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 60
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Edward C. Woodworth is one of a family of two children and the only survivor. He received a good common school education, and also pur- sted a course at Cambridge Academy. He began his business career as a clerk in the store of Jud- son & Deming at East Arlington, with whom he remained eight years, and then, in 1877, embarked in mercantile business on his own account at Ar- lington, under the firm name of Judson, Deming & Woodworth, but two years later the firm be- came Woodworth & Canfield, and in 1887 Mr. Woodworth became sole proprietor. He has al- ways carried on business at his present location near the Arlington depot, occupying a large build- ing which was originally forty by eighty feet in dimensions, and has since been enlarged by an ad- dition of twenty by eight feet. He carries a large and well selected stock of general merchandise, including dry-goods, notions, boots, shoes, gro- ceries, glassware, patent medicines, etc., and he employs two clerks to assist him.
In 1880 Mr. Woodworth married Miss An-
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toinette B. Judson, now deceased, and who left a daughter, Mabel, who is now a student in the Young Ladies' Seminary in Boston. He was again married, May 21, 1902, his second union being with Miss Emily May Mills, of Arlington. The Republican party has always found in Mr. Woodworth a stanch supporter of its principles, and for many years he has been a member of the county committee, serving as chairman of the same for eight years. For seventeen years he served as treasurer of the town of Arlington, and for three times has been appointed postmaster, having filled that office for fourteen years to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. A conspicu- ous service which Mr. Woodworth has rendered his community. and which is generally appreci- ated, was his well directed and successful efforts in establishing rural delivery of the mails within a radius of seven miles of Arlington. He is a prominent Mason, having been a member of Red Mountain Lodge since 1882, and having served as its secretary since 1885. He also belongs to Adoniram Chapter, R. A. M., of Manchester ; Taft Commandery No. 6, K. T., of Bennington ; and Mount Sinai Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Montpelier, and is chairman of the finance committee of the grand lodge of Vermont and ex-president of the Western Vermont Mason- ic Union, extending from the northern to the southern boundary, and belongs to the Vermont Masonic Veterans Association. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, being the thirteenth to join that order in the state, and has served as one of the board of managers. He is also an honorary member of Post Dudley, G. A. R., and for twenty-three years has been a vestry- man in St. James Episcopal church, being now (1902) secretary and treasurer of the society. On the Ist of July, 1899, Mr. Woodworth organ- ized the On-da-wa Golf Club of Arlington, and was elected treasurer and resident manager, most of its members living in New York city, Albany and Washington, D. C. He is also a member of the Arlington Club, and is a man of influence in the community where he has so long made his home. He takes an active interest in promoting the welfare of his town and county, encouraging and financially aiding all enterprises tending to benefit the public, and enjoys in a high degree
the confidence and esteem of his fellow men, standing high in business, political and social circles.
GEORGE ASA EELS.
George A. Eels, of Brattleboro, proprietor of one of the largest .bottling houses in the state, has for over twenty years been one of the leading business men of Brattleboro. He was for four years connected with the well known Brooks House, later as an active partner of C. H. Eddy
Des A, Elle
& Company's bottling house, and finally, as sole proprietor of the establishment, he has drawn much trade to the town. Born in Chesterfield county, New Hampshire, November 10, 1854, he is the son of the late Wiliam B. and Myra
22 X
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Hondeny Bels, and is the representative of an Greenfield, Massachusetts, which he managed for old and highly respected English family.
Colonel George Asaph Kels, grandfather of George A., was a man of considerable distinction, well known in several New England states. Born in Colerain, Massachusetts, he resided in that place for many years of his life. Upon reaching manhood he engaged in agriculture, and, apply- ing both science and skill to his work, won for himself a leading place among agriculturists of his state. While residing in Massachusetts he joined the state militia, and, exhibiting both force of character and exceptional military ability, he was honored with the rank of colonel. Having spent a life of honor and usefulness he died in Chesterfield, New Hampshire. During his early manhood he married Priscilla Burnham, by whom he had six children, one daughter and five sons, among the latter, William B., father of George A. Colonel Eels was an exceedingly popular man, especially in Colerain, where he rose to distinction. He was one of the founders of the First Baptist church in Brattleboro. As a man keenly interested in public affairs, he very ably filled many local offices in that place. Fra- ternally he belonged to the Free & Accepted Masons, Royal Arch Masons and commandery.
William B. Eels, father of George A., was reared to farm work. With natural regard for the occupation, as a young man he settled upon a farm in Chesterfield, New Hampshire, which he managed with success for many years. He married Elmira A. Borden, a noble, refined woman, who proved an inspiration to him in all his undertakings in life. Mr. Eels was a man of much cultivation and force of character.
George A. Eels early displayed a keenness of intellect and a power of mastering difficulties which characterized him through life. In the common schools of his neighborhood and later in Chesterfield Academy he fostered these traits, at the same time securing a large fund of useful information. After leaving school he remained on the home farm for some time assisting in the management. Conscious, however, of inherent business capacity, at the early age of eighteen he started into the hotel business. After some pre- liminary experience in charge of the large and widely patronized Arlington Hotel at Gainesville, Florida, he secured the American House at
some time, with marked success. Catering to the needs of a varied and cosmopolitan custom was by no means beyond the measure of his capacity, and his management redounded to the credit of the house. In 1882 he purchased a half interest in C. H. Eddy & Company's bottling industry. Since 1897 he has been sole proprietor His building is a large one and he keeps twenty men and women constantly employed, bottling carbonated beverages and flavoring extracts of all varieties. He has always found a ready mar- ket for his goods, and his trade now extends through Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachu- setts and eastern New York, and is still increas- ing. Indeed, so constant is the growth of the business that he finds it necessary from time to time to make additions to his buildings. Finan- cially the business is highly remunerative, and brings in an income of upwards of fifty thou- sand dollars annually.
Mr. Eels married Jennie L. Abbot, a charming woman, the daughter of the late David A. Ab- bot, who was one at one time engaged in the sewing machine business in Brattleboro. By this marriage there have been three children, all of whom are girls, Lena A., Grace A. and Alice A. Mr. Eels' success as a business man has won him a wide reputation, extending even beyond his own state. In his own town his influence is weighty, and as a man of large social attributes he has hosts of friends.
JOHN L. BACON.
John L. Bacon, cashier of the National Bank of White River Junction and also treasurer of the state of Vermont, was born at Chelsea, Or- ange county, Vermont, June 18, 1862, the son of John B. Bacon, the president of the National Bank of Orange County at Chelsea, who is writ- ten of elsewhere in this work. The educational advantages enjoyed by Mr. Bacon were acquired in the Chelsea Academy, from which institu- tion he was graduated in 1878, and St. Johnsbury Academy, from which he was graduated in 1881. In that year he entered upon his business career in the capacity of cashier for the First National Bank of Chelsea, remaining three years, and during this period he received a thorough train-
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ing in banking and financial affairs. In 1886 Mr. Bacon removed to White River, Junction and assisted in the organization of the National Bank; it was incorporated with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, and had for its presi- dent, George W. Smith; vice president, Ephraim Morris, now deceased; cashier, John L. Bacon. It is a bank of issue, deposit and discount, ne- gotiating loans, making collections, handling first class commercial paper, and by its ample capital, good connections and unlimited backing, has gained the respect and confidence of all in com- mercial circles and the highest standing in the financial world. Mr. Bacon is a young man of wide acquaintance and eminent popularity in so- cial and business circles, as well as political. He is an adherent of the Republican party, having served as county treasurer of Orange county in 1884 and 1885, treasurer of the town of Hart- ford in 1889, and elected to fill the responsible position of treasurer of the state of Vermont in 1898 and re-elected in 1900 and again in 1902. He has been elected a delegate to several con- ventions of the Republican party, both county and state. He is a trustee of St. Johnsbury Academy, St. Johnsbury, Vermont. He is act- ively connected with the Masonic fraternity, be- ing a member of United Brothers Lodge, No. 21, F. & A. M., of Coscodnac Chapter, Vermont Commandery, and Mt. Sinai Temple, Mystic Shrine. He has also been a member of the In- dependent Order of Odd Fellows.
In 1888 Mr. Bacon was united in marriage with Miss Lizzie Davis, who was born in Chi- cago, Illinois, a daughter of Charles Davis, for- merly of Danville, Vermont. Born of this mar- riage were Sarah Helen, who died in 1903, at the age of twelve years, Mary Elinor and John Davis Bacon.
LUMAN PRESTON NORTON.
Luman Preston Norton, of Bennington, Ver- mont, for many years active in manufacturing and financial affairs in that city, is descended from one of the oldest and most prominent families of New England. The Norton family in America traces its ancestry to that DeNorville, who came to England with William the Conqueror. He was of noble birth, and he married into the house of
Valois, the royal family of France, and from him descended a long line of knights who married into families of distinction. In the eighth genera- tion the family name, through various changes, had become Norville, then Northtown, and sub- sequently took its present form of Norton. The first family seat in England was at Sharpenhow (now a mere hamlet), in Bedfordshire.
In 1639 Thomas Norton and his wife Grace, with others, residing in a small town near Lon- don, came to America, landing at Boston, whence they went to Connecticut, settling where is the present town of Guilford. This Thomas was the lineal ancestor of the Norton family of this narra- tive. He was the first miller in the town, then called Norton's Quarters, and he was a strict Puritan, held in deep respect in the community. He was father of four children, of whom Thomas, of Saybrook, Connecticut, was the second. From the latter descended David Norton, of Goshen, Vermont, whose fourth son was John Norton, born in that village, November 29, 1750. He gained the title of captain from service during the Revolutionary war; was one of the first settlers of Bennington, where he became an extensive farmer, and also founded, in 1793, the pottery factory with which the family name has ever since been associated, and which attached to him. the sobriquet of "Potter" Norton. He was a man of considerable education for his times. He mar- ried Lucinda, youngest daughter of Jonathan Buel, and to them were born nine children: Lu- man, February 9, 1785 ; John, February 25, 1787 ; Clarissa, June 10, 1789; Lucretia, January I, 1791; Laura . A., December 13, 1793; T. Buel, May 26, 1797; Eliza, March 5; 1800; Lydia, May 29, 1802; Norman J., June 7, 1806. The father died August 25, 1828, aged seventy years, and the mother died August 14, 1852, and their re- mains repose side by side in the old cemetery at Bennington Center.
Luman Norton, oldest son in the family named, was born in Williamstown, Massachu- setts, shortly before his parents removed to Ben- nington, Vermont. He was ambitious and in- dustrious, and acquired more than an ordinary education. He was known for his gentility and kindliness, and these traits of character brought him designation in later life as a "gentleman of the old school," and he was affectionately known
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as Judge Luman. He occupied many offices of honor and trust, among them the county judge- ship and a seat in the legislature, in both posi- tions acquitting himself most creditably. His death occurred April 27, 1850, at the age of seventy three years. By his marriage with Lydia Loomis he was the father of three children : Julius : Laura, born June 3, 1815, who became the wife of Albert Walker; and Louise, born June 27, 1817, who became the wife of Christo- pher Fenton.
Julius, only son of Luman Norton, was born September 23, 1809. He received a common school education, and afterward completed a course in the old academy at Bennington Center. He engaged in the pottery business with his father, the firm name being Luman Norton & Son, at a later day succeeding to the sole charge, and subsequently associating with. himself his brother-in-law, Christopher Fenton, in the firm of Norton & Fenton. Julius Norton was married twice, first to Miss Maria Spooner, who came to Bennington as a school teacher; she was a very superior woman; she died shortly after the birth of her only child, Luman Preston Norton, at the early age of twenty-six years. In 1842 Julius Norton was married to Miss Sophia B. Olin. To this marriage were born two daugh- ters, both of whom are deceased. He died October 5, 1861, at the age of fifty-two.
Luman Preston Norton, only child of Julius and Maria (Spooner) Norton, was born in Ben- nington, Vermont, March 20, 1837. He mani- fested an aptitude for study from an early age, and acquired an excellent education in the Cam- bridge (New York) Academy, and in Union Col- lege, graduating from the latter institution in 1858. He engaged in the pottery business with his father and his cousin Edward, and after the death of the parent he succeeded him in the man- agement, under the firm name of E. & L. P. Nor- ton. Within his memory, and, in part, through his effort, the Norton Pottery Works had become known throughout all the United States and Can- ada for their excellent "Bennington Stoneware," which was distributed by water and wagon prior to the days of steam. In 1882, on account of ill health, Mr. Norton retired from active business and disposed of his interest in the works. He has also been active in local and state affairs.
He was the first president of the Bennington County Savings Bank, and the first president of the village under its new charter, in 1882. After recovering his health in some degree, he accepted the position which he now occupies, as general agent for the state of Vermont of the North- western Mutual Life Insurance Company of Mil- waukee, Wisconsin. With his family, he is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal church. He is a member of Mt. Anthony Lodge No. 13, F. & A. M., and has passed all the chairs in that body.
Mr. Norton was married, October 12, 1858- the year in which he came of age, was gradu- ated from college and entered upon business- to Miss Alice Leavenworth Godfrey. Four chil- dren were born of this marriage : Luman Spooner Norton, born September 3, 1859, is engaged in business with his father; Agnes Christmas, born December 25, 1861, became the wife of C. H. Darling, who was judge of the Bennington mu- nicipal court, and is now assistant secretary of the United States navy ; Alice Mabel, born July 31, 1868, is the wife of Orion M. Barber, a prac- ticing lawyer in Bennington; and Julius Philip, born June 28, 1873, died in California.
The ancestry of Mrs. Norton is as honorable as is that of her husband. She was one of three children of Bradford and Sarah Godfrey. One of her brothers, Frederick Godfrey, is deputy sheriff of Bennington county. The other brother, George B. Godfrey, died September 22, 1901, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, aged fifty-five years; he served during the Civil war in the Fourth Ver- mont Regiment, and was wounded in the battle of Franklin, and again in the battle of the Wilder- ness ; in 1867 he went west and engaged in rail- roading ; a daughter survives him. George God- frey, father of Mrs. Norton, was a native of Taunton, Massachusetts, a son of George God- frey, who was conspicuous for his gallantry as a soldier during the French and Indian and Rev- olutionary wars. He was first a private, was pro- moted to a captaincy, became major in 1771, colonel of the Bristol (Massachusetts) regiment in 1774, and brigadier general of the Bristol county brigade from February 9, 1776, until July I, 1781, when he resigned. He was also promi- nent in civil life, serving as justice of the peace from 1760 to 1781, as selectman from 1788 to
FranklStitu .
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1791, as a representative in the common council for five years, and as county treasurer for seven- teen years. His father-in-law, Major Hodges, was also a prominent officer in the Revolutionary army. General George Godfrey was three times married. His second wife was Bertha, daughter of Joseph and Bertha (Williams) Hodges, to whom he was married May 9, 1749. She died January 27, 1786, at the age of sixty-three years. A son was born of this marriage, Godfrey Nor- ton, Jr., September 17, 1758, was too young to enlist with his father in 1776, but accompanied him until of sufficient age, when he enlisted in the ranks; on December 27, 1782, he married Abi- gail King, a daughter of Captain John King, who had served gallantly in the Revolutionary army, and became a wealthy and leading citizen of Taunton, Massachusetts.
FRANCIS W. STILES.
Francis W. Stiles, a leading journalist of Springfield, Vermont, is a representative of a very ancient Anglo-Saxon family, which was known in England before the conquest. The name is derived from Stighele, meaning "at the stile, or steps, or rising path," and was first ap- plied to the inhabitants of dwellings thus situ- ated. The family had its origin in the south- eastern part of England.
Robert Stiles, the emigrant ancestor, came from Yorkshire, and was a member of the com- pany, which, under the leadership of Ezekiel Rogers, settled Rowley, Massachusetts, in 1639. Samuel Stiles, the son of Robert, had a son named Moses, who was the father of John Stiles. Asahel Stiles, son of John Stiles, was born in 1789, at Greenfield, and removed to Tunbridge, Vermont. He married Nancy Bradford (who was a lineal descendant of Governor Bradford, of Massachusetts), and was the father of ten chil- dren. His death took place at Tunbridge in 1834.
: William Lougee Stiles, son of John and Nan- cy (Bradford) Stiles, was born February 17, 1823, and followed the trade of a boot and shoe- maker at Windsor, Vermont. He married, in 1848, Betsey Ann Sargent, of Springfield. Their children were: Francis W., mentioned at length
hereinafter; Ann Augusta; Clement S .; Fred- erick M .; A. Bradford; and George.
Francis W. Stiles, son of William Lougee and Betsey Ann (Sargent) Stiles, was born Decem- ber 27, 1849, in Windsor village, Vermont, and was educated in the public schools of Windsor and Springfield. The facilities afforded by these institutions were the only opportunities for tech- nical education he ever enjoyed, but in his youth and early manhood, inspired by his innate ambi- tion and natural intellectual activity, he pursued, under many disadvantages, an extended course of reading and study.
In 1864 the family removed to Springfield, where Francis was employed for twelve years by the Novelty Works Company, and other business houses. Subsequently he established himself in the job printing business, and on January 4, 1878, issued the first number of the Springfield Re- porter, a four-column folio, devoted to local in- terests. He began the publication of this paper with little or no encouragement, and it is due to his energy that it is to-day upon a good paying basis, having been enlarged no less than four times. In 1892 the business was incorporated as the Reporter Publishing Company, with Mr. Stiles as manager. The present year (1903) is the twenty-sixth of its existence. It is a seven-column quarto, the largest in the county, and it has reached a circulation of over two thous- and copies. With few exceptions, Mr. Stiles has been editing and publishing papers continuously longer than any other man in the state of Ver- mont. In addition to the newspaper plant there is also a fully equipped job printing establishment which is doing a flourishing business.
Notwithstanding the pressing nature of the de- mands involved in his position as a journalist, the enterprise of Mr. Stiles has been exercised in other directions. He is the pioneer in the last decade in an attempt to develop real estate, and was instrumental in awakening an interest that has gone far in this direction in the town of Springfield toward its material growth. In 1889 he purchased what has since become known as Highland view, a tract of land which formerly belonged to Samuel Rollins. On this land Mr. Stiles laid out a number of building sites, many of which he improved personally, and all of which he has since disposed of, with the exceptions of
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three lots. Highland View is now an important suburb of Springfield, and the fact that it is 50 is largely due to the foresight, energy and busi- ness sagacity of Mr. Stiles, who is the owner of a handsome brick block known as the "New Stiles," which was recently improved by addi- tions, and which is occupied by stores, offices and tenements.
Mr. Stiles has always been a stanch and out- spoken Republican, but has never sought or held public office. He is a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 41, F. & A. M., the Junior Order of United American Mechanics, the Independent Order of Red Men (he is sachem of the tribe at the present time), and the Modern Woodmen.
Mr. Stiles married, June 5, 1879, Anna Hayes, daughter of Daniel and Mary (Boyle) Hayes, of Plymouth. The following named children have been born to them: George Hayes, born Febru- ary 15, 1881, in Springfield; Louise Mary, who died May 1, 1885, in Springfield; Bessie Ann, who died at the same place October 28, 1886, at the age of one year ; Harold F. W., born March 8, 1890; and Russell William, born July 28, 1893. The summer home of Mr. Stiles is the farm known as "Breezy Hill," where the family spend much of their time during the summer.
HENRY LEONARD STILLSON.
The American Stillson family, one of the old- est and most respected in the country, originated in the state of Connecticut, and finds in Henry Leonard Stillson a worthy representative. Mem- bers of this family are now residing in almost every civilized country on the globe, which fact was recently learned by the settlement of a great- uncle's-Asa Stillson's-estate and the adminis- trator's search for his heirs. The branch of the Stillson family to which the subject of this biog- raphy belongs descended from Vincent Stillson, whose parents emigrated from England some time during the closing years of the seventeenth cen- tury and settled in Milford, Conecticut. Subse- quently Vincent Stillson moved to Newtown, that state, where he died in 1796, at an advanced age. The Stillson homestead, an attractive farm house, is still standing, south of Newtown village, the central portion of which was built just prior to the close of the seventeenth century, while an
addition to the cast was erected about the middle of the eighteenth century, and a similar extension to the west was completed in time for occupancy when our subject's grandfather, Abel Stillson, Jr., was married to Sarah Wetmore, January II, 1812. Some time during the progress of these centuries a "lean-to" was added to the north of the entire dwelling, covering that side of the orig- inal house, and the original riven-oak clapboards have thus been preserved in the attic. The home- stead is now occupied by Miss Mary Beers Still- son, an aunt of the Mr. Stillson of our sketch, and she is now (1902) in her seventy-eighth year. A well preserved set of china dishes for the table, imported from Gerinany early in the eighteenth century, and a "pewter set," equally ancient, are still in the possession of the resident at the homestead in Newtown. Vincent Stillson had three sons, John, Abel and Elnathan.
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