USA > Vermont > Franklin County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 18
USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 18
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James Flint, of Canaan, N. H., settled just across the line in Canada, in 1800, where he died in 1811. In 1822, the family moved into Richford, where they have since resided. Freeman, son of James, resides on road 19.
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TOWN OF RICHFORD.
Hezekiah Goff was a soldier during the Revolution, and after the war returned to Massachusetts, where he remained until 1803, then immigrated to this town and located upon the farm now owned by David Marcy. William Goff, son of Hezekiah, was born in Sunderland, Mass., September 15, 1783, married Abigail Blaisdell, of Richford, August 11, 1811, and located in Shel- don, remained there about thirteen years, then returned to Richford. Here he carried on a starch factory, grist and saw-mill, and carding and cloth dress- ing works. He was a man noted for his generosity and philanthropy. Jona- than and Seth, brothers of William, were soldiers in the war of 1812.
John Combs, from New Hampshire, came to this town in 1805, and located upon the farm now owned by the heirs of W. Y. Wightman. Of his seven sons, Lewis and Jonathan only attained the age of manhood. Lewis now resides in Ogdensburg, N. Y., and Jonathan still resides on road 3 1.
Caleb Royce, from Tinmouth, Vt., settled upon the farm now owned by Jesse Woodruff, in Berkshire, remained there about five years, then removed to this town, in 1812, and located upon the farm at present owned by Lewis Wright.
Benjamin Puffer, from Sutton, P. Q., came to this town in 1813, and set- tled upon the farm now owned by Isaac Wheeler.
Harvey D. Farrar was born at Enosburgh, Vt., August 19, 1814, and re- moved to South Richford with his father when three years old. He married Charlotte Allen, March 18, 1837, and purchased a farm upon which he lived until 1857, when he sold out and removed to Richford village, where he en- gaged in the produce business. He represented the town in 1861-'62, was elected State senator in 1867, and died September 25, 1877.
William Bliss came to this town from Hartland, Vt., in 1818, and purchased the farm now owned by his son, William G.
Caleb Willard, born at Hartland, Vt., February 29, 1796, enlisted in the war of 1812, at Tunbridge, Vt., when eighteen years of age, was at the battle Plattsburgh, and after the close of the war returned to Tunbridge, whence, in 1818, he came to this town and made the first settlement upon the farm now owned by his son, William B., with whom he now makes his home, being the only pensioner of 1812 living in the town.
Ebenezer Dunham was born at Plymouth, Mass. His parents both died when he was but four years old, and at the age of fourteen he entered the Continental army in the war of the Revolution, served eight years, and then settled in Royalton, Vt., where he remained until 1811, then removed to Enosburgh and remained until his death. His son, Ira, came to this town in 1829, and located upon the farm now owned by Sylvanus Dunham.
Joseph M. Smith was born at Broome, Can., and came to Richford in 1843, where he followed his occupation of shoemaking until his death, in No- vember, 1881.
Dr. Benjamin B. Searles, a descendant of John Searles, one of the pril- grims of the " Mayflower,"' was a soldier in the war of 1776, and participated
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TOWN OF RICHFORD.
Itr the battle of Bennington. After the war closed he married a Miss Eunice Scott and settled in the town of Sheldon, where he kept a tavern, upon the site of the present Methodist church at East Sheldon, and practiced medicine at the same time, until 1800, when he located in Berkshire, the first settler on the farm now owned by Hanson Yaw. He had a family of five children, of whom Benjamin, of this town, and Mrs. Fanny McCarty, of Berkshire, are the only ones living in the county.
The following is the roll of Capt. Follett's company, of Richford, on duty upon the Canadian frontier in 1813 : Martin D. Follett, captain ; Benjamin Follett, lieutenant ; John Lewis, ensign; Andrew Farnsworth, sergeant ; and Josiah W. Potter, Thomas Hill, Nelson Brown, A. Fassett, John Stone, Ben- jamin Austin, A. F. Stone, B. Shaw, Josiah Randall, Anson Sherwood, Ray- mond Austin, William Colton, Anthony Bessey, James Brown, Salmon Dodge, Henry Follett, John Flint, Page Gould, Samuel Hall, Caleb Hill, Horace Gates, Barnabas Hedge, Nathan Hedge, Samuel Hedge, Talman Hendrick, John Lewis, J. Taylor, R. Essex, Aaron Martin, Chauncey Brown, Harris Streeter, John Miller, James Miller, Talman Miller, John Martin, William Martin, William Osborn, H. Palmer, Obadiah Sherwood, Luther Taylor, Job Thompson, Moses Wallace, Lyman West, John Wright, Martin D. Follett, Jr., Samuel Cooper, Robert Watson, Anson Curtis, Elijah Cooper, John Thompson, Sandford Fay, Aaron Jackson, and George Town, privates.
For the late war of 1861, the town furnished two commissioned officers and 129 enlisted men, twenty of whom were killed, or died from disease or wounds, before their terms of service expired.
Among those who were wounded during the Shenandoah Valley campaign, was Henry E. Bedell, who went out as second lieutenant of Co. D., 11th Regt. Mr. Bedell was then twenty-eight years of age, a man of splendid physique. He sustained the loss of a limb, from an unexploded shell crash- ing through it at the knee, necessitating amputation of the mangled member at the upper third. The army was obliged to advance, but the wounded offi- . cer was in too critical a condition to be moved, and consequently was obliged to remain, left to the tender mercies of the rebel population. When just upon the point of death, having been left in a garret upon a pile of straw for nearly a week, with no food or water, a rebel officer's wife learned of his pitiable condition, and with the noble-heartedness of her sex, resolved to do what she could to ameliorate his sufferings. She had him removed to her own house, gradually nursed him back to life, and, though struggling with poverty herself, managed, with the utmost heroism, to care for him until he was able to escape through the lines and start for his Vermont home. In the meantime, Bedell had promised to do his utmost to obtain the release of her husband, who was retained as a prisoner by the Union army at Johnson's Island. In company with the noble woman he sought and obtained an order for the release of the rebel officer. After much trouble and anxiety the husband was restored to the heroine and the whole party were soon resting in the dwelling of Bedell
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among the hills of Richford. The families, as may be believed, have since been the closest friends, and each year Mr. and Mrs. Van Metre leave their Southern home and spend a few weeks with Mr. Bedell, when the "veterans of the blue and the gray " live over again their mutual sufferings, trials, and escapes.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Richford .- The First Methodist sermon preached in Richford was delivered by Elijah Hedding, afterwards Bishop Hedding. Twenty-three years later, in 1825, the Bishop held a series of re- vival meetings here and formed a class. This was connected with the Sheldon circuit for a time, and subsequently with the Franklin, Berkshire, and Mont- gomery circuits ; but finally, in 1861, it was united with the East Berkshire circuit, and Rev. B. F. Livingston appointed pastor, with his home at Rich- ford, and here a good parsonage was completed for him the following year. Up to this time the society had worshipped in the Union building. The present edifice, a neat structure capable of seating 350 persons, was com- menced in 1871, and completed the following year, costing $8, 144.53. The society now has a membership of 180, with Rev. Frank H. Roberts, pastor ..
The Second Advent Millennial Association, or Advent Church, located at Richford village, was organized by Dea. Russell Smith and others, to the number of about sixty, in 1858, with Rev. S. S. Garvin as their first pastor. The church building, erected in 1871, will seat 400 persons, and cost $9,300.00. The society now numbers fifty members, with Rev. F. H. Pea- body, pastor.
The Richford Village Baptist Church was organized by its first pastor, Rev. M. G. Smith, March 26, 1872, with twenty-three members. The church building, erected in 1871, is a wood structure, owned and used alter- nately by this church and the Advents. The society now has eighty-one members, with Rev. J. T. Buzzell, pastor.
All Saints Roman Catholic Church, located at Richford village, was or- ganized in 1874, by the Rt. Rev. L. De Goesbriand, with 100 members, and Rev. J. Brelivet, the present incumbent, appointed pastor. The church building, which will seat 250 persons, and cost $1,264.00, was erected during the same year. The society now numbers about 300 members.
HELDON is a pentagonal shaped town located in the central part of the county, in lat. 44° 54', and long. 4º 5', bounded north by Franklin and Highgate, east by Enosburgh, and south and west by Fairfield and Swanton. It contains an area of 23,040 acres, originally granted to Samuel Hungerford and sixty-four associates, under the name of Hungerford, by Benning Wentworth, the colonial governor of New Hampshire, Auguat 18, 1763. Samuel Hungerford was a native of Connecticut, as was most of the other grantees, among whom was a Quaker family by the name of Field. In the course of time this family bought not only Hungerford's share, but the
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TOWN OF SHELDON.
nights of most of the others, so that nearly the whole town belonged to " Daddy " Field, as the patriarch was called, and to Timothy Rogers, of Fer- miburgh, who was one of the town's first surveyors. From them it was pur- chased by Samuel, George, and Elisha Sheldon, and the name changed to the one it now bears, November 8, 1792.
The surface of the township is pleasantly diversified by broad valleys and gentle rolling uplands, while the scenery, both in and around it, is charming. The surrounding mountain view is varied and beautiful from all parts of the town. About fifteen miles distant to the northeast, in Canada, is the Pin- nacle, a single bold spur of the Green Mountains, which is much visited, while Dunton's Hill, only two miles north of the springs, gives a view which for extent and interest is hardly surpassed. Montreal and the mountains beyond may be seen distinctly on a clear day, seventy to eighty church steeples counted, and the whole country from the Adirondacks round to the eastern range of the Green Mountains, with all of its variety of beautiful scenery, is spread out like a picture before the observer. The soil, too, of Sheldon, is unsurpassed. Along the streams and in the valleys are broad alluvial meadows, while the uplands have a fine soft loam, all capable of yielding drops of rare excellence. The higher lands are timbered with ash, beech, birch, maple, oak, etc. In the valleys and bordering upon the streams, where they remain uncleared, are tracts of valuable pine and hemlock, with a mix- ture of butternut, elm and other soft woods. The pine tract predominates in the western part of the town, where the soil is lighter and less productive. The principal streams of the town are Missisquoi River, Black creek, and Tyler's branch. The Missisquoi flows across the whole length of the town, from east to west. Black creek joins it from the south, near the central part of the town, and Tyler's branch unites with it in the eastern part of the town. There are other streams throughout the township, but of minor importance. Many excellent mill-sites are afforded, some of which have been improved.
Geologically, there are four distinct general formations of rock crossing . the town from north to south, with strikes almost parallel. The most west- ern of these is a range of Georgia slates, next to which is a bed of quartz rock, then a ledge of talcose conglomerate, while the rest of the town overlies an immense bed of talcose schist. In the western part marble formations exist, containing some quarries that bid fair to develop into considerable value. On the farm of S. S. F. Carlisle, on road 18, there is a quarry of beautiful pink and white marble, which is said to be equal to any found in Italy. In different parts of the town, mineral springs have been discovered, whose waters are said to be excellent for all cutaneous difficulties, and to be espe- cially beneficial to those afflicted with cancer. The first of these was dis- covered by Moses Kimball and Eleazer Draper, about sixty years ago, and for many years was known as Kimball spring, but which is now known as Sheldon spring, and about which quite a village has grown up. In 1868, S. S. F. Carlisle and Dr. S. S. Fitch erected a fine hotel here, the Congress Hall,
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TOWN OF SHELDON.
which was opened in 1869. The building is four stories in height, 123x96 feet, and furnished throughout in excellent style. The hotel is now under the management of Mr. A. E. McLean, a gentleman of large experience in this line of business. The house is a very popular resort. Iron ore in con- siderable quantities also exists in the town. As early as 1798, a furnace for smelting the ore was built here, by Israel and Alfred Keith, who came here for that purpose from Pittsford, Vt. It was located on the east side of Black creek, where it was operated until 1822 or '23, and then rebuilt on the oppo- site side of the stream. Here it was kept in operation for a number of years, but finally abandoned. The principal article manufactured here from the iron was potash kettles. And as this was one of the first furnaces enacted in the State, the demand for this ware became quite active, as at that time one chief industry throughout the country was the manufacture of potash. Men came to Sheldon, sometimes, from a distance of two hundren miles, for these kettles.
The Missisquoi railroad crosses the town from east to west, with stations at Sheldon Springs, Sheldon, Sheldon Junction, North Sheldon, and South Franklin. At Sheldon Junction the road is intersected by the S. J. & L. C. railway, with a station at the Junction and at Sheldon village. The Canada Junction road, now in process of construction, enters the town from Franklin and has its southern terminus at Sheldon Junction.
In 1880, Sheldon had a population of 1,529, was divided into thirteen school districts and contained thirteen common schools, employing four male and seventeen female teachers, to whom was paid an aggregate salary of $1,827.40. There were 385 pupils attending common school, while the entire cost of the schools for the year, ending October 31st, was $2,512.86. S. W. Langdon was superintendent.
SHELDON, a post village and station on the Lamoille railroad, is located in the southern part of the town on Black creek. It contains three churches, (Methodist, Episcopal and Congregational,) three stores, two hotels, two carriage shops, two blacksmith-shops, a grist and saw-mill, etc. It is very beautifully situated and was once a summer resort of considerable note, though it is not now as popular.
NORTH SHELDON, a post village and station on the Missisquoi railroad, is located north of the central part of the town, on the Missisquoi river.
EAST SHELDON (p. o.), is a hamlet located in the eastern part of the town.
SHELDON SPRINGS (Olmsted Falls p. o.), a station on the Missisquoi rail- road, is located in the western part of the town on the river. It received its name from the noted springs found here, and contains a large hotel, -the Congress Hall,-one store, and a grist and saw-mill.
SOUTH FRANKLIN (p. o.), located in the northeastern part of the town, is a station on the Missisquoi railroad.
Samuel T. Bancroft's Carriage Factory, located at Sheldon village, was established by him in 1851. He manufactures all kinds of wagons, carriages and sleighs.
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TOWN OF SHELDON.
E. T. Holmes's carriage-shop, located at Sheldon village, has been operated by him since 1869. The shop is furnished with water-power and employs three men.
C. R. Keith's " Wildwood" gardens and nursery, located on road 38, were established by the present owner in 1860. They comprise an area of three acres, upon which Mr. Keith grows a great variety of ornamental and fruit urces.
Bush & Draper's saw-mill, located at Sheldon village, cuts annually about 500,000 feet of lumber.
J. S. & F. E. Dodge's grist and saw-mill, located at Sheldon Springs, were formerly known as the Olmsted mills, and were purchased by the present pro- prietors in November, 1881. The saw-mill has the capacity for cutting 15,000 feet of lumber per day, and also manufacturing 500,000 shingles per annum. The grist-mill has three runs of stones and does mostly custom work.
Sheldon grist-mill, operated by A. S. Olmsted, located at Sheldon village, has three runs of stones and does custom work.
The first account we have of any white man's visit to Sheldon, is that of Samuel Sheldon, in 1789. He ascended the Lamoille river to Cambridge, passed through Bakersfield, striking one of the tributaries of Tyler's branch, which he descended until he reached the point where the latter joins the Missisquoi, where, it being nightfall, he stopped until morning. A large elm log was long pointed out as the one beneath which he slept. In the spring of 179c, George, the youngest son of Col. Elisha Sheldon, in company with a Scotchman named McNamara and his wife, together with several negro ser- vants, came to the town as the first settlers. Upon the north side of the river, opposite the mouth of Tyler's branch, and near the old elm beneath which Samuel had passed his first night in the town the year previous, they erected a log house, the first built in the town. After their small crop was harvested that fall, the negroes returned to Burlington to pass the winter, and George returned to his home in Connecticut, leaving the house and small clearing in charge of McNamara and his wife. Here they passed a lonely, and to the Scotchman an extremely sad winter. When George returned in spring, he found that Mrs. McNamara had died, and her husband had been obliged to bury her remains in a snow-bank. Thus occurred the first death in the town. Her body was afterwards buried upon a hemlock ridge, on the south side of the river, about a quarter of a mile distant from the mouth of the Branch.
Later in the spring, Col. Sheldon and his sons, Elisha, Jr., Samuel B., and son-in-law, Elnathan Keyes, together with their families and that of George Sheldon, with the negro servants, and James Herrick and James Hawley, arrived in town. While on their way thither, at the house of Daniel Stannard, in Georgia, the first town meeting was held, and Samuel B. Sheldon appoint- ed town clerk ; James Herrick, constable; and Col. Elisha Sheldon, James Hawley, and Elisha Sheldon, Jr., selectmen. Settling at different points, all parties began in earnest to clear the lands. Meanwhile other settlers were
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TOWN OF SHELDON.
coming in, so that the settlement rapidly advanced, and, in 1800, the town had a population of 408.
The first representative and first justice of the peace was Samuel B. Shel- don, elected in 1791. The first freemen's meeting was held in 1793, when the whole number of votes cast was forty-five, as follows: For governor, Isaac Tichenor, forty-five; for lieutenant-governor, Jonathan Hunt, forty- one, and Peter Shott, four; for treasurer, Samuel Mattocks, forty-five. The first saw-mill was built by Samuel Sheldon, in 1792, at the lower falls, about two miles from the present Sheldon village. In 1797, he built a grist-mill on the west side of the creek. In 1799, Israel Keith built the furnace and forge, which for a long time employed one hundred men. In 1803, a carding-mill was built, and on the 15th of January, of the same year, a postoffice was established, and Dr. Hildreth appointed postmaster. Dr. Hildreth was also the first physician and first tavern-keeper. The first store was kept by Ben- jamin Clark, who afterwards sold out to Sheldon, Keith & Fitch. The first birth was that of a colored girl ; her mother, " Old Mary," was a servant of Col. Sheldon, who bought her in Connecticut. The second child born was Harvey Deming, son of Frederick Deming. The third child born was Louisa Sheldon, daughter of George Sheldon. The first school-house was built by Samuel Sheldon, on the west side of Black creek, and the first school teacher was Miss Betsey Jennison, of Swanton. The first framed house was also built by Samuel Sheldon.
Samuel B. Herrick, son of James Herrick one of the first settlers of the town, was born here in 1808. He married Alma Hull, had a family of four children, and died December 10, 1874. One of his sons, Fay H., born in 1840, married Mary Duclos, and has two children, Earnest D., and Alma L. Samuel's other son, A. H., born here in 1837, died August 22, 1871.
Ceylon Deming, from Connecticut, was one of the early settlers of the town. He located near East Sheldon, upon the farm now owned by his grandson, William. Mr. Deming was three times married and had a family of four children, none ot whom are now living.
J. C. Kittell came to Sheldon at an early date, and located upon the farm now owned by his son, Albert, on road 41. He became a large land-owner, and kept a hotel at Sheldon village for many years. He married Elizabeth Hawley, and had a family of twelve children, four of whom are now living.
John and Alanson Webster, brothers, came to this town at an early date, and located in the northwestern part upon the farm now owned by Truman Webster, a grandson of John. Levi, son of John, was born on this farm in 1802, and died here in 1851. He married Esther Birchard, who now resides here at the age of seventy-eight years, and had three sons, of whom Truman s the only one now living in the town.
Jonathan Rice, an early settler, came here from Danby, Conn., and located on road 5, upon the farm now owned by his daughter, Mrs. Eunice Leader, where he became a heavy land owner, and extensively engaged in the lumber
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TOWN OF SHELDON.
business. He died here in 1863, aged eighty-three years. Jesse Rice, son « Jonathan, is one of the oldest inhabitants of the town, having been born bere in 1812.
Amos Chadwick, an early settler from Warren, Mass., located in the north- eastern part of the town on road 9. He married Lucy Richmond, reared a family of twelve children, and died August 24, 1854, aged eighty four years. His wife died in 1852, aged seventy-eight years. J. W. Chadwick, son of Amos, born here in 1809, died April 23, 1882.
Thomas Marsh, from Rockingham, Vt., came to Sheldon in 1795, and located in the northeastern part of the town, upon the farm now owned by James Beatty, Jr. He was twice married, reared a family of eleven children, and died in 1842, aged sixty-six years.
Lemuel Adams was born in Plainfield, New Hampshire, March 10, 1803. Having received a good common school education he engaged in farming occupations, working with his father till the family removed to Highgate, in February, 1823. Here he bought a small farm, and on March 3, 1830, married Miss Sally Smalley, of Fairfax, Vt, who was his faithful helper and constant companion for upwards of fifty-one years, and who still survives him. Four sons were born to them, all now living. The eldest is a wealthy physician, Dr. John S. Adams, in Oak- land, California; the second is in the same profession, Dr. Henry T., in Salem, Oregon ; the third, Frank J., is super- (LEMUEL ADAMS ) intendent of the Illinois State Temperance Union, in Springfield, Illinois ; and the youngest, Deacon Edward Payson Adams, resides on the home farm, on road 16. In 1834, Mr. Adams removed to Sheldon, having purchased the well known "river farm," on which is situated the renowned Missisquoi Mineral Spring, and was ultimately successful in accumulating considerable wealth. Be- ing a man of more than ordinary force of character, large intelligence and sound judgment, as well as integrity in all his business transactions, he was well qualified to discharge both faithfully and honorably various offices of trust in the community, especially as commissioner in the settlement of estates, having been frequently associated with Deacon Harmon Northrop, of Fair- field, in such important matters. About seven years ago he fell from a load of hay, and his health becoming impaired he retired from active labors and went to visit his son, in California, where he spent two years and a half, which he greatly enjoyed. After his return he resided with his youngest son, on the old homestead. On Monday, October 31st, 1881, he seemed to be feeling as well as usual, enjoyed his breakfast, and showed
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TOWN OF SHELDON.
an interest in family worship. Soon after, while walking across the room, he was seen to stop, and partly turn around. When spoken to he made no reply, but immediately fell prostrate on the floor, and when his wife rushed to him it was found that the last step of his earthly pilgrimage had been taken. Life had fled. On Wednesday, November 2d, his funeral services were held in the Congregational church, at Sheldon village. Shel- don is to-day all the richer, not only in material, but in moral worth, for the life and example of Lemuel Adams.
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