Genealogical and family history of the state of Vermont; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol I, Part 19

Author: Carleton, Hiram, 1838- ed
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1032

USA > Vermont > Genealogical and family history of the state of Vermont; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol I > Part 19

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Mr. Clark married Lois Lyon, who was born in 1805, in Colchester, Vermont. Six children were born to them, only two of whom are living at the present time (1903), a daughter, who became the wife of Edward W. Peck, of Bur- lington, Vermont ; and a son, Jed P., who resides on the old estate in Milton, Vermont, where his father erected a beautiful house, rich in all the comforts and attractions of an ideal resi- dence. In 1879 Mr. Clark passed away, having completed his cighty-fifth year, deeply regretted by the community in which his life had been a benefaction. Mrs. Clark, who, like her hus- band, was a sincere Christian, died at the age of seventy years.

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James Clay . Houghton,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

JAMES CLAY HOUGHTON.

James Clay Houghton, deceased, for many years an active and honored citizen of Mont- pelier, was born at Petersham, Massachusetts, September 2, 1841, and died at Naples, Italy, March 4, 1902, whither he had gone in search of rest. He was a son of the late Rev. James Clay Houghton, and a direct descendant in the eighth generation from John Houghton, the immigrant, the line of descent being as follows : John, John, Jacob, Ensign Jacob, Abraham, Captain William H., Rev. James C. and James C.

John Houghton (2), the first of the family of whom we have any definite record, was born in 1650, and for sixteen terms, from 1690 until 1724, represented the town of Leicester, Massa- chusetts. in the general court. He married Mary Farrar, who was born in 1648. Jacob Houghton, born April 17, 1674, married Rebecca Whitcomb, who was born December 9, 1671. Ensign Jacob Houghton, born in 1696, served in the Leicester , Massachusetts, militia as ensign of his company. He married Mary Willard, who was born in 1705. Abraham Houghton, born November 27, 1725, served as a soldier in 1744. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah Duvall, was born March 22, 1733-34.

Capt. William H. Houghton was born March 23, 1774. He married Marilla Clay, who was born July 14, 1780, a daughter of Lieutenant. James Clay, and granddaughter of Captain James Clay. Captain Clay, who married Lydia Walker, was a man of prominence in the Revolution, serving as captain of a company in the Conti- nental army, and being chairman of the commit- tee of safety in 1776. Lieutenant James Clay, who married Elizabeth Warren, was also in the Revolutionary army, receiving his commission as first lieutenant in Captain Wilson's company, Colonel Putney's regiment, October 19, 1779.

Rev. James C. Houghton was born in Sutton, Vermont, May 13, 1810, and died April 29, 1880. He was a man of scholarly attainments, obtaining his education at Amherst and Dartmouth Colleges and at the theological school at East Windsor Hill, Connecticut. Entering upon his profes- sional labors as a Congregational minister, he had charge of churches in Petersham and South Wilbraham, Massachusetts, and in Chelsea, Mid-

dletown and Royalton, Vermont, having success- ful pastorates in each place. After his retirement from the ministry, he lived for a time in Burling- ton, Vermont, but died at the home of his son, James Clay Houghton, in Montpelier. He mar- ried, in 1840, Julia Morton, who through one of her ancestors, Eleanor Barnett, was a descendant of the Earl of Yorkshire, or Leicestershire, England, whose eldest son inherited the paternal estate, while the other three sons emigrated to America. These three brothers had money, also drew a dowry, which they sold to a gentleman in Boston. One of these three brothers, Robert Morton, settled in East Windsor, Connecticut, where he became a large landholder. His son, John Morton, was the father of James Morton, whose daughter, Julia Morton, married Rev. James C. Houghton. Of their union three children were born, namely: James Clay, the subject of this sketch; Joseph Goodhue, of Stamford, Connecticut, and Julia M., of Mont- pelier, Vermont.

James Clay Houghton attended the public schools of Petersham, Massachusetts, the East Windsor Hill (Connecticut) Academy, and re- ceived the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Amherst College in 1862. After his graduation from that institution he studied lay for two years, was afterwards deputy clerk of the Orange county court at Chelsea. Vermont, for a short time, resigning to become cashier of the Orange County National Bank. a position that he retained until 1871, when he accepted the cashiership of the First National Bank at Montpelier. In 1874 Mr. Houghton was made one of the directorate of the National Life In- surance Company, with which he was identified until his sudden death, as above mentioned. Entering the office of the company as its treas- urer in 1885, he performed the responsible duties of that position with great ability and fidelity until 1897, when he was chosen vice president, in January, 1901, being elected its president. During the twenty-eight years in which Mr. Houghton was connected with this company, he devoted his time and energies to advancing its interests, enlarging its operations. and being largely instrumental in making it one of the most popular and successful institutions of the kind in New England. His untiring in-

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dustry, zeal and sterling integrity were recog- nized by his associates, who keenly felt their loss. Although not an aspirant for political honors, Mr. Houghton served as treasurer of the Montpelier board of public instruction for many years; was several times a delegate to county, district and state Republican conven- tions, and in 1886 represented his city in the state legislature. He was also treasurer of the town of Montpelier. Although a Congregation- alist in his religious faith, he attended the Episco- pal church. At the time of his death he was president of the Wood Art Gallery, a trustee of the Washington county grammar school, and a director of the First National Bank, all of Mont- pelier. Fraternally he was identified with the Masonic order, being a Knight Templar.

Mr. Houghton married, in 1869, Miss Grace R. Blackwell, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two children were born of their union, namely : Edward Rittenhouse Houghton, of Boston, Massachusetts; and Grace Morton Houghton, of Montpelier.

From the many encomiums and resolutions of esteem and respect passed by the various societies and business organizations of which Mr. Houghton was a member, the following appre- ciative words from Hon. J. A. De Boer, vice pres- ident of the National Life Insurance Company, sent out to all agents of the company, are selected as representatives :

"The essential characteristics of James C. Houghton were absolute honesty, a faculty for constant work, fidelity to every trust, and a certain charming personality, which, coupled with many acts of kindness, brought and held him the friendship of men. No one in the community where he lived and did his work en- joyed a larger measure of profound personal affection and respect, and no man's death could bring to those who knew him best a more sincere sense of personal loss. While he discharged innumerable services for his banks, his town, its schools and all its other forms of educational and moral life, to say nothing of recurring private trusts, it was essentially as a director and officer of the National Life Insurance Company that he gave his largest and most conspicuous service. The burden of his thought and work was placed there, and it is not wholly incorrect

to suppose that in some degree its responsibilities and care contributed to his comparatively carly (leatlı.

"It is impossible for us under this sudden and heavy blow to properly inventory our feel- ings, and make a true estimate of the man whom we have so intimately known as an associate and so sincerely respected as an officer and a man. He left us but yesterday for the seas in search of well earned rest. The seas return him to his home and his native shores to rest forever, leaving us the memory of a good, strong, faithful and noble life spent in the service of his race."

And also a portion of the resolution of the Society of Colonial Wars: "Mr. Houghton was a man of sterling character. He bore the burden of important private and public trusts with marked ability and the highest fidelity. He rendered valuable service in many local and responsible offices. He fulfilled his duties as a citizen with constant and unselfish attention. In his private life he was all that was estimable and of good report, exemplifying the character of a Christian gentleman, and winning by his unvary- ing courtesy and kindness the esteem of all who were brought in contact with him in the various relations of life."

JOHN H. HOPKINS, BISHOP OF VER- MONT.

John Henry Hopkins, first bishop of Vermont, was a descendant of that Hopkins family of Eng- land which was conspicuous in the reign of Rich- ard II. In the reign of William III, Isaac Hop- kins was granted an estate in Ireland, where he maried Mary Fitzgerald. From them the line of descent runs through the eldest son in two suc- ceeding generations to Thomas, who became a merchant in Dublin, and who married Elizabeth Fitzakerly.

John Henry Hopkins, only child of the pair last named. was born in Dublin. January 30, 1792. While he was reared in an atmosphere of culture and refinement, his parents did not con- nect themselves with a church until after he had taken orders. The family emigrated to the United States in 1800, finally locating in Trenton, New Jersey, where the father opened a girls' school. The son, John Henry, remained in Phila-

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delphia, where his parents had sojourned for a time, and there he entered upon work in a count- ing-room. The business was distasteful to him, however, and he found congenial occupation in coloring the plates for the first volume of Wil- son's "Birds of America,"" a task in which he exemplified genuine artistic talent. He next en- gaged in iron-working and superintended fur- naces near Pittsburg, but after about three years abandoned the business, which had resulted dis- astrously. In 1816 he began the study of law at Greensburg, and he completed his studies in Pitts- burg, where he was admitted to the bar in 1818. He at once entered upon a successful professional career, and his income reached the sum of five thousand dollars, a most liberal reward in those days.

Meantime his religious character had been de- veloping rapidly, and he was soon moved to aban- don the profession wherein he had distinguished himself in high degree, to devote himself to church work. While a young man, in Philadel- phia, he had connected himself with a literary so- ciety, and he had been drawn into debate as to the history and authenticity of Christianity, and, making a close study of his subject, he proved a formidable defender of the church against the attacks of an array of bright young men who were pronounced deists. In the course of his in- vestigations he subsequently read a volume by Hannah More, and imbibed her religious and philanthropic spirit to such a degree that he en- gaged, earnestly but modestly, in missionary work among the iron-workers with whom his lot was cast for the time, reading to them from the Bible. Prayer Book, and volumes of sermons. After his removal to Pittsburg he became an attendant of Trinity church and a valuable aid to the rector in the conduct of the music of the service. In 1823, before conceiving the idea of entering the priesthood, he was licensed by Bishop White as a lay reader, and this gave new direction to his life. He disposed of his law business, took up a deeper study of theology, in which he was already well advanced, with the result that he was or- dained deacon on December 14th of the same year, and priest on May 12th following. He had already been placed in charge of the church, and he devoted himself entirely to promoting its use- fulness ; he. erected a new house of worship, and

quadrupled its number of communicants within a year, and in the seven years following he or- ganized as many new churches in what is now the diocese of Pittsburg.

Mr. Hopkins first sat in a diocesan convention in 1824. In 1826 he was successful in his oppo- sition to a proposition for the alterations and shortening of the liturgy. The year following he was nominated as a coadjutor to Bishop White, and failed of election by only one vote. In 1828 he was elected to the rectorate of St. Stephen's, in New York, but declined. He was intensely in- terested in the training of young men for the min- istry, and successfully tutored not less than eight. He had hoped to establish a diocesan theological school, but his efforts were not properly seconded, and in 1831 he accepted a call as assistant in Trinity church, Boston, being led to take this step by reason of the promise of aid in the establish- ment of a school of theology there. In Septem- ber of the same year a class of seminarians was formed at his residence, with himself, the bishop and two clergymen as teachers.

Mr. Hopkins was elected bishop of the diocese of Vermont in May, 1831, and after visiting the field he made known his acceptance, and was con- secrated in St. Paul's, New York, October 31, 1832. Establishing his seat at Burlington, he gave himself without stint to his new duties, and labored earnestly and successfully in the forma- tion of new parishes and in supplying them with clergy. He practiced the utmost economy in or- der to aid in church work, and was content with the modest salary of twelve hundred dollars and a rectory, and labored with his own hands where- ever he found a task needing his effort. He painted the tablets and adornments of the chancel of his church, drew the plans and superintended the building of the church in Brandon. and la- bored similarly for the church at Rutland.

For some years his effort was given to the object which had lain close to his heart from the beginning of his ministerial career, the creation of a diocesan school. He was successful in pro- viding splendid buildings, erected in part upon his personal credit, and in placing in them large classes of students who were deeply imbued with feelings alike to his own. The disastrous com- mercial and financial revulsion of 1837 wrecked the enterprise, however, and he sought aid in

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Great Britain, but was only able to secure a trifle more than four thousand dollars. This sum was wholly inadequate, and the school was abandoned, while Bishop Hopkins, with loss of all his per- sonal means, was coustrained to depend in part for his support upon the proceeds of lecturing, and to erect a new residence on property pur- chased for him at Rock Point. The old indebt- edness was harrassing to him for many years. In 1854 he was arrested in Boston for a balance of one thousand dollars and interest. He was at once bailed by a couple of friends. At a later day, Bishop Hopkin's effort bore fruit in the foun- dation of the Vermont Episcopal Institute, when the debt before mentioned, with all others allied to it, were fully discharged.

During all these and succeeding years, Bishop Hopkins left an enduring impress upon the church and clergy of his day, and was especially strong in canonical legislation. In the diocesan convention of 1836 he effected a salutary revision of the constitution and canons of the diocese, and in the case against Bishop Doane, of New York, he effectually aided in effecting such changes in the canon law as to make the trial of a bishop de- pendable upon a board of inquiry composed of eminent clergymen and laymen. Holding to the highest standards of personal purity, upon the trial of Bishop Onderdonk of New York, he voted for the deposition of that prelate.

While busily occupied with the duties of his high office, Bishop Hopkins was an industrious and forceful writer. After having given a num- ber of pamphlets to the public, in 1833 he pub- lished his first volume, "Christianity Vindicated," and this was followed by "The Primitive Creed" in 1834, and "The Primitive Church" in 1835. All these works were widely circulated, and com- manded such respect that Harper Brothers of- fered to publish any succeeding work from his pen, without question. In 1836 he published an essay on "Gothic Architecture," a work which had immense weight with church-builders. In 1837 he published "The Church of Rome," in which he contrasted her primitive conduct with that of the day in which he wrote, and made a candid examination of her claims to universal spiritual sovereignty, and this, reprinted in Lon- don, received unstinted praise from the Angli- can ministry. In 1844 he published several letters

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

Bishop Hopkins became presiding bishop of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United. States, by reason of the death of Bishop Brow-

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nell. He came to his high place at an auspicious time. His attitude during the Civil war period enabled him to exert a commanding influence in effecting a reunion of the churches in the two sections of the country. Even before the close of the war he had been invited to exercise Episcopal functions in Louisiana, but he deemed it wise to decline. Now he issued a letter in which he invited the bishops and delegates to resume their seats in the general convention, and the invitation' was cordially accepted. The year 1866 brought him universal distinctions, for in it he presided at the consecration of Bishop Cummins of Kentucky and Wilmer of Louisiana, and at Easter came to the provisional rectorship of St. Paul's church in Burlington, and was honored with a joyous golden wedding celebration. In 1867 he at- tended the Lamberth Conference of Bishops held upon invitation from the Archbishop of Canter- bury. He was received with high consideration, and took an active part in the deliberations of the conference. His reception at Burlington, on his return home, by the assembled clergy of the state, was deeply affecting. December 1, 1867, he preached for the last time in St. Paul's church. He was then growing infirm, but, immediately after the following Christmas, he began visita- tions in his diocese, confirming larger classes than ever before. His last sermon was preached in Plattsburg, New York. Returning home he was attacked with double pleu-pneumonia, and on January 9, 1868, while seated in his chair, his son Theodore offering the commendatory prayer, he passed away.

Bishop Hopkins was married May 8, 1816, to Melusina, daughter of Casper Otto Muller, of Harmony, Pennsylvania, who was a German, a native of Hamburg, and among whose ancestors for several generations were ministers of the Lu- theran church. Bishop and Mrs. Hopkins were the parents of thirteen children, and of the eight sons five became graduates of the University of Vermont.

REV. THEODORE AUSTIN HOPKINS.

The Rev. Theodore Austin Hopkins, A. M., w is the fourth son of the Right Rev. John Henry Hopkins, D. D., LL. D. He spent almost fifty year: C. his useful life in Burlington, and, being

a man of great will power and character, his life developed various important enterprises.

He was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, May 21, 1828, and was brought to Vermont at the age of four years. To one looking over his life, it seems clear that it was, from the first, a prepara- tion for his work of twenty-one years at the Ver- mont Episcopal Institute. In his boyhood, after a few reluctant years of school, he was called to the farm at Rock Point.

Bishop Hopkins had lost his fortune in the panic of 1837. He migrated with his large fam- ily to a wild tract of land north of Burlington, chosen for the beauty of its scenery. Here he es- tablished a homestead and laid out a farm and pastures, the remaining acres being left for wood- land.

Theodore and his brothers flung themselves into this new life with great enthusiasm. They learned how to build barns and sheds. They could name a tree from its bark, its mode of growth, its leafage, or, if it had passed into fire- wood, from the way it burned. In time they in- vented and made ungainly machines for cutting and hauling timber, and for pulling out stumps. They studied at odd hours and read in the old library. Nor were the arts neglected. The young folks copied their father's paintings in oil and water colors, they helped prepare the litho- graphic plates for "The Vermont Drawing- Book," and they all learned the piano. This hard- worked instrument was kept in tune by the moth- er, whose delicate and perfect ear and firm hand qualified her for the task. Afterward, there was a family orchestra. The Bishop wrote off the score in parts, composing much of it. Theodore's instrument was the flute. The one thing they never thought of studying was how to play. The Bishop's theory was that variety of occupation was all the recreation needed.

The Bishop's study was the large family par- lor, where, unmindful of domestic noises and con- stant "practicing," he calmly pursued his theo- logical studies, painted the family portraits and wrote special music for the whole metrical psalms, which was always used in family prayers after the reading of the entire psalter for the day.

Theodore had no idea at this time of studying for the ministry. He wanted to make money to pay off the farm indebtedness. No doubt he was

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often a great trial to the thrifty housekeeper, whose one thought was to use the overworked farm horses to replenish her larder. The boy stood guard over them and for some years it was "nip and tuck" between the kitchen and the farm.

One of the most powerful influences in mould- ing the character, habits and culture of this large family of boys, was that of the remarkable man, their eldest brother, afterward the Rev. Dr. J. 11. Hopkins. At that time he was busy maturing the strength and the learning which afterward made him such a power in the church, but even when absent from them he never forgot the large family of younger brothers sequestered in Vermont. Al- ways scholarly, accurate, artistic, above all things unworldly, he gave them liberally of his best. He brought into this impressionable household a wind of the outer world, a consciousness of the vast interests of past and of current history which widened and ennobled their lives.

Theodore was not to spend his life in farming and money-making as he had planned. When he was nearly eighteen years of age an explosion of blasting powder almost cost him his sight. His wise brother took advantage of the enforced se- clusion that followed to bring the family forces to bear on the boy, and in the end he found him- self fully launched into college life. He entered the University of Vermont in 1846. He sup- ported himself in the first vacation by teaching district school ; during the others, he tuned and sold pianos and taught the flute. At first he was severely pinched by poverty, but he would con- tract no debts. For three years he boarded him- self in his own room, and when graduated he stood near the head of his class, and had saved three hundred dollars over liabilities.

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Genealogical and family history of the state of Vermont; a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation, Vol I, Part 19

Author: Carleton, Hiram, 1838- ed Publication date: 1903 Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1032

Author: Carleton, Hiram, 1838- ed
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1032