USA > Vermont > Bennington County > History of Bennington County, Vt. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 59
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
his opposition to the claims if any member would satisfy the house that any single claim was well founded. His speech was commented upon by many of the Virginians, some of whom were personally interested in the payment of them, among them Messrs Goggin, Goode, and Gilmer, the latter of whom while governor of Virginia, had already received over twelve thousand dollars by a law of the State entitling him as agent of the half-pay claimants, to one per cent. on all that should be paid by the United States on this class of claims. The debate occupied the morning hours of several days, and having the large delegation of Virginia on one side and a single member from another State on the other, and being in a great degree of a persona! character, it attracted very general attention. Members of both houses of Congress were present during mnuch of the debate, and the lobbies and galleries were filled with spectators. Mr. Hall triumphantly sustained every position he had taken in debate, and so discomfited his assailants that besides being highly complimented by many senators and members of the house, among them ex President Adams, his vindication was the subject of general newspaper notice through the country. This thorough exposure of these claims, followed soon after by a report in de- tail of the select committee, prepared by Mr. Hall, operated as a final sup- pression of them. May it not be said this capturing of the Virginia delegation was really the first taking of Richmond by evidence, much of which was taken from the State archives and brought to bear with irresistable force upon the fortified plans and schemes of its greedy speculators.
He was president of the large "Whig" Convention held in Bennington in 1840, and made the opening speech introductory to his presenting Hon. Dan- iel Webster at the famous "Stratton Whig Convention," held on the top of the Green Mountain on the 16th of August of the same year.
He was bank commissioner of Vermont for four years, from 1843, judge of the Supreme Court for the like period until 1850, when he was appointed Sec- ond Controller of the United States Treasury. While acting as controller, he took the ground that he should, if satisfied of the illegality of an expenditure, though ordered by the head of a department representing the president, re- ject it, although in opposition to a labored written argument and sanctioned by the published opinion of three former Attorney- Generals. He showed con- clusively that judicial authority had been designedly conferred on the account- ing officers as a check upon lavish expenditures in the several departments, and a second edition of his published opinion, which has since been followed in the department, has recently been printed for government use.
In 1851 he was appointed by President Fillmore with General James Wil- son, of New Hampshire, and Judge H. I. Thronton, of Alabama, a land Com- missioner for California, resigning his position as controller, and recommend- ing for his successor Hon. E. J. Phelps, a prominent lawyer of Burlington, and since United States minister to England. Mr. Hall was chairman of the com-
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
mission, and wrote the opinion in the famous Mariposa claim of General J. C. Fremont, which included, almost without exception, all points that would be liable to arise in the adjusting of land claims under the treaty with Mexico After the election of President Pierce he remained for a time in San Francisco with the law firm of Halleck, Peachy, Billings & Park as general adviser and to assist in the preparation of important papers.
In the spring of 1854 he returned to Vermont, and, resuming his residence on the farm in North Bennington on which he was born, retired from the further practice of his profession.
Mr. Hall was possessed of the qualities which go to make up a statesman ; a good mind stored with good common sense, a retentive memory and a prac- tical mode of thinking. His flow of language as an extemporaneous speaker was deficient, but at the desk he excelled, as formulated thoughts and correctly molded ideas flowed as freely as could be readily written; and in whatever position he was placed he was found equal to any exigency which arose, as his fund of information extended to all branches of national, constitutional or in- ternational research.
Mr. Hall was a member of the convention which met in Philadelphia in 1856, and gave the Republican party a national character by nominating can- didates for the presidency and vice-presidency, and he presided at the Repub- lican convention held in North Bennington on the 16th of August of the same year.
In 1858 he was elected by that party governor of the State, and re-elected the next year by a like large majority. In his first message, after calling the attention of the Legislature to the local affairs of the State and speaking in condemnation of the attempt by a decision of the Supreme Court to legalize slavery in the Territories, he pronounced the decision in the "Dred Scott" case as "extra judicial, and as contrary to the plain language of the constitution, to the facts of history and to the dictates of common humanity :" and in his last message in 1859 he announced his determination to retire from further pub- lic service. He, however, acted as chairman of the delegation from Vermont to the fruitless "Peace Congress," which on the call of Virginia met in Wash- ington in February, 1861, on the eve of the rebellion. On the breaking out of the rebellion in April, 1861, he felt it his duty to do all in his power to up hold the unity and integrity of the government, and his time, energies, and means to a large extent were devoted to aid in crushing it out His associa- tion and intimate relations with such men as Webster, Clay, Adams, Giddings, Stevens, and others, when the doctrine of nullification or disunion was being advocated by Calhoun and his associates, that slavery and States rights might be sustained and perpetuated, had prepared him for immediate action, and his anxiety ceased only on the final surrender of Lee to Grant.
Mr. Hall always took a deep interest in the history connected with the ter-
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
ritory and State of Vermont. He delivered the first annual address that wa made before the Vermont Historical Society, and for six years, from 1859. w., its president, and was afterwards active in the preparation of the materials for a number of the volumes of its collections, and otherwise promoting its success. He read several papers at the meetings of the society, some of which were pub- lished ; among them one in 1869 in vindication of Colonel Ethan Allen as ti ... hero of Ticonderoga, in refutation of an attempt made in the " Galaxy Maga- zine" to rob him of that honor. He has contributed papers to the " New York Historical Magazine," to the " Vermont Historical Gazetteer," to the " Philadel- phia Historical Record," and also to the " New England Historic Genealogical Register." In 1860 he read before the New York Historical Society a paper showing "why the early inhabitants of Vermont disclaimed the jurisdiction of New York. and established a separate government."
In 1868 his " Early History of Vermont," a work of over five hundred pages, was published, in which is unanswerably shown the necessity of the separation of the inhabitants from the government of New York; their justification in the struggle they maintained in the establishment of their State independence, and their valuable s rvices in the cause of American liberty during the Revo- lutionary War. In it the loyalty of all the important acts of the leaders is so firmly established by documentary evidence, that he was confident no asper- sion could be maintained reflecting upon the patriotism of any of the early heroes.
Governor Hall was prominent in forwarding the centennial celebration of the battle of Bennington during the week of the 16th of August, 1877; in secur- ing for it the aid of the State Legislature, and in advancing its successful ac- complishment. He had a little before prepared a full and concise description of the battle, with an account of its far-reaching consequences, which was ex- tensively published, and has also a place in the official record of the celebration.
Being deeply interested in the erection of a suitable monument for com- memorating the battle of Bennington, he was sorrowfully surprised at the re- port of the committee on design, of which Hon. E. J. Phelps was chairman, made in December, 1884, of an artistic structure about sixty feet high, and in June, 1885, having reached the age of ninety, he addressed an open letter of twelve printed pages to the Bennington Battle Monument Association, giving his views of monuments and their form in relation to different historic events, critically reviewing the design of the committee recommending the small, low structure, and advised the erection of a tall, large, bold and commanding shaft. The letter, written with the vigor of earlier years, was extensively circulated and read, and as a result at the annual meeting of the association the same year at Bennington, which was very largely attended, the "report of the committee on design" was withdrawn, and it was unanimously voted to erect a monument of magnitude and grandeur.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
The honorary degree of L.L. D. was conferred on him by the University of Vermont in 1859. He was a life member and vice-president for Vermont of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, a member of the Long Island Historical Society, an honorary member of the Buffalo and corresponding member of the New York Historical Societies.
He married in 1818 Dolly Tuttle Davis, of Rockingham, Vt , who, after over sixty years of happy and useful married life, died January 8, 1879, having been a consistent member of the Congregational Church in Bennington about fifty years. Their golden wedding, with "no presents received," was celebrated Oc- tober 27, 1868. There were about three hundred present; of the gentlemen forty-five were over sixty years old, and one, a former teacher of his, aged eighty-five years. Mrs. Hall's parents, Henry Davis and Mary Tuttle, lived to- gether sixty years lacking three days. He was at the battle of Bunker Hill under Colonel Stark at the line of rail fence, and also served at West Point at the time of Arnold's treasonable attempt to surrender it to the enemy, being in the Revolutionary service over three years. At a family reunion in North Bennington July 20, ISS5, in honor of Mr. Hall, at the residence of his grand- daughter, on which day he was ninety years of age, there were present fifty- one of his descendants, there being five others who were detained from the in- teresting gathering. The difference in the ages of the oldest and youngest was eighty-nine years and four months. He had eight children, six sons and two daughters. Of the sons there are now living, viz .: Henry D., of Bennington; Nathaniel B., of Jackson, Mich .; and Charles, of Springfield, Mass. The de- ceased were, Eliza D., wite of Adin Thayer, who died in 1843; Hiland H., in 1851; Laura V., wife of Trenor W. Park, in 1875; M. Carter, in 1881, and John V. in 1888.
Governor Hall died in Springfield, Mass , at the house of his son, with whom he was spending the winter, December 18, 1885. Retiring on the 17th in usual health, he was heard in the morning to open the register for more warmth, as was his custom, when a fall called the family to his room. He was unable to rise, but gave directions for the care of himself, living about two hours, the ma- chinery of the body seemingly having worn out, he being in his ninety first year. The funeral was in North Bennington, the services being largely attended by the people of the vicinity, with the county bar; also friends from Manches- ter and Rutland, and other parts of the State were in attendance. Rev. Isaac Jennings, the pastor of the First Church, officiated, and the casket was borne and lowered into the grave by his remaining children, Henry D , Nathaniel B., John V., and Charles, who had a few years before in like manner, gently laid away the loved form of the wife and mother. The interment was at Bending- ton Center in the family lot he had prepared years before, and where his be- loved wife and many of his descendants are buried.
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
A BBOTT, LYMAN FREDERICK was born at Holden, Worcester county. Mass., on the 13th day of January, 1839, and was the youngest of cigi children born to Asa and Sarah (Morse) Abbott. The father was a farmer by oc- cupation at Holden. When Lyman was about nine years old the family moved to Worcester, Mass., at which place at the age of fourteen years the young son was put at work as a clerk, and was thus employed about two years, when the family again changed place of residence, this time moving to Bennington. Here Lyman entered the factory of his brother in- law, Henry E. Bradford, working in various departments, and by diligent application becoming acquained with the business in every detail.
. The faithful services rendered by young Abbott were not left unrewarded by his employer, for in 1863 he was taken into the firm, and upon the occasion of the death of Mr. Bradford in April, 1878 Mr. Abbott became the senior part- ner in the business, while the sons of the deceased manufacturer represented the interest of their father, but never disturbed the old firm name of H. E. Bradford & Co., it being too well and favorably known in business circles to be thrown aside by the successors in the factory.
Upon the death of Mr. Bradford our subject practically succeeded to the management of the extensive business of the firm as it then existed ; this busi- ness was exceedingly large, but under the charge of Mr. Abbott and his asso- ciates it lost nothing of its magnitude, and the new firm is still one of the lead- ers in the vicinity in the manufacture of knit goods. While this manufacture has received from Mr. Abbott close attention and care, he has not been so fully engaged by it as to prevent him from taking part in the various enterprises looking to the welfare and improvement of his town and its people, and once do we find him in the political arena, though against his every inclination, and only to gratify the wishes of his personal friends and party followers. In the fall of 1880 he consented to become the Republican nominee for representa- tive in the State Legislature. He was elected by a large majority, although the town is so equally divided as to require that each party put forth its strongest candidate.
Mr. Abbott is a member of the Bennington Historical Society, and as such has been elected by that body to membership in the Battle Monument Asso- ciation, the object of which is well known to every resident of the county. Also he has been connected with the First National Bank of Bennington since 1879 as director and vice-president. On the 20th day of May, 1868 Lyman F. Ab- bott was married to Laura Tirza Hancock, the daughter of Frederick Hancock, of Bennington Of this marriage two children have been born, both of whom are now living. Mr. Abbott is to-day numbered among the substantial busi- ness men of the town of Bennington, having the companionship of a large cir- cle of friends, and enjoying the reputation of entire honesty in business trans- actions, generosity in all good causes, and a citizen whose moral character is above suspicion.
1
D Mason & C' SyracuseNY
H.E. Bradford
ـمصد ري
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
B RADFORD, HENRY E. In the portion of this volume that is devoted to a description of the past and present manufacturing interests of Benning- ton the statement appears that Henry E. Bradford was the pioneer of the knit goods industry in the village. His operations in founding this industry began in 1853, when he became the owner of the Wills and Fairbanks property, and soon afterward in the spring of 1854 put it in operation in the manufac- ture of woolen cloths. This was continued until 1857, at which time George S. Bradford, a brother of our subject, became interested in the business, and the firm of H. E. Bradford & Co. was established and has continued until the pres- ent time, although neither member of the original partnership is now living.
Henry Edwards Bradford, the senior partner of the firm above referred to, and its principal member, was a native of Southbridge, Mass., born September 19, 1819. His parents were Elisha and Sally Bradford, and of their eight chil- dren Henry was the youngest. At the age of nine years the lad Henry was put at work at wool sorting, that occupation being at that time a trade, and so continued for several years until he became a practical and reliable sorter. In the course of time he accumulated some little means, and then about 1847, in partnership with John Tenney, he engaged in the manufacture of woolen cloths at Millbury, Mass. ; but at the end of four years Mr. Bradford sold out to his partner and went to North Amherst, where he again engaged in business, this time in partnership with Thomas Jones, the latter furnishing the necessary capital for the firm, while Mr. Bradford was the practical man in charge of the manufacturing department. Their product was cloths, principally Kentucky jeans, and their business was conducted with reasonable success for a period of about three years.
During the time of his business operations, both at Millbury and North Amherst, Mr. Bradford had a desire to establish a business for himself, but he lacked the requisite means, and therefore was obliged to work with others until his own capital was sufficient to warrant an investment of it; and the latter part of his three years partnership at North Amherst seems to have found him sufficiently well possessed for his purpose, or at all events he then determined to make the venture. Looking about for a desirable place to locate Mr. Brad- ford discovered an opening at Bennington, and he thereupon purchased the old Wills and Fairbank property that had formerly been a cloth factory, but the business had not been conducted with any great degree of profit. This prop- erty, as has been stated, Mr. Bradford purchased in 1853, and in the spring of 1854 took up his abode in Bennington. For the next three years the mill was run as under the preceding firm, but at the end of that time its character was changed and the first mill for the manufacture of knit goods was established in Bennington. The business of the firm was soon made a successful and profit- able one, and enlargements were necessitated to meet the increasing demands for their product. Other persons saw too that the Bradfords were on the road 65
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
to prosperity, and they in turn commenced similar manufactures until the vil- lage acquired the reputation of being an extensive knit-goods manufacturing center.
In the year 1863 George S. Bradford and Henry E. Bradford dissolved part- nership and divided the property formerly held and operated in common ; but the retirement of George S. Bradford did not affect the firm name, as Lyman F. Abbott, whose sister Henry E. Bradford had married, at once succeeded to the vacant place. John Kelso also became interested in the business, and con- tinued in the firm until about the year 1884. George S. Bradford took what the former firm had always called their " upper mill," and there he conducted business until the time of his death.
Henry E. Bradford was a stirring, energetic and thorough business inan, and while he was a practical workman he also had the capacity of managing the entire business in the office as well as at the work-bench. Thus was Mr. Bradford engaged at the time of his death, April 10, 1878. By his death the village of Bennington lost not only one of its most prominent business men, but one who had at heart the interests of the town as well as his personal affairs, and one whose influence for good in the community was remarkable. While the tur- moil of politics had no charms for him he nevertheless was not backward when his friends requested him to represent the people in local offices, but beyond this he would not consent to go. Mr. Bradford, too, was a generous man, and gave liberally of his means to the support of the church of which he was a mem- ber-the Methodist Episcopal-as well as to all other worthy objects. He was an earnest advocate of the graded school for the village, and when that insti- tution was erected Mr. Bradford generously donated to the trustees some desi- rable apparatus for experiments in the scientific department.
After Mr. Bradford's death the business of the firm was continued without changing its name, although several changes in partners have been made. As now conducted the persons interested in the firm of H. E. Bradford & Co. are Lyman F. Abbott, Willlam H. and Edward W. Bradford, sons of Henry E. Bradford.
Henry E. Bradford was twice married. He was first married on the 16th day of August, 1843, to Lucy Ann Proctor, of Fitchburg, Mass., at which place Mr. Bradford was then working at his trade as a wool sorter. Of that marriage one child, Frances Ann, was born. She died during childhood. Lucy Ann Bradford died May 9, 1847. Again on the 8th day of November, 1849, at Mill- bury, Mr. Bradford was united in marriage with Eleanor Abbott, the daughter of Asa and Sarah Abbott, then residing at Worcester. There have been born of this marriage seven children, viz .: Herbert Waldo, who died September S, 1857; Frederick, who died March 19, 1859; William Henry, of Bennington; Carrie Frances, who died September 10, 1859; Edward Walling, of Benning- ton; Lizzie May, the wife of Chester J. Reynolds, of Chicago; Emma Amelia, wife of Charles Henry Dewey, of Bennington.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
B ROWN, SAMUEL H., MAJOR. In the township of Bennington there was probably no man longer engaged in business pursuits, or who had a more extended and favorable acquaintance throughout the vicinity than Major Brown ; for, during the better part of sixty years he was in a greater or less degree directly interested in mercantile or manufacturing enterprises in the town ; and during all his long and varied business life and intercourse with his fellow men no man ever had just cause to doubt his honor and probity. Although he began life with not limited means, his prudent habits, ex- cellent judgment, and firm adherence to the rule that "whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well," brought to him most gratifying success and enabled him to accumulate a comfortable fortune Of quiet disposition, kind of heart, and generous to all good causes, he won the respect and esteem ot all to whom he was known. But in no way did the qualities of the man appear so strongly as in the citizen, friend, and neighbor, in the more private walks in life, and as the parent and husband within the sacred precincts of home. His commanding personal appearance, agreeable manners, and scrupulous atten- tion to the common civilities of life, endeared him alike to old and young.
Such were the characteristics of Major Samuel H. Brown, who, after an exemplary life of eighty-three years, changed the mortal for immortality, and was laid at rest on the Ist day of June, in the year 1887.
Samuel Hinman Brown was born in the town of Bennington on the 2d day of May, in the year 1804, and was the son of Samuel and Betsey Brown. Very early in life was he deprived of a mother's tender love and care, for she was stricken and died when Samuel was but seven years old ; and eight years later he was left an orphan through the death of his father. But kind friends. interposed, and young Samuel, under the guardianship of Captain Jonathan Norton, was placed in the family of Dr. Noadiah Swift, with whom he lived most of the time till his majority was reached. He then formed a partnership with Benjamin Fay, and commenced mercantile business at Bennington Cen- ter, as successors to General Henry Robinson, but in 1829 the partner retired, and the business was continued by Mr. Brown for some time longer, when, hav- ing acquired an interest in a tin business at East Bennington, he again took a partner, Ray R. Sanford, a relative of the family.
It would indeed be difficult to follow the many and varied business enter- prises in which our subject was from time to time engaged after his first ven- ture in partnership with Mr. Fay and his successor, Mr. Sanford, until his final retirement in 1870; but there may properly be made, as a part of this sketch, some mention of the leading of these enterprises as they are noted in the obit- uary, written soon after Mr. Brown's death and published: "Major Brown was interested in two cotton-mills here. The first stood upon the site of the Stew- art block, and the other on the site of the present novelty works and known as the Doolittle factory. About 1838 he sold out his store at the Center, and
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