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 6
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ance of public worship among themselves is at once for their own, and the public benefit. At the time this church and society became a separate charge there was a mem- bership of sixty. The same year a Sabbath School was organized, which has been in successful operation ever since. The present number of church members is sup- posed to be about
Mr. Worthley has furnished the following list of their successive pastors, with the dates of their services :
1841
Elliott B. Fletcher,
1856
Elliott B. Fletcher,
1842
Zadoc S. Haynes,
1857 -- 1858, George I. Bailey,
1843 Freeman Q. Burrows,
1859 S. W. Westgate, .
1844-1845, Homer T. Jones,
1860 -- 1861, Ardyn Hayward,
1846 . L. B. Pettengill,
1862 -- 1863, Philo H. Carpenter,
1847
A. T. Bullard,
1864 -- 1865, Selden B. Currier,
1848 -- 1849 --
1866 -- 1867 --
1850
Otis Dunbar,
1868 George F. Wells,
1851
Joseph House,
1869 -- 1870, M. R. Chase,
1852 -- 1853, Wm. B. Howard,
1871
D. F. Palmer,
1854
Haynes Johnson,
1872
Aaron Ball,
1855
Smith Aldrich,
1874 Caleb Fales.
THE CHRISTIAN BAPTIST CHURCH.
There is still another religious society, in the north-west- ern quarter of the town, and adjacent district called Gosh- en, which has a meeting house, and has, for many years, during most of the time maintained separate public wor- ship. Their house of worship is about three miles north- west from the village, very near the south line of New- bury. This church was organized in or near the year 1810. Not wishing to be considered sectarians, they adopted no creed but the Holy Scriptures, as each one for himself understood them, and chose, at first, to be called Christians ; and under the influence of a new or- ganization, and of zealous preachers, among whom the celebrated Elias Smith was prominent, were, for some time, quite flourishing. In the grant of this township, made in trust to Smith, Harvey and Whitelaw, there was a reservation of 300 acres of land for the benefit of a min-
75
ister, or ministers, who should be settled in said town. By agreement, it was arranged that 100 acres of this land, or the avails of the same, should go to the benefit of the Baptist (Calvinistic) society, then in a prosperous condi- tion in this town, which, however, in the course of years became entirely extinct; when the Christian church, as- suming the name of Christian Baptist Church, came into peaceable possession of the above named little appropria- tion. The two hundred acres appropriated to the Con- - gregationalists were deeded, as has elsewhere been said, to their first minister, the Rev. Wm. Kellogg. Though it would seem convenient for several families, enough to constitute a respectable congregation, to assemble for worship here, yet, owing to a decline in ability, if not of interest, and the nearness of the church in West New- bury, where public service is regularly maintained, this society for some years past has been less flourishing than formerly, and have stated preaching for only a part of the time.
There are also in this town a considerable number of Universalists, who have had occasional preaching at the Town Hall, but have never yet had a meeting house of their own.
In the midst of all these religious privileges, it is a la- mentable consideration that there are individuals, not a few, who seldom appear in any worshiping assembly, ex- cept on special occasions, virtually saying, " What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?" Still, by perse- vering Christian endeavors, a great and good work has been accomplished, and the cause of truth and righteous- ness is destined here and universally to prevail and tri- umph.
-
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CEMETERIES IN BRADFORD.
" Our dear old town ! How grand The views of mountain land Which here we meet ! We love these verdant hills, These vales our fathers tilled,
These woods the wild birds filled With carols sweet.
Our native town ! How dear Each purling brook so clear, Each dale and steep -- But there's a dearer spot Than rock, or rill, or cot,
Which ne'er can be forgot- Where loved ones sleep."
The principal Cemetery in Bradford is pleasantly situ- ated about a mile North of the village, East side of the highway, and near the Western bank of Connecticut River. It is handsomely enclosed, and contains many, and various kinds of, monuments of the dead there de- posited. The first burial there was that of a little boy by the name of Andrew McFarland, July 25, 1770, who had been, by some unfortunate accident, drowned in Wait's Riv- er, near its confluence with the Connecticut. His humble grave among the pines for a while was solitary ; but in the course of one hundred and four years the occupants of that quiet resting place of the dead have become more numerous than are, at present, the living inhabitants of the entire township. There was formerly a Baptist meet- ing-house in the immediate vicinity of this grave yard, which more than half a century since, being past use, was taken down and removed. The ground, for a long time was not laid out in any regular order, and every family · buried their dead as best suited themselves ; but within comparatively a few years past the Cemetery has been greatly enlarged, particularly on the West and South, and the grounds laid out as they should be, into lots, with proper drive-ways and walks between them, and a receiving
77
tomb, to accommodate the deposits of the dead in the season of Winter, has been duly prepared. A great im- provement has been made. But there ought to be some definite arrangement made for keeping the grounds, and graves, and everything pertaining to them, in due and permanent order, at the expense of the town, from profits arising from the sale of the new lots, or under the direc- tion of a company formed for that express purpose. An account of the number of interments in this Cemetery, each year, from January 1, 1802, to July 1, 1874, a period of seventy-two years and six months, has been kept chief- ly by Captain James McDuffee, for a long while sexton, but now deceased, from which the following statement is an abstract :
YEAR.
NO. OF BURIALS.
YEAR.
NO. OF BURIALS.
1802,
10.
1839,
29.
1803,
12.
1840,
11.
1804,
12.
1841,
18.
1805,
12.
1842,
42.
1806,
5.
1843,
29.
1807,
6.
1844,
27.
1808,
3.
1845,
17.
1809,
9.
1846,
13.
1810,
14.
1847,
31.
1811,
13.
1848,
20.
1812,
15.
1849,
30.
1813,
21.
1850,
30.
1814,
15.
1851,
26.
1815,
12.
1852,
29.
1816,
13.
1853,
31.
1817,
11.
1854,
34.
1818,
11.
1855,
37.
1819,
13.
1856,
17.
1820,
15.
1857,-
23.
1821,
11.
1858,
22.
1822,
12.
1859,
·22.
1823,
18.
1860,
29.
1824,
15.
1861,
33.
1825,
5.
1862,
22.
1826,
23.
1863,
49.
1827,
14.
1864,
46.
1828,
16.
1865,
29.
1829,
15.
1866,
23.
1830, {
12.
1867,
33.
1831,
16.
1868,
25.
1832,
19.
1869,
24.
1833,
23.
1870,
29.
1834,
18.
1871,
27.
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YEAR.
NO. OF BURIALS.
YEAR.
NO. OF BURIALS.
1835,
22.
1872,
46.
1836,
15.
1873,
21.
1837,
14.
1874,
To July 25, 19.
1838,
26.
Thus we see that the number buried in that Cemetery from January 1, 1802, to July 25, 1874, was one thousand five hundred and nine. But, as the place was occupied for burial from July 25, 1770, a period of thirty-one years and a half, very nearly, before the above correct account begins, we are left in uncertainty in regard to the whole number there interred. If we allow on an average, even so small a number as five, each year, during that uncer- tain period, and it was probably over that, the whole amount, from the beginning, or during the first period of one hundred and four years, is fully one thousand six hun- dred and sixty-six dead bodies, there awaiting the voice of the Son of God to call them forth, in the glorious morning of the final resurrection.
There are three other burial places in the town, in which there have been, we know not how many burials- one near the Methodist meeting-house, on the South road ; one about half a mile South of Goshen meeting-house, on or near the Greenleaf place, and another on the West side of Wright's Mountain, which is said to have been in use for nearly one hundred years, and in which about one hundred of the dead have been buried. Their retired resting places are generally indicated by headstones- though not all.
" Their names, their years, spelt by th' unlettered muse, The place of fame and elegy supply,
And many a holy text around she strews
To teach the rustic moralist to die."
The population of the town, at this date, 1874, is esti- mated at about one thousand five hundred. In some past years it has been over seventeen hundred. While the in- habitants and business of the village have increased, on the farms there has been a decline. Families, and conse- quently schools, are decidedly smaller now than formerly.
79
CHAPTER IV.
Educational Matters-District Schools-Funds for their Support- Academy-Scientific Society-Newspapers-Home for the Desti- tute-Town Hall-Manufactures-Photography-Banks-Vari- ous Business of the Place, with Biographical Sketches of Indi- viduals engaged in it-Fair Grounds.
In the grant of the Township of Bradford, alias More- town, by the General Assembly of Vermont, January 25, 1791, to Israel Smith, Alexander Harvey, and James Whitelaw, in trust, for the purposes therein specified, an appropriation of 300 acres of land, in the western part of the town, was made, and set apart for the support of a school in said town. This was, subsequently, understood to mean not one school, merely, but the district schools of the township, collectively and individually. From an early period of the settlement, considerable attention was given to the instruction of the children, in schools, sup- ported for a few months each year by subscription or taxation. When the town became so far settled as to render it expedient, it was divided into six districts, and for a long time the sum of about $300 was raised annual- ly for the support of schools in these several districts.
In March, 1812, the town entered into a contract with Jonathan Austin, one of its inhabitants, to lease the above- mentioned 300 acres of school land to him, his heirs and assigns, as long as wood should grow or water run, for the consideration of the interest, at six per cent. per an- num, paid on the sum of $1666.67, amounting to $100 yearly, at the same time allowing the said Austin, his heirs and assigns, the privilege of paying the above- named principal, in three equal instalments, at his or their option. These instalments were in the course of a few years paid, and the claim of the town to said lands finally alienated. The amount thus received has since
80
been kept on interest, and the avails used in accordance with the original design of the appropriation.
In 1826, the sum of $4355.99 was received from the estate of Capt. William Trotter, deceased, to be held as a permanent fund, the annual interest of which was to be, and must ever be, appropriated to the several district schools in said town-constituting, at six per cent. inter- est, an addition yearly of $261.35 to the annual income of $100 from the other source, above mentioned. For the circumstances and manner in which the town became possessed of this property, the reader is referred to a sketch of the life of Capt. William Trotter, in the biograph- ical section of this history of Bradford and its inhabit- ants.
From the Treasurer of this State, in the year 1837, this town received, in three equal instalments, the sum of $3,597.51, as its portion of the surplus revenue in the Treasury of the United States, and voted to appropriate perpetually the annual interest on this sum to the support of the common schools. The principal was, and contin- ues to be, distributed, in the way of loans, to various in- dividuals, on satisfactory security given. From this source there is a yearly income of $215.85. The whole amount of school funds is $9620.27, and the annual in- come therefrom, for the support of schools, $577.21, which is equitably distributed among them, and the large defi- ciency requisite to sustain them is supplied by district taxation. According to the report of Dr. J. H. Jones, Superintendent for the year ending March 31, 1874, the number of school districts was ten, and of fractional dis- tricts three ; and of scholars who have attended any part of the year, three hundred and twenty-five. The whole number in town, between five years- and twenty years of age, 343. The amount of money raised on the grand list by the school districts, $3100.
The two school districts in Bradford village have uni-
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ted, and, in conjunction with Bradford Academy, entered into the graded school system, consisting, in this instance, of two equal primary departments, an intermediate, and an academic department ; to all of which scholars belong- ing to the Union district are admitted without personal charge. Academic students from beyond the limits of the above district, having the same advantages as at other like institutions, pay accordingly.
The number of resident pupils, for the year above men- tioned, was 60.
It is due to the Rev. Joshua Britton, a minister of the Universalist denomination, who came here from Lyndon, in 1859, and remained for about ten years, to say that, while here, he took much interest in the schools, and was by the town chosen Superintendent in 1861, and for the next five years ; and each year prepared, with much pains- taking, a report, which by the town was printed and duly circulated. He removed in 1869 to Fort Dodge, Wiscon- sin, and from there writes, August 28, 1874: "During those years there was a gradual improvement in the con- dition of the schools, and in the cause of education gen- erally." "My intercourse with the teachers, scholars, and their parents and guardians, and citizens of the town, was uniformly of a pleasant, agreeable character."
BRADFORD ACADEMY,
Was incorporated and the present buildings for its ac- commodation erected in the year 1820 ; in the spring of 1821, went into successful operation, and during almost half a century has been of great advantage to the young people of both sexes in its vicinity. The institution re- ceives assistance from the Orange County Grammar- School lands, to the amount of about $100, annually ; and has other resources yielding about $213 more, indepen- dent of the avails of tuition. The invested fund belong-
82
ing to the institution is about $3,550. Of this sum, $450 - were received from a Royal Arch Chapter of Free Ma- sons in Bradford ; $1000 bequeathed by Mr. Nicholas W. Ayer; and about $2100 bequeathed by Mrs. Eliza C. Mer- rill. The interest of the sum last named is to be appro- priated, exclusively, to the purchase of books and appa- ratus for the benefit of the institution. Valuable collec- tions in both departments have been made, and are regu- larly increasing. In addition to the means furnished by the trustees, the Union district assumes the responsibility of sustaining the school, and has hitherto given the prin- cipal and his assistants a liberal support. The school at present under the care and instruction of Mr. Thomas Martin, a graduate of Dartmouth College, is in a prosper- ous condition, especially as the high school of this village. Since its commencement, academic institutions have been started in several of the neighboring towns, which have, of course, withdrawn from us a considerable share of pub- lic patronage, though none of them, at this time, are in a flourishing state. The first Principal of this Academy was George W. Nesmith, then lately from College, and since well known as the Hon. Judge Nesmith, of Franklin, N. H. In the course of fifty-three years there have been a succession of principals, with their assistants, generally well qualified, who have done good service in the cause of education in this community.
BRADFORD SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION.
This association, originated by Levi W. Bliss, Roswell Farnham, Jr., Silas McKeen, George Prichard, and Robert McKingsley Ormsby, was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly of Vermont, November 4, 1857, under the name of the Vermont Geographical Association and Society of Natural History ; but by request of the cor- porators, their title was changed and established by the
83
same authority, November 24, 1860, as above given. The fee for admission to the association was, for some years, $10; but was subsequently reduced to $5 ; and the num- ber of the members has been gradually increasing. From its origin the members have been in the habit of occasion- ally meeting, and during the Winter months generally once in two weeks, to attend to the reading of articles previously assigned. on some one or more of the innum- erable topics included within the circle of useful knowl- edge, or interesting speculation ; and in the lack of such original articles, to discuss any matter of interest which, from reading or observation, may, at the time, be intro- duced. Occasionally public lectures have been read or procured. A cabinet of minerals, specimens of natural history, and various artificial curiosities have been com- menced; and a good beginning of a valuable library made.
The Association has been favored by the Smithsonian Institute with the donation of valuable books; also by members of Congress, and various geological and literary friends in different parts of the country, in like manner. Recently five large volumes, comprising the results of the · Geological Survey of the State of Illinois, have been re- ceived as a donation from the conductor of that great un- dertaking, Amos H. Worthen, a native of Bradford, and an honorary member of this Association.
The Association has also lately been increased in num- bers and influence by receiving into its corporation the several members of the Bradford Agricultural Society, with their library, consisting of about one hundred and forty-five volumes, in addition to their previous collection of books.
The officers of the Association for 1874, are,
John B. Ormsby, M. D., President.
Roswell Farnham, Esq., A. M., Vice President.
Gregory B. Durgan, Secretary.
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R. Farnham, Esq., Librarian.
Charles H. Harding, Treasurer.
W. T. Dunmore, Esq., A. B., Wm. H. Carter, M. D., Executive Com.
R. Farnham, Esq.,
It is worthy of remark here, that the first artificial globes, terrestrial and celestial, known to have been man- ufactured in America, were made in Bradford, Vt., by James Wilson, Esq., about the year 1813 or 1814; who also subsequently established, in company with his sons, a factory of the same in Albany, N. Y., and for years did a somewhat extensive business there. Wilson's globes are of an excellent quality, and in point of correctness and finish suffered nothing in comparison with the best European. Mr. Wilson died at Bradford, March 26, 1855, in the ninety-third year of his age. See the biographical sketch of him in this volume.
NEWSPAPERS IN BRADFORD.
The first newspaper published in this town was styled The American Protector ; Whig in politics, commenced in 1843, by A. B. F. Hildreth, its proprietor and editor. In the course of four or five years this paper became rather neutral in politics, and its name was changed to the Vermont Family Gazette. This was continued to about the first of October, 1852, when it was again changed to the White River Advertiser, and removed to White River Junction.
While Mr. Hildreth was publishing his paper in Brad- ford, he made up from its miscellaneous matter a semi- monthly magazine, called The Green Mountain Gem, which had a considerable circulation in this vicinity, but ceased its existence with that of the Family Gazette.
In 1851, The Northern Inquirer was commenced: Dr. L. W. Bliss, publisher, and R. McK. Ormsby, editor. The
85
press was purchased by Ormsby, who was a Whig of the Webster and Clay school, for the purpose of advocating the nomination of Mr. Webster for the Presidency. On the failure of Mr. Webster to receive the nomination at the Baltimore Convention, the control of the Inquirer was resigned for a while, to other hands. From October, 1852, till March, 1853, it was published by Messrs. Brown & Grow, A. C. Brown editor, and was an advocate of Gen- eral Scott's election to the Presidency, after which Mr. Ormsby again took charge of it, until about the first of December, 1854.
The Inquirer was strongly opposed to the formation of the Republican party in this State, and soon after the dis- solution of the old Whig party was sold by Mr. Ormsby to O. A. Bowe, and the name changed to the Bradford Inquirer. Mr. Bowe published but a few numbers, when, early in the year 1855, he conveyed his interest in the publication to L. J. McIndoe, who continued it under the name of the Orange County Journal. This journal was Republican in politics, and advocated the election of John C. Fremont to the Presidency. In November, 1857, Mr. McIndoe again changed the name of the paper to the Aurora of the Valley, and having purchased the Windsor Journal, united the two papers in one, but under differ- ent names, to accommodate the two different sections of its patrons. The Aurora was only nominally published at Bradford, the editorial and local matters for this town being furnished by R. Farnham, Esq., associate editor. The politics of the Aurora were decidedly Republican. This paper was published at Windsor, and most of its sec- ular matter the same as contemporaneously appeared not only in the Windsor Journal, but also in the Vermont Chronicle.
The National Telegraph was commenced at Bradford in 1856, by Rev. Wm. M. Mann, a worthy Methodist min- ister, and its publication continued by him till his decease,
86
in 1858. The publication was then suspended for some time, when the press was bought by Dr. Lucius C. Butler, and a Democratic paper, styled the Telegraph, was pub- lished by him, advocating the policy of that party, and aiming to support the administration of President Bu- chanan ; but was not of long duration.
A semi-monthly sheet, called The Green Mountain Farmer, devoted to Agriculture, was commenced in March, 1852, by L. R. Morris, Esq., but within the year was discontinued for want of adequate support.
In June, 1866, A. A. Earle issued here the first num- ber of his National Opinion, a very decidedly Republican paper, and in about six months sold out to D. W. Cobb, who had been connected with Earle in the publication, who subsequently continued it for over seven years longer. This paper strongly advocated the election, once and again, of U. S. Grant to the Presidency, and the policy of the Republican party generally.
In the Spring of 1874 Mr. Cobb transferred his interest in this paper to the Orange County Publishing Associa- tion, when, under their patronage, Mr. Benjamin F. Stan- ton, a gentleman of experience in such business, succeed- ed as publisher and editor ; the general character of the paper remaining the same, but its name being again changed, this time to Bradford Opinion.
HOME FOR THE DESTITUTE.
In the Spring of 1853 a farm, with convenient build- ings on the same, was purchased by the Town for the ac- commodation of its poor, at the expense of $1,700. Pay- ment was made by an appropriation to that amount from the school fund-the interest being still paid and applied, as before, to the support of schools. This farm, originally owned by Elisha Newhall, lies about one mile South of the Town House, in a rather retired location, and is very
87
well adapted to its intended use. Some man, with his wife, is from year to year, under the direction of the Overseer of the Poor, employed to take charge of the es- tablishment, and due care of the beneficiaries, who have never been numerous. This method of providing for the poor is altogether preferable to the old way of setting them up yearly at public auction, to be distributed in de- tail to the lowest bidders. This experiment, after the lapse of some twenty years, is considered in a good de- gree satisfactory. The estimated value of this property, as reported to the Town-meeting, in March, 1874, was : Real Estate, $2,050 ; Household furniture, $450,21; other personal property, $950; the amount, Three Thousand, Four Hundred and Fifty-eight Dollars and Twenty-one Cents.
THE TOWN HALL.
The ground on which this building stands, near the South-west end of the village, was given for this purpose by Charles C. P. Baldwin, for some years High Sheriff of Orange County, and United States Marshal for the dis- trict of Vermont. The site was very near to that of his own residence. The building-a commodious two story edifice, with a cupola-was erected in the year 1857, at the cost of $2,681.21, obtained by direct taxation. This Town House, or Town Hall, as it is now commonly called, is used, not only for town meetings, but for public lectures, occasional preaching, school exhibitions shows, levees, courts, and all such like purposes.
MANUFACTURES AND TRADES.
Though we have not much of this sort to boast of, yet the fine water privileges afforded by Wait's River, as it passes through the village, have been and are of great advantage, and have contributed to make it quite a busy place, for one of its size.
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