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 8

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 8

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David Martin Phelps (7), son of Alexander and Rachael (Steele) Phelps, was born October IO, 1824, at Waitsfield, Vermont, and was edu- cated in the schools of that town. During his youth and early manhood Mr. Phelps was a farm- er, but his marked talents for a business career attracted attention, and in response to urgent re- quests he abandoned the pursuit of agriculture and removed to Burlington, Vermont, in order to become the representative of several commercial houses. Mr. Phelps was a member of the Re- publican party, in the interests of which he was extremely active, and by which he was held in honor, being sent by his fellow townsmen to rep- resent them in the state legislature. During the Civil war Mr. Phelps was indefatigable in his labors for the enlistment of men, as well as for the support of the army in the field and the relief of the sick and wounded in the hospitals. He was a member and also a deacon in the Congregational church. Mr. Phelps married, at Waitsfield, May 28, 1857, Zilpha Brooks Dewey, born at Mont- pelier, Vermont, January 22, 1825, a descendant of Thomas Dewey, who came to America in 1633, and was the founder of the Dewey family in this country. Mr. and Mrs. Phelps were the parents of two children,-Nelson Dewey, born at Waits- field, Vermont, February 27, 1859; and Henry Alexander, also born at Waitsfield, Vermont, Oc- tober 15, 1861, and mentioned at length herein-

after. The death of Mr. Phelps took place Sep- tember 18, 1869, and that of his wife October 31, 1894, in Barre, Vermont.

Henry Alexander Phelps (8), younger son of David Martin and Zilpha Brooks (Dewey) Phelps, was born in the town of Waitsfield, Wash- ington county, Vermont, October 15, 1861, and received his early education in the district schools of his native town, afterward becoming a student at the Montpelier Seminary. He lived on the homestead until he attained his majority, and in 1883 went to Barre, Vermont, where he was em- ployed in a store. On January 1, 1885, his broth- er, Nelson Dewey Phelps, purchased the hardware business of Orvis Jackman, on North Main street, and in this business Mr. H. A. Phelps in the fol- lowing summer purchased an interest, after which the establishment was conducted under the firm name of Phelps Brothers. On January 1, 1892, the firm moved to the Gordon block, where the extension and development of their business have been such that they have to-day one of the best appointed stores in Vermont, in which they are conducting a very flourishing trade. They are also extensively engaged in plumbing and heating and are known to be large dealers in real estate.

In politics Mr. Phelps is a Republican, but has only once in his life accepted office, when he acted as bailiff of Barre, before the incorporation of the town as a city. Mr. Phelps married, Oc- tober 29, 1885, in Montpelier, Vermont, Isabel Maud Putnam, born at Cabot, Vermont, June 15, 1862, daughter of Enoch D. and Mary (Stone) Putnam, and a descendant of John Putnam, who was born in England, and came to America in 1634, where he settled in Salem, Massachusetts. Mr. and Mrs. Phelps are the parents of six chil- dren,-Evelyn Zilpha, born May 16, 1887:, Mil- dred Isabel, born October 12, 1888; Mabel, born February 12, 1892, and died February 13. 1892 ; Katharine Elizabeth, born April 5, 1894: Alden Dewey, born June 9, 1895; and Nelson Putnam, born January 7, 1898. In the commercial circles of Barre Mr. Phelps is regarded as an experienced business man and a trustworthy counselor in mercantile affairs, and by the community he is respected as a public-spirited citizen, ever ready to aid in every movement having for its object the welfare of the city in which he resides.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

HOWARD PRENTICE MARTIN.

The Martin family, of which Howard Pren- tice Martin, of Marshfield, Vermont, is a repre- sentative in the present generation, was prominent in the colonial period, several of its members hav- ing held office, and others having served as patriot soldiers in the army of the Revolution. Among the latter was Jesse Martin, the grandfather of Howard Prentice Martin, who took part in the first, and, in some respects, the most memorable, of the conflicts in that long struggle for inde- pendence, the battle of Bunker Hill. Whether he was present at Lexington, where the "embattled farmers" shed the first blood which flowed in the struggle for freedom, we do not know, but on that greater battlefield, where General Put- man said, "Save your powder ; don't fire till you can see the whites of their eyes," there is no doubt that he bore his full part. The best proof of this is to be found in the fact that he received a slight wound, one of those wounds of which the possessors and their descendants were prouder than they would have been of the Decoration of the Garter. While not severely wounded himself, it was his lot to witness the infliction of a fatal wound on one the loss of whom was one of the greatest disasters of this disastrous day, the la- mented General Warren. Mr. Martin, to his lat- est day, never lost the impression left upon his mind by the sight of the death of this youthful patriot. In the autumn of 1800 Mr. Martin, with his wife, Naomi Hopkins, and seven children, came from Francistown, New Hampshire, to Montpelier, now East Montpelier. In the fol- lowing spring he settled on a farm on Maple Hill, in the town of Marshfield, Washington county, Vermont, but finally made his home in Plainfield, Vermont, where he died November 3, 1832. He left the memory of a man of strong character, and his eighty-one years were spent in the servic of his country, both as a soldier and citizen. Mr. Martin's only daughter died at an early age. His sons were: James, William, Jesse, Allen, Eben- ezer and Joshua Baxter.

Joshua Baxter Martin, son of Jesse and Na- omi (Hopkins) Martin, was born in Francistown, New Hampshire, February 26, 1800, and attended the district school. He remained on the home- stead and followed the occupation of farmer.

Mr. Martin began his political life as a Whig, but on the organization of the Republican party he enrolled himself as one of its first members. He was a public-spirited man, and his townsmen testified to the respect in which they held him by making him, at different times, selectman, col- lector of taxes, and overser of the poor, which last named office he held for many years. Mr. Martin married in June, 1825, Betsey Shepard, daughter of William and Betsey (White) Shepard. Their children were Willard Shepard; George Flint, who died at the age of twenty-four ; Laura, who died at the age of twenty-four ; Caroline M., who died at the age of eighteen; Nancy, who died in infancy ; Henry Hopkins, who resides in Will- iamstown, Vermont ; Howard Prentice; and Ellen Augusta, who married W. J. Batchelder and re- sides in Plainfield, Vermont. Mr. Martin died January 17, 1879, and his wife survived him until October 2, 1882. 1136095

Howard Prentice Martin, son of Joshua Bax- ter and Betsey (Shepard) Martin, was born on the homestead in the town of Marshfield, Washington county, Vermont, April 22, 1845, and his edu- cation was received at the district schools and the Barre Academy. He remained on the farm, as- sisting his father, until he reached the age of twenty-one, after which he worked the farm and in time came into possession of the property by purchase. Mr. Martin has devoted the greater portion of his life to farming, on the subject of which he has very progressive and advanced ideas. He has in various ways greatly improved the porp- erty, and is now the owner of one of the finest farms in the town. He combines the character of an enterprising agriculturist with that of a thorough business man, and is an extensive dealer in live-stock. Mr. Martin is a Republican, and the esteem in which he is held by his townsmen is best indicated by the fact that he has filled all the offices of the town except that of town clerk. He has held the office of justice of the peace for more than thirty years, and represented the town in the state legislature in 1884 and 1885. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Lodge No. 14, at Marshfield, Vermont.

Mr. Martin married, September 28, 1869, Lu- cetta Wooster, daughter of Stephen Wooster. By this marriage there were two children, Stephen, who died in infancy, and Curtis Leland, born

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

May 10, 1872; the latter married Mabel Eaton Emery, March 9, 1897, and they had one child, Stephen Howard, born March 1, 1899. Mr. Mar- tin's first wife died November 23, 1874, and on January 25, 1876, he married Mrs. Sarah Ann Pitkin, daughter of William and Lucinda ( Fos- ter) Orcutt. Mr. and Mrs. Martin have one son, Walter Howard, born April 4, 1879, who mar- ried, March 13, 1901, Viola De Etta Buxton, and resides with his parents.

OLIVER OTIS HOWARD.

MAJOR GENERAL, U. S. A., RETIRED.

The family from which is descended Major- General Oliver O. Howard is one of the most ancient and honorable in New England. The emigrant ancestor was John Haward (as the family name appears), who came from England and settled first in Duxbury, Massachusetts, about 1635, was an original settler at West Bridgewater in 1651, and was licensed to keep an ordinary in 1670. He was surveyor of highways in 1657, ensign in 1664, and lieutenant in 1689, selectman in 1678, deputy in 1678, and represen- tative to the general court in Plymouth in 1683. He died about 1700. His wife was Martha, daughter of Thomas Hayward. Thomas Hay- ward came from England (perhaps in the For- tune) in 1632, and returned for his wife and chil- dren, whom he brought in the Hercules, in 1635. He was a freeman at Duxbury in 1646, and was an original settler and proprietor of Bridgewater.

The line of descent from the emigrant John (I) Haward is as follows: Major Jonathan, (2) (who was first to give the family name the form of Howard), married Sarah Deane, born November 9, 1668, at West Bridgewater. Seth (3), born November 15, 1702, married, in 1735, Mary Ames, born in 1717 and died in 1758. Cap- tain Jesse (4), born July 20, 1740, was an officer in the Massachusetts militia during the Revolu- tionary war and moved to Easton, Massachu- setts ; in 1761 he married Melatiah Dunbar, born in 1741, died in 1814. Captain Seth (5), born November 21, 1762, moved from West Bridge- water to Leeds, Maine, about 1800. In 1782, he married Desire Bailey, born January 23, 1762, died December 28, 1829. Seth died January 5, 1844.

Rowland Bailey Howard (6), born July 29, 1795, at Leeds, Maine, was a farmer. He mar- ried, February 29, 1828, Eliza Otis, who was born December 10, 1804, and died December 14, 1888, at Glencoe, Illinois. She was a daughter of Oliver Otis, who was born in Scituate, Massa- chusetts, November 8, 1768, and died at Hallo- well, Maine, September 28, 1844. Oliver Otis was son of Ignatius, born February 2, 1731, died at Scituate, in 1802, son of Ensign Otis, born in 1601 ; son of Captain Stephen Otis, commander of militia, born in Scituate, in 1661, died in 1733 ;. son of John Otis, born in Barnstable, England, died at Scituate, Massachusetts, January 16, 1684; whose father was John Otis, born in Glas- tonbury or Barnstable, England; both were emi- grants from Barnstable, England, to Hingham, Massachusetts in 1635: John, Sr., died May 31, 1657, in Weymouth, Massachusetts.

Oliver Otis Howard (7), son of Rowland B. and Eliza (Otis) Howard, was born in Leeds, Maine, November 8, 1830. He was reared on the paternal farm and began his education in the district schools, and afterward in the academies in Monmouth and Yarmouth, Maine, largely paying for his tuition with money earned in. teaching school. He then entered Bowdoin Col- lege, from which he was graduated in 1850, with the degrees of Bachelor and Master of Arts. He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Bowdoin College, from Waterville (Maine) College and from Shurtleff (Illinois) College in 1865, and from the Gettysburg (Pennsylvania) Theological Seminary in 1866.

In 1850, on leaving college, he entered the. United States Military Academy at West Point, from which he was graduated in 1854, being fourth in his class in general standing. He was at once commissioned second lieutenant in the ordnance department, and assigned to duty at the Watervliet Arsenal: in 1855 he was commander of the Kennebec Arsenal, and in 1856 was again on duty at the Watervliet Arsenal. Later in the. same year he was ordered to Florida, where he served under General Harney as chief of ord- nance in the Seminole campaign. From 1857 to 1861 he was instructor of mathematics in the- Military Academy at West Point. At the open- ing of the Civil war he resigned his commission as lieutenant in the regular army to enter upon'

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

service in the volunteers, as the war department then refused officers permission to take higher commands in the volunteers and still remain in the regular army.

He organized the Third Regiment of Maine volunteers, of which he was commissioned colonel, and with it took the field under General Mc- Dowell in Virginia. In the battle of Bull Run he commanded a brigade in which was the Second Vermont Infantry Regiment. The non-commis- sioned officers of that regiment presented him with a sword, which was always used by him during his service in the army. This brigade was among the last to hold the ground near the cen- tral portion of the field. September 3, 1861, he was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers, and commanded a brigade during all the early operations in 1862, including the independent ex- pedition to the Rappahannock, under General Sumner. He served under General McClellan on the Peninsula, and participated in the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg and Fair Oaks. For his conduct in the latter action, in which he was twice wounded and two horses shot under him, he received the congressional medal of honor at a later day. While recovering from the amputation of his right arm, he aided in recruiting troops in . Maine, and in about ten weeks after the battle in which he was wounded, he returned to the front and was assigned to the command of the Second Brigade, Second Division, Second Corps, which he commanded in the second battle of Bull Run, and received credit for his successful command of the rear guard during the retreat. At the bat- tle of Antietam he succeeded to the command of the division when General Sedgwick was wounded, and he also commanded it in the battle of. Fredericksburg, participating in the dreadful assault upon Mary's Heights. November 29. 1862, he was promoted to major general of vol- unteers, and in April following he was assigned by the president to the command of the Eleventh Corps, which he commanded in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In the latter, after commanding the arduous fighting of the first day, he selected and occupied Cemetery Hill with his reserve troops. This was the key to the Union position and made possible the victory which was to follow, and for his sagacity and courage in seizing upon this ground, he received

the commendation of his commander, General Meade, and the "thanks of Congress." one of the privileges of the latter being admission at all times to the floor of the senate and house of rep- resentatives.

General Howard with the Eleventh Corps (less one division under General Hooker's com- mand) and the Twelfth Corps under Slocum were both sent to Tennessee to reinforce the Army of the Cumberland. For his conduct at the battle of Wauhatchie he received warm commendation from General Thomas. His activity was so con- spicuous in the battle of Missionary Ridge, that, at the request of General Sherman, he was sent with that officer to the relief of Knoxville. In April, 1864. General Howard was assigned to the command of the Fourth Corps. which he commanded in all the operations under General Sherman against Atlanta, including the engage- mients at Dalton, Reseca, and about Kenesaw Mountain. After the fall of the lamented Mc- Pherson, in the battle of Atlanta, General How- ard was by order of the president made his suc- cessor as commander of the Army of the Tennes- see. He fought the battle of Ezra Chapel alone with the Army of the Tennessee, and his march on Lovejoy was so prompt as to find the enemy in divided force, and render Atlanta no longer ten- able. In the march to the sea General Howard commanded the right wing of Sherman's army, and his troops were the first to establish com- munication with the outside world and effect the capture of Savannah, by Hazen's (one of his division commanders) assault upon Fort McAl- lister, under his own eye, and with Sherman at his side. In January, 1865. with the remainder of Sherman's army. General Howard's troops marched through the Carolinas, forcing the Salkehatchie, and passing through Columbia to Bentonville, where was fought a severe engage- ment, the last engaged in by General Sherman's army, which resulted in the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston, with his army, the last con- siderable rebel force in the field. March 13. 1865. General Howard received the brevet of major general in the regular army, and on December 21 he was made a brigadier general.

Immediately after the close of the Civil war General Howard was assigned to duty, May 12, 1865, as commissioner of the bureau of refugees,

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

freedmen and abandoned lands, of which he had charge for the next seven years, and was abund- antly successful in its administration, particularly in its industrial and its educational features, hav- ing founded many permanent institutions of learning such as Howard University, Hampton Institute, Atlanta University, Lincoln, Fiske, Straight and others. On complaints about his administration of the freedmen's bureau' there were two investigations; one in 1870 by a com- mittee of Congress, which ended in a vote of thanks to him by the house of representatives ; the other was by a court of inquiry composed of seven general officers of the army, which ended in complete acquittal of all the charges preferred against him, and in unrestricted commendation.

In 1872 General Howard was chosen by Gen- eral Grant, then the president, and sent to make peace with the only Indian tribe then at war with the government, namely the Chiricahua Apaches ; and also to settle numerous difficulties with other tribes in Arizona and New Mexico; all this Gen- eral Howard thoroughly accomplished without arms. He was assigned to command the Depart- ment of the Columbia, in August, 1874. During the next six years he, in command, passed through two Indian wars, one the Nez Perces war, in 1877 ; the other the Piute and Bannock, in 1878. He brought these wars, after many bat- tles and long, fatiguing campaigns, to a success- ful termination. In the spring of 1879 another Indian tribe called the "Sheepeaters" becoming rebellious in points near the Salmon river, he sent out and captured them enmasse, brought them in as prisoners, put them at work at Vancouver and their children at school. In the winter of 1880- SI he was assigned to the command of the West Point Military Academy, which he held for two years. July 13, 1882, he was assigned to com- mand the Department of the Platte, to which he gave successful administration until his promo- tion to a major general in the regular army, March 19, 1886. He then passed to the military division of the Pacific, which included the De- partment of the Columbia, to California, and Ari- zona. This division he administered to the satis- faction of the war department and the president until November, 1888, when he was transferred to the command of the military division of the At- lantic. This division he held until the divisions

were discontinued. after which he commanded the Department of the East, which was substan- tially the same as the division of the Atlantic, un- til lus retirement by law, November 8, 1894.

General Howard is an interesting and indus- trious writer. Among his published volumes are "Donald's School Days," "Henry in the War," "Nez Perce Joseph," "Agenor de Gasparin," "General Taylor," in the "Great Commander Series," "Isabella of Castile," "Indians of North America," and "Fighting for Humanity." From 1865 to the present time he has been a frequent contributor to leading journals and magazines, his most recent writings being a series of mon- ographs under the title "Cuban Sketches of the Spanish War." He has also delivered lectures upon the lives of Grant, Sherman, Thomas and Slocum, as well as upon war and other topics of interest, before large and interested audiences. During his entire life he has been a sincere and unaffected exponent of an active practical Chris- tianity, devoting himself to personal as well as public effort in behalf of temperance, religion, and of benevolent, charitable, philanthropic and educational work, and in defending and aiding the helpless and oppressed, as when he sought to lead the freedmen to education and usefulness, to befriend the Indians, and to afford protection to the Chinese. His pure personal example and solicitude for his fellows was peculiarly marked in his military life, beginning with his service as a young lieutenant in Florida and continuing during the Civil war and the Indian campaigns. He exhibited great activity in promoting the use- fulness of the Young Men's Christian Association in the army camps during the Spanish war. Since 1895 he has organized and directed the management of the Lincoln Memorial University for White Mountaineers, at Cumberland Gap, Tennessee.

General Howard has been allied with the Re- publican party from the date of its founding, and has always been an ardent advocate of its prin- ciples. In 1896 and again in 1900 he took the plat- form in advocacy of the election of Mckinley to the presidency, and delivered numerous forceful addresses ; and, in the former year, in company with several veteran officers of the Civil war, he made a notable political tour of the country. He is connected with numerous societies, among which

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

are the American Tract Society, of which he is president ; the American Bible Society, of which he is one of the managers; the Congregational Club and the Author's Guild, of New York city ; and is an honorary member of the New England Society, the Historical and Genealogical Society and the Union League Club, all of New York city. He is also a member of the leading patri- otic societies, the Society of the Cincinnati, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion ; and various Civil war societies, the Potomac, the Cumberland and the Tennessee. He is a resident of Burling- ton, Vermont, and a member in Stannard Post, G. A. R., and the Algonquin Club, of that city. In 1884, while in Europe attending the man- œuvres of the French army, he received the dec- oration of "Commander" in the Legion of Hon- or from the president of the French Republic.

General Howard was married at Portland, Maine, February 14, 1855, to Miss Elizabeth Ann Waite, who was born and educated in that city. Her parents were Alexander Black and Lucretia Strickland (Whitman) Waite. Her fa- ther, a ship-builder and owner, was a native of Falmouth, Maine, born April 24, 1810, married December 6, 1831, and died December 7, 1849; his wife was born June 6, 1809, and died June 30, 1857. The line of descent of Alexander B. Waite (7) was: (I) Sergeant Thomas Waite, of Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1646; (2) Jonadab, born in 1667, at Newbury, Massachusetts, died in 1737: (3) John, 1701-1769, a ship captain sailing between Newbury and Portland; (4) Benjamin, Newbury, Massachusetts, 1725-1812, a major and mustering officer at Portland during the Revolu- tionary war; (5) John, Falmouth, Maine, 175I- 1838, a ship-builder ; (6) Ebenezar, 1776-1852, a caulker at Falmouth, then a farmer at Turner, Maine.

The children born to General Oliver Otis and Elizabeth Ann (Waite) were :

Guy, born in Augusta, Maine, December 16, 1855 : A. B., Yale, 1875 : lieutenant colonel, Uni- ted States Army; killed in battle, October 22, 1899, in Philippine Islands ; he married Jeannie Woolworth, at Omaha, Nebraska, February 14, 1884; two children, Helen, born in 1884, and Otis Woolworth, born in 1887.

Grace Ellen, born in Augusta, Maine, June 22, 1857 ; attended Vassar College ; married Cap-

tain James T. Gray, at Portland, Oregon, Sep- tember, [879; children: Elizabeth H., born in 1880, died in 1895 : Mary Augusta, born in 1882; Grace Whitman, born in 1884; Jeanie, born in 1885; Howard, born in 1887.

James Waite, born at West Point, New York, December 1, 1860; graduate Andover Academy, Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute, Gottingen Uni- versity (C. E.), Germany, 1888; married Adel- heid Bodemeyer, at Gottingen, in 1888; one child, Hildegard, born in 1889.

Chancey Otis, born in Augusta, Maine, May 3, 1863 : married Alice G. Rustin, at Omaha, Ne- braska, in 1886; children: Mary, born in 1887 ; William Rustin, born in 1889 : Harvey F., born in 1892; Alden L., born in 1897.

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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 8

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