"Elisha Rich Hendee is a prominent farmer and speculator in sheep, and has lived in his present home in Pittsford, Rutland county, Vermont, since June 1, 1866.

The Hendee family of Pittsford is one of the oldest and most prominent families of that vicinity, with a record dating back for one hundred and fifty years or more. The progenitor of the familyin America was Rich Hendee. He was a descendant of a French Protestant family who for religious reasons were expelled from Normandy, and settled in England. Upon coming to America, he located in Boston among the first settlers. He married and had two sons, Richard and Caleb, the latter died without issue. Richard Hendee was married twice, his first wife died early in life and left one son, Jonathan, who was reared by his mother’s relatives. Richard Hendee removed to Connecticut, where he married a Miss Conant and settled in or near Windham. Jonathan Hendee was also twice married. Hisfirst wife died and left him David, Barzillai, Asa, and Hannah. A later marriage with Martha Millington resulted in the following five children: Jonathan, Richard, Caleb, Richard, and Martha. Jonathan died at what is now called Ellington about 1775. He was poor and illiterate but was an honest man. He was a man of great physical powers and his sons by his first wife were also powerful men. Caleb, the third son by his second wife, is the next in line of descent and is the great-grandfather of our subject.

Caleb Hendee, Jr.. the grandfather of Elisha Rich Hendee, wasborn October 21, 1768, and in 1789 married Lydia Rich, by whom he had seven children. The third in this family, German Franklin Hendee, was born October 2, 1794. November 30, 1820. He wasjoined inmarriage with Sarah R. Jones, of Claremont, New Hampshire. Ten children blessed this union, seven of whom were sons and three were daughters. All are now deceased except the following: Elishia Rich, subject of theselines; Lydia Ann, wife of Dr. George E. Sparhawk, of Burlington, Vermont; and Eliza Maria. Eliza Maria married Amos Drury Tiffany, of Pittsford, Vermont, November 17, 1868, and they became the parents of five children, three of whom are now deceased. The record is as follows: Sarah Abigail, wife of Dr. John Estabrook, of Brandon; Frederick, who died at the age of ten months; Arthur Amos, a clerk in the express office at St. Albans, Vermont; Harry H., who died in his fifthyear; and Carroll H., who died in infancy. Mr. Tiffany wasengaged in the business with his brother for a number of years, and subsequently entered the employ of the railroad company as a station agent at Pittsford, which position he stillretains. He has also been a coal dealer for many years. He isa master Mason and is a deacon of the Congregational church. The marriage of Lydia Ann and Dr. Sparhawk, was followed by the birth of two children, one of whom, Sam is a prominent physician in Burlington, Vt.

Elisha Rich Hendee was born in Pittsford, Vermont, January 15, 1837. He was reared to farm life on his father’s farm and obtained the rudiments of an education in the district and select schools. He left home when eighteen years old and went to live with J. J. Simonds, who married his eldest sister, Sarah Rosette. They lived in Sherburne, Vermont, where our subject remained for two years and a half.

In 1859, in company with his brother, Edwin H., he took fifty Merino sheep to Texas. They went by rail to Boston and on board a sailing brig to Galveston, Texas. Mr. Hendee remained in Texas until the spring of 1865. While there he took300 bucks of high grade into Mexico for George Wilkins Kindall. On his way back, he had a most romantic and enjoyable time. While in Texas, he increased his weight from 125 to 169 pounds. He spent nearly three years at Barney, near the head of Buffalo Creek, on the ranch of Colonel Graham, who was an able lawyer from Ohio, and was, at one time, United States consul to Buenos Ayres. Mr. Hendee was a conscript in Confederate service for a time and obtained a furlough to goto Mexico. Mr. Hendee located on his present farm in the year following his return from the South. This farm is part of his father’s farm, which was settled in1831.

Our subject and his brother, Edwin H., bought out the heirs of this part of the farm which contains 375 acres. The original farm contained 600 acres. Mr. Hendee bought and sold lands and has now a farm of his own containing300 acres. Hekeeps a dairy of twenty-five cows and disposes of milk at the Pittsford creamery. November 20, 1866, he wedded Augusta White, of Hebron, New York. Two children blessed their union: Frederick and Helen G. Their son was born January 19, 1867, and died when eight months old. Many hopes were buried with him. Their daughter, Helen G., is a popular teacher in the schools of Burlington, Vermont; she is a graduate of the seminary at Brandon, and of Vermont University.

Inpolitics Mr. Hendee is a Democrat, and has served in town offices, as selectman, justiceof the peace, poor master, etc. May 24, 1877, he was deprived of his beloved wife, who died when her daughter was an infant. This was a sad blow to our subject, whohas remained true to her memory and has been a widower for twenty-two years. Mr. Hendee retains some vivid recollections of his experience in the South during the war, and of his great difficulty in getting back to the North. He also brought some trophies back with him; not the least among are his furloughs and passes in the original writing. To obtain these required nerve and tact possessed by few persons in such an emergency. These papers bear dates of May 4th, 11th, to the 23rd, 1865. With these in his possession, he finally made good his escape to the United States forces, but had to go to Mexico first.

[Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Rutland County, Vermont; Buffalo, N. Y., Chicago, Ill., Biographical publishing company (1899); The Library of Congress - https://archive.org/details/bookofbiographie00bio]

Elisha Rich Hendee was from Vermont but somehow got stranded in the South during the American Civil War and was actually conscripted into the Confederate Army before figuring out how to get across Confederate lines and back home to his farmin Vermont.