Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-10-11

were handsomely decorated Tor tne oc-
casion.
Col. A. B. Franklin past department
commander of the @. A. r., stepped up
on the Presidents automobile as IL
stopped In front of the seminary and
made Introductory remarks, while the
children, dressed in white and carrying
flags, gathered close to the car. Behind
them and on every hand were the adults
from Townshend and surrounding towns,
the crowd numbering about 800. Presi-
dent Taft spoke but briefly, paying a
pleasing tribute to the town, in the
western part of which his father was
born. He met there two second cousins,
Miss Carrie Farrar of New York. who
spent the summer at Townshend Inn,
and Mrs Charles Cutler of Townshenj.
Continuing to West Townshend, the
ancestral home, President Taft visited
several minutes with Miss Mary Taft,
an own cousin of his father, and other
old friends of the family. He had to
climb an exceedingly steep hill about
mile and a half to go to the old home
place of the family, which is now own
ed by Thaddeus Wheeler President Taft
alighted from the touring car at the old
farm and looked at the remains of the
old cellar hole and peered down the old
well near the house of his ancestors.
No public remarks were made at West
Townshend, and darkness was approach
trip across the Green Mountains to
Manchester to remain over night On
that trip they passed though the only
toll gate in Vermont, known as the Peru
and Winhall turnpike. The days timer
airy necessitatej crossing four mountains
two being in the Green Mountain range
President Taft was a guest Monday
night of Robert Lincoln, son of Abra-
ham Lincoln. Mr.. Lincoln has
magnificent mansion looking many miles
down the Battenkill valley On Tuesday
| the journey was continued to Mont
| pelier. The presidential party dined at
| noon in the Woodstock Inn and the
| President addressed the crowds briefly
| in several towns. On Wednesday fore
| noon, in accordance with a resolution
passed by the legislature, the President
delivered in the state house an ad-
dress in memory of the common soldier
at the unwilling OF a tablet.
| Press Representative Injured.
Soon after leaving North Adams the
| press car and automobile coming
from an opposite direction collided and
| A. w. Fox, representative of the New
| York Herald, sustained compound
| fracture of the left forearm. The bone
| protruded through the flesh, but Mr.
Fox made no complaint and remained
| with the party until he reached Brat
! tleboro, the first attention being given
him by DIR. George r. Anderson. DR..
Anderson sent him to the Memorial hos
pital, where he remained until next day.
The Taft Ancestry.
| The ancestry of President Taft includ-
| ed two prominent Townshend families.
| His great-grandfa Their was Aaron Taft,
| who moved his family to Townshend
| from UXbridge, Mass, in March, 1893,
| The snow was so deep that it took 10
1 xvnlrA -
| goods from West Townshend village to
Taft hill. Aaron's son, Peter Rawson
Taft, was IA years old when his parents
| went to Townshend. He became sue
cessful teacher, afterwards judge of
| probate, judge of the Windham county
| court, a representative in the legisla-
ture, one of the founders Of Leland and
Gray seminary and its first president
from 1885 to 1s41. when he went to Gin
| cinnati, Ohio. In 1910 he married Sylvia
| Howard Of Townshend, daughter of Levi
Howard, who went to Townshend from
Milford. Mass, in 1775. They had one
| son, Alphonso Taft father of the Presi-
dent. He was born in Townshend, spent
| his early days on a farm there, grad
uated from Yale in 1888 and in 1885
| went to Cincinnati. On Aug. 49, 1S41
he married Fanny Phelps of Townshend
and for his second wife he married Lou
lisa NJ. Torrey in Millbury, Mass, in
1858. Their son, President Taft, was
born in Cincinnati. Sept 49, 1857. The
| Presidents father was judge of the SUI
perior court of Cincinnati from 1865 tC
1871, secretary Of war from 1875 TO 1876
attorney general from 1876 to 1877
United States minister to Austria from
1888 to 1885 and United States minister
to Russia from 1885 to 1887 The Pres
ident's mother was a daughter of Sam
uel d. Torrey, a West India merchant
of Boston.