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 II > Part 128
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THE STATE OF VERMONT.
services as a recruiting officer, recruited Com- pany C, Seventeenth Regiment, at Morrisville, and was commissioned its captain. This com- pany was mustered in, February 22, 1864, at Bur- lington, and hurried to the front in time to par- ticipate in the battle of the Wilderness, where Captain Kenfield was again wounded, being shot through the left arm. He was sent to Peters- burg hospital, was later in Georgetown hospital, and when sufficiently recovered received a fur- lough of thirty days. He returned home in May, but rejoined his regiment in June, in front of Petersburg, resuming his old command of cap- tain, although his company had been almost de- stroyed, there remaining but twenty men fit for duty out of the full enlistment of one hundred and one. During his absence the company was in charge of the second sergeant, and participated in all the engagements, including Cold Harbor. Captain Kenfield, after resuming command of the company, was engaged in picket duty until July 30, when he led a charge at the celebrated mine explosion in front of Petersburg. Out of seven officers who took part in the assault five were killed, and the other two were taken prisoners, one of them being Captain Kenfield and the other Lieutenant Pierce, of Woodstock, Vermont. They were confined in stockades in the city of Columbus, later transferred to Charlotte, and finally to Goldsboro. February 25, 1865, Cap- tain Kenfield was released, sent to Wilmington, North, Carolina, and paroled. With the re- mainder of his regiment, he was honorably mus- tered out of the United States service, at Bur- lington, May 15, 1865.
After his return to civil life Captain Kenfield engaged actively in mercantile pursuits, but for a number of years has been principally occupied in farming, and in stock and produce buying. He has a fine farm of one hundred and fifty acres at Morristown Corners, and an excellent herd of more than thirty grade Jerseys, from which, with a separator, he makes a superior butter, which finds a remunerative market. He has also a good sugar place of one thousand one hundred trees, with modern improvements. He was for four years the president of the Vermont Sugar Makers' Association. He has creditably filled many town offices, and in 1884, represented Mor- ristown, doing service on the general and military
committees. He was influential in securing the appropriation for the Soldiers' Home, and was appointed one of its trustees. In 1894 and 1895 he was senator from Lamoille county, served for two years as state railroad commissioner, and is now a member of the board of railroad commis- sioners.
Captain Kenfield has always been a zealous Grand Army man. He was one of the charter members of J. M. Warner Post No. 4, and has served it as commander and in other positions. He has been connected with the department as assistant quartermaster general, and in other capacities. His recent election as department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic for the state of Vermont was universally hailed as a fitting tribute to a soldier whose record is second to none in the department, and who will infuse into the organization new life and energy. He is a member of the Vermont Commandery of the Loyal Legion, and of Mount Vernon Lodge No. 8, F. & A. M., of Morrisville, having been connected with the Masonic fraternity for more than thirty years.
Captain Kenfield married, September 5, 1866, Lamott C., daughter of Lomis and Catherine Wheelock, of Montpelier, and they had one child : Katie B., who is now the wife of Carl Smith. Mrs. Kenfield died in 1872, and Captain Kenfield married, February 9, 1874, Mrs. Mar- garet Lyman, daughter of David and Ann Crul- ler. Mrs. Smith, the daughter of Captain Ken- field, is the mother of four children: Harold; Lamott ; Clifton K .; and Frank K., the last men- tioned being named in memory of his illustrious grandfather.
OSCAR EZRA BUTTERFIELD.
Hon. Oscar E.' Butterfield, of Wilmington, Vermont, was born in this city on the 17th of September, 1839, and is a son of the late Ezra T. Butterfield. His paternal grandfather, Zenas Butterfield, was a farmer by occupation and re- sided in Dummerston, Vermont, until his death, which occurred while yet in the prime of life. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sally Turner, was born in Putney, this state, and lived to a ripe old age. She was a member of the Bap- tist church, in which her husband served as a deacon for many years.
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THE STATE OF VERMONT.
Ezra T. Butterfield was born in Dummers- ton, Vermont, located in Wilmington, Ver- mont, in 1835, and there spent the greater part of his life, dying at the age of three-score years and ten. During the years of his activity he was interested to some extent in mercantile pursuits, but made general farming his principal occupa- tion. Ile married Mary Leonard, who was born in Hinsdale, New Hampshire, being a daughter of the Rev. Abner and Chloe (Bucklin) Leon- ard, the former of whom was a Baptist minister and spent his life in New Hampshire, preaching in different towns of that state and dying in Chesterfield, Cheshire county. His brother, Dan- jel Leonard, was a man of prominence in the church and in business circles. Five children were born to Ezra T. and Mary (Leonard) But- terfield, of whom two have passed away, Mary A. and Sarah A., both formerly well known and successfui school teachers, and the three living children are: Oscar E., the immediate subject of this sketch; Abner Augustine, a lawyer of Jacksonville, Vermont; and Lucius Alonzo, who for many years filled the chair of elocution in the Boston School of Oratory, the Newton Theological Institute and the Boston University. The mother died at the age of three-score years and ten; she was a member of the Free Will Baptist church, and later of the Methodist church. The father served as a selectman, as a represen- tative to the general assembly, and for a num- ber of years was county judge.
Oscar E. Butterfield received his. elementary education in the public schools of his native place, but the knowledge which he received therein was supplemented by private study. In early manhood he became ambitious to adopt the law as his pro- fession, and his studies were accordingly bent in that direction through quite a long period be- fore entering the law offices of Flagg & Tyler, Flagg & Son and E. C. Waterman, of Wilming- ton, under whose preceptorship his studies were pursued until his admission to the bar in 1867. Immediately thereafter he entered upon the prac- tice of his profession at Wilmington, and there remained until 1886, when he removed to Ne- ,braska, there remaining until 1897, devoting his time principally to the placing of investments for eastern capitalists. In the latter year he re- turned to the east and resumed the practice of
law in Wilmington. Since attaining his majority he has given an unfaltering support to the Re- publican party, having been active in his identifi- cation therewith in local, county and state work. He has served as a committeeman in numerous campaigns, has been a delegate to many conven- tions, and was the representative of his district in the state legislature during the years of 1869, 1870, 1872 and 1884. While a member of the session of 1872 he served as chairman of the committee on railroads, and in 1869, 1870 and 1884 was a member of the judiciary commit- tee. In 1876 he was a member of the state sen- ate, during which time he again served as chair- man of the committee on railroads. Mr. Butter- field has also held many local offices of trust, the duties of which he has performed with ability and integrity. He was state's attorney during the years 1874-5.
On the 18th of May, 1873, Mr. Butterfield was united in marriage to Miss Belle Morgan, who was born in Canaan, New Hampshire, a daughter of Rev. Erastus Morgan, who was born in Wilmington, Vermont, and was a Meth- odist Episcopal minister who had charge of churches in different towns in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. His wife, whose maiden name was Caroline Redfield, was a native of Claremont, New Hampshire, and she bore him six children, of whom four are living, namely : Rev. W. E., of Greeley, Nebraska; Sarah E., in Berlin, Germany .; Franklin J., living in Wood City, Nebraska ; and Mrs. Butterfield. Mr. and Mrs. Butterfield are the parents of four chil- dren, as follows: Grace E .; Don O., a law student with his father in Wilmington ; Paul M., who entered Yale University with the class of J905 : and Beth Vincent, a student. Mrs. But- terfield is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
HENRY BALLARD.
Henry Ballard, of Burlington, for more than a third of a century prominent as a lawyer, a veteran of the Civil war and known in political circles far beyond the bounds of his state, was born in Tinmouth, Vermont, April 20, 1839. He is the fourth son of Jeffrey Ballard, who lived in that village, and whose father was of Eng-
HENRY BALLARD.
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THE STATE OF VERMONT.
lish descent, and one of its earliest settlers. Jeffrey Ballard was a tanner by trade and a farmer. He was an energetic, industrious man, of good habits and of an upright character. He died at the early age of thirty-six years.
Henry Ballard was three years old when his father died, and at the early age of ten years he began to earn his own living. Determined to obtain a liberal education, he prepared himself for college at Castleton Seminary, from which he was graduated in July, 1857. He entered the University of Vermont at Burlington the follow- ing September, and in 1861 was graduated with honors from that institution. Three years after- wards he delivered the master's oration at the annual college commencement, an honor con- ferred only upon meritorious graduates.
In August, 1861, the same month of his grad- uation from college, in response to President Lincoln's first call for three-year troops, he en- listed as a private in Company I, of the Fifth Regiment, Vermont Infantry, in which he was commissioned second lieutenant. He served with his regiment in the Army of the Potomac through the momentous Peninsular campaign of 1862, under General George B. McClellan, participat- ing in the battles of Lee's Mills and Williams- burg, and in the desperate seven days' battles near Richmond, and was afterwards obliged to resign by reason of ill health.
In the fall of 1862 he entered the law depart- ment of the University of Albany, at Albany, New York, and graduated in January, 1863, highly com- plimented by Hon. Amos Dean, its founder and dean of the faculty, who said of him that he was one of the best students ever graduated from the institution. Taking up his residence in Burling- ton, he continued his law studies in the office of the Hon. Daniel Roberts, a leading member of the state bar. He was admitted to the bar in September, 1863, and at once entered upon the practice of his profession, in which he has been industriously engaged to the present time.
Successful from the outset, he soon came to be known among the most accomplished lawyers in the state, and particularly in the field of crim- inal law. His beginning was at a time fortunate for the obtaining of an immediate practice, and especially favorable to the attracting of public attention. At the close of the war, Burlington
was the rendezvous for the Vermont soldiers brought home to be mustered out, and for the harpies who followed to prey upon they. Crimes of every description were frequent. Assaults and affrays of a brutal character were common, and these often result in bloodshed and homicide. The courts of criminal jurisdiction were necessar- ily much occupied, and the services of a capable jury practitioner were in great demand. At the term of court when he was admitted to the bar, Mr. Ballard was employed to defend one Burns, a soldier who was prosecuted for murder, and this was his first case. It was apparent that the crime was premeditated, with scarcely any cir- cumstances in mitigation ; yet the defense was so skillfully managed that Burns was convicted only of the crime of manslaughter. The ability which Mr. Ballard displayed in this was the subject of much favorable comment among the older mem- bers of the bar, and his future brilliant career was at that time freely predicted.
Another of his early cases was the defense of Charles H. Potter, indicted for the murder of his wife's mother, Mrs. Ephraim Griswold. This crime was attended with the most aggravating circumstances, and occasioned great excitement in the community. Public denunciation of the accused man was unmeasured, yet the defense was conducted with such skill and ability in spite of strong evidence, and in face of intensely hostile public opinion, Potter was acquitted. From this time Mr. Ballard's reputation as one of the best criminal lawyers in the state was established. Among others of the more prominent cases in which he has been egaged may be mentioned the prosecution of John Ring for murder, in which Hon. E. J. Phelps was associated with him in the defense; and the prosecution of Deacon Ezra P. Smith for the murder of his wife by poison. The last named case attracted great attention on account of the prominent standing of the accused ; the evidence against him was strong and con- vincing, and public feeling called loudly for his conviction. The prosecution was conducted by Hon. F. E. Woodbridge, Hon. John W. Stewart and Hon. W. G. Veazey. Under the circum- stances, the securing of a verdict of acquittal was one of the most remarkable of forensic triumphs. Among others of Mr. Ballard's notable cases may be named the prosecution of William Falkland,
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THE STATE OF VERMONT.
Michael McDonald, Mrs. Alma Smith, and Dr. James P. Smith, all for murder ; of Edward T. Paige, for the embezzlement of seventeen thou- sand dollars from the Central Vermont Railroad Company ; of Mary Ann Woodruff for arson ; and of A. H. Scott and W. J. Selfridge, for the burglary of the Bellows Falls post- office. In all of these cases Mr. Ballard se- cured the acquittal of his clients. The mag- nitude of his practice is attested in the fact that his murder cases alone number more than forty. In the greater number of cases he has secured the acquittal of his client, and in three only has the death penalty been paid.
As a rule, the lawyer of surpassing ability in either criminal or civil law displays inferior abil- ity in the other field. It is worthy of note that, pre-eminently qualified as is Mr. Ballard for the conduct of criminal cases, he is not less success- ful in civil cases, and this is particularly true in trial by jury. Indeed, it is in jury trials that he displays his powers to the best advantage. In the preparation of a case he is painstaking and thorough, and in the introduction of evidence and in the examination of witnesses he is remarkably skillful. In the trial of a case, no iota of evidence escapes his attention, and he judges accurately of the effect upon the jury. His mind is analytical and logical, and his presentation of a case in argu- ment is clear, forcible and convincing. His man- ner of speaking is always attractive, impassioned, and at times eloquent, and jurors listen to him with deep interest, and, in most cases, are con- vinced.
Among the many important civil cases in which he has been engaged may be mentioned the following ; the celebrated crim. con. case of Shack- ett against Hammond, celebrated on account of the prominence of the parties; the great chan- cerv case of the National Bank of Brandon against John A. Conant and his associate direct- ors, to recover more than one hundred thousand dollars loss by reason of the alleged forgeries of James Batchelder ; the famous Meech will case; the case of Mrs. Jacob Greene against the Hahne- mann Life Insurance Company; the Rutland Railroad Company against ex-Governor John B. Page, the longest jury trial ever had in New England; the chancery case of Laura W. Burton against her husband, Oscar A. Burton,
to compel him to provide her support, and the suit før divorce between the same individuals.
The services of Mr. Ballard have always been in demand and have often been given as a speaker in political campaigns. As a platform orator he has few equals. In every presidential campaign since 1868 he has been heard, not only in Ver- mont, but in all the New England states, and he has delivered as many as a hundred speeches in a single campaign. A Republican in his politi- cal affiliations, he has always been among the leaders in the ranks of the stalwarts. In 1884 he was a delegate to the national Republican con- vention at Chicago, and in that body was made chairman of the committee on credentials, and distinguished himself by the manner in which he discharged the duties of that important and difficult position. There were forty-seven cases of contested delegates' seats before that commit- tee, and his report, after his speech in its sup- port, was unanimously adopted without further debate or question-a result almost without pre- cedent in the history of national political conven- tions. He was also delegate in the national Re- publican convention in 1888, and was one of the. reading clerks in that body. In 1878 and 1879. he was elected to the state senate, in which body he was called to the judiciary, state prison and federal relations committees. In 1888 and 1889 he represented Burlington in the lower house of the legislature, and served on the judiciary and general committees, and as chairman of that last named. For two years he has been city attorney for Burlington.
Mr. Ballard is a highly popular lecturer and speaker upon those general topics which claim public interest, and particularly those in which the educational feature is strongly marked. Among these are to be named the Webster His- torical Society and the Home Market Club, both of Boston, the American Institute of Civics, of New York city, and the Vermont Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, in all of which he is known as an apt, forceful and in- telligent speaker. Mr. Ballard is a charter mem- ber of the body last named. In connection with this order Mr. Ballard came to be regarded with peculiar interest by the officers of the regular army and navy and in military circles throughout the United States, and even in Europe, where
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THE STATE OF VERMONT.
the insignia of the order is honored as is that of the Legion of Honor of France.
Mr. Ballard is a member of Stannard Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and he has held the position of judge advocate of the Department of Vermont, and was a delegate in the national en- campment at San Francisco in 1886. He is a mem- ber of the Algonquin Club of Burlington, the Lake Champlain Yacht Club, and the Vermont Fish and Game League. He is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church, and takes an active interest in the Young Men's Christian Associa- tion.
Mr. Ballard was married December 15, 1863, to Miss Annie J. Scott, daughter of Robert and Huldah (Bailey) Scott, of Burlington. Four children have been born of this marriage: Kate, who is the wife of James B. Henderson, Frank Scott, Mary E. and Maude Ballard.
REV. GEORGE W. PATTERSON.
The Patterson family of New England, rep- resented in the present day by the Rev. George W. Patterson, of Randolph Center, Vermont, is undoubtedly of Scandinavian origin. Some of its members settled in Scotland and were found in various localities in that country in the fif- teenth century, and some passed over to Ire- land as early as 1610, settling in the town of Glenluce, parish of Priestland, which is on the northern shore, near the town of Bush Mills.
John Patterson (I), of whom the Rev. George W. Patterson is a lineal descendant, was born about 1640, in Argyleshire, Scotland, whence he emigrated about 1680 to Ireland. The family was among those which suffered in the famous siege of Derry, and one of the sons died from starvation.
Robert (2) was born about 1666, in Argyle- shire, Scotland, and was about fourteen years of age when he accompanied his father to Ireland. In 1689 or 1690, during the siege of Derry, or immediately afterwards, he married Rachel Thompson. Among his children were Alexander ; John, who lived and died on the homestead at Priestland; and Robert, who came to America and settled in Philadelphia.
Alexander (3), son of Robert (2), was the father of Alexander (4), who was born in 1714,
at Bush Mills, Ireland, and came early to Ameri- ca. He married Elizabeth, born in 1722, a daughter of Robert Arbuckle. Alexander (4) first lived in Londonderry, New Hampshire, where his children were born, and removed in 1765 to the new town of Henniker, New Hamp- shire. In later years he and his wife removed to Thetford, Vermont, where they died, respect- ively, February II, 1804, at the age of eighty- nine years, and February 25, 1804, at the age of eighty-one years. One of their sons, Josiah, set- tled at an early day in Vermont, and is buried in Strafford.
Joseph (5), son of Alexander (4), was born in 1750, and died February 4, 1831, aged eighty- one years. He took part in the Revolutionary war, and was wounded in the battle of White Plains. The house which he built in Henniker, New Hampshire, in 1776, is still in use. He married Susannah Duncan, daughter of William and Noami (Bell) Duncan, of Londonderry, New Hampshire ; she was born in 1754, and died March 23, 1812.
William (6), son of Joseph (5), was born November 4, 1784, and died April 26, 1862. He was twice married; first to Lydia Joslyn, and second, to Frances Mary Shepard, a daughter of Jacob and Jean (Blair) Shepard, of Halderness, New Hampshire ; she was born April 20, 1795, and died January 19, 1858.
James Willis Patterson (7), son of William (6), was born at Henniker, New Hampshire, July 2, 1823. In 1844 he entered Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated with hon- ors in 1848. For three years afterwards he served most usefully as principal of the Woodstock (Connecticut) Academy. He had meantime en- tered upon the study of law, from which, under the personal influence of Henry Ward Beecher, he soon turned aside to enter upon theological studies at New Haven, under President Taylor. He was subsequently invited to the pastorate of a church in Providence, Rhode Island, and was about to accept when he was urged to give his aid to the establishment of the Chandler School of his alma mater, Dartmouth College, then newly organized, and in great need of a capable head. He was then but twenty-nine years of age, but he was amply equipped, and for several years he served as professor of mathematics, astron-
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THE STATE OF VERMONT.
omy and oratory, teaching in all these depart- ments with enthusiasm and marked ability. In- tensely interested in all educational movements, he soon became conspicuous as a teacher and lecturer in teachers' institutes, and from 1857 to 1861 he served as school commissioner for Graf- ton county and as secretary of the board of edu- cation. During this same period he discharged all his duties in connection with Dartmouth Col- lege. No man of his day exerted a stronger or more salutary influence in educational affairs, and he was a potent factor in advancing the use- fulness of the college and in extending the scope of public school instruction in his county and throughout the state.
In 1862 Mr. Patterson was elected from Han- over to the legislature, in which body he was appointed to the chairmanship of the commit- tee on education, and in that capacity his ser- vices were of signal advantage along all educa- tional lines. He urged a grant of public lands to Dartmouth College in a speech of singular power of eloquence and strength of appeal, and his effort was widely commended as the most convincing argument made upon the subject. He was, during his legislative term, a steadfast and zealous advocate of every measure for up- holding the national authority and for affording the aid of his state with men and means, for the suppression of the slaveholders' rebellion.
In 1863 Mr. Patterson was elected to Con- gress, and during his term he was instrumental in the enactment of various measures of the ut- most importance. The attention of Congress was in large measure given to the work of making provision for the maintenance of the army and navy, in the most trying and discour- aging years of the Civil war. In every effort in this direction Mr. Patterson displayed an intense patriotism, but he was at the same time by no means unmindful of other important interests. , He was prominently instrumental in the creation of the department of justice, and in the perfecting of the consular system, and his speech upon the professional amendments to the federal constitution, designed to make se- cure the results of the war, was one of the most notable utterances of the day. He was also ac- tive in securing from Congress an appropria- tion for the founding in Washington city of a
college for the deaf, and this institution, which owes so much to his effort, bears the distinction of being the first seat of higher learning for the deaf known to history. Mr. Patterson was a trustee of the college from its inception until almost the close of his life, and in 1889 he was the orator at the quarter-centennial celebration.
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