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 85

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 85

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Frank Leslie Eastman, son of Albert and Mary (Sumner) Eastman, was born July II, 1853, in New Haven, Vermont, where he re- ceived his primary education in the public schools, afterward attending the Bristol and Vergennes high schools and Morrisville Academy. He then taught school one term and has since en- gaged exclusively in farming. Being well in- formed, and a good conversationalist, he is fitted to fill positions of trust and responsibility.

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THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Mr. Eastman is an active member of the Re- publican party, standing high in the esteem of his fellow citizens, who have elected him to all offices within their gift, making him, for a num- ber of years, selectman, for seven years lister, be- ing a part of the time chairman of that board, and chairman of the town board. In 1898 he repre- sented the town in the state legislature, and dur- ing the session of that year served on the com- mittee of state prisons and has acted for a number of years as delegate to the state conventions. For a considerable period he has filled the office of au- ditor. He and all his family attend the Congre- gational church.

Mr. Eastman married, January 5, 1881, Lillie S. Sherman, born June 1, 1855, daughter of Al- fred Sherman, of Charlotte, Vermont, in which town his father, Leverett Sherman, was a pioneer. Mrs. Eastman's mother, Lydia Eastman, is a native of Charlotte, and now resides in Burling- ton, Vermont. Mr. and Mrs. Eastman have three children: Albert S., now a college student in Burlington, Vermont; Laura M. and Anna L., graduates of Beeman Academy. Both the daugh- ters are very successful teachers.

HON. JOHN L. BARSTOW.

The career of ex-Governor John L. Barstow, of Vermont, illustrates the fact that it is not the "politician," but the citizen who is most promi- nent and efficient in the real work of the govern- ment of the people. It admits of the statement, somewhat peculiar, when made truthfully of a public man, that, high as have been the responsi- bilities to which he has been called by the peo- ple, he has never, directly or indirectly, solicited the vote or influence of any man for any elective office. He has assumed high official obligations upon the demand of his fellow citizens, and has discharged them honestly, vigorously and patrioti- cally.

John Lester Barstow was born in the town of Shelburne, Vermont, February 21, 1832, of English and Revolutionary lineage. His parents were Heman and Lorain (Lyon) Barstow. He took so kindly to books and was so well educated in the home schools at Shelburne at fifteen that he was duly installed as a teacher. The west attracted him, and in 1851 he located in Detroit and was in business there until 1857, when, on

account of the advancing age of his parents, he returned to Shelburne and engaged in farming. But his tastes and ambition fitted him to a dif- ferent life, and in 1861 he was assistant clerk of the house of representatives at Montpelier. In the fall of that year, while still in the office men- tioned, he enlisted for military service in the suppression of the rebellion of the southern states, and was appointed on the non-commis- sioned staff of the Eighth Regiment, Vermont Volunteers. Later he was promoted successively to the ranks of adjutant, captain and major. When he was made major the company which, as captain, he had commanded, presented him with a beautiful sword. He was hororably dis- charged at the expiration of his term of service, June 22, 1864, and the men of his regiment who were mustered out with him presented him with a sword more elegant than the one he had be- fore received. These gifts, which have since been cherished by Governor Barstow, indicate the high esteem in which he was held by those who had served under him and had noted his soldierly bearing in camp and on field of battle.

The historian of his regiment says: "When, after the bloody fight of June 14, 1863, in front of Port Hudson, General Banks called for volun- teers to head the storming column for a final at- tack, Captain Barstow was one of the brave men who stepped forward to form the forlorn hope." He was acting adjutant general under Generals Thomas and Weitzel, participated in all engage- ments in which his regiment took part, and was complimented for eminent service in the field and for gallantry in the assault on Port Hudson, and was honorably mentioned for personal service. Immediately upon his arrival home he was offered a responsible position in the recruiting serivce of the state by Adjutant General Washburn, which he was obliged to decline on account of impaired health. He had entered the army as robust as any man of vigorous constitution, but three years' active service in the miasmatic climate of Louisi- ana had broken both his health and his constitu- tion, and he was for many years a sufferer from malaria to an extent that incapacitated him for any active business pursuit.

In September, 1864, he was elected a member of the legislature and during the ensuing session the St. Albans raid occurred; and, at General

John Partons

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THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Washburn's solicitation, Major Barstow repaired to the scene of action and was sent to Canada on a special. mission. He was subsequently ap- pointed brigadier general, commanding one of the brigades of militia raised by the state in con- sequence of the raid, was placed in command of the forces on the northwestern frontier of the state, and remained on duty until relieved by Gen- eral Stannard in January, 1865. He was re- turned to the legislature that fall, by the unani- mous vote of his town, and was senator from Chittenden county, 1866-67. He was appointed United States pension agent at Burlington by General Grant in 1870, and served in that posi- tion almost eight years. He instituted reforms for the benefit of needy pensioners, and otherwise performed his duties in this office so well that he was recipient of an autograph letter of thanks from General Carl Schurz, then secretary of the interior. In 1879 Mr. Barstow was appointed by Governor Proctor, state commissioner for the centennial celebration of the surrender of Corn- wallis at Yorktown, and was efficient in securing government aid for the undertaking and for the monument, as well as in perfecting arrangements for the celebration. In 1880, upon unanimous nomination, he was elected lieutenant governor for the biennial term, and, in 1882, governor of Vermont. He was the first governor of Vermont to call attention to the alleged excessive and dis- criminating rates for freight charged by trans- portation companies, and to urge the creation of an effective railroad commission. In the history of the Eighth Regiment, Colonel Carpenter says : "The Ely riots occurred during Governor Bar- stow's term of office, and his course in requiring that justice should precede force, and that the riotous miners be paid their honest dues, at- tracted much favorable comment throughout the country." The resolution of the legislature in 1884, requesting the Vermont delegation in Con- gress to use its best efforts to secure the passage of the inter-state commerce law, was passed on Governor Barstow's recommendation. At the close of his administration the Rutland Herald voiced the general opinion of his constituents when it declared that he had been "as careful, independent, able and efficient a ruler as Vermont had enjoyed for twenty years."

Governor Barstow has held many important

appointments of trust and honor, such as presi- dent of the Reunion Society of Vermont Offi- cers : trustee of the University of Vermont State Agricultural College; trustee of the Burlington Savings Bank, and commissioner to fix and pur- chase a site for the Bennington Battle Monument. In 1891 he was appointed by President Harrison to serve on a commission with General A. McD. McCook, United States army, to treat with the Navajoe Indians, and it is a matter of history that he was influential in bringing the work to a successful conclusion. Besides, he was dis- bursing officer of the commission, and to the as- tonishment of the treasury officials he returned nearly half the sum appropriated for expenses. In 1893, at the request of Governor Fuller, he acted with the executive committee of the na- tional anti-trust society.

A friend of every movement for the public welfare, general or local, Governor Barstow has always been loyal to his native town, and is among its most public-spirited citizens. Before the adoption of a state system of aid to public libraries, he took the initiative in establishing the Shelburne Free Library, donating the first col- lection of books, as well as money, for a nucleus. He has ever since been one of its trustees and, until recently, one of the most active managers. General Barstow is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and past commander of the Loyal Legion. He was made a Mason in 1853. In re- ligious preference he is an Episcopalian.

He was married October 28, 1858, to Miss Laura Maeck, granddaughter of Dr. Frederick Maeck, Shelburne's first resident physician (see Maeck). Mrs. Barstow died March II, 1885, leaving two sons. The elder of these, Frederick M. Barstow, was born March 3, 1860, was grad- uated from the University of Vermont in 1880, became a successful civil engineer and, upon ex- amination, was appointed and served as an officer of engineers in the volunteer army of the United States in the Spanish war. While in this service, he contracted typhoid fever, from which he died at the home of his father, March 16, 1899. Charles L. Barstow, the younger son, was born May 22, 1867, was graduated from Union Col- lege in 1889, and latter established himself in New York, where he is the head of the educa- tional department of the Century Company.

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THE STATE OF VERMONT.

The farm occupied by Governor Barstow was cleared by his grandfather, Ebencezer Barstow, who came from Canterbury, Connecticut, in 1784, and reclaimed it from the wilderness. He served in a Connecticut regiment during the Revolution, participating in the battle of White Plains, and held the rank of sergeant. Ilis wife, Esther Ow- en, was tlie daughter of a soldier who served un- der Montgomery at Quebec. The first of the Barstow family in America was John Barstow who came from Yorkshire, England, about 1635, and settled at Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he died in 1657. The line comes down through John, Job, John, the father of Ebencezer, above mentioned. John Barstow (4), was a farmer of Canterbury, Connecticut, and his wife, Eliza- beth Newcomb, was a native of Franklin, Con- necticut.

Heman Barstow lived all his life in Shel- burne, where he was a representative farmer. He was a leading member of the Methodist church, a man of high principle and most exemplary life, and represented his town in the legislature, and the county in the state senate. He was active in the Washingtonian temperance movement, and was a Whig and, later, a Republican in politics- a strong anti-slavery man. He was born April II, 1790, and dicd February 27, 1868.

FRANK LEONARD SHACKETT.

Among the enterprising and successful busi- ness men of New Haven, Vermont, may be men- tioned the name of Frank L. Shackett, who was born in Middlebury, Vermont, February 13, 1867, a son of Thomas M. Shackett, who was born in Addison county, Vermont, in 1830. The latter attended the common schools of his native state, and at the age of thirteen years, commenced his active business career in the stock-buying trade. He continued in this line of trade for a number of years, and became one of the largest and most successful stock-buyers in his section of the state of Vermont. Subsequently he entered the employ of Armour Brothers, and acted as their buyer in Kansas City up to the time of his death. He mar- ried Miss Susan E. Hubbard, who was born in Addison, Vermont, in 1836, a daughter of Perez H. and Mehetabel (Chapin) Hubbard. Mr. Hub- bard was a successful agriculturist in Addison,

Vermont, later in Bristol, Vermont, whence he removed to Wakefield, Massachusetts, and sub- sequently resided in the town of New Haven, on tlie farmi adjoining that of Frank L. Shackett, where lie died in 1886, at the age of eiglity-six ycars ; his wife was the cousin of Dr. Chapin, of New York city. They were the parents of three children : David, a resident of New Haven ; Mar- tha, Mrs. William McIntyre, of New Haven ; and Susan E. Mr. Shackett died in Kansas City, at the age of sixty-five years, and his wife subse- quently married B. F. Nutting and resides at Westford, Massachusetts.

Frank L. Shackett, only child of Thomas M. and Susan E. Shackett, spent the early years of his life in Vermont and Massachusetts, and ac- quired an excellent education in the common schools. At the age of fifteen years he went west, settled upon a ranch in Kansas and for a number of years followed the life of a ranchman. He then removed to Dallas, Texas, and was engaged as chief clerk in the Windsor Hotel, retaining this position for six years. At the expiration of this period of time, being troubled greatly with rheu- matism, he determined to return east, but changed. his plans and went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he assumed the management of the Aberdeen Hotel, situated at the corner of Dayton and Vir- ginia avenues. The hotel was one of the finest in the city at that time, entirely fireproof, and was erected at a cost of four hundred and fifty thous- and dollars ; it contained one hundred and eighty- five rooms with baths, and the rates were from three dollars and fifty cents to six dollars per day. Mr. Shackett purchased all the furnishings of the. hotel and had the superintendency of seventy em- ployes. After his return to Vermont, in 1899, Mr. Shackett purchased his present farm, which con- sists of two hundred and thirty acres, and has since been engaged in improving his property, which is rented, though occupied by him and tilled under his supervising eye. For a few months, he managed the Kenwood Hotel, in Chicago, and in 190I assumed the management of the Bardwell, at Rutland, Vermont, the largest hotel in the city, where he remained until the estate of its former owner was settled. He then removed to his farm, where his health has been much improved, and where he has since resided. Mr. Shackett is a self-made man in the strictest sense of the term,-

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his present position in life being the logical result of applied industry, ability and strict integrity of character. In political principles he is a Repub- lican. He is quiet and unassuming, popular in business and social circles, and has gained and retained the respect of a host of friends.

On March 12, 1901, Mr. Shackett married Miss Charlotte L. Landon, who was born in 1870, a daughter of Mills J. Landon, of New Haven, Vermont, whose biography appears on another page of this work. Mrs. Shackett graduated from Beeman Academy of New Haven, and attended St. Johnsbury Academy. She is a musician of rare ability, educated in music at Boston, and for a number of years has given private lessons to mem- bers of the leading families of Addison county, Vermont. For the past ten years, she has been organist of the Congregational church at New Haven, Vermont.

WILLIAM S. HOWDEN.

William S. Howden, a leading manufacturer of Bristol, Vermont, and also widely known as an inventor, belongs to a family of English origin which for more than a century has been represent- ed in New England. John W. Howden, great- grandfather of William S. Howden, was born in Yorkshire, England, in 1719, and emigrated to this country during the latter half of the eight- eenth century, before or during the Revolutionary war. William Howden, son of John W. Howden, was born in 1752, in England, and emigrated, with his father to Massachusetts, removing later to Connecticut, and finally to Vermont, where he died.

John Howden, son of William Howden, was born June 6, 1781, in Massachusetts, removing with his father to Vermont. He was a cattle- drover, and owned a fine farm of two hundred acres, on which he spent the greater part of his life, with the exception of a few years which he passed in Kirtland, Ohio. He participated in the battle of Plattsburg, during the war of 1812, and seems to have been a man of some standing in the community, for we are informed that he filled the office of sheriff. November 17, 1803, he married Mary Smith, who was born May 16, 1783, in Colerain, Massachusetts, and his family consisted

of five children, three of whom reached maturity : John, who was appointed consul to Bermuda, and died there; Eliza, who married Nathan Daggett, and died in Kirtland, Ohio; and William S., men- tioned at length hereinafter, and the only one now living. John Howden died July 3, 1857, in Bris- tol, Vermont, and his wife did not long survive him, dying July 4, 1858, at the age of seventy-five years.

William S. Howden, son of John and Mary (Smith ) Howden, was born November 20, 1819, in Bristol, Vermont, where he spent the early years of his life, learned the trade of tinsmith, and opened the, first tinshop and hardware store in Bristol, in the year 1839. This business he con- tinued for a number of years, and then sold out and removed to Waterbury, Vermont. It was while living in this place that Mr. Howden be- came an inventor, constructing the first iron- framed clothes-wringer ever made, which he im- proved upon by devising and putting together the same utensil, with the single alteration of a wood- en frame in place of the iron one. This invention speedily attained to deserved popularity, Mr. Howden selling as many as three thousand and upward in a year. After remaining six years in Waterbury, he left that place, with the intention of seeking a still more profitable market for his wares, but after traveling through the west failed to find one, and returned to Vermont and took up his abode in Bristol. Here he became a member of the firm of Howden, Daniels & Com- pany, which operated a sash and blind factory, and in 1869 established a manufactory for burial caskets, which he conducted with great success, with David Bosworth and Benjamin Daggett as partners. This was subsequently incorporated as the Bristol Manufacturing Company. Such has been Mr. Howden's success that he is to-day the president of the largest establishment of the kind in New England, employing a force of about one hundred and fifty hands, working on the latest improved methods, and producing all grades of goods, including the very finest carved work to be found in the market. Mr. Howden also has an interest in the New Haven Mills Manufacturing Company. This firm, which gives employment to about eighty-five hands, is engaged in the making of all kinds of mail lock boxes, for which, so ex- tensive are their dealings, they find a market

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throughout the expanse of the continent, sending them from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. In addition to engaging in these large manufacturing enterprises, Mr. Howden has also given a consid- erable portion of his attention to the real estate business.

In politics Mr. Howden is a Republican, and he lias bestowed a due share of attention on the affairs of the party, although prevented by the pressing nature of his duties as a business man from taking an active part in politics. Not- withstanding the fact that Mr. Howden was reared, so to speak, in a Masonic atmosphere, his father being a Mason of high degree, an active member of the Advent Chapter, he has no connection with the order, nor, indeed, with any fraternal organizations. Mr. Howden is an ardent church worker, having served for many years as deacon of the Advent church, and parti- cipated actively in the work of the Sunday-school. When the local church building was erected Mr. Howden assumed the responsibility for one-half the expense, and presented the parsonage as a gift.

Mr. Howden married Adeline Stewart, born in Weybridge, Vermont, and they were the parents of four children, all of whom, together with their mother, are now deceased. Mr. Howden's second marriage was with Anna Smith, daughter of Daniel Smith, of Addison, Vermont. The first child of William S. and Adeline Howden, named

Oscar, died in boyhood : the second, Mary Eliza, became the wife of John Ridley, and left three children, Anna, William and John. The first of these is the wife of Myron Thomas, and the mother of three children, Thorpe, Ford and Lloyd. Edson, third child of W. S. Howden, died un- married ; John, the fourth, married Elizabeth Pat- terson, and left one son, Edson William, now a resident of Bristol.

Adeline Stewart was born in 1819, and was a daughter of Barzillia and Mary (Royce) Stewart. The former was a native of Connecticut, and was three times married. His first wife, Polly Frost, bore him seven children; the second, Polly Williamson, a widow, bore him eight and the third, also a widow named Hyde, was the mother of five. Barzillia Stewart died in his eighty-first year, and Mary his wife, lived to be seventy-five years old.

JULIUS O. BOTTUM.

Julius O. Bottum, prominently identified for many years with the political and agricultural in- terests of New Haven, Vermont, was born on the old homestead one mile below the village of New Haven, January 26, 1858. Simon Bottum, great- grandfather of Julius O. Bottum, was born in Connecticut in 1755, in one of the richest agri- cultural belts of the state. He always gave his attention to the cultivation of the soil, and was a thoroughly practical and progressive farmer. He removed to Shaftsbury, Vermont, being one of the pioneer settlers, and his death occurred in that town at the age of sixty-five years.

Elias Bottum, son of Simon Bottum, was born in Shaftsbury, Vermont, February 3, 1790. His educational advantages were obtained in the com- mon schools of that town, and in 1809 he re- moved to New Haven, Vermont, and located on the farm now owned by Mr. H. C. Conant, and, being well equipped for the work by practical ex- perience on his father's farm, he met with the success that his efforts merited. He was a mem- ber of the legislature from 1822 to 1829, and served as senator from Addison county during the years 1840 and 1841. It has been stated that Judge Bottum, with his associate, George Chap- man, once overruled the supreme judge who sat with them on a question of law in the trial of a case. The appeal was taken to the supreme court, which affirmed the decision made by Judge Bot- tum and Judge Chapman. Mr. Bottum married Miss Diadama Squier, who was born in New Haven, Vermont, in 1795, and their children were : Mary Ann, who married Julius Sprague in 1838; Charlotte, wife of Ezra Hoyt; Caroline, wife of James Meacham; and Elias S. Bottum. The father of these children died in New Haven, Vermont, in 1865, at the age of seventy-five years.

Elias S. Bottum was born in New Haven, Vermont, in 1821. He obtained his education in a private school, and after completing his studies he assisted his father with the management of the farm until after his marriage, when he purchased the farm now occupied by his son, Julius O., which consisted of one hundred and fifty acres, which he cultivated for a number of years. After the death of his father he inherited the old home-

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stead, which consisted of seven hundred and fifty acres, the largest farm in the state. This he brought to a high state of cultivation, and it yielded a goodly income for the care and labor bestowed upon it. In public affairs Mr. Bottum took quite an active interest, and he was chosen to represent the town in the state legislature, also served as selectman and lister. He was united in marriage to Miss Mary Hoyt, who was born in Hinesburg, Vermont, in 1825, a daughter of the Rev. Otto S. Hoyt, who was an earnest and conscientious minister of the Congregational church in this section of Vermont all his life. Eight children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Bot- tum, six of whom are still living: Elias H., who graduated from Middlebury College in 1871, and later from the Columbia Law School at Washing- ton, District of Columbia, and is now engaged in the successful practice of his profession at Mil- waukee, Wisconsin; Caroline E., wife of Profes- sor Edwin Hall of Harvard College, residing in Cambridge, Massachusetts ; Mary L., who resides in Boston, Massachusetts; Julius O .; Charlotte, who graduated from the New England Conserv- atory of Music, and is now the wife of Herndon Brown, of Culpepper, Virginia; and Fordyce H., a graduate of Harvard College, and now prac- ticing law in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mr. Bot- tum and his family were earnest and consistent members of the Congregational church of New Haven. He died November 7, 1877, when he had attained the age of fifty-five years.

Julius Otto Bottum, son of Elias S. and Mary Bottum, was reared upon the old homestead, and acquired his education in the common schools of the town. Being reared upon a farm, his thoughts naturally turned in that direction, and he devoted his attention to the cultivation of a farm. At the age of nineteen years, his father having died pre- viously, he became one of the heirs of nine hun- dred acres of valuable farm land, and one hundred and forty acres became his portion. His place is well improved, neat and thrifty in appearance, and is furnished with all conveniences and acces- sories. Mr. Bottum's interest in the affairs of the town is of that practical character that prompts him to put forth every effort for the good of the community and for the adoption of measures which will lead to its upbuilding and substantial improvement. He is a firm and loyal Republican,

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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 85

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