History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 26

Author: Rann, W. S. (William S.)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1054

USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 26

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to be worth $40,000. To complete and furnish the buildings the bishop effected a loan of $10,000, securing this by a mortgage on the entire property. In the fall of 1836 the number of scholars had risen to nearly eighty, filling six school-rooms with the various classes, and before long the motto Pro ecclesia Dei was placed upon the front of the central building, high over the doorway. The motto has disappeared, but the leaves and flowers, carved by the bishop's own hands to embellish it, may still be seen where he placed them. In 1837 a theological professor was elected, and a salary of $600 provided by the diocese; but nothing came of it all. This year occurred the financial panic which wrecked so many business men and institutions. Some parents were compelled by the hard times to withdraw their boys, and others were unable to pay their bills. Then came the troubles with Canada, and the pupils from that quarter were called home. This reduced the attendance to about one-third of the former number and compelled the discharge of several of the teachers. Of the heroic efforts made by Bishop Hopkins, at home and in England, to avert disaster and save so promising an enterprise, this is not the place to speak. Suffice it to say that all attempts to save the buildings and a few acres of ground were unavailing ; the whole property connected with the school passed into other hands under foreclosure of mortgage in January, 1841, and the scheme, with all its actual equipments and all its possibilities, was at an end. The one edifice was made into three separate buildings in order to effect a sale. The north one was a long time a dwelling house, and in 1872 came to be occupied as a boarding school for young ladies. The south and central buildings were occu- pied from 1841 to 1860, and the central one till 1871, by a female seminary. The southern one was at last turned into a hotel and known for some years as the "Lawrence House." This was torn down about four years ago. The Ver- mont Episcopal Institute was founded by the Right Reverend John Henry Hopkins, D.D., LL.D., the first bishop of Vermont. The act of incorporation is dated November 14, 1854, and constitutes John H. Hopkins, Charles B. Marvin, Thomas H. Canfield, Edward J. Phelps and Albert L. Catlin the first board of trustees. The property held by the corporation consists of one hun- dred acres of land on Rock Point, about two miles from the Burlington post- office, and in full view of the city across the bay. It affords a peculiarly advantageous site for a seminary of learning, being retired from the noise and temptations of the town, of unsurpassed healthfulness, and affording unusual advantages for bathing, boating and other out-door exercises. The various charming views which it presents of lake and mountain scenery are by no means least among the attractions it offers to young men who are looking for a place of study that shall unite the quiet of a country home with the many advantages of a near residence to a town. The building is of the style known as the Collegiate Gothic, is three stories high, besides an office, 125 feet long, 44 feet wide at the center, 57 feet wide at the northern end, and 66 feet wide

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at the southern end, which contains a chapel complete, capable of seating 150 people. The tower projects twenty-two feet, and is seventy feet in height- The building is fitted up with all the conveniences needed for a first-class boarding-school, and will accommodate seventy-five pupils, with the teachers and the principal's family. It is constructed of marble found upon the point. The academical department was opened Ist September, 1860, under the direction of the Rev. Theodore Hopkins, A.M., a son of the late bishop; and during his administration acquired and enjoyed an extensive reputation as a thorough and efficient school. In 1881 he was succeeded by Henry H. Ross, A.M., an experienced teacher, who has proved himself competent to maintain and advance the high standard of instruction set by his predecessors. The catalogue for the tenth year (1869-70) gives a roll of 196 different pupils for the year preceding, and the names of sixty-four as entered for the current year, two only of whom are designated as day-scholars. A later catalogue gives 371 names of pupils from 1860 to 1877. The twenty-fifth annual catalogue shows a faculty of seven instructors with forty-five "cadets." This name is a reminder that the school is organized and officered for military drill. The young soldiers make a fine appearance upon parade, and have gained many compliments by the promptness and precision of their exercises and evolutions, It was a cherished project with Bishop Hopkins to provide a " church " school for the sons and daughters of his charge. To promote this object he devoted. as he says in his deed of gift, "all his property perpetually to the service of Almighty God as the property of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America." The deed bears date 15th December, 1854, at which time the property was valued at $20,000. He subsequently obtained some $40,000 more, which was expended in the erection of buildings and the accumulation of a fund for a girls' school, the foundation of which he had com- menced, when he was called from the scene of his earthly labors, 9th January, 1868.

The Episcopal Church in Vermont thus possesses, what hardly any other diocese in the Union has, an Episcopal residence with 100 acres of land adjoin- ing, giving ample room for the further erection of a young ladies' school, a theological seminary, a hospital - indeed, whatever buildings may be deemed necessary for the uses and development of the church. For this endowment the Episcopal Church in Vermont is indebted primarily to her lamented first bishop, who labored so unsparingly for her advancement ; but thanks are due also to those clergymen and laymen upon the board of trustees, who assisted and sustained him in all his undertakings, and this without a dollar of compen- sation for time employed, or expenses incurred in the discharge of their trust. In a recent report to the convention of the diocese the trustees say that " not a dollar of its funds has ever been lost, $73,000 of which have come into their hands." The treasurer of the board for most of the twenty-six years the

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school has existed has been Thomas H. Canfield, esq., of Burlington, who had the supervision of building operations, and the care of the whole property, during the time when the plans of the bishop were crystallizing into permanent and appropriate forms. To name other gentlemen, dead and living, wlio aided in the upbuilding of the institute, would be a pleasant task, if the space assigned to this chapter would allow.

The late John P. Howard has recently left $20,000 for a female department, and the trustees are now taking steps to raise $40,000 with which to erect suit- able buildings for a young ladies' seminary, upon the eminence at the east end of the property. This is to be in all respects a fitting counterpart of the build- ing occupied by the boys' school at the opposite end nearer the lake, and wll be furnished with all modern improvements and apparatus for a ladies' schoo of the highest character.

A word should be said of the theological department connected with the institute. This went into operation September 1, 1860, under the care of the Rev. John A. Hicks, D.D., previously of Rutland, Vt., as resident professor of divinity. The department drew but few students, and was before long discon- tinued. There is a library belonging to the school, of 1,600 volumes, largely composed of "the best remains of Christian antiquity." The salary of the di- vinity professor was provided for by a special legacy.

Charlotte Female Seminary went into operation May 1, 1835, and in the following year a building was erected for its accommodation. Its chief founder was the Hon. Luther M. Stone, M.D. In 1840 this building passed into the hands of the Methodist Episcopal Society. After a few years of prosperity it finally declined, and for the period of a generation now, the demand for educa- tion of the high school grade has been met by select schools maintained for two or three terms in the year, and with very frequent change of instructors.

Colchester Academy. - In the year 1850 a building was erected in part by public subscription, which should serve for the uses of a town hall and an acad- emy. For a number of years a school of academic grade was sustained here by the people of this and adjoining towns, but for the last ten years there has been only an occasional select school for some three months in the fall. The first preceptor here was William H. Belding, who was succeeded by Daniel W. Ellis, Walter Freeman, John McKeen, Clinton G. Mayo, S. H. Wheeler and D. H. Bicknell.

Essex Classical Institute. - The first school in Essex dates from 1788, and was taught by John Finch, an Englishman, who is said to have been sour-faced and severe. The first school district of which any record exists was organized in 1796, and embraced the northeast portion of the town. The school-house in which this was held was the second one erected in the town, the first having stood on Brown's River, near Jericho. Both were constructed of logs. In 1830 a large stone school-house was put up at the Center, the upper story of

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which was fitted up by private enterprise for a school of " high " or academic grade, and so used for several years. This school was conducted by a succes- sion of excellent teachers, Henry J. Raymond being of the number.

The " Chittenden County Institute " was chartered in 1853. In the follow- ing year a commodious brick building was erected upon the land given by Deacon Alvah J. Watkins, and in August of the next year the school was opened under the charge of Henry B. Buckham, with 125 pupils. Mr. Buck- ham's successors in the principalship were : A. T. Deming, C. W. Watkins and Milton R. Tyler. In 1862 Asa Sanderson became the proprietor, remodeled the building, gave the school the title of "Essex Academy," and made it in part, a boarding-school. Under Mr. Sanderson's care, the school attained a prosperity surpassing its previous history. His fifth catalogue, 1867, shows the whole number of pupils to be 170, forty-one pursuing classical studies. The catalogue of the next year shows Oscar Atwood, now for several years the mas- ter of the Rutland High School, to be the instructor in Latin and Greek, and the number of students increased to 205, thirty of whom are studying music. In February, 1869, the school building was burned, but the friends of educa- tion in the town, aided by the friends of the school in the county, subscribed liberally, and the present structure was raised on the foundation of the old, at a cost of $5,400. In 1876, just before his death, Thaddeus R. Fletcher, of Burlington, gave to the institute the handsome sum of $10,000 as a permanent fund, of which the interest only is available for the support of the school. In August, 1884, Miss Mary M. Fletcher, daughter of the above named, presented the trustees with $2,000 to purchase and furnish the boarding-house now con- nected with the school.

Since the re-opening of the school as the Essex Classical Institute, in 1869, the following persons have been elected principals : F. D. Mussey, A. E. Clark, A. D. Whitney, R. B. Lillie, M. S. Woodman, W. D. McIntosh, W. A. During, T. S. Adams, Allan C. Ferrin, and the present incumbent, L. E. Tupper.

This school is now fairly prosperous, and, it is hoped, will continue to be in the future as it has been in the past, a place where youth may be prepared for business or college at a comparatively small expense and in a thorough man- ner. It is the aim of the board of trustees gradually to raise the standard of the school till it shall be second to none in the quality of the work done.

Hinesburg Academy was incorporated in 1824 One of the earliest institu- tions of the kind in this section of the State, it for many years enjoyed a wide reputation and considerable patronage, and was an important preparatory school for young men from Western Vermont desiring to enter college. It has been one of the most prominent institutions of its class in the State, although in later years with the changing population and other schools springing up in towns around, its students have been largely from Hinesburg and adjacent towns, and much fewer in number than formerly. The succession of principals of the

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academy since its foundation have been : Asa Brainard, John A. Edgell, Otto S. Hoyt, Archibald Fleming, Peola Durkee, J. A. B. Stone, - Wood, A. J. Sampson, Homer H. Benson, Peola Durkee, George Lee Lyman, F. W. Powers, Ira O. Miller, John D. Kingsbury, George Lee Lyman, A. E. Leavenworth, Hiram Carleton, P. F. Leavens, George I. Bryant, A. E. Leavenworth, J. W. Russell, George W. Winch.

Among the graduates of Hinesburg Academy some became well known in Vermont, and some have achieved a reputation outside of the State. In the first class that were graduated from it were : Rev. Chauncey Taylor, Rev. Pe- ola Durkee, Rev. Elon O. Martin and Rev. Buel W. Smith. Later were : James M. Slade, of Middlebury, Dewitt C. Clark, Rev. Aaron Pease and Rev. Calvin Pease, afterwards president of the University of Vermont, Rev. O. G. Wheeler, Edgar Waddams, now Catholic bishop of Ogdensburgh, James W. Hickock, Dugald Stewart, Henry Lawrence, of Vergennes, and Edwin D. Mason. For several years past the academy building has been occupied by the town high school, of which William N. Ferrin was principal in 1875-76.

Hinesburg was one of the few towns which adopted the so-called town sys- tem of schools, which it still maintains with success. The old school-houses are retained and in them the primary schools are held. But the district lines are abolished and the schools are put in charge of a board of six directors, of whom two are chosen each year, who are elected at the regular town meeting in March and hold office for three years. The change in the character of the primary schools under this system has not been very noticeable. A few im- provements have been effected. Thirty-four weeks of school are now sup- ported in all the schools, where twenty-four was the common number. And a high school free to scholars in town is maintained two terms in the year. The school tax is more equally adjusted, being levied upon each man's grand list, thus materially lightening the burden upon the poorer classes in back districts who are ambitious to educate their children.

A literary society was organized here in 1810 (incorporated in 1822), which in a few years gathered a respectable library, and by its meetings for discussion did much to stimulate and direct the intellectual development of the young men of the place. This was an influential factor, along with the academy, in producing the intelligence which for several decades characterized the commu- nity. The general interest in education is now doubtless somewhat lessened by the large intermixture of inhabitants of French and Irish descent.

Underhill Academy had its origin in a select school taught by Mr. J. S. Cil- ley at Underhill Flat, in a house formerly occupied by the late Joseph Kings- bury. This school was so prosperous that in a few years the citizens of the village erected a building for a school of secondary instruction, and obtained for it from the Legislature, October 23, 1852, an act of incorporation. It was. commonly called Bell Institute, though the charter name was Underhill Acad-

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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

emy. The school though without endowment was successfully conducted by Mr. Cilley as principal until 1852, when he retired and was succeeded by Ezra H. Byington, a graduate of that year from the University of Vermont, who remained at the head of the school for about three years. He was followed by A. T. Deming, a graduate of Middlebury College, who conducted the institute successfully for about a year. During the two years succeeding the pros- perity of the school greatly declined, because of frequent changes in the princi- palship. In the fall of 1858, however, the institution was greatly revived under the management of S. L. Bales, who continued in charge for some three years, and was succeeded by George N. Abbott, who also was at the head of the school for three years. During the next six years, beginning with 1863, the management of the school was frequently changed. Some of the teachers during this period showed abilities of a high order, but their terms of service were too short to enable them to contribute much to the reputation and pros- perity of the school. Among them were George H. French, Byron J. Ward, and the Rev. Josiah Swett, D. D. In 1869 the building was thoroughly re- paired, and the school entered upon a new season of prosperity under the direction of Oscar Atwood, whose previous success in other schools attracted a large number of pupils from surrounding towns. During his administration strong hope was entertained that the school might be put upon a solid finan- cial basis, but this failing of realization, Mr. Atwood accepted a call to a more inviting field. Since his retirement the school has had a rather checkered his- tory. Excellent teachers have undertaken the charge of the school, among whom may be named Davis R. Dewey, the Rev. John D. Emerson, and John W. Buckham ; but the financial encouragement has been too meager to retain any man as permanent principal. Their work has not been without value, however, in the stimulating influence on the community at large, and several young men have been incited to put themselves in the way of a collegiate education. The academy saw its days of brighest prosperity under the admin- istration of Messrs. Byington, Bates and Atwood. During these years the number of pupils was large enough to furnish a fair support to the teachers; and the pupils of the school were of a superior class, both as to character and attainments. During Mr. Atwood's principalship of three years the average number of pupils was somewhat above one hundred. The character of the school and the quality of his work can be best shown by reference to one of his catalogues. That for 1870, covering five terms-a year and a quarter-gives a total of one hundred and seventy-five pupils, eighty-one boys and ninety- four girls, of whom thirty-eight are in the classical department; and among the names of pupils the following, who happen to be known to the writer: E. A. Andrews, now a lawyer in Buffalo, N. Y .; Rufus W. Bishop, now of Chi- cago, and professor in a medical college; C. F. Groves, now a clergyman in Kansas ; C. H. Hayden, lately principal of Hinesburg Academy ; M. B. Hol-

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comb, now a physician in Keeseville, N. Y .; S. W. Landon, successively master of the St. Albans and Burlington high schools; C. E. Meech, editor, now in Oregon ; S. N. Taggart, a successful lawyer in Chicago; and F. E. Woodruff, now professor in Andover Theological Seminary. These names show at once the character of the patronage enjoyed by the school, and the character of the moral as well as the intellectual training here imparted. Others no doubt have made for themselves an equally worthy record. Justice seems to require that we register also the names of some of the female teachers who contributed so greatly to the fame and success of the institution : Ann Eliza Hoyt, after- wards Mrs. E. H. Byington; Mary Mayo, now Mrs. Henry Tenant; Augusta Smith, now wife of the Rev. S. W. Dike; Mrs. George N. Abbott, and Ella Walker, now Mrs. E. S. Whitcomb, jr. The wide and permanent influence of this modest academy may be further increased by giving the names of a few more of its graduates: Revs. W. S. Hazen, H. E. Butler, L. H. Elliott, E. J. Ranslow, C. H. Dunton, D. D., and George W. Henderson, with Hon. Seneca Haselton, Byron J. Ward, Hon. Cornelius Palmer, and Melville Smillie, all lawyers. Whatever may be the future of Underhill Academy, ," the past at least is secure."

Williston Academy .- This school was opened about 1829 by the Rev. Peter Chase, then pastor of the Baptist Church in Williston, in a building which he had himself erected on a plot of land purchased by him in 1828. The school received pupils of both sexes and was conducted by Mr. Chase for sev- eral years with a good degree of success. His successor in his double office of pastor and teacher was the Rev. William Arthur, the father of ex-President Arthur. He is said to have been an efficient and acceptable instructor. His successor, the Rev. Josiah Goodhue, pastor of the Congregational Church, was followed by Homer Benson, then a theological student ; Augustus Gould, who became a lawyer ; Leonard Whitney, a native of Williston, who became a min- ister, and - Bates, who also became a clergyman, and was the last teacher in the original building, which now became the Baptist meeting-house.

The school had been so prosperous that its loss was seriously felt by the people of Williston. So they set about supplying its place, and in 1841 erected a substantial brick building not far from the site of the old academy. Mr. Em- erson J. Hamilton, who graduated from the University of Vermont in 1842, became the principal of the school and did good and faithful service here until he removed to take charge of similar work in Oswego, N. Y., where he still resides. The school continued to prosper under the direction of Mr. (now Rev.) E. R. Lyman. Under his successor, P. H. Sanford, the number of students in attendance was sometimes as high as 120. The teachers who followed held the place of principal but for brief periods. In the summer of 1858 the patrons of the academy desired increased facilities for instruction and a greater permanence in the headship of the school, expended $1,500 in en-

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larging and repairing the building, and engaged Mr. J. S. Cilley as principal. He opened the school on the Ist of September with 114 pupils in attendance, a number which was raised to 140 before the term ended. His administration was judicious and successful. The community rallied to his support, and the school had an enviable reputation for its thorough instruction and its vigorous and salutary discipline. By-and-by the shadow of war fell on the land and this school suffered in some degree, as did others, by the prompt enlistment in the service of the country of those young men who else would have been fitting themselves for college or business. The academy, however, continued to flourish with marked success until the spring of 1868, when Mr. Cilley closed his connection with it in order to take charge of the high school in Brandon. Many of Mr. Cilley's students to-day hold honorable positions in business and professional life. Some of them, however, after fighting bravely for their country were starved in Andersonville or shot down in battle, and now sleep in the honored grave of the soldier. Mr. Cilley has always used his teachership as a sacred trust, a high commission. And the young men - not so young now as they were - are not few who hold him in very high and tender regard, and feel for him a half filial affection. Since Mr. Cilley's departure the school has suffered from lack of permanence in the chief teachership, no one, so far as the writer is aware, remaining for a term of years. In 1883 the " academy " became a "graded school," the upper section of the general town system - a change which has taken place in multitudes of the old time New England academies. Mason S. Stone took charge of the school in the fall of 1883, - Carpenter in 1884, and William C. Clark in 1885.

" This academy probably furnished most of the education ever received by more than a thousand of the young men and women of the county belonging to the last generation. In the times it was wonderfully provided with ap- paratus, and from President Arthur's father down it had some strong men among its teachers."

CHAPTER XI.

HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR.'

The Bar of Chittenden County a Strong One - List of Attorneys, Past and Present - Early Courts and First Trials- Decrease of Litigation Since the Settlement of Cases Under the National Bankrupt Act of 1867 - Biographical Sketches.

T HE Bar of Chittenden county from the earliest record has been a strong one. In the list of membership, printed below, are some names that live in history, and others, whose local reputation remaining little dimmed by time,

1 Prepared by Robert Roberts, esq.

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would seem to indicate that they too might well have been written in high places. Several of the present generation of practitioners, with the opportun- ities of public life, have won national fame. The reputation of a lawyer who confines himself strictly to his practice seldom extends beyond the limits of his own State. But within the confines of Vermont the most important cases, wherever tried, have with noticeable frequency been conducted, upon one side or the other, by some member of the bar of this county.

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History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 26

Author: Rann, W. S. (William S.) Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 1054

Author: Rann, W. S. (William S.)
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1054