Joel FLETCHER

1818 - 1875  (56 years)

• Name	Joel FLETCHER  [1, 2]
  	Joel, b. in Lyndon, Vt., Mar. 3, 1818; the last of his father's nine children, and the only issue of the 2d marriage. His mother, the widow of Levi Brackett, had five children by her former marriage; and hence Joel had a numerous circle of half-brothers and half-sisters, older than himself. Naturally enough he would be a pet in such a household; but like them he was inured in early life to hard work, and trained to industrious habits, and his youth was passed in incessant employment. His schooling was by no means neglected: yet, corresponding with the exigencies of the times, his opportunities were small, and the district school and an academy in Haverhill furnished his educational training. His special proficiency was in mathematics, and his skill and accuracy in mental computations were greatly useful in the wide extended business of his later life. Illustrative of his energy, hardihood, and capability, it is related that when only thirteen years of age, he took a four-horse team, in midwinter, laden with surplus products of his father's farm and his mother's loom, to the city of Portland, two hundred and ten miles distant, sold his produce, and brought back goods needed from the city market; this, across a thinly settled country, though the Willey Notch, and over bleak hills, in the rigor of a northern winter. To the rigid training of the boy was due the stern habit of the man: in labor always tireless, rapid, efficient. At an early age he stepped to the front in charge of the fam on which his father settled; and he continued until about thirty years of age engrossed in its care and management. He m. Jan. 15, 1840, Zerviah Townsend Meigs, who was b. 1818, and survives him; a fit helpmeet in his lifework, sharing his labor, and effectually contributing to his success. His labor was not confined to the pursuits of his private interests. He was a member of the local agricultural society, and encouraged every improvement in the farming interest. In 1856 he turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, purchasing an interest in a business in St. Johnsbury, Vt., which he shortly assumed, and, applying his indefatigable energy, built up in a few years a very extensive and successful trade. Bt such application overtaxed his physical system; and, relinquishing to his son Henry E. his business inVermont, he sought rest, removing, 1870, to Lake City, Minn., where he was president of the bank and mayor of the city. He was also largely concerned in business in St. Paul and Minneapolis. After his removal to the West, it was his custom to return frequently to his boyhood's home and the field of his manhood's earlier achievements, to renew the memories of his youth, and yo refresh himself in the society of his friends. On one of these visits he d. suddenly at St. Johnsbury, Feb. 16, 1875. An estimate of his character, which is, no doubt, just, says: "Busy, restless, active in mind and body; aggressive, ambitious, positive in nature; enterprising, energetic, and courageous in his actions; large-hearted, straightforward, and honest in his dealings, - he was admired and respected by all. In a long life of active business he never became to the slightest extent financially embarrassed. Frank, open, and candid himself, he despised hypocrisy in others. In habits he was strictly temperate, eschewed the use of liquors and tobacco, and personally abhorred them. If there be any single characteristic of his entire life, it is the resolute, unceasing progress from small beginnings to distinguished results, accomplished by his own unaided efforts, by the most unflagging pertinacity, courage, and ability. The only genius he possessed was that for hard work, but his talents were of no inferior order. The massive granite pedestal marking his resting place and surmounted by a granite statue of heroic size, seems a fair representation of his life, - plain, enduring, and eminent for solidity." [1]
  Birth	3 Mar 1818	Lyndon, Caledonia Co., Vermont   [1]
  Gender	Male
  Death	16 Feb 1875	St. Johnsbury, Vermont   [1]
  Person ID	I22567	Main Tree
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2020

  
  

  Father	Joel FLETCHER,   b. 26 Nov 1763, Chesterfield, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire d. 6 Jan 1858 (Age 94 years)
  Mother	Mary HAINES,   b. 14 Jul 1773   d. 14 Jan 1853 (Age 79 years)
  Family ID	F10	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Zerviah Townsend MEIGS,   b. 09 Jan 1819   d. Dec 1873 (Age 54 years)
  Marriage	15 Jan 1840  [1, 2]
  Family ID	F20475	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	1 Nov 2020

  
  

• Sources

  [S12078] Edward Hatch Fletcher, Fletcher Family History The Descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concord, Massachusetts. [S01701] Henry B. Meigs, Record of the Descendants of Vincent Meigs Who Came From Dorsetshire, England to America about 1635.