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 63
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Returning to Montpelier, Colonel Brown at once established the first distinctive insurance agency ever established in this city, and con- ducted a most successful business until 1889, when he turned it over to his youngest son. Jos- eph G. Brown. The Colonel has also had other interests, having served as official reporter of the house of representatives of the state legislature from 1865 until 1880; from 1880 until November I, 1897, he was a lessee of the American Bell Tele- phone Company for the territory in Central Ver- mont, and built up an extensive telephone plant. covering the entire counties of Washington and Lamoille, with branches extending into Cale- donia, Orange, Chittenden, Franklin and Orleans counties. From this plant he derived a good in- come. In 1897 he sold it to the American Bell Telephone Company interests, and has since lived retired from the activities of business.
Colonel Brown married, May 1, 1851, Lucia Almira, daughter of Joseph and Anna ( Stod- dard) Green. She was born at Favston. Ver- mont, March 12, 1830. Of their union five chil- dren were born, namely : Ella Lavonia : Rome Edwin Chandler, born September 18, 1859. died July 6, 1860: Rome G .; Edwin E. C .. born Janu- ary 22, 1865, died March 9, 1882, when about seventeen years of age: and Joseph G. Ella L .. born May 28, 1854. married Dr. Charles A. Bailey, by whom she had two children :
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Incia M., born June 2, 1881 ; and Lavonia, born April 20, 1888, and died June 2, 1890. Rome G. Brown, born June 15, 1862, was graduated from Harvard University with the class of 1884. Ho studied law with the Hon. B. F. Fifield at Mont- pelier, Vermont, for three years, the last six months of which he was also connected with the law office of Heath & Willard, at Montpelier, Vermont. Admitted to practice by the supreme court of Vermont, October 24, 1887, on Decem- ber 7, 1887, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and entered the law office of Benton & Roberts, composed of Reuben C. Benton and William P. Roberts. He was admitted to practice in the courts of Minnesota February 9, 1888, and Janu- ary I, 1890, he became the junior member 'of the firm of Benton, Roberts & Brown, and since the dissolution of the firm by the death of Colonel Benton on January 5, 1895, he has been engaged in practice alone in Minneapolis. He was ad- mitted to practice in the supreme court of the United States on May 27, 1895. He has been very successful as an attorney, making a specialty of water power cases, and is retained as counsel by some of the most prominent corporations of Minnesota. May 25, 1888, he married Mary Lee, daughter of Hon. S. Dwight Hollister, of Marshfield, Vermont, and they have two chil- dren, namely : Edwin Chandler, born July 8, 1891 ; and Dorothy, born July 19, 1896.
Joseph G. Brown, the youngest son of Colonel and Mrs. Brown, was born November 21, 1866. After completing his course of study in the Washington county grammar school he entered his father's office, and has succeeded him in the insurance business, having had full ownership and control of it since 1889, and is also a member of the Ryle & McCormick Company, manu- facturers of granite at Montpelier. He has served the municipality of Montpelier in many important offices, and has done much to advance its material interests. He was a trustee of the village of Montpelier one year; a lister in 1892, 1893 and 1894; was elected mayor of the city in 1900 and was re-elected in 1901 with no oppo- sition ; he served on Governor Smith's staff from October, 1898, to October, 1900, with the title of Colonel ; and for four years was secretary of the board of trade. Fraternally he is a member of Aurora Lodge, F. & A. M .; of the Vermont
Lodge, 1. O. O. F .; and of the Apollo Club, of which he was president in 1901. Ile is also an officer of the Country Club, organized in 1902. On July 9, 1889. he married Helen Woolson, daughter of S. C. Woolson, of Montpelier, and they have two children, Ruth Lydia, born May 20, 1892, and Chandler Woolson, born November 20, 1897.
HENRY A. BIXBY.
Robert Bixby, the grandfather of this suc- cessful farmer and dairyman of South Burling- ton, Vermont, was a native of Massachusetts, but later moved to Tinmouth, Vermont, where lie died. He had a son named Orick L., who was also born in Massachusetts, but was reared and educated in Vermont, and then followed farming for a number of years at Mt. Holly. He later made his residence in Jericho, where the last thirty-five years' of his life were passed, but his death occurred in South Burlington when he was seventy years of age. His wife was Miss Mary A. Shedd, who was born at Bethel, Vermont, of a good old family. These were very worthy and esteemed people, and he was a Republican in political belief, and she was a member of the Universalist church and liberal in religious thought. She died at the age of seventy-one, and of her twelve children, four are now living : Henry A .; George, whose home is at Burling- ton, Vermont ; Charles, who lives at Cambridge, and Susan, who married Irving Pulman and re- sides at Bristol.
Henry A. Bixby was born to these parents at Mt. Holly, Vermont, August 3, 1845, and he spent the earlier years of his life in his native place and at Jericho. After completing his ed- ucation he assisted his father about the farm, but his ambition was to own and operate a farm of his own, and he accordingly purchased a good tract of land at Lincoln, Vermont, where he remained for three years. In 1872 he took his present farm near South Burlington, consist- ing of one hundred and forty-three acres of well cultivated and nicely improved land. From the thirty-five head of cows on his place he sup- plies many families of the city with milk, and his land produces about one hundred tons of hay each season, besides affording pasture and other farm products.
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Mr. Bixby has, like his father, adhered to the Republican principles and has held several impor- tant local offices. He was on the board of select- men for two years and is its chairman at the present time ; in 1892 he was elected representa- tive of the town of South Burlington. He is liberal in his religious views, as was his mother, and is highly esteemed as a citizen and neighbor. In 1868 Mr. Bixby was married to Miss Hannah Colby, a native of Lincoln, Vermont, and the daughter of Rodney and Eliza Colby, the former a prosperous farmer of Lincoln, but now de- ceased; the latter was one of a number of chil- dren and was born in New Boston, New Hamp- shire, in 1815, the daughter of Jonathan Colby, a native of New Hampshire, a carpenter, who died at the age of sixty-six, and of his wife, Hannah Wilson, the daughter of Samuel Wilson, a farmer and native of New Boston, where he died at the age of one hundred and one years. Mrs. Bixby is one of two living children, her sis- ter being Mrs. George Bixby. Two children were born to this union, but the son, Fred, died at the age of ten years; Evelena, the daughter, is the wife of Arthur Curry, a gardener of South Burlington and they have one daughter, Edith.
JOHN M. CLARKE, M. D.
Dr. John Murray Clarke, an eminent physi- cian and surgeon at Burlington, Vermont, and who also acts in the capacity of proprietor of the Lake View Sanitarium at Burlington, was born September 21, 1847, at Concord, Vermont. He is the son of Charles C. Clarke, who was born in New Hampshire and educated in the common schools of his native town; later he pursued a theological course and was ordained a minister of the gospel. He followed this calling in the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont. He had clear and logical ideas of what work of a church in a community should . be, and these ideas he carefully put into prac- tice; he always impressed his hearers with the conviction that he sought to aid them to a better, personal life and a broader scope of mental vis- ion. He married Miss Alice Mash, and four chil- dren were born to them, two of whom are now living-Dr. John M. Clarke and Elizabeth, now Mrs. Herbert W. Ford. The Rev. Mr. Clarke
died at the age of sixty-five years and his wife died at the age of seventy-two years.
Dr. John M. Clarke acquired his preliminary education in the public schools of Massachusetts and Vermont ; subsequently he pursued a regular course of study in the University of Vermont. He then began the study of medicine under the competent preceptorship of Dr. D. W. Hazel- ton, a prominent medical practitioner of Ver- mont. He commenced the active duties of his profession in 1873 and for nine years acted in the capacity of assistant physician at the Ver- mont State Asylum for the Insane at Brattle- boro. Dr. Clarke acquired much experience during his connection with this institution, and this, combined with a comprehensive understand- ing of the science of medicine, well qualified him to become the manager and proprietor of the Lake View Sanitarium, which he opened on October 1, 1882, at Burlington, Vermont. It was located between North avenue, a charming drive leading out of the city, and the shore of Lake Champlain ; it is just north of the beautiful and historic Battery Park. The grounds comprise about ten acres of beautiful lawns, groves, gar- dens and orchards and are traversed by pleasant driveways and walks. The house, which was partially constructed by the late Sion, E. How- ard, was intended for a private residence; Dr. Clarke purchased it and entirely remodeled it for its present use. It is a three-story and base- ment substantial brick building and is situated upon the highest portion of the grounds ; it fronts cn North avenue and is set well back from the street, having in the foreground a spacious lawn dotted with ornamental shade trees and clumps of flowering shrubs. The rooms are large, high and well lighted, as nearly all of them receive the sunlight direct; they command picturesque and beautiful views of the lake, river and moun- tain scenery. The rooms facing east have the view of the Winooski river and its valley, with the range of Green mountains beyond: those facing south and west have the view of the city of Burlington and Lake Champlain with the lovely Burlington and Shelburn bays, and the range of the picturesque Adirondack mountains across the lake, and those facing north see the lake again gemmed with many islands; in fact, the location cannot be surpassed for beauty and
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variety of scenery in all directions. The insti- tution is intended for private patients, and is the only institution of the kind in the s ate of Ver- mont. Its purpose is the cure of nerveus and mental diseases, inebriety and the opium habit ; the family plan is carried out in the care and treatment of the inmates to the greatest possible extent. They are given free access to every part of the house and grounds and considered as members of one large family, participating in their social enjoyments when health and strength will permit, and at all times they are allowed a great amount of personal liberty. The house has a capacity for the comfortable accommoda- tion of twelve to fifteen patients and is provided with all modern conveniences, including the most approved sanitary arrangements. Dr. Clarke employs only the most competent assisants, and the number of patients being limited, it affords him abundant time for the study and treatment of each case. This institution . is not designed for the residents of the state of Vermont only. as the patients now undergoing treatment are from various sections of the country, and suit- able cases will be received from any state in the Union.
Dr. Clarke is a prominent member and ex- president of the Vermont State Medical Society, the Burlington County Medical Society and the Connecticut River Valley Medical Society. He has written quite a number of instructive articles on different branches of his profession, which have been read before medical societies and also published. Dr. Clarke is prominently affiliated with the Masonic order, being past master of Burlington Lodge, past high priest of the chap- ter, commander of the commandery, and he has attained the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite. He has passed all the chairs in the Scot- tish Rite, also passed all the chairs in the coun- cil. In his religious beliefs he is a consistent member and supporter of the Universalist church, and in a social way is connected with the Algonquin Club.
Dr. Clarke was united in marriage on April 2. 1874, to Miss Julia Gleason, who was born in Connecticut, a daughter of Harvey and Sarah (Colburn) Gleason. They have one child living, Alice Gleason, born September 15, 1878; she was married October 14, 1897, to Edward P. Wood-
bury, second son of ex-Governor Woodbury. Mr. and Mrs. Woodbury have two children, Murray Clarke Woodbury, born October 7, 1898, and) Elsa P'., born February 7, 1901.
GEORGE W. MORSE.
George W. Morse, an attorney at law in Wa- teibury, Vermont, was born in Duxbury, Ver- mont. March 23, 1847, a son of Truman Morse. His grandfather, Walter Morse, was a pioncer settler of Duxbury, Vermont, going there when a young man, and taking up a tract of wild land, from which he cleared and improved a good homestead, residing on it until his death.
Truman Morse lived on the home farm in Duxbury until 1847. Coming from there to Waterbury in 1847, he was successfully engaged in agricultural pursuits in this vicinity until his (leath, in 1889. He was one of the leading Dem- ocrats of this section of the county, serving with ability in various town offices, and was a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal church. He mar- ried, first, Mary Strickland, a daughter of Oliver Strickland, and they became the parents of five children : Frances, who died in 1876, married C. P. Stephens ; George W., the special subject of this brief sketch; Carrie, wife of C. J. Hart, of Waterbury ; Willis A., a farmer in Waterbury ; and Ella, wife of J. A. Batchelder, of Water- bury. Mary (Strickland) Morse died in 1867 and Mr. Morse married, second, Mrs. Mary ( Butler) Roberts.
George W. Morse was graduated from the Waterbury high school, after which he was in the employ of C. P. Stephens, a lumber manu- facturer and dealer, for awhile. Beginning the study of law with C. F. Clough, of Waterbury, he was admitted to the bar in 1881, and has since followed his profession most successfully in Waterbury, where he has built up a large and lucrative practice, being a most able and skilful lawyer. He takes a keen interest in the welfare of the town and village, being a promoter of all enterprises conducive to its advancement, and has rendered excellent service in many of- fices of trust and responsibility. He was town treasurer eight years ; lister eight years ; was vil- lage clerk and treasurer, and served as post- master five years, being appointed by President
John de Jaines
The __ P
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Cleveland. He is a member of Winooski Lodge, F. and A. M., and affiliates with the Republican party, having left the Democratic ranks.
Mr. Morse married first, in 1882, Ella F. Joslyn, a daughter of Frank W. Joslyn. She died in 1887, leaving one child, Florence F. Mr. Morse married, second, in 1896, Nellie C. Ha- selton, daughter of Albert and Eveline (Deavitt). Haselton, of Moretown, Vermont.
JOHN ANGELL JAMES.
Diversified interests claim the attention of John A. James, who is now successfully engag- ing in stock-raising, agriculture and dairying, and each industry returns to him a good income. He has resided in Addison county throughout his entire life, and has ever been a prominent and active worker in its progress and development. His father, Samuel James, was born in Wey- bridge, Addison county, on the 13th of August, 1822, and he is descended from a family of un- doubted worth and respectability, his ancestors for a long period having been prominent factors in the development of this section of the Green Mountain state. His paternal grandfather, Dan- iel James, came to this commonwealth from Rhode Island and located as early as 1788 in the town of Weybridge, where he cleared and im- proved a farm, but was a cooper by trade. He subsequently made a trip to the West Indies, and after returning to this country located in New York, his death occurring at Truxton, that state. Samuel James, his son, was born in Weybridge, Vermont, being reared on the farm on which our subject now resides, and the residence which he erected is still standing. His death occurred on the old home place in 1868, when he had reached the age of seventy-eight years, and the com- munity thus lost one of its representative citizens, for he ever took an active part in the advance- ment of his native locality and for many years held the office of selectman. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Prudence Kellogg, was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, and was a daughter of John Kellogg, a farmer of that place. They became the parents of the following children : John K., Mary E., Daniel, Roxey M., Samuel, Edwin, Martha and Henry, and of this once large family Samuel is now the only survivor. Mrs.
James was called to her final rest at the age of eighty-one years, passing away in the faith of the Congregational church, in which Mr. James served as a deacon throughout nearly his entire life, and he took an active part in the erection of the present house of worship of that sect in Wey- bridge.
Samuel James, Jr., was reared on the old James homestead in. Weybridge, receiving his early education in the district schools of the neighborhood, while later he became a student in the Middlebury Academy. Agricultural pursuits have claimed his attention throughout his active business career, but aside from this he has found time to devote to the public affairs of the county, having served as a selectman and for a time was chairman of the board of selectmen, and in 1880 he was called upon to represent his town in the legislature. On the 16th of June, 1852, he was united in marriage to Susan Payne, who was born in Norwich, Vermont, a daughter of Horace and Sarah (Blood) Payne, the former of whom was also a tiller of the soil, and his death occurred at the age of seventy years, while his wife reached the age of seventy-three years. Mr. and Mrs. James became the parents of the following chil- dren : John A., of this review ; Horace P., pastor of the Congregational church at North Yakima, state of Washington ; Daniel, who died in 1877 : Frank H., who makes his home with his brother John A .; Mary, the wife of James B. Adkins, of Belchertown, Massachusetts; Susan, wife of Charles O. Harvey, of Weybridge ; Gertrude, the wife of E. S. Roland, of East Corinth, Vermont : Harriet, who married William J. Roberts, pro- fessor of civil engineering in the Agricultural College at Pullman, Washington : and Charles S., who is with his father. The family have long been connected with the Congregational church. in which the father has served as a deacon for thirty-three years.
John Angell James received his education in both the district and graded schools of Middle- bury, and after putting aside his text-books he engaged in agricultural pursuits and was for a time a teacher in Cornwall, Addison county. Un- til his twenty-first year he remained under the parental roof, devoting his time to the work of the home farm, and for the following three years he operated his father-in-law's place. He then.
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THE STATE OF VERMONT.
by purchase, became the owner of the old James homestead, on which he has ever since resided. The home place consists of one hundred and eighty acres, while m connection with his brother he also owns a tract of seven Inindred acres, their entire possessions consisting of about thirteen hundred acres located near Weybridge and Corn- wall and here they keep from one hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty cows, doing an extensive dairy business, and on a large scale they are also engaged in the raising of blooded sheep and thoroughbred cattle. His property yields him excellent returns and he is regarded as one of the most successful and progressive business men of this part of Addison county.
The marriage of Mr. James was celebrated in this town on the 15th of April, 1874, when Miss Orpha Jewett became his wife. She is a daughter of Philo and Eliza (Landon) Jewett and a granddaughter of Samuel Jewett, one of the early settlers and the largest land owner in the town of Weybridge. The father was also a successful business man, and throughout his active career was engaged in farming, while in addition he also speculated largely in western lands and in loaning money. His death occurred when he had reached the eighty-ninth milestone on the journey of life. His wife was born in Cornwall, Vermont, and by her marriage with Mr. Jewett she became the mother of the follow :- ing children : Elizabeth, who married Oliver P. Scoville, of Lewistown, New Jersey; Harriet E., wife of S. W. Elmer, of Addison, Vermont ; Samuel, deceased ; Edson B., a resident of Ben- ton Harbor, Michigan; Lucy A., the wife of B. W. Crane, of Bridport, Vermont; Emma C., who became the wife of Solomon Jewett, and died in California ; Catherine C., who married C. H. James, a half brother of our subject, and resides in Cornwall; and Orpha, the wife of John A. James. The mother, who reached the age of ninety-two and one-half years, died September 17. 1902, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. James. Mr. and Mrs. James have become the parents of four children, namely: Grace E., who received her education in Middlebury College. and has just returned from a trip to the l'acific coast ; Emma C., who died in 1897, at the age of sixteen years; J. Perry, who died at the age of sixteen months; and Samuel E., who is still in
school. Mr. James is a Republican in political principle, and has been honored with a number of public offices. He was chosen to represent his town in the legislature in 1800, where he served as a member of the committee on agriculture; was a member and also chairman of the board of selectmen for a number of years ; for three years was the lister of his township; was elected chair- man of the town committee; and has served as a road commissioner, as a justice of the peace and in many other offices. For many years he has been a member of the Addison County Agri- cultural Society, taking an active part in its work, and for a long period he has served as its director, being also for some time treasurer, and he was also active in the local Grange during its exist- ence. He, too, is a member and active worker in the Congregational church, and is of the fourth generation of his family to hold the office of deacon therein. Mrs. James is an active worker in the different societies of the church. Both are held in high regard in the community, and their home is celebrated for its gracious hospi- tality.
FERDINAND BEACH.
Ferdinand Beach, for more than lialf a cen- tury a prominent and wealthy citizen of Bur- lington. Vermont, was born in the year 1820, in Westford, Vermont. He attended the district schools of that place, after which he studied at the Jericho Academy, where he graduated. Whether the decided preference which he after- ward showed for a mercantile career was then undeveloped, or whether, in chcosing the pro- fession of the law. he yielded to influence, it is impossible to say, but certain it is, that on grad- uating he entered the office of a prominent lawyer in Milton, Vermont, and there pursued a course of legal study, the result of which seems to have been to convince him that the profession was un- suited to him, for after completing his studies he abandoned it without an attempt to practice and abruptly changed the whole course of his life. Feeling, no doubt, that his pronounced taste for commerce should determine his choice of an oc- cupation, he went to Jericho and engaged in business as a partner of his father-in-law, Eras- tus Field. He was the owner of much real es-
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THE STATE OF VERMONT.
tate in and near Burlington, Vermont, these pos- sessions being of such magnitude and importance as to require his personal attention. For this reason he retired from business in 1841, and re- moved to Burlington, where, during the many years of life which remained to him, he found sufficient employment in caring for his exten- sive property. His death, which took place in 1900, removed from Burlington the well-known figure of an old and honored citizen.
Mr. Beach married in the year 1850, Cornelia Field, born February 10, 1829, daughter of Erastus and Maria (Potter) Field. Erastus Field was located in Westford, Vermont, until 1831, when he entered the hotel business in Jer- icho, where he was justice of the peace for many years. holding this office at the time of his death. Mr. and Mrs. Field had two children : Cornelia Potter. who was born in Westford, and became the wife of Ferdinand Beach, and Ellen Potter, who married H. Percival, a planter of Georgia. Mr. and Mrs. Beach had two children: a son who died at the age of five years, and a daughter, Kate, who is still living, and is the wife of Charles Vaughan. Mr. and Mrs. Vaughan have one daughter, Cornelia. Mrs. Beach survives her husband, and is still a resident of Burlington, Vermont, and her daughter, Mrs. Vaughan, re- sides with her.
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