USA > New Hampshire > Genealogical and biographical records of American families, representative citizens: New Hampshire > Part 8
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SEYMOUR
RICHARD SEYMOUR, progenitor of the family in America, was the son of Robert and Elizabeth (Waller) Seymour and grandson of John and Dyzory (Porter) Seymour. He was baptized at Saw- bridgeworth, County Herts, England, January 27, 1604-05, and died at Norwalk, Connecticut, between July 29, 1655 and October 10, 1655. He came to Hartford, Connecticut, in 1639, was recorded as proprietor, and was a chimney viewer in Hartford in 1647. He was one of the signers of the agreement for planting Norwalk, Connecticut, when he became one of the first settlers and selectman in 1655. He married at Sawbridgeworth, April 18, 1631, Mercy Ruscoe, who was born about 1610, daughter of Roger and Sarah of Sawbridgeworth.
JOHN SEYMOUR, son of Richard and Mercy (Ruscoe) Seymour, was born, probably in Hartford, and died there between December 10, 1712, and August 3, 1713. He was a freeman in 1667 and with his wife owned a covenant at the Second Church of Hartford. They were admitted, March 31, 1678, to full communion. He was an active and influential
-
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man in the community. He married Mary Watson, daughter of John and Margaret (Smith) Watson of Hartford.
JOHN SEYMOUR, son of John and Mary (Watson) Seymour, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, June 12, 1666, and died May 17, 1748. He was an exten- sive land owner. He married in Hartford, December 19, 1693, Elizabeth Webster, who was baptized in Hartford February 8, 1673-4, and buried there May 15, 1754. She was the daughter of Lieutenant Robert and Susanna (Treat) Seymour.
MOSES SEYMOUR, son of John and Elizabeth (Webster) Seymour, was born in Hartford, Connec- ticut, February 17, 1710-11 and died in West Hartford September 24, 1795. He married in Hartford, March 14, 1737-8, Rachel Goodwin, who was baptized in Hartford January 22, 1715-16 and died in West Hartford July 23, 1763. She was the daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (Easton) Goodwin.
MOSES SEYMOUR, son of Moses and Rachel (Goodwin) Seymour, was born July 23, 1742, in
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Hartford, and died in Litchfield, Connecticut, September 17, 1826. He was an officer in the Patriotic army and was in the battles of Bemis Heights and Saratoga. In Trumbull's painting of the surrender of Burgoyne, Moses Seymour is one of the figures. He was assistant quartermaster-general for six years and in 1783 retired with the rank of major. Major Seymour served in the Connecticut Legislature and was one of the originators of the scheme to sell the Western Reserve and devote the proceeds to education. He married Mary Marsh.
HORATIO SEYMOUR, son of Moses and Mary (Marsh) Seymour, was born in Litchfield May 31, 1778, and died in Middlebury, Vermont, November 21, 1857. He graduated from Yale in 1797, taught school in Cheshire, Connecticut, and studied law at the Litchfield Law School. In 1799 he moved to Middlebury where he was admitted to the bar in 1800. He was postmaster of Middlebury, a member of the state council, state's attorney for Addison County, elected to the United States senate from 1821-1833, an unsuccessful candidate for governor
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of Vermont in 1836 and judge of probate court of the state from 1847 to 1856. He received the degrees of Master of Arts from Middlebury College in 1811 and of Doctor of Law from Yale in 1847. He was a director of Vermont State Bank and a trustee of Middlebury College from 1810 to 1855. He married in 1800, Lucy, daughter of Jonah Case of Addison, Vermont.
EMMA HART SEYMOUR, daughter of Horatio and Lucy (Case) Seymour, married Philip Battell.
EMMA BATTELL, daughter of Philip and Emma Hart (Seymour) Battell, married John Wolcott Stewart. (See Stewart Line.)
VILAS
THE pages of American history are filled with accounts of the lives of self-made men that more than surpass the imagination of any writer of fiction. In this country, as in no other, the ambitious youth may rise from a minor position to an outstanding place in his community, provided he has that in- domitable will that brooks no opposition. Such a story is told in the life of Charles Nathaniel Vilas, of Alstead, New Hampshire. He was descended in a direct line from Peter Vilas, who was the first of the name to come to America. Peter Vilas was born in England, February 24, 1704, and died April 24, 1756. He married Mercy Gay, who was born Febru- ary 17, 1697, and died August 15, 1770.
NOAH VILAS, son of Peter and Mercy (Gay) Vilas, was born November 2, 1733, and died at Alstead, September 17, 1799.
NATHANIEL VILAS, son of Noah Vilas, was born October 12, 1766, and died December 12, 1852.
CYRUS K. VILAS, son of Nathaniel Vilas, was born at Alstead, September 18, 1815, and died there February 19, 1887. He was a successful druggist in
Charly N.Sieas
VILAS
Alstead and prominently identified with the civic life of the town, in which he held various offices of trust. He served as repesentative in the State Legis- lature, as town clerk, town treasurer, held the office of postmaster eleven years and that of moderator nineteen years. In later life he retired and enjoyed a well earned leisure.
Cyrus K. Vilas married December 27, 1848, Cleora E. Maynard, daughter of John P. and Roxie V. (Davis) Maynard. She was born in Drewsville, New Hampshire, May 19, 1823, and died in Springfield, Massachusetts, December 10, 1889.
CHARLES NATHANIEL VILAS, son of Cyrus K. and Cleora E. (Maynard) Vilas, was born in Alstead, November 12, 1852, and died there September 8, 1931. He was educated in the public schools of Alstead, and in 1869, at the age of seventeen, re- moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, where he ob- tained employment at the Bay State House, a prom- inent hotel of the day. Mr. Vilas at once applied himself diligently to his work and thoroughly mas- tered it to the smallest detail. Such application of
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purpose could not fail to bring its reward. In 1872, he was offered an opportunity to become associated with his uncle, Mr. Hiram Hitchcock, at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City. This house was opened on August 23, 1859, Paran Stevens leasing the building and forming a partnership with Hiram Hitchcock and Alfred B. Darling under the name of Hitchcock, Darling and Company. In 1867, Mr. Hitchcock was succeeded by Mr. Charles W. Gris- wold, but in 1879 the former bought back his in- terest and the firm resumed the original name of Hitchcock, Darling and Company. This house was for years the most famous hotel in America. Many notable persons were numbered among its guests and on many occasions members of royal families were entertained there. Mr. Vilas began his career with this establishment as a clerk and was gradually assigned to more important duties until, upon Mr. Hitchcock's retirement, he was able to purchase a half interest in the hotel. It is interesting to note that at this time Elmer A. Darling, a nephew of Mr. Hitchcock's partner purchased his uncle's half inter- est and the nephews of the original owners became
VILAS
the new proprietors. They continued most success- fully until their retirement in 1908, when the his- toric hotel was razed and a famous landmark de- stroyed.
The success of the Fifth Avenue Hotel was in no small measure due to Mr. Vilas's able management; no other hotel will ever be so completely a political and social center, not only of New York, but of the United States. The real Americans gathered there with their wives and daughters and elections were captained from the celebrated "Amen Corner" by the king makers of the Republican party.
Mr. Vilas's genial personality and his ability to meet the great men of the day on an equal basis won for him many lasting friendships. Few men could boast as many intimate acquaintances among the real leaders in the financial, political and social life of the United States as could Mr. Vilas and he was ever solicitous for their welfare and comfort whenever they were his guests.
Mr. Vilas's love for his childhood home never diminished, and upon his retirement he purchased an
VILAS
abandoned farm of three hundred acres in Alstead. On this property, he built a beautiful home in front of which he placed one of the Corinthian pillars from the main entrance of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, topped by a huge electric light as a beacon for the hill. He installed a wonderful pipe organ, piped throughout the house and his natural talent for music found an outlet in the delightful programs rendered to his friends and guests. The farm was his hobby and his original and constructive brain delighted to concern itself with building problems. Year after year the place grew; five additions were made to the resi- dence; the barns were enlarged and he built several houses for the occupancy of his employees.
As a hobby and profitable pastime Mr. Vilas raised pure-bred Holstein cattle, and exhibited his prize animals at county fairs; on more than one occasion he was awarded the coveted blue ribbon.
Many men of wealth and prominence maintain country homes in the locality where their boyhood was spent, but few take the deep interest in the com- munity that Mr. Vilas took. He shared with his
VILAS
townspeople. Through his generosity and philan- thropic spirit, he brought to Alstead many pleasures that otherwise would never have come within the reach of the villagers. Prosperity had come to him, a native son, and he gave unselfishly of his time and means to others less fortunate. He possessed a keen conception of his duty to the common welfare and was ever willing to promote any worthy movement. His most recent gift, the payment of seventy thou- sand dollars to relieve the towns of Walpole and Rockingham of the cost of the new Interstate Bridge replacing the old Tucker Toll Bridge and connecting Bellows Falls, Vermont and Walpole, New Hamp- shire, is characteristic of his lifelong generosity.
The Governors of New Hampshire and Vermont publicly expressed their thanks to Mr. Vilas for his generosity and since his death two memorial bronze tablets have been placed at the New Hampshire end of the bridge, one expressing the appreciation of the states of New Hampshire and Vermont, and the other made possible by Mrs. Vilas. Since his death, the legislatures of the two states have officially named it
VILAS
the "Vilas Memorial Bridge." New Hampshire's share of this princely gift was used by the state high- way department to build a new road between the new bridge and the Cold River bridge on the main highway leading to Alstead as a memorial of public thanks. Work on this project was started before Mr. Vilas's death, and though not living to see its com- pletion, he had knowledge of the honor conferred upon him.
Mr. Vilas's desire for improving and beautifying his surroundings was not confined to his own estate. He purchased the old fire ruins in the village of Alstead which had long presented an unsightly view, had the land graded and made into a Town Square, erecting a steel flagpole with provision for a new flag every year. He also purchased the old blacksmith shop on River Street and for the public good had it removed, so it is no longer an obstruction to the motorist's view or a hazard to safety.
Among other public benefactions were: The clock in the belfry of the Universalist Church in Alstead; the Memorial Gates of the Mapleside Cemetery in
VILAS
Alstead; and the town clock in Rockingham Town Hall at Bellows Falls, Vermont.
In his later years, Mr. Vilas began to consider se- riously a project which had long been nearest to his heart and which resulted in the creation and develop- ment of the now famous Vilas Pool. As there was no swimming place in that section, Mr. Vilas con- ceived the idea of damning up Cold River which runs through his estate close by the state road and actually started the work in 1925. The dam was finished be- fore winter and the next summer a pavilion with dance hall, women's dressing rooms and caretaker's apartment; men's building and storage house were built. All kinds of playground apparatus were in- stalled for the children, picnic tables to accommodate parties of all sizes from four to twenty were placed on the grounds and rowboats and two Swan boats were provided. On Memorial Day, 1927, Vilas Pool was opened as a recreation park for the benefit of the public, free of charges of any kind. Each summer new improvements and additions were made and in 1930 Mr. Vilas erected a steel and stone tower at a
VILAS
cost of over $100,000.00 surmounted by a Carillon of twelve bells, the second largest in New England. Vilas Pool with its equipment, Carillon Tower and about sixteen acres of land was bequeathed to the Town of Alstead by Mr. Vilas, together with a main- tenance fund for its upkeep with the result that the town is now in possession of a recreation park unique in the history of the country.
Besides the pool property, Mr. Vilas's will made such generous provisions for the Town of Alstead that it is almost an endowed town.
The Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital at Han- over, New Hampshire, was bequeathed a $100,- 000.00 trust fund and $20,000.00 for two beds for the use of Alstead residents. It is interesting to note that Mr. Vilas's aunt, Mary Maynard, married Mr. Hiram Hitchcock of the Fifth Avenue Hotel firm of Hitchcock, Darling and Company and the Hospital at Hanover was built as a memorial to her.
Mr. Vilas took a keen interest in genealogy and local history and in 1924 published a book entitled "Baptist Church of Christ, Alstead, New Hampshire,
VILAS
and Early Descendants of Peter Vilas." Fifty of these books were privately printed and distributed among relatives and friends and copies were placed in local public libraries and historical societies.
All the descendants of Peter Vilas must return to Alstead to trace their diverging lines back to Noah (only son of Peter) who lived and died in Alstead and was buried in the Alstead Center Cemetery. Mr. Vilas was, therefore, greatly interested in placing sev- eral bronze tablets marking spots of genealogical value. At Alstead Center Cemetery is a large boulder with a bronze tablet upon which is traced the descent of Charles Nathaniel Vilas's branch of the family from Peter Vilas; and at the old Vilas Farm, his birth- place, is a similar tablet recording the birth of his grandfather's twenty children; his older sister Mary and himself; all born in the same house.
In the town of Langdon, New Hampshire, is a huge roadside boulder under which Mr. Vilas played pirate as a boy, and upon which he placed a bronze tablet in memory of John Langdon, founder of the town and later Governor of New Hampshire.
VILAS
Mr. Vilas was the first vice-president of the old Rockingham Meeting House Association and one of the incorporators of the Mary Hitchcock Hospital of Hanover, New Hampshire. This institution as well as the Rockingham Hospital at Bellows Falls, Ver- mont, have also greatly benefited through his benev- olence. Though a member of the Presbyterian Church to which he contributed generously, he gladly assist- ed the Congregational and Universalist Churches of Alstead and left $40,000.00 in his will to be equally divided among the four.
In politics Mr. Vilas was a Republican. He held membership in the New England Society; the Bellows Falls Country Club and the Hooper Golf Club of Walpole.
The death of Mr. Vilas was a shock and a distinct loss to the communities in which he had taken so great an interest. He went about doing good not be- cause he was financially able, but because he desired to do so and had he been less able, he would still have held the confidence and unvarying regard of all with whom he came in contact.
VILAS
Mr. Vilas married (first) December 16, 1879, Elizabeth Lawrence Harrington, who was born Oc- tober 25, 1855, and died December 21, 1889. They were the parents of three children:
(1) Maynard, born May 22, 1882, died February 28, 1913.
(2) Elizabeth, born November 22, 1886, died March 22, 1887.
(3) Charles Nathaniel, Jr., born December 19, 1889, died April 30, 1904.
Mr. Vilas married (second) January 24, 1918, Jessie (Ford) Vilas, widow of Henry Vilas, who was the son of William Freeman Vilas of Madison, Wis- consin. She is the daughter of Elias Allen and Lucy Jane (Jeffery) Ford of Pasadena, California. Elias Allen Ford was born in Burton, Ohio, April 15, 1840, and died in Pasadena, January 20, 1912. He was a prominent railroad official, and was Passenger Traffic Manager of the western division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Lucy Jane (Jeffery) Ford was born March 11, 1845, in Cleveland, Ohio, and is now (1933) a resident of Pasadena, California.
WILDER
Arms: Gules from a fesse or, charged with two barrulets azure a demi-lion rampant issuant of the second.
Crest: A savage, or wild man's head affrontee, couped at the shoulders, the temples entwined with woodbines proper.
Motto: Virtuti Moenia Cedant.
(Burke: "General Armory.")
THE Wilder family is of ancient origin and Nicholas Wilder, the first of the name of whom there is record, is said to have come to England from France with the Earl of Richmond and landed at Milford Haven. It is definitely recorded that Nicholas Wilder was a chieftain in the army of the Earl of Richmond at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
The Earl of Richmond who succeeded Richard III was crowned by Lord Stanley as Henry VII and on April 15, 1497, the twelfth year in the reign of that sovereign, the landed Estate of Sulham, in Berkshire, was granted to Nicholas Wilder, who, at the same time received a grant to bear arms.
WILDER
JOHN WILDER, son of Nicholas, was in possession of the Sulham Estate in 1525. He married Agnes, surname unknown.
JOHN WILDER, son of John and Agnes Wilder, died in 1588. He married Alice, daughter of Thomas Keats.
THOMAS WILDER, son of John and Alice (Keats) Wilder, inherited the Sulham Estate and died at Shiplake, Oxfordshire County, England, in 1634. He married Martha, who in 1638 sailed in the ship "Confidence" for the Massachusetts Bay Colony and settled in Hingham, Massachusetts. Her sons, Edward and Thomas, emigrated to New England before 1638. The town records of Hingham show that land was granted to Martha and Edward Wilder. Martha Wilder died in Hingham in 1652.
THOMAS WILDER, son of Thomas and Martha Wilder, was born in England in 1618 and settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he was made a freeman in 1640. In 1659 he removed with his family to Nashawena, now Lancaster, Massachusetts, where he was engaged in farming and the manufacture of
WILDER
potash. He was one of the influential citizens of the town and served as selectman and held other offices of trust and responsibility until his death in 1667. He married in 1640, Anna or Hannah, who died June 10, 1692.
JOHN WILDER, son of Thomas and Ann, or Hannah, Wilder, was born in Charlestown in 1646. He was one of the original proprietors of Worcester, Massachusetts, and was engaged in farming in Lancaster.
He married in 1673, Hannah.
JOHN WILDER, son of John and Hannah Wilder, was born November 15, 1673. He was a farmer at Six Nations, later called South Lancaster and now the town of Clinton, Massachusetts. He married Sarah Sawyer.
JONATHAN WILDER, son of John and Sarah (Sawyer) Wilder, was born October 5, 1710. He married, February 23, 1738, or 39, Zerviah Houghton.
ELIHU WILDER, son of Jonathan and Zerviah
WILDER
(Houghton) Wilder, was born February 11, 1760. He was engaged in farming in Lancaster. He married Prudence Manning.
JONES WILDER, son of Elihu and Prudence (Manning) Wilder, was born May 7, 1791, and died November 7, 1861. He married in June, 1820, Arethusa Manning, born September 5, 1796, died March 24, 1875, a daughter of Peter and Rebecca (Carter) Manning.
JONES WARREN WILDER, son of Jones and Arethusa (Manning) Wilder, was born in Sterling, Massachusetts, May 4, 1832, and died April 10, 1894.
In 1867 he became associated with Ebenezer Butterick in the manufacture of patterns made from tissue paper. Mr. Wilder was an aggressive business genius with a remarkable foresight and soon became the active and controlling member of the firm of E. Butterick & Company, which was then located at 192 Broadway, New York City. It was entirely due to Mr. Wilder's foresight that the Metropolitan, a magazine with fashion reports to stimulate the sale of the patterns, was established in 1869. This
Lowrider
WILDER
magazine later became the Delineator. In 1871 the company sold over 6,000,000 patterns and by 1876 branches had been established in London, Paris, Brussels and Vienna. The business was reorganized in 1881 as the Butterick Publishing Company, Ltd., with Mr. Wilder as president and Mr. Butterick as secretary. Mr. Wilder was the active head of the concern until the time of his death.
Jones Warren Wilder married, March 29, 1853, Jane Eliza Raymore, born February 5, 1837, died January 31, 1906, daughter of James Henry and Elizabeth Howe (Loring) Raymore.
GEORGE WARREN WILDER, son of Jones Warren and Jane Eliza (Raymore) Wilder, was born March 29, 1866, in Sterling, Massachusetts, and died February 19, 1931, in New York City.
He received his preliminary education in the public schools and graduated from Amherst College in 1899 with the degree of A. B. He then completed a course in law at Columbia University and later read law in the offices of Benjamin F. Tracy and Isaac S. Catlin
WILDER
of Brooklyn, New York. He was admitted to the State Bar of New York in 1891.
Mr. Wilder, however, did not engage in the practice of his chosen profession, but in 1891 became associated with his father and brothers in the Butterick Publishing Company of which his father at that time was president.
George Warren Wilder at once became a powerful influence in the upbuilding of the company and the success of the "Delineator" was in a great measure due to his efforts. Mr. Wilder became vice-president in 1899 and in 1902, when the company was in- corporated under the laws of New York, with a capital of $12,000,000, he was elected to the office of president. Mr. Wilder was the active head of this great enterprise until 1926, when he retired and re- moved to Rindge, New Hampshire, to begin the restoration of "Cheshire Place", a 4,000 acre estate formerly owned by his father. "Cheshire Place" was for many years operated as a model farm. Mr. Wilder changed the name to "Timbertop" and engaged on a large scale in the raising of potatoes and thoroughbred Guernsey cattle in which he was especially interested.
1
WILDER
He was a member of the Rindge Grange and took an active part in its affairs. He also took a keen interest in the civic life of Rindge where he was a leader of the Board of Trade. He was largely responsible for the formation of the Montachusett Regional Conference, which grew out of a banquet and reunion, arranged by him to increase good will between the Chamber of Commerce of Fitchburg and the Rindge Board of Trade. Mr. Wilder was a frequent visitor in Fitchburg where he was well known and held in the highest esteem.
In politics Mr. Wilder was a staunch republican and served with much credit to himself and his constituents as representative from Rindge in the New Hampshire State Legislature, where his services as a member of the Ways and Means Committee were especially valuable. His forceful personality soon made itself felt and his fellow legislators, regardless of party affiliations, respected him for his sincere and constructive views. He was especially interested in taxation and had made a deep study of this problem. Mr. Wilder enjoyed the personal friendship of
WILDER
President Hoover with whom he was associated as a Director of the American Better Homes Society, an organization for the promotion of a better standard of living in the United States. He was a crusader for child welfare and in 1909, he, with President Roosevelt, organized the first congress on child welfare held in the world. Through his magazines he interested childless families in the welfare of homeless children and in such a manner found homes for thirteen thousand orphans in ten years.
Mr. Wilder's fraternal affiliations were with the Masonic Order and his club memberships included the University Club of Boston and the Amherst Club of New York. His college fraternity was the Chi Phi.
The following resolution, which was read by Governor John G. Winant at a session of the House of Representatives on February 19, 1931, is indica- tive of the esteem and respect with which Mr. Wilder was held by his colleagues:
"Yesterday death came to George W. Wilder as it must come to all men. We knew him, in the colloquial language of parliamentary pro-
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cedure, as 'the Member from Rindge.' In these legislative halls, against his own interests, he fought for a more equitable distribution of the tax burden. No cause that carried a challenge to protect the weak ever failed to win his sympathy and support. Always he worked for a greater equality of opportunity, a square deal for the other fellow, and thru it all he respected the opinions of others as he did his own.
"Even when his body was torn with pain his thoughts were here in the Assembly of the people.
"We shall miss his brave spirit and kindly understanding. If we would pay him tribute it could only be thru rising above ourselves and writing human progress into the statutes of this session.
"Always he wore the red badge of courage over a warm heart.
"It was he who as a student of Amherst College asked Professor Garman, 'If a man lived the truth as he sees the truth shall he enter the Kingdom of Heaven?' And Garman answered, 'He is in the Kingdom of Heaven for the Kingdom of Heaven is truth'."
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George Warren Wilder married (first), December 1, 1892, Gertrude Chapin Stowe who died in July, 1922. They were the parents of the following children:
(1) Gertrude, born June 9, 1897; married William Cole Esty, 2nd, of New Canaan, Connecticut.
(2) George Warren, Jr., born August 21, 1900; resides in Los Angeles, California.
(3) Stowe, born December 24, 1903, resides in Greenwich, Connecticut.
(4) Donald, born February 1, 1905, resides in Cleveland, Ohio.
(5) Helen C., born December 15, 1912, resides at home.
George Warren Wilder married (second), January 10, 1920, Abby Langdon (Alger) Shaw, daughter of William Ellerton and Lucille (deLeon) Alger. Mr. Alger was engaged in the diplomatic service all of his active years, and was a nationally known figure.
Mrs. Wilder married (first) William Henry Shaw, January 8, 1907. He died May 7, 1908. They
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were the parents of one child, John Clark Shaw, who was born July 25, 1908, and adopted by Mr. Wilder. At present (1932), a student at the University of Texas, at Austin, Texas.
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