USA > Vermont > Lamoille County > Gazetteer and business directory of Lamoille and Orleans counties, Vt., for 1883-84, pt 1 > Part 25
USA > Vermont > Orleans County > Gazetteer and business directory of Lamoille and Orleans counties, Vt., for 1883-84, pt 1 > Part 25
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
In 1880, Brownington had a population of 856, and in 1882, was divided into seven school districts and contained seven common schools, employing two male and thirteen female teachers, to whom was paid an aggregate salary of $738.53. There were 188 pupils attending school, while the entire cost of the schools for the year, ending October 31, was $797.86, with J. A. Gib- son, superintendent.
EVANSVILLE, a post village located in the southern part of the town, con-
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tains a saw-mill, whetstone factory, shingle-mill, blacksmith shop, two grocer- ies, and about twenty dwellings. Joseph H. Evans, located here in 1842, and cut the first tree on the present site of the village, and from him it received its name.
BROWNINGTON, a post village located in the southwestern part of the town, contains one church (Congregational), one store, academy building, and about a dozen dwellings. The Orleans county grammar school was incor- porated and located here in 1822, the building being completed and the school opened in the autumn of 1823, under the charge of the Rev. James Woodward. Courts were also held here on the alternate sessions, Brown- ington and Craftsbury being the shire towns of the county, until the legisla- ture removed the county-seat to Irasburgh, the last court being held here in 1816.
BROWNINGTON CENTER, a post village located a little south of the central part of the town, contains one church (Union), one store, two blacksmith shops and about eight dwelling.
Henry E. Preston's saw-mill, located on road 2, is operated by water- power, running about six months out of the year. It has the capacity for cutting 800 feet of lumber per, hour, but cuts annually about 300,000 to 500,000 feet of lumber, and does custom shingle sawing.
Elisha Foster's saw-mill, located at Evansville, was built by Harris Alex- ander in 1851, upon the site of a mill built by Joel Trull in 1842, and de- stroyed by fire in 1851. It has been the property of Mr. Foster since 1871, who employs ten men and manufactures 2,250,000 feet of lumber per annum.
A. F. Pike's scythe-stone factory, located at Evansville, employs ten men at the factory and four at the quarry, on road 29, and manufactures 3,000 gross of scythe-stones per year. The grit of the stone is such as to make goods of an excellent quality and they are becoming very popular.
N. Gallup's steam mill, located on road 14, is operated by an eighty horse-power engine, and is furnished with a lumber saw, shingle machine, band-saw, bolting-saw, planing machine, and set of box-making machinery. Mr. Gallup employs twenty men and cuts 1,500,000 feet of lumber, 1,500,000 shingles, and 300,000 feet of lumber into chair-stock, 800,000 feet into boxes.
The first settlement was made by Deacon Peter Clark, upon the place lately known as the Hall farm, where Rev. S. R. Hall resided. Other settle- ments were made in the locality at or near the same time, 1796 or 1797, by James Porter, Samuel Smith, Jr., H. Kellam, Valentine Going, Samuel Smith, Sr., and Amos Porter. Soon after these settlements were made in the western part of the town, others were commenced in the eastern part, prob- ably in 1799, by Erastus Spencer, Elijah Spencer, and Joel Priest, near the west line of Westmore. In 1798 or '99, Elijah and Ashbel Strong located on North hill, and during this latter year, Ebenezer Gridley, George Drew,
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Daniel Knox, Ebenezer Crouch, John Merriam and Luke Gilbert were in the town, but it is not known whether they had all made settlements or not. O. Weber settled upon the farm now owned by Margaret Nichols. Luke Gilbert came with Elijah Strong and labored with him for a year. then set- tled upon the farm now owned by S. R. Jenkins. ' Mr. Kingsbury com- menced on the farm now owned by Mrs. A. P. Buxton.
The first town meeting was warned by John Bean, Esq., of Wheelock, Caledonia county, to be held at the dwelling of Major Samuel Smith, March 28, 1799. On this day the meeting assembled and organized the town by the election of the following officers : Major Samuel Smith, moderator ; Elijah Strong, town clerk ; Elijah Strong, Amos Porter, and Samuel Smith, selectmen ; Elijah Strong, treasurer, Samuel Smith, Luke Gilbert, and Peter Clark, listers; Luke Gilbert, constable; Obadiah Wilcox, highway surveyor ; James Porter, fence viewer; Luke Gilbert and Jonathan Smith, haywards ; and Justus Smith, pound-keeper. Little other business was trans- acted, except to vote an assessment of $15.00 for defraying the town expenses for the ensuing year. Among those who were appointed to the town offices at the March meeting, 1800, are found the names of Benjamin Newhall, Luther Smith, Elijah Spencer, and Carlos Cowles.
At a freemen's meeting in September, 1799, Eben Gridley, George Drew, Daniel Knox, Ebenezer Crouch, Eleazer Kingsbury and John Merriam took the freeman's oath. At this meeting twenty votes were cast for governor, and Elijah Strong was elected representative. Among the new names found on the town records during the second decade, are those of Gilbert Graw, Amherst Stewart, Isaac Smith, Humphrey Nichols, Reuben Trussell, Lemuel Nye, Daniel Bailey. Noah Allen, Tristram Robinson, John Sash, Samuel Burnham, Joseph Marsh, Amos Percival, Abraham Tracy, 'Zenas Field, Will- iam White, Alden Farnsworth, Benjamin Walker, James Seavey, Samuel Burke, Joshua Smith, Enos Bartlett, Amasa Plastridge, Horace Huntoon, Samuel Ward, Seth Kidder (a town pauper), Enos Bartlett, Philip Flanders, Jonathan Eaton, Jonas Cutting, Isaac Smith, Jeremiah Tracy, Ebenezer Terry, Seth Bartlett, Aristides Houstis, Asa Plastridge, Asa Winston, James Nevers, Daniel Elkins, and Cyrus Eaton. Jabez Nevers, Nathaniel Wheeler, Jonathan E. Dorris, Albert Gabrin, George C. West, William Custy, Jonathan Nye, Orra C. Blass, Gilman Esty, E. G. Strong, and James Finley appear in 1820.
The first birth in the town was that of Luke Spencer, son of Erastus Spencer, in 1800. The first death was that of a Mrs. Porter, in 1799. She was buried near the house of John Twombly. The first public house was opened by Maj. Samuel Smith, in 1799. Silas Brigham was the first to carry on the business of tanning, and James Silsby was the first blacksmith and axe-maker. Abram Day had the first furnace for small castings, and Samuel Ward had the first pottery. The first store-goods were brought into town by Levi Bigelow, who was not, however, a resident.
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Erastus Spencer, one of the first settlers, came to Brownington in 1797, and located in the eastern part of the town. Luke, son of Erastus, was the first child born in the town. In 1806, he made the first settlement on the farm now owned by his son William.
Joel Priest, a revolutionary soldier, settled in the eastern part of the town, with his son, Joel, Jr., about the year 1800, and soon after removed to the farm now occupied by Mrs. L. G. Priest. Joel, Jr., reared a family of seven children, six of whom were daughters. Stephen S., the only son, was born on the old homestead, now occupied by his widow, in 1815, and died January 21, 1883, aged sixty seven years. Mrs. Almira Wilson is the only one of the daughters now living. Mrs. L. G. Priest is a daughter of Luke Gilbert, who settled here in 1799. Mr. Gilbert took an active interest in the public affairs of the town, and served in the legislature several years. His death occurred in 1845, at the age of seventy-six years. Five of his ten children are living, Mrs. Priest and Mrs. Eunice H. Spencer, in this town, and their three broth- ers in the west.
The Baxters of Orleans county are sprung remotely from the Baxters of Norwich, England, who came to America about 1632, and, with others from the same county, Norfolk, founded Norwich, Conn. The name Baxter is strongly associated with Norwich, for about 1775, a colony from Norwich, Conn., founded the newer Norwich in Windsor county, Vermont. Among others who came to the new settlement to conquer the primeval forests and win the virgin soil was Elihu Baxter, who, with his bride, Triphena Taylor, came in 1777. Fifteen children were born to them in Norwich, Vt. The oldest, William Baxter, studied law at Norwich with Colonel Buck, who was for several terms sent by the new State to the national legislature, which then (1798) met at Philadelphia, and whose son later succeeded his father. This William Baxter, born in 1778, after the completion of his law studies com- menced the practice of his profession at Brownington, in 1801, and resided here until his death, October 1, 1827. His wife was Lydia Ashley, of Clare- mont, N. H. Of the other sons of Elihu Baxter, Elihu, Jr., was a physician, went to Portland, Me., and has left some descendants who bear the name ; Chester settled at Sharon, Vt., as a merchant, but left no descendants ; Erastus went to Malone, N. Y., and left descendants ; James came up to Stanstead, Canada, and was a successful merchant-none of his descendants are, we believe, now living ; John W. was a merchant at Lebanon, N. H., and the father of John W., who lived and died in Stanstead. A son of the latter lives at Sherbrooke, Canada. He and his children are the only living descendants of John W., of Lebanon. Harry, son of Elihu, was a successful merchant at Barton. None of his descendants are now living in Orleans county. Portus, son of William, of Brownington, born in 1806, settled, about 1830, at Derby Line. He was thrice sent to congress, and repre- sented the 3d district throughout the war of the rebellion. His services to Vermont soldiers in those dark days need not be told to the present genera-
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tion. He died at Washington in 1868, leaving a widow, recently deceased, and four sons. Of these, only one is now living in Orleans county. He and his children are the only descendants of William Baxter, of Brownington, living in the State and bearing the family name. Of the remaining sons of Portus, two reside in Washington, and one in Chicago. Neither has any children. The oldest, Jed H., is a colonel in the regular army. Carlos Baxter, of Burlington, was a son of William, but left no descendants to bear the name. As is the case with many of our oldest families, the tendency is towards extinction of the name; and the same tendency extends to the female line. The only daughter of William left no descendants, and of the three daughters of Carlos, of Burlington, one only, the wife of Bradley B. Smalley, has children.
Rev. Anson C. Smith was born in Bridgewater, N. H., in 1812, and spent his early life in that town. Later his parents removed to Peacham, where he taught school several years and learned the carpenter trade. In 1835, he experienced religion, studied divinity and became a Methodist minister, preaching in Moretown, Corinth, Montpelier, Thetford, Tunbridge, East Barnard, Hartland, Wilmington, Brattleboro, Craftsbury, Danville, Lyndon and Hardwick. He also studied and practiced medicine for many years in his various charges. Mr. Smith was an active, stirring man, and instrumental in building several houses of worship. He died in Hardwick, May 23, 1862, aged fifty years. His widow now resides with her daughter, Mrs. B. C. Boden, on road 6 in this town.
Gilbert Gross, a native of Massachusetts, came to Brownington in 1810, and made the first settlement on the farm now owned by B. C. Boden.
Miss Lucinda Rice, daughter of John Rice, of Walpole, N. H., came to Brownington in 1827, and in December, 1829, married John Bryant, a resi- dent of Irasburgh, and located on road 3, near Brownington pond, where their son, G. E. Bryant, now resides. Mr. Bryant was a representative, and held other offices of trust in the town.
Amariah C. Joslyn came to Bloomington, with Timothy Joslyn, from Mor- ristown, in 1837, and purchased of B. Robinson and E. White a farm of 200 acres on road I, where his son, C. H., and his widow still reside. There were then no buildings on the place, and only a small clearing had been made. Mr. Joslyn held most of the town offices, was a justice of the peace twenty years, and died October 12, 1877.
Moses Foss was born in Lyndon, Vt., in November, 1819, and in 1841, came to Irasburgh, remained there three years, then came to Brownington and made the first settlement on the farm now owned by Moses A. Foss.
Cyrus P. Heath was born in Groton, Vt., March 11, 1808, and lived in Ryegate up to 1840, when he removed to Barton, and since that time has been a resident of Orleans county, having lived in Brownington. for the past forty years, a great portion of which time he has spent on the farm he now occupies on road 28. One of his sons, George A., was killed at the battle of Cold Harbor, June 1, 1864.
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John Marshall, born in Lincolnshire county, England, emigrated to Cana- da with his father, John, in 1829, resided there three years and then came to Vermont. In 1848, he located in this town. He made the first settlement on the farm now owned by George Going, and also the first on the farm of George White.
Robert Alexander, from West Fairlee, came here in 1836. In 1855, his son, Robert, Jr., located upon and cut the first tree on the farm he still occu- pies.
Orson A. Grow, from Hartland, Vt., came into this county in 1819. In 1825, he married Fanny Allbee, of Derby, a daughter of Elijah Allbee, an early settler in that town, and remained there about three years. He then resided in Morgan six years, in Holland nineteen years, in Barton fourteen years, and the remainder of his life in this town, dying February 4, 1875, aged seventy-five years. His widow resides here with her son Lorenzo.
Asa R. Smith, son of Samuel, Jr., was born August 2, 1802, in this town. He married Elvira S. Grow in 1834, who died in 1860. For his second wife he married Fanny A. Grow, sister of his first, who is now living. Mr. Smith was sheriff of the county a number of years and dealt largely in real estate. He died November 24, 1871. His only son, George E., is still a resident of the town.
Dr. James R. Grow, from Hinsdale, N. H., came to Brownington in May, 1820, locating near Brownington village. He practiced here for a number of years and was known as a jovial man and a skillful physician. He finally removed to Holyoke, Mass., where he died in February, 1857. His wife, Sophia Sanger, died in 1825. Five of their nine children are now living.
Samuel Smith, Jr., from Surry, N. H., came to Brownington about the year 1800, locating upon the farm now owned by Orvis Marsh. His son Isaac settled upon the farm now owned by Orson Grow, where he resided until his death. He married Mercy Priest, daughter of Joel, reared a family of eight children and died in 1831. His wife died in 1859. Isaac C., son of Isaac, who now lives here, was born September 30, 1812, married Zilpha Patch, of Derby, in 1843, and for his second wife Sarah Burnham, of New Hampshire, rearing three children. His second wife died November 13, 1881. Samuel, Jr., was twice married and died in 1825. Two of his six children are now living.
Erastus Spencer came to Brownington, from Weathersfield, Vt., about 1800, and died here in 1841, aged sixty-five years. His wife, Lucy Stimpson, died in 1865, aged ninety-six years. William, son of Erastus, born in 1806, has always resided on the farm he now occupies. He has been twice mar- ried and reared a family of eight children, only one of whom, Mrs. A. O. Joslyn, is living. Mr. Spencer has been a member of the Congregational church over fifty years.
Hon. Jasper Robinson, for many years a merchant here, was one of the early settlers of the town. He was elected a representative several times,
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and served as assistant county judge a number of years. Mr. Robinson was an upright man, firm in his decisions, and a leading member of the Congre- gational church. He married Abigail Steel and reared a family of eight chil- dren, only one of whom, Jane A., wife of Philander Balch, of Charleston, is living. He died September 5, 1842. His wife died January 1, 1842.
Mrs. Farnshon (Hill) Twombly, who died at the residence of her son, John Twombly, in 1868, was born in Newburyport, Mass., August 2, 1771. Among the events of her early life which she remembers distinctly was a visit of Gen. Washington to Portsmouth, N. H. A little girl from out the multi- tude who had gathered to him, as she first cast her eyes upon the "saviour of her country" exclaimed : "Why you are nothing but a man !" The in- nocent remark affected the great man to tears. Mrs. Twombly also recalled another incident of that visit. A countryman in his anxiety to see Gen. Washington, made his way to town with an old horse, the harness being com- posed entirely of ropes and wood. At this unique display she said the Gen- eral laughed heartily. At an early period her father removed to New Hamp- shire, and in 1796, she married Jacob Twombly. In 1801, they removed to Sheffield, and in 1830 came to this town. Mrs. Twombly lived to leave eight children, sixty-six grandchildren, and fifty-six great grandchildren. Six of her own and more than one hundred of the others are now living. She died at the great age of ninety-seven years. Her husband died in 1852.
Samuel S. Tinkham, a descendant of John Tinkham, who came over from England in the second vessel that brought supplies to the pilgrims of the "May Flower," came to Brownington, in 1850, and purchased the farm upon which he still resides. Mrs. Tinkham's mother, Ruth Richmond who resides with them, is the oldest person in the town. She was born in Hanover, N. H., July 22, 1785, married Elijah Richmond in 1863, and reared a family of eight children, four of whom are now living. Mrs. Richmond retains her mental faculties wonderfully well, at the age of ninety-eight years. She re- members quite distinctly the time when Washington was president.
During the war of 1812, the inhabitants became very much alarmed on account of the Indians, fearing an attack from them. The building of a block-house on North hill was contemplated, but never done. The inhabi- tants, however, placed their amunition in a house on that hill. At one time, quite a panic was caused by the circulation of a report that the British were coming on to seize the amunition. A guard was placed over the store-house, but as morning dawned with no British in sight the excitement subsided. Some of the people buried a portion of their effects and left the town, a nuniber of whom never returned. Smuggling was carried on to a considerable extent, enriching some and ruining others. Peace was at last declared, how- ever, and no British, Indian or Tory harmed any of the people of Browning- ton. When the war of the Union came upon us, the town showed its patriot- ism by furnishing sixty-two enlisted men to fight the battles of our country, seventeen of whom were killed, or died from wounds or disease contracted while in the service.
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CHARLESTON.
HARLESTON, an oblong town in the eastern part of the county, in lat. 44° 51', and long 4° 57', bounded northeast by Morgan, southeast by Brighton, in Essex county, southwest by Westmore and Browning- ton, and northwest by Derby, was granted by Vermont November 6, 1780, and chartered November 10th of the same year, to the "Hon. Abraham Whipple, his shipmates" and others, containing 23,040 acres. Commodore Whipple was a distinguished naval officer in the Revolutionary war, and named the town Navy, in honor of the American navy. This name was retained until November 6, 1825, when it was altered to Charleston.
The surface of the town is somewhat uneven, some portions being very low. Clyde river is the largest stream. It rises in Spectacle pond, in Brigh- ton, thence flowing through Island Pond into this town, in a northwesterly direction nearly through its center. Some falls of importance are found on the stream, especially the Great falls in the western part of the town, where the descent is more than a hundred feet in forty rods; but its current is gen- erally slow. The principal tributaries of the Clyde are Ferrin's river from the north, and the waters of Suke's pond through a brook; then the waters of Cole's Copper brook, Morgan Gull brook, also, the stream from Cole's pond in Brighton ; next Buck's brook from Brighton, Mad brook from West- more, and Echo pond brook at the East village; next Fenner brook from Westmore, then the Nutting brook from Broadway pond, and Toad pond brook from Toad pond. These all flow into Clyde river above Pensioners pond in this town. Echo pond, situated in the easterly part of the township, receives the waters of Seymour pond in Morgan, and through that the waters of Holland pond. Echo pond is a beautiful sheet of water one mile from the East village, whose mill-privileges are supplied by its waters through the brook which is its outlet. It is one mile and a half long and one mile wide. General Whitelaw gave it the name of Echo pond from the fact that when any sound was produced in its vicinity it was reverberated in various direc- tions, producing a series of echoes. Pensioners pond is the next in size, and was so named by Abner Allyn, on account of the pension of Mr. Varnum, a revolutionary soldier, being used to build a mill-dam and saw-mill in 1820, near the Great falls, by his son, George Varnum. Toad pond is above Pen- sioners pond, near the great swamp on the Brownington line. Broadway pond is near the Morgan line.
The soil of the territory is a rich loam, capable of producing excellent
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crops. The alluvial flats along the Clyde are extensive, though many of them are too low for cultivation, but improve as years pass by. In the southeast part is a bog meadow containing over 500 acres. The climate is considered exceedingly healthful. The geological structure is principally rocks of the calciferous mica schist formation. The northwestern part is made up of hornblende schist, and the southeastern of granite.
In 1880, Charleston had a population of 1,204, and in 1882, the town was divided into twelve school districts and contained twelve common schools, employing three male and seventeen female teachers, to whom was paid an aggregate salary of $1,349.91. There were 275 pupils attending common school, while the entire cost of the schools for the year, ending October 31st, was $1,446.53, with D. I. Quint, superintendent.
WEST CHARLESTON, a post village located in the western part of the town, on Clyde river, contains two churches (Congregational and Baptist), academy, hotel, four stores, one tin shop, one furniture shop, grist-mill, tub factory, saw-mill, emery wheel manufactory, two blacksmith shops, and about 300 inhabitants.
EAST CHARLESTON, a post village located in the eastern part of the town, contains one church (Union), one hotel, two stores, two groceries, a saw and shingle-mill, two carriage shops, a grist-mill, two blacksmith shops, and about 100 inhabitants.
The West Charleston Academy was incorporated by the legislature in 1859, though the academy building was erected in 1857. The trustees of the institution are E. O. Bennett, E. H. Robinson, and O. F. Allton. The school now has about sixty scholars, with Lydia Hinman, principal.
E. W. Green's tub factory, located at West Charleston, was built by Daniel O. Parlin about 1850. Mr. Green came into possession of the property in February, 1882, and manufactures about 5,000 tubs and buckets per year.
J. E. Wilson, at West Charleston, manufactures about 1,000 butter tubs per year and does a general cooper business.
Lemuel R. Allbee's flouring-mill, located at West Charleston, was rebuilt in 1860, by Charles Cummings and purchased by Mr. Allbee in 1883. He deals largely in grain and does a general custom business. The mill has four runs of stones and grinds about 30,000 bushels of grain per year.
Perley B. Rand's carriage shop, located on road 7, manufactures fifteen lumber wagons and fifteen sleighs per year, in addition to a general repair business.
L. D. Barron's saw-mill, located at West Charleston, cuts about 150,000 feet of lumber per year.
B. D. Clark's furniture shop, located on road 2, manufactures about $1,000.00 worth of furniture and caskets per year.
O. C. Reed's saw-mill, located on Clyde river, is operated by G. W. D. Reed, and cuts about 500,000 feet of lumber and 1,000,000 shingles per year
J. S. Cook's woolen mill, located on road 17, was established by him in
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1852. He manufactures 2,000 yards of cloth and cards 10,000 pounds of wool per year.
A. J. Lang's saw-mill, located on Mad brook, was built by Erastus Buck in 1860. It cuts about 1,000,000 feet of lumber per year.
The Vermont Emery Wheel Co., located at West Charleston, was organ- ized in 1874. It is a stock company, with Charles Carpenter as treasurer and managing director. The business was originally established by E. C. Merrill, in 1870. About $15,000.00 to $20,000.00 worth of emery wheels are manufactured per year.
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