USA > Vermont > Men of Vermont : an illustrated biographical history of Vermonters and sons of Vermont > Part 97
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HEMAN ALLEN WHITE.
Heman was the youngest son, and enjoyed only the advantages of the common school until he arrived at his majority, when he at- tended Newbury Academy, supporting him- self while pursuing his course there. In 1840 he commenced studying law with Hon. John Colby at Washington, was admitted to the Orange county bar at the December term, 1843, and is today the senior practic- ing member of his profession in that county.
Since 1848 Mr. White has been town clerk; he represented Washington in the General Assembly in 1857, '58, '63, '64, '65, and '76, and was chosen a senator from Or- ange county in 1870. In 1866 and '67 he
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was state's attorney for Orange county. He cast his first and last presidential vote for a Harrison and in 1856 was elected judge of probate for the district of Randolph, having previously served two years as register. Judge White possesses the entire confidence and respect of all who know him.
He was united in marriage, Nov. 23, 1851, to Mary, daughter of Ziba and F. A. Spen- cer, by whom he had one child : Dora M. (Mrs. R. G. Spafford, deceased). In April, 1861, he contracted a second alliance with Mariette A., daughter of Cutting S. and Mar- tha H. (Paine) Calef.
WHITE, H. C., of North Bennington, son of John and Clarissa (Castle ) White, was born in North Bennington, Dec. 25, 1847.
H. C. WHITE.
After receiving his education at the public schools of North Bennington, at the age of twenty-one he removed to the city of New York, where he entered into partnership with B. G. Surdam, and engaged in the manufact- ure of stereoscopes and lenses. There he remained four years and after attaining the necessary skill he returned to his native town, where he started in the same line of business for himself.
In 1877, he removed to his present site and erected a large plant, and successfully carried on the business of manufacturing lenses, writing desks, and stereoscopes. In 1886, his entire establishment was consumed by fire, but he immediately erected a larger
plant of twice the capacity of the one burned, and since then has enjoyed an uninterrupted career of prosperity. Mr. White has inven- ted several improvements in stereoscopes, which he has patented, giving him almost a monopoly of the stereoscope business.
Mr. White married Margie L., daughter of William Watson of Brooklyn, N. Y., by whom he has issue four children.
WILCOX, HENRY CLAY, of Granby, son of Edmund W. and Matilda ( Farnsworth) Wilcox, was born in Cambridge, August 20, 1842.
After receiving the educational advan- tages of the Cambridge and Johnson public schools, at the age of nineteen he found employment in the U. S. Armory, at Spring- field, Mass., where he remained till the close of the civil war, when he returned to Johnson and for three years labored on his father's farm. For the next seven years he was variously employed as a manufacturer of butter tubs, clerk of a hotel in Hyde Park,
HENRY CLAY WILCOX.
and foreman in different establishments en- gaged in the lumber trade. In 1882 he assumed the general superintendence of the Buck & Wilcox Lumber Co., a very impor- tant and responsible position, the duties of which he satisfactorily discharged up to 1885, when they sold to C. H. Stevens & Co., since which time he has been in the employ of C. H. Stevens & Co. and the Northern Lumber Co.
Mr. Wilcox was formerly deputy-sheriff at
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Johnson, and since his removal to Granby has been the incumbent of several important offices, serving as justice and selectman ; he was the Republican representative of Granby in 1886 to 1890, and a prominent candidate for seuator from his county in the convention of that party in 1892. Mr. Wil- cox is regarded as a man of sound business capacity and great general intelligence.
For more than a quarter of a century he has belonged to the Masonic fraternity, has held the office of W. M. in Eden Lodge, No. 60, 1L. P. of Tucker Chapter, and Dis- triet Deputy G. M.
WILKINS, GEORGE, of Stowe, son of Uriah and Nancy ( Kittredge) Wilkins, was born in Stowe, Dec. 6, 1817.
GEORGE WILKINS.
After enjoying the educational privileges of the common schools and the academies of Johnson and Montpelier, Mr. Wilkins studied law with Messrs. Butler and Bingham, and was admitted to the Lamoille county bar at the December term of 1841. He then formed a partnership with O. W. But- ler, Esq., which was continued till 1845, when he purchased that gentleman's library and alone has conducted the practice of the firm since that time.
He espoused, July 12, 1846, Maria N., daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Blanchard) Wilson of Hopkinton, N. Y. They have adopted Charles B., son of Capt. J. H. Swift of Washington.
In 1852 he was elected state's attorney,
and in 1856 a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He was chosen senator from Lamoille county in 1859 and was subse- quently delegate to the union convention at Philadelphia ; a presidential elector from the Third District and a member of the national Republican convention that nomi- nated General Grant.
Mr. Wilkins is everywhere recognized as an astute and able trial lawyer, a graphic and interesting writer and an carnest, thorough, and resolute advocate. Always interested in educational affairs he has been a liberal donor of books and apparatus to the schools in his vicinity. The manage- ment of several large farms purchased by him in the town and its neighborhood has recently engrossed the chief share of his time and attention.
WILLARD, ANDREW JACKSON, of Bur- lington, son of Nehemiah Batchelder and Hannah (Emerson) Willard, was born in Harvard, Mass., March 19, 1832. Among his progenitors, the lineage being the same
ANDREW JACKSON WILLARD.
as Miss Frances Willard's, he numbers Major Willard of colonial fame, and President Willard of Harvard College, while on the mother's side he is a scion of the well- known Emerson family, which has given the country so many eminent teachers of re- ligion and philosophy, including the "Sage of Concord," Ralph Waldo. The Willards and the Emersons seem to be happily blended in the subject of our sketch.
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Having lost his father in early youth, Mr. Willard was placed by his widowed mother in the academy at Lancaster, Mass., but he finished his preparation for college at the Walnut Street high school of Worcester, Mass. At the age of seventeen he was ad- mitted to Yale college, where his career was in every way creditable. Though his studies were to some degree impeded by impaired health and eyesight, he took many prizes for excellence in debate and English composi- tion, and he graduated with high honors in the "famous class" of 1853. He then spent three years in the study of theology at the Yale Theological Seminary. He was licensed to preach by the New Haven Association of Congregational Ministers. After a brief residence as licentiate at Andover, Mass., he was called in January, 1857, to the pastorate of the Congregational church at Upton, Mass., one of the oldest and largest in Worcester county. Here he spent nearly nine years of honorable service, when he was obliged by failing health to resign his charge, and later still to give up entirely the ministerial profession.
Rev. Mr. Willard removed to Burlington in 1865, and for about five years he supplied the pulpits at Essex Centre and Essex Junction. In 1870 and 1871 he was the superintendent of the public schools in Bur- lington. While trying to regain his shattered health he, as it were, accidentally attended a medical lecture at the University of Ver- mont, and was thereby led to the study of medicine, and graduated from the medical department of the university in 1877. At this time he was appointed valedictorian, but declined the honor. He was awarded the prize for the best thesis, the subject of which was "Medical Chemistry," which received the unusual compliment from the medical faculty of a recommendation to publish. Having spent several months in special study in New York City, he had just commenced to practice medicine in Burlington, when he was appointed instructor in chemistry and assistant professor in that science in the U. V. M. Later he was appointed special pro- fessor of hygiene and sanitary science. These positions he held till 1890, when increasing professional duties connected with his specialty obliged him to resign his active connection with the university, but he has continued to retain, up to the present time, the honorary position of adjunct professor of chemistry in that institution.
Soon after graduation in medicine Dr. Willard was made superintendent and resi- dent physician of the Mary Fletcher Hospi- tal in Burlington. In December, 1886, he retired from this position after nearly six years of unremitting devotion to the interests of the hospital. There can be no question that he did a good work while there, to which
WILLARD.
many grateful patients bear willing witness. One of his first achievements was the foun- dation of the Mary Fletcher Hospital Train- ing School, for nurses, which is still in suc- cessful operation. He early saw, when at the hospital, the need of special treatment for diseases of the nervous system, and therefore, for this purpose, he founded an institution in Burlington, known as "Dr. Willard's Rest Cure and Nervine Establishment." Its present name, however, is the "Willard Nervine Home." In many respects the success of this institution has been phenome- nal. In addition to the main building on North Prospect street, a summer retreat has been established on the shores of Lake Champlain, called "The White Birches," to which Dr. Willard frequently takes his con- valescing patients.
Dr. Willard was married May 19, 1857, in Burlington, to Harriet Buell, daughter of Henry Pearl and Maria (Buell) Hickok. Five children have blessed their union : Henry Hickok, Albert Emerson, Helen Eliza- beth, Julia Maria, and Frederick Buell.
In politics Dr. Willard has always been a staunch Republican. In religion he has been a Congregationalist, until quite recently, when he joined the Episcopal church.
WILLARD, GEORGE F. B., of Ver- gennes, son of George and Delana D. (Lake) Willard, was born in Boston, Mass., on the 26th of July, 1853.
He received a liberal education for his chosen profession, graduating from the high school at Middlebury in 1872, and from Middlebury College in the class of 1876. He later pursued a course of study at the St. Louis Medical College, from which he re- ceived his diploma of M. D., in 1883. The same year Doctor Willard settled at Ver- gennes, where he has deservedly won a lead- ing position among the physicians of the city and surrounding country.
He was married at Washington, D. C., Dec. 26, 1883, to H. Ada, daughter of I. D. and S. E. Vedder, of Whitehall, Ill., and from this union there are issue five children : Delana E., Ada Hopkins, George Vedder, Lucy Amelia, and Sarah Lake.
Doctor Willard has always strictly devoted himself to his professional duties, never seek- ing publicity or political office, but at present fills the office of alderman and is a member of the school board of Vergennes. He be- longs to the Vermont Medical Society, and while in college affiliated with the D. U.
Friendly and open-hearted, he is very popular with all classes in his own city, being esteemed by all who come in contact with him.
On account of the illness of Mrs. Willard, the doctor gave up his practice in Vergennes in 1893, and removed to Roodhouse, Ills.,
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where he is at present building up a good practice.
WILLIAMS, FRANK CLINTON, of Cov- entry, son of Clifton and Mariette ( Loomis) Wilhams, was born in Glover, May 12, 1853.
His education was obtained in the public schools of Glover, in the Orleans Liberal Institute and Goddard Seminary. Shortly before he arrived at man's estate he was employed as clerk in several mercantile es- tablishments in Glover and Coventry, and in
FRANK CLIFTON WILLIAMS.
1877 entered into a partnership with Homer Thrasher at Coventry. Four years subse- quently he bought out his partner's interest and for some time continued alone, when Mr. Salmon Nye entered the concern which continued its operations till 1892, building a fine block for business purposes on the main street and besides his regular occupation Mr.Williams has engaged in lumbering, farm- ing and horse breeding. In this latter branch he has been very successful, having turned out a large number of fast trotters, though he makes a specialty of roadsters of the Morgan family.
He is liberal in his religious opinions, but attends and supports the Congregational church. For many years he has filled the offices of justice of the peace and town clerk and treasurer of Coventry, which town he represented in the Legislature in 1884 where he was a member of the committee on claims.
Mr. Williams was wedded, May 30, 1877, to Helen Louise Burbank, daughter of Samuel and Jane (Coburn) Bowles Bur- bank of Coventry. Five children have blessed their union : Grace Helen, Florence Eliza, Sam Clifton, Kate Mildred, and Harold Frank (deceased ).
WILLIAMS, GEORGE ABNER, of Sax- tons River, son of Russel H. and Mercy (Waters) Williams, was born in Westmore- land, N. Y., July 10, 1853.
His carlier education was obtained in Whitestown Seminary, Whitesboro, N. Y. He was graduated from Colgate University in 1880, and afterwards received the degrees of A. M. and Ph. D. from the same institu- tion. While in college he specially devoted himself to languages and mathematics, and
GEORGE ABNER WILLIAMS.
was honored with the valedictory address upon his graduation. In 1879 he repre- sented his alma mater in the intercollegiate contest in New York City, winning the highest honors in the Latin language. Mr. Williams has followed the profession of teaching since 1873. Immediately after his graduation he became the instructor in mathematics and the sciences in Whitestown Seminary, and subsequently has occupied positions in the Hamilton (N. Y.) Union School and Cook Academy, at Havana, N. V. Since 1889 he has been principal of the Vermont Academy, at Saxtons River, which position he occupies at the present time.
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WILLIAMS.
He has always displayed great ability as an instructor, successfully laboring for the in- tellectual and moral improvement of all pupils who have been entrusted to his charge. His services have always been sought for, and he has never been obliged to make an application for any post which he has filled. He is a member of the American Institute of Instruction and of the American Philological Association.
While in college he was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity, and acted both as president and vice-president of the Colgate Chapter. He was a delegate to the conven- tion of the fraternity at Schenectady in 1879. At graduation he was chosen a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
He was united in marriage, June 30, 1880, to Florence Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Eliphalet and Martha (Spaulding) Owen. Four children have blessed their union : two daughters, Elbertine and Roberta, and two sons, Maynard Owen and Russel Hill.
Mr. Williams is a descendant on both sides of the house, from Revolutionary sol- diers, and is a Baptist by inheritance and conviction. He is the author of a book on "Topics and References in American His- tory," widely used in schools, and is actively interested in educational problems in Ver- mont. He was a member of the legislative committee of the Vermont State Teachers' Association, which appeared before the ed- ucational committee of that body in 1892, urging the adoption of the town system of schools, which measure was finally adopted. Since 1889 he has served upon the state ex- ecutive committee of the Y. M. C. A.
Though always taking an active interest in public affairs, he has never sought or ac- cepted political office. Hitherto a Republi- can in his preferences, he is now strongly inclined to independent views with regard to national and state affairs.
WILLIAMS, JAMES PETER, of Sunder- land, son of Peter and Emeline (Jordan) Williams, was born in Auburn, Me., April 5, 1836.
His education was obtained in the schools of Auburn, and Fitzwilliam, N. H. For some time after he arrived at his majority he was employed in a factory for the manu- facture of wooden ware, and afterwards re- moved to Sunderland, in which place, in 1858, he purchased an establishment for the manufacture of clothes-pins, which he after- wards changed to a turning shop. Mr. Williams then changed the scene of his labors to Manchester, where in connection with Dexter Pierce he manufactured spoons, and in 1878 dissolving his partnership he returned to Sunderland, where he continued
in a similar occupation, cultivating in ad- dition a farm of about one hundred acres.
August 29, 1866, he espoused Delia, daughter of George Newbury and Sarah M. ( Phillips) Olmsted of Fitzwilliam. Four children were born to them : Grace Amanda (deceased), Waldo Frank, Anson Streeter, and Shirley Olmsted.
A Republican in his political faith Mr. Williams has never assumed any official position, and in regard to his religious views he is an agnostic.
WILSON, JAMES DUNLAP, of Greens- boro, son of John and Margaret (Young) Wilson, was born in Greensboro, Sept. 13, 1848.
He was educated in the schools of Greens- boro and in Morrisville Academy, and for some time taught in the public schools of Greensboro. He then, for five years, fol- lowed the occupations of farmer and carpen- ter and subsequently was employed in the Fairbanks scale works of St. Johnsbury. Since his return to Greensboro in 1880 he has devoted himself to dairy farming and the manufacture of maple sugar from a large orchard of 1,200 trees.
November 22, 1877, he wedded Mariette T., daughter of James J. and Lilias ( Miller) Lumsden of Greensboro. Three children have been born to them : Florence Edith, John Erwin, and James Harrison.
Mr. Wilson has been selectman and jus- tice of the peace for several years ; has dis- charged the duties of town auditor, was dele- gate to the state convention in 1892 at Montpelier and represented Greensboro in the Legislature of 1892, serving on the com- mittee on land taxes and the canvassing committee. For four years he was a mem- ber of the Republican town committee.
He belongs to the Presbyterian church, of which he has been for a long time elder and Sunday school superintendent.
WILLSON, MELVIN A., son of Sydney and Lucy (Boutwell) Willson, was born in Lowell, Mass., July 31, 1847.
He was one of a family of four children and in his early boyhood was thrown upon his own resources, by the death of his father. Removing to Victory at the age of eight, he gleaned a scanty education from the schools of Lunenburg and Lyndon, meanwhile con- tributing from his earnings to the support of the family.
He enlisted Sept. 13, 1864, in Co. K, 8th Vt. Vols. under the command of Col. Stephen Thomas, saw service in the Shenandoah cam- paign and was honorably discharged May 13, 1865.
After his return from military service Mr. Willson settled in Granby, where he purchased
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WINGS
the property on which he now resides. He has been extensively engaged in general farming, raising, buying and selling stock and his plain, blunt common sense and shrewd- ness have rendered him financially success- ful in all these enterprises, making him an important factor in the business affairs of the town. For the last two years he has added to his other occupations a trade in feed, flour and grain.
Mr. Willson is a Republican, but is inde- pendent in his views, and has been elected to nearly all the responsible offices in the town of Granby, which he represented in the Legislature of 188.4.
Ile was united in marriage March 6, 1872, to Jean, daughter of Loomis and Adeline ( Farr) Wells, of which marriage seven chil- dren have been born : Addie L., Sidney I .. , Leonard H., Samuel G., Oscar M., John II., and Dora Al.
WING, GEORGE WASHINGTON, of Montpelier, son of Joseph A. and Samantha Elizabeth (Webster) Wing, was born in Plainfield, Oct. 22, 1843.
He was educated in the district schools, at Barre Academy, at the Washington county grammar school, and at Dartmouth College, from which institution he was graduated in 1866. He has been a resident of Mont- pelier since 1858. He studied law in the office of his father, Joseph A. Wing, Esq., and was admitted to Washington county bar, March term, 1868.
He was assistant state librarian in 1864, 1865 and 1866, and a deputy secretary of state from 1867 to 1873. During part of this latter period he was a clerk in the office of the state treasurer, Hon. John A. Page of Montpelier. Concluding this service, he began the practice of his profession, in which he has become distinguished, both for soundness of judgment and ability as an advocate. He was elected to the House of Representatives from Montpelier in 1882, and rendered important service to the state on the ways and means and the grand list committees. He had an important part in framing, and to him belongs the honor of formulating, the corporation tax law enacted at that session of the Legislature- a law that was distinguished by the clearness and pre- cision of its phraseology and by the benefits its well considered provisions conferred upon the state at large. As a member of the grand list committee his counsel, practical judgment and peculiar gift in so formulating an enactment that it could bear but one, and the right, interpretation, were brought into requisition in the act revising and consolida- ting the tax and grand list laws. In advo- cating, explaining and defending these measures in the debates in the House, and
WINSLOW.
in his legislative duties generally, he dis- closed the qualities of a wise and capable law-maker. From 1884 to 1888, during the administration of President Cleveland, al- though a staunch Republican, he held the office of postmaster at Montpelier, to which he had been elected toward the close of President Arthur's administration. He was a capable and popular administrator of the affairs of the post-office, judicious and efficient. In 1890 he was elected a trustee of the Village of Montpelier, and in 1892 was chosen president of the corporation. He is treasurer of the Farmer's Trust Co., incorporated under the laws of lowa, and which has its Eastern office at Montpelier.
Mr. Wing is a member of Aurora Lodge, No. 22, F. & A. M., and has taken the 32d degree in Scottish Rite Masonry.
December 1, 1869, he married Miss Sarah E., daughter of Dr. Orlando P'. and Millie (Hendee) Forbush, who died in April, 1871, leaving one child : Sarah F. October 1, 1882, he married Miss Ida I., daughter of Stephen F. and Caroline C. (Stone) Jones.
Of Mr. Wing, a brother attorney says : " He entertains and instructs, whether be- fore the jury or court, or on the stump. He is at once scholarly and practical, and has an enviable power of illustration peculiar to himself."
WINSLOW, DON AVERY, of Westfield, son of Orlando and Salome ( Hitchcock) Winslow, was born in Westfield, Oct. 25, 1824.
He is the seventh in lineal descent from Kenelm Winslow, one of the earliest settlers of Plymouth county, and also through his grandmother Winslow, a descendant of the Adams family of Quincy, Mass. The estate formerly belonging to Daniel Webster in Marshfield, Mass., was the original Kenelm Winslow homestead, and had been preserved in that family till its purchase by the great orator and statesman.
The subject of this sketch, after attending the public schools of Westfield and Derby Academy, did not care to follow the foot- steps of his father, who was a farmer and general merchant in the village, and in 1846 found his way to Boston, where he studied music under the instruction of the well- known Lowell Mason. Mr. Winslow com- menced his musical career as tenor in an English opera in the Boston Theater, and also in a quartette in the Unitarian church of Bulfinch street in the city. Subsequently, after instruction in musical composition and in piano and church organ playing, he settled in St. Albans, where he was employed as organist in the Congregational church, and as professor of music in Swanton Ac- ademy. During this period he composed
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both secular and sacred music, and many of his efforts have been published in Emerson's, Perkins', Marshall's, and other musical works.
For over fifty years he has been continu- ously connected with churches, either as leader of the choir or organist. After giving up his profession he was employed for ten years at Johnson as station agent and tele- graph operator. In 1889 he removed to Westfield, where he now resides on the old homestead.
DON AVERY WINSLOW,
March 27, 1848, he married Mary S., daughter of Curtis and Mary (DeWolf ) Newton of Greenfield, Mass. She died Jan. 12, 1882. Five children were born to them : Edward W. (drowned in early youth), Helen M. (now president of the Women's Press Association, Boston), Mary A., Isabel N. (Mrs. Alexander Conrad of Cooledge, N. M.), and Harriet P. Mr. Winslow contracted a second marriage, May 5, 1886, with Amanda M., daughter of Bela and Ann M. Johnson, of Whitfield, N. H.
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