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 49
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London, Connecticut. In 1894 he located in Put- ney, where he purchased a farm of eighty acres, and since then he has been engaged in general farming, making a specialty of dairy products, and sweet corn for canning purpose. During the winter and spring of 1901-1902 Mr. Converse shipped over forty tons of milk from a dairy of eighteen cows; his stock embraces Guernseys, Jerseys and Durhams. Mr. Converse is what might be termed a scientific farmer, and, al- though his farm is not very large, yet the results far surpass those of many more acres in cultiva- tion, and his crops average about twenty-five acres a year. Mr. Converse has a method of economy ; he purchases his grain in car lots from wholesale dealers, and in this manner he has saved the profits of the middleman and jobber ; he handles about a carload a month, and in the five years that he has been engaged in that en- terprise he has purchased more than three thou- sand dollars' worth of grain. He was formerly interested in the sale of agricultural implements and machinery. He is a prominent member of the Golden Cross Lodge, Brattleboro. Mr. Con- verse is now (1903) serving his fourth term as a member of Putney board of selectmen.
Mr. Converse was united in marriage to Miss Georgianna Heath, a daughter of J. Bradlee and Lucetta (Pulsifer) Heath. Three children have been born of this union: Charles, who died at the age of eighteen months; Florence MI. and Charles Avalon Converse.
JEROME V. SHAW.
Jerome V. Shaw, of Putney, is a successful and prosperous farmer and dairyman, owning a highly productive and finely improved farm. A native of this town, he was born November 6. 1837, a son of Varnum Shaw, and a grandson of William Shaw, who served in the war of 1812.
Varnum Shaw, a carpenter by trade, lived in Putney until his death in 1859. He was a Free- mason, and very prominent in the order. Of his union with Louisa Lord, six children were born, namely: Weston died in childhood; Benjamin married, first, Harriet Taff, and, second, Lydia Benton; William married Mary Hubbard ; George married Mary Stanton; Jerome V .; and Harriet married George Sabin. The mother
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survived her husband, dring at the age of enty two years.
Jerome A. Shaw was educated in the district schools Engaging in agricultural pursuits from early manhood, he labored energetically, exercis- ing good judgment and prudence, and has met with a well deserved success in his efforts. Since taking possession of his present farm he has made improvements of an excellent character, entirely remodeling the house, the greater part of which is new, erecting a barn ninety by forty feet, a tobacco storehouse seventy feet long, and a corn crib twenty-six by twenty feet, these buildings having all been put up soon after the memorable flood of 1861, when the Connecticut burst its banks, and destroyed those previously erected. Mr. Shaw applies himself to the various branches of farming, but makes a specialty of raising popcorn, harvesting from twenty-five hun- dred to twenty-eight hundred bushel baskets full annually from about thirty acres, and keeping from fifty to sixty head of cattle, producing large quantities of milk, which he ships to Boston. In the management of his farming interests he em- ploys three men during seedtime and harvest, keeping but two in the winter season.
Mr. Shaw married, June 7, 1865, Adelaide Joslyn, who was born in Putney in 1841, a daughter of Benjamin and Caroline (Rumrill) Joslyn, prosperous members of the farming com- munity of this town, in which both spent their entire lives, Mr. Joslyn dying March 24, 1878, aged eighty-four years, and Mrs. Joslyn, on Jan- uary 22, 1878. They reared a family of ten daughters, namely: Betsey married David Dru- ry : Caroline married Edward Loud; Jane mar- ried Herbert Robbins; Sarah married Asa Phillips: Elmira married Warren Smith; Delphia married Samuel Parker; Lydia mar- ried Elmer Loud: Abbie married Rev. Al- bert Gould; Adelaide is now Mrs. Shaw; and Emma married Theodore Lord. Mrs. Shaw's paternal grandfather, Job Joslyn, was one of the pioneer farmers of Vermont, living first in Chesterfield, and later on West Hill, near Put- ney, where he spent his last years. He married Lydia Wilson, a daughter of Job Wilson, and they became the parents of eight children, as fol- lows: Benjamin, Lydia, Mary, Sallie, James, Clark, Barton and Jarvis. The only child born
of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Shaw was a daugh- ter. Finnna Louisa, who married George Aplin, and died in 1895, aged twenty five years.
NOBLE FINNEY DUNSHEE.
The popular merchant of this name in Bristol is one of those men everybody likes to meet, in- asmuch as his past experiences have given him a fund of anecdotes whose recital makes him a most charming companion. He spent some time in California at the most interesting period con- nected with the history of the famous "forty- niners" and was an eye witness to the mining camp life, whose characteristics and dramatic incidents have furnished inexhaustible material for the literary genius of Bret Harte and Mark Twain. A good deal of what happened in the then turbulent territory was seen by Mr. Dun- shee, and he came in contact with some of the actors who made California history of the kind peculiar in the early fifties. It was but a few years after the discovery of gold was made, which led to such a revolutionary rush as has seldom been seen in the civilized world. But besides all this, Mr. Dunshee has much to tell of the Civil war, in which he figured creditably and conspicuously, and few have seen life in all its phases and moods with a more observant eye than the genial merchant to whom this biogra- phy is devoted.
Among the early pioneers contributed to Bris- tol town by that fruitful mother of colonists called Connecticut, was Thomas Dunshee, who was of Scotch-Irish lineage. He settled on a farm and spent his whole life in the peaceful pur- suits of agriculture. He married Mary Smith, who died in 1887 after becoming the mother of six children. Among these was Robert Dunshee, who grew up on his father's farm in Bristol and learned the trade of a wheelwright, by the exer- cise of which he made a livelihood until death cut short his career at the age of fifty-four years. He married Zylphia Pettibone, a native of Bristol and a daughter of a Connecticut immigrant, and to this union we are indebted for the birth of the gentleman whose life story is now to occupy our attention.
Noble F. Dunshee was born in Bristol, April 4, 1833, and twenty years afterward made the
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trip to California by what was then known as the "overland route," to distinguish it from the pas- sage by way of the Isthmus of Panama. He re- mained in California until 1854, and during the subsequent five years was getting his first knowl- edge of the mercantile business as clerk in a dry- goods store, in Bristol. In 1859 he went to Colo- rado and spent two years in the mining regions of that state, after which he returned to Bristol to become a soldier of the Union. In 1862 he enlisted in Company G, Fourteenth Regiment, Vermont Volunteers, which had been recruited in and around Bristol and was later attached to the First Army Corps. He was in the battle of Get- tysburg with his company, which made a remark- ably gallant record in that terrible struggle, los- ing four killed and thirteen wounded, out of fifty present for duty. As their enlistment had been only for nine months, he was mustered out in 1863, but remained in the government service as deputy provost marshal at Bristol. He spent some time in Florida securing recruits for the negro regiments then being organized by the gov- ernment and at the close of the war began deal- ing in Merino sheep for shipment to western markets. This occupation continued two years when, in connection with others, he spent some time in the lumber business, but disposed of his interests in 1866 to engage in merchandising. In that year he started his present store at Bristol, which is one of the most pretentious establish- ments in the place, the building being sixty feet deep by fifty wide, containing two floors and fur- nishing employment for five clerks. In, 1894 he took in L. O. Chapin as a partner, and now has the largest stock of dry-goods in the county, his being the leading house of its kind for miles around. Mr. Dunshee is a Republican and has long been a prominent figure in local. politics. He was auditor of accounts over thirty years and sheriff of the county six years, being elected for three consecutive terms. The last time he made the race he received every vote in the coun- ty, but refused the nomination after that term was completed. In 1863-4 he represented the town in the legislature and was elected to the senate in 1878. He may be described as "an all-around good citizen," whose talent and energy were al- ways in demand and found equal to any emerg- encv.
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In 1857 Mr. Dunshee was married to Char- lotte, daughter of Henry C. Soper, of Bristol, and they have two children. Jessie Fremont, the daughter, married Jesse Stearns, and resides in New York. She has two sons, Noble B. and Car- rol R. Harry Dunshee is in the store with his father ; he married Miss Mabel Wills. After re- turning from the war, Mr. Dunshee organized a regiment of militia in his native county, and was made its colonel, but resigned upon going west. As a veteran of the vicil war he holds member- ship in Walter C. Dunton Post No. IIO, G. A. R., and has attended every parade for thirty years. He has also been connected with Masons for many years, and belongs to the lodge of that an- cient order at Bristol.
GEORGE FIELD OTIS KIMBALL.
The name of this gentleman is one which stands conspicuously forth on the pages of Addi- son county's political history, and he is one of the most popular and efficient financiers and officials of this section. Throughout his entire life he has been an honored resident of the Green Mountain state, actively interested in all measures for the good of the people, and has performed his full share in the development and improvement of the county. Mr. Kimball was born in Burlington, Vermont, on the 28th of February, 1841, but to the old Bay state must we turn for his paternal ancestry, for his father, Daniel Kimball, was born in Littleton, Massachusetts. The latter was a son of Daniel Kimball, who bought cattle extensively in Vermont and drove them to Boston. The son Daniel was associated with him, and lived in Burlington a short time, and for about fifty years was a well known farmer in Clarendon. Rutland county, Vermont. He was active in all matters pertaining to the progress of agriculture, was prominent as a breeder of Shorthorn cattle and served as president of the Rutland County Agri- cultural Society. He died November 25. 1885, aged seventy-three years. He was married, June 24, 1839, to Mary Abigail Field, who was born October 30, 1816, in Waltham, Vermont, and died May 4, 1844. The subject of this sketch is her only child. Her parents were George and Sally (Pier) Field, natives and life-residents of Waltham. Mr. Kimball subsequently married
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Mary Ann Lalibridge, and she bote him a daugh ter, Mary Abigail, now the wife of David C. Hicks, of North Clarendon, Vermont, a prom- inent horticulturist of the state.
George R. O. Kimball received his educational training in the public schools of Vergennes, and early in life entered upon his public career, since which time he has been widely recognized as a Democratic leader in this section. For fifteen years he held the office of assessor, being for a time chairman of the board, and he resigned that office to assume the duties of postmaster of Ver- gennes, serving in that position during Cleve- land's first administration. He has also acted in the capacity of deputy sheriff of Addison county ; was long a member and for six years director of the school board; since 1896 has been a mem- ber of the board of assessors, a part of the time being also chairman of the board; has served as administrator of a number of estates, having been trustee of the Rankin estate in 1882; and served several years as grand juror. In 1902 he was elected a trial justice. In all his public positions he has been true to duty and the right, and, being a man of strong mentality, keen discernment, great tact and resolute purpose, he is therefore well fitted for the political honors which have been conferred upon him. His business interests have also been capably managed, and he is the owner of a large and well improved farm ad- joining the city. At one time, from 1883 until 1886, he owned a fine herd of Holstein cattle, having brought the first cattle of that breed to this county, and in both his farming and stock-raising interests he met with a high degree of success. He also does considerable business as an auction- eer.
In 1862 Mr. Kimball was united in marriage to Roxcy C. Champion, who was born in Ver- gennes, being a daughter of Ezra S. and Jeanette Champion, the former of whom died in Cali- fornia. Mrs. Kimball was one of six children, and by her marriage she became the mother of three children, two of whom are now living. The elder, George F., is engaged in the real estate business in New York. He married Ida Wolf, of Portland, Maine. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Kimball, Mary A., became the wife of Jesse B. Powers, a dentist in Boston. Mrs. Kim- ball was called to the home beyond at the age of
fifty-four years, and our subject afterward mar- ried Eva C. Scovel, a native daughter of Ver- gennes, her parents, Ezra AA. and Sarah E. (Graves) Scovel, having been residents of this place. The former, who was a merchant by occu- pation, died in 1881, and his widow now makes her home with Mr. Kimball. They had two children, Mrs. Kimball and Fred E., the latter re- siding in New York city. Mr. Kimball has held many public positions in addition to those al- ready mentioned, having for nine years served as a constable, was a member of the board of water commissioners for three years, and in 1882 and 1883 represented his town in the state legislature. No one in the community enjoys a better reputa- tion, and when a man stands high in the estima- tion of the people who have known him during his entire life no greater testimonial to his worth can be given.
FRANKLIN HENRY ORVIS.
The name borne by the subject of this sketch has been identified with the annals of American history from the early colonial epoch, and has be- come disseminated in the most diverse sections of the Union, though New England undoubtedly still retains the fullest quota of its representa- tives. In the beautiful little village of Manches- ter, in the fair mountain district of Vermont, the name was signally honored by the life and labors of the late Franklin Henry Orvis, and it is with his branch of the family that this sketch will have more particularly to do. The Ameri- can genealogy is traced back to George Orvis, who came either from England or Wales, and from the eldest of his three sons, Gad, David and Ebenezer, the line is traced directly to Frank- lin H. Orvis, through Gad, Sr., Gad, Jr., Will- iam and Waitstill the last mentioned being the grandfather of our subject. The line from David, son of George, is traced down through David, Roger, Eleazar, Jesse, Jesse, Jr., and E. E. Orvis. Eleazar E. Orvis had seven sons and seven daughters, all born in Norfolk, Litchfield county, Connecticut, their names being as follows : Reuben, David, Roger, Eleazar, Jr., .Hannah, Phoebe, Samuel, Margaret, Joseph, Ruth, Lydia, Hulda, Eunice and Jesse. Jesse was born June II, 1797, and in Sullivan, Tioga county, Pennsyl --
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Franklin Ho, Orts.
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vania, was married to Susan Holden, his children being Prudence, Lavina, Jesse, Jr., Eleazar and Almond. There is a large family of the Orvis stock at South Starksboro, Vermont, where D. H. Orvis is postmaster and a merchant, and where also resides J. H. and Albert Orvis. John Orvis, son of Loren, lives at Ferrisburg, Ver- mont.
From the old family Bible of Waitstill Orvis we secure the following record: Waitstill Orvis was born December 2, 1755, at Northfield, and December 17, 1777, in Brattleboro, Vermont, then called the state of New York, he was mar- ried to Elizabeth Church, who was born in West- field, Massachusetts, October 19, 1757. The names and dates of birth of their eleven children are as follows: Joseph, born December 30, 1778; Josephus, February 28, 1780; Malachi, March 6, 1782; Waitstill, Jr., June 26, 1784; Billy, September 14, 1786; Elihu, October 25, 1788; John Mills, December 18, 1790; Elizabeth, March 10, 1793 ; Francis, April 15, 1795; Simeon, May 30, 1797; and Levi, May 19, 1799; all of the children having been born in Hinsdale, Vermont, except the last two, who were born in Brattle- boro. Of the marriages of the children the fol- lowing record is given: Josephus Orvis and Re- becca Barney were married in Halifax, Vermont ; Malachi married Clarissa Clark January 9, 1809, in Dummerston, Vermont; Billy married Lucy Thomas, in Hinsdale, Massachusetts, in March, 1809 ; Elihu married Lucina C. Upham, February 4, 1813, in Pawlet, Vermont ; Waitstill married Susan Gremet, in January, 1811, in the city of Savannah, Georgia; John Mills married Ann Loraby, August 19, 1811, in Guilford. Francis Orvis married Levinah Miller, in August, 1813, in Brattleboro, Vermont ; Simeon married Derexa Campbell, January 20, 1824, in Marlboro, Ver- mont ; Levi C. married Electa Sophia Purdy, in January, 1823, at Manchester, Vermont; Eliza- beth Orvis married Elisha Flint, January 29, 1815, at Brattleboro, Vermont. The family death list is thus entered: Waitstill Orvis died Octo- ber II, 1823, in Brattleboro; Joseph, May 30, 1795, in the same town; Waitstill, Jr., was drowned on the coast of North Carolina, August 29. 1815; Elizabeth Flint died at Brooklyn. Ver- mont, March 1, 1826; Elizabeth (Church) Orvis died September 12, 1832, in Dummerston, Ver-
. mont ; Levi C. died September 25, 1849, in Phila- delphia; Malachi, October 19, 1854, in Dickin- son, New York; Josephus, December 25, 1855, in Newfane, Vermont; Billy, August 25, 1855; and John Mills, November 19, 1863, at Salem, Wisconsin.
Elihu Orvis, son of Waitstill, lived in Gran- ville, New York, about 1820-40, and of his mar- riage to Lucina C. Upham four children were born, namely: Joseph Upham, Ann Eliza, Phil- ander Denslow and Catharine Upham. They re- moved to Troy, New York, soon after 1840. Joseph U. Orvis married Mary E. Nazro, of that city, and they had seven children: Mary, Charles Eustis, Henry (who died young), Henry Paine, Edward Waitstili, Belle and Harriet. Philander D., son of Elihu Orvis, married a Miss Girardin, about 1853, and they lived in Paris, France. Charles Eustis and Edward Wait- still Orvis are engaged in the banking business in New York city, under the firm name of Orvis Brothers & Company.
In the village of Manchester, Vermont, no man was held in higher esteem than Franklin H. Orvis, who died very suddenly on the 30th of November, 1900, from an attack of neuralgia of the heart, and in this connection we can not perhaps do better than to make excerpt from the current edition of the Manchester Journal in noting and deploring his demise :
"In his death every one in the town and village has a feeling of personal loss. This was shown by the large attendance at the funeral services, which were held on Monday afternoon (December 3d), the large Congregational church being filled with townspeople who had come to show their love and respect for the deceased. Many also came from out of town, and many telegrams and letters of condolence were re- ceived from all parts of the county, from promi- nent men, friends of the deceased, who had been guests or employees of the Equinox House. Rev. Dr. George T. Smart conducted the funeral serv- ices, which were simple and impressive. He paid an eloquent and deserved tribute to the character of the decedent and referred to his great influence in shaping and contributing to the prosperity of the town and village.
"Mr. Orvis was born in Manchester, July 12, 1824, being the eldest son of Levi Church
THE STATE OF VERMONT.
Oris and his wife, Electa Sophia ( Pords ) Or vis, the latter being a descendant of Reuben Purdy, one of the pioneers of Manchester. His father and grandfather were natives of Vermont. It was in his father's store that Mr. Orvis ob- tained his early business education, but he also attended the common schools of the town, the Burr Seminary and the Union Village Academy, at Greenwich, New York, finishing at the latter in 1842, being then eighteen years of age. The next two years were spent in Wisconsin and Illi- nois, in mercantile pursuits, but in 1844 he went to New York city as a clerk in the wholesale dry-goods house of Marsh & Willis, which posi- tion he held about two years. In 1846 Mr. Orvis, in association with Elijah M. Carrington, engaged in the business of wholesale dealing in dry-goods, with which business he was connected until about the year 1860, then retiring to give his entire attention to the dry-goods business."
On November 17, 1852, Mr. Orvis was mar- ried to Miss Sarah M. Whitin, daughter of the late Hon. Paul Whitin, of Whitinsville, Massa- chusetts. Mrs. Orvis and five sons are left to mourn the death of husband and father. The eldest son, Paul W., is manager of the Grosvenor Hotel, Fifth avenue and Tenth street, New York city ; Edward C. and William F. have the man- agement of the Equinox House, in Manchester, known as one of the most attractive summer hotels in the country ; George A. is manager of the Osborne apartment house, at Fifth avenue and Fifty-seventh street, New York city; and Louis C. is abroad. The grandfather of Mrs. Orvis was Paul Whitin, who came to Whitins- ville, Massachusetts, in an early day, having been a blacksmith and machinist. His son, Paul, father of Mrs. Orvis, here began the manufac- turing of cotton cloth, and built up a large busi- ness, which was still being extensively carried on at the time of his death, at the age of eighty- four years. He married Sarah Chapin, and of their five children two are living: Mrs. Orvis and her sister Annie, who resides in Whitins- ville, Massachusetts.
Levi Church Orvis, son of Waitstill Orvis, and father of Franklin H. Orvis, came to Man- chester in 1820, later removing to Arlington, whence he eventually returned to Manchester, where he purchased a store, which was located
where the Equinox House now stands. This building was built of brick, and the front wall is a part of the present hotel structure, although this could not be readily discovered in viewing the beautiful building. Levi C. Orvis was post- master of the town for many years, and subse- quent to 1833 utilized for his office the location where the hotel office is now found. He also owned a marble quarry and did an extensive busi- ness in this line. He took a prominent part in town affairs, and held many offices in the state militia, having been ensign in 1830; second lieu- tenant in the Franklyn Independent Artillery in 1832, while in the following year he was captain of this, which was a part of the Second Regi- ment, First Brigade, Second Division. He was aide-de-camp to Major General M. Roberts, of the Second Division, and his commission was signed by Thomas A. Palmer, governor, as was also his warrant for justice of the peace, an office he held for many years, both these interesting documents being now in the possession of the family. He was known as Captain Orvis and was a man unequivocally esteemed in the com- munity. He died at the age of forty-nine years.
Reverting again to the honored subject of this sketch and to his identification with the Equinox Hotel, we again quote from the Man- chester Journal: "The Equinox was opened to the public almost fifty years ago, and though its business was comparatively small at first, marking the inception of the summer hotel business in Ver- mont, it soon grew in popularity and was well pa- tronized. In establishing the enterprise Mr. Orvis encountered many obstacles that would have dis- couraged most men, but he persevered until they were all overcome, and the house has long been one of the most popular summer hotels in the country. In 1872, learning from some of the guests who had been in Florida, that the winter climate there is fine but that the hotels were very inferior, he decided to show the southerners how to keep a hotel, and took the management of the St. James in Jacksonville. The house was well patronized, and he soon afterward purchased the Putnam House, at Palatka, which he kept open during the winter seasons until it was burned in 1884. From 1881 until 1891 he also conducted the Windsor Hotel at Jacksonville, a house that gained the greatest popularity. Finding that in-
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