USA > Vermont > Essex County > Guildhall > A history of Guildhall, Vt > Part 15
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JOHN B. DREW.
A son of Israel Drew by his first wife is a farmer. He married for his second wife a daughter of Mr. Jed Woods. Hle owns a farm in school district No. 2. Mr. Drew is an industrious man and is a very useful citizen, being one of the best furriers in this section.
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HISTORY OF GUILDIIALL. HUBBARD D. WEBB.
Was born in Guildhall ; married Miss Abbie Jackson, and owns and resides on the J. Q. Peabody farm. Ile is a man of middle age ; is industrious, and one of the best farmers in town. They have only one child, a daughter. MOSES ROGERS.
Born in 1803; came to Guildhall from Newbury in 1840 and lived on a farm in the south part of the town until 1861, when he moved to Northumberland, where he kept a hotel. He married Adeline Bayley in 1829; he died in 1864, and she died In 1869. Of their children: Adeline, went west in 1856 and married Timothy Allen; her pres- ent home is in Columbus, O. Estelle L., married H. T. Adams of Lancaster; they now reside in Hartford, Wis. Heleu, went to Hartford, Wis., where she married Dwight Jackson in 1875. John B., went to ilartford, Wis., and and married Emma Wheelock in 1873 ; he died in 1877. Robert, the eldest son was drowned in 1833.
ABNER BAYLEY.
Came to Guildhall about the year 1852 and made his pitch on one of the wild lots in the west part of the town, and cleared up a nice farm on which he lives as happy, and apparently as contented as a king. He was a soldier in one of the Vt. Regiments during the war of the rebell- ion, and was so fortunate as to escape without having been wounded, but as he grows old he shows that the life in that war was anything but a pleasure excursion. He has had two wives ; his first wife's name was Fanny, by whom he had 4 children; 3 of whom are now living : Mrs. Simon Stone of Guildhall. Henry E., of Guildhall, who is a farmer, and wood worker by trade, and is a good citizen; he married a daughter of John Hubbard ; he is an active and consistent member of the M. E. Church. The other son: Benjamin, resides in Whitefield. His second wife was a Miss Hutchins, a very capable lady, who is one of the best nurses in cases of sickness about here.
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HISTORY OF GUILDHALL. CHARLES J. FLANDERS.
Born in Guildhall in 1852; married Miss Helen Rickards in 1884, and they live in the village. His business for a number of years has been that of engineer for R. Chase & Co., at their peg factory; a position which requires a faithful, competent man, and as he has been in that place so long that the other help call him a fixture to the mill, which speaks sufficiently in his favor. He is a member of the M. E: Church, and now one of the stewards.
HON. CHARLES E. BENTON.
Son of Samuel S., and Esther P. Benton, and youngest child of a family of twelve children. Was born at Water- ford, Dec. 11, 1825; lived at home till of legal age; had the advantages of common school education, and attended St. Johnsbury and Lancaster Academies two terms.
ile came to Guildhall April 5, 1860 and bought the John P. Denison farm of said Denison, and carried it on till March 16, 1866 when he moved to the village and has lived on the John Dodge place from Jan. 8, 1868 to the present time. He has, since residing in town held nearly all the town offices at various times ; represented the town in 1856 and 1867; was senator in 1874 and 1875; appointed county clerk in 1865, which office he now holds; was a member of the republican state committee for 10 years. He married Adda Chamberlin, daughter of Abner and Mary Chamberlin, at Newbury, Oct. 21, 1856; they have had three children: Charles A., Everett C., and Jay B.
CHARLES A. BENTON.
Son of Charles E. and Adda C. Benton, was born at Newbury August 12th., 1857 and came to Guildhall Apr. 5th., 1860; was educated in the common schools, Essex County grammar school and attended the St. Johnsbury Academy three years graduating June 1876. In the spring of 1877 he went to Lancaster and commenced
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HISTORY OF GUILDIIALL.
reading law in the office of his uncle, and under the di- rection of Hon. William Heywood, who took a great in- terest and pride in him. He was at Lancaster until the 12th. of August when he returned to his home in Guild- hall sick with typhoid fever, and in spite of all that could be done by kind friends and a faithful physician he passed from earth August 20th. aged 20 years and 8 days.
Had he lived he had made arrangements to attend the law school at Albany, N. Y.
After he graduated at St. Johnsbury and before he went to Lancaster he spent his time in getting information and facts for the purpose of some time arranging, and perhaps publishing a history of Essex County, and much valuable aid has been derived by the author of this book from the labor and earnest zeal of this noblest one of the name of Benton.
EVERETT C. BENTON.
Born at Guildhall September 25th., 1862; educated in common schools, Lancaster Academy and Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Business College; was messenger in Vermont Senate 1878 and clerk to Secretary of State 1886; went to Bos- ton in Feb. 1882 where he is employed in an insurance office. He married Miss Willena B. Rogers January 21, 1885, and has one child: Jay Rogers Benton. They reside at Waverley, Belmont, Mass.
JAY B. BENTON.
Born at Guildhall April 10th., 1870: attended Lanons- ter Academy, Essex County Grammar School at Guildhall, St. Johnsbury Academy two years where he graduated June 1885; taught school one term in district No. I in Maidstone, then he went to New York City and was em- ployed as musical director and librarian in the Young Men's Institute till August 1886 when he left and came home for the purpose of entering Dart north College where he isat the present time.
APPENDIX.
A curious implement of "ye olden time" was recently found by Mr. Wm. Hopkins on his farm while plowing on his meadow. It is a small broad axe of a very curious pattern, about half way in size between an ordin- ary sized broad axe used by carpenters at the present time in hewing timher and a common hand hatehet. It is very peculiar in shape and nothing like it has ever been seen in this vicinity. It was without doubt brought to towa by Mr. David Hopkinson in 1776 and although it must have laid in the ground many years it was in a re- markably good condition. It is now in the possession of the author by the kindness of Mr. Hopkins and is a very interesting relie and is prized as a great curiosity.
There is an elm trec on the Wilder farm in this town, which, if it could tell its own story might relate a very wonderful and remarkable experience. By the stern and irrevocable law of gravitation when a tree falls, there it must lie, if not removed by some other force acting upon it, and yet there is evidence that this tree fell and is now standing. The facis seem to be as follows : about a quar- ter of a century since it was standing and was a fair tree; it was abont twelve inches in diameter. On an evil day there came a fierce and irresistible wind and prostrated it to the earth. llere it remained for several months, when an old gentleman who was in search of a load of fuel to replenish his fire, (and what should be more alluring than the long and straight branches of the prostrate elm,) with his axe cut the tree asunder, leaving about twenty fect connected with the roots. which, in the prostration of the
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APPENDIX.
tree, turned up a quantity of earth. When the spring camc and the snow and frost melted away, behold, the tree arose and assumed an upright position which it has maintained ever since, and the marks of Mr. Bimis' axe where he cut the top away furnish incontestible evidence of the facts above stated. The tree is now in a flourishing condition and bids fair to withstand the storms and tempests of many a year to come. L. A. Grannis.
We have the following very interesting story from a former Methodist Preacher of this town.
In the spring of '46 after all the old snow was gone, there came a storm and left about one inch of new snow. A farmer in the west part of the town went to his sugar lot to gather his sap buckets; when he got to his sugar- house a rough looking man sprang out of the door, and presented a pistol to his head, and demanded his business there. The farmer was frightened but finally told him that sugar lot was his, and he had come to gather the buckets. He questioned him for all the news, and among other things, asked him if he had heard about a murder in Manchester, N. H., and who they supposed had done it .* Well, said the man. I am not the murderer, but I have been in another scrape and am trying to get to Canada, and he should not leave the place till the snow went off, 80 no one could track him. and if the farmer attempted to leave, he would put a ball through him. He permitted him to gather his buckets, but kept near him, with his pistol in hand; about eleven o'clock the snow hind disappeare i
ยท A prominent man, a collector of taxes in Manchester, N. H., by the name of Parker, was beset one night, and sfer a most desperate Ight was overcome and ernelly murdered, a few days before, alin ist In the heart of that city. And to this day no trace of the murderer has been found, although, a large reward was offered, and great palus taken to trace him out.
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APPENDIX.
and the man concluded it was safe for him to go on, and started off into the woods. As soon as he was gone and fairly out of sight the farmer started for his barn, and leaping upou his horse, rode to the village as fast as his horse could go, pale and excited he told what had hap- pened, and the whole community was in a fever of excite- ment at once. A company was collected to go and head him off and arrest him if possible. They secured some teams and what guns and other weapons they could. A Brother Reed, a very pious and good man, went with them : he had no gun but took his pocket Bible, and said if it was the Manchester murderer, he thought he would be more afraid of the Bible than he would of a gun.
They knew in order to get into Canada he must come out of the woods and cross the Nulhegan River on a bridge at its mouth, near where it empties into the Connecticut River, or cross on a bridge made by some lumbermen some five or six miles up the river in the woods ; as the river was full banks at this time of the year. Leaving some men to guard the bridge at its mouth, they took an old lumber-road in the upper part of Brunswick which led to the bridge in the woods; they found it very rough, with trees blown across the road, making their progress necessarily slow, and night coming on, a part of the company lit their lanterns and started on ahead and left others to get along with the team as best they could.
There was a log house built by the lumber-men stand- ing near the end of the bridge : when they came in sight of it they saw a bright light in it. They blew out their lanterns, and soon the light in the house went out, and they distinctly heard some-one run across the bridge.
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APPENDIX.
They found in the house a tallow candle, some smoked ham and other articles of food. The gentleman had arriv- ed there before them, and taken up his quarters for the night, and just skipped across the bridge. They thought it would not be best to follow an armed desperado into the open wilderness in the night, so they camped in the old house till morning and then started for their homes. They never heard who the man was, or what was his crime.
Conspicuous for size and unrivalled for beauty stands the stately and majestic elm that adorns the front yard of the residence of the Hon. Richard Small late of this town. Although this tree has attained an immense growth, yet it evidently was not one of the denizens of the primeval forest, but has grown up since the advent of the white man: it has all the characteristics of a second growth tree. It is divided into branches near the ground; these are nu- merous, lofty and wide spreading, and furnish an umbra- geous and grateful shade in the heat of summer, and pre- sent to every lover of the beautiful an object of admira- tion. It was near this tree where tradition says the first Settlement of the town was made. When the old forest was cut away this peerless tree began to grow, and the rapid growth it has made furnishes substantial evidence of the fertility of the soil on which it stands. Its trunk is six feet in diameter in one direction and five in the other. There is nothing to match it in this section. L. A. G.
As some parts of this book have been in print for some months it will be observed that a few changes have taken place since they were printed, these however are very few. The Author.
Advertisements.
.old pews
HISTORY OF' GUILD-
HALL, VT.
In addition to it's giv- ing a history of the very historic town of Guildhall it devotes a whole chap- ter to giving a sketch of ESSEX
COUNTY, VT.
-- In giving an account of the early wars the writer tells not only that which concerns the settlement at Guild- hall, but of all the adjoining towns, then known as Upper Voos.
-- It gives in full the journal kept by the first white man who ever explored this region.
-A good account is given of the first settlement at Guildh uf and Lancaster, being the first made in either Coos County, N. H .. or Essex County, Vt.
Some new ideas are advanced regarding the famous "ROGERS EXPEDITION."
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