Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889, Part 22

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836-, comp; Adams, William, fl. 1893, ed
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., The Syracuse journal company, printers
Number of Pages: 898

USA > Vermont > Washington County > Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889 > Part 22

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).

A carefully prepared report from Augustus Claflin, Esq., which we subjoin, will show how efficiently and patriotically Barre did her whole duty in the sup- pression of the late Rebellion :-

" Whole number of three years men enlisted and credited to the town, 125 ; one year men, 21 ; nine months men, 38 ; drafted men held to service, 17 ; total, 201. Of the 17 drafted men 8 furnished substitutes, 8 paid commuta- tion money, and I only entered the service. The number of men who were killed or died was 33; the number wounded and living, 15. Albert Gobar, a bounty jumper, who afterwards returned under the President's proclamation of pardon, is the only deserter reported.

" Bounties were paid to 23 men. Co. B, roth Regt., raised by subscription $575 ; to 29 nine months men $25 each, by subscription, $725; to 10 nine months men $50 each, $500; to 28 three years men $300 each, $8,400 ; to 14 three months men $200 each, $2,800; to Albert and Anson French, twin brothers, one of whom was drafted, and the other enlisted to be with him, $600 ; to C. H. Richardson, who reenlisted, $300 ; to 19 one year men, $11,060 ; to 2 men mustered at Windsor, $1, 225 ; to I colored recruit, $400 ; to 9 navy men, $7,200; to Byron Carlton, James Powers, C. Woodward, $1,524.50 ; to those who went in 2d Regt. Vt. Vols., June, 1861, by subscrip- tion, $55 ; total, $35,364.50.

"The total expense to the town, for selectmen's and surgeons' services, for subsistence of recruits, and other incidental expenses in raising the quota of troops, under different calls, is given at $35,995.24; total public expense, $71,369.74. Money was paid by individuals as follows : Amount paid by enrolled men who furnished substitutes, $600; amount paid by drafted men who furnished substitutes, $2,600; amount paid by drafted men as commuta- tion, $2,400 ; total, $5,600."

The Barre Congregational church was organized November 14, 1799, with twelve members, two of whom, Ezekiel Wood and Nathaniel Killam, were chosen for the office of deacon. No minister was settled over the church till 1807. In the meantime Father Hobart, of Berlin, held frequent services in some house, school, or barn, till the erection of a church and the settlement of a pastor. Aaron Palmer became the first pastor in 1807 and remained in office till his death in 1821. Justus W. French became the second pastor in 1822 and remained till the close of 1831. The order and dates of the other pastors are as follows : Joseph Thatcher, 1835-38 ; J. R. Wheelock, 1838-39 ; Andrew Royce, 1841-56; E. I. Carpenter, 1857-67 ; Leonard Tenney, 1868-81 ; P. McMillan, 1881. The erection of the first house of worship was begun in 1804 and was completed in 1808. It was situated on what is now the common in Gospel Village. This name was given to that section because the church was located there. Barre cemetery is the old church-yard

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enlarged, occupying a part of the farm of the first deacon, Ezekiel Wood. The old house adjoining the cemetery in Gospel Village was long used as the parsonage. The first church building far exceeded the second, or " Old brick church," in capacity and finish. In 1840 the erection of the " Brick church " was begun on the present site, under the conviction that the mass of the town's business and population was destined to circle around it. The wis- dom of the change is now apparent to all, though at the time " there was no. small stir about that way." The work of enlarging and remodeling the brick church began in July. 1885, and was rededicated October 20, 1887. Nearly twelve thousand dollars were expended in the alterations. The church is now the chief architectual attraction of the village. While the church was without a pastor from 1799 to 1807, the membership increased from twelve to sixty- six. In 1826 the church was blessed with a great revival, and on the first Sunday in January, 1827, over seventy united with the church. In 1840 the church was again greatly increased by the addition of more than forty in one day, and since then the church has experienced seasons of great quickening. when many were added to is membership.

The church has felt the influence of the increasing population and has pre- pared itself to meet the growth of the community. Its membership is larger than in any period of its history, having received fifty-one to its communion in 1888. Its various departments of work, such as the Sunday-school, Ladies" Aid society, Ladies' Missionary society, and Young People's Society of Chris- tian Endeavor, are all flourishing and earnestly pushing their work, while the Sunday services keep pace with the increase of population.

The Methodist Episcopal church of Barre .*- At a conference held at Thompson, Conn., commencing September 20, 1796, Nicholas Snethen was appointed to Vershire circuit, and soon after took up his journey for Ver- mont. Joshua Hall had been previously appointed by the Connecticut con- ference, in 1794, but failed to respond. There is no certain record of the scene of the first sermon in Vermont preached by Nicholas Snethen, but we may reasonably suppose that it was in the house of John Langdon, of Vershire, in answer to whose persistent calls for a minister Mr. Snethen was sent. Jesse Lee, who had been the first Methodist preacher in New England, was the presiding elder, and visited Vermont during the conference year, and there is reason to suppose that he came to Vermont soon after Mr. Snethen came to Vershire circuit. According to the memory of the early residents of Barre, Mr. Lee was one of the first Methodist preachers to appear in this town, and it is a well authenticated fact that he made an appointment to preach at the house of Col. John Walker, in the south part of the town.

At the conference of 1797 Ralph Williston was appointed to Vershire cir- cuit, and during the year organized the germ of the Methodist Episcopal

* This sketch was condensed from an interesting article published in The Itinerant, at Chelsea, Vt., April 29, 1886.

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church in Barre. The members were Nathan Howard, Mary Howard, Isaac S. Thompson, Catherine Thompson, Timothy Patterson, Elizabeth Patterson, Jotham Carpenter, Reuben Carpenter, Ruby Colton, Samuel D. Cook, and Polly Boutwell. This was either the second or third Methodist class organ- ized in Vermont, the Vershire class being the first and the class at Barnard the second, unless the class at Barre can claim precedence, which is doubt- ful. However this may be, the class at Barre is recorded as the first in organization between Vershire and Montreal.

At the conference of 1798 Joseph Crawford became the preacher on Vershire circuit ; and as the town meeting of 1799 approached, he caused to be placed on record some evidence of the existence of the Methodist church in the town, as follows : "To all people to whom these presents shall come, greeting : - Know ye that I, Joseph Crawford, of the town of Barre, minister of the sect of Christians known by the name of Methodists, do hereby certify that Isaac S. Thompson, Jotham Carpenter, Timothy Patter- son, Samuel D. Cook, and Nathan Howard is of the same sect of the sub- scriber, and that I, the said Joseph Crawford, am minister of the said sect in the town of Barre, in the county of Orange, in the state of Vermont. Attest, Joseph Crawford, minister of the town of Barre. Dated this 23d day of Feb- ruary, A. D. 1799. N. Carpenter, Town Clerk."

The land records give the date of the first lot of land purchased by the Methodist society, as March 30, 1801. The plot is now the park in Barre village, and the church was built upon the southwest corner, directly opposite the site of the Universalist church now standing. It was the first public build- ing in Barre, and was the first church erected in the towns which now com- prise Washington county, and probably the first public building, having been erected five years previous to the building of the first State House, and one year previous to the occupancy of the old Quaker meeting-house at North Montpelier for religious purposes. In 1804 the Vershire circuit was divided, and the Barre circuit was organized, including Barre, Plainfield, Middlesex, Northfield, Williamstown, Montpelier, Washington, Berlin, Orange, Brookfield, Moretown, Calais, and Waitsfield, and 257 names are recorded as in mem- bership on the circuit, of which seventy-three were members at Barre, and is the largest number recorded in any one church in the circuit. The church building at Barre was not completed for some years after it was commenced. Barre enjoyed the proud distinction of having a preacher every Sunday some years before any other town upon the circuit attained to this high privilege. About 1819, through the instrumentality of Presiding Elder John Lindsley, the church was removed from its location on the common to a plot of land which adjoins the Congregational parsonage lot.

In 1826 the Williamstown circuit was set off from the Barre circuit, and in 1828 the Montpelier circuit was also set off. The Barre society continued to occupy the old church until 1837, when plans were inaugurated to erect a new church. These plans resulted in the purchase of the lot on which the Meth-

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odist church now stands, the deed being made February 1, 1838. The new church was completed in the fall of 1838, and for thirty years served the society and congregation in substantially the same form as originally built, and in 1868 was moved a few feet to the rear, the vestry, in the form of an ell, having been removed, and the main building was then raised so as to ar- range the present vestries under the audience room, the expense of the change being some $7,000. The church is now in a prosperous condition, under the efficient pastorate of Rev. Leonard L. Beeman.

B ERLIN lies in the southern part of the county, and near the center of the state, in latitude 44° 13' and longitude 4° 25', and is bounded northerly by the Winooski river which separates it from Montpelier, and a portion of Middlesex, easterly by Barre and a small part of Williams- town, southerly by a small portion of Williamstown and the town of North- field, and westerly by Moretown.

Its charter was granted in the third year of the reign of King George III., by his excellency Benning Wentworth, of New Hampshire, to Rev. Dr. Chauncey Graham and sixty-three others, June 8, 1763, and is six miles square.

The first proprietors' meeting was held at Arlington, Vt., May 17, 1785, at the inn of Eliakim Stoddard. His excellency Gov. Thomas Chittenden was chosen moderator, and Thomas Tolman, clerk. This meeting also appointed Gov. Chittenden, Marston Cabot, Moses Moss, and Samuel Hors- ford a committee to lay out the first division of sixty-four lots to contain 103 acres each.

The first settlement was made by Ebenezer Sanborn and Joseph Thurber, in the summer of 1785. Mr. Sanborn came from Corinth and located on what was afterward known as the " Bradford farm," about half a mile from the mouth of Dog river, and where C. B. Martin now lives. Mr. Thurber came from New Hampshire and made his "pitch " near the mouth of the same river. The next year Sanborn and Thurber removed to the state of New York, and Jacob Fowler, from Corinth, moved onto the farm vacated by Sanborn.

Berlin may properly be classed with the. "hilly towns," although it has fertile valleys of considerable extent along Dog river, on Berlin pond, and along its northern border on Winooski river. The views from its highest hills are grand and extensive; among the best in the Green Mountain state.

The geological construction of this town is formed of calciferous mica schist in the southeastern part, a broad belt of clay slate extends across the town north and south, and mica schist in the western part. Granite in consid- erable quantity is found, and traces of gold in alluvium on the branches of Dog river.

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TOWN OF BERLIN.

The principal water-courses traversing the town are the Winooski, which washes its northern boundary ; Dog river, which enters the town from North- field, flows nearly north, entirely across the town, and falls into the Winooski about half a mile below Montpelier village ; Pond brook, the outlet of Berlin pond, flows in a northerly direction and enters Stevens Branch ; and Stevens- Branch, which enters the town from Barre, crossing its eastern boundary, and flows across the northeastern corner of Berlin and joins the Winooski. Berlin pond lies a little southeast of the center of the town, is about two miles long and half a mile wide, and is in the midst of a beautiful and fertile valley, at an elevation of about 400 feet above Montpelier. A few pretty summer cot- tages are located near its shores. Pond brook in its descent to the Winooski forms several magnificent cascades and is a miniature Niagara.

Jacob Fowler was the first permanent settler of Berlin. He was a hunter, and was familiar with the streams and ponds as early, or earlier, than 1780. At the time of the burning of Royalton, when the Indians were returning down the Winooski, he was up Waterbury river, and on returning to its mouth discovered their trail and followed it back as far as Berlin pond. Although he was accused of being a tory, in the latter part of the Revolutionary war, he enlisted in the garrison stationed at Corinth, and did service as an Indian scout, under the command of Gen. Wait. Hon. D. P. Thompson relates the following incident of Fowler: "I used to think," said the hunter, "that I had as much wit as any wild varmint as was ever scared up in our woods ; but a sly old moose once completely baffled me, in trying to get a shot at him. This animal's usual range was on Irish hill, in the vicinity of Berlin pond. This I discovered by finding one day, as I was coming along the margin of the pond, a path leading down to the water which I knew by the tracks of great size, and of different degrees of freshness, were made by a large moose, that must have come down daily to drink. On making this discovery I resolved to have him. But after trying on three different days to get a shot at him, I utterly failed ; for either by the keenness of his sight, or smell, or hearing, he always took the alarm and made off, without allowing me more than a mere glimpse of him. As I was turning away from the last attempt, it occurred to me there might be other ways to choke a dog than by giving. him bread and butter, so I laid a plan my moose would not be looking for. The next day I shouldered a bear trap I possessed, weighing nearly forty pounds, with the iron teeth more than an inch long, went up to the pond and set it at the water's edge in the path where he came down to drink, chained it securely to a sapling, and went home. The next day I went there again, and as I drew near my trap, I saw a monstrous moose standing over the spot where I had set it. He had got one fore-foot into it, and those murderous interlocking teeth had clinched his fetlock, and held him like a vise. The next moment I put a bullet through his heart, and brought him to the ground, when, cutting out his tongue, lips, and the best part of a round, I went home, not a little proud of the exploit of outwitting him at last." Mr. Fowler

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eventually went to Canada, it is said, where he spent the last years of his life, and where he died at an advanced age.

Mrs. Titcomb kept the first school in Berlin, in a log school-house, in the summer of 1794, and the wife of Dr. Collins taught it the ensuing year. The school-house stood near the " brick residence " built by Dea. David Nye. The first school on Dog river was taught by Gershom Heaton in the winter of 1784-85 in a log house.

For some time after the first settlement of the town the nearest grist-mill was at Corinth, more than twenty-eight miles distant, and as a substitute for one, the settlers made themselves a huge mortar in a large and solid stump, in which they reduced the grain to meal by pounding it with a large and heavy pestle attached to a spring-pole. The first grist-mill was built in 1792, on the upper falls of Pond brook, now known as Benjamin falls. The first saw-mill was built the year before by Eleazer Hubbard a little above the grist-mill.

The first marriage of persons living in town was that of Joshua Swan and Miss Collins. Tradition says the gallant bridegroom, with one or two friends to assist, drew the charming bride on a hand sled to the residence of the justice of the peace . in Middlesex, where the twain were made one flesh (probably by Esq. Putnam). After the ceremony the party returned home in the same manner as they came, having made a bridal tour of about fifteen miles.

The first child born in Berlin was Abigail K., daughter of Jacob and Abi- gail Block, in 1789. She became the wife of Ira Andrews and died in 1864. The first male child born in town was Porter Perrin, in February, 1790, who died May 17, 1871. The first death was that of an infant child of John Lathrop, in 1789, and a little later in the same year Widow Collins died at the age of eighty-eight years.

The first store and tavern was opened by Jonas Parker about 1800. The next store was opened about 1806, by Charles Huntoon. These were suc- ceeded by several others. Since about 1850 there has been no general merchant in Berlin.

The first settled minister was the Rev. James Hobart, who was ordained and installed pastor November 7, 1798. The first church (Congregational) was organized October 13, 1798, with three members.

The first town meeting was held at the house of Aaron Strong, March 31, 1791. Capt. James Sawyer was elected moderator ; David Nye, town clerk ; Zachariah Perrin, Eleazer Hubbard, and James Sawyer, selectmen ; and Micajah Ingham, constable.

In 1880 Berlin had a population of 1,380. The town now (1888) has twelve school districts, which were taught the past school year by two male and twelve female teachers. The average weekly wages paid to male teachers, including board, was $6 80, and to female teachers $5.24 ; aggregate amount paid all teachers during the year, $1,658.42. Whole amount paid for all

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school purposes during the past year was $2,253.78. The whole number of children of school age was 304, of whom 283 attended the district schools and eighteen attended private schools. Arthur L. Hewitt was the efficient superintendent.

Colby Manufacturing Co., manufacturers of Colby's improved wringers, was organized by Colby Brothers in 1872, in Waterbury. In June, 1882, it was removed to Boston and chartered under Massachusetts laws. The com- pany returned to Vermont in August, 1887, and though ostensibly doing busi- ness in Montpelier, established the manufactory on the south bank of the Winooski river, in Berlin, and just across the bridge near the station of the Montpelier & Wells River R. R. In Waterbury the company manufac- tured washing machines in connection with the wringers. They have had and still have agencies established in many of the cities in the United States. The company was re-formed and the Colby Brothers retired. Previous to 1872, when the company was organized under the laws of Vermont, the Colby wringers were manufactured by Colby Brothers alone. Col. Fred E. Smith has been president of the company since its organization in Water- bury, and Mr. J. S. Batchelder, treasurer.

B. J. Reed's granite polishing-mills are located at the Pioneer Mills, on the Winooski river, which furnishes an adequate power. Mr. Reed began business at his present location in April, 1884. He does the polishing for all the granite shops in Montpelier. His mills are furnished with six fine polishing machines, and turn out a large amount of work. Mr. Reed gives employment to six men.

Wilbur Brown, successor to J. S. Wheelock, has saw, cider, and grist-mills located on Dog river, road 10, about a mile and a half south of Montpelier. The river furnishes a constant power. Mr. Brown manufactures dimension lumber to order as a specialty, also hard wood and basswood, and shingles. He turns out about 200,000 feet per annum. The grist-mill is furnished with two runs of stones and does custom grinding of meal and feed. Mr. Brown gives employment to an average of twelve men.

Thomas Gisborne's molding and planing-mill is located on Winooski river, opposite Montpelier village, where he does a moderate business, and deals in both dressed and rough lumber.

The Excelsior Granite Co. was organized in April, 1888, by the present proprietors, Messrs. S. I. Staples and M. A. Copeland. They manufacture everything in the line of granite work, with monumental work as a specialty. The location is at the Pioneer Mills, on the Barre branch of the C. V. R. R. Their polishing machine runs by water-power, and they have every facility for turning out work of superior quality. They have a branch track, and a der- rick capable of lifting fifteen tons for loading and unloading. They employ eighteen skilled workmen.

BERLIN (p. o.), generally designated as Berlin Corners, is a small village, situated a little east of the center of the town, on the outlet of Berlin pond.

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TOWN OF BERLIN.

It contains two churches (Congregational and Methodist) and about twenty dwellings.

WEST BERLIN (p. o.) is a hamlet on Dog river. It contains two churches (Congregational and Methodist), a butter factory or creamery, a few shops, and about twenty dwellings.

BERLIN STREET, situated on the Winooski river, is the most populous por- tion of the town, and is the location of the town house, a tannery, and several manufacturing enterprises. The manufacturers all reside in Montpelier. The business interests of the location are so much identified with Montpelier that it is really a part of that village. The inhabitants receive their mail by the carriers from Montpelier postoffice.

Capt. James Hobart, with his son James, came from Plymouth, N. H., in 1787, and settled near the mouth of Jones brook, in Berlin. Capt. Hobart died February 2, 1834, at the advanced age of ninety-five years. His son James, born in Plymouth, N. H., August 2, 1766, graduated at Dartmouth College as A. B., in 1794; studied theology with Rev. Asa Burton, of Thet- ford. The people of Berlin gave him a call to settle as their minister in August, 1798, and November 7, 1798, he was ordained pastor of the Con- gregational church of Berlin, which ] position he filled until May, 1829. He afterwards preached in several of the New England states. In the ninety-sixth year of his life he preached well-connected discourses, and was able to walk six or eight miles in a day. He was below the average height, stood erect, and was blessed with a retentive memory, strong voice, and good delivery. In 1804 he married Betsey, daughter of Zachariah Perrin, Esq,, of Berlin, and they had five sons and seven daughters. Three of their daughters married clergymen, one a physician, and one a judge, and after he died a merchant. The eldest son was the editor of the Mound City, a paper published in St. Louis, Mo. The second is a farmer, now living (1888), aged over eighty years. One son died soon after he had graduated at Dartmouth ; and the youngest died when nearly fitted to enter college. The third son, David Ho- bart, married Miss Reed, a teacher in the graded school of Gardiner, Me., November 10, 1853, and settled on the old Hobart place, where his father, Rev. James Hobart, and grandfather, Capt. James Hobart, passed the last years of their lives. The children of David and Caroline E. Hobart are T. D. Hobart, who was educated in the common schools, Barre Academy, and Ver- mont Methodist Seminary. He was, for some time, superintendent and teacher of common schools in Berlin, and is now a civil engineer in Mobeetie, Texas. The second child, Lizzie M., educated in Berlin common schools and Ver- mont Methodist Seminary, has also taught public schools. Their youngest child, Clara, remains at home with her parents.

Abel Sawyer, a native of Lancaster, Mass., with his wife, a native of Shrews- bury, Mass., and their two sons, John and Moses Hastings, moved from Hart- land, Vt., to Barre, in 1788, and located on what is now known as the old Beckley farm. There he lived a short time, and then removed to Berlin,

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where he settled permanently. Mr. and Mrs. Sawyer came to Barre in com- pany with the family of John Goldsbury, who was the father of Mrs. Sawyer. The homestead in Berlin is known as the Sawyer farm, and is owned and oc- cupied .by his grandson, David Boles. Here Mr. Sawyer first erected a log cabin, and here he reared eight children. The mother of Mr. Boles was his fifth child. Mr. Sawyer planted, on his farm, apple seeds brought from Lan- caster, Mass., which produced the finest orchard and best fruit in town. Mr. Sawyer served seven years in the Revolutionary war in the capacity of black- smith, and continued his trade for many years after he settled in Berlin. At the time he settled in his forest home bears were numerous, and Mr. Boles says he often heard his grandmother relate that she frequently saw them, and noted particularly one with a white face. The brooks and ponds swarmed with speckled trout. On their journey from Hartland they camped over night near Berlin pond. A pail of water which had been dipped from the brook in the evening was found in the morning to be alive with small trout. The family, like most of the pioneer settlers, was very poor, and the sons, John and M. Hastings, frequently caught the " speckled beauties " from Onion river and carried them through the woods to Capt. Ayers, and exchanged with him even weight for pork. Mr. Sawyer had a happy disposition, was genial, kind, and hospitable, in religious opinions a Universalist, but highly respected the ministers of every denomination. Moses Hastings Sawyer, the second son, when quite a young man, undertook the task, by hard labor and careful economy, to clear the homestead of a heavy mortgage, which he eventually accomplished and saved the home for the family. He never married. With the aid of his maiden sister, Rebecca, he reared David Boles, son of his sister Mary, as his own son, and left the farm to him, which has been in possession of the family about 100 years. Mr. Boles was born on the farm.

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Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889, Part 22

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836-, comp; Adams, William, fl. 1893, ed Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., The Syracuse journal company, printers Number of Pages: 898

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836-, comp; Adams, William, fl. 1893, ed
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., The Syracuse journal company, printers
Number of Pages: 898