USA > Vermont > Franklin County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 10
USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 10
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61
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TOWN OF ENOSBURCH.
spon it during the sunimer and returned to their homes in the winter. The real settlement of the town, however, dates from the spring of 1797, com- menced by Amos Fassett, Henry House, Martin D. Follett and others, most of whom came from other towns in the State. But, once started, the settle- ment rapidly advanced, so that at the first freemen's meeting, September 3, 1799, twenty-eight persons took the oath of allegiance, and in 1800, the Acosus returns-show the town to have had a population of 143.
Among those who came into the town during the first years of its settle- ment, from 1795 to 1805, were the following : Stephen House, Henry Hop- kins, Martin D. Follett, -- Putnam, Amos Fassett, Isaac Baldwin, Samuel Cooper, Nathan Pierce, Ketch Peck, Ebenezer Bogue, James Tracy, Joseph Waller, William Barber, Robert Barber, Charles Rosier, Challis Safford, Ephraim Adams, Nathaniel Griswold, Gove Griswold, Thomas M. Pollard, Joseph Pollard, Amos Dunning, Samuel Little, Erastus Swift, William Coit, Eliphaz Eaton, Jairus Eaton, Samuel Bessey, Anthony Bessey, Daniel Chil- son, Daniel Johnson, Joshua Miller, James Miller, Enoch Johnson, John Whitcomb, Jonas Boutell, Jehiel R. Barnham, Charles Comstock, Matthew McAllister, Asa Whitcomb, Samuel Stevens, Stephen Davis, Richard Davis, John Perley, Samuel Todd, Elias Lawrence, Joseph Wright, W. Pect, Lewis Sweatland, Talma Hendrick, David Fassett, Cyrus Balch, Amos Balch, . James Holden, Joseph Rowley, James McAllister, and Benjamin Follett.
The town was organized and the first town meeting held March 19, 1798, at the house of Samuel Little, when Jonas Brigham was chosen moderator ; Isaac B. Farrar, town clerk ; Charles Follett, Samuel Little, and Martin Dun- ning, selectmen ; and Moses Farrar, constable. The first justice was Thomas Richards, chosen in 1767, and William Barber the first representative, in 1798. The first child born in the town was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Balch, previously mentioned. He was named Enos, from the name of the town, and, it is said, was cradled in a sap trough. He became a Methodist minister. The first birth, according to the records, was that of Anna F. Farrar, danghter of Isaac B. and Anna Farrar, June 4, 1798. The first mar- riage was that of Joshua Miller and Patty Rosier, March 25, 1802. The first mills as per contract with House, were built at the Falls. The first school- house was built of logs, covered with bark, and had a bark floor, the school being kept by Betsey Little. The first cart was owned by Stephen House, and the first wagon by Ephraim Adams. The first saw-mill, in the eastern part of the town, was built by T. M. Pollard. The first grist-mill, in the south- eastern part of the town, by Joseph Wright, in 1812. The first framed school house, at the Center, answered the purpose of town, court, school, and meeting-house, and was called the "town-house." The first har- ness maker was Ebenezer Bogue, who made the first harness of elm bark ; he also established the first tannery, but meeting with success at neither, he - commenced farming. The first store was kept by Deacon Thomas Fuller, V
at North Enosburgh, his goods being brought from Boston on an ox-sled.
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TOWN OF ENOSBURGH.
The first physician was Dr. Caleb Stevens, who located at North Enosburgh. The first death was that of a negro, who was frozen to death-while passing through the town from Cambridge to Sheldon, where he was to be married. The next was that of Mr. Cole, killed while assisting in building a log house on the Safford place. Samuel Little kept the first tavern, at the Center.
Quite a number of the early settlers were veterans of the war for Indepen- dence, and some even had been enrolled among the Green Mountain Boys, against the Yorkers. In the war of 1812, the town responded to the call for aid with the following company : Martin D. Follett, captain ; Benjamin Fol- let, lieutenant ; Alvin Fassett, corporal ; Solomon Dodge, Henry Follett, John Flint, Samuel Hedge, Barnabas Hedge, Nathan Hedge, Talma Hendrick, James Miller, John Miller, William Miller, John Martin, Joseph Pollard, Anthony Bessey, Abijah Rice, Enoch Pease, John Osborne, Laban Brown, Asa Ladd, Samuel Kendrick, privates; and Hiram Fassett, musician. During our last great war the town again responded generously, both with money and soldiers, furnishing 153 of the latter, and sacrificed not a few of her sons, twenty four of whom went out never to return.
Judge Amos Fassett, from Bennington, Vt., located at the Falls at a very early date, where he and Stephen House built the first saw-mill, receiving in consideration thereof, a grant of 800 acres of land, from the State legislature. Mr. Fassett was a man of sterling worth, and won the respect of all with whom he came in contact. He was the father of ten children, and died while attending court at St. Albans, in 1810. His descendants, many of whom still reside here, have been considered among the honored men of the community.
Samuel Stevens, from Hartland, Vt., located in the northern part of the town, where he reared a family of seven children, -four sons and three daugh- ters,-two of whom, Elmira L., wife of George Adams, and Samuel H., still reside here.
The latter was born in 1811, married Elizabeth W. Childs, of Boston, and reared a family of six children. In 1832, he removed to Boston, where he was engaged in mercantile pursuits until 1840, when he returned to Enos- burgh and located upon the farm he now occupies. Among the positions of trust he has ably filled are those of trustee of the University of Vermont for a period of ten years, State Senator in 1860-'61, member of the Constitutional Convention in 1850 and 1857, justice of the peace forty years, town lister for several years, and town auditor for the past thirty years, he being now a hale old man seventy-one years of age. His wife died March 29, 1882, aged sixty- nine years. John Whitcomb, an early settler, located upon the farm now owned by John M. Whitcomb, it never having passed out of the family pos- session since. John built a log house in the wilderness, where was born to him and his wife, Amanda Ovitt, of Pownal, Vt., a family of seven children, all of whom located in their native town.
Levi Nichols located upon the farm now owned by George H. Nichols, on road 34, at an early date. He married Rachel Smith, of Windsor, Vt., and had a family of nine children.
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TOWN OF ENOSBURGH.
Benjamin Rice, an early settler, located upon the farm now owned by his son, Benjamin H. Rice, on road 47, where he remained until his death, March 9, 1854.
Benjamin H. was born July 6, 1817, married Percus G. Allen, and has one child, Edna T., the wife of H. S. Leach. Mr. Rice is much respected, and during his long life here has held several of the town trusts.
William Brown, from Stafford, Vt., came to Enosburgh at an early day, and located on road 46, upon the farm now occupied by William Ordway. His son, Laban, who came a few years previous, built the first house on the farm. Laban was twice married, and reared a family of eight children, of whom Edwin P., located on road 52, is the only one now living in the town.
James Miller, an early settler on road 52, located where J. D. Wright now testles. He married Sarah Stewart, from New Hampshire, and reared a family of seven children, one only of whom, Susannah, widow of John Snell, now re- sides here, aged eighty-five years.
Rufus Bliss, born September 12, 1768, came to the eastern part of Sheldon some time between the years 1795 and 1798. He married Betsey Stevens, of Castleton, Vt., by whom he had a family of twelve children. Nine of the children arrived at a mature age, and there are now living Milton H. Bliss, of Swanton, and Bradley and Prucilla (Mrs. H. B. Chamberlin) in this town. Mr. Bliss served in the war of 1812, and died as he had lived, a firm Baptist, August 12, 1855, at the house of his son-in-law, H. B. Chamberlin, aged nearly eighty-seven years, and was buried at North Fairfield.
Samuel Bessey, one of the earliest settlers in the town, came here from Woodstock, Vt., and located upon the farm now owned by his son, Henry. He married Hope Vaughn, by whom he had a family of eight children. Both he and his wife died, and were buried in Enosburgh.
Talma Hendrick, born at Pownal, Vt., October 20, 1773, came to Enos- burgh among the earliest settlers, and located upon the farm now owned by his son, J. P., on road 30. He married Lydia Thomas, of Lebanon, by whom he had a family of twelve children, two of whom, Mrs. William McAllister, and James P., are living. Mr. Hendrick was much honored during his long life here, and for many years was a deacon of the Baptist church. He died October 29, 1862, age nearly ninety years.
Dexter Gilbert, born at Malboro. Vt., in 1793, moved with his father, Elam, to this county when about five years of age. He had a family of seven children, and died at Sheldon, in 1847, aged forty-seven years, Dexter Gilbert, now residing in this town, on road 44, is another of the family, which is noted for its longevity, he having been born in 1793. In 1847, Lyman Gil- bert, son of Dexter, left Enosburgh for Mazatlan, Mexico, where he remained until December, 1881, when he started for home, and arrived here in January, 1882. During this sojourn Mr. Gilbert collected a large number of curiosi- ties, which may be seen at his residence on road 44.
John Morrow emigrated to this country from Ireland, about seventy-two
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TOWN OF ENOSBURGH.
years ago. During the war of 1812, he was in the British army, where he worked as a tailor. At the close of the war, he located in Sheldon, where he married Jane Bell, and reared a family of eleven children, two of whom are now living, one, John N., in this town, on road 27. He died at the residence of his son, September 11, 1872, aged nearly eighty six years. His wife died May 14, 1875, aged nearly eighty nine years.
Ebenezer Chamberlain, born in Massachusetts, September 10, 1754, emi- grated to Burlington some time between 1781 and 1790, where he married Patty Howe, also from Massachusetts, by whom he had fourteen children. Henry Chamberlain, born at Burlington in 1790, was a tanner and shoemaker, and located in Sheldon for over forty years. He married Desire Ripley, by whom he had eleven children, and died at the residence of his son, Henry B. Chamberlain, of this town, in 1872.
Andrew Barton came to this town, from Charlotte, Vt., at an early date, and located in the forest, about where the Kendall spavin cure building now stands, at Enosburgh Falls. He married Susan Baker, of Lanesboro, Mass., by whom he had nine children, all of whom are now dead, except E. B., of this town, and Caleb W., residing in New York. Andrew held many of the town offices, and died about the year 1825, aged fifty years.
Samuel Kendall, born at Sheldon, Vt., September 5, 1794, was a soldier in the war of 1812. He married Harriet, daughter of Ebenezer Stebbins, of Sheldon, and reared a family of eleven children, six of whom are now living, one, William A., in this town. Seth Kendall, son of William, was bom in Sheldon, married Lucy Chaffee, of Berkshire, Vt., and had a family of ten children.
Johnson Stevens, from New Hampshire, came to this town in 1803, and located upon the faim now owned by Seymour N. Howe, where he reared a family of six children.
Joshua Miller, born in Connecticut in 1775, came to the town of Mont- gomery, when twenty-two years of age, where he remained one year, then re- moved to this town, and located on road 22, where his daughter, Mrs. Ches- ter A. Crampton, now resides. He married Martha Rosier, of Enosburgh, and reared a family of six children.
Dea. Joseph Waller, from Royalton, Vt., came to this town in 1806, and located on road 15, upon the farm now owned by D. R. Chapman. It is said he conducted the first Baptist service ever held in the town, and during his long life here was ever a firm friend of that church. He died in 1852, aged eighty-seven years.
John Perley came to Enosburgh, in 1807, and located on road 13, upon the farm now owned by his grandson, William. William, son of John, came here with his father when but three years old, subsequently married Lydia Perkins, and reared a family of four sons, three of whom are now living.
Charles Comstock, from Williamstown, Mass., came to Enosburgh about the year 1807, and located in the northeastein part of the town, where James
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TOWN OF ENOSBURGH.
S. Woodard now resides. He reared a large family of children, though but one, John Comstock, of Montgomery, now resides in Vermont. Charles died about the year 1852.
Ebenezer Bogue, born in Connecticut, in 1781, removed to Georgia, Vt., at an early day, and from there removed to this town, in 1807. He located near the present Gilbert's tannery, where he established a small tannery, which was afterwards owned by John Tolman. He married Roxana Loomis, of Georgia, by whom he had a family of eleven children, two only of whom are left in the town, though there are numerous descendants. This family is of Scotch origin, having descended from John Bogue, a native of Glasgow, who came to America in 1680, and located at East Hoddam, Conn.
Ralph Carpenter, from Sharon, Vt., came to Enosburgh in 1808, and loca- ted where Colvin Fitch now resides. He married Clarinda Knapp, of Bran- don, Vt., by whom he had six children, two of whom now reside here.
Alpheus Ladd, born in New Hampshire in 1782, came to this town in 1811. He married Jane French, also from New Hampshire, by whom he had a family of seven children, all of whom now reside here.
Asa Ladd, Jr., from Massachusetts, came to Enosburgh at an early date, and located in the northern part of the town, upon the farm now owned by his son, Ebenezer B. His father came in shortly afterward and located upon the farm now owned by B. F. Fassett. Asa, Jr., married Lovisa Hopkins, by whom he had a family of thirteen children.
John Small came to this town in 1817, and located as a blacksmith. He was born at Bennington, Vt., in 1785, served in the war of 1812, and died here March 7, 1861.
Robert Stockham emigrated from Ireland early in this century, and made for himself a home in the forests of Canada. About the year 1843, he re- moved to Alburgh, where he worked diligently at his trade of blacksmithing until 1850, when he removed to Enosburgh, where he subsequently died, aged seventy years.
The First Congregational Church of Enosburgh, located at Enosburgh Center, was organized by James Parker and John Truax, with ten members, in 1811, the Rev. Thomas Skelton acting as their first pastor. The first church edifice was built in 1820, a wooden structure, which gave place to the pres- ent pleasant edifice erected in 1870. It is built of wood, will seat 250 persons, and cost $10,000.00, about its present value. The society now has 142 members, with Rev. Alfred Swift, pastor. The church also has a well-con- ducted Sabbath school, with an average attendance of 140, superintended by G. S. Fassett.
The Methodist Episcopal Church, located at West Enosburgh, was organ- ized by the Rev. Isaac Hall, with fifteen members, about the year 1825. The church building was originally built in 1839, removed and repaired in 1855, and again in the summer of 1882, so that it is now a comfortable brick structure capable of seating 200 persons, and valued at $2,500.00. The
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TOWN OF FAIRFAX.
society has at present sixty-seven members, with Rev. Henry Bushnell, pastor.
The Seventh Day Adventist Church, located near Bordoville, was organ- ized with eleven members, November 3, 1861, by Elders A. C. and D. T. Bourdeau. Since that time the membership has at times numbered roo; but at present, owing to removals, the society has only seventy-five members, with Elder H. W. Pierce, pastor. The church building, a wood structure capable of accommodating 250 persons, was erected in 1864, at a cost of $700.00. Within the past three years it has been thoroughly repaired, so that it is now valued at $900.oo. The society also maintains a Sabbath school or thirty-five pupils, in which a very lively interest is manifested.
St. Matthew's Protestant Episcopal Church, located at Enosburgh Falls, was organized October 7, 1869, by the Rev. Homer White, who also acted as first rector. The society at first consisted of but three members, which num- ber has increased to thirty-nine, the present rector being Rev. F. A. Wad- leigh. The church building, a wood structure, was begun in 1872, and con- secrated September 29, 1874, the first service being held therein February 16, 1873. The lot upon which it stands was donated to the parish by Mr. I. L. Kellogg, and the whole is valued at $4,500.00.
St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, located at Enosburgh Falls, was organized by the Rt. Rev. L. DeGoesbriand, with a congregation of about twenty families, in 1870. The first and present pastor being Rev. J. Brelivet, who has under his charge a congregation of about 100 families. The church, a wood building with seating room for 250 persons, was erected in 1870, at a cost of $3,000.00, and is now valued, including grounds, at $7,000.00.
¿AIRFAX, a pentagonal shaped town located in the southern tier of the county, in lat. 44° 42' and long. 5° 56', is bounded north by Fairfield, east by Fletcher, south by Westford, in Chittenden county, and west by Georgia. It was granted by New Hampshire to Edward Burling and sixty- two others, August 18, 1763, entitling them to 23,040 acres, butted and bounded as follow :-
" Beginning at the northeasterly corner of Westford, a township lately granted, from thence running westerly by Westford, as that runs, to the north- westerly corner thereof, which is also the southeasterly corner of Georgia, thence turning off northwardly, and running by Georgia aforesaid, as that runs, to the northeasterly corner thereof; thence turning off easterly, and running so far on a parallel line with the northwardly side line of Westford aforesaid, as that a straight line drawn from that period to the northeasterly corner bound of Westford aforesaid, shall include the contents of six miles square-23,040 acres."
The tract thus described was duly laid out and surveyed, and retains the same area now, no changes in its boundary lines ever having been made. The usual restrictions and reservations incident to the New Hampshire grants
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TOWN OF FAIRFAX.
were contained in this charter, though there seems to have been little gwen to them by the settlers, or by the grantees themselves, none of whom, however, ever located in the town.
In surface Fairfax is broken and hilly, affording excellent pasturage for flocks, and producing abundant crops of hay and grain in its valleys and intervales. None of the hills approach the dignity of mountains, though Buck hill approaches the nearest to the name. The scenery is varied and pleasing, as is the case with most of the towns in this vicinity. The soil is light and easily cultivated, and watered by several good sized streams which · afford some fine mill-sites. The principal of these streams is the Lamoille river, one of the largest in the State. It enters the southern part of the town from Lamoille county and flows across the town, a serpentine course parallel with the southern boundary line. About midway between the eastern and western lines are falls on this river, where the water descends some eighty- cight feet in a distance of thirty rods, affording some of the best mill privileges in the county. Mill brook, rising in the northern part of the town, unites with the Lamoille at Fairfax village. Beaver Meadow brook rises in the northern part of the town, flows a southwesterly course and enters Georgia near the Lamoille. Brown's river enters from the south and unites with the Lamoille in the western part of the town. Lumbering has been one of the principal industries of the town, and is carried on to some extent at present, though the forests have mostly disappeared. The varieties of timber most common are maple, beech, elm, ash, basswood, of the deciduous kind; the pine, hemlock, spruce, and fir, with some cedar in the swamps, of the ever- green varieties. Fairfax is naturally divided into three separate parts-the south part, where the village is located ; North Fairfax, including that por- tion north of Beaver Meadow brook ; and Buck Hollow, closed round by hills, through the center of which flows Mill brook. Each of these sections, has a postoffice, known respectively as Fairfax, North Fairfax, and Buck Hol- low. Geologically the town has three general ranges of rocks, extending in parallel ledges north and south. The western part of the town overlies a bed of quartz rock ; the extreme eastern part is composed of talcose schist while between them is an immense bed of talcose conglomerate. Each of these general divisions, however, contain well-developed specimens of the several rocks that enter into their formation, as more fully mentioned on page 22.
In 1880, Fairfax had a population of 1,820, was divided into eighteen school districts and contains eighteen common schools, employing three male and twenty female teachers, to whom was paid an aggregate salary of $1,752.00. There were 430 pupils attending school, while the entire cost of the schools for the year ending October 31st, was $2,013.20. W. A. Rob- inson was school superintendent.
NORTH FAIRFAX, a post village located in the northern part of the town, contains about a dozen dwellings.
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TOWN OF FAIRFAX.
FAIRFAX, a post village located in the southern part of the town on the Lamoille river, contains two churches (Baptist and Methodist), two hotels, an academy building, two drug stores, one hardware store, one jewelry store, five general stores, one saw-mill, and between 300 and 400 inhabitants.
The New Hampton Institution, located at Fairfax village, was founded in 1831, at. New Hampton, N. H., and was removed to its present location in 1853. Rev. Eli B. Smith was its first president in its new location, and un- der his management the school enjoyed remarkable prosperity, numbering nearly 300 students. The Institution has a location second to none in the State, has a fine library of 2,000 volumes, and considerable philosophical ap- . paratus. It is very able conducted under the successful management of Al- bert G. Cox, A. M., principal, with Miss E. M. Kidder, assistant. Instrue- tion is given in all branches sufficient to insure admission to any of the New England colleges.
BUCK HOLLOW (p.o.), a hamlet located in the eastern-central part of the town, on Mill brook, contains one church (Episcopal), and half a dozen dwellings.
The Lamoille Mills are located at the Great Fall of Lamoille river, one and one-half miles south of the village of Fairfax. The falls have a descent of eighty-eight feet, comprising a series of cascades, affording power sufficient to carry one hundred and fifty thousand spindles. The present buildings were erected by the present owner, Samuel N. Gaut, of Boston, Mass., who is the son of William and Hannah Gaut, and was born at Brandon, Vt., in 1816.
When quite young his parents moved to Middlebury, where they resided nine years. About 1830, they moved to Fairfax, from which place Samuel went to Boston, in 1836. He soon after started for himself in the baking business in that city, and in 1840, he opened a store on Washington street, at which location he still carries on the same business, having, during the past forty two years, stood at the head in his business in that city. In 1843, he married Susan Elliott Dutton, of Newburyport, Mass. Soon after engaging in business in Boston he purchased a farm in Fairfax, half a mile from the present site of the Lamoille Mills. In 1849, he purchased of John Warner, of Cambridge, and James S. Blin, of Shelburne, the water-privilege of the Great Fall on both sides of the river, and at various times subsequently about eighty acres of land surrounding it. In 1850, he built a brick mill contain- ing four runs of stones for grinding flour, &c., for which purpose it is still used. In 1864, he erected a building for the manufacture of woolen goods, and in August, 1865, he formed a co-partnership with F. W. Shepardson, of Fairfax, for the manufacture of flannels, cassimeres and yarns, under the firm name Gaut & Shepardson, which continued until January, 1881, when Mr. Shepard- son retired from the business, since which time it has been conducted by Geo. S. Minot, agent, son-in-law of S. N. Gaut, The factory is a one set mill with job card, using Davis & Furber machinery, with Crampton looms, and continues to manufacture strictly all wool goods. Mr. Gaut has built also a two and a half story brick store and dwelling, where for several years he car-
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TOWN OF FAIRFAX.
ned on the sale of general merchandise, under the style of Gaut & Stewart, his partner being the late Hiram Stewart. The buildings connected with the mill, beside those heretofore mentioned, consist of six dwelling houses, three of which Mr. Gaut built. Although a citizen of Boston during the past forty- six years, he is always happy when he can give employment and do anything that will increase the business interests of the town of Fairfax.
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