Rutland County Biographies

History of Rutland County Vermont
Written by H. P. Smith and W. S. Rann
Published by D. Mason & Co. in 1886

GILSON, EDSON P., was born on the 5th of October, 1839, at Reading, Windsor county. He is of English descent. His great-grandfather, John Gilson, jr., grandson of John and Sarah Gilson. from England, was a native of Groton. Mass., his birth having occurred on the 12th day of May, 1726. He married Prudence Lawrence, of Groton, on the 19th day of January, 1764. She was a descendant (5th generation) of the well-known John Lawrence, of Watertown, Mass., born at Wisset, England, in the year 1609.

John Gilson, the father of Edson P., was born in Ringe, N. H., on the 1st day of July, 1798, and came to Reading with his father in early boyhood. He was the youngest of three son, and was blessed with six sisters. On the 31st day of March, 1824, he married Lucy Stearns, of Reading, Vt. The fruit of this union was eleven children, six boys and five girls, of whom five boys and two girls are now living.

The subject of our sketch is the youngest of the sons now living. The loss of his mother at the age of nine years left him entirely dependent upon his own slender resources. At that early age he worked on a farm for his board and clothes, and when he was eleven years of age he went to Cavendish, Vt. During the three years preceding his sixteenth year, he worked in a tannery in Proctorsville, and during the winter months attended the district school, working mornings and evenings for his board. Having thus early evinced an aptitude and faithfulness for business, which promised certain success, after proper educational training, he accepted the advice of his uncle, Josiah Gilson, esq., urging him to devote his every energy for a time to school studies, and his offer of assistance, if necessary. He went to the South Woodstock Institute one year, and to the Chester Academy three terms, paying nearly all his expenses by teaching in district schools during vacations at Ludlow and Rockingham. In 1860 he accepted the position of teacher in a hoys' academy at Winchester, Franklin county, Tennessee. Owing to the outbreak of the Civil War. he returned in June, 1861, to the north, and until the summer of 1862 taught in Proctorsville and Duttonsville in the town of Cavendish. He then came to Rutland, and entered the employment of the Bank of Rutland. In 1864 he was cashier of the First National Bank of Springfield. Vt., which position he retained until the spring of 1866, relinquishing his opportunities there for an interest in the marble business at Center Rutland. In June, 1866. with Charles Clement and Farrand Parker, of Castleton. he purchased, for a $150,000. the quarry property at West Rutland, of Adams & Allen, of Fair-haven, the name of the new firm being Clement, Parker & Gilson. On July 23, 1870, Mr. Clement sold his interest to Henry Dewey, of Bennington, and the firm name became Parker, Gilson & Dewey. August 21, 1873, Colonel Parker withdrew and the firm was Gilson & Dewey until May 14, 1874, at which time Waldo P. Clement and John N. Woodfin secured an interest in the business. The style was this time changed to Gilson, Clement & Woodfin. On September 4, 1879, Mr. Clement sold his interest to his partners, whereupon the firm assumed its present form and name of Gilson & Woodfin. A mill of eight gangs of saws was erected immediately after the purchase of the property from Adams & Allen, at a cost of nearly $30,000, Additions to the mill were made from time to time as the trade demanded, so that their mill now has twenty-one gangs of saws and large finishing shops, sufficient for filling orders for marble in any shape, promptly and well. From the first this enterprise has kept pace with the foremost houses in its line, having for years employed, on an average, about one hundred and twenty-five men, and produced, according to the two-inch measure, from 150,000 to 260,000 feet of marble per year. The quarry is situated in the heart of the great West Rutland marble deposit, and produces all varieties of what is known to the trade as " Rutland marble." Besides his position as senior member of the partnership which conducts this extensive business, Mr. Gilson has found leisure to serve in other capacities no less creditable. He has been for many years a justice of the peace for Rutland, and is now one of the trustees of the graded school district. He has held the position of secretary and treasurer of the Producers' Marble Company ever since its organization, and vice-president of the Killington National Bank from the beginning of its existence. His naturally deep interest in the various marble enterprises of the world led him in the winter of 1883-84 to sojourn for six months in Italy, and make a thorough inspection of the famous Carrara marble deposit. Mr. Gilson has been a communicant of the Protestant Episcopal Church since 1861, being baptized and confirmed in May of that year by Bishop Otey at the Diocesan Convention held in the Diocese of Tennessee. He has been twice married, first to Anna E., daughter of Charles Clement, esq., on the 15th of June, 1865. She died in October, 1874. On the 1st of February, 1877, Mr. Gilson married, for his second wife, Harriet E. Morgan, of New York city, where the ceremony was performed. Their children are, Robert Morgan, born January 20, 1878, and John Lawrence, born October 26, 1880.

GRAY, ALBERT W., was born in Dorset in the county of Bennington, .State of Vermont, September 30, 1810. He was a son of Aaron and Hannah Higby Gray. The father was born in Connecticut and with four brothers emigrated to Dorset during the time of the early settlement of that town. The father of Aaron Gray was an officer in the American army in the Revolutionary War and was killed in the service of his country. The mother of Albert W. was born in Hubbardton, Vt. Her father was one of the patriots of the Revolution, and was in the battle of Hubbardton. Aaron Gray was a carpenter and joiner, and after struggling along for a few years in Dorset, he moved with his family to the State of Ohio, then a new and unsettled region, with a view to improve his fortune. Albert W. was then nine years old. After the family had resided in Ohio about two years the wife, Hannah, died. This was a severe blow upon her husband from which he never fully recovered. By reason of that and other misfortunes in his new home, he became discouraged and resolved to return to Dorset with his family. He arrived at his old home penniless and sent his son Albert to live with his uncle, a brother of Aaron, in Charlotte, Vt. Here Albert W. lived with his uncle until fifteen years old. Then his father took him home and put him at work with him on jobs of building and repairing for a few months when he was "bound out." Albert W. was an apprentice to Henry Gray, a relative, until he should arrive at the age of twenty-one years. Henry Gray was a millwright and was one of the early settlers, and Albert W. Gray went to live with him to learn this trade, and thus the latter became a resident of that town until his death. He lived with Henry until he was twenty-one years old, learned the trade, and became at that age one of the most skillful workmen at the trade in this section of the State.

At the age of twenty-one Mr. Gray engaged in business for himself with diligence and encouraging success. He soon became known as a scientific and close workman, and his services were in demand in the erection of mills in quite an extensive region in this section of Rutland county. In a few years, he had accumulated sufficient to purchase a home for himself and family. Fie had a genius and inclination for inventing, and gave much of his time to the study and experimental application of mechanical principles, and in that way wore upon his earnings which he had saved in the few years' work at his trade of millwright. His first invention was a corn-sheller, in 1836. patented soon after. This was a good implement and went into quite general use, and in its day was regarded as one of the best of its kind. In 1844 he invented a horse power, which perhaps had as much merit as any machine of its kind then brought out. He got it patented and for a few years manufactured what he could in a small shop with one or two workmen to aid him. Soon after the invention of the horse-power he invented a machine for the manufacture of wrought nails. This was the first machine of its kind in the world, and of its practical working there seemed no doubt. An incorporated company was soon organized with a capital of $100,000, and commenced the manufacture of wrought iron nails at Middletown. At that time non and labor were so low in Europe that wrought iron nails could be hammered out there, and the tariff so low they could be imported and compete with Mr. Gray's machine, though one man with the Gray machine would produce as many in the same time as half a dozen men could hammer out. After a brief time " The Middletown Wrought Nail Company " suspended work, but Mr. Gray intended an improvement on his machine with a view to more rapid manufacture. In this he was confident of success, but thereafter nails were cut from wrought iron by machinery and this induced Mr. Gray to abandon his project.

The crowning work of Mr. Gray as an inventor was that of his improved horse-power in 1856. Up to this time, for a period of about ten years, he had been engaged with his oldest son, Leonidas, in the manufacture of the horse-power of his first invention, in the small way above named. His improved power was a decided improvement, and apparently as near perfection as such a machine could be made. The machine is so constructed that the friction is but a trifle, securing and applying; the whole power of the horse to the work to be done. It is, without doubt, to this day the lightest, most durable machine, and best of its kind in use. The gearing is made of wrought iron, and the whole is constructed with a view to ease and facility in its work,

Mr. Gray purchased a building near his home in Middletown in 1857 which had been used as a woolen factory, and fitted it up with machinery and fixtures for the manufacture of his improved horse-powers. He was involved in debt to some extent, but with the confidence his friends had in the success of his last enterprise, aid in the shape of capital sufficient to establish his manufactory on a good working basis was forthcoming. He took in with him his two sons, L, and A. T.. who had inherited his mechanical skill, and perhaps excelled him in business capacity. Demand for the machines rapidly increased : the income soon became such that the old debts were disposed of and the concern found itself established in an active and prosperous business. It was not many years before the increasing demand made it necessary to enlarge the manufactory and add to the force of workmen. In 1875 Mr. Gray disposed of his interest in the concern to his sons, and retired with a competence, and the sons have since prosecuted the business with a constant gain in the manufacture, and necessarily an increase in buildings and other facilities. No manufactory in Vermont is more prosperous or stands on a firmer basis than the manufactory of horse-powers by A. W. Gray's Sons.

Albert W. Gray had his imperfections as well as the rest of mankind. Only a few months at the common school gave him all the school education he ever received ; yet he was well versed in mechanical science, and few men have given more thought and study to the investigation of mechanical principles than he did, this was known to his intimate friends, if not to his acquaintances generally. He had a will, a persistency beyond most men. These two traits of character account for his success, and enabled him to become a benefactor of his race. It is not an over estimate to say that the enterprises of which he was the father and founder, in effect has doubled in value the property of Middletown.

Mr. Gray held every office within the locality of his town. He was one of eight who represented Rutland county in the Constitutional Convention held at Montpelier in 1857. He represented his town in the Legislature of Vermont in the years 1866 and 1867. He discovered the mineral springs in Middletown in the year 1868. The result of this discovery was to make the place a popular summer resort. A large hotel and other buildings have been erected there.

Mr. Gray was twice married ; the first time to Angeline Skinner, by whom he had four children, now living; the two sons named, and two daughters, Mrs. Abigail Barritt, who lives in Hydeville with her family, and Mrs. Josephine Clark, who also has a family and lives in Pawlet. Some years after the death of his first wife he married Martha Holbrooke, of Sandy Hill, who with one daughter survives him.

Mr. Gray had suffered from a dyspeptic difficulty a large portion of his life, supposed to have been produced by his severe study and close application to the matter of his inventions in the early part of his life, though he kept up an active life until within the last year, when he had been gradually failing and losing his vitality. October 26, 1885, he died.

His funeral was held from his late residence at Middletown Springs, October 28, 1885, at which there was a large attendance. Rev. 0. Myrick, of the Congregational Church preached the sermon. Places of business were closed. The horse-power manufactory and the bank of which he was president were draped in mourning, and the general expression of the people was one of sorrow at the departure of one who had done so much for the town.

GRAY, LEONIDAS, .senior member of the firm of A. W. Gray's Sons. Middletown  Springs, Vt., was born in Middletown, Vt., on the l0th day of December, 1834. He is a son of Albert W. and Angeline (Skinner) Gray. The life of Leonidas Gray presents an example worthy of emulation by the youth of our country. In all respects his early years were the same as those of the most successful and eminent men of our times. Born to poverty, he was compelled to lend a helping hand to his father in his struggle for the support of his family, and as a consequence his advantages for an education were limited. This severe early discipline and experience he now believes to have been the foundation for his success in life, and the stepping-stone to his present high place among the prosperous and prominent men of his State and country. During the years leading up to 1856 the father of our subject followed various occupations. He was engaged in millwright work, operated a saw-mill and manufactured a corn-sheller of his own design. In these pursuits Leonidas rendered his father valuable assistance, and the performance of the manifold duties which devolved upon him in this connection proved a most excellent school of preparation for the important place which he was destined to occupy in the business which then commenced its slow but sure growth. In 1856 Leonidas was admitted to a partnership in his father's business, and they began the manufacture, from designs of the father's invention, of their now celebrated horse-powers and threshing-machines, the perfection of which has been gradual, the result of thoughtful study and inventive genius, and which stand today without a peer. The building of these machines at first was necessarily slow and of a limited character, for the tools and appliances used in their construction, owing to the scanty means of the company, were net of the best, and for several years the labor was done mostly by hand. The first power used in their factory was one of their own tread machines. The growth of the business demanding greater facilities and more room, special machinery for particular parts of the work (the inventions of the Grays) and more space were added. At first the machines were constructed in a small room sixteen by thirty-four feet in size. This space soon proved insufficient, and more room was added from time to time to accommodate the gradual but steady increase in the business, until now the firm find no unemployed space in their immense factory, consisting of one structure one hundred and seventy-five feet long by ninety-five feet wide, and four stories in height, and ten other buildings that are used for storage purposes, blacksmith and forge shops, ranging in size from one hundred and sixteen feet long by forty feet wide, down to forty by thirty feet. This firm now manufactures more tread machines than any other factory in the world, and their powers and threshers find a market in all of the grain-growing countries on earth, even where the plowing is done with a crooked stick. It is proper to state in this connection that honor for the great success achieved by the Grays in building up this marvelous business, is due first to Albert W. Gray for his great mechanical skill and inventive genius ; second, to Leonidas Gray for the perfect system that was adopted and is yet maintained in their factory, and that is manifested in all their business transactions. He was the financier of the concern from its start, and has conducted the affairs of the firm through its early vicissitudes, and through its long period of prosperity with a master hand. The firm continued as A. W. Gray & Son until 1866, when another son of the inventor, Albert Y. Gray, was admitted to a partnership in the business, and the firm name was changed to A. W. Gray & Sons. The firm as then constituted continued the business, adding new improvements, the result of new inventions, until 1875, when Albert W. Gray sold out his interest to his sons, and the firm name was again changed to A. W. Gray's Sons. Previous to this last change, the water power, which had been substituted in place of the horse-power before referred to, proving inadequate to propel the vast amount of machinery used in the factory, a fire-proof engine room was built and a larger engine placed therein, and steam used in connection with the water. In 1881 the firm invented and applied a very important improvement in their threshing machines, which is used by no other manufacturer of threshers. In 1885 they added a new and valuable appliance to their horse powers, on which they have secured a patent, and their machines as now constructed are beyond question the best in the world. The life of our subject. as will be seen by a glance at the foregoing brief sketch of his business career as connected with the firm of which he is now the senior member, has allowed him no opportunity or time to take an active part in public affairs, even had he been inclined to do so. In 1880 he consented to represent his town in the State Legislature, that being the only official position he ever accepted at the hands of his townsmen. The same may be said of his brother, .Albert Y. Gray, who represented the town in that body one term.

Mr. Leonidas Gray has been twice married, his first wife being Ellen Mosely, of Middletown Springs, Vt., to whom he was married in 1861, and by whom he had three children, as follows: Francis L.. E. Corinne, and Ethel M., all of whom are now living. His first wife died in 1872, and in 1875 he married for his second wife Alice Woodruff, of Middletown Springs, Vt., and by whom he has had one child, Albert W.

When the First National Bank of Poultney was organized our subject was elected its vice-president, and still holds that position. He is also president of the Gray National Bank of Middletown Springs, Vt., himself and his brother, Albert Y., owning the controlling interest in the same. Some years since, when the now famous Montvert Hotel was built at Middletown Springs, Vt., Leonidas, with his brother, became largely interested financially in the stock company that erected it, and the same proving a financial failure in consequence of bad management, its sale was forced, and our subject and his brother became its purchasers. Through their instrumentality, it is, as now operated, one of the best summer hotels in the State, and is patronized by hundreds from all parts of the country, who find Middletown Springs, Vt., a most delightful place in which to spend the summer months, and the " Montvert" a luxurious and pleasant home. The Gray brothers, wherever known, are highly valued and esteemed, and the community in which they live may well feel proud of two such energetic and enterprising citizens. They have built up and beautified their native village out of their abundant means, and to use the language of one who knows, " they have made Middletown Springs what it is." They sympathize with every proposition looking to the public good, and for every worthy object of that kind they are the first to give, and that most generously. In cases of sickness and distress where means are needed, they are always prompt in extending a helping hand. The churches of their native town have in them their most liberal supporters, and the hundreds who have been the recipients of their favors, kindly bestowed, have learned to know and appreciate the nobleness of their benefactors.

GREENO, BENJAMIN RICE. In the fall of 1769, Daniel Greeno came from Boston, Mass., to Rutland. Vt., and purchased a farm about three miles north of Rutland village. In the following spring he came on with his family and took up his settlement on the place ; but, owing to the defective character of his title, he, like a good many of the pioneers, was compelled to give up his home, which he did at the end of two years. He then purchased a large tract of land in the same vicinity, embracing the present Greeno homestead, which has ever since been in possession of the family. When the tide of the Revolutionary War reached Bennington and the battle was to be fought, Mr. Greeno and his wife both went there, and ha joined the ranks of the patriots and performed his part in that historical struggle. After the battle Mrs. Greeno remained several weeks in caring for the wounded and sick, a duty for which she was particularly qualified. After Mr. Greeno built his first frame house, which stood on the site of the residence where his son Amasa afterward lived, and where his grandson Amasa A. now resides, he kept a tavern in it for some years. Daniel Greeno died in 1806. Among the eleven children was Amasa, who was born in 1792 on the homestead. He married Betsey Farmer in 1814, daughter of Benjamin Farmer, who was also one of the very early settlers of the town. Amasa spent his life in a quiet but honorable way on the home farm and died in 1848. His wife died in 1872. Their children were as follows : Amasa Austin, who still occupies the homestead; born May 12, 1815. Benjamin Rice (the subject of this sketch). Betsey Lorain, born July 23, 1824, and still living on the homestead ; and Medora Van Home, born May 23. 1836, married B. W. Pond, of Castleton.

Benjamin Rice Greeno was born on the l8th day of February, 1821, in Rutland. His boyhood did not differ in its occupation from that of most of the farmers' sons of Vermont at that period, except that he enjoyed educational advantages not accessible to some; he attended the common schools with regularity, particularly in the winter seasons, and finished a fair English education in the Chester Academy. Since the death of his father his life has been spent on the homestead, which passed into possession of himself and his brother Amasa A. The original tract owned by Daniel Greeno embraced nearly a thousand acres, but some portions of this were sold, and since his death other tracts have been purchased by the two sons, so that their landed estate now comprises about six hundred acres of excellent farming lands in one of the most productive parts of the town. This land has never been divided in a legal manner between them ; but has been worked, a certain portion by each. Mr. Greeno has made his business at careful study, and has thus been able to bring his farm into a high state of cultivation and to conduct its various branches in an advanced and successful manner. It is now one of the most attractive and valuable rural homesteads in the county. Mr. Greeno is a man possessed of careful, deliberate methods of forming his judgment upon questions of importance ; a qualification which is supplemented by sound common sense based upon a foundation of broad general information. The qualities have been recognized by his townsmen by his election to various offices ; he was justice of the peace two terms, lister three years and has filled other stations of trust, the duties of which have always been performed in a conscientious and efficient manner. He is a member of the Congregational Church and has given freely of his time and means for its support. Mr. Greeno was married on the 18th of October, 1848, to Sarah Jane Cheney, daughter of James E. Cheney, who was a son of Benjamin, one of the prominent early settlers of the town. Benjamin Cheney served through the entire Revolutionary War, coming from Londonderry, N H. He settled in the north part of the town on what became known as " Cheney Hill," in the vicinity of which lived other members of the same family; he died there and his son, James Eayers, also died on the homestead in 1850. The latter was a prominent citizen ; held various town offices and brought to the management of his affairs more than common intelligence. His family were Mrs. Greeno, Lyman S., who died in Minnesota October 23, 1885, at fifty-seven years of age. James A., born June 30, 1831, now lives on the homestead of his grandfather. Mary Ann, born June 25, 1836. married Warren Dickerman, and died in 1865 ; and Frances Caroline, born August 13, 1842, married William H. Palmer, and died in 1865. Infant son, died January, 1850. Infant daughter, born November 28, 1851, died December 2, 1851. Clarence Amasa, born November 26, 1853, died January 24, 1860. Caroline Elisabeth, born January 2, 1860, died April 21, 1862. Mary Lorain, born August 6, 1861, died April 1. 1862. Minnie Jane, born October 8, 1863, died September 27, 1865. Benjamin Cheney, born June 20, 1865, died September 27, 1865. Hattie May, born August 26, 1868, died June 30, 1871.

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