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 28
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 28
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 28
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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
Dan T. was the eldest of a fam- ily of six children, four of whom are living; as is also his mother at the great age of 90. His education was completed in the city schools and St. Albans Academy. At 19 years of age he entered the employ of the Central Vermont Railroad as a shifter in the yard. Two years later he became a brakeman and served in that capacity two years. His promptness and efficiency at- tracted attention and he was made conductor of a drawing-room car then controlled by the railroad, one of the first used in the state with route from Montreal to Boston.
In March, 1871, Mr. Church be- came a regular train passenger con- ductor and has held that respon- sible position until the present time, with one exception the long- est service of any conductor now employed on this road. He has passed through several accidents, but never suffered personal injury. A quiet and genial gentleman, Con- ductor Church has a wide personal acquaintance and is universally popular alike with his associates, employers and the public. He is serving his second term as chief conductor of Division 24, Order of Railway Conductors. For nearly forty years he has been a member of Franklin Lodge, No. 4, F. & A. M. He married, in 1869, Mary O'Donnell of Peru, New York, who died in February, 1883, leaving one son, Ferd J., who married Ida Lee- vanway and resides in St. Albans. and is an engineer on the Central Vermont Railroad.
In 1885 Dan T. Church married Mrs. Emma (Johnson) Phillips of Enfield, New Hampshire, daughter of George W. and Arminda (An-
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drews) Johnson. Her father was a native of Peacham and a prom- inent manufacturer of Enfield.
the charter, they would no doubt "set the stake" for the town lot at St. Albans Bay, which would have
DAN T. CHURCH.
ST. ALBANS TOWN. Population, Census of 1900, 1,715.
The history of St. Albans quite fully includes the main features of interest pertaining to St. Albans town, and yet it seems appropriate to present some facts that espe- cially represent St. Albans Bay.
Had the worthy commissioners, Robert Cochran, Stephen Pearl and Seth Ford not been constrained by
given the town better advantages of lake commerce.
As early as 1793, when the ques- tion of the shire was agitated, there was considerable hesitancy in de- ciding whether the county build- ings should be located there or in the village. The first clearing was a tract of land extending south of the meeting-house on the lake shore, including the Ralph Lasell and Buck places. There is evi- dence that several branches of busi-
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ness were carried on as early as 1790, with a tanner, a shoemaker, carpenters and joiners, a pot ash- ery, etc. The potash was shipped into Canada in exchange for lum- ber, nails, kettles, etc., on sloops which came into the bay from Bur- lington.
As early as 1800 there were mer- chants at the Bay and at that early date a petition for water works was presented to the Legislature. In 1808, the commerce was extensive enough to call for two military companies to protect it. In 1814 and 1815 sloops were built there. In 1823 the vessel the Gleaner was built and was the first to sail through to New York. In 1827 a steamboat was built at the Bay and another in the year following.
On March 27, 1828, the inhab- itants of St. Albans were requested to meet at Wilkins' Inn at the Bay on Monday following for the pur- pose of selecting a suitable name for the village and port of St. Al- bans Bay. A committee of four was appointed, which reported the highly-favored name of Port Washington, which, however, was seldom used. The village flour- ished, had its banking house, stores, hotel and a number of fine resi- dences. During the present gener- ation the business has been mainly conducted by the mercantile houses of George Younger and his sons and Nelson Cook. The electric line to the Bay, although a great conve- nience to the people of the town, probably diminishes the local trade and the Younger store is now the only one.
The Methodist and Catholic churches, a good school building and the fine farm buildings of Gov- ernor Smith and Mr. Foss are the most notable features.
A-24
FRANKLIN.
Population, Census of 1900, 1,145.
The town of Franklin was char- tered by Governor Chittenden to Jonathan Hunt and his associates, March 19, 1789, by the name of Huntsburg. There were 69 equal shares, five of which were, as us- ual, reserved for public purposes. Jonathan Hunt received 31 shares ; Samuel Hubbard, 18; Joseph Fay, seven ; John Bridgman, Jr., four ; Ebenezer Walbridge, three; and Doctor Ebenezer Marvin, one. Jonathan Hunt, Joseph Fay and Ebenezer Walbridge were promi- nent citizens of the state, but never resided in this town.
The first settlement was made by Samuel Hubbard. He left North- field, Massachusetts, in March, 1789, with three hired men, a yoke of oxen and one cow, and came in by way of Whitehall, New York, and down Lake Champlain. He cleared 10 acres of land on the farm long owned by his son, Hon. J. H. Hubbard. He wintered in Northfield, but the following spring returned with his bride, ac- companied by John Webster and wife. Samuel Hubbard con- structed the first log house, frame barn, and grist and sawmills, and was a most important factor in the early settlement of the town. John Hubbard, his son, was the first child born in town. Ebenezer Marvin, Jr., was the first attorney in town. John Webster kept the first store. The first military com- pany was formed in 1808, Samuel Hubbard, captain. The first school was taught in 1795-'96, by Josiah Allen, in a log house near Samuel Hubbard's, a mile north of the Center; five years later the first schoolhouse was built at the
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Center. Doctor Enoch Pomeroy came to this town in 1794, taught school and practiced medicine. Doctor Ebenezer Marvin, proprie- tor, was the first physician, and a very prominent man. In 1810 there were five districts in town, with 250 pupils; in 1880, 10 dis- tricts with 385 pupils.
During the War of 1812, ex- tensive smuggling operations were carried on by adventurous per- sons. Hemenway's "Historical Gazetteer," volume II, page 222, relates that many droves of cat- tle were taken across the lines, on which a good price was realized and that numerous loads of mer- chandise found their way to this side, notwithstanding soldiers were stationed along the border to pre- relates the illegal traffic. This be- ing the case, there must have been numerous exciting adventures be- tween the government officials and the contraband dealers, some of which are still remembered as re- lated by the participators. The smugglers' road, as it was termed, extended from a point on the Mis- sisquoi River, in Sheldon, through this town, on the east side of the pond, to the lines adjoining St. Armand, the whole distance was then an entire wilderness.
Probably the most noted among those who took chances was Will- iam McKoy, a Scotchman, who came to Franklin from Clarendon, about 1800. He was noted as a shrewd, wide-awake man and the novel adventures with which he was connected would fill a large volume, with interesting side- lights on the early history of our frontier life.
Reuben Towle, a Revolutionary soldier, came in 1815, and was the progenitor of a numerous family, in the eastern part of the town.
The town was organized in 1793, Ebenezer Sanderson, town clerk; Paul Gates, treasurer. Sam- uel Peckham was the first repre- sentative, in 1794. He repre- sented the town five terms in all. In 1795, Samuel Hubbard, who was the first settler in Franklin, was chosen to represent the town. He was a man of strong personality and unusual judgment and was chosen as the town's representative for 16 terms.
In the General Assembly, in 1817, Mr. Samuel Hubbard intro- duced a bill "althering the name of the town of Huntsburg to that of Franklin," which became a law October 25.
Franklin Center, the business and local center of the town, con- tains three churches, Congrega- tional, Methodist and Catholic; three general stores, post office, three blacksmith shops, also millin- ery, furniture and hardware stores, meat market, etc. Frank- lin Academy, organized in 1849, now a high school, is located here.
East Franklin contains a church, store, post office and blacksmith shop, also the only tel- egraph office in town. The town has no railroad stations, although the Center is distant only four miles from North Sheldon, and South Franklin station is near the town line.
There is a high average of thrift, prosperity and intelligence in Franklin, due in some degree to its excellent central school.
GATES, HON. CHARLES W., son of Harrison and L. Rebecca (Shedd) Gates, was born in Frank- lin, January 12, 1856. The Gates family originated in Thomas Gates, Esq., of Higheaster, Essex, Eng- land, who died in 1327. Stephen Gates, the first American ancestor.
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was born in Hingham, England, the second son of Thomas Gates of Norwich. He came to New Eng- land in the ship Diligent of Ips- wich, accompanied by his wife, Ann, and two children, in 1638; settled at Hingham, Massachusetts, was one of the founders of Lancas-
Paul Gates served in Captain Whit- ney's company for the Rhode Is- land campaign in 1779, and the next year in Captain Grout's com- pany of the Continental Army. He came to Franklin in 1792, one of the first settlers, was the first treasurer of the town, and mar-
CHARLES W. GATES.
ter, Massachusetts, in 1654, and died in Cambridge in 1662. He performed important services, and was an active, fearless pioneer of early New England.
Paul Gates, of the fourth gener- ation from Stephen, was born in 1754 at Worcester, Massachusetts.
ried, in 1792, Zerviah Spooner, this being the first marriage in town.
Paul, Jr., was the third son of a family of seven sons and one daugh- ter, children of Paul and Zerviah Gates. He married Eunice Tem- ple, reared a family of two sons, Spooner and Harrison, and two
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daughters, Elizabeth and Martha, and lived and died on the paternal farm.
He was a member of the Ver- mont militia and was commis- sioned lieutenant by Governor Skinner in 1823 and as captain in 1825 by Governor Van Ness.
Harrison Gates was born and re- mained on the ancestral farm, mar- ried L. Rebecca Shedd, and they were parents of Charles W., Ar- thur H. and Elizabeth (Mrs. C. W. Powell of Franklin). Harrison Gates was an active, successful business man. He died December 6, 1899.
Charles W. Gates graduated from St. Johnsbury Academy in 1880, taught several terms of dis- trict school and four years in Franklin Academy with good suc- cess. He entered the mercantile business in 1884, at Franklin, where he has developed an exten- sive trade in general merchandise and country produce. The busi- ness was incorporated in January, 1905, as the Farmers' Ex- change."
Mr. Gates resides on the ances- tral farm, which has been the fam- ily home for 114 years. Since his youth he has borne an active part in the social, educational, reli- gious and business life of Frank- lin. Congregationalist in religious belief, he has been superintendent of the Sunday school, and for 25 years chorister of the church choir. He has served as superintendent of schools, member of county board of education, selectman and road com- missioner. As a Republican he was elected to the Legislature in 1898, and served on the committee on highways and bridges. Two years later senator from Franklin County, he was on that committee
in the Senate, and also on claims. Ile was appointed state highway commissioner by Governor Bell, December, 1904, and reappointed in 1906 by Governor Proctor.
He is a member of the Grange, a director in the Enosburg Falls Savings Bank and Trust Company, and the efficient president of the Franklin County Fair Association.
Charles W. Gates was married to Miss Mary E. Hayden of Un- derhill, in 1890. Five children have been born to them, of whom three are living : Edith R., Paul H. and Winslow H.
WELCH, DOCTOR RODMAN E., son of Allen B. and Laurinda Welch, was born in Berkshire, Au- gust 2, 1845. His father's grand- parents came from Wales to Con- necticut, later by mistake settled for a time in Canada, just north of the state line, but afterwards lo- cated in Berkshire.
His maternal ancestors were of English descent. In 1854 the family moved to Iowa, then an ex- treme frontier outpost, threatened by hostile Indians. At the out- break of the Civil War the family returned to Vermont. Young Welch, with 14 others, enlisted in October, 1863, as recruits of Com- pany A, Fifth Vermont Regiment. Only four returned; the others sleep in Virginia soil. Comrade Welch, leaving a sick bed, marched to the Rapidan with his company,
a distance of 30 miles. The next day the captain, two lieuten- ants and 72 men, entered the fatal thickets of the "Wilderness," and in less than an hour all of the line officers and 42 men were either killed or wounded. Later in the day, while carrying to the front a supply of cartridges rolled in a rubber blanket, assisted by Ser-
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geant Edmund Reynolds, the lat- ter was instantly killed by the bul- let of a sharpshooter.
At the close of the war Mr. Welch attended the Literary Insti- tute of Fairfax, studied medicine with Doctor Goodrich of West
lin County Medical Society. He has served since 1890 on the Frank- lin County board of pension ex- aminers, and is its president. He was a charter member and first commander of Marsh Post, No. 80, G. A. R., of Franklin, and filled
RODMAN E. WELCH, M. D.
Berkshire, graduated from Belle- vue Medical College, New York, in March, 1872, and settled in Franklin, where he has attained a successful practice.
Doctor Welch is a member of the Vermont State Medical Society, and an ex-president of the Frank-
that position several terms. His high standing with the comrades is attested by the position of aide-de-camp on the staff of De- partment Commander Hugh Henry; as such he attended the national encampment at Washing- ton, D. C. He was subsequently
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appointed on the staff of Ivan H. Walker, national commander-in- chief, with the rank of colonel, and attended the encampments in that capacity. He is worshipful master of Frontier Lodge, No. 74, F. & A. M., of Franklin.
Doctor Welch married, May 2, 1868, Emily P. Morrow of Enos- burg. Three daughters are the issue of this union: Lulu L., wife of Edson J. Wilder of Franklin; Euretta E., wife of Doctor C. A. Pratt of Enosburg Falls, and Ethel E., wife of J. M. Greene, deputy United States collector, Montreal, Quebec.
WEBSTER, JOHN, son of Will- iam and Lucy Bruce (Davis) Web- ster, was born on the ancestral farm at Franklin, January 23, 1845. His grandfather and name- sake, John Webster, was born in Franklin, New Hampshire, in 1755, was a first cousin of the "ex- pounder of the Constitution," and was graduated at Dartmouth Col- lege in 1778. In the spring of 1789, in company with Samuel Hubbard, he came to this town and settled on lands near the Cen- ter, that have since been owned and occupied by his descendants, nearly one hundred and eighteen years. He built a log cabin, roofed with bark, cleared several acres of land from the original forest, and sowed a nursery of apple seeds, from which, within seven years, he gathered fruit. He kept the first articles of merchandise for sale in town, consisting of grocer- ies, nails, etc., which he brought with him from Chester, New Hamp- shire. Always a farmer, and a man of retiring manners and dis- position, he was not active in town affairs. He was one of the princi- pal founders of the Congregational
Church, and many years deacon, until the time of his death, in 1838, in the 84th year of his age.
John and Lucretia (Swan) Web- ster reared a family of 11 children, few of whom, if any, married and reared families, except William, who remained on the paternal farm. He married late in life, and his children are John and William, who reside together on the home- stead, and Lucretia, Mrs. A. N. Gladding.
William Webster, Sr., was an in- valid, and died at 62, when John was 15 years old, and the care of the farm devolved upon him. Of sturdy frame and active, original mind, he completed his studies at Franklin Academy at the age of 18, with special proficiency in mathematics and surveying, which calling he has largely pursued un- til the present. He is a fine draughtsman and his work as an amateur painter is very excellent. As a Republican, John Webster was elected to the Legislature in 1874, at the age of 29, and re- elected in 1876. Later, an inde- pendent in politics, he has credit- ably filled many town offices. He married, in 1875, Hannah C. Ful- ler of Franklin. Their union has been blessed with five stalwart sons, all well educated, useful and successful citizens.
Frederick L. married Maud Hadley, and is a member of the law firm of Furman & Webster of Swanton. His infant son, John Hadley Webster, perpetuates the traditional name.
Noel Bruce is a naval architect of the bureau of construction and repairs, Washington, D. C.
John Halsey was a Cuban War soldier of Company B, First Ver- mont Regiment, now employed on a
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FRANKLIN COUNTY.
stock farm at Beverly, Massachu- setts.
Hugh Swan (deceased), was a naval architect.
Urban Fuller assists his father in the care of the excellent ances- tral farm.
Books, music and art lend their charms to the rural home, for all
taining a marked degree of suc- cess. He now has two farms con- taining 500 acres; one carries 50 cows, the other 35. His sugar or- chards have some fifteen hundred prime sugar trees and turn out a product excelled by but few.
Mr. Hammond has always taken a keen interest in all matters that
PHILO C. HAMMOND.
of the sons were accomplished mu- sicians, and formed a home or- chestra.
HAMMOND, PHILO C., a son of Calvin and Gratia (Marsh) Ham- mond, was born in Franklin. He received his education in his na- tive town and at Enosburg. He has always followed farming, ob-
would benefit his town and has fre- quently been called to public office, serving Franklin five years as a selectman, three years as school commissioner and grand juror for four years. In 1904 he was cho- sen as a Republican to represent the town in the General Assembly and served with ability and fidelity
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on the very important committee on insane.
February 22, 1883, Mr. Ham- mond was united in marriage to Lilla Potter of Sheldon. To this union two children have been born, John Calvin, January 23, 1884, and Gratia, December, 1894.
BULLES, CHARLES W., son of Isaac and Catherine (Van Dyke) Bulles, was born in Highgate, Oc- tober 13, 1828. He was the youngest of a family of five chil- dren, and as his father died when he was less than a year old,
He early learned the power to pay His cheerful, self-reliant way.
With his wife, Mary Stinehour, he moved from Highgate to Shel- don in 1861, and in 1863, bought his mill at West Franklin, better known as Brown's Corners. At that time there was an upright and circular saw, run by water power. Mr. Bulles put in steam power in -, which took fire a year or two later and burned the mill.
Nothing daunted, he rebuilt the mill, installed a new steam power, a shingle mill and a gristmill for custom work, and has since done a steadily-increasing business, manu- facturing on the average half a million feet annually. This is the principal manufactory in this thriving agricultural town, and an absolutely indispensable factor of its prosperity. Here the farmers obtain from their own timber the materials for rebuilding and re- pairing their premises, and few men have filled so great a measure of usefulness as Mr. Bulles. He is a worthy citizen and kind neigh- bor, and has reared a large fam- ily, all of whom are well settled in life, except Elizabeth, the eldest, who is deceased.
Charles Bulles, the eldest son, is
the proprietor of a water mill in the eastern part of the town, on the outlet of Silver Lake, also of a farm, and is one of the most enter- prising and energetic young men of the town. He manufactures nearly half a million feet of lum- ber annually.
George Bulles, the second son, conducts a saw and gristmill at Sheldon Springs. Arthur is a suc- cessful farmer at East Swanton. Mina is the wife of C. R. Lyon of McCook, Nebraska; Merton and Cassius Bulles are firemen on the Central Vermont Railroad and re- side at St. Albans.
Charles W. Bulles, at the age of 78, and in infirm health, is still ac- tive and enterprising in business.
TOWLE, REUBEN, SR., was born in the town of Chester, New Hamp- shire, October 24, 1762, where his early life was passed.
He traces directly back to Philip Towle, a native of England, who came to this country in 1640 and with his family settled in Hamp- ton, New Hampshire. He was the great-great-grandfather of Reuben Towle, Sr.
Reuben Towle, Sr., served in the War of the Revolution, enlisting at the early age of 16 years. He af- terwards married and removed to the town of Enfield, where he fol- lowed the occupation of a farmer. Here his children were born, three sons and four daughters, and for a time he held the office of town clerk. In 1814 he removed to South Franklin, then a new country, and settled on a farm, where his chil- dren married and occupied farms mostly immediately about him, and where their descendants still live. He was a man much esteemed by his townsmen, was a local magis- trate and represented the town in
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FRANKLIN COUNTY.
the state Legislature in 1822 and 1823.
He died after a long and useful life, in 1849. There are at this time several hundreds of the de- scendants of Mr. Towle and of those with whom they intermarried in this part of the state.
TOWLE, EDWIN R., son of Jon- athan and Lorena Towle, and
cease with the schools, for his spare time was occupied in reading and study and while yet a boy he com- menced to write for the press, his first efforts appearing in the Boston Cultivator, a literary and agricul- tural publication, more than half a century ago.
February 14, 1856, he was mar- ried to Caroline E. Truax. Two
EDWIN R. TOWLE.
grandson of Reuben Towle, Sr., was born August 1, 1833. He has always lived upon the farm where his father commenced when the land was largely a wilderness.
Along with others, his education was almost entirely confined to the district schools, which were pretty good at that early period. Being an only son, he was needed on the farm, but his education did not
sons were born to them, Herman E. and Edwin J. The oldest was married in 1883 and has two sons and one daughter. They occupy the ancestral farm. The other son was married in 1905, and is in trade at Enosburg Falls.
Mr. Towle has always been much interested in agricultural affairs and in his labors upon the farm sought to introduce better methods
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SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
and institute improvements in va- rious ways. The son, who is now the active farmer, is proceeding along the same lines.
July 25, 1901, the beloved wife, who had been his companion and helper for 45 years, after several years of suffering, passed peace- fully on to the better land, leaving the heritage of a precious life and memory to those left behind.
Mr. Towle has been for nearly sixty years a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church and for a large part of this time has sus- tained some official relation to the same. He has also been much in- tersted in educational matters in neighborhood and town and has spent much time in the interest of the schools.
For five years, dating from 1881, he was a member of the state board of agriculture and performed much work in that capacity. During the past 50 years he has performed a large amount of literary work. For 27 years he was agricultural editor of the St. Albans Messenger and for three years of the Vermont Farmers' Advocate, then published by L. P. Thayer. At present he is contributing to several of the leading agricultural papers in this country. His work has been largely, but not entirely, in the agricultural field.
He has written two separate his- tories of the town of Franklin for different publications. In 1892 he published a genealogy of the Towle family, along with an historical sketch of the Methodist Episcopal Church in South Franklin. He is still active for one of his years and is much interested in the best wel- fare of those with whom he comes in contact.
TOWLE, WILLIAM JAY, was the youngest son of Reuben Towle, Jr., and Narcissus (Stanley) Towle and grandson of Reuben Towle, Sr., and was born in South Frank- lin, December 22, 1835, where he has always resided.
Reuben Towle, 3d, an older brother, married and lived on an adjoining farm. He was a man well esteemed in town affairs and was elected representative to the state Legislature in 1884. He was a member of the Methodist Church and held the office of steward for 40 years, a record seldom exceeded. IIe died March 26, in the seventy- fifth year of his age.
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