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 73

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 73

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In his political affiliations Mr. Leavitt is a Re- publican, and takes an active interest in the wel- fare and success of his party. For four years he served as constable of the town of Plainfield, and is now acting as town treasurer, a position he has filled for four years. He is a member of Arcadia Lodge No. 43, I. O. O. F., at Plainfield, Vermont. Mr. Leavitt was united in marriage, January 6, 1801, to Miss Flora Charlotte Nutting, and they had one child, Erma, born January 22, 1893, died March 14, 1901. The residence of Mr. Leavitt adjoins the store property, and it is considered one of the finest and most artistic in the village of Plainfield, Vermont.

LAWRENCE BRAINERD.

Lawrence Brainerd, of St. Albans, ex-United States senator from Vermont, was born in East Hartford, Connecticut, March 16, 1794. The New England Brainerds are descendants of Dan- iel Brainerd, who was brought from England to this country when at the tender age of eight years. Hartford, Connecticut, was his first place of residence. About the year 1662 he settled in Haddam, Connecticut, where he acquired lands,

prospered in wordly matters, grew socially influ- ential, and officiated as justice of the peace and as deacon in the church. His descendants naturally varied the orthography of their patronymic. It appears under the several forms of Brainwood, Brainard and Baynard. That of Brainerd is the most frequently adopted. By his first wife Dan- iel Brainerd was the father of eight children. After her death he married again. William Brain- erd, the fifth child of the first marriage, was born March 30, 1673, and married Sarah Bidwell, by whom he had seven children.

In the department of missionary work the Brainerd family became universally renowned. David Brainerd, the immortal evangelist of the aborgines, whose biography was written by the nervous and forceful pen of Jonathan Edwards, and aiso John, his brother and successor, were sons of Hezekiah, another son of Daniel Brainerd, the original immigrant. From the many Brain- erds who have since been ministers of the Con- gregational, Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal, and other churches, the Brainerds have been styled by some writers one of the two great fam- ilies of divines"-the Beechers being the other.

Josiah, sixth child of William Brainerd, was born May 4, 17IT. He was twice married, and by his second wife became the father of nine children. The fifth of these, known as Deacon Ezra, was born August 17, 1744. The native force of the paternal stock asserted itself through him in many beneficent ways. For many years he served as representative of the citizens of Haddam in the general assembly of Connecticut, and was also justice of the peace and a member of the Hartford convention in 1814. Married three times, he rejoiced in the paternity of thir- teen children by his first wife and of eight by his second wife. He died April 7, 1837, at the pa- triarchal age of ninety-three years.

Ezra Brainerd, Jr., fifth child of Deacon Ezra. was born May II, 1769 ; he acquired the trade of joiner and carpenter, and was well known as a prominent bridge and church builder. In the war of 1812 he served as lieutenant colonel of a Connecticut regiment. He married Mabel, daugh- ter of James Porter, of East Hartford. Thirteen children, of whom Lawrence Brainerd was the fifth. were the fruit of their union. What is worthy of note in the foregoing line of genealog-

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ical de cent is that each of the personal links, es copting Jouait Brainerd, was the fifth child of his parents.

Lawrence Brainerd proved to be eminently worthy of his distinguished ancestry. All his physical force, intellectual power and best moral characteristics were transmitted in unimpaired ex- cellence to him. When nine years old he re- moved to Troy, New York, and there made his abode with his uncle, Joseph Spencer Brainerd. In 1808 he changed his residence from Troy to St. Albans. To gain the funds necessary to pay for his passage between the two places, he per- sistently gathered walnuts, and sold them until he had acquired the necessary sum. On his ar- rival at St. Albans he found himself the happy possessor of a modest capital amounting to twen- ty-five cents. But there was determination in the clear-headed, resolute boy that gave promise of its unlimited increase. When only fourteen years old, he was sent to Massachusetts-a distance of nearly three hundred miles-to drive a pair of oxen. He walked all the way, did his errand, and returned in safety.

Common schools were not the best imaginable at that epoch, but what they were he utilized with such effect that he himself became a successful school teacher for several years. Then, as now, the educational profession was rarely adopted for life pursuit. He preferred commercial business, and engaged his services as clerk to N. W. King- man, for the moderate compensation of board and salary of thirty-four dollars per annum. Out of this he clothed himself. Knowledge of mercan- tile transactions grew with experience, and in 1816 he embarked in business on individual ac- count. Eventually he conducted a large and lu- crative traffic. The year 1816 was long remem- bered as "the cold year." During its progress he foresaw that unusual local suffering would result from its peculiarities, unless flour of distant man- ufacture was brought into the market. With his own capital of seven hundred dollars in pock- et, to which as much more had been added by borrowing, he repaired to Troy, New York, pur- chased flour at favorable rates, and returned with it in time to save many families from absolute want. Forestalling he prevented, by refusing to sell more than one barrel to a family. His prin-

cipal object, which was purely philanthropic, was not only accomplished, but he also cleared a net profit of nearly as much as his investment by the sagacious operation. Prescience was one of his marked characteristics, and was afterward exem- plified by an essentially similar undertaking. In the course of a hard winter fuel was both scarce and high-priced in St. Albans. To relieve the pressure, he sent numerous teams into the woods, glutted the market, reduced prices to fair rates, and also received an equivalent for his trouble.

Mr. Brainerd was the proprietor of a general mercantile store, dealt largely in miscellaneous materials, and bartered his own goods for almost anything that was offered in trade. After a few years passed in these occupations, he engaged in farming and sheep-raising, not infrequently keep- ing from one to two thousand sheep at a time. Whatever he did, was done with all his might. Cultured brains were built into all work. When erecting the family mansion, now occupied by his youngest daughter, Mrs. Stranahan, he was so desirous that it should be completed in the best possible style that he did some of the labor with his own hands. While thus engaged, a man who was driving a flock of sheep passed by his house. Mr. Brainerd, habited in working costume, leaned over the fence and inquired the price of his flock. The driver churlishly responded "More money than you-ve got," and went on. His charge proved to be the property of the rebuffed in- quirer. The surprise of the man when he ascer- tained the fact is said to have been at once hu- miliating and amusing.

Strength and courage were among his most prominent characteristics. In view of them he was often in his younger days appointed deputy sheriff, and in that capacity rendered much use- ful service. Prior to the organization of fire companies, he gained notoriety for acts of daring at local fires.

With the navigation of Lake Champlain Mr. Brainerd was honorably identified. In 1847 he constructed the first upper-cabin steamer that plied on that beautiful sheet of water. He was a director of the St. Albans Steamboat Company for many years, and did not resign his position until he had become largely interested in railroad affairs. In the organization of the Bank of St.

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THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Albans in 1826 he took a leading part, was elected one of the directors, and subsequently was chos- en to the presidency.

The importance and value of railroad com- munications Mr. Brainerd was one of the first to comprehend and appreciate. The splendid rail- road system of Vermont is the effect of his genius and energy, supplemented by those of other pro- gressive and public-spirited citizens. Associated with John Smith, George Smith's father, and Joseph Clark, Mrs. E. W. Peck's father, he ef- fected the construction of the Vermont & Canada Railroad. The completion of that beneficent en- terprise initiated the progress and prosperity of his adopted town. At one period of its creation it was feared that it might not be finished be- cause of the lack of funds. Boldly contracting for the mason work, they assumed the responsi- bility of paying for it, although they were obliged to borrow five hundred thousand dollars on the strength of their personal credit before any sub- scriptions to the capital stock of the company had become available. That personal credit was strong enough to float the project, until, by ar- rangement with the Vermont Central Railroad Company, the stock was taken, and the sagacious financiers themselves relived from the risks they had voluntarily incurred. Mr. Brainerd was sub- sequently connected, either as director or trus- tee, with the combination of railroads'known as the Vermont Central Railroad, up to the hour of his decease. He was also one of the principal pro- prietors of the Stanstead, Shefford & Chambly Railroad, and was one of the foremost promoters of the Missisquoi Railroad, which has been built since his death. In railroads, as efficient instru- ments of civilization, and as means of creating wealth, he had intelligent and abiding confidence. More than one new and struggling enterprise has quoted him as an authority for the statement that "the more roads a people can build, the better off they'll be."

After the establishment of the railroad to St. Albans, Mr. Brainerd exhibited an augmented in- terest in the growth and welfare of the village. He donated land for new streets, loaned money to young merchants and mechnics, advised liberality in the outlay of the public funds, and in the lat- ter portion of his life contributed liberally to the erection of an elegant hotel. He was also a large

stockholder in the National Trust Company, which was instituted as a helpful convenience to people of moderate capital. When he first arrived at St. Albans a little row of houses, situated on a single street, composed the town. He lived long enough to see the forests cleared away and the streets multiply and extend in every direction, un- til St. Albans attained the dignity of one of the most considerable and important towns in the state. He enjoyed the further satisfaction of knowing that in the achievement of this prosperity he himself had been one of the principal factors.

In politics Mr. Brainerd was invariably an ad- herent of principle ; policy, never. The honors and emoluments of official life he estimated light- ly in comparison with the blessings of good gov- ernment, and the largest liberty of the largest number of the people. In harmony with this correct appreciation, he cheerfully accepted pub- lic duties, and was often entrusted with the ad- ministration of responsible offices by his town, and sometimes by his county and his state. He represented the citizens of St. Albans in the Ver- mont legislature of 1834. Prior to the year 1840 he had affiliated with the Whig party in national politics. His dislike to American slavery was inborn and intense, and gladly embodied itself in his ballot as soon as opportunity offered. With the Liberty party he was identified from the out- set : and was one of the three hundred and nine- teen heroic citizens of the state who braved pop- ular scorn and contempt by voting for Birney in 1840. So long as the organization maintained an existence he advocated its principles, attended its conventions, served on its committees, and gave liberally toward the success of its policy. He was endowed with the rare moral courage which dares continuouus defeats in the certainty of eventual victory. In the absence of any probability of suc- cess, he allowed his name to be used as that of the candidate of his party for the chief magistracy of Vermont in 1846, 1847, 1848, 1852 and 1854. In July of the last year he presided over the first Republican state convention, held at Montpelier, in the Green Mountain commonwealth. He was also a candidate for election to the state senate. but was rejected at the polls because of his Free- seil proclivities. In the same year, however, he received ample compensation for the disappoint- ment in being elected by the practically unani-

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mots tate of the legislature to fill the unespired term of William ( pha in the senate of the I'ni- tul State. He had the unprecedented homer at that time of being the only member of the na- final senate sent thither on purely abolitionist princh les. His triumphant election to a post for which there was strong competition was a pleas- ant surprise to himself and friends.

In 1855-56 Senator Brainerd was a member of the Republican state committee, and in the lat- ter year was also a delegate to the Republican con- vention at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and later served as presidential elector. There he called the convention to order, was elected one of the vice presidents, and a member of the committee appointed to call a national convention for the purpose of nominating candidates for the pres- idency and vice presidency of the United States. This convention assembled at Philadelphia in the following June, and by it he was appointed a member of the Republican national executive committee. His name stood at the head of a list of citizens who called a public meeting at St. Al- bans, in the same month, in order to express their manly and patriotic indignation at the dastardly outrage perpetuated upon Charles Sumner in the senate chamber of the United States. He was chairman of the Vermont delegation which, with- out a dissenting voice, gave its suffrages to Abra- ham Lincoln in the national convention which presented him as its nominee for the chief mag- istracy of the republic. His action in the ter- rible and protracted conflict which ensued on the martyred president's accession was wholly con- cordant with his record and principles. He cordi- ally supported the administration, and in his special field of warfare was a doughty champion of the country in the hour of its sorest trial. His public and private life was one energetic protest against oppression, one consistent claim for con- stitutional freedom. With cheerful readiness he paid the onerous taxes demanded by the prosecu- tion of war for the preservation of the Union, sent two of his sons and one of his sons-in-law into the armies of the nation, and sustained them by his sympathies, prayers, and entire resources.

Mr. Brainerd was one of the first citizens of his state to espouse the anti-slavery cause. Sum- ner, Chase, Giddings, Tappan and other of its deservedly famous leaders, were his intimate

friends. He kept the last station of the "under- ground railroad" on the route to Canada, and per- sonally assisted many fugitives in their flight to freedom and safety across the Canada line. When the emancipation of all who had been held in bondage closed his labors in that department of Christian usefulness, he contributed most liber- aily to the funds of the American Missionary As- sociation, which has done so much and so excel- lent educational work among the freedmen. He was elected one of the first presidents of that noble society. Like his ancestors, he was a conscien- tious member of the Congregational denomina- tion of Christians. One of his last acts was the gift of five hundred dollars toward liquidating the indebtedness of the society, which he always gen- erously sustained.

Lawrence Brainerd was a helper of those who were in need. As a thorough business man, he never lost sight of his own interests; and as a Christian, he never lost sight of the interests of others. While a member of the United States senate he directed those in charge of his home affairs to kill a large number of sheep, and to distribute the meat among the poor, in order that there might be no suffering from want. Like the patriarch Job, he could say, "When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me; because I deliv- ered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me ; and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy." Whatever might minister to the material, social or religious melioration of neighbors and friends, commanded his cordial approval. His voice was an inspiration to all workers for the common good. Providence had blessed his thought, his energy, his enterprise, to such an extent that he acquired large possessions. But all were held in trust for the Divine Owner. Disbursements rose in magnitude commensurately with accumula- tions; and in a state renowned for its princely philanthropists he stood in the foremost ranks.

His death, on the 9th of May, 1870, was sud- den and unexpected. His funeral was more large- ly and imposingly attended than any previously witnessed in St. Albans. Officials and representa- tive men, delegations of railroad officers and men, from all parts of the state, took part in the cere-

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monies. All classes of the community unitedly did honor to his memory and virtues, and evinced their sorrow over his death by genuine and sin- cere tokens.

Lawrence Brainerd married, January 16, 1819, Miss Fidelia Barnet, daughter of William Gad- comb, and granddaughter of Chief Justice Daniel Owen of the Rhode Island supreme court. Mrs. Brainerd died October 18, 1852. Twelve chil- dren were born to them, five of whom are now liv- ing. Ann Eliza is now the wife of ex-Governor J. Gregory Smith, and Miranda Aldis is the wife of F. S. Stranahan. The sons, Lawrence, Aldis Owen, Erastus Porter and Herbert, have all oc- cupied prominent positions in the town and in the state. 1

ELI H. PALMER.

Eli Hoadley Palmer, of Shelburne, Vermont, is a worthy descendant of one of the Pilgrims who came to this country in the Mayflower in 1620. George Palmer, grandfather of Eli H. Palmer, served on General Washington's staff during the Revolutionary war. After the close of that struggle he removed from Stonington, Con- necticut, to Vermont. He first located in Char- lotte, and after remaining there for a short period of time he settled in Hinesburg, where he cleared up and improved a large tract of land, on which he resided until his death. He married Miss Mary Place, and six children were born to them,-Bath- sheba, who was born in Charlotte, Vermont, and married John Weller ; Polly, who was the first fe- male white child born in Hinesburg, Vermont, married Giles Kenyon, and both were interred the same day at the extreme old age of ninety-five and ninety-seven years, respectively ; Betsy ; Rob- ert ; James ; and Leonidas.

James Palmer, son of George, was a native of Hinesburg, Vermont, where he spent his entire life, engaged in the occupation of farming, at which he was eminently successful. He married Miss Phoebe Hoadley, daughter of Jonathan Hoadley, who was among the earliest settlers of the state of Vermont. The following named children were born to them : Fidelia, who mar- ried Charles Hatch, and died in 1898: Eli H .; Henry ; Marshall ; and David. Mr. Palmer was one of the representative men of the town, noted

for his honesty, truthfulness and upright dealing's in all matters, and he was chosen to serve in the various local offices of the town. He died in 1880, aged eighty-two years, and his wife sur- vived him just six months, dying at the age of seventy-one years.

Eli H. Palmer, son of James and Phoebe Palmer, was born in Hinesburg, Vermont, Decem- ber 5, 1830. He acquired his education in the district schools of his native town, and he resid- ed on his father's farm, rendering him what aid he could in the management of it, until he attained his majority. He then decided to start out in life for himself, and engaged in agricultural pursuits in Richmond, where he remained until 1862, when he purchased a farm in Shelburne, Vermont, which consisted of three hundred acres, and which he conducted successfully for many years, farm- ing and dairying. He cultivated his land in such a manner that it became highly productive. He disposed of this farm to his sons, and in 1898 pur- chased his present farm in Shelburne, Vermont, which consists of seventy acres, where he raises a general line of garden products, and he is con- sidered one of the most enterprising, industrious and successful farmers of that section of the country.

Mr. Palmer was united in marriage, Novem- ber 27, 1856, to Miss Eunice Benson, and three children were born to them, one of whom is now living,-George Palmer, engaged in the occupa- tion of farming in Shelburne, Vermont. Mrs. Palmer died February 27, 1868, and Mr. Palmer was married, March 2, 1869, to Miss Sarah M. Fonda, and three children were born to this union,-Loring, Emerson and Walter Palmer. His second wife died February 4, 1894, and Mr. Palmer was married, September 25, 1895, to Mrs. Candace Taggart, widow of Midas Taggart, and a daughter of Nelson H. White, a descendant of Peregrine White, the first child born in the Plymouth colony.

HON. IRA RICHARD ALLEN.

Hon. Ira R. Allen, prominently identified with the banking and commercial interests of Fair- haven, Vermont, also a successful leader of the Republican party in that section of the state, was born in Fairhaven March 29, 1859, the son of

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THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Ira C. and Mary E. ( Richardson) Allen, the former named being a well known resident of the state, a man of great executive ability, who was chosen five terms in succession to serve in the state legislature.

Ira R. Allen acquired his preliminary educa- tion in the public schools of Fairhaven, and in 1877 became a student at Colgate Academy. He graduated from Brown University in 1882. His business experience has been varied and extensive, taking him into most of the states of the Union. From 1882 to 1885 he was engaged with the firm of Woodward, Stetson & Company, produce mer- chants of New York city. The following year he became interested in the mica mining industry in Virginia, remaining there three years, after which he returned to Fairhaven, Vermont, and devoted his attention to banking, slate industries and rail- roads. Mr. Allen has acted in the capacity of director and vice-president of the Allen National Bank, and a director of the Fairhaven Marble and Marbleized Slate Company.

In politics Mr. Allen has been an unswerving Republican from the time he attained his major- ity, and one of the most public-spirited men of his town. He has served as selectman of the town two terms, and was considered a capable and efficient candidate to place in the field for town representative in a community where Demo- cratic opinions had hitherto prevailed. This position he easily won and served in both branches of the Vermont legislature, and was also the in- cumbent of the postoffice at Fairhaven, Vermont, being appointed by President McKinley, and is still serving. His successful work as chairman of the Republican state committee, where he worked like a Trojan and a veteran political manager, at- tracted attention outside the state. It was largely through his instrumentality that the plurality of thirty-one thousand, three hundred and ninety- one votes were registered for Mr. Stickney, the Republican candidate for governor. Mr. Allen is the fortunate possessor of one of the best private mineralogical cabinets in the state, and while a resident of Virginia he was enabled to obtain many fine specimens of garnets, some of which were loaned by him for the purpose of exhibition at the World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois. He is a prominent and enthusiastic member of the Ma- sonic fraternity, having attained the thirty-second

degree, and he was chosen to represent Mt. Sinai Temple at Cincinnati in 1893. In his religious views he is a believer in the tenets of the Baptist denomination, and though not holding fellowship in any church he has always contributed liberally to all Christian enterprises.

GEORGE SCOTT FOSTER.

George Scott Foster, M. D., of Putney, is one of the oldest established and most popular phy- sicians of Windham county, and well deserves the high esteem in which he is held. He was born June 7, 1848, in Waltham, Vermont, a son of Nicholas and Esther ( Kernon) ) Foster, who reared a family of six children, two sons and four daughters. The father died at the vener- able age of eighty-five years.

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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 73

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