USA > Vermont > Franklin County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 17
USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 17
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
In 1880, Montgomery had a population of 1,643, was divided into ten school districts and contained ten common schools, employing two male and fifteen female teachers, to whom was paid an aggregate salary of $1,206.35. There were 473 pupils attending common school, while the entire cost of the the schools for the year was $1,335. 10, with W. B. Davis, superintendent.
MONTGOMERY, a post village located in the northwestern part of the town, on Trout river, contains two churches (Episcopal and Methodist), one hotel, two stores, saw-mill, tannery, grist-mill, butter-tub factory, one tin shop, three blacksmith shops, three wheelwright shops, one lawyer, one physician, and about 250 inhabitants.
MONTGOMERY CENTER, a post village located in the central part of the town, contains two churches (Baptist and Congregational), one hotel, two stores, saw-mill, butter-tub manufactory, two blacksmith shops, one physician, and about two hundred inhabitants.
H. E. Lewis's saw and grist-mill and butter tub manufactory, located on Trout river, was built in 1878. The works give employment to twenty men, manufacturing 100,000 butter tubs and 600,000 feet of lumber per year. The grist-mill has one run of stones and does custom work.
J. P. Lambert's saw, planing, and clapboard-mill, located on a branch of
I42
TOWN OF MONTGOMERY.
Trout river, near Montgomery village, was built by Mr. Lambert in 1870. It cuts 250,000 feet of lumber and clapboards per annum.
A. W. Dow's chair and furniture manufactory, located near Montgomery village, turns out about $2,000 worth of furniture per year.
John Comb's saw and planing mill, located at Montgomery village, was built by J. E. Smith in 1866. The mill has the capacity for cutting about 6,000 feet of lumber per day, and does mostly custom work.
James E. Smith's saw and planing-mill, located in the northern part of the town on Mill brook, was built by him in 1876. Mr. Smith manufactures butter-tub stock and lumber, cutting about 500,000 feet per annum.
C. A. Kelton's grist-mill, located at Montgomery Center, was built by Otis L. Kelton, father of the present owner, in 1875-'76. It has three runs of stones and does a general custom business.
George A. Pollard's tannery, located at Montgomery village, was built by Hiram Carpenter about forty years ago. It formerly did considerable busi- ness, but is not in operation at present.
Julius C. Hutchins' saw-mill, butter-tub, and packing-box factory, located in the central part of the town on a branch of Trout river, is on of the largest mills in the county, the main building being 60x180 feet, with two lumber sheds, 20x225 feet, attached. The mill is operated by water-power and has the capacity for manufacturing 175,000 butter-tubs per year and cutting 12,000 feet of lumber per day.
George R. Wade's shingle-mill, located on road 16, manufactures about 500,000 shingles per annum.
Stiles, Lumbry & Lepper's saw-mill and butter-tub manufactory, located at Montgomery Center, manufactures about 100,000 butter-tubs per year, and has the capacity for cutting 10,000 feet of lumber per day.
S. B. Jewett & Co.'s saw-mill and shingle-mill, located at Montgomery, was built in 1874. It has the capacity for cutting 8,000 feet of lumber and 10,000 shingles per day.
F. R. Chaplin's clapboard-mill, located on road 16, has the capacity for cutting 2,000 feet of clapboards per day.
Sherman, Bradish & Co.'s saw-mill and butter-tub manufactory, located at Montgomery Center, manufactures about 100,000 butter-tubs per annum.
The first permanent settlement in Montgomery was made by Joshua Clapp, in March, 1793. Mr. Clapp was a Revolutionary officer from Worcester county, Mass. He took up a large tract of land, lying on both sides of the river, in the northwestern part of the town. Here he built a log house upon the bank of the stream, which subsequently gave place to a more pretentious building, the first framed house built in the town, and which is still standing in a good state of preservation. Mr. Clapp had a family of eight children, six of whom arrived at the age of maturity. His son, Joel, was the first child born in the town, September 14, 1793. Only two of the children now are living, Joshua, Jr., and Mis. Eliza Hamilton. Joshua, Jr., born in 1805, has
1
143
TOWN OF MONTGOMERY.
been town clerk twenty-nine consecutive years, represented the town four umes, and has been a member of the senate twice. He was the first native of the town sent to the general assembly. His father built the first saw and grist-mill, and was also the first town representative. Joshua, Sr., died in IS10.
About the year 1795, Samuel Barnard, Reuben Clapp, and James Upham, from Massachusetts, were the next families to follow Capt. Clapp, with the exception of a man by the name of Collar, who settled for a short time on a tocky hill, still known as Collar Hill. He, however, soon left, after having made a small clearing and erected a log house, the hearthstone of which still remains. Very soon after this date there came into town, in rapid succession, chictly from Massacusetts, Stephen and Jonathan Gates, Seth, John, and Jockton Goodspeed, Jonah and Zebulon Thomas, Daniel Barrows, Samuel Lusk, Jonahdab Johnson, Robert Martin and others, whose descendants constitute the principal part of the present population of the town. The town was organized and the first town meeting held, August 12, 1802, when Samuel Barnard was chosen town clerk; Trajan Richmond, constable; and James Upham, Elijah Larned, and Stephen Gates, selectmen. The first justice of the peace was Samuel Barnard, chosen in 18co. The first repre . sentative was Joshua Clapp, elected in 1803. Joel Clapp, the first child born in the town, became the Episcopal minister and preached the first Fast day, the first Thanksgiving day, and the first mother's funeral sermons that were preached in the town.
James Upham, from Deerfield, Mass., came to the town among the early settlers, and located near Montgomery village, upon the farm now occupied . by his grandson, James F. James F. served in the late rebellion, and was sixty-three years of age when he enlisted. He is now eighty-three years of age.
Stephen Gates, one of the first selectmen of the town, came here from Massachusetts in 1799, and located upon the farm now owned by William Peck. He reared a family of six children, among whom the first death oc- curred in October, 1881, when their respective ages averaged seventy-two and one half years.
Phineas Swan, from Haverhill, N. H., came to this town in 1804, and located upon the farm now owned by his son, Joel W. Here he purchased eighty acres of land, built a log house and reared a family of thirteen children, five of whom are now living. Mr. Swan died October 14, 1844, aged sixty- nine years.
John Smith, from Windsor, Vt., came to Montgomery in 1811, and located at the Center, where he died in 1872. His wife died in 1882, at the advanced age of ninety-six years.
Richard Smith, from Woodstock, Vt., located here in 1811, upon the farm now occupied by George L. Clapp.
Isaac Head, from Richford, Vt., came to this town in 1813, and located upon the farm now occupied by his son, Samuel. He had a large family of children, several of whom still reside here.
¥
144
TOWN OF MONTGOMERY.
John Johnson, from Putney, Vt., came to Montgomery in 1812, and pur- chased 160 acres of land upon which he made a small clearing and erected a log house. He then returned to Putney, married Hannah Martin, and came back to Montgomery. Here he enlisted and served six months under Capt. Kimball. He then brought his wife to the town and became a permanent resident, dying here in 1861, aged seventy-four years. Mr. Johnson had a family of ten children, all of whom are now living, seven in this town.
Sherjarheb Goodspeed came to this town, from Oakham, Mass., in 1800, and located in the western part on West Hill. Three of his sons, Jockton, Seth, and John, came with him, all of whom are now dead. A number of their descendants still reside here, however. The family has been quite a prominent one in the town, and different members of it have held many offi- cial positions.
Robert Martin, from Putney, Vt., came to Montgomery in 1816, and located at the Center, upon the farm now occupied by Mrs. Mary Martin. He reared a family of eleven children, all of whom settled in the town, though but two, Jefferson and Mrs. Daniel Goodspeed, are now living. Jefferson was born in 1804. He has held most of the town offices, and among them that of selectman for fifteen years.
Hiram Rawson came to this town from Brookfield, Mass., in 1808. He located in the central part of the town, upon the farm now owned by War- ren Rawson. He died here in 1865, aged seventy-nine years. Of his family of ten children, three, Warren, Rufus, and Harriet (Rawson) Richardson, are living.
Heman Hopkins, one of the oldest men now residing in the town, was born in Enosburgh in 1800, and came to Montgomery in 1816. With his son, Heman, Jr., he located upon the farm he now occupies in 1822. He has held most of the town offices, and has also been a deacon of the Congrega- tional church for fifty-seven years, nearly all of which time, up to the last few years, he has sung in the choir.
Dr. B. W. Fuller, from Stowe, Vt., came to this town in 1826, and con- tinued to practice here until his death, in 1857.
Nathan Hale, from Brookline, Vt., came to Montgomery in 1826, and located in the southern part of the town upon the farm now owned by E. S. Tar- bell, where he resided about five years, then removed to road 27, where his son now resides. He died in 1880, aged nearly seventy-five years.
John H. Tarbell, from Brookline, Vt., came to this town in 1830, and located in southern part. He subsequently removed to the farm he now occupies, on road 31. He is nearly seventy five years of age.
Asa Wheeler, from Woodstock, Vt., came to this town in 1830. He en- gaged in mercantile pursuits and became one of the most prominent busi- ness men of the town. He built a starch factory and grist-mill, and also the first butter-tub factory in the town.
Otis L. Kenyon came to Montgomery, about the year 1833, and became a
145
TOWN OF RICHFORD.
prominent farmer of the town. One of his sons, Otis N., is the present town clerk, and another son, Corley A., is proprietor of a grist-mill at the Center.
Caleb Combs, whose father was an early settler in the town of Richford, came to this town in 1835. One of his sons, Alfred, now resides on road I.
Samuel F. Fuller, from Stowe, Vt., came to this town about the year 1835, and located at the village where his son, Bethuel, now resides. He died in 1866, aged sixty-four years.
William H. Stiles, from Enosburgh, Vt., came to this town about the year 1845, and has since been engaged in the manufacture of butter-tubs, and in farming.
Ira Dunham was born at Royalton, Vt., in 1795, and when sixteen years of age removed to the town of Enosburgh. From there, after a few years residence in Richford, he came to this town and located where his son, Nor- man, now resides. He died here in 1862.
The town of Montgomery furnished three commissioned officers and 103 enlisted men during the war of the Rebellion, nineteen of whom perished in the cause.
The First Congregational Church, located at the Center, was organized by Rev. James Parker, of Enosburgh, in 1817. The pastor was Rev. Avery S. Ware, installed in 1825. The church building was erected in 1841, and valued, including grounds, at $1,200.00. The society now has thirty-two members, with Rev. E. W. Hatch pastor.
The Episcopal Church of Montgomery Village, was organized May 17, 1819. Rev. Joel Clapp was their first pastor. Their church building, a wood structure capable of seating 260 persons, was commenced in 1825, . though it was not completed until 1832. It is valued, including grounds, at $4,500.00. The society now has fifty-two members, with Rev. William Wes- toner, rector.
The Baptist Church located at Montgomery Center, was organized in 1820. It has at present eighty-one members, with no regular pastor.
The Methodist Church located at Montgomery village was organized by its first pastor, Rev. Jacob Leonard, with five members, in 1839. Their church building, a brick structure capable of seating 150 persons, was commenced in 1840, and finished in 1843. It originally cost about $1,600.00, and is now valued, including grounds, at $2,500.00. . The society at present has seventy- three members, with Rev. Franklin Adams, pastor.
ICHFORD, located in the northeastern corner of the county, in lat. 44° 57', and long. 4° 24', bounded north by the Canada line, east by Jay, in Orleans county, south by Montgomery, and west by Berkshire, was chartered by Vermont, March 13, 1780, to Jonathan Wells and fifty-nine others. The tract was to contain an area of 23,040 acres, bounded as fol- lows :-
i
10
+ + 4
146
TOWN OF RICHFORD.
"Beginning at the northeast corner of the township of Berkshire, being the north line of this State, then east in said line six miles ; then southerly on such point as to gain six miles on a perpendicular from said line of the State ; then west parallel with said State-line to the southeasterly corner of said Berkshire; then northerly in the eastern line of said Berkshire, to bounds begun at, and will contain the contents of six miles square and no more."
This area, however, was somewhat increased, as the town was surveyed by General Whitelaw, of Ryegate, in 1795, who ran the town lines, and most of the ranges north and south, making corners from measurement. The south line varies from the charter, in following the Montgomery line to the corner, which is 150 rods south of Berkshire corner, thus making more than six miles square.
In surface, Richford is very mountainous and uneven, thus having a great deal of land that is unarable and not fit for purposes of cultivation, though even this seemingly waste land is valuable on account of the timber it con- tains. As a whole, however, the township is well adapted to agricultural pur- poses, having a large amount of land with a warm productive soil, the inter- vales along the Missisquoi river being especially productive. The soil is various, containing in different places clay, loam, muck and some sand and gravel. More attention is given to stock raising and dairying, than to grain raising. The timber is principally hemlock, spruce, beech, birch, bass- wood, ash and maple, from the latter of which a large amount of sugar is usually made. The hill-sides, from their numerous springs, give rise to several streams, affording a number of excellent mill-sites. The Missisquoi river, which flows across the northern part of the town from east to west, forms the principal water-course, and into it flow most of the smaller streams of the territory, none of which, however, are of large size. The South Eastern Township's railway passes through the northern part of the town, with stations at Richford village and East Richford, and at the former village is joined by the Missisquoi railroad, from St. Albans. The rocks of the town are princi- pally of the talcose schist formation, though there are some small beds of limestone, and in the southern part some minor deposits of gneiss and clay slates. No minerals of any value, except copper, have been discovered.
In 1880, Richford had a population of 1,818, was divided into nine school districts, and contained twelve common schools, employing three male and twelve female teachers, to whom was paid an aggregate salary of $1,687.17. There were 424 pupils attending common schools, while the entire cost of the schools for the year ending October 31st, was $2,053.00, with J. H. Hamil- ton, superintendent.
RICHFORD, a post village and station on the South Eastern Townships rail- way, and the eastern terminus of the Missisquoi railroad, is located in the north- eastern part of the county on the Missisquoi river. The village was incor- porated by an act of the legislature, approved November 21, 1878, and was organized under said act in 1879. It contains four churches, (Methodist, Catholic, Baptist, and Advent,) a bank, four hotels, about twenty stores, a grist-mill, saw-mill, marble shop, two harness shops, three blacksmith shops, a tub factory, planing-mill, and about 750 inhabitants.
...
147
TOWN OF RICHFORD.
EAST RICHFORD (p. o.), a small post village and station on the South East- ern Townships railway, is located in the northeastern part of the town, on the Missisquoi river. During the war of 1812, fifty soldiers were stationed here for a time, to guard the Canadian frontier.
The Richford Savings Bank and Trust Co., located at Richford village, was chartered and commenced operations in February, 1875, with a capital of $50,000.00, E. H. Powell, president, and S. P. Carpenter, treasurer.
The Richford Academy, located at Richford village, has a fine two-story building, with rooms and accommodations for 200 students. The present building was erected in 1871, at a cost of $5,000.00. The school employs four teachers, and has, on an average, about 150 pupils.
Gorham F. Smith's planing-mill, located near the province line, is oper- ated by a seventy-five horse-power engine, and has three planers, two of which are planers and matchers combined, one re-sawing machine, and six saws for slitting, etc. It employs nineteen men and finishes 250,000 feet of lumber per week.
I .. Baker & Co.'s steam grist and planing-mill, located at the village, handles about 6,000,000 feet of lumber per annum, and grinds 35,000 bushels of grain. They have one planing and matching machine, through which 15,000 feet of timber is dressed and matched daily, and one planer which planes 35,000 feet during the same time. The firm employs fourteen hands.
White, Clarkson & Co's steam saw-mill, located at East Richford, is oper- ated by a 150 horse power engine, employs eighteen men, and manufactures 2,000,000 feet of lumber per annum, most of which is spruce and hemlock. The firm has also a timber yard located near the Province line, where about · twenty men are employed in the shipment of lumber, 8,000,000 to 10,000,000 feet of which is handled annually.
C. W. Smith's tannery, located at the village, was built by O. J. Smith in 1859, and operated by him until 1878, when it came into the present owner's possession.
C. P. Stevens & Co.'s mill, located on road 16, is operated by water- power, has one large lumber saw, one planer, one matcher, one clapboard ma- chine, and a complete set of box machinery. It employs thirty men and manufactures 4,000,000 feet of lumber annually.
William B. Willard & Son's steam saw-mill, located on road 23, corner road 22, is operated by a twenty-five horse-power engine, employs four men, and cuts 200,000 feet of lumber per year.
Norman Mc Carthy's saw-mill, located on road 30, is operated by water- power and cuts 200,000 feet of lumber annually.
Lewis & Colcord's steam saw-mill, located on road 25, is operated by a forty horse-power engine, employs twenty men and manufactures 2,000,000 feet of lumber per annum. They have also machinery for preparing the lum- ber for market, and also manufacture staves and shingles.
The first permanent settlers in Richford were Hugh Miller, who came here
148
TOWN OF RICHFORD.
in 1795, and located upon the farm now owned by Cassius Miller, Capt. Bar- nett upon the farm now the property of S. P. Carpenter, and Joseph Stan- hope upon the farm now owned by H. S. Stanhope. Hugh Miller came on, from Bradford, Vt., in March, 1795, with his wife, eight children, and three sons-in-law. Here, upon the farm mentioned, they camped, and soon after erected log cabins and began in earnest the life of pioneers. The sons-in-law were Robert Kennedy; Theophilus Hastings, and Benjamin Barnet, who mar- ried the three oldest girls, Hannah, Catharine, and Amy. The other children were three young men, James, Jacob, and Daniel, and two younger girls, Mary Ann, and Ruth. James Miller, sometime later, settled in Canada, about three miles up the river. Jacob married Saloma Nutting, daughter of Capt. Nutting, of Berkshire, and lived and died in this town. Daniel married Anna, daughter of Rowland Powell. He became a Custom House officer, and died from the effects of an affray in Hyde Park, in 1810, leaving a widow and five small children,-Patty, Anna, Fanny, Madison, and Marvin. Capt. Barnet and Robert Kennedy moved to Canada about the year 1812. Hugh Miller, on hearing of the death of Daniel, had a shock of paralysis and lived but twenty days. He was buried on the hill near which he lived and died. Theophilus Hastings, a strong and useful man, died of nose-bleed, leaving his widow with several small children. Mrs. Hugh Miller, a christian woman, possessed of great energy and endurance, had considerable skill as a doctress. She survived her husband ten years, living with her son Jacob, and died in 1820.
The first settlers in the southern part of the town were Asa Morris, Edward Morris, Rosel Allen, Nathan Allen, Ira Allen, Levi Allen, James Dwyer, and Hezekiah Dwyer. Among the early settlers in other parts of the town were the following: Jonathan Carpenter, Sr., Jonathan Carpenter, Jr., Stephen Carpenter, and Phineas and Roger Wright upon the farm now owned by Har- low Sears ; Cyrus Davis, upon the farm now owned by Byron Davis; Ephraim Corliss, upon the farm now owned by William Puffer ; William Gross, upon the farm occupied by Jason Gross; Jonathan Fletcher, from Troy, Vt., who settled upon the William Gross farm; Livi Gross, upon the present Gilbert R. Gross farm ; Levi Webster, upon the farm now owned by the heirs of Levi Webster. In 1800, when the first census of the town was taken, it had a population of thirteen, and ten years later, at the taking of the next census its population had increased 440.
The proprietors met from time to time, and transacted the usual business of such bodies ; but much trouble having arisen between them and the actual settlers, a final meeting was held at the house of Joseph Blaisdell, in 1822, the town having just received a re-survey by Joseph Beeman, of Fairfax, when matters were so arranged as to give good titles and quiet the setters in pos- session of their lands. The town was organized and the first town meeting held, agreeable to a warning issued by Stephen Royce, of Berkshire, at the house of Jonathan Janes, March 30, 1799, when Stephen Royce was chosen
1
149
TOWN OF RICHFORD.
moderator ; Charles Wells, town clerk ; Jonathan Janes, Daniel Janes, and Robert Kennedy, selectmen .; Stephen.Carpenter, Jared Farnham, and Brad- ford Powell, listers; and Theopilus Hastings, collector and constable. The Erst freemen's meeting was held on the first Tuesday in September, 1799, when the whole number of votes cast were eleven,-unanimous for Isaac Tichenor for governor, and for Paul Brigham, lieut .- governor. Jonathan Janes was also elected the first representative of the town at this meeting. Dr. John Huse was elected town clerk in 1830, which office he held until 1846, when his son-in-law, Silas P. Carpenter, was elected to the position, holding the office until 1879, when his son, J. H. Carpenter, the present incumbent, succeeded him, thus making fifty-two consecutive years that the office has been retained in the family. The first birth was that of Seymour, sor of Theophilus Hastings. The first sermon preached in the town was delivered by Bishop Hedding, in 1802, at the residence of Mrs. Hugh Miller. The land upon which the old village cemetery is situated was given to the town by Stephen Blaisdell, and Hezekiah Goff, Jr., was the first person buried therein. The first framed barn was built by Joseph Stanhope, upon the farm now owned by H. S. Stanhope. The first store was kept by a Mr. Foote. The first settled minister was William Rogers, a Baptist clergyman, who drew the ministerial lot consisting of 350 acres, 250 of which he gave to the town towards supporting the common schools. The first saw-mill and grist-mill were built by Hezekiah Goff, on the stream just below the present McCarthy saw-mill.
Joseph Stanhope, from Guilford, Conn., came to this town in 1796, with his family, which consisted of a wife and six children, and made the first settlement on the farm now owned by H. S. Stanhope. The nearest mill was then at Fairfield, a distance of thirty miles, Joseph was a blacksmith, and a short time after his settlement he built a frame house in which he kept the first hotel in the town. On the inside of the cover of an old account book is the following verse written by him :-
" Joseph Stanhope is my name, And English is my nation ; Sudbury is my native place, And Christ is my salvation."
Mrs. Stanhope died in 1829, and was buried on the old homestead, where, after a few years, her husband was laid beside her.
Joseph Parker, from Vergennes, is said to have driven the first yoke of oxen into the town, and located upon the farm now owned by A. M. Noyes. The only representative of the family now living here is a grandson, L. R. Parker. Sterling Parker, son of Joseph, kept a store a long time nearly opposite the site now occupied by J. S. Daley's store.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.