History of Waitsfield, (Washington County) Vermont United States of America

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Biographies:

Roswell Gilbert Horr, representative, was born in Waitsfield, Vt., Nov. 26, 1830; son of Roswell and Caroline (Turner) Horr; grandson of Ralph and Lucy (Carpenter) Turner, of Waitsfield, Vt., and of John and Theodosia (Durkee) Horr, of Pomfret, Vt.; great grandson of Elijah and Ann (Paddock) Hoar, of Pomfret, Vt., and a descendant on his father's side of Daniel Hoar, of London, England, who settled in Concord, Mass., and in 1677 married Mary Stratton; and of John and Bridget (Van de Velde) Tilley, Mayflower Pilgrims; and on his mother's side, of Nathaniel Turner, of Essex county, England, who settled in New Haven in 1638, and of Benjamin Carpenter, who married a sister of Ethan Allen. Roswell G. Herr removed with his parents to Avon, Lorain county, Ohio, in 1834, and was graduated from Antioch college, Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 1857, in its first class, when that institution was under the direction of Horace Mann. He was elected clerk of the court of common pleas of Lorain county, in 1857, and re-elected in 1860, serving until 1863. He studied law in the meantime, and was admitted to the bar in Ohio, in 1863, and practised law in Elyria, Ohio, 1863-65. He removed to southeastern Missouri in the spring of 1866, and engaged in mining, removing to Saginaw, Mich., in 1872, where he resumed the practice of law, and also engaged in the lumber and banking business. He was a Republican representative from the eighth Michigan district in the 46th, 47th and 48th congresses, 1879-85. He was defeated for the 49th congress and removed to New Jersey in 1891. He was a member of the editorial staff of the New York Tribune, 1891-96, contributing political and financial articles, the tariff being a special feature of his work, and opposed the free coinage of silver in public debate with the prominent advocates of free silver, 1893-96, notably with Senator Stewart in 1893. He died at Plainfield, N.J., Dec. 18, 1896.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Henry Mower Rice, senator, was born in Waitsfield, Vt., Nov. 29, 1816; son of Edmund and Ellen (Durkee) Rice; grandson of Jebediah and Jemima (Hastings) Rice and of Sylvanns and Jemima (Willard) Hastings, and a descendant of Edmund Rice, born in Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire, England, 1594, settled at Sudbury, Mass., 1639; and died at Marlboro. 1663. Henry M. Rice removed to Michigan in 1835, and was employed on the survey of the Kalamazoo and Grand rivers, and of the Sault Sainte Marie canal in 1837. In 1839 he went to Fort Snelling, Iowa Territory, and was employed as post-sutler at Fort Atkinson, 1840?42. He became agent among the Winnebago Indians for P. Chouteau, Jr., & Company, of St. Louis, in 1843, and besides establishing trading posts from Lake Superior to the Red River of the North, procured the removal of the Chippewas from Lake Superior to the Mississippi. He removed to Upper Town, Minn., and continued fur-trading. He married, March 29, 1849, Matilda, daughter of Gilbert and Rachel (Newbold) Whitall, of Richmond, Va. He succeeded Henry H. Sibley as a delegate in the 33d congress in 1853, and was re-elected in 1854 to the 34th congress, serving from Dec. 5, 1853, to March 3, 1857. During his first term he secured the passage of an act authorizing the people of Minnesota to form a state constitution. He was elected with James Shields, the first U.S. senator from the state of Minnesota, and drew the long term, serving from May 12, 1858, to March 3, 1863. During his senatorial term he secured to the state an extensive grant of lands which formed the basis of the railroad system of Minnesota. He was treasurer of Ramsay county in 1878; was the founder of Bayfield, Wis., and of Munising, Mich., and presented a tract of land (Rice Park) to the city of St. Paul. He died in San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 15, 1894.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor