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 8
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 8
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 8
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He learned the carpenter's trade, and for a few years was employed by his father on the farm in El- more, and continued this work in Morrisville, Peacham and Barnet. He then worked on public build- ings in St. Albans, Randolph, Barre and Montpelier. In Janu-
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ary, 1873, Mr. Bacon located on the home farm in Elmore and has remained here ever since. Here he has by industry, care and rare intelligence, surrounded himself with all the necessary comforts of life, and won the place of a highly
children bless this happy union : Ethan A. and M. Esther.
The Bacon homestead is among the finest in Lamoille County, and faces the beautiful Elmore Pond. Twenty years ago Mr. Bacon, rec- ognized the possibilities of this lo-
OLIVER D. BACON.
respected citizen in the hearts of his fellow townsmen.
In public affairs, he is a stanch Republican ; in town he has served as lister, selectman, and in 1904 represented the town in the General Assembly.
April 24, 1886, Mr. Bacon was married to Phobe Hibbard; two
cation for camping purposes, and commenced to build cottages and boats; he now has three modern cottages and 12 good boats, which during the summer season are in almost constant demand; truly this is an ideal spot.
Nearly sixty years ago Vine N. Bacon and his family located in
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Elmore, coming when the town was but little more than a wilderness, and for the first five years resided in a log house. The Bacons are de- scendants of Edmund Bacon, a sol- dier of the American Revolution, whose father was a son of Lord Ba- con of England. Oliver D. has in
ble reputation for his care and ac- curacy in this work.
CHURCHILL, WILLIAM J., son of William and Adeline H. (Dar- ling) Churchill, was born in Stowe, February 2, 1835. He was the eld- est son of a family of four chil- dren, two of whom are now living:
WILLIAM J. CHURCHILL.
his possession a powder horn of Edmund Bacon and a four dollar bill, which was part pay for his services in the Revolution.
Ethan A. Bacon, a brother of Oliver D., was a civil engineer, and after his death Oliver D. took line tracing, and has gained considera-
Elizabeth J., widow of the late Frank Wolstenholm, resides at Lowell, Massachusetts.
Hon. Henry H. Churchill was one of the most esteemed and prominent citizens of Elmore. He repeatedly held nearly all of the town offices, including that of representative,
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and was associate judge of La- moille County. He married Miss Wealthy Hatch, and died in 1901, leaving the widow, two sons and four daughters, the youngest son residing on the home farm. Na- than Churchill died some ten years ago.
W. J. Churchill came to Elmore with his father's family when he was 16 years old. His educational advantages were limited to the common schools, but he has been a keen observer and constant reader. He married Ellen L. Hatch, March 13, 1862, and soon moved to a portion of the home farm. This fine hill farm of 450 acres is located in the southwest part of the town and is conducted as a stock and dairy farm. Mr. Churchill conducts a dairy of 25 grade Jerseys, and with modern apparatus makes and markets his own butter. For 40 years he has been a successful shepherd, and now keeps 40 grade Shropshires, whose average clip last year was eight pounds. The farm supports nearly fifty head of cattle, and half a dozen horses. Mr. Churchill has built the present farm build- ings, and by judicious culture and the use of the silo has quadrupled the productions. The two sugar places contain some fifteen hundred maples and there is an extensive soft wood timber resource.
Mr. Churchill is a good type of the energetic, successful elderly Vermont farmer. During a score of years he served continuously as selectman or lister, and represented Elmore in 1874.
Mr. and Mrs. Churchill have two sons and two daughters: Gertrude, Mrs E. G. Foss, resides in Morris- ville; William Maro is located in Graniteville; F. Elwin is associated
with his father on the farm and Elizabeth J. resides with her parents.
WATERVILLE.
Population, Census of 1900, 529.
The town of Waterville was chartered October 26, 1788, to James Whitelaw, James Savage and William Coit. At that time its area consisted of 11,000 acres. To the town has since been an- nexed what was originally the southeastern corner of Bakers- field, and also that part of Belvi- dere known as Belvidere "Leg."
November 15, 1824, an act was passed by the Legislature forming the town of Waterville, as follows :
"WHEREAS, It appears to this Assembly that it is inconvenient for the inhabitants of the south- east corner of Bakersfield, and that part of Belvidere called the 'Leg,' to attend town meetings and transact town business in their respective towns, and that Coit's Gore ought to be incorporated and form a new town, etc."
Then follows the boundary lines as now established.
When Waterville was chartered the population did not exceed a dozen souls, but by 1824 nearly 350 lived within the now limits of the town.
E. Henry Willey, in his history of Waterville in Miss Hemenway's Historical Gazetteer, says: "I can- not tell who the first settler in town was." I find that a Timothy Brown and M. Ward came to Wa- terville as early as 1797, bringing their families; and there does not appear to be any record of an ear- lier settlement; they came from New Hampshire. Childs tells us
1
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that Amos Page built a log house in town as early as 1796, but there is no record of its being occupied for several years and as persons, not unoccupied log houses, consti- tute settlement, I am inclined to call Timothy Brown of Westmore- land, New Hampshire, the first settler of the town. In 1798 came Abiathar Wetherell from West- moreland, and these three families seem to have constituted the en- tire population until 1803, when several families located in town.
Two weeks after the incorpora- ting of the town the first' town meeting was called, and on Decem- ber 13, 1824, was held in a school house near the "mills."
In 1828, the first freeman's meet- ing was held, and Luther Poland, father of the late Hon. Luke P. Poland, was elected as the town's first representative.
In civil and military life Water- ville has given her full share to the building, making and preserv- ing of both the state and the na- tion. Nearly a hundred men went from her hills to battle for the life of the nation, while the names of Poland, Gleed and Hendee will forever keep her name fresh in the memory of those who love their native land.
MCFARLAND, CAPTAIN MOSES of Waterville, son of Osgood Mc- Farland and Mary (Bartlett) Mc- Farland, eighth child in a family of 12, was born at Marietta, Ohio, June 25, 1821.
He is of Scotch-Irish descent, tracing his genealogical line to the Clan MacFarlane which Sir Wal- ter Scott refers to in "Cadyow Cas- tle" as "The wild MacFarlane's plaided Clan." Their ancestral estate, "Arrochar," dating back to early in the thirteenth century, re-
mained in the possession of the clan until its sale in 1784.
When three years of age Mr. McFarland removed with the fam- ily to Waterville, making the jour- ney by ox team conveyance. Since coming to Vermont in 1824, he has resided continuously in Waterville, giving him the unique distinction of the longest residence in town of anyone since its settlement. He is also the oldest man in town, and, although nearly eighty-five years of age, is still unusually vigorous and active.
October 22, 1849, he married Li- vonia A. Leach, who was born in Waterville, May 29, 1820, and died May 22, 1889. The issue of this marriage were five children : Lewis, born March 21, 1851, died August 7, 1851; Henry Moses (see page 15), born August 5, 1852; Fred Harley, born March 9, 1854; Burton, born June 23, 1856, died July 14, 1856; Cora Livonia, born May 25, 1858, died October 9, 1862. For his second wife he mar- ried Julia Howard, with whom he now resides in Waterville. From this marriage there has been no issue, but in 1905 they adopted a bright little girl, Ila May, born May 4, 1900.
Mr. McFarland is a member of Warner Lodge, No. 50, F. & A. M., and, though advanced in years, still takes an active interest in the affairs of the lodge. He was the first member to be received after the lodge received its charter.
In religious belief, he is a Uni- versalist and about fifty years ago he aided largely by personal means and effort in the erection of a church in Waterville for the use of the society to which he belonged.
Politically, he has always been a Democrat of the true Jacksonian
MOSES MCFARLAND.
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type. This made him a war Dem- ocrat supporting Lincoln in 1861, as well as a gold, or sound money Democrat in more recent years.
As the grandfather, Major Moses McFarland, fought with General Wolfe at Quebec and gave his services to the creation of the republic in the terrible struggle of the Revolution, so the grandson, Captain Moses McFarland, re- sponded to the call to arms when the life of the republic was threat- ened. He enlisted in the War of the Rebellion in September, 1861, serving as a line officer in the Eighth Vermont Regiment until the close of the war, being mustered out of the service in June, 1865. His regiment was assigned to the Gulf Department, under General Benjamin F. Butler. He was at the taking of New Orleans and par- ticipated in the forty-three-days' siege of Port Hudson. On the 8th of January, 1863, Captain McFarland with. 35 men drove a force of Confederates consisting of 85 men and two pieces of artillery, from their rifle-pits, taking 28 prisoners, including their com- mander, who surrendered to Cap- tain McFarland his sword and pis- tols. After the engagement he gave the weapons to his superior officer, who looked them over with curiosity and returned them to Captain McFarland, saying, "I think your conduct today has shown that you are quite as capa- ble of taking care of them as any- one." This action and the strat- egy made use of that night, in lighting long lines of fires, indicat- ing the encampment of a large army, caused the Confederates to desert their fortifications and burn the gunboat Cotton, the last of their fleet in these waters, giving
the Union forces a victory of no small significance.
In July, 1864, after the return of the regiment to New Orleans from furlough granted on re- enlistment, it was ordered to report for service under General Philip H. Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, and partici- pated in every battle in the follow- ing campaign in the valley. At the battle of Winchester Captain McFarland was carried to the field in an ambulance, and, against the orders of General Thomas, fought all day and marched 20 miles after the battle, pursuing the enemy fleeing up the valley. On October 19, 1864, was fought the battle of Cedar Creek, 20 miles from Winchester, Virginia, one of the most noted of the war, during a part of which battle, after the wounding of Major Mead, Captain McFarland commanded the regi- ment. The experience of the Eighth Vermont in this battle was one of the most sanguinary of the war. Out of a total of 164 men en- gaged, in less than an hour of the early morning of that terrible day, the regiment lost 110 men killed, wounded or prisoners, and 13 out of 16 commissioned officers. This percentage of loss was but once equalled by any Vermont regiment during the war.
Captain McFarland has always been a very active man. Before the war and until recent years he has been occupied with various in- dustrial enterprises, to the accom- plishment of which he has brought a strong purpose and great energy. He has always been very public spirited, contributing willingly and largely, both in time and money, to the advancement of his town and village. He is a man of
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LAMOILLE COUNTY.
strong personality, independent in thought and deed, forceful and re- sourceful, who has made his im- print on the community in which
Jackson, was born in Montgomery, November 9, 1846.
James Jackson, grandfather of Heber A., was born in Chesterfield,
I
HA Jackson
he has lived so long, in a way not soon to be effaced.
JACKSON, HON. HEBER A., a son of Horace and Maria (Barber)
New Hampshire. He came to Ver- mont in middle life and settled in Swanton. Here he married and three children were born to him.
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Horace Jackson, son of James, was born in Swanton, in October, 1801; was reared upon the farm and chose that occupation for his life work. Subsequently he moved to Montgomery and devoted his time and attention to the cultiva- tion and improvement of his farm.
Heber A. Jackson was educated in the public schools of his native town. September 10, 1864, being a mere boy of 17 years, he enlisted in Company A, Ninth Regiment, Vermont Volunteers; after five months' service with this regiment. he was transferred to Company G, Fifth Vermont Volunteer Infantry, and was discharged, July 2, 1865. He joined his regiment at Chapin's farm; he participated in the bat- tle of Sailor's Creek, the two bat- tles in front of Petersburg and va- rious minor engagements. After returning from the war he engaged in business in Eden and later at North Hyde Park. He then dealt extensively in timber and has con- tinued being thus engaged. In connection with his various enter- prises he has dealt largely in horses and carriages, purchasing in the Boston market and disposing of them to the farm trade. He re- sides on a splendid farm in Water- ville, formerly owned by Judge Luke Poland.
Mr. Jackson is, in politics, a Re- publican; he represented Water- ville in the General Assembly in 1892, was returned to that body again in 1898 and in 1902 repre- sented Lamoille County in the state Senate. At each of these sessions Senator Jackson was a hard and intelligent worker for not only his constituency but the state as well, and he has left his impress on much of the important legisla- tion of the three sessions.
He is an ex-commander of Car- penter Post, 100, G. A. R., and a member of Warner Lodge, A. F. & A. M.
On January 1, 1867, Senator Jackson married Bathsheba Stone. Three children have been born to them, all of whom are deceased. Mrs. Jackson died in 1875, at the age of 30 years. Mr. Jackson mar- ried for his second wife Electa Wheeler, and two children have been born to this union : Olga (Mrs. Rollo Thomas of Johnson) and Cassie, a student at Bakersfield Academy.
WOODWARD, HOMER C., was born in Enosburg in 1870; was lo- cated in Waterville in 1882. He was married in 1894. He resided in Fletcher for three years, but re- turned again to Waterville, where he was a successful farmer for eight years. He was a representa- tive to the General Assembly in 1902 and has held the offices of first selectman and school director. He moved to Enosburg in 1906. In politics Mr. Woodward is a Republican.
KELLEY, JOHN. Among the substantial and influential names prominently connected with the early history of Vermont is found that of John Kelley, a sturdy, sub- stantial New York patriot.
On March 5, 1787, Governor Chittenden and his council granted to Kelley two townships, one the present town of Lowell, in Orleans County. This town for 44 years was known as Kelleyvale. The other grant composed the present town of Belvidere, that portion of Waterville known as "Belvidere Leg," and 21 square miles of the present town of Eden.
Kelley was a man of unusual
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LAMOILLE COUNTY.
ability, strong minded and for many years was a leading factor in the land deals of this section. August 28, 1781, when Governor Chittenden and the council granted the town of Eden to Colonel Seth Warner, the intrepid leader of the "Green Mountain Boys," the grant
then given in the schools of that day. June, 1854, he married Man- dana P. Ober of Eden. Seven children were born to them, one of whom, Omer G., now resides at Waterville.
John A. Kelley was a man of strong opinions, a devoted church
HOMER C. WOODWARD.
contained but 36 square miles, but was later added to by an arrange- ment with John Kelley whereby the town grant was nearly doubled.
John Kelley located in Water- ville and while residing here one of his children, John A., was born, November 3, 1829. John A. Kel- ley received the limited education A-8
man and useful citizen. He held many of the town offices, was a strong temperance advocate and a consistent member of the Methodist church and for many years was its valued superintendent of the Sun- day school department. He was a member of Company I, First Ver- mont Cavalry, under Colonel E. B,
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Sawyer, now of Hyde Park. He enlisted in 1861 and was discharged for disability in the fall of 1862. He died July 8, 1884.
Omer G. Kelley, a son of John A. and Mandana T. (Ober) Kelley, was born in Eden, June 11, 1855, and was educated in the district
LARAWAY, FRANK. Few names are better known in Lamoille County than that of Laraway, father and son, of Waterville.
Frank Laraway was born in Canada in 1836 and came with his parents to Johnson in 1844; here he worked on the farm and later in
FRANK LARAWAY.
schools of Eden, the graded schools of Milton and at the Fairfax Insti- tute. For the past 20 years Mr. Kelley has been carpenter, black- smith and wheelwright at Water- ville. August 16, 1879, he was united in marriage to Frances Ste- vens. Mr. Kelley has served his town as a lister and selectman.
the woods. Born with a perfect physique, an indomitable will and unusual capacity for work, suc- cess was his natural reward. In 1855 Mr. Laraway married Me- linda Jacobs of Franklin; 13 children came to this happy union, six of whom are living. In 1885 the family located at Water-
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LAMOILLE COUNTY.
ville, bought the saw and grist- mill of the Lyman Holmes estate ; the mill was thoroughly repaired, and in the fall of 1886 Abraham L., a son, came and joined in the business and here was laid the foundation of a business that was soon destined to be the chiefest in-
to 30 men the year round and do- ing a business of upwards of $50,- 000 a year. The firm owns 3,000 acres of farm and timber lands and since coming to Waterville have built and remodeled a dozen or more of houses, remodeled the store property until they have one
ABRAHAM L. LARAWAY.
dustry of the town. In the fall of 1886 Abraham L. opened a gen- eral store, which is now a part of the Laraway property. The firm handles from a million to a million and a half of dressed lumber an- nually, cutting the most of it on their own land, giving employment
of the finest general stores in La- moille County.
Abraham L. Laraway, the active managing head of the Laraway in- dustries, was born at Johnson, in 1860, attended the public schools of that place and graduated from the State Normal School in 1881.
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After completing his education he went to St. Albans and entered the auditing department of the Central Vermont Railroad, remaining until the fall of 1886, when he entered into business with his father at Waterville.
January 16, 1887, Mr. Laraway was united in marriage to Olive (Greene) Anderson, a lady of rare worth. Mr. Laraway has served Waterville six years as a school director, as lister and town audi- tor. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and Odd Fel- lows. Mr. Laraway is a good ex- ample of what energy and hustle will do, when coupled with a keen judgment and a splendid faculty for business organization.
EDEN. Population, Census of 1900, 738.
The town was granted Novem- ber 7, 1780, and chartered August 28, 1781, the charter deed reading as follows :
"The Governor, Council, and General Assembly of the Freemen of the State of Vermont: To all people to whom these presents shall come, Greeting: Know ye, that whereas Colonel Seth Warner and his associates, our worthy friends, viz .: The Officers and Soldiers of his regiment in the line of the Continental Army, have, by peti- tion, requested a grant of unappro- priated land within the State, in order for settling a new planta -. tion, to be converted into a town- ship: We have therefore thought fit, for the encouragement of their laudable designs, and as a consid- eration, in part, for their past meritorious services to their coun- try; And do, by these presents, in the name and by the authority of the Freemen of the State of Ver-
"How peacefully and somnolently they lie, these little villages, hushed in the cradle of mountains." EDEN CORNERS.
Frank Plumby.
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SUCCESSFUL VERMONTERS.
mont, give and grant the tract of land unto the said Seth Warner, Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Saf- ford, and the several persons here- after named, in equal rights or shares."'
Then follows the names of War- ner and those who served in his regiment, 72 in all, and the shares each should possess, the document being signed by Thomas Chitten- den, governor of the state. Until 1828, the town had an area of only 23,040 acres, but on the 30th day of October, of that year, 13,440 acres were annexed from Belvidere.
Settlement was commenced in 1800, and the town was organized March 31, 1802. In 1803 Thomas H. Parker was chosen as the first representative to the Legislature. Doctor Eliphoz Eaton, father of Governor Horace Eaton, was the first physician. The first child to be born in town was Eden Brown, a son of Isaac and Lydia Brown.
Seventy-three of Eden's sons went from her peaceful hillside homes to defend our country in her hour of great need.
On the page of fame Does the soldier's valor bloom Brighter than the roses Cast upon his tomb.
Few of the small towns of our state have sent out more strong men than Eden. Four county judges, a probate judge, three high sheriffs, the chief judge of the court of claims and a host of sturdy sons who have had a mighty part in the social, fraternal, reli- gious, political and business build- ing of the county and state.
PLUMLEY, HON. FRANK, a brilliant lawyer, an orator of na- tional reputation and a statesman of international fame, was born in Eden, December 17, 1844, was
reared on the farm, educated in the public schools and at People's Academy of Morrisville, taught school for a time, entered the law office of Powers & Gleed at Morris- ville and a year later entered the law department of the University of Michigan. He was admitted to the Lamoille County bar in 1869 and located at Northfield that year. In the practice of his profession he has won signal recognition; has served Washington County for four years as state's attorney. In 1889 he was appointed by Presi- dent Harrison United States attor- ney for the district of Vermont. In 1888 he was a delegate to the national Republican convention and was a member of the commit- tee that drafted the platform for that campaign. He served 21 years on Northfield's board of edu- cation. In 1882 he represented Northfield in the General Assembly and in 1894 was elected a state senator for Washington County; at the organization of the Senate he was chosen as president pro tem. He is now serving as chief judge of the Vermont court of claims.
BLAKE, CAPTAIN CHARLES WESLEY. It is not for us to se- lect our birthplace nor to make choice of our ancestry, but satisfied ought we to be, if we number among them those who have been patriots, tried and true; that whether sailors, soldiers or citi- zens, they acted well their part.
Captain Charles Wesley Blake was born in Hyde Park, February 11, 1839 ; was the youngest of four sons of Caleb and Charlotte (West) Blake. His father, born in Maine, belonged to a sturdy race of sea-faring men; was by trade a carpenter ; lived in Johnson, Wa- terville and Cambridge, working
CHARLES W. AND MRS. BLAKE.
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on the bridges across the Lamoille. At Cambridge, the third son, Thomas West, was drowned in the river while bathing. Charles at- tended the district schools in each town. In 1855 the family moved to Eden, purchasing a farm in the west part of the town.
When the Civil War broke out the three sons enlisted : Joseph S. in a Wisconsin regiment, Orwell and Charles in the Eighth Vermont Regiment. They each came out of the conflict broken in health; at this date, 1906, all have gone. Charles was appointed third' ser- geant at the organization of the company, November 15, 1861; July 7, 1862, he was appointed orderly sergeant, which position he filled until September, 1862; receiving orders from General Benjamin F. Butler to recruit for a new regi- ment, to be known as Third L. N. G., he set about the work; No- vember 26, 1862, this regiment was filled, mustered and organized; Charles was commissioned captain of Company A, and his brother, Orville, was quartermaster with this regiment; they were at Baton Rouge, and later at Port Hudson ; Charles was for several months in command of the regiment.
Captain Blake was ever proud of his military record, yet never boasted of his achievements. His detestation of office seeking, and the prevailing political methods, had much to do with his unassum- ing life. He loved companionship of chosen friends and was ever true. He belonged to but one or- ganization, the Grand Army of the Republic, hence this sketch can pre- sent no long list of offices with de- tails and dates. During the last weeks of his life he spoke of ap- proaching death with the same
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