Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-03-13
THOMAS II. CANFIELD.
And the Early History of the Northern
Pacific.
CONDENSED from the Northwcst.l

the earliest anu liIoS' "'VlNo ,,i
the Northern lacluc raliIoU'' was W. "
in Arlington. Bennington county, Yer
anon, March % lSl3 MIR Garfield was
,'n,,,,,,t u,nu - farm. Int Mt an early are
ut""Nn' "P V" - ' -, ~
he eNlnceu ucSlre iol "'oi' "''
yanCed education than the common School
of his native town afforded. 1t was while
DEMONSTRATING - ,,.nicult problem at Il
w -, ,Lo cit,, nf ,Tr,v
Pu''', ', '' '..1 40 n,,.,,,,inr IF
New urN, ne is.'''tcu l''c aV'eI'loH VI
the late Bishop .,iun2O Potter OF Felh-
svlvanin who WIS chen the acting prrSi-
t,,,I-,,i,,, t.Ii.,n SCHENECTADY. Nv
a., r,n,,Il .,.,, ir,l,,,.,.,. tn abandon
hun MI c"Ale' "''H i''''O'' w. ""''''''',
hrs iucd q. tecomih a CIV" engineer ana
tu enter tine junior Ci1,S "a UHion col
L,o u,...n very llrur class vet he
-. r,..,. 49,, m. va,r .t if.
."''i. ''' 80 W., .t.i,. - 49,.
hc'"'' '7''H "''O' liz
senior year he WHs summoned home, by
thp sudupu death Of his father, to Yer
mont and ooain t,nl, ny the burdens of
INC l'l'"' ,.,,.
In lNii he removed To NbIlaloh' YER
mont. having in the meantime married
!, ivol,ntb 4 only dnuphtpr of Eli Chit
frudru. "A grandson of the first governor
If Vermont. She died in ls4S and ne sub
sonu4ntIv married Caroline A.. the Young
est dnuytitrr of The ri, Rev Bishop Hop
Llns of Vermont. who Is still living and
hy whom he has two sons and three dHugh-
,,,f. No rrr1aiued nj WiIliston until 1871.
when he removed to Burlington, W.T.
where ne still resides, and entered into the
,runl,s:lr luprcLnntilp and forwarding
business. between Montreal and New
York
At This time there were no railroads in
Vermont Int fine two roads from Boston,
-. 4 Il ii
The other via Bellows Falls and Rutland
were being extended across the Green
Mountains to Buriingtou His firm
bradley X Garfield, with two or three 9th
rr confinement were engaged in building
the one from Bellows Falls via Rutland,
WHEN wa. CONNECTED in December. ls49
He WAS now fairly enlisted III the trans
norintiuu business as we'll as in merChan-
tiia nrIrsuits and in the building of rail.
roads. which at that early day but few
contractors undertook.
lie 1,-nS the first SIlDerintendent of the
Rutland a. Washington railroad and at
forwards its president, and subsequently,,
when If brcaur financially embarrassed,
took a least. of if. and operated it upon his
own account. II was probably the first
railroad in this country, we think ever
lpusrI hy nm Individual While thus en-
gagged. lie formed the acquaintance of Ed
win + JolusOn who was Il son of the late
John Johnson of BURLINGTON and was then
prYnup. the most experienced railroad en-
piuper in America who spent much of his
lime at burlington in the store OF Bradley
\ (unHnlt Mir Johnson having been
Protector of the Erie railroad in 1896
from New York TO the lakes, hpu given
much Thought and collected from army
officers. trappers and traders, much inlor
nation relative to the belt of country be
tween the great lakes ANA the Pacific
Ocean. and had become impressed with
tn.. it,,nhrt,,f.A ,,f u n1lr1ab "A the ii,