The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1920-12-10
BENNINGTON OF OLD
Rem niscen4 Letter From Henry
squres Gates Of Chicago.

Rem niscen. Letter From Henry
squlres Gates Of Chicago.
Editor Of The Banner;--I have been
n subscriber to the Banner since leay
n home in 1864 and while as the
years 80 by the famil ar names have
become less frequent, / still read IT
with great deal of interest.
The article in a recent number re.
ferring to Judge Bates good work in
lndexing the old f'es came close
home to me as the Oregon House"
was where my early boyhood days
were spent. How | would Ike to go
through the old Office with him at a
period when Bill Cook was charge
Of the Banner with Gid Burton and
All Mathers as assistants and my
brother, Lewis, as printers devil" ="
and Halsey Cushman on local items
was grleyed to learn of the death
Of my friend Fred Abbott Our friend.
ship began when | clerked in the
Hirman ngham store, next door to
the Abbott home
Henry Bradford, came to Benning
ton in the early sixties and bought
the Wills G. Fairbanks Cloth Factory
and with him came Asa Abbott and
family. Mr., Bradford continued the
manufacturing OF cloths until his
brother Gen" George S. Bradford,
came and converted the "Clothes r
Shop" into a knitting mill. which was
always referred to as the Upper
mill", AT about that time Henry Brad
ford changed his plant to knitting
MIL
With Gen. Bradford came Lit G
George Bradford and the Kelsos
aud benches
was glad to read of the honor paid
by the French Government TO my old
/ fl end Horace Henry.
At the outbreak OF the Civil War
the selectmen were Paul NJ Henry
isaac Weeks and Tiny father John r.
Gates. Horace and Frank Weeks
and myself held frequent meetings at
the Gates house as acting select.
men" Our duties we're chiefly 60 ar
range for the distribution of the sol
diers bountIes and to see that their
families had proper care. There S
where no doubt. Horace formed the
widows and Orphans habit
In q recent issue read of the death
of Mary H. Hutchins daughter Of
Thomas and Eliza Squires Hutchns,
and noted the remarks OF her coming
from a family Of rare musical abli-
Ity" Her Uncle Henry SOU res for
whom | was named) was famous
singer and IN his travels in Europe
received big honors.
was a'so Interested in the article
which appeared some tine age, writ
ten by George Sears with whom / at
tended school at Yates Seminary II
brought to my m nd Ben and Nat
Jones, jack Balyes, Ed Arnold, Alb
Downer, Sam Hall, AL Wilmar'h, Bol
Grant and others, also the Robinson
girls.
Frank Weeks, Hen Day. Frank
Bradford and walked to and frc n
the school every day Frank Bradford
early In life became a student o
Shakespeare and had arrangements
made to go to New York as an under
study of Edwin Booth but the assassi
nation Of Pres Lincoln by Wilkes
Bocth put an end to his ambition il
that recton lbelieve he deveote,
his life to giving Shakespearean read
,ngc
An article in recent numbe
speaks in praise of the present condi
tion Of the road leading to North Rel
nlng.on VIII ch calls to my mind thu
many enjoyable rides that Henr,
Cushman and ! took over that road
We would each stick i'm two Yorl
sh.lings and hire rig from Cal Nor
ton TO make the trip. | will relate al
incident that comes to my mind il
connection vi thout innocent enjoy
ments We would stop in front of
. house and wait until some one CAM
{ out, and ask if we were on the igh
, road to Bennington. One day il
passing through Fairbanks Flats
, we stopped in front of a comfortable
| locking house and who should com
to the door but good old Elder Bemi
) of the Methodist Circu t., who o.
3 seeing us said Henry, how is you
= mother" That was poser bu
t Henry was resourceful enough to sc
by with it, We were more careful i
the future.
recently came into possession c
a copy of an lS44 Chicago Director
e aud lnd the names of two Shaftsbur
, men, Alonzo Huntington and ID
4 Charles V. Dyer, both Of whom wer
). prominent cit 2ens.
S When ! get started en- reminiscence
s. am AIT to run on like "Tennyson
!. Brook but must draw this ramblin
letter to a close with the compliment