History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 110

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n; Rann, William S
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co.
Number of Pages: 1170

USA > Vermont > Rutland County > History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 110

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904

HISTORY OF RUTLAND COUNTY.

UNSON, ISRAEL, was born in the town of New Haven, Conn., on March 18, 1808. His parents and grand parents were natives of this town. He was the sixth child of a family of nine children, who were all born in New Haven, Conn., but one. He is the only one now living. The names of the family in the order of their births are as follows : Sarah, Elizur, Caroline, Mary, Isaac B., Israel, Ann, Louisa, Edward and Francis (who was born in Walling- ford, Vt.). Israel Munson came with his parents to Wallingford, Vt .. in December, 1814. His parents were Isaac and Sarah (Bradley) Munson, who came to Vermont mostly through the persuasions of Israel Munson, who was an elder brother of Isaac, and a merchant in Bos- ton, Mass., and while coming through this part of Vermont, purchased the farm south of the present residence of Israel Munson, jr., which then consisted of 200 acres. He persuaded his brother to move here. Isaac owned a house in New Haven, Conn., and did not dispose of it until ten years after coming to Vermont, thinking that he might at some future time return to his native town. He, however, concluded to remain in Vermont, and added one hundred acres to the farm (where Israel Munson now lives), where he died in 1836. Elizur, Isaac and Israel then borrowed >7,000 from their uncle Israel Munson, of Boston, Mass., and bought the re- maining heirs out. They then divided it into three farms ; Israel, giving fifty dollars for his first choice, took the farm on which he now resides; Elizur taking the old homestead, and Isaac taking the one over the river where Mr. Childs now resides. Israel Munson received his education in the public schools of his day and has been a thorough business man, clear- headed and successful in all his business transactions and investments. When the war broke out in this country and the government wanted means, he came to the front with $30,000 ; if the country was successful the investment was a good one, and if not he would go down with the government. He was ever ready with his money and voice to aid the government when it needed them most. He has been selectman, overseer of the poor, and lister of his town, although his forte has never been in the field of politics. He has always lived on his farm, and more than one has been helped over their financial difficulties by Israel Munson's means and clear head, sometimes by his own loss.

He was married on September 19, 1845, to Matilda Clark (a daughter of Chauncey Clark, of Mount Holly, Vt.). They have had two children born to them, Kirk G. and Isaac E. Mr. Munson has for forty years been attending to his varied financial investments, and in all his loans he has never forced or distressed any one ; foreclosing only in a few cases, and then at the request of the parties interested ; and in several cases accepting from five hundred to one thousand dollars less than his claim. He is now in the seventy-seventh year of his age, en- joying good health and would pass for a man of sixty. His wife died on December 9, 1881. She was a member of Trinity Episcopal Chuch, and was mourned by a large number of friends and neighbors.

PROCTOR, REDFIELD. The American branch of the Proctor family springs from Eng- lish stock, the first ancestor in this country being Robert Proctor, who lived in Concord, Mass., as early as 1645. From Robert Proctor's son Samuel the lineal ancestry of Redfield Proctor is as follows : Samuel (2), Thomas (3), Leonard (4), Jabez (5), Redfield (6). Leonard, who first established the family name in Vermont, was born at Chelmsford, Mass .. in 1735. He was a soldier of the Revolution and rose to the grade of captain. His tenth child was Jabez, who was born in Westford, Mass., April 22, 1780; he was three years old when the family migrated to Vermont. He was a prominent citizen, conspicuous in politics and held a number of high offices. His wife was Betsey, daughter of Isaac Parker, of Westford, Mass., and they had four children. The youngest of these was the subject of this sketch, who was born in Proctorsville, Vt., June 1, 1831. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1851, and three years later received the degree of A. M. from that institution. He studied law in the Albany liw school and graduated in 1859, and was admitted to the bar in that city and also at Woodstock, Vi. A part of the years 1860-61 he practiced at Boston, Mass., but the out- break of the Rebellion called him to the defense of his country, and in June, 1861. he enlisted in the Third Vermont Regiment and was commisioned as lieutenant and quartermaster. In July of that year he was appointed on the staff of General Baldy Smith, and in October was transferred to the Fifth Vermont Regiment of militia, of which he was commissioned major. In October, 1862, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Fifteenth Regiment of nine months' men. The services of these regiments have been recounted in the military chapter of this work. After his return to Vermont he entered into partnership for law practice with Judge W. G. Veazey, in Rutland ; but he was destined for more active and extended business opera- tions. In 1869 he accepted the office of manager of the Sutherland Falls Marble Company, which, under his efficient direction, became very prosperous. On the 30th of September, 1880, the Sutherland Falls and Rutland Marble Companies were amalgamated and assumed the title of the Vermont Marble Company, with headquarters at Centre Rutland - lately transferred to Proctor (Sutherland Falls). The new corporation was chartered under the laws of New York,

905

HON. JOHN PROUT. - COL. GEORGE T. ROBERTS.

and Mr. Proctor was elected president, a position which he still holds. Under the mirage- ment of himself and his associate officers, the company has become by far the lornet marble producers in the country, with branches in all the largest cities in the United States. Governor Proctor's public official career began in 1866, with the office of selectman in the town of Rut- land. In the following year he represented the town in the Legislature. and again in 1868. In 1874 he was elected to the State Senate and two years later received the election as lieu- tenant-governor, receiving a majority of more than twenty-three thousand votes over his com- petitor. In 1878 he was elected as chief magistrate of the State of Vermont, and his admin- istration justified the most sanguine expectations of his friends, inaugurating an era of economy in State management, the good effects of which are still felt. Under his administration the first general savings bank law was passed in accordance with his recommendation, and nuni- erous other important measures were inaugurated at his suggestion, which have been most beneficial to the people at large. Indeed, in all of the official positions occupied by Governor Proctor, his remarkable business foresight and judgment, his untiring industry, and his adher- ence to the right have enabled him to leave a record that is most enviable. To-day he is in the zenith of his mental powers and fills a station second to that of no other citizen in Ver- mont. Redfield Proctor was married on the 26th of May, 1858, to Emily J., daughter of the Hon. Solomon F. Dutton, of Cavendish, Vt. Five children, tour of whom are now living, are the issue of their union. The eldest son, Fletcher D., is now associated with his father in busi- ness and has been the superintendent of their lirge marble business since the death of Hon. N. P. Simons.

DROUT, HON. JOHN, was born in Salisbury. Addison county, on the toth day of Novem-

ber, 1815. He received the education supplied by the common school of that time. He learned the art of printing and followed it for several years, and in the mean time, by studious habits and observation, so educated himself, that he entered the law office of Hon. E. N. Briggs, a prominent attorney. He was admitted to the Addison county bar in 1837 and be- gan practice with Mr. Briggs. He was chosen representative from Salisbury to the General Assembly of Vermont in 1847. 1848, 1851, and State's attorney of Addison county in 1848, 1849, 1850 and 1851. In 1845 he removed to Rutland and formed a law partnership with C. B. Harrington, and later has been associated with Hon. Charles Linsley, W. C. Dunton, and for some ten years past with Colonel Aldace F. Walker, under the firm name of Prout & Walker, whose field of practice has been wide and varied in the different courts of the State. Judge Prout for many years has been the counsel of the Rutland railroad, the Delaware and Hudson and other leading railways.

He represented Rutland in the Legislature in 1865, and in 1867 and 1868 was a senator from Rutland county. He was elected a judge of the Supreme Court of Vermont, holding two terms - 1869 and 1870, when he voluntarily retired from the bench because his extensive prac- tice was of far more importance to him than the limited salary paid to Vermont judges. Since that period the scope of legal practice has greatly widened in the higher courts and in the United States courts. Few Vermont lawyers have had more important and intricate cases in charge and proved more successful.

Judge Prout is not a politician and never sought office. He has occasionally yielded to the wishes of the people and served in positions outside his profession. A studious investigator of facts, he has confined himself strictly to his profession.

He has been twie married. His present wife, Ellen Sophia Ellsworth Strong, is a grand- daughter of the distinguished chief justice, Oliver Ellsworth, of Connecticut. He has a son, Edward, residing in the West, and two daughters, Mrs. Cornelia Fiekl and Miss Mary Prout.

R OBERTS, COLONEL GEORGE T., was born in the town of Clarendon, Rutland county, Vt., on the 3d day of October, 1824. He belonged to a family of military traditions on both sides, being the third son of the late Benjamin Roberts, of M.inchester, Vt., and a grand- son of General Christopher Roberts of Revolutionary memory. His mother's maiden name was Sophia Hodges. She was the third daughter of Dr. Silas Hodges who served as a sur- geon in the Continental army, and was for sont time in the military family of General Wash- ington. When about four years of age his parents removed to Manchester, in which town he spent most of his boyhood. He was naturally fond of study, particularly of mathematics and astronomy, and acquired a very good education at Burr Seminary, a popular institution of learning m Bennington county.

Some years previous to the breaking out of the great Rebellion he was extensively engaged in superintending the construction of railroads in the West, and at the time of entering the service of the country was the agent and manager of the marble quarries at West Rutland, of which his brother-in-law, General H. H. Baxter, was the principal owner. In 1861 he was a

906

HISTORY OF RUTLAND COUNTY.

lieutenant in the Rutland Light Guards, which went out as one of the companies of the First Vermont Regiment. He served in the field with that regiment until the expiration of its term of service. He afterward took an active part in recruiting the First Vermont Regiment of Cav- alry, and was offered a position in that organization, which he declined. When the Seventh Regiment was organized and mustered into service in February, 1862, he was offered its colo- nelcy by Governor Holbrook, which offer he accepted.

The foregoing very brief sketch of Colonel Roberts's life was written by a relative of his ; but it needs supplementing in order that the reader may gain an intelligent conception of his character. The history of the Seventh Regiment has already been given in earlier pages of this work. Its gallant colonel was destined to share in its hardships and victories but a few short months. The battle of Baton Rouge was fought on the 5th of August, 1862. The following account of that part of the engagement directly connected with the fall of Colonel Roberts is from Colonel William C. Holbrook's history of the Seventh Regiment : -

"When the regiment resumed its original position the action was raging with great fury directly in front of our camp and that of the Twenty-first Indiana. Owing to the fog which had not yet lifted, and to the smoke which was constantly increasing, objects could not be distinguished ten yards ahead. Although the regiment was under a terrible fire, Colonel Roberts wisely hesitated to give the order to commence firing, as he was apprehensive that the Indiana regiment might be in his front. At this moment General Williams rode up and peremptorily and in an excited and somewhat brusque manner, instructed him to open fire. The colonel was, of course, obliged to give the order, but did so very reluctantly. Before many volleys had been discharged an officer appeared and exclaimed that the fire of the Sev- enth was affecting the Indianians. The colonel promptly gave the order to cease firing. This was his last command, for he immediately fell from a severe wound in the neck. While being carried to the rear he was again hit in the thigh by a minnie ball. Dr. Blanchard soon reached the spot to which the colonel had been removed and gave him all the medical aid possible.

Having no ambulance, a one-horse cart or dray was obtained, in which uncomfortable convey- ance on a thin litter of hay, he was taken to the hospital. 1 met him on the way as I was re- turning from the picket line on the right flank. Ile was cheerful and bright, although seem- ingly suffering some pain. I expressed much sorrow that he, of all others, should have been stricken. He replied that he did not consider his wounds serious, and hoped soon to be on duty again. The wound in the thigh proved fatal, the ball having glanced upwards, penetrat- ing the vital organs. Two days afterward he quietly, and apparently painlessly, passed from among the living."

The death of Colonel Roberts caused the most profound sorrow throughout Rutland county, and that his character and eminent services were appreciated in the field is indicated by the following extract from an article published in the New Orleans Delta at the time of his death : -

" The Seventh Vermont Regiment, which had just returned from severe service at Vicks- burg, participated in the battle of Baton Rouge. It is sufficient evidence that they were at their post discharging faithfully the trust reposed in them, that their gallant colonel, George T. Roberts, fell mortally wounded in the thickest of the fight. He was a true patriot and an honorable, high-minded man. He first went into the service as a lieutenant in Company A, of the First Vermont Volunteers. When the Seventh was called for he was tendered the colonelcy, and in every particular has proved the selection a good one, and though dying in a glorious cause, his loss will be severely felt, both by his regiment and his many friends in his native State where he was so well and so favorably known.

In an article on his death the editor of the Rutland Herald used the following words : "So long as heroism is admired and patriotism loved, will green garlands of affectionate remem- brance be laid upon his honored grave.

The remains of Colonel Roberts were brought home to Rutland, where they were interred in the presence of a large concourse of citizens and their families. In addition to this custom- ary mark of respect to the eminent dead, the citizens of the town assembled in meeting at about that time and unanimously passed the following resolutions : -

WHEREAS, We, the citizens of Rutland, in town meeting assembled, have learned with the deepest sorrow of the death of Colonel George T. Roberts, our friend and fellow-townsman, while gallantly leading his regiment in the memor ible battle of Baton Rouge, therefore -

Resolved, That in the death of Colonel Roberts Vermont is called upon to mourn one of her best and bravest officers, and Rutland one of her most loved and honored citizens.

Resolved, That the profound sympathies of this meeting are tendered to the mourning rel- atives of the deceased in this their deep affliction, and as our late fellow townsman has given all he had, even his life, for us and for his country, we give to his memory our tears and a grateful and lasting recollection of his patriotism and gallantry.

Colonel Roberts has been described as " an eminently just and large-hearted man in the truest sense," which, perhaps, expresses his prominent characteristics fully.

907

CHAUNCEY S. RUMSEY - LYMAN WILLIAMS REDINGTON.

R )UMSEY, CHAUNCEY S., was born in Hubbardton, Vt., in 1805. He commenced business life at the age of sixteen years as a farmer ; his object being to save the home- stead for his aged parents, and which he accomplished by hard labor. His parents were Will- iam and Elizabeth (Walker) Rumsey, who were born and married in Connecticut, and died in Hubbardton, Vt. William was born in 1750, served three years in the Revolutionary army, received a pension and died in 1836. His wife died in 1830. They had eleven children, of whom Chauncey S. is the only one now living. He was the leading farmer of his town. and made a great success of grain and stock raising, and was one of the representative men of his town and State ; was also a member of the Senate in 1858 and 1859 : was a member of the Legislature in 1839 and 1840 and again in 1854 and 1855 ; was county judge in 1874 and 1875 ; was town clerk and treasurer of Hubbardton, Vt., for twenty-six consecutive years, and also held many of the minor offices of his town. He was justice of the peace of his old town for thirty-two years. He retired from active life in 1871 and settled in the village of Castleton on his homestead of twenty acres. His early advantages for an education were light ; but he has become hy careful application a self-educated man, and now has a fine library, in which he finds a pleasant pastime. He was married in 1830 to Hannah Wallis. They have one son, Henry C., who was born in 1844. Hannah was a daughter of Seth and Hannah (Pond) Wallis.

R EDINGTON, LYMAN WILLIAMS. The following biography is taken from the Brat- tleboro (Vt.) Reformer, published in connection with a portrait April 4, 1884 :-

" One of Vermont's most energetic Democratic sons is L. W. Redington, of Rutland. He is a son of Hon. George Redington, who was born at Vergennes, Vt., in 1798. The grand- father of the subject of this sketch, Jacob Redington, a Revolutionary soldier, held a number of local offices in the early history of Vergennes, and was a member of the first common coun- cil of the first city government which was instituted in Vergennes in 1794. He emigrated from Vergennes with his family, in 1800, to Waddington, St. Lawrence county, N. Y. The father of L. W. Redington was an able lawyer and judge of the Court of Common Pleas of St. Lawrence county, and for several terms a member of the New York Legislature, where he wielded considerable influence. He aided very materially in the construction of the Northern Railroad from Ogdensburg to Rouse's Point, and was one of its directors. Later in life he was engaged largely in the purchase and sale of real estate in St. Lawrence county, and in the manufacture of lumber and square timber. He erected a number of mills, sending rafts to Montreal and Quebec, and employing a large number of men. Ile was an energetic business man of large capacity, and highly respected for his sound judgment and upright straightforward dealing. He was a staunch Democrat.

L. W. Redington's mother was a daughter of Medad Sheldon, of Rutland, and a sister of Charles Sheldon, of Rutland. head of the firm of Sheldon & Sons, marble dealers.

L. W. Redington was born in Waddington, N. Y., March 14, 1849, and is therefore now only thirty-five years old. He fitted for college at Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass., and entered Yale College in the fall of 1866, but was obliged to leave at the close of the fresh- men year on account of poor health. He subsequently graduated in the scientific department of Williston Seminary in 1869. Attended law school at Columbia College, New York city, and concluded his professional studies in the office of the late United States Senator Matt H. C'ar- penter, in Milwaukee, Wis. He was admitted to the Milwaukee bar in 1871, and for some time afterwards made an extensive tour of Europe to regain his health and round out his edu- cation, remaining a year abroad.

In 1875 he located in Rutland, in the practice of the law. In 1876 he was elected to the office of grand juror, which position he held for five years, and then refused to stand longer. He was the nominee of the Democracy for town representative at Rutland in 1876, '78, '80 and '82. In 1878 he was elected to the Legislature, and was the Democratic nominee of the House for speaker. He was a delegate at large for Vermont to the Democratic National Convention in 1880, and was the nominee of the Democracy for Congress in 1882, He was chairman of the Democratic State Convention in 1882, and on the 17th of March, 1884, was appointed municipal judge for Rutland, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Martin G. Everts, and now holds that office.

He was married October 6, 1875, to Catharine Russell Merrill, daughter of Colonel George A. Merrill, of Rutland. They have two children, Mary Patterson and Thomas Gregory Red- ington. He was attorney for the village of Rutland for the year ending 1884 and is now pres- ident of the New England Fire Insurance Company of Rutland, which was organized under a Vermont charter in 1881."

Mr. Redington is a man of many scholarly attainments, with a broad and healthy sympathy with Democratic ideas, a powerful speaker, an independent and progressive thinker. He has had every temptation to join the Republican ranks. His social connections were all that way ;

908

HISTORY OF RUTLAND COUNTY.

in lus early Wear- bis enthusiastic temperament inclined him to sympathy with The party that had done the noble work the Republican party did in its purer days, and he had that magnet- isin and popu! n attractiveness which would surely have won rapid and increasing honor if he had been on the side of the majority. But the events of 1870-76 made it clear to him that the lu of patriotic duty was with the young Democracy - with the current of political thought that apples the beingn philosophy of Jefferson to the problems of to-day - and he has stood w munchly with the hopeless minority of the State ever since. In the Legislature of 1878 he it is the author of the " Redington bill," so called, for a local option law to apply to the liquor trafia , and it is confessed by able and impartial men that it was one of the best drawn and most entefully considered measures ever presented to our Legislature. Of course the bill was overwhelmingly defeated, but he made a gallant fight for it, his speech in its advocacy being, perhaps, the most brilliant and at the same time the most carefully studied production of his life. He was always opposed to the petty bribery of public officials with free railroad passes, and he proved his conviction while in the Legislature before the subject had been much agi- tated, by refusing the passes offered him. He has made a particular study of divorce laws, and has recently delivered a very thoughtful and vigorous lecture on the subject, taking a position in favor of a radical change in the Vermont system, and of the most stringent laws in regula- tion of divorce everywhere.

Mr. Redington was afterwards nominated for governor by the Democrats of Vermont, re- ducing the Republican majority some 5,000 over 1880, and some 3,000 over 1876. After the State election in September he went to New York, commencing at Troy under the auspices of the New York State Committee, but was soon afterwards engaged by the National Committee and sent into Connecticut and New Jersey ; he was everywhere received with the warmest of praises from the party press, and the results of his labors greatly complimented. July 16, 1885, he was appointed by President Cleveland postmaster at Rutland, thereupon resigning the office of municipal judge, to which he had been twice elected by large majorities.

R OYCE, GEORGE EDMUND. The name of Rice in this country is traced back to Deacon Edmund Rice, who was born in about 1574, and came to America from Bark- hamstead, Hertfordshire county, England, in 1638, and settled in Sudbury, Mass. He removed to Marlboro, Mass., in 1664, and died there May 3. 1668.

Thomas Rice, son of the above, was born about 1621 ; resided in Sudbury, Mass., and re- moved to Marlboro, Mass., in 1664; died there November 15, 1681.

Jonas Rice, grandson of Edmund, was born March 6, 1672 ; resided in Worcester, Mass., in 1702, and was the first settler of that town : was judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the county of Worcester when he died, at the age of eighty years six months and fourteen days, on the 220 of September. 1753.

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History of Rutland County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 110

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n; Rann, William S Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co. Number of Pages: 1170

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n; Rann, William S
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co.
Number of Pages: 1170