USA > Vermont > Orange County > Bradford > A history of Bradford, Vermont : containing some account of the place of its first settlement in 1765, and the principal improvements made, and events which have occurred down to 1874--a period of one hundred and nine years. With various genealogical records, and biographical sketches of families and individuals, some deceased, and others still living > Part 19
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were seizing and devouring their prey. He sprang up and went resolutely at them, when they fled, leaving three of his flock mangled and dead, to him at that time a seri- ous misfortune. One year, a little before wheat harvest, he thought his neighbor's hogs must have been among his wheat, he found so much of it trampled down, and de- termined to keep a sharp lookout for them. Not many days after, seeing the tops of the tall grain violently agitated he was convinced the swine were at their work, and ran to drive them out, when suddenly a bear sprang up before him! then another! then another! three of those black monsters ready to seize on him as their prey. He instinctively sprang upon a stump, uttering a tremen- duous shout. The bears, unaccustomed to such a start- ling outcry, terror stricken fled away, leaving the rightful owner in possession of his field.
Mr. Wilson early turned his attention to fruit growing, and planted an orchard as soon as he could get land enough cleared for that purpose. He planted the largest orchard in this part of the State, chiefly of grafted trees, from which he some years saw gathered from one hun- dred to one hundred and seventy-five barrels of selected apples. He raised many trees for sale, and did much to promote fruit growing in this and the neighboring towns. With him originated the apple known in this vicinity as the " Wilson . Russett." Mr. Wilson served the town of Bradford as one of the Selectmen, gratuitously, for six or seven years, and officiated as Justice of the Peace for some fifteen years, during which time he transacted a great amount of business. He was remarkable for his constant attendance on Freemen's meetings; after the lapse of nearly sixty years he was still there, always vot- ing on what is now called the Republican side. He was strongly opposed to slavery, and to the attempt of its supporters to overthrow the Federal Government. The fire of patriotism kindled in his youthful mind in the days
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of the Revolution continued to glow warmly there, through a long life, and amid all the infirmities of age. He was blessed with a strong mind in a strong and health- ful body ; and his intellectual faculties held out remarka- bly, to the time of his death ; when he departed peace- fully, trusting in the mercy of his God and Saviour, in the ninety-fifth year of his age, February 23, 1863. Mr. Wilson was alike distinguished for his mildness and de- cision; for veracity and uprightness ; for his domestic virtues and love of country. He stood firmly for a while, but at length, like one of the sightly old forest trees of the mountain, he has fallen ; his time, as he said, having come.
The above account of David Wilson, Esq., I prepared, from information given me soon after his death, about eleven years ago, and now add some further notices of him, and especially regarding his family, lately received from his son, John Wilson, Esq., who still occupies the old homestead, in 1874.
He says when his father took up that lot on which he settled in Bradford, of so little estimation had it been held that at one time it was sold at auction to obtain the payment of its charter fees, and was bid off for one bushel of wheat and a gallon of rum. When his parents settled there no carriage road had been opened across the moun- tain, and their first habitation was a log cottage, the build- ing of which had been commenced by one Caleb Page. And he had often heard his good mother tell, that when at one time she had set out to visit her sister, Mrs. Mc- Duffee, about one mile away, over the mountain, leading her little son James, and carrying David, the baby, on her other arm, she, when about half way along, confronted a huge bear ! sitting directly in her path, and not showing any disposition to stir ! It was probably at the time not hungry, and so suffered the good woman with her child- ren to return quickly to her home in safety. Another
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exploit of Mrs. Wilson was that on one occasion she rode on horseback with her son William, then about ten years old, behind her, from her home to Londonderry, N. H., a distance of about one hundred and twenty miles, and, af- ter a visit with her friends there of a few weeks, returned in the same way, safe and sound. And so much of a walker was Mr. Wilson that he used to go on foot to Lon- donderry in two days, and having accomplished his busi- ness, return home again in the same length of time. The price of salt in Bradford in those days is an item of some interest at this time. Mr. J. Wilson says when his father first came here to live he brought with him in the boat, up Connecticut River, a tierce of salt, and he has noticed in one of his father's old accounts a charge to Peter Welton of " One bushel of salt; 4 dollars."
The date of David Wilson death has already been given. Mrs. Wilson, his wife, died March 6, 1853, about ten years before his decease, at the age of eighty-three. Their children:
1. Robert, born August 12, 1794, died young.
2. William, born June 13, 1796. He married Anna Haseltine, who died soon after the death of their first child, a son. He afterwards married Ann Barker, and had five sons, all of whom married. His second wife has deceased, and he lives with his son Robert, at Craftsbury, Vermont.
3. James, born January 15, 1798, married Sophronia Closson, and had two daughters, both mother and daugh- ters now deceased. He married for his second wife Bet- sey Corliss, of Windham, N. H., and had five sons and four daughters, all of whom, except one of the daughters, mar- ried and have families, and live in Compton, Province of Quebec.
4. David, born January 1800, married Fanny Rogers, of Bradford, and had four sons and three daughters. He lived for some years in Westmore, Vt., and represented
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that town in the State Legislature. His wife having de- ceased, he went to live with one of his sons in Compton, above named.
5. Fanny, born in 1800, died young.
6. Samuel, born May 12, 1804; married first Emily Thompson, of Topsham. They had one son, who went West, and was never heard from. After the decease of his first. wife, Mr. W. married Martha Godfrey. They had a son and a daughter. The second wife has deceased, and Mr. . W. lives with his son-in-law at Lancaster, N. H.
7. John, born Aug. 11, 1806, married Nancy Cochran, June 29, 1834, by whom he had five children, namely : Mary W., Byron B., Persis A., John D., and Boyd H. Of these Persis A. married Bailey Avery, of Newbury, and has three sons and two daughters. Her brother, John D., married Melvina Crafts, of Bradford, Jan. 1, 1865, and lives with his father and brother, Boyd H., on the old homestead. Mary W. also is still with her parents.
Byron B. Wilson, above named, born Nov. 18, 1836, was a young man of talent, energy, and decided patriot- · ism, a young man of estimable character, and much be- loved, not only at home, but among his acquaintances generally. Early in the war for the suppression of the rebellion, Sept. 5, 1861, he enlisted as a volunteer in the service of his country, for the period of three years; or while the war should last. His regiment, the 4th Ver- mont volunteers, pertained to the command of Brigadier Gen. Wm. Smith, of the army of the Potomac. He was in several bloody battles, and on one ocasion wrote : "No friend of mine shall blush to think that I feared, or ever failed, to meet the foe." Again : "There are many chan- ces for me to lay down my life, before my term of service expires. One thing is certain, I shall try to do my duty, to meet all contingencies manfully, whatever may be my fate." Whatever it may be I am content, only that the Union be preserved." In the great battle of the wilder-
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ness this beloved and brave young man was instantly killed, May 5, 1864, by a bullet sent through his head, and there, with many others, was buried. But they died not in vain. The Union has been preserved, and liberty proclaimed throughout the whole land, to all the inhabit- ants thereof.
John Wilson, Esq., has held the office of Justice of the . Peace for several years, hence his title.
8. Persis, the youngest member of the family of Da- vid Wilson, Esq., born Nov. 2, 1808, married Eliphalet Hunt, of Chelmsford, Mass., who died some years ago, leaving a son, David W., with whom she at this date was living at Moline, Illinois.
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CHAPTER XII.
The Tabors, Putnams, Pearsons, and Sawyers.
THE TABOR FAMILY.
The following information in regard to this large and respectable family was mainly obtained from Thomas Ta- bor, since deceased, and from his son, Lorenzo Tabor, Esq., now living in Adrian, Mich.
Stephen Tabor and his wife, whose maiden name was Comfort Parker, emigrated to this town of Bradford in the autumn of 1798, bringing with them eleven children, to whom three more were added after their coming, all of the same mother, and what is very remarkable the whole four- teen lived to be over thirty years of age. All, with their families, have now disappeared from this town, and only two sons and two daughters of the original family are now, June, 1874, supposed to be living. Mr. Stephen Ta- bor removed his family from New Bedford, Mass., and set- tled on a good farm, or rather on a lot which he and his sons converted into a good farm, on Goshen road, about one mile and a half from Bradford village, the same farm which is now owned and occupied by Capt. Preston Cham- berlin. Mr. Tabor died there, Aug. 10, 1852, at the age of 80, and Mrs. Tabor, his wife, died Aug. 23, 1837, in her 79th year. Their children were :
1. Mary was born March 27, 1767, and died Jan. 10, 1847, in the 70th year of her age.
2. Ruby, born Sept. 7, 1778, married Ezekiel Sawyer, and died leaving a family (see the Sawyers) March 24, 1813, in her 35th year.
3. Rebecca, born Aug. 2, 1780; married Thomas Highlands, and. died July 22, 1852, aged 72, nearly; left a family.
4. Jeremiah, born April 22, 1782; married Dorothy
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Drew, settled on Indian stream, in the North-west part of New Hampshire, and died there March 31, 1843, aged 61, nearly.
5. Phebe, born Aug. 1784; married Thomas Whipple, and died Aug. 17, 1823, aged 39 years. Thomas Whipple was M. D., and also a Member of Congress. See fur- ther account of him among the Physicians in Bradford.
6. Thomas Tabor, born May 13, 1786 ; married Abi- gail Drew, of Corinth, who died Sept. 24, 1861, aged 69 years, 5 months and 4 days. Mr. Tabor died at Hudson, Michigan, Feb. 27, 1863, in the 77th year of his age. Of him and his family see further notice, hereafter.
· 7. Paul Tabor, born Aug. 12, 1788; married Waity Whipple, and is at this writing living in health and mental vigor near Adrian, Michigan, with his wife.
8. Sarah, born March 12, 1791 ; married Daniel Drew, of Corinth, and at this date is living still in health and activity, at Prairie Du Lac, Sauk county, Wisconsin.
9. Stephen Tabor, born March 11, 1793 ; married Sarah Wilson, daughter of James W., the globe maker, and died March 27, 1823, aged 30 years and 16 days.
10. Anna, born Feb. 11, 1795 ; married Lewis Mas- querier, lived with him at Green Point, King's Co., N. Y., and died Sept. 13, 1873, in her 78th year.
11. Mercy, born Dec. 16, 1796 ; married John H. Kim- ball, of Bradford, and died Aug. 25, 1833, in her 37th year. See Kimball family.
12. Elisha P. Tabor, born Feb. 26, 1799 ; married Han- nah Kent, and at this writing is living at Prairie Du Lac, Wisconsin.
13. Patience, born March, 1801; a successful teacher still living, single.
14. Isaac W. Tabor, born November 11, 1804; by profession an attorney-at-law ; married; established him- · self in business at Houlton, Aroostook Co., Maine; repre-
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sented that town in the State Legislature, and died there Jan. 23, 1859, in his 55th year.
Of the children of these numerous members of the orig- inal Tabor family we have not been furnished with any account, except in the case of Thomas and his wife, Abi- gail Drew, who had six sons and three daughters, all na- tives of Bradford, namely :
1. Lorenzo Tabor, born February 23, 1815. His early . education, pursued for some years in good district schools, was finished at Bradford Academy. He commenced the study of law with Seth Austin, Esq., of this town, and completed the requisite course in the office of Elijah Farr, attorney-at-law, at Wells River, Vt., and by Orange Coun-" ty Court was duly admitted to the bar in 1838. In May, 1839, he married Miss Maria, daughter of Thomas Orms- by, of this town, and with her set out to seek a home in the West. They seem to have been most happily united, and have lived for many years in prosperity, at Adrian, Michigan. They have had three beautiful sons, all re- moved from them by the stroke of death, in their boy- hood. Esquire Tabor has been not only successful in his professional business, and accumulated a competency with which, unlike many others, he seems to be satisfied, and disposed to be liberal ; but has also gained the reputation of a capable, upright, and trustworthy man, and as such has been in various ways honored. On the late occasion of his resignation of the office of an Alderman of Adrian, the City Council passed resolutions highly applauding " the rare ability, honesty of purpose, and the strictest integrity," ever manifested by him in the discharge of his official duties, and their regret that, for reasons made pub- lic by him, he should have seen fit to resign.
2. Philander Tabor, the next brother of the last named, born November 15, 1816, is at this date living in Independence, Iowa.
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3. Ruby, born July 1, 1818, married Henry Ames, with whom she lives in Adrian. A
4. Stephen, born January 22, 1820, died August 12, 1867.
5. Phebe Jane, born July 31, 1824, lives near her brother Lorenzo.
6. Lavalette, born September 24, 1826, is largely and successfully engaged in mercantile business at Prairie Du Lac, Wisconsin.
7. Mercy Helen, born November 22, 1828, married S. S. Wilkinson, a lawyer, and lives in Jefferson, Green County, Iowa, in good circumstances.
8. Thomas Byron, born September 29, 1830, died February 19, 1849, in his nineteenth year.
9. Another son, Walter W., born August 11, 1833, died in his fifth year.
Thomas Tabor, Esq., had a love for the beautiful in nature, and by the way-sides, near their residence in Bradford, set out those rows of maples, now so large and flourishing and attractive to every passer by. He set them in the spring of 1830, so that they havenow been growing there for forty-four years. He was a trustee of Bradford Academy for several years, and to him, mainly, is the institution indebted for the beautiful maples which adorn its grounds. He set them there in the spring of 1831. Mr. Tabor removed to Michigan in 1837; and in 1860 wrote to me, " Here are many trees growing, that may perpetuate a name that otherwise might become ex- tinct."
In the same letter he gave the following account of his experience in regard to the business of making whiskey : " Not far from the year 1810, my brother Jeremiah and I, the two oldest sons, both zealous members of the Freewill Baptist church, built a distillery on the Tabor farm, and
N. B .- When individuals are spoken of as now living, the meaning is now at the time of this writing, which in this case is June, 1874.
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engaged largely in making whiskey from potatoes, which we followed for near fifteen years, raising from one thou- sand to four thousand bushels of potatoes yearly, and buying as many more. This was the most successful es- tablishment of the kind for many miles around, and no doubt did more real injury in the circle of its influence than the proprietors have been, or ever will be, able to atone for by a long life of humble repentance and earnest efforts to do good. This business finally fell into my hands, 'and I verily thought with myself' that I could make and sell whiskey, and at the same time please God, pray to Him acceptably and be a blessing to the world. In this state of mind I attended a temperance lecture at the village, the first I ever attended, not far from the year 1825. In this meeting the dreadful and inexcusable sin of making, selling, or drinking, alcoholic liquors as a beverage was so forcibly brought home to my conscience that I felt, with David, that I had sinned; and was among the first to come forward and sign the pledge of total ab- stinence, which I have faithfully kept for now thirty-five years, and intend to keep till I die. The distillery went to the bugs."
It was probably in 1826 that Mr. Tabor's conversion oc- curred ; as it was then that our earnest temperance effort was commenced. And, though the fact is not stated by him, it was said at the time that the horrible murder of a woman at Haverhill, N. H., by her drunken husband, under the maddening influence of some of Mr. Tabor's whiskey, was with him an urgent motive to break off at once, and forever, from the business in which he had been engaged. He was ever after an earnest advocate of total abstinance. Esqr. Tabor was a very sensible and kind-hearted man, and, withal, quite poetically inclined. Some specimens of his poetry may be seen, with other Bradford productions of that sort, in the last chapter of this book.
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ADJUTANT JOHN PUTNAM AND FAMILY.
For the following brief account of this patriotic man, and family, I am indebted to Mrs. Hannah Pearsons, of Lynn, Mass., his daughter, and give it mainly in her own words :
"My father, John Putnam, was born in Lyndeborough, N. H., in 1760. He served for seven years in the war of the Revolution, and was for some time one of the life- guards of Gen. Washington. He, in common with many others, at times suffered severely from cold and hunger, and manifold hardships. I have heard him say that at one time they were so destitute that he and his comrades ate horse's liver, and he thought it the sweetest mouthfuls he had ever tasted. In battle his right and left hand men had been shot down by his side, while he was preserved. At the close of the war they were paid off in worthless currency. In his old age he received from the govern- ment a pension of ninety-six dollars annually, which was very acceptable. He married Olive Barron, of Lynde- borough, a sister of General Micah Barron, subsequently of Bradford, Vt., and removed to that place in 1787. The inhabitants were then but few, and subject to the various trials of early settlers. Soon after the coming of my par- ents there was a scarcity of provisions. Articles of living were very dear, and money to buy with hard to be ob- tained. I have heard my mother tell that one evening when father came home, weary and hungry, she was obliged to confess that they had absolutely nothing to eat. Almost disheartened, he lay down, and soon dropt to sleep. She put on her cloak, and went down to Mr. Ich- abod Ormsby's. The good old lady, with whom she had never spoken before, met her at the door, with the excla- mation, " You dear woman! come in." Mother told her why she had come ; and Mrs. Ormsby promptly gave her bread and butter and meal, with which she joyfully re- 18
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- turned and furnished her table, and then awoke her hus- band. When he found what she had done, the strong man wept. They were both not only glad for the kindness of their neighbor, but very thankful. My father for several years was much occupied in building bridges and mill- dams, and in rafting lumber down Connecticut River.
: When the last war with England broke out, in 1812, my father, with his two sons, John and Ephraim, in the spirit of heroic patriotism, shouldered their muskets and knapsacks, and went promptly into the service of their country. In this war he acted both as Lieutenant and regimental Adjutant. He was a military man, not from love of dress parade in time of peace, but to render his best services to his country in her times of perilous ne- cessity.
My parents had five sons and six daughters, all natives of Bradford, of whom I give you the following brief notices :
1. Olive Putnam married Moses Collins, of Bradford, by occupation a carpenter. They had fifteen children, and lived to see some of their posterity of the fourth gen- eration. They removed to Michigan, and died there.
2. Sarah Putnam married Eber Jones Chapin, a cloth- ier by trade, at South Newbury, Vt., where he died. They had nine children, among whom were John P. and Eber J. Chapin, successful merchants in Chicago. Mrs. Chapin, after the death of her husband, lived with her daughter, Sarah Cummins, in Wisconsin, and died there.
3. Jonathan Putnam married Mary Stockwell. They had eight children. He was a hard-working man, of kind disposition; kind to the widow and fatherless, and others in need of his help. He and his wife remained and died in Bradford.
4. Rebeccah Putnam married Isaac Stockwell. They had nine children. Two of the sons are successful mer-
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chants in Danville, Canada East. These parents both died there.
5. John Putnam married Mary Peckett, of Bradford. They removed to Wisconsin, where he became a wealthy farmer, and was killed in a reaping machine. They had four children. all now deceased. Their mother was left the last surviving member of her former family.
6. Micah Barron Putnam died in childhood, at the age of two years.
7. Hannah Putnam married John Pearsons, of Brad- ford. They had nine children. Of this family further notice hereafter.
8. Ephraim Putnam married Rachel Stoddard. They had six children. He died in Bradford, where she, in 1874, is still living.
9. Elizabeth Putnam married Israel Prescott, and had one son. She died at East Boston. Mr. Prescott married again, and lives in Bradford.
10. Lucy Putnam married Phelps Bliss, of Fairlee. They migrated to Iowa. Both died there, leaving nine children, all settled in that State.
11. William Barron Putnam married Esther Brown. They went to Wisconsin, and with their nine children re- main there. At our last intelligence this brother was there successfully engaged in preaching the gospel.
Adjutant John Putnam, the father of this large family, died in Hydepark, Vt., November 5, 1837, at the age of about seventy-seven years. His remains were brought to Bradford for burial.
Mrs. Pearsons adds, " My mother, having lived with me at Hartford, Vt., for sixteen years, died there, in 1858, at the good old age of ninety-three years and three months. I conveyed her remains to Bradford for burial beside those of my father, in the principal cemetery there. She had been a member of the Congregational church in Brad- ford for more than forty years, and loved both the church
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and its pastor. She retained her reason to the last, and died divinely supported and comforted.
JOHN PEARSONS AND FAMILY.
John Pearsons was born in Lyndeborough, N. H., Au- gust 29, 1792. He came to Bradford to live in his twelfth year. When the war with England broke out, in 1812, he, then about twenty years of age, volunteered as a soldier, and remained in the service till, at the end of the war, honorably discharged. In 1817 he was married with Miss Hannah Putnam, mentioned in the account of the Putnam family. For about seventeen years he was engaged in the lumber business near and on the Connecticut River, at the proper seasons taking timber, boards, shingles, etc., down the river as far as Hartford, Conn., and sometimes to its confluence with the ocean. He also kept tavern on the Lower Plain for sixteen years, in the same house which had been occupied for the like purpose by Colonel John Barron and family in former years. That old yellow house, two stories in front and one in the rear, is still standing, but moved to the east side of the highway. On its original site Mr. Pearsons built, in 1842, a new and more commodious hotel, designed to be more comfortable and enduring, the walls being of sawn timber, laid as solid as brick walls, and then finished outside and within in the ordinary style. That house is now owned by a Mr. Golding, and occupied as a private dwelling. Mr. Pearsons sold his place in Bradford in 1844, and removed to Hartford, Vt., where he had bought a good farm on White River, and for the remainder of his life devoted himself to its cultivation, and, with his pleasant family, the enjoyment of the fruits of his labor.
Mr. and Mrs. Pearsons had seven sons and two daugh- ters, all natives of Bradford. Of these, three died in their childhood; namely, William Chapin, the third child, Lucy, the fifth, and Lucius, the sixth,
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Charles Pearsons, the youngest son, lived to be a prom- ising young man and fine scholar, but died at Hartford, August 9, 1858, in the twentieth year of his age.
Of the four sons and one daughter now living ( March, 1874) the following gratifying notices may be given.
1. John Alonzo Pearsons was born September 8, 1818. He was married with Hannah Stevens Bailey, of New- bury, Vt., October 25, 1842. They had four children. He moved to Evanston, Illinois, and is now engaged in the lumber business there. He was one of the first set- lers of that beautiful place, and has contributed in vari- ous ways to its prosperity. His son, Henry A. Pearsons, served in the late war as a Lieutenant in the Eighth Regi- ment of Illinois Cavalry, and is now engaged in real estate agency in Chicago. Isabella, the eldest daughter of Mr. John A. Pearsons, is the wife of Rev. William Mappin, of Larimie, Wyoming Territory.
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