USA > Vermont > Caledonia County > Successful Vermonters; a modern gazetteer of Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties, containing an historical review of the several towns and a series of biographical sketches > Part 39
USA > Vermont > Essex County > Successful Vermonters; a modern gazetteer of Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties, containing an historical review of the several towns and a series of biographical sketches > Part 39
USA > Vermont > Orleans County > Successful Vermonters; a modern gazetteer of Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties, containing an historical review of the several towns and a series of biographical sketches > Part 39
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62
the people, and although a staunch, uncompromising, and lifelong Re- publican in a Democratic town, he was elected to represent it in the Vermont general assembly in 1874. In 1870 he served as a member of the constitutional convention. In 1898 he was elected assistant judge for Essex county, to which position he was reelected in 1900.
Jannary 17, 1880, he married Marial C., daughter of Judge Elias and Clarissa (Smith) Lyman. Two children were born to them, Maud L., and Harold A. Mrs. Holbrook died January 19, 1901, and in Jan- uary, 1903, Judge Holbrook was united in marriage to Lucy A. Knapp of Colebrook, New Hamp- shire.
OTIS E. COVELL.
COVELL, OTIS E., was born in Colebrook, New Hampshire, in 1858, son of Freeman P. and Rebecca (Hicks) Covell, and educated in the common schools of Colebrook.
113
ESSEX COUNTY.
In 1878 he was united in mar- riage to Olive R. Cole of Colebrook, and by this union had three chil- dren, Jesse S., Albert L., and Nina E. (deceased). In 1885 he located in Lemington, Vermont, on the Mo- nadnock stock farm. In 1892 he married Martha J. Fletcher of Stew- artstown, New Hampshire, and this union has been blessed by two chil- dren, Isaiah F. (deceased) and Hazel F.
Mr. Covell has held several of the town offices and in 1890 represented Lemington in the Vermont legis- lature.
COVELL, JESSE S., of Leming- ton, was born in Colebrook, New Hampshire, in 1879; was educated
JESSE S. COVELL.
at Colebrook academy, and with his father has always followed farming, and together they are examples of the thoroughly intelligent and progressive Vermont farmer.
A-8
In 1901 Jesse was married to An- nie E. Gray of Lemington. They have one child, Eleanor M.
Mr. Covell has held nearly every town office, and in 1903 was its rep- resentative to the legislature.
RAMSAY, GEORGE R., son of Judge George L. and Annette E.
GEORGE R. RAMSEY.
( Dyer) Ramsay, was born in Leming- ton in November, 1874. He at- tended the public schools of his native town and took up farming on the home place with his father.
With splendid courage and a elear foresight Mr. Ramsay, although a mere boy of eighteen years, took up the heavy responsibilities so sud- denly devolving upon him through his father's untimely and sudden death in December, 1892. He has one of the finest meadow farms in the Connecticut valley. For seven years he has been first selectman and in 1900 represented his town in the legislature.
114
SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
From his father he inherited a clear, sound mind, good judgment, and a generous disposition, which is the occasion of his counsel being frequently sought by his townsmen.
In 1899 he was united in marriage to Mary E. Burbank of Bloomfield. Three beautiful children have blessed their union, Marion An- nette, Kathleen Dorothy, and Mary Minerva.
READ, FRED, was born in Lem- ington, Essex county, Vermont, in
FRED READ.
In September. 1902. he married Celia Scott of Bloomfield.
His home place consists of 145 acres, under a good state of eulti- vation. He has always taken an interest in town affairs and but for his political affiliation would have been frequently called to public of- fice. He has served as town audi- tor and is a member of the Grange.
George A. Read, the father, came to Lemington fromThetford nearly half a century ago and located on the farm now occupied by his son.
BLOOMFIELD .* Population, Census of 1900, 564.
Bloomfield is situated in the east- ern part of the county in latitude 44° 48' and longitude 5° 18' and is bounded northeast by Lemington, southeast by Connecticut river, southwest by Brunswick and north- west by Lewis. The surface of the town is uneven, with picturesque scenery. Along the banks of the Connecticut and Nulhegan rivers are several beautiful and productive low meadows. In other parts of the town high meadows border the riv- ers and in a few places the hills ex- tend to the streams.
On the high meadows and even on the hill portions of the town the soil is rich and good for farming purposes.
1822, son of George A. and Eliza A. (Lyman) Read. Ile received his The lumberman may still say of a very few lots in town, " This is the forest primeval." A large amount of hardwood timber is yet growing in the town. education in the public schools of Lemington, where he has always re- sided, following the occupation of millwright and farmer, and where he now conducts a feed and sawmill, Minehead was the name given the township when the charter was furnishing the general consumer with hardwood, lumber, heavy. granted June 29, 1762. Jonas Baker surveyed the town in 1802,
stocks, carriage work, and feed.
*Sketch by Rev. Asa C. Fuller.
115
ESSEX COUNTY.
dividing the same into lots of 112 aeres each, three lots to each share. The Baker survey has since been considered the true survey. A pro- prietors' meeting was held at the dwelling house of Gaius Kibbe, July 23, 1802. " Voted to draw the several lots laid out and Jonas Baker, an indifferent person, was appointed to draw the same." It is supposed that Thomas Lampkin was the first settler in town and that he came in 1796.
In 1890 Bloomfield had a popu- lation of 827, but in 1900 the popu- lation had decreased to 564 on ac- count of the mill being idle. Bloom- field is a small post village in the southeast part of the town.
In 1885 the Nulhegan Lumber Co. built what was then considered the finest sawmill in Vermont and as good as any in the United States. For some years the mill has not been running, but it is now owned by the Connecticut Valley Lumber Co .. and is expected to be operated in a few months.
The Lyman Falls Power com- pany has recently been organized and is now building a dam across the Connecticut river, and a canal. for the purpose of utilizing the ex- cellent water-power at this point.
A high school has just been opened, providing instruction for home pupils and several outside the town.
The Methodist Episcopal church in Bloomfield has one house of wor- ship, built in 1859. Previous to that time public worship was held in schoolhouses and dwelling houses. Since 1860 regular Sabbath preach- ing has been maintained in this church.
The Calvinist Baptist church. In
1844 a small church of this denom- ination was formed. For some years services were held a part of the time and finally the society merged into the Baptist church of North Stratford, New Hampshire.
The Roman Catholic church. In 1828 the Roman Catholic society of this and adjoining towns built a comfortable little church edifice at the village and a service has been conducted there somewhat irregu- larly till the present time.
LEONARD T. WILLIAMS.
WILLIAMS, LEONARD T., was born in New Brunswick in 1846, and was the son of Reuben and Eliz- abeth Williams.
Mr. Williams located in Bloom- field in 1870 and for twenty-five years was employed as a civil engi- neer by the Connecticut Valley Lumber company. In 1875 he was united in marriage to Martha Fuller of Bloomfield. Eight children
116
SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
blessed this union, viz., Percy L., Octa (Mrs. Albert Buzzell), Samuel Mary E. (now Mrs. Leslie Shoff), O., Gardiner J., Harriett A. (Mrs. Virgil York), and Mary J. (Mrs. Robert Gathercole). Wendall P., Everett J., Clinton B., Mildred P., Muriel, and Frederick F. (deceased).
During his lifetime Mr. Williams held the various town offices, includ- ing clerk and treasurer. Four times he was called upon to represent his town in the state legislature. Mr. Williams would undoubtedly have been elected state senator for Essex county in 1902, but for his untimely death, as he was the choice of his party.
A man of rare discernment, tact, and sound judgment, whose advice and counsel was often sought, made him a natural leader among men, faithful to every trust, an indefatig- able worker for the good of the community, made his death, May 14th, 1902, an occasion of profound sorrow to his neighbors and towns- people. He was affiliated with the Foresters, Knights of Pythias and was a thirty-second degree Mason.
SHOFF. HAINES, was born in 1780, and for many years was a resi- dent of the town of Brunswick. He married, April 30, 1804, Lois Web- ster, who was born November 10, 1784. Their children were Or- lando, who was born October S, 1805: Amanda P., Fanny S., Daniel H., Martha P., Anna F., Abijah P., Rollin A., Jacob W., Lois J.
Orlando Shoff settled in Bloom- field in 1825 and held the various town offices and represented the town several times in the state legis- lature. He was a man of sterling in- tegrity, high ideals, and absolute courage, and left the impress of a long and useful career upon the town of his adoption. He died in 1878. Hlis children were Oscar H.,
ORLANDO SHOFF.
Samuel O. Shoff, on March 4, 1871, married Josephine B. French. daughter of John D. and Lucina S. (Norris) French. They have had five children, Ina C. (now Mrs. An- drew E. Elliott of Berlin, New Hampshire.), Samuel L., Floyd G .. Lueina J. (deceased), and Lyle K.
Mr. Shoff has always followed farming and lumber checking. In the latter capacity he was employed for twenty years. He has served his town as selectman, road commis- sioner, tax collector. lister, town grand juror, and was a member of the last state constitutional conven- tion from Bloomfield.
FULLER, HENRY, of Bloomfield, son of llenry and Thankful (Bow- ker) Fuller, was born in Maidstone.
117
ESSEX COUNTY.
August 26th, 1838. When two years old his father moved to Bloomfield, where the subject of this sketch has since resided. He was educated in the common schools and at Derby academy. He has al- ways been interested in the religious and educational interests of the town.
Several years he has held the of- fice of superintendent of schools, also taught many terms of school.
HENRY FULLER.
Thirteen years he has been town clerk and at different times served in nearly every capacity as a town officer.
He married, May 31. 1864, Miss Nettie W. Colby of Whitefield, New Hampshire. Of this union have been born Henry Clarence (died October 9th, 1867), and Asa Colby. Mrs. Fuller died January 15th, 1868. He was again married No- vember 28th. 1820. to Miss Mary
L., daughter of Nathan M. and Mary Johnson of Bloomfield.
Of this union have been born W. Earle and Mary Maude. This wife died October 13th, 1895. Mr. Fuller married August 26th, 1897, Miss Abbie, daughter of Gideon and Susan Mathews.
FULLER, ASA COLBY, of Bloom- field, son of Henry and Nettie (Colby) Fuller, was born in Bloom- field, September 21st, 1866. He attended the common schools and the Littleton (New Hampshire) High school, from which he was graduated the valedictorian of his class.
He then taught school a few years, in which work he ranked among the first teachers in the
ASA C. FULLER.
county. He attended Montpelier seminary and from there entered the ministry in the M. E. church, where he served successfully . for
118
SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
more than seven years. On account of ill health he left the ministry for a time and moved back to his native town. Ilere he is giving some at- tention to farming while he is re- gaining his health. He is town clerk, treasurer, and superintendent of schools. This is the third town in which he has held the latter office.
He married, August 28th, 1892. Hattie A. Burroughs of Glover. Three children have been born to them, Emma Annette, Leonard Leemon Beeman, and Henry Hoyt. SPENCER, WILLIAM B., was born in Minehead (now Bloomfield), Au- gust 21, 1827. He was a son of Gratis and Susannah (Dearth) Spen- cer, whom early history tells us were
WILLIAM B. SPENCER.
among the first settlers of the town. William B. married Cordelia Fuller, January 6th, 1847, and seven chil- dren blessed the union: Ellen C.,
(Mrs. S. W. Holbrook), Edwin W., Amelia L. (Mrs. A. E. Elliott of Gloucester. Massachusetts), Ada Ann (Mrs. O. C. Stafford), Henry
HORACE A. SPENCER.
G., Jennie A. (Mrs. E. A. Travers of Errol, New Hampshire), and Hor- ace A., who was born September 24th, 1865, and who resides on the old homestead on Spencer Hill. Horace has always been a farmer and has ever taken a lively interest in all matters that would tend to the further development and progress of Bloomfield. In 1888 he married Martha B. Goodale of Lancaster, New Hampshire, and has had three children, Roger O., Ila D., and Hor- ace Elwyn. The Spencers, grand- father, father, and son, have all held the various town offices and have exerted a wide and beneficial influence in the community.
MARTIN, ALONZO A., a native of Vermont. married Linda A. Hol-
119
ESSEX COUNTY.
brook, and had nine children: two. Marion L. and Winslow F., died when young; those living are Elwin L., Alvin L. (of Groveton, New Hampshire), Sumner T., Mansil J. (of Bradford, Vermont), Jennie E. (now Mrs. Leon Walling of Bethel, Maine), Julius A., and Minnie M. (now Mrs. Edgar Moulton).
Mr. Martin is a veteran of the Civil war and served three years in the Third Vermont infantry.
MARTIN, SUMNER T., was born in Bloomfield in 1822 and is a son of Alonzo A. and Linda A. (IIol- brook) Martin. He received his education in the public schools of Bloomfield, has always been a farmer of the progressive type, and together with his father they have
SUMNER T. MARTIN.
600 acres of farm land. He is affil- iated with the Order of Foresters and is now serving his third year as a selectman of Bloomfield.
BRUNSWICK.
Population, Census of 1900, 106.
Brunswick was chartered by Gov- ernor Wentworth to Stephen Noble and sixty-three others in 1761.
Arthur Wooster made the first clearing of a few acres on the upper side of Wait Bow, but soon after abandoned it, and never became a resident of the town. In 1988 Eben W. Judd made the first survey and allotment of the town.
David Hix and Abram Gile were the first settlers of the town. Hix was a cooper and did very little to make and improve his farm. Ile was taken prisoner by the Indians and carried to Canada where he was forced to remain for more than two years. Gile took up the abandoned site of Wooster at Wait Bow, but remained only a short time.
To John Merrill is due the eredit of being the first permanent settler of the town. He came from Lisbon. New Hampshire, in 1278, and set- tled on the first farm north of the Maidstone line on the river. He was a man of strength of character. a natural leader and a man of high ideals.
The town was organized in 1296. Joseph Wait being chosen first town clerk and Joseph Wait, David Hyde, and John Merrill, selectmen.
In 1290 the first road was sur- veyed, lying along the Connecticut river from the Maidstone line to the south line of Bloomfield. Eben W. Judd was the surveyor. In 1793 the road was built from the river through Ferdinand to Island Pond.
The first child born in the town was George W. Hix, son of David.
120
SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
BEATTIE, HON. J. HENRY, son of David H. and Harriet D. (Car- lisle Beattie, was born in Maidstone, January 17, 1847, and was educated in the public schools of Maidstone, the Essex county grammar school, the Newbury seminary, and Lancas-
November 30, 1875, he was united in marriage to Celia M. French of Brunswick. They have been blessed by four children, Da- vid H., 2d (deceased), Mattie L., Roy F., and James H.
Mr. Beattie is a lumber man and
J. HENRY BEATTIE.
ter academy. In 1869 he located in Brunswick, the adjoining town. where he still resides. He has held all the various town offices, represented Brunswick in the gen- eral assembly in 1822-23-'74-'75, and Essex county in the state sen- ate in 1896-92.
farmer, having devoted a consider- able time to exploring and estimat- ing timber lands, and has been con- nected with some of the most im- portant land deals of late years.
O'DOWD, JAMES, son of James and Rose ( McCabe) MeDowd, was born in St. Sylvester, Province of
121
ESSEX COUNTY.
Quebec, in 1853. Ile attended the public schools of his native town. For eighteen years after coming to the United States he resided in New Hampshire, and in 1895 located in the town of Brunswick, and has fol- lowed farming. In 1883 he married Susan Burns of St. Sylvester, Proy- ince of Quebec. They have had eight children: Mary A., Michael J., Rose, Kate, Susie, John, Daniel E., and George.
Mr. O'Dowd has frequently been called to hold publie office and has served Brunswick as road commis- sioner and selectman, and in 1900 represented the town in the legisla- ture.
CONCORD.
Population, Census of 1900, 1,129.
The early settlement of the town of Concord is unmarked by tragic incidents or features of exceptional interest. In 1283, just after the close of the Revolutionary struggle, Joseph Ball, the pioneer settler. pitched his claim in the new town- ship and began the Herculean task of opening up a farm and building a home amid the shadows of the pri- meval wilderness. Ilis son, John. born in 1789, was the first child born in town and consequently ro- ceived a gratuitous grant of land from the early proprietors. The first settlements were made in the southeastern part of the town on the meadows of the Connecticut river. The town grew slowly. In 1495, twelve years after the first settle- ment, there were but seventeen families.
At the first town-meeting, held at the house of Joseph Morse, October 5, 1794, Captain Samuel Weatherher was chosen clerk and Samuel Hud-
son, collector. The early business center of the town was at Concord Corner, a small upland village a mile and a half south of the geographical center. Here was located the great Congregationalist church (at first the town church), with its antique carved walls, wide galleries on three sides, square pews, and high pulpit, the old brick academy, where Rev. Samuel Reed Hall, in the twenties, taught the first normal school in the United States, the hotel, many years kept by James Darling, the Grout and Cornelius Judevine stores, the latter for many years kept by Col. J. G. Darling, William and George Richardson's blacksmith shop, El- more Chase's shoe shop, a hatter's shop, etc.
For many years this village was a flourishing trade and educational center, but being on a hill without water-power, it was destitute of man- nfactures. The village of West Con- cond, a station of the St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain railroad, and lo- cated in the southwestern part of the town on Moose river, eight miles from St. Johnsbury, has been the trade and business center for the past half century. John D. Chase, father of Denison and Jefferson Chase, built a dwelling house and sawmill here in 1838. The post-office was established in 1830, Levi Howe built the grist-mill in 1840, and about the same time Stephen S. Hill opened the first store, also varions mechanical industries were started, and the Universalist church erected. About 1845, the second sawmill was erected, and the foundry and ma- chine shop of John D. Chase & Sons established. For many years West Concord was one of the most flour- i-hing small villages in the state.
122
SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
The Portland & Ogdensburg rail- road, now the St. Johnsbury & Lake Champlain railroad, was built here in 1870-'41, in aid of which the town was heavily bonded. A series of disastrous fires of mills and man- ufactories, of heavy commercial fail- ures in 1876, and the incubus of a large bonded debt, for nearly a quar- ter of a century seemed to depress and retard the industries of the vil- lage. The past five years has wit- nessed marked improvements.
The bonded debt has been largely reduced, and the balance mostly re- funded at a low rate of interest; many houses have been rebuilt or modernized, and several new ones erected; the Judevine Memorial school building has been erected; the Kirby granite quarries opened and two granite sheds erected, and the Leader Granite company business started: the chemical works of Lys- ter Brothers, and Trout Brook creamery, important and valuable enterprises, have been established; also C. E. Dudley's steam mill and chair stock factory; real estate has advanced 25 per cent., and a feeling of hopefulness prevails.
The village contains two churches, Universalist and Methodist, two sawmills, a grist-mill, carriage and repair shop, tin shop and harness shop, several blacksmiths, eight stores and groceries, a lawyer, two physicians, and a hotel.
There are prosperous societies of Masons. Odd Fellows, and the G. A. R., with the auxiliary orders, also of the U. O. G. C., and the Woodmen of America, and the social and busi- ness interests of the town are taking on new life and energy. A large lumber business and considerable trade is carried on by W. L. Russell
at Miles Pond and C. D. Root at East Concord, which is quite a thriv- ing village. The great paper and pulp industry at Fitzdale has largely enhanced the value of real estate in this part of the town. Magnificent panoramic views of the White and Franconia mountains are obtained at many points in town. Hall's pond is a liquid gem among the hills, with a background of towering summits.
The splendid and practically un- touched granite quarries on Kirby mountain await only the union of capital and labor for the upbuilding of a great business enterprise at West Concord, while the railroad. the telephone, and the rural free de- livery places the farmers' homes in daily touch with the heart throbs of the great world.
WALBRIDGE, JOHN HILL, son of Captain Henry and Almira Hill Walbridge, was born at Plainfield. June 30, 1847. His mother died when he was sixteen months old. and he found a home with his ma- ternal granduncle, Chauncey Hill, a substantial farmer of Concord. His father went to Michigan as a sales- man for the Fairbanks company, tras a captain in the Twenty-fourth Michigan volunteers, and became a successful trial lawyer. After at- tending the common and select schools of Concord, and one term at St. Johnsbury, Mr. Walbridge grad- uated from Lombard university, Galesburg, Illinois, in 1870, with the degree of B. S. At the earnest so- licitation of his foster parents he re- turned to West Concord, and cared for their declining years. lle met with severe pecuniary losses by rea- son of disastrous fires and failures. and by his liability as bondsman during the seventies. For many
123
ESSEX COUNTY.
years thereafter his attention was mainly devoted to the care of his farming interests in Concord, and he still owns and resides on a small but productive farm in West Con- cord. During the past ten years much of his time has been devoted
mont. He has held various town offices, including that of superin- tendent of schools, which he has filled at four different periods. An ardent Republican, he has frequently spoken during political campaigns, and sometimes on memorial oeca-
JOHN H. WALBRIDGE.
to writing special editions of towns and literary work of a biographical character.
Mr. Walbridge has achieved marked sueeess in this congenial field, and has formed an extensive and agreeable acquaintance with the business and public men of Ver-
sions. Hle was elected to the leg- islature in 1888, was a member of the committee on education, drew and introduced several bills, in- eluding the present. law for the protection of horse owners, and the law regulating Western invest- ments of savings banks. He is the
124
SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
present senator from Essex county, was chairman of the committee on education, a member of the judi- ciary, of the joint committee on rules, and of the joint committee of twenty-five on temperance legisla- tion. He presented and advocated the bill amendatory of the prohib- itory law drafted by Judge Ross. and opposed the passage of the pres- ent license law. He also drew and presented the present law providing free tuition in high schools and academies for qualified pupils of any town, and several other important educational measures, that passed the senate. lle was for many years a trustee of the Johnson Nor- mal school, and is a member of the board of visitors of Norwich uni- versity. He is an interested student of politics and of current social and economie questions. For a third of a century he has been a member of Moose River lodge, F. & A. M., and three times worshipful master.
Ile married Cynthia, daughter of Elmore and Cynthia Chase in 1872. They have three children: Henry C., assistant editor of the Waltham Times: Blanche May, stenographer with Singer Sewing Machine com- pany at Boston, and Winifred, a pianist and school teacher.
HASTINGS, LAMBERT WILLIAM, son of Hubbard, and Caroline Mor- gan Hastings, was born in Concord August 29, 1869. His grandfather. Lambert Hastings, was for nearly half a century a famous and exten- sive drover. also a Inmberman and general farmer of Concord, a man of absolute integrity and excellent judgment.
llubbard Hastings was also a highly esteemed business man, asso- ciated with his father, and general
manager of the farm and the Miles Pond mill. He died in 1882, and the family soon after moved to St. Johnsbury, where Lambert W. com- pleted his education at the Union school, and clerked for a time. In December, 1885, he engaged as a clerk with Charles H. Stevens, at Stevens' mill, Granby, where he soon became bookkeeper, and practically superintendent of a mercantile busi- ness that finally became $35,000 per annum.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.