USA > Vermont > Addison County > History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 51
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Joshua Stockwell, from Enfield, Conn., came to Cornwall about 1793 or '94, and opened a store. and tavern on the southeast corner of the intersection of the roads at West Cornwall, the place being now in the hands of J. M. Tra- cey. The place was known as "Stockwell's Corners " until the government gave it the post-office name of West Cornwall. In company with Josiah Aus- tin, of Shoreham, he conducted the store and carried on the manufacture of potash. Mrs. S. S. Halliday, his daughter, still lives in Cornwall, and others of his descendants are B. F. Haskell and A. S. Bingham, grandchildren, and F. H. Haskell and Roy Bingham, great-grandchildren. Dr. Oliver J. Eells oc- cupied the house after Stockwell's decease. Joseph Cogswell was the first set- tler on the present farm of Franklin H. Dean. Elder Henry Green was also at one time an occupant of the farm. Mr. Dean has enlarged the farm, which now includes also the place first settled and occupied by Abijah Davis, a tanner and shoemaker, who carried on his business there. East of this farm Matthew, brother of James Parker, bought of Lemuel Stickney in 1791. Still farther east on the south side of the road Stephen Abbott Tambling lived a few years in a log cabin.
Some distance north of the old farm of Edwin Walker, Roswell Post, from Saybrook, Conn., made a pitch in 1783. During the war he lived in Rutland, but at the close of that struggle pushed his way at once to Cornwall. He died in 1827, at the age of seventy-four years. Benjamin Atwood located in 1786 directly south of the farm of Roswell Post, on a small lot sold to him by Will- iam Jones. John L. and Amos Atwood are sons of Benjamin.
In 1798 Sanborn Bean, a carpenter, settled on nine acres of land west of Roswell Post, which had once been a part of the Post farm.
William Samson, from Londonderry, N. H., at a very early date pitched on the farm afterward known as the Benjamin Sherwood place, now occupied by H. E. Taylor, and built his first cabin near the site of the present dwelling. He had a large family, was an early deacon of the Congregational Church, and
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died in 1798, aged sixty-six years. L. J. Samson, Curtis H. Samson and Mrs. R. S. Foot are his great-grandchildren.
South of William Samson and on the east side of the road, Ebenezer Squier settled and built a house which long ago disappeared. Still farther south, in 1787, Henry Gibbs located on a lot bought probably of Barzillai Stickney. S. S. Gibbs is his grandson.
In 1788 David Sperry came from Wallingford, Vt., where he had resided during the war, and settled on the farm now owned and occupied by William Delong. He came originally from New Haven, Conn., and was a man of un- usual ability. It was his custom, it is said, to wake his sons in the morning with the following roll-call :
" Daniel and Levi, ' David and Lyman, Heman and Dimon, Ebenezer Peck and Harvey, turn out."
A. H. Sperry, now a resident of Cornwall, is his great-grandson; Daniel Sperry, son of David, lived just north of him,1 and south of Jacob Linsley, sr., while across from the latter Wait Wooster lived.
On the farm owned at an early day by Alonzo L. Bingham, and now owned by Hon. Rollin J. Jones, Simeon Sanford, of Litchfield, Conn., settled, having purchased from Jonah Sanford, an original proprietor. Farther north David Pratt settled in 1793 on a farm purchased from Jared Ives. Deacon Amzi Jones, from Hoosick, N. Y., bought the place of Pratt about 1799, having lived for seven years previously below the bridge across Lemon Fair. He was a son of Zebulon Jones, who settled on the farm next the cemetery, now owned by W. M. Easton. His descendants now living in Cornwall are Hon. Rollin J. Jones, Jason and his children, E. E. and Henry Jones, and Mrs. Robinson.
Jared Ives, from Cheshire, Conn., settled in 1787 on the west side of the road, north of David Pratt. Enos Ives lived nearly across the road from him. John Rockwell, jr., came to Cornwall from Ridgefield, Conn., in 1784, and settled on the farm now owned and occupied by his grandson, S. S. Rockwell. He first built on the west side of the road. He gradually acquired an exten- sive farm, which, after his death at the age of seventy-one years, September 5, 1825, become the property of his son, John Rockwell, who conveyed the farm to his son, the present owner, over a quarter of a century ago. John Rock- well, sr., followed his children to Cornwall, and lived on the place now occupied by W. C. Wallace. He died September 9, 1825, aged ninety-two years.
Ezra and Isaac Mead settled in 1786 on the west side of the road, north of John Rockwell. They sold to Jacob Ingraham.
Nathan Jackson located on the east side of the road nearly across from Ja- cob Ingraham, and followed his occupation of blacksmithing. He was a soldier
1 His descendants in town are L. W. Peet, great-grandson, and Mrs. Mariette Guernsey, grand- daughter.
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of the Revolution, and prided himself on enjoying the personal confidence of General Washington.
Rufus Mead, brother of Ezra and Isaac, in 1786 bought of Abel Wright the farm now occupied by Mrs. W. W. Wright, and built, first at the base of the hill and afterward on the present highway. Of his sons, three, Hiram, Martin L. and Charles M., were graduated from Middlebury College, and an- other, Rufus, was for a number of years editor of the Middlebury Register.
Solomon Mead bought of Abel Wright in 1795 the farm now occupied by Azial Hamilton. From him the farm passed to Timothy Turner, Zenas Skin- ner, and Reuben P. Bingham. Silas Mead was located farther north on the present farm of S. S. Andrus.
On the farm where J. A. Foot lived, his grandfather, David Foot, from Watertown, Conn., settled at an early day. He had several sons who led prom- inent lives in town. His descendants here now are J. A. Foot, grandson, R. A. Foot, great-grandson, and his sons Abram and Frank.
On the Wooster farm, so called, just north of the Lemon Fair bridge, Will- iam Dwinell first built his log cabin near a spring on the east side of the road. He sold this farm to Deacon Amzi Jones, and he to Moses Wooster, who came from Virginia. He fought in the Revolution and was captured on Long Island, treated cruelly, and at a later day was confined in New York, where he was nearly starved on damaged provisions. He was the father of the Hon. Dorastus Wooster, formerly of Middlebury. The farm is now in the hands of L. H. Payne.
Isaac Mead was an early settler on the farm now occupied by B. B. Rice. General Somers Gale afterwards lived on the farm. He was an influential citi- zen, and commanded a detachment at Plattsburgh in 1814. He was born in Panton in 1775 ; the family were driven to Fort Ticonderoga during the Rev- olution and obliged to stay there a while after its capture. His son, Dr. Na- than Gale, now resides in Orwell. Mrs. S. A. Sanford is his granddaughter, and Mrs. Charles H. Lane, a descendant one degree further removed.
Simeon Powers settled on the farm now owned by Mrs. Martin Wright, and in 1779 sold it to Matthew Lewis.
Samuel Smith was probably the first settler on the farm now owned by J. B. Benedict.
Amos Pennoyer, from Amenia, N. Y., settled about 1798 on the farm now owned and occupied by Mrs. M. J. Ellsworth. He was a soldier of the Rev- olution, and joined the volunteer forces in the War of 1812.
Jared Abernathy was the first settler on the farm now owned by J. W. and D. Abernathy, having bought the place in sections from Aaron Scott, Mar- tha Douglass and Samuel Benton. Cyrus Abernathy, his father, had before that purchased of Samuel Benton the farm next south. J. W. and Ann Aber- nathy are grandchildren of Jared. South of the elder Cyrus Abernathy, in
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
1784, Dr. Frederick Ford pitched a hundred acres, and built a log house on the site afterward occupied by the dwelling of P. B. Warner. In 1795 Dr. Ford sold this estate to his brother-in-law, Moses Goodrich, and removed to a more central location.
On the long since discontinued road which ran north from near the lands now owned by F. H. Dean, formerly the residence of Mrs. Sherwood, to the early home of P. B. Warner, were several settlers, among whom were Jabez Watrous, Rev. Benjamin Wooster, Abbott Tambling, and Henry Daggett; the last two named built a dam across the stream and erected a saw-mill, but soon abandoned the enterprise. Some distance west of the road, near the brook, John Gilman owned one hundred and thirty acres, on which his grantee, Daniel Huntington, lived until 1802. Deacon Jeremiah Bingham and Merrill Bingham afterwards occupied that place.
On the southern branch of a forked road, extending very early from P. B. Warner's westwardly across Beaver Brook, one division passing the dwelling of Joseph K. Sperry, and the other reaching S. S. Rockwell, resided David Seymour, partly successor to Samuel Benton. He sold to Isaac Hull in 1796. The road was discontinued more than sixty years ago. North of Jared Aber- nathy, Truman Wheeler made two pitches in 1783, building on the east side of the road; while between the two Benjamin Hamlin built on thirteen acres of land, which he sold in 1803 to Abraham Balcom. Cornelius Butcher set- tled north of Wheeler on a fifteen-acre lot, and in 1800 sold to Joseph Hamlin, who had bought a lot fifteen years previously of Samuel Benton. Still farther north John Hamlin settled on the farm afterwards owned successively by his son Ira Hamlin, and his grandson, Joseph Hamlin. The farm so long occupied by Deacon Daniel Warner was first settled by Benjamin Hamlin, who was succeeded by John Rockwell, Cone Andrus, Elisha Hurlbut, and Philip Warner, a cooper, who came here in 1806 and prosecuted his trade until his death in I 829. His descendants in Cornwall are P. D. Warner, a grandson, and his children, R. B. Warner and Mrs. E. A. Thrall, and H. C. Warner, grandson also of Philip. The descendants of John Hamlin are Joseph Hamlin, grand- son, Mrs. T. P. D. Matthews, great-granddaughter, and Edward Matthews, her son.
Levi Sperry settled in 1788 on the farm now occupied by his grandson, Albert H. Sperry, and received the farm as a gift from his father, David Sperry.
In 1783 Thomas Hall pitched several hundred acres, including the present farm of William Wright. His son David settled southwest from his dwelling. He sold fifty acres of his land in 1791 to Nathan Ingraham, afterwards owned by Pitts Ingraham. Elisha Hurlbut bought a lot of Hall in 1795, and in 1798 sold to John Boynton. William Wright is a grandson of Pitts Ingraham, Mrs. J. K. Wright being a daughter; S. C. Parkhill and Mrs. H. J. Manchester are also his grandchildren. South of Thomas Hall's, on the road to West Corn-
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wall, on land now owned by H. F. Dean, the earliest settler was Jeremiah Bingham, jr., a nephew of Deacon Bingham. He was a soldier of the Revo- lution. In 1793 he sold to Deacon Jeremiah Bingham.
Hon. Hiland Hall, nephew of Thomas, above named, came from Benning- ton to Cornwall in the winter of 1783-84. He was kinsman to the late ex- governor, his namesake. He was born at Guilford, Conn., and removed early to Norfolk; served about three years as orderly sergeant and commissary. He died while on a visit to his father at Norfolk in 1789. He was the first treasurer of Cornwall in 1784, and first representative in the General Assembly in 1786. At the organization of Addison county he was appointed one of the judges of the County Court. He settled where Merrill Bingham now lives, having made his purchase of Thomas Hall and Erastus Hatheway. After his death the property passed into the hands of Aaron Delong, who sold to Rob- ert Bingham. He remained on the farm all the remaining years of his long life. The rest of the land of Erastus Hatheway came into the possession of Aaron Delong in 1800, who was a prominent man in the early days of the town. His farm is also included in the land now owned by Merrill Bingham.
Deacon Jeremiah Bingham, who has already been mentioned, was one of the original members of the Congregational Church, and was chosen one of the first deacons. He was a soldier of the Revolution, and took an active part in the battle of Bennington, and was connected with the quartermaster's depart- ment of the garrison at Ticonderoga before the surrender of the fort to Bur- goyne. He was a man of indomitable energy and unusual intelligence, a thor- ough student of the Scriptures, and a conscientious believer in the truths therein inculcated. He frequently wrote poetry for his own edification. He died at the age of ninety-four years.
Town Organization, etc .- The town was organized on the 2d of March, 1784, by the election of the following officers: Moderator, Jeremiah Bingham; town clerk, Joel Linsley; selectmen, Samuel Benton, Jeremiah Bingham, El- dad Andrus ; treasurer, Hiland Hall; constable, Barzillai Stickney; listers, Nathan Foot, Roswell Post; highway surveyors, Eldad Andrus, Stephen Tam- bling, William Jones, Isaac Kellogg.
Other officers were from year to year added to the list, such as deer-rifts or reeves, whose duty it was to protect deer from the hunter from the 10th of January to the 10th of June, when their meat would be of no value; branders of horses, tithingmen, choristers, pound-keepers, etc.
Concerning the setting off to Middlebury of a portion of Cornwall in 1796, further particulars will be found in the chapter on the history of Middlebury.
The early settlers of Cornwall were, almost without exception, men who were inclined by nature to pursuits purely agricultural. The fact of their settling in a town so fertile of soil and poor in water power and shipping facil- ties sufficiently attests that they hoped to gain a livelihood and more from the 28
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
tilling of the ground. Communities of men are governed as absolutely by the beneficent and yet inflexible laws of nature's God as are the inanimate and the inorganic elements of creation. Houses must be built and repaired; boots, shoes and harnesses must be used; horses must be shod, and cloth must be woven and made into garments; consequently carpenters and coopers, shoe- makers and tanners, harness-makers and clothiers and blacksmiths are found among the early settlers of Cornwall, distributed in accordance with the con- venience of their patrons. The following list of mechanics is taken from the invaluable History of Cornwall, by Rev. Lyman Matthews: Before 1800- clothier, Harvey Bell; tanners and shoemakers, Abijah Davis, Felix Benton, Elisha Field, Stephen Black, Jeremiah Rockwell; shoemakers, Samuel Peck, Thomas Landon, William Jones, Daniel Samson ; cooper and manufacturer of fan-mills, Samuel Ingraham; cooper, Elijah Durfee; joiners, Asahel Phelps, Elizur Newell, Jacob Peck, Thomas Pritchard, Davis & Squier, Daniel Rich- ardson, Ambrose Judd, James Walker; saddler and harness-maker, Abiel Rogers; spinning-wheels, Calvin and Luther Tilden; carpenters and joiners, Sanborn Bean, John Mazuzan, Reuben Peck, Cone Andrus.
Between 1800 and 1860 the following mechanics carried on their respective trades, for a longer or shorter period, in town: Blacksmiths, William Hamilton, Edward Hamilton, William Peck, Shubael Ripley, Stephen Holliday, George Walker; tanners and shoemakers, Asa Bond, Julius Delong, Joseph Myers, Mark W. Mazuzan, Daniel Ford, Daniel Vale and - Taylor; wheelwrights, William Hamilton, Waterman Sunderland, David Clark; coopers, Jonathan Perry, Philip Warner ; tailors, - Brown, H. E. Rust; carpenters and join- ers, Salmon North, Matthew Wallace, Nathaniel Wallace, Martin Hopkins, Elijah Foot, Calvin Foot, Isaac Miner, Ebenezer Miner, Luther Balcom, George Balcom, Horace A. Pinney, William Baxter, James Piper, P. N. Cobb, E. C. Crane; spinning-wheels, Benjamin Atwood.
The scanty water power afforded by the sluggish Lemon Fair and the other "thunder shower " streams in town has deterred manufacturers from attempting to build mills of much magnitude. A dam once constructed on land now owned by C. R. Witherell was soon abandoned. A saw-mill was also built at an early day on land formerly owned by Garrison W. Foot, now belonging to A. H. Sperry, and Jared Abernathy and Levi Sperry, with both interested in opening it. About fifty rods below this mill David Pratt built and operated a grist-mill ; Levi Sperry also ran it for a time. The only other mill ever built in town was on the brook near the residence of Asa Bond in 1860. Luther Tilden here built a saw-mill and operated also a carding- machine for a short time after 1816 or 1817. It frequently changed owners and has never been a pronounced success.
The first merchants in town were Mr. Ballard and Israel C. Jones. Joshua Stockwell, Josiah Austin, Daniel Campbell, Hosea Brooks, Israel C. Mead,
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TOWN OF CORNWALL.
Samuel Everts, William H. Remsen, P. W. Collins, Benjamin F. Haskell, Cal- vin M. Lewis, Ira Bingham, A. C. Wicker, Daniel Sanford, Joel S. Lane, Syl- vester B. Rockwell, and the Cornwall Mercantile Company have carried on business at different periods since the beginning of the century. The only store now in town is kept by Fred S. Haskell. The building is owned by his father, Benjamin F. Haskell, grandson of Joshua Stockwell, who built the rear part before 1820 and kept here for a time in company with Daniel Sanford. B. F. Haskell, sr., followed them about 1825 and traded here for forty years, selling out to Hugh G. Bingham. About 1853 B. F. Haskell, sr., moved the building back and erected the front part as it now stands. Then he and B. F., jr., traded in company for about five years. After Hugh Bingham followed Kirk Bingham, Orren Dalrymple, Harvey Taylor, B. F. Wales, and others. Fred S. Haskell began business here in September, 1878.
The most prominent industry in town, and one for which her people are most widely known, is the raising of sheep. Immediately after the importation of Merino sheep from Spain, by Colonel Humphrey, of Connecticut, and later by Consul Jarvis, of Wethersfield, Vt., some of the farmers of Cornwall pro- cured some of the variety for the purpose of improving their flocks. Merrill and A. L. Bingham have been among the foremost of breeders. They began importing French Merinos about 1846. Hon. Rollin J. Jones, who contributes a valuable portion of our general chapter on sheep raising in the county, has been and still is one of the most prominent breeders and dealers in town, Sylvester B. Rockwell being for some time in company with him in intro- ducing the French Merino in the West. M. B. Williamson, H. F. Dean, Rollin Lane, Henry Lane, J. B. and Ira Hamlin, Henry Robbins, C. H. James, John Towle, Arthur Field, B. S. Field, L. W. Peet, W. H. and T. P. D. Matthews, Edgar Sanford and H. E. Sanford are also at present engaged in the industry.
Early Roads, etc .- One of the earliest and most imperative necessities of the early settlers was the construction of roads and bridges. As in nearly all the towns, a greater number of roads were surveyed than were ever opened, and more were opened than have been continued ; so that a thorough acquaint- ance with the highways as they lead at present throws little light upon their ramifications of a hundred years ago.
The main north and south road from Whiting to Weybridge was laid before 1778, nearly as it now runs. A vote was passed in June, 1786, to build a road from between John Holley's and Isaac Kellogg's east through the swamp to Theophilus Allen's. On account, however, of the expense and labor of con- structing it the work was delayed many years. It was then prosecuted so slowly that not until 1825, and under the pressure of the necessity of Salisbury, Ripton and East Middlebury for direct communication with the lake, was the highway opened for travel.
Some time before 1815 the Middlebury Turnpike Company, so called, which
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
proposed to extend the Hubbardton Turnpike to Middlebury, offered Cornwall the free use of the road provided the inhabitants would work out one-half of their annual tax upon it. Though the offer was accepted the road was never constructed.
On the 12th of October, 1784, it was " voted that the north and south roads be six rods wide, and the east and west road, or highway, be five rods wide."
The main north and south road, ordered surveyed at this meeting, was laid three rods each way from the line surveyed. In 1795 the town decided to make the width of the roads discretionary with the selectmen, in the exercise of which discretion they have considerably narrowed the roads. Before the setting off of a portion of Cornwall to Middlebury, this town was responsible with Middlebury for all the bridges which it was necessary to build over the creek between the towns. Since its release from the expense of sharing in the maintenance of these bridges, the town has had occasion to make appropria- tions worth speaking of for only two bridges, viz., that across the Fair and the one across Beaver Brook near the old saw-mill. In December, 1785, an appro- priation was made "to build a bridge over Lemon Fair, to be paid by the first day of April next, in wheat or work, wheat at 5s per bushel and work at 3s and 6d per day, finding themselves." Though this vote was reconsidered, the rec- ords do not disclose the sequel.
On the list of 1799 a tax was imposed of two cents on the dollar, " to be paid in cattle by the first of October next, and if it is not paid by that time, to be paid in wheat or corn by the first day of January next, for the purpose of building Lemon Fair Bridge, and other town charges." In this manner the bridges were kept passable, being rebuilt in 1823 and again in 1855. The bridge over Beaver Brook, before mentioned, was rebuilt in 1861 at an expense of one thousand dollars.
Professional Interests .- " Many of the lawyers and physicians who have prac- ticed in Cornwall in times past will receive more particular mention in general chapters devoted to their respective professions. Among the former Martin Post stands alone; while representatives of the latter profession are numerous, viz., Drs. Nathan Foot, Frederick Ford, sr., Frederick Ford, jr., Solomon Foot, Abraham Fleming, Horace Brooks, Rodolphus Field, Oliver J. Eells, R. C. Green, C. B. Currier, Thomas Porter Matthews, Marcus O. Porter and Darius Matthews.1
The physicians now living in town are Drs. E. O. Potter, a sketch of whom appears in the history of Middlebury, and Dr. George W. Bond. He was born in Crown Point, N. Y., on the 10th of April, 1853, was graduated from the Homeopathic Medical College of Cleveland, O., in 1883 ; practiced one year
1 Descendants of Dr. Matthews now living in town still occupy the old farm, namely, W. H., T. P. D., and Abbie P. Matthews, grandchildren. From them the writer has obtained most of the infor- mation for this chapter, as well as from the valuable history written by their father, Rev. Lyman Mat- thews.
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in Keeseville, N. Y., and a few months in Champlain, N. Y., and came here in January, 1885.
The Post-office .- A post-office was not established in Cornwall until about 1824, when Chauncey H. Stowell was appointed. In 1833 he was succeeded by Samuel Everts, who held the office twelve years. Chauncey H. Stowell was then reappointed. His successors have been Charles Merrill, Rev. G. W. Noyes, Calvin H. Lewis, Loyal L. Wright, and Samuel Everts, the present in- cumbent. Some time before 1860 an office was established at West Cornwall, by the appointment of Benjamin F. Haskell. His successor was Mr. Hamilton. Mrs. M. A. Hamilton succeeded on the death of her husband in June, 1860, and still retains the position.
The following are the officers elected at the March meeting for 1885 : Town clerk, C. H. Lane; selectmen, P. N. Cobb, E. D. Searle, A. S. Bingham ; listers, C. H. James, N. B. Douglass, R. A. Foot; constable and collector, A. W. Frost ; second constable, H. E. Taylor; treasurer, W. H. Bingham; overseer of the poor, R. A. Foot ; superintendent of schools, T. P. D. Matthews ; auditors, L. W. Peet and Frank Warner ; inspector of wood and shingles, P. N. Cobb ; agent to prosecute and defend suits, C. G. Lane ; representative, H. F. Dean ; town grand jurors, W. H. De Long, C. C. Ward, W. H. Matthews.
Military History-Relative to the action of the inhabitants of Cornwall in the War of 1812, Mr. Matthews wrote as follows :
" When our territory was invaded or threatened with invasion, party strifes sunk out of view, and citizens arranged themselves around their country's standard, and stood shoulder to shoulder, the united opponents of a common foe. When in the spring of 1814 the alarm was sounded that the British forces on the lake were intending to destroy the vessels which afterward constituted McDonough's fleet, then building at Vergennes, the citizens, as if moved by an electric spark, shouldered their muskets and flew to the rescue, desirous only of knowing how they might best repel the invader. And when, in the following autumn, the alarm again rang along our hills and through our valleys, that a British army was marching upon Plattsburgh, the call to arms met a hearty response from every bosom. Men dropped their imple- ments of labor, seized the weapons of war and set forward to the field of strife.
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