USA > Vermont > Addison County > Gazetteer and business directory of Addison County, Vt., for 1881- 82 > Part 19
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Eleazer Finney, from New Milford, Conn., came here in 1785, and located on road forty-six, upon the farm now owned by his great-grandson, H. J. Finney, never having been owned out of the family since its first settlement. Eleazer became a prominent citizen, and for nearly fifty years held the office of justice of the peace, and also held all the town offices at different periods. He died February 28, 1859, aged eighty-four years. Eleazer F. was gifted as a poet, and gained the title of "Monkton's Bard." N. Finney has a chest of drawers which has been in the family possession for over one hundred years.
Frederick, Joseph, and Benjamin Artemas, and John and Jesse Smith, all remarkably tall men, came to this town from Bennington at an early day. Frederick settled on road 22, was for many years town clerk, and held other town offices. He also made the first plan of the town.
Daniel Collins came from New Milford, Conn., in 1789, and died here August 22, 1844. He had four sons, Nathan, David, Edmond, and Daniel, and one daughter, Phoebe. David removed to Ohio, Daniel remained at the village, Nathan settled on road 47, on the farm now owned by the widow of his son, Nelson. Edmond also remained at Monkton village, and Phœbe married Joseph Smith. Nathan was a major of militia and quite prominent in the political history of the town. Daniel, Jr., became a judge, and had three sons, Allison, Harmon, and Frank, all substantial farmers. Mrs. Nel- son Collins is a daughter of Elnathan B. Beers, of Ferrisburgh, now deceased.
Hezekiah Smith, from Bennington, came to Monkton in 1780, in company with three brothers, Daniel, Champion, and Samuel. He was a shoemaker by trade, but after his settlement here he kept a hotel at Monkton village. He had a family of twelve children, ten of whom arrived at maturity. Buel W., the youngest son, is a clergyman in Michigan. The eldest, Horatio A., was a physician, and practiced in Monkton most of his life.
John Barnum, from Litchfield, Conn., came to Monkton with his father, Ebenezer, in 1786, being then five years of age. He subsequently married Abby Dean, with whom he spent a happy married life of sixty-six years, hav- ing a family of six girls and four boys. He served the town in various offices, and stood guard sixteen days during the war of 1812. He possessed a brilliant mind and wonderful memory. Died in 1878, aged ninety-eight years. The Barnums are relations of P. T. Barnum, " the greatest showman on earth."
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TOWN OF MONKTON.
Josiah Fuller removed from Bennington to Monkton in 1788, locating on road ten upon the farm now owned by Ethan Lawrence. He had a family of ten children. Sylvanus, the eldest son, went to the war of 1812, and was never heard from after the battle of Plattsburgh. Milton was the only son who settled in Monkton, and became a respected citizen, holding various town offices. He died at the age of seventy-seven years on the farm now owned by his son Jonas.
Henry Miles, now residing on road twenty-one and one-half, at the age of eighty-six years, though devoting his life to agricultural pursuits, has found some spare time for science. He has, besides a large and varied scientific library, a choice collection of over one thousand specimens of rare minerals and stones, one specimen of which is designated in Hitchcock's Geology of Vermont, as Graphtolitus Milesi, in honor of Mr. Miles, who discovered it.
Joseph Willoughby, the second representative of the 'town, built the house now the residence of his grandson, D. W. Smith, on road twenty-four, about the year 1781. It has since, however, been remodeled and refitted by Mr. Smith.
Josiah Lawrence, a native of Norwich, Conn., a soldier of the Revolution, came to Monkton previous to 1790, locating at the north end of Hog Back Mountain, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1835. His son, Ethan, a namesake of Josiah's old colonel, Ethan Allen, now occupies the farm at the age of seventy-six years.
D. F. Knowles, born in Westford, Vt., came to Monkton at an early day, and in 1813 married Jemima Hoag, daughter of Joseph Hoag, the first min- ister of the Friends church, and to whom was given the ministerial lot and again returned to the town for school purposes, she being now eighty-six years of age ; and they are the oldest married couple in town, having been wedded sixty-eight years.
Robinson Mumford located on road fourteen in 1791, coming from Ben- nington, Vt., and died here in 1854, aged ninety-six years. He held the office of justice of the peace for many years, and was a leading member of the Baptist church. His grand-daughter, Mrs. Ira Day, now occupies the old homestead. Upon this farm is an old elm tree, said to be the largest and most symmetrical in the county. It stands remote from any other tree, is 105 years old, has a circumference of twenty-three feet, and shades an area of nearly a quarter of an acre.
Eliakim Beers settled in Monkton in 1790, from Connecticut, locating upon the farm now occupied by his grandson, L. E. Beers. He died in 1870, aged ninety-five years.
David Roscoe settled in Barnumtown, from Connecticut, early in 1795, where he owned three hundred acres of land. A few years after his settle- ment here the snow was so deep that in the spring, when it went off, the stumps of the trees they had cut during the winter were found to be six feet high.
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TOWN OF MONKTON.
Samuel Webb came to Monkton about 1790, and for a time followed his trade of carpenter, after which he purchased three hundred acres of land on road thirty-four, where he spent the remainder of his life, dying November 19, 1838, aged seventy-one years. His son, Daniel, now resides on road thirty-five, a hale old man of eighty-four. Daniel's wife, Sophia (Conger) Webb, is eighty-one years of age and has passed the sixtieth anniversary of her wedding day. Mr. Webb has held various official positions, among which that of town treasurer for a period of thirty consecutive years.
Dan Stone, from Connecticut, a graduate of Williams College, came to Monkton in 1795, and engaged in the practice of medicine, becoming one of the most prominent physicians in this region. He had a family of three sons, Dan C., George E., and Charles. Dan and George became physicians, practiced in Monkton and Vergennes, and in 1857 removed to Illinois. Charles became a farmer and died here in 1857, aged fifty-three years. His son, Charles H., now occupies the old " Dart Farm."
Nathan G. Baldwin, from New Milford, Conn., came to Monkton in 1793, locating upon the farm now owned by H. and S. Miles, on road 212. Here he built a log house, where his four children were born. Roderick, his second son, born May 6, 1801, is now living on land adjoining the old home- stead, at the age of eighty-one years, and has served the town in several official capacities. Two of his sons, Albert N. and Jay N., reside on the home farm. Two others, Henry R., who has been constable and collector for the last nineteen years, and E. D., own a farm on road 17, corner 4. On Roderick Baldwin's farm is located the cave previously mentioned.
George Dart, from New Milford, Conn., came to Monkton in 1789, and bought one hundred acres of land of David Ferris. The original deed is now in the possession of the family, dated June 23, 1789, and recorded in book 2, by Samuel Barnum, June 22, 1790. To pay for this property, Mr. Dart re- turned to Connecticut and made one hundred axes, valued at £20, which he delivered to Mr. Ferris. He had a family of nine children, two of whom remained in Monkton. The farm is now owned by Charles H. Stone.
John Thomas, from Connecticut, came to Monkton in 1796, where he died in 1799, leaving a wife and nine children. Mrs. Thomas married Dr. Dan Stone in 1800.
Nathan Williams, born in 1772, came to Monkton in early life, where he married Lois Stearns, daughter of Isaac Stearns, one of the earliest settlers in town, on road 5. At the time of his death, Nathan owned the farm where L. E. Beers now lives, on road 42. He was quite prominent in local politics, and did a large amount of public business. He had a family of six children, three of whom remained in the town. All of the children lived till the youngest was sixty years of age, and four are now living whose ages aggregate 286 years.
Thomas Tracy, from Manchester, N. H., came to Monkton in 1790, locating on road 52, upon the farm now owned by J. White.
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TOWN OF MONKTON.
Stephen Ballou came to Monkton and started in business as a tanner and shoe manufacturer, at the village, in 1803. The tannery which now stands in rear of Gee's blacksmith shop, on road 36, was built by him. His son, Philip C., was born here July 23, 1806, and subsequently studied medicine with Horatio Smith, of New Haven, then settled in Monkton, where he has prac- ticed forty years.
Ira Ladd, from Pittsford, Vt., came to Monkton in 1805, and opened a general store at Barnumtown, where he did considerable business. He was justice of the peace many years. Leonard Deming, father of Mrs. Ladd, was a native of Addison County, and in early life was a blacksmith, and later, an author of considerable note. Among others, he published Deming's Ver- mont Officers, and a collection of legal cases, etc., entitled Remarkable Events.
Levi E. Atwood, in 1803 or '04, then a boy of twelve years, while on his way to Starksboro "to mill," broke a willow switch, which, on his return home, he stuck in the ground where it now stands, a monstrous willow with a trunk twenty-seven feet in circumference. His father, Paul Atwood, came to Monkton from Bennington in 1790, and died here at the age of ninety-two years. Cyrus W. Atwood, of Starksboro village, is the only remaining one of Levi's family.
Labon G. Hurlburt came to Monkton from Lebanon, N. H., in 1820, locating on road nine, and subsequently removing to road forty-six, where G. T. Hurlburt now resides.
H. B. Williams, located on road forty-two, has a large and valuable collec- tion of Indian relics, among which are arrow-heads, war-clubs, stone knives, hammers, etc., and pieces of ancient pottery. These curiosities were found on a bluff on his farm near Bristol Pond, where it is supposed a favorite camping-ground of the Indians was located. Near by is a burial place of theirs, where many bones have been disinterred, and one complete skeleton found. The place was discovered by workmen who were engaged in digging gravel for a dam, and bones were found so numerous that they were obliged to desist from their labor and procure gravel elsewhere.
Calvin Wheaton, from Duchess County, N. Y., came to Monkton in 1802, locating on road forty, when there were but few settlers in the valley of Pond Brook. He was a clothier by trade, and worked in a cloth mill below Bar- numtown for many years. He died in 1853, aged eighty-four years.
James Cox removed from Long Island, N. Y., to Monkton, early in 1811, locating on road forty-three. He was a tailor by trade, and the first one in this section. His son, Robert, settled a farm about one-half mile north, where William J. Cox now resides.
John French located in Monkton about the year 1800. He was a black- smith by trade and worked many years for Capt. Kendrick. He mar- ried Hannah Smith and had a family of five children, two of whom, Matthew O. and John W., are now living, Matthew in this town and John W. in Iowa. Mr. French died in 1852, his wife in 1869.
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TOWN OF NEW HAVEN.
Hosea Nimblet, father of Dr. O. L. Nimblet, came to Monkton from Wood- stock, Windsor County, between 1820 and 1825. Dr. Nimblet has practiced medicine here twenty-seven years. He wrote the historical sketch for Miss Hemenway's Gazetteer, to which we acknowledge our indebtedness.
Religious services were early held in the town, in barns, private dwellings and school-houses. The first church organized was the Calvinistic Baptist, July 24, 1794, with twelve members. The society is still living though limited in numbers.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in 1797, by Joseph Mitchell, the first pastor. There being no convenient centre in the town, the society has four different places of worship. At the church in East Monkton, the town house at Monkton Ridge, the Baptist church in Monkton village, and the church in Barnumtown, one service being held at each place on alternate Sabbaths, served by one pastor, Rev. Thomas Munro. The first church, at Barnumtown, was erected in 1811, and rebuilt in 1854. Its original cost was $1,250.00, and now, with seating capacity for 250 persons, is valued at $4,- 500.00. The building at East Monkton, erected in 1867, will accommodate 250 persons, cost $2,000.00, and is now valued, including grounds, at $2,500.00. The society is at present in a prosperous state with 118 members.
The Friends Society, located at Monkton Ridge, was organized by Joseph Hoag in 1798, he also acting as their first minister. Their first building was erected about the year 1800. The present house will seat 250 persons, and was erected in 1878, at a cost of $1,200.00. It is now valued, including grounds, at $2,400.00. The society has eighty members, with W. L. Dean, Fred Skiff, and Samuel Miles, elders.
NEW HAVEN, located in the central part of the county in lat. 44° 6', and long. 30° 53', bounded north by Bristol, Ferrisburgh and Monkton, east by Bristol, south by Middlebury and Weybridge, and west by Weybridge and Waltham, was granted by Benning Wentworth, the new Colo- nial Governor of New Hampshire, November 2, 1761, to John Evarts and sixty-one associates, in sixty-eight shares, and according to the charter, to contain 25,040 acres, or an area a little over six miles square. This area has, however, undergone several changes, additions and divisions, as follows : October 29, 1789, a tract of land on the north, called New Haven Gore, was annexed to it ; and again, October 28, 1791, a part of this town was annexed to Weybridge ; October 23, 1783, a corner was taken to aid in the incorpora- tion of the city of Vergennes, a portion of which, together with a part of Ad- dison and this town, were in November, 1796, taken to form the town of Wal- tham. These are the only changes made in the territory, which stretches on the east nearly to the base of the Green Mountains, rendering that portion, except in the north part, high and rocky, which is the character of a part of
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TOWN OF NEW HAVEN.
the southwestern and extreme western portions of the town. The other parts are level or moderately rolling, except a large tract in the central part of the town, and another in the northeastern, which are low and swampy, cov- ered with a heavy growth of cedar. The greater portion of the rocks under- lying the soil are of the limetone and red sandrock formation, the former cropping out frequently in ledges, affording material for lime and building purposes, also containing some quarries of excellent marble. The soil is good, consisting mostly of clay and loam, with alluvial deposits along the sev- eral streams, while the whole is covered, in many places, with boulders and pebbles deposited here during the drift period. The country was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, consisting principally of maple, beech birch, elm, basswood, walnut, pine, oak, hemlock, etc. Springs of pure cold water are abundant, while the streams are Otter Creek, Little Otter Creek, and New Haven River, with their tributaries. Otter Creek forins a portion of the southwestern boundary of the town. Little Otter Creek rises near the central part of the township, flows a northwesterly course into Monkton. New Haven River enters the town in the eastern part at New Haven Mills, flows a southwesterly course and empties into Otter Creek near Brooksville. The Central Vermont Railroad extends through the entire western portion of the town, having two stations, one at Brooksville and the other New Haven Depot.
In 1880, the town had a population of 1,355, was divided into eleven school districts, and contained ten common schools, employing three male and thirteen female teachers, at an aggregate salary of $1,214.50. There were 241 scholars attending common schools, and the entire cost of the schools for the year ending October 31st, was $1,611.52. Mr. S. B. M. Cowles was superintendent of schools.
NEW HAVEN, a pleasant little post village, located just northeast of the central part of the towns, lies principally on two streets crossing at right angles, Lanesboro and Depot streets, the latter taking its name from New Haven Depot, which is distant about one mile west. The village contains one store, one church (Congregational), the Beeman Academy, one hotel, a blacksmith shop, a district school, and in the neighborhood of twenty dwelling houses. In 1855, the first steps towards the establishment of an academy were taken, by calling a meeting at this village, which was largely attended by the prominent citizens of the town, and at which the following resolution was adopted :-
" Resolved, That the interests of education in this community demand the erection of a building suitable for an Academy, and therefore, we will, at once, take the necessary steps to build one. "
In a short time, sufficient money was subscribed by liberal and public spirited citizens to erect a building, and, in November of the same year, New Haven Academy was opened, with Rev. Otto S. Hoyt, principal, a position he held for three years. From 1858 to 1868, there was a change of principals nearly every year. In 1865, Rev. C. B. Hulbert, afterward Presi-
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TOWN OF NEW HAVEN.
dent of Middlebury College, was elected president of the trustees. Through his exertions, the school was reorganized, and an ample subscription was pledged for the payment of current expenses, if the tuitions should prove insufficient. In 1868, Abel E. Leavenworth, now principal and proprietor of the Normal School at Castleton, Vt., was elected principal. During the next two years, the tuitions amounted to more than sixteen hundred dollars, while the citizens showed their love for the academy and for the cause of education, which it was intended to promote, by the payment of over a thousand dollars to meet deficiencies. About this time Anson P. Beeman, a former resident of the town, but then living in Burlington, who was a member of the associa- tion which founded the academy in 1855, became interested in the effort to establish the school on a better and more permanent basis. He therefore made a will, bequeathing $6,000.00 to the academy, the annual income of which should be devoted to the support of such qualified teachers as the Trus- tees might employ. Two conditions were attached to this bequest : first, that an act of the Legislature should be procured incorporating the academy, officers, and trustees thereof, under the name of Beeman Academy ; and sec- ond, that the citizens of the town should raise and invest as a permanent fund for the object named in the bequest, a sum of not less than $4,000.00. These conditions were met, and Beeman Academy was incorporated in 1869. In 1870, the citizens subscribed over $5,000.00 and invested with the Beeman fund. Section six of the charter declares that the standard of exam- ination required for graduation in the several courses shall be as follows :-
" For the English Course, it shall not be less than that now required by the State Board of Education for the highest grade of teacher's certificates. For the Scientific Course, it shall be equal to that required for admission to the agricultural and scientific departments of the best colleges in the country. For the Classical Course, it shall of a grade that will enable the graduate to enter upon a full course of study in the best colleges."
In the fall of 1870, Beeman Academy was opened with Abel E. Leaven- worth, principal. He held this position till 1875, when he resigned to accept the principalship of the State Normal School at Randolph. From 1875 to 1879, H. S. Perrigo, H. P. Stimson, and W. J. Fish were successively em- ployed as principals. The catalogue for 1881, gives the following board of instruction : C. C. Gove, A. M., principal, classics and natural science; Miss Emma F. Sharpe, preceptress, French, German and mathematics ; Prof. H. M. Seely, of Middlebury College, lecturer on natural science ; Miss Abby W. Kent, vocal and instrumental music ; Miss Sue Parker, painting and draw- ing ; Mr. James M. Kent, penmanship.
The present principal has held the position two years. He was graduated from Middlebury College in 1874, and has since been engaged in teaching, a vocation to which his success proves him to be specially adapted. The academy has graduated more than a hundred students, many of whom have pursued a collegiate course ; it has furnished many well qualified teachers for the district schools, and has exerted upon the town a moral and educational
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TOWN OF NEW HAVEN.
influence, the benefit of which cannot be estimated. It never was better organ- ized and equipped for efficient work than at present. It is justly the pride of the town, and is destined to accomplish for the youth a great and lasting good. Surely its founders builded wisely and well.
NEW HAVEN MILLS, a post village located in the southeastern part of the town, on New Haven River, contains, aside from its manufacturing in- terests, one church (union), one school, and fifteen to twenty dwellings.
BROOKSVILLE, a post village and station on the Central Vermont Railroad, situated in the southwestern part of the town, on New Haven River, contains a church (Advent), school-house, depot, an axe factory, carpenter and black- smith shop, a store, and about ten dwellings.
The Brooks Edge Tool Co., located at Brooksville, employs sixteen men, and manufactures 4,000 dozen axes annually.
The Central New Haven Cheese Factory, located on road nineteen, receives the milk from fifty cows, and manufactured during the last season 20,000 fbs. of full cream cheese.
Beaver Glen Cheese Factory, located on road twenty-eight, owned by H. P. Palmer, receives the milk from 250 cows, manufacturing 75,000 Ibs. of cheese per annum.
The Seed Farm of William D. Lane is located three miles north of Middle- bury on road forty-four, where is grown all species of field and garden seeds for the trade, was first used for this purpose, by him, in 1877. He now cul- tivates sixty acres, and has two green-houses 56x14 feet, where his plants are started. Mr. Lane does a very successful business.
The Cutter Marble Co's Quarry, located on the line between this town and Middlebury, was first opened in 1830, by Mr. T. Phelps. In 1843, it was purchased by Isaac Gibbs, and for a long time known as the Gibbs Quarry. In 1868, the property was purchased by Henry Cutter, of Winchester, Mass., Franklin Snow and M. D. Brooks, of Boston, who put in an engine, erected new derricks and repaired the mill, beginning operation under the firm name of the Old Middlebury Marble Company, which title was retained till 1879, when it was changed to the one it now bears. The marble is a close grained durable quality, having a white ground, clouded with black and blue, and years of trial has proven that it is equal, if not superior, in every respect to any other marble of this variety. The mills, situated within one hundred feet of the quarry, are operated by water-power and contain eight gangs of saws, one twelve-feet rubbing-bed, two turning-lathes, two polishing-lathet and one Shortsleve's polishing machine. The company employs at presens fifty men, and produces $40,000 worth of marble annually.
The Green Mountain Wood Pulp Company .- A stock company under the above title have recently commenced the erection of a mill on Belden's Falls for the purpose of manufacturing wood pulp. They are to use a new process for reducing the pulp, invented by Robinson Cartnell, and which is claimed to be far superior to the old style of machinery.
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TOWN OF NEW HAVEN.
Few of the original grantees of the town ever became actual settlers, as they had, most of them entered into the procuring of a charter merely as a speculation, and forfeited their shares rather than pay the incidental expenses incumbent on them. A few were represented among them by their children, but most of them sold their shares to the actual settlers for a nominal value. But little is known of the proceedings of the proprietors previous to the set- tlement of the town, owing to the loss of their records ; but it is evident, however, from the records of other towns, that they met regularly and did business up to 1774. The territory remained an unbroken wilderness till 1769, when settlement was commenced in the part now Walthanı and Ver- gennes, near the creek, by John Griswold, his five sons, and twelve other set- tlers from Salisbury, Conn., among whom were Phineas Brown and Joshua Hyde. Here they made considerable improvements, (a saw-mill had already been erected by Griswold and others at the falls in Vergennes, then called New Haven Falls,) but were surprised from their quiet labor by the advent of Col. Reid, of New York, with a body of armed dependants, who claimed the land on both sides of Otter Creek, for a distance of two miles, from its mouth to Sutherland Falls, by right of a patent from the Governor of his State. The settlers were forcibly ejected and tenants of his own put in possession, who built more houses and a grist-mill. These were in turn disposessed by Ethan Allen and his men, and their houses and grist-mill destroyed. A second time Reid came on, this time bringing a party of Scotch emigrants whom he put in forcible possession and repaired the mill. Allen and his followers again re-instated the settlers, broke the mill-stones and threw them over the falls, warning the miller never again to repair the mill. They also erected a fort a short distance above the falls, and garrisoned it with a small party, under command of Ebenezer Allen, and after this received no further molestation from the " Yorkers. " But the settlers had scarcely begun to feel secure from incursions from this quarter, before the settlement was broken up, and the records destroyed, by the noted Jacob Sherwood, a Tory and Yorker, of rev- olutionary memory. Among the first permanent settlers were those above, except Joshua Hyde, with Cook and Andrew Barton, in the Waltham part, and Capt. Miles Bradley, Enos Peck, Elijah Foot, Elisha Fuller, Bezadeel Rudd, William Eno, and others, in 1785, '86 and '87, in the New Haven part. March 20, 1787, the town was organized and Elijah Foot chosen town clerk ; Luther Evarts and Asa Wheeler, constables, and Ebenezer Field, Eli Roberts, and Enos Peck, selectmen. The first representative was Phineas Smith, chosen in 1786. The first birth on record, was that of Hannah, daughter of Amos P. Sherman, July 20, 1786, though the record does not make it plain that she was born in what is now New Haven. The first person there is any certainty of having been born in the present town, was Martin Eno, in 1786 or '87, though there is little doubt but that others were born in the vicinity of the fort, near Vergennes Falls, before either of those mentioned. The first store was kept by Samuel Buck, in a part of the building now owned
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