Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-10-20
DEATH OF GEORGE G. HOWARD.


A life which was shrouded in not niue
of mystery went out in the death on Neu-
nesdav afternoon, at the BratlleDoro iio"se,
of George G. Howard, aged 90 or az
least a quarter of century MT. howard
has been more or less III BiatIIeDoIo' anu
yras we'll known TO many of the older resi-
La,te q A Bovden recalls that he came
Lern in 1869 and stayed at the Revere
House. of which Mr. Boyden was then the
landlord He NAV have been here several
Years earlier than this. His business was
Thai of teaching how to detect counterfeit
Nancy. an art i'm which he was an expert,
and which was of great value in the DAYS
of the state bank currency. lie traVelcu
tbrouuh all this section, and in all dlrec-
tions. following this occupation. lie was
then. as he has been in these later years.
man of striking personal appearance he
was large. wel-formed, broad -shOuldereu'
erect. with a strongly cut head anu race
his long black. and afterward white mar
beino thrown back in a classic way-a man
TO attract a second look in any place or III
any company. His voice was not less no
ticeable. 1t was low-ptched, well ana
smoothly modulated, and very pleasing 10
the ear Few men had such graces OF con
versation or could talk more entertainingly'
He had fine manners and courtesy when
never failed him.
For 20 years his visits to Brattleboro
were of uncertain length and frequency,
but six years ago he returned here ana
went to the BrattlebOro House, then Kept
by George A. Bliss, and there he has ever
since remained, acting as clerk Tor MI
Bliss, and for Mrs Stafford since she pc
came the owner of the house during thls
time he has had a small circle OF irehus
whose calls upon him he has always vel
coined. and with whom he has talked III
the entertaining and informing way already
spoken of. one Of his most Intimate
friends saws that hr has not left the house
to come up into Main street since the cele-
bration in honor of harrison's election to
the presidency five years ago. He was
stanch Republican and Harrison's defeat
last wear was a sore grief to him.
Perhaps no one knew him better than
Charles Hodgman, who, II years ago, spent
the winter with him in the little hotel III
MARROW. y. H.. where Hodgman was then
boarding. Mr. Howard became greatly at
tached to the infant daughter of Mr.. Pets,
the landlord. and at the time of the Valley
Fair this year he was delighted to receive
a call from the daughter and her father.
From MARROW he went in the spring on to
| Claremont, Springfield. this state, St.
| Johnsbury and other towns in the north.
With regard to his early life Mr.. Howard
was always reticent, and all that is known
| of it is what he occasionally revealed in an
! outburst of confidence. His father, he said,
was sea captain and he was himself
! Harvard graduate. II is supposed that his
| birthplace was Dorchester, Mass. In ear
! " manhood, or perhaps in middle life, his
! business was that of real estate broker in
! New York. He has often said that at one
time he was worth upwards OF SlOO,OOO,
! all of which he lost by venture in flour
| ing mill in Minnesota. His wife, son and
daughter died of diphtheria in single
month in New York and this bereavement,
with the loss of his property, appears to
have unsettled his course of life. There
are some reasons for believing that he was
at one time in the secret service of the
government, probably with reference to
the detection of counterfeiters. He has
stated that there was no counterfeiter of
prominence whose work he could not rec
ognize and whose location he could not
place. He had an intimate knowledge of
the best English literature and could in
stantly place any quotation from standard
author.
About two weeks ago Mr.. Howard was
seized with erysipelas in one leg and foot,
and blood poisoning followed, causing
death When informed of his condition
and asked whom he wished to notify he
said no one, that he had no relatives or
friends, and all that was left was to bury
him. Mr.. Boyden found among his effects
a large number of counterfeit bills, most
of them so marked, the relics of his craft !;
but he had no money and few valuables.
The funeral was held at the Brattleboro
House this afternoon, Rev. Mr.. Sprague
officiating. Floral tributes were sent by
those living at the house and others. The
burial was in tho Prospect Hill cemetery, in
lot in the old part of the enclosure.