Orange

MEAD, John B. & John F.

Biography of John B. MEAD (father of John F.)

Men of Vermont: Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters & Sons of 
Vermont. Ullery. Brattleboro: Transcript Publishing Company, 1894, pp 271-272 
(portrait p 271)

John B. MEAD, of Randolph [Orange County, Vermont], was born 15 March 1831 in 
Stratham [Rockingham County], New Hampshire. In 1841 he came to Randolph and 
lived with Dr. and Mrs. P. D. BLODGETT, who were childless. His education 
was obtained in the district school and in the Orange County grammar school, 
and was supplemented by discipline obtained by teaching school both in 
Vermont and New Jersey. The first year of the rebellion found him, at the 
age of thirty, settled with wife and two young children on what had been the 
Dr. BLODGETT farm, just south of Randolph Center, where Mrs. BLODGETT still 
lived, receiving love and care from him in his manhood as he had received 
them from her in his boyhood. Late in 1861 he enlisted, making such 
arrangements as he could for the well being of the family left behind him. 
Colonel MEAD's military service, and that of no soldier was more honorable, 
was in the Eighth Vermont Regiment, where he held every commission from 
second lieutenant to colonel. His record is this: second lieutenant Company 
G, 07 January 1862; first lieutenant Company G, 02 April 1863; captain 
Company G, 05 May 1863; major, 26 July 1864; colonel, 04 March 1865; taken 
prisoner at Bayon des Allemands, 04 September 1862; wounded 19 October 1864, 
at the battle of Cedar Creek; mustered out 28 June 1865.

At the close of the war Colonel MEAD returned to the farm, and was in 1867 
and 1868 elected to represent Randolph; in 1878 a senator from Orange County; 
in 1875 a member of the State Board of Agriculture; from 1878 to 1880 state 
superintendent of agriculture; 1884 and 1885 commissioner from Vermont to the 
New Orleans Exposition; and in 1886 commissioner from New England to the New 
Orleans Exposition of that year, and was a member of its board of management. 
He was a practical farmer on modern lines, and was an importer and breeder 
of red-polled cattle, and in 1883 spent some time in England selecting stock 
for importation. From young manhood he was an active member of the 
Congregational church, and for many years a deacon therein. He was an 
earnest advocate of temperance, and held the highest official positions in 
the organization of Good Templars. Full of zeal in all educational matters, 
he was for many years a member of the board of trustees of the Randolph State 
Normal School and secretary of the board, and with public spirit invested 
thousands of dollars in erecting a large boarding house, which he and others 
thought necessary for the better condition of the school. He was engaged at 
the last in an enterprise looking to the settlement by Vermonters of a large 
tract of land in North Dakota.

Colonel [John B.] MEAD died suddenly at his home in Randolph, 16 December 
1887, his death doubtless hastened, and it is believed, caused by the 
lingering effects of his years of military service. In May 1858 at Randolph 
John B. MEAD married [Miss] Orpha O., daughter of Elias and Orinda (BLODGETT) 
CARPENTER. Their children were: Charles C., born in 1859; John F., born 16 
August 1861; Nellie O. (Mrs. W. F. MORSE of Barre [Washington County, 
Vermont], born in 1864; Myra B., born in 1866 and died in 1879; and Orinda 
C., born in 1868 and died in 1885. Mrs. MEAD [Orpha O.] died 06 May 1877. 
In August 1880 Colonel [John B.] MEAD married [his second wife] Laura C., 
daughter of Hiram and Jerusha (BRADISH) KIMBALL. Mrs. MEAD [Laura C.] and 
their daughter, Annie K., born in 1882, now reside in West Randolph. Colonel 
MEAD was of commanding presence and soldierly bearing, earnest, eloquent, and 
brave physically, intellectually and morally. He was a real and, so far as 
in man lies, the ideal Christian citizen and soldier.



Biography of John F. MEAD (son of John B.)

Men of Vermont: Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters & Sons of 
Vermont. Ullery. Brattleboro: Transcript Publishing Company, 1894, pp 272-273 
(portrait p 272)

John F. MEAD, of Randolph, was born 16 August 1861 in Randolph [Orange 
County, Vermont], son of John B. and Orpha O. (CARPENTER) MEAD. His 
education was received in the Randolph Normal School, and St. Johnsbury 
Academy, and during his earlier life he remained with his father on the farm, 
acting as foreman during his frequent absences. He now owns the homestead in 
Randolph and a large cattle ranch in North Dakota, the latter property 
jointly with his brother [Charles C. MEAD] now located in that state. John 
F. MEAD is engaged in dairying and horse breeding, and has the character of 
an enterprising, industrious and successful farmer. He held the appointment 
of assistant commissioner of Vermont at the International Exhibition at New 
Orleans in 1885, and in 1886 was superintendent of the second division of the 
first Minneapolis Exposition. He has traveled in every state but one this 
side of the Mississippi, and for a man of his age possesses wide knowledge of 
men and affairs. He is one of the trustees of the Randolph Normal School, 
has held town offices, and in 1892 was representative from Randolph and 
served on the committees on education and the World's Fair.

Submitted by Cathy Kubly