USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > Gazetteer and business directory of Chittenden County, Vermont, for 1882-83 > Part 31
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Shelburne saw-mill, located at Shelburne Falls, owned by Bartlett & Co., does custom sawing amounting to about 150,000 feet annually. It also does planing, and manufactures hemlock and pine shingles.
Baldwin & White's refrigerator manufactory, located on road 30, employes from fifteen to twenty men. Many of these useful articles are manufactured each year. Their sales amount to about $15,000 annually.
The Champlain Transportation Co's., ship-yard, located upon the eastern shore of Pottier's Point, in Shelburne Bay, affords the finest protective harbor for wintering crafts on the lake. At this yard were built the following well- known lake steamers : "Gen. Green," "Winooski," "Burlington," "Saranac," " United States," "Ethan Allen," "Boston," "Adirondack," "Vermont," and other smaller vessels. The ship-yard is connected with Burlington by tele- phone.
Five years after the charter of Shelburne was granted, in 1768, two Ger- mans, John Pottier and Thomas Logan, commenced a settlement here, the first attempted in the town. They came on from Quebec and located upon the points of land extending into the lake which have since respectively borne their names, Pottier's and Logan's Points. They were associated in getting out oak timber for the Quebec market, and in 1775, they took a raft of timber to Quebec, sold it, and on their return the commanding officer at Montreal sent a sergeant and two privates to protect them through the In- dian settlements. They had proceeded by boat as far as the south line of Canada, where they encamped for the night. Here a conspiracy was entered into by the guard, by which two of them were to murder the Germans for their money, the third promising to keep the secret, bound by a solemn oath. The deed was committed and the money procured ; but the conscience of the third soldier would not be quieted, so after several year's silence he disclosed the committal of the act. The two were tried, condemned, and executed, while the third was severely punished by whipping for not disclosing sooner. The bodies of the murdered Germans were buried on a small island a short
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TOWN OF SHELBURNE.
distance from the mainland, which has since been known as Bloody Island, while the point upon which the deed was committed has been designated as Bloody Point.
In addition to these two men, Pottier and Logan, somewhere in the neigh- borhood of ten families settled in the town previous to the Revolution ; but who they were, or what ultimately became of them, except in the one instance of Moses Pierson and family, is not known. Most certain it is, however, that they all left the locality soon after hostilities against the mother country were commenced. Moses Pierson, above mentioned, pur- chased 1,000 acres of land lying in the southwestern part of the town, in 1769. Here, upon what has since long been known as the Meech farm, he built a block-house, and at which occurred Shelburne battle, or the seige of Shelburne block-house, as follows: In 1777, Mr. Pierson had harvested a large crop of wheat ; but hearing of the approach of the British and Indians up the lake, he fled, together with his neighbors, to another part of the State. In March of the following spring he returned with his family, under the pro- tection of a company of fifteen armed men, commanded by Captain Sawyer, to thresh out his grain. During the progress of this work they were attacked in the latter part of the night by a party of Indians and Tories. A sharp skirmish ensued, lasting about two hours; but Pierson and his party, being entrenched in their block-house, withstood the attack, and finally succeeded in driving the besiegers off, after killing a number of them. How many can not be known, as they threw the dead and fatally wounded through a hole in the ice and retreated. Several of the beseiged party were wounded, and two, Barnabas Barnum and Joshua Woodard, were killed. During the progress of the desperate encounter the house was twice set on fire, but extinguished by some of the party going out and throwing on water and returning safe; but in a short time it was fired a third time, and no water left to extinguish the flames. Fortunately, Mrs. Pierson had made a barrel of beer the previous day, and this was taken to extinguish the flames a third time. A number of gold coins were found near the spot in 1877, which are supposed to have been buried with some body at that time. Ziba and Uzal, sons of Moses, young men at this time, aged respectively seventeen and fifteen years, were actively engaged in this affair. An infant daughter, afterwards the wife of Nehemiah Pray, was lying in bed at the time and fortunately escaped un- harmed, although several balls were found, after the action, in the bed on which she lay, and several passed through the head-board of the bedstead. Uzal afterwards married Dorcas Frisbie, of Connecticut, and had a family of nine children, two of whom are now living-Mr. Smith F. Pierson, and Mrs. Lucina D. Smith, at Shelburne village. After the party had secured the
wheat they left the town, considering it unsafe to remain longer, and Mr. Pierson and family located in Orwell. His two sons, Ziba and Uzal, were afterwards captured in Shoreham by a scouting party and taken to Canada, where they made their escape after a few months, and finally reached home
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TOWN OF SHELBURNE.
after much privation and suffering. After the close of the war, in 1783, Mr. Pierson returned to Shelburne with his family, re-occupying his former resi- dence, and died there July 28, 1805. Ziba located on a farm in the south- ern part of the town, accumulated a large property, held many of the town offices, and died suddenly of apoplexy, November 1, 1820, aged sixty years. Uzal came to his death by a fall from a wagon, June 11, 1836, aged seventy- two years. Mr. Pierson was joined during the year 1783, by William and Caleb Smith, Rufus Cole, Thomas Hall, Hubbell & Bush associated on Pottier's Point, Richard Spear and Gershom Lyon. In 1784 and 1785, Daniel Barber, Daniel Comstock, Aaron Rowley, Capt. Samuel Clark, Ben- jamin Harrington, Israel Burritt, Joshua Reed, Timothy Holabird, Sturgess Morehouse, Remington Bitgood, and Jirah Isham located and became resi- dents. In the three following years, Dr. Frederick Meack, Phineas Hall, Keeler Trowbridge, Samuel Mills, and probably others came, and soon after Bethuel Chittenden, Benjamin Sutton, Rosel Miner, Nathaniel Gage, Ebe- nezer Barstow, Robert Lyon, James Hawley, Frederick Saxton, Asahel Nash, Hezekiah Tracy, Asa Lyon, John Tabor, Robert Averill, Joseph Hamilton, and several others became residents, so that in 1791, the population of the town was 389.
On March 29, 1787, the first town meeting was held, and the town organ- ized by the election of the following officers: Caleb Smith, town clerk, and also chosen to represent his townsmen in the legislature ; Aaron Rowley, constable ; and Moses Pierson, Timothy Holabird and Dudley Hamilton, selectmen.
Frederick Maeck was the first physician, and the only one here for several years. The Doctor, who was an able physician and safe counselor, practiced here for nearly forty years, dying June 30, 1826, aged sixty-one years. His son, Frederick, born in 1800, died on the old homestead, in 1869, where his son, John V. S., still resides. John has two sons, Fred W. and Walter, making four generations that have occupied the old house. Isaac C. Isham, the second physician, came here in 1810, and located near the center of the town. He was a plain, unassuming man, but an able physician, following his profession to the close of his life, July 1, 1829, aged fifty-eight years.
The first saw-mill was built at the Falls, by Lazel Hatch, in 1784. But the bottom of the dam, which was imperfectly constructed, being of light soil, was soon carried away by high water, after which the work was aban -. doned.
The first dwelling other than a common log house was a block-house built on Pottier's Point by Hubbell & Bush, in 1784. The first framed house was built by Lazel Hatch, near the saw-mill erected by him,-a small build- ing about twelve by sixteen feet, in 1784. The second framed house was built by Benjamin Harrington, in 1789.
The first settlement commenced at Shelburne Falls was by Ira Allen, in 1785, then a resident in the town of Colchester at Winooski village. A
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rudely constructed log bridge was built across the river, a dam constructed, and a saw-mill erected on the north side of the stream, and a forge on the south. In 1786, a dam was constructed at the lower end of the falls, and a grist-mill put in operation the next season. Clothing works were erected between the grist-mill and saw-mill, and put in operation in 1789, by David Fish, which was purchased by Samuel Fletcher, in 1805, and owned and occupied by him until his death, April 23, 1852, since which time it remained unoccupied, and in the spring of 1862, was swept away by a freshet, as was also the old stone building formerly used as a grist-mill.
A store was standing on Pottier's Point in 1781-'82, but the exact date of its construction, or its proprietor, is not known. Tradition claims one to have been built previous to this, on Smith's Point, near the present residence of William Partridge.
During the war of 1812, Commodore McDonough's fleet was anchored in Smith's Bay, the winter previous to the battle of Plattsburgh, and he and his staff boarded at the house of Levi Comstock, Sr., now owned by N. R. Miller, on road 28.
Capt. Daniel Comstock located here in 1783, upon a farm in the western part of the town, on a point which has ever since borne his name. Mr. Com- stock was an honest, upright man, and filled many offices of trust, and died, highly honored, January 11, 1816, aged seventy-four years. He had a family of six children, three sons and three daughters, Zachariah, Levi, Elisha, Clar- inda, Lucy and Abigail. Levi settled near the lake in 1784, was town clerk for many years, justice of the peace, and held various town offices until his death, May 10, 1847, aged eighty-one years. He had two children, Levi and Lucia. The latter died at the age of thirty-six years. The former, Levi, was born in 1793, and now at the age of eighty-nine years, is the oldest inhabitant of the town. His daughter, Lucia, occupies the old homestead, and has a family of three children, Clinton L., George C., and Fanny M. Elisha Comstock, son of Daniel, occupied the old farm after his father's death, and from him it reverted to his son, Hezekiah.
Richard Spear, from Braintree, Mass., came to Shelburne in July, 1783, and located upon the farm now owned by his grandchildren, O. S. and Mary M. Spear, widow of E. A. Spear. Richard died here, March 19, 1788, aged fifty-two years. He had a family of ten children. Asahel, the eighth child, born March 5, 1778, died April 30, 1849. He married Betsey Saxton, by whom he had a family of three children, two sons and a daughter, of whom Orson S., the second child, was born October 27, 1808, and married Susan Pettinger, of Essex, N. Y., October 11, 1848. She died five months after marriage. Edwin A. Spear, son of Asahel, and brother to Orson S., was born August 12, 1817. He married Mary M. Barstow, a sister to Hon. J. L. Barstow, in September, 1849. He lived on the old homestead jointly with Orson S., until his death, January 1, 1873, leaving six children. Elhanan W. Spear, the youngest child of Richard, was born July 17, 1781, and
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TOWN OF SHELBURNE.
married Louisa Saxton, January 24, 1808, who died April 19, 1809, leaving a daughter, Julia. Elhanan then married Anna Callender, June 4, 1811, by whom he had eight sons and three daughters. Orville A., the youngest, was born June 15, 1832, and now resides on the place settled by his grand- father in 1783. Orville married Myra Havens, November 1, 1875, and has one daughter, Anna C. Elhanan died February 1, 1869, aged eighty-eight years, leaving five sons and one daughter to mourn his loss.
Aaron Rowley located here in 1784. His son, Aaron R., was born here, October 28, 1786, and was a resident until his death, October 4, 1866. He had a family of six children, four sons and two daughters, two of whom, Mary and Erwin S., are now living in the town. Erwin S. has two sons, Fred E. and Henry N., residing on road 26.
Israel Burritt, a captain in the Revolution, settled in Shelburne in 1784. By his first marriage he had a family of five sons and five daughters. Garrad, the seventh child, born October 19, 1789, was at the battle of Plattsburgh. By his second marriage, to Eliza R. Peckham, Israel had two children, Lucia who died in 1835, at the age of four years, and Andrew J., who now resides on road 19. He married Clarissa A. Lake, in 1859, and their family con- sists of two children, Charles G. and Frances E.
Asa R. Slocum, born at Hubbardton, Mass., in 1767, located on the north line of Shelburne, at an early day, where he followed farming until his death, in 1830, aged sixty-three years. He had a large family of children, one of whom, George N., is now living on road 34 in South Burlington.
James Hawley came to Colchester with Ira Allen, as his millwright, and erected the first mills in Winooski village, and subsequently built the first mills in Swanton, Vt., and in Shelburne. He finally settled in this town and died here in 1813. He was the father of thirteen children, three of whom died in infancy, while the others attained an extreme old age.
Col. Frederick Saxton was one of the earliest settlers in Burlington, having located at the head of Pearl street in 1783, where he continued to reside until 1792, when he sold his farm to Col. Pearl and removed to this town. He located here upon a point of land a short distance from Comstock's Point, which is now owned by Horace and Edward Saxton, his great-grandsons. Here he resided until his death, by accidental drowning, April 28, 1796. He had a family of three sons and four daughters, all of whom spent most of their lives in this vicinity. Horace, the second son, represented the town in the legislature during the years 1835-'36.
Ebenezer Barstow, born in Canterbury, Conn., in 1756, was a sergeant in Col. Canfield's regiment of Connecticut Volunteers during the Revolution, and received a sergeant's pension from the government. Soon after the close of the war he came to Shelburne and settled upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Gen. J. L. Barstow. He had a family of thirteen children, eleven of whom arrived at maturity. He died March 30, 1834, aged seventy-eight years. His wife died in 1824. Heman, the second child, born in 1790,
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TOWN OF SHELBURNE.
married Laura Lyon in 1814, and had a family of ten children, four sons and six daughters. John L., the youngest son, was born in 1832, married Laura Maeck in 1856, and entered the Union army in 1861, was soon after made Major of the 8th Regt., Vt. Vols., was appointed general by the State legis- lature in 1864, and in 1880, was elected Lieut .- Governor of Vermont, and is now (July, 1882) candidate for Governor of the State. His family consists of two sons, Fred M., and Charles L.
Asahel Nash, son of Phineas Nash, of Wyoming, Pa., was born December 29, 1750 .. He was at Wyoming during the massacre, July 3, 1778, and soon after left there, migrating northward, first to Berkshire County, Mass., then to Essex, Vt., and finally to Shelburne. John, his seventh child, was born here June 13, 1796, married Amy Payne, December 14, 1817, and both are now living here, the oldest couple (though not the oldest persons) in town. John had seven children, of whom Elbert H., born March 7, 1831, is the youngest. He married Jane M. Hilton, December 3, 1856, and has one daughter, Mary J., born December 6, 1858, who married H. S. White, November 13, 1878, now residing on road I.
Asahel Nash, Jr., was born September 6, 1794, and married Betsey Fuller, May 16, 1816, their union being blessed with eleven children. Edgar and Louisa C. were the eighth and ninth children, and now live in the house erected by their father, and on the land once owned by their grandfather.
Hezekiah Tracy, born in 1745, came and settled in Shelburne in 1790, upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Guy, and built the house now occupied by him. He had a family of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, one of whom, Erastus, born in 1783, and died in 1856, had three sons, of whom Guy, born in 1810, was the oldest. Guy has two sons and four daughters living.
Benjamin Sutton came to Shelburne about 1792, and located upon road 9. He had a family of fourteen children, twelve sons and two daughters. Byron, the eleventh child, lived and died on the old homestead, and his eldest son, James B., now resides there. James B. was born September 10, 1832, mar- ried Abby Slocum June 16, 1858, and has a family of three sons and two daughters.
Francis Blair, from Williamstown, came to Shelburne in 1796, and located upon the farm now owned by Levi S. Blair. He was the father of ten chil. dren, seven of whom are now living. Levi S., the fourth son, was born Sep- tember 7, 1807, and has always resided on the old homestead. He married Ann M. Conner, November 25, 1835, their union being blessed with two children, George E. and Dorcas C. Dorcas married Abel D. Whitney and has one child, Anna M. George is married and has a family of two children, Nellie L. and Anna M.
Rosel Miner came to Shelburne in 1794, and settled upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Martin L. Miner. He had a family of six sons and five daughters, of whom the eldest, Samuel, born in 1783, had a family of
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TOWN OF SOUTH BURLINGTON.
four children, the result of a union with Azuba Boynton, who died in 1834, when he afterwards married Patience Boynton. One of these children was Martin L., mentioned above. He was born in 1813, married Clarinda Cross- man in 1838, and has a family of two children, Charles E. and Aurelia A.
Nathan White, born at Middleborough, Plymouth County, Mass., February 15, 1763, died at Burlington, Vt., January 26, 1826. He was a descendant of Peregrine White, the first child born of English parents in America, and was five years in the army with Washington; was at West Point when it was surrendered by General Arnold, and was present at the execution of Major Andre. He came to Burlington in 1791, and during that and the following year manufactured brick near where Henry P. Hickok now lives. In the winter of 1793, he moved his family to Burlington, using an ox team, and was eighteen days performing a journey of 253 miles. In 1797, he bought a farm in this town, on Pottier's Point, and moved his family here in the fall of 1799, where he spent the remainder of his days as a farmer. He had three sons, Robert, Andrew and Lavater. Robert, the eldest, born September 5, 1787, died December 20, 1872, leaving three daughters, Elizabeth P., Mary H. and Laura C. Elizabeth married Elijah Root, in 1831, and had one daughter, Maria L., who married Charles L. Hart, in 1856. Maria L. has but one son, Fred R., who now resides with his grandfather, Elijah Root. Mr. Root is now seventy-four years of age, and for fifty-four years has been in the employ of the Champlain Transportation Company. He was local inspector of steam vessels from 1838 to 1881.
Charles Russell, an early settler in Hinesburgh, upon the place now owned and occupied by his grandson, Russell A. Corey, came to Shelburne about 1855, locating on road 9, where he now resides.
The Methodist Episcopal Church, located at Shelburne village, was organ- ized by the Rev. Henry Ryan, in 1800, the society beginning with four mem- bers, and Mr. Ryan pastor. In 1833, the first church edifice, a brick build- ing, was erected. This was used until 1873, when the present stone edifice took its place. It will seat 300 persons and is valued at $26,000. The society now has 140 members, with Rev. J. W. Bennett, pastor.
OUTH BURLINGTON, a town located in the western part of the county, was formed from the portion severed from the old town of Burlington when the city was incorporated, in 1865. For the reason of its recent or- ganization, its history is inseperably connected with the old town and present city of Burlington, both of which will be found incorporated in our sketch of Burlington, to which we refer the reader.
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TOWN OF ST. GEORGE.
T. GEORGE, the smallest town of the county, centrally located, is in lat. 44° 24', and long. 3º 48', bounded north and northeast by Willis- ton, south by Hinesburgh, and west by Shelburne. Accordin - to its charter, issued by the governor of New Hampshire, August 18, 1763, the town- ship should have had an area of 23,040 acres, butted and bounded as fol- lows: "Beginning at the southeastern corner of Shelburne, a township this day granted, being a stake and stone on the northerly side line of Hines- burgh, and from thence running east six miles to a stake and stone ; thence turning off and running north six miles to a stake and stone ; thence turning off and running west six miles to the northeasterly corner of Shelburne afore- said, thence running south six miles by Shelburne aforesaid, to the southerly corner thereof, the bound began at." This area, however, very unfortunately for its grantees, it failed to receive. Owing to an imperfect knowledge of the geography of the territory, more land was granted than existed, and as the surrounding towns had established their boundaries, St. George could only accept what was left, making an area, since the addition of a small slice from Shelburne, November 9, 1848, of 2,200 acres. This meager amount was di- vided among its proprietors, Jesse Hallock and sixty-three others, giving them only thirty acres, instead of the 360 they had expected.
The name of the township was given in allusion to George III, evincing a considerable degree of veneration in the prefix "St.," more so, perhaps, than would have been allotted could the proprietors have foreseen the curtailment their possessions were to receive, and the tyranical course to be pursued by " His Majesty."
In surface, St. George is very uneven, presenting some quite lofty eleva- tions, retaining, however, a number of verdant valleys and hill-slopes. It has no streams of importance, and contains no mill-sites. Its soil is principally loam, clay, and gravel, producing fair crops of the grains and fruits indigen- ous to such soil and locality. The geological structure is composed of rocks of Eolian limestone, clay, slate, and talcose conglomerate formation, the former underlying about three-quarters of the town, the two latter lying in the eastern portion.
In 1880, St. George had a population of ninety-three persons. The whole town constituted one school district, and contained one school, located on road 4. Three teachers had been employed at an aggregate salary of $160.00. There were twenty-six pupils attending school, the entire expense of the school for the year, ending October 31st, being $179.00, with Ira O. Lockwood, superintendent.
The town contains no village, no manufactories, and no church building. The postoffice, St. George, is located near the central part of the town, on road 4, with Norman Isham, postmaster.
The first settlement was commenced by Joshua Isham, in 1784, who located in the western part of the town. Here he cleared a farm, and after many
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TOWN OF ST. GEORGE.
years of hardship, succeeded. in gaining a moderate competence. He was drowned in Hinesburgh Pond, in December, 1837. Early in the following year Elnathan Higbee and Zirah Isham, with their families, settled here. And, not long after, Jehiel Isham, Reuben and Nathan Lockwood, John Mobbs, James Sutton, Wheeler Higbee, and others joined the settlement, so that, in 1791, the town had fifty-seven inhabitants.
The town was organized and first town meeting held March 9, 1813, when Jared Higbee was elected town clerk; Sherman Beach, constable; and Reu- ben Lockwood, Lewis Higbee, and Levi Higbee, selectmen. The first jus- tice was Reuben Lockwood, appointed in 1808. The first representative, Lewis Higbee, chosen in 1813. The first born was a daughter of Joshua Isham, a short time previous to the birth of the first male, Lewis Higbee, September 23, 1787. The first death is supposed to have been that of Heman Higbee, an infant son of Wheeler Higbee, September 17, 1791 ; first adult, Rebecca Gilman, June 22, 1797. The first marriage was that of Jacob Hinsdill to Hannah Cook. The first school-house was built soon after the first settlement was commenced, a rude log structure, and Amos Collen- der, of Shelburne, taught the first school.
Jehiel Isham came to St. George about the year 1790, and located near the center of the town, where he soon became an extensive farmer. He was actively engaged in the war of Independence, enlisting when fourteen years or age. He married Sarah Mobbs, by whom he had a family of thirteen children-nine sons and four daughters-four of whom, Silas, Amasa, Sophia and Eunice (Owen), are now living. He died here at the residence of one of his sons, in 1851, at the great age of ninety-two years. His wife died in 1840, aged ninety years. Silas is now the oldest person residing in the town. He married Dora Sinclair in 1818, and has four children living. His wife died in 1874. He kept the first and only hotel the town ever had. The Isham family has always been one of the most influential and numerous in the town.
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