USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 95
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John E. Smith received his education in the schools of his native town, and at-
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
tended several terms at the Shelburne Academy, under the tuition of Professor Joel H. Bingham. He passed his early life upon a farm. When he was about five years of age his father removed to a farm on Dorset street, Burlington, and remained three years, when he sold out and removed to Enosburgh, Franklin county. Six years later he again removed to a farm in Shelburne. About this time John E. Smith sustained an in- jury to his health from overwork, and deeming it prudent to relinquish agricultural pur- suits for a period, procured a situation as station agent at Gassett's Station, in Chester, Vt., for the Rutland Railroad, and remained in that position until 1852. He then re- turned to the farm in Shelburne. His ambition was to fit himself for the calling of a teacher, but circumstances forced him to relinquish that object. The Shelburne farm was sold in 1859, the family expecting to try their fortunes in the West, but by reason of what was an exceptional opportunity, purchased the farm still owned and occupied by the subject of this sketch, and immediately removed upon it.
On the 12th of September, 1853, Mr. Smith married Sarah Eliza Cutting, of St. Johns, Canada, and has one child, Alice Cornelia, who was born on the 27th of March, 1856, and, on the 9th of September, 1878, was married to Heman H. Wheeler, of South Burlington.
Upon the organization of the town of South Burlington in 1865 Mr. Smith was chosen town clerk and treasurer, to which positions he has been repeatedly elected with- out intermission down to the present time. He has also served several years as super- intendent of schools, and some time as lister and justice of the peace. In 1884 he was elected associate judge of the County Court, and holds the office now. He is a con- sistent and active member of the Republican party. His religious preference is Con- gregational, and he is a member of the First Congregational Church in Burlington.
MITH, JOHN. John Smith was born in Jericho on the 24th of June, 1797, not S more than three rods from the spot where he died. His father, William, was a sturdy patriot, though not a soldier, of Revolutionary times, and a native of Lanesboro, Mass. He was thoroughly independent, and is described as decidedly " spry-tempered." Two of his sons, William and Nathan, were soldiers in the War of 1812-15. Before the Revolution his brother Samuel had come to Essex, Vt., pitched on the land now owned by the heirs of Erastus Whitcomb, and girdled the trees preparatory to felling them. After the war he returned accompanied by William Smith, who had a short time previous married Ruth Wood, of Lanesboro. After a residence of about a year in Essex, William Smith purchased two lots of land in Jericho, comprising the present farm of his grandson, Gordon Smith, and moved upon it, bringing his household effects on a sled drawn by a pair of steers, and followed by one cow. After arriving at the place of their future residence, his wife and child sat on a log and waited while he con- structed a rude shelter for the night. The hardships incident to this pioneer 'life are even yet too well known to need description in this place, but in addition to the suffer- ings produced by cold and overwork and exposure, the family were soon deprived of the sustenance afforded by their cow, which was killed by a falling tree. William Smith was the father of seven children, named Chloe, Ruama, Emily, Nathan, William, John, and Isaac. He died September 29, 1837, his wife surviving until September 11, 1846, aged eighty-seven years.
John Smith passed his life upon the farm upon which he was born. Although edu- cational advantages were meager in those days of ceaseless toil, he supplied the want of
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JOHN SMITH. - ALNEY STONE.
what the schools can give with an abundance of what they cannot give-viz., common sense and diligence. About the year 1821 he married Philena Knowles, a native of Essex, who, however, was at the time of the marriage living in Jericho, and by her had two children, Cornelius, born August 30, 1824, and deceased March 23, 1848, unmar- ried ; and Gordon, born September 25, 1828. John Smith was originally a Democrat of the old school, but developed into a member of the Anti-Slavery or third party, and died a Republican. He did not care to be placed in office, but his abilities were so well fitted to the performance of public duties that he was frequently elected, almost vi et armis. He represented the town of Jericho in the Legislature in 1853 and 1854, and was one of the thirteen who opposed the election by that body of Governor Rob- inson, by a coalition between the Democratic and Free Soil parties. He was occasion- ally selected a delegate to political conventions, and served in other positions. His re- ligious belief rested on the basis that all Christian churches should unite in one denom- ination against evil, and was what is termed liberal.
He was a successful farmer, and procured his wealth chiefly from sheep-raising, when that was a more profitable industry than it is now. He owned at different times from 300 to 520 head of sheep. During the latter years of his life he relinquished his labors, which, with the property, devolved upon his son Gordon. He died on the 16th of Sep- tember, 1885.
Gordon Smith received a good common school education and remained upon his father's farm during the entire period of his minority. Even then he did not depart from the homestead, but, in pursuance of the wishes of his father, stayed on the farm. On the 13th of June, 1850, he married Lydia E., daughter of Azariah Lee, of Jericho. Mr. Smith does not prescribe any limitations to his farming, but is engaged in all depart- ments. He has about fifty sheep and thirty head of cattle.
Mr. Smith has been true to the traditions of the family and acted with the Republi- can party. He was at first a member of the Free Soil party. He has been placed in various offices of trust in his town, and his ability and faithfulness have never been ques- tioned. He has been selectman eight years in all, and lister, assessor and town treas- urer each one year. He also represented the town in 1874-75.
He has three children, Emma E., born June 13, 1852, and residing with her parents ; John A., born January 18, 1854, and married Elizabeth Armour, who died September 6, 1883, leaving one child that died in infancy. John A. Smith now lives with his fath- er. The youngest child of Gordon Smith is Ernest H., who was born on the 2d of March, 1871, and is at the home of his parents.
TONE, ALNEY. Alney Stone was born in Westford, Vt., on the rrth of April, S 1820. He is the sixth in direct descent from Hugh Stone, who came from Eng- land, his native country, about the year 1650, and became an early settler near Green- wich, Rhode Island. When Allen Stone, father of the subject of this sketch, came from Rhode Island in company with his father, Jeremiah, and his grandfather, Thomas Stone (the last an old man who died in 1808), and first settled on a tract of 300 acres in the southwestern part of the town of Westford, which is now owned by his son Alney. Allen Stone afterwards lived on the farm in the northwestern part of West- ford, lying next west to the present residence of Alney. Jeremiah Stone was a promi- nent man in his day, was the first representative of Westford in the Legislature, and held other town offices, besides being proprietor of the first store opened in town. He
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
died in Evans, N. Y., in 1828. Allen Stone, who was born in Rhode Island in 1784, was in his prime when the second war with Great Britain was declared, and in those troublous times exhibited the qualities which are most needed in such emergencies. He was quartermaster during this war, and was for a time stationed at Burlington. He held other offices, of a civil nature, and after passing worthily his latter days in Westford, died on the 26th day of March, 1858. His second wife, Rachel, was the daughter of David Wilcox, an early settler in Westford. She had five children, of whom Allen Stone, now of Winooski, Vt., was the eldest and Alney Stone was second.
Alney Stone attended the district schools of his native town, and received such edu- cation as he could from them at that time. The life of a farmer is usually uneventful, though it contributes by its fruits to the genuine prosperity of the country. Alney Stone attended diligently to the affairs incident to his chosen occupation, and in 1849 moved to the farm that he now owns and occupies, which was originally settled by Joel Farnsworth, on one part, and Levi Farnsworth on the other. He has labored on this tract ever since, with such success that he has gained a competence from the place, and now owns about six hundred acres of land in town. Dairying occupies most of his attention.
In politics he is a Republican. He has been placed in a great many positions of trust by his townsmen, and has attended so industriously to their interests that he has commonly been re-elected to office several times. He has been justice of the peace for about thirty-six years consecutively ; has been selectman three years at several times ; and town agent several years. He is now and for three years has been one of the list- ers, and in 1862, 1863 and 1865 represented Westford in the State Legislature. During the War of the Rebellion he took so earnest an interest in the success of the Union cause that the raised two thousand dollars by note to pay promptly the town bounties, and waited for the town to reimburse him. He was associate judge of the County Court for two years.
His religious belief is substantially in the universal redemption of the human race ; but as there is in his town no church of that denomination he is a regular attendant at the churches which are established there, and contributes to their support.
On the 13th of March, 185r, he married Marcia, daughter of Medad Parsons (an early settler in Fletcher, Vt.), and a niece of W. H. H. Bingham, of Stowe, Vt. They have three children, all living. The eldest, Don Alney, was born on the 8th of Decem- ber, 1853, was graduated from the University of Vermont in the class of 1878, read law about six months with L. L. Lawrence, of Burlington, passed about eighteen months in Chicago, was admitted to the bar of Orleans county, Vt., at the February term of 1883, after pursuing a course of study with Judge L. A. Thompson, of Irasburgh, for two years ; remained at the home of his father about a year, and on the 29th of April took the civil service examination at Burlington for the position of deputy collector and in- spector of customs for the district of Vermont, which position he now holds. In the spring of 1884 he was elected a delegate from Westford to the district convention, when John W. Stewart was renominated for Congress, and electors of president and vice-pres- ident were chosen. On the 14th of September, 1884, he married Bessie F., daughter of James H. Macomber, of Westford.
The second child of Alney Stone is Betsey Laura, born May 29, 1856, now the wife of John A. Stewart, of Westford, and the mother of three children. The third child is Julian Bingham, born November 12, 1861, and married on the 3Ist of October, 1885, to Elizabeth S., daughter of George Stevens, of Westford. He lives with his parents.
777
ALBERT TOWN.
T OWN, ALBERT, was born at Waterbury, Vt., on the 7th of June, 1819. He is de- scended from one of the oldest families that have come to this country from Eng- land. The earliest known existence of the surname Town, or Towne, was in the year 1274, when William De la Towne, of Alvely, a village in Shropshire, about twenty miles southeast of Shrewsbury, England, was engaged in the prosecution of a law suit. The earliest mention of the family in America is dated 1635, when William Towne resided in Cambridge, Mass., and in 1639 was the town clerk. He died there in the spring of 1685, aged eighty years. Another William Towne lived in Salem, Mass., in 1640, and died at Topfield about 1672. Two of his daughters, Rebecca and Mary, were executed during the Salem witchcraft delusion, while another daughter, Sarah, barely escaped with her life. From this branch of the family the subject of this sketch is sprung. Al- bert Town's father, Salem, was a native of Waterbury, Vt., whither his father, Asa, im- migrated from Salem, Mass. Albert Town's mother was Rachel, daughter of Major Poland, a prominent soldier of the Revolution. Of their ten children only two have deceased, George W., having been killed at the storming of Chapultepec, in the Mexi- can War, after having served in the Seminole War, while Salem died at the age of three years.
Albert Town received a common school education at Dunham, now in the Province of Quebec, whither his father removed when he was but two years of age. When he reached his eleventh year he left home and hired out on a farm for four years, at four dollars a month, his board and clothes, and the privilege of attending school winters. In 1834 he came to St. Albans, Vt., where he remained two years, and then came to the farm which he now owns and occupies, as a laborer by the month for Ransom Jones.
The most interesting part of his career began in the spring of 1840. On the 8th of March of that year he left Richmond with several friends, with whom, on the 2d of April, he embarked from New Bedford, Mass., on board the whaling vessel New Bed- ford, Captain Leonard Crowell, for a three years' whaling voyage in the Southern Pa- cific Ocean. On the 16th of April they landed at St. Jago, one of the Cape Verde Isl- ands, and two or three weeks later touched at Fayal, on one of the Azores. After cruis- ing around these islands for a time they directed their course directly for Cape Horn, which they doubled early in July, and on the morning of the 8th bore off to the north from the islands. They landed at Juan Fernandez, near Valparaiso, Chili, and then headed for Callao, Peru. On the 26th of September they reached this port, where they remained about six weeks, painting their ship, and getting supplies. On the 28th of April, 1841, they went on shore at Payta, on the coast of Peru, and recruited with cocoa- nuts and oranges. Thence they proceeded to the Marquesas Islands, a group of the French archipelago, called the Mendana Archipelago. By the 10th of September they had returned to Callao, and on the 5th of April, 1842, landed at Tahiti, or Otaheite, one of the Society Islands, where they recruited, and painted and repaired the ship. On the Ist of August they touched at Chatham Island, and procured a number of terrapins. Thence they again repaired to the northern coast of Peru, where they obtained a supply of wood and water, and vegetables. On the 18th of January, 1843, they were quaran- tined at Talcahuna, less than a mile from the island of Caracana, whence, after a stay of nearly two weeks, they succeeded in eluding the vigilance of the officers and escaped, reaching Juan Fernandez on the 7th of February. Their next venture was towards the Sandwich Islands, which they reached in April, on the 22d of which month they landed near Honolulu, and again recruited with wood, water, potatoes, yams, etc. They cruised
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
about here for a time, went to the Society Islands, and thence towards the coast of Ja- pan. After cruising the Pacific Islands in this manner until the fall of 1843, they started for home, passing the little isle of Mas-a-fuera, near Juan Fernandez, and touching on the latter on the 2d of January, 1844. They doubled Cape Horn on the 2d of April, crossed the equator towards the north on the 8th of May, and in due time landed at New Bedford, and enjoyed a reunion at Richmond.
Let it not be supposed that this voyage was filled with unmixed pleasures. The sailors often suffered from sickness, induced by exposure and overwork in a climate to which they were unused ; their food, except at the infrequent intervals of their landing at some tropical island, was unwholesome and unpalatable in the extreme, many of the men were subjected to the cruelties of a drunken mate and the severity of his brother, the captain ; add to which the continued perils incident to the life of a whaler, from the whales which they pursue, from pirates, and from tempest and calm, and you have not recited one-half of the discomforts of this career. On the way south, when about twenty-four hours' sail from the Cape Verde Islands, they were in great apprehension from the movements of suspicious-looking craft having the appearance of pirates; and while off the coast of Japan, upon which they could not land, being placed under the commercial restrictions which that country had not then surrendered, they were in con- stant fear of Japanese junks. Notwithstanding this fear, they took about 500 barrels of sperm oil in the space of four weeks while in that region. At Otaheite they had a difficulty with the natives, which resulted in the capture by the latter of six sailors, in- cluding Mr. Town, who were put in the calaboose with their feet in stocks. They were all released in the course of a few hours, and Mr. Town was forced to pay a fine.
During his leisure moments Mr. Town was always engaged in some profitable em- ployment for himself, instead of carousing or idling as did the greater part of the crew. He took advantage of his opportunities for reading. One accomplishment should not be omitted. He made two pairs of swifts - one for the captain, and one which is still in his possession - from the ivory teeth and the bones of whales captured on the voyage, fas- tened with silver rivets. The mechanism of these swifts is wonderful, and is the result of many hours of patient and careful labor. He also made four canes, one of ivory, one of cocoanut wood, and two of whalebone. He gave the ivory cane to the Ameri- can consul at Honolulu.
After leaving the sea in August, 1844, Mr. Town at once repaired to the farm which he had left, and took charge of it for Ransom Jones, and also worked for a time on the railroad then building. After working here for five years he went to Granby, Canada, where his father was living, and where he remained until 1860. In the spring of that year he returned to Richmond and purchased the same farm, which he still occupies, of the estate of Ransom Jones. Since then he has remained on this place without in- termission. His property now consists of this farm of about 330 acres, including one or two lots of wild land, and a farm of 250 acres in Underhill. He has been quite closely confined to his farm, not mixing much in politics, though he is a decided Republican, and has been frequently honored with office by his townsmen. He is now and for sev- eral years has been overseer of the poor.
He first married, in March, 1850, Zerviah, daughter of Oliver Shepard, an early set- tler then living in the next house west of this farm. By her he had one child, which was named after her, and which died with her on the 28th of June, 1853. In March, 1856, Mr. Town married again, his second wife being Marietta, daughter of William Williams,
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ALBERT TOWN. - LEWIS H. TALCOTT.
and a descendant of John Williams, cousin of the famous Roger Williams, whom he ac- companied from the Old to the New World. Her grandfather, John Williams, was the first of the family in Richmond, and settled at a very early day on that farm on Rich- mond Hill now occupied by Benton Williams. He came from New Hampshire. Her mother's father, Robert Towers, came from Stromness, Orkney Islands, Scotland, was im- pressed on board an English man-of-war, captured with the rest of the crew by a French vessel, and confined in a French prison until released by an exchange of prisoners; came to this country, married Lucinda Soper in the State of New York, lived for a time in Jericho, and finally removed to Richmond.
Mr. and Mrs. Town have had nine children, all of whom are living, and all but two of whom are at home. Following are their names and the dates of their births: Will- iam A., born September 3, 1860; Kate D., born December 13, 1862 ; Ira E., born April 17, 1864; George V., born May 18, 1865; Clarence S., born August 1, 1866 ; Jennie M., born February 17, 1868 ; Herbert C., born March 23, 1874; Edgar Earl, born May 18, 1875; and Grace M., born March 4, 1877; William A. married Jessie Sayles, of Richmond, in 1882, and in 1879 Kate D. became the wife of H. C. Gleason, of Richmond.
ALCOTT, LEWIS H. The subject of this sketch was born on the 27th of June, - 1836, in Williston. He is sprung from English stock, being descended from John Talcott, who lived in Essex county, England, previous to the year 1558. John Talcott's grandson of the same name, from whom are descended all the members of the Talcott family in America, came to Boston in 1632, and afterward settled in Hartford, Conn. The first member of the family to live in Williston was David Talcott, great-grandfather of Lewis H. Deacon David Talcott was the son of Joshua and Rachel (Hollister) Talcott, and was born on the 5th of January, 1740. On the 3d of March, 1763, he married Elizabeth Parker, of Coventry, Conn., by whom he had five sons and two daughters. He resided for a number of years in Tyringham, Berkshire county, Mass., and removed at a very early date to Williston with his entire family. He bought a large tract of land on the hill that now bears his name, nearly all of which is still owned by his descendants. Around him he established his sons, Parker, Josiah, David, Zelah, and Jonathan. He was a prominent man in the early days of the town, and was one of the first selectmen, in 1786. He died in September, 1810. His youngest son, Jon- athan Talcott, was born on the roth of February, 1773, married Jerusha Morton, of Hartford, Conn., a number of years after his arrival in Williston, and died here in April, 1802. He had two children, Roswell and Jerusha, the latter of whom was born in 1802, married Leonard Smith in 1825, and died at Brookfield, Vt., in 1882. Roswell Talcott was born on the 24th of August, 1798, and is now living near the residence of his son Lewis H., at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. His wife, also living, was born in Springfield, Vt., on the roth of October, 1801, but at the time of their mar- riage, February 1, 1824, was living at Keene, Essex county, N. Y. Roswell and Lo- disa (Holt) Talcott have had five children, three sons and two daughters, of whom all but one daughter are now alive. The eldest, Seth C., is in California ; Jerusha C. is now Mrs. Draper, of Williston, and was for many years a successful teacher in the com- mon and higher schools, and has for about four years held the office of town superin- tendent of public schools in Williston. Lydia Jennett died in 1847, Lewis Holt is the subject of this sketch, and Jonathan R., the youngest, is in California.
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
The history of this family is thus much older than that of the town. Immediately upon establishing his settlement in Williston, Deacon David Talcott erected a large framed house on the summit of the hill, and opened, and, all his life after, kept the first tavern in Williston. He also cultivated a large farm, as did all of his sons but one, David, jr., who erected the first framed house in the village (still standing, the second house east of Charles D. Warren's store), and a few rods to the rear of it built and con- ducted a large tannery for many years. All of the children of Roswell Talcott received the advantages of a good education in the academy which then flourished at Williston, and one, Jerusha, was sent to a popular seminary in Carlisle, N. Y., which, owing to ill health, she left six months before she would have been graduated.
Lewis Holt Talcott remained with his father during the period of his minority. In 1862 he went to San Francisco, Cal., and engaged extensively in dairying. In 1865 he returned to his native town and started a dairy on what is known as the Root farm, in the north part of the town. At first he kept twenty-two cows. He remained on the Root farm until 1876, increasing the products of his business and the means of pro- duction. In July, 1876, he purchased the farm which he now occupies, and which was originally settled by Daniel Fay. In 1868 Hiram Wallston built a large cheese factory on the original Talcott farm, which Mr. Talcott has managed since 1870. This factory is run by Mr. Talcott through the summer months, who makes the milk from his own cows, and from those of many of his neighbors, into cheese. In addition to this he has a smaller factory connected with his residence, which is used especially for winter dairying, where either butter or cheese, and sometimes both, are made from his dairy alone. He has increased his possessions and his income with incredible progress from a small beginning, until he has achieved the enviable reputation of having the largest dairy in the State of Vermont. In 1885 and 1886 he made 150,000 pounds of cheese and 16,000 pounds of butter each year. His home factory runs only in the winter, when he always has fresh cows. He now has about three hundred cows, besides a large number of young cattle and twenty-five or thirty horses, which all derive their suste- nance from about 2,000 acres of land divided into ten parcels, not joining, in the town of Williston. His business is increasing steadily, and will undoubtedly in time arrive at far vaster proportions than it now assumes.
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