USA > Vermont > Men of Vermont : an illustrated biographical history of Vermonters and sons of Vermont > Part 82
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The public official career of Redfield Proctor began in 1866 as a selectman of the town of Rutland. In 1867 he represented
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his town in the state Legislature, serving as chairman of the committee on elections of the lower House. Again a member of the House in 1868, he served as a member of the committee on ways and means. Elected to the state Senate in 1874, he was chosen president pro tempore of that body. In 1876 he was elected Lieutenant-Governor of the state, and in 1878 was nominated by the Republicans and elected Governor of Ver- mont. He was delegate-at-large to the Re- publican national convention in 1884, and also in 1888, and in the latter year was chairman of the Vermont delegation. In 1888 the Legislature of Vermont unanimously recommended him for a cabinet position, and in March, 1889, President Harrison appointed him Secretary of War. Senator Proctor won national reputation by his con- duct of the war portfolio, and his adminis- tration is considered one of the ablest in the history of the department.
On the retirement of Senator George F. Edmunds from the United States Senate, Governor Page appointed Secretary Proctor to fill the unexpired term, and Oct. 18, 1892, he was elected by the Vermont Legis- lature to fill both the unexpired and full terms, the latter ending March 4, 1899.
Senator Proctor speaks well and always to the point, but is best known as a strong man who does things-a man of action, guided by wisdom. He has long had the full confidence of the people of Vermont, and his ability and experience will enable him to dignify the high office to which they have called him.
PROCTOR, FLETCHER DUTTON, of Proctor, son of Hon. Redfield and Emily J. (Dutton) Proctor, was born in Cavendish, Nov. 7, 1860.
His early education was followed by in- struction at the Rutland Military Institute and the Middlebury high school. He then entered Middlebury College, but soon after matriculated at Amherst College, from which institution he graduated in 1882. After the completion of his educational course he entered the employment of the Vermont Marble Co., and commenced his business career by learning the trade of a machinist, and after this occupied various positions, until in 1885 he became the superin- tendent of the company. From that time he has been active in its management, and in 1889 he was elected president, which po- sition he now holds. In September of the same year he was chosen to fill a similar office in the Clarendon & Pittsford R. R., which corporation operates some fifteen or twenty miles between the towns of Pittsford, Proctor, Rutland, and West Rutland. Upon the organization of the Proctor Trust Co., in 1891, he was made director and president.
PROCTOR.
Since he has had charge of the affairs of the Vermont Marble Co. that corporation has purchased the marble business of Gilson & Woodfin, Ripley & Sons, and made a thirty-year lease of the property of the Sheldon Marble Co., so that now the Ver- mont Marble Co. has in its employ over eighteen hundred men, and is by far the largest producer of marble in the world.
Mr. Proctor was a member of the Vermont National Guard, enlisting in Co. A in 1884, and was promoted to the grades of 2d and Ist Lieut. He resigned in 1886, and was appointed inspector of rifle practice on the staff of Colonel Greenleaf, which position he resigned in 1887. In 1883 he was elected the first permanent colonel of the Vermont divi- sion of Sons of Veterans and during his administration the division increased from three to twenty-seven camps.
FLETCHER DUTTON PROCTOR.
He was united in marriage May 26, 1886. to Minnie E., daughter of Hon. Asher C. and Erminnie Robinson of Westford. Two children have been born to them : Emily, and Mortimer Robinson.
Mr. Proctor has served numerous terms as selectman, both in Rutland and Proctor. and has been a member of the school board for the latter village since 1883. He was sec- retary of civil and military affairs under Gov. Ormsbee, was elected to the Legislature from the town of Proctor in 1890, and was chosen a senator from Rutland county in 1892.
PUTNAM, CHRISTOPHER C., IR., of I'utmanstille, is the son of Christopher C. and Iliza (Stone) Putnam, and was born in Mid- meses, August 20, 1839. His grandfather emi grated to Middlesex in 17844, and here his lather was born in 18to, and for fifty years has been an extensive lumber dealer and manufacturer.
CHRISTOPHER C. PUTNAM, JR.
C. C. Putnam, Jr., obtained his education in the district schools of the town, at the Washington county grammar school and at Newbury Seminary. For several years he divided his time between teaching and assist- ing his father in the management of his affairs. The latter has invested very largely in the timber lands of Middlesex, Worcester, Calais and Elmore, and from these a vast quantity of boards and other finished products are distributed through New York and the New England states. The father and son are prob- ably the most extensive dealers in lumber in central Vermont, having formed a partner- ship after the latter's return from the army.
In 1862, Mr. Putnam, Jr., joined Co. I, 13th Regt. Vt. Vols., as a private, was promo- ted to sergeant, was present at the memorable charge of Gettysburg, and was discharged when the regiment was mustered out of the U. S. service.
In connection with their business the Put- nams operate three saw mills, a planing mill, a store, and a farm.
Mr. Putnam was united in marriage, Octo- ber, 1868, to Mary E., daughter of Abel and
PUTNEY.
Mary Whitney, of Middlesex, who died four years after their union. For his second wife he wedded, Sept. 22, 1874, Jennie, daughter of Medad and Mary Jane ( Melntyre ) Wright, of Montpelier. Two children have been born to them : Ralph W., and Enla W.
He is a man of industry, energy, and good judgment and has often been called upon to act as referee and commissioner of important and weighty matters. Mr. Putnam has held many town offices. He has always been a Republican, and in 1886 represented Middle- sex in the Legislature.
PUTNEY, CHARLES EDWARD, of St. Johnsbury, son of David and Mary ( Brown) Putney, was born in Bow, N. H., Feb. 26, 1840.
He received his primary instruction in the public schools of Bow, fitted for college at New London, N. H., and was graduated from the classical department of Dartmouth in 1870, having attained high rank in his class.
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CHARLES EDWARD PUTNEY.
With the exception of three years service in the army, Mr. Putney's life has been that of an educator of the highest type. He com- menced the practice of his profession while yet an undergraduate, teaching in various schools in the neighborhood of the college and also in Massachusetts. For three years after the completion of his college course he was the principal of the Boys' Boarding
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RAMSAY.
School of Norwich, then came to St. Johns- bury as assistant in the academy at that place, and was finally chosen principal of the institution, which position he still oc- cupies. He has been state examiner of the Randolph and Johnson Normal Schools and has served as president of the Caledonia county board of education.
Mr. Putney was united in marriage, July 26, 1876, to Abbie, daughter of Rev. Jonathan and Phebe Foxcroft (Phillips) Clement of Norwich. They have two daughters : Mary Phillips (Wood), and Ellen Clement.
From purely patriotic motives and at great personal sacrifice he enlisted in Co. C, 13th Regt. N. H. Vols., in which he rose to the
rank of sergeant. His regiment served with the armies of the Potomac and James, and he participated in eight regular engagements, having the good fortune never to be wounded or taken prisoner.
He is a member of Chamberlin Post, No. I, G. A. R. of St. Johnsbury ; has always taken much interest in the St. Johnsbury Y. M. C. A .; is affiliated with the Congrega- tional church, and has always a class of students in the Sunday school.
Probably no man in Vermont has exerted a greater or more beneficial influence upon young people, for his aim has ever been not only to train their intellects, but to broaden their whole lives.
RAMSAY, GEORGE LAFAYETTE, late of Lemington, was the second son of Robert and Jane (Morgan) Ramsay,&being born in the town of Wheelock, Oct. 3, 1829. His
GEORGE LAFAYETTE RAMSAY.
father, who was at that time one of the largest sheep owners in the state, came to the green hills of the new state from his native town of Londonderry, N. H., and settled in Wheel- ock, in the immediate vicinity of the place still known as "Ramsay Corners" about the beginning of the present century.
George was educated in the district schools of Wheelock and Brownington, and at the old stone academy of the latter town, under the discipline of Professor Twilight, received
what was at that time a far better education than the average farmer thought necessary to bestow upon his son.
About the year 1850, when the gold fields of California had become known, the young Vermonter had reached his majority and the next two years were spent amid the rocky hills of the "Golden State ;" returning east he began work in the "Old Faneuil Hall Market" at Boston, afterwards entering the employment of Briggs, Guild & Co. With the exception of a short time spent on the road as traveling salesman for the firm, he remained till 1860 with these same employers, during the last few years as confidential business clerk. About a year previous to the war of the rebellion, Mr. Ramsay's health, which had been gradually failing, gave way from overwork and confinement and he was com- pelled to leave the city and return to his native state, purchasing in the town of Lem- ington, five miles south of Colebrook, N. H., one of the finest meadow farms in Vermont. Here he settled and lived contentedly in the possession of a typical Vermont home, dis- pensing hospitality with a liberal hand to all who called upon him, until the date of his death in 1892.
He was married Feb. 20, 1862, to An- nette Eugenia, daughter of Col. George C. and Jane (Royce) Dyer, of Sutton, P. Q., and rarely has a man been more blessed in the choice of a life companion. His married life was blessed with six children : Eugene D., Jane M., Jeanette R., Gertrude, George R., and Mary M., who with his widow survive him.
During the latter years of his life he entered more extensively into the lumber business and for the five years preceding his death manufactured annually about $3,000 worth of last blocks from the hard wood of his forest.
In politics Judge Ramsay was a Repub- lican. Casting the only vote for Abraham
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Iancohn in his town in the fall of 1860 he was subjected to many disparaging remarks, and in reply to the taunt of a neighbor re- phed proudly, "My vote will shine like a golden eagle amid a lot of rusty coppers." He was a prominent figure at county conven- tions, and in 1883 and 18844 held the office of assistant judge of Essex county court.
Through life he was a man of the finest principle, a strong temperance advocate, ever practicing what he preached. During his stay in Boston he joined St. Johns Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, the oldest lodge in the Bay state, and was during his life a working member and a regular attend- ant at the meetings of the order.
In personal appearance Judge Ramsay was a man who wouldl attract attention among a gathering of men : fully six feet in height, erect and well proportioned, of fine personal appearance and great courtesy. Men whom he had antagonized by his outspoken adher- ence to what he believed was right, were forced to admire him and recognize at once his ability, and the superior manhood which characterized his life.
His death, which occurred on Dec. 29, 1892, after only an hour's illness from valvu- lar disease of the heart, was a great loss both to his family, town and county.
RANDALL, ELIAS ORLANDO, of Greensboro, son of Erastus and Caroline M. (Smith) Randall, was born in Greensboro, Sept. 16, 1833.
After an attendance at the public schools of Greensboro and Craftsbury Academy, and some experience in teaching in Craftsbury and Glover, from 1850 to 1852 he labored on his father's farm, and at the expiration of the latter year purchased a saw mill in Glover. He continued in the lumber busi- ness in connection with carpentering and the construction of buildings till 1866, and then purchased a general merchandise store in West Glover, which he carried on in con- nection with an extensive produce business for twenty-three years. During this time he was also engaged in agricultural pursuits, owning and operating farms in Glover and Greensboro to the amount of three hundred and fifty acres. In 1890 he removed to Greensboro where he now remains, having entered into partnership with J. A. Crane to engage in general trade, and at the same time continuing his farming business.
Mr. Randall married, Sept. 13, 1860, ยท Eleanor R., daughter of John and Eliza A. (Lyman) Clark of Glover. They have one adopted daughter : Lila A. Tucker.
For over a score of years he filled the offices of postmaster and justice of the peace in Glover, and was the incumbent of many other positions of trust and responsibility.
RANDALL ..
For two successive terms, 1884 and 1886, he represented that town in the Legislature, giving his services to the committees of ag- riculture, state prison, Bennington battle monument, and joint rules. Mr. Randall is a strong Republican, and has always labored for the interests of that party. During the war he acted as recruiting officer and filled out the quota required from the town. For many years he served on the executive com- mittee of the Congregational church in Clover, of which church he was an active member and a liberal supporter.
RANDALL, GEORGE W., of Waterbury, son of Oliver C. and Electa (Coffin) Ran- dall, was born in Waterbury, Sept. 18, 1825.
GEORGE W. RANDALL.
He was bereft of paternal guidance when five years of age and by this sad loss was thrown on his own resources. Having re- ceived such instruction as was afforded by the common schools of Waterbury, at theage of sixteen he was apprenticed for three years to learn the blacksmith's trade, during which engagement in the intervals of labor he still continued his educational course and later at Stowe and Bakersfield academies, paying his expenses as he advanced. After teaching successfully for a short period, he entered the law office of Hon. Paul Dilling- ham of Waterbury, but, attracted by the newly discovered golden wealth of California, he departed in August, 1849, to seek his for- tune in that remote quarter of the Union, and
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after running the gauntlet of yellow fever in his passage across the Isthmus of Panama and meeting with lively adventures at Aca- pulco, he finally reached San Francisco, paid 50 cents for sleeping on a pile of shavings, and next day received $5 for striking five hours at a blacksmith's forge. He then went to the mines and seventeen months after returned to Waterbury with $6,000 worth of gold-dust. Two years later he again returned to California, contracted yellow fever and was the only survivor of a company of thirty. Mr. Randall's health did not permit him to remain, and again returning to his native state he has since been engaged in farming and dealing in real estate and lum- ber. Besides being possessed of large tracts of timber land, he owns and operates saw- mills both in Bolton and Waterbury.
Mr. Randall is a Republican and has been repeatedly called upon to serve the town in almost every official capacity. As a mem- ber of the Legislature in 1872 he was influ- ential in securing appropriations for the re- form school, and in 1882, while again serv- ing in the House, he was a member of the committee on railroads. Washington county elected him in 1890 to the Senate and he did good service as a member of the com- mittee on claims and chairman of that of the insane.
Mr. Randall was married June 21, 1854, to Leefie, daughter of John White, who died in 1874. He then was united to Bell, daugh- ter of Henry and Betsey (Woodward) Glea- son, of which union there are two children : Pearl, and George W., Jr.
RANGER, WALTER EUGENE, of Lyndon Centre, son of Peter and Eliza M. (Smith) Ranger, was born in Wilton, Me., Nov. 22, 1855.
He received his early instruction in the public schools and Wilton Academy, was graduated from Bates College in 1879, and four years after received the degree of A. M. from his alma mater. During his collegiate course he commenced the practice of the profession to which he has since devoted himself. Commencing his career by serving as principal of the Nichols Latin School at Lewiston and of the Lenox high school at Lenox, Mass., in 1883 he was appointed principal of the Lyndon Institute, which position he still retains. During his admin- istration the number of students has been trebled, the standard has been raised, and extensive additions have been made to the buildings of the institute. Mr. Ranger has devoted some attention to newspaper writ- ing, done a great deal of literary work, both in verse and in prose, chiefly in connection with educational matters, and has also de- livered many addresses before social, religious and political organizations. He has been
RAYMOND.
president of the associations of the Berkshire County (Mass.) Teachers, of the Alumni of Bates College, and of other bodies. He has always taken great interest and an active part in the educational meetings held in Vermont under the state superintendent and other officials, and in 1891 was president of the Vermont State Teachers' Association.
Mr. Ranger was united in marriage, Nov. 25, 1879, to Mary, daughter of Capt. William Snowman, of Portland, Me., of whom he was bereft in August, 1885. She left two children, neither of whom survive. July 30, 1889, he married Mabel, daughter of Ira W. and Laura (Day) Bemis, of Lyndonville. By her he has one son.
WALTER EUGENE RANGER.
Mr. Ranger is a strong Republican, and has been delegate to both district and state conventions of that party.
He fills the chair of junior warden, Cres- cent Lodge, No. 66, F. & A. M., and is affiliated with Haswell Chapter and Palestine Commandery. He is the senior past sachem of Wannalancet Tribe, No. 11, I. O. of R. M., and is D. G. S. at present for the same. He is an active member of a number of other social, fraternal, scientific and educa- tional organizations, both state and national. He is a member of the Free Baptist Church, and has often preached in the churches of Lyndon and of many other towns.
RAYMOND, ALBERT C., of Stowe, son of Asa and Jane (Lovejoy) Raymond, was born in Stowe, Feb. 10, 1842. His father is
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RAYMOND.
RIAD.
a prominent and litelong resident of Stowe and has arrived at four-score years after a busy and successful career.
Mbert C. studied in the public schools and in Barre Academy, then under the charge of Professor Spaulding. Immediately after the completion of his educational career in 1862 Mr. Raymond enlisted in Company E, 13th Regt. Vi. Vols., and July 3, 1863, helped to stem the tide of Pickett's charge at Gettys- burg. Never absent from duty a single day, at his discharge he re enlisted in the 17th Regt. and was in every general engagement from the Wilderness to Appomatox. On July 26, 18644, Lieutenant Raymond was wounded in the face and temporarily lost the lise of his eyes, but he rejoined his com- mand in October. His company in the bat- tle of Petersburg Mine was reduced to a cor- poral and eight men, and it was as captain of this gallant little band that the subject of this sketch was mnstered out at the expira- tion of his term of service.
On his return from these exciting scenes he determined to push his fortune in the West, and for eight years made his residence in the state of Iowa, where he engaged in farming. Here his children were born and here he had the misfortune to lose their ex- cellent mother. Soon after this sad event he returned to his native town and engaged in various occupations including the care and labor involved in a small farm, while in addi- tion he has given his attention to the settle- ment of estates and has acted as guardian and trustee.
He married, June 11, 1865, Priscilla, daughter of John and Louisa (Town) Moody of Stowe. Their union was blessed with three children : Louis H., Louise (Mrs. Fred Fogg of Enfield, N. H.), and Maud B. Mrs. Ray- mond died in 1872, and Mr. Raymond later espoused Martha, daughter of Hiram Smalley of Greensboro, who departed this life in April, 1882. Mr. Raymond's third alliance was contracted in 1883 with Alice, daughter of Medad and Patty (Miller) Hitchcock. Of this union three sons were issue, one of whom, Paul, alone survives.
Mr. Raymond for many years has dis- charged the duties of selectman and town clerk, was made postmaster in 1889 and still holds that position. He was also a member of the General Assembly in 1886 and served on the special committee on the division of the town of Rutland.
He belongs to the order of the Loyal Le- gion and is past commander of H. H. Smith Post, G. A. R., of Stowe. Thirty years since, he became a Free Mason, and has repeat- edly filled the master's chair in Mystic Lodge, No. 56, which holds its communica- tions in his native town.
READ, LEVANT MURRAY, of Bellows Falls, son of Charles and Olive C. (Willard) Read, was born in Wardsboro, Dec. 26, 1842.
He was educated in the common schools of his native town and in Leland and Gray Seminary, Townshend. He then studied law with flon. II. HI. Wheeler, then of Jamaica, and was admitted to the bar in 1869, at the April term of Windham county court. He began practice at Jamaica, entering in part- nership with Hon. Hoyt H. Wheeler. In 1872 Mr. Read removed to Bellows Falls, continuing to practice his profession, and was elected judge of probate for Westmin- ster district in 1876, which office he has con- tinnonsly held to the present time. Mr. Read was state's attorney of Windham county in 1880 and 1882.
In politics Judge Read is a staunch Re- publican, and while closely identified with the interests of his party, has been too busily engaged in the practice of his profes- sion to admit his acceptance of political honors at the hands of his fellow-citizens. He was elected to the Legislature from the town of Rockingham in September, 1892.
He enlisted in Co. H, 2d Vt. Vols., in 1863, was in the battles of Rappahanock Station and Mine Run, and the bloody struggle of the Wilderness, in which contest he was wounded, and was discharged August 20, 1865.
He was the first commander of E. H. Stoughton Post, No. 34, G. A. R., and was afterwards twice re-elected. Also a member of the Mount Lebanon Lodge, F. & A. M., of Jamaica, of which he was master for four successive terms. He was elected to the chair of grand master of the Grand Lodge in 1878, and held that eminent position till 1881. He was first dictator of the subordi- nate lodge of K. of H., and also grand dic- tator of the Grand Lodge.
He married, Dec. 13, 1876, Sarah A., daughter of Jared R. and Sarah A. Perkins of Bellows Falls. They have one daughter : Mary Alice.
Judge Read has served upon the commit- tee appointed by the Supreme Court upon admissions to the bar, and was, in 1892, elected president of the Vermont Bar Asso- ciation.
READ, CARLETON W., son of Orrin and Julia (Powell) Read, was born in Charlotte, Oct. 21, 1834. He is of English lineage and his earliest ancestors in this country date back to John Read, 1598, who settled in Rehoboth, near Boston. His family was afterwards scattered, emigrating to different parts of the country. John Read, ancestor of the subject of this sketch, was related by marriage to Governor John Winthrop. He possessed a large estate, and acted as referee
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REED.
and commissioner, and was high sheriff of his county for several years.
Carleton W. Read received a common school education at Charlotte, and supple- mented this by a course of study at Bakers- field Academy, Bakersfield, under the tutor- ship of J. S. Spaulding, principal.
Mr. Read was married at Charlotte, Oct. 31, 1855, to Vienna M., daughter of Deacon Homer and Alvirah Clark. Of this union there were two daughters : Edna J. (deceas- ed), and Carlotta C.
Mr. Read is a Republican and has been unusually honored by his town and county, and yet he is of a retiring disposition. He has always taken an active part in all matters pertaining to the best interest of the town, county, and state in which he resides. In 1882, he had the honor of a seat in the state Senate and acted on the committees of rail- roads and agriculture. He was also a dele- gate to the Republican national convention, held in Chicago, in June, 1888, and cast his vote for Benjamin Harrison. He has been town treasurer since 1884. His social and business connection with prominent men, throughout the state, as well as his extensive dealings in wool, stock, etc., make him favor- ably and widely known.
He was one of the first interested in the Farmers' National Bank at Vergennes, having been a director for ten years, and is at this time its president.
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