USA > Vermont > Franklin County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 24
USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > Gazetteer and business directory of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vt., for 1882-83 > Part 24
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The Champlain Marble Lime Company, located at Swanton village, have a side track running from their works to the St. J. & 1 .. C. R. R., -which are arranged with every convenience for prosecuting the business. The business is managed by E. W. Jewett, and operates four kilns, with a capacity of 200 casks of lime per day, made from dove-colored marble. The firm is at pres- ent doing a business of about 30,000 casks per annum.
William O. Smith's sash, blind and door manufactory, located at Swanton village, was established in 1873. Mr. Smith employs six men, and does a business of from $10,000.00 to $12,000.00 per annum.
Clark H. Butterfield's sash, door and blind manufactory, located at Swanton village, is one of the oldest established manufactories in Swanton. Mr. Clark employs four men, and does a business of about $10,000.00 per year.
The Blake Block, an ornament to the town, was built by William H. Blake, in 1877, replacing an old wooden structure then destroyed by fire.
KKE BLOC
S.S.MUR
(BLAKE BLOCK.)
The block is a handsome, durable structure, divided on the ground floor into three commodious stores. Mr. Blake, the builder of the block, occupies the south store with a full line of heavy and shelf hardware, stoves, etc. He has in his trade the advantage gained from years of experience. Mr. B. B. Blake has the center store filled with dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, etc. Mr. S. S. Morey occupies the north store with a full line of ladies' furnishing goods. He has been engaged in business at Swanton for a period of twenty-five years, and since 1877, in the store he now occupies.
Asahel A. Brooks commenced the manufacture of rubber-bucket chain pumps, at Swanton village, in 1875, using the Cooper bucket, with side leak, of which Mr. Brooks owns the patent for eight counties in the State.
Charles W. Rich's lime manufactory, located at Swanton Junction, em- ploys twenty-five men and manufactures 30,000 barrels of lime per year.
The National Union Bank was chartered, as the Union Bank, in 1850, with a capital of $75,000.00, and went into operation in 1851. The first
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TOWN OF SWANTON.
president was George W. Green, who soon after resigned. Joseph Blake succeeded him, and continued to hold the office until February 15, 1866, at which time the name of the bank was changed to the one it now bears. Upon the resignation of Mr. Blake, Hon. William L. Sowles was chosen president, and Albert Sowles, of St. Albans, now fills the office. The cashiers have been, E. A. Kendrick, from 1851 to '53; V. P. Noyes, '53 to '54 ; Thomas M. Benton, '54 to '55; N. A. Lasell, from July 29, '55, to January 12, 1869, when E. M. Sowles was appointed and held the office until January, 1872, after which G. W. Beebe was chosen, and continues to hold the office at the present time.
That the banks of the Missisquoi were settled upon by Jesuit missionaries at a very early date, not far from 1730, is proven by facts indubitable, and there is evidence to show that the region was visited by the Anglo-Saxon away back among the centuries to the year 1564. In December, 1853, while Mr. Orlando Green was engaged in excavating sand from the left bank of the Missisquoi, about half a mile south of the village, he discovered a piece of lead tube about five inches in length imbedded in the earth, which, upon in- vestigation, proved to contain a very interesting document. It was a record written upon paper such as was used for commercial purpose in the sixteenth century, and of which the following is an exact copy :-
" Nov. 29 A D 1564 "This is the solme day I must now die this is the goth day since we lef the Ship all have Parished and on the Banks of this River I die to farewelle may future Posteritye know our end JOHNE GRAYE."
Many doubted the authenticity of the document, but Rev. J. B. Perry, the thorough scholar who assisted in writing the history of Swanton for Miss Hemenway's work, investigated the matter thoroughly, and pronounced it no hoax. A very interesting article on the subject, written by Mr. Perry, may be found in the above mentioned work. If the record was really written by Johne Graye then, so many years ago, it establishes at once, not only who the discoverer of Swanton was, but that Samuel De Champlain was not the first to discover the territory of Vermont, as the death of this unfortunate English sailor antedates Champlain's voyage up the lake by nearly half a century. A certainty of the authenticity of this ancient document, however, will probably never be arrived at.
The aboriginal occupants of Swanton were the St. Francis tribe of Indians. It is known that they existed in considerable numbers and had at one time quite a thriving settlement on the banks of the Missisquoi. Their occupation of the territory, however, dates only, as far as can be ascertained, from 1650. During most of the preceding hundred years, or from the supposed visit of Johne Graye, in 1564, down to about the middle of the seventeenth century, it is presumed that the lands in this vicinity were unoccupied ; but from that time until the middle of the eighteenth century, the St. Francis Indians occupied the land, and took an active part in many of the incursions against the whites.
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TOWN OF SWANTON.
When the French mission was established here is not known exactly, but it was several, and perhaps many, years subsequent to 1730. A French set- tlement then gathered about the mission, a fact to which Indian tradition bears ample testimony. It is also confirmed by the accounts of the early settlers, who received their information from those who were well acquainted with the efforts of the French in this vicinity, and by the reports of soldiers who passed through here during the old French and Indian war. About the year 1730, a plague broke out among the people, and both the Indians and the French left the territory for Canada. Not long subsequent to 1741, the Indians returned to the territory, and with them a few of the French. Two settlements seem to have been commenced here, one at the falls, and one some two miles down the river, on the east bank, and probably not far from the old Indian Castle. The French, however, for the most part, if not entirely, took their departure from the locatity shortly after 1760, though their improvements were not all removed, and many of the Indians remained behind. The church, which had been erected long before, was still standing, and undoubtedly some of the cabins put up by the French inhabitants remained.
In 1765, the St. Francis Indians leased a large tract of land in this vicinity to James Robertson, a wealthy merchant of St. Johns, who soon after came on to the territory in company with Thomas Metcalf, who subsequently acted as his agent. Metcalf erected a saw-mill at the falls, and a comparatively extensive lumber trade was commenced, while the fur trade was also quite extensively prosecuted. Mr. Rrobertson erected a house, and came with his family to reside at the falls. At one time, previous to the breaking out of hostilities against England, in 1776, there were some fifty lumbermen em- ployed by him, most of whom were of French descent, and probably many of them had their families settled in the neighborhood. The mill erected by Metcalf probably occupied about the same site of an old one erected by the French, which was destroyed during the French and Indian war. Metcalf's mill was burned soon after the revolution broke out, and with its destruction, if tradition may be trusted, ended the first settlement, under English auspices, on the Missisquoi river.
'The first settler in the town, and probably in the county, after the begin- ning of the revolution, was John Hilliker, a native of White Plains, N. Y., who came here about the year 1779, and continued to reside here until his death, leaving behind him a posterity, a portion of which may still be found in the neighborhood. For several years after he located here, no additional families came on, and for a long time the only tenement between his home and Burlington was at Colchester Point.
The war of the Revolution at length drew to a close, and with the abate- ment of the troubles to early settlers attending it, pioneers soon began to look with favorable glances upon the territory of Swanton. Most of the land of the township had become the property of Ira Allen, that insatiate
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TOWN OF SWANTON.
real estate manipulator. In 1786, he employed Thomas Butterfield as his agent, to come to the town and make an effort towards the improvement of the mill-power at the falls. During the latter part of that year or early part of the next, Butterfield brought his family to the town. This was no easy task at that day, there being no roads. He performed the journey on foot, while his wife rode on horseback, with their earthly possessions lashed to the saddle, or otherwise fastened to the horse. Not far from this time Jonathan Butterfield, brother to Thomas, made his way through the woods and settled at the falls. In 1787, William Coit surveyed the town, employed by Ira Allen. From this time forward the settlement rapidly increased.
According to Mr. Barney, in his town history, settlers began to locate and make claims for themselves at four or five different points in Swanton, previous to 1790. The first was along the river, in the neighborhood of the old Indian settlement ; the second in West Swanton, known as Hog Island ; the third at the falls ; and the fourth near the geographical center of the town, on the direct road from the falls to St. Albans. He also says these early settlers were composed of two classes of persons, differing somewhat in race, manners, and customs, and whose antecedents had been very unlike. The most of those in the west part of the town were of Dutch descent, and it has been said, and probably with more or less truth, that the most of them had, during our Revolutionary war, been loyal to the British, and at its close found their location somewhat uncomfortable, and they therefore left with the view of making their future home in the King's dominions, and that nearly all of that class who settled in this town and Highgate, supposed they had gotten north of latitude 45°; but on finding their mistake · concluded to remain where they were, inasmuch as they found themselves, not badly treated. Those who settled about the falls and easterly therefrom were mostly of the Yankee type, firm believers in popular government and democratic in their political views.
In the beginning of the year 1790, the subject of the organization of the town was much agitated, it being deemed desirable and important on many accounts. To effect this result, the following warning was issued, which may be found recorded in the first volume and first page of the town records :-
" Whereas, Application has been made to me by a number of the in- habitants of the Township of Swanton to warn a Town Meeting ; These are, therefore, to warn those of said town who have a right by law to vote in Town Meeting to meet at the dwelling-house of Jonathan Butterfield, in said Swanton, on the 23d of inst. March, at 10 o'clock in the morning, then and there first to choose a moderator to govern said meeting ; secondly, to choose a town clerk and all other officers necessary for the ensuing year as the law directs.
" Dated at Georgia, this fifth day of March, A. D., 1790. " DANIEL STANNARD,
Justice of the Peace."
The meeting was held, pursuant to the said warning, when Jonathan But- terfield was chosen moderator; Thomas Butterfield, town clerk ; John Asel-
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TOWN OF SWANTON.
tine, constable ; Conrad Aseltine, John Knox, and Jonathan Butterfield, selectmen. The first justice of the peace was Thomas Butterfield, chosen in 1788. The first representative, Daniel Stannard, in 1790. The first grist- mill at the falls was erected by Ira Allen, in 1791. It stood directly below and on the opposite side of the bridge from the present large grist-mill. About the year 1804, or '05, another grist-mill was built, by Isaac Hull, on the west side of the river, a few rods below Ballard's wagon shop. This mill was carried off by a flood, about the year 1813. The first to keep goods for sale at the falls was Alexander Ferguson, who commenced business in the latter part of the year 1800, at his residence, a small framed house near the hollow east of the village. John Brown located as a merchant at East Swanton, in 1800, and Ora Willard, at Swanton Center in 1812. The first house for the accommodation of travelers was kept by Asa Holgate, at the falls, and stood where L. Laselle now resides. It was opened for the reception of guests in 1793. His barn, it is said, stood not far from the center of the present park at the village.
During the war of 1812, Swanton did her full share in sustaining the American cause. The following is a list of volunteers who served in the battle of Platts- burgh : Amasa J. Brown, captain ; Enos E. Brown, L. Barnes, Oliver Potter, Leonard Cummings, Jeremiah Potter, John Denio, Burton Freeman, George W. Foster, and Jules Keep, privates. When the war of the Union came upon us, Swanton was the first of the county to come to the rescue. With a few others of the State this town had kept alive the military spirit of the people of earlier days, and the Rebellion found the "Green Mountain Guards" an in- dependent company, well organized and disciplined for the contest. Two hundred and eighty-seven recruits were sent from the town, thirteen of whom were killed in battle, twenty-eight died of wounds and disease, thirty-four were discharged for wounds, disabilities, etc., six (officers) resigned, fourteen re- enlisted, twenty-eight deserted, eight were not fully accounted for, twenty- two were not accounted for at all, and 131 were mustered out of service.
In memory of the soldiers from Swanton who laid down their lives in this great civil war, the town, in accordance with the decision of a large majority of voters, has erected a beautiful monument, at a cost of $2,000.00. The original appropriation was $1,500.00, and Hon. William H. Blake, one of the selectmen, was authorized to make the purchase. A committee, consisting of Dr. G. M. Hall, Hon. William H. Blake, and C. W. Rich, was appointed by the town to accept and locate the monument, and the site selected was the park at Swanton village. The monument was placed in position during the autumn of 1868. The design is a Grecian figure representing the Goddess of Liberty, the style of the dress being also Grecian. She stands in a contem- plative mood, her countenance representing an expression subdued and sad, yet at the same time one of exultation over the great results of the sacrifice to Liberty. The base upon which the whole rests is a large block of marble taken from the quarries of Messrs. Fisk, of Isle La Motte, and dressed with
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TOWN OF SWANTON.
great care; it is five feet six inches square, and two feet six inches high. Upon this base rests the sub-base, a stone taken from the same quarry and made more ornamental, and upon the sub-base rests the die. The sub-base is four feet six inches square, and eighteen inches high. The die was taken from the Isle La Motte polishing marble quarry, and is highly wrought and elaborately finished; it measures two feet eight inches on either face, and is four feet high. Upon the sides of the die facing the north, south, and east, are sculptured the names of the twenty-nine resident soldiers from Swanton who died in the service of the United States. Their names appear according to rank, also the number of the regiment in which they were serving at the time of their death, whether killed upon the battle-field or died of wounds, or disease in hospital or otherwise, together with the name of the battle-field or hospital, and the date of their death. On the west face of the die is the fol- lowing inscription :-
" ERECTED BY THE TOWN OF SWANTON, IN MEMORY OF HER PATRIOT SOLDIERS WHO FELL IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION."
Upon the die rests the cap, or capital, wrought in Grecian moulding, and is one foot thick, surmounted by the figure. The statue is of pure white marble, from the Rutland quarries, and was sculptured by Daniel J. Perry, a young man of Swanton. The whole height of the monument is twenty feet.
Conrad Aseltine, one of the first settlers west of the falls, came here with his three sons, from Claverack, N. Y., in 1788. He returned the same year, leaving one son behind, and the next year, 1789, moved his family to the town, coming from Whitehall to Maquam bay on the ice, and located on what is now the Barney farm, on the river. He removed the same year to the place now occupiod by Truman E. Mead. He was the father of eight chil- dren, Isaac, John, Henry, Peter, Andrew, Jane (Mrs. Matthew Lampman), Lydia (Mrs. Andrew Decker), and Margaret (Mrs. William Emery). Henry died in December, 1814, aged forty-three years. Henry, Jr., born in this town, followed the occupation of a blacksmith for many years, but about 1860, he engaged in farming, and about ten years ago sold his farm and , retired. He is now seventy-nine years of age. Several other representatives of the family are residents of the town.
Oliver Potter was among the early settlers on the west side of the river at the falls, coming here in 1803. He was born March 7, 1781, and died at Swanton, August 19, 1861. Soon after coming here he bought a saw-mill of Seth Warner, at the west end of the dam, July 26, 1804. He carried on the lumber business, giving to it his personal supervision most of the time until September, 1826, when he sold his mill to Dr. Jonathan Berry, and retired to his farm near Maquam, about three miles southwest of the falls. Late in life, however, he removed to another farm, about a mile west of the falls, now owned by Enos Aseltine. Mr. Potter married Sophia Davis, and had a family of seven children, David, John, Augustus, Miranda, Matilda, Noel and Allen, all of whom are now living.
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TOWN . OF SWANTON.
Capt. James Platt was born at Clarendon, Vt., November 19, 1790. When bat five years of age his father died, after which James went to Nova Scotia to reside, where he was apprenticed to a clothier. He returned to Rutland, and finally came to Swanton, in 1815, purchased a woolen-mill at the village, and commenced the manufacture of woolen cloths, continuing the business until 1848. In 1849, he built the house now occupied by his widow, on Grand Avenue. He died April 20, 1874. His children were Alanson, Louise, Hiram, Daniel, George W., and Hiram, the former of that name having died at the age of three years. The latter Hiram resides at the vil- lage, a dealer in stock and produce, and served the town as representative in 1880. Capt. James also served the town in that capacity two terms, and held other positions of trust.
Samuel Bullard, born in Barre, Mass., November 9, 1776, died at Swanton, August 3, 1825. He came to this town about the year 1800, and first located upon the farm now owned by Harlan P. Bullard, and in 1803, removed to the farm now the property of his grandson, Samuel M. Samuel was one of the old tavern-keepers of Swanton, and also owned and run a canalboat on Lake Champlain. Samuel M., son of Charles, and grandson of Samuel, was born in 1827, in the house he now occupies, which was built in 1819.
Jacob Decker came to Swanton, from Holland, at an early date, where he married Hannah Smith, and resided here until his death, in 1814. His son John, who now resides on road 12, aged seventy-five years, says he can remember when there were but five or six dwellings in the village of Swanton. John has been a great hunter in his day, and is said to have killed the last deer ever shot in the town.
Stephen Robinson, from Ira, Vt., came to this town at an early date in its history. He built the house now occupied by his grandson, Horatio, in 1807, and in which he died, in 1841, aged eighty-one years. Brown Robinson, son of Stephen, was also born in this house. He was a justice of the peace a long time, and died in 1862, aged sixty-three years.
Asa Abell came to Swanton at an early date, and one year later his brother, Jesse, joined him. Jesse subsequently settled about a mile west of the Center, where he remained until his death, aged sixty-seven years. Jesse's son, Orange, died here in April, 1881, aged eighty-five years. William H., son of Orange, now resides on road 22, while another son, Sanford, resides at the village, and Truman resides in Georgia.
John Joyal was one of the early settlers of the town, a revolutionary veter- an, and built the first covered bridge in town, and also erected one of the first stores and marble-mills in Swanton. He drew a pension from the govern- ment from June 12, 1834, until his death, in December, 1848, at the great age of 113 years.
Hugh Donaldson, from Halfmoon, N. Y., came to Swanton in 1800, and settled in the northern part of Hog Island, where he died at the age of forty- two years. His son, William C. D., now resides on road I.
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TOWN OF SWANTON.
James Donaldson came here at an early day and settled on road 2, and died here about thirty years ago, aged eighty years. His son, William R., born in this town, became the owner of about 400 acres of land on road 2, where he died, December 8, 1878, aged seventy years. Three of his sons, Sylvester, Albert M., and Sabinus W., are now living.
William H. Stearns, from Canada, came to Swanton at an early date and located at the village, where he reared a family of eight children, and died in 1875, aged sixty-five years. His son, George B., born in 1852, is still a resident of the town.
Abel Lyon, from Gorham, Mass., came to Swanton about the year 1800, and located upon the farm now owned by Hugh Donaldson. His brother, Luther, came soon after and settled near him, where they both resided until their death. Hiram, son of Abel, now resides on road 15.
Deacon Amos Skeels, a native of Lanesboro, Mass., came to Swanton about the year 1800, and settled upon the farm now owned by his son, William. He was a deacon of the Congregational church for forty or fifty years, reared a family of seven children-four sons and three daughters,-two of whom, William and Minerva ( Mrs. Orin Wood, of St. Albans), are now living.
William Orcutt came to Swanton, from Chesterfield, Mass., in 1800, and settled about half a mile west of the Center. He reared a family of nine children and died in 1814.
Hezekiah Royce came from Claremont, N. H., in 1800, and settled on Swanton Hill. He subsequently took up his residence with Harvey Royce, where he died, in 1868, aged ninety-three years. Harvey, son of Hezekiah, died in 1879, aged seventy-six years. Harvey's son, Albert H., now resides on road 47.
Amherst Thayer, born in Massachusetts, came to Swanton in 1800, and located on Lake street, where he was a blacksmith for many years. He died in 1838, aged sixty-four years. His son, Wheelock S., born here August 5, 1815, was a blacksmith for many years, town clerk thirty-two years, and is now a farmer on River street.
John Dunbar, from Taunton, Mass., came to Swanton in 1797. He built the first log house west of the river, near the present St. J. & L. C. R. R. depot, there then being but two houses on the east side of the river at the village. He was employed on the construction of the grist-mill now run by Bullard & Dunbar, and after it was completed his son, Almon C., operated it for thirty years. Mr. Dunbar died in 1846, aged seventy-eight years. His wife attained the advanced age of ninety-three years.
Truman Warner, brother to the renowned Seth Warner, was born at Ben- nington, served during the revolution as captain of a company of rangers, and was one of the early settlers of St. Albans, where he died in 1822. His son, Brownson, came to Swanton at an early date, and has lived on road 43 about seventy years
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TOWN OF SWANTON.
Caleb Mead, from Lanesboro, Mass., came to Swanton as early as 1800, and located on road 27, where he remained until 1817, when he removed to the place now occupied by his youngest son, Caleb H. The house was built in 1818.
Aruna W. Foster came to Swanton about seventy-four years ago, and located on Swanton Hill, where he resided a short time, then removed to the place he now occupies with his son, on road 22.
Church Tabor, born at Tiverton, R. I., came to South Hero about sixty- seven years ago, where he died about twenty years after, aged eighty-seven years. His son, James M., came to Swanton in 1836, and located where he now resides, on road 2. James M. married Miss Polly Soper, of Milton, Vt., and has a family of seven children-four sons and three daughters.
Eben H. Dorman, a Congregational clergyman, came to Swanton, from Georgia, about the year 1824. He preached in the town over thirty years, and died here in 1862, aged seventy-one years. His son, Denison, born in Georgia in 1818, came to Swanton with him, and still resides in the town, on road 29.
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