USA > Vermont > Bennington County > History of Bennington County, Vt. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 60
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entered the bank of Bennington as cashier, remaining there four years. After leaving the bank he exchanged his farm for business property in Troy, and came to East Bennington to reside in 1842. He engaged in the grocery trade in Troy, but not liking it there returned to Bennington and built the stone grist-mill on North street, which he furnished with fine machinery and con- ducted for about twenty- five years. A foundery was also run in connection with the other business. This foundery was the Aaron Grover Works, and was purchased about 1846.
From this time Major Brown became prominently identified with the iron interests of the county. The iron mines east of the village were worked, and this business was a leading industry of Western Vermont at the time. One of his partners in this business was Resolvy Gage, now a resident of East Boston, Mass. In 1860 Olin Scott succeeded Mr. Gage.
In 1867 Mr. Brown sold his grist- mill and appurtenances to Henry W. Putnam, and began work on his Troy property, which occupied his attention for about two years. In 1870 he retired from active participation in business pursuits, and devoted himself to the management of his investments.
In his daily meeting with friends and fellow townsmen Mr. Brown was generally addressed as "Major." This title became his by virtue of his ap- pointment in 1829 as brigade major and inspector of the second division of Vermont militia, and by it was he ever afterward designated. Besides this Major Brown was variously honored with offices, the gift of the electors of the town and county, but he was by no means an office-seeker ; and whatever of political holdings were his the duties of office were faithfully and honestly ad- ministered. In 1853 he was elected associate judge of the County Court of Bennington county, and served in that capacity two terms.
An event that proved an important factor in Major Brown's success in life was the faithful and devoted companionship of a most estimable wife, the sharer of his fortunes and reverses in business, and who survived him at the time of his death in 1887. Samuel Hinman Brown and Sarah Maria Brown, the latter formerly of Southbury, Conn., were united in marriage on the 10th day of October, 1826. Of this marriage five children were born, as follows : Hinman Samuel, now of Bennington ; Sarah Maria, who died at the age of twenty-five years; Francis Raymond, who died at the age of twenty-seven years; Helen Elizabeth, who became the wife of William E. Hawks, and Cor- delia, who died an infant of one year and eleven months.
H AWKS, WILLIAM EDWARD, the son of Alvah and Julia Ann (Pratt) Hawks, was born in Bennington, on the 27th day of January, 1832 ; there. fore he is now just past his fifty seventh anniversary of birth. His father and mother were also natives of the town of Bennington, and on both sides his ancestors have been pioneers of the county. The father of our subject was a
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farmer by occupation, and on the farm William was brought up at work and attending school in season, until he attained his eighteenth year, at which age he went to New York City and took a clerkship in the house of Hunt Broth- ers, importers and jobbers of dry goods. With this firm young Hawks con- tinued about four years, when they suspended business, whereupon he entered the dry goods house of Richards & McHarg, in the capacity of salesman, and with whom he remained from 1854 until 1857, when this firm also was obliged to suspend.
Having now been some years in the city of New York, and having ac- quired a pretty thorough knowledge of the business with which he had been connected, and what was of equal value to him, having saved as much as pos- sible of his salary, Mr. Hawks joined his accrued capital with that of Charles C. Hurd, and entered into active business life at 13 Park Place, as importers and jobbers of hosiery and notions, under the firm name and style of Hurd & Hawks, which business was continued with indifferent success until 1860, when the senior partner went out of the firm and our subject was left to close out the stock as best he might.
In the year next preceeding this, or in 1859, on the 2d day of February, William E. Hawks was married to Helen Elizabeth, daughter of Major Samuel H. Brown, of Bennington. Of this marriage five children were born, all of whom are still living.
Again, in 1864. our subject ventured into business in New York, this time as a dealer in ladies' and gentlemen's furnishings. This proved far more profit- able than his previous undertaking at the metropolis, and his endeavors were rewarded with abundant success. And during the same period, or from 1864 to 1870, Mr. Hawks was engaged in other business enterprises, and these, too, were fortunate and brought satisfactory returns. But in 1870, or about that time, the capitalists of the East were giving much attention to Western invest- ments, and our subject saw for himself that these promised better returns than any Eastern enterprises offered at that time; he therefore closed out his mer-
cantile business in New York, and " turned his face toward the setting sun," and there, in the main, has he been interested from 1870 until the present time ; but not to the prejudice or neglect of his native town- Bennington - for here has been his acknowledged home notwithstanding the magnitude of his interests in other localities. And he has been, and now is, largely inter- ested in investments in Bennington and elsewhere in its vicinity ; he is direc- tor and stockholder in the Bennington County National Bank, vice-president of the Bennington County Savings Bank, the owner of a large amount of real and personal property in the county ; also, he was one of the chief advocates of the graded school enterprise, and connected with the Monument Association in their most laudable undertaking. Mr. Hawks, too, is known to possess much public-spiritedness and generosity, and no worthy charity has ever appealed to him in vain.
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But, turning for a moment to some of Mr. Hawks's Western investments, we find him, in 1872, one of the organizers and directors of the First National Bank of Marseilles, Ill. ; later he becomes president of the Marseilles Water Power Company, and the largest stockholder of the concern ; he was also at one time vice-president of the Joliet Water Works Company ; is president of the Plymouth Rock Cattle Company, a corporation having a capital stock of $250,000; also president of the Leadville Water Company, the capital of which is $300,000; also president of the Soda Springs Land and Cattle Com- pany, capital stock $300,000. In each of these enterprises Mr. Hawks owns a very large and controlling share of the stock.
Such, then is a brief résumé of the principal business operations of Will- iam E. Hawks. If it indicates anything it is that he is a remarkable man in his capacity to grasp and successfully direct great enterprises. In such under- takings, the detail of which would distract and paralyze the powers of men less favorably constituted for such operations, Mr. Hawks has seemed to observe the end from the beginning. He looks over his ground, forms his judgment with rapidity and almost unerring accuracy, and then proceeds to the execu- tion of his plans with the serene confidence that all will end according to his expectation. And he is, as must be seen, a very busy man ; but his manifold interests never seem to worry him; in all these his power has been found suf- ficient for any emergency, and his time adequate for all requirements. And he has found time too, for other duties than those confined to his business operations ; indeed, to every improvement that has promised to add to the welfare or beauty of his native place he has given the same care and efficient attention that is bestowed upon his own affairs. His personal connection with the Congregational Church covers a period of twenty years, and this, and other religious institutions, have received his sympathy and material aid. In short, he has not only succeeded in erecting a business and financial fabric of large proportions, but is in all respects the useful citizen, to whom the confidence and respect of his townsmen are not the least appreciated of his rewards.
P ARK, TRENOR WILLIAM, the son of Luther and Cynthia (Pratt) Park, and the grandson of William Park, was born in the town of Woodford, in this county, on the 8th day of December, 1823.
When two or three years old Trenor W. Park moved with his parents to Bennington. There his meager educational advantages were utilized in such irregular manner as the poverty of the family would allow. Pluck, persever- ence, and industry, however, enabled him to surmount all obstruction. From 1830 to 1836 he was known as the bright, precocious, keen witted boy, who peddled molasses candy to supply the necessities of the household. He also performed such acts of service as he was capable of doing. Among these he carried letters to and from the post-office at Bennington, which was then lo-
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cated in what is now called Bennington Center. This penny postal establish- ment between the present village of Bennington and that of Revolutionary fame was among the earliest harbingers of cheap postal service.
When fifteen years of age Trenor W. Park had prospered so much as to be the proprietor of a small candy store on North street. But his aspirations were to much higher ends than any associated with so humble a branch of com- merce He resolved to become a lawyer. Entering at sixteen the law office of A. P. Lyman, he there studied for admission to the bar, and with such suc- cess that he was received into the legal fraternity soon after the attainment of his majority.
Beginning practice in the village of Bennington, he continued to prosecute it with great success until the spring of 1852. He was also interested in the lumber trade of that section of the State, and contributed largely to its subse- quent development. In controversy or argument his talents were strikingly apparent. In the village lyceum he was one of the most conspicuous figures, and judging from his success in later life, was doubtless one of its most able and brilliant debaters.
The appointment of Hon. Hiland Hall by President Fillmore in 1851 to the chairmanship of the United States Land Commission of California, brought an entire change into the plans of Mr. Park, who was the son-in-law of Mr. Hall. The commission was constituted to settle Mexican land titles in the new acquisition to the territorial domain of the country. In the spring of 1852 Mr. Park and his family migrated to the Pacific coast. Arrived in San Francisco he commenced the practice of law, and displayed so much ability in the suc- cessful management of his first case that he attracted the attention of the law firm of Halleck, Peachy & Billings, which firm he was soon thereafter in- vited to join, and did so, the style thereupon becoming Halleck, Peachy, Bil- lings & Park, the leading law firm of California.
Mr. Park's professional practice at San Francisco was not unattended by personal danger. Pistols were favorite arguments with disputants. But he scoffed at pistols, and relied on principles and precedents. He was counsel of Alvin Adams, of Boston, president of the Adams Express Company, through- out the long and intricate litigation in which that company was involved in California and Oregon. In the historic reform movement of 1855 he aided "James King of William" in establishing the San Francisco Bulletin. When that daring reformer was assassinated in the street for sternly upholding law and order, the memorable " Vigilance committee " sprang at once into being, and assumed the local government. Mr. Park was its attorney. Five of the more prominent ruffians were hung. The worst of their companions were de- ported to Australia.
In 1858 Mr. Park visited Vermont. He was then the possessor of what was justly regarded as a fortune. But this was unexpectedly diminished in
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his absence by a commercial panic at San Francisco. Real estate greatly de- preciated in value. Yet although his available resources were suddenly cir- cumscribed, the ability and zeal to make the most of oppurtunities remained intact. Not only was he a brilliant and successful lawyer, but he was no less distinguished for judgment and skill in real estate operations. Politics attracted his energies. He failed of election as United States senator from California by a few votes only. Next he became associated with Colonel John C. Fre- mont in the control of the celebrated Mariposa mine, and administered the af- fairs of the Mariposa estate. Prosperous himself in all his undertakings, he also made the fortunes of those who were connected with him in business.
In 1864 Mr. Park retired from business and returned to Vermont. Inac tion was too wearisome for one of his temperament, and he soon emerged into active life, and established the First National Bank of North Bennington, built a fine residence, and connected himself with various business enterprises. He also embarked in State politics, was elected to the Legislature, and wielded great power in that body. One of the original corporators of the Central Ver- mont Railroad Company at the reorganization of the Vermont Central under that title, he furnished much of the capital required on that occasion. Not all his railroad enterprises were as remunerative as he had expected. The Le- banon Springs Railroad was one of these. Commencing its construction in 1868, he hoped thereby to make Bennington an important railroad town, and to place it on a through route from New York to Montreal, but almost ruined his finances and also impaired his health in the undertaking. He wished to supply the great want for transportation experienced by Southern Vermont, but did not meet with fitting co-operation. Prior to this he had purchased the Western Vermont Railroad. Works showed the sincerity which his oppo- nents have so freely and fully admitted.
In 1872 Mr. Park was united with General Baxter in the ownership of the celebrated Emma Mine, and while he managed it the payment of dividends was regular. Positive, energetic, and accustomed to operate on a large scale, he did not escape criticism and litigation. In the legal controversy which sprang out of the Emma Mine he was the victor. His sagacity and legal acu- men were marvelous. After a jury trial of five months he was fully vindicated.
Neither trials nor claims were impending at the time of his decease, nor did any stain rest upon his character. His administration of the Pacific Mail Steam- ship Company, of which he was for years a director, was characterized by his wonted shrewdness and force. He purchased a controlling interest in the Panama Railroad, and was elected its president in 1874, and so continued un- til his decease. As manager in connection with General J. G. Mccullough, he, through favor of circumstances, saw the value of its stock rise from below par to three hundred cents on the dollar ; at the rate it was sold to the De Lesseps Canal Company. His was the dominant mind in the old Panama cor-
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poration, and to him the felicitous close of its affairs were mainly due. The transfer of its property and the accompanying negotiations were only com- pleted a few months before he sailed for Panama on the trip on which he died.
Trenor W. Park was warmly and deeply attached to the locality in which the years of his youth and early manhood had been passed. He was, with E. J. Phelps, of Burlington, ex-Governor Prescott, of New Hampshire, and ex- Governor Rice, of Massachusetts, one of the committee on the design of the Bennington Battle Monument, which is intended to perpetuate the memory and preserve the spirit of Revolutionary patriotism. He was also a liberal giver. When one of the trustees of the University of Vermont he conceived the idea of donating the Gallery of Art which now bears his name. Benefac- tions whose good was apparent in the improved health of hundreds of poor New Yorkers (beneficiaries of the Tribune Fresh Air Fund) he delighted in. To these he gave some months of delightful rural experience at Bennington. The Bennington Free Library is also a splendid monument of his munificence.
His last and largest contemplated gift was that for the ample endowment of a " Home " at Bennington. The "Park Home" for destitute children and women is one of the most impressive memorials of the man. It reveals his heart. It was intended by him to be monumental of his sainted wife. The Hunt property north of the village was purchased, and the Home incorporated by act of the Legislature of 1882, but soon thereafter Mr Park died. Since his death the heirs, knowing his intense interest in the welfare of Vermont's soldiers, have donated the property to the State where is now established the " Soldiers' Home."
Paralysis seized him on the 13th of December, 1882, while a passenger on board the Pacific mail steamer San Blas. His remarkable career closed sud- denly. In itself it is not only an illustration of the possibilities of youth in this country, but also of the intrinsic value of shrewdness, energy, and perseverance. Nurtured in poverty, he died in affluence. Reared with scanty advantages, he died an able and astute legist, a general of industry, a monarch of finance. Of course he had enemies. Such men necessarily make opponents. But he also made and kept hosts of warm and devoted friends. Short and slight of figure, head bent forward as if in deep thought, eyes small and restless, man- ner nervous and restrained, chin and mouth strong and firm, quick and decided in expression, a great reader and a powerful thinker-this modest and unob- trusive man was one whose memory neither Vermont nor the world will per- mit to perish. His funeral took place from the Collegiate Reformed Church, Fifth avenue and Forty eighth street, New York, and was attended by many political, financial, and railroad dignitaries. His remains repose in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, N. Y.
Trenor W. Park was married on the 15th of December, 1846 to Laura V. H., daughter of ex Governor Hiland Hall. Lovely and beloved, a woman
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
who through life showered sunshine on all around. her, she died in June, 1875. Two daughters and one son survive their parents. One of the daughters is the wife or General J. G. Mccullough, and the other of Frederick B. Jennings, a prominent young lawyer of New York City. The son, Trenor L. Park, is also a resident of the city of New York. On the 30th of May, 1882 Mr. Park was married to Ella F., daughter of A. C. Nichols, esq., of San Francisco, Cal., who now survives him.
M CCULLOUGH, GENERAL JOHN G. The subject of this sketch was born in Welsh Tract near Newark, in the State of Delaware. His an- cestry is of Scottish blood on the paternal, and of Welsh extraction on the ma- ternal side of the house. His early educational advantages were of a meager character, but such as they were he diligently utilized them with considerable credit to himself. His father died when John G. was only three, and his mother when he was only seven years of age; but friends and relatives extended kindly and considerate care to the youth, whose pluck, persistence and unwearied in- dustry placed him in command of the resources of a good education before he had attained his legal majority. His scholastic career ended in Delaware Col- lege, where he graduated with the first honors of his class before he had reached his twentieth year.
Selecting the profession of law, Mr. Mccullough began to prepare for its practice immediately after liis graduation. Repairing to Philadelphia he entered the law office of St. George Tucker Campbell, who for many years was one of the brightest and most successful jury lawyers at the Philadelphia bar. There he zealonsly prosecuted the necessary studies for the next three years, and also attended the law school of the University of Pennsylvania. From the latter institution he received the diploma of L.L.B., and was also admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in 1859. Thus thoroughly equipped for the contests of the courts the young lawyer found himself apparently doomed to exclusion from them by the declining condition of his health. Of naturally weak constitution he was now seized by a grave pulmonary complaint, and was obliged to turn aside from the pleasing local prospects before him. The preservation of life itself demanded speedy change of climate and sur- roundings. Having tried and won by his maiden effort the first and only case intrusted to his management in Philadelphia, he sailed for California. The outlook was not promising. More dead than alive, the probabilities of the health, fortune, and fame, of which he was in eager quest, were neither ni.mer- ous nor flattering.
When Mr. Mccullough landed in San Francisco he was unable to remain there because of the severity of the winds. He at once went forward to Sacra- mento. There he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of California. But physical necessity was upon him, and he again moved onward to the foot-
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hills of the Sierra Nevadas, in order to profit by the dry and exhilarating air of the mountains. When the stage stopped at the end of its long route, in Mari- posa county, he disembarked, and stood face to face with all the new and untried possibilities of the situation. This was in 1860. Opening an office for the transaction of business, he rapidly acquired a full share of legal practice. The fame of a patriot rather than that of a legist was, however, what awaited him in his new and unaccustomed home. Before he had established any close and extended acquaintance with the people he was unwittingly swept into the thickest of the forensic fight for the preservation of the national union. The outer currents of the eddying war-storm that had gathered over the Cotton States, and that threatened destruction and death to all who stood in its path- way, made themselves felt in the remote coasts of the Pacific. There in South- ern California the Secessionist from Alabama lived in close proximity to the Unionist from Vermont. It was by no means certain that the State would not become the theater of internecine war. The arrival of General Sumner on the scene was remarkably opportune. By a coup d'état he superseded Albert Sid- ney Johnston in command of Fort Alcatraz, and thus frustrated the scheme of the Southern sympathizers to separate California from the Union. He found a ready and efficient supporter in the young. Mccullough, whose heart was too hot, intellect too swift, and eloquence too effective to permit him to be an in- active spectator of passing occurrences. Stranger as he was, he ascended the stump, and from that popular rostrum did splendid service for American na- tionality and freedom. Although barely qualified according to local law, he received the nomination for the General Assembly. A coalition of the Repub- licans and Douglas Democrats triumphantly elected him, despite the efforts of Secessionism, and sent him to Sacramento in 1861.
In the Legislature of California Mr. Mccullough so manfully and success- fully advocated the cause of the Union that in 1862 his constituents returned him to the Senate. The Senatorial district was large, and composed of many counties, and had for many years previously been under the control of the Democrats. Senator Mccullough displayed such legal acumen and such judi- cious vigor in shaping Legislation, that, notwithstanding the fewness of his years and the recency of his citizenship, he was nominated in the following year by the Republican State Convention for the office of attorney-general, and was elected at the polls by an overwhelming majority. This office he continued to hold for the next four years, in which he resided at Sacramento. Much im- portant litigation, in which the commonwealth was interested, thus fell to his management, and was so skillfully and satisfactorily conducted that he was again nominated by his party in 1867. But popular sentiment had veered. In the election his name stood at the head of his ticket in the reception of general favor, but nevertheless both himself and co-aspirants failed of success.
After the close of his official career General McCullough settled in San Fran-
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cisco, and there established a law firm, of which he was the head. From the commencement of its operations, and throughout the more than five years of his residence in that city he was a prominent member of the bar, which included men of the keenest and most cultured intellect from every State of the Union His practice was highly remunerative, and his reputation with court, counsel, and client that of a practitioner who is scrupulously precise in statement and in action, and who is always governed by the nicest sense of professional honor. In 1871 he visited the Eastern States and Europe, and returned in company with a gifted and accomplished lady, whom he had espoused in Vermont. The latter auspicious connection was the controlling cause, aided by the fact that he had already acquired an ample fortune, of his permanent removal to Vermont in 1873.
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