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 62

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 62

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

344

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

terest in the affairs of his county, and it has been his ambition to advance the interests of las con- stituents for the benefit of all concerned. In all the positions in which he has been placed he has creditably acquitted himself, and has a wide circle of friends.

Judge Start married, June 10, 1869, Ellen S .. daughter of Stillman S. and Sarah E. Houghton, and their children are: S. Gould, born September 23, 1870, graduated from Bellevue Medical Col- lege. New York city, is a practicing physician in Cambridge, Vermont, and married Nettie Ellen- wood : Guy H., born November 5, 1873. in Ba- kersfield, Vermont, educated there, later gradu- ated from the Boston Law School, is now practic- ing law in Bakersfield, and married Anna Potter. of that place: Mabel S., born April 16. 1878. is now at home with her father ; and Burdette H .. born May 23. 1885, is now a student in Bingham Academy. Mrs. Start died July 12, 1890.

MARTHA CANFIELD.

Miss Martha Canfield, of Arlington, was born in New York city, a daughter of Eli H. Canfield. and a direct descendant in the sixth generation from one of the carly colonial settlers of New England, Thomas Canfield, who was located in Connecticut as early as 1646. Jeremiah Canfield. through whom the line was continued, was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, and was there reared and married. He had a son, Asariah, and the latter's son, Israel Canfield, born in Milford. Connecticut, March 13, 1731, married Mary Sackett and located in Arlington about 1775. Of his children, Nathaniel Canfield was born on the old homestead, in Arlington, Vermont, April 14, 1785. He followed the business of tanner and currier and the trade of a shoemaker in con- nection with general farming, and was active in military affairs. belonging to the local militia, and being quite prominent in town matters. His wife. whose maiden name was Almera Hawley, lived to the advanced age of eighty-seven years. She was a very bright, active woman, highly esteemed throughout the community ; she was a daughter of Zadock Hard Hawley and Rhoda (Everts) Hawlev.

Eli H. Canfield, father of Martha Canfield. was born in Arlington, Vermont, June 8, 1817,

and died in this town June 3, 1898, aged eighty- ofte years. After leaving the district schools of his native place, he attended the Manchester Seminary and the Bennington Academy. At the age of seventeen years he taught school in Bristol, Pennsylvania, going from there to Alexandria, Virginia, where he completed the course at the Theological Seminary. He settled as a pastor in Ohio, afterwards accepting a call to Brooklyn, New York, where he had charge of Christ church for twenty years, being very successful and popu- lar as rector. He was subsequently located in

ELI H. CANFIELD.

North Adams, Massachusetts, for awhile, then returned to Arlington, Vermont, where he spent the last twenty-five years of his life. He married Martha Crafts Hulme, who was born in Burling- ton, New Jersey, a daughter of John and Martha (Crafts) Hulme, who were Quakers. Mr. Hulme was a merchant. tailor, who spent his sixty years of life in Burlington, which was likewise the na- tive place of his wife, who died at the age of forty years. Captain Jehial Hulme, the paternal great- great-grandfather of Miss Martha Canfield, built the first frame house in Arlington, and officiated as lay reader, in 1764, at the first Episcopal ser-

345

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

vice held in Vermont, and for twenty years there- after. Of the union of Eli H. and Martha (Hulme) Canfield, four children were born, of whom but two are now living, namely : James H. and Miss Martha Canfield.

James H. Canfield was educated in the Brook- lyn, New York, Polytechnic Institute, and at Williams College, after which he was professor of political economy and English literature at the State University in Lawrence, Kansas, for a few years, later serving as chancellor of the Univer- sity of Nebraska at Lincoln. He subsequently left there to assume the presidency of the State University at Columbus, Ohio, where he remained until accepting his present position as librarian at Columbia University. He is a man of great activity, doing much to promote the interests of the Young Men's Christian Association, in which he is an earnest worker, and is a lecturer of con- siderable note, speaking on a variety of subjects. In 1902 Mr. Canfield delivered the address before the International Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation convention at Christiana, Sweden, and in the same year had the degree of Lit. D. by Ox- ford. Mr. Canfield married Flavia Camp, who was born in Wisconsin, a daughter of Albert and Martha (Barney) Camp, and of their union two children have been born, James A. and Dorothy. James A., a paper manufacturer in Columbus, Ohio, married Stella Elliott, by whom he has one child, Charles Elliott. Arthur Graves Canfield, now professor of French and Romance languages in Michigan University. Ann Arbor, is a cousin of Miss Martha Canfield.

HENRY C. ROOT.

The most elaborate history is, perforce, a mer- ciless abridgment, the historian being compelled to select his facts and materials from manifold de- tails and to have recourse to a seemingly intermin- able array of documents of both public and pri- vate nature, thus rendering the work of assimila- tion and abridgment one of far greater magnitude than is superficially evident. This applies to spe- cific as well as generic history, and in the former category biography is placed. In every life of honor and usefulness there is no dearth of inci- dent, and yet in summing up the career of any

man the writer must needs touch only the more salient points, giving the keynote of each char- acter but eliminating all that is superfluous to the continuity of narrative.

Within the pages of this work will be found individual mention of many prominent and influ- ential citizens who are representatives of pioneer families of the Green Mountain state. Of this number a distinguished representative is Judge Root, to whom this sketch is dedicated, and who is now practically retired from active business, re- taining his home in the attractive city of Burling- ton and enjoying the rewards of his former years of well directed endeavor. He has passed the psalmist's span of threescore years and ten, but retains marked physical vigor and unimpaired mental strength and vitality, his status being such as to serve as an object lesson of the value of right living. It is a matter of gratification to be able to here offer a brief review of his ancestral and personal career, and such an epitomized rec- ord will be of permanent value in an historical sense.

Henry C. Root is a native son of Chittenden county, having been born in the township of Char- lotte, on the 20th of April, 1830, a son of Noble Root, who was born in Lanestown, Massachusetts, a son of Gad Root, a native of the same place. where he was reared and educated and where he continued to reside for a number of years after his marriage. He removed from Massachusetts to Chittenden county. Vermont, where he became one of the pioneers of the town of Charlotte, pur- chasing a farm near Baptist Corners and erect- ing thereon a brick house. The dwelling is still standing and the farm is now owned by Solon Lane. There the grandfather of our subject de- voted his attention to agricultural pursuits during the remainder of his life, being summoned to his reward at the age of sixty-seven years, having been influential and prominent in local affairs of a public nature, and having been an active and zealous member of the Congregational church, in which he held the office of deacon for many years, He married Miss Loomis, who likewise was a na- tive of the old Bay state, and they became the parents of two children. both of whom are now deceased, and one of whom was the father of Judge Root. After the death of his first wife who passed away in middle life. Gad Root con-

346

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

summated a second marriage, and had five chil- dren, of whom three are living at the present time.

Noble Root, father of our subject, was a mere child at the time of his father's removal to Chit- tenden county, and on the old homestead, in the town of Charlotte, he was reared under the in- vigorating discipline incidental to a farmi, receiv- ing such educational advantages as were to be had in the public schools of the locality and period. Here he was engaged in farming for a number of years after attaining his majority, and then re- moved to St.Lawrence county, New York, where lie was similarly engaged for a period of years, at the expiration of which he returned to Charlotte, where he passed the rest of his life, dying at the age of seventy-two years, the place where his de- clining years were passed being known as the Judge Newell farm. In politics he gave his allegi- ance to the Republican party from the time of its organization, and his attitude was that of an earn- est, honorable and public-spirited citizen, while he wielded unmistakable influence in connection with public affairs in his section, having been for a number of years incumbent of the office of select- man and having filled various other positions of trust. He was a man of unimpeachable integrity, and all who knew him accorded to him the fullest measure of respect and confidence. Noble Root married Miss Polly Lowrey, who was born in Charlotte, the daughter of Nehemiah Lowrey, a native of Massachusetts and one of the pioneer farmers of this section of Chittenden county, where he became the owner of a fine landed estate, the same being now the property of Ransom Beers. Mrs. Root survived her honored husband and attained the age of seventy-eight years, hav- ing been a devoted and consistent member of the Congregational church and having gained the af- fection of all who came within the immediate sphere of her noble and gracious influence. Of her four children, Judge Root is the only one sur- viving.

Henry C. Root was reared in his native town, and early began to assist in the work of the home farm, while he is indebted to the public schools of Charlotte for the initial educational discipline which was his. Later he continued his studies in a local select school, and still farther supplemented his literary attainment by attending an academy at Bakersfield, where he made so excellent use of

his opportunities that he became eligible for ped- agogic work, having been for two terms a success- ful and poular teacher in the district schools of his native county and having also taught in Es- sex, St. Lawrence county, New York, after the removal of the family to that locality. There lie became associated with his father in farming op- erations, in which he continued after the return of the family to Chittenden county, where he had charge of the paternal farmi for a number of years, and where he later was associated in the same line of enterprise with his brother. There- after he continued his agricultural industry alone, and he attained prestige as one of the progressive and prosperous farmers of the county, having for- merly been the owner of a fine farm of two hun- (red and twenty-four acres, devoted to general farming, and of this place he still retains one hun- dred and twenty-four acres, to which he gives his general supervision, though he retains his res- idence in the city of Burlington, where, in Feb- ruary, 1902, he purchased his present home, which is one of the attractive residence properties of the beautiful little city.

In politics Judge Root arrayed himself as a stanch advocate of the Republican party at the time of its organization, and he has ever continued such, and has been an active and effective worker in a local way. His fellow citizens have called upon him to serve in various positions of marked trust and responsibility, and he has thus been in tenure, at various times, of nearly all the township offices, including that of selectman, of which he was incumbent for a term of three years, while during one year of this interval he held the office of chairman of the board. He served as lister for six years, and was elected to the distinguished of- fice of judge of the county court, in which capac- ity he served four years, his rulings invariably bearing the mark of mature judgment and abso- lute impartiality, and his course while on the bench gaining to him a further hold upon pub- lic confidence and regard. He thus acted as asso- ciate judge of the county court for two terms, and his administration was altogether admirable. He has served as delegate to the various county. dis- trict and state conventions of his party for many years, and has wielded an unmistakable and bene- ficial influence in the party councils. His re- ligious faith is that of the Congregational church,

347

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

to whose support and that of its collateral benev- olences he has been a liberal contributor, while he has taken an active art in the practical work of the church.

In 1850 Judge Root was united in marriage to Miss Alma L. Wright, who was born in Lewis- ton, Vermont, and who died at the age of thirty years, leaving three children, namely: Frederick, who is a successful farmer of Charlotte, being as- sociated with his brother in this line of enterprise ; Mary I .. , who is a teacher in the Clark Institute, at Northampton, Massachusetts ; and William N., who is a representative farmer of Charlotte, where he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Wicker, who has borne him two children, Frank and Kath- erine. Judge Root consummated a second mar- riage, with Miss Mary P. Beers, who was born in Charlotte, and of this marriage two children have been born : George H., who is in the employ of the Standard Oil Company at Burlington, and who married Miss Stella Russell, the children of this union being Marjorie and June; and Cassius D., who is a commercial traveler.

DANIEL MURRAY.

Daniel Murray, a retired merchant of Burling- ton, was for many years one of the leading busi- ness men of this city. He was born at Orwell, Vermont, August 22, 1822, a son of Asahel Mur- ray. He is of Scotch ancestry, being a lineal de- scendant in the fifth generation from Jonathan Murray, the immigrant, the line of descent being as follows: Jonathan, Jonathan, Eber, Asahel, Daniel.

Jonathan Murray (1), with his wife, whose maiden name was Anna Bradley, emigrated to this country in 1680 from Scotland, settling in Connecticut. They reared a family of nine chil- dren, Thankful, Daniel, Anna, Jonathan, Hopc, Selah, John, Eber and Hester. Jonathan Murray (2) married a woman of Irish descent, by whom he had the following named children : Eber, Amasa, Mabel, Asahel, Jonathan, Daniel and Ste- phen.

Deacon Eber Murray (3) was born and reared in Guilford, Connecticut, the home of his ances- tors. Removing to Vermont in 1783, he settled in Orwell, hcre taking up land that was in its prim- itive wildness, with bears, wolves and other wild

animals roaming through the dense forests. By energetic activity he cleared a good farm, from which he extracted an income sufficient to keep himself and family in comfort. He was a devout worker in the Baptist church, of which he was deacon, doing a great deal of pioneer missionary work in that early time, when settlers were tew and far between, by traveling over the mountains, carrying the comforts and consolations of relig- ion to the people. In a tract entitled "The Worth of a Dollar," published by the American Tract Society, a touching incident is related of Deacon Murray's kindness to a poor woman, to whom he gave a dollar to buy a Bible, and by his generosity was the cause of awakening a powerful revival of religion in a town lying between the Connecticut and Onion rivers. Deacon Murray's first wife died young, leaving three daughters, as follows . Elizabeth, who married William Buck : Azuba. who married William L. Bush ; and Mabel, who became the wife of a Mr. Palmer. The Deacon married, second, Abigail Dunning, who was born November 17, 1752, and died June 1, 1836. Five children were born of this union, Dorcas, born April 24, 1782, married Selah Murray: Daniel Scott, born July 17, 1784; Daniel, born May 8, 1786; Asahel, born May 19, 1788; and Lydia, born March 4, 1790, married Harvey Murray.

Asahel Murray (4), born May 19. 1788, in Orwell, resided here until his death, July 1. 1854. Succeeding to the occupation in which he was reared, he became one of the prosperous agricult- urists of the town, and a citizen of prominence, serving with ability in the various offices within the gift of his fellow townsmen. He was a vol- untecr in the war of 1812, but was never in actual service. On January 3, 1810, he married Polly Murray, a daughter of Jonathan Murray, and niece of Dcacon Eber Murray. Five children were born into their household, namely: Emily, born January 6, 1812, married William T. Bas- comb ; Elizabeth, born April 26, 1814. married Thurman Rich; Jonathan Hull, born December 26, 1815, who married Huldah Martin, was a very religious man, belonging first to the Baptist church, and later to the Adventist society .: Sea- land, who was born December 20, 1817, and mar- ried Emily M. Blackman, was a school teacher. first in Vermont, then in Ohio, where he lost his eyesight, after which he returned to Orwell, re-

348

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

maining here until his death ; and Daniel, the sub- ject of this sketch.

Daniel Murray (5) was reared on the an. cestral homestead, receiving his elementary edu- cation in the district schools, after which he at- tended Newton Academy at Shorcham, later be- ing fitted for college at the Hinesburg Academy, under the instruction of Mr. Durkee, in the mean- time teaching school five winters, thus earning money to defray his expenses. Coming to Burl- ington in 1847, he was clerk in a mercantile estab- lishment for a few years, when, in 1857, having by thrift and economy saved some money and ob- tained a thorough knowledge of the business, he opened a store in this city, and from that time until his retirement from active pursuits he was a prominent factor in the mercantile interests of Burlington. Although mindful of his own affairs, he has never shirked the responsibilities of office, but has served as assessor, as alderman and as fire warden. In politics he is a Republican.

Mr. Murray married. September 10, 1844, Mary Blackman, a daughter of Joseph and Betsey (Prindle) Blackman, who came from Connecti- cut to Vermont in 1790, locating in Hinesburg. The only child of Mr. and Mrs. Murray, Charles Augustus Murray (6), was born May 8, 1847. He married Mary A. Welch, daughter. of Dr. A. C. Welch, of Williston. She is descended from Governor Chittenden, the first governor of Ver- mont. They have two children, Bessie Edmond- ston and Katherine Chittenden. Bessie Edmond- ston Murray (7) married Frank Curtis Weeks, and they have one son, Charles Murray Weeks (8). Katherine Chittenden Murray (7) married Dan George Emery, of Boston, Massachusetts, by whom she has two children, Mary Chittenden Emery and Gwendoline Murray Emery (8).

ANDREW CHANDLER BROWN.

Colonel Andrew Chandler Brown, of Mont- pelier, retired from active business pursuits, was born at Sutton, Vermont, July 10, 1828, a son of Elisha Brown, and a direct descendant in the eighth generation from Chard Brown, the immi- grant ancestor, the line of descent being as fol- lows: Chard, John, James, Andrew, Elisha, An- drew, Elisha, Andrew C.

Chard Brown (I) emigrated from England

in the ship "Martin" to Boston, Massachusetts, landing in July, 1636, and bringing with him his wite, Elizabeth, and their son, John, then eight years old. Going first to Salem, Massachusetts, he stayed there but a short time, being unable to endure the intolerance of the first church Puri- tans, but joined the Roger Williams colony at Providence, Rhode Island, where he bought for his home lot the land now occupied by Brown University. He was a surveyor by profession, and in 1640 was one of a committee of three ap- pointed to report to the Providence colony a writ- ten form of government, and this form was adopted and used by the colonists until the return of Roger Williams from England, in 1644, with the first charter. In 1642 Chard Brown became the first ordained settled pastor in the colonies. He died about 1665.

John Brown (2) came with his parents from England in 1636, and died in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1706. He was a surveyor, and an elder in the Baptist church. He inherited the home lot, which he sold in 1672 to his brother, James Brown, who resold it to John Abbott, but whose great-grandsons, John and Moses Brown, more than a century later, repurchased and pre- sented it to the College of Rhode Island, which was then removed from Warren, Rhode Island, to its present site in Providence ; the corner stone of University Hall was laid by John Brown, one of the donors, and in 1804 the name was changed to Brown University. John Brown married Mary, daughter of Obadiah and Catherine Holmes, of Newport, Rhode Island.

James Brown (3), born in 1666, died October 28, 1732. He was a member of the town council from 1705 to 1725; town treasurer from 1714 until 1718; was an elder in the First Baptist church and served as pastor of the same from 1726 until 1732. His wife, Mary Harris, daugh- ter of Andrew and Mary Harris, was born De- cember 17, 1671, and died August 10, 1736.

Andrew Brown (4), born September 30, 1706, died February 12, 1783. In 1730 he re- moved from Providence, Rhode Island, the place of his nativity, to Gloucester, Rhode Island, buy- ing a large tract of land on the east side of Che- pachet river. He served as the first town clerk of West Gloucester. He married Mary Knowl- ton. a daughter of Elisha Knowlton.

град. Ва

A.l.Brown

349

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Elisha Brown (5) was born May II, 1744, married Huldah Arnold, of Smithfield, and lived. in the house built for him by his father, who deeded to · him a portion of the homestead in Gloucester.

Andrew Brown (6) was born in Gloucester, Rhode Island, March 20, 1776, married Sally, or Sarah, daughter of Captain Jaklan and Anna (Harris) Putnam. In the latter part of 1811 or early in 1812 he moved with his wife and four children to Billymead, Caledonia county, Ver- mont, later known as Sutton, where he lived until 1847, when he moved to Newbury, Vermont. A few years later he moved to St. Johnsbury Cen- ter, Vermont, where he resided until his death about 1858. He is buried in St. Johnsbury Center. His wife survived him, dying May 27, 1866, in Berlin, Vermont, where she was buried.

Elisha Brown (7), born May 14, 1802, in Gloucester, Rhode Island, moved with his parents to Sutton (then called Billymead), Vermont, in 1812, and was there engaged in agriculturai pur- suits in his early life. From 1833 until 1840 he was an itinerant Methodist preacher. In 1840 he settled in Newbury, Vermont, where he re- sided until 1855, when he became a resident of Montpelier. He subsequently had charge for a few years of the Methodist church in Berlin, Ver- mont, then returned to Montpelier, and made his home with his son Andrew C. until his death, February II, 1881, at the age of seventy-eight years and nine months. In 1826 he married Phoebe, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Whitney) Fletcher. She died at Newbury, Vermont, April 29, 1850, aged forty-four years.

Colonel Andrew C. Brown (8) was gradu- ated from Newbury Seminary in 1847. He had previously taught school a few terms, and had also learned the printer's trade, partly paying his educational expenses by his labors. From 1849 until 1851 he taught school in Waitsfield, Ver- mont, having among his pupils men subsequently distinguished in public life. In the year 1851 he went to Oxford, New Hampshire, going from there to Bradford. Vermont, in 1852, where from 1852 until 1854 he published and edited "The Northern Inquirer," a newspaper devoted to the interests of the Whig party, taking a promi- nent part in securing the first election of Hon. Justin S. Morrill to the national House of Repre-

sentatives. Removing to Montpelier in October, 1854, he became foreman and business manager of the Vermont Watchman, and three years later was made editor of that paper, a position he re- tained until 1862. During that year, 1862, he assisted in organizing the Thirteenth Vermont Volunteer Infantry, nine months' men, was elected captain of the Montpelier company, and on the organization of the regiment was promoted to. lieutenant colonel, serving in that capacity with the regiment until May, 1863, when he re- signed to accept the appointment of commissioner of the board of enrollment for the First congres- sional district of Vermont, with headquarters at Rutland, Vermont. He was honorably dis- charged from the service in 1865. He is a mem- ber of Brooks Post, No. 13, G. A. R., of Mont- pelier, and a member of the commandery of the state of Vermont of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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 62

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