USA > Vermont > Addison County > History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 80
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
Brush became captain, and in 1818 the Congress was built here by Captain Sherman at an expense of $30,000, of which R. W. Sherman was captain ; and again in 1820 Captain Sherman built here the second Phoenix at a cost of $45,000. In 1824 he built the Mountaineer at Caldwell, on Lake George, and in 1838 the second Caldwell at Ticonderoga, and in 1832 the Water Witch at Fort Cassin. Soon after coming to Vergennes Captain Sherman purchased the house and property at the wharf and afterward acquired a large real estate in Vermont. Captain Sherman was the representative from Vergennes to the State Legislature in 1835 and '36. In 1836 he united with the Congregational Church in Vergennes and was ever after one of its firm supporters. He died in 1844, leaving a widow and five sons - Jahaziel, Walter W., Richard W., Charles, and Benjamin. Charles, now the only survivor, lives in Marshalltown, Iowa. One of the lake steamboats brought from Burlington to Vergennes a large company of his business associates to attend the funeral of Captain Ja- haziel Sherman.
Samuel Strong, second son of John Strong, of Addison, came to Vergennes in the winter of 1793-94 with his wife and four children, and moved into the house formerly occupied by his brother, Asa Strong, which stood near where now stands the south end of the Shade Roller Co.'s dry house. Samuel Strong had been a farmer in Addison and for two years high sheriff of Addison county. He soon became the owner of a saw-mill and of timber lands, and by buying lands at a low price and managing his mills and farms with much prudence and skill, his property increased in value rapidly. In 1796 he built the large house (now J. D. Smith's) which has not been changed in appearance outwardly since first built, and is the only place in Vergennes that has remained in the family of the original owner without a sale. At the first city meeting after he came to Vergennes he was elected alderman, and he held important offices for many years ; was representative 1804 and '05 ; assistant judge of the County Court five years ; mayor of Vergennes 1811 to '16; at the same time was active in the militia of Vermont and rose rapidly from one grade to another, to become a major-general in 1804, which office he resigned in 1810. When carding- machines were first introduced to card wool into rolls for the spinning-wheel by machinery, instead of the slow process of carding with hand cards, General Strong was largely engaged in their introduction into the New England States, New York, and Canada. When the news came to Vergennes that volunteers were wanted to resist the advance of the British at Plattsburgh, he immediately started for Burlington and was there chosen by the general voice to take the command of all the volunteers, and, with letters from Governor Chittenden, crossed the lake with the soldiers and reported to General Macomb. After the battle he returned with a severe cold, which terminated in consumption from which he never entirely recovered. In 1816 he went to Georgia for the sake of a warmer climate, hardly expecting to return; but he came back the next
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spring, and having been advised by physicians to ride in the open air he spent much of his after life on horseback. Being a man of great will power, he would ride when so weak that he had to be helped on to his horse. He and Judge Whallon, of Essex, N. Y., established a ferry by horseboats from the farm in Ferrisburgh now owned by Olmsted Keeler, to Grog Harbor. He built the turnpike from Middlebury to Vergennes, and from Vergennes to Adams's ferry. When the Vergennes Bank was organized in 1827 he was elected its first president, and held the position till his death. He had one son, General Sam- uel P. Strong, and four daughters-Mary, the wife of Roswell D. Hopkins ; Clara, wife of E. D. Woodbridge; Susan B. Strong, the founder of the Ver- gennes Library, and Electa, the wife of William H. Smith. The successful business career of General Strong, his sound judgment, the fame he acquired at the battle of Plattsburgh, and his constant activity, notwithstanding his feeble health, combined to make him a man of note at home and abroad. He was a tall, spare man of few words and unassuming manner. Early in life he manifested the same qualities of independent opinion, prompt decision, self-re- liance, and determined perseverance that in after years made him a leader among men. Many incidents in his life have been known to the public. When he was fifteen years old he went with his father and brother from Addison to Pittsford to get a drove of cattle, to supply the American soldiers at Crown Point with beef. When within a few miles, their father left the boys to watch the cattle and prevent their straying while he went to reconnoiter. The father was surprised and taken prisoner by scouts from Burgoyne's army, which had taken the post. The boys waited a reasonable time for their father to return, but as he did not come they drove the cattle back to Pittsford, and saved them from capture by the British.
At one time in loosening the floodwood, that accumulated to the great an- noyance of mill-owners, the floodwood gave way and took him with it down the falls. He could not swim, but did not lose his presence of mind. He would sink to the bottom and crawl toward land until obliged to rise for breath, and then repeat the process. He had nearly reached the lower island when picked up by some one in a boat.
In 1809 Amos W. Barnum took the freeman's oath in Vergennes, and con- tinued to reside here till his death in 1838. He was son of Stephen Barnum, of Monkton, and from his first residence in Vergennes was prominent in the business and public affairs of the day. Very soon after taking up his residence here he was elected alderman and continued to hold important offices. He was four times elected representative. He was mayor from 1824 to '28. He was a self-educated man of superior talents, of pleasant address and extensive in- formation, with ideas in advance of his age. At one time he incurred the ridi- cule of his associates by predicting that some then living would see a railroad in Vergennes. He was a large owner of real estate here and elsewhere; he
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
took great interest in the improvement of farm stock, and introduced a superior breed of cattle and fine horses. About 1827 he started a hemp-factory in Ver- gennes and built a rope-walk on the grounds now belonging to the American Hotel, which he then owned ; he was always ready for any business enterprise that promised success. He was instrumental in building a tow-path to increase navigation and in starting a bank in 1826. He lived in the house now owned by Charles Merrill, and had the best kept house and grounds in the city, the best horses and carriages, and entertained the most company and traveled more than any other citizen. He was fond of horse-racing and high living, and bold and daring business ventures. He owned several hundred acres of land, com- prising the Woodbridge and Wetherbee estates and lands adjoining, and had a private race-course on the hill. He was largely interested in one of the best ore beds in Moriah, N. Y., but did not live to reap the benefits of his develop- ment. In later years fortune frowned upon him and he died poor, December I, 1838, aged fifty-seven years. He had no children.
In 1826 Reuben Brush, who lived in what is now a part of the Stevens House, died. He had been a partner of William White for many years. In February, 1809, Josias Smith deeds to him and William White, of Sunderland, merchants and partners under the firm name of White & Brush, the lots be- tween the Stevens House lot and the residence of C. T. & C. O. Stevens, for $2,500. They continued in trade until near the time of Brush's death, and were successful. When Mr. White came here in 1809 he was thirty-five years old; had been married thirteen years to Polly M. Gardner, of Troy. His son, William H. White, was eleven years old. George Fields came from Sunder- land with Mr. White and at a later day moved on to a farm in Waltham owned by White & Brush, into the house where Stephen Burroughs now lives, and proved to be a successful farmer. William White died July 27, 1832, at the age of fifty-six. He was a large and dignified man, respected by all who knew him. For many years two nieces of his wife lived with him as daughters of the family, and were favorites in society. One of them, Jane Gordon, married the Rev. Buel Smith; the other, Mary Gordon, married Bacon Wheeler. Reu- ben Brush was also a favorite in business and social circles. He died in 1826 at forty-eight years of age, leaving a widow, one daughter (now Mrs. Doolittle, of Burlington), and two sons, both dead. His widow afterward married Dr. Henry Hewitt.
Francis Bradbury, a gentleman of the old school, was long in active busi- ness in Vergennes as a manufacturer and merchant. He belonged to a wealthy Boston family and had been a sea captain before coming to Vermont. In the fall of 1809 he leased of Gideon and Stephen Spencer the water power on the west side of the creek and assigned it to the Monkton Iron Company, of which he remained a member. In 1810 he bought the grist-mill on the island and sold goods most of his business life here, in a store on the west side of the creek.
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His brother Theophilus was with him at one time and his brother Charles be- came interested in property in Vergennes. Charles W. Bradbury, the late head of the present famly, was the son of Charles Bradbury. Francis Bradbury had two children-Francis, who died in Waltham, and Frances, who married Sam- uel S. Woodbridge; after his early death she married Otis M. Haven, and is still living.
About 1823 Zebulon R. Shepherd, from Moriah, N. Y., and one of his sons, started a mill at the falls on the east side for sawing marble, which proved a failure after a few years; and about this time Horace Wheeler, a brother of Preserved Wheeler, of New Haven, and Reuben Wheeler, of Vergennes, built a large brick block on the corner of Main and Green streets, which was rented for stores and shops until burned in 1830.
In 1824 Amos W. Barnum leased to A. T. Rathbone a site and water power for a blast furnace on the east side of the creek. The furnace was built the same year and soon leased to Hector H. Crane. Barnum also started a "Tow Path Co.," to tow from Fort Cassin to Vergennes the canal boats that were ex- pected to come through the new Champlain Canal. A charter was obtained, the path opened and used a number of years until the steamboats commenced towing boats up the creek, and a regular line of packets and freight boats found employment in freighting lumber and produce to Troy and New York, with return freights of merchandise.
Barnum and others also began to agitate the project of establishing a bank in Vergennes, and in November, 1826, a charter was obtained; in 1827 the bank commenced business, with a capital of $100,000.
From and after the year 1823 business in Vergennes assumed a more promis- ing aspect. Horace Wheeler built a large brick block at the corner of Main and Green streets. Zebulon Shepherd started a marble factory; A. T. Rath- bone a blast furnace; several new stores were opened; a tow-path was opened on the bank of the creek from Vergennes to the lake. In 1827 the bank com- menced business, and Amos W. Barnum started a hemp-factory, as before stated, at the falls and built his rope-walk.
In 1828 John D. Ward bought the lease of the Monkton Iron Company's grounds and built a foundry, canal, etc .; employed a large number of men, and built up a flourishing business, which he continued until 1836. In 1834 two new houses of public worship were built, and the city soon commenced the laying of sidewalks and planting of shade trees.
It must be difficult for the young people of to-day to form any conception of the contrasts in the present and former methods of business and travel, or the comforts and conveniences of every-day life. Very little money was in circulation, most of the trade being in barter. The roads were muddy and by no means clear of roots and corduroy; the hills were steep, and bridges and sluices were often dangerous; not a sidewalk in Vergennes, and not more than
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
a dozen shade trees. There were a few two-wheeled chaises in town for one horse, and four two-horse coaches hung on leather thoroughbraces; steel springs were unknown; lumber wagons with no springs were the wagons in common use; there was not a four-wheeled and covered one-horse vehicle in Vergennes until after 1830. Very few stoves were in use previous to 1824; the cooking was all done by open fires on the hearth, in open fire-places; matches were unknown. To buy a ready-made garment in the stores in those days was im- possible. If a farmer wanted a new coat his wife and daughters must secure a fleece of wool and send it to a carding-machine, and receive it back in the form of rolls; then spin it on the old-fashioned spinning-wheel, and either weave it themselves or have it done; then send it to a fulling-mill, where the cloth is fulled, a nap raised, and then pressed. When finished, the man must go to a tailor's and have his garment cut and made. None of the present comforts for the feet were known except the ordinary leather boots, and they had to be made to order, not being kept on sale as at present. The first ready- made clothing in Vergennes was brought from Montreal.
On the Ist of July, 1824, the first number of the Vermont Aurora was published in Vergennes by Gamaliel Small, editor and publisher. On the 15th of July he says: "Since 1798 no great improvement has been made until with- in two years past. Among the manufacturing establishments in Vergennes are a furnace and marble factory recently built, three saw-mills, two grist-mills carrying seven run of stone, three woolen manufactories, two tanneries, one of which is doing extensive business for the foreign markets, two distilleries, and eleven stores, each having an extensive assortment of goods imported the last spring; there is also a book-store, a house of public worship, three school- houses, and upwards of one hundred dwelling houses. The number of inhab- itants within the confines of the city is upwards of one thousand, a considerable portion of which have settled here within the last year. There have recently been built and are now building several elegant brick dwellings."
While we justly boast of the scenery in and about Vergennes, one of its charms has been sacrificed to the spirit of progress. The island below the falls was a charming spot before the railroad crossed it and connected it with the west shore by filling the intervening space. The island contained perhaps an acre and a half of land bordered with trees. It was a favorite camping ground for small bands of Indians, who were in the habit of making annual visits to Vergennes previous to 1830; who put up their wigwams there and were visited by the curious, who were expected to buy baskets or bead-work of the squaws. Their birch-bark canoes, and the skill with which they managed them, were a wonder and delight.
Vergennes, as Remembered by the Older Citizens, about 1825 .- Beginning on the south line on the road to Addison, a log house stood at the southwest corner, opposite Dustin Baror's present residence; one end of the log house
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was in Panton, the other in Vergennes. It was occupied then by - King. A little north of King's was a two-story framed house owned by Alured Hitchcock, who died about 1830 leaving a large and interesting family, who soon moved to Illinois ; two of the sons were farmers near Galesburg and one of them a professor in Knox College at Galesburg; the oldest daughter mar- ried Nehemiah Locy, a teacher in a Western school district and afterward pro- fessor in Knox College ; two other daughters married Western men. Hitch- cock had a good farm, which was sold after his death to Elliott Sherrill and the house removed. The next house was the large house now standing opposite the cemetery ; Sevy Pratt and Solomon Hobbs owned it. Just south of where the brick school-house is now, was a long wooden building used many years for a school-house. Opposite was the house now standing there, owned and oc- cupied by Mitchell Rock, who worked for Mr. Sherrill many years in his cloth- dressing mill. One of his daughters married Anthony Balduke; another mar- ried Charles Sholler. The brick house south of the school-house was owned and occupied by Samuel P. Strong; the hill this side of his house was covered with trees where the boys had to go for the birch twigs needed in the school-
room to teach the young idea how to shoot. Jo. Lebonte, a noted character in Vergennes, lived opposite the present school-house, southeasterly; he had been a servant for Colonel Wells, and was famous for his witticisms and oddi- ties. He had a large family. Mrs. January is the only one remaining in Ver- gennes. Asa Strong, one of the first settlers in Vergennes, and long sheriff and constable, lived where Mrs. Jacob Smith now lives, in the house which is now on the opposite side of the street. Elliott Sherrill lived where his son now lives, and George Thomas, a carpenter, opposite. The Thompson house, originally clapboarded, was bricked up about this time and occupied by Major John Thompson, then in active business running carding-machines, etc., on the island. The next house was where Mrs. Phair lives; it was then occupied by Theodore Clark, and was an inviting place, with a veranda on the south side and all in fine order. The row of houses opposite was not there then, but a large common or green used on training day and other public occasions. The barns of General Strong for the use of his large farm, which extended far up the creek, stood near where is Dr. McGovern's house, General Strong living in the house he built in 1796, where J. D. Smith now lives. John H. Sherrill lived at the Dr. Ingham place, and the Mather family where the bakery is, and
there was one other house on the rocks. Opposite Sherrill's were two tene- ment-houses in a dilapidated condition. The gambrel-roofed house, where Spencer formerly kept tavern, stood on the corner of Crady's garden, and was occupied by several tenants, among them Aaron Stewart, the father of Shel- den Stewart, and John Flanagan, father of the late sheriff of Burlington and hotel-keeper in Hinesburg, and Newton and Martha Flanagan. Opposite was a dwelling and a shoemaker's shop under one roof; Jacob McLean then occu-
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pied it. Just below Demper's was a low house used by John Gibson, who tended the Monkton Iron Company's grist-mill, and on the other side of the road was a similar house in which Bradbury's miller lived. Captain Bradbury had a store near the creek, and Theodore Clark had a store at the end of the bridge. Back of Clark's store was a potashery. In the space about the land- ing several small houses stood, making a little settlement by themselves, and called French Village. A small building used by John H. and Elliott Sherrill, for carding and cloth-dressing, stood near and below the bridge; then a saw- mill, and farther down stream a stone grist-mill and mill shed. A pent-road with a large gate led to the wharf, and by the side of the road and farther south were several large coal barns. The old forges and furnaces were idle, but one dwelling, where Laurence Austin lives now, was occupied, and also the large yellow house where lived John Willson, a pilot on Lake Champlain for many years. He died about 1830, leaving a widow and two sons - Will- iam Willson, long a clerk in Vergennes, and who died in New Jersey ; and Ed- mond, once cashier of Exchange Bank in New York, now a retired capitalist in Jersey City. There were no sidewalks in Vergennes; every vacant place in the street on the west side during the winter and spring was filled with piles of saw-logs and lumber, the logs in vast numbers being drawn in while sleigh- ing lasted, there to await the slow process of being cut into boards by the old- fashioned upright saw. The complaints in regard to our roads and sidewalks are not likely to come from those who then had to pick their way either be- tween or over the saw-logs, in the day when rubber over-shoes were unknown and when Vergennes clay possessed all of its native adhesiveness.
In 1826 some of the former high expectations in regard to Vergennes's future greatness had vanished in the decay of the business of the Monkton Iron Company ; but to the young people of that day their elders seemed happy in the pursuit of their various avocations. Their free and generous hospitality and their cordial, social intercourse brought to them their own rewards.
The district school of the western district must be remembered by those who then attended it as a joyous gathering of happy children and youth, sure ever after to think their schoolmates were made of better material than the rest of mankind. At this time a grist-mill owned by Francis Bradbury was in operation, standing where N. G. Norton's mill is, run by Elijah Hitchcock, and on the rocks southwesterly from it was the wool-carding and cloth-dressing shop of Major John Thompson, with one very interesting appendage in the estimation of the boys of that time, viz., the tenter bars extending nearly the length of the island. On the small island General Strong had two saw-mills, with a long slide upon which logs were drawn up to the mill from rafts below the falls. The bridge across Otter Creek was without other railing than a stick of square timber laid on the sides. At the east end of the bridge and below it was another cloth-dressing establishment, owned and operated by Reuben
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Wheden, who was an active and enterprising business man. Below his shop was a saw-mill and then a gunsmith's shop, and lower down a blast furnace where A. T. Rathbone cast stoves and hollow ware. The first object of inter- est above the bridge after crossing to the east side was the broken cannon set into a cleft in the rocks, a few feet from the water and thirteen feet above the bridge as it then stood, but higher up the stream than it now is. The original monument which marked the bounds between New Haven and Ferrisburgh was a walnut tree, and after the decay of the tree a committee marked the spot where it had been by placing there a broken cannon, where it has since re- mained. Just back of this cannon stood a building and tannery much smaller than the present one, and near it were found the remains of the tubs and ap- purtenances used in the brewery started there in 1789. About half way up the hill stood a gambrel-roofed house owned by Daniel Nichols and rented to Pemberton. Higher up the hill was a small house occupied by Jemmie Bond, as he was always called, who supplied fresh meat to the citizens, from a cart. On the corner of Water street was a two-story brick house; the basement on Main street was afterwards used as a store, and the house occupied by its owner, Wait Martin, as a dwelling. The house now occupied by F. C. Strong was then occupied by William H. White. Across the street lived Captain Francis Bradbury, and on the lower corner of the bank lot was a small wooden build- ing used for a store and occupied by Hector H. Crane. Where the bank is now, was a two-story wooden house occupied by General Villee Lawrence, the frame of which was moved later to form the present residence of General Grandey. A jeweler's shop, used by Edmund Smith, stood where is the probate office. A portion of the Havens store stood on the corner and was occupied by B. & G. Spencer, merchants. Upon the next block, now so closely built, was first Belden Seymour's hat shop, a small wooden store, and then next a similar building where General Lawrence sold goods and bought produce. Nearly in the middle of the block was the cosy dwelling house of Belden Sey- mour, with a yard in front filled with shrubbery ; the house was a story and a half and built of wood. Two small wooden stores came next, occupied by F. Huntington and White & Brush. On the corner stood a low, rambling, gam- brel-roofed wooden building, which had been used for a tavern; it was then used for a store and mechanic shops. On the opposite side of Main street was a two-story house, the dwelling of Reuben Wheeler, with a store in one corner, where Adams & Wheeler traded. Where the Farmers' Bank is, was the law office of Noah Hanley, soon after used as a harness shop by William Joslin. Next was the dwelling house of Reuben Brush, now a part of the hotel, and on the corner was "Rich's tavern," owned by White & Brush and kept by Thomas W. Rich from 1816 to '26. The building C. B. Kidder occupied was a large brick block built by Horace Wheeler, of two stories and basement, the basement stores fronting on Green street being thought very desirable locations.
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