Biographies of Chittenden County

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ALLEN, JOSEPH DANA  On the 22d of January, 1836, the eldest daughter of Mr. John Johnson, (whose biography appears on another page of this book) Eliza R. Johnson, became the wife of a man who in his profession had attained as high a rank as had been accorded to her father. Joseph Dana Allen was born at Burlington, Otsego county, N. Y., on the 26th of October, 1799. He was early thrown upon his own resources, and after a thorough preparation entered Norwich Military University in 1821, then presided over by Captain Alden Partridge, late commandant at West Point, and an able instructor in civil engineering, the profession which Mr. Allen had adopted. For two years after his graduation in 1825 he was assistant professor of civil engineering in the university, and then resigned to accept the position of engineer of the Connecticut River Navigation Company, a corporation organized for the improvement of the navigation of that river from Barnet, Vt., to Hartford, Conn. In the year following he entered into an engagement with a company of New York capitalists to prepare a plan for a system of public works, then projected, by which the waters on the south shore of Long Island were to be connected so as to form an unbroken inland channel for ocean vessels from the eastern end of Long Island to New York Harbor.  After completing these surveys and making his report thereon, he took charge of the Worcester division of the Blackstone Canal, then constructing, to connect the interior of Massachusetts with Long Island Sound.   His next work was the laying out and building of the Cumberland and Oxford Canal, to communicate between the lumber region of Maine and the sea at Portland. In 1830 Mr. Allen's services were demanded by the New York Canal Board, to aid in planning and perfecting the elaborate system then under consideration to connect the new West with the seaboard. As chief engineer he constructed the Black River and Chemung Canals, after which he took charge of the building of the northern division of the Chenango Canal, between Binghamton and Utica. In 1836 the construction of railroads began to be considered, and, by reason of his recognized ability, Mr. Allen was chosen to determine the route and plan the construction of the first road leading out of New York city, connecting with the junction of canal and river at Albany, and now known as the New York and Harlem Railroad. He also directed the laying out of the Utica and Oswego Railroad, the completion of which was prevented by the financial panic of 1837. In 1838 he was appointed engineer of the Erie Railroad from Binghamton westward, then under the presidency of the eminent banker Jonas G. King, of New York, and directed the course of construction of that line. Notwithstanding the fact that railroad construction was then in its infancy, Mr. Allen's methods in his work at this early day have since been adopted throughout the country, a fact which abundantly testifies to his skill and efficiency.  He subsequently directed the course and construction of the Chenango Canal from Binghamton to Tioga Point, N. Y., and also the Chemung Canal from Elmira to the same place. During the four years then following he was in charge as engineer-in-chief of the enlargement of the Erie Canal west from Little Falls; but his incessant and responsible labors for a period of about sixteen years had greatly impaired his health, and, in the hope that a change of occupation might be a benefit to him, he purchased an interest in the Onondaga salt works at Syracuse, N. Y. Disappointed in the hope for health, he sought his end by an entire abandonment of business for a time, and removed to Burlington, Vt., where he ever after lived. In 1845 he organized the Winooski Cotton Mill Company, and for two years was its president. This office he relinquished in the belief that his improved health would permit him to renew the practice of his profession.  He accordingly accepted the position of consulting engineer of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, and directed the laying out of that line in Wisconsin. He was at the same time appointed chief engineer of the Erie Canal; but ill health again overtook him, and he practically retired permanently from the active duties of the profession. He afterward, in the capacity of chief engineer of the Albany and Northern Railroad, directed its plan and construction, and still later laid out the northern extension of the Rutland Railroad line. He prepared the complete and accurate surveys of the city of Burlington, together with the maps and data, upon which was based the system of street improvements afterward carried into effect. In 1856, at the request of the government of the United States, he took charge of the erection of the government buildings, post-office, custom-house and marine hospital, in Burlington, and completed them with his usual skill and painstaking. He was for a long time director of the Merchants' Bank at Burlington, and was frequently in requisition to perform other private and public trusts.

As has been said, his active life in his chosen pursuit covered a period of but little more than sixteen years, and yet few have accomplished such prodigious and gratifying results in a much longer lifetime. His enforced retirement from activity was especially irksome to his energetic nature, which sought and found a partial alleviation in those liberal studies which enlighten and elevate the character.   He was a man of modest and retiring disposition, of a liberal culture, and of rare moral qualities and sterling sense and judgment. His integrity and purity of character were particularly marked. In all that he did he was conscientious to a remarkable degree, and the minutest details of his public and official work, as well as of the minor and personal concerns of his life, invite the most critical scrutiny. His mind was a storehouse of facts and principles always ready for use, while his systematic thoroughness and clear perceptions of the questions with which he had to do, made his advice often sought and highly valued. He was for many years a consistent communicant of the Episcopal Church.  Mr. Allen died on the 12th of October, 1878, leaving his survivors, his widow and two sons, Charles E. Allen, of Burlington, Vt, and John J. Allen, of Brooklyn, N. Y., all now living, the former at the advanced age of eighty-six years.  Charles Edwin Allen was born in Burlington, Vt., on the 28th of November, 1838, fitted for college at the Burlington High School, and was graduated from the University of Vermont in the class of He studied law with Hon. Isaac F. Redfield, of Windsor, Vt., and subsequently with Hon. Milo L. Bennett, of Burlington, and was graduated from the Albany Law School in 1864. After practicing in New York city for three years he returned to Burlington, where on the 31st of October, 1867, he married Ellen C, only daughter of Elias Lyman, esq., of Burlington. Mr. and Mrs. Allen have three children, Joseph Dana, Lyman and Florence Lyman. His residence in Burlington is the old homestead of his grandfather, John Johnson, afterwards owned by his father.

Mr. Allen has ably sustained the reputation of the family for thoroughness and efficiency in his life work, for elevation of character and liberality of culture. In 1862-63 he was assistant secretary of the State Senate; from 1878 to 1882 he was alderman from his ward; in 1882, was city assessor. In 1883 he was elected a member of the board of school commissioners of the city, to which office he has since been twice re-elected, and has in other positions of trust and honor received evidence of the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens. He is an active member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. In the practice of his profession, although he is not confined in the scope of his labors, he has made a specialty of patent law, in which department of practice he is deservedly eminent.

His brother, John Johnson Allen, was born at Utica, N. Y., August 4,1842. He was graduated at the Burlington High School in 1848, and at the University of Vermont in 1862. Receiving an appointment on the staff of the provost marshal of the fourth district of New York, he removed to that city and succeeded to the charge of the office during the last year of the bureau. In 1866 he graduated from Columbia Law School, and soon after was appointed assistant United States district attorney for the eastern district of New York, which position he continued to hold until his resignation in March, 1873, since which time he has been actively engaged in the duties of his profession, in which he has acquired a high reputation. In 1874 he represented his district in the Legislature of New York. For several years he has held the office of United States supervisor for the city of Brooklyn, and also that of United States commissioner.

His summers are spent in Burlington, where he owns a residence on College Hill.  He married in 1870 Louisa A., youngest daughter of the Hon. Charles Shaler, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and has three children, Marion Shaler, Eliza, and Marguerite Louisa. Biographies Index

BALLARD, HENRY is the fourth son of Jeffrey Ballard, who lived in Tinmouth, Vt., and whose father was of English descent, and one of the earliest settlers of that town. Jeffrey Ballard was a tanner by trade, and a farmer. He was an energetic, industrious man, of good habits and of an upright character. He died at the early age of thirty-six years.

Henry Ballard was born at Tinmouth April 20, 1839. He was but three years old at the time of his father's death, and at the age of ten years was obliged to earn his own living. Adapted by his natural abilities and tastes for a professional or public life, he early determined to obtain for himself a liberal education. Accordingly he prepared himself for college at Castleton Seminary, from which he was graduated in July, 1857.  He entered the University of Vermont at Burlington the following September, and four years later was graduated with honor from that institution. Three years after he delivered the master's oration at the annual college commencement, an honor conferred only upon meritorious graduates.

In August, 1861, the same month of his graduation from college, in response to the nation's call for soldiers he enlisted as a private, and soon after was mustered into the service as a lieutenant of Company I, of the Fifth Vermont Infantry. He served in that capacity with his regiment in the Army of the Potomac through the celebrated Peninsula campaign of 1862, until he was obliged to resign by reason of ill health.

In the fall of 1862 he entered the law department of the University of Albany, at Albany, N. Y., and in January, 1863, was graduated from that institution. The Hon. Amos Dean, dean of the faculty, said of him at the time of his graduation, that he was one of the best students that ever was graduated from that institution. Attracted by the prospects then offered by the city of Burlington, he immediately went there and continued his study of the law in the law office of the Hon. Daniel Roberts, a leading member of the bar of the State. After spending a few months in the office of Mr. Roberts, he was admitted to the bar in September, 1863, and at once commenced the practice of his profession at that place.  Since that time Mr. Ballard's life has been constantly before the public. He has been usually to be seen either in the courtroom or on the political or lecture platform, and almost always as a prominent figure in some exciting occasion or controversy.  His professional life has been a remarkably successful one. He began the practice of his profession at a time fortunate for the obtaining of an immediate practice, and especially favorable to the attracting of public attention to his efforts.  At the close of the war Burlington was the rendezvous for the Vermont soldiers as they were brought home to be mustered out. Many of the soldiers showed the effects that history teaches always follows in the train of any great war. Crimes of all kinds were for a time quite frequent. The discharged soldiers were familiar with arms and used to the sight of blood.   Assaults and affrays of a brutal character were quite common, and these often resulted in bloodshed and homicide. The courts of criminal jurisdiction were necessarily much occupied, and it was but natural that the services of a lawyer, brilliant, and gifted with all the resources that make the successful jury practitioner should be in great demand. At the first term of court at which Mr. Ballard was admitted to the bar - it was his first case - he was employed to defend one Burns, a soldier who was prosecuted for murder. The case showed that the crime was premeditated, with scarcely any circumstances in mitigation; yet the defense was so skillfully managed that Burns was convicted only of the crime of manslaughter. The ability which Mr. Ballard displayed in this, his first case, was the subject of much comment among the older members of the bar, and his future brilliant career was at that time freely predicted.

Another early case in which he was engaged was the prosecution of the notorious Charles H. Potter, for the murder of his wife's mother, Mrs. Ephraim Griswold. This crime was attended with the most aggravating circumstances, and there was great excitement in the community when it occurred. The public were unmeasured in their denunciations of the supposed criminal, and even his counsel was to a certain extent, though unjustly, made the object of this feeling; yet the defense was conducted with such skill and ability that in spite of strong evidence, and against intensely hostile public opinion, Potter was acquitted. From this time Mr. Ballard's reputation as one of the best criminal lawyers in the State was established. In fact, it may be said that since that time, as a criminal lawyer he has been the acknowledged head of the bar of Vermont. Among the more prominent cases in which he has been engaged may be mentioned the prosecution of John Ring for murder; in this case the Hon. E. J. Phelps was associated with him in the defense; the prosecution of Deacon Ezra P. Smith for the murder of his wife by poison ; this case attracted great attention on account of the prominent standing of the respondent.   The evidence against him was strong and convincing; public feeling called loudly for his conviction. ,The prosecution was conducted by the Hon. F. E. Woodbridge, the Hon. John W. Stewart and the Hon. W. G. Veazey.  Under the circumstances of this case the securing of a verdict of acquittal was one of the most remarkable of forensic triumphs.   Among other notable bases may be mentioned the prosecutions of William Falkland, of Michael McDonald, of Mrs. Alma Smith, and of Dr. James P. Smith, all for murder; of Edward T. Paige, for the embezzlement of $17,000 from the Central Vermont Railroad Company; of Mary Ann Woodruff, for arson; and of A. H. Scott and W. J. Selfridge, for the burglary of the Bellows Tails post office.   In all of these cases Mr. Ballard secured the acquittal of his clients.    Unlike many lawyers who arc successful in the management of criminal cases, Mr. Ballard has always been equally successful as a trial lawyer in civil cases.   This is especially true in jury trials.   He is emphatically a jury lawyer.   It is in this line that his greatest power lies.   As a jury advocate he has few equals.   In the preparation of a case he is painstaking and thorough, and in the introduction of evidence and in the examination of witnesses he is remarkably skillful    In the trial of a case he always watches closely and judges accurately of the effect of the evidence upon the jury.   His mind is both analytical and logical, and his presentation of a case in argument is always clear, forcible and convincing.   His manner of speaking is always attractive, impassioned, and at times, eloquent; jurors always listen to him with pleasure, and almost always to be convinced.

Among the many important civil cases in which he has been engaged, may be mentioned the following: the celebrated crime. con, case of Shacket against Hammond, celebrated on account of the prominence of the parties; the great chancery case of the National Bank of Brandon against John A. Conant and his associate directors, to recover over $100,000 loss by reason of the alleged forgeries of James Batchelder; the famous Meech will case; the case of Mrs. Jacob Greene against the Hahneraan Life Insurance Company ; the Rutland Railroad Company against John  Page, the longest jury trial ever had in New England; the famous chancery case of Laura W. Burton against her husband, Oscar A. Burton, to compel him to provide her with her support, and the suit for divorce between the same parties.

But Mr. Ballard is not alone a lawyer. His services have always been in demand and have been often given as a speaker in political campaigns. As a stump orator he has few equals. In every presidential campaign since 1868 his services have been in constant requisition, not only in Vermont, but in other States. He has often delivered as many as seventy-five speeches in a single campaign.  As a popular lecturer and speaker upon miscellaneous occasions he is constantly called upon, and his ability to make an apt speech upon ail occasions is remarkable.  In 1878 he was elected a member of the Vermont State Senate, and during his term of office distinguished himself as a hard working member, and by his readiness and force in debate.   He has held the office of city attorney for the city of Burlington.  In politics Mr. Ballard has always been a Republican of the "Stalwart" kind. In 1884 he was a delegate from Vermont to the National Republican Convention at Chicago. In that convention he was made the chairman of the committee on credentials, and distinguished himself by the manner in which he discharged the duties of that important and difficult position.   There were forty-seven cases of contested delegates' seats before that committee, and his report upon them, which he as chairman made to the convention, was unanimously accepted, after he had made his speech upon it, without any further debate or question - an occasion almost without precedent in the history of national political conventions.

He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and has held the position of judge advocate for the State, and was a delegate from Vermont to the annual national encampment of that order at San Francisco in 1886. He is a member of the Webster Historical Society of Boston, Mass.; also a member of the American Institute of Civics, in both of which societies he takes an active interest.

Mr. Ballard was married December 15, 1863, to Miss Anna J. Scott, of Burlington, and has four children; his domestic life has always been as pleasant as his professional career has been successful.  Biographies Index

He soon hit upon the idea of dressing the lumber before shipping it, thus saving twelve and a half percent, in freight expenses, and imparting a new impulse to the lumber   Upon the destruction by fire of the Pioneer Shops (see Burlington chapter), the citizens of Burlington at a public meeting offered a bonus of $8,000 to any one who would rebuild the shops and equip them for business.   The proffer was accepted byLawrence Barnes, who finished the structure in ninety days.   During the panic of 1857his lumber business suffered considerably, but he survived the shock, and in 1858 thecurrent turned in his favor.   Trade rapidly increased in extent and profit.   In 1859 apartnership was formed with Charles and David Whitney, jr., known at Burlington as L. Barnes & Co., and at Lowell, Mass., as C. & D. Whitney & Co.   Two years later D. N. Skillings was admitted to an interest in the business, the new firm being known atBurlington, Whitehall, and Montreal as L. Barnes & Co., at Boston as D. N. Skillings &Co., and at Detroit, Ogdensburgh, and Albany as C. & D. Whitney, jr., & Co. In 1862

Mial Davis was admitted to the firm, from which he retired in 1869, the remaining partners retaining the trade under the name of Skillings, Whitney Bros. & Barnes. In January, 1873, Mr. Barnes sold out his interest in the business outside of Burlington, and formed a partnership here with his son, L. K. Barnes, and D. W. Robinson. After a continuance in business for two years the firm was dissolved and reorganized with Lawrence Barnes and D. W. Robinson as partners. In 1878 Mr. Skillings and Whitney Bros, proposed a consolidation of the firms, which was effected, under the name of the Skillings, Whitneys & Barnes Lumber Co., with headquarters at Boston. On the death of Mr. Skillings in 1880 Mr.  Barnes was made president of the company, a position in which he remained up to the time of his death.

Mr. Barnes, in common with the best of his fellow-citizens, cherished a strong de-sire that Burlington should not depend for its prosperity on the lumber trade alone. He was aware that there are large iron mines and furnaces in the Champlain Valley, and that the manufacture of iron ought to be successfully prosecuted in this place. The Burlington Manufacturing Company was accordingly chartered and organized with a capital of $175,000, nails and merchant iron being the staple production. Mr. Barnes was elected treasurer of the new corporation, and by his probity and skill commended it to other capitalists in town. At the end of two years, however, operations were suspended, but Mr. Barnes, from sheer sympathy with many of the less able holders, purchased their stock - much of it at par, and magnanimously suffered the loss himself.  The works remained silent and decaying until 1871, when Mr. Barnes and others resolved to convert them into marble works. Thus was he instrumental in introducing the marble trade in the city, which survived the commercial panic of 1873, and is today one of the most prosperous enterprises in Northern Vermont. From the beginning Mr. Barnes acted as treasurer and principal proprietor. He also subscribed largely to the stock of the Howard National Bank, of which institution he was president from its organization to the time of his death. He was a stockholder and director of the Burlington Gas Company and the Vermont Life Insurance Company, and president of the National Horse Nail Company of Vergennes. In 1868 he was elected one of the directors of the Rutland Railroad Company, and retained that office until the lease of the road to the Central Vermont, and was also for some years one of the trustees of Vermont Central Railroad.

Although never an aspirant for political honors, Mr. Barnes displayed his usual capacity and fidelity in all political positions to which he was elected by his fellow-citizens.  In 1864 and 1865 he represented Burlington in the Legislature of the State, and obtained the city charter during his term of service. After the incorporation of the city he was chosen a member of the first board of aldermen, and served in that capacity for three years. He was a member of the national Republican convention that nominated General U. S. Grant for a second term. At the time of his death he was an honored trustee of the University of Vermont, to which position he had been elected in 1865.

For many years before his death, which occurred on the 21st day of June, 1886, Lawrence Barnes was a leading member and a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Burlington. The present house of worship now occupied by that church was reared largely " on the foundations of his munificence.'' On the day of his funeral the large manufactories in the whole city were closed in honor of his memory, and the working men, to whom he had always been a true friend, turned out in a body and followed his remains to their final rest. He left a widow and three children. He was united in marriage on the 20th day of May, 1841, with Lucinda F., daughter of Oliver Farmer.  They had six children, three of whom died young. Those who survive are a son, Lawrence K., and two daughters, Georgiana L., wife of F. W. Smith, and Ella Frances, wife of C. R. Hayward, all of Burlington. Mr. Barnes was most happy in his domestic relations. Among the remarks made upon the occasion of his funeral, his character was beautifully and aptly described in the following language by President M. H.  Buckham ;

" I said his life was almost the typical life of a self-made man. In one respect it was not such. The self-made man is almost always self-conscious, self-asserting, of a spirit unlike that of which St. Paul says that it ' vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly.' There was not in Mr. Barnes a particle of this vanity.  He was beautifully simple, natural, and unconscious of himself. He could not have borne himself more meekly and graciously in the midst of his wealth and his success, if his ancestors for ten generations had had the use and wont of great breeding. He was a native gentleman, one of the truest and best, artless, humble, kindly, incapable of offense, absolutely incapable of malice." Biographies Index

BARRETT, HORACE W. was born in Hinsdale, N. H., on the 29th day of October, 1820. He is of English descent. His grandfather, John Barrett, passed a number of years in boating on St. Lawrence River, and traveled extensively in Canada and the United States. He was a man of vigorous intellect, retentive memory and broad and general information. lie died more than thirty years ago in Hinsdale, N. H., many years after the death of his wife, Ruth.  One of his children, Horace, the father of the subject of our sketch, was born in Canada, and was for years engaged in farming in Hinsdale, until his death about twelve years ago. His wife, Lucy Wellman, died several years before, leaving eight children-six daughters and two sons, of whom Horace W. Barrett is the eldest.  After obtaining such education as the not very extended facilities of his native place afforded in those early days, at the age of eighteen years he left home and entered the employment of Samuel Belding, owner and operator of cotton-mills at Winchester, N. H. In the fall of 1844 his employer, who had obtained title to a cotton-mill standing on the present site of the flouring mills at Winooski, Vt, sent young Barrett to that place to superintend the work. Almost immediately thereafter, by the financial failure of Mr. Belding, the property at Winooski changed hands and came under the owner-ship and operation of Joseph D. Allen, of Burlington. Mr. Barrett was retained, however, as the general manager and superintendent of the factory, and in that capacity started the first spindle ever operated in a Winooski factory. Not far from the year 1850 the Winooski Cotton-mill Company was formed, erected a portion of the present cotton-factory, and obtained control of all the privileges at the falls. Mr. Barrett was a stockholder in the new concern, and retained his former position.   About twenty years ago this company was succeeded by the Burlington Cotton-mill Company (B. Y.  Pippy & Co., of New York city), and the buildings were considerably enlarged. After a continuous operation of about ten years the company failed and the property came under the supervision and control of the Howard National Bank, by its trustees. The present company was formed a year later, and assumed control of the works, as related in the history of Burlington, and Mr. Barrett's wide experience, excellent judgment, and proved integrity continued in requisition as in former years. He is now the superintendent of the works of this company.

Mr. Barrett's father was a member of the Whig party, and in accordance with family tradition and well-inclined bias Horace W. continues in the ranks of the Republican party.   He is emphatically a private citizen, however, and has never held nor sought political office, excepting that of village trustee for two years. He has enough to do in looking after his private affairs.

Although not a member of any religious organization, he contributes freely to the support of them all, where he deems his contributions necessary, and usually attends service at the Methodist Episcopal Church. He has been three times married: first, to Harriet, daughter of Jonathan Newell, of Winchester, N. H., who left him three children; secondly, to Minerva B., daughter of Michael Sinclair, of Burlington; and thirdly, to Susan Mosher, his present wife, a native of Derby, Vt., whom he married in 1878. His three children are Adelaide, wife of Colonel W. L. Greenleaf, of Winooski; Gertrude J., wife of the Rev. Andrew J. Rogers, of Boston, and Hattie, wife of Charles Greenleaf, of Pittsburgh, Mass.  Biographies Index

BARSTOW, HON. JOHN L. The Barstow family in this country are descended, so far as is known, from four brothers who left the West Riding of Yorkshire, in England, in September, 1635, and settled in Massachusetts. They traced an honorable ancestry back to the reign of Henry III, A. D. 1271, when one of the number, John by name, received an estate in Surrey, in acknowledgment of services rendered in the wars with the French. The American emigrants and their descendants engaged mainly in shipbuilding, agriculture, mercantile and maritime pursuits, though among them arc found the names of many clergymen, physicians and teachers. Very many of the town histories of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island refer to members of this family in commendatory terms. Those more prominent are described as men whose chief greatness consisted in the greatness of their souls, devoted to everything religious, patriotic and public spirited ; as being hospitable, of sound judgment, unbend-ing integrity, gentlemanly deportment, benevolent, peacemakers, God-fearing, regular attendants at church. Of one it is said he was absent from church but once in fifty years; of another his minister said, " I can set my watch correctly when I see Deacon Barstow coming to meeting." They took an active part in the colonial wars with the Indians and French, as well as in the War of the Revolution. Some suffered captivity and some death at the hands of the Indians, and one was killed with Wolfe at Quebec.  Their names are found on the muster rolls of Putnam at bunker Hill, and of Washington at Valley Forge.

One of these Revolutionary veterans, Ebenezer, fifth in direct descent from John, one of the original immigrants, came to Vermont at the close of his service in the war and settled in Shelburne, purchasing a tract of unbroken wilderness from Ira Allen in East Shelburne. He married Esther Owen, set about clearing his land and led the ordinary, uneventful arduous life of our early settlers, bearing his full share of the burdens of town and public affairs, and is still kindly remembered by some of the oldest inhabitants as a quiet, honest, law-abiding citizen. At his death, March 30, 1834, at the age of 78 years, his farm came into the possession of Heman, his second son, who during a long and industrious life never resided away from the old homestead except when teaching school during the winters of his early manhood. Heman Barstow was a leading and active member of the Methodist Church, and long one of its class leaders.  Temperance, Sabbath schools, education and every good cause found in him a liberal and active friend. He was entrusted by his fellow citizens with many public duties and represented his town and county in both houses of the General Assembly of the State.  In December, 1814, he was married to Laura Lyon, an estimable lady who was descended on the maternal side from the Hawley family of Connecticut. Her amiable and affectionate disposition made her home one of peace and love, while her faithfulness to every duty of life endeared her memory to all her numerous relatives and acquaintances. She died January 17, 1857, aged sixty-two years, leaving eight children. Her husband followed her to rest, closing a peaceful and useful life on the 27th of February, 1868, aged seventy-eight years.

Their youngest son, John Lester Barstow, the subject of this sketch, though born in a rural district and brought up to farm life with its ordinary meager opportunities for education, had the advantages of very superior teachers in the common schools and a few terms in Shelburne Academy. These were utilized with such diligence and with such credit to himself that at the age of fourteen years he was examined and licensed to teach in Burlington by its board of school superintendents, which then consisted of Revs.  O. W. B. Peabody, J. K. Converse and H. J. Parker, and he began his work away from home as a teacher in the district school. At this time, being nearly fitted for college, he was very desirous of obtaining a liberal education; but, the village merchant offering him a place, he yielded to the advice of his father and entered the service of John Simonds, 2d, a thoroughly honest and trained business man, where he remained four years, learning those methodical business habits so invaluable to every walk of life. He then, at the invitation of his uncle and brother, who were proprietors of a large hotel at Detroit, Mich., entered their service. A few months after he was of age an equal partnership in the business of his former employer, Mr. Simonds, was offered to him, which he declined ; but the offer gave him such confidence in his business capacity that at the age of twenty-two years, being offered the use of money for the purpose by one of the wealthy men of Detroit, he purchased the lease and fixtures of the hotel and entered upon an extensive and lucrative business, in the course of which he became acquainted with nearly all the prominent men of that State. In those days the sale of wines and liquors was the most profitable part of a hotel; but he refused to share its profit, and cast his first vote for prohibitory law. Michigan was then strongly Democratic, but he adhered to his Whig education and instincts, and was one of the band of young men that so enthusiastically supported " Zach " Chandler and by whose efforts Mr. Chandler afterwards became the leading figure in Michigan politics. The business of hotel keeping was, however, not at all consonant with his tastes and inclinations, and he left it in 1855. He at once had numerous flattering offers of business, but the New England custom in those days of large families was that one member of the family should remain at home to take care of the " old people "; so, after spending some months in travel through the United States and Canada, he settled upon the old homestead, in charge of the old farm, devoting himself to the study and active pursuit of agriculture, and becoming a paid correspondent for some of the leading agricultural papers of the day. On the 28th of October, 1858, he was married to Laura Maeck, granddaughter of Dr. Frederick Maeck, the first physician settled in Shelburne, who is elsewhere mentioned in this volume. Mrs. Barstow died March 11, 1885, of the dread disease consumption, which was hereditary in her family. She had for years been an invalid, but bore her sufferings with patience and fortitude, and her death was deeply mourned by a large circle of relatives and friends. She left two sons, viz.: Frederick M., born March 3, 1860, who was graduated from the University of Vermont in 1880 and is now a civil engineer, and Charles L., born May 23, 1867, now a student at the University of Vermont.

The war of 1861 found few young men with so many ties to bind them at home, and, like many others, he did not feel it a duty to enlist when so many others could do so and were willing to do so with so little sacrifice to family and business. But when months of struggle had passed with little but reverses to the Union arms he entered the Eighth Vermont Volunteers, under Colonel Stephen Thomas, serving as adjutant, captain and major, and during the whole of his service he was with Gens. Butler and Banks in Louisiana and the southwest. Colonel Thomas remaining in command of his regiment for over three years gave little chance for promotion to subordinate officers, but he was mustered out of service while major of the regiment August 18, 1864, on account of expiration of term of service. Like many another northern youth he entered the army with robust health and vigorous constitution; but nearly three years of arduous outdoor service in the swamps and miasmatic climate of Louisiana shattered both, and for twenty years past, remittent fever, chills and other malarias diseases have followed him, necessitating constant care and frequent medical attendance. But it may be noted that he has never made application for a pension, though often urged to do so by his physician and by his old colonel, now General Thomas, as being as much entitled to one as though an arm or a leg had been shot away. These physical disabilities have in later years deterred him from entering upon any active business pursuits.  The limits of this sketch permit no extended notice of his military service. It must suffice to say that though he was frequently detailed upon staff and other duties he bore an honorable part in every skirmish and battle in which his regiment was engaged. Colonel George N. Carpenter, of Boston, in his history of the Eighth Vermont Regiment, notes that when, after the bloody fight of June 14, 1863, in front of Port Hudson (in which the Eighth Vermont lost 165 men killed and wounded) General Banks called for volunteers to head the storming column for a final assault, Captain Barstow was one of the brave men who stepped forward to form the " forlorn hope," and sums up the matter by saying that  Major Barstow won a splendid record in the army," and adds :

" He became captain of Company K and acting adjutant-general under Gens. Thomas and Weitzil, and afterwards Major. He participated in all the engagements in which his regiment took part, and was complimented for eminent service in the field ; washonorably mentioned for his personal services in the engagement with the gunboat Cotton. Served as assistant adjutant-general on the brigade staff at the siege of Port Hudson; was complimented in the report of brigade commander for gallantry in the assault on Port Hudson June 14, 1853; was in command of the recruits and those who did not re-enlist (500 in number) while the veterans were on a furlough, and for a time was post-commander at Thibedeau, La. As a commander he enforced military discipline by example as well as by precept, and above all by the noble manhood with which nature had endowed him. Major Barstow carried with him into private life the tender regards of his comrades, who in token of their esteem presented to him a beautiful sword and belt, just as he was about to leave New Orleans for home." As to the incident of the sword presentation it may be added that it was presented by the rank and file, and that previous to this time, when he left the captaincy of Company K to become major, the enlisted men of his old company also presented him with an elegant sword. These two memorial jpgts are justly preserved with great pride, as evincing the regard of the en-listed men after they had served under him and known him thoroughly.  Colonel Caqienter in his book also briefly outlines the civil service of Governor Barstow after the war, as follows

Since his retirement from the army Major John L. Barstow has filled many positions and always to his credit.   He had hardly reached his home after leaving Louisa Ana before he was called into the State service by the offer of a responsible position in the recruiting service by Adjutant-General Washburn, which he was obliged to decline on account of shattered health. In the following September he was elected a member of the Legislature, and it was during the session in which he served that St. Albans was attacked by Confederate raiders from Canada. At the request of General Washburn he went to the scene of action by the first train, and the next day was sent into Canada on a special mission by Major Austine, United States military commandant of the State.  This famous raid created such an excitement that a law was soon passed establishing three brigades of militia, of four regiments each, and Major Barstow was elected by the Legislature as one of the brigade commanders. Under this commission he was ordered by Governor Smith to take command of the provisional forces on the northwestern frontier, where he remained on duty until relieved by General Stannard in January, 1865. In September of that year he was again elected to the Legislature by the unanimous vote of his town, and in the years 1866 and 1867 he was State senator from Chittenden county."

His legislative service to the State may be summed up by a quotation from one of the leading editors of the State in 1882 ; " General Barstow has always supported the public cause of the many against the few in his legislative career; his devotion to the farmer class, from which he sprung, has been unwavering: he has an ampler and more accurate knowledge of our past legislative history than any public man in the State; he has always exercised a leading influence in shaping legislation ; he has a clear, precise vision of its present defects, and for sound equipment for the place of State executive he is the peer of any man in Vermont."

Of his legislative service Rev. Pliny White, a noted biographer of the day, said:

" His influence was second to none. When he addressed the House he always had a solid basis of facts upon which to found his arguments, and was always listened to with respect. His high tone as a man won for him many friends. He seemed to be a scholarly person, more at home with the pen in his hand than when addressing an audience, and was esteemed one of those described by the saying- Reading make the  full man,' " This reference to his habits of reading makes it proper to say that his range of reading has embraced almost every branch of literature and science, as well as history and political economy. Few men keep so accurately informed in regard to every interest of his native State and country, while the past and current history of the world are to him matters of constant study. Few men in the State have so large a subscription list of newspapers and magazines, and few private libraries excel the one he has accumulated.  It may be well supposed that his influence in legislation has not been confined to the years when he was a member. At the time when he was elected governor there was hardly a clause of the State laws for the benefit of soldiers that was not written by his hand, while educational matters, particularly the authority given towns to establish central schools; the rights of married women, equal taxation, taxation of corporations, State and national supervision of corporations, and many other subjects have for years received his earnest attention. He held responsible positions upon standing commit-tees, and when special committees of importance were formed, like those upon the ratification of the amendment of the Constitution of the United States, his name was always found upon them. His efforts have been persistent at home and in Washington to prevent a renewal of the old reciprocity treaty with Canada, which he believed would be disastrous to Vermont farmers.

In 1870 he was appointed United States pension agent at Burlington, which office he held for nearly eight years, discharging its duties in such a manner as to call from Hon. Carl Shurz, then secretary of the interior, an autograph letter of thanks. His administration in the United States pension agency brought the same measure of praise that has been accorded to the discharge of his other public duties. The disbursements amounted to millions and brought him in contact with the poor and lowly on the one hand and the extortionate claim agent on the other. The unfortunates soon learned to look upon him as their friend, as he at once set about instituting reforms that were of great benefit to the needy pensioner. When he retired from the office, on account of its consolidation with the other offices in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine in 1878, the Burlington Free Press said ; " The business has been conducted under General Barstow with an insignificant amount of error, and with a care for the interests both of the pensioners and the government which is worthy of the highest praise. As an instance of the thoughtful attention paid to the recipients of the government's bounty we may mention that the female pensioners, of whom there are about a hundred in this city and Winooski, who were unable through sickness or other disability to come to the office to draw their pensions, have been always paid at their own residences, the agent or his assistant paying their dues personally, and the same kindness characterized the entire conduct of the agency. In short General Barstow has exhibited in the pension office the qualities of fidelity to duty, efficiency and courtesy which have characterized him as a soldier, a legislator and in private life. We have expressed an opinion that there was no better agent in the three States, and we can add that we have reason to believe that he could have received the appointment to the consolidated agency if he would have accepted. He preferred, however, not to leave his home and his native State. We are glad to retain him as a citizen, and he will carry with him in his retirement from the office the respect and esteem of all who know him." In 1879 Governor Proctor appointed him State commissioner for the centennial celebration of the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, and he rendered effective service in securing government aid for the undertaking, and for the monument, and in arranging plans for the celebration.

In 1880 he was elected lieutenant-governor of the State for the biennial term, and in 1882 was elected governor, the nominations to each office having been made by the unanimous vote of the respective conventions.

Many of his recommendations to the Legislature were acted upon in accordance with his wishes, while others were postponed. He was the first governor of Vermont to call the attention of the law-making power to the alleged discriminating and excessive rates of freight by transportation companies, and to urge the creation of an effective railroad commission. Neither the Legislature of 1882 nor that of 1884 was ready to act upon this subject, but he has lived to see in 1886 that both political parties demand such a commission in their convention resolutions.  Colonel Carpenter, in his book, says : " The riots occurred during Governor Barstow's term of office, and his course in requiring that justice should precede force, and that the riotous miners should be paid their honest dues, attracted much favorable comment throughout the country." Pending the nomination of his successor, in 1884, a majority of the Republican newspapers in the State advocated his re-nomination, but he declined to become a candidate.   The quality of his service as governor, judged by the press, is shown by an extract from the Rutland Herald of October, 1884, then edited by the well-known critic, Lucius Bigelow. In commenting upon Governor Barstow's final message he said: " He has more than fulfilled the flattering promises made for him by his friends when he was nominated. He has been as careful, able, independent and efficient a governor as we have had in Vermont during the last twenty years, a period which includes executives of the quality of Dillingham, Peck and Proctor." The Brattleboro Reformer" of the same date, one of the leading opposition papers, said: " This message, like Governor Barstow's inaugural, also will take rank among the best and most sensible State papers ever presented in Vermont." The above sketch might be largely extended, as he has held many other appointments of trust and honor, such as assistant clerk of the House of Representatives in 1861; delegate to the soldiers' and sailors' convention at Chicago in 1868, and president of the Officers' Reunion Society, and one of the trustees of the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, in 1882, etc., etc.; and he has declined more honors than he has accepted. In regard to all of them it can be truly stated, as was said of Hon. Asahel Peck, when he was elected governor: " Neither solicitation nor hint of ambition for this dignity ever emanated from him." Governor Barstow never directly nor indirectly solicited the vote or influence of any man for any elective office.  Biographies Index

BORROWDALE, HENRY. The subject of this sketch was born on the 24th of December, 1813, in Warbethwait, Cumberland county, England. His father, John Borrowdale, a farmer, was born in Cumberland county September 10, 1778, and died in Canada February 22, 1849. His wife, the mother of Henry Borrowdale, was Aim Thompson, and was born in the town of Borrowdale, which probably derived its name from this family, in Westmoreland county, England, May 2, 1777, and died in 1860.  They had nine children, Hannah, Elizabeth, John, Ann, Margaret, Henry, Jane, Mary and Sarah, who were born in the order named. In 1823 John Borrowdale brought his family to Odelltown, seignory of Lacole, D. C, P. Q., where he and his wife both died. 

Henry Borrowdale received in his native country such education as he could obtain in the common schools, and came to America with his parents. At the age of fifteen years he left home for St. Albans, Vermont, and there entered upon a four years' apprenticeship to the cabinet-making trade, after completing which he returned to the home of his father in Canada and passed several months. He then passed a year in Montreal as a journeyman cabinet-maker, but was driven out by the cholera panic of 1834, when he again passed some time with his father. Thence he repaired successively to St Albans, Vt., two years, Burlington one year, Plattsburgh, N. Y., until 1845, Hopkinton, N. Y., one year, about a year in several places in Illinois, chiefly Fox River, then a short time in Canada, and again in Plattsburgh, after which he returned to the residence of his father in Canada. During all these years he was working at his trade as a journeyman until after his first year in Plattsburgh, and then independently.  He remained with the family of his father until just before the death of his mother, in the spring of 1860.   In March of that year he came to the farm in Jericho which he now owns and occupies, and which was originally settled by his father-in-law, Jonas Marsh, a worthy pioneer in the settlement of the town. Since that time he has remained on this place, improving and enlarging the premises. The farm originally contained 176 acres, which he has made by gradual accessions. He has for a number of years made a specialty of dairying, and has been practically president of the Mill Brook Cheese Factory, which has been in operation since 1874, taking milk from 400 or 500 cows annually.   He generally keeps about twenty cows in addition to other stock.  Mr. Borrowdale is a liberal-minded member of the Republican party, and in ante-bellum times was an uncompromising opponent of slavery. Being unobtrusive in manners, and without political ambition, he has remained out of office as much as convenient, serving occasionally as lister, appriser, etc. He has for many years been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and for a long time before coming to Jericho was the class leader in one society. There being no Methodist Church near his present residence, and because of a troublesome defect in his hearing, he has not of late been a very frequent attendant at service.

Henry Borrowdale was first married in 1840 to Mary J. Reed, of Plattsburgh, N.  Y. At her death she left one child. Clela Elizabeth, who died at Odelltown at the age of thirteen years. On the 26th of January, 1859, he was united in marriage with Orpha, daughter of Jonas Marsh, who is now living with him. Their only child is an adopted daughter, Effie, who has lived with them since she was two years of age.  Jonas Marsh was born in Bath, N. H., on the 9th of August, 1783, and was the son of James Marsh, the first settler in Waterbury, Vt   Upon the death of his father in  1793 he came to Jericho with two brothers, and entered into possession of the farm upon which Mr. Borrowdale now lives, not far from 1800.   In 1806 he married Peggy Whitten, of Jericho, and a native of Cummington, Mass., and with her became the father of five children, Lucien, Emeline, Laura, Orpha, and Catharine, of whom Orpha, (Mrs. Borrowdale) was the fourth, and is the only surviving child.   Biographies Index

BURDICK, JOHN L. F., M. D. The surname Burdick is supposed to be a corruption from Burdette, and to have originated in England. The great-great-grand-father of the subject of this sketch was a captain on an English vessel, and after passing most of his life on the ocean settled in Rhode Island. Thence, during the eighteenth century, Elijah and Lybius Burdick, half-brothers, emigrated to the vicinity of Hoosick Falls, N. Y. The latter afterwards settled in Warren county, N. Y., while Elijah became one of the first settlers in Westford, Vt., as stated in the history of Westford. in this volume. In that town on the 30th of January, 1790, was born Nathaniel, father of John L. F. Burdick and the third of the six children of Elijah Burdick and his wife, Rhoda. Rhoda Burdick died in Westford in the early part of this century.  Elijah died on the 29th of December, 1815. Nathaniel Burdick married Mary Benjamin, of New York State, immediately after which event he went to Ira, Rutland county, remaining there until about 1841. He then passed about three years in Westford, and removed to De Kalb, St. Lawrence county, New York, where he spent the remainder of his days until March 11, 1863. He was a farmer of more than usual intelligence, and performed the duties that fell to his lot with a cheerful readiness that commanded the esteem of his fellow townsmen and acquaintances. He was a member of the old Democratic party until the time of Fremont, for whom he voted, and after whose defeat he always advocated the principles of the Republican party. Although not an office seeker he was made justice of the peace for some time while residing in Ira, and after his removal to New York was honored by an election to the Legislature of that State, a more difficult position to attain than a corresponding office in Vermont.  His wife survived him until January 10, 1872, when she died in Rossie, N. Y., at the home of her daughter, Julia R. Wetmore. They had seven children, named as follows in the order of their birth : Thomas Benjamin, Charles W., Julia R., Mary L., John L.  F., Emily A., and Horace W., all of whom but the subject of this sketch are deceased.  Three of the brothers, Thomas B., Charles W., and John L. F., practiced medicine, the last named continuing still in that vocation.

John Lafayette Burdick was born in the town of Ira, Rutland county, Vermont, on the 16th of December, 1824, where were born also all of his brothers and sisters. He attended the common schools of his native town until about his seventeenth year, after which he pursued his studies for two years in a select school in Westford, one term in Potsdam, N. Y., and four years in Gouverneur, N. Y., Academy, receiving a thorough mathematical training at the latter institution under the tuition of Dr. J. W. Armstrong, of Gouverneur. He was then enabled to enter Union College one year in advance. He remained in this institution one year and a half, being forced to withdraw during his junior year by reason of a severe attack of typhoid fever. In the fall of 1849 he took a tour through the Atlantic and Southern States for the recovery of his health, an object which he accomplished in about a year. When he was again able to engage in some active occupation he was persuaded to open a select school in Westford, Vt., which he taught very successfully for two terms, having a regular attendance of no fewer than eighty pupils. The two school years immediately following the summer of 1850 were passed as principal of the graded school at Winooski, with the exception of the fall terms of 1851 and 1852, which he occupied in attendance upon lectures at the Castleton Medical College. By dint of thorough and persistent study he was graduated from that college in the fall of 1852. He at once opened an office in Winooski and has prosecuted a successful and growing practice ever since.  Dr. Burdick's first political affiliation was with the Democratic party of anti-bellum times. His sympathies and better judgment were alienated, however, during the agitation of the Free Soil arguments, since which time he has been a straightforward member of the Republican party. As a consequence of his high social and professional station he has been repeatedly urged to enter the field as a candidate for political office, but he has persistency and firmly declined, believing that he can better perform his mission by confining his activities to his practice, and to a solution of the questions it involves. He is an enthusiastic student and practitioner of medicine. His fellow physicians have appreciated this fact, and have manifested their appreciation by several gratifying elections to high position. For example, he was elected to the presidency of the old Chittenden County Medical Society a number of times, and has twice been president of the Burlington Medical and Surgical Club since its organization. He has also been one of the attending physicians of the Mary Fletcher Hospital every year since its inception except the first. He is gratified by these evidences of confidence in him, because it is his delight to deserve the esteem of his fellows in the medical profession. 

On the 16th day of November, 1851, Dr. Burdick was united in marriage with Anna L., daughter of Eli Warren Burdick, of Westford, who received an academic education at Bakersfield, Vt.   Their family now consists of themselves and one child, Lucy Florence, who was born on the 17th of September, 1875, and who is unusually bright and precocious. Thus far she has pursued her studies at home. It may here be mentioned as one of Dr. Burdick's characteristics that he enjoys above all other pleasures to aid the young in obtaining an education, his predilections in this regard having been fostered by his experience as a teacher. Mrs. Burdick's sister, widow of A. C.  Ballard, has for a number of years been a member of Dr. Burdick's family, her husband dying on the 28th of November, 1874.

Although not a member of any church, Dr. and Mrs. Burdick have a strong preference for the Baptist denomination, in accordance with family tradition. As there is no Baptist Church, however, in Winooski, they regularly attend and contribute to the support of the Congregational Church.  Biographies Index

BURGESS, LYMAN. Lyman Burgess was born at Grafton, Vt, on the 6th of March, 1798. His surname is derived from no uncertain source, being in England a civil or official title. The inhabitant or representative of a burgh or borough is a burgess. In the Old World the orthography of the name is well preserved, but in this country is frequently found corrupted into such forms as burghess, burges, burgis, borgis, burge, burg, etc. Lyman Burgess was in the seventh generation direct from Thomas Burgess, who emigrated from England to Salem, Mass., about 1630, owned a piece of land in that part of Plymouth called Duxbury, in 1637, and in the same year forfeited his title by removing to Sandwich, where he acquired a large property. The family have always possessed the trait of love for home, and the home of Thomas Burgess is still in the possession of his descendants.

Lyman Burgess remained on the farm of his father, Benjamin Burgess, during the whole period of his youth, attending the district schools of Grafton, and in the intervals assisting about the work of the farm. He soon displayed the active and sterling business qualities of his ancestors, and determined to enter at once upon a business career.  After passing a number of years in Boston as a clerk in a large store he removed to Milton in 1826 and immediately engaged in mercantile business. From this time until October, 1877, he continued the trade he had established. By virtue of diligent attention to the management of his affairs, the possession of a genial and even disposition and of habits of honesty and economy, he acquired a handsome property in Milton, and at the age of seventy-nine years retired from the active pursuits of life. He did not confine his energy to the mercantile business, but during a considerable portion of his residence in Milton operated extensively in lumbering, buying and clearing many tracts of valuable pine timber, which grew here in abundance at the time of his advent.  He also owned a fine water privilege in Milton village, and for many years operated a saw-mill and paper-mill. He was abundantly able to manage the affairs of his varied interests, being in better spirits when his activities were taxed to the utmost than when he was permitted even a momentary relaxation. As evidence of his almost imperturbable temper, it may be stated that he kept one man in his employment for more than forty years, which a moody or irascible man has never been known to do, Lyman Burgess was united in marriage on the 22d of January, 1823, with Lucia Day, daughter of Warren and Keziah Hill. Warren Hill is mentioned in the history of Milton as owner for a long time of the entire water privilege in Milton village.  In politics Mr. Burgess was a consistent Democrat, never aspiring to public position. He died at his home in Milton on the 12th of December, 1882, leaving one child, Lucretia, wife of .the late Edgar A. Witters, who now owns the property which he left.

Edgar Alonzo Witters was the son of Ira Witters and grandson of Hawley Witters, mentioned in the history of the town of Milton. His father was born on the 7th of December, 1797, near the line of Milton, in Georgia, and passed the greater portion of his life on a farm in the north part of the town. About 1849, however, he removed to a farm a little more than a mile south from Milton village, which is now held by his widow.   He was twice married, Edgar A. being one of the three children of his first wife. He was frequently placed in positions of trust by the voters of his town, being highway surveyor as early as 1823, and selectman from 1833 to 1839 inclusive, from 1843 to 1850 inclusive, and in 1852, besides holding other offices. He died on the 20th of September, 1861. His son, Edgar A., was born on the 22nd of April, 1827, educated in the common schools of Milton, and at the age of sixteen years began to act in the capacity of clerk for Lyman Burgess. He was admitted to an interest in the business in T852, and continued in that relation until 1861, when he went to New Orleans as sutler for the Eighth Vermont Regiment, under General Butler. After the taking of that city, in which he had a large stock of supplies, he resigned his position in the army and engaged there in the wholesale grocery and commission mercantile business. An extensive trade was soon established, at first under the sole proprietorship of Mr. Witters, and afterwards under that of the firm of Weed, Witters & Co., the partnership being dissolved in 1866. In the fall of 1868 he returned to his home in Milton, and after a brief stay went again to New Orleans to attend to the management of two rice plantations which he owned below the city. While superintending the harvesting of the rice he contracted malarial fever and was obliged to start immediately for his home in the North. He died at Chicago, while on his way home, on the 16th of February, 1869, and his remains were buried in Milton. Like his father, he was an active member of the Democratic party, and was frequently called upon to serve his town in some public office.

He married Lucretia, daughter of Lyman Burgess, on the 26th of October, 1853, and left two children, now living - Catharine C, now with her mother, and Lucia Burgess, wife of Homer E. Powell.   Biographies Index

CANNON, COLONEL LE GRAND B . Le Grand Bouton Cannon, son of Le Grand and Esther (Bouton) Cannon, was born in New York city on the first day of November, 1815, and is descended from an honorable ancestry among the French Huguenots. The patronymic is derived from a distinguished family of Cannons, or Canons, as the name was originally spelled, who lived in Dijon, France, from which town Jean, or John, Canon emigrated to England, and thence, in 1632, in company with a large body of Huguenots, to Westchester county, New York, where they established the first settlement of New Rochelle. As early as 1632 John Cannon became extensively engaged in foreign shipping in New York city. Cannon Street in that city is named from this family. The name of Le Grand comes from an equally interesting and honorable source: John Cannon, son of John Cannon before mentioned, having married a daughter of Pierre Le Grand, a fellow member of the Huguenot settlement. In the year 1698 a portion of this family went to South Carolina, where they established themselves in honorable and eminently successful pursuits. The mother of the subject of our sketch, Esther Bouton, traced her ancestry back to a distinguished Huguenot family, hereditary seneschals of the French fortresses of Dole.

Colonel Cannon received a thorough education at the Rensselaer Institute, now known as the Polytechnic Institute, of Troy, N. Y., from which he was graduated in 1834. Immediately after his graduation he began a successful career as a wholesale dry goods merchant in Troy, and was able to relinquish the activities of this pursuit in 1846.

Four years later he took up his residence in New York city, which is still his home forsix months of each year. Although not engaged in business on his own account, he hasever been of too active a temperament to remain idle and has interested himself in many public enterprises, invariably attaining in them all high positions of confidence and honor. In 1864 he became president of the Champlain Transportation Company, a position which requires great administrative abilities, sound and accurate judgment, and an extensive acquaintance with human nature. This office he still holds, having since his inauguration conducted the company from a subordinate station among powerful competitors to a level above competition and beyond the fear of failure. Among other offices which have been conferred upon Colonel Cannon may be mentioned that of president of the Lake George Steamboat Company, president of the Crown Point Iron Company, president of the Champlain Valley Association, vice-president of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad Company, and of director in a number of railroad and banking companies. It is unnecessary to comment upon the wisdom of the discrimination which has placed Colonel Cannon in these elevated stations; the intelligent people of the entire Champlain valley have been familiar with his just, determined and always successful methods for years.

Colonel Cannon's first military service was rendered in the Canadian Rebellion of 1838, when he was aide-de-camp to General Wool, stationed near the Canadian border in Northern Vermont. In 1861 he was reappointed to the regular service, and served through the Rebellion as chief of staff of General Wool, with the rank of colonel. His headquarters were at Fort Monroe. His experience and military accomplishments were of great service to the cause of the Union. He was influential in bringing into the service the first slaves that were given arms for the Union during the war, and as a member of the military commission which commanded the department of Virginia, made the first report that substantially emancipated the slaves in that department nine months before the famous proclamation of President Lincoln.

The beautiful site on the heights in Burlington which Colonel Cannon occupies about six months every year came into his hands by purchase in 1856. He then began at once to erect the buildings and grade and beautify the grounds, which are still the most attractive ornament to the city, and first occupied them in 1859. No better place in the Champlain valley could have been selected for beauty of prospect and healthfulness of situation. Colonel Cannon also owns a valuable farm of 450 acres in the town of Shelburne, devoted to breeding fine stock.

The first political affiliations of the subject of this sketch were with the old Whig party, of which he was a member until its dissolution, when he united with the Republican party. His aversion for political office, however, has been as great as his interest in business. He has repeatedly declined a nomination to Congress or political conventions in the State of New York, and in 1885 declined the proffered candidacy for the governorship of that State, the only exception being as a member of the electoral college of 1880. As a citizen, nevertheless, he is always awake to the best interests of his party and country, a fact which is abundantly attested by his position as vice-president of the Union League of New York, the greatest Republican club in the United States, which dates its origin from the war period he but recently declined the nomination to the presidency of that club. During the recent labor agitations he introduced to this league a series of forcible and effective resolutions, which were unanimously adopted.

Colonel Cannon is a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal Church, into which faith he was born and baptized.

On the first day of July, 1842, he married Mary, daughter of Benjamin De Forest, of New York city. He has three daughters and one son, viz. : Mrs. Chester Griswold, of New York, Mrs. Horace J. Brooks, of Burlington, Mrs. Louis Crawford Clark, of New York, and Henry Le Grand Cannon, still living with his parents. Col. Cannon is a widower; his wife died in 1871.  Biographies Index

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