History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 93

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co.
Number of Pages: 988

USA > Vermont > Addison County > History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 93

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Tyler Stickney was apparently as well as usual on the morning of January 31, 1882, he having taken breakfast with his family as usual, after which he was out of doors and to the barns; but about 9 o'clock he was stricken with apoplexy and died in the afternoon. His aged partner survives him. Mr. Stickney commanded, during his life, the entire respect and confi- dence of the community in which he spent his life, and in death was sincerely mourned, not only by the large family which he left, but by a large circle of friends and acquaintances.

All the sons that are living have kept up their interest in the raising and breeding of Span- ish Merino sheep, and wherever located have fully sustained the reputation enjoyed by their father in this leading industry of Addison county. All have bred from the original "Tyler Stickney " flock. Julius T. and Charles Carroll are successful farmers living in the town of Wheeler, Steuben county, N. Y .; William Wirt, in Lapeer, Mich., is a lawyer by profession and is Circuit Judge of the Sixth Judicial Circuit of Michigan; Joseph T. is a large farmer and a very successful sheep breeder in Shoreham, Vt .; and John Quincy, in the town of Whit- ing, Vt., is also a successful farmer and sheep breeder. Edgar E., who owns and occupies the homestead, and who for ten years prior to the death of his father had the immediate charge of it, became, perhaps more than any of the sons, the natural successor of his father in keeping up the reputation of the "Stickney " name as a successful breeder of Spanish Merino sheep. Lora Eluthera is the wife of John Preston, a farmer living in Leicester, Vt. Emma A., who for thirty years has been blind, resides with her mother at the homestead. Mary Elizabeth is the wife of Charles Cox, living in Lapeer, Mich.

D ODGE, COL. SARDIS. Among the early settlers of the town of Weybridge were the ancestors of Sardis Dodge, his grandfather, Asa Dodge, sr., being one of the pioneers of that town. Sardis Dodge was born in Weybridge, Addison county, Vt., August 25, 1806, the oldest son of Asa and Mary (Gillett) Dodge.

Sardis Dodge was reared after the manner of bringing up New England boys. He attended a district school in the winter season, and wrought upon the farm in the summer. In this way his time was all utilized to good advantage.

Mr. Dodge has always been engaged in farming, purchasing the place which he still owns and where he so long resided, early in life. He always had a decided taste for military life, and at an early day identified himself with a militia company ; subsequently appointed colonel of a

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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.

regiment, a position which he filled for many years. Col. Dodge was constable and collector in Weybridge for seven years; he also ably represented his town in the State Legislature in 1847 and '48. During the civil war he was one of the selectmen of Weybridge for several years, and took an active interest in raising the quota of men from that town to aid in suppressing the rebellion.

February 20, 1831, Mr. Dodge married Miss Sarah Wales, of Weybridge, Vt. Seven children were born to this union, but two of whom survive, as follows: Cyrus A., a resident of Syracuse, N. Y., and Henry B., of Chicago, Ill.

Mr. and Mrs. Dodge are the grandparents of seven children. They are consistent members of, and regular attendants at, the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Weybridge, although residents of the village of Middlebury since retiring from the farm some ten years since.

Colonel Dodge has ever sympathized with the oppressed against the oppressor; and he rejoices that the institution of slavery is abolished and the Union is not only preserved, but strengthened, and that he contributed, by his influence and vote, even a little to produce this result. He is plain and frank in his manners, genial and social in his disposition, and enjoys the confidence and respect of all who know him, and is a hale and hearty gentleman, enjoying the fruits of an active and well-spent life.

J ONES, HON. ROLLIN J. Zebulon Jones, the ancestor of the family in this country, was born on June 9, 1723, and was a son of Benjamin Jones, who died on February 5, 1754.

Zebulon Jones went to sea when a boy and rose to the command of a merchantman engaged in the East India trade. He was married on October 13, 1744, to Annie Kibbe, a daughter of Jacob and Grace Kibbe. Zebulon died on September 27, 1776. His son, Zebulon Jones, jr., was born in Somers, Conn., on March 19, 1747, and was married on October 7, 1767, to Mary Cooley, who was born on March 10, 1750. Their children were: Rufus, born October 4, 1768; Mary, born September 20, 1771; Zebulon, born July 6, 1774; Amzi, born March 5, 1777; Azuba, born October 13, 1779; Huldah, born May 1, 1782; Judah, born February 23, 1785; Reuben, born June 17, 1788, and died in infancy ; Reuben (second) born on August 13, 1799; Jacob, born December 26, 1792; and Anner, born February 3, 1796.

Judah Jones, who was a brother of Zebulon Jones, jr., was killed on October 19, 1780, at a battle up the Mohawk River. Zebulon Jones, jr., died in Cornwall, Vt., on November 25, 1836, aged ninety years, and his wife, Mary, died on February 1, 1840, aged ninety-one years.

Zebulon, jr., was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and drew a pension, being wounded in that war. Soon after the close of the war he removed with his family from Hoosick, N. Y., to Cornwall, and settled there, just north of Lemon Fair Bridge. His son Amzi was married on March 14, 1799, to Hepzibah Harvey, a daughter of Nathaniel Harvey. She was born in East Greenwich, R. I., on September 13, 1779. They had a family of ten children. Of these, Hep- zibah was born December 18, 1799, and died on August 7, 1803. Mary was born December 17, 1801, and died on August 15, 1803. Amzi, jr., born October 22, 1803, was twice married. His first wife was Maria Marsh, who died in Cornwall on February 1, 1835. His second wife was Mrs. Mary (Butler) Ramsey, by whom he had two children, Ahira and Butler. Amzi, jr., was graduated from the college at Middlebury, Vt., in 1828, and was a minister of the Baptist faith for forty years. He died on April 14, 1880, at the residence of his son Ahira, in Red Willow county, Neb. Butler resides near Cheyenne City, W. T. Their mother is now living at Tis- kilwa, Ill. Jason, born January 23, 1806, married Lydia Hurlburt. Their children are: Alverton, Ashley, Harriet, Edwin, Victor, Marion, and Henry. Of these children, Edwin, Marion, and Henry now reside in Cornwall. Edwin married Harriet Buckman, of Crown Point. They have had one child born to them, Silas. Marion is the widow of Darwin Robinson, and Henry now resides with his parents. Anner, born March 24, 1808, married Ransom Miles, and died on No- vember 5, 1854, in Michigan City, Ind. Ahira, born June 25, 1810, was twice married. His first wife was Sophia Gale, a daughter of General Somers Gale, of Cornwall. Their only son, Ahira, lives in Bethlehem, Pa. His second wife was Lucy McGregor. To this union were born

769

HON. ROLLIN J. JONES.

two daughters, Annie and Agnes, who are now married and live in Arlington, Mass. Ahira was graduated from the Waterville College in Maine in 1836, and was a minister in the Baptist Society at the time of his death. He died in Cornwall on December 11, 1884. His widow now resides with her daughter Anna, now Mrs. McIntosh. Zebulon, born September 8, 1812, was a graduate of the Middlebury College in the class of 1836, and was also a minister of the Baptist Church. He was married three times. His first wife was a Miss Sherman, of Salem, N. Y. Their only child, Mary, married a Mr. Abernathy, and is now living in Minneapolis, Minn. His second wife was Mary Allison, of Peterboro, N. H., by whom he had a family of four children : William A., Maria, Nellie, and Frank. The sons are now dead. His third wife was Phebe John- son, of Rutland, Vt., and is now living. Zebulon died on March 2, 1883. Lorenzo, born January 9, 1815, married Thankful Sherman, of Salem, N. Y., and to them were born two children, Beriah and Elizabeth; he died on December 19, 1851. Mary Beulah Harriett, born November 22, 1817, married S. S. Rockwell, of Cornwall. To them were born two daughters, Mary and Cornelia. The former is now the wife of Dr. E. O. Porter, and the latter is the wife of Harrison Sanford. Both are residents of Cornwall, Vt. Mrs. Rockwell died on March 10, 1869. Her father, Amzi Jones, died on October 8, 1856, and her mother, Hepzibah, died on May 17, 1860. Rollin J. Jones, the youngest of the family and the subject of this sketch, was born November 12, 1819, in Cornwall, Vt., on the farm now owned by him, and which has been in the family since the first settlement in the town. He received his education in the district school of the neighbor- hood, in the Hinesburg Academy, and at the high school at Saco, Me. He was married on September 15, 1842, to Flora Beecher, a daughter of Austin and Sarah (Stone) Beecher. She was born in Hinesburg, Vt., on June 9, 1822. They have no children living. Their daughter, Martha Grace, was born June 19, 1848, and died June 17, 1865. Alice May was born April 23, 1852, and died May 1, 1855.

To the original home farm of 250 acres Mr. Jones has added 300 acres, making a farm of 550 acres, lying mainly in the rich Lemon Fair valley, and is considered one of the most pro- ductive farm properties in the State of Vermont. In the year 1844 Mr. Jones first engaged in the breeding of pure-bred Merino sheep. He began by the purchase of ewes from Isaac Allen and Abraham Melvin, of New Hampshire. To cross with them he bought the first high- priced ram ever sold by Mr. Edwin Hammond. He bred this flock for about eight years and then sold it, and bought two hundred imported French Merinos. In 1856 he laid the foundation of his present flock by purchasing forty Atwood ewes from R. P. Hall, who bought in connection with Mr. Hammond. He kept his best sheep during the time of low prices succeeding the war, and always discouraged the introduction of Paular blood into the Atwood flocks. From 1843 to 1863 Mr. Jones was the most extensive Merino sheep dealers in the United States. Since 1863 he has been engaged in improving his sheep, and now has one of the best Atwood flocks in the State. The rams " All Right," " Reserve," " Reliance," and " Umpire " were bred in the flock. About the year 1843 the great business of exporting sheep into other localities was commenced by Mr. Jones and S. S. Rockwell, who began the trade in a small way by driving a few sheep into adjoining counties and disposing of them on the way. It was thence extended into the Western States, and in 1860 they, with S. B. Rockwell, crossed the Isthmus to California, where an immense trade soon sprang up. Mr. Jones remained in California for four years and six months. He again visited that state in 1869, and has been a leader in the sheep trade in the United States for twenty years, and has never slackened in interest in keeping up to the high- est standard in sheep breeding. He received a medal and a certificate of award at the World's Fair in Philadelphia for his exhibit in sheep, and a gold medal for the best flock of Merino sheep at the Vermont State Fair in 1876, and also in 1880. From early life Mr. Jones has taken an active part and interest in political affairs, and has been a leader in the Whig and Re- publican parties, with which he has been identified. He was elected a member of the House of Representatives for the State for the years 1849, 1850, 1867, and 1868, and was a member of the Senate in 1853, 1854, and 1869. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1857, and from 1870 to 1874 was the Collector of Internal Revenue for the First District of Ver-

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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.

mont. It is simple justice to state that in all these several important public offices Mr. Jones has discharged the duties which have been put upon him, in an able manner and to the entire acceptance of his constituents.

In all domain of thought or action, like all men who think and act for themselves and who form their own conclusions, he is not easily moved from opinions once formed or positions once taken. A man of positive convictions, he is a powerful ally to any friend whose cause he espouses and a strong support to any measure he advocates, while men and measures that he does not favor find in him an equally strong opponent.

Having no children of his own to support and educate, he, in a quiet way, often assists young men who are worthy, but lack the means, to acquire an education. Mr. Jones has been a member of the Baptist Church since 1840, first of the Hinesburg, then of the Saco; and since 1868 he has been a member of the church at Cornwall, and has been a liberal contributor to the building and support of neighboring churches of other denominations.

L INSLEY, CHARLES, was born in Cornwall, in Addison county, on the 29th of August, 1795. His father, Hon. Joel Linsley, born in Woodbury, Ct., February 7, 1756, moved from there and settled in the town of Cornwall in 1775. The Rev. Lyman Matthews, in his- history of Cornwall, says of him: "Judge Linsley belonged to a class of men whose energy, enterprise and intelligence go far in forming the character of a town. He was, indeed, formed by nature to exert a controlling influence in any community in which he might reside. He was appointed town clerk at the organization of the town and held that office, with the excep- tion of two years, until his decease. He represented the town in the State Legislature, was as- sistant judge and afterward chief judge of the County Court. In every office his

duties were discharged with marked ability and to universal acceptance. Few men enjoyed with keener relish the pleasures of social intercourse. Possessing an inexhaustible fund of an- ecdote and humor and unusual conversational powers, he was the life of every circle with which he associated. The aged and the young alike found in him an agreeable companion. To. the unfortunate he was a sympathizing friend; to virtuous indigence a cheerful benefactor ; and of every scheme of benevolent effort a munificent patron."

He married, October 18, 1781, Levina Gilbert, born December 28, 1758. Their children were-Sarah, born May 10, 1783 ; Betsey, born September 10, 1785; Horace, born December 13, 1787 ; Joel Harvey, born July 16, 1790; Gilbert, born May 9, 1793 ; Charles, born August 29, 1795; Lucius, born May 11, 1798; and Julius, born February 17, 1801.

Joel Linsley died at Cornwall, Vt., February 13, 1818 ; his wife, Levina, April 30, 1843. All of their children are deceased.

Abiel Linsley, grandfather of Charles, was engaged previous to the Revolution in trade with the Indians. on the borders of Lake Erie. He settled in Cornwall, Vt., soon after the close of the Revolutionary War, and died there the 17th of May, 1800, aged seventy years.

Sarah, the sister, who survived childhood and youth, married Rev. Truman Baldwin. Three daughters were born and survived them. They removed to Western New York and died there at advanced ages.

Horace, the eldest brother, a farmer, was a man of great integrity, natural piety, and ear- nestness of purpose; would have excelled as a teacher or pastor had he possessed the advantages of an early education. But he married early, and kept up the farm of his father during his life, when afterward he removed his family to Western New York. A man of influence, father of a large family ; a deacon of the Congregational Church; he died at an advanced age, having been a good and faithful servant in his Master's kingdom.

The Rev. Joel Harvey Linsley, D.D., a brother of Charles, studied first for the bar, was ad- mitted and practiced for some years, afterward studied for the ministry, commenced preaching at Hartford, Ct., and afterwards was settled over the Park Street Church, Boston, for three years ; was president of the Marietta College, Ohio, the next ten years; two years thereafter he devoted to the agency of the Society for the Aid of Western Colleges, making his home in

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CHARLES LINSLEY.

New York city; in 1847 was called to the pastorate of the Second Congregational Church in Greenwich, Ct., and in this relation continued until his death, which took place March 22, 1868. He was a man of position, ability, industry and success from the first, enjoyed in the largest measure the confidence of the wise and good, filled positions which could not be filled by a man of inferior qualifications; in his Christian character, calm, cheerful, sympathetic, accessible to all, meek and long suffering, full of charity and good works.

Charles Linsley grew up to manhood in the county where he was born. He did not enjoy the advantage of liberal studies in early years, but acquired a good, plain education and a useful appreciation of the necessity of something more. In early manhood he engaged in mercantile pursuits, but he soon abandoned the counting-room and commenced the study of law. During his mercantile life, though with few advantages, to acquire some classical knowledge as a found- ation, he was often found, when disengaged from business, poring over Virgil. About the year 1819 he commenced studying the law in the office of Peter Starr, esq., in Middlebury, and after remaining there a year or two went to St. Albans and completed his course in the office of Mr., afterwards Chief Justice, Royce, working very hard there in law and classics. In 1823 he was admitted to the bar in Franklin county, returned to Middlebury and began there the practice of his profession. He entered a professional arena such as has been rarely wit- nessed, when Daniel Chipman, Judge S. S. Phelps, Horatio Seymour, Robert P. Bates and Peter Starr were the leading contestants. Tradition yet speaks of the splendid tournaments of those days, in the Addison County Courts; but only tradition. All the actors have passed away. Mr. Linsley, the youngest of all, survived them all, and survived, also, most of his later associates To say that Mr. Linsley, then a young man, took at once a respectable standing among such competition ; that he gradually but steadily advanced in reputation and public regard till he came to be reckoned among their equals, and that as his eminent seniors, one after another, left the business of the bar, he became one of its acknowledged leaders, and ably maintained that position for many years, is to say much; enough, perhaps, but no more than the truth. The early death of Mr. Edmunds, the retirement of Mr. Chipman, the election of Mr. Seymour to the United States, and of Mr. Phelps to the bench, and the removal of Mr. Bates to New York, as they successively occurred, left him in the foremost ranks of the profession. No counsel was then more sought than his; few causes of any consequence tried there without his assistance, no influence in that part of the State regarded as more effective with juries, or more useful with the bench. His addresses, both to courts and juries, were always pervaded by an elevated sentiment, never descending below a just dignity or appealing to an unworthy prejudice. He excelled in the difficult art of cross-examination. While he never unjustly attacked an honest witness, few dishonest ones were able to escape his acute penetration and cool, imper- turbable self-possession. His shrewdness and remarkable reticence in business affairs made him a safe and reliable counselor. In the ardor and solicitude of the advocate he never forgot what belonged to the gentleman, and strove always to elevate the character and dignity of the pro- fession.

Mr. Linsley possessed rare powers which the ordinary duties of his profession did not call into exercise. A few fragments of poetry written by him have been preserved, which indicate a fine poetic faculty. His acquaintance with general literature was varied and extensive, and he could have have excelled in almost any of its departments. He was public spirited, sustain- ing earnestly every movement towards public improvements. He was an early and strong friend of the railroad enterprises of the State ; and was connected with Judge Follett, Mr. Co- nant, Judge Smalley, George T. Hodges, Nathaniel Fullerton and others in the projection and final completion, through many trials and difficulties, of the Rutland and Burlington Railroad.

In politics Mr. Linsley early connected himself with the old Democratic party, and adhered to it consistently through all fortunes down to the general obliteration of party lines in 1861. A strong friend and admirer of Mr. Van Ness, he went with that gentleman in 1827, when he led off General Jackson. He was also associated politically in those days and afterwards with many leading men in the State. Among them were Colonel Hyde, Heman Lowry and Mr. Has-

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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.

well, of Burlington ; Judge Kellogg, of Brattleboro; Governor Robinson, of Bennington, and Judge Williams, of Rutland. A strong bond of political friendship seemed to have been formed among this class of men, by their political connection. During this period of his life Mr. Linsley never held office, except the appointment of United States district attorney, under the admin- istration of President Polk. In 1856, after a brief absence in the West, engaged in some rail- road affairs with his sons, he was induced to move to Rutland, where he formed a partnership with John Prout, esq., and entered at once into a very large business, more lucrative, probably, than any he had ever enjoyed. The next six years, the last of his active life, were its busiest. Besides his heavy practice, he held, during the years 1856 and 1857, by appointment of the Supreme Court, the office of railroad commissioner, being the first incumbent of that place after its creation. In 1858 he represented the town of Rutland in the Legislature, and took a leading and useful part in the debates and the business of the session. He was also collector of the district of Vermont, under President Buchanan, in 1860. At the opening of the War of the Rebellion he took the side of the government and gave it his earnest and unswerving sup. port to the day of his death. Those who were admitted to his domestic and social life will never forget his unvarying kindness and courtesy, his cordial hospitality, his genial, playful wit, and his affectionate attachment to those he loved. Honest, kindly, generous, true to his friends, in prosperity modest, in adversity brave, he was a Christian gentleman, every inch.

In 1862 his health had become so much impaired as to render further attention to business out of the question. He returned to Middlebury, to the home where he had spent so much of his life. It was, however, too late for rest to restore him. Though able to be out much of the time, and to engage more or less in the literary employment before alluded to, he gradually de- clined. He died on the 3d of November, 1863. He was buried from St. Stephen's Church, of which he was one of the founders, and had long been a member and staunch friend, and from whose doors eleven of his children, out of seventeen who had been born to him, had preceded him to the grave.

Mr. Linsley was twice married. He married, June 27, 1826, Sarah White, daughter of Daniel and Elentheria (Hedge) Chipman. Their children, in the order of their births, were: Daniel Chipman, Sarah Elentheria, Charles Julius, George Lucius, Susan Dunham, Edward Hedge, Eliza Maury and Emma Levina; all deceased except Daniel Chipman and George Lucius. Sarah White Linsley died at Middlebury February 12, 1841. Mr. Linsley married, December 5, 1841, Emeline, daughter of David and Hannah (Bartholomew) Wells. Her father was a native of Brattleboro, Vt., her mother of Harwington, Ct. Children by this union were : David Wells, Mary Elizabeth, Emeline Wells, Joel W., John Gilbert, William, Helena Electa, Julius Gilbert and Richard Wells. Mary Elizabeth, Joel W., William and Julius Glibert are living.

B ATTELL, PHILIP, EsQ., was born at Norfolk, Ct., November 28, 1807. His father was the elder Joseph Battell, a prosperous and public-spirited merchant of that town; his mother Sarah Battell, daughter of the Rev. Ammi R. Robbins, for fifty-two years the beloved pastor of the Norfolk Church. When hardly twelve years old, young Philip was sent to Lennox Academy, Mass., to prepare for college under "Father Gleason," who in those days was held in high repute as an educator of youth. After studying two years at the academy he finished his preparation for college by spending one year more with Dr. Cooley, at Granville, Mass., and was admitted to the freshman class of Yale College when less than fifteen years of age. Three years before, however, his older brother Joseph (afterward the wealthy merchant of New York city who built the elegant "Battell Chapel " for Yale) had entered Middlebury College. Broth- erly affection naturally led Philip to go to Middlebury instead of to New Haven, and in 1826 he graduated with such illustrious classmates as Hon. Solomon Foot, Prof. Edwin Hall, of Auburn Theological Seminary, Dr. Martin M. Post, and Dr. J. W. Chickering.

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History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 93

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co. Number of Pages: 988

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co.
Number of Pages: 988