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 5

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 5

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John C. Stearns, son of John and Elizabeth (Chandler) ) Stearns, was born February II, 1831, in Chelsea, Vermont. He was educated in the public schools and at Bradford Academy, and subsequently served an apprenticeship in a gen- eral store. On attaining manhood he became junior member of the mercantile firm of Brooks & Stearns, in Worcester, Massachusetts, with which he was connected for six years. While a resident of the city named, Mr. Stearns served in a militia company, and this experience colored his after life.

Returning to Vermont, he enlisted in the Bradford Guards, and his soldier-like qualities found recognition in his election to the third lieu- tenantcy. At the outbreak of the Civil war the company tendered its services to the government, but, the army regulations having no provision for an officer of the rank of third lieutenant, he was consequently unable to march with his comrades. His patriotic fervor, however, would not admit of his remaining inactive, and he at once volunteered as a private in Company D, First Regiment Ver-

John & Stearns

Calista Robinson Jones

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

mont Volunteers, and was almost immediately made sergeant major, the highest non-commis- sioned office in the regiment. The three months' term of service of the command was passed in garrison duty at Fortrees Monroe and Newport News.

Mr. Stearns now aided in recruiting a com- pany at Bradford for the Ninth Regiment, Ver- mont Volunteers, Colonel Stannard commanding, in which he was commissioned adjutant. He served for a time on the staff of General Trimble, and he participated in the engagements at Cloud Mills, Winchester, Suffolk and Harper's Ferry. He was taken prisoner, with his regiment, at the latter named point, when its garrison of eleven thousand five hundred was captured by the rebels, and, while paroled and awaiting exchange with his comrades, he performed guard duty, at Camp Douglas, near Chicago, Illinois, over nearly four thousand Confederates who were also awaiting exchange. On June 30, 1863, Lieutenant Stearns resigned, being incapacitated for field service by reason of physical disabilities contracted in the line of duty. He had served during various of the momentous campaigns of the war, and he left the service with reluctance, but with the con- sciousness of duty faithfully performed, and with the esteem of his comrades and the commenda- tions of his superior officers, who frequently in their official reports testified to his personal cour- age and officer-like qualities.

After returning to civil life, Colonel Stearns engaged in a general insurance business, and formed a partnership in 1869 with Mr. Charles Jones, with whom, under the name of Stearns & Jones, he was associated for thirty-two years, and this is believed to be one of the oldest continuous insurance firms in the state. He is now a mem- ber of the firm of Stearns & Brigham, general in- surance agents at Bradford.

A Whig in his early years and until the disap- pearance of the party, Colonel Stearns was an original Republican, and voted for General Fre- mont, the first presidential candidate of that or- ganization. Sincere and vigorous in the advocacy of his political principles, he has ever been ac- corded a position of leadership, and he has fre- quently been called to positions of honor and trust, wherein he has exerted a powerful influence in the conduct of party and public affairs. He has fre-

quently been a delegate to local and state conven- tions of his party, and was a delegate to the na- tional convention which nominated General U. S. Grant the first time, and General Benjamin Har- rison to the presidency, and was a member of the Republican state central committee for six years. In 1878 he was elected senator from Orange coun- ty, and in 1886 he represented Bradford in the house of representatives. In February, 1870, he was appointed by President Grant to the posi- tion of United States assessor of internal reve- nue for the second congressional district of Ver- mont, which office he held until June, 1873. In May, 188t. he was appointed by President Gar- field as United States collector of internal reve- nue for Vermont, and he served as such until July, 1885, when he was removed by President Cleveland for political reasons, his personal char- acter and official conduct being unaspersed. He has been loyally devoted to the National Guard of the state, and served as adjutant of the Seventh Regiment, and in 1867 as aide-de-camp on the staff of Governor John B. Page, of Rutland, Ver- mont, with the rank of colonel. He was one of the original trustees of the Vermont Soldiers' Home in 1884, and on the resignation of General P. P. Pitkin, November 1, 1890, he was elected treas- urer of the board, which position he yet occupies. In 1891 he was appointed by Hon. Redfield Proc- tor, secretary of war, as one of the commission- ers charged with marking the lines of battle of the Army of the Potomac and of the Army of Northern Virginia (Confederate) at the battle of Antietam. He is companion of the Vermont Com- mandery, Military Order of the Loyal Legion, of Washburn Post, G. A. R., and of Charity Lodge, F. & A. M.

Colonel Stearns was married, September 12, 1863, to Miss Martha F., daughter of John Bar- ron and Martha (Tilton) Peckett, of Bradford, and the same year he purchased the home of his wife's father, where they have ever since resided, for a few years spending their winters in the na- tional capital.

CHARLES JONES.

"I have known him, perhaps, for a longer period than many, it being from boyhood. He was an honest man, true and loyal to his friends

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

always." "This writes one long acquainted with the subject of this sketch, and who well knew his worth, as did all who knew him best. It is a splendid tribute, a true one, and many are those who have felt this sentiment as their lives have touched his in the world's work.

In Tunbridge, Vermont, on the 18th of July in 1837, a son Charles was born to Reuben French and Eliza Sanford Jones. He was of typical New England ancestry. His paternal grandfather, in the primitive days, made a farm on Tunbridge Hill, near Strafford, where he devoted his acres to flax and wool-growing, and where he reared a family of seven children in an unpretentious but comfortable log house. To one of his sons, French Jones, father of Charles, when fifteen years of age, was committed the care of a score of domestic an- imals and the cutting of the fire wood. The labor was severe and involved great exposure, but it was an experience which toughened the muscles and bred self-reliance and endurance, and the lad grew into a vigorous manhood, and transmitted his physical and mental traits to his son. At a later day French Jones conducted a hotel at Tun- bridge, and kept eight teams transporting farm products to Boston and bringing back merchan- dise in return, his son Charles assisting about the hotel and in caring for the stock.

During the winter months young Jones pur- sted his initial studies in the 'village school. The boyhood days were passed and early education received in his native town. He went to Chelsea, attended the academy there and subsequently was graduated, and then served eight years in the general store of Aaron Davis of that place. In this service he acquired his early business edu- cation and a knowledge of human nature very use- ful to him in later years. Leaving the store, the summer of 1862 was passed as recruiting officer with John C. Stearns ( Bradford), for the Ninth and Judge Baldwin (Bradford), for the Tenth regiments.

Then for seven years he was on the road up and down the Connecticut river valley as a whole- sale traveling agent, selling goods for Henry W. Carter, of Lebanon, New Hampshire, known in those days as "The Merchant Prince." The big stock wagon carried many thousand dollars of valuable silver, jewelry, cotton, linen and silk

goods, choice brands of tobacco and cigars, and in- merable Yankee notions.

Mr. Jones' team was a marvel of elegance. With four beautiful, well matched horses, silver- mounted harnesses, wagon large and high, hand- somely ornamented with fine paintings, always well kept and shining with fresh varnish, it at- tracted much attention as it stood before a village store, passed along the street or dashed up to the entrance to a hotel. Next to the advent of a circus the chief event of excitement in the village was the passing of the wholesale peddler's team.

Mr. Jones located in Bradford in 1869, form- ing with Colonel John C. Stearns a partnership in the insurance business that existed thirty-two years, to the day of his death. Mr. Stearns is a staunch Republican, and Mr. Jones was equally as staunch a Democrat, and political disputes would occasionally wax warm in the office, but always in a good-natured way. In the thirty-two years not a ripple disturbed the harmony of their busi- ness relations. The firm acquired an enviable rep- utation, serving both the companies it represented and patrons faithfully.

Shortly after coming to Bradford Mr. Jones became interested in a White Mountain stage route, and for eighteen consecutive summers was in some way connected with the Profile House. While staging lasted he was one of the owners of the stage route from the Profile House to Lit- tleton, New Hampshire. He was considered one of the best drivers in the business. After the railroad took the place of the stage, he was re- tained as general ticket agent at the Profile House and most of the time had charge of the livery. He was a lover of fine horses, seeing their good points instantly, and taking great pleasure in fit- ting up a closely matched pair. A nice gentle- man's driver especially suited his taste. Many horses sold by him brought high prices.

Mr. Jones married Calista Robinson, of Chel- sea, September 8, 1864, and a daughter, Mary Ellen, was born to them, now the wife of David S. Conant, Esq., of Bradford.

President of the village corporation, water commissioner, school trustee, director and treas- urer of the Bradford Electric Lighting Com- pany, were among the public positions Mr. Jones filled. He was public-spirited, wise in his coun-

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THE STATE OF VERMONT.

sel and an earnest advocate of all the improve- ments which have so materially aided in making Bradford an almost model village. He was hon- est, upright, square in business transactions, and all duties that fell to his lot, public or private, were well done. He loved his home, his town and the beautiful scenery surrounding it, often speaking of it as "God's own country." A prac- tical, common sense man, striving at all times to do the thing his judgment told him was right.

A quotation or two from the many beautiful letters received at the time of his death express- ing sympathy and regret, will not be out of place here. A letter from the assistant secretary of the Phoenix Insurance Company of Hartford, Con- necticut, has this short sentence, but it expresses much, "I met him on the road, I met him in the office, and I always found him stanch and true." The next is from one whose boyhood days were passed in Bradford and in the thought that young people digest and remember more than their elders give them credit for, he says: " Back of a pile of flour bags in my father's store or without the group of men at the hotel and other resorts, I have listened by the hour to the men and com- prehended. I can recall many things which after- wards or at the time caused me to respect less the teller of it. But in the case of Charles Jones, the best narrator of them all, there was not one thing which did not seem then or has ever since seemed other than pure and noble, or out of harmony with the character of a true gentleman in which I clothed him, and such my memory of him will always be."

The writer's acquaintance with Mr. Jones was not long, but sufficient to know and admire the sterling qualities of the man. It was a pleasure to talk with him and he was always ready with a suggestion or information from his long experi- ence that would be of help to a young man. He was a friend one felt safe in tying to, or going to for advice. To express it all in a few words, he was a true man, loyal to his friends.

Sickness had very seldom troubled Mr. Jones until Christmas, 1900, when an attack of grip left him quite feeble, weakening his heart and finally bringing about the end. Up to the last few days he was dressed and about the house, receiving oc- casional visits from friends with whom he was

glad to exchange a joke and chat in his genial way.

Charles Jones passed away at his home in Bradford, Sunday evening, April 14, 1901. The end came quietly, peacefully, consciousness being retained to the very last. At his bedside was the grief-stricken family, and to each he said a ten- der farewell, bidding them, also, to "take good care of the sweet baby," his infant granddaugh- ter, of whom he was very fond. "Tell all my friends good-bye," were almost his last words.

The high esteem in which he was held was warmly expressed by the Bradford United Opin- ion, in the following fine tribute :

"One of the saddest duties of our twenty years' newspaper experience is to chronicle the death of Charles Jones, to us a personal bereavement, and shared by a large number of citizens outside his immediate family. His worth was best known to those with whom he was longest and most inti- mately associated, and who were brought into closest contact with him. He was upright and honorable, capable in all the positions of public and private affairs which he administered. It will be difficult to fill his place in the community. A man of constant activity and one of the pioneers of the many improvements which have marked Bradford's progress in the last few years, he was above all eminently practical and full of public spirit, giving his counsel, time and means to the utmost to promote the general benefit of the town."

CALISTA ROBINSON JONES.

Mrs. Calista Robinson Jones, of Bradford, Vermont, past national president of the Woman's Relief Corps, a highly accomplished lady who is held in high honor at her home for her zealous labors in behalf of community interests, and throughout the nation for her splendid leadership in patriotic works, is a native of the state, born in Chelsea, March 22, 1839. Her parents were Cornelitis and Mary A. (Pike) Robinson. On the maternal side she is a direct descendant of Richard Lyman, of Lebanon, Connecticut, who was one of the men who marched to Cambridge "for the relief of Boston in the Lexington Alarm, April, 1775," and afterwards enlisted for three

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

ver's and served as sergeant under Captain Ben jamen Throop, in the First Regiment, Connecticut Line. Colonel Jedediah Huntington. Two other ancestors of Mrs. Jones also served in the Revo- lutionary war, and her great great-grandfather. Solomon Robinson, took part in the battle of Ben nington.

Mrs. Jones received a common school and academical education in her native village, and afterwards graduated from the Rutgers (New York ) Female Institute. She was a teacher in the Washington school in Chicago, Illinois, for three years ending in 1864, when she returned to Vermont and became the wife of Mr. Charles Jones. Since that time, a period of nearly forty years, she has been actively and usefully identified with the public interests of the village and of the state.

Mrs. Jones is more widely known, however, for her brilliant leadership in patriotic work, for the results of her effort are recognized through- out the nation, and have won for her elevation to one of the most honorable and useful stations to which an American woman may attain, that of national president of the Woman's Relief Corps, a body auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Re- public, and to whose headship some of the most exalted women have aspired. With the blood of Revolutionary soldier ancestors throbbing in her veins, her patriotic spirit was thrilled by the at- tack upon Fort Sumter, in April, 1861, and al- most before the echo of the rebel cannon in Charleston harbor had died away, she and three of her fellow teachers in Washington school, in Chicago, made a fifteen-foot bunting flag, every star in it sewed on with their own hands, and this was the first national flag to be raised over a school building in the city to inspire the children with sentiments of loyalty to country. During the ensuing three years Mrs. Jones assisted in col- lecting and distributing sanitary and hospital sup- plies, contributing to the comfort of thousands of soldiers passing through the city enroute for the seat of war, or returning from prison pens, and of the sick and wounded in the hospitals. She was among the foremost in similar effort after her return to Vermont in 1864, and after the war she became a charter member of the Relief Corps auxiliary to Washburn Post, Grand Army of the Republic, in Bradford, and served for two years

as its president, and in some other of its offices to the present time. Her activity led to recogni- tion by the department convention of Vermont, of which she became, by successive election, junior vice president, senior vice president and president. She served most creditably and usefully upon various important committees in the state and na- tional bodies, and rendered effective service as department patriotic instructor, having been ap- pointed a member of the first national committee on patriotic instruction, a position for which she was pre-eminently well fitted by reason of her experience in educational work as well as by her intense patriotism. Mrs. Jones was also an active member of the Andersonville prison board of the National Woman's Relief Corps, and was na- tional junior vice president in 1899.

Mrs. Jones was advanced to the high position of national president of the National Woman's Relief Corps at the convention held in Cleveland, Ohio, in September, 1901. Her election by a unanimous vote was an eloquent tribute to her zeal and ability in promoting the objects of that beneficent organization, and was also a heartfelt expression of confidence in her future usefulness in yet farther advancing its lofty purposes. Her duties were performed in an admirable manner, as was attested by the ovation with which she was greeted at every department convention, Grand Army encampment, Army Corps reunion and social gathering which she attended throughout the country. During her official visitation she frequently traveled in company with Commander in-Chief and Mrs. Torrence. During her term of office, and largely due to her effort, Memorial Sunday and Memorial day were more generally observed than ever before. Largely increased contributions were made to the Southern Me- morial Day fund, and the amount of money sent south for Memorial day purposes was larger than ever before. Patriotic days came to be widely observed. In response to a Flag Day letter of her writing, on behalf of the Woman's Relief Corps, and which was joined in by the Grand Army of the Republic, flags floated from ocean to ocean. The flag salute was introduced in schools throughout the land, and the children were brought to sing the national songs with enthusi- astic spirit and to engage in patriotic programmes of rare merit.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

At the twentieth annual national convention of the Woman's Relief Corps, held in Washington city, October 9, 1902, Mrs. Jones delivered an address which was received with deep approba- tion, in which were epitomized the operations of the body during the year, and in which she gave expression to sentiments of the loftiest patriotism.

To Mrs. Jones is primarily due the founding and firm establishment of the Bradford Public Library. In 1874, with Mrs. Albert Bailey, Mrs. Jones made a house to house visitation and pro- cured from sixty-three women subscriptions of one dollar each for the purchase of books for a library, and additional means were from time to time derived from lectures and literary entertain- ments. The books were kept at the home of Mrs. Jones, who was librarian for three years, serving without compensation, and solely for the sake of a worthy cause. From this small begin- ning the Ladies' Library developed to such a de- gree that a building for its use became a necessity and the want was supplied through the liberality of John Lunn Woods, of Cleveland, Ohio. The library then assumed the broader name of Brad- ford Public Library, with new constitution and by-laws. Mrs .. Jones was made one of the trus- tees and the chairman of the book committee, which two-fold position she has continuously oc- cupied to the present time. At the dedication of the building, in 1895, the address was delivered by Hon. J. H. Benton, Jr., of Boston, a former resident of Bradford, who said :

"We should not forget that the gift was sug- gested and its usefulness made possible by the library work which was begun and carried on for a score of years by the unselfish and unaided ef- forts of the women of Bradford. It is appropri- ate, and will, I believe, be of permanent value, to preserve the history of their work, and, so far as we can, trace the progress from the first small beginning to the time when it had become of such importance as to attract the interest and be the object of the wise beneficence of Mr. Woods. Who can measure the good which has resulted to this community from this patient, persistent unselfish work of these wise and public-spirited women? They deserve our praise equally with him whose name this building bears. While his name is carried upon the portals of this library, their should be borne upon tablets upon its walls,

that, in the years and generations to come, those who enjoy the benefit may not forget how much they owe to those who made its existence possi- ble."

By her marriage with Mr. Jones, Mrs. Jones became the mother of a daughter, who, possessing in high degree the lofty traits of her mother, has also lived a life of great usefulness. Mary Ellen Jones was born May 30, 1868, in Bradford, where she attended the public schools, and after grad- ttating from the home academy, entered Welles- ley College. Here she took a five years' course, scientific and musical, and received the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1889. During a large part of her college life she acted as secretary for the professor of history, thus acquiring an ex- perience which has been highly useful in other positions. After leaving college she taught in Bradford Academy, then for two years at Platts- burg, New York, and then in Pontiac, Illinois, afterwards returning to Bradford, where she taught for three years. She married, July 6, 1899, David Sloan Conant, who is now serving a second term as state's attorney for Orange county. The club and society life of Mrs. Conant has been active and useful, and she is especially apt in planning and carrying out social events. Various Bradford institutions have profited much from her effort, especially the public library, in which she has always had a keen interest. Upon the election of her mother to the office of national president of the Woman's Relief Corps in 1901, Mrs. Conant was appointed national secretary of the organization. In assuming the duties of the office her first work was to make marked im- provements in the books, papers, etc., and she issued special instruction blanks regarding re- ports and other work of the order. All the duties of the office were performed in an intelligent, vig- orous and thorough manner characteristic of her.

DAVID SLOAN CONANT.

David Sloan Conant was born in Thetford. Vermont, December 7, 1866, the son of Jonathan Josiah and Martha (Howard) Conant. He is descended on both sides from good old Puritan stock and a long line of well educated professional and business men, each proficient in his chosen field.

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Among the most famous of these from when Mr. Conant is directly descended, are Roger Conant, the founder of Salem, Massachusetts, Mary Chilton, the first woman to step foot on Plymouth Rock, and Mary Allerton, the oldest survivor of the Mayflower Pilgrims. The fight ing clement is also in evidence through his great- great-grandfather, who served seven years in the Revolution as an offier, wintering at Valley Forge, taking part in the battles of Brandywine and Yorktown. His grandfather was a colonel in the war of 1812. His father, a thrifty farmer in Thetford, has been a resident of Orange county for more than fifty years.

A practical knowledge of the use of small farming implements was combined with Mr. Conant's early education. Thetford Academy, the alma mater of so many useful men, claims him as a son, and his preparation for college was con- tinued at St. Johnsbury Academy, where he was graduated in 1887. He entered Dartmouth Col- lege in September of that same year, and like many others found the road to knowledge led through some rough financial paths, which had to be smoothed by his own exertions. This part of his college training only served to develop a busi- ness ability which has been one of his marked characteristics. He received the degree of Bach- elor of Arts from the college in the class of '91.

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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 5

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