USA > Vermont > Franklin County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 3
USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 3
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The breeding of Spanish Merino sheep, for which Vermont is so justly celebrated, is conducted to a considerable extent, and with great success, in both Franklin and Grand Isle counties, though they do not possess so many valuable flocks as some of the other counties of the State. Their natural resources are favorable to the culture, and they will undoubtedly one day be noted in this respect.
Both the Spanish and French Merino families are reckoned among the finest in the world. Their wool is fine, long, soft, and twisted in silky spiral ringlets, purely white in color, though naturally so oily that the fleece appears
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dingy and unclean from the dust and dirt adhering to the outside. Both these breeds were introduced into America during the present century, the Spanish by Hon. David Humphreys, Minister to the Court of Madrid, in 1802, and the French by Mr. Taintor, of Hartford, Conn., in 1846. It is asserted by some, however, that three Spanish Merinos were brought to Boston in 1793, by William Foster, but were not preserved for breeding purposes. Since then, the names of Atwood, Jarvis, Hammond, Sanford, Stickney and others have become famous as breeders of this stock, and descendants of their flocks are now owned by breeders in these counties. There are two associa- tions for the registry of Merino sheep, having their offices in Middlebury, Vt., the Vermont Atwood Merino Sheep Club, with Worthington C. Smith, of St. Albans, president, and the Merino Sheep Breeders' Association, E. N. Bissell, of Shoreham, Vt., president.
Our limited space does not admit of particular mention of the prominent breeders of this section, except as incorporated in the directory portion of the work, though it would be an interesting task to do so.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
The Franklin County Agricultural Society, the object of which was "the improvement of agricultural productions, useful domestic animals, domestic manufactures and agricultural implements," was organized at St. Albans, Sep- tember 13, 1844. Eleazer Jewett, of St. Albans, was chosen president ; Michael F. Palmer, of St. Albans, vice-president ; Charles W. Rich, of Swanton, secretary ; and Alfred H. Huntington, of St. Albans, treasurer. The first annual fair was held on the public green, at St. Albans, September 25, 1845, when the sum of $169.00, received from the State, was awarded in premiums. From this time forward fairs were held each year, until 1861, when none were held until 1866. The society was then reorganized as the Franklin County Agricultural and Mechanical Society, with R. J. Saxe, president ; Dr. R. Pot- ter, and H. D. Farrar, vice-presidents; and L. H. Hapgood, secretary. Since that time fairs have been held at Sheldon.
'The fair ground contains thirteen acres, located at the junction of the St. J. & L. C. R. R. and the Missisquoi river, conveniently arranged for the purposes for which it is intended, and furnished with all appropriate buildings, etc. The society is now in a flourishing condition, with a reserve fund in its treasury. The present secretary, Mr. J. H. Stufflebean, who has held the office for the past thirteen years, has labored hard for the success of the soci- cty, and has done much to sustain its standing. Aside from three directors from each town, the present list of officers is as follows :-
Gardner I. Fassett, of Enosburgh, president ; S. A. Risden, of East Fletcher, and W. H. McAllister, of West Enosburgh, vice-presidents ; J. H. Stufflebean, of East Sheldon, secretary ; S. B. H. Stufflebean, of Sheldon, assistant secre- tary ; Daniel B. Stetson, of Enosburgh Falls, treasurer ; Charles H. Whitte- more, of Olmstead Falls, assistant treasurer ; Benjamin C. Gallup, of North Sheldon, general superintendent ; and John F. Draper, of Sheldon, marshall.
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FRANKLIN COUNTY.
MEDICAL SOCIETY.
The Franklin County Medical Society was incorporated by an act of the legislature, at an adjourned meeting held at Windsor, in January, 1804, under the head of " The Third Medical Society of Vermont," and embraced the counties of Franklin and Chittenden.
The following named physicians were enrolled in the act of incorporation : John Pomeroy, Benjamin Chandler, Joseph D. Farnsworth, Nathaniel Wil- son, Truman Powell, David Tracy, Ephraim Little, Julius Hoyt, and Horatio Powell, and were given all the powers of an incorporate body, to transact busi- ness, sue or be sued, etc., and to hold property to the amount of two thousand dollars, in the interest of the society, and their successors in cifice to be em- powered with the same rights and privileges. This act required " the above named physicians to meet at the court-house in St. Albans, on the second Tuesday of May next," but failing to print the act in time to give due notice, there was no meeting held ; but at the next session of the legislature, held at Rutland, in October, 1804, a subsequent act was passed, requiring them to meet at the same place, viz : "The court-house in St. Albans, the first Tuesday of January next, and the proceedings of this meeting should be valid, as if met on the first mentioned time." Pursuant to the tenor of this act, the above named physicians convened and organized the Third Medical Society of the State of Vermont, and continued to hold their meetings at various places, semi-annually, until October, 1813, when the legislature passed an act to incorporate the State Medical Society, and a society in each of the counties of the State, and at which time Chittenden county withdrew, and formed a society under the name of their own county.
The Franklin county society has continued to hold its sessions twice a year, ever since, with more or less enthusiasm. For several years after its organization, the society was in the habit of examining physicians and grant- ing licenses to those found qualified to practice the science of medicine. At this time there were few schools in this country, and not to exceed eight in America. The students of that day were not rich in this world's goods, and but a few were able to attend lectures in Boston or Philadelphia. They were, however, men of vigorous constitutions and energetic habits, able to sit in a saddle and journey over the rough roads during the whole twenty-four hours of a day, if need be.
The society at present is in a flourishing condition, numbering about forty members, all graduates from some accredited school or college. They early adopted the code of ethics of the American Medical Association, and endeavor to live up to the requirements and spirit of it. This society has never been allowed to abase its meetings into that of a mere trades-union for individual emoluments or pecuniary gain, but has steadily kept the faith first implanted within it, viz : "progress in the healing art." The present officers of the society are G. S. Goodrich, M. I)., of West Berkshire, president ; R. E. Welch, M. D., of Franklin, vice-president; S. S. Clark, M. D., of St. Albans, secretary.
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FRANKLIN COUNTY.
MANUFACTURES.
The manufacturing interests are spoken of in detail in connection with the sketches of the several towns, so it would be a needless repitition to give the subject more than a passing glance at this point. The principal manufac- tures are .lumber, in all its various branches, machinery, railroad iron, patent medicines, etc., while' marble, lime, woolen cloth, etc., are manufactured to some extent. According to the United States census report of 1870, the county had 213 manufacturing establishments, operated by thirteen steam engines and 109 water-wheels, giving employment to 1, 133 persons. There were $411,518.00 invested in manufactures, while the manufactured products were valued at $1,802,849.00.
COURTS AND COUNTY BUILDINGS.
At the organization of the county, St. Albans was chosen the shire town, where the supreme court meets on the first Monday after the second Tuesday in January, and the county court meets on the second Tuesday in April and September. The whole county constitutes a probate district. Ebenezer Marvin, was the first chief judge of the county. The house now occupied by Romeo H. Hoyt was built by Silas Hathaway, in 1794, and used by him as a tavern, and for a time the courts were held in its hall. The first court-house was originally built of wood, but finally bricked up. It was used for many years, by different denominations, for public worship, and by the town of St. Albans for its town meetings, commencing May 9, 1803. In 1872, the old court-house, built in 1830, was torn down, and the present commodious edifice erected upon its site, on the east side of the park. It is built of brick, with granite foundations. The first floor contains the offices of the county clerk, and grand and petit jurors' rooms, while the second floor contains the court room, judges' office, and jury and county committee rooms. The building is a substantial one, and though not yet entirely completed, has had $50,000.00 expended upon it.
In 1796, William Coit built a large house near the present site of the Con- gregational church, in the back part of which the first jail of the county was situated. The second, known as "the old basswood jail," was erected in 1800, on what is now Bank street. The third jail was built in 1810, on the corner where the Episcopal church now stands. This was destroyed by fire December 25, 1813, and rebuilt the year following. The fourth was erected on the site of the present jail, in 1824, and was burned in March, 1827. A prisoner confined in the debtor's room, came near being destroyed with the building. The flames had made such progress before being discovered that the door of his cell could not be reached, and he was rescued, with some difficulty, through an opening made in the roof. The present jail was erected in 1852.
The first trial in the county was during Jesse Welden's early settlement here. An improvident settler stole a quantity of corn from him, and was
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tried and sentenced to receive thirty-nine lashes. In the year 1820, the first and only execution in the county took place at St. Albans. This was the hanging of Luther Virginia, for the murder of Rufus W. Jackson, in the town of Highgate, November 14, 1819. Virginia was a young colored man of intemperate and dishonest habits. He had worked for Mr. Herrick, a hotel keeper at Highgate Falls, and was convicted of stealing money from the till of the bar, and was sentenced to a term in the State's prison. After the expiration of his sentence he settled in Canada near the line of High- gate. Sunday afternoon, November 4th, he came to Herrick's, partially in- toxicated, and demanded liquor. This being denied him, he became quarrel- some, and had some angry words with Jackson, who was present. He was finally expelled from the house and started, as was supposed, for home. Jackson, at sunset, started on horseback to go to the northern part of the town, crossed the bridge over the Missisquoi river, and ascended the hill be- yond, when he was knocked from his horse by Virginia, with a stake taken from the fence near by, and beaten to death. Virginia drew the lifeless body out of the road, and the riderless horse returned to the tavern. This created alarm for the safety of Jackson, and a party started off to search for him. . The body was soon found, and Virginia was captured before morning at his home in Canada, and lodged in the jail at St. Albans. Jackson's watch was found secreted in his bed. He was convicted of wilful inurder at a special session of the supreme court, December 13, 1819, and sentenced to be hung between the hours of ten in the forenoon and two o'clock, P. M., January 14th, 1820. This sentence was carried into execution by Shiveric Holmes, the sheriff of the county, in a field on the north side of Congress street, opposite Governor Smith's stock barn. Virginia attended his own funeral service at the court-house, which was conducted by Rev. Phineas Culver, who preached a sermon from Genesis ix., 6,-" Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." The execution was witnessed by a large concourse of people.
Although this is the only execution that ever occurred in the county, there have been several atrocious crimes committed. On Sunday, October 16, 1842, Eugene Clifford, residing in the northern part of Fairfield, murdered his wife and infant child, by drowning them in Fairfield pond. Clifford was a deserter from the British army, and had come to Fairfield, where he married Mrs. Elizabeth Gilmore, a widow, who owned a farm of some fifty acres. He had been told, and being an ignorant man probably believed, that if he outlived his wife and child this farm would be his own, and it is supposed that he then formed the purpose of bringing about their death. He invited his wife to cross the pond with him in a log canoe, and she and her infant were never seen again alive. In the course of an hour or two Clifford returned to the neighborhood of his home with the report that his wife, in the act of adjusting a shawl about her infant, had fallen from the canoe and both perished. Their bodies were recovered, but neither appeared to have a shawl about it, which excited considerable suspicion in the minds of the murderer's neighbors, who,
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from the first, had been loth to believe his story. A search for the missing garments was instituted, and they were at last found buried in the sand on the shore of the pond. This recovery of the shawls was rendered somewhat ro- mantic, from the fact of their place of concealment being revealed to Mrs. Stephen Marvin in a dream. She followed the course indicated by her dream, and found the garments precisely as she had seen them in her vision. At least, such is the common tradition. Clifford was arrested, tried, convicted, and on April 21, 1843, was sentenced to be hanged one year from that date ; but before the day of execution arrived he became a raving maniac, and in that condition died.
During one week in the month of July, 1874, two murders occurred in the town of St. Albans, which have since been known as the Ball murder, and the Minor murder. The former, from its peculiar atrocity and the mystery which long surrounded it, became noted throughout the whole country. The facts in the case were principally these : On the afternoon of Friday, July 24, 1874, Miss Mariette Ball, daughter of George W. Ball, of St. Albans, was brutally assaulted and murdered, in the eastern part of the town. The young lady was teaching school in the Hill district, and on this occasion was going from the school-house to the home of a friend. At a lonely, wooded spot on the highway, she was brutally assaulted and murdered, and her body dragged into the woods, where it was not found until early on the morning of the following Sunday. Several arrests were made, but no person was held for the crime, and for several years it remained a mystery. Finally, Joseph LaPage, a Frenchman, was convicted of the murder of Miss Josie Langmaid, in New Hampshire, a young school teacher who was killed under circumstances sim- ilar to those attending the death of Miss Ball, and upon the eve of his execu- tion confessed to having also murdered Marriette Ball, thus clearing the sad mystery.
The Minor murder occurred Monday afternoon, July 20, 1874, as follows : Joseph Minor, a Frenchman, belonging in St. Susa, P. Q., arrived in St. Al- bans on the evening of Saturday preceding the murder, being on a journey from Holyoke, Mass., to his home in Canada. He remained over Sunday with friends, and on the afternoon of the fatal Monday was on the railroad track near Brigham's crossing, where he met two men, and for some reason was drawn into an altercation with them. They assaulted him with knives, stabbing him several times, from the effects of which he died several days after the assault. He was able to give but a meagre description of his assail- ants, and no clue to the perpetrators of the deed has ever been obtained.
THE POOR.
Those who from age, infirmity or otherwise, are unable to support them- selves, and are so unfortunate as to be obliged to rely upon public charity for sustenance, are cared for, in conformity with the laws of the State, by the towns wherein the unfortunates reside.
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FRANKLIN COUNTY.
INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
Previous to the introduction of railroads here, the county was, in a certain sense, in a state of partial isolation. The islands composing the county of Grand Isle cut it off from the main channel of the lake, which was the great highway of travel. In early times, the merchants, and others who had occasion to visit New York city, proceeded on horseback to Troy, and thence by sloop down the Hudson. Goods were freighted from New York to Troy by sloop, forwarded by wagons to Whitehall, and thence by sailing vessels to St. Albans Bay. When a line of steamboats was established on the lake, it was only a partial benefit to the county, as, to reach them, a land journey to Burlington was necessary, that being the nearest port at which they touched. The establishment of a steam ferry to Plattsburgh, in 1828, made a connection with the through steamboats at that point ; but little was gained, however, since transshipment at either point was unavoidable. The markets of Boston, and the great manufacturing regions of the East, could hardly be said to be available to the inhabitants at all, and the trade with that section, which has since attained such enormous proportions, had no existence. It may be believed, then, that the introduction of the iron sinews of the railroad into the life of the county, in 1847 and 1850, created a great innovation and marked a new era in her progress. Acres upon acres of her land are now covered by mammoth railroad buildings, and her entire territory is spanned by silver threads in a network composed of the rails of six distinct lines, -- the Vermont & Canada, the Montreal & Vermont Junction, and the Missisquoi, all operated by the Central Vermont Railroad Co., and the St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain, the Southeastern Townships, and the Canada Junction railroads, though the latter is not yet completed.
As early as 1843, the legislature granted charters to several railroad com- panies, among which were charters for the Rutland & Burlington, and Ver- mont Central railroads. A company was incorporated under the latter charter, November 1, 1843, for the purpose, and with the right of building a railroad " from some point on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain, thence up the valley of the Onion river, and extending to a point on the Connecticut river, most convenient to meet a railroad, either from Concord, N. H., or Fitchburgh, Mass., to said river." The directors of this road claimed the right to build their road across the sand-bar to South Hero, to connect with a road which had been located from Ogdensburgh to Plattsburgh, N. Y. To this the directors of the Rutland & Burlington road objected. A movement was then instituted for a charter to an independent company, to build a road from Burlington northward to effect a connection with the roads to the city of Montreal. In October, 1845, mainly through the efforts of Hon. John Smith, the charter of the Vermont & Canada railroad was granted by the legislature to Benjamin Swift, John Smith, Lawrence Brainerd, William O. Gadcomb, Victor Atwood, Abel Houghton, Gardner G. Smith, Romeo H. Hoyt, Samuel W. Keyes, Stephen E. Keyes, Timothy Foster, George
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FRANKLIN COUNTY.
Greene, Bradley Barlow, Peter Chase, Jacob Wead, William Greene, Hiram Bellows, Homer E. Hubbell, Isaac Patrick Clark, Alvah Sabin, Joseph Clark, Albert G. Whittemore, Daniel H. Onion, Oscar A. Burton, Horace Eaton, William Clapp, Asa Owen Aldis, and their associates and successors. The route established in the charter was as follows :-
" From some point on the. Canada line, thence through the village of St. Albans to some point or points in Chittenden county, most convenient for meeting, at the village of Burlington, a railroad to be built on the route described in the act to incorporate the Champlain & Connecticut River Railroad Company, and to some point or points in Chittenden county most convenient for meeting a railroad to be built on the route described in the act to incorporate the Vermont Central Railroad Company, and with the right, and for the purpose, of extending a railroad from any point in the aforesaid route to some point on the western shore of Grand Isle county, passing across the sand-bar to South Hero, as the said company may here- after designate."
The project of a connection with the Ogdensburgh road, at Plattsburgh, was, from the first, regarded as very unpromising by those best acquainted with the locality. There were those who advocated the erection of a bridge from South Hero to Cumberland Head, a distance of four or five miles, and in a great depth of water. But the great majority of the people understood well that the connection could be made only by a ferry, and that, through the winter months, there could be no communication whatever, on account of ice. The village of Burlington demanded the abandonment of the project, and that the connection of the Vermont roads with the Ogdensburgh road should be made at Burlington. The directors of the Ogdensburgh road, at length, changed its location from Plattsburgh to Rouse's Point, where the channel of the lake was so narrow as to render bridging a matter of comparative case. The attention of the public began to be strongly attracted to this new and apparently feasible route. The capitalists of Boston and other places, whose funds had hitherto been the main support of the Vermont roads, hesi- tated to advance further aid, except on the condition that an unbroken line of railway could be secured to the great lakes of the West. The Vermont & Canada railroad, therefore, in compliance with the statute, gave legal warning that an application would be made to the legislature for changes in their charter, which would give them the right to locate their road to the western shore of Alburgh, and build and maintain a bridge from that point to the west line of the State. A bill was accordingly introduced to the legislature, October 27, 1847, over which a contest ensued, which has few parallels in the history of the legislation of the State. The desired boon, however, was ultimately attained, though passing the house by a majority of two only.
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Stock to the amount of $100,000.00 only had been taken, barely sufficient to organize the company ; and so much distrust in Vermont railroads was be- ginning to be felt, that the great capitalists hesitated. Several wealthy rail- road gentlemen of Boston had been placed on the board of directors, but they were not disposed to advance any great amount of funds, or to assume indi-
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vidual responsbility in the enterprise, yet it was a matter of vital importance that the work on its construction be commeneed at once, else the. enemies of the project might influence the legislature to repeal the act granting its amended charter. At this crisis, John Smith and Lawrence Brainerd, of St. Albans, and Joseph Clark, of Milton, decided upon a course as bold as it was ultimately successful. They proceeded to let the contract for grading and mason work to Messrs. Balch, Kearney, and Hinch, becoming personally re- sponsible for the expense, though in prosecuting the work they were obliged to borrow about $500,000.00 on their own credit, before money was realized from subscriptions to the stock of the company. The individual credit of these gen- tlemen proved sufficient to float the project, until by an arrangement with the Vermont Central Company, the stock was taken and the gentlemen relieved from the hazard they had incurred.
Ground was broken early in September. 1848, in the northern part of Georgia, and the road was completed through to St. Albans, October 17, 1850, the first train passing over it on the evening of the 18th, having among its passengers the members of the legislature from Franklin county. The entire line was opened early in the summer of 1851. On November 23, 1872, the road came under the control of the Central Vermont Railroad Company, by the conditions of that company's charter, as follows :---
" Such bondholders under the first or second mortgages of the Vermont Central Railroad, and such other persons as shall hereafter become stock- holders, are hereby incorporated under the name of the Central Vermont Railroad Company, for the purpose of purchasing the Vermont Central and Vermont & Canada railroads, or either of said roads, and for the purpose of purchasing or retiring by exchange or otherwise, the stock and bonds of the Vermont Central and Vermont & Canada companies, and for the purpose of operating and maintaining said roads."
Several other roads have since been leased to this company, until it is now one of the largest in New England, with Hon. J. Gregory Smith, president ; J. W. Hobart, general superintendent ; J. M. Foss, assistant general superintendent ; A. Arnold, superintendent central division; I. B. Futvoie, superintendent northern division ; Jessie Burdette, superintendent Rutland division ; E. A. Chittenden, superintendent of local traffic; and Silas W. Commings general pas- senger agent, the principal office being located at St. Albans village. The branch of the road extending north into Canada, from Swanton Junction is known as the Montreal & Vermont Junction railroad.
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