
gennes. Mr. and Airs. Bristol had forty grand
children, but seven are now deceased. The mem
bers of the family occupy a prominent place in
the social circles of Addison county, and are
mostly connected with the Congregational
church, in which Mr. Bristol served as trustee
for a number of years and in its faith
he passed away in death at the old home
in Panton on the 20th of November, 1900. A
prominent representative of commercial interests,
a popular factor in social life, a faithful friend,
a kind husband and father and a consistent Chris
tian, he left behind him an untarnished record,
and in his death Addison county mourned the loss
of one of its truest and best citizens.
ALBERT ORLANDO HUAIPHREY.
The strength of character, unfaltering perse
verance and competent business methods which
have brought to Albert O. Humphrey success in
his entire business career were early manifest.
He was born in Jericho, Vermont, February 12,
1829, the son of Ede and Phebe (Lee) Humph
rey. Ede Humphrey was a son of James
Humphrey, who came to this country from Eng
land in 1775, accompanied by his older brother
John ; they landed in Rhode Island, where they
made their home for many years. In 1776 James
Humphrey, then only sixten years of age, en
listed, and served throughout the entire Revo
lutionary war. He then returned to Rhode Isl
and, and in Providence met and married Amy
Harding, and nine children were born of this
union. They resided for a short period of time

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

43 9

at Warren, Rhode Island, then removed to Sur
rey, New Hampshire, later changed their resi
dence to Brookfield, Vermont, and in 1801 finally-
settled in Richmond, Vermont. Ede. Humph
rey was born in Surrey, New Hampshire, May 19,
1790 ; after attaining young manhood he removed
to Jericho, Vermont, where he successfully fol
lowed the vocation of farming. On February
20, 1818, he married Phebe Lee, who was born
in Jericho, Vermont, July 31, 1797, and four chil
dren were born to them, three of whom are living
at the present time (1903) : James L., a retired
citizen of New Bedford, Massachusetts ; George
W., a resident of Rochester, Massachusetts, and
Albert Orlando. The father of these children
died in Jericho, A^ermont, February 28, i860, sur
vived by his widow, who passed away in the same
town, August 12, 1878.
Mrs. Phebe Humphrey was the first child
born to Solomon and Louisa (Lane) Lee. Sol
omon Lee was born September 14, 1774, and died
August 26, ,1846, in Jericho, Vermont. He was
a son of Azariah Lee and his wife Eunice Lee,
the former named having died July 25,
1821, aged eighty-one years, and the lat
ter died August 29, 181 1, at the age of sixty-
eight years. Azariah Lee, with his brother John
Lee, were among the early settlers of Jericho,
Vermont, moving there probably from Saybrook,
Connecticut. John Lee was the first person bur
ied in the old cemetery at Jericho Center, Ver
mont. Louisa Lane, wife of Solomon Lee, was
born at Salisbury, Connecticut, March 23, 1777,
was united in marriage to Solomon Lee at Jer
icho, Vermont, May 1, 1794, and her death oc
curred in the same town, December 18, 1871. She
was the sixth child in order of birth born to Jed
ediah and Phebe (Stevens) Lane.
Jedediah Lane was born at Killingworth,
Connecticut, July 20, 1741, and about the year
1785 moved to Jericho, Vermont, from Salis
bury, Connecticut. He was a man of considera
ble means and was the owner of large tracts of
land in the vicinity of Jericho Corners, having
settled on what is now known as the R. M. Ga-
lusha farm just west of Jericho Corners. He
was the first representative from the town of Jer
icho to the general assembly of 1786, and his
youngest son, Stevens Lane, was the first male
white child born in that town, from which their

descendants have scattered in all directions. : Jed-,
ediah Lane married Phebe Stevens and they,
reared a family of ten children, all of whom, with <
the exception of Sevens, were born in the town
of Jericho, moved . to that village with their
parents. The father of Jedediah Lane was Captain'
John Lane, a lieutenant of the Twelfth Com
pany in the Seventh Regiment of Connecticut^
who was accidentally shot while drilling his com
pany on the square in Killingworth, Connecti
cut, about 1755. He was a son of Deacon John-
Lane, a substantial citizen of Killingworth, Con
necticut, who was born in Stratford, Connecti
cut, a son of Robert and Sarah ( Pickett >
Lane, the former named being the first represen
tative of this branch of the Lane family in Amer
ica. He is understood to have emigrated from.
England about the year 1650.
Albert O. Humphrey obtained his educational-
advantages in the common schools of Jericho, and
later devoted his attention to agricultural pur-'
suits and the buying of produce. When he at-.
tained the age of twenty-two years he removed
to Richmond, A^ermont, remained there a few.
years and then took up his residence in Under
hill, Vermont, where he engaged in the same line
of trade. In his political affiliations he is a Republican,
and for two and one-half years after the Civil
war was United States assistant assessor ; repre
sented the town of Underhill in the Vermont
legislature 1867-8 and was a member of the Ver
mont senate from Chittenden county, in 1872, the'
first of its biennial sessions. He served in the
capacity of selectman for a number of years ; has
been delegate to numerous conventions, and filled;
all the offices in the gift of the people.
In 1874 he located in Burlington, Vermont,.
and in company with E. O. Safford engaged in
the wholesale notion business under the firm
name of Safford & Humphrey. Later he was
associated with F. C. Kennedy at Winooski, Ver
mont, in a general store, the largest of its kind'
in this section of the state, doing an immense-
business in meat, provisions, groceries, dry-goods
and clothing. Mr. Humphrey was connected
with this business nineteen years, and at the
same time continued his interest in the Burling-.
ton store until the death of Mr. Safford, when he

44°

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

closed up that branch of business. During this
period he was the largest and most prominent
merchant in Chittenden county and northern Ver
mont. For the past few years Mr. Humphrey
has devoted his energies and capital to various
real estate and railroad enterprises, being a stock
holder and director in the Burlington Traction
Company, the Military Post Railroad, of which
he is vice president, the Barre and Montpelier
Power & Traction Company, of which he is treas
urer, and is interested and holds office in other
railroad enterprises. In his business activities
he is alert and enterprising, systematic, and,
above all, ihoroughly reliable, genial and kindly
in his intercourse with his fellow men, and a
champion of all that tends to promote the mater
ial, social, intellectual and moral welfare of the
community in which he resides.
On October 29, 185 1, Air. Humphrey mar
ried Cleora Martha Church, who was born in Un
derhill, Vermont, August 10, 1834, and died No
vember 13, 1884. It was her prudence and en
ergy that laid the foundations of their great pros
perity and cheerful home life. She was a daugh
ter of Ziba Woodard Church, who was born in
Vershire, A'~ermonc, June 11, 1807, died in Un
derhill, Vermont, April 13, 1885, and of Adeline
Florilla Rogers, born in Whiting, Arermont, Ap
ril 10, 1808, died April 31, 1888. Air. and Airs.
Humphrey had two children.
Hattie Grace, born in Richmond, Vermont,
October 10, 1857, married, October 7, 1885, Eu
gene Marshall Styles, who was born in Burling
ton, A^ermont, September 8, 1850, a son of George
Washington Styles, born in Kingston, New York,
May 24, 1825, and Augusta Caroline Alelissa Au-
bery, born in Burlington, A'ermont, September
16, 1827 (married in Burlington, Vermont, June
16, 1847, both living in 1903). Mr. Styles is a
druggist in Burlington, A^ermont. Their one
child is Humphrey Aubery, born in Burlington,
Vermont, October 15, 1891.
Henry Clay Humphrey, born in Richmond,
Vermont, February 28, 1859, married, in Wal
tham, Massachusetts, September 9, 1891, Mary
Everett Peirce, who was born in Charlestown,
Massachusetts, November 2, 1857, a daughter of
William Jackson Peirce, born in Craftsbury, Ver
mont, in 1828, and Harriet Emma Seavy, born in
Boston, Massachusetts, in 1832 (both living in

Waltham, Alassachusetts, 1893). Henry C.
Humphrey is a clothing merchant at Burlington,
Vermont. Their child is William Jerome, born
in Waltham, Massachusetts, June 2, 1892.
WILLIAM H. H. VARNEY, M, D.
Devoted to the noble and humane work which
his profession implies, Dr. Varney has proved
faithful and has not only earned the due rewards
of his efforts in a temporal way but has also
proved himself worthy to exercise the important
and responsible functions of his calling, there
being readily accessible the most tangible evi-

WILLIAM H. H. VARNEY, M. D.

dences of his ability, his abiding sympathy and
his earnest zeal in behalf of his fellow men. His
understanding of the science of medicine is broad,
comprehensive and accurate, and the profession
and the public accord him an honorable and dis
tinguished place among the medical practitioners

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

441

of Chittenden county, which has been the scene
of his earnest and discriminating endeavors for
over forty years, so that he holds prestige and
precedence as one of the oldest representatives
of his profession in consecutive practice here,
while all these long years of ministration to suf
fering humanity have not failed to gain to him the
high regard and deep affection of the people of
the community in which he lived and labored to
so goodly ends. The Doctor's home is located at
East Charlotte, and of this town he is a native
son, having passed practically his entire life with
in its borders and being a member of a family
highly honored in this favored section of the old
Green Mountain state.
' Dr. William Henry Harrison Varney was
born in the town of Charlotte, on the 21st of Au
gust, 1839. His father, Alpheus Varney, was
born in Berwick, Maine, a son of Nathaniel Var
ney, who likewise claimed Berwick as the place
of his nativity, the name having been long and
prominently identified with the annals of the Pine
Tree state and with that of older settled sec
tions of New England. In the opening year of
the nineteenth century Nathaniel Varney re
moved from Maine to Starksboro, Addison coun
ty, Vermont, later taking up his abode in Ferris
burg, and finally coming to Charlotte, where he
passed the residue of his long and useful life,
passing away at the age of eighty-two years. He
was a blacksmith by trade and vocation, and was
recognized as a superior workman. In Char
lotte he was for many years engaged in black-
smithing in company with his son Alpheus, and
they manufactured many of the farming and
carpenter tools and implements used in this vi
cinity jn the earlier days. Nathaniel Varney con
tinued in the active work of his trade until the
infirmities of advancing age compelled his re
tirement, and no man in the community had a
more tenacious hold on the confidence and good
will of the people of this community, which was
his home for so long a term of years. He was a
birthright member of the Society of Friends, with
which the family became identified in the early
days of its organization and as representatives
of which the original Anierican ancestors came
hither from England. The maiden name of the
wife of Nathaniel Varney was Morrill, she being
born in New Hampshire, and they became the

parents of five children, all of whom are now de
ceased, their names, in order of birth, being as
follows : William, Alpheus, David, John and Ase
nath. The last mentioned became the wife of
Tyler Palmer, a great-uncle of Dr. Varney in the
maternal line. The mother of these children died
in middle life, being long survived by her honored
husband. Alpheus Varney was born February, 1798, ,
and was a mere boy at the time of his father's
removal from Maine to Vermont, his early edu
cational discipline being secured in the common
schools of Ferrisburg and the other towns in
which the family resided, while he early began a
practical apprenticeship at the blacksmith's trade
under the able and discriminating direction of
his father, with whom he finally became actively
associated in business in Charlotte, as has already
been noted. He became an expert artisan, hav
ing marked mechanical talent, and was endowed
with those receptive and assimilative powers
which enabled him to gain a wide fund of knowl
edge and to develop his naturally vigorous in
tellect. He was a man of distinct individual
ity and firm convictions and his influence in the
community was ever exercised in the right direc
tion, since he demanded the approval of both
judgment and conscience for every thought, word
and deed, his integrity being absolutely an im
pregnable fortress. He continued to follow his
trade for a long term of years and also became
successfully identified with agriculture in Char
lotte, which was his home from the age of ten
years until his death, which occurred when he
was seventy-five years of age. At the time he
was known and honored as one of the oldest resi
dents of the town and as one upon whose life
record there had never rested a shadow of wrong
or suspicion of evil.
Alpheus Varney married Miss Phila Palmer,
who was born in Ferrisburg, Vermont, the
daughter of Joseph Palmer, who was one of the
prominent and successful farmers of this county
and who died in the state of Ohio at the patriar
chal age of ninety-four years. He married Electa
Waite, who died at the age of fifty years, while
all of their children are now deceased. Joseph
Palmer eventually consummated a second mar
riage, and of the children of this union two are
living at the present time. Alpheus and Phila

442

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

(Palmer) Varney became the parents of six chil
dren, of whom three lived to attain years of ma
turity, namely: Electa P., who is the widow of
Alichael Harney and now resides in Monkton,
Vermont; George W., who is a resident of Lin
coln ; and Dr. William H. H. The father held
to the faith of the Universalist church, while his
devoted wife, who was a member of the Society
of Friends, continued her affiliation with that
simple and noble sect until her death, at the age
of four-score years. The following tribute to
the memory of Air. Varney is from the pen of
one who grew up and passed his active life in
Charlotte. "He was one of the remarkable men,
who, though living in a very humble relation, will
leave a vacancy not easily filled. He inherited
from his father an unusual share of mechanical
skill, which he kept in constant exercise during
his active life. He had a shrewd and practical
sagacity which qualified him eminently to seize
and appropriate new and useful ideas, and made
him, according to the testimony of one of his
life-long neighbors, not only unequalled as a me
chanic, but excelled by few or perhaps none in
his town as a successful farmer. He was a
staunch supporter of the political principles which
resulted in the overthrow of slavery and the
growth of the Republican party, and was in sym
pathy with the Society of Friends, of which his
wife was a member, and in which he was edu
cated. He had been for forty years clerk of his
school district."
Dr. William H. H. Varney was reared in
Charlotte, securing his preliminary education in
the public schools and later becoming a student
in Barre Academy under Benjamin Allen,
the noted teacher of Vergennes, where he fully
availed himself of the excellent opportunities af
forded. In the meanwhile, as was to be expected
of a vouth of such marked self-reliance and dis
tinctive mentality, he had formulated his plans
for a future life work, having determined to pre
pare himself for the practice of the beneficent
profession to which he has devoted so many years
of his life and in which he has attained so grati
fying success. He began his work of technical
preparation bv taking up the study of medicine
in his native town, later going to Burlington with
Dr. J. C. Greene, where he continued his studies
through two courses of lectures at the medical

department of the University of Vermont and
matriculated in the Berkshire Medical College, at
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he completed the
prescribed course, being graduated as a member
of the class of 1862, and coming forth fully forti
fied for the active duties of his chosen profession.
He established an office in his native town in
1863, shortly after his graduation and the receiv
ing his degree of Doctor of Medicine, and here
he has ever since continued his work, with
marked self-abnegation and unwavering fidelity,
while during all these long years, within which
such notable advancement has been made in the
science of medicine and surgery, in the use of
therapeutic agents, in methods and systems of
treatment, the Doctor has kept fully abreast of the
march of progress, being a close student of the
best standard and periodical literature of his pro
fession and also gaining a most valuable fund of
exact information through his own investigation
and the duties of his professional work. His
practice has been of representative order and he
holds prestige as one of the ablest and most hon
ored members of his profession in Chittenden
county, while he has otherwise attained marked
precedence as a representative citizen, having
been prominently concerned in public affairs and
having been honored with offices of distictive.
trust and responsibility. Dr. Varney is one of
the acknowledged leaders in the Chittenden coun
ty contingent of the Republican party, of whose
principles and policies he has been an uncompro
mising advocate from the time of attaining his
legal majority, and he has for many years served
as delegate to the various town, district, county
and state conventions of the party. In 1872 he
was elected superintendent of schools in Char
lotte, and that his administration of the affairs
of the same met with strongest popular endorse
ment is evident when we recur to the fact that
he continued as the consecutive incumbent of
this position from that date until 1899, with the
exception of an interim of five years. In 1888
he was elected as a representative of Charlotte in
the state legislature, proving a valuable
working member of the house and be
ing assigned to the committee on insane.
Further recognition of his eligibility and
of his hold upon popular esteem and con
fidence was given in the fall election of 1900,

hibliBhinq Co.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

443

when he was elected to the senate, serving two
years, and was chairman of the committee on in
sane and a member of those on education, pub
lic health and libraries, and also holding member
ship on a number of other important committees.
He has rendered in his home town signal and
valuable service as health officer and school di
rector, and has always manifested a lively and
helpful interest in all that has conserved the gen
eral welfare of the community with whose varied
interests he has been so long and intimately- iden
tified. The Doctor is a prominent member of the
Chittenden County Medical Society and the Chit
tenden County and Burlington Clinical Clubs. In
1865 Dr. Varney became an entered apprentice
in Friendship Lodge, No. 24, Ancient Free and
Accepted Alasons, at Charlotte,, and he has con
tinued one of the appreciative and active members
of this time-honored organization up to the pres
ent time, having passed the various official chairs
in his lodge, of which he served as worshipful
master for a period of four years. He is also a
member of Burlington Chapter, No. 3, Royal
Arch Masons.
On the 3d of March, 1863, Dr. Varney was
married to Miss Augusta C. Ball, who was born
July 3, 1840, in Ferrisburg, the daughter of Da
vid Ball, who was likewise a native of that town,
where he passed nearly his entire life, having
been one of the prominent and successful farmers
of the county. He died in 1865, at the age of
fifty-six years, and his wife, whose maiden name
was Eliza Smith, passed away, near the close of
her eighty-sixth year. They became the parents
of six children, and of this number Mrs. Var
ney is the only survivor. Dr. and Mrs. Varney
became the parents of four children, namely:
Minetta A., who became the wife of Simeon N.
Putnam, and who died on the 28th of December,
1901, leaving one son, Henry N., now living with
Dr. Varney; Charles A., who died before reach
ing his second year ; Anna E., who is the wife of
Dr. Frank A. Rich, a prominent veterinary sur
geon of Burlington, and they have three children,
Ethel I., Robert and Lucy A.; and May P. is
now a student in the Clarkson School of Technol
ogy, at Potsdam, New York, where she is com
pleting a course in domestic science, being a mem
ber of the class of 1903. Carrie L. and Benjamin
Grover Cleveland, orphans, have had a home with

Dr. and Mrs. Varney during the past seven years.
The family home is one of the attractive places of
the county and is a center of gracious and refined
hospitality, being a favorite rendezvous of the
wide circle of friends whom the Doctor and his
family- have gathered about them, ever taking an
active part in the social affairs of the community.
LEWIS BARTLETT CROSS.
Lewis Bartlett Cross, of Montpelier, is act
ively identified with its manufacturing and mer
cantile interests as proprietor of one of the largest
and best known cracker and confectionery estab
lishments in Vermont. A son of Charles Harri
son Cross, he was born in Montpelier August 9,
1839. He is of English ancestors, being a de
scendant in the fifth generation from Thomas
Cross (1), who emigrated from Ipswich, Eng
land, in colonial times, and settled in Salisbury,
Massachusetts. His son, Stephen Cross (2),
married Peggy Bowen, and settled permanently in
Salisbury, Massachusetts, where their twelve
children were born. Of this ^large family, all
were living when the youngest child was forty
years old.
Stephen Cross (3), the grandfather of Lewis
Bartlett. was born in Salisbury, Massachusetts, in
1783. Having had the misfortune to break his
leg when about seventeen years old, incapacitating
him for active labor, he learned the tailor's trade,
which he followed first with Winthrop Durgin,
then in Canterbury, New Hampshire, where he
remained until 181 1. Removing then to San-
bornton, now Tilton, New Hampshire, he contin
ued at his trade in that locality Until his death,
April 30, 1841. On June 23, 1799, he married
Sally Durgin, daughter of Winthrop Durgin,
with whom he was associated for several years.
She survived him, dying August 20, 1867, in the
eighty-fifth year of her age. Of their children,
Charles Harrison was the next in line of descent.
Charles Harrison Cross (4) was born in Til-
ton, New Hampshire, February 12, 1812, and was
reared and educated in New Hampshire, living
there until eighteen years old. Coming to Mont
pelier, Vermont, he served an apprenticeship of
three years at the baker's trade, then located in
Concord, New Hampshire, where he embarked in
business with a Mr. Hoyt, but was unfortunate in

444

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

his venture, losing his entire capital. He subse
quently followed his trade for awhile in Burling
ton, Vermont, then returned to Montpelier, and
joined a surveying party that was going west.
In 1837 he settled in Montpelier, purchasing the
business established in 1828, becoming- junior
member of the firm of Timothy Cross & Com
pany, bakers. He subsequently bought out his
partner and conducted the business alone until
January, 1863, when he took his son Lewis Bart
lett Cross into partnership, and under the firm
name of C. H. Cross & Son continued in the bak
ery until his retirement from active business, in
1897. He always took a keen interest in the wel
fare of the town in which he resided, serving in
the various town and village offices in Montpelier,
and was a prominent member of the Methodist
Episcopal church, and a trustee of the Montpelier
Seminary. On Alarch 15, 1835, he married Caroline
Webster Houston, who was born in En
field, New Hampshire, February 12, 181 2,
and died in Alontpelier, May 22, 1893.
She was a daughter of John Houston,
Jr., and granddaughter of John Hous
ton, Sr., who had two brothers, James and Sam
uel Houston, the latter of whom was father of
Samuel Houston, who was the first governor of
Texas and otherwise prominent 111 the early his
tory of that state. John Houston, Jr., married
Polly Webster, daughter of Thomas and Poily
(Goodhue) AA'ebster, and niece of Ebenezer
AArebster, the father of Daniel AVebster. Thomas
Webster settled in New Hampshire in 1736. He
was a soldier in the Revolution, enlisting as a
private, June 29, 1775, and serving one month
and five days. He re-enlisted in Captain Joseph
Norris's company, Fourth Regiment, with which
he served until mustered out, February 13, 1777.
Of the union of Charles H. and Caroline W.
(Houston) Cross five children were born, as fol
lows : George Henry, born February 6, 1836,
married, December 24, 1862, Ellen M. Matthews,
of Fort Covington, New York, and they had three
children, Charles, born in 1864, who died in in
fancy; Jennie Parthenia, born July 5, 1870; and
Flarry AL, born November 26, 1880. Mary
Parthenia, born June 2, 1838, died in 1844. Lewis
Bartlett is further mentioned below. Oscar
Newell, born January 10, 1841, married Isabelle

Richardson, of Alontpelier, who died May 10,
1903, by whom he has one child, Harriet Julia,
borrt in 1877. Harriet Alaria, born June 14,
1844, died in July, 1845.
Lewis Bartlett Cross acquired his early edu
cation in the public schools of Montpelier, subse
quently continuing his studies for one term each
at Fort Edward Institute and Newbury Seminary.
In 1858 he began to learn the baker's trade with
his father, remaining until 1861, when he prompt
ly responded to President Lincoln's first call for
troops, being the second to place his name on the
roll of Colonel Randall's recruiting papers, who
received his commission from Governor Fair
banks, and recruited a full company in Mont
pelier in one day, the Colonel's name being the
first on the roll of enlistment. Sickness, how
ever, prevented Air. Cross from being mustered
in, but he was afterwards appointed sutler of the
Third A^ermont Volunteer Infantry, by Colonel
B. N. Hyde, and served for one year. In Janu
ary, 1863, as mentioned above, he became associ
ated in business with his father under the firm
name of C. H. Cross & Son, with whom he was
connected for thirty-five years, carrying on in the
meantime one of the largest and most successful
bakery and confectionery establishments in the
state, manufacturing a superior line of candies
and a large variety of crackers, the "Montpelier
Cracker" becoming especially noted. Since the
retirement of the senior member of the firm, Mr.
Cross has conducted the business alone, meet
ing with the same eminent success as before.
Politically Mr. Cross is one of the foremost
members of the Republican party, which he has
ably served in many capacities, being a member of
the district committee of the first district for
twenty-four years, serving the second district in
the same office after the redistricting of the state.
He has attended every state convention of his
party since 1864, being a delegate to many of
them, and was a delegate to the national conven
tion in Chicago in 1880 that nominated General
Garfield for the presidency, to the National
League convention at Baltimore in 1889, and to
the one held in Milwaukee in 1896. In the latter
year he was presidential elector at large, and the
messenger that carried the electoral vote to Wash
ington in January, 1897. He has filled many
village, municipal, town and state offices ; in 1890

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

445

being a representative to the state legislature, in
which he served on the ways and means commit
tee, and on the committee on banks. He is one
of the trustees of the Montpelier Savings Bank
and Trust Company, of which he is also vice
president; a trustee and the treasurer of the
Heaton Flospital ; a trustee and vice-president of
the AVood Art Gallery ; a commissioner of Green
Mount cemetery: and a member of the Apollo
Club, and Country Club of Montpelier. Fra
ternally Mr. Cross is a member of Aurora Lodge,
F. & A. M. ; of King Solomon Chapter, R. A. M. ;
of Alount Zion Commandery, K. T. ; and of
Mount Sinai Temple of the Ancient Arabic Order
of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a
member of the Vermont Society of the Sons of
the American Revolution.
On December 25, 1862, Mr. Cross married
Lucia A. Chaplin, of AVells River, Vermont, a
daughter of Matthew and Lorinda (Howe) Chap
lin. Two children have been born to them :
Carrie, who lives at home ; and Charles H. Cross.
Charles H. Cross began his business in Bos
ton, Massachusetts, being for seven years con
nected with the Boston Safe Deposit & Trust
Company-. In September, 1893, he,, with two
others, organized the Regal Shoe Company, one
of the best known organizations of the kind in
New England, having its factory in Whitman,
Massachusetts, with fifty-three stores in different
cities of the Union. He married, November 11,
1895, Aliss Florence Clark, of North" Cambridge,
Alassachusetts..
HORACE HOXIE DYER.
Horace Hoxie Dyer is considered by many
to be the most affluent and influential farmer in
Rutland county, Vermont, and is certainly one
of its most worthy citizens. He comes from a
long line of distinguished ancestors, and, although
he is now almost an octogenarian and has led a
remarkably busy life, is far from being worn out,
but is still vigorous in mind and body, and is
actively engaged in looking after his numerous
investments and domestic affairs.
The founder of the Dyer family in America
was William Dyer, who was born in London,
England, and emigrated to America, locating in
Boston, Massachusetts. He subsequently re

moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where he died
in 1677. His wife Mary, a Quakeress, was
hanged for "conscience sake" on Boston Com
mon, January 1, 1660, choosing to die rather than
abandon her faith. On March 15, 1637, he, with
other residents of Boston, signed a remonstrance
affirming the innocence of Mr. Wheelwright and
that the court had condemned the truth of Christ,
for which, November 17, 1637, he was disfran
chised. April 28, 1637, William Dyer, with eight
others, signed a compact preparatory to the set
tlement of Newport, he being the town clerk. In
company with eighteen others, he, as clerk, signed
the compact to incorporate themselves into a
"Bodie Politick," in Portsmouth, Rhode Island,
Alarch 7, 1638; and, June 5, 1639, he and three
others apportioned the lands, having recorded to
his name, March 10, 1640, eighty-seven acres.
William Dyer was secretary of the town of
Portsmouth from 1640 to 1647; in 1648 he was
general recorder; from 1650 to 1653 he was at
torney general of Rhode Island. On the eight
eenth day of May, 1653, he received a commis
sion from the assembly to act against the Dutch,
he being at that time commander in chief of the
seas. He was also commissioner from 1661 to
1662; a deputy from 1664 to 1666; a general
solicitor from 1665 to 1668; and secretary, of
council in 1669. Dyer's Islancf, which he owned,
was named for him by Governor Coddington and
others. William Dyer was sent to England on
important missions by the colonies, and many
times was a conferee of Roger Williams. His
son Samuel Dyer was the next in line of descent.
Samuel Dyer was born in Boston, Massachu
setts, December 20, 1635, and died in Kingston,
Rhode Island, in 1678. His wife was, before
marriage, Ann Hutchinson, who was born No
vember 17, 1643, an<i died January 10, 1717.
Their son Edward Dyer was the next in line and
was the great-great-grandfather of Horace Hoxie
Dyer. Edward Dyer was born in Newport, Rhode
Island, in 1670, but subsequently settled in Kings
ton, Rhode Island, where his son Samuel was
born in 1702. Samuel Dyer moved to West Green
wich, Rhode Island, where he died ; on February
24, 1725, he married Tabitha Niles, of East
Greenwich, Rhode Island, and their son George
was next in line of descent.

446

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

George Dyer, the grandfather of Horace
Hoxie Dyer, was born in West Greenwich, Rhode
Island, December 26, 1736, and died in Rutland,
Vermont, January 8, 18 17, past eighty-one years
of age ; he wedded Ann Nichols, a daughter of
Hon. Joseph Nichols, and Abigail Spinck, his
wife, of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, Mr.
Nichols being a prominent man in public affairs.
Mr. and Airs. Dyer were married on Christmas
day, 1760, and their union was prolific of ten chil
dren, seven sons and three daughters, of whom
Edward, Horace H. Dyer's father, was the sixth
son. The beloved mother died with her eleventh
infant in 1780, at the age of forty years. Some
years after her death George Dyer married for his
second wife Amey Wait, who died in 181 2.
Edward Dyer was born in West Greenwich,
Rhode Island, June 23, 1774. He was twice mar
ried. His first wife was Sally Bowman, of Clar
endon, Vermont. Their marriage was celebrated
November 1, 1798. Mrs. Dyer left her earthly
home August 1, 1816, leaving nine of her ten
children to mourn her demise. Her tenth child,
an infant, was buried with her. Of her children
only one is now living, Airs. Alason Hulett, re
siding in Salisbury, Vermont, a most sprightly
and well preserved lady for her years, both physic
ally and mentally. Edward Dyer was again mar
ried, January 7, 1818, to Hannah Hoxie, of Mil
ton, who was born April 10, 1788, a daughter of
Gideon Hoxie, who was the town clerk of Milton
for over forty years. Gideon Hoxie, who was
one of the pioneer settlers of Milton, Vermont,
and had the distinction of taking the first wagon
to that village, was a son of Stephen Hoxie, of
Charlestown, Rhode Island, who belonged to an
old Quaker family.
Mrs. Dyer still has her diaries, written in 1812,
when she was but a young lady, and they contain
many interesting reminiscences. She was a
woman of strong individuality and character, and
possessed a remarkably good memory, coupled
with plenty of good common sense. She bore
her husband four children, of whom two lived to
maturity, namely: Horace Hoxie, the subject of
this sketch ; and Sarah Bowman, wife of Zenas
C. Ellis. Airs. Ellis was born in 1821 and died
July 7, 1876, leaving four sons, namely: George
W., an able lawyer of New York city ; Edward,
M. D., a prominent physician of Poultney, Ver

mont, who has a family ; Horace B., of Castleton,
Vermont, a prominent hotel-keeper; and Zenas
H., who is a farmer on the old homestead and is
also a prominent banker and business man, is a
fine scholar and has been a life-long student, and
is a noted linguist. Edward Dyer, father of
Horace Hoxie Dyer, owned at one time some
eight hundred acres of land in Rutland county,
which he acquired by small purchases. His .first
purchase was made in 1794, when he bought, one
hundred and forty acres. He did not inherit
wealth, but earned and made his fine property.
He died May 12, 1854; the mother died Febru
ary 17, 1869.
Nathaniel Dyer, a great-uncle of Horace
Hoxie Dyer, rendered valuable service to our
country during the Revolutionary war, and his
father's large estate and home was a place of
rendezvous throughout the war. Reunions often
occurred there. General Nathaniel Greene was
a cousin of Nathaniel Dyer.
Horace Hoxie Dyer was born on the same
farm and in the same house in which he now re
sides, two miles south of the city of Rutland,
April 2, 1820. He received his primary educa
tion in the district schools. At the age of ten
years he went to a private school taught by Rev.
Hadley Proctor and later attended the Brandon
school, when Rev. Proctor was principal. At the
age of sixteen years he returned home, where
he has since resided, with the exception of four
months during the winter of his eighteenth year,
when he taught in Fairhaven. His father need
ing him, he discontinued teaching, for there was
much to do at home, business demanding the at
tention of his father elsewhere.
On the 15th of February, 1866, Horace Hoxie
Dyer wedded Abigail Jane Hitchcock, of Clar
endon, Vermont. She is a daughter of Henry
and Hannah Lucy (Hulett) Hitchcock. Mr.
and Mrs. Dyer have only One child, a son, Horace
Edward, who with his wife and two daughters
resides in Rutland. He was a captain of Com
pany A, First Vermont Atolunteer Infantry, in
the late Spanish-American war, and upon be
ing mustered out of United States service was
commissioned major of the First Infantry, Ver
mont National Guards. He graduated from the
University of Vermont in 1893.
Mr. and Mrs. Dyer have spent their wedded

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

¦447

life at the pleasant home made sacred by its asso
ciations, having been built by his-father in 1810.
Mr. Dyer is a Republican and 'has served the peo
ple of Rutland as selectman for seven years, and
in other town offices. In 1878 he was elected to
the Vermont senate without any solicitation -on
his part and without spending either his time or
his money. He was president of the - Rut
land County Agricultural Society for three
consecutive years ; j ustice of the peace
from 1843 t0 1870, or later, when Henry
Hayward was chosen as his successor at
Mr. Dyer's urgent request ; he was in
the state militia from the time he attained the age
of eighteen years, and was captain of the Rut
land company for many years. He is vice-presi
dent of the Killington National Bank, of which
he was one of the organizers, and is a trustee of
the Rutland Trust Company, of which he was
vice-president for several years. '
Henry Hitchcock, father-in-law of Mr. Dyer,
was for many years a merchant in Rutland, later
engaged in the village of Clarendon, Vermont,
and still later turned his attention to farming
and the manufacture of marble, owning a quarry
and also a mill. He was born August 22, 1805,
in Pittsford, Arermont, and died August 27, 187 1,
in Rutland. His wife was born July 4, 1817, and
died January 28, 1893. They reared only two
of their five children, viz: Airs. Dyer; and her
maiden sister, Louise Amelia Hitchcock.
Rev. Palmer Dyer, brother of Horace Hixie
Dyer, was educated in Union College at Sche
nectady, New York. His first charge was Gran
ville, New York, about 1823 ; his next charge was
at Syracuse, and in 1824 he Went on a missionary
trip to Illinois. After a long and tedious journey,
he reached Chicago, Illinois, then a swamp hole.
AVhile an Episcopalian missionary in Chicago, he
administered, the first Episcopalian communion
service in that city, in a Congregational church
upon the invitation of the pastor, who also par
took of the sacrament. In Chicago he purchased
an Indian pony- which he rode to Peoria, where
he established a mission, also establishing mis
sions in different parts of Illinois and Michigan.
He was the editor of the Episcopal Watchman,
published in Hartford, Connecticut. He was
drowned at Ausable Chasm, near Lake Cham
plain in August, 1844. Rev. Mr. Dyer was a

gifted writer and seemed to be inspired of God—
the following poem from his pen seeming pro
phetic of his early and tragic death.
life's voyage.
"It is I, be not afraid." — Mat. XIV, 27.
As towards yon bright and blissful shore,
Floats my frail, trembling barque along,
Let tempests rage, let billows roar,
They cannot drown my joyous song,
They cannot hush my voice of prayer,
Nor fill my trusting heart with dread ;
For God is with me everywhere,
To cover my defenseless head.
As once He bade the waves be still,
When loved ones sailed on Galilee,
AVith gentle gales their canvas filled,
And sped them safely o'er the sea ;
So now amid the angry waves,
Behold ! He comes to rescue me ;
I fear not that in Ocean's caves
My lonely sepulchre may be.
I see Him when the lightning's flash
In awful grandeur round me flies,
I hear Him when the thunder's crash
Rolls deep athwart the darkened skies ;
O then His smile, and then His voice,-
As in the mildest breeze of even,
Both bid my fearless heart rejoice,
AVhile wafted on my course to Heaven.
AIRS. JULIA E. S. ALLEN.
Many years have passed since the Smith
family became identified with Addison county,
arid its various members have shown intelligence
and worth. Julia E. S. Allen was born in the
house in which she still resides, and is a daughter
of David Smith, who was born in Leicester,
Vermont, July 26, 1813, and a granddaughter of
Abiel and Lydit (Hendee) Smith. The grand
father was born on the 27th of February, 1773,
and for many years was a farmer of Leicester,
this state, where his death occurred June 30, 1838.
His wife was a daughter of Caleb and Caroline
(Ellsworth) Hendee and a sister of the late

448

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Genera! Hendee, of Pittsford, Vermont, whose
writings are well known. Lydia (Hendee)
Smith was called to her final rest on the 7th of
February, 1862, at the good old age of eighty-
four years, her birth having occurred on the 5th
of April, 1778. On the 17th of November, 1799,
in Pittsford, this state, she gave her hand in mar
riage to Abiel Smith, and for many years they
traveled the journey of life together.
David Smith was reared and received his
education in Leicester and Pittsford, A^ermont,
and after leaving the school room as a pupil he
again entered it as an instructor, following that
occupation in both his native town and in Bran
don. Subsequently he entered the watch and
clock business, in which interest he traveled
through Canada. After returning to the Green
Mountain state he married Miss Sarah Barnum,
and they lived with her parents in the residence
now occupied by his daughter in Ferrisburg. He
then turned his attention to farming, operating
three hundred acres of land, and in addition to his
agricultural labors he also served as a director
in the Bank of Vergennes, of which he was vice-
president for a number of years, and was also
connected with the A^ermont Granite Company.
He embraced the faith of the Methodist church,
which he liberally supported, and was a staunch
Republican in political1 principle. Straightfor
ward in all his business dealings, loyal to his
duties of citizenship, he commanded the respect
and confidence of his fellow men, and by his death
the community lost one of its valued citizens. He
passed away May 10, 1889.
On the 30th of May, 1850, David Smith was
united in marriage to Sarah Barnum, a
native daughter of Ferrisburg. When but a
child she was taken to the home where Mrs.
Allen was born. Her father, Heman Barnum,
came to this state from Connecticut. A public-
spirited and useful citizen, he was always anxious
to promote the general welfare, and was prosper
ous in his private undertakings. He was a
farmer and brick-mason by occupation, and man
ufactured the brick used in the present Ferris
burg town house. His wife bore the maiden
name of Lydia Rogers, and was born in Danby,
Vermont, of Quaker parents. Her death oc
curred at the age of ninety-five years. Mr. and
Airs. Smith became the parents of two children :

Julia Ella, whose name heads this review; and
Josepha Barnum, the wife of Charles A. Chap
man, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere
in this work. The mother of these children died
at the age of seventy-two years, passing away
January- 22, 1900.
On the 2d of April, 1901, our subject gave
her hand in marriage to Henry E. Allen, who was
born in New Haven, Vermont. He is a son of
Ephron Allen, of Ferrisburg.
GEORGE CARPENTER AVERILL.
George C. Averill, of Brattleboro, Vermont,
president of the Arermont National Bank, has for
the past seventeen years been one of the leading
citizens and most able financiers of this city. As
a representative of two old and highly respected
English families, the Carpenters and the Averills,
his mental qualities and administrative capacity
are undoubtedly to a large degree inherent. The
Averills at an early date came to Boston, and
later settled in New Hartford, Connecticut,
where many of the name still reside. The Car
penters are of Mayflower fame, and were among
the founders of the Massachusetts colony. David
N. Carpenter, the maternal grandfather of
George C, was a notable citizen of Greenfield,
Massachusetts. While in Greenfield he served
very acceptably as postmaster for several terms,
and ran on the Democratic ticket for lieutenant
governor. Mr. Carpenter left a large family of
children. A son of his, who was an uncle of
George C, was the distinguished Admiral C. C.
Carpenter of the navy.
James Averill, father of George C, was an
able Congregationalist minister, born and reared
in Connecticut. He secured his early education
in the excellent schools of that state, supplement
ing this by a course in Amherst College and
finishing at Yale. After graduating from the
divinity school of the last named institution he
began preaching in the Congregational church at
Thomaston, Connecticut, where, giving excellent
satisfaction, he remained some time. Having
made an admirable record for himself, when the
Civil war broke out he was appointed chaplain
of the Twenty-fourth Regiment of Connecticut
Volunteer Infantry. In this capacity he served

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

449

his country well, and died in the service. In his
young manhood he married Sylvira A. Carpenter,
and they had two children, George C, who is
mentioned below, and Mary A., who never mar
ried and is now a teacher in the high school at
Springfield, Massachusetts.
George C. Averill was born in Thomaston,
Connecticut, October 28, 1857. Later he removed
to Greenfield, Massachusetts, and in the schools
of that place secured a good education. At the
age of sixteen he was prepared to leave school
and take a position which was offered him in the
First National Bank at Greenfield. Discharging
his duties with marked credit, he remained here
until he was twenty-five years old. Then, in 1880,
he was made teller of the First National Bank of
Northampton. Five years later, in 1885, he came
to Brattleboro to fill the position of teller in the
A'ermont National Bank, where, winning the con
fidence of the stockholders and depositors, he has
since remained, and from time to time has re
ceived merited promotion. In 1886 he was made
cashier, and served in that capacity until 1897,
when, upon the death of George S. Dowley, he
was elected president. Though Mr. Averill has
never neglected his main line of business, he has,
nevertheless, other large interests, being a di
rector in the Brattleboro Gas and Electric Light
Company and incorporator of both local savings
banks. Mr. Averill married Nellie E. Chubbuck, of
Boston, and they have two children, Alargaret
C, at Holyoke College, and Richard C, a student
in the high school. Besides attending to his vari
ous lines of business Mr. Averill has always found
time for the performance of public and social du
ties. He is now treasurer both of his school dis
trict and of Windham county. Fraternally he is
a member of Brattleboro Lodge, No. 102, F. &
A. M., and the Independent Order of Odd Fel
lows. Keenly interested in religious and charit
able work, he is an active member of the Young
Men's Christian Association, and treasurer for
the Home for the Aged and Disabled, also of the
Thompson Hospital, besides having charge of
several estates and trust funds. In politics he
has always been a Republican. Mr. Averill is a
member of the Congregational church, of which
he served for a time as treasurer and as a member
of its board of trustees.
29

DANIEL O. GILL.
Daniel O. Gill, deceased, of Springfield, Ver
mont, who for many years was prominently identi
fied with the business interests of that city, being
repeatedly called to positions of honor and trust,
was the descendant of that Daniel Gill who was
the founder of the family of that name in that
neighborhood. The pioneer Daniel Gill came to
Springfield from Rhode Island about the year
1770. In a prior year the original proprietors
of the Springfield tract, at a meeting held in
1763, by their vote agreed to convey twenty acres
of land to such person or persons as should es
tablish a mill and maintain it in good repair for
fifteen years, also agreeing to provide "a set of
irons" for said mill. This right had been secured
by Simon Stevens and Page Harriman, who, by
deed dated February 8, 1771, transferred it to
Daniel Gill. The mill tract was located at the
lower falls on Black river, near the present site
of AV. H. H. Slack & Brother's electric light
plant. Mr. Gill expended considerable labor and
means in rock-blasting and excavating, but his
enterprise was finally defeated. The mill tract
was claimed by Richard Morris, who asserted a
grant to the same as made to him from the prov
ince of New York, and who rejected all over
tures made by Mr. Gill for a settlement of the
difficulty. He gave himself to agricultural pur
suits, and accumulated considerable property, and
he was also called into prominence in public
affairs. He was elected to the legislature in 1784,
and again in 1792. In the latter year one hundred
and ninety-five inhabitants of Springfield memo
rialized himself and Captain Abner Bisbee, by
petition dated October 19, to act as their agents,
selecting homestead lands for them in L;pper
Canada, in response to a proclamation issued by
John G. Simcoe, governor of that province. The
mission was accepted and was faithfully fulfilled,
but Air. Gill was taken ill while- returning home,
and died at Sing Sing, New York, December
7,1793. He married Mercy Whitford, a native
of Exeter. Rhode Island. Their grandson Charles
was a farmer by occupation, in Hartland, Ver
mont, where he died at the venerable age of
ninety years, and his wife, who was Sophia
Healey, lived to the age of nearly eighty years.

45o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

They were the parents of three sons, of whom
two are now living, Frank and Henry, who are
dentists by profession and reside in Rockford,
Illinois. Daniel Oscar Gill, son of Charles and Sophia
(Healey) Gill, was born in Hartland, Vermont,
August 15, 1837. When he was three years old
he was adopted by his uncle, Daniel A. Gill, and
received his education in the public schools and
in Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden, New
Hampshire. He was a farmer throughout his
life, and accumulated a large amount of valuable
agricultural property, and was the largest
land owner in the town. He also transacted
a large business in sheep and wool, in
association with John R. Gill, and made
numerous marketing trips to the west.
In 1888 he took up his residerice in Spring
field, still maintaining supervision of his three
fine farms and other interests, including that in
the Jones & Lamson Machine Company, in which
he was a stockholder and director. He was a man
of excellent judgment and business sagacity, and
was frequently called upon to settle estates and
to act in the capacity of guardian and conserv
ator. Held in the highest confidence by the peo
ple, he was called to occupy responsible public
positions during nearly all his mature life. For
a quarter of a century he served as a justice of
the peace. He was also school director for sev
eral years ; was a member of the board of select
men from 1876 to 1878, and was its chairman in
1889, 1891, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897, and during
this period he had the town hall repaired and
modernized. In 1886-87 he represented the town
in the legislature, and performed efficient service
as a member of the committee on railroads. His
political affiliations were with the Republican
party, and he was a member of the Springfield
Grange, Patrons of Husbanry.
Air. Gill was married January 27, 1864, to
Miss Flelen C, daughter of Captain John and
Elizabeth (Clough) AA'estgate, of Plainfield,
New Hampshire, and who died within two years
after their marriage. He contracted a second
marriage, December 14, 1868, with Miss Jennie
L., daughter of the Rev. George D. and Fanny
(White) Butterfield. She was born in Randolph,
Vermont, and was educated in Iowa, graduating
from the high school in Monticello. She was

a teacher for one year, and she married at the age
of eighteen years. Her father was born in West
moreland, New Hampshire, was educated in the
public schools, and graduated from the Theolog
ical School in Aliddlebury, Vermont. He was
ordained in the Congregational church, and was
pastor in Randolph and elsewhere in Vermont,
and afterwards in Monticello, Iowa, where he
died at the age of sixty-three years. His wife
was born in the same village as was her husband,
and was a daughter of the Rev. Broughton White,
who was a Congregational minister. Seven chil
dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Butterfield, of
whom five are now living : Mrs. George A. Gill,
of Monticello, Iowa ; George, a dealer in agricul
tural implements in Humboldt, Nebraska, Albert,
a farmer, at York, Nebraska ; Jennie L., who be
came the wife of D. O. Gill ; and William F.,
who resides in California. The mother of these
children died at the age of sixty-three years.
Two children were born to Daniel O. and
Jennie L. (Butterfield) Gill, Frank D. and Fred
Butterfield Gill. Frank, born September 30,
1873, has been engaged in the clothing business
in Springfield, Vermont, and resides on the Gill
homestead on the Connecticut river ; he was mar
ried October 2, 1894, to Miss Lutie Alerritt,
daughter of George and Alary (Rice) (Damon)
Merritt, of Springfield, and of this marriage one
son was born, Daniel Merritt, who died at the
age of three years. Fred B. Gill, born April 2,
1881, is now studying law.
Mr. Gill passed away May 7, 1901. His
active mentality was preserved to the last, and he
prepared for death with the same serenity of
spirit that marked him throughout his career.
After giving minute direction as to business con
cerns, he remarked to a friend: "I have but a
few more days to stay. I hate to leave my friends,
but I cannot think of a man I ever intentionally
wronged. I cannot think of a man who ever
came to me in trouble, that I did not help if I
could. So I am not fearful of the future." As
was expressed by a local newspaper in comment
ing upon his life and death, he possessed those
qualities that made him one of the gentlest and
most generous of men. Those who knew him
as a husband and father, those in want who had
never known him to withstay his hand, all deeply
felt that in the life of this large-hearted, generous

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

45i

man, he, as was beautifully said of another,
"added to the sum of human joy, and if each
one to whom he did some loving service were to
bring a blossom to his grave, he would sleep be
neath a wilderness of flowers.'
Mr. Gill is survived by his widow, a lady of
excellent education and fine intellectual quali
ties, and who has endeared herself to the com
munity by her many benefactions, performed so
modestly that they go unheralded except by the
recipients of her bounty.
JOSEPH LOUIS ST. PETERS.
The honored subject of this memoir has for
a long period been closly identified with the busi
ness interests of Addison county, being one of its
most prominent and influential merchants. He
was born in Charlotte, Vermont, on the 12th of
May, 1850. His father, Mathew D. St. Peters,
is a native of Quebec, and in 1833, he took up his
abode in Charlotte, Vermont, where he has since
engaged in agricultural pursuits, being the owner
of a tract of seventy acres. He has reached the
venerable age of eighty-six years, and is the old
est man in Charlotte. The mother of our subject
bore the maiden name of Margaret Laramy, and
was born in Chazy, New York. This worthy
couple became the parents of five children, three
of whom still survive — John M., of Charlotte ;
Victoria F., the wife of John Welcome ; and
Joseph L., the subject of this review. The mother
of this family was called to her final rest in 1876,
at the age pf fifty-six years.
Joseph L. St. Peters received his early edu
cation in the public schools of Charlotte, and
later became a student in Williston Academy.
After completing his studies he entered the store
of C. W. Wicker, at North Ferrisburg, where for
eight years he served in the capacity of a clerk,
and during that long period he was only absent
frorii duty eight weeks. In 1877 he became the
owner of the business, conducting the same until
1892, and during that time, in 1889, he erected his
present store building. Failing health, however,
compelled him to put aside the active cares of
a business life, and in 1892 he returned to the
farm, where he lived in quiet retirement for the
succeeding nine years. At the end of that period
he entered into business relations with John J.

Sequin, and they are now the owners of the
leading mercantile establishment in Addison
county, acting under the title of J. L. St. Peters
& Compan}-. They occupy a commodious store
building twenty-five by sixty-one feet in dimen
sions, in which the carry a complete line of dry
goods, groceries, feeds and grains, and the honor
able business methods which they have followed
have secured for them an excellent patronage.
In 1885 Mr. St. Peters was united in marriage
to Mrs. Sarah A. Newell, who was born in North
Ferrisburg, arid is the daughter of Theodore D.
Lyman, who was for many years well known as
a woolen-mill operator, but is now deceased. He
was born in Northampton, Massachusetts, and
was a son of Jonathan Lyman, also a native of
the old Bay state. As early as 1812 the latter
came to Vermont, making his way hither by
rnarked trees, and his occupation was that of a
clothier. The son of Theodore was reared in
Ferrisburg, where he became a prominent woolen
manufaturer, and the excellent quality of goods
which he placed upon the market made his name
a familiar one in this section of the state. He
subsequently retired from active business pur
suits and went to the west, his death occurring
in South Troy, Minnesota, at the age of seventy-
three years. He was ever a loyal and patriotic
citizen, and on one occasion, while firing a salute
on the fourth of July, he suffered the loss of a
hand. For his wife Air. Lyman chose Betsy
Fuller, who was born in Connecticut, being a
daughter of Frederick Fuller, also a native of
that commonwealth, where he was engaged at
the blacksmith's trade. He subsequently came
to Charlotte, Vermont, and later located in Keese
ville, New York, where he died at the age of
eighty-five years. Mr. and Mrs. Lyman became
the parents of eight children — Charles H., Elias
A., Ellen M., Frederick F., Sarah A., Alaryette,
Theodore D. and Jonathan C. The second son
Elias A., served as a member of the Minnesota
troops in the Civil war. The mother of this
family was called to her final rest at the age of
seventy years.
Air. St. Peters is a stalwart supporter of Re
publican principles, but the honors or emoluments
of office have had little attraction for him, pre
ferring rather to give his entire time to his busi
ness interests. He is, however, at all times a

452

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

loyal and progressive citizen, and all who know
him have the highest admiration for his good
qualities of heart and mind.
ROBERT JAMES BOWLES.
Among those who have demonstrated the
maximum possibilities of the great basic art of
agricluture as a field of legitimate business enter
prise and who have shown that the employment of
discrimination, executive ability and scientific
methods will yield returns of no uncertain charac
ter, is the subject of this sketch, who is one of
the progressive and influential farmers of Wey
bridge, Addison county, Vermont, and one who
commands unequivocal confidence and regard in
the community.

ROBERT JAMES BOWLES AND FAMILY.
Mr. Bowles is a native of the old Empire state,
having been born in Keeseville, Essex county,
New York, on the 24th of August, 1847. His
father, James Bowles, was born in the city of
London, England, and came of staunch old Eng
lish lineage. He was reared in the great me
tropolis of the world, and became an expert and
scientic gardner through the effective training
and discipline he received in his native
land. In 1830, in company with his
wife, he emigrated to America, first lo
cating in the province of Quebec, Canada, where
he remained for a short time, after which he re
moved to Keeseville, New York, where he was
engaged in the work of his profession as a gar
dener for a number of years, attaining a high rep

utation in the line. His declining days were
passed in the home of his son, the subject of this
sketch, and he died at the venerable age of eighty-
seven years, his life having been one of signal
honor and usefulness. His wife, whose maiden
name was Sarah Johnston, was born in the city
of Belfast, Ireland, the daughter of Robert John
ston, of Scotch ancestry, who was a muslin
weaver by vocation, following this line of work
throughout his entire active business life, and
passing away at the age of sixty years, in Bel
fast. His wife, whose maiden name was Eleanor
Strickland, was likewise born in the Emerald
Isle, and she died at the age of eighty-nine years.
Their three children have also passed away.
James and Sarah (Johnston) Bowles became the
parents of seven children, of whom four are liv
ing at the present time, namely : Mary, the wife
of Alexander Dickey, of Middlebury, this county ;
Eliza, also a resident of that town ; Robert J.,
our subject; and Helen H., who also resides in
Middlebury. The mother passed away at the age
of eighty-nine years, having been a devoted mem
ber of the Presbyterian church, as was also her
husband, who became a member of a Masonic
lodge in London and who later took an active
part in the affairs of the fraternity after his re
moval to America.
Our subject was reared and educated in his
native town, there remaining until he had attained
the age of seventeen years, when he removed to
Cornwall, Vermont, but one year later, in 1864,
came to Weybridge, where he became associated
with Charles Tier in the purchase of a farm, in
whose operation they continued to be associated
for four years, after which Mr. Bowles disposed
of his interest in the property and was there
after engaged in farming on rented land until
1887. He then effected the purchase of his pres
ent fine farm, which comprises fifty-six acres and
which is devoted to diversified agriculture. He
has made the best of improvements on the prop
erty and by his judicious methods and indefatig
able industry he has attained a high degree of
success in his enterprise. He also operates a
farm of sixty-seven acres which is the property
of his son.
In 1870 Mr. Bowles was united in marriage
to Narcissa Ketch, who was born in Chazy, New
York, and who died at the age of thirty-five years,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

453

leaving two children, Dora, who resides in Am
herst, Massachusetts ; and Samuel, who married
Cora Kingsland, of Bridport, and who is a suc
cessful farmer of AVeybridge. In 1891 our sub
ject married Harriet Bowdish, who was born in
Weybridge, the daughter of Joseph Bowdish,
who likewise was born here, a son of Columbus
Bowdish, one of the early settlers of the town,
where both he and his sons were successful farm
ers. Joseph Bowdish died at the age of sixty-
seven years and his wife, whose maiden name
was Mary Bingham, and who was born in Corn
wall, is now living at, the age of seventy-three
years. Five of her seven children are now living.
Of Mr. Bowles second marriage four children
have been born, of whom three are living, — Ruth,
Mary and William Paul Dillingham.
In politics Air. Bowles is a staunch Republi
can, and he served three years as selectman, hav
ing been chairman of the board for one year,
while he was lister for an equal period, a mem
ber of the school board for three years, and chair
man of that board for one year; and he was a
member of the school committee for six years
and served one year as a member of the grand
jury. In 1900- 1 he served with ability and honor
as a member of the state legislature, while he
has been a member of the township committee of
his party for a number of years and has been a
delegate to the various county, district and state
conventions. He is a member of the order of
Good Templars and is one of the prominent mem
bers of the Congregational church, of which he is
deacon at the present time, while he has also been
prominent and active in the work of the Sunday-
school, of which he was superintendent for sev
eral years. His wife and children are also mem
bers of the church, and his son was also superin
tendent of the Sunday-school for a number of
years. The family are prominent in the best so
cial life of the community and have the friend
ship and esteem of all who know them.
FREDERIC GRISWOLD FIELD.
Frederic G. Field, prominently identified with
the political and commercial interests of North
Springfield, Vermont, traces his ancestry back
to Thomas Field, a pioneer settler of Providence,
Rhode Island, who swore allegiance there in the

year 1667. Pardon Field, grandfather of Fred
eric G. Field, was born at Cranston, Rhode
Island, April 13, 1761, and died in Chester, Ver
mont, October 28, 1842. Pardon Field married
Elizabeth Williams, who was a daughter of
Joseph and Lydia Williams, and the great-great-
granddaughter of Roger Williams, who was born
in Wales in 1599, became the founder of the state
of Rhode island, and died in 1683. Abner Field,
father of Frederic G. Field, was born in Chester,
Vermont, November 28, 1793, and married
Louisa Griswold, who was born in Springfield,
Vermont, December 5, 1807, the daughter of
Daniel and Annah Lenthal (Ames) Griswold.
Daniel Griswold was born in Meriden, Con
necticut, December 5, 1762, and died in Spring
field, Vermont, August 4, 1836 ; he was a de
scendant of Edward Griswold, who was born in
England in 1607, and settled in Windsor, Con
necticut, about 1645. Annah Lenthal (Ames)
Griswold was born in Middletown, Connecticut,
February 17, 1764, and died in Springfield, Ver
mont, June 8, 1826. Mr. Abner Field was the
first postmaster of North Springfield, several
times represented the town and was twice elected
to the state senate.
Frederic G. Field was born at Springfield,
Vermont, January 1, 1842, and obtained his pre
liminary education in the common schools, which
was supplemented by several years' study at the
Springfield Wesleyan Seminary. Shortly after
attaining his majority he determined to follow
the mercantile profession, and with this end in
view opened a store for general trade in North
Springfield, Vermont, in 1864, and with the ex
ception of two years has been successfully en
gaged in business there ever since. He is also
an extensive owner of real estate, has been in
strumental in settling many estates, and to some
extent has engaged in agricultural pursuits. In
his political views Mr. Field is an adherent of
the principles of the Republican party, and for
the past twenty-three years has been connected
with the postoffice of North Springfield, Vermont,
serving for many years as assistant postmaster
and at the present time (1903) serving in the
capacity of postmaster. Fie represented Spring
field in the state legislatures of 1870 and 1872,
in the latter year being a member of the com
mittee on rules and chairman of the committee

454

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

on banks, and was re-elected to the same posi
tion in 1900. He was a state senator from Wind
sor county in 1880, and chairman of the com
mittee on claims; in 1890 he was elected county
commissioner, resigning one year later; in 1891
lie was appointed state inspector of finance by
Governor Page, to fill out the unexpired term of
L. O. Greene, deceased, and in 1895 he was ap
pointed to the same office by Governor Wood
bury, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation
of Colonel Fred E. Smith. He has served as a
notary public since the year 1864, and in addi
tion to these numerous and varied duties he is
president of the First National Bank of Spring
field, treasurer of the Vermont Academy at
Saxton's river, and president of the board of
trustees of the Springfield town library.
On July 2, 1872, Mr. Field married Anna M.
Tarbell, daughter of Addison and Florella Tar-
bell, of Cavendish, Vermont, and a descendant
of Captain John Coffin, the first settler. Their
children are: Fred Tarbell, who was educated
in the Vermont Academy and Brown University,
graduating from, the latter named institution, and
is at the present time (1903) preparing for the
legal profession at the Harvard Law School ;
and Bertha Isadore Field, who graduated from
the University of Vermont in 1902. The counsel
and advice of Mr. Field are highly esteemed in
financial and business matters, and he has made
a good record in the commercial world, being
considered as sound a business man as his brother
AValbridge A. Field, the late chief justice of the
Massachusetts supreme court, was a lawyer.
JAMES M. FOSS.
James M. Foss, of St. Albans, was born at
Pembroke, New Hampshire, January 6, 1829, son
of Jeremiah and Clarissa (Moore) Foss. He
was educated at Pembroke Academy until his
seventeenth year, when he determined to supple
ment his academic instruction with practical in
formation in a direction that would fit him for the
business life to which he had resolved to devote
himself. To this end he commenced an apprentice
ship, November, 1846, in the machine shops of
the Concord Railroad Company at Concord, New
Hampshire. From 1850 to 1862 Air. Foss worked

as a machinist and locomotive engineer on the
Boston, Concord & Montreal Railroad, acquiring
a thorough familiarity with the details and prac
tical knowledge of the construction and operation
of railroad machinery. During the last portion
of his service he was in charge of the shops of the
last named road. From 1862 to 1865 ne was
master mechanic of the Boston & New York Air
line, also in connection with the Back Bay Com
pany, filling in the Boston Common for building
purposes, residing in Boston at the time. In
Alarch, 1865, he returned to Concord, New
Hampshire, as master mechanic of the Concord
Railroad, where he remained until June, 1868,
at which time a larger field for the employment
of his ability in his special line was afforded him,
and he accepted an offer for the management of
the A^ermont Central Railroad Company, as its
master mechanic. In 1873 he was made superin
tendent of the motive power of the Central Ver
mont system, which comprised the Vermont
Central A^ermont & Canada Railroads, the Rut
land and other leased lines. During this period
the corporation constructed its own locomotives,
some half hundred of which were turned out
under the supervision of Mr. Foss. His efficiency
as a railroad man was recognized by his promo
tion in 1879 to the position of assistant general
superintendent, which was followed by a further
advancement, in 1885, to the office of general
superintendent. This appointment he held until
1892, when impaired health compelled him to
resign. But the corporation with which he had
been connected for so many years was loth to
part with his services, and he remained in its em
ployment in the capacity of assistant to the pres
ident, a position in which the benefit of his ad
vice and judgment could be availed of, while he
could be afforded more leisure than was possible
while performing the more active duties of gen
eral superintendent. This position of assistant
to the president he still retained after nearly a
half century of active railroad life up to his
death, on Alarch 9, 1900.
He was a believer in the great industry of
A^ermont farming, and had a large area of land
under cultivation, located on the road from the
village to St. Albans Bay. His business life de
manded all his time, and he found no opportunity
to mingle actively in politics, but he always mani-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

455

fested a loyal allegiance to the principles of the
Republican party ; was in the senate in 1899, and
served on committee on railroads. He was a
member of the St. Luke's Episcopal Society, and
contributed generously to its support. Mr. Foss
was a member of the Englesby Lodge and of the
several Masonic bodies, and had attained to the
thirty-third degree in that fraternity. He pos
sessed a genial, social nature, and enjoyed the
quiet entertainment of a few friends at his hand
some and hospitable home, where his widow now
resides in St. Albans.
Mr. Foss married, November 15, 1855, Ellen
A., daughter of John V. and Laura Barron, who
died in April, 1871. For his second wife he
wedded, September 18, 1874, Mrs. Sophia H.
(Chester) Locklin, widow of H. H. Locklin, and
daughter of John and Mary Chester, natives of
England and residents of Dudswell, province of
Quebec. Of this union there is one son, James
Barron Foss, born August 17, 1876, who, with
Hortense H. Locklin, daughter of Mrs. Foss,
constitute the family.
COLONEL CHARLES C. GILMORE.
Among those citizens of Swanton, Vermont,
who, during an unusually active business career,
have been important factors in the development
of the financial and commercial interests of the
city, stands prominently Charles C. Gilmore, who
was born in Georgia, Vermont, January 28, 1859,
the third son of Dennis and Nancy (Fairbanks)
Gilmore. Dennis Gilmore, father of Charles C. Gilmore,
one of the oldest business men of the town of St.
Albans, Vermont, was born in Cambridge, Ver
mont, October 18, 1823, the son of James Gil
more, who was of Irish descent. James Gilmore
learned his trade of blacksmith and scythe-maker
at Millbury, Massachusetts, a suburb ot Wor
cester, after which he took up his residence in
Cambridge, Vermont, working at his trade for a
few years. He then settled in St. Albans and sub
sequently removed to Georgia, Vermont, where
he followed the trade of general blacksmith,
meeting with such excellent financial results that
after a certain number of years he was enabled
to live a retired life in St. Albans. He was united
in marriage to Betsy Collins, born in Craftsbury,

Vermont, where her father was the first settled
Congregational minister, and where he preached
for many years ; he was the father of several chil
dren, among them Robert, a physician of Bruns
wick, Vermont, and Samuel, a general practi
tioner of Danville, Vermont. Five children were
born to Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore, two of whom are
still living, namely: Aliranda, wife of Hiram
Cushman, a resident of Georgia, Vermont; and
Dennis Gilmore. James Gilmore died at the age
of eighty-one years, and his wife died in the
sixty-eighth year of her age.
Dennis Gilmore spent the early years of his
life in Georgia, Vermont, was educated there and
followed his father's trade, that of blacksmith
and scythe-maker, until the year 1864, when he
came to St. Albans and established his present
business, a livery, feed and sale stable, which he
has conducted very successfully ever since, owing
to the fact that he is a man of strict integrity,
straightforward business principles, and of
amiable disposition. At the present time (1903)
he has attained the age of eighty years, but is
still enjoying the best of health and acts much
younger than many men of fifty years. He mar
ried, January 5, 1853, Aliss Nancy A. Fairbanks,
who was born in Georgia, Vermont, and of the
six children born to them, the following named
are still living: Maria, wife of E. F. Bradford,
of Boston, Massachusetts, and they have one
child, Alice G. Bradford ; Charles C. ; and Arthur
W. Gilmore, a resident of St. Albans. Mrs. Gil
more traces her ancestry back to the year 1633,
when Jonathan and Richard Ffayerbanke came to
this country from Sowerby, near Halifax, on the
west border of Yorkshire, England. Richard
was the inn-keeper and served in the capacity of
first postmaster of Boston, Massachusetts, and
Jonathan, the progenitor of the American branch
of the family, erected a house in Dedham, Massa
chusetts, in 1636, which, with the additions made
later, is still standing. George, the second son
of Jonathan, was born in England and accom
panied his father to this country ; he resided for
some years in Dedham, and in 1657 removed to
Sherburn, where he became a prominent citizen
and served as selectman. Elieztir, the fourth child
of George, was born in 1655 and was promin
ently identified with the commercial interests of
Sherburn. His youngest child was "Captain"

456

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Eleasur, born in 1690, and his eleventh child, born
in 1734, was known in the history of Sherburn
as "Deacon" Ebenezer; in 1783 he removed to
Brimfield, Massachusetts. Joseph, second son of
Deacon Fairbanks, was born in Sherburn in 1763,
later removed to Brimfield, where he purchased
a small tract of land, and in 1790 married Phoebe
Paddock, of Holland, Massachusetts, and the fol
lowing named children were born to them:
Erastus, born October 28, 1792; Thaddeus, born
January 17, 1796: and Joseph Paddock, born No
vember 26, 1806. Phoebe Paddock's ancestors
came to America with Governor Carver, and mar
ried into the family of Governor Bradford. Her
brother, Judge Ephriam Paddock, and others of
the family became honored and prominent cit
izens of Vermont.
Colonel Gilmore graduated from the St. Al
bans high school. He then graduated from East
man's Business College at Poughkeepsie, New
York, and upon his return to St. Albans was for
a time engaged with his father in the livery
business. He finally turned his attention to the
mercantile trade, and was employed as a clerk in
the "blue" store at St. Albans, which carried on
the clothing trade, where he remained one year.
He then located in Swanton and for the following
two years was engaged in the clothing store of H.
A. Collins in that village. About this time he
formed a copartnership with his brother, the late
Frank Gilmore, under the style of Charles C. Gil
more & Company, and opened a store for the sale
of clothing in Swanton. This firm continued in
business for two years, and at the expiration of
this period of time Colonel Gilmore disposed of
his interest to his brother. About this time a sus
pender, known as the Atwood suspender, had
been patented, and Mr. Gilmore at once made
arrangements to form a stock company to manu
facture this article. Chiefly through his efforts
the Atwood Suspender Company was formed,
and he became secretary and manager of the cor
poration, in which capacity he still acts. The
goods manufactured by the company have been
introduced all over the country, shipments being
made to every state in the Union, and the ca
pacity of the plant has been increased over twelve
hundred per cent, since its incorporation. Po
litically Colonel Gilmore is an adherent of the
Republican party and has held many town offices.

He was the first selectman of the town, and is
still serving in that capacity; was county com
missioner for four years ; in 1900 represented the
town in the state legislature, serving as chairman
of the game and fisheries committee and also
chairman of the Pan-American committee; he
acted as aide-de-camp on Governor Fuller's
staff, ranking as colonel, and has always taken an
active part and interest in all political matters.
He is a prominent member of the Masonic order,
being a member of Swanton Lodge No. 14, and
has held all the Masonic orders up to the con
sistory of the Scottish Rite, in which he has
attained to the thirty-second degree. He is also a
member of the Temple, Ancient Arabic Order
of the Mystic Shrine ; has held all the offices, in
cluding master, of the subordinate lodge, and has
served as district deputy master under the Grand
Lodge and eminent commander of La Fayette
Commandery of St. Albans, Vermont.
Colonel Gilmore was united in marriage to
Miss Lillian Sprague, daughter of Major M. E.
and Margaret (BuUard) Sprague, who are
natives of Weybridge, Addison county, Vermont.
their children are: Marion Sprague Gilmore,
born November 4, 1887; and Ruth Fairbanks
Gilmore, born November 22, 1895. Mrs. Gil
more is one of three children, the other surviving
member of the family being Grant M. Sprague,
a resident of Lima, Ohio.
HON. PARLEY STARR.
Parley Starr, whose life was one of great ac
tivity and usefulness, and whose work was so
worthily performed that he fully earned the honor
in which he was held in his town, county and
state, was a descendant in the eighth generation
from Dr. Comfort Starr, who was a resident of
Ashford, county of Kent, England, whence he
sailed to America in the ship Hercules, of Sand
wich, in 1634-5. He settled in New Town (Cam
bridge), Massachusetts, and his name appears
frequently on the Plymouth colony records. Sep
tember 27, 1642, he was deputy from Duxbury to
the general court to provide forces for war
against the Indians. The family were identified
with patriotic and educational interests from the
earliest history of the country. Comfort Starr,
Jr., was one of the founders and charter board

The Lewis PiibliBhhuj Co-,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

457

of fellows of Harvard College. Another descend
ant married into the Bunker family, of Charles
town, and shared in the fight for the homestead
on Bunker Hill. James Starr is seventh on the
list of names of those who constituted the Bos
ton Tea Party.
John Starr, one of the sons of Dr. Comfort
Starr, was born in England. His name first ap
pears in the Plymouth colony records, and in the
list of males in Duxbury, as early as 1645. In
1653 and for three years following, he was on
the grand jury of the colony, and in 1649-50, he
was surveyor of highways. An original deed
now hanging in Pilgrim Hall, Plymouth, Alas
sachusetts, was signed two hundred and forty-
eight years ago (in 1655), by John Starr, dis
posing of his house and lands in Duxbury,
it being the property bought by his father in
1638 from Jonathan Brewster. This ancient in
strument also bears the signature of Captain
Myles Standish as witness. John Starr removed
to Boston, where his death occurred in 1703 or
1704. His wife was Martha Bunker, of Charles
town, Massachusetts. Hier father owned the
memorable hill that bears his name, forever sa
cred in the annals of American independence.
The descendants of John Starr's granddaughter
Martha Starr, who was baptized June 22, 1729,
aged one week, in the Brattle Street church,
Boston, have the punch bowl out of which the
"Mohawks" drank on the evening they destroyed
the tea in Boston harbor. They were evidently
sterling patriots, for their son Peter and his
cousin William Starr, were sentenced, Septem
ber 2, 1775, to seventy-five days' imprisonment
for having fire-arms concealed in their home, arid
were released by order of General Gage.
Comfort Starr, son of John Starr, was born in
Boston, Massachusetts, in 1661 or 1662. He was
married to Miss Mary Stone, a daughter of Si
mon and Mary (Whipple) Stone, of Watertown,
Massachusetts. Their son Comfort Starr was born in 1696,
and became a large landowner in the north part
of Killingly, Connecticut, where he was promi
nently identified with both town and church af
fairs. He was twice married. His first wife,
name unknown, bore him a son, Comfort Starr,
who was born in 1731, in Thompson, Connecti
cut, where he became owner of a large tract of

land which he subsequently sold, receiving his
pay in continental money which through depre
ciation, became almost worthless, and, thus re
duced, he went to Vermont where, April 17, 1777,
he purchased a tract of land in Guilford, Wind
ham county, and in 1780 brought his family
from Connecticut and settled there. He was one
of the most active patriots of the Revolutionary
period. In 1775 he was captain of the first militia
company in Guilford that marched to Westminster
to break up an English court. In 1779 Captain
Starr was, by order of the general assembly, re
quired to perform certain service, and in its per
formance journeyed to Arlington to see Governor
Thomas Chittenden. He made two trips of fifty-
five miles, taking his course from marked trees,
as there were no public highways. In the office
of secretary of state at Montpelier, the manu
script records contain the receipts of Captain
Starr for payments made to him for this and
other services the same year, in 1780 and in 1781.
Captain Starr married Miss Judith Cooper, of
Thompson, Connecticut. His death took place
in 1812. Comfort Starr, son of Comfort and Judith
Starr, was born May 30, 1766, in Thompson,
Connecticut, and was young when his parents
went to Guilford, Vermont. In 1795 he bought
a farm and settled in Colchester, Vermont, where
he died about 1800. He married Miss Hannah
Thurber, of Guilford, and their son Parley Starr,
the father of our subject, was born May 9, 1789,
in Guilford. He became a farmer in Colchester,
whence he removed to Milton, Vermont, and lived
there for forty years, a well known and highly
respected citizen. In religion he was a Camp-
bellite. He married Miss Jemima Coon, born
January 30, 1763, a daughter of Benjamin and
Mary (Crandall) Coon, from Rhode Island.
Their children were: Patty Matilda, who died
young. Parley, referred to at length hereinafter.
James Timothy, who lived in Williston and
Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he was
warden of the state prison; he afterwards re
moved to Hudson, St. Croix county, Wisconsin,
where he prospered in business ; he subsequently
lived in River Falls, and he died in Waukesha,
Wisconsin, May 28, 1902, aged eighty-six. Ed
win Comfort, who was a tanner and afterwards
a merchant in Jacksonville, Vermont, where he

458

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

died in 1884. Lucina Betsey, yet living, who
became the second wife of Foster G. Crown
(died April 24, 1883), a prosperous farmer of
Whitingham, A^ermont ; his first wife was her sis
ter Hannah Dorcas, who died July 7, 1854. Mary,
who married Joseph W. Alorse, a farmer of
Whitingham. Parley Starr, second child and eldest son of
Parley and Jemima (Coon) Starr, was born in
Colchester, Vermont, August 30, 1813, but his
early life was spent in Milton. His early edu
cation was limited, owing to the meagre school
advantages of his day. A man of strong natural
gifts, he compensated for what was wanting by
reading such works as he could command, and
acquired a fund of knowledge which was ample
for all the needs of an enterprising man of affairs.
When he reached the age of twenty-one, he left
home to make his own way in the world. He
labored the first summer at Granville for twelve
dollars a month. In the fall he returned to Mil
ton, where he engaged in chopping wood during
the winter. In May following he made his way
to Guilford, where he found employment in the
tannery of Houghton & Hunt for four months,
at a wage of fourteen dollars a month. He
worked for a year longer for the same wages,
and then for another year at two hundred and
fifty dollars. At the end of about four years,
having learned the tanner's trade, he went to
Jacksonville, where he purchased a small tannery
of Daniel Dean, and this was his introduction to
a business career which was destined to be con
spicuously successful to himself and of marked
advantage to the communty. The business de
veloped largely under his management, and in
time reached a degree of prosperity which gave
it rank among the most important industries of
the county, and for many years it was a leading
factor in the growth and prosperity of the thriv
ing village of Jacksonville. During this time
Parley Starr had direct connection with leading
houses in the leather trade in Boston and other
cities, and was held in universal esteem
because of his integrity, enterprise, diligence and
foresight. But although his business grew to
be profitable to an unusual degree, it was not
conducted on any selfish and contracted basis. He
realized his duty to the community, and met it
fully and constantly. He took an active interest

in public affairs, and as his means increased, he
became a benefactor to the community, and was
looked upon as a father and helper as few men
have ever been. Such was the confidence reposed
in him that widows and other people of limited
means entrusted to him their funds and depended
on him for advice in their affairs, and such trusts
were always fulfilled with perfect fidelity.
During all his active career in Jacksonville,
Parley Starr was a potent factor in the social,
religious and educational interests of the town.
Himself an earnest believer in the Universalist
faith, he gave liberally to the support of that de
nomination, and was an officer in the church,
but to other societies he extended a helping hand
also, and it is remembered that he was the largest
single contributor to the fund for building the
Methodist church. Among his individual gifts
for the public good were a bell for the Univer
salist church and another for the public school
building. Trusted and honored in public life, he was
known in private as a cordial, earnest friend,
while in his family relations, which were of the
happiest kind, he was a devoted and indulgent
husband and father. He was an entertaining con
versationalist, and his genial bearing was but the
natural expression of the large and open heart
which dwelt within.
Parley Starr represented the town of Whit
tingham in the legislature of 1852, 1856 and
1872, and was a member of the state senate in
1859 and i860, in the latter year taking an active
part in behalf of the Civil war measures. His
conduct was so sagacious that he was pronounced,
by even political opponents, to be "one of the most
solid men in that body." He was for eleven years
a justice of the peace, and for twenty- four years
the town auditor, besides holding other town
offices. He was for seventeen years a director in
the Brattleboro Bank, under the state system, and
for six years a trustee of the Windham Provident
Institution. In 1862 he opened a recruiting of
fice for volunteers, and was appointed state agent
to look after and provide for the families of sol
diers. When the changed business conditions which
followed the war began to be felt, one of the
tendencies being the absorption of the tanning
industry by a few large corporations, Parley

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

459

Starr closed his business in Jacksonville, and in
November, 1873, removed with his family to
Brattleboro. As a prominent and useful citizen,
as a promoter of all worthy enterprises, and as a
firm friend and a large-hearted, genial man, to
be depended upon in every relation of life, his
record in Brattleboro was the same as in Jack
sonville. He was president of the Brattleboro
Savings Bank for the years 1874 and 1875, and
was elected a member of the board of selectmen
in 1876. In 1875, at the urgent solicitation of
business men of influence and responsibility, he
undertook the organization of the People's Na
tional Bank, a work which was successfully com
pleted in October of that year, when the new
bank received its charter. Mr. Starr was the
first president of the bank, and held the place
until failing health compelled his resignation in
January, 1886. From the first, the new institu
tion entered upon a career of solid and lasting
prosperity. Its policy was duly conservative, and
yet it was managed on a basis which was broad
and generous towards all classes of customers.
Said Parley Starr to a friend, "This is the Peo
ple's Bank, and its business is to accommodate
the people; when a farmer from the country, or
some other man of limited means, needs a loan of
twenty-five dollars, he needs it just as much as .
a large business man needs as many hundreds or
thousands, and he ought to have it if he can give
proper security. It is our policy to accommo
date the small customers as well as the large
ones." This was a sincere expression from Par
ley Starr's heart, and it is this policy, consist
ently adhered to, which gave the People's Bank
its strong hold upon the public, and laid the
foundations for its continued and increased pros
perity. Parley Starr married, May 17, 1840, at
Whitingham, Aliss Clarissa Blanchard, a grand
daughter of John Blanchard and Moses Clement,
both of whom marched in response to the alarm
at Lexington, April 19, 1775. She was as active
in good works as was her husband, and as
ardently patriotic, and at the time of the Civil
war, was president of the Soldiers' Aid Society,
which was organized for the relief of the sick
and wounded soldiers in the Union hospitals.
The following children were born to them:
John Parley, who died at the age of five years.

Alta Clarissa, who became the wife of Dr. Noah
Cressy, of Rowe, Massachusetts ; he died August
31, 1902, at Hartford, Connecticut. A daughter,
who died in infancy. Alice Hannah, who married
William A. Faulkner, of Whitingham, Ver
mont; she died March 31, 1891, at Brookline,
Alassachusetts. Annette Envella, who became
the wife of Duane H. Clement, of Brooklyn, New
York. Arthur Parley, who is engaged in business
in Chicago; he married Aliss Florence Murray,
of Tama, Iowa.
Parley Starr suffered a stroke of paralysis
in 1883, and from that time he steadily declined.
His death occurred November 12, 1889. While
the sad event was not unexpected, it cast a pecu
liar gloom over the community. On the day and
during the hour of the funeral, business was
suspended, and all classes united in paying honor
to his memory. The local press gave voice to the
feeling of all when it testified to the great use
fulness of his life, and pronounced the fact that
there was no better type of the good citizen —
good in all the broad meaning of the word.
S. C. HILL, M. D.
Dr. S. C. Hill, actively engaged in the prac
tice of medicine and surgery in AVinooski, Ver
mont, was born December 24, 1876, at Johnson,
Vermont, a son of Seth C. and Alary J. Hill.
Warren Hill, grandfather of Dr. Hill, was born
in the state of Connecticut in 1812, and after at
taining young manhood he removed to Eden,
Vermont, where for many years he was engaged
in the occupation of farming; subsequently he
located in Enosburg, AAermont, where the last
fifteen years of his life were spent upon a farm.
Air. Hill was married twice ; by his first wife the
following named children were born : Isaiah ;
Eliza, wife of Mr. Lillerson, of Underhill, AAer
mont; Chester, deceased; Alma, wife of Air.
Peck, of Wyoming, Iowa ; Seth C. ; and Rolin, a
resident of Brooklyn, New York. The mother
of these children died at the age of thirty-six
years, after which Mr. Hill was united in mar
riage to Miss Hall, and four sons were born
to them, two of whom died in childhood, and
the other two, Sidney and Charles, now reside
on the old farm in Eden, Vermont ; their mother,
who has attained the age of eighty years, also

460

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

resides with them on the old homestead. Air.
Hill died in the eighty-second year of his age.
Seth C. Hill, father of Dr. Hill, was born in
1845, at Enosburg, Vermont, and was a pupil in
the common schools of that town until he reached
the age of twelve years, when he removed to
Eden, Vermont, where he remained until
1861, when he enlisted as a private in
Company A, Eighth Vermont Regiment,
and shortly afterwards was promoted to
the rank of orderly sergeant, which he
retained until his discharge at the close of the
the war. He participated in over sixty battles
and skirmishes, in one of which he was severely
wounded by the bursting of a shell, and he also
had three horses shot from under him ; his three
brothers, who enlisted as soldiers at the same
time, escaped without any serious injury, al
though serving during the entire period. After
the termination of the war Mr. Hill returned to
Hyde Park, and engaged in agricultural pur
suits until 1868, when he took up his residence
in Johnson, Vermont, and by industriously pur
suing the same vocation he was enabled to ac
cumulate a competence, which he is now enjoy
ing, having retired from the active duties of
life. Mr. Hill is a prominent member of the
Grand Army of the Republic, being the organizer
of the Sons of Veterans Camp, called the S. C.
Hill Post in his honor, he being the commander
of the same and an active participant in all mat
ters that pertain to its welfare. In his political
affiliations Air. Hill is a Republican, and has
served in many of the local town offices. He was
united in marriage to Miss Alary J. Peck, born
in 1848, at Elmore, Vermont, a daughter of
Jerry and Lucia (Day) Peck, of Sharon, Ver
mont, members of a very prominent family of
that section of the state. Five children were
born of this union, namely : Willmer, a resident
of Red Wing, Minnesota, and engaged as a
teacher of wood-carving in the Minnesota State
Training School: Elmer E., an officer in the
State Industrial School at Vergennes, Vermont,
and who acted in tlie capacity of first sergeant in
Company M. First Vermont Regiment, during
the Spanish- American war ; Dr. S. C. : Alary Bell,
engaged in the occupation of teaching in South
Burlington, A'ermont ; and Delmer J., who re
sides at home with his father. The mother of

these children died in the year 1888, aged forty-
four years. Both Mr. and Mrs. Hill were active
members of the Congregational church.
The grandfather of Mrs. Seth C. Hill was
born in 1812 and after completing his education,
followed the vocation of a veterinary surgeon
in Wolcott, Vermont, where the remainder of his
life was spent. His wife, who was born in 1812,
reared a family of eight children, three of whom
are living at the present time ( 1902) : Francis
E., a resident of Wolcott, Vermont; Orrin, a
prominent citizen of Cabot, Vermont ; and
Horace, also a resident of the same city. The
mother of these children died in 1895, at the age
of eighty-three years.
Dr. S. C. Hill acquired his literary education
in the common schools of Johnson, Vermont,
the People's Academy at Morrisville, Vermont,
and subsequently graduated from the State Nor
mal School at Johnson, Vermont. Shortly after
his graduation he accepted a position as teacher
in a reform school at Troy, New York, where
he remained for a short period of time; he then
filled a similar position in the reform school at
Vergennes, A^ermont, after which he went to Min
nesota and taught in a reform school there. De
siring to devote his life to the practice of medi
cine, he matriculated in the medical department
of the University of Vermont, from which he
was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Aled-
icine in 1898. Dr. Hill then established an office
in Jericho, Vermont, where he remained until
February, 1902, when he removed to Winooski,
Vermont, and since then he has been constantly
engaged in attending to a large consulting prac
tice. In addition to his medical course, Dr. Hill
pursued a special course of study in the treatment
of disease by electricity, and the results he has
obtained from this method have been very satis
factory and encouraging. Although one of the
younger members of the medical profession in
the city, Dr. Hill is regarded as a prominent and
promising practitioner. Dr. Hill is a member of
the Vermont Medical Society, the Burlington
Clinical Society and the Chittenden County
Clinical Society ; he is also affiliated with the
Masonic fraternity, being a member of Webster
Lodge, of Winooski, a member of the Society of
A'ermont, and also of S. C. Hill Post No. 77,
Grand Army of the Republic.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

461

On June 19, 1899, Dr. Hill married Miss
Delia A. Morgan, of Burlington, Vermont, a
daughter of Joseph S. Morgan, a prominent con
tractor and builder of that city. One child has
been born to Dr. and Mrs. Hill, Aymer Morgan
Hill. The family are active and consistent mem
bers of the Congregational church at Winooski,
Vermont.
VERNON A. BULLARD.
The name of Vernon A. Bullard is one well
known, on account of the distinction which he
has won in connection with the practice of law
and in social and official life, in the towns of Hyde
Park, Underhill and in the city of Burlington,
A^ermont. His paternal ancestry may be traced back to
William Bullard, who, with three brothers, came
to America in 1630, from Kent, England. Will
iam was assigned land in Dedham, Massachusetts,
about 1635, where he ever after remained, hold
ing the office of selectman and other positions of
prominence. Following is the lineage : ( 1 )
William, (2) Isaac, (3) William, (4) Edward,
Sr., (5) Edward, Jr., (6) Daniel, (7) Edwin,
and (8) Vernon A. Edward, Jr., was a private
in Captain William Bullard's company, which
marched at the alarm of April 19, 1775. He
was also, later, a member of Captain Joseph
Guild's company, Colonel William Heath's regi
ment. Daniel, the grandfather of Vernon, was
the son of Edward, Jr., and Elizabeth Crowley,
and was born at Lyndeboro, New Hampshire, in
1793. He removed from Amherst, New Hamp
shire, to North Hyde Park, Vermont, which was
then a wilderness. He purchased a tract of land,
which consisted of one hundred and fifty acres,
and this he cleared by his own exertions and cul
tivated to a high state of perfection, meeting with
the success which invariably attends industry,
perseverance and close application to the duties
of life. He married Abigail Mills, of Amherst,
New Hampshire, and the following children were
born to them: (1) Hiram, (2) Naham, (3)
Mahala, (4) Ezekiel, (5) unnamed baby, (6)
Hannah, (7) Salome, died at seven or eight years
of age, (8) John, (9) Daniel, (10) Salome, (11
and 12) Edwin and Ellen, twins, the latter dying
in infancy, (13) Augusta, and (14) Harriet. All

of these were born in Hyde Park, except Hiram,
who was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, and
all are now deceased, except Ezekiel, of Man
chester, New Hampshire, Salome, widow of
Alonzo J. Howard, of Milford, Massachusetts,
and Edwin, of Hyde Park, Vermont.
The latter, who is the father of the subject
of this sketch, was born May 1, 1837. He en
joyed the privileges only of the common schools
in the vicinity of his birthplace. Later in life he
learned the trade of carpenter and joiner, which
he followed for many years, and he was also in
terested in the lumber business. He was a man
of energy and enterprise, and by his thrift, indus
try and evident business qualifications soon at
tained a prominent position among the repre
sentative men of the town. He held a number of
local offices, among them being that of lister, he
being the incumbent of that office for several
years. He also was prominently connected with
the Alasonic fraternity. He married Olive Har
rington, who was born in Eden, A'ermont, Janu
ary 24, 1840, and who was the eldest of a family
of four girls and two boys born to Ephraim and
Lucinda (Adams) Harrington, both also born at
Eden. Ephraim was a farmer and blacksmith
at the latter place for many years. His death
occurred at Cambridge, Vermont, at the age of
eighty years ; the death of his wife also occurred
at the same place, at the age of eighty-one. They
were both members of families who were pioneers
in their native town. The following named chil
dren were born to Edwin and Olive (Harring
ton) Bullard : Vernon A. ; Bertrand E., a mem
ber of the legal profession in Hardwick, Vermont ;
Abigail Lucinda, wife of C. L. Gates, of Morris
ville, Vermont ; and Vivian D., a resident of Hyde
Park, A^ermont. Both Air. Bullard and his wife
are attendants at the Congregational church in
Hyde Park, A'ermont, where they reside on a
farm. A^ernon A., the eldest of the last named family,
was born October 14, 1858, at Hyde Park, Ver
mont, where his preliminary education was ac
quired in the common schools, and this was sup
plemented by a course in the Vermont Normal
School at Johnson, Vermont, from which he was
graduated in 1880. From 1878 to 1884 he was
engaged in the occupation of teaching, in various
portions of the state, twenty terms in all, and in

462

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

the meantime he was pursuing a course of study
in the law department of the University of Michi
gan, at Ann Arbor, from which institution he
graduated in the year 1884. Mr. Bullard com
menced the active practice of his profession at
Underhill, A'ermont, where he continued for ten
years ; he then removed to Burlington, Vermont,
where his practice has been of a general character,
but he has handled some important cases as attor
ney for and against railroad companies and other
corporations. He was the counsel for respondent
in State vs. Pooler, who was indicted for murder
and escaped with life imprisonment; he also con
tested the Warner will case in Lamoille county,
the trial continuing for two weeks ; he was also
counsel for defendant in an alleged surgical mal
practice, the case of Mullins vs. Flanders, in
which, after a verdict against defendant in the
Rutland county court of seven thousand dollars,
there was a reversal in the supreme court, and
Mr. Bullard was ultimately able to save his client
from this large and malevolent verdict of a preju
diced jury rendered at the home of plaintiff and
her counsel and beyond the borders of his own
county and that of his client. He is leading
counsel for plaintiff in the case of Wilkins vs.
Brock, now pending in the Chittenden county
court, wherein the plaintiff seeks to recover ten
thousand dollars of defendant for having caused
the death of his wife, by alleged osteopathic mal
practice. This is a case of unusual importance,
not only because it calls for large damages and
involves the death of a human being, but because
it puts upon trial the new medical cult known as
"Osteopathy." He has pitted against him in this
case the most eminent lawyers of the state, backed
by a client of great means, while his client is poor.
This is but a very few of his long list of success
ful cases, and which in its entirety can hardly be
excelled by any lawyer of his age. He is pos
sessed of an unusually quick and keen perception,
ready, decisive and correct judgment, lightning
repartee, unexcelled oratorical powers and cour
age that knows no defeat. Thus it will be seen
that his experience has been broad and varied,
his forensic qualifications unsurpassed, demon
strating his comprehensive knowledge of the law
and his ability to successfully cope with the intri
cate problems of jurisprudence. In politics he
has been prominently and actively connected with

the Democratic party, served as member of the
general assembly of Vermont from Underhill in
1890, where his influence was felt as a ready and
powerful debater, fine parliamentarian, as one
possessed of the courage of his convictions, be
tween which and his integrity there could be no
compromise; in short, was a leader and solidifier
of his own political party and a demoralizer of
the ranks of the opposition. He has served as
justice of the peace for a number of years ; he was
appointed special inspector of the treasury de
partment at Washington, District of Columbia,
under President Cleveland from 1892 to 1896;
was Democratic candidate for state's attorney in
a county hopelessly Republican, and ran far ahead
of his ticket; chairman of the county committee
and delegate to the county and state conventions.
He is a very prominent member of the Free and
Accepted Masons, also of Modern Woodmen of
America, Knights of Pythias and actively associ
ated with the Bar Association of his county and
state. Mr. Bullard was united in marriage, in 1885,
to Fluella R. Stowe, who was born in 1858, a
daughter of Haven P. Stowe, a prominent agri
culturist and capitalist of Morrisville, Vermont;
he was also director of the Lamoille County Na
tional Bank of Hyde Park, Vermont, and his
death occurred in Burlington, Vermont, when he
had attained the age of seventy-nine years. Two
children were born of this marriage : Haven
Stowe and Augusta Ruth. The mother of these
children died in 1894, at the age of thirty-seven
years, and Mr. Bullard then contracted an alli
ance with Anniebel Stowe, a sister of his first
wife. .Mr. Bullard and his family are regular
attendants of the College Street Congregational
church at Burlington, Vermont.

COLONEL LeGRAND B. CANNON. 1
Colonel LeGrand Bouton Cannon, who has
during a long and unusually active life been one
of the most conspicuous and useful originators
and managers of the great transportation inter
ests of Vermont, and who rendered valuable
service to the national government during the
Civil war, derives his descent from a distin
guished family of Huguenots, whose seat was

/^<^^<^^^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

463

at Dijon, France. One of the name, Jean Canon,
which was the original form of the name, in order
to escape from the religious persecutions which
afflicted his own unhappy country, took refuge in
England, whence he came in 1632 to Westchestcr
county, New York, and subsequently established
himself in New York city, where he conducted
a foreign shipping trade. His son, John Can
non, married a daughter of Pierre LeGrand, who
was also a Huguenot, and from them descended
LeGrand Cannon, the father of Colonel LeGrand
B. Cannon. LeGrand Cannon was in his day one of the
foremost citizens of New York, his activities ex
tending to many important lines of enterprise.
He was the founder of the great iron rolling
mills in Troy and the builder of the Cannon Place
Block, named for himself, in that city. He mar
ried Esther Bouton, who like himself, descended
from Huguenot stock, her family having been
hereditary seneschals of the fortresses of Dole in
France. The American ancestors of himself and
wife were the founders of the New Rochelle
settlement in the state of New York.
Colonel LeGrand Bouton Cannon, son of Le
Grand and Esther (Bouton) Cannon, was born
in New York city, November 1, 18 15. He com
pleted his education at the Rensselaer, afterward
known as the Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, and
immediately after his graduation, at the age of
nineteen years, engaged in a wholesale dry goods
business in Troy, pursuing the same with marked
success for twelve years. He then removed to
New York city, which has since been his residence
during one half of each year, the remainder of
his time being passed at his elegant home near
Burlington. This fine estate, known as "Over-
lake," overlooks Lake Champlain and is one of
the largest and most beautiful private residences
in all New England. In his home are jealously
guarded family relics of great antiquity, compris
ing its records and the family plate, known to
be three and one-half centuries old. Colonel
Cannon is also the owner of an extensive farm in
Shelburne, Vermont, and he has taken a deep
interest in its oversight and in promoting the
agricultural and stock-breeding interests of the
community and state.
AVhen the Colonel retired from mercantile

pursuits in 1846 it was only to devote his ener
gies to larger concerns which were of benefit
to the entire commonwealth. In 1854 he took
an active part in the re-organization of the com
pany owning the railroad between Whitehall and
Saratoga, in which he already held a large
financial interest, and was placed in charge of
the property and brought the corporation to a
healthy condition. He also became interested in
the Champlain Transportation Company, and dur
ing the nearly forty years of his service as presi
dent and the master spirit in all its concerns, its
career was most prosperous, beneficial to business
interests and remunerative to its owners. At a
later day, when the control of the Champlain
Transportation Company passed to the Delaware
& Hudson Canal Company, Colonel Cannon be
came the vice president of the latter corpora
tion. At times the management of the company
concerns devolved upon him, and his conduct was
characterized by the most masterly ability, par
ticularly during the great strike of 1887. He was
also for many years president of the Lake George
Steamboat Company, of the Crown Point Iron
Company and a director in numerous banking and
industrial corporations, and in all he displayed
the supreme qualities of the well equipped and re
sourceful man of affairs.
Colonel Cannon bas been a zealous Republican
from the formation of the party, and his serv
ices in its behalf have been so conspicuous that
a prominent political career was open to him
had he had aspirations in such direction. He
was one of the founders of the famous Union
League Club of New York and became vice
president of that body. He persistently declined
all overtures looking to his candidacy for office,
but in the face of his absolute refusal to accept
was nominated for Congress in the eighth con
gressional district of New York in 1866, and as
a result the Democratic majority was reduced
one half. In 1885 he positively refused urgent
and influential demands that he should allow his
name to be used as a candidate for governor, and
in 1880 he served as presidential elector, a posi
tion of honor, but one carrying with it no emol
uments. He has, however, at various times oc
cupied public stations which were important,
and where public interests were well subserved

464

THE STATE OE VERMONT.

by his service, and among these was that of chief
provisional commissioner to the international
exposition at Vienna.
During the Civil war period, Colonel Cannon
accorded to the nation services of the utmost
value, in which he was brought into confidential
relations with President Lincoln, and with his
most trusted advisers. When the conflict dawned
he took an active part in the organization of
the Union Defense Committee of New York, a
body which in that critical time was as a garrison
holding a post where were stored all the muni
tions of war. During the Canadian rebellion of
1838 he had served upon the staff of Major Gen
eral John E. Wool, then commanding on the fron
tier. In April, 1861, that officer was in command
of the Department of the East, with headquar
ters in New York city, and when President Lin
coln made his initial call for troops, General
Wool again called Colonel Cannon to his side.
As aide-de-camp of the staff he aided General
Wool in the organization and equipment of troops
for the defense of the metropolis, and when Gen
eral Wool was attached to the command of the
Department of Virginia, with headquarters at
Fortress Alonroe, Colonel Cannon, then a major,
accompanied him, and as chief of staff, was his
confidential aid and adviser. While so serving,
he visited the iron-clad Alonitor just previous to
its encounter with the Rebel ram Merrimac,
while the decks were being cleared for action. He
witnessed the famous engagement, which revo
lutionized sea warfare, and then again went on
board the vessel. At the request of the navy de
partment he wrote an account of the engagement,
which was so favorably received that it was
printed in pamphlet form as a department docu
ment and was reproduced in Appleton's Cyclope
dia. He was a member of the military commis
sion appointed to investigate and/ report upon
the conditions at Fortress Monroe consequent
upon the great incoming of refugee slaves in the
second year of the war. and the report which he
drafted and upon which was founded the military
orders of General Wool with reference to the mat
ter, was practically the enunciation of an eman
cipation proclamation, nearly a year before the
issuance of President Lincoln's famous edict.
Colonel Cannon, despite all his large accom
plishments in many important affairs, was a man

who affected no superiority, but discharged his
varied duties with simplicity and quiet poise. In
his personal relations he is known as a modest
Christian gentleman regarding all men well and
bearing his full share of the burdens of citizen
and neighbor. In religion he is a communicant of
the Protestant Episcopal church and has long
been a vestryman in the parish of Burlington. He
has ever been warmly interested in educational
matters, and has served as a trustee of the Uni
versity of Vermont. In company with Miss Field
and others he has purchased the farm containing
the grave of John Brown at North Elba, and in
1895 donated the farm to the state of New York
to perpetuate the memory of the famous martyr
to liberty. The farm contains two hundred and
fifty acres, and a beautiful and enduring monu
ment was erected thereon.
Colonel Cannon was married in early man
hood to Aliss Mary A. DeForest, and of this
union were born four children, Grace, who be
came the wife of Chester Griswpld ; Esther Edith,
the wife of Horace J. Brooks ; Marie, who became
the wife of Louis Crawford Clark; and Henry
LeGrand Cannon. The mother of these children
died in 1872.
Henry LeGrand Cannon, youngest child and
only son of Colonel LeGrand B. and Mary A.
(DeForest) Cannon, became known during an
all too brief life and while yet in the flush of
youth, as one of the most brilliant and promising
American sculptors of his day. He was born
in New York City in 1856. Deriving artistic in
stincts and tastes from his mother, he gave his
early attention to various branches of art, and
before he was twenty-two years of age had
produced many beautiful water-colors and had
done much meritorious wood-carving. From the
first, his brush and chisel were means to gratify
his artistic desires, and were never prostituted
to the demands of commercialism. With ample
fortune, necessity imposed no obligations. He
was free to pursue his own sweet will in pursuit
of the beautiful, and its delineation had its in
spiration in his poetic temperament. But sculp
ture appealed to him most strongly, and to it he
turned to accomplish in his short career some
of the most exquisite results ever achieved by
an American artist. In this, his chosen field,
where he was capable of so many diverse accom-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

465

plishments, he turned eagerly, and became a scru
pulously industrious and conscientious student un
der Hartley and St. Gaudens, who marked his
high capability and gave him hearty welcome to
their studios. In 1884, when twenty-seven years of
age, Mr. Cannon made his debut in the National
Academy of Design, displaying a beautiful me
dallion portrait which commanded admiring at
tention on the instant. His subsequent exhibits
at the academy were "Portrait Bust of Miss K.,"
in 1885, a most beautiful piece of modeling; "Fig
ure of an East India Coolie," 1888, remarkable
for the strength of the figure and vigor of ex
pression, and two notable portrait busts — "Miss
W.," in 1888, and "Miss H.," in 1889. In 1890
Mr. Cannon won the plaudits of the Society of
American Artists for his bronze bas-relief por
trait of Miss Gladys Vanderbilt, daughter of Mr.
Cornelius Vanderbilt. This was followed by
numerous pieces of portraiture which were re
markable at once for artistic taste, accuracy of
portraiture and clearness of execution. At Chi
cago, at the Columbia Exposition of 1893, he was
represented by an exquisite bronze bas-relief por
trait of Mrs. Cannon, and this evoked admira
tion from artists from every nation. At more
recent exhibitions he displayed other and not less
meritorious productions. At the exhibition held
at the Union League Club in March of 1895,
shortly previous to his death, he placed on exhi
bition three buests — "Portrait of a Lady," "A
Portrait," and "Portrait of a Boy," the last in
bronze. Among other fine specimens of his bas-
relief work were busts of the children of Mrs.
Seward Webb and medallion panels of the chil
dren of the late Elliott Shepard, all of New
York. His panel work, of which there are several
splendid examples in existence, are of peculiar
excellence. To them artists- of world-wide fame
acord the highest meed of praise, asserting that
at none of the recent exhibitions of American
sculptors where there works with which Mr.
Cannon's efforts might not confidently challenge
comparison. If foreign critics stopped here, con
fining their comparisons to the works of American
artists, it was evidently because of want of sym
pathy with that which his countrymen most
strongly admired — his idealism, which moved him
to turn his back upon his sensuousness of foreign
30

schools and create that which is pure and naural,
after the fashion which the poet, George E.
Woodward, might have had in view when he
wrote : "Ay yon marble god, we know
Is only marble, yet from that grand form
White as the Cyprian foam whence Venus rose,
There springs the beautiful thought which en-
tereth swift
The soul of every man who passes by —
Refines his life unto a new ideal
For others with a more transcendant power
Than Phidias dreamed of when he wrought the
stone.
'Tis more than marble — and Life's more than
Life."
Certainly none who ever gazed upon Mr.
Cannon's various portraits of children and his
female figures in panel work could fail to recog
nize the delicacy of the artist in his avoidance of
the oversensuous and his devotion to the religion
of the soul in modeling what was nearest to his
heart, the angels of his home — the delicate beauty
of his wife, the soft curves of his children and
those of his kinsfolk, and those ideal figures
which might have come to him in dreams, which
had for their begetting a never ceasing affection
for those in whom he delighted, who entered into
his life and charmed him with their presence.
JOSEPH AULD.
Joseph Auld, of Burlington, Vermont, was
born in Prince Edward Island, May 28, 1848.
His father, Robert Auld, was of Scotch origin,
and was a ship-builder by trade. He had a ship
yard at Cove Head, Prince Edward Island, from
which point he established an extensive European
trade. He disposed of this business in 1850 and
went to California, where he lived on a ranch
for two years. Returning east, he engaged in
farming at Freetown, Prince Edward Island,
where he remained until his death. His wife,
Mary A. Boughton, was born in Charlottetown,
the capital of Prince Edward Island. She was
of English descent, and her father followed the
occupation of cabinet-maker. The children of
Robert and Mary (Boughton) Auld were as fol-

466

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

lows : Daniel B., now in California ; Elizabeth
who married Peter Stavert, of Prince Edward
Island ; Alargaret, who married John D. Schur-
man, of Prince Edward Island ; Lydia, who mar
ried Frank Lawson, a merchant of Chelsea,
Massachusetts ; Robert, who has always lived on
the old homestead in Freetown, Prince Edward
Island., and who succeeds his father and brother
as postmaster of the town, still filling the position
which has been held by some member of the
family for more than forty years ; and Joseph
Auld. Joseph Auld attended the district schools of
Freetown, and lived on a farm until sixteen years
of age; for the next three years he was clerk in
a store, and at the age of nineteen went to Boston,
studying in a commercial college for two months.
After this he held various positions as teacher,
bookkeeper for a wholesale firm, and later as
cashier of the same concern. In 1869 he went to
Rutland, Vermont, where he engaged in the pro
vision business until 1870, when he became clerk
in the office of the Rutland Herald and for the
next twelve years held successively the positions
of bookkeeper, manager and city editor, finally
assuming full charge of the paper. In 1882 he
became the manager of the Burlington Free
Press, retaining this position until 1892. He was
very successful in the management of this paper,
and was the first in the New England states in
so small a city as Burlington to adopt the per
fecting press, thus largely increasing the circu
lation of the paper. In 1892 he went to New
York and built up an extensive newspaper print
ing establishment, and printed papers for those
who had no presses. This business proving nu-
profitable, he returned to Burlington and in 1894
organized and began the publication of the Daily
News. This was considered a very doubtful ex
periment at the time. It was started without
capital, and many predicted a failure. The first
¦edition was issued under extremely difficult cir
cumstances, but the paper was welcomed. It
adopted an independent course and a broad and
liberal treatment of all questions. This was con
sidered somewhat radical for Vermont, but the
people gave it their hearty approval and it be
came an instant success. It increased in busi
ness and circulation, and in less than three years
had the largest circulation in the state, with a

perfecting press and one of the most complete
printing outfits of any paper in the state. Mr.
Auld has always made his paper the medium
for disseminating his own very pronounced
views on moral and political subjects in which
he is deeply interested. He engaged actively in
Vermont's recent campaign against the law of
prohibition, and he was largely instrumental in
causing its repeal. In this campaign he became
known as a political speaker, and his opinions
have great weight among the thinking portion of
the community.
Air. Auld was married in 1881 to Annie C.
Howe, of Lowell, Alassachusetts. They have
three children, George Percival, who, after gradu
ating from the University of Vermont, became as
sistant paymaster in the United States Navy;
Lillian May; and Helen Marguerite.
LUMAN AUGUSTUS DREW.
Luman Augustus Drew, for many years a
prominent factor in the political and commercial
interests of Burlington, Vermont, was born in
that city, October 27, 1832, the son of John Y.
and Almira (Atwater) Drew. Luman A. Drew
acquired his preliminary education in the public
schools of Burlington, and this was supplemented
by a course of study at the Bakersfield Academy.
When he attained his majority he became associ
ated with his father in the wholesale and retail
market, which business was continued up to the
year 1895, under the firm name of L. A. & A. A.
Drew ; at which time Mr. Drew disposed of his
interest in the business, and assumed the contract
in the construction of the Burlington & Lamoille
Railroad. Mr. Drew was engaged in the breeding of
horses, chiefly of the Ethan Allen stock, and many
well known "flyers" having a record of 2:30
class or better have been sent forth from his es
tablishment. Mr. Drew was a promoter and
stockholder in the Vermont Horse Company, and
later took a lively interest in the Vermont Horse
Breeders' Association.
Before the city of Burlington obtained its
charter, Mr. Drew, in 1862, was chosen to serve
as constable, and he faithfuly performed the
duties of this office for five years ; he then re
signed to accept the position of sheriff of Chit-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

467

tenden county, which office he retained for thir
teen years, during which period he was also chief
of police of Burlington. At the time of the St.
Albans raids, October 19, 1864, Mr. Drew was
made the bearer of special dispatches to Colonel
Conger, the purport of which was, "To pursue
the raiders if necessary into the Queen's do
minions, and capture them at all hazards ;" it was
signed by Governor John A. Dix.
Such broad instructions, which required him
actually, in violation of national law, to invade
the territory of a peaceful nation, imposed upon
Mr. Drew a most onerous task, in which im
prudence might precipitate actual war; his con
duct was so discreet, however, that his mission
was accomplished without bloodshed, and the in
vasion was passed over as a mere incident. Feb
ruary 16, 1865, he was appointed by Governor
Smith quartermaster in the military regiment of
the state, Second Regiment.
In his early boyhood Mr. Drew was a member
of the Boxer Engine Company and later became
an honorary member of the Ethan Allen Com
pany, now known as the Ethan Allen Club. It
was through the instrumentality of Mr. Drew
(who also accompanied them as their representa
tive) that the Barnes Hose Company was sent
to Chicago in 1877 to participate in the National
Firemen's Tournament. They competed against
forty-seven other companies in the trial, which
consisted in running two hundred yards with a
hose carriage, connecting with a hydrant, laying
two hundred feet of hose, attaching the nozzle,
and turning on the water, which feat they accom
plished in sixty-two seconds. This beat the
world's record, and they received the first prize
of five hundred dollars in gold, also a trophy
belt, which is a massive affair of solid silver of
exquisite workmanship; it weighs several
pounds, and besides other artistic designs upon
it, has the names of all the contestants, the re
verse side being reserved for the death of any of
the members. They also received a champion
hose cart which cost two hundred and fifty dol
lars. These prizes were presented to the city of
Burlington, the company reserving the right to
display them upon parade at any time by deposit
ing two hundred dollars with the city treasurer
for their safe return. In 1887 Mr. Drew was
appointed by Governor Ormsbee one of the board

of cattle commissioners, in which body he served
for two years; in 1888 he became interested in
the granite business in Barre, Vermont, under the
name of Drew, Parkhurst & Company, in 1890
he was appointed door-keeper in the house of
representatives. In 1893 he was chosen, by the commissioners,
superintendent of the Vermont state building at
the World's Fair at Chicago, and performed the
duties of that responsible position with much
credit to himself and the general satisfaction of
the whole state, as well as many Vermonters
abroad, as the many newspaper notices testified.
In September, 1898, Mr. Drew received the
appointment as deputy United States marshal
for the district of Vermont, he was re-appointed
in 1902, and in that year made an extended trip
to California, having in charge twenty-three
Chinese emigrants, who were taken there for
deportation to their own country.
Mr. Drew was a charter member in Scottish
Rite Masonry established in Vermont, has passed
through all the bodies, is a Knight Templar, and
also holds membership in the Burlington Repub
lican Club, and in his religious belief is an ad
herent of the doctrines of the Methodist Episco
pal church. On April 18, i860, Mr. Drew mar
ried Aliss Alatilda R. Parkhurst, of Barre, Ver
mont, and to them has been born a daughter,
Carrie Louise Drew.
HON. CHARLES P. SMITH.
Among the men who stand at the head of the
financial institutions of the state of Vermont and
in fact, the New England states, none are more
favorably known than the gentleman whose name
heads this sketch and who since 1890 has been
president of the Burlington Savings Bank and
who also represents one of the pioneer families
of this article.
Caleb Beach Smith, grandfather of Charles
P. Smith, came to Williston in an early day, in
about the year 1800, being one of the pioneers of
that section. For a number of years he was con
nected with the boating interests of Lake Cham
plain, serving as captain of one of the boats sail
ing on the lake. Afterwards he became interested
in mercantile business in the town of Williston.

468

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

He married Jemima Alorton, of Williston. Mr.
Smith died in Williston in 1816, his wife later,
at the age of sixty-five years.
Frederick Smith, father of Charles P. Smith,
was born in AA'illiston, June 3, 1812; received an
education in the common schools of that town, and
at the age of fifteen years was bound out by his
mother for the remainder of his minority to the
Burlington Glass Company, a corporation en
gaged in the manufacture of glass in Burlington,
Vermont. At the age of twenty-one years he was
placed in charge of the factory, and a few years
after organized a company and bought out the
business which he conducted here and in Canada,
building a branch factory at St. Johns, province
of Quebec, which branch was given up at the
time the duty was taken off from foreign glass
coming into Canada, which made it impossible
for them to compete with the foreign manufacture
of glass. The factory at Burlington was contin
ued until about the year 1858, when glass was
manufactured in Pennsylvania by the use of
coal for fuel more cheaply than it could be man
ufactured here, using wood, and the business was
discontinued. Mr. Smith was always active in the early busi
ness enterprises of Burlington, having organized
a company that built the first water works, which
was afterwards sold to the city, also organizing
the company which built the first manufacturing
building here, known as the Pioneer Shops, being
a building four hundred feet long and four stories
high, built to encourage manufacturing in this
locality, and resulted in drawing here such men
as Lawrence Barnes, Kilburn and Gates, W. & D.
G. Crane, and many others who have had much
to do with the building up of the city.
October 31, 1836, he married Miss Mary
Foote, who was born at St. Albans Bay, Vermont,
January 4, 1812. Eight children were born to
them, five of whom lived to years of maturity, and
the three surviving members of the family are
Charles P. Smith, Mrs. R. D. Haig, of Duluth,
Minnesota, and Mrs. Warren G. Reynolds, of
Burlington, Vermont. Mrs. Smith died at the
age of seventy-two years, and Mr. Smith in his
eightieth year. They were both members of the
First Congregational church of Burlington, Ver
mont.

Charles P. Smith, son of Frederick and Mary
Smith, was born in St. Johns, province of
Quebec, March 4, 1847, and moved with his
parents when a few months old to Burlington,
Vermont, where he received his education in the
public schools. After graduating from the high
school he was employed by his father in the grain
and feed business until he purchased the business
in the year 1867, being then not quite twenty years
old, but having had his time given him by his
father so that he could conduct the business
legally on his own account. By careful and pru
dent management the business gradually increas
ed and was successfully managed by Mr. Smith,
who gave his personal attention to it, until about
the year 1890, when he was elected president of
the Burlington Savings Bank and assumed active
management of the bank, having been one of its
trustees since the year 1884. When Mr. Smith
became president of the bank the assets were some
thing less than two million dollars, but the bank
has steadily grown until at the present time the
assets are nearly nine million dollars, it being the
largest savings bank in the state and one of the
largest institution of its kind in New. England.
Mr. Smith has always been a Republican in
politics. He was elected to the legislature in 1894,.
and again in 1896, serving both sessions
as chairman of the committee of the ways
and means and- was a member of the
committee on banks. In 1898 he was elected
to the senate, serving as chairman of the com
mittee on finance, also on banks and on current
expenses. Mr. Smith is one of the directors of
the Central Vermont Railroad, director and treas
urer of the Mary Fletcher Hospital, a trustee of
the Home of Aged Women and the Home for
Destitute Children, and also of the Young Men's
Christian Association.
June 11, 1879, Mr. Smith married Miss Anna
A. Pease, of Oswego, New York, daughter of
Levi Pease. Six children have been born to them.
three daughters and three sons; one daughter-
and three sons are now living. Julia Warren
Smith, Levi Pease Smith, Frederick Foote Smith,
and Charles P. Smith, Jr. The family take a deep
interest in religious matters, being active members
of the First Congregational church of Burlington,.
Vermont.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

469

GILBERT AUGUSTUS BOYD.
Gilbert Augustus Boyd, agent and superin
tendent of the National Metal Edge Box Com
pany, at Readsboro, Vermont, is an enterprising
progressive business man, well fitted for the re
sponsible position he now occupies. He was born
in Wilmington, Vermont, May 17, 1846, a son of
Abram Boyd, and grandson of Robert Boyd, Jr.
His great-grandfather, Robert Boyd, Sr., a lin
eal descendant of Robert Boyd, the immigrant
ancestor, who came from England to this coun
try in the Mayflower, was a soldier in the Revo
lutionary war, the gun that he carried while in
the army being now in the possession of Gilbert
A. Boyd. Robert Boyd, Jr., was a life-long resident of
Wilmington, and one of its most respected citi
zens. By his union with Miss Susanna Wheeler,
seven children were born, as follows : Manning ;
Abram, the next in line of descent; Warren;
Stephen; Lucinda, who became the wife of Ja
cob Chase, of Wilmington ; Lorinda, who married
Luther Harrington; and Julia Ann, who married
Lewis Harrington.
Abram Boyd was born and reared in Wil
mington, Vermont, and there spent his entire life,
dying May 12, 1868. He was a farmer by occu
pation, and followed that independent calling un
til his retirement from active pursuits. He was
a man who was thoroughly respected for his ster
ling integrity and high sense of honor. He mar
ried Amanda Moore, who was born in Wilming
ton, Vermont, April 18, 181 1, and died August
21, 1900. She was a daughter of Jonathan Moore
and niece of Zephaniah Moore, the first president
of Amherst College. Her father, Jonathan
Moore, was for many years superintendent of a
cotton mill at North Adams, Massachusetts, but
was afterwards engaged in general farming in
Wilmington, Vermont, where his death occurred
at the advanced age of ninety-two years. In
early life he married Miss Polly Packard, of Wil
mington, Vermont, and they were both life-long
and devoted members of the Congregational
church. Nine children were born to them, name
ly: Jonathan and Lorenzo, their only boys, who
after attaining manhood removed and settled in
Wisconsin, where both lived and died, each leav
ing several children ; Minerva, who married Den

nis Cooley, of Hatfield, Massachusetts, and reared
two children, Myron and Irving; Margaret, who
married Luther Fisher, of Amherst, Massachu
setts, and reared three children, Homer, Calvin
and George; Fanny, who married Sanford Bel-
den and reared three children, Oscar, Hattie and
Mary ; Betsey, who married Ira Alden, of Hoos
ick Falls, New York, and they reared two sons,
Edwin and Henry, the latter being on the pres
ent editorial staff of Harper's Magazine; Pheobe,
who married Manning Boyd and had fourteen
children, Ransom, Lorenzo, Warren, Ansel, Ed-

GILBERT AUGUSTUS BOYD.
mund, Susan, Harriet and Evelyn, the other six
children dying when quite young; Polly, who
married a Air. Moore ; and Amanda, who married
Abram Boyd, and they became the parents of
eleven children, namely: Minerva, Julia M., Sa-
mantha, Frank, Edgar, Martha, Ellen, Gilbert
A., Albert, Jennie and Cyrus.
Gilbert A. Boyd received his early education
in his native town, and, following in the footsteps

470

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

of his ancestors, was there engaged in agricul
tural pursuits for a number of years, owning a
well improved farm, which he managed until
1892. In 1892, however, he accepted his present
position, and removed with his family to Reads
boro, operating his farm in addition to his other
work until he sold it. The plant of which he has
charge consists of a pulp and paper mill and box
manufactory, both of which are well equipped
with needed machinery, even to the printing
presses for printing the names of the various
large establishments that patronize the company.
The logs from which the boxes are made are
brought direct from the forest to the mill, cut into
convenient sizes, chemically treated, ground into
pulp, and are then made into paper for the boxes,
which are of two kinds, that which is folded flat
for shipment, and the metal edge box, which is
put together with metal corners, and which gives
the company its name. Since taking charge of
the factory Mr. Boyd has increased its machin
ery to almost double its original capacity, and the
business has more than doubled under his
management, the paper machine used here being
one of the largest in the United States. He has the
control of buying the stock, manufacturing the
goods, etc., the general office of the company be
ing at Philadelphia.
Mr. Boyd is a Republican in politics, and has
held numerous town offices, including those of
selectman, district clerk, justice of the peace, and
many others. He is an active member of Deer
field Valley Lodge, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, No. 3, in which he has filled various of
fices, and served, in 1902, as noble grand ; he was
an active member of Victory Grange (Wilming
ton), of which he was formerly master. He is
also prominently identified with several indus
trial enterprises, being one of the organizers and
directors of the Wilmington Creamery, and cor
porate director of the Wilmington Savings Bank,
and one of the directors of the shoe manufactory
formerly located in Whitingham, Vermont.
December 15, 1869, Mr. Boyd married Au
gusta L. Chase, who was born in Dover, Ver
mont, March 9, 1849, a daughter of Abraham and
Catherine (Reed) Chase. She is of pioneer de
scent, her grandfather Benjamin Chase having
been one of the earliest settlers of Whitingham,
Vermont, where his son Abraham Chase, father

of Airs. Boyd, was born and reared, and still re
sides at the advanced age of eighty-three years.
His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine
Reed, was born in Whitingham in 1820, on the
farm which was the birthplace of the famous
Brigham Young and where he lived until two
years of age. She married Abraham Chase, Ap
ril 23, 1844, with whom she lived very happily
for fifty-nine years, dying almost instantly of
heart failure on the morning of June 23, 1903, at
the age of eighty-three years. This union was
blessed with five children, namely : Oscar R., en
gaged in the meat and grocery business at Reads
boro, Vermont; Augustus L., twin brother of
Mrs. Boyd, a prominent physician of Randolph,
Massachusetts ; Augusta L., wife of Gilbert A.
Boyd, of Readsboro, A'ermont ; Charles S., a law
yer and court stenographer, of Whitingham, of
whom a sketch may be found on another page
of this volume; and Frank Leslie, who died at
four years of age. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd have had
three children; Lula A., who is bookkeeper for
the National Metal Edge Box Company; Edith
M., who died at Wilmington, Vermont, at the age
of twelve years ; and Byron W., who is also em
ployed by the National Metal Edge Box Com
pany.
GUY NASH WILLARD.
The name of Willard has been more than a
century synonymous with the building and growth
of the city of Burlington, A'xermont, for the reason
that the stone used in the construction of almost
every building in the city was taken from the
famous Willard Stone Quarry. Dubartis Will
ard, the grandfather of our subject, was a native
of Connecticut, whence he removed to Burlington,
Vermont, almost one and a quarter centuries ago.
He had previously learned the trade of a black
smith and wheelwright, and engaged in those oc
cupations for a number of years, meeting with an
excellent degree of success. He was a safe, care
ful and conservative man, and, owing to his capa
ble management, his progress was continuous, and
he attained a financial independence which as
sured to himself and family all of the necessary
comforts of life. Levi Willard, the father of Guy
Nash Willard, was reared and educated in Bur
lington, and when a. young man began his busi-

-fe^e^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

47i

ness career by opening a stone quarry, which later
became one of the most famous in the state, and
the stone quarried there has added much to the
beauty of the palatial residences, business and
public buildings of Burlington, while they have
also shipped a large amount of this stone to other
parts of the country. Mr. Willard was deeply
interested in all movements intended to advance
the moral, material and social welfare of the com
munity, and his firm purpose, honorable dealing
and fidelity to duty were numbered among his
strongest characteristics, and made him a man
whom to know was to respect. He was united in
marriage to Miss Samantha Nash.
Guy Nash Willard, a son of Levi and Saman
tha AVillard, received a common school education,
and at an early age was employed in his father's
quarries. He became thoroughly familiar with
all the details of the business so that after the
death of his father he was fully competent to as
sume charge of the enterprise, and he, began con
tracting and building on a very extensive scale.
For more than sixty years Mr. Willard was a
prominent figure in commercial circles, and his
prosperity and material stability were measured
by and were commensurate with his great energy
and unflagging industry. Among the most promi
nent buildings which stand as monuments of his
handiwork in Burlington, are the Cathedral, for
which he furnished the stone; the court house;
Methodist church, for which he furnished the
stone ; Exchange building, Young Men's Chris
tian Association, Huntington block, the opera
house, Howard Relief and Mary Fletcher Hos
pital, the Brunson, Dunham & Company's large
mill, the St. Joseph Orphan Asylum, and the Lau
rence Barnes mill, which was later destroyed by
fire. The last important work which he per
formed was the residence of Edward Wells, and
all these buildings add architectural beauty to the
neighborhoods in which they are located and form
an attractive feature of the locality. Mr. Willard
was a representative citizen of Burlington, and
labored indefatigably for the promotion of its
best interests.
In 1836 Mr. Willard married Miss Bulah
Bishop, and three children were born to them:
Eliza A., Hymon G. and Hollis B., but the last
named died at the age of four years. Mrs. Will
ard passed away on the 7th of February, 1843.

Mr. Willard passed away in death Alarch 4, 1892.
His name for three decades was inseparably con
nected with the most extensive building interests
in the city of Burlington, and he will be long and
kindly remembered by all who knew him. He
left behind him a large circle of friends, by whom,
as well as his immediate family, he was greatly
missed. Hymon G. Willard, the eldest son of Guy
Nash Willard, was born in Burlington, Vermont,
October 4, 1839. He obtained his education in
the public schools of this city, and later pursued
a course of study in civil engineering. For twen
ty years he followed that vocation, being princi
pally employed on railroad surveys in all parts
of the country, but just prior to the death of his
father in 1892 he returned home and assumed
charge of the latter's extensive business, and still
continues the work. He is a Democrat in his
political affiliations, and at one time was nomi
nated for alderman, reducing the Republican ma
jority from one hundred and fifty to three votes.
On the 29th of December, 1862, he was united
in marriage to Miss Fannie L. Parkhurst; her
death occurred November 4, 1884.
WEBSTER N. GOVE.
Webster Noble Gove, a leading merchant and
highly respected citizen of Lincoln, Vermont, is
a descendant of men who have been, each in
his day and generation, esteemed and useful citi
zens. Elisha Gove, his grandfather, was born
August 26, 1784, probably in New Hampshire,
and was one of the sturdy pioneers who prepared
the way for civilization. In early life he took up
a tract of land in Lincoln, A^ermont, which he
cleared and cultivated, making it his life-long
home, where he died June 4, 1858, in his seventy-
fourth year. His wife, Abigal Ring, was born
August 15, 1773, and died November 14, 1844.
They had two sons and a daughter.
Azarias Gove, son of Elisha Gove, was born
November 27, 1808, in Lincoln. He was reared
on a farm and for a time followed the occupation
of a farmer, but seems to have possessed an innate
inclination for the science of medicine and also
for that of chemistry, both of which he studied
as far as his limited opportunities permitted, ac
quiring such a degree of skill as enabled him

472

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

to compound essences, as well as to practice medi
cine so successfully as to receive from his neigh
bors the title of Dr. Gove. He married Sophronia
Kelton, born September 17, 181 1, in Grafton,
New Hampshire, a daughter of John A. Kelton,
a pioneer of the town of Ripton (now Lincoln),
where he spent his life as a very successful farm
er. Dr. and Airs. Gove were the parents of seven
children, six of whom grew to maturity, but only
four of whom are now living: Annette married
George W. Beaver, and resides in Peoria, Illi
nois; Mark A., residing in Portland, Oregon;
Webster N., mentioned at length hereinafter;
Emma J., who became the wife of George A.
Thayer, and died September 28, 1893, in Lincoln;
Henry W., in business with his brother, Webster
N. ; Abbie E- died May 4, 1876, in Lincoln, while
the wife of Alfred Haight : Dr. Cove died Sep
tember 15, 1887, in his seventy-ninth year, andhis
wife died May 30, 1882, at the age of seventy.
Webster N. Gove, son of Azarias and So
phronia (Kelton) Gove, was born May 15, 1845,
near South Lincoln, Vermont, and received his
education in the schools of the town. At the
age of twenty he engaged in the lumber business,
which he followed for seven years, and then,
feeling an interest in agricultural pursuits, he be
came a farmer. At the end of two years Mr. Gove
entered commercial life, purchasing a store, which
he conducted during part of the time with a
partner, until 1890, when the business was bought
out by the Lincoln Lumber Company, of which
Mr. Gove was made president. The establish
ment, which is engaged in the manufacture of
butter-tubs and boxes, is the largest of the kind
in Addison county, having the most spacious
store in the county, and owning one thousand
eight hundred and fifty acres of timber laridi The
factory keeps a force of fifty men constantly at
work, the ^tore giving employment to four clerks,
and the whole establishment attracts the best
patronage of the surrounding towns.
In politics Mr. Gove is a Republican, holding
the office of selectman, which he has already filled
for two terms. At the solicitation of his towns
men, he represented them in the state legislature
in 1880. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal
church, of which he is steward. Mr. Gove was
married May 21, 1872, to Jane Butterfield, who
was born in Lincoln, Arerniont, and died in 1877.

October 25, 1880, Mr. Gove married Cynthia Ann
(Purinton) Greene, born in Middlebury, Ver
mont, daughter of Asa Purinton, and widow of
Edwin Greene. Mrs. Gove attends, with her hus
band, the Methodist Episcopal church, and is a
teacher in the Sunday-school.
FRANK PLUMLEY.
Frank Plumley, of Northfield, a brilliant law
yer, an orator of national reputation, and a man
who has rendered to his ¦ community signally use
ful services in various public capacities, is a native
of Vermont, born in Eden on December 17, 1844.
He was reared upon a farm and began his edu
cation in the common schools in the neighbor
hood, which was supplemented by a course in
in People's Academy, Morrisville. For a short
time he taught school, and then entered upon the
study of the law under the preceptorship of Pow
ers & Gleed, at Morrisville.' After a year thus
occupied he entered the law departrnent of the
University of Michigan,- at the same time pursu
ing, a selected course of study in the literary de
partment of that institution. Returning to his
native state he was admitted to the bar before the
Lamoille county court in 1869: He located in
Northfield in that year and formed a law partner
ship with Hon. Heman Carpenter, which asso
ciation was maintained until 1 876. Since that
time, with the exception of about three years, Mr.
Plumley has practiced alone, caring for the inter-.
ests of a large and influential clientage with great
capability and success. Signal recognition of his
ability has been accorded to him in various calls
to important positions in the line of his profes
sion. For four years beginning in 1876 he was
state's attorney, and while occupying this posi
tion he prosecuted the notable Carr and Meaker
murder cases. In 1889 he was appointed United
State's attorney for the district of Vermont, by
President Harrison.
He has been connected with many of the most
noted cases of the state, especially with the im
portant litigation in the central portion of the
state, having prosecuted in the Marsh and Buz-
zell murder trial, the Mills, et al., and Seaver in
cendiary trials, in all of which conviction was
secured ; he also defended successfully in the ex
citing Wales arson case, in the trial of Mildred

/T

C L^x^<-*^o-^-t---cL<-^- ,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

473

'"Brewster, charged with murder; in the Doherty
case, in which latter conviction was secured, the
case carried to the United States supreme court,
^and the commutation of Doherty's sentance finally
tsecured from the legislature of 1902, at which
time Mr. Plumley made an argument for com
mutation before the general assembly which was
regarded as a masterpiece of eloquence and pow-
•er; he also was assigned by the state to defend
in the celebrated Spotter case and secured the
.acquittal of Mr. Wilson after a hard-fought trial
in Windsor county. .t
¦- In 1884 he was appointed lecturer on con-
i: -stitutional law at Norwich University, of which
"institution he was made trustee in 1888 and from
; which institution he received the honorary degree
-of A. M., in 1892.
An ardent Republican, Mr. Plumley has been
for many years prominent in the counsels of the
-party and an interesting and efficient campaign
orator. -In 1884 he was sent by the national com
mittee to take the stump in Michigan, and he be
came such a favorite that he has been recalled
to that state in every succeeding national cam
paign. He was chairman of the state convention
in 1886, and that body, in recognition of his vigor
in maintenance of temperance, appointed him a
delegate to the anti-saloon conference held in
New York city early in 1888. In the same year
he was a delegate-at-large to the Republican na
tional convention, which nominated General Har
rison for the presidency, and he occupied a prom-
nent place in that body. He was a member of
the committee to which was committed the draft
ing of the platform, and was the author of the
/resolution pledging the sympathy and support
•of the party to all well directed efforts lookirig to
'temperance reform, and this, with some minor
-verbal changes, was adopted by the convention.
Mr. Plumley has given much attention to the
¦promotion of education, and has served for more
than twenty-one years continuously upon the
Northfield board of education, and for several
years he has been chairman of that body. In 1882
he was elected to the state legislature as repre
sentative from Northfield and served with ability
upon the judiciary committee and the committee
on the insane, taking high rank as a debater and
being recognized as one of the leaders. He
•served as senator from Washington county in

the state legislature of 1894, his own town giving
him the largest majority ever given to any resi
dent candidate. He was elected president pro
tem of the senate, and served as a member of the
judiciary committee and the committee on rules.
In religion he is a Methodist, and was for
more than twelve years superintendent of the
Sunday-school connected with the church of
which he is a member. He has been prominently
identified with all temperance work, and has
been a member of the Independent Order of
Good Templars during the greater part of his
life. He was the first worthy chief Templar of
Northfield Lodge, at that time a splendid body
numbering about two hundred and fifty mem
bers. For five years he was grand secretary of
the Grand Lodge and was a representative from
that body to the Right Worthy Grand Lodge
of the World at its session in New York city and
at Topeka, Kansas, and he was for three years
consecutively the grand chief Templar of Ver-
Vermont. He is a member of DeWitt Clinton
Lodge, No. 15, Free and Accepted Masons, over
which he presided as master for four years, and
he is also a member of Northfield Lodge, No.
19, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
In 1900 Mr. Plumley was one of the leading
competitors for the nomination as representa
tive to Congress from the second congressional
district and in the convention polled nearly as
•many votes as his opponent, but. withdrew for
the sake of party harmony. In 1902 Mr. Plum
ley was appointed first associate member of the
court of claims, by Governor John G. McCul-
lough. He was married Augtist 9, 1871, to Lavinia
L. Fletcher, of Eden ; and to them two children
have been tjprn, Charles A. and Theodore M.
¦ ALFRED FERGUSON.
Alfred Ferguspn, a prominent and progressive
agriculturist of Bristol, Vermont, is a descendant
of a family who have made their home in the
state of Vermont since the early part of the eight
eenth century, and the fifth generation are now
residents, there. John Ferguson, great-grand
father of Alfred Ferguson, was born' in Nine
Partners, New York, in 1753, and soon after the
Revolution located in the vicinity of the present

474

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

village of Starksboro, Vermont. He erected his
residence in what was then called the town of
Monkton, and for many years followed agricul
tural pursuits. Becoming impressed with the fact
that it was inconvenient for the residents east of
Hogback Mountain to reach the business center
of the town, he used his influence in the legisla
ture, of which body he was a member of three
years, toward securing the annexation of a tract
of land lying east of this mountain to Starksboro,
Vermont. His endeavors were successful, and in
this way he became a resident of the town. His
original farm consisted of a large part of what
is now the site of the village of Starksboro. He
had a large spring on his ground, to which he
added the waters of a small stream by tunnelling
through a hill, and thus obtaining large water
privileges he erected the first grist and fulling
mill in the town, and in -addition to this occupation
he also operated a forge and trip-hammer shop.
His descendants to the fifth generation are now
occupying portions of the old farm, where Mr.
Ferguson died at a great age. He was chosen
the first representative of the town in 1798, and
continued the incumbent of that office for many
years. His wife was Mary Cuthbert, of Dutch
descent. His son, Elijah Ferguson, was born in Nine
Partners, New York, April 17, 1775, and removed
with his parents to Starksboro, Vermont, where
he became prominently identified with the com
mercial, political and social affairs of the town.
He devoted his entire life to the occupation of
farming, at which he was eminently successful;
he was elected to fill all the local offices in the
gift of his fellow townsmen, and it was largely
through his instrumentality that many improve
ments were made in the town. He was united
in marriage to Miss Mary Haight, who was born
in Starksboro, Vermont, November 6, 1780 ; their
marriage was solemnized August 10, 1797, and
they became the parents of ten children. Mr.
Ferguson's death occurred in Starksboro, Ver
mont, at the age of seventy-five years, and his
wife passed away when she had attained her
seventy-sixth year.
Albert Ferguson, fourth child of Elisha Fer
guson, was born in Starksboro, Vermont, Octo
ber 23, 1803. His literary education was ob
tained in the cofnmon schools of his native town,

and after completing his studies he turned his at
tention to the tilling of the soil, at which occupa
tion he spent the remainder of his life. He mar
ried Miss Clarissa Bostwick, born November 21,
1806, a daughter of Gilbert and Lydia (Butler)
Bostwick, who came to Starksboro, Vermont, in
1820, and the remainder of their lives were spent
in that town. Mr. Bostwick died August 3, 1869,.
and his wife's death occurred July 3, 1868. Four
teen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Albert-
Ferguson. Mr. Ferguson died in Bristol, Ver
mont, May- 17, 1884, in the eighty-first year of
his age.
Alfred Ferguson, third child of Albert and
Clarissa Ferguson, was born in Starksboro, Ver
mont, April 12, 1829. He is indebted to the com
mon schools of Bristol, Vermont, for his lit
erary education, upon the completion of which
he engaged in farming, and -'this occupation has
been the principal pursuit of his life. He has a
fine farm which consists of two hundred and fifty t.
acres of well cultivated land, which is devoted to
the production of a general line of garden pro
duce, for which there is always an available mar
ket. Two -hundred acres of this farm were pur
chased in 1857, at a cost of seven thousand dol
lars. Mr. Ferguson paid down six hundred dol
lars and gave his note for the balance. He sub
sequently rebuilt the house and erected fine barns,.
which cost him an additional four thousand dol
lars. He then purchased ninety acres of land
which adjoined his farm, erected a fine commo
dious house and barn, which altogether cost three-
thousand dollars, and this is now occupied by his
son, who aided in its purchase. Previous to 1857
he was the owner of a farm for which he paid
two thousand dollars, one hundred down, which,
was the money he had saved out of his earnings
as a farm laborer, and a note was given for the-
balance. He was then eighteen years old. He-
has been very successful in all his undertakings,.
and much credit is due to him for his industry,.
energy and perseverance.
In his political affiliations Mr. Ferguson is-
an adherent of the Republican party, and has
served the town as selectman and lister for a num
ber of years ; for ten years he acted in the capa
city of justice of the peace, and he has also been
appointed delegate to the county conventions.
On April 12, 1858, Mr. Ferguson married Miss

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

47S

Jerusha Wright, who was born in New. Haven,
A'ermont, November 8, 1833, a daughter of Caleb
AVright, who was a prominent farmer of that
town, and his wife, Harriett Rockwood, who was
born September 11, 1810, in Starksboro, Vermont.
They had five children. Air. Wright was born
February 13, 18 10, in Weybridge, Vermont, and
died in the town of New Haven, Vermont, Janu
ary 30, 1896, at the age of eighty-six years. His
wife's death occurred December 29, 1898, when
she had attained the age of eighty-eight years ;
they were both consistent members of the Metho
dist Episcopal church of Weybridge. Four chil
dren have. been born to Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson,
two of whom survive. The first, Wright Alfred,
born July 4, 1863, resides on a fine farm in New
Haven. He married Miss Cora Ray of Monkton,
Vermont, and has one child, Clara, born May 9,
1888, in New Haven, Vermont. The second,
Edwin Alfred, born July 24, 1876, is a successful
farmer at Bristol, who resides on the homestead.
He married Miss Huldana Brooks, who was born
July 23, 1879, in Virginia and reared in New
Haven, Vermont, and they have one child, Irene,
born December 25, 1900. Both sons are members
of the Alasonic fraternity. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Ferguson are earnest members of the Methodist
Episcopal church of Bristol, Vermont, in which
Mr. Ferguson has held the office of trustee for
many years, and for over forty years has acted as
steward; in fact he has taken an active part in
all the work connected with the church, as did
also his father and grandfather, who very materi
ally assisted in the building of the edifice at
Starksboro. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson are
honored for their fidelity to principle, truth and
right, esteemed for their genial and kindly man
ner and loved for their many admirable qualities.
SOLON THOMAS CHAMBERLIN.
Captain Solon Thomas Chamberlin, superin
tendent of the Readsboro Chair Manufacutring
Company, at Readsboro, Vermont, was born Ap
ril 4, 1846, at Leicester, Junction, Addison coun
ty, Vermont, a son of Willard H. Chamberlin.
Willard H. Chamberlin was born in Brome, Can
ada. He was the son of Ebenezer Chamberlin,
who was born December 14, 1780, died November
t2, 1859. Ebenezer Chamberlin married Kezia

Stone, July 8, 1804. Kezia Stone was born June
2, 1782, died March 24, 1849. Of the union of
Kezia Stone with Ebenezer Chamberlin, nine
children were born : Elnathin G., born September
26, 1805; Daniel S., born January 23, 1807;
Martha, born April 15, 1809; Calvin, born De
cember 19, 1810; Willard H., born October 13,
1814; Timothy E., born April 23, 1816; Kezia,
born December 12, 1819; Abigail, born August
31, 1821 ; and Versel E., born April 14, 1824.
Willard H. Chamberlin acquired his educa
tion in the common schools of Brandon, Vermont,
and its seminary. During his earlier life he was

SOLON THOMAS CHAMBERLIN.
engaged in farming, but was afterward dealer
in blooded horses of considerable note, buying
Black Hawk horses and then shipping west for
breeding purposes ; and for a number of years
he was engaged in buying Alerino sheep and ship
ping them to the western states. He died in
Brandon, Vermont, February 16, 1875. **e was
a Republican in politics, and always took a great

476

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

interest in public affairs, being a great reader.
He married Elizabeth Gage, who was born in
Hague, New York, January 14, 18 18, and
daughter of Thomas Gage, who was for many
years a farmer in Sudbury, Vermont, but who,
while advanced in years, moved to Illinois, and
died there at the age of ninety-two years. He
was a Mason, belonging to Brandon Lodge. Mr.
Gage married Eunice Stevens. Of the union of
Mr. Gage and Eunice Stevens, ten children were
born, Rebecca, Conro, Diana, Patience, Amanda,
Pomelia, Elizabeth, William, Ruth and Ann.
Of the union of Elizabeth Gage with Will
ard Chamberlin, ten children were born. Harlan,
of Goshen, Vermont; Eva, the wife of D. B.
Brown, of Goshen, Vermont; Ella, who married
L. Melvin Baker, since deceased ; Solon T., with
whom this sketch is chiefly concerned ; Leonard
J., living in Massachusetts ; Adel, who married
D. P'assett, since deceased; Allen B., a resident
of Holyoke, Massachusetts ; Alton, residence un
known, none of the family having heard from him
for twenty-five years ; Versel, a resident of
Goshen, Vermont ; and William H., a resident of
Petaluma, California. The mother was a member
of the Baptist church from the age of sixteen un
til her death, December 22, 1898.
Solon T. Chamberlin spent the very earliest
years of his life in Leicester Junction, Whiting,
Sudbury, and Goshen, Vermont, receiving his
education in the public schools of Whiting, Sud
bury, and Goshen. AVhile at home he assisted in
the labors incidental to a boy's life, occasionally
accompanying his father to the west with sheep
or horses. In 1864, a lad of eighteen, he enlisted
in Company B, Ninth Vermont Volunteer Infan
try, and served until the close of the war. He par
ticipated in the battles of second Fair Oaks,
Chapin's farm and Fort Harrison. Returning
home, he engaged in buying and shipping Alerino
sheep west and in farming for two years ; then
located in Gardner, Massachusetts, where he en
tered the chair factory of Bent Brothers in 1871,
where he tried to learn the business in all its de
tails. He was with Bent Brothers for a number
of years. He subsequently entered the employ
of Heywood Brothers & Company, where he had
charge of part of their factory for two years. In
1890 he went to Detroit, Michigan, as superinten
dent of a large chair factory for two years. He

then accepted the position of superintendent of a
chair factory at Frankfort, Kentucky, for the
Alason & Ford Company. Mr. Chamberlin had
charge of this factory two years, employing nine
hundred men, the work being done by convict
labor. The firm then going out of business on ac
count of the expiration of their lease with the
state, Mr. Chamberlin induced the state to take
up the work previously carried on by the Mason
& Ford Company, and he was given entire charge
of the factory, employing nine hundred men the
first two years, and six hundred the ensuing four
y-ears. Being forced by ill health to resign his
position, he returned to Brandon, Vermont, and
purchased a farm, on which his family still reside,
and was there successfully engaged in farming
pursuits until 1901, when he became superinten
dent of the Readsboro Chair Manufacturing Com
pany. A full description of this plant may be
found on another page of this volume in connec
tion with the sketch of A. B. Clark.
While living in Gardner, Massachusetts, Mr.
Chamberlin was commissioned captain of Com
pany B, Second Massachusetts Volunteer Militia,
his commission being signed by Governor Rob
inson, and served six years, resigning when he
went to Detroit, Michigan. Fraternally Mr.
Chamberlin is a member of William Ellison
Lodge No. 185, Independent Order of Odd Fel
lows, of Gardner, Massachusetts, is a past grand
of the lodge, and of D. G. Farragut Post No.
116, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he
has filled all the chairs, and for two years served
as commander. Politically he is a Republican.
Captain Chamberlin married Huldie M. Wash
burn., April 21, 1868, youngest daughter of
Charles and Maria Brown Washburn. Mrs.
Chamberlin was born in Goshen, Vermont, No
vember 27, 1847. Charles Washburn was born in
Bridgewater, Vermont, April 1, 1815, son of
James and Nancy Backus Washburn. He died
in Goshen, Vermont, August, 1892. Mrs. Charles
Washburn was born in Rochester, Vermont, No
vember 19, 1816, daughter of John and Myria
Austin Brown. Mrs. Washburn is still living,
her mind being bright as fifty years ago. There
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Washburn five chil
dren, Mary J., Charles Langdon, Shubel H.,
Huldie M., and one died in infancy. Captain
and Mrs. Chamberlin have had three children:

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

477

Clifton L., a music teacher in Rutland, Vermont,
who was educated for his profession by Professor
Saxton, of Lexington, Kentucky ; he was born in
Goshen, Vermont, July 7, 1875. Jesse L., born
in Gardner, Massachusetts, July 31, 1881, died
January 26, 1882. Dalton E., born in Gardner,
Massachusetts, February 17, 1884, died in Bran
don, Vermont, February 8, 1903.
FRANK L. EASTMAN.
Frank L. Eastman, a leading and influential
citizen of New Haven, Vermont, belongs to a
family which for more than a century has been
represented in the state. Jonathan Eastman,
great-grandfather of Frank L. Eastman, was born
in 1753, in Norwich, Connecticut, removing early
in life, with his three brothers, Calvin, Anson and
Amos, to Bristol, Vermont, where they acted the
part of pioneers in the then infant settlement, of
which Jonathan Eastman became one of the most
prominent citizens. He served for eleven years
as town clerk, four years as selectman, and rep
resented the town in the state legislature from
1792 to 1795, in addition to acting for seventeen
years as justice of the peace. Mr. Eastman died
December 16, 1816, in Bristol, at the age of six
ty-six years. His first wife, Miss Haynes, bore
him a daughter. He married, second, Ruth Dean,
born in New Haven, Vermont, and they had five
children. Ira Eastman, son of Jonathan Eastman, was
born October 16, 1802, in Bristol, Vermont, where
he followed the occupation of a farmer. He mar
ried Sally Foote, born July 9, 1802, in New Ha
ven, whose father, Thomas Foote, was one of the
first settlers of that region, where he spent his
entire life. Sally Foote was born in a log house
which stood on the site of Mr. Frank L. East
man's present home. Mr. and Mrs. Eastman
were the parents of four sons, of whom one,
Ira, is now living in Montpelier, Vermont. In
the latter part of his life Mr. Eastman went to
northern Ohio, where he died at the early age of
thirty-four, his wife surviving him many years,
dying at the age of sixty-four.
Albert Eastman, son of Ira and Sally (Foote)
Eastman, was born August 1, 1825, in Bristol,
Vermont, and was reared in the home of his ma
ternal grandfather, where he received his early

education, afterward attending the academy at
Malone, New York. On completing his education
he returned to New Haven, Vermont, where he-
had spent his childhood, and there taught school
for several terms, at the same time engaging in
farming during the summer seasons. In material
matters he was very successful, owning a fine
farm of one hundred and fifty acres, and occupy
ing a leading position in the community, in the
affairs of which he was very active. He enjoyed
in a high degree the esteem and confidence of
his townsmen, being elected to a number of offices,
among which were those of lister and overseer of
the poor. He was a man of literary tastes, find
ing a great source of pleasure in his books. His-
entire life was spent in New Haven. From 1852
to i860, he lived on the shores of the New Haven
river, and subsequently purchased his boyhood
home, from his uncle. He married, April 13,
1852, Mary Sumner, born September 27, 1831,
in Potsdam, New York, daughter of Thomas
Sumner, who was born in Bristol and was the son
of Henry G. Sumner, a pioneer of that town.
Thomas Sumner married Dorcas Fuller, and went
to Potsdam, New York, where he remained un
til about forty years old, when he returned to
Bristol and died there at the age of seventy-five
years, in 1875. His father built for himself a
substantial and comfortable house in the town of
Bristol, which is still standing. Mr. and Mrs.
Albert Eastman were the parents of two chil
dren, Frank L., mentioned at length hereinafter;
and Lizzie, wife of Rev. George W. Brooks,
pastor of the Village Congregational church at
Dorchester, Massachusetts. Mr. Eastman died
July 25, 1882, at the age of fifty-eight. Mrs.
Eastman, who is still living, is, in point of mem
bership, the oldest attendant of the New. Haven
Congregational church, with which she became
connected fifty years ago.
Frank Leslie Eastman, son of Albert and
Mary (Sumner) Eastman, was born July 11,
1853, in New Haven, Vermont, where he re
ceived his primary education in the public schools,
afterward attending the Bristol and Vergennes
high schools and Morrisville Academy. He
then taught school one term and has since en
gaged exclusively in farming. Being well in
formed, and a good conversationalist, he is fitted
to fill positions of trust and responsibility.

478

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Mr. Eastman is an active member of the Re
publican party, standing high in the esteem of
his fellow citizens, who have elected him to all
offices within their gift, making him, for a num
ber of years, selectman, for seven years lister, be
ing a part of the time chairman of that board, and
chairman of the town board. In 1898 he repre
sented the town in the state legislature, and dur
ing the session of that year served on the com
mittee of state prisons and has acted for a number
of years as delegate to the state conventions. For
a considerable period he has filled the office of au
ditor. He and all his family attend the Congre
gational church.
Mr. Eastman married, January 5, 1881, Lillie
S. Sherman, born June 1, 1855, daughter of Al
fred Sherman, of Charlotte, Vermont, in which
town his father, Leverett Sherman, was a pioneer.
Mrs. Eastman's mother, Lydia Eastman, is a
native of Charlotte, and now resides in Burling
ton, Vermont. Air. and Mrs. Eastman have three
children: Albert S., now a college student in
Burlington, A^ermont ; Laura M. and Anna L.,
graduates of Beeman Academy. Both the daugh
ters are very successful teachers.
HON. JOHN L. BARSTOW.
The career of ex-Governor John L. Barstow,
of Vermont, illustrates the fact that it is not the
"politician," but the citizen who is most promi
nent and efficient in the real work of the govern
ment of the people. It admits of the statement,
somewhat peculiar, when made truthfully of a
public man, that, high as have been the responsi
bilities to which he has been called by the peo
ple, he has never, directly or indirectly, solicited
the vote or influence of any man for any elective
office. He has assumed high official obligations
upon the demand of his fellow citizens, and has
discharged them honestly, vigorously and patrioti
cally. John Lester Barstow was born in the town of
Shelburne, Vermont, February 21, 1832, of
English and Revolutionary lineage. His parents
were Heman and Lorain (Lyon) Barstow. He
took so kindly to books and was so well educated
in the home schools at Shelburne at fifteen that
he was duly installed as a teacher. The west
attracted him, and in 1851 he located in Detroit
and was in business there until 1857, when, on

account of the advancing age of his parents, he
returned to Shelburne and engaged in farming.
But his tastes and ambition fitted him to a dif
ferent life, and in 1861 he was assistant clerk of
the house of representatives at Montpelier. In
the fall of that year, while still in the office men
tioned, he enlisted for military service in the
suppression of the rebellion of the southern
states, and was appointed on the non-commis
sioned staff of the Eighth Regiment, Vermont
Volunteers. Later he was promoted successively
to the ranks of adjutant, captain and major.
When he was made major the company which,
as captain, he had commanded, presented him
with a beautiful sword. He was hororably dis
charged at the expiration of his term of service,
June 22, 1864, and the men of his regiment who
were mustered out with him presented him with
a sword more elegant than the one he had be
fore received. These gifts, which have since been
cherished by Governor Barstow, indicate the high
esteem in which he was held by those who had
served under him and had noted his soldierly
bearing in camp and on field of battle.
The historian of his regiment says: "When,
after the blood}- fight of June 14, 1863, in front
of Port Hudson, General Banks called for volun
teers to head the storming column for a final at
tack, Captain Barstow was one of the brave men
who stepped forward to form the forlorn hope."
He was acting adjutant general under Generals
Thomas and Weitzel, participated in all engage
ments in which his regiment took part, and was
complimented for eminent service in the field and
for gallantry in the assault on Port Hudson, and
was honorably mentioned for personal service.
Immediately upon his arrival home he was offered
a responsible position in the recruiting serivce of
the state by Adjutant General Washburn, which
he was obliged to decline on account of impaired
health. He had entered the army as robust as
any man of vigorous constitution, but three years'
active service in the miasmatic climate of Louisi
ana had broken both his health and his constitu
tion, and he was for many years a sufferer from
malaria to an extent that incapacitated him for
any active business pursuit.
In September, 1864, he was elected a member
of the legislature and during the ensuing session
the St. Albans raid occurred; and, at General

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

479

Washburn's solicitation, Major Barstow repaired
to the scene of action and was sent to Canada on
a special . mission. He was subsequently ap
pointed brigadier general, commanding one of
the brigades of militia raised by the state in con
sequence of the raid, was placed in command of
the forces on the northwestern frontier of the
state, and remained on duty until relieved by Gen
eral Stannard in January, 1865. He was re
turned to the legislature that fall, by the unani
mous vote of his town, and was senator from
Chittenden county, 1866-67. He was appointed
United States pension agent at Burlington by
General Grant in 1870, and served in that posi
tion almost eight years. He instituted reforms
for the benefit of needy pensioners, and otherwise
performed his duties in this office so well that he
was recipient of an autograph letter of thanks
from General Carl Schurz, then secretary of the
interior. In 1879 Mr. Barstow was appointed
by Governor Proctor, state commissioner for the
centennial celebration of the surrender of Corn
wallis at Yorktown, and was efficient in securing
government aid for the undertaking and for the
monument, as well as in perfecting arrangements
for the celebration. In 1880, upon unanimous
nomination, he was elected lieutenant governor
for the biennial term, and, in 1882, governor of
Vermont. He was the first governor of Vermont
to call attention to the alleged excessive and dis
criminating rates for freight charged by trans
portation companies, and to urge the creation of
an effective railroad commission. In the history
of the Eighth Regiment, Colonel Carpenter says :
"The Ely riots occurred during Governor Bar
stow's term of office, and his course in requiring
that justice should precede force, and that the
riotous miners be paid their honest dues, at
tracted much favorable comment throughout the
country." The resolution of the legislature in
1884, requesting the Vermont delegation in Con
gress to use its best efforts to secure the passage
of the inter-state commerce law, was passed on
Governor Barstow's recommendation. At the
close of his administration the Rutland Herald
voiced the general opinion of his constituents
when it declared that he had been "as careful,
independent, able and efficient a ruler as Vermont
had enjoyed for twenty years."
Governor Barstow has held many important

appointments of trust and honor, such as presi
dent of the Reunion Society of Vermont Offi
cers : trustee of the University of Vermont State
Agricultural College; trustee of the Burlington
Savings Bank, and commissioner to fix arid pur
chase a site for the Bennington Battle Monument.
In 1 89 1 he was appointed by President Harrison
to serve on a commission with General A- McD.
McCook, United States army, to treat with the
Navajoe Indians, and it is a matter of history
that he was influential in bringing the work to
a successful conclusion. Besides, he was dis
bursing officer of the commission, and to the as
tonishment of the treasury officials he returned
nearly half the sum appropriated for expenses.
In 1893, at the request of Governor Fuller, he
acted with the executive committee of the na
tional anti-trust society.
A friend of every movement for the public
welfare, general or local, Governor Barstow has
always been loyal to his native town, and is
among its most public-spirited citizens. Before
the adoption of a state system of aid to public
libraries, he took the initiative in establishing the
Shelburne Free Library, donating the first col
lection of books, as well as money, for a nucleus.
He has ever since been one of its trustees and,
until recently, one of the most active managers.
General Barstow is a member of the Grand Army
of the Republic and past commander of the Loyal
Legion. He was made a Mason in 1853. In re
ligious preference he is an Episcopalian.
He was married October 28, 1858, to Miss
Laura Maeck, granddaughter of Dr. Frederick
Maeck, Shelburne's first resident physician (see
Maeck). Mrs. Barstow died March 11, 1885,
leaving two sons. The elder of these, Frederick
M. Barstow, was born March 3, i860, was grad
uated from the University of Vermont in 1880,
became a successful civil engineer and, upon ex
amination, was appointed and served as an officer
of engineers in the volunteer army of the United
States in the Spanish war. While in this service,
he contracted typhoid fever, frpm which he died
at the home of his father, March 16, 1899.
Charles L. Barstow, the younger son, was born
May 22, 1867, was graduated from Union Col
lege in 1889, and latter established himself in
New York, where he is the head of the educa
tional department of the Century Company.

48o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

The farm occupied by Governor Barstow was
cleared by his grandfather, Ebeneezer Barstow,
who came from Canterbury, Connecticut, in 1784,
and reclaimed it from the wilderness. He served
in a Connecticut regiment during the Revolution,
participating in the battle of White Plains, and
held the rank of sergeant. His wife, Esther Ow
en, was the daughter of a soldier who served un
der Montgomery at Quebec. The first of the
Barstow family in America was John Barstow
who came from Yorkshire, England, about 1635,
and settled at Cambridge, Massachusetts, where
he died in 1657. The line comes down through
John, Job, John, the father of Ebeneezer, above
mentioned. John Barstow (4), was a farmer of
Canterbury, Connecticut, and his wife, Eliza
beth Newcomb, was a native of Franklin, Con
necticut. Heman Barstow lived all his life in Shel
burne, where he was a representative farmer. He
was a leading member of the Methodist church,
a man of high principle and most exemplary life,
and represented his town in the legislature, and
the county in the state senate. He was active
in the Washingtonian temperance movement, and
was a AVhig and, later, a Republican in politics —
a strong anti-slavery man. He was born April
11, 1790, and died February 27, 1868.
FRANK LEONARD SHACKETT.
Among the enterprising and successful busi
ness men of New Haven, Vermont, may be men
tioned the name of Frank L. Shackett, who was
born in Aliddlebury, Vermont, February 13, 1867,
a son of Thomas M. Shackett, who was born in
Addison county, Vermont, in 1830. The latter
attended the common schools of his native state,
and at the age of thirteen years, commenced his
active business career in the stock-buying trade.
He continued in this line of trade for a number of
years, and became one of the largest and most
successful stock-buyers in his section of the state
of Vermont. Subsequently he entered the employ
of Armour Brothers, and acted as their buyer in
Kansas City up to the time of his death. He mar
ried Aliss Susan E. Hubbard, who was born in
Addison, Vermont, in 1836, a daughter of Perez
H. and Mehetabel (Chapin) Hubbard. Mr. Hub
bard was a successful agriculturist in Addison,

Vermont, later in Bristol, Vermont, whence he
removed to Wakefield, Massachusetts, and sub
sequently resided in the town of New Haven, on
the farm adjoining that of Frank L. Shackett,
where he died in 1886, at the age of eighty-six
years ; his wife was the cousin of Dr. Chapin, of
New York city. They were the parents of three
children : David, a resident of New Haven ; Mar
tha, Mrs. William Mclntyre, of New Haven ; and
Susan E. Air. Shackett died in Kansas City, at.
the age of sixty-five years, and his wife subse
quently married B. F. Nutting and resides at
Westford, Massachusetts.
Frank L. Shackett, only child of Thomas M.
and Susan E. Shackett, spent the early years of
his life in Vermont and Massachusetts, and ac
quired an excellent education in the common
schools. At the age of fifteen years he went west,.
settled upon a ranch in Kansas and for a number
of years followed the life of a ranchman. He then
removed to Dallas, Texas, and was engaged as
chief clerk in the Windsor Hotel, retaining this
position for six years. At the ^expiration of this
period of time, being troubled greatly with rheu
matism, he determined to return east, but changed.
his plans and went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where
he assumed the management of the Aberdeen
Hotel, situated at the corner of Dayton and Vir
ginia avenues. The hotel was one of the finest in
the city at that time, entirely fireproof, and was
erected at a cost of four hundred and fifty thous
and dollars ; it contained one hundred and eighty-
five rooms with baths, and the rates were from
three dollars and fifty cents to six dollars per day.
Air. Shackett purchased all the furnishings of the
hotel and had the superintendency of seventy em
ployes. After his return to Vermont, in 1899, Mr.
Shackett purchased his present farm, which con
sists of two hundred and thirty acres, and has
since been engaged in improving his property,
which is rented, though occupied by him and tilled1
under his supervising eye. For a few months, he
managed the Kenwood Hotel, in Chicago, and in
1901 assumed the management of the Bardwell, at
Rutland, Vermont, the largest hotel in the city,
where he remained until the estate of its former
owner was settled. He then removed to his farm,
where his health has been much improved, and
where he has since resided. Mr. Shackett is a
self-made man in the strictest sense of the term,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

481

his present position in life being the logical result
of applied industry, ability and strict integrity of
character. In political principles he is a Repub
lican. He is quiet and unassuming, popular
in business and social circles, and has gained and
retained the respect of a host of friends.
On March 12, 1901, Mr. Shackett married
Miss Charlotte L. Landon, who was born in 1870,
a daughter of Mills J. Landon, of New Haven,
Vermont, whose biography appears on another
page of this work. Mrs. Shackett graduated from
Beeman Academy of New Haven, and attended
St. Johnsbury Academy. She is a musician of
rare ability, educated in music at Boston, and for a
number of years has given private lessons to mem
bers of the leading families of Addison county,
Vermont. For the past ten years, she has been
organist of the Congregational church at New
Haven, Vermont.
WILLIAM S. HOWDEN.

William S. Howden, a leading manufacturer
of Bristol, Vermont, and also widely known as
an inventor, belongs to a family of English origin
which for more than a century has been represent
ed in New England. John W. Howden, great
grandfather of William S. Howden, was born
in Yorkshire, England, in 1719, and emigrated
to this country during the latter half of the eight
eenth century, before or during the Revolutionary
war. William Howden, son of John W. Howden,
was born in 1752, in England, and emigrated, with
his father to Massachusetts, removing later to
Connecticut, and finally to Vermont, where he
died. John Howden, son of William Howden, was
born June 6, 1781, in Massachusetts, removing
with his father to Vermont. He was a cattle-
drover, and owned a fine farm of two hundred
acres, on which he spent the greater part of his
life, with the exception of a few. years which he
passed in Kirtland, Ohio. He participated in the
battle of Plattsburg, during the war of 1812, and
seems to have been a man of some standing in the
community, for we are informed that he filled the
office of sheriff. November 17, 1803, he married
Mary Smith, who was born May 16, 1783, in
Colerain, Massachusetts, and his family consisted
31

of five children, three of whom reached maturity :
John, who was appointed consul to Bermuda, and
died there; Eliza, who married Nathan Daggett,
and died in Kirtland, Ohio ; and William S., men
tioned at length hereinafter, and the only one now
living. John Howden died July 3, 1857, in Bris
tol, Vermont, and his wife did not long survive
him, dying July 4, 1858, at the age of seventy-five
years. William S. Howden, son of John and Mary
(Smith) Howden, was born November 20, 1819,
in Bristol, Vermont, where he spent the early
years of his life, learned the trade of tinsmith, and
opened the first tinshop and hardware store in
Bristol, in the year 1839. This business he con
tinued for a number of years, and then sold out
and removed to Waterbury, Vermont. It was
while living in this place that Mr. Howden be
came an inventor, constructing the first iron-
framed clothes-wringer ever made, which he im
proved upon by devising and putting together the
same utensil, with the single alteration of a wood
en frame in place of the iron one. This invention
speedily attained to deserved popularity, Mr.
Howden selling as many as three thousand and
upward in a year. After remaining six years in
Waterbury, he left that place, with the intention
of seeking a still more profitable market for
his wares, but after traveling through the west
failed to find one, and returned to Vermont and
took up his abode in Bristol. Here he became a
member of the firm of Howden, Daniels & Com
pany, which operated a sash and blind factory,
and in 1869 established a manufactory for burial
caskets, which he conducted with great success,
with David Bosworth and Benjamin Daggett as
partners. This was subsequently incorporated as
the Bristol Manufacturing Company. Such has
been Air. Howden's success that he is to-day the
president of the largest establishment of the kind
in New England, employing a force of about one
hundred and fifty hands, working on the latest
improved methods, and producing all grades of
goods, including the very finest carved work to be
found in the market. Mr. Howden also has an
interest in the New Haven Mills Manufacturing
Company. This firm, which gives employment to
about eighty-five hands, is engaged in the making
of all kinds of mail lock boxes, for which, so ex
tensive are their dealings, they find a market

482

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

throughout the expanse of the continent, sending
them from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. In
addition to engaging in these large manufacturing
enterprises, Mr. Howden has also given a consid
erable portion of his attention to the real estate
business. In politics Air. Howden is a Republican, and
he has bestowed a due share of attention on the
affairs of the party, although prevented by the
pressing nature of his duties as a business man
from taking an active part in politics. Not
withstanding the fact that Mr. Howden was
reared, so to speak, in a Masonic atmosphere,
his father being a Mason of high degree, an
active member of the Advent Chapter, he has
no connection with the order, nor, indeed, with
any fraternal organizations. Mr. Howden is
an ardent church worker, having served for many
years as deacon of the Advent church, and parti
cipated actively in the work of the Sunday-school.
When the local church building was erected Mr.
Howden assumed the responsibility for one-half
the expense, and presented the parsonage as a gift.
Mr. Howden married Adeline Stewart, born in
Weybridge, Vermont, and they were the parents
of four children, all of whom, together with their
mother, are now deceased. Mr. Howden's second
marriage was with Anna Smith, daughter of
Daniel Smith, of Addison, Vermont. The first
child of William S. and Adeline Howden, named
Oscar, died in boyhood ; the second, Mary Eliza,
became the wife of John Ridley, and left three
children, Anna, William and John. The first of
these is the wife of Myron Thomas, and the
mother of three children, Thorpe, Ford and Lloyd.
Edson, third child of W. S. Howden, died un
married ; John, the fourth, married Elizabeth Pat
terson, and left one son, Edson William, now a
resident of Bristol.
Adeline Stewart was born in 1819, and was a
daughter of Barzillia and Mary (Royce) Stewart.
The former was a native of Connecticut, and
was three times married. His first wife, Polly
Frost, bore him seven children ; the second, Polly
Williamson, a widow, bore him eight and the
third, also a widow named Hyde, was the mother
of five. Barzillia Stewart died in his eighty-first
year, and Mary his wife, lived to be seventy-five
yrears old.

JULIUS O. BOTTUM.
Julius O. Bottum, prominently identified for
many years with the political and agricultural in
terests of New Haven, Vermont, was born on the
old homestead one mile below the village of New
Haven, January 26, 1858. Simon Bottum, great
grandfather of Julius O. Bottum, was born in
Connecticut in 1755, in one of the richest agri
cultural belts of the state. He always gave his
attention to the cultivation of the soil, and was a
thoroughly practical and progressive farmer. He
removed to Shaftsbury, Vermont, being one of
the pioneer settlers, and his death occurred in that
town at the age of sixty-five years.
Elias Bottum, son of Simon Bottum, was born
in Shaftsbury, Vermont, February 3, 1790. His
educational advantages were obtained in the com
mon schools of that town, and in 1809 he re
moved to New Haven, Vermont, and located on
the farm now owned by Mr. H. C. Conant, and,
being well equipped for the work by practical ex
perience on his father's farm, he met with the
success that his efforts merited. He was a mem
ber of the legislature from 1822 to 1829, and
served as senator from Addison county during the
years 1840 and 1841. It has been stated that
Judge Bottum, with his associate, George Chap
man, once overruled the supreme judge who sat
with them on a question of law in the trial of a
case. The appeal was taken to the supreme court,
which affirmed the decision made by Judge Bot
tum and Judge Chapman. Mr. Bottum married
Miss Diadama Squier, who was born in New
Haven, Vermont, in 1795, and their children
were: Mary Ann, who married Julius Sprague
in 1838; Charlotte, wife of Ezra Hoyt; Caroline,
wife of James Meacham; and Elias S. Bottum.
The father of these children died in New Haven,
Vermont, in 1865, at the age of seventy-five years.
Elias S. Bottum was born in New Haven,
Vermont, in 182 1. He obtained his education in
a private school, and after completing his studies
he assisted his father with the management of the
farm until after his marriage, when he purchased
the farm now occupied by his son, Julius O.,
which consisted of one hundred and fifty acres,
which he cultivated for a number of years. After
the death of his father he inherited the old home-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

483

stead, which consisted of seven hundred and
fifty acres, the largest farm in the state. This he
brought to a high state of cultivation, and it
yielded a goodly income for the care and labor
bestowed upon it. In public affairs Mr. Bottum
took quite an active interest, and he was chosen
to represent the town in the state legislature, also
served as selectman and lister. He was united
in marriage to Miss Mary Hoyt, who was born
in Hinesburg, A'ermont, in 1825, a daughter of
the Rev. Otto S. Hoyt, who was an earnest and
conscientious minister of the Congregational
church in this section of Vermont all his life.
Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bot
tum, six of whom are still living : Elias H, who
graduated from Middlebury College in 1871, and
later from the Columbia Law School at Washing
ton, District of Columbia, and is now engaged in
the successful practice of his profession at Mil
waukee, Wisconsin; Caroline E., wife of Profes
sor Edwin Hall of Harvard College, residing in
Cambridge, Massachusetts ; Mary L., who resides
in Boston, Massachusetts ; Julius O. ; Charlotte,
who graduated from the New England Conserv
atory of Music, and is now the wife of Herndon
Brown, of Culpepper, Virginia ; and Fordyce H,
a graduate of Harvard College, and now prac
ticing law in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mr. Bot
tum and his family were earnest and consistent
members of the Congregational church of New
Haven. He died November 7, 1877, when he had
attained the age of fifty-five years.
Julius Otto Bottum, son of Elias S. and Mary
Bottum, was reared upon the old homestead, and
acquired his education in the common schools of
the town. Being reared upon a farm, his thoughts
naturally turned in that direction, and he devoted
his attention to the cultivation of a farm. At the
age of nineteen years, his father having died pre
viously, he became one of the heirs of nine hun
dred acres of valuable farm land, and one hundred
and forty acres became his portion. His place is
well improved, neat and thrifty in appearance,
and is furnished with all conveniences and acces
sories. Mr. Bottum's interest in the affairs of the
town is of that practical character that prompts
him to put forth every effort for the good of the
community and for the adoption of measures
which will lead to its upbuilding and substantial
improvement. He is a firm and loyal Republican,

and was chosen to fill the office of selectman for
three years, and has been a member of the school
board for two years.
On October 14, 1879, Mr. Bottum married
Miss Ella J. Partch, who was born in Hinesburg,
Vermont, February 25, 1858, a daughter of Nel
son Partch, who was engaged in agricultural pur
suits in his native town of Hinesburg nearly all
his life; he married Miss Lucy A. Barker, and
six children were born to them, four of whom are
still living, namely : John W. ; Ella J., wife of
Julius O. Bottum ; Orson B., a resident of Ticon-
deroga, New York; and Carrie, wife of William
J. Nash, of New Haven, A^ermont. Mr. Partch
died in 1887, at the age of sixty-four years, and
his wife's death occurred in 1885, in her fifty-
ninth year. Mr. and Mrs. Bottum are the par
ents of one son, Carroll J., who was born in New
Haven, Vermont, November 10, 1882; he assists
his father in the work on the old homestead, which
has been in the family for over a century, and
which will pass down from generation to genera
tion.
CHARLES L. McGEE.
Charles L. AlcGee, a leading manufacturer
and prominent man of affairs of Bristol, Vermont,
belongs to a family which for more than a half
century has been represented in this town. Jo
seph AlcGee, the father of Charles L. McGee, was
born March 15, 1828, in St. Andrew, province
of Quebec, Canada, a son of Frank and Pris
cilla (Young) McGee. The parents were na-
titves of Canada, of French descent. AVhen
nineteen years old, Joseph AlcGee cam.e with
his parents to Middlebury, Vermont, and soon
settled at Bristol, A'ermont, where he is still
living, having retired from business on ac
count of his advanced age. He married Maria
Tart, born November 1, 1833, in Sheldon, Ver
mont, daughter of Ambrose Tart, a very high
ly respetcted citizen of that place, a native of
France, and his wife, Rhoda Freeman, also of
French descent. Ambrose Tart left his native
land at the age of nineteen years, and never again
communicated with his relatives. Air. and Mrs.
McGee have three sons, all of whom are living:
Charles, mentioned at length hereinafter; Edgar,
residing in Gardner, Alassachusetts ; and William,

484

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

who is engaged in the marble business at Bristol.
Air. McGee's wife is still living to bear him com
pany in his old age.
Charles' L. McGee, son of Joseph and Maria
(Clark) McGee, was born March 13, 185 1, in
Bristol, Vermont, where he received his educa
tion and learned the carpenter's trade, which he
followed for a time, but, displaying at an early
period the business ability which afterward char
acterized him in such marked degree, he under
took contracting, and as a result became engaged
with the firm of Drake, Smith & Company, prom
inent manufacturers of the town. Mr. McGee's
connection with the firm began in 1884; he speed
ily became foreman, in 1892 bought an interest
in the firm, and is now general manager and part
owner. Air. McGee's ability and enterprising
spirit have been of great service in gradually ex
tending and building up what is now the largest
business of the kind in this section of the country.
By temperament and previous experience he is
admirably fitted to represent the practical ele
ment in the firm, and under his supervision the
buildings have been remodeled and supplied with
machinery according to the most improved meth
ods. Air. McGee's position involves the employ
ment and discharge of the large working force
of twenty-five hands, a duty which lie is peculiarly
fitted to perform by reason of his great personal
popularity. He is the only manufacturer in the
town who has maintained to the present time his
connection with the firm by whom he was orig
inally employed.
In addition to his business as a manufacturer,
Mr. McGee carries on an industry which he. has
undertaken solely as a matter of personal prefer
ence and individual taste. He takes a great in
terest in the raising of bees, of which he has no
fewer than one hundred and fifty colonies, being
the largest bee-keeper iri this region. By his ef
forts the business has attained considerable pro
portions, being so flourishing as to keep two men
constantly employed under Mr. McGee's direc
tion. In politics Mr. McGee is a Republican, but the
onerous nature of his duties as a manufacturer
and man of affairs has caused him to return a
steady refusal to all offers of official positions.
He is an attendant of the Baptist church.
Mr. McGee married, August 13, 1870, Stella

Peckham, born May 6, 1854, in Winchendon,
Massachusetts, a daughter of Stephen Peckham, a
farmer of Bristol, Vermont, who is still living
here, and whose family consists of four children :
a son named Ernest, and three daughters : Katy,
who married, first, Elijah Johnson, and, second,
Oliver Braban, both of St. Regis Falls, New
York; Stella, mentioned above; and Carrie, who
is the wife of H. C. Brown, of Bristol, Vermont.
The mother of these is Olive (Hasseltine) Peck
ham. Mrs. McGee attends the Baptist church
with her husband, and is very active in the Sun
day-school. Mr. and Mrs. McGee have two
daughters, Lena and Minnie. The former is the
wife of Frederick Dickerman, cashier of the local
bank, and the other married Richard S. Smith, of
Bristol.
TIMOTHY PARKER REDFIELD.
This distinguished jurist, who adorned the
supreme bench of the state of Vermont for four
teen years, and whose name is imperishably writ
ten in the judicial and political annals of the com
monwealth, came from one of the most ancient
and honored New England families. The found
er of the family in America was William Red-
field, who came from England some time during
the decade beginning in 1630, and he became one
of the proprietors of Cambridge, Massachusetts,
in 1642. By his wife Rebecca he was the father
of James, who was born in Connecticut in 1646,
and was a tanner by occupation. James married
in May, 1669, at New Haven, Elizabeth Howe*
born in 1645, a daughter of Jeremy Howe, who
was a son of Edward Howe, one of the first set
tlers of Lynn, Massachusetts. Their son Theoph
ilus, born in 1682, was a joiner by trade and prob
ably settled in Killingworth, Connecticut, soon
after he reached the years of manhood. Decem
ber 24, 1706, he married Priscilla Grinnell, then
seventeen years of age, a daughter of Daniel and
Lydia Grinnell. He died February 14, 1759, and
his wife died January 12, 1770.
Peleg Redfield, fifth son of Theophilus and
Priscilla (Grinnell) Redfield, was born at Kill
ingworth, Connecticut, April 2, 1723. In 1756
he was appointed second lieutenant in the Tenth
Company of the Connecticut Regiment. In 1758
he served as first lieutenant in the same regiment

Ihe Lewis Publishing Co

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

485

at Ticonderoga, and in the spring of 1759 was
commissioned captain and took command of a
campany of ninety men. He served throughout
the French and Indian war, and died of smallpox
on his journey home, near Stockbridge, Massa
chusetts, December 5, 1760. In 1744 he married
Sarah Dudley, who was born April 20, 1723, a
daughter of Ebenezer (Graves) Dudley, of Guil
ford, Connecticut, and great-granddaughter of
John Alden and Priscilla (Mullens) Alden. Be-
riah, eldest son of Captain Peleg and Sarah (Dud
ley) Redfield, was born November 21, 1744, at
Killingworth. He removed to Richmond, Massa
chusetts, where he became an extensive farmer.
November 5, 1770, he married Dorothy Stevens,
of Killingworth, born January 30, 1752, a daugh
ter of Thomas Stevens. In the spring of 18 16
he removed to Seneca county, New York, where
he died June 4, 1819.
Peleg Redfield, son of Beriah Redfield, was
horn June 24, 1777, at Killingworth, Connecticut.
He studied medicine under the preceptorship of
Dr. Samuel Ware, of Conway, Massachusetts,
and entered upon practice at Weathersfield, Ver
mont. Here he was married April 5, 1803, to
Hannah Parker, born in Westford, Massachu
setts, in November, 1785, eldest child of Isaac
Parker, a well-to-do merchant of the place. In
February, 1806, Dr. Redfield moved with his fam
ily to Coventry, Vermont on the northern border
-of the state, then an outpost of civilization, and
here amid the hardships and perils of frontier
life he reared a family of six sons and six daugh
ters. His practice there became extensive and ar
duous. His journeys to the scattered cabins in
which his patients resided were performed mainly
¦on horseback, but not unfrequently he was obliged
to tread his way through the forests on foot. He
was a man of vigorous mind and great force of
character, and was held in high esteem, not only
for professional skill, but for his business quali
ties. He was appointed town clerk in 1806, and
held the office nineteen years ; was town treas
urer in 1807, 1825 and 1826 ; selectman in 1807,
1815, 1818 and 1819, and represented the town of
Coventry in the general assembly of Vermont for
nine successive years from 18 12 to 1820. In poli
tics he was old-school Federalist, and was decid
edly positive in his convictions. He died at Cov
entry, November 8, 1848, aged seventy-four years.

His wife, Hannah (Parker) Redfield, the
mother of Timothy P., was a remarkable woman.
She faithfully performed her material duties in
rearing and training her large family. She also
proved herself a worthy helpmeet to her husband
in establishing their new home on the hillside of
Coventry, and was ever its presiding genius, to
whom the husband and children always turned
for cheer and inspiration. Possessed of strong
character and remarkable intellectual ability,
throughout her long life she was a great reader
of the best literature of the time. In the current
topics and events of the day she always took a
keen interest. . Her conversational powers were
fine and charming. Separated to a great extent
by her lot in life from the refinements and social
influence of education and refined society, yet
such were her attainments, her sterling worth and
native sense that she would have adorned the
best society and won admiration for her charming
qualities and inherent worth. From her both
Timothy P. and Isaac F. inherited the character
istics and mental qualities which, with their in
dustry, brought them well-deserved eminence.
Timothy Parker Redfield, fourth son of Dr.
Peleg and Hannah (Parker) Redfield, was born
in Coventry, Vermont, November 3, 1812. His
was the ordinary experinece of Vermont boys
born and brought up on the farms in that day, an
experience admirably adapted to develop the in
dustry, self-reliance and independence since so
characteristic of the man, and so peculiar to his
class. After the usual academic preparation he
matriculated at Dartmouth College, where he
ranked with the first in his class, and was elected
a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and he
graduated with high honors in the class of 1836.
Immediately after graduation Mr. Redfield
commenced the study of law in the office of his
brother, the Hon. Isaac F. Redfield, and was ad
mitted to the bar of Orleans county in 1838. Be
ginning the practice of his profession in Iras-
burg, he continued it in that place up to the time
of his removal to Montpelier in 1848. He made
his entry into public office as a member of the
state legislature in 1839, and in 1848 he repre
sented Orleans county in the state senate. Sub
sequently he was for several years a member of
the state board of education. From 1848 to 1870
he was numbered with the most active, able and

486

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

efficient lawyers in Vermont, and in the latter
year was elected judge of the supreme court. Suc
cessive elections retained him in the same digni
fied and influential office for many years.
Judge Redfield's elevation to the supreme ju
diciary of the state was an invaluable testimony
to his intellectual and moral worth. He "has al- '
ways been a Democrat in politics, but his fitness
for the position was so generally acknowledged
that he was elected to the place by a legislature
overwhelmingly Republican, and against numer
ous competitors. His dignified judicial bearing
and acknowledged impartiality made him at once
a general favorite with the public, the bar and his
associates. His fame may and will justly rest
upon his judicial life."
Had Judge Redfield's political affiliations been
with the Republican party, he would in all proba
bility have worthily filled a seat in the senate of
the United States. That he did not was not the
fault of his ability, of his patriotism, of his moral
excellency, but was the fault — or rather result,
of his conscientious devotion to the principles and
policy of a party which in Vermont is in a per
petual minority. At the time of Senator Mor
rill's first election to the national senate, Judge
Redfield received sixteen votes in the legislature
as the candidate of the Democrats. At Mr. Mor
rill's second election Judge Redfield received
eleven votes. Although the acknowledged peer
of his successful competitor, his party associati
ons precluded every hope of election.
After Judge Redfield's elevation to the su
preme bench of Vermont he made numerous de
cisions which have passed into the category of le
gal standards. Among them was the noted case,
"State ex rel. Page v. Smith et al.," better known
as the "Quo Warranto Case." In this suit he
gave an elaborate and exhaustive decision, that
now occupies ten pages of the Forty-eighth Ver-
month reports.
No opinion of Judge Redfield's ever acquired
notoriety or redounded so much to his credit as
the opinion of the court, written by him, in the
case of James R. Langdon et al., against the Ver
mont and Canada Railroad Company et al., in
1882. This suit was one branch of the famous
Vermont Central Railroad litigation, which has
been in the courts of the state for over twenty-
five years. In the Langdon case, among other

principles involved, was the question whether a
receiver's debt should take precedence of recorded
antecedent mortgages as a lien upon the property,
and if it did, whether such a lien could be en
forced by strict foreclosure. The questions were
novel, and many millions of dollars depended up
on the result. The controversy was all the more
embittered by reason of the different construc
tion which was given by counsel to an opinion of
the court delivered in 1877 upon the same sub
ject. The masterly way in which Judge Redfield
explained the opinion of 1877, and the exact and
precise method in which he demonstrated, both
on principle and authority, that a receiver's debt
did constitute a first lien upon the property man
aged, and that such lien could be enforced by
strict foreclosure, won for his opinion comments
of universal admiration. The best evidence that
these comments were just is found in the fact
that since the delivery of the opinion there seems
to be absolute submission to its verdict. It is a
strong judicial exposition of the law of the case
which cannot be answered. This opinion has gone
far beyond the boundaries of Vermont, and some
of the best legal minds of the country pronounce
it a model of judicial learning and of logical reas
oning, and an exact enunciation of difficult and
novel questions of law.
"Judge Redfield" (says his biographer, in the
"Vermont Historical Magazine") "is an excel
lent scholar; and while his bearing is reserved
and dignified, such as becomes his position, yet
in social life he is one of the most charming of
companions. His reminiscences of the old bar
and his fund of anecdotes are the delight of those
who enjoy his friendship, and will be long remem
bered by those who come after him. He is a
member of the Episcopal church, and a devoted
Christian, not only in profession, but also in prac
tice. In short, Judge Redfield is a model in all
that constitutes a conscientious Chirstian gen
tleman, and an able, upright, impartial judge.
To speak this of his record is but the just meed
of praise to acknowledge worth, and to keep the
memory of such men green is but to strengthen
and stimulate public virtue."
Judge Redfield was married February 6, 1840,
to Miss Helen W. Grannis, of Stanstead, province
of Quebec. She was the daughter of William and

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

487

Nancy Melinda (Dustin) Grannis, and her mother
was a daughter of Moody Dustin, of Revolution
ary fame, figuring in the annals of the day as sec
ond lientenant in Captain Head's company, Col
onel Joseph Cilley's regiment, November 8, 1776,
and as captain on March 5, 1778. Four children,
of whom the remains of three sleep in the Green
Mountain cemetery at Montpelier, were the is
sue of this union. The only surviving child,
Alice, is the wife of Andrew J. Phillips, and for
merly resided at Chicago, Illinois. Two children
were born to them, Helen, who died at the age
of fifteen years ; and Timothy Redfield, who sur
vives. Judge Redfield died in Chicago, March
27, 1888.
CHARLES ALBERT CHAPMAN.
Charles Albert Chapman was born in the vil
lage of Forestdale, Rutland county, Vermont, on
the 22d of August, 1852, being a son of Albert
Chapman, who was born in Weybridge, this
state, on the 18th of April, 1823. The latter's
father was Wightman Chapman, who was born
in Norwich, Vermont, on the 15th of March,
1786. The original American progenitor of the
family, William Chapman, emigrated hither from
England in 1639, taking up his residence in the
colony of Connecticut, whence his descendants
have become disseminated throughout the most
diverse sections of the Union. Erastus Chapman,
born August 25, 1760, at Norwich, Connecticut,
married Polly Huntington at Norwich, Vermont,
June 1, 1785. She was born August 10, 1765, in
Windham, Connecticut. Wightman Chapman was
their son. Erastus was a son of Simon Chap
man, his second wife, Alice Rouse. They were
married April 5, 1758. Simon Chapman, born
April 22, 1723, was a son of Joseph Chapman,
born in 1667, and his wife, Mary Wentworth,
to whom he was married June 10, 1708.
Wightman Chapman was a blacksmith by
trade and also owned and operated a fine farm
in Weybridge, while he was associated with his
brother in the operation of a forge and store in
Lincoln. They also owned and operated a line
of canal packets between Vergennes and Buf
falo. He lived to the venerable age of eighty-
two years and was a man of influence in the com
munity, where he ever commanded unqualified

confidence and esteem. He was incumbent of the
office of high bailiff for a number of years, and
also held other positions of public trust and re
sponsibility. His son Albert was reared in Wey
bridge, receiving such educational advantages
as were afforded in the local schools of the per
iod. He devoted practically his entire life to

CHARLES ALBERT CHAPMAN.
stock-breeding, and gained recognition as one of
the most extensive sheep-breeders in the state,
giving his attention to the raising of the best
types and to the improvement of the grades, thus
contributing in a large degree to the advance
ment of the sheep industry in the state, while his
judgment in regard to matters pertaining to this
line of enterprise was recognized as authorita
tive. He was for many years secretary of the
Vermont Sheep Breeders' Association, and his
works are authority on the introduction and im
provement of Merino sheep in the United States.
He extended the scope of his enterprises into

488

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

other sections of the country, shipping extensive
ly. While a mere boy, he drove one thousand
sheep to the state of Kentucky, where he dis
posed of them. Just before the Civil war
he operated a farm in Maryland, but was
compelled to leave on account of his politi
cal sentiments. He was a man of fine mentality,
sterling integrity and distinguished ability as a
business man, and through his well directed ef
forts he not only promoted individual prosperity
but also did much to further the industrial prog
ress of his native state. From its establishment
until his death he was president of the National
Association of Sheep Registers, and was also for
many years secretary of the National Wool Grow
ers' Association. He enjoyed a particularly wide
acquaintanceship throughout New England and
other sections of the Union, and was a man whose
genial nature and upright life gained to him the
respect and friendship of all with whom he came
in contact. His death occurred in Middlebury
on the 22d of October, 1893, at which time he had
attained the psalmist's span of three score years
and ten. His political support was given to the
Republican party, and though he never sought
the honors or emoluments of public office, he was
chosen to serve in various local positions of trust,
including that of justice of the peace. Frater
nally he was prominently identified with the Inde
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, having been past
grand of his lodge at the time of his demise.
August 27, 1 85 1, in St. Mark's church, Warren,
Rhode Island, Albert Chapman was united in
marriage to Miss Matilda Grace Mulchaney, who
was born July 25, 1824, in the city of Boston,
Massachusetts, and who died on the 2d of Decem
ber, 1892, in her sixty-ninth year. Five children
were born of this union, of whom three are living
at the present time, namely: Charles A., the
immediate subject of this sketch; John W., who
is now a missionary in Alaska ; and William M.,
who is engaged in business in Romeo, Michigan,
where he is a deputy sheriff.
Charles A. Chapman passed his boyhood days
in the various cities where his father temporarily
resided, receiving his early education in the pub
lic schools and in an excellent private school, after
which he completed a thorough course of study
in the academy at Middlebury. After leaving
school Air. Chapman became bookkeeper for a

woolen mill in Middlebury, later being identified
with the paper manufactory at that place, and
finally accepting a position in a hardwere estab
lishment at Port Henry, New York. From that
place he went to Vergennes, where he was em
ployed by the firm of W. R. Bixby & Son in the
same business. Thence, after a period of years,
he returned to Middlebury, where he was en
gaged in the same line until 1876, when he went
as a traveling representative of the Medina Man
ufacturing Company of Medina, New York, in
whose interests he traveled through the eastern
states and as far west as Nebraska, visiting many
of the states of the middle west, the south and
the east. He proved an able and valued sales
man, continuing in the employ of this concern for
a period of four years, at the expiration of which
he resigned, for the purpose of returning to his
native county and associating himself with his
father in the sheep business, the stock being reg
istered and of the highest standard, as has al
ready been intimated. In 1890 he located upon
his present farm, in Ferrisburg, the same com
prising one hundred acres. Though he carries
on general agricultural operations Mr. Chapman
gives his special attention to the breeding and
raising of high-grade Merino sheep. The finest
types of registered sheep are to be found on his
estate, and from his fine flocks shipments are
not only made into the most diverse sections of
the Union, but he also ships to Australia, Mexi
co, Africa and South America. In addition to
the raising of registered Merino sheep he also
breeds and handles gentlemen's high-grade driv
ing horses. He is known as one of the most pro
gressive, liberal and public-spirited citizens of
the county and as one of its thoroughly repre
sentative business men.
In politics Mr. Chapman gives his allegiance
to the Republican party, and he is at the present
time auditor of the town, while he is also serving
as moderator. His religious faith is that of the
Protestant Episcopal church, and fraternally he
has advanced to high degree in the time-honored
order of Freemasonry, being a member of Dor
chester Lodge, No. 1, Free and Accepted Masons;
Middlebury- Council No. 14, Royal and Select
Masons ; Mt. Calvary Commandery No. Ij
Knights Templar, at Middlebury; and Ver
mont Consistory, A. A. S. R., in Bur-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

489

Sington, of which he is grand chancellor,
.and has attained the thirty-second degree.
He has held various offices in the different
bodies, serving as worshipful master of his lodge,
as high priest of his chapter, and has also been an
officer in the commandery. He is a devoted mem
ber of this great fraternity, whose noble teachings
he fully appreciates.
. On the 26th of February, 1884, Mr. Chapman
-was united in marriage to Miss Josepha B. Smith,
who was born in Ferrisburg, a daughter of Da
vid Smith, whose biography appears elsewhere
in this work, and who was one of the influential
farmers and honored citizens of Ferrisburg at the
time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman are
the parents of four children, namely: Faith Saf-
iord, Harriet Jeannette, William Edward and
John Roger, all at home.
EDMUND G. HUNT.
Edmund Goodrich Hunt, for many years a
-prominent member of the legal profession, and
now successfully engaged in agricultural pur
suits in New Haven, Vermont, was born in Bel
mont, New York, May 6, 1837, a descendant of
-Gideon C. Hunt, who was born in Connecticut,
and spent his life in that state. The latter's son,
Daniel Hunt, enlisted as a private in the war of
1812 and participated in the battle of Plattsburg.
"Upon his return from the service of his country
he stopped to visit his son in Georgia, Vermont,
where his death occurred in March, 1814, at the
rage of about fifty years. His wife's name was
Esther Goodrich.
Harry Hunt, his son, was born November 19,
1791, in Roxbury, Litchfield county, Connecticut,
but the early years of his life were spent in
-Georgia, Vermont, where he resided with an
uncle, Edmund Goodrich. His education was ac-
-quired in the common schools of that town, and
-after completing his studies he was engaged in
the occupation of farming until he was forty years
-of age. He then removed to Belmont, New York,
later to Cornwall, Vermont, where he remained
for two years, and in 1840 he took up his residence
-in New Haven, Vermont, in the same house in
which his son Edmund G. now resides. August
¦27, 1817, he-was united inmarriage to Miss Mary
Staples, who was born in Stamford, Connecticut,

a daughter of Captain Staples, who commanded
a vessel which plied between New York and Liv
erpool. This was in the palmy days of sailing, be
fore steamboats were introduced for the transpor
tation of passengers and freight, and on one of
the voyages Captain Staples and his vessel were
lost. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Hunt, three at one birth, and the following
named are still living: Jefferson, judge of the
probate court of Dodge county, Minnesota;
Washington, a physician at Cornish Flat, New
Hampshire; Hester, widow of Cyrus O. Poole,
residing at Metuchen, New Jersey; Edmund G.
Hunt; and Abbie, widow of Dr. E. D. Warner,
who resides with her brother Edmund G. The
father of these children died April 29, 1887, at
the extreme old age of ninety-five years, and his
wife passed away at the age of eighty-four years.
Edmund G. Hunt, youngest son of Harry and
Mary Hunt, acquired his primary education in
the select schools of New Haven, and Castleton
Seminary, and, subsequently, pursued a course of
study in Middlebury College, from which he was
graduated in 1857. He then studied law in Jack
son, California, was admitted to the bar in 1862,
and practiced there until 1870, having acquired
an extensive clientage. Mr. Hunt is a lawyer of
erudite knowledge, endowed by nature with
strong mentality, and well equipped for his chosen
profession by thorough study and wide research.
Subsequently he removed to Vicksburg, Missis
sippi, where, in addition to his legal duties, he
acted in the capacity of editor of the Vicksburg
Daily Times and Republican for two years; he
also served as deputy clerk of the chancery court
until 1877, when he removed to Middlebury, Ver
mont, and was associated in the law business with
A. P. Tupper for one year. He then purchased
his father's farm, which consisted of three hun
dred acres, and he now resides there, engaged in
the cultivation of the soil. Mr. Hunt is a Re
publican in politics, and served as United States
commissioner both in California and Mississippi ;
he also acted as justice of the peace and notary
public in Vicksburg, and has served in the former
capacity in Vermont.
May 28, 1862, Mr. Hunt married Miss Eliza
A. Lawrence, who was born in Weybridge, Ver*
mont, a member of an old family which traces its
historv back to Sir Robert Lawrence, of Ashton

49°

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Hall, Lancashire, England, born in 1150. Six chil
dren have been born to Edmund G. Hunt and
wife ; Harry L., the eldest, is engaged in farming
in Middlebury ; he 'married Miss Nellie Taylor,
and their children are : Bessie, Kathleen, Hester,
and Mildred Hunt. Amelia M., the second, resides
at home. Leigh, a graduate of Vermont Universi
ty, from the agricultural department, is now in
charge of the Proctor farms at Proctor, Vermont ;
he was married in 1896 to Miss May Martin, and
their children are: Lawrence, Irene, Leigh and
Eliza. George Edwin, who had charge of the
greenhouse and grounds of the State Industrial
School of Vergennes, is now proprietor of a
greenhouse at Rutland. Edmund G., Jr., is a
well known florist of Middlebury; he married
Miss Edria Woolley. Walter P. resides near his
parents; he was married in February, 1903, to
Emily Keese.
GENERAL THEODORE S. PECK.
General Theodore Safford Peck, of Burling
ton, Vermont, is widely and favorably known in
the domain of insurance underwriting, his busi
ness in this line ramifying throughout New Eng
land, New York and Canada. He is a repre
sentative of distinguished ancestry, the family
name having been conspicuously identified with
the annals of American history from the early
colonial epoch, while it has ever stood exponent
of the loftiest patriotism and loyalty and the most
unbending integrity and honor, the stock of
which the General is a- scion having been numer
ously represented in the early colonial wars and
in the great conflict which secured to our nation
the boon of independence.
Theodore Safford Peck is a native son of the
old Green Mountain state, having been born in
the city, of Burlington, Chittenden county, Ver
mont, on the 22d of Alarch, 1843, a son °f The
odore Augustus and Delia Horton (Safford)
Peck. The lineage is traced directly through
many generations to one John Peck, Esq., gentle
man, who resided in Belton, Yorkshire, England,
and records still extant establish beyond per
adventure that the original American ancestor
was Joseph Peck, who emigrated to the new
world in the early part of the seventeenth century,
and who settled in New Haven, Connecticut,

prior to 1643, m which year his name first ap
pears in the town records. From him the line
of direct descent to the subject of this sketch is
traced through seven generations, with respective
heads as follows : Joseph, Jeremiah, John, Joseph,
John, Theodore Augustus and Theodore Safford.
In 1649 the original ancestor removed from
New Haven to Milford, Connecticut, which was
the home of his immediate descendants for sev
eral years, and there his death occurred in the
year 1700 or 1701. He was twice married, his
first union having been with Mrs. Alice Burwell,
widow of John Burwell (2), and after her death
he married a Aliss Richards.
Joseph Peck (2) was born in Milford, Con
necticut, in 1653, an(i was prominent in civic
affairs and in the colonial militia, in which he
served as lieutenant from the time of receiving
his commission until 1709. His wife bore th&
maiden name of Mary Camp, and their marriage
was celebrated on the 27th of January, 1678-9.
Their son Jeremiah (3), Taorn in Milford in
1687, was an officer in the colonial service, hav
ing been first commissioned as ensign and later
as lieutenant. On the 20th of August, 17 13, he-
was united in marriage to Hannah, daughter of
Dr. John Fisk, of Rhode Island. Their son
John (4), the next in line of. descent, was a life
long resident of Milford, Connecticut, where he-
was born on the 9th of December, 1718, and
where he married Sarah Piatt on the 15th of
February, 1 750-1.
Their son Joseph (5) was born in Milford on-
the 26th of August, 1757, and his marriage to-
Hannah Lambert was solemnized on the i6tb
of February, 1778, soon after which event they
located in Woodbury, Connecticut, where they
made their home until 1814, when they removed
to Onondago county, New York, where his death
occurred on the 5th of March, 1829.
His son John (6), grandfather of Generaf
Peck, was born in Woodbury, Connecticut, on'
the ist of May, 1785, and was there reared and:
educated. Settlirig in Burlington, Vermont,.
when a young man, he became prominently
identified with the leading interests of the city
and state, being, in connection with his son, Col
onel John Henry Peck, actively concerned in the
projecting and constructing of railroads, while-
at the head of the progressive and enterprising

J/hjbtolvu» dfltJC

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

491

. firm of J. & J.~H. Peck, wholesale grocers, he
established the largest mercantile house of the
sort between Troy, New* York, and the Do
minion of Canada. In 1808 he was united in
marriage to Almira Catherine Keyes, who was
born in 1785, being the youngest daughter of
General John Keyes and a descendant in the sixth
generation from Solomon and Frances (Grant)
Keyes, founders of the family in America. Solo
mon Keyes (2) was born June 24, 1665, and his
son Elias (3), through whom the line is contin
ued, was born October 17, 1692, and was one of
the original proprietors of the town of London-
Merry, New Hampshire. His son Sampson (4)
was born November 21, 1719, and the latter's son
was John (5), who was born in Ashford, Connect
icut, in 1744. He served with distinction as a
soldier and officer of the- Continental line during
the war of the Revolution, having been a lieu-
¦ tenant at the battle of Bunker Hill, and later was
captain and major, while subsequently he became
the first adjutant general of Connecticut. On
the 28th of September, 1767, he married Mary
Wales, and their daughter, Almira Catherine (6),
became the wife of John Peck, to whom she bore
ten children.
Theodore Augustus Peck, the father of Gen
eral Peck, was born in Burlington, Vermont, on
" the 8th of August, 1817-, and his death occurred
on the 18th of May, 1872. Establishing himself
as a druggist in his native city, he here carried
on a very successful business until 1862, when he
disposed of his interests in the line and removed
to Watertown, Jefferson county, New York. In
1842 he was united in^ marriage to Miss Delia
Horton Safford, a daughter of Rev. Hiram Saf-
' ford, pastor of the First Baptist church of Bur
lington, and granddaughter of Captain Josiah
and Deborah Safford. Rev. Hiram Safford
served with marked distinction as a soldier in
the war of 1812, having been a lieutenant and
captain of a troop of the First Squadron, Sev
enth Regiment of New York Cavalry, and hav
ing been in command of his troop in the battles
of Plattsburg, New York, Pn the nth of Sep
tember, 1814, while on the 6th of September Cap
tain Safford with his troop of cavalry was on
picket duty near Dead Creek bridge, north of
Plattsburg, where he was attacked by the ad
vancing . columns of the English troops under

command of Sir George Prevost. Major General
Samuel Safford, an ancestor of Hiram Safford,
as lieutenant colonel, commanded Colonel Seth
Warner's regiment at the battle of Bennington,
August 16, 1777, where the New England troops
and the Green Mountain boys under Major Gen
eral John Stark, defeated and captured the Brit
ish and Hessian troops under Colonel Baum.
General Safford's youngest son, Samuel Safford,
Jr., a boy of sixteen years of age, was the first
American soldier over' the. Tory breastworks in
this engagement. Captain Safford's mother,
whose maiden name was Lydia Danforth, was
born in Weston (or Western), Massachusetts,
on the 17th of December, 1762, a daughter of
Jonathan and Lydia (Read) Danforth, the for
mer of whom is supposed to have been born in
Concord, Massachusetts, the date of his nativity
being July 14, 1737, while the latter was born in
Weston (or Western), Massachusetts, on the
26th of November, 1759. William Woodward,
whose daughter became the wife of Hiram Saf*
ford, was a son of Jonathan and Delight (Will
iams) Woodward, the former of whom was born
in Plainfield, Connecticut, on the 4th of June,
1726, while the latter was born in the same city
on the 15th of January, 1735, their marriage hav
ing been solemnized in that town on the 5th of
December, 1759. In the war of the Revolution
¦William Woodward enlisted at the age of fifteen
years as a drummer boy in the "Second Canadian
Regiment," Colonel and Brevet Brigadier Gen
eral Moses Hazen commanding. This regiment,
which was known as the "Lost Children," saw
much service, and was one of the best in the con
tinental army. William Woodward served six
years and eleven months, and was promoted to
the grade of sergeant. He was present with a
battalion of his regiment, which led the grand
assault commanded by General Alexander Ham
ilton upon the redoubt of Lord Conwallis'
works at Yorktown, Virginia, in the night of
October 17, 1781, and which resulted in the sur
render of the British army. At the close of the
war he was appointed captain in the Sixteenth
United States Infantry.
Theodore Augustus and Delia Horton (Saf
ford) Peck became the parents of five children,
namely: Theodore Safford, whose name initi
ates this sketch ; Edward Sprague, A. B., M. D.,

492

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

who is a leading oculist in New York city ; Char
lotte Almira, the widow of the late Hon. AVilliam
V. S. Woodward, of Plattsburg, New York, who
was for many years assistant United States dis
trict attorney of the northern district of New
York: Hiram, who died in infancy; and Mary,
-who died at the age of fifteen years.
Theodore Safford Peck was prepared for
-college in the public schools of Burlington, his
native city, but when the dark cloud of the Civil
-war obscured the national horizon and the in
tegrity of the' Union was menaced by armed re-
hellion, he showed the intrinsic patriotism and
loyalty of his nature by setting aside all personal
considerations and tendering' his services in sup
port of his country's honor, deferring the further
prosecution of his studies. On the ist of Sep
tember, 1 86 1, when eighteen years of age, he
¦enlisted as a private in Company F, First Ver
mont Volunteer Cavalry, but prior to this he had
five times sought to enlist, but was rejected on
. account of his youth. He served most gallantly
until the close of the most desperate and san
guinary fratracidal conflict known in the annals
•of history. He saw much of the most strenuous
part of army life, and participated in many of the
most noted engagements incidental to the prog
ress of the war. He took an active part in the
engagements at Middletown and Winchester,
Virginia, on Alay 24-25, 1862, and on the 25th
¦of the following month was made regimental
¦quartermaster sergeant of the Ninth Vermont
Volunteer Infantry, Colonel George J. Stannard
commanding, to which he had been transferred.
At the battle of Harper's Ferry, in September,
1862, he, with his regiment, was captured, but
¦soon afterward was paroled. The Ninth Ver
mont Regiment was sent to Chicago, Illinois, and
exchanged about the ist of' January, 1863, after
which it guarded rebel prisoners until the fol
lowing March, when the command returned to
the Army of the Potomac, and later was hurried
to the siege of Suffolk, Virginia. On the 7th
•of January, 1863, Mr. Peck received his com
mission as second lieutenant. His next important
engagement was at the siege of Suffolk and
Blackwater. in May, 1863, while in July and Au
gust of that year he was in action at Yorktown
and Gloucester Court House, and in the following
December was in the fight at Young's Cross

roads, North Carolina. On the 2d of February,
1864, ' Lieutenant Peck took part in the engage
ment at Newport Barracks, where he received a
medal of honor from Congress for distinguished
gallantry in action. He was in the engagements
of Swansboro and Jacksonville, North Carolina,
in May, 1864, and on the 7th of the following
month was promoted to the rank of first lieu
tenant. From July to the last of September,
1864, his command was on duty in the trenches
of Petersburg, Virginia, with the Army of the
Potomac, and on the Bermuda Hundred Front,
A'irginia, with the Army of the James. In the
severe engagements at Fort Harrison, Virginia,
on the 29th and 30th of September, 1864, he was
wounded, but his injuries were not sufficiently
serious to deter him from taking part in the bat
tle of Fair Oaks, Virginia, on the 28th of Oc
tober, and in the following month was assigned
to special duty, having command of a battalion
of the Ninth Vermont Volunteer Infantry. This
was during the movement of the Second Division,
Eighteenth Army Corps, from the lines- in front
of Richmond, Virginia, Major General Joseph R.
Hawley commanding, to the city of New York,
during the time of the second election of Abra
ham Lincoln as president of the United States.
Lieutenant Peck was subsequently acting regi
mental quartermaster and adjutant, and also
served in various other Official positions, includ
ing those of acting assistant adjutant general,
aide-de-camp and brigadier quartermaster of the
Second Brigade, Second Division, Eighteenth
Army Corps, while on the nth of March, 1865,
he was appointed captain and assistant quarter
master of the United States' Volunteers, being
assigned to the First Brigade, Third Division,
Twenty-fourth Army Corps. In this capacity he
was present at the siege and capture of Rich
mond, Virginia, and was among the first to enter
the capital of the Confederacy with the victorious
army at the time of the surrender, on the 3d of
April, 1865. He was mustered out of the ser
vice on the 23d of the following month, and
shortly afterward was twice offered commissions
in the regular army, but both were declined.
After victory had thus crowned the Union
arms, Captain Peck returned to his home in Bur
lington, and shortlyi afterward Governor John
AV. Stewart appointed him chief of his staff, with

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

493,

the rank of colonel, and during the ensuing eight
years he served as colonel of tlie First Regiment
Infantry of the National Guard of Vermont. He
has since taken a conspicuous part in military af
fairs, having served as adjutant general from the
time of his appointment, in 1881, for a consecu
tive period of more than twenty years, having
been subsequently elected and re-elected each two
years by the state legislature, but in 1900 he re
tired from the office. In 1895 in recognition of
his continuous, faithful and meritorious service
as a member and officer in the National Guard of
Vermont during a period of more than three de
cades, the brevet rank of major general was con
ferred upon him.
General Peck vitalizes the kindlier associa
tions of his army days and keeps in sympathetic
touch with his old army comrades , in arms by
retaining membership in that noble organization,
tlie Grand Army of the Republic, whose ranks
are fast being decimated by the one implacable
foe, death. He has been prominent and influ
ential in the organization, and has held the high
est offices in the gift of his comrades in the de
partment of A'ermont, having been chosen ad
jutant general of the department of Vermont,
Grand Army of the Republic, in 1869, while in
1872 he was elected senior vice commander and
in 1876 was made department commander and
was chosen as his own successor at the annual
encampment in the following year. The General
likewise holds membership in several other patri
otic organizations, being a charter member of
the Vermont Commandery of the Military Order
of the Loyal Legion and its commander for 1902 ;
a member of the Society of the Army of the Po
tomac and past commander of the Medal of
Honor Legion#of the United States ; a member of
the Sons of the American Revolution, of which
he was vice president general in 1893; and a
member of the Vermont Society of Colonial
Wars, of which he was the first governor. In
the time-honored Masonic fraternity he is also
prominent, and for ten years held the office of
grand marshal of the Grand Lodge of the state.
He is also identified with the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias, and
in a more purely social way is an honored mem
ber of the Ethan Allen Club, the Algonquin Club
of Burlington, and the Lake Champlain Yacht

Club. In 1 89 1 General Peck was appointed by
President Harrison as a member of the board of
visitors to the military academy at West Point.
In politics he has ever given an, unequivocal al
legiance to the Republican party, and his re
ligious faith is indicated by his membership in
the College Street Congregational church, to.
whose specific work and collateral benevolences
he has been a liberal contributor of both influ
ence and means. In 1896 the honorary degree
of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by
Norwich University, the state military college of
Vermont. The General is a man of broad and compre
hensive knowledge and scholarly tastes, having
been a careful and discriminating reader of the
best literature, and being known for his high.
intellectuality and his generous nature and un
failing courtesy in all the relations of life. He
enjoys the friendship of many who are prominent
in the public and civil lffe of the state and nation,
and he has ever shown facility in gaining and
retaining stanch friends, for with him friend
ship is inviolable. He established himself in the-
insurance business in 1869, with headquarters in
his native city, and he is the representative of a
large number of the leading fire and life compan
ies of the United States, and also of several of
the most important foreign companies doing busi
ness in America. His fine business and admin
istrative abilities have been brought to bear in.
such a way as to make his agency one of wide
scope and importance, and he stands high in in
surance circles.
On the 29th of October, 1879, General Peck
was united in marriage to Miss Agnes Louise
Lesslie, who was born in the city of Toronto,
Canada, a daughter of William Lesslie, who, in
company with his brother James, emigrated from
Dundee, Scotland, to America, and located in the
city of Toronto, where he founded the Toronto
Examiner, now known as the Toronto Globe, the
great liberal paper of Canada. He married
Louisa Wrebb, who was born at Rouse Point,
Clinton county, New York, being a daughter of
Nathan AVebb, a native of Connecticut and a rep
resentative of an old and honored New England
family, which was ably represented in the early
wars of the colonies, the French and Indian war,
and the war of the American Revolution. Gen-

494

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

eral and Mrs. Peck have one child, Theodora
Agnes, who is a young woman of talent and gen
tle refinement.
The following resolution was made at the
thirty-second annual reunion of the Army of the
Potomac held at Utica, New York, May 23, 1901 :
Resolved, That the thanks of the society be ex
tended to Miss Theodora A. Peck for the poem
which she delivered before them, and resolved,
further, that she be made an honorary member of
the society. She became a member when eight
een years of age, being the only lady thus hon
ored, while the medal of honor conferred upon
her is No. 1 of the second class of the Medal of
Honor Legion. After the music Chairman Proc
tor introduced her, and she delivered the follow
ing poem before the vast assembly :
THE BIVOUAC.
Night spreads her tent o'er the hills of Virginia,
Drum-beat and bugle-note echo and die;
Thousands will sleep on the shores of the river,
AVatched by the stars in the enemy's sky.
Through the long day when the gray lines, ad
vancing,
Swept like the crest of an on-coming wave;
Bright as the sun on the blue waters dancing,
Thundered our squadrons to conquer and save.
All the day long they swept over the meadows ;
Cannon and caisson in woodland and glade;
But when the night had come, curtained with
shadows,
Cold grew the bullet and still lay the blade.
Scarcely a mile to the enemy's pickets,
Through the chill night when the dew fell like
rain,
Brightly as fire-flies dance in the thickets,
Leaped their flames skyward from valley and
plain.
Where the red campfire's weird light was gleam
ing
Through the thick darkness on knapsack and gun,
There the long lines of the army lay dreaming,
E'en in their slumbers their battles begun.

Ghostlike the mist through the silence went steal
ing,
Over the valley the stars wheeled and burned,
Merciful sleep, with her balm and her healing,
Reigned until daylight and sunshine returned.
On the cold ground a young soldier lay sleeping,
Wrapped in his blanket so faded and torn ;
O'er him the stars their long vigils were keep
ing-
Sentries of night on their watch for the morn.
Fair was his face in his innocent dreaming,
Not eighteen summers had passed over his head ;
Where 'neath his lashes the hot tears were gleam
ing
Scarcely the sweet smile of childhood had fled.
Faded and worn the blue cap that was lying
On the brown head pillowed low on his arm ;
When the wild shells and the bullets were flying,
Oft had it shielded its wearer from harm.
Not yet had innocence' sweet look departed;
White was his forehead beneath its dark curls;
Rosy his mouth, with the red lips half parted,
Tender as that of the sweetest of girls.
Tender yet brave with a patriot's passion,
Sweet and yet firm in the pride of his youth ;
Nature had moulded in warrior's fashion,
This boyish blossom of freedom and truth.
When through the land by the star-folds o'er-
shadowed
Rang the wild echoes of Sumter's first guns,
Thrilled his young heart for his country's best
honor,
Wielding the sword of her patriot sons.
Left he his home and the mother that loved him;
Followed the flag that was dearer than life —
Flag of the stars and glow of the sunset —
Into the thunder of battle arid strife.
O the long days when the white wreaths curled
upward,
Hot from the muzzle of musket and gun,
When like a demon the gray smoke crept sky
ward,
Dimming the heavens and darkening the sun!

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

495

O the long nights when the sad moon looked
downward,
Shrinking and pale at the wild earth below ;
When the moans of the wounded and dying
Mingled the plaint of the river's sad flow!
Now are forgotten the long, weary marches,
Memories of home through his closed eyelids
throng ;
Glad days of childhood come stealing upori him,
Happy with laughter and tender with song.
Then his dreams change; the stars fade from
heaven ;
Gray, veiling clouds hide the face of the sky,
And through the rifts sweeps an enemy to battle,
Bayonets gleaming and banners flung high.
Breathless he watches them glide through the
shadows,
Spirit-like forms in the old Union blue ;
Then as he gazes they waver and vanish,
Gone through the gray evening mist and the dew.
Flashing of swords and the thunder of hoof-
beats,
Forward the cavalry sweeps to the flight ;
Now they are met ; and the clashing of sabres
Startles the deep brooding stillness of night.
High above all shines the flag that is fairest,
White stars that gleam as the stars gleam above ;
Crimson-touched folds that an army held sacred,
Throned in a temple of reverence and love.
Wondering he gazes ; the dream-army passes ;
Rumble of cannon and musketry's roar
Rouse him from slumber, and, startled, he
wakens ;
Round him a silence as deep as before !
Bright shine the stars from the ramparts of
heaven,
Shine the stacked arms in the moonlight's white
gleam ;
Peaceful the flow of the dark-waved Potomac ;
Vanished the battle arid strife of his dream!

Sleep on, young soldier, the hours are fleeting,
Soon will the dawn-light grow bright with the
day,
Soon will the reveille call thee to battle;
Sleep on in silence, and dream while you may.

Peace spreads her tent o'er the hills of Virginia;
Drum-beat and bugle-note echo no more ;
Never a campfire beside thee, Potomac ;
Peace on the river and peace on the shore.
Yet in the eve when the white mists curl upward,
Fancy oft weaves of old memories a part ;
Still through the clouds march the ghosts of an
army;
Still live their deeds in America's heart.
BUEL J. DERBY.
Buel J. Derby, prominently identified with
the business and political interests of Burlington,
Vermont, is a son of the late John and Sarah
(Buel) Derby, and was born in Huntington,
Chittenden county, Vermont, March 8, 1839.
Mr. Derby's early life was passed in his na
tive town, where he obtained an education in the
common schools. When nineteen years of age
he secured a position as clerk in the postoffice at
Burlington, Vermont, where, he remained one
year, going then to Rutland, Vermont, where for
two years he filled a similar position.
At the outbreak of the Civil war Mr. Derby
enlisted as a private in Company K, Twelfth Ver
mont Volunteers, the regiment being assigned
to the First Army Corps. He was detailed as
commissary sergeant, later being appointed as
quartermaster sergeant, and received his dis
charge while officiating in the latter capacity.
Subsequently he enlisted in the Seventy-seventh
Vermont Regiment, being commissioned as quar
termaster, in which capacity he served until the
close of the war, the regiment meanwhile par
ticipating in many hard-fought battles.
At the cessation of hostilities Mr. Derby re
turned to his native state and engaged in the
manufacture of chairs at Bristol, in Addison
county, where he gave employment to many
men. In 1867 he closed out his interests in Bris-

496

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

toi and returned to Burlington, having been ten
dered and having accepted the position of assist
ant postmaster. This position of trust he .filled
until 1875, when he was, appointed postmaster,
receiving two re-appointments and maintaining
the office for twelve consecutive years, or until
1887, when his retirement came about in the
change of the administration.
In April, 1899, Mr. Derby was one of a New
England excursion of business men to Denison,
Texas, where he assisted in the forriiation of the
Denison Land and Investment Company, later
being elected its president and general manager
and also president and general manager of the
Denison Building & Land Company, both of
which positions he held for three years, when
he returned to Burlington, where he engaged in
the wholesale grocery, business, with the Burling
ton Grocery Company, being one of its incorpora
tors and directors, and in which concern he still
maintains a financial interest.
On the 22d of February, 1899, he was reap
pointed postmaster under President McKinley,
since which time he has given his entire atten
tion to the duties of the office, having again been
reappointed by President Roosevelt. The Bur
lington postoffice is the largest office' in the state
of Vermont. The carrier system was inaugur
ated in 1875, the present clerical force consist
ing of seventeen clerks, sixteen carriers, three
sub-carriers and three rural carriers. Connected
with the office are five stations, which includes
a branch office at Winooski and' which is under
Mr. Derby's control, with a superintendent, two
carriers and one rural carrier.
Absolute thoroughness of detail, coupled with
the business principles which have won for him
a good name in the commercial world, charac
terize all his efforts in his present position, and he
is deserving of great credit for the success he has
achieved in his conduct of the office.
In his political affiliations Mr. Derby is a pro
nounced Republican, and for several years served
his city as a member of the board of school com
missioners. In 1888 he was chosen by the state
convention as a delegate to the Republican na
tional convention which convened at Chicago and
nominated General Harrison to the office of the
presidency of the United States.
Mr. Derby is a prominent member of the Ma

sonic fraternity, being a member of Washing
ton Lodge No. 1. He is a member of Stannard
Post, Grand Army- of the Republic, a member
of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of fhe-
United States, and of the Algonquin and Ethan-
Allen Clubs of Burlington.
In 1864 Mr. Derby married Miss Arvilla C.
Wheeler, a native of Bristol and a daughter of
the late Dr. F. P. AAlieeler, who for many years
was an" extensive practitioner of . medicine and.
surgery. Mrs. Derby was one of six children,.'
four of whom are still living, viz: Arvilla C. -r
May Campbell, resident of Rutland, Vermont ;.
Frank W., who resides at Richford, Vermont;.
and Sarah Phillips, of Port Huron, Michigan-
One daughter, Georgeanna, now the wife of Mr.
T. B. Hanna, has been • born to Mr. and Mrs-
Derby. Mr. and Mrs. Hanna's children are:
Thomas B., Jr..;. Frederick Wheeler and Char
lotte A. Hanna.
John Derby, father of Buel J. Derby, was born<
in Huntington, Vermont, October 26, 1798. He-
was one of the pibneer residents of Huntington,.
where he followed farming and where in early
life he obtained an education at the common'1
schools. In addition to the vocation of a farmer
he conducted a hotel for many years: He mar
ried Miss Sarah Buel, who was born in Hunting
ton, Vermont, February 28, 1802. Seven chil
dren were born to them, three of whom are liv
ing: Lucinda A., November 6, 1828, who be
came the wife of : Perry Gillette of Huntington ;:
Buel J.; and Hortense J., born July 31, 1842,
now Airs. Hortense; J. GOrton of Medford, Mas
sachusetts. John Derby died at the age of sev
enty-four years, at the home of his daughter in
Bristol, .where he passed the declining years of
an active and well, spent life, his wife departing.
at the age of sixty-nine years.
GARDNER WILLIAM DUSTIN.
It is now our privilege to briefly record the
life history of the family of Mr. Gardner William-
Dustin, without whose sketch a work which pur
ports to give the history of the prominent men of
the town of Berlin would be incomplete. His
father, Philander Newton, Dustin, was born in-
Rochester, of this state,, in 1815, and when a
young man came to the town of Berlin. He-

<Z7 . l\f %£irt£tiz^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

497

tha (Smith) Stone, was born February 7, 1841,
worked on a farm for a number of years and at
the age of twenty-four married Cyntha Knapp,
a native of Berlin, born in 1822 and died in 1894.
He made farming his occupation and passed away
in 1887. The children were Harriett Elizabeth,
Henry Newton, who resides in Michigan, and
Gardner William.
Gardner was born in the town of Berlin, Feb
ruary 16, 1847. He enjoyed the educational ad
vantages of the common schools and also attended
the Barre Academy, at which so many residents
of this community gained their training. He is
a successful farmer and also deals extensively in
stock; politically a Republican, he has served in
thie office of selectman. He is unpretentious, of
a quiet and reserved nature, but he ranks as one
of the leading citizens and has an enviable repu
tation as a business man.
And at this point we wish to give a brief rec
ord of the family of Mr. Dustin's estimable wife.
Her grandparents were Joel and Hannah
(Knapp) Warren ; the former was born in North-
boro, Massachusetts, November 28, 1772, and
died April 24, 1849. About the year 1797 he
came to Berlin and settled on the farm now
known as the Warren homestead. His first wife
was Rebecca P. Tolles, whom he married Feb
ruary 14, 1799; she was born in New Haven,
Connecticut, May 4, 1776 and died May 24, 1800,
the mother of one son, Tolles. On Marcn 29,
1801, he married Hannah Knapp of Willington,
Connecticut, who died November 21, 185 1 ; their
children were Rebecca, Betsey, Joel, Jr., Hannah
and Abel Knapp. Judge Abel Knapp Warren,
the father of Mrs. Dustin, on January 25, 1842,
became the husband of Laura Ann House, and
their children are Isabel, deceased, who married
Henry N. Dustin ; Ferrand ; Ella Estelle ; Alice,
deceased ; Lizzie, deceased ; Frederick, in Brook
lyn; and Minnie, who married Dwight Hobart.
Judge Warren was for many years a prominent
and influential man in his county, held the of
fice of justice of the peace for a long term and
was associate judge of Washington county. He
died August 6, 1897, honored and respected by all.
On February 8, 1871, Ella Estelle Warren
became the wife of Gardner Dunstin ; her birth
occurred in the town of Berlin on December 31,

1849. They now reside in a nice home, pleasantly
located in Berlin Corners, the center of many
warm and admiring friends and acquaintances.
CHARLES H. STONE.
Charles Henry Stone, a leading farmer and
esteemed citizen of Monkton, Vermont, belongs
to a family several of whose members have been
distinguished in the medical profession. Dan
Stone, his grandfather, was born in 1770, in
Hartford, Connecticut, and graduated from Will
iams College, probably in the first class. Hav
ing chosen the profession of medicine for his life
calling, he went, in 1795, to Monkton, Vermont,
where he soon had a large and profitable prac
tice, becoming in time one of the most promi
nent physicians in this part of the country. He
was the father of three sons ; Dan C, George
E. and Charles. Of these the two former adopted
their father's profession, of which they both be
came in the course of time distinguished mem
bers, practicing in Alonkton and Vergennes, and
in 1857 removing to Chicago and Woodstock,
Illinois. Charles Stone, son of Dr. Dan Stone, was
born in February, 1805, in Monkton, Vermont,
and received his education in the common schools
of the town. He devoted himself to agricultural
pursuits, and after a time purchased a fine farm
on which he built the beautiful house still stand
ing, and in which he resided all his life. He took
an active interest in public affairs, and was in
trusted by his neighbors with the offices of se
lectman and chairman of the town board. He
married Samantha Smith, born in 1808, in Monk-
ton, Vermont, daughter of Hezekiah Smith, a
very prosperous hotel-keeper. Mr. and Mrs.
Stone had six children, four of whom are living:
Ursula married John Warner French, and now
resides in Finchford, Iowa ; Charles H. is men
tioned at length hereinafter ; George E. is a resi
dent of Vergennes ; and Hezekiah is now living
in Salisbury, Vermont. Mr. Stone died No
vember 11, 1857, in his fifty-third year, having
passed his whole life in his native place, and his
wife survived him nearly thirty years, dying in
1888, at the age of eighty years.
Charles H. Stone, son of Charles and Saman-

32

498

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

in the town of Monkton, Vermont, where he re
ceived his education in the common schools, af
ter which he remained on the homestead, assist
ing his father, whose taste for agricultural pur
suits he had inherited. So great was the abil
ity which he developed for his chosen calling,
that at the age of sixteen he successfully man
aged a farm of one hundred and ninety acres two
miles and a half from Monkton borough. In
1 89 1 he bought a fine estate of one hundred acres,
which he devotes to the purposes of general
farming, retaining at the same time his former
possession. He now lives on the homestead for
merly owned by his father.
Mr. .Stone is prominent in local politics, be
ing a member of the Republican party, which has
frequently elected him to various offices. He has
been delegate to county conventions, served as
selectman twelve years, being chairman of the
board five years, besides filling for a number of
years the office of lister and numerous minor of
fices. Mr. Stone and all his family are members
of the Alethodist Episcopal church, of which he
is one of the trustees, and also a class-leader,
holding an exhorter's license.
Mr. Stone married, in 1862, Julia A. Collins,
born in 1843, daughter of Nelson Collins, who
spent his life as a farmer in Monkton. Mrs.
Stone was one of a family of three children, of
whom she is the sole survivor. Mr. and Mrs.
Stone are the parents of four children : Caroline,
who married Carleton D. Bristol, of Waltham,
and has one child, Virgil ; Charles N., a farmer of
Bristol, who married Maud Weaver, and has one
child, Ethel; Grace married George Middle
brook, a farmer of Ferrisburg, and has one child,
Florence ; arid William C, who graduated at the
Baltimore Medical College at Baltimore, Mary
land, in 1903. It is believed that this, the youn
ger son of Mr. and Mrs. Stone who has thus en
rolled himself in the ranks of the profession in
which his ancestors have earned well merited dis
tinction, may be safely relied upon to carry for
ward the professional reputation of the family. I
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS COLE.
William Augustus Cole, of Putney, is actively
identified with one of the leading industries of
this section of the county, being treasurer of the

William A. Cole Paper Company. He was born
May 10, 1837, in Northampton, Massachusetts,
a son of James Monroe and Mary Ann (Slade)
Cole, both natives of Worthington. James
Alonroe Cole was a son of Thomas Cole, a life-
long farmer of Worthington, Massachusetts, and
the former was reared to agricultural pursuits,
but early learned the trade of a tanner and cur
rier, which he followed during the latter part of
his life in Putney, Vermont, where he died at the
age of sixty-eight years. He was a Republican

WILLIAM AUGUSTUS COLE.
in politics, and a citizen of worth. He married
Mary Ann Slade, of Washington, Massachusetts.
Her father, Captain John Slade, was a soldier in
the Alexican war, and afterward settled in Twins-
burg, Ohio, where he spent the remainder of his
life. He. had a large family of children, thirteen
or fourteen in number. Mr. and Mrs. James M.
Cole reared three children, namely : AVilliam A.,
the immediate subject of this sketch; and Frances

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

499

Ann Eliza, and Mary Ann, deceased. Mrs. Cole
died April 6, 1900, aged eighty-three years.
William A. Cole spent his early life in west
ern Massachusetts, attending school in Ashley-
ville, where his parents resided, and later the
Monson Academy. At the age of fourteen years
he began to learn the trade of a tanner and currier.
Three years later he came to Putney and entered
the paper mill of John Robertson, for whom he
worked a number of years. Going then to Holy
oke, Massachusetts, he remained there a short
time, when he returned to Putney, and in 1880
purchased the mill property at Putney of his
former employer, John Robertson, and for the
next six years, in company with Henry Goff, was
engaged in the manufacture of paper. On the
retirement of Mr. Goff from the firm, in 1886,
Mr. Cole formed a copartnership with John Rob
ertson, and continued the business with him until
the latter's death, in 1897. Although successful
in his business career, Mr. Cole has met with
reverses, among which was the burning of his
mill in 1895, a serious loss ±0 himself and his
partner. It was immediately replaced, however,
by one of greater capacity, fitted up with modern
machinery, and in the manufacture of tissue,
toilet and manila paper upwards of twenty peo
ple are kept in constant employment, producing
from seventy to seventy-five thousand pounds of
paper annually.
Mr. Cole married first Lucina Ann Lamb,
who died December 25, 1898, having borne him
three children, namely: Mary, wife of R. C.
Winchester, of Holyoke, Massachusetts, and their
daughter Una is a student at Smith College;
Minnie, who died in infancy ; and Jennie, wife of
H. L. Pierce, of Putney. Mr. Cole married, sec
ond, Flora Shelly, of Putney. He is a Republican
in politics, a member of Wantastiquet Lodge, I.
O. O. F., and formerly belonged to Golden Rule
Lodge, F. & A. M., of Putney, Vermont.
MARION H. DEAN.
Marion Harry Dean, deceased, was for many
years prominently identified with the political and
agricultural interests of Monkton, Vermont, and
he was also a descendant of a family which set
tled in that section of the state in the early part
of the eighteenth century. Moses Dean, great-

great-grandfather of Alarion H. Dean, was born
in 171 5, in England, where he remained for the
greater part of his life. Finally he crossed the
Atlantic in order to visit his son Ashbel, who had
emigrated to this country at an earlier date, and
while residing in Monkton, Vermont, at the resi
dence of his son, his death occurred when he had
attained a good age.
Ashbel Dean was born in 1745, and settled
in Dutchess county, New York, and during the
Revolutionary war served in the capacity of cap
tain in Washington's army. Before the opening
of hostilities between the United States and Eng
land, Air. Dean removed to Monkton, Vermont,
and became the pioneer of the family in that town,
where the remainder of his life was spent in the
occupation of farming. He was one of the prom
inent men of that section of the state, and was al
ways ready to advance any movement that was
promulgated for its interest.
Harry Dean, son of Ashbel Dean, was born in
1775, in Alonkton, Vermont, where he was reared
and educated in the public schools. After com
pleting his education he devoted his time and at
tention to agricultural pursuits, and was very suc
cessful in the conduct of an extensive farm. He
was one of the prominent and prosperous men of
the district, and gained the respect and esteem of
his fellow townsmen by his honorable business
methods and his fidelity to every duty that de
volved upon him as a citizen. His death occurred
in the town of Alonkton when he had reached his
sixty-first year.
Asabel A. Dean, son of Harry Dean, was born
in 1810, in Monkton, Vermont, and his early lit
erary education was acquired in the same school
which his father attended. Subsequently he be
came interested in the vocation of farming, which
he continued ih his native town for some years,
after which he removed to Bristol, Vermont,
where he spent the last days of his life in retire
ment, and enjoyed the rest and quiet to which
his long years of toil entitled him. He married
Miss Polly Beers, who was born in Ferrisburg,
Vermont, in 1815, daughter of Elnathan Beers,
one of the first settlers of the town. One child
was born of this marriage, Marion H. Dean. The
father died August. 17, 1886, aged seventy-six
years, and his wife passed away at the age of sev
enty-eight years.

500

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Marion H. Dean, only child of Asabel A. and
Polly Dean, was born October 6, 1833, in Monk-
ton, A'ermont, and his education was obtained in
the public schools of his native town and at the
Hinesburg high school. Being reared upon a
farm, his thoughts naturally turned in that di
rection when he became old enough to chopse his
vocation in life, and at one time he successfully
operated the largest farm in the town. He was
also a prominent factor in its political affairs, and
served in various capacities of trust and responsi
bility. On June 28, 1854, Mr., Dean married Miss
Lydia Lorette Fuller, who was born July 13,
1835, in Ferrisburg, Vermont, a descendant of
an old arid highly respected English family, who
can trace their history back to before the sailing
of the Alayflower. Edward Fuller, the progeni
tor of the American branch of the family, was
born in England, came to this country in the May
flower, and died in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in
1621 : Samuel Fuller, born in England, died in
Barnstable, October 3, 1683; John Fuller, born
in Barnstable . in 1656, and died in 1710; Joseph
Fuller, born in Kent, Connecticut, July 19, 1765 ;
Ashbel Fuller, born in Colchester, Massachu
setts, in 1796, died in Kent, Connecticut, Sep
tember 20, 1807; Ezbon Fuller, grandfather of
Mrs. Dean, was born in Kent, Connecticut, Ap
ril 27, 1764, later became a pioneer of Ferris
burg, A'ermont, where he cleared a large tract
of land and was one of the successful farmers of
the town; his death occurred there in the year
1829 ; he was familiarly known as Squire Fuller,
1 was appointed deacon of the church and also
held the office of justice of the peace for many
years; Gideon Fuller, father of.. Mrs. Dean, was
born February 3, 1798, in Ferrisburg, Vermont,
and was engaged in the occupation of farming in
that town all his life; he married Miss Eleanor
Leuce, born September 27, 1812, in Washington
county, Vermont, and four children were born to
them, Airs. Marion H. Dean being the only sur
viving child. Air. Fuller died December 25, 1857,
at the age of sixty years, and his wife's death oc
curred in'her ninetieth year; the family were all
zealous members of the Baptist church of Ferris
burg, Vermont. Three sons were born to Mr.
and Mrs. Dean: Ashbel A.; William M., born
October 20, i860; and Louis F., January 4,

1863. Air. Marion H. Dean died in the year 1895,
at the age of sixty-one years, survived by his
widow, who still resides on the homestead in
Monkton, A'ermont, and his three sons, one of
whom has since died.
William M. Dean, second son of Marion H.
and Lorette Dean, is engaged in the occupation
of farming in Ferrisburg, Vermont, and is also
prominently identified with the Masonic frater
nity. He married Aliss Abby Palmer, and their
children, are James P. and Loretta. Louis F.
Dean, third son of Marion H. and Lorette Dean,
resides near the old homestead in Monkton, Ver
mont. He married Minnie Palmer. The family
are all faithful and consistent members of the
Methodist Episcopal church of Monkton.
WILLIAM BARCLAY.
Of the many diverse elements which have
entered into the make-up of the American nation,
none has been more conspicuously useful than
the natives of Scotland. Indeed, that race en
joys a particular and twofold distinction, — its
members are noted for their fine commercial in
stincts, unflagging industry, and tenacity of pur
pose and integrity, and one who engages in a call
ing not positively useful to the community and
state, is seldom known. One of the principal
industries of the state of Vermont, that of gran
ite manufacturing, owes much of its develop
ment to skilled artisians of this nationality, who
mastered their knowledge of stone in the splendid
quarries of their native land, and came to Amer
ica to find wider scope for their industry.
Of the class to which reference is made above
is William Barclay, a leading granite manufact
urer of Barre, Vermont. He was born in Aber
deenshire, Scotland, December 7, 1850, son of
; Peter and Mary (McDonald) Barclay, The
father was a native of. the place where the son
was born, and was a farm overseer by occupa
tion. The mother was- born in Banffshire. Their
son, William Barclay, received his education in
the parish schools, where the school "reader" was
the Bible. At an early age he was apprenticed
to a granite-cutter in his native shire, and by the
time he had attained to manhood he was a mas
ter workman. In 1874, when twenty-four years
of age, he went to Canada, and for two years fol-

OSCAR D. BALDWIH".

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

501

lowed his trade in Alontreal. In 1876 he re
turned to Scotland, where he remained for four
years engaged in his calling. In 1880 he came
to the United States, landing at New York city.
His attention had been directed to the granite
works about Quincy, Massachusetts, and he re
moved to that place, where his ability as a work
man found him instant employment. After six
months, however, he again visited Scotland,
where he remained until 1883, when he returned
to the United States and located permanently in
Barre, Vermont. He followed his trade indus
triously for four years, carefully husbanding his
means, and in 1887 he formed a partnership in
the granite-cutting business with William Little-
john, and this association was maintained until
1 89 1, when the firm was dissolved. In the year
following he associated with himself his brother
Andrew, under the firm name of Barclay Broth
ers, and this existed until 1894, since which time
William Barclay has conducted the business alone
but under the name of Barclay Brothers.
The Barclay Brothers' work, covering all de
scriptions of granite monument, headstone and
general cemetery work, is renowned in all the
markets reached by such products. The cutting
and finishing departments are all under one roof,
occupying a building sixty-five by four hundred
and twenty-five feet in dimensions, and one hun-
dren skilled operatives are employed. A practi
cal mechanic himself, Mr. Barclay is in high re
pute for his originality of designs and perfection
of mechanical work. A perfect judge of mater
ial, he inspects all that passes into the hands of
his workmen, making personal selection from the
best quarries, in three of which he holds a per
sonal interest. The equipment of the shops in
cludes the most elaborate machinery known to the
stone cutting and dressing art, and the sculptural
and memorial work is of the highest excellency
in both design and workmanship. In every way
the business career of Mr. Barclay has been emi
nently successful, not alone in advancement of his
personal fortune, but in the development of that
great industry which has made A'ermont noted
throughout the world.
Mr. Barclay was reared in the Presbyterian
church of Scotland, but in this country has held
membership with the Congregational church. In
political affairs he maintains a position of inde

pendency, acting with that party or supporting
that candidate who at the moment represents
those interests which promise to best subserve
public interests. He is a member of Clan Gor
don No. 12, Scottish Clans, of Barre, and of
Granite Lodge, Free and Accepted Alasons, of the
Same city.
Mr. Barclay was married in Scotland, Alarch
17, 1876, when he first revisited his native land,
to Miss Mary Monroe Smith, who was born in
the same shire as he himself. Of this marriage
were born seven children. The eldest, William,
was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, April 29, 1878;
he is now employed in his father's works ; he
married Miss Jesse Alercer, and to them has. been
born one child, William R. Barclay. The second
child of Mr. and Mrs. Barclay, Robert Douglas
Monroe, who is also in the employ of his father,
was born December 29, 1880, in Aberdeen, Scot
land, when the parents were visiting there. The
third child, Mary Alonroe, was also born in Scot
land, December 9, 1882. The remaining children
were born in Barre, Vermont, Anna Laing, Au
gust 16, 1887'; Flora Elizabeth Bassett, October
3, 1889; Maggie Caroline Taylor, April 1, 1892;
and Grace Darling, September 3, 1896.
AV ALTER N. BALDWIN.
Walter N. Baldwin, a leading business man
and influential citizen of Starksboro, Vermont,
belongs to a family which has been for several
generations numbered among the respected citi
zens of the Green Alountain state. Orange Bald
win, his great-grandfather, was born in 1761,
in Connecticut, whence he removed to New Ha
ven, A'ermont, probably finding his way through
the then trackless wilderness by means of marked
trees. He was one of the pioneers in the place
of his destination, making a clearing in the for
est, and living the rugged life incident to the
early settlers of that day. He followed the voca
tion of a farmer, and his death occurred there.
George Baldwin, son of Orange Baldwin, was
born in 1798, in New Haven, Connecticut, but
passed his boyhood and all his subsequent life in
New Haven, A'ermont. He took an active part
in public affairs, being one of the promoters of
the "plank road" from A'ergennes to Bristol, Ver
mont, and holding, during the remainder of his

502

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

life, the position of a director of this enterprise.
He died at the age of eighty years.
Oscar D. Baldwin, son of George Baldwin,
was born February 2, 1838, in Bristol, Vermont,
and spent his early years in New Haven, in the
same state. On reaching manhood he went to
Shelburne Falls, where he became in time the
proprietor of a grist mill. In 1865, having dis
posed of his interests in Shelburne Falls, he went
to Starksboro, where he purchased the business
now presided over by his son, Walter N. Bald
win. Under the direction of the elder Baldwin,
the factory was completely renovated, being sup
plied with new machinery of the latest kind. The
butterrboxes, tubs, and other similar articles
made in these works, were all of the best manu
facture, and the business rapidly became flourish
ing. Mr. Baldwin married Ruth Hoyt, born in
1840, in Pennsylvania, and their family consisted
of the following named children: Walter N.,
mentioned at length hereinafter; Frederick A.,
also mentioned at length hereinafter ; and Helen,
who became the wife of.Alson Collins, of Monk-
ton, A'ermont. Mrs. Baldwin, who. attended the
Methodist Episcopal church, died in 1887, and
the death of Mr. Baldwin occurred April 22,
1902, at the age of sixty-four. The latter was
not only signally successful in business,- but was
a man highly respected for his sterling worth of
character. He was prominent in the political af
fairs of Starksboro, and held the office of select
man. He was a member of Patriot Lodge No.
33, Free and Accepted Masons, of Hinesburg,
Vermont, and took an active part in the affairs
of the order, and served as master of his lodge.
Wralter Newell Baldwin, son of Oscar D. and
Ruth (Hoyt) Baldwin, was born May 26, 1870,
in Starksboro, A'ermont, receiving his education
in the schools of his native place, and also in
Bristol. Subsequently he entered the employ of
his father, with whom he was associated in busi
ness until the death of the latter. He then came
into possession of the whole establishment, which
he has conducted ever since with great success,
demonstrating, by the able manner in which he
fills the position of proprietor, that the remark
able business ability of the father has descended
in full measure to the son.
In politics Mr. Baldwin is a Republican, and
takes an active part in public affairs. The high

place which he holds in the esteem of his towns
men is shown by the' fact that he has been elected
to a number of town offices. Mr. Baldwin mar
ried, August 16, 1892, Ruth Carpenter, born May
10, 1872, daughter of Joel Carpenter* a success
ful farmer of Starksboro, whose, family consisted
of two children: Ruth, mentioned above; and
Jessie. Frederick A. Baldwin, son of Oscar D. and
Ruth (Hoyt) Baldwin/ was born May 4, i860,
in Shelburne Falls, Vermont, and was educated
in Beeman Academy, at New Haven. He was
associated in business with his father until 1888,
since which time he has been connected with the
New York Life Insurance Company, Mr. Bald
win married Edna A. Boardman, of Middlebury,
Vermont, and has a family of three children:
Wayne M., Howe C- and Everett.
FRIEND NOYES WHITCOMB.
The strength of character, unfaltering perse
verance and competent business methods which
have brought, success to. Friend Noyes Whit
comb were manifest early- in his career and came
to him from his' ancestors.. The progenitor of
the American branch of the family was John
Whitcomb, born in Dorchester, England, and set
tled in Scituate, Massachusetts, after his arrival
in this country, which was in the early, part of the
seventeenth century; he died September 24,
1662. Josiah, son of John Whitcomb, was born
in the year 1638 and died Marcn 2I/ 1718. His
wife's maiden name was Rebecca Waters.^ David,
son of Josiah and Rebecca Whitcorrib, was born
in. Scituate, Massachusetts, February 20, 1668,
and was united in marriage to Mary Fairbanks.
Joseph, son of David and Mary . Whitcomb, is
supposed to have been born in Bolton, Massa
chusetts, in 1700. Later he took up his resi
dence in Swanzey, New Hampshire, where he
died aged ninety- two- years. He was familiarly
known as Captain Whitcomb, and married
Damarius Priest. Elisha, son of Joseph and
Damarius Whitcomb, was born about the year
1723, served in the Revolutionary war, being ap
pointed to the rank of major, and displayed his
courage at the battle of Bunker Hill ; he married
Joanna Whitcomb, of Leominster, Massachusetts,
and his death occurred September 17, 18 14.

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

503

Salmon Densmore, son of Elisha and Joanna
Whitcomb, was born in Swanzey, New Hamp
shire, March 19, 1776, was a carpenter by trade
and in 1805 located in Orange, Orange county,
Vermont, where his active life was passed. He
married Aruba Camp, born October 31, 1787, at
Sharon, Connecticut, the ceremony being per
formed May 15, 1806, at Orange, Vermont.
Their children were Roxinda, born July 23, 1810 ;
George W. C, born September 14, 1814; Emeline
A., born September 18, 1818; Sarah, born Feb
ruary 1, 1 82 1 ; Lyman Waterman, born February
7, 1824; William Elbridge, born November 4,
1826; and James Addison, born September 5,
1832. The father of this family died in Barre,
Vermont, February 22, 1852, and the mother
died October 4, 1867, at Brookfield, Vermont.
Lyman Waterman, son of Salmon D. and
Aruba (Camp) Whitcomb, was born in Orange,
Vermont, February 7, 1824. He obtained a good
common school education in his native town,
which qualified him for the duties of his life
work. He commenced his business career by
purchasing the Phelps saw-mill property in the
town of Barre, Vermont, which he conducted suc
cessfully for a number of years ; after disposing
of this property he bought the saw-mill of William
Martin, which was located in Plainfield, Vermont,
where he remained for two years. He then pur
chased the Fork Shop in the town of Barre,
which he operated as a sash and door factory,
and after continuing in this line for some time
he purchased the property formerly owned by
Joshua Twing, where he followed the trade of
millwright for over twenty years, and in addition
he was the owner of a factory in Rochester, Ver
mont, in which fork handles and material for
chairs were manufactured. In his political
affiliations he was a firm supporter of the Re
publican party, and fraternally was a member of
Granite Lodge, F. & A. M., of Barre, Vermont.
On November 5, 1850, Mr. Whitcomb married
Miss Mariam Sargent Noyes, daughter of
William and Mary (Sargent) Noyes, who was
born November 13, 1830. . Two children were
born of this union, namely : Friend Noyes, and
Harry Wendall, born May 22, 1858. The
father of these children died in Barre, Vermont,
January 7, 1898, and his wife's death occurred
May 23, 1902.

Friend Noyes Whitcomb, eldest son of Lyman
Waterman and Mariam Whitcomb, was born in
the town of Plainfield, Washington county, Ver
mont, November 18, 1855, but was only six
months old when his parents removed to Barre,
Vermont. His preliminary education was ac
quired in the public schools of Barre, and later
he was a student in the Goddard Seminary, where
he completed his education. At the age of thir
teen years he learned the trade of millwright
with his father, and the following eight years
were spent in working at that line of trade.
Then, wishing to become an engineer, he de
voted three years to that pursuit, and after gain
ing a thorough knowledge of the business, he
learned the trade of machinist, which he suc
cessfully followed until January, 1890. He
then entered into partnership with his brother
under the firm name of Whitcomb Brothers in
the manufacture of granite-working machinery
of all kinds, and this enterprise proved a success
from the very beginning. In addition to this ex
tensive manufacturing industry they are devel
oping seventy acres of land into a fine granite
quarry; this is situated on Millstone Hill in the
town of Barre. They are the owners of this
property, and Mr. Bond is associated with them
in this enterprise under the firm name of Bond
& Whitcomb. Mr. Whitcomb follows honora
ble business methods, unflagging energy, un
wavering perseverance, and unassailable integ
rity, and to these qualities his splendid success
is attributable. In his politics he has always
been a staunch Republican.
On July 7, 1878, Mr. Whitcomb married Miss
Martha Ellen Bigelow, who was born in Williams
town, Vermont, December 31, 1856, a daughter of
Joseph and Martha .(Luce) Bigelow. Their
children are: Bessie Lou, born in Barre, Ver
mont, November 17, 1882, and Burnice Irene,
born in Barre, Vermont, January 6, 1890.
JAMES M. WILSON.
James Al. Wilson, a leading farmer of New
Haven, A'ermont, and who has been frequently
honored by his fellow townsmen with positions
of trust, is of Scotch descent, his grandfather
Robert Wilson having been born in Scotland,
where he spent his whole life. William W. Wil-

504

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

son, the father of James M. Wils6n, was also
born in Scotland, but after reaching manhood
went to the West Indies, where he spent four
years as overseer on a plantation on the Isle of
St. Vincent, after which he went to Quebec and
Montreal, and at a later period suffered ship
wreck, but where we are not informed. He ter
minated his wanderings by settling in New Ha
ven, Vermont, where he followed the occupation
of a farmer. His migrations and hardships do
not appear to have injured his constitution, for
we read that after his many vicissitudes he
completed a century of existence, dying at New
Haven, Vermont, at the ripe age of one hunderd
years. He married Elizabeth Meeker, born in
Lincoln, Vermont, daughter of Levi Meeker,
one of the first settlers of that town. The Meeker
family were members of the Society of Friends,
Ehzabeth being one of four children, all of whom
are now deceased, she herself having died at the
age of eighty-eight years. Mr. arid Mrs. Wilson
were the parents of several children, of whom
James Al. is the only one who reached maturity.
James Al. Wilson, son of William W. and.
Elizabeth (Meeker) AVilson, was born in New
Haven, Vermont, February 23, 1842, and was
educated in the common schools of Bristol, Ver
mont, after which he devoted himself to farm
ing, and later purchased a farm in the town of
Bristol, where he lived nine years. At the end
of that time he returned to New Haven, where
he purchased parts of two estates, known re
spectively as the "old Hinman farm" and the "old
Bottom farm." As a. result of this purchase he
now has a fine estate devoted to general farming,
two hundred and seventy-five acres being under
cultivation. -'
Mr. Wilson is a Republican in politics, and
has served his town as selectman three years, as
lister five years, and for two terms has acted as
chairman of each of the above named boards. He
has also represented his town at both the county
and state conventions. Mr. Wilson and. all his
family are very active in all affairs connected
with the Congregational church.
Air. AVilson married, March 3, 1863, Julia
Morrison, daughter of Nathan Morrison, of
Starksboro, Vermont, who followed for many
years the combined occupations of farmer and
rope manufacturer, and died at the age of

eighty-six, his wife expiring at the age of eighty.
Mrs. Wilson is one of a family of twelve chil
dren, of whom three daughters beside' herself are
living: Mary, married to James Page, of Bristol,
Vermont; Lizzie, who is the wife of W. W.
Ricker, of Bristol, Vermont ; and Abbie J., mar
ried to Lindley J. Burtsell, and residing on the
old homestead in Starksboro, Vermont. Mr. and
Mrs. Wilson have three children: Lizzie, who
is the wife of Herbert Hofugle, a lawyer of Ti-
conderoga, New York, and has two children,
Sarah and James; William W., a druggist in
Bristol, Vermont, married Jennie Everet, and has-
one child, also named Jennie Everet ; and Thomas
N., who resides with his father on the paternal
farm, is married to Sarah Peck, and lost one
child in infancy. Both Mr. Wilson's sons are
very prominent Masons.
ELVIN M. COLLINS.
Elvin Al. Collins, a prosperous and progres
sive agriculturist of Monkton, Vermont, was.
born in that town, February 8, 1850, a descendant
of Daniel Collins, who was born in 1772 in Mas
sachusetts. Here the latter received the limited.
educational advantages that could be obtained in
the district schools of that day, and when he at
tained young manhood he removed to Monkton,
Vermont, accompanied by his parents, and they
were among the earliest settlers of that section
of the state. He was engaged in the occupation
of farming, to which he devoted the remainder
of his life.
Alson Collins, son of Daniel Collins, was born
in Alonkton, A'ermont, in 1797. He attended the
common schools of the village, where he obtained
a practical education, and being reared upon his
father's farm he chose that vocation for his life
work. He was engaged in the production of a
general line of farm produce, and, being an indus
trious, capable and energetic man, he was enabled
to secure a competence for his declining years.
His death occurred in the town of Monkton, Ver
mont, at the age of sixty-two years.
George H. Collins, son of Alson Collins, was
born in Alonkton, Vermont, in 1821, was reared
and received his education in the town, and the
early years of his life were spent in assisting his
father with the management of the farm, which,

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

505

after the death of his father, he inherited. For
many years he was one of the prominent men of
the town of Monkton, and his fellow townsmen
honored him by choosing him as their candidate
for various public offices, among them being, se
lectman, lister, collector and constable, which
latter position he filled for a number of terms. He
was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca U. Bates,
who was born in Alonkton, Vermont, December
12, 1825, a daughter of Aliles B. Bates, who was
born in 1785. Mr. Bates was an early settler of
the town of Monkton, and was one of its most
prominent and successful farmers; he also acted
in the capacity of town clerk for three years -and
held a number of other local offices. In addition
to his agricultural pursuits, he was engaged in
the insurance business, from which he realized
quite a goodly income. He married Miss Abi
gail Winchell, who was born in Monkton, Ver
mont, in 1790. Air. Bates' death occurred when
he had attained the extreme old age of eighty-
four years. Three children were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Collins, all of whom are living at the pres
ent time (1902) : Julia R. married William Gage
in 1871, and has one son, Charles W. Gage; her
husband died in 1873. Charles H. married Ella
Newton, and they now reside in Haverlock,
Iowa. Elvin M. Collins is the third. Both Mr.
and Mrs. Collins resided with their son, Elvin M.
Collins, at the time of their decease. He died in
the sixty-fourth year of his age, and his wife
passed away at the age of sixty-three years. They
were faithful and loyal members of the Methodist
Episcopal church of Monkton.
Elvin Miles Collins was reared upon the old
homestead and acquired an excellent education
in the common and select schools of Monkton.
During the early years of his life he worked upon
the ancestral estate, where he remained until the
death of his father. He then purchased three
hundred acres of land, which he devoted to the
production of a general line of farm products ;
he is also greatly interested in dairying, having
thirty-four cows in his possession with which to
supply the large demand for dairy products. Mr.
Collins is a Republican in politics, and has served
as delegate to a number of state conventions ; he
was also chairman of the town delegation to the
state convention in 1902 and was elected in that
year to serve in the state legislature. He has had

other offices of trust and responsibility offered to
him, but has steadily refused to accept them. He
is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal
church and the Sunday-school connected with
it. Mr. Collins was united in marriage, in 1875,
to Aliss Addie M. Partch, of Hinesburg, Ver
mont, and her death occurred in the thirty-sixth
year of her age; he chose for his second wife
Miss Evelyn Safford, who was born in Essex,
New York.
George E. Collins, a half-brother of Elvin M.
Collins, enlisted, at the commencement of the
Civil war, in Company B, Eleventh Vermont Vol
unteers, September 1, 1862, was transferred to
heavy artillery, December 13, 1862, and served
for three years. He was honorably discharged
from the service, but only lived one year after his
return ; he died October 7, 1866, at the age of
twenty-four years.
FRED H. DEAN.
Fred H. Dean, a prominent merchant who
has also acted in the capacity of postmaster for
the town of Monkton, Vermont, was born in that
town, December 17, 1850. Nathaniel Dean, his
grandfather, was one of the pioneer settlers of
Monkton, where he followed the occupations of
farmer and carpenter and met with a large de
gree of success in both lines of business. He
remained in this section of the country until an
old man, and his death occurred in the west when
he had attained great age.
Carlton S. Dean, his son, was born in De
cember, 1812, in the town of Monkton, where he
received his education in the common schools, and
after attaining young manhood he was the pro
prietor of a hotel at East Middlebury. Subse
quently he located at Monkton, where he was a
farmer. Mr. Dean's genial, pleasant manner
made him quite popular among the patrons of his
hotel, and secured to him a very liberal patronage
from which he derived a good income. He was
united in marriage to Miss Celestia H. French,
and the following named children were born to
them : Casper H., now a prosperous farmer in
the town of Monkton ; Carlton S., who holds the
office of town treasurer of Monkton ; Amanda J.,
wife of Orton D. Bonner, a resident of this town ;

506

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Fred H. Dean ; and Helen C, who died while the
wife of Henry Stilson. The father of these chil
dren died in Monkton at the age of sixty years,
and his wife passed away in 1874.
Fred Hezekiah Dean, youngest surviving
child of Carlton S. and Celestia Dean, was reared
in his native town, where he attended the common
schools arid later was a pupil in the graded school
at Vergennes. After completing his studies he
established himself in the store at Monkton, and
his integrity, activity and energy have been the
crowning points of his success. His connection
with business enterprises and industries has been
of decided advantage to this section of the coun
try. In political principle Mr. Dean is a Republi
can, and was chosen to represent the town in the
state legislature in 1886; he has also served as
town clerk since the year 1879, and at the pres
ent time (1903) holds the office of postmaster,
the duties of which position he performs both
faithfully and conscientiously. November 30,
1875, Air. Dean was united in marriage to Miss
Halcie S. Smith, who was born in the town of
Monkton, Vermont.
CHARLES P. ABERNATHY.
Charles Pierpont Abernathy, a highly re
spected and esteemed business man of Bristol,
A'ermont, was born in the adjoining town of New
Haven, June 26, 1844. Hiram Abernathy, his
grandfather, was born in Hartford, Connecti
cut, in 1765, and became prominently identified
with the business and political affairs of the town.
He removed to New Haven, Vermont, when that
section of the state was nothing but a wilderness.
He had seven hundred acres of land, which he
cleared and cultivated so that in due course of
time it yielded him a goodly income. Here he
lived for the remainder of his days and had a
family of fourteen children. He contracted ty
phoid fever and died from that disease when he
had attained the age of forty-seven years, and his
wife succumbed the same week to the same dis
ease. Ira Abernathy, son of Hiram Abernathy, was
born in New Haven, Vermont, August 12, 1804.
He received his education in the commOn schools
of his native town, and when only eight years of
age he was placed under the care of a guardian,

Manford Pyer, with whom he lived until he was
sixteen years old. For some years he taught
school during the winter months and worked on
farms in summer. He taught three terms in
Starksboro, and, being a skilled penman, often
gave writing lessons after he engaged in farm
ing. After attaining his majority he purchased a
farm near the old homestead, and devoted his
time and attention to the raising of a general line
of garden produce. January 3, 1827, he married
Miss Lydia L. Smith, who was born August 2,
1806, iri South Burlington, daughter of James
Smith, who was later one of the residents of New
Haven. Six children were born to Ira and Lydia
Abernathy. Cornelius, the first, born December
30, 1828, was a farmer in New Haven, and died
October 1, 1847, rii Bristol, Vermont. Cornelia
E., born May 14, 1832, died July 7, same year.
Abby C, born December 27, 1833, died April
5, 1869, while the wife of Orrin Dickinson. Lu
cia L., born. October 12, 1838, died October 12,
1876, being the wife of Henry Soper, and the
mother of two children, Noble and Florence.
Eliza Janet, born May 22, 1841, died July 13,
1869, unmarried. Charles P., is the youngest. Mr. "
Abernathy died September 26, 1865, at the age of
sixty-one years, and his wife, who was a member
of the Congregational church, died June 26, 1846.
Subsequently he married Mary Lawrence of
Monkton, who was the mother of two sons, Julian
W. and Frank D. The former born January 23,
1853, is a graduate of Aliddlebury College, and
Yale University, is now at the head of Berkley
Institute. Brooklyn, New York, and an author of
some repute. The latter, born December 26,
1858, is a member of the firm of Allen & Aber
nathy, large dry-goods dealers, of Burlington,
Vermont. Charles P. Abernathy spent the early years
of his life upon the farm belonging to his father,
and was an attendant at the district schools of
New Haven, and this was supplemented, later,
by a course of study at the Williston high school,
where he remained for three years. He then-
settled on eighty acres of land in New Haven,
Vermont, inherited from his father, upon which.
he erected a beautiful residence, which he occu
pied for six years. He then bought a hotel and
conducted it two years, and subsequently en
gaged in the grocery and meat trade in the vii-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

507

lage of Bristol for fifteen years. During his resi
dence here he bought land, laid out a street and
built nine houses, which he disposed of. In addi
tion he constructed a reservoir on the top of a
mountain, which gave employment to twenty-five
men for months, and brought the water three
miles, in order to supply the town. When the
work was accomplished, he disposed of the water
system to Newcomb Munsill, and removed to
Weybridge, where he was engaged in agricul-
cultural pursuits for six years. During the fol
lowing three years he conducted a grocery and
meat business in Aliddlebury. In 1898 he pur
chased the farm on which he is now located, on
Bristol Flats, which was then known as the Eddy
homestead, and was formerly called the Boyn
ton farm, which consists of two hundred and fifty
acres of ground, and is devoted to the raising of
general farm products. In the year 1901 he cut
a large quantity of hay and raised twelve hun
dred bushels of potatoes. Mr. Abernathy en
gages extensively in stock-growing, and has fine
strains of cattle, sheep and swine. His herd of
milch cows now numbers nearly fifty. He takes
an active interest in all matters that tend to ad
vance the welfare of the town. He served in the
capacity of district clerk for a number of years
while in Weybridge, and secured the establish
ment of a good school in his neighborhood, but
since then has refused to accept positions of trust
and responsibility which were tendered to him
by his townsmen.
March 16, 1870, Mr. Abernathy married Miss
Orpha L. Landon, who was born July 13, 1852,
in Weybridge, Vermont, a daughter of Amos
Landon, a prosperous farmer of that town, and
his wife Jerusha Rockwood. Four children were
born to Air. and Mrs. Abernathy : Carlton, the
eldest, born April 2, 1871, who is engaged in the
tailoring business in Chicago, Illinois, married
Bethia Gray, and their children are Ruth, Grace
and Janet. Janet E., born June 14, 1873, died
February 5, 1902 ; she was a beautiful girl, be
loved by all who came in contact with her; she
began teaching at the age of seventeen years, and
afterward took the course of the Normal School
at Potsdam, New York, and the Vermont Acad
emy at Saxton's River, Vermont. In 1897 she
went to Providence, Rhode Island, and continued
teaching in that state, being principal of the gram

mar room of the Harris public schools at the
time of her death. Landon, born October 28,
1879, is now a student in the medical department
of the University of A'ermont, at Burlington. He
was married in 1901, to Miss Edna Miller, of
Des Moines, Iowa. Jay Barlow, born October
17, 1884, who also resides at home and is attend
ing the public schools, completes the family cir
cle. AVILLIAM H. GEE.
William H. Gee, a prosperous farmer and re
spected citizen of Monkton, Vermont, belongs to
a family which has been for three generations
resident in the state, and has added largely to
the number of its good citizens.
Frank Gee, grandfather of William H. Gee,
was born in 1800, in Canada. He had a family of
ten children, all of whom grew up, but only three
of whom are now living, namely : Henry, who is
a resident of Providence, Rhode Island; Joseph,
a farmer living in Bristol, Vermont ; and Frank,
a blacksmith, residing in the same place. Mr.
and Mrs. Gee were both members of the Catholic
church. The former died at Middlebury, Ver
mont. His wife died at the age of sixty, presuma
bly in the same place.
Edward Gee, son of Frank Gee, was born in
1835, in Canada, and at the age of eighteen came
to Middlebury, Vermont, where he |worked at
the trade of a blacksmith. He married Rosalie
Greenough, born in 1838, daughter of John
Greenough, a farmer of that town, who died
there at the age of sixty-nine. Mr. and Mrs. Gee
had ten children, all of whom are living, are pros
perous in worldly affairs, and reside not far from
their mother, to her great joy. Their names are:
Edward, living in Ferrisburg, Vermont ; Louise,
living in Alonkton, Vermont; Frank, a farmer in
the last named place; Helen, living in Bristol,
Vermont; Loretta, married to A. P. Brown, a
merchant in Bristol, Vermont; William H., men
tioned at length hereinafter; John, living in
Plattsburg, New York; Virginia, living in
Bristol, Vermont, married to James McDonough,
a merchant of that place; Benjamin, in business
with his father ; and Lena, who remains at home.
William Henry Gee, sixth child and third son
of Edward and Rosalie Gee, was born May 8,

508

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

1869, in the borough of Monkton, Vermont,
where he spent the early years of his life, re
ceiving his education in the common schools. For
eleven years he assisted his father in his trade
of blacksmith, which he enlarged and made very
profitable by adding to it the business of a wheel
wright and painter. At the end of that time he
bought the. farm- which he now occupies, and
erected all the present buildings, improving it in
various other ways, and now follows the occu
pation of a general farmer, his estate covering an
area of one hundred and twenty acres.
Mr. Gee is a Republican in politics and takes
an active interest in the affairs of the town. His
neighbors haye manifested their confidence in
him by making him school director and sending
him as a delegate to the state convention, but he
has steadily refused to serve in any other official
capacity. He is an attendant at the Catholic
church. Mr. Gee married, in 1892, : Berenice Partch,
born in 1870, irt Hinesburg, Vermont, daughter
of Lyman C. and Louise (Martin) Partch. Ly
man C. Partch was one' of the early settlers in
the town of Hinesburg, Vermont, Where he fol
lowed agricultural pursuits all his life, and died
at the age of sixty years. Louise (Martin)
Partch was born in Ferrisburg, Vermont, and
her death, like that of her husband, toOk place
at the age of sixty years. Further information
concerning the Martin branch of the family will
be found in the sketch of Martin Fletcher Allen.
Mr. and Mrs. Partch had four children : Medad
L., now following the trade of a miller in Fer
risburg, Vermont ; William, a farmer living in
Hinesburg, Vermont; Berenice, referred to above
as the wife of William H.' Gee ; and Ruby.
HON. NELSON DEWEY PHELPS.
Hon. Nelson DeWey Phelps, of Barre, Ver
mont, is a representative of an ancient family of
English origin, which for nearly three centuries
has been prominent in the colonial and national
annals of New England. William Phelps, the
fouder of the family in America, was born- Au
gust 19, 1599, in Tewkesbury, England, that an
cient Saxon town which, more than a century be
fore, had witnessed one of the greatest battles of

the War of the Roses, a battle- which resulted in
victory for the White Rose, one of that long series'
of conflicts in the course of which first one flower
and then the other gained the ascendency until
the union of the houses of York and Lancaster
restored peace to the kingdom and founded the
Tudor dynasty. The birth of William Phelps
took place a few years before the brave and bril
liant reign of "that bright occidental star, Queen
Elizabeth," was succeeded by the narrow-minded
rule of the "schoolmaster king" whose opposi
tion to the Puritans, expressed in the declaration
that he would "harry them out of the land," re
sulted in the planting of the New England colo
nies. That AA'illiam Phelps belonged to that noble
company of non-conformists, or that he was at
least in sympathy with them, is indicated by the
fact that he emigrated to Massachusetts in the
year 1630, and settled at Dorchester, whence, in
1635, he removed to. AVindsor, Connecticut. Of
the name of his first wife, as well as of the time
and place of his marriage, no mention is made,
but we are informed that jn Windsor, Connecti
cut, he married his second wife, whose name was
Mary Dover. The date of the death of this emi
grant ancestor is not given, but it may be sup
posed to have taken place at Windsor, Connecti
cut^ that town remaining the residence of the fam
ily for at least two subsequent generations.
Timothy Phelps, son of AVilliam and Mary
(Dover) Phelps, was born September 1, 1639,
probably at Windsor, Connecticut. He served in
the colonial army with the rank of lieutenant,
and no doubt participated in King Philip's war,
perhaps forming one of the party who effected
the capture of that warrior. He married, May
19, 1661, Mary Griswold, and resided through
out his life at his birthplace.
Nathaniel Phelps, son of Timothy and Mary
(Griswold) Phelps, was born January 27, 1677,
at Wiridsor, Connecticut. No details of his life
have reached us, with the exception of the fact
that he married, March 28, 1700, Hannah Bissell.
It would seem, however, that he removed, before
middle life, to Hebron, Connecticut, and that his
death probably- occurred at that place.
Solomon Phelps, son of Nathaniel and Han
nah (Bissell) Phelps, was born July 29, 1716, in
Hebron, Connecticut, and married, May 10, 1738,
Temperance Barber. His life appears to have

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

509

been wholly uneventful, and was no doubt passed
entirely at his birthplace.
Bissell Phelps, son of Solomon and Temper
ance (Barber) Phelps, was born February 16,
1754, at Hebron, Connecticut. Soon after he
attained his majority the Revolutionary struggle
was ushered in by the fight at Lexington, and
Bissell Phelps seems to have been among the first
who enrolled themselves in the patriot army. He
held a captain's commission from Quartermaster
General Nehemiah Hubbard under General
Washington, and must have been present at the
siege of Boston and during the disastrous cam
paign in New Jersey, the gloom of which was re
lieved by the victories of Trenton and Princeton.
After the arrival of General Lafayette, in the
summer of 1777, Captain Phelps resigned and
re-enlisted under the French commander, serving
until the close of the war. It might be supposed
that when the restoration of peace permitted him
to abandon the hardships of a soldier's life, Cap
tain Phelps would gladly have settled on the
homestead, there to pass the remainder of his
days amid the quiet and retirement of familiar
scenes, but instead of this, he removed, — for what
reason we are not informed, — to Middlefield,
Massachusetts, whence he further migrated in
1 79 1 to Waitsfield, Vermont, making the journey
with his two yoke of oxen, and doing the work
of a pioneer in his place of destination. Captain
Phelps was twice married: first, January 12,
1775, to Lovina Skinner, who died March 28,
1802 ; and February 27, 1803, to Sally Water
man, born January 31, 1772, at Killingly, Con
necticut. Captain Phelps closed his long, useful
and adventurous life at the great age of ninety-
one, dying in Waitsfield, Vermont, October 25,
1845. His wife survived him many years, pass
ing away April 6, 1871, in the one hundredth
year of her age.
Alexander Phelps, son of Bissell and Lovina
(Skinner) Phelps, was born October 6, 1780, at
Hebron, Connecticut. The migrations of the
family took place during his infancy and boy
hood, and in Waitsfield, Vermont, he resided for
the remainder of his life. He married Rachael
Steele, daughter of John and Sarah (Coff)
Steele, of Tolland, Connecticut, where she was
born June 19, 1780. Alexander Phelps enjoyed
a more peaceful existence than his father, but

without inheriting his longevity, his death oc
curring May 29, 1826, when he had scarcely
reached the prime of life. His wife outlived him
more than thirty years, dying at Waitsfield, Ver
mont, July 8, 1857.
David Martin Phelps, son of Alexander and
Rachael (Steele) Phelps, was born October 10,
1824, at Waitsfield, Vermont, and received his
education at the schools of his natiye town. Dur
ing the early years of his life Air. Phelps fol
lowed the occupation of a farmer, but possessed
abilities which fitted him for the administration
of affairs, and at the solicitation of those who
were desirous of availing themselves of those
abilities and also of securing for Mr. Phelps a
suitable field for the exercise of his powers, he
removed to Burlington, Vermont, where he acted
as the representative of several commercial
houses. Air. Phelps was a Republican in politics,
and took an active part in town affairs. His
neighbors testified to the esteem arid confidence
in which they held him by electing him to the
office of representative in the state legislature.
During the Civil war Air. Phelps was prominent
in the enlistment of men for the army, and by
every means in his power rendered efficient aid
to the soldiers, both in the field and in the hos
pital. He was a member of the Congregational
church, in which he served as deacon. Mr.
Phelps married, at AA'aitsfield, Alay 28, 1857,
Zilpha Brooks Dewey, born at Berlin, A'ermont,
a descendant of Thomas Dewey, the American
ancestor of the Dewey family, who came to this
country in 1633. Air. and Mrs. Phelps were the
parents of two 'children : Nelson Dewey, men
tioned at length hereinafter; and Henry Alex
ander, also born at AVaitsfield, A'ermont, Octo
ber 15, 1861. Air. Phelps died September 18,
1869, and his wife expired October 31, 1894, in
Barre, Vermont.
Nelson Dewey Phelps, son of David Alartin
and Zilpha Brooks (Dewey) Phelps, was born
February 27, 1859, in the town of Waitsfield,
AVashington county, A'ermont, and his elemen
tary education was received at the common
schools of his native town and of Burlington.
Later he attended a graded school at Northfield,
A^ermont, afterward becoming a student at the
Barre Academy at Barre, Vermont. His early
life was spent on his father's farm in Waitsfield,

5io

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

and four years were passed in Burlington. In
1884 he went to Barre, Vermont, where Orvis
Jackman was then conducting a hardware busi
ness on North Main street. This business Mr.
Phelps purchased, and on January 1, 1885, his
brother, Henry Alexander Phelps, bought an in
terest in the establishment, which has since been
conducted under the firm name of Phelps Broth
ers. January 1, 1892, they moved into the Gor
don block, where they have one of the best
equipped stores in their line in the state. Under
their skillful management the business has been
much enlarged and is in an extremely flourish
ing condition. The activities of the firm are not
limited to the care of this establishment, exten
sive as it is, but they are also much engaged in
plumbing and heating, and are large real estate
dealers. Mr. Phelps is an extremely public-spirited
citizen, taking an active interest in all the affairs
of the community. He served for several years
as chief of the fire department of Barre, and for a
considerable period acted as superintendent of
the water works. In 1901 he was elected mayor
of Barre by a non-partisan vote, and his adminis
tration of that office was such as to promote the
very best interests of the city. Mr. Phelps is a
member of the Republican party and in the mem
orable compaign ending September 2, 1902, he
was elected one of the senators from Washington
county to the state senate for a term of two years.
During the session of the legislature he was ap
pointed on the following committees of the
senate: committee on corporations; committee
on fish and game; and committee on printing.
Mr. Phelps is a member of the Masonic order,
affiliating with Granite Lodge, F. & A. M., of
Barre. He also belongs to the Fish and Game
League of Vemont, and is a member of the fol
lowing social and sporting organizations: the
St. Bernard Club; the Vincitia Club of Barre;
and the Burlington Yacht Club of Burlington.
Mr. Phelps married, at Montpelier, Vermont,
September 13, 1880, Miss Annie Maria Joslin,
daughter of Cornelius Emerson and Josette
(Dumas) Joslin, and had one child, Blanche An
nie, born Alarch 29, 1881, and died July 9, 1887.
Mrs. Phelps, who was born at Waitsfield, Ver
mont, is a descendant of Thomas Jocelyn (as the
name was originally, spelled), who was born in

1592 in Lancaster, England, and came to Amer
ica in 1635, being a passenger on board the ship
Increase. , He settled first at Scituate, Massa
chusetts, whence he removed to Hingham, and
finally made his home at Lancaster, Massachu
setts.
EDGAR HENRY DAVENPORT.
This nariie is a well known and honored one
in Windham county, and, in the person of other
members of the family; has become honorably
known throughout all New England. Edgar H.
Davenport is extensively interested in real es
tate in Brattleboro and vicinity, and is the owner

EDGAR HENRY DAVENPORT.

of the celebrated medicinal spring whose un
doubted curative properties have made it for a
number of years the mecca of a large number of
people in search of health. It is at present known
as the Lawrence and Wesselhoff water cure.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

5n

The family of which Mr. Davenport is a mem
ber was brought to this country by two brothers
who emigrated from old England, where they had
lived in the town of Davenport, and which re
ceived its name from the family. One of these
emigrants settled in Virginia, and the other in
New York state. From the latter sprung the
family of Edgar Henry Davenport. His father
was Calvin N. Davenport, a native of Leyden,
Massachusetts, where he was a farmer and cattle
dealer, and where he died at the age of forty-
seven years, leaving a wife and six children. His
wife's maiden name was Lucy W. White; they
had nine children, three of whom died in infancy.
Of those living, Charles N., came to be a lawyer
of prominence ; Martin V. was a farmer in Ley
den, Alassachusetts, now retired ; George W. is a
retired lawyer whose active life was passed in
the courts of Wilmington and Brattleboro ; Will
iam W., a cattle and wool dealer living in Ley
den, Massachusetts, and one of the wealthiest
men in his community, married Mary G. Knox,
of Gill, Massachusetts, and has four children:
Steven T., Mary, Charles and Bertha. The sev
enth child of the family is Steven T., who was a
practicing lawyer at Wilmington and Brattle
boro, but has now retired and lives at Green
field, Massachusetts ; he married Alice S. Warner,
of Dover, Vermont, and his son, W. A. Daven
port, is a lawyer in Greenfield, and a man of con
siderable prominence in the Democratic politics
of the state. The youngest member of the family
was Edgar H. Davenport.
Edgar Henry Davenport was educated in the
common schools of his community, which train
ing was supplemented by more advanced courses
at what is known as Powers Institute at Bern
ardston, and Green Mountain Institute at Wood
stock. He, like his brothers, took up the pro
fession of law, doing the necessary reading in
the office of his brother, Steven T., at Wilming
ton, and Charles N., at Brattleboro, and further
with Judge H. H. Wheeler of Jamaica. He was
admitted to the practice of his profession in
September of 1871, and became a member of the
bar of Windham county, in which he still re
tains his membership. He, however, practiced
law but one year, having entered into other
pursuits. His life has been a very active
one in the buying and selling of real estate, in

the handling of wool, and engaged in a general
store at West Brattleboro. As stated before, he
is responsible for the development of the cele
brated medicinal spring spoken of above, and to
which he has given a great deal of attention. Mr.
Davenport is a supporter of the principles of
Jefferson in politics, though he is rather inde
pendent in the matter of voting. He is a worthy
member of the Baptist church, together with his
family. His wife's maiden name was Emily E.,
a daughter of B. L. Barnard, of Wilmington;
they are the parents of five children : Frederick
B., who died in infancy; Blanche H., Madge I.,
Clara H. and Amy L. Davenport. Mr. Daven
port is a gentleman whose genius has mastered
the situation at all times, and whose genial
nature and many fine qualities have made him a
most popular citizen of his community.
SHERROD BROWN.
Sherrod Brown, a valiant and efficient soldier
of the Civil war and a respected citizen of New
Haven, Addison county, inherits his military spir
it from Revolutionary ancestry. His first Amer
ican progenitor was John Brown, who was born
in 1600 in Hawkingdon, England, and came to
Massachusetts previous to 1636, in which year he
died at Boston.
Solomon Brown was born in Lexington,
Massachusetts, and assisted in the heroic defense
of that village during the famous British expedi
tion against Concord in April, 1775. At that time
Solomon Brown was only eighteen years old, and
he is credited by authentic records with the shot
which first drew British blood on that occasion.
After the Revolution he became a regular soldier,
and was appointed military storekeeper at Fort
Schuyler, New York. He was one of the first
settlers of the town of New Haven, Vermont,
purchasing the right to a farm on Beech Hill, one
and one-half miles south of the present village of
New Haven. His second wife, Eunice (Bigelow)
Brown, was the mother of six of his children, of
whom there were seventeen in all. She was born
in 1775 and died in 1836. He was one of the first
deacons of the local church, and died June 6,
1837, aged eighty-two years and five months.
Ira Brown, son of Solomon, was born August
22, 1807, in New Haven, and died there February

512

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

20, 1884. He grew up on his father's homestead,
and eventually came into its possession, and was
always a farmer. A man of quiet tastes, he
sought no part in political affairs, but was at
tentive to his farm and considered a good farmer,
thrifty and industrious. A wide reader, he kept
well informed upon the course of current events,
and was in a position to judge intelligently of the
world's progress. In political principle an ad
herent of the Whig party, he naturally became a
Republican upon the lapse of the old party name.
He was an ardent admirer of Horace Greeley,
and continued to read the New York Tribune
through his life. Fie was identified with the
Congregational church. In 1835 he was mar
ried to Eliza D. Bogue, who was born June 5,
1812, in Enosburg, Vermont, and died October
25, 1894, at her home in New Haven. She was
a daughter of Ebeneezer and Laura Bogue, of
Scotch lineage, the name being spelled Booge by
the Scotch immigrants who brought it to this
country. Five sons and one daughter were born
to Ira and Eliza D. Brown. The first, Willard,
/ was a clergyman of the Congregational church,
and died in September, 1900, at Inter lach en, Flor
ida, aged sixty-two years. Sherrod is the second. '
Wickliffe died February 20, 1865, at the age of
twenty-two years, at Point of Rocks, Virginia,
from fever incurred in service as a member of
Company C, Ninth A'ermont Volunteers, in the
Civil war. He enlisted in February, 1864. Co-
rintha B. is the wife of Kiles Paul, of East Berk
shire, Vermont. Frank F. died at the age of
twenty-one years, and Winfield at eight.
Sherrod Brown was born September 20, 1840,
on the homestead in New Haven, which is now
his property. Through most of his life its cultiva
tion has been his chief occupation. As he grew
up he assisted in the toils of the farm, at the same
time pursuing his education in the local schools,
the district institution and Beeman Academy.
When the war came upon the country he resolved
to give his service to the preservation of its integ
rity, and enlisted in September, 1862, in Company
F, Berdan's First United States Sharpshooters.
During three years of service he maintained the
honor of the family name, and was honorably dis
charged with a creditable record. Being attached
to the Army of the Potomac, he was under fire in

the following engagements : Snicker's Gap,
Fredericksburg, Richard's Ford, Chancellorsville,
the Cedars, again at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg,
Upperville, Wapping Heights, Culpepper Court
House, Auburn Creek Ford, Brandy Station, Lo
cust Grove. At the latter engagement he was
permanently disabled by a gunshot wound, No
vember 27, 1863, he was sent to a hospital,
where he remained two months. On partial re
covery, he was detailed as quartermaster's clerk
at Fort Schuyler, where his grandfather had
served so long before.
On his discharge from military service, Mr.
Brown returned to his native town and resumed
the cultivation of the home farm, which now be
came necessary on account of his father's advanc
ing years. In 1872 he went to Sioux City, Iowa,
where he was employed for some time in a flour
ing mill and packing house. Returning again to
the farm in 1875, he remained until 1876, when
he went to Westport, New York, and continued
to reside there until 1884, conducting a meat
market during most of this period. Since the last
named date he has been a resident of his native
town, and now resides in the village of New Ha
ven, while his son operates the farm.
With his family, Mr. Brown is affiliated with
the Congregational church of New Haven. He
has always been a Republican in political princi
ple, and has filled most of the town offices. Upon
the adoption of the present school law, he was
elected one of the directors of the town, and made
chairman of the board, continuing three years.
He is now serving his fifth year as superintendent
of schools. Within this period, two graded
schools have been established in the town. In
1902 he was the party nominee for representative,
but his pronounced prohibition principles caused
his defeat, in common with many others, in the
local-option wave that swept the state. He is an
active member of William P. Russell Post, G. A.
R., of Middlebury, and the Comrades of the Bat
tlefield, a national organization..
Mr. Brown was married September 4, 1868,
to Miss Stella E. Braman, who was born August
31, 1844, in Westport, New York, a daughter
of Jason and Laura (Hubbell) Braman, of old
New York families. Two sons were born to Mr.
and Mrs. Brown, Wickliffe and Frank. The lat-

osisl

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

5L3

ter died at the age pf eight years, and the former
is now tilling the old homestead farm. He mar
ried Grace E. Smith, of Middlebury, and has
three children, Gertrude, Harold and Donald.
CHARLES MARR.
The mammoth granite industry of Vermont,
one of the principal sources of wealth in the state,
has had its development within a comparatively
short time, not exceeding a quarter of a century.
During this period, its stone products have been
placed in every market reached by rail, extend
ing far to the west, and enjoy well deserved repu
tation for quality of material and finished work
manship. Among the master mechanics and '
quarry proprietors of Vermont who rhave
achieved these notable results, some, of the most
enterprising and successful are of Scotch origin,
who learned their trade in working the famous
granite of their native hills, and who, in coming
to Vermont, found a field for which they were
peculiarly well fitted. Among such is to' be
named Charles Marr, a leading granite manu
facturer of Barre.
He was born July 23, 185 1, in the parish of
Udny, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, son of Alexan
der and Mary (Burr) Marr. The father was
born March 11, 1805, in the parish of.Foveran,
Aberdeenshire, and he, died August ,15, 1888;
his wife was born in Jhe not far distant parish of
Davot, November 13V1813. Their son, Charles
Marr, received his education in the parish school,
and was engaged upon the little home farm until
he was sixteen year's of age. He then went to
the- city of Aberdeen, and entered upon an ap
prenticeship with a stone-cutter. Having mas
tered his trade, he worked as a journeyman until
the spring of 1880, when he came to the United
States, arriving in New York city on April 15.
He went thence to'the stone regions at Quincy,
Massachusetts, where he was employed for three
years. May 30, 1883, he located in Barre, Ver
mont, to enter upon business upon his own ac
count. June 1, after his arrival, he associated
himself with Alexander Gordon, also a skilled
workman, under the firm name of Marr & Gor
don, and somewhat later Mr. Marr's brother
Williarii was admitted, the firm name remaining
unchanged. The business of the establishment
33

developed steadily, and is now one of the most
extensive in its line in the city, and the works
are among the oldest. The firm own two large
quarries, and operate a water-power polishing
mill at South Barre and cutting sheds in the city
of Barre. The product of the works comprise
all descriptions of fine monument, mausoleum,
vault and other cemetery work, including original
designs in great variety and of the most superior
class. Mr. Marr has not only contributed materially
to the advancement of community interests
through his business enterprise, . but has con
stantly aided in all . public movements of util
ity. He is a member of the Congregational
church. His political affiliations are with the Re
publican party in national concerns ; in local af
fairs he is an independent, giving his support to
such men as represent the best of local govern
ment and best serve the home people. He is a
member of Clan Gordon No. 12, Scottish Clans,
of Barre. He was married in Barre, August 15,
1893, to Miss Addie Luella Godfrey, who was
born in West Fair lee, Vermont, December 18,
1871. Their children, all born in Barre, are Evan
Godfrey, born November 19, 1894; Charles Wal
lace*, born September. 18, 1896;. Mary. Annette,
born August 4, 1898 ; and Evelyn Rosalind, born
February 28, 1902.
HENRY C. CONANT.
Among the progressive men.of Addison coun
ty, Vermont, who, have made for that region a
high reputation in agricultural and stock-breeding
lines, is to. be. named Henry Clinton. Conant, of
New Haven, owner and manager of the famous
Judge <Bpttum farm> of two hundred and forty
acres. His paternal grandfather, Baker Conant,
born in 1790, was the progenitor of the family in
Vermont, and was a very prominent man in Addi
son county. John B» Conant, son of Baker Con
ant, was born in November, 1825, in New Haven,
Vermont, where he was reared and educated. He
removed to Canton, New. York, where he farmed
for a time, then changed his residence to New
Haven, Vermont, which was his home until his
death, December 5, 1897. He married Almira
Cunningham, who was born November 1, 1827,
in Lincoln, Vermont, daughter of Nathan Cun-

514

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

¦nlngham, who was a prominent Mason* Of this
marriage were born six children, of whom three
are living, Henry C. ; Herbert, who resides in
Momence, Illinois ; and Frederick H., who resides
in New Haven, Vermont. The mother of these
children resides in Leominster, Massachusetts,
and is a Congregationalist in religion.
Henry C. Conant, eldest son of John B. and
Almira (Cunningham) Conant, was born June 17,
1855, in Canton, New York, whence his parents
removed, while he was an infant, to New Haven,
Vermont. There he was educated, beginning his
studies in the common schools and supplementing
the instruction there received with a course in
Beeman Academy. On arriving at age, he mar
ried and left home to carve out his own fortune.
When twenty-five years of age he purchased a
farm about one and one-half miles from that of
his father, near New Haven village, and con
ducted it with marked success until 1890. He
then disposed of it, and bought the well known
Judge Bottum farm, at New Haven, and applied
himself industriously to its improvement. He
made repairs upon the house which were almost
equivalent to rebuilding, and' built an immense
barn, one hundred feet long and forty-six feet
wide, in order to add. to his facilities' for raising
blooded cattle, which forms an important part of
his business, his: herd including some thirty head
of superior breeding cows, mostly of the Jersey
and Durham strains. Besides advancing his per
sonal fortunes, his example has proved a power
ful incentive in the neighborhood and has served
to cause improvement in all lines of cattle-breed
ing and general farming. With his family, Mr.
Conant attends the Congregational church of
New Haven, in which Mrs. Conant holds mem
bership. A Republican in politics, he is an earnest
advocate of the principles of his party, while in rio
way is he a political aspirant.
Mr. Conant was married ^February 23, 1881,
to Miss Susan Adams, a native of New Haven,
born January 9, 1856, a daughter of Albert P. and
Sophia (Champlin) Adams, long residents of the
village named, but now living in Franklin county,
New York. Of this marriage was born a daugh
ter, Alice Mildred, who is now a beautiful and
promising child, eight years of age. Albert A.
Adams is a native of Burke, Franklin county,
New York, and his wife was born in New Haven,

Vermont, daughter of Thomas and Sophia (Hin-
man) Champlin. After the death of Thomas
Champlin, his widow married Rev. Silas Bing
ham, the first settled minister at New Haven.
NORRIS ROBINSON MILLER.
Norris Robinson Aliller, a prominent resident
of Shelburne, Vermont, is a descendant of a fam-

NORRIS ROBINSON MILLER.
ily that, have made their home in Vermont since
the latter part of the eighteenth century.
Ebenezer Miller, grandfather of Norris Rob
inson Miller, was a resident of Connecticut,
whence he removed to Vermont and located first
in Mt. Holly, where he remained for a short time;
then took up his residence in Derby, and later
settled, in Colchester, Vermont. After remaining
there for some time he removed to Westport,
New York, and subsequently to Stockholm, in
that state, where his death occurred at the age

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

5i5

of eighty-five years. He married Aliss Esther
Benson, of Connecticut, and four daughters and
two sons were born to them.
*
Caleb Miller, fourth child, in order of birth,
of Ebenezer and Esther A'liller, was born in Con
necticut February 23, 1793. He lived for twelve
years in Charlotte, Vermont, and after spending
four years in Cazenovia, New York, returned to
Charlotte, whence he moved to Burlington, Ver
mont, and thence to St. Lawrence county, New
York, and died September 17, 1854, at Hopkin
ton, in that county. He was a farmer by occu
pation. He sought to participate in the battle
of Plattsburg in 1814, but failed through lack of
transportation facilities at Burlington. On No
vember 12, 181 1, Mr. Miller married Miss Polly
Naramore, a daughter of Asa and Mary (Lake)
Naramore. Asa Naramore was a soldier in the
Revolutionary war, and was held a prisoner in
Canada during one winter by the British forces.
F6r many years he drew a pension for his ser
vices. The following named children were born
to Mr. and Mrs. Miller : Nelson L., born June
28, 1813, died in infancy ; Asa N., born December
6, 1815, died March 27, 1890; Lucius C. and
Lrician N., twins, born January 1, 1819, of whom
Lucius was killed in Shelburne, Vermont, when
only seven years of age, and Lucian lived to be
thirty-five years old ; Norris Robinson, born Jan
uary 23, 1822; Mariette, born August 31, 1828,
married, July 22, 185 1, Samuel O. Kennedy, and
died December 22, 1895, in Harmony, Fillmore
county, Minnesota. The, mother of these chil
dren died in Shelburne, Vermont, at the home of
our subject, November 23, 1868.
Norris Robinson Miller; son of Caleb and
Polly Miller, was born in Charlotte, Vermont,
January 23, 1822. His education was acquired
in the common schools of Vermont and New-
York, and ilpon reaching young manhood he
purchased a farm in1 St. Lawrence county, New
York, which he operated successfully. For
twenty-one years he was engaged at the carpen
ter's trade, being thoroughly familiar with every
detail of the business. In 1868 he removed to
Shelburne, Vermont, and purchased a fruit farm,
which he conducted with a marked degree of suc
cess until 1889, when he disposed of it to Dr.
W. Seward Webb, and it became a part of the
"Shelburne farms." Since April, 1890, he has

been a resident of the village of Shelburne, in a
house which he purchased in 1889.
In political affiliation Mr. Miller is a Repub
lican, and his first vote was cast for General Fre
mont for president of the United States. He
represented, the town of Shelburne in the state
legislature in 1890 and in 1891; was elected to
the office of town clerk in 1891, and has been re
elected each successive election; he served as
justice of the peace for twenty-two years, and for
twelve years acted in the capacity of trial justice.
He is the steward and treasurer of the Methodist
Episcopal church of Shelburne, Vermont. On
February 18, 1844, Mr. Miller was united in mar
riage to Miss Ann M. Ballard, a daughter of
Asahel and Freelove (Irish) Ballard.
WILLIAM H. PARTCH.
William H. Partch, a prosperous citizen of
New Haven, Vermont, was born in Hinesburg,
Vermont, February 18, 1857, a descendant of a
family who have made their home in Vermont
for several generations. "Dr." Thornas Philip
Partch, grandfather of William H. Partch, was
born in Hinesburg, Vermont, in 1790, and after
acquiring a common school education he turned
his attention to farming in Hinesburg, where he
spent the greater part of his life. He was united
in marriage to Miss Lefa Lawrence, who was
born in Hinesburg, Vermont, in 1795, and their
children were : Lyman ; William M. ; Mrs.
Charles Post; Mrs. Dean Hosford; and Mrs.
Monroy Parmelee. "Dr." Partch died in Hines
burg at the age of seventy-five years, and his wife
passed away at the age of eighty years.
William M. Partch, son of "Dr." Partch, was
borri in Hinesburg, Vermont, in 1829. He was
engaged in the occupation of farming until 1861,
when he removed to. Bristol, Vermont, and be
came the proprietor of a hotel which he conducted
successfully for nine years. After the expiration
of this period -of time he located in New Haven,
Vermont, purchased a hotel and also a fine farm.
He subsequently disposed of this property to his
sons, William H. and Frederick M. He married
Miss Martha Post, who was born in Hinesburg,
Vermont, in 1825, a daughter of Alson Post, who
was engaged in agricultural pursuits in Hines-
•burg all his life, and died there at the age of

5i6

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

eighty-four years. The following named chil
dren were born of this union: Carleton, a tesi-.
dent of Michigan ; Anna, who resides in Burling
ton, Vermont ; William H. and Frederick M., res
idents of New Haven, Vermont; Clayton, Mar
tha and Cecil, all of whom make their home in
Burlington, Vermont. The mother of these chil
dren is still living.
William H. Partch, second son of William, M.
and Martha Partch, spent the early years of his
life in Hinesburg, but his education was acquired
in the common schools of Bristol, Vermont, and
in the academy at New Haven, Vermont. He
was then engaged with his brother Frederick in
the hotel business up to the year 1893, when he
disposed of his interest in the business. In 1901
Mr. Partch purchased the farm of his father-in-
law, George P. Hathorne, which consisted of one
hundred and eighty acres, which he devoted to
dairying and general farming, and in the manage
ment of his agricultural interests he has met with
gratifying success. In his political affiliations he
is a firm and staunch advocate of the principles
of the Republican party, and has served as select
man for three years, also as chairman of the town
board. He is a consistent member of the Congre
gational church of New Haven, serves in the ca
pacity of deacon, and takes an active interest in
all the work connected with it.
In 1893 Mr. Partch married Miss Florence
Hathorne, who was born in New Haven, Ver
mont, October 11, 1856, a daughter of George P.
Hathorne, who was a prominent and successful
farmer of the town of New Haven, Vermont, held
the office of selectman and also served as deacon
of the Congregational church for a number of
years. Mr. Hathorne married Miss Almena
Clark, and the following named children were
born to them : Alvah ; Frank, professor of music
in Potsdam, New York; Florence, wife of Will
iam H. Partch; Henry, Charles and Lucia Ha
thorne, all of whom are successful in their vari
ous callings. The father of these children died
in 1900, at the age of seventy-four years, and his
wife died in 1899, at the age of seventy-seven
years. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Partch: Hazel and Raymond Partch. Mrs.
Partch was educated in the academy at New Ha
ven, Vermont, later at the Mt. Holyoke Seminary.
She has taken an active part in all educational

work; she was engaged as a grade teacher in
Morristown, New Jersey, and served as principal
of the primary school. She also occupied the re
sponsible position of preceptress of Beeman Acad
emy of New Haven, Vermont, and was elected
superintendent of the Junior Endeavor Society.
JOHN E. SMITH.
John E. Smith, one of the most enterprising
and successful of the great granite manufac
turers of Barre, Vermont, whose accomplish
ments in his calling have materially aided in af
fording to the city the wide reputation in indus
trial affairs which it enjoys, is of Scotch descent..
His paternal grandfather, John Smith, emigrated
from Scotland to Bury, county of Campton,
province of Quebec, Canada, bringing with
him his family. One of his children was Angus,
who was born in the Island of Lewis, Scotland,.
in May, 1823, and was twelve years of age when.
his parents left their native land.
Angus Smith, son of John Smith, married
Elizabeth Mclver, who was born in Scotland,
December 25, 1831. To these parents were
born eleven children: John E., born in Bury,
county of Compton, Canada, November 27, 1853 ;.
Murdow, born January 11, 1855, who died when.
eight months old ; Annie, born February 3, 1857,
who became the wife of Charles Hutton, of
Barre; Angus (and a twin who died in infancy),
born May 1, 1859, who also resides in Barre;.
Donald, born February 20, 1861 ; Roderick, born
October 31, 1862, who died in Barre, December
14, 1900; Peter, born August 7, 1864, who re
sides in Montreal, Canada; Murdow, deceased,
who was born June 29, 1866 ; Allen, born Octo
ber 11, 1868; and Daniel, born February 11,.
1871, and now residing in Barre.
John E. Smith, eldest child of Angus and
Elizabeth (Mclver) Smith, received his educa
tion .in the district school of Bury, county of
Compton, Canada. In 1872 he came to Hard
wick, Vermont, and went to work on the P. &
O. R. R., where he worked until the winter of
1873, and the following four years worked in.
the woods in the winter time, and in the summer
either in a saw-mill or on a farm. In the spring
of 1877 he went to St. Johnsbury, Vermont, and
began learning the trade of stone-cutting and in-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

5i7

1880 went to Barre, Vermont, being then con
sidered a master workman. He pursued his
•calling industriously until 1883, when he entered
into co-partnership with Emery L. Smith, under
the firm name of E. L. Smith & Company. Octo
ber 1, 1887, Donald Smith, a brother of Mr.
Smith, was admitted to the firm, the style re
maining unchanged. This association was
maintained until 1895, when the two brothers
purchased the interest of Emery L. Smith, stipu
lating that the firm name of E. L. Smith & Com
pany should be continued.
Since 1895 the two brothers (John E. and Don
ald) have conducted the business, constantly in
creasing its magnitude and introducing all known
improvements in manufacturing. They were
the first to introduce in the quarries at Barre the
tise of compressed air for driving drills and
working quarry machinery, at a cost of seventeen
thousand dollars, and their plant is the most
complete in that region, equipped with the most
modern and complete devices. The cutting and
finishing sheds are in the city, and their finished
monuments and other cemetery work is not to
he excelled in material and workmanship, and is
famed in the largest markets throughout the
country, reaching to the far interior. The firm
purchased two additional quarries, making four
in all, and their output of monumental stone
equals if it does • not exceed that of any other
firm in the place.
While laboring industriously ' during many
years in the upbuilding of his great business, Mr.
Smith has at the same time afforded his effort
to community affairs, and has borne a leading
part in the advancement of all those interests
which conduce to the prosperity of a city. In
religion he is a Congregationalist, and in politics
a Democrat. He has attained to all but supreme
rank in the Masonic order, and holds member
ship' in the following bodies: Granite Lodge
No. 35, F. and A. M. ; Granite Chapter No. 26,
R. A. M. ; Montpelier Council No. 4, R. & S. M. ;
St. Aldemar Commandery No. n, K. T. ; Gama
liel Washburn Lodge of Perfection, Fourteenth
Degree, A. A. S. R.; Mount Calvary Council,
Princes of Jerusalem, Sixteenth Degree, A. A. S.
R.; Delta Chapter Rose Croix, Eighteenth De
gree, A. A. S. R. : and Vermont consistory, S. P.
R. S., thirty-second degree, A. A. S. R. Mr.

Smith was married September 6, 1886, to Miss
Florence Lillian Ayers, born in Plainfield, Ver
mont, a daughter of William and Jane (Hooker)
Ayers. Of this marriage two children have
been born, both in Barre, Murdena Vanie and
Joena Elizabeth.
DONALD SMITH.
The firm of E, L. Smith & Company, which
in some respects occupies a position of peculiar
importance among the granite manufacturing
firms of Barre, has for one of its members Don
ald Smith, son of Angus Smith, who is referred
to elsewhere in this volume. Donald Smith was
born February 20, 1861, in Bury, province of
Quebec, Canada. From his tenth to his four
teenth year, his home was with John A. Mclver,
for whom he worked, receiving his board, cloth
ing and schooling, and to the kindness and watch
ful care of that worthy man he ascribes in con
siderable measure that rearing and business
training which aided him to attain success in life.
He subsequently labored in various occupations
until the spring of 1880, when he came to Barre
and took work in a saw-mill at Groton Pond,
where he was employed until March, 1883.
April ist of that year he entered the employ of
the Whetmore Morse Granite Company, with
which he remained until November 15, 1883.
The remainder of that year and a part of the
year 1884 he was in the employ of Wells, Lamson
& Company. In the summer of 1884 he engaged '
in a task which exemplified his industry and per
severance. Purchasing two large granite boul
ders in a field near Wells, Lamson & Company,
for which he paid the sume of thirty-five dollars,
he employed three men to assist him, and worked
these two rough masses into monumental stones^
which he sold to Jones Brothers, clearing from
them the sum of one thousand dollars. The fol
lowing June he went to work for James R. Lang
don, when Mr. Langdon purchased the quarry
now owned by J. M. Boutwell, and remained
with Mr. Langdon until he entered into co
partnership with his brothers, J. E. Smith and
Emery L. Smith, October 1, 1887, under the firm
name of E. L. Smith & Company, whose history
is written in this volume in connection with that
of John E. Smith. In its great achievements he

5i8

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

has borne a full share, and they stand as a testi
monial to his unflagging industry arid business
capability. Mr. Smith has risen to high rank in the Ma
sonic order, and is a member of the following
bodies : Granite Lodge No. 35, F. and A. M. ;
Granite Chapter No. 26, R. A. M. ; Montpelier
Council No. 4, R. S. M. ; St. Aldemar Comman
dery No. 11, K. T. ; and Mount Sinai Temple, A.
A. O. N. M. S. He is a member of the New
England Order of Protection. In politics he is
an independent Democrat, and he cast his last
presidential vote for the lamented McKinley.
Mr. Smith was married May 23, 1888, to
Miss Winnie G. Voodry, daughter of Lewis W.
and Melvina (Bancroft) Voodry. She was
born in AVoodbury, Vermont, March 4, 1866, and
died February 7, 1897, leaving one child, Don
ald Winnifred, born February 7, 1897. Mr.'
Smith was married January 4, 1899, to Miss
Ethel A. Carswell, daughter of Samuel and Mary
(McDowall) Carswell. She was a native of
Scotland as were her parents. Of this marriage
was born one child, John Wendell, July 16,
1900, who died February 13, 1902. On April
26, 1903,- a son was born who was also named
John Wendell.
MRS. ANDREW J. MASON.
Airs. Andrew J. Mason, the widow of Andrew
J. Mason, was born April 17, 1839, in Waltham,
Addison county, Vermont. Jesse Ward, her
grandfather, was a resident of the state of Con
necticut, where he was engaged in agricultural
pursuits. He removed to Waltham, Vermont,
where he pursued the same occupation for the re^
mainder of his life. Chester Ward, son of Jesse;
was born January 15, 1789, in the town of
Waltham, Vermont, and being reared upon the
old homestead, his thoughts naturally turned in
that direction, and after obtaining his education
in the common schools he devoted his time and
attention to the occupation of farming, and, be
ing industrious and energetic, he soon had his
farm in a high state of cultivation. He was a pro
gressive and public-spirited man, and took an
active interest in the welfare of the community,
and served in the capacity of town treasurer for
many years. November 17, 1813, he was united

in marriage to Miss Abigail Hawkins, who was
born May ^8, 1794, in Waltham, Vermont. Sev
en children were born of this union, one of whom
is living at the present time (1903). Jesse
was. the oldest; he died October 9, 1902. Olive
M., the second, wife of Hiram Spalding, died at
their home in Canton. Amelia married Ethan
Allen, and died in Ferrisburg. Laurette L. mar
ried Harmon Clark, and died in Hopkinton, New
York. Chester Mansfield died at the age of sev
enteen years. Watson W. lived and died in Wal
tham. Mrs. Mason is the youngest of the family.
Air. Ward died February 27, 1882, at the age of
ninety-three years, and his wife passed away De
cember 17, 1874, in her eighty-first year.
Mrs. Andrew J. Mason, whose maiden name
was Annie D. Ward, acquired her education in
the common schools of her native town, and, Sep
tember 22, 1859, was married to Andrew Jackson
Mason, who was born in Potsdam, New York,
October 24, 1834, a son of Lawrence Mason.
Lawrence Mason learned the the trade of car
penter, and for the remainder of his life, which
was spent in Potsdam, he followed that occupa
tion. He married, for third wife, Miss Sarah
French, who was born in New Haven, and five
children were born to them, two of whom are
still living, namely: Elizaette, Mrs. Cyrus Par
tridge, of Potsdam ; and Sarah Jane, wife of Col
onel C. E. Lounsbury, a resident of Fargo, North
Dakota. Mr.. Mason died in 185 1-2 at the age of
seventy-one years, and his wife, Sarah, died in her
eighty-fourth year.
Andrew J. Mason attended the district school
of Potsdam, and remained under the parental roof ,
until he attained the age of seventeen years, when
he removed to New Haven, Vermont, and was en
gaged in the occupation of farming up to the time
of the outbreak of the Civil war. He enlisted
September 5, 1861, as a private in Company F,
Fifth Vermont Regiment, and for the bravery he
displayed on the field of battle was promoted
through various ranks to be first lieutenant, and
at the time of his discharge from the United
States service, March 31, 1863, he was acting, in
that capacity. With his regiment, he saw much
hard service, and passed through many severe
battles. After his return to New Haven he pur
chased a farm, which consisted of one hundred
and ten acres of ground, and situated one mile

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

519

and a half northwest of the village, and success
fully conducted his farming operations up to the
time of his death, which occurred January 26,
1898, in his sixty- fourth year. Five children were
born to Mr. and Mrs. Mason, namely: Conie,
who resides at home ; Fred C, who died at the age
of thirty-one years, in Elizabeth, Colorado; Jes
sie W., who died at the age of twenty-four years;
Carrie, who resides with her mother ; and Sarah,
who becamei the wife of Davis L. Ross, and died
June 15, 1902, and one son survives her, Earle
Mason Ross^ who was born May 25, 1902. Mr.
Mason was a member of the Congregational
church, a member of Ethan Allen Post, G.
A. R., of Vergennes, and was also one of the char
ter members of Libanus Lodge No. 47, A- F. &
A. M., of Bristol. In political principle, he was a
Republican. Of domestic tastes, he did not care
for official station, and led a quiet, industrious
life. Though afflicted with paralysis soon after
leaving the army, he contrived to perform con
siderable farm labor, and was a model of patient
industry.
JOHN ROBINSON.
John Robinson, who is extensively engaged in
farming, stock-raising and in buying and selling
wool, and whpse prominence is indicated by the
many times he has been called to public office,
makes his home, in Bennington. He is a native
of the Emerald Isle, his birth having there oc
curred op the 8th of May, 1837. His father,
Thomas Robinson, was also born in Ireland, was
a farmer by occupation, and while still in his na
tive land .was united in marriage to Miss Mary
Flood, also born in the same country. About
1838, when our subject was but an infant, the
parents brought their family to the new world,
locating in the western part of Bennington, Ver
mont, where the father carried on agricultural
pursuits for a number of years. Later he pur
chased a farm in Bennington and likewise became
the owner of a valuable tract of land at- Shafts
bury, carrying on agricultural pursuits through
out his entire business career. The Democratic
party elicited his political support, and by his bal
lot he supported its men and measures. He was
one of the first Irish settlers of Bennington, and at
an early day he frequently walked from this

place to Troy to attend church. He died at an
advanced age, and his wife passed away at the
age of ninety-five years. They were the parents
of seven children, of whom five are still living:
Mrs. John Crahan, of Bennington; Mrs.
Martin Murray, of Shaftsbury ; John, whose name
forms the caption of this article; George H.; and
Thomas W„ who are also residents of Shaftsbury.
John Robinson spent his early years in Shafts
bury and- Bennington, remaining upon his father's
farms, and in the common schools he acquired his
education, which was completed by study in the
North Bennington select school. He was after
ward associated with his father on his stock farm
in the enterprise of buying and selling stock for
eighteen years. At the age of twenty^six he
began working for Henry Burden & Sons, as
foreman in their large iron ore mines, continuing
in that position for three years, during which
time he was also engaged in farming to some
extent and in dealing in flax. On the expiration
of that period he purchased his present farm, be
coming owner originally of two hundred and
twenty-five acres, to which he has since added,
making an aggregate of four hundred and fifty
acres in his home farm, so that he now has one of
the most extensive stock farms in this portion of
the state. He raises sheep, cattle and horses, and
is also engaged in buying and selling wool on a
large scale. His operations are bringing to him
an excellent return for he is a splendid judge of
all kinds of domestic animals, and his investments
are judiciously made in all kinds of stock. He
readily recognizes a superior apimal and buys
accordingly. As his financial resources have in
creased he has added to his property until his '
farm now extends from Bennington to the Pow
nal line. As, a wool-buyer he is well known,
going as far north as Canada iri the interest of
this department of his business and also buying
and selling throughout the west in addition to
his own state. He has likewise dealt extensively
in real estate, and for a number of years he has
been a trustee of the Savings Bank of Benning
ton. He is a man of sound judgment and rare
discrimination, who forms his plans readily and
is determined in their execution, brooking no ob
stacles that can be overcome by determined and
honorable effort.
Air, Robinson not only controls extensive

520

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

business interests, but has long been recognized
as an active factor in political circles. In 1870 he
held the office of constable and was chosen col
lector of taxes, in which capacity he served for
seventeen years. He has also been receiver for
numerous estates. For three terms he served as
deputy sheriff, and in 1884 was appointed United
States marshal by President Cleveland, serving
until President Harrison was elected. In 1884 he
was also elected sheriff, in which capacity he
served until 1886, when he resigned to accept the
office of postmaster, in which position he re
mained until 1889. He has since been a select
man, and for a number of years he has also filled
the office of justice of the peace. He has served
his town altogether in public office for twenty-
seven years, and at the present time is one of the
board of civil authorities. His public record is
one which indicates in unmistakable terms the
confidence and trust reposed in him as well as
his loyalty and capability in the discharge of
duty. On the 19th of Jaunary, 1864, Mr. Robinson
was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Erwin,
who was born in Ireland arid during her child
hood was brought to the United States by her
parents-, who settled in Bennington.- Her father
was a farmer by occupation and spent his last
days in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson
have an adopted daughter, Elizabeth, who is now,
twenty-two years of age. In his fraternal rela
tions Mr. Robinson is an Elk, and is also cofii
nected with the Red Men in membership rela
tions. He is accounted one of the leading and
representative citizens of Bennington and of this
portion of Vermont. The scope and extent of his
business affairs and his capable control thereof
have gained him prosperity, while his loyal and
public-spirited citizenship and his probity stand
as unquestioned facts in his life history.
WILL ALSON WHITCOMB.
Will A. Whitcomb, one of the representative
business men of Barre, Vermont, can trace his
ancestry back to the early part of the seventeenth
century, when John Whitcomb, born in Dor
chester, England, came to this country- and took
up his residence in Scituate, Massachusetts,
where his death occurred September 24, 1662.

Josiah. son of John Whitcomb, wasjiorn in 1638,
united in marriage to Rebecca Waters, and the
date of his decease was March 21, 1718. David,
son of Josiah and Rebecca Whitcomb, was born
in Scituate, Massachusetts, February 20, 1668,
was united in marriage to Mary Fairbanks. Cap
tain Joseph, son of David and Mary Whitcomb,
was born in 1700, the place of his birth supposed
to have been the town of Bolton, Massachusetts ;
he married Damarius Priest and subsequently' re
moved to Swanzey, New Hampshire, where they
resided until the death of Captain Whitcomb,
which occurred in the ninety-third year of his
age. Major Elisha, son of Captain Joseph and
Damarius Whitcomb, was born about the year
1723, and after attaining young manhood enlisted
for the war of the Revolution and was an active
participant in the celebrated battle of Bunker
Hill ; he was united in marriage to Joanna Whit
comb, of Leominster, Massachusetts, and his
death occurred September 17, 1814.
Salmon Densmore, son of Major Elisha and
Joanna Whitcomb, was born in Swanzey, New
Hampshire, March 19, 1776. After acquiring a
common school education he learned the trade
of carpenter, which he followed for many years
in the town of Orange, Orange county, Vermont,
whither he removed in 1805, and on May 15,
1806, he was united in marriage to Aruba Camp,
who was born- in Sharon, Connecticut, October
31, 1787. Their children were: Roxinda, born
July 23, 1810; George W.C, born September 14,
1814; .Emeline A., born - September 18, 1818;
Sarah C, born May 18, 1821 ; L. Waterman,
born February 1, 1824; William Elbridge, born
Noverhber 4, 1826: James Addison, born Sep
tember 5, 1832. The father of these children
died in Barre, A'ermont, February 22, 1852, sur
vived by his widow, who passed away at Brook
field, Vermont, October 4, 1867.
William Elbridge, son of Salmon and Aruba
Whitcomb, was born in Orange, Orange county,^
Vermont, November 4, 1826, where he obtained
a practical education in the district school. He
then turned his attention to the trade of carpenter
and joiner, which he thoroughly mastered, and
for ten years he continued in this line of business.
About the year 1852 he entered into partnership
with his brother, Lyman Waterman, in the pur
chase of a~sawmill located in the town of Barre,

£p

\

/ffi^/UiUfe^*^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

521

Vermont, and which is now known by the name
of the Phelps Mill ; it was formerly the property
of Benjamin Wood. In March, 1868, Mr. Whit
comb disposed of his interest in the mill, and in
company with James M. Smith, Benjamin B.
Cook, purchased a foundry and machine shop in
North Barre, Vermont, and by the shrewd, en
ergetic and high-principled manner in which they
conducted their business affairs, well merited the
wonderful success which they achieved in this
•enterprise; Mr. Whitcomb continued his interest
in the business up to the time of his death.
Politically Mr. Whitcomb was a firm adher
ent of the principles of the Republican party, and
was chosen by the citizens of the town of Barre
to represent them in the state legislature for two
terms ; for five years he served in the capacity of
commissioner, being appointed by the town of
Barre to aid in the effort to secure proper railroad
•facilities for the people, and finally their efforts
were crowned with success. He was one of the
incorporators of the Granite Savings Bank and
Trust Company at Barre, Vermont, and continu-
•ously served on the board of directors. He was
prominently affiliated with Granite Lodge No.
35, F. & A. M., for over forty years.
On December 1, 1853, Mr. Whitcomb mar
ried Harriet Orville Wood, who was born in the
town of Barre, Vermont, August 9, 1832, a
daughter of Benjamin and Jennie Corey (Towne)
Wood. They had one child, Will Alson Whit
comb. Mr. Whitcomb died January 10, 1900,
having survived his wife a few years ; her death
occurred December 18, 1897.
Will Alson Whitcomb was born in Barre,
Vermont, September 6, 1854, and acquired his
literary education in the district schools and at
Barre Academy. At the age of seventeen years
he entered the machine works at North Barre, in
which his father had an interest, and by faithful
and close application to his duties he was soon
in a position to aid in the management and ad
vancement of the business. On January 19, 1893,
he purchased the interest of Benjamin B. Cook
in the firm and in 1900 he purchased the interest
•of James M. Smith, and later the business was
transformed into a stock company with Mr.
Whitcomb as president, which position he has
most creditably and efficiently filled up to the
present time (1903). Upon the death of his fa

ther" he was elected to succeed him as director of
the Granite Savings Bank and Trust Company.
In politics he is a firm supporter of the men and
measures advocated by the Republican party.
Mr. Whitcomb is a member of Granite Lodge
No. 35, F. & A. AL ; Granite Chapter No. 26, K.
T. ; St. Aldemar Commandery No. 1 1 ; Mount
Sinai Temple at Montpelier ; and the Apollo
Club of Montpelier, Vermont.
MERVIN P. VARNEY.
Mervin P. Varney, a prosperous business
man of Bristol, Vermont, was born in Starksboro,
this state, August 23, 1836, a descendant of a
family which has resided in the state of Vermont
for several generations. Hezekiah Varney,
grandfather of Mervin P. Varney, was born in
Vermont in 1775. After receiving such educa
tional advantages as were afforded in the district
schools of that day, he located in Starksboro, Ver
mont, and purchased the old homestead which is
now occupied by his son-in-law, Hiram Perkins,
who married Judith Varney. Mr. Varney de
voted the remainder of his life to the cultivation
of the soil, and was very successful in producing
a general line of farm products. He married Miss
Elizabeth Palmer, who was born in 1778, daugh
ter of Enoch Palmer, who was one of the first
settlers in the town of Monkton, Vermont. The
following children were born to them: Anna,
Sarah, Rachel, Jacob, Lydia, Mary, Enoch, Han
nah and Judith Varney. The father of these chil
dren died in Monkton at the age of eighty-seven
years. Enoch Varney, son of Hezekiah, was born iri
Monkton, Vermont, October 5,- 1808. His early
years1 were spent in Monkton, where he acquired
his education in the common schools ; later he
learned the trade of mason, which he followed
successfully for a number of years. He bought
and sold several farms, but spent his last thirty-
five years on a farm in Bristol, which he
cultivated while giving some time to his
trade. He was an indefatigable worker, and
his careful supervision of his property made
it one of the most thrifty and desirable fa.rms in
the vicinity. In 1831 Mr. V.arney married Miss
Amanda Pease, born in Starksboro, Vermont,
August 15, 1812, a daughter of Obed Pease, who

522

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

was born in Weston, Vermont, April 20, 1789.
Mr. Varney's family included the following
named children: Noble L., born December 15,
1832; Mervin P., August 15, 1836; Beulah S.,
September 12, 1841, now, the wife of Mr. Myers,
of Cornell, Illinois; Milo S., born March 24,
1843 ; Watson H., January 7, 1846, now a resident
of Jewell, Kansas; and Carrie L., born Novem
ber 4, 1855, wife of William Turner, of Boston,
Massachusetts. Mr. Varney died in February,
1890, at the age of eighty-one years, and his
wife's death occurred in January, 1890, in her
seventy-eighth year.
Mervin Pease Varney, second son of Enoch
and Amanda Varney, was reared and educated
in Bristol, Vermont. AVhen only nineteen years
of age he was employed as a teacher in the dis
trict school, after which he removed to Salem,
Illinois, where he resided for eleven years en
gaged in teaching, farming and speculating. Mr.
Varney returned in 1870 to Bristol, Vermont,
where he became prominently identified with the
commercial and social interests of the town. He
held the office of selectman from 1872 to 1875,
was a member of the school board for a number
of years, served ori the prudential committee of
the fire district. He became a member of the
Free and Accepted Masons in Illinois, and while
a resident of that state was one of its prominent
members. Soon after his return to Bristol, Mr. Varney
engaged in building operations, and, during his
residence here, has put up eighteen houses, all
of which he has disposed of, except his pleasant
home on Church street. In 1875 he opened a
furniture store on Pleasant street and removed,
three years later, to his present location, on the
south side of Main street. The long time during
which this enterprise has continued sufficiently
indicates its success. The building occupied was
erected by Mr. Varney.
On July 31, 1861, Mr. Varney married Miss
Eliza Gilbreath, who was born November 8,
1837, a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (John
son) Gilbreath, of St. Lawrence county, New,
York, who were the parents of nine children,
four of whom are nOw living, namely: Anna,
wife of George Lovell ; Fanny, Mrs. John Rouse ;
Mary, wife of Wesley Young; and Eliza, wife
of Mervin P. Varney. The mother of these chil

dren died at the age of sixty-two years. Three
children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Varney :
A. Watson, born July 5, 1863, graduated from
Middlebury College in 1886, and is now engaged
as principal of the high school at Burlington,
Vermont; he married Harriet Bond; Lucinda,
born December 29, 1868, died in infancy; and
Enoch Warner, born November 27, 1875, mar
ried Miss Helen Hill. The family are faithful
members and attendants of the Methodist Epis
copal church, always willing to assist in all the
work connected with jt, and very charitable in
their dealings. They occupy a high position in
the social circles of Bristol, Vermont.
FRANK N. HILL.
Frank Nathaniel Hill, prominently identified
for many years with the commercial interests
of Bristol, Vermont, was born in Starksboro,
Vermont, September 15, 1839. Samuel Hill,
garndfather of Frank N. Hill, was born in New
Hampshire, and acquired his education in the dis
trict schools of his native town (see W. N. Hill).
About the year 1805 he located in Starksboro,
Vermont, and for the remainder of his life fol
lowed the occupation of farming; he was a man
of strong and marked characteristics, and an
earnest worker in whatever effort was made to
advance the interests of the town. He married a
Miss AVorth, who was born in New Hempshire
in 1780 ; they had a family of ten children, all of
whom are now deceased. Mr. Hill died in Starks
boro at the age of seventy-eight years. They
were faithful and earnest members of the Meth
odist Episcopal church of Starksboro, Vermont.
Lionel Worth Hill, their son, was born in
New Hampshire in 1805, but, his parents moving
to Starksboro, Vermont, shortly after his birth,
he was reared and educated in that town. After
completing his studies he devoted his time and
attention to agricultural pursuits, in which occu
pation he met with a marked degree of success;
his farm was always neat and thrifty in appear
ance, indicating his careful - supervision and the
enterprise with which he prosecuted his labors.
He took an active part, in political affairs, and
served his town in the capacity of selectman, town
treasurer for a number of years, lister of the
town, and chairman of that board. He was united

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

523

in marriage to Miss Lois Tasker, .who was born
in Barnstead, Vermont, in 1808, a daughter of
Nathaniel Tasker. Three children were* born
to them, but Frank N. is the only survivor. They
were active and devout members of the Free Will
Baptist' church of Starksboro, Vermont. Mr.
Hill's death occurred when he had attained
the age ot eighty-four years.
Frank N. Hill, son of Lionel W. and Lois Hill,
'attended the public schools of Starksboro until
he was sixteen years old, later pursued a course
in the Hinesburg Academy and the Green Moun
tain Academy at Underhill Center. He followed
the occupations of teaching school and farming
in the town of Starksboro until he reached the age
of twenty-five years. He then purchased a store
at Starksboro, which he conducted successfully
for twenty years. At the expiration of this
period he sold his mercantile business and moved,
to his farm, and for a number of years was en
gaged in the production of a general line of farm
produce. Later he disposed of this property to
his son, and in 1890 removed to Bristol, Ver
mont, where he established his present flour and
feed business. His store is well stocked with
all kinds of grain, flour, feed, lime and fertilizer.
His genial nature, combined with his long ex
perience in business and distinct ability, quickly
won for him many patrons, and his business in
creased rapidly from year to year. In his po
litical affiliations, Mr. Hill is an adherent of the
Republican party, and at the age of twenty-five
years he was elected representative of the town
of Starksboro, and re-elected the following year.
He served as the first eonstable of the town, a po
sition which he filled for fourteen years, was town
treasurer, lister for a number of years, served
on the board of selectmen, and for ten years
acted in the capacity of justice of the peace. He
served as delegate to a number of different con
ventions. It was chiefly through the instru
mentality of the selectmen of Bristol, of whom
Mr, Hill was chairman, that three iron
bridges were constructed, the wooden bridges
having been destroyed the previous spring.' Air.
Hill was a member and a supporter of the Free
Will Baptist church of Starksboro, Vermont,
while living in that town.
In 1861 Mr. Hill married Miss Jeanette D.
Heafh, who was born in Cabot, Vermont, in

1841, a daughter of Converse and Betsey (Smith)
Fleath, whose! family consisted of the following
named children: Adeline, wife of Homer C.
Hopkins, of Montpelier, Vermont; Emeline,
widow of Willard F. Badger, of Lowell, Massa
chusetts; Betsy, wife of Henry A. McCrillis,
now deceased; and Jeanette D., wife of Frank
N. Hill. The mother of these children died in
Bristol at the mature old age of ninety-three
years. Three children have been born to Mr. and
Mrs. Hill, namely: Nellie, born in 1862, mar
ried Harry Gassett, of Boston, Massachusetts,
who later, his health failing, removed to Denver,
Colorado, remained there two or three years,
when, not receiving the benefit he was seeking,
he returned to Boston, Massachusetts, where he
died in February, 1903 ; Fred F., born September
18, 1868, now engaged in farming in Starksboro,
Vermont, was united in marriage to Miss Mary
Ellison, and their child, Merle Blanche Hill, was
born in May, 1890 ; and Lois Tasker, third child
of F. N. and Jeanette D. Hill, born in June, 1881,
is the wife of Henry Landon, who is engaged
in the livery business in Bristol, Vermont. Mr.
Hill erected a handsome residence on the corner
of Maple and Pleasant streets, one of the finest in
the town, where the family entertain their many
friends and acquaintances. Mr, Hill is a memj
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church of Bristol.
FRED LANDON.
Fred Landon, one of the representative cit
izens of Bristol, Vermont, was born in South
Hero, Vermont, May 16, 1834, a son of Abner B.
and Minerva Landon. Thaddeus Landon, his
grandfather, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut,
and removed to South Hero, Vermont, where
he engaged in the occupation of farming, and
met with such success in this undertaking that
he decided to spend the remainder of his life
there. He was united in marriage to Miss Anna
Baldwin, and eight children were born of this
union, all of whom are now deceased with the
exception of John, who resides in the town of
South Hero, Vermont. Mr. Landon died at the
age of seventy-eight years, and his wife passed
away in her seventy-sixth year. 1
Abner B. Landon, son of Thaddeus Landon,
was born June 16, 1802, in South Hero, and re-

524

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ceived his education in the district schools of the
town. Having been reared upon a farm, he un
derstood thoroughtly every detail connected with
farm work, and so chose that occupation for his
life work. In politics he was formerly a Whig,
but later joined the ranks of the Republican
party. He took an active interest in all the
affairs of the town, and served as selectman and
lister for many years, besides being chosen to
represent the town in the state legislature. Sep
tember 23, 1824, he was joined in marriage to
Miss Minerva P. Phelps, who was born June
18, 1 80 1, in South Hero, daughter of Solomon
Phelps, a farmer of that town. Eight children
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Landon, six of
whom are still living, namely: Franklin, now, a
resident of Colchester, Vermont; Ruth, wife of
Henry L. Wood, of Georgia, Vermont; Fred,
further mentioned below; Charles C, who re
sides on the old homestead; Jed, a resident of
Atkinson, Nebraska; and William, who resides
in Georgia, Vermont. The mother of these chil
dren died at the age of eighty years. Mr. Lan
don passed away September 10, 1861, aged
fifty-iiine years.
Fred Landon, second son of Abner B. and
Minerva Landon, acquired his education in the
district schools of South Hero, Vermont. His
boyhood and young manhood days were spent
upon the farm in assisting his father in the man
agement of it, and even after the latter's death
he still continued his work on the -farm until
1866, when he removed to Clarksville, Virginia,
where he was engaged for three years in the
buying and selling of real estate. At the expira
tion of this time he located in Bristol, where he
was interested in the photograph business for four
years. He was then appointed postmaster of
that town, and so faithfully did he perform the
duties of the office that he was retained in that
position for nine years under two appointments.
He then commenced to lay the foundation for
his present extensive business of dealer in horses,
carriages, sleighs and harness ; he also, in addi
tion to this, conducts a large trade in lumber,
brick and slate. His business prospered from the
beginning until now he has the largest trade in
that section of the country, and has handled more
horses than any other man. He has built a com
modious residence, also all the buildings where

he conducts his business. He keeps about fifteen
horses constantly on hand for livery service.
Mr. Landon is a Republican in politics, and
he has been honored by his townsmen by
being elected to fill various offices of trust and
responsibility; he represented the town in the
state legislature for the year 1898, and has served
as a delegate in the state and county conventions.
He is a member of the Libanus Lodge, F. & A.
M., of Bristol, and his family are consistent mem
bers of the Methodist Episcopal church of
Bristol. In 1859 Mr. Landon was united in marriage
to Miss Melissa Gardiner, who was born in Stock
port, New York, daughter of the Rev. Simeon
S. Gardiner, who preached the gospel for many
years in both New York and Vermont, in which
latter state he was well and favorably known.
Flis wife was Miss Margaret Caroline Van
Dusen, and two children were born to them:
Melissa, now the wife of Fred Landon, and
Henry, who is a resident of Bristol, Vermont.
Mr. and Mrs. Landon have three children living,
having lost two by death. Mattie, the eldest,
resides in Monkton. Ellsworth conducts a tail
oring business, in Chicago, Illinois. Henry is
associated in business with his father. Lulu C,
the third, died April 23, 1902, while the wife of
Charles F. Rockwood, of Burlington, Vermont.
Gardiner, the fourth, died at the age of thirteen
years.
ORVILLE HALE RICHARDSON.
The Hon. Orville Hale Richardson, of Mont
pelier, Vermont, is a representative of a family
whose origin is of greater antiquity than can be
claimed by but few in New England. Amos
Richardson, the founder of the American branch
of the family, came from England in the earliest
period of the Alassachusetts Bay colony, and
found a home in the town of Boston when; that
stronghold of Puritanism was in its most prim-,
itive state. It is not improbable that his arrival
took place about the time when the settlement
was at the height of its orthodox indignation
against the heresis of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson,
who numbered among her friends and sympathiz
ers "young Sir Harry Vane," then the governor
of the colony, and John Underhill, the famous

0%/?,

ty^L^i^Zii-esy-i —

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

525

Indian fighter, whose signal services as a soldier
of the colony are commemorated in the verses of
Whittier. It is known for a certainty that in
1640 Amos Richardson was a resident of Boston,
the site of the house being on what is now Wash
ington street, just north of the Old South church.
In 1866 he removed to Stonington, Connecticut,
where he was elected representative in the gen
eral court, and also acted as the agent of Gov
ernor Winthrop for New England. No other
details of his life have reached us, but it is evi
dent from these facts that he was a man of high
standing in the community. Among his de
scendants, those named in the following gener
ations have been especially prominent in the an
nals of New England.
Ira Richardson, Sr., son of Lemuel Richard
son, was born January 23, 1788, in Massachu
setts, and removed early in life to the town of
Waitsfield, Washington county, Vermont, where
he was one of the pioneers, following for many
years the occupation of a farmer. Mr. Richard
son was largely instrumental in the building up
of the towri, of which he was one of the most
influential citizens. He was a man whose ability
and integrity commanded the respect and confi
dence of his neighbors, and caused him to be
elected to most of the offices in their gift. Mr.
Richardson married Rachel Durkee, who was
born October 27, 1795. He died in the town of
Fayston, December 16, 1844, in the fifty-seventh
year of his age.
Ira Richardson, Jr., son of Ira, Sr., and Ra
chel (Durkee) Richardson, was born October 6,
1816, in Waitsfield, Vermont, and received his
education in the common schools of his native
town, where, after leaving school, he found em
ployment in a store. Later, Mr. Richardson en
gaged, on his own account, in the manufacture
of lurnber, in which he was very successful, being
also a dealer in merchandise and conducting a
tannery. This business, which grew to large
proportions and included very extensive dealings,
was managed by Mr. Richardson with consum
mate ability, joined to knowledge theoretical and
practical and enforced by strict attention to de
tails. Politically Mr. Richardson was in his eariy
life a Whig, but joined the Republican party at
the time of its organization, remaining ever after
one of its most ardent supporters. He was very

active jn public affairs, arid his townsmen testi
fied to the honor in which they held him by
electing him to various offices of trust and re
sponsibility. In 1856 and again in 1866 he rep
resented the town of Waitsfield in the state legis
lature, and also represented Washington
county 1 in the state senate. In 1868
and 1869 he served as assistant judge
for Washintgon county. The manner in which
he fulfilled the duties of these offices more than
justified the high estimate formed of his abilities
and the high regard felt for his character by
his fellow citizens. Mr. Richardson was an ac
tive member of the Methodist church, foremost
in every benevolent enterprise, and ever ready to
aid, to the utmost of his power, all charitable as
sociations and projects,
Mr. Richardson married, April 6, 1843, Har
riet, daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Camp
bell). Chapman, of Fayston, in which town Har
riet was born, January 6, 1818. Mr. and Mrs.
Richardson were the parents of the following
named children : a son, born August 28, 1844,
who died in infancy; Calvin Clinton, born, as
were all the other children, in Waitsfield, Ver
mont, October 6, 1845, "ow residing in Minne
apolis, Minnesota; Ira Edward, born March 7,
1848, also residing in Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Clarence Milton, born November 20, 1849, a resi"
dent of Waitsfield, Vermont ; Orville Hale, men
tioned at length hereinafter; Meriden Lee, born
September 6, 1854, now living in Waitsfield, Ver
mont; and Harriet Elizabeth, born March 7,
1857, died September 20, 1861. Mr. Richardson
died December 17, 1877, deeply and sincerely
regretted, not only by his family and near friends,
but by the whole community, to which he had
so long given the example of an honorable and
fearless citizen, faithful in the discharge of every
duty and ever foremost in all enterprises having
for their object the advancement of the public
welfare. His character, as a business man, a pub
lic official and a member of society, was such as to
command in the highest degree the affection and
veneration of all who were brought within the
circle of his influence. Mrs. Richardson sur
vived her husband several years, dying August
8, 1882, in the sixty-fifth year of her age.
Orville Hale Richardon, son of Ira, Jr., and
Harriet (Chapman) Richardson, was born July

526

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

7, 1852, in the town of Waitsfield, Washington
county, Vermont, and received his education in the
public schools of his native town. At the age of
nineteen he began his business career by trans
ferring freight from Waitsfield to Middlesex by
team, following this occupation for about three
years. At the end of that time he engaged in the
lumber business, conducting it for six years in his
native town, and then removing to the town of
Warren, Vermont, where for three years he
pursued the same calling, transferring his
business at the expiration of the last named
period to Middlesex, in the same state. . In this
town he successfuly conducted his business until
October, 1895, when he formed a partnerhip
with S. D. Allen, under the firm name of Allen
& Richardson, and engaged in the lumber busi
ness in the city of Barre. In January, 1902, the
partnership was dissolved, and on April 4, of that
year, Mr. Richardson purchased Brown's mills,
situated on Dog river, two miles from the city of
Montpelier, on the Northfield road, in the town
of Berlin. Here he engaged extensively in the
manufacture of lumber, the product of his mills
being about eighteen thousand feet per day, which
he disposes of both at wholesale and retail. Dur
ing these years, in the course of which Mr.
Richardson several times transferred his business
from one place to another, he resided for three
years and a half at Middlesex, and then settled
in the city of Montpelier, where he has since
made his home.
In politics Mr- Richardson is a Republican,
and in 1896 and 1897 was elected alderman of
the second ward of the city of Montpelier, the
citizens of which chose him, September 2, 1902,
to represent them in the state legislature. In the
session of that year he served on the committee
of ways and means and the committee on manu
factures. He is a member of Vermont Lodge,
No. 2, I. O. O. F., at Montpelier.
Mr. Richardson married, March 13, 1877,
Alice M. Wilder, born August 1, 1856, in the
town of Waitsfield, Washington county, Vermont^
daughter of Captain Orcas C. and Mary Eliz
abeth (Holden) Wilder. Mr. and Mrs. Rich
ardson are the parents of one child: Carolyn
Mary, born May 16, 1878, in Fayston, Vermont,
educated at the Montpelier Seminary, at Montpe
lier, and at the Goddard Seminary, in Barre, Ver

mont. Mr. Richardson is a competent business
man, manifesting in the unassuming but thor
ough manner in which he discharges his duties as
an official and a citizen, traits of character which
have been conspicuous in generations of his an
cestors.
FRED GRANT HASKINS.
Fred Grant Haskins, the popular and reliable
postmaster of Bristol, Vermont, was born in that
town, September 3, 1864, a grandson of Henry
Haskins, who was born August 24, 1798, in Con
necticut and received his education in the
common schools of his native town; later he
removed to New Hampshire, where he remained
for a short period of time and previous to 1840,
located in Mooretown, Vermbnt. After the great
flood at that place, he settled in Bristol, Ver
mont, where he spent the remainder of his life,
except the last year, which was passed in Lincoln.
He was a farmer by occupation. He married Miss
Ursula Chapman, born in Lyme, New Hamp
shire, November 11, 1803, and eight children
were born to them, four of whom are now, living :
Selinda, widow of Aaron Moody, of Lincoln, Ver
mont, was born August 23, 1825 ; Elias M., born
November 10, 1837, is now a resident of Zion
City, Illinois; Joseph is mentioned bejow.; and
Alvira, born May 15, 1836, is now the wife of
Charles Dale, of Mooretown, Vermont. The
father of these children died May 1, 1877, at the
age of seventy-eight years, and his wife passed
away April 13, 1876, at the age of seventy-two
years. All save one of their children grew to ma
turity. William, born December 20, 1823, died
August 20, 1867, leaving a son, Charles. The
others died unmarried.
Joseph Haskins, son of Henry Haskins, was
born in Bristol, Vermont, March 25, 1841. He
acquired his literary education in the common
schools of the village, and after completing his
studies, learned the trade of" house-painter,
which he followed for a number of years. Sub
sequently he entered the employ of the Bristol
Manufacturing Company, in the capacity of fore
man of the finishing department, and this posi
tion he has retained for thirty-five years. He was
married July 3, 1859, to Miss Marietta Tucker,
born in Warren, Vermont, November 3, 1839,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

527

daughter of James Davis and Roxana (Herrick)
Tucker. Four children were born of this union,
two of whom are still living: Josephine Olive,
born May 17, i860, of Bristol, Vermont; and
Fred Grant Haskins. The mother of these chil
dren passed away February 8, 1903. She was a
faithful and zealous member of the Baptist church
of Bristol. Fred Grant Haskins, only son of Joseph and
Marietta Haskins, obtained his preliminary edu
cation in the common schools of Bristol, and this
was supplemented by a course of study in the local
academy. After attaining young manhood he
was employed for three years in the finishing de
partment of the Bristol Manufacturing Com
pany, the following four years he was engaged
in the dry-goods trade with N. F. Dunshee. He
then removed to Waltham, Massachusetts, and
entered the furnishing goods department of a
large emporium, where he remained as sales
man for two years, after which he returned to
Bristol and again entered the employ of Mr.
Dunshee, where he remained for three years. In
1893 Air. Haskins went to Chicago, during the
progress of the World's Fair, and was employed
there in the capacity of salesman in a tailoring
establishment for eight months. He then
returned to Mr. Dunshee's store in Bris
tol and remained with him until April 1,
1898, when he secured his present posi
tion of postmaster through the influence of
Mr. Dunshee, his former employer. Mr. Has
kins served in this capacity for four years and
performed the duties of his office in so creditable
a manner that at the expiration of his term he
was re-appointed to serve a second term, which
will expire in the year 1906. He has one clerk
to assist him in the discharge of his duties. Mr.
Haskins is a firm adherent of the principles of
the Republican party. He is a prominent mem
ber of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows,
and has held the office of financial secretary of
Bristol Lodge, No. 36, of that order. For a num
ber of years he acted as first assistant foreman
of the local hose company, and during two years
he served as foreman ; he has also been a member
of the Postmasters' Association of New. England
since it was first organized, in 1901.
On August 10, 1890. Mr. Haskins was mar
ried at Waltham, Massachusetts, to Miss Minnie

Fuller, who was born August 10, 1866, in De
Kalb, Illinois, daughter of William Fuller, a
native of Essex county, New York, who began
life when a very young man in the west and be
came a successful farmer and extensive stock-
raiser. He was also the owner of a large amount
of real estate. His wife, Eleanor Campbell, is
a native of Buffalo, New York, and now resides
at De Kalb, Illinois. The children of Mr. and
Mrs. Haskins are: Rae F., born March 29,
1891, and Effie I., born August 28, 1892. The
family are faithful and consistent members and
attendants of the Baptist church of Bristol, and
take an active part in all the work connected
with it.
J. JULIAN DUMAS.
J. Julian Dumas, engaged as a broker in the
general insurance business in Bristol, Vermont,
was born April 21, 1840, in Waitsfield, Washing
ton county, Vermont. Morris Dumas, grand
father of Julian Dumas, was the son of a native
Frenchman, who emigrated to Canada. He was
born in Canada and after acquiring an education
in the common schools was engaged as a general
laborer and cooper for a number of years. In
1838 he settled in Waitsfield, Vermont, and by
his honorable and upright character easily won
the confidence and respect with all whom he came
in contact. He married Miss Charlotte Butigie,
who was born in Canada; they reared a large
family of children, only two of whom are living
at the present time: Edmond, of Waterbury
Center, Vermont, and Elizabeth, wife of John
Carpenter. The father of these children died in
Burlington, at the extreme old age of eighty-
four years, and his wife died in her eighty-fifth
year, at Waitsfield.
Julian Dumas, father of J. Julian Dumas, was
born in Chamberlain, Canada, where he was
reared and received his education. In 1836 he
•located in Waitsfield, Vermont, where he fol
lowed his trade of cabinet-maker and joiner for
a number of years; being an experienced and
skilled workman, he commanded good wages, and
was enabled, in 1880, to retire from the active du
ties of life. He then removed to Bristol, Vermont,
where he spent the remainder of his days. He
married Miss Adelaide Rousseau, who was born

528

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

in Canada, and the following named children were
born to them: Adelaide, residing in Toronto,
Canada; J. Julian, of Bristol, Vermont; Emily,
of AVaitsfield, Vermont, married John Barber ;
Addie, wife of Eaton A. Heath, a resident of
Warren, Vermont; Leon, of Springfield, Massa
chusetts; Serena, of Cambridge, Massachusetts;
Cassimer, of Rochester, New York; George, of
Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Romaine, of
Bowmansville, Ontario. Air. Dumas died Feb
ruary 9, 1893, at the age of seventy-nine years,
and his wife's death occurred in 1877 in her
sixty-third year.
Joseph Julian Dumas, eldest son of Julian
and Adelaide Dumas, attended the common
schools of Waitsfield, and after completing his
studies he learned the cabinet-maker's trade, with
his father as preceptor. In 1855 he removed to
Vergennes, Vermont, and from September, 1855,
to October, 1858, he worked at his trade; he
then resided for a short period of time in Caven
dish, Waitsfield and Warren, where he was en
gaged as a joiner. In November, 1859, he lo
cated in Bristol, where he worked at his trade of
cabinet-maker until December 23, of the same
year, when he went to St. Johns, province of
Quebec, Canada, where he learned the French
language, remaining there until May 6, 1862. He
then returned to Waitsfield, Vermont, and for
a few months was engaged in the joiner business,
and on August 16, 1862, he enlisted in Company
B, Thirteenth Vermont Regiment, under the com
mand of General Stanton ; he participated in the
battle of Gettysburg, and after serving his coun
try for eleven months was honorably discharged
July 21, 1863. He returned to Waitsfield, Ver
mont, where he remained until August 10, 1863,
when he located in Boston, Massachusetts, and
was engaged with the Chickering Sons' Piano
Company until January 18, 1869; he had a con
tract for the work and engaged the serv
ices of twenty-nine men. In April, 1876,
Mr. Dumas returned to Bristol and was actively
connected with the Bristol Manufacturing Com
pany until May 1, 1880; one year of this time he
was in complete charge of the machinery de
partment. HeThen went to New York city,
where he was engaged in making piano cases for
the firm of Baer Brothers; he acted in the ca
pacity of superintendent of the factory, having

charge on an average of one hundred and sixty-
five men. He remained there until May, 1882,
when he returned to Bristol, Vermont, and en
gaged in the builders' supply trade, which he con
ducted until July, 1888, when his health failed,
and the following year he disposed of his business.
He then entered into the insurance business and
later became a broker of general insurance; he
represents the Phoenix and Hartford Fire In
surance Company, the Continental of New York,
the Boston, Pennsylvania, Traders of Chicago,
State Mutual and Union Mutual of Vermont,
Travelers Accident of Hartford, and also the
United States Fidelity & Guarantee Company
of Baltimore, Anierican Fidelity Company of
Montpelier, Vermont, and a number of other
comp'anies. Mr. Dumas was the first commis
sioned insurance agent in Bristol, Vermont.
He is vice president of the Addison and Chit
tenden Counties Underwriters' Association, and
was elected the first treasurer of the village of"
Bristol upon its incorporation in 1903. Po
litically Mr. Dumas is a Republican, and fra
ternally he is a prominent member of the Masonic
order, being a member of Libanus Lodge No.
47, A. F. & A. M., of Bristol, in which he has
held the office of chaplain for a number of years ;.
he is a member of Gifford Chapter No. 23. R.
A. M., has held all the offices and served as high
priest for three years; a member of MunsilL
Council No. 15, R. & S. M., and has held the
office of deputy master ; a member of Mt. Calvary
Commandery, No. 1, Knights Templar, and also*
of Bristol Lodge No. 36, I. O. O. F. March 17,
1863, Mr. Dumas was initiated into Franklin
Lodge No. 23, of Boston. He held the office
of treasurer for three years in the local lodge,.
and served as past grand at the institution of the
local lodge of the Daughters of Rebekah. He
was formerly connected with Massasoit Encamp
ment of Boston, was a charter member of Boston
Encampment and later a charter member of
. Bristol Encampment No. 31, I. O. O. F. ; and has-
acted as treasurer of the latter named encamp
ment since its organization. He is a prominent
member of the Grand Army of the Republic, be
ing one of the oldest members in this section;
was mustered in Post Severance of Boston,, Mas
sachusetts, in 1866, and later joined Walter C.
Dunton Post No. no of Bristol.

THE STATE OF A'ERMONT.

529

On October 12, 1870, Air. Dumas married
Miss Emma I. Tenney, daughter of Sylvanus
Tenney, of Northfield, Vermont, and one child,
Evelyn Dumas, was born to them. The latter
resides at home and has been engaged for the
past eight years as a teacher in the schools of
Bristol, Vermont. Mrs. Dumas died January
14, 1882, at the age of thirty-two years, and on
May 16, 1883, Mr. Dumas contracted an alliance
with Miss Sarah M. Taggart, born in Charlotte,
Vermont, daughter of John and Betsey M. Tag
gart. John Taggart was born in Ferrisburg, Ver
mont, February 14, 1819, a son of John Taggart,
who followed the occupation of farming all his
life, and died in the year 1825. John Taggart, Sr.,
married Melora Prindle. Betsey M. Taggart is
a daughter of Benjamin and Sally (Hemenway)
Skiff. The latter was a daughter of Asa Hemen
way, who was born in Massachusetts, and his
wife, Sally Nicholson. John Taggart, Jr., learned
the trade of carpenter and joiner, which he pur
sued successfully for over twenty years. In April,
1856, he purchased a farm in Charlotte, which
he operated for the remainder of his life. He
married Miss Betsey M. Skiff, born in Bridport,
Vermont, November 26, 1822, a daughter of
Benjamin H. Skiff, who followed agricultural
pursuits in Connecticut, and who died at the age
of forty years. Mr. Taggart died in 1901, at the
age of eighty-two years. Mrs. Dumas, previous
to her marriage with J. Julian Dumas, was en
gaged in teaching school for sixteen years. All
the family are faithful and zealous members of
the Baptist church at Bristol, Vermont, in which
Mr. Dumas acts in the capacity of deacon.
LESTER A. BRYANT.
Lester Andrews Bryant, a successful agri
culturist of Lincoln, Vermont, was born in Wor
cester, Vermont, June 21, 1839, a son of Israel
and Olive (Andrews) Bryant, the former named
having been born in Duxbury, Vermont, where
he received his education and later removed to
Middlesex, where he engaged in the production
of a general line of garden products. He re
mained there for many years and finally located
in Lincoln, Vermont, where he spent the last
fourteen years of his life. He was united in mar
riage to Miss Olive Andrews, who was born in
34

Calais, Vermont, a daughter of Joseph Andrews,
who was a prominent farmer in Calais all his
life. Five children were born of this union,
namely: Irene, wife of S. AI. Carpenter, of
Chelsea, A'ermont ; Lester A. ; Mary E. ; Lewis
W., a resident of Templeton, Massachusetts;
and Lucy Ann, now deceased. Both Mr. and
Airs. Bryant were consistent members of the
Methodist Episcopal church at Lincoln, Ver
mont. Lester A. Bryant, oldest son of Israel and
Olive Bryant, spent his early years in the town
of AVorcester, where he acquired his education
in the common schools. His mother died when
he was only eleven years of age, and he remained
in the town of Worcester until he attained his
thirteenth year, when he removed to Tunbridge
and engaged in agricultural pursuits until he
reached his majority. At the breaking out of the
war he enlisted as a private in Company D,
Twelfth Regiment, Second Army Corps, and
served his country for nine months. He par
ticipated in the battle of Gettysburg, and was
honorably discharged from the service in 1863.
He then went west, where he engaged in farming
for four years ; he spent the following two years
in WTiite River Junction, engaged in the livery
stable and hotel business. In 1869 he located in
Lincoln, Vermont, where he purchased a farm
which consisted of one hundred and twenty-five
acres of land, which he devoted to general farm
ing, meeting with a large measure of success in
this undertaking.
Mr. Bryant is a staunch and firm adherent
of the principles of the Republican party and has
served as delegate to a number of conventions,
both county and state ; for two years he served as
selectman, and for fifteen years held the position
of lister, a longer period than it was ever held
by any other man. He was also clerk of the board
for a number of years, and his name appeared
on the McCullough ticket, in 1900, as a candidate
for representative, when he polled a large num
ber of votes. He is a prominent member of Gar
field Post No. 62, G. A. R., of Lincoln, where
he has held the office of commander, and at the
present time is acting in the capacity of adjutant.
In 1869 Air. Bryant was united in marriage
to Miss Mary A. Delphy, born in New Haven,
A'ermont, a daughter of Mitchell Delphy, a sue-

530

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

cessful farmer of Lincoln, Vermont, where his
death occurred about 1880. Four children
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bryant, of whom
two grew up : Angie L., who is employed as a
teacher; and Frederick H., who was graduated
from a law school, and is now practicing in Ma
lone, New York.
GEORGE W. SNEDEN.
George W. Sneden, of Bristol, Vermont, who
is employed in the capacity of pension attorney
and collection agent, was born at Weybridge,
Vermont, October 2, 1839, a son of James T. and
Artemisia (Gulley) Sneden. The family is said
to be of English and Dutch extraction. James
T. Sneden was born May 7, 1808, in New Jersey,
where he obtained his early education in his native
town. When quite a small boy he removed with
his widowed mother and two sisters to the town
of Weybridge, where he learned the trade
of wheelwright, which he pursued successfully
both there and at Addison. Subsequently he re
moved to New Haven, Vermont, where he en
gaged in the occupation of farming up to a short
time before his death. He died December 9,
1893, at the home of a son in Waltham. He
was united in marriage to Miss Artemisia Gulley,
who was born April 17, 1806, in Addison, Ver
mont, and died July 17, 1892. They had a family
of four children, three of whom are living : James,
the eldest, died December 8, 1902 ; George W. ;
Eliza E., widow of Manville Keeler, a farmer of
New Haven, Oswego county, New York; Mar
tha M., wife of Elihu Kingsley, a prominent cit
izen of New Haven, Vermont.
George W. Sneden, second son of James T.
and Artemisia Sneden, attended the common
schools of New Haven, Vermont, and later was
a student in the academy there and high school
at Vergennes, Vermont. After completing his
education he was employed as teacher in the com
mon schools of that vicinity, where he remained
until the year 1861, when, his country being in
need of his services, he enlisted in April of that
year. He was the first man in New Haven to
respond to President Lincoln's call for seventy-
five thousand three months' men, and joined
Company I, First A'ermont Regiment. At the ex
piration of his term he was honorably discharged

from the service, but re-enlisted in June of the
same year in Company C, Ninth Vermont Regi
ment, and was attached to the Ninth, Eighteenth,
and later to the Twenty-fourth Army Corps. For
his bravery on the field of battle he was promoted
to the rank of sergeant, then to first sergeant
and later to that of second lieutenant. The regi
ment passed through Harper's Ferry and was
captured September 15, 1862. Lieutenant Sne
den saw considerable service during the progress
of the war, and participated in the following
named battles: Newport Barracks, February 2,
1864; Chapin's Farm, September 29 and 30,
1864; Pair Oaks, Virginia, October 27, 1864;
and he was at the fall of Richmond, April 3,
1865. He resigned after the war ended, in May,
1865, and returned to the town of New Haven,
where he pursued his trade of wheelwright and
joiner. Subsequently he was engaged in the mill
ing business in Weybridge and finally, in 1887,
located in Bristol, where he first conducted a mill ,
and subsequently a feed store, and later engaged
in his present business of pension attorney and
collection agent. Self-reliance, energy and hon
esty are the traits of character to which may be
attributed the success which has crowned his
efforts. In his political affiliations, Mr. Sneden is a
Republican, and he has served as town grand juror
for a number of years. He has been a member of
Libanus Lodge No. 47, F. & A. M., for four
years, and served on its financial committee and
is now secretary. Both he and his wife are
members of the Eastern Star Chapter, of which
his wife acts in the capacity of worthy matron.
He is a prominent member of Walter C. Dunton
Post No. no, G. A. R., in which he has been
commander and held several other offices. He is
also aide-de-camp and assistant inspector of the
department staff of the state of Vermont. Mr.
Sneden takes an active interest in the temperance
organizations of the town, and the members of
his family are consistent members of the Baptist
church of Bristol, Vermont.
March 20, 1865, Mr. Sneden was united, in
marriage to Miss Marcia L. Evans, born in Ran
dolph, Vermont, a daughter of John Evans.
Three children were born of this union : Albert
E., the eldest, died in 1877 at the age of nineteen
years; Merle B., born in Starksboro, Vermont,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

53i

resides in Niles, California, and is engaged in
the drug business there ; Claude M., born in Wey
bridge, Vermont, is a student in the medical col
lege of Baltimore, Alaryland. The mother of
these children died November 3, 1893, and Mr.
Sneden subsequently contracted an alliance with
Aliss Seraph C. Prime, who was born in Bristol,
A'ermont.
FRANK T. BRIGGS, M. D.
Dr. Frank T. Briggs, general practitioner of
Bristol, Vermont, was born in Bath, New York,
February 16, 1865, a son of Darwin and Elmira
Briggs. Tyler Briggs, father of Darwin Briggs,
was born in Slatersville, Rhode Island, where he
received his education. Desiring to become a
member of the medical fraternity, he accordingly
pursued a course of study in medicine, and after
securing his degree of Doctor of Aledicine, com
menced the practice of his profession in Woon-
socket, where he spent the remainder of his life,
in the full enjoyment of a large and lucrative
practice. Darwin Briggs was born June 30, 1823, and
was reared in the town of Woonsocket. After
acquiring his education in the common schools
he learned the trade of a machinist and engineer,
and later secured a position as locomotive en
gineer on the road running from Chatham to
New York. He was subsequently employed on
western railroads, including both the Northern and
Southern Pacific, and also on the Vermont Cen
tral, where was employed for many years. When
about sixty years old he settled at Franklin, Mas
sachusetts, where in early life he had married
Aliss Elmira Brown, and the following named
children were born of this union: Stella, wife
of Daniel W. Whiting, of Franklin, Massachu
setts; Abbie, wife of C. C. Bailey, of Woon
socket, Rhode Island ; Frank T., of this review ;
and Ida, who resides with her mother. One son
and two daughters died in childhood. The family
are consistent members and attendants of the
Alethodist Episcopal church. The father of these
children died September 15, 1896, in Franklin,
Massachusetts, at the age of seventy-three years,
and is survived by his widow, who is still a resi
dent of that town.
Dr. Frank Tyler Briggs, only surviving son

of Darwin and Elmira Briggs, received his early
education in the common schools of Franklin,
Massachusetts, and then entered Dean Academy,
of the same town; later he pursued a course of
study in Bowdoin College, Maine, and was grad
uated from the Medical College of Baltimore,
Alaryland, in 1897, with the degree of Doctor
of Aledicine. Shortly after completing his medi
cal course he located in Bristol, Vermont, where
he commenced a general practice of medicine and
surgery, and being a man of unswerving integ
rity and honor he has gained and retained the
confidence and respect of his fellow men, being
recognized as one of the leading citizens and
prominent practitioners of that town, with whose
interests he is fully in accord.
On July 24, 1890, Dr. Briggs was united in
marriage to Aliss Mabelle Braman, born in
Walpole, Massachusetts, a daughter of George and
Frances Braman, both of whom were life-long
residents of Massachusetts. Dr. Briggs is a
member of the Phi Chi Medical Society, and is
prominently identified with the Masonic order,
being a member of Libanus Lodge and Gifford
Chapter, of Bristol and Mt. Calvary Command
ery, K. T., of Middlebury. He is also identified
with Bristol Lodge and Encampment, Inde
pendent Order of Odd Fellows, being past chief
patriarch of the latter body. He is past regent
of Mt. Nebo Council, No. 707, Royal Arcanum,
of Medfield, Alassachusetts, being also a member
of the grand lodge of that order ; and is examining
surgeon and treasurer of the local court of the
Independent Order of Foresters. The Doctor
and his family are members of the Daughters
of Rebekah, and of the Baptist church of Bristol,
Vermont.
AVILBUR E. HANKS.
Wilbur Edson Hanks, a prominent merchant
anl man of affairs of Bristol, Vermont, belongs
to a family which has been, for several genera
tions, represented in the state. Alvin Hanks, his
grandfather, was one of the early settlers of Ver
mont, whither he went from New Hampshire.
In his new place of abode he did the work of a
pioneer, clearing and then cultivating the land
whereon he resided. He married Betsey Clifford
and was the father of eight children, five of

532

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

whom are still living : Arzy, residing in Roches
ter; Vermont: Mary, who is the widow Hussy,
and lives in Averill,, Massachusetts ; Alvin, who
resides in Warren, Vermont; Harvey, a resident
of Bristol, Vermont; and Betsey Ann, the wife
of Simon N. Gould, and resides in Randolph,
Vermont. Mr. Hanks died when seventy years
of age, and his wife survived to the age of eighty.
Benjamin Hanks, son of Alvin and Betsey
(Clifford) Hanks, was born in Lincoin, and all
his life followed the business of a farmer and
lumber merchant, owning a number of mills, and
conducting an extensive business. He was a Re
publican in politics and enjoyed in a high de
gree the respect and confidence of his neighbors,
being called upon to fill the office of lister, for
two years and that of selectman for the same
period. He married Mary J. Bagley, born in
Warren, Vermont, daughter of Daniel Bagley.
The last named was born in Hartland, Vermont,
later removed to Warren, and thence to Lincoln,
where, he died at the age of eighty years. Mrs.
Hanks was one of a family of six children, two of
whom are still living : Walter and Melissa. The
mother of these children died at eighty years of
age. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Hanks were the
parents of six children, five of whom are living :
Wilbur E., mentioned below ; Forester, residing
in Huntington, Vermont ; Alvy, living in Albany,
New York ; Eugenia W., a resident of Randolph,
Vermont; and Judson, who lives in Richmond,
Vermont. Airs. Hanks, who died at the age of
sixty, was a member of the Christian church. Mr.
Hapks was sixty-seven years old at the time of
his death.
Wilbur E. Hanks, son of Benjamin and Mary
J. (Bagley) Hanks, was born January i, 1849,
in Lincoln, Vermont, where he received his edu
cation in the town schools. At the age of twenty-
one he began life as a farmer, working by the
month, and at the end of three years bought a
saw and general lumber mill, conducting that
business eight years, during which time he was
so successful that at the expiration of the time
mentioned he bought out a store in Lincoln,
which he conducted, in conjunction with his mill
and lumber business, for two years. Feeling the
need of a wider field for his enterprises, Mr.
Hanks sold both store and mill and removed to

Huntington, where he bought two mills and sev
eral hundred acres of timbered land. Later he
bought another mill, cutting timber from his land
for the three which he then owned. In the course
of time he purchased other tracts of land, be
coming at last the owner of about thirty-two hun
dred acres, half of which, as well as one of his
mills, he has recently sold. Mr. Hanks is the
proprietor of a very extensive business, giving
employment, in cutting timber and operating
mills, to twenty-five men throughout the year,
and this force during the- busy season is increased
to fifty. Mr. Hanks manufactures clapboards and
staves, for which he finds his principal markets
in Boston and New. York. In 1890 he moved to
Bristol, where he built the beautiful house on
Pleasant street which is now his home.
In politics Mr. Hanks is a Republican, and
has acted for three years as chairman of the board
of selectmen. His townsmen have further testi
fied to the esteem in which they hold him by send
ing him, in 1888, to represent them in the state
legislature, and by re-nominating him for the
same office in 1902. He has always taken an
active interest in everything pertaining to the po
litical welfare of the community, and consented,
notwithstanding all the cares of his business life,
to act as a delegate to the county and state con
ventions, and to serve on town and county pom-
mittees. He is a charter member of Libanus
Lodge No. 49, F. & A. M., and a member of
Bristol Lodge No. 36, I. O. O. F. He was one
of the organizers of the First National Bank of
Bristol, of which .he is now a director, and is a
member of the Baptist church in Lincoln.
In 1870 Mr. Hanks married Eliza A. Merrill,
daughter of David and Sarah A. .(Caldwell)
Merrill. Mr. Merrill was a farmer and passed
his entire life on a large farm in Lincoln. He
was born in 1810, and died in 1853. His wifes
was a native of New Hampshire, born January
1, 1823, and died in Lincoln April 10, 1902. The
family of Mr. and Airs. Merrill consisted, of three
children, all of whom are living : Jane, who mar
ried Sargent S ewell, of Lincoln, Vermont; Al
fred, residing in. Lincoln; and Eliza A., mentioned
above as the wife of AVilbur E. Hanks. Mr. and
Mrs. Hanks are the parents of two children,
the elder of whom, Gertrude, became the wife

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

533

of Burton A. Atkins, a druggist of Bristol, and
has three children : Norma, and Wilbur and
Wilva, twins. Clayton married Katherine Ward,
and is in business with his father as a bookkeeper.
WILLIAM ABBOTT LAWRENCE.
In the history of the business interests of
Addison county the name of AAilliam A. Law
rence occupies a conspicuous place, for through
many years he has been one of the leading fac
tors of the locality, progressive, enterprising and
persevering. Such qualities always win success,
and Mr. Lawrence is now known as the most
extensive dealer in horses in the Green Mountain
state. His birth occurred in Monkton, Vermont,
on the 21st of September, 1856, where his paternal
grandfather, Josiah Lawrence, was engaged in
the tilling of the soil for many years, having
come to this state from Connecticut. Orrin Law
rence, the father of our subject, was born Decem
ber 4, 1798, in Monkton, and he also followed
agricultural pursuits as a life occupation, his
labors being ended in death November 21, 1880.
His wife, who was in her maindenhood Lucy
Blazo, represented one of the oldest families in
the east, and her birth occurred in Starksboro,
this state. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence became the
parents of eight children, six of whom grew to
years of maturity, as follows : Milo C, now a resi
dent of Hinesbu-rg, Vermont; Lucy, who became
the wife of Samuel D. O'Brien, of Lincoln, Ver
mont; Myron P., of Leadville, Colorado, where
he is engaged in mining ; Ruby, deceased ; Sylvia,
the wife of S. C. Poor, of Stowe, Vermont ; and
William A., of this review. Mrs. Lawrence
passed away June 2, 1884, at the age of seventy-
seven years and for over fifty years she was a
member of the Methodist Episcopal church. For
fifty-three years she and her husband traveled
the journey of life together, sharing with each
other in its trials, joys and sorrows, and they lived
to celebrate their golden wedding.
William A. Lawrence was reared in Monkton,
receiving his elementary education in its
schools, and later became a student in the high
school of Vergennes. After completing his edu
cation he turned his attention to agricultural
pursuits, continuing on the old homestead farm
until 188 1, when he came to Bristol and began

speculating in cattle, horses and farm products,
in which he was engaged until 1884. In that year
he embarked in the carriage business, which he
continued for the following fifteen years, and
during that time he also began dealing in horses
and cattle. Disposing of his carriage business
in 1899, He has since given almost his entire at
tention to his stock business, buying horses in car
load lots in Iowa and Alissouri, and he usually
keeps about seventy-five. His business now
extends over this entire state and New York, and
he is known as one of the most extensive dealers
in horses in Vermont. His pleasant residence on
North street, in Bristol, was erected in 1897, and
he has also erected several other dwellings in
Bristol, having dealt quite extensively in real es
tate in this village.
On the 22d of March, 1876, Mr. Lawrence
was united in marriage to Lockie Partch, who
was born in Hinesburg, Vermont, being a daugh
ter of Nelson Wr. and Lucy (Barker) Partch,
the former of whom was a life-long farmer arid
his death occurred at the age of sixty-five years,
while the mother's death occurred at the age of
sixty-three years. They became the parents of
six children, four of whom are now living, as
follows : Ella, the wife of J. O. Bottum, of New
Haven, Vermont ; John W., who makes his home
in Canada; Orson, of Ticonderoga, New York;
and Carrie, the wife of W. J. Nash, of New
Haven. Mrs. Lawrence, the eldest of these chil
dren, was reared and received her education in
Hinesburg, this state, and for six years followed
the profession of teaching. She was called to
the home beyond on the nth of December, 1889,
at the age of forty-five years. She was a lady of
many noble characteristics, and was loved and
honored by all who had the pleasure of her ac
quaintance. For his second wife Air. Lawrence
chose Minnie Morrison, who was born in Starks
boro, Vermont, being a daughter of Page and
Mary (Orvis) Alorrison, and a granddaughter of
Thomas Morrison, who came from Connecticut
to this state in early pioneer times. Page Alor
rison was a mechanic, and owned and operated a
rake and butter tub factory for many years. He
departed this life when seventy-two years of
age, and his wife was 'called to her final rest at
the age of fifty-two years. Both were born in
February, 181 1. She was of Welsh descent. Mrs.

534

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Lawrence, their only child, has been twice mar
ried, her first husband being Anson W. Peet, who
was engaged in the lumber business at Hunting
ton, and whose death occurred in his native town,
Shelburne, this state, at the age of thirty-nine
years. One son, Morrison, was born of this union,
but he died when but five years of age. Her
second marriage occurred on the 27th of March,
1901, when she became the wife of Mr. Lawrence.
Mr. Lawrence gives his political support to the
Republican party, and for fpurteen years he served
as the deputy sheriff of Addison county, was for
a time a member of the town committee, was
president of the Greenwood Cemetery Associa
tion, of Bristol, and in 1900 represented his town
in the legislature. He is a member of the Addi
son County Agricultural Society, of which he is
now president ; for three years has been a mem
ber of the board of directors of the National
Bank of Middlebury ; and for two years was one
of the directors and for a similar period vice-
president of the Vermont Mutual Fire Insurance
Company. In fraternal relations he is prominent
ly connected with the Masonic order, being now
a member of Mount Sinai Temple of the Mystic
Shrine of Alontpelier, which he' represented
in the grand conclave at Boston. He is also a
member of Bristol Lodge,. No. 36, I. O. O. F.
JAMES KELMAN PIRIE.
James Kelman Pirie, until recently junior
member of the firm "of Lamson & Pirie, quarry-
men and granite manufacturers at Williamstown,
is one of the leading business men of the town.
He comes of the same ancestry as John T. Pirie,
the noted dry goods dealer of New York and Chi
cago. He was born Alay 13, 1858, in Peterhead,
Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and is a son of Walter
and Jean (Kelman) Pirie, who were born in the
same place. Walter Pirie was for many years
a member of the police force of the city of Ab
erdeen and died in 1865. His widow survived
until 1874. James K. Pirie is the only child of
their marriage. He spent the first fifteen years
of his life in Scotland. Coming then to St.
George, New Brunswick, he learned the trade
of stone-cutter, at which he worked as a jour
neyman in nearly all of the New England states,
locating in Williamstown, Vermont, in 1880.

Inheriting in a marked degree the habits of
industry and thrift characteristic of his Scotch an
cestors, Mr. Pirie has met with eminent success
in his chosen vocation. In 1883 he became junior
partner of the newly organized firm of Wells,
Lamson & Company, which purchased in that
summer fifteen acres of quarry land lying south
of -Millstone, in the northeastern part of Will
iamstown, and opened what is now, known as the
"dark quarry," establishing at the same time large
cutting shops in Barre. In 1886 the firrii bought
nine and one-half acres of land on the northern
side of Millstone hill, opening their light granite
quarry, and subsequently worked both quarries
with great success. In April, 1891, Mr. Wells
retired from the firm, and the business was sub
sequently -' continued by Messrs. Lamson &
Pirie, until the death of Mr. Lamson, in Novem
ber, 1902. Mr. Pirie continues the business. In
April, 1892, they bought five acres of land on
the river below North Barre, and the following
summer built a new plant which they equipped
with, a complete set of the most approved modern
machinery used in their line of work.
This concern is noted throughout the Union
for the excellent work it turns out, a specialty
being made of heavy monumental work, cemetery
vaults and mausoleums. It has furnished many
notable public and private monuments, among
which mention may be made of the Soldiers Mon
ument at Binghamton, New York; the Soldiers
and Sailors Monument at Kokomo, Indiana; the
polished columns and carved caps for the mau
soleum erected at San Francisco, California, by
John L. Flood; the monument erected to Hon.
A. B. Martin, of Lynn, Massachusetts ; the mau
soleum erected for the family of the late Vice-
President Hobart, at Paterson, New Jersey, cost
ing on board the cars at Barre, twenty-five thou
sand dollars ; and the one for George Ehret, in
Woodlawn Cemetery, Greater New York, which
cost one hundred and twenty thousand dollars on
the cars at Barre. The establishment employs an
average of one hundred men, and in addition to
its monumental work carries on a large business
in rough granite. Both quarries have side tracks,
and operate powerful cranes, and steam . derricks •
with a capacity of fifty tons.
Air. Pirie married, December 2, 1882, Mary
Farnsworth, of Hardwick, Vermont, and they

A^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

535

are the parents of eleven children, namely : James
G. ; Mary ; Frederick F. ; Grover C. ; Maude I. ;
Francis, now deceased ; Merle ; Bessie ; Daisy ;
Elsie; and Christina. Politically, Mr. Pirie af
filiates with tlie Democratic party, and has served
with fidelity in many of the more important town
offices. For ten years he was justice of the peace,
and for six years was a grand juror. Fraternally
he is a member of the Masonic order, of the Scot
tish Clans, the Burns Club, of Barre, and of the
state council of Modern Woodmen of America.
He owns a fine estate of forty acres, on which
is a handsome residence, near the quarries in
Williamstown, and is an enthusiastic horticul
turist.
ALBERT LINCOLN CAIN.
One of the representative citizens of Addison
county is Albert L. Cain, a man whose history
furnishes a splendid example of what may be
accomplished through determined purpose, lauda
ble ambition and well directed efforts. He has
steadily worked his way upward until he has now
reached an exalted position in the business cir
cles of his community, being the president and
treasurer of the Bristol Novelty Works, one of
the leading institutions of its kind in this part
of the state. Mr. Cain was born in Bristol on the
28th of November, 1868, and is a son of Samuel
R. Cain, who claimed Massachusetts as the
state of his nativity, his birth there occurring in
Wareham. The father of the latter, Samuel
Cain, was also a native of the old Bay state, and
took up his abode in Wareham, but later removed
to Bristol, Vermont, and returning to Wareham
his last days were there spent.
Samuel Cain, Jr., was a merchant and a man
ufacturer of staves in Starksboro, Lincoln and
Huntington, Vermont, and the last years of his
life were spent in Bristol, where he passed away
in death in 1888, at the age of sixty-two years.
He took a prominent and active part in the pub
lic life of his community, and among the many
public positions which he was called upon to fill
may be mentioned those of selectman and school
director. His wife bore the maiden name of
Lydia Barrows, and she, too, was born in Ware
ham. By her marriage she became the mother of
three children. Lydia R., Mrs. G. H. Bartlett, of

Madison, Wisconsin; Rena, Mrs. B. M. Sergeant,
a resident of Council Bluffs, Iowa; and Albert
L., the subject of this review. The mother of
these children was called to her final rest in 1888,
when she had reached the age of fifty-seven
years. Both she and her husband were members
of the Congregational church.
Albert L. Cain is indebted to the public school
system of Bristol for the educational privileges
which he received in his youth, and between the
ages of sixteen and nineteen years he assisted his
father in his business. On the expiration of that
period he assumed control of the enterprise, own
ing and operating nine mills for the manufacture
of staves, and his time was thus employed until
1896, when he sold his interest to his partner,
George Bartlett, of Jonesville, Vermont. In 1898
Mr. Cain became one of the incorporators of the
Bristol Novelty Works, of which he was made the
president and treasurer, and they are engaged in
the manufacture of turned wooden boxes, han
dles, dowels, novelties, toys, etc. The factory is
equipped with all the latest improved machinery,
and fifty skilled employes are required to accom
plish its work. The first treasurer of the com
pany was Ashbel A. Dean, but he is now deceased,
and the present officers are : A. L. Cain, presi
dent and treasurer; N. F. Dunshee, vice-presi
dent ; and A. M. Norton, secretary. Mr. Cain
is a man of excellent business and executive abil
ity, of sound judgment and capable management!
and the prosperity which this firm is now en
joying is due in a large measure to his untiring
efforts. The marriage of our subject and Miss Daisy
A. Ray was solemnized in 1890. The lady is a
native of Hinesburg, Chittenden county, and a
daughter of Willard and Susan L. (Crossman)
Ray, the latter of whom is still living. Airs.
Cain is her parents' only child, and- by her
marriage she became the mother of two children,
but the son, Seward R., died at the age of four
years. The daughter is Rena L. By his ballot
Air. Cain supports the men and measures of the
Republican party, and he has served as a school
director and lister and has many times been a
delegate to county and state conventions. He is
a charter member and foreman of the Munsill
Hose Company. His genial temperament, cour
teous manners and broad-minded principles ren-

536

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

der him a favorite with all, and the circle of his
friends is almost co-extensive with the 'circle of
his acquaintances.
HON. QUIMBY S. BACKUS.
Hon. Quimby Si Backus, an enterprising and
successful business man of Brandon, Vermont,
who has established a reputation in the commer
cial circles of the United States, is a descendant
of William Backus, a native of Saybrook, Con
necticut, where he was born in 1638. The line of
descent is as follows : William Stephen, born
in 1660, later received the title of lieutenant and
was one of the sixteen Norwich legatees of
Joshua Arms, one of the original proprietors
of Norwich, Connecticut. In 1693 Lieutenant
Backus settled in Windham, Connecticut, being
one of the first twenty-two inhabitants of that
town. Samuel, born in 1693, married Sarah
Gard in 1719, and nine children were born to
them. Nathaniel, born January 13, 1728, married
M. Elizabeth ' Hebard, a daughter of Robert
Hebard, the ceremony being performed probably
in 1750, and his death occurred December 14,
181 5. Elijah, born July 23, 1755, was an active
participant during the Revolutionary war, being
engaged in the battles of Gefmantowri and Mon
mouth. On APru 2I> T786, he was united in
marriage to M. Trifina Cross.
Gurdon Backus, father of Quimby S. Backus,
was born in Windharri county, Connecticut, in
1800, and, after acquiring a literary education
in the common schools of his native town, en
tered a theological seminary and was ordained
a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal denom
ination. He officiated as pastor at Bridgewater
and also acted in the' capacity of presiding elder
for a number of years. The Rev. Mr. Backus was
married three times, his first wife having been
Wealthy Ann Hoisington, mother of Hon. Quim
by S. Backus.. The second wife ofthe Revi Mr.
Backus was Perley Flint, and his third wife was
Sarah Chapman, to whom the following named
children were born : Phoebe Hawkins,- Caroline,
Emeline, Justin, Harriet, Anna, Rev. Gurdpn,
Joseph, Clark, and Martin Backus. The Rev.
Mr. Backus died at Brandon, Vermont, in 1871,
at the age of seventy-one years.
Quimby S. Backus, son of Gurdon and

Wealthy Ann Backus, was born July 23, 1838,
at Bridgewater, Vermont. His preliminary ed
ucation was obtained in the public schools of his
native town, and this 'was supplemented by at
tendance at the public schools of Brandon and
the Brandon Seminary, from which institution
he was graduated at the age- of sixteen years.
He then rembved to Woodstock, Vermont, where
he learned the trade of machinist, which he fol
lowed with success for many years, being em
ployed by the Howe. Scale Company and having
the distinction of making the first scales made
in Brandon for the company. In 1861 he was
engaged as a tool-maker in a gun shop in Wind
sor, the firm having a contract for supplying guns
to the United. States government ; later he was
employed in the railroad shops at Rutland, Ver
mont, and subsequently engaged in the manu
facture of all kinds of .machinery, at Winchen
don, Massachusetts. Mr, Backus patented and
was for several years employed in the manufac
ture of vises ; he later patented a bit brace, the
first made1 that could be adjustable to any size
of bit. He then removed to Millers Falls, where
he manufactured machine specialties, which were
all his own patents, and in this line of business
he continued until 1876 ; he invented the Backus
heater and established a manufactory in Philadel
phia, in 1888, remaining until 1892. He next
located "in Williamspprt, Pennsylvania, where
he conducted the business until 1901, removing
at that time to Brandon, Vermont, where, he
erected a large manufactory and foundry, which
gives employment to sixty-five people. The plant
and yards cover an area of five acres, and they
established offices or stores in Philadelphia, New
York, Boston, San Francisco andtother large cit
ies, besides giving the agency of the heater to
private dealers throughout the country.' .
Mr. Backus is a staunch adherent of the prin
ciples of the Republican party, a strong local op
tion man, and takes an active part in all cam
paigns. He was elected senator from Rutland
county in 1902, was a member of the committee
on claims and the standing committee of the
Manufacturers' Library, and also served in the
capacity of chairman of the committee on joint
rules, taking an aggressive part in all discussions.
He is a member and serves as second lieutenant
of the "Allen Grays," a company of Vermont

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

537

militia, but, being engaged in making guns dur
ing the progress of the Civil war, was exempt
from active service, but sent a substitute. He
has attained a prominent position in the Masonic
fraternity, having taken the thirty-second de
gree in the Scottish Rite, and is a Noble of the
Mystic Shrine.
In 1858 Mr. Backus was united in marriage
to Lavina A. Lawrence, a daughter of 'Oliver
E. and Emeline (Wood) Lawrence, the former
named being born in Chittenden county, Ver
mont, and the latter in Brandon, Vermont. Air.
and Alris. Lawrence were the parents of the fol
lowing named children: Samuel L., a resident
of Rutland, A'ermont; James, who resided in
Hubardton, Vermont; Charles, a citizen
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Lavina A.,
wife of Quimby S. Backus; Ellen, de
ceased, and Porter Lawrence, deceased. The
mother of these children died at the age of eighty-
two years ; both Air. Lawrence and his wife were
members of the Baptist church. Amos Lawrence,
grandfather of Mrs. Backus, was a shoemaker
by trade, served in the Revolutionary war, and
his death occurred at Brandon, Vermont, in the
seventy-fourth year of his age. The children
born to Mr. and Mrs. Backus are: Fred Ells
worth, born at Brandon, August 3, 1861, who ac
quired his education at Brandon and later at
Stebbins' Institute, a business college of Spring
field, Massachusetts. At the present time (1903)
he is a member of the firm of the Backus Com
pany, founded by Quimby S. Backus, he having
the management of the manufacturing depart
ment, while his father attends to the financial and
sales departments. He, like his father, is con
nected with all the Masonic bodies up to and in
cluding the thirty-second degree, has been sec
retary of the chapter, senior deacon of blue lodge
and held offices in the consistory; In June, 1898,
Mr. Fred E. Backus married Maud M. Peck,
who was born in Brandon, Vermont, a daughter
of Darwin Peck; they have one daughter, Beat
rice Carile Backus, born July 19, 1900.
Nellie Everetta, youngest child of Hon.
Quimby S. and Lavina A. Backus, born at
AWindsor, Vermont, married John O. Bowman,
a prominent lawyer of Philadelphia, Pennsylva
nia, and their children are: Fred Quimby and
Miriam Lawrence Bowman.

Mr. Quimby S. Backus came from genuine
old New England stock; he was the son of
Rev. Gurdon Backus, a highly useful local
preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church in
his day, and Wealthy Ann Hoisington Backus;
the latter was a direct descendant of Captain
Joseph Hawkins, who was given a large tract
of land to settle in Bridgewater, Vermont. The
Hawkins family trace their lineage to the En
glish general, James Wolfe, who was killed at
the battle of Quebec, September 13, 1759, in the
hour of his victory. The Backus family were old
Puriant stock and came from Connecticut, where
they were original owners of one-twentieth of the
site of the city of Norwich, Connecticut.
JOHN ELIAKIM WEEKS.
Among the representative citizens of Addison
county, esteemed alike for his sterling worth of
character and his activity in the business world is
John E. Weeks, a member of the well-known firm
of Thomas & AVeeks, wholesale dealers in hay and
retailers of feed. He is a worthy son of an hon
ored family, and his paternal grandfather,
Eliakim Weeks, was numbered among the early
piorieers of Salisbury, Addison county, Vermont,
where he followed the tilling of the soil. He was
a native of Brooklyn, Connecticut, where he was
born March 6, 1771. His wife, Rebeckah, daugh
ter of Ephraim and Fanny Crook, came from
Westminster, Vermont, to Salisbury in 1793. She
was seventeen years old when married to Mr.
AVeeks, and died July 3, 1835, in Salisbury. She
was born October 5, 1780. Mr. Weeks held many
of the important offices of the town, and was an
active and energetic man. At the time of his
death, September 30, 1820, he was one of the
selectmen of the town. He was the son of Hol
land Weeks, who was married September 4,
1766, in Hampton, Connecticut, to Hannah, fourth
child of Nathaniel and Sarah (Capin) Moseley.
The latter was the eighth child of John Capin and
Ruth Thayer, his wife. Ruth Thayer was the
eighth child of Ephraim Thayer, whose wife,
Sarah, was the seventh child of John Bass and
Ruth Alden. The latter was the seventh child
of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins. whose
romantic courtship in the Alayflower colony at

538

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Plymouth, Massachusetts, is known to every stu
dent of American history.
Holland Weeks was born January 29, 1744,
in Pomfret, Connecticut, a son of Ebeneezer
Weeks and Anna Holland. Ebeneezer was
a son of Joseph Weeks, who came from
England. Ebeneezer died March 3, 1788, and
his wife in 1803, aged eighty-six years. Hol
land AVeeks was a pioneer settler of Salisbury, and
here his son Eliakim, aided in clearing up a large
farm in the western part of the town. This re
mained in the family- until after the death of his
youngest son, John M. Weeks, in 1858. At the
age of about twenty years, Eliakim Weeks began
business for himself. He was a self-trained ma-
chanic, and did considerable work as a joiner, but
farming was his chief occupation. After buying
and selling several farms, he came into possession
of a tract of about three hundred acres in Salis
bury village, on which was a dilapidated saw
mill. This he rebuilt arid made it a source of con
siderable income. He built a large two-story
house in the village, but did not live to see it
completed. He was the father of twelve children,
the last two being twins. The eighth child and
fourth son, Ebeneezer Holland Weeks, was born
September 14, 1812, in Salisbury, and he, too,
chose the noble art of husbandry as his life
occupation, becoming the owner of three hun
dred acres of valuable land. His fellow towns
men, recognizing his worth and ability, elected
him to many offices of honor trust, and
he served as town clerk for the long
period of twenty-five years; was also a
selectman and lister, for two terms was called
upon to represent his town in the legislature and
was made associate judge of the Addison county
courts, thus gaining the title of judge by which he
was afterwards known. He was also called upon
to settle a large number of estates, and was recog
nized as a leader of the Republican party in this
county. For his wife Judge Weeks chose Eliza
beth Dyer, a native of Leicester, Addison county,
Vermont, and a daughter of Gideon Dyer, also
a native of that town, whose death occurred in
Pittsford, this state. Mr. and Mrs. Weeks became
the parents of eight children, but only the sub
ject of this sketch is now living. The mother
still survives and makes her home in Brandon,
Vermont, being now eighty-four years of age.

The father passed away May 19, 1881, at the
age of sixty-nine years, having" long been a faith
ful supporter of the Congregational church, 'with
which his widow is also identified.
John E. Weeks was born in Salisbury, Ver
mont, on the 14th of June, 1853, and in that town
he was reared and received his 'early educational
training, becoming later a student in the Middle
bury high school. Remaining in his native place
until 1876, he spent the following three years in
Brandon, returning thence to Salisbury, and was
there engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1898.
For many years previously he had devoted much
of his time to the settling of estates, and he is yet
prominent in that line of work. In 1892 he em
barked in the business of pressing and shipping
hay. The firm of Thomas & Weeks is now recog
nized as a leader in its line, and ships an everage
of a carload per day. In addition Mr. Weeks also
owns and operates three hundred acres of rich
and fertile land near Salisbury village. In many
other lines of endeavor he has been equally promi
nent, and now represents the Vermont Mutual
Insurance Company of Salisbury and Middle
bury. He was appointed associate judge of
the Addison county courts in 1892 and 1894,
served as assistant door-keeper in the sen
ate of 1884, and in 1888 was elected to rep
resent his town in the legislature, during
which time he served as a member of the
committee on manufacturing and other special
committees. Being elected to the senate in 1896,
he served as a member of the committees on rail
roads and claims. In 1898 Mr. Weeks was ap
pointed trustee of the Industrial School, in which
position he is still serving, and is also a trustee of
the village of Middlebury, being president of
the board.
The marriage of Mr. Weeks was celebrated
in 1879, when Hattie J. Dyer became his wife.
She was born in Salisbury and is a daughter of
Frank L. Dyer, for many years a prominent
farmer of Salisbury but now deceased. His wid
ow, Lucretia D., nee Graves, now makes her
home with our subject. The Republican party
receives Mr. Week's hearty support and co-opera
tion, and in return it honored him with many
high official positions. In his fraternal relations
he is a member of the Masonic order, being con
nected with Union Lodge, No. 2, of Middlebury.

Js^ife-

«M*

^£/^.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

539

Religiously he affiliates with the Congregational
church, in which he is serving as chairman of the
financial committee. He is interested in whatever
is designed for the public welfare, and is a pub
lic-spirited, progressive citizen who merits the
high regard in which he is uniformly held.
THE CONVERSE FAMILY.
Rev. John Kendrick Converse (VT),
--Joel (V), Thomas (IV), Samuel (III), Ser
geant Samuel (II), Deacon Edward (I), — was
born in Lyme, Grafton county New Hampshire,
June 15, 1 80 1, and was the son of Joel and
Elizabeth (Bixby) Converse.* The pecuniary
obstacles to obtaining an education, attending
the farm life of that period, were overcome by
him by industry and close study; and he fitted
for college at Thetford, Vermont, under the
tuition of Rev. John Fitch. He entered Dart
mouth College in the class of 1827. The closest

*Rev. John Kendrick Converse was descended from
Deacon Edward Convers of Woburn, Massachusetts,
as follows: Deacon Edward Convers (I), Sergeant
Samuel Convers (II), Samuel Convers (III), Thomas
Converse (IV), Joel Converse (V), Rev. John Ken
drick Converse (VI).
Deacon Edward Convers (I), came to. Massachu
setts in the ship Lion, with Winthrop, in 1630, and set
tled in Charlestown, where he was one of the select
men, and established the first ferry to Boston, which he
donated for the support of Harvard College, whose
founder, John Harvard, was his personal friend. He
joined others in founding the town of Woburn,
Massachusetts, and establishing the first church of
Woburn, of which he was made deacon ; served town as
selectman ; and in 1660 was deputy to the general court.
His grandson, Major James Convers (son of Lieutenant
James Convers), distinguished himself by his gallant
defense of Storers' Garrison, at Wells, during the war
against the French and Eastern Indians, known as the
Ten Years' war, and was promoted by Governor Phipps
to the command of all the military forces, of Massa
chusetts in Maine. From Major James were descended
Colonel Israel Converse of Randolph, Vermont, Gov
ernor Julius Converse, Larkin G. Mead, the sculptor,
Mrs. Justin S. Morrill, Mrs. William Dean Howells
and Commodore George Albert Converse.
Sergeant Samuel Convers (II), married Judith,
daughter of Rev. Thomas Carter, pastor of the church
in Woburn. Samuel Convers (III), was founder of town of
Thompson, Connecticut, named after the family of
Deacon Edward Convers's daughter, Mary Convers,
who married Simon Thompson, and whose descendant
became distinguished as Sir Benjamin Thompson and
Count Rurmford. Samuel Convers married Dorcas
¦  ,. The researches of Representative Alva S.
Wood, of Woburn, lead to the conclusion that she was

application marked his college course. He de
veloped fine scholarship and literary ability, and
was deeply interested in the discussions and de
bates of the college literary society of which he
was a member, which doubtless contributed
largely to the facility in extemporaneous speak
ing which characterized his subsequent efforts in
the pulpit. During the winter of his second year
at college he taught a school at Acton, Massa
chusetts, and the necessity of self-support led
to his' leaving Dartmouth after two years to be
come the principal of a large school at Keene,
New Hampshire ; and, later in the same year, he
conducted a classical school in Nottoway county,
Virginia, at the same time pursuing his college
studies. He spent the last year of his college
course at Hampden-Sidney College in Virginia,
where he graduated in 1827, Dartmouth College
also subsequently conferring upon him the de
gree of A. B. Upon his graduation at Hampden-
Sidney, he pronounced an English oration on

Dorcas Cleveland, daughter of Aaron Cleveland, the
ancestor of ex-President Cleveland. One of the sons
of Samuel Convers was Pain Convers, who had a son,
Fain, Jr., and Pain Jr., served in the American army in
the Revolutionary war as Ensign from Killingly, Con
necticut, at the Lexington alarm, as lieutenant in com
mand of a company in the Eleventh Regiment of Mili
tia at New York in 1776, and as captain in Fourth Bat
talion. (John Ely, colonel), State regiments in Con
necticut and Rhode Island, under Generals Spencer and
Wooster. 1776-1777. He removed to Bridport, Ver
mont, about 1790, and was the progenitor of the Con
verse family there.
Thomas Converse's (IV) son, Thomas Converse
Jr., was, during the Revolutionary war, captain of
Seventh Company, Connecticut Line ; served under
Washington at Valley Forge, where he was appointed
sub-inspector, Huntington's Brigade; was al'so adjutant.
After the war he was a member of the Society of the
Cincinnati in Connecticut. He removed to Rutland,
New York, where he was deacon in the Presbyterian
church, and colonel of a regiment of militia.
Joel Converse (V), removed from Thompson,
Connecticut, to Lyme, New Hampshire, where he was
a farmer. Rev. John Kendrick Converse (VI).
(The above from Sewell's History of Woburn,
Massachusetts. Family Record of Deacons James
and Elisha S. Convers, by William G. Hill. Savage's
Genealogical Dictionary, Family History in the line
of Joseph Convers, of Bedford Massachusetts, by Rev.
John Jay Putnam. Sketch of Deacon Edward Con
verse in January, 1895, number of Nc.k' York Genealogi
cal and Biographical Record. Ephraim and Pamela
(Convers) Morris, their ancestors and descendants,
by Seymour Morris of Chicago. Illinois. Revolution
ary War Records in the office of the Adjutant General
of Connecticut).

540

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

the subject of "Classical Education," and, on
the evening of the same day, a valedictory ora
tion before the Philanthropic Society on "The
Origin and Influence of Literary Societies."
After graduation he continued teaching the
school in Nottoway county for a year. Among
his pupils was a quiet, studious lad, whose mis
taken zeal for his native state of Virginia led,
later in life, to an act of aggression, of which he
doubtless afterwards repented — Edmund Ruffin.
Preparatory to a course of theological study, Mr.
Converse at the end of the year, resigned the Not
toway county school, and for nearly two years
assisted his brother, Amasa* in the editorial
charge of The Southern Religious Telegraph and
The Literary and Evangelical Magazine, at Rich
mond, Virginia. During a portion of this time
he had been studying theology, which he con
tinued at the Princeton Theological Seminary,
where he graduated in 1832. During that year, he
received calls to the pastorate of the neighbor
ing historic church of the sainted Tennent, and
to churches in Burlington, Vermont, and Tren
ton, New Jersey. On August 8, 1832, he was
installed as pastor of the Congregational church
in Burlington, Vermont, now known as the
White Street Congregational church. He was
its pastor for twelve years. During the third
year of his pastorate his acceptance of a call to
the Congregational church of Providence, Rhode
Island, was prevented by the burning of his
church in Burlington, and his sense of duty to
continue in a field where his labors were then
so much more needed in consequence of that
catastrophe. He labored with untiring energy
during these years, and the growth of the society
was rapid and constant. During his pastorate
a portion of the church was set off to form a
new church in the adjoining town of Winooski,
in which he always felt a deep interest. During
the same period he laid the foundation for the
Congregational church at West Milton, Vermont.
A pastor who had been a contemporary of
Mr. Converse (the Rev. James Buckham), says
of him, in preface to the memoir of him written
by his eldest daughter and published in 1881 : —

"Cowper's description of the preacher — such as
Paul, were he on earth, would hear, approve and
own — was fully exemplified, I think, in Mr. Con
verse, as almost any' other minister that I have
known : — "Simple, grave, sincere,
In doctrine incorrupt; in language plain,
And plain in manner, decent, solemn, chaste,
And natural in gesture ; much impressed
Himself, as conscious of his awful charge,
And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds
May feel it too ; affectionate in look,
And tender in address, as well becomes
A messenger of grace to guilty men."
On May 21, 1834, he was married in Bur
lington, by Rev. Joseph' Torrey, of the Univer
sity of Vermont, to Sarah Allen, who was born
in Milton, Vermont, August 13, 1810, and was
the daughter of Heman and Sarah (Prentis)
Allen.*

*Rev. Amasa Converse, D. D., founder of the
Christian Observer, the leading Presbyterian journal of
the Southern states.

*Sarah Allen's descent from. Corporal Edward Allen,
Valentine Prentis, James Rogers, Mathew Griswold and
Henry Wolcott, has much of interest, and is as follows:
Corporal. Edward Allen (I),, of Dedham, Ipswich
and Suffield, Massachusetts, according to tradition, came
from Scotland, and had been a soldier under Crom
well. He was one of the selectmen of Suffield, and is
mentioned in the church records as "Corporall Edward
Allyn." He married Sarah Kirriball, of Ipswich, whose
sister's great-granddaughter was the mother of Daniel
Webster, the statesrhan.
Edward Allen, Jr. (II), of Deerfield, Massachu
setts, town clerk, clerk of the market, selectman, and
seater in "ye meeting house," was active .in defense of
Deerfield during the various Indian wars ; served on
committees on fortifications, and locating houses and
cella/rs within forts ; was sent by Governor Dudley to
Canada, with John Sheldon, to recover the return of
English captives there, during Queen Anne's war. The
colonial records include his petition to Lieutenant Gov
ernor Dummer for exemption from, watching, on ac
count of the infirmities of age, after having watched for
forty-six years.
Samuel Allen (III), of Deerfield, Massachusetts,
was in the King's service, in Father. Rasle's -war, in
Captain Joseph Kellogg's Company; was wounded in
Father Rasle's war; and, during the old French war,
was killed while resisting an Indian attack at "The
Bars," Deerfield, August 25, 1746. He married Hannah,
daughter of Deacon Eleazer Hafwks, who, was a soldier
under Captain Turner in "ye Falls Fight."
Corporal Enoch Allen (IV), of Ashfield, Massa
chusetts, marched to Lexington as a private in Lieu
tenant Samuel Bartlett' s Company; served during the
siege of Boston in Captain Ebenezer Webber's Com
pany, Colonel John Fellow's Regiment; and served in
the campaign to resist the Burgoyne invasion, as cor
poral in Captain Ephraim Jennings' Company, Colonel

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

54i

She died in Burlington, Vermont, April 14,
1873. In youth she was a member of St. Paul's
Episcopal church, Burlington. It may be in
teresting to recall that the church at that time
had no organ, but the instrumental music was
furnished by an orchestra composed of a bass
viol, violin and two flutes, in which her brother
George Allen (afterwards professor of Greek
and Latin in the University of Pennsylvania),
played the violin, and her brother, Charles Pren
tis Allen played second flute. She subsequently
united with the Congregational church of Bur
lington.

David Well's regiment, in which his brother Samuel
Allen, Jr., was lieutenant.
Hon. Heman Allen, M. C, .removed to Grand
Isle, Vermont, in March, 1795 ; admitted to the bar in
1803 ; practiced law in Milton, Vermont ; twelve years
in the legislature from Milton ; removed to Burlington,
Vermont in 1825 ; chosen to Congress , in 1832, and
served four terms; from 1813 a trustee of the Univer
sity of Vermont. Hemenway's Vermont Gazetteer, No.
VI, Chittenden County, August, 1863, contains an in
teresting sketch of him. He married Sarah Prentis,
whose ancestry was as follows :
Valentine Prentis (1), came to this land with
Eliot in 1631 from Nazing, Essex county, England ;
joined church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1632;
freeman, 1632 ; died about 1633.
John Prentis (II), removed from Roxbury to
New London, Connecticut ; commander of trading ves
sels New London and John and Hester, the latter named
after himself and wife; "Townes Attorney,"
1667; deputy to general court, 1668. His son, John,
Jr. was captain of the fort at New London; and his
grandson, John Prentis, third, commanded the colony
war sloop Defence at the siege of Louisburg.
Captain Stephen Prentis (III), of New Lon
don, Connecticut, captain of the Fourth Company, or
train band, of New London; selectman; deputy to
general court, 1728, 172Q, 1730; one of the two over
seers of the Indians at Niantick; married Elizabeth,
daughter of John Rogers. Captain Stephen Prentis's
brother. Jonathan Prentis, was a prosperous merchant
and seaman; deputy to general court; member of gov
ernor's council, overseer of the Niantick Indians, part
owner of the brigantine Prosperous; a justice of the
peace ; and an officer of the first and oldest ecclesiasti
cal society of New London.
Cai-tain Joseph Prentis (IV), captain Fifth Com
pany, or train band, of New London; married Mercy
Gilbert, granddaughter of Earl Gilbert, a Scotch peer.
Dr. Jonathan Prentis (V), removed to St. Al
bans, Vermont; married Margaret Daniels, of Groton,
Connecticut, whose mother, Grace (Edgcumbe) Dan
iels, was granddaughter of Lord Edgecumbe, of Plym
outh, England. It was while on a visit to the Edge-
cumbes. of Mount Edgecumbe, in Cornwall, England,
that Captain John Prentis, of the sloop Defence, passed
away. Sarah Prentis (VI), married Heman Allen.

The development of a bronchial affection led
to Mr. Converse's resignation of his pastorate in
the spring of 1844, to become the head of the
Burlington Female Seminary, of which he was
the principal for some twenty-five years. It was
the first advanced school for young women in
that locality, and for many years was a large and
efficient institution, drawing pupils from nearly
every state in the Union, and from the Canadas.
A memoir of him, written by his eldest daugh
ter, mentions the deep attachment felt for him by
all his pupils, his great influence over them for
good, and his broad methods of instruction,

The following was the descent of Elizabeth Rogers,
Who married Captain Stephen Prentis :
Tames Rogers (I), of Stratford, Milford and New
London, Connecticut ; commisioner, 1660 ; deputy to
general court, 1665 ; assistant to general court, 1678,
1679, 1680 ; united with Mr. Prudden's church in 1645 :
"He acquired property and influence, and was much
employed in civil and ecclesiastical affairs, and his
landed possessions were very extensive."
John Rogers (II), of New London, Connecticut,
founder of religious sect called "Rogerenes" or "Roger-
ene Quakers," and sometimes "Rogerene Baptists." For
an account of the religious persecutions which he suf
fered and apparently courted, see chapter XIV of Miss
Cau'kin's History of New London. He- married Eliza
beth, daughter of Matthew Griswold, of Lyme, Wind
sor and Saybrook, Connecticut. Matthew Griswold
camle from Kenilworth, England, was lieutenant 1667,
deputy to general court, 1667, 1668, 1678, 1679, 1680,
1681, 1682, 1683, 1684; and commissioner, 1679, 1680,
1681, 1682, 1683, 1684. 1685, 1686, andi687. He married
Anna, daughter of Henry Wolcott, of Windsor, Con
necticut. Henry Wolcott was a member of the general
assembly and the house of magistrates,-^"proba'bly, after
the pastor, the most distinguished man in Windsor,"
and the progenitor of the Wolcott family of New Eng
land, which has included so many prominent descend
ants. (Hermann Mann's Historical Annals of Dedham.
The Hammatt Papers No. 1, treating of the early
inhabitants of Ipswich, Massachusetts.
H. S. Sheldon's History of Suffield, Massachusetts.
George Sheldon's History of Deerfield, Massachu
setts.' Sketch of Hon. Heman Allen, M. C, in August,
1863, Chittenden county number of Hemmenway's Ver
mont Gazetteer. Colonial Records and Revolutionary
War Records in office of secretary of the common
wealth of Massachusetts.
Colonial Records in office of Adjutant General of
Connecticut. Miss Caulkin's History of New London.
C. J. F. Binney's History and Genealogy of the
Prentice or Prentiss Family in New England.
History of Windsor, Connecticut.
Memorial of Henry Wokott.
History of the Kimball Family in America, etc., by
Leonard Allison Morrison, A. M.; and Stephen Paschali
Sharpies, S. B.).

542

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

which, for that period, were advanced, and great
ly tended to stimulate their, best efforts toward
intellectual development. He was a man of fine
presence and distinguished by an unusual court
esy and ease of manner.
During a portion of 'this time when he was in
charge of the seminary he was also pastor of the
Congregational churches of the neighboring
towns of Colchester and Winobski, the former
from 1850 to 1855, and the latter from 1855 to
i86t ; and he subsequently supplied the pulpit
of the West Milton church for several years.
During this period he was also for several
years superintendent of public schools in Bur
lington, and his advocacy of a higher grade of
scholarship in the public schools, and improved
school buildings, contributed to considerable im
provement in that service.
Having seen much of the workings of slav
ery during his residence in Virginia, and being
thoroughly interested in the welfare of the col
ored race, he early took strong interest in the
American Colonization Society, and in the Re
public of Liberia, as affording a solution of the
great southern problem. He was the active sec
retary of the Vermont Colonization Society for
over twenty-five years; and, during the latter
part of his life, for a number of years, until
incapacitatd by physical infirmity and advancing
years, he was the agent of the American Colon
ization Society for Vermont, New Hampshire,
Maine and northern New York, speaking in
many pulpits, raising funds and devoting him
self to the work of the Society with characteristic
earnestness and success.
Since his death in Burlington, on October 3,
1880, a large new public school building has been
named after him, the "Converse School," and
one of the new streets of Burlington has been
named "Converse Place" in memory of him.
CHILDREN OF REV. JOHN KENDRICK AND SARAH
(ALLEN) CONVERSE.
Lizzie S. Converse (VII), born in Burling
ton, Vermont, February 26, 1835 ; died at Rose-
mont, Pennsylvania, May 15, 1891 ; unmarried;
member of the Congregational church at Bur
lington; after graduation from the Burlington

Female Seminary she devoted some years to edu
cational work, teaching in a seminary in Vir
ginia, and in her father's school ; founded a schol
arship in the University of Vermont called the
"Lizzie S. Converse Scholarship," and wrote a
memoir of her father, published by J. B. Lippin-
cott & Company, Philadelphia, in 1881.
Julia Allen Converse (VII), born in Bur
lington September 30, 1837, educated in her
father's school ; unmarried ; with her siste.r Helen
she resides in the old homestead in Burlington
which has been occupied by the family for some
fifty years, and which is the central of the three
buildings built by Bishop Hopkins for a boys'
school, and subsequently used as one of the build
ings of the Burlington Female Seminary.
Helen Christine" Converse (VII), born in
Burlington July 7, 1839, educated in her father's
school ; unmarried.
William Kendrick Converse (VII), born
in Burlington January 3, 1842; died April 27,
1844. John Heman Converse (VII), born in Bur
lington December 2, 1840 ; married, July 9, 1873,
Ehzabeth Perkins Thompson.
Charles Allen Converse (VII), born in
Burlington May 17, 1847.
Frank Kendrick Converse (VII), born in
Burlington November 4, 1849; married Abbie
Adelia Conner.
Ida Flavia Frederica _ Converse (VII),
born in Burlington August 24, 1851 ; married Dr.
George Foster Simpson.
John Heman Converse (VII). (Rev.
John Kendrick (VI), Joel (V), Thomas (IV),
Samuel (III), Sergeant Samuel (II), Deacon,
Edward (I).
Sketch of John Heman Converse, from the
"Ariel" of 1893, published by the students of the
University of Vermont.
_ Near the close of the last century Joel and
Elizabeth Converse removed from Connecticut
to Lyme, New Hampshire, where they purchased
a "bleak, hillside farm," and where was born in
1 80 1, the youngest of nine children, John Ken
drick Converse. "My parents were not poor,"
he writes in his diary, "but had not the means to
portion comfortably a large family of children;
therefore it was the custom of my father to give
them a small sum, and with this let them go out
into the world and seek, to make their fortune in

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

543

whatever pursuit they might choose. This sum,
never over two hundred dollars, was lessened by
half in case they left the parental roof before
they were of age. Accordingly, I had my choice,
and I chose to leave the farm during my minor
ity. I received a small portion from my father,
and the sum realized from a small flock of sheep,
loaned out at fair interest, brought me in fifty
dollars more. These sheep were the product of
one sheep given me in my infancy. Thus circum
stanced, I was to commence the journey of life."
He spent three years in Dartmouth College, took
his fourth year and his degree in Hampton-Sid
ney College, Virginia, pursued his theological
course in Princeton Theological Seminary, and
shortly after was settled as pastor of the Congre
gational church in Burlington. In 1834 he was
married to the daughter of Heman Allen, of the
well known and honored Vermont family of Al
iens. Of these parents was born in Burlington,
December 2, 1840, John Heman Converse, the
subject of the present sketch. He was fitted for
college at the Burlington Union high school, en
tered the University of Vermont in 1857, and
was graduated in 1861.
The class of 1861 was one of the famous
classes of the University, containing among its
well known names those of Drs. B. S. Bigelow,
W. T. Carpenter, Lund and Wood, in the medical
profession ; Butler, Elliott and Leavens in the
ministry ; Henry Ballard in law ; Kenney of the
navy ; Mammond of typewriter fame ; Bates,
George Carpenter, Converse and Norton in busi
ness ; Lucius Bigelow of the press ; Deming in
literature ; and the lamented Charles Work, in
whose early death the University lost one of the
most gifted scholars and most promising men it
has ever numbered among its graduates. In this
remarkable class Converse stood among the fore
most in general scholarship, and was recognized
both by his instructors and his classmates as hav
ing that combination of intellectual and moral
force which wins the prizes of life.
After graduating Mr. Converse was for three
years connected with the editorial department of
The Burlington Daily and Weekly Times, a jour
nal which after a brilliant career of ten years,
under the Bigelows, George and Lucius, Con
verse and Lamb (1856), was absorbed into the
Free Press and Times. Removing to Chicago in
1864, he entered the service of the Chicago and
Northwestern Railway Company, in which posi
tion he continued until January, 1866, when he
removed to Altoona, Pennsylvania, where, until
1870, he was in the employ of the Pennsylvania

Railroad Company. During this time, 1865 to
1870, the general superintendent of the Pennsyl
vania Railroad was Edward H. Williams, of the
well known Williams family of Woodstock, Ver
mont. Mr. Williams having become in 1870 one
of the proprietors of the Baldwin Locomotive
Works, of Philadelphia, secured for Mr. Con
verse a desirable position in the establishment.
In April, 1873, Mr. Converse was admitted to the
firm of Burnham, Perry, Williams & Co., of the
Baldwin Locomotive Works, which position he
holds at the present time.
The Baldwin Locomotive Works may be fit
tingly characterized as one of the few colossal
manufacturing establishments of the world, rank
ing as such with the Krupp Iron Works in Ger
many, the ship-building establishments on the
Clyde and at Barrow-in-Furness, and the Carne
gie Iron and Steel Works at Pittsburg, Pennsyl
vania. Matthias W. Baldwin, starting in life as
a jeweler, subsequently a manufacturer of tools
for calico printing and of stationary engines, be
came interested in the steam locomotive, then
first coming into use in America, and in 1832
designed and constructed the first successful
American locomotive, which was named "Old
Ironsides," and was advertised to "depart from
Philadelphia, daily, when the weather is fair,
with a train of passenger cars." Combining in a
remarkable degree inventive genius and executive
ability, Mr. Baldwin built up an establishment
which at his death, in 1866, had reached a pro
duction of one hundred and eighteen locomotives
per annum. The firm which succeeded to the
management has carried the capacity of the
works to the enormous figure of one thousand
locomotives per annum, or more than three for
every working day in the year, giving employ
ment to over five thousand men. This product
embraces from a third to a half of the entire
manufacture of locomotives in America. No
other establishment in America or Europe reaches
one-half this output. The market for this im
mense product is almost the whole civilized
world, the firm having almost a monopoly of the
export business in locomotives to Mexico, South
America, Russia, Sweden,- Norway, Australia,
the Sandwich Islands, Japan and South Africa.
The department entrusted to Mr. Converse is the
general business management as apart from the
mechanical, and, great and various as must be
the demands of the position, he meets them with
the apparent ease which betokens a complete mas
tery of the conditions of success.
It would seem that a man who has had such

544

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

heavy business responsibilities to carry would
have no time for other cares, certainly no time to
give to exacting public trusts. But this is not the
case with Mr. Converse. He is a director of the
board of city trusts of Philadelphia, in which
capacity he is one of the trustees of Girard Col
lege. He is also director of the Philadelphia
Saving Fund, the Philadelphia National Bank,
the Real Estate Trust Company of Philadelphia,
and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
He is also a trustee of the. Presbyterian Hospital
of Philadelphia, and the secretary of the board.
And Mr. Converse is not a man to content him
self with a mere nominal position on these im
portant boards. The writer of this sketch, hav
ing occasion to visit the Presbyterian Hospital in
company with Mr. Converse, found that he keeps
himself in constant communication with every de
partment of the hospital management, and there
is no reason to think that his duties in connection
with the other boards above mentioned are at
tended to less faithfully. His many contribu
tions to public objects have been most liberal.
One of the principal buildings of the Presbyterian
Hospital he erected entirely at his own expense.
His benefactions to churches, charities and vari
ous educational and civic institutions are con
stant, generous, and indicative of a large and wise
sympathy with all the progressive humanitarian
and religious movements of our day.
In his private life Mr. Converse has gathered,
around him in a quiet and modest way the luxur
ies which are congenial to a man of culture. His
lovely home at Rosemont, one of the most beauti
ful of the suburbs of Philadelphia, is also the
home of art, music, literature and genial society,
and is presided over by an amiable and accom
plished wife, who is in full sympathy with Mr.
Converse's tastes and aims. It is not quite so
difficult to conceive how a man can carry so mani
fold and serious business cares with such serene
and sunny ease, after one has seen what relaxa
tions and refreshments are available to a man of
intellectual resources, of social gifts and of do
mestic tastes.
It is well known to the alumni of the Uni
versity that Mr. Converse is a devoted son and
liberal benefactor of his alma mater. Being a
trustee of the University and intimately acquaint
ed with its needs, he has known how to make his
benefactions as wise as they have been liberal.
Besides endowing a scholarship, and making fre
quent contributions to meet special needs, he
has recently founded the "Converse Prize" for
proficiency in public debate. In order to increase

the attractions of positions on the faculty, he has,
in conection with his partner, Dr. Williams, built
and given to the University for the use of profes
sors three houses, which, for architectural beauty
and for convenience and elegance in their ap
pointments, may rank with the most atractive
modern houses. Having the feeling which Mr.
Billings so strongly held, that an'institution hav
ing such an incomparable site should make much
of the element of "material impressiveness," Mr.
Converse has taken great interest in the improve
ment of the building and grounds of the Uni
versity. In co-operation with his friend and
partner, who shares both Mr. Converse's liberal
spirit and his interest in the University, he pro
poses to erect -during the coming season, a domi-
tory building, which will be planned on the same
liberal scale and with the same regard to
attractiveness and service as all Mr. Converse's
buildings, and probably in addition thereto an
other building, the details of which have not been
decided on, but which will quite likely be a build
ing containing laboratories and lecture rooms for
the chemical and physical departments. Should
the architectural conditions be feasible, it is in
tended to provide gymnasium facilities in connec
tion with one or other of these buildings. It is
a part of Mr. Converse's plan to develop the
capabilities of the grounds east of the present
college buildings, and to have future structures
arranged in the form of a quadrangle about the
present campus, a plan which will at once com
mend itself to the artistic sense of every one fa
miliar with the landscape.
At a time when there is so much public dis
cussion respecting the worth of a liberal educa
tion to the man of affairs, and respecting the
rights, responsibilities and opportunities of
wealth, it is gratifying to the alumni of the Uni
versity to be able to -point to one of their num
ber who exemplifies, as well as any man of his
generation, at once the value of trained intellect
in extensive business affairs, ahd fidelity in the
administration of that wealth pf which, under
Providence, he has become the trustee.
In addition to the foregoing sketch from the
"Ariel," it may be of interest to add that even
as early as .his school-days, and. while in college>
Mr. Converse manifested great interest in .rail
roads, telegraphy and similar things practical.
One who was then a visitor to the family, now,
after many years, chiefly recalls the remarkable
celerity with which he was wont to start and run

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

545-

to fires when a small boy ; yet, even at that early
age his mind was occupied with deeper matters
of utility unusual in childhood ; for his principal
toy was a miniature locomotive, which he made
of wood ; during his schooldays he printed a
small newspaper, and learned to telegraph, and
was the first "sound"' operator in Vermont ; and
during his college course he became proficient in
stenography, which at that time was a rarity.
He largely paid the expenses of his college course
by vacation work as telegraph operator, railroad
clerk, teacher, or reporter, — at one time telegraph
operator at Troy, New. York; at another time
reporter in the Vermont legislature ; again freight
clerk at Waterbury, Vermont; or teacher of a
public school at Winooski.
His position on the Burlington Daily and
Weekly Times was that of business manager, but
such was his versatility that he was able to render
efficient service in any branch of the work, either
as editor, reporter, printer, telegrapher or man
ager. The "Ariel" sketch should have added that
his service on the Chicago & Northwestern Rail
road was in the office of Dr. Williams, who was
then superintendent of the Galena division. Af
ter Dr. Williams removed to Altoona, Pennsyl
vania, to take the general superintendency of the
Pennsylvania Railroad, Mr. Converse continued
in the Chicago & Northwestern Railway ser
vice in Chicago under Division Superintendent
John C. Gault (Dr. Williams' successor), until
his (Mr. Converse's) entrance into the service of
the Pennsylvania Railroad Company at Altoona,
under Dr. Williams, in 1866.
In addition to his interests mentioned in the
"Ariel," he was, during the war with Spain,
greatly interested in the. work of the National
Relief Commission, of which he is president.
That association did a great work in distributing
medicines and supplies to the soldiers and other
wise caring for them. During that war he was
also president of the Pennsylvania Sanitary Com
mission, which was referred to as follows, in the
annual message, in January, 1899, of the gov
ernor of Pennsylvania:
"On April 28, 1898, the Executive appointed
the Pennsylvania Sanitary Commission, with Mr.

John H. Converse as president, and Hon. Robert
E. Pattison as secretary. The organization was
soon after expanded into the National Relief
Commission, with Dr. M. S. French as general
secretary, and continued throughout the war to
render valuable aid, not only to the Pennsylvania
oragnizations, but to the entire army. The peo
ple of the state responded with liberal contribu
tions of money and supplies, and the agents of
the commission accompanied our troops wherever
they went. The work of this commission cannot
be too highly commended.
'Upon the breaking out of fever in military
camps the hospitals of the state volunteered to
furnish, free of charge, quarters and medical
attendance for all sick brought to them. The
Pennsylvania Sanitary Commission provided
hospital trains, and a large number of stricken
soldiers were brought from the camps and ten
derly cared for in the several hospitals. Indeed,
a number of our hospitals, at their own expense,
provided trains well equipped with cots, physi
cians, nurses and medicines, and brought the sol
diers back to Pennsylvania from their southern
hospitals. After the establishment of Camp
Meade, near Harrisburg, where 20,000 troops
were encamped, hospital trains made, for a time,
almost daily visits to the. camp to convey the fever
patients to one or the other of the hospitals.
There could not have been a finer example of
patriotism. These efforts were not limited to our
Pennsylvania troops, but every soldier, no mat
ter from what state, who needed medical treat
ment received it from generous and sympathetic
hands." Mr. Converse is one of the directors of the
Pensylvania & Northwestern Railroad, and inci
dentally has been interested in banking; and, in
addition to the financial institutions mentioned in
the "Ariel," with which he is connected, he is
a director in the Philadelphia Trust, Safe Deposit
and Insurance Company. The banks and trust
companies of which he is a director are some of
the largest and strongest in Philadelphia. The
Philadelphia Saving Fund, a beneficial institu
tion, has deposits to the extent of over fifty mil
lion dollars, and over one hundred and seventy-
five thousand separate accounts.
From 1896 to 1898 he was the president of
the Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia, which
is not only a social club, but has been an organiza-

35

546

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

tion of much weight and influence as regards
public questions of national finance and political
economy. During the time of the free silver agitation
he did good work as the president of the Sound
Money League of Pennsylvania. He is treas
urer of the Christian League of Philadelphia, of
which the object is to compel the enforcement of
the laws against vice and immorality; and is
first vice-chairman of the Philadelphia Commit
tee for the Czar's International Peace Conference,
Hon. George F. Edmunds being chairman.
He is interested also in art. He is one of the
advisory committee of the Art Association of the
Union League of Philadelphia, and it was largely
through his agency and means that Ridgeway
Knight's "Le Soir" was procured for the walls
of that club house. To the collection of paint
ings in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine
Arts, of which he is a director, he presented the
large canvas, "The Hailing of the Ferry," by
Ridgeway Knight. The Converse Medal was
founded by him in the Pennsylvania Academy of
the Fine Arts as a prize for high achievement by
American painters and sculptors. He is presi
dent of the Fairmount Park Art Association,
which has done so much to beautify Fairmount
Park with sculpture of the highest order.
The exercises over which he presided, in connec
tion with the presentation of the statue of Gar
field in Fairmount Park by that association in
1896, were the occasion of a distinguished as
semblage. As president of the Fairmount Park
Art Association, Mr. Converse also presided at
the ceremonies of the unveiling of the Grant
statue in Fairmount Park, April 27, 1899, which
was illustrated and thus described in "Harper's
Weekly" of May 6, 1899,:
A NEW STATUE OF GRANT.
A commemorative bronze statue of General
Ulysses S. Grant was unveiled in Fairmount
Park, Philadelphia, on April 27, the seventy-
seventh anniversary of the birth of the great
commander of the Union armies. President Mc
Kinley, with many distinguished officers of the
nation and state, took part in the ceremonies.
Promptly at the hour set for the departure of
the line of carriages from the Bellevue, in South
Broad street, a squad of mounted police appeared,

followed by the , First City Troop, under com
mand of Captain John C. Groome; and when1 the
start was made this troop acted as the President's
escort. The carriage containing Mr. McKinley,
John H. Converse, president of the Fairmount
Park Art Association, Secretary Gage, and Mr.
Charles C. Harrison, was drawn by four black
horses. Secretary Long and Secretary Hitch
cock, with President Thompson of the Pennsyl
vania Railroad, and President Darlington of the
Union League, occupied the carriage immediately
following. Attorney General Griggs, and Secre^
tary Cortelyou came next, and among the persons
in the other carriages who were objects of special
interest to the great crowd thronging Philadel
phia's streets were General Miles ; Admiral
Casey: Captain Clark, formerly of the Oregon;
M. Jules Cambon, the French ambassador; Cap
tain Coghlari, of the Raleigh; Daniel C. French
and E. C. Potter, sculptors of the statue; Gov
ernor Stone and his staff; and in the last section
of carriages, which was devoted to the use of
ladies and members of the reception committee,
Mrs. Grant, Mrs. McKinley and Miss Rosemary
Sartoris, General Grant's granddaughter. When
the head of the procession reached the statue a
salute of twenty-one guns was fired. A military
procession passed over the , same route half an
hour later. This was marshaled by General
. Snowden ; sailors and marines from the Raleigh,
led by Lieutenant Commander Phelps, were given '
the place of honor; then followed the First Bri
gade of the Pennsylvania National Guard, a di
vision composed of cadet commands, and repre
sentatives of the Grand Army of the Republic,
carrying battle-flags of the Civil war. The un
veiling exercises opened with a prayer by Bishop
Whitaker. Mayor Ashbridge delivered a short
address, and Mr. Converse formally presented the
statue to the commissioners of Fairmount Park.
At the conclusion of Mr. Converse's address,
Miss Sartoris mounted the steps leading to a
small platform, to which ran the cord which con
nected with the top of the red, white and blue
covering of the statute. When she pulled this
cord, and the bunting fell to the base of the
statue, two flags ran out on a line on each side, a
salute of seventeen guns was fired, and a great
cheer arose from the crowd. General Snowden
received the statue on behalf of the commission
ers, and the sculptors were introduced. ' Imme
diately after the review the President and cabinet
officers, escorted by the City Troop, dove to the
Union League Club, where they were dined by
Mr. Converse. In the evening a great audience

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

547

in the Academy of Music listened to speeches by
the President and Hampton L. Carson.
The statue is of heroic size, its height from
the bottom of the plinth to the top of the rider's
hat beig fifteen feet, one inch. Of the two artists
mentioned, Mr. French designed the figure of
Grant, and Mr. Potter designed the horse. Their
motif is a moment when Grant was surveying a
battle-field from an eminence, intent upon the
operations of his own forces and those of the
enemy. Mr. Converse's summer home at Rosemont
includes an art gallery which contains examples
of the work of some of the world's greatest
artists. Himself an amateur of music, and an
executant (as are also the members of his fam
ily), he has always been among the foremost in
efforts to promote the development of music in
Philadelphia. He was vice-president of the
Philadelphia Music Festival Association in 1883-
1885, which contributed largely to subsequent
musical advancement in that city and vicinity.
For several years he was vice-president of the
Utopian Club of Philadelphia, which was com
posed of musicians and amateurs.
From the University of Vermont he received
the degree of LL. D. in 1897. He is president of
the Alumni Association of the University of Ver»
mont, a member of the chapter in that college of
the Phi Beta Kappa Society, and a trustee of
Princeton Theological Seminary.
He has always been deeply interested in re
ligious and charitable work, devoting his time
and means thereto without stint. He has for
some years been one of the Citizens' Permanent
Relief Committee of Philadelphia, whose aim is
to relieve the distress of the poor. He has taught
a class in Sunday-school for some thirty years;
is an elder of the Presbyterian church at Bryn
Mawr, Pennsylvania, one of the trustees of that
church, and for many years president of the
board of trustees ; president of the board of
trustees of Calvary Presbyterian church, Phila
delphia; and president, in 1898-1899, of the
Presbyterian Social Union of Philadelphia. In
connection with the missionary work of Bryn
Mawr Presbyterian church he built and donated
a hospital at Miraj, India. He is a trustee of
the general assembly of the Presbyterian church ;
a member of the Presbyterian board of publica

tion ; a trustee of the Young Men's Christian As
sociation, of Philadelphia; one of the honorary
directors of the Presbyterian Historical Society;
and chairman of the Presbyterian Evangelistic
Committee of Philadelphia.
The building referred to in the "Ariel" as
having been donated by him to the Presbyterian
Hospital in Philadelphia is the large central
building called the Administration Building. The
building referred to in the "Ariel" as in contem
plation by him as a donation to the University
of Vermont was completed in 1895. It is a
handsome large dormitory building and is called
"Converse Hall." In 1899 he founded and
handsomely endowed the department of econom
ics and commerce in the University of Vermont.
He was for several years president of the
New England Society of Pennsylvania, and vice-
president for Pennsylvania of the National As
sociation of " Manufacturers, an organization
whose object is to develop the foreign commerce
of this country.
The public interest in addresses by him on
"Citizenship and Technical Education," deliv
ered at Lehigh University on Founders' Day in
1896, and on "The Twentieth Century Uni
versity" at the University of Vermont, before the
alumni, in 1898, led to their publication, and they
have attracted considerable attention, especially
among educators.
In addition to his membership in the organ
izations of which he is an officer, hereinbefore
specified, he is a member of the following : The
Bryn Mawr Citizens' Association (and president
of same) ; the Neighbors' Club of Wynnewood,
Hayeford, Bryn Mawr; and vicinity (and ex-
president of same) : the Free Library of Eco
nomics and Political Science of Philadelphia;
the American Academy of Political and Social
Science; the American Forestry Association; the
American Philosophical Society; the Historical
Society of Pennsylvania ; the Vermont Historical
Society; the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia;
the Union League of Philadelphia; the Art Club
ot Philadelphia ; the Manufacturers' Club of
Philadelphia ; the University Club of Philadel
phia ; the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia ; In
dian Rights Association ; the New England So
ciety of Pennsylvania ; Pennsylvania Horticult
ural Society; the Geographical Society of Phila-

548

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

delphia ; the Philadelphia Country Club ; the Rad
nor Hunt ; the Vermont Antiquarian Society ; the
Philadelphia Society of the Archaeological Insti
tute of America; the University Archaeological
Association ; the Lake Champlain Yacht Club ; the
Merion Cricket Club ; the Pennsylvania Society
Sons of the Revolution ; the Sons of the Ameri
can Revolution in Vermont.
The following sketch is from the May n,
1899, issue of The Presbyterian Journal of Phila
delphia: MR. JOHN II. CONVERSE.
We are gratified to be able to place on out-
front page the portrait of Mr. John H. Converse,
the president of the Presbyterian Social Union of
Philadelphia. Mr. Converse is one of the most
esteemed citizens of Philadelphia. He has quietly
and by force of character put himself in the front
rank of the. honored and trusted men of whom
Philadelphia is proud.
Mr. Converse is a fine specimen of sterling
New England stock, a native of the Green Moun
tain state, and the son of a minister.
He was educated in the University of Ver
mont and has received the degree of Doctor of
Laws from his alma mater. His early life was
spent in Burlington, Vermont. He was a dili
gent student, and devoted himself for a time to
journalism. Being a ready shorthand writer, his
services were appreciated by the legislature of
his native state, and, in this limited field, he did
good foundation work.
But the coming man soon threw off the re
straints of such local service. The man destined
for so much more important work soon became
restless in such environments and, taking Gree
ley's advice, went west. Dr. Edward H. Will
iams, another honored son of Vermont, who
knew and valued Mr. Converse, was already
prominent in railroad affairs in the west. The
career of Mr. Converse is very considerably
linked to the fortunes of Dr. Williams, and the
two men are close confiding friends. Mr. Con
verse first found a start in Chicago. Whatever
his hands found to do he did with his might.
The value of Dr. Williams as a railroad manager
was soon discovered by the Pennsylvania Rail
road, and he was. put in charge of affairs at Al
toona. Ever mindful of the capacity and worth
of his young friend, Dr. Williams induced Mr.
Converse to turn his face east again. It was not
without a struggle that he decided to leave Chi

cago, thinking that- he would have a better chance
in the. west. But his conscience determined his
course at this critical moment, as always, and he
began the movement that was to bring him suc
cess. Later Dr. Williams found his crowning
triumph in his connection with the Baldwin Lo
comotive Works. And, following the lead that
has proved so successful, Mr. Converse was soon
applying his remarkable energy, and all the fine
qualities of his character, to the wonderful de
velopment of this powerful corporation. For
twenty-five years he has been the determining
spirit of this magnificent enterprise. Fortune
has forced itself upon the man. He has constant
ly scattered with a liberal hand, and his fortune
has grown as by magic. He is the master of
money, and has never allowed money to master
him. While other men have dreamed of gener
ous purposes, after so many millions have been
accumulated, Mr. Converse has seemed deter
mined to be his own executor. Nobody talks
about the millions he may be worth, everybody .
recognizes his lavish generosity. He seems to
take no thought about accumulation, but seeks"
opportunity to be helpful to every good cause.
As a citizen he is universally appreciated;
financial institutions are anxious to have the use
of his good name and the advantage of his good
judgment. The Philadelphia City Trust, recog
nizing his integrity, has claimed him as a mem
ber. In every movement, for the public good or
for the public honor, the co-operation of Mr.
Converse, is sought. But none of these things
that his character draw's to him seem to excite
any ambition for per sonaL preferment.
Mr. Converse is not the sort of man that poli
ticians are looking for, and he is not the sort of
man that stops to consider the favor of those who
determine office-holders. There may come a
landslide some of these days that will give a
patient public the luxury of seeing such a man
in some place of honor, long disgraced by little
politicians, but it will be a divine Providence,
rather than a human purpose, when it comes.
It is refreshing to find men great enough not to
seek their own glory, just great in goodness and
in true worth.
As a loyal, faithful, generous churchman,
Mr. Converse is pre-eminent. He is a thorough
Presbyterian, but will help any Christian enter
prise. His hand is never off his purse. Plenty
of schemes of doubtful desert impose upon his
generosity. But. any poor minister, any poor
church, any poor Christian can share what the

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

549

Lord gives him. As a university man he is
keenly awake to all educational projects.
The Presbyterian Hospital is greatly loved
and favored by Mr. Converse. He is a trustee
in this institution and for many years has acted
as its secretary. He devotes himself to the de
tails of hospital work with as much diligence as
he shows in his own business affairs. The beau
tiful administration building was his gift, and
he is constantly seeking the success of this
benevolent institution.
Other institutions have shared bountifully in
his benevolence, and missionaries in heathen
lands are supported by him.
But the man is better than his abilities or his
gifts. In the quiet walks of life he wins his
friends and makes his friendships by the true
heart-throbs that reveal the secrets of influence
and success. Any man is favored who has the
confidence and friendship and gentle fellowship
of John H. Converse.
The following reference to him in the Decem
ber 27, 1898, issue of The Philadelphia Call is
part of an article on prominent citizens of the
Quaker City, entitled "Philadelphia Million
aires :"
Associated in the management of the Bald
win Locomotive Works are at least four mil
lionaires, three of whom began life as clerks and
have risen by sheer ability and character. Their
names are William C. Henszey, John H. Con
verse, George Burnham and Dr. E. H. Williams.
Burnham, who is the head of the establishment
to-day. was one of the original young men as
sociated with Mathias W. Baldwin, the founder
of the enterprise, and after the death of the lat
ter established the firm name of Burnham, Will
iams & Company. Dr. Williams graduated from
the University of Vermont, and started life as
an engineer on a small railroad in New England.
Since he has acquired wealth, he has developed
into a great traveler.
The most interesting figure in this group,
and one of the most thoroughly self-developed
men in the United States, is John H. Converse
who is likewise a graduate of the University of
Vermont, and started life just as did Dr. Will
iams, in the great railroad shops at Altoona. He
has been president of the New England Society
and of the Manufacturers' Club, is a patron of
the fine arts, and probably the best after-dinner
sneaker in the Quaker City Art lovers will re
member him as the donor of Ridgeway Knight s

famous picture "Calling the Ferry" to the Phil
adelphia Academy. He is far and away the
most prominent personality in the town since the
death of George W. Childs.
The following sketch of him appeared in The
Philadelphia Press of May 14, 1899 :
John H. Converse, philanthropist and man of
business. — Personal side of one of the leading
Citizens of Philadelphia, who is foremost in
seeking the good of the city and the welfare
of its people.
Fifth series of "Men Who Are Prominent in
Affairs of City and State."
It is difficult to say how John H. Converse,
of Philadelphia, is most widely known, as one
of the heads of the great Baldwin Locomotive
Works, as a philanthropist, or as a Presbyterian.
In each he stands at the forefront. In each
he has won fame. He is to-day one of the active,
hardworking, wealthy Philadelphians, identified
with most of the great movements, either for
bettering the city or helping its people.
If the place of his birth were to be of impor
tance in the study of his character, we should
describe him as a Yankee, for he was born in
Burlington, Vermont, fifty-nine years ago, De
cember 2, 1840. If climate and early environ
ments had a determining influence upon his
character, it would be fair to assume that his
New England birth was responsible for that
thrift without greed, that frugality without par
simony, which has marked his career.
It is safe to assume, and those who have
known him longest say it for him, that he was
never a bad boy. He was not too good, however,
to play pranks in his early school days, and he
always insisted and fought for his rights in those
days, as he has since.
He was studious and well prepared in his
lessons, rather than brilliant, and never allowed
a problem to conquer him if patience and inflex
ible determination could enable him to master it.
After the usual preparatory course, Mr. Con
verse was admitted to the freshman class in the
University of Vermont in 1857, and he was grad
uated from that institution in 1861.
During his college life, he paid more atten
tion to the practical things in the course of study
than to the merely ornamental. He took special
delight in mechanical drawing, and during his
four years at the university learned to be an
expert stenographer, when' stenograph}- was a
much more unusual study than it is to-day.

55o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

To these two elements in his rudimental edu
cation, he probably owed the determination of
his future life work, and to them, in a measure,
Philadelphia is indebted for his business and
philanthropic life.
Mr. Converse set out to make a career for
himself at once. His first ambition was to be
come the maker of a great newspaper, and he
accordingly became a journalist.
Mr. Converse is too modest to talk about
himself, and he leaves us to infer that what he
did in that direction was done with conscientious
care, but circumstances induced him to give up
editorial work after a period of three years. He
was an editorial writer on The Burlington
Weekly and Daily Times from 1861 to 1864,
when he received an inducement to enter one of
the departments of the Chicago & Northwestern
Railway with an office at Chicago.
Although Mr. Converse possessed literary at
tainments of a marked character, his new em
ployment was more suited to his temperament
and disposition, and to those qualities of mind
which have made his business career so signally
successful. It was about the time that Josiah Penham
was making the effort to build the railroad from
Lake.- Superior to Puget Sound, which) subse
quently developed into the Northern Pacific
Railroad, that Mr. Converse entered the North
western road's employ. It was a good time to
study railroading in the west, and he made good
use of its advantages to learn a good deal about it.
He remained in Chicago for two years, dis
playing decided ability, and,, had he remained in
the west, probably would have been one of the
prominent figures in the organization of the
great systems of railroad which have since
grown to such magnitude in the northwest. Mr.
E. H. Williams, who had come out of New Eng
land also, and had known Mr. Converse in his
school days, and who had observed his talent,
had become general superintendent of the Penn
sylvania Railroad. He needed just such a man
as Mr. Converse with him and accordingly wrote
out to Chicago and offered him an important
position. At that time Mr. Converse had made up his
mind that .his field of work was in the west,
and. notwithstanding- a very strong inclination
to be with Mr. Williams, he decided to decline
the offer and so wrote to that gentleman. Over
night, however, Mr. Converse fortunately
changed his mind and alsd his determination.

He telegraphed Mr. Williams to disregard the
contents of the letter.
Thus the business association of these two
men who have ever since been closely allied, be
gan,' and has culminated in their joint control
and management of the Baldwin Locomotive
Works. As Mr. George H. Burnham and Mr.
Williams "have of late years given up much of
their' active work in the firm, Mr. Converse has
become practically the head of the concern.
He remained four years with the Pennsyl
vania Railroad, and was in the way of becoming
one of the leading spirits of that gigantic corpo
ration, when Mr. Williams retired from his po
sition and was admitted into the firm which
controlled the Baldwin establishment. Mr.
Williams at once induced Mr. Converse to, ac
cept a post of great responsibility in the works,
and the way was thus open for that advance^,
ment which has given him a place among the
financial and industrial leaders of the country.
Naturally Mr. Conyerse has become the pos
sessor of large wealth, which he dispenses largely
in work of philanthropy and benevolence. Hisj
business talents and his financial wisdom are not
confined in their operation to the management of
the department of the Baldwin Works, which is
his special charge. He is a director in the Phil
adelphia National Bank, the Philadelphia Trust
Company, the Pennsylvania and Northwestern
Railroad Company, the Real Estate Trust Com
pany, of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia
Saving Fund.
All these offices receive his active and
constant attention, and are by no means merely
an indication of honor. It would seem such
heavy business responsibilities are more than one
could well carry, but Mr. Converse brings to
them a well trained mind and a wonderful apti'
tude in the conduct of financial matters.
Mr. Converse is a modest man, While he
would shrink from no public duty which oc
casion might demand of him, he would be re
pelled by the necessary publicity in connection
with it. His is not a mockish modesty.
"He is," remarked one of his business asso
ciates, "a true man, a most sincere man, in ear
nest in whatever he does."
One gets an impression of this from him al
most at sight. His eyes look at you with force.
You see character and candor there, sternness at
times, but never without reason. He is direct in
speech, deliberate in his manner.
His forehead is high and although not unus-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

55i

ually broad, gives one an idea of power and
great capacity for mental work. The nose is
prominent, the mouth rather large, with a very
full underlip. His head is well poised, and the
physique and general bearing of the man is of
one who is self-contained, sure of himself, toler
ant but firm.
His mouth, when you come to look at it
closely, impresses you with that rare combina
tion of a. strong will, but a tolerant disposition.
His judgment upon matters is deliberate and
always sound. It is to the possession of this
quality that he owes his business success and the
confidence of his associates.
Said a distinguished professional friend of
his : "I can rely' almost implicitly upon Mr.
Converse's judgment. I fancy that I have a
pretty strong mind of my own, but I should
very seriously consider a course, in business or
in other affairs, in opposition to a conclusion
reached by him. In a long and close personal
relation with him I have scarcely ever known
him to be wrong in judgment."
Mr. Converse rarely if ever jumps at a con
clusion. He examines every phase of a ques
tion, looks at it from every possible standpoint,
and turns it over carefully in his mind. He
never says that he knows a thing as a matter
of fact until he is absolutely sure of it. This is
as true in small matters as in more important
ones. No detail is too trifling for him to look at.
The failure to keep an engagement, and that
promptly, without the most sufficient cause is a
cardinal sin in Mr. Converse's eyes. I quote
another friend of his :
"Mr. Converse never broke an engagement
in his life which it was possible to keep. I am
quite sure of this. If he should tell me six
months in advance that he would meet me at the
corner of a certain street in London, say on a
certain day at a certain hour, I should find him
there as sure as he was alive and able to get
there, or a messenger from him explaining why
he could not come. The importance of the en
gagement or the non-importance of it would not
be considered by him."
There is another characteristic trait of Mr.
Converse. He never forgets about a business
statement. Indeed^ he rarely ever forgets about
any matter of fact that he ever had knowledge
of. To remind him of a thing which he had
agreed to or had not agreed to, or was an essen
tial thing in any way, and have him say, "I for
got," would astonish any intimate friend of his.

He takes careful note of all business affairs,
church affairs or home affairs, when necessary,
but those things which he does not make a
memorandum of he stows away neatly and con
clusively in his memory, as though it had been
put on his calendar.
But, withal, Mr. Converse can be stubborn;
not an obstinate stubbornness, but with an al
most inflexible belief in his own opinion. He
is by no means an unreasonable man, and is
open to argument, and when convinced of an
error, will frankly confess it, "But," re
marked one of his most uncompromising ad
mirers : "He is dreadfully hard to convince
when he has once made up his mind, probably
due to the fact that he thinks out his conclusions
more carefully than most men."
He is a devout Presbyterian, deeply relig
ious, charitable, generous. He has probably
given half a million dollars to his church and to
others, and to broad schemes of philanthropy.
He has given not only much of his money to
the Presbyterian Hospital, but devotes much of
his time to it.
He has given largely to his alma mater — the
Lmiversity of Vermont. Being a trustee of the
university and intimately acquainted with its
needs, he has known how to make his benefac
tions as wise as they have been liberal. Besides
endowing a scholarship and making frequent
contributions to meet special needs, he has
founded "the Converse Prize" for proficiency in
public debate.
In co-operation with his ' friend and partner,
Dr. Williams, who shares Mr. Converse's liberal
spirit and his interest in the university, he has
has erected for the university a number of build
ings, which, for architectural beauty and com
pleteness, rank with the most attractive of mod
ern houses. The structures thus erected include
a number of dwellings for the use of professors,
a student's dormitory building, and a building
which contains the laboratories and lecture
rooms for the chemical and physical depart
ments. In 1897 the University of Vermont con
ferred upon him the honorary degree of LL.D.
But Mr. Converse is not sectarian in his be
nevolence. He is one of the most liberal con
tributors to charity organized and otherwise of
the very rich men of this city.
An illustration of the quickness and sponta
neity of his response to appeals to his generosity
is a case which occurred recently. A friend wrote
to him of a work he was engaged in, merely men-

552

THE STATE OF VERMONT.'

tioning it as a matter of news, and with no
thought of appealing to him for help, because
he had but recently subscribed for a similar ob
ject. Mr. Converse at once sent him a check for
one hundred dollars. As the arrangement to
meet the case had been completed before the
check arrived, the check was returned with
thanks and an explanation. He at once remailed
it with instruction to apply it to the next best
thing in the same direction. Having once de
voted the money to the cause, he would not take
it back. Mr. Converse in domestic life is such a man
as one would expect to find in the home of such
a man. He would be out of place as a first-
nighter at the theatre, and his tastes do not run
in that direction. He is, however, fond of
music, and is an excellent performer on the violin.
In his private life he has gathered about him
in a quiet and modest way the luxuries which are
congenial to a man of culture. In his home, art,
music, literature and genial society abound. His
accomplished wife is in full sympathy with him
in taste and aims.
He is a loving, sincere and artless man among
his friends. His attachments are strong and his
circle of friends is large. He has two daughters
and one son, the latter a student at Princeton
College. In the popular meaning of the term, Mr. Con
verse is not interested in politics. That is to
say, he is not attracted either by the political
methods which are potent in shaping our public
affairs, or by some of the products of them. It
is probable that he does not regard with any de
gree of complacency the use of his name by mere
politicians who might desire only the use of a
good name to trick reform; but it is not unrea
sonable to suppose that he has enough human
nature in his make-up to cause him to look not
unkindly upon that other influence , which has
often picked him out as one of the very best types
of Philadelphia's public-spirited citizens, when
propriety and fitness are to be regarded in the
selection of men for high positions.
No man is insensible to this kind of tribute
from his fellow men, and Mr. Converse values
the esteem and confidence of neighbors and
friends just as he valued the good opinion of his
employers when he was making his way in life.
In the company of men who have sought to
remedy some of the evils of our municipal gov
ernment, he has worked for better men and better
principles in the conduct of the city's affairs. He
was a supporter and contributor to the old Com

mittee of One Hundred and of the Committee
of Fifty, and other kindred organizations; but
his aid has been given for his city, not for him
self. As a Republican of strong connections he
has always supported that party in its national
progress; he has probably not always been able
to follow it in local and state contests. Mr. Con
verse is not a fluent talker, but in business coun
cils he can express himself with great clearness
and effect, and in his semi-public capacity as one
of the members of the board of city trusts, he has
shown an aptness in discussion which suggests
that he would be a good speech maker if he cared
to try. He was elected a member of the trust in
1889, and is now serving as chdirman of the com
mittee. He has had charge of all the Girard es
tates within the city, and takes a deep interest in
the incomparable institution founded by that other
great Philadelphia business man — Stephen Gir
ard. Recently he was transferred to the post of
chairman of the household committee.
It is not surprising that he should be a mem
ber of the Fairmount Park Art Association. He
is fond of art, and has a fine gallery of rare
pictures in his country home at Rosemont;. and
he regards the beautification of the park as a
duty which every man of means and influence
should interest himself in.
He is a trustee of the Presbyterian Hospital,
and is secretary of the board. It is characteristic
of Mr. Converse that he personally attends to
all of the details of that position. He keeps the
accounts himself, writes with his own hand
every letter necessary to be written, and will al
low no one else to do so. This is in keeping with
his policy in the conduct of his own business, his
scrupulous care in seeing that the little things
are looked after with as much certainty as the
large affairs.
He is also one of the most industrious and
enthusiastic of the trustees of the University Ex
tension Association and of the Academy of Fine
Arts. It will be readily recalled that he was the
president of the National Relief Association dur
ing the recent war with Spain, and in that posi
tion rendered services for which Jhe has received
the thanks of the country. A caitalogue of the
positions he holds in those enterprises in which
men lend their brains and their bank account for
the bettering of the condition of their fellows
would be a long one.
It can readily be imagined, then, that he has

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

553

become known as one of Philadelphia's very first
citizens, and one toward whom public attention
frequently gravitates when the hope of something-
better arid purer in our public affairs lifts up its
head. A simple, worthy, broad-minded citizen ; a
sincere but never an ostentatious Christian; a
man of truth" and stern virtue; a generous dis
penser of much of the large means Providence
has enabled him to accumulate, to those who need
it and deserve it. Such is John H. Converse.
The world is better for having such men in it.
He was married in Brooklyn, New York,
July 9, 1873, by Rev. Dr. Heman Dyer, to Eliza
beth Perkins Thompson, daughter of Professor
James Thompson (Professor in the Western
University, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and later
of Altoona, Pennsylvania, and Lewiston, Penn
sylvania) , and Mary Johnson Bishop, daughter of
Daniel Lathrop Bishop, of New York.
Mrs. Converse, also, has been much engaged
in benevolent work. Since 1888 she has been
the treasurer of the Depository and Philadelphia
Exchange for Woman's Work. She is one of
the vice presidents of the Ladies' Aid of the Pres
byterian Hospital and one of the working mem
bers of the Civic Club of Philadelphia, a woman's
organization whose object is the improvement of
the economic, sanitary and political conditions of
the city. She is also a member of the New Cen
tury Club of Philadelphia, the Contemporary
Club of Philadelphia, the Geographical Society
of Philadelphia, and the Pennsylvania Society of
Colonial Dames.
CHILDREN OF JOHN HEMAN ASfD ELIZABETH :
Mary Eleanor Converse (VIII), born in Phil
adelphia April 10, 1877; graduated at Bryn
Mawr College in 1898.
John Williams Converse (VIII), born in
Philadelphia March 30, 1879; a student at
Princeton University in class of 1900.
Helen Prentis Converse (VIII), born in
Philadelphia July 26, 1880 ; a student at Bryn
Mawr College in class of 190 1. In her early
youth she was much given to composition, and
a short story written by her entitled "The Iron
Virgin of Nuremberg" was published in 1893.
Colonel Charles Allen Converse
(VII),— Rev. John Kendrick (VI), Joel (V),

Thomas (IV), Samuel (III), Sergeant Samuel
(11), Deacon Edward ( 1 ) ,— born in Burlington,
Vermont, May 17, 1847 > fitted for college at the
Burlington Union high school, which he left in
March, 1863, before graduation to enter the ser
vice of the Rutland Railroad Company at Bur
lington , as accountant in the freight office during
the agency of R..W. Chase. After a few months
he relinquished this work in order to become the
teller of the Bank of Burlington, and afterwards
teller of the First National Bank of Burlington,
which superseded the former bank at the time
. when the national banks were instituted. In the
fall of 1865 he resigned his position in the bank
to enter the University of Vermont, from which
he graduated in 1869, receiving the degree of A.
B. and admission to the Phi Beta Kappa, having
largely worked his way through college by vaca
tion work as a telegraph operator, stenographer
and newspaper reporter, viz: On the Chicago
& Northwestern Railroad at Geneva, Illinois,
and Dixon, Illinois, during the winter of 1865-
66; in general superintendent's office. Pennsyl
vania Railroad, at Altoona, Pennsylvania, during
the winter of 1866-67 ! on the line of the North
Western Telegraph Company at St. Paul, Minne
sota, Watertown, Wisconsin,' and LaCrosse, Wis
consin, during the winter of 1867-68 ; night press
operator, Burlington, winter of 1868-69 '< m
Western Union Telegraph office,- Saratoga, in
summer of 1869; and temporarily for the Bur
lington Daily Times at varibus times. In the
University of Vermont he was a member of the
Lambda Iota fraternity.
He was in the service of the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company at Blairsville, Pennsylvania,
during 1870 as chief operator, West Pennsylvania
division of telegraph. From October, 1870, till
November, 1886, he was in the service of the
Vermont Central Railroad and the Central Ver
mont Railroad Company at St. Albans, Vermont,
as secretary to general freight agent, secretary to
general superintendent traffic, chief clerk general
freight office, general manager's secretary and
assistant superintendent local freight traffic, con
secutively. He resigned the latter position in
, ¦¦ November, 1886, to engage in a lumber operation
in Pennsylvania as junior partner of the firm of
Nichols & Converse of Philadelphia. Upon the
completion of that work in September, 1888, and

554

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

the dissolution of that partnership, he became the
secretary of the de Kosenko & Hetherington
Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia, manu
facturers of gas and electric fixtures, and was
secretary and treasurer of same from September,
1895, until the sale of its plant to a new company
in September, 1897. Since then he has been en
gaged in the office of the Baldwin Locomotive
"Works, Philadelphia.
He was aide-de-camp to the governor of Ver
mont on his military staff, with rank of colonel,
in 1896, 1897 and 1898, having previously been
connected with the Vermont National Guard
from 1872 to 1882 as a member of the Ransom
Guard of St. Albans. He was vice president of
Arbor Vitae Club, St. Albans, 1878; member
Owl Club, St. Albans, 1885-1886; honorary mem
ber of the Association of General Freight Agents
of New England, 1878- 1886; member of the
Canadian Association of General Freight Agents,
1884-1886; director Central Vermont Railroad
Library Association, 1885 ; high priest Cham
plain Chapter No. 1, R. A. M., St. Albans, 1886-
1887; district deputy grand high priest, 1886-
1887; member Englesby Lodge No. 84, F. & A.
M., St. Albans, and Lafayette , Commandery No.
3, K. T., St.. Albans ; member of the Art Club of
Philadelphia, the Union League Club of Phila
delphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania,
the Geographical Society of Philadelphia, the
Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, the Bryn
Mawr (Pennsylvania) Presbyterian church, the
Presbyterian Social Union of Philadelphia, the
Lake Champlain Yacht Club, the Merion Cricket
Club at Haverford, Pennsylvania, the New Eng
land Society of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania So
ciety Sons of the Revolution, Vermont Society
Sons of the Anierican Revolution ; the Society of
Colonial Wars in the State of Vermont, and one
of the Gentlemen of the Council of the last named
society in 1897 and 1898.
Frank Kendrick Converse (VII), —
Rev. John Kendrick (VI), Joel (V),
Thomas (IV), Samuel (III), Sergeant Samuel
(II), Deacon Edward (1), — born in Burlington,
Vermont, November 4, 1849 ; married, in Brook
lyn, New York, July 17, 1871, by Rev. Mr. Bond,
to Abbie Adelia Conner, who was born in Bur
lington September 27, 1854, and is the daughter
of Charles Adams and Anna Aurelia (Jones)

Conner, of Shelburne, Vermont. She is a mem
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church of Bur
lington. Frank Kendrick Converse is a farmer
at Charlotte, Vermont. The location of his farm
on the shore of Lake Champlain lends much
natural beauty to its environment. 
Children: Sarah Allen Converse" (VIII),
born in Burlington September 10, 1874 ; attended
the Burlington public schools, and after finishing • ;/,„.
at the Burlington Union high school in 1894,
spent a year at Miss Underwood's private school
in Burlington. She was married, October 8,
1902, to Edgar Lane Leavenworth, formerly of
Charlotte, now western representative of the
Proctor Marble Company, in Indianapolis, In
diana. Bessie Helena Converse (VIII), born in
Burlington June 7, 1877; attended the public
schools in Burlington until 1889, after which she
was a student at Miss Underwood's school, and " '0;
finished at Miss Barker's private school in Bur
lington in 1897. ' .'"•-
Ida Flavia Fredica Converse (VII)', —
(Rev. John Kendrick (VI), Joel (V), Thomas
(IV), Samuel (III), Sergeant Samuel (II),
Deacon Edward (I),— born in Burlington, Ver
mont, August 24, 1851, educated at the Burling
ton Female Seminary; married in Burlington,
September 30, 1874, by Rev. John Kendrick Con
verse, to George Foster Simpson, M. D., of Fort
Edward, New York. He was born in Montreal,
Province of Quebec, June 21, 1847, and *s the
son of George F. Simpson and Mrs. Harriet
(Town) Simpson. He was educated at the Fort
Edward Collegiate Institute, and graduated from
the medical department of the University of Ver
mont in 1873. x He commenced the practice of
medicine at Saddle River, New Jersey, in 1873 ;
practiced in Newton, New Jersey, from Febru
ary, 1875, to September, 1879, and since the lat
ter date in North Adams, Massachusetts, where
he now resides. He is practitioner for the states
of New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts,
having passed examinations and been registered
in each of these states. From February 1, 1896,
to February 1, 1898, he was chairman of the
board of health of the city of North Adams, and
has been chairman of the Homeopathic staff of
the North Adams Hospital since its opening in
1884.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

555

THOMAS S. DRAKE.
Owing to the length of his residence and the
large variety of pursuits that have claimed his
attention, as well as his prominence and influence
in the social, political and business life of the com
munity, the gentleman above named is a person
ality of more than usual interest. In as much
as his career covers more than two-thirds of the
nineteenth century, it will readily become ap
parent that Mr. Drake Was an observer, of or
participant in many of the most important events
of his state and nation for more than two gen
erations. He was born while Andrew Jackson
was serving his first term as president. He was
seventeen years old when the United States de
clared war against Mexico. He watched and
waited the turn of events, during the great drama .
of the Civil war and was still in active business
when Uncle Sam was compelled to "call down"
Spain for her conduct toward little Cuba. It is.
safe to say that the men who took in the whole
panorama from 1850 up to date have seen the
, greatest half century of the whole history and this
has been a privilege enjoyed by Mr. Drake.
Like so many other Vermonters he comes of the
Massachusetts stock, his ancestors for generations
having been natives of that ancient common
wealth. His grandfather, Thomas Drake, lived
at Easton, which is a town in Bristol county, and
was engaged in farming until his death, which
occurred at Charlestown, Massachusetts, in the
early part of the nineteenth century. He had
eight children, equally divided as to sons and
daughters, and the family was remarkable for
longevity, as all of them lived to be over eighty
years of age. Solomon Drake, one of the elder
sons, was born at Easton, Massachusetts, July 4,
1780, and came to Bristol, Vermont, in 1805. In
the course of time he became an extensive land
owner and a man of influence in his community,
holding the offices of selectman, constable and
treasurer at different periods for many years. He
was a deacon" in the Baptist church and quite pros
perous in business, having surplus money with
which he often accommodated needy borrowers.
Shortly after coming to Bristol he married Cy-
linda Scott, a native of the place and one of fif
teen children born to her parents, being a daughter
of Amos Scott. By her marriage with Solomon

Drake she had ten children, of whom seven grew
to maturity, but the only one now living is the
subject of this sketch. The mother-died in 1876,
but the father lived to an extreme age, being
considerably over ninety-five years old when the
last summons reached him, January 6, 1776.
Thomas S. Drake was born on his father's
farm near Bristol, Vermont, April 15, 1829. He
grew up in the usual manner of Vermont boys,
attending school during the winters and helping
with the work at home during the vacation sea
sons, which in those days were much longer than
now. After living on a farm some time, but de
siring a mercantile life, he purchased a genaral
store in partnership with William Dunshee, but
after prosecuting this business seven years he dis
posed of his interest and took up hardware. This,
too, after being carried on two years was sold to
his nephews and after that Mr. Drake was chiefly
absorbed by his real estate and box-board inter
ests. But he had "many other irons in the fire,"
as they say in Vermont, being one of the. busiest
as well as one of the most enterprising citizens in
the county. Among the enterprises that engaged
his attention may be mentioned the electric light
plant, of which he is manager, treasurer and
secretary, and the building of houses. In con
nection with the Far brothers, he erected the
block opposite the hotel in Bristol, which is
known by his name, and during all these
activities in town he kept up his farming to some
extent. In 1877 he was elected a director of the
National Bank of Vergennes, being the only sur
vivor of the board then chosen, and in 1898 was
made president of this institution, which position
he has since retained.
In 1849 Mr. Drake was married to Sarah
Ellen, daughter, of Bela Eldridge, an early set
tler of New Haven, Addison' county, and the only
one of his three children now living. They have
had three children, all daughters, and but one of
these survives. Ella, the eldest daughter, now de
ceased, married Charles D. Mathison, by whom
she had two sons, Fred S. and Williard, both of
whom work in the box shop of Drake, Smith &
Company. Fred S. married Emma Duprey and
has a daughter named Ella. Meriam D., Mr.
Drake's living daughter, is the wife of Col.' Els-
worth Lawrence, a traveling salesman for an east
ern mercantile house, and has three children :

556

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Philip D., Dorothy* D., and Spencer D. Mr.
Drake's other daughter, Genevieve, died at the
age of eleven. Mr. Drake's political predilections
are Republican and his religious affiliations are
with the Baptist church. He has often been
called on by his fellow citizens to fill offices of
trust and profit, and his long retention in the same
places affords ample evidence of the fidelity with
which he discharged his duties and also the confi
dence reposed in him by the voters. He was long a
selectman and lister, and for many years was
chairman of both boards. Commencing in 1866,
he was elected for two consecutive years to repre
sent his town in the legislature, and performed
this service with the same conscientiousness that
has characterized his discharge of all duties,
whether public or private.
JOHN B. DUBUC.
The independent spirit, enterprise, industry
and determination so essential to the successful
career in connection with any vocation or any
phase of human endeavor are possessed in an emi
nent degree by the subject of this sketch, who is
one of the representative citizens and leading
business men of the town of Shelburne, Chitten
den county, where' he inaugurated his business
career in a most modest way a third of a century
ago, being a young man still in his 'teens when
he thus took up his abode in the town and set
valiantly to work to gain for himself a position of
independence and to win the confidence and re
spect of the people among whom he had chosen
to cast in his lot. He is the sole blacksmith of the
village, where he has been consecutively engaged
in the work of his trade since the early date noted,
and he now conducts not only a successful enter
prise in this line, but is also engaged in the hand
ling of wagons and carriages, agricultural im
plements, etc., and controls a trade which is of
representative order and which ramifies through
out the section of which the town is the normal
supply center. His life has been one of earnest
and consecutive application and he has ever com
manded the esteem and good will of the communi
ty in which he has so long maintained his home.
Mr. Dubuc comes of stanch old French line
age, the original spelling of the name having been
DuBuque, and he is a native of the province of

Quebec, Canada, having been born in the parish
of St. Remi, on the 7th of October, 1851. His
father, Joseph Dubuc, was born in St. Isador, that
province, son of Joseph Dubuc, Sr., who was born
in France, whence he emigrated to Canada when
a young man, locating in one of the French
parishes of the province of Quebec and there en
gaged in agricultural pursuits. He passed the
remainder of his life in that province and attained
the patriarchal age of ninety-two years. His son
and namesake was reared on the parental farm
and he likewise continued to be identified with
agriculture in his native province until called from
the scene of life's activities, in March, 1889, at
the age of seventy-seven years. He married
Euphemia Garand, who was born in St. Remi,
Quebec, and who died in 1899, at the age of
eighty-four years, both she and her husband hav
ing been life-long communicants and devoted
members of the Catholic church, in whose faith
they reared their children. They became the
parents of eight sons and seven daughters, and of
this number eight are still living, namely : Joseph,
who is a resident of Winnipeg, Canada, and who
holds. a life appointment as a judge on the king's
bench; Isaac, who is engaged in the furniture
business at Winooski, Vermont; Alphonse, who
is engaged in the grocery business in the same
place ; Evarest, who is a blacksmith in that town ;
John B., the immediate subject of this sketch;
Azinord, who is a farmer in Winnipeg, Canada ;
Cordelia, who has been a nun of the Catholic
church for the past twenty years ; and Eugene,
a blacksmith in St. Anne, Manitoba. Three of
Joseph's sons became lawyers and three daughters
were nuns.
John B. Dubuc remained at the parental home
until he had attained the age of fifteen years, his
early educational discipline having been secured
in the excellent parochial schools. At the age
noted, when but a lad, he started out in life on his
own responsibility, and has ever since been de
pendent upon his own resources, so that he is
well deserving of the proud American title of
self-made man. He served a thorough apprentice
ship at the blacksmith trade, securing his train
ing in this line at Burlington and Warren, Ver
mont, having courageously made his way to this
state upon leaving the parental roof. In 1869,
when eighteen years of age, he came to Shel-,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

557

burne and here established himself in an indepen
dent business by opening a blacksmith shop on the
site of his present headquarters, where he has ever
since conducted operations. He began operations
upon a capital of fifty-five dollars, but he threw
the entire power of his strong and resourceful
nature into his work, never slighting his duties
and soon gaining the confidence and good will of
the community, so that his patronage became
cumulative and enabled him to gradually expand
the scope of his enterprise and to eventually
attain a definite and pronounced success, as is
evident from the business which he now controls.
He owns a meat market and club room building,
in the town, and a tenant house, besides his home,
and has been otherwise prominently concerned in
various business enterprises here. He conducts an
excellent livery business, has a well equipped
blacksmith and carriage shop, carries in stock an
excellent line of vehicles and farming imple
ments and is one of the progressive and influen
tial business men of his town.
In politics Mr. Dubuc has given his support to
the Republican party from the time of attaining
his legal majority, and during the long years of
his residence in Shelburne he" has manifested a
lively interest in all that concerns the well being
of the community, being thoroughly public-spirit
ed in his attitude. He was incumbent of the office
of school director for a period of four years and
is a member of the board of education at the pre
sent time. His interests in the cause of education
has been vital and has been exerted in a most
helpful way. For seven years he was treasurer of
the Shelburne free library. Fraternally he is a
member of the Knights of Columbus and his re
ligious faith is that of the Catholic church, in
which he was reared and of which he is a. com
municant. He has been one of the most active
workers and liberal supporters of St. Catherine's
church, donating the land on which the church
cemetery is located and personally collecting the
funds for the building of the church. The family
are all prominent in the church work, and the
daughter of our subject has been the capable in
cumbent of the position of organist in the same
for the past seven years.
On the 15th of January, 1871, Mr. Dubuc was
united in marriage to Miss Catherine Potvin, who
,was born in Vergennes, Vermont, but who was

reared and educated in Burlington. Of this union
were born eleven children, concerning whom the
following is the record of the seven who survive :
John is head clerk >in the largest shoe store in
Plattsburg, New York; Annie remains at the
parental home ; Frank, who was graduated in the
business college at Burlington, is now. assisting
his father in business ; Catherine, who was gradu
ated in the local high school, as a member of the
class of 1902, was honored with the position of
valedictorian of her class and is now a student of
the Burlington Business College; and Jerome,
Adelia and Ralph are-attending the public schools.
The eldest daughter is the one who holds the posi
tion of organist in the church, as has been pre
viously noted, and she also has charge of the
Shelburne Free Library.
HOMER IRISH.
Homer Irish is a native of Shelburne, where he
was born on the 9th of June, 1827, so that he now
is numbered among the venerable citizens of the
town, though his mental and physical vigor re
main unimpaired by the lapse of years and he is
still actively concerned in practical business,
though he has laid aside the more onerous duties
and finds ample opportunity to enjoy the rewards
of his years of earnest and consecutive endeavor.
He is a son of Enoch Irish, who was born No
vember 1, 1798, in Hinesburg, and who was a
son of Benjamin Irish, a native of New Hamp
shire, whence he removed to Vermont in the
early days and became one of the sterling pioneers
of Chittenden county. He took up a tract of land,
reclaiming the same and developing a good farm,
and he here continues to be identified with agri
cultural pursuits until his death, at the age of
seventy years. His wife's name was Naomi, and
their son, Enoch, was reared to maturity on the
paternal homestead, in Shelburne, and his early
educational advantages were such as were to be
had in the ' somewhat primitive schools of the
place and period, the major portion pf his scho
lastic training having been received in the school
at Hinesburg. Growing up on the farm and early
becoming familiar with all the details of this great
basic industry, he continued to be engaged in
farming throughout his long and useful life, at
taining a due measure of success and being known

558

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

as a man whose integrity in all the relations of life
was beyond cavil. He spent practically his entire
life on a farm two miles from tne present residence
of his son, and there he died October 15, 1856, at
the age of fifty-seven years. He was a consistent
member of the Methodist Episcopal church, as
was also his wife, while his political support was
given to the Republican party. His wife, whose
maiden name Lucia Mills, was born June 28,
1806, in Shelburne, being a daughter of Samuel
Mills, who was born in Canada, whence he came
to Shelburne, where he passed the residue of
his life, being eighty years -of age at the time of
his death. He was twice married and of the first
union were born three daughters, and four sons,
Lucia Mills (Irish) being one of the daughters.
Enoch and Lucy (Mills) Irish became the par
ents of five children, and of the number the sub
ject of this sketch is now the only survivor. His
mother passed away December 6, 1882, at the age
of seventy-six years.
Homer Irish remained on the paternal home
stead in Shelburne until he had attained the age
of fifteen years, and his early education was re
ceived in the public schools of the locality. At the
age noted he entered upon an apprenticeship at
the carpenter's trade, becoming an expert work
man and continuing to devote his attention to the
trade as his vbcation for a period of nearly forty
years, within which time he was concerned in. the
erection of many fine buildings in this section. He
was known as one who lived up to the very let
ter of every contract into which he entered and as
one who ever- handled his work with expedition
and marked ability, — this implying public confi
dence and regard and a representative supporting
patronage. As a contractor he built many houses in
Shelburne and in the city of Burlington, and his
own residence, which ,is one of the pleasant homes
of the town, was erected by him in 1852. That
its construction was of the most substantial and
thorough order is evident from the fact that it
remains practically unimpaired, after the lapse of
a full half century. He made by hand all the
sash, doors and window frames utilized in the
building, and this work was done after regular
working hours devoted to the service of others.
The old homestead is endeared and hallowed to
him by the grateful associations and memories of
the past, and has been his place of residence con

secutively from the time of its completion, fifty
years ago, such improvements having been made
from time to time as the demands and exigencies
required. Mr. Irish is the owner of a tract of
sixty acres, which he has developed into one of
the most productive and best improved, farms in
this locality, all of the buildings on the place hav
ing been erected by him, while, he also personally
set out his fine orchard of five hundred trees, all
now well matured.
Mr. Irish originally gave his political support
to the old-line Whig party, but at* the time of the
organization of the Republican party, as the
avowed opponent of secession and the institution
of slavery, he identified himself therewith, and
has ever since been one of the stanch advocates of
its principles and policies. He has kept well in
formed on the issues of the day and thus being
at all times able to defend his position and give
a reason for his convictions. He is a man of
broad information, and during the long years of
his active business life he did not neglect his read
ing and personal application, through which he
most effectively supplemented the somewhat lim
ited educational advantages which were his in
his youthful days. He has been one of the world's
noble army of workers and has made his life
count for good, so that as the shadows of his
days begin to lengthen his retrospective view can
not but afford him due measure of satisfaction, •
in that he has been true to himself, sincere and
honorable in his intercourse with his fellow men
and kindly and helpful in all the walks of life.
He held the office of road surveyor for two years,
was for a number of years a member of the school
board, and in past years was frequently a delegate
to various conventions of his party. For thirty
years Mr. Irish has been affiliated with the time
honored order of Free & Accepted Masons, being
a member of Friendship Lodge No. 24, in which
he has held various official positions and in which
he is one of the oldest and most honored members.
His son is likewise a member of the same lodge,
in which he has passed various official chairs.
Mr. Irish has been a devoted and consistent mem
ber of the Methodist Episcopal church for many
years, and in the same his wife was a faithful and
zealous worker until the close of her life.
On the ist of January, 1852, Mr. Irish was
united in marriage to Miss Lucy Patience Pierce,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

559

who was born in Hinesburg, on the 15th of Sep
tember, 1830, being 'a daughter of Chauncey and
Mahala (Conger) Pierce, the former of whom
was one of the successful and honored farmers
of this county until the time of his death. He and
his wife became the parents oi. four sons and four
daughters, of whom three of the sons are living
at the present- time. , Mr. and Mrs. Irish became
the parents of three children, of whom only one
is living, Wallace W., who has charge of his
father's farm and who is one of the progressive
and honored citizens of Shelburne, where he was
born on the 24th of July, 1858. He married Miss
Ruth Anna Minckler, of Grand Isle, Vermont",
and they have one son, Leo P., having lost their
first born, ' Homer D., at the age of thirteen
months. The two deceased children of our sub
ject are Wesley M., who passed away at the age-
of fifteen years ; and Emma, who died at the age
of four and one-half years. The great loss and
bereavement of Mr. Irish's life was that involved
in the death of his cherished and devoted wife,
who had been to him a true helpmeet, her death
occurring on the 10th of January, 1898. She
was a woman of gentle and sympathetic nature,
the noblest attributes of character, and one who
gained the love of all who came within the sphere
of her gracious influence. The infinite life gained
a new glory when death set its seal upon her mor
tal lips.
WILLIAM J. SHERIDAN.
The agricultural development of Chittenden
county has been such as to reflect credit on the
state, and the advancement of the great basic in
dustry has been insured through the interposi
tion of a progressive, intelligent and worthy class
of citizens, both in the past and the present gener
ations. The opulent agricultural resources of the
county have an able representative in the sub-
jectf of this review, who has been a life-long resi
dent of this section of the state and who is to-day
accounted one of the representative and influential
farmers of Shelburne.
William James Sheridan was born on a farm
adjoining that which is his present place of abode,
in Shelburne, Chittenden county, the date of his
nativity having been March 17, 1858. In the
agnatic line he comes of stanch old Irish stock,

and in his. personality abide those sterling traits
which have ever made the true type of the race
count for the best citizenship, conserving ad
vancement through alert mentality, independence,
consecutive application and inflexible integrity
of purpose. His father, James Sheridan, was a
native of county Meath, Ireland, born near Drog-
heda, in 1800, being a son of Michael Sheridan,
who passed his entire life in the Emerald Isle,
having been a prosperous farmer and gardener.
James Sheridan was reared and educated in the
fair land of his birth, where he remained until
1845, having in the meanwhile taken unto him
self a wife. In the year noted he emigrated to
America, where, he believed superior opportunities
were afforded for the attaining of success through
individual effort, and he made his way to Ver
mont soon after his arrival, taking up his resi
dence in Johnson, Lamoille county, where he re
mained a short time and then came to Shelburne,
in 1846, and here engaged in farming, in the em^
ploy of Henry Morse, with whom he remained for
a period of eleven years. He then purchased an
acre of land, to which he subsequently added until
he possessed forty-six acres, lying contiguous to
that now owned and operated by his son. He
applied himself with marked ability and energy
and was prospered in his efforts, placing his en
tire estate under a high state of cultivation. He
was a man of expedients, ever alert to take ad
vantage of opportunities' presented and having
marked' business sagacity. Thus he not only car
ried on his farming enterprise most successfully,
but for many years he also conducted a very pros
perous business in handling apples, potatoes and
other farm produce upon a quite extensive scale,
finding a market principally in the city of Burling
ton, and gaining a high reputation as a reliable
and progressive business man. He continued to
make his home in Shelburne until his death, in
i872„at the age of seventy-two years, being* held
in the highest esteem by all who knew him.
Prior to his emigration to America James
Sheridan was united in marriage to Miss Anna
McDermott, who was born in Ireland, a daughter
of Luke McDermott, who there passed his entire
life, engaged in farming. Of this union were
born seven children,- namely: James, Jr., who
is a resident of the city of Chicago, Illinois ; May,
who is the widow of Franklin Priest, of that city ;

560

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Anna, who is the widow of O. B. Allen, of Pan-
ton, Vermont ; William J., the immediate sub
ject of this sketch; Ellen, who became the wife
of Benjamin Allen, of Panton, and who is now.
deceased; Kate, who died at the age of eleven
years; and Harry, who died at the age of six
months. The devoted and honored mother lived
to attain the age of sixty-five years, her death
occurring July 23, 1890.
William J. Sheridan passed his boyhood days
on the parental homestead in Shelburne, receiving
his early educational training in the district
schools and supplementing the same by a course
of study in the academy at Shelburne. He con
tinued to be associated with his father in the op
eration of the home farm until he had attained the
age of nineteen years, when he went to Chicago,
where he secured employment in the office of a
leading lawyer of that city, his duties being the
collecting of rents and attending to various de
tails of his employer's private business. He was
thus engaged for two years, at the expiration of
which he returned to Shelburne and was there
after associated with his father in business until
the death of the latter. He then took charge of
the old homestead, where he remained until 1894,
when he took up his residence on his present
fine farm, which comprises one hundred and four
acres and upon which he has made excellent im
provements of a permanent nature, including the
modern buildings which add so materially to the
attractiveness and value of the place. Here Mr.
Sheridan is successfully engaged in diversified
farming and also conducts a dairying business,
his efforts being directed with that energy and
discrimination which entail the maximum re
turns and insure the fullest measure of prosperity.
Keeping well informed on the questions and
issues of the day and known as a man of well
defined and independent views, Mr. Sheridan has
naturally taken an active interest in public af
fairs of a local nature, while his political proclivi
ties are indicated in the stanch support which he
accords to the Republican party. In 1892 he was
elected to the office of road commissioner and so
effective was his administration in the improving
and proper maintaining of the public highways
during his first term of office that he was chosen
as his own successor at the expiration of the same
and, by successive re-elections, has been consec

utively in tenure of this position to the present
time, — representing a period of ' eleven years.
This fact indicates beyond peradventure the pop
ular appreciation of his efforts in the connection.
In 1 89 1 Mr. Sheridan was elected a member of
the board of selectmen, serving one term and de
clining the nomination in 1892, while in 1900 he
was honored by his party with the nomination for
representative in the state legislature, but met
the defeat which attended the party ticket in the
county. He has also served as a member of the
school board, as collector of taxes in the district,
and has been frequently called upon to serve as
a member of the jury. Fraternally he is identified
with the Modern; Woodmen of America.
On the 24th of June, 1894, Mr. Sheridan was
united in marriage to Miss Nellie Garry, who was
born in Charlotte, this county, the daughter of
Zebulon Garry, one of the representative farmers
of that town. Mr. and Mrs. Sheridan have three
children, — James William, Henry Robert and
Stanley P.
ALEXANDER GORDON.
' I
The magnificent natural resources of Ver
mont, in its wealth of superior granite, have af
forded a peculiarly attractive field to those of
Scotland who have in their own land worked
their own excellent stone, and these artisans, of
whom Alexander Gordon, of Barre, is an ex
ample, have contributed largely to the develop
ment of the industry in their adopted- country.
Alexander Gordon was born' November 15,
1856, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, of which his
parents, John and Jane (Norrie) Gordon, were
also natives; his father was born in the year
1800. The son Alexander received his education
in the schools of his native parish, and was reared
in the "auld kirk." At the age of sixteen years
he was apprenticed to a stone-cutter, and when he
had reached the years of manhood he was an
expert mechanic. He continued in employment
at his trade until 1881, when, at the age of twen
ty-four years, he sailed for America, landing in
New York city. He had come with the expecta
tion of finding more remunerative employment,
and he at once went to Quincy, Massachusetts,
and readily found employment in one of the ex
tensive granite yards there. Shortly afterward
he removed to Westerly, Rhode Island, where he

tZAsitOl^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

561

followed his trade until 1883, when he made a
permanent location in Barre, Vermont, and here
he began stone-cutting upon his own account.
June 1, the same year, he formed a partnership
with Charles Marr, under the firm name of Marr
& Gordon, and shortly afterward William Marr
was also added to the firm, the name remaining
unchanged. The works operated by these gentle
men have long been noted for the excellence of
their product, the material for which is drawn
from their own two quarries. The polishing mill
is located at South Barre and is operated by water
power, and the sheds and cutting department are
in the city of Barre. Every department of the
work is conducted under the personal supervis
ion of the proprietors, whose reputation for su
periority of product, in quality of material and
workmanship, is unexcelled in all the granite re
gions, while in extent the business of the firm'
ranks with the first pf the city. The work in
cludes all descriptions of monuments, mauso
leums, vaults and other cemetery work, and finds
ready markets wherever the widely extended
commerce of the city reaches. ,
Making his business the object of his close
attention, Mr. Gordon also manifests a deep in
terest in the welfare of his home city, and affords
his aid to every means designed to promote its
advancement. He is deeply interested in educa
tional affairs, and has been for six years a member
of the school committee, and is the chairman of,
that body. He is . a member of the Congrega
tional church; of Clan Gordon, No. 12, of the
Scottish Clans, of Barre, and of Granite Lodge,
F. and A- M-, of the same city. In his political
affiliations, he is a Republican.
Mr. Gordon was married in June, 1885, to
Miss Lizzie A. Jeffrey, a daughter of Alexander
Jeffrey. The children born of this marriage- were
Grace E., born in Barre, April 12, 1886, who died
at the age of nine months ; and Arthur A., born
in Barre, January 21, 1888. The mother of these
children died in February, 1888, surviving her
youngest child only about a month. In March,
1892, Mr. Gordon was married to Miss Henrietta
Kennedy, who was born in Scotland at Aberdeen
shire. The children born of this marriage, all in
Barre, were Harold J., December 23, 1892 ; Edith
May, August 10, 1894; and Helena Henrietta,
September 28, 1901.
' 36

WILLIAM I. BRADLEY.
As a native son of Vermont and a representa
tive of one of the honored pioneer families of the
Green Mountain commonwealth, Mr. Bradley is
well entitled to consideration in a compilation
which has to do with those who have aided in
the founding and building of a great and prosper
ous state, while such is his personal integrity
of character and -such his standing as one of the
progressive and successful farmers of the town
of Charlotte, Chittenden county, that this epito
me of his personal and ancestral history is all the
more germane. The name which he bears has
been identified with the annals of American his
tory from the colonial epoch and has ever stood
for the highest order of citizenship and the most
inflexible loyalty, typifying strong and noble man
hood and gentle and gracious womanhood, as one
generation has followed another on the stage of
life's activities.
William Irving Bradley, whose fine farm
home is located near Baptist Corners, Charlotte
township, was born in Huntington, Chittenden
county, Vermont, on the 13th of August, 1849, a
son of Norman W. Bradley, who was a native of
the same town, where his birth occurred on the
13th of May, 1816. The latter was a son of
Bunyan Bradley, who was born in Williston,
Chittenden county, this state, on the 23d of Jan
uary, 1789, a son of Stillman Bradley, who was
the original ancestor of the Vermont line and
who was born in Guilford, Connecticut, in 1763,
that also having been the birthplace and life res
idence of his father, Stephen Bradley, so that it
at once becomes evident that the name has been
linked with New England history for many gen
erations, the lineage being of stanch English ex
traction. Stillman Bradley removed from Con
necticut to Sunderland, and thence to Williston,
Vermont, becoming one of the sterling, pioneers
of that locality, where he passed the residue of
his long and useful life. There was reared and!
educated his son Bunyan, and he eventually re
moved to Huntington, becoming one of its.
earliest settlers. He took up his residence there
in the year 181 1, locating on a tract of heavily
timbered land in the veritable wilderness and
there, by energy, close application and assiduous
toil; he developed a, good farm. He was a man.

562

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

of noble character, ever striving to aid and up
lift his fellow men, and he was one of the first
local preachers of the Methodist Episcopal church
in that locality, his license to preach having been
issued by Bishop Heading, in 1838, and this inter
esting historical document being, now in posses
sion 'of the subject of this review. Grandfather
Bradley continued to devote his attention to agri
cultural pursuits on his homestead until he was
called from the scenes of life's activities, in 1870,
at the venerable age of eighty-one years, while
his memory is revered by all who knew him or
have had cognizance of his worthy and useful life.
His wife, who bore thefcmaiden name of Rhoda
Joslin, was born in Huntington, being a daughter
of one of its pioneer citizens, Zebediah Joslin, who
was born in Killingly, Connecticut, and who was
a valiant soldier in the Continental line during the
war of the Revolution. Of this union were born
five children, of whom the survivor is Emily,
who is the wife of Gerritt Smith Casterline, of
Belmont, Allegany county, New York. Rhoda
(Joslin) Bradley survived her honored husband
by about three years, passing away in 1873, at
the age of seventy-nine years, secure in the faith
of the Methodist Episcopal church, in whose work
she had been to her husband a devoted coadjutor
during the long years of their ideal married life.
The latter' was uncompromisingly opposed to the
institution of human slavery and was a zealous
abolitionist during the crucial epoch leading up to
the war of the Rebellion.
Norman W. Bradley was reared to years of
maturity on the old homestead farm in Hunting
ton, his educational privileges being such as were
afforded in the somewhat primitive schools of the
pioneer days, and there he continued to be iden
tified with agricultural pursuits until 1865, when
he came to Charlotte and took up his abode on the
farm now owned and conducted by his son. Here
he orignally purchased a tract of one hundred
and twenty acres, becoming one of the successful
and influential farmers of the county and here
maintaining that high standard of personal in
tegrity and honor which has* ever characterized
the name. Here he passed the residue of his sin
cere and worthy life, passing away April 23, 1893,
at the age of seventy-seven years. He was a
stalwart advocate of the principles of the Repub
lican party from the time when it was organized,

as the uncompromising foe of slavery and se
cession, and he ever took an active interst in
public affairs, having been called upon to serve
in various offices, whose duties he discharged with
that mature judgment and discrimination which
were essential characteristics of the man. Thus
he served on the board of selectman, as lister and
was for a number of years incumbent of the office
of justice of the peace, in which capacity he ad
judicated minor troubles between his neighbors
with such judgment and impartiality as to com
mend his course to both parties concerned and to
gain the unequivocal confidence and esteem of
the community. Fraternally he was identified
with the Free and Accepted Mason, having a
deep appreciation of the noble teachings of this
time-honored organization. His wife, whose
maiden name was Annie Stafford, was born Jan
uary 24, 1824, ih Wallingford, Vermont, a
daughter of Ormon Stafford, who was likewise
born in that place, a son of Stuteley Stafford, who
was born in Scituate, Rhode Island, and who be
came one of the pioneers of Danby, Vermont,
and later of Wallingford. Ormond Stafford be
came, the father of several children, of whom the
mother of our ^subject and her brother, Charles
O, of Wallingford, are the only survivors. Their
mother died at the age sixty years and their fa
ther at the age of sixty-eight. Norman W. and
Annie (Stafford) Bradley became the parents of
two sons, of whom the subject of this sketch is
the one surviving. His brother, John W., was a
traveling saleman for many years, and his death
occurred in 1889, in Burlington, where his widow
still maintains her home.. The mother of our
subject is still living and, is an honored and cher
ished member of his family circle, which she re
ceives the utmost filial care and devotion. She is
seventy-nine years of age at the time of this writ
ing, and her religious faith is that of the Spir
itualist church.
William I. Bradley, to whom this sketch is
dedicated, passed his youthful days in Hunting
ton, being sixteen years of age at the time when
his father removed to Charlotte. He received his
elementary education in the schools of his native
town and supplemented this by a course of study
in a select school conducted in Charlotte. He con
tinued to assist his father in the care and manage
ment of the homestead farm until he had attained

/ V^^u^f—

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

563

his legal majority, when he gave inception to his
independent career. by purchasing a farm in the
vicinity of tlie homestead place, eventually acquir
ing two hundred- and thirty-one acres. There he
carried on operations for a period of three years,
when he sold the place and subsequently rented
land for sixteen years, at the expiration of which
time he returned to the paternal homestead, the
property having the best pf improvements and
the land being of marked fertility and productive
ness. In addition to general . farming Mr. Brad
ley conducts a successful business as a dairyman,
having a herd of about fifteen high-grade cows,
and he is thoroughly progressive in his methods,
having developed his property into one of the
most valuable rural estates in this section.
Like his honored father, Mr. Bradley is a
stanch Republican in political proclivities, and he
has ever been public spirited in his attitude and
rendered active co-operation in the promotion of
all objects for the general good. He served for
three terms as a member of the board of select
men, of which he was president for one year, and
at the time of this writing he is a member of the
grand jury of Charlotte. Fraternally he holds
membership in Friendship Lodge No. 24, A. F.
& A. M.. at Charlotte, having been identified with
the order ever since attaining his majority. He
and his wife are regular attendants of the Baptist
church, to whose support they contribute liberally.
, On the 7th of December, 1875, Mr. Bradley
was united in marriage to Miss Frances C. Nor
ton, who was born July 15, 1848, in Addison,
Addison county, Vermont, the daughter of John
Norton, who was born in Guilford, Connecticut,
as was also his father, Cyrus Norton, who was
one of. the pioneer settlers in Addison, where, he
passed the remainder of his life. John Norton
was a stone mason by trade and vocation, and he
erected the lighthouse . at Crown Point. He
passed his entire life in Addison, where he died
in 1876, at the age of seventy-six years. His
wife, whose maiden name was Susan Collins, was
born in Burlington, Vermont, a daughter of Na
thaniel Collins, who was a son of Captain John
Collins, a pioneer of Burlington and one of the
brave soldiers of the Revolution, in which he
served as captain. John and Susan Norton be
came the parents of nine children, all of whom
are still living. The mother passed away in

1 89 1, at the age of seventy-three years, having
been a- devout member of the Adventist church.
Prior to her marriage the wife of our subject was
a successful teacher, having taught seventeen
terms in Addison county and being a graduate of
the high school "at Vergennes. Mr. and Mrs.
Bradley have two daughters, — Charlotte, the wife
of Roderick W. Eno, a successful young farmer
of Charlotte; and Blanche, who remains >. at the
parental home, both daughters haying been suc
cessful and popular teachers in the schools of
Chittenden county.
GEORGE BECKETT.
George Beckett, one of the best known and
most prominent citizens of Williamstown, was
born there May 14, 1833, a son of William S.
Beckett. He comes, of distinguished ancestry,
being a lineal descendant, many generations re
moved, of Thomas a Becket, ah English states
man of the twelfth century, noted as a prelate,
afterwards becoming a chancellor of England,
and later Archbishop of Canterbury.
William Seva Beckett, son of Francis Beck-.
ett, was born in 1803, at Bath,. Maine, where he
lived until sixteen years old. Starting put then
in life for himself, he walked to Williamstowni
On arriving here , he found employment at his
trade of a harness-maker with Colonel Abel Car^
ter, and continued a resident of the town during
the remainder of his days. A man of industry
and thrift, he was for many years one of the
influential citizens of the place. He filled with
ability many public positions, serving as town
clerk thirty-five years ; as justice of the peace
thirty, years ; -as a representative to the state leg
islature four terms ; and for a number of years
was paptain of the local militia company. Cap
tain Beckett married Polly Poole, of Williams
town, and they became the parents of ten chil
dren, among them being George, the special sub
ject of this sketch.
George Beckett obtained a practical common
school education, which he has supplemented by
extensive reading and intelligent self-culture.
Learning the trade of a harness-maker from his
father, he has followed it for many years, amass
ing a modest fortune by his labors, and has in
vested a part of his earnings in real estate in

564

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Williamstown, where he owns and occupies one
of the finest residences of the locality. He has
been an important factor in developing the re
sources of the town, being one of the projectors
of several of its leading industries, including
the Williamstown Construction Company and the
Williamstown Granite Company, whose operations
have given a marked impetus to the business
growth of the place. The latter company has been
merged in the Grearson-Beckett Company, and
is carrying on an extensive business in the manu
facture of fine monumental work, employing in
its large and well equipped sheds about sixty
men. Mr. Beckett is actively identified with the
political, educational and religious life of Will
iamstown, being an untiring worker in advancing
the interests of each. For more than twenty years
he has rendered efficient service to his towns
men as town clerk and town treasurer, and was
a representative to the state legislature in 1900
and 1 90 1. For thirty years he was librarian of
the public library and at the celebration of the
one-hundredth anniversary of its foundation,
wrote an interesting history of the library. He is
a member of the Congregational church, of which
he is deacon, and is also treasurer of the so
ciety. Mr. Beckett married, in 1857, Belle **R.,';
daughter of Calvin and Dolly (Delano) Flint,
and they have one son, Charles Henry. Charles
Henry Beckett was graduated with distinguished
honors from Dartmouth College with the class
of 1 88 1. He subsequently studied law at the
Columbia University Law School in New York
city, and while taking the course served as clerk
of the probate courts. He is now practicing his
profession in New York, being junior member
of the distinguished law firm of Hamilton &
Beckett. He married Estella Newman, of Wat
kins, New York, and has a daughter, Marian
H., now seventeen years old, who has shown re
markable skill as a painter.
LEONARD C. RAY.
One of the representative and successful citi
zens of Shelburne is Leonard C. Ray, who has
passed practically his entire life within the bor
ders of Chittenden county, and is a member of a

family -which has been identified with the history
of the old Green Mountain state for several gen
erations, aiding in the work of development and
progress and standing for the highest order of cit
izenship. In a personal way he has commanded
at every stage in his career the confidence and es
teem of all who know him, and he is at the pres
ent time incumbent of the important position of
superintendent or general manager of the fine es
tate known as the Vermont stock farm,, the same
being owned by Mr. Louis C. Clark and being-
recognized as one of the most valuable, properties
in this section of New England. Mr. Ray has
achieved advancement and prosperity through
well directed efforts and is one of the substantial
and honored citizens of Shelburne.
Leonard C. Ray was born in Hinesburg, Chit
tenden county, Vermont, on the 2d of May, 1858,.^
and that place also figured as the birthplace of his
father, George Ray, who was there ushered into-
the world on the 7th of October, 1829, a son of
Calvin Ray, who was born in the same town, so
that it may be seen that the family has been con
cerned in the history of this section of the state-
from the pioneer epoch. The original progenitor
of the name in Vermont was William Ray, who-
was the father of Calvin, and who located here
in an early day, becoming identified with agri
cultural pursuits and here passing the remainder
of his honorable and useful life. He was of
sturdy Scotch lineage and the noble attributes-.
so characteristic of the Scotch type were signally
manifest in his life, as have they also been in the-
careers of his descendants. His son Calvin was
reared to the life of a farmer, and with the great
basic art of agriculture he continued to be identi
fied until his death. His entire life was passed"
in his native town, where he became a citizen of
influence and substantial worth. He married
Louisa Howard, likewise a representative of one-
of the pioneer families of this section of Vermont,
and they became tlie parents of ten children, of
whom only three are living at the time of this
writing, namely: Spencer, who is a prominent
resident of Potsdam, New York, where he was-
for many years engaged in business; Elizabeth,
who is the wife of Edward Pierson, of Westport,
New York; and Julia, who is the widow of
Leonard Love, for many years a successful and
popular hotel keeper in the city of Montpelier,.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

where his. widow still maintains her home. Mrs.
.Louisa (Howard) Ray ,'was summoned into
eternal rest at the age of forty-five years, both she
and her husband having been devoted and consis
tent members of the Baptist church and having
signally exemplified that "Godly, righteous and
sober life," which all men are admonished to lead.
George Ray was reared to the sturdy dis
cipline of the old homestead farm in Hinesburg,
receiving such educational advantages as were
afforded in the schools ofthe place and peripd,
and after attaining years of maturity he did not
withdraw from the vocation to which he had been
reared nor from the locality in which foe made
his advent into the world, since he continued to be
engaged in farming in Hinesburg during the
¦course of his life, being summoned to his. reward
December 13, 1897, at the age of sixty-eight
years, secure in the esteem and high regard of all
who had known him, and known as a man whose
integrity of purpose in all the relations of life was
beyond cavil. His wife, whose maiden name was
Louisa Love, was likewise born in Hinesburg, be
ing the daughter of Ira and Mary (Salisbury) -
Love, of whose four children she is the elder,
of the two now surviving, the other being Eliza, **
who is the wife of Marvin Heivett, of Jericho,
Vermont. Ira , Love was numbered among the
prominent and successful farmers of Hinesburg,
where he died at the age of sixty-two years, his
wife passing away in 1876. George and Louisa
(Love) Ray became the parents of two children,
Leonard C, whose name introduces this sketch,
and Edward, who is a resident of Pasadena,
California. The mother remains in the home of
her elder son, where she is accorded filial care
and devotion in her declining days, and she is :
one of the earnest and loved members of the
Baptist church in Shelburne, her honored huband
having also been one of the influential workers
in this denomination, in whose faith he com
pleted his life's pilgrimage.
Leonard C. Ray was reared on the homestead
farm in Hinesburg, receiving a common-school
education in his youth, and upon leaving the farm
he. secured a position as clerk in a local mercantile
establishment, thereafter continuing to be identi
fied with this line of work until accepting his
present position, in 1883. He has general charge
and supervision of a fine estate of four hundred

acres, devoted to diversified agriculture and to
the raising of fine blooded horses, in which latter
department of the enterprise the farm has at
tained a high reputation and one which far tran
scends local limitations. Mr. Ray is known as a
thoroughly progressive and discriminating busi
ness man and as a public-spirited citizen. His po
litical allegiance has been given to the Republican
party from the time when he attairied the right
of franchise, and the confidence ahd esteem in
which he is held by the community has been
shown in his election to offices of distinctive
trust and responsibility. Thus he was a member
of the board of selectmen for a period of six
years, while he was an effective incumbent of the
office of school director of his district ' for the
long period of eight years, ever taking a deep
interest .in all that concerns the moral, educational
and material advancement of? the community
and ever lending his influence in support of
worthy measures for the general good. In con
nection with his political affiliation it may be
stated that he has served on numerous occasions
as delegate to the various county, district and
state conventions of his party. Fraternally he
is identified with the Modern Woodmen of
America, and he and his family are regular at
tendants of the Baptist church, to whose work and
the support of its collateral benevolences he is a
liberal contributor. His father likewise held
various offices in the gift of the* people, having
been selectman for a number of years and having
also served as a lister and as a member of the
school board.
On the 2 ist of May, 1881, was solemnized the
marriage of Mr. Ray to Miss Helen J. Miles,
who was born in Hinesburg, the daughter of
John F. Miles, who is still priminently engaged
in the practice of his profession, having taken up
the practice of medicine at the age of twenty-one
and being now the oldest practitioner in Chit- ¦
tenden county, where his name is a most familiar
one and where he enjoys the confidence and af
fection of an exceptionally wide circle of friends.
His wife, whose maiden name was -Fidelia
Boynton, is a native of Shelburne, and they be-
came the parents of four children, all of whom
are living except Mark, who died at the age of
about fifty years. The three surviving are Charles'y
Mary and Helen J. Mr. and Mrs. Ray are the

566

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

parents of five children, namely: Lida L., Edna
F., Mary R, Marjorie H. and George Miles.
The second named graduated at the head of her
class in 1901, at the Shelburne high school.
CHARLES CALyiN STEWART.
Charles Calvin Stewart, a well known granite
manufacturer of Hardwick, was born in Dover,
New Hampshire, July 6, 1850, a son of
Peter Stewart. On the paternal side he is
of Scotch ancestry, his grandfather, John
Stewart, having emigrated soon after his
marriage to America and settled in Canada,
where he worked at his trade of a tinsmith.
Peter Stewart was born and reared in the
province of Quebec, where he spent a large
part of his life engaged in agricultural pur
suits. His wife, whose maiden name was
Mary Calligan, was a native of Ireland.
Charles C. Stewart was educated in In
verness, province of Quebec, and there as
sisted his father in general farming until
1870. He was subsequently employed in the
construction of the St. Johnsbury & Lake
Champlain Railway, and on the completion
of the road was engaged as a trainman, a
position he retained about six years. In
1878 he began work at the granite-cutter's
trade in St. Johnsbury, remaining there two
years, then worked as a journeyman until
1896, being employed in various places.
Coming then to Hardwick he established
his present business, and three years later,
in August, 1899, admitted his son, John
R. Stewart, to partnership, the firm name
being the Stewart Granite Works. The
business is already assuming large propor
tions and consists principally of monu
mental work, which is sold at retail
throughout the west, the greater part of it
being completed ready for erection. Mr.
Stewart is a Republican in politics, and at present
is serving as constable. Both he and his son
John R. are Masons, belonging to Caspian Lake
Lodge, No. 87, Ancient Free and Accepted
Masons. On August 20, 1874, Mr. Stewart married
Lizzie McLean, of St. Johnsbury. She was born

in the province of Quebec in 1850, a daughter
of Donald and Margaret (McClay) McLean,
both natives of Scotland. Four children have
been born of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Stewart,
namely: John R., born October 7, 1878, was edu
cated at Ryegate and Hardwick, and is now in
business with his father ; Mary died in childhood ;
Jessie J., born March 18, 1884; and Charles H,
born May 23, 1886. John Robert Stewart was

CHARLES CALVIN STEWART AND WIFE.
married May 29, 1902, to Kitty P. Ferris, of
South Hero, Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Stewart
are members of the Congregational church, in
which he is a deacon and' one of the business com
mittee. He is a liberal supporter of the church,
and contributes generously toward all enter
prises of a benevolent nature.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

567

' ARCHIBALD TAYLOR.
The pursuits of life are as varied as the
tastes and capacities of men, and it is an in
teresting and useful study to observe the degree
of their assimiliation. History generally treats of
those who have attained eminence in politics or
statecraft, in military circles and to some ex
tent in the field of letters and art, but has had lit
tle to do with those toilers upon whom the real
prosperity and progress of the nation depend. It is
left to specific biography to perpetuate the record
of those law-abiding citizens who, in the midst
of the active affairs of a work-a-day world, stand
forth in integrity of purpose, loyal to friends arid
to the institutions of the land, and in that enter
prise and industry which make for the well being
of their respective communities. To this class
belongs, the subject of this brief sketch, who is
of stanch Scottish lineage and who is incumbent
of the important and responsible position of gen
eral manager of the landed estate of Dr. W.
Seward Webb, the same comprising about four
thousand acres of as fine agricultural land as is
to be found within the borders of the old Green
Mountain state. The Scotsman is thoughtful and
deliberate, and that nation is fortunate in which
he is numerous. His mind, profound, thorough,
painstaking and free from sudden emotion, acts
as a balance wheel for its environment. Scotland
has supplied to the United States splendid ele
ments of citizenship, and in nearly every section
of the Union the Scotch type figures as a valued
and potent factor. The subject of this review, is
a worthy representative of this type and his life
has been one of signal usefulness and honor,
while he has commanded uniform confidence and
esteem by reason of his sterling character.
Archibald Taylor, who is one of. the repre
sentative citizens of Burlington, was born in Kill-
willing, in the west of Scotland, on the 28th of
February, 1831, and upon him was conferred the
full. patronymic of his honored father, Archibald
Taylor, who was born in the beautiful highlands
of bonnie Scotland, a worthy representative of
one of the ancient and nobly patriotic clans, and
in the west of Scotland he followed the vocation
of forester, in which he continudd until his death,
his entire career having been dominated by the
loftiest integrity of purpose and by that fidelity

which is ever characteristic of his, race. He
continued to maintain his home in his native land
until his death, which occurred in the year 1884.
He married Miss Agnes Wilson, who was born
in the same parish as was their son, the subject
of this review, Archibald Taylor, Sr., having
there been chief forester on the magnificent es
tate of Lord Egleston. The mother of our sub
ject lived to attain the venerable age of four
score years, and of her eleven children only one is
living at the present time, our subject. , His sister
Agnes, who was the wife of David Cowan, died
March 18, 1903, at Rockford, Illinois. The -
parents were both devoted members of the Con
gregational church, and were folk of noble char
acter and marked intellectuality, so that their
children were reared in a home of refinement and
culture. Archibald Taylor received his early educa
tional discipline in the schools of his native parish,
completing an academic course and then becom
ing associated with his father in caring for the
estate mentioned, so that from his youth up he
has been familiar with the free and untram-
meled life of the yeoman and early gained val
uable experience in connection with forestry and
general pastoral and agricultural pursuits, while
he eventually took up the discriminating study
and practical details of landscape gardening, be- i
coming proficient in this line and having held
responsible positions in connection with various
fine estates in his natiye land prior to coming to
America. In 185 1 he went to the famed old city
of Edinburg, and thereafter held for six years a
contract in connection with the care and im
provement of the botanical gardens of Professor
McNabb, in that city, the experience being one
whfch proved of inestimable value to him in
broadening his technical and practical knowledge.
At the expiration pf his .contract, in 1857, Mr.
Taylor came to the United States, taking up his
abode in Burlington, Vermont, where he was
given charge of the work of- laying out the fine
estate of Colonel LeGrand B. Cannon, in which
connection he gave distinctive evidence of his skill
and artistic conceptions as a landscape gardener.
Fie continued in charge of the estate of Colonel
Cannon, concerning whom individual mention is
made on other pages of this work, for the long __
period of twenty-seven years, at the expiration

568

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

of which he assumed the management-- of the
grounds of Oak Ledge, owned by Dr. Webb,
near Burlington, this beautiful property also giv
ing perpetual testimony to the ability of Mr.
Taylor. He has since remained in the employ of
Dr. Webb, who purchased eighteen hundred acres
of land, comprised in fifteen farms, and in the
laying out of the grounds and beautifying of the
landscape of this fine estate Mr. Taylor has done
a work which has brought to. him the highest en
dorsement and commendation. The enterprise
involved the construction of six miles of ma
cadamized roadway, the stone for which was
crushed on the premises, arid the permanent im
provements otherwise made , on the estate in
clude magnificent houses and the best of barns
and stables, fine conservatories and dairy, while
he has since maintained the position of general
manager, an office whose exacting duties and re
sponsibilities may well be imagined when it is
stated that the domain under his charge now con
tains four thousand acres, while in the work of
the estate a total of two hundred men have been
employed, and throughout the entire year the
corps of assistants working under his direction
numbers fifty individuals.- On the estate is kept
an average of two hundred horses, one hundred
cows and three hundred' , sheep, and the place
stands as a model country estate, being devoted
•¦to diversified agriculture- and to the raising of
high-grade stock and vying in attractions with
the finest country-seats of Great Britain, and the
European continent.
Mr. Taylor is one of the honored, and valued
citizens of Burlington, where he enjoys the con
fidence and esteem.; of all who kriow him and
where he is recognized as an able and progressive
business man. In polities', he has accorded an
unequivocal allegiance to the Republican party
from practically the time of its organization,' and
he has ever shown a deep interest in public affairs
of a local nature, doing all in his power to fur
ther the general welfare. He was elected a mem
ber of the board of aldermen of Burlington, and
that his service in that connection did not fall short
of popular appreciation is evident from the fact
that he continued consecutively as, an incumbent
of the office for a period of nine years, during all
of which he was chairman of the street commit
tee, in which connection his ability as a landscape

gardner came into definite and practical force in
the proper improvement of the highways in the
locality. Fraternally he is identified with theMa-
sonic order, affiliating with Washington Lodge
No. 3, F. & A. M., in Burlington, and his re
ligious views are in harmony with the tenents of
the Congregational church, of which he is a
regular attendant.
In January, ,1856, Mr. Taylor was married to
Miss Annie Armstrong, who was born in Mon
treal, and of this union two sons have been born,
namely: Linnaeus M., who died at the age of
thirty- two yearsi; and Archibald J., who is a suc
cessful florist of- Burlington, Vermont. The
latter married Jessie Truman, a descendant of an
old Vermont family.. . Mrs. Archibald Taylor died
April 17, 1903, and in the same week expired
Grace Miller, who. was reared from four to eight
een years of age -by Mr. Taylor and his estimable
:wife.
WILLIE; WOODBURY MARSHALL.
This well known, real estate dealer and builder
of Hardwick was born November 6, 1867, in
Burke, Vermont, a son of the late Woodbury L.
Marshall. The last: named was a grandson of
Antepas Marshall* who served in the revolution
ary army, having a brother in the same service,
who was shot down by his side. He was pres
ent at the surrender, of Burgoyne at Saratoga. He
lived to the age of ninety-four years, having been
for more than forty years a Methodist minister.
He was a native: of Connecticut, and settled in
Northumberland, New Hariipshire, in 1780. Here
his son, Timothy Marshall, was born February
9, 1800. The latter removed about 1854 to Burke, -
Vermont, where he was a prosperous farmer and
highly respected citizen, reaching the age of
eighty years". One of his sons, Joshua Noble Mar
shall, enlisted at the age of eighteen years as a
soldier in the Mexican war, and died of yellow
fever while on the way home after the close of
that struggle. Another son, Timothy L., settled
in Burke, where he was a farmer and merchant
many years, dying in Worsester, Massachusetts,
in 1890. There were three daughters, Sarah,
Amanda and Lydia W. The first of these mar
ried Elbridge Gaskell, and died in Burke.
Amanda died in the same town, while the wife of

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

569

Hiram Cummings. The last named is the widow
of Dr. Carpenter, of Burke, where she resides.
Woodbury L. Marshall, son of Timothy, was
horn March 16, 1836, in Northumberland, New
Hampshire, being seventeen years of age when
he came with his parents to Vermont. He se
cured a situation as clerk" in a store at Burke, and
was afterwards engaged in business as a farmer
.and dealer in real estate until his death, at the
age of fifty years. He died June 1, 1886. He
-married Laurinda A. Watson, who was born in
Burke, Vermont, a daughter of Larnard Watson,
and they became the parents of three children,
/namely : Charlie L., who died at the age of eigh
teen years; Amine E., who djed when thirteen
years old; and Willie W. The mother is still
living, making her home in West Burke. Her
father, Larnard Watson, was an extensive far
mer, and owned the fine meadow farm lying just ,.
\ south of West Burke. He was a man of enter- •
-prise and energy, and was one of the stockhold
ers and promoters in opening up Willoughby
"Lake as a summer resort, a venture that ultimate
ly proved most successful. He was a Republican
-in politics, and a zealous worker in his party.
His wife, whose maiden name was Eunice Rug-
-gles, was a native of Lyndon, Vermont, belong
ing to one of the early and prominent families
-of that town.
Larnard Watson and wife were the parents of,
-eight children : Leonard W., a farmer of Sutton ;
Laurinda A., Mrs. Marshall; Henry E., a resi
dent of Lyndonville ; Ellen, who died in girlhood ;
Abby W., wife of Ira A. Humphrey, residing on
the Watson homestead in Burke ; Nancie, wife of
Frank W. Silsby, a merchant of Lyndonville;
"Fanny H„ widow of John C. Sargent, who died
-at Burke in 1901 ; George E., who died in San
"Prancisco, California, in 1895.
Willie W. Marshall Was educated in the pub
lic schools of Burke and at Lyndon Academy, af
ter which he traveled as salesman on the road fpr
two years, and was then engaged in mercantile
' "business at West Burke for an equal length of
time. Coming then to Hardwick, in 1890, Mr.
Marshall bought out the store of D. W. Aiken
••& Son, who had been in business here for a full
Jialf century, and continued at the old stand for
"-six years. Having in the meantime erected, on
^South Main street, what was then, and is still,

the finest brick block in town, he moved into it,
opening up a dry-goods, clothing, boot and shoe
store, and conducted it until 1900, when he dis
posed of the entire stock to the present owners,
Wiltsie & Taylor, for the neat little sum of twenty
thousand dollars, or thereabouts. Mr. Marshall,
however, still owns the block, and has much other
valuable property, consisting principally of realty
and tenement houses. Since taking up his resi
dence in Hardwick he has dealt extensively in
real estate, being perhaps the largest individual
real estate holder and builder in the village. He
has bought several tracts of land, which he has"
platted, laying out streets and lots, and erected
residences, during the last season building seven
cottages for sale or rent, and is at present devot
ing his attention to building and selling proper
ties, owning now a dozen cottages, three busi
ness., blocks, and about twenty acres of. land within
the corporation. He has jiust completed a large
three-story building with basement, which is to
be used for laundry purposes, lodge rooms and
a public hall. He is a Republican in politics, and
has served as a member of the city council. He
is a member of the Knights of Pythias and Mod
ern Woodmen of America.
January 15, 1890, Mr. Marshall was married
to Della M., eldest daughter of James G. and
Malvina E. (Coochier) Lunge, of Burke. James
Gilbert Lunge is a son of Francis and Julia Lunge
and was born April 6, 1840, in Glover, Vermont.
His boyhood was spent on the farm and differed
very little from the usual life of boys of that day.
In the spring of 1862 he enlisted as a soldier,
serving in the Ninth and Fifteenth Regiments,
Vermont Volunteers, until the close of the Civil
war. June 1, 1862, he was wounded in the right '
side tby a piece of shell in the battle of Seven
Pines: and but for the timely help of a comrade,
who risked his life to draw him in the shelter of
a large tree, he would undoubtedly have lost his
life-. With the exception of six weeks, during
which this wound confined him to the hospital,
he was in active service until his discharge, in
1865. Four of his brothers were also soldiers in
the Civil war, Carlos, who was killed in battle;
Luke, who was taken prisoner and died a few
days after his release; Joseph, who died in Al
bany, New York, in 1867; and Isaac, who was
also a prisoner and is now a prosperous farmer in

570

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Albany, A'ermont. In December, 1867, James G.
Lunge bought the farm at Burke Green on which
he now resides. He is a pensioner and a member
of D. Rattery Post. Grand Army of the Republic,
of West Burke.
Mrs. Marshall was born June 5, 1872, and be
gan teaching school at the age of fourteen years,
continuing that worthy pursuit during ten terms.
The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall, Leah
A., died in 1897, at the age of fourteen months.
THE THOMPSON FAMILY
The Thompson family is one of the oldest in
New England, tracing its ancestry back to the
year 1299, and has, for sterling worth and high
ideals, won for itself an enviable reputation.

CHARLES F. THOMPSON.

Among its members have been prominent land
owners, army officials, ministers and prosperous
business men. Its present representative, Charles

F. Thompson, secretary and treasurer of the
Brattleboro Gas & Electric Light Company, is-
one of the most enterprising and public-spirited
men of his town. Many a hard pressed business
man has in years past been grateful for the kind
assistance rendered him by Mr. Thompson, and
charitable institutions desiring aid always look to
him with the most confident assurance of support
in their undertakings.
The history of this family in America starts
out with a charming little romance, which has
been carefully preserved among the records of
the family. John Thompson, the first of his line
to settle in America and a young man of energy,
came here from London in the good ship Eliza
beth and Ann, landing on the 22d of October,.
1635. After a prospecting tour through the new
settlements with a view of selecting a suitable
location for a permanent residence, he returned
to England. Traveling on foot from the ship to
his inland home, he fell in at early morn with a
farmer, who, learning that the stranger was
from America, insisted on his remaining for
breakfast. In answer to inquiries concerning the
new country Mr. Thompson described it as full
of savage beasts and savage men, but a region
where one might worship God after the dictates
of his own conscience. "Sayest thou it ; would
God I were there," exclaimed Mirabel, one of the
three daughters of the farmer. "Could you for
the sake of Christ endure the terrors and trials
of that land?" asked Mr. Thompson. "Yea,.
gladly, by God's help," she answered. This girl,
with others, not long before had her feet put into-
the stocks for attending a conventicle, or Puritan-
meeting. Before John Thompson returned to^
New England she was his wife. They took up-
their permanent residence at Stratford, Connecti
cut, and were among the first settlers of that
place. Here he became the owner of large tracts
of land, and during his lifetime acquired consider
able wealth. He was a man of influence and
highly respected in his community.
Ambrose Thompson, the fifth child of John-
Thompson, resided in Stratford for many years.
He lived a long and useful life, dying in 1742,
at the advanced age of ninety. During his young.
manhood he married Sarah Wells, of Stratford,.
and they had seven children. John Thompson,.
the eldest son of Ambrose, ,was born in 1680,.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

57i

and was also a resident of Stratford, where, upon
reaching manhood, he became a person of con
siderable influence. In 1705, when about twenty-
five years of age, he married Ruth Curtis, and they
had several children. A religious man, of great
integrity, he served as deacon of the church in
his place for many years. John, a son of John
and Ruth Thompson, married Mehitable Booth
in 1739, and they became the parents of a number
of children, among the number being Lieutenant
William Thompson, who became a popular man
in his community and one of much force of char
acter. When the Revolutionary war broke out he
enlisted, serving therein very creditably for some
time. His bravery and daring, however, cost him
his life, for during the Danbury fight, while pur
suing the retreating British forces, he was killed
at Ridgefield in April, 1777. During his young
manhood he married Mehitable Ufford, and they
had five children, John, William, Isaac, Joseph
and Mary. Rev. Joseph, the fourth child of
Lieutenant William and Mehitable Thompson and
the grandfather of Charles F., the leading charac
ter of this sketch, resided at Stratford, the home
of many of his ancestors. Upon reaching man
hood he became a Congregational minister and
officiated as such in Stratford for many years.
He lived to a great old age, preaching a public
sermon at Stratford on the one hundredth anni
versary of his birth, and in that place he died
shortly after. On the 6th of June, 1792, he mar
ried Helen Curtis, a daughter of Silas Curtis, and
they had three children: Isaac; Mary Ann,
who married Sidney Judson Beardsley; and
Charles. Rev. Charles Thompson, the father of Charles
F., and a leading Congregational minister of his
time, was a man of much religious zeal and a
credit to his profession. Born in Stratford in
July, 1796, he spent his early life in that place.
After securing a thorough education he was or
dained to preach in the Congregational church,
and for some years he nobly put his energies and
talents to use in the home missionary field, enter
ing upon this line of work in the neglected dis
tricts of Pennsylvania. In 1828 he gave up his
missionary work and located as pastor of the
Congregational church at Humphreyville, now
Seymour, Connecticut, whence he removed five
years later to Salem, that state, to accept the

charge of the congregation at that place, there
continuing in the service of the Master until his
death, in February, 1855. He was a most
zealous and successful minister of the gospel, and
it was during his pastorate and largely through
his instrumentality that the edifice in which the
congregation now worship at Salem was erected.
In the prime of his manhood he married Hannah
Miner, who was born in New London, Connecti
cut, in 1796. She, too, was a member of an old
and prominent family, their ancestry dating back
to 1339, in which year one of its representatives,
with one hundred men, offered his services to the
king, who at once made him a knight and changed
his name from Bullen to Miner. Mrs. Thompson
proved to her husband a faithful helpmate, and
her death occurred in 1879, when in her eighty-
fourth year. Four of their children grew to years
of maturity : Hannah Miner, who died at about
twenty; Charles F., who is mentioned below;
Helen, who died at about sixteen; and William
Joseph, who is an extensive ranchman in the state
of Washington. Charles Frederick Thompson secured his early .
education in the public schools and under private
tutors. Gifted with keen intellectual powers, he
progressed rapidly and at an early age was en
abled to enter the Easthampton Seminary, where
he finished his schooling. So ambitious was he
that in 1846, when in his sixteenth year, he
secured a position with Williston & Tyler, general
merchants of Brattleboro, Vermont, where he
spent many years of his life, acquiring a knowl
edge of business of much value to him in later
enterprises. In i860 he purchased Mr. Willis-
ton's interest in the firm, which for many years
was known as Tyler & Thompson and finally as
C. F. Thompson & Company, our subject con
tinuing in the conduct of this establishment for
a period of forty-six years, or until 1892. Dur
ing this time, however, he invested considerable
capital in the Brattleboro Gas & Electric Light
Company and became largely interested in its
management. Finding in the course of time that
his health was unable to bear the strain of too
many lines of business he sold out his interest in
the hardware store in 1892 and gave his entire
attention to his other enterprises. He was made
both secretary and treasurer of the Gas & Elec
tric Light Company, and has very efficiently

572

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

filled those positions ever since. He served for
a number of years as a member of the invest
ing committee of the Vermont Savings Bank,
exercising wisdom and carefulness, much to the
benefit of that institution. When the question of
constructing the Brattleboro and Whitehall Rail
road was agitated, he was one of its chief pro
moters and became largely instrumental in the
organization of the company. He was the first
president of the completed road, a position which
he has ever since filled.
On the 15th of May, 1855, Mr. Thompson

CHARLES H. THOMPSON.
married Elizabeth Cune, a highly cultured woman
and a daughter of Charles Cune. By this mar
riage there have been born four children : Helen
Elizabeth, a graduate of Vassar College, who is
now and has been for some time connected with
the Burnham Classical School of Northampton,
Massachusetts ; Charles H., who is now teller in
the Vermont National Bank ; and two children,
Mary F., and Frederick M., deceased. Mr.

Thompson has been exceedingly generous with
his exceptional business talents, often using them
to assist struggling local enterprises. As a lead
ing member of the Central Congregational church
he has served as its deacon for over thirty-five
years, and has been active in Sunday-school work
for over fifty years, several times serving as
superintendent. All charitable and missionary
organizations he has helped to further, and has
served for many years as director of the Vermont
Domestic Missionary Society, and as a corporate
member of the American Board of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions, since 1869. An enthusiastic
man, zealous in all good works and possessed of
a magnetic personality, he has won for himself a
large circle of strong and lasting friends in his
town, county and state.
FREDERICK H. HORSFORD.
As a native son of Chittendon county and a
representative of one of its earliest and most hon
ored pioneer families, Mr. Horsford is eminently
worthy of consideration in this work, while his
ancestral history is one of interesting order, de
noting that in both the paternal and maternal
lines he is descended from valiant patriots who
served with signal honor as soldiers in the Con
tinental line during the war of the Revolution,
and thus indicating that both families have long
been identified with the annals of the great re
public which owes its establishment to this same
sanguinary conflict. In studying the clean-cut,
distinct characters of those who precede him in
the genealogical lines, interpretation follows
facts in a diametrical way, and there is small
use for puzzling or indirection. The respective
characters were moulded through struggle and
were the positive expressions of strong natures.
In the specific case of our subject, such is his
personal honor and integrity of character and
such is his standing as one of the progressive and
influential farmers and nurserymen of his native
town that he has well upheld the honor of the
family name and is a scion worthy to be accorded
individual mention in any record touching the
genealogical history.
Frederick Hinsdale Horsford was born in
Charlotte, Chittenden county, Vermont, on the
21st of July, 1855, and has here passed his en-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

575

tire life, as did also his honored father, Myron
H. Horsford, who was born in this town on the
28th of October, 1821, a son of Orrin Horsford,
who was likewise born in Charlotte. The last
mentioned was a son of the original representative
of the family in this country — Daniel Horsford,
who was one of the first settlers in the town
and who became one of its most prominent and
influential citizens in the pioneer days. He was
born in Canaan, Connecticut, October 13, 1748,
and married Hannah Day, of Colchester, Connec-
ticutt, November 9, 1780. She died April 26, 1816,
and for his second wife he chose Lucy Austin.
He died August 2, 1835. Mr. Horsford was an
able surveyor and it is a matter of record that
many of the original surveys of Charlotte were
made by him. The intrinsic loyalty and patriot
ism of his nature found notable exemplification
at the time when the heroic colonists determined
to throw off the yoke of oppression. When the
war of the Revolution was precipitated he en
listed as a soldier in the Continental army, and
that his military career was one of signal honor
is evident when we revert to the fact that in
recognition thereof he received a pension, the
same being conferred by special act of Congress.
He developed an excellent farm in Charlotte and
here passed the remainder of his life, continuing
to give more or less attention to his profession
of surveyor for many years and passing away
at the age of eighty-six years. His son Orrin,
who was born January 30, 1791, was reared on
the homestead farm, and his entire life was passed
in Charlotte, being devoted to agricultural pur
suits, in which he attained a due measure of suc
cess, while, like his father, he was prominently
concerned in public affairs of a local nature and
was one of the honored and influential citizens
of his day, having been for a number of years
one of the valued members of the board of se
lectmen and having held other local offices. He
lived to the age of seventy-seven years. His
wife, who bore the maiden name of Cynthia
Hinsdale, was born in Hinesburg, this county,
a member of one of its sterling pioneer families,
and they became the parents of two children,
Myron H. and Delia L., the latter being now the
wife of Henry F. Moore and resides in Aurora,
New York. Cynthia (Hinsdale) Horsford

died at the age of seventy-seven years, having
been a devoted member of the Congregational
church, while her husband was a Baptist.
Myron H. Horsford was reared on the an
cestral homestead in Charlotte, attending the
local schools in his boyhood and supplementing
this training by a course of study in the acade
mies at Hinesburg and Ferrisburg. He was
one of the substantial and influential farmers of
his native town until he was called from the
scene of life's labors, in 1890, at the age of sixty-
nine years. In the year 1853 was solemnized his
mariage to Miss Sarah A. Stearns, who was born
in Beekmantown, Clinton county, New York, on
the 22d of October, 1829, the daughter of Calvin
Stearns, whose father was John Stearns, born at
Harvard, Massachusetts, September 7, 1764. He
enlisted for service in the war of the Revolution
at Rockingham, Vermont, in the spring of 1781,
under Captain Green and Colonel Wait and served
seven months. In recognition for his services
therein he was allowed a pension, for which he
applied July 25, 1832. Myron H. and Sarah A.
Horsford became the parents of one son and four
daughters, the subject of this sketch being the
eldest. The daughters are Marion, who is a
graduate of the University of Vermont and now
a teacher in Williamston, Vermont; Kate, who
is the wife of Marshall D. Smith, of Northfield,
Vermont; Jane F. ("Daisy"), who is the wife of
William H. Trowbridge, of Waterbury, this state ;
and Genevieve, who remains with her mother at
the old homestead, which is located in the east
ern part of the town and which has been in the
the possession of the family for four generations.
On the homestead farm Frederick H. Hors
ford grew up under most beneficient influences,.
early beginning to contribute his quota in carry
ing on the work of the farm, and attending school
in the vicinity of his home. He became interested
in the study of botany, along which line he pushed
his original investigation, experiments and study
with much zeal. Finally, under Profesor C. G.
Pringle, of Charlotte, he began to thoroughly
classify the specimens analyzed and to prepare
a valuable herbarium, which he eventually sold
to the University of Indiana. His study of plant
growth and his particular predilection and love
for this work naturally led him into a line of

574

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

enterprise identified therewith, and in 1889 he es
tablished himself in the nursery business in
Southwick, , Masachusetts, in company with Ed
ward Gillett, and while there he entered into an
engagement with the officials in charge of the
Missouri Botanical Gardens at St. Louis, where
he remained for two summers, doing work in the
development and improvement of the Wild Gar
dens. He then, in 1892, returned to Charlotte,
and in looking about for an eligible location for
the establishment of a nursery business, he finally
selected his present place, known as a part of the
L. D. Stone farm, and comprising one hundred
acres. He effected the purchase of the property
and has here developed a good nursery and mail
order business, having constantly made his busi
ness a matter of technical study and experiment
and having made such improvements upon his
farm as were demanded by the business. In 1901
he erected his greenhouse and his office building,
and ten acres of his farm are now devoted to
horticulture, while in the carrying on of the work
he gives employment to a superintendent and a
corps of nine assistants. He not only controls
a good retail trade, but makes a specialty of the
shipment of white pine seed into various sec
tions of tiie Union and also to foreign countries.
In 1900 he shipped six tons to Europe, implying
nine thousand bushels of cones, and in this line
he transacts a lucrative and important business.
Mr. Horsford also has charge of both the old
homestead farms, so that he has under his direct
supervision five hundred and seventy-five acres of
land. While he takes a proper interest in pub
lic affairs he has never been an aspirant for public
office and in the matter of politics he maintains
an independent attitude, supporting such men
and measures as meet the approval of his judg
ment, without reference to strict partisan lines.
On the 12th of May, 1886, Mr. Horsford was
united in marriage to Miss Jane E. Stone, who
was born on the farm where they now reside,
being a daughter of Luther D. Stone, a represen
tative of one of the prominent old families of this
countv. Mr. Stone married Phoebe R. Keese,
and of their six children four are living, namely :
Josephine, the widow of Charles Wooster ; Ruth,
the widow of Henry Harrison, and a resident of
LaGrange, Illinois ; Jane E., the wife of Freder
ick H. Horsford ; and Belle, the wife of Dr. Will

iam White, of Chicago, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs.
Horsford have three children, — Cyrus P., Phoebe
and Earl Frederick Horsford.
JONATHAN ROSS.
Jonathan Ross, one of the most eminent jur
ists of the state of Vermont, exemplifies in the
fullest sense the fact that our strongest men,
physically and. intellectually, are bred in the rural
sections. After a long and unusually busy life,
he is nearing the close of his seventy-seventh
year, and is still in the possession of the keenest
perceptions, is active and industrious in the pur
suit of his accustomed labors. Judge Ross was
born April 30, 1826, in the town of Waterford,
Caledonia county, Vermont, and is the eldest
son and third child of his parents, Royal and
Eliza Ross, the former a man of marked indi
viduality and the latter possessed of much in
tellectual force and of most estimable womanly
qualities. Previous to the Revolution Roger Ross, who
is held in family tradition to have been a
Scotchman, was in Templeton and Phillips-
ton, Massachusetts. He was born September 20,
1740, and died October 6, 1817, at Phillipston,
Massachusetts. August 21, 1777, he enlisted for
service in the colonial army and marched
to Bennington, arriving too late to take
part in the battle there, and was dis
charged after ten days' service. Again,
September 27, following, he was enrolled
under the same commanders, Captain Josiah Wil
der and Colonel Nathan Sparhawk, and served
twenty-nine days, participating in the battle of
Saratoga. If not himself a Scotchman, therfc is
little doubt that his ancestors were Scotch.
February 14, 1771, his first wife (whose name
is unknown) bore him a son, who was named
Jonathan, and she died when the boy was a child.
The latter purchased his time before attaining
his majority, and subsequently spent some time
at Chesterfield, New Hampshire, where he mar
ried Lucy Stoddard. In 1793 he bought one hun
dred acres of wild land in what is now the town
of Waterford, Vermont, and in February, 1795,
he brought his bride there to make a home. The
journey was made on a sled drawn by a pair of
steers. Here he cleared up a farm, but was taken

^^^^.f^^/T^^f" vk^Jl.

AJL&

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

575

away in the prime of life, November n, 1820,
his death resulting from an attack of typhus fever.
The same malady had taken away two of his
four sons and one of the two daughters in the
previous year. His widow survived until July
4, 185 1, reaching the good old age of seventy-
five years, havirig been born October 26, 1775.
Royal, son of Jonathan and Lucy Ross, was born
July 22, 1799, on the homestead in Waterford,
where he passed his entire life and died Novem
ber 2, 1856. In 1821 he married Eliza, daughter
of Rev. Reuben Mason, a pioneer clergyman of
the Congregational church. Five of their six sons
and all of the six daughters grew to mature years.
Two sons and two daughters are now living. The
mother lived to the age of ninety-five years,
laboring with assiduity beyond her ninetieth year,
and passing away May 7, 1898. She was born
November 25, 1803, in Lyman, New Hampshire.
Rev. Reuben Mason was a lineal descendant of
Pelatiah Mason, one of the nine sons of Sampson
Mason, who came from England and settled in
Dorchester, Massachusetts, where he resided
from 1649 to 1657, removing in the latter year
¦to Rehoboth. He had served under Cromwell
in the parliamentary army, and his descendants
have included statesmen, soldiers, preachers and
scholars who have contributed to give the family
name an honorable distinction. Besides his sons,
he had four daughters.
The boyhood years of Judge Ross were passed
upon the farm which had been subdued by his
grandfather, and he was early introduced to use
ful labor' where industry, sobriety and sound
morality ruled. The first one hundred acres had
been paid for and ten acres cleared out of the
-grandfather's earnings as a farm laborer. His
¦grandfather had brought all his movable posses
sions to this place on a sled, except a cow, which
he iead. In the twenty-five years that he iived
after that, he added one hundred acres to his
domain, fenced it all, mostly with stone walls,
and built two frame barns and a frame house, all
-of which were well stocked and furnished. To
this estate Royal Ross succeeded at the age of
twenty-one years, upon his father's death (the
-other surviving son, Abraham, being then only
seven years old), and he also practiced the in
dustry and frugality which characterized his
parents. Long after the subject of this sketch

reached manhood, everything consumed upon the
farm was, almost without exception, produced
there. The flax and wool which grew upon the
farm were spun and woven for clothing, and
plain fare sufficed for the table. Trolley rides
and railway trips were unknown, and no tropical
fruits found their way to the rural palate.
In the rude school of his native district the
future lawmaker and jurist began to receive in
struction, and here continued winter and sum
mer until he was eleven years old, after which
his labors were required upon the home acres
during the outdoor season. He continued in the
district school in winter until he was seventeen
years old, when he had become qualified, through
the industrious application of an active mind, to
take up the teacher's ferule and lead others in the
way of knowledge. For seven successive winter
terms, beginning at the age of eighteen years,
he taught in Vermont, New Hampshire and
Massachusetts. By means of his earnings in this
way, he was enabled to attend parts of two fall
terms in a select school in Waterford and part
of a term at Philips Academy, of Danville. In
the autumns of 1844-45-46, he was a student
under the instruction of that prince of educators
in his time, James K. Colby, at St. Johnsbury
Academy. From an early age young Ross had
manifested a great love for books, and the resolve
to enter upon a professional career was more
firmly fixed during his association with Professor
Colby. The spring and early summer of 1847
were spent at this institution and in the following
autumn he matriculated at Dartmouth College.
Though not so well prepared as some of his more
fortunate fellows, his studious habits and ready
grasp of knowledge enabled him to make up his
conditions during the first year. His course at
college afforded to his fellow students an example
of industry and probity and was marked by high
scholarship, and he was graduated in 1851. In
the meantime most of his expenses had been de
frayed by his own earnings. In the autumn of
his junior year he acted as assistant to Mr.
Colby in St. Johnsbury Academy, and when his
coveted degree was obtained he owed his father
two hundred and seventy-four dollars, which had
been loaned to him. The Judge has never
had cause to regret that he entered up
on this course, instead of taking up farm

576

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

labor at home, as urged by his father.
In 1885 his alma mater conferred upon
him the well earned degree of LL. D.
During the first year after graduation the
young A. B. taught in the academy at Crafts-
bury, Vermont, and for the succeeding two years
in Cheslsea Academy, same state. The next two
years were occupied in reading law in the office
of Hon. William Hebard in Chelsea, simultane
ously teaching in the academy there, and he was
admitted to the Orange county court in the De
cember term, 1855.
In the spring of 1856 Judge Ross took up
his residence at St. Johnsbury, and was assistant
at the academy until summer. In May of the
same year he formed a partnership with A. J.
Willard for the practice of law, which has ever
since been his profession. After 1858 he con
tinued alone until his election to the supreme
bench in 1870. After twenty years of service on
the bench his eminent judicial qualities were
recognized by his selection as chief justice, and he
continued in this capacity until he resigned, Janu
ary 11, 1899, to serve in the United States Sen
ate in the vacancy caused by the death of the
lamented Justin S. Morrill. December 1, 1900, he
was appointed by the governor as chairman of the
state railroad commission and served two years,
at the end of which time he was glad to be re
lieved of the cares of the office, to give his entire
attention to the legal business demanding his
time. Though never a seeker after preferment, be
ing abundantly able to take care of himself and
do good in the community' as a private citizen,
Judge Ross has gracefully accepted and most
efficiently filled many trusts at the request of his
fellow citizens. He has acted as trustee of the
vilage of St. Johnsbury and was eleven years on
the prudential committee of the St. Johnsbury
union district. From 1859 to 1869 he was treas
urer of the Passumpsic Savings Bank. He was
elected state's attorney for Caledonia county in
1862 and again in 1863 ; represented St. Johns
bury in the state legislature in 1865-66-67, and
was elected to the state senate from Caledonia
county in 1870. In both branches of the legis
lature he served on the judiciary and other im
portant committees, and in 1866 was appointed
a member of the state board of education, serv

ing until his elevation to the bench four years
later. In 1869 he was a member of the last coun
cil of censors.
November 22, 1852, Jonathan Ross was mar
ried to Miss Eliza Ann Carpenter, a native of
the same town as himself, daughter of Isaiah and
Caroline (Bugbee) Carpenter, and sister of the
late Alonzo P. Carpenter, chief justice of New
Hampshire. Mrs. Ross was educated in New
bury, Lyndonville and St. Johnsbury academies,.
and was some years a teacher in the public schools
of Vermont and New Hampshire and also in the
academies at Lyndonville and St. Johnsbury. She
was a lady of rare intellectual powers and many
graces of character, known as a devoted wife
and mother. "Her children rise up to call her
blessed." January 15, 1886, she passed to the
higher life, having borne six daughters and two
sons, all of whom have reflected credit and honor
upon a worthy parentage.
July 4, 1887, Judge Ross took for a second
mate a most worthy successor of the first, of
whom she is a distant relative, in the person of
Miss Helen Augusta Daggett, a descendant of
an old and honored American family. She is a
cultivated and lovable lady, who was educated.
at St. Johnsbury and at the Tilden Female Semi
nary, at Lebanon, New Hampshire, and spent-
twenty-eight years in teaching, chiefly in the west,
the last twenty- four in the institutions for the
blind at Janesville, Wisconsin, and Indianapolis,
Indiana. Of the children of Judge Ross a brief record
is here appropriate: Caroline C, born Novem
ber 1, 1853, graduated at St. Johnsbury Academy
and spent one year each at Vassar College and
Chicago University, and was a most capable
woman ; after teaching at home, at Independence,
Iowa, and Rochester, Minnesota, she was several
years employed at Fargo, South Dakota, and
died September 14, 1899, at home, while still
under engagement at the latter point. Eliza
Mason, born December 2, 1855, a cultivated and
energetic lady, is at present teaching in the insti
tution for the blind at Philadelphia. Helen M.,
born February 22, 1858, was educated at St.
Johnsbury Academy and was a teacher; she died'
March 16, 1882. Julia, born September 19, i86o,is
the wife of Dr. Albert Clinton Aldrich, of Somer
ville, Massachusetts, and takes rank among the-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

577

intellectual women of that Boston suburb, being
especially active in club affairs. Martha E., born
July 1 6, 1862, is skilled in the use of the pencil
and possesses fine taste, and taught drawing
some years before becoming the wife of John W.
Titcomb, now. a member of the United States
fish commission. Edward H., born June 18,
1864, graduated in the classical course, with high
rank, at Dartmouth College in 1886 and subse
quently took the medical course at the same insti
tution, and is now enjoying a lucrative medical
practice in his native place. Jonathan C, born
March 22, 1867, graduated at Dartmouth in
1889, and took up the profession of law, in which
he had established a strong hold in New York
city when he died, of pneumonia, January 1,
1900; his career was characterized by aptitude
and industry. Edith, born July 18, 1869, gradu
ated at St. Johnsbury Academy and spent two
years at Smith's College, and is now the wife of
Charles G. Braley, of her native town.
The most fitting and complete summing up
of the character of Judge Ross is found in the
writings of a contemporary, prepared in 1887,
as follows : "Coming to the bench in the
maturity of his power, though ripe in learning
for his years, he did not abate one jot of zeal or
effort to keep himself abreast of the most industri
ous and ambitious of his associates, and to-day he
holds rank second to none of his associates in
point of legal erudition and thorough knowledge
of the fundamental principles of law, or familiar
ity with the established methods of practice.
"As a trier of causes, his eminent practical
sense, his strong sense of justice, joined to his
varied attainments, secured him at once the re
spect of the bar and the confidence of litigants.
Sprung from and reared among the people, and
in full sympathy with their mode of life, no pride
of position ever removed him from touch with
the everyday life of the laboring classes, who
ever find him ready to sympathize with and advise
them in the troubles and perplexities of life.
"Uniformly courteous and indulgent to the
bar, and especially to those whose limited experi
ence leaves them, unaided, at the mercy of more
astute and more experienced practitioners;
patient to hear and considerate in expression of
opinions to those from whose views he is obliged
to dissent, it is both pleasant and easy to practice
37

in his courts. -Diligent in the performance of the
functions of his office, there is never in his courts
an accumulation of business, and no one ever has
occasion to complain that the cases which fall to
him in supreme court are not attended to, and
his written opinions, always able and often
times exhaustive, are with dispatch placed
in the hands of the reporter. The early
habit, acquired upon his father's farm, of
doing at once and with thoroughness the
thing to be done, makes him one of
the most efficient and reliable men of his day
and generation, in all of the manifold depart
ments of public and private life where he is called
to act. Fair and impartial in the trial of issues
of fact, questions which would naturally have
gone to a jury for determination, are frequently,
by mutual consent, submitted to the court.
Simple and plain in the statement of issues of
cases submitted to the jury, he is enabled easily
to assist them to reach just conclusions and
further the ends of justice. Few lives, so
crowded with responsible duties, have been more
admirably lived, and it is to be hoped that the
future has for him large store both of usefulness
and honors." ,
EDWARD PILON, M. D.
Among the honored representatives of the
medical profession in Addison county, Vermont,
is Dr. Pilon, who is of the younger generation of
practitioners and who is located in the attractive
city of Virgennes. His ability in his profession
has gained him marked prestige, while his genial
and gracious personality have secured to him a
host of warm friends in the community which he
has chosen as the scene of effort in his noble pro- .
fession. As the name indicates, Dr. Pilon is of French
extraction, the genealogy being traced back
through a distinguished line in la belle France,
while the name has also been long identified with
the annals of American history as pertaining to
the Dominion of Canada, where the original rep
resentatives located many generations ago, hav
ing been among the prominent French emigres
who initiated the work of development and pro
gress in the province of Quebec and there in
stituted as far as possible the graces of social life-

578

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

to which they had been accustomed in their na
tive land. The Doctor himself is a native of
Canada, having been born in the parish of St.
Jerome, near the city of Montreal, on the 12th of
October, 1863. His father, Anthime Pilon, was
born in St. Benoit, province of Quebec, being a
son of Moses, who was born in the locality known
as Lake of the Mountains, in that province, where
his ancestors had settled upon their emigration
from France. He passed his entire life in that
section of the province, having been a successful
farmer and a man of influence in his community
and having died, in the city of Montreal, at the
age of sixty-five years. His wife, whose maiden
name was Adelaide LaLande, was likewise born
in that province, where she passed her entire life,
passing away in 1899, at the patriarchal age of
ninety-six years. She is survived by three chil
dren, — Maurice P., Xavier and Olivine. The
family have ever been devoted members and
communicants of the Catholic church.
Anthime Pilon was reared and educated in
his native province, completing his educational
training in a church institution in the city of
Montreal and early giving inception to his busi
ness career, being but sixteen years of age when
he secured a clerkship in a mercantile establish
ment in Montreal. At the age of twenty he be
came associated with his brothers in a mercan
tile enterprise in St. Gerome, and was a partner
for a period of six years, at the expiration of
which time he disposed of his interests and remov
ed to Montreal, where he was for two years em
ployed as a clerk in a large mercantile establish
ment. He then engaged in business on his own
responsibility, opening a general dry goods store,
in which he gave employment to ten clerks at the
.start, while the enterprise developed rapidly in
scope and importance under his , effective super
vision, and it eventually became the most exten
sive of the sort in the city. From this beginning,
St. Catherine's was made a business street. A
large department store was the outcome, and at
the time of his death he retained a corps of two
hundred and fifty clerical assistants and conducted
a business of magnificent scope, being regarded as
one of the most progressive, reliable and public-
spirited citizens of the fine old Canadian city with
whose interests he was thus conspiciously iden
tified. He was a liberal contributor to all pro

jects for the advancing of public interest and
the promotion of material progress. He died in
the city of Montreal on the 6th of August, 1897,
at the age of fifty-seven years, and secure in
the respect and highest esteeem of all who knew
him. In 186 1 Anthime Pilon was united in mar
riage to Miss Mary J. Marchand, who was born
in Quebec, being a daughter of Jeremiah Merch-
and, who was a tanner by vocation and who was
well known as a skilled musician, having had ex
ceptional .talent as a vocalist, possessing a fine
ly cultivated tenor voice. He died at the age of
sixty years, and his wife, whose maiden name
was Florence Brunelie, pased away at the age
of seventy-five years, having become the mother
of eighteen children, of whom ten are living at
the present time, including the mother of our sub
ject. One of her brothers is a priest of the Catho-
church — Rev. Father Majorique Brunelie, whose
pastorate is at Gentilly, providence of Que
bec. Anthime and Mary J. Pilon became the
parents of nine children, of whom six are living
at the present time, namely: Edward, the subject
of this sketch ; Jane A., who is the widow of Mal
colm C. Miller of Drummond, providence of Que
bec; Alphonse, who is engaged in the dry goods
business at Fall River, Massachusetts ; Mary L.,
who is the wife of R. Ernest Boisvert, of Mass
achusetts ; Frank, who is a druggist at Brooklyn,
New York ; and Anthime, who is a resident of
Montreal. Edward Pilon passed his boyhood days in the
city of Montreal, and began his education at a
very early age, becoming a "student" in a kinder
garten when less than four years of age, while
at the age of six he entered a normal school in
his home city, where he continued his studies un
til he became eligible for admission to college.
When he was eleven years old he was matriculated
in Montreal College, and was seventeen years of
age at the time when he entered the Jesuit col
lege, where he was graduated as a member of the
class of 1883. He then passed a year in study in
the Laval University Medical College, in the
city of Quebec, after which he continued his
technical studies in the medical department of
Victoria University, in Montreal, where he was
graduated as a member of the class of 1888. In
February, 1889, he located in Vergennes where he
has ever since been established in the active prac-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

579

tice of his profession, gaining distinctive recogni
tion as an able and discriminating physician and
a very skillful surgeon, while he is known to be
not only a close student of the best standard and
periodical literature pertaining to his prefession,
but also to be a man of fine scholastic attainments
in a more generic sense. The Doctor is thorough
ly en rapport with his profession, and his fidelity,
earnest devotion and unfailing courtesy have all
been potent in advancing him in his profession,
since he now controls the largest practice of all
physicians in this immediate locality. He holds
membership in the Vermont State Medical Socie
ty and the Addison County Medical Society, and
he has read able papers before the same on impor
tant medical subjects, while he has also contrib
uted to various periodicals published in the inter
ests of medical science. In politics the Doctor is
arrayed as a stanch supporter of the Democratic
party. He was for four years a member of the
board of pension examiners of this county, and
has been offered the position of health officer of
Vergennes, which he declined. Fraternally he
is identified with Woodmen of the World and the
Catholic Order of Foresters, being medical ex
aminer for the local organizations of each of these
orders, and also holding a similar position in the
interest of the New York Mutual Life Insurance
Company and the Metropolitan Life Insurance
Company. The Doctor is a communicant of the
Catholic church, in whose faith he was reared, and
he is organist of St. Peter's church, being also
the choir master and director. He has ex
ceptional talent as a musician, being a fine pianist
and organist and having devoted special atten
tion to the mastery of the technical and mechani
cal difficulties of that noble instrument, the pipe
organ. He was organist in Montreal College for
six years, and has been in active service in the
local church for ten years, while his efforts are ac
corded full appreciation in the church and in
local musical circles.
On the 4th of October, 1888, Dr. Pilon was
united in marriage to Miss Anna Richards, who
was born in Vergennes, being a daughter of Au
gustus Richards, a leading mason and contractor
of this place. He married Elizabeth Mossey,
and they became the parents of four children,
namely : George, a resident of Hoopston, Illinois ;
Anna,' the wife of our subject ; Dolard, who re

mains at the parental home, as does also the
youngest son, Frederick. Dr. and Mrs. Pilon
have two adopted children, Fanny and Frederick.
HENRY DAVIS HALL.
Henry Davis Hall, the eldest surviving child
of the late Governor Hiland Hall, was born May
5, 1823, at Bennington, Vermont. He was edu
cated at Bennington Academy and at Burr &

HENRY DAVIS HALL.
Burton Seminary and at the age of fifteen years
entered upon the serious business of life as clerk
at Newfane in Austin Birchard's general store.
At the close of his service with Mr. Birchard,
when eighteen years of age, young Hall was
proffered a partnership interest as an induce
ment to him to remain. He declined this offer,
however, his energies being directed at the time
toward fitting himself for college. In the winter

58o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

of 1841-2 he taught school at Pownal. Failing
sight caused his abandonment of a college course.
In 1844, having partially recovered from the
affliction of his eyes, he engaged with the firm
of Norton & Fenton, manufacturers of stoneware
(Bennington), in traveling, selling and deliver
ing- for the firm within a radius of one hundred
miles of the plant. In the fall of 1846 a partner
ship was formed under the firm name of Fenton,
Hall & Company, of which Mr. Norton rep
resented the company and a third interest, for the
manufacture of white and yellow ware, and many
articles of chinaware, the employes being mainly
brought from England, as American pottery was
then in its infancy. This establishment became
one of the leading industries of Bennington. Mr.
Hall, however, withdrew from this connection
after one year, and in 1847 became associated
with his brother-in-law, Trenor W. Park, in the
lumber business, operating in connection there
with all of the saw mills of Bennington and
Woodford. In connection with it a large store
building was erected by the company at Benning
ton and stocked with general merchandise. In
1848 Mr.. Hall disposed of his interest in this
business and established a clothing, boot and shoe
house in Bennington and was engaged therein
up to 1866. For twelve years during the latter
period Mr. Hall was one of the board of directors
of the Vermont Mutual Fire Insurance Company,
and acted as agent for many stock insurance
companies, transacting a large general insurance
business. In 1866 Mr. Hall, in conjunction with
his brother ' Nathaniel, purchased and for two
years operated the Estes cotton mill at South
Bennington, and subsequently, in 1868, Mr.
Henry D. Hall having purchased his brother's
interest, he continued to operate the plant until
1878. He next opened a clothing, boot and shoe
and men's furnishing goods house at North Ben
nington, and this he conducted successfully up
to 1883, since which time he has lived in retire
ment from active business pursuits, but has for
several years filled the office of curator of the
Vermont Historical Society, for Bennington
county, and that of historian in the Bennington
Battle Monument and Historical Association.
Mr. Hall was an old time Whig, casting his
first vote for Henry Clay for president in 1844.
Upon the formation of the Republican party he

entered zealously upon the advocacy of its princi
ples. He has accepted some local offices and has
served his party as delegate to several conventions,
but has had neither time- nor inclination for seek
ing political preferment. Mr. Hall, having pro
nounced literary tastes, has written much.
Among his valuable contributions to local
literature is an exhaustive paper on "The
Battle of Bennington," which was read
before the Berkshire Historical and Sci
entific Society, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, in
1894, and the Vermont Historical Society in
the house of representatives at Montpelier, Ver
mont, November 5, 1896, among other things, re
futing by historical data the claim made in an
article in the "National Magazine of American
History" of April, 1892, that a body of New
York troops under Colonel John Williams, took
part in the battle and aided in securing the
victory; the article has attracted general recog
nition as authority on that famous Revolutionary
engagement. Mr. Hall united in 1858 with the
Congregational church in Bennington and has
ever since been active in his connection with the
advancement of the interests of that denomina
tion in Bennington county. From 1858 until
1866, at Bennington, he was superintendent of
the Sunday-school, and was one of the
building committee which erected its pres
ent chapel. In 1866, upon his removal
to North Bennington, he interested him
self in the establishment of a Congregational
church there, which was the direct out
growth of a Sabbath school established by
himself and others. The congregation worshiped
for a time in Bank Hall and in 1869, largely
through the individual effort of Mr. Hall, with
one half the money outlay being borne by Mr.
Trenor W. Park, a church edifice was erected.
He has, upon invitation, filled the pulpits of the
churches of the vicinity. Mr. Hall has always-
had the keenest interest in the advancement of"
Bennington and North Bennington materially and
educationally, and has rendered conspicuously
valuable service as school and village trustee, at
both places, and has for several years been presi
dent of the North Bennington Free Library As
sociation. Mr. Hall married, March 24, 1847, Caroline
E. Thatcher, of Bennington, who died July 24,.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

581

1899. They celebrated their golden wedding
March 24, 1897. In five generations of lineal
descent, on the Hall side, have couples lived to
gether for over fifty years. Their children were
five in number. One son, Charles Henry, died
aged one year and nine months ; William Carroll
died when ten years old; Hiland Hall (second),
married Florence I. Houghton, daughter of J.
C. Houghton, of North Bennington, and died
when twenty-six years of age, leaving one son,
Clark H. Hall; Caroline H. Mattison, whose
children are Lila H, Duane F., Robert H, Henry
A. and Florence E. ; Eliza D. Hill married
Henry T. Cushman, of whom a sketch appears
elsewhere in this work.
HON. ALEXANDER DUNNETT.
Hon. Alexander Dunnett, ex-senator and
prominent lawyer of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, is
a descendant of the Dunnetts of Dunnett Head,
the most northern point of Scotland. This is a
bold precipitous headland, crowned by a light
house whose windows, four hundred feet per
pendicular above the neap tides of the Atlantic,
are often broken by the spray of tempestuous
waves dashing mountain high through the chan
nel separating the mainland from the Orkney
Isles. The Dunnetts were adventurous Norse
mariners. Their family crest was significant — a
fox on a rock, — their motto, "Non Terra sed
Aguis." Alexander Dunnett was born in Peacham,
Vermont, November 29, 1852, the third of six
children of Andrew and Christiana (Galbraith)
Dunnett. Andrew Dunnett came to America
from his native Scotland in 1842, and about six
years later married Christiana, daughter of
George Galbraith, of Barnet; they settled on a
farm in Peacham, and later in. West Newbury ;
the church and business center was at South
Ryegate, where the family took up their residence
when Alexander was fourteen years old. Andrew
Dunnett was a moderately well-to-do farmer, and
elder in the Reformed Presbyterian church, a
great Bible student, and not unskilled in theo-
ological polemics.
John Galbraith, maternal great-grandfather of
Alexander Dunnett, was a "Scotch Laird," who
came to America before the Revolution, and

purchased a tract of land, becoming one of the
earliest pioneers of Barnet, where he located near
Endrick brook, so named by him. Here he lived
alone, except for the frequent visits of the Indians.
Later he went to Canada, was captured as a spy,
but finally released and returned to his native
land. His son, George Galbraith, came to Barnet
in 1800, and located on the place where the pio
neer built his first log house, and there reared a
family of twelve children.
Alexander Dunnett spent the formative period
of his boyhood at South Ryegate, where he at
tended church arid school. His academic train
ing was obtained at Randolph Normal School,
under Edward Conant, where he graduated from
the second course in the class of '74. He began
the study of law in the office of Hon. N. L.
Boyden, of Randolph, and completed his pro-
f esional studies at Boston University Law School ;
he was admitted to practice at the bar of Orange
county at the June term, 1877. During these
years he was afforded the wholesome experience
of teaching several terms of winter school. He
began his professional career at South Ryegate,
and two years later was appointed master in
chancery. In 1883 he removed to St. Johnsbury,
where he entered into partnership with A. F.
Nichols, Esq., which connection continued three
years. Since 1896 L. P. Slack has been his
partner. As a lawyer Mr. Dunnett possesses a
keen analytical mind, which readily grasps the
salient features of a case, tireless energy and
persistence, united with a forceful and original
presentation of both law and evidence. In the
Way murder trial Mr. Dunnett attracted wide
spread attention to the case through the masterly
way in which he conducted the defense. He was
state's attorney in Caledonia" county from 1886
to 1890. For several years he acted as town
superintendent of schools of Ryegate, and has
served as moderator many years in that town and
St. Johnsbury. In every campaign since he was
admitted to the bar Mr. Dunnett has taken the
stump as a Republican orator, has attended as a
delegate most of the state and district conven
tions, arid was for several years chairman of the
Caledonia county Republican committee, and of
the Republican state convention in 1900. His
growth in ability and influence has been constant,
both at the bar and in the political forum. In

582

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

1900 he served with distinction as a senator from
Caledonia county, was chairman of the general
committee, a member of judiciary committee, and
a potential factor in the work of the session.
Mr. Dunnett is liberal in his religious beliefs and
his social affinities. He enjoys the regard of a
wide circle of friends and acquaintances. He has
been master of Passumpsic Lodge, F. & A. M.,
high priest of Haswell Chapter, R. A. M., and
is a Knight Templar.
Pleasantly located on the southern shore of
Groton Pond and commanding the rugged out
lines of Bald Ledge and Owl's Head, is the
spacious summer home of Mr. Dunnett. Here
he enjoys rest and recreation, and his numerous
friends receive a hospitable welcome from both
the host and his estimable wife.
HENRY HOWARD BOOTH.
Henry Howard Booth, a prosperous young
lawyer of Vergennes, is descended from some of
the earliest families of Addison county, and
maintains worthily the honorable character of his
progenitors. Cyrus A. Booth, a native of New
town, Connecticut, came to Vergennes when a lad
of fourteen years, and here passed the remainder
of his life, becoming one of the leading merchants
and most influential citizens. For many years he
conducted a general store, and later, in connection
with his son, kept a hardware establishment,
under the style of C. A. Booth & Son. While
he took no active part in political affairs, he was
always actively interested in the well being of
his town and never missed an opportunity to
serve it. Besides acting in other local offices, he
served the city of Vergennes as mayor for many
years. He was a member of the Protestant Epis
copal church, and was accorded the fullest meas
ure of respect and esteem in the community where
he attained the age of seventy-six years. He mar
ried Catherine White, and after her death he mar
ried her sister, Sarah White. The former was
the mother of two children, one of whom is now
living. The latter also had two children, Hon.
J. H. Booth, of Plattsburg, New York, and Mrs.
A. B. Clark, of Rosebud, South Dakota.
Charles A. Booth, son of Cyrus A. and Cathe
rine Booth, was born in Vergennes, Vermont, and
began his education at the Vermont Episcopal

Institute, under the paternal care and instruction
of Bishop Hopkins, later attending a private
school at Vergennes, under "Uncle Ben" Allen
who is famous for having fitted one thousand
boys for college. He attended Dartmouth
College for one year and, in 1868, was ap
pointed to the United States Military Academy
at West Point, where he was graduated in 1872.
He has ever since continued in the military ser
vice, having been advanced in grade from time
to time until he is now lieutenant colonel of the
Seventh United States Infantry. Colonel Booth
has rendered most efficient service, having been
located at various posts in the west and north
west at different intervals, tie has recently re
turned from Nome, Alaska, where he had com
mand of a large Government outpost, and he also
constructed a large post at Fort Gibon, Alaska,
situated on the Yukon river, at the mouth of the
Tanana, and nearly one thousand miles from the
mouth of the Yukon. Col. Booth was married
to Miss Jennie Flora Burge, who was born in
Bridport, Vermont, a daughter of Howard H.
and Jane K. Burge. Howard H. Burge was a
jeweler of great skill ; served throughout the Civil
war with distinction, and died at Hinesburg, Ver
mont, at the age of seventy-two years, being sur
vived by his two children — Mrs. Booth and Cham
pion L. Burge, a representative business man of
Vergennes. Colonel and Mrs. Booth became the
parents of three children, namely: Henry H.,
whose name heads this 'article ; Charles L., an
able physician and surgeon of Milwaukee, Wis
consin; and Catherine Flora, wife of Ralph W.
Hench, who is engaged in the dry goods business
at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Both the parents
are communitants of the Protestant Episcopal
church. Henry H. Booth was born July 26, 1874, at
Fort Benton, Montana, then the principal sup
ply headquarters and trading station of the North
western Fur Company and for a large mining
district, and also being the head of navigation on
the Missouri river. He passed the early years of
his life at Vergennes and Westport, New York,
and later was with his parents in various west
ern states where his father was stationed. He re
mained for some time in Colorado, and continued
his studies in Buffalo, New York, and Harris
burg, Pennsylvania. He was for two years a

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

583

student in the law office of the Hon. J. H. Booth,
of Plattsburgh, New York, and completed his
legal studies in the law department of Union
University, at Albany, New York, where he
graduated in 1896. He was admitted to the prac
tice of law in the state of New York in the same
year, and to practice in the federal courts of New
York in 1897.
After being admitted to the bar Mr. Booth
passed a year as managing clerk in the law of
fices of Everest & Signor at Rouse's Point, New
York, and in 1898 began the active practice of
law on his own account at that place, meeting with
more than usual success. In 1899 he went to
Ticonderoga, New York, and a year later came
to Vergennes, where he has since established him
self in the general practice of law, and has gained
prestige as an able advocate and duly conservative
counselor, to which he is steadily adding by de
votion to his profession and fidelity to the inter
ests of his clients. Mr. Booth holds membership
in the Vermont State Bar Association, the New
York State Bar Association and that of Addison
county, as well as being a practitioner in the fed
eral courts of both New York and Vermont, en
joying marked popularity among his confreres.
In politics he is a stanch advocate of the princi
ples and policies of the Republican party, taking
an active interest in the cause of good govern
ment. While a resident of Rouse's Point he was
a member of the town council of the town of
Champlain, New York, and since becoming a
resident of Vergennes has been called upon to
serve as city grand juror, the duties of which po
sition he performed without fear or favor. Both
he and his wife hold the faith of the Protestant
Episcopal church, in which they are communi
cants. On the 26th of June, 1901, Mr. Booth was
married to Miss Mary L. Rich, who was born in
Shoreham, Addison county, Vermont, a daughter
of Irving B. Rich, a prominent and influential
citizen of Shoreham, in which town the Rich fami
ly has lived for several generations, being among
the earliest settlers! Mrs. Booth is the elder of
the two children of her parents. The other, Irv
ing L., is a graduate of the University of Ver
mont, class of 1901.
The White family, which included ancestors
of Mr. Booth, was among the first in Vergennes.

William White, grandfather of Mrs. Catherine
(White) Booth, was an early merchant of the
city, and also owned an iron foundry, situated on
the falls of Otter creek. At this foundry was fit
ted out the fleet of Commodore McDonough,
which did such valuable work in the famous bat
tle of Lake Champlain, at Plattsburg, in 18 14.
ALEXANDER COCHRAN.
Alexander Cochran, of Groton, is prominent
ly identified with the business and financial in
terests of, the town, being one of its substantial
farmers, a leading merchant, a well known cap
italist and an active politician. He was born
at Ryegate, Vermont, in 1835, a son of Robert
Cochran. His paternal grandfather, also named
Alexander Cochran, emigrated from Johnson,
Scotland, to New England about the beginning
of the nineteenth century, settling in Ryegate,
Vermont, as one of its pioneers. He married
Ann (Nelson) Paden, a widow, a native of the
same locality as himself, and a woman of strong
personality. He took up a tract of land that
was in its primitive wildness, from it improv
ing a homestead that is now owned and occupied
by George Cochran. He died while in the prime
of a vigorous manhood, at the age of thirty-
nine years, but his widow continued to manage
the home farm, and reared her three children,
two of whom were daughters. They were
Jennette, who married Daniel Wormwood, and
Elizabeth A., who became the wife of James
Thomas. Robert Cochran, the only son of his parents,
was a life-long resident of Ryegate, where he
carried on general farming with great success.
He married Jean Park, a daughter of Archibald
Park, who came from Scotland at the age of
fourteen years and became one of the foremost
citizens of Ryegate, serving as selectman and in
numerous town offices. His wife, Margaret
Renfrew, was a native of Scotland, and a
woman of sterling character and keen intelli
gence. She was the only daughter among sev
eral sons in the family of James Renfrew, which
was a very bright family. Eight children were
born to Robert Cochran and wife, four of whom
are still living: Alexander, George, Luthera
and Silas W. The daughter is the wife of Dr.

584

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

G. W. Gregg, of Brattleboro, Vermont, and Silas
W. is a retired railroad contractor residing in
St. Louis, Missouri.
Alexander Cochran was educated in the dis
trict schools of his native town and at the New
bury Seminary, growing to man's estate on the
home farm. He subsequently engaged in ag
ricultural pursuits on his own account, making
a specialty of dealing in farm stock and produce,
later establishing himself in business as a general
merchant at Ryegate Corner, where he built up
a large trade, remaining there for a quarter of
a century. That was a time when groceries and
dry-goods reached the top mark, from 1865
until 1868, sugar selling at twenty-seven cents a
pound ; nails, ten cents ; best tea, two dollars and
twenty-five cents ; salt pork, twenty-five cents ;
calicoes, from twenty-five cents to thirty-
five cents per yard, cotton cloth bringing
from fifty cents to sixty cents per yard.
In 1882 Mr. Cochran entered into part
nership with his brother-in-law, Hon T.
B. Hall, becoming junior member of the
firm of Hall & Cochran, and in 1889 moved
to Groton, where he has since held a conspicuous
position among the leading men of the place.
In 1892, owing to the failure of the Blue Moun
tain Granite Company of Ryegate, for which he
had furnished money and supplies, he was forced
to assume the ownership of its property, which
he subsequently sold. The firm of Hall &
Cochran carries on a very large bartering busi
ness, exchanging its goods for any kind of farm
er's produce, including eggs, butter, live stock,
or timber, and deals extensively in quarry stone
and lumber, owning about two thousand acres
of wild land in the town of Peacham.
Politically Mr. Cochran is a hard-money
Democrat, and for a number of years was a mem
ber of the state Democratic committee for Cale
donia county, likewise being senatorial candidate
of his party, and receiving the nomination for
state treasurer. In 1888 he was delegate to the
national Democratic convention held in St.
Louis, and represented Groton in the state legis
lature, in 1896. He is connected with several
prominent financial institutions, being vice presi
dent of the National Bank of Newbury, a trus
tee of the Capital' Savings Bank of Montpelier,

and a director of the Merchants' National Bank
of St. Johnsbury.
In 1866 Mr. Cochran married Theresa,
daughter of the late Judge I. N. Hall, of Groton,
and of their union four children have been born,
namely: Robert Newton, died in infancy;
Josephine E., wife of D. F. Clark, of Montpelier;
Gertrude, wife of Howard Fletcher, of Boston;
and Theresa Jean. Mrs. Cochran is a woman
of remarkable ability, accomplished and re
fined, and during the World's Columbian Expo
sition, held in Chicago in 1893, was alternate
lady manager, and acted as principal in the ab
sence of the manager. Mr. and Mrs. Cochran
are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
JENNETTE B. BOUTON.
The subject of this brief sketch is of the
third generation of her family in Charlotte, Chit
tenden county, where her paternal grandfather
located in the pioneer days when this section of
the state presented a vastly different aspect than
it does at the present time, the march of develop
ment and improvement having gone steadily for
ward and having made this one of the most at
tractive portions of the old Green Mountain com
monwealth. The name is one which has ever been
honored in the community and in this connection
we are enabled to give a resume of the family
history, thus leaving a record of perpetual value
and interest, while proper reference will be made
to Miss Bouton, who resides in the attractive old
homestead in which she was born and which is
hallowed by the memories and associations of
the past.
Her father, John Jarvis Bouton, was ushered
into the world in Charlotte, the family home at
the date of his nativity, which was September 28,
1 801, it having been a log house of the type com
mon to the pioneer epoch. He was a son of Ste
phen Bouton, who was born October 8, 1771 in
Poundridge, New York, whose ancestral history
betokens long identification of the name with the
annals of New England. From Norwalk, in Con
necticut, he came to Chittenden county in the
eighteenth century, where he secured a tract of
land on the borders of Lake Champlain, in the
township of Charlotte. Here he erected a log

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

585

house, which became the family home, and
later he built another log structure near the site
¦of the present home of his granddaughter, while
in 1804 he erected the residence in which Miss
Bouton now maintains her home, so that it stands
as one of the veritable landmarks of the county,
having weathered the storms of nearly a cen
tury and being in an excellent state of preserva
tion, having been constructed carefully and sub
stantially, as was the custom in the pioneer days.
Here Stephen Bouton passed the evening of his
life, passing away October 22, 1853, ^t the ven
erable age of four score and five years, an honor
ed patriarch of the county to whose development
he had contributed in no small measure, having
been a skilled mechanic and having devoted the
¦greater portion of his life to his trade, which was
that of builder. His wife, whose maiden name
was Polly Jarvis, was born December 25, 1776,
an Norwalk, Connecticut, and she died September
11, 1854, at the age of seventy-seven years, hav
ing become the mother of two children, — John J.
and Ann, the latter of whom died in 1889, at the
age of ninety-two years. The grandparents were
folk of sterling character and were devoted mem
bers of the Congregational church, in whose or
ganization they were instrumental.
John J. Bouton was reared in Charlotte town
ship, having been a boy at the time when his par
ents took up their residence in the present home
of his daughter, in the village of the same name,
and that he duly profited by the educational ad
vantages afforded him in the schools of the locali
ty and period is evident from the fact that in his
youth he was a successful teacher in the local
¦schools. He learned the builder's trade under
the direction of his honored father, who individu
ally erected the old homestead, and he devoted
his attention to his trade to a greater or less ex
tent for many years, while he also became one of
the succesful farmers of the town, owning a
•good place of his own and also operating one
•owned by his wife, to whom it had been bequeath
ed by her father. Mr. Bouton lived to attain the
age of sixty-seven years, passing away on the
14th of March, 1869. He was a man of fine judg
ment and marked executive ability, and his in
tegrity in all the relations of life was such as to
command the uniform confidence and esteem of

all who knew him. He was a prominent member
of the Methodist Episcopal church and was an
active worker in the same, having held the offices
of steward, trustee and of clerk, while he was for
many years prominent in the work of the Sunday-
school. In politics he gave his support to the
Republican party from the time of its organi
zation. Fully appreciative of the duties of citi
zenship, he took an active part in public affairs of
a local nature, having been called upon to serve
in various town offices and having invariably dis
charged his assigned duties with signal ability
and fidelity.
In early manhood, Mr. Bouton was married
to Miss Mary Ann Breckenridge, who was born
December 16, 1808, in Charlotte, being a daugh
ter of Jonathan and Lurene (Newell) Brecken
ridge, the former of whom was one of the exten
sive and influential farmers of the county, owning
a tract of four hundred acres, and being a man
honored for his sterling character. He was
among the first settlers of Charlotte, was a licens
ed exhorter of the Methodist church and a very
saintly man, and he lived to a great age. He was
born August 19, 1766, and died March 21, 1852,
at the age of eighty-six years, and his wife passed
away July 29, 1841. She was born January 13,
1769. They became the parents of eleven chil
dren, all of whom are now deceased. Mr. and
Mrs. Bouton became the parents of two daught
ers, namely: Harriet Antoinette, who was born
October 28, 1837, died December 6, 1897, having
been thrice married, — first to Arthur C. Barker,
next to Charles Storrs, of Burlington, and last
to Joseph Barton, of Charlotte. The younger
daughter is Jannette Brekenridge, who occupies
the ancestral home. Their mother, who was a
devoted and consistent member of the Methodist
church and a woman of noble and gracious char
acter, died on the 12th of March, 1872, in her
sixty-fourth year.
Miss Bouton has passed her entire life in
Charlotte, securing her preliminary education in
the public schools and supplementing the same
by a course of study in the Troy Conference
Academy, at Poultney, Vermont. After leaving
school she was for several terms a successful and
popular teacher in the Charlotte schools. She
has taken an active part in church and social af-

586

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

fairs, holding membership in the same church as
did her honored parents, and she has the warm
and sincere friendship of the community in which
her life has been passed.
DUDLEY BECKWITH SMITH, M. D.
Dr. Dudley Beckwith Smith, a successful gen
eral practitioner of Plainfield, Vermont, is a de
scendant of John Smith, who was the progenitor
of the American branch of the Smith family. He
was a native of London, England, whence he emi
grated to this country and settled in Lynn, Con
necticut, in the early colonial days. His wife
was the daughter of a miller, and Mr. Smith came
to his death in this mill by being thrown against
the water wheel. Samuel Smith, descendant of
John Smith, was born in Lyme, Connecticut, in
the year 1695. He served in the colonial army
and attained the rank of sergeant. His death
occurred in the year 1737.
Silas Smith, son of Sergeant Samuel Smith,
was born in Lyme, Connecticut, where he ac
quired his education in the district school. He
remained in this town all his life, and was united
in marriage to Miss Deborah Gee, who was born
in Lyme, Connecticut, in 1731. Mr. Smith con
tracted a fever from a son who was in the battle
at New York city, died January 7, 1777, and his
wife passed away in September, 1820. He was
a deacon in the Baptist church.
John Smith, son of Silas and Deborah Smith,
was born in Lyme, Connecticut, November 30,
1753. He attended the common schools and
served his seven years' apprenticeship to tanner,
currier and shoemaker's trade ; his employer sent
to England for an outfit of shoemaker's tools, and
he moved to Marlow, New Hampshire, where he
followed his trade and farming. After attaining
young manhood he was joined in marriage to
Miss Mehitable Wood, who was born in Lyme,
Connecticut, August 6, 1754. Mr. Smith died at
Barre, Vermont, December 5, 1841, and his wife
died at Marlow, New Hampshire, November 6,
1820. Christopher Smith, son of John and Mehitable
Smith, was also born in the town of Lyme, Con
necticut, December 28, 1777, and after receiving
his education in the district schools followed the
occupation of a farmer. He married Miss Lu

cretia Beckwith, who was born in Marlow, New
Hampshire, May 12, 1782. Mr. Smith died Jan
uary 14, 1867, at Williamstown, whither he
moved in 1812, and his wife passed away at Will
iamstown, Vermont, March 9, 1857.
Alven Smith, son of Christopher and Lu
cretia Beckwith Smith, was born in the town of
Lempster, New Hampshire, November 6, 1800.
His early education was acquired in that town,
and when he arrived at the age of twelve years
his parents removed to Williamstown, Vermont,
and he pursued his studies in the district school
and the Orange county grammar school. After
completing his studies he chose the occupation
of farming, and resided on one farm in the town
of Williamstown, Vermont, for over fifty years.
He met with average success in this undertaking
through his industry and skillful management,
and also settled estates and attended to town af
fairs. In his politics Mr. Smith was a staunch
advocate of the Democratic party, and he was
elected to serve as selectman of the town, and in
1850 and 1 85 1 was appointed assistant judge of
the county ; in 1870 the constitutional convention
convened, Mr. Smith being one of the delegates,
and it was noted for the high degree of intelli
gence of its members. Mr. Smith married, March
30, 1825, Miss Lydia Martyn, who was born at
Williamstown, Vermont, March 13, 1804, a
daughter of Aaron Smith and Sarah (Martin)
Martyn. Their children were: David Martyn,
born May 8, 1827; Lvdia Lucretia, born March
10, 1830, died March 9, 1857 ; Dudley Beckwith ;
Alven Henry, born July 15, 1836, died at the age
of two years ; and Marcus Alven, born July 29,
1839. Mr. Smith died April 28, 1876, and his
wife passed away July 2, 1895.
Dr. Dudley Beckwith Smith, son of Alven and
Lydia Smith, was born in Williamstown, Ver
mont, December 15, 1832. His preliminary edu
cation was acquired at the common schools of
his native town, he then entered the Orange
county grammar school at Randolph, Vermont,
and was a student in the Kimball Union School
at Meriden, New Hampshire, and the Northfield
Academy at Northfield, Vermont. Deciding to
become a member of the medical fraternity he en
tered the University of Vermont, from which he
was graduated in 1856. He opened an office in
Plainfield, Vermont, in the same year, and his

^A^dJ^H

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

5«7

devotion to the duties of his profession, combined
with a comprehensive knowledge of the science
of medicine, has made him a most successful and
able practitioner, whose prominence is well de
served. In addition to his many duties, Dr. Smith
wrote the history of the town of Plainfield, which
was published in Hemenway's "Historical Gazet
teer of Vermont" in 1882. He had the distinc
tion of being the one selected to deliver the his
torical address at the centennial anniversary of the
Congregational church of Plainfield, Vermont,
which was celebrated November 17, 1899. He
is a prominent member of the Vermont State
Medical Society.
In politics Dr. Smith is an ardent Republi
can and takes an active interest in all local af
fairs ; he has held the office of town treasurer, and
was chosen to represent the town of Plainfield
in the state legislature in 1880. Dr. Smith was
united in marriage September 24, 1861, to Miss
Edna L. Holbrook, who was born May 16, 1844,
a daughter of David and Jerusha (Cutler) Hol
brook, of Orange, Vermont. Six children were
born to them, namely: Herbert, born September
20, 1862, died November 15, 1870; Charles Wal
ter, born April 10, 1866, died April 13, 1866;
Clara, born April 5, 1867, died April 26, 1867;
Martyn, born July 30, 1874, died November 15,
1879; Holbrook, born July 11, 1876, died Febru
ary 7, 1877: and Ida Alice, born September 27,
1882, died September 4, 1889. Dr. Smith is one
of the leading citizens of Plainfield, Vermont, and
is respected and honored by all who come in con
tact with him.
CAROLINE AND MARTHA YALE.
The Misses Yale are most consistently ac
corded consideration in this compilation as be
ing representatives of one of the sterling pioneer
families of Chittenden county, where their pater
nal great-grandfather, Moses Yale, took up his
abode in 1783, becoming one of the pioneers of
Charlotte township and contributing in marked
degree to the development and industrial ad-;
vancement of this favored section of the Green
Mountain state, a work which was duly carried
forward by his descendants in succeeding gen
erations, while the name has ever stood for the
best citizenship and for the loftiest personal in

tegrity and honor. He was born October 19,
1743, in Wallingford," Connecticut, being a de-
scendent of David Yale, who married Ann Mor
ton in England, in 161 3.
Misses Caroline and Martha Yale are both
natives of the town of Charlotte, where the have
passed their entire lives and where their friends
3 re in number as their acquaintances. Their
father, the late Deacon William L. Yale, was born
on the ancestral homestead in this town, on the
ist of October, 1807, being a son of Lyman Yale,
who likewise was a native of Charlotte and a son
of the pioneer representative of the family, Moses
Yale. In 1783, as previously intimated, Moses
Yale removed from Meriden, Connecticut, to
Chittenden county, Vermont, taking up a tract
of land on the shore of Lake Champlain, in Char
lotte township, and there developing a fine farm.
This continued to be his home until, he was called
from the scene of life's activities, in 1813, at the
age of seventy years. The maiden name of his
wife was Laura Lyman, and they became the
parents of six children, the grandfather of the
Misses. Yale having been one of twins. Like his
honored father, Lyman Yale became a man of
prominence and influence in the community,
where both were engaged in agricultural pur
suits during the course of their signally active
and useful lives. Lyman Yale was born May 10,
1773. He held various offices in the town and
also represented the same in the state legislature
for one term, his political allegiance having been
given to the Whig party. He was summoned
into eternal rest on August 24, 1840, at the age
of sixty-seven years, having been a prominent
and worthy member of the Congregational church,
to whose maintenance he contributed liberally in
the promotion of both its spiritual and temporal
affairs. January 17, 1801, he was united in mar
riage to Miss Patty Foote, who was born in
Middlebury, Vermont, on the 24th of August,
1770, the daughter of Philip Foote, and who died
on the 6th of September, 1849. Lyman and
Patty Yale became the parents of seven children,
of whom the fourth in order of birth was Will
iam L.
William L. Yale was reared on the ancestral
homestead and was indebted to the public school
at Middlebury for his early educational discipline.
He continued to be actively identified with the

S88

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

noble and basic industry of farming during prac
tically his entire life. He became the owner of a
fine farm of five hundred acres, maintaining the
same under a high state of cultivation, making
the best of permanent improvements and being
known as one of the progressive, energetic far
mers and able business men of the town, while
upon his record as a man and a citizen there rests
no shadow of wrong or suspicion of eveil. His
integrity of purpose was inflexible and his entire
life was one of signal honor and usefulness in all
its relations. His death occurred on the 19th of
June, 1893, at which time he had attained the
venerable age of eighty-six years, and he passed
to his reward secure in the esteem and high regard
of all who knew him. He was a Republican in
politics from the time of the organization of the
party and was called upon to serve in various
local offices of trust and responsibility. He was
one of the leading members of the Congregational
church in Charlotte, in which he held the office of
deacon for many years, being ever zealous in
the promotion of all good works and exemplify
ing in his daily life the deep Christian faith which
ever guided his course in all things, his wife hav
ing also been one of the devoted workers in the
church. On the 20th of October, 1835, Deacon William
L. Yale was married to Miss Adelia Strong,
who was born in Charlotte, on the ist of January,
1809, a daughter of Dr. John Strong, one of the
honored pioneer physicians of this county, where
he was for a long term of years successfully en
gaged in the practice of his profession, being
widely known and honored by all. He died at the
age of seventy years. His wife, whose maiden
name was Huldah Squire, was born in New Ha
ven, Connecticut, and her death occured on the
27th of January, 181 1. She became the mother
of three children, all of whom are now deceased.
Deacon William L. and Adelia (Strong) Yale
became the parents of five children, all of whom
survive except one, their names, in order of birth,
being as follows : Martha, whose name appears at
the opening of this sketch, resides in the village
of Charlotte. John, who is now engaged in the
manufacturing business in the city of Burlington,
was one of the gallant sons of Vermont who
served throughout the war of the Rebellion, hav
ing been a captain of a company of Vermont vol

unteer, infantry, and having been in active ser
vice in many of the memorable engagements of
this great struggle. He became seriously ill at
Fairfax, West Virginia, and was incapaciated for
duty for a time, being .brought to his home by
his father, who went to his assistance, the latter
having also been a member of the state militia
prior to the Rebellion. William S. is a resident of
Charlotte, where he is engaged in farming. Caro
line, one of the immediate subjects of this sketch,
was the next in order of birth, and resides with
her sister. Jeanette died at the age of twenty-five
years. The cherished and devoted mother was
summoned into eternal rest on the 6th of Septem
ber, 1888, at the age of eighty years. The chil
dren all received excellent educational advantages,
attending the public schools and the Williston
Academy. Miss Caroline Yale completed her
education in Mount Holyoke Seminary, in Mass
achusetts, and was later one of the popular and
successful teachers in the schools of Williston
and Brandon. In 1883. she accepted a position as
instructor in the Clark School for the Deaf, at
Northampton, where she has remained for a
period of twenty years, gaining marked prestige
in her work and being advanced to the position
of principal of the institution, thus having the
supervision of the work of a corps of twenty-five
teachers. Her sister Martha has passed practi
cally her entire life in Charlotte, and both have
been identified prominently with church work and
have taken part in the best social life of the com
munity. They are devoted members of the Con
gregational church and their influence has ever
been exerted in a kindly and helpful way, so that
they have drawn about them a wide circle of sin
cere and devoted friends.
JOHN EMERSON BENJAMIN.
John Emerson Benjamin, one of the promi
nent and influential citizens of the town
of Berlin, Vermont, was born in Washington
county, Vermont, July 19, 1833. He is
a descendant of Major Josiah Benjamin,
son of William Benjamin, who was born
in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, June 19, 1769.
Subsequently he removed to Woodstock, Ver
mont, and in November, 1793, he settled in Ber
lin on lot 5, range 2; in February, 1795, he re-

. &. /j£s*yG^<x..

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

589.

moved to lot 5, range 3, and on April 26, 1800,
he made his permanent home on lot 1, range 1,
and first division of the town, where he remained
for the balance of his life. Major Benjamin suc
ceeded Eleazer Hubbard on lot 1, which includes
in its territory Benjamin Falls on Pond brook.
Mr. Hubbard had erected the first saw and grist
mill in Berlin at the falls, about 1791 or 1792.
Major Benjamin rebuilt the mills near the foot
of the falls, and he retained them in his posses
sion for many years. In addition to this busi
ness he followed the occupation of farming, at
which he was eminently successful, being an in
dustrious, energetic and capable man.
Major Benjamin won his title in the state
militia, and he went with his command to Platts
burg in' September, 1814, in order to participate
in that battle, but they did not reach the place un-
. til after the battle had been fought on Sunday,
September 11, 1814, when a decided victory was
won for American arms. In his political views
Major Benjamin was in sympathy with the old-
line Whig party, and he took an active interest
in all town affairs. In religion he was a Congre-
gationalist, being a member of that church in Ber
lin, Vermont.
On October 10, 1791, Major Benjamin was
united in marriage to Miss Lucy Banning, and
the following named children were born to them :
Lucy, born in Woodstock, April 22, 1793; Clara,
born March 8, 1795 ; Ozias, born April 13, 1797;
Sally, born in May, 1798; Josiah, born July 6,
1803; Eliza, born July 31, 1805; Matilda, born
March 26, 1807 ; and Hannah, born July 10, 181 1.
Major Benjamin died January 26, 1836, and his
wife died October 26, 1844.
Josiah Benjamin, son of Major Josiah and
Lucy Benjamin, was born in the town of Ber
lin, Washington county, Vermont, July 6, 1803.
His education was derived from the district
schools of his native town, and upon completing
his studies he succeeded his father on the old
homestead, where he remained all his life, en
gaged in the occupation of tilling the soil. In
politics Mr. Benjamin was at first a Whig, but
on the formation of the Republican party, he
joined its ranks. He was actively interested in
all that concerned the welfare of his town. He
held most of the local offices, and he was chosen

to represent the town of Berlin in the state legis
lature for two years. He was a consistent mem
ber and regular attendant of the Congregational
church of Berlin. Both in- public and private
life Mr. Benjamin had proved himself to be an
upright, honest and conscientious man, and he
well deserved the esteem and respect of the citi
zens of his community.
Mr. Benjamin was united in marriage, De
cember 25, 1827, to Miss Rebecca Emerson.
Eight children were born to them : Chauncey E.,
born February 1, 1829, now deceased; Lucy Ann,
born April 2, 1831 ; John E., born July 19, 1833 ;
Charles K., born November 20, 1836, now de
ceased; Philena, born July 18, 1839; Samuel
Webster, born May 1, 1842; Ira A., born Jan
uary 26, 1845 5 Elizabeth B., born November 3,
1847. Mr Benjamin died October 4, 1884, and
his wife passed away in December, 1873.
John Emerson Benjamin, son of Josiah and
Rebecca Benjamin, acquired his early education
in the district school of his native town, and this
was later supplemented by a course at the Barre
Academy of Barre, Vermont. After his gradu
ation from the latter institution he located on a
farm near the old homestead, where he has since
been very successful in the cultivation of a gen
eral line of garden produce, for which he always
finds a ready market.
In his political preference Mr. Benjamin is
a Republican, and he has been honored by his
townsmen by being elected to various positions
of trust and responsibility. He has been lister
of the town for many years, he has also served
as justice of the peace and he represented the
town of Berlin in the state legislature for 1878.
Mr. Benjamin is one of the leading men of the
town, and is noted for his honesty, truthfulness
and strict fidelity to his duties.
Mr. Benjamin was united in marriage No
vember 13, 1857, to Miss Sarah Frances Perrin,
who was born November 13, 1838, a daughter
of William and Ann M. (Kinney) Perrin. Their
children are: Forest Ellsworth, born August 11,
1861, is a graduate of the Barre Academy, and re
sides in Maiden, Massachusetts ; Myrtie Sarah,
born December 10, 1866, also a graduate of the
Barre Academy, and resides with her father.
Mrs. Benjamin died November 14, 1900.

59°

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

MARY ELIZA JONES.
As a representative of a family which has long
been held in the highest honor in Chittenden
county, Miss Jones is consistently accorded defi
nite consideration in this compilation, and this
resume of her genealogical history is one which
will sqrve as a perpetual tribute to her honored
father and to others of the line who have likewise
passed away, having made their lives count for
good and leaving a worthy heritage and valuable
example. Miss Jones has passed most of her life in the
town of Charlotte, where she has gathered about
her a wide circle of sincere and appreciative
friends. Her father, the late Joseph Jones, was
a native of the state of New York, having been
born in Claverack, Columbia county, on the 13th
of December, 1805, and being a representative of
one of the old and honored families of that sec
tion, where the name became identified with the
annals of American history in the early colonial
epoch. His father likewise bore the name of
Joseph, and he was born in the state of New York,
of the 18th of February, 1762, a son of Samuel
Jones, who was a well known and highly honored
citizen of Westchester county, that state, where
for many years he conducted a hotel and where
he died at a great age, having reared a family of
nine children. His son, Joseph, became a suc
cessful farmer in Claverack, where he continued
to reside until the year 1822, when he came to
Charlotte, Vermont, here continuing in the same
line of industrial enterprise until his death, on the
ist of March, 1843, at the advanced age of eighty-
one years. He married Phoebe Jones, who, al
though of the same name, was not a relative,
She was born April 22, 1768, and her death oc
curred February 3, 1832. They became the par
ents of fourteen children, all of whom are now
deceased. Joseph Jones, Jr., was reared to maturity on
the homestead farm in Charlotte, early beginning
to lend his aid in the work of field and meadow
and waxing strong in mental and physical vigor
through the sturdy discipline involved, while he
was afforded such educational advantages as the
common schools of the place and period offered.
He became the owner of a part of the homestead,
and there he continued to make his home for a

number of years, being known as an industrious,
discriminating and successful farmer. In 1850 he
removed to what is locally known as Charlotte
Four Corners, becoming at that time the owner
of the fine farm property upon which his daughter,
Mary E., now resides, making the best of im
provements on the property and developing the
same into one of the most valuable places in this
favored section of the state. Here he continued
to make his home until he was summoned from
the scenes of life's activities, in the fullness of
years and well earned honors, his death occurring
on the 7th of May, 1888, at which time he had
attained the age of eighty-two years.
March 3, 1830, Joseph Jones, Jr., was united
in marraieg to Miss Margaret W. Sweatman,
who was born August 9, 1800, in Sheffield, Con
necticut, the daughter of Amos Sweatman, the
maiden name of whose wife was Polly Charter.
He removed from Connecticut to Camden, New
York, where he passed the closing years of his life,
as did also his devoted wife. They became the
parents of four children, all of whom are now de
ceased. Joseph and Margaret Jones became the
parents of four children, namely: Dr. Amos S.,
a successful physician and surgeon of Dayton,
Ohio ; Phoebe Margaret, who is the widow of
Isaiah Carpenter, of Addison, Vermont ; Mary E.,
whose name heads this sketch ; and Clarinda M.,
who is the wife of Grant H. Burrows, for many
years a well known carriage manufacturer of
Cincinnati, and now a resident of Burlington,
Vermont. The revered mother was summoned
into eternal rest on the 5th of January, 1884, hav
ing attained the venerable age of over eighty-three
years, and having been a woman whose gentle
and gracious character endeared her to all who
came within the sphere of her influence, while to
those nearest and dearest to her remains the
fullest appreciation of the ideal life which was
merged in the life immortal when death set its
seal upon her mortal lips. Both she and her
husband were devoted members of the Metho
dist Episcopal church, in which the latter held
for a number of years the office of steward. In
politics he originally gave his support to the Whig
party, but espoused the cause of the Republican
party at the time of its organization and ever
afterward was found arrayed under its banner.
He was an uncompromising abolitionist during

£/.V?S„

*y

<&^rz*^~

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

59i

the crucial epoch culminating in the Civil war,
and during that struggle was a most ardent
Union man, doing all in his power to aid the no
ble boys in blue whose efforts perpetuated the
integrity of the nation. He was a man of strong
individuality, marked mentality and sterling char
acter, and in all the relations of life he was true
to duty and ever ready to support all measures
for the advancement of the welfare and happiness
of his fellow men. His memory is held in last
ing honor in this community, for a more worthy
and upright man has not lived and labored in
this locality. He afforded his children the best
possible educational advantages, and each has
honored the name and taken a worthy place in the
world. His son, of whom mention has been made,
completed his technical education in the Albany
Medical College, in the capital city of New York,
and has attained marked prestige in his chosen
profession. Mary E. Jones secured her prelim
inary educational training in the public schools of
Charlotte and supplemented the same by a thor
ough course of study in Troy Conference Acad
emy, at Poultney, Vermont, and graduated at
Fort Edward Institute. She became a successful
and popular teacher, devoting her attention to
this noble work for a long period at Cincinnati,
Ohio, and having conducted a select school in
Charlotte for a number of years. Her aim has
ever been to be kindly and helpful, and her efforts
have been fully appreciated in the community
where she has passed her life and in which her
friends are in number as her acquaintances. Miss
Jones has been a member of the Methodist Epis
copal church from her girlhood days and has
been a zealous and faithful worker in the local
Congregational church, there being no other re
ligious society near her.
SAMUEL WEBSTER BENJAMIN.
Few men can claim a more honorable lineage
than Samuel Webster Benjamin, himself one of
the most respected citizens of Montpelier, Ver
mont. For more than a century this family has
taken a prominent part in public affairs. The
grandfather of Mr. Benjamin, Major Josiah Ben
jamin, son of William Benjamin, was born in
the town of Ashburnham, Massachusetts, June
19, 1769. He removed first to Woodstock, Ver

mont, and thence, in the month of November,
1793, to the town of Berlin, Washington county,
where he settled on lot 5, range 2. In Febru
ary, 1795, he removed to lot 5, range 3, and April
26, 1800, he made his permanent home on lot 1,
range 1. This was in the first division of the
town, where he resided for thirty-six years, and
where he died January 26, 1836. Before begin
ning his migrations, Major Benjamin had mar
ried Lucy Banning, October 10, 1791. His wife
died October 26, 1844. Previous to Major Ben
jamin's settlement on lot 1, which includes Ben
jamin Falls on Pond brook, Mr. Eleazer Hub
bard, the former owner, had erected the first saw
and grist mill in Berlin, at the falls, about 1791
or 1792. Major Benjamin rebuilt the mills near
the foot of the falls and kept them up for many
years. In addition to this, Major Benjamin pur
sued with great energy the labors of a farmer.
He was major of the state militia and went with
his command to Plattsburg in September, 1814,
but did not reach there in time to take part in
the victory of September 11, 1814. In politics
Major Benjamin was always active as an earnest
Whig. He was a member of the Congregational
church. His children were: Lucy, Clara, Ozias,
Sally, Josiah, who was born November 28, 1801,
died November 15, 1803 ; Josiah, born July 6,
1803 ; Eliza Matilda and Hannah.
Josiah Benjamin, Jr., father of Samuel Web
ster Benjamin, was educated in the district
schools of his native town and succeeded his
father on the home farm, which he cultivated with
great success. Mr. Benjamin was in early life
a Whig, but became a Republican when that
party was organized. His character was in all
respects such as to command the highest esteem,
and his fellow citizens testified to the regard in
which they held him by electing him to the state
legislature and to other offices of responsibility.
He was a constant and regular attendant at the
Congregational church. Mr. Benjamin married
Rebecca Emerson, December 25, 1827. Their
children were : Chauncey E., Lucy Ann, John Em
erson, Charles K., Philena R., Samuel Webster,
Ira A., and Elizabeth B. Mr. Benjamin died
October 4, 1884. His wife died in December,
1873- Samuel Webster Benjamin, a representative
of the family, was born at the old homestead,

592

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

May i, 1842, and was educated at the district
school and the Barre Academy. The first occa
sion of his leaving home was his enlistment in
the Union army. He entered the Thirteenth Reg
iment, Vermont Volunters, in July, 1862. This
regiment formed a part of the Second Vermont
Brigade, Third Corps of the Army of the Po
tomac and participated in the battle of Gettys
burg. In General Pickett's famous charge on
July 3, 1863, Mr. Benjamin was wounded by a
ball from an exploding shell. This ball he carried
in his body for thirty-six years, and when it was
removed, August 29, 1899, it was found eight and
one half inches from the spot where it had en
tered. He was mustered out July 21, 1863.
Mr. Benjamin married, March 2, 1865, Edna
Lucy Downing, daughter of Friend N. and Phi-
Ionia (Payne) Downing, of Barre, Vermont.
She was born October 2, 1846. After his mar
riage Mr. Benjamin removed to a farm near the
old homestead, where he lived for nine years,
when he returned to the old farm and remained
until 1897, at which time he disposed of his pa
ternal dwelling and took up his residence in
Montpelier, at 37 Barre street.
In civil life as well as iri his political career
Mr. Benjamin has maintained the reputation of
his family. He is a staunch Republican, and his
fellow citizens have accorded him the same tok
ens of respect which they bestowed upon his
father and grandfather. While a resident of Ber
lin he held the office of selectman for six years
and was also lister and chairman of the board of
selectmen. Mr. Benjamin is a member of the
Brooks Post, No. 13, Grand Army of the Repub
lic, at Montpelier. June 11, 1902, he was elected
president of the board of arrangements for the re
union of his regiment for the year 1903. Mr.
Benjamin's elder daughter, Eda, born May 1,
187 1, died July 9, 1874. His youngest daughter,
Alice Eva, born June 15, 1887, graduated from
the Montpelier high school in the class of 1901.
JOSEPH CARTER.
This honored citizen and influential business
man of Ferrisburg, Addison county, is a repre
sentative of the third generation of the family
in the old Green Mountain state and bears a name
which has been inseparably identified with New

England history from the early colonial days.
His paternal grandfather came to Vermont in the
pioneer days, dignifying the same by his services
and worthy life, as have also his descendants,.
including the subject of this review, who has now
passed the psalmist's span of three score years and
ten, but who has retained that vigor which is usu
ally characteristic of one in the prime of life.
Honored by all, there is no citizen of the county
more worthy of consideration in this volume, and
we find satisfaction in here noting the more sali
ent points in his ancestral and individual history..
Joseph Carter was born in the town of Monk-
ton, Addison county, Vermont, on the 30th of
June, 1828, being a son of William Carter, who
was born in Salisbury, this county, in 1804, and
who was a son of the original representative of
the family in this county, Solomon C. Carter, who-
was born in Warren, Connecticut, where the fam
ily had been established for several generations..
As a young man the last named came to Vermont
and took up his residence in Salisbury, where he
was for several years engaged in farming and
whence he removed to Monkton, where he con
tinued to follow, agricultural pursuits and black-
smithing until his death, at the age of seventy-
five years, having been one of the prosperous and
honored pioneers of this section of the state.
William Carter grew to maturity on the old home
stead farm in Monkton, and his early educational-
advantages were such as were accorded to the
average farmer boy of the locality and period-
Reared to the sturdy and invigorating discipline
of the farm, he was .never alienated from the
noble basic art of husbandry but continued to be
identified with the same in an active way until the
close of his long and useful life, while it is inter
esting to make record of the fact that the scene of
his well directed efforts continued to be the old
homestead where his boyhood days were passed,
his death occurring on the homestead, in Monk-
ton, in 1883, at which time he had attained the
venerable age of seventy-nine years. He was a
man of influence in the community, taking a
prominent part in local affairs of a public nature
and having served in the greater number of town
ship offices. His life was one of fidelity to duty
and his attitude was ever that of a man of sterling:
integrity and honor, while he so ordered his af
fairs and efforts as to prove successful in an in-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

593

dividual way and to also advance general pros
perity through the same legitimate medium. His
wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Middle
brook, was a native of Ferrisburg, Addison coun
ty, where she was born about 1805, a daughter
of Theophilus Middlebrook, a pioneer farmer of
this section. She lived to attain the age of more
than four score years, passing away in 1887, on
the old homestead so endeared and hallowed to
her by the memories and associations of the past.
William and Hannah Carter became the parents
of two children, — Joseph, the subject of this
sketch ; and George, who died at the age of nine
years. Joseph Carter was reared on the old home
stead where he was born, and the scenes and de
tails of farm life were familiar to him from his
earliest recollection, while as a boy he began to
contribute his quota to the work of field and
meadow, in the meanwhile pursuing his studies
in the district schools and thus laying the foun
dation for that wide fund of practical knowledge
which has come to him through personal appli
cation in later years and through active associa
tion with the practical affairs of life. He contin
ued to be engaged in agriculture in his native
town of Monkton for a period of twenty years,
at the expiration of which he purchased a farm
in Panton township, making the best of improve
ments on the same and developing it into one of
the valuable farm properties of Addison county.
There he maintained his home for a quarter of a
century, disposing of the place in 1897, and then
taking up his abode on his present finely improved
farm of fifty acres, in Ferrisburg. Here he is
still actively engaged in diversified farming, but
this represents only one department of his suc
cessful business enterprise, since for the past forty
years he has conducted a meat market in the vil
lage of Vergennes, being the oldest merchant of
the town and having ever retained a representa
tive patronage, and he also continues to devote
special attention to the buying of farm produce,
in which line he transacts a large annual business,
his operations extending throughout the county,
so that he has gained a wide acquaintanceship in
this locality, while he has ever been honorable
and upright in all his dealings and relations with
his fellow men, whose confidence and esteem he
has thus merited and retained.
38

Mr. Carter's first presidential vote was cast
in support of the candidate of the Whig party,
but upon the organization of the Republican party
he naturally transferred his allegiance to this
worthy combination which stood as the repre
sentative of the cause of the Unioij, then menaced
by armed rebellion, and he has ever since been a
stalwart advocate of its principles and policies,
while his eligibility for positions of pubic trust and
responsibility was early recognized and led to his
being called upon to serve in the various township
offices, and in both Monkton and Panton he was
thus incumbent of such positions of trust, while
in 1864-5 he had the distinction of representing
the former in the lower house of the state legis
lature, proving a valuable and zealous member of
that body. His father, likewise, held in a notable
degree the confidence of the people, and he was
frequently appointed administrator of estates and
guardian of minors, discharging his duties with
the most punctilious care and fidelity. The
ophilus Middlebrook, maternal grandfather of our
subject, was incumbent of the office of town
clerk for a full quarter of a century, was a man
of education and mature judgment and wielded
marked influence in local affairs. He was for
several terms a representative in the state legis
lature, and in the early days he made the journey
to the capital of the state on horseback on many
occasions, while thus taking up his official duties.
His son David was also town clerk for a number
of years. In February, 185 1, Mr. Carter was united in
marriage to Miss Josephine Hayward, who was
born in Addison, Addison county, November 8,
1825, and who died October 28, 1854, leaving two
children, — Frances, who died April 1, 1903 ; and
Augusta, who is the wife of Frederick E. Sears,
of Panton. September 23, 1858, Mr. Carter mar
ried Miss Mary J. Sherman, who was born in this
county, June 10, 1839, and who died September
13, 1885. She is survived by one of her two
children, — Louisa, who is the wife of Milo C.
Harris, residing at Rialto, California. The third
marriage of our subject was solemnized in De
cember, 1886, when Miss Harriet Hoyt became
his wife, she likewise being a native of this county
and a daughter of Martin Hoyt, a farmer of Pan-
ton. Mr. and Mrs. Carter have two children, —
William, born September 11, 1887; and Julia,

594

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

born September 12, 1891, and is at home. Mr.
and Mrs. Carter are members of the Methodist
Episcopal church and their pleasant home is one,
in which the refined amenities of social life are
ever in evidence, the same being a center of
gracious hospitality.
REV. WILLIAM SEWARD WALLACE.
Rev. William Seward Wallace, pastor of the
Eirst Presbyterian church at South Ryegate, was
born in New York city, January 2, 1863, a son of
Thomas and Mary L. Wallace, of Chelsea, Massa
chusetts. Mr. Wallace spent several years of his
earlier life in the south, going with his parents
to Georgia, where he became familiar with plan
tation life. Possessing a natural love for books,
and ambitious of securing an education, he con
tinued his studies mornings and evenings, and
when prepared entered the college at Davidson.
North Carolina, from which he was graduated in
3887. He subsequently studied theology at Co
lumbia Seminary, South Carolina, the leading
sectarian institution of the south, noted alike foi
its conservative teachings and the large number
of its graduates who have obtained distinction in
ministerial and literary circles. After his ordina
tion in the Presbyterian church at Monticello,
Florida, in 1890, Mr. Wallace accepted a charge
at Palatka, Florida, where he remained five years,
his pastorate being pleasant and successful. Be
ing then forced by reason of ill health to come
north, Mr. Wallace spent the summer of 1895 at
New York city, preaching in the Collegiate Re
formed church of Harlem. Returning to Georgia,
he accepted the pastorate of the Presbyterian
church at Cedartown, a prosperous manufactur
ing city, where he, preached for four years with
most encouraging results, through his strenuous
•efforts a large debt on the church building being
cancelled and the church membership being great
ly increased. In January, 1900, Mr. Wallace became pastor
of the church at South Ryegate, coming here
partly for his health, the bracing climate of this
beautiful region filling'him with fresh vigor and
enthusiasm. This is one of the most prosperous
churches of Caledonia county, connected with
which is a large Sunday-school, a flourishing-
Christian Endeavor organization and an active

Ladies' Auxiliary Society. Several people united
with the church last year, and generous contribu
tions were given to benevolent and charitable ob
jects, while the parsonage was repaired and ren
ovated. Mr. Wallace is a man of scholarly at
tainments, and in the preparation of his work
each week is further aided by one of the finest
libraries in this section of the state, part of which
he himself selected, but a large part of which was
bequeathed him by his uncle, the late Rev. Charles
Clark Wallace, D. D. He has also in his pos
session an autograph letter that he prizes highly,
and a portfolio of correspondence, which were
given him by Hon. William H. Seward, former
secretary of state, for whom he was named.
Mr. Wallace married Mrs. Susie Willson, of
Clarksville, Tennessee, who has proved herself a
valuable and efficient assistant in his pastoral la
bors, and who shares with him the love and re
spect, not only of their immediate parishioners,
but of the community in which they reside.
CLARENCE PARSONS SAWYER.
Clarence P. Sawyer, of Hardwick, is well
known to the reading people of this section of the
county as the publisher and proprietor of the
Hardwick Gazette, a bright and newsy sheet.
He was born February 20, 1871, at Hyde Park,
Vermont, where he acquired his early education,
completing his studies in the Lamoille Academy.
He learned the printer's trade, which he. followed
for awhile in this state. Going then to Colorado,
he remained two years, and two years in Utah,
returning to Vermont in 1894. In December,
1898, he purchased the Hardwick Gazette, taking
possession the following month. Under his man
agement the circulation of the paper is increasing,
its influence for good being thus extended over a
wider range, becoming an important factor in
promoting the best interests of the town and
county. Mr. Sawyer is a Republican in politics, and
has served as secretary and treasurer of Hard
wick village, and secretary and treasurer of the
Hardwick Academy, and of the graded school
district. He is a member of Caspian Lake Lodge,
A. F. & A. M., and of Hardwick Lodge, I. O.
O. F., of which he was the first noble grand. Mr.
Sawyer married, February 20, 1895, at St. A1-.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

595

bans, Vermont, Miss Frances Warner, of St.
Albans. The family includes a daughter, born
May 24, 1896, and named Helen Frances.
FRANK THOMAS TAYLOR.
Frank Thomas Taylor, postmaster at Hard
wick and one of its most energetic and progres
sive business men, was born at Wheelock, Ver
mont,' December 20, 1864. His father, Benja
min F. Taylor, was a son of Jonathan Taylor, and
grandson of Jonathan Taylor, who emigrated
from Scotland to New Hampshire, locating in
Canterbury. He was a seafaring man, as master
of a vessel sailing to all parts of the world, and
dying in the West Indies while on a voyage. His
widow subsequently married Gideon Leavitt, and
removed to the town of Wheelock, Vermont,
where Mr. Leavitt afterwards served as the
fi.rst constable of the place.
Jonathan Taylor, Jr., was quite young when
he came with his mother and step-father to
Wheelock in 1790. He assisted in the pioneer
labor of removing the forests and preparing the
land for cultivation, eventually choosing farming
for his life vocation. Industrious and thrifty, he
-made a success of his work, becoming one of the
well-to-do agriculturists of the town, and a man
of considerable influence. The maiden name of
his wife was Abigail Curtis.
Benjamin F. Taylor was born in 1831, in
Wheelock, Vermont, where he was engaged in
agricultural pursuits during his earlier years.
.Subsequently embarking in mercantile business
in his native town, he was for forty years the
leading merchant of the place, having an exten
sive and lucrative trade in general merchandise,
also serving as postmaster throughout the entire
period. Retiring from the activities of life in
1901, he removed to Hardwick, making that his
permanent residence. He married Amanda M.
Stetson, by whom he had five children, as fol
lows : William H.. whose biography is a fea
ture of this work; Frank T, the subject of this
brief biographical sketch ; Jennie, who died at the
age of five years ; Abby H., wife of Dr. W. H.
Weeks, of East Hardwick; and Frederick H,
who is a clerk in Hardwick.
Frank T. Taylor attended first the district
schools of Wheelock, completing his early educa

tion at Lyndon Institute. After acquiring some
knowledge of mercantile pursuits in his father's
store, he spent two years as a clerk in the Fair
banks store at St. Johnsbury. Removing then to
Hardwick in 1888, he here engaged in mercantile
trade with J. H. McLoud and L. A. Kent until
1891, when this firm was merged in the J. H.
McLoud Company, Mr. Taylor still retaining a
large share of the stock. He has likewise other
property interests of value, being a stockholder in
the. Hardwick Land Company, which recently
purchased the Clement farm in the southwestern
part of the village, laid out streets, and is now
selling most desirable house lots. He is also the
owner of a fine residence, which he occupies, at
the head of Church street, and several tenement
cottages. In 1898 he was appointed postmaster,
a position that he is filling at the present time,
1903. Mr. Taylor is a Republican in politics, and has
served his fellow townsmen in many important
offices of trust. He is an active member of the
Knights of Pythias, and has .filled all the chairs
of the lodge with which he is connected. Mr.
Tayloi married, first, August 7, 1889, Flora M.
Rogers, of Wheelock, who died May 1, 1896. He
married, second, September 6, 1899, Celia M.
Paul, a native of Boston, whose death occurred
September 23, 1900.
DORMAN BRIDGMAN.
Dorman Bridgman, one of the foremost cit
izens of Hardwick, was born in this town, Feb
ruary 7, 1837, a son of Dorman Bridgman, Sr.,
and grandson of Captain John Bridgman. He
conies of English stock, being a direct descendant
in the eighth generation from James Bridgman,
who came, probably, from Winchester, county of
Hants, England, to America in 1640, locating
first at Hartford, Connecticut, removing from
there in 1643 to Springfield, Massachusetts,
where he became owner of a small tract of land
lying on the river bank. His descendants are
numerous, and many of them have attained dis
tinction in state and national affairs, and one of
them, Laura Bridgman, the deaf, dumb and blind
pupil of Dr. Samuel G. Howe, was a cousin of
Dorman Bridgman, the subject of this sketch.
Captain John Bridgman served in the Revo-

596

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

lutionary war, and also took an active part in the
battle of -Plattsburg. Settling in South Hard
wick, Vermont, in 1795, he purchased three hun
dred acres of unbroken land, and with true pio
neer courage and persistency improved a home
stead, which is now owned and occupied by his
grandson, George W. Bridgman, a brother of
Dorman, the estate having never been out of the
family since it came into his possession.
Dorman Bridgman, Sr., was born on the an
cestral homestead in Hardwick, May 22, 1800,
and died in this town, June 8, 1886, being
knocked down and killed by a runaway horse.
At the age of twenty-one years he accepted a con
tract for constructing a part of the Erie canal,
carrying it out successfully. About 1825 he es
tablished himself in the mercantile business in
Hardwick, becoming its first merchant, and was
also its first postmaster. He took great interest
in advancing the prosperity of his native town,
and dealt to a considerable extent in real estate.
He was a strong anti-slavery man, his home be
ing well known as a station of the underground
railway for fugitive slaves enroute to Canada,
The maiden name of his wife was Achsah Mitch
ell. Dorman Bridgman, the subject of this sketch,
completed his early education at the People's
Academy in Morrisville, after which he taught
school several terms, giving up his professional
career in 1858 to search for gold in the region of
Pike's Peak. Two years later, in i860, he re
turned to Hardwick, where he conducted a hotel
for two yrears. Exchanging positions then with
his father, the latter taking the hotel, Mr. Bridg
man assumed charge of the parental homestead,
on which he was engaged in farming for five
years, when he removed to Woodbury, where he
continued in agricultural pursuits for a number of
seasons. Forming a partnership with M. E.
Tucker in 1879, he embarked in the lumber busi
ness, erecting a sawmill at Mackville, where he
remained until 1886, meeting with marked suc
cess in his operations. Since that time he has
been a resident of his native town, and through
his extensive dealing in real estate and erection
of business blocks and dwellings has done much
to advance its material interests and to promote
its improvements. He owns and occupies a hand
some residence, which, with its attractive sur

roundings, is perhaps one of the most desirable
in town. Mr. Bridgman takes a lively interest in po
litical affairs, always working with the Demo
cratic party, and has served most acceptably in
various local offices. He was active in securing
the charter for the village, of which he was the
first president, an office that he held several
terms; has also been justice of the peace and:
chairman of the board of selectmen. Several
times he has been the Democratic nominee for
representative to the legislature, each time poll
ing far more than his party vote. In 1893 he took
a prominent part in organizing the Hardwick
Savings Bank and Trust Company, in which he-
holds the controlling stock and is the president.
Mr. Bridgman married, November 1, i860, Jen
nie R., daughter of George and Eliza (Renfrew)
Whitcher, of Albany, Vermont. Mr. and Mrs.
Bridgman attend the Methodist church.
THE GAY FAMILY.
This family, whose advent in Cavendish, Ver
mont, marked an era in the commercial history-
of the village, trace their ancestry to John Gay,.
who emigrated to America about the year 1630,
and his descendants, through all the succeeding
generations, have been noted for many excellent
characteristics, and have been useful and public-
spirited citizens of this great country.
John Gay, the pioneer ancestor, settled first at
Watertown, Massachusetts, where he was a gran
tee in the great dividends and in the Beaver
Brook plow lands, being the owner of forty acres
altogether. He was admitted a freeman May 6, .
1635. In association with, a number of the prom
inent citizens of Watertown, he founded a plan
tation at Dedham, Massachusetts, and his name
appeared on the petition for incorporation Septem
ber 6, 1686, and he was among the original pro
prietors of lands. In 1654 he was chosen to serve
in the capacity of selectman for the town of Ded
ham. The following named children were born •
to John Gay and his wife, Jononce Gay : Samuel,
born March 10, 1639, died April 15, 1718; Heze
kiah, born July 8, 1640, died November 28, 1669; .
Nathaniel, born January 11, 1643, died February
20, 1712, Joanna, born March 23, 1645 '> Eliezer,.
born June 25, 1647, died April 13, 1726; Abiel,.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

597

horn April 23, 1649 > J°hn, born May 6, 165 1, died
November 19, 1731 ; Jonathan, born August 1,
1653; Hannah, born October 16, 1656, died Feb
ruary 26, 1660, and Elizabeth. John Gay, father
of these children, died March 4, 1688; his widow
.passed away August 14, 1691.
John Gay (2), fifth son of John and Jononce
Gay, was born May 6, 165 1, was united in mar
riage, February 13, 1679, to Rebecca Bacon, and
their children were Rebecca, born May 13, 1681 ;
John, born January 2, 1685 ; Stephen, born May 5,
1689 ; Abigail, born November 4, 1692 ; Hezekiah,
born June 30, 1694, died September 2, 1758. John
Gay's death occurred November 19, 1731 ; he was
survived by his wife, who died March 6, 1732.
Hezekiah Gay (3), youngest son of John and
Rebecca Gay, was born June 30, 1694, and by his
marriage to Elizabeth (name unknown), the fol
lowing named children were born : Hezekiah, born
December 31, 1724; William, born October 29,
1726 ; Samuel B., born December 3, 1730 ; Will
iam, born December 3, 1730 ; John, born February
2, 1736; Nathaniel, born September 27, 1740, died
September 14, 1806; Elizabeth, born September
27, 1740; Rebecca, born February 15, 1744, died
March 28, 1747 ; Ebenezer, born October 12, 1745,
¦died March 19, 1747.
Hezekiah Gay (4), eldest son of Hezekiah and
Elizabeth Gay, was born December 31, 1724.
After attaining young manhood, he removed
from his native town of Needham, Massachusetts,
to Killingly, Connecticut, where he spent the re
mainder of his days. He participated as a private
in the Revolutionary war. In 1746 Mr. Gay mar
ried Elizabeth Fuller, who was born January 19,
1,728, and died in May, 1808; she was a daughter
of Thomas Fuller, one of the petitioners for the
incorporation of Needham, Massachusetts, in
1.710. Their children were: Ebenezer, born
June 2. 1747, died July 8, 1820; Elizabeth, born
July 13, 1749; Rebecca, born October 27, 1757;
Hezekiah, born May 16, 1755; Jessie, who was
killed October 4, 1790, by a chance shot at a
training; Esther; Hadassah; Richard B., born
March 12, 1763, died February 2, 1835 ; Mary,
and Alpheus Gay.
Ebenezer Gay (5), eldest son of Hezekiah and
Elizabeth Gay, was born June 2, 1747- He was
a farmer by occupation and resided in what is
known as the Sawyer district in the town of

Thompson, Windham county, Connecticut. On
August 12, 1785, he married Mrs. Susanna Fuller,
who was born November 18, 1750. Their chil
dren were: Hezekiah, born April 9, 1786, in the
town of Thompson, Windham county, Connecti
cut, died October 29, 1869; Nabbie, born March
8, 1789, died January 12, 1864, and Esther, born
March 9, 1791, died September 22, 1827. The fa
ther of these children died July 8, 1820, and his
wife passed away June 18, 1833 ; their remains
were interred in the cemetery at West Thompson,
Connecticut. Hezekiah Gay (6), eldest son of Ebenezer and
Susanna Gay, was born April 9, 1786, on the old
homestead in Thompson, Windham county, Con
necticut, where he followed the occupation of his
forefathers, that of farming ; he served in the war
of 1812, was an active and public-spirited citizen,
and held membership for many years in the Bap
tist church. He was united in marriage to Anna
Gleason, a native of Thompson, Windham county,
her birth occurring August 6, 1789. Mr. Gay
died, October 29, 1869; his wife died April 30,
1868, and their remains were interred in Putnam
Heights cemetery, Putnam, Connecticut. Their
children were William, Harriet A., Frances A.,
Joseph F., Horace, Henry, Mary and George T.
Gay. 1. William Gay, born November 8, 1 811, mar
ried Eliza Gudell, who was born April. 10, 1799,
and died October 17, 1854. They were the parents
of one child, Mary E. Gay. For his second wife,
William Gay married Mrs. Sarah Savery, born
January 27, 1828, died August 3, 1868, and their
children were: Myron; William B., born May
26, 1856; George, born May 29, 1859, and Ed
ward, born June 3, 1861.
2. Harriet A. Gay, born February 15, 1814,
married William Smith. They had one child,
Henry Smith, born April 6, 1836, died June 2,
1855. After the death of her first husband, Mrs.
Smith was united in marriage to Stephen Brown,
who was born May 9, 1803, and died June 19,
1882. Her death occurred November 19, 1891.
They were both members of the Baptist church
in Thompson, Windham county, Connecticut.
3. Frances A. Gay, born February 25, 1816,
married for her first husband Dennis Salisbury,
and after his decease married, January 4, 1859,
Stephen Johnson, who was born January 31, 1815.

598

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Mr. Johnson died January 31, 1885, and his wife,
who was a member of the Baptist church, passed
away April 29, 1893.
4. Joseph F. Gay was born September 12,
1818, in Thompson, Connecticut. He received a
common school education and learned the trade of
a spinner in the cotton mills at Mechanicsville,
Webster and Killingly, Massachusetts, and fol
lowed his trade for seventeen years. He then re
moved to Tunbridge, Vermont, where he and his
two sons, Joseph Stearns and Orrin A., estab
lished a mill for the manufacture of woolen goods,
satinets and yarns. In 1887, with his son, Joseph
Stearns (Orrin having died), Mr. Gay removed
to Cavendish, Vermont, where they conducted a
mill with much success. In 1890 Mr. Gay re
tired from the business, which is now conducted
by his two sons. In politics Mr. Gay has always
been a Republican, his first vote having been
cast for William Henry Harrison, and, though
a man of decided views in regard to public affairs,
he has always refused offices. He was formerly
a member of the Good Templars, and from eight
een years of age until forty was a member of an
artillery company in the Connecticut militia. He
is a member of the Free Will Baptist church, and
formerly took an active part. He married, July
26, 1840, Louise, daughter of James and Anna
(Lamb) Roberts, of Chelsea, and their children
were: 1. Helen L., born March 23, 1843, wife
of J. M. Cunningham, to whom were born Alice,
Daniel and Charles. 2. Joseph Stearns, men
tioned at length hereinafter. ' 3. Orrin A., born
August 4, 1846, at Thompson, Connecticut, was
educated at the North Scituate (Rhode Island)
high school and became engaged in business with
his father. He was an active and zealous Chris
tian, belonging to the Free Will Baptist church;
he married Stella Richardson, and their children
are : Clarence, Grace and Ola ; he died at Tun
bridge, March 14, 1887. 4. Jason R., born at
Thompson, May 14, 1848, was educated in the
common schools and high school of Putnam, was
reared in the woolen business, and at the present
time has charge of the looms in the mills, and is
a practical wool-worker; he married Etta Snow,
and they have no children. 5. Jane R., born
December 7, 1850, married Eugene Sleeper, a
farmer of Tunbridge ; he served in the Civil war,
participated in many engagements, including that

of Bull Run, was captured and confined thirteen
months in Andersonville prison. Their children
are Bertha, Elgia, deceased, Edna and Ernest.
6. Henry C, born February 22, 1853, at Thomp
son, is a machinist and carder by trade, and re
sides at Barton, Vermont ; he married Mary Kater*
and they have one child, Mabel. 7. Charles D.,
born at Putnam, December 17, 1855, was a grad
uate of Randolph Normal School and is one of the
owners of the mills operated by Gay Brothers
Company ; he is a deacon and active worker in the
Baptist church ; he married Leafie Paul, of Chel
sea, and they have two adopted children, Benja
min and Ruth. 8. James E., born February 7,
1859, a graduate of Randolph Normal School,
and of the Agricultural College and School of
Mechanical Arts of Dartmouth College; he was
for a time engaged in teaching, and is now treas
urer of the firm of Gay Brothers, and in 1900 was
first selectman of Cavendish; he married for his
first wife Belle Swan, who died June 21, 1901, and
by her had one child, Floyd S., and for his sec
ond wife Mertie Wright, of San Francisco, Cali
fornia. 9. Emma A., born December 7, i86ir
at Putnam, Connecticut, married Frederick Tut
tle, a machinist, resides at Hartford, Connecticut,
and has two children, Blanche and Inez. 10. Hat
tie F., born June 6, 1864, at Burrillville, Rhode
Island, graduated at Randolph Normal School
and was a teacher, having taught thirty-four
terms, twenty-one of which were in the same dis
trict. At the present time she is bookkeeper for
the Gay Brothers' Company; she married Aura-
Austin, a farmer, who is connected with the busi
ness of Gay Brothers in an outside capacity. The
mother of these children died January 18, 1890,
survived by her husband, who is now residing
in Cavendish, Vermont.
5. Horace Gay, born October 11, 1820, was
a carpenter by trade, and served as a private dur
ing the Civil war ; he enlisted in 1861 and served
during that year, also during the years 1862 and
1863. He was united in marriage to Sarah
Stone, who was born June 18, 1823. Their chil
dren were : Charles H., born September 5, 1845,
died September 21, 1845; Sarah E., born Octo
ber 9, 1848; Anna M., born February 28, 1852;
Otis B., born May 3, 1856; Ernest L., born Sep
tember 5, 1859; Adah E., born April 21, 1861.
Most of these children settled in Southbridge,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

599

Masachusetts. Horace Gay died December 6,
1896; his wife passed away June 23, 1895.
6. Henry Gay, born July 23, 1824, died Jan
uary 26, 1825.
7. Maty Gay, born June 25, 1825, was united
in marriage, November 26, 1854, to Alphonso P.
Williams, who was born September 10, 1828. Mr.
Williams was a prominent citizen of West Glou
cester, Rhode Island, where for many ¦ years he
was engaged in the lumber business, making shin
gles and cloth boards ; he was also engaged in the
carpentering trade. Their children were Alphon
so L., born June 19, 1858, died August 25, 1891 ;
Mary E., born November 11, 1859, and Frank
C, born December 8, 1863, died June 11, 1873.
The death of Air. Williams occurred December
29, 1902 ; his wife died April 20, 1894.
8. George T. Gay, born February 16, 1829,
married, October 8, 1864, Julia Amington, and
their children were : Cora B., born April 9, 1870 ;
George, born August 1, 1868 ; Herbert, born April
3, 1873 ; Minnie, born December 24, 1874 ; Flora
D., born March 31, 1876, died July 7, 1895; Ev
erett, born September 24, 1878; Estella, born
January 11, 1880, died in January, 1900; Ethel,
born May 11, 1883; Jenriie, born December 20,
1884, died June 30, 1886, and Lily B., born Au
gust 29, 1889.
Joseph Stearns Gay, second child and eldest
son of Joseph F. and Louise (Roberts) Gay, was
born November 25, 1844, at Thompson, Con
necticut. He was educated at the North Scituate
(Rhode Island) high school, and at an early age
entered his father's mill to learn the business of
woolen manufacture, and later was associated
with his father and brother Orrin in the business
at Tunbridge. On removing to Cavendish, the
firm, which was then styled J. F. & J. S. Gay,
found manufacturing in that place in a very de
pressed condition. The two woolen mills which
had been the support of the village had been de
stroyed bv fire, with the exception of the portion
built of brick. This part was, by the exertions of
a few public-spirited men, purchased and present
ed to the firm, under an exemption from town
taxation for a term of years. The business pros
pered, and the financial condition of the village
improved in consequence.
In Tanuary, 1890, Charles D. and James E.
Gay bought the interest of their father, and in

1897 the business was incorporated under the laws
of Vermont, as the Gay Brothers' Company, with
Joseph Stearns Gay as president, Charles D. Gay
as vice president, and James E. Gay as treasurer.
The business increased continually, and in the
spring of 1900 it was found riecessary to erect
a large addition one hundred by forty-three feet,
and four stories high. The mill is run day and
night, a perpetual beehive of industry. The
power is obtained from Black river, which the
company utilizes to the best advantage by a pair
of the Jolly horizontal water-wheels which have
been recently set, steam being also used as an
auxiliary. Sixty-six looms are now at work,
which turn out seventy thousand yards per month
of high grade Meltons and fine satinets, which
command a ready market on their merits. The
firm at first employed about twenty hands, but
the number has now risen to one hundred. Prac
tically all the employes are native-born Americans,
many of them own houses, and some have money
in the savings bank. The principles of temper
ance and morality are inculcated by precept and
example, and by the rules of the establishment
it is well understood that a case of intoxication is
cause for immediate dismissal. The result of this
policy is the retaining of an exceptionally able
and intelligent class of employes. When the Gay
Brothers came to Cavendish there were in the-
village fourteen vacant tenements ; these are now
all occupied, as are also others which have been
built by the firm. They have thoroughly reno
vated seven of their houses, an example which
has borne fruit, and have recently erected, oppo
site the mill, a handsome eight tenement block,
which is occupied. This prosperity and success
are undoubtedly owing to the energy, ability and
untiring assiduity of the president of the com
pany, who brought to his position the fruits of
many years' practical experience, by which a nat
ural aptitude for mechanical pursuits had. re
ceived the most thorough cultivation. He was a
deacon of the Free Will Baptist church of Tun
bridge. Mr. Gay married Alice Hubbard, and their
children were : Leon Stearns, Olin and Vernice.
Like all the other members of the company, Mr.
Gay resided in the Cavendish village, but for
several years before his death had been in poor
health, which had obliged him to spend his winters

6oo-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

in the south. While there he was taken seriously
ill and died while on his way home, March 20,
1902. The funeral took place Sunday afternoon,
March 23, at the Baptist church. The Rev. Mr.
Dickson, of the Baptist church at Tunbridge, of
which Mt. Gay had been a member, officiated and
was assisted by the Rev. F. L. Foster, of the
Cavendish Baptist church, and the Rev. J. B.
Reardon, of Ludlow. Mr. Gay was sincerely
mourned by a large circle of friends. Possessed
of a kind and generous disposition toward the
poor, he was an upright and public-spirited citi
zen, and a thoroughly Christian gentleman.
FREDERICK HORTON FARRINGTON.
Prominent among the residents of Brandon,
A^ermont, who are actively identified with its im
portant financial and agricultural interests, is
Frederick H. Farrington, who was born in his

HOME OF FREDERICK H. FARRINGTON.
present abode in Brandon, December 14, 1851.
Jacob Farrington, great-grandfather of Frederick
H. Farrington, was a native of Wrentham, Mass
achusetts, and in 1786 removed to Brandon, Ver
mont, and located on the farm at present owned
and occupied by the subject of this sketch, where
the remainder of his life was spent. The house
now occupied by Frederick H. Farrington was
built in the summer of 1799 by Hiram Horton, a
great-great-uncle, on the maternal side, of Fred
erick H. Farrington.
Captain Daniel Farrington, grandfather of

Frederick H. Farrington, was born in New Ca
naan, Connecticut, May 31, 1773. When but thir
teen years old he accompanied his parents to the
new state of Vermont, then called the New Hamp
shire Grants, making their settlement on Otter
creek, in the town of Neshobee (now Brandon),
one of the best agricultural sections of the state,
which derived its name in October, 1784, after
it was burned by the Indians, Brandon probably
being a contraction of Burnttown. Here young
Daniel was engaged for several years in farming,
but when he attained the age of twenty-one years
he started out on his own account. He first pur
chased one hundred acres of land in Cambridge
borough on credit, and by his arduous toil in
felling the forest he was able to meet his obliga
tions when they fell due. Shortly afterward he
returned to Brandon and entered upon a new life,
being called upon to take part in state and national
affairs. When the rupture between the United
States and Great Britain occurred, Lieutenant
Farrington (which title he won in the militia of
Brandon), on May 30, 181 3, was ordered by the
governor of Vermont to go to the line and assist
in sustaining the famous "Embargo Law." He
was stationed at Wind Mill Point, near Rouse
Point. In an early encounter with the smug
gling vessel Black Snake, several men were killed,
and Captain Farrington was seriously wounded
in both shoulders and about his head, being in
sensible for some time. He continued in active
servioe until the close of the war, and as a re
ward for his bravery was commissioned captain
to date from April, 1813. At one time he was
struck by a spent ball, which plowed a groove
in his scalp and left a dimple in his forehead.
In his politics he was a Jacksonian Democrat, and
was frequently called upon to serve in the local
offices of the town ; he was also a member of the
constitutional convention for the revision of the
state constitution. Captain Farrington was twice
married, his first wife having been Miss Drury, a
daughter of Ebenezer Drury, who was a pioneer
settler in Pittsford. In 1842 he married Miss
Rossiter, and two sons and one daughter were
born of the first marriage. Captain Farrington
died October 7, 1865, at the age of ninety-two
years. Franklin Farrington, father of Frederick H.
Farrington, was born on this farm, September 3,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

60 1

1806, and was twice married. On January 23,
. 1838, he was united in marriage to Adelia Hor
ton, a daughter of Daniel Horton, of Hortonville,
Vermont. Their children were : Ella, who mar
ried James K. Polk Campbell, a nephew of James
K. Polk; Mrs. Campbell died in Paris, Texas,
and was survived by two sons and two daughters.
Frankie, second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Far
rington, married John W. Morrill, of Chicago,
Illinois ; they have two sons and one daughter.
Their third child was Frederick H. Farrington.
The mother of these children died in 1870, aged
fifty-two years. Mr. Farrington then married
Mrs. Mary S. Denison, nee Stephens. His death
occurred in June, 1892, survived by his widow,
who is still living.
Frederick H. Farrington attended the graded
•schools of his native town, where he obtained a
practical education. He has always resided on
the old homestead, devoting most of his atten
tion to agricultural pursuits, and the breeding
of fine Merino sheep, also horses and cattle. Dur
ing this period he was a director of the Vermont
Merino Sheep Breeders' Association, and a por
tion of the time its treasurer. He is president of
the Brandon Investment & Guarantee Company,
and is a stockholder and director in four banks,
two national and two savings, located in the
towns of Brandon, Rutland, Proctor and Ver
gennes. He is also trustee of funds of estates,
which aggregate over two hundred thousand dol
lars. He was chosen assignee of the largest
bankrupt estate ever settled up in this section of
the state. Mr. Farrington has in his possession
some rare relics, among them being his grand
father's commission as captain, issued by Presi
dent James Madison, and James Monroe, who
was then secretary of war ; their own signatures
"being attached to the document. He also has
the deed of the old homestead, of which he is
now the proud owner, which was given to his
grandfather by Hiram Horton in 1808, the only
deed ever made to the present (1903). He has
also his grandfather's muster rolls and accounts
and receipts kept during the war of 1812. Politi
cally Mr. Farrington is a firm believer in the
principles of the Republican party, and has served
at various times in the capacity of road commis
sioner, water commissioner, lister and selectman.
He served in both branches of the legislature,

being a member of the judiciary committee and
chairman of the committee on banks in the state
senate, and in the house he served on the rail
road committee and on the joint committee on
asylums. He also served two terms as a member
of the state board of cattle commissioners, acting
as its chairman, and he was secretary for six
years of the Vermont Horse Breeders' Associa
tion, the largest and most successful organization
of its kind ever in the United States.
On September 10, 1873, Mr. Farrington mar
ried Miss Ella Reynolds, of Brandon, a daugh
ter of William W. and Louisa (Kebling) Rey
nolds. Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds were the parents.
of three daughters ; the latter named died at the
age of twenty-nine years, and Mr. Reynolds then
married Lucy Kebling, a sister of his first wife.
One daughter was born to them. Isabel, now the
wife of Edward S. Marsh, of Brandon. The fol
lowing named children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Farrington : Franklin R., who served five years
as assistant bookkeeper in the Howard National
Bank, of Burlington, Vermont, and now in the
New York office of the Vermont Marble Com
pany; Edward Horton, who died at the age of
sixteen months ; Wilfred Dyer, who died at the
age of ten years ; William Reynolds, who was a
student in the Norwich University, of North-
field, Vermont, now in Vermont University at
Burlington, class of 1903 ; and Lucy Farrington,
who died at the age of eight months.
Mr. Farrington is a member of St. Paul's
Lodge, F. & A. M., of Brandon; is a member
of Congregational church prudential committee.
The ancestral farm where he resides in the village
has three hundred and fifty acres, devoted to
general farming and raising of horses, cattle and
sheep. His father came into this house at the
age of three years, and resided there until his
death at eighty-seven.
REV. WILLIAM C. CLARK.
One of the most prominent ministers of the
Congregational church in this section is Rev.
William Colton Clark, pastor of the church of that
denomination at Hardwick, and who holds a place
of influence in the community as well as iri his
church. He is descended from a long line of
noble ancestry. On the paternal side the family

602

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

history is traced back to Thomas Clark, who was
born in England in 1599, and came to Plymouth,
Massachusetts, in 1623, in the ship Anne. His
death occurred on the 24th of March, 1697, and
his remains were laid to rest on Burial Hill.
From Thomas and Susannah Clark the line of
descent is traced through James Clark, who was
born in 1636, and was married to Abigail Lath
rop in 1657. Their son John Clark chose as his
wife Rebecca Lincoln, their wedding being cele
brated on the 14th of May, 1695. Joseph, the son
of John and Rebecca Clark, was born in 1704,
and on the 29th of December, 1720, he was mar
ried to Thankful- Stevens. Among their children
was Robert Clark, who for his second wife chose
Rebecca Meigs, their marriage occurring at Roch
ester, Massachusetts, August 22, 1764. Their
son David was born in that city on the 21st of
May, 1767, and in Warren, Massachusetts, on the
3d of May, 1791, he married Betsey Patrick.
David Presbury, the son of David and Betsey
(Patrick) Clark, was born in Georgia, Vermont,
November 7, 1802, and became a prominent and
well known resident of that town. He married
Mary Baker, and she, too, was born and reared
in Georgia, Vermont, being a daughter of Elijah
and Lavinia (White) Baker. The latter was a
daughter of John White, also of Georgia, Ver
mont, and who was commonly known as "Judge"
White. It is believed that John White was a
lineal descendant of William White, a passenger
on the Mayflower.
Among the children born to David and Mary
(Baker) Clark was Charles Wallace Clark. The
town of Georgia was the place of his nativity,
his birth occurring on the 25 th of October, 1831,
and he became a Congregational clergyman. As
a preparation for his life work he entered the
Lmiversity of Vermont, in which he graduated in
1855, and three years later he completed the
course in the Andover Theological Seminary.
His political views were in harmony with the
principles set forth by the Republican party, and
in 1876 he represented the town of Stockbridge in
the legislature. In his native town, on the 23d
of October, 1861, he was united in marriage to
Harriet Lucretia Colton, who was born in
Georgia, January 4, 1838, and was a daughter of
Harvey and Harriet (Fairchild) Colton.
The Coltons belong to an old and honored

family in America, its founder being George Col
ton, who came from Sutton, England, and mar
ried Deborah Gardner. The next in the line of
descent is Thomas Colton, who was born May 1,
165 1, and on the 17th of December, 1691, in
Springfield, Massachusetts, married Hannah
Bliss, she being his second wife. Their son Will
iam was born July 7, 1694, and his wife bore the
maiden name of Mary Merrick, their wedding
having occurred in Springfield on the 24th of
January, 1717. Aaron, a son of William and
Mary Colton, was born June 13, 1718, and mar
ried Mary Ely on the 17th of November, 1746.
Among their children was Walter Colton, who-
was born in Long Meadow, Massachusetts, Au
gust 25, 1764. He married Thankful Cobb, a
daughter of Lieutenant Cobb, who fell by the
side of Montgomery at Quebec, and twelve chil
dren were born to them, among the number being :
Harvey, who was born in Rutland, Vermont,
October 26, 1793 ; Susan, who married Horace
Blair, of Georgia, that state; Walter, chaplain in-
the United States navy and author of "Three
Years in California" and other well known works ;.
Quintus, who was born in Georgia, Vermont, in
1799 ; and Gardner Quincy, the youngest of the
family, born at Georgia in 18 14, introduced the
use of nitrous oxide, and was the founder of the
Colton Dental Association of New York; his-
death occurred in 1899. Harvey Colton, the fa
ther of Mrs. Clark, was born October 26, 1793,-
and on the ist of September, 1825, he wedded
Harriet Fairchild, who was born in Georgia,.
Vermont, March 30, 1802.
The Fairchild family trace their ancestry back
to Thomas Fairchild, who was born in Stratford,.
Connecticut. Stephen F. Fairchild, was born in
that city in 1725, and in 1765, at the age of
forty years, moved to Arlington, Vermont, and
in 1788 took up his abode in Georgia, that state.
He wedded Lavinia Beardsley, who was born in-
1726. Joel Fairchild was born in Arlington, Ver
mont, on the 8th of August, 1766, and in 1787,
in the town of his birth, he was married to Me
hitable Eastman. Thus it will be seen that on
both the maternal and paternal sides the subject
of this review is descended from old and honored
families. Rev. William Colton Clark was born in Brigh
ton, Vermont, October 15, 1862. Choosing the

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

603

noble calling which his father had followed as a
life work, he began the study of classics in the
Driiversity of Vermont, ia which he was gradu
ated in 1885, and five years later, in 1890, he
graduated in the Union Theological Seminary,
of New York. Previous to this time, however,
in 1881, he had completed the studies in the St.
Albans high school. On the 20th of October,
1891, at South Hero, Vermont, he was ordained
to the ministry, and from that time until January,
1899, served as pastor of the Congregational
church of South Hero and Grand Isle. Since the
ist of January, 1900, he has been located at Hard
wick, and here he has had a most successful pas
torate, his labors being fruitful of good and
widely appreciated. While a resident of South
Hero he served as superintendent of the public
schools, and the cause of education has always
found in him a warm friend.
The marriage of Mr. Clark was celebrated at
South Hero, Vermont, on the 27th of December,
1899, when Miss Cora L. Ferris became his wife.
She is a daughter of Hiram E. and Lutica (Lord)
Ferris, the father being a prominent farmer. Mr.
Clark has devoted many years of his life to the
work of instructing men in the higher things of
life, and his labors have been followed by excel
lent results, while his own career, in perfect har
mony with his teachings, has won him the love
and respect of all.
WILLIAM ZEBINA PRATT.
William Zebina Pratt, of Williamstown, is an
enterprising, energetic business man, actively
identified with the agricultural and granite inter
ests of the town, and has been largely instru
mental in developing its industrial resources. A
native of Washington, Vermont, he was born
April 13, 1843, a son of William and Keziah
(Taylor) Pratt, early settlers of that town.
Mr. Pratt located in Williamstown in 1862,
coming here when the land was heavily timbered,
the settlers being very few in this part of the
coimty, even the district school boasting of not
more than seven pupils. In the twoscore years
that have since elapsed he has witnessed the trans
formation of the wilderness into a flourishing and
populous village, containing many productive
farms and a large number of granite quarries, in

which many people are employed, while the in
habitants now number about five hundred per
sons, one hundred and forty being of school age
in Mr. Pratt's district. Mr. Pratt purchased a
large tract of land for agricultural purposes, but
finding a ledge of fine granite underlying parts
of it, he has sold several acres from which quar
ries rich in granite have been developed. The
first, opened in 1883, he sold to Collins, Williams
& Wallie, of Barre, it being one of the first quar
ries worked in this part of Vermont, and this is
now owned by Jones Brothers, of Montpelier and
Boston, who are carrying on an extensive busi
ness. He subsequently sold a tract of land to
Carrick Brothers, of St. Johnsbury, who de
veloped a profitable business, which is now owned
by C. M. Painter, of New York city. In 1885 he
sold the quarry now owned by the Grearson-
Beckett Company to the Williamstown Granite-
Company, with which he was actively identified
as a large stockholder until it was sold to its pres
ent proprietors. Mr. Pratt now owns one hundred
and thirty acres of land, which, on account of the
fine gracie of granite beneath its surface, is of al-
mast inestimable value. He has also disposed of
land for building purposes, selling thirty or more
house lots, and has erected several houses for
tenement uses, nearly all of them being occupied
at the present time. Tn addition to general farm
ing. Mr. Pratt has worked at quarrying, but now
confines his attention to agriculture. While pay
ing strict attention to the details of his own busi
ness, he has not been unmindful of the welfare of
the town in which he resides, ever doing all that
lies in his power to advance its material, political
and social interests. For eight years he served
as selectman, and in 1898 and 1899 represented
Williamstown in the state legislature, being the
nominee of the Republican party, with which he
is identified. He is a Universalist in religious
faith. Mr. Pratt married, first, in November, 1865,
Mary Parsons, who was born on the farm now
owned by Mr. Pratt. She lived but a short time,
dying in November, 1866. He married, second,
in 1869, Ellen Watterson, of Chelsea. There is
one child of the first marriage, Luella May, now
the wife of Frank Jeffords, of Williamstown. A
son, named Norman J., now seventeen years old,.
is the fruit of the second union.

604

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

COLONEL ZOPHAR M. MANSUR.
The life and services of Colonel Zophar M.
Mansur, collector of customs for the district of
Memphremagog, Vermont, and who has occu
pied many other important public positions, was
written of in the following excellent article from
the pen of his law preceptor and personal friend,
Hon. George N. Dale, which article appeared in
July, 1901, in The Vermonter:
A man of humble and economic parentage
and reared amid simple, clean and rural condi
tions as Colonel Mansur was, will either gauge
his efforts contentedly to correspond with those
¦conditions, or he will begin busily to make steps
to more favorable conditions of the simple
material within his reach, as the subject of this
sketch did. He was born at Morgan, Ver
mont, November 23, 1843 i educated in com
mon schools and at Derby Academy; taught
school in 1861 ; enlisted in Company K, Tenth
Vermont, in 1862; discharged in 1865; was in
campaign of 1864, in battles of Wilderness,
Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, around
Petersburg, Monocacy, Maryland, Charleston,
Virginia, and Opequon Creek, Virginia: lost his
right arm at Opequon Creek, September 19,
1864. On being discharged he attended school
at Derby Academy, fall of 1865 ; taught school
at Derby winter of 1866; settled in Island Pond,
spring of 1866; appointed postmaster at Island
Pond in February, 1867, and held office for quite
a number of years; studied law with George N.
Dale, admitted to practice in March term of Essex
¦county court in 1879. Elected representative to
the legislature in 1886; on committee on judiciary
and military affairs, and chairman house commit
tee on bills to charter towns of Proctor and West
Rutland ; state's attorney for Essex county '86
to '88; appointed by Governor Ormsbee in 1886
on commission with Governor Dillingham and
Major A. B. Valentine to contract. on part of
state for text books to be used in common schools
treating on stimulants and narcotics. Elected
senator from Essex county in 1888, on commit
tee on judiciary and chairman committee on mil
itary affairs. Elected president Vermont Offi
cers' Reunion Society in 1889, and also in 1898 ;
elected department commander G. A. R. 1890,
elected president Society Sons of American
Revolution in 1894, also lieutenant governor in
1894; deputy collector of customs in charge of
port of Island Pond for four years under Col
lector Benedict. One of the trustees Methodist

Seminary, Montpelier, Vermont; trustee of Ver
mont Soldiers' Home at Bennington; elected
director of National Bank of Derby Line in 1884,
and now president of the same; appointed col
lector of customs for the district of Memphrema
gog October 1, 1897.
The foregoing is but an abstract of the prom
inent acts or events in a busy life, the details of
which would draw this simple brief beyond the
limits of an article like this, for Colonel Mansur
is by nature aggressive, expansive, and actively
touches all his surroundings in gross and in
detail. Alertness and persistency are his leading
traits. Quick and bold to seize opportunities, yet
capable of working patiently and industriously
in unfavorable conditions and making the most
of them until something better should turn up.
His whole life exhibits a sharp lookout for situa
tions with reference to future designs and pur
poses. He seems to have had designs, purpose,
and a definite conception of the practical uses
and purposes of his acts. In the beginning
while teaching school, he was looking ahead
for something better, and for which teach
ing would fit him. Going into the army,
he exhibited the same ardor and desire to
do something for himself, his friends and his
country, which is fully attested by the loss of
his right arm. Relieved from military service,
he went back to the schools and teaching to com
plete original designs. Appointed postmaster, he
saw at a glance the temporary nature of the
position, and the disadvantages he would be
under on account of a disability to perform man
ual labor, and did not rest content with a meager
salary, but occupied his liesure time in the study of
law so as not to be without both salary and occu
pation, let what would happen. As a lawyer he
was enterprising, bold, inquisitive and effective.
As state's attorney he prosecuted offenders with
vigor, and almost always with a conviction that
they were guilty. As a legislator he entered
heartily into legislative designs and actively par
ticipated in all matters relating to the interests
of the state. Taking charge of the customs port
at Island Pond, he conducted the business of the
office in such a manner as to leave it in a condi
tion _ excelled by no other port in the country.
During all this time he was active in military
circles, ocupying the highest position in their
social organizations, besides being actively en
gaged in a variety of business enterprises. At
the age of forty years he had so widened his ac
quaintance, and was so favorably known among

\^\XkOjV\U;

*A-^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

605..

men of financial pursuits as to enjoy the reputa
tion of being one of the best business men of his
age in the country. With a wide business repu
tation, good common school and academical edu
cation, legal attainments, and experience in the
customs business, he had strong support for the
office of collector of customs for the district of
Vermont, and in 1897 he was appointed by Presi
dent McKinley collector of the district of Mem-
phremagog, the state having been divided into
two districts.
It is enough to say concerning the manner
in which he has performed the duties of that
position, that he is being reappointed to fill the
office for the next coming four years by com
mon consent.
A backward glance at this writing shows that
it simply represents the warp of the Colonel's life
work without the woof. The filling has been
various. In church, society, business, politics,
education, and in every conceivable way he has
been actively engaged, and always with positive
partisan confidence, followed by success. Starting
in life with an intuitive perception of the under
lying springs that influence men's actions, he
soon began to ingeniously knit into his surround
ings, and with many dependent upon him, and
often without firm health, he never flinched or
hesitated until overcoming all obstacles he came
out at the beautiful and enterprising village of
Newport into a home supplied with everything
that comfort or taste could suggest, with most
favorable and harmonious marital relations, his
children and grandchildren hard by, and sur
rounded by friends and pleasant business and
public relations.
And now, having endeavored to narrate in
plain, simple form some of the events of his
career, without sentiment or laudation, we look
upon him in his fortunate situation as a man
born with no advantages except sparse and re
spectable surroundings; a man before whom
neither chance or accident have thrust any for
tunate condition, but as a man who has wooed
success with all the ardor and zest of a life burn
ing with energy and enthusiasm, and won it by
devoted and watchful achievement.
Colonel Mansur was married August 16,
1868, to Miss Ellen L. Newhall, of Norway,
Maine, and they became the parents of two chil
dren, a son and a daughter. Mabel S. Mansur
became the wife of Carl R. Storrs, who resides
in Newport, Vermont, and is deputy collector of
customs; two children were born to them, Sal-
lie L. and John David Storrs. Arthur G. Mansur

is a jeweler residing and doing business in Bur
lington, Vermont.
Colonel Mansur is descended from an excel
lent New England lineage. His earliest ancestor
in America of whom there is authentic record.
was Robert (1), whose surname appears in the
various forms of Mansir, Manser and Mansur.
He was in Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1678,.
and married Elizabeth Brooks, a widow, January
6, 1670. She died January 3, 1694-5, having borne
children: Elizabeth, who married Thomas Pope,.
in 1687; Robert, born February 15, 1674: John
(2), direct ancestor of Colonel Mansur, who-
married Mary Mirick, of Boston, April 24, 1695 ;
their son John (3) married, July 26, 171 3, Sarah
Bradish, at Maiden, Massachusetts, and they
were the parents of William, great-grandfather
of Colonel Mansur.
William Mansur (4) came from Dracut, .
Massachusetts, and was one of the pioneer set
tlers on the Souhegan river in New Hampshire,
September 14, 1762, when the forests were alive
with wolves, panthers and bears, and many thrill
ing stories are related, handed down through his
descendants, of his encounters with these ani
mals. He was at Wilton (now Temple), New
Hampshire, prior to 1772, and is supposed to-
have been one of the first settlers in the south
east corner of the town, then a wilderness. He
had a splendid Revolutionary war record. His-
name appears on a list of those who marched
from Temple to Cambridge at the alarm of April
!9> I775> to the battles of Lexington and Con
cord. The records show that he served for one-
year in the continental service in Captain Ezra
Towne's company of Colonel Reed's regiment,,
from January 7, 1776, for which service he re
ceived from the town of Temple seven pounds -
and four pence in addition to his military pay.
His name appears on the minutes of the boara.
of selectmen of Temple colony of New Hamp
shire in the committee of safety, April 12, 1776,
pursuant to order, to carry into execution the un
written resolutions of the continental congress
requiring a declaration of their allegiance to the
united colonies. He was one of thirty-seven
men who marched to Ticonderoga in Captain.
Drury's company of Lieutenant-Colonel P.
Heald's reigment, Sunday, June 29, 1777. In,-.
July of the same year he was one of seventeen.

6o6

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

men who marched from Temple to Bennington,
Vermont, in Captain S. Parker's company of
Colonel M. Nickol's regiment of General John
Stark's brigade, and participated in the memora
ble engagement of September 16th. He was at
Ticonderoga when General Burgoyne compelled
the evacuation of the fort on the night of July
5, 1777, and retreat into Vermont.
William Mansur married Isabella Harvey,
of Dracut. On one occasion, to visit her old
home at that piece, Mrs. Mansur made the jour
ney of forty miles on horseback, with her babe
in her arms, in one day, fording the Merrimac
river, the water , rising to the pommel of her
saddle. William Mansur died about 1814, aged
seventy-one years, and his widow died December
27, 1826, aged eighty-seven years. At the time
of her death her descendants numbered more
than eighty persons. All her children, named as
follows, were born in Temple, New Hampshire:
William, born August 23, 1763; John, born
March 16, 1765, married Polly Kimball, of Wil
ton, New Hampshire, resided at Andover, Ver
mont, and died there December 24, 1851; Eliza
beth, born November 4, 1767, married Joseph
Carrollton, and they resided at Andover, where
he died in 1858; Joseph, of whom more herein
after; Ezra, born April 19, 1771, married, in
1803, Susan Treadwell, of Peterboro, New
Hampshire, and he lived in Temple, and died
June 15, 1834; Stephen, born December 18, 1773,
lived at Wilton, and married Hannah Felt ;
Aaron, born March 7, 1776, married Rebecca
Warren, of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, resided
in Lowell, and died there in June, 1859; Jeremy,
born April 16, 1778, died young; Hannah, born
October 13, 1779, married Charles Hawkins, of
Temple, and died in Springfield, Vermont, in
February, 1850; Harvey, born July 11, 1784,
died young.
Joseph Mansur (5), third son and fourth
child of William, and the grandfather of Colonel
Mansur, was born March 23, 1769. He lived
in Troy, New York, where he was a brickmaker,
and afterwards at Danville and Morgan, Ver
mont, where he followed shoemaking, and where
he died in September, i860. He held various
town offices, served in the militia, and was a
-member of the Methodist church. He married

Abiah Elliott, and to them were born two sons,
William and Warren.
Warren (6), youngest son of Joseph Mansur,
was born at Danville, June 23, 1800. He received
his education in the public schools. He was a
man of more than ordinary natural ability, of
superior judgment, and of a legal turn of mind,
and would doubtless have become a good law
yer had he directed his attention to the profes
sion. He was an influential man in the com
munity, and was called to various local offices.
He was for more than fifty years a member of
the Methodist church. He died January 15,
1884, at Island Pond, Vermont. He married
Jane A. Morse, who was born in Barnett, Ver
mont, daughter of John Morse, a well-to-do
farmer, and they became the parents of the fol
lowing children : Susan ; Joseph, who was for
many years sheriff of Essex county; Warren,
who became a teacher, and who, with brilliant
prospects before him, died in 1859, at the age of
twenty-eight ; Eliza Jane : Abiah ; Jacob, who
served for two years and nine months during the
Civil war in Company K, Tenth Regiment Ver
mont Volunteers ; Sarah ; Mary Ann ; Zophar
M. ; Orange L., a merchant at Island Pond, Ver
mont ; J ohn K. ; Emma. The mother of these
children died in October, 1901.
Zophar M. Mansur (7) was the eleventh
child and fifth son of Warren (6) and Jane A.
(Morse) Mansur.
EDWARD CONANT, A. M.
It is not an easy task to describe adequately a
man who has led an eminently active and busy
life, and who has attained to a position of high
relative distinction in one of the more important
and exacting fields of human endeavor. But
biography finds its most perfect justification in
the tracing and recording of such a life history,
and in the case at hand we have to do with one
who played an important part in connection with
educational affairs in his native state of Vermont, ,
attaining marked prestige and contributing in a
large degree to the advancement of the interests
of popular education. The name which he bore
is one that has been conspicuously identified with
the annals of the old Green Mountain state from

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

607

the early colonial epoch in our national history,
as is evident when we revert to the fact that his
grandfather Jeremiah Conant was a native of
Verfnoht, as a representative of which he served
as sergeant in the continental line in the war of
the Revolution, while he was also a member of the
general assembly of the state in 1801-2, and held
many other positions of public trust and respon
sibility. He participated in the battle of Bunker
Hill, being sixteen years of age at the time, His
son Seth, father of Professor Conant, was born in
Pomfret, Windsor county, Vermont, and there
passed his long and useful life, commanding the
confidence and high regard of all who knew him.
He lived to attain the age of nearly eighty-eight
years, was a captain in the state militia for several
years, and was also incumbent of many important
town offices. He was a man of alert mentality,
and his integrity was impregnable in all the rela
tions of life. He married Melvina Perkins, like
wise a representative of stanch old Vermont
stock, and of their two adult children one is living
at the present time.
Edward Conant, late principal of the Vermont
State Normal School at Randolph Center, Orange
county, was born in the old town of Pomfret,
Windsor county, on the 10th of May, 1829, and
was known and honored as one of the veteran and
distinguished educators of the state. His pre
liminary educational "discipline was received in
the common schools of his native place and Bar
nard, and he thereafter took a preparatory course
of study at South Woodstock and at Thetford
Academy, thus fitting himself for matriculation in
Dartmouth College, which institution he entered
in 1852. He left college in his junior year to en
gage in pedagogic work, though he had previous
ly given inception to his independent career, hav
ing worked for six years as a machinist, prior to
preparing himself for college, the first fifteen
years of his life having been passed upon the old
homestead farm owned by his father. He thus
became dependent upon his own resources at an
early age, and he ever retained the highest ap
preciation for the dignity of honest toil and en
deavor, iri whatever field of activity. Of his
early years of assiduous labor it has been well
said that he "was always a great reader and an
ardent student, and while in the machine shop he

made a special study of machinery and me
chanics." After two years devoted to teaching in the
public schools, Professor Conant was chosen, in
December, 1854, principal of the academy at
Woodstock, Connecticut, where he remained one
and one-half years, devoting close attention to
the study of educational literature and investigat
ing methods of pedagogy, in which connection he
lost no opportunity of attending educational meet
ings, visiting different schools and noting the re
sults of the various systems employed. In May,
1856, he became principal of the academy at
Royalton, Vermont, and in the fall of that year
he organized a teachers' institute, the sequel of
which was the organization of the White River
Valley Teachers' Association, which did most
effective and valuable work. He retained his in
cumbency as principal, of the academy for a pe
riod of three years, and from 1857 to 1859 the
work in Royalton Academy was principally of the
normal order, in the preparation of teachers for
the public schools, while for more than three decr
ades, beginning with the year 1857, Professor
Conant was very prominently identified with the
conducting of teachers' institutes in divers sec
tions of the state. In 1859-60 he was principal of
the high school at Burlington, Vermont, and in
February of the succeeding year, after having
made a practical test and application of certain of
his original theories and methods in a district
school, he became principal of the Orange county
grammar school at Randolph Center. In August,
1866, he amplified the functions of this institu
tion by making it a normal school, while in the
autumn of that year it became a state normal
school, by special act of the legislature, its pre
cedence being enhanced, as a matter of course,
when it was thus placed under state auspices.
Professor Conant was continued in the office of
principal, his well directed and effective efforts
having been duly appreciated in educational cir
cles and his ability recognized by the legislative
body. The prestige given by the state in the
early years was more nominal than material, since
the commonwealth made but slight contribution
to the support of the institution. In 1866, having
realized to the full the disadvantages under which
the school was conducted and his maximum use-

6o8

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

fulness thereby curtailed, the principal prevailed
upon the board of trustees to attempt the raising
by subscription of a permanent endowment fund
of ten thousand dollars. He himself headed the
list with a contribution of five hundred dollars,
and still it was not until 1875 that his desires were
fully realized in this connection, that year mark
ing the final accumulation and investment of the
amount designated. From 1874 until 1880 Pro
fessor Conant was incumbent of the responsible
office of state superintendent of education, and in
this capacity his labors were indefatigable and en
thusiastic. During his tenure of the office he
visited every town in the state two or more times,
and through his inspiring efforts much was done
to further the interests of public education in his
important field. He advocated the town system
of schools, town high schools, a state school tax
and a complete adoption and fostering of the nor
mal schools by the state. In 1881 he was installed
as principal of the normal school at Johnson, and
here he instituted valuable reforms, amplifying
the curriculum and considerably extending the
course, while he also arranged for a training
school as an adjunct of the normal. He remained
at Johnson for a period of three years, at the ex
piration of which time he again assumed the prin-
cipalship of the Randolph Normal School, as the
executive head of which he continued until his
death, January 5, 1903, a period of nearly a score
of years. Of his work in his chosen profession a pre
viously published review of his career speaks as
follows : "In his connection with the normal
schools Mr. Conant has advocated the highest
practical standards for admission and graduation ;
his was the first normal school to make singing
and such nature studies as botany, mineralogy
and physics required parts of the course of study.
He has been town superintendent of schools at
various times ; was a delegate from Randolph to
the state constitutional convention in 1870; a
member of the Vermont board of education, 1866-
67; and state superintendent of education from
1874 to 1880. Lie is a member of the state teach
ers' association and was twice president of that
body ; was a director of the American Institute
of Instruction for many years; belonged to the
New England Normal Council and was its presi
dent in 1888 ; member of the Vermont School

masters' Club and its president in 1897. Mr.
Conant has prepared three text books, namely:
A Drill Book in English ;' 'Conant's Vermont — :
Geography, History, Civil Government' ; and the
Vermont Historical Reader.' He received the
honorary degree of Master of Arts from Middle
bury College in 1866, and from the University of
Vermont iri 1867."
The value of the services of Professor Conant
in the educational work in his native state cannot
be held in light estimation, and during all the
long years which he devoted to the profession of
pedagogy he kept fully abreast of advances made,.
and was progressive in his methods. He was a.
man of mature judgment, high intellectuality and
distinctive administrative powers, and was widely
known and held in unequivocal esteem throughout
the state where he lived and labored to so goodly
ends. In 1862 Professor Gonant enlisted for service
in a Vermont regiment of volunteer infantry, his
sympathies being entirely with the cause of the
Union and his loyalty and patriotism of the most
insistent order. However, the trustees of the-
school over which he was in charge persuaded;
him that his duties in tha't connection were of
paramount importance, and they prevailed upon
him to remain at home, and hired a substitute to-
take his place in the ranks of the Union army.
In political affiliations he was originally identified:
with the Free-soil party, but upon the organiza
tion of the Republican party he transferred his
allegiance to the same and was an ardent advo
cate of its cause during the crucial epoch of the
rebellion, when it stood sponsor for the war policy
of the government. Since the war he continued
to advocate the basic principles of this party, but
was somewhat independent in his attitude, not
being aggressively partisan, though firm in his
convictions and ever fortified in his opinions as
to matters of public policy and import. He was-
long a zealous member of the Congregational"
church, and was a member of the national council1
of this denomination in 1865, 1874 and 1892, tak
ing a deep interest in all branches of the church
work, both of spiritual and temporal nature. He
was a member of the Ascutney Congregational'
Club. On the 10th of May, 1858, was solemnized
the marriage of Professor Conant to Miss Cyn-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

609

thia H. Taggart, daughter of John and Betsey
(Avery) Taggart, of Stockbridge, Vermont, and
of this union have been born four children, name
ly : Frank Herbert, Seth Edward, Nell Florence
and Grace Lucia. The elder son is a civil engi
neer, and has been for many years a resident of
the state of Washington. The others reside with
their mother in Randolph Center.
DAVID HUBBARD NUTTING, M. D.
David Hubbard Nutting, M. D., a well
known physician of Randolph Center, obtained
his early professional' experience in eastern and
central Turkey, being for twenty-two years con
nected as a practitioner in that part of the coun
try, under the auspices of the American Board
of Foreign Missions.- He was born in Randolph
Center, Vermont, May 17, 1829, a son of Will
iam Nutting, Esq., and grandson of William
Nutting, Sr., who married Susannah French,
a daughter of Colonel French, of Nashua, New-
Hampshire. William Nutting, the immigrant an
cestor of the branch of the Nutting family, came
from Groton, Suffolk county, England, about
1639-42, as a member of Winthrop's staff, and
settled in Groton, Massachusetts, where he and
his descendants lived for many generations.
William Nutting, Sr., was a minute man at
the battle of Concord, and subsequently an offi
cer of a Massachusetts regiment in the Revolu
tion. When the Lexington alarm was sounded
he and his man left their plow in the furrow
in Groton, and each mounted a horse and rode
to Concord. One of the battles of King Philip's
war was fought on the farm of his father, at
which time a church then standing was burned.
William Nutting, Esq., was born in Groton,
Massachusetts, October 30, 1779. Growing to
manhood on the ancestral homestead, he worked
on the farm in summer, attending the district
school during winter terms, until of age. Sub
sequently studying at the Groton Academy, he
entered the sophomore class of Dartmouth Col
lege, from which he was graduated with honors
in 1807. He was urged to become tutor in the
college, but declined in order to accept a posi
tion as first principal of the Orange county
grammar school at Randolph, Vermont, where
he continued six years as teacher and where he
39

spent the remaining fifty- six years of his life.
Under his wise administration the school ob
tained great popularity, students coming here
from all parts of Vermont, and from the neigh
boring states to obtain a classical education,
among his numerous pupils being many that be
came distinguished as clergymen, lawyers, physi
cians, judges, members of Congress, or profes
sors in colleges. While teaching, he took up the
study of law, and was admitted to the bar about
1813. He subsequently became the law part
ner of his preceptor, Judge Dudley Chase, with
office at Randolph Center, and became success
ful as a lawyer. He was a member of the board
of trustees of the Orange county grammar school
for many years, acting as secretary and treasurer.
From 1816 to 1845, he was a trustee of the
University of Vermont, in which he declined
the chair of mathematics and natural philosophy.
He died November 26, 1863.
He never sought for office, but consented to
represent the town in the state legislature, was
town clerk nineteen years and justice of the
peace twenty-three years, and was once a mem
ber of the council of censors. From 1812 he
was identified with the Congregational church, in
which he was a strong pillar.
On October 5, 1809, he married Mary Bar
rett Hubbard, daughter of David and Mary
(Barrett) Hubbard, both natives of Concord,
Massachusetts, and afterward erected the first
brick residence in Randolph, occupying it for
many years. Of their union eleven children were
born, eight of whom grew to years of maturity,
as follows : Eliza A., the second wife of Rev.
Samuel A. Benton; Sarah M., the first wife of
Rev. Samuel Benton; William, Jr., who became
a manufacturer of church organs; Charles, a
lawyer; Rufus, an inventor and manufacturer;
George B., who was a missionary to Syria ; David
Hubbard, the subject of this sketch; and Mary
O, a teacher, and librarian at Mount Holyoke
College. The mother passed away September 7,
1847. David H. Nutting acquired his elementary
education in Randolph, supplementing that by
a course of study at the Western Reserve Col
lege, after which he- was graduated from the
' College of Medicine at Philadelphia, Pennsyl
vania, receiving his degree in 1853 and spending

6io

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

the following year in the hospitals of New York
city. On July 5, 1854, he married Mary E.,
daughter of Nicholas and Mary J. (Barstow)
Nichols, and on August 8 of that year, sailed
with his wife from Boston for Smyrna, being
appointed by the American Board of Foreign
Missions as a physician at Diarbekir, in ancient
Assyria. For twenty-two years the Doctor and
his wife were actively connected with the work
of the eastern and central Turkey missions, re
siding the greater part of the time in malarial
districts, which so undermined their health that
they were forced to return to America 'in 1876.
The Doctor at once resumed his practice of medi
cine, locating -in Chicopee, Massachusetts, where
he won an excellent practice, remaining there
seven years, when he took up his permanent
residence in Randolph Center. Lie has here met
with good success as a practitioner, and is the
owner of a good farm of sixty-seven acres. He
is a member of the Anierican Medical Associa
tion, of the Massachusetts and "Vermont Medi
cal Societies, and an active member and deacon
of the Congregational church at Randolph
Center. Dr. and Mrs. Nutting became the parents of
six children, of whom three sons and two daugh
ters survive, as follows : Nellie Hubbard, a
teacher in the industrial school at Montgomery,
Alabama; Mary Howard, formerly a teacher in
Utah, then in New York city, is at present a
graduate nurse in Hartford, Connecticut; George
IL, a bookkeeper in Boston; Charles, superin
tendent of the gas works at ChicOpee, Massa
chusetts ; Frederick W., a machinist at North
Andover, Massachusetts. The first, Annie Hale,
died when one year old,
WILLIAM L. PACKARD.
, William Louis Packard, of Wilmington, Ver
mont, son of William and Sarah Fales Packard,
was born at Pittsgrove, New Jersey, September
25. 1876, and with his parents moved to Elmer,
New Jersey, in 1885. In 1889 he began his print
er's apprenticeship to S. P. Foster, proprietor of
the Elmer Times, working outside school hours,
and 1893 found him in Wilmington, Vermont, as •
foreman of the Deerfield Valley Times, then
owned by O. H. Jones.

Mr. Packard purchased the Times of Mr.
Jones in October, 1894, and from that time the
paper has shown a steady, healthy growth in scope
and influence. Under Mr. Packard's editorial
management the Times has come to mean facts
and sound judgment, and, while the paper is never
rankly partisan, it is thoroughly Republican. In
1898 Mr. Packard bought the Readsboro Enter
prise, which he merged with the Times, thus giv
ing him the entire valley as field.

WILLIAM L. PACKARD.
The material cost of the plant has been in
creased from two thousand, five hundred dollars
to over nine thousand dollars, producing a paper
that is a model for typographical beauty and
cleanliness wherever it circulates and bearing the
imprint of the editor's personality in its temperate,
dignified tone.
Mr. Packard is a good type of the genuine
Anierican whose success is honestly his own, by
unaided effort and indomitable purpose. He" has
made a third-rate paper to rank among the first

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

611

papers in the state, and has won the respect of his
brother editors and the full confidence of his
public. In March, 1901, Mr. Packard married Eveleen
Vulte, daughter of the late John C. Newton, of
Holvoke, Massachusetts. They have one daugh
ter, Katherine Fales, born October 1, 1902.
THE SEAVER FAMILY.
The Seaver Family, of North Troy, Vermont,
are descendants in direct line from Robert
Seaver, who came to this country from Eng
land in 1634, and settled in Boston, Massachu
setts. He had four sons, and from these mem
bers all the branches of the Seaver family de
scend. The name is not very common in this
country, as the rcords state that there are only
.about three hundred and fifty persons scattered in
different sections of the United States by that
name, forty of whom reside in the state of Ver
mont. Gilman Warren Seaver, one of the descend
ants, was born at Albany, Vermont, in 1820,
where he attended the district schools of his na
tive town. After completing his studies he en-
.gaged in the various occupations of farmer,
manfacturer and merchant. In 1888 Mr. Seaver
was chosen to represent his town in the Vermont
legislature, and was also honored by being elected
to serve in various local offices in Albany, Troy
and Craftsbury. He also acted in the capacity of
¦county commissioner. Mr. Seaver married Miss
Eliza Rowell, who was born in Albany, Vermont,
in 1824. Their three children are: Elma, de
ceased, was the wife of F. J. Gliddon; Ezra
Thomas and Harley T. Seaver. Mr. Seaver is
now a resident of Barton, Vermont, and the fam
ily are members and attendants of the Metho
dist Episcopal church.
Ezra T. Seaver, eldest son of Gilman Warren
and Eliza Seaver, was born January 12, 1858, in
Albany, Vermont. He received his preliminary
education in the public schools, and this was
later supplemented by attending Craftsbury
Academy and the Vermont Methodist Seminary
in Montpelier, Vermont. After his graduation
from the latter institution Mr. Seaver entered
into his father's employ as clerk, but upon at
taining his majority was admitted as a partner

in the business, which was conducted at North
Troy, Vermont. In 1882 he succeeded to his
present mercantile and manufacturing business,
and the trade has increased from year to year
until now it is one of the most important com
mercial establishments, not only of North Troy,
but of the entire state, throughout which it is
well known for its honorable business methods.
Although Mr. Seaver's time is so fully occupied
with private interests, still he devotes a portion
of it, also his influence and money, to the welfare
of the town, county and state. Mr. Seaver has
always been an ardent supporter of Democratic
principles. In 1896 he was nominated at Mont
pelier for state auditor, and during President
Cleveland's first administration was appointed
postmaster at North Troy. He is a member of
the Knights of Pythias, of the Society of the
Congregational church, and also of the Law and
Order League.
Mr. Seaver was united in marriage January
16, 1879, to Almeda A. Ewins, daughter of W.
P. and R. L. (Chaffee) Ewins. Mrs. Seaver,
prior to her marriage, was a successful teacher,
being greatly interested in the education and
good morals of the young. She has held many
offices in the village, being one of the founders
of the Village Improvement Society, and of the
North Troy Cemetery Association. For about
fifteen years she was president of the "No Name
Literary Club," organized in 1880. Two sons
have been born to them : Cleon William, who
is attending the Oxford School at Maiden, Mas
sachusetts, and Clive Gilman, who resides with
his parents at North Troy, Vermont.
HARLEY T. SEAVER.
Harley T. Seaver, well known for many years
in the social and business life of Barton, Ver
mont, was born in the town of Albany, Ver
mont, July 24, i860, a son of Gilman W. and
Eliza (Rowell) Seaver. Gilman W. Seaver was
born in the town of Albany, Vermont, January
6, 1820. By occupation he was a farmer, but
subsequently traveled through the States and
Canada, selling a patent milk pan. This venture
proved so successful that he decided to engage in
the hardware business, and in partnership 'with
Norris D. Martin conducted an establishment in

6(2

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

North Troy. This connection continued for a
few years, when Mr. Seaver bought Mr. Martin's
interest in the business, and his two sons Llarley
T. and Ezra T. became associated with him in its
management. Mr. Seaver was united in mar
riage to Miss Eliza Rowell, daughter of Eli
phalet Rowell, of Albany, Vermont.
Harley T. Seaver, son of Gilman W. and
Eliza Seaver, acquired his education in the com
mon schools of his native town and at St. Johns
bury Academy. Subsequently he was engaged
with his father and brother in the village of
North Troy, Vermont, in the hardware business.
In the fall of 1884 he removed to Barton, Ver
mont, and engaged in the general hardware trade
on his own account, meeting with a marked de
gree of success, and he has continued in the busi
ness up to the present time.
Fraternally Mr. Seaver is a member of Or
leans Lodge No. 55, F. & A. M., of which he is
a past master ; he is also grand senior deacon of
the Grand Lodge of Vermont for this year
(1902). In his politics Mr. Seaver is a true and
staunch Republican, and is the present repre
sentative from Barton, Vermont. Mr. Seaver
was united in marriage to Miss Amanda Davi
son, daughter of Amory Davison, of Craftsbury,
Vermont. Two children have been born of this
union, namely : A. Clemmer, aged thirteen years,
and Amory D. Seaver, aged nine years.
JOHN W. BRADLEY.
John W. Bradley, deceased, was born at Hunt
ington, Vermont, January 11, 1851. He was the
son of Norman and Annie S. Bradley, the former
named a native of Huntington, Vermont; his
family were original settlers of Vermont, where
their lives were spent for the most part as tillers
of the soil. Norman Bradley moved from Hunt
ington to Charlotte, where he lived the remainder
of his life; he was possessed of no mean liter
ary talent, and for a number of years was a
teacher of some of the higher branches. He died
in the year 1896. His wife, Annie S. Bradley, was
born at Wallingford, Vermont; her two chil
dren were Irving, with whom she now resides,
and John W.
John W. Bradley was reared at South Wall-
ington, and acquired his education at Charlotte,

Vermont; upon finishing his studies he entered;
the mercantile field by accepting a position in a
store in East Wallingford. He left this position,
to become station agent at Chatham' Four Cor
ners. Later he entered the employ of Winch.
Brothers as traveling salesman; he remained in
this line of business, in which he was very suc
cessful, up to the time of his death, a period of
thirteen years. In 1873 he married Mary Powell,
who was born at Charlotte, a daughter of Caro
line Powell, and Edgar S. Powell, also a native-
of Charlotte, and the son of Reuben Powell, a
prominent farmer of Charlotte, whose father set
tled there as an early pioneer. Mr. John Brad
ley's two children are Florence Bradley, who-
lives in Burlington, and John Bradley, of Hart
ford, Connecticut.
Mr. Bradley was a Republican in politics, and:
fraternally was a member of Friendship Lodge,
F. & A. M., in which organization he held many
positions ; he was a member af the chapter, coun
cil and commandery of Burlington. He was also-
connected with the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows. Mr. John Bradley died December 26.,..
1890, of pneumonia. His widow lives in Bur
lington, at 78 Grant street, in a residence which
she built in 1901.
HON. RUFUS E. BROWN.
Hon. Rufus E. Brown is a native of Dickin-
son, Franklin county, New York, born on the 3d
of December, 1854, and is a son of John T. and :
Margaret A. (Dillenbeck) Brown. The father
was a native of Vermont, and when a young man
went to the Empire state, where he followed the -
carpenter's trade in connection with farming. He
married Margaret A. Dillenbeck, a daughter of
Philip Dillenbeck, who was a native of Germany,
and they became the parents of six children, of
whom three are living: George, who resides on
the old family homestead; Jane, the widow of"
Joseph Aldrich ; and Rufus E. Those who have
passed away are Mary, who died in childhood;
and two who died in infancy. In his political.
views the father of these children was a Repub
lican, and was a member of the Methodist Epis
copal church. He died April 25, 1870, and his
wife, surviving him for a number of years, passed ;
away April '9, 1882.

<£. <8r

The Leiins Fuhlislnncj Co

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

613

Rufus E. Brown gained his education in the
academies of Lawrenceville and Amsterdam.
Coming to Burlington, Vermont, he entered upon
the study of law in the office of Wales & Taft, well
known attorneys, with whom he remained till
1878. , Later he was with the late Judge Taft, and
was admitted to the bar at Burlington during the
September term of court, 1880. He did not at
once engage in practice, but carried on agricul
tural pursuits until 1891. In that year he opened
an office in Burlington and practiced law alone
until May 23, 1897, when he formed a partnership
with James H. Macomber, under the firm name of
Brown & Macomber, which continued until May
23, 1902. They had a large and representative
elientage, and were connected with much of the
important litigation tried in the courts of this dis
trict. Mr. Brown has been twice married. He first
wedded Delia F. Wood, of Williston, by whom he
has one son, Ralph E. On the first of January,
1902, he was married to Josephine Sayles, a
daughter of Hoel Sayles,. of Starksboro, Vermont,
In his political views Mr. Brown has always been
a Republican, and has been an active worker in
the ranks of the party for a number of years. He
was appointed city grand juror in April, 1892,
and reappointed to that office in 1893. In Septem
ber, 1894, he was elected state's attorney for Chit
tenden county, and discharged the duties of his
position with such capability and fearlessness that
he was re-elected in 1896 and again in 1898, thus
retaining the incumbency until December, 1900.
In September of the last year he was elected to
represent Chittenden county in the state senate
and served on a number of important committees,
including that of judiciary, claims, banks, and the
joint committee on state and court expenses. In
April, 1902, he was appointed city attorney of
Burlington, and reappointed in 1903. May 1,
1903, Mr. Brown formed a partnership with Rus
sell 'w. Taft, son of the late Chief Judge Russell
S. Taft, and the firm of Brown & Taft is known
as one of the reliable law firms of Vermont.
A leader in public thought and action, the life
record of the Hon. Rufus E. Brown has been an
honor to the state, which has honored him by high
political preferment. He is a statesman of ability
and has figured prominently in public affairs,
leaving the impress of his individuality upon leg

islation that has established the policy of this com
monwealth. Nature bountifully endowed him
with the peculiar qualifications that combine to
make a successful lawyer. Patient, persevering,
possessed of an analytical mind, and one that is
readily receptive and retentive of the fundamental
principles and' intricacies of the law ; gifted with
a spirit of devotion to wearisome details ; quick to
comprehend the most subtle problems, and logical
in his conclusions ; fearless in the advocacy of any
cause he may espouse ; and the soul of honor and
integrity, — few men have been more richly gifted
for the achievement of success in his arduous and
difficult profession.
CHARLES ALMERIN TINKER.
Charles A. Tinker, of St. Albans, Vermont,
recently retired from the active duties of general
superintendent of the eastern division of the
Western Union Telegraph Company, which re
sponsible position he held for over twenty years,
is a descendant of John Tinker, one of the early
settlers of the state of Connecticut.
Nehemiah Thicker, great-grandfather of
Charles A. Tinker, was born in 1741, and was ac
tively associated with the various interests of
Windham county, Connecticut, where it is
thought probable his birth occurred ; previous to
the Revolutionary war he removed to Vermont,
where he was one of the volunteers who went
to the defense of Bennington ; he was united in
marriage to Mary Huntington.
Joel Tinker, grandfather of Charles A.
Tinker, was born in Winchester, Connecticut,
September 2, 1774. On January 25, 1804, he
married Charlotte Sykes, who was born at Wal
pole, New Hampshire, November 12, 1786, and
the following named children were born to them :
Nehemiah Sykes, born at Chelsea, Vermont,
May 6, 1805, married Emily Dickinson on Feb
ruary 11, 1834; Nehemiah died April 5, 1890,
and his wife died April 26, 1866. Mary, born at
Chelsea, August 15, 1807, died July 25, 1823.
Sally, born August 11, 1809, died January 26,
1895 : she was the wife of John Stone, whom
she married December 22, 1830; he died August
16, 1877. John, born September 3, 181 1, on
April 12, 1836, married for his first wife Hope
Benson, and after her death was united in mar-

614

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

riage to Miss Emily Bass, of Williamstown, Ver
mont ; his death occurred Tanuary 15, 1889. Al-
merin was born September 7, 1813, at Chelsea,
Vermont. Joel Buckingham, born March 10,
1818, died September 26, 1843. Charlotte,
born April 23, 1820, married Rev. W. F. Evans,
who died at Salisbury, Massachusetts, Sep
tember 4, 1.889. Fanny Parker, born June
17, 1822, married, June 15, 1853, Rev. Alfred
Brigham; her death occurred in 1901. Mary
Ann, horn October 29, 1825, died August 5,
1876. The father ,of these children died Feb
ruary 24, 1842, and his wife died April 17, 1849.
Almerin Tinker, father of Charles A. Tinker,
was born at CheJsea, Orange county, Vermont,
September 7, 1813, and his education was ac
quired in the common schools of that city. Sub
sequently he became a clerk in the store of James
R. Langdon & Company, at Montpelier, Ver
mont, where he remained until the - spring of
1839, when he removed to Michigan and there
conducted a general store in Mt. Clemens, Romeo
and Almont, respectively, and engaged in the
early trade with the Indians, taking furs and
fruits of the hunt in exchange for food. Owing
to the failing health of his wife he returned to
Vermont, and iri 185 1 settled in Northfield,
where he accepted an appointment . as secretary
to ex-Governor Charles Paine, then president of
the Vermont Central Railroad, and iater, upon
the death of Mr. Paine, was engaged as clerk
for the same road, being in charge of the ac
counts pf the freight department.- He later be
came purchasing and supply agent for the sta
tionery department of the railroad company, and
upon his retirement from active duties in 1890
his associates presented him with a gold watch
and chain as a slight token of their high esteem.
On April 12, 1836, Mr. Tinker married So
phronia Burnham Gilcrist, of Goffstown, New
Hampshire, and their children are: Charles A.,
born January 8, 1838, at Chelsea, Vermont;
Sarah Harriet, born March 26, 1840, in RomeO,
Michigan, married August 18, 1865, George H.
Taggard, who was formerly a ticket agent of the
Vermont Railroad Company and served' in a New
Hampshire regiment during the Civil war; Ed
ward Henry, born February 15, 1843, died in in
fancy; Mary Emma, born January 7, 1845, died
in infancy ; William Ldrenzo, born November 27,

1846, a resident of California, was united in mar
riage to Miss Ainsworth; of Cape Vincent, New
York, and they have one son, Arthur Ainsworth,'
of Minneapolis, : Minnesota; Walter Franklin,
born November 2, 1853, at Northfield, Vermont,
died at Jacksonville, Florida, Aftil 15, 187.9; and
Arthur Llerbert, born at Northfield, Vermont,
July 13, 1859, died in infancy. The mother of
these children died January 29 1866.
Charles A. Tinker, eldest child of Almerin
and Sophronia Tinker, was born at Chelsea, Ver
mont, January 8, 1838, but was taken by his
parents; in infancy, to Michigan, where he had
only the advantage of a common school educa
tion. Returning to his native state in J851, he
entered Newbury Seminary, but owing to sick
ness did not complete his course. In 1852 he.
obtained a position as clerk in, the postoffice at
Northfield, Vermont, where he acquired the Bain
system of telegraphy; three years later he secured
the position of operator with the Vermont and
Boston Telegraph Company at Boston, and soon-
after with the Cape Cod Telegraph Company in
the Merchants' Exchange, having in the mean
time acquired a knowledge of the Morse system. :
In January, 1857, Mr. Tinker went to Chicago,
Illinois, accepting a position there in the office
of the Caton . lines, and soon afterward he was
appointed manager of the Illinois & Mississippi
Telegraph Company's office at Pekin, Illinois.
During this period he made the acquaintance of
Abraham Lincoln, at whose request he explained
to him the methods of the telegraph system, and
later, when Mr. Lincoln became the president of
the United States, Mr. Tinker was appointed tele
graph operator in the war department at Washj
ington. President Lincoln was a frequent visitor
at Mr. Tinker's office during the war, and re
ceived from him the first news of his renomina-
tion as president. In the summer of 1857 Mr.
Tinker- returried to Chicago and entered the ser
vice of the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad
Company, and two years later was engaged as
bookkeeper and telegraph operator for the Galena
& Chicago Union Railroad Company. During
this period he joined the Chicago Light Guard
and served with his company as escort to Stephen
A. Douglas to the Wigwam, where he made his
last great speech for the Union, and two weeks
later he acted as guard of honor in the procession

THE . STATE OF VERMONT.

615

which laid the remains of'- Stephen A. Douglas
away to rest on the banks of Lake Michigan,
> where, since has been erected the Douglas monu
ment. , At the outbreak of the war Mr. Tinker was
.. offered the lieutenant colonelcy of a regiment, but
declined the proffered honor. Subsequently he
entered the United States military service in the
war department at Washington, and was ordered
to service in the field under General Banks. He
opened the military telegraph office at Pooles-
yille, Alaryland, and served as its operator dur
ing and after the battle of Ball's Bluff, and per
formed similar services under General Wards-
'- worth at -Upton Hill, Virginia, where he was
selected as one of the eight operators to serve
under General McClellan on the steamer Com-
modOre, and afterwards in the army headquarters
in front of Yorktown and before Richmond. Mr.
Tinker was present at the evacuation pf York-
town, and , at the battle of Williamsburg, and
finally at Genera! Heintzelman's headquarters at
Savage Station after the battle of Fair Oaks. Lie
was also associated with General T. T. Eckert,
who appointed him- to the responsible position
of cipher operator in the - war department at
Washington, where he. remained until the close
of the war. He was then appointed manager
¦ of the United States Military Telegraph, con
tinuing until it was closed up and its lines turned
over to the telegraph companies. Mr. Tinker
, then became manager of the Western. Union Tele-
. graph Company's offices at Washington, where
he served until January, ^1872, when he became
superintendent of telegraph and general traiu
dispatcher of the Vermont Central Railroad at
St.- Albans, with jurisdiction over the lines of the
Western Union and Montreal Telegraph com
panies on that railway system. In 1875 he Was
."appointed ' general superintendent of the Pacific
division of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph
Company, with headquarters at Chicago. In
1879, this company having fallen under control
Of the Western Union Company, he resigned and
accepted the position of manager pf the tele
graph lines of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Company. While holding this position he be
came one of the incorporators, with Jay Gould,
pf the American Union Telegraph Company, and
he received from Gould a check for two and a

half millions of dollars to pay for his subscrip
tion to its capital stock ; he was also superintend
ent of a division of that company. In 1881,
after the consolidation of the Western LInion and
American Union Telegraph .Companies, he was
recalled to the service of the Western Union, and
on February 1, 1882, he was appointed general
superintendent of the eastern division, comprisL
ing all the territory from Washington, D.. C,
north to the Canada line, west to the Ohio river
and east to Cape Breton; this position he re
signed on -May 1, 1902, in fulfillment of a long
cpritemplated purpose to retire at the end of his
fiftieth year in the service. Mr. Tinker was the
vice president of the American District Tele
graph Company of New York city, a director
and vice president of the Vermont and Boston
Telegraph Company and an officer of numerous
other companies. He was one of the organizers
and vice president of the Brooklyn Society of
Vermonters, and a member of the Illinois So
ciety of the Sons of Vermont.
On June 11, 1863, Mr. Tinker married Eliza
beth Ann Simkins at Oxford, Pennsylvania, and
her de&th occurred at Brooklyn, New York, April
1, 1890. Their children were: Flora Emma,
born June 18, 1864, at Washington, D. C, mar
ried, Worthington Tracy Smith, of St. Albans,
Vermont, April 24, 1895, and to them has been.
born one child, Worthington Charles Smith,
born March 17, 1896. Arthur Lincoln, born
July 10, 1866, at Washington, D. C, married
.Ida Conklin Ireland, of Brooklyn, New York,
November 20, 1889, and their two children are
Ruth, born June 6. 1892, and Almerin, born May
28, 1895 ; he is foreign agent for the Gamewell
Fire. Alarm Telegraph Company, and resides at
Berlin, Germany. Charles Grant, born at Wash
ington, D. C, September 11, 1876, married,
March 27, 189 1, Nellie Pearl Pierce, of St.
Albans, Vermont, and his death occurred in that
city immediately after his return from his wed
ding trip; he had just completed arrangements
to leave for Japan with his bride to take charge
of the business at Kobe for the American Trad
ing Company of New York. Cora Alice, born
at Washington, D. C, October 6, 1869, died
June 28, 1870. Stanton, born at St. Albans, Ver-'
mont, September 23, 1873, died January 8, 1875.
On October 10, 1894, Mr. Tinker married for

6i6

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

his second wife Stella Fredericka Jewell, who
was born at Groton, Tompkins county, . New
'York, August 6, 1841 ; the ceremony was per
formed at Kirkwood, Missouri. Mrs. Tinker,
died January 30, 1901, in Brooklyn, New York.
Mr. Tinker resides with his daughter at St. Al
bans, Vermont.
THE PARKER FAMILY.
The Parker family of New England, which in
its various generations has been represented by
men of surpassing ability and moral worth, is de
scended from Thomas' Parker ( 1 ) , who was born
in England in 1605 and came to America in the
ship' Susan Ellen, in 1638. He lived for a short
time in Lynn, Massachusetts, whence he removed
to Reading, Massachusetts, where he was select
man in 1652, 1653 and 1657. He was known
as Deacon Thomas Parker. He died in 1698, and
his wife Amy died in 1690.
Sergeant John Parker (2), one of the eight
children of Thomas, married, in 1667, Hannah,
daughter of Deacon Thomas and Rebecca Ken
dall. She died in 1689, and Sergeant John Par
ker married Thankful (name unknown). He
lived on Cowdry's Hill, Reading (now Wake
field), Massachusetts. He was the father of thir
teen children, and he died in 1698. His son John
(3), born in 1668, married, in 1691 or 1694,
Elizabeth (name unknown), who bore him eleven
children. Of these, Benjamin (4), born in 1703,
married (1726) Sarah Foster, who died in 1741,
and he married Sarah, a daughter of Jonathan
Parker. Reuben (5), son of Benjamin Parker,
was born in Reading in 1732 and died January
20. 1825. He married, June 19, 1759, Sarah,
daughter of Thomas Wooley ; she died December
20, 1779, and he married Esther Townsend, of
Townsend, Massachusetts, who died October 20,
181 1.
Silas (6), son of Reuben and Sarah (Wooley)
Parker, was born in Richmond, New Hampshire,
in August, 1765. He was a farmer, tanner and
shoemaker. In 1796 he removed to Lisbon, New
Hampshire, and settled on Sugar Hill, where it is
said that he erected the first tannery in New
Hampshire, north of Haverhill, and there for
many years he carried on a tanning business
which, after him, came to his son and grandson.

He was called "lawyer," and was moderator of
the town for twenty-five years. He was an ex
cellent type of the old-time New England pioneer,
and his wife, whom he married in 1788, was a
model helpmeet, a woman. of amiable disposition,
with always a pleasant "and- cheering word for
those about her. She was Lydia, born May 14,
1770, a, daughter of Rufus Whipple.* Silas and
Lydia Parker lived in that period of our country's
history when it had hardly recovered from the
long Revolutionary struggle, when the people
were chiefly farmers with limited means, and few
were able to afford their children educational
advantages, even those of the district school. The
devoted couple reared their family of six sons
and one daughter in a school of stern virtue, care
ful frugality and that unflagging industry always
required in the home life of the plain farm houses,
supplemented by that limited but intensely prac
tical learning which has produced for many gen
erations men and women of sound, clear and vig
orous minds. The husband died in Lisbon, Oc
tober 16, 1834, and his wife survived him nearly
thirty years, dying August 30, 1863, aged ninety-
three years. HON. LEVI "PARKER.
Hon. Levi -Parker (7) was a man of far more
than ordinary ability and strength of character,

*In the Richmond Company of Colonel Doo-
little's regiment, which was enrolled June 12,
1775, are the names of Sergeant Rufus Whipple,
Azariah Cumstock and John Wooley. This com
pany took part in the battle of Bunker Hill.
In Captain Oliver Capron's company in Colonel
Samuel Ashley's regiment, which marched to the
relief of Ticonderoga in 1777, were Ensign Rufus
Whipple, Drummer John Wooley, Reuben Par
ker and Israel Whipple. Reuben Parker and
John Wooley were in a Winchester company at
the battle of Bennington. Israel Whipple was a
member ,of the committee of safety, inspection
and correspondence in 1777. Thomas Wooley
was the father of Sarah, who married Reuben
Parker. John Wooley was a brother of Sarah
Wooley Parker. Azariah Cumstock was the ma
ternal grandfather of Lydia Whipple, who mar
ried Silas Parker, son of Reuben Parker. Rufus
Whipple was the father of Lydia Whipple Par
ker. Israel Whipple was the brother of Lydia
Whipple Parker.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

617

.whose life was devoted in large part to the ser
vice of the community and state. He was the eld
est son of Silas and Lydia (Whipple) Parker,
and was born in Richmond, New Hampshire, No
vember 2, 1792. When he was four years old his
parents removed to Lisbon. In due time he suc-
eeeded to the tanning business which his father
had established, and which he conducted with
.great ability throughout his life. He took a deep
and intelligent interest in public affairs and ex
erted a great influence for good in the community,
his words and counsels ever being regarded with
respect and confidence. He was elected to and
served in every office in the gift of his townsmen,
.and his duties were ever performed with that
strict fidelity and great ability which character
ized his whole life's conduct. When first called
to official position he was a comparatively young
man, and his public career covered the long period
of forty years. He was selectman in 1823 and a
member of the board for eighteen years, town
elerk in 1830-31, and treasurer in 1856. He rep
resented Lisbon in the legislature in 1836, 1839,
1840, 185 1 and 1852, and proved himself a most
-capable member of that body, aiding in the formu
lation and enactment of many salutary laws tend
ing to promote the development of the industrial
Tesources of the state. He was chosen councilor
for his district to serve with Governor Gilmore
(Republican) at the time of the Civil war (1862-
•63), when men of responsibility, discretion and
.sagacity were sorely needed, and the governor
said of him that "'no one in his council was more
ready to assist by word and deed in subduing the
rebellion or to render aid to the families of those
-who periled their lives for the safety of the coun
try." He was a life-long Democrat, and believed
-with Jefferson that "a strict adherence to the con
stitution was the one thing needful to the perpe
tuity of the Union."
Mr. Parker was a man of great piety. The
religious element in his character imbued his acts.
In early life he was a Free Will Baptist, in later
years an Adventist, but his house was always open
to all ministers of the gospel of Christ. The poor
and needv always found in him a friend, the
stranger and wanderer was never turned empty
from his door; his roof sheltered and his fire
-warmed many a poor wayfarer ; and of such as he
the Lord spoke when he said: "For I was an

hungered, and ye gave me meat; thirsty, and ye
gave me drink ; I was a stranger and ye took me
in; naked and ye clothed me. Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me." The memory
of this noble, patriotic, generous-hearted, whole-
souled man, who was ever ready to promote and
further any movement for the good of his fellow-
men, is cherished and honored by his townsmen,
and his Christian character and counsel have left
a strong impress upon his descendants.
Mr. Parker married, in March, 1814, Phebe
Ball, a very devoted Christian woman, well edu
cated and efficient, ever ready to attend the sick
and suffering, and to sympathize with the afflicted,
and heartily seconded the generous hospitality of
her husband. She was a model wife, mother,
friend and neighbor, and a saintly Christian, with
pronounced gifts as a religious exhorter. The
children of Levi and Phebe (Ball) Parker were
Silas, Eleazer B., Levi Pratt, Charles, Chandler
B., and Phebe Ann, who married Lindsey Aid-
rich. Mr. Parker died' at Sugar Hill, February 6,
1865, aged nearly seventy-three years, and his
wife died in February, 1872, in the eightieth year
of her age. HON. CHARLES PARKER.
Charles Parker, whose active career extend
ed over more than a half century, and who was
one of the most conspicuously useful men of
Grafton county, New Hampshire, and who dis
played in his character all the excellent traits
which were becoming to his splendid ancestry,
was a son of Hon. Levi and Phebe (Ball) Parker,
and was born in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire,
May 21, 1826.
He was educated in the public schools of Lis
bon, New Hampshire, Newbury (Vermont) Sem
inary and Phillips Academy at Danville, Ver
mont, but his larger education was self-acquired
through his innate love of reading, tenacious
memory and ability to grasp the ever new ques
tions of the day as they arose. Almost to the last
he kept himself thoroughly informed in all mat
ters affecting the material, political, religious and
social welfare of the community and state.
Soon after attaining his majority (in 1847)
he married, and the same year he entered upon a

618 -

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

mercantile and manufacturing career in partner
ship with James R. Young,; in Lyman, New
Hampshire, Mr. Young soon after opening a
store at Lisbon, the firm being Parker & Young.
He was so occupied until 1864, when the business
at Lyman was disposed of, and Mr. Parker re
moved to Lisbon, where they greatly increased
their mercantile business. The partnership was
terminated by the death of Mr. Young, in 1884,
when the manufacturing business was incorpo
rated under the name of the Parker & Young
Manufacturing Company, of which Mr. Parker
became treasurer and general manager, and he
acted in that capacity until the time of his death,
August. 25, 1895, in his seventieth year.
The business of this company was primarily
founded by Mr. Parker, and to its development
he gave the best of his great capability and stir
ring enterprise, bringing it to a foremost place
among the manufacturing interests of New
Hampshire. From a small beginning it became
the largest manufactory of piano sounding-boards
in the world, now using nearly twenty-five mil
lions of feet of lumber annually, employing five
hundred operatives, and its product reaching
every market in the United States and Canada.
Its success was achieved in face of what would
have been, to a man of less determination, in
superable difficulties. The establishment was
three times destroyed by fire, involving great
financial loss and temporary cessation of busi
ness, but each time, through Mr. Parker's indom
itable resolution,, it was immediately rebuilt and
upon a larger scale, with more modern and ample
equipment. Following each disaster, and at other
times, Mr. Parker received flattering inducements
to re-establish his factory in other towns, but his
loyalty to his village and his personal interest in
its people would not permit of his listening to
such overtures. He conducted his large affairs
in no mean, sordid spirit, but with a genuine en
thusiasm, taking pride in the excellence of his
manufactures and in being able to afford means
of livelihood to a large number of families in
whose welfare he ever took a warm personal in
terest. So alive was he to the latter consideration,
that he was never known to have difficulties with
his employes, who regarded him as a frierid and
benefactor as well as an employer. In all his
wide range of dealing, he was known in com

mercial circles as the soul of honor, and his word
went unimpeached, no matter how great the mag
nitude of the occasion. He had a large faculty
for properly estimating conditions, and his judg
ment was unerring in planning for the future,
where a feebler or less resolute mind would have
hesitated ¦ and lost opportunity. He gave himself
diligently to his business affairs almost to the
last and signed the business checks of the com
pany up to the very day before his decease.
While Mr. Parker was thus a public bene
factor in the conduct of a great busiriess, he was
also a prominent figure in every other department
of the life of the community. He was con
stantly the foremost one in conceiving and
carrying out objects for its moral or material
advancement, and his words of counsel and
encouragement were always accompanied with
his means. Educational institutions had in
him an earnest advocate, and he was libera! in
his aid to churches, though he was not a mem
ber until the year previous to his death, when
he was received into tlie First Congregational
church of Lisbon. Yet his nature was ever deep
ly religious, and for many years lie had been a
member of the choir of the church with which he
became connected thus late in life. He possessed
a powerful yet very sweet baritone voice, which
was always heard with pleasure in church or so
cial gatherings, and he was also an excellent:
musical critic and passionately fond of instru
mental as well as vocal music. He had a genuine
affection for children ; his home was the constant
visiting place of his neighbors' children and iri his
driving about he was seldom unaccompanied by
some little one. He was the personification of be
nevolence ; the friendless, the poor and the needy
found in him a benefactor and helper, and no one
hungry or athirst ever went away from his door
unrefreshed.. He was gentle and considerate in
all his intercourse with men, and he endeared him
self to all. He was a Republican in politics. For
more than thirty years he served as a justice of the
peace, and was a member of the New Hampshire
legislature in 1862 and 1863 and again in 1887.
Mr. Parker married in 1847 to Miss Amelia
Emmeline Bennett, a lady of rare personal at
tractions, culture and refinement. She was born
October 24, 1827, in Dummerston, Vermont, a
daughter of Adin and Angeline (Houghton) Ben-

The LsuisPu^hsl-im^Co,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

610

nett.* Four children were born of this marriage,
three of whom, with the mother, are now living,
Mrs. Albert B. Woodworth, of Concord, New
Hampshire; Mrs. Thomas J. Walker, of Man
chester, New Hampshire, and Colonel Harry E.
Parker, of Bradford Vermont.
Mr. Parker died at his home in Lisbon, Au-
gusL 25, 1895. The sad event was distressful to
the entire community, and the scenes at the fu
neral were touchingly significant of its deep
affection for the lamented dead. Mr. Parker's
former pastor, the Rev. Mr. Lees, paid a fervent
tribute to his memory, and the Rev. J. M. Wathen
followed with brief but appreciative remarks.
COLONEL HARRY ELWOOD PARKER.
Harry Elwood Parker, son of Charles and
Amelia (Bennett) Parker, was born June 11,
1853, in Lyman, Grafton county, New Hamp
shire. He began his education in the schools of
his native town and afterwards attended the Lis
bon Academy. He commenced in the printing
business when sixteen years of age in an office
at Lisbon, New Hampshire, which came into

*Adin Bennett was born in 1800 and died in
1830. His parents were Samuel Bennett, Jr.,
son of Samuel and .Sally Bennett, and Hepzibah
Foster, whose children were Adin and So-
phrona. Adin Bennett married Angeline Hough
ton, born August 26, 1801, and died May 6,
1891, and their children were Milo Gettibone,
Emery Seymour (died in fifth year), Edwin
Oscar, born December 13, 1824, died October 30,
1902, and Amelia, who became ¦ the wife of
Charles Parker. Angeline Houghton was a
daughter of Solomon and Martha (White)
Houghton, whose children were Henry, Nahum,
Luther, Calvin, Calvin (2) (both of whom died
in infancy), Rufus and Orison (twins), Polly,
Dorothy, Patty and Angeline. Solomon Hough
ton had brothers, Nahum and Philip, and four
sisters, three of whom married three Whitneys,
two being brothers and one a cousin, and they
lived at or near Marlboro, Vermont. Martha
White was a daughter of Jane White, who came
from Ireland. The name of Jane White is reg
istered in the Houghton Family Bible, which is
in the possession of a great-granddaughter resid
ing in Franconia, New Hampshire. There is quite
a romantic story attending her coming to Amer
ica in 'the early history of our country.

the possession of his father by the foreclosure of
a mortgage, and he worked at this occupation
at intervals until the summer of 1871, when he
entered into the printing business permanently.
In 1870, being in southwestern Virginia with
his parents, who were there for the benefit of his
mother's health, he was the leader of a military
band which he resuscitated from the remnants of
an old Confederate regimental band, and gained
a wide reputation for this organization. During
the season it furnished music for the week of the
commencement exercises at Emery and Henry
College. Young Parker, the leader, had the au
dacity, in response to the "fire-eating" secession
and state-rights orations, .. to play "Yankee-
Doodle" to the three thousand people assembled
in this huge pavilion. As this was a compli
ment to the Union, the leader had anticipated
the furor it would cause (it being so shortly
after the close of the rebellion) among the
audience, and had arranged so that the offend
ing strains of this old air could be run into the
popular and elaborate variations of "Dixie" with
out interruption. This was done so quickly that
the audience (which was furious over the playing
of "Yankee Doodle"), when they heard their old-
favorite air of the war days, to whose strains
many of them had marched to battle, rose and, led
by the president of the college, made the pavilion
ring with cheers for the old song and for the
audacious young leader of the band. He was the
lion of the occasion after this incident.
In 1877, after six years spent in the job print
ing business, Mr. Parker launched the Lisbon
Globe, a five-column folio, which was devoted
wholly to the local news of Lisbon and vicinity.
This sheet was continued until 1881.
He served as engrossing clerk of the New-
Hampshire legislature in 1878-9. In 1880 he was
the president of the Garfield and Arthur Repub
lican Club of Lisbon, New Hampshire. In No
vember, 1 88 1, he moved to Bradford, Orange
county, Vermont, purchasing Stanton's Bradford
Opinion and The Bradford Opinion, the two
opposition papers, which he consolidated under
the name of The United Opinion, and has con
ducted it for twenty-two years, increasing its in
terest as a newspaper, considerably increasing its
circulation, and adding continually to its value
and influence. The job printing plant, which is

620

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

the largest in eastern Vermont and is located in a
. building of its own, comprises the latest and most
improved machinery and material, and enjoys a
large and lucrative patronage which extends over
a large section of New Hampshire as well as
-nearly the whole state of Vermont.
Mr. Parker was unanimously chosen as post
master of Bradford at a large caucus, and was
-appointed by President Harrison for a term of
four years, entering upon his duties in 1890. Dur
ing his administration, the business of the office
was so increased that the salary was raised from
¦ one thousand to eighteen hundred dollars per year.
In 1892 he was commissioned as colonel
on the staff of Governor Levi K. Fuller. In 1893
he was elected president of the Vermont Editors
-and Publishers' Association, and at present ( 1903)
he is again in the same position. He served on
the Republican state committee as the member
from Orange county from 1894 to 1898, and
at the national convention of the Republican
League of the United States held in Cleveland,
Ohio, in 1895, was made vice president for the
-state of Vermont.
Mr. Parker is a director of the Parker &
Young Company, of Lisbon, New Hampshire,
of which his father was the founder, is also a
-director of the Bradford Electric Light Company,
and has always identified himself with the inter
ests which would build up the places in which he
has resided.
Fraternally Mr. Parker belongs to Charity
Lodge No. 31, F. & A. M. ; Mt. Lebanon Chapter
No. 43, R. A. M.; Bradford Council No. 11, R.
•& S. M. ; Palestine Commandery No. 5, K. T., of
St. Johnsbury, and to Mt. Sinai Temple, Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine, Montpelier. He likewise be
longs to Iona Chapter of the Eastern Star, which
he has served as worthy patron, and to the Royal
Arcanum, of which he is deputy supreme regent.
He is, however, more actively identified with the
Odd Fellows, having joined first, November 22,
1879, Moosehillock Lodge, at Woodsville. New-
Hampshire. He was a charter member of Con
cordia Lodge No. 64, I. O. O. F., of Lisbon, New
Hampshire, serving as its first secretary and less
than a year later as noble grand. In January,
1882, soon after coming to Bradford, he joined
the encampment branch of the order and was
made junior warden, later becoming chief patri
arch Lie was admitted to the grand lodge of

Vermont in February, 1886, and,- on his with
drawal from Concordia Lodge, united with Cham
pion Lodge No. 17, I. O. O. F., of Bradford. In
1887 he was chosen grand secretary of the grand
lodge of Vermont ; in 1888 was commissioned lieu
tenant colonel on the staff of Major General
Cushman, of the Patriarchs Militant ; in 1894 was
representative to the sovereign grand lodge at
Chattanooga, Tennessee, and again in 1895 at
Atlantic City, New Jersey, being a member of the
important committee on legislation at both ses
sions. At this session he was made secretary of
the grand secretaries' and grand scribes' associa
tion of the United States. He is a trustee of the
Vermont Odd Fellows' Home, all the money con
tributed for its maintenance passing through his
hands as grand secretary. When he first ac
cepted the responsible position of grand secretary
and in 1887, the order in Vermont had two thou
sand one hundred and one members, but, largely
through his efforts, the membership has been in
creased to over six thousand, and its beneficial
influence has been largely augmented. He is also
a member of Naomi Rebekah Lodge No. 13, of
Bradford. He has always attended the Congre
gational church.
Colonel Parker was married at Nashua, New
Hampshire, September 24, 1873, to Miss Anne M.
Weston,* who was born June 4, 1851, in the city

*Anne M. Weston is a daughter of William
S. and Sarah (Emerson) Weston. Her father
was the son of Sarson and Nancy (Weston)
Weston, and was a prominent contractor of
Nashua, and- the builder of many of its public
edifices. Sarah Emerson was born at Frances-
town, January 8, 1820, and died at Bradford,
Vermont, December 17, 1887. She married John
L. Stevens, of Francestown, March 30, 1841,
and after his death, William S. Weston, July
9, 1850. She was a daughter of Kimball and
Sarah (Webster) Emerson. Her father, who
was the son of Abraham and Hannah (Eaton)
Emerson, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, came to
Francestown early in 1796, was one of the most
energetic and prosperous farmers of the town,
and died there May 9, 1854. He married his
wife, who belonged to the Webster family of
Salem, New Hampshire, October 14, 1805; she
was born April 7, 1784, and died October 10,
i860. Abraham Emerson was a lieutenant in the
Revolutionary arm}-, and participated in numer
ous battles.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

621

named, and was there
schools. Five children
riage: Leslie Weston,
Katherine Louise, who
William S. Huntington,
shire, and to whom was-
Knowles ; Charles ; Levi

educated in the public
were born to this mar-
who died in infancy;
married April 17, 1900,
of Concord, New Hamp-
born a son, Parker ; Sara
Hougton Parker.

MAJOR JOSIAH GROUT.
Major Josiah Grout, of Derby, whose
splendid record as a soldier adorns the Civil -war
annals of his state, and whose useful public serv
ice has extended to the legislature and to the high
office of chief executive, comes from excellent
New England ancestry, and by marriage repre
sents a distinguished family of the Revolutionary
period. The origin of the family is uncertain, but
various differing forms of its name would make
it presumably English , or German. The an
cestor of the American branch was Captain John
Grout, who was in Watertown, Massachusetts,
as early as 1640, and he was subsequently a resi
dent of Sudbury. By profession he was a chi-
rurgeon, or surgeon. He was twice married,
and was the father of eight children by his first
wife. His son Jonathan, of Sudbury, born
March 15, 1658, married Abigail Dix, who bore
his seven children. Of these, John, born October
14, 1704, was liberally educated and became a
lawyer and magistrate. His son Elijah, born
October 29, 1732, settled in Charlestown, New
Hampshire, about 1766, held various town offi
ces, like his father was known as Esquire, and
served as commissary in the Revolutionary war.
He was twice married, and was the father' of
eleven children. His son Theophilus, born Au
gust 29, 1768, in the legislature, was a justice
of the peace and a collector of revenue under the
general government. He was among the pioneer
settlers of Vermont, and in 1799 cleared a farm
in what is now known as the town of Kirby,
which is still in possession of the family and
was the home of the late General W. W. Grout.
He married Joanna Willard, who bore him eleven
children. His son Josiah, born October 20, 1805,
and died in 1874, married Sophronia Ayer,

September 29, 1830, who bore him ten children.
Josiah Grout, son of the parents last named,
who were both Americans, was born in Compton,
province of Quebec, Canada, May 28, 1842.
When he was six years of age his parents re
turned to the family homestead in Kirby, where
he received his education in the public schools,.
pursuing advanced studies in the Orleans Liberal;
Institute at Glover and St. Johnsbury Academy..
He, however, early in the Civil war, laid aside-
his text books in response to the call of Presi
dent Lincoln for troops to suppress the slavehold
ers' rebellion. He enlisted October 2, 1861, at
the age of nineteen years, as a private in Com
pany I, First Regiment Vermont Cavalry..
Something of the intense patriotism which ac
tuated the splendid young soldiers of that period'
is to be discerned in the fact that in order to
enlist, on the day of his leaving school, he walked'
thirty miles to reach a recruiting station, and so
many were the volunteers offering that he ap
plied to three different stations before he could'
find acceptance. At the organization of the com
pany he was elected second lieutenant, and was
promoted to captain in the following year. He
saw service in all the principal campaigns of the
Army of the Potomac, and bore' a gallant part in.
seventeen different engagements.' In April,.
186.3, in a spirited engagement with the famous-
command of the rebel Colonel Mosby, he was-
severely wounded, receiving a bullet which he still.
carries in his body. He was reported as killed,.
and it was his singular experience to read notices
of his own death in numerous newspapers. His
wound necessitated his discharge, in October,
1863, with the splendid record of being present.
with his company at every drill, parade, march
and battle until he was wounded. When the St.
Albans raid occurred, in October, 1864, he was
sufficiently recovered to be able to again perform
military duty, and he recruited a company for
a regiment of cavalry organized for the defence
of the frontier. He was at once elected captain,.
and soon afterward, at the age of twenty- three,
was promoted to major, and with this rank he
served as commandant of the military post at St.
Albans until the close of the war.
Returning home, Major Grout studied law
under the preceptorship of his brother, General'
William W. Grout, and after a searching exam-

622

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ination he was admitted to the bar of Orleans
county in December, 1865. He practiced with
his brother, in Barton, for about a year, also
aiding in editing the Barton Standard, of which
he was part owner. He then removed to Island
Pond, where he had been appointed to the charge
of the United States custom house. During his
three years' occupancy of that position, he prac
ticed his profession in Essex and Orleans coun
ties. In 1869 he had charge of the custom house
in St. Albans, and in the fall of that year was
transferred to the custom house at Newport, of
which he was in charge until early in 1872, when
he abandoned the custom service. While residing
in Newport he represented that town in the as
sembly in 1872 and 1874. His service in this
body was most creditable. He proved strong in
debate and sagacious in formulating measures
and in securing their enactment, and soon came
to a position of acknowledged leadership. After
serving on the judiciary .committee during both
his terms of service, near the close of the ses
sion of 1874 he was elected speaker, and he pre
sided at the last session and during the extra
session following (January, 1875), called to pro
vide new buildings for the reform school.
In 1875 Major Grout removed to Chicago,
Illinois, where he practiced for three years, then
removing to Moline, Illinois, where he practiced
for two years, at the same time acting as presi
dent of the Victor Scale Company. In Moline
he displayed qualities which at once commanded
the admiration of the people to whom he came as
a stranger. During the Garfield campaign, at
various places in the county, he made speeches
which were received with great enthusiasm, and
he found appreciation in two noticeable instances
— he was elected to the county board of super
visors, and the Republican county central com
mittee addressed to him an earnest note of invi
tation to become a candidate for congress, a so
licitation which he declined in grateful terms.
In 1880 Major Grout returned to Vermont
.and located on the Hinman homestead in Derby,
one of the largest, best improved and most com
pletely equipped farms in Vermont. Here he
has since given full scope to his high abilities
in a most congenial pursuit, and one which he
pursues with genuine enthusiasm, and he is

widely known as a most successful agriculturist
and stock-raiser, showing some of the most su
perior Jersey cattle, Morgan horses and Shrop
shire sheep to be found within the limits of the
state. Soon after his return to Vermont, Major
Grout found a reintroduction to public life. He
was elected to the assembly from Derby in 1884,
and again took a leading part in that body, and
served on the judiciary and other important com
mittees. He was re-elected in 1886 and 1888,
and was chosen speaker at both sessions. He
made an admirable presiding officer,1 dispatch
ing business with method and promptness, rul
ing with instant decision and unassailable fair
ness, and bearing himself so courteously toward
all as to command complete respect. In 1892
he was elected senator from Orleans county, and
in that position he gave even higher evidence of
his powers as a wise and far-sighted legistator,
making such a record as to lead to his nomination
for governor by the Republican state convention
held in Burlington, in June, 1896. At the en
suing election he was elected by the largest ma
jority ever given a candidate for that position in
all the history of his state. His administration
was conservative and conducive to the best in
terests of the state, along all lines, industrial, com
mercial and moral, commanding the approval of
the best people throughout the state, regardless
of their political views. It was the privilege of
Governor Grout, as commander-in-chief of the
National Guard of Vermont, to ride at its head
upon two notable occasions— at the inauguration
of Major William McKinley as president, and at
the dedication of the tomb of General U. S. Grant,
in New York city. He enjoys the distinction of
being Vermont's Spanish war governor, and of
tendering the Vermont troops for service in that
war earlier than the troops of any other state
were offered. On the completion of his official
term Governor Grout returned to his accustomed
avocations, in which he re-engaged with the old-
time earnestness and satisfaction.
An ardent and life-long Republican, Major
Grout has at all times exercised a potent influence
in the councils of his party, and has been an
active figure in various state and national con
ventions, and an effective speaker in many hard-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

623

fought campaigns. He was for several years
president of the Derby Republican Club, and he
was vice president of the Republican League of
Vermont for four years and president for one
year. Deeply interested in educational affairs, he
has been for many years a trustee of the Derby
Academy, and president of the board, and chair
man of the executive committee. In all the re
lationships of life, as a soldier, citizen and public
official, his conduct has ever been characterized
by conscientious devotion to the purpose in hand,
and his every task has been undertaken industri
ously and perseveringly. No taint of misdoing or
undue selfishness has ever attached to his name,
and he is known as one who has held his integ
rity unsullied in whatever place or in charge of
whatever trust.
Major Grout was married in October, 1868,
to Miss Harriet Hinman, an accomplished woman
who in home and society has acted well her part.
Aaron H. Grout, their only child, was prepared
for college in Derby Academy, and graduated
from the University of Vermont in 190T. He
spent some time traveling in Egypt and Europe,
visiting places up the Nile and in England, .
France and Italy. He is now a. law student, and
gives promise of a successful career. He is a
member of Kappa Sigma fraternity, and was
president of his senior class in college.
Mrs. Grout is of distinguished ancestry. In
the paternal line she is a descendant of Sergeant
Edward Hinman, who came in 1650 to Stamford,
Connecticut, and from whom are descended all
of the family name in this country. His son
Benjamin married Elizabeth Lamb, arid they had
a son Benjamin, who married Sarah Sherman,
a sister of Roger Sherman's father. Of the
latter marriage was born, in 1720, Colonel Ben
jamin Hinman, who served with great distinc
tion in the French and Indian and Revolutionary
wars, and, after its surrender to Ethan Allen,
was in command of the garrison at Fort Ticon
deroga. He became a surveyor, and was a mem
ber of the general assembly of Connecticut for
twenty-seven sessions. He married Molly Stiles,
a relative of President Stiles, and their children
were: Aaron, Sherman and Colonel Joel Hin
man, the last named of whom was father of ex-
Chief Justice Joel Hinman, of the supreme court
of Connecticut. There were thirteen commis

sioned officers by the name of Hinman in the
Revolutionary army.
Aaron, son of Colonel Benjamin Hinman,
was one of the original proprietors of Derby,
Vermont. He married Ruth Hinman, daughter
of Captain Timothy Hinman. Of their children,
Benjamin, Mrs. Grout's grandfather, was born
in Southbury, August 12, 1773, and died in
Derby, Vermont, November 26, 1856. He was
an early teacher in Connecticut, and was prom
inent in settling the town of Derby, Vermont,
of which he was a resident for many years, locat
ing there in 18 16, after his marriage with Lydia
Dean, following a romantic courtship. He built
the first sawmill in Derby, and became a large
landowner and the foremost man in building up
the town. He established saw and grist mills,
was interested in a woolen mill and tannery, aided
in building the churches, academy and public edi
fices, and stood so well for ability and integrity
that he was called upon to settle numerous es
tates and to occupy many public offices. -He was
selectman for fifteen years, town clerk, magistrate
and represented his town in the legislature five
sessions. In politics he was a Federalist, then a
Whig, and he became a Republican when that
party was organized, and he cast his last vote
for its first presidential candidate, John C. Fre
mont. His son Aaron married Nancy, a daughter of
Major Rufus Stewart, who came from Brattle
boro, Vermont, and was an early settler in Derby,
where he became wealthy and' influential. He
was prominent in town and county affairs, and
commanded according to his rank at the battle
of Plattsburg. Horace Stewart, a son of Major
Stewart, became a wealthy resident of Beebe
Plain; and Maria, a daughter, became the wife
of Judge Jacob Bates, of Orleans county, and
their sons, Edwin and Charles K. Bates, became
wealthy merchants of New York city, and their
estates own the celebrated Highland Stock
Farms at Derby. Mrs. Charles K. Bates and
Mrs. Josiah Grout are sisters.
Aaron Hinman, of Derby, Vermont, eldest
son of Benjamin, was in early life a school
teacher, a civil engineer and a public-spirited,
influential citizen of his town. He was a colonel
of the state militia, took a leading part in public
affairs, was prominent in politics, a representa-

624

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

tiye in the general assembly, and at the time of
his death, in 1854, at the age of forty-five, was
sheriff -elect of Orleans county.
-The children of Aaron and Nancy (Stewart)
Hinman were Jane E., who married L. H. Bis
bee, a prominent lawyer of Chicago for twenty-
five years previous to his death in 1897 ; Harriet
(Mrs. Grout) ; Mary (Mrs. Charles K. Bates),
and Colonel Benjamin Hinman, who resides in
Newport, Vermont.
HON. OTIS N. KELTON.
Among those who /have gained distinctive
preferment in the ranks of the legal profession
of St. Albans, Vermont, is Otis N. Kelton, who
was born in the town of Montgomery, Vermont,
April 13, 1844, a grandson of Lovell Kelton, a
prominent citizen for many years of Warwick;
later he removed to Calais, Vermont, where he
was successfully engaged as a carpenter and
joiner, and in the latter named city the greater
part of his life was spent. He had a family of
eight children, as follows : Charles, Otis L.,
Mason G., Merrill, M., Jonas, Chauncey, Mrs.
Eliza Foster and Mrs. Laura Rich.
Otis L. Kelton, father of Otis N. Kelton, was
born at Warwick, Massachusetts, December 16,
1805, and after completing his education in the
district school he learned the trades of carpen
ter and joiner, being engaged in that line for a
number of years ; he then operated a grist mill
at Lowell for a short' period of time, after which
he purchased a farm, consisting of five hundred
acres, at Montgomery, Vermont. He then turned
his attention to agricultural pursuits, and in ad
dition operated a mill at the same place- until 1890,
the year of his death. In politics he was a firm
adherent of the Democratic party, and was'
elected to serve in the capacity of treasurer,
auditor, lister and selectman ; he was also a mem
ber of the Vermont militia. Mr. Kelton was
three times married, his first wife having been
Deborah Barrows, and their daughter Harriet
married Charles C. Martin. By his "second
wife, Caira Relton, they had one, child, a daugh
ter, Caira, who married Rufus Rawson. The
children born of the third marriage are: Otis
N. ; Lovill G. ;. Guy, who married Julia Watkins
and now resides at Rutland, Vermont; Orinda

F., wife of William A. Goodspeed, a prominent
farmer of Poultney, Vermont; Romelia, wife of
the Rev. George A. Smith, ai- clergyman of the
Baptist denomination of Montgomery, Vermont;
Arabell L. ; Eva ; Ira D. ; and Cortis A., who is
engaged in farming at Summerville, Massachu
setts, and was united in marriage to Miss Mary
Burnham. Mr. Kelton died November 5, 1890,
having survived his wife by a number of years;.
she' died in October, 1875, at the age of fifty-eight
years. Otis N. Kelton's boyhood days were spent
upon his father's farm, where he assisted with
the work, and in attendance at the common
school of the neighborhood ; later he was a pupil
in the Eastman's Business College, from which he
was graduated in 1865. He then commenced the
study of law with J. S. Tupper, of Montgomery,
Vermont, and in the fall of 1877 was admitted
to the bar. Mr. Kelton then located in Mont
gomery, where he enjoyed a large clientele until
his appointment in 1898 to the office of judge of
probate; he was engaged as state's attorney in
the celebrated Keyser-Baily case, and after two-
trials he succeeded in securing the conviction
of the defendants, who were sent to state prison.
for eight years. Politically Mr. Kelton is an.
earnest advocate of the principles of the Repub
lican party; he was elected state senator in 1882-
from Franklin county, represented his town in
1 874- 1 876, was state's attorney in 1892- 1893,.
elected judge of probate in September, 1898, re
elected in 1900 and 1902, served as town clerk
for twenty years and treasurer of the town for
thirty years. Before coming of age he identi
fied himself with various political clubs and or
ganized party work, often acting in the capacity
of anv officer. Mr. Kelton is actively associated
with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of
Missisquoi Lodge, Lafayette Chapter at Enos-
burg, and Lafayette Commandery at St. Albans r
he was a master of Oriental Lodge and is also
connected with Mt. Sinai Temple, Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine.-
On September 11, i87i,,Mr. Kenton married
Hattie Clapp, a daughter of Joshua Clapp, of
Montgomery, Vermont. Their children are:
Eva L., wife of John Keith, a resident of North
Troy, and their children are Donald, Harry, Hallie
and Mildred Keith ; Hallie, who is engaged as

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

625

register of probate in her father's office; Fanny
C, wife of Robert C. Martin, engaged in the real
estate and art business in Boston, Massachusetts,
and they have a son, Robert, and a daughter,
Marjorie; Frank C, who attended Brigham
Academy, later entered the University of Ver
mont, and at the present time (1903) is a student
in the mining and engineering department of
Arizona College. Mr. and Mrs. Kelton are
members of the Protestant Episcopal church of
St. Albans, in which Mr. Kelton has served as
a member of the vestry for several years.
ALMOND CLARK SHEPARD.
Almond Clark Shepard, a prominent and es
teemed citizen of Berlin, Vermont, was born in
the town of Barre, Vermont, September 8, 1848,
a son of Simeon and Harriett Shepard. Simeon
Shepard, father of Almond Clark Shepard, was
born in Brookfield, Vermont, January 4, 1806, a
son of Roswell Shepard. He attended the public
schools of his native town, and when quite a
young man he removed to the town of Barre, Ver
mont, where he was engaged in agricultural pur
suits ; this undertaking proved so successful that
he remained in that town for the balance of his
life. In his politics he was a Republican, and
took an active interest in all measures advocated
by that party. He was united in marriage March
31, 1839, to Miss Harriett Martin, who was born
in Williamstown, Vermont, February 21, 1814,
a daughter of Gerdon and Sarah Martin, of Wil
liamstown. Their two daughters were Roxana,
born August 10, 1840, died September 10, i860 ;
Lydia M., born June 18, 1844, married Harrison
Bancroft, of Barre, Vermont; Mr. Bancroft died
January 10, 1897, and his wife still resides in
Barre. Vermont. The father of these children
died December 31, 1873, and his wife passed
awav February 2, 1890.
Almond Clark Shepard acquired his education
in the district school and the Barre Academy.
After completing his studies he learned the trade
of carpenter and joiner, and followed this voca
tion successfully for four years, when, on account
of his father's failing health, he located on the old
homestead and pursued the life of a farmer. He
remained there until 1895, when he located in the
town of Berlin, near the city line of Barre, on
40

the road between that city and Montpelier, Ver
mont. Here he also followed the occupation of
farming, and in addition became interested in the
real estate business, in which he has been engaged
successfully for the past fifteen years.
In his political . affiliations Mr. Shepard is a
firm advocate of the Republican party, and while
a resident of the town of Barre acted in the ca
pacity of school director for three years, and was
also chairman of the school board at the time
when improvements were made on the old build
ings and new structures erected. After his re
moval to the town of Berlin he held the office 'cf
constable, to which he was re-elected for a second
term, being well qualified to serve in that position.
Mr. Shepard is a man who performs thoroughly
every duty that he undertakes and is considered,
one of the representative men of the town.
On December 8, 1875, Mr. Shepard was united
in marriage to Miss Celecta Smith, who was a
daughter of Hiram F. and Susan Celecta (Ed
son) Smith. Their children are: Earl S., born
June 10, 1880; Neal V., born October 16, 1883,
died February 5, 1889: Lynn Harold, who died
in the second year of his age ; Lee Harlan, born
October 17, 1888, and "Ralph Wilton, born March
18, 1892.
EDWARD CHANDLER CROSBY.
Edward C. Crosby, of Brattleboro, Vermont,
and well known as a master in railway construc
tion, traces his descent from men who have con
tributed largely in their respective generations to
the welfare of the community. His grandfather,
Godfrey Crosby, who was of English ancestry,
was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1784, and
received what was for those times, when educa
tional facilities were limited, a remarkably good
education. At the age of seventeen years he be
came the teacher of the West Park district school
of Brattleboro, serving in that capacity for sev
eral successive terms, after which he spent a num
ber of years as a clerk in the store of Deacon John
Holbrook, afterward engaging in business in
Dummerston with the assistance of Mr. Hol
brook, who held him in high esteem. Persons
now living have heard him say : "Godfrey Cros
by was a man of superior talents, energetic and
faithful in the discharge of trusts, with few equals

626

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

in penmanship and as an accountant." The busi
ness venture of Mr. Crosby in Dummerston prov
ing unfortunate, he again resorted to school teach
ing, but on account of failing health was soon
obliged to lay down this work. He married Syl
via McCune, and was the father of three children,
—Enos, Fanny and Edward. Mr. Crosby died at
the early age of thirty-three years, leaving his
family with very limited means.
Edward Crosby, a son of Godfrey and Sylvia
(McCune) Crosby, was born in Brattleboro, Ver
mont, in 1815, and the record of his life shows
how well he improved the stern lessons of poverty
and deprivation which he received in youth. Al
most half a million of dollars yearly passed
through his hands in the flour trade, requiring
unremitting care, and he erected three large brick
blocks in the heart of the village, the largest build
ing, known as the Crosby Block, containing banks,
stores, etc., while the others are devoted to me
chanical purposes, all being supplied with steam
power and the best of modern conveniences. In
1879 he finished and opened a large and beautiful
hall, known as the Crosby Opera Hall. In 1870
and 1871 his neighbors manifested the great es
teem in which they held him by electing him to
represent his native town in the state legislature.
His life's labors were ended in death in 1892.
Edward C. Crosby, a son of Edward Crosby,
was born on the 7th of July, 1846, in Marlbor
ough, Vermont, and when two years of age was
taken by his parents to. West Brattleboro, where
he attended the public schools, subsequently enter
ing the high school at Brattleboro, to which place
his parents had removed, and in 1863 he gradu
ated at the seminary at Springfield, Vermont. He
then became a clerk in the general store of Cyrus
W. "Wyman, while later for two years he assisted
his father in the grain business, in which he be
came interested at the age of twenty-two years,
the firm being known as E. Crosby & Company.
When the younger Mr. Crosby became connected
-with the firm his brother-in-law, Charles B. Rice,
was a member of the company, the latter con
tinuing his connection with the firm for several
years, until 1871, during which time the Crosby
Block was biult on the site of the old Brattleboro
House. Tn 1871 Mr. Rice sold his interest in the
business to Edward Crosby, and a few years later
Lerov F. Adams became connected with the firm,

which, however, is still known as E. Crosby &
Company. The firm is one of the largest and
best known in New England, having extensive
connections and dealings throughout this section
of the country, and among the investments of
Messrs. Edward C. Crosby and Leroy F. Adams
at Brattleboro was the purchase in 1888 of the
Brooks House property, one of the most popular
hotels in the state of Vermont. The building,
which was erected in 1871-2 by George Brooks at
a cost of almost one hundred and seventy-five
thousand dollars, including furnishings, is, under
the present management of Crosby & Adams, re
garded as one of the very best in New England.
In 1896 Mr. Crosby disposed of his interest in the
grain business to Messrs. Leroy F. Adams and
his brother, Charles R. Crosby, and has since had
active and extended interests in the construction
of street railways. Since 1896 he has been asso
ciated in these undertakings with M. A. Coolidge,
of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Mr. Crosby being
jnresident of one of the companies operating the
street railway at Springfield and a director in
companies operating at Northampton, Deerfield
and Amherst. In 1894 they built the Brattleboro
street railway, and in 1897 the Springfield and
Charleston railroad, the latter being eight miles in
length. Hon. Adna Brown, of Springfield, Ver
mont, was associated with them in the last named
entei prise, and at his death was succeeded by his
son W. W. Brown. Messrs. Crosby and Coolidge
also built the Northampton and Amherst Railroad
and the Northampton and Hatfield Railroad, and
they are also interested in the Greenfield and
Deerfield Street Railroad and the Greenfield, Deer
field and Northampton Street Railroad, the latter
being but recently completed, and during this time
they have also had contracts for three other roads.
The firm operates under the name of Crosby &
Coolidge. Besides these extensive and varied in
terests Mr. Crosby is extensively interested in real
estate, and all his undertakings of this kind have
proved successful and profitable.
Over and above all these activities, which
would be sufficient to consume the entire time and
energy of an ordinary man, Mr. Crosby has not
neglected his political duties. He affiliates with
the Republican party, and during the years of
1884, 1885 and 1886 served as mayor of Brattle
boro. In 1900, at the earnest solicitation of his

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

627

party, he consented to enter the list as a candi
date for the state legislature, but withdrew when
three contestants appeared in the field. Mr. Cros
by further manifested his public spirit by serving
at one time in the militia. He is a member of the
Congregational church, and was for twelve years
vice-president of the Young Men's Christian
Association at Brattlebbro. Mr. Crosby married
Eriima F. Wyman,. a daughter of Cyrus W. Wy
man, an esteemed citizen of Brattleboro and of
whom a sketch appears elsewhere in this volume.
Mr. and Mrs. Crosby are the parents of eight chil
dren: Henry, who married Miss Bessie Van
Dom, is engaged in the flour business; Frank is
an Architect by profession ; Frederic, a physician,
married 'Miss Cosgrove and died in 1900; Allyn,
who married Miss Maud Coudry and has one
-child, Alene, is superintendent of the electric rail
road of Springfield, Vermont; Edward, Jr., died
at the age of three years ; Helen is a graduate of
the New. England Conservatory of Music at Bos
ton : Edna is a student in the Capen BuTrtham
School at Northampton ; and Warren is attending
school in Brattleboro.
AUSTIN STEPHEN FOSTER.
The Foster family of East Montpelier, Ver
mont, have for their ancestors some of the earliest-
settlers of New England. The progenitor of the
American branch of the family, Thomas Foster
(1), is supposd to have been born in England,
Whence he emigrated to this country and settled
in Massachusetts'. His death occurred in the
town of Billerica, Massachusetts, April 20, 1682.
John Foster (2), son of Thomas Foster, was
horn in the town of Weymouth, Massachusetts,
-October 7, 1642. He received the limited educa
tion that was afforded by the common schools
of that time, and later in life he removed to
Marshfield, Massachusetts, where he became
prominently' identified with the business and
-political affairs of the town. His death occurred
Tune 13, 1732.
Chillingsworth Foster (3) , son of John Foster,
was born in the town of Marshfield, Massachu
setts, July ii, 1680. He received his education
in the district schools of the town, and upon at
taining young manhood he located in the town of

Warwick, Massachusetts, where he died in the
year 1764.
James Foster (4), son of Chillingsworth Fos
ter, was born- in the town of Warwick, Massa
chusetts, January 21, 1705-6. He attended the
common schools of that town, later located in the
town of Rochester, Massachusetts, and finally
settled in Athol, Massachusetts, where his death
occurred in the year 1788.
James Foster (5), son of James Foster, was
born in the town of Rochester, Massachusetts,
April 12,. 1737. Here he received his education in
the district school, and resided for the greater
part of his life. He was an active member of the
Universalist church of that town. He was united
.in marriage to Miss Mary Lewis, a native of
Rochester, Massachusetts, and when they were
both in old age they removed to the town of East
Montpelier, Vermont, where two of their children
were located. , Mr. Smith died in Noveriiber,
1829, at the extreme old age of ninety-two
years. '
Captain Stephen Foster (6), son of James
and Mary Foster, was born in the town of
Rochester, Massachusetts, July 31, 1772. He ac
quired his education in the common schools of
his native town, and when quite a young man he
went to East Montpelier, Vermont, where he lo
cated some land, and in 1801 returned to his
native town. On January 3, 1802, he was united
in marriage to Miss Mary King, daughter of
Jonathan King. Immediately after their mar
riage they journeyed to their new home in East
Montpelier, Vermont. The means of transpor
tation in those days were not so complete as they
are at the present time, so they made the journey
riding the same horse. The land that Mr. Fos
ter had selected was near the center of the town,
and he began at once to clear up and cultivate the
ground; he also built a sawmill there, which
proved to be, a great advantage to the early set
tlers of the place. He also built a commodious
residence on his farm, being by trade a carpen
ter and millwright. Mr. Foster took an active
interest in military affairs, was the lieutenant of
a volunteer company that, participated in the bat
tle of Plattsburg, New York, in 1814, and subse
quently he was appointed captain of the militia-
He was also prominently identified with all meas-

628

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ures that pertained to the welfare and advance
ment of the town ; it was largely through his aid,
both of influence and money, that the society of
the Universalist church was formed in the town.
He was a man of strong convictions, and was
admired and respected by all who came in con
tact with him. His death occurred April 3, 1850,
and his wife passed away May 18, 1857.
Henry Dearborn Foster (7), son of Stephen
and Mary Foster, was born on the old homestead
in the town of East Montpelier, Vermont, April
23, 1815. His education was received in the dis
trict school, and after completing his studies he
carried on the work of the farm, and being a very
prudent and industrious man, he met with a
marked degree of success which enabled him to
care for his parents in- their declining years. Mr-
Foster was a firm adherent of the principles of
the Republican party, and was honored by his
fellow townsmen by being elected to the offices
of selectman and representative of the town in
the state legislature. He was a member of the
Universalist church. Lie was united in marriage
October 20, 1836, to Miss Sarah G. Bassett,
daughter of Joel Bassett. Their children were:
Julia' Ann, born January 15, 1838, and on De
cember 31, 1863, she married William H. Glad
ding, of Barre, Vermont ; Edwin Henry, born
March 12,. 1839, married, Maneh 21, 1864, Miss
Fanny M. Clark, and he died June 12, 1895;
Mary King, born April 13, 1841, married, March
4, 1 86 1, Austin Teriipleton, of East Montpelier,
Vermont; Austin Stephen, born January 12,
1845 ; Frances Ruby, born in 1848, died in 1853 ;
Emma Sarah, born March 9, 1852, married,
March 17, 1875, William Cleveland, of Richmond,
province of Quebec, and they are now residents
of West Somerville, Massachusetts ; and Charles
WTallace, born August 15, i860, married, August
14, 1881, Miss Flora Wheeler, daughter of
Alonzo Wheeler, of Calais, Vermont, Mrs. Fos
ter being now deceased. The father, of these
children died July 27, 1884, and his wife died
February 1, 1888.
Austin Stephen Foster (8), son of Henry
Dearborn and Sarah Foster, was also born on the
old homestead in the town of East Montpelier,
Vermont, January 12, 1845. His preliminary
education was acquired in the district school,
and later he was a student in the academies- at

StoWe and Morristown, Vermont. ' He resided^
with his parents, assisting with the work of the.
farni, until he attained his majority, when he pur
chased the farm on which he now resides, and his •
thorough knowledge of every little detail of the
work, combined with industry and perseverance,.
has made his farm one of the most productive
in that section of Vermont. He is a general.
farmer, and also devotes much time and atten
tion to dairy products. Mr. Foster has always -
voted the Republican ticket, and was elected to-
fill the office of lister of the town. He is an.
active and earnest meriiber of the Universalist
church of East Montpelier, Vermont. '
On October 30, 1867, Mr. Foster was unitedl .
in marriage to Miss Sarah D. Holmes, daughter
of William and Diana (Stevens) Holmes, of East
Montpelier, Vermont. Six children have been*
born of this union, namely: Henry Holmes,.
born April 6, 1871 ; Harriett, born October 18,
1873, wife of Dr. K. L. Cleaves, of Montpelier,..
Vermont; Julia Ann, born November 27, 1876;
Rate Holmes, born May 16, 1881 ; Frank Su
born May 11, 1885; and William Austin, borna
March 14, 1886.
JAMES HOPKINS BUCK. '
James Hopkins Buck, one of the representa
tive citizens of Moretown, Vermont, was born in-
thetown of Northfield, Washington county, Ver
mont, September 2, 1865. He is a descendant of
a family who have followed the occupation of
farming as far back as there is any record of the-
family in this country.
John Buck, grandfather of James Hopkins -
Buck, was born in Connecticut in 1782. When,
he was quite young his parents removed to the-
town of Berlin, Washington county, Vermont,".
where they purchased a farm On which they re
sided until 1826, when they, located in Northfield, .
Vermont, on a farm, and after their decease their
son John still resided there and employed his ¦
time in the cultivation of garden products. Mr..
John Buck was united in marriage to Miss Chloe-
Allen, supposed- to have been born in Gill, Massa
chusetts, in 178 1. The following named children -^
were born to them : Chloe, born in 1810 ; Eliza,.
born in 1812; Bradley, born in 1814; Amanda,.
born in 1819 ; and Harriet, born in 1823.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

62Q

Bradley Buck, son of John and Chloe Buck,
-was born in the town of Berlin, Washington
-county, Vermont, June 17, 1814. He first attended
"the district schools of Berlin, and after the re
moval of his parents to Northfield continued to be
a pupil in the public schools there. After attain
ing young manhood he chose the vocation of farm
ing, and he successfully managed the farm which
his father purchased in Northfield up to the time
of his death, which occurred March 19, 1895. Po
litically Mr. Buck was an independent, but never
-sought or held public office. On March 5, 1856,
Mr. Buck married Miss Polly Hopkins, who was
born January 17, 1828, a daughter of James and
Philura (Walcott) Hopkins. Their children
were: Isadore Amelia, born June 10, 1857; Wil
lis Herbert, born August 12, 1858; Carrie Eliza,
horn February 28, i860; Arthur Eugene, born
October 23, 1861 ; and James Hopkins, born Sep
tember 2, 1865. Mr. Buck possessed many noble
-characteristics, and he was one of the most re
spected and esteemed citizens of the community.
, James Hopkins Buck, son of Bradley and
"Polly Buck, acquired his education in the common
schools of Northfield, and the Methodist Sem
inary at Montpelier, and after leaving school he
busied himself with the work on the old home-
1 stead. Iri the spring of 1897 he sold his farm in
Northfield and removed to Berlin, where he re
sided until April, 1903. He then purchased a
¦farm in Moretown, where he removed with, his
-family, and still carries on farming with excellent
-success. Politically Mr. Buck is a Democrat, and
he takes a keen interest, in all matters that pertain
to the betterment of politics in his community.
He is a. man of fine appearance and pleasing .per
sonality, and is one of the most respected citizens
. of the town of Berlin, Vermont.
On January 3 1, 1892, Mr. Buck married Miss
Clara A. Silsby, daughter of Richard and
Wealthy Silsby. Mrs. Buck died in 1897, and
Mr. Buck was then united in marriage, September
\ 1900, to Miss Mary Helen Moore, who was
hdrn Julv 23. 1862, daughter of James A. and
Martha Meivina ( Hadley) Moore, the latter
named a descendant of Robert Ct;shman, who
' -came with the Pilgrims on the Mayflower to
Plymouth, Massachusetts, in the year 1620. One
-child hasheen born to Mr, and Mrs. Buck, Arthur
Donald Buck, on July 24, 1901,

HON. ROYALL TYLER.
Hon. Royail Tyler, of Brattleboro, 'a dis
tinguished lawyer and jurist whose professional
and official career extended over the long period
of halt a century, was descended from old and
honorable New England ancestry and was the
third in descent to bear the name given him.
Royall Tyler (1), paternal grandfather of Royall
Tyler (3), was a graduate of Harvard College,
and a prominent merchant in Boston. During the
stirring times immediately preceding the Revolu-

ROYAIX TYLER (II).
tionary war he was a zealous patriot, and took a
prominent part in affairs. He served on the most
important committees representing the people, and
was spokesman of that committee which de
manded of Governor Hutchinson the removal of
the troops from Boston. He died in 1771, aged,
forty-eight years, and was buried in King's
Chapel, Boston.

630

THE STATE OF VERMONT,

Royall Tyler (2), son of Royall Tyler (1),
was born in Boston in 1757, and was graduated
from Harvard College at the age of nineteen
years. He began the study of law, but desisted
to join the expedition against the British at New
port, Rhode Island. In 1779 he was admitted to
the bar, and began practice at Falmouth (now
Portland), Maine, but returned to Boston two
years later. In 1778 he went to Vermont under a
commission from Governor Lincoln to negotiate
for the arrest of the fugitives from Shay's rebel
lion. After his return to Boston he wrote "The
Contrast," famous as the first American play ever
placed upon the stage, which was produced in
New York in 1786. In 1790 Mr. Tyler made a
second visit to Vermont, and in 1791 he went
there again and settled at Guilford, then the larg
est town in the state. During his ten years' stay
he cared for a large practice and performed a
great amount of literary work for the journals of
the day and in the production of plays, and also
wrote a novel, "The Algerine Captive." In 1801
he removed to Brattleboro, and was elected an
associate supreme court judge. In 1807 he be
came chief justice and served for five years, then
resuming his law practice. He died in 1826. His
wife was a -daughter of General Joseph P. Palmer,
who was in the provincial congress in 1774-5, was
a member of the committee of safety appointed by
that body, and was also colonel of militia serving
at Boston. It was said that his wife, as a child,
sat in her mother's arms at the table of General
Joseph Warren when he ate his last dinner and
left, the house to go to his glorious death on Bun
ker Hill. Chief Justice Royall Tyler (2) was the
father of eleven children — Eoyall, who died in
youth ; John A., of Boston ; Mary ; Edward, who
became a Congregational minister ; Joseph, who
entered the priesthood of the Protestant Episcopal
church ; Wiiliam ; Amelia ; George, who became a
clergyman ; Royal) ; Charles ; and Thomas, who
became an Episcopalian minister.
Royall Tyler (3), the ninth child in the fam
ily above named, was born at the family home
stead at Brattleboro, April 19, 1812, and lived to
survive all his brothers and sisters. His name
was originally Charles, and this was changed to
Royall after the death of a brother who bore it,
in pursuance of an inherited family desire that it
should be preserved through the oldest living rep

resentative. He began his education in the neigh
borhood schools, and when thirteen years of age
took employment in the store of a brother in Bos
ton. Shortly afterward he entered Phillips
Exeter Academy, and later Harvard College,.
from which he was graduated in 1834. He read
law under the preceptorship of Charles C. Doring,.
an accomplished practitioner, and was admitted
to the bar in 1837. Returning to Vermont, he-
was admitted to the bar of Windham county, and.
the next year became the law partner of Asa.
Keyes, under the firm name of Keyes & Tyler, at:
Brattleboro. He intermitted his practice for a.
year to care for business interests at Newfane,.
and his return home marked the beginning of his
public career. In 1842 he was elected state's at
torney and he proved so useful an officer that. in
1844 he was appointed register of probate. In
1846 he was elected judge of probate for the dis
trict of Marlboro, the election being by the legis
lature, and from this time he was successively re
elected during the remainder of his life, a full
half century, the greater part of the time by popu
lar vote in accordance with the provisions of the
new constitution. This phenomenal term of ser
vice was almost coincident with his service as-
county clerk, to which office he was elected in.
185 1, and which h'e also held during the remainder
of his life. When he was elected to the position-
last named he relinquished his law practice and
gave his undivided attention to his official duties-
In discharge of these he was precise and method-^
ical, and he commanded the confidence of the peo
ple in an unusual degree. Never forgetting what
the law required of him, he went beyond that re
quirement in his great goodness of heart and
warm sympathy and gave to the distressed widow,,
the perplexed heir and the timid executor the
benefit of his broad legal knowledge as to their
rights and obligations, saving hundreds of fam
ilies from annoying and expensive litigation.
Liis personal traits were so benevolent that
companionship with him was a benediction,.
and his counsel was as that of a father or
elder brother. Known throughout the dis
trict as a man of deep knowledge and incorrupt
ible integrity, he was frequently called upon to
act as referee or commissioner in cases of great:
importance. Judge Tyler grew old gracefully and beauti-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

631

fully. He was one who might well say with the
poet, "My mind to me a kingdom is." A lover of
the best literature from his boyhood, he cultivated
his taste to the last, keeping closely in touch with
the thought of the day, yet turning delightedly,
ever and again, to the classics of his youth. He
was the personification of unaffected dignity, yet
withal genial, loving and lovable. He was a sin
cere Christian, and was one of the founders of
St. Michael's (Protestant Episcopal) Church, in
which he was for many years a warden and vest
ryman. Judge Tyler was married April 29, 1840, to
Miss Laura B. Keyes, and at the same time Miss
Ellen Keyes, a sister of the bride, was married to"
Frederick N. Palmer, who was afterward post
master of Brattleboro, and the author of the fa
mous Brattleboro postage stamp. The Keyes sis
ters were daughters of Hon. Asa Keyes, a lead
ing lawyer who was for some )rears a partner of
Judge Tyler. Mr. Keyes was at different times
a register, judge of probate, and state senator,
and he was one of the most prominent Free Ma
sons in the state. Three children were born to
Judge and Mrs. Tyler — Gertrude, Helen and
Edith. Gertrude became the wife of Allan D.
Brown, late Commander, U. S. N., but now re
tired, and her death occurred in 1877, leaving two
children, Helen and Ethel, the last named of
whom became the wife of the Rev. F. Sutherland,
a clergyman in Waynesville, North Carolina.
Helen, second daughter of Judge and Mrs. Tyler,
died at the age of four years. Edith, their young
est child, became the wife of George W. Piatt, a
druggist of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and
to them were born three children — Gertrude, who
became the wife of H. L. Moore, of Newark, New
Jersey; Royall Tyler Piatt, who is in business
with his father; and Laura Willard, who is at
home. Judge Tyler died calmly and peacefully on
October 27, 1896. He suffered from no specific
disease, and he had attended to the duties of his
office to within four days of the time when he
succumbed to the natural exactions of age, and he
passed away, shortly after noon, seated in his
chair, from which he gave a last signal of recog
nition to his devoted wife. His death produced
a profound impression in the community, and his
obsequies were attended by an immense concourse

of deeply affected friends who held him in affec
tion and reverence. Mrs. Keyes is yet living, as
are her daughter, Mrs. Piatt, with her three chil
dren, and the two children of her elder daughter,
. Mrs. Brown.
WILLIAM N. BRYANT, M. D.
Dr. William Nelson Bryant, the dean of the
medical fraternity of Ludlow, Vermont, was born
at Weston, Vermont, September 26, 185 1, a son
of the late Rev. W. A. Bryant, who officiated as a
minister of the gospel in the Methodist denomina
tion for many years, was an eloquent and force
ful speaker, and well known throughout central
and southern Vermont. He was a Republican in
politics. The family is of English descent and
originally settled in Connecticut. Dr. Bryant's
maternal grandfather was Ebenezer Gale, son of
Asa Gale.
William N. Bryant was one of the first stu
dents at the Vermont Methodist Seminary at
Montpelier, and while pursuing the regular course
in that institution he began reading medicine with
the late Dr. D. G. Kemp, of Montpelier, Vermont.
He then entered Harvard Medical School, and
after remaining there for a short period of time
completed his course in the medical department of
the University of Vermont, from which institu
tion he was graduated, with the degree of Doctor
of Medicine, in the class of 1873. Immediately
after his graduation he located in Northfield, Ver
mont, where he remained six years, removing in
the fall of 1879, to Chester, where he successfully
practiced his profession eight years, after which
he settled in Ludlow, where he has secured a large
and remunerative practice. Dr. Bryant is master
ful in his diagnosis and treatment of disease, is
a man of genial and sunny disposition, whose very
presence has the power to dispel the gloom and
sadness of a sick chamber. He is a member of
the Vermont State Medical Society, the Con
necticut River Valley Medical Association, and
Rutland County Medical Society. He has re
cently been elected state delegate from the state
organization to the American Medical Society.
He is on the board of United States pension ex
aminers, and was appointed by the governor as
member of the state tuberculosis commission
authorized by the legislature of 1902. His con-

632

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

tributions in the way of papers to medical maga
zines and societies have been" numerous. Dr.
Bryant is liberal in his social relations, being a
member of the local Masonic bodies, and past
master, also past grand of Altimont Lodge, Inde
pendent Order of Odd Fellows. For several
years he has acted in the capacity of chairman of
the board of school directors, and is trustee of
the local academy. He is a Republican, and is
connected with the Congregational church.
September 19, 1871', at Lemington, Vermont,
Dr. Bryant married Angelia Holbrook, of Lem
ington, Vermont, and two children have been
born to them : Eva May, wife of Eben J. Fullam,
treasurer of the Fellows Gear Shaper Company,
of Springfield, Vermont; William Leroy, -a for
mer student of electrical engineering at the Uni
versity of ¦ Vermont, but now engaged as a
draughtsman in the office of the well known firm
of Jones & Lamson, of Springfield, Vermont.
Mrs. Bryant is a daughter of Thomas Holbrook
and Angeline French. The former was a farmer
and prominent in town affairs. Among the re
latives are ex-Governor Frederick Holbrook, Nel-
sbn Holbrook, the publisher, with Salem Town;
of a series of school text-books bearing his name ;
'also William French, who was killed at a massa
cre at Westminster, Vermont,- in 1775, and, to
whose memory a monument is there erected.
¦' THOMAS HENRY ARCHIBALD.
The Rev. Thomas Henry Archibald, of • Mid
dlebury, Vermont, was descended from a Scot
tish family which has been represented in this
country for 'more than three-quarters of a cen
tury, the name having been distinguished, for
two generations, as that of leaders in the Baptist
churches of America.
Henry Archibald, the founder of the family
in the United -States, was born in Musselbor-
ough, : Scotland, August 14, 1786, and was the
son of John and Barbara Archibald. He came
to this country in 1818, was ordained in 1823 to
the ministry' of the Baptist denomination, and
served acceptably as the pastor of the various
churches in Connecticut, New Hampshire and
Vermont. He married Rebecca Marshall, who
was descended from Kenelm Winslow (1),
brother of Governor Edward Winslow, of Plym

outh Colony, who came from England to Ameri
ca during the colonial period. He had a son,
Job (2), whose daughter, Elizabeth (3), married
John Marshall, Their son, Thomas Marshall (4),
married Rebecca Ackley, and was the father of a
daughter, Rebecca (5), mentioned above as the
wife of Henry Archibald.
Thomas Henry Archibald, son of the Rev.
Henry and Rebecca (Marshall) Archibald, was
born October 2, 1821, in Killingworth (now Clin
ton), Connecticut, and in 1844 graduated at New1
Hampton Institute, in New Hampshire. Having
chosen for his life work the calling of his father,
he applied himself, on the completion of his lit
erary education, to the study of theology, and on
March 3, 1847, was ordained in Concord, New
Hampshire, to the ministry of the Baptist church.
His first field of labor lay in what was then the far-
west, the . state of' Iowa, where, in the
towns of Dubuque and Davenport, he led
for four years the arduous and devoted
life of a home missionary. At the end
of that time he removed, to East Greenwich,
Rhode Island, and soon after, in 18,53, to Ver
mont, where he was settled in the course of years
over various parishes in the counties of Addi
son, Bennington and Rutland. During the en
tire period of his ministry he labored zealously in
the interests pf the Baptist denomination, of edu
cation and of humanity. The work of education
appealed to him in a special manner, and for six
teen years, from 1854 to 1870, he was a trustee -
of the New Hampton Institute, at that time lo
cated in Fairfax, Vermont. He was chairman
of the committee appointed in 1868, by the Ver
mont Baptist State Convention to establish a Bap-;
tist academy. The founding of the Vermont Acad
emy at Saxton's River was the result of the labors
of this committee, and a lasting monument to the
well directed ability of its chairman. He was
one of the corporate trustees of this institution,
retaining this position until 1887. For ten years
he served as secretary of the board of managers
of the Vermont Baptist State Convention. In
1875, in recognition of his distinguished labors
in the cause of Christianity, Middlebury College
conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Di
vinity. When a young man Dr. Archibald entered
the lecture field, meeting, at the outset of his
career as a public speaker; with such success

F. C. ARCHIBALD.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

633

that for many years he occupied the platform. He
left in an almost complete manuscript a history
•of Vermont Baptists. As a writer he exerted
no less influence tjian as a lecturer, and in the
.articles which he contributed to various periodi-
-cals wielded a forceful and persuasive peri. ' He
was prominent in the proceedings of the Ver
mont Baptist Historical Society, being several
years its president, and the various religious and
"literary organizations to which he belonged were
indebted to him alike for his efficient labors and
his wise counsels, the result of a singularly clear
-and sound judgment combined with remark
able powers as a thinker and reasoner. A man
of strong convictions and great frankness, he
naturally became a leader both in denominational
matters and in educational and literary circles,
-commanding, in every sphere in which his in
fluence was exerted, high respect for his eleva
tion of character, and winning sincere affection
for his kindness of heart and truly benevolent
rdisposition. Dr. Archibald married, March 3,. 1847, the
day of his' ordination to the ministry, Susan
Wadleigh Tuck, born August 8, 1823, in Dor-
-chester, New Hampshire. Mrs. Archibald, who,
in common with her husband, was a graduate
of New Hampton Institute, possessed unusual
-intelligence and ability, combined with singular
beauty of character. In all the varied and ar
duous labors of her husband she was his able
:and sympathetic coadjutor. Dr. and Mrs.
Archibald were the parents of four sons and two
•daughters. One of each died in infancy. Sam-
-uel Henry, the eldest of the survivors, is pastor
-of the Baptist church at North Springfield, Ver
mont; Wilberforce Ewing is engaged in the in
surance business at Ogden, Utah ; Frank C. is a
-practicing lawyer in Manchester Center; Susan
Elizabeth, for many years a teacher, resides in
Middlebury, Vermont.
Mrs. Archibald belongs to an old colonial
-family, being a lineal descendant of Robert
Tuck, who came from England to this country
-in 1636. John Tuck and other members of the
family were prominent in the settlement of
Hampton, New Hampshire. Robert Tuck (1)
-was the father of Edward (2),. whose son. John
,3) married Bertha Hobbs. Their son, Edward
<4) ' married Sarah Dearborn, and they had a son,

Samuel (5), who married Anna Moulton, arid
whose son, Ed Ward (6), was a soldier in the
Revolutionary army, and married Mercy Smith,
daughter of Israel Smith, who was also a Revo
lutionary soldier.
Samuel Tuck (7), son of Edward (6) and
Mercy (Smith) Tuck, married Margaret Smith,
and their daughter, Susan Wadleigh (8), as
mentioned above, became the wife of the Rev.
Thomas Henry Archibald, and the mother of
his children. Mrs. Archibald died June 25,
1899, at Middlebury, Vermont, and her body was
deposited in Greenwood cemetery, Bristol, Ver
mont. Mr. Archibald died April 26, 1900, while
on a visit to his son in Rutland, and his remains
were placed besides those of his wife in Bristol.
EDWARD DYER ELLIS, M. D.
Dr. Edward D. Ellis, of Poultney, Vermont,
is a native of the state, born at Fairhaven, Au
gust 31, 1850, the son of Zenas Clark and Sarah
Bowman (Dyer) Ellis. Zenas Clark Ellis was
born in Fairhaven, Vermont, July 2.5, 1820, the
son of Barnabas and Belinda ( Kidder) Ellis, who
removed from Weathersfield, Vermont, to Fair
haven, in 1813. Barnabas Ellis was a son of
Barnabas Ellis, who removed from Hebron, Con
necticut, to Claremont, New Hampshire, in 1767,
and two years later married Elizabeth Spencer,
this being the first wedding in the town. He was
a lieutenant in the continental army, was an active
participant in Ethan Allen's expedition against
Ticonderoga and Crown Point in 1775, and
served as a lieutenant under General Stark in the
battle of Bennington, August 16, 1777. The wife
of Barnabas Ellis was a daughter of Lieutenant
Oflver Kidder, who served for three terms as- a
member of the state legislature.
Zenas C. Ellis resided for the greater part of
his life on the old homestead, and attended the
common schools of the neighborhood. He was
one of the founders of the First National Bank
of Fairhaven, a life-long director, and its presi
dent from 1878 up to the time of his decease. In
1847 he was elected one- of the board of listers, a
selectman in 1858, and later treasurer of the town,
being repeatedly re-elected to all these positions.
During the years 1876 and 1878, he served in the
capacity of associate judge of the county court,

634

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

and during most of this period Hon. Hoyt H.
Wheeler, since judge of the district court of the
United States for the district of Vermont, pre
sided at the Rutland county court. Mr. Ellis mar
ried Sarah B. Dyer, a daughter of. Edward and
Hannah (Hoxie) Dyer (see sketch of Horace
H. Dyer elsewhere), of Rutland, Vermont, in
September, 1847. Edward Dyer was a lineal de-.
scendant of William Dyer, the first clerk of Rhode
Island, and Mary Dyer, his wife, who was hanged
on the Boston Common, June 1, 1660, as a martyr
to her religious belief, and also a descendant of
Roger Williams, the first governor of Rhode Isl
and, who was born in Wales in 1606, and died in
1683, Four sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Ellis,
George W., a prominent lawyer of New York
city; Dr. Edward D. ; Horace B., proprietor of
the Prospect House on Lake Bomoseen; and
Zenas H. Ellis. The mother of these children
died July 7, 1876, and Mr. Ellis married- Mary A.
Smith/December 8, 1880. His death occurred in
the year 1883. Edward D. Ellis attended Castle
ton Seminary, was later a student at Kimball*
Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire,
from which he was graduated in 1869, and
then entered Middlebury College, from which
he was graduated in 1874. He then ma
triculated in the medical department of Har
vard University, and received his diploma as
Doctor of Medicine in 1877. The following year
he located in Poultney, Vermont, which has since
been his field of labor. Splendidly equipped for
his profession; his career has been one of great
usefulness to his fellows and highly creditable to
himself. He is a member of the Vermont Medical
Society and the Rutland County Medical Society,
and has served as president of the latter named
organization; and is a member of the Harvard
Alumni Association. His political affiliations are
with the Republican party, and he has served as
chairman of the Republican town committee. In
his religious views he is an Episcopalian, and is
vestryman and has been treasurer of St. John's
church of Poultney, Vermont. His personal
characteristics are such as mark the model citizen
and exemplary Christian gentleman. Through
out his life he has given his efforts to every worthy
cause, and he has been an active agent in promot
ing the development and well-being of his village
and county. Religion and educational interests

have ever commanded his liberal support, and his
benevolences have extended to every worthy ob
ject. At Hampton, New York, October 21, 1885-*
Dr. Ellis married Blanche Isabella Ray, eldest
daughter of Rodney T. and Lydia (Stowe) Ray,
the former named being a prominent and success- ¦
ful farmer of Hampton, New' York. Six children
have been born to them, three of whom are living
at the present time (1903), namely: Rodney
Ray, Zenas H. and Elizabeth Spencer Ellis.
REV. HENRY A. GOODHUE.
In connection with this honored name we have
the genealogy of a family which has for a period
of three centuries been closely connected with the
social and civil life of New England, and one
whose long record is unstained by an unworthy
act by any of its individual members. This rec
ord as it comes to us is as follows :
Deacon William Goodhue, the first of the fam
ily of which authentic record is known, was born
in England in 1612 or 1613. He emigrated to
America in 1636, and settled in Ipswich, Massa
chusetts, where he died in 1700, having been the
father of two sons and one daughter. It is re
corded of him that he was a deacon in the Con
gregational church, and that he held many civil'
offices of trust, was a representative in the colo
nial legislature, and that he was the husband of
four different wives. Margery Watson was the
mother of his . children, and she "was a native of
Kent, England.
Deacon Joseph Goodhue was the eldest child""
of the above named pair, and was born in Ips
wich in 1639. He married in that village, July
13, 1661, Sara Whipple, who died September 2,
1697. He also was a prominent man in his time,.
being a deacon in the church, and holding office
of trust, and at the time of his death was the rep
resentative of his town in the colonial legislature.
He was married three different times, and was the
father of thirteen children, nine by his first, three
by his second, and one by his last Wife, whose
name was Mercy Clarke.
Deacon Samuel Goodhue was the youngest
child of the parents, nanied above, and was bon*
April 6, 1696. In 17 17 he married Abigail Bart
lett, and settled in Stratham, New Hampshire-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

63S

He later removed to Nottingham, where he died
November 7, 1785. His life record discloses the
fact that he was a deacon of the church, was
twice married, and was the father of eight chil
dren, all by his first wife. He left an address to
his descendants in which is printed the full gen
ealogy of the family so far as we are able to
give it.
The Rev. Josiah Goodhue, the sixth child of
the above named parents, was born in Notting
ham in 1728. He graduated from Harvard in the
class of 1755, and for many years was a pastor of
the church at Dunstable, Massachusetts, and Put
ney, Vermont. He married Elizabeth Fletcher, a
native of Dunstable. He died November 14,
1797. It is said of him that he was "a man of
large influence and much beloved." He was the
father of six children.
Deacon Ebenezer Goodhue was the third child
of the abOve named, his birth occurring in 1768
in Dunstable. He passed his life as a resident of
Westminster, where he married Lydia Ranney.
He, alsq, in his time was a prominent member of
the Congregational church, and a deacon in that
organization. He died in 1854, being the father
of ten children.
Deacon Ira Goodhue, the sixth child of the
above named, was born in Westminster, Decem
ber 20, 1803. He was prominent in the affairs
of the town for many years, in the settlement of
estates, in holding most of the town offices, and as
representative in the legislature for three terms.
He also served as senator for Windham county
two terms. He was county judge five years,
liquor commissioner for a considerable time, and
a member of the council of censors in 1861. He
lived to the ripe old age of eighty-seven years,
and died in 1890. His wife was Almira Sawyer,
who bore him five children. Rev. Henry A.
Goodhue was the eldest child, and is to be referred
to at greater length below.
The Rev. Josiah Fletcher Goodhue, the eldest
son of Deacon Ebenezer Goodhue, was born at
Westminster, December 31, 179 1. He was a
graduate of Middleburg College and of Andover
Seminary. His wife's name was Elizabeth Hook
er, of Rutland. He was for many years pastor of
the Congregational churches at Williston and
Shoreham, and left an extended history of the
latter town. He died at Whitewater, Wisconsin,

May 3, 1863. His living descendants, two sons
and a daughter, reside at present in the city of
Whitewater, Wisconsin.
Homer Goodhue, fifth son of Deacon Eben
ezer Goodhune, was born in Westminster, March
4, 181 1. He studied in the academies in Deer
field, Massachusetts, and Bennington, Vermont,
and graduated from the latter in 1828. For two
years afterwards he taught school in winter and
farmed in summer. In 1831 he became an attend
ant in the McLane Asylum for the Insane, at
Charlestown, Massachusetts, and after three years
was made superintendent, a position which he
held for eighteen years "and then resigned and re
turned to Westminster. In 1853-54 he traveled
extensively in the United States and the British
provinces, having the care of a private patient.
After returning home he took an active part in
public affairs, and was called in turn to nearly all
the town offices. He served in the legislature in
1863 and 1865, and in the state senate in 1866-67,
with great credit to himself as well as most use
fully to his constituents. He was county com
missioner from i860 to 1875. In 1867 he was
appointed by the legislature as a commissioner of
the insane, and was reappointed in 1868. In 1882
he was chosen a member of the state board of
supervisors of the insane, a position which he held
until 1896, and for ten years was chairman of the
board. He had a larger and more continued ex
perience in the care of the insane and of institu
tions for their care than has any other man in
Vermont, if not in New England. Of broadly
philanthropic and deeply sympathetic disposition,
he ever commanded the confidence and esteem of
those having the insane in their families or about
them, and he performed a truly beneficent work
in caring for these unfortunates. He died in
1896. Mr. Goodhue was married March 8, 1855,
to Delrya, a daughter of James and Patience
(Hallett) Tuthill. They had no children. She
died November 21, 1893.
The Rev. Henry A. Goodhue, whose name in
troduces the narrative, is a native of the West
parish of Westminster, and, as before stated, is
the son of Ira and Almira (Sawyer) Goodhue.
He was born in 1833, was prepared for college
chiefly at Orford Academy, and was graduated
from Dartmouth with honor in 1857. For a pe
riod of two years thereafter he was principal of

636

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

the academy at Plympton, Massachusetts, and,
taking up the study for the ministry, became a
matriculate of Andover Seminary, from which
institution he was graduated in 1862. His first
-charge was at West Barnstable, Massachusetts,
where he remained until June of 1883. He was
-acting pastor at Croydon, New Hampshire, for
-a year, and at Townshend for three years. In
1887 he was installed associate pastor with Dr.
Stevens, at Westminster, and continued in the
service up to October 1, 1903. His present resi
dence is Brattleboro. During much of the period
of his ministry he has been closely connected with
the educational interests of the communities in
which he has resided, having been superintendent
•of the schools eleven years at Barnstable, two
years at Townshend and three years at West
minster, resigning from the latter service. In
the .Congregational national council of 1877 held
at Detroit, he represented the Congregational
¦churches in Barnstable county, and in that of 1886
held at Chicago, and 1895 at Syracuse, he was a
-representative of the Windham county churches.
He represented the town in the legislature of
1902, serving as chairman of the , committee on
-education for most of the session. He has also a
reputation as a facile writer, having published a
number of sermons, a memorial volume for his
predecessor, Dr. Alfred Stevens, school reports
for some ten years, and is a voluminous and
highly interesting correspondent for the local
¦newspapers of Barnstable and Windham coun
ties. He was married Decerhber 13, 1864, to
Miss Mary I. Perkins, of Plympton, Massachu
setts, who is a descendant in the eighth genera
tion of Miles Standish and George Soule, both of
whom came in the Mayflower. There were six
children, three of them living. The eldest daugh
ter is Mrs. W. H. Montgomery, at the present '
time residing in Providence, Rhode Island. The
youngest son, Everett W., graduated in 1900
from Dartmouth College, was for two years the
holder of the scholarship in sociology at that
noted institution, and in 1902 and 1903 filled the
professorship of history and science in Montpelier
Seminary. It is with pleasure that the authors
¦of this volume give room on its pages for the
record of so honorable a family, and one which is
to be so highly commended for the standing of
its individual members.

MARTIN ADIN BROWN.
Martin Adin Brown, one of the most prom
ising young men of Wilmington, Vermont, was
born at Jacksonville, Vermont, February 3, 1874,
and is descended from a prominent family well
known in the Green Mountain state. His grand
father, after whom he was named, was a mer
chant, lumberman and hotel proprietor in the vil
lage of Jacksonville. He was not only prominent
as a business man, but served the public in many
positions of trust and responsibility in the town

MARTIN ADIN BROWN.
\
of Whitingham, Vermont. The parents of Mar
tin A. Brown were Mervin Mr. and Almeda L.
(Fowler) Brown. Mervin M. Brown served as
a soldier during the war of the Rebellion, first
enlisting iri the Sixteenth Vermont Regiment, un
der the command of Colonel Veasey ; his term of

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

637

enlistment expiring, he re-enlisted and served un
til the close of the war. He is still a resident
of the town of Jacksonville, Vermont. Almeda
L. Brown was the daughter of Horace L. Fowler,
of Halifax, Vermont, he being a life-long and
much respected resident of that town.
Martin A. Brown spent the early years of his
life in the town of his birth, where he received
his education in the public schools of the village.
When he reached his fourteenth year, he started
out in life to work his way toward that goal
striven for by so many ambitious youths, and
which leads them along the road toward success.
His first engagement was as clerk in the employ
of C. H. Shepardson, a merchant of Jacksonville.
It did not take long for Mr. Shepardson to recog
nize the marked executive ability possessed by
young Brown even at this early age, and the
latter's keen sense of honor also soon won for
him the favor of his employer, which was shown
in his rapid advancement during the five years he
remained with him. Part of this time was spent
as traveling salesman, and the last six months
in the store at Bellows Falls, Vermont. He left
this employment when in his nineteenth year to
become a partner with his brother-in-law in the
mercantile trade, under the firm name of W. A.
Brown & Company, which they established at
Jacksonville, Vermont. This enterprise 'developed..
into a thriving business and they opened a
branch store at West Halifax, handling large
quantities of maple syrup, sugar and country
produce as a side line. In this concern Martin
A. Brown was the active manager. Recognizing
a wider field for his progressive ideas Mr.
Brown withdrew from this partnership after one
and a half years of hard work to become book
keeper and salesman for the North River Manu
facturing Company, in which his partner, W. A.
Brown, owned a controlling interest. At the age
of twenty-one years Mr. Brown became the
treasurer and general manager of this company,
which was then under the control of the Newton
Brothers, and in this capacity served four years.
The business was extensive, embracing the man
ufacture and sale of butter tubs, boxes, doors,
windows, and incidentally boiled cider and cider
jelly. In January, 1899, Mr. Brown came to
Wilmington as salesman and agent for. the Deer
field River Company and the Wilmington Grain

& Lumber Company, also as general passenger-
agent of the Hoosac Tunnel & Wilmington Rail
road Company. Here he familiarized himself
with the details of the different companies, finally
becoming confidential clerk to the late John C.
Newton, with whom he remained until the sud
den death of the latter, September 30, 1899. He
was then elected treasurer of the Deerfield River
Company and of the Wilmington Grain & Lum
ber Company, while still retaining his position
of general passenger agent of the railroad, and
treasurer of the North River Manufacturing
Company, at Jacksonville. Mr. Brown has full
charge of the office at Wilmington as well as of
the management of all outside business, including
the sales of lumber, logging of several million
feet of logs, each winter, purchasing supplies, etc.,
and Mr. Brown states that the most difficult part
of his work is getting the right man in the right
place. The duties of his position are exceeding
ly complicated and arduous, and requires the exer
cise of unusual executive ability, but Mr. Brown
brings to his work thorough training, quickness
of perception, unusual industry and conscientious
fidelity to every detail. At Mr. Newton's death
it seemed a stupendous undertaking for one so
young to take up the work where Mr. Newton
left it, but Mr. Brown has proved his ability to
fill, with credit to himself and profit to all con
cerned, the position which he has won by his
untiring energy and honorable methods of deal
ing. In the fall of 1902, Messrs. Moses Newton
and Martin A. Brown acquired the interests of
the late John C. Newton in both the Deerfield
River Company and the Hoosac Tunnel & Wil
mington Railroad Company, making them sole
owners of the former, and constituting them as
controllers of the latter company, Mr. Brown be-,
coming treasurer of the railroad company.
Mr. Brown was elected representative to the
state legislature in 1898, although a member of
the minority party in Whitingham, and was the
youngest member of the house. He served on
the corporation committee, acting as clerk of the
body. In 1895 Mr. Brown was united in marriage'
to Miss Clara M. Holbrook, of Whitingham, and
three children have been born to them : Ina M.,
Roy S. and Emma A. While residing in Jack
sonville, Mr. and Mrs. Brown took an active-

638

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

part in the work of the Universalist church, he
as president of the Young People's Christian
Union and she as superintendent of the Sunday-
school. Clara M. Brown was born in Whiting
ham, Vermont, March 24, 1878, and was the
daughter of Henry Holbrook and Emma
(Faulkner) Holbrook, and granddaughter of
Peter Holbrook and S. D. Faulkner, both of
whOm were among the first settlers of Whiting
ham. THOMAS REEVES. ,
Thomas Reeves, ex-sheriff of Chittenden
county, Vermont, was born in Bolton, Chittenden
county, Vermont, April 7, 1850, son of Thomas
and Ann Reeves. Thomas Reeves, his father,
was born in the parish of Braed-Hinton, town
of Wooten Bassett, county of Witts, England,
December, 1814. On March 9, 1835, he enlisted
in the Graveston Guards, and served in the army
almost seVen years. The remuneration a British
soldier received in those days was only six cents
a day, so after joining the army Mr. Reeves
learned the trade of tailoring, and in this man
ner he was enabled to add materially to his in
come. He purchased his discharge from the
army by the payment Of eighteen pounds. ; He
was allowed this privilege, owing to his excellent
conduct while in the service, having never been
under arrest. His discharge is dated at Montreal,
November 30, 1841. Shortly after this, Mr.
Reeves located in Vermont, where he was em
ployed on the Central Vermont Railroad during
its construction. He subsequently entered the
employ of Rollin & Gleason. He resided in Bol
ton, Vermont, until 1852, when he removed to
Duxbury, where he lived for the remainder of his
life. While a resident of Montreal he was mar
ried to Miss Ann Welch, a native of Ireland ; her
parents having died when she was a child, she,
in company with her twin sister, Grace, was taken
to Montreal, where they were reared. Grace
married Mr.' Ross, a Scotchman. The following
named children were born to Mr. and Mrs.
Reeves: Sarah, wife of F. H. Dana, of Waits
field, a veteran of the Civil war, and they had two
sons and three daughters; Thomas; Harvey;
Mary, who died when quite young ; Annie, wife of.
George Bowlman, and they have one child, Ellen

Maria; Edward and Ellen, twins, Edward dying
when quite young, and Ellen being now the
widow of John Nero, of Norwood, New York,
and they had four children, Edward, drowned
in July, 1900, Anna, John and Gertrude Nero.
Thomas Reeves, eldest son of Thomas and
Ann Reeves, received a limited education, as he
was compelled to assist in supporting the family
when only twelve years of age. For eight years
he was employed by M. C. Kennedy, of Water
bury, and in 1876 he removed to Jericho, and en
gaged in the butcher business, which he con
ducted both in Jericho and Underhill until 1890.
From 1876 he was extensively engaged/ in ad
dition to his other interests, in dealing in- horses
and. live stock up to 1890.
In 1880 Mr. Reeves was elected constable off
Jericho, and held the office for two years. He
was then appointed deputy sheriff, served under
Sheriff Drew for one year, and under Sheriff
Barton for eight years. In 1890 he was elected-
sheriff of the county, and so faithfully and con
scientiously did die discharge his duties that he
was re-elected each succeeding -election up to
1902, serving as sheriff six terms of two years
each. He has also served as lister of Underhill
for. three years. He occupied the office of sheriff'
or deputy for the unusual period of twenty-three
years. July 5, 1898, the lawyers of the bar of
Chittenden county presented to the sheriff a fine
gold badge of appropriate design, handsomely en
graved and with the names of the donors on the
back. The badge is surmounted with an eagle,
set with two rubies. Mr. Ballard rnade the pre
sentation speech. During the years of his incum
bency of the office Mr. Reeves probably did more
official business than any other man who has held
the position, and there is scarcely a better known'
man in the state, because of his fine record in
hunting out criminals. He vacated the office by
reason of a fusion ticket and largely by a mis
understanding of the voters.
On November 2, 1876, Mr. Reeves was united
in marriage to Miss Bridget McGrath, born in
Northfield, Vermont, a daughter of Thomas- and
Ellen McGrath, who removed to Duxbury, Ver
mont, when Mrs. Reeves was a little child. One
son has been born to them : Joseph Edward, born
August 10, 1878. When he attained the age of
twenty-one years he was appointed deputy sheriff,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

639

and he was one of his father's most trusted and
efficient assistants.
Mr. Reeves' life shows how a man by indus
try, frugality and good management can rise from
a very humble beginning to become a prominent,
Tespected financial man. By his honorable and
upright dealings he has won not only the respect
of his business associates, but also of his con-
titutents.
ROSWELL H. PLACE.
Roswell H. Place, one of the prominent and
successful business man of Essex Junction, Ver
mont, was born in Westford, this state, February
25> 1839, the son of Linus and Polly (Nichols)
Place. Robert Place, grandfather of Roswell H.
Place, engaged extensively in farming and me
chanical pursuits in the town of Hinesburg, Ver
mont; he was united in marriage to Miss Lucy
Lincoln, and the following named children were
born to them: Robert, Roswell, Prudy, Senara,
Lucy, Laura, Austin, Alvin and Linus Place.
Linus Place, father of Roswell H. Place, was
born in Hinesburg, Vermont, January 23, 1802,
was reared on his father's farm, and acquired a
practical education in the public schools of the
vicinity. He subsequently learned the trade of
carpenter, and his business career was character
ized by untiring diligence, progressive methods
and honorable dealing, and brought to him very
satisfactory financial returns. On September 7,
1828, Mr. Place married Miss Polly Nichols, who
was born November 18, 1802, and their children
were: Mary M., Senaca, Roswell, Sarah, and
Lucy Place. After his marriage Mr. Place re
moved to Bridport, Addison county, and later to
Westford, Chittenden county, Vermont, where he
purchased a farm, on which they resided up to the
time of his death, which occurred when he had at
tained the age of forty- four years; he was sur
vived by his widow, who passed away in the
eighty-seventh year of her age. They were both
consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal
church. Roswell H. Place, third child in order of birth
of Linus and Polly Place, attended the common
schools of his native town, where he acquired an
excellent literary education. He remained on his
father's farm until he reached the age of eleven

years, when he removed with his mother to
Starksboro, Vermont, his father having previous
ly died. His mother purchased a farm and he as
sisted her in the management of it until he became
eighteen years old, when he located in Essex,
bought a farm, which he disposed of six years
later, and then purchased another farm in Hard
wick, which he cultivated about one year. In
1866 he finally settled in Essex Junction, where
he established a business in partnership with his
brother and Henry Brush, under the firm name of
Place- Brothers & Company. They carried a com
plete line of stoves, ranges, tin and hardware
utensils, and the dairy business being the prin
ciple one in that section of Vermont, they had a
large demand for milk cans, pans and vats, which
they manufactured and sold in enormous quanti
ties, having wagons to deliver the goods through
out the country districts. Mr. Place remained in
this line of business for twenty years, after which
he disposed of his interest in the firm and devoted
his entire time and attention to the real estate
business, also acting for many years in the capac
ity of notary public. He has materially aided in
the opening up and building of new streets, and
in the general improvement of the village of Es
sex J'unction. Mr. Place visited California, and
devoted considerable time to viewing the wonder*
ful and beautiful scenes of nature which have
made the state one of the most conspicuous in the
country. On January 22, 1866, Mr. Place married Miss
Frances A. Brush, daughter of Hiram and Fanny
(Farfield) Brush, of St. Albans, Vermont. Mrs.
Place, before her marriage, was engaged in the
occupation of teaching school for many years.
They have an adopted daughter, Addie, now the
widow of Frederick L. Nichols. Mr. Place and
his wife are active members of the Methodist
Episcopal church of Essex Junction, and have
contributed largely, both of their time and means,
to the building up of the church and the societies
connected with it.
GEORGE A. HALL.
George Arthur Hall, of Burlington, Vermont,
traces his descent from an old and excellent fam
ily which has been for generations represented in
New England. Parley A. Hall, his grandfather,

640

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

was born in 1776, in Berkshire,. Vermont, where
he spent his entire life. ,He married Miss Lusk,
also a native of the Green Mountain state, where
she was born in 1780. Mr. and Mrs. Hall had a
large family of children, but the names of only
four are recorded, namely : Bryant ; Sarah Wing,
of Enosburg Falls ; Alvin ; and Horton. Mr.
Hall lived to be eighty-five years of age, and his
wife survived to the age of ninety years.
Bryant Hall, a son of Parley A. Hall, was
born in 1818, in Berkshire, Vermont, and there
received his education. He was a lawyer of high
repute, and practiced his profession in Sheldon
and St. Albans. He was a Democrat in his po- •
litical affiliations, and stood high in the esteem of
his neighbors. He married Eunice I. Parsons,
who was born in 1823, being a daughter of John
Parsons, an early settler of Berkshire, Vermont,
where he spent his life and died at the age of
eighty years. • In his family were four children,
but only one of the number, Ellen, is now Irving,
and she makes her home in California. To Mr.
and Mrs. Hall were born two children; but only
one of whom, George A., the subject of this re
view, is now- living. Mrs. Hall passed away in
death when she had reached the age of forty-two
years. ¦»
George Arthur Hall, a son of Bryant and
Eunice I. (Parsons) Hall, was born on the 13th
of July, 1844. in Sheldon, Vermont,, receiving his
education at that place and also in St. Albans,
and after completing his studies, learned the cabi
net-maker's trade at the former place. This occu
pation he followed until an opportunity offered it
self for him to engage in the furniture business
in Chester, Vermont, whither he removed and
there remained for the following eight years. In
1884 he removed to Burlington, this state, and
established himself in the Wheeler block, where
the Burlington Hotel now stands, but in a very
short time his place of business was destroyed:
Far from being crushed by this calamity, he re
opened on the ist of March, 1885,. in the Rink
building, where he remained for ten years, reap
ing the reward of his energy' in increasing pros
perity. At the end of that period he built the Hall
block, where he remained for one year, and then
retired from business. After enjoying for five
years this well earned leisure, Mr. Hall again felt
a desire for. the activities of a business career,

and therefore re-established himself in the same
building, with an entirely new stock of everything
requisite. Even more than the former degree of
prosperity attended him, his business increas
ing to such proportions that he now has the larg
est furniture store in the state of Vermont,- con
taining four floors fitted up with the very latest
styles of f urriiture. He is also manager and treas
urer of the Yale Wonder Clock Company. In,
his political affiliations Mr. Hall is a Democrat,
and in his fraternal relations is a member of the
Free and Accepted Masons of Burlington, Ver
mont, having served as master of the blue lodge
at Chester for many years, and is a member of
Cornwall Chapter and of the commandery. He
and his family are members of the Unitarian
church. Mr. Hall was married in 1868 to Josephine J_
Shedd, who was born in Readirig, Vermont, in
1846, a daughter of Norman F. Shedd, a farmer
of Reading, Vermont, and whose death occurred
in Worcester, Massachusetts, , his home. In his.
family were four children, but the daughter Jo
sephine is the only one now living. Mrs. Shedd
was called to her final rest at the. age of sixty
years. To Mr. and Mrs. Hall ' were born four
children, two of whom died when young, anri
Frances H. is the wife of Dr. Samuel Sparhawk,
manager and owner of the Sparhawk Sanitarium,
and a prominent physician of Burlington. They
have two sons, Sariiuel, Jr., and George H. Gert
rude the younger daughter o" Mr. and Mrs. Hall,.
resides at home and is a very talented young lady,
holding a high place in the social circles of the
city,
NATHAN T. SPRAGUE.
The apprehension and subsequent development
of the subject potential must ever figure as the de-~
lineation'of the maximum of personal success and
usefulness in any field of endeavor, and the fail
ure to discover this potential — or line along.
which lie the greatest possibilities for develop
ment in any specific cause — can but militate-
against the untimate precedence and absolute ac
complishments of the subject. To a greater ex
tent than is usually conjectured does personal suc
cess abide in this element, and thus in the study
of biography there is ever a valuable lesson to be-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

64 1

gained. To the subject of this review there has
come the attainment of a distinguished position
in connection with the great material industries
and financial institutions of our nation, and his
efforts have been so discerningly directed along
well defined lines that he seems to have realized at
any one point of progress the full measure of his
possibilities for accomplishment at that point.
A man of distinctive and forceful individuality,
of broad mentality and most mature judgment,
he has left and is leaving his impress upon the
industrial world, while his study of economic
questions and matters of public polity have been
so close, practical and comprehensive that his
judgment is relied upon and his utterances have
weight in those circles where the material pro
gress of the nation is centered.
Nathan Turner Sprague was born at Mount
Holly, Vermont, June 22, 1828, and is a repre
sentative of one of the oldest American families,
the ancestry being traced back to William Sprague,
a son of Edward Sprague of Dorsetshire, Eng
land, who in company with two brothers left the
mother country in 1629 and founded a home in
the young colony of Salem, Massachusetts. One
brother subsequently removed to Hingham, that
state, and the other to Rhode Lsland. Among
the representatives of the branch family in Rhode
Island were Amsas and William Sprague, cele
brated print-goods manufacturers. Two of the
representatives of the name became governors of
states. In 1786 Nathan T. Sprague, one of the de
scendants of: William Sprague, was born, and
as a young man began life as a merchant in Mount
Holly, and for the next quarter of a century was
one of the most prominent representatives of the
business enterprises of that town. He became a
large property owner, and was also prominent in
public affairs. He held a judicial position, and
for nineteen years was a member of the Vermont
legislature, representing Mount Holly for four
teen vears and Brandon for five years. In 1833
he removed to the latter place and was afterwards
elected president of the First National Bank. He
married Miss Susan Button, and to them were
born five children, three of whom died in infancy,
the others being Eliza, the deceased wife of R.
V Marsh, a prominent attorney of Vermont, also
now deceased ; and N. T., of this review.

During his boyhood days Nathan Turner
Sprague was placed in charge of his father's large
estate, his father passing away in 1876, at the
age of ninety years. Incidental to the care of
the property was the loaning of money. At the
age of eighteen he assumed the management of
a large country store, which he conducted with
marked success, and in 1851 he located in Wall
ingford, directing his attention to agriculture.
Five years later he returned to Brandon, where
he maintained his residence for some time. At
one time he was in charge of twelve farms, suc
cessfully superintending their operation. For
eight years he was president of the Brandon
Farmers' and Mechanics' Club, and for six years
was president of the Vermont Merino Sheep
Breeders' Association of the United States. These
indicate his prominence in agricultural circles.
In 1864 he established the First National Bank
of Brandon, in which his father was elected tem
porary president, and about 1867 Nathan Sprague
succeeded to the presidency. In 1870 he es
tablished the Baxter National Bank of Rutland,
Vermont. In 1867 he became president of the
Howe Scale Works Company, of Brandon, and
under his supervision the business increased four
hundred per cent. He continued in charge until
1876, when he retired.
Mr. Sprague's connection with the business
interests of Brooklyn began in 1879 by the pur
chase of real estate. In 1883 he established the
Sprague National Bank, of which he was elected
president. This was the only national banking
institution in existence having a living namesake.
At the end of six months this bank declared a
three per cent, dividend, and since then has paid
six per cent, annually in dividends. The bank
now has a surplus of two hundred and forty-six
thousand dollars, and is justly regarded as one
of the most reliable financial institutions in this
entire country.
On the 14th of November, 1849, Mr. Sprague
was united in marriage to Miss Minerva Hull, of
Wallingford, - Vermont, who died in 1856. In
October, 1858, he was again married, his second
union being with Mrs. Melinda J. Evans, of
Springfield, Ohio. On the 28th of June, 1885,
his second wife died, and on the 14th of October,
1886, be was married to Miss Elizabeth Harris,
of Brooklyn. By his first marriage he has one liv-

41

€42

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ing child, , a daughter, Flora, wife of Charles E.
Clark, the manager and treasurer of the Buffalo
Land & Trust Company.
At the time of the Civil war Mr. Sprague was
a Joyal advocate of the Union, raised a company
of Vermont troops and went to the front, making
a good military record in Missouri. He won the
first prize for old relics at the Centennial Exposi
tion in Philadelphia in 1876. 'Among his miany
interesting possessions of this character is a boot
jack that was made by John Brown, the noted
abolitionist, and was given to Mr. Sprague by
Mr. Brown's daughter; a marine glass used by
Sir John Franklin in all his voyages around the
world; and several sets of Grant's memoirs pre
served to him by Mrs. Julia Grant and by Colonel
Fred Grant. He served for several terms as a
member of the Vermont legislature, representing
the district of Brandon, and in 1872 he was
elected a senator fr6m Rutland county and would
have been nominated for governor on the Repub
lican ticket had he not repeatedly declined to be
come a candidate. In 1876, when the Green
Mountain state failed to make an appropriation
for the Vermont state building at Philadelphia/
he erected it", and when paid by the state he used
the money to found a free library at Brandon,
now. known as the Sprague Centennial Library.
He has done much for Brooklyn and has the
credit of making Brooklyn a central reserve city,
which has added greatly to its financial strength.
In 1885 he organized the City Savings Bank. , He
has devoted much time 'and money to the var
ious charities and educational institutions in
Brooklyn. He is a trustee of the Brooklyn In
stitute, the Brooklyn City Dispensary, the Long
Island Free Library, the Hanson Place Baptist
church, artd is president of the Eastern/ Green
wich Water Supply Company of Rhode Island,
and a member of the New York chamber of
commerce and of the Grant Memorial, Associa
tion. He is also president of the Bay Shore,
Islip and Patchogue Water Company, and also
president of the Elks State Bank, of Clyde, Kan
sas. In addition he has had large stock-raising
interests for forty years, and has five farms, and a
"beautiful country home in Vermont. He pos
sesses ability of a superior order, and as a finan
cier enjoys an enviable reputation. Although he
has been engaged in business for over fifty years

he can truthfully say that in all that time no man
or woman who invested capital in his many ven
tures ever lost a dollar so invested.
The career of Nathan T. Sprague has ever
been such as to warrant the trust and confidence'
of the business world, for he has conducted all
transactions on the strictest principles of honor
and integrity. His devotion to the public good
is unquestioned and arises from a sincere interest-
in the welfare of his fellow men. What the
world needs is such men — men capable of manag
ing extensive, gigantic mercantile concerns and
conducting business on terms that are fair alike
to employer and employe, men of genuine worth,
of unquestioned integrity arid honor — and then
the questions of oppression by capitalists and re
sistance and violence by laborers will be forever
at rest.
HORACE WARD BAILEY. 1
Horace Ward Bailey, a prominent citizen of
Newbury, Vermorit, and one who has frequently
been called upon to fill positions of honor and'
trust, is a representative of a family which was'
founded in America by Richard Bailey, who came1
from, England to Rowley, Massachusetts, in 1635,
and is generally spoken of in genealogical regis
ters as "Richard of Rowley." Alfred Poor, in
his "Researches in the Merrimack Valley,'' pub-'
lished prior to 1850, traced over fifteen thousand
descendants of Richard of Rowley. Mr. Bailey's"
first Vermorit ancestor was Webster Bailey; «in
the fifth generation from Richard, who came' from
West Newbury, Massachusetts, -to Newbury,:
Vermont, in 1 788 j and established the Vermont
ancestral home of this very nurrierous family. At '
this old homestead, Parker W., the' grandfather
of Mr. Bailey, was born in 1792, and William U.,
his father, in 1820. Although Mr. Bailey's great-;
grandfather established the' first tannery and
wholesale boot and shoe shop in the Connecticut
valley north of the Massachusetts 'line, and car^s
ried ori a successful business for twenty-five yearsy
the family, both paternal and maternal, have been
farmers for many generations; •
Horace Ward Bailey, son of William U. and
Abigail (Eaton) Bailey, Was born January 16,
1852, in Newbury, Vermont. His mother came
bf Scotch parentage, and was the daughter of the

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

643

late Jesse Eaton, of Wentworth, New Hampshire.
Mr. Bailey was educated in the common schools
•of his native town, and at Newbury Seminary,
for a time teaching the village school during the
winter. Upon attaining his majority he entered
the employ of John Lindsey at the Fabyan House
in the White Mountains, at Old Orchard Beach,
and in Eastman, Georgia. With Mr. Lindsey he
remained for several years, and finally became
-executor of the Lindsey estates, which comprised
the Lancaster House property at Lancaster, New
Hampshire, which trust was retained by Mr.
Bailey until about three years ago, when it was
deeded to the late A. L. Fabyan. In 1882 he
•opened a store in Newbury village, where he built
up a large and profitable business, and also erected
a substantial property. In 1892 he retired from
business, and has since been chiefly engaged in
¦ the settlement of estates in northern Vermont and
New Hampshire. In 1886 he was elected town
clerk, an office which he held for ten, and that of
lister for four years. He was chairman of the
school directors the first year under the town sys
tem law, and superintendent of schools almost
continuously for eighteen years. He was for
several years a trustee of the Bradford Savings
Bank, and has long been a trustee of the Citizens'
Savings Bank & Trust Company of St. Johns-
" bury. In politics Mr. Bailey is a stanch Republican,
and in 1894 was a senator from Orange county,
and a member of the education, railroad, state's
prison, and house of correction committees, and
chairman of the joint special committee to inquire
into the extraordinary increase of commitments
to the house of correction. In 1894 Mr. Bailey
was appointed a member of the fish and game
commission. To this office he brought his sound
"business methods and practical common sense,
expending the appropriations so that the state has
' "for value received" a well equipped plant at Rox
bury. In the compiling of tables showing the
output from the state hatchery, together with ex
penditures, he leaves a record for the mastery of
•figures and their comprehensive arrangement.
During the six years that Mr. Bailey held the
office of fish and game commissioner, although un
flinching in the execution of the laws, he made an
•exceedingly popular official, and gained a large
and friendly acquaintance throughout the state.

During this period he was selected by the legis
lature to expend the appropriation made to build
a dam at the outlet of Lake Morey, which is said
by good judges to be one of the most substantial
pieces of work of its kind in the state. He was a
candidate, before the last Republican state con
vention, for auditor of accounts, and had strong
support for the nomination among the delegates.
He subsequently received the unanimous caucus
nomination by the Republicans of Newbury for
town representative, and was elected by a ma
jority much in excess of the regular party vote
at the September election. Before the opening of
the session of the general assembly he was strong
ly urged by his many friends in all parts of the
state to become a candidate for speaker of the
house, but he declined to enter the field, and
gave his support to the Hon. John Merrifield, who
was elected. Mr. Bailey was one of the influen
tial and most useful members of the house,
serving as chairman of the committee on rail
roads, and also of the Louisiana Purchase Ex
position, and was the Orange county member
of the joint committee on temperance. Early in
December, 1902, he was appointed by Governor
McCullough a member of the state board of rail
road commissioners.
Mr. Bailey is a member of the Vermont His
torical Society, and has a valuable collection of
A'ermont bibliography, and an extensive miscel
laneous library, expressive of his strongly marked
literary tastes. He is deeply attached to his na
tive town, and has recently completed the erection
of a memorial window to perpetuate old New
bury Seminary. He has also published a history
of that institution, and of the Methodist church in
Newbury. In religious matters he is a liberal^
benevolent in his disposition, and ever ready to
lend his support to all good works and chari
table enterprises in his neighborhood. He is
widely 'and deservedly popular in his native state,
and it is safe to say, that but few, if any men,
outside of the legal fraternity, have lived in
Orange county, who have settled as many or had
charge of more important trusts.
LAVANT MURRAY READ.
Lavant Murray Read, deceased, for many
years an eminent and gifted lawyer and judge
of Bellows Falls, Vermont, was born in Wards-

644

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

boro, Vermont, December 26, 1842, a son of
ChSrles and Olive C. (Willard) Read, and died
on June 17, 1902, in Bellows Falls. He acquired
his early education in the common schools of his
native town, and this was supplemented later
by a course of study in the Leland and Gray
Seminary, Townshend, Vermont. Deciding to be
come a member of the legal fraternity, he at once
entered the law office of Hon. H. H. Wheeler,
then of Jamaica, with whom he pursued a course
of reading to qualify him for that positiorl, and
was admitted to the bar in 1869 at the April
term, of the Windham county court. He com
menced the practice of his profession at Jamaica
in partnership with his old preceptor, the Hon.
H. H. Wheeler, and this connection continued
until 1872, when Mr. Read removed to Bellows
Falls, Vermont, and resumed his , law practice
there, and his advancement was due entirely to
his own resources and ability. In 1886 he was
elected judge of probate for Westminster dis
trict, a position he filled with credit and distinc
tion for many years. He also served in the
capacity of state's attorney of Windham county
in 1880 and 1882. Judge Read enlisted in Com
pany H, Second Vermont Volunteers, in 1863
and participated in the battles of Rappahannock
Station, Mine Run and the terrible struggle of
the Wilderness, in which contest he was wounded
severely ; he was honorably discharged from the .
service August 20, 1865.
In his political affiliations, Judge Read was a
staunch advocate of the principles of the Republi
can party, and, while closely identified with the
interests of his party, was too busily engaged
with the practice of his profession to enable him
to accept many political honors, at the hands of
his fellow townsmen. He accepted the position
of representative to the legislature from the
town of Rockingham in September, 1892, and
was re-elected in 1894. He served upon the
judiciary, chairman of railroads and revision of
bills, the committee appointed by the supreme
court upon admissions to the bar, and was in
1892, elected president of the Vermont Bar As
sociation. Judge Read was a prominent mem
ber and served as first commander of of E. H.
Stoughton Post No. 34, G. A. R, and was twice
re-elected to fill the same position. He was a
member of the Mount Lebanon Lodge, F. & A.

M., of Jamaica, of which he was master for four-
successive terms. He was elected to the chair-
of grand master and also acted in the capacities
of grand secretary and grand dictator of grand.
lodge; the eminent position of grand master he
held from 1878 to 1881. He was also the first
dictator of the subordinate lodge of Knights of
Honor. On December 13, 1876, Judge Read "was-
united in marriage to Miss Sar'ah A. Perkins,,
daughter of Jared D. and Sarah A. Perkins, of"
Bellows Falls, Vermont. • One child was born of"
this union, Mary Alice Read, a graduate of Smith .
College.
ALBIN SLTLLIVAN BURBANK.
Albin Sullivan Burbank, a prominent citizen t.
and leading man of affairs of Proctorsville, Ver
mont, belongs to a family of English origin,.
which was founded in America nearly three hun
dred years ago by Joseph Burbank, who came-
from London, England, with his wife Abigail,.
and settled in Boston, and in 1639, one of his;
sons John, settled in "Rowley, Massachusetts.
John Burbank, son of John, married, October -
15, 1663, Susannah Merrill, and removed in
1680, to Suffield, Connecticut. He was three -
times married, but had" no children by the sec
ond and third unions. His children by his first.
wife were: Susannah, Timothy, John and.
Eleanor. Of these, his.son John married Mary
George, December 21, 1699, and died March 25,.
1739. Samuel, their son, born in Massachusetts.
in 1706, had a son Samuel, born at Sudbury,.
Massachusetts, in 1734. He lived at Wdburn and
Fitchburg, Alassachusetts, and was a captain in.
the colonial service and in the war of the Revolu
tion, holding the rank of lieutenant at the battle-
of Bunker Hill, on which occasion he had coni-"
mand of his company, the captain having become
exhausted. Later he took the company back to-
New York, and subsequently served as one of"
Captain Stark's minutemen. Previous to the-
breaking out of the War he had been a lieutenant
of militia in Sudbury, and the story is told of him .
that, when informed of the fighting at Lexing
ton, he was in the act of carrying a bag of meal*
up the stairs; that he dropped, it on the spot,,
seized his flintlock, and, without bidding good--

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

645

hye to his family, hurried to the scene of action
and was not heard of for several weeks. He held
various town offices. He married Eunice Ken
dall, born in 1750, in Sherborne, Massachusetts.
They had the following children: 1. Lydia.
2. Sullivan, born in 1776, was commissioned
lieutenant of infantry, and ordered to Plattsburg,
in 1812; participated in the battle of Sackett's
Harbor, November 13, 1813, and in those of
Chippewa and Niagara, where he was wounded in
storming a battery; was brevetted major, later
captain of the Fifth Infantry, and was stationed
at' St. Gratiot, then at Detroit, Michigan, later at
Fort Snelling, and finally commanded at Fort Gib
son, Arkansas ; subsequently served as sergeant of
a recruiting station in New York, and was dis-
, charged in 1839 ; he "married Betsey Brown, and
their children were Lorenzo, Daniel, Sidney. and
Ophelia and Pauline, the last two being twins;
Sullivan Burbank died in 1862. 3. Benjamin
was a school teacher. 4. Samuel was a hotel-
"keeper at Proctorsville. 5. Daniel was killed
In a military muster, iri 1809, in Westminster.
¦6. Timothy lived at Woburn, Massachusetts.
J. Simeon. 8. James Crawford lived at St.
Paul, Minnesota, where he was a pioneer, and a
prominent citizen. 9. Abel is mentioned at
'length hereinafter. Samuel Burbank, the father
of this family, died February- 26, 1808, and his
widow, who drew a pension after his death,
passed away in 1845, in Proctorsville, Vermont.
Abel Burbank, son of Samuel and Eunice
"(Kendall) Burbank, was born at Fitchburg, Mas
sachusetts, where he resided the early part of his
life, later removing to Cavendish, Vermont, with
his family. He was one of the first settlers, and
the owner of a large farm, also carrying on an
-extensive business in harness-making, and later
•engaging in mercantile pursuits. He held various
local offices of political character, belonged to a
rifle company of the Vermont militia, also to the
hose company of the Cavendish fire department,
.and was a zealous member of the Methodist
•church, serving as chairman of the board ol
•trustees and as steward. He married Almira,
¦daughter of Zaccheus and Experience (Proctor)
Blood. The former was a farmer and harness-
maker of Cavendish, and the latter a daughter of
•Captain Leonard Proctor, of Proctorsville, who
served in the colonial army and in the war of

the Revolution, and was the grandfather of
United States Senator Proctor. Mr. and Mrs.
Burbank were the parents of the following chil
dren: 1. Augusta married Edward A. Rice,
a Methodist minister, who died at Wellsville,
New York, in 1902, at the age of ninety years;
their children were Edward B. and Clara. 2.
Valeria married Charles J. Fenton, a farmer of
Pittsford, Vermont, who held various town offi
ces, among them, those of town clerk and town
treasurer. 3. Albin Sullivan is mentioned at
length hereinafter. 4. Henry J. married Ade
laide' Granger, of Boston, where they reside, and
where he is in business as a brewer; they have
two children, Dorothy and Edith. 5. Samuel
K. married Jane Tottingham, of Pittsford, where
he is a merchant, and has held several town
offices, also serving as representative. 6. Clara
F. is unmarried. Mrs. Burbank, the mother of
these children, died in 1866, aged fifty-six, and
her husband passed away in 1877, at the age of
eighty. Albin Sullivan Burbank, third child and eld
est son of Abel and Almira (Blood) Burbank,
was born April 4, 1838, in Proctorsville, , in the
town of Cavendish, Windsor 'county, Vermont,
and received his early education in the common
schools, and at Springfield Wesleyan Seminary,
Springfield, Vermont. He entered upon his busi
ness career as a clerk in his father's store in
Proctors ville,. and was afterward employed in the
hardware store of W. H. Floyd, in Medford,
Massachusetts. From 1856 to 1863 he was book
keeper in the woolen mill in Proctorsville, Ver
mont, and in the latter year became superintend
ent of the establishment, which position he held
with ability and success for a number of years.
In 1877, m connection with William E. Hay
ward and L. H. Taft, of Uxbridge, Massachu
setts, he purchased the mills, which were thence
forth operated by the firm of Hayward, Taft
& Company, under the management of Mr. Bur
bank. In 1890 Herbert T. Murdock purchased
Mr. Hayward's interest, and the firm became
Taft, Burbank & Murdock, the mills being still
operated under the superintendence of Mr. Bur
bank. In 1890 the firm erected a brick addition
to the large main building, one hundred and six
by forty-two feet, four stories in height, and in
creased the machinery to twelve sets of cards

646

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

and sixty broad looms, employing two hundred
hands, and turning out an annual product of
four hundred and fifty thousand yards of cassi-
meres. Power is furnished by a pair of hori
zontal water-wheels, and two steam engines of
two hundred and twenty-five and forty horse
power. In 1874-75 Air. Burbank represented the
town of Cavendish in the general assembly, being
again elected in 1890-1. In 1894-5 he was state
senator from Windsor county. He is president
and a director in the Black River National Bank
of Proctorsville. Mr. Burbank is past master of Lafayette
Lodge No. 53, F. & A. M., Proctorsville, having
taken the thirty-second degree in Masonry. He
is a member of Skitchewaug Chapter No. 25,
R. A. M., Ludlow ; of Vermont Commandery
No. 4, K. T., Windsor; of Vermont Consistory,
A. A. S. R., Burlington ; of Mount Sinai Temple,
A. A. O. N. Mystic Shrine, Montpelier ; and of
Keystone Chapter No. 5, O. E. S., Ludlow. He
belongs to' the Alasonic Veterans' Association,
and to the Society of the Sons of the American
Revolution. In politics he has always been an
ardent Republican. Air. Burbank married, Alay
4,. 1866, at Prostorsviile, Vermont, Martha J.
Howe, a resident of Tunbridge, Vermont. They
have one daughter, Almira B., born July 16,
1867, and married in October, 1902, Henry L.
Drugg, of Peterboro; New York.
FREDERICK HOLBROOK.
Frederick Holbrook, an accomplished civil
engineer, who is now engaged with the great sub
way construction work in New York city, and
whose residence is at Alilton, Alassachusetts, is.
a, representative of prominent New England fam
ilies which were from an early colonial period
conspicuous in public affairs, and various of
whose members have been called to high posi
tions of honor and trust.
Mr. Holbrook was born July 21, 1861, in
Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were
Franklin F. and Anna E. (Nourse) Holbrook,
to whom were born three children, Frederick,
the subject of this memoir, Emeline M. and
Percy Holbrook. The father was a son of Hon.
Frederick Holbrook, the Civil war governor of
Vermont, whose personal history and public

career are written of on other pages of this work^
Franklin F. Holbrook was born March 1, 1837^
in Brattleboro, Vermont, where he received his-
education and entered upon a mercantile career-
He was a man of fine business capabilities, and,
besides, an ardent patriot who at the beginning-
of the Civil war unhesitatingly offered himself
in such place as he would be most serviceable in-
aiding in the support of the national government.
In the first year of the struggle (1861) he was-
appointed military agent of Vermont, a position
in which he was charged with the duty of repre
senting the state in all its relations with the
federal war department, as well as with caring:
for the interests of the Vermont troops, more-
especially those who were incapacitated for field
service by reason of wounds or disease. He-
acted in this capacity during the entire duration
of the war, incessantly employed, and serving
with great capability and strict fidelity tp the
delicate and important trusts committed to him.
After the restoration of peace he became head
of the firm of F.-F. Holbrook & Company, which,.
as manufacturers of agricultural implements in,
Boston, carried on an extensive business. He
was actively connected with this business for
about twenty years,' when he retired.
Frederick Holbrook, eldest child of Franklin-
F. and Anna E. (Nourse) Holbrook, passed his.-
youth in Brattleboro, Vermont, under the im
mediate care of his illustrious . grandsire, ex-Gov
ernor Frederick Holbrook, for whom he was-
named. He began his education in the public
schools, ( and pursued advanced studies under a
private tutor, Professor B. F. Bingham, who;-
said of him that he was the most apt mathemati
cian, whom he ever taught, and credited him with;
ability for the ready and comprehensive grasp,
of whatever problem, no matter how intricate..
could be submitted to him. Later he took up the
study of law in the office of his uncle, William-
C. Holbrook, who is now (1903) judge of spe
cial quarter sessions of New York. With his
great taste and talent for mathematics, and a
predisposition to the science of civil engineering,
he was disinclined to the law, and he became
connected with an engineering corps on the
Pacific coast, and this was his initial step to the
profession in which he has ever since been so
usefully and prominently engaged. After eight.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

647

years passed in this employment, he returned to
the east and took the position of assistant engi
neer with the New York, New Haven & Hart
ford Railroad. After four years he relinquished
his position to become head of the contract con
struction firm of Holbrook, Cabot & Rollins, of
Boston, and gave his personal attention to vari
ous of the largest construction enterprises on the
New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad, in
cluding the crossing work at Brocton and Ded
ham, Massachusetts, the extensive line from
.Groton to Alyn's Point, the drawbridge at Bos
ton, the bridges at Cambridge and Fitchburg,
and the stone bridge across the Connecticut river
at Bellows Falls, on the Fitchburg Railroad.
The firm with which Mr. Holbrook was asso
ciated also constructed the immense wet dock at
the Boston navy yard.
. In 1900 Mr. Holbrook also became head of
the Holbrook, Cabot & Daly Construction Com
pany of New York, which 'in that year entered
upon the great subway construction work,
New York city. Since that time he has given
his personal attention to the work on section
No. 3, covering a distance of one and one-half
miles, extending from Great Jones street to
Thirty-fourth street, and requiring the labor of
one thousand eight hundred men. The work is
attended with almost insuperable difficulties, re
quiring incessant watchfulness and resourceful
ness, not only in forwarding the work (which is
to be completed in September of the present year,
1903), but in protecting the buildings on either
side of the great thoroughfare. At whatever
stage, or in whatever unexpected contingency,
Mr. Holbrook has proven himself 'complete mas
ter of the situation, and the undertaking which
now engages his attention is evidently destined
to be of record as among the monumental engi
neering enterprises of the day.
The large affairs in which Air. Holbrook has
been continuously engaged, and the amount of
time and attention required for their diligent
prosecution, have rendered it impossible for him
to participate to any considerable degree in fra
ternal and social organization matters. He is,
however, a member of the New York Athletic
Club, the Engineers' Club and the Hardware
Club' Mr. Holbrook married Grace, daughter
of Norman Franklin Cabot, who was for many

years a banker in Brattleboro, Vermont, and of
whom a memoir appears elsewhere in this work.
Of this union have been born three children:
Lucy Brooks, Frederick Cabot and Grace Ware.
FRANK W. AGAN.
Frank W. Agan, an enterprising mill-owner
and prominent citizen of Ludlow, Vermont, be
longs to a family which has been for three gen
erations resident in the town, actively participat
ing in its commercial affairs and political move
ments. John Agan, father of Frank W. Agan,
was a son of John Agan, and was a merchant at
Ludlow, where he was extensively engaged in
dealing in all kinds of produce, and was also a
speculator. He was at one time in the iron busi
ness, operating under the trading name of the
Tyson Iron Company, and was a practical iron
worker himself. He enlisted in the Union army
during the Civil war, but his family interfered
and prevented his going to the front. He was an
enthusiastic Democrat, affiliated with the Ma
sonic fraternity, and was a member of the Uni
versalist church. He married Amanda Hendry,
and was the father of two children : Frank W.,
mentioned at length hereinafter ; and William
H., who is engaged in the drug business at Lud
low. Air. Agan died at the age of thirty-three,
and his wife survives to the present day.
Frank W. Agan, son of John and Amanda
(Hendry) Agan, was born in 1868, in Plymouth,
Vermont. His education was obtained at the
Black River Academy, and at the age of sixteen
he entered the Ludlow woolen mills for the pur
pose of learning the business in every detail.
Here he remained for six or seven years, during
which time he worked in all the departments of
the mill. Later he went to Gilsum, New Hamp
shire, where he worked in a woolen manufactory
for two or three years, and then returned to Lud
low, becoming identified with the Black River
woolen mill. In this business he was associated
for six years with George H. Levey, and then
embarked in the shoddy manufacturing industry.
In 1895 he bought the Roberts property, origin
ally a listing mill on Jewell brook, remodeled it
for a shoddy mill, with modern machinery, and
has erected other buildings as occasion required,
until at present he has a floor space of more than

648

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ten thousand square, feet. In addition to the
water power, a steam power with eighty-horse
power boiler is used when needed. Mr. Agan
employs a force of about fifty people, and manu
factures from 600,000 to 800,000 pounds of
shoddy annually. In i960 Air. Agan built the
Verd Mont Mill in South Ludlow, and after
ward organized a stock company, of which he
was elected president, a position which he still
, holds. The business employs from seventy-five
to one hundred people.
A'Ir. Agan takes an active interest in every
thing pertaining to the welfare of the community
in which he resides. He is president of the Lud
low Telephone Company, and is interested in
the Red Cross Medical Company, which prom
ises to develop into a very extensive business.
He has been chairman of the board of village
trustees, and is a member of the board of town
school directors. Mr. Agan exerts himself very
much in the cause of local option, and is presi
dent of the Local Option League of the state,
by which he was nominated in 1902, for the
office of lieutenant governor, Percival W. Cle
ment, of Rutland, being the candidate for gov
ernor, through whose uriited efforts . the local
option law was passed. Air. Agan is a member
of Black River Lodge, F. &' A.- M. ; Skitchewanax
Chapter, R. A. M. ; and Windsor Commandery,
K. T, and Mt. Sinai Temple, Mystic Shrine.
In 1896 Mr. Agan married Cora A., daughter
of the late Alajor Darius J. Safford, of Morris
ville. The recent death of Mrs. Agan, who was a
woman of unusual gifts and accomplishments,
was universally lamented. Air. Agan had not long
before erected a beautiful summer home on Gill
terrace, adjacent to the Odd Fellows' Home.
HON. WILLIAM BULL EDGERTON.
Hon. William Bull Edgerton, judge of pro
bate court of Manchester, Vermont,- was- borri
November 14, 1867, in Danby, Vermont, a son
of Robert Edgerton, who was the third in line
of direct descent to hear that name.
The first Robert Edgerton was a son of Daniel
Edgerton, who came from Salisbury, Litchfield
county, Connecticut, to Tinmouth, Bennington
(now Rutland) county, where he purchased
four hundred and twenty acres of the confiscated

estate of a TOry, John McNeil by name, as is evi
denced by the land records of the town of Tin
mouth, which bears date of August 31, 1778.
Daniel Edgerton was familiarly known as "Cap
tain Daniel," and served in the Revolutionary war.
Daniel Edgerton married Miss Mary- Douglass,
daughter of Benajah Douglass, who was also
a soldier in the patriot army during the war of
the Revolution, and served under General Wash
ington at Valley Forge. Airs. Edgerton was the
aunt of Seriator Stephen A. Douglas. Robert
married Anna Bull ; they owned a large farm in
Wallingford, Vermont, where they lived and
died. Their children were Robert, Samuel
Zelev, Crispin, -Betsey, who married Joseph
Remington, and Elsie, who married Barney Ferry.
Robert Edgerton (second) grandfather of
Judge William Bull Edgerton, lived for a time in
Wallingford, but spent the last years of his life in
Dorset, Vermont; He riiarried Miss Abigail
Bowen, who was born in Dorset, and spent her
life of fourscore years there and in Wallingford.
Eight children were born to them: Hiram;
Manora; Robert; Anna; Peleg, now residing at
East Dorset, Vermont; Bradford; Charles; and
Mary, now a resident of Manchester, Vermont.
All' of the children are now deceased with the
exception pf Peleg arid Alary. Mr. Edgerton
died in Dorset, Vermont, at the age of sixty
years. Robert Edgerton (third), father of Judge
William Bull Edgerton, was born in Wallingford,
Vermont, in the year 1828, but moved With his
father's family to- Dorset when twelve years of
age, where he grew up and1 for a time engaged
in agricultural pursuits ; going from there to
Danby he carried on general farming until his
death, which occurred when he was sixty-seven
years old. He married Aliss Anna Irish, daugh
ter of Benjamin and Phoebe (Baldrich) Irish,.
who reared a large family of children, of whom
but one is now living, Harrison B. Irish, of
Spring Valley, Wisconsin, one of the sturdy pio
neers of that- state. Of the eight children born to
Robert and Anna (Irish) Edgerton, four have
passed to the life beyondk The four now living
are as follows: Albert R., of "Manchester;
Charles B., of Danby; William B., the special
subject of this brief sketch, and Ina L., who mar
ried Carmi F.- White, of Pawlet, Vermont, and

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

649

the)- now reside in Randolph, Vermont. The
mother died in the year 1899, at the age of seven
ty years. She was the member of the Methodist
Episcopal church. Her grandfather, Benjamin
Irish, married Naomi Palmer in 1791. He
bought a large tract of land in Hinesburg, Ver
mont, and, as his family of boys grew up, gave
¦each of them a farm. The sons bore the good
Bible names of Joab, David, Ezekiel, Enoch,
Elias and Benjamin, the father of Mrs. Edgerton.
William Bull Edgerton, son of Robert and
Anna Edgerton, was graduated from the Burr
and Burton Seminary, in Manchester, in 1888,
-after which he taught school several years, in the
meantime studying law with Martin & Archi-
"bald, of Afanchester Center. After his admission
to the bar, in 1893, he began the practice of his-
profession in Afanchester. He was soon appointed
.register of the probate court by his law partner,
Judge Fowler, and served in that capacity four
years. In 1898 he was elected judge of probate
for the probate district of Manchester, on the
Republican ticket, being nominated for the office
hy Judge Fowler, his predecessor, and was re-
•elected to the same office for a term of two years
in 1900, and again in 1902. Judge Edgerton has
performed the duties pertaining to his official po
sition in a creditable manner, and is well de
serving of the respect and esteem so generally ac
corded him by those with whom he comes in con
tact. He has been extensively interested in real
¦estate dealings in Afanchester and vicinity, selling
and renting most of the many beautiful summer
homes and valuable farms of this locality. He
carries on farming to a considerable extent, and
in company with James D. Purely is owner of the
Manchester Stables, in which are many fine
horses for sale or to let, and carriages of every
description. The Judge has been a member of
the school board for a long time, and has con
tributed largely toward raising the schools of his
town to their present high standard.
On August 10, 1892, Judge Edgerton married
IMiss Grace I. Kellev, who was born in Danby,
Vermont, which was the birthplace of her parents,
Henry B. and Rachel (Staples) Kelley, who
reared but two children, namely: Clarence D.
Kelley, and Grace I., now Mrs. Edgerton, whose
maternal grandfather, Ellery Staples, was a life

long farmer of Danby, where he died in 1886.
Judge and Airs. Edgerton have one child, Robert
Kelley Edgerton.
THE HICKOK FAMILY.
Ezra Hickok, of Wilton, Connecticut, whose
father probably emigrated from England, was
born in 171 5, and died at the age of seventy-nine
years in Lansingburg, New York, May 24, 1794.
He left six sons, viz. : Ezra, Uriah, Jeremiah,
David, Benjamin and Carter.
Ezra, son of Ezra Hickok of Wilton, Con
necticut, lived in Sheffield, Massachusetts, for
some time, where most of his sons were born. He
finally moved to Lansingburg, New York, where
he died April 22, 1807, aged seventy years. He
left six sons, viz : James, Durlin, Ezra, William,
Samuel and Horatio. Ezra, William and Horatio
left no children. The children of Durlin are set
tled in Ashtabula county, Ohio.
Samuel, fifth son of Ezra, was born in Shef
field, Berkshire county, Alassachusetts, Septem
ber 4, 1774, and died at Burlington, Vermont,
June 4, 1849, aged seventy-four years. He came
to Burlington in 1792, when he was eighteen years
old, with his brother William, from Lansingburg,
New York, to which place the family had removed
and where- his father and grandfather lie buried.
The site of Burlington was then a forest, its
two or three buildings standing on the lake shore.
William opened a store in a small building near
the lake, aud Samuel acted as his clerk, till De
cember 26, 1797, when William was drowned,
while skating on the lake. Samuel succeeded to
the business of his brother. As customers came
in from the east, Mr. Hickok, to catch this trade,
though ridiculed by his friends, built his second
store in the woods on Main street, the site now
occupied by the house of the late Mr. Daniel
Roberts. He also built a large square dwelling
house, yet standing on the corner of Main and
Pine streets, above his store, where his three eld
est children were born. In 1805 he built and oc
cupied the three-story brick store on the west side
of City Hall Park, next north of the present Bur
lington Hotel, and which is believed to be the old
est brick building in Burlington.
At this period he fixed his permanent resi-

650

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

dence in the house built by Moses Catlin, on the
southwest corner of Alain and St. Paul streets,
where the Woodbury and Walker block now
stands. This house was a fine, large, square
wooden mansion in the colonial style, with elabor
ate interior finish, and, with its beautiful flower
garden, was one of the most conspicuous homes
in Burlington, and one of the centers of social
life. Henry Clay was entertained there when he
visited Vermont in 1838.
Samuel Hickok was a most capable and suc
cessful business man, reading the purposes of
people with whom he had to deal with great ac
curacy. He was energetic and prompt in action;
of sound judgment and great decision of charac
ter, so much so that to casual observers he seemed
Stern and severe, though in reality he had a warm
and kindly heart. His leading characteristics,
however, were integrity and love of justice. In
the exercise of these sterling qualities he was for
many years the leading merchant in Burlington,
and accumulated an estate of over two hundred
thousand dollars which is believed to be the larg
est ever made by any individual in Chittenden
county prior to 1849, the year of his decease.
Mr. Hickok was the cashier of the Vermont
State Bank, chartered in 1806, until its removal to
Woodstock in 1812. He was one of the original
corporators and a director of the old Bank of
Burlington, chartered in 1818, until the estab
lishment of a branch of the United . States Bank
here in 1830, when he left the Bank of Burling
ton to become one of the directors of the branch
bank. He was also one of the early directors of
the Champlain Transportation Company, which
then owned and has since maintained the fine line
of steamers on Lake Champlain.
Mr. Hickok was a firm and liberal supporter,
and for many years a deacon, of "The First
Church of Christ in Burlington under the Con
gregational order," organized in 1805, in the
house of Moses Catlin, in which Air. Hickok
afterwards so long lived. Every worthy object
had his countenance and support. The Univer
sity of Vermont found him always a firm friend
and liberal contributor to its funds. At every
stage of its early progress, his name stood prom
inent on all the old subscription papers, which
served to keep alive the institution until the com
ing of its more prosperous days.

Samuel Hickok was one of the pioneer build
ers of Burlington. The period of his activity co
incides with that of the other leading families of .
the olden time — the Pomeroys, Doolittles, Dem-
mings, Loomises, Haswells, Pearls, Catlins,.
Footes. On Alay 10, 1800, Mr. Hickok married Han
nah Collard, who was born in Barnstable, Devon
shire, England, October 1, 1777, and died in Bur
lington, February 12, 1810. They had six chil
dren, viz. : Eliza Whelply, born April 8, 1801,
died December 7, 1874; William Collard, born-
September 14, 1802, died June 12, 1883 ; Henry
Pearl, born August 27, 1804, died August 9,.
1884; John Edgar, born May 31, 1806, died No
vember 16, 1880 ; Jane Ann, born June 30, 1808,.
died April 21, 1836; Samuel, born February 7,.
1810, died August 1, 181 1.
After the death of hisfirst wife, Mr. Hickokr
married, on January 20, 181 1, his cousin Eliza
Whelply, who was born in Lenox, Berkshire-
county, Massachusetts, August 22, 1782, and
died in Burlington, April 23, 1847. They had six
children, viz. : Samuel, born August 8, 1812,.
died January 29, 1813 ; Mary, born Alay 17, 1815,
died April 6, 1834; Frances, born October 23,.
1817, died November 2, 1840; James Whelply,
born Alarch 7, 1819, died December 12, 1891 ',.
Samuel, born October 7, 1820, died November
20. T82T ¦ Charles Horatio, born November 28,.
1822, died September 19, 1823.
Eliza Whelply, the first daughter of Samuel
and Hannah (Collard) Hickok, an account of
whose life is given elsewhere in this book, mar
ried Frederick Buell, son of Ozias Buell, of Bur
lington, Vermont.
William C. Hickok, the first son of Samuel'
and Hannah (Collard) Hickok, practiced medi
cine successfully in New York city for twenty-
five years, when he returned to Burlington and'
devoted himself to" agriculture, astronomy and"
conchology. The. revolving dome on his house
covered at that time the most powerful telescope
in the state, and he possessed a very valuable and"
extensive collection of shells.
On June 26, 1826, William Hickok was mar
ried to Laura Ann Piatt, who was born in Lanes- ¦
boro, Alassachusetts, January 30, 1807, arid died
Alay 7, 1894. She was a lady of refinement, who-
took "an active part in the social* life of Burling-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

651

ton, after her return with her husband and family
from New York. The noble stone mansion built
by Dr. Hickok near the junction of St. Paul and
Willard streets, surrounded by ample grounds,
and commanding a magnificent view of the lake,
still remains one of the most attractive residences
of the city. Here Airs. Hickok maintained a
quiet, generous hospitality, but her chief service
to the community was rendered by her presidency
of the Home for Destitute Children, dating from
the year 1869 to 1883.
The institution was founded in .1865, and Mrs.
Hickok had from the first been its vice-president,
and had borne much of the care of its earliest
years The following accpunt of her work
from the pen of Mrs. Sarah P. Torrey is a
tribute by one best fitted, by reason of her own
connection with the institution, to judge of its
worth. "It was a 'feeble child' at first, beginning with'
six children and about two thousand dollars in
subscription. Mrs. Hickok's labors were un
wearied during all those years of anxiety. She
was certainly 'instant in season and out of sea
son.' The needs of the institution were met by
annual subscriptions and donations. Needs were
arising all the time which it was very, hard to
meet. Questions were constantly coming up,
connected with the starting of a new charitable
institution. Often it was a serious question where
the food and clothing for the constantly increas
ing number of children were coming from, to say-
nothing of the salaries of the matrons, teacher and
attendants. The building itself was mortgaged
for five thousand dollars or more. There were
then no telephones, no street cars. I have been
told, and I know it to be true, that there were
few days that did not see her in her little carriage
on the road to the Home. Her interest, her re
source, her energy never failed, though her health
did at last. No one would deny that in those
days Airs. Hickok was the mainstay, the back
bone of the Home. Of course she had able ad
visers and supporters, and many generous friends
and givers were not wanting, but the Home prob
ably owes more to her than to any one perspn.
I rejoice that before she was obliged to give up
the reins of her office, she saw the mortgage
raised, the permanent fund had reached a goodly
fio-ure," and in her last year, Mr. Howard, by the

gift of the Opera House block, made the financial
basis of the Home secure.
"I was not on the Home board at the same-
time that she was, but I am sure those who were
would more than corroborate all that I have
said." The offspring of the marriage of William:
Hickok with Laura Ann Piatt were: SamueL
born August 28, 1827, died May 4, 1832; Will
iam Henry, born February 24, 183 1 ; Mary Dick
inson, born December 24, 1835, died November
20, 1843 ' George, born March 12, 1842, died De
cember 4, 1843 ' Horatio, born February 21, 1845,.
died April 2, 1898; Francis, born October 23,.
1847. William Henry Hickok, second son of William: '
and Laura, is a practicing physican in Philadel
phia, Pennsylvania. Horatio Hickok, fourth son
of William and Laura, an account of whose life
is given elsewhere in this book, was married, on
June 16, 1875, to Harriet E. Whiting, who was
born at St. Albans, Vermont, March 18, 185 1,.
and they had seven children, viz : Constance, born,.
April 16, 1876; Laura Piatt, born January 7, 1879,.
died May 23, 1883 ; Mary Whiting, born February
21, 1881 ; Kate Alorton, born November 6, 1882;
Harriet Eleanor, born September 26, 1886; Dor
othy, born November 19, 1888; Marjorie, born.
May 9, 1894. Francis Hickok, fifth son of Will
iam and Laura, has been engaged in the lumber
ing interests in- different parts of, the country..
His home is in Columbus,. Ohio. In December,,
1878, he married Eliza Acton. They had two
children, Alargaret Acton and Mary Noble, the
latter of whom died when a child.
An account of the life of Henry Pearl,
Hickok, second son of Samuel and Hannah
(Collard) Hickok, is given elsewhere in this
work. Jane Ann, second daughter of Samuel and.
Hannah (Collard) Hickok, married Henry
Leavenworth. Mary, first daughter of Samuel and Eliza
(Whelply) Hickok, married the Rev. James T.
Dickinson, pastor of a church in Norwich, Con
necticut. They had no children. After her death
Mr. Dickinson went as a missionary to China,
returning to this country, after a period of six
teen or eighteen years. He died in Middlefield,
Connecticut.

'652

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Frances, second daughter of Samuel and
"Eliza (Whelply) Hickok, died unmarried at the
.age of twenty-eight. She was a person of rare
intellectual gifts and strongly marked benevolent
-and Christian character. Through her liberality
and energetic efforts the "Ragged" or "Charity
School" both of which names were applied to it,
was established and maintained. This was the
first distinctively Christian effort to improve the
moral condition; of the poor and outcast children
-of the town, and was rendered necessary by the
then bad condition of the public schools. She
raised by subscription the money to pay the
-teacher and other expenses of the school. Af tet
her death the school was continued some twenty
years, and originated those impulses which re
sulted in the establishnient of the present "Home
-for Destitute Children."
James Whelply, second son of Samuel and
iEliza (Whelply) Hickok, practiced law for a few
years, but was diverted from it by business af
fairs. He was treasurer of the University of Ver-
-mont and a director of the old Bank of Burlirig-
"ton; was one of the founders of the Burlington
-Savings Bank, and served it as treasurer for the
rfirst five years of its existence without salary.
He was for fifteeri years treasurer and principal
¦contributor to the support of the Winooski Ave-
rnue Congregational church. He passed four
years in New York associated with the late Will
iam B. Ogden and Charles Butler, Esq., in laying
^the foundation of what is now the Chicago and-
Northwestern Railroad Company, and was one
of the directors and managers of the Rutland
Railroad. In town affairs he took a prominent
part, being chairman of the comiriittee that
planned and erected the city hall. Mr. Hickok
¦married Julia Francis on June 5, 1850, and she
¦died in Burlington, Vermont, June 2, . 1900. Three
¦children of this marriage died in early life.
EPHRAIM CRANE.
. Ephraim Crane, the editor and sole proprietor
of the Vermont . Tribune, ¦ was born at Hyde
Park, Vermont, January 29, 1876, the son of the
Rev. Edward Clarence arid Alary Jane Crane.
•Charles Crane, grandfather of Ephraim Crane,
was borri' in England, and upori attaining young
manhood came to this country and settled at

Hyde Park, Vermont, where he became a promi
nent factor in the general merchandise business
of the town. He was united in marriage to Miss
Alvira W. Hitchcock, and their children were:
Charles Herbert, a merchant and hotel-keeper
at Hyde Park ; Lizzie, who died unmarried ; and
the Rev. Edward Clarence Crane. Air. Crane's
death occurred at Hyde Park, Vermont, in the
seventy-first year of his age, and his wife died
when she had attained the age of seventy years.
The Rev. Edward Clarence Crane, father of
Ephraim Crane, was born at Hyde Park, Ver
mont, Janury 23, 1853, and his education was
acquired in the common schools of that town
and in Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Alassa
chusetts. In early life he united with the Metho
dist church of Hyde Park, during the pastorate of
Rev. Charles Parkhurst, now editor of Zion's
Herald, and evinced great ardor for religious
work ; he conceived the idea of becoming a min
ister of the gospel, and in 1876 resigned his posi
tion in the office of Governor Page to enter
Bangor Theological Seminary, which he left with
honor in 1879. His ministerial career commenced
while a student in the seminary, having supplied
the pulpit of the Congregational church; after
wards he was pastor of the church at Holden,
Maine, two years, later received a "call to Waldo-
boro, Alaine, where he remained for three years,
and then for two years and a half was pastor ol
a church in Mendon, Illinois.' In 1884 he en
tered the Andover Theological Seminary, where
he pursued a special course and subsequently
officiated as pastor of the South Main Street Con
gregational church at Manchester, New Hamp
shire. His sermons contained the real measure
of the spiritual and mental powers of the man,
and during his ministry he met with most gratify
ing results. In 1889 Rev. Mr. Crane withdrew
from" the ministry to become editor and proprietor
of the Vermont Tribune at Ludlow, having pre
viously performed considerable journalistic work
as contributor and editor. While a resident of
this town he continued to identify himself with
the Christian work in the Congregational church,
being frequently heard in the local pulpits. He
was a thoroughly practical man, a great friend of
young people, and entered heartily into every
worthy enterprise; he was very successful in his
hianagement of the paper, increased the circula-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

653

tion and made improvements in the plant; he
purchased a new engine, folding machine, job
press, and moved the entire plant from the Ar-
mington block to its present commodious quar
ters in the Peabody or the Ludlow House block.
He controlled it until his death, which occurred
June 23, 1893, from an accident, after which
the paper passed into the hands of his widow,
who employed the Rev. Evan Thomas, of Lud
low, to manage it. This he did successfully for
a period of five years, during which time the
paper became a six-column quarto, and has .since
remained that size. A new folding machine
which cuts and pastes the papers was added, and
an Otto gasoline engine put in.
On June 2, 1873, the Rev. Edward C. Crane
married Aliss Alary Jane Thomas, a daughter of
Jefferson Thomas, who acted in the capacity of
overseer of the poor for many years at Alorris-
town, where he had large agricultural interests.
Their children were: Lizzie, wife of Louis S.
Bugbee, of Ludlow, now a resident of Wollaston,
Massachusetts, and engaged as teller in the Mas
sachusetts National Bank at Boston, Massachu
setts : Ephraim ; Alice May, wife of Dr. W. H.
Lane, of Ludlow, now a resident of Readsboro,
Vermont; Charles E., a student at Dartmouth
College ; and Clarence, who died at the age of six
months. The mother of these children died May
4, 1902, at Hyde Park, Vermont.
Ephraim Crane, eldest son of the Rev. Ed
ward C. and Mary J. Crane, obtained his early
education in the public schools ; later he was en
rolled . as student of Black River Academy,
Ludlow, and finally pursued a course in Dart
mouth College, from which institution he was
graduated in 1898. He commenced his busi
ness career in the office of the Vermont
Tribune, succeeding the Rev. Air. Thomas as
manager, and, September 1, 1899, he became
the sole proprietor and editor. The equipment
of the office is better than ever before, he
having added two new presses, new heating
apparatus, a Westminster four-horsepower en
gine and an Acme self-clamping cutter. With
thorough training, journalistic instincts, knowl
edge of affairs, and perseverance, he reflects
honor upon his profession, and in his conduct of
the Tribune has tried to make it the exponent
of the highest interests of the community, the

state and the nation. Politically Air. Crane is a
Republican, in his religious belief a Congrega-
tionalist, and fraternally is a member of Black
River Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and
Vermont Commandery, Knights Templar.
On February 5, 1903, Mr. Crane married
Miss Mary Elizabeth Mastin, daughter of Silas-
Alastin and Lillie (Dale) Mastin, of St. Johns
bury. Mr. Alastin was for fifty years employed: '
by the E. & T. Fairbanks Company of St. Johns*
bury in the scale works, and was foreman in the
wood-working department when he died, April
18, 1903. Airs. Alastin, who was a Tennessee
girl, makes her home with her daughter. A son,.
Dale, died in infancy.
WILLIAM DICKINSON WOOLSON.
William D. Woolson, prominently identified'
with the commercial interests of Springfield, Ver
mont, was born in that city, October 1, 1866, a son
of Amasa and Mary Woolson. Amasa Woolson,.
son of Asa and Ann Woolson, was born in Graf
ton, Vermont, August 6, 181 1, and in the public
schools of that town obtained an excellent educa
tion. In early life he displayed a remarkable me
chanical ability, and from the age of fourteen to
thirty-five was employed at Alanchester and Ches
ter in manufacturing and finishing woolen cloths
and inventing and making machinery suitable
for this purpose. In 1846 he removed to Spring
field, Vermont, where he acquired an interest^in
the firm of Davidson & Parks, engaged in the-
manufacture of cloth-finishing machinery. Upon
the death of Mr. Davidson, which occurred four
years later (1850), the firm changed its name to
Parks & Woolson and conducted business under
this title until 1878, when it changed to a stock
company. During this period of time Air. Wool-
son invented and patented the most effective
shearing machine now in use. This is a wonder
ful machine, having a set of twenty-two revolv
ing blades, and was a great invention; In 1888"
Mr. Woolson, in connection with several other
business men, purchased the stock of the Jones
& Lamson Machine Company of Windsor, which
they removed to Springfield, and commenced the
manufacture of machinists' tools of every de
scription, but soon devoted their efforts to tur
ret machinery exclusively, using for this purpose-

054

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

and patenting several valuable appliances in
vented by James Hartness, then superintendent
of the works, now president (sketch elsewhere).
As an inventor Mr. Woolson ranked among the
best, having been awarded seven premiums, con
sisting of gold, silver and bronze medals, at dif
ferent fairs held in Boston and New York, as
well as at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadel
phia, Pennsylvania. Mr. Woolson served in the
¦capacity of president of the Jones & Lamson Ma
chine Company, and also filled a similar position
in the First National Bank of Springfield, till
his death in 1891.
On January 15, 1838, Air. Woolson married
Mary L. Davidson, a daughter of John Davidson ;
their only child, Helen AL, died in infancy, and
her mother departed this life a few months later.
Air. Woolson was then united in marriage to
Mary E., daughter of Aaron and Lettice Baker,
July 1, 1863, and four children were born to
them, two of whom survive, namely: William
D. and Charles A. Woolson.
William D. Woolson, son of Amasa and Mary
"E. Woolson, was educated in the public schools
•of Springfield and St. Johnsbury Academy, and
upon the completion of his studies he commenced
ihis business career by entering the employ of the
Jones & Lamson Machine Company, of which
James Hartness is the president and for which
Mr. Woolson is now acting in the capacity of
treasurer. They are engaged in the manufacture
of the Hartness Flat Turret Lathe, an article of
machinery 'that has already achieved a world-wide
reputation, and has resulted in the building up
of an extensive and important manufacturing en
terprise at Springfield. (See sketch of James
Hartness for description of same.) Air. Wool-
son is also actively interested in the Fellows Gear
Shaper Company, and has been president since
its organization, and one of its incorporators.
This important industry gives employment to
about sixty people. Politically Mr. Woolson is
a Republican, and takes a keen interest in all
local affairs which tend toward the improvement
of the town and count}'.
Air. Woolson was united in marriage in May,
1890, to Aliss Frances Hazen, and three children
have been born to them : Ruth, Hazel and Eric
Woolson. Frances Hazen was born in Barnett,
Vermont, daughter of Louis 1. and Frances

(Johnson) Hazen, the second of four children, all
living: Frank, county clerk in Alontana;
Frances; John, professor of instrumental music
in Tarrytown, New York; Grace S., with her
parents, in Alelrose, Alassachusetts, where her
father is now living retired, he having formerly
been a very large farmer at Hazen Junction,
New Hampshire, where, with his brother, he
owned about seven thousand acres of land, of
which they had cleared a considerable portion,
and which was used as a stock farm, it being
the largest in that section.
HON. CHARLES A. FORBUSH.
Charles Augustus Forbush, for forty years
actively and prominently identified with the bank-*
ing interests of Springfield, Vermont, is a de
scendant of Daniel Forbush, who was born in
Kinellor, Scotland, about the year 1620; he was
a member of the Scotch militia and. participated
in the battle of Dunbar, where he was captured
with other soldiers and deported by Cromwell's
orders to the New England colony.
Captain Samuel Forbush, son of Daniel For-
bijsh, was born in 1674, and later became one
of the first settlers of Westboro, Massachusetts.
He was one of the list of persons selected by
the captain general for particular garrison duty
in guarding the frontier. He married Abigail
Rice,, and their children were : Samuel and
Charles, the former named being a prominent
resident of Westboro, Massachusetts,, where he
was captain of the militia ; he had two children;
Samuel and Abigail.
Samuel Forbush, born in 1733 in Westboro;
Massachusetts, was actively identified with the
commercial and political affairs of the town ; he
was elected to the. office of selectman and served
during'the years 1773-177.A-1787-1788-1791-1792!
His children were : Rufus, Samuel, Isaac, Abi
gail, Lydia, Sarah, Persis, Jose, Jonah and Polly
Forbush. The father of these children died July
27, 1818.
Captain Rufus Forbush, eldest son of Samuel
Forbush, was born in Westboro, Massachusetts,
May 6, 1757. In early life he devoted his at
tention to agricultural pursuits in his native towri
and continued there for many year's. He served
during the Revolutionary war, and was in Cap*

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

655-

tain Seth Morris's company of General Ward's
regiment, which marched on the first alarm, April
l9> I775, from Westboro, serving for fourteen
days. Later he was corporal on the muster roll
of Captain Timothy Brigham, in Colonel Job
Cushing's regiment, enlisting July 27, 1777, and
being honorably discharged August 29, 1777, at
Bennington, Vermont. Later he served in the
state militia of Massachusetts, rising to the rank
of captain. He was a man of commanding pres
ence, being six feet two inches in height, and in
war times was noted for his personal courage and
officer-like bearing. The subject of this sketch
has his commissions of second lieutenant, first
lieutenant and captain, two signed by John Han
cock and one by Samuel Adams, governor of Alas-
achusetts. He was prominent in local affairs in
Westboro, and also in Reading, to which place
he removed in 1806, filling various town offices.
He was married to Aliss Mary Brown,
and their children were: Mary, Elijah, Daniel,
Nathan, Rufus and Maria. Captain Forbush died
January 27, 1830.
Hon. Rufus Forbush, father of Charles A.
Forbush, was born in Westboro, Alassachusetts,
January 25, 1794. He moved to Reading, Ver
mont, with his father. On attaining his majority
he purchased the old homestead of his father and
resided there to the year of his death, in 1866.
He was highly regarded in the community. He
held at different times all of the prominent offices
in the gift of the town. He represented the town
in the legislature several times, and was a mem
ber of three constitutional conventions called to
amend the constitution of the state, until the law
was abolished. He was a veteran of the war of
1812, served as sergeant of Seventh Company,
Third Regiment, Vermont Detached Militia; en
listed September 19, 1812, and served through
the war.
On March 14, 1822, Mr. Forbush married,
at Reading, Vermont, Miss Fidelia Hapgod,
youngest daughter of David and Sally Alyria
Hapgood. Their children were: Charles A.,
who is mentioned at length later ; Rufus O, born
October 7, 1824, and died June 26, 1899, who
tnarried Eliza A. Spencer ; Harriet Fidelia, born
March 29, 1832, died June 15, 1839; Agnes Vic
toria, born August 30, 1835, died June 26, 1839 ;
Mary J., born May 8, 1839, and in 1866 became

the wife of Dr. Orlando W. Sherwin, of Wood
stock, Vermont, her death occurring December 1,
1886. Rufus, the father of these children, died
August 16, 1866, at Reading, Vermont, and Fi
delia, his wife, died October 21, the same year,
and they are both buried in the old cemetery at
Reading Center.
Hon. Charles A. Forbush, eldest son of Hon.
Rufus and Fidelia Forbush, and their only child
now living, was born January 8, 1823, on the
old homestead in the town of Reading, Vermont.
He attended the public schools of Reading, and
later was a student in the South Woodstock
Academy, and the Unity Scientific and Military
Academy at Unity, New Hampshire, where he
became well qualified for the position of teacher
which was offered to him when he was only
seventeen years of age; he served very success
fully in that capacity for several terms, after
which he commenced the study of medicine, but
soon abandoned that idea. Subsequently he was
employed in a country store as a clerk, which
position he retained for some time, during which1
time he accumulated almost two thousand dol
lars. April 9, 1853, he located in Springfield,
Vermont, where he has since resided, and where
he engaged in the mercantile business, which'
proved very successful. After pursuing this
business for several years he was obliged to
dispose of it on account of failing health.
In 1863 he became, with Henry Barnard and'
others, one of the organizers of the First National
Bank of Springfield, and was elected one of the
directors, which position he holds at the present
time (1903). In i860 he was made a corporator
of the Springfield Savings Bank. Iri 1874 he
was made president of the Savings Bank, and
filled this position and also that of treasurer until
1880, when the state passed a law that the same
person should not hold both these offices, and he
resigned the office of president, and has held the
office of treasurer ever since to the present time
(1903). When Mr. Forbush became associated
with the bank, the deposits amounted to $260,000,.
with no surplus, but at the present time (1903)
they have on deposit $1,380,000, and the largest
per cent, of surplus of any bank in the state of"
Vermont. This remarka'ple increase is largely
due to the business ability and able management
of Air. Forbush, who is the only one of the orig-

656

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

inal incorporators of the bank. now living. He
also makes annual trips to Michigan and other
sections of the west, to look after his extensive
banking interests there.
A Republican in politics, Mr. Forbush -repre
sented the town of Springfield in the legislature
in 1864 and 1865; was appointed trustee of trie
State Reform School by Governor Paul Dilling
ham, deceased, the year it was founded; this
position he resigned to accept the position of
director in the state prison, to which he was
elected by the legislature at the same time. He
was selectman of the town during the. war, and
as such was engaged during the Rebellion in the
enlistment of soldiers from the town of Spring
field, the most of which were enlisted under his
administration. He served thirty years as a
member of the school board, of which he was
president most of the time, ahd was chairman of
the building committee at the time of. the erection
Of the new school edifice, which was conceded to
be the finest in the state. He presided at its dedi
cation, and he regards this as one of the proudest
events of his life. He also served as moderator
of the town for thirty years, having usually re
ceived unanimous elections, and his tenure of the
office was the longest on record in the history of.
the town. Air. Forbush has always held decided
views on political questions, a Republican in poli
tics, and a radical prohibitionist. , He is a member
of the Sons of the American Revolution, his
grandfather having served during 'the struggle
for independence, and his father in the war of
1812." June 25, 1859, Mr. Frobush married Elizabeth
Davis, a daughter of Daniel and Alice Davis;
she was born at Springfield, Vermont, February
26, 183 1, and graduated from the Alt. Holyoke
Female Seminary. She was a highly cultured and
educated lady, and an exemplary and devout
member of the Congregational church, and
greatly esteemed by all ; her death occurred Feb
ruary 16, 1884. Two children were born of this
union: Charles Francis, who died in infancy;
and Frank D., born March 31, 1863.
Frank D. Forbush fitted for college at St.
Johnsbury Academy, Vermont, and graduated.
from the University of Vermont in the class of
1888. He then went to Michigan, where he was
married to Aliss Florence Moore, of Grand Rap

ids, daughter of Captain Herman- Moore, for
sorrie years postmaster in that city. He there be
came connected with the furniture manufacturing
firm of Stowe, Davis & Company, and was treas
urer of the company. After some years of suc
cessful business he sold out his interest and
became associated with his father-in-law, Mr.
Herman Moore, in the Grand Rapids Packing
Company. This association was maintained until
the death of Mr. Moore, whose estate was settled
by Mr. Forbush, who then accepted a flattering;
offer from the United Fruit Company, with an
office in Detroit, Alichigan, and Toledo, Ohio,.
with which he has been connected to the present
time. Rufus O. Forbush, brother of Charles A. For
bush, was born October 7, 1824. He learned the
silversmith trade in Claremont, New, Hampshire,.
and subsequently removed to Worcester, . Massa
chusetts, where he was located for many years,.
and served as a member of the city council. Later
he removed to Springfield, where he became the
associate of his brother in the mercantile business.
After closing out their mercantile business ia
1862, Mr. Forbush became a director in the First
National Bank, and served as such twenty-three
years, and was president of the bank at the time
of his death. He was ever watchful of its in
terests, and his integrity and honor were never
questioned. -
LINDSAY Al. HAYS.
The newspaper business in Vermont has made
noticeable advancement within the past five years,.
and a striking illustration is found in the' Burling
ton Suburban list of twelve- weekly newspapers-
which are issued at Essex Junction by the Es^
sex Publishing Company, a corporation under the
laws of the state.
The nucleus of this unique newspaper under
taking was the Burlington Clipper, which has-
now had an existence of nearly thirty years.
When the present Essex Publishing Company
was organized, there were but three newspapers
on the list, but in the past five years every weekly
newspaper in Chittenden county, with ¦ a single
exception, has been absorbed by the new organi
zation, while four . others have been established-
The list is as follows : The Burlingtpn Clipper^

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

657

Shelburne Review, Hinesburg Recorder, Rich
mond Gazette, Essex Eagle, Essex Record, Jeri
cho Reporter, Underhill Enterprise, Milton Rays,
Winooski Journal, Charlotte Chronicle and Grand
Isle Star.
Lindsay Mortimer Hays, the editor and mana
ger of the list, and to whom is primarily and in
largest degree due the honor of bringing the
business of the Essex Publishing Company to
its present importance, was born in Lawrenceville,
St. Lawrence county, New York, August 22,
1862. He comes of sturdy Scotch ancestors,
whose home was in the Caledonian highlands. In
the reign of James I (1603), Aaron Hayese (in
which form the family name then appeared)
was an attendant at the court of that monarch.
His namesake and descendant, Aaron Hays, was
among those who landed at Plymouth Rock in
1635, and is said to have been one of the first to
decry the 'long-looked for land. A later de
scendant, also named Aaron, born in Connecticut
in 1758, was a Revolutionary soldier who, in his
later days, received a liberal pension in recogni
tion of his conspicuously brilliant services. He
was the first of the family name to make a home
and labor in the improvement of the region where
is now the city of Putnam, Connecticut. He was
a man of strong character and remarkable physi
cal strength, and his life covered a full century
of time. Aaron, the third son of Aaron, was born in
May, 1790, in Jay, New York. He was a miller
and built a mill which he operated successfully
for many years.
Datus L. Hays, son of Aaron and Sarah
(Barker) Hays, was born January 1, 1832, in
Wilmington, Essex county, New York. He was
educated in a country school-house which is yet
standing and is now used as a blacksmith shop.
He learned the printer's trade, and subsequently
became a shoe manufacturer. For some years
past he has been engaged as bookkeeper in the
office of the Essex Publishing Company. He
married Emily Preston, who was born in Wil
mington, Vermont, July 16, 1833, one of five chil
dren of Heman and Roxanna (Bliss) Preston.
Her father was a man of sterling character, and
a successful farmer of Wilmington. Of this
union were born two children, Lindsay Mortimer,

who is written of hereinafter, and Minnie E.
Hays. Alinnie E. Hays was born November 2, 1867,
at Stockholm, St. Lawrence county, New York.
She was educated in the public schools, completed
a grammar course and afterwards was instructor
in advanced branches of drawing in the academy
at Saranac Lake, New York: She is now princi
pal of the graded school at Mooers Forks, New
York. Lindsay Alortimer Hays was graduated from
the Lawrenceville Academy in 1878. He learned
the printer's trade, and while he was a mere boy
began the publication of a weekly in northern
New York. In 1886 he accepted a position on
the editorial staff of the Boston Globe, and was
connected with that journal during a portion of
the time in' the trying position of night city editor,
until 1898, when he voluntarily left it to engage
in the business with which he is now connected^
Liis long association with the Globe, covering a
period of twelve years, is a splendid tribute to
his ability and fidelity, for, under the stress of
modern city journalism, labor is peculiarly ar
duous, and errors in judgment and neglects,
which would be deemed slight and would be
overlooked in any other calling, there bring
prompt dismissal. So true is this that no ppsi-
tion is considered so precarious as that of a
writer on a city daily newspaper.
In 1898 Mr. Hays was solicited to locate in
Essex Junction, Vermont, and take charge of
the business of the newly organized Essex Pub
lishing Company. In the opening paragraph
of this narrative is contained mention of what the
business was then, and what it became, under the
masterly management of Mr. Hays. It has beeu
frequently stated that the day of the weekly news
paper is over, but with the Essex Publishing
Company and its more than eight thousand sub
scribers the day of twelve weeklies has but begun.
If, as is true, the day of some weeklies is over,
the career of this company affords evidence that
up-to-date weeklies is just in its infancy. All
the papers of the Burlington Suburban list are
illustrated with men and events, and the growth
of the papers, while steady, has been remarkable.
Mr. Hays, the editor and manager of the list,
young and energetic, an amply equipped practical

658

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

newspaper man, has a style of depicting things
which is peculiarly attractive, and his knowledge
of events, political, literary and general, coupled
with his instinct of discerning what is news and
how to get it, are the features which have given
to Vermont such popular weekly newspapers as
are under his control. With responsibilities and
multiplicity of tasks which few would find them
selves able to bear, Air. Hays possesses inventive
ness, industry and perseverance to such a degree'
that the profession may well wonder what new
departure he may yet make in the pursuit of his
calling as editor and newspaper manager.
Mr. Hays was married August 3, 1889, to
Aliss Frances B. Hassett, who was born in 1869,
, a daughter of David and Mary A. Hassett, of
Northfield, Vermont. Mr. arid Mrs. .Hays have
three children: Gertrude Cecil, born December
7, 1893, in Boston, Massachusetts; Frances Pres
ton, born December 24, 1895, also in Boston ; and
Lindsay Afortimer, Jr., in Essex Junction, Ver
mont, November 8, 1902.
BYRON H. LUCE.
Byron H. Luce, for many years a leading
farmer and respected citizen of Stowe, Vermont,
was one of the representatives of a very numerous
family. Zebina Luce, a sniall farmer, was the fa
ther of the following children : Sophronia ; Mar
tha P. ; Armena ; Elizabeth ; Susan E. ; Alzina A. ;
Lavina ; Zebina Allen ; Byron H., •mentioned at
length hereinafter ; Marion L. ; Imogene ; and
Daniel. By the early death of the father, which
occurred October 4, 1846, these children were,
before reaching maturity, thrown upon their own
resources. Byron H. Luce was born in 1834, and dur
ing his youth and early manhood was employed
upon farms. In 1856 he followed the advice of
Horace Greeley, and went west, to what was then
Minnesota territory. In that region, which was
at the time of his migration for the most part un
settled, he took up a claim of one hundred and
sixty acres of government land, built a shanty,
and remained three and a half years. Deciding,
at the expiration of that time, that he preferred
his former place of abode, he returned to Stowe,
after selling his farm. He was employed for a
number of years on the farm of Richard R. Waite,

a prosperous citizen of Stowe, whose daughter,
then the wife of Mr. Luce, became, upori the
death of her father, the owner of the farm. This
estate, which is situated in what is called Stowe
Hollow, is one of an excellent tier of farms ly
ing in a fertile valley one and one half miles east
of Stowe. It contains about one hundred and
forty acres, is on a southern slope, and the build
ings and all the appointments are among the very
best in town. One of its features* is a splendid
grove of about two thousand sugar maples, where
one memorable year, Mr. Luce hung three hun
dred and thirty-three buckets and made two thdu-
sa.nd seven hundred pounds. Mr. Luce at one
time kept two hundred sheep, and was subse
quently the owner of twenty cows and consider
able other stock. He was the possessor of two or
three other good farms in the neighborhood. He
was very successful in business affairs, having
worked his way by industry, perseverance and
good judgment. Although one of the most mod
est and retiring of men, his merit was recognized
and appreciated by his fellow townsmen, and for
some time he held the office of first selectman.
Mr. Luce married Stella V. Waite, and they had
two sons : Henry Waite and Dan Zebina, both of .
whom resided with their father, and ably assisted
him in the care and labors of his farms. During
the last years of his life Mr. Luce suffered from
impaired health, and his death, which occurred
June 1, 1899, was sincerely lamented as mat of a
man whose unassuming worth, practical ability
and kindness of heart had won the respect and
affection of all who knew him.
Airs. Luce is a granddaughter of Richard
Waite, a farmer of Windsor, Vermont, who re
moved with his family to Stowe, where he passed
the remainder of his life. He was a captain of
militia. He married Elizabeth Bishop, and their
children were : William A., who was three times
married, first, to Hannah Gilson, and third to
Priscilla Holden ; Ira ; John ; Rasselas ; Richard
Rv mentioned hereinafter ; Eliza, who married Dr.
D. R. Story; Benjamin Franklin, who married
Elizabeth Shaw ; Charles B., who married Emme
line S. Lovejoy; Marcus S., who married Mary
Ann Parker. The death of Richard Waite, the
father of this family, occurred- when he haid
reached the age of seventy, and his- wife died
when seventy-one years old.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

659

Richard R. Waite, son of Richard'and Eliza-
heth (Bishop) Waite, was born June 3, 1819, in
Windsor, Vermont, and about 1842 removed with
his parents and family to the town of Stowe,
where he made his home for the remainder of his
life. He was a farmer, and was honored by his
townsmen with many positions of trust, serving
on different occasions as collector of taxes, lister
and selectman, often holding, when filling the last
named office, the position of chairman of the
board. He also held for many years the re
sponsible position of president of the Lamoille
County Agricultural Society, at a time when its
affairs required the most exact financial ability
on the part of the managers. Ever since the
organization of the Grange he was an earnest and
consistent worker for the interests of the hus
bandman, and a leading member of the order.
In politics he was a Republican, until 1878, when
he, with many others, joined the Greenback or
ganization. He received the nomination of that
party for town representative, and was elected by
a large majority. He filled the office with dig
nity, and acceptably to his constituents, voting
for the Hon. A. M. Dickey, then Democratic
¦candidate for United States senator. His church
¦connections were with the Universalists.
Mr. Waite married Marcia- E., daughter of
-Cheney and Lavinia (Stowe) Lamson, of West
Windsor, Vermont, the former being the son of
Samuel, a Baptist preacher. The other children
of Mr. and Mrs. Lamson were : Cynthia, Caro
line, Laura and Almira. The following children
were born to Mr. and Mrs. Waite : Stella V.,
mentioned above as wife of Byron H. Luce ; Mar
cia Elizabeth, who married Charles B. Harris and
after his death, Edwin Slayton; Richard C, who
is engaged in the hotel business. During the
"last years of Mr. Waite's life his health declined,
and his death took place when he had nearly
-reached the age of sixty-five. He is remembered
as a man of fixed principles and the strictest in
tegrity, kind and honorable in all the relations
of life.
CHANNING B. GREENE.
Channing B. Greene, one of the prominent
¦and successful business men of Morrisville Ver
mont, was born October 10, 1865, at St. Albans,

Vermont. Lie is a grandson of Herman Greene,
who was born in Connecticut, but at an early age
settled in St. Albans, Vermont, where, up to the
time of his death, he was extensively engaged in
farming interests. Heman Greene was one of
the earliest settlers of that section of the state,
and being a man of considerable intelligence he
became a prominent factor in the affairs of the
town. He was a Mason during the anti-Masonry
times, and maintained his connection with the
order during the entire time when it suffered so
severely from persecution, and served as high
priest of the Chapter of St. Albans. He was a
zealous, faithful member and liberal contributor
of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he
was for many years a deacon. Mr. Greene's chil
dren were: Nathan, who died in California';
Horace, a resident of Milwaukee, Wisconsin ; Cy
rus H. ; Sanford : Jewell ; Sarah ; Cordelia ; Eliza
beth ; and Alay W., wife of Porter Brainard, a
prominent resident of St. Albans, Vermont.
Cyrus H. Greene, father of C. B. Greene, was
born at St. Albans, Vermont, was educated in
the public schools of the village, and after com
pleting his studies learned the trade of carpenter,
sawyer and millwright. His entire life was spent
in the town of his bjrth, where he was engaged in
the operation of a sawmill. He was a skillful
musician, playing on several instruments, includ
ing the cornet and violin, and he became quite
well known throughout the state of Vermont. He
participated as a musician in the celebrated "Tip
pecanoe and Tyler, too" campaign, in 1840, and
from that time until his death, a period of fifty-
three years, was a member of various bands, in
cluding the old St. Albans Second Brigade Band.
He served in the capacity of bugler in the First
Vermont Cavalry during the Civil war, being
for eighteen months under the command of Col
onel Holiday, and he was the first man to discover
the body of the colonel after his suicide. Mr.
Greene was a member of the A. R. Hulburt Post,
G. A. R., and in his political convictions was a
firm supporter of the policy of the Democratic
party. Mr. Greene was united in marriage to Eliza
beth Watson. Their children were: Bertha,
wife of William Hickok, of St. Albans, Vermont ;
Nellie, wife of E. P Jewell, of Dowagiac, Mich
igan ; William Henry, engaged in the carpenter

66o

THE STATE" OF VERMONT.

business in Worcester, Massachusetts ; Channing
B.; Katie Rose, wife of C. F. Rhodes, who is
engaged in the insurance business at Manchester,
New Hampshire; and Porter Greene, a pattern
maker in the employ of the Central Vermont-
Railroad. The father of these children died Jan
uary 20, 1893, at the age of sixty-three years.
His widow is living at the present time (1903),
having attained the age of severity-two years.
Channing B. Greene received an excellent ed
ucation in district school No. 5, St: Albans, Ver
mont, after which he entered the employ of the
Central Vermont Railroad. He Was engaged in
the car shops at St. Albans for a short period of
time, but later was placed in charge of the wood
work department on locomotives, where he filled
the position of assistant pattern-maker. After
spending twelve years in the employ of this com
pany, Mr. Greene removed to Morrisville, Ver
mont, and established a machine shop in part
nership with Frank H. Blanchard, conducting
business under the firm name of Blanchard &
Greene. "Some years later Mr. Greene severed his
business relations with this firm and accepted
the position of foreman in the Morrisville Foun
dry Company, and after eight years' service in
this capacity Air. Greene, in association with
Carrol A. Gyles, purchased the stock of the Mor
risville Foundry Company, and they have con
tinued to conduct the business up to the present
time (1903). Their plant is located at the cross
ing, and is equipped with all modern machinery,
they having recently added a handsome, lathe
which cost over one thousand dollars. They con
duct a general foundry and machinery business,
manufacturing, as a specialty, Swivel plows, but
ter box machinery and gasoline engines; they
also manufacture ensilage cutters ' and carriers.
They give employment to ten men, and since em
barking in the business have constructed over
forty butter box machines, and are receiving or
ders for more of the same article faster than they
are able to fill them. The success they have at
tained in the business world is due entirely to
their excellent executive ability, perseverance and
strict integrity. Mr. Green is affiliated with Mt.
Vermont Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, at
Morrisville, Vermont, of which he is a past mas
ter, and he is also high priest of Tucker Chapter,
Royal Arch Masons, and is grand pursuivant of

the grand lodge of Vermont. In his political con
victions he is a Democrat, and in his religious
views follows the tenets of the Universalist de
nomination. On October 9, 1888, Mr. Greene married
Frances Thorne, daughter of Thomas Thorne,
whose uncle, William Thorne, is the present may
or of Cape Town, South Africa. " Mrs. Greene
was born in Wales, and during her childhood
came with her parents to Canada, and thence to
St. Albans, Vermont. Their children are: Mor
ris, Chanin, Ruth and Nora Greene.
HON. ROBERT C. CRISTY.
Hon. Robert C. Cristy, of Johnson, Vermont,...
a highly respected citizen, who has frequently
been placed by his neighbors in positions of honor
and trust, is the grandson of Moses Cristy, who
was born January 29, 1763, in Windham, New
Hampshire, whence he removed to New Boston,,
in the same state, where he followed the occupa
tion' of a farmer. He was a prominent man in the
life of the town, a Federalist in politics, and saw
service in the war of 1812. He married, Novem
ber 20, 1785, Rebecca Clark, and they were the
parents of the following children: John, born
January 29, 1789, mentioned at length herein
after ; Amos, born August 28, 1790, died August
17, 1854; William Clark, born August 12, 1792;:
David, born September 2, 1794, died September
7, 1802; Robert, born January 27, 1797, died
March ti, 1797; an infant born in 1798, died at
the age of four weeks; James, born February 6,
1800 ; Elizabeth, born January 18, 1802, died'
April 24, 1835 ; Letitia, born May 18, 1804, died
September 24, 1826; Susanna, born May 26,-
1807 ; Alary, born June 18, 1809, died November
11, 1836; Nancy, born November 23, 1812, died
July 15, 1824; Aloses, born April 21, 18 14, died
iri November, 1815; and Moses (2), born Oc
tober 30, 18 1 7. The mother of this family died"
in New Boston, October 26, 1818, and some time-
later Mr. Cristy married again. This wife died
December 25, 1853. Mr. Cristy died while on his-.
way home from a visit to his son John, who was-
then living in Johnson, Vermont.
John Cristy, son of Moses and Rebecca
(Clark) Cristy, was born January 29, 1789, in
New Boston, New Hampshire, where he lived

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

66 1

until February, 1829, when he removed to the
town of Johnson, Vermont, settling on the farm
which is 'now owned by his son, Robert C. Cristy.
He was a schoolmaster for many years in New
Boston, and also in Johnson. In politics he was
a Whig, and afterward a Republican, being one
of the first seven voters in the town of Johnson.
He was a strong abolitionist, his house being one
of the station? of the underground railroad. He
was enthusiastic in the cause, and has been known
to send his sons with teams to carry negroes to
Canada. He was prominent in local affairs, and
held at different times all the town offices. He
and his wife were two of the seven charter mem
bers who organized and helped to build up the
First Congregational church, to the support
of which he was a liberal contributor. He was
twice married. By his first wife, Polly B. Dodge,
he had one child, — Ephraim D., born October 24,
1812, lived in the west and died in September,
1836. Mrs. Cristy died April 16, 1814, and Mr.
Cristy married, Alarch 11, 1818, Roxana Baker,
by whom he was the father of the following chil
dren: John B., born August 5, 1819, died De
cember 13, 1875 ; Rebecca C, born March 2,
1821, died Tanuary 19, 1824; Mary B., born Janu
ary 15, 1824, died February 25, 1902; Harriet,
born December 20, 1825, died in California Feb
ruary 27, 1902; Robert C, mentioned at length
hereinafter; Joseph W., born September 28,
1829; and Frances E., born August 3, 1831, died
Alay 29, 1852. Mrs. Cristy died July 22, 1866,
and Air. Cristy in 1878.
Robert C. Cristy, son of John C. and Roxana
( Baker ) Cristy, was born April 24, 1827, at New
Boston, New Hampshire, but is practically a life
long resident of Johnson, having been but two
years old at the time of his father's removal to
that town. His education was completed in the
Lamoille county grammar school, and at the
Bakersfield Academy. Air. Cristy's home farm
of one hundred and seventy-five acres is pleas
antly situated about two and one-half miles from
Tohnson village, and is one of the best hill farms
in the town. He has devoted himself to general
farming and has attained a handsome competence
solely from the management of his estate. Dairy
ing and the manufacture of maple sugar are the
leading resources. For fifty-five years Mr. Cristy
had the care, each winter, of thirty-five or forty

cows and horses. He has recently retired from
active labor, and his time is now chiefly occupied
in attending to his numerous financial interests.
Mr. Cristy has always participated in all
movements having for their object the advance
ment of the town and the welfare of the com
munity, and his neighbors have repeatedly testi
fied to the esteem and confidence in which they
held him. He has filled the offices of lister and
selectman, and served in the legislature during
the sessions of 1866-67-68. In 1866, in connec
tion with Edward Conant and Colonel John B.
Mead, he was influential in procuring the legis
lation for the establishment of the three normal
schools. It was during this time that the charter
for the St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain Railroad
was obtained, the project meeting with the most
determined opposition on the part of competing
lines. The town of Johnson took a very large
private subscription of stock, which was practic
ally a gift to the road. In 1884 Mr. Cristy was
state senator from Lamoille county, discharging
the duties of the office in a manner thoroughly
creditable to himself and satisfactory to his con
stituents. He is a member of Waterman Lodge,
F. & A. AL He also belongs to Tucker Chapter,
of Alorrisville. He is a liberal contributor to
the support of church work and public enterprises.
Air. Cristy married, March 27, 1856, Mehita
ble Johnson, of Winchester, Massachusetts, and
they were the parents of one son, — Charles H.,
who was educated in the Johnson Normal School
and at the People's Academy, followed civil en
gineering for a time, and is now draughtsman for
the Barney Alarble Company, of Swanton. Mrs.
Cristy died October 10, 1891, and Mr. Cristy
married, January 18, 1898, Junia L. Spaulding.
They, have one daughter, — Roxana Frances, born
February 10, 1902. In addition to the homestead
on which he resides, Mr. Cristy also owns out
lying timber lands and farms, and is the pos
sessor of a residence at Los Angeles, California.
He took a prominent part in the Clement cam
paign of 1902. He is a man of high standing in
the community, and has acted as the executor of
many estates. Joseph W. Cristy, brother of
Robert Cristy, is a merchant in Ringwood, Illi
nois. He has held various offices ; served one year
as chairman of the board of supervisors, and was
elected representative to the state legislature, but

662

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

has now retired from active political life. Mr.
Cristy married, November 30, 1854, Sarah L.
Whiting, of Johnson, and they are the parents
of two sons : Willard N. and Joseph E.
PAPHRO D. PIKE.
Paphro D. Pike, a leading inventor and manu
facturer of Stowe, Vermont, is a great-grandson
of Jonathan Pike, whose son Seth removed from
Windham, Connecticut, to Brookfield, Vermont,
later living at Sterling and finally in the town of
Morristown. He was a farmer, and a member of
the Baptist church, as were all his family. He
married Mary Flint, and the following children
were born to them : Joseph ; William ; Samuel ;
Seth B. ; James ; Eunice ; Hannah ; Lydia ; Sarah ;
and Louisa. In addition to these ten who reached
maturity, there were two who died in infancy.
Seth Pike died at the age of seventy-five years,
and his widow attained to the dignity of a cente
narian, passing away at the great age of one hun
dred years.
William Pike, son of Seth and Mary (Flint)
Pike, was born February 20, 1799, in Brook
field, Vermont, and passed his boyhood at Will
iamstown, near Randolph, Orange county. He
was a farmer and a member of the Vermont mi
litia. His politics were those of the Republican
party, and he was a firm adherent of the princi
ples of the abolitionists. His religious connec
tion was with the Baptist church. He married
Nancy, daughter of Caleb and Nancy (Eaton)
Hitchcock, the former a farmer of Westfield,
Vermont, and Air. and Mrs. Hitchcock were the
parents of the following children : Arad, Har
vey, Hiram, Ephraim, Emily, Eunice, Nancy and
Alvira. William and Nancy Pike had the
following children : Lucy, Paphro D. and Lydia
Emily. ATr. Pike died in January, 1874, at the
age of seventy-five, and the death of his widow
took place October 31, 1884, when she was sev
enty-six years old.
Paphro D. Pike, son of William and Nancy
(Hitchcock) Pike, was born December 1, 1835,
in Morristown, Vermont, and received his educa
tion in the district schools of his native place,
and at Johnson Academy, He was for a time a
school teacher in Stow^e, and, having a natural
aptitude for mechanical pursuits, began to work

in mills before coming of age. In the course of
time he became the owner and operator of a sawr
mill, which he abandoned not long after the out
break of the Civil war. August 9, 1862, he en
listed, at Stowe, in Company D, Eleventh Regi
ment, Vermont Infantry, Colonel A. F. Walker
commanding. The regiment was sent to Wash
ington to assist in the defense of the capital, dur
ing which time it was made a heavy artillery reg
iment. Air. Pike remained with the organiza
tion during its entire period of service, includ
ing the last grand advance on Richmond. He
was constantly at his post, with the exception of
two months spent in the hospital, and was hon
orably discharged in July, 1865. After his return
to civil life he was variously engaged as carpenter
and millwright, and in 1871 commenced the man
ufacture of butter tubs.
In this new line of- business he continued for
fourteen years, and at the end of that time sold
his establishment and went to Brooklyn, New
York, where he was employed in the Hatters'
Fur Cutting Company. After four years he re
turned -to Stowe, and again purchased his old
mill, where, with improved machinery, the firm
of Pike & Son are now engaged in the manufac
ture of butter tubs, round boxes and veneer pack
ages, making use of several important mechanical
appliances of the trade, invented and patented by
Mr. Pike himself. Among these may be men
tioned three of the most important : An appli
ance for cutting hoops, one for cutting, fitting
and riveting the five-pound butter boxes, and,
most important of all, a machine for cutting ve
neer packages from steamed logs, at the same time-
imparting a finish to them. The packages, hold
ing one pound each of butter, are cut, perfect in-
shape and dimensions, from the log, at the al
most incredible speed of three hundred per min
ute. The firm has thus far manufactured about
seventy thousand tubs per year, but is now reduc
ing the number, and devoting more exclusive at
tention to the five-pound round packages, of
which a quarter of a million were sold last year,
and to the veneer packages. Pike & Son em
ploy from fifteen to twenty men, a majority of
them heads of families, and residing in town.
The business of the firm is constantly increasing,
and its success promises much for the future
prosperity of Stowe. Politically Mr. Pike is a

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

663

Republican, and, although in consequence of the
urgent and various demands of his private affairs
he has found little time for official life, his fellow
citizens testified to their confidence in him by
electing him, in 1880, to the legislature, where he
served on the committee on manufactures, and a
member of the senate in 1900, serving on the
committees, temperance, military affairs, general
commerce and manufacture. In religious . belief
he is a Universalist.
Mr. Pike married, in i860, Abigail, daughter
of Luke J. and Eunice (Camp) Towne, and they
have three sons : Arba A. is associated with his
father in business, and is also a member of the
firm of Pike & Benson, who conduct a general
store at Stowe. He married Carrie Edgerton,
and they had one child, Harry E. After the death
of his wife. Air. Pike married Anna Culver, and
three children were born to them : Marion, .
Muriel and Beatrice. Lewis A. is a salesman,
and resides at Stowe. He married Emma Slay-
ton, and they have one child, Margaret. Fred
AI. is an electrician, married Sarah Rublee, and
resides at Alansfield, Ohio.
ISAAC L. PEARL.
Among the prominent business men of John
son, Vermont, may be mentioned the name of
Isaac L. Pearl, a member of the firm of I. L.
Pearl & Company. He was born in Milton, Ver
mont, November 17, 1832, the son of Zimri Allen
and Eliza (Blake) Pearl. Zimri Allen Pearl also
claimed the town of Alilton, Vermont, as his
birthplace, having been born there June 1, 1807.
He attended the district school, where he obtained
a practical education, and early in life became in
terested in the operation of sawmills in Milton,
where he conducted an extensive business for
many years. He then removed to West Milton
and for two years successfully conducted a wool
en mill, after which he located at Milton Falls
and continued the same line of industry up to
the time of his decease. His trade was largely
custom work for the farmers. In politics Mr.
Pearl was a Whig, and was chosen by his fellow
citizens to serve in various local offices; in re
ligion he was a member of the Methodist Epis
copal church, in the affairs of which he always

took an active part. He was united in marriage
to Eliza Blake, and three children were born to
them : Phoebe ; Rebecca, widow of George Haw
ley, a former resident of Johnson, who served in
the Civil war and died in the service of his coun
try at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and they had .one
son, Pearl Hawley, who resides in the west;
Isaac L. Pearl. The father of these children
died March 11, 1852; his widow passed away
January 8, 1872, in the sixty-third year of her
age. Isaac L. Pearl, youngest child of Zimri A. and
Eliza Pearl, pursued the customary educational
course at the public schools and Milton Academy, '
after which he commenced his business career by
entering the Winooski woolen mills, where he be
came thoroughly familiar with every detail of
the business. He then entered the establishment
of Alessrs. S. & D. M. Dow in Johnson, Ver
mont, and, after the death of the latter named,
purchased a half interest in the factory, where,
in partnership with Stephen Dow, he continued
in business for eight years. After the expiration
of this period of time Mr. Dow severed his con
nection with the firm, but after a few years again
renewed his interest in the business. In April,
1 871, the mill was totally destroyed by fire, but
was immediately rebuilt, and since that date the
firm of I. L. Pearl & Company have enjoyed the
success and prosperity which are invariably the
sequence of good management, honest principles
and strict integrity in all business transactions.
Air. Pearl is a director of the Lamoille County
National Bank of Hyde Park, and for a number
of years has served in the capacity of secretary
and president of the board of trustees of the
Johnson State Normal School.
In his political convictions Mr. Pearl is a Re
publican, was elected judge of probate of La
moille county in 1870, was county commissioner
for four years and for a quarter of a century
served as auditor ; he was appointed chairman of
the board of trustees at the organization of the
village of Johnson ; served as school director for
a number of years, trustee of the public money,
and was chosen to represent the town of Johnson
in the state legislature of 1888, serving as chair
man of the manufacturing committee in that
body. Mr. Pearl is a member of Waterman
Lodge No. 83, F. & A. AL, of Johnson, having

664

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

filled the chair of worshipful master four times;
he is also a member of the Baptist church.
On March ii, 1858, Mr. Pearl married Hat
tie N. Tracev, daughter of Sylvester N. and Car
oline (Green) Tracey. Their children were : Jed
A., who is associated with his father in business,
married Hattie E. Elkins,,and they are the par
ents of two children, Leonard Isaac and Lloyd
Mason Pearl; Jed A. Pearl is a Republican in
politics, served as selectman four years, first se
lectman for three years, was town representative
in the session of 1902 and served as chairman of
the manufacturing committee, and at the pres
ent time (1903) is chairman of the village trus
tees; he is master of Waterman Lodge No. 83,
F. & A. M., and an earnest member of the Bap
tist church. Flora Alice acquired her education
¦ at the Johnson Normal School, and is now serv
ing her sixth year as teacher in New Bedford,
Massachusetts. Morton Isaac died in 1871, at
the age of four years. Lizzie Hattie obtained her
education at the Johnson Normal School, and
subsequently became the wife of Dr. George
Goodwin, a practicing physician at Johnson, Ver
mont.
EDWARD LYMAN.
Edward Lyman, late of Burlington, Vermont,
for many years a leading business man and highly
respected citizen of that place, was in the seventh
generation from Richard Lyman, who was born
in High Onger, Essex county, England, in 1580.
Born in the stirring times of that great queen
whose reign marks one of the most important
epochs in English history, and passing his early
manhood amid the religious: and political agita
tions which characterized the reigns of her imme
diate successors, Richard Lyman was one of
those who, for various reasons, sought a home in
the new world, whither he emigrated in the sum
mer of 163 1, and became one of the proprietors
and a leading citizen of Hartford, Connecticut.
Job Lyman, the sixth in descent from Rich
ard, was born in Northampton, Alassachusetts,
December 9, 178,1, and was graduated from Dart
mouth College in 1804. He was admitted to the
bar of Windsor county in 1808, and settled, for
the practice of his profession, at Woodstock, Ver
mont, where he became identified with a num

ber of iriiportant public interests, among which ;
was the Woodstock branch of the old Vermont
State Bank, of which he was cashier throughout
its whole existence, and he also served for many
years as president of the Woodstock Bank. Mr.
Lyman was for a long period court auditor of
Windsor county, and also a member of the gov
ernor's council. In 1850 he relinquished all busi
ness pursuits and came to Burlington, Vermont,
where he died September 10, 1870, at the ad
vanced age. of ninety years. He left behind him
an enviable reputation as a man of substantial
character, public spirit and blameless life. Air.
Lyman married, in January, 181 1, Alary Parrot
Hall, of Westminster, Vermont, a daughter of
Hon. Lot Llall, of that town. Lot Hall was a
representative to the state legislature for four ses
sions, a presidential elector in 1792, a member
of the council of censors in 1799, arid a judge of
the supreme court of Vermont from 1794 to 1801.
In 1786 he married Alary Homer, of Boston.
Edward Lyman, the seventh in descent from
Richard, the founder, was the son of Job and
Mary Parrot (Hall). Lyman, and was born Jan
uary 21, 1826, at Woodstock, Vermont. He was
educated in the schools of that town, and at the
widely known Kimball Union Academy of Meri
den, New Hampshire. Mr- Lyman began his
business career as clerk in a dry-goods store in
Woodstock. In 1848 he came to Burlington and
became the junior partner of the firm of E. & E.
Lyman. • After a lapse of three years he pur
chased his partner's interest in the business, of
which he remained sole proprietor until August,
1868, when he formed a partnership with Her
man W. Allen under the firm name of Lyman &
Allen. , The new firm sustained and furthered
the enviable reputation of the house for the high
est integrity and the most unquestioned credit.
In 1855, when the institution now knowri as the
Merchants' National Bank was chartered, Mr.
Lyman was chosen one of its directors, and re
mained in that position without interruption for
a long period, being also elected to the offices
of president and vice president respectively. He
resigned the presidency of the bank in January,
1885, but retained his directorship, until his
death. In politics Mr. Lyman was an ardent Repub
lican, but never would accept public office. He

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

665

and his family were attendants at the College.
street Congregational church. Air. Lyman's whole
record testifies to the fact that, to the unyielding
strength of moral principle which he inherited
from his ancestors, he added the qualities which
soften the stern outlines of the Puritan charac
ter, and also a spirit of charity which widens
the influence of the Puritan faith.
Mr. Lyman married, October 25, 1853,
Alinerva B., daughter of the late George Lyman.
of White River Junction, Vermont. Their union
was blessed by two children, of whom the first,
Mary Louise, born in 1857, died Alarch 14,
1862, at the age of five years. The second daugh
ter, Minnie Elizabeth, is the wife of Hon. Robert
Roberts, of Burlington. By the death of Mr.
Lyman, which occurred Alay 23, 1890, Burling
ton lost one of its best and most respected citi
zens, a man of the highest integrity and most
winning personal qualities.
COLONEL GEORGE FARNHAM LELAND.
Colonel George Farnham Leland, a prominent
man of affairs of Springfield, Vermont, belongs
to an ancient family of English origin, which first
appears in history in the person of John Leland,
who was born about 15 12, in London, England,
and flourished in the reign of King Henry the
Eighth as a celebrated scholar and writer. The
-coat of arms of the Leland family is thus de
scribed: Gules a saltier argent, charged with
three pallets azure, on chief or crest, with a crow,
rising transfixed with an arrow. The motto:
Cui debeo, fidus.
Henry Leland ( 1 ) , the founder of the Amer
ican branch of the family, was born in 1625, in
London, England, and came to America in 1652.
He died in 1680, in Sherburne, Massachusetts.
Ebenezer Leland (2), son of Henry Leland, was
horn, lived and died in Sherburne. He was the
father of ten children. Janus Leland (3), son of
Ebenezer Leland, was born in 1687, in Sherburne,
and was the owner of large tracts of land. In
the latter part of his life he removed to Ontario
county, New York. His family consisted of
eleven 'children, and his death occurred at Graf
ton Alassachusetts, in 1768. Phineas Leland
(4) son of Janus Leland, was born at Grafton,
in 1730 He followed the occupation of a farmer,

and died at his birthplace in 1773. Caleb Leland
(5), son of Phineas Leland, was born in 1765,
at Grafton, Alassachusetts, and married Lapin
Willard. Their children were: Nancy, Otis,
Joshua, Alaria, Caleb, Lapin, Joseph W., Hannah
R., Charles and James A. Caleb Leland died in
1843, m Baltimore, Vermont, at the age of sev
enty-eight. Joshua Leland (6), son of Caleb and
Lapin (Willard) Leland, was born in 1794, and
followed the occupation of a farmer at Baltimore,
Vermont. He was a Republican in politics, and
was elected to the Vermont legislature. He mar
ried Betsey Boynton, and was the father of the
following named children: Oscar H., born in
1826, is now in Texas ; Marcella D., born in 1830,
is in Springfield ; and Charles A. Charles A. Le
land (7), son of Joshua and Betsey (Boynton)
Leland, was born November 15, 1832, in Balti
more, Windsor county, Vermont, and in early life
resided at his birthplace, but for the last twenty-
five years has made his home at Springfield. Un
til twenty years ago he was engaged in farming,
but since then has devoted himself, with his son,
to mercantile pursuits. He is a Republican in pol
itics, and has served as selectman and held other
local minor offices. In 1866 he represented the
town of Baltimore in the state legislature. He
married Susan Farnham. He attends the Uni
versalist church.
George Farnham Leland (8), son of Charles
A. and Susan (Farnham) Leland, was born Jan
uary 25, 1858, in Baltimore, Windsor county,
Vermont, and was educated in the Springfield
public schools. At the age of seventeen he be
came a clerk in his father's store, where he re
mained two years. At the end of that time, his
father having sold his business to the Hon. F. G.
Field, of North Springfield, the son remained
with the latter as a clerk for four years. He was
then employed for one year by W. H. H. Putnam
in the hardware business, and in April, 1882, in
company with his father, bought the large mer
cantile business of the firm of Cobb & Derby, of
Springfield, the establishment being thenceforth
known as that of C. A. Leland & Son. They oc
cupy a large and commodious building, consist
ing of three stories and a basement, fifty by fifty
feet, comprising two stores combined. They deal
in general merchandise, and have conducted their
business on the principle of a farmers' exchange,

666

THE STATE OF VERMONT,

thus giving general satisfaction to the community
in which they reside. By this method they have
been enabled to greatly increase their stock, and
their country trade is now larger than that of any
other establishment in the vicinity.
Colonal Leland is a Republican, and has been
interested in politics since before casting his first
vote, at the age of twenty-one. He has been a
delegate to the various conventions of his party
and a local leader for many years, having takeh
a prominent part in campaign organization work
before arriving at the legal age. Lie has held
many town offices, having been school commis
sioner for the village of Springfield for two years,
school director under the town system for six
years, and town auditor at three different times.
In 1900 and 1901 he was justice of the peace,
He has served six -terms as president of the vil
lage, being elected the last time in 1902, and is
filling that office at the present time. In 1892
he represented the town of Springfield in the
state legislature, serving as chairman of the com
mittee on rules and as clerk of the grand list
committee. In 1900 he was elected to the senate
from Windsor county, officiating as chairman of
the joint committee of game and fisheries, banks
and education and claims. He has served as
vice president of the Republican League of the
state of Vermont, as president of the local Re
publican Club, and as chairman of the Windsor
coimty Republican committee. He was appointed
by Governor AlcCullough in 1902 as aide de camp
on his staff, with the rank of colonel. Colonel
Leland is. past rriaster of St. John's Lodge, No.
41, F. & A. AL, and in Royal Arch Masonry has
held the . highest office in Skitchewaug Chapter
No. 25, of Springfield and Ludlow. He is also
a member of the Springfield Council, Holy Cross
Commandery, No. 12, Bellows Falls, in which he
holds the office of generalissimo. He is ex-grand
senior deacon of the grand lodge of the state of
Vermont, and a past district deputy of the first
Masonic district, including Windsor county. He
has taken all the degrees of the Masonic bodies,
including the thirty-second, and is a member of
the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In addi
tion to his other business enterprises, he was one
of the incorporators of the Springfield Savings
Bank. Colonel Leland married, November 8, 1881,

Nellie A., daughter of Edson X. and Mary (Bar
rett) Pierce, of North Springfield. They are
the parents of two children : Arthur F., born Aug
ust 28, 1886; and Mary A.,*born June 2, 1891.
Mrs. Leland is interested in the work of the
King's Daughters and also the Eastern Star, F.
& A. M. She is past grand officer of the Eastern
Star, of which her husband is also a mernber,
and both were patron and matron of the lodges-
in Springfield.
JAMES NATHANIEL JENNE, M. D.
Dr. James N.. Jenne, an eminent physician-
and surgeon of St. Albans; Vermont, was born in
Berkshire, Franklin county, Vermont, December
21, 1859, a son of John Gilbert and Charlotte;
(Wordworth) Jenne. Dr. Jenne received his-
preparatory education in the Enosburg Falls-
graded schools, after which he entered the medi
cal department of the University of Vermont>-
from which institution he was graduated in 1881..
He commenced the active practice of his pro
fession in Georgia, remaining, there until 1887,.
when he removed to St. Albans, and soon built
up a large consulting practice; here he remained
until February 1, 1903, when he. removed to Bur
lington. He is a general practitioner," but devotes;-
much of his tiriie and attention to surgery, in
which branch of the profession he is very skillful
and successful, also' in the application of the
X-rays. He took a post-graduate, course from the
Post Graduate School in New York city, and ob
tained a diploma' from there in 1890. Dr. Jenne,
in 1888, became a member of the First Infantry
Regiment, Vermont National Guard, and was
promoted to the rank of lieutenant and assistant
surgeon, which was subsequently followed by his-
advancement to the position of captain, major
and finally to general. He w'as appointed sur
geon general on the staff of Governor Woodbury,
and re-appointed on the staff of Governor Grout
in 1898 ; was later appointed by the senate and
president of the United States as major and sur
geon of the volunteer service in the Spanish-
American war. During his service he com
manded the Second Division of the Third Army
Corps, and subsequently became acting inspector
in, the Third Army Corps on the staff of Genera!
Wade and General Breckenridge. From April:

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

667-.

to September, 1898, Dr. Jenne was located at
Chickamauga, after which he was ordered to
Fortress Monroe- to act as surgeon in the Josiah
Simpson Hospital. While performing his duties
there he was taken ill, and was obliged to return
home on sick leave, and after his recovery he
resigned from the service of the United States
army. In 1890 Dr. Jenne was chosen a member of
the board of consulting surgeons of the Mary
Fletcher Hospital, to which position he was elect
ed annually till 1895 ; in 1892 he was invited to
fill the chair of adjunct professor of materia
medica in the medical department of the Unitver-
sity of Vermont, and a year later was appointed
professor. Dr. Jenne is a member of the Frank
lin County Society, the Clinical Society of New
York, the American Medical Association, and the
Vermont State Medical Society, of which he was
elected president in 1.890. Previous to this date
he was a member of its board of censors, and
he has served as delegate on several occasions
to the societies of other states, and to the Ameri
can Medical Association. He is also a member of
the Order of Foreign Wars, being general officer
at one period, and a member of the state camp
of Spanish War Veterans. . Fraternally he is a
member of the Masonic order, being affiliated
with Franklin Lodge, Champlain Chapter and
Lafayette Commandery, and a prominent mem
ber of the Ancient Order of Foresters of Ameri
ca. In September, 1883, Dr. Jenne was united in
marriage to Abbie Cushman, daughter of Hiram
and Miranda (Gilmore) Cushman.
SAMUEL. KEYES.
The subject of this sketch was born in Pow
nal, Vermont, January 28, 1812, being the young
est child of Seth Keyes, from Hartford, Con
necticut, and Esther (Morgan) Keyes, daughter
of Joseph Alorgan, of Pownal, Vermont, who
served his country seven years, or all through the
Revolutionary war, and took an active part in
the battle of Bennington August 16. 1777, 'and
.was one of the guard over the prisoners, after
the battle, in. the old meeting house ori the hill.
Seth Keyes died in November, 1 818, leaving
five children, viz : Hiram, born in 1798 ; Anna,
bom in 1799; Joseph, born in 1 801 ; Horatio,

born in 1803 ; and Samuel, born in 1812. Samuel?
was therefore nearly seven years of age, and,.
being thus deprived of a father's care, his early
years were burdened with heavy responsibilities,
and self-reliance was an early heritage, develop
ing an intense personality which, added to In
tegrity of character, gained him the confidence
of all who knew him. His untiring industry
and perseverance gave him a thorough and prac
tical knowledge of building in stone and brick,
and he became a contractor and master builder
at the, age of twenty-two years, and for about
sixty years, had the management of large forces-
of workmen. His work was done well, as one

of his patrons said, "There was character in every
brick he laid." Among his buildings are many
in this town. The Hunt mill, Cambell mill,.
Putnam House, court house, postoffice and many
others ; in Williamstown, Alassachusetts, the two-
East Colleges, Jackson Hall and The Chapel;.
the Blackinton mills at Blackinton, Massachu-

•668

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

setts ; in North Adams, Alassachusetts, the Bray
ton mills, Arnold's print works, Union factory,
Blackinton block on Holden street, and many
others; in Adams, Massachusetts; the Jenks
paper mills; the Brown paper mills, the Collins
block and many others in Greenfield and various
-other places.
He was justice of the peace for more than
forty years, although his party was not the dom
inant orie, and was at various times a selectman,
Village trustee, street commissioner, postmaster,
-etc., and was always true to every trust. He
labored for the right as he saw it. Care for oth
ers was a very marked characteristic, and if he
could do .a^favor to anyone whom he thought in
need, he 'was sure to do it regardless of the
inconvenience to- himself. And many a poor
troubled heart could say, •'"His kindness has
softened my life's rough way." ' „
Coming;- home from Adams, Massachusetts,
one day in 1889, he remarked, "I saved a man's
life to-day." Being asked how,' he said, "As
I was going to the depot I heard a man cry,
'Help!' and, looking around, saw a man in the
pond unable to get out. I ran for a pole and
reached it to him, and helped him' out. By that
time others came up, and offered to attend to
him, and I came, on home, but if I had not been
there, the others would have been too late." He
•did not even stop to learn the man's name. He
was very fond , of reading aloud at home, and
sonie of the first books owned by him such as
""The Life /of Washington," "Life of William
"Wallace" and "Ariierican Preceptor/' he kept all
his life.. He was a" strong, well built man, six
feet and two inches; tall, with dark hair and blue
•eyes. The picture- given here was taken when
he was about sixty-eight years of age.
He was married in 1835 to Susan, the eldest
daughter of Dr. Thomas Bannister, of Pownal,
Vermont, formerly of Brookfield, Massachusetts.
She was also of patriotic ancestry, as her father,
grandfather and uncles fought with the other
Massachusetts men in the Continental army. Her
father was also an intimate friend and brother-
in-law of General Benjamin Lincoln (1733-1810),
of Hingham, Massachusetts, of Revolutionary
fame. Mr. Keyes Was strong and unwavering in his
attachments for his home and family, and

thought nothing too good for them. He died in
his ninetieth year at his home, August 30, 190 1.
His wife died the following January 31, 1902.
They were laid to rest in Bennington's historic
ground, at the Center. They left three sons and
three daughters : Albert, Delia A., Celestia S.,
Catherine E., Samuel J. and Andrew S.
"Let the lifeless body rest ;
He is gone who was its guest;
Gone as travelers haste to leave
An inn, nor tarry until eve.
Traveler in what realms afar,
Iri what planet, in what star,
In what vast aerial space
Shines the light upon thy face?
In what gardens of delight
Rest thy weary feet to-night?"
"On the ruins of the past
Blooms the perfect flower at last."
HON, HENRY F. WILCOX.
The Wilcox family of North Thetford, Ver
mont, of which the Hon. Henry F. Wilcox is a
representative member, are the owners of a home-,
stead that ranks among the best of the succession
of fine farms along the Connectiaut river below
North Thetford. It is historic ground, as Aaron
Wilcox, grandfather of Henry F. Wilcox, who
came to this vicinity from Suffield, Connecticut,
about the year 1800, found the remains of an
old fort not far from the site of the present
house. Aaron Wilcox was born in 1785 in Suffield,
Connecticut, and for fifty years was engaged in
agricultural pursuits in the town of North Thet
ford, Vermont, whifrier he removed when nine
teen years of age. He was a man of marked
energy and force of character, and was drafted
in the war of 181 2, but sent a substitute. He
was united in marriage to Teney M. Hosford,
daughter of Joseph Hosford, a pioneer settler
of the town, and the following named children
were born to them: Cornelia, who died in 1901,
at the age of ninety years ; Merrick F., unmarried,
died at the age of sixty years; Harriet, wife of
Asa B. Closson, a farmer of Hanover, New
Hampshire, and their children were Charles H.
and William B. Closson; Abner B. ; Cynthia

THE STATE OE VERMONT.

669

Adelia, unmarried •. Maty P., deceased; Fannie
A- ; Eliza H., deceased ; and Martha Almeda, wife
of Joseph Porter, of Lyme, New Hampshire. Mr.
Wilcox died September 6, 1879, aged ninety-five
years; his widow died in 1865, at the age of
seVenty-six years.
.Abner B. Wilcox, father of Henry F. Wil
cox, was born in Thetford, Vermont; June 12,
1816, was a painter by trade, but for many
years was successfully engaged in breeding and
selling standard fine wool sheep. He was the
owner of a flock of from one hundred to one
hundred and fifty sheep, and his average clip
from one hundred and fifty sheep has been twelve
pounds from each, and he has disposed of his
sheep as high as one hundred dollars each. This
remarkable result was accomplished by the most
careful attention to details, judicious breeding and
liberal feed. He was of a musical turn of mind
and was a member of a band of musicians at
Thetford; in his religious views he was a mem
ber of the First Congregational church, and in
his political sentiment was affiliated with the Re
publican party. He married Martha A. Wad
leigh, daughter of Benjamin, Wadleigh, who was
engaged in farming pursuits in the town of
Lyme, New Hampshire/ Their children were:
Henry F. ; Hattie, wife of Joseph Resseguie, and
they are the parents of two children, Henry Wil
cox and Joseph Abner Resseguie, and resides
in Everett, Washington ; Julia A., a twin of Hat
tie, died in infancy. Mr. Wilcox died March 3,
1890, aged seventy-six years, four months, and
he was survived by his widow, who is liying at
the present time (1903), having attained her
eightieth year.
Henry F. Wilcox was born December 9, 1851,
at Thetford, Vermont, and was a student in the
Thetford Academy. From early youth he as
sisted his father in the cultivation of his land
and the management of his flocks, and has re
mained on the old homestead from his birth up
to the present time ( 1903) . He makes a specialty
of dairying, keeping a large number of excellent
cows, and in connection with this industry he
deals extensively in grain and feed, also handles
produce, shipping to the Boston markets. Mr.
Wilcox represents the Vermont State Mutual In
surance Company in the town of Thetford, Ver-.
mont, and has the handling of about nine-tenths

of all the insurance business in the vicinity. He
is essentially a business man, being absorbed in the
management of his varied and extensive inter
ests, but he is also a careful observer of public
affairs, and enjoys a wide acquaintance through
out the state. He has been chosen to serve as
a delegate to various conventions, was elected
to fill the offices of justice of the peace, select
man, and senator in 1902, arid in the latter named
capacity served on the committee of finance, gen
eral committee, and the joint committee on im
migration. He is a prominent member of the
Morning Star Grange of Lyme, New Hamp
shire. On Alarch 24, 1891, Mr. Wilcpx married
Abbie E. Skinner, a daughter of Cyrus Skinner,
and granddaughter of Captain Cyrus Skinner,
who was a noted droyer in the early days, and
resided at Lyme, New Hampshire. Their chil--
dren are Charles Abner and Rose C. Wilcox.
CHARLES HERBERT SLOCUM.
Charles H. Slocum, vice president of the War
ren Leather Company at Morristown, Vermont,.
was born in that town December 14, 1849, the
son of Orson and Ardelia P. (Hall) Slocum..
Apollos Slocum, great-grandfather of Charles-
H. Slocum, came to the United States from Eng
land with his parents and located in Massachu
setts, where they became prominent arid influen
tial citizens and acquired a large amount of prop
erty. Apollos Slocum removed to Bethel, Ver-
mant, and later to Eden, where he resided up to
the time of his death. In his younger years he
was a dealer and speculator in horses and cat
tle, but later devoted his trine and attention to
« agricultural pursuits, which yielded him good
financial returns. In personal appearance he was.
five feet eleven inches in stature, and of rugged
build, which was characteristic of the early pio
neer. He was a zealous Christian and a member
of the Baptist church. He was twice married,
was the father of eighteen children, twelve of
whom attained to years of maturity and reared
families. Among his; children were: Nelson,
Alanson, Rebecca, Mary, Airs. Burnett and Pellis
Slocum. Nelson Slocum, grandfather of Charles H.
Slocum, was born in May, 1796, in Massachu-

•6;°

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

.setts, later accompanied his parents to Bethel,
Vermont, and subsequently to Eden, where he
resided for a number of years. He followed the
vocation of farming in Morristown, a village
near Morrisville, where he cleared a farm and
made improvements on the road from Morris
ville to Stowe, his death occurring in the latter
named town. He served in the capacity of cap
tain in the Vermont militia, and in his political
affiliations was forrfierly a Democrat and a
-staunch abolitionist, being one of the first three
men in the town to vote the abolitionist ticket.
Later he became affiliated with the Republican
party and served in various offices, among them
being selectman and overseer of the poor. Like
his father, he was five feet eleven inches in
height, and at the age of sixty years weighed
two hundred and forty pounds. Mr. Slocum
married Lovicia Goodell, and the following named
•children were born to them: (i) Joseph, born
Christmas day, 1822, married Elizabeth Reserve,
and resided in Boston. Their children were
Lewis, Clara and Alma. (2) Alary, born Alay
16, 1824, becarne the wife, of Benjamin WOod,
who in 184O went to San Francisco, engaged in
the real estate business and became wealthy. (3)
-Orson was the father of Charles H. (4) San-
-ford, born January 15, 1830, in Morristown,
where he has resided the greater part of his life,
is engaged in farming and' speculating in prop
erty. He is independent in politics, has been a
AlasOn for forty years, and is a member of
' Mt. Vernon Lodge. He married for his. first
wife Rosenza Danforth, and their children are:
Mary, wife of Abner Austin, a traveling sales
man, having no children living; and Margaret,
who died at the age of six years. Sanford Slo-
cum's first wife died in 1866, and he married for
his second wife, October 11, 1877, Mrs. Betsy
E. Ball, nee Hersey. (5) Calista is the wife of
Jared Pollard, a miner of California, both of
whom are now deceased. They were the parents
•of two sons and a daughter, Ida, now deceased.
(6) One daughter became the wife of Samuel
¦Clifford and they had one child, Blanche Clif
ford. Mrs. Clifford married for her second hus
band a Mr. Hamilton, who is engaged in the
fruit business in California. (7) Lucy Maria
is the wife of Captain J. Lewis, a lawyer and
prominent business" man of Hannibal, Alissouri.

The father of these children died January 22,
1861, aged sixty-five years, and his wife, passed
away May 28, 1889/ at the age of eighty-nine
years. Orson Slocum, father of Charles H. Slocum,
was born in June, 1827, was reared on a farm and
educated in the district school. Having the taste
and inclination for agricultural pursuits, upon
reaching young manhood he purchased a farm in
the town of Morristown, Vermont, which he cul
tivated to a high state of perfection. He was a
man of over average size, and possessed a rugged
constitution, but nevertheless died of typhoid.
fever when only twenty-eight years old. He
was united in marriage to Adelia P. Hall, and
Charles Herbert was their only child. His widow
subsequently married Clark Boynton, and they
reside on the farm in Morristown; they have two
children, namely : Frederick and Albert Boynton.
Charles H. Slocum attended the People's
Academy, where he acquired a practical educa
tion and completed his studies at the age of nine
teen years.' He then began the study of law with
Mr. C. J. Lewis at Alorrisville, and later placed
himself under the competent preceptorship of
Powers & Gleed, attorneys at law, and was ad
mitted to the bar at Hyde Park, Vermont, in
1870. Subsequently he went west, located in
Kansas for three years, and afterwards in Col
orado, where he alternated the pursuits of cow
boy, ranchman and miner, spending altogether
about thirteen years in the west. In 1883 he re
turned to Morristown, and for fifteen years en
gaged in general merchandise in connection with
other business enterprises, being associated with
H. C. Fisk in the loan business and later in the
produce trade up to the year 1890. He then
entered into partnership with C. C. Warren and
H. C. Fisk in the Warren Leather Company, of
which he has been vice president ever since. They
have a. large plant covering, about two acres of
ground, employ between fifty and sixty people,
and are conducting annually two hundred thou
sand dollars' worth of business in the manufac
ture of harness leather; they have an extensive
and lucrative patronage which extends through
out the country. In addition to the onerous duties
which devolve upon him in the management of
this business, Air. Slocum acts in the capacity of
a director in the Union Savings Bank & Trust

THE 'STATE OF VERMONT.

671

Company. Politically Mr. Slocum is a Republi
can, and fraternally is a member of Mt. Vernon
Lodge, Free and Accepted Alasons.
Mr. Slocum was united in marriage to Louise
M. Moody, daughter of Gilman A. Aloody, of
Stowe, Vermont. Their children are Helen Mar-
gurite and Ruth Louise Slocum. The family
are members of the Universalist church of Mor
risville, Vermont.
JAMES HARTNESS.
James Hartness, manufacturer of Springfield,
Vermont, is a descendant of Thomas and Mar
garet Hartness, natives of Scotland. They were
Covenanters, and on account of religious perse
cution were driven from their own country and
settled in the north of Ireland. They had three
:sons: John, born in 1774; and James and Will-
:iam, of whose birth we have no record. There
three brothers came to this country and settled
in Albany, New York. John, the first to emi-
, grate, began business in the chandler trade, and,
-after the arrival of his brothers, James became
his partner.
John Hartness, great-grandfather of James
Hartness, was born in County Monahan, Ireland,
in 1774, and on September 17, 1804, married
Marie Ladue, born September 29, 1785 in Dutch
ess, county, New York, a daughter of Peter and
' Polly Ladue, descendants of French Huguenots
driven to this country by persecutions in France.
Peter Ladue died about 1812, and his wife in
18.18. James Hartness, grandfather of James Hart
ness, was born September 20, 1807, in Albany,
New York. On September 2, 1829, he was mar
ried in the Third Presbyterian church in Albany,
New. York, by the Rev. William H. Williams,
to Anne E. Farnham, who was born on Staten
Island, April 8, 1809, a daughter of Lewis and
Elizabeth (Albright) Farnham. Lewis Farn
ham was born Alarch 18, 1782, in Connecticut,
,ahd died November 26, 1842, in Albany; he was
a grandson of General Starkweather, who was'
born in Scotland, but later removed to Connecti
cut, where he died. Elizabeth Albright was born
.March 10, 1788, in • Bethlehem, Albany county,
and. married Lewis P'arnham in, March, 1807.

James Hartness died Alay 8, 1889, and his wife
died May 2.1, 1845.
John William Hartness, father of James
Hartness, was born at Albany, New York, July
31, 1830, where he resided until seventeen years
of age, and later located at Cleveland, Ohio,
where he remained from 1863 to 1893, being em
ployed as foreman and superintendent of a ma
chine shop. Finally he settled in Springfield,
Vermont, where he has since resided, enjoying
a well earned rest from the active duties of busi
ness life. On July 3, 1852, Mr. Hartness mar
ried Ursilla Jackson, at Schenectady, New York ;
she was born in that city, June 16, 1834. The
following named childreri were born to them:
John A., born at Cohoes, New York, November
26, 1853, married, May 12, 1880, Clara Kelley,
who died January 24, 1889 and he then mar
ried, August 16, 1893, Minine B. Harpster; Mor
gan Germond, born at Schenectady, New York,
May 2, 1859, died at Cleveland, Ohio, October 28,
1865; James, born September 3, 1861 ; Robert
Benton, born November 7, 1863, married Lulu
Caley Whitehead July 15, 1885; and Leonard
Stanton, born in Cleveland, Ohio, November 29,
1869, died at Detroit, Michigan, August 9, 1871.
All the members of the family that are deceased
were interred in Lake. View cemetery, Cleveland,,
Ohio. The mother of these children died Octo
ber 14, 1891. She was a daughter of Robert
Jackson, born in Yorkshire, England, about 1790;
he was a graduate of Oxford College at York
Minster, later taught school at Egton and Egton
Bridge, and finally was engaged as teacher in a
ladies' seminary at Manchester, England. He
came to the United States in the early twenties,
bringing with him his wife, Elizabeth Smith,
born in 1792, in Listingham Kirby, Aloorside,
Yorkshire, England ; she was a graduate of York
Minster. Mr. Jackson died in 1870, and his
wife died in March, 1844, at Schenectady, New
York, her remains being interred in' the St.
George Episcopal churchyard at that place.
James Hartness, son of John W. and Ursilla
f Jackson) Hartness, Was born in Schenectady,
New York, September 3, 1861. He was educated
in the grammar schools of Cleveland, Ohio, in
which city he was reared; at the age of sixteen
years he entered a machine shop in Cleveland,
-where he learned the trade of machinist Five

672

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

years later Air. Llartness came east and was em
ployed as a foreman for a bolt-maker at Winsted,
Connecticut, and later removed to Torrington,
Connecticut, . where he filled a similar position.
In 1885, at Winsted, Connecticut, Mr". Llartness
married Aliss Lena Sanford Pond, and their chil
dren are Anna Jackson, born January 7, 1889, and
Helen Edith, born May 19, 1890. Lena Sanford
Pond, daughter of Fredrick L. and Anna C.
(Holt) Pond, was born at Winsted, Connecticut,
August 28, 1865. *
In February, 1889, Mr. Hartness settled in
Springfield, Vermont, where he entered the em
ploy of the Jones & Lamson Machine Company
in the capacity of superintendent. In the mean
time he had made several inventions, on which
he . was receiving royalties, and later he ex
changed some patent rights for a one-third inter
est in the company, of which he was manager and
was later appointed president. The Jones &
Lamson Machine Company is one of the most
important and prosperous manufacturing enter
prises in the state; in 18.88 the business was re
moved from Windsor to Springfield, and they
then occupied a main building forty by eighty
feet, with an addition of two stories twenty by
forty feet, and gave employment to seventy-eight
men. They enlarged from time to time as the
growing necessities of their business demanded
until now they occupy buildings having a floor
space of 82,000 square feet, of which 39,000 is
fire-proof construction, being composed of brick,
steel and cement almost wholly. These buildings
are equipped with most efficient machinery, giv
ing them a large output in proportion to the hands
employed, which at present number two hundred
and fifty. The .business is rapidly growing and
is the chief employment in the enterprising vil
lage of Springfield. Although they continue to
operate under the style of the Jones &. LamsOn
Machine Company, the name has no significance
as to the ownership, the business being under the
control of Air. Hartness as president and Mr.
Wolson as treasurer. They manufacture the
Hartness Flat Turret Lathe, being the only ma
chine tool builders in the world that make but
one machine and that in only one size; this is
protected by twenty-one Hartness patents, and
others are pending. This lathe is exclusively man-
factured and sold not only in America by his

company, but they have tlieir own office at Bir
mingham, England, and also well organized
agencies all over the continent of Europe. Since
his connection with the company, Mr. Hartness
has been giving much attention to his inventions
and other kindred machines to protect the pat
ents on the machine which they manufacture ; in
all he has taken out about fifty American patents
and many foreign paterits to secure such pro^
tection. These machines received the gold medal-
at Paris in 1900, and a silver medal was also
issued to the inventor, both awards being the
highest attainable for a single exhibit; they also
received an award from the Columbian Exhibi
tion in J 893 for superior design.
CHARLES D. WARREN. .
Charles D. Warren, a well known merchant
and a prominent citizen of Willistpri, was born in
this town, August 6, 1855, a son of the late
Charles E. Warren. He comes of substantial
New England stock,: his paternal, grandfather,
Stephen Warren, Jr., and his great-grandfather,
Stephen Warren, Sr., having been of Connecti
cut birth. The latter, who was born August
16, 1 74 1, reared the following named children:
Stephen, Jr., born October 3, 1768; Sarah, born
August 12, 1770; Henry, born June 23, 1772;
Almonson, born June 22, 1774;- Clarence, borri
March 9,-1776; Thankful, born January 13,,
1778; Seth, born March 10, 1780.
Stephen Warren, Jr., was numbered among
the pioneers of Williston, coming here from Con
necticut at an early period of its settlement.
Subsequently removing to Fairfax, Vermont, he
resided there until his death. Eight' children
were born to him, namely : Abigail, born. De
cember 25, 1789; Charity, born Alay 13, 1791 ;
Lucy B., born December 31, 1793 ; Stephen, bom
in 1798: Clarissa, John, Theodore and Charles E.
Charles E. Warren, born June 7, 1810, fol
lowed the trade of a carpenter and joirier for
several years, after which he worked for awhile
in the paper mills at Essex; On leaving the mills
he purchased a farm in Williston, where he en
gaged in agricultural pursuits until his death,
July 30, 1888. Politically he was a stanch sup
porter of the principles of the Republican party.
On January 1, 1839, he married Rosetta Baldwin,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

673

who was born December 23, 181 1, and died Feb
ruary 10, 1895 She was a daughter of Eber
and Rachel (Brundage) Baldwin. Of her union
with Charles E. Warren three children were
born, namely : Isabel T., who was born Sep
tember 26, 1839, married George Wing, of Fer
risburg, Vermont, and died March 3, 1902 ;
Birney E., born October 5, 1844, now a farmer
on the old homestead, married Lucy Slade, by
whom he has four children, Rosella, Nettie, Guy
and Bessie; and Charles D., the special subject
of this sketch.
Charles D. Warren was educated in the public
schools of Williston, but, as he was a poor boy on
a farm, from the first he had to make his own
opportunities, and all the subsequent record of
his life is evidence of what may be accomplished
by one consumed with ambition and energy. He
devoted himself to his books and then earned
money by teaching in the country schools to aid
him in the acquirement of further education,
thus pushing his own way until he had secured
the advantages of the higher institutions. He at
tended the Essex Classical Academy, and alto
gether taught school twelve terms. He then
turned his attention to farming, and, although he
had no experience, he was not to be unsuccess
ful, and he made money at it, but he was soon
led into other fields. In 1885, a stranger to
mercantile pursuits, he purchased the store of
Henry Joslyn in Williston, and his eighteen years
as a leading merchant of the town shows how
well he has attended to his affairs.
Mr. Warren is a man. of most cordial dis
position, has excellent judgment in business mat
ters, which is often taken advantage of by the
less experienced, and his interest in public affairs
is shown by his official record. He was post
master under the administraton of President Har
rison, and also under Presidents McKinley and
Roosevelt. This indicates his political prefer
ences, and as a representative of this party he
has served efficientlv as town clerk since 1886,
and as town treasurer since 1887. In 1896 he
was elected to the state legislature, in which he
was a member of the general committee. For
many years he has been a delegate to the county
conventions, and he is now serving in his fourth
year as school director. Fraternally he is one of
the leading Freemasons of this part of the state,
" 43

belonging to North Star Lodge No. 12, F. &
A. M., of which he is senior warden; to Water
bury Chapter No. 24, R. A. M. ; to Waterbury
Council, R. & S. M. ; to Burlington Commandery,
K. T. ; and to Mount Sinai Temple of the Alystic
Shrine. He is a member of the Ethan Allen Club
of Burlington. On February 4, 1886, Air. Warren was mar
ried to Miss Josephine Patterson, daughter of
James Patterson, of Shelburne, and they have
two daughters, Sylvia A. and Mildred. Such is
a brief portrayal of the career of one of Willis-
ton's leading and model citizens, a really self-
made man, who has relied on himself in the
struggle of life, and is certainly deserving of the;
high esteem of those who know him.
SAMUEL AL GLEASON.
Samuel Mills Gleason, of Thetford, Vermont,
known throughout the state as an accomplished
lawyer, and who has rendered highly useful serv
ice to the community and the commonwealth in
various responsible positions, is a descendant of
an old New England family first known in Alassa
chusetts, in which colony, at Sudbury, was born
Samuel Gleason, paternal grandfather of Samuel
M. Gleason. Samuel Gleason removed to Nor
wich, Vermont, with his wife and four children.
He was regarded as one of the wealthiest men of
his day and region, his possessions including
large tracts of splendid pine lands and numerous
sawmills. By his marriage with Azubia Wright,
he became the father of the following named chil
dren : Sewell, who was for some years engaged in
a mercantile business ; Richard Mills, who is fur
ther referred to below ; Catherine, who became
the wife of Isaac Hovey, a merchant, who re
sided at Craftsbury, whence he removed to Will-
iamsville, where he died, leaving children, Nancy,
Elizabeth and Sewell Alills ; and Louise, who be
came the second wife of Isaac Hovey, and to
whom was born a child, Charles. Richard Mills
Gleason, second son of Samuel Gleason, was born
in Winchester, New Hampshire, in March, 1798,
and received his education in the Norwich Uni
versity during the days of its greatest efficiency.
He was associated with his father in his large
lumber business, and afterwards engaged in vari
ous useful and profitable enterprises. He con-

674

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ducted a considerable mercantile business, and for
more than fifteen years of this time he served
also as postmaster, for many years as selectman,
and also as justice of the peace. He was, as well,
a captain of militia. He was a Republican in
politics, and was. affiliated with the Masonic
brotherhood. He married Harriet Aloxley, and
their children were: (i) Elizabeth, who became
the wife of William Duncan, commander of a
lake steamer plying the St. Lawrence river frOm
Alontreal, where was his home; their children
were Hattie and Browning. (2) Arabella, who
became the wife of Stillman Dana, who was post
master at Portage, Wisconsin, whence he removed
to St. Paul, Minnesota ; their children were Kate,
Sue, May and Charles. (3) Samuel Mills is
the third. (4) Harriet N.' lives in Thetford, un
married. (5) Edgar W. died in December, 1858,
at the age of nineteen years, while a student in
Dartmouth College. (6) Addie became the wife
of the Rev. D. E. Aliller, of Alaine, who is now
preaching in a church at Brunswick, Maine.
Samuel Mills Gleason, third child and eldest
son of Richard and Harriet (Aloxley) Gleason,
was born in Thetford, June 28, 1833. He was
there fitted for college by Hiram Orcutt, and was
graduated from Dartmouth College in 1858. He
studied for his profession, that of the law, under
the preceptorship of Cornelius W. Clarke, of
Chelsea, and was admitted to the bar in 1861.
He at once entered upon practice at Thetford
Center, and has been actively employed to the
present time in conducting some of the most im
portant litigation known in the legal annals of
the state. He was associated with Judge John
W. Rowell in the conduct of the celebrated Me-
lendy case against the town of Bradford, in which
he made the argument, and afterwards fought
the case through various courts to the supreme
tribunal, during a period of ten years, finally ob
taining for his client a verdict for the full amount
claimed, eleven thousand dollars, together with
costs. This was one of the most important cases
ever brought in Orange county. In the long con
tested chancery case, Bicknell and Pollard vs.
Vermont Copper Alining Company, involving a
claimed sum of five hundred thousand dollars,
he was associated with Mr. Rowell again, and
he argued the case for an entire day before the
general term of the supreme court, and received

the congratulations of Chief Justice Pierpont for
his masterly presentation. As a sequel to this
cause celebre, he was appointed receiver of all
the immense mining and other property in contro
versy, amounting in value to more than a million
dollars, and this trust he discharged with the
strictest integrity. Aside from his large personal
practice, Mr. Gleason has at various times filled
positions allied with his profession. He served
as state's attorney in 1864-65, and again in 1868-
69, and successfully conducted many criminal
cases of much importance, and on one occasion
was specially appointed to conduct for the state
the case brought against Julius Fox on an indict
ment for uxoricide, the trial of which occupied
seventeen days. Pie had for opposing counsel, at
different times, some of the most eminent lawyers
at the bar, among them being Hon. D. C. Denni-
son, Orrin Gamble, former Governor Roswell
Farnham and former Judge Poland. Air. Gleason,
it is conceded by his colleagues and by the bench,
is one among the ablest lawyers in the state —
well versed in law, of that judicial temperament
which enables him to view all sides of a ques
tion and protect his case against whatever attack,
a calm, dispassionate utterance which leaves
nothing of statement to be misunderstood, and
an ability to present an argument logically and
forcefully. A fine tribute to his worth and ability
is found in the circumstances which have attended
his election to the probate judgeship for the dis
trict of Bradford, in Orange county. First elected
to the position by a large majority in 1886, his
conduct of the office was so highly approved by
the people that he was re-elected without opposi
tion, and he has been returned to his seat at each
succeeding election to the present time.
In 1864 and 1865 Judge Gleason was elected
to the legislature, and he was chosen to the senate
in 1880. His services in those bodies were
marked by signal ability and strict integrity, and
he left his mark upon the legislation of those
periods by his earnest advocacy of all salutary
measures, and by his effort to compel economical
administration of public business. In 1880 Gov
ernor Farnham appointed him to the position of
chairman of the board of railroad commissioners,
and he discharged the duties devolving upon him
with such sagacity that he commanded the ap
proval of the people and of the best railroad

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

6/5

men at the same time. His usefulness in his
community has been marked throughout his life.
He has been called to various local affices, in
cluding that of town clerk, which he held for
several years. He has long been a trustee of the
Thetford Academy, and of the State Normal
School at Randolph. He was formerly a director
¦of and the attorney for the West Fairlee Savings
Bank, and since 1893 has been a trustee of the
Bradford Savings Bank and Trust Company.
Judge Gleason was married Alay 19, 1862, to
Miss Sarah Lysenbee, a daughter of Dr. Enoch
Hilton and Arvilla Smith (Brown) Pilsbury, of
Hubbardston, Alassachusetts.
HON. HENRY C. FISKE.
The Hon. Henry C. Fiske, of Alorrisville,
Vermont, is a representative of a very ancient
family, as is proved by records which show that
in 1208, during the reign of King John, Daniel
Fisc (as the name was then spelled), of Laxfield,
Suffolk, England, received a grant of land from
the Duke of Lorraine. In the same county, Lord
Symond Fiske, a grandson of Daniel, was lord of
the manor of Stanaugh, parish of Laxfield.
The American branch of the family is de
scended through the following line: William,
Simon, Simon, Robert, William, John, William
and Deacon William. The last named came to
Massachusetts before 1645, and settled at Wen
ham, subsequently removing to Chelmsford. He
was, it is presumed, the ancestor of all the New
England families of the name of Fiske. He was
a weaver and became a large landowner. The
executor of his will, and piincipal heir of his
estate, was his sixth son, Deacon Ebenezer, who
was born at Wenham, Massachusetts, and was
a substantial farmer, frequently honored by his
townsmen by election to various offices. He mar
ried Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob Fuller, of Sa
lem, among whose posterity was the celebrated
Margaret Fuller. Of their children, Ebenezer,
feornln Wenham, received a grant of land in Shel
burne, and became one of the first settlers of the
town, which was incorporated in 1768, and of
which he was elected the first constable. He mar
ried Dorcas Tyler, an aunt of President John
Tyler and of 'their children, Aloses, born Sep
tember 13 1764, at Shelburne, Massachusetts,

settled at Waitsfield, Vermont where he and his
wife became original members of the Congrega
tional church, in which for forty-five years Mr.
Fiske held the office of deacon. He married Han
nah Batcheldor, and was the father of twelve
children, Mrs. Fiske died at Waitsfield in 1854.
Moses Fiske, son of Aloses and Hannah
(Batcheldor) Fiske, was born July 25, 1794, at
Waitsfield, and subsequently removed to Water
ville, where he became a prominent merchant.
He was active in public affairs, and stood high
in the esteem of his fellow townsmen, who re
peatedly honored him with offices of trust and
responsibility. He was justice of the peace, and
for twenty-five years held the office of town clerk.
He was elected judge, for eight years represented
his town in the legislature, and was one of the
first senators of Lamoille county. In accordance
with the traditons of his family, he was a deacon
of the Congregational church. During the latter
years of his life he resided in Alorrisville, where
he engaged in business. He married Alaxy John
son, and their family consisted of the following
children : Cornelia Ann Parmelee, who married
the Hon. Thomas Gleed; James Llarvey, born in
1830, died in 1855 ; Anna Alary, who was born
in 1832. A'loses Fiske married, in 185 1, Re
becca, sister of Whitman G. Ferrin, of Alont
pelier. By this marriage he had one child, Henry
C. Aloses Fiske died February 18, 1853.
Henry C. Fiske, son of Moses and Rebecca
(Ferrin) . Fiske, was born in 1852, in Alorris
ville, Vermont, and received his higher education
at the People's and Peacham Academies., In 1867
and 1868 he served as a page of the senate, and
in 1869 was the executive clerk of Governor P.
T. Washburn. Introduced thus early into the
arena of public life, Mr. Fiske very soon proved
his fitness for the sphere in which he was placed.
He was for two years connected with the United
States patent office as acting examiner of inter
ferences. This onerous and extremely responsi
ble position, the duties of which are of a purely
judicial character, was filled by Air. Fiske in a
manner entirely satisfactory to the government
and creditable to himself. In 1877, at the earnest
solicitation of his wife's parents, he tendered his
resignation, and returned to Alorrisville,- where
he soon formed a law partnership with his half-
brother, the Hon. George W. Hendee, under the

676

THE STATE OF VERMONT,

firm name of Hendee & Fiske. In addition to
his professional duties he has important business
interests, chief among which is his connection
with the Warren Leather Company of Alorris
ville, an organization extensively engaged in the
manufacture of harness leather, employing sixty
people, and doing an annual business of over two
hundred thousand dollars. Of this company Mr.
Fiske is a director and treasurer. He takes an
active part in local affairs, having served as a
member of the school board and also of the ex
amining board. In 1889 he was appointed by
President Harrison consul at St. John's, a posi
tion in which he again made manifest his apti
tude for mingling in public affairs, and which
he resigned after more than four years' service.
The political life of Air. Fiske has been ' a
very active one, and he has been many times
honored with offices in the gift of his fellow citi
zens. For four years he was register of pro
bate for the district of Lamoille, and for many
years a member of the first district congressional
committee. In 1886 he represented Morristown,
serving on the judiciary committee and the com
mittee on state and court expenses. For six
years he held the appointment of trustee of the
Vermont Reform School, serving for four years
as chairman of the board; In 1888 he was elected
senator for Lamoille county, and during his term
of office was a member of the committee on edu
cation and also of the judiciary committee. Mr.
Fiske maintains his ancestral connection with the
Congregational church, iri which he serves as a
member of the prudential committee.
Mr. Fiske married, in 1876, Isabelle M.,
daughter of Russell S., and sister of ex-Governor
C. S. Page. Their family consists of five chil
dren: Mary M., Lillian E., Carroll P., Henry C,
Jr., and Hazel. Their home op Jersey Lleights
is the center of a circle representing the best
elements in the social life of the place.
HENRY G. DARLING.
Henry George Darling, deceased, of Burke,
Vermont, was a native of the state and a descend
ant of old and honored New England ancestors.
The earliest of the name known in America was
an Englishman, a sea captain, who came between
1640 and 1665 and settled in Kingston, New

Hampshire. He was the father of five- daughters'
and three sons. From him descended Lieuten
ant John Darling, born in Salisbury, Alassachu
setts, in 1714. He married, about 1739, Han
nah Morse, who bore him six sons and three
daughters. Of this family was .Peter Darling,.
born in 1752, who married Rebecca Burbank,.
and to them were born seven sons and two daugh
ters. One of the sons, Major Ebenezer Darling,.
born in Hopkinton, New Hampshire, in 1787,.
served in the war of 1812, and was major in the
militia. He was one of the first settlers in Burke,.
Vermont. He married Abigail, daughter, of Es
quire Timothy Fisher, whose son, Captain Timo
thy Fisher, was a prominent citizen of Burke.-
All the children of Major Ebenezer and Abigail.
(Fisher) Darling were born in the village named,.
and they were: Henry G., Charles B., Alfred
B., Caroline M., Lucius A.., Pamelia and Scott
E. Darling. Of the three daughters, only one
married — Abigail, who became the wife of John
Evans. Probably the most widely known of Major-
Darling's children was Alfred, who gained a
wide circle of acquaintance throughout the coun
try by his ,long connection with the Fifth Avenue
Hotel in New York city. Born in Burke, Ver
mont, in 1821, he was reared ou a farm, and
educated in the common schools. When he came
of age, he found employment in the Revere
House, Boston, and as steward he made its cuisine
world-renowned. In 1852 he became a partner
in the management of the Battle House, at Mo
bile, Alabama, at its opening. In 1857 he became
identified with the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New
York city, associated with Paran Stevens and Mr.
Hitchcock. The building was but partially
erected, and work had been stopped, the parties
interested deeming the location too far up-town,.
but he encouraged his^ partners to a perseverance
which was successful. Prior to the Civil war,
the hotel was the favorite stopping place of
wealthy southerners. Mr. Darling gave particu
lar attention to the cuisine, and was the manager
for thirty-seven years. He was also known as
orie of the solid citizens of the metropolis, being
a director in various banks, an early member of
the Union League Club, and prominently con
nected with many public. enterprises. He was an.'
active official member of the Chester Hill Land

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

677

Company, and, with Charles Carey, was the po
tential factor in the beautiful Chester Hill resi
dential section of Mount Vernon, New York.
Some months before his death, he sustained a
serious shock by being thrown from his car
riage, while driving near his country home at
Ramsey's, New Jersey, and his advanced age
precluded his recovery. He died September 6, ¦
1896, and his widow passed away February 28,
1903. Henry George Darling, , eldest son of Major
Ebenezer and Abigail (Fisher) Darling, was
born in Burke, Vermont, August 15. 1816. He
obtained an excellent common school education,
and was for several terms a successful teacher
in the district schools in his town. About 1840
he entered the forest at the foot of Burke Aloun
tain, where, almost unaided, he cleared off a tract
of land and made a farm. He was also a carpen
ter, a thorough and excellent workman, and dur
ing the winter season he built sleighs and wagons,
deriving from this employment a sum which went
far toward paying for the necessary labor on the
farm during the crop and harvest season. In
1854 Mr. Darling removed to a farm in Sutton,
hut while there his health became impaired as a
result of too severe labor, and in 1866 he removed
to East Burke. It was largely due to his ad
vice that his eldest son, Elmer A. Darling, in
1883, purchased what is now known as Mountain
View Farm, which has ever since been the fam
ily home. Mr. Darling was married June 15, 1845, to
Mehitabel Whitcomb, of Lyndon. Four chil
dren were born of this marriage: Elmer A., of
New York city; Scott E., who died in. 1885; A.
Louise, who remained with her parents and gave
-them faithful and loving care during their de
clining years ; and Lucius. A., superintendent of
Mountain View Farm, whose residence is ad
jacent to the home mansion. While the develop
ment and active management of this large prop
erty has been under the control of his children,
Lucius and Louise, nothing of importance was
ever done without the wise counsel of their fa
ther. His physical infirmities for many years
prevented his mingling in the affairs of men, so
his home to which he was always strongly de
voted, was his greatest source of happiness. One
of the keenest pleasures afforded one in conversa

tion with Mr. Darling was his surprising mem
ory for the details of events and dates, that
served him up to the very day of his death. His
firmness, his keen sense of right and wrong, his
gentleness and inherent refinement of character
commanded the respect of all.- It is said of him
that through his long years of illness he was neveij
once heard to complain, always philosophically
looking upon it as being for some good purpose,
even though unseen and unknown. During his
boyhood he had become a church member, and
throughout his life maintained a simple, constant
and faithful belief and trust in the truths of its
doctrine. In politics he was a Republican. Mf.
Darling died Septernber 5, 1902, at Mountain
View Farm, the beautiful estate in East Burke
that belonged to his son Elmer A. Darling. Air.
Darling was the last of a large family, reaching
the ripe old age of eighty-six years and twenty-
one days. In his death the last of his generation
has passed away. He is interred in Woodmont
cemetery, in East Burke, under the shadow of
that grand old mountain that he loved through
his long life.
Elmer Albert Darling, eldest child of Henry
G. and Mehitabel (Whitcomb) Darling, was born
iri East Burke, Vermont, April 22, 1848. He was
educated as an architect in the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology. In 1872 he was taken
into the employ of the Fifth Avenue Hotel in
New York city, with which he has ever since
been connected, since 1890 having been a mem
ber .of the firm having its management, , Hitch
cock, Darling &. Company. He is owner of the
lage Mountain View Farm, in East Burke, Ver
mont. He is a member pf the Union League
Club of New York city, trustee of the New York
Polyclinic Medical School and Hospital, and for
ten years past has been president of the American
Jersey Cattle Club. In politics he is a Republi
can. He is unmarried.
CHARLES M. DARLING.
Charles Melvin Darling, one of the most en
terprising and successful stock breeders of Ver
mont, with large real estate and stock interests
there and in the west a'nd south, is a native of
the state, born in Lyndon Corner, August 20,
1856, son of Dr. Charles B. and Susan (Melvin)
Darling.

678

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Charles B. Darling was born in Burke, Ver
mont, where he obtained an excellent common
school education. He studied medicine at Wood
stock, and graduated in the spring of 1844, and
at once entered upon the practice of his profes
sion in Lyndon.. Aleantime his attention had
been directed to'the teachings of Hahnemann,
which he investigated with great thoroughness,
with the result that he became convinced of their
worth, and, three years after he had been ac
tively engaged in his profession, he embraced
homeopathy, and eventually became a prom
inent leader of that school, and was known as
a most successful practitioner until his death,
which occurred June io, i860, a fortnight be
fore his forty-second birthday. He was a man
of beautiful Christian character, and a devoted
member of the Alethodist church. He was of
benevolent disposition, and was in the broadest
sense a friend to the poor and distressed. His
wife was Susan Melvin, of Wheelock, Vermont,
Who died the year after the loss of her husband.
Two of their children reside in Lyndonville, Ver
mont, Jennie, who is the wife of Harley E. Fol-
som, and Charles M. Darling.
Charles M. Darling, son of Dr. Charles B.
Darling, received a liberal and comprehensive
education. After attending, in turn, the pub
lic schools in Auburndale, Massachusetts, and
Lyndon Center, Vermont, he was for two years
a student in the scientific department of Dart
mouth College, and he subsequently took a course
in Ralston University, Washington, D. C. He
went to the west, where he was engaged iri the
stock business for twenty-one years, until 1898,
and during this period acquired considerable
wealth and became known as one of the most
sagacious and successful operators in the cattle
region, his transactions extending oyer. Nebras
ka, Colorado and Texas. His last western resi
dence before returning east was in Denver, Col
orado, near ' which city is situated his splendid
Living Springs ranch of three thousand acres,
which he rents, and other valuable and product
ive tracts. In Colorado lie is owner of a large
tract at Fort Alorgan, which was a rich alfalfa
farm, a considerable portion of which he disposed
of for building sites during the oil excitement.
His Texas property conprises a large ranch,
upon which he fed ten to fifteen hundred head of

cattle and a hundred head of horses. The ac
cumulation of his large properties was due to
no freak of fortune, but was the result of industry
and peculiar aptitude for the business.
In 1898 Mr. Darling returned to his native
state, taking up his residence in Lyndonville.
His means would enable him to live in luxurious
ease, but idleness was foreign to his nature, and
he applied himself to business with his old-time
enthusiasm and perseverance. His interest cen
ters principally in the improvement of his elegant
home place, and the care of his horses, of an
unusually superior strain, and which are famed
throughout the, state. Heading his stud is the
famous Red Elm 18004, with a record of 2:16%,
and which has attracted the admiring attention
of gentlemen drivers of the residential section of
New York city. This splendid animal is inbred
to George Wilkes, the greatest progenitor of
trotters, and has in his veins the blood of the
sire of Goldsmith Alaid, of the founders of the
Clay and Alambrino families, and many other
of the most notable" American strains, and was
sired by Red Wilkes, dam Flaxy by Bourbon
Wilkes, and second dam by Clark Chief. Of
the same strain is that Lou Dillon, which re
cently made the world's record of 2:00.
Mr. Darling also deal's extensively in real es
tate in Lyndonville and Barton, besides taking
a general and intelligent interest in community
affairs, and is prominent as a Mason and Odd
Fellow. While in Colorado he was married to
Miss Alice Elizabeth Lowe, of Fort Morgan. A
few month after this marriage, in the year 1898,
he moved to Lyndonville, Vermont. Two chil
dren were born from this marriage, Charles AleJ-
vin Darling, Jr., born August 10, 1899,.. and
Carolin Susan Darling, born September 10, 1900.
ORANGE A. BALDWIN.
Orange A. Baldwin, one of the prosperous
and progressive farmers of tlie Green Alountain
state, has so ably conducted his business interests
that success has crowned his efforts and given
him a place among the substantial citizens of his
community. He was born in the city of Hub-
bardton, Vermont, on the 9th of December, 1843,
and was named in honor of his paternal grand
father, Orange Baldwin, who was a native of

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

679

Scotland. The latter came to America in an early
day, and was numbered among the early pioneers
of New Haven, Vermont, where he spent many
years of his life engaged in mercantile pursuits.
On retiring from the active cares of a business
life he removed to New Haven, where his death
occurred at the age of eighty years. By his
wife, Eliza, he had a family of eight children,
but only one of the number is now living, Daniel,
and the mother was called into eternal rest when
she had reached the age of eighty years.
Horace Baldwin, the father of him whose
name introduces this review, was a native of New
Haven, Vermont, and the days of his boyhood
and youth were spent in that city and Hydsburg.
Being a millwright by trade, he followed that oc
cupation at various places, and also conducted an
extensive grist mill, his last days being spent in
the city of New Haven, where he passed away in
death at the age of ninety-three years. For his
wife he chose Sarah Heath, and she, too, was a
native of the Green Alountain state, her birth
occurring at Middlebury. Of the eight children
born to this worthy couple, only four still survive,
as follows : Orange A., the subject of this sketch ;
Nancy, who became the wife of C. C. Chaffee:
Edgar, a resident of Waitsfield, this state; and
Lucius, who makes his home in Huntington, Ver
mont. The loving wife and mother entered into
eternal rest at the age of sixty-five, dying in the
faith of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which
she was long a worthy and consistent member.
The parents were widely and favorably known,
and by their many estimable characteristics won
the respect and confidence of all with whom they
came in contact.
Orange A. Baldwin is indebted to the public
school system of this state for the educational
privileges which he enjoyed in his youth, and
throughout the period of his minority his time
was also given to the work of the home farm.
When the tocsin of war sounded throughout the
land he, then a youth of sixteen years, entered
the service of his country, entering the First Cav
alry Corps, in which he was subsequently pro
moted to the position of commissary sergeant.
He participated in many of the principal engage
ments of the war, among which may be men
tioned both engagements at Bull Run, Galesburg,
and \ntietain, and during his career as a soldier

he was wounded in the head. After his return
from the army Air. Baldwin again took up the
quiet pursuits of the farm, in which he was en
gaged until December, 1889, when he was made
the deputy sheriff of the county, and continued to
fill that important office for the twelve succeeding
years, discharging every duty devolving upon him
during that iong period in the most commendable
manner. Since the year 1897 he has resided on
his present fine farm, which consists of six hun
dred and seventy-five acres, and on this place
he has a dairy of one hundred and thirteen cows,
one of the largest in this section. To carry on
the work of this farm it requires the services of
six men. Air. Baldwin also owns a tract of
seventy-five acres near Monkton and three tene
ment houses, and he is also the manager and
chairman of the board of directors of a creamery,
which is doing a very extensive business. Mr.
Baldwin does the buying and selling for this
concern, and in a great measure it owes its pres
ent popularity to his efficient management.
In the year 1866 occurred the marriage of our
subject and Miss Harriet Alason, the lady being
a native of Hydsburg and a daughter of Samuel
Mason, a farmer of that place. This union was
blessed with four children, three now living:
Cora, who married Daniel Weller, and has two
children, Lydia and Orange O. ; Win O., a well
known insurance agent of Burlington, and he
married Kate Boardman ; and Carrie, who mar
ried George Skiff, and has one child, Lucy. When
but thirty-eight years of age the wife and mother
was called to the home beyond, and for his second
wife Mr. Baldwin chose Sarah Small, but this
union was also separated by the hand of death,
for in 1898, at Hydsburg, the loving wife entered
into eternal rest. Mr. Baldwin vras a third time
married, Aliss May Day becoming his wife. She
was born in Monkton, Vermont.
In political matters Air. Baldwin is a stal
wart supporter of the Republican principles, and
for a period of five years served as selectman of
Hydsburg. In his fraternal relations he is a
member of Patrick Lodge No. 33, F. & A. M.,
in which he has reached the thirty-second degree,
and he is also a member of Cummings Post, G.
A. R., in which he served as the commander
for three years." His religious connections are with
the Methodist Episcopal church at Hydsburg, in

68o

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

which he has served as a steward for many years,
and the cause of Christianity has always found in
him a stalwart advocate. Lie has ever taken an
active interest in the progress and development of
his locality, ever lending his aid to promote all
-measures for the public good, and he has many
terms served as a delegate to county and state
¦conventions. A man of strong purpose and un
tiring energy, he has won for himself a place
¦among the prominent citizens of his county and
-a reputation of high worth among, those with
whom he is associated.
COLONEL RANSOM E. HATHORN.
Colonel Ransom E. Ha thorn, a leading busi
ness man of Ludlow, Vermont, belongs- to an
¦old New England family. In the mother coun
try the name was spelled Hawthorne, and this
orthography has been retained by some of the
family on this side of the Atlantic, notably in
that branch in which the patronymic has been
rendered famous by the author of "The Scarlet
Letter." John Hathorn, the emigrant ancestor, son of
William Hathorn, was born in Binfield, Berk
shire, England, about 1615, and in 1635 came
to America, in the ship Transport. In Salem he
joined his brother William, a member of the
legislature, captain of the first regular troops .in
Salem and an active participant in the Indian
campaign and the whipping of witches; he also
served in the capacity of magistrate. William
Hathorn had been in the country five years, hav
ing come over with Governor "Winthrop, June
T2, 1630. John Hathorn remained in Salem until
1650, when he removed to Lynn, Massachusetts.,
He was a farmer. The name of his wife is not
stated, but it is known that he had a family of
eight children. His death occurred in Lynn,
February 10, 1677.
Ebenezer Hathorn, son of John Hathorn, was
horn in March, 1656, presumably in Lynn, Mas
sachusetts, and married Esther Wilt.
Ebenezer Hathorn, son of Ebenezer and Esther
(Wilt) Hathorn, married, October 11, 1730,
Keziah Collins, and was the father of four sons :
Ebenezer, Collins, Elias and Eleazer, all of whom
settled in Jaffrey, New Hampshire*
Eleazer Hathorn, son of Ebenezer and Keziah

(Collins) Hathorn, was born September 28
1763. He was a farmer, and before removing
to Jaffrey, New Hampshire, resided at Andover,
Massachusetts. His children were: Eleazer,
Ebenezer, Silas, Nathan, Josiah and Maria; the
last named was a resident of Janesville, Wiscon
sin. The father of these children died in Decem
ber, 1826.
Eleazer Hathorn, son of Eleazer Hathorn,
Was born in 1814, at Jaffrey, New Hampshire, re
moved to Andover, Vermont, and later to Lon
donderry, where for the remainder of his life
he followed the business of a harness-maker. He
married Lydia Foster, and they reared a family
of three children: Ransom E., mentioned at
length hereinafter; Susan, who became the wife
of Lorenzo Shaftner, of Londonderry, Vermont,
and her death occurred there in 1867; and J.
Henry, a resident of Londonderry, Vermont.
The death of Mr. Hathorn took place at the age
of sixty-four. Ransom E. Hathorn, son of Eleazer and Lydia
(Foster) Hathorn, was born November 3, 1843.
in Londonderry, Vermont, and was educated in
the public schools of his native town. He worked
with his father at the harness-maker's trade until
August 11, 1862, when he enlisted as a private
in Company. G, Eleventh Regiment, Volunteer
Infantry. He served one year in the defense of
Washington, and two in the Army of the Po
tomac, being for nearly three years almost con
tinuously on duty. During the latter part of
his service he belonged to the Second Brigade,
Second Division, Sixth Corps, Army of the Po
tomac, at Spottsylvania, where they participated
in the. battles of May 15 and 18, 1864. Among
the other engagements in which Colonel Hathorn
took part were those of Cold Harbor, Peters
burg, Weldon Railroad, Fort Stevens, Charles
ton, Gilbert's Ford, Opequan, Fisher's Hill and
Cedar Creek. In the engagement at Petersburg,
which took place March 25 and 27, 1865, he re
ceived a slight wound which retired him to the
rear. At the close of the war he was honorably
discharged with his regiment, being then only
twenty-one years of age.
In August, 1865, Colonel Hathorn went to
Ludlow, where he entered the employ of George
E. Walker, in the harness-making trade. In
1877 he was admitted to the firm, the business

QpnJ-^y^^ (Q/y&J^y^-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

68 1

being conducted under the name 'of Walker &
Hathorn. In 1879 Mr. Walker died, since which
time Colonel Hathorn has been sole proprietor,
with the exception of the department devoted
to the manufacture of hprse collars, which was
carried on by L. C. Howe, and later by E. A.
.Howe; until about fifteen years ago, when it was
purchased by Colonel Hathorn. He has been
since that time the most extensive horse collar
manufacturer in New England, making collars
for the jobbing trade and harness for the retail
trade. The building, which stands at the head
of Main street, is one which was occupied by
the business when Colonel Hathorn first engaged
in it here, thirty-seven years ago. It contains
three floors, all of which, together with a connect
ing storehouse, are utilized in the manufacture
of the famous Ludlow collars, and in the display
of standard harness of every grade, single and
double. There is also an extensive stock of car
riage trimmings, horse furnishings, robes, blank
ets, whips, and everything pertaining to the trade.
¦"The Ludlow Collar" has a well won reputation
throughout New England for its durability, per
fect workmanship and absolute reliability. The
"best materials and a large force of skilled work-
-ers are employed under the personal supervision
-of the proprietor in the production of a great
mumber of collars of several varieties. Once his
shop was completely gutted by a fire, but the
next day found him established in a neighboring
"hlock for business, and shortly afterward he re
built better than before. Colonel Hathorn holds
the office of electric light commissioner.
In politics Colonel Hathorn is a Republican,
-and has always taken an active part in public
affairs. He has been deputy collector of internal
-revenue, and for nearly a score of years was one
¦of the leading trial justices of the peace. During
the administration of President Harrison he was
•elected senator from Windsor coimty, and at
the present time (1903) he is a member of the
"hoard of trustees of the village of Ludlow, Ver
mont. In 1886 he served on the staff of Governor
E. Ormsby, with, the rank of colonel. He is vice
-president ofthe Vermont Officers' Reunion So
ciety. He is a member of, O. O. Howard Post,
•-Grand Army of the Republic, in which he served
fiye terms as commander, was senior vice com
mander of the department two terms, and during

that time was delegate to two national encamp
ments that met at San Francisco, one at Port
land, Alaine, and others; while in the city of
San Francisco he was in command of the depart
ment. He steadily refused to accept the office
of department commander for the state of Ver
mont, until 1902, when he was elected unanimous
ly, the first instance of the kind in the history of
the department. Colonel Hathorn is a member
of Black River Lodge, F. & A. M., Skitchawaug
Chapter, K. T., and Mount Sinai Temple, An
cient and Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic
Shrine, at Montpelier, Vermont.
Colonel Hathorn married, in 1868, Aliss Jen
nie Ward, who died in 1871, leaving one child,
William Ward Hathorn. On January 13, 1875,
Colonel Hathorn married Clara Wright, a daugh
ter of Azeriah Wright, a man prominent in the
local affairs of Coventry, Vermont, where Mrs.
Hathorn was born. Her mother was Nancy
Rogers, daughter of John Rogers, of Bellows
Falls,. Air. Wright was the son of Solomon, and
the grandson of Captain Azeriah Wright, of
Westminster. He was an officer in the patriot
army of the Revolution. Mrs. Hathorn takes an
active interest in various social and philanthropic,
as well as patriotic and charitable affairs. She
is a member of the Eastern Star Lodge, and was
the first worthy matron of Key Stone Chapter.
She belongs to the Woman's Relief Corps of the
General O. O. Howard Post, Grand Army of-
the Republic, of which she has served as presi
dent, and she has frequently accompanied her
husband to various conventions, both depart
mental and national, of the Grand Army of the
Republic. She is a member of the Daughters
of the Revolution and the Colonial Dames.
!•
ALFRED PATTERSON- RANNY.
For nearly three centuries the name of Ranny
has been closely interwoven with American his
tory, particularly that of New England, and the
family has been represented by those who have
borne an illustrious part in all vocations and
movements which contribute to the upbuilding
of society and the maintenance of its best govern
ment and social institutions.
Thomas Ranny, the progenitor of the Ameri
can branch of the family, came from Scotlahd

682

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

to this country in 1659, and located in Hartford,
Connecticut, where he was prominently identified
with the commercial and social affairs of the
town, as he was also of the town of Middletown
to which he removed at a later period. He was
united in marriage to Miss Alary Hubbard, ' a
daughter of George Hubbard, one of the early
settlers of Hartford, Connecticut. Their children
were: Thomas, John, Joseph, Ebenezer, and
seven daughters. His death- occurred June 21,
171 3, and he was the first person interred in the
cemetery at Middletown, Upper Houses (now
Cromwell) .
Thomas Ranny, eldest son of Thomas and
Mary Ranny, was born March 1, 1661 or 1662,
married Miss Rebecca Willitt in May, 1690, and
the following named children were born to them :
Thomas, Willitt, George, Rebecca and Margaret
Ranny. The father of these children died Feb
ruary 6, 1726.
Thomas Ranny, eldest son of Thomas and
Rebecca Ranny, was born October 14, 1692, mar
ried February 26, 1719, Aliss Esther ' Wilcocks,
arid their children were: Jeremiah, Thomas,
Ephraim, Desire, Esther, Dorothy, Azabah, Hope,
Abijah Ranny and Submit. Mr. Ranny died
May, 22, 1764, and his wife passed away Octo
ber 3, 1779-
Ephraim Ranny, third son in order of birth
born to Thomas and Esther Ranny, was an active
participant during -the Revolutionary war and
displayed a yast amount of courage and valor
on the 'field of battle. He was united in mar
riage to Miss Silence Wilcocks, and their chil
dren were : Ephraim, Elijah, Daniel and Rachael
Ranny. Elijah Ranny, second son of Ephraim and
Silence. Ranny, and great-grandfather of Alfred
P. Ranny, was born March 14, 1754, at Alid-
dletown, Connecticut, and later removed to West
minster with his parents. After obtaining a
practical education in the district school he en
gaged in agricultural pursuits, which occupation
he pursued for the remainder of his life in the
town of Westminster West, Vermont. He was a
faithful member and served in the capacity of
deacon of the Westminster West Congregational
church. Mr. Ranny married Aliss Elizabeth
Root, and two children were born to them, name
ly: Elijah and Joseph Ranny. After the decease

of his first wife Elijah Ranny (1) married Try-
phena Hitchcock.
Elijah Ranny, eldest son of Elijah and Eliza
beth Ranny, and grandfather of Alfred P. Ranny,
was born September 15, 1773, and was educated
in the common schools of his native town. He
then became extensively engaged in farming, and
took an active part in all matters that served to
benefit the town of Westminster West, of which
he was one of the most prominent residents. He
was a member of the militia, and filled the office
of deacon of the Congregatiorial church. Air.
Ranny married November 10, 1791, Miss Lydia.
Crawford. His children were : Samuel, Alfred,
Elizabeth, Fannie, Russell, Mark, Lydia, Elijah,.
Bradford, Lyman C, George and Charles Ran
ny. The father of these children died in West
minster West, Windham county, Vermont, Feb
ruary 25, 1850.
Lyman C. Ranny, father of Alfred P. Ranny,.
was born, Sept. 22, 1810, in Westminster West,.
Vermont, where his educational advantages were
obtained in the common schools. After com
pleting his studies he chose for his life work the
occupation of farming, in the pursuit of which
he met with a large degree of success. In his-
politics Air. Ranny was a firm and loyal sup
porter of the principles of the Republican party.
On November 27, 1834, Air. Ranny married Miss-
Lucy A. Miller, a daughter of John and Betsey
(Robinson) Miller, and the following named chil
dren were born to them: Ellen, born July 15,
1836, died December 11, 1879; Alfred P., born
June 16, 1838 ; John Franklin, born September
17, 1840, died July, 1843 ; Walter Warren, born
December 18, 1843, died July 31, 1863, of wounds
received at the battle of Gettysburg while he was- •
acting in the capacity of sergeant of Company
B, Sixteenth Regiment Vermont Volunteers, dur-v
ing the progress of the Civil war; his death
occurred in the hospital in Baltimore, Maryland,
he being then only nineteen years of age; the
next child in order of birth was Alary Elizabeth,
born February 16, 1846; Isabella Crawford, born-
December 6, 1 85 1. After the death of his first
wife Mr. Ranny was united in marriage to Miss-
Hannah Grout.
Alfred P. Ranny, eldest son of Lyman C
and Lucy A. Ranny, was born June 16, 1838, in
Westminster West, Vermont, and acquired his-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

683

preliminary education in the district school, later ,
in the academies at Brattleboro and Townshend,
and subsequently he was a pupil at Leland &
Gray Seminary. He remained upon the paternal
estate until he had attained young manhood, and
devoted his time to assisting his father in the
work of the farm. On October 23, 1862, he en
listed as a private, in the Sixteenth Regiment,
Company B, Vermont Volunteers, which was un
der the command of Colonel Veasey. His term
of enlistment was for nine months, and during.
that period he was a member of the color guard
of his regiment, which comprised nine picked
men with sergeant, and. participated in the re
pulse of Pickett's celebrated charge at the battle
of Gettysburg with the Thirteenth Regiment,
when assailants and assailed met at close quar
ters, attacking each other with the bayonet. Of
the entire color guard Mr. Ranny and one other
escaped without injury, and one was instantly
killed, another died shortly thereafter. After
his return from the war Air. Ranny purchased a
store at Westminster West from Ephraim Wil
cocks ; this was in the year 1872, and it was the
only store in that village up to 1895. In that
year he disposed of his property to Williarn
Gorham and since then he has devoted his time
to farming and incidentally sale of farming im
plements and dealing in phosphates, and being
industrious, enterprising and energetic he is
justly entitled to the success which has crowned
his undertakings. For the past fifteen years Mr.
Ranny has been a zealous member and has acted v
in the capacity of deacon of the Congregational
church at Westminster West." Lie is also a mem
ber of Colonel Greenwood Post, Grand Army
of the Republic at Putney, of which he was junior
and also senior vice commander; previous to his
joining this organization he was a member of
Colonel Stoughton Post, and for two years he
served as commander of Greenwood Post, since
which time he has filled the office of chaplain.
He is also a member of the Sons of the American
Revolution and the Veteran Organization of
¦Company B of the Sixteenth Regiment, for which
organization he acts in the capacity of vice presi
dent. On December 15, 1863, Mr. Ranny married
-Harriett Philips, a daughter of Gardner and
Parmelia (Carpenter) Philips, and her death oc

curred May 20, 1886, at the age of forty-one
years. Mr. Ranny was then united in marriage
June 7, to Miss Mary F. Clark, a daughter of
Fessenden and Mary C. (Hunt) Clark. Mrs.
Ranny is a prominent member of the Woman's
Relief Club and the Vermont Chapter in the
Spciety of Colonial Dames.
DR. FREDERICK GEORGE PETTEE.
Dr. Frederick George Pettee, an accomplished
dental practitioner, and who has been a resident
of Brattleboro since 1865, is a descendant of
one Joseph Pettee, who located in Weymouth,
Massachusetts, in 1681, and -was the father of

DR. FREDERICK GEORGE PETTEE.
Samuel, who was born in Dorchester, Massa
chusetts, October 24, 1685. The next in descent
was also Samuel,- born in Walpole, Massachu
setts, April '3, 1736; Silas Pettee, the son of
Samuel and the grandfather of Dr: F. G. Pettee,
was borri 'in Foxboro, Alassachusetts, whence he

¦684

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

removed to Hinsdale in 1800, and thence to
Wilmington in 1804, He was a miller and also
followed blacksmithing. He is rernembered to
have been one of the earliest settlers of Wil
mington, as his father and two brothers were
among the earliest settlers of Foxboro, Alassachu
setts, anad were principally instrumental in caus
ing the incorporation of that town.
Dr. A. Lewis Pettee, the son of Silas and the
father of Dr. F. G. Pettee, was born at Reads-
".boro, Vermont, was a graduate of Aliddlebury
Medical College, in the class of 1836, and was
for many years a practicing physician of Wilm-
.-.ihgton, Vermont. In 1888 he went to Flandreau,
.South Dakota, where he died in the following
year at the age of sixty-six. His wife was Mary
.Ann Conant, who was the grandfather of Heze
kiah Salisbury, a soldier in the Revolutionary
war, and whose name appears on the Windham
-county pension list under the act of Congress
passed June 7, 1832. He. served with the Rhode
Island militia at the battle of Bunker Hill as
-corporal and sergeant.
', Frederick George Pettee was born in Wil-
-'mington, Vermont, September 10, 1853, and was
-Educated in Brattleboro, where he finished his
'. literary education in the high school. He at first
-decided upon a medical', career, and with this
-end in view took lectures, at the Long Island
-College Hospital, but subsequently took up the
rstudy of dentistry under the preceptorship of his
father. He was later associated in practice with
I)t. Strang, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and with
Dt. Brush, of Brooklyn, New York. In the fall
of 1883 he came to Brattleboro, where he was
in partnership association with his father for five
years, since which time he practiced alone till
¦(pctober, 1902, when his son, Dr. A. L. Pettee,
Became a member of the firm, which is known as
Drs. F. G. and A. L. Pettee.
Dr. Pettee affiliates with the Masonic fra
ternity, in Columbia Lodge No. 36, and with the
Order of the Eastern Star. January 1, 1875, he
-married Eugenia M. Bingham, daughter of Pro
fessor B. F. Bingham. The eldest of the three
sons of this union is A. L. Pettee, who received
his early schooling at Brattleboro, then entered
the dental department of Baltimore Medical Col
lege, and was graduated with the class of 1900.
Eor one year following he was with Dr. S. R.

Adams, of Boston, and in 1902 became associated
with his father. He is a member of the Vermont
Dental Association. He marks the third suc
cessive generation which has devoted itself to the
profession of dental surgery. The other two sons
of Dr. F. G. Pettee are Ralph B. and Frederick
Clinton. The Bingham family, of which Mrs. Pettee
is a member, is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and in
the early day was connected with the English
nobility, and enjoyed the possession of a coat
of arms. Deacon Thomas Bingham was the first
American ancestor, and he settled in Saybrook,
Connecticut, but his death. occurred in Windham,
Connecticut, in 1730, at the age of eighty-eight
years. He was one of the prominent figures of
that day and place. He married Alary Rudd, of
Saybrook, the daughter of Lieutenant Jonathan
Rudd, and her mother was known as the cele
brated "Bride of Bride Brook." Thomas
Bingham was the eldest child of this marriage,
and was born in 1667 in Norwich, Connecticut,
and was, in succession to his father, one of the
proprietors of that town. He married Hannah,
daughter of Lieutenant W. Backus. Their fam
ily consisted of eight children, of which number
Deacon Joseph Bingham was lieutenant of a
company in the F'rench and Indian war. His
son Jeremiah was a resident of Bennington, Ver
mont, and later of Cornwall, where he was an
early settler. He was one of the heroes at the
battle of Bennington on the 16th of August, 1777,
when General Stark totally defeated the British.
Asaph Bingham, the son of Jeremiah, served as
a volunteer at the battle of Plattsburg in 1814,
and was later a colonel of militia, a man of
distinction in the community, and represented
Cornwall in the legislature, and for a period of
twenty years was clerk of the town. He was
twice married, first to Laura Smith, and second to
Hannah (family name unknown), and by these
wives had the following children: Joel, Sarah,
Sarah S., Asaph H. and Benjamin F. The last
named, the father of Mrs. Pettee, was born April
9, 1824, was a distinguished educator, and for a
period of twenty-six years before his death in
1889 was principal of the high school of Brattle
boro. He married Frances Pease, and they be
came the parents of Cora, Lena, Louise, Eugenia,
and Charles.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

685

WILLIAM LUTHER GREENLEAF.
The Greenleaf family were originally Hugue
nots, who , left France on account of religious
persecutions and settled in England some time in
the sixteenth century. The first of the name in
America was Edmund Greenleaf, who came from
Ipswich, county of Suffolk, England, and settled
in -Newbury, Massachusetts, early in the year
1635. In 1637 he commanded a company of mili
tia in an excursion against the Indians. He was
ordered to be ensign of the Newbury company
in 1639. ^n io42 he was commissioned lieuten
ant of Massachusetts provincial forces, and in
1644 was commissioned captain. He died in Bos
ton, Massachusetts, March 24, 1671.
Stephen Greenleaf, son of Edmund, was born
in Ipswich, England, in August, 1628. He was
appointed ensign of Massachusetts militia, May
31, 1670; lieutenant in 1685, and captain in 1686.
As captain in the Alassachusetts forces he went
with the expedition against Port Royal in Octo
ber, 1690, and while landing from the ship was
wrecked and drowned on December 1, 1690, with
nine others of his company.
Stephen Greenleaf, Jr., son of Stephen, was
born in Newbury, Massachusetts, August 15,
1652. In the old records of the town of New
bury he is called "Captain Stephen," and served
in the "King Philip's war," and was severely
wounded in a battle with the Indians at Hatfield,
Massachusetts, August 25, 1675. He was after
wards made captain and was distinguished in
the Indian wars of the time. He is mentioned in
"Mather's Alagnalia" as commanding a corn-
company in the celebrated battle with the French
and Indians at Wells, Maine, in 1690.
Dr. Daniel Greenleaf, son of Captain Stephen,
served as surgeon of a regiment of Massachusetts
troops at the siege of Louisburg, Cape Breton,
in 1745, and also as surgeon on one of the colony
ships during the same war.
Rev. Daniel Greenleaf, son of Dr. Daniel,
married the granddaughter of General Daniel
Cooking, who was elected major general of all
the forces of the colony of Massachusetts, May
11, 1681, and was the last major general of the
colony under the old charter, and he was also
the first under the charter of William arid Mary.
Stephen Greenleaf, the son of Rev. Daniel,

served as a private in Captain John Carter's-
mounted company, which was detached from Col
onel Oliver Wilder's regiment and served in the-
Fort William Henry alarm. He was afterwards-
a sergeant in Captain Asa Whitcomb's company
of Colonel Jonathan Bagley's regiment raised
for the invasion of Canada, and served eight
months and twelve days. In the fall of 1771 he-
moved from Boston, Massachusetts, to Brattle
boro, Verriiont, where, he had purchased the tract.
of land of about eight hundred acres, known as-
the "Governor's Farm," comprising all that is-
now known as the East village of Brattleboro.
Here he built mills and opened, as is believed, the-
first store in Vermont. He built the first dwell
ing house, the first sawmill and the first grist
mill ever erected in Brattleboro. His eldest son,.
Stephen, served as town clerk of Brattleboro for-
forty-five successive years. He died in Brattle-
' boro, June 8, 1802.
James Greenleaf, the second son of Stephen,.
who settled in Brattleboro, was born in Boston,.
Massachusetts, December 9, 1770. He was one-
of the earliest settlers of the town of Derby, Ver
mont, to which town he removed from Brattle
boro in 1799, and built mills which he operated:
until shortly before his death, which occurred
November 5, 1845.
William Fairbanks Greenleaf, son of James-
and father of the subject of this sketch, was born.
in Derby, Vermont, May 6, 1812. He was a.
millwright and machinist by trade. He died in.
Winooski, Vermont, February 18, 1877-.
William Luther Greenleaf was born in Derby,
Vermont, September 1, 1842, and removed to-
Burlington with his parents in 1846, and after
wards to Winooski, Vermont, in 1847. He was-
educated at the district schools and at Williston'.
Academy. In 1857 he went to Iowa, where his.
father was engaged in building mills, and while
there learned the trade of compositor in the office-
of the North Iowa Gazette, returning to Winooski
in. 1858. In May, 1861, he joined a company that was-
being formed for the Second Regiment of Ver
mont Infantry Volunteers, but owing to the
large number of men offering themselves for that
regiment the company was not accepted. He
afterwards enlisted as a private in Company L.
of the First Vermont Cavalry, August 11,' 1862,.

686

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

was made second sergeant at the organization
of the company, and was mustered into the serv
ice of the United States as such, September 29,
1862. He participated with his regiment in the
battles of the Gettysburg campaign, and at
Hagerstown, Alaryland, July 13, 1863, was three
times severely wounded, and had his horse shot
under him while engaged with his company in
charging a Confederate -battery (gunshot through
right arm, breaking bone, through both shoulders,
and in left hip ; was left inside the lines of the
enemy concealed until the following day).
Recovering from his wounds he returned to
his regiment, in season to participate in the Wil
derness campaign of General Grant in May and
June, 1864, having in the meantime been com
missioned second lieutenant of his company to
date from February 28, 1864. While on "Wil
son's Raid" inside the Confederate lines south
west of Petersburg, Virginia, he was severely
wounded (gunshot wound through right leg be
low knee, shattering bone), June 23, and fell
¦ into the, hands of the enemy on the 29th, when
General Wilson was obliged to abandon his ar
tillery and wounded. After being exchanged he
again returned to his regiment, and was commis
sioned first lieutenant of his company to date
February 9, 1865. He was honorably discharged
June 15, 1865, by special orders of the war de
partment for disability from wounds received in
.action; having participated in twenty-five battles
and engagements, and been four times severely
wounded and a prisoner of war for several
months. At the reorganization of the Vermont state
-militia after the close of the Civil war, he was
commissioned captain of Company E, first Regi
ment Vermont Militia, Alarch 25, 1869, and was
successively promoted major, lieutenant colonel,
and- colonel of his regiment. He was elected
hy the legislature to the office of brigadier gen
eral, December 1, 1866, and as such commanded
the National Guard of the state until December 1,
1892, when he was retired upon his own appli
cation. The order retiring him says : "The
commander-in-chief takes this occasion to con
vey to Brigadier General Greenleaf his high appre
ciation of his long and faithful service of nearly
twenty-seven years, and to extend the thanks
of the state for the part taken by him in

bringing the National Guard of the state to its
present state of discipline and efficiency. In ac
cordance with the provisions of the act creating
a retired list, he is the first officer to be placed
thereon, and is entitled to wear the uniform of
his rank on all occasions of ceremony."
After his return from the army he engaged
in business as a retail druggist, which business
he followed successfully at Alilton and Winooski,
Vermont, until 1884. Iri 1881 he was appointed,
deputy collector of internal revenue, and in Feb
ruary, 1882, was made deputy collector of cus
toms by his former colonel, General William
Wells, which position: he still holds, having served
as chief deputy for the district of Vermont under
Collectors' Benedict, Smalley and Merrill.
While residing at Winooski he was for sev
eral years clerk of the town of Colchester, and
also served the village at different times as clerk,
trustee, treasurer and chief of the fire department.
He joined Webster Lodge No. 61, F. & A.
M., in 1865 and was master of the lodgerfor nine
successive years ; -also member of the grand lodge
of Vermont for twelve years ; became a member
of the Grand Army in 1868 and has served as
commander of Stannard Post No. 2, assistant
quartermaster general of the department, and .
commander of the department of Vermont ;
joined the Vermont Commandery of the Alilitary
Order of the Loyal , Legion at its organization
in Novernber, 1891, and was elected recorder of
the commandery, which position he still holds
by successive elections.
JAMES ROSS and JOHN IMLAH.
James Ross and John Imlah are actively iden
tified with the manufacturing interests of Hard
wick as proprietor of the Ross-Imlah Granite
Company. Both are young men of undoubted
business ability and enterprise,/ well endowed with
"the determination, courage and persistency that
bring success in all undertakings. This firm uses
the best grades of Hardwick, Woodbury and Barre
granite in its monumental work, making a specialty
of artistic carving, and has built up a prosperous
business, keeping a salesman traveling throughout
the west, from whom a full supply of orders is
constantly" on hand. Alessrs. Ross and Imlah are
progressive in their methods, using the most im-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

687

proved and approved machinery and appliances
in their plant, including traveling crane and giant
lift, polishing wheels, electric power and pneu
matic tools.
James Ross, senior member of the firm, was
horn November 8, 1871, in Aberdeen, Scotland,
the birthplace of both his parents, James and
Mary (Jessman) Ross. His father, who was a
ship carpenter, lost his life hy a shipwreck while
on a voyage from Hong Kong, China, to Scot
land. Mr. Ross lived in Scotland until eleven
years of age, when he came to Montreal, province
of Quebec, where he spent four years. Coming
then to Vermont, he served an apprenticeship at
the granite-cutter's trade in Barre, after which he
worked several years as "a journeyman. In Sep
tember, 1899, he located in Hardwick, where he
worked at his trade a few rnonths before enter
ing into a copartnership with Mr. Imlah as a
granite manufacturer. In December, 1899, Mr.
Ross married Mary Downie, who was born in
Aberdeen, Scotland, and came to America in
1892, with her parents,' William and Mary
(Lowe) Downie, the former of whom is a gran
ite cutter at Barre, Vermont.
John Imlah, junior member of the firm, was
born in Cumminstown, Aberdeenshire, Scotland,
January 19, 1875, a son of Robert Imlah, who
emigrated to Vermont in 1S87, and is now a
polisher in the Barre Granite Works. His wife,
whose maiden name was Catherine Rettie, and
his son John came to this country five years
' later, joining him in Barre. John Imlah learned
his trade as a granite cutter in Barre, where he
was employed until 1899, when he came to Hard
wick, subsequently entering into business, as
above mentioned, with Air. Ross, their works
being located about three-fourths of a mile south
of the village, on the line of the Woodbury Rail
way. Mt. Imlah is a member of the Odd Fellows
Order, and of Clan Gordon of Barre, Order of
Scottish Clans, and is a Mason. Air. Ross, is
also a Mason and a Forester.
DANIEL CLAY WRIGHT.
Daniel Clay Wright, a prosperous farmer,
stock-raiser and dairyman of Westminster, Ver
mont, was born on the old homestead where he

now resides, August 14, 1823, a son of Hollis
Wright, and grandson of Medad Wright, the
pioneer. Medad Wright was born in Northfield,
Alassachusetts, in 1734, and lived there through
out the days of his youth and early manhood.
Coming to Westminster, Vermont, in 1760, he
took up a tract of heavily timbered land that
was in its primitive wildness and by dint of per
severing industry hewed out a farm, on which
he spent the remainder of his years. In the
first opening that he cleared, he put up a rough
brush camp, which he occupied until a log cabin
was built, and this in turn was replaced by a
small frame house, and when that was outgrown,
and money had become more plentiful, he erected
a hip-roofed house, with timbers of solid oak,
and this remained the family domicile until
1869. He was a soldier in the Revolution, serv
ing as lieutenant, and an order that he received,
written by John Sessions, of the committee of
safety, dated July 3, 1777, commanding him to
collect the men of his company and push forward
to the relief of the American army" at Ticonder
oga, is now in the possesison of one of his de- ,
scendants, Edward P. . Wright. Of his union
with Irania Holton, nine children were born,
namely : Asaph, born in 1763 ; Rufus, born in
1765; Elihu, born in 1769; Solomon, born in
1 771; Obed, bora in 1773; Hollis, born in 1776,
died in infancy; Hollis, born in 1780; and Me
dad, born in 1781. After the death of his first
wife he married again, and had one son of that
union, Neri.
Hollis Wright was born February 22, 1780,
on the old homestead in Westminster. He was
well educated for his times, and during the days
of his early manhood he taught school -several
terms. Succeeding to the ownership of the
parental farm, he was there engaged in agri
cultural pursuits most successfully until his
death, in 1864. He married, first, Lucy Beck
with, who was born October 8, 1784, and died in
September, 1820. He married, second, April
24, 1822, Elizabeth Clay, daughter of James Clay,
Jr., of Putney, Vermont, and they reared two
sons,, namely: 0rm Prescott, who was born
February 17, 1825, went to California with the,
gold-seekers in 1849, and lived there until his
death, April 23, 1880; and Daniel C, the special
subject of this brief sketch.

688

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Daniel Clay Wright spent a few years of his
early life in Deerfield, Massachusetts, but with
that exception has resided on the ancestral home
stead, profitably engaged in general farming.
He has paid considerable attention to sheep and
cattle raising, and has carried on dairying to a
large extent, meeting with success in each branch
of agriculture. Lie has one hundred and ninety
acres of land, a large part of which is in a good
state of cultivation, yielding him profitable re
turns for the time and money expended in its
care. Of late years he has carried on a good in
surance business in connection with his other
work. He is prominent in town affairs, having
served as selectman a longer term of years than
any other man, for eight years of the time being
chairman of the board, and has also had charge
of trust funds. He is a Republican in politics,
and was a representative to the state legislature
in 1898. He takes great interest in the temper
ance cause, and is an active member of the Con
gregational society, for many years serving on
its committee: (
Mr. Wright married, in 185 1, Sarah Ritchie
Cragin, who died July 21, 1900. Three children
were born of their union, namely : Edward P. ;
George Cragin ; and Harriet Elizabeth, who was
graduated from the Vermont Academy, and ' is
now a teacher in a private school at New Haven,
Connecticut. Edward P. Wright,' born in 1853,
died in December, 1900. He was a commercial
traveler for many years, in the interests of his
business, yisitirig nearly every state and territory
of the Union. His wife, whose maiden name was
Mary Erwin, died December 29, 1884, leavirig
two daughters, Edna Foy, attending school in
Boston; and Alary Louise, a graduate of the
Bellows Falls high school, is now a teacher in
the public schools of this city. George Cragin
Wright, one of the leading farmers and milk
producers of Westminster, and .-pllJgSqetor of a
milk route to Bellows Falls, is a cifeen of worth,
and has rendered excellent s©rvice||o H& towns
men as a member of the board of selectmen. He
married Mabel Roberts, of Putney, arid, they
are the parents of eight children, namely:
Martha Clay, Daniel Charles, Margaret Ritchie,
George Roberts, Hollis Cragin, Mabel Sophia,
Helen Elizabeth and Sarah Louise.

; JOHN BARRON PECKETT.
John Barron Peckett, an eminent attorney at
law of Orange county, Vermont, was born De
cember 21, 1856, in Bradford, Vermont, a worthy
descendant of Giles Peckett, a native of York
shire, England, whence he emigrated to tliis coun
try in 1774. He located first at Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, later removed to North Haverhill,.
and in, 1779 or 1780 became a pioneer settler of
the town of Bradford, Vermont. Mr. Peckett
was married twice, his first wife having been!.
Betsey Cole, who died childless ; his second wife,
Margaret Appleton, bore him four' sons and two
daughters. Mr. Peckett's will wasmade in Brad^
ford, Vermont, April 10, 1795.
Edward Peckett, eldest son of Giles and Alar-
garet Peckett, was born in England, and had at
tained the age of fifteen years when his parents.
removed to America. He was united in marriage
to Debqrah Barron, of Haverhill, New Hamp
shire, and six children were born of this union.
Subsequently he located in Newbury, Vermont,.
where his death occurred while his children were
all of a tender age.
John Barron Peckett, fifth child in order of
birth of Edward and Deborah Peckett, was born.
November 29, 1789, at Newbury,., Vermont, and
was bereft of his father at the early age of two-
years. From that time until he was nine years-
of age he resided in the family of his maternal*
grandfather, after which he came to Bradford,.
Vermont, and lived on- a farm with Mr. and Mrs.
Cheney, the latter named being a daughter of
Colonel John Barron, of Bradford, Vermont, who-
was a cousin of Mrs. Peckett. With little op
portunity for securing an education, yet he made
the most of his advantages, and in due course of
time was successfully engaged in teaching school.
For twenty-seven years he was employed in raft
ing on the Connecticut river, disposing of his lum
ber usually at Hartford, Connecticut, and- often*
returning to "his home on foot. Mr. Peckett.
was very slight in physique, but muscular and
rugged, and hard work was a habit and pleasure
with him ; when about seventy-nine years old he
plowed three acres of land in one day. - For thirty
years he acted in the capacity of overseer of the
poor; represented his town in the state legisla-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

689

ture in 1831 ; served as selectman and town agent
many years, and was several times appointed by
the county court as commissioner to lay out roads
in his own and other towns. He was an earnest
temperance worker and supporter of the prohib
itory law, the principles of which he firmly ad
hered to. On January 8, 18 17, he married Mar
tha Tilton, and three sons and two daughters
were born to theiri. Mr. Peckett died November
16, 1868, and his wife's death occurred December
23, 1858, aged sixty-six years.
John Barron Peckett, son of John Barron and
Martha Peckett, was born December 19, 1822,
in Bradford, Vermont. After completing his
education in the common schools he served" for
several years as clerk in the store of Asa Low,
and subsequently became a partner of Adams
Preston in a mercantile business,/this connection
continuing for three years. In 1854 he formed a
partnership with George and Edward Prichard
in the ownership and operation of a grist and
saw mill at Bradford, which was a profitable en
terprise. In Alarch, 1865, he purchased the brick
homestead on the lower plain, where he made
his home for the remainder of his life. He was
actively interested in town affirs, and was elected
on the. Republican ticket to serve as town 'treas
urer and justice of the peace, being the .incum
bent of these offices for many years; he was a
strong advocate and supporter of the cause of
temperance, both by precept and example. On Sep
tember 9, 1847, Mr. Peckett married Caroline Low,
- daughter of Asa Low, who was a prominent citi
zen of Bradford, and one of the representative
men of eastern Vermont. Mr. Low was active
in securing the construction of a railroad through
Bradford, which so materially aided the advance
ment and growth of the town. One of his daugh
ters married David Blakely, the organizer of the
present Sousa's Band/ who lost considerable
money in placing the organization on a success
ful basis. The following named children were
born to Air. and Airs. Peckett: Asa low, who
served as railroad claim agent at the time of his
death ; Caroline Frances, who died in May, 1874,
she was the wife of Dr. Horace Berry, of Cam-
bride, Massachusetts; John Barron; and Martha
Lucinda, who died in childhood. The father of
these children died May 12, 1894.
John Barron Peckett, son of John Barron
44

and Caroline Peckett, in his infancy re
ceived the name of Barron Le Roy, but when a
lad of twelve years, at the request of his paternal
grandfather, his name was legally changed to
John Barron Peckett. Beginning his early edu
cation under the wise instruction of his mother,
he soon evinced a decided liking for good and
useful reading, which, with the lessons in in
dustry and integrity that he received from his
first teacher, has been of inestimable value to him
ever since. After leaving the district school he
pursued a course of /study at the Bradford Acad
emy, then, in 1875, entered Dartmouth . College,
but on account of an injury was unable to com
plete the entire course. While a student in the
latter named institution he won an honorable posi
tion among his fellow students as a brilliant-
scholar, and has now in his possession letters.
of commendation from his professors^ all of whorm
speak well of his standing in the college. He was-
elected prize speaker of his class, and of the so
ciety of the college, winning much praise and
honor in both positions. He was also a noted
athlete, leading his class in all sports and exer
cises, winning prizes in various contests and be
coming a general favorite.
After leaving college Air. Peckett read law in
the office of Gambell & Watson, in Bradford,
Vermont/afterwards in the office of John H. Wat
son, now Judge Watson, and completing his stud
ies with' E. W. Smith, Esq., of Wells River, Ver
mont. Being admitted to the bar of Orange
county in June, 1882, he began the practice of
his profession in Bradford, meeting with such
success that on October 29, 1885, he was ad
mitted to the supreme court as a practitioner, and
on May 19, 1891, was admitted to practice in the
United States court at Windsor, Vermont. A
forcible and convincing speaker, honorable and
just in all business matters, he has won a large
and lucrative patronage and an enviable position
in the legal world by his wise and judicious man
ner of conducting cases before the court. In
1890 he was elected state's attorney, and served
two years, during this time having charge of
many very interesting and important cases, and
being very active in the prosecution of- illegal
traffic in intoxicating liquors.
Mr. Peckett is a Republican in politics, work
ing for the good of his party, and for the highest

690

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

interests of the community, county and state, be
ing for several years chairman of the. town com
mittee of his party. In June, 1893, he was ap
pointed chairman of the board of county road
commissioners, and in 1898 he was elected to
the senate, in which he rendered excellent service
as chairman of the committee on corporations,
and as a member of several other committees, in
cluding the general, the judiciary, and. the library
committee, also being called, at different times,
to the chair in the senate. He is especially inter
ested in educational matters, and has served as
chairman of the board of school directors, and
has been repeatedly elected superintendent of
schools. He is- active in the Patriarchs Militant,
Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and served as
adjutant of the First New Hampshire Regiment,
his commission bearing date of August 15, 1889,
arid was captain of Canton of Bradford. Lie is a
member of Champion Lodge No. 17, I. O. O. F.,
in which he has filled' most of the chairs, has filled
the principal chairs of Trotter Encampment No.
14, and also belongs to grand lodge.
On' May 28, 1885,' Mr. Peckett married Miss
Cora Elizabeth Adams, a native of Hanover,
New Hampshire. Mrs. Peckett has been active
in the social life of the town, being identified with
the Village Hall Association, Women's Relief
Corps, Daughters of Rebekah, and a member of
the Fortnightly Club, a literary Organization. She
is also a worker in the interests of Wood's Li
brary, of which her husband serves in the capac
ity of president.
CHARLES W. PECK, AI. D.
Dr. Charles W. Peck, an eminent medical
practitioner of Brandon, Vermont, was born at
Clarendon, Vermont, February 23, 1843, and is
a descendant on both the paternal and maternal
side of a highly respected and influential family,
who resided for many years in Rhode Island.
Ex-Governor Asahel Peck, a sketch of whom ap
pears elsewhere in this work, who made a splen
did judicial as well as gubernatorial record, de
scended from the same ancestry.
Noah Peck, grandfather of Dr. Charles W.
Peck, removed from Rhode Island and settled
in the town of Ira, Rutland county, Vermont,
where he erected a log cabin; subsequently he

built a frame house, which is still standing in
a fair state of preservation. Air. Peck was twice
married, and the children born of his first mar
riage were: David, Noah, and two daughters,
who died in early childhood. His second wife
bore him three sons: Lewis, Daniel and Al
phonso, the last named being blind for forty
years prior to his death, which occurred at the
old homestead in Ira, when he had attained the
age of eighty^three years. Mr. Peck died in
1839, at the age of seventy-eight years, and his
remains were interred in the old burial ground
at Clarendon, Vermont.
Lewis Peck, father of Dr. 1 Charles W. Peck,
was' born in 1813, at the old homestead in Ira,
Vermont, where he spent his entire life engaged
in the occupation of farming. In 1836 he was
united in marriage to Harriet Brown, who was
born near Chippenhook, Vermont, in 1817, and
the following named children were born to therii :
Harrison J., a prominent attorney at law of Shako-
pee, Minnesota ;. Gharles W. ; Simon L. ; Gemont
G. ; and Amy A., wife of Henry Flint, of Brandon,
Vermont. The father of these children died
July- 24, 1896, survived by his widow, who took
up her residence with her daughter, Mrs. Henry
Flint, of Brandon, Vermont, where her ' death
occurred in 1901. Both Mr. Peck and his wife
were active members of the Baptist church.
Dr. Charles W. Peck, second son of Lewis
and Harriet Peck, attended the Fairfax and
Barre Academies, where he acquired an excel
lent literary education. Having chosen the pro
fession of medicine for his vocation in life, he
matriculated in the Long Island College Hospi
tal in Brooklyn, New York, from which insti
tution he was graduated in 1866, with the degree
of Doctor of Medicine. He then located at Bran
don, Vermont, where he engaged in a general
practice of medicine and surgery, and as a result
of continuous study and a superior natural in
tellect he has achieved a wide reputation in the
profession, and is classed among the foremost
practitioners of Brandon, Vermont. At the be
ginning of the Civil war. Dr. Peck enlisted in
Company F, Berdan's Sharpshooters, and was
mustered into the service of the United States at
West Eandolph; he participated in the battle at
Fort Magruder, and on April 5, 1862, while en
gaged in the battle which was fought in front

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

691

of Yorktown, a ball passed through his leg, lodg
ing on the other side, from which it was subse
quently extracted. He returned home on sick
leave, and while there recruited fifty men for
Company F, and returned to service the day
after the battle of Antietam. He was with the
company on their march through Pleasant Val
ley to the battle of Falmouth, where he received
his discharge the night before orders came to
cross the river under command of General Burn-
side. After his return from the war he entered
Barre Academy, and after his graduation from
that institution he resumed the practice of his
profession, continuing at the same up to the pres
ent time (1903). He is a prominent member of
the American Medical Association, the Rutland
County Medical Society and the Vermont State
Medical Society, and is the author of a number
of valuable professional articles which have been
presented before the various societies. Politi
cally he is a Republican, represented the town in
the state legislature of 1902, and having made a
study of the various questions that come before
the house he was able to enter into all discussions.
He also served on various committees, among
them being the committee on insane, of which
he was chairman. He aided in the formation of
a number of measures that tended toward good
legislation, was a strong high-license advocate,
being one of the sp-called bolters of the Republi
can party at the convention in 1902 which nomi
nated P. W. Clement as candidate for the gov
ernorship. Dr., Peck took an active part in the
campaign, even consenting to become a candidate
to promote his sentiments in the legislature on
the license question. He has been chairman of
the board of health of Brandon, Vermont, since
the law was passed, taking an active interest in
all its work and introducing two bills petition
ing the government to appoint a tuberculosis
commission; after a large amount of energetic
•work he succeeded, in having five men appointed
to perform the work. He has also taken an active
interest in the public schools of his town, striving
to keep the standard of merit as high as possi
ble He has been affiliated with the Alasonic
fraternity for many years, holding membership
in -St Paul's Lodge No. 25. He is also identified
with the Grand Army of the Republic, having

organized the C. J. Ormsbee Post, of which he
was the second commander.
Dr. Peck was married twice, his first wife
having been Alary Jackson, and his second wife
Mrs. Helen AlcLeod. No children were born of
either marriage. ,
Harrison J. Peck, brother of Dr. Charles W.
Peck, served in Company F, Berdan's Sharp
shooters,' and participated in the following named
battles : Yorktown, Seven Oaks, Alalverri Hill,
second battle of Bull Run, and in various engage
ments under General McClellan in the Peninsula.
He was shot in the foot at the second battle Of
Bull Run, and was honorably discharged from
the service of the United States government on
account of his wounds. At the* present time
(1903) he is engaged as a lawyer at Shakopee,
Minnesota, where he was united in marriage to
Miss Brown, a native of Minnesota, and three
children have been born to them.
HON. LIORACE HENRY POWERS.
As lawyer, legislator and eminent judicial au
thority, the name of the Hon. Horace Henry
Powers, is closely allied with some of the most
important legislation, and with the public and
civic interests of the state of Vermont.
Judge Horace H. Powers, son of Horace and
Love E. (Gilman) Powers, was born Alay 29,
1835, m Alorristown, Vermont, and is a descend
ant of Walter Powers, who emigrated to this
country in the early part of the seventeenth cen
tury. His preparation for college and the study
of law was made at the People's Academy at
Alorristown, and the University of Vermont,
frogi which he graduated in 1855. For a period
of two years after his graduation from the Uni
versity he taught school at Huntingdon, Canada
East, and in Hyde Park; beginning the study
of law under the direction of Thomas Gleed,
of Alorristown, and, continuing under that of
Child and Ferrin, of Hyde Park, in 1858 he was
admitted to the bar of Lamoille county, and im
mediately thereafter settled in Hyde Park, and
entered upon the practice of his profession, con
tinuing until March, 1862. He then formed a
law partnership with P. K. Gleed, at Morrisville,
his present place of residence, . continuing the
partnership until his elevation to the supreme

692

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

court, in December, 1874. At this time his pro
fessional standing was noted as being equal to
that of the best in northern Vermont.
Judge Powers has filled with peculiar dis
tinction many public offices and public trusts.
He represented Hyde Park in the Vermont legis
lature of 1855, and was known as the youngest
member of the house. In 1872 he represented
Lamoille county in the state senate, served on
the judiciary committee, and officiated as chair
man of the committee on railroads. In 1861-
62, he was state's attorney from Lamoille county,
and in 1869, was member of the last council of
censors. In 1870, as chairman in committee of
the whole, his personal influence was powerfully
felt in the state constitutional convention which
effected the change from annual to biennial ses
sions of the legislature. In 1874 he represented
Alorristown, was chosen speaker of the house
and received his first election to the bench; an
office which he filled with distinction and honor
until his election to the fifty-second Congress
from the first Vermont district. In 1892 he was
chairman of the Vermont delegation to the Re
publican national convention at Minneapolis, and
was elected to the fifty-third Congress.
Judge Powers served on the judiciary com
mittee in the fifty-second and fifty-third Con
gress of the -United States, was chairman of the
committee on Pacific railroads in the fifty-fourth
and fifty-fifth Congress, and reported and ably
advocated during the fifty-sixth session of Con
gress the bill for the refunding and extension
, of the liabilities of the Pacific railroads, a bill
which created wide attention, and met with
strong opposition. Judge Powers also repre
sented the district of Middlebury in the fifty-
sixth Congress ; took a prominent part in the dis
cussion of the tariff and the Wilson Bill in 1893,
and was recognized as one of the strongest men
in the house. Judge Powers was a member of
the United States house \of representatives for
a period of eleven years ; a term exceeded in
length in only one or two instances in the history
of representatives from the state of Vermont.
The public career of the Hon. Horace Henry
Powers is one which has been filled with many
honors, and the high esteem and trust of his
fellow citizens. Able and eminent as a judge and
jurist, as state senator, speaker of the house in

the state legislature, and for eleven years repre
sentative from the first district of Vermont in the
Congress of the United States, he has filled each
succeeding office and fulfilled every obligation
with unfailing integrity, and an energy directed
toward the. advancement and betterment of af
fairs both state and national. Since his retire
ment from Congress Judge. Powers has been
actively engaged in the practice of law; is chief
counsel for the Rutland Railroad in Vermont,
private counsel to W. Seward Webb, president
of the road, and is regarded as one of the keen
est and most able trial lawyers in the state. He
has been for a number of years prominently iden
tified with the banking interests of the section,
having been director of the Lamoille county bank
for twenty-five years. He is also director of
the Alerchant's National Bank of St- Johnsbury,
and of the Union Savings and Trust Company
of Morrisville. A man of wide experience and
scholarship, and possessed of an' original and
forceful personality, Judge Powers has always-
commanded the admiration and esteem of his
professional colleagues, his friends and his fel
low citizens.
Judge Powers was married October 11, 1858,
to Caroline E., daughter of V. W. and Adeline
Waterman, of Morristown. Two children are
the issue, Carrie L. and George M.
A son worthy of his father, George AI. Pow
ers is a man of ability and a lawyer of parts. He
was born at Hyde Park, December 19, 1861,
and graduated from the University of Vermont
in 1883. He was a messenger in the senate in
1872-74, assistant clerk of the house in 1884,
1886 and 1888, secretary of the senate in 1890,
1892 and 1894, and held the office of state's at
torney for the county of Lamoille, 1888-90. Mr.
Powers was also appointed reporter" of decisions,
March, 1902. Lie is a Universalist, and, like his-
father, Judge Powers, is broad and liberal in his-
religious views. He is a Republican.
JOHN R. TAGGART.
Success is methodical and consecutive. It is
not a condition of spontaneous production and
is not gained by chance, but rather must it be
sought fpr with diligence and by the bringing of
one's best abilities toward the accomplishment

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

693

of desired ends Thus is enlisted in the pursuit
of this almost indefinable but much desired ob
ject not only the best of the mental powers ot
the individual, but also, in the majority of cases,
the strength of his entire being, so that aside
from the direct end in view there is a con-.
comitant gain in the development of the innate
talents of the individual thus engrossed, bring
ing him to the front in the maximum of accom
plishment and thus enabling him to be of great
est value to himself and to the world. It is a well
attested maxim that the greatness of the state
lies not in its machinery of government or even
in its institutions, but rather iri the sterling quali
ties of its individual citizens, in their capacity
for high and unselfish effort and their devotion
to the public good. One of the world's grand
army of workers is the gentleman whose name
initiates this paragraph and who is regarded as
one of the representative citizens "of Charlotte,
Chittenden county, where he not only has charge
of the extensive and well, equipped nurseries of
F. H. Hosford, of whom individual mention
is made on other pages of this work, but also
is successfully engaged in general farming, "bring
ing to bear a most* progressive spirit, marked
business sagacity and an energy and persistence
that never waver. He has passed practically his
entire life in the county/ where he is a representa
tive of the third generation of a family that has
been held in the highest honor and esteem in this
section of the state, so thatl it becomes the more
consistent that in this work) be accorded at least
a brief review of his life history.
John R. Taggart was born on the parental
farm in the town of Charlotte, Chittenden county,
Vermont, ori the 8th of July, 1849, and that place
' -also figures as the" locality in which his father,
John Taggart, was born, the latter being a son
of John Taggart, who was born in the state of
Vermont, being a worthy representative of a
family whose history has been linked with the
annals of New England from an early epoch.
John Taggart was reared to maturity in his na
tive township, and there received such educational
advantages as were afforded by the common
schools of the day. In his youth he learned the
¦carpenter's trade, and to this line of industry
he continued to devote his attention during the
-greater portion of his active business career, hav

ing become one of the leading contractors and
builders in this section, where the remainder of
his long and signally useful life was passed, his
death occurring on the 18th of September, 1901,
at' which time he had attained the venerable age
of eighty-two years. ' His wife, whose rriaiden
name was Betsy Skiff, was born in Bridport,
Vermont, and she is now living with her daugh
ter in Bristol. Of her four children, we record
that William is deceased, having passed away at
the age of sixteen years; Benjamin died at the
age of forty. years; Sarah is the wife of Julian
J. Dumas, of Bristol; and John R. is the imme
diate subject of this review. The parents early
became members of the Baptist church in East
Charlotte and were numbered among its most
zealous and devoted workers for many years, the
mother still retaining her membership in the same,
while her honored husband was 'for many years,
incumbent of the office of sexton, of the church,
being well known throughout the community and
commanding the sincere esteem of all its people.
In the public schools of Charlotte John R.
Taggart received his early educational training,
and here he was reared to years of maturity.
As a youth he began to learn the carpenter's
trade under the effective direction of his father,
becoming a skilled workman and continuing to
follow this vocation for a number of years, meet
ing with excellent success in his efforts. There
after he became identified with the manufactur
ing of cheese, in which he continued for about
ten years, having been connected with factories
in various sections of the county and building
up a good business in the line. Upon returning
to Charlotte he assumed. the position of manager
of a general merchandise store here conducted
by S. E. Russell, the same being located in East
Charlotte. This incumbency Mr. Taggart re
tained for a decade and the ensuing two years
he gave his attention to the operation of a cream
ery in East Charlotte, until 1893, when he ac
cepted his present responsible position as assistant
superintendent of the Hosford nurseries. He
has at all times been mindful of the duties of
citizenship, and has given an unfaltering sup
port to the principles and policies advanced by
the Republican party, while he and his wife
have been prominent members and most devoted
workers in the Baptist church at Charlotte, of

694

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

which he served as deacon for a number of years
and for a long period as sexton, ever doing all
in his power to vitalize and aid in its spiritual
growth and further its material prosperity.
On the nth of April, 1871, Air. Taggart was
united in marriage to Miss Mary D. Waddell,
who was born in Dundee, Scotland, and of the four
children of this union we incorporate the follow
ing brief data : Charles W., who is an electrician,
resides in Middletown, Connecticut, where he is
assistant superintendent for the Middletown
Electric Light Company; he married Miss Julia
L. Kelly, of New Haven, Connecticut, and they
have one son, Earle. Fen wick G. is attending
medical college in Burlington, Vermont, being a
member of the class of 1903, and is preparing
himself for the practice of medicine, being at the
present time a registered pharmacist. Roy E. is
in New York city, where he holds a position in
the offices of the Vermont Marble Company. Ken
neth, the youngest son, is in Middletown, Con
necticut, where he is engaged as an assistant
electrician for the Aliddletown Electric Light
Company.
CLAYTON N. NORTH.
Clayton Nelson North, for many years act
ively occupied in business in Shoreham, Vermont,
and frequently called to positions of honor and
trust, is a native of the town which has been
the field of his usefulness during the greater
part of his life. He is eighth in descent from
John North, founder of the family of his name
in America, who came from London in the ship
Susan and Ellen, in 1635, when twenty years
old. He came to Wethersfield, Connecticut, and
married Susannah, whose family name is un
known. He was an original settler at Farming-
ton, where he died in 1691.
Thomas (2), fifth child and fourth son of
John, was born in 1649, and died in 1712, at
Farmington, or Avon. He was a soldier in the
Indian war, and received a land grant for his
services. He married Hannah Newell, daughter
of Thomas Newell, and Rebeckah Olmstead, emi
grants of that time, and of this marriage were
born ten children.
Nathaniel (3), fourth child and third son of
Thomas, was born in 1688 and died in 1777. He

married Margaret Holcomb, of Simsbury,, and
five children were born to them.
John (4), son of Nathaniel, was born at
Farmington, March 13, 171 1. He moved to
Goshen, Connecticut, in 1745, and died there
October 22, 1785. He married Hester (or
Esther) Stanley, who bore him ten children, and
of these, four sons, Abijah, Seth, Stephen and
Gad,, served in the Revolutionary war.
Abijah (5), second child of John, was born in
Farmington or Goshen in 1743, and died May
3, 1785, iri Bridport, Vermont. He married,
September 6, 1764, Triphenia Grant, who died
in 1783, in Shoreham., ' Abijah came in 1774
to Shoreham, Vermont, probably from Farming-
ton, to which place he returned on the breaking
out of the war. In 1783, after peace was de
clared, he returned to Shoreham with his wife
and six children. His military record is given
in "Connecticut men in the Revolution," pp. 295
and 620, and makes all his descendants eligible
to membership in the Revolutionary patriotic '
societies. Nathaniel (6), second son of Abijah, was
born in 1774. He lived where the Congregational
parsonage in Shoreham ncav stands (1903), and
he built the present parsonage in 1818. He moved
in 1 83 1 to Ticonderoga, New York, where he
died in 1838. He was commissioned cornet of
the troop of cavalry, in the Third Regiment,
First Brigade, Third Division, by Governor
Tichenor, of Vermont, Alay 24, 1803. He was
twice married; his first wife was Sally Bate
man, who died in 1810, a daughter of Thomas
Bateman, of Shoreham, and she bore him four
children, and his second wife was Persis Need
ham, who bore him eight children.
Marvin (7), eldest child of Nathaniel, by his
first marriage, was born June 13, 1800, at Shore
ham, Vermont, where he died, January 12, 1883.
A leading journal summed up his character in
the following feeling tribute:
"In the death of Marvin North, the town of
Shoreham has lost one of its most honorable
citizens, and the church and society of which he
was a member one of its warmest friends and
supporters. A landmark of the early type has '
gone, as he was one of the pioneers of the town
and had always lived in it. He was marked for
his good sense and sound judgment, and in his

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

695

generation was active in promoting all that per
tained to the true interest and welfare of his
native town in its religion, education, morals
and patriotism. We would not forget his coun
sel, sympathy and aid in the hour of his coun
try's peril. He was a man of strong convictions
and will be missed as a citizen, neighbor, friend
and father."
Marvin North was married January 25, 1825, .
to Hannah Converse, of Middlebury, Vermont,
born April 1, 1803, and died June 13, 1869. She
was a lineal descendant in the eighth generation
from the American patriot, Edward Conyers (1),
who was a legitimate descendant from William
the Conqueror. Edward (known as Deacon)
Conyers, was born at Wakerly Manor,, England,
January 30, 1590; he came in the ship Lion with
Winthrop, and landed at Salem, Massachusetts,
June 12, 1630, with his wife Sarah and three
children; he died at Woburn, Massachusetts,
August 10, 1663. His descendants w-ere famous
in Colonial and Revolutionary times. His second
son, Lieutenant James (2), born in England in
1620, married Anna, daughter of Robert Long,
of Charlestown. Alajor James (3), born in Wo
burn, November 16, 1645, was noted for his
defense of Wells. He married Hanriah Carter
Captain Josiah (4) born in Woburn, Septem
ber 12, 1684, married Hannah Sawyer. Lieu
tenant Josiah (5), born in Woburn, March 2,
1710, and died in Stafford, Connecticut, Septem
ber n, 1775, served in the Indian and Revolu
tionary wars. He married Eleanor Richardson,
and four of his sons also served in the Revolu
tionary war, Josiah, Jr., as captain, Israel as
sergeant, Jude as drummer, and Jesse as a
private. Captain Josiah (6) was born in Staf
ford, Connecticut, June 4, 1737, and died in Octo
ber, 1814. He married Elizabeth Lewis. Joshua
(7) was born in Stafford, Connecticut, and died
in Hancock, Vermont, aged fifty years. He mar
ried Marv, daughter of Josiah and Anna (Put
nam) Trask, and granddaughter of Isaac and
Anna (Fuller) Putnam. Hannah (8), daughter
of Joshua Converse and Mary Trask, became the
wife of Marvin North.
The children of Marvin and Hannah (Con
verse) North were : Julius Nathaniel, born Aug
ust 17, 1829, died Alarch 30, 1896, who always
lived in Shoreham; he married Sally Maria

Jones; Henry Bateman was born June 22, 1832 ;
during the Civil war he was a volunteer soldier
in the Union army, and a corporal in Com
pany K, First Regiment Vermont Cavalry, and
died a prisoner in a rebel hospital in Winchester,
Virginia, May 23, 1862. Mary Leora died Aug4
ust 31, 1902; she married Peveril S. Peake, son
of Royal W. Peake and Jane Ann Holley, and
had one child, Anna Jane. Clayton Nelson
North is the fourth in the family.
Clayton Nelson North (8) was born in Shore
ham, January 23, 1840. He remained on the
paternal farm until he was of age, 'and was edu
cated in the district school and Newton Acad
emy at Shoreham. He was for a short time a
clerk in a store in his native village, and during
the Civil war occupied a clerical position in the
office of the paymaster general, United States
army, in Washington, D. C. In 1866 he returned
to Shoreham, where in 1869 he engaged in. a
general mercantile business in partnership with
Herman M. Atwood, under, the firm name of
Atwood & North. After three years Air. -North
purchased the interest of his partner and con
tinued, the business for twenty-eight years.. A
man of excellent business qualifications and ster-
ling integrity, he has occupied many positions of
trust and responsibility, including nearly all lo
cal offices. He was postmaster for six years,
having been appointed under the administration
of President Hayes. January 1, 1903, he was
made a director of the First National Bank of
Orwell, Vermont. He has been a member of the
Congregational church since 1867, and served as
its treasurer for many years. He is also a mem
ber and treasurer of Simonds Lodge, F. & A. M.
He has always been a staunch Republican in poli
tics. He makes his residence in Shoreham, and
in addition to other business directs the manage
ment of his two hundred and fifty-acre farmy
something more than two miles distant.
Mr. North was married December 20, 1865,
to Miss Anne Elizabeth Bascom, who was born
in Orwell, Vermont, July 5, 1844, a daughter of
Samuel Hopkins and Elizabeth (Clark) Bascom.
She is a lineal descendant of Thomas Bascom
(1), who came from England about 1638 and
settled at Dorchester, Massachusetts, thence re
moving to Windsor, Connecticut, and Northamp
ton, Massachusetts. To him and his wife Avis

696

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

were born four children. Of these, Thomas -(2)
married Alary, daughter of Thomas Newell, an
emigrant from England. Their son Thomas (3)
married Hannah, daughter of John Catlin, the
emigrant. The fifth of their eleven children, Eze
kiel (4), was a soldier in the French and Indian
war in 1723 ; he lived in Northampton, Alassa
chusetts, and served in various capacities during
several campaigns in the Colonial wars. He
married Rebecca Clary. Elias (5), second of
their four children, lived in Alassachusetts and
New Hampshire, and lastly in Orwell, Vermont.
He was a deacon in the Congregational church
and a soldier in the Colonial war of 1759 and the
Reyolutionary war, and was present at the sur
render of Burgoyne. * He married Eunice Allen.
Artemidorus (6), one of their twelve children,
was a deacon in the same church with his father,
and was for many years a justice of the peace.
He married Chloe Hulburd, a descendant in the
fifth generation from William Hulburd, who came
from England prior to 1630. Of this marriage
were born nine children, of whom the youngest
was Samuel Hopkins Bascom (7), who was
born February 27, 1819, and died December 5,
1895. He was a farmer, and lived upon the
homestead of his father and grandfather, whom
he succeeded as deacon in the church, and he
was for many years superintendent of its Sunday-
school. He was a man of great ability, a ready
and fluent speaker and writer. He was a mem
ber of the legislature in 1857-58, and held most
of the local offices at various times. He mar
ried Elizabeth (Clark) Bascom, widow of his
brother. She was born November 25, 1816, and
died at Orwell, December 4, 1870. She was a
daughter of Moses Averill and Rebecca (Wy
man) Clark. Her ancestral history is of deep
interest. Moses Averill Clark, her father, was the son
of Lemuel Clark, of Pawlet, Vermont, a soldier
in the Revolution, and of Lois Averill, his wife.
Lois Averill was the daughter of Captain Moses
Averill, of Kent, Connecticut. He was ensign of
the train band in New Milford, Connecticut, in
1760, and was made sergeant in 1763 and cap
tain in 1770. He was the son of Isaac Averill
and Esther Walker. Isaac was the son of Will
iam, the son of William Averill, the
emigrant. Martha Cogswell, wife of Cap

tain Aloses Averill, was a descendant in
the fifth generation from John Cogswell, of
England, who came to this country with his
wife, Elizabeth Thompson, in 1635. John Cogs
well came over in the Angel Gabriel, which sailed
from Bristol, June 4, 1635. Off the coast of
Maine, August 15, the ship encountered a great
storm of unusual violence and fury. The ship
was wrecked, and among those who reached the
shore was John Cogswell and his family. All of
their property was injured and much of it lost
by the shipwreck. They passed their first night
on the beach in a tent. The next day they gath
ered together all the goods they could, and soon
after succeeded in reaching Ipswich. William,
son of John Cogswell, was sixteen years old
when he came to this country; He settled on
his father's place; he was one of the selectmen
of his town; gave the land on which to erect a
meeting house, and held many offices in his
town. He married Susanna Hawks, daughter of
Adam Hawks, who was one of the seventeen
hundred Puritans who settled with Winthrop
from Southampton and landed at Salem in 1630.
William and Susanna had nine children, of whom
one, William (2), married Alartha Emerson,
daughter of Rev. John Emerson, of Topsfield,
a son of Thomas Emerson, the emigrant, in 1635.
Thomas was one of the seven to whom were
committed the fiscal and prudential affairs of the
settlement at Ipswich. Tradition says that he
came over in the ship Elizabeth. Rev. John
Emerson married Ruth Symonds, daughter of
Deputy Governor Samuel Symonds, of Ipswich,
Massachusetts. William Cogswell (2) and Mar
tha Emerson had seven children, of whom one,
Edward Emerson, married Hannah Brown. Ed
ward was an iron manufacturer. He resided at
Ipswich and at Preston, Connecticut, and subse
quently at New Milford. He was a member of
the New London Society United for Trade and
Commerce. Edward and Hannah had thirteen
children, of whom the second, Alartha, married
Captain Moses Averill, as above stated.
In the Wyman line, Rebecca Wyman, wife of
Moses Averill Clark, was the maternal grand
mother of Mrs. Clayton N. North. Rebecca' was
a descendant in the fifth genreation from Lieu
tenant John North, who came to this country
prior to 1640. In 1667 he was one of the commit-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

697

tee to lay out the lands at Woburn, Alassachu
setts. One of his children, John, was killed in
King Philip's war. Lieutenant John was one
of the selectmen of Woburn for many years, and
he married Sarah Nutt, daughter of Myles Nutt,
an emigrant prior to 1637, and one of the first
settlers at- Woburn, Massachusetts. Sarah came
with her father from England. Lieutenant John
Wyman and Sarah had ten children, of whom
one, Jacob, married Elizabeth Richardson, the
daughter of Samuel Richardson, the emigrant.
Samuel- Richardson was prominently identified
with the settlers of Woburn, and must have come
to this- country about 1630. Jacob Wyman was
one of the selectmen of Woburn for a number of
years between 1695 and 1731. Jacob and Eliza
beth had thirteeri children, of whom one, Daniel,
married Rebecca Cook. Of this marriage seven
children were born; the first, Daniel, Jr., mar
ried, September 15, 1763, Elizabeth Stone, a de
scendant in the sixth generation from Gregory
Stone, the"emigrant from England, who came to
this country about 1634 in the ship Increase.
Gregory Stone landed at Boston and settled at
Cambridge, Massachusetts; was a freeman in
1636 ; was deputy to the general court and magis
trate; a deacon of the! church, and was last
survivor pf the original members of the Shep-
hard and Mitchell church. One of his children,
Deacon Samuel Stone, married Sarah Stearns,
the daughter of Isaac Stearns, the' emigrant, who
came with Sir Richard Saltonstall with the fleet.
His son, Deacon Samuel (2), married Dorcas
Jones. Their son Joseph married Sarah Potter,
a descendant in the fifth generation from Nich
olas Potter, the emigrant, who settled iri the vi
cinity of Lynn, Massachusetts. His son Robert
married Ruth Driver; their son Robert married
Martha Hall; their son Ephraim married Sarah
Witt. Ephraim and Sarah were the parents of
Sarah Potter, above mentioned, the wife of Jos
eph -Stone.
' Mrs. North's paternal grandmother was Chloe
Hulburd, the wife of Artemidorus Bascom, a
descendant in the fifth generation from William
Hulburd, the emigrant, who came to this country
from England, probably in the ship Mary and
John, prior to 1630. His first wife, whom he prob
ably married in England, is unknown. He mar
ried second, Ann Allen, the widow- of Samuel

Allen, the ancestor of the Ethan Allen family.
William Hulburd settled in Dorchester, Massa
chusetts; he lived at Windsor, Connecticut, at
Northampton, Massachusetts, and afterwards at
Hartford, Connecticut, and was one of the com
pany that engaged to settle Northfield, Alassa
chusetts. .William and Ann had nine children, of
whom one, William, is said to have had no less,
than four wives ; his second wife,. Mary Howard,
of Suffield, was the mother of Obediah Hulburd,
who was married twice, his second, wife being
Esther M. Colton. Obediah was the father of
twelve children, there being six by each mar
riage. He lived to be eighty-two years old, and
it is said that he never saw the death of child,
grandchild or great-grandchild. One of the chil
dren of Obediah arid Esther was Ebenezer Hul
burd, who married, first, Polly Sheldon, and,
second, Anna Parker Hall. There were seven
children by each marriage. Ebenezer Hulburd
was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, being
a member of Captain Daniel Smith's company in
Colonel Ira Allen's regiment, and was in the
service upon several different occasions, as ap
pears by the records in the adjutant general's
office at Montpelier. Ebenezer Hulburd liyed in
Orwell, Vermont, and belonged to the Congre
gational church there. His wife, Polly Sheldon,
was a descendant in the fourth generation of
Isaac Sheldon, the emigrant, who married, in
1685, Mehitable Gunn. One of his children,
Jonathan, married in 1708, Mary Southwell. Nine
children were born of this rriarriage, of whom
one,' Daniel,, in 1737, married Mary Harmon.
Daniel Sheldon was a member of Captain Wad-
worth's company, Colonel Thaddeus Cook's regi
ment, of Connecticut militia, in the Revolutionary
war, and was present at the surrender of Bur-
goyne at Saratoga, and saw service at Ticon
deroga and elsewhere. Daniel Sheldon and Alary
Harmon were the parents of Polly Sheldon, wife
of Ebenezer Hulburd, above mentioned.
All the descendants of Ebenezer Hulburd are
eligible to the Colonial societies, as the mother
of Ebenezer Hulburd was Esther M. Colton, a
descendant in the fourth generation from Quarter
master George Colton, emigrant from England.
George Colton was elected to the general court
from Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1669, and he
was one of the petitioners for the establishment

698

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

of a township lying south of Springfield and
Westfield, and Ouartermaster Colton, with Cap
tain John Pynchon, was appointed a committee
for the purpose of laying out the township, and
thereafter George Colton was repeatedly elected
deputy to the general court. He married, in 1640.
Deborah Gardner; their son, Ephraim, married,
in 1685, Esther Alarshfield, daughter of Samuel
Marshfield and Catherine Chapin. Samuel Marsh
field resided at Springfield, Massachusetts, and in
1680 was elected deputy to. the general court,
as he was also in 1683 and 1684. Catherine
Chapin, his wife, was the daughter of Deacon
Samuel Chapin, the emigrant, who was one of the
magistrates of Springfield, Massachusetts, in
1654, and it is said in the old chronicles that his
commission was indefinitely extended, and that
he was much employed in public business.
Ephraim Colton and Esther Marshfield had sev
eral children, of whom one, Joseph, married, in
1708, Margaret- Pease, a descendant in the fourth
generation from Robert Pease of England. This
family are said to have come to England from
Germany in ancient times. Robert Pease, son
of Robert, came to this country in 1632 with
his father; his wife did not come over with him,
but came at a later day. Robert Pease settled
at Salem, Massachusetts, and his son, John, who
was born in England about 1630 married, after
coming to this country, Mary Goodell. John
Pease and Mary Goodell had five children, all, of
whom were born at Salem, Massachusetts. The
oldest one, John (2), married Alargaret Adams,
the daughter of James Adams and Frances Vas
sal. James Adams, last mentioned, was the' son
of John Adams, who came to this country in
the ship Fortune, November 11, 162 1 ; this was
the first ship to arrive in the new world after the
Mayflower. Frances Vassal, the mother of Mar
garet Adams, was the granddaughter of John
Vassal, alderman of London, 1588. John Vas
sal fitted out and commanded two ships which
joined the royal navy to oppose the Spanish
Armada. The family is of French origin, and
traces back to the eleventh century. John Vassal
had two sons, Samuel and William. William
was one of the assistants of the Alassachusetts
Bay Company, and was one of the original pat
entees of New England lands, and at the meeting
of the governor and company, held in 1629, he

was appointed, with others, "To go over." The
next year (1630) he carne to this country and
in a short time returned in the ship Lyon. In
1635 he came to America the second time, with
his wife and six children, in the ship Blessing.
He settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1636,
was at Scituate in 1642, and was One of the
council of war, aggressions being then threatened
by the Indians. He, subsequently returned to
England, and in 1648 removed to Barbadoes. His
daughter, Frances, married, July 16, 1646, James
Adams, as above mentioned.
The paternal grandmother of Airs. North was
Eunice Allen, a descendant in the fifth generation
from Edward Allen, the emigrant, said to have
been one of Cromwell's soldiers, and who was
at Ipswich, Massachusetts, in 1658. He mar
ried, November 24, 1658, Sarah, daughter of
Richard Kimball, of Ipswich, who came to this
country in 1634. They had eleven children, of
whom one, John, in 1682, married Elizabeth
Pritchard, daughter off William Pritchard, of
Ipswich. John Allen and Elizabeth Pritchard
had eight children, and they lived at the "bars,"
which they had bought of John Pynchon. One of
John Allen's family was killed by the Indians in
the attack of February 29, 1704, the others es
caping at that time, but on the eleventh of May,
that year, John Allen was killed and his' wife was
taken prisoner, but, the Indians finding her an
incumbrance to their retreat, she was killed by
them and her body left in the woods. One of the
children of John Allen and Elizabeth Pritchard
was John (2), who married, in 1716, Abigail
Severance, a descendant in the fourth generation
from John Severance, the emigrant, who came
to this country in the ship Elizabeth, in 1634.
He was one of the original proprietors of Salis
bury, Massachusetts, in 1637. He was at Bos
ton in 1663, and a commissioned officer in the
militia in 1671. His wife was Ursula Kimball,
daughter of Richard and Ursula Kimball, of
Watertown. John Severance and Ursula, his
wife, had eleven children, of .whom one, John, 1
married Alary — and they had six children. Ebe
nezer married Mary — he was killed by the In
dians October 11, 1723, while on a scouting ex
pedition under Captain, Benjamin Wright. Aba
gail Severance, the daughter of Ebenezer and
Mary, above mentioned, married John Allen.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

699.

Fourteen children were born of this marriage, of
whom -one, John (2), married, May, 8, 1744,
Jerusha Hastings. The oldest child by this mar
riage, Eunice, was the wife of Elias Bascom,
the. great-grandfather and Revolutionary ances
tor of Mrs. North.
Eight children were born to Samuel Hop
kins and Elizabeth (Clark) Bascom. (i).Anrie
Elizabeth, further referred to beloyy ; (2), Samuel
Jay, born March 27, 1846, married, May 25,
1870, Olive J. Longley<j of Washington, D. C,
now residing at Howard, Kansas; (3) Wyman
Hulburd, born March 9, 1848, married Ella
Francelia Wyman, and he died July 16, 1879,
and she died in September, 1891, without issue;
(4) Clarinda, born March 7,. 1850, died March
8, 1853; (5) George B., born August 22, 1852,
married, in 1899, Alice Whitney, and they re
side in Ticonderoga, New York ; (6) Robert O,
born November 18, 1856, married, December 20,
1882, Mary L. Piatt; (7) Jessie, born November
3, 1857, died January 21, 1858; (,8) Cassius Clay,
born September 15, 1861, married, in October,
1885, Ellen Griswold of Orwell, Vermont; he
died October 31, 1894; no issue.
Anne Elizabeth, eldest child of Samuel Hop
kins and Elizabeth (Clark) Bascom, and who
became the wife of Clayton Nelson North, re
ceived her education at Newton Academy, Mid
dlebury Female Seminary and the Burr and Bur
ton Seminary in Manchester, Vermont. With a
laudable pride in her lineage, traceable to forty-
eight emigrant ancestors who came to America
prior to 1700, and among whose descendants were
many who contributed to the establishment of
civil institutions and the creation Of the nation,
she has for many years taken a deep interest in
various patriotic societies. She was a charter
member of the Vermont Society of Colonial
Dames, and is now one of the board of managers
of that order. She is also regent of the Hand's
Cove Chapter, Daughters of the American Revo
lution, which she organized, June 17, 1901, with
twenty-five charter members, the largest orig
inal organization in the state, so- far as known.
She is a Congregationalist in religion, and active,
in the work of her church, yet liberal in views
and acts with reference to other organizations.
To Clayton Nelson and Anne Elizabeth (Bas

com) North were born, at Shoreham, Vermont,
three children, as follows:
Julius Bascom North (9) was born February
24, 1869. He was educated at Newton Academy,
^ Shoreham, Vermont, St. Johnsbury Academy,
and at Eastman's Business College, Poughkeep-
sie, New York. For two years he was corres
ponding secretary to United States Senator-
Proctor, in Washington, D. C. In 1893 he lo
cated in Fort Edward, New York. He served as
official stenographer to the surrogate's court of
Washington county, New York, for six years, and
was re-appointed for another term, but resigned
in 1902 to accept his present position with the
office staff of the Union Bag and Paper Com
pany, at Sandy Hill, New York. He was mar
ried, October 14, 1897, to Miss Jennie, daughter
of William and Margaret (Wicks) Matthews,
of Fort Edward, New York ; her father was son
of Colonel David Matthews, who was son of
William Matthews, Jr., an Irish Presbyterian,
who came from Scotland to Salem, New York,
in 1767. Clayton Matthews North (10), son of
Julius Bascom and Jennie (Matthews) North,
was born at Fort Edward, New York, January
11, 1899.
Clayton Converse North, born April 22* 1879,
died April 21, 1880. Ehzabeth Clark North,
born February 24, 1881, was graduated with
honors from Kimball Union Academy, Meriden,
New Hampshire, in 1902.
charles Deforest Bancroft.
The first representative of the Bancroft fam
ily (the data and facts of this family down to
1814 were taken from the Genealogical Llistory
of^ Reading) known to history was John Ban
croft, who, with his wife, Jane, and son, Thomas,
sailed frOm London, England, in 1632, and set
tled at Lynn, Massachusetts, where he died in
1637. Lieutenant Thomas Bancroft, son of John and
Jane Bancroft, was born in England in 1622. His
early life was passed in Lynn, and when quite
young he built a house in Lynnfield, near Beaver
Dam. His first wife was Elizabeth, daughter' of
Michael Bacon, of Dedham, Massachusetts. In
1648 he married his second wife, Elizabeth,

700

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

daughter of Michael and Sarah Metcalf, and re-'
moved to Reading, Alassachusetts. He died Aug-^
ust 19, 1 69 1, and is buried in the cemetery a few
rods northwest of the Orthodox church in Wake
field, the oldest inscription of any stone in the
yard. His children, all by his second marriage,
were: Thomas, born in 1649; Elizabeth, born in
1653. and married Joseph Browne; John, born
in 1656 ; Sarah, born in 1660, and died in 1661 ;
Raham, born in 1662, and died in 1683 ;
Sarah, born in 1665, and married John Wood
ward; Ebenezer, born in 1667; Alary, born in
1670, and was unmarried in 1691.
Deacon Thomas Bancroft, son of Lieutenant
Thomas and Elizabeth (Aletcalf) Bancroft, was
born in Reading, Alassachusetts, in 1649. ^n
1673 he married Sarah, born in 1656, and died
in 1718, daughter of Jonathan and Judith Poole.
Jonathan Poole was a noted and much Valued
officer in King Philip's war, being captain of
* the Reading Company, and was president of the
council of peace in 1675. Deacon Thomas Ban
croft served as lieutenant of the Reading Com
pany in King Philip's war, was selectman of the
towri for several years, and was chosen on the
first separate board of assessors in 1694. He
was designated as Captain or Deacon Thomas
Bancroft by his ifellow townsmen. He died June
12, 1718. His children were: Thomas, born in
I073; Jonathan, born and died in 1675; Sarah,
born in 1676, and married Abraham Bryant ; Me
hitabel, born in 1678, and married a Mr. Parker;
Jonathan, born in 1681, and married Sarah  ,
and died in 1702; Rahum, born in 1684; Judith,
born in 1688, and married a Mr. Parker ; Samuel,
born in 1691, and died in 1692 ; Samuel, born in
1693; Elizabeth, born in 1696, and married, in
1713, John Lampson.
Captain Samuel Bancroft, the son of Deacon
Thomas Bancroft, was born in Reading, De
cember 27, 1693. In 1713 'he married Sarah
Lamson, born in 1689, and died in 1733, daugh
ter of Samuel Lamson, a lieutenant of the Read
ing company in King Philip's war, and Mary
(Nichols) Lamson. Captain Samuel Bancroft
held the commission of captain in the Indian
wars, and held the office of selectman and was
elected representative to the general assembly in
1740, serving for several years. He married for
his second wife, Sarah Leathe, in 1733; and for

his third wife, Mehitabel Fitch. He died July
13, 1772. The children, all by first marriage,'
were: Samuel, born in 1715; William, born in
1717; Edmund, born in 1718, and died in 1740;
Nathaniel, born in 1720; Sarah, born in 1722.;
Jacob, born in 1723; Jeremiah, born in 1725;
Caleb, born in 1731.
Samuel Bancroft, Jr., son of Captain Samuel
and Sarah ^Lamson) Bancroft, was born at
Reading in 1715, and in 1735 married Lydia,
born in 1715, and died in 1813, daughter of
Nathaniel and Elizabeth Parker. He saw mili
tary service as captain in the French and Indian
war (see page 698, Genealogical History of Read
ing, Massachusetts), and held many important
offices — deacon, justice of the peace and select-
man-^and was representative to the general as
sembly from 1769 to' 1774. He was noted for
the wisdom and prudence of liis counsels, and for
his ability as a public speaker. He died at Read
ing, Massachusetts, in 1782. His children were:
Samuel, born in 1736, married Sarah Holt, and
became a judge in Nova Scotia; Lydia, born in
1738, married, in 1761, Z. Johnson, of Andover;
Sarah, born in 1740, married Daniel How, of
Andover, in 1764 ; Alary, born in 1742, married
in 1765, Rev. Francis Lovejoy,' and settled in
Maine or New Hampshire, and was ancestress
of the martyr Lovejoy ; Mehitabel, born in 1744.,
married, in 1767, John Nichols ; Elizabeth, born
in 1746, and married, in 1769, Nathaniel Cheever;
Anne, born in 1749; Edmund, born in 175 1, mar- "
ried, in 1770, Sarah Pool; Caleb, born in 1753,
married in 1776, Susan'Tay; Aaron, born in 1755,
married Lucetta Chandler, and was father of Hon.
George Bancroft, the historian of the United
States; Lucy, born in 1758, and married, in 1780,
Dr. Joseph Gray.
Edmund Bancroft, the second son of Samuel
and Lydia (Parker) Bancroft, was born in Read
ing, July 27, 175 1. He served in Captain Eaton's
company during the Revolutionary war, and
fought in the battles of Lexington and Concord.
He married Sarah 'Poole, his second cousin, born
in 1749, died at Lunenburg, Alarch 31, 1831,
daughter of Captain, Jonathan Poole, an officer,
in the French and Indian war, a grandson of
Captain Jonathan Poole, and of Alary- (Leman)
Poole. He was a shoemaker by trade, and died
in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, in August, 1810.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

701

Their children were: Sarah, born November
I3» i77o, died December 6, 1770; Sarah, born
May 20, 1772, married Nathaniel Bancroft, and
died in 1855; Samuel and Edmund, born No
vember 23, 1773, Edmund died December 4,
and Samuel December 5, 1773; Polly, born June
f7» !775> married Thomas Stimson, of Maiden,
in 1802 ; Edmund, born March 20, 1777 ; Samuel,
born March 7, 1779, died in Aylmer, province of
Quebec, in 1854; Lydia, born July 21, 1781, mar
ried John Wood, of Boston, in 1802 ; Aaron, born
February 2, 1784; Esther, born June 2, 1786,
married Nathaniel Pratt; Ruth, born December
5, 1788; Timothy, born April 26, 1795, married
Abigail Batchelder, in 1817, and died February
3, 1861. Aaron *Bancroft, the son of Edmund and
Sarah (Poole) Bancroft, was born in Reading,
February 2, 1784. He left the ancestral home
in Reading, and went to. Montpelier, Vermont,
in 1814; here he followed the trade of shoe-.
maker. He was a deacon of the Congregational
church, and was also sexton of the village. He
was a good singer, great mimic, and noted ath
lete, winning races at the age of fifty years.
October 30, 1807, he married Anna Foster, who
was born February 21, 1784, and who died Octo
ber 21, 1865. She was a daughter of Jonathari
Foster, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, with
the Reading Company at the battles of Lexing
ton and Concord. Aaron Bancroft died at Mont
pelier, Alarch 26,, 1872. Their children were:
Aaron, born at Reading, Massachusetts, Febru
ary 20, 1809 ; he resided at Alontpelier, and never
married; he was a shoemaker, goldsmith, moul
der, a skilled mechanic, and was a much noted
wag; he died at Montpelier, Marches, 1869.
Mary Ann and Sarah Ann, twins, born July 1,
1810, and Alary died in three months; Sarah
married, first, a Mr. Nye, at Albany, New York,.
and two soils were born to them : Charles Henry
and Prince Mavrocadatero Nye, both having held
commissions in the navy; she married, second,
Ivory Snow, of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts,
where she died in October, 1886. Edwin, born
September 19, 1812, married Betsy Hepburn,
of Waltham, Vermont, January 31, 1834, and set
tled at Vergennes, Vermont ; September^, 1836,
he is supposed to have been murdered on or near
Lake Champlain; he left one son, Edwin R.,

who was killed about 1890 by cars at New Haven,
' Vermont, leaving two sons, Charles V. and Ed
win C. Henry, born February 20, 181 4, at
Reading, Massachusetts, was a blacksmith, and
never married; he died at Montpelier, Vermont,
February 1, 1838. Mary, born March 15, 1820,
at Montpelier, married GeOrge Rogers, of Ca
bot, where she died September 11, 1883, leaving
no children. Eliza Ann, born September 10,
1822, at Alontpelier, died at the age of three
months. Daniel Foster, born August 11, 1824,
at Montpelier, married Harriet J. Ackerman, of
New York city February 1, 1854, and he died at
Brooklyn, New York, June 26, 1895 (leaving:
Annie Foster, born November 4, 1854; she mar
ried March 1, 1886, Thomas H. Graham, of New
York city; George, born August 17, 1857, mar
ried August 4, 1880, Josephine E., daughter *of
George and Elizabeth Orcutt, of New York city.
George died April 14 1895, leaving a daughter,
Louise Bancroft, born Alay 25, 1881 ; and George
Arthur, born January 9, 1888, died June 12,
1894). Eliza, born Alay 4, 1826, at Montpelier,
married Franklin Lloyt, August 16, 1847, and
died March 25, 1879, leaving three daughters:
Sarah, Lois~ and Emma, all unmarried. Charles
Edgar was born June 11, 1830.
Charles Edgar Bancroft, the son of Aaron
and Anna (Foster) Bancroft, was born in Mont
pelier, Vermont, June 11, 1830. He conducted.
a successful business in tin and hardware, stoves,.
plumbing, etc. He had a mechanical turn of mind,
and several devices' which he invented were pat
ented. He was first lieutenant in Company I,
Thirteenth Vermont Volunteers, during the Civil
war. In politics he was a Democrat. He was
a member of the Unitarian church. He mar-
riled Diann, daughter of Thomas Thomas, March
J5> I849- She was born in Georgia, Vermont,
May 16, 1825, and died June 26, 1855. He mar
ried, second, Julia Ann Hawley of Waterbury,
Vermont, October 1, 1857 ; she died August 15,
1869. He married, third, Augusta N. Gould, of
Montpelier, February 1, 1872; she died February
28, 1878. He died at Montpelier, February 1,
1879. His children, all by his first marriage,
were: Edwin Christopher, born September 23,
1851, and died June 11, 1852, at Montpelier;
Charles DeForest, born at Montpelier, Vermont,
May 17, 1853; twin sons, born at Hyde Park

702

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

in June, 1854, lived but a few days; Alice D.,
born at Waterbury, Vermont, June 25, 1855,
resides at St. Albans, and never married.
Charles DeForest Bancroft, son of Charles
Edgar and Diann (Thomas) Bancroft, was born
in Montpelier, Alay 17, 1853. With the exception
of a few years, from 1855 to 1862, when a greater
part of his childhood was spent at Waterbury, he
has always resided at Montpelier, Vermont, which
has been the family home for almost a century.
He attended the Union School of Montpelier,
and after completing his studies there, at the age
of fifteen years, he learned the tinsmith and
plumber's trade, at which he worked for twenty-
nine years, twenty-four of which he was with
the firm of Barrows andiPeck, giving up mechani
cal pursuits about five years ago.
During the meantime he was local reporter for
the Green Mountain Freeman for several years,
and his extensive information on all local and
general topics enabled him tp fill this position
most satisfactorily. He has had charge of the
registration of voters at all elections, and has
taken the school census and registration of births
and deaths for more than a quarter of a century;
in fact, he knows more people in Montpelier, and
is known by more people, there than any other
man in the city. He held the office of trustee and
collector of the village before it was incorporated
as a city; is, and has been for eighteen years, a
justice of the peace; is chairman of the board of
assessors, having served on the board for twenty
years ; and since the first city election, in Alarch,
1895, he has received the annual election for
city sheriff and collector. His long service as
assessor and collector of taxes has been a most
important factor iri giving Montpelier a model
system for securing each year a complete grand
list, and for cleaning up the collection of its
taxes every year with a minimum loss, providing
alike for the interests of individuals and the city.
He has been of material assistance, and has given
much spare time in furnishing statistics for genea
logical histories, among others being Miss Hem-
inway's "History of Alontpelier."
He was married September 11, 1871, at Mont
pelier, to Flora Burnham Alexander, born in
Montpelier," December 6, 1854, a daughter of
Thomas C. and Harriett (Dudley) Alexander*
Seven children were born to them: Eva Julia,

born February 28/ 1873, married Henry Ward
Cate, of Alontpelier, January 8, 1896, and to tfiem
has been born a som Robert Bancroft Cate, June
17, 1900. Harriet B., born September 4, 1875,
died December 14, 1876. Charlotte Augusta,
born July 28, 1878, died August 8, 1878. Charles
Edgar, born October 10, 1879, died September
2, 1880. Anna Foster born February 14, 1882,
died October 7, 1882. Frederick Wells, born
October 16, 1884, is a collector for the New
England Telephone Company in Montpelier and
Barre. Charles DeForest, Jr., born December
1, 1894. The old homestead in Reading, Alassachu
setts, is still owned and occupied by a Bancroft,
and has been for more than two centuries and a
half, being the only one that has never changed
hands since the settlement, and the family name
has been and is a prominent one in both Reading
and Montpelier. It is a' singular fact that since
they came from England all in this family line
have for ten generations been born andvjived
either in Reading, Alassachusetts, or Montpelier,
Vermont.
BERT EMERY MERRIAM.
Bert Emery Alerriam, A. B., superintendent
of the schools of Rockingham, Vermont, is a
man of excellent executive ability, and a success
ful and popular educator. He was born October
21, 1865, in Elmore, Vermont, son of Albert
Chester and Helen Maria (Silloway) Merriam,
both natives of Vermont. The father was born
in Hyde Park, Vermont, October 29, 1836, and
was educated in the People's Academy in Morris
ville; he has held various town offices and is the
present overseer of the poor; he is a staunch
Republican in politics. His wife was born in
Berlin, Vermont, October 29, 1838; with her
husband she is a member of the Methodist Epis
copal church.
Bert Emery Merriam received his prepara
tory education in the district schools of his native
town, and then attended the People's Academy ,
in Morrisville, Vermont, graduating from that
institution in 1889. For one year thereafter he
taught in the high school in Stowe, and in the
fall of 1890 in Oberlin College, at Oberlin, Ohio,
where he also pursued advanced studies, and
graduated with the class of 1894.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

7°3

Thus early equipped, Mr. Merriam entered
upon his professional career in Fairfax, Vermorit,
where he taught school for two years, from 1894
to 1896. He then returned, to Oberlin, Ohio,
and was instructor in his alma mater for two
years! During the following year he taught again
in Fairfax, Vermont. In 1889 he was elected
principal of Hardwick Academy, Hardwick, Ver
mont, and after three years' service was elected
to the position which he how (1903) holds. He
has met (with great success in his labors, and has
attained wide popularity, recognized as a teacher
of high ability.
Mr. Merriam is a member of the Congrega
tional church, in which he has served as choris
ter and teacher in the Sunday-school. In poli
tics he is a Republican. ' He is a member of
Caspian Lake Lodge No. 86, F. & A. 1VL, of
Hardwick. Mr. Merriam was married August- 9, 1899,
to Miss Carrie Amelia Shaw, daughter of the
late Harrison Shaw, of Elmore, Vermont. She
is a lady of culture and excellent' attainments,
a graduate of the People's Academy, Morrisville,
class of 1888; before her marriage she was a
teacher in the public .schools, and has held the
office of town superintendent of schools. She
is of honored Revolutionary ancestry. Her
great-great-grandfather, Captain Shaw (from
whom her husband is also descended), served
during the struggle for independence,, and she
now possesses a Continental iive dollar bill which
he. received from the government when he was
honorably discharged at the end of the war.
GEORGE FRANKLIN ROBERTS.
George Franklin Roberts, a prominent and
prosperous business man of Wilmington, Ver
mont, was born in Baldwinsville, Illinois, De-
cerhber 21, i860. His parents were James and
Jane (Fairbanks) Roberts, both natives of New
England, where their forefathers were among
the earl settlers. Whitingham, Vermont, being
the. place of residence for many years of James
Roberts, it was to this locality that he returned
with his family in 1867 from Illinois, when his
impaired health seemed to require a change.
George F. Roberts spent the early years of
his life upon the home farm, and his preliminary

studies were acquired in the village school at
Jacksonville, Vermont, later supplemented by a
course of study at Shelburne Falls Academy. For
several years after completing his studies the
summer months were devoted to farm
ing, and during the winter season he
taught in the village school. Young Roberts
"Oiad no intentiori of being a farmer all his life,
so finding that the years weie passing, and that
if he hoped to enter the world of achievement
he must not delay, he accepted a position in a
box factory at Jacksonville, where, during his
two years of service, he developed considerable
mechanical skill. From this occupation he en
tered the commercial field as a clerk in a general

GEORGE FRANKLIN ROBERTS.

store at Sadawga ; from here he removed to Or
ange, Massachusetts, and then/" clerked in a gen
eral store at Briggsville, Massachusetts. Subse
quently he engaged with the large grocery firm
of Stickney Brothers, of Brattleboro, Vermont,
which position he retained for five vears. His

704

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

varied experience during these years of labor in
different fields made him feel that, should he enter
a wider sphere of action, he might gradually suc
ceed in making a creditable place for himself in
the world. Thus it was that in 1891 he came
to New York city, where his first venture was in
the baking trade, which he conducted for nearly
five years. From this he entered the employ of
the Metropolitan Traction Company, of New
York, which corporation he served in various ca
pacities for three years. During his life in the
great metropolis he was thrown in contact with
men of prominence in business and political ca
reers. He resigned his position in New York
March 22, 1899, in order to accept the position
of passenger conductor with the Hoosac Tunnel
& Wilmington Railroad Company, which he
filled until shortly after the death of John C.
Newton, when he was promoted to the position
which he now occupies, that of assistant superin
tendent of the road.
HON. PHILIP K. GLEED.
Hon. Philip King Gleed, of Morrisville. Ver
mont, deceased, was, during a long and active
life, one of the most distinguished lawyers at the
bar- of the state, a most useful citizen, and a
model Christian gentleman. He was a native
of Canada, born in Granby, province of Quebec,
September 10, 1834. His parents were the. Rev.
John and Elizabeth (Prettyjohn) Gleed, the
father' being a native of Lyme Regis, Dorset
shire, , England. He came in his youth to Mor
risville, where his older brother, Thomas Gleed,
was a well established lawyer, and there he be
came a student in the People's Academy. He
subsequently continued his education in the Ba
kersfield Academy, the Troy Conference Acad
emy, at Poultney, from-which he was graduated
in 1855, and Union College, New York, from
which he was graduated with honor in 1859. He
then engaged in teaching a school in Morrisville,
meantime pursuing law studies under the tutor
ship of his brother, and he was admitted to the
bar in 1859, and rose, by the concurrent testi
mony of his colleagues, to a place among the
foremost of the profession in the state. His
attainments were tersely epitomized by Judge W.

P. Stafford, who, in his remarks at the funeral
of Mr. Gleed, spoke of him, as the representative
type of the general all-around lawyer, who relied
upon his own resources and investigation in every
case committed to him. His cases were always
thoroughly and exhaustively prepared, and were
tried upon their merits. His pleas were clear,
direct, logical and eloquent, and enlivened with
apt illustrations and anecdote. His worth re
ceived a high tribute from the State Bar Asso
ciation, which, in 1888, elected him its president.
Mr. Gleed was called to various positions of
honor and trust, in all of which he acquitted him- ,
self with scrupulous fidelity and conscientious
ness. He was state's attorney for Lamoille coun
ty in 1867-68, and again in 1880-82; representa
tive in the legislature in 1868-69; trustee of the
State Reform School in 1869 ; assessor of internal
revenue, 1870-74; state senator and president pro
tern, of the senate, 1880-81 ; and state commiss
ioner of taxes, 1890-92. He was a member of
the committee on revision of statutes in 1893-94.
He occupied numerous local positions, his serv
ice as selectman covering many years, and in all
these offices he displayed the same sound judg
ment, and conscientious fidelity that distinguished
him in more conspicuous places.
He rendered hearty and loyal service in every
worthy effort and enterprise in the village and
county in which he lived. He was a member
of the school board, a village trustee, a director
in the two banks at Hyde Park, and in the Mor
risville Savings Bank. He was a deacon in the
Congregational church, and was for twenty-five
years superintendent of its Sunday-school. He
was affiliated with Mount Vernon Lodge, No.
8, F. & A. M.
Mr. Gleed was twice married. His first wife,
to whom he was united October 10, 1861, was
Miss Ellen Fuller, of Moira, New York. Two
children born of this union, Alary and George,
both died young. On May 14, 1885, Mr. Gleed
was married to Mrs. Laura Fleetwood, widow of
Henry W. Fleetwood, and the mother of Fred
erick G. Fleetwood, of Alorrisville, Vermont.
Mr. Gleed died on- June 29, 1897, aged sixty-
three years. At the time of his funeral, all busi
ness in the village was suspended, and the mem
bers of the Lamoille county bar testified to their
respect for the deceased by attending in a body.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

70.5

FREDERICK G. FLEETWOOD.
Frederick Gleed Fleetwood, of Alorrisville,
was born in St. Johnsbury, September 27, 1869.
His grandfather, Thomas Fleetwood, was an
English gentleman, who came to the United
States on a pleasure voyage, and who subse
quently settled in Barnet, 'Vermont. He there
married, and reared two sons, Thomas and Henry
W. Fleetwood. The last named married Miss
Laura Kenney, of St. Johnsbury, and they were
the parents of Frederick G. Fleetwood.
Frederick G. Fleetwood was prepared for
college at St. Johnsbury Academy, entered the
University of Vermont in 1886, and in 1888
matriculated in Harvard College, from which he
was graduated in 189J, just after attaining his
majority. In the same year he entered the law
office of his step-father, Hon. Philip K. Gleed.
Mr. Fleetwood was admitted to the bar in Octo
ber, 1894, and in tlie following year he became
the law partner of Mr. Gleed. This association
vwas maintained until the death of Mr. Gleed,
in 1897, when Mr. Fleetwood succeeded to the
business of the firm, continuing to occupy the
same office. ¦
He was appointed clerk of the committee on
the revision of the laws in. 1894. In 1896 he
was elected town clerk and treasurer of Alorris
town, and was re-elected at the three succeeding
elections. In the first of these years, and the
second after his admission to the bar, he was
elected state's attorney for Lamoille county. He
was a presidential elector in the second McKin
ley campaign, in 1900, and was chosen messenger
of that body to carry the electoral vote to Wash
ington. At the state election, on the first Tues
day of September, 1902, Mr. Fleetwood was elect
ed secretary of state.
THE PARISH FAMILY;
.Few families in Vermont can point to a more
honorable lineage or show, worthier deeds done
by its representatives at various periods than the
one which it is the object of this sketch to pass
in review. Two of the ancestors took part in
the great revolution which led to the American
republic, and 'shared the deathless glories of the
initial battle at Bunker Hill. Later on the Par-
45

ishes occupied positions of prominence in all the
walks of life, being influential in legislative halls,
on the 'judicial bench, and in important offices of
all kinds and almost every grade. They have
figured conspicuously as agriculturists, as pro^
fessional men and in all the affairs whose aggre
gate make up the growth and progress of a
nation. Jacob Parish, the founder of the Vermorit
branch of this name, after doing his duty as a
Revolutionary soldier, removed in 1788 from
Windham, Connecticut, to. Randolph, Vermont,
arid for about fifty years occupied one of the tracts
of fertile farm lands in the northern part of the
town. There, on the 13th of September, 1793,
was born his son, Jacob Kimball Parish, who was
destined to lead a long and useful life, spent in
the most honorable and varied employment. After
obtaining the best education then afforded in the
district and Orange county, grammar schools, he
entered the pedagogic field himself, and spent
several winters in. the delightful task of "rearing,
the infant mind and teaching the young idea how
to shoot." When the war of 1812 began he was
about eighteen years of age, and lost no time in
joining a company of the Randolph volunteers,.
with which he served gallantly as an orderly ser
geant at the battle of Plattsburg. Some years-
later he held the responsible position of paymas
ter of the brigade, and afterward was quarter
master of the division with" the rank of major.
His first venture in civil life Was in 1815, when
he became a clerk in a store, and two years later
entered into partnership with Dana & Stearns, at
Chelsea. In connection with the same firm he
soon afterward built and opened a store opposite
the old General Flint house , in Randolph. In
1818, in his twenty-fifth year, Air. Parish was
appointed register of probate for the Randolph
district, in which office he continued for fifteen
years, and was then promoted by election as
judge of probate for the same district. Another
judicial position held by hirri was that of assistant
judge of ,the county, an honor he retained for
several years. Among the multifarious offices
of trust and profit held by this versatile gentle
man may be mentioned that of postmaster, assist
ant United States marshal, trustee of public
moneys, assignee in bankruptcy and bank direc
tor. In addition to all these he occupied various

706

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

town offices and was elected to represent the
town in the state legislature. In 1830 he was
•elected one 'of the trustees of the Orange county
grammar school, and held this place continuously
for thirty-six years, manifesting during all that
period the most earnest friendship for the cause
of education. Such a record of trust and confi
dence on the part of his fellow citizens seldom
falls to the lot of any man, and the mere mention
is sufficient to show the esteem in which he was
held. In fact, Jacob Kimball Parish was a high-
minded and "public-spirited citizen, whose experi
ence, wise judgment and integrity won the re
gard of all with whom he came in contact, and
he never varied in his efforts to advance the ma
terial and moral welfare of his community. One
of his most striking characteristics was his love
of temperance, and to this noble cause he de
voted much of the best efforts of his life, being
a consistent, outspoken, uncompromising advo
cate of a suppression of the liquor traffic in all
its forms. He was president of the first tem
perance society organized in Orange county, and
during his two terms, in the legislature, in 1857
and the following year, he could always be de
pended on to work and vote for any measure that
promised to advance this vital form.
In 1818. he married Abigail Chandler, of
Pomfret, Connecticut, who died in 1829, after
giving birth to one son and two daughters. In
1830 he . took a second wife in the person of
Mary A., daughter of Israel Converse, of Ran
dolph, with whom he lived in utmost love and
confidence for more than half a century. Her
- grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier and
fought at Bunker Hill. ' When the golden wed
ding of this venerable and beloved couple was
celebrated, on May 10, 1880, a large concourse of
the children, grandchildren and friends were
present to do them honor and offer congratula
tions. The venerable jurist, however, did not
long survive this notable event, his gentle spirit
yielding to the inevitable fate of all on the 10th
of November, 1881. He left' that heritage most
desired by fond parents — a son who would worth
ily wear his mantle, and by the achievement of
a distinguished -career himself prove that he was
the worthy offspring of so worthy- a sire.
Of the eleven children of Judge Parish by
his second wife the youngest was John Kimball,

whose birth occurred at Randolph, November
18, 1848. After an attendance of some years
in the Orange county grammar school he decided
to seek a career in the rapidly growing west, and
in 1867 made his way to Wisconsin, fixing his
abode at the rising town of Waupaca. Being still
under age, he attended school several terms after
his arrival, and then entered the State Univer
sity at Madison, where^he was graduated in the
class of 1872. Entering a law office he studied
diligently, was admitted to the bar in 1873, and
soon thereafter located at Aledford, the capital
of Taylor county. His talent, ambition and fine
general presence soon brought the young lawyer
to the front, and he speedily received the ap
pointment as district attorney, an office to which
he was afterward repeatedly re-elected, and which
he held until 1885. In 1884 he was sent to the
Wisconsin state legislature by his admiring con
stituency, and in 1887 was elected judge of the
fifteenth judicial circuit, which lofty position he
filled so acceptably as to be honored by a re
election in 1893 and 1899.
In June, 11891, Judge Parish was united 'in
marriage to Aliss May W. Carrington, a Virgin
ian by birth, and connected with one of the most
distinguished families of the Old Dominion. The
Judge is prominently connected both with the
Masonic fraternity and the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows. His elder brother, Luke Parish,
is a resident of Randolph Center, and is another
esteemed member of this highly honored family.
A twin brother of the latter, Alark Parish, re
sides in Oakland, California.
Luke Parish was born November 6, 1845, on
his father's farm in the northern part of the
town of Randolph. He grew up in the village
of Randolph Center, whither his father moved
when he was seven years old, and attended the
district school and the Orange county grammar
school, being a student at the latter after it be
came a State Normal School.
FRANK PARSONS ROBINSON.
Frank Parsons Robinson, of Burlington, Ver
mont, is one of the leading business men of that
city, where he also officiates as overseer of the
poor, having been appointed to that position in
April, 1 90 1. He was born in Morrisville, Ver-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

707

mont, July 21, 1853, a son of James Caswell and
Anna Webster (Parsons) Robinson. His grand
father, Rev. , Septimius Robinson, son of Eliab,
was born July 27, 1790. He married, first, Lucy
Kingsley, who died in 1833. Lie married, sec
ond, January 6, 1835, Samantha Washburn, who
¦ died at Homer, New York. Rev. Septimius Rob
inson died at Morrisville, Vermont, September
.27, i860, where he had, been pastor of the First
Congregational church for twenty-five years.
James Caswell Robinson was born January
12, 1822, in Fairhaven, Vermont, and died in
Burlington. He acquired a common school edu
cation, and when but a boy removed to Hartford,
Connecticut, where he learned the occupation of
hoot and shoe maker, which he followed for sev
eral years. He made the journey to Connecticut
to deliver a fine horse, and, having no sled, he
made a large handsled from poles and with a
box fastened on for a body. In this way he
went to Connecticut, and in a few years married
.a wife, on September 14, 1846, becoming the hus -
hand of Anna W. Parsons, of Bloomfield, Con
necticut, who was born there October 26, 1822.
The ceremony was performed in Bloomfield by
Rev. Septimius Robinson, who had made the
trip from Vermont for that express purpose. In
the early fifties the young couple removed from
¦Connecticut to Morrisville, Vermont, and in i860
Mr. Robinson was appointed postmaster, which
'office he filled for twenty-one yearsP He was also
-entrusted with other local offices. In politics he
was a stanch Republican, and in religion was a
, member of the Congregational church. In 1864,
during the scare caused by the St. Albans raid,
-the "Home Guards" were formed, and Caswell
•Robinson was orderly sergeant. At this time he
was postmaster, and when on his way home from
the office at night, when stopped by a sentinel
with a demand for the countersign, not knowing
-the proper word, many times he would call out
"Uriited States mail," which would always let
nim pass. Of the six children born to J. Cas
well and Anna Robinson, five are living, the
-second, Daniel P., having died October 10, 1850,
ao-ed five months. The living are. Charles E.,
V now living in Cambridge, Massachusetts ; Frank
p of Burlington, Vermont; J. Arthur, of Mor
risville, Vermont; Edwin Septimius, also of Mor

risville, Vermont; and William H., of Philadel
phia, Pennsylvania. The father of these children
died in September, 1893, and the mother, August
27, 1886.
Frank Parsons Robinson received his educa
tion in the public schools of his native town, and
later attended the People's Academy of Mor
risville. After completing his studies he was en
gaged as a clerk in a mercantile business, and alsp
as a clerk in the postoffice at Waterbury, Ver
mont. Later he removed to Burlington, Ver
mont, where he was employed as a clerk. He
subsequently learned the photograph business,
which he conducted successfully for nine years
in Morrisville. In the fall of 1888 he returned
to Burlington, and was associated with the firm
of Burnham & Grant (now L. G: Burnham &
Company), where he remained for ten years,
after which he purchased a .steam laundry and
conducted it for three years, selling out in, Jan
uary, 1902, having been appointed to the position
of overseer of the poor during that period. Mr.
Robinson has proved a very capable official, and
has made many improvements in the management
of the affairs intrusted to his charge. L'nder the
direction of the mayor and the pauper committee
of the board of aldermen, he has adopted a sys
tem that results in great saving to the city. In
stead of giving individual orders for. supplies,
he buys in large quantities such goods as are
needed, and then himself gives to the applicant
what is necessary. A woodyard ' has also been
established; the wood is bought in four- foot
lengths, and the needy poor are given an oppor
tunity to assist in cutting this into stove lengths.
In the winter of 1901-02 the fuel bill was seven
teen hundred dollars, and during the past year
* several hundred dollars have been saved from
this sum by the economy introduced by Mr. Rob
inson. His business abilities have found full scope
for action in this responsible position, and the
city is fortunate in having such an incumbent
in the office.
Mr. Robinson is a firm adherent of the princi
ples of the Republican party, and lias served on
city and ward committees. He is a consistent
member of the Episcopal church of Burlington.
He is ' a past master of Burlingtqn Lodge No.
100, F.l & A. M., and has served as district

708

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

deputy of the fifth Masonic district ; and belongs
to the Scottish Rite order, in which body he has
been honored with a responsible office.
On April 23, 1879, Mr. Robinson married
Miss Cora Alice Morse, a daughter of Nelson
Morse, of Walden, Vermont, and one child has
been born to them, Sarah Anne Robinson. Nel
son Morse was a farmer, and spent his life in
Cabot. His wife, who was born in Maiden, lives
in Burlington and Cabot. All of her eight chil
dren are living in the state but two. The eldest
son, ¦ Alfred, is a successful farmer at Barnet,
Vermont, while Edmund, a graduate of the Uni
versity of Vermont, is a merchant in Lyndon.
HON. EDWARD JOHN PHELPS.
The annals of the state of Vermont contain
the name of none mOre worthy of honor than that
of Edward John Phelps. His talents were of
an unusually high order, and his broad knowl
edge of men and affairs, and his calm judicial
temperament afforded him an equipment which
made him a commanding figure in his profession,
as a statesman and as a man of affairs.
He was justly proud of his ancestry, and
sought throughout his life to add adornment to
his family name. He came of that splendid Eng
lish stock which settled in Connecticut, and there
planted the seeds of religious and political liberty,
and sent its descendants to propagate its princi
ples wherever, they dispersed, along the seaboard
and westward beyond the mountains. His earliest
American progenitor was William Phelps, who
emigrated from England in 1630, He was an
important character — founder of the historic old
town of Windsor, and many years a magistrate.
Edward Phelps, great-grandfather of Edward
J. Phelps, was an extensive landowner and was
a representative in the general court of Connecti
cut, v His son, John Phelps, was a Revolutionary
^war soldier, and became a wealthy and influential
citizen of Litchfield, Connecticut.
Samuel Shethar Phelps, father of Edward
John Phelps, was a man of great ability, and was
in his day one of the most distinguished jurists
and men of affairs in the state. As was remarked
by the Rev. Dr, Mathew H. Buckham, "the list
of important public offices held by him would
seem to justify the scriptural name he bore, prob

ably a family name in the Puritan times, She
thar, 'one of the wise men who knew law
and judgment.' "* A graduate of Yale in 181 1,
he settled in Middlebury, Vermont, in 1812 ;.
was a member of the general assembly from
1821 to 1832, of the council of censors in 1827,
and of the governor's council in 183 1. He
was judge of the state supreme court, 1831-38,
United States senator, 1839-51, and was appoint
ed to fill a vacancy in that body in 1853-54. On-
the bench he was held in the highest esteem for
his ability, legal learning and integrity. In the-
halls of Congress, and before the people, in the
bitterest days of the slavery agitation, he earnestly
deprecated the measures adopted by the Free-
soil party, and advocated a conservative and con
stitutional policy of non-interference with slavery.
His wife was the widow of Francis Shurtliff, of
Aliddlebuiy, and a woman of unusual beauty of
person and character.
Edward John Phelps, son of the parents
named, inherited the forceful character of his sire,
and from his mother his gracious and winning
traits of character. He was born in Middlebury,
Tune 12, 1822, the eldest child in a family of nine
40ns and two daughters. He began his educa
tion in a select school taught by his aunt, Miss
Shurtliff, "a superior woman and excellent
teacher," and studied advanced branches in
Bishop Hopkins' school in Burlington. He en
tered Middlebury .College at the early age of
fourteen, and was graduated when eighteen.
Among his classmates were two with whom he
maintained a Hfe4ong friendship, and whose
traits were in common with his own — Henry H.
Hudson and Ezra Wright, Shermari, both schol
arly men, the first named being the distinguished
Shakespearean scholar. Immediately after his
graduation, young Phelps went on horseback to
Virginia, where,, without letters of introduction,
he so impressed a well-to-do planter that he was
engaged as the family tutor. While thus occu-

From an "Address on the Life and Public-
Services of Edward John Phelps," delivered be
fore the Vermont Historical Society, in the. Hall
of the House of Representatives, November 7,
1900, by Mathew Henry Buckham. The facts-
contained in this admirable paper have been.
largely drawn upon for this narrative.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

709

pied he devoted his leisure time to reading law,
and in 1842 entered the law school of Yale Col
lege. In T843 he completed his studies under the
tutorship of Hon. Horatio Seymour, of Middle-
hury, Vermont, and was admitted to the har
of Addison county in the same year. He prac
ticed in Aliddlebury until 1845, when he removed
to Burlington, where he ever afterwards main
tained his home.
In 185 1 Mr. Phelps was appointed second
comptroller of the United States treasury by
President Fillmore, at the close of whose admin
istration he resigned, though President Pierce
urged him to continue iri the office. Returning
to his law practice, he soon attained a leading
position as advocate and counsellor. His pro
fessional life extended over a period of a half-
century, and its field extended from suits in a
justice's court to the most intricate constitutional
cases before the supreme court of the United
States. His biographer (Rev. Dr. Buckham)
said, "If at any time between 1850 and 1890 the
consensus of bench and bar had been brought
to the question, who is the most brilliant lawyer
among you all? it would have fallen, with little
¦question, if any, upon Mr. Phelps," and he de
fines his epithet thus : "By brilliancy would have
meant in this testimony not the superficial flash
which the word sometimes denotes, not display
without, substance, but large knowledge of the'
law, clear insight into its principles and its deeper
philosophy, close . and correct reasoning and
-sound "judgment, the whole illuminated, made
persuasive, by that finest art which seeks only to
clear away all obstructions from truth that she
may shine in her own convincing light."
During the years of his active, practice in the +
state Mr. Phelps appeared in nearly all the great
oases which came before the Vermont courts. He
was prominent as counsel in the Vermont rail
road litigation which largely occupied the atten
tion of the state and federal courts for a quarter
of a century. In his late years he gave up his
home office and local practice and gave his entire
attention to cases in the federal courts One of
the most important, and which enlisted his deep
sympathy and most strenuous efforts, was the
case of Bean vs. Beckwith, involving the funda
mental rights of citizens under the federal con
stitution, the right to the writ of habeas corpus,

of exemption from arbitrary arrest and of trial
by jury, questions which arose uhder the presi
dent's proclamation of martial law in the loyal
states during the Civil war. It is of deep interest
to note that his contentions, set forth in his brief
in this case, bristling with deep historic and legal
learning, and urged with almost passionate ear
nestness, are substantially the same as were after
wards stated as fundamental principles of the
common law of Dicey's great work on the Eng
lish constitution.
His high abilities as a lawyer found the high
est possible recognition. Entirely without his
previous knowledge, he was apppinted minster
to England by President Cleveland, and in this
distinguished and highly responsible positon he
reflected honor upon his nation by his tactful and
dignified conduct of affairs of the utmost magni
tude. He managed with firmness and discretion,
and to the entire satisfaction of the two govern
ments interested, the Sackville- West affair, ' the
negotiations for an extradition treaty, and the
controversies over the rights of American fisher
men and the destruction of seals in the Behring
Sea, and the good results of his diplomatic ef
forts wereseen years later in the happy conclusion
of the Venezuela incident, a consummation which
was attributable in large degree to the kindly feel
ing which he had engendered in England.
The Behring Sea seal fisheries question had
come into prominence during Mr. Phelps's resi
dence at the court of St. James. He had con
ducted the American side of the case, and he
afterwards expressed the conviction, that, ¦ had
President Cleveland and Secretary of State Bay
ard maintained their position with more firmness,
the British government would have yielded the
points at issue. He subsequently represented the
United States in the Paris tribunal of arbitra
tion in 1893, under appointment by President
Harrison. The court sat for fifty-four days,
and Air. Phelps made the closing argument, oc
cupying eleven days, and extending over three
hundred and twenty-five printed pages. Mr.
Phelps covered a wide field of international law,
treating of territorial rights, rights on the high
seas, arid of visitation of search, and, while the
court was not convinced of the justice of the
American case, it warmly commended the ability,
dignity and courtesy of the American advocate.

710

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Air. Phelps accomplished much to dignify his
profession within the range of his personal in
fluence. He frequently gave his services
gratuitously to a worthy man wronged, and he
was. severe in his arraignment of the law's delay,
and of the irrelevant details with which trials
were frequently cumbered. In 1881 he was presi
dent of the American Bar Association, and his
annual address was a masterly review of changes
in legislation in various states. He was pro
fessor of medical jurisprudence in the University
of Vermont from 1880 to 1883, and delivered a
course of lectures which have been published. He
was lecturer on constitutional law in Boston Uni
versity in 1882, and he was Kent Professor of
Law in Yale College from 1891 until his death,
the period of his absence in England excepted.
Had he not been so deeply devoted to his
profession, Air. Phelps would have taken highest
rank as a man of letters. His few published
essays and addresses show a fine literary sense
and the true touch of an artist. In 1887 he pre
sided at the centennial celebration of the battle
of Bennington, and his address upon that occasion
was most felicitous, and his was a more notably-
meritorious effort on the occasion of the dedica
tion of the Bennington Battle Monument in 1891.
He was at his best in topics pertaining to his
profession, and he evoked the admiration of Pres
ident Dwight, of Yale College, who spoke of
him as "a worthy example of the educated and
refined scholar." His address on Chief Justice
Alarshall, before the American Bar Association
in 1876, and that on Judge Samuel Prentiss, before
the same body in 1882, are regarded as gems
among papers of that character. In 1886 he de
livered before the Philosophical Society of Edin
burg an address on "The Law of the Land,"
which brought him the respect and admiration of
English literateurs. One of the most signal com
pliments paid him was at a dinner given in his
honor by the Century Club of London, on the
eve of his return home, when Lord Chief Jus
tice Coleridge linked his name with those of
Everett, Buchanan, Adams, Mortey and Lowell,
and said that no one of these his predecessors had
ever been the recipient of such unanimous and
cordial expressions of regard, and that no Ameri
can minister had ever left England amid more
universal regret.

Mr. Phelps was totally devoid of what is
known as political ambition. He represented the
city of Burlington in the constitutional conven
tion of 1870, and aided in the inauguration of the
biennial system of elections and in other salutary
changes in the organic law of the state. In 1880
he was the Democratic candidate for governor,
but the nomination came unsought, and he made
no effort towards election, yet received the largest
vote cast by his party in a generation. He was
of too judicial' a temperament .to be an ardent
partisan. While he sypathized with the south
in the controversies preceding the Civil war, he
came to the clear conviction of the justness of
the termination of the struggle, and rejoiced in
the elimination of slavery. In three conspicuous
instances he declined to act with his party — in
1872, when he would not support Air. Greeley
for the presidency; in 1890, when he supported
Mr. Blaine's Behring Sea policy;. and in 1896,
when he supported Mr. AIcKinley for the presi
dency. In his personal character he was essentially
a gentleman of the old school. He had a sincere
love, a reverence, for the old manly virtues,
and was stern, sometimes fierce, in expressing his
detestation of what was mean. Falsehood, hy
pocrisy, malice — these he could not endure. He
loved art, but sculpture more modern than the
Greek, and paintings, paintings since Raphael,
did not warm him. He had a special fondness
for the old songs and ballads. In literature his
favorite fiction was Sterne and Smollett and
.Scott; his poet was Byron, and his dramatist
was Shakespeare. But his two first books, as
models of literary excellence as well as guides
to a model life, were the King James Bible and
the unaltered Book of Common Prayer of the
Church of England. In brief,, in life and tastes, he
was, to again quote Dr. Buckham, "one more of
the men of our time, who have made the name
and the history of Vermont to be admired and
honored far and wide in the world." His death
occurred March 9, 1900.
Mr. Phelps was married1 in August, 1846, to
Mary, daughter of Hon. Stephen Haight, of
Burlington. Of this marriage are surviving two
children : Mary (Airs. Horatio Loomis, of Bur
lington), and Charles Pierpont Phelps, of Bos
ton.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

7u

GEORGE FRANKLIN EDMUNDS.
George Franklin Edmunds, of Burlington,
son of Ebenezer and Naomi (Briggs) Edmunds,
was born in Richmond, February i, 1828. His
preliminary education was obtained in the public
schools and under a private tutor. When but
eighteen he began the study of law in Burlington,
arid 'continued it at Richmond in the office of his
brother-in-law, A. B. Maynard, in 1846-47. In
the two following years he was a student in the
office of Smalley & Phelps in Burlington. In
March, 1849, he was admitted to the bar of Chit
tenden county, and to partnership with Mr. May
nard. at Richmond. The new firm was Very suc
cessful. In November, 1851, he removed to Bur
lington, which thenceforward became his home.
At the time of Air. Edmund's removal to Burling
ton the legal fraternity of the state was excep
tionally strong. Ex-Governor Underwood, D. A.
Smalley, E. J. Phelps, L. E. Chittenden, and
others were formidable competitors, but he soon
worked his way to the front. In 1866, when he
was first appointed to the national senate, he had
secured the largest and most lucrative practice
in that section of Vermont.
The services of George F. Edmunds fill some,
of the cleanest, brightest pages in the legislative
history of the state and the nation. In 1854 he
made his first appearance in the field of local
politics as the moderator of the Burlington March
meeting, and he was soon afterward elected repre
sentative of the town to the legislature. A mem
ber of the house in 'the years 1854-55-56-57-58-
59, he was also speaker during the last three
sessions. In 1864, he served in the joint com
mittee on the state library, and also in the com
mittee on the judiciary. In 1855 he was made
chairman of the latter body.
In 1861 Mr. Edmunds was returned, against
his protest; to the state senate from Chittenden
county, and was chairman of its judiciary com
mittee.' Re-elected in 1862, he served on the
same committee. In each of these years he was
also president pro ¦ tempore of the senate. In
1866 United States' Senator Solomon Foote died,
and Mr. Edmunds was appointed his successor
by Governor PauL Dillingham. April 5, 1866,
he began that long senatorial career which so
honored himself, his state and his country. He

was afterwards elected by the legislature for the
remainder of the term ending Alarch 4, 1869,
and in 1868, 1874, 1880, and 1886 received elec
tions for the full senatorial term. In 1891, after
more than a quarter of a century's service, he
resigned. His impress on national legislation was
greater than that of any other man of his time,
arid he had for years been the foremost senator.
No one thinks of his pro tempore presidency of
the senate, so overshadowed is it by his real
leadership. In the winter pf 1876 came a crisis in the his
tory of the United States, the great danger of
which is year by year realized. The nation was
threatened with all the evils of disputed succession
to the chief magistracy. ; Senator Edmunds com
prehended the situation, and led from dariger to
lawful safety. He first admitted the draft of a
constitutional amendment, which remitted the
duty of counting the electoral votes to the su
preme court of the United States. But this was
rejected by a vote of fourteen to thirty-one. On
the 1 6th of December he called up the message
from the house of representatives announcing the,
appointment of a committee of seven to act in
conjunction with a committee of the senate in
advising some method of counting the electoral
vote; and submitted a resolution referring the
message of the house to a select committee of
seven senators, having power to prepare and re
port, without unnecessary delay, such a measure
as would secure the lawful count of die electoral
vote, and the best disposition of the questions
connected ^herewith, and that this committee have
power tp confer with the committee of the house
of representatives. The resolution was adopted,
the committee appointed, and Senator Edmunds
was made its chairman. In the discussion which
followed he devised the electoral commission bill.
On the 13th of January, 1877, Air. Edmunds
reported the proposed measure, which provided
for the appointment of an electoral commission,
and which defined the duties of its members.
The bill passed into law. Senator Edmunds was
appointed a member of the electoral commission
on the part of the senate, and contributed effi
ciently to the lawful solution of the problem in
which so many dangers lurked.
The anti-polygamy law now in force is rightly
known as the Edmunds law. But a list of good

712

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

measures passed and bad measures defeated by
his efforts and under his leadership would be
interminable. Unsought- by him, in 1880 and 1884, many of
his party, who wanted it to make its first states
man its leader, earnestly worked for his nomina
tion for the presidency in the Republican national
conventions of those years. In 1891 he resigned
his seat in the United States senate, and has
since devoted his time to the practice of his
profession.
FRED FELTON TWITCHELL.
Fred Felton Twitchell, a merchant of St. Al-
hans, was borri in Townshend, Windham county,
Vermont, August 10, 1849, son of Colonel Jonas
and Lucy D. (Felton) Twitchell. He obtained
his early education in the common schools and
the Leland and Gray Seminary in Townshend,
and he was graduated from the Powers Insti
tute, at Bernardston, Massachusetts, in 1869.
With an inclination toward mercantile life, Mr.
Twitchell entered the dry-goods business at Meri
den, Connecticut, in September, 1869, with Ives,
Upham & Rand, and in 1872 started in with a
stock of dry-goods, and clothing and a partner,
under the firm name of Holbrook, Twitchell &
Company, at Athol, Massachusetts. Five years
later he sold out his interest in the business, and
took a position as buyer for Shepard,. Norwell &
Company, of Boston. He remained with them
until a more lucrative place was offered him as
buyer for Ladd & Davis, of Providence, Rhode
Island, which engagement was terminated in
1881, when he again embarked in business at St.
Albans. The following year he bought his part
ner's interest, and since then has carried on an
extensive establishment under the firm name of
F. F. Twitchell & Company. After enlarging his
old quarters several times to accommodate his
growing business, he removed to his present loca
tion, corner of Main and Kingman streets, where
he has one of the finest and best equipped stores
in Vermont. Mr. Twitchell is a Republican, but has never
aspired to political honors. He was for seven
years a member of the St. Albans school board,
and twice its chairman. Under his administra
tion the kindergarten was introduced in the

schools, the first in the state belonging to the
public school. Many other changes and needed
reforms were instituted by him which are now
much appreciated by the public. Not least among
these was the erection of two new school houses,
which are monuments to the cause of education
in the beautiful city of St. Albans. He was one Of
the organizers of the St. Albans board of trade,
and served at two different times as its president.
He is a member of all the Masonic societies, and
a thirty-second degree Mason.
Mr. Twitchell married," in 1875, Miss Flora
S. Sabin, of Winchester, New Hampshire, who
died in 1896, leaving1 three children : Florella E.,
born October 22, 1876, and who married, in Sep-^
tember, 1902, F. S. Bedard, of St. Albans, where
they now reside; Adelle L., born in March,
1882 ; and Karl S. Twitchell, born in June, 1885.
Karl S. Twitchell began his education in the
common schools and high school of St. Albans,
and in the fall of 1903 will begin his college
course at Queen's University, of Kingston, On
tario, Canada.
JOHN A. ARTHUR.
John Arthur, son of Francis Arthur, and the
founder of the Arthur family in America, was
born in Bisley, township of Stroud, England,
March 7, 1746. Upon the second marriage of his
father, John Arthur left his early home, landing
in America in the year 1768, bringing with him a
goodly inheritance. He first established himself
as a merchant in New York city ; he then married,
in Old Trinity church, Elizabeth Cheeseman, a
sister of Captain Cheeseman, aide to General
Montgomery, and who fell with his distinguished
chief at the battle of Quebec, in 1775. About
1780 John Arthur bought large tracts of land'
adjoining Fort Ticoderoga, New York, build
ing there mills of various kinds, also doing a
large business in lumber. The family of John
Arthur and his wife, Elizabeth Cheeseman, con
sisted of ten children, all born in New York city. ^
John Augustus Arthur, the eighth child, was
born September 16, 1787. When about twenty-
one years of age he removed with his father's
family to Ticonderoga, joining there in* business
interests with his father. He Was greatly inter
ested in the militia of the state of New York, and

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

7i3

was in the branch of field artillery, rising, while
still quite young, to the rank of brigadier general,
his brigade extending from Newburgh on the
Hudson to the Canada line.
In June, 1813, John Augustus married, in
St. Paul's church, New York, Charlotte, daugh
ter of Benjamin and Mary (Kipp) Haight; (a
monument to Benjamin Haight and Mary Kipp,
his wife, is placed to their memory in St. Paul's
churchyard, - New York, where they both lie. It
can be seen from the steps on entering the
church.) The family of John Augustus and Charlotte
(Haight) Arthur consisted ¦ of seven children.
The eldest son, Benjamin Haight, was born in
New York city, March 9, 1814. In December,
1839, from civil life, Benjamin entered the Uriited
States army as second lieutenant, and afterwards
served as captain in the' First United States In
fantry in the Seminole and Alexican wars, and
died at Fort Chadburn, Texas, in March, 1856.
John Augustus Arthur, Jr., the subject of
this sketch, the fourth child and second son of
John A. and Charlotte (Haight) Arthur, was
born- at Ticonderoga, , New York, July 2, 1820.
During his early years he attended the ordinary
village schools ; later, with his brother, he -was
sent to the school at Westport, New YOrk, under
the care of the Rev. Mr. Kellogg, and afterwards
to the school at Castleton, Vermont, taught by
the Rev. Mr. Clark. In April, 1837, the family
removed to Burlington, General Arthur buying
the land outside the town since known as the
Arthur farm, and here he died, September 14,
1851. Soon after, coming to Burlington, John A.
Arthur, Jr., entered as clerk the drug and hard
ware store of Dr. Moody, there remaining until
the death of Dr. Moody, in November, 1841.
Continuing this business, a partnership was
formed with Luther M. Hagar, formerly of
Shelburne, Vermont, the firm known as Hagar
& Arthur lasting for nearly twenty years. In
1861 Mr. Arthur entered the United States
customs service, where at the present writing.
(1903) he still continues. Since the organiza-
tion of the civil service department, Mr. Arthur
has been secretary of this service board in Ver
mont In politics Air. Arthur was, in his early }

years, a Whig, and was a delegate to the Balti
more convention in 1843, which nominated Henry
Clay for president, and for him Air. Arthur cast
his first presidential vote. Mr. Arthur was a
member of the first city government of Burling
ton, and is the only one of the original board now
living. - '
In 1848 Mr. Arthur married, in St. Paul's
church, Burlington, Harriet Fowler, daughter of
Timothy Hall, whose early home was in Green
field, Massachusetts, and afterwards in Troy,
New York, where for many years Airs. Arthur
attended the school of Madame Exema Willard.
Upon the death of her mother, Mrs. Arthur came
to Burlington, making her home with her sis
ter, Mrs. Elias Lyman, until her marriage with
Mr. Arthur. Mr. and Airs. Arthur have been
the parents of six children, three only of whom
are now living: the Rev. Louis A. Arthur;
Charlotte Haight, wife of Commander Karl
Rohrer, United States navy; and one daughter,
Mary, remaining at home. The oldest child,
Elliott, lieutenant in the United States navy,
passed away in 1886, and two daughters died in
early childhood.
Air. and Airs. Arthur have passed most of
their married life in the old home, where, from
time to time for more than half a century, chil
dren and grandchildren have gathered, and been
made happy in recalling traditions and memories
of earlier days.
MARVIN WRIGHT CLARK.
Marvin Wright Clark, an enterprising agri
culturist of Williston, Vermont, is a descendant
of Paul Clark,- who served as a private for seven
years in the Revolutionary war. His son,
Wright Clark, was born Alay 18, 1780, in Royal
ton, Vermorit. He was educated and lived in
liis native town until 1830, when he. removed
to Williston, first settling on what is known as
the "Metcalf" place ; in 1835 he traded for and
moved to the old "Governor Chittenden" home
stead/ He was quite successful in- the manage
ment of this farm, and was considered one of the
most successful farmers in that section of the
state, being one of a few who encouraged the
building of a railroad as a means to larger

714

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

markets. He was first united in marriage to
Aliss Lucy Hinkly, of Royalton, Vermont, and
their children were : Lucy, born January 18,
1812, died August 9, .1814; Philo, born Septem
ber 10, 1817, died June 28, 1859; Justus, born
March 22, 1819, died February 17, 1895 ; Emily-
died November 22, 1861. Some time after
the death of his first wife, which occurred
August 11, 1821-, Air. Clark married Miss
Priscilla Wright, daughter of Elisha Wright,
and the following named children were born to
them: Aurill, born November 18, 1823, died
March 17, 1894; Jason, born October 27, 1828,
died December 22, 1900; Paul, born May 4, 1831,
died February 3, 1856: Mar}-, born October 24,
1832, died February 13, 1902; Sarah, born Feb-'
ruary 7, 1834, died July 14, 1842; Hiram A.,
born August 31, 1836, died March 27, 1886;
Marvin W.; born January 2, 1843, died April
28, 1845. Mr. Clark died April 20, 1866, and his
wife died December' 11, 1870.
Hiram Allen Clark, son of Wright and Pris
cilla Clark, was born in Williston, Vermont, Au
gust 31, 1836. He was educated in Williston,
also studied French in Canada as a means to the
better management of his business, which was
farming upon the old homestead, it being largely
conducted by Canadian labor. Mr. Clark was a
Republican in his political views, and represented
his town in the state legislature in 1880 and 1881.
On January 1, 1861, he married Miss Alarcia E.
Fay, daughter of Roswell B. Fay. Airs. Clark
died March 18, 186 1. On November 26, 1863,
he married for his second wife Miss Juliette
Hines Smith, the daughter of Benjamin Frank
lin and Eunice (Boardman) Smith. Benjamin
F. Smith was the son of Samuel Smith, who
was a son of Oliver Smith, a Revolutionary
soldier. He moved to Brandon, Vermont, from
Massachusetts. He was the son of Samuel
Smith, who resided at Northfield, Alassachusetts,
and followed the occupation of a blacksmith and
was also a deacon in the church. He was the
son of Presence Smith, who was born at Hadley,
Massachusetts, in 1677. He was the son of Sam
uel Smith, who was born in 1639 and died' in
1700, at Hadley, Alassachusetts. Eunice Board-
man, mother of Juliette Hines Smith, was the
daughter of Amos and Salina Boardman Weeks ;

the latter named being a daughter of Benjamin
Boardman, who was a son of Joseph, a son of
Wait, a son of Daniel, and he in turn was a.
son of Thomas Boardman, the founder of the
American branch of the family. Six children
were born to Mr. and Mrs. (Smith) Clark:
Marvin Wright, born June 20, 1865 ; Flora M.,.
born September 26, 1867; Ethel A., born July,
10, 1870, died February 6, 1874; Belle A., born-
June 21, 1874, married George E. Dean, of
Albion, Michigan, and three children have been;
born to them, Walter Clark, Ethel , Mary and
Helen Dean; Frank W., born June 28, 1876;.
Jason H, born February 28, 1881, died June
8, 1882. Mr. Clark died March 27, 1886, and
Mrs. Clark died February 9, 1899.
Marvin Wright Clark, son of Hiram Allen.
and Juliette (Smith) Clark, was born in Willis
ton, Vermont, June 20; 1865. His education.
was obtained, after attending the common schools-
of his own town, first at the Essex Classical In
stitute, where he graduated in 1882; from here-
a four years' course was commenced in the State-
Agriculture College of Lansing, Michigan, but
after a little over a year's work at that institution*
he changed to the University of Vermont, grad
uating with the class of 1886 in the chemical:
course. The following year he assumed the man-.
agement and part ownership of the old home
stead, which consists of over seven hundred acres-
of land, a farm well adapted to the dairy busi
ness, maintaining a dairy of one hundred cows-
besides considerable other stock. He treasures-
the memory of a parentage contented but aspir
ing in the pursuit of agriculture as a vocation,
and believes the state of unrest prevalent among-
farmers, New England farmers especially, at the
present time, is due largely to wrong impressions-
taught or allowed to grow in early childhood.
On January 26, 1887, Mr. Clark was united
in marriage to Miss Mary E. Tracy, daughter of
Harmon Northrop and Helen Alary (Harris)
Tracy. Their children are: Wright, born Feb
ruary 7, 1888; Barbara, born March 19, 1889;.
Philena, born November 6, 1890; Helen Harris,
born July 3, 1892; Thomas Chittenden, born Oc
tober 13, 1895 ; Elam Tracy, born January 3,
1899; Jason, born February 14, 1901.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

715.

SILAS DAVID DOUD.
For many years Silas David Doud was num
bered amoeg the representative citizens and agri
culturists of Addison county, and in his death
the entire community felt that an irreparable loss
had been sustained by the public. He was a
member of one of the oldest families of the Green
Mountain state, who trace their ancestry in
America to Henry Doude, who came from county
Kent, England, in 1639, with the colony under
Rev. Henry Whitfield, and settled iri Guilford,
Connecticut. His death occurred in 1668, thirty
years after his arrival on American, soil. His
son John was born- in 1650, and the latter located
in that part of Guilford known as the "neck."
In 1679 he was united in marriage to Sarah Toll
man, a relative of Governor Tollman, and his
death occurred in 1712. Their son David was
born in Connecticut in 1695, and about 1740 he
located in Aliddletown, Connecticut. In 1718
he was niarried to Mary Cornwall, and their son',
Captain Giles Doud, was born in 1735. He ac
companied an expedition to Canada, where he
participated in the battle of Quebec. He was
afterward stricken with- small-pox, and died of
that disease in 1776, at Crown Point, New York.
In 1.757 he was united in marriage to Esther
Bacon, alsc? of Aliddletown, and their son. Silas
was born in Tyringham, Alassachusetts, in 1773.
In 1793 the latter came to New Haven, Ver
mont, where he was among the early pioneers.
Here he spent thie remainder of his life, pass
ing away in death in 1826. He served as its
first town clerk, holding that position for many
years,, and in 1818 and 1819 represented the
town in the legislature. He died in 1826. In
1792 he was married to Irena Scoville, who was
born in 1770, at Aleriden, Connecticut, and came
to this state on horseback. She was called to her
final rest in 1870, having reached the remarka
ble age of ninety-nine years and six months, and
retaining a bright mind until the end. To this
worthy couple were born ten children, four sons
and six daughters, and nine of the number grew
to mature years. <
Hon. Sylvester Doud, one of these children,
was born in New Haven in 1806, and throughout
his active business career followed the tilling
of the soil, in which he met with a high degree

of success. He also took an active part in the
public affairs of his locality, having held all the
town offices, including that of constable for a
number of years, was also justice of the peace
for many years, and in 1852 and 1853 represented
the town in the legislature. His influence was-
effective and far-reaching, he was a fluent speaker,
had considerable knowledge of the law and was-
widely recognized as a progressive and public-
spirited gentleman.
Osmund Doud, the eldest son of Silas and
Irena (Scoville) Doud, was born August 12,.
1803, in New Haven, Vermont, where he was-
reared and passed his entire life, engaged in
agricultural pursuits. He was active in public
affairs as well as being successful in the manage
ment of his own affairs. He held most of the
town offices and was for two years a representa
tive in the legislature, while for many years he
was a prominent member of the Congregational
church. As a companion on the journey of life-
Osmund. Doud chose Elmina Saxton, who was-
botn April 14, 1806, in New Haven, Vermont,
where her . father, James Saxton, was a.
well known hotel proprietor. Her death oc
curred February 28, i860. Of the four chil
dren born to this couple three grew to years-
of maturity; and two of the number stilt,
survive: Delia, who married Sidney A. Smith
and resides in Montour, Iowa; and Alary I.,
who became the wife of Perry J. Farnworth, a.
merchant of Northfield, Vermont. The family
affiliated with the Congregational church.
Edson Augustus Doud, a son of Osmund
Doud, was born on the ancestral farm in New
Haven, November 18, 1832, and received his-
education in the schools of Bakersfield, for a
short time after completing his studies, pursuing
the teacher's profession. Farming, however,
claimed his attention as-a life occupation, and he,
too, became prominent in the public life of Ad
dison county. He.held all the local offices within
the power of liis fellow townsmen to bestow,
and for two terms represented his town in the
legislature. He was elected to the high office of
assistant judge of Addison county, and had not
death intervened he most probably would have
- become a senator. He assisted materially in the
erection of the court house at Middlebury, and
it was largely owing to his efforts that the repairs

716

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

were made on the Congregational church on
New Haven street, in which he long served as
a deacon and for twenty-five years led the choir.
He united with this church in 1868, and was
ever afterward one of its most active and
valued members. He was an outspoken sup
porter of the principles of the Republican party,
and, having quick perceptions and sound judg
ment, was often called upon to act as secretary
at public meetings and was a valued correspond
ent of the state press.
The marriage of Edson A. Doud was cele
brated on the 2d of September, 1857, when Alice
V. Stowe became his wife. Ller father, Loyal
W. Stowe, was born March 15, . 1814, in the
house "in which she now resides, and her grand
father, Moses Stowe, claimed Massachusetts as
the state of his nativity. The latter was num
bered among the early pioneers of Addison coun
ty, Vermont, and for a long period was the pro
prietor of a hotel in the town of New Haven.
He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and
erected four two-story buildirigs on Town Hill
in addition to his hotel. His first wife bore the
maiden name of Mary White, and he was a sec
ond time married, becoming the father of ten
children. Loyal W. Stowe early assisted in the
work of the hotel and farm, and his entire life
Was spent in this locality., his life's labors being
ended in death on the 21st of June, 1886. He
held the offices of constable, selectman, lister,
and for two years represented his town in the
legislature. . For his wife he chose Jane C. Mun
ger, who was born in Aliddlebury, Vermont, Au
gust 26, 1817. Her father, Samuel Munger, was
a native of Norfolk, Connecticut, and he, too,
was numbered among the early pioneers of Ad
dison county, and Munger street in Middlebury
was named in his honor. His death occurred
on the 13th of March, 1821. He married Olive
Smith, a native of Windsor, Vermont, and she
died November 6, 1865.
Mr. and Mrs. Edson A. Doud became the
parents of one son, Saxton L. Doud, who is
engaged in the furniture business in Seattle,
Washington. He married Emma Roleau, of New
Haven, and they have one son, Edson A. For
many years Mr. and Mrs. Doud pursued the
journey of life together, loyally sharing with
,each other in the trials, sorrows and pleasures

that fall to the lot of all, but on the 27th of
December, 1887, the husband was summoned
into eternal rest. His upright life commanded
universal respect and wherever known he was
loved and honored for his many noble character
istics. :'
WILLIAMS BARTON FOOTE.
Williams Barton Foote is a representative of
the honored pioneer element which has done so
much for the, development and legitimate ad
vancement of the county and state, and for the
establishing of the institutions of higher civiliza
tions in this fertile and favored section of the
old Green Mountain commonwealth. He is one
of the honored citizens of the town of Charlotte,
where he has passed his entire life and where
he has not only gained success and prestige in
connection with the great basic industry of ag
riculture, but where also he has so directed his
course as to. gain and retain the confidence and
esteem of all with whom he has come in con
tact, thus upbearing the honors of a name which
has been prominently identified with this section
of the state for three generations and which has
ever stood exponent of the best citizenship and
the most impregnable integrity in all the rela
tions of life.
Deacon Williams B. Foote was born in the
town of Charlotte, Chittenden county, Vermont, '
on the 9th of December, 1843, and is a repre
sentative of a family long identified with the
annals of New England history. His father,
Charles P. Foote, was born June 3, 1809, in
Washington, Connecticut, a son of Gideon Foote,
who removed thence to Chittenden county, Ver
mont, in 181 1, his son Charles P. being a mere
child at the time of the removal. The latter
purchased a farm in this town and devoted the
remainder of his life to its improvement and
cultivation, his death occurring on the home-
steam farm in 1883. at which time he had attained
the age of nearly seventy-five years. He secured '
such educational advantages as were afforded
in the public schools of the locality and period.
He continued to be engaged in agricultural pur
suits during the entire course of his long and
useful life, and was a man of strong indivdual-
ity and one who commanded the unqualified con-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

717

fidence and regard of the community which had
been the scene of his able and well directed
efforts. He attended the Congregational church,
as did also his cherished, and devoted wife.
The maiden name of our subject's mother
was Lucy A. Barton, and she was born in Char
lotte, where she passed her entire life, her father,
Williams Barton, having been a native of the
state of Connecticut. He came from Lanes
boro, Massachusetts, to Chittenden county, Ver
mont, in the pioneer days, and here devoted the
remainder of his life to agricultural pursuits, be
ing one of the representative citzens of the com
munity. His farm is located in Charlotte.
Charles P. and Lucy A. (Barton) Foote becamt.
the parents of three children, of whom two are
living at the present time: Susan, the wife of
Jay A. Clark, a representative farmer of Hines
burg, this county, and Williams B., the immediate
subject of this review.
Under the beneficent and invigorating dis
cipline of the homestead farm Williams B. Foote
was reared to years of maturity, while the early
educational advantages which came to his portion
were such as were to be had in the local schools.
He has ever continued to regard the art of agri
culture as well worthy of his attention and best
effort, and such have been his enterprise, energy
and perseverance that he has attained a distinct
prosperity in his chosen field of endeavor His
present fine homestead farm comprises one hun
dred acres, eligibly located, equipped with ex
cellent improvements of a permanent nature and
maintained under a high state of cultivation, the
place being devoted tp diversified farming and
being recognized as one of the valuable rural
estates of this section, thrift and good man
agement being in evidence on every hand.
The farmstead was purchased by Mr. Foote
in the year 1882, and since coming into
possession he has made many fine improve
ments and otherwise added to the value
and attractiveness of the place. Thorough
ly' alive- to the duties of citizenship, Mr. Foote
has ever shown a lively interest in all that
conserves the welfare of the community, while
his political proclivities are indicated by the sup
port which he accords the principles of the Re-
oublican party. He, is a prominent and zealous

member of the Congregational church at Char
lotte, in which he has been an active worker.
In 1868 was solemnized the marriage of
Deacon Foote and Miss Henrietta Stebbins, who
was born in Caldwell, New York,rthe daughter
of Henry Stebbins, who there passed his entire
life, having been a farmer by vocation.
ETHAN MURRAY WRIGHT.
Ethan Murray Wright, a successful merchant
at Orwell for over forty years, was born at
Hinesburg, Vermont, August 10, 1818, the eldest
of six children of Brigham C. and Urania (Mur
ray) Wright. His father was a small woolen
manufacturer at Hinesburg, and afterwards a
farmer at Williston and Milton, Vermont. The
brothers and sisters of Mr. Wright were, Sarah,
who married John W. Miles, a physician at
Hinesburg; Louisa, who married Daniel A..
Bowe, a graduate ,of Aliddlebury College in
1846, a lawyer and editor in New • Hampshire ;
Charles R., a graduate of Norwich University in
1847, lawyer and county attorney of Hancock
county, Iowa ; Norman, a farmer at Alilton, Ver
mont, and George B., surveyor, one of the found
ers of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and a man promi
nent in the affairs of that state. None of Mr.
Wright's brothers' or sisters survive.
, The family are descended on the paternal side
from Lieutenant Abel Wright, one of the first
settlers of Springfield, Massachusetts, who was
elected in 1695 a rnember from that town to the
general court. (N. E. Hist, and Gen. Reg.,.
Jan., ,1880.) On the maternal side, the family
descended from Beriah Murray, of Claremont,
New Hampshire, who was of Scotch descent.
He "served in Colonel Benjamin Bellows' regi
ment of New Hampshire militia in the Revolu
tionary war, and afterwards settled on a farm
in Williston, Vermont, where he died in 1820.
Mr. Wright's early educational advantages.
were limited, and were confined to the common
schools and the Williston Academy, then presided.
over by the Rev. William Arthur, father of ex-
President Arthur. At the age of fifteen he left
his father's farm and became self-supporting, se
curing employment in a store at Milton Falls.
kept by Alonzo Noble. At that time it was.

7'8

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

•customary for country stores to sell spirituous
.liquors and Mr. Noble's store was no exception
to the rule. In spite of his surroundings Mr.
Wright very early in life became a total ab
stainer from the use of liquors and tobacco and
'has so continued. In 1835 he went to Burling
ton and was there successively in the employ of
D. W. Ingersoll & Company and Noble Lovely,
.merchants, with the latter of whom he remained
for several years and established a good reputaJ
tion for faithfulness, industry and mercantile
ability. In 1845, at the request of Champion
Fletcher, a wealthy resident of Orwell, he re
moved to that town and formed a co-partnership
with him to continue the business of general
merchandising founded by Hon. Apollos Austin
.and by him successfully conducted for more than
half a century. This firm continued for several
years, and thereafter Air. Wright had as succes
sive partners, Miner B. Catlin, Rollin Gale,
Charles E. Wyman, Dorus C. Bascom and finally
his son, William B. Wright. His mercantile life
at prwell was continued for forty years, and was
prosperous. His credit was uniformly good, and
his reputation for just and fair dealing was high.
He retired from active business in 1885. Mr.
Wright 'was a representative from Orwell in
1874-5. He held the office of postmaster for
many years, was a Whig and has been an earnest
.Republican since the foundation of the party. He
has been a member of the Congregational church
since 1841, and was active in church work, being
a deacon in the organization.
September 16, 1846, he married Eliza T.
Bottum, daughter of Bishop and Zilpha (Con-
key) Bottum, of Orwell. She died there August
12, 1903, after nearly fifty-seven years of happy
wedded life. She was descended from Daniel
Long Bottom, surveyor of Norwich, Connecticut,
in 1680. Her grandfather, Jesse Bottom, was
one of the first settlers of Orwell, moving there
from Norwich in about 1784. Mrs. Wright was
a woman of fine taste, well balanced, well trained
mind and possessed of the traditional New Eng
land traits and accomplishments, without any
harshness or narrowness of character. Three
sons were born to them, whose sketches follow.
William Bottom Wright, eldest son of
Ethan M. and Eliza T. Wright, is president of
the First National Bank of Orwell, and one of

the formost men of affairs of that town. He was
born there June 28, 1847, was educated at Sara
toga Springs, and at the Highland Military Acad
emy, Worcester, Massachusetts. Upon, leaving
there in 1868 he became his father's partner in
the mercantile business at Orwell, succeeding him
in 1885, since which time he has maintained the
honorable traditions of the business established
by his father. In the panic of 1893, owing to his
connection with the firm of Hammond, Bush &
Company, he was compelled to make an assign
ment, and his entire fortune was swept away,
but his individual creditors were fully paid, and
as the failure was honorable and unavoidable,
Mr. Wright did not lose the esteem of his neigh
bors and friends. He at once set to work to re
pair his fortune with undiminished energy, in
dustry and ability, and has largely succeeded in
so doing. He represented his town in the legis
lature in 1886 and was a member of the Republi
can state committee for several years. In 1884
he was appointed upon the staff of Governor Pin
gree with the rank of colonel. He is affiliated
with Independence Lodge No. 10, F. & A. M.,
St. Paul's Chapter, Calvary Commandery, Mt.
Sinai Temple, Masonic organization of Vermont •
is a member of the Algonquin Club of Burling- .
ton arid numerous other organizations. Colonel
Wright is unmarried.
Charles D. Wright, second son of Ethan
M. and Eliza T. Wright,: was born at Orwell,
November 8, 1849, educated at -Burr and Burton
Seminary, and at the Highland Military Acad
emy, Worcester, Massachusetts, and was for two
years at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,
Troy, New York, class of 1871. Upon leaving
the latter institute he went to Minnesota, where
he was engaged in surveying and locating lands
for two years, then filled the position of chief
draughtsman in the surveyor general's office at
St. Paul for several years, and in 1877 removed to
Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where he has since re
sided, and been continuously in the banking busi- .
ness, connected with the First National Bank
Of that city, of which institution he is president.
He has served as alderman, treasurer and mayor
of Fergus Falls, and was, by appointment of
Governor Nelson, One of the trustees of the state
insane asylum for seven years. He married Lucy
S. Barney, of Maiden, Alassachusetts, and has

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

719

two children surviving, George B., midship
man in the, United States Naval Academy, and
Murray S., student at the University of Min- ,
nesota. George Murray Wright, youngest son of
Ethan AI. and Eliza T. Wright, was born at
Orwell, December 3, 1852. He was, educated at
the Burr and Burton Seminary, Alarichester, and
-at Middlebury College, class of 1874. He studied
.law in the office of Smith, Bancroft & Moak at
Albany, New York, and was admitted to the bar
of New York state, at Albany, as an attorney,
November 16, 1877, and as counsellor May 26,
1879. He, remained with the above named firm
until 1880, during which time he was intimately
.associated with Hon. Henry Smith, then one of
the-leaders of the bar pf northern New York, /and
he took an active part in the preparation and
handling of many important litigations, among
which were the proceedings relating- to the wind
ing up of the Atlantic Mutual Life Insurance
Company, the action brought by the executors
of Walton Dwight against some twenty life insur
ance companies, the impeachment proceedings
.against John F. Smith, superintendent of the New
York insurance department, the Sessions bribery
-case, and many in which the Delaware & Hudson
Canal Company was a party defendant. In 1880
he was sent to Florida to reorganize the Sem-
miole Lumber Company of Pensacola, one of the
largest concerns in the south, which he success
fully accomplished. The same year he entered the
office of the attorney general of New York, and
-remained there during the administration of Hon.
Leslie W, Russell. In the office he had charge of
the affairs of insolvent corporations, at that time
a large and important part of the business of the
-office. In 1884 he was asked to join the office
of Hon. Horace Russell, of New York, then one
of the receivers of the West Shore Railroad
Company, to assist in the legal work arising on
the receivership, which he did. He has since
-remained with Mr. Russell in the active prac-
-tice of his profession.
Mr. Wright has been associated in New York
in the conduct of many notable litigations, among
others, Guyot vs. Hilton, the preparation of
which took him to France in 1899, in which a
-new principle of international law was established
',Dy the supreme court of the United States. He

has been counsel for the Stewart and Hilton
estates in the ejectment suits brought by alleged
Irish heirs of A. T. Stewart against his devisees,
and was counsel for the receivers of the West
Shore Railroad Company ; he also acted as coun
sel for the Manhattan Elevated Railroad in many
actions brought to recover damages by abutting
owners. In 1896 he was made assignee of the firm
of Hilton, Hughes & Company, and successfully
administered the affairs of that great trust, in
which was included real estate at numerous
points in New York, besides the large depart- N
ment store in New York city now owned by John
Wanamaker. There were, forty-six fully
equipped departments in the main store, employ
ing at times upwards of two thousand persons,
and branch offices were maintained at London,
Paris, Leipsic, Vienna and Chemnitz. Mr.
Wright sold a part of the plant to -John Wana
maker, but the open accounts, upwards of twenty-
one thousand in number, were collected under
his supervision. The, affair was entirely closed,
satisfactorily, to all concerned within three years
of its inception. Mr. Wright was admitted to the
bar of the circuit court of the United States for
the southern district of New York in 1892, and
to that of the supreme court of the United States
in 1894. He is a member of the Bar Associa
tion of New York city, the New England So
ciety, Kane Lodge, F. & A. M., Vermont Histori
cal Society, National Arts Club, New York Club,
New York Athletic Club, Phi Beta Kappa So
ciety, and is a trustee of Middlebury College.
He has been its treasurer and is now chairman
of its finance committee. He is a Republican and
is unmarried.
# GEORGE HENRY ELDRIDGE. 1
One of the prosperous and progressive far
mers of Adison county is George H. Eldredge,
who has so ably conducted his business interests
that success has crowned his efforts and given
him a place among the substantial citizens of his
community. A native son of the Gneen Mountain
state, his birth occurred in Middlebury, on the
3rd of June, 1 85 1, and in that locality h)s father,
William H. Eldridge, also had his nativity. The
paternal grandfather, Samuel Eldridge, was one
of the early pioneers in Addison county, and for.

720

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

many years followed the trade of blackksmithing
in East Middlebury, his death there occurring
in 1849, when he had reached the age of sixty-
four years. By his marriage to Sarah Emery he
became the father of two children, Phcebe and
William H. His wife was called to her .final rest
at the age of eighty-eight years. The family was
identified with the Universalist church.
William H. EMridge spent his entire life in
East Middlebury, and- in early life learned the
blacksmith's tradet which continued to be his
occupation until failing health compelled him to
give up such heavy work. For three years he
was engaged in the mercantile business, and his
death occurred March 26, 1871, at the age of
sixty years. . During his active career he served
his fellow townsmen as a justice of the peace and
as a selectman, ever discharging his public duties'
with the utmost fidelity and honor. The mother
of our subject, who bore the maiden name of
Eliza H endrick, was a native of Weybridge, Ver
mont, and a daughter of Jabez and Sarah Hen
drick, the latter of whom died at the age of ninety-
one years. They became the parents of three
children. Of the four children born to Mr. and
Mrs. Eldridge our subject is now the only sur
vivor, and the mother passed away in death May
27, 1898, at the age of eighty-one years. The
family affiliated with the Universalist church, in
which the father was much interested, and he was
instrumental in the erection of the house of wor
ship of that denomination in East Middlebury.
George H. Eldridge has throughout his, entire

business career been engaged in the tilling of
the soil, and he now owns and operates a farm
of one hundred acres, while in additon he also
rents a tract of eighty-five acres. His energies
are devoted to general farming, and I in this line
of endeavor he has met with a high degree of
success. His first marriage occurred in 1872,
when Eliza Judge becamehis wife. She was born
in New Haven, Vermont, and was a daughter of
John Judge a farmer of this cOunty, but now
deceased. , Of his children two reside in East
Middlebury, Louise, who married Almon Enos,
and Frances, who married M. J. Day, a mer
chant. At her death, which occurred October
7, 1891, at the age of forty-five years, Mrs. El
dridge left one son, William H., who was edu-(
cated in the common schools of this locality and
in Middlebury College, and is now serving as
treasurer of the Proctor Trust Company, in Proc
tor, Vermont. Air. and Mrs. Eldridge also had
one daughter, Mabel, who died Alarch 11, 1886,
at the age of ten years. For his second wife
Mr. Eldridge chose Lucy Aliis, a native of Lud
low, this state.
By his ballot Mr. Eldridge supports the men
and measures of the Republican party, and in
1901 he was elected to the position of lister, to
which he was re-elected in 1902 and again in
1903, while for three years he held the office of
selectman. In his fraternal relations he is a
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fel
lows, and religiously is affiliated with the Aletho-
dist Episcopal church.

39

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