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

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 93

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Mr. Pomeroy was united in marriage, on the 25th of March, 1819, with Lucia, daughter of Horace Loomis, of Burlington. On the 25th of March, 1869, they cele- brated, with a few family friends, the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding, and on the 12th of August immediately following commemorated the occasion by giving a large party. Mrs. Pomeroy died on December 31, 1878.

Such is the outline of a life of honor and fidelity ! Mr. Pomeroy's personal charac- teristics shine forth from his deeds. He was independent, public spirited, scrupulously honest, an enlightened friend to justice, and a determined opponent to everything evil, an advocate of a higher and universal education, hospitable almost to a fault, affection- ate in his family, sincere and devout in his religion, pure in his public as in his private

Ciero . G. Preko

*. LTTLE, PHILA.

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JOHN N. POMEROY. - CICERO GODDARD PECK.

life, and charitable. He was fond of the society of children, and in his intercourse with them seemed to be of their very age and temperament. He had a strong aversion for being in debt, and would never enter upon an agreement while there was a visible contingency of his being unable to perform it. His life was eminently useful, and no higher praise can be given to any life.

PECK, CICERO GODDARD. Cicero Goddard Peck was born in the village of Hinesburg, Vt., on the 17th day of February, 1828. His father, Nahum Peck, was one of the most distinguished lawyers of Chittenden county, and was the eldest son of Squire Peck and Elizabeth Goddard. Nahum Peck was born in Royalton, Mass., on the 5th of October, 1796. He was descended from Joseph Peck, who was the twenty- first generation from John Peck, of Belton, Yorkshire county, England. Nahum was the seventh generation from Joseph Peck, the American ancestor who, with other Puri- tans, fled from the persecutions of the church in England to this country. They came from Hingham, England, to Hingham, Mass., in 1638, sailing in the ship Diligent, of Ips- wich, John Martin, master. Thus the genealogy of the Pecks has been traced as far back as, and probably farther than, any other family in Vermont. At this place it will be well to give a brief mention of the career of Nahum Peck. His father was a farmer, and removed from Royalton, Mass., to Montpelier, Vt., in 1803, finding his way by means of marked trees. There young Nahum received as good an academical training as the capital of the State could afford in those days, studied law, and was admitted to the bar of Washington county at the September term of the County Court for 1823. He im- mediately came to Hinesburg and opened an office, where he continued a large and ever growing practice to about the time of his death, which occurred on the 8th day of June, r883. At the time of his death he was the oldest practicing lawyer in the county. As a lawyer he was best appreciated for the judicial accuracy of his opinions, his wide acquaintance with legal literature, and his utter contempt for the emoluments of his profession. He practiced law from the love of it, and accepted money in payment for services only as a means of livelihood, not of accumulation. He was public spirited, and in the course of his long life in Hinesburg was honored with many positions within the gift of his townsmen, whom he represented in the Legislature a number of terms. He was a fair though not a fluent speaker, his diction being characterized rather by correctness than readiness. His political opinions were as decided as those connected with his profession. He was one of the earliest, most determined and aggressive antag- onists of slavery, at a time when men of that opinion were liable to abuse and oppro- brium. He was an early advocate of temperance reform. After the formation of the Republican party he allied himself with it, and always supported its measures with ear nestness and consistency.

He was twice married. His first wife, whom he married in October, 1825, was Lucinda, daughter of Benjamin I. Wheeler, of Montpelier, a prominent citizen, who represented Montpelier several terms in the Legislature. She was the mother of Cicero G. Peck. She died January 14, 1854. His second wife, to whom he was wedded in May, 1857, was Marcia Wood, of Keeseville, N. Y., who died in August, 1875.

Cicero G. Peck was educated in the old Hinesburg Academy, in which institution he prepared for a collegiate course of study, but just as he was about to enter upon such a course, ill health deprived him of the opportunity, and he was forced to a life of out- door work, as expedient against permanent sickness. He has consequently remained

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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

on a farm all his life, and with commendable diligence has added to his patrimony and other inheritances, so that without them he would be possessed of a handsome property. He came to his present residence in 1857, and by repeated purchases has enlarged the original area of the farm to 250 acres. He also owns a very large and valuable dairy farm in Jericho, which was left to him by his uncle, Hon. Asahel Peck, who is men- tioned at length in the latter part of this article. Mr. Peck devotes his attention prin- cipally to dairying, though he has done considerable work in general agriculture. He owns a number of fine Holstein cattle, his herds on both farms numbering about 100 head. When the Valley Cheese Factory Company was formed in 1865 he was elected treasurer, and has held the office continuously ever since. Although the business estab- lished by that company is not now conducted by a stock company, Mr. Peck still owns a large interest in it, and continues to act as treasurer.

He is a firm advocate of Republican principles in politics, and has been placed by his fellow townsmen in almost every office within their gift. He was county senator in 1878-80, and previous to that held the office of selectman seven consecutive years. He has always taken a profound and active interest in educational matters, and was town superintendent of schools from 1877 to 1884 inclusive, besides being a member of the school board three years previously and two subsequently. He has been repeatedly called upon to act as executor or administrator in the settlement of estates, some of them among the largest in the vicinity. He is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and has for many years taken a leading part in the conduct of its affairs.

He was united in marriage on the 29th day of March, 1854, to Maria Coleman (daughter of Selah Coleman, of Hinesburg), whose grandfather, Zadock Coleman, was at an early day major-general of the State militia of Vermont, and a prominent resident of Williston. He was of Irish descent, and emigrated to Vermont from Connecticut. Mrs. Peck's mother's father, Charles Russell, was an early settler in Hinesburg and par- ticipated in the battle of Plattsburgh. He was of Dutch descent and came to Vermont from White Creek, N. Y. At his death he left the largest estate ever settled in Hines- burg up to that time. Mrs. Peck was born in Williston May 27, 1836. Their family consists, besides themselves, of an adopted niece, born April 14, 1858, and adopted by them on the 14th of August following. She is now the wife of Rev. Marvin R. France, a Methodist clergyman of Cobleskill, Schoharie county, N. Y.

Mention having been made of Hon. Asahel Peck, it is well to add in this place a brief sketch of his life, because he was an honor to his county and State, and a memo- rial sketch of his deeds can be given in no better connection. He was the third son of Squire and Elizabeth (Goddard) Peck, and was therefore a brother of Nahum Peck. He was born in Royalton, Mass., in September, 1808, and came to Montpelier with his parents two or three years later. Receiving the discipline of farm life until he was of age, in connection with a preparation for college at the Washington County Grammar School, he entered the University of Vermont, but in his senior year left that institution for a course of study in the French language in Canada. The embryo eminent judge and governor entered upon the study of law in the office of his elder brother, Nahum Peck, of Hinesburg. His name as attorney first appears in Walton's Register (for Hines- burg) in 1833, when he was thirty years of age. In that year he removed to Burling- ton, where all his professional [life was spent. Doubtless his progress at the bar was slow, as he was not a man to push his way, but to honestly win it by merit. Indeed, a

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CICERO GODDARD PECK.

characteristic of him was that he was slow in everything, though in the end he was almost sure to be right, and that he regarded as the only point worth gaining. He was a thorough and patient student and became a conscientious lawyer and judge. Possess- ing a tenacious memory, he held all that he had secured in years of study, and could instantly bring his great store of learning to bear upon any legal question presented to him. Touching his abilities as a lawyer, we cite an incident that occurred a number of years ago :

The late Rufus Choate, of Massachusetts, met Mr. Peck as an antagonist in the trial of a very important case in the Supreme Court of the United States, and at its conclusion was so astonished to find " such a lawyer in Vermont " that he went to Mr. Peck and urged him cordially to remove to Boston, assuring him that both fame and fortune would there be at his feet. No inducement, however, could move Mr. Peck ; having once made up his mind, he would not change it. Burlington he had selected as the theatre for the practice of his profession, and Burlington it must and should be. An eminent member of the bar, speaking of Mr. Peck's abilities as a lawyer and a judge, declared that no man in New England since Judge Story has equaled him in his knowl- edge of the common law of England and the law of equity.

Mr. Peck represented Chittenden county in the Senate in 1851, at the same time with Hon. George F. Edmunds. He was judge of the Circuit Court from 1851 until it ceased in December, 1857, and of the Supreme Court from 1860 to 1874, when, it being understood that he would retire from the bench to his farm to renew the employ- ments of his youth, he was elected governor for the term 1874-76. In speaking of the probable action of the Republican State Convention of 1874, at which Judge Peck was nominated, the Watchman, a leading paper of the State, recommended him in the fol- lowing terms, which his subsequent conduct in the gubernatorial chair fully vindicated :

" The State would be honored by selecting his name as its candidate. So long as Vermont designates such men as he is for its highest offices it is not liable to the old Tory reproach against Republican government, which condemned republics not because the people elected their officers, but because they elected unworthy and ignoble men to office. He would be a worthy successor in the executive chair to Moses Robinson, Galusha, Palmer, Tichenor, Skinner, Williams, Van Ness, Royce and Hall, who were his predecessors on the bench. His nomination is not merely unobjectionable, it is in every respect honorable and fit to be made, and would be followed by a triumphant election."

As a governor it is the testimony of all that he was one of the best that Vermont ever had - thoroughly independent, prudent in every act, and carefully inspecting the minutest details of every question presented for his official approval. He received the degree of A.B. from the University of Vermont many years after leaving it as a stu- dent, and was made LL.D. by Middlebury College in 1874. After the close of his term as governor he was often employed as counsel in important cases ; and doubtless had his life been spared would for many years more have shown himself a grand master of the law.

He was never married. He spent most of his leisure time, after leaving the execu- tive chair, with his friends in Hinesburg, and at his farm in Jericho, where he died May 18, 1879. He was buried in the family lot in the cemetery at Hinesburg.

764

HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

PECK, THEODORE SAFFORD, was born in Burlington on the 22d of March, 1843, in the house he now occupies. He is of English descent, and is seven gen- erations distant from Joseph Peck, the first of his ancestors in this country, who died at Milford, Conn., in the year ryor. Through his father's mother he is descended from Solomon Keyes, an influential citizen of Chelmsford, Mass., who died in 1702. His ancestors on" both sides fought with credit in the Wars of the Revolution and of 1812- 15. Dr. John Peck, the first of the name in Burlington, one of the pioneers in the wholesale trade in the country, was General Peck's grandfather. He died here July 24, 1862. He owned and occupied the block which bears his name. His son, Theodore A. Peck, was born in Burlington August 8, 1817, and from 1840 to 1862 was exten- sively engaged as a druggist in his native place. In 1861 he removed to Watertown, N. Y., where he died on the 18th of May, 1872. In 1842 he married Delia H. Safford, daughter of the late Rev. Hiram Safford, of Burlington. The subject of this sketch is their oldest child. General Peck's boyhood was without incident. He had finished his education in the public schools, but had not determined upon his future life-work when the Southern Rebellion broke out. At that time he, with many other noble sons of Vermont, quickly responded to his country's call, and, in that fearful and protracted struggle, soon established his claim to be named among her bravest defenders. From the time of his enlistment, September 1, 186r, he served as a private in the First Ver- mont Cavalry until the 9th of July, 1862, when he was promoted to the rank of regi- mental quartermaster-sergeant in the Ninth Regiment of Vermont Volunteer Infantry, Colonel George J. Stannard, commanding. Two further promotions followed within two years. On the Ist of January, 1863, he was made second lieutenant, and July I, 1864, appointed first lieutenant. On the 25th of February, 1865, the Senate of the United States confirmed the action of President Lincoln, elevating him to the position of assistant quartermaster of United States volunteers, with the rank of captain.

That these promotions were bestowed in recognition of worthy conduct is well at- tested by the following facts : The subject of them participated in the battles of Mid- dletown and Winchester on the 24th and 25th of May, 1862. On the rrth of Septem- ber, in that year, he was captured at Harper's Ferry, was soon after paroled prisoner of war, and on the Ist of January, 1863, was exchanged. He was engaged in action at the siege of Suffolk, in the skirmishes of Nansemond and Black Water Rivers, Vir- ginia ; and was under General Dix in the raids on the Peninsula from Yorktown toward Richmond. In the winter of 1863-64 he went to North Carolina and took part in the action at Newport Barracks, and in the raids on Swansboro and Jacksonville. In July, 1864, he was assigned to duty with the Army of the Potomac before Petersburg, Va., and was in the trenches with his men on the Bermuda Hundreds front, where the troops were exposed to the unremitting fire of the enemy. On the 29th of September he crossed the James River and actively participated in the successful assault on Fort Har- rison, and in its defense on the following day when the enemy attempted to retake it. He was also present at the battle of Fair Oaks on the 29th of October, 1864.

The second election of President Lincoln was attended with so much excitement that riots were apprehended in all the larger cities, and Captain Peck was dispatched with his command to New York, to aid in protecting the city against the expected dis- turbances. He then returned to the Army of the James, and remained in trenches all winter, and until the surrender of Richmond in April, 1865. At that famous conquest he was one of the command that first entered the city, where he remained until he was

ELIJAH ROOT.

765

THEODORE SAFFORD PECK. - ELIJAH ROOT.

mustered out in July, 1865. Thus he served nearly four years in one of the most ter- rible wars recorded in history; passing through all the vicissitudes of a soldier's career, performing his duties as a private in the ranks, and as an officer in the line and on staff; as a member of the cavalry corps, and also of the First, Third, Ninth, Eighteenth and Twenty-fourth Army Corps in the Armies of the Potomac and the James. In fur- ther recognition of his services the government, at the close of the war, offered him two commissions in the regular army, which he declined. But he was not permitted to lay aside all the associations of the war. Upon his return to Vermont he was appointed chief of staff, with rank of colonel, to Governor John W. Stewart, and was afterward made colonel of the First Regiment of Infantry of the National Guard of Vermont. In 1869 he served as assistant adjutant-general of the Grand Army of the Republic, De- partment of Vermont ; in 1872 as a senior vice-commander ; and in 1876-77 as depart- ment commander. In 1881 he was appointed by Governor Roswell Farnham adju- tant and inspector-general in place of General James S. Peck, resigned. Since then he has been twice elected to the office, both times without opposition.

The civil history of General Peck's life, though less eventful, is none the less a credit to his talents and integrity. In 1869 he started upon his career as an insurance agent in a small way, and by energetic and careful management, has pushed the growth of his business to its present large proportions. He now represents fire, life, marine, and accident insurance companies, the aggregate capital of which amounts to about three hundred millions of dollars. His business extends throughout Vermont and Canada. He is actively interested in many of the most prominent business concerns in Burlington, among which may be mentioned the Porter Manufacturing Company, the Baldwin Manu- facturing Company, the Burlington Shade Roller Company, and the Powell Manufactur- ing Company, in each of which he is a director. General Peck is a man of public spirit and enterprise. In politics he is thoroughly Republican, though he has always avoided the entanglements of civil office. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and was for ten years grand marshal of the Grand Lodge of Vermont. On the 29th of October, 1879, he married Agnes Louise Lesslie, of Toronto, Ont. They have one child, Mary Agnes Leslie.

R OOT, ELIJAH. Elijah Root was born in the town of Georgia, Vt., on the 2d of May, 1807. His father, Elijah, senior, who was born on the 29th of August, 1775, was an early settler in Georgia, where he came from the home of his father in Benson, Vt. The family were descended from the Root family of Farmington, Conn., and came to Benson from Pittsfield, Mass. Elijah Root, senior, died in Georgia on the 19th of February, 1809. He was a very skillful mechanic, and inherited his taste for mechanical pursuits from a long line of ancestry. The subject of this sketch attended the common schools of his native town, but owing to the death of his father before he had reached his second birthday, he was obliged to think and act for himself at an early age. In pursuance of a time-honored custom in the family, he learned the trade of a carpenter and joiner. In February, 1827, he aided in the construction of the steamer Franklin in St. Albans Bay, as a journeyman. Upon applying for this position he was asked to give a recommendation of his skill and fidelity from a previous employer. He had just been in the employment of a carpenter by the name of Seymour Eggleston, of Georgia, on a church in Keeseville, N. Y., who gave the following letter :

"This may certify that the bearer, Elijah Root, has been employed by me the past 49

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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

summer as a journeyman carpenter and joiner; that I have had a fair opportunity to test his faithfulness and skill both in my presence and absence, and that notwithstanding I have employed many excellent journeymen, yet I can cheerfully say that I never employed one with whom I have been more perfectly satisfied than with him. In short, I consider his honesty, integrity, industry and ability unimpeachable, and I can cheerfully recommend him as a first-rate hand to any gentleman who may wish to em- ploy one of his occupation.

" Georgia, February 24, 1827. SEYMOUR EGGLESTON."

With this flattering introduction, well-deserved, the young man started out to make a place for himself among strangers, with a determination which would falter at no ob- stacles, and would be only stimulated by difficulties. In the following fall he came to Shelburne Harbor in the employment of the old Steamboat Company, as a carpenter. The Phoenix was at that time undergoing extensive repairs. Mr. Root, with seventy- five other carpenters and joiners, was at work upon her. At this time occurred a cir- cumstance which was undoubtedly the cause of a favorable turn in his business life. The overseers observed that when the bell rang for dinner and at close of day, all the other workmen dropped their tools and left as soon as possible, while he went carefully to the stoves, pushed away the shavings, and left the boat free from the dangers of fire. As a consequence of this he was placed in charge of the stoves on the boat. This was his first office of trust. When the Phoenix was completed he alone of the seventy- five workmen was retained for permanent service in the company.

In the spring and summer of 1828 he went out with the steamer Phoenix, Captain Harrington, as carpenter and joiner, and in the season following was employed in the same capacity and by the same company on board the Congress, commanded by Cap- tain Lathrop. His employers, observing his remarkable ingenuity and facility in en- gineering, requested him to " make friends with the engineer," which he accordingly did, and with such success, that in three months he was deemed competent to take the place of an unsatisfactory engineer upon the same steamer. From that time until the fall of 1832 he had charge of the engines on board the Congress and Phenix succes- sively. On the Ist of September, 1832, in consequence of overwork and exposure he was striken with an aggravated attack of typhus fever, from which he did not recover until the opening of the next season, and was given light work, such as superintending the work of the engineers in the company's line. In this department his duties gradual- ly multiplied, and from that time until his resignation, a period extending over more than half a century, he was practically chief engineer of the steamboat company and its successor, the Champlain Transportation Company. During all this time his fidelity and ability were never called in question, but on the contrary repeatedly received the compliments of his employers. Every boat in the service of the company was in- spected each week by Mr. Root, and its engineer charged with the necessary instruc- tions.

From 1838 to 1871 Mr. Root held the government office of inspector "of boilers and machinery of all vessels propelled in whole or in part by steam, under an act of Congress approved on the 7th day of July, A. D. 1838." He was re-appointed by George S. Boutwell, secretary of the treasury, under an act approved February 28, 1871, and held the office until 1882, when he resigned on account of failing health.

He was in all the relations of his life a man of marked characteristics, such as ac- curacy, thoroughness, completeness, strict economy, and conscientiousness. In his

767

ELIJAH- ROOT. - DANIEL ROBERTS.

work, about his house, and in his moral and political opinions, everything was mani- festly genuine and devoid of sham. In January, 1882, owing to failing health he ten- dered the company his resignation, which was met by the following gratifying expression of esteem :

" BURLINGTON, VT., January 5, 1882.

" Whereas, Mr. Elijah Root, for more than half, a century chief engineer of this company, resigned his office in consequence of somewhat impaired health, and

" Whereas, It is eminently fitting and proper that some official recognition of this event should be made by this company, therefore,

" Resolved, That to Mr. Root's long and varied experience and great ability, both as engineer and naval constructor, his thoroughness in detail, his economy in expenditure and his general fidelity and integrity in all matters confided to his care, this company is largely due for its long-continued prosperity ;

" Resolved, That the thanks of this board be voted to Mr. Root with the assurance that in retiring from the active duties of his life he carries with him the entire confi- dence, great respect, and earnest friendship of the members of this board ;

"Resolved That a copy of these resolutions be engrossed, signed by the president and clerk, with the company's seal attached, and transmitted to Mr. Root.

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

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