USA > Vermont > Franklin County > Successful Vermonters; a modern gazetteer of Lamoille, Franklin and Grand Isle counties, containing an historical review of the several towns and a series of biographical sketches > Part 24
USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > Successful Vermonters; a modern gazetteer of Lamoille, Franklin and Grand Isle counties, containing an historical review of the several towns and a series of biographical sketches > Part 24
USA > Vermont > Lamoille County > Successful Vermonters; a modern gazetteer of Lamoille, Franklin and Grand Isle counties, containing an historical review of the several towns and a series of biographical sketches > Part 24
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
In 1885 Mr. Spicer returned to Vermont. Upon his return to the scenes of his boyhood and youth, he engaged in farming, teaching school during the winter for several years. He now owns one of the best small farms in Enosburg, the productions from which, in the way of fancy maple sugar and syrup, thoroughbred poultry and small fruits, are quite widely accepted as the standard of excellence. Mr. Spicer enjoys the distinction of be- ing the pioneer small fruit grower in this locality, demonstrating as a successful certainty that small fruits could be profitably grown in the northern part of Franklin County. He is not an extensive grower, his aim being always qual- ity rather than quantity, the amount produced usually ranging from one hundred and fifty to two hundred bushels. Strawberries are his specialty, and the reputa- tion "Spicer's strawberries" have gained has led to a considerable
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and growing trade in strawberry plants.
In 1890 Mr. Spicer was united in marriage to Harriet L. Phillips of Bakersfield.
Mr. Spicer has been frequently called to hold public office, and has rendered his town 16 years of ser-
ers' Association, was born in Fair- field, September 11, 1851, and with his parents came to Enosburg when he was about two years of age. Having been brought up on a farm, he chose farming as his occupation during the earlier part of his life. In 1892 he moved to the village of
FRED W. SPICER.
vice in some public place. He has served four years as selectman, three years as first selectman, and now holds that position ; he has also held the offices of school director, auditor, lister and superintendent of schools.
CROFT, ARTHUR J., president of the Vermont Maple Sugar Mak-
Enosburg Falls, where he now re- sides, and has been engaged in the produce business.
He has always taken an active and aggressive part in local affairs, supporting all measures for public improvement, serving upon the board of village trustees, school committee and holding nearly all
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the offices in the gift of his town, and is now constable and collector of taxes and also deputy sheriff for the County of Franklin.
In the fall of 1892 he was elected representative to the Legislature of Vermont; in 1897 he was appointed commissioner to the Nashville (Tennessee) Exposition by Gover-
product. In January, 1905, he was a delegate to the National For- estry Congress held at Washington, D. C. He was one of a few who, in 1893, organized the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers' Association, and held the office of secretary for 13 consecutive years, and was then elected to his present office.
ARTHUR J. CROFT.
nor Josiah Grout, and was in charge of the Vermont exhibit of maple sugar and syrup during the six months of the exposition, dem- onstrating by the sale of maple products the superior quality of Vermont's maple sweets, much to the delight of the Southern people, who knew but little about this
Mr. Croft's family consists of his wife, Addie M. (Adams) Croft, with whom he was united in mar- riage September 18, 1876, she being the only daughter of John Scott and Cordelia Maria (Ab- bott) Adams. The daughter, Jo- anna Dow Croft, is a graduate of the Bridgewater Normal School of
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the state of Massachusetts and is now a teacher in one of the large public schools of that state.
DOW, DEACON SAMUEL HENRY, was born in Hampton, New Hamp- shire, December 7, 1821, son of Lieutenant Samuel and Louisa
Dow married, December 12, 1894, Harriet C. Stevens.
He has always been a stanch Re- publican, and has held many im- portant offices in his town and county, representing the town in the Legislature in 1888-'90, has
SAMUEL H. Dow.
(Smith) Dow. He moved to Enos- burg in 1832, and has always re- sided on the same farm in East Enosburg upon which his parents first settled. He was married March 31, 1847, to Joanna K. Adams. Mrs. Dow died December 27, 1891, leaving no children. Mr.
held the office of county commis- sioner for a number of years, has been closely identified with church work, having held the of- fice of deacon in the First Congre- gational Church of Enosburg for a term of over forty years, in which office he still officiates. He
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SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
is an ardent worker in Sunday school and missionary societies. He is a strong advocate of temperance and was one of the founders of the Young Men's Total Abstinence So- ciety, of which Governor Eaton was first president, an organiza- tion which has wielded more power for temperance than any other so-
Gibson. Alurey Samson was a daughter of Alanson Samson, one of the early settlers of Franklin County.
John A. Gibson received his edu- cation in the schools of Enosburg and Berkshire, and at 20 years of age took up painting, which he fol- lowed for three years. The next
JOHN A. GIBSON.
ciety of this town. Generous to a fault, charitable and uncomplain- ing, his life has been a model of right living and an inspiration and help to those with whom he asso- ciates.
GIBSON, JOHN A., was born in Enosburg, February 4, 1856, a son of John W. and Alurey (Samson)
17 years he was a traveling sales- man. He then purchased Alfred Rublee's interest in the drug store of Rublee Brothers; later Herman W. Webster, now of East Burke, bought the interest of Andrew Ru- blee and the drug business was con- ducted under the firm name of Gib- son & Webster. This business was
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sold to C. L. Marsh & Co., and in April, 1896, Mr. Gibson entered the furniture store of his father, John W. Gibson, who died a month later (May 8, 1896). Mr. Gibson con- tinued the business until August, 1904; he retained the undertaking branch of the business, and has con- tinued to the present time.
February 4, 1879, Mr. Gibson married Florence Jeffords, a daugh-
would accept public office. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having taken the Chapter degrees ; is also affiliated with the Odd Fel- lows, Foresters and the Eastern Star.
QUINCY HOUSE. There are few better public houses in North- ern New England than the Quincy House at Enosburg Falls, a thor- oughly modern house, built in 1878
Quine
QUINCY HOUSE, ENOSBURG FALLS.
ter of Merrill Jeffords of Berk- shire; to them three children were born : William E., born April 23, 1884; Florence B., born November 21, 1888, and one died when but a few days old.
Mrs. Gibson died June 1, 1901, and Mr. Gibson married for his sec- ond wife Glenna Rublee of Enos- burg.
While Mr. Gibson is a wide- awake, enthusiastic and public spir- ited citizen, he has never sought or
by the present proprietor, Fer- nando Cortez Kimball. The house has a 70-foot front and 29 elegant sleeping rooms, and sets a table second to none. The house is heated by steam, has electric lights and baths.
Fernando Cortez Kimball was born in Enosburg, June 24, 1843, a son of Fernando Cortez Kimball. He received his education in the public schools of his native town, and farmed until 1875, when he
A-21
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SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
purchased the Eagle House and be- came its proprietor until 1878, when it was destroyed by fire. He tlien erected the Quincy House, and continued as its proprietor until 1880, when he leased the house to Bert Dickenson, and removed to Lowell, where he bought a saw- mill and followed the lumber busi- ness for eight years. He then be- came proprietor for a short time of the Maple Park House at Hard- wick. In April, 1881, he entered a partnership with Augustus D. Rob- bins, as one of the proprietors of Hotel Johnson at Johnson, but soon returned to Enosburg and took up farming, continuing that work un- til 1889, when he purchased Hotel Johnson and remained its propri- etor for four years and eight months. In October, 1903, he lo- cated at Burlington and remained until December 1, 1905, when he again became proprietor of the Quincy.
In 1864 Mr. Kimball married Lu- cenda Woodworth of Berkshire. To this union three children were born : Cora (deceased) ; Martha M. (Mrs. Dr. Henry E. Lewis of New York), and William H. Mrs. Kimball died in 1878, and Mr. Kim- ball married for his second wife Jennie F. Clark of Frelighsburg, Quebec. To this union one child has been born; Harriett.
CITY OF ST. ALBANS.
Population, Census of 1900, 6,239.
The peaceful and fruitful val- leys of the Green Mountain State were for more than a century the war trails of dusky and savage warriors and their allies, the French, in their dreaded incursions on the frontier settlements of New England. Vermont was the "dark
and bloody ground," the border land of that arena where the great nations of France and England each aided by Indian allies, con- tended for supremacy.
The Frenchman, alert and ad- venturous, an explorer, a fur trader, an evangelist among the In- dians, with incredible celerity sped his canoe to the head waters of the mighty northern rivers and lakes, and dotting their banks with mis- sions and stockades and trading posts, unfurled the banner of France over this imperial domain. From the advent of the chivalric Champlain, in 1608, on the noble lake that bears his name, the French, with their native tact and diplomacy, became the allies of the Algonquins in their wars with their hereditary enemies, The Six Na- tions of the Iroquois.
The Englishman, a sturdy and resolute farmer, a refugee from political and religious oppression, was a colonist and founded a home. He cleared the forest, built a rude log cabin, then a church and a schoolhouse, and with painful but steady effort laid the crude but sure foundations of civilization and freedom. The achievements of the English were less romantic and spectacular, but more solid and enduring, and the historic victory of Wolfe at Quebec sealed the des- tiny of a vast region as an English province. Up to the close of the French and Indian War, in 1763, no permanent settlement had been made by French or English in what is now Franklin County. With the gathering up of the scat- tered remnants of the French troops and the cessation of hostili- ties, peaceful occupation of this beautiful region became possible.
On the 17th day of August,
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1763, Benning Wentworth, provin- cial governor of New Hampshire, granted charters for the four neighboring towns, Georgia, St. Albans, Swanton and Highgate, all lake towns. By the original sur- vey, and according to the map marked out on the charter, St. Al- bans was practically six miles square. As usual, there were 64 grantees, but the number of shares was 70, for that thrifty patriot, Governor Wentworth, had not for- gotten to reserve to himself a tract of 500 acres, accounted as two shares. The other public rights were one for the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in For- eign Parts," one share for a glebe for the Church of England, one share for the first settled minister, and one for the support of schools. There were the usual unique condi- tions and reservations of all white and other pine trees "fit for mast- ing our Royal Navy," the annual rent of one ear of Indian corn, and the shilling of proclamation money for every hundred acres owned. Unless one tenth of the land was improved or cultivated within five years, the right was forfeited.
Governor Wentworth acted on the assumption that the granted lands were within the jurisdiction of the province of New Hampshire, and that he was duly authorized to convey them. This right was dis- puted by the governor of the royal province of New York, and in July, 1764, both governors having sought the royal verdict, the king decided that the west bank of the Connecticut River was the eastern boundary of the province of New York. This decision cut off the ex- pected perquisite of the shilling of proclamation money, and also the reservation of 500 acres, which was
finally vested in the proprietors.
There are matters of record that show that a small portion of St. Albans, and all of the other lake towns in this county were granted by the French king to some of his subjects, and that the survey was made by the king's surveyor, Mon- sieur Anger, in 1732. It is well established that none of the 64 grantees ever became residents of the town of St. Albans. Their meetings were held elsewhere, and all of their records were destroyed or lost.
About this time there appears upon the scene one of the most active, astute and dominating char- acters of his time, Ira Allen, the Alexander Hamilton of Vermont. He was familiar with this section, and his sagacious eye had not failed to note the excellence of the soil, the abundance and value of the timber, and the favorable location ; with his elder brother, Levi, he ac- quired large tracts in Georgia and St. Albans, at very nominal rates, which they held for speculation purposes. They and the other new proprietors caused a new survey to be made, with a considerable vari- ance from the original lines, with the apparent purpose of securing the most desirable lands. Many of the gores that were made in the new survey were acquired by the sur- veyors themselves. which confirms the idea of collusion on their part. Ira Allen, as a prominent person- age in the councils of the govern- ment at that time. exercised a strong influence, sometimes to his own special advantage. He intro- duced and carried through the Legislature acts directing the cut- ting of roads through towns in which he was interested. The ex- pense of these improvements fell
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heavily upon the struggling pio- neers of St. Albans, and at the March meeting in 1789, the town expressed a vigorous protest com- plaining of the list of £800, the basis of assessment by the Legisla- ture. It would seem that Allen would have been held to pay his pro rata on his lands if he held the title.
Jesse Welden, a native of Con- necticut, came from Sunderland as the first pioneer, prior to the Rev- olutionary War, and built his home at St. Albans Bay, but it is be- lieved that he later returned to his former home for a time, to avoid the hostilities of the Canadian Indians. Soon after the war he returned to his abode at the Bay, but subsequently built and occu- pied a log house west of what is now South Main Street. He was chosen a member of the first board of selectmen, was a leading per- sonage of the times, and his home was for years a rendezvous for public meetings, and his front door a sign post for the posting of public notices. In his honor was named the former well-known ho- tel, the Welden House; also Wel- den Street and the Welden Na- tional Bank of St. Albans.
At the first town meeting, held at Welden's house, July 12, 1788, Silas Hathaway was chosen mod- erator; Jonathan Hoit, town clerk ; Jesse Welden, David Odel and An- drew Potter, selectmen; Daniel Meigs, constable.
At a meeting held June 12, 1792, Colonel Robert Cochran, Captain Seth Ford, and Colonel Stephen Pearl, were appointed a committee for the purpose of set- ting "out a stake for the center of the town." At a meeting held May 22, 1794, the town "voted
that the sign post stocks and pound be placed on the green, where is most convenient for the pound so as not to discommode the green for other buildings," and they were accordingly located near what is now the northwest corner of the park.
In the year 1792 the County of Franklin was incorporated by act of the Legislature, and there at once arose a strong desire and riv- alry on the part of several towns to be chosen as the county seat, the principal aspirants being St. Albans, Enosburg, Sheldon and Fairfield. In 1793, St. Albans was chosen. September 4, 1800, the town voted a tax of eight cents on each acre of land in town, pub- lic rights excluded, to defray the expense of building a courthouse, and the amount realized for that purpose was nearly $1,750. The total cost of the building was $5,000.
The town first took action in se- curing a preacher in 1796, when Jonathan Hoit, Levi House and David Nichols were appointed a committee for that purpose. Rev- erend Joel Foster proposed to ac- cept that position at a salary of $450 per annum, and at a meeting held July 2, 1803, his proposition was accepted by a vote of 31 to seven. While the clergyman was expected to minister to the people without regard to denomination, and he was paid by a tax on the grand list, any person could re- lieve himself of that tax by filing a certificate that he did not agree with the religious sentiment with the majority, and several asserted that right.
The records show that the town of St. Albans contributed nearly one hundred and fifty men to the
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FRANKLIN COUNTY.
American service during the War of 1812, but none of the militia companies, as such, took part.
The trade of St. Albans with the neighboring communities in Can- ada prior to this war was very im- portant, and the enforcement of the non-intercourse and embargo acts was a great hardship, and very unpopular. The result was smug- gling to a considerable extent, and an occasional and sometimes fatal collision with the officers of the government.
Casual mention must be made of the Patriots' War, or Canadian Re- bellion, in 1838, as the village of St. Albans was made the rendez- vous or refuge of some of the lead- ing insurrectionists. The move- ment was in the interest of the French inhabitants of Canada, was wholly ineffective, but created con- siderable excitement, and later for several months required the pres- ence of the militia, commanded by General John Nason.
When the news of the fall of Sumpter was announced, the Ran- som Guards were mustered into the United States service as Company C, First Vermont Regiment. The population of St. Albans in 1860 was 3,637, but the town is credited with 474 officers and men in the Union service,-one in eight of the population. Generous disburse- ments were made in bounties, and the town was intensely loyal in the hour of trial.
On the 19th day of October, 1864, occurred the St. Albans raid, the leading act in a plot to liberate Southern prisoners, assassinate gov- ernment officers, poison aqueducts, spread contagious diseases, burn and plunder villages, and create a diversion in the rear and return of some of the troops. On that mem-
orable day, about the same hour that Sheridan was pursuing the rebels at Cedar Creek, a band of from twenty to fifty men, under the command of a Confederate officer, Lieutenant Bennett H. Young, and armed with large navy revolvers, concealed under loose coats, made a simultaneous en- trance and attack on each of the three banks, captured and bound the officials, looted the banks of $208,000, stole horses from the sta- bles, and made their escape into Canada. They were pursued, sev- eral of their number wounded and some captured. They killed one man, Elinas J. Morrison, wounded several and spread excitement and consternation among the border towns.
SMITH, FORMER GOVERNOR JOHN GREGORY. During nearly a century three generations of the Smith family have been prime fac- tors in laying the foundations and rearing the superstructure of the material prosperity of St. Albans. John Smith came to St. Albans with his parents in 1800 and was admitted to the bar in 1810, at the age of 21.
He served six years as state's attorney, represented his town 10 years in the Legislature, and his district one term in Congress. His greatest service to his state, how- ever, was in connection with the projection and completion of the Vermont & Canada Railroad, which has developed into the Central Ver- mont system, he with two others becoming personally responsible for a debt of half a million dollars before a dollar was realized by sale of stock.
Hon. John Smith died in 1858, leaving a widow, Maria (Curtis) Smith, two sons, John Gregory and
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Worthington C. Smith, and three daughters.
John Gregory Smith, the "war governor," was born at St. Albans, July 22, 1818. His education was completed at St. Albans Academy and the University of Vermont, from which institution he was graduated in 1838. He read law in his father's office and at Yale College and was admitted to the Franklin County bar in 1841.
He practised his profession in company with his father until the death of the latter in 1858, serving during the greater part of this period as counsel for the Central Vermont Railroad. After
his father's death he was elected one of a board of five trustees to man- age the road, to which he devoted his great abilities and energy and succeeded in bringing order out of chaos and placing the chief railroad interests of Vermont upon a secure basis. After the consolidation of the roads he became president also of the Northern Pacific for several years.
He represented Franklin County in the Senate, was representative of St. Albans from 1860 to 1863, inclusive, and speaker of the House the last two terms; was elected gov- ernor in 1863 and for two years, during the stress of the darkest days of the Civil War, his energies were consecrated to the great duty of organizing, equipping and as far as possible maintaining in comfort and efficiency Vermont's quota in the field. His efforts were inde- fatigable in filling the ranks of the regiments depleted by battle and disease, and he was always and everywhere the soldier's friend. After retiring from office with a splendid record for duty well per- formed, he again assumed the re-
sponsible duties of president of the railroad.
Governor Smith died November 6, 1891, after a brief illness.
SMITH, FORMER GOVERNOR ED- WARD CURTIS, was born at St. Al- bans, January 5, 1854. His ances- try is worthy and distinguished, of stanch New England stock. He graduated from Yale College in his twenty-first year, with an excellent record in scholarship and athletics. He then read law in his father's of- fice, was admitted to the bar, and in 1877 became junior partner in the law firm of Noble & Smith. His antecedents and interests naturally led him to devote his energies to the Central Vermont Railroad, and in 1889 he was elected its second vice- president, with the duties of gen- eral manager, and at the death of his father in 1891 he was made president of the company.
He is president of Wilder Na- tional Bank and the People's Trust Company of St. Albans. A Re- publican, in 1896 was a delegate-at- large from Vermont to the Repub- lican national convention that nom- inated William McKinley.
In 1890 he received the unani- mous votes of his townsmen of both the Republican and Democratic parties for representative. In 1898 he was elected governor of Ver- mont.
FORBES, COLONEL CHARLES SPOONER, was born in Windsor, August 6, 1851, and is the young- est son of the late Abner and Kath- erine Tucker (Campbell) Forbes. His grandfather, General Abner Forbes of Windsor, was one of the distinguished and influential men of his day.
Colonel Forbes removed with his parents to St. Albans in 1864.
For 16 years Colonel Forbes was
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Vermont correspondent of the Bos- ton Journal; the founder, and for 10 years editor and publisher of the Vermonter. He was colonel and aide-de-camp on the staff of Gov- ernor William P. Dillingham in 1888-'90; commissioner to the World's Columbian Exposition ; state commissioner to the California Mid-Winter Exposition, 1894; sec- retary of the Vermont commission for the Pan-American Exposition ; president of the Vermont Press As- sociation. He was one of the founders and for 15 years secretary and two years vice-president and is now president of the Vermont Soci- ety of the Sons of the American Revolution; one of the incorpora- tors and for 11 years treasurer of the Society of Colonial Wars in the state of Vermont; a member of the New York Society of Mayflower de- scendants; a member of the Soci- ety of Descendants of Colonial Governors; corresponding secre- tary of the Vermont Historical Society ; secretary of the Vermont Branch of the American National Red Cross, and clerk of St. Luke's Episcopal Parish, St. Albans. He was appointed United States immi- grant inspector in 1897, which of- fice he still holds.
Colonel Forbes has a distin- guished Revolutionary and colo- nial ancestry.
GREENE, FRANK LESTER, son of Lester B. and Mary E. (Hoad- ley) Greene, was born in St. Al- bans, February 10, 1870. He was compelled to leave school and go to work when 13 years old on ac- count c f his father's physical breakdown and consequent finan- cial straits. He was at first errand boy in the auditing department of the Central Vermont Railroad in St. Albans, studied shorthand in his
leisure hours and became a stenog- rapher in the general freight de- partment in 1884, and was ap- pointed chief clerk of the general freight department March, 1887, which position he held until he left the railroad service.
He began newspaper work in odd hours out of his regular employ- ment in 1888, soon became a regu- lar correspondent of the Boston Globe, and of other newspapers, and on March 1, 1891, entered the profession for permanent occupa- tion as local reporter of the St. Al- bans Daily Messenger. He was made assistant editor upon the re- organization of the publishing com- pany January 1, 1892, and Sep- tember 18, 1899, was made editor. He has been treasurer of the Ver- mont Press Association and for two terms its president.
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