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 33
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 33
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 33
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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
In October, 1802, a decade after the organization of Franklin, the Legislature received and referred a petition which recited the dan- gers, inconveniences and delays consequent upon crossing the wide ferries during tempestuous weather. On the 9th of November, 1802, the General Assembly enacted: "That the towns of Alburgh, Isle La Motte and North Hero, in the County of Franklin, and the towns of South Hero and Middle Hero in the County of Chittenden, together with all such as lie in the state near the above-mentioned towns
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GRAND ISLE COUNTY.
and are more than a mile from the main land in the counties of Chit- tenden and Franklin be and they are hereby constituted a distinct county by the name of Grand Isle," and further, "that at the ses- sion of the Legislature in October, 1805, the said Grand Isle County shall be organized for the transac- tion of all legal public business as a county."
In 1803 the county-seat was fixed at North Hero and the county buildings, when erected, were lo- cated at what is variously known as "the city" and "the bay." The hotel of the enterprising landlord, Jed P. Ladd, served as a court house until 1824, when the present substantial structure
was built from the native marble of Isle La Motte. Quite recently the build- ing has been handsomely remodeled and refurnished, and is now one of the finest in the state. The town originally contributed $500 to its erection and was allowed the use of the court room as a place for public worship and other public gatherings.
The island county has furnished one representative in Congress, Asa Lyon, 1815-'17; one presiden- tial elector, Samuel Adams, 1852; one auditor of accounts, Jed P. Ladd, 1876-'78; one councilor, Asa Lyon, 1808, and one lieuten- ant-governor, Nelson W. Fisk, in 1896.
The treaty of peace of 1783 fixed the 45th parallel of latitude as the boundary line between the Province of Canada and the states, but the British government, under the pre- text that the people of the United States had frequently violated the treaty, continued to maintain an armed force along the frontier, and actually trespassed upon American
soil by establishing an outpost at Dutchman's Point, which naturally resulted in much friction and irri- tation which at one time threatened actual hostilities. The treaty ne- gotiated with Great Britain by John Jay provided for the with- drawal of the British troops from their quarters within American territory.
Nature has lavished her most bounteous gifts in the island county and it soon became the home of a thrifty and self-centered agricul- ture. The islands were isolated from each other during certain sea- sons as well as from the outside world, until in 1882 state aid was granted and during the next dec- ade bridges were built connecting the several towns.
The advent of the twentieth cen- tury was to usher in a momentous era of improvement for the county by the completion at great expense of the Rutland Railroad, thus form- ing a speedy connection with Bur- lington on the south and Swanton on the north. Prompt communica- tion and a ready market has given a mighty stimulus to every depart- ment of industry and business. Grand Isle County is the garden and the orchard of Vermont. The people possess in an eminent degree the thrift, industry, hospitality and patriotic qualities which seem indigenous in an intelligent rural community.
SOUTH HERO. Population, Census of 1900, 917.
The two beautiful islands, one of which was originally the present town, were named the Two Heros, in honor of the heroic brothers, Ethan and Ira Allen. They were chartered October 27, 1779, to Ethan Allen, Samuel Herrick and
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SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
363 others. On October 21, 1788, they were divided into two sepa- rate towns, North and South Hero, and 10 years later South Hero was again divided, and the North town called Middle Hero until November 5, 1810, when it was named Grand Isle.
South Hero lies at the southern end of the county of Grand Isle, and is now bounded on the north by the town of Grand Isle, but on
limestone rock that frequently crops out above the surface. The farms produce splendid crops of hay and grain, and clover here at- tains a natural aud luxurious growth.
The islands were originally cov- ered with an immense growth of pine, cedar, beech, birch, maple, basswood and elm, but the surplus timber was cleared up many years ago. In this town are several
EAST SHORE, SOUTH HERO.
all other sides by the waters of Lake Champlain. It contains an area of 9,065 acres, a very large share of which is well adapted for tillage. The surface of the town is quite level, in places slightly rolling, but with no elevations of any considerable height, and con- sequently with no rivers. The soil is a rich gravelly loam, in many places with clay subsoil and toward the north part with a low ridge of
small maple groves, but only one, that of Mr. Livingstone, is utilized for sugar making. Here and there solitary elms of immense size rear their graceful crowns. The county and especially the town of South Hero, is the orchard and garden of the state.
The first settler in South Hero was Colonel Ebenezer Allen, who located in the southern part of the town August 25, 1783. He was
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GRAND ISLE COUNTY.
born at Northampton, Massachu- setts, in 1743, married a Miss Rich- ards when he was 20 years of age and was one of the pioneers of Poultney in 1771. Although not a relative of Ethan Allen, he was of the same bold fearless type, and played a conspicuous part in the exciting movements of the Revolu- tion. He was a captain in Colonel Herrick's famous regiment of rang-
capture of Mount Defiance, near Ticonderoga, in September, 1777, and rendered other important ser- vices during the war. The Legis- lature of October 27, 1799, granted the township of Fairhaven to him and his seventy-six associates, and on the same day the Legislature made him one of the grantees of the "Two Heros," comprising all the territory now embraced in the
SUNSET FROM THE SHORE, SOUTH HERO.
ers, a delegate to the Dorset Con- vention, that in 1776 declared the independence of Vermont, and to the convention that, in 1877, framed the state constitution. Commanding a squad of 30 men at the battle of Bennington, tak- ing advantage of a natural breast- work of rocks, he held the atten- tion and successfully defended his position against the main body of Colonel Baum's troops. He led the Americans in the successful A-28
towns of Grand Isle, North Hero and South Hero.
Upon his arrival on the "Two Heros," he located on the south shore of South Hero, afterwards designated as Allen's Point, where he built a frame house. In 1787 he enlarged his dwelling and opened a public house. It was at Colonel Allen's tavern that Prince Edward (afterwards Duke of Kent and grandfather of the present King Edward IV), with a large
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SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
suite, stopped over night, in Feb- ruary, 1793, on his tour from Can- ada to Massachusetts.
Here Colonel Allen resided un- til 1800, when he removed to Bur- lington, where he died in 1806. Enos Wood, who settled in North Hero, and Alexander Gordon, who settled in the northern part of this town, came the same day that Al- len located here.
Among the early settlers were
don located here in 1790, and Kim- ball Kinney in 1774. Giles Har- rington came here before the War of 1812, and later practiced law in this county. The town was quite rapidly settled and in 1791, at the time of the admission of Vermont into the Union, had a population of 337.
The first town meeting after North Hero was set off was held March 10, 1789, when Stephen
CHASMER:
WEST SIDE, SOUTH HERO.
the following soldiers of the Revo- lution : Alpheus Hall, Benjamin Adams, Captain Thomas Dixon and John Monte. Timothy and Joseph Pearl came to this town from Connecticut in 1785; Calvin Fletcher came here in 1786; Eben- ezer Kibbe settled at Kibbe's Point at an early date, also Daniel Wads- worth and Warren Corbin, both from Connecticut. Thaddeus Lan-
Pearl was chosen moderator; Eben- ezer Allen, town clerk; Alexander Gordon, Ephraim Duel, William Hazen, Stephen Pearl and Ebene- zer Allen, selectmen; Isaac Adams, first constable and collector; Reu- ben Clapp, second constable. Ebenezer Allen was the first jus- tice of the peace, chosen in 1786, and the first representative, in 1788.
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GRAND ISLE COUNTY.
The first marriage was that of Howe Graham and Mary Allen, performed by Ebenezer Allen, in 1788. The first physician was Doctor Jacob Roebuck.
Keeler's Bay is a thickly settled rural hamlet in the northeastern part of the town, where the Cath- olic Church is located. There were formerly two stores here. South Hero is located at the in- tersection of three roads, a pleas- ant rural village with two stores, two churches (Congregational and Methodist), a hotel, blacksmith shop and meat market. A street more than two miles in length, pleasantly shaded and studded with tasty farm houses and thrifty orchards leads southward, beauti- fied by occasional glimpses of the lake and the distant mountains. Formerly large flocks of sheep were kept, but during the past 30 years dairying and fruit culture are the principal lines of farming.
The oldest man in town, "Uncle John Landon," 93 years young, says that during his lifelong recol- lection of town affairs "the golden age is now." Nearly all of the farms are unencumbered with mortgage and are tilled by ma- chine, the roads are good and the tax rate low.
ROBINSON, HON. JUAN, son of Calvin F. and Lydia (Fletcher) Robinson, was born in South Hero, January 23, 1851. Franklin Rob- inson, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came to South Hero about a century ago and as a young man carried the mail from Bur- lington, later was sheriff of the county, and died at the advanced age of 95 years. He reared a fam- ily of three sons and six daughters, who lived to maturity, four living in town. John B. Robinson now
owns the paternal farm. Calvin F. was in early life a merchant at Keeler's Bay, but later a farmer and resided with his son Juan at the time of his death, in March, 1905, at nearly eighty-four years of age. His widow and six chil- dren survive, Juan being the only one now residing in Vermont.
Calvin Fletcher, maternal ances- tor of Mr. Robinson, was one of the earliest pioneers and settled in town in 1796. In 1875 Mr. Rob- inson married Sarah, daughter of Seth and Julia (Hoag) Gordon, a descendant of Alexander Gordon, the pioneer of Grand Isle, and set- tled on the paternal farm of his bride, in the town of Grand Isle. He returned to his native town in 1890 and conducted the paternal farm until 1903, when, having built his present spacious residence, he removed to the village of South Hero. As a farmer and stock breeder his methods were progres- sive and intelligent, especially in the breeding and sale of Morgan colts and carriage horses. He was engaged in general merchandise two years, when he sold to his cou- sins, Edson and Wallace Robinson. He was appointed postmaster at South Hero, March 5, 1901, and reappointed April 6, 1905, still holding the position.
Mr. Robinson represented the town of Grand Isle in 1884 at the age of 33, and has served as lister and selectman both at Grand Isle and South Hero, and is now chair- man of the board of the latter town.
Genial, courteous and obliging to all, public spirited, thoroughly well informed on local and public af- fairs, he possesses to an unusual degree the esteem and confidence of his associates, manifested in
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SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
many ways. He has often assisted in the settlement of estates. For several years he was the county member of the Republican con- gressional district committee. IIe represented Grand Isle County as a senator in the General Assembly in 1904.
father, came from Bennington to South Hero in 1802 and died there in 1885. Henry Robinson was born in 1820, married Abagail Wright in 1855, and they were the parents of three sons and two daughters, who lived to maturity : Mrs. Emma HI. (Robinson) Flet-
JUAN ROBINSON.
Mr. and Mrs. Robinson have a beautiful, well-appointed and hos- pitable home.
ROBINSON, WALLACE, son of Henry and Abagail (Wright) Rob- inson, was born at South Hero, November 10, 1864.
Franklin Robinson, his grand-
cher, Franklin, Edson, Mrs. Sarah (Robinson) Allen, and Wallace.
Henry Robinson was a thrifty farmer and an esteemed citizen. For many years he was largely en- gaged in sheep raising. After his father's death in 1885 Wallace Robinson assumed the management,
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GRAND ISLE COUNTY.
of the farm of nearly three hun- dred acres. He had received a good practical education and thor- ough training in farm manage- ment. He sold 100 acres of the farm and by a system of intensive culture, exclusively by machinery, and a judicious rotation based largely on corn and clover, has
including 35 cows, mainly Hol- steins. He deals in horses and usually has ten or a dozen of his own, beside an equal number that he winters for others. In 1894 he began the sale of agricultural im- plements and machinery.
In 1898 he erected his warehouse, 38 x 24, two floors, and later a large
WALLACE ROBINSON.
greatly increased the farm reve- nues. This year he has more than twenty-five acres of Sanford sweet fodder corn in one field and in all 30 acres of stalwart growth. He has one silo of 200 tons capacity and another of 40 tons, and will winter about fifty head of cattle,
extension for storage of buggies and sleighs. The farm buildings are the largest in town and located one fourth mile from the station. He sells a carload of buggies and half a carload of sleighs annually, and does an extensive business in the sale of harnesses, farm wagons
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SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
and machinery of all kinds, and repairs also stoves and ranges.
In 1901, in company with his brother, Edson, he bought the store of the C. B. Irish estate and the Robinson Brothers are doing an ex- tensive business in general mer- chandise.
In 1892 he married Bertha, daughter of Darius and Ursula (Griswold) Wilcox of Grand Isle. They have an interesting family of
GEORGE TRACEY.
six children : Hazel M., Henry M., Catharine Lucretia, Roy John, George Wallace and Lois E.
In 1894 Mr. Robinson repre- sented South Hero in the General Assembly, being the youngest mem- ber. He is a hustler, a potent fac- tor in the business and industrial life of his town and section.
TRACEY, HON. GEORGE, son of Gardner and Phœbe (Mott) Tra- cey, was born at South Hero, on the paternal farm, June 8, 1846.
Gardner Tracey came to North
Hero from Connecticut as a young man and saw service as a volun- teer at Plattsburg in 1814. He re- moved to South Hero in the early twenties, and later bought the ex- cellent farm, originally of 60 acres, one fourth of a mile from South Hero station.
The children of Gardner and Phoebe (Mott) Tracey were Mary (deceased in 1875), Mrs. Daniel Prince of Pennsylvania, George, William, a United States mail agent resident at St. Albans, Clara, who resides with her brothers, Frank, and Charles, who died in Nevada in 1901.
The Tracey farm contains an ex- cellent orchard of standard apples, from which from three to five hun- dred barrels are produced annu- ally. George, Frank and Clara Tracey reside on the home farm, one of the most desirable and pro- ductive in town, with excellent and commodious buildings.
George Tracey was educated in the public and select schools of his native town. At the age of 17 he enlisted, December, 1863, in Com- pany E, Eighth Vermont Volun- teers, Colonel Stephen Thomas, and served until the close of the war. He participated in Sheridan's cam- paign in the Shenandoah valley. After his return from the service he attended Williston Academy one year.
Mr. Tracey is a man of quiet tastes and unassuming manners but of excellent practical judg- ment, and is financially successful. He has held most of the town of- fices and was the representative of South Hero in 1876, being the youngest member of the House. He is a Democrat in politics and as such was elected to the state Sen- ate in 1902 from Grand Isle
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GRAND ISLE COUNTY.
County, the county being strongly Republican.
WADSWORTH, STEPHEN P., son of Stephen P. and Mary (Tor- diff) Wadsworth, was born in the Province of Quebec, January 15, 1834. His grandfather, Daniel Wadsworth, a soldier of the Revo- lution, settled in the southern part of the town soon after the close of the war, coming from Connecticut. Locating near the sand bar, he fol- lowed the potter's trade until his death in 1806, aged 43.
Horace, one of his five children, married a daughter of Abner Keeler, was a colonel of militia, a representative and a senator in the General Assembly, and died in 1864.
Stephen P. Wadsworth, Sr., born in 1792, reared a family of 10 children and at the death of his brother Horace inherited the Keeler homestead and one third of the farm, and later bought an- other third, where he resided until his death in 1884, in his nineti- eth year. All of his children lived to maturity except Daniel, who as a soldier of the First Ver- mont Cavalry, was crippled for life and was cared for by the subject of this sketch.
Stephen's school days were very few, as he began to work out at eight years of age, and continued until his marriage in 1854 to Han- nah D. Hammond of St. Lawrence County, New York. He assumed, in 1864, the conduct of the Keeler farm and the care of his aged parents, and later bought it, where he has since resided. Two broth- ers, William and Horace, and one sister, Mrs. Mary Rawson, are now living.
Around the great brick mansion, the Keeler house, erected in 1829,
clusters many historic and hal- lowed associations, for Keeler's Bay at one time was an active busi- ness center, with two stores.
Stephen P. and Hannah Wads- worth reared a family of seven chil- dren, of whom the four sons sur- vive. The eldest son, Henry H., is located at Lebanon, New Hamp- shire; Daniel T., John E. and Clark S. are associated with their father in the care of their excellent farm of 380 acres. The farm sup- ports 50 head of cattle, including from 35 to 40 Holstein cows and five horses, and the present year 25 acres of fodder corn was har- vested. Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth have nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and, cherished by their kindred, carry their ad- vancing years bravely.
He has served the town faith- fully many years as constable and collector ; also as selectman. He is a Mason of 42 years' standing, a P. W. M. of Isle of Patmos Lodge, No. 17, and a member of Albany Chapter, withal an excellent type of the veteran Vermont farmer.
LANDON, THOMAS B., son of Buel and Mirrian (Phelps) Lan- don, was born on the ancestral farm at South Hero, October 2, 1862. His ancestry both paternal and material, was of the stanch pioneer stock.
Thaddeus Landon located in the southeastern part of the town in 1790, remaining here until his death in 1846, aged 79 years. He reared a family of 10 children, three of the sons, Jesse, John and Bird, becoming lifelong residents. Buel was born in 1821, one of the seven children of Bird Landon and upon him devolved the care of the ancestral homestead, by the early death of his father. Hon. Buel
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SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
Landon was a man of cultured tastes and scientific attainments, for one year a medical student, and a devoted naturalist and collector of specimens. He was a progres- sive farmer, the pioneer in town of the system of tile draining, and in 1876 represented Grand Isle County in the state Senate. He became town clerk in 1850 and re- tained that office until his death in 1882, and since that time the office has been filled by his capable wife,
in the state, carrying a stock of 20 Holstein cows, and about seventy head of cattle, a result due to a judicious rotation, thorough drain- age and the use of the silo for the past dozen years.
A fine orchard of standard win- ter apples conduces to the pleasure and profit of the owner.
Thomas B. Landon is the eldest son of the four children of Buel and Mirrian Landon. Adelaide resides at the parental home, Janet
RESIDENCE OF THOMAS B. LANDON.
Mrs. Mirrian (Phelps) Landon. With brief interruptions the office has been in this house since 1820.
This grand old ancestral man- sion, erected in 1808, the oldest and most historic house in town, still in excellent repair, has been the family home for three quarters of a century. The western view of Lake Champlain and its mountain background is surpassingly beauti- ful. The farm of 180 acres, lo- cated a mile from South Hero sta- tion, is one of the most productive
at Burlington and Robert R., a graduate electrician, is located at Manila.
Thomas B. Landon is a typical progressive Vermont farmer. A social, energetic and reliable citi- zen, he possesses the unreserved confidence of his townsmen, re- cently manifested by his election as their representative to the Gen- eral Assembly, the candidate of the Republicans.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH of "St. Rose of Lima," at South Hero, for-
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GRAND ISLE COUNTY.
merly called Keeler's Bay, is lo-
cated on South Hero Island, County of Grand Isle. The loca- tion of the old church, right by the lake shore, was bought July 8, 1858. A house that stood on the lot was converted into a church and was used for worship by the small congregation till 1898, when it was consumed by fire. Only 20 fami- lies worshipped there at the start. This small flock has increased till it numbers now about one hundred and fifty families, scattered over both towns of South Hero and Grand Isle, into which this island is divided.
Established in 1858, this mission church was attended by priests from Burlington, Milton, Platts- burg and St. Albans. This state of affairs lasted till 1890, when the Reverend Oblates of the Sacred Heart, from Swanton, sent two missionaries to settle here; they. were Fathers Milot and Videloup. They both ministered to the spirit- ual wants of our people till 1895, when Reverend Joseph Turcotte was sent here from Highgate. He it was who put up the present brick building at the price of untold hardships, difficulties and personal sacrifice. His health failing, he was replaced, in 1902, by the pres- ent rector, the Reverend L. H. Pepin-LaChance.
The first missionary was Father Cardinal of St. Joseph's Church, Burlington. After him, in turn, came : in 1868, Father Pigeon from Milton ; in 1869, Father Landry ; in 1871, Father Gendreau; then there were also, in turn, Fathers Provost, Yvineck and Mathieu in 1890, when the first residence was established.
PEPIN-LACHANCE, REVEREND Louis-Honoré, son of Jean Bap-
tiste and Marcelline (Lessard) LaChance, was born, January 14, 1864, at St. Elzear, Beauce County, Province of Quebec. He was reared upon a farm and attended the district schools of his native town and for seven years the Chris- tian Brothers' School at Quebec. After two years' rest at home, he pursued his classical studies with the Fathers of the Holy Cross of St. Laurent College, Montreal, from which he graduated in 1899. He
REV. L. H. PEPIN-LACHANCE.
then devoted six years to travel in the middle and western states, re- cuperating his health, perfecting his knowledge of the English lan- guage and gaining fruitful experi- ence of life, customs and human na- ture. In October, 1894, he resumed his studies in the Grand Seminary of Montreal. After two years he was called to teach in the Petit Séminaire of Chicoutimi, Quebec, where he remained three years, and in 1897, May 23, was ordained to the holy priesthood. After serving 15 months as a curate at Murray Bay, Quebec, Father LaChance was
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SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
appointed rector of St. Isidore's Church at Montgomery Center, where he remained until the fall of 1902, since which time he has min- istered to the parish of St. Rose of Lima at South Hero. Genial and approachable, of earnest convic- tions and fluent address, Father LaChance is esteemed alike by his parishioners and the public.
The church edifice is a substan- tial brick structure, erected in 1897, as yet partially finished and is the religious home of some one hundred and fifty families.
CONRO, HENRY WHITE, son of James and Arzelia (Pixley) Conro, was born at South Hero, January 20, 1842. His father came from Dutchess County, New York, at nine years of age, and from that time made his own way in life; was a farmer, and for a time kept the "Island House." Of the family of four children Henry is the only one residing in this town. He at- tended the public and select schools of his native town, and as a student of the University of Vermont; en- listed early in 1861 for three years, and was assigned to Captain John T. Drew's Company G of the Sec- ond Vermont Volunteers.
He participated with his regi- ment in the first battle of Bull Run, in which he was captured and taken to Libby Prison at Rich- mond, where he endured many hardships and a severe run of ty- phoid fever. In November he was transferred to Tuscaloosa, Ala- bama, until March, and thence to Salisbury, North Carolina, where he was paroled in June, 1862. He returned to his home on parole, a mere skeleton, and was successively transferred to the marine hospital at Burlington, Vermont, the pa- role camp at Annapolis, Mary-
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