USA > Vermont > Lamoille County > Gazetteer and business directory of Lamoille and Orleans counties, Vt., for 1883-84, pt 1 > Part 19
USA > Vermont > Orleans County > Gazetteer and business directory of Lamoille and Orleans counties, Vt., for 1883-84, pt 1 > Part 19
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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
"COUNTY OF ORLEANS, Nor'r. 1824.
" The undersigned, having read in manuscript the foregoing narrative, and having lived in habits of intimacy with, and in the neighbor- hood of Seth Hubbell at the time of his sufferings, we are free to inform the public, that we have no doubt but his statements are, in substance, correct. Many of the circumstances therein narrated we were at the time personally knowing to, and are sensible more might be added without exaggeration, in many instances wherein he suffered.
" THOMAS TAYLOR, Justice of Peace. " DARIUS FITCH, J. of Peace. " JOHN McDANIEL, J. P. " JESSE WHITNEY, J. P."
Mr. Hubbell was known among his townsmen as a good and pious man. He died in 1832, aged seventy-three years, leaving a valuable farm to his descendants.
Luke Guyer and Hezekiah Whitney came into the town next, and these. four men, with their families, constituted the first settlers, and many of their descendants are now residents of the town. Settlement was very slow until after 1800, the census report of that year showing a population of only thirty- seven. In 1806, Mrs. Hubbell made a quilting to which she invited all the ladies in the town, and they all came, numbering fourteen. The town was organized and the first town meeting held March 31, 1791, when all the male citizens were elected to an office, as follows: Hezekiah Whitney, modera- tor; Robert W. Taylor, clerk; and Hezekiah Whitney, Thomas Taylor, and Seth Hubbell, selectmen. The first child born was Charlotte Hubbell, in 1790. The first justice of the peace was Thomas Taylor, in 1794, who held the office for a period of thirty years. At this election Mr. Taylor was also elected town clerk, first selectman and constable, and in 1801, he was elected to the legislature, which office he held twenty years. Mr. Taylor also built the first frame house, which is still standing, the property of C. A. Reed, whose wife is a great-granddaughter of Mr. Taylor.
Luke Guyer, one of the three original settlers, came here about 1790, from Hartford, Conn., and located on what is now known as the Guyer farm. He was a blacksmith by trade, and built the first blacksmith shop in the town. John, son of Luke, came here with his father, and was a resident of the town until his death. John reared a family of four children, none of whom are
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now living. Hezekiah, son of John, died on the old homestead, in 1875, aged eighty-one years. His widow still survives him, age seventy-nine years. Earl Guyer, son of Hezekiah, is a resident of the town.
Thomas Davis, a Connecticut sea captain, came to Wolcott at an early date, and purchased fifty-five acres of land on road 24, which is now owned by his grandson, Pardon Davis. A year or two after his settlement Mr. Davis erected a house of planks, the outside being lathed and plastered, the walls being decorated with pebble stones, arranged in fantastical figures in the plaster before it hardened. This house is still remembered by some of the inhabitants, because of its oddity. Mr. Davis also planted an orchard when he first came here, bringing the trees from Connecticut, some of which are still bearing fruit. He married Sarah Fay, and reared a family of six children, all of whom lived to have families of their own. His son, Taylor, was one of the founders of the Congregational church.
Perley Hutchins, Sr., a native of Massachusetts, came to Wolcott about the year 1813, where he resided until his death. His son, Perley, Jr., served in the war of 1812, and in 1815, married Polly Whitney, daughter of Heze- kiah Whitney, one of the early settlers. Mrs. Whitney still resides here with her son, in the old tavern where her husband kept a hotel for more than twenty years. She is eighty-four years of age.
Barnabas Peck came to Wolcott in 1811, and located upon the farm now owned by C. C. Twiss. The first saw and grist-mill built in the town then stood on this farm. Mr. Peck reared a family of eleven children, and died in 1832, aged seventy-three years. Jera Peck now occupies the old home- stead, aged seventy-one years. The Peck family trace their pedigree back through six generations to Joseph Peck, who came to America in 1638, and whose descendants in the United States are now estimated to number about 11,000.
Moody Parker, a native of Lyman, N. H., born in 1785, came to Wolcott in 1821, where he resided until his death, in 1869, aged eighty-four years. Mr. Parker was at the battle of Plattsburgh, and held the office of sergeant. After the war he returned to Lyman and married Millicent Moulton, who is still living. This union was blessed with seven children, five of whom are living. S. R. Parker, who now resides on road 12, was three years of age when his father came to the town.
Levi Parker, from Lyman, N. H., came to Wolcott in June, 1821, and purchased fifty acres of land on road 11, where E. P. Dexter now resides. Here Mr. Parker resided until his death, in 1862, aged seventy-two years.
Joseph C. Bailey, a native of Berlin, Vt., married Miss Sally Gurley, of that place, and removed to Elmore in 1823, where he built a log house near the present residence of Philo Darling. About the year 1852, Mr. Bailey sold his farm to his sons, C. N. and Frank, and removed to Middlesex, where he resided until his death. Chester N. Bailey now occupies a part of the original homestead of 500 acres, on road 43, just on the line of Wolcott.
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J. C. Bailey was extensively engaged in the dairy busines sat one time, having sixty head of cattle. Joseph represented the town of Elmore in the legis- lature in 1847-'48.
Calvin Holton, a native of Chester, Vt., born March 3, 1809, came to Wolcott in November, 1831, and located upon the farm now owned by John Wells, near road 16. Here Mr. Holton erected a log house on his 100 acre farm, for which he had paid $200.00, there being then no wagon road within a distance of three miles. His family lived in this log house eighteen years, when he built a frame dwelling, the same now occupied by Mr. Wells. Mr. Holton is now a resident of Milton county, D. T., having become a pioneer for the second time. Five of his seven children are living.
Rufus Bruce, a native of Chester, Vt., and son of Rev. Rufus Bruce, came to Wolcott on horseback during the summer of 1831, and bought 100 acres of land on road 22 corner 17; paying therefor $200.00. He then hired a man to slash five acres of the heavy timbered land, and returned to Chester, where he soon after, December 14, married Mary Hovey. In January, 1832, he hired a man to bring them and their household effects to Wolcott, where, for the first six months, they resided in the house with John Phelps, on road 17. In August, 1832, however, their log house was completed, and they moved into it, where they resided until 1846, when a new frame building was completed, the same now occupied by their son, M. Bruce. Mr. Bruce was a brick-maker by trade,though he had taught school in Chester for several years. He was one of the nine original members of the Freewill Baptist church society in this town, which has since become extinct. He died June 17, 1874, aged over seventy years. His wife survived his death three years.
Jesse Davenport, born in Salem, Mass., March 25, 1797, came to Wolcott from Berlin, Vt., in 1832, and located on road II, where he resided until his death, October 9, 1880. Mr. Davenport held many of the town trusts, and enjoyed the respect and confidence of his townsmen to a remarkable degree.
Beverly Titus, a native of Tunbridge, Vt., came to Wolcott from Vershire, Vt., in 1832, and located upon the farm now owned by C. G. Moulton, on road 26. Mr. Titus reared a family of twelve children, several of whom are living, viz. : William C., in Oakland, Cal. ; John H., and Mrs. Celia Titus Baxter, in Monticello, Wis. ; Beverly J., still resides in Wolcott, and Daniel lives in Charlestown, Mass.
Edward Walsh, a native of Ireland, came to America when nine years of age, and located, with his parents, in Quebec, where he was apprenticed to a tobacconist. After completing the term of his indenture he went to Will- iamstown, Vt., where he married Mrs. Sarah Smith, a widow with three chil- dren, and, in 1834, came to this town and located on road 43, where he died, April 13, 1882, aged seventy-three years. Mrs. Walsh, at the age of eighty-one years, still resides on the old homstead. Their family of seven children are all living. Mr. Walsh was a man universally esteemed, and was said to have been unusually well versed in history.
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Leonard Thompson, born in 1812, came to Wolcott from Tunbridge, Vt., about forty-five years ago, and located on road 22. In February, 1862, he enlisted in Co. E, 8th Regt. Vt. Vols., was taken prisoner, and died at New . Orleans in June, 1863.
Israel Currier, from Corrinth, Vt., came to Wolcott about 1836, and loca- ted upon the farm he now occupies, on road 30. He built his present dwell- ing in 1851. His father, David, was a ship carpenter of Salisbury, Mass., and served in the Revolutionary war.
Merrill Andrus, from Orange county, Vt., came to Wolcott in 1839, and located on road 13, where his son, T. O. Andrus, now resides. He married Maria Lawrence, by whom he had eight children, three of whom, T. O. Andrus, Mrs. R. F. Parker, and Mrs. Eli Drury, are living. Mr. Andrus died in August, 1881, aged seventy-four years.
Jabez Willey, son of Eben Willey, born in Peacham, Vt., July 22, 1801. came to this town in July, 1840, and still resides here, aged eighty-two years. He was the first Universalist preacher in the town, and has often traveled six or eight miles on the Sabbath to preach in some school-house of this or adjoining towns, and even now, at his advanced age, the Universalist society has no more earnest and able advocate than Jabez Willey.
Luther Andrus, with his family, came to Wolcott from Orange county, Vt., in 1847, and purchased 100 acres of land where C. E. Fisher now resides, where he died in 1863, aged eighty-one years. Mark L., located on road 3, is the only one of his five children now living.
Franklin Trow, a native of Barre, and son of George Trow, one of the early settlers of that town, removed to Woodbury in 1821, where he subse- quently died. His son Franklin came to this town in 1851, and purchased a farm on road 21, now owned by his son, with whom he lives at the age of seventy-eight years.
Nelson L. Lanphear, residing on road 36, is a son of Lyman Lanphear, one of the early settler of Hyde Park. He was born in that town August 23, 1822. In 1849, he purchased 100 acres of wild land in this town upon which he erected a log house, and in 1850, he married Sarah M. Peake, daughter of Thomas Peake, one of the early settlers of the county, and to- gether they began life in the woods of Wolcott, where they have reared a family of four children. Mr. Lanphear's mother was a daughter of Seth Hubbell, the first pioneer of the town.
During the late civil war Wolcott furnished 134 enlisted men, thirty-two of whom were killed, or died from the effects of wounds or exposure, while in the service.
The Congregational church, located at Wolcott village, was organized by Rev. Daniel B. Dodge, with the following members, in 1818: Thomas Tay- lor, Oliver Walbridge, Perez Smith, Gideon M. Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, and Elizabeth Walbridge. The church building is a wood structure capable of seating 250 persons, built in 1833, and the property is now valued at
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$4,000.00. The society has forty members, with Rev. C. J. Richardson, pastor.
The Methodist Episcopal church, located at Wolcott village was organized at an early date, and supplied for years by circuit preachers. Rev. George Brown, a colored man, being the first resident pastor. Through his energy and perseverance money was raised to build the present church building, which was erected in 1855. The building will comfortably seat 300 persons, cost $1,500.00, and is now valued, including grounds, at $3,000.00. The society now has seventy-three members, with Rev. John Morse, pastor.
The Methodist Episcopal church of North Wolcott has thirty members, with Rev. Charles S. Hamilton, pastor.
The Universalist church of Wolcott, located at Wolcott village, was organ- ized in 1875, with six members. Rev. I. P. Booth was the first pastor. The church edifice was built in 1882, a wood structure capable of seating 165 per- sons, at a cost of $1,200.00, about its present value. The society has about seventy-five members, with Rev. G. Foster Barnes, pastor.
GAZETTEER
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ORLEANS COUNTY, VT.
FTER the division of the State into two counties, in March, 1778, as mentioned on page 29, no changes were made in the area of Cumber- land county until 1781. The legislature of that year, however, divided it into three counties, viz .: Windham and Windsor counties, occupying about the same positions they do now, north of which the remainder of old Cum- berland county was called Orange county. This latter tract nearly corres- ponded with the old New York county of Gloucester, organized by that province March 16, 1770, with Newbury as the shire town. On November 5, 1792, the legislature passed an act to divide Chittenden and Orange coun- ties into six separate counties, as follows: Chittenden, Orange, Franklin, Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans. On the formation of Jefferson county, De- cember 1, 1810, the name of which was changed to Washington county, No- vember 8, 1814, Orleans was shorn of a portion of its territory, the limits of which had been difinitely fixed by the legislature of 1797; and again, in October, 1835, by the erection of Lamoille county, Orleans lost the towns of Eden, Hyde Park, Morristown, and Wolcott.
As now constituted, Orleans county is the central one of the northern tier of counties of the State, lying about midway between the Connecticut river and Lake Champlain, between lat. 44° 28' and 45° north, and between long. 4º 19' and 5° 4' east, bounded north by the Province of Quebec, of Canada, east by Essex county, southeast by Caledonia county, southwest by Lamoille county, and west by Franklin county. It is about thirty-three miles in length, and thirty miles in width from east to west on the Canada line, containing an area of 700 square miles, or 448,000 acres, divided into eighteen towns, as follows : Albany, Barton, Brownington, Charleston, Coventry, Craftsbury, Derby, Glover, Greensboro, Holland, Irasburgh, Jay, Lowell, Morgan, New- port, Troy, Westfield, and Westmore.
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The physical geography of the county is diverse from that of any other portion of the State. Nearly the whole of its territory has a northern slope, situated within the " Y " of the Green Mountains, the western range of which divides it from Franklin county, and with the eastern range lying upon its eastern borders. Between these ranges there is considerable high land, though precipitous cliffs and ledges are uncommon, except in the western part. Still, the scenic beauty of Orleans is unsurpassed. Points of beauty meet the eyes, turn which way you will, while the high altitude of most of the country and the pure mountain breezes that are wafted over it, render its climate proverbially healthful and exhilarating.
It is a singular fact that in the northern part of Green Mountain range, where the highest peaks are found, three rivers, the Winooski, Lamoille, and Missisquoi, flow through mountain passes not more than five hundred feet above the sea, affording good opportunities for roads, and other passes of a similar character are found, while in the southern part of the range no such passes exist, and in order to go from the eastern to the western part of the State, one is obliged to go over the mountains, it being not unfrequent for roads to pass over the range at an altitude of two thousand feet above the ocean. This facility of access that nature has provided is another point of value the county possesses, for there its imports and exports are not confined to shipment in one direction, but can be sent to any point with equal con- venience. From Hazen's Notch, in Westfield, to Jay Peak, the range is con- tinuous, varying from 2,500 to 4,000 feet above tide water, the highest point in the territory being reached at the summit of Jay Peak, 4,018 feet above the ocean. The highest point in the eastern part of the county is Westmore mountain, in the northern part of Westmore, which has an altitude of 3,000 feet. Lowell mountain, in Lowell, is also a prominent elevation.
Jay Peak is worthy of more than a passing glance. Its summit cleaves the clouds at an altitude of nearly a mile above the ocean, affording a grand and extended view o'er the valleys of the St. Lawrence, Ottawa, and Lake Memphremagog. To the northwest the spectator beholds the level and fertile country surrounding Montreal, contrasting beautifully with the wild and rugged scenery at the north and northeast of him, where are seen thickly- studded mountain peaks, prominent among which are Sutton and Orford moun- tains, Sugar Loaf and Owl's Head. Between Sutton mountain, in Canada, and the beholder, is the deep valley of the Missisquoi river, which, like the Winooski and Lamoille, winds its way through a valley about 3,500 feet below the summits of the mountains on either side. Seemingly near its base peep out the beautiful villages of Montgomery, Richford, Berkshire, West- field, Lowell, Troy, and others. Hazen's Notch, which lies within a short distance to the south, is an object of interest, and gradually becoming more and more resorted to by lovers of grand and picturesque scenery. The fertile valley of the Missisquoi, which is confessedly one of the most pro- ductive as well as picturesque in the State, is within full view from the peak.
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The magnificent views thus afforded can, in a measure, be obtained from several other elevations in the county.
What is known as the upper valley of the Missisquoi, comprising the towns of Troy, Westfield, Jay, and Lowell, and a small portion of the Province of Quebec, lies between this western range of mountains, and the range of high- lands dividing the waters of the Missisquoi from those of Black river and Lake Memphremagog. The western lines of Jay, Westfield, and Lowell, commonly extend a short distance over the summits of the mountains ; but the east lines of Troy and Lowell do not generally extend to the height of land towards Black river and Lake Memphremagog. The length of the valley in a direct line from the Canada line to the south line of Lowell and the source of the Missisquoi, is about eighteen miles. The width of the valley from the summits of the mountains west, to the height of land on the east, is from six to ten miles.
Orleans also contains more picturesque streams and more beautiful ponds and lakes, some of which are possessed of peculiar charms and interest, than any other county in the State. The eastern and central parts are watered by Black, Barton, and Clyde rivers, with their numerous tributaries, the southern part by the Lamoille, and the western part by the Missisquoi. These several streams have courses as follows :-
Black river is formed in Craftsbury, by the united waters of Trout branch and Elligo and Hosmer's ponds, and taking a northeasterly course through Albany, Irasburgh, and Coventry, falls into South bay of Lake Memphre- magog, in Newport. It is thirty miles in length and waters 150 square miles of territory.
Barton river rises in Barton. One of its branches originates in Glover, from the fountains of Runaway pond, and extends northerly into Barton, while the other rises in two small ponds on the line between Sutton and Sheffield, and unites with the stream from Glover. Their united waters take a northerly course, and, just before reaching the north line of Barton, receive Willoughby river, a stream rising from Willoughby lake, in West- more, and run westerly eight or nine miles through the southern part of Brownington and northern part of Barton. From Barton, Barton river con- tinues a northerly direction, passing through the northeastern corner of Iras- burgh, and eastern part of Coventry, into Lake Memphremagog, watering about 160 square miles of territory.
Clyde river has its source in Brighton, Essex county, and flows a north- westerly course through Charleston, Salem, and Derby, to Lake Memphre- magog. Excepting a few short rapids it is a dead, still stream, until it arrives within a few miles of the lake. It passes through Pensioners pond in Charleston and Salem pond in Derby. It waters about 150 square miles of country.
Lamoille river formerly originated in Runaway pond. It is now formed by the union of several streams in Greensboro, and, after running south-
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westerly into Hardwick, pursues a northwesterly course till it falls into Lake Champlain, in the northwestern part of Cochester. In Johnson it is joined by Little North branch, and in Cambridge by Great North branch. . The current of the stream above Cambridge is in general slow and gentle, but between there and the lake are a number of good -sized falls. It is said to have been discovered by Champlain, in 1609, and called by him La Mouette, the French for mew, or gull, a species of water fowl that were numerous about its mouth. This name became corrupted into Lamoille.
Missisquoi river rises in Lowell, and, pursuing a northerly course through a part of Westfield and Troy, crosses into Canada, when it receives a large stream from the northeast. After running several miles in Canada it returns into Vermont, and taking a westerly course falls in Missisquoi bay, near the Canada line. Its name is derived from the Indians, and is spelled by various authorities in no less than twenty different ways. The river is seventy-five miles in length, and receives the waters from about 582 square miles of Vermont's territory. The falls on this stream in the northern part of Troy are exceed- ingly beautiful. The water precipitates itself over a ledge of rocks seventy feet in height, and above them projects a perpendicular rock over one hun- dred feet in height.
The principal lakes are Lake Caspian, in Greensboro, Crystal lake, in Bar- ton, Willoughby lake, in Westmore, Seymour lake, in Morgan, and, last but not least, Lake Memphremagog, in Derby and Newport, extending north into Canada. Old Memphremagog has had its beauty sung by too many gifted pens for us to attempt an adequate description, and its hold on the affections of the public is too well attested, by the hundreds of tourists who visit it each year, to need such a description even were we equal to the task. The lake is about thirty-three miles in length and from two to four miles in width, cov- ering an area of about seventy-five square miles, one-fifth of which lies in Vermont. Its scenery is unsurpassed in beauty, and though it has not the scientific and historic interest of the famous Champlain, it still has clustered about it legends of the hair-breadth escapes of smugglers, and the marvelous feats of Indians, hunters and trappers, enough to charm the reader of romance. The Indian words from which its name was derived were Mem- plow-bouque, signifying a large expanse of water. From Prospect hill, about a mile southwest of the beautiful village of Newport, a grand and extensive view of the lake and its environs may be obtained. To the north lie its waters, reflecting like a mirror its beautiful surroundings of rocks and trees, with verdant headlands jutting into it, and islands dotted upon its placid surface. To the left of it Owl's Head is seen towering to the height of 2,749 feet above the surface of its waters, crowding close upon its western margin as if inviting one to ascend its rugged sides and from its summit view the picturesque surroundings. To the southeast, across and beyond the bay into which Barton, Clyde, and Black rivers empty their waters, is a lovely land- scape, with the strongly marked outlines of Pisgah and Hor rising abruptly,
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marking the spot where Willoughby lake is located. To the south no moun- tains intervene to cut off the view, but the eye ranges over gentle eminences that in the dim distance rise above each other, and there is outspread a broad area of country teeming with the fruits of the husbandman's honest toil.
Willoughby lake, in Westmore, is another beautiful sheet of water. It is about six miles in length by one and one half in width, lying between two mountains, the one on the east called Mt. Pisgah, and upon the west Mt. Hor. The summit of Mt. Pisgah is 2,638 feet above the surface of the lake, and 3,800 feet above tide water, affording a view that is wild, pictur- esque, and beautiful. The waters of the lake, which in some places are several hundred feet deep, are unusually clear and transparent, and in con- sequence of the bold and romantic scenery and interesting surroundings, the lake is becoming a place of great resort. On the margin of its shallow por- tions are walls composed principally of granite bowlders and pebbles, which in some places are so uniform and well proportioned as to appear like artificial structures. Other lakes and ponds throughout the county are ex- ceedingly interesting, and will be described in connection with the towns wherein they are located.
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