History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 97

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 97

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The Brattleboro Reformer, of the same date, one of the leading opposition papers, said : " This message, like Governor Barstow's inaugural, also will take rank among the best and most sensible State papers ever presented in Vermont."

The above sketch might be largely extended, as he has held many other appoint- ments of trust and honor, such as assistant clerk of the House of Representatives in 1861 ; delegate to the soldiers' and sailors' convention at Chicago in 1868, and presi- dent of the Officers' Reunion Society, and one of the trustees of the University of Ver- mont and State Agricultural College, in 1882, etc., etc .; and he has declined more honors than he has accepted. In regard to all of them it can be truly stated, as was said of Hon. Asahel Peck, when he was elected governor : " Neither solicitation nor hint of ambition for this dignity ever emanated from him." Governor Barstow never directly nor indirectly solicited the vote or influence of any man for any elective office.

W HITTEMORE, ALBERT GALLATIN, the eldest of seven children of John and Abigail (Olin) Whittemore, was born at White Creek, N. Y., on the 16th of January, 1797. His father was of English descent. His mother was a daughter of Gideon Olin, of Shaftsbury, Vt., and half-sister of Judge Abram Olin, of Washington, D. C., who studied law in Mr. Whittemore's office in 1838-39. Mr. Whittemore re- ceived his education at the St. Albans Academy, his parents removing to St. Albans, Vt., in 1799. He displayed the first sparks of his energetic spirit in September, 1814, by crossing Lake Champlain in a row-boat with a company of volunteers on their way to the battle of Plattsburgh. Upon attaining such education as the schools of his day afforded, he entered the law office of Hon. Stephen D. Brown, of Swanton, as a stu- dent, and afterwards studied with Hon. Heman Allen, of Milton. He completed his course in the office of Judge Asa Aldis, of St. Albans, and was admitted to practice in the Franklin County Court on the 16th of March, 1821. He first established a suc- cessful practice at South Hero, but removed to Milton in 1824, and entered upon a ca- reer which reflects luster upon his abilities, his industry, and his public spirit. He re- mained until his death at Checkerberry village, and by the extensive practice which came to him gave the place an activity and prominence which departed upon his death. He was of a mechanical turn of mind, and originated the idea which resulted in the construction of the Sand-bar bridge, himself obtaining the charter of the company that completed that structure, in 1850. He was warmly interested in the railroad contro- versy then agitating the people of the town of Burlington and the county of Chitten- den, and earnestly favored the extension of the Rutland and Burlington Railroad to Swanton. He predicted that in lieu of this extension, when the charter was rejected, a railroad would be built along the western shore of the lake within twenty-five years, and his prediction was verified. In 1852 he was associated with Messrs T. D. Chit- tenden, John Bradley, and N. L. Whittemore in the construction of a large section of the Central Ohio Railroad. On the roth of November, 1852, while examining the machinery which operated the gates of the lock in the Muskingum River, at Zanes- ville, O., and pointing out to his son, Don J., the manner in which they worked, he was

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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

thrown from the lock by a blow from a capstan suddenly set in motion by an approach- ing steamer, and instantly killed. He was buried at Milton on the 14th of that month.

On the day of his death a meeting of the board of directors of the Central Ohio Railroad Company was called, and appropriate resolutions adopted, of which the fol- lowing is an extract :

" Resolved, That the president be instructed to communicate to the family of Mr. Whittemore the sympathy of the board for the afflicting dispensation which has taken away so suddenly one who had inspired us with feelings of attachment and re- spect, and who must have been a good citizen in all the relations of life."

Mr. Whittemore was indeed a good citizen in all the relations of life. His abilities and his uprightness were rewarded by frequent elections by his townsmen and the citi- zens of his county to positions of honor and trust. He was chosen State's attorney for Chittenden county as early as 1831, and for a number of years then succeeding. He also received tempting offers from friends to induce his removal to Burlington, which his love of home impelled him to decline. His legal abilities were of the highest order, and in August, 1851, he was admitted to membership in the American Legal Associa- tion by virtue of his "sound professional integrity and acquirements," and his " prompt- ness and reliability." He represented Milton in the Legislature four terms, and in 1851 was chosen county senator. His tastes were, however, studious. He approached every subject with the air and ultimate success of a thorough student, and during the whole period of his life delighted in mechanical and linguistic avocations. His success in business may be attributed partly to his remarkably systematic methods, as well as to his rare ability and integrity, his excellence as an advocate and public speaker, his untiring energy, public spirit, independent judgment, and his position in the van of all educa- tional matters and questions relating to public improvements.

On the 14th of September, 1826, he married Abbie, daughter of Samuel Clark, a native of Weybridge, Vt., who had traveled extensively, and met his death by drown- ing in St. Lawrence River in 18ro, while acting in the capacity of general agent for David A. and William B. Ogden, then of New York city. Mr. and Mrs. Whittemore had eight children, of whom four were living at the time of his death, Abbey J., now Mrs. Ell Barnum, of Milton, born February 9, 1839; Clark F., an attorney of New York, lately deceased, born January 21, 1837; Don Juan, chief engineer of the Chi- cago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, born December 6, 1830; and Albert G., now an attorney of Burlington, born January 23, 1844. Mrs. Whittemore, the mother of these children, is still living in Milton. The success in life of the children of the sub- ject of this sketch is undoubtedly due in a large degree to the careful training given them by him in their younger years. So thorough was he that he required them to re- cite to him at night all that they had learned during the day at school. It was said of one of the children that died (in February, 1842, aged thirteen years), Eugene, that he seemed to blend " the discreetness and wisdom of maturity and the modesty and ten- derness of boyhood." " Besides a very competent insight into the elementary branches, as taught in the academies and schools, he had mastered the French language, was well advanced in the Latin, had laid a thorough foundation for acquiring the Italian, and had made himself very familiar with two or three systems of algebra." Don J. Whitte- more, the oldest living child of Albert G. and Abbie Whittemore, began his first engi- neering experiences on the Central Vermont and Vermont and Canada Railroads, and has held his present prominent position since 1866. He served one term as president of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

VIT THE PHLA

E. J. MORGAN.

789

EDWARD J. MORGAN. - JOHN WOODRUFF.

M ORGAN, EDWARD J., was born in Wilmington, Essex county, N. Y., on the 27th day of December, 1834. After receiving a common school education he became early connected with the Crown Point, N. Y., Iron Works, and there acquired a thorough business training, and fitted himself for the duties and responsibilities of his future business career. After an invaluable experience there, extending over a period of more than twenty years, he came to Burlington in May, 1872, and connected himself with the business of manufacturing doors, sash and blinds, which had been established about four years earlier by his partner, Albert Taft. The success of this enterprise, de- tailed in the history of the manufacturing interests of the city of Burlington, is too well known, not only in Burlington, but throughout New England and the whole continent, to require further comment.

On the maternal side he was descended from a distinguished ancestry, and his mother was a sister of the late Bishop Hedding. She was therefore a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church. Notwithstanding this early inclination towards that denomina- tion, Mr. Morgan became in his youth an active member of the Congregational Church in Crown Point, and after his advent to Burlington soon associated himself with the First Congregational Church of this city. He was a man of fervent though quiet piety. He was never assuming or self-assertive, and the graces of his gentle character were best known to his more intimate acquaintances, and in the bosom of his family, where he was ever affectionate and beloved. He died on the 14th of June, 1885, in the prime of life, and at the noontide of his most promising achievements. The Burlington Free Press of June 18, 1885, among other things said of Mr. Morgan : "The community has lost a respected and valued citizen, an upright and enterprising business man, and to many a beloved and honored friend. He was a member of the well-known and highly prosperous firm of Taft & Morgan, manufacturers of doors, sash and blinds, and in his business relations was known as a man of strict integrity, unswerving fidelity, and a courtesy and kindness of demeanor which endeared him to all. It is largely to his business insight and enterprise that the firm of which he was a member owes its pres- ent success." Mr. Morgan was a consistent Republican in his political opinions, but carefully abstained from seeking or holding office.

On the 27th of February, 1855, Edward J. Morgan was united in marriage with Julia S., daughter of Timothy Taft, of Crown Point, who, with three children, Earl E., Lee J., and Hervey S. Morgan, is still residing in Burlington.

W TOODRUFF, JOHN, son of Eli and Nicy (Rogers) Woodruff, was born in Mil- ton, Vt., on the 2d of July, 1819. His grandfather, Shubal Woodruff, moved to Westford, Vt., from Great Barrington, Mass., in 1802, and resided there until his death in 1808, leaving two sons and four daughters. Eli Woodruff was born in Great Barrington December 25, 1792, and was therefore ten years of age when he was brought to Westford, where he lived until he was of age. He bore an honorable part in the War of 1812-15, and participated in the battle of Plattsburgh. He married Nicy Rogers March 16, 1817. She was the youngest of ten children of Jason Rog- ers (and Mehitabel Booth), who removed from Litchfield, Conn., in 1802, when she was eleven years of age, and settled on the farm in Underhill now owned by Charles Truel. After his marriage Eli Woodruff passed the rest of his life in Underhill, with the exception of two years in Milton, covering the period in which the subject of this sketch was born. He reared a family of eight children, viz., Henry L., John, Mary

790

HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

Ann, Joseph R., Harriet, Fanny, Homer, and William Willshire. Of these only four are now living, Joseph R., on the farm first purchased by his father in this town, while his son, Warren S., occupies the farm originally cultivated by one of the first settlers of Underhill (Abner Eaton); Mary Ann resides on the farm on which her father, Eli, passed most of his life, and Fanny is the wife of Stephen Saxe, dentist, of Whitewater, Wis. Eli Woodruff died February 22, 1872.

John Woodruff attended the district schools of his neighborhood three months each summer and three each winter from the time of his sixth or seventh year until his thir- teenth, and afterwards three months each winter until he attained his eighteenth year. He also attended one term at the academy at Jericho Center. His father being in straitened circumstances and burdened with the support of a large family, hired him out to a neighboring farmer for the summer when he was thirteen years of age, and repeated the custom for five years, when he purchased 100 acres of wild land in Under- hill on credit, and enlisted his sons, John, Henry L., and Joseph R., in his service to clear the land and raise grain to pay for it. The subject of this sketch worked at the home of his father until he became of age, excepting the two last winters, and until he was twenty-five, passed his winters teaching district schools (one winter,"when he was nineteen, in Westford, one in Jericho, and four in Cambridge) and his summers in working out on farms. He then bought a tract of fifty acres of land near his father's, in North Underhill, which was originally settled by Edmund Parker, and lived upon it eight years, during which time he paid for it, and bought and paid for several other lots, aggregating 225 acres in extent. In the fall of 1853 he sold all the land which he had acquired, and purchased of Elijah Birge the farm of 250 acres, about one and a half miles from his former lot, the farm upon which he has ever since resided. The purchase imposed upon him a heavy debt, but by dint of economy and unremitting toil he cleared the property of all incumbrances in the first five years. Since then he has increased the extent of the farm to more than 300 acres, thoroughly repaired the buildings, constructed good fences, and so successfully improved the land that it sup- ports more than twice the stock than when he purchased it. His success has been owing entirely to industry and thrift in farming, and not at all to trading or speculation, which are too often presumed to be the only means of achieving a competence. Mr. Woodruff has all these years remained upon his farm, taking no recreation away from home except one trip to Minnesota, one to the Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia, and one to New York and Boston. The farm was first occupied by Samnel Bentley, who after three years sold it to David Birge, from whose son it passed to Mr. Woodruff. The dwelling house was erected in 1802 by David Birge, and was the first framed tavern in town, accommodating the stages which passed along the Hill road between Burlington and Derby line.

Mr. Woodruff is a member of the Democratic party, and has held various town offices in Underhill, such as selectman for several years, overseer of the poor, lister, justice of the peace, etc. His religious preference is Congregationalist.

John Woodruff was joined in marriage on the 15th of October, 1845, with Emily, daughter of Milton and Amanda (Bliss) Ford, of Jericho, in which town she was born on the 24th of October, 1821. Her father, a carpenter and joiner, and toward the lat- ter part of his life a farmer, was born in Pomfret, Conn., April 10, 1794. In 1802 he came with his parents, Abram and Sarah (Ingalls) Ford, to Richmond, and soon after to Jericho, where Abram Ford carried on his trade, blacksmithing, until his death.

791

JOHN WOODRUFF. - JOHN L. F. BURDICK, M. D.

Amanda Bliss was the daughter of Amos, and granddaughter of Timothy Bliss, who came from Massachusetts in the early history of Essex, Vt., and settled upon the farm in that town now occupied by Julius Ransom. The farm upon which Amos Bliss passed the whole of his married life, and upon which Amanda Bliss was born No- vember 13, 1797, is now owned by George Sinclair. His wife was Hannah Clark, from Connecticut. Amos Bliss was a soldier in the War of 1812-15 and was captain of a company of militia that participated in the battle of Plattsburgh.

Mr. and Mrs. Woodruff have had one child, Nicy Amanda, who was born January 28, 1851, and who died February 22, 1854. In November, 1856, they adoped Frank Edward, infant son of William Martin, then lately deceased, and grandson of Peter Martin, one of the original settlers of Underhill, on whose farm Mr. Woodruff worked for five summers. By act of the Legislature, session of 1865, the name of the adopted child was changed from Martin to Woodruff, and he was made the legal heir of his fos- ter parents. They have given this adopted son, their only child, the best opportuni- ties for an education. He was fitted for college at Underhill Academy when Oscar Atwood, A. M., was principal ; entered the University of Vermont at the age of sixteen years, and was graduated in 1875. He then taught one year in Plainfield and two in Barre, and in 1878 entered Union Theological Seminary in the city of New York, where, at his graduation in 1881, he received a fellowship which entitled him to two years abroad in study. The greater portion of this time was passed in Germany, at the Universities of Tuebingen and Berlin, six months in Athens, and a brief period traveling in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. While abroad he was appointed to the associate professorship of Biblical literature in Andover (Mass.) Theological Seminary for three years, and was there inaugurated as professor September 6, 1883, at the age of twenty-eight years. At the expiration of this period the appointment was made perma- nent. On the 11th of January, 1883, while in Athens, Greece, he married one of his college classmates, Ellen Eliza Hamilton, of Brandon, Vt., and has two children, John Hamilton, born February 17, 1884, and Robert Thomson, born May 26, 1885.

BURDICK, JOHN L. F., M. D. The surname Burdick is supposed to be a cor- ruption from Burdette, and to have originated in England. The great-great-grand- father of the subject of this sketch was a captain on an English vessel, and after pass- ing most of his life on the ocean settled in Rhode Island. Thence, during the eight- eenth century, Elijah and Lybius Burdick, half-brothers, emigrated to the vicinity of Hoosick Falls, N. Y. The latter afterwards settled in Warren county, N. Y., while Eli- jah became one of the first settlers in Westford, Vt., as stated in the history of West- ford, in this volume. In that town on the 30th of January, 1790, was born Nathaniel, father of John L. F. Burdick and the third of the six children of Elijah Burdick and his wife, Rhoda. Rhoda Burdick died in Westford in the early part of this century. Elijah died on the 29th of December, 1815. Nathaniel Burdick married Mary Ben- jamin, of New York State, immediately after which event he went to Ira, Rutland county, remaining there until about 1841. He then passed about three years in West- ford, and removed to De Kalb, St. Lawrence county, New York, where he spent the remainder of his days until March 11, 1863. He was a farmer of more than usual in- telligence, and performed the duties that fell to his lot with a cheerful readiness that commanded the esteem of his fellow townsmen and acquaintances. He was a member of the old Democratic party until the time of Fremont, for whom he voted, and after

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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.

whose defeat he always advocated the principles of the Republican party. Although not an office seeker he was made justice of the peace for some time while residing in Ira, and after his removal to New York was honored by an election to the Legislature of that State, a more difficult position to attain than a corresponding office in Vermont. His wife survived him until January 10, 1872, when she died in Rossie, N. Y., at the home of her daughter, Julia R. Wetmore. They had seven children, named as follows in the order of their birth : Thomas Benjamin, Charles W., Julia R., Mary L., John L. F., Emily A., and Horace W., all of whom but the subject of this sketch are deceased. Three of the brothers, Thomas B., Charles W., and John L. F., practiced medicine, the last named continuing still in that vocation.

John Lafayette Burdick was born in the town of Ira, Rutland county, Vermont, on the 16th of December, 1824, where were born also all of his brothers and sisters. He attended the common schools of his native town until about his seventeenth year, after which he pursued his studies for two years in a select school in Westford, one term in Potsdam, N. Y., and four years in Gouverneur, N. Y., Academy, receiving a thorough mathematical training at the latter institution under the tuition of Dr. J. W. Armstrong, of Gouverneur. He was then enabled to enter Union College one year in advance. He remained in this institution one year and a half, being forced to withdraw during his junior year by reason of a severe attack of typhoid fever. In the fall of 1849 he took a tour through the Atlantic and Southern States for the recovery of his health, an object which he accomplished in about a year. When he was again able to engage in some active occupation he was persuaded to open a select school in Westford, Vt., which he taught very successfully for two terms, having a regular attendance of no fewer than eighty pupils. The two school years immediately following the summer of 1850 were passed as principal of the graded school at Winooski, with the exception of the fall terms of 1851 and 1852, which he occupied in attendance upon lectures at the Castle- ton Medical College. By dint of thorough and persistent study he was graduated from that college in the fall of 1852. He at once opened an office in Winooski and has prosecuted a successful and growing practice ever since.

Dr. Burdick's first political affiliation was with the Democratic party of anti-bellum times. His sympathies and better judgment were alienated, however, during the agita- tion of the Free Soil arguments, since which time he has been a straightforward member of the Republican party. As a conseqence of his high social and professional station he has been repeatedly urged to enter the field as a candidate for political office, but he has persistently and firmly declined, believing that he can better perform his mission by confining his activities to his practice, and to a solution of the questions it involves. He is an enthusiastic student and practitioner of medicine. His fellow physicians have appreciated this fact, and have manifested their appreciation by several gratifying elec- tions to high position. For example, he was elected to the presidency of the old Chit- tenden County Medical Society a number of times, and has twice been president of the Burlington Medical and Surgical Club since its organization. He has also been one of the attending physicians of the Mary Fletcher Hospital every year since its inception ex- cept the first. He is gratified by these evidences of confidence in him, because it is his delight to deserve the esteem of his fellows in the medical profession.

On the 16th day of November, 1851, Dr. Burdick was united in marriage with Anna L., daughter of Eli Warren Burdick, of Westford, who received an academical education at Bakersfield, Vt. Their family now consists of themselves and one child,

793

JOHN L. F. BURDICK, M. D. - SIDNEY H. WESTON.

Lucy Florence, who was born on the 17th of September, 1875, and who is unusually bright and precocious. Thus far she has pursued her studies at home. It may here be mentioned as one of Dr. Burdick's characteristics that he enjoys above all other pleas- ures to aid the young in obtaining an education, his predilections in this regard having been fostered by his experience as a teacher. Mrs. Burdick's sister, widow of A. C. Ballard, has for a number of years been a member of Dr. Burdick's family, her husband dying on the 28th of November, 1874.

Although not a member of any church, Dr. and Mrs. Burdick have a strong prefer- ence for the Baptist denomination, in accordance with family tradition. As there is no Baptist Church, however, in Winooski, they regularly attend and contribute to the sup- port of the Congregational Church.

W ESTON, SIDNEY H., was born in Chesterfield, Essex county, N. Y., on the 16th day of December, 1824. The origin of the Weston family in America dates back to the time of the coming of the Mayflower, which brought over three Weston brothers from England. James Weston, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, bore a conspicuous and honorable part in the Revolutionary War, and was a com- missioned officer. He was an early settler in the town of Peru, Clinton county, N. Y., where he died on the 18th day of May, 1840. His wife, Sally Witherell, from Brain- tree, died the day following and was buried in the same grave with her husband. They were the parents of eleven children, six boys and five girls, of whom Harvey, the next to the youngest, and the father of Sidney H. Weston, was born on the 20th day of June, 1798, in Peru. He adopted the vocation of a farmer and lumberman, and went to Chesterfield, N. Y., to live. He died on the 20th of February, 1857. His first wife was a daughter of George Mace, of Peru. By her he had four children, one of whom died in infancy, and the other three, Fidelia, wife of L. D. Gay, of Chesterfield, N. Y., Sidney H. and Blanchard, in Chesterfield, N. Y., are living.

Mr. Weston received a good common school education in Chesterfield and after- ward attended for some time the academy at Underhill, during the principalship of Professor J. S. Cilley. Just previous to this, however, he earned the means of attend- ance upon the academy by making charcoal for the iron company at Vergennes, Vt. That period of his minority which intervened between April and December, before his twenty-first birthday, he bought of his father and paid for the time out of the proceeds of his labor. After his term of schooling at Underhill had expired he purchased 100 acres of timber land in Peru, N. Y., from a portion of which he manufactured charcoal, disposing of a part of his products to the Peru Iron Company and part to an iron man- ufacturer named Cook, of Ferona, N. Y. The rest of the timber he had made into lumber, which was sold at Clintonville and Keeseville, N. Y. After working there two years he sold the farm and in April, 1848, removed to Butler's Corners, in Essex, Vt., where he purchased a small farm. Here he remained, devoting his energy and time to agriculture, until 1856, by which time he had added 135 acres to his original purchase in Essex, when he removed to Winooski. This flourishing village was at that time not more than half its present size, but promised to become what it has, by reason of the passage through the place of the new railroad. Mr. Weston opened a hotel on the site of the present post-office, and conducted also a good business in a livery stable and meat market. After an experience of three years in the hotel he sold out and removed to his present farm, which he had previously purchased and the buildings on which he had

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History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 97

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