USA > Vermont > Franklin County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 15
USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 15
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TOWN OF GEORGIA.
Monday in March, 1807, and the record-book was deposited in the town clerk's office, January 14, 1808. The first meeting of the proprietors was held at Salisbury, Conn., the record of which is as follows :-
"Salisbury, March 23d, 1774 .- Then the proprietors of the township of Georgia, a township lately granted under the great seal of the Province of New Hampshire, now in the Province of New York, met according to a legal warning in the Connecticut Courant, at the dwelling-house of Capt. Samuel Moor, Inn-holder in Salisbury, in Litchfield county, and Colony of Connecti- cut, in New England.
1. Voted-That Heman Allen shall be moderator for this meeting.
2. Voted-That Ira Allen shall be proprietors' clerk for said town.
3. Voted-That we will lay out said town, and that every proprietor or proprietors may, on his own cost and charges, lay out all his right or rights as soon as he or they shall think proper.
4. Voted -- That the proprietors' clerk shall record all deeds of sales and survey bills in this book, when brought to hand, if paid a reasonable reward for the same, and all survey bills shall stand good that are first recorded or received to record without regard to the date of said survey bills.
5. Voted-That this meeting be adjourned to Fortfraderick, in Colches- ter, on Onion river, to be held on the third of October next -- Test. I. Allen, Propr. Clk."
The town was organized and the first town meeting held March 31, 1788. This meeting was warned by John White, assistant judge of Chittenden county, of which Georgia at that time formed a part. The warning was dated at Milton, March 12, 1788, although Judge White was at that time a resident of Georgia. James Evarts was chosen moderator ; Reuben Evarts, clerk; Stephen Davis, Stephen Holmes, and Richard Sylvester, selectman; Frederick Bliss, constable ; Solomon Goodrich, and Abel Pierce, haywards ; . and William Farrand, Noah Loomis, and Stephen Fairchild, surveyors of highways. Just enough business was transacted to organize the town-the town clerk took the oath of office nearly two months after, and the selectmen not until three months after the town meeting. At the second town meeting, held March 19, 1789, John White was chosen moderator ; Reuben Evarts, town clerk ; John White, Stephen Holmes, and Francis Davis, selectmen ; John White, treasurer; Titus Bushnell, constable; Nathaniel Naramore, Abraham Hathaway, and John W. Southmayd, listers; Titus Bushnell, collector of town rates ; Noah Loomis, grand juror ; Stephen Holmes, pound- keeper ; Solomon Goodrich, tithingman ; and Daniel Stannard, hayward.
The first representative of the town in the general assembly was James Evarts, in 1788. The first physician was Dr. Nathaniel Naramore, who was much esteemed, both as a physician and citizen. The first lawyer was Levi House, who represented the town in 1793. Among the early merchants of Georgia we find the names of Samuel Stannard, Jr., Bohan Shepard, Bushnell B. Downs, Nathaniel B. and Nathaniel M. Torrey, Joseph and Joshua Doane, James S. Allen, and Hezekiah and Erbon Wead.
Several of the early settlers had fought in the war for Independence, and several had been actively engaged in the land title controversy. William
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TOWN OF GEORGIA.
Post was at the battle of Hubbardton, and Elisha Bartlett and Frederick Cushman were at the battle of Bennington. In the war of 1812, the town contributed its full proportion of men. A militia company of mounted men was called into service from this county at an early day, and went to Platts- burgh, where they were in active service some two or three months.
The following is a list of Georgia volunteers in 1814: Joseph Bowker, Jesse Post, Willard Baker, Jonathan Blake, Henry Mclaughlin, Luberun Lewis, Eli Jerome, Levi Shepard, Jonah Loomis, Harvey Colron, Thomas Pierce, Asaph Wood, Levi B. Shepard, Abel Loflin, Pelediato Critchut, Major Post, Caius Hill, Hawley Witters, Osmand Lamb, Ira Hinckley, Samuel Fair- banks, Theodore Willey, Alvah Sabin, Stephen Holmes, Shivrick Holmes, Nathaniel Bowker, Elias Bowker, Thomas Danter, Elijah Baker, Charles Baker, Ansel Wood, Elijah W. Wood, David Hoar, John Brown, L. B. Hunt, and Henry Hunt.
During the Canadian Rebellion of 1837, a company of militia from this town was in service on the frontier a short time, under the command of Capt. Caldwell. The town also contributed 141 men for the suppression of the rebellion of 1861, and twenty-six of the first young men of the town were killed, or died in Southern prisons of wounds, or from diseases contracted while in the service. During the troubles attending the dissatisfaction felt relative to the then existing state of the revenue laws, in 1807, an incipient riot occurred here, which has since been known as the Georgia or Smuggler's Riot. About one hundred persons, from this and surrounding towns, met for the purpose of opposing the custom officers' attempt to capture a party of smugglers. A slight skirmish ensued, but no lives were lost, and the rioters dispersed to their homes, of their own accord.
Judge Frederick Bliss, from Williamstown, Mass., came to Georgia in 1786, and located at what is now Georgia Center. He married Polly, daughter of Stephen Davis, but died childless, November 8, 1827, aged sixty-five years. He was the first constable in the town, many years a selectman, and held at different periods nearly every town office. He was a representative in 1819, nine years a member of the governor's council, twelve years assistant judge of the county court, and one year judge of probate for the Georgia district, He was a very benevolent man and loved and deferred to by all. Abner, Solomon, Loomis, and Eli were brothers of Frederick, and came here at about the time he did. Abigail, a sister, married Hawley Witters, of the western part of the town, and was the grandmother of Counselor Witters, of Milton. Betsey, another sister, became the wife of Young Blair. Abner married Miriam Dee, daughter of Elijah Dee, and reared a family of seven children, all of whom are now dead, except Erastus. Abner, Jr., was twice married, and had by his second wife, Eloise Nichols, seven children, three of whom, O. S., Mrs. Jared Dee, and F. F. Bliss, of Fletcher, are living. Solomon Bliss also mar- ried a daughter of Capt. Davis. He reared a large family of children, and became one of the most prominent men of the town, as also did his son, Solomon, Jr. Solomon died September 4, 1834, aged sixty-five years.
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TOWN OF GEORGIA.
Stephen Davis, a wealthy farmer from Williamstown, Mass., came here in 1787. He became a prominent man in the town, and died here in-1801, and his wife in 1802, leaving three sons and five daughters, who lived quiet lives here and in Milton, and many of whose descendants still reside here.
Elijah Loomis, from Clarendon, Vt., came to Georgia in 1787. He reared a family of six children,-one son and five daughters. The son, Roger E., married Rachel Hickok, of Pittsford, Vt., and died in 1868, aged ninety-two years. His children were Harmon, Emily, Laura, Phoebe, Wyman, Orra and Rachel. Of these, Phoebe, Wyman and Rachel are living. Phoebe married Abram DeLong, and Rachel became the wife of George Berwick. Harmon married Charlotte Torry, and had a family of six children, as follows : Charles, William, George, Charlotte, Edward and Henry, of whom William, Charlotte, and Edward, are living. William married Jeannette Wightman, has a family of three children, and resides on the old homestead.
Abram Laflin, grandfather to Joel K. Laflin, and a pensioner of the revo- lution, was an early settler here, and remained in the town until his death, about forty years ago. His son, Abel, who died here in 1868, aged eighty- two years, was a pensioner of the war of 1812.
Stephen Fairchild, with his four sons, Stephen, Jr., Daniel, Joel and Tru- man, came here in 1787, from Arlington, Vt. Truman had three sons and. five daughters, four of whom are still living, Phoebe Hickok, of Milton, aged eighty-five years, being the eldest. Eliakim, of this town, is eighty- one years of age.
Joseph, James, Henry and William Ballard, brothers, from Wendell, Mass., came to Georgia at an early date, and located on the main road south of . Georgia Center, where many of their descendants now reside. Joseph had a family of nine children,-seven sons and two daughters. James had seven children, and Henry had seven, only one of whom, Henry, Jr., is living.
Ebenezer L. Hulburt was an early settler here. His son, John J., married Abigail Austin, daughter of Thomas Austin, of Orange county, and died here in 1876, aged seventy-three years. He reared a family of eight children, -four sons and four daughters,-six of whom, Jane, Edson, Ebenezer, Byron, Adam and Hannah, are now living.
William K. Warner, from Rutland county, came to Georgia at an early date. He was thrice married, to Matilda Withers, Chloe Withers, and Diana Wood, respectively, and reared ten children.
Elijah Janes settled in Grand Isle county, at an early day, and a few years later settled in Georgia. He married Anna Baker, and reared a family of eight children, many of whose descendants still reside in the town.
Edmund Towne, the first town clerk of Georgia, located here at an early date, became a prominent man, reared a family of several children, and died here at an advanced age. The Towne family date their ancestry back to the year 1274, when William De La Towne was a resident of Alverly, a village in Shropshire, about twenty-nine miles southeast from Shrewsbury, England.
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TOWN OF GEORGIA.
The first of the name in this country was William Towne, who was born in England about the year 1600.
Peter Miner, from Topston, N. H., located in Georiga at an early day, when there was but one house between Georgia Center and Burlington. He reared a family of nine children, as follows : Sally, Stephen, Hannah, Polley, Asa, Abel, Betsy, Belinda, and Horace.
Abel Pierce, another of the early settlers, located on the Main road north of the Center, and afterwards removed to West Georgia, where he was subse- quently killed by being caught in the machinery of a mill in that place. He had a family of eight children, Thomas, Betsey, Hiram, Abel, Judson, Harriet, Nathan, and Betsey, 2d.
Laomi Pattee came to Georgia among the early settlers. He reared a family of ten children, many of whose descendants reside in this and sur- rounding towns.
Elijah Dee, from Saybrook, Conn., came to this town in 1791, and located near the Center. He reared a family of nine children, of whom Maj. Elijah, the third child, became quite a prominent citizen, and raised a family of thir- teen children. Jared, son of Maj. Elijah, now occupies the old homestead, at the age of sixty-three years. Elijah, Sr., died December 24, 1827, aged eighty-six years. He came to this town in the dead of winter, on a sled drawn by a yoke of oxen, his youngest child being then but six months old.
William Post, from Rutland, came to Georgia in 1791, and located near Georgia village. His son, Maj. Henry Post, a pensioner of the war of 1812, died here in June, 1882, aged ninety nine years.
Joseph Evarts, son of Reuben Evarts, from Sunderland, Vt., came to this town in 1790. In 1792, he married Sally Allen, a niece of Gen. Ira Allen, by whom he reared a family of ten children. He became one of the leading men of the town, and died at an advanced age in 1840.
Charles Caldwell, from Guilford, Conn., became a resident of the town in 1791. He reared a family of twelve children, of whom four, Samuel, Mrs. Harriet Hibbard, Abigail Watson, and Susan Mears are now living.
Abner D. Purmont, born in Exter, N. H., in 1781, located in the south- eastern part of the town in 1797. He was twice married, and reared a family of six children, two of whom, Mrs. Smith, of Monkton, and Joseph, of this town, are living. Joseph occupies the old homestead, a prominent farmer and public-spirited man.
David Clark came to Georgia, from Middleborough, Mass., in 1795, and located in the northern part of the town. His son, David P., was born No- vember 7, 1802, and resided here until his death, February 11, 1868. He was the father of Rev. Charles W. Clark, the present pastor of the Congrega- tional church, and also father of the Rev. Geo. H. Clark, pastor of the Con- gregational church, of St. Johnsbury Center.
Titus Bushnell, from Saybrook, Conn., came to Georgia in 1795. He married Hannah Post, daughter of William Post, reared a family of six chil- dren and died here at an advanced age.
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TOWN OF GEORGIA.
Elisha Hale, at the age of twelve years, came to this town from Rutland, Vt., and subsequently located upon the farm now owned by Wbite Cleveland, on road 36. He finally removed to the west of Georgia Center, where he died, in 1788, aged ninety-four years.
Nathaniel M. Torrey, from Lanesboro, Mass., immigrated to this town in 1794 He opened a store near the lake, one of the first in town, and subse- quently removed .to Georgia Center, where he conducted business a long time, in company with his eldest son, Nathaniel B. Mr. Torrey reared a family of ten children, and died at Georgia Center quite aged, respected by all.
Rev. Alvah Sabin, who for a period of forty years was pastor of the Baptist church here, was born in this town in 1793, and removed to Illinois in 1880, where he now resides, aged eighty-nine years. Mr. Sabin was much beloved by the people of this and surrounding towns, to whom he had endeared him- self by a long life of watchful care over them, both spiritually and tempor- ally, having served them several years in the senate, as well as in the pulpit.
Jonathan Hill, from Pownal, Vt., came to Georgia in 1795, and located in the southwestern part of the town, where he reared a family of ten children and resided until his death.
Israel Jocelyn, born at Kensington, Conn., in 1770, came to Georgia in 1795. He married Chloe Brigham, of Milton, by whom he had a family of eight chil- dren, only one of whom, Mrs. Mears, of Vineland, N. J., is now living.
William Smith, from Conway, Mass., came to Georgia in 1799, and located in what is now East Georgia. He served in the war of 1812, and remained at East Georgia until 1826, when he removed to the house now occupied by his son, William H. He married Polly Camp and reared a family of six chil- dren, three of whom are yet living, and died here in 1864. His wife died June 25, 1880.
James Hotchkiss came here from Hubbardton, Vt., in 1798, and located about half a mile south of the Center, where his son Cyrus was born. He removed to a farm in the southern part of the town, where his other children, Cyrus, Asenath, Hiram, Harriet, Charlotte and James M. were born.
Asahel Johnson, from Williamstown, Mass., came to Fairfax in 1799, and after a year's residence in that town removed to Georgia, and located in the north- ern part where his grandson, Oscar B. Johnson, now resides, where he re- mained until his death, in 1847, aged seventy-two years. Of his family of eight children, only one, Mrs. Adaline Cooley, is now living.
Jacob Hyde, patriarch of the present family of Hydes in this town, came here from St. Albans, whither he had migrated from Bennington, Vt., in 1802. He was born at Norwich, Conn., August 1, 1730, and died at North Hero, whither he had gone on a visit, in February, 1815. The family claim descent from the Earl of Clarendon, prime minister under Charles I., and father-in-law to James II., of England. The first of the family in this country was William Hyde, a contemporary of Sir Robert Hyde and Edward, Earl of
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TOWN OF GEORGIA.
Clarendon, who came here in 1633, in company with Rev. Thomas Hooker, the first minister in Hartford, Conn. He owned land in Hartford as late as 1639, then removed to Saybrook, Conn., and later to Norwich, which was set- tled in 1660, he being one of the original proprietors of that town.
Abel Parker was born at Greenwich, R. I., in 1763. At the age of sixteen he entered the army of Washington, and shared the perils and privations of the Jersey campaign, was present at the execution of Andre, at Tarrytown, and also took part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, continuing in the army until the close of the war, when he settled at Bennington, Vt. Here he married Lydia Wood, daughter of John Wood, of Bennington, and removed to North Island, and thence to Georgia, in 1802. He lived here a quiet, respectable life, until November 29, 1853, when, full of years and honors, at the ripe age of eighty-nine years, he departed for the other world. He had a family of eleven children, three of whom, Noah R., Mary and Elizabeth, are now living. Noah R., who lives about two miles west of Georgia Center, has upon his farm a ledge of rocks containing fossils of the Trilobite, an ex- tinct family of crustaceans, peculiar to the paleozoic era, which Prof. Jewett, of Albany, N. Y., and Prof. Julius Marco, a companion and pupil of Aggassiz, pronounce the only ledge of the kind in the world, and the specimens it con- tains the most perfect.
Robert Wightman came to this town from Scotland in 1804, and married Martha Davis, daughter of Stephen Davis, by whom he had a family of nine children, three of whom, Moses, Mrs. Anna Harris, of Colchester, and Mrs. Pattie Gross, of Richford, are living. Moses resides on the old homestead, aged seventy-one years.
Roswell Mears, from Poultney, Vt., came to this town in 1803, and located about half a mile west of Georgia Center, and officiated as pastor of the Bap- tist church until about fifteen years previous to his death. He reared a family of seven children, of whom Lucy, now of Iowa, and Alburn, of this town, are living.
Henry Rankin emigrated from Ireland to Montreal, and from there came to Georgia, in 1827. He had a family of six children, many of whose descendants still reside here.
Samuel Carr, from Woodbury, Conn., settled in Milton in 1820, and from there removed to Georgia, in 1854, locating in the southwestern part of the town, where he died, in 1875, aged eighty-six years. He had a family of ten children, two of whom died in infancy, and one, Columbus N., died in the army, in 1862. The others were named Julia O., Alvira, Eveline L., Jane, Nelson, Delilah, and Judson A. Of these, Nelson, Eveline, and Alvira, reside on the home farm, and Judson A. resides in the southern part of the town.
Joseph Stickney came to Georgia at an early day, from New Hampshire, and subsequently married Jerusha Hubbell, and, in 1816, removed to High- gate. He reared a family of nine children,-six sons and three daughters.
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TOWN OF HIGHGATE.
His son, Barney H., was born in Highgate in 1826, married Mary S. Webber, removed to this town in 1855, and now resides on road 38, with a family of six children.
The Georgia Plain Baptist Church, located at Georgia Plain, was organ- ized by the people of the town, October 21, 1793, with thirteen members, and with Rev. Roswell Mears, pastor. In 1800, the society erected a house of worship, a wooden structure, which did service until 1848, when the present brick edifice was built, at a cost of $3,000.00. It is a neat building, capable of seating 400 persons, and valued, including grounds, at $4,800.00. The church is at present in a flourishing condition, with a Sabbath school number- ing 140 scholars, and an average attendance of sixty. It has had but four pas- tors since its organization, Revs. Roswell Mears, Alva Sabin, Rufus Smith, and Joseph G. Lorimer, the present incumbent. Among its members have been reckoned some of the most influential men of the town. The society took, at an early day, a decided stand against intemperance and slavery.
The Georgia Congregational Church, located at Georgia Center, was organ- ized by Deacon Walter Colon, Bushnell B. Downs, Philo Fairchild, Ira Hink- ley, Ira Hinkley, Jr., Joseph Doane, Samuel Laflin, Noah Loomis, Jr., Wil- liam Ballard, Nathaniel M. Torrey, Jacob Goodwin, William Post, and Fred- erick Cushman, November 7, 1793. Rev. Decius R. Bogue was chosen their first pastor. In 1800, the first church building was erected, and was succeeded by the present edifice in 1832, a brick structure erected at a cost of about $2,000.00. It will accommodate 250 persons and is now valued, including grounds, at $2,500.00. The society, now has sixty-nine members, with Rev. Charles W. Clark, pastor, and sustains a flourishing Sabbath school.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Georgia Center .- In the early days of Methodism in this locality, Georgia was one of the seven stations of the Mil- ton circuit. The first minister who labored here was Rev. L. Hitchcock. A class was formed previous to, or during, the year 1838, at Georgia Plain, where services continued to be held until 1848, when the present brick church was built at the Center. The present name of the charge is the Georgia and North Fairfax circuit, the pastor residing at Georgia, but preaching in both places. The society now numbers sixty members, with Rev. William N. Roberts, pastor, and owns property to the value of $5,000.00.
The Emanuel Episcopal Church, located at East Georgia, was organized by its first rector, Rev. F. W. Smith, with ten members, in 1872. During that year the church building was erected, a wood structure capable of seat- ing 125 persons, and valued at $6,000.00. The society now has twenty-one members, with Rev. Gemont Graves, rector.
IGHGATE, one of the northern lake towns of the county, is situated in the northwestern corner of the same, in lat. 44° 58' and long. 3º ° 59', bounded north by the Canada line, east by Franklin, south by Sheldon and Swanton, and west by Missisquoi bay and Swanton. It was chartered
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TOWN OF HIGHGATE.
as a township to contain 23,040 acres by New Hampshire, August 17, 1763, with all the restrictions and reservations common to these grants, which were to be complied with on penalty of forfeiture of the charter. The grant- ees, however, Samuel Hunt and sixty-three associates, never complied with these requirements, nor ever became residents of the town ; still, there seems never to have any trouble grown out of their delinquency. The land laid for a number of years with no attempt made towards its settlement, in di- rect violation to one of the requirements of the charter and the whole tract was several times sold for taxes, Ira Allen, of Colchester, having at one time owned the whole township. Several changes have been made in its boundary lines, so that it now contains much more than its original limits: November 1, 1792, a part of Alburgh was annexed to it, and October 23, 1806, Marvin's Gore was annexed; but on November 3, 1836, a part of Highgate was in turn annexed to Swanton.
The surface of the township is decidedly uneven, making a very picturesque landscape, and contains some points of view that are grand in the extreme. Along the Missisquoi river the land is considerably cut by deep ravines, while the northern half abounds in low hills, swamps and valleys, and in other portions extensive sand plains exist. One point of view, from the farm of Col. Dunton, off road 54, is often visited. From here the beholder traces a magnificent scene of mingled mountains, rivers, lakes, and well- cultivated farms. Towards the east may be seen the grim old Camel's Hump, Jay's Peak, and Mansfield, while in the dim, distant west, the Adi- rondacks appear beyond the blue expanse of Lake Champlain ; the course of the Missisquoi is traced for miles, until it is finally lost in a thread of silver veining the emerald land, while on a clear day the distant mount where lies the city of Montreal may be seen, forming in all a bird's-eye view that for beauty is rarely excelled. The soil is extremely varied, comprising nearly every variety. In one field there may sometimes be found sand, muck, marl or loam, and clay. In the center of the township, near the falls, the soil is largely composed of sand, the site of a once mighty pine forest. The original timber was mostly pine and hemlock, though the highlands contained some hard-wood varieties. All along the Missisquoi there existed immense forests of giant pines, perhaps the finest in the State, which, in times gone by, gave employment to large numbers in their manufacture into lumber. Nothing but the remnants of these forests are left now, however, marking the spot where their huge ancestors stood in years agone. The town is well watered by numerous streams, the principal ones being the Missisquoi and Rock rivers. The Missisquoi flows across a portion of the southern part of the town, turns south into Swanton, and finally turns north again and forms the western boundary line of the town. The falls on this river form one of the finest water-powers in the State. Rock river enters the northern part of the town from Canada, and flows a southwesterly course into Missisquoi bay. Eel brook rises in the southern part of the town and flows a northerly course into
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