Gazetteer and business directory of Windham county, Vt., 1724-1884, Part 48

Author: Child, Hamilton, b. 1836
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal office
Number of Pages: 805

USA > Vermont > Windham County > Gazetteer and business directory of Windham county, Vt., 1724-1884 > Part 48

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TOWN OF WHITINGHAM.

Jacob Porter was an early settler on road 38 in Whitingham, and made the first improvements on his farm, on which he opened the first hotel in the town. His son Jacob was a resident of this town for twenty-five years.

Willard Faulkner was born on road 9 in Whitingham. He married Roxana Boyd, of this town, and settled on a farm on road 5, on which he made all the improvements. The homestead farm is now owned and occupied by his son Willard R., who married Hattie Howard, of Wilmington.

William Faulkner, several of whose descendants now live in Whitingham, came to this town from Massachusetts about the year 1800. He reared five daughters and three sons, and died at the age of sixty-five years. Shepherd D., his youngest and only surviving child, is now residing on road 34, at the age of sixty.five years. He has always resided in town, and has been chosen to various town offices. His wife was Miranda Green, daughter of Alfred Green, of Whitingham, and they have one son, William A., who is cashier of the People's National Bank of Brattleboro. Their only daughter, Emma M., married Henry H. Holbrook, and died December 16, 1882.

Ansel E. Toby, now living on road 42, is a native of Whitingham, and has four children now living, Henry A., John L., Ella F., and Cassius E. Henry A. enlisted as a private in the late war, January 7, 1862, was mustered into service February 18, 1862, and discharged June 27, 1862, by reason of disease, which renders him a cripple for life, and for which he draws a pension.

Phineas H. Sawyer came to Whitingham from Massachusetts about eighty years ago and settled on a farm on road 21. He operated for about twenty years the first saw-mill built in the town, in the vicinity of the present village of Sadawga, and at the expiration of that time was succeeded by his son Houghton, who occupied it about twenty-five years. During that time Houghton Sawyer built the grist-mill how owned and occupied by Z. Wheeler. He was a life-long resident of Sadawga village, and became a leading citizen, holding many of the town offices a great part of the time. He died in 1872, aged sixty-seven. Only three of his nine children survive him, John W., Mary J., and Mattie A., the former of whom occupies the fine homestead at the foot of Sadawga lake.

Timothy Jillson was born in Guilford, Vt., and March 11, 1796, married Sylvia Ogden, of Whitingham, locating upon a farm on road 46, where they reared eight children, three of whom are living, Samuel C., David and Daniel. Five were soldiers in the late war. Joseph died in Libby prison. James resided on road 41 until his death, rearing seven children, six of whom are living, Eli J., Ellen L., Uberto C., Emma S., Unray E., and Newton S. He married Lestina P. Dix, who now lives on the homestead.

The Chase family in Whitingham, and mostly throughout Windham county, are descendants of one of the oldest families of England, the records of which go back to about the year 1000, at which time they occupied what was known as the Lord Townsley estate, one of the largest in England, and held many

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TOWN OF WHITINGHAM.

offices of more or less importance, under the English government, among them that of sergeant at-arms to King Henry VIII.

Three sons of this family came to America in 1639. Among them was Aquila, who was born in 1618, and first settled in Hampton, N. H., but soon moved to Newbury. David Chase, a descendant of his in the fourth genera- tion, was born April 17, 1752, and married Jemima Humes. He served in the war of the Revolution in and about Boston. In February, 1815, he, in company with his five sons, came to Whitingham from Douglass, Mass., and settled on road 35} ; and by their energy, industry and untiring perseverence contributed largely to the present prosperity of the town. He died October 20, 1841. His sixth son, Benjamin, who married Mary Sprague, and came here from Douglass with his father, located on road 20, where he died April 27, 1863, leaving six children, the fourth of whom, Abraham, was born Jan- uary 5, 1820, married Catherine Reed, of Whitingham, April 23, 1844, and has resided nearly all the time on road 21. He had five children, four of whom are living, as follows : Oscar R., a farmer, on road 19 in Whitingham ; Augustus L., a physician, living at present at Randolph, Mass. ; Augusta L., wife of Gilbert A. Boyd, of Wilmington, Vt. ; and Charles S., attorney at law, who married Carrie E. Brigham, of Boston, Mass., January 19, 1881, and now resides on road 27} in the village of Sadawga.

J. K. Stafford came to Whitingham from Coleraine, Mass., about sixty years ago, and has pursued the vocation of a farmer. Russel A. Stafford, now residing at Sadawga, is the only one of his six children living.

Waters Gillett, M. D., was born in Wilmington, Vt., in December, 1801. He removed at the age of four years to Dover, and thence at the age of four- teen to Wilmington, where he attended school. He attended medical college at Castleton, Vt., and commenced the practice of medicine in Readsboro, Vt., in 1834. In 1840 he removed thence to Whitingham, where he has since practiced his profession. His grandfather, Timothy Gillett, came to Dover in this county about 1792, and was noted for turning woodenware from knots for family use.

Nathan D. Sherman, who was formerly from Massachusetts, came to Whit- ingham in 1840, and settled on the farm on which he now resides on road 61. He commenced preaching in the Universalist church in 1855, and has continued to officiate in that capacity to the present time.

Parley Starr was born in Colchester, Vt., August 20, 1813, and brought up in Milton. At the age of twenty-one he left home, and by energy and perseverance has won an enviable success. He found employment at the tanning business in the village of Jacksonville, and in 1837 became propri- etor of the establishment. He continued the business till 1873, and on the in- corporation of the People's National Bank, at Brattleboro, Vt., he was elected president of that institution, which position he retains to the present time, with his home in Brattleboro. He enjoys, in a marked degree, the respect and confidence of his fellow citizens, who elected him to represent the town

Livingle

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in the Vermont legislature, in 1832, '56 and '72, and to the State senate in 1859 and '60. He was justice of Windham county eleven years, trustee of the Windham Provident Institution for Savings five years, and a director of the Brattleboro bank seventeen years. In 1862 he opened a recruiting office for volunteers, and was appointed State agent to look after and provide for the families of soldiers absent in the war.

Edwin C. Starr is a native of Milton, and has been a tanner and merchant at Jacksonville, Vt., since 1840.

Calvin Baker came to Sadawga in 1848, from Templeton, Mass., in which State his father, Luther Baker, was a pioneer.

Jesse Hull came to Whitingham, from Boston, and settled near the center of the town, on road 38, where he resided till his death. His son William, was a life-long resident of Whitingham. He married Samantha Hall, October 25, 1825, and raised eleven children, five of whom are living, Sanford, Martha, Azuba, Horace, and Andrew Jackson, the latter of whom resides on road 26, and is a farmer and manufacturer. of chair stock.

Horatio N. Hix, who resides in Whitingham, is a son of Gideon Hix, who was born in Richmond, N. H., February 9, 1793, and removed to Readsboro in 1816, residing there till his death, in 1859. Horatio N. Hix has practiced law for twenty-nine years, and during two years of that time was State's attorney. He was a representative one term, and a justice of the peace for thirty consecutive years.

CHURCHES.

The old church on the hill at Whitingham Center was cut down October 14, 1883, by some citizens residing in that vicinity. It was built by the town in 1798, but was not finished till 1806. It was a strong, thoroughly built edifice, and was occupied by different religious denominations. In 1833 a belfry was built by subscription, without regard to sect or creed, a bell was procured and hung therein, and there remained for many years. At length it was taken down rather surreptitiously, as was thought, and concealed for long time. A church was built at Sadawga by the Methodist, now owned by the Baptists, and by some arrangement the old bell was placed upon that church, where it has since remained. Since the business left the center of the town, the old church has been denuded of its outward and inward finish by different persons, and for some thirty years has been in a dilapidated condi- tion, though occupied much of the time for town meetings. It has withstood the violence of the tempest for well nigh a century, and stood as a monu- ment of the architectural skill and strength of former days. At the centen- nial celebration of the town, August 18, 1880, a portion of one side having been removed and extensive seating arrangements made in and about the building, the largest assembly ever convened at the old, honored edifice was gathered from this and adjacent towns and distant places, and the interesting exercises well-nigh proved obsequies over the revered relics of by-gone years ; and this old-time landmark is now among the things that were.

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TOWN OF WILMINGTON.

The Baptist church, located at Whitingham, was organized by its first pastor. Rev. Paul Holmes, in October, 1808, with twenty-one members. Their first church building was erected in 1834, and the present house in 1850, at a cost of $1,500.00. The society has at present forty-two members, with Rev. Origin Smith, pastor.

The Jacksonville Universalist church, located at Jacksonville, was organized by twelve or more of the citizens residing in the vicinity of Jacksonville, December 31, 1849, Rev. H. F. Ballou, being the first pastor. The church building, which is a wood structure capable of seating 250 persons, was erected in 1850, at a cost of $1,200.00, and is now valued at $1,500 03. The society has about fifty members, under the pastoral charge of Rev. Jeremiah Gifford.

The First Methodist church of the Jacksonville and Sadawga charge, located at Jacksonville, was organized by its first pastor, Rev. Moses Spencer, with fourteen members, in 1858. Their church building, a wood structure capable of seating 300 persons, was built in 1865-'66, and dedicated in December, 1866. It cost $2,200.00, though it is now valued at only $1,800.00. The society has at present thirty-three members, with no regular pastor.

The Universalist Society of Sadawga, located at Sadawga, was organized by its present pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Gifford, in 1862, with twenty members. The church building, however, which will accommodate 225 persons, was built in 1860, and is now valued at $2,000.00. The society has at present forty members.

W ILMINGTON lies in the southeastern part of the county, in lat. 42" 52', and long. 4° 9', bounded north by Dover, east by Marlboro, south by Whitingham, and west by Searsburg and Readsboro, in Bennington county. This town was originally chartered by New Hampshire. April 29, 1751, to Phineas Lyman and fifty-seven others, in sixty-four shares. and containing an area of 23,040 acres. But as the conditions of the grant were not fulfilled by the grantees, the charter, by its own provisions, became void. On the 17th of June, 1763, the township received its second charter from New Hampshire, its name being changed to Draper, and its proprietors being " His Excellency Francis Barnard" and sixty-six others. The name Draper being disliked, however, it was subsequently changed to Wilmington again. A few years since the northern part of the town, known as "Wilming- ton Leg," was annexed to Dover.

The surface of Wilmington is uneven and broken, though it has, especially in the valleys of the several streams, many fine tracts of level land, possessing an arable and easily cultivated soil. The east and west branches of Deer- field river, two quite prominent streams, unite in the western part of the town There are several other good sized streams, the largest of which are Cold and Beaver brooks, the former in the northern and the latter in the southern par:

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TOWN OF WILMINGTON.

of the town. Ray pond, a handsome little sheet of water, lies in the eastern part of the territory, while Sylvan lake and Crystal pond, two other small sheets, lie in the northwestern part. The rocks entering into the geological structure of the territory are mostly of gneiss formation, except in the extreme eastern part, where they are of the talcose-schist variety. Beds of azoic lime- stone are also found in the western part.

In 1880 Wilmington had a population of 1, 130, and in 1882 had thirteen common schools, employing six male and twenty-one female teachers, to whom was paid an aggregate salary of $1,565.21. There were 265 pupils attending common schools, while the entire cost of the schools for the year, ending October 31st, $1,839.13, with E. A. Fitch, superintendent.

WILMINGTON, a handsome post village located in the central part of the town, is the only village in the township. It was incorporated about twenty- five years ago, and now has four churches (Congregational, Methodist, Bap- tist and Universalist), one hotel, the Vermont House, P. G. Wilder, proprie- tor, three dry goods stores, a drug store, grocery store, two tin shops, two blacksmith shops, a grist-mill, saw-nill, planing-mill, about seventy five dwell- ings and 300 inhabitants. Located in a lovely valley surrounded by verdant hills, the village is one of the most picturesquely beautiful to be found in the county. Its well-kept streets, neatly painted houses, and the general tidy appearance of the place, impresses the stranger with the idea of thrift and culture among its inhabitants. Annual fairs are held at the village which are well attended by people from this and Bennington counties.

The Wilmington Savings Bank was incorporated December 6, 1853, with E. L. Fuller, president ; Clark Chandler, vice-president ; and Hosea Mann Jr., treasurer.

Charles C. Clark's saw-mill, located on road 27, was built by F. J. Stowe, in 1848. It has the capacity for sawing 1,000 feet of lumber per day.

Morris & Harris's grist and saw-mill, located at Wilmington village, was built by Richard Waste, in 1836.

P. Haynes & Son's saw-mill, located on road 31, was built by Samuel E. Haynes, in 1807.

Adams & Haynes are manufacturers of patent liquid holders, watering troughs, gathering tubs, sap evaporators, etc.

The insecurity of land titles, owing to the town having two charters, (or, as Deming, in his "Vermont Officers" claims, three charters, one from New York,) greatly retarded, probably, the settlement of the town. Still, as early as the close of the year 1765, seven families had become inhabitants of the township, and others not yet residents had cleared and improved many acres of land, inceptive measures which gave great promise of future enterprise and activity. But, alas, the promise was not fulfilled, for in 1771, the town only had a population of seventy-one souls. In 1791, twenty years later, this population had increased to 645 persons. The first town meeting on record was held January 19, 1778, when Caleb Alvord was town clerk. The first

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TOWN OF WILMINGTON.

meeting for the choice of officers on record was held March 2, 1778, when Caleb Alvord was chosen town clerk ; John Pierce and Caleb Alvord, consta- bles; and John Gibbs, Phineas Smith, Samuel Murdock, Elihu Bascomb, and Eleazer Goodman, a " committee of safety." April 9, 1778, John Gibbs, Phineas Smith, Bezaleel Waste, Josiah Locke, and Eleazer Goodman, were chosen selectmen. The first justice of the peace was Jesse Cook, in 1786. The first representative was Elijah Alvord, in March, 1778. The first birth was that of Rev. Zephaniah Swift, January 20, 1771. It is related that one evening after Mr. Swift had retired a couple came to his door in the midst of a heavy thunder shower to be married. He called them to the window, from which he had thrust his head in answer to their knock, and performed the ceremony with the following brief form :-

" Under this window, in stormy weather, I join a man and woman together ; Lei none but Him who made the thunder, Ever put this man and wife asunder."

Mr. Swift received as a birthright the two hundred acres of land set apart when the town was originally surveyed as a reserve for the first birth.

Dr. Jeremiah Parmelee, a native of Killingworth, Conn., and a Revolution- ary hero, came to Wilmington in 1780, locating on road 45. on the place now occupied by 'T. F. Dix, where he resided till his death, August 24, 1833, aged sixty-four years. He raised a family of nine children,-seven sons and two daughters. Among his numerous descendants are a granddaughter, Lucre- tia, widow of Frederick Stanley, residing in Wilmington village, and grand- sons, Loring G. and Henry W. Parmelee, of Boston, Mrs. O. B. Lawton, of Wilmington, Mrs. H. V. Pinder, of Middleburg, N. Y., and Ashley M. Parme- lee, who now occupies his father's homestead farm on road 45 in this town. are others of his grandchildren.

Abram Boyd is said to have been one of the first five who settled in Wal- mington. He located on road 56 and made the first improvements and raised six children, on the farm on which he was successively succeeded by his son Robert, James M. Boyd, and the latter's son E. M., the present occu- pant. He was a soldier of the Revolution and participated in the battles of Bunker Hill and Bennington. His son Robert made the first improvements on the farm now occupied by his son Warren, a grandson of the pioneer, on road 57. Abram Boyd, another grandson of the pioneer, settled and lived some thirty-five years on the farm now occupied by J. Graves, on road 69. He subsequently removed to road 66, to the farm now occupied by his son Gilbert A., where he died May 12, 1868. Seven of his eleven children sur- vive him.

Chipman Swift was a pioneer settler of Wilmington, and is said to have been one of the first nine to locate in the town. He commenced a clear- ing on the farm where Newland M. Haskill now lives, on road 39, and there cut the first tree, and built the first log-house, which he shingled with spruce bark. He evinced the same patriotism as the other hardy pioneers of this

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region, and with many other volunteers started for the seat of war at the bat- tle of Bennington. He raised a family of eight children, all of whom are dead. Alanson Parmelee, who married his daughter Cynthia, succeeded to the homestead farm, on which he resided till his death, May 17, 1860. Two of the latter's seven children survive him, Clancy, a resident of New Jersey, and Chipman S., who married Achsa O. Haskins, a resident of Wilmington from her birth, residing in this town.

The Childs family is numerous throughout the town and State. Free- man, in his "History of Cape Cod," speaks of Richard Child as the son of Samuel Child, while Savage regards him as the brother of Samuel. If Richard were born in America, as the record of his birth (1624) would indicate, then we must conclude that Freeman is cor- rect, and that Samuel Child was the emigrant and the first of the name who came to the colony of Massachusetts. In that case the Samuel Child slain by the Indians March 26, (Freeman says 25th,) 1675, would probably have been a brother of Richard, as the father would then have been too aged to go into battle. Obscure as Richard (MAJ. A. B. CHILDS.) Child's ancestry is, it is quite probable that he was allied to the Roxbury and Watertown line of descendants. A large line of descendants are traced directly from his son, Richard, Jr., who are found in western Massachusetts and in Vermont. As Plymouth colony was first settled, in 1620, Richard Child, if born in 1624, must have had for his father an emigrant of the Ply- mouth colony, and Freeman states him to have been Samuel Child, slain by the Indians. As no other person competes for the paternity of Richard Child, we must, therefore, accept Samuel Child as the head of this long Barns- table, Mass., line. Richard Child, the accepted son of Samuel, was born in 1624, married Mary Linnett, of Barnstable, October 15, 1649. One son, Richard, Jr., was born to them. He married Elizabeth Crocker. Free- man gives Richard, Jr., a second wife, and ranks him among Barnstable's most prominent citizens. He died January 15, 1716. Dea. Samuel Child, eldest son of Richard, Jr., and Elizabeth (Crocker) Child, was born in Barns- table, November 6, 1679, and married Hannah Barnard, July 7, 1709. She died May 16, 1727. He married again, about 1729, Experience -, who died May 25. 1744. For his third wife he married, according to one record, Sarah Philip Mattoon Field, widow of Zachariah Field, of Northfield, Mass. She died March 21, 1752, aged sixty-three years. Dea. Samuel Child died March 18, 1756, aged seventy-seven years. At an early period he removed from Barnstable to Deerfield, where he was esteemed as a man of high character and

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influence. He was the father of eight children, all born in Deerfield. Jonathan Childs (in the Deerfield records the name is written with the terminal "s "), a twin brother of David, was born March 23, 1718. He married Rebecca Scott, about 1739, and removed from Deerfield to Hardwick, Worcester county, where he died March 18, 1793, aged seventy-five years. His wife Rebecca, was a woman of marvelous health and strength, and died at the advanced age of 102 years. Twelve children were born to them. Major Jonathan Childs, the fifth son, was born in Hardwick, October 24, 1756. He married Deliverance Freeman, who died December 30, 1775, aged twenty-five years. In 1786 he married Anna Thompson, who died October 3, 1838. Major Childs left Massachusetts when quite young, and settled in Wilmington, Wind- ham county. His pioneer home was the now productive farm upon the "lower intervale " and Deerfield's bank, two miles north of Wilmington vil- lage, since occupied by Dea. Ruel Smith, deceased, and now by his son Francis R. Smith. Major Childs planted the stately, graceful elms which render the place so attractive and restful. It was in this house that he dwelt the remainder of his long and active life, embracing the most thrilling and soul-stirring period in the history of the American Republic, when passing from colonial dependence upon Great Britain to the independent position of a separate and unique nationality. He possessed strong mental forces which made themselves felt for good. A true patriot, Major Childs took a most decided stand for the liberties of the young confederacy of American colonies. Possessed of the warm enthusiastic temperament characteristic of the name, Major Childs made his country's welfare his own, and was one of the " Green Mountain Boys" whose patriotism was a proverb. His commission as ser- geant of the 5th company of Vermont Infantry, Judah Moore, captain, and Josiah Fish, colonel, in command of the 3d regiment in the 2d brigade, is sacredly cherished by his venerating grandchildren. Major Childs had two children by his first marriage, of whom but little is learned beyond the fact that the daughter became a Mrs. Sage. There were seven children (seventh generation) by the second marriage, namely: Betsey, born May 6, 178 ;. married Thomas Wait, February 9, 1815 ; Jairus, born February 19, 1790. married Betsey Jones; Clarissa, born February 5, 1792, married Spencer Alvord, April 13, 1814; Jonathan, Jr., born August 4, 1794, married Cynthia Lusk, June 2, 1822 ; Freeman, born February 17, 1797, married Elizabeth Root, December 18, 1833; Adna B., born February 3, 1799, married Har- nah Lamb, March 9, 1826 ; and William, born July 8, 1802, married Marilla Lamb, May 10, 1829. The last of the above named children of Maj. Jonathan Childs, " Uncle William," as he was familiarly called, died February 26, 1 SSz. while the many grandchildren of Maj. Jonathan Childs are following varied occupations and are respected residents of the different States.

Maj. Adna B. Childs the fourth son and eighth child of Maj. Jonathan and Anna Thompson Childs, born in Wilmington February 3, 1799. mar- ried Miss Hannah Lamb, daughter of Maj. Jonathan and Hannah Ham-

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TOWN OF WILMINGTON.

ilton Lamb, March 9, 1862. So admirable a sketch was given of the man and of his position in life, at the time of his decease, that we feel we can- not improve upon it, and can only say that such characters will not portray in words. The look and tone so frequent with humor and true-hearted sun- shine, must have been seen and heard to be known. We give entire, there- fore, the article referred to :-

" Major A. B. Childs departed this life at his residence in Wilmington, on the 8th day of January, 1874, aged seventy- four years, eleven months and five days. The deceased was a native of Wilmington, and has been one of its most noted and influential citizens. He was the first merchant in the vil- lage, a prominent Free Mason, for fifty-three years, postmaster under every Democratic administration, beginning with President Jackson's, and holding the office twenty-four years. He was also deputy sheriff many years, and holds other places of trust, in all of which he performed his duties with great exactness and perfect fidelity. But in his social connection more especially, we feel to regret his loss. He was one of the original founders of the Uni- versalist society in Wilmington, and afterward of the church connected there- with. He was decided, but not bitter, in his religious and political senti- ments, and Catholic in his bearing toward all, strictly honest in his business transactions, and temperate in his personal habits. His home has been a favorite resort of bright and pleasant people, and there the penniless wanderer found abundance of cheer. His intercourse with the community was always cheerful and peculiarly genial. Mr. Childs married yonng, to a most estim- able lady, Miss Hannah Lamb, also a native of Wilmington, whose death preceded his in August, 1870. They were blessed with a family of twelve children, ten of whom still survive to mourn their departure. In his family none could set better examples, or manifest more devotedness to the interests, moral and pecuniary, of all its members, and these children now rise up and oless his memory. Without a murmur or complaint, in perfect resignation to he Providence of God, and full of hope and faith in the universal redemp- ion of the race, he passed away like one who folds the drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams. The appreciation in which the subject of this notice was held, was fully evinced by the multitude that gathered to pay their tribute of respect on the occasion of his obsequies. The Childs homestead in Wilmington village, where two members still reside, is till owned and cherished, for its sacred association, by the family."

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Gazetteer and business directory of Windham county, Vt., 1724-1884, Part 48

Author: Child, Hamilton, b. 1836 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal office Number of Pages: 805

Author: Child, Hamilton, b. 1836
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal office
Number of Pages: 805