USA > Vermont > Windsor County > Gazetteer and business directory of Windsor County, Vt., for 1883-84 > Part 10
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 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75
13
CO
D
STA
at
77
TOWN OF ANDOVER.
In 1779, he was chosen proprietor's clerk, and town clerk in 1780, holding the latter position, with the exception of two years, until 1809. He also held the offices of selectman, town treasurer, justice of the peace, and repre- sented his townsmen in the legislature of 1792, '93, '95, '96, 1800 and 1810.
The men who figured most prominently in public affairs during Mr. Warner's time seem to have been Frederick Rogers, John Simons, John Simons, Jr., Eli Pease, Samuel Burton, Samuel Brown, Thomas Adams and perhaps some others. The town was organized in March, 1780, when Moses Warner was chosen clerk ; Frederick Rogers, constable ; and James Keyes, Frederick Rogers and John Simons, selectmen. The first justices of the peace were John Simons and Moses Warner, in 1781. John Simons was the first representative, in 1781.
The first road in the town was laid out in 1780, passing from Chester line to Landgrove, on an average of about one hundred rods north of the present traveled road, striking Andover on a farm owned by a Mr. Kendall. The next road was not laid out until April 29, 1795. The first religious society organized was the Baptist, in 1803, with Samuel Manning deacon. In 1806 Joel Manning was ordained its pastor, a position he continued to hold for a long term of years. The first school taught was in a dwelling that stood on what is now known as the Abbott lot. The first school-house is believed to have been built on Howard hill, although one was built on East hill about the same time. The first church was built on East hill, by the Baptist society. It had no stoves nor other facilities for warming, yet it is claimed the people seldom failed to attend church, and in the coldest weather would sit patiently through the long service, though chilled with the cold. The first frame house was built by Moses Warner ; the first grist-mill by John Simons, on West river ; the next grist-mill was built by Stephen Dudley, on the South Branch ; the first saw-mill was built by Moses Rowell, on a brook near the center of the town; Rowell was also the first black- smith ; the first cloth dressing and fulling mill was built by Ebenezer Cum- mings ; the first tannery by Ebenezer Farnsworth ; the first store was kept by Jacob Sheldon, on the farm now occupied by Orrin Hutchins ; the first tavern was kept by Frederick Rogers ; the first physician was Chauncey Chandler ; Hart Balch was the first shoemaker, Abner Felt the first mail-carrier, and the first postmasters were Samuel Nichols, at Andover, and Edward L. Simons at Simonsville.
Samuel Pettingill, one of the early settlers of the town, was born at Andover, Mass., about 1760, and settled here in 1790. He died in 1843, leaving a family of seven children, two having died a few years previous. Only one of the children, Benjamin, is now living, though numerous descend- ants reside in Andover and vicinity.
Benjamin Baldwin was born here in 1793, married Martha Manning, in 1819, and reared three children, two of whom, Maria and Fernando C., now occupy the old homestead. Their mother was a sister of Rev. Joel Man- ning, the first settled Baptist minister in the town.
78
TOWN OF ANDOVER.
Joshua Jaquith came to Andover about 1787, and located upon the farm now occupied by his grandson, Alden Jaquith. Alden is the son of Joshua, Jr., who was born here in 1794. He has held most of the town offices, and is now a justice of the peace.
Simon Heald, from New Hampshire, came to Andover at an early date, making the first settlement upon the farm now owned by his grandson, James H. Heald. Reuben Heald, father of James H., was born on the old home- stead in 1806, married Catherine O'Connor, and reared two children, Sarah E. and James H. The latter married Betsy J. Hesselton, daughter of one of the early settlers, and has no children living. He has held the office of selectman, etc., several years.
T
(RESIDENCE OF PLATT T. MARSH, ANDOVER.)
Among the pleasant rural residences of Andover, is that of Platt T. Marsh, on road 32, represented in the above engraving. Mr. Marsh is one of the prominent farmers and fruit-growers of the town.
Jacob Bailey was born here in 1793, and died in 1881. He married Lucy Puffer, and reared five children, three of whom are now living. One son, Horace, now occupies the original Esquire Simon's farm.
Abner Gutterson was born in Milford, N. H., in 1768, and came to Ando- ver at an early date, locating upon the farm now occupied by Charles M. Gutterson. Abner married Phebe Barker, by whom he had three children. Alden, the father of Charles M., was born on the old farm in 1802. Charles M. married Rose E. Lovejoy, a direct descendant of the Puffer family, one of the oldest in the town. Her grandmother is yet living at the age of ninety- three years.
Sampson Walker, grandfather of Isaac, settled here in 1800, upon the farm now in the possession of the fourth generation. He had two sons, Pierce and Nathaniel. Jesse Walker also settled here in 1800. He had two sons, Isaac and Jesse, the latter of whom now resides in Wisconsin.
H
nie EL
of
Sc A CO B
79
TOWN OF ANDOVER.
David Batchelder, born May 5, 1761, came to this town in 1796, and located upon the farm now occupied by his son David. He had a family of seven children, three of whom, David, Sally and Nabby are living. Edmund A. Batchelder, son of David, Jr., now owns and occupies the original Samuel Clark farm. Mr. Clark was one of the early settlers and boarded with David Batchelder while clearing his farm. He held many or the town offices and taught school a number of terms.
Phineas Carlton came to Andover about 1803, and located upon a farm near Peaseville. He married a Miss Peabody by whom he had four children, two of whom are now living. Phineas, Jr., married Miranda S. Gutterson, and reared a family of four children, three of whom, Diana M., Sidney P., and Leon B., are living.
Joseph Stickney was born in Massachusetts in 1762, and came to this town in 1806. He served the town as constable and treasurer several years, and also held other offices. He married Anna Hosmer, by whom he had four children, Lucy, Eliza, George W. and Joseph H. The latter resides in Wisconsin, and George W. occupies the old homestead.
Nathan Boynton was born in Sharon, N. H., in 1785, and settled in this town about 1827. He reared a family of twelve children, six are now living, of whom Orland and Clarissa reside on the old homestead.
Cyrus Knight, a native of Massachusetts, came to Andover in 1814. He had a family of six children, Daniel T., Annie B., John C. F., Hiram E., Thomas A., and Victoria A. Daniel T. married a Miss Waite in 1853, and has had a family of nine children. He now occupies the E. O. Carlton place.
Nathan Derby was born in Ashburnham, Mass., in 1793, came to Andover in 1821, and died here in 1880. His son, Leland B., was born here in 1840, and now resides off road 13.
Benjamin Taylor was born here December 22, 1813, married Celia Rice, of Chester, in 1816, reared a family of six children, and died July 14, 1881.
Baliss Chase was born in 1806, and came to this town in 1833. He mar- ried Sarah Howard, by whom he reared six children, David, Albert, Hollis, Elizabeth, Clement and Sard.
John F. Osborn came here in 1837. He married Martha Ross, by whom he had three children, Cornelius A., Viola N. and Freeland E.
Henry B. Stannard came to Andover in 1839. He has been postmaster twenty-one years, and justice of the peace, town auditor, etc.
Frederick A. Way, the present representative of the town, was born in New Hampshire in 1820, and has lived in Andover about twenty years, during which time he has held most of the town offices.
Isaiah Lovejoy came here in 1848, and now occupies the old Puffer home- stead. He has served his townsmen as representative two years, selectman eight years and in other town offices.
William F. Feltt came to Windsor county in 1828, and settled in Andover upon the farm he now occupies, in 1852.
80
TOWN OF BALTIMORE.
Many sons and daughters of the good little town of Andover have left their mark in the world, among which may be mentioned Alvin Adams, the founder of Adam's Express Co., and William S. Balch, the eminent Univer- salist minister. Others also deserve notice, but space forbids ; we will say, however, that the town has had no less than six native collegiates, seven native clergymen, six native lawyers and is the mother of about a dozen phy- sicians. A fair showing for a district of its size.
It is not probable that the town took any part in the war of the Revolution, for during that period it had but few settlers, and they had a hard struggle to live and support their families. Quite a number of Revolutionary soldiers settled here after the war, however, viz .: Solomon Howard, David Hazeltine, Jonas Adams, Levi Adams, Hart Balch, Andrew Bradford, Samson Walker, William Knight, Peter Adams, Peter Putnam, Jonathan Cram, Joseph Stickney, Joseph Abbott, Ebenezer Farnsworth, Benjamin Pierce, David Burton, David Keyes and Luther Adams.
When the call for volunteers came in the war of 1812, the town voted to pay its soldiers $5.00 each at the start, for pocket money, and to raise their wages to $10.00 per month. The following are the names of those who enlisted : Sylvanus L. Marsh, Adolphus Howard, Cyrus Bailey, Andrew Brad- ford, Joseph Cram, John Abbott, Joel Abbott, Jerry Adams, Joseph Howard, Morris Howard, Antipas Howard, Joseph Bullard, James Burton, David Bradford, Samuel Dutton, John Tyrell, Hart Balch, Caleb Cram, Ebenezer Farnsworth, William Kimball, Ira Hale, Sybrian C. Taylor, William Feltt, Samuel Pettingill and James Pettingill. Then, too, when the war cloud of 1861-'64 cast its shadow over the town, Andover showed the good, old patri- otic blood these men had bequeathed their descendents. Not a whit behind her fellow towns in finances, patriotism and excellent soldiers, the good town rejoices in a work well done.
B ALTIMORE is a small, triangular shaped town of about 3,000 acres, located in the southern part of the county, in lat. 43º " 21' and long. 4º 25', bounded northwest by Cavendish, east by Weathersfield, and south by Chester. When Cavendish became settled it was found that Hawks Mountain, a rugged highland extending in a diagonal direction across the southeastern corner of the town, rendered communication between the settlements on opposite sides of the elevation quite difficult, so much so, indeed, that the settlers in the corner thus cut off objected to traveling to the center of the town to vote and attend to public business, and so peti- tioned the legislature for the privilege of establishing themselves in the terri- tory as an independent township. This petition was looked upon with favor by the legislature, who passed an act October 19, 1793, establishing the town of Baltimore, Hawks Mountain forming the dividing line between it and
-------
81
TOWN OF BALTIMORE.
Cavendish. It was not organized, however until March 12, 1794, when Joseph Atherton was chosen town clerk, Samuel Davis, constable, and Waldo Cheney, Jonathan Woodbury and Joseph Atherton, selectmen. The first justice was Isaac Chamberlain, elected in 1794. The first representa- tive was Benjamin Page, in 1824, since which time the town has seldom been represented in the legislature, thus saving a large amount of taxes.
The surface of the territory is not broken by any prominent elevation, except the one mentioned, while the soil, which is warm, though quite stony, renders fair crops of grass and grain. Numerous springs and brooks abound, though there are no streams of importance and no mill-seats. The rock are mostly gneiss formation. In the southeastern part there is a small amount of mica schist, and in the extreme northern part a bed of steatite.
Joseph Atherton, one of the first settlers, located on road 2, upon the farm now owned by E. C. Sherwin. His son, Barney, was killed by lightning in 1810, while standing in the door of his father's house. Noah Piper and Col. Joshua Martin were also early settlers. Emigration to the town seems to have been quite popular for a time, for in 1791 the census returns show it to have had a population of 275. Since then, however, each decade shows a diminution in the number of inhabitants, until the town now boasts a population of only seventy-one souls. It has no settlement worthy of the title of village, no postoffice, no church, and no schools, the people being obliged to step over the lines of their narrow territory, into the towns south and east, for such conveniences.
Benjamin Litch came to Baltimore from Lunenburgh, Mass., about 1800, and resided here until his death, February 22, 1832. Mrs. Litch died about 1850. Their son Lyman, born here May 6, 1803, is now the oldest resident in the town. He married Prudence Chaplin, and has reared a family of four daughters, all but one of whom are living. Lyman represented the town in the legislature of 1837, and has also held most of the other town offices.
Amasa Gregory came here from Roylston, Mass., in 1809, and located upon the farm now owned by Orville Fullum, where he resided until his death, December 4, 1849. Three of his eight children are now living, one, Mrs. Zenas Graves, in this town.
Luther Graves came to Baltimore in 1815, and located upon the farm now owned by his son, Zenas H., where he died February 28, 1861, aged eighty years. Zenas is the only child of Luther now living. He represented the own in the legislature of 1858-'59.
Fox Sherwin came here in 1841, from Weathersfield. His son, Erwin C., born on the farm he now occupies in 1841, represented the town in 1878-'79.
6
82
TOWN OF BARNARD.
B ARNARD lies in the northwestern part of the county, in lat. 43° 44' and long. 4° 24', bounded north by Royalton, east by Pomfret, south by Bridgewater, and west by Stockbridge. It contains an area of 23,040 acres, and was granted to William Story and his associates in rather a peculiar manner, the circumstances being mainly as follows :-
Previous to the year 1713 the general court of the province of Massa- chusetts granted several large tracks of land, which were supposed to lie with- in the provincial limits. Upon this presumption these tracts were taken up and surveyed by the guarantees, and many of them had already become the centers of permanent and flourishing settlements. But on determining the boundaries between this province and the colony of Connecticut, in 1713, 107,793 acres of the land thus granted was found to be without the true limits of the province. Massachusetts then, wishing to retain all the territory which she had hitherto supposed her own, entered into an agreement with her sister colony, in accordance with which it was determined "that the said colony of Connecticut should have 107,793 acres as an equivalent to the said colony for lands allowed and granted to belong to the said province, that fall to the southward of the line lately run between the said province and colony.' The colony of Connecticut having received all the land to which she was entitled, caused to be sold in Hartford, at public vendue, on the 24th and 25th of April, 1716. It was divided into sixteen shares, and was bought by gentlemen from Connecticut, Massachusetts and London, who paid for it ¥683 New England currency, which amounted to "a little more than a farthing per acre," the money thus obtained being applied to the use of Yale College.
Among these purchasers was a Mr. John White, of Boston. On the 26th of December, 1753, the "Equivalent Lands," together with a " considerable quantity of other lands, was formed into three townships, beginning at the north bounds of Hinsdale, Massachusetts, on the west side of the river, and extending back about six miles, and so far up the river " as to enclose the re- quired amount. In the charters of these three towns, the names of several new proprietors were omitted, but particular care was taken that the rights of the original grantees should not be infringed upon. In a petition presented by these grantees to Governor Wentworth, in 1760, he was requested to con- firm to Anna Powell, who held a share formerly belonging to Governor Dum- mer, one quarter part of the "Equivalent Lands," and to the heirs of Anthony Stoddard, to the heirs of John White, and to William Brattle, each a like portion. The confirmation was made in accordance with these in- structions, and was generally supposed that satisfaction had been given to all concerned. But at the close of the war, when Governor Wentworth had recommended his prodigal system of apportioning lands, there came to Ports- mouth, from Pomfret, Connecticut, a Mr. Isaac Dana, who stated that John White had had an interest in the " Equivalent Lands " but that no portion
1
L
83
TOWN OF BARNARD.
had been given him in the allotment which had been made seven years previous. To compensate for this neglect, Dana asked for the grant of a township. Colonel Josiah Willard, of Winchester, N. H., who was present, told him that if any wrong had been done, the blame lay with the agent of the proprietors who had settled all things to "his liking." Notwithstanding this declaration, however, Dana received a patent for the township of Pom- fret. A few days later another gentleman appeared, William Story, of Bos- ton, asking redress for the injury done White's heirs. Colonel Theodore Atkinson, the Governor's secretary, was very merry when this claim was proffered, deeming it as fraudulent. But his laugh was no more effective than had been the reasoning of Colonel Willard, and to Story and his associ- ates was set off the township of Bernard, on the 17th of July, 1761, though the application had at first been made in the name of the injured heirs of the injured White.
The name of Barnard was given in honor of Francis Barnard, one of the grantees. In the charter deed it is spelled Bernard, a clerical error, pro- bably. This orthography was retained for a time, but gradually was dropped, ""a" being substituted for the incorrect "e."
The surface of the town is not generally so uneven as most of the neighboring townships, yet there is considerable high, mountainous land. Its whole surface, however, is so elevated that the cannonade of the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775, it is related, was distinctly heard here, though it was one hundred miles distant. Delectable Mountain is a long, rocky ridge, extending from the southern line nearly half way across the western part of the territory, while just north of it is Mt. Hunger. This latter elevation is said to have derived its name from the fact that two men by the name of Eaton starved to death on its summit. It offers a magnificent view of the surrounding country. The territory is well watered by numerous streams, the principal of which is Locust brook and its tributaries, which flows through the town in a north- erly direction, rising in the northwestern part of the same. A branch of Quechee river has its source in the southern part. Near the central part of the town is a handsome little body of water, called Silver Lake, while in the eastern part of the territory is another small pond. Many good mill-sites are afforded, some of which are utilized. The soil is various and in many parts quite productive. In the eastern part of the township there is a bog of excel- lent marl. The timber is that common to this section of country, the sugar maple being quite abundant, from which large quantities of sugar is manufac- tured.
The geological structure of the eastern part of the town is chiefly made up of rocks of the calciferous mica schist formation, while in the west- ern part the rocks are mostly talcosc schist. Between these two formations is found a narrow bed of gneiss extending through the whole length of the township. Gold has been discovered in this gneiss, though not in quantities sufficiently large to pay for working. No other minerals have been dis- covered.
84
TOWN OF BARNARD.
In 1880 Barnard had a population of 1, 191, and in 1882 was divided into fourteen school districts and contained fourteen common schools, employing seven male and nineteen female teachers, to whom was paid an aggregate salary of $133.60. There were 277 pupils attending common school, while the entire cost of the schools for the year ending October 3 Ist, was $2,416.34, with Mrs. Jennie G. Putnam, superintendent.
BARNARD, a post village located in the central part of the town, on the outlet of Silver Lake, contains one church (Methodist), a hotel, two stores, several shops and mills and about twenty dwellings.
EAST BARNARD is a small post village located in the northeastern part of the town. It has one church (Methodist), two stores and about a dozen dwellings.
Daniel M. Chamberlin's saw and planing-mill and general job shop, located at Barnard village, was built by Daniel Aikens about fifty years ago, and came into Mr. Chamberlin's hands in 1869.
S. H. Lamb's saw-mill, located on road 8, is operated by water-power, and does custom sawing.
H. A. Thayer's saw-mill, located on road 16 corner of 27, is operated by water-power, and does both custom and merchant sawing.
The Wesson Newcomb saw-mill, located on road I, has a circular band- saw, operated by water-power, and does custom sawing.
E. R. Morgan's saw-mill, located on road 30, does both custom and mer- chant sawing.
A Winslow's saw-mill, located on road 48, does custom sawing.
J. E. Safford's grist and saw-mill, located at Barnard village, and operated by water-power, employs six men and does all kinds of grinding and sawing.
In 1774, James Call came into the town and chopped some timber, but left in the autumn. In March of the following year an actual settlement was commenced by Thomas Freeman, his son William, and John Newton. During the same season Lot Whitcomb, Nathaniel Page, William Cheedle and Asa Whitcomb moved their families into the town. From this time forward the population gradually increased, until in 1791 the census reports show the town to have had 673 inhabitants. The town was organized and the first town meeting held April 9, 1778, when Thomas White was chosen clerk; Joseph Byan and Joseph Bowman, constables ; Thomas Freeman, Asa Whitcomb and Solomon Aikens, selectmen. The justices of the peace were Benjamin Cox and Beriah Green, in 1786. The first representative was Edmund Hodges, in 1778. Polly Cheedle was the first child born, August 11, 1775.
In 1780 the infant settlement was considerably startled by an Indian attack. At this time, considering the exposed situation of the northern frontier, it had long been a matter of surprise and congratulation in Vermont that the British and Indians had not more frequently improved the many opportunities which were open to them for attacking the settlers and pillaging their fields and
Mas
B
85
TOWN OF BARNARD.
dwellings. This apparent forbearance, so far from arising from any praise- worthy motive, however, was caused by the many difficulties which the enemy knew it would be necessary for them to encounter in reaching the settlements. But the intervention of steep mountains and pathless forests did not afford complete exemption from attack. On the 9th of August, 1780, a party of twenty-one Indians made a raid on Barnard and made prisoners of Thomas M. Wright, John Newton and Prince Haskell. These men were subsequently carried to Canada, whence the two former escaped in the following spring. The latter was exchanged after being a year in captivity. While prisoners they suffered many hardships, which differed only in kind from those they endured during their return journey. David Stone, of Bethel, was captured
at the same time, by the same party.
When the settlement of Bethel was begun, in the autumn of 1779, a small stockade fort was built by the inhabi- tants of that town for their protection. It stood at the lower end of the west village, on the north side of White river, and its garrison, which had been removed from Royalton, was commanded by Captain Safford. On the occa- sion of this incursion it rendered no effectual service in behalf of the inhabi- tants. Immediately after the attack the inhabitants of Barnard called a town meeting and resolved to build a fort. Benjamin Cox was chosen cap- tain, and a message was sent to the Governor for a commission. As soon as the fact of an incursion became known, several companies of soldiers from different parts of the State set out for Barnard, but before they arrived here the enemy had departed, and the work of defence was almost completed. The fort was known as Fort Defiance and was occupied by a garrison at times for quite a period.
The first settlement in school district No. 8 was commenced by Major John Gambell, from Spencer, Mass., and Benjamin Clapp, from Rochester, Mass., about 1780. Mr. Gambell chopped the first timber and built the first cabin where the Silley family now reside. His first child, a daughter, was born in 1790 ; she married a Mr. Foster and is now living at Potsdam, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Gambell lived to a very old age and died on the homestead.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.