History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 81

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass. ed. cn; Holmes, Frank R
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1260

USA > Vermont > Windsor County > History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 81

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

Joanna are residents of San José, Cal. David Jewett Graves died at Rutland, Wis., December 31, 1873, aged eighty-nine. Leland J. lived at home until seventeen years of age, and up to this time had been kept upon the farm, with extremely limited attendance at school. Having a thirst for education, he left home in 1829, and hired out to his uncle, Cyrus Boynton, of Weathersfield, with the stipulation that he should have three months' schooling during the year. This life of hard labor was continued for four years, his father receiving all his wages beyond what he needed for clothes. On attaining his majority his first thought was school, and having made good use of his scanty advantages he had prepared himself for teaching, and he taught for nine successive winters, working at farming in the summer. At intervals he attended the acade- mies at Chester, Cavendish and Ludlow, and in these schools was fitted for college. But his unceasing labors in school and on the farm proved too much for his health, and a long disease, from the effects of which he has never recovered, held him prisoner during the four years he had pro- posed to pass in college. The treatment, or, as he regarded it, the mal- treatment of his case, determined him in his choice of profession. He became satisfied an improvement ought to be made upon the practice of physicians, with whom salvation and salivation were synonymous terms. He entered the office of Dr. Lowell, with whom he studied one year. He then attended medical lectures at Woodstock, Vt., and afterwards was a private student under Drs. Crosby, Peaslee and Hubbard, and was graduated from the Medical Department of Dartmouth College, May 10, 1842. On May 24, 1842, he located in practice at Langdon, N. H. From this as a center it extended eventually into the neighboring towns of Alstead, Acworth, Walpole, Charlestown, Bellows Falls, and other towns. He remained at Langdon twenty-six years. In 1868 he pur- chased the home in Claremont, N. H., where he has since resided. It was his intention to retire from active practice, but he has continued to answer calls of some of his old families. He married, May 24, 1843, Caroline E, daughter of Reuben an 1 Elizabeth (McEwen) Strow, born October 6, 1819, in Weathersfield, and died in Claremont, August 29, 1885. She was a woman of superior mental endowment, and previous to her marriage was a teacher in the Unity Scientific and Military School, where she gave great satisfaction. She was a highly conscien-

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tious and religious worker, and possessed richly of those Christian virtues which so round and complete character. She was universally esteemed and at her death was mourned by a large circle of friends. Dr. Graves is a member of the Connecticut River Medical Association and New Hampshire Medical Association. Whig and Republican in politics, he represented Langdon in 1867-68 in the State Legislature. As a laborer in scientific fields, the Doctor was well-known. He has pursued the studies of botany and geology with zeal. His botanical researches have extended from Maine to the Rocky Mountains, and few have been more conversant with the practical details of the scientific analysis of plants. He has made a large geological collection, which has taken years to gather. He has always taken an active part in all public enterprises, especially those relating to education. He was fourteen years superin- tendent of schools. In religion he is a Baptist ; a member of that church in Springfield fifty years, now of the Claremont church. He has been for many years a'prominent member of the order of Free Masons. Dr. Graves stands well with his professional brethren, has honored his social and official relations, and enjoys in the highest measure the esteem of the entire community where he resides. The children of Dr. and Mrs. Graves were Mary E., born January 9, 1846, principal for eleven years past of the Acadia Female Seminary, Wolfville, Novia Scotia, now a student of German Literature and Art at Berlin, Germany ; Harriet M., born October 17, 1849, died in Kansas City, June 21, 1886, was the wife of James M. Coburn, and who left two children, Mary Agnes, born January 3, 1874, and Grace Eleanor, born August 25, 1876 ; Agnes J., born March 20, 1851, married, October 15, 1879, Pascal P. Coburn. She resides at the homestead. They have two children, Elizabeth Ames, born July 30, 1881, and Harriet Graves, born April 27, 1889.

K IDDER, REV. MOSES, was born in Walpole, N. H., November 14, 1817, the third son, and sixth child, in a family of ten children, of Abiah and Achsah (Winchester) Kidder. His father was born in Tewks- bury, Mass., September 14, 1786, and at the age of two years came to Walpole to live with his grandfather, Dr. Jesseniah Kittridge. The lat- ter was a celebrated physician of that locality, and was famous for his skill in all bone diseases, and was the originator of the " Kittridge Oint-

A.LITTLE.

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ment." Mr. Kidder attended the local schools of his native town ; also the Literary and Scientific Institute of Hancock, N. H., and the Hamp- ton Falls Academy, of Hampton Falls, N. H. He finished his studies in the latter institution in the summer term of 1841. He came to Wood- stock in June, 1842, and was ordained as a minister in the Christian church, March 15, 1843. After his ordination he preached part of the time in connection with Mr. Hazen, to January, 1847, since which time he has been the pastor of that church in Woodstock. During his min- isterial career he has married 1, 172 couples, and preached 2,364 funeral sermons. These statistics, coupled with the fact of his almost forty- eight years of continued services in one pulpit, abundantly attest the es- timation in which he is held by his church and the community in which he has passed his professional life. Mr. Kidder married, August 29, 1844, Laura W., daughter of Rev. Jasper and Abigail C. (Thomas) Hazen. She was born in Woodstock, September 30, 1822. They have had a family of four children, viz .: Ella, died in infancy ; Ellery W., born June 12, 1849, a resident of Woodstock; Warton H., born January 31, 1852, was engaged in railroad business, and died in Council Bluffs, Oc- tober 7, 1883; and Fred T., born October 14, 1858. The latter, after attending the public schools, prepared for college under a private tutor, and entered the University of Vermont, and was graduated from that institution in 1880. He then commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Edwin E. Hazen, of Woodstock, and, after three courses of lectures, graduated from the Medical Department of the University of Vermont in 1883. In the fall of that year he commenced the practice of his pro- fession in Woodstock. Dr. Kidder is a member of the State and the White River Medical Societies.

M ARTIN, ALONZO A., was born in Nashua, N. H., December 2, 1842, the fourth in a family of seven children of Nason C. and Cynthia G. (Center) Martin. His father, a native of New York State, was born April 9, 1810. He moved from York State and settled in Litchfield, N. H., where he married, in 1836, Cynthia G. Center, born in Litchfield in 1817. After his marriage he removed from Litchfield to Nashua, N. H., where all his children were born. In 1852 he went to

100

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

California, and was engaged in business at Sacramento city for two years. Upon his return East he moved from Nashua to Barnard, Vt., where he remained three years, when he moved to Woodstock, Vt., where he lived till 1863 ; he then moved to Hartland, and in company with his son, Alonzo A., carried on the sash, door, and blind manufact - ure. He also carried on a woolen manufactory. The establishment of these manufactories by the Martins gave the name of " Martinsville" to the hamlet in Hartland where they are situated. The father retired from business in 1870, removing to Claremont, N. H., where he died April 12, 1874. His widow survives him, and lives in Martinsville. Their six children were William D., dealer in machinery in Chicago; Eliza A., wife of George Thompson, a retired farmer, living in Clare- mont, N. H .; Alonzo A .; Henrietta, died, aged two years; Frank P., manufacturer in company with Charles Stickney, at Martinsville; and Clarence L., jobber and contractor, living in Claremont.

Alonzo A. received his education in the common schools of his native town. At the age of nineteen, and on his birthday, he enlisted in Com- pany H, Seventh Vermont Regiment. He received his discharge, on account of disability, June 23, 1863, at St. Rosa Island, near Fort Pick- ens. Upon his return from the war he engaged with his father in the manufacturing business at Martinsville. He purchased his father's in- terest in the business in 1866, and has carried it on by himself ever since. His business will average from $20,000 to $30,000 per year. He married, September 28, 1868, Ella M. French, born in Windsor, January 19, 1850, daughter of Robert E. and Lucia A. (Bagley) French. They have no children.

M ORGAN, HARVEY D., was born in Stockbridge, December 1, 1816. Justin Morgan, his grandfather, came from Springfield, Mass., with his family, and settled in Randolph, Vt., and died there. He married Elizabeth Lee, and reared a family of seven children, one son and six daughters. Of the latter, Mrs. Emily Edgerton was a prom - inent lady of her time. He introduced into the State the world-wide famed " Morgan " breed of horses. Justin, his only son, and father of Harvey D., was born in Springfield, Mass. He married Sally Durkee, and died in Stockbridge. His wife died in Binghamton, N. Y., but was

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buried with her husband in Stockbridge. Their children were Justin, died in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Mrs. Walter Mahony, of Columbus, O., is his only child living ; Harvey D .; Charles, died in Rochester, Vt .; Azro B., died in Troy, N.Y .; and Elizabeth, wife of Josiah B. Rogers, farmer, in Binghamton, N. Y. They have one child, Annie Morgan.

Harvey D., when a young man, clerked in the store of Cushman & Fiint, at Warren, Addison county, Vt., and subsequently became a part- ner with them. Afterwards Mr. Flint retired, and the business was con- tinued in the name of Cushman & Morgan. Mr. Morgan then went to Columbus, O., where, for five years, he clerked in the hardware store of Gere & Abbott. In 1860 he returned to Stockbridge, where he pur- chased half of the homestead farm of Dr. Timothy Fay, his wife's father, which he carried on till his death. He also carried on the mer- cantile business during the same period. He was postmaster from 1861 to 1886. He was a thorough business man, filled a number of the town offices, and commanded the esteem of the entire community in which he lived. He married, June 14, 1841, Emily D., daughter of Dr. Timothy Paige and Eunice (Denison) Fay, born December 25, 1817, in Stock- bridge. Her father, born in Hardwick, Mass., May 9, 1788, came with his parents to Vermont when six years of age, settling in Gilead, town of Bethel. He practiced his profession in Stockbridge many years, and died there August 29, 1865. His wife, Eunice, was a daughter of Daniel and Eunice (Stanton) Denison, born in Lisbon, Conn., June 17, 1785, and died in Stockbridge, September 29, 1839. They had eight children, five of whom, all daughters, lived to adult age, and were married. All are deceased except Mrs. Morgan. Mr. Morgan died at his residence in Stockbridge, November 3, 1886. Mr. and Mrs. Morgan have no chil- dren living. Mrs. Morgan survives her husband, and owns and carries on the homestead farm in Stockbridge.

P AUL, HON. NORMAN, was born in Pomfret, Vt., February 29, 1832, the third in a family of four children, of Ora and Abigail (Harvey) Paul. Hial Paul, his grandfather, came with his family from Walpole, N. H., and settled in Hartland, Vt., in 1808, on the place now owned and occupied by his son-in-law, William S. Crooker. He married Betsey Stevens, and had children as follows : Ora; Hial, lived and died

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in Hartland ; Eliza, was the wife of Landrus Spaulding, and died in Hart- land; Rebecca, was the wife of Isaac Seavy, and died in Woodstock ; Paulina, was the wife of William S. Crooker, and died at the old home- stead in Hartland ; Candace, died unmarried in Pomfret ; Alba, died in Le Roy, N. Y .; and Holland F., died in Iowa. Hial Paul died in Hart- land, December 28, 1832 ; his wife died August 3, 1852.

Ora Paul was born in Walpole, October 3, 1799. He was nine years old when his father moved to Hartland. He became a resident of Pom- fret December 21, 1825, represented the town in the Legislature in 1840-4I and held various town offices. He married Abigail Harvey, born February 22, 1799. He died in Pomfret, August 29, 1863 ; his wife died March 27, 1825. They had six children, two of whom died in infancy. Those who reached adult age were Isabel, born December 26, 1823, married Charles M. Case, a farmer living in Woodstock. Their children are Ella I., Ora E., Edwin, George B., Norman R., and Abbie M. George W., born January 24, 1830, married Jennie Paul. They have no children. He was educated in the common school and at the Newbury Seminary. He served three months in the War of the Rebel- lion as a member of the Woodstock Light Infantry. He has been a merchant for many years in Woodstock, has served as its town clerk for eight years and has held other village and town offices. Ora, born June 25, 1836, married Sarah E. Grover, of Harvard, Mass. Clarence J., clerk in the store of Frank J. Simmons, is his only child. Ora was educated in the common schools and at Newbury Seminary and the Green Mountain Perkins Academy. He served three months in the war as a member of the Woodstock Light Infantry, and at the expiration of that term of service he went again, August 9, 1862, as captain of Com- pany B, Twelfth Vermont Volunteers, and received his discharge, at the expiration of his term of service, July 14, 1863. In 1866 he was elected town Representative from Pomfret, and re-elected in 1867, and again in 1876. In the same year he was appointed by Governor Proctor a member of the State Board of Agriculture, and was its chairman for two years. He was State Senator in 1880 and 1881, and served as one of the trustees of the Otta Quechee Savings Bank for several years, which office he held at the time of his death. He was appointed by the County Court road commissioner for the county of Windsor, which office he held

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

for a number of years. He was secretary of the Windsor County Agri- cultural Society, and filled the several offices of selectman, lister, town agent and justice of the peace. He was often employed in the settle- ment of estates. He died in Pomfret, January 15, 1886. His widow lives with her son in Woodstock.

Norman Paul received his primary education in the common schools of Pomfret, for several terms under the instruction of Hosea Doton- He prepared for college at Newbury Seminary and at the Green Mount- ain Perkins Academy. He entered the University of Vermont in 1856 and was graduated from that institution in 1860. He then commenced the study of law with Washburn & Marsh at Woodstock, and was admitted to the bar in 1862. In February, 1863, he began the practice of his profession in Woodstock and has occupied the same office ever since. He was State's Attorney from 1876-78, and State Senator in 1884-85. He was treasurer of the Windsor County Agricultural Society seventeen years, and is the present chairman of the County Board of Road Commissioners. He was for a number of years the secretary of the Otta Quechee Savings Bank of Woodstock, and is one of its present trustees.

DOTTER, SANFORD H. Captain Freeman Potter, grandfather of Sanford H, was a native of England and emigrated to America prior to the War for Independence. He was a soldier in that war, and a captain in the War of 1812. After his marriage he settled in St. Albans, Vt., and died there about 1847. His children were Mosley, Solon, Dar- win, Freeborn, Lyman, Fidelia, Daniel R. and Dolly. All were married and reared families. Only Daniel R. is living.

Daniel R., of the above, married Adeline Marsh and had children as follows: Eliza J., the wife of Truman Warner, lives in Georgia, Vt .; Sanford H .; Ellen S., married, first, Albert Johnson, second, Charles Warner, both deceased. Mrs. Warner lives in St. Albans, Vt. Emma is the wife of O. B. Johnson, lives in St. Albans, Vt .; Adeline is the wife of Henry Jennison, lives in Iowa; and Mary is the wife of Charles War . . ner, lives in St. Albans. Adeline Potter, the mother, died in St. Albans in 1855. Daniel R. is still (1890) living in St. Albans, the owner of the Potter homestead, a well preserved man at the advanced age of eighty- three.

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

Sanford H. Potter was born in St. Albans, October 21, 1839. After attending the common school he prepared for college at the St. Albans Academy, but owing to the death of his mother did not enter upon a college course. At the age of seventeen he began the study of theology with the Rev J. E. Rankin, a Congregational clergyman of St. Albans, with the view of entering the ministry, but at the expiration of six months, becoming satisfied he could not conscientiously become a preacher of that faith, he abandoned it. In 1859 he became an employee of the Vermont Central Railroad as fireman, in which capacity he served until the breaking out of the war. In the fall of 1862 he enlisted as private in Company L, First Vermont Cavalry. During the time of his service he filled the positions of bugler and quartermaster-sergeant. He was not absent a day from the service, and was present in forty-five different engagements, and came out of the war unharmed. He received his discharge at the close of the war. Upon his return to Vermont in 1865 he again entered the service of the Vermont Central Railroad as loco- motive engineer and continued in that capacity until 1885.

Mr. Potter is a Democrat in politics and has been the candidate of his party for town Representative three times, and for State Senator once. When Cleveland became President he received from him the appoint- ment of postmaster at White River Junction, a position which he held four years. He has filled the office of justice of the peace for a number of years. He is a Knight Templer in the Masonic Order, a member of the I. O. O. F., a Post Commander of the Abraham Lincoln Post, No. 85, G. A. R., and a member of the Improved Order of Red Men.

He married, first, Sarah Patterson, second, Etta Phillips, and third, Eva Britton, daughter of Wilson Britton, of Hartland. May, a daughter by the second marriage, is his only child. She is the wife of Frederick Short, a farmer living in Amsden, Vt. They have one child, Raymond. Mr. Potter has been a resident of White River Junction since 1870.

R AYMOND, JUDGE ISAIAH, was born in Woodstock, Vt, Febru- ary 15, 1788. He descends in direct line from John Raymond, who emigrated with his brother William from Essex county, England, and settled in Beverly, Mass., about 1662, where he died January 18, 1703, aged eighty-seven. John, eldest son of John and Rachel (Scruggs)

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Raymond, born in 1650, is mentioned in history as the first soldier to enter the fort in the battle with the Narraganset Indians, which occurred in December, 1675. He died at Middleboro, Mass., June 5, 1725. John, son of John and Martha Raymond, who first lived at Beverly, subsequently moved to Middleboro. He married for his first wife Deb- orah Perry. Barnabas, the third son of the above, was born at Mid- dleboro, May 21, 1710, and married Alice William, born July 2, 1744, married November 30, 1769, Phoebe Thomas, of Middle- boro. He moved to Woodstock, Vt., in 1780, and died September 20, 1822. His wife died April 27, 1829. Isaiah, the subject of this sketch, was the youngest child of William and Phœbe Raymond. He was a resident of Bridgewater, Vt., and Judge of Probate ten years. He was a merchant by occupation, and represented the town in the Legislature. He married, October 4, 1814, Abigail. daughter of James Topliff, of Bridgewater. They had two children, viz .: Charles Stewart, born Sep- tember 20, 1815, and Mary Ann, born January 21, 1821. The latter was married to Dr. Ripley Clark, August 9, 1848, and now resides in Windsor, Vt. The have one son, Isaiah Raymond, born January I, 1853, a graduate of Dartmouth College, class of '73, and now a member of the law firm of Ranney & Clark, Boston, Mass. He married Kate R. Cummings, November 14, 1878. Charles Stewart married, July 15, 1840, Charlotte M., daughter of Charles Dana, of Woodstock. They had four sons, viz .: Charles, born June 16, 1841 ; William Cushing, born November 9, 1844; Edward Dana, born July 27, 1847, died March 20, 1851 ; and Frank Isaiah, born June 30, 1853, died July 24, 1861. Charles S. was a merchant by occupation. He served in both branches of the Legislature, and was a member of the last convention called to amend the State constitution. He died June 20, 1883. His widow re- sides with her son in Bridgewater. Their oldest son, Charles, married Ellen Walker, November 17, 1868. They have two sons, Charles S., born April 22, 1875, and Frank S., born February 5, 1886. Charles Raymond is a merchant, and is located in Ludlow, V. William Cush- ing married Lucia Ann Merrill, January 1, 1866. They have one son, Edward Dana, born June 8, 1868, a graduate of Amherst College in the class of 1890. William C. was for fifteen years engaged in mercantile business in Bridgewater. He was a member of the State Legislature in

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1882-83, census enumerator 1880 and 1890, justice of the peace fourteen years, and town auditor twelve years. Judge Raymond died in Bridge- water, December 22, 1868. His wife died June 7, 1866. We add the following from the pen of one who knew him well: "Sound judgment may be considered as the chief characteristic of Isaiah Raymond's merit. This quality developed early, and predominated in all the business trans- actions of a long life. His estimate of men, as a rule, was very correct, and to this must be attributed in large measure the success that attended all his operations in the business world. Being from the first a moneyed man, it may be said that for a long period of years, when banks were few and money was scarce, he acted as a sort of general banker among his neighbors, with this principle, among others, carefully observed, namely, that his bank was a place of loans only, never of deposits. An- other principle he observed was that in all loans there should be good security with moderate rate of interest, six per cent. being the fixed limit with him in all transactions of this character. Indeed, the offer to pay him more than this he looked upon with suspicion, because in his opinion no man could afford to pay more. Another proof of his moder- ation of spirit he gave towards the close of his life. To the common remark that the more a man has, the more he wants, he replied, 'The rule has its exceptions, and my case is one ; I have all I want, and don't care to make my life bigger.' In social life Judge Raymond was a man of singularly amiable and cheerful spirit. His temper was never ruffled, and in consequence his deportment was uniformly cheerful and friendly towards all his neighbors. His affection for his children and grand- children was extreme. He bestowed upon them liberally of his means, and sought in every way to promote their comfort and welfare."

S® TOCKER, SAMUEL RUSSELL, was born in West Windsor, Vt., (then Windsor,) November 12, 1815. His grandfather, Samuel, born in Newburyport, Mass., in 1737, was twice married. His second wife was Hannah Morrison, born in 1742, by whom he had six children, of whom Eben, father of Samuel R., born in 1779, married, first, Abi gail Kimball, and had six children, as follows: Lydia, who was the wife of Lewis Patrick, died in Windsor ; Clarissa, the wife of David Hunter (the oldest man now, 1890, living in Windsor). She died in Wind-

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sor. Emma, the only one of the children now living, is the widow of Harry Shedd, and lives in Hartland ; Eben M., formerly a merchant in Hartland, then an insurance agent in Hartford, Conn., where he died ; Samuel R .; and Ormond, died in Hartland. Eben Stocker, the father, married, second, Sally G. Parsons, of South Woodstock ; no children. He died in Hartland, November, 1859. Samuel R. Stocker spent his childhood on the home farm in West Windsor. His first employment away from home was as clerk in the store of Gilman Shedd, at Shedds- ville, then with Dr. George B. Green, at Windsor, and finally in Hart- land, in the store of Stocker & Bates. He eventually became owner of this store, but subsequently sold it to his brother, E. M. Stocker. In December, 1847, he came to Windsor, where, for about eighteen months, he carried on a restaurant in company with his nephew, N. W. Patrick. He then opened a dry-goods store in the old Constitution House. He next formed a partnership with Luther C. White, under the firm name of Stocker & White, and for many years this firm did the leading busi- ness in the town. He eventually purchased White's interest, and for a few years carried on the business in his own name. In 1861 he sold to M. C. Hubbard and Major L. C. Fay, and at the same time purchased the mills and water-power at North Enfield, N. H., and established there the Mascoma Woolen-Mills, and carried them on in partnership with Allen Hayes. Upon the dissolution of this partnership he rented out the mills for a number of years, again opening a dry-goods store in Windsor in company with Charles Story, the firm becoming Stocker & Story, and at the termination of this partnership he formed another with H. C. Phillips, and his son, L. W. Stocker, and carried it on under the title " One Price Store," until his death, which occurred April 21, 1885. Mr. Stocker married, first, Martha Ann Hayes, of Hartland. Abbie Kimball, born October 4, 1841, died in Indianapolis, Ind., Feb- ruary 12, 1881, was the only child by this marriage. She was the wife of Daniel E. Stone. They had six children, viz : Mary E., Nettie S. (deceased), John S, Carrie L., Emma, and Jet C. Martha Ann, his first wife, died March, 1843. He married, second, April 13, 1845, Betsey, daughter of Zebina and Abigail (Spaulding) Spaulding. Mrs. Stocker was born November 24, 1822, in Hartland. They had nine children, viz .: Samuel F., born April 18, 1847, married, first, September 25, 1870,

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History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 81

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass. ed. cn; Holmes, Frank R Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 1260

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass. ed. cn; Holmes, Frank R
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1260