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 8

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 8

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Mr. Gordon attended the common and high schools of Burlington, prepared for college at Spaulding's Academy in Barre, Vermont, and was graduated from the academic department of Dartmouth College in 1883. The ensuing year he was sub-master at the high school in Milford, Massachusetts, going from there to Worcester, Massachusetts, where he was assistant master in the high school for two years, resigning his posi- tion in 1886 to take the teacher's examination in Boston, passing successfully and receiving a certificate. Coming then, however, to Barre, Ver-

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

mont, he became interested in the granite in- ter in the granite business, in which he continued dustry, entering into partnership with his father- until his death. Mr. and Mrs. Gordon were the parents of five children: Lillian Ward, Paul Dunham, Philip, John Aubrey and Norman Scaver. in -law, B. F. Dunham, with whom he was asso. ciated under the firm name of Dunham & Gor- don until the death of the senior member of the firm in 1888. Mr. Gordon continued the busi- ness alone until 1890, when the quarries were CLARENCE FREEMAN MOULTON. sold. Resuming the study of law, which he had previously taken up, he was registered in the office of his brother, T. R. Gordon, in Montpelier, and was admitted to the Vermont bar at the gen- eral term, in 1890, and to practice in the supreme court during the same year. He has continued in active practice since, meeting with signal suc- cess, from the first, both professionally and finan- cially. In the summer of 1891 he built the Gor- don block, one of the finest in the city, it being a three-story brick building, with granite trim- mings, having a frontage of forty-two feet on Main street, and extending back one hundred feet.

Mr. Gordon supported the Democratic party until 1896, and was a candidate for the state leg- islature on that ticket in 1888 and in 1892. In 1896 he was a delegate to the Democratic con- vention held in Chicago, but refused to endorse the platform there introduced, and was also a delegate to the Democratic sound money conven- tion at Indianapolis, Indiana. He has served as law agent for Barre ; was a member of the school board in 1888; and was elected mayor of the city in 1896, 1897, 1898 and 1899, serving until the spring of 1900. During his term of administra- tion many improvements of value were made, the municipal water plant being installed; the elec- tric railway being built; and two schoolhouses and a new city hall being erected.

In August, 1884, Mr. Gordon married Maud L. Dunham, who was born in Allegheny, Pennsyl- vania, a daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Laura (Wheeler) Dunham. Mr. Dunham was born in Northfield, Vermont, and during the Civil war served as captain of a company in a Vermont regiment, and was afterwards one of Governor Carney's staff. He was subsequently in business in Pennsylvania for a few years, going from there to Chicago, Illinois, where his business was burned out in the fire of 1873. Returning then to Vermont, he located in South Barre, where he was first engaged in the milling business, and la-

Clarence Freeman Moulton, a well known and respected citizen of Randolph, was born March II, 1837, in West Randolph, Vermont, (now Randolph,) which was also the birthplace of his father, the late Horace Moulton. His paternal grandfather, Phineas Moulton, was a pioncer of the town, coming here in 1788 from Monson, Massachusetts, and settling in 1793 about one mile east from the village, on what is now known as the "Green Mountain Stock Farm," which has since remained in the possession of the family. He died in 1834, leaving a family of eight sons and two daughters, as follows: Jude; John; James ; Freeman; Dan Alonzo; Phineas; Still- man; Horace, the father of Clarence F .; Pene- lope; and Mary. Three of the sons settled in Randolph, Horace occupying the old homestead, while Phineas and Stillman settled on adjoining farms. Phineas became influential in public af- fairs, serving in both houses of the state legisla- ture.

Horace Moulton, a life-long agriculturist of Randolph, was born June 26, 1794, and died Au- gust 21, 1862, in the house in which he was born and had always lived. He was a practical farm- er, industrious, conservative and provident. In religious faith a Methodist, and in public matters he took a commendable interest, as becomes a good citizen. On January 25, 1826, he married Lucy Smith, daughter of a Baptist minister, by whom he had six children, among them being three sons, Justin H., Gilman Smith and Clar- ence Freeman.

Justin H. was born June 14, 1830, married H. Olivia Perrin, daughter of Hon. Philander Per- rin, of Randolph, August 18, 1861, and they live in Randolph. Gilman Smith Moulton was born in Randolph, August 5, 1834, and died suddenly in New York city, March 29, 1901. He began his mercantile career as a young man at Keene, New Hampshire, going from there to New York city, where as a member of the banking house

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

of Austin Corbin & Company he acquired an ex- tensive acquaintance, and became a prominent business man. For several years he was secretary and general manager of the estate of A. T. Stew- art, and had charge of other large estates, in- cluding that of Eleazer Parmly: Retaining a love for the home in which he was reared, he, in com- pany with his brother Clarence F., purchased sev- eral farms adjoining the parental homestead, and converted the entire property of nearly twelve hundred acres into a dairy farm, stocking it with thoroughbred Jerseys and building a model dairy. The butter here manufactured was awarded the first prize, a gold medal, at both the Paris Ex- position in 1889, and at the Columbian Exposi- tion held in Chicago in 1893. On March 1, 1894, he married Mrs. Julie Dillon Ripley, daughter of the late Sidney Dillon, of New York. They had no children.

Clarence Freeman Moulton spent his earlier years on the old farm, in the intervals of agricult- ural toils attending the district school, where he acquired his first book knowledge. He subse- quently continued his studies at the New London, New Hampshire, Literary and Scientific In- stitute, after which he entered Dartmouth Col- lege, from which he was graduated with the class of 1863. Going then to New York city, he entered the employ Austin Corbin & Company, bankers; later embarking in business for himself as a member of the mercantile firm of Clapp, Braden & Company, importers of millinery, at the same time having charge of Mr. Clapp's pri- vate estate, and after his death acting as one of his executors, also by surrogate appointment as guardian for his minor nephew and nieces. In 1877 Mr. Moulton was admitted into the firm of A. F. Roberts & Company, as junior member, and for several years carried on an extensive commis- sion business in flour and grain ; becoming in the meantime a member of both the Produce Ex- change and the New York Consolidated Ex- change. He was a director for a number of years of the Hanover Fire Insurance Company of New York, also a director of the New York, Brooklyn & Manhattan Beach Railroad Com- pany. Wishing a country home where his wife and children might spend the summer months, his mind turning naturally to the scenes of his own boyhood and youth, for which he had always

cherished a strong love, he purchased in 1882 the residence which he now occupies, having rebuilt and enlarged it to meet his requirements. Eight years later (1890) he made this chosen spot his permanent home, and engaged in the dairy busi- ness with his brother, the late Gilman S. Moul- ton, as above mentioned. Mr. Moulton married, in 1875, Annie J. Roberts, daughter of his part- ner, Addison F. Roberts. Mr. and Mrs. Moul- ton have three children, namely: Sherman Rob- erts, who was graduated from Dartmouth Col- lege in 1898, and from the Harvard Law School in 1901, and is now in the office of Messrs. Town- send & Avery in New York city. Horace Freeman who was graduated from Dartmouth College with the class of 1900, is now in the employ of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, at New Haven, Connecticut. Desier C. was graduated from the "Ingleside School," at New Milford, Connecticut, with the class of 1902.

JUDGE JAMES HUTCHINSON.

Judge James Hutchinson, of West Randolph, has been actively identified with many of the leading interests of this town, gladly contributing his full share towards advancing its welfare. He was born in Randolph, Vermont, January 1, 1826, a son of James and Sophia (Brown) Hutchinson. He is of English ancestry, being a direct descend- ant in the eighth generation from Richard Hutch- inson, the immigrant, the lineage being thus traced: Richard, Joseph, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Bartholomew, John, James, James.

Richard Hutchinson, a son of Thomas Hutch- inson, was born in England in 1602. Emigrating in 1634 from Arnold, England, to America, with his wife Alice and four children, he settled in Salem, now Danvers, Massachusetts, where he became a large landholder. He was known to have been a man of great energy and industry, and amassed what was then considered a fortune.

Joseph Hutchinson, born in Mistham, Eng- land, in 1633, became a man of importance in his Salem home, and after attaining manhood held many offices of trust and responsibility. His son, Benjamin Hutchinson, a life-long resident of Sa- lem, was numbered among the prosperous and well-to-do farmers of the town, where he en- gaged in agricultural pursuits until his death in

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

1733. Nathaniel Hutchinson, born at Salem vil. Jeg im Too8, removed in 1733 to Sutton, Worces fer county, Massachusetts, where he carried on general farming during the remainder of his act ne life. Bartholomew Hutchinson, born at Sut ton, Massachusetts, in 1734, was a farmer of shift and enterprise, owning an estate of two hundred acres, which he managed with success antil his death in 1790. John Hutchinson, born at Sutton, Massachusetts, in 1766, removed to Braintree, Vermont, in 1793, as a pioneer set- tler of the place, and resided there until his death, May 29, 1845. He was a man of more than usual ability and worth, his good qualities being recognized by his fellow townsmen, who elected him to the state legislature seventeen times. He married Lucy Kenney, of Sutton, by whom he had nine children. James Hutchinson, born in Braintree, Vermont, February 27, 1797, died October 2, 1882. He spent several years of his life in Randolph, Vermont, successfully en- gaged in agricultural pursuits. He married, first, Sophia Brown, and married, second, Mrs. Julia B. Cady, of his first union rearing eight children.

James Hutchinson obtained his early educa- tion in West Randolph, attending first the com- mon schools and later a private school. After teaching school for three consecutive winters, he settled as a farmer on the ancestral homestead in Braintree, where he remained until 1869, when he removed with his family to West Randolph, his present home. He has ever taken a lively in- terest in public matters, since the formation of the Republican party, being one of its most zeal- ous supporters. While living in Braintree he served in many town offices, and was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1856. For two years, from 1864 until 1866, he was as- sociate judge of the county.

Judge Hutchinson was elected state senator in 1868 and 1869; was elected county commissioner in 1870; was chosen a delegate to the national Re- publican convention in Philadelphia in 1872; and from 1872 until 1887 was postmaster at West Randolph. In 1889 he was one of the petitioners to the legislature for a charter for a savings bank in West Randolph, and on the organization of that institution was elected its first president, a position which he filled a number of years. In the early days of the anti-slavery agitation the

Judge was an enthusiastic worker with Garrison and Phillips, ever sustaining the principles that guided the abolitionists, for five years serving as vice president for Vermont of the New England Anti-Slavery Society. During the trouble in Kansas he was connected with the Emigrant Aid Society, and in company with the state agent vis- ited several places in Vermont with a view to raising men and money to aid in freeing Kansas from the trammels of the slaveholder, and at one time he himself accompanied an expedition to Kansas for that purpose. He has also been act- ively identified with various temperance organi- zations of the state, aiding the cause by voice and vote.

Judge Hutchinson married, November 2, 1847, Abby B. Flint, daughter of Elijah and Patience (Neff) Flint, of Braintree. She died May 4, 1879. The descendants of the founder of that branch of the Hutchinson family from which the Judge comes are very numerous, and are to be found in nearly every state in the Union. Many of them have become distinguished in various walks of life, among them being the celebrated Hutchinson family of singers, distant relatives of the Judge, whose voices have been heard in all parts of the United States.

HENRY CLAY McDUFFEE.

Henry Clay McDuffee, of Bradford, a citi- zen of prominence and influence, was born in the town named, on October 3, 1831. He was a son of John McDuffee, who was one of the first set- tlers of Bradford, and came of Scotch ancestors, descended from John McDuffee, who with his wife removed in 1612 from Argyleshire, Scotland, to Londonderry, Ireland.

This John McDuffee was a direct descendant of King Kenneth McDuff of Scotland, and also a descendant of Duncan McDuff, who was born about 1000 A. D., and was the celebrated Thane of Fife referred to in Shakespeare's Macbeth, and the greatest and chief of those who labored to restore King Malcolm III. to his throne, which had been usurped by Macbeth. In return for his loyalty and valor Duncan McDuff was made first officer of the crown and given a very noteworthy coat of arms typifying his victory over Mac- beth. He was also given the fee to a large tract

Henry , G, Min Quefee

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of land, and the name of McDuff became Mc- Duffee.

John McDuffee (2), son of John McDuffee, who came from Scotland, and his wife, Martha K. (known in history as "Matchless Martha"), were in the siege of Derry, in the year 1689. Daniel (3), son of John (2), was the ancestor of the American family of McDuffees. He left Londonderry, Ireland, with his wife, Ruth Brit- ton, in 1720. They settled at Nutfield (now called Londonderry), New Hampshire, being among the first settlers of that town. They spent the first winter at Andover, Massachusetts. He died at Londonderry on March 4, 1768, while his wife survived him until 1776. They had nine children, six of whom served in the French and Indian wars ; they took part in the expedition into Canada, and three of them climbed the "Heights of Abraham" at Quebec.

Daniel (4), son of Daniel and Ruth, was born on March 16, 1739, at Londonderry, New Hamp- shire, and was a captain in Colonel Stephen Evans' regiment of the continental army. He fought at Lexington and Bunker Hill, and marched from New Hampshire to Saratoga, par- ticipating in the battle at that point. He was a blacksmith by trade, and his shop in London- derry was a rendezvous for General Stark and others in planning for action against the British forces. He died December 15, 1824, in Brad- ford, Vermont. His wife, Margaret Wilson, also a native of Londonderry, died at Bradford. They were the parents of fifteen children.

John (5), son of Daniel and Margaret, was born June 16, 1766, in Londonderry, and in early youth learned the trade of his father. He stud- ied surveying and was a practical surveyor in the field at the age of fifteen years. He came to Moretown, now Bradford, Vermont, in 1788. where his father joined him before the close of the eighteenth century. The son settled on a farm, but gave most of his attention to civil engineering. He was possessed of a remarkable memory, which served him all through life. He was ever dis- tinguished for public spirit, and was an industri- ous and frugal man. He was the first to ad- vocate the building of railroads in Vermont, and he procured the charter of the Boston & Montreal Railroad. He filled nearly all the town offices, and was trial justice for many years. His first

wife, Martha Doak, died in Bradford, May 14, 1822. On November 10, 1823, John married Dolly Greenleaf, a native of Nottingham, New Hampshire, daughter of Samuel and Hannah (Rowe) Greenleaf, natives of Massachusetts, Mrs. McDuffee died on May 7, 1874. She was descended through her paternal grandmother from the noted Lowell family of Massachusetts. She was the mother of six children, three of whom died in childhood. Mrs. McDuffee be- longed to the Christian church, and her husband was a Universalist in faith. He was a Whig and Republican, and for many years the county sur- veyor of Orange county. He taught school for several terms in Maine, New Hampshire and in Bradford, Vermont, and was a private tutor of many young men, including Dr. Silas McKeen, a pastor of the Congregational church of Brad- ford for over forty years. He also tutored Dr. Whipple, then a teacher in Bradford and after- ward a member of congress from New Hamp- shire. John McDuffee died in Bradford on May 4, 1851. His eldest son, Charles McDuffee, was a very able young man, and active in business affairs. He died, unmarried, in 1863. The youngest son, Horace, was graduated at Dart- mouth College in 1861, and served during the Civil war in the One Hundred and Sixty-ninth regiment of New York Volunteers.

Henry C. McDuffee (6), son of John and Dolly (Greenleaf) McDuffee, obtained his edu- cation in Bradford, where he attended the public schools and academy. His home was on the paternal farm until about 1869, when he removed to his present residence in the village, on Main street. At an early age he learned surveying, an occupation which he has since pursued with more or less regularity. Upon the death of his father and brother Charles, who were agents for Joseph Bell, of Boston, an extensive landowner, having large real estate interests in Canada. New England and the western states, Mr. McDuffee was appointed agent in their place, and was given the management and control of the sale of these large properties, a trust which he discharged with business-like sagacity. During that time and since he has had charge of many other extensive estates in different parts of the country. For a number of years he was connected with and had charge of several large oil wells and coal mines in

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Ohio. He was also manager of a linen mill in Claremont, New Hampshire, for about two years.

As a progressive and public-spirited citizen Mr. MeDuffee takes an active interest in the wel- fare of his town, contributing largely toward its prosperity. A zealous friend of education, for a number of years he has been a trustee of Brad- ford Academy. He was one of the organizers of the Bradford Savings Bank & Trust Company, personally securing its charter, and for many years he was one of its directors. He was also influential in establishing The Bradford Opinion, soon afterward becoming its principal owner. He subsequently sold the paper to Harry E. Parker. As a result of his large and varied experience he has become widely known as a man of keen judgment and business ability. For some time he was engaged by well known banking establish- ments in Boston and New York to inspect and install loan agencies throughout the western states and along the Pacific coast. A loyal Re- publican in his political affiliations, he possesses the courage of his convictions, and has been a most valuable public official, holding nearly all the town offices of importance. He represented Bradford in the general assembly in 1870, being the first Republican ever elected to that position from that town, and he was re-elected in 1872, receiving at that time the largest Republican vote ever polled there. In 1872 and 1873 he was high bailiff of Orange county, and served as as- sistant United States assessor from 1870 until the abolishment of the office. In 1884 he was elect- ed from Orange county to the state senate, and in that body he served on the committee of finance and railroads and banks. For a number of years he was chairman of the county Republican com- mittee, and in 1888 was one of the presidential electors. Fraternally he is a member of Char- ity Lodge. No. 43, F. & A. M., and of Bradford Chapter. R. A. M.

Mr. McDuffee married, first, on March 13, 1863, Miss Laura Waterman, of Lebanon, New Hampshire, who died the following September, He married, second, on June 8, 1869, Rosa M., daughter of Hon. Roswell M. and Miranda (Nel- son) Bill, of Topsham, Vermont. A child born November 23, 1870, of this marriage, Ernest Bill McDuffee, was graduated in 1892 from Dart- mouth College. He established a good record

during his college course for scholarship and busi- ness ability, and is now holding an important position as manager of a company handling ex- plosives throughout the United States. He is known as a highly capable business man. He married, January 11, 1900, Miss Grace Bacall, of Malden, Massachusetts.

LEROY ABDIEL KENT.

To properly present the genealogy of the gen- tleman whose name initiates this sketch, and who is now a thriving merchant of Hardwick, the his- torian must needs go back to Great Britain and search the records during the early part of the seventeenth century. The exact year of Joseph Kent's birth is not given, but he was born in England, and with his brother Joshua emigrated to Massachusetts in 1645. He married Susan- nah George, by whom he had a son named Joseph, born at Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1665. The latter left a son named John, whose birth occurred at Rehoboth, Massachusetts, in August, 1697. John Kent married Rachel Carpenter, and their son Ezekiel, born at Rehoboth, June 22, 1744, took part in the war of the Revolution and Shay's famous rebellion. Ezekiel married Ruth Gary, and their son Remember was destined to become the founder of the branch of the family which has so long and so creditably been connected with the state of Vermont. Remember Kent was born at Rehoboth, Massachusetts, June II, 1775, and in 1798 removed to Calais, Vermont, settling at the place later named in his honor as "Kent's Corners." Remember Kent was an influential man in his day, and served in the state militia, in which he rose to the rank of captain. He mar- ried Rachel Bliss, by whom he had a son named Ira, who became a farmer at Calais and spent his entire career in agricultural pursuits. Ira in early life married Polly Curtis, and from this union came LeRoy Kent, the subject of this sketch, whose birth occurred at Calais, Vermont, August 25, 1849.

He completed his early education at a com- mercial school in Providence, Rhode Island, aft- erwards, from 1864 until 1866, being in the em- ploy of a transfer company at Burlington, Iowa, which furnishes connection by ferry between the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and the

THE STATE OF VERMONT.

Burlington & Missouri River Railroad. Return- ing thence to Vermont, he entered upon a mer- cantile career at Craftsbury, conducting a store of general merchandise for a few years. From 1873 until 1893 he was in business as a general merchant at Calais, Vermont, during which time he also served as postmaster of the town, and like- wise had other important interests, becoming, in 1887, a partner of Mr. McLoud, with whom he has since been associated, although not as an act- ive member of the firm until December, 1898, when he removed to Hardwick. He is also con- nected with an enterprising real estate firm, be- ing a member of the syndicate known as the Hardwick Land Company, which is materially assisting the development and improvement of the town, opening up and laying out new terri- tory for residential and business purposes. He has been a director of the local bank for the past six years.

He is a strong Democrat in politics, and while a resident of Calais served as school director for a number of terms and as a representative to the state legislature in 1882 and 1883. On the 22d of February, 1875, Mr. Kent was united in marriage to Susan Blanche Hollister, who was born May II, 1852, in Marshfield, Vermont, a daughter of Samuel Dwight and Flora (Coburn) Hollister, members of the farming community of that town. Mr. and Mrs. Kent are the parents of a son, Ira Rich Kent, born October 28, 1876, a graduate of Tufts College, now employed in an editorial ca- pacity on the Youths' Companion.

WILLIAM NORMAN LAWSON.

William Norman Lawson, of Hardwick, en- gaged in the plumbing, heating and hardware business, is a man of versatile talents, and is act- ively identified with the leading interests of the place. He was born December 21, 1857, in Wood- bury, Vermont, the birthplace of his father, Rol- lins Lawson, and of his grandfather, Daniel Law- son, who was a farmer and brick-maker. The last named was a son of Martin Lawson. Rollins Lawson, a natural genius in mechanical arts, was a blacksmith by trade, and was also engaged to some extent in general farming. He married Betsey M. Brown, who was born and bred in Calais, Vermont.

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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 8

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