USA > Vermont > Windsor County > Gazetteer and business directory of Windsor County, Vt., for 1883-84 > Part 16
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
CENTERVILLE is a hamlet located in the central part of the town.
WEST HARTFORD (p. o.) is a small post village and station on the Central Vermont railroad, located in the northwestern part of the town.
DEWEY'S MILLS .is a hamlet located in the southern part of the town, the site of A. G. Dewey & Co.'s woolen mills.
E. W. & E. Morris's chair factory, located at Hartford village, was established in 1857. It gives employment to about forty hands, turning out 12,000 dozen chairs per annum, most of which are shipped to South America, Australia or Africa.
French, Watson & Co.'s fork factory, located at Hartford village, was established at Brookfield, Vt., in 1835, and was moved to its present location in 1853. The factory is operated by water-power and gives employment to about twenty hands, in the manufacture of manure forks, garden rakes, shovels, spades, etc. Connected with the factory is a saw-mill that cuts about 200,000 feet of lumber and 500,000 shingles per annum.
Jonathan Bugbee's carriage and blacksmith shop is located at Hartford village. Mr. Bugbee manufactures light and heavy carriages and sleighs, and does a general blacksmithing business.
Z. B. Clark's tannery and saw-mili, located at Hartford village, was built by E. F. Lane, in 1851. Mr. Clark does a large business in the manufacture of chair-stock and fork and hoe handles.
Moore & Peck's grist and flouring-mills are located at Hartford village. It has three runs of stones, with the capacity for grinding sixty bushels of wheat and 200 bushels of coarse grain per day.
A. G. Dewey & Co.'s woolen-mills are located about a mile below Que- chee village, on Quechee river. In 1836 the wooden structure was built, by Jasper Strong, of Pensacola, Fla., and was tenanted by Mr. Dewey that season, and in 1869 the brick portion of the mills was built and the old wooden building re-constructed. The firm was then A. G. Dewey, Justin F.
I28
TOWN OF HARTFORD.
Mckenzie and William S. Carter. In 1873 Mr. Carter died, and in 1874 John J. Dewey was taken into the firm. In 1876 William S. Dewey sold his interest in the firm of J. C. Parker & Co. and bought into the firm of A. G. Dewey & Co. This company employs ninety hands in the manufacture of satinets, using six sets of woolen machinery, making about 2,200 yards of cloth per day.
The Olcott Falls Co., P. T. Wilder, president, and H. A. Wilder, secre- tary and treasurer, have recently completed one of the finest dams in the State, at Olcott falls, on the Connecticut river, giving them a water-power of 10,000 horse-power capacity. This firm intends to build an extensive pulp and paper-mill here, which will prove a valuable acquisition to the business interests of the town.
The first permanent settlement was commenced in the summer of 1764, by Elijah, Solomon and Benajah Strong, who emigrated with their families from Lebanon, Conn. During the following year the settlement was increased by the arrival of twelve other families, from which time the population gradually increased until in 1771 there were 190 persons here, which population had in- creased to 988 in 1791, twenty years later. The town was organized and the first town meeting held, March 12, 1768, with Benjamin Wright, moderator, when Elijah Strong was chosen town clerk and "highwayman ;" Christopher Pease, Solomon Strong and John Marsh, selectmen, and Daniel Reid, constable. The first representative was Stephen Tilden, chosen in October, 1778. Joshua Hazen was the first justice of the peace, in 1786. The first child born was Roger, son of Ebenezer Gillett, August 6, 1767.
Solomon Strong was born October 6, 1730, married Mary White about 1756 and came to Hartford, as above stated, in 1764. Mr. Strong held many of the town offices and for years was a leading spirit in public affairs. He died at Hartford, December 12, 1799.
Elijah Strong was born Agust 11, 1733, married Ruth Loomis, of Lebanon, Conn., and came to Hartford with his brothers, Solomon and Benajah. His farm of 360 acres he purchased for about seven cents per acre. He died during the year 1775.
Benajah Strong was born January 17, 1734, married Polly Bacon, of Lebanon, Conn., and for his second wife, Elizabeth Wilson, of Bethel, Vt., to which town he had moved and where he died, in March, 1815. Hon. William Strong, son of Benajah, was born in 1763, and married Abigail Hutchinson, June 30, 1793. Mr. Strong was high sheriff of the county eight years, twice a member of congress, judge of the county court, eight years a member of the State legislature, one of the council of censors of 1834, and also held other offices of honor and trust. He died at Hartford, June 28, 1840.
Hon. Joseph Marsh, was born in Lebanon, Conn., in January, 1725, and came to Vermont in 1772, settled in Hartford, and immediately took a prominent part in the affairs of the State. . He was chosen a delegate from Cumberland county, to the provincial congress of the colony of New York,
----
129
TOWN OF HARTFORD.
which assembled in the city of New York in February, 1776, but did not attend. In July of the same year, he attended that body as a delegate, the name of which, however, was changed from that of " the Provincial Congress of the Colony of New York," to that of " The Convention of the Repre- sentatives of the State of New York." On account of the unsettled state of the country, and the position of the British army, the meetings of this con- gress or convention were "rotary," and were held at White Plains, in the church at Harlem, at Kingsbridge, at the house of Mr. Odell, on Philip's manor, or in the Episcopal or Dutch church at Fishkill, so as to permit com- munication with the American army. In August, 1775, the provincial con- gress of New York voted that the militia of the counties of Charlotte, Cum- berland and Gloucester should be formed into one brigade, to consist of three regiments, the upper and lower regiments, and a regiment of minute men. On the 21st of November, at a convention of representatives from the towns of Cumberland county, Joseph Marsh was nominated colonel of the upper regiment, which nomination was confirmed, January 4, 1776, by the com- mittee of safety of New York. During that year Colonel Marsh received orders from General Schuyler and the New York Convention to enlist every fifth man in his regiment for the purpose of assisting in the re- inforcement of Ticonderoga. In compliance with these orders he succeeded in collecting his men, and in marching them to the place to which they had been ordered. Notwithstanding he had thus been identified with the interests of New York, yet he was a member of the convention which assembled at Windsor, June 4, 1777, and adopted the name of the State of Vermont, and which re-affirmed the declaration of independ- ence made at Westminster, the January previous, and "did renew their pledges to each other by all the ties held sacred among men," and was also a member of the convention which, at Windsor, in July of the same year, adopted the first constitution of Vermont. On the 26th of March, 1778, the council of safety established a court of confiscation for the county of Cum- berland, in order to increase the revenues of the State, and to punish Tories. Of this court Col. Marsh was a member. To them was given power to con- fiscate and sell all lands which upon sufficient evidence should be adjudged forfeited. In 1778, he was elected liuetenant (or deputy) governor, which at this time he held only one term ; but he was again elected in 1787, and was re- elected in 1788, and again in 1789. He was elected a representative from the town of Hartford to the general assembly of Vt., at its first session in March, 1778 but only served during the first day, having been elected lieutenant-governor. He again represented Hartford in 1781, and in 1782. At the session of the legislature in 1782, he was elected chief judge of the Windsor county court, and was annually re-elected in 1783, 1784, and 1785. He was again re- elected in 1787, and was re-elected each year down to and including 1795. He was also member of the first council of censors which assembled at Nor- wich on the first Wednesday of June, 1785. This council held three sessions,
9
1.
I30
TOWN OF HARTFORD.
the second being at Windsor, in September of the same year, closing their labors at Bennington, in February, 1786. They, among other things, pro- posed an amendment to the constitution, (which, however, was not adopted by the convention which they called to consider the proposed amendments, limiting the whole number of representatives to fifty, and providing for their re-election, either by county conventions, or by dividing the State into fifty election districts. Gov. Marsh was for "many years a professor of the Christian religion, and died at Hartford, in January, 1811, in the enjoyment of its hopes and consolations, at the advanced age of eighty-five years." Rev. James Marsh, D. D., for many years a professor in, and president of, the University of Vermont, was his grandson (being son of Daniel Marsh), and was born at the house of his grandfather in Hartford, July 19, 1794 He graduated at Dartmouth College in 1817, and died at Colchester, Vt., July 3, 1842, in the forty-eighth year of his age.
The Lyman family exerted a marked influence in the county during the early religious and business era, making an important factor in the society of Hartford. The puritan founder of the family in America was Richard Lyman. He was born at High Ongar, Eng., in 1580, and embarked with his wife and children on the ship "Lyon," bound for Boston Harbor, in 1631. Among the sixty passengers who made the voyage, were Martha Winthrop, third wife of Gov. John Winthrop, and Elliott, the celebrated apostle to the Indians. The "Lyon " reached Boston November 4th, of that year, and was received by the colonists with every demonstration of joy. In November, of the following year, Mr. Lyman joined the company of colonists who made the memorable trip across the wilderness of Massuchusetts, to the banks of the Connecticut, where they founded what is now the city of Hartford, Conn. Here Mr. Lyman resided until his death, in 1640, and his name is inscribed on the monument raised to the memory of the founders of the city of Hart- ford. His three sons were Richard, John and Robert. John removed to Northampton, Mass., where he died in 1690. John's son, John, resided at South Farms, Northampton, and there kept a public house. He was succeed- ed by his son Elias, whose grandsons, Justin and Elias, first came to Hartford Vt., establishing themselves in business at " The Point" in 1797-'98, where they drove an extensive and prosperous trade for many years. The Lyman toll bridge, the brick factory and flume, at Hartford, now owned by E. & E. W. Morris, the aqueduct at " The Point" which brings the water from Cæ- sar's brook across the river, the old Lyman homestead,[the residence of Dr. S. J. Allen, Sr., and that of Col. C. S. Hamilton are among the relics of the many enterprises these founders of Hartford were engaged in. They also early en- gaged in the manufacture of cotton cloths-one of the first in the State.
Justin Lyman, the elder of the brothers, never made his home in Vermont, but resided in Hartford, Conn., where the brothers maintained a branch store. He was born at Northampton, October 17, 1765, and died April 27, 1834. Neither of his three children survived his death. Elias Lyman was
H
AS
: H
---
I3I
TOWN OF HARTFORD.
also born at Northampton, February 23, 1768. He married Anna White, of Hatfield, Mass., December 30, 1790, and died November 22, 1830, aged sixty-two years. Mrs. Lyman survived his death fourteen years, dying at the age of seventy-two years. They had a family of fourteen children. Elias left his father's farm and commenced life for himself at the age of twenty-one, as a flat-boatman on the Connecticut river. His undoubted integrity and fund of energy and enterprise, however, soon placed him in the front, a posi- tion he ever after retained. Lewis Lyman, Elias's eldest son, was born at Hatfield, Mass., December, 17: 1791, received a business education in his father's store, and ultimately became a partner in the business. He married Mary Blake Bruce, of Boston, Mass., March 1, 1821, and died January 29, 1837, leaving a fine estate. He had a family of eight children, four of whom, Mary, (Mrs. S. J. Allen, Sr.,) Lewis, of Waltham, Mass., Anna and Maria, are now living. Dr. Samuel J. Allen, Jr., is the only direct male descendant of the family now residing at "The Point." Normand, the second son, was born February 23, 1795, and died February 16, 1865. He was engaged in mercantile pursuits at Hartford, Conn., married Elizabeth Walker, of Provi- dence, R. I., and had three sons and six daughters, none of whom are resi- dents of Vermont. Wyllys, the third son, was born at Hartford, Vt., May 5, 1797. He was educated at Dartmouth and Yale colleges, studied law at the Harvard law school, and commenced the practice of his profession at Hartford village, but afterwards removed to Burlington, where he died De- cember 1, 1862, aged sixty-five years. His wife was Sarah, daughter of Hon. Charles Marsh, of Woodstock. Elias, the fourth son, was born at Hartford, July 8, 1800, and became a successful merchant, though feeble health obliged him to retire from active business at an early age. He went to Burlington in 1834 and remained there until his death. His wife was Cornelia Hall, of Troy, N. Y. George, the fifth son, was born April 6, 1806, and also became a merchant. He married Minerva Briggs, of Rochester, Vt., December 30, 1828. He was postmaster at White River Junction eighteen years, and died at the old homestead July 11, 1879. Four of his daughters and three sons are now living. Charles, the sixth son, was born at Hartford, Vt., October 5, 1808. He began business for himself at Montpelier, Vt., where he married Maria W. Spaulding, December 6, 1837. He has been for many years chief clerk in the dead letter office at Washington, D. C. Simeon, the seventh and youngest son, was born at Hartford, Vt., August 16, 1810, married Lucinda Hall, of Troy, N. Y., and died at Montpelier, Vt., October I, 1855. These sons have left many descendants living throughout the State and country, not a few of whom have reached positions of eminence. Our space, however, does not admit of further mention of this honored and numerous family.
Hon. Albert Gallatin Dewey, son of John and Mary (Wright) Dewey, who has built up the large manufacturing business at Dewey's Mills, was born at Hartford, Vt., December 16, 1805. At the age of eighteen years Mr.
I32
TOWN OF HARTFORD.
Dewey lost his father, and the care of his bereaved mother and four younger brothers and sisters devolved upon his young shoulders, a task he faithfully and cheerfully performed. He left the farm to learn the carpenter's trade, and at the age of twenty-six years. entered the machine shop of Messrs. Daniels & Co., at Woodstock, who were engaged in the manufac- ture of cloth making machinery. Here he was soon after sent out by the firm to set up their machinery in different places, and traveled about thus. until 1836, when he, with others, commenced building what is at present known as Dewey's mills, located on Quechee river, about one mile below Quechee village, and which he has succeeded in developing to such large proportions, amassing a fortune in the cloth manufacturing business. June 18, 1840, Mr. Dewey married Emily Strong, daughter of Hon. William Strong, and has now two sons in business with him. He represented the town in the legislature of 1850-'51 and 1863-764, has also held most of the minor town offices, and in 1869 and 1870 served the county as State senator.
Col. Samuel Nutt was born in Topsham, Vt., December 23, 1791. At an early age he bought his time of his father, the family being poor, and went to Hanover, N. H., remained there a short time, then came to West Lebanon and commenced work for Erastus Chamberlain who then kept a hotel there. From this he commenced boating on the Connecticut. Soon after he became of age he was enabled, with the money he had laid up, to purchase a flat-boat and begin business on his own account. Starting out from White River vil- lage with his first cargo, a load of lumber for Elias Lyman, his craft soon struck a rock and went to pieces. This great disaster so overcome the young navi- gator that he swam ashore, sat down and began to weep. Mr. Lyman dis- covered him in this situation and advised him to cheer up, promising to lend him money to start again. This he did, and from that moment dated his successful business life. In one season alone he built nine river and two canal boats, and was also captain of the John Ledyard, the first steamboat to navigate the Connecticut. He married Hannah Kibbe, of Hartford, Decem- ber 17, 1817, and reared eight children, viz .: Almena M., Amanda, Adelia, Alonzo B., Almena 2d, Albert, Amelia and Almira. He died in Randolph, Vt., January 1, 1871. Mrs. Nutt died February 6, 1870. Alonzo B. Nutt now occupies the old homestead at White River Junction.
Philip Sprague, a captain in the Revolutionary war, came to Hartford from Rhode Island at an early date, and located on road 10, where his grandson, Israel G. Sprague, now resides. He was the father of a large family of children, only three of whom permanently located in Hartford. Philo lived where his son Edward now resides. Jedadiah located on the homestead.
Captain Hophni King came here from Northfield, Mass., at an early date: He was a contractor and builder, and done much of this class of work in this vicinity at that time. He was the father of four children. Asahel located near the center of the town, where he died at the age of seventy years. None
I33
TOWN OF HARTFORD.
of his ten children are living. Miss Eliza F. King, great-granddaughter of Hophni, is the only one of the name in the town.
Captain Phineas Russ was an early settler upon the place now owned by Peter McCabe. Mr. Russ served as captain of militia during the Revolution. He married Molly Powers, of Woodstock, reared four children, and died on the old homestead at the age of seventy-eight years. Mrs. Russ died a few months previous, aged seventy-eight years. Amasa, their eldest son, died in Richford. Susan, the only daughter, married Jared Dean, and died in Can- ada. Levi married Lois Woodard, and settled where his only son, Major Darias Russ, now lives. His farm is a portion of what was Governor Went- worth's claim. The youngest son, Phineas, Jr., settled on the old homestead.
Nial Russ, brother of Phineas, was also an early settler here. He died in 1813, having reared a family of five children. His nearest descendants now in the town are Darias, Ervin and Asa, great-grandsons.
John Perrin, one of the early pioneers of Pomfret, came here at an early date, locating in the western part of the town. He reared three sons and died at the great age of ninety-five years. His eldest son, Epaph, married Esther Chamberlin, of Woodstock, Conn., reared eleven children on the old home- stead, and died at the age of seventy-eight years. Three of his children, Calista, of Quechee village ; Martha, (Mrs. Sutherland, of Iowa,) and Mrs. Esther King, of Newport, N. H., are living.
Cornelius Shallies was an early settler in Hartford, locating on the Con- necticut, near White River Junction. He subsequently removed to the farm now owned by his grandson, Frank W. Shallies, where he closed his life.
David Bliss was born in Lebanon, Conn., February 21, 1737, married Mary Porter, May 10, 1761, and soon after came to Hartford, locating near the old town house. Later he removed to the farm now occupied by his great-grandson, and where he died May 16, 1831, aged seventy-six years, the father of eight children. Jabez, born here in 1778, married Abigail Cum- mings about 1800, and died on the old homestead February 23, 1812, leav- ing six children. John settled on the homestead, married Emeline Colburn, who died May 30, 1874, and still resides here with his son, William C.
William Burch came to Hartford at an early date, purchased about 600 acres of land located where Mrs. Sophia Udall now resides. Here he carried on a mercantile business for a number of years, but finally failed and removed to the West.
Samuel Udall, from New London, Conn., came to Hartford as one of its pioneers and soon after opened a hotel which run until his death. James, the second of his seven children, located on the old French place, now known as the James Udall place, where his daughters, Sophia and Elizabeth C. now live. He married Sophia Chamberlin, reared ten children, filled most of the town offices, and died at the age of eighty-eight years. His eldest daughter, Lydia L., married Henry Kirke Brown, the sculptor, of Newburgh, N. Y.
Nathaniel Dutton came to Hartford, locating on what was known as Chris-
I34
TOWN OF HARTFORD.
tian street, about 1767, remaining here until the close of his long life. He was the father of two sons and four daughters. One of the sons, Elijah, mar- ried Susannah Hoar, of Littleton, Mass., and reared eleven children, three of whom, Azro, Cornelia (Mrs. Gillette), and Jane (Mrs. John Newton), are living in the town.
Israel Gillette came to Hartford, from Lebanon, Conn., in 1767, locating near Olcott's Falls, though he subsequently removed to the farm now occu- pied by his grandson, Daniel O. Gillette. He reared eleven children and died at the age of ninety-one years. Before his death Mr. Gillette was able to make the following statement relative to his family : "I have forty grand- children, as many great-grandchildren and one great granddaughter who has had two children."
John Gillette, brother of Israel, came about the same time as the latter, and subsequently built the house where Edward Dutton lives. Upon John's decease, his son Billa took the homestead, whose only surviving children are Azro and Ruby, the latter a resident of Illinois.
Thomas Hazen, born September 30, 1719, married Ann Tenney, March I, 1742, and came to Hartford in 1774, where most of his sixteen children mar- ried and settled. His land, or that of the family, extended across the north- ern part of the town, including about 1,000 acres around the present village of West Hartford. Mr. Hazen built the first two-story house in the town, in the northeastern corner of the same. He died August 19, 1782.
Thomas Savage, born December 15, 1714, married Martha Whitmore, February 24, 1744, and came to Hartford about 1774, locating where Will- iam G. Chandler now resides. He reared a family of six children, three of them sons, who lived and died in the town, Seth, Thomas, Jr., and Francis W. Seth married Rhoda Bacon, and reared seven children. Hazen N., son of John, and grandson of Seth, has held the office of deputy sheriff and collector for the past ten years.
David Newton, a Revolutionary soldier, came to Hartford in 1777, and located in the northern part of the town, upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Tyler J. Newton. He married Mary Hazen and reared a family of sixteen children, seven of whom permanently located in the town, though none are now living. Andrew, son of David, was born here January 26, 1781, married Lorena Waterman, when twenty-six years of age, who bore him four children. For his second wife he married Catherine Hazen, who was the mother of Joseph Newton, the present holder of the homestead
Luther Bartholomew came to Hartford, from Connecticut, about 1783, locating upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Marcus F. Bartholo- mew. He married Azuba Farnam and reared eight children, dying at the age of eighty-one years. His son Noah died in 1871, leaving the homestead in the possession of his son, Marcus F. George K. is the only other surviving child of Noah. He is a graduate of Dartmouth college and principal of the Bar- tholomew English and Classical school, of Cincinnati, Ohio, which he founded in 1875.
I35
TOWN OF HARTFORD.
Walter Pease, born in Enfield, Conn., August 18, 1787, married Eunice Durkee, of Tunbridge, Vt., in 1810, and came to Hartford, subsequently locating upon the farm now owned by his son, George W. Pease, where he died in 1870. Mr. Pease was the father of eleven children, all but two of whom lived to have families of their own, viz. : Horace went west and was a steamboat master for many years. Luther married Harriet Cone, who now resides with her son Horace, and located at Hartford village, upon the farm now owned by his son Charles W. He was an extensive farmer, kept the hotel now run by Charles, and also owned an interest in the Quechee Woolen Co. and a store at Hartford. He died in the spring of 1876, leaving three sons, Allen L., a merchant of Hartford village, Horace C., of the firm of French, Watson & Co., and Charles W., before mentioned. Persis married Samuel Pratt, of Woodstock, Vt. Edward W. resides in Kansas. William H. is a resident of Illinois. John D. married Caroline Paddock and had three children, two of whom now live here, and died in 1869. Charles A. Pease married Mary A. Ward, of Hanover, N. H., and is now a prominent citizen of Lawrence, Kan.
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.