History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 69

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 69

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In 1770 began the charter difficulties with the town of Addison, of which Judge Smith writes as follows: "These difficulties continued till an agreement was ratified, May 17, 1774, by which Addison held according to her charter : but gave 8,000 acres of the disputed territory to the Panton proprietors 'for a reward for duties done in settling s'd tract,' which was defined and ratified at the first meeting held after the Revolutionary War, at Pawlet. This agreement left 115 acres of Panton territory, lying on Otter Creek, near Reef Bridge, de- tached from the rest of the town, and long known as 'Little Panton,' which was annexed to Weybridge in 1806."

The last appointment for a meeting previous to the war was for the second Tuesday in October, 1776; but as this was the week, and possibly the very day, of the battle of Ferris's Bay, it is not strange that the meeting was not held. Of this event and other incidents connected therewith, we quote as fol- lows from the sketch furnished the Vermont Historical Magazine, by Judge Smith: "Events had by this time occurred within the immediate neighbor- hood, that convinced them [the inhabitants of Panton] that they could not re- main inactive spectators of the struggle in their exposed locality. The year before Ethan Allen had sent Captain Douglass, of Jericho, to Panton, to con- sult his brother-in-law, and procure boats to assist in carrying his men across the lake to attack Ticonderoga; and among the reinforcements sent to Canada under General Thomas, after the death of the lamented Montgomery and so many of his brave companions, was Edmund Grandey, the father of the late Judge Grandey and brother of Elijah Grandey, then living in Panton, who passed down the lake on snow-shoes in the winter. Nathan Spalding also en- listed, and left home January 20, 1776, and died at Quebec the May following, of the small-pox, while being carried in a cart when the army retreated in such haste. And now, in October, Arnold having command of the first American fleet on Lake Champlain, consisting, some say of nine, and others of fifteen vessels, of different sizes, manned by 395 men, was attacked by a British naval force under Captain Pringle, greatly superior in numbers and equipments. After four hours' hard fighting at Valcour Island, in which one of Arnold's vessels was burned and another sunk, the British retired from the attack. Arnold endeavored to escape in the night with his vessels to Crown Point, but was overtaken October II near Ferris's Bay, in Panton, and the battle was renewed and kept up for two hours, six of Arnold's vessels being engaged,

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TOWN OF PANTON.

those foremost in the flight having escaped to Ticonderoga. The Washington galley under General Waterbury, owing to her crippled condition, was obliged to surrender, and, in order to prevent the rest of his men and vessels from fall- ing into the hands of the enemy, Arnold ran ashore and blew up or sank his fleet. We have the statement of 'Squire Ferris as first published by Mr. Tuck- er, that Lieutenant Goldsmith was lying wounded on deck, and blown into the air at the explosion, Arnold's order for his removal not having been executed, much to his sorrow and indignation. This affair gave Arnold's name to the bay where it occurred. Of the five vessels sunk, three are known to have been raised, and two of them may still be seen in low water, lying where they sank eighty-three years ago, and have often been visited for the purpose of fishing up the balls and other articles which may be seen in clear water. One brass cannon was taken out many years since by Ferris, and fired in the militia gath- erings after the war, and is said to have been used at the battle of Plattsburgh. It is not known whether the British pursued Arnold on land, but 'several shots fired by them at his men struck the house of Peter Ferris, near the shore where they landed. Ferris and his family, and probably some others in the town, went with Arnold to Ticonderoga, but soon after returned.'

"From this time the inhabitants were frequently visited by straggling bands of Indians and Tories, who plundered them of any movable property desirable in their eyes, and after Burgoyne came up the lake, in June, 1777, these robberies were more frequent. Some few of the families again left, and it is thought by some this was the time of the general fight; but we have good evidence that the Holcomb, Spalding, and Grandey families were not burned out till the next year. Some of the men were taken prisoners in '77. It is supposed that October of this year was the time when Phineas Spalding and eleven others of Panton and Addison were taken and kept awhile on board a vessel in the vicinity. Spalding was employed to dress the animals brought on board for food, until an opportunity occurred to him to jump into a small boat lying aside the vessel, when he paddled for shore, but before he reached it was observed and ordered to return. Knowing they would fire upon him, and thinking his body too large a mark to escape, he jumped into the water and swam safely to shore amid the bullets of the British. On the evacuation of Crown Point, about one week later, the other prisoners were released. 'In the fall of 1778 a large British force came up the lake in several vessels and thoroughly scoured the country on both sides,' and every house in Panton was burnt but one. Timothy Spalding's house escaped for some reason not known, although the enemy came to the front while he was escaping at the back. The house of Elijah Grandey was visited before his wife left. She was then but nineteen years of age, but had become accustomed to the visits of the Indians for plunder. After witnessing the burning of her house and furniture, she carried her son Edmund, two years old, to the bateaux at Merrill's Bay, where

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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.

the women of the vicinity assembled. Her husband was taken prisoner with others and carried on board a vessel, but was released by the officer command- ing to go in company with Thomas Hinkley, of Westport, to take the women and children to Skeensboro. Five of the Holcomb family, two Spaldings, and two Ferrises were taken prisoners about the same time, and the town remained deserted till after the close of hostilities, when those of the settlers who were still living gradually returned, rebuilt their houses, and again commenced the cultivation of their long-neglected farms."

After the war a number of unsuccessful attempts were made to unite a portion of Panton and the town of Ferrisburgh into one township. Thus, in May, 1784, we find it recorded that a meeting proceeded to the following action : " Mr. Peter Ferris git a remonstrance for to see who will sign to unite with Ferrisburgh, (viz.) the Inhabitants on the southwest side of Otter Creek and the inhabitants of Panton." And again in September, 1785, "That we will and do by a great majority of votes that we will petition with Ferrisburgh to the legislature body of this State to frame the township of Panton and the land that belongs to Ferrisburgh on the west of Otter creek into one town- ship." These efforts at a union of the territory named continued at intervals until some forty years ago.

Torn Meetings and Records .- On the 30th of March, 1784, the first public town meeting was held in Panton and the following officers chosen : Benjamin Holcomb, moderator; Elijah Grandey, town clerk; Noah Ferris, Benjamin Holcomb, Henry Spalding, selectmen ; Benjamin Holcomb, treasurer ; Asa Strong, constable; Elijah Grandey, Henry Spalding, Noah Ferris, listers; Asa Strong, collector of town taxes; Noah Ferris, leather sealer; Timothy Spald- ing, Noah Ferris, grand jurors.

At this meeting it was voted that a pound be "built near the house of Henry Spalding, in Panton, and he be poundkeeper." The following quaint vote was passed : "Voted no howning of deer shall be permitted or allowed in this town and all dogs that run at large and are not restrained shall and may be a free mark for any whome he offends, this act voated in the affirmative."

In 1785 Zadock Everest and John Strong, living in Addison, were ap- pointed a committee to look after the interests of Panton in the Legislature, and the next year Peter Ferris was chosen their representative.

Upon the question of allowing a portion of the town to be taken off to form the city of Vergennes, the inhabitants took a decided though ineffectual stand on the negative side; for we find a vote recorded in January, 1787, that they "are not willing to have no part of the town taken off for a City at the N. E. corner of said town."

"In the summer of 1788," says Judge Smith, "the wheat crop was so much injured by rains that before the next harvest there was a great scarcity of breadstuffs and considerable suffering. A few barrels of flour brought into

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TOWN OF PANTON.

Woodford Bay gave some relief, although no one could obtain more than ten pounds at one time because of the necessity of a general distribution. In 1793 a destructive fire swept across the town in the woods between the Ledge and Dead Creek, and in 1816 a large tract was burnt over on the east side of Dead Creek.

" Previous to 1804 there was no bridge in the town over Dead Creek, and the summer travel was either by a ferry across Otter Creek, at the mouth of Dead Creek, or by a road in Addison. In 1804 the south bridge was com- pleted; the north, in 1805; the turnpike finished, and toll-gates erected in 1818, and became a free road in 1840."

Early Settlers .- Peter Ferris was one of the prominent early settlers of the town and lived on Arnold Bay; he was of the family from whom the town of Ferrisburgh took its name. He was born in 1722, and had married the second time before coming to Panton. Leaving his first family of children in Dutchess county, he came here with his wife and two sons, Squire and James, about the year 1766. It is believed that his family was the first in the present limits of this town. His third son, Darius, is supposed to have been the first child born in the town. On this point Judge Smith says that "the statement of Deming, that Lois Farr was born here in 1764 is not accepted, because there is no evidence that there was a family in the town at that time." Mr. Ferris's wife died in Panton before the Revolution, and was the first white adult person buried in the town. He died in 1815 at the age of ninety-three. Squire Ferris died at Vergennes in 1849, aged seventy-seven years.

The Grandey family have been a conspicuous one, and are thus written of by Judge Smith : "Elijah Grandey (great-uncle of George W. Grandey, of Vergennes), born March 14, 1748, in Canaan, Conn., came to Panton about the year 1773; commenced a clearing and built a log house where Isaac Spald- ing now lives; was married February 23, 1775, to Salome Smith, of Bridport, then sixteen years of age; (they were obliged to go to Ticonderoga to find an officer competent to perform the ceremony). Lived on his farm till the war ; was taken prisoner, and released to take care of the women and children; went to Canaan, and left his wife and child at his brother Edmond's; returned to Vermont, where he frequently acted as scout and guide ; and, after the close of hostilities returned to his farm, where he died at 1810. He, as well as his brother Edmond, appears to have possessed advantages of education superior to most of the early settlers; was for many years proprietors' clerk, and first town clerk. His son Edmond, born in 1776, died in Panton in 1849. Elijah, . born in 1782, is still living. Edmond Grandey was a soldier of the Revolu- tion ; was at the siege of Quebec in 1776, and with the army in their retreat in May. In 1788 he came with his family to Panton, where he resided till his death in 1826. He was several times chosen to represent the town, and held other offices. Of his four sons, Jesse and Elijah, who settled near their father,

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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.

left large families, mostly settled in this vicinity. Jesse Grandey was born in 1778, and died in 1846, having long enjoyed the confidence and esteem of his townsmen. He was often called to the more important town offices, and in 1832 appointed judge of probate."

Phineas Spalding, whose name often appears in the records of the town, was born at Plainfield, Conn., in 1720, and came here from Cornwall with a large family of children by way of Fort Edward and Lake George in 1767, stopping in what he supposed was Panton, of which he was one of the original proprietors. He remained on what has been known as the Swift farm, in the town of Addison, until November 5, 1778, when his house and goods were burned and two of his sons taken prisoners. He escaped to Rutland and died there not long after. Phineas Spalding, jr., born in 1749, married for his second wife Sarah, daughter of Phineas Holcomb. He was driven from his farm and went to Rutland, where he enlisted for six months. In the spring of 1779 he went to Canaan, returning late in 1785 ; was taken prisoner, as before stated, and died in Panton in 1825, at the age of seventy-six. His children by a third wife, Isaac and John, also lived in the town. Philip and George were captured on their father's farm on the 5th of November, 1778, and carried to Canada with other prisoners. They effected their escape, and Philip, with some others, wandered in the woods twenty-one days, when they reached the Connecticut River. Philip enlisted after his return and served through the war ; then mar- ried and moved on the farm where his son Hiram afterward lived. George was retaken and put in irons; afterward offered his liberty if he would first go one trip in a vessel to Great Britain. Stopping at a port in Ireland, he went ashore and was taken by a press-gang. Nothing further is known of him. Timothy Spalding lived on the place now occupied by Burton Kent, in the west part of the town on the lake road. His son Henry also occupied that place and kept a public house.

The Holcomb family was prominent in the early history of the town. Of its settlement Judge Smith wrote : "Phineas Holcomb came from Dutchess. county, in the spring of 1774, with a large family, and settled on land now owned by Edrick Adams, esq. On the morning of November 5, 1778, his son Joseph, then sixteen years old, was cutting fire-wood under an elm tree now standing, at the door of his brother-in-law, Spalding, who was away from home at the time. Being intent upon his work, he saw nothing of his danger till an Indian stepped up from behind, and a number more surrounded him. They took him off to a vessel on the lake, with his father, and three brothers who lived a short distance from Spalding's, and who were taken by the same party, and their houses burned. They were taken to Quebec, and endured great pri- vation and suffering, which resulted in the death of the two oldest brothers, Joshua and Samuel, in the prison, in the summer of 1781, and of the father, in September of the same year. The two younger boys, Joseph and Elisha,

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TOWN OF PANTON.

allowed more liberty, and treated with less severity (being permitted to aid in the care of the sick prisoners), escaped the disease and death which was the sad fate of so many of their companions in misery, and were exchanged after three years and eight months' imprisonment. Joseph died at Panton, January 20, 1833, in his seventy-first year. Elisha moved to Elizabethtown in 1813, where he died." Lieutenant Benjamin Holcomb lived in the west part of the town, as did the others of that name-Benjamin on the place now occupied by Aaron Curler. He was an officer in the Revolutionary War and a man of much native ability ; lived in Panton from 1783 to 1790, when he moved to Elizabethtown, N. J., and died there. In the spring of 1787 Abner Holcomb, nephew of Benjamin, came to Panton and located in a house near where Aaron Curler lives, and in 1802 removed to Westport, his children going with him, with the exception of Abner G. Michael Hays came at the same time with his family, bringing the women and children of both families, with his horses and sleigh.

Asa Strong, son of John Strong, of Addison, came to Panton in 1783, lo- cating in the part now included in Vergennes. He owned and managed the saw-mill on the west side at the fall. He was postmaster at Vergennes from 1795 to 1799, and a man of character and ability.

William Shepherd moved from Simsbury, Conn., with six children in 1785, having purchased two fifty-acre lots for one hundred pounds. He died in 1802, at the age of seventy. He lived a mile south of the meeting-house, and later on the Joseph Tappen place. He had three sons-William, jr., Samuel, and Abel. All of them were men of prominence in the town and represented it in the Legislature at different periods. William died in Panton in 1836, aged seventy-seven. Abel removed to Ohio. Samuel was married to Rachel Gran- dey in 1790, and soon afterward built a small house near the later site of the larger one ; the latter was built in 1815. After holding many town offices, in- cluding representative, he was appointed in 1812 one of the assistant judges of the County Court.

Jared Payne lived in the east part of the town, and Amasa about a mile from him; the latter afterward removed to Connecticut, where he was killed by the blowing down of his dwelling. Reuben Bristol lived one and a half miles south of Vergennes on lands still occupied by descendants of the family. Benjamin Pangborn settled in the west part of the town, and was a blacksmith ; he was noted for his great strength. He left many descendants, but none of them now resides in town. Elkanah Brush lived near the falls in Panton, but became identified with Vergennes after the separation. Ephraim Curtis, father of Charles and Bradford Curtis, lived on a farm in the extreme northwest cor- ner of Panton. Charles Curtis married a Pangborn and reared a large family, and his son, Charles E., lives now in Vergennes. Amasa Payne lived in the east part of the town, on the banks of Otter Creek, on the farm long owned by

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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.

Philo Bristol. John Reynolds, jr., father of twenty-four children, lived nearly a mile south of the meeting-house, on the place now owned by Charles Tull. Gideon Spencer lived in that part of the town set off to Vergennes, and his de- scendants were prominent in Panton for many years; they at one time owned all of the water power at the falls on the west side of the creek, and made a perpetual lease of it, which is still in force. In 1788 or '89 he kept a hotel near the creek on the west side. Beebe Pangborn was a brother of Benjamin and lived in that part set off to Vergennes; he was a mechanic.

Such are the meager details now accessible of the settlements of those who bore a prominent part in laying the foundations of the town; but we are ena- bled, through the memories of Judge Smith, George W. Grandey, and a few others, to extend these notes of the leading men of the town to a later date. Coming down to a date of fifty years ago we learn the following of the then residents of the town : Charles Curtis, who has been mentioned, still lived in the northwest corner of the town. South of him, on the Lake street, was Friend Adams, on Arnold's Bay, and the ferry from there to Westport has al- ways been known as Adams's Ferry. He owned the ferry, wharf, storehouse, store, a large farm, ferry boats, and kept a hotel; was one of the largest land- holders in that vicinity. He had a large family, and one son, Charles, now lives in Vergennes. Other sons, Hiram and Harry, were prominent in Ver- gennes, but are now deceased. Friend Adams died about the year 1839, leav- ing a large property. A little east of Adams lived Darius Ferris, a son of Peter, the early settler. Next south on the Lake street was Roswell D. Hopkins, a son of Roswell Hopkins (see history of Vergennes) who lived in Vergennes. Roswell D. was a farmer and left a large family. His son, Dr. William F. Hop- kins, now practices in Vergennes. Next south of him was Silas Tappen, a re- spectable farmer, a frequent office-holder, and popular man. One of his daugh- ters is the mother of the present Carlton T., Charles O., and Herrick Stevens, of Vergennes. Another daughter married Cyrus Smith, who now lives, at the age of ninety years, in Panton. One daughter married James Ten Broeke, who lived on the place next south of Silas Tappen's. James Ten Broeke taught school and had the reputation of being successful in that calling. In later life he became a Baptist preacher. His son, the present town clerk of Panton, lives on the place the father occupied. At an earlier date than that under consid- eration a store and potashery stood nearly opposite Mr. Ten Broeke's. Next south of the Ten Broeke place lived Horatio N. White, for many years a prom- inent lake captain, and still living as one of the oldest residents of the town. A little south and east of Ten Broeke's was the farm and blacksmith shop of Thomas Stagg, and still farther south was the Spalding farm, then occupied by Hiram Spalding, and now by his descendants. The next place south was then occupied by Nathan Spalding, and now by Burton Kent. Josiah Stagg lived on the farm next south, which is now occupied by William Conant. Then came

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TOWN OF PANTON.

Isaac Spalding's place, which passed to Isaac Somers Spalding, and is now oc- cupied by his family.

Beginning at the south end of the middle north and south street lived Judge Jesse Grandey, father of General George W. Grandey, of Vergennes, and Truman Grandey, deceased. Jesse Grandey was in early life a carpenter and surveyor, and held many public offices. North of him lived his son, Truman Grandey. Next north lived Jason Cole, school-teacher, farmer, and owner of a limekiln ; the place is now occupied by Jacob Spalding. The farm next north (originally Abel Shepherd's) was occupied by Chilion Wines, who was followed by Henry Gardner, Clark Conant, and Jacob Tappen ; William E. White is the present occupant. North of that place was the farm of John Spalding, now occupied by Elisha Doten. The next farm north was that of Judge Samuel Shepherd, at that time one of the most prominent men of the town, and one of the side judges of the county. He held the office of justice of the peace many years and represented the town. Next north lived Wareham Brown, on the place now occupied by Cyrus Bowers. Ensign Tull lived on the next farm, . which was formerly occupied by John Reynolds, jr., as before stated ; the place is now occupied by Charles Tull. Next north then lived the widow of Dr. Ste- phen Rusco, who died more than fifty years ago. He practiced medicine in this section as many as forty years. His grandson, Andrew Rusco, now occu- pies the place. The next farm to the north is the one then owned by Enoch Kent, whose son, Loyal Kent, now lives there. Silas Pond, son of the early settler of the same name, lived next; he was a man of considerable prominence and held numerous offices. On the next place, now occupied by Silas Hoyt, then lived Putnam Bishop, and next to him Primas Storms, a colored man who had been a slave in New York; his former master was an aid to General Wash- ington. A grandson of Storms, named Eugene Storms, now occupies the farm. The master was General Storms and gave his servant the farm. On the place now occupied by Dr. Norman Towsley then lived Calvin Hyde, and next to him Jonathan Gaines, grandfather of S. S. Gaines, now proprietor of the Ste- vens House, in Vergennes. The place is now occupied by Hopkins Gaines, a brother of S. S. They are sons of B. F. Gaines. The next farm north was that of Benjamin Curler, now occupied by his son-in-law, Henry Allen. On the next place, the last one within the town, on that street, lived Phineas Hol- comb, who was a corporal in the War of 1812.

On the turnpike, as it was then called - a road built by General Strong - in the first house east of Dead Creek lived Uriah Chapin, who married a daugh- ter of Enoch Kent. Chapin held several offices. Nearly opposite his house was that of Abner G. Holcomb, a grandson of Benjamin Holcomb ; he was a man of positive opinions and generally respected ; held the office of justice of the peace. He kept a hotel for a time and reared a large family. One son, Girard Holcomb, now lives in Panton. Next on the east was the farm of An-

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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.

thony Barton, remembered as keeper of the toll-gate and proprietor of " Bar- tonville," who expressed a desire to return fifty years after his death to see his city, then comprising half a dozen log huts. The next farm on the east was that of William H. Smith, who had been a merchant and manufacturer of West Haven, Vt., and came to Panton in 1821 ; he died in 1843. He had one son and four daughters, of whom only the son is now living -Judge John D. Smith, of Vergennes - and one daughter, Mrs. Morgan, of Vergennes. No others then lived on that road.

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History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 69

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