History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 46

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co.
Number of Pages: 988

USA > Vermont > Addison County > History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 46

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On the day that Mr. Smith took up his residence in Bridport, November 25, 1773, occurred the first marriage in the township, that of Philip Stone, the early settler, to a Miss Ward, of Addison, whose parents had recently moved into that town from Dover, N. Y. Miss Ward was a brave woman, even if viewed in the light of those heroic times, as was more than once evinced in the following few years of danger and trial. It seems that all the settlers' families

383

TOWN OF BRIDPORT.

did not suffer the same as that of Mr. Smith from malicious mischief at the hands of predatory bands of savages, and among the unfortunate ones was that of Mr. Stone. At one time Mrs. Stone discovered one of these plundering parties " creeping up the bank towards the house, just in season to throw some things which she knew they would be sure to carry off, if found, out of a back window into the yard, and, concealing some valuables in her bosom, sat down to carding before they came prowling in. The Indians, not satisfied with what they found on the premises, drew near Mrs. Stone, who had been sitting dur- ing the visitation with her children around her, carding all the while, appa- rently as unconcerned as though surrounded by friends, instead of Indians and thieves. One young savage, suspecting she had some things concealed about her person, attempted to run his hand into her bosom, whereupon she so dex- terously cuffed him in the face with the teeth-side of her card, that he quickly recoiled from the invasion. Another young Indian flourished his tomahawk over her head; but an old Indian, struck with admiration at the coolness and bravery of the woman, laughing in derision at the defeat of his companion, ejaculated heartily, 'Good squaw ! good squaw !' when he interfered and led off the predatory party, and Mrs. Stone kept quietly carding on, until quite sure they had made good their departure."

At another time the house of Mr. Stone was thus visited, giving him just time to escape violence by flying into the woods. The savages first stripped the house of everything of value, then their leader, "Sanhoop," put on a frock, the best shirt he could find, and led his party to the pig-sty, where he selected the best, and officiated as chief butcher ; and while his followers, whooping and dancing, carried off the butchered pig to their canoe, he stood flourishing his bloody sleeves.

In the winter following the marriage of Mr. Stone, a Mr. Victory came into the township with his family and located near the lake shore. The following is a touching account of his death, which occurred soon afterward :

"Taking his son, a lad of fourteen years, with him, he had gone up Lake George in a skiff, where, seized with an inflammatory fever, too sick to lift and ply a homeward oar, he landed on a solitary island, and, alone with this young son, who could only bathe his fever-parched lips with cool water from the lake and sorrowfully hold his dying head, he fainted by the way, was stricken in the wilderness, and died on the lonely isle of the lake. The affectionate son could not leave his dead father, perchance to some beast of prey, but stayed by the lifeless form till providentially a boat came so near he hailed it. The men landed, drew near, and, touched by the sight they saw, buried the body tenderly and decently as they could, without coffin or shroud, and took the fatherless boy off from the island.

In 1775 began in Bridport in earnest the War of the Revolution. "A Tory, who was a tenant in the house of a Mr. Prindle, set fire to the house

384

HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.

and left, implicating Mr. Stone in the robbery and burning. Mr. Stone, antici- pating mischief, secreted himself among the bushes on the bank near his house, where he was discovered by the British, who fired upon him ; but the volley of grape-shot struck among the trees above him. They also fired upon his house and some of the balls entered the room where his family were. They then sent a boat on shore, captured Mr. Stone, and took him to Ticonderoga, where he remained three weeks. Mrs. Stone, expecting he would be sent to Quebec, that she might again see her husband before his departure, shut up her two little children alone in their cabin, bidding the elder, which was but four years of age, to take good care of the baby till mother came back, who was going to take poor papa his clothes, went in a canoe to carry them, a distance of twelve miles, accompanied only by her brother, a lad of ten years. After she arrived, in order to gain admittance to her husband, she must remain over night. The mother thought of her babes alone in the cottage in the woods through all the long night ; but could she turn from the door of her husband's prison, and perhaps see him no more ? No, her babes the tender mother com- mitted, in her heart, to the Good Father and tarried till the morning; and upon her return found her little children safe, the elder having understood enough of her directions to feed and take care of the younger."

After the close of the war in 1781, and the final peace ratification in 1783, immunity against rapine and plunder was once more assured the pioneers of Vermont's wilderness. In most of the new townships the ruined habitations were once more taking on the garb of civilization, the Green Mountains echo- ing the strokes of the woodman's axe. In Bridport the settlers began to ar- rive in 1783, and it was not long before most of them had rebuilt their homes, and their numbers were augmented by the arrival of others.

During this year (1783) the" proprietors of Bridport and Shoreham (nearly the same persons were proprietors of both towns) met at the house of Elisha Smith, esq., in Clarendon, Vt., when Colonel Ephraim Doolittle was chosen moderator ; Nathan Smith, clerk ; Daniel Hemenway, treasurer ; Sam- uel Benton, Philip Stone and Nathan Manly, assessors ; and Marshall Smith, collector of proprietors' taxes. Their business was to devise means to survey the town, and to raise money for the purpose. The meeting was adjourned to convene at the house of Philip Stone, and from that time forward the meetings were held in Bridport.

Four divisions of land were made in Bridport, in which each proprietor drew by lottery his right or share. The first division was of eighty hundred- acre lots. The second division was of two hundred acres to each share, " sur- veyed adjoining to the aforesaid center lots and with parallel lines with the first division." In 1783 the third division was made, it being voted " that the common land in said town on the lake shore be laid out into fifty-acre lots, and land laid out back as much as to make up one hundred acres to each number."

SHELDON SMITH.

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TOWN OF BRIDPORT.

The fourth division was the " village plot," one hundred acres being divided into sixty-eight acre lots and the "common." In this year, also, it was voted that "Marshall Smith be appointed a committee to provide for the State sur- veyor to run the town lines."

In 1785, on the 29th of March, occurred an important event in the history of Bridport- the legal organization of the town by the election of proper civil officers. The list chosen was as follows : John N. Bennett, clerk ; Mar- shall Smith, constable ; and John Barber, Moses Johnson, Daniel Haskins, Isaac Barrows and Marshall Smith, selectmen. A committee was also appointed, consisting of Philip Stone, Nathan Smith and Abijah Dunning, “ to lay out a highway through the lake lots, from the north line to the south line of the said town." This was without doubt the first highway laid out in the township. John Barber, Asa Hemenway and John N. Bennett were also appointed a com- mittee " to lay out a road through the town from east to west."

In the mean time, while these affairs were in progress, new settlers were constantly arriving. In 1786 fourteen families started out from Morris county, N. J., to make for themselves a new home in the "Hampshire Grants." Among them were Benjamin Miner and his five sons. He was an ex-soldier of the Revolution, and located upon the farm lately occupied by Champlin C. Miner, where he died in 1835, aged ninety-three years. The eldest of the sons, Benjamin, jr., was destined to take an important part in the administra- tion of the public affairs of the town. He was born in Stonington, Conn., in 1767, and held the office of justice of the peace here from 1809 until his death in 1851. He also represented the town in the General Assembly during the years 1820, 1821, 1822 and 1825, and also in the Constitutional Convention of 1828. In connection with his duties as justice he married nearly one hundred couples, and always made a custom of giving the fee to the bride. He located upon the farm now owned by his grandson, E. Ladd Miner. Benjamin, jr., assisted in clearing away the brush to make way for digging the first grave in the township, in what is now the village cemetery. This was for the burial of Isaac Richman, who died April 28, 1786. About a week later a Mr. Mosher, who died of consumption, was also buried here.

That the reader may gain a more definite conception of the freeholders of the town, and the amount of money on which they were taxed at this time, we give herewith the grand list of 1786, from the original record :

S. d.

E s. d.

Alexander Osborn 12 O

Rockwood 5

Marshall Smith 25

John Nobel Bennett .27

Phillip Stone. .48

Samuel Lewis .57

Samuel Smith 26

Nathan Smith 38

Esril Hucker 6

Isaac Chipman

Bijah Dunning. 18

Jonathan Viery. 6

Nathan Manley 9

Joel Frost. 18

James Wilcocks . II O John Fisk 31

Moses Johnson. 32

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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.

The above is for improved real estate. On the opposite page of the old record appears the following, which alludes to the personal property and im- proved land of the persons named :

" Joshua Done, one head, {6 os od ; two cows, two three year oalds, {12 os od. Asa Hemenway, one head, £6 os od ; two oxen, one horese, two cows, { 17 os od ; two three year olds, two yearlings, twenty-eight acres of land, {14 os od. Solomon Moss [nearly illegible] one head two three yearlings, two cows, one hog, five acres of land, one hors, £21 IOS od. John Barber, two heads, one hors, two oxen, three cows, two yearlings, three hogs, seventeen acres of land, £45 Ios od. Joel Barber, one head, £6 os od. Isaac Barrows, one head two cows, two two yearlings, six yearlings, three acres of land, £23 Ios od. Abel Rice, one head, one cow, one acre and half of land, £9 15s od. Ephraim Smith, one head, £6 os od. Capt. Benton twelve acres of land, £6 os od. Thaddeous Smith, one head, £6 os od. Elijah Alden, one head, two oxen, one cow, one yearling, two hogs, two acres of land, {22 os od. Elijah Smith, one head, one cow, three acres of land, {II Ios od. Solomon How, one head, two oxen, one cow, three acres of land, £19 Ios od. James Barber, one head, one cow, one year- ling, two hogs, seven acres of land, £15 Ios od. Edward Lewis, {14 os od. Daniel Has- kins, £ 54 os od."

The spelling of names above, as well as that of other words, is given liter- ally as it appears on the records ; it is not the least interesting part of the doc- ument. Two years later (1788) the grand list shows one hundred and sixteen names, besides those of the original proprietors named as tax payers, and in 1791 the population was four hundred and forty-nine souls.

Among the curious documents of olden times in this town, we must make a place for the following, which comprises a bill presented to the town for the entertainment of the gathering at the installation of a preacher :

" February 29th, 1794.

" The town of Bridport to Pain Converse, Dr.

"For the entertainment of the Honorable Counsil and others at this installment of the Rev'nd Mr. Graves in said town, is as followeth :

s. d.

"To forty-six meals of victuals 2 6 O

" To hors batins fourteen . O 5 O

" To hors keeping eight nights O 6

" To two galands brandy. I 5 O

" To one of rum O 9

"' To one of wine. 0 IO 6

" To two quarts of Jinn O 5

" To two pounds loaf sugar 4 ".To sider. 7

Bridport, March 13th, 1794, Rec'd. the contents of the within acct., pr. Mr. Pain Converse."

They must have had a good time.1

David Pratt, from Salem, Mass., came to Bridport in 1777, and located upon the farm now owned by Mrs. Edrick Spaulding. He was a carpenter by trade

1 At a previous town meeting they voted the installment to be at the dwelling house of Solomon Moss.

Voted. Capt. Converse be appointed to provide accommodations for Council and others while in Bridport.

Also voted. Rev. Sylvanus Chapin of Orwell, Dan Kent of Benson, John Griswold of Pawlet, James Murdock of Sangate, and the Middlebury minister with their delegates be invited.

387

TOWN OF BRIDPORT.

and built most of the early frame buildings in the town. He served as lister in 1800 and has many descendants in town.

Daniel Hemenway, from Shrewsbury, Mass., located in Shoreham in 1783. Four of his eight sons settled in Vermont, and his brother Jacob was one of the original proprietors of Shoreham and Bridport. Daniel, as we have previ- ously shown, served the proprietors as their treasurer, and his son Asa is re- corded as their collector and surveyor. Daniel took up land in Shoreham, and built a log shop, which was afterwards used by his son Samuel, who settled there in 1792. Daniel died in 1794. One of his sons, Asa, was born in Shrews- bury, Mass., in 1750, and was present at the battle of Bunker Hill. He was in Bridport and vicinity as early as 1780, and in 1783 began the first settle- ment upon the farm now owned by Asa Hemenway, jr. He represented the town in the General Assembly at Rutland, Vergennes and Montpelier. After a few years' residence on the farm above mentioned, he removed to the farm now occupied by Mrs. Robert W. Hemenway, and in 1800 built the homestead thereon, which was the first building in the township to acquire the dignity of papered walls. He married Rebecca Rice first; she died August, 1787 ; mar- ried, second, Sarah Nicholson, 1789, who was the mother of his nine children. He died in 1810. His sons were Jonas and Asa; the latter born in 1800, married January, 1821, and in 1871 appropriately celebrated his golden wed- ding; also in 1881 their sixty years of wedded life. His only son is Asa, jr. Jacob Hemenway, another of the sons of Daniel, settled in Bridport and his sons were Daniel and Caleb, and six daughters. Polly, daughter of Silas Hem- enway, of Shrewsbury, Mass., first came with Daniel, her grandfather, to Ver- mont to visit her sister. Subsequently, February 17, 1793, she became the wife of Benjamin Miner, jr., a sketch of whom we have already given.

Elijah Grosvenor came to Bridport from New York some time between the years 1780 and 1790, locating upon the place now occupied by Frank P. Wood, where he reared a family. He was a mason by trade, and assisted in the con- struction of the Middlebury jail. The widow of his son John now resides here, while among the other descendants are Elijah and Edgar, sons of John, and Darwin, son of Edgar.

James Barbour, from Worcester, Mass., located in Bridport in 1782. He made the first thanksgiving party ever held in the town, and to which the whole population were invited, the said population then consisting of six families. Mr. Barbour and wife were Christians of the pure old Puritan stock, and con- sequently very staid and sober. On one occasion Thomas Ormsbee, a lawyer of Shoreham, Vt., reported that he saw Mr. Barbour and his wife out in their yard " pulling hair with all their might, and the old man had a butcher's knife in his hand." The church concluded that for so grave an offense they should be called to account. Accordingly they were arraigned before a meeting of the dignitaries, when the testimony developed the fact that it was the hair of

388

HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.

a butchered hog they were pulling. Several of Mr. Barbour's descendants now reside in the town, among whom are M. K. and D. C. Barbour.

David Doty was born in New Providence, N. J., in May, 1758, married Hannah Smith in 1787, and located upon the farm now owned by Sheldon Smith ; but not liking the soil of that farm, he removed in 1790 to the farm now owned by his son, Captain David F. Doty, who was born July, 1798. His son, Ira S. Doty, lives with him.

Adonijah Rice, who was claimed the first white male child born in the town of Worcester, Mass., was one of the sixty-four original proprietors of Bridport who received rights of land according to charter, and it is claimed was the only one of the above grantees who passed their last days in town. On a stone in the village cemetery reads, "Adonijah Rice died January 20, 1802, aged eighty-eight years."

Abel, son of Adonijah, settled in town; died July, 1800, aged forty-nine years. His three sons were Jonas, Joel and Asa. Jonas became owner of the farm where his grandfather Adonijah lived from 1786 to the time of his death. Joel, the next son, was a popular physician many years in town ; represented the town many times, also a senator of Addison county. He moved West late in life and died at Madison, Wis. Asa, third son, is now living at the age of eighty-eight years. He always lived at the home where his father lived and died, his son, Jonas R. Rice, living with him. Abel H. Rice owns and lives at the home his father, Jonas, and his great-grandfather, Adonijah, lived and died upon.

Payne Converse, from Thompson, Conn., came to Bridport in 1793 among the early settlers. He brought with him twelve children; nine were sons; only three remained permanently located in town - Gardner, Hamblin and Alfred, all prominent men. Gardner C. was a surveyor, a justice of the peace and town clerk twenty-two years in all. Hamblin C. was prominent in all town affairs, selectman, lister, etc. Alfred C. was a blacksmith. Mrs. W. D. Hindes is a great-granddaughter of Alfred. Payne Converse located just east of the academy upon the farm now owned by E. L. Miner. F. G. Converse is a great-grandson.

Ephraim Stone, from Groton, Mass., made his first settlement upon a farm now owned by Aikin Dukett, in 1787, where he resided until his death in 1841, aged seventy-eight years. His son Philip, born in 1803, died recently, leaving two sons, Charles and Marshall.

Daniel Hamblin came to Bridport from Guilford, Conn., when there were but two families in the township. After the war broke out he returned to Guilford, enlisted in the Continental service and served till the cessation of hostilities, when he soon after returned to Bridport and located upon the farm now owned by J. T. Fletcher. His son Alexander, a noted hunter and trap- per, succeeded to the homestead. Hiram E., son of Alexander, now resides in the town.

ALITTLE.

OZRO P. GRAY.

389

TOWN OF BRIDPORT.

Isaac Barrows was the first settler upon the farm now owned by F. G. Converse. He came on from Connecticut and boarded for a time with Philip Stone's family, six miles distant, whither he returned from his work every night. Bears were plentiful in those days, and in these daily journeys he killed several. Rufus Barrows of this town is a descendant.

Deacon Lamond Gray was a descendant of Scotch ancestors who, in 1612, settled in the north of Ireland, near Londonderry. In 1718 the family of which John Gray was the head, with some forty other families, emigrated through Boston to Worcester, Mass. In 1743 the family settled in Pelham, Mass., where Lamond was born in 1753, the son of Daniel Gray. He was well educated, and for a time taught school in that vicinity. May 26, 1778, he was married to Isabel Hamilton, widow of Lieutenant Robert Hamilton, by whom he had two children, Robert and Isabel, the latter afterwards becom- ing the wife of Captain Jeremiah Lee, of Bridport. After his marriage Mr. Gray remained in Pelham about ten years, when he came to Bridport and purchased two tracts of land of one hundred acres each. One of the tracts so purchased included the land now owned by P. Elitharp, about a mile south of the village, and ran eastward to the wooded hill. The other hundred acres included the farm where Edward Shacket now lives. Thus Lamond Gray became one of the early settlers of Bridport, where he continued to dwell till his death in 1812, aged fifty-nine years. Being a scholarly man and a good penman, he was elected town clerk in 1790, and held the position many years, and was also a deacon of the Congregational Church. He had a family of three children, Joel, Daniel and Mary. Daniel graduated from Mid- dlebury College in 1805, and soon after married Susannah Rice, by whom he had one child, Ozro P., born in 1806. Ozro learned the tanner's trade when eighteen years of age, which business he subsequently carried on at Crown Point for a period of thirty-three years, when he returned to Bridport, in 1865, locating where his widow still resides. In 1809 Daniel's wife died, and in 181I he married Amy Bosworth, by whom he had sons as follows : Rev. Edgar H., now of California ; Melvin L., of St. Louis, Mo .; Daniel Manlius, of Colum- bus, Ohio; Fabius C., who died at Gallatin, Tenn., in 1847 ; Oscar B., of New York city, and Amander Gray, who died near San Antonio, Texas, in May, 1859. Daniel died in 1823, aged thirty-seven years.

Joseph Williams came into town about 1785 ; first settled on the farm now owned by Robert Hutchingson, where he carried on the clothiers' trade by coloring and dressing home-made woolen cloth. He subsequently gave this business to his son Amasa, and bought the place where his grandson, F. A. Williams, now resides, where he lived many years and died in 1847, aged eighty-one years.

Jeremiah Lee was an early settler in town ; had a family of eight children. Two only were sons, Prosper and Gay W. He was a farmer; also a constable

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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.

and collector of taxes many years. He lived on the place his grandson, Wil- ber Hamilton, now occupies. Mrs. Sarah Lee Hemenway is also a descend- ant. Captain Lee died in 1843, aged seventy-one years.

Jesse and Asa Crane, brothers, came into town from Connecticut at an early date; both had large families, and some of their descendants are now prominently known as enterprising farmers and stock raisers, among whom are Julius J., Joseph R., Cassius P. and Byron W.

Philip Searl came into town about 1791; was a farmer and lived where Oscar Kitchel now lives ; was many years deacon of the Congregational Church, and reared a family of many children; died in 1852, aged eighty-four years. His son Gordon was at one time one of the leading merchants, and also a dea- con of the same church as. his father. He died in 1867, aged sixty-six years, and his son Charles the following year. D. C. Barbour is a descendant.

Artemas Wheeler was a settler in town, coming on from Worcester county, Mass., at an early date, with his family. His son Leonard lived many years in town near the village, where his son, E. M. Wheeler, now lives. Leonard died in 1872, aged eight-nine years. He was lawfully married five times. His last wife died some years previous to his death. In his younger days he was a shoemaker.

Zoroaster Fitch was an early pioneer, coming into town when all here was a wilderness. He selected one of the most desirable locations in town for his home, about a mile west of the village. He died in 1835, aged seventy-six years. A widow of his grandson now lives at the home and another grand- son, William H., lives in town.

Ebenezer Allen was one of the old and respected citizens of this town, coming here at an early date from Tinmouth, Vt., and was married to a daugh- ter of the noted Philip Stone. The name of " Allen " has passed away. He claimed to be a relative of Vermont's hero, Ethan Allen. G. R. and S. Z. Walker are his grandsons. He was a stanch Mason, and died in 1875, aged eighty-seven years.

William Russell, an early inhabitant, located upon the farm now owned by his grandson, N. W. Russell, and raised a large family of children ; only one is now living, Mrs. B. J. Myrick, who resides in town. But his descendants are numerous-probably would take the prize, if such was offered, for the greatest number. He died in 1829.

William, Barnabas and Zenas Myrick, the three brothers, were early prom- inent business men in town. William served as town clerk many years ; rep- resented the town in the State Legislature six sessions; was a judge, etc. Bar- nabas served the town as selectman, and in numerous other offices. He was killed by the fall of a tree in 1823. B. J. Myrick, in town, was his son. Zenas was a carpenter by trade; he also represented the town in 1828 and 1829. William M. and Charles H. Grandey, of this town, were grandsons of Judge William Myrick.

391

TOWN OF BRIDPORT.

John, Plinney and Ira Wicker, three brothers, came into town at a later date, perhaps in 1814. They were all mechanics and farmers. They built the house where F. G. Converse now lives, and kept a hotel, taking their turn in the management of the house, working the farm and working at their trades. John was the father of Mrs. A. H. Rice. The widow of Ira resides in town, a lady past eighty years.

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History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 46

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co. Number of Pages: 988

Author: Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925. 1n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & co.
Number of Pages: 988