Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1897-03-26
General Vermont News.

"Old Phil, who for many years has been
| a well-known character in BrattlebOro. is
| dead. His name was Philip Connolly and
| he was born in Ireland in "A hamlet at the
| foot of the Galtee mountains in 1924. He
! came to this country about lSij. He lived
! in Troy. n. Y, Bennington, Vt. and later in
! Newfane. He was adjudged insane in lsi9
having committed several acts Of violence.
and was taken from Newfane Jail and
i committed to the BrattlebOro retreat, where
! he has been ever since. His periods Of
! insanity gradually wore away and he
was given almost absolute freedom. For
years he had been constant and trustwOr-
thy companion of Porter Spencer. the retreat
! steward .. Mary Gordon of Portland, Ct. "A
! graduate of Mount Holyoke college, has
! been engaged to take charge of the English
classes in the high school, to succeed Maud
| Kingsley Hattie Lyon, wife of Clarke G.
| Fits, a well-known Brattleboro attorney, is
dead. Mrs. Fits was 20 years Old,
the daughter of Stanley and Sarah
! j. Lyon. She was born in Winhall and with
! her parents moved to South Londonderry,
where the latter became prominent in the
! Baptist society. For number of years she
! had lived in Bratteboro, where she was
! favOrite in her neighbOrhood and in her
! church. She was married in 1893. Besides
! her husband and mother, Mrs. Fits leaves
! two sons, the youngest only few days old.
and a brother. Rev. John $. Lyon of Bristol,
! CT, who succeeded pastor of the Baptist
! church of that place. Rev. +. E. Tower. for
| merly of BrattleborO. The Martha Barker
| will case, which has attracted much atten-
! tiOn in Brattleboro recently, has been set
! tied. The estate, which was valued at
about $4,000. was willed in large part to
! Belle Guild of Brattlehoro, who lived with
! Mrs. Barker at Newfane several years and
! had taken care of her more or less for 20
years. The will was made in 1890, few
| years before Mrs. Barkers death. and it was
! the claim of the contestant that it was made
under undue influence, and that Mrs Barker
was incapable of making a will. The con-
test was made by Mr.. Folger of Massilon. o.,
IA cousin of Mrs Barker. 1t was finally set
! tied out Of court, by the payment of a small
sum by Miss Guild
The annual statistics of the Congregations
al churches of Vermont have just been is
! sued. All churches have reported except
| five, among them being Il Welsh church at
| Fair Haven. In the cases of these five
! churches the figures of last year were used.
! There are in the state 39 churches that have
regularly installed pastors, and l07 that have
| pastors that are not installed: II have sup
| plies; q are supplied by licentiates or
| ministers of other denominations and q pull
| pits are vacant. The church membership
is u SIT, a gain of 274 on the last year.
| The additions have been 764 by confession
and All by letter, a total of 1241 Removals
| discipline and revision of the roll $50. The
net gain during the year was 2S5. The
membership of the Sunday-schools is II ,74S,
! a loss of 42l. The average attendance at
! the Sunday-schoos was IL, 767. loss of 2O9
| The Christian Endeayor societies number ia.
with $3.50 members. a loss of 37l. Benevo-
| lent contributions were S5j,670, showing
! decrease of S30l7. Home expenditures were
| S2l2. .074. an increase over last year of SlO.-
| 65l.
There are II sons of Vermont in the Mas
sachusetts Legislature George A Brown
| born in Plymouth, in 1854 Albert Clark in
! Granville. 1910 Samuel Cole, in Rutland
1856 Z. Z. Crawford in Guildhall, 1875; A
| Il. Crosby. in Glover, 1898 Almon E. Hall
in Stamford, 1876; Amos E. Hall in Marsh
field, 1s3S F. c. Manchester in Randolph
! 1859 G.. s. Shattuck in Sheldon. 1910. Henry
| Thrasher in Westminster. 1919. In the SEN
ate is ". II. Cook, born in Bennington. 1874
| Mr.. Brown, says correspondent is ac-
| knowledged by all to be the leading orator
of the House. magnetic. eloquent and logi-
| cal. Mr. Manchester is very strong and
able man, of good judgment and much power
| and stands in the front rank of our legisla-
tors Mr.. Crawford. although new MEM
ber has already shown himself IA man of su-
! periOr ability andis making hosts of friends.
AlmOn E. Hall is prominent in debate and u
valuable man.
The st. Albans Foundry company has COM
| pleted an order for the shipment of twenty
! four of their horse powers and threshers
| to Siberia. These machines were ordered
| through firm in San Francisco and were
| shipped via that port to the Saghalien Island.
| This island lies off the east coast of Asia
| and was formerly the property of Japan.
| The southern portion of the island was
| ceded to Russia in 1875 and some of the
| penal colonies Of the Russian government
| are established there. The Foundry COM
! many made n 81 ipmpnt Of a few Of these ma
chimes to the Saghalen Island about a year
ago on trial. As the machines were ordered
| from San Francisco, the Foundry company
! has no direct knowledge of the purchaser,
but it is believed to be the Russian govern
ment.
Loren NJ. Howard of NIddlesbury is dead,
at the age of Is years. He was a native Of
| Wisconsin, but had passed most of his life
| in Middebury, where he acquired II COM
petence. Mr.. Howard leaves a widow
and one son, Roy Howard. who is a student
in Middlebury college, and he has also two
sisters in the West. Hon. Lyman E.Knapp
of Seattle, Washington, formerly editor of
the Middesbury Register and Judge of pro-
| bate for the Addison district, has been visit
| ing friends in Middlebury. Judge Knapp
was governor of the territory of Alaska dur
ing Harrison's administration and is now in
! the real estate business in Seattle.
The annual encampment of the Grand
| y.
at Bennington June 20, 23, a. and possibly
colt was born here of grand fighting
stock, his father, James Prescott. serving in
| the revolutionary war and in,the war of 1872.
| His grandfather, Captain James, also served
| in the same struggle, and was present at the
| surrender OF Burgoyne, in October, 1777,
| In 1885 Mr.. Prescott married Sarah Pike,
and two children have been born to them.
| In 1885 their golden wedding was celebrated
| and fOur VparS ago Mrs praspntt died Gan
| Neal Dow, the well-known temperance
| advocate, was also born in Hampton Falls,
and was an early associate and playmate of
Mr.. Prescott, and is the latter's senior by
one day.
PLYMOUTH George Moore Russell has
| successfully passed the examination for
West Point and will report there June Is.
He is the son of Maj. Frank w. Russell who
graduated from West Point in the class of
1868. :. John H. MIDGET is dead of paraly-
sis. He was born in Holderness 6S years
ago, and has lived in the town twenty-eght
| years. He has been q lifelong Republican
an active member of the Methodist church.
and he has represented that town in the
Legislature one term. At the time of his
death, he was treasurer of the Plymouth
| Electric Light company. A wife and two
daughters survive him.
PoRTsMoUTH-The city government has
elected city officers as follows City tleas-
urer, G. H. Clough city physician, f. s,
| Towle; street commissioner, Rienzi Ridge
city solicitor, John w. Kelley superintend-
ent FIRE alarm, W. 1. Trafton; keeper city
farm, j. W. Shannon health officers. E. b.
Prime, l.. Pope, Jr, f. s. Towle; chief en-
w. i. Howard, postmaster in Fair Haven,
has been arraigned in Rutland before the
| TTnitp1 States commissioner on the phnrua