USA > Vermont > Washington County > Gazetteer of Washington County, Vt., 1783-1889 > Part 54
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 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
The first meeting of the proprietors was held at the house of Benjamin Burtch, an innholder in Hartford, Windsor county, November 20, 1783. Hon. Paul Spooner was moderator, and Briant Brown, clerk. A committee consisting of Briant Brown, Esq., Capt. John Strong, Elisha Gallup, Abel Lyman, and Asa Taylor, was chosen to examine the township, and to lay out a first division of 100 acres to each proprietor, with an allowance of five per cent. for highways. The ensuing Christmas day they held an adjourned meeting, and voted a tax of ten shillings lawful money on each proprietor's right, to pay the expenses of surveying. This tax was to be paid in money, wheat, beef, or pork, at cash price. They also levied an additional tax of two shillings lawful money on each right to defray the expense of procuring the charter. Just the time when the survey was made, or how many meet- ings were held by the proprietors, can not now be ascertained. The proprie- tors held a meeting at the house of Asa Edgerton, in Randolph, August 6, 1788. Major Elijah Paine was moderator, and Deacon David Bates, clerk. It was voted to lay out two divisions, each proprietor to have one lot in each division. It is possible that no division had been made previous to this time. Eventually the township was surveyed into three divisions. The first and second, including the five per cent. allowance for highways, contained 105 acres in each lot, and the third 136 acres.
The township is situated on the height of land, and forms a part of the water-shed of the Winooski and White rivers. The surface is broken and uneven, but the soil is strong and fertile. It is mainly an agricultural town, and the dairy is the leading industry. Originally it was mainly covered with hard wood timber, interspersed with hemlock, spruce, and fir in some loca- tions.
The rocks entering into the geological structure of the town are talcose schist and clay slate, with beds of serpentine (commercial name, verd antique marble) near the village. The clay slate underlies about one-third of the east- ern part of the town, while the remaining portion of the town is occupied by
445
TOWN OF ROXBURY.
the talcose schist formation. Traces of gold in alluvium are discovered along the principal streams.
The topography of the township is such that it can not have any large streams. The northern part is drained by three branches of Dog river, which flow north into and unite in Northfield, while the southern part is drained by brooks that flow south and enter the White river. And quite. singular, two of these at the village are parallel, but flow in opposite direc- tions. Years ago the brook running north was turned into the one that runs south, and was made to do service, in aiding to turn machinery for Capt. Ford, in Randolph. But the mill owners north soon compelled the Captain to allow the stream to flow through its natural channel.
The first settlement was made May 1, 1789, by Christopher Huntington and his family. Mr. Huntington was a native of Mansfield, Conn., but had resided awhile in Norwich, Vt. The way was so rough that he was obliged to draw his effects on a hand sled several miles, and on bare ground. Mr. Huntington was an elderly man, but presumed to be bold and resolute. He was a Universalist preacher, and after others moved into the town he preached the first sermon, and held meetings in various locations. One who heard him preach on several occasions said of him : " He was a pretty likely man, but not much of a preacher." Several of the children of Mr. Huntington were of mature age when he came to Roxbury, and his sons, Jedediah, Thomas, and Jonathan, were quite prominent in town affairs when the town was organized. Mr. Huntington removed to Canada about 1804, and the others of his family left the town about the same time. One of his sons was afterwards a Baptist preacher, and settled in Braintree. The Mr. Hunting- ton who recently died in Canada, and who bequeathed $25,000 to the state of Vermont, is said to have been one of his sons. His daughter Lydia died January 23, 1792, at the age of seventeen, and was the first person who died in Roxbury.
Samuel Richardson, as near as can be ascertained, was the second perma- nent settler of Roxbury. He came in the fall of 1790, and built a log house, into which he moved his family the ensuing spring. Isaac Lewis, David, Robert, and Jonathan Cram, and Benoni Webster and others, were in town before its organization. Lydia, daughter of Jedediah Huntington, who was born March 14, 1795, was the first child born in Roxbury. The first male child born in town was Philip, son of David Cram, March 18, 1795, only four days after Miss Lydia's advent into the town. The first marriage ceremony performed in town occurred June 27, 1799. Israel Converse, justice of the peace, officiated. The contracting parties were Sarah Richardson and Ches- ter Batchelder.
The first town meeting was held March 25, 1796, at the house of Jedediah Huntington, in pursuance of an order or " warning " issued by Joseph Crane, a justice of the peace, residing in Williamstown, who it seems attended the meeting, and kindly piloted the town through its organization. The officers
.
446
TOWN OF ROXBURY.
then elected were Joseph Crane, moderator ; Thomas Huntington, town clerk; Samuel Richardson, Isaac Lewis, and Jedediah Huntington, select- men ; David Cram, treasurer ; Jonathan Huntington, constable; David Cram and Thomas Huntington, listers ; Samuel Richardson and Christopher Hunt- ington, highway surveyors. The sum total of the grand list at this time was £165, 15s. The town was first represented in the legislature in 1804, by Zebediah Butler.
The first freeman's meeting was held in 1797. " Record of the meeting : The freemen of Roxbury, all to a man, met at the house of Jedediah Hunt- ington in said town, according to warning, when the freeman's oath was duly administered, by the town clerk, to the following men : Christopher Hunt- ington, Roswell Adams, Isaac Lewis, David Cram, John Stafford, Benoni Webster, Jedediah Huntington, Perus Huntington, Benjamin Hunter, Jr., Daniel Corbin, and Chester Batchelder."
Samuel Richardson and Thomas and Jonathan Huntington had before been qualified to vote. The entire number of voters then residing in town was fourteen. At a town meeting held in March, 1799, voted, "that from April 1 to May 20, it shall not be lawful for sheep or swine to run at large on the commons or highways, and if wilfully or negligently allowed to run, the owners thereof shall pay double damages." We presume this provision was made to protect the sugar camps which were then near the settlers' dwellings, as at that time the town had neither a common nor highways. The town called a meeting in 1802, " to see if the town would vote to set the small-pox in town." The voters, after due deliberation, concluded they did not want it, and dissolved the meeting.
In 1806 the town levied a tax of seven mills on a dollar to purchase a set of surveying instruments. Samuel Robertson was chosen surveyor, and was voted the use of the instruments for doing the surveying for the town. These instruments, a compass and chain, are still the town's property.
The town petitioned the legislature for a land tax, at their session in Wind- sor, in October, 1795, which granted a tax of one cent on each acre in town. The tax was probably collected some time in 1796. This was the first tax for the town. The first deed found on the town records was recorded March 24, 1796. This conveyance is from Asa Huntington to Daniel Kingsbury, dated Brookfield, September 3, 1794.
In 1880 Roxbury had a population of 938. In 1888 the township had ten school districts and a school was maintained in each of them, and were taught by eighteen female teachers at an average weekly salary, including board, of $4.25. The whole number of scholars who attended school was 149, of whom five attended private schools. The entire income for school purposes was $1,028.66. The amount paid teachers, including board, was $1,074.60. The whole amount paid for all school purposes was $1,209.28. I. H. Fisk was superintendent.
Samuel Richardson built the first saw and grist-mills in town, about a mile
447
TOWN OF ROXBURY.
and a half from the village on the road to Warren. Asa Taylor was the first merchant. The next was Robertson & Orcut, who also manufactured salts from ashes they received in exchange for their goods. Wool-carding was commenced as early as 1800, in the eastern part of the town, by Daniel Kingsley. In 1820 Samuel Robertson and Leicester Davis manufactured wooden bowls and plates. Charles Samson manufactured potato whiskey on West hill, near the Wetmore place. Billa Woodard manufactured saddle- trees (frames for saddles) successfully several years. Ephraim Morris and Nathan Kendall run a tannery a few years, at the foot of East hill.
The first settled minister was Rev. Ophir Shipman. Hon. Zed S. Stanton said in his centennial address, August 22, 1876: "Considerable excitement was occasioned at the time the first minister in town was ordained. The charter of the town granted to such person a lot of land. In those days there were many lay preachers, and one of these, a man named Culver, was privately ordained, and laid claim to this lot, together with all the improve- ments that had been made upon it. The selectmen of the town objected to this ; but Culver would not yield, and then they endeavored to have a preacher named Smith, better known as ' Happy John,' ordained. He declined, and Ophir Shipman was next appealed to. He consented and was the first regu- larly ordained minister in Roxbury. He held the value of the land, without improvements. The result of this strife was the destroying of the Close Com- munion Baptist church in this place."
John Stafford kept the first tavern on the " Rood place." John Spaulding built the Summit House in 1822, and conducted it for a time. John Staf- ford was the first physician. The first mail route was established in 1826, and John Spaulding was first postmaster. Guy Edson carried the first mail. The advent of the stage coach was in 1830, drawn by four and sometimes six horses, which created about as much excitement as did the first train of cars, in 1848.
ROXBURY is a post village situated in the northwestern part of the town, on a branch of Dog river and the Central Vermont railroad. It contains the shops of J. G. Hall Mfg. Co., where watchmakers' tools are made, one steam saw-mill, a blacksmith shop, two stores, one hotel, two church edifices, a school house, one settled minister, one lawyer, one doctor, and thirty or forty dwellings.
EAST ROXBURY (p. o.) is a small hamlet situated in the extreme south- eastern corner of the town. It contains a grocery store, school-house, saw- mill, butcher's shop, and about a dozen families.
E. N. Spalding's steam mills are located on Broad brook, and near the track of the C. V. R. R. In 1865 Mr. Spalding built a water-power mill on the site of his present mills, and a short time after added steam-power. December 5, 1862, this mill was destroyed by fire, and the present mills were built by him during that month. A fifty-horse-power steam engine furnishes the power, and turns out 1,000,000 feet of lumber yearly. Mr. Spalding
448
TOWN OF ROXBURY.
employs a force of thirty-five men. In 1877 he added machinery for manu- facturing croquet sets, which industry he continued until 1882. His timber supplies are obtained from his tract of about 4,000 acres of timberlands near his mills.
A. W. Tewksbury & Son's steam mills are located near the railroad cross- ing in the village. Daniel Tarbell built these mills in the spring of 1881, run them two years, when they passed into the hands of the first named firm, who reside in West Randolph. These mills cut out dimension and chair stock lumber. The lumber for chair stock is shipped to West Randolph, where it is converted into chair stock. The company has a side track to their mills, so that the lumber is at once loaded onto cars. The average output is 1,000,000 feet per annum, and requires a force or ten men, with Mr. J. Q. Flint, foreman ; C. W. Williams, sawyer ; and Loren J. Wiley, engineer.
Luke Tarbell's saw-mill is in the easterly part of the town, on the east branch of Dog river, which furnishes the power. The mill was built by Messrs. Laban Webster and F. A. Wiley, about 1868. This firm was dissolved by the death of Mr. Webster in 1880. Mr. Wiley conducted the business from that time until August, 1888, when Mr. Tarbell bought the property. He has improved it, and built a new dam and conductor. The capacity of the mill is now about 1,000,000 feet of dressed lumber per year. Mr. Tar- bell employs six men.
E. P. Burnham's clapboard, shingle, and grist-mills are located on Broad brook, road 40, and about sixty rods from the railroad. John Prince built an " up and down " saw-mill here in 1849, which in part he converted into a butter tub factory and a custom grist-mill for grinding provender. It is now owned by Mr. Burnham, who converted it into its present form. He turns out from 600,000 to 1,000,000 feet of clapboards and 600,000 shingles an- nually, and also grinds provender. He employs from four to six men. Wil- lis H. Cady is foreman. There is also a blacksmith shop connected with the mills.
Jacob Wardner's saw-mill is located at East Roxbury, and near the east line of the town, on the east branch of Dog river, which furnishes power to run it. It was built by Mr. Wardner's father, and then contained both a saw-mill and grist-mill. These buildings run down, and a saw-mill was re- built, furnished with a circular saw. Mr. Wardner does custom work.
Azro J. Boyce engaged in butchering and dealing in meat at East Rox- bury in 1865. He has built up a fine trade, and supplies a long list of patrons from his cart in the villages of Northfield, Brookfield, and Roxbury. He slaughters about $7,000 worth of live stock annually, and does his work alone, gathers it in and sells it out.
There are large beds of serpentine (commercial name, verd antique marble) near Roxbury village. This was discovered and worked from 1853 until 1857, when it was abandoned. The serpentine found here is of superior quality, receives a fine polish, but was found expensive to quarry, and required a great
449
TOWN OF ROXBURY.
amount of labor to properly work and polish it. The tables, mantles, and monuments made from it were decidedly beautiful.
The J. G. Hall Mfg. Co. has a manufacturing establishment at Roxbury village, where about ten or twelve hands are employed making watchmakers' tools. Their specialty is a " staking tool," the invention of J. G. Hall.
Samuel Richardson, a Revolutionary soldier who served about half of the. period of that sanguinary war, was born in Stafford, Conn., June 15, 1750: His wife, Susanna Pinney, was born in July, 1749. After his marriage he. settled in Randolph. When the Indians burned Royalton, in 1780, they passed through Randolph, but as his house was located in an obscure spot the Indians did not see it. Soon after this he removed to Lebanon, N. H., where he remained only a short time, and returned to Randolph. In the fall of 1790 he made his pitch on the branch of Dog river in the northwestern part of Roxbury. He cleared a patch of ground, built a log house, and re- turned to Randolph for the winter. While the snow was quite deep the en- suing spring he came to his cabin, accompanied by his son Uriah, a lad of sixteen, for the purpose of making maple sugar. ' Tradition has it that this stripling boy brought a five-pail iron kettle on his back all the way; but his niece makes a more credible story by saying her relative was not a Hercules, and that he really brought a seven-pail brass kettle. Soon after the sugar making business was well begun Mr. Richardson returned to Randolph and left Uriah to carry on the sugar making alone. The only door to his house was a bed quilt, and he afterwards related that he was accustomed to hear the wolves howl around his cabin every night. It is said that this plucky boy remained there alone for six weeks. Suffice to say, he was joined by the rest of. the family as soon as it was possible for them to make their way through the forest with their effects. Mr. Richardson soon after moved further up the stream and built the first framed house in the town, on the site of the one now owned by Julius Kent. This house was afterwards sold to Jonathan Burroughs, and moved down near the village. Mr. Richardson built a saw- mill and a grist-mill, on the stream above his house, and another and larger house on the road running north from the location of his first framed house, where he died in 1822. Mrs. Richardson survived until 1841. Mr. Richard- son was one of the board of selectmen from the organization of the town, in 1796, to 1803, and again in 1807 and 1808. He also served as moderator at town meetings nine years. Mr. and Mrs. Richardson were people of the old school and very orthodox in religion, and opposed to all innovations. One of the reasons that induced him to remove into the forest was the hope to better his condition by building his mills, and another, and perhaps the more potent one, was that he was opposed to the marriage of any of his children ; and as they were nearing manhood and womanhood he hoped to place them beyond such "entangling alliances," by hiding them away in the woods. Again he strenuously opposed introducing the music of the bass viol into the church at Randolph, but was defeated; hence he hied him to the forest, to
29*
450
TOWN OF ROXBURY.
listen to the music of the maples and hemlocks. His granddaughter men- tioned another, which she called one of their " odd notions," which was their decided aversion to young men visiting their sweethearts on Sabbath even - ings. Mr. Richardson was a member of the Baptist church, and Mrs. Richardson was a member of the Congregational church. Notwithstanding their " odd notions " they possessed grand and noble traits of character.
Samuel Richardson, Jr., at the age of twenty-eight, married Sally Ellis, of Randolph, who died April 28, 1819, and left an only daughter, Sally V., who was born in August, 1811, and who married Enos K. Young and settled on West hill, road 17. Mr. Young died July 30, 1880. Mrs. Young still sur - vives, and resides on the old farm. Her son George resides with her. Mr. and Mrs. Young had eight children, six of whom are now living.
Loren Cram is a son of Philip and Abigail (Heath) Cram, grandson of Philip, the first male child born in town, and great-grandson of David Cram, who settled in Roxbury before March 25, 1796. David Cram, at the organ- ization of the town, at the date just mentioned, was elected lister and town treasurer. Loren Cram, at the age of twenty-six years, married Sarah E. Richardson, of Roxbury. In early manhood he was a mason, and followed his trade several years. He was also a jobber in clearing land, and had several hair-breadth escapes from death by falling trees. With the aid of his brother he felled several acres in the following manner : first they cut the trees partly off at the stump, then fell one which struck against its near neigh- bor, which fell against the next, and so successively on until nearly all went down. Mr. Cram has a fine farm on road 49, where he resides, and both of his children are married and live with him.
Joel Hildreth came from Cornish, N. H., to Roxbury, in the autumn of 1798, and boarded with a family located near his " pitch," while he built his log house on the place he had selected for his future home. Mr. Hildreth and his family came on in the ensuing spring, and he resided on this place, which he converted into a farm, until his death, in 1844. This farm remained in the Hildreth family until a few years ago, when his grandson, Samuel A. Hildreth, sold it to George Williams. Mr. Hildreth was a noted hunter, and claimed to have " unbuttoned many a bear's shirt collar." One evening, when he was returning through the forest, with his axe on his shoulder, not his trusty and unerring rifle, he dimly discerned the bulky outlines of a bear descending from a tree near at hand. With heroic courage he dealt the bear a blow " to kill" with his axe, and fled home. Returning next morning, he found, as the result of his prowess of the evening before, that he had killed a huge hedgehog. The social element was not an " unknown quantity " with the pioneer settlers. While engaged in chopping one morning the clairon sound of a rooster's shrill crow came echoing across the wooded valley. It was a joyful sound to Mr. Hildreth, unlike that which came to the ears of Peter of old. And as Mr. Hildreth is said to have expressed it, " I put." He went in search of his new neighbors who owned chanticleers, and found them, after a'tramp of four or five miles, in Northfield.
45I
TOWN OF ROXBURY.
Benoni Webster, a native of Connecticut, brought his family to Roxbury in the spring of 1797, and settled on lot 3, in the northeastern part of the town. His first house was built of logs, roofed with bark, and had a floor of basswood, split and smoothed with an axe. In 18to he built a large framed house, with rooms two feet higher than those of his neighbors, with doors of corresponding height, so that his wife's tall relatives could stand erect and walk in without stooping. He planted a large orchard of apple, pear, and plum trees-the first in town. In 1804 his entire stock of cattle, a pair of oxen and two cows, were bitten by a mad dog, and died. Mr. Webster died January 8, 1823, aged sixty years. Mrs. Webster died in 1838, aged sixty- six years.
Charles Webster, oldest son of Benoni and Sally (Metcalf) Webster, was born in Lebanon, Conn., June 5, 1790, and was seven years of age when his par- ents settled in Roxbury. He obtained his education in school district No. 1, in Roxbury, and by the light of the fire on the hearth in winter evenings. He was large and strong, and the chief aid of his father in clearing the farm and making it a comfortable home. He commenced to teach school at an early age, and taught fourteen winters. He gained so good a reputation for dis- cipline that his services were sought where others had failed. In such a school the larger boys had burned his ferule, and made preparation to pitch him out, as they had his predecessor. The attempt was soon after made, when the school-master promptly wrenched a leg from a bench, with which he did such efficient service that he was at once "master of the situation," and without further trouble "held the fort" to the close of the term. He married, in August, 1823, Eleanor P. Ryder, and settled on his farm in East Roxbury. He was instantly killed by being thrown from his wagon in the night, near the Peck farm in Brookfield.
Robert Cram settled in the eastern part of Roxbury about the beginning of this century. He was a farmer and lived to an advanced age. His son Martin married Louisa Steele, and remained in Roxbury until 1842, when he moved to Berlin and built and run a saw-mill. He reared four daughters, of whom Mrs. Alden Rich is the sole survivor. Jonathan Cram came from Lynchborough, N. H., and settled in Roxbury about 1800. He had a family of twelve children. His son Jonathan, Jr., when fourteen years of age, worked on a farm for Hon. Charles Paine, and when the Central Vermont railroad was built he was a foreman of construction. He married Nancy D. Rand, and they were parents of four sons and two daughters.
Darius Spalding and his family were among the earliest who settled in Roxbury. Mr. Spalding was born in Plainfield, Conn., settled first in Cor- nish, N. H., and about 1800 removed to Roxbury with his wife and eight children. Later three more children were born to him. One of his daugh- ters died at the age of twenty years, and another soon after her marriage. All the others lived to old age, and with their parents were closely identified with the early history of the town. Mr. Spalding honorably filled nearly all
452
TOWN OF ROXBURY.
the offices in the gift of his townsmen, and he and all his sons who were then old enough went to Plattsburgh in the War of 1812. Several of his sons afterwards settled in New York. John M. Spalding, in 1822, opened his house for a tavern, and kept it until the railroad was built. Allen, the only surviving son in this large family, was a merchant, town clerk, and repre- sentative, and held other offices. He is now in his eighty-sixth year, and enjoys a "green old age." Two of the daughters attained old age. Han- nah married Asa S. Simonds, and lived three-score and ten years. Eliza (Mrs. Huntley D. Young) settled in Kirby, where she still resides.
Samuel Robertson, son of Patrick and Elizabeth Robertson, natives of Scotland, was born in New London, Conn., August 18, 1775. In August, 1801, Mr. Robertson was married to Persis Richardson, of Tolland, Conn., and they came to Roxbury in the spring of 1802. Mr. Robertson visited the town in 1801. He met some Roxbury men in Keene, N. H., when on his way to examine lands in New York, who induced him to go to Roxbury. He hired William Gold to work for him one year. Mr. Gold was afterwards well known in town as " Deacon Gold." It was late in the sleighing season when they began the journey from Connecticut, but Mr. Rrobertson experienced no trouble until he reached Roxbury. When so near their home one of their horses got down in the snow, and Mr. Gold was obliged to take its place and help draw the load. In this condition they were met by the acquaintances Mr. Robertson had made in Keene, who, with the hospitality of the early pioneers, invited the strangers to their homes. They accepted the kind offer and stayed with them two weeks, and in that time Mr. Robertson had com- pleted a log house on his land. He made sixteen pounds of maple sugar that spring, which was their whole supply for that year. The ensuing winter, 1802- 03, Mr. Robertson taught school in the first framed house in town, built by Mr. Richardson. He had sixty-eight pupils, who were packed as close as " sar- dines in a box." Mr. Robertson lived three miles distant, and made the journey to and from his school on foot, without any road but what he made in his travels. He taught here two or three winters, and during the time moved into this house where he lived a few years. Mr. Robertson in early life held many offices in town, but was too radical to be a very popular man. He was at one time in mercantile business with Samuel Orcott, and Mr. Robertson used to sell and drink rum. When the temperance reform com- menced, in 1830, he at once adopted total abstinence, and about the same time stopped the use of tobacco. There is an anecdote relating to his learn- ing to use tobacco. Moses Claflin, a weak minded man, who lived in Rox- bury and was most of the time a town pauper, sometimes had a home with Mr. Robertson. On one of these occasions Moses sat by the fire-place, while Mr. Robertson sat opposite, chewing tobacco and spitting into the fire. After revolving the matter in his mind, Moses asked, " 'Squire, what did you learn to chew tobacker for?" Mr. Robertson replied, " Oh, so I could be a gentleman." Moses, with awful gravity, asked, " Wal ye did n't make
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.