USA > Vermont > Men of Vermont : an illustrated biographical history of Vermonters and sons of Vermont > Part 64
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Mr. Holbrook is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry. He is independent in his judgment, honest, moral, industrious. Of frank and hospitable nature, one is always assured of a hearty welcome in his pleasant and comfortable home.
HOLBROOK, JOHN, late of Brattle- boro, son of John and Sybil (Lane) Hol- brook, was born in Weymouth, Mass., July 10, 1761, and soon after he became of age moved to Newfane (reporting himself to Hon. Luke Knowlton, who assisted him to employment as a land surveyor, as he had
been taught drawing and the surveyor's art by British officers stationed at Dorchester Heights). Young Holbrook ran town and division lines in the vicinity of Newfane hill.
At the age of twenty-five he married Sarah, daughter of Luke and Sarah (Hol- land) Knowlton. Luke Knowlton was one of the first judges of the Supreme Court of Vermont, and was one of the very earliest settlers, coming from Shrewsbury, Mass., where most of his family were born.
At that time the settlers sought high ele- vations in order to protect themselves from roaming Indians who were wont to attack from ambush along the valleys, and also to escape the malarial fevers. Mr. Holbrook soon opened a small general store in the L of what is now about the only house left of
JOHN HOLBROOK.
the early ones built on Newfane hill. He took his produce and articles of barter on pack-horses over a bridle path defined by marked trees along the West River valley down through Brattleboro, then unsettled, to Greenfield, where they were exchanged for dry goods and groceries. After accumulat- ing his first thousand dollars he moved to Brattleboro, buying the old mills which stood where Hines & Newman afterward built their shop, and also buying the house which is now known as the American House, of which his family occupied a part, he opening a country store in the other part. He finally formed business relations with
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David Porter, a leading merchant in Hart. ford, Conn., under the firm name of Porter & Holbrook at Hartford, and Holbrook & Porter at Brattleboro. Mr. Holbrook was one of the original directors of the old Phoenix Bank of Hartford, and is said to have brought the first bank notes here for circulation. He started the first flat bottom boats on the Connecticut river between here and Hartford, and for many years these boats were the principal means of exchang- ing heavy freights with the seaboard. He also built a slaughter house on the island across the river, where large quantities of beef, pork, hams and tongues were cured for market, and which were sent mainly to the West Indies by the Hartford firm in ex- change for goods of that country. About the year 1800 he sold his property to Francis Goodhue, who came to Brattleboro from Wethersfield.
Mr. Holbrook removed to Warehouse Point, Conn., where he lived for two or three years or until the death of his son-in- law, William Fessenden, who left a small family and an extensive business, which made it necessary for Mr. Holbrook to re- turn and assume charge of the concern, which he subsequently extended and enlarged after taking as a partner Joseph Fessenden, brother of William, and, under the firm name of Holbrook & Fessenden, the busi- ness was continued for many years. In 1794 Mr. Holbrook was appointed post- master and served till July 1, 1804. At the age of sixty, he retired from active business and built a house for his own occupancy on extensive grounds in the north part of the village, where for the remainder of his life he devoted himself to fancy gardening and to the beautifying and cultivation of his home farm. He was the second member of the original board of trustees of the Ver- mont Asylum under the Marsh bequests, and died in office in 1838.
HOLBROOK, FREDERICK, of Brattle- boro, ex-Governor of Vermont, was born in East Windsor, Conn., Feb. 15, 1813. His father was John Holbrook. [See preceding sketch. ]
Frederick Holbrook received a sound Eng- lish education in the progress of which he devoted much attention to mathematics. For two years he was a diligent student at the Berkshire Gymnasium, Pittsfield, Mass., an institution then under the direction of Pro- fessor Dewey, and held by many to be the best private school in the country at that time. When twenty years of age he crossed the Atlantic to obtain the advantage of a Euro- pean tour. Returning home in 1833, he set- tled in Brattleboro and confined his energies mainly to agricultural pursuits.
HOLBROOK.
Frederick Holbrook was married on the 13th of January, 1835, to Harriet, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Edwards) Goodhne of Brattleboro. Their children are : Franklin F., William C. [see following sketch], and John.
Public official life with Mr. Holbrook be- gan in 1847, when he was elected register of probate for the district of Marlboro. In 1850 he was chosen to the presidency of the Vermont State Agricultural Society, of which he was one of the founders. The first ad- dress delivered before the association was from his lips. Right consecutive annual elections followed his first elevation to that most useful and honorable post. In 1849 and 1850 he was returned to the state Senate as the representative of his fellow-citizens in Windham county. While a member of the Senate, and acting as chairman of a special committee on agriculture, he proposed and prepared a memorial to Congress setting forth the usefulness and urging the establish- ment of a National Bureau of Agriculture. The project received the indorsement and commendation of the President of the United States in his message to Congress. It was no less favorably received by the representa- tives of the several states, and by their action, approved by the chief magistrate, the depart- ment of agriculture soon passed from the domain of possibility into that of reality.
His essays and other writings for the agri- cultural press for several years first attracted public attention to him. His style of writ- ing, the result of careful training in the for- mation of good composition, and clear, con- cise statement, was said to be graceful and forceful, and, later on, conspicuous in his state papers and official correspondence.
Qualities so useful and public service so beneficial naturally led to Mr. Holbrook's elevation to the gubernatorial chair of Ver- mont. In 1861 he was placed therein by a gratifying majority of votes. The choice was one of special honor to the subject, inasmuch as the time was one of the darkest and most portentous in the whole of our national his- tory. Responsibilities of the gravest char- acter devolved upon the executive head of the state and burdensome and incessant labor was required of him.
While Governor of Vermont Mr. Holbrook was called upon to assist in devising means for the preservation of injured Union sol- diers. Under his guidance Vermont was the first state in the Union to provide hospitals for its soldiers. Thereby many were saved from sinking into untimely graves. There were no precedents to guide action. Good practical sense alone availed to work out the problem. But few mistakes attended the attempted solution, and brilliant success crowned it in the outcome.
Frederick Holbrook
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Since he was Governor he has declined all overtures of public office, preferring the quiet, honored, and eminently nsetul life he is now leading. As an authority on many and diverse subjects, his opinions are eagerly sought and largely followed by an ever- widening circle of friends and acquaintances. Appointments from general government have sought his acceptance, but have been declined. Never an office seeker, and com- paratively seldom an office-accepter, when- ever he has been persuaded to don the official harness he has always been noted for the efficiency, thoroughness and beneficence of his work. The best ends, the wisest means to the ends, and the highest rule of action have entered into all his meditations, plans, and deeds of public activity.
Chairman of the board of trustees of the Vermont Asylum for the past forty years, he has incessantly sought the best good of the patients and the best welfare of the institu- tion. Legislator, Governor, and public ben- efactor, his career has been one of dutiful, loving utility. In the tranquil but prolific department of agriculture his position, if vacated, would be extremely difficult to fill.
HOLBROOK, WILLIAM C., of New York, son of Frederick and Harriet (Good- hue) Holbrook, was born in Brattleboro, July 14, 1842.
He commenced his education in the pub- lic schools of Brattleboro, and afterwards at- tended a private school for boys under the charge of the Rev. Addison Brown. He first engaged in mercantile pursuits in Boston, Mass. Returning to Brattleboro on the out- break of the war of the rebellion, and enlisting as private in Co. F, 4th Vt. Vols., he accompa- nied that regiment to Washington as Ist lieu- tenant, and was shortly afterwards made act- ing adjutant. Subsequently he was promoted to major of the 7th Vt. Vols., which organi- zation he accompanied to Ship Island, Miss., and was commissioned colonel of the com- mand in August, 1862. He served as such and as brigade commander until after the sur- render of all the rebel armies. Colonel Hol- brook actively participated in sieges and the battles of Vicksburg, Grand Gulf, Baton Rouge, Jackson's Bridge, Gonzales Station, Spanish Fort, Blakely, Whistler and Mobile, and he re-enlisted in the 7th Regt. for three additional years service or for the war on the expiration of its first term of service.
At the close of the struggle he entered the Cambridge Law School and began there the study of law. In 1868 he went to New York City, was there admitted to the bar and has since been actively engaged in the practice of the law. He has also been admitted a member of the bar of Windham county, and of the circuit and district courts of the United
States, of various departments in New York, New Jersey, and Western Pennsylvania.
Colonel Holbrook was married in New York City, Jan. 17, 1872, to Anna Morrison, daughter of Thomas and Margaret Chalmers. Three children are issue of the union : Mar. garet Chalmers, Marion Goodhue, and Chal- mers.
Colonel Holbrook is allied with numerous civil and military social organizations, among which may be named Sedgwick Post, No. 8,
WILLIAM C. HOLBROOK.
of Brattleboro, G. A. R., the military order of the Loyal Legion, the societies of the Army of the Potomac, of the Officers and Soldiers 4th Vt. Vols., of the Windham County Veter- ans, of the Windsor County Veterans, of the 19th Army Corps, of the Vt. Officers, of the Veteran Officers and Soldiers of the 7th Vt. Vols. Of the three last named he either is, or has been, president. He also belongs to the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and is a life member of the New Eng- land Society of that city.
HOLDEN, CHARLES REED, of Holden, son of Fitch and Chloe (Todd) Holden, was born in Mt. Holly, June 3, 1840.
After the customary public school educa- tion he pursued a course of study at the Springfield Methodist Seminary, after which he went to Illinois, following the occupation of farmer and stock raiser for six years. Though meeting with success, he returned to the East in 1865, where after a temporary residence in several towns, he finally settled
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in Chittenden, and there has engaged ex- tensively in the lumber trade, paying some attention also to agriculture. So highly has Mr. Holden been esteemed in the commun- ity where he resides that when the U. S. government established a new postoffice in that part of the township known as North Chittenden, it received the title of Holden as a deserved compliment to him.
He espoused, June 4, 1859, M. Ellen, daughter of Beeman and Rhoana Bixby, from which connection have sprung : Jennie May, Charles R., Jr., Agnes J., Ada R., Ottie L., and Guy B.
Mr. Holden has passed through the rou- tine of office in his town and represented Chittenden in 1878, giving his services to the committees on elections and debentures.
HOLDEN, JAMES HENRY, late of Mid- dlesex, son of Elijah and Orpha (Steele) Holden, was born in Middlesex, May 26, 1829.
His father afterwards moved to Barre and then to Waitsfield, and James, whose educa- tion was limited to the common schools of those towns, by taking advantage to the utmost
JAMES HENRY HOLDEN.
of his opportunities was enabled to master all the branches there taught. He became a fine penman and a good bookkeeper. He also gave much attention to music, and for many years was leader of the choir in his native village. Remaining upon his father's farm in Waitsfield until his majority, he was for seven years afterwards employed as a
clerk in Waitsfield, and Danvers, Mass. In 1856 he commenced business for himself in Middlesex, in which he continued for thirty- two years, until the time of his death, en- gaging in various partnerships during that time. Always honest and conscientious in his dealings he retained the confidence and respect of all his customers during his whole business career, and was the leading mer- chant of that town.
In his early years he joined the Repub- lican party in which he acted a prominent part during the rest of his life. He repre- sented the town of Middlesex in the Legis- lature of 1860, and from 1872 to 1876 was assistant judge of the county court. Judge Holden was selectman of the town during the period of the war, and rendered good service to his country in enlisting and send- ing soldiers to the front. He has frequently acted on town and county committees, and was for two years county commissioner under the prohibition law of the state. For more than twenty years he was postmaster at Mid- dlesex, and in every position of public trust proved himself a capable and faithful steward of the people.
An active member of the Masonic lodges at Moretown and Waterbury, he was buried with the customary funeral ceremonies of the order. He was a member and a worthy chief of the Good Templars, and in all moral, social, and benevolent enterprises in the town he gave freely his time, his talent, and his money.
Judge Holden married at Fayston, July 16, 1855, Catherine, daughter of Eli and Pluma (Sherman) Bruce, from which union there were : Pluma Eliza (Mrs. J. E. Good- enough of Montpelier), William Allen (de- ceased), and James Harry.
HOLDEN, SYLVANUS MARSH, of South Londonderry, son of Philemon and Sally (Faulkner) Holden, was born in London- derry, Feb. 14, 1838.
His education was received in the com- mon schools of Londonderry and at the West River Academy, from which he gradu- ated in 1858. After leaving school he remained on the homestead until 1860, when he went to Brattleboro and learned the trade of a jeweler. In 1861 he started in this busi- ness at South Londonderry, continuing until 1865, when he commenced to deal in general merchandise, and was thus employed until 1871. He then bought the farm where he has since resided, devoting himself to agri- culture and dealing in cattle and real estate. He is now also conducting a farm in Lon- donderry, where he has started a general merchandise store in addition to his agricul- tural operations, and is now the possessor of a large property in South Dakota.
HOLLAND.
He has served his town as chairman of listers for ten years, beginning in 1881, and as justice of the peace for the past six years.
Mr. Holden was married, Nov. 28, 1861, at North Adams, Mass,, to Ellen S., daughter ot .Thomas and Mary ( Wiley ) Jaquith. There were born to them three children : Willie S. (deceased ), Archie W. (deceased ), and Arthur II.
HOLDEN, ORSEMOR S., of Felchville, son of Joel and Priscilla ( Whitmore ) Holden, was born in Reading, July 30, 1843.
Hle received the school advantages of his native town. His father died when he was only seven years of age. From his father's family he inherited a rare taste and gift for music, which he has cultivated during his whole life, and of this accomplishment he has availed himself at times to carn his liv- ing. For about twenty-eight years he has followed the occupation of a house, sign and carriage painter, though he has meanwhile traveled extensively with concert troupes. In 1864 he commenced an engagement with Whitmore & Clark's Minstrels during their seasons, and this lasted five years. Mr. Hol- den is a popular ballad singer, possessing a baritone voice of great compass and power.
He enlisted three times during the civil war, but could not pass the medical examination.
He has received his degrees in Mt. Sinai Lodge, No. 22, I. O. O. F. of Proctorsville.
He is an earnest member of the Republi- can party ; has been eight years justice of the peace, and ten years a selectman, eight years chairman of the board. He has been twice elected to the Legislature from Read- ing, in 1886 and 1890, serving on the com- mittee on claims. He is now road commis- sioner, town agent and auditor.
He contracted marriage July 2, 1873, with J. Ella, daughter of Samuel H. and Julia A. (Spaulding) Nutting of Andover.
HOLDEN, JOHN STEDMAN, of Ben- nington, son of Lewis and Eliza A. (How- let) Holden, was born in Charlton, Mass., May 9, 1845.
He was educated in the public schools of Charlton but was sent to Nichols Academy at Dudley, when sixteen years of age ; and afterwards entered upon a course of study at the Weslyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass., and finally graduated from Poughkeepsie Business College.
The business experience of Mr. Holden has been widely varied. When nineteen he was employed as a clerk in Hartford, Conn., and for two years engaged in the roofing business in that city ; he next served three years on the police force of Hartford. Abandoning this occupation in 1871, he
entered into a copartnership with his brother to trade in general merchandise at Palmer, Mass., under the firm name of II. P. & J. S. Holden, and while here they established two branch stores. This connection was dis- solved in 1879, when Mr. J. S. Holden established himself in the oil businesss at Miller's Farm, near Titusville, Pa., where he purchased the Crystal Oil Works and many- factured refined oil, but in 1880 sold this property to the Standard Oil Co., and then for two years did a wholesale trade in this article. He then erected woolen mills at Paliner, Mass., which he operated till 1889 when he sold the establishment, bought the Hunt & Tillinghast woolen mills at Ben- nington, and entered into partnership with Charles W. and George F. Leonard under the firm name of Holden, Leonard & Co. Here they employ about three hundred hands during all the year in the manufact- ure of woolens, and in connection with this they have a large store. Mr. Holden has large interests in tenement house property in Palmer, Mass., and is president of a wire company in that town. He also is a direc- tor in the Bennington County National Bank and its vice-president.
He is a member of the Congregational church and an ardent supporter of the Ben- nington Y. M. C. A.
Belonging to the Republican party he was chairman of the committee of that organiza- tion in Palmer. He is trustee of the village of Bennington, a thorough protectionist, and though interested in politics, has no desire for official positions.
He was married Oct. 21, 1868, to Jennie G., daughter of Cyrus and Almira (Burr) Goodell of Hartford, Conn. Five children have been born to them : Arthur J., Alice A., Lula J., Florence E., and Clarence L.
HOLLAND, EMERSON, of Vergennes, son of Stephen and Achsa R. (Bixby) Hol- land, was born in Hinsdale, Mass., May 21, 1829.
He received a good education by attend- ing the common schools of Panton, to which town his parents moved when he was yet young. Later he attended a private classical school at Vergennes, and the academy at St. Albans.
He spent the years 1854 and 1855 in Kalamazoo, Mich., as a clerk in a store and warehouse. When his father died, he was obliged to return and has since been a farmer and surveyor, and as both has been actively employed. He holds many positions of trust and has assisted by appointment of probate court in settling fifty-six estates.
In politics Mr. Holland is a Republican and has held various town offices. He was town treasurer for seventeen years and five
John Sofortden.
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years selectinan, atter which he resigned. He represented Panton in 18641 and 1865, and served as chairman of the committee on mile age and debentures. He was census cmmn erator for Panton and Waltham in 1890. In 1842 he was elected associate judge for Addison county.
Indge Holland isunmarried, and his sister, Jessie M., presides over his houschokt at the old homestead.
Judge Holland has a good library of classi- cal works. He has made a most conservative record in the positions of honor which he has held, but is a quiet, unassuming man and despises office-seeking. He is of a dignified bearing, and though naturally reserved is friendly and sincere in his relations, and is one of the able and respected men of Addi- son county.
HOLTON, CHARLES O., of Canaan, son of John and Abbie ( Morse) Holton, was born in Charleston, Jan. 8, 1855.
His early educational advantages were lim- ited to the opportunities afforded by the com- mon schools of Charleston.
CHARLES O. HOLTON.
After laboring on his father's farm till he was twenty years of age, he grew interested in the art of photography and practiced it in Charleston and later on in Sherbrook, P. Q., and North Troy. In 1875 he was employed in reproducing and enlarging pictures at the Centennial exposition in the city of Philadel- phia. He then returned to Charleston and engaged in the drug business with his brother.
HOL,ION.
In 1880 he removed to Canaan, where, not- withstanding his limited capital, he has stead- ily prospered in business, adding to his orig inal trade the sale of jewelry, silverware, and fancy goods.
Mr. Holton has served as town clerk and superintendent of the schools and in 1872 was complimented by an election to the state Legislature.
He was married Dee. 11, 1879, to Ida M., daughter of George W., and Mary ( Green) Hamilton of Charleston. They have one child : Neil.
HOLTON, HENRY DWIGHT, of Brattle- boro, son of Elihu D. and Nancy (Grout) Ilolton, was born at Saxton's River, July 24, 1838.
Having prepared himself for college, he decided to forego the regular collegiate course and to at once enter into the profes- sion he had chosen for himself ; therefore he immediately began to study the theory and application of medicine under the tuition of Dr. H. J. Warren of Boston. Subsequently he continued under Professors Valentine and A. B. Mott, in New York, and also at- tended the lectures in the medical depart- ment of the University of New York, from which he graduated in March, 1860. After his graduation, Dr. Holton went to Brook- lyn, N. Y., where for six months he acted as physician to the Williamsburg Dispensary. In November, 1860, he removed to Putney from whence, after seven years successful practice, he went to Brattleboro where he located permanently.
Being always a firm believer in the bene- fits accruing from the association of medical practitioners, Dr. Holton, in 1861, became a member of the Connecticut River Valley Medical Association ; in the year following he was made its secretary, a position ably filled by him for five years, when he was elected president. In 1873 he was elected president of the Vermont Medical Society, which he entered in 1861, and of which he was a censor for several years. In 1864 Dr. Holton became a member of the American Medical Association and was elected to its vice-presidency in 1880. During the ses- sion he was made a member of the judicial council to which was submitted for arbitra- tion all questions concerning professional ethics. He was sent as a delegate to the International Medical Congress held at Brussels in 1875. While abroad, during a visit to England, he was made a member of the British Medical Association. He is also a member of the American Public Health Association and was elected its treasurer at the meeting held in the city of Mexico in 1892. He is also a member of the Boston
Henry Debotton
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Gynaecologied Society, and the New York Therapeutical Society.
Dr. Holton is the recipient of many grati fying testimonials to his medical erudition and skill, not only from medical associa tions, but also from the authorities of his own state. In 1873 he was appointed medi- cal examiner to the Vermont Asylum for the Insane, by the court ; and in the same year he was elected by the Legislature one of the trustees of the University of Vermont, in the medical department of which institution he was for some years professor of materia medica and general pathology ; and in 1881 he received from the same institution the honorary degree of . A. M.
Dr. Holton has been an extensive trav- eler in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. In 1871 he crossed the con- tinent to San Francisco in order to attend a meeting of the American Medical Associa- tion, at which he was elected to membership in the Rocky Mountain Medical Association.
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