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 44

Author: Carleton, Hiram, 1838- ed
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1044

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 44

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David Temple, father of David Wells Temple, was a son of Nathaniel Temple, and was also born at Heath, Massachusetts, where he resided all his life, engaged in the occupation of farming. He interested himself in the political affairs of the town, and was chosen by the constituents of

the Democratic party to fill the office of select- man, the duties of which he performed most ac- ceptably for a number of years. Mr. Temple was united in marriage to Miss Caroline Chris- tic, and the following named children were born to them : Hiram, William H., John C. and David Wells Temple. Mr. Temple died in the eighty- fourth year of his age, and his wife passed away in 1885, at the age of sixty-seven years.

David W. Temple, youngest son of David and Caroline Temple, acquired a good common school education in the town of Heath, and he com- menced his business career by engaging as a sales- man on the road in the marble and granite busi- ness. Subsequently he established a granite and marble business on his own account at Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, and for fourteen years suc- cessfully conducted this enterprise. After the- expiration of this period of time, Mr. Temple re- moved to Rutland and entered into partnership with his brother, J. C. Temple, under the style of Temple Brothers. They conduct a retail mar- ble and granite business, cut and polish marble in the yard, and give employment to about fifty men at a time. Their plants are situated at Rut- land, Vermont, and Shelburne Falls, Greenfield and Pittsfield, Massachusetts. In addition to this extensive business, Mr. Temple and his brother are the owners of the Maple Grove Stock Farm, where they make a specialty of Jersey cattle, always having on hand from eighty to ninety head of registered stock for dairy pur- poses. The farm consists of four hundred and fifty acres of ground, and they dispose of their milk to retail dealers in the city of Rutland. Alert, enterprising, systematic, and, above all, thor- oughly reliable in their methods of business, they have achieved a large degree of success in both these undertakings.

In politics Mr. Temple is a Democrat, and served for ten years as a member of the board of assessors in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, and also served as selectman. In 1901 he was elected to fill the responsible position of mayor of Rut- land, Vermont, defeating his opponent in office, the Hon. J. B. Hollister, by ten votes, although the city gave a Republican majority of six hun- dred in 1900 out of a poll of two thousand three hundred and seventy-five. At the expiration of his term, in 1902, he was re-nominated by a con-

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D.W. Temple

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vention of citizens, and at the ensuing election was re-elected, receiving a majority vote of one thousand, three hundred and fifty-nine as against ten in the preceding year. This splen- did result was a fine tribute to the ability and integrity displayed by Mayor Temple in his first term. He had conducted the public business solely in the interests of the people, and in his appointments it was his endeavor to fill the vari- ous offices with the men best qualified, without fear or favor, and with no thought other than that of securing capability and integrity in the discharge of public duty.

Mr. Temple is a member of the Masonic fra- ternity, affiliated with Rutland Lodge No. 79, Davenport Chapter and Killington Commandery, and he is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has passed all the chairs, and is also a member of the En- campment. In November, 1879, Mr. Temple was married to Miss Mary I. Warner, and their chil- dren are Ruth W., Wayne N. and Robert D. Temple.

WILLIAM H. BOSWORTH.

William H. Bosworth, superintendent of the Bristol Manufacturing Company, one of the lead- ing concerns of Addison county, was born in this town on the 30th of August, 1856. His father, David Bosworth, was a pioneer citizen of Bris- tol, whose biography, with the family geneal- ogy, is a feature of this work.

The nucleus of the Bristol Manufacturing Company, was a small plant on the New Haven river, operated previous to 1867 by Howden, Daniels & Company, as a jobbing shop and sash and blind factory. In 1867 this concern was suc- ceeded by Howden, Bosworth & Company, con- sisting of W. S. Howden, David Bosworth and Benjamin Daggett, in which firm the late David Bosworth was the leading spirit. In 1869 one-half the plant was destroyed by a freshet, and it was rebuilt on a larger scale the following spring. At this time the nature of the product was changed, and the manufacture of coffins and burial caskets was begun. This has ever since been the line of work, though many changes in the form and character of the goods have been made, in the march of progress. At the time when Will-

iam H. Bosworth took charge, as superintendent, the capacity was between eight and nine thous- and caskets per annum, and it is now twenty thousand. The business was organized as a stock company in January, 1877, with W. S. Howden as president and David Bosworth as secretary and manager, and the controlling interest has since been in the hands of the Bosworth family. The plant has been greatly enlarged, and the most sub- stantial form of foundation made for all the build- ings, which are protected by adequate fire equip- ment on the premises. The water of the river is twice used within the works, with falls of twelve and thirteen feet, respectively, which is sufficient nearly all the year to operate the machinery, al- though a large engine is attached to the main shaft, when necessary, to assist the waterpower. One shaft extends the entire length of the plant, which is arranged to utilize economically the power. The wood is taken direct from the log and passes through many departments before the finished product is turned out. It is not unusual for one million feet of logs to be banked along the river bank, above the sawmill, in one winter. Be- side the local woods, lumber is brought from the Pacific coast, from Tennessee, Florida, Pennsyl- vania and other states. Oak, cedar, chestnut and birch are used, and the finished product is un- surpassed by any establishment of the kind in America. Beside making all kinds and forms of wood caskets and an occasional old-fashioned cof- fin, the concern deals in metalic caskets and every sort of undertaker's furnishings and trimmings. Some magificent burial robes are made here, and every product of the shops illustrates the evolu- tion of modern times in preparing our dead for decent or magnificent interment. Much of the progress of this establishment is due to the care and executive ability of its gentlemanly and capa- ble superintendent.

William Hezekiah Bosworth has spent nearly his entire life in Bristol, and to its excellent school system he is indebted for the educational privi- leges which he enjoyed in his youth. After put- ting aside his text boks, he entered his father's factory, where he learned the business in every detail, and was there engaged until 1899. On the Ist of January, 1900, he went to Hartford, Connecticut, and during his residence there of six months he aided in reorganizing the casket

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business of G. W. Wooley & Son, of which he continued as manager. He then organized the Acme Switch Company, of Hartford, and re- mained therewith for eighteen months, after which he assumed the position of superintendent of the Bristol Manufacturing Company, in his native town. Mr. Bosworth was one of the prime movers in the organization of the Bristol Rail- road Company and in the construction of the road. He has gamed a reputation in trade cir- cles that is above question, and to an unusual de- gree he enjoys the confidence and regard of those with whom he has been brought in contact through business dealings.

His marriage was celebrated in 1885, when Miss Hattie Cook became his wife. She was born in Hampton, New York, and is a daughter of Asaph and Alvina (Hotchkiss) Cook. Her only brother, William H., is a resident of Hamp- ton. Four children have graced the union of Mr. and Mrs. Bosworth, as follows: Harold W., Alice E., Wayne C. and Helen M. The Re- publican party receives our subject's active sup- port and co-operation, and he has served as school commissioner, as a justice of the peace, as a mem- ber of the executive committee of Addison county, in the Young Men's Republican Club of the state, as a member of the town and county committees, and is now town moderator. He has served as clerk of the Bristol Railroad since its organiza- tion and has refused to accept many offices on account of business responsibilities. As nearly his entire life has been spent in Addison county, he is widely known among her citizens, and is held in uniform regard. Of genial nature, and quiet, gentle manner, he inspires confidence in the stranger and wins and retains strong friend- ships.

ROSWELL E. BROWN.

Roswell E. Brown, one of the enterprising merchants of North Williston, Vermont, is a wor- thy descendant of John Brown, who was born May 7, 1758. John Brown was united in mar- riage to Miss Mary Grover on June 20, 1779; she was born September 7, 1753. The following named children were born to them: Abi, born April 29, 1780, died February 1, 1808; Jessie, born July 23, 1781, died April 18, 1808; Mary,

born October 21, 1782, died February 29, 1824; Betsy, born July 5, 1784, died in June, 1808; Sally, born October 10, 1786; Stephen, born May 8, 1788, died October 3, 1821 ; John, born March 9, 1790; an infant, died February 6, 1792; Will- iam and Hannah, born September 21, 1795, and Hannah died August 23, 1824.

John Brown, Junior, grandfather of Roswell E. Brown, was born March 9, 1790. After re- ceiving his education in the common schools of his native town, he learned the trade of black- smith and pursued that vocation with a marked degree of success all his life. He served as a private in the war of 1812, and participated in the battle of Plattsburg, where he displayed great courage and bravery. He was a promi- nent member of the Masonic order, being asso- ciated with North Star Lodge No. 12, when it was located at Williston, previous to its removal to Richmond, Vermont. Mr. Brown married a Miss Briggs, and after her decease he was united in marriage to Miss Polly Grorr.

Reed B. Brown, father of Roswell E. Brown, received his education in the common schools and resided here until 1840, and then removed to Fletcher, where he engaged in farming for some thirty years. Then returned to Willston. Here he became interested in saw and grist mills, also in the manufacture of butter tubs, for which there was a great demand in that section of the state. He was one of the prominent, influ- ential and popular men of the town, and was elected by the Republican party to serve in va- rious town offices of trust and responsibility. He was a consistent member of the Universalist church.

Mr. Brown married Miss Electa Fay, and seven children were born of this union: Polly Ann, born June 24, 1833, wife of H. L. Story, of Cambridge, Vermont; Jackson, born October 7, 1835, now a resident of Binghampton, California ; Bertram F., born December 5, 1839, now resid- ing in Williston, Vermont; Jennie C., born De- cember 25, 1843, wife of J. B. Wells, of Randolph, Vermont ; Byron B., born August 17, 1846, died May 30, 1896; Edith, born December 31, 1856, married S. F. Pine, of Eureka, California, and she died in 1882 ; and Roswell E. Brown.

Roswell E. Brown, youngest son of Reed and Electa Brown, was born in Fletcher, Vermont,

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November 4, 1853. He attended the common schools of Fletcher, and this was supplanted later by a course in the Williston and Essex Academy, from which he was graduated. He commenced his business career as a manufacturer of butter tubs, and, this enterprise proving quite remun- erative, he conducted it for about ten years. He then turned his attention to mercantile pur- suits, and he has been engaged in that line of trade for the past sixteen years, meeting with a well merited degree of success.

Politically Mr. Brown is an adherent of the principles of the Republican party, and he was elected, during President Harrison's administra- tion, to serve as postmaster at North Williston. He was chosen to represent the town of Willis- ton in the state legislature of 1898, and he has also held various local offices. He is prominent- ly identified with the Masonic order, being a mem- ber of North Star Lodge No. 12, Waterbury Chapter and Montpelier Council. Mr. Brown was united in marriage, September 4, 1879, to Miss Julia Martin, who was born in Corona, Michi- gan, a daughter of Homer and Cholonda (Pardy) Martin. Their three children are,-Arthur E., born December 29, 1883 ; A. Carlyle, born August 5, 1884, and Charles M. Brown, born March 17, 1889. All three are students of Goddard Sem- inary.

WILLIAM W. RIDER.

The court docket at Bristol and neighbor- ing towns is often graced by the above mentioned name, which belongs to one of the most popular practitioners of the Vermont bar. Mr. Rider has been a resident of this community over sixty years, has spent all his adult age in active busi- ness among its people, and as a consequence has an unusually extensive acquaintance with all class- es. Besides his legal business, which brings him in touch with many, his long incumbency in va- rious town offices has assisted to keep him in the public eye and make him one of the best known as he certainly is one of the most esteemed of Bristol's citizens. He has been practicing at the bar for thirty-seven years, is much devoted to his profession, and, whatever he has done or left undone during his long familiarity with the courts, it cannot be charged that he has ever

ceased to worship with all the ardor of a lover, what one of the great legal writers calls "that jealous mistress," the law.

Though himself Vermont born and bred, Mr. Rider's family is of Connecticut origin. From that hardy little coast state came his grandfather, Nathan Rider, to join the pioneers who settled at Bristol as early as the year 1800. He was a farmer of the strict New England type and followed that noble calling until the final sum- mons reached him in 1846. Nathan Rider mar- ried a Connecticut girl named Irena Cushman, who shared his joys and sorrows with unweary- ing fidelity and made him the father of six chil- dren, all of whom have long since passed away, and she herself closed her earthly accounts in 1848, when about seventy-five years old. The family of Nathan Rider included four daugh- ters. Maria married, first, Mr. Peet, and second, Jacob Daniels, and died in York, Iowa county, Towa. Clara became the wife of John M. Ells- worth, of Bristol, and died here. Irena married Hezekiah Foster and lived in Bristol, New Ha- ven and Rutland, dying in Lebanon, New Hamp- shire. Mary was the wife of Philemon Ames, and died in Malone, New York. Nathan Rider, the elder son, was a farmer in Bristol and New Haven, nearly all his life, and died in Brandon, Vermont, at the age of eighty-five years.

William C. Rider, who was born at Bristol, engaged in farming and other pursuits and rose to a position of prominence. He owned a saw- mill and did considerable business as a dealer in lumber, and altogether gained recognition as one of the enterprising men of his community. He commanded a company of militia in early life, and during the Civil war, and took a zealous in- terest in enlisting men to come to the aid of the Union in its hour of need. He held most of the town offices, being constable, selectman and rep- resentative in the legislature for two terms, and stood high among his fellows when called away by death at the age of seventy-six years. He mar- ried Livonia Barlow, of Bristol, daughter of James Barlow, one of the early pioneers of Rut- land county, who located first at Hubbardton, later went to Bristol, from there to Whiting and eventually to Brandon. James Barlow farmed at all his stopping places during these journey- ings and gained the reputation of being a well

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informed man as well as an honest one. The mother of Mrs. Rider was Hepsibah Townsend, who had a large family of children, concerning whom, the following brief mention is made : James T., who was a prominent merchant at Bristol, died leaving two daughters, one of whom is a resident of Belford, Ohio. Joel Barlow, a life- long farmer in Whiting, died after his retirement to Bristol at the age of eighty-two years; he had one daughter, now dead, who married John Kil- bourn, and died in Bristol. Judson A. Barlow, who died in Nebraska, left seven sons and one daughter. Hepsibah married Caleb Clifford and died at Philipstown, Illinois. Betsey ,was twice married, her second husband being Rev. Myron Averill, a Methodist clergyman of Evans- ton, Illinois. Electa died in Brandon, Vermont, while the wife of Josiah Rossiter. Jane, wife of Porter Thomas, died at Waterbury, Vermont. William C. and Livonia (Barlow) Rider had two children, William W. and James Barlow, the lat- ter residing in the old homestead in Bristol since the death of his mother in 1892, at the age of seventy-six years.

William Wallace Rider, elder of the two sons of his parents, was born at Bristol, March 26, 184I, and as he grew up was educated in the common schools and the academy. At an early age he began the study of law with Horatio Need- ham, continued it under A. V. Spaulding, and was admitted to the bar in 1865. From that time up to the present he has been in active prac- tice, and, as previously remarked, has been one of the conspicuous figures of the Bristol bar. For many years he has been master in chancery and is a recognized authority on all matters of law. He has served as grand juror and lister, and for thirty years was town agent, which po- sition he still holds. Mr. Rider served, in 1902, as a member of the state legislature, and was a member of the judiciary committee and that on corporations. His political predilections are Dem- ocratic, and, like his parents, he holds member- ship in the Baptist church, in which he occupies the position of trustee.

September 6, 1892, Mr. Rider was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Morrison, mem- ber of an old and well known family of Starks- boro. Her father. Nathan Morrison, who spent his whole life in that town as a farmer, was very

generally known and much esteemed as a citizen. He had several children, including two sons, one of whom, Thomas Morrison, was for many years a prominent lawyer of Chicago, and the other, George H., is a farmer in Starksboro. Besides Mrs. Rider, his daughters are Mrs. Julia Wilson, of New Haven ; Mrs. Mary Page, living with Mrs. Rider; and Mrs. Lindley Birdsell, residing on the old homestead in Starksboro. The house- hold of Mr. and Mrs. Rider is made genial by its occupants, and their many friends, when they come, are greeted with a hospitable welcome.

GEORGE JONES BROOKS.

George Jones Brooks (deceased) was born on the 28th of August, 1818, in Cambridge, Massa- chusetts, where his father, the late Captain Will- iam S. Brooks, was then resident. He was the fourth in a family of eight children, and when he had reached the age of three years his father removed to Chesterfield, New Hampshire, where his boyhood was spent. He attended the district school at Factory village and his education was continued at Chesterfield Academy, Walpole Academy, and the well known school of J. W. Fairfield at Hudson, New York. His first ex- perience in business was obtained in Brattleboro in the store of Gardner C. Hall and Hall & Towns- ley. In 183& he went to Hillsboro, Illinois, op- posite to St. Louis, and engaged in practical farming on a somewhat extended scale. Leaving there some twelve years later, he went to Ala- bama, where his brother-in-law, Mr. N. F. Cabot, was then located, thinking to engaged in business in that locality, but at the urgent solicitation of his brother, Horace Brooks, he returned to New York and almost immediately left for San Fran- cisco to engage in the paper trade there, being accompanied on the journey by Mr. Cabot. This was in May, 1850, the year following the break- ing out of the gold excitement of 'forty-nine. At that time the firm of Persse & Brooks of New York was one of the largest in the paper trade in this country. Besides their large wholesale house in that city, they were extensive manufac- turers of printing papers and were the builders and owners of the first great paper mill erected at Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The idea was for the San Francisco house to be established as

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the selling agency on the Pacific coast for the New York house, and it was this idea which Mr. George J. Brooks carried into practical effect with remarkable success under the style of George J. Brooks & Company.

When Mr. Brooks reached 'Frisco, the "city" was a strange collection of tents and all sorts of make-shifts for a shelter, the like of which had probably never been seen before and has never been equaled since. Hotels, stores and private dwellings alike consisted of four poles planted in the ground with strips of cotton cloth stretched around them for walls, and more cotton cloth for roofs. It was in such a place that Mr. Brooks set up his store, and here he continued until the build- ing which the New York house had shipped, in sections, around Cape Horn, arrived and was set up. It was located on Clay street, and in this building of eastern make, all the large business of the firm was transacted.

It would be easy to fill columns with descrip- tions of the scenes and incidents of those early days : of the strange and rough, and often lawless, conglomeration of people who made up the in- fant city; of the days when Wells, Fargo & Company's famous express was the main source of supplies ; when New York daily papers were cheap at a dollar a single copy, and when on "steamer days," marking the arrival of letters from home, a line, often a mile long, of men of every sort and condition in life, waited and strug- gled by turns to get their chance at the delivery, and some times two days elapsed before the last was served, or mayhap, sent away disappointed and heartsick because no letter came.

The firm of George J. Brooks & Company grew steadily in strength and importance. It had the most abundant and reliable base of supply of any in the trade, and its methods were those of the strictest integrity, which commanded and held the confidence of every patron. Mr. Brooks used to relate, with a sly twinkle of satisfaction, how once, soon after he began business in San Francisco, and when things were in their most uncertain and unsettled condition, for a full month he held in his store every sheet of paper that was for sale on the coast. His own stock was scant, and newspaper men were put to every conceivable shift to issue their papers and keep along. "My sales were small for that month,"

he said, in relating the incident, "they only amounted to $10,000, and my profits were only $7,000." With this single exception, however, he said, no money was ever made for his firm by corners or booms or speculative methods of any sort. Twice, disastrous fires destroyed the stores and stocks of goods of other houses, which tem- porarily enhanced the value of his own stock; but the great success of the firm was won, and its money made, by following strict, inflexible, everyday business methods.

The firm controlled the trade of the whole Pacific coast while it remained in business, fixed the prices of papers of all grades, and gave small countenance to any concern which attempt- ed to break the market or send things "kiting." After two years Mr. Brooks was joined in busi- ness by his brother, Mr. F. W. Brooks, whose death took place a year ago last February (1885). As the country grew, their business increased, and their papers were sold in Arizona, Oregon, Wash- ington territory, Vancouver Island and the Sand- wich Islands. Their supplies were shipped from New York around Cape Horn, and in this way it happened that as a rule the firm had stock of the value of one hundred thousand to two hun- dred thousand dollars always afloat. Twice after the war broke out they had cargoes of paper de- stroyed by rebel cruisers, and once an invoice was lost by the wreck of the vessel just as it was en- tering the Golden Gate.

In 1862 Mr. Brooks sold his interest in the concern to Mr. Cabot, and permanently retired from trade, in the enjoyment of an ample fortune. During these twelve years he had seen the city of tents and shanties grow to one of the first commercial importance, and he was himself large- ly identified with its solid business and social interests. He was one of the original members of the Unitarian church of San Francisco, and from the first his ample means were used without stint in promoting its interests. In his hands was finally placed the delicate and important task of conveying in person to T. Starr King the final message from San Francisco church which com- pelled his acceptance of the call to its pastorate, and gave that young man of matchless genius his wonderful and brilliant career of usefulness on the Pacific coast, which not only promoted and upbuilt the cause of religion in California,

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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 II, Part 44

Author: Carleton, Hiram, 1838- ed Publication date: 1903 Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1044

Author: Carleton, Hiram, 1838- ed
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: New York, Chicago, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1044