USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > History of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vermont : With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers. > Part 66
USA > Vermont > Franklin County > History of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vermont : With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers. > Part 66
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Mr. Hotchkiss married, first, Cordelia M. Ladd, by whom he had six children, viz .: Lewis Francis and Willis, both of whom died in infancy ; and Carlton E., Bertha M., Cyrus T., and Mary C., who reside at home. He married, second, Marian J. Bliss, who died nine months after his marriage. He married, third, October 12, 1887, Mrs. Hattie E. Learned, née Hotchkiss, by whom he has one child, James M.
G ILMORE, CHARLES C., was born in Georgia, Vt., January 28, 1859, and is the third son in a family of six children of Dennis and Nancy (Fairbanks) Gilmore, four of whom are now living. His parents were both natives of Vermont. The father removed to St. Albans in 1861, and our subject attended the district schools of that town, gradu- ating from the St. Albans High School. He then became a student at Eastman Business College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and upon return- ing to St. Albans was for a time engaged with his father in the livery business. He finally turned his attention to the mercantile trade, and was employed as a clerk in the blue store in St. Albans, which carried on the clothing trade, where he remained one year. He then came to Swanton and was employed for the next two years in H. A. Collins's clothing store in that village. Mr. Gilmore at this time formed a co- partnership with his brother, Frank, under the firm name of Charles C. Gilmore & Co., and opened a store for the sale of clothing in Swanton. This firm continued in business for two years, when Charles C. disposed
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of his interest to his brother. About this time a suspender, known as the Atwood suspender, had been patented, and Mr. Gilmore's attention having been called to it he made arrangements to form a stock company to manufacture the article. Mainly through his endeavors the Swanton Suspender Company was formed, and he became secretary and mana- ger of the corporation, which position he now holds. The suspender has been introduced all over the United States, shipments being made to every state in the Union. The capacity of the works has been in- creased over twelve hundred per cent. since its commencement. In 1890 Mr. Gilmore assisted in forming a stock company called the Stand- ard Granite Company, which is engaged in the manufacture of monu- mental work at Swanton, and owns quarries in Hardwick and Wood- bury, Vt. He holds the positions of director and treasurer. In politics he is a Republican, but has never been an aspirant for political honors. He is also prominently identified with the Masonic order.
He married Miss Lillian, daughter of M. E. and Margaret (Bullard) Sprague, who is a native of Addison county, Vt. They have one child, Marion.
N
TORTON, JOHN G., the present treasurer and manager of the Ver-
mont Construction Company, was born in Canaan, Conn., on Sep- tember 29, 1869, and is the third son in a family of eight children born to P. E. and Sarah A. (Lord) Norton. His father removed to Springfield, Mass , during his childhood, and his education was obtained in the public schools at that city, finishing his school days at the age of fifteen after spending some years at the Springfield High School. Upon leaving school he was employed by R. F. Hawkins, of Springfield, in the draught- ing department of his bridge works, and March 29, 1887, he came to St. Albans as book-keeper and draughtsman for the Vermont Construc- tion Company. Through his individual endeavors he became conversant with every detail of the company's business, and his various promotions are the result of his complete mastery and proficiency of the practical science of bridge building. In politics he is a Republican, and since his residence in St. Albans he has taken a deep interest in all matters per- taining to the growth and prosperity of the village.
So intimately has Mr. Norton's life been connected with the history
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
and development of the Vermont Construction Company that a sketch of that organization will not be out of place here. The company was incorporated under the general laws of the state of Vermont, July 9, 1886, the incorporators being R. F. Hawkins, L. J. Powers, jr., of Spring- field, Mass .; George A. Ayres, of St. Albans; C. F. Babbitt, of West Winsted, Conn .; and E. M. Babbitt, of Campton, N. H. The capital stock consisted of 250 shares at a par value of $100 a share. The first meeting of the incorporators was held at St. Albans, August 3, 1886, and after the adoption of a code of by-laws the following officers were elected : R. F. Hawkins, president ; L J. Powers, jr., vice-president and treasurer ; George A. Ayres, manager; and a board of directors con- sisting of the incorporators of the company.
Previous to the formation of the company R. F. Hawkins had started a branch of his Springfield works at St. Albans, which were in a build- ing formerly used by the St. Albans Iron and Steel Works, located on the west side of the Central Vermont Railroad tracks. These assets were transferred by Mr. Hawkins to the Vermont Construction Com- pany, and the manufacture of iron and steel bridges for railway and high- way purposes was soon commenced. Employment was given to about sixty hands. Since the organization the following changes have been made in its officials : On September 4, 1886, L. J. Powers, jr., resigned as vice-president and treasurer, and S. W. Bowles, of Springfield, Mass., was elected to the position of treasurer, and Guy Noble, of St. Albans, was made vice president. Both of these gentlemen were members of the board of directors. Mr. Bowles resigned March 6, 1888, and D. E. Brad- ley was elected secretary, treasurer, and manager. On the same date George A. Ayres was elected vice-president, which vacancy was caused by the resignation of Mr. Noble. The resignation of Mr. Ayres as vice- president was accepted February 8, 1889, and Paul R. Hawkins, of Springfield, Mass., was elected to fill the vacancy. At the same meeting John G. Norton was elected clerk of the corporation, and at a meeting held December 1, 1890, the resignation of D. E. Bradley was accepted as secretary and treasurer, and John G. Norton was elected to fill the vacancy. On the same date D. E. Bradley was elected vice-president. Mr. Bradley filled the position until April 1, 1891, when he resigned and Mr. Hawkins was again elected vice-president. On the same date John
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Seroton
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G. Norton was elected one of the board of directors and manager. The capital stock of the company, by a vote of the stockholders at a meet- ing held February 17, 1890, was increased to $50,000. The works occupied proving inadequate for the business of the company nego- tiations were entered into looking to their removal, but satisfactory arrangements were made with the town of St. Albans and the present location was leased from the Central Vermont Railroad, December I, 1890, and buildings erected. The main shop is a two-story building 180 x63 feet, to which is connected a machine shop 45 x 30 feet. There is also a handsome and commodious office building on the plant and a tool and supply room 50x30. Their present works are thoroughly equipped with new and improved machinery operated by a Harris- Corliss engine of 125 horsepower. This is the only bridge building company in Northern New England, and they are designers and manu- facturers of iron and steel bridges for railroads and highways, and also viaducts, girders, turn-tables, iron roofs, iron piers, trestles, and every variety of iron construction and iron and steel structural work. The capacity of the works has been doubled and employment is now given to 130 hands, and under the present manager the business has increased over one hundred per cent. Among the notable bridges erected by this company is mentioned the following : The largest bridge in New Eng- land, 2,000 feet long, crossing the east channel of Lake Champlain and connecting the island town of North Hero with the mainland, forms one of the series of bridges which connects the different towns of Grand Isle county. It was built in 1886 and opened to the public in that year with appropriate ceremonies, the governor and members of the state legislature being present, the legislature having adjourned for that pur- pose. The breakwater at Rouse's Point, N. Y., was built under govern- ment contract. The Hartford bridge of the Central Vermont Railroad, 650 feet long, tested with twelve locomotives whose combined weight was 854 tons; Clark bridge, Williston, Central Vermont Railroad, 600 feet long; West River railroad bridge near Brattleboro, one span 223 feet and another of 110 feet ; highway bridge 330 feet long, crossing the Missisquoi River at Sheldon, Vt .; Miller's Falls railroad bridge, N. L. N., 572 feet ; bridge over Deerfield River at Shelburne, Mass., 318 feet long. The company, by the energy and business qualifications of its represent-
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
atives, has been successful not only in obtaining large contracts in their immediate vicinity, but has built a large number of bridges for railroads and farms in the Western and Southern states.
H AZELTINE, GEN. SILAS BERKLEY, was born in Templeton, Mass., July 23, 1790. His father, Col. Silas Hazeltine, graduated from Yale College, September 8, 1779, and married Hannah, the fourth child and daughter of Joseph and Mary (Dealk) Baker. Joseph Baker was born in Massachusetts, May 19, 1736, and about 1790 purchased, for £500, 10,000 acres of land in Bakersfield, the town being named after him. This purchase embarrassed him financially, and March 1, 1800, his son-in-law, Col. Silas Hazeltine, removed from Massachusetts and received a deed of 620 acres of land, which embraced nearly all of the present village of Bakersfield, for which he gave a bond for the life maintenance of Joseph Baker and wife. The former died in Massachu- setts, November 9, 1811. Colonel Hazeltine was engaged for a number of years in the mercantile business. He had five children, viz .: Silas Berkley, Mrs. Asa Dean, Mrs. Rensselaer Reed, Mrs. Amos Towne, M.D., and Mrs. Hon. David Reed. He was an active member of society and participated in all the affairs of the town up to the time of is death, which occurred June 15, 1814, aged fifty five years.
Gen. Silas B. Hazeltine received a fair English education, but ow- ing to the difficulties connected with the early settlement of the town he did not secure the classical course originally designed by his father. He attended the high school at Burlington, where he learned the ele- ments of surveying, which proved of great practical use in after life. He early became interested in military matters, and May 16, 1812, he was commissioned by Gov. Jonas Galusha ensign of the Fourth Com- pany of Infantry, Third Regiment, of the militia of the state, and Sep- tember 18, 1817, he was promoted captain of the same company, which latter position he held till July 4, 1820, when he was made major of the Third Regiment. August 28, 1822, he was promoted to lieutenant- colonel of the same regiment, which office he held till October 29, 1841, when he was commissioned brigadier -general of the First Brigade, Sec- ond Division, of Vermont state militia. He resigned October 29, 1841,
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
and, though always interested, he never afterwards took an active part in the military affairs of the state. Politically General Hazeltine was orig- inally a Federalist, but in 1827 he became a Jacksonian Democrat, and from that time until his death he was an ardent and energetic worker in the Democratic party. He represented Bakersfield in the legislatures of 1821-22, 1824, 1827, 1833, and 1837. In January, 1822, at a spe- cial town meeting he was elected town clerk, and was re elected fifty- seven times, and during the fifty- eight elections he never had but one opposing candidate. His first record as town clerk was made Janu- ary 20, 1822 ; his last February 1, 1879; thus completing a period of fifty-seven years and ten days as town clerk. The records during this time are all, save town deeds, in his handwriting, and are noted for their neatness, legibility, and correctness. He was president of the board of trustees of Bakersfield North Academy from its organization.
General Hazeltine married, January 10, 1818, Miss Elizabeth Hill, and fifty years afterwards they celebrated their golden wedding. They had three children : Harriet Elizabeth, who died in April, 1848, aged twenty-four years ; Emily Maria, who married Rev. Harry J. Moore, and died in Bakersfield at the age of forty-six years ; and Charlotte M., widow of James Monroe Dean, who resides in Swanton, Vt. The latter is the last living descendant of the family, and through her kindness we are enabled to preserve a likeness of her father in the history of the county with which he was for so many years identified. General Hazel- tine finished a busy and active life February 21, 1879.
M ASON, ALVIN H., was born in Swanton, Vt., April 27, 1817. His father, John Mason, was born in Barre, Mass., in 1782, and at the age of two years came with his mother to Swanton. He was a farmer, and married Ruth, daughter of Daniel Wood, of that town. Their children were William W., John A., Philemon C., Curtis, Alvin H., Augustus S., George C., Paulina B., Addison P. (now a resident of Buffalo, N. Y.), and Jasper B. (who resides in Ottawa, Kan.). John died in Swanton in 1868.
Alvin H. Mason married, in May, 1847, Martha, daughter of John and Pamelia (Drury) Barr, of Highgate. They have had four children:
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
Curtis P., a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah ; Minnie E., wife of D. D. Burdett, of Pittsford, Vt .; and John B. and William A., who both died young. Mr. Mason has always resided in Franklin county, and has been a merchant and farmer, but has now retired from active business. For eleven years he was sheriff and deputy sheriff of the county.
B ELL, FREEBORN E., who was born in St. Albans, Vt., January 6, 1816, was fourth in a family of seven children born to John and Siba (Patten) Bell. John was one of the pioneers of the town of St. Al- bans, and was a native of Lyme, Vt. The brother and sisters of Free- born E. Bell were Elizabeth, who married Joseph Merry, and died in Illinois; William, who died in Swanton; Martha N., who married Joseph Garwood, and died at Monroe, Mich .; Mehitable, who married Daniel P. Corliss, and died in Swanton; Caroline, who died at the age of seventeen years; and Lenora, who died at the age of eleven years. Mrs. Martha N. Garwood was a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal church for fifty years or more, and a teacher or superintendent of the Sabbath- school during the same time. Mr. Bell was reared on the farm and has always been engaged in agricultural pursuits. He has always been a resident of St. Albans with the exception of a short time spent in Michi- gan and Illinois, when he was twenty-four years of age. His education was limited to the local schools. Mr. Bell is an example of what Ver- mont farmers can accomplish : a practical, self-made man, he is to-day the possessor of 1,500 acres of land located in Franklin and the adjoin- ing counties. He was a member of the Ransom Guards of St. Albans, and served on the frontier under United States authority during the so-called Patriot war of 1837-39.
July 13, 1847, he married Sarah Purmort, who was born in Georgia, November 6, 1819, and by her had the following children: Abner P., who died in Kansas, and whose widow and three children reside in Swanton; Caroline A. (Mrs. Clark Hamilton Blake), of Swanton; Josephine M. (Mrs. Samuel Butterfield), of Swanton; and Amanda (Mrs. Leslie B. Traut), of Swanton. Mrs. Bell died February 12, 1858, and he married, November 24, 1859, Harriet A. Hyde, born in Highgate, July 20, 1838. Their children were Merton E., of St. Albans; Lulie S., who died un-
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
married ; Freeborn W., of St. Albans; John G., who died young ; Elmer, who died young ; and Ernest H., of St. Albans. Mrs. Bell died February 1I, 1888.
At the first call for troops made by President Lincoln in 1861 Mr. Bell enlisted and was mustered into the service May 2, 1861, as second lieutenant of Company C, First Regiment, and was mustered out at the expiration of his term of service, August 15, 1861. In politics origi- nally a Democrat he has been a Republican since the organization of that party, and has been called upon by his townsmen at various times to fill the different local offices : selectman, lister, justice of the peace, and town and county grand juror He is a member and has been one of the liberal supporters of the Methodist Episcopal church.
B ROWN, CAPT. STEPHEN F., who was born in Swanton, April 4, 1841, is the only survivor of three children of Samuel G. and Anna (Crawford) Brown. The other children were a daughter, who died young, and Samuel G., jr., who was first lieutenant of Company A, Seventeenth Vermont Regiment, and died from injuries received at the battle of the Wilderness. Capt. Stephen F. Brown's maternal grandfather was with General Washington at Valley Forge during the Revolution. His pri- mary education was obtained in the schools of his native town, and he afterwards attended the spring and fall terms of the academy at Swan- ton Falls. In winters he taught school, and worked on a farm during the summer months. He thus successfully fitted himself for college, and in the fall of 1862 passed an examination for admission to the Univer- sity of Vermont. Instead of pursuing his collegiate course of study, however, he enlisted in Company K, Thirteenth Vermont Infantry, as a private, but was elected first lieutenant of that company. The Thir- teenth was a nine months' regiment, and was part of the Second Ver- mont Brigade, which was commanded by General Stannard at Gettys- burg. This brigade was in the front and center of the battle line and rendered distinguished service, especially in the closing conflict, against which the rebel general Picket on the afternoon of the third and last day made the last and most desperate charge of the enemy, but they were met by the Second Vermont Brigade on the open plane between
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
the battle lines in a hand to hand encounter. Here Captain Brown, undaunted by previous loss of his sword on the march, went into the battle with a common camp hatchet and was among the first to meet the advancing charge. With hatchet up-lifted in one hand he seized a rebel officer with the other, demanded his surrender, and at once re- lieved him of his sword and pistol, and putting them on his own person wore them until discharged. He still retains them as mementos of personal experience at Gettysburg, where none but the bravest could withstand the fearful charge.
The historial in the second volume, page 478, of "Vermont in the Civil War" makes favorable mention of Captain Brown as a soldier and officer. A few years ago he was presented with an elegant and valu- able gold medal for distinguished bravery at Gettysburg. The writer1 was an eye-witness to the facts here stated.
Captain Brown was injured on the head at Gettysburg by a concus- sion from the explosion of a shell while in the act of aiding one of his mortally wounded men, Corporal William Church. A rebel battery swept the crest of a ridge over which the brigade had to march by flank back to position after the charge. The range was good and every shell exploded in the marching ranks with loss of dead and wounded. It was here that Corporal William Church, of Company K, Thirteenth Vermont Regiment, was slain. Captain Brown, observing Corporal Church as he fell, hastened to his aid and found one leg shot away above the knee. He procured a tourniquet and while endeavoring to stop the flow of blood another shell exploded so near above his head that the concussion came very near proving fatal. Though quite seri- ously injured he refused to go to the rear, saying to Surgeon Nichols that he would remain until the battle was over unless the regiment was ordered from the field.
He returned from the seat of war with his regiment, and was honor- ably discharged. Subsequently Vermont tried to raise another regi- ment from the veterans of the Second Vermont Brigade, and Captain Brown was commissioned recruiting officer for Northern Vermont. He raised a company of 160 men, and was elected captain of Company A, Seventeenth Vermont Infantry. This regiment was organized in the
1 R. O. Sturtevant.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
spring of 1864, and immediately departed for the seat of war. They took part in the battle of the Wilderness, and on May 6, 1864, during that battle Captain Brown, having his left arm extended directing the movements of his men, was struck by a minie-ball, which entered at the shoulder and came out at the elbow. The arm had to be amputated, but owing to the excessive discharge of blood he completely recovered from the injury in the head received at Gettysburg. After his final muster out, and on recovering his health, Captain Brown entered the Albany Law University, where he graduated March 3, 1868. He was admitted to the bar and removed to Chicago, and with a capital of $25 commenced the practice of his profession.
In pursuing the legal profession Captain Brown's courage has never faltered, and invention and enterprise have distinguished his career in Chicago. After the great fire nothing of his law office remained but the key. He rented an office on the corner of Desplains and West Madison streets, in which the landlord generously left a pine table and upon it a copy of the New Testament. The captain was scarcely seated in his new office when a collecting agent came to consult him. The agent had in his possession $100 belonging to one of his principals, which he desired to keep for awhile until the banks re- opened, but his principals threatened to cause his arrest if he did so. The captain stated to his client that he had the latest law on the subject in question, and taking the testament read to him from Matthew 5:25, " Agree with thine adversary quickly," etc. That settled the case.
It would be impossible in the compass of this work to cite the differ- ent and important cases in which he has been retained as counsel. He has successfully met his legal brethren in the different courts of Chicago and the state of Illinois, and has had in two noteworthy cases such op- posing attorneys as M. W. Fuller, esq. (now chief justice of the United States) and Hon. Robert T. Lincoln (the present minister to the court of St. James). These were Biggs vs. Clupp and Girrard vs. Guetiau, and were carried to the courts of city and state, and in them Captain Brown was successful. He has accumulated a handsome fortune, the results mainly of his law practice. He has for years spent his court vacations with his aged parents in Swanton. Owing to illness of his father (whose death occurred in 1891) he has for the last few years been
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
obliged to relinquish his business in Chicago and, like a dutiful son, devote all his time to the comfort and happiness of those who by their care and attention in his youth prepared him to engage successfully in the battle of life.
D UTCHER, LUTHER LOOMIS, son of Daniel and Nancy (Billings) Dutcher, was born in St. Albans, July 31, 1802. The family origi- nally came from Connecticut and settled first at St. Albans Bay, but soon after purchased a farm, built a tannery, and conducted a general boot and shoe manufactory on Dutcher Brook. Luther's educational advantages were limited to the district school and two or three terms at the St. Albans Academy. Through the advice and influence of his uncle, James Clark Dutcher, an alumnus of the University of Vermont, he commenced a course of study with a view to a more liberal education, but the sudden and premature death of his father caused him to re- luctantly adandon his cherished hopes, and soon after he accepted a favorable offer from Dr. G. D. Harmon, of Burlington, a physician in active practice and a dealer in drugs. He was much interested in the study of materia medica and read the various text books on that subject. At the termination of his engagement he returned to St. Albans and engaged in the general mercantile business. This he continued until 1835, when he formed a partnership with Hon. Lawrence Brainerd, and for five years the firm transacted a general produce trade and was extensively engaged in lumbering in Canada. In 1840 this copartner- ship expired by limitation and Mr. Dutcher engaged in business on his own account, having purchased the building now occupied by his chil- dren. He included in this stock the general line usually kept in country stores, but soon after he turned his attention exclusively to drugs. This was the only drug store between Burlington and St. Johns. In 185 1 his eldest son was admitted a partner and a few years after a sec- ond son was added to the firm, which continued until dissolved by the death of the head. The firm was interested as proprietors or partners in stores in St. Albans, in Swanton, and in Richford.
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