USA > New Jersey > Sussex County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 102
USA > New Jersey > Warren County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 102
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The township designation was taken from the vil- lage of the same name, settled and christened years before the town was organized.
The first town-meeting was held at John Kelsey's inn, April 14, 1845, when officers were elected as fol-
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SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
lows: Moderator, James Decker; Town Clerk, John H. Munson ; Assessor, Moses Woodruff; Collector, Joseph Read; Commissioners of Appeal, Thomas M. Davit, Thomas House, Serring Wade ; Chosen Free- holders, Elias Potter, John Kelsey; Surveyors of Highways, James Van Kirk, John Read ; Overseers of the Poor, Joel Aber, Jacob Vaughn ; Constables, John Roe, George Read, John Guntyman ; Judge of Election, Robert Van Kirk; Town Committee, Wil- liam M. Cox, John Campbell, James Decker, Lewis Sherman ; School Committee, Isaac Goble, David Smith, John R. Stuart, William Current; Pound- Keepers, William Torrey, Thomas House.
At the same meeting it was resolved to raise $1000 for highways, $200 as a school fund, that $300 be raised for the use of the township, that $1 per day he paid for work on the road, and that the next meeting be held at the inn of John Cox.
From 1846 to 1880, inclusive, the following persons have served annually as judges of election, clerks, assessors, collector4, and.chosen freeholders :
JUDGES OF ELECTION.
1846, R. Van Kirk ; 1847-49, T. Lawrence; 1850, M. Rohrig ;. 1851-54, II. W. Ogden; 1855, J. Willson; 1856-57, J. L. Munson ; 1858-60, J. L. White; 1861-62, D. H. Lantz ; 1863-64, R. B. Smith; 1865, M. Mack- erly ; 1866-67, J. Van Kirk ; 1868-70, J. L. Munson; 1871, D. H. Lantz; 1872-78, A. Boss ; 1879, S. M. Fisher ; 1880, J. Timbrel.
CLERKS.
1846, R. Howell; 1847, M. Wade; 1848-55, M. Hoppough ; 1856-60, D. F. Lyon ; 1861, B. Bradbury ; 1862-70, J. H. Shuman; 1871, H. M. Sauds ; 1872-78, J. Timbrel; 1879, C. Halsey ; 1880, J. Shuman.
ASSESSORS.
1846-47, M. Woodruff; 1848-50, L. Moore ; 1851-54, J. L. Decker; 1855- 57, J. McMickle; 1858, M. Woodruff; 1859-66, J. L. Decker; 1867, A. Ackerson ; 1868, J. B. Stanaback ; 1869, M. Mackerly ; 1870, J. B. Stanaback; 1871, W. P. Smith; 1872, J. Decker; 1873-76, J. L. Decker; 1877-78, J. B. Stanaback ; 1879-80, S. S. Byranı.
COLLECTORS.
1846-52, J. Read ; 1853-54, J. Willson; 1855, M. Rohrig; 1856-57, A. Read ; 1858-60, M. Van Kirk; 1861, S. Smith ; 1862-6G, R. P. Wusher; 1867-70, M. Mackerly ; 1871-73, I. Goble, Jr .; 1874-76, D. F. Lyou ; 1877-78, J. L. Decker ; 1879, J. M. Shafer; 1880, I. Goble.
CHOSEN FREEHOLDERS.
1845, Elias Potter, John Kelsey; 1846, William Howell, John Kelsey; 1847, James Decker, R. K. Washer; 1848-49, Mills Vau Kirk, Wil- liam Kinney ; 1850-54, James Byram, Mille Van Kirk ; 1855, James Byram, William Current; 1856, James Byram, William Kinney ; 1857, James Byram, James L. Decker ; 1858, A. JI. Bedell, James L. Decker; 1859, John Reed, James B. Titman; 1860, John Reed, Dan- iel Stillwell ; 1861, John Reed, James B. Titman; 1862, John Reed, Daniel Stillwell; 1863, John Reed, Johu Decker; 1864-66, Peter Washer, John Decker; 1867-70, Robert M. Kimble, John Decker; 1871, James B. Titman, James H. Brooks ; 1872-75, James Byram, James L. Mnoson ; 1876-78, J. D. Ackerson, James L. Munson ; 1879, William J. Morton, James B. Titman ; 1880, Owen Couly, Aaron Boss.
IV .- ROAD DISTRICTS IN 1845.
The road-masters appointed at the first town-meet- ing, in 1845, were:
Moses Lenterman, James Van Kirk, Thomas Van Kirk, Jonathan Haut- mell, William Howard, Nathaniel Hoping, Isaac Goble, James W. Rose, George B. Beatty, William Pullis, Jacob Strader, Garret Ack- erson, John Burrel, Ephraim Kimble, Peter Washer, Thomas House, William Mackerly, Elias Potter, John Campbell.
There were nineteen road districts set off as follows :
No. 1 .- Beginning at Lenterman's bridge, aud running theuce to the Hardyston line, through Sodom, and also the road from Sodom by Jacob Rorick's to the Hardyston line.
No. 2 .- From Lenterman's bridge to the Forge Lane near David Cory's, aud also the Meadow road near Happaugh's to the Wild Cat road.
No. 3 .- From Forge Lane through Sparta to the Sliding Rock, iu the road on the hill towards Newton, and also the Lafayette road to the rock in the old Newton and Hardyston line.
No. 4 .- From Sparta to Hopewell road.
No. 5 .- From Hopewell road to the Morris County line.
No. 6 .- From the Hopewell road through Hopewell to the Morris County line.
No. 7 .- From Jonathan Hammel's corner to John Boss' saw-mill.
No. 8 .- Front Andrew C'hidester's to the Byram line ; also to Johu Boss' barn.
No. 9 .- From Sparta up the Meadow road to the Byram live.
No. 10 .- From Sliding Rock through by Charles P. Johnson's ; also to the Newton line by Pullis'.
No. 11 .- From Polhemus school-house to the Newton line by Jacob Strader's ; also by James Current's from Pullis' Corner to the Newton and Lafayette corner.
No. 12 .- From P. Van Kirk's corner by Garret Ackerson to William Current's, and also the Wild Cat road to the Hardyston line (to include Lewis Moore and Corneling Rollson).
No. 13 .- From William Current's corner by Joshua Predmore to Wil- liam Bedell's corner; also to Jacob Sutton's corner.
No. 14 .- From Jacob Sutton's corner by William Lane to the old Frank- ford line ; also by Brasted's to Hardyston line by Lewis Sutton; also by Kimble's Mill to the Frankford line.
No. 15 .- From the poplar-tree to Englis' corner, and up the lane to Frankford and Hardyston corner ; also from Elias Potter up to the old Hardyston and Frankford line; also from George Washer's to David Smith's; also from Englis' corner towards Kemble's Mill.
No. 16 .- From the old Hardyston line by Washer's to the Lafayette line by Jacob Maybee's; also from Thomas House's by John Campbell's to Lafayette and Newtou Corner ; also from Thomas House's to David Smith's old Frankford line ; also from Joseph Reed'e to David Ackerson's corner ; also from Jacob Vanghn's hy Samuel Oliver to the Joseph Read ; also from turupike to M. Woodruff's.
No. 17 .- From John Boss' barn by the saw-mill to James Caucon's cor- ner; also from the saw-mill to the Byram line near the old forge.
No. 18 .- From the Kinney brook to the hill above Potter's barn, from Potter's to the Englis' corner, and from Eoglis' corner to the Lafayette line on Struble Hill.
No. 19 .- From Jacob Vaughu's to the road hy Quackenbush's to the Howell road, and from Thomas Honse's to the Quackenbush rosd.
V .- SCHOOLS.
There were, of course, schools in Sparta village some years hefore the beginning of the nineteenth century, but the oldest remembrance now available cannot recall an earlier school-house than the " old frame" that stood in 1816 at the south end of the vil- lage. Similarly, the earliest teacher remembered was a Mr. Wilcox, an excellent instructor and the profes- sor of skillful vocal powers, the which he was fre- quently called upon to exercise as the teacher of a singing-school and at social gatherings, where he was ever a welcome presence. Other early teachers in Sparta were Mr. Lent, Miss Easton, and Elias Beach, the latter of whom in his eightieth year is now living in Wisconsin.
The school-house next succeeding the " old frame" was a two-story affair that stood on the site of the present school-house, and, by reason of its rather pre- tentious appearance, it was dignified, by common con- sent, with the name of "the academy." The first trustees of the academy, chosen in 1812, were Job
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SPARTA.
Cory, James Ludlam, Thomas Lenington, Dan Hurd, and William Corwin, Jr. The academy was de- stroyed by fire in 1860, and in that year the house now in use was erected. The enrollment of school chil- dren in the district is 120, and the average attendance about 70. There are two departments, Moses Delaney being the principal, and Annie Delaney the assistant. Mr. Delaney has taught at Sparta about ten years, and is held in high repute. The district trustees are T. II. Andress, Job Cory, and Jacob Timbrel.
In 1806 children living in the neighborhood of the place now known as Ogdensburg went to school in a little log cabin that stood upon the present village school site. The teacher in 1806 was Ephraim Wood- ruff, one of the survivors of 1776, and much given, when in one of his happier moods, to the narration of his turbulent and venturesome military experi- ences during the stormy period of the Revolution. lle was not, however, always inclined to indulge a happy mood while pursuing the active duties of his business as pedagogue, and to this day tradition deals with lively reference to Ephraim's inordinate fond- ness for whipping his scholars. In 1834, when a framed school-house took the place of the log cabin, Eliza- beth Youngs was the teacher, and, after her, Rebecca Decker. The third house was built on the same site in 1856, and the fourth-the present one-in 1872. The house built in 1834 is now a dwelling, and the one built in 1856 a storehouse. The edifice now used is a two-story brick, and cost $7500. It contains three departments, with an average attendance of 100 out of an enrollment of 200. The principal is J. P. Do- lan, and his assistants are Elsie Hill and Martha L. Maxwell. The district trustees are J. J. Francisco, William Morton, and .J. H. Stidworthy.
In the district called New Prospect the first school- house was built in 1820, upon the place now occupied by Jacob Sutton. It was burned in 1825, and the house then built stood upon the present school site. The house now used is the third the district has had. The average attendance is 30. The trustees for 1880 were E. G. Braisted, Allen Smith, and D. C. Sutton.
West Mountain District was set off from New Pros- pect and Ogdensburg Districts in 1850, and has had but one school building. The district trustees are J. II. Chamberlain, G. M. Monnell, and Austin Berry.
In the Pullis District there was a log school-house in 1825, and about then the teachers were Hunt, Matthews, and Headly. The second house was a framed building, and so was the third,-the present, -which was built in 1877. The trustees for 1880 were Richard Case, Robert Mills, and David Pullis.
Ogden Mine District was set off from Hopewell in 1870, when the present school-house was built. The first teacher was John Callan. The trustees for 1880 were John McCune, George Kinney, and Benjamin Castimore.
Church of Sparta, resolved to establish a female sem- inary at Sparta, and employed Pierson Hurd to erect the building, which cost about $2500. Mrs. Dayton was an experienced teacher, and, succeeding straight- way in obtaining a full quota of pupils, continued her successful ministrations for the space of about twenty years, and achieved for the Sparta Seminary a fame that called into constant demand all the accommoda- tions it possessed. MIrs. Dayton retired from the school only when advancing age brought infirmities that forbade arduous labors.
VI .- CHURCHIES. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF SPARTA.
The first church society under the general act pro- viding for the incorporation of religious bodies, passed March 10, 1786, was the First Presbyterian Church in Hardyston. The record of the incorporation reads as follows :
" At a meeting of the Presbyterian congregation in Inrydston, county of Sussex, holden at the dwelling of Robert Ogden, Esq., the present and most natal place of meeting of said congregation, on Thursday, Nov. 23, 1786, in order to form a budy corporate and choose trustees agreeable to an act of the Legislature of this State passed March 10, 1786, due notice of the meeting having been given by advertisement agreeable to the di- rectiona of said act, a sermou was preached by the Rev. Mr. James Wil- son previous to the election. The meeting then proceeded to business, LIul chose Robert Ogden, Esq., moderator and Robert Ogden, Esq., Jr., clerk. Trustees were then elected, as follows: Robert Ogden, L'sq., Charles Beardsley, Esq., Japhet Byram, Thomas Van Kirk, Esq., Christo- pher Hoagland, Esq., Christopher Longstreet, Esq., Hubert Ogden, Jr., Esq.
" At a meeting of the trustees at the house of Robert Ogden, Esq., Nov. 23, 1786, the said trustees having taken the oaths of allegiance and uhjuration, and also an oath for the falthful performance of their duty, agreeable to the directions of an net of the Legislature of this State passed March 10, 1786, took and assumed upon themselves the name and style of 'The First Presbyterian Church in Hardyston,' and unanimously cheso Robert Ogden, Jr., Esq., president."
The name of the church and society was subse- quently changed to "The Presbyterian Church of Sparta."
The oldest church records dealing with this society begin at the date of May 16, 1805, with the explan- atory note that up to that time no session-book had been kept. Oral testimony, however, has handed down the statement that in 1780, or before, a Presby- terian Church was organized at Sparta village and called "The First Presbyterian Church of Hardys- ton," and that the members worshiped in Robert Og- den's house, under the ministrations of Rev. II. W. Hunt. The constituent members are supposed to have numbered ten, and to have been named as fol- lows: Christian Clay, Mary Clay, his wife, Jonathan Sutton, Robert Ogden, Jonathan Sharp, Jane Mills, wife of Robert Mills, Mary JJohnson, wife of Andrew Johnson, Gabriel Paine, John Lion, and Martha, his wife.
In 1786 a church edifice was erected, and, in token of the substantial methods employed in its construc- tion, it may be observed that after ninety-four years of service it still serves as a house of worship, and to
In 1845, Sarah C. Dayton, widow of Rev. Ezra Dayton, who had been pastor of the Presbyterian ' all intents bids fair to endure another century. It 27
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SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
was repaired in 1837, and again in 1869, at an ag- gregate expense of upwards of $5000; but the orig- inal frame is yet intaet.
When preparations were ripe for beginning the work on the church, in 1786, Robert Ogden, attended by a goodly company, led the way to a white-oak tree on the Lafayette road, and, while all knelt about the tree, Mr. Ogden offered a fervent prayer, in which he besought God's blessing upon the undertaking. The white-oak was the first to fall as a tribute to the work, and, as stout hearts and willing hands urged the busi- ness forward, the frame was soon in position. For some years, however, the church was a mere shell of frame roof and weatherboarding, with roughly-hewn seats for the worshipers, but in due time improve- ments followed, and made the edifice comfortable and attractive.
Oct. 6, 1818. the number of members reported was 51; 78 had been received to that time, and 27 dis- missed. As the names of the ten constituent mem- bers have already been given, mention of the follow- ing 68 will complete the list,-to wit :
Hannah, wife of Robert Ogden, John Butler, Polly, his wife, Nancy Pit- ney, Jemima Davis, Nicholas Byram, Martha Corwin, Rhoda White- head, Margaret Joralomon, Nathan Whitehead, John Johnson, Margaret Hurd, Mary Morrow, Elizabeth Morrow, Sarah Roberts Hindes, William Corwin, Jr., Rachael Sutton, Mehitable Perrigo, John Burwell, Cyrus Condict, Phoebe, his wife, Rebecca Sutton, John Ryan, Nicholas Eckerson, Mary, his wife, Abigail Talmage, Mary Johnson, James Morrow, Jane, his wife, Abigail (a woman of color), Margaret Simmons, Hermao Carter, Jenny, his wife, John Yaw, Da- vid Arter, Elizabeth, his wife, Mary Buckley, Susannah Bird, Susan- nah Cooper, Elizabeth Tarver, Mary McCollum, William Darling, Sarah Ann, his wife, Samuel Johnson, Hannah Robinson, Elizabeth Johnson, Charity Pierson, Nancy Hurd, Bethany Osborne, Elizabeth Linn, Phoebe Matthews, Rachael Wade, Phobe Easton, Mary Darling, Samuel Wade, Jane McDaniel, Anne Harwood, Abby Wade, Eunice Munson, Mary E. Barr, George Buckley, Sarah Van Duzer, Richard Whittaker, Elizabeth, his wife, Rhoda Bailey, William Corwin, Mar- tha Corwin.
May 14, 1819, the church lost 62 members by dis- missal to join the North Church, in Hardyston. There were then remaining to the First Presbyterian Church of Hardyston 37 members. From 1805 to 1880 there appears from the records to have been about 800 mem- bers admitted; of these, there were remaining 90 in December, 1880. From 1807 to 1832 the baptisms numbered 361.
As has already been remarked, Rev. W. Hunt was the first pastor of the church, but when he com- menced his pastorate or when he ended it cannot be told. The record of date May 16, 1805, notes that "Revs. Gershom Williams and Matthew La Rue Pierce attended at the meeting-house in Sparta, ac- cording to the appointment of Presbytery," and that Mr. Pierce preached from Psalm cxix. 176. The Ses- sion was at that time composed of Elders Jonathan Sutton, Robert Ogden, and Jonathan Sharp .*
* We learn from carly annals of the Presbyterian Church that Rev. Barnabas King came to New Jersey in 1805, and began at once to preach at Sparta, Sussex Co. In 1807 he officiated alternate at Sparta and Rock- away (Morris County), and in 1808 was called to the latter church. Born
The first pastor of whom mention is made in the records was Rev. Joseph L. Shafer, whose term of ser- vice reached from 1812 to 1815. Previous to 1812 the church appears to have depended upon such uneer- tain and irregular supplies as could best be obtained. Following Mr. Shafer eame Rev. Noah Crane, who, as pastor and stated supply, preached to the church for a period of upwards of eighteen years, and estab- lished himself so firmly in the affections of his people that his name is to this day remembered with rever- ence. Between 1830 and 1836, Revs. Edward Allen, Peter Kanouse, E. R. Fairchild, Moses Jewell, and James Wykoff supplied the pulpit. Following Mr. Wykoff, the pastors were :
1836-39, Rev. E. F. Dayton ; 1839-44, Rev. W. Torrey; 1844-45, Rev. Thomas S. Ward; 1845-46, Rev. W. Torrey ; 1846-52, Rev. W. E. Pierson ; 1852-53, Rev. W. H. Megie; 1853-56, Rev. Daniel Higbie; 1856-63, Rev. Livingston Millard ; 1863-70, Rev. F. E. M. Bachelor; 1870-71, Rev. R. S. Feagles ; 1871-75, Rev. W. B. McKee ; 1875-78, Rev. J. S. Hanna.
In March, 1878, Rev. Thomas' Tyack, the present pastor, began his labors.
The church is now attached to the Presbytery of Newton, and the Session is composed of Elders Job Cory, F. C. Easton, F. W. Rochelle, and William Riddle. The Sunday-school, which is in charge of F. C. Easton, has a corps of seven teachers and an average attendance of 60.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF OGDENSBURG.
Although Presbyterian Church services have been held at Ogdensburg with greater or less regularity for. fifty years or more, there has at no time been a church organization, nor is there at this time. At present, Ogdensburg church affairs are governed by the Session of the Sparta Church, of which the Ogdens- burg Church is now simply a branch.
The edifice at Ogdensburg was begun Aug. 19, 1879, and dedicated Dee. 15, 1880. Mr. John George do- nated the land upon which it stands, and agreed to obtain subscriptions to the amount of $500, con- ditioned that the church should not be dedicated until fully paid for. The conditions were fulfilled, and the dedication took place as recorded. Aside from volunteer labor, which amounted to considera- ble, the building cost, completed, $2400.
The trustees for 1880 were J. D. Lenterman, Sam- uel R. George, William Riddle, J. B. Happaugh, Reuben Stidworthy, James Stidworthy, and A. M. Holden. Rev. Thomas Tyack, pastor of the Sparta Church, preaches once a week at Ogdensburg.
The Sunday-school has an attendance of about 75. The superintendent is. William Riddle.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHI.
In 1822, when Stephen Lyon and his wife became residents of Sparta village, there were in the village
June 2, 1780 ; died April 10, 1862. The Rev. Albert Barnes remarked of him that he knew " of no minister whose walk and labor and success had been so admiralde ns those of Dr. King, of Rockaway."
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SPARTA.
or near it, according to Mrs. Lyon's recollection, but three members of the Methodist Church besides her- self. They were Ziba Nichols (who worked in one of the village forges) and the wives of James and John Geroloman, farmers near by. She thinks the first attempt to hold Methodist Church services with any show of regularity was not made until 1830, when the minister living at Snufftown came over and organized a class in the village school-house. The names of the constituent members of that class can- not now be recalled, but it is known that Ziba Nichols was the leader, and that until his death, in the spring of 1880, at the age of eighty-four, he remained con- tinuously a member of the organization. Mrs. Lyon, who was one of the constituent members, is still a communicant, and the oldest. Her class connection covers a period of fifty years.
After the class organization, in 1830, preaching was successfully maintained at regularly stated periods in spite of many drawbacks. For some reason not ex- actly clear, the Methodists were after a while denied the use of the school-house, and for a time they had to meet in dwellings and an old storehouse. Never- theless, they flourished, and in 1837 found themselves able to build a church, which they placed upon a site opposite where Jacob Timbrel's blacksmith-shop now stands.
At that time Rev. Sedgwick Rusling was the pas- tor. Before him, Rev. Mr. Itebener was in charge, and, being doubtless compelled to economize, he journeyed on foot over his circuit, which covered a great extent of territory.
After serving until 1868, the old church was re- placed by the present structure, and in that year a churchyard was laid out. The church property, in- eluding a parsonage, cost about $8000, and upon it there rests an indebtedness of $2800.
Since 1879, Rev. A. L. Wilson has been the pastor. The membership is about 100. The class-leader is S. M. Fisher, and the church trustees S. M. Fisher, Moses Delaney, ti. B. Fisher, S. Truax, S. B. Fisher, C. McCormick, and C. Sanford. In the Sunday-school, of which HI. B. Strait is superintendent, the average attendance is 50.
There is at Ogdensburg a small Methodist Episco- pal class of about 30 members. Rev. John Burrell" is the pastor and class-leader. Services are held cach Sunday.
VII .- BURIAL-PLACES.
There are in Sparta two public burial-places, both located at the village of Sparta. The Methodist churchyard was laid out in 1868. The graveyard at the Presbyterian Church contains a tablet to the memory of Robert Ogden, who died 1787. Burials were probably made in the yard before that year, but no stones now record the fact. The Robert Ogden named was the father of Robert and Elias Ogden,
large landowners and settlers in Sparta township about 1766. The inscription on the tablet reads :
"In memory of Robert Ogden, Esq., who died January, 1787, aged seventy. In public life, both In Church and State, he filled many im- portant offices with ability and dignity. In his private business he was upright, eminently useful, and diligent. He was temperate and humane, a friend to the pour, hospitable and generous, a most faithful, indulgeut, and tender husband and parent, and, above all, his life and conversation from his youth was becoming. A professor of religion and a believer in the name of the blessed Jesus."
Among the oldest inscriptions to be found in the yard are the following : Mrs. Phirbe Ogden, widow of the late Robert Ogden, died Dec. 22, 1796, aged seventy-six ; Hannah, daughter to the foregoing, died Nov. 1, 1789; Emanuel Newman, Nov. 4, 1795; Anna, his wife, Oct. 14, 1819, aged seventy-eight ; Jepthah Byram, June 9, 1807; Benjamin Chamberlain, Nov. 29, 1816; Hannah Platt, daughter of Dr. Zophar I'latt, and wife of Robert Ogden, E-q., sergeant-at- law, May 7, 1812; Maj. Elias Ogden, born 1763, and died March 31, 1805; Mary, his wife, died May 19, 1805; Richard Van Kirk, March 2, 1803; Thomas Van Kirk, Nov. 2, 1802; Richard Dickson, " husband of Sarah Dickson," July 1, 1805; Polly, wife of Wait. Munson, Sept. 29, 1813 ; Cyrus Condiet, Oct. 27, 1813; Joseph Hurd, Jr., Sept. 10, 1814; Louisa Elizabeth Hurd, Aug. 6, 1817; Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Van Kirk, Aug. 27, 1818; William Corwin, Sept. 30, 1821; Stephen Hurd, Jr., Nov. 29, 1822; John C. Hurd, Nov. 30, 1821; Eunice Hayward, March 14, 1825; Dan Hurd, Esq., March 29, 1835; Byram P'it- ney, Aug. 28, 1827 ; Robert Ogden, born at Elizabeth- town, 1746, died Feb. 14, 1826.
A broad tablet sets forth that it perpetuates the memory of Oliver Green, A.B., " who was the son of Oliver Green, of Ashburnham, England, and a licen- tiate of the South Worcester Association, Mass. He graduated at Dartmouth College, Aug. 26, 1807, and died at the house of Robert Ogden, in Sparta, May 24, 1810."
VIII .- VILLAGES. SPARTA.
Settlements were made at the village of Sparta be- fore the Revolutionary war, and as early as 1770-80 some authorities assert-there were iron-forges at the place, at which ore was received from the Ogden Mine and forged into bar iron. The village was called Sparta long before the earliest period to which present human recollection can return, but why it was thus called, and by whom, are questions that no one can now answer. The presumption is of course natural that he or they who christened it must have been de- sirons to perpetuate an admiration of the place that gave birth to Greece's most famous heroes.
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