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 32

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 32

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His love of family has been ardent. He cared for his mother for forty years, and assisted at the business ventures of brother and sisters, nieces and nephews. He has been the executor of six estates of the Brooks family, his judgment and time being ever ready to assist friends and all who came within his interest. His chief recrea-

tions have been in horses and gardening and in his social life. the circle of which was illuminated by the keenest wit and gaiety. In politics Mr. Cabot is an ardent Republican, and, although deafness in later years has debarred him fram be- ing an active participant in the political world, he has kept in touch with, and felt the deepest concern in, all the movements of his time.

ALLEN FAMILY.

Allen is the name of an ancient family in the county of Durham, England, and of another family in the county of Essex, England. In a book entitled "The Allen Family" from 1568 to 1882, compiled by Hon. William Allen and re- vised by Joshua Allen, it says, "George Allen, born in England about 1568, under the reign of Queen Elizabeth, is the ancestor of the family that settled in Martha's Vineyard. In 1635, when the Puritans were emigrating in great num- bers, to escape the persecution of Archbishop Laud, under Charles I, George Allen and his family came to America, and settled in Saugus Lynn. Three years previous, Samuel Allen, with his two brothers, Matthew Allen and Thomas Allyn-as he spelled his name,-came fram Braintree, Essex county, England, and settled first in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Subsequently all three of the brothers removed to Connecticut. In 1637 George Allen joined with Edmund Free- man and others in the purchase of the town- ship of Sandwich. When this town was incor- porated George Allen was chosen deputy-the first officer in the town,-and served in that capacity for several years. He was a conscien- tious Puritan, and a member of the Baptist church. He had ten sons, some of whom emi- grated to this country before he came, and settled in the vicinity of Boston. After the purchase of Sandwich, several of his children removed to that town with their families.

George Allen died in Sandwich, May 2, 1648. In his will he named his five sons, Matthew, Henry, Samuel. George and William, and also- made provision for his "five least children," with- out naming them.

SAMUEL ALLEN (I), one of the sons of George, was born in England. He came to Boston, Massachusetts, in 1628. On July 6,

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1635, it is recorded that he was a freeman in Braintree. He married, first, Ann -- , who died September 29, 1641. Their children were Sam- uel : Joseph ; James; Sarah, married Lieutenant Josiah Standish, son of Miles; and Mary, mar- ried Nathaniel Greenwood. Samuel married, second, Margaret Lamb, widow of Edward Lamb. They had one child, Abigal, who mar- ried John Cary.

SAMUEL. ALLEN (2), was born in Brain- tree or Duxbury, November 10, 1632. He mar- ried Sarah Partridge, daughter of George Part- ridge, of Duxbury, Massachusetts, in 1658. He settled in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in 1660. He was a deacon, town clerk and repre- sentative. His children were Samuel, Ezriel, Mehitable, who married Isaac Alden, grandson of John Alden; Sarah, who married Jonathan Cary ; Bethiah, who married John Pryer; Nathaniel ; Ebenezer; Josiah; Elisha and Nehemiah.

SAMUEL ALLEN (3), was born December 4, 1660, married, first, Rebecca Cary, grand- daughter of Miles Standish. She died in 1697. Their children were Samuel, Ephriam, Timothy, Joseph, died young, and Mehitable. He mar- ried, second, Mary Alden, granddaughter of John Alden. Their children were Joseph, Ben- jamin, Mary, Rebecca, Matthew, Seth and Abigal.

TIMOTHY ALLEN (4), was born in Bridg- water, Massachusetts, February 22, 1691. He removed to Norwich, now Lisbon, Connecti- cut, and married, October II, 1714, Rachel Bushnell, of Norwich, Connecticut. Their chil- dren were Timothy, born 1715, who graduated at Yale College in 1736; Daniel, Rachel, Rebecca, Seth, Ebenezer, Thankful, Hezekiah, and Phine- has, born in 1731.

PHINEHAS ALLEN (5), was born at Wind- ham, Connecticut, July 24, 1731. He died De- cember 21, 1776. He married, first, Alice Cady, who died May 13, 1764. Their children were Asher, Phinehas, Cady, Diarca and Comfort. He married, second, Elizabeth (Sargent) Johnson, a widow, February 5, 1765. Their children were Alice, Elizabeth, Experience (died in infancy), Experience and Epenetus.

PHINEHAS ALLEN (6), was born in Mans- field, Connecticut, October 29, 1758. In May,

1777, he enlisted for three years in the Revolu- tionary army ; served under General McDougal at Germantown, Pennsylvania; wintered at Valley Forge, was in the battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778, and at the storming of Stony Point, New York, July 16, 1779, and along the Hudson in 1780, when he was discharged. He married Sibbel Bicknell, of Enfield, New Hamp- shire, March 9, 1785, and settled at Poland, New York, where he died September 6, 1851, in his ninety-third year. His wife died December 21, 1846, aged eighty years. Their children were. Sibbel, Jason, Horace, Delia, Polly, Phinehas,. Lucia, Joseph Dana, Alice and Sumner.

JOSEPH DANA ALLEN (7), was born October 16, 1799, at Burlington, Otsego county, New York. He died at Burlington, Vermont, October 12, 1878.

CHARLES EDWIN ALLEN '(8), was born No- vember 28, 1838, at Burlington, Vermont.

JOSEPH DANA ALLEN.

Joseph Dana Allen, a highly accomplished civil engineer, and a prominent pioneer in rail- way and canal construction in New England, New York and the west, was born October 16, 1799, at Burlington, Otsego county, New York. He was early thrown upon his own resources, and after a thorough preparation enterer Nor- wich Military University in 1821, then presided over by Captain Alden Partridge, late command- ant at West Point, and an able instructor inf civil engineering, the profession which Mr. Allen had adopted. For two years after his graduation in 1825 he was assistant professor of civil engineering in the university, and then re- signed to accept the position of engineer of the Connecticut River Navigation Company, a cor- poration organized for the improvement of the navigation of that river from Barnet, Ver- mont, to Hartford, Connecticut. In the year following he entered into an engagement with a company of New York capitalists to pre- pare a plan for a system of public works, then projected, by which the waters on the south shore of Long Island were to be connected so as to form an unbroken inland chan- nel for ocean vessels from the eastern end of Long Island to New York harbor. . After com-

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pleting these surveys and making his report thereon, he took charge of the Worcester division of the Blackstone Canal, then constructing, to comeet the interior of Massachusetts with Long Island Sound. His next work was the laying out aud building of the Cumberland and Oxford Canal, to communicate between the lumber re- gions of Maine and the sea at Portland. In 1830 Mr. Allen's services were demanded by the New York Canal Board, to aid in planning and per- fecting the elaborate system then under consider- ation to connect the new west with the sea board. As chief engineer he constructed the Black River and Chemung Canals, after which he took charge of the building of the northern di- vision of the Chenango Canal, between Bing- hampton and Utica. In 1836 the construction of railroads began to be considered, and, by reason of his recognized ability, Mr. Allen was chosen to determine the route and plan the construction of the first road leading out of New York city, connecting with the junction of the canal and river at Albany, and now known as the New York & Harlem Railroad. He also directed the laying out of the Utica & Oswego Railroad, the completion of which was prevented by the finan- cial panic of 1837. In 1838 he was appointed engineer of the Erie Railroad from Binghamton westward, then under the presidency of the eminent banker Jonas G. King, of New York, and directed the course of construction of that line. Notwithstanding the fact that railroad con- struction was then in its infancy, Mr. Allen's methods in his work at this early day have since been adopted throughout the country, a fact which abundantly testifies to his skill and ·efficiency.

He subsequently directed the course and con- struction of the Chenango Canal from Bingham- ton to Tioga Point, New York, and also the Chemung Canal from Elmira to the same place. During the four years then following he was in charge as engineer in chief of the enlargement of the Erie Canal west from Little Falls; but his incessant and responsible labors for about sixteen years had greatly impaired his health, and, in the hope that a change of occupation might be a benefit to him, he purchased an in- terest in the Onondaga salt works at Syracuse, New York. Disappointed in the hoped for

health, he soug'it his end by an entire aban- donment of business for a time, and removed to Burlington, Vermont, where he ever after lived. In 1845 he organized the Winooski Cotton Mill Company, and for two years was its president. This office he relin- quished in the belief that his improved health would permit him to renew the practice of his profession. He accordingly accepted the posi- tion of consulting engineer of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, and directed the laying out of that line in Wisconsin. He was at the same time appointed chief engineer of the Erie Canal; but ill health again overtook him, and he practically retired permanently from the active duties of the profession. He afterward, in the same capacity of chief engineer of the Albany & Northern Railroad, directed its plan and con- struction, and still later laid out the northern ex- tension of the Rutland railroad line. He prepared the complete and accurate surveys of the city of Burlington, together with the maps and data, upon which was based the system of street im- provements afterward carried into effect. In 1856, at the request of the government of the United States, he took charge of the erection of the government buildings, postoffice, custom- house and marine hospital, in Burlington, and completed them with his usual painstaking skill. He was for a long time director of the Mer- chants' Bank at Burlington, and was frequently in requisition to perform other private and pub- lic trusts.

As has been said, his active life in his chosen pursuit covered a period of but a little more than sixteen years, and yet few have accomplished such prodigious and gratifying results in a much longer lifetime. His enforced retirement from activity was especially irksome to his energetic nature, which sought and found a partial alle- viation in those liberal studies which enlighten and elevate the character. He was a man of modest and retiring disposition, of a liberal cul- ture, and of rare moral qualifications and ster- ling sense and judgment. His integrity and pur- ity of character were particularly marked. In all that he did he was conscientious to a remark- able degree, and the minutest details of his pub- lic and official work, as well as of the minor and personal concerns of his life, invite the most

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critical scrutiny. His mind was a storehouse of facts and principles always ready for use, while his systematic thoroughness and clear per- ceptions of the questions with which he had to do, made his advice often sought and highly val- ued. He was for many years a consistent mem- ber of the Episcopal church.

Mr. Allen was married January 22, 1836, to Miss Eliza R. Johnson. She was the eldest daughter of John and Rachel (Ferry) Johnson. One daughter and two sons were born to Mr. and Mrs. Allen, Charlotte Augusta, who died in in- fancy; Charles E. Allen, of Burlington, Ver- mont ; and John J. Allen, of Brooklyn, New York. Mr. Allen died on the 12th of October, 1878, leaving his widow and the sons, before mentioned, surviving. His widow died May 18, 1890, aged ninety years.

John Johnson and his wife Susanna came from Hern Hill, in Kent county, England. He was probably among those who went to Agawam (now Ipswich), Essex county, Massachusetts, in 1632, or among the emigrants who came in 1630. He is first named among the "Earliest Settlers" of Ipswich in 1635. He was one of the proprietors of that town, as is shown by a deed given by his son Thomas, in 1715. He re- moved with his family to Andover, and became one of the proprietors in 1657. He took the oath of allegiance February II, 1678, and his name appears on the list of taxpayers in 1679. His wife died in Andover, September 12, 1683, and he did not long survive her. Among his children was Timothy Johnson (I), born about 1644. He married December 15, 1674, Rebecca, daugh- ter of John and Rebecca Aslett, born in Andover, May 6, 1652. He was a constable in 1676. He died in Andover, March 15, 1688. He had six children, John, Timothy, Mary, Samuel, Peter and Mercy.

Captain Timothy Johnson (2), was the sec- ond child, born March 25, 1679, married May 3, 1705, Catherine Sprague, born in 1682. She died February 22, 1758, in Andover, where they lived and all the children were born. He was select- man nine years and representative in the gen- eral court three years. He died in the King's service at Louisburg, Cape Breton Island, De- cember 16, 1746. Among his seven children was Asa Johnson (3), who was born March 27,

1716, married about 1736, Anne -, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, who was born 1719, and died April 10, 1792. He died in Andover, March 2, 1749, where all his children, except the eldest, were born. His children were Anne, Asa, James, Timothy, Benjamin, William and "Nabe."

Benjamin Johnson (4), was born May 24, 1744. He married Elizabeth Boardman, of Pres- ton, Connecticut, born September 29, 1746, and soon after removed from Andover, Massachu- setts, to Canterbury, New Hampshire. He was a corporal in Colonel Stickney's regiment, in Gen- eral Stark's brigade and distinguished himself at the battle of Bennington, and was a member of Major Benjamin Whitcomb's Independent Company of Rangers. After his discharge, Feb- ruary I, 1781, he returned to his farm. He had twelve children, the third of whom was John Johnson (5), who was born at Canterbury, New Hampshire, December 2, 1771. He married, first, in 1799, Rachel Ferry, of Granby, Massa- chusetts. She died at Essex, Vermont, August 20, 1806, leaving two children living, Eliza Rachel, who married Joseph D. Allen; and Ed- win Ferry, the distinguished civil engineer and projector of the Northern Pacific Railroad. John Johnson married, second, Lurinda Smith, of Richmond, Vermont. They had five children. She died at Williston, Vermont, March 21, 1866. Mr. Johnson was well known throughout Ver- mont as a land surveyor, and designer and builder of bridges, dams and mills. In 1812 he was ap- pointed surveyor general of the state of Vermont, and held the office for ten years. In 1817 he was selected by the commissioners, under the treaty of Ghent, to superintend, cn the part of the United States government, the survey of our northeastern boundary, and his final report, made in 1820, was the basis of the treaty of 1842. He was highly esteemed for his upright character and professional ability. Young men frequently studied with him to qualify themselves for the. profession of engineering. He died at his resi- dence in Burlington, Vermont, April 30, 1842.

CHARLES EDWIN ALLEN.

Charles Edwin Allen, a well known lawyer and leading citizen of Burlington, Vermont, was

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born November 28, 1838, in the city of which he is a resident, and is the son of Joseph Dana and Eliza R. (Johnson) Allen. Mr. Allen received his early education in the public and high schools of his native city, and in August, 1859, was grad- uated from the University of Vermont. During the year 186t he studied law with the Hon. Is- aac F. Redfield, at Windsor, and in 1862 and 1863 with Hon. Milo L. Bennett, in Burlington. In September of the latter year he entered the Albany Law School (Union College), from which institution he was graduated in June, 1864. For three years he practiced his profession in the New York courts, and in the spring of 1867 re- turned to Burlington, where he opened an office, making a specialty of patent law. In 1867 and 1868 he was local editor of the Burlington Free Press, and also reported for New York papers. In politics Mr. Allen is a Republican, and has re- ceived repeated proofs of the confidence and es- teem with which he is regarded by his party and his fellow citizens. In 1878 he was elected al- derman from the first ward for two years, and re- .elected in 1880. In 1882 he was elected city as- sessor, and in 1883 school commissioner, to which office he was re-elected in the following year, and successively chosen for terms of two years until 1896, when he declined a re-election. During this period, with the exception of one year, he served as clerk of the school board, and his an- nual reports of the census and condition of the city schools are highly estemed for their accuracy and completeness. In September, 1886, he was elected city clerk, which position he has held by continuous re-elections until 1903.

In 1870 Mr. Allen was chosen secretary of the Alumni Association of the University of Ver- -mont, and has held the office since that time. He is a member of the Algonquin Club, of the Ver- mont Press Association, and has published in pamphlet form statistics of the town and city of Burlington from 1763, including complete me- teorological observations since 1840, and is the author of several historical papers connected with his native town. He is a member of the Protest- ant Episcopal church, in which he holds the office of vestryman, and is also superintendent of the Sunday school. He has frequently served as del- vegate to diocesan conventions.

Mr. Allen married, October 31, 1867, Ellen

C., daughter of Elias and Cornelia (Ilall) Ly- man. They have three children : Joseph Dana, Lyman and Florence Lyman.

Richard Lyman was born in lligh Ongar, Essex county, England, in 1580, embarked with his family in the ship Lyon, from Bristol, Eng- land for New England, in August, 1631, and ar- rived at Boston, Massachusetts, November 4. He first settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts. lle became a freeman of the general court, June JI, 1635, and removed to Hartford, Connecticut, in October of that year. His will is in the Trum- bull collection at Hartford. He died in August, 1640. He was one of the original proprietors of Hartford in. 1636. His wife Sarah died in 1641. Among his five children was Lieutenant John Lyman, who was born in High Ongar, Sep- tember, 1623, and came to Boston with his father's family. He married Dorcas Plumb, of Branford, Connecticut, and settled in Northamp- ton, Massachusetts in 1654, and died there Aug- ust 20, 1690. He commanded the Northampton soldiers in the Falls fight above Deerfield, May 18, 1676. He had ten children, of whom the eldest son was Captain John Lyman (2), who was born August 1, 1660, lived at South Farms, and died there November 8, 1740. He married Mindwell (Sheldon) Pomeroy, widow of John Pomeroy. She died April 8, 1735. Their third son was Elias Lyman (3). He was born May 15, 1710, at South Farms, Northampton. He was among those called out for the defense of Bennington in the Revolutionary war. He mar- ried Hannah Allen, of Northampton, April 8, 1736. Their eldest son was Elias Lyman (4), born August 18, 1740, at Northampton. He was a farmer, and also kept public house. He married Hannah Clapp, of Easthampton. Octo- ber, 1764. She died August, 1813. He died March 2, 1816. His second son was Elias Lyman (5), born February 23, 1768. He first estab- lished himself in trade in Weathersfield, Ver- mont, and subsequently in White River Junction, Vermont, where he engaged in cotton manufact- ure with his elder brother Justin, of New York, and was very successful. He married Anna White, of Hatfield, Massachusetts. December 30, 1790. He died November 22, 1830. She died February II, 1844. Of their nine children, the sixth was Elias Lyman (6).

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Elias Lyman was born July 8, 1800, at Hart- ford, Vermont. He first commenced business in Norwich, Vermont and represented that town in the legislature in 1831. Three years later he re- moved to Burlington, Vermont, where he became a successful merchant. On April 14, 1842, he married Cornelia J. Hall, of Troy, New York. They had three children ; a son, who died in in- fancy ; a daughter, Ellen C., who married Charles E. Allen, of Burlington, Vermont, October 31, 1867 ; and a son Elias, who married Harriet E. Phelps, of Burlington, October 20, 1880. In 1850 Mr. Lyman was compelled to retire from active business on account of ill health, but he continued to manifest his interest in various im- portant enterprises as long as he lived. He was a man of sound judgment and scrupulous hon- esty, and posessed the respect and confidence of all who knew him. He died September 5, 1870, his wife died February 7, 1882.

LEWIS B. HUNTINGTON.

For forty-nine years Lewis B. Huntington was a well known figure in business circles of Montpelier. Throughout that entire period he conducted a restaurant, and his capable manage- ment of his business interests brought to him a handsome competence that now enables him to live retired in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. He is numbered among the native sons of the Green Mountain state, for his birth oc- curred in the town of Washington, on the 16th of December, 1829. He is a son of William M. and Nancy (Calef) Huntington.

The ancestral line is follows: William M., the father of our subject, was the son of William, born in Lebanon, Connecticut, May 26, 1775, and married, March 22, 1795, Elizabeth Derby, who was born October 22, 1778; she died in 1826. He was a farmer and died in Washington. He represented the town in the state legislature twice, and was a man of public note and prom- inence. He was the son of James Huntington, who was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, April 25, 1728. He married Hannah, daughter of Jonathan Marsh. He was for several summers the town shepherd. He was so conscientious 'that he refused taking care of his sheep on the Sabbath, and a boy was employed by the town

for this service. He died December 10, 1812. His wife died in 1795. He was the son of Caleb Huntington, who was born in Norwich, Con- necticut, February 8, 1693-4. He married, Jan- uary 28, 1720, Lydia Griswold, who was born May 28, 1696. They lived in Lebanon, Con- necticut. He was the son of Samuel Hunting- ton, born in Norwich, Connecticut, March I, 1665, where he married Mary, probably daugh- ter of William Clark, ofWethersfield. He re- moved to Lebanon in 1700. He took an active part in public affairs in Norwich. He was a large land owner in Norwich and Lebanon, and took an active part in military affairs, holding the title of lieutenant. He died in Lebanon, May I0, 1717, and his wife, October 5, 1743. He was the son of Simon Huntington, who was born in England in 1629, and was not far from four years old when his parents came to America, where they located in Saybrook, Connecticut. There he married Sarah, daughter of Joseph Clark, of Windsor, and later of Saybrook, Con- necticut. In 1660 he joined the colonists who settled Norwich. He was deacon of the church and a prominent man. He died June 28, 1706, and his wife in 1721.

William M. Huntington, father of Lewis B., also born in Washington, was a farmer by occu- pation, and as a partner and helpmeet for life's journey he chose Nancy Calef. They became the parents of six children: Cynthia Amelia, the wife of William Freeman: an infant : Lewis B .; William Lawson, who is living in Barre, Vermont, near the town of Washington ; Porter is a blacksmith in Washington ; Lester, who was a member of Company C, of the Twelfth Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry, but did not go to war, as he died soon after enlistment. The parents were members of the Congregational church, and were earnest and consistent Christian people, who commanded the good will and the esteem of all with whom they came in contact. The father was called to his final rest at the age of eighty-two years, and the mother died when eighty-six years of age.

Lewis B. Huntington was reared upon the home farm, where he early became familiar with the work of field and meadow, being engaged in this way during the summer months, while dur- ing the winter seasons he attended the public

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schools. About the time he attained his majority he became a resident of Montpelier, and here established a small restaurant in May, 1852. By close application to business, by an carnest desire to please his customers and by his reasonable prices and business foresight, he gradually se- cured a large patronage, and for forty-nine years conducted his restaurant, meeting with excellent success in his undertaking, until, with a hand- some competence acquired for the evening of life, he put aside business cares and is now living retired.

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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 32

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