Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889, Part 31

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 31

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).

E AST MONTPELIER lies in the central part of the county, in latitude 44° 17' and longitude 4° 25', and is bounded northerly by Calais, easterly by Plainfield and a small part of Marshfield, southerly by Berlin, from which it is separated by the Winooski river, and a part of Barre, and westerly by Montpelier and Middlesex.

East Montpelier is the youngest town in Washington county, and at the same time one of the first settled. It was set off from Montpelier by the act of the legislature of 1848, and contains 18,670 acres-a little more than four-fifths of the territory of the original town. There was a petition for this division, signed by the majority of the legal voters of the village, and a remonstrance to the measure, signed by the whole mass, in the part proposed to be set off, and a respectable minority of the voters in the village. Not- withstanding, the legislature passed the act and the division was made. The Green Mountain Boys have always been tenacious of their rights, and some

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who were thus arbitrarily set off at first exhibited a little warm blood. But time is a healer, and now both towns see that the division is a mutual benefit.

The town has a hilly and uneven surface, but has very little, if any, waste land. The soil is strong and rich, and produces bountiful crops. The town has no large villages, and agriculture is the leading industry. Grass is king, and the dairy takes the lead ; but large crops of spring wheat, corn, oats, and potatoes are also raised. Nearly every farm has a fine sugar orchard, sup- plied with a convenient sugar house, and fixtures necessary for the successful manufacture of maple sugar. This industry is the source of quite a large income. The town is abundantly watered by numerous streams and springs, the largest of which are the Winooski river and Kingsbury Branch. The Winooski enters the town from the northwesterly corner of Plainfield, after draining Cabot and Marshfield, and flows in a southwest direction to the line of Berlin. In its course through the town it affords many fine water-powers, notably at East Montpelier village. Kingsbury Branch is the outlet of numerous ponds in Woodbury and several in Calais, turns the Sibley woolen- mills and other mills at North Montpelier, crosses the northeasterly part of the town, and joins the Winooski.

The geological formation in this town are talcose schist underlaying the western part, a broad belt of clay slate in the central, and calciferous mica schist in the western part. Beds of limestone are also found in the central part of the town.

January 1, 1849, East Montpelier was organized into a separate munici- pality by the election of the following board of town officers : Addison Peck, moderator ; Royal Wheeler, town clerk ; Stephen F. Stevens, Isaac Cate, and J. C. Nichols, selectmen ; A. Peck, treasurer and overseer of the poor ; and J. P. W. Vincent, constable.

Clara Davis, daughter of Gen. Parley and Cynthia Davis, was born Jan- uary 19, 1849, and was the first child born in town after the new organi- zation. The first marriage ceremony was performed by Charles Sibley, jus- tice of the peace, January 21, 1849, and the parties most interested in the ceremony were Rodney G. Bassett and L. Amelia Willard.

In 1880 the population of East Montpelier numbered 972 souls. In 1888 the town had ten school districts and maintained schools in nine of them. The whole number of scholars who attended school was 177, eleven of whom attended private school. The schools were taught by one male and fifteen female teachers. The male teacher received a weekly salary of $9.413, and the female teachers received an average weekly salary of $4.70. The whole amount paid teachers, including board, was $1,242. The entire income for all school purposes was $1,410.17, and the whole amount paid for all school purposes was $1,520.22.

EAST MONTPELIER (p. o.) village is pleasantly situated on the Winooski river, about one mile from the railroad depot on the Montpelier & Wells River railroad. It contains one meeting-house (Universalist), a school-house,

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store, postoffice, a saw-mill with planer and shingle-mill, a grist-mill, one feed- mill, a blacksmith shop, several mechanics, and fifteen or twenty dwelling houses. This village in the past has suffered heavy losses by fire.

NORTH MONTPELIER (p. o.) is located in the northeasterly corner of the town, on Kingsbury Branch, which furnishes the village an excellent water- power. It contains a pretty meeting-house (Universalist), the Sibley woolen- mills, grist-mill, saw-mill, store, blacksmith shop, and from twenty to twenty- five dwellings.

The Sibley woolen-mills, G. F. Sibley, proprietor, are located at North Montpelier, on Kingsbury Branch, which affords a fine power, being the out- let of twenty or more natural ponds or lakes. The principal ones are located in Woodbury and Calais. The factory buildings were completed in 1840 by Col. Nathaniel Davis, Jr., and were operated by several proprietors, without much success, until 1849, when Mr. Walter Little became its owner, and con- ducted it with fine success until his death in 1859. In the spring of 1880 Mr. Sibley came into possession of the property, and has run the mills to their full capacity and with fair success to the present time (fall of 1888). Mr. Sibley is manufacturing white flannels of fine quality, which command ready sale. He consumes over 50,000 pounds of wool annually, and gives employment to twenty-five hands.

Hollister's mills, erected by Horace Hollister in 1855, and now owned by his son, Martin V. B. Hollister, are located in the village of North Montpe- lier, on Kingsbury Branch, which furnishes a constant and ample power. The mills are supplied with three runs of stones, and are celebrated for making an excellent quality of flour, and have ground for customers 10,000 bushels of wheat in one year. These mills also do a large business in grinding corn and feed. Their capacity for grinding is not less than 500 bushels per day. In connection with the grist-mill Mr. Hollister has a saw-mill, where he does a. considerable business in sawing hard and soft wood lumber.

J. S. Wheelock's mills (just erected) are located on the Winooski river, in the little village of East Montpelier. ' The mills are furnished with the best modern and improved machinery. Mr. Wheelock is a manufacturer of ex- perience, and will furnish all kinds of lumber and shingles. Builders can have jobs in dimension lumber manufactured to order on short notice. The grist-till will be ready to grind corn and feed for customers, and those who wish to purchase flour, feed, and grain will find Mr. Wheelock ready to supply their wants.

Gen. Parley Davis, son of Nathaniel and Sarah Davis, was born in Charl- ton, Mass., March 31, 1766. He received a good English education at the academy, in the town of Leicester, which included a knowledge of land sur- veying. He came into town with his cousin, Col. Jacob Davis, for the pur- pose of assisting in the original survey of the own, and soon rose to princi- pal surveyor of the town and county. It w" while thus engage i that he located his pitch of 300 acres in the center o e own, an el vated plateau

17*

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TOWN OF EAST MONTPELIER.

then covered with a growth of stately maples and very little undergrowth or brush. Here he thought he foresaw the seat of the most populous village of Montpelier, and the location for transacting its business. His anticipations, so far as the seat for town business were concerned, were fulfilled. He built on his place a commodious house, in which the town meetings were held for many years, and afterwards in the basement of the Methodist meeting- house, up to the present. In all the interests of his town he was an active and influential participator. For the success of the common schools, the education and welfare of the young people, and in establishing a town library, he was found the most active and liberal. In 1790, at the organiza- tion of the first military company in the town, he was elected captain, and rose by rapid promotions to the position of general in 1799. He held many of the important offices of trust in his town, and was its representative in the legislature of 1799, and was again reelected. In 1794 Gen. Davis mar- ried Rebecca, daughter of Col. Stephen Peabody, of Amherst, N. H., a Revolutionary officer, and especially distinguished as one of the most active field officers under Gen. Stark at the battle of Bennington. Miss Peabody was a sister of Dr. Peabody, with whom she had studied and practiced, mainly in surgery. After her marriage her reputation for surgical skill brought to her the unfortunate from all parts of the state. She not only acted well her part in society, but diffused blessings to the sick and afflicted. General and Mrs. Parley Davis were parents of seven daughters, and in their education these enterprising parents liberally patronized the academy at Montpelier. Gen. Davis died April 14, 1848, at the age of eighty-two years. Mrs. Davis died February 5, 1854, aged eighty-three years.

Jonathan Cutler, a pioneer settler, located his farm in the woods where Mrs. Eliza A. Cummings now lives, and where he afterwards resided until he died. His son David married Abigail Carroll, and settled adjoining his father. He never moved, and died there November 21, 1840. Only three of his ten children are now living, viz .: Philura (Mrs. Samuel Templeton), a widow residing in Calais ; Leonard, a bachelor, who resides on Berlin street in Berlin ; and Laura L. (Mrs. Augustus F. Batchelder), a widow, who resides on a farm in East Montpelier.

John Templeton and Solomon Dodge came from Peterboro, N. H., to East Montpelier, in June, 1788, and selected adjacent lots for their future homes. Mr. Templeton selected the place where his gandson Austin Temple- ton now lives, and Mr. Dodge located on the farm where his youngest daughter, Mrs. J. R. Young, resided. They commenced to fell the forest at once, but soon after returned to Peterboro to do their haying. After that was accom- plished they spent the remainder of the season on their lots in East Mont- pelier, clearing land, and in building each of them a log house. In the fol- lowing spring, March, 1789, they returned with their families and made East Montpelier their permanent home. They had married sisters, and were ac- companied by their father-in-law, James Taggart. The party stopped awhile

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with Col. Davis at Montpelier ; but as soon as practicable they wended their way through the snow two feet deep, to their cabins in the wilderness, five miles away. On their arrival at their destination Mr. Templeton found that the bark roof of his log cabin had in part been blown away or crushed by the weight of the snow, so that the snow was nearly as deep inside of his house as outside. They had no other alternative but to clear out the snow, build a fire, and repair damages at their leisure. And on this farm Mr. and Mrs. Templeton spent the remainder of their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Dodge also oc- cupied their farm until the close of their lives. Thus began the first perma- nent settlement in East Montpelier. All of that season, until in the fall, when Col. Davis had completed his grist-mill, they were obliged to carry their flour and meal from the nearest mill, at Williamstown, on their backs, a distance of twenty miles.

The next year, 1790, Jonathan Snow, the third settler, moved into town. Until then their nearest neighbors were the family of Col. Davis, five miles distant. Mrs. Templeton often said that for a year, lacking only one day, she saw no woman except Mrs. Dodge and her sister, Jenna Taggart, who lived with her. Mr. Templeton died May 18, 1813, aged forty-eight years. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Templeton were John, Jr., Samuel, Miles, James, Hiram, Paul, and a daughter who died in childhood.

John Templeton, Jr., was born in Peterboro, N. H., May 18, 1784, and was nearly five years old when his parents settled in East Montpelier. He died February 1, 1855. He married Lorany White, who was born July 10, 1785, and died May 3, 1879. Mr. Templeton was the oldest of the family, and his father was in poor health. In winter, when he was nine years old, he drew hay alone, with one ox, from the beaver meadow two miles away. He was a farmer and also teamed to Burlington, Montreal, and Boston. He settled estates and was often a referee. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Tem- pleton were Polly, born May 12, 1803 ; Nahum, born May 18, 1805 ; Mary Ann, born December 31, 1806 ; Lucy, born November 25, 1809; John, born August 28, 1811 ; Fanny, born November 24, 1814, died August 9, 1854 ; Samuel, born April 10, 1816, died May 12, 1875 ; Hiram, born June 1, 1817 ; James, born January 29, 1822, died September 22, 1842 ; and Charles Clark, born September 10, 1826. Of these Hiram and Charles Clark now reside in Montpelier. Hiram married Miss Mary A. Vincent, January 2, 1845, who was born August 11, 1824.

Hiram Templeton has always been a farmer, and by his untiring industry, superior management, and sound judgment, has saved a competency. He is universally respected, and an honest man. Their children are Mrs. Spar- row, residing in the neighborhood with her husband, and Lee, who is engaged in farming with his father. Charles Clark Templeton married Phebe S. Vincent, March 24, 1852, who was born October 2, 1826, and is a farmer in the neighborhood of his brother.

Samuel Templeton, son of John the pioneer, was born in Peterboro, N. H.,

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November 15, 1788, and was only four months old when his parents settled in East Montpelier. He died on the homestead which his father had cleared, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years seven and one-half months. Although he always resided in the same place, he had resided in four counties. and two towns. Mr. Templeton was a reliable citizen. His children are his- son Austin, who succeeds him on the old homestead. and his daughter, Mrs. James M. Howland, of Montpelier.

Maj. Nathaniel Davis, brother of Gen. Parley Davis, was born in Oxford, Mass., November 25, 1769. He was a man of great energy and compre- hensive business ability. In 1789 he came to East Montpelier, bought a. farm in the northeastern part of the town. and at once commenced to clear it. In 1792 he married Dolly Davis, of his native town. The next year he. built a saw-mill on his farm, and before 1800 was doing a large mercantile. business and manufacturing potash. About 1810 he commenced the village of East Calais by building there a grist-mill, saw-mill, nail and scythe factory, and opening a store. Later this property passed into the possession of his sons- in-law, Shubael Wheeler and Samuel Rich. His daughter, Mrs. N. C. King, was as generously remembered. In 1825 Mr. Davis, in company with his son, bought farm after farm, and were farmers on a large scale, and marketed more than 100 beef cattle yearly. In 1838 they built the woolen-mills at North Montpelier, which proved an unsuccessful enterprise. Mr. Davis died in 1843, aged seventy-four years.

Jonathan Snow, born in Rochester, Mass., July 12, 1768, married Lydia. Hunnett, of Middleboro, February 11, 1790. She was born August 18, 1771. In 1789 Mr. Snow came to East Montpelier, then Montpelier, and worked for Col. Davis. In the fall he located his farn where his youngest son, Alonzo Snow, now lives, cleared about an acre, built a log house, and returned to. Massachusetts. Immediately after his marriage, in February, he started for his wilderness home with an ox-team, and brought his wife and goods. His. was the sixth family in town. In time a frame dwelling took the place of the log cabin, where Mr. Snow carried on the double occupation of farmer and shoemaker. At the breaking out of the War of 1812 he enlarged his house by the addition of another story, and opened it for a tavern, which he con- tinued with success about twenty-eight years. He died at the home where he first settled, March 31, 1846. Mrs. Snow died March 31, 1843. Their chil- dren were Hannah, Polly, Charity, Barnabas H., Abner H., Mark, Avis H., Horace, Elias S., Nancy, Jonathan, and Alonzo. All are dead except Alonzo,. who was born September 2, 1811, received a common school education, and has been twice married, first to Ruby Bassett, October 29, 1839, who was the mother of all his children. At the time of his marriage he purchased and settled on the homestead, and added to it until he owned 150 acres. Mr. Snow has been a hard worker, and has the name of being the most industrious man. in town. About thirty years ago he displaced the old two-story dwelling, and- erected in its stead his present fine house. In 1876 he built a new set of con-

Royal Wheeler

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venient barns, and is now enjoying the fruits of his industry. Mrs. Snow died June 2, 1859. June 12, 1862, he married his present wife, Mrs. Sarah (Shortt) Ainsworth, who was born November 4, 1819. His children are Alonzo J., born October 4, 1840, who resides in Chicago ; Fred M., born August 10, 1845, who resides in his native town ; and Mary R. (Mrs. George E. Hollister), born February 24, 1858, whose husband is an enterprising farmer in Marshfield.

Benjamin I. Wheeler was born in Rehoboth, Mass., September 19, 1766. He settled at Montpelier, now East Montpelier, about the year 1790, on the farm where he lived until his death. His father and grandfather were named Philip Wheeler. He was one of a large family, two brothers of which came to Montpelier at an early date and lived to an advanced age. At the organ- ization of the town of Montpelier, in 1791, he was elected one of the listers and one of the highway surveyors, and the same year town grand juror. In 1792 he was elected selectman, and held that office sixteen years previous to 1818. In the spring of 1793 he married Huldah French, of Attleboro, Mass. They had five sons and five daughters, all of whom lived to maturity except three sons, who died while quite young. He died March 7, 1845. His wife died February 8, 1856, aged eighty-four years. Royal Wheeler, second son of Benjamin I. and Huldah (French) Wheeler, was born at Montpelier, now East Montpelier, December 15, 1799. He taught school in young manhood, but adopted farming as his occupation for life. He was selectman from 1831 to 1836, several years moderator of town meetings, representative to the state legislature in 1838 and 1839, and state senator in 1852 and 1853. At the organization of the town of East Montpelier, in 1849, he was chosen clerk, which office he held until 1855. October 31, 1827, he married Lucy, daughter of Parley and Rebecca (Peabody) Davis, born at Montpelier, now East Montpelier, February 5, 1802. He died March 4, 1874, and she September 16, 1878, both at East Montpelier. They had two children, viz .: Benjamin I., born September 12, 1828, now living at East Montpelier ; and Sarah D., born November 18, 1835, who died August 14, 1884. Royal Wheeler was mentally a strong man. He was active in pro- moting the educational and religious interests of his town, an eminent and and faithful public officer, an honest, upright business man, and a generous and valuable citizen. His son Benjamin I. is a man thoroughly well in - formed, a great reader, often asked and always ready to give information to his neighbors, and is one of East Montpelier's most reliable citizens.

The Pecks of Montpelier and East Montpelier were descended from Joseph Peck, who was in the twenty-first generation from John Peck, of Bol- ton, Yorkshire county, England. It is said that the genealogy of the Pecks has probably been traced back farther than that of any other Vermont family.

Nathaniel Peck came to Montpelier from Royalston, Mass., in 1790, and cleared the farm still owned and occupied by his descendants. His brother Hiram came about the same time and settled on the farm next south, now

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owned by Enoch H. Vincent. Like several other of the early settlers, viz .: John Templeton, Duncan Young, and Solomon Dodge, Nathaniel married one of the daughters of James Taggart. His first wife was Jane Taggart, by whom he had several children, of whom only Mary and Laura grew to maturity. Mary died, unmarried, in 1877, and Laura married Stephen Wright, of Berlin. The second wife of Nathaniel Peck was the widow of Remember Carpenter, of Barre, née Phebe Smith, formerly of Rehoboth, Mass. The children by this marriage who attained majority were Addison, Russel, and Sharlock. Nathaniel Peck was a man of integrity and religious principle, a member of the Methodist church, and for many years class-leader of that society in this town. He belonged to the order of Free Masons. His early struggles in clearing and settling a farm in the wilderness were similar to those of other pioneers. He drew a brass kettle from Brookfield on a hand sled, and went there to mill, one ox ahead to break the road, followed by another with grain on his back. He died April 10, 1827, aged sixty-two years.

Addison Peck, oldest son of Nathaniel and Phebe Peck, was born Sep- tember 6, 1807, and with the exception of two years spent his whole life on the farm where he was born, and his history for over forty years is closely identi- fied with that of his town and county. With no schooling outside the dis- trict school of seventy years ago, except a term or two at the academy in Montpelier, he early fitted himself as a teacher, and taught winters for several years in the towns of Montpelier and Waterbury, working hard on the farm during most of the year, as his father, after an illness of some four years, died when Addison was in his twentieth year. He chose law as his profes- sion, and studied law a year after attaining his majority ; but In accordance with his widowed mother's wishes he gave it up and consented to remain on the farm. But nature had eminently fitted him for public work to which he was constantly called. He was captain of the cavalry company, 5th Regi- ment and 4th Division of the state militia, receiving his commission from Gov. William A. Palmer, in April, 1833. He was constable and sheriff for years after 1835, represented the town of Montpelier in the legislature in 1842 and 1843, and was high sheriff for Washington county for three years, beginning in the fall of 1846. After the separation of the town in 1848 he was the first town treasurer of East Montpelier, and the first overseer of the poor, elected in 1849, holding the offices for three years, when, in 1852, he left town, being absent two years. In 1860 he was again overseer and agent, retaining the offices for years. He took the census in ten towns in Wash- ington county in 1860, and was state senator for this county in 1862 and '63.

Interested in politics, a Democrat before the civil war, but ever and always for the Union, he was an ardent laborer in the Union cause during the war, acting as recruiting officer from the fall of 1863 to the close of the war, speaking often at the war meetings, sometimes making, from his own purse,

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little additions to the soldiers' bounties. He was a natural and easy public speaker, often called upon without any previous notice, and always ready.

In all measures for the public good he heartily cooperated. Well versed in laws relating to ordinary business, and for nearly half his life justice of the peace, he was constantly called upon to make out legal documents, and give advice on legal questions, which with the settlement of estates and fre- quent calls to more public work at political meetings and conventions, made his life one of constant labor. As a man he was generous and kind hearted, an obliging neighbor, and a friend of the poor. Many a time did he pay the debt that saved the penniless debtor from jail or redeemed for him his last

cow. Hundreds of dollars spent in this way were never recovered. He mar- ried, in 1837, Mary Hammond Dodge, daughter of Solomon Dodge, Jr., and his wife, Rebecca Hammond, and granddaughter of Solomon Dodge and his wife, Mollie Taggart. In his wife he found a helpmeet indeed. Called so much from his farm work, that must have suffered but for her clear head and skillful management. After a trying illness of more than five years Mr. Peck died, September 22, 1881, and his wife, after his death, faded year by year, and died March 13, 1888. Only four of their children lived to maturity, all of whom, following in the steps of their ancestors, took up for a time the vocation of teaching. The youngest daughter died in 1872.

John Howard peck, son of Addison and Mary Peck, was born March 8, 1843, and died November 30, 1879. He was a cadet at Norwich in 1862 and 1863, and received from that university the degree of Bachelor of Sci- ence. He graduated at Dartmouth Medical College, October 31, 1866, and commenced practice in Concord, Vt., in January, 1867, and subsequently fol- lowed his profession successfully in St. Johnsbury, Derby, and Janesville, Wis., leaving the last named place after a brief stay, to care for his invalid father and the affairs of the family, spending the last three years of his life in his childhood's home. He was twice married, first to Hannah M. Bailey, of Hartford, who died a little more than a year after marriage, and afterwards to Florence Bates, of Derby. He belonged to the order of Free Masons, and helped organize a lodge at West Concord, Vt., himself being its first Master. What was said of him in life may not be out of place in this sketch : " He was a well read and skillful physician, a courteous gentleman, and a reliable business man."

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Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889, Part 31

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