Clarentine Ervin Ferson (1845-1898)

   We continue our week-long stay in Massachusetts, traveling from Hampshire County to Worcester County to profile the life of Clarentine Ervin Ferson, a little known resident of the city of Fitchburg who served two terms in the Massachusetts State House of Representatives beginning in 1894. Mr. Ferson served in the same legislative session as Alvertus Willard Morse, who was profiled yesterday, and one can wonder if these two oddly named legislators ever worked together on legislation passed during their respective terms!

  Clarentine E. Ferson was born in Francestown in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire on May 19, 1845, one of six children born to Levi Ferson (1805-1863) and Prudence Phelps Colby. The Ferson family is recorded as removing from New Hampshire to Lowell, Massachusetts when Clarentine was two, and he and his siblings were educated in the public schools of that city. In February 1862 the then sixteen-year-old Ferson joined in the ongoing war effort, enlisting in Co. L. of the 1st Regiment Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. He was promoted to sergeant in May 1864 due to his "bravery and meritorious conduct" during battle and was honorably discharged from this unit in February 1865 after three years of service. He is also noted by the 1895 History of Francestown, N.H. as "having participated in twenty-one engagements with the army of the Potomac."

  After returning home from the army Ferson married Clara A. French in July 1869 and had one daughter, Aimee Colby Ferson, born in December 1878. Ferson and his wife resided in Greenville, New Hampshire during the mid-1870s before moving to Fitchburg, Massachusetts in October 1879. Following his resettlement he found employment as a blacksmith at the Fitchburg Machine Works, holding the position of foreman. Ferson first became active in Fitchburg politics during the late 1880s, serving as a common councilman for the fifth ward from 1888 to 1889.

  In 1893 Clarentine Ferson began a campaign for a seat in the Massachusetts General Court and on election day emerged victorious, defeating his Democratic opponent John Heagney by a vote of 2,114 to 1,225. Ferson was named to the house committee on Labor during his service, and in November 1894 won re-election to the legislature with a vote of 2,075. He continued to serve on the labor committee during his second term and is remarked as taking an active part in ongoing legislation during that year's session.

  Following the conclusion of his second term, Ferson returned to Fitchburg and maintained memberships in the American Order of United Woodmen, Masons, and Odd Fellows lodges. Ferson died on his 53rd birthday, May 19, 1898, and was later interred at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Fitchburg, which is also the resting place of his father, mother, and two of his siblings.

Uzziel Putnam Jr. (1826-1879), Uzziel Stevens Whitcomb (1817-1898)

Uzziel Putnam Jr. as he appeared in the History of Cass County, Michigan, published in 1882.

   Today's profile highlights the life and political career of  Uzziel Putnam Jr., an oddly named resident of Cass County, Michigan. Mr. Putnam is listed as being the "first white child born in Cass County" and throughout his short life served in several local political offices, later distinguishing himself as a member of both houses of the Michigan Legislature.

  Uzziel Putnam Jr. was born in the township of Pokagon, Michigan on August 12, 1826, the son of Uzziel Putnam Sr. (1793-1881) and his wife Anna Chapman (died 1880). Uzziel Sr. is noted as being one of the earliest settlers in Cass County and was also a veteran of the War of 1812, serving in the Pennsylvania militia. Uzziel Jr. received his education in the town of Niles, Michigan, and in 1849 began attending the University at Ann Arbor, graduating with honors in 1853.

  Soon after his graduation Putnam began pursuing the study of law, eventually reading law in Detroit. After being admitted to the Michigan bar in 1855 he established a law practice in Pokagon, but "soon abandoned it for the quiet home life upon the farm, to which he was accustomed and warmly attached." Putnam engaged in farming for the majority of his life, and in addition to farm work was also named to many local offices of public trust, serving at various times as School Inspector, Justice of the Peace, and Circuit Court Commissioner.

   In January 1862 Uzziel Putnam married Pokagon native Jane Clyborne, with whom he had three children, Adie (birthdate unknown), Mabel (born 1869), and Ira (birthdate unknown.) Jane Clyborne Putnam died aged 29 in 1871 and in 1875 Uzziel remarried to Lizzie Finch, with whom he had a fourth child, Hilda (born 1875.)

   In 1868 the citizens of Cass County elected Uzziel Putnam to the Michigan State House of Representatives, and the History of Cass County  makes note that the "higher offices in which he filled, like the humble ones, came to him unsought, simply through the recognition and the rewards of his manliness of character." Putnam took his seat in January 1869 and in the next year was elected to the State Senate, serving until 1872. A roster from the 1871 Senate session (bearing Putnam's name) is located below.

   Shortly after leaving the Senate Putnam was named by then Michigan Governor John Judson Bagley to a seat on the Michigan State Board of Charities and was reappointed to this board in 1877, serving until his death two years later. While serving on this board Putnam succeeded his father as President of the Cass County Pioneer Society, and as he was the first white child born in Cass County, it was said that he was "particularly suited" for this position, "not alone for the fact that he was the oldest native of the county, but because of the lively interest which he exhibited in all matters of early history and pioneer experience."

   Uzziel Putnam Jr. died at age 52 on February 10, 1879, and was interred at the Sumnerville Cemetery in Sumnerville, Michigan. Putnam was survived by both his mother, father, and second wife, and was memorialized in the 1882 History of Cass County as a man whose:

 "Character rested on a granite basis and sustained high public virtue and private integrity that nothing could corrupt. He has left streaming behind the bright effulgence of his character to illumine the way for others and to lighten and soothe the sorrows of bereavement. His life is his eulogy."

 A Michigan legislative resolution mentioning Uzziel Putnam's death in 1879.

   

  A few days after the above article on Uzziel Putnam was published, another politician was discovered who also has the same odd first name "Uzziel". Read on to find out more!

Uzziel S. Whitcomb as he appeared in "The Whitcomb Family In America", published in 1904.

  This oddly named politician is Uzziel Stevens Whitcomb, a longtime resident of Richmond, Vermont who served in both houses of the Vermont legislature. He was born in Richmond on January 21, 1817, the son of Thomas and Anna Stevens Whitcomb, and attended schools in the Richmond district.

  Whitcomb married in March 1842 to Ms. Marilla Sheldon, with whom he would have six children. Uzziel and his family relocated to Canada when he was in his twenties and later moved to California to take part in the ongoing gold rush there during the early 1850s. He eventually returned to Jericho, Vermont where he purchased a farm and resided here for nearly a decade, after which he returned to California for a time. 

   In 1864 Uzziel Whitcomb resettled in Richmond, Essex County, Vermont, and here purchased a farm. This farm eventually grew to over a thousand acres and was listed by the Genealogical and Family History of Vermont as "the largest farm in town." Whitcomb spent the majority of his life engaged in farming and "through industry, perseverance, and hard work, he succeeded in cultivating his land, so that it yielded him a large amount of profit."

   While farming was obviously Whitcomb's main means of earning a living, he also was a distinguished man of affairs in Richmond. He served as a deacon in the local Congregationalist church and was also elected as a town selectman on a number of occasions.  In November 1859 Whitcomb was elected to the Vermont State House of Representatives, where he ably represented the county of Chittenden for one term (1860-1861). Whitcomb was returned to the legislature in November 1865 and served another term from 1866 to 1867. A roster from that legislative session (bearing Whitcomb's name, along with the other Chittenden County representatives) has been posted below.

  After leaving the legislature in January 1868 Uzziel Whitcomb returned to his farming pursuits and spent time at his farm until 1881 when he was elected to the Vermont State Senate. Taking office in January 1882, Whitcomb was remarked as being the oldest senator serving in that session and held a seat on the committees on Federal Relations and the joint standing committee on Reform Schools.

  Whitcomb served one term in the Senate which concluded in 1884. He died in Richmond at age 82 on August 24, 1898, and was subsequently buried in the Riverview Cemetery in Richmond. His wife Marilla survived him by three years, dying in January 1901 at age 80, and was also interred at the Riverview Cemetery.

Ithamar Conkey Sloan (1822-1898), Ithamar Martindale Howell (1866-1920), Ithamar Warren Beard (1814-1862), Ithamar Francis Conkey (1823-1875)

From a Wisconsin Bar Proceeding report, 1901.

   The first politician to be profiled in today's four-part article is Ithamar Conkey Sloan, a transplant from New York to Wisconsin. Following his resettlement, Sloan established a reputation as a prominent attorney in Janesville and was later elected to two terms in Congress. Born in Morristown, New York on May 9, 1822, Ithamar Conkey Sloan was the son of Henry Scott and Maud McKenney Sloan. He was bestowed his unusual first and middle names in honor of Ithamar Conkey (1788-1862), a distinguished political figure and judge in Pelham, Massachusetts.
   Young Ithamar attended the commons schools of Morristown and early in life began reading law under Timothy Jenkins. Admitted to the New York State bar in 1848, Sloan married in 1852 to Celestia Eliza Spears (born 1831) in the town of De Ruyter, New York. Two sons would be born to their union, Francis and Charles Ithamar (born in 1857). Six years after being admitted to practice law Sloan removed to Wisconsin and established roots in the then-burgeoning city of Janesville. 
   Within a few years of his relocation, Sloan's name became a prominent fixture throughout law circles in Wisconsin, and in 1860 he was elected to the first of two terms as Rock County District Attorney. Three years later he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin, defeating Democratic candidate Joshua J. Guppy (1820-1893). Sloan served two terms in Congress (1862-1866) and would serve on the House committees on Public Lands, and Expenses of the War Department.  
  After returning to Wisconsin in 1867, Sloan returned to his earlier career as an attorney and in 1875 became the Dean of the University of Wisconsin's Law Department. In that same year, he was tapped to serve as assistant attorney general of Wisconsin, serving in that capacity for an indeterminate period. His time in office saw him "prosecuting the granger laws on behalf of the state against the railroads violating the laws in Wisconsin, which resulted in a complete triumph for the state"

 Ithmar C. Sloan retired as law school dean in 1889 and spent the remainder of his life in Janesville, where he died on December 24, 1898, at age 76. Sloan was subsequently interred at the Oak Hill Cemetery in Janesville, Wisconsin. He was subsequently memorialized by the Benton Mining Times as a "profound thinker", and that:

"The career of Mr. Sloan while in Congress was alike honorable and useful and he came out of public life in Washington with a splendid record."

  Next up is Ithamar Martindale Howell, an Iowa resident who later became Secretary of the State of Washington. Howell was born in Waukon, Iowa on February 18, 1866, and immigrated to the Washington Territory with his family in 1877. Howell attended Monmouth College in Oregon as a young man and within a few years became an important figure in the burgeoning Puget Sound business community. During the 1890s he became Secretary of the World Printing Company, and during this time also developed an interest in mining. This interest eventually led Howell to become the Secretary and Treasurer of the Peco Free Milling and Mining Company.
   With his name firmly established in the Washington Territory, Howell began to dabble in politics in 1899, winning election as Pierce County Assessor. Ten years later he was named by then Washington Governor Marion Hay as the Secretary of the State of Washington and was twice reelected to that office. Howell served eleven years in this post, dying in office on July 13, 1920, at age 54.

   A prominent resident of Middlesex County, Massachusetts during the mid-19th century, Ithamar Warren Beard was born in the county above on September 3, 1814. Beard studied law in New Hampshire and eventually established a law practice in Pittsfield, New Hampshire in 1842.
  Beard moved back to Massachusetts during the mid-1840s and was nominated by the state Democratic party for a seat in the State Senate. He lost this election but eventually won the Senate seat in November 1851, with his term commencing at the start of the following year. After serving one term in the state senate Beard was named as the Assistant U.S. Treasurer at Boston. He served in this post for seven years, and in 1860 was named as cashier of the custom house of Boston. Beard's tenure in this office was cut short by ill health, and he died at age 48 on October 31, 1862.

   Hailing from the town of Amherst in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, Ithamar Francis Conkey was born in that town on March 23, 1823, the son of Judge Ithamar Conkey and his wife Elizabeth Clapp. He attended schools local to Amherst and went on to study at the Amherst College in 1843, but left before completing his studies. He eventually decided upon a career in law and after a period of study was admitted to the bar and launched his practice in Amherst in 1844. He married in that town on June 15, 1847, to Luthera Cutler (1826-1885), with whom he would have the following children: Jane Cutler (1848-1905), Edward (1850-1919), Lizzie (1853-1855) and Samuel (1856-1857).

   In the succeeding years, Conkey built up a successful law practice, and with it a reputation as one of Amherst's leading men of affairs. In the year of his marriage he was named as a justice of the peace and in 1852 was elected to the Massachusetts State House of Representatives from Hampshire County. He served in the legislative session of 1853-54 and in 1856 was elected as District Attorney for the Northern District of Massachusetts.

   In addition to his time in public office, Conkey was active in several civic organizations, such as the Hampshire Agricultural Society, was secretary of the Amherst Lyceum, the Masonic Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and was a vestryman in the Grace Church of Amherst. Ithamar F. Conkey died in Amherst on August 8, 1875, at age 52 and was survived by his wife Luthera, who died in 1885. Both were interred at the West Cemetery in Amherst. The above portrait of Ithamar F. Conkey appeared in volume one of the History of the Town of Amherst, Massachusetts, published in 1896.