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Home > California > Stone Carvers... > Menu > Cemetery Stone & Monument Carvers...Alphabetical List > Frederick Field > Chronology > Summaries of Field Family in Dorset, Vermont
The following information are from the section on the town of “Dorset” in The Vermont Historical Gazetteer: A Magazine, Embracing A History of Each Town, Civil, Ecclesiastical, Biographical and Military, edited by Abby Maria Hemenway, in Three Volumes. Volume I. Addison, Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden and Essex Counties,, Burlington, Vt: Published by Miss A. M. Hemenway, 1868, pp. 187-188. (Please note: This book is available in the Google Book Search - Full-View Books section of the web site. The book can be read in full on the web site or downloaded to your computer in PDF format.)
AMOS FIELD
“and his wife came into town from Mansfield, Ct., and settled on the farm about two miles north from the village of Dorset, still known as the Field farm. He was a great grandson of Zacharias Field, one of the first settlers of the city of Hartford, and from whom has descended nearly all of that name in America. Mr. and Mrs. Field lived and died on the place where they first settled, leaving a posterity numbering 11 children and 121 grandchildren and great grandchildren. By the marriage of the eldest daughter with Justus Kellogg, and by intermarriage with the Kent family, has sprung a numerous band of relatives in town not inaptly represented by the well known marble firm of Holley, Field and Kent, a trio of cousins by whose enterprise and activity of $100,000 worth of marble is annually quarried and prepared for market.”
Frederick Field authored the “Marble Quarries” section for the town of Dorset in the above-cited book, pp. 189-190.
“The Dorset Marble Quarries are, with two exceptions, located upon the different slopes of Ǽolus Mountain - some quite at the base, others at various distances up the mountain, the most elevated of which is 1400 feet above the valley....”
JUSTUS HOLLEY
“Settled in Dorset in 1780; came from Richmond, Mass.; enrolled himself as fifer in Captain Robinson’s Company at Bennington, when about to go into battle young Holley asked his Captain for a gun, thinking it a more effective instrument to serve his country with than a fife. But Captain Robinson preferred the powerful effect of the young man’s fife. Mr. Holley married Elizabeth Field, who immigrated to this town from Mansfield, Ct., at two and one-half years of age, in her mother’s arms, upon horse back. The first...family was that of the youngest daughter, at the age of 31 years. Mr. Holley died in 1849, aged 86 years, leaving his wife, ten children, and sixty grandchildren, all of whom inherit unusually fine musical abilities. His wife died in 1858, aged 85 years leaving to her posterity the rich legacy of an exemplary life and the following golden precept delivered from her death bed. ‘My children, I desire that you should not only be good but do good.’”
The following quotations are from the Field Genealogy being the record of all the Field family In America, whose ancestors were in this country prior to 1700; Emigrant ancestors located in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Virginia. All descendants of the Fields of England, whose ancestor, Hurbutus De la Field, was from Alsace-Lorraine. Volume 1 of 2, by Frederick Clifton Pierce, Chicago, Illinois, Historian and Genealogist, Hammond Press, Chicago: W. B. Conkey Company, 1901. (Please note: This book is available in the Google Book Search - Full-View Books section of the web site. The book can be read in full on the web site or downloaded to your computer in PDF format.)
“566. Amos Field (Bennett, John, Zechariah, Zechariah, John, John, Richard, William, William), b. Mansfield, Conn., April 20, 1750; m. there Sept. 10, 1772, Zerviah* Baldwin, b. 1754, dau. of Eleazer and Elizabeth (Wright) Baldwin, b. Aug. 23, 1756; d. Feb. 20, 1843. He was b. in Mansfield, Conn., where he resided until after his marriage, when he removed, in 1775, to Dorset, Vt., and settled on a farm, two miles north of the village, still known as the Field farm. He lived and died on the place where he first settled, leaving eleven children, one hundred and twenty-one grandchildren and great grandchildren. By the marriage of the eldest daughter with Justin Kellogg, and by intermarriage with the Kent family, has sprung a numerous band of relatives in that town not inaptly represented by the - at one time - well known marble firm of Holley, Field & Kent, a trio of cousins by whose enterprise and activity thousands of dollars worth of marble was annually quarried and prepared for market.
“There is a family monument in the beautifully situated old graveyard at Dorset, Vt. It has this inscription: ‘The Field family, some of whom are lying here, has been in Dorset for a hundred years; for the century previous the ancestors lived in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Previous to that in England, and still further back in Alsace, France. They have been an honest and Godfearing race.’ Then follows the coat of arms, and under it the motto, carefully cut, ‘Sans Dieu rien.’
“Another correspondent says: Zerviah Baldwin was the daughter of Eleazer Baldwin, of Mansfield, formerly of Bellerica, Mass., and in the spring of 1776, emigrated to Dorset, Vt., in company with his wife’s father and young brother, Asa Baldwin. The farms of the two families joined and together stretched from side to side of the lovely Dorset Valley. The change to the new home in the wilderness was not accomplished without care and sorrow. Little Rebecca Field died very soon unable to endure such hardship; but Elizabeth, the eldest child, lived on to grow an old woman in Dorset - the mother of the large Holley family. In the fall of that first year came a messenger from Woodstock, Vt., to tell them of sickness in the families of Amos Field’s sisters, Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Phinehas Williams. Mrs. Field left her own family and set off across the Green Mountains, a perilous horseback ride, with the messenger who had come to guide her on the wild trail, and remained for weeks in Woodstock, helping the friends in trouble there. The following winter, Amos Field, who was a man full of ardour and ambitions, was actively engaged in clearing the wide plateaus, where he subsequently built his second dwelling house, still standing there. One day, while at work felling trees, he was struck on the head by a limb, as the tree came down to the ground. He lay there for hours in an unconscious state, until at last a search being made, he was found lying so close to the embers of a dying fire, that his head had been desperately burned. Yet, after many months of heavy sickness he began to recover. And when the rumors of troops advancing into the region came, he could manage again to sit his horse. He started with a small company of loyalists to join the English forces at Bennington, for the Fields and the Baldwins in Dorset were still Tories. Buried away among the hills they had heard little about the agitations that had turned Conservatives into Whigs along the sea coasts and in the towns, and raised a Continental army of revolution. But the party were overhauled in the vicinity of Arlington by a party of Whigs, warned of their coming by Miss Ormsby, of Manchester, and Mr. Field, who was known to be hardly less than a very sick man still, was sent home under guard, but the rest of the party were lodged in Bennington jail, and in many instances their farms were confiscated. After a few years the agitations of the war, the questions regarding State Rights, and the gradual settling of more people in Vermont, assured greater comfort and no doubt life became easier. Several daughters and three sons grew up in the new Field homestead.
“Another correspondent writes: ‘Amos came to Vermont in the Spring of 1776. He drove up an ox team, with their goods, and grandmother and two children came on horseback. The children, aunt Holley (Elizabeth) was the eldest, and one younger. Rebecca, probably one year old. She died soon after. Pa thinks when she was about two years old. She died soon after. Pa thinks when she was about two years old. Bennington battle was the next year, Aug. 16, 1777. Pa thinks grandfather never built a log house, but a small frame and board house, the first season - probably a kind of shanty, covered with shingles, four feet long, instead of boards. He soon, however, built a small frame house, and soon after an addition to it, before pa’s recollection, in which most of their children were born. The best part of that building, frame covering, is what we knew as ‘the shop,’ across the road during my childhood. When used as a dwelling it stood on the north end of the garden, near the rock. The present house, the old home and birthplace of our family, was built in the year 1800, when pa was thirteen years old. The exterior of the building remains from time of building until I was some two and a half years old, unchanged. The division of the interior the same. From time to time rooms were lathed and plastered. Since then several additions and various changes, interior and exterior, have been made, and a few years since very general repairs. Several years before grandfather Field came to Dorset he drove an ox cart for his brother-in-law, William, from Mansfield to Woodstock, Vt. ’
“He d. June 17, 1831. Res. Dorset, Vt. ”
“1037. i. Elizabeth, b. Oct. 29, 1773; m. June, 1790, Justus Holley, of Dorset, Vt.; d. Nov. 28, 1859. A son I. Justus, was b. Dorset, July 23, 1805; m. May 29, 1832, Eliza E. Woodward, b. Dec. 22, 1810; d. May 21, 1862. She d. April 16, 1890. Res. Dorset, Vt. Ch.: (a) Harriet E. Holley, b. Sept. 26, 1836; m. Sept. 16, 1862. Address, Mrs. J. S. Bacon, Niles, Mich. (b) Angeline M. Holley, b. Dec. 12, 1841; unm. Address, Dorset, Vt. (c) R. Maud Holley, b. Dec. 1, 1847; m. June 25, 1896. Address, Mrs. W. B. Sheldon, Bennington, Vt. (d) William J. Holley, b. March 18, 1852 ; a farmer; unm. Res. Dorset, Vt. 2. Harriett Holley, b. Nov. 2, 1815; m., Dorset, Vt., 1839, Oliver Cheney Gilbert, b. 1812; d. September, 1871. Their son, Rev. George Holley Gilbert, D. D., b. Cavendish, Vt., Nov. 4, 1854; m. June 27, 1886, Flora Louise Gates, b. May 18, 1860. Res. 434 Washington Boulevard, Chicago, Ill. Ch.: i. Harriett Elizabeth. ii. Bertha Gates. iii. George Holley, Jr. iv. Wilfred Charles.”
(The section on Dr. George Holley Gilbert will not be presented here.)
“1038. ii. Rebecca, b. Feb. 10, 1775 ; d. 1775.
“1039. iii. Rhoda, b. Aug. 4, 1778 ; m., 1803, Cephas Sheldon Kent, of Dorset, Vt. ; d. in Hannibal, N. Y., Sept. 18, 1844. He was son of Cephas, Jr., b. 1780; d. June 4, 1874. Ch.: 1. Amos, s. p. 2. Jason, s. p. 3. Ahira, of Augusta, Mich.
“1040. iv. Zeoriah, b. June 13, 1780; m., 1801, Oliver Sheldon, of Milton, Vt.; d. 1804.
“1041. v. Amos, b. Nov. 12, 1782; m. Sophia Clary.
“1042. vi. Hannah, b. March 17, 1785; m. 1820, Walter Jennings, of Manchester, Vt.; m., 2d, 1841, Dr. John Sargeant, of Dorset, Vt.; d. Dec. 27, 1849.
“1043. vii. Zeoriah, b. ---; d. young.
“1044. viii. Huldah, b. ---; d. young lady.
“1045. ix. Olive, b. Sept. 21, 1793; m. in 1820, Joel Taylor, of Rupert, Vt. Removed to Royalton, N. T. She d. Dec. 2, 1861.
“1046. x. Emily, b. May 30, 1796; m. Sept. 21, 1819, Daniel Hawks, of Hannibal, N. Y.; m., 2d, Oct. 2, 1851, James Stevenson, of Hannibal; d. Aug. 31, 1862.
“1047. xi. Alfred, b. March 15, 1787; m. Sophronia Gilbert. (Frederick Field’s Parents)
“1048. xii. Spafford, b. March 28, 1789; m. Sally C. Collins.
“1049. xiii. Huldah, b. June 19, 1791; d. June 30, 1815.”
Alfred Field (Frederick Field’s father) (pp. 428-429)
“1047. Alfred Field (Amos, Bennett, John, Zechariah, Zechariah, John, John, Richard, William, William), son of Amos and Zeoriah (Baldwin), b. in Dorset, Vt., March 15, 1787; d. June 23, 1862. He m. Jan. 12, 1819, Sophronia, Dau. of Capt. Isaac and Jerusha (Bowen) Gilbert, of Cavendish, Vt., b. Oct. 26, 1799; d. Aug. 17, 1863. Alfred was the son who remained at home and on whom the care of his parents and younger sisters devolved. He made a journey to Massachusetts and Connecticut in youth, and took, at one time, the contract to clear lumber a large tract of land at Adams, Jefferson county, N. Y., where his brother, Amos Field, lived, by which he also cleared quite a large sum of money, which was essential to him at that time. He married, in 1819, the fair, sensible daughter of Capt. Isaac and Jerusha (Bowen) Gilbert, of Cavendish, Vt., whose fame had reached him, and gallantly set forth in search of her. Finding that she who awakened his interest, unseen, evoked his admiration and love on becoming acquainted, he happily won her for his wife. It was universally conceded that it had been a fortunate day for both when they met and loved each other; especially perhaps had it been fortunate for Mr. Field, who was of a sensitive and ambitious temperament, inclined to take life too seriously and too hopelessly, the attitude of a mind that has thought acutely without the advantages of attrition with other minds, and has been too full of care. His wife, on the other hand, was just twenty-two years of age, a young woman accustomed to the execution of affairs, of decisive habits of thought, of great humor and amiability. She brought with her a freedom of thought, a sanguine outlook upon life, and expectation of success. A notable woman in any age, but especially so in those days of melancholy religious dogmatism and limited intelligence. It is refreshing to know that out of the shadows of that time she should have been named Sophronia, and have had a sister Clorinda, and another Diana, and a brother Oliver, names gleaned from the enchanting pages of Latin and Mediæval romance. Her character and perfect health were tonic, and made the farmhouse an enticing spot to all the friends and cousins, while her thrift and industry matched her husband’s. Four children came to bless them, and to blend to an uncommon degree in the record of four lives those admirable characteristics that met in their father and mother. Res. Dorset, Vt.
“2147. i. Frederick, b. Oct. 12, 1820; m. Mary H. Bacon.
“2148. i. Jeanettie (sic), b. Sept. 19, 1822; m. May 9, 1844, James H. Goodrich, of Albion, N. Y., now Waterloo, Iowa.
“2149. iii. Charles, b. Dec. 1, 1825; m. Henrietta Armstrong.
“2150. iv. Ellen, b. May 15, 1828; unm. Res. Waterloo, Iowa.
Spoffard Field (Frederick Field’s uncle) (pp. 429-430)
“1048. Spafford Field (Amos, Bennett, John, Zechariah, Zechariah, John, John, Richard, William, William), son of Amos and Zeoriah (Baldwin), b. in Dorset, Vt., March 28, 1789. He removed to Weedsport, Orleans County, N. Y., where he d. Dec. 21, 1869. He m. Oct. 6, 1811, Sally Cushman, dau. of Samuel and Abigail (Raymond) Collins, of Dorset, Vt., b. Aug. 8, 1794 (sic); d. May 18, 1874.
“Spafford Field was born in Dorset, on the old Field place, and while a young man became interested in the marble business. The Dorset quarries were first opened in 1785, and soon an extensive business in this line was built up. The early quarrymen labored under great disadvantages, for the want of proper machinery to saw the marble. The first attempt at sawing was made by Spafford Field, about 1818. He put in operation a gang of saws, on the site occupied by Major Hawley’s mills, in South Dorset. This first mill was constructed in accordance with the best knowledge then possessed on the subject, but it could saw but very little marble. However, soon after great improvements were made. In 1829 he moved to Weedsport....”
Frederick Field (pp. 671)
“2147. Frederick Field (Alfred, Amos, Bennet (sic), John, Zechariah, Zechariah, John, John, Richard, William, William), b. Dorset, Vt., Oct. 12, 1820. He removed in 1873 to San Jose, Cal., where he resided. He was the first man to take Vermont marble from the quarries in Dorset to Chicago, Ill. He m. Oct. 16, 1856, Mary Hannah, dau. of Judge Nathaniel and Mary (Sweetman) Bacon, of Niles, Mich., b. Dec. 6, 1833. Frederick Field was a man of the true New England type, upright, honest, patriotic and fearless. He was a slender, delicate boy, but brimful of energy and enterprise. He was but twenty-one when he left home and began life for himself. He brought the first marble to Chicago, and opened the first marble factory, but previous to this taught one of the ward schools in the winter of 1843 or 1844. He found the climate of Chicago, or its water, poisonous to him, and moved to Niles, Mich., where he was in the marble business seven years. He then took $9,000 - his earnings - and bought an interest in a marble quarry in Dorset, Vt., and returned to his beloved Vermont. Here the children were born, and here they lived for seventeen years; then in 1874 came to California. Mr. Field was always prominent in church and public affairs; a God-fearing, neighbor-loving man, greatly mourned and tenderly remembered. He d. Nov. 17, 1877. Res. San Jose, Cal.
“3851. i. Alfred Bacon, b. Oct. 17, 1857; d. Nov. 12, 1870.
“3852. ii. Edward Sweetman, b. May 15, 1862; d. Oct. 14, 1870.
“3853. iii. Arthur Gilbert, b. May 15, 1852; m. Sarah G. Richards.
“3854. iv. Mabel Jeanette, b. Nov. 1865; unm.; res. San Jose.
“3855. v. Amy Gertrude, b. Nov. 19, 1869; d. Nov. 5, 1870.
“3856. vi. Wilfred Bacon, b. Feb. 6, 1873; unm.; res. San Jose.
“3857. vii. Charles Hubert, b. Nov. 26,1875; unm.; res. San Jose.”
The poem included on page 3 of this book was written by Mary H. Field, wife of Frederick Field:
“Sans Dieu Rien”
“Without God Nothing”
(Field Motto)
O wise and reverent legend traced
The old armorial signs among,
Fit motto for a noble race-
Sans Dieu Rien, Sans Diu Rien!
No idle vaunt of brave deeds done,
No boast of wealth, or rank, or fame;
No haughty menace to a foe,
No arrogant imperial claim.
But simply true and simply grand,
And couched in language briefly strong,
They wrote the story of their faith-
Sans Dieu Rien, Sans Diu Rien!
Whate’er their lordly heritage
Of house and land, of form and mien,
The lofty rank, the high estate,
A loving Father’s gifts are seen.
And forward with calm trust they look
The unknown future years along;
Whate’er may come of good or ill,
Serene in this - Sans Dieu Rien!
O favored ones who trace your blood,
Adown this good ancestral line,
Claim the escutcheon’s pictured scroll,
Of knightly deeds of honored sign;
But, best inheritance of all,
High, pure as Eden ’s matin song,
From sire to son hand down the faith,
Sans Dieu Rien, Sans Diu Rien!
Mary H. Field, San Jose, Cal., July 30, 1899.
Charles Field (Frederick Field’s brother) (pp. 671-674)
“2149. Hon. Charles Field (Alfred, Amos, Bennet (sic), John, Zechariah, Zechariah, John, John, Richard, William, William), son of Alfred and Sophronia (Gilbert), b. in Dorset, Vt., Dec. 25, 1824, where he resided. For forty years he was a man well known and honorably known. Mr. Field’s ancestors came from England to Massachusetts, in those early days of emigration, between 1620 to 1633. On his mother’s side he was descended from Thomas Gilbert, of Windham, and Henry Bowen, of New Roxbury, and Simon Huntington, of Norwich, an ancestor of both Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Field, all among the founders of their towns in Connecticut. His forefathers were all actively concerned with the duties of citizenship, the forming of the village and town systems of this country, and the defense of their homes against the Indians. They were prominently concerned in the sharp, masterful struggles of the Pequot war, and the frightful Indian warfare in central Massachusetts. In every one of those families happened dreadful losses by death and kidnappings of women and children by the savage Indians, such as move the heart to hear of. The recollections of his childhood were full of pleasure to Charles Field. The most beautiful holidays of his life were those spent in going over the lovely uplands of his old home. To see once more the grand elm trees towering above the housetop, to walk about the familiar rooms, where he could recall many and many an hour of youth, where he might see again his mother’s room and look out of its north window, as he had been used to do with her in the summer mornings of long ago at her bed of marigolds, and the orchard trees, and the view of the northern mountains; to drink from the spring in the old dairy, to walk across the quiet road and the meadow to the edge of the bluff, and then, perhaps, away down the old grassy road among the knolls to the lower meadow where the stream goes, flowing in soft curves away.
“When about twenty-five years of age he, like so many other young men of New England, went west and entered into the marble business in Chicago with his elder brother Frederick, who had preceded him. Their place of business was on La Salle street near the river. They established a branch of their business at Niles, Mich., which at that time proved to be so much better a point for their business than Chicago that they removed to Niles. Mr. Field married in 1851 Henrietta Armstrong, daughter of Cyrus Armstrong, of Dorset, Vt., and in 1852 returned to Vermont and became a member of the firm of Holly, Field & Kent, who up to the time of the Rebellion operated the Dorset marble quarries. In this this (sic) firm were among the early developers of the well known Vermont marbles. Meeting with very heavy financial losses on account of the war, the firm in which Mr. Field was a partner suspended business.
“Mr. Field had now been for some years a prominent man in Vermont. Keenly interested in the political questions of his day, a staunch Republican, he was, for years before the war, chairman of the district convention. He was a delegate from Vermont to the first national conventions at Pittsburg and Chicago. He was representative in 1859, carrying his election by a majority of 300. He was offered a consulship at Valparaiso, Chili. In his own village he had a great and loving pride, and did much to beautify it, and to aid it in various ways. During the war of the Rebellion he was recruiting officer for Bennington county; he was offered a colonelcy in one of the earlier regiments. When the call for the nine months’ men came he went south as a quartermaster of the 16 th Regiment, Second Brigade, Vermont Volunteers. He was acting brigade quartermaster for several months.”
(The account of Charles Field’s time in the army will not be included in this document.)
“During the last two days of the battle he acted at his own request as aid to General Stannard on the battlefield. After the battle he was ordered to find and to bring north, to Brattleboro, Vt., the sick and wounded Vermont soldiers.
“After the war Mr. Field began anew the contest with that burden of business and private debt that had pursued his honest and straightforward soul so many years. He had a rather tall, slight figure, a finely shaped and well poised head, handsome, dark brown hair, and particularly beautiful dark blue eyes. He had great alertness of appearance, commingled with a peculiar dignity and affable composure of manner. He possessed a nature addressed to distinction. He had a courteous nature and true. He had simple and faithful affections, and loved to think of his friends and to be with them. His love for his wife and his children was one of the strong parts of his nature and his character, and his habitual attitude toward them was very beautiful, touching the ideal.
“He m. Oct. 23, 1851, Henrietta Frank, dau. of Cyrus and Samantha ( Baldwin ) Armstrong, b. June 9, 1826. He d. in Dorset in 1886. She resides at 621 Addison avenue, Lake View, Chicago.”
Hon. Charles Field. (See page 672.)
Residence of Hon. Charles Field, Dorset, Vt.
Charles A. Field. (See page 673.)
“3858. i. Charles Armstrong (Field), b. May 23, 1853; m. 1894, Sylvia Williston Little, of Liverpool, England; res., s. p., San Francisco, Cal., 1106 Bush street. Charles A. Field, son of Charles Field, was born in Dorset, Vt., in 1853. After graduating at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., he went to the Pacific coast in 1874 and spent some time on the stock ranches of California and Nevada. In 1877 he returned East and entered the employ of the Vermont Marble Co.; again returning in 1883 to San Francisco, to become manager of their Pacific coast branch, in which capacity he still remains (circa 1901). Since Mr. Field’s connection with the Vermont Marble Co., it has fallen to his lot to travel very extensively, for the purpose of introducing the American marbles in foreign countries, having been the pioneer in this line in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and South and Central America. In 1894 Mr. Field married Miriam Sylvia, only child of Mr. John Sylvester Williston, Liverpool, England.
(For Charles A. Field, also see the Charles Armstrong Field Obituary, from the Manchester Journal, Thursday, April 23, 1908.)
“3859. ii. Frances (Field), b. Sept. 6, 1855; m. April 23, 1884, Prof. Nathan Abbott; res. Stanford University, Cal. Nathan Abbott, son of Abial Abbott and Sarah Davis Abbott, born Norridgewock, Me., July 11, 1854; moved in infancy with his parents to Watertown, Mass. He graduated from Andover Academy, Yale College and Boston Law School, practicing law in Boston for some years. In 1891 he became professor of law in the University of Michigan. In 1892 he removed to Chicago, as professor of law in the Northwestern University. In 1894 he became dean of the law department of Stanford University of California, where he now is (circ 1901). He married Frances Field, daughter of Charles and Henrietta Armstrong Field, of Dorset, Vt., April 23, 1884. Ch. 1. Dorothy, b. in Dorset, Vt., June 19, 1885. 2. Phylis, b. in Wellesley, Mass., Nov. 13, 1888.
“3860. iii. Katherine Armstrong (Field), b. July 12, 1857, m. Jan. 19, 1886, Horace F. White; res. 621 Addison avenue, Chicago, Ill. Ch.: 1. Lorraines (sic) Field White, b. in Chicago, Nov. 9, 1886; d. Dec. 8, 1887. 2. Katherine Fay White, b. Nov. 11, 1888. 3. An infant, b. and d. Nov. 17, 1890. Horace Fay White, b. in Rutland, Vt., April 22, 1843, son of Horace T. White and Lorain (Fay) White, graduated from Middlebury College, Vt., and Columbia College Law School in Washington. Mrs. White now resides at 621 Addison avenue, Chicago (circa 1901). Her family includes her mother, Mrs. Charles Field.
“3861. iv. Henry Irving (Field), b. Sept. 7, 1859; d. Dec. 5, 1859.
“3862. v. Gilbert Baldwin (Field), b. July 15, 1864; d. Jan. 7, 1865.”
“Arthur G. Field, a member of the firm Wright & Field, real-estate and insurance agents, No. 15 No. First Street, San Jose, is a native of Vermont, having been born in that state in 1862. His parents removing to San Jose in 1872, he received most of his education in the city, later attending for about six years the University of the Pacific. After leaving school, Mr. Field learned the business of marble cutter, working for three years in his father’s marble yard. At the end of that time he took the road as a commercial traveler, selling marble and granite up to 1886. He then engaged in the real-estate business with Mr. Wright, with whom he is still associated.
“Mr. Field’s parents were Frederick and Mary H. (Bacon) Field. Frederick Field was also a native of Vermont, where he was born in 1820, brought up and became largely interested in the marble lands and quarries. At one time previous to the late Civil War he was considered worth 2 millions of dollars, a large fortune for that period. He owned much property, among which was Italian marble quarries in Bennington County, near Rutland, Vermont. Naturally a large operator and speculator, he lost an immense fortune in introducing this marble through the South, furnishing dealers with vessel and car-load lots and waiting until it had been cut up and sold as monuments before receiving payment for it. That would have succeeded under ordinary conditions, but the war coming on he lost almost every bill due him in that section of the country. Misfortunes never coming singly, the marble in the main quarry drifted into a thick limestone stratum, which had to be removed before satisfactory marble could again be had. Altogether he had received a succession of blows from which he could not recover. Selling out to a stock company...he removed to San Jose, California, where he established a marble yard, and untiring he built up his business so successfully that he had again acquired a satisfactory competency at the time of his death in November 1887. He was a member of the Board of Trade of San Jose during most of its existence, and interested in real-estate here.
“During his early experience in the marble business in Vermont, conceiving that Chicago would be a good distribution point, he at one time brought a cargo of marble by water, landing at that Place. Finding that he would need a building to store his marble permanently, preferring brick to wooden buildings, he tested the clay of the vicinity, found it admirable for the purpose of establishing a brick factory, and from the product of that kiln, built the first brick house erected in Chicago, having built the first brick kiln and made the first bricks in that now immense city.* In every respect he was a man of large views and extensive operations. For 10 years he operated between Vermont and Chicago, as well as many other points in the country. While thus employed he met and married Miss Mary H. Bacon, daughter of Honorable Nathaniel Bacon, of Niles, Michigan, one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of that state...Mrs. Field is a well-known magazine writer and authoress. They have seven children. The subject of this sketch, as was his father, an adherent of the Republican party, and a member of the Presbyterian Church.”
* The claim about Frederick Field “…having built the first brick kiln and made the first bricks in that now immense city.” may not be true. According to History of Chicago. From the Earliest Period to the Present Time. In Three Volumes. Vol. I. Ending with the Year 1857 (by A. T. Andreas, Chicago: A. T. Andreas, Publisher, 1884, pp. 566, available on Google Books) provides the following information:
The first brickyard was located on the North Side between Dearborn and Clark streets and was established by Tyler K. Blodgett in the spring of 1833. Henry H. Lampman “was undoubtedly the first brick-maker. If any brick were manufactured in Cook County before then it is not known.”
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