USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Brimfield > Historical celebration of the town of Brimfield, Hampden County, Mass > Part 15
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Peyton R. Morgan, upon leaving Yale College, resided for some years on the plantation of his brother-in-law, Dr. Trask. of Mississippi; in 1835 he returned to the North and engaged in the fur trade; in prosecuting this business he went to what was then the " far West." It is said he was the first white man who visited the con- fluence of the four rivers in Michigan, where he founded what is now the city of Saginaw, building a saw-mill and hotel; recalled to Avon Springs, N. Y., by the death of his father ; his fur and land speculations in Michigan hav- ing meanwhile resulted disastrously, he began the prac- tice of law in that town, for which he had prepared him- self at College. In 1847 he removed to Racine, Wis., where he continued the practice of his profession and be- came eminent as an equity lawyer, also for probity and uprightness of character; he died January 24, 1871. The following is one of several resolutions passed by the Ra- cine County bar at the time of his decease.
Resolved, That the character of our departed friend exhibited qual- ities of excellence becoming his position and profession in life, a true
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and honest sense of duty always guiding him in the performance of obligations to others ; he was a conscientious lawyer, a faithful citizen, a Christian gentleman, and in the ripe maturity of years, he has gone from our midst enjoying the esteem of all who regard integrity, purity of purpose, and devotion to duty, as the essential characteristics of true manhood.
In 1843 he married Joanna, daughter of Brig .- Gen. James Appleton, in Portland, Me. Children, James Ap- pleton, born October 2, 1846, and Anna Randolph, born September 14, 1854; died April 2, 1861.
James Appleton Morgan graduated at Racine College, Wisconsin, in 1867, and at the Law School, Columbia Col- lege, New York, in 1869, and commenced practice in New York city in the latter year. He has published several legal works, a treatise on the Law of Literature, (Literary Property, Copyrights, etc., 2 vols .. ) Notes to Addison on Contracts, 3vols., and Notes to Best's Treatise on Evi- dence, 2 vols.
Stephen Pynchon was of the ancestral family who first opened the Connecticut Valley to settlement, and planted the colony at Springfield. This was his place of birth, being the son of William and Sarah Pynchon, and born January 31, 1769.
After completing his education, he graduated at Yale College in the class of 1789, and, concluding his studies for the legal profession, he took up his residence in Brim- field after the year 1790. He was elected town clerk in 1797, and was continued in office by annual elections until his death. In the following year he was commis- sioned by the governor a justice of the peace, and dis- charged its functions with a wide range of jurisdiction and large number of causes, retaining the position to his de- mise. In 1805 he was chosen a representative to the Gen- eral Court, and continued in the Legislature, with only two intermissions, those of the years 1808 and 1817, dying
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at his post of duty, February 5, 1823. In 1819 he was ap- pointed by Gov. John Brooks, chief justice of the Court of Sessions for Hampden County. He was appointed postmaster on the establishing of the post-office in Brim- field, in 1806. and held the office for the remainder of his life.
Holding a prominent station during a long period of years, with a local reputation which had nothing of im- putation upon his integrity, he discharged all of his trusts with a fidelity which brought credit to his name, and leaves his memory as a valuable inheritance to the de- serving family. He justly occupies an enviable place in the annals of the town, of which its unimpaired confi- dence is marked by his long continuance in the public service.
Not brilliant as a lawyer, he possessed a sound and ma- tured legal judgment which won the confidence and regard of his fellow citizens. Without ambition, and lacking the impulse which stimulates to the attainment of eminence in the labors and struggles of life, he pursued the even tenor of his way, uneventful and tranquil, in the quiet routine of the practice of his profession, remunerative to a moderate degree, but not increasing to wealth.
He was a member, and in advanced degrees, of the Masonic fraternity, then a social and political power, and . the last offices of earth at his demise were solemnized after the ritual and ceremonies of the order. Dying in the prime of manhood, he has a mound and memory in the village cemetery, than which there is none more worthy of honor and respect.
He married Sarah, daughter of Dr. Israel Trask, of Brimfield, January 13. 1799. Their children were Lucy Lawrence, born December 19. 1799 : William Harris, born January 4. 1802: Edward Elliot. born March 27. 1804 : Sarah Whiting, born April 23, 1807; James Lawrence
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Trask, born August 2, 1809; Augustus, born and died October 13, ISI1; Elizabeth Sewell, born December 5, 1812; Charlotte Davis, born May 25, 1815.
William Harris engaged in mercantile business ; he was drowned in Beaver Creek, Wilkinson County, Mississippi, March 9, 1823.
Edward E. graduated at Yale College in 1825, and soon after emigrated to Georgia, as a school teacher ; he after- wards removed to Huntsville, Ala .. where he died, June 24, 1868. His large estate was ruined by the emancipa- tion act, his investments being mainly in human chattels. Only one member of the family is living, the youngest son. James L., who occupies the dwelling of his father, in his native town.
The nomadic and migratory tendency of that period is illustrated in the distant and diversified residences of the family. Two of the daughters. in addition to the two sons, rest in the States of Mississippi and Alabama, after passing many years of residence distant from their native State ; another daughter lies buried in Elmira, N. Y.
John B. Cooley was born in Granville. He was ad- mitted to the bar in 1818, and opened a law office in Brimfield. Hon. W. G. Bates says of him, in an address at the dedication of the new court house, in Springfield, 1874. April 28 : " He was a man of talent, but not a hard student, nor a laborious practitioner. He was a man of wit and humor, and desirous rather of having a jovial time than of accumulating money or fame. In 1831 he removed to New York State, where he spent most of the rest of his life. He died at Wilbraham. November 4, 1858. November 1. 1:21, he married Persis Morgan, daughter of Abner Morgan. She died in New York, in 1854. They had one son, Randolph Morgan Cooley, born August 23, 1822.
Francis B. Stebbins, son of Francis and Chloe (Bates)
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Stebbins was born in Granville, February 22, 1801 ; he was educated in the common schools of his native town, at Hudson, N. Y .. and by Rev. Timothy Cooley, D. D., of Granville ; he studied law with John Mills of Southwick, and with John Davis and Levi Lincoln at Worcester, where March 10, 1824. he was admitted to the bar. He settled at once in Brimfield. where he remained ten years, when he removed to Ware and formed a partnership with William Hyde; here he remained till May, 1840, when he removed to Oswego, N. Y., and gave up the practice of law. To secure a debt. he was obliged to take an in- terest in a flouring mill, and he engaged in the business with Richard Talcott, continuing in the business with Mr. Talcott, and alone until his death, May 11, 1845. Mr. Bates says of him : " He was a lawyer of studious habits, and attentive to all the duties of his profession. He be- came a skillful practicing lawyer, and had attained a good standing as an estimable and useful man when he re- moved from the State." He married September 4, 1837, Eliza A., daughter of Dr. Solomon Bond, of Enfield, Ct. They had one child, Julia Francis; she married Novem- ber 8, 1865, James A. Eddy, of Troy, N. Y., and died December 15, 1870.
General William Eaton, a resident, though not a native of Brimfield," became prominent in the history of the country in connection with the chastisement administered by the United States military and naval forces, on the Bashaw of Tunis, in 1805. This African Potentate had encouraged his subjects to commit piratical assaults on English and American vessels. He had the presumption to demand of these Christian powers, presents of value
* The family is descended from John and Abigail Eaton, who came from London in 1635, and settled first at Watertown, Mass., and afterwards at Dedham, Mass. . General Wmn. Eaton's great grandfather, Thomas Eaton, went from Dedham to Connecticut, probably in 1697, and settled in Woodstock in 1704. General Eaton was the son of Nathaniel and Sarah (Johnson) Eaton.
William Laten
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on the threat of breaking off all treaty arrangements, and condemning to perpetual slavery all citizens of those countries, found within his dominions.
William Eaton was born at Woodstock, Ct., Feb. 23, 1764. When 16 years old he ran away from home and enlisted in the Continental Army. He was in active ser- vice till the close of the war. While teaching school at Franklin, Ct., he became interested in religion, and united with the church under the care of Rev. Mr. Nott, 1785. He graduated at Dartmouth, in 1790. He received in 1792 a commission as Captain in the United States Army. He was on a visit to his brother, Calvin Eaton, at that time residing in Brimfield, when he made the acquaint- ance of the widow of Gen. Danielson, a young woman of 25. Her maiden name was Eliza Sikes, a descendant of one of the original settlers of Brimfield. They were married August 21, 1792. He was first ordered to the Ohio to join Wayne, and commanded the left column of the force. He was transferred, in 1795, to Savannah, Georgia, when he built Fort Pickering. In 1798, having resigned his commission, he was appointed Consul to Tunis. Here he exerted himself to secure the rights of American and other citizens, but in vain. He returned to the United States in 1803; but in 1804, war having been declared against Tripoli, he embarked on board the frigate John Adams, as Naval Agent. At Alexandria, he heard that Hamet Caramelli, whom he regarded as the rightful Bey of Tripoli, was in Upper Egypt. He in- dueed the deposed ruler to accompany him on a march across the sands of Northern Africa to attempt the re- covery of the Pashalie of Tripoli. The march was a striking example of daring and energy. April 27, 1805, he attacked and captured Derne, and June 11, met the forces of the Bey sent from Tripoli. The United States forces were victorious, acting in connection with the
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squadron. under command of Commodore Barron. But Tobias Lear. the United States Minister, concluded a treaty with the frightened ruler, acting on his own au- thority, and making concessions shamefully in contraven- tion of the rights and obligations of the United States. paying $60.000 for release of American prisoners, and utterly ignoring the claims of Hamet. Eaton returned to the United States in 1805, where he was received with high honor. The Legislature of Massachusetts presented him a township of 10,000 acres, in Maine. But he was unsuccessful in the prosecution of his claim against the United States Government, for large personal expenses incurred by him in the prosecution of his undertaking. IIe became embarrassed by his debts, and when he died, 1811, June 1, aet. 47, he had very little property left of his own, or of the estate derived from Gen. Danielson. Mrs. Eaton died at Auburn, N. Y., in 1830. Their chil- dren were Eliza, born 1795, Feb. 22, married Eli Goodwin, about 1816, died soon after; Charlotte, 1797, Oct. 24, married Rev. William B. Sprague, at Albany, N. Y., and died in West Springfield, June 25, 1821; Almira, 1799, July 20, married David Hayden, of Waterbury, Conn. ; William Sikes, 1804, Aug. 30, graduated West Point, 1824, became Second Lieutenant in Sixth United States Infantry, served on frontier duty in lowa, 1825-1827, in garrison at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., in 1827, died at Waterbury, Conn., May 10, 1828; Nathaniel Johnson, 1807, June 28, graduated West Point, 1827. In garrison at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1827 to 1832. In Black Hawk war, as Colonel's Staff; Chief of Commissariat of Illinois Vols., May 9 to Oct. 11, 1832. In garrison at Jefferson Barracks, Mo., 1832 to 1835. In Bureau of Indian Emigration, Dec. 23. 1835, to July 11, 1836. First Lieutenant Sixth Infantry, July 31, 1836. Retir- ing from the army, 1837, April 18. He was master of
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various steamboats on Western rivers from 1837 to 1819. Agent, of United States Post Office at St. Louis, 1849-50. Port Warden, St. Louis, in 1851. He now resides at Alton, Illinois.
The Fairbanks family. Joseph Fairbanks came to Brimfield from Shelburne, where his grandfather Eben- ezer was born. Three children, Erastus, Thaddeus, and Joseph Paddock Fairbanks, were born in the north-east part of Brimfield, in the little red house, still standing . (1876) near the Sturbridge line. At the age of nineteen, Erastus left home to commence the study of Law. in the office of his Uncle, Ephraim Paddock, at St. Johnsbury. Weakness of eyes compelled him to give up his studies. He entered the store of Mr. Frederick Phelps as clerk, afterwards in partnership with him, and subsequently on his own account opened a store in Wheelock, Vt., 15 miles from St. Johnsbury. Meanwhile the others of the Brim- field family had removed to St. Johnsbury, and engaged in business there. Here in 1825, Erastus joined them. They were for several years unsuccessful in the various enterprises to which they gave their energies. In 1830 they engaged in constructing and managing a machine for dressing hemp. This business proved a failure, but in the operations required, it had become necessary to have some contrivance for weighing wagon loads in some more expeditious way than by the old fashioned steelyards. Thaddeus Fairbanks hit upon the principle then patented, and now used in the construction of the Fairbanks Plat- form Seales. The business grew into importance by slow degrees, till at length the three brothers gave their whole attention to its management. He was chosen Presidential Elector in 1844 and 1848. but declined a nomination to Congress. In 1852. and again in 1860. Erastus Fairbanks was chosen Governor of the State. In 1864. Nov. 20. he died. Joseph P., the third brother, died 1855, May 15.
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The sons of Governor Fairbanks, in connection with Mr. Thaddeus Fairbanks, have since, under the firm name of Fairbanks & Co .. carried on the business.
No man could have been selected better fitted for a " War Governor." Gov. Fairbanks entered into the con- fliet for the preservation of the Union with his whole soul. His firm had an immense amount of property in the South which must be lost in case of war, and it would have been for his pecuniary interest to have peace pre- served. But this had no weight with him. Day and night he toiled, raising and equipping troops, sending regiment after regiment of brave Green Mountain boys to the seat of war. The Legislature, at an extra session showed its confidence in his judgment and ability, by conferring upon him almost unlimited power, and at the close of his official career, by a joint resolution. testified to their high appreciation of the way in which he had used it. The salary to which he was entitled was never touched, but remains in the Treasury of the State, giving evidence of his disinterested patriotism and love of Ver- mont. Gov. Fairbanks was not only prominent in the business and political affairs of the State, but was closely identified with many benevolent organizations, being for many years a corporate member of the American Board, and no less interested in the cause of Home Missions. Always deeply interested in educational matters, he was for the last twenty years of his life, an active member of the Corporation of the University of Vermont, at Bur- lington, from which, in 1860, he received the honorary degree of LL. D. His children were Jane, born Dec. 3, 1816, married Ephraim Jewett, Jan. 26. 1837, died Mar. 29, 1852; George, born Jan. 21, 1819, died April 20. 1843 ; Horace, born March 21. 1820, present Governor of Vermont, (1877) ; Charles, born Dec. 8, 1821; Julia, born June 9, 1824, married John H. Paddock, Feb. 11,
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1857 : Franklin, born June IS, 1828; Sarah, born June 30, 1831, married C. M. Stone, May 4, IS58; Emily, born Mar. 4, 1833, married Rey. C. L. Goodell, May 5, 1859; Ellen, born July 27, 1836, died May 28, 1843.
Rev. Festus Foster was the son of Standish Foster, and was born in Canterbury, Conn., September 30, 1776. He remained on his father's farm till the age of 18 years. His family about that time removing to Rowe, Mass., he was there prepared for college, under the tuition of Rev. Preserved Smith, the minister of that town, and was graduated at Williams College in the year 1800.
After leaving college, he took charge of a Grammar School in Pittsfield, meanwhile entering on studies pre- paratory for the ministry, under the direction of Rev. Dr. Lathrop, of West Springfield. He was ordained in Petersham, Mass., Jan. 13, 1802, and was dismissed Nov. 26, 1817.
Mr. Foster's ministry covered a period of the most in- tense politieal excitement ; an excitement in which the people of this town (Petersham) took an earnest part. The questions and measures then in controversy, were looked on by many wise and good men, as fraught with the most vital consequences to the nation. In these controversies the pastor of this church became involved.
Mr. Foster removed to Brimfield in the spring of ISIS, and engaged there in mercantile pursuits for a time ; afterward settled upon a farm in the same town, on which he spent the remainder of his days. He died on the 30th of April, 1846.
Mr. Foster always took an interest in public affairs, and filled several principal town offices in Brimfield, besides representing that town two years in the State Legislature. He was a n man of vigorous intellect, and knew how to put his thoughts in forcible words. As a reasoner he was able, acute, and ingenious, and he wielded a dangerous
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weapon,-as well dangerous to him who carries it, as to him whom it wounds,-in a talent for keenest sarcasm. Under the irritating provocations of sharp personal con- troversy, he did not find it easy to hold such a faculty always in check. But in the calmer conferences and dis- cussions of the deliberative assembly in which he partici- pated later in life, that gift of stings would appear to have been sparingly used, if used at all. It is the uniform testimony of his contemporaries in the General Court, that as a debater he commanded attention on all occa- sions, and proved himself an influential and useful mem- ber of that body. He did not speak often, but waiting till he had studied his subject carefully from different as- pects, and seen it by the light which other minds could shed upon it. he seldom failed to sum up the whole mat- ter with a judicial clearness, comprehensiveness and just- ness of view, which satisfied and convinced.
Mr. Foster's social qualities were, however, quite as distinguishing traits of his character as any that he pos- sessed. There was a quickness of wit, and a general freshness and raciness in his conversation, which made his talk peculiarly spirited and attractive. He left vari- ous published writings, chiefly Sermons and Occasional Addresses.
Fisher A. Foster, born July 4, 1811, at Petersham, Mass. ; 1834, graduated at the Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn .; 1834 to 1836, tutor in Randolph- Macon College, Va., 1837 to 1845; practiced law in Clinton, Miss., and from 1845 to 1848 at Cincinnati, O .; 1848 to 1851, published Cincinnati Daily Atlas ; 1857, connected with the Congressional Globe ; and subse- quently, for many years, with the Treasury Department at Washington, D. C.
John Wells Foster was born 1815, in Petersham, where his father, Rev. Festus Foster, was minister, before his
In. Foster
.
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removal to Brimfield. His mother was the aunt of Judge John Wells, and from that family he took his baptismal name. After he had acquired the rudiments of learning as taught in the public schools of the town. he spent a year at Wilbraham Academy, and entered the Wesleyan University, at Middletown. Ct, 1831. After graduating with high honors, he began the study of the law. But he finally chose civil engineering (mining engineering) as his pursuit in life. He soon became a recognized au- thority in geology and metallurgy, and was employed by Eastern capitalists to examine the mining regions and report results. In the geological survey of the State of Ohio, he was chosen by Prof. Mathis, as one of his assist- ants, and made a valuable special report on the Ohio coal field. He was employed by several Mining Com- panies to visit the Lake Superior copper mining regions. When the Government instituted a Geological Survey of that country, in 1847, he was appointed one of the assist- ants. Prof. J. D. Whitney, now of California, was his chosen companion and associate. Their book, entitled " Foster and Whitney's Report on the Lake Superior Re- gion," was published by order of the Government. At the meeting of the American Association at Cincinnati, they made a report to that body of their investigations and conclusions, declared at the time by Agassiz. to be among the grandest generalizations ever made in Ameri- can Geology.
Col. Foster at this time removed his residence to Brim- field. This was the period of the so-called " Know-Noth- ing" overturn in Massachusetts polities. Col. Foster was prominent in this movement, and became the recognized leader. He was a member of Gov. Gardner's Council. But when the question of slavery brought about a divis- ion in the organization of the " Know-Nothing" party, he took sides with the Republicans. He was the Repub-
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lican candidate for Congress from his district in 1855. Defeated by a small majority, he abandoned the polit- ical arena. and gave himself wholly to science and litera- ture. In 1868, he made Chicago his home, and the next Vear, through S. C. Griggs & Co., published a compre- hensive and interesting description of " The Mississippi Valley. its Physical Geography, including sketches of the Topography, Botany, Climate. Geology," &c. Unfortu- nately the plates were destroyed in the great fire, but the work took high rank as a scientific authority on the subjects of which it treats. Mr. Foster was for a time connected with the Land Department of the Illinois Cen- tral Railroad, and held a similar position on the Chicago, Alton. and St. Louis Railroad. But he made the pur- suit of knowledge rather than the accumulation of wealth the business of his life. He was elected President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and was for three years president of the Chicago Acad- emy of Sciences. He served as Professor of Natural History in the University of Chicago, and from this University received the honorary degree of LL. D. He was one of the editors of the Lakeside Monthly, and con- tributed at various times important papers, published in the Transactions of various scientific Societies, in Silli- man's Journal, and in various other scientific periodicals. One accepted geological generalization was originally stated by him - that on the summits of the Laurentian hills there lay no modern rocks, and that they were the first land above the main in North America, and possibly the first in the whole present world. He had just pub- lished a most valuable work in the department of Arch- æology, which he had made his specialty. It is entitled, " Pre-Historic Man." and gives the result of his investi- gations of the mounds found in various places in the Western States. He died Sunday, June 29, 1873, at his
John Myles
.
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residence in Hyde Park, near Chicago, of inflammation of the liver. His funeral was attended by a large con- course of eminent citizens and personal friends, and his death elicited well deserved eulogies of his abilities and achievements from the newspapers of the day. He was a noble specimen of manhood, portly, and of handsome features. His appearance was prepossessing, and his manners courtly and genial. His varied and rich expe- rience, his wide and accurate knowledge of facts, his in- tellectual comprehensiveness and discriminativeness made him the peer of the foremost scholars of his time, while his personal and social qualities made him respected and loved by all who knew him. He married Miss Lydia Converse, of Brimfield, who with three daughters, survive to mourn his loss.
John Wyles was born in East Hartford, Conn., July 31, 1792, of John and Sarah Wyles.
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