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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01100 3107
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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyofreading02davi_0
GILBERT A. DAVIS LIBRARY BUILDING.
HISTORY
OF
READING
WINDSOR COUNTY
VERMONT
VOLUME II.
BY
GILBERT A. DAVIS
PREFACE.
1137047
This volume is the summary of my researches since the publication of a 'History of Reading' in 1874. The plan has been to publish everything that came to my notice relating to Reading and its inhabitants, no person or family has been omitted designedly. A moment's thought will convince any- one that the editor has had a knowledge of the details of the several families resident of Reading.
The editor wishes to express his appreciation of the aid given him by Carlos Hawkins, the town clerk of Reading, and by numerous others-and to acknowledge the courtesy of Mr. Cummings, the editor of the Inter-State Journal, in loaning the half tones relating to Hank White and the Whitmore & Clark Minstrels.
GILBERT A. DAVIS.
Windsor, Vt., Aug. 14th, 1903.
INDEX OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
GILBERT A. DAVIS, Frontispiece
THE GILBERT A. DAVIS LIBRARY BLDG., 8
REV. SAMUEL. C. LOVELAND, 103
FERDINAND HAWKINS, 173
MRS. CHARLOTTE(AMSDEN) HAWKINS. 173
JOSIAH Q. HAWKINS,
177
ELMER DUANE KEYES,
178
REV. GEORGE W. BAILEY,
182
CORYDON M. FAY,
229
IDA M. (COLE)FAY,
230
MERRITT E. GODDARD,
243
GEORGE O. ROBINSON,
26 1
STILLMAN W. ROBINSON,
267
ALBERT A. ROBINSON,
276
JAMES P. OSBORNE M. D.,
252
ALBERT N. SWAIN,
284
DANIEL S. WHITE,
298
AZRO (HANK) WHITE,
3II
BROADWAY MINSTRELS,
314
HANK WHITE, AT 22,
314
HANK WHITE, AT SUNAPEE,
317
GEORGE M. CLARK, 319
Mr. CLARK'S RESIDENCE AT FELCHVILLE, 319
WHITMORE & CLARK'S MINSTRELS, 328
"HANK" WHITE as KING of MINSTRELSY, 332
CHAPTER I.
THE READING PUBLIC LIBRARY. An Interesting Description of the New " Gilbert A. Davis Library Building," Felchville, Vermont. -By Rev. Elizabeth Holt Goldthwaite.
In these latter years it is no uncommon custom that men and women of public spirit bestow their generous gifts in person, for the general welfare of their fellows, thus having the double satisfaction of giving personal service and of having assurance that their wishes as re- gards their gifts are fulfilled.
Happy is the man or the woman who can give an institution, be it of whatever nature, for the betterment of humanity and happy also should be the people who are made the recipients of such a gift.
No greater gift, nor one of more farreaching influ- ence, was ever conceived than that which fosters the love of books in the youth and which gratifies the taste for literature in those of mature years. Who shall be able to measure or weigh the influence that goes out through the channel of the Public Library to enrich the life of the individual, making it thereby a power for the general welfare of mankind ?
" Education is a debt due from present to future generations " and he who, in conspicuous measure, is able and willing to make possible the payment of that debt with generous interest, by making available large resources for its continuous payment from year to year and from generation to generation is indeed a public benefactor.
The town of Reading, Vermont, has been made the recipient of a gift of this high order in her new Library Building at the hands of one, who though not her son, becomes through such a gift, surely as an adopted child.
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HISTORY OF READING.
Gilbert A. Davis spent many years in Reading and as proof of his love for his long time home erected "The Gilbert A. Davis Library Building, " which by a deed of trust is forever to be used for library purposes by the citizens of Reading and those residing within the delivery of the Felchville postoffice
The Library Building is situated on the west side of Main Street, in Felchville village and is a marked ad- dition to the beauty of the street with the deep lawn and wide gravel walk leading up to the broad steps and generous porch of the Building, whose front is graced with four white Ionic pillars which support the over- hanging roof. The front is marked in large gold letters -above the pillars-"THE GILBERT A. DAVIS LIBRARY BUILDING" and over the door and beneath the over- hanging roof " READING FREE LIBRARY." The buil- ding is 60 x 32 feet, made of brick, with a cobble base- ment forming the foundation upon which is a belt of gray granite. It is built in the form of a cross and after plans of Jarvis Hunt of Chicago. The outside trim- mings are of pressed brick. Within, the walls are of black ash and the ceilings in the same finish with exposed beams and overlays. The floors are of quartered oak. The windows are of plate glass and have inside shutters.
Entering the broad door. one steps into the spacious vestibule which at present holds temporary cases for the surplus magazines generous donors have provided. Large rolling doors open into the Reading Room which contains two long tables weighed down with current lit- erature-at one end the latest fiction and the rest of the space filled with pile after pile of late magazines-and easy chairs galore invite one to tarry to let fond fancy play as it wills. On the walls are pictures of former townsmen, many of whom have passed to "the great beyond." Among these faces of the past one may sit in the blissful quiet and converse with poet, philosopher, literateur, historian or scientist as he desires and his -
、
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HISTORY OF READING.
chat shall know no disturbance. Still other rolling doors pushed aside reveal the Book Room, whose shelves are shielded from the dust by plate glass rolling doors.
The shelves are replete to overflowing with books, said by eminent critics, to be of a most wise and judicious selection, touching all phases of thought and minister- ing to lofty ideals. Few if any second rate or trashy books have found place here, greatly to the satisfaction of those interested in this institution for the people.
Reading has long had a Library Association whose books have been moved from house to house as the office of Librarian changed hands. This Association received from the Vermont State Library Commission a donation of books to the value of $ 100.00, and public in- terest has been manifest from time to time through some public entertainment, the proceeds of which were always devoted to the furtherance of the Library's power to do good. With the breaking of ground for the new Library Building this effort gained impetus and many a former townsman was told of the prospect awaiting the town at a not far distant day and with the consummation of the builders work, so ably done under the supervision of Hi- ram Beckwith of Claremont, N. H. results began to accrue with surprising and gratifying rapidity. The Dedication which took place on July 4, 1899, while replete with many happy incidents, will have lasting remembrance in the generous gift of Wallace F. Robinson, president of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, a former resident, in a gift of 110 books-books of permanent value because of their wise selection. £ This gift has found repetition at the hands of many friends, until the Library has now nearly 1600 volumes besides several hundred Government Re- ports and fully a hundred volumes of the War Correspon- dence relative to the Civil War. In addition to the bound books are year upon year of the valued magazines which need binding that they may be preserved for gen- eral reading and reference. Summer visitors and a pop-
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HISTORY OF READING.
ular subscription have made possible twelve of the cur- rent magazines for the Reading Room, and here also may be found some half dozen of the weekly county and state newspapers, also the monthly magazines of local interest, the Inter-State Journal and the Vermonter.
At the hands of the Librarian, Miss Minnie C. Fay, the books are nearly classified according to the Dewey System. This work is being done at intervals, as oppor- tunity affords, other than what time is available during Library hours on Wednesdays and Saturdays, afternoon and evening. As fast as funds and time will permit the Library is being placed on an up-to-date basis for the good of its patrons.
To a former townsman this new Library Building with its equipment may seem like a myth, and to our townspeople it is as yet scarcely more than a dream. It is a dream which will only become a full reality when we are all mindful of the power it can wield for good in our town; when we give it the equipment it needs that it may become a working force in our midst. The writer may be pardoned perhaps if, because of her deep interest in this great instrumentality among us, she expresses the wish that is so strong within her that by some means, an endowment might now be provided which would make possible so many added facilities which would bring this generous gift close to the home and the hearts of all our townspeople.
HON. GILBERT A, DAVIS.
HON. GILBERT A. DAVIS, THE DONOR. (From the Inter-State Journal. )
-
Gilbert Asa Davis, who presented the town of Read- ing with the handsome Library building so well describ- ed on the preceding page, is a successful Attorney resid- ing in the neighboring town of Windsor.
Mr. Davis was born in Chester, Vt., Dec. 18, 1835, and was the son of Asa and Mary ( Hosmer) Davis. Hav- ing received an education limited to the public schools and Chester Academy, he began to teach when he was fifteen years of age. In 1852 he removed to New Jersey, where he pursued the professsion of teaching for four years, at Belvidere and other places in Warren and Hun- terdon counties. While in that state he read law with Hon. J. G. Shipman of Belvidere. Returning to Ver- mont. he continued the study of the law in the office of Hon. William Rounds of Chester, and later with Messrs. Washburn [P. T.]& Marsh [Charles P.] of Woodstock.
He was admitted to the Bar at the May term of Wind- sor County Court in 1859, and practiced with his last in- structors for about a year, after which he removed to Felchville, in Reading. Here he remained for about twenty years, laying the foundation for a large and suc- cessful practice. He still retains an office in Felchville although he removed to Windsor in 1879.
II
HISTORY OF READING.
Mr. Davis has always been identified with public im- provements in his community. He is a Director in the Windsor Electric Light Co., he has been a Trustee of the Village ; he was one of the Commissioners appointed to supervise the construction of the Windsor Water · Works; he is president of the Windsor Machine Co., and of the Windsor Canning Co .; is Clerk of the Electric Light Co .; he is also President of the Village of Wind- sor.
He is a member of the Republican party and has held many important town offices. In 1858 and 1861 he was Assistant Clerk of the Vermont House of Representa- tives, and to him wasentrusted the important task of mak- ing out the grand list. He served as register of Probate of Windsor for five years. He represented the Town of Reading in the Legislature in 1872 and 1874, serving in both sessions on the Committee on Education of which he was Chairman during his last term. He was elected to the Senate in 1876, and he was a member of both the Educational and Judiciary Committees. He was State's Attorney for Windsor County in 1878-80. In 1874 he was selected by Governor Peck to compile the school laws of Vermont, and he has published a history of the town of Reading. At the centenary celebration of that town, he delivered the address, and he was also orator at the centennial celebration of the adoption of the name and constitution of the State, held at Windsor, August 9, 1877.
Mr. Davis was for many years an officer of the Ver- mont Historical Society ; a member of the Vermont Com- mandery of Knights Templar ; the clerk of the Congre- gational Society of Windsor, and Superintendent of the Sunday School. He was an Alternate and acted as Del- egate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago in 1888; and he was a member of the Triennial Council of the Congregational Churches at Worcester in 1889, and in Minneapolis in 1892.
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HISTORY OF READING.
In April, 1862, he was united in marriage with Delia I. Bolles, at Turner, Illinois, and their union was bless- ed with four children, two of whom are now living.
Mr. Davis' work as a lawyer is shown by reference to the Vermont Reports, from volume thirty-six to vol- ume seventy-three inclusive; in addition to that he has had an extensive practice in the Federal Courts and in the Courts of New Hampshire. In 1898 Mr. Davis was one of the editors of the History of the first Congregation- al Church of Windsor.
On the enactment of the United States Bankruptcy Law July 1, 1898, Judge Wheeler of the Vermont District appointed Mr. Davis as referee in bankruptcy for the County of Windsor, and he has discharged the duties of that office faithfully and impartially in the ninety-six cases that have been referred to him.
CHAPTER II. THE DEDICATION OF THE GILBERT A. DAVIS LIBRARY BUILDING. ORDER OF EXERCISES, At Church.
I Selection, Orchestra.
2 Words of Introduction by Chairman of Trustees, Dr. F. C. Morgan, presenting Wade Keyes, Esq., President of the Day.
3 Speech of Wade Keyes, Esq., President of the Day.
4 Selection, School Children.
5 Reading of letters by Dr. Morgan.
6 Selection, Orchestra.
7 Presentation of Orator, Hon. Frank Plumley, and Oration.
8 Selection, School Children.
9 Speech by Thomas Curley.
IO Remarks of R. S. Barton.
II Remarks of Rev. Mr. Parounagian.
12 Remarks of Rev. C. E. Ordway
13 Remarks of Rev. Mr. Tellier.
14 Adoption of resolution to Dr. Sawyer. At Library Building.
I5 Introduction of the donor of the building and speech · of presentation, and delivery of deed to trustee.
16 Speech of acceptance by Dr. F. C. Morgan, Chair- man of the Town Trustees.
17 Dedicatory prayer by Rev. Mr. Tellier.
18 Address in behalf of schools, Miss Carrie Driver.
19 Address on behalf of Odd Fellows. Rev. Mr. Ordway.
20 Address on behalf of Town, B. M. Newton.
21 Address on behalf of Churches. Rev. Miss H. E. Goldthwait.
22 Closing address by President.
23 Singing of "America."
24 Benediction by Rev. J. K. Fuller,
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HISTORY OF READING.
Exercises held at the Baptist Church in Felchville Village Reading, Vermont, July 4, 1899, at 2 P. M.,
I Selection by the Orchestra.
2 Introduction of Mr. Wade Keyes, as President of the Day by Dr Field C. Morgan, Chairman of the. Trustees of the library.
3 Mr. Keyes responded to the introduction as follows:
MR. CHAIRMAN, NEIGHBORS AND FRIENDS-I am glad in- deed again to be with you, and am grateful for the opportunity of having part in the formal observances of this most important day. As I look into your eager happy faces, and behold your goodly number, I perceive the true spirit of this day and the true significance of this occasion. Truly are we gathered to rejoice and be glad. And well indeed may Reading rejoice, for here in the old home and on this festal day of the Republic she has brought to- gether her citizens, her sons, her daughters, and her friends, to distinguish, with fitting and appropriate ceremonies, the most im- portant single event in her history, to mark an epoch in the life of this good old town.
In common with our brethren throughout this broad and pros- perous land we rejoice in the founding of this Nation and the es- tablishment of civil and educational liberty for all mankind. But to us is given new and peculiar reasons for joy and praise. We are not gathered today simply to recount and glorify the past. We are assembled to establish a pledge for the future, that the past may be kept secure ; to consecrate ourselves anew to the task of educating and improving the minds and hearts of all the people, more espec- ially those of our growing youth, upon whose trained intelligence and wisdom must soon depend, as our fathers clearly saw, the stability and perpetuity of the Republic.
The founders of the town set and maintained a school house on every hill, from which the lights of learning and virtue have gone forth to illumine the earth. The munificence of a former towns- man has now set a torch in this valley whose rays may touch the farthest hill. From today onward it will be left in your care. I am confident you will keep it fed and burning.
But I will say no more, lest I drift into a speech, and a speech I have not, though the order of exercises which has just been placed in my hands, bears at this juncture the ominous words, " Speech by the President of the Day," which I suppose may be ascribed to the partiality of some unkind friend.
We have with us many and excellent speakers ; the day is hot, the program long, and I am sure of your approval if I omit this number and proceed at once upon the formal exercises of the day.
15
HISTORY OF READING.
4 Singing of the "Bobolink Song" by the School Children.
5 The President-
"A number of natives and other friends of the town have written letters expressive of regret at their absence and of friendly interest to the occasion," which Dr. Morgan then read.
6 Selection by the Orchestra.
7 The President --
"I have already said that this is a most important occasion-perhaps the most important in the history of the town. That is what I think; and your presence here in such large and enthusiastic numbers shows conclu- : sively that you are of the same opinion. But we have additional and stronger evidence of the fact. A gentle- man who has' been for years a well-known name and figure throughout the length and breadth of eastern. Vermont as a ready and forceful speaker, and whose services today were eagerly sought by other and more populous towns, has done us the honor and himself the honor, to put all other invitations one side that he might come here to assist in the dedication of a free public library.
I assure you, sir, that I speak the sentiments of every person in this room when I thank you for the con- sideration you show us by your presence, and for the un- selfish testimony you have thus given to the import- ance of the work in which we are this day engaged.
Ladies and Gentlemen, permit me to introduce to you the Hon Frank Plumley, of Northfield, who will now deliver the principal address of the day."
(The editor regrets to state that he has been unable to obtain a copy of this address).
8 Song by the children of Reading Public Schools.
9 The President-
"There was once a boy lived and grew up among you inthis beautiful village, who differed from other boys, as
16
HISTORY OF READING.
you will remember only in this: that he was a lover and reader of books. He grew from boyhood to man- hood, passed through the struggle and experience of obtaining by unaided effort an academic and college ed- ucation, and now resides in a populous city of our neighboring commonwealth. You know well whom I mean, because his love and affection for this village brings him often among you, and you in turn have never failed him with a hearty welcome.
And so I know you will take great pleasure to hear, as I certainly do in the telling, that he still differs from other men, and now in so many things that he is called one of the first and foremost citizens of his city, which is noted for the vigor and intelligence of its people.
To have won such regard and standing is a great achievement, but in it is nothing strange ; for in youth he was a worker and a student, and those habits then acquired and never laid aside have made him in man- hood superior to his fellows not only in the extent, the variety and the usefulness of his knowledge, but in the kindness of his heart, and in eager desire to be of service to his fellow men.
Public office, even the Mayorality of his city, and all personal preferment he has thrust aside, but never has he withheld hearty and efficient aid in support and furtherance of the public weal. PRO BONO PUBLICO, to work for the good of his fellows and the highest good of all is the only master he has ever served.
I know you have all been glad to hear me thus con- firm your early hopes, and that now as always you will be delighted to hear from our old friend; who visits us with each recurring year, the Hon. Thomas Curley, of Waltham. Mass."
Mr. Thomas Curley then delivered a speech of great beauty and force.
10 The President-
"We have with us to-day several gentlemen, who
I7
HISTORY OF READING.
have kindly consented to be called upon for a five min- utes' speech, and this I will proceed to do.
As Mr. Curley has touched so well and forcibly up- on the true relation between books and children, I know you will be glad to hear further upon this topic from a · gentleman now engaged in educational work. And I take pleasure in introducing to you a friend of the donor of the library, Mr. R. S. Barton, Principal of the Wind- sor High School."
The address of Mr. Barton was classical and appro- priate to the occasion.
II The President-
"Everybody who was born in Reading, and every- body who has lived in Reading, loves the town and loves to return to it. We have with us a gentleman born in a distant clime, in far off Armenia, who lived with us only a brief period, but he has travelled a great many miles and made a special effort to be with us to-day, that he might show his interest in us, his interest in our insti- tutions, and his interest in the success and welfare of this Library, You will all be glad again to welcome the Rev. M. B. Parounagian."
MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MY BELOVED FRIENDS, I have been interested in the welfare of this dear old town of Read- ing. As a minister of the gospel I have labored among you some time since; up and down these hills, from house to house visited you; when joyous, I have shared your joys: when sad and sorrow- ful, shed my tears with you. When your committee's invitation card came to my hand announcing what a great day you were going to have on the glorious Fourth, I at once decided to come and cheer with you. I congratulate you on your good fortune in the posses- sion of the magnificent institution, the library, the adjunct of the Christian church. Very evidently the donor has united these two noble institutions, the church and its adjunct, into one, building the library edifice in the style of a Greek cross; because where ever the church has gone, in its train it has brought the public schools and libraries. When the Saracens with their Mohammedan faith and mosques went to Egypt they had no use for libraries and they burned the famous Alexandrian library. In the land of my nativity
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HISTORY OF READING.
the Armenian community in the City of Caesarea petitioned for nearly twenty years to a Mohammedan monarch, the Sultan of Tur- key,at Constantinople, to permit them to establsh a printing press, but they were denied the privilege repeatedly.
I congratulate you for this land of Press and the land of Good Books. Fill that elegant building out yonder with good books, and use it, not abuse it. There are good books and periodicals, good histories, good biographies, good works on fiction, good books of all styles, with which we are to fill the minds of the young, so that there will be no more room for the useless and the vicious. Bad books, bad newspapers, choke them as soon as they get into your beautiful building. Teach our young people that if they go down into the swamps and marshes to watch their Jack o' Lanterns dance on decay and rottenness, they will catch malaria and death.
Hon. Gilbert A. Davis is a man of study; studies day and late at night. In his line of business if he encounters a difficult case he studies until he finds a way out of it. He is studious. I admire him for that. Our benefactor in this generous gift to the town of Reading and its people, meant to will and impart his stu- dious character, and has erected that splendid building as a memor- ial of the same. It shall ever remain the monument of his public spiritedness. Instead of rearing a monument upon his grave and inscribing on it his name, he wrote upon the appreciative hearts.of the inhabitants of this town and the future generation. May his example arouse the men of means elsewhere to the similar effort, and may the Lord bless the gift and the giver.
I2 The President-
"We are glad to have so many of our Windsor friends with us to-day, and you will be pleased, I know, to hear a word from the Rev. C. E. Ordway."
Rev. C. E. Ordway, a clergyman of distinction, then delivered a speech that was timely and well received.
13 The President -- .
"It is fitting that we should now close the exercises in this church by a brief address from its pastor, the Rev. Mr. Tellier."
The address of Mr. Tellier was a forceful presenta- tion of the value of education, as illustrated by his own history. He was born and reared in Canada, and found
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HISTORY OF READING.
himself at the age of 21, unable to read or write, and since then he had studied, worked, and advanced to the rank of a clergyman. 1
14 The President-
"Before we separate I wish to announce that the most widely known and best beloved son of Reading, he who has lived the longest, the most useful and the serenest life of all her sons-I refer of course to the Rev. Thomas J. Sawyer-now lies upon a bed of sickness, from which his great age makes it more than likely he may never arise.
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