USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 65
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The surface was originally covered with a large amount of marketable tim- ber, oak in the western and pine in the eastern parts, which induced a rapid settlement of the township after the granting of the charter, the principal in- dustry along the lake for many years being the felling and rafting to Quebec of spars for the masting of the " royal navy of Great Britain." It was rarely the intention of the grantees of a Vermont township to assist personally in clearing and cultivating the land of the same, the motive power being gener- ally a desire to " buy cheap and sell dear," and in many instances, perhaps, also to get ahead of the " New York land jobbers." Consequently the pro- prietors usually did little more than open roads, construct bridges, and provide for the building of the necessary mills, in order to increase the market value of their property.
From the records of the early proprietors' meetings the natural inference is that most of the grantees were residents on the " Oblong," in Duchess county, N. Y., yet there is no evidence that they sympathized for a moment with the governmental authorities in that province in their endeavors to wrest the terri- tory from the possession of New Hampshire. The earliest record now accessible is dated July 29, 1762, at the house of Daniel Merritt, on the Oblong, Duchess county, "province of New York," by the proprietors " of the township of Charlotta in Newhampshire Benjamin Ferriss was the moderator of this meeting, and Benjamin Ferriss, jr., was chosen first proprietors' clerk. John Wing, George Soule, and Josiah Bull were appointed a committee "to agree with the committees of other townships how to settle the lines between sd Charlotta and the townships of Ferrissburg, Monkton and Hinesburg," what proportion of the cost these proprietors should bear, and to engage a surveyor to lay the boundaries of the town of " Charlotta." The meeting was then ad- journed to the house of Asahel Noble, at New Milford, Conn., on the 12th of August, 1762.
At that meeting it was voted, among other proceedings, that the " clerk shall record the Patent for sd Charlotta, and have four shillings York money for the same." On the 9th of May, 1763, at a meeting held at the house of Daniel Merritt, in Duchess county, N. Y., it was voted that Benjamin Ferriss, jr., should have eighteen shillings a day "for surveying and lotting Charlotta, and returning a good and true plan of his work," and that John McEwen, Asahel Hitchcock, Zachariah Ferriss, and John Philips have ten shillings a day
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
as his assistants. David Ferriss was also mentioned afterwards as one of the surveyors of the township. The survey was completed between the 26th of June and the 5th of August, 1763.
The first meeting after the close of the Revolutionary War was held on the 29th of March, 1785, at the house of Jonathan Robinson, in Bennington, Vt., pursuant to a warrant published in the Vermont Gazette of February 14, 1785.
Early Settlements .- The proprietors of Charlotte offered all conceivable inducements to promote the rapid settlement of the town, and at their last meeting held before the Revolution, May 18, 1765, passed a vote to give 100 acres of land from each right for settling the town, though no one was to come on without an order from the proprietors' committee. There is no record that such an order was ever given, however, or that any one attempted to avail him- self of the offer by making a settlement.
The first attempt to settle was made by a German by the name of Derick Webb, who came in March, 1766, but soon left, and returned in March, 1777. He again left the following May. No permanent settlement was effected until 1784, when Webb and Elijah Woolcot moved in and were followed soon after by others. It has been related that during one of Webb's temporary resi- dences here pending the Revolution he took his children out to Hill's Bay to see the lake, when they were captured by a party of Indians, and Webb was taken to Canada and there detained for several months, while the children were left on the shore. About the same time the Indians visited Mrs. Webb in the cabin, and began to destroy the household effects, preparatory to burn - ing the house. To her entreaties not to burn the cabin they replied that they must set fire to it, as they were under strict orders to do so, but that they would immediately leave, when she might extinguish it if she wished, which she easily succeeded in doing. Webb's original settlement was probably made in the west part of the town near the Shelburne line, where Colonel Thomas Sawyer made his gallant and victorious fight. It was many years afterwards that he settled near the site of the railroad station.
One of the earliest settlements in town was that made about 1784 by James Hill, on the place about Holmes Bay, now occupied by his grandson, Thomas Chittenden Hill. Hill's wife, a daughter of Governor Thomas Chit- tenden, is said to have often declared that she was for three months "the handsomest woman in town, for the very good reason that she was the only one." Being a man of some means, James Hill erected a grist-mill on the creek near his house, which long ago disappeared, but which for years supplied the demand of the farmers of the neighborhood, and even those who lived on the other side of the lake. He afterwards bought the grist-mill in Ferris- burgh, whether his son, Thomas C., removed and remained two or three years. After a residence here of twenty-five or thirty years Mr. Hill removed to. Kentucky, where he soon after died. Of his two sons, James and Thomas C.,
537
TOWN OF CHARLOTTE.
the former accompanied him to Kentucky, where he married and stayed the remainder of his life. Many of his descendants are there now. Thomas C., the younger, purchased the homestead and remained there during his life. He was a man of clear perception, sound judgment and firm will. He was the father of nine children.
About the year 1784 Dr. James Towner, John Hill, Solomon Squier, Moses Fall, Daniel Hosford, and others moved into the town, and after this time set- tlement rapidly progressed. Among the other early settlers were the follow- ing :
Moses Yale removed to this town from Meriden, Conn., in about 1783, and located not far from the Shelburne line, on the farm now owned by Henry Thorp. During this summer he erected the frame of a log house, made a small clearing, and in the fall returned to his family in Connecticut, after hav- ing sowed his clearing with wheat, assisted by his only neighbors, James Hill and John McNeil. In the following spring he returned with his family by the way of Whitehall and the lake, being drawn on the ice by a yoke of steers and an old horse. The hardships which these families endured at these times can- not be described. During the summer of 1784 food was so scarce and diffi- cult to obtain that the family were compelled to resort for subsistence on fish and the herbs and roots of the forest. Moses Yale had a family of six chil- dren, three sons and three daughters, only one of whom, Lyman, the eldest, remained in town. He remained on the homestead until his death, in 1840, aged sixty-seven years. He held many positions of trust in his town, and was one term its representative in the Legislature. Of his seven children, only one, William, now resides in town, occupying the original farm of John Mc- Neil.
John McNeil, a leading man among the early settlers, came here about this time from Litchfield, Conn., and erected his cabin and cleared his land on the lake shore. He early established a ferry across the lake to Essex, N. Y., which he ran for many years, and which still bears his naine. He was the first town clerk, the first representative, and was ever intimately identified with the best movements for the good of the town. Of his six children, Charles, the eldest, retained the home farm, and continued the business of farming and conducted the ferry which his father had originated. The ferry was an extensive concern until the opening of railroads, which diverted the channels of trade and travel.
David Hubbell came from Lanesboro, Mass., in 1784, and settled on the brook that intersects the farm now owned by his grandson, Luther R. Hubbell. Like many other early immigrants, he made his way through Whitehall and down the lake by rafts. Several years after his arrival his house was burned, and was replaced by another, upon the site of S. E. Russell's present residence. Here he opened a tavern, in which he conducted a successful business for years. The house now occupied by his grandson was also built by him in 1800. He
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
died at the age of ninety years, after having served his town as justice of the peace for years, and acting for a time as their representative in the Legisla- ture. Luther R. Hubbell and his family are the only descendants of David now in Charlotte.
Daniel Horsford, who in early days carried mail on horseback from Burling- ton to Vergennes on the old East road, was born in Canaan,. Conn., October 13, 1748, married Hannah Day, of Colchester, Conn., on the 9th of November, 1780, and came to Charlotte in the spring of 1784, locating near McNeil's Ferry. After being several times dispossessed by reason of a defective title, he removed to the eastern part of the town, where he died at the'age of eighty- eight years. He was a surveyor by profession, and united his duties in that occupation with those of the successful farmer. The compass used by him is still kept by his grandson, Myron H. Hosford. Of his family of ten children, only three remained in Charlotte, viz., Flavia, wife of Gideon and mother of Charles D. Prindle, Oran, born here January 30, 1791, and now represented by his son, Myron H. Hosford ; and Sodema, who married Benjamin Simons and located in the western part of the town, where she died early, leaving no children. A sister of Daniel Horsford (as he spelled his name) became the wife of Joshua Isham, of Shelburne.
Ephraim Wooster, the first settler on the farm now owned by Henry Mc- Neil, came to Charlotte in 1785 from Litchfield, Conn. He had three chil- dren, Lyman, Elinor, and Fanny, of whom the first-named was naturally the most intimately associated with the public interests of the town. He succeeded to the home farm of his father, and while he lived carried on the farm, and at intermittent periods kept a tavern. He participated in the battle of Plattsburgh in the capacity of adjutant. Of his three sons and two daughters, none re- mained in town, and the name is now represented only by Charles S. Wooster, grandson of Lyman, who lives with his aunt, Mrs. Sherman.
John Palmer was born in Tolland, Conn., on the 22d of June, 1751, mar- ried Ruth Chapman, and came to Charlotte in 1786, settling on the place now owned by Mrs. Ruth Hubbell. The old red house which he built about 100 years ago is still in a good state of preservation. He owned all the land com- prised within the present farms of Mrs. Hubbell, A. C. Palmer and O. C. Palmer, on which he settled his sons. Of his six children, only three, Mrs. Hubbell, A. C. Palmer and Mrs. Reed, who now lives with her brother, are now in Char- lotte.
Asa Narramore came here from Connecticut in 1786, worked the first sea- son on a farm in Hinesburg, and in the fall purchased land now including parts of the farms of George Jackman and John Peterson. Here he built a log house, and after making a clearing returned for the winter to Connecticut, where he married, and in the spring came back to this place. He remained on this farm after that until his death at the age of ninety years. Of his nine children only
539
TOWN OF CHARLOTTE.
one is now living, Mrs. Emeline See, of Williston. Asa Narramore was a sol- dier of the Revolution, and was carried prisoner to Canada by the Indians, his daily allowance being a small piece of raw horse flesh, and a few bulbous roots dug on the way. He afterwards received a pension.
Abel Leavenworth was born at Woodbury, Conn., January 30, 1765, and became an early settler in the northeastern part of the town, on the farm now occupied by Charles Reynolds. He erected a grist-mill on La Plotte River, the stones being wrought out by his brother Gideon, from flint rocks found in this town. The mill and dam were after a few years swept away by a freshet, and the stones were purchased by General Nathan Leavenworth, who used them in a mill which he built on Lewis Brook, in the southern part of the town. After the loss of his mill Abel sold his farm and carried on the occupation of a carpenter and joiner, at which he was a skillful workman. He went from Charlotte to New Haven, Vt., and thence to Middlebury, where he died on the 25th of January, 1813, while engaged in building a large mill. His widow sur- vived him more than forty years, and finally died in Charlotte. Abel Leaven- worth, jr., was born in Charlotte on the 21st of November, 1800, married Anna, daughter of Amos Hickok, of Cooperstown, N. Y. After several re- movals he repurchased the old homestead, where he resided until his death, May 3, 1879. He had six daughters and three sons, only one of the latter sur- viving infancy. This son, Abel E., became a prominent educator in the State, and is now principal of the Normal School at Castleton. Dorman Leaven- worth, a brother of the elder Abel, reached Charlotte in the summer of 1808, and for a time operated the mill before owned by his brother, after which he began farming and continued that business until 1839. He died here at the home of his son, Burke, on the 3Ist of May, 1861. Henry C. Leavenworth and Mrs. Joseph S. Shaw, now living in town, are his grandchildren.
Michael Read was born in 1769, and came to Charlotte at an early date. The family are descended from honorable ancestors who have been traced back to the time of the Norman conquest in England. Michael Read settled at Bap- tist Four Corners, and raised a family of seven children, three of whom, Amos, Orrin and Laura, settled here. The only representative of the family now in Charlotte is Orrin P., son of Orrin, who resides at Baptist Four Corners. Carl- ton W., another son of Orrin, resides in Addison, where he is extensively en- gaged in stock raising.
Samuel Prindle was an early settler in the northeastern part of the town, on the place now occupied by Mrs. Mary Pool. He had three children, sons, one of whom died in early manhood, while the other two, Midas and Benjamin, settled in Charlotte. The former was born in 1799, married Sarah V. Higbee on the 20th of May, 1834, and located on the farm now owned by his son, Henry W. He had three children, Mrs. A. C. Palmer, Henry W. Prindle and Mrs. T. C. Hill, all still living here. Benjamin went to Iowa with his family more than twenty years ago, where he died a few years later.
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
Reuben Martin came early to Charlotte from Massachusetts and settled on Mutton Hill. He had a family of ten children, named Jonas, Zadock, Reuben, Stratton, Stoddard, William, Leonard, Nathaniel, Sylvia and Pattie. While at school they were sung by their playmates as follows :
Jonas and Zadock, Reuben and Stratt,
Stoddard and William, Leonard and Nat,
Sylvia and Pat.
All of these children attained maturity and some of them lived to an ad- vanced age. Sylvia is said to have been the first female child born in Char- lotte.
In 1788 James Squier came to Charlotte from Arlington, Vt., and effected a settlement on the farm now owned and occupied by James S. Miller. He died at the advanced age of ninety-three years, having lived a life that deserves to be emulated by all who knew him. The father of James, it is said, came to Charlotte on a visit to his sons, Solomon and Abner, was taken ill and died, and at his grave was placed the first headstone erected in town. His illness was the occasion of the settlement of James, who came to see him and was in- duced to buy his brother Abner's farm and remain here. Of his four children, Abner, the only son, married Laura Sheldon and settled on the homestead. He represented the town two terms in the Legislature, and held, indeed, most of the important offices of trust in town. He had two children - a daughter who died at the age of sixteen years, and a son, James, who now owns and occupies a farm opposite the old home.
Colonel William Williams came here from Lanesboro, Mass., in 1788, and began to clear the farm now occupied by his grandson, James W. Williams. About 1806 he replaced his first rude log cabin by a substantial building, which has been modernized and is now in a good state of preservation, and is occu- pied by James W. Williams. Here Colonel Williams opened one of eight tav- erns in Charlotte, and by his untiring energy and genial disposition created a reputation which made his house an important station on the stage route be- tween Burlington and Troy. His military title was derived from his position in the militia, his company being stationed on the frontier between Vermont and Canada. He also commanded a regiment at the battle of Plattsburgh. He was at the same time rough and hearty in manners, and was what it is be- coming fashionable and natural to call an Ethan Allen type of man. He was killed by a fall from a sleigh-load of lumber, which occurred while he was de- scending a steep hill in Hinesburg.
Preserved Wheeler came to Charlotte from Lanesboro, Mass., in 1790, and located on the place now occupied by O. H. Alexander, where he erected a tannery, and for about seven years successfully operated the same. He then sold the property to Sheldon, and removed to New Haven, Vt. Sheldon con- tinned the tanning and shoemaking business as late as about 1843, when he re- linquished it for farming. He was the father of nine children, eight of whom attained maturity.
541
TOWN OF CHARLOTTE.
Elijah Alexander was born of Quaker parentage, in Troy, N. H., on the 24th of March, 1777, and in 1799 married Lydia Staples, of Danby, Vt., and settled on the farm in Charlotte, now owned by his youngest daughter, Mrs. Lydia Hicks. From its original area of 100 acres, Mr. Alexander in a few years increased it to more than 300 acres. He died at the age of seventy- seven years. He was an industrious, home-loving man, who was interested in public affairs as a private citizen, but declined office.
Walter Ferriss, from Pawling, Duchess county, N. Y., came to Charlotte in 1792, and located on the farm still known as the Ferriss homestead. At first he confined his activities to the carrying on of his farm, but towards the latter end of his life became a minister of the Universalist persuasion and organized several societies in this vicinity. He died in 1806.
William Niles, a native of Lynn, Conn., immigrated to Charlotte in 1792, when he was thirty-six years of age, and settled on the farm now occupied by George E. Prindle. He was frequently called to the performance of public duties, for which he had great aptitude by reason of his ability and honesty. He afterwards moved to Monkton, where he owned a small farm and kept a public house.
In the same year, 1792, Gideon Prindle, from New Milford, Conn., settled at Wing's Bay, and, being a tanner by trade, soon erected what is said to have been the first tannery in Charlotte. He did not remain long in this part of the town, however, but soon sold out and purchased the place now owned by his grandson, Cyrus G. Pringle (as he spells his name), the present botanist of the State of Vermont.
The farm now occupied by D. E. Clark, in the northwestern part of the town, was settled in 1793 by his grandfather, John Clark, from Windsor, Conn., who held his place until his death in 1827, at the age of seventy years.
Elijah Powell came from Lanesboro, Mass., in 1793, and settled on the farm now owned by Orrin P. Read, opposite Mr. Read's present residence. Powell became a thrifty farmer, accumulating, clearing and improving several hundred acres of land. He was a public-spirited man, a liberal supporter of the Baptist Church, and one of the principal builders of the first house of worship erected in Charlotte by that denomination. He had nine children, of whom all eventually left town except Reuben, father of Edgar S., the present representative of the family in town. Reuben died in 1830, leaving eleven children, only four of whom are now alive.
John Thorp, a native of Ireland, arrived at Charlotte about 1795, and at once opened the only general store between Vergennes and Burlington. Be- sides being a successful merchant here, he shipped pine and oak lumber exten- sively to Quebec by way of the lake. He died at the meridian of his business prosperity in 1799, aged forty-three years. George Thorp, his cousin, soon after came to Charlotte for the purpose of settling his estate, as executor, after
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
doing which he married the widow and continued the business a few years. He thereafter devoted his attention to cultivating the farm which his consin had settled, and remained there until his death, at the age of eighty-six years. His children were George, jr., John G. and Henry. The former married Miss Bull, of Ferrisburgh, and located on the farm now owned by his sons Harley and Henry. John G. married early, remained with his father, and now occu- pies the old homestead in company with his son John H. Henry, the other son of George, now lives in town and has three sons - Ervin H., editor of the Middlebury Register, Herbert C., on his father's farm, and Emerson A., in Shelburne.
William Pease came from Lanesboro, Mass., in 1796, and located on the place now owned and occupied by Charles Wooster. He was a blacksmith by trade, and though he carried on this business he also attended to his farm, which he increased from the extremely humble beginning of four acres to 150 acres. None of his eight children is now in town. Two brothers of William, named Elijah and George, came to Charlotte in 1797, when the latter was eleven years old, and of their brother learned his trade. George eventually settled at the foot of Pease Mountain, where he carried on a farm. George remained with William until he was of age, when he married and settled in the southern part of the town. His health failing, he abandoned his trade, and for a time kept a tavern in Ferrisburgh, and conducted a farm in connec- tion with it. He finally moved back to this town, on the farm now occupied by his grandson, Russell. He died in 1858, leaving two sons and a daughter.
Caleb Barton came to Charlotte in 1796 from Lanesboro, Mass., and located on the place now occupied by Laura Barton. Joseph Barton removed in the early part of this century to Baptist Four Corners, where he kept a public house for years. He died on June 7, 1865, aged seventy- seven years, leaving four children.
It has already been noticed, undoubtedly, that most of the early settlers came from Lanesboro, Mass. Gad Root was another emigrant from that place, and came here in 1798 and settled at Baptist Four Corners, where he carried on the business of tanning, currying and shoemaking. He died on October 19, 1843, aged sixty-six years. A few years after his arrival in Charlotte he removed to Madrid, N. Y., where he remained a short time and then returned to Charlotte, about one and a half miles west of Baptist Four Corners. He was remarkable for his charity and piety, and was for a long time deacon of the Congregational Church. His eldest son, Noble, born in June, 1800, became a prominent man in town, and dicd in 1872, leaving two sons, George L. and Henry C., who now occupy his estate. Dorwin, the second son of Gad, born on June 21, 1809, settled where his widow and family now live. Loomis, his youngest brother, was born in 1815, and resided on the homestead until his death in 1886.
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TOWN OF CHARLOTTE.
Of other early settlers who are worthy of particular mention because of their intimate associations with the best interests of the town, and other prom- inent men in the county, the following may be said :
Dr. Jonas Fay was a resident of this town several years, though he is gen- erally known as a citizen of Bennington. Ezra Meech, mentioned at greater length in the history of Shelburne, resided here a number of years, and twice represented Charlotte in the Legislature. David A. Smalley, father of Bradley B. Smalley, now collector of the port for the district of Vermont, at Burling- ton, spent several of his boyhood years here.
The first Methodist in town was Major Jonathan Breckenridge, from Ben- nington. He was the leader of the first class, a local preacher, and one of the pillars of the church as long as he lived. He was, furthermore, an esteemed and prominent citizen. He lived in the western part of the town, near the lake, on the farm now owned by Samuel Whalley.
Joseph Hoag, a leading member and a preacher of the Society of Friends, came here early from Duchess county, N. Y., and located on a farm near the southeastern corner of the town. He traveled extensively on preaching tours in Canada, Nova Scotia and nearly every State in the Union. He was the seer of the remarkable vision in which the dissensions afterwards caused by slavery in church and state were so vividly foreshadowed. Nearly all of his children were preachers among the Friends. He died on the 2Ist of Novem- ber, 1846, aged eighty-four years.
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