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 28

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 28

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sideration accepted the offer, publishing the first number in January, 1868. The Household seemed in every way to meet the demands of the people as no other periodical had ever done before, and it met with encouragement from the start, but unfortunately, however, its growth was much retarded at first by want of ready capital. Mr. Millikin sold his interest to Mr. Crowell after the first issue, the latter thus becoming its sole owner. Strict economy, which he had be- come an adept at practicing, enabled him to keep the publication afloat, and shrewd devices in the course of time really made it a paying enterprise. The original journal numbered six- teen pages, and by the offer to add four more when the circulation should reach twelve thous- and copies he greatly enlarged the number of subscriptions. Later he offered to every newly married couple a year's free subscription, and in this way received many thousand subscribers, who continued to take the paper thereafter. By similar methods Mr. Crowell succeeded in the course of five years in putting the paper on a firm foundation, and he consequently experienced no financial difficulties. In fact, the periodical paid far beyond the wildest dreams of the origi- nators, securing the largest circulation of any similar journal in the country. As a wise busi- ness man Mr. Crowell invested his money in such a way as to bring in large dividends, and at the same time to benefit his fellow citizens. He still owns an interest in the Carpenter Organ Works, the Brattleboro Jelly Company, and origi- nated and has control of the water works system of the city of Brattleboro, receiving a charter from the legislature with a capital of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, nearly all of which is owned in the family. He has also invested largely in real estate, and has greatly improved the west side of the town by purchasing one hun- dred and fifty acres there and putting up houses for people in moderate circumstances.

In 1875 Mr. Crowell married Mary Spencer, of Brattleboro, a refined woman, who has taken a sympathetic interest in all his undertakings. They have had six children, of whom three are now living, two sons and one daughter. The family reside in their elegant home on High street, which Mr. Crowell recently purchased

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from a New York gentleman, but has remodeled and greatly improved it and filled it with works of art. It was formerly the home of the Con- federate General Buckner, who built it. As a business man Mr. Crowell has ever kept before his mind a clear and steadfast purpose, from which he has never for a minute wavered. In literature he has distinguished himself by clear- ness of style, directness of expression and a re- markable talent in conceiving of popular taste. He is noted for his benevolence and public spirit, and Highland Park, a thirty-acre tract near the heart of Brattleboro, consisting of beautiful grounds and drive-ways, is open as a public re- sort. Here he has erected a cottage, which he has put at the disposal of Dr. Judson, of New York, and which has been occupied by numerous parties of poor children who are sent here for rest and recreation at the cost of the Fresh Air Fund of New York and Brooklyn. Mr. Crowell and his family are members of the Baptist church.

WILLIAM JAMES VAN PATTEN.

The Van Patten family of Vermont, repre- sented in the. present generation by William J. Van Patten, of Burlington, affords an example of the blending of two of the most vigorous and enterprising peoples-the Dutch and Scotch,- and the narrative is peculiarly interesting, pre- senting at various points the names of those who were conspicuous in colonial history, in times of war and times of peace, in all the region from that of the Massachusetts colony to New Amsterdam.

The family, the original form of whose name was Van Putten, originated in Holland. Its seat may have been in the town of Putten in the north of Holland, or the village of Putten near Rot- terdam. In 1510 the Van Putten of that day was granted a coat of arms (as shown in the state library at Albany, New York,) for, as told by family traditions, services rendered to the reign- ing prince. But, as the story continues, "with the usual Dutch obituary," the Van Putten who was thus honored shortly afterwads fell out with the policy of the noble grantor, and his estates were confiscated to the use of the state, and are so held to the present day. It is surmised that a member

of the Van Putten family was that Arent Zemms- sen, who was killed in the Indian war of 1643, when his buildings and all houses but a few, in Pavonia, at Hoboken, West Jersey, were burned ; for elsewhere in the records his name appears as Arent Zemmsen Van Petten, whose widow mar- ried Sibert Classen and whose farm was taken from them unlawfully by Governor Kieft.

The American progenitor of the present Van Patten family was Claas Frederickse Van, Petten (as the name appears in his generation), who was born in Holland in 1641, son of Frederick Van Petten. He came to America in 1664, when twenty-three years of age, and settled at Schen- ectady, New York. He first worked on the farm of William Zellers, and in 1668 he bought of Martin Sesselsteyn a farm known as farm No. 8, and shown on the plat of "Farms of Schenec- tady in 1664," paying for it in installments of one hundred ten beaver skins. In 1703 he bought of S. L. Glen the greater part of farm No. 3, and a village lot which includes what are now lots 39, 40 and 41 on Washington street. At a subse- quent time he also owned a farm on the Hudson river, toward Poughkeepsie. These large pos- sessions attest his importance, and he was, be- sides, (in 1690) a justice of the peace under ap- pointment of Governor Leisler. He married Aeffie, a daughter of Arent Bradt and Catalyntje. She died January 23, 1728, and he died Octo- ber 3, same year, at the advanced age of eighty- seven years. They were the parents of seven childrn, of whom the eldest was

Arent Van Petten (2), probably born in 1678. He was an enterprising man, a carpenter by trade, and he constructed forts under contract with Governor Hunter. With two others he received a patent for five hundred acres of land. He mar- ried, April 10, 1703, Jannetje Conyn, a daughter of Philip Conyn, of Albany. They were the par- ents of ten children, of whom the youngest was

Dirk Van Petten (3), who was born January- 3. 1724. He married Rebecca Van Antwerpen, June 1, 1750, and of nine children born to them. the fifth was

Frederick Van Patten (4), who was born- March 23, 1761. He was living in Glenville in 1839, when he was seventy-eight years old. The- Van Petten family was numerous by this time ;.

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and forty-three of the name served during the Revolutionary war, and among the eleven whose Christian name was Frederick, it is presumable that this Frederick was one, although he would have been quite young. He married, in 1788, Jacomyntje Van Ryck, a daughter of Hendrick Van Ryck. They had eight children, of whom whom the eldest was

Nicholas Van Patten (5), who was born March 10, 1789, and died December 22, 1830. He married Elizabeth Van Valkenburgh, and of their eight children the seventh was

William Henry Van Patten (6), who was born March 8, 1824, and died January 16, 1850. He married Mary Vanderpool, who was born in May, 1827, and died October 25, 1865.

Mary Vanderpool was directly descended from John Douglas, who was born in Scotland, and who, as appears from the "Documentary History of New York," was enrolled as a "soul- dier," and "with all Cheerfulness and Readi- nesse," "took the oath of fidelity to their Majts William & Mary King & Queen of Engld," Octo- ber 26, 1689. Further entries show that John Douglas (as the name now appears) received from the colonial government of New York pay for military service from November 18, 1697, to May I. 1698, and that his regiment of three hundred men, commanded by Colonel Richard Ingolsby, was stationed "at the frontier of Albany." John Douglas married Catherine Lockhart, and to them were born five children, among whom was Isabella, who married John Vanderpool, son of Malachi and Margaret (Vanagen) Vanderpool. Of this marriage were born six children.

John Vanderpool, third child and second son of John and Isabella (Douglas) Vanderpool, enlisted in the Connecticut army when he was but sixteen years old. He served as a private in the campaign against Quebec, and was near the ·spot where' fell the lamented General Mont- gomery. He was honorably discharged at the 'end of the war, and his name was borne upon the Revolutionary pension rolls so long as he lived. His cousin James Douglas also served in the army ranks and died in service.

William James Van Patten (7). son of Will- iam Henry and Mary (Vanderpool) Van Patten, was born September 9, 1848, in the village of

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. Upon the death of his father, which occurred a year or two later, his mother returned to her friends in the east, and since that time has been a resident of Vermont. During his boyhood days he lived with his mother in Bristol and Middlebury, where he received his education in the public schools.

In 1864 he located in Burlington, and entered the drug business as an employe of Mr. A. C. Spear, at that time the leading druggist of the city and region. He was so employed for four years, at the end of which time he was engaged by the wholesale drug firm of Henry & Company to take charge of their drug department. Henry & Company were the predecessors of the present business of Wells & Richardson Company, and Mr. Van Patten has therefore been in the busi- ness continually since that time. In 1872 he was admitted as a partner in the business, and in that year the name of the firm was changed to Wells, Richardson & Company. In 1883 the business was incorporated as Wells & Richard- son Company, and Mr. Van Patten was made secretary, a position which he occupies at the present time. His active business career has been connected with this successful firm, and to his energy and ability no small part of its success is due.

A man of large affairs, Mr. Van Patten has long been identified with enterprises which form an important part of the commercial and financial interests of the city. In fact, it may be said that several of the principal manufacturing industries in all this region have been built up and are suc- cessfully continued in great measure through his energy and under his direction. These are the Champlain Manufacturing Company, the Malted Cereals Company, the Vermont Con- densed Milk Company, and the Queen City Cot- ton Company. He is president of the two first named, and treasurer of the third.

With general appreciation of his public spirit and capability, in 1894 he was strongly solicited to lay aside his indisposition to enter upon public office, and he was elected to the mayoralty by a large majority, and the following year he was re-elected by what was all but equiv- alent to a unanimous vote. During his term of office many public improvements were made,

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the more notable ones being the establishment of a paid fire department, and the improvement of the streets under the commission for perma- nent improvements, for which a fund of one hundred thousand dollars was voted. Much other work of public usefulness was accomplished during his administration. Since that time Mr. Van Patten has served on various public commis- sions, and always to the furtherance of public interests.

This narrative would not properly serve its purpose were we to omit mention of those ser- vices of Mr. Van Patten which have grown out of his genuine philanthropy and humanitarianism, for such records are potent agencies in assuring the continuance of good works when the task falls, as fail it must, into other hands. Without doubt one of the most useful institutions in all the state is the Adams Mission Home, with its excellent buildings on College street in Burling- ton, overlooking Lake Champlain. Erected by Judge Timothy Follett for a private residence at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars, the prop- erty was purchased by Mr. Van Patten, who de- voted it to its present purpose. As president of the managing corporation, he has always taken a leading part in its conduct, and it is not too much to say that he affords it a vital inspiration and direction which is most sagacious.

Another institution which owes much to his deep sympathy for the unfortunate, is the Kurn Hattin Homes for the care and training of in- digent children, located at Westminster, Ver- mont. He has been deeply interested in this since 1894, when he afforded his aid to its estab- lisment, the gift of the large and substantial building which is the principal house and home for boys being but a share of his benefactions. He has also charged himself with its oversight and conduct, and continues to serve as president of the managing board, a position to which he was chosen when this commendable charity was inaugurated. He has also served for several years in the secretaryship of the Mary Fletcher Hospital.

It would be impossible to find where Mr. Van Patten does not touch and impress with his genial personality the life of the community, and ever on the side of that which is true and beautiful. When the Christian Endeavor move-

ment was inaugurated, he became interested in it immediately, and was made the treasurer of the United Society of Christian Endeavor when it was first organized in 1883, and he has been a member of its board of trustees from that time to the present. In 1885 he was elected president of the United Society of Christian Endeavor, which office he hield for two years, and imtil Dr. Francis E. Clark resigned his pastorate to devote himself wholly to the work of that splendid or- ganization. Mr. Van Patten was the presiding officer of four of the great national Christian Endeavor conventions-at Old Orchard in 1885, at Saratoga in 1886 and 1887, and at Chicago in 1888. He has also been active in the work of the Young Men's Christian Association, and was the president of the organization for seven years, from 1882 to 1889. It was at this time, and largely through his efforts, that the substantial building was erected which is owned and occu- pied by the local association. In many ways he has shown his patriotic regard for the defenders of the Union, the members of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Sons of Veterans, and it was through his suggestion that the annual supper given to these organizations by the Women's Auxiliary of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association was first inaugurated. When- ever he has had opportunity he has shown his good will toward every man who ever went forth to the defense of his country.

In religion Mr. Van Patten is a Congrega- tionalist, and he has been an officer in his church for a full quarter of a century. His political affiliations are with the Republican party. Loyally devoted to the state which is his home, to its eminent position in the history of the nation, and to his ancestry which bore .so splendid a part in its making, he warmly cherishes his con- nection with three notable bodies, the Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of American Revolution, and the Vermont Antiquarian Society.

In 1874 Mr. Van Patten was married to Miss Harriet P. Lemon, a daughter of A. R. Lemon, Esq. Four children have been born to the union, of whom three, Mary, Charles and Elizabeth, are living. The family residence is at 386 Pearl street, one of the substantial places of the city, where he is surrounded with all which makes an ideal home.

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URBAN ANDRAIN WOODBURY.

Governor Urban Andrain Woodbury, whose life of patriotic service and public prominence forms a most honorable chapter of Vermont his- tory, is directly descended from two of the earli- est families of the colonial period. In the paternal line he is eighth in lineal descent from John Woodbury, who came from Somersetshire, En- gland, and landed at Cape Ann, Massachusetts, in 1624; and he is eighth in descent from Gov- ernor Simon Bradstreet, who landed in Massa- chusetts in 1630; ninth in descent from Governor Thomas Dudley, of Massachusetts, who also came in 1630; and fifth in descent from John Porter, who was adjutant in 1738. The parents of Urban A. Woodbury were Albert M. and Lucy L. (Wadleigh) Woodbury, the former a native of Cavendish, Vermont.

Urban A. Woodbury was born in Acworth, New Hampshire, July II, 1838, and was two years old when his parents returned to Vermont from a temporary residence in the former state. He received a common school education in Mor- ristown, Vermont, and completed his literary studies in the People's Academy in Morrisville. He then entered the medical department of the University of Vermont, from which he was grad- uated in 1859. However, circumstances turned him aside from the profession, and he never en- gaged in practice.

When the storm of Civil war broke, his patri- otic ardor was aroused, and little more than a month after the firing upon Fort Sumter, he en- listed as a private in Company H, Second Regi- ment Vermont Volunteers, May 25, 1861, and shortly afterward was promoted to a sergeantcy. His regiment was a part of the force led toward Richmond by General McDowell and into the bloody and disastrous battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861. Here Sergeant Woodbury lost his right arm by piece of a shell, and, lying prostrate on the field, was taken by the rebels. He was held prisoner at Richmond, Virginia, for more than two months, and was paroled October 5th, and two weeks later, being incapacitated for field service, was discharged. A year later the nation was in great need of additional troops, and Mr. Woodbury gave his effort to the recruiting of a company which became Company D, Eleventh

Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, of which he was commissioned captain, November 17, 1862. He was transferred, June 17, 1863, to the Veteran Reserve Corps, a body of veteran soldiers who, like himself, unable to endure the hardships and exposure of the march, were capable of garrison- ing important posts and supply depots, thus free- ing thousands of able-bodied men for duty at the front. In March, 1865, when the Confederacy had been hammered to pieces, and peace was as- sured, Captain Woodbury resigned.

After the war Captain Woodbury made his permanent residence in Burlington, Vermont, and became general manager of the lumber business of J. R. Booth. His power of application, his keen sagacity, capable managerial powers and ability as a financier brought splendid success to the business, and enabled him to engage in other ventures, prominent among them being the Van Ness House, Burlington, one of the most com- pletely equipped hotels in the state, of which he is yet the owner and proprietor, and he has also constantly conducted large real estate transac- tions, to the advancement of the material inter- ests of the community and to his own advantage.

It is, however, the public career of Governor Woodbury that claims our greater attention, for it is in public service that he has been peculiarly active and useful. In 1881 he was elected alder- man for a term of two years, and in his second year was called to the presidency of the board. In 1885 he was elected to the mayoralty, and was re-elected in the following year. He gave the same careful consideration to public interests that he did habitually to his own affairs, and his ad- ministration was marked by various advantageous innovations.

A Republican in politics, he was an earnest and capable exponent of party principles. In 1882 he was appointed aide on the staff of Gov- ernor John L. Barstow. In 1888 he was elected lieutenant governor on the same ticket with Gov- ernor William P. Dillingham, and, presiding over the senate, he displayed all the qualifications of a parliamentarian. In 1894 he was elected gov- ernor, and during his two years' administration he added to his high reputation as a director of large affairs. In 1898 he was called to a position for which he was eminently fitted, and the ap- pointment was also a splendid personal compli-

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ment,- that of membership on the commission appointed by President Mckinley to investigate the conduct of the war department in the war with Spain. The duties committed to this body were of the most trying and delicate character. Public clamor was loud against the department, and to properly deal with the subject in con- troversy required great sagacity and a high de- gree of moral courage. How well the commission acquitted itself is a matter of history which will stand for all time. In the labors of procuring and weighing testimony and of formulating a judg- ment, Governor Woodbury bore a leading part. and the impress of his strong personality, judicial spirit and eminent fairness was felt at every stage of the proceedings. Yet his every duty was dis- charged with the same modesty that characterized him in all his previous bearings, in other official positions and in private life, his only and con- stant end being to faithfully execute every trust reposed in him.

Governor Woodbury is a member of various leading patriotic and fraternal associations. His principal interest attaches to the Society of the Colonial Wars and the Sons of the American Revolution, in both of which he derives member- ship through the services of distinguished an- cestors, and to the Military Order of the Loyal Legion and the Grand Army of the Republic, to which he belongs by virtue of his own patriotic effort and honorable battle scars. In Masonry he has attained to the thirty-second degree, Scot- tish Rite, and is also affiliated with the local lodge of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias. Captain Woodbury was married February 12, 1860, to Miss Paulina L., second daughter of Ira and Sarah Darling, of Elmore. Six children have been born of this marriage: Charles Lincoln. Minnie Stannard, Gertrude Frances, Edward Philo, Lila Darling and Mildred Dorothy.

JESSE SUMNER VILES, JR.

The beautiful city of Montpelier numbers among its inhabitants no more useful citizen than Jesse S. Viles, Jr., whose life has been one of con- spicuous personal success and vastly advantage- ous to the community. Mr. Viles is a descend- ant of one of the oldest and most entirely repre- sentative families of New England. Its progeni-

tor was John Viles ( Vyols, in the original form of the name), who was a native of England and came to America about 1630 or 1632, and set- tled in Boston, Massachusetts. He was twice married and reared a large family. He died about 1680, leaving a large estate for those days. His grandson, John Viles, was born in 1701, and was married in 1731, in Westertown, Massachusetts, to Sarahı Bemis, who was born in 1703. Jolin Viles, their son, was born June 12, 1750, and married, first, Hannah Warren, November 1, 1775. His second marriage was to Mary War- ren. August 5. 1784. Jesse Viles, son of John and Mary ( Warren) Viles, was born April 17, 1794. He married Sally Jones, May 18, 1818.

Jesse Sumner Viles, son of Jesse and Sally (Jones) Viles, was born in Weston, Massachu- setts, March 28, 1819. He was educated in the public schools of his native town. He is a mem- ber of the Unitarian church, and in politics is a Republican. He has always followed agricultural pursuits and yet resides on the old homestead farm in the town of Weston. He married, April 27, 1847, Lany Ann Waldruff, who was born at Catskill, New York, April 7, 1821, and their chil- dren, all born in Weston, are named as follows : Mary Ann, born October 29, 1848, who married J. Albert Norris, December 29, 1870, and re- sides at Townsend, Massachusetts ; Olive Robin- son, born November 2, 1851, who resides with her parents ; Elizabeth Jones, born November 4, 1853, who resides with her parents ; Emma Fran- ces, born June 21, 1855, who married George R. Steadman, and resides in Weston; Jesse Sum- ner. Jr., further named below, born March 5, 1858; Henry L. Dalton, born December 23, 1859, who married Myrtie Wyman, December 27, 1893, and resides in Weston; William Robinson, born July 12, 1861, who married Mary Bodkin, October 6, 1896, and resides in Denver, Colorado ; Ella M., born February 18, 1864, who married Walter F. Baker and resides in Lincoln, Massa- chusetts ; and George Albert, born December II, 1867, resides in Boston, Massachusetts.

Jesse Sumner Viles, Jr., son of the parents . named above, was educated in the public schools of his native town. When not quite sixteen years of age he took employment with a clothing firm in Boston, in February, 1874, with whom he remained for about three years, when he en-

arles

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gaged as traveling salesman for the same firm, covering the states of New Hampshire, Vermont and northern New York. He followed this oc- cupation for twelve years, and was known as one of the most successful salesmen on the road, and commanded a large salary.

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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 28

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