USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > History of Chittenden County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 85
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The early settlers of Westford were too poor to afford the best of salaries or of accommodations to their pastors or preachers, and considered themselves fortunate often in obtaining the use of some barn in which to unite in divine worship. As early as 1798 the members of the Baptist denomination and their sympathizers formed an organization which was confirmed by a council convoked for the purpose. Rev. Mr. Brown was the first pastor. The first church edifice was erected in 1829, and with subsequent improvements is still used for the purpose of its construction. It is now valued at about $2,000. The present pastor is Rev. Thomas Tellier. The deacons are B. Merchant and G. M. Huntley, and the clerk is R. M. Huntley.
The First Congregational Church at the Center was organized by the Rev. Jedediah Bushnell, from Cornwall, Conn., on the 7th of August, 1801, the cere- mony being held in a barn on the site of the dwelling house now occupied by
1
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
Albert Partridge. The church membership originally numbered thirteen souls. Rev. Simeon Parmelee, the first installed pastor, was ordained in August, 1808, and dismissed in August, 1837, thus serving his church continuously for nearly thirty years. The first house of worship was built in 1809, by Alpheus Earl. It was replaced by the present house in 1840, the new structure being provided with a seating capacity for four hundred and fifty persons, and costing about $3,000. Its present value, including grounds, is more nearly $5,000. The pastor is Rev. B. S. Adams. The deacons are D. F. Lawrence and C. O. Brigham. The Sabbath-school superintendent is Mrs. L. M. Bates.
The Methodist Episcopal Church, also situated at the village, was organized by Truman Seymour in 1821, with a membership of twelve. Rev. Cyrus Prindle was then the pastor. Services had been held now and then in town, however, for more than twenty years, even the famous Lorenzo Dow favoring the Methodist families of the vicinity with one or two of his burning sermons. The present church building, capable of seating about two hundred persons, and valued at about $1,200, was built in 1860. No regular services are now held in town, and the society has no pastor.
CHAPTER XXXII.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WILLISTON.
T
HIS town, lying in the central part of Chittenden county, and bounded north by Winooski River, which separates it from Essex and Jericho, east by Richmond, south by St. George and Shelburne, and west by Muddy Brook, which separates it from Burlington, was chartered by Governor Wentworth, of New Hampshire, on the 7th of June, 1763, to Samuel Willis and sixty-four as- sociates. It derived its name from Mr. Willis, who seemed to be one of the most prominent among the grantees. The charter purported to grant 23,040 acres, the regular area of a complete township, in seventy-one shares, bounded as follows: North by Winooski River, east by Bolton, south by Huntington and Hinesburg, and west by Burlington, whose eastern line was about one mile west of the site of Williston village. On the 27th of October, 1794, these limits were altered by annexation from Burlington of the land lying east of Muddy Brook, and the taking of the eastern portion of Williston towards the formation of Richmond. The surface of the town is remarkably regular for a Vermont town, and is well adapted to cultivation. The soil is various, ranging through all the degrees from a soft and friable mould to a stiff clay. It is almost everywhere productive, and the town is inhabited by some of the wealthiest and most successful farmers in the State. The principal feature of its farming
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is dairying. The land is well drained by streams flowing north into Winooski River, and west into Muddy Brook, the largest of which are Allen's Brook, flow- ing from its source in the eastern part of the town northwesterly into Winooski River, and Sucker Brook, flowing westerly into Muddy Brook. Mill privileges are few and deficient - a fact which tends to direct the attention of the inhab- itants all the more exclusively to agricultural pursuits.
Early Settlements and Proceedings. - Thomas Chittenden and Colonel Jonathan Spafford were the first to establish settlements in Williston. They came together in May, 1774, and took up large tracts of land adjoining each other on the river. Just two years later they were joined by Elihu Allen, Abijah - Pratt and John Chamberlin. These families were no sooner settled in their wil- derness habitations than the enemy advanced from Canada, causing a general exodus to the south. Chamberlin was attacked in his house by a party of In- dians and Tories, and a hired man and child were killed. After the close of the war the settlers returned quite rapidly, and the settlement and improvement of the town began in earnest.
Hon. Lemuel Bottom was one of the most enterprising of the pioneers. He came here in 1786 and settled at the foot of the hill north of the village, on the place now owned by Lorenzo Chapin. He was placed by his townsmen in many offices of trust and confidence until his death in 1815.
Jonathan Spafford, who came with Thomas Chittenden, lived on Winooski River, the farm being now owned by Blossom Goodrich. He has been de- scribed as well fitted to perform the most arduous duties of an early settler in the State, and was appreciated by his companions, who depended on him for the execution of many projects. He finally died at an advanced age in Upper Canada.
Colonel Isaac McNeil, the first lawyer in town, came here at a very early day from Litchfield, Conn., and settled about a mile north of the site of Willis- ton village. He was well educated and gifted, and during his all too brief resi- dence in town was honored by election to the highest offices within the gift of the town. He died in 1807.
Solomon and Elisha Miller, other prominent early settlers, were the first to occupy land in the center of the present village of Williston. The former built the first house where Dr. Bingham now lives. He was born at West Spring- field, Mass., in 1761, and upon the outbreak of the Revolution, young as he was, he entered into the service of the American army, and participated in the battle of Bennington and the capture of Burgoyne. For the several years be- tween the close of the war and 1786, when he came to Williston, he was en- gaged with Nathaniel Chipman in the manufacture of iron at Wallingford, Vt. From 1794 to 1815 he served this town as clerk; and for twenty years was clerk of the Supreme and County Courts, besides being judge of probate about the same length of time. He was also for a time a member of the Governor's
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Council. He died in 1847, aged eighty-seven years. Elisha died about the same time. His sons, William and Edward, are still residents of the town.
Elisha Wright came from Connecticut previous to 1797, and was the first to occupy the farm now occupied by Patrick Lavelle, where he remained until his death in 1830. He was grandfather to Hon. Smith Wright, an extended sketch of whose life appears in later pages of this work.
Jonathan Hart was one of the early settlers in the tract of land west of Muddy Brook, which originally formed a part of Burlington. He purchased the original right of Thomas Van Wyck, of Oyster Bay, Long Island, on the 29th day of September, 1789. His brother Zachariah purchased a part of his land on the Ist of March, 1790, and lived in town until the time of his death, March 26, 1852, at the extreme age of 103 years. He lived in the northwest corner of the town, near Hubbel's Falls, now Essex Junction.
Philip Walker, one of the earliest inhabitants in the southwest part of Wil- liston, came originally from Hoosac to Ferrisburgh, whence he removed to this town. He purchased lots Nos. 69 and 71 of Ira Allen, in the fall of 1790, and dwelt upon them until his death, about 1840. It was his habit during the ear- lier part of his life to pass his winters in pursuit of game in this State and the Canadas.
John Downer settled on the hill south of the old "French place " about 1792, in which year he purchased his land of fra Allen. He died about 1851, an old man.
Isaac French came into town at an early day, and purchased of Ira Allen 500 acres of the best land in town. His brother Jeremiah came originally from Connecticut to Manchester, Vt., and thence to Williston. He lived in the western part of the town, on a large. farm which embraced the present premises of Chauncey Brownell. He was one of the most esteemed men of the community, and was honored by his townsmen with many positions of trust. At his death he left a large landed property of great value. His son, William Henry French, was born on the 4th of May, 1813, and resided in town, with the exception of the few years while he was judge of probate, until his death. He was always an influential and prominent citizen ; represented Williston in the Legislature in 1838. He was instrumental in the formation of the third or Liberty party, and as its candidate for member of Congress ran against Hon. George P. Marsh. In 1844 and 1845 there were no elections made in Williston for town representative. In 1846 the Liberty party nominated and elected Mr. French - he then being one of the twelve members of that party in the Legislature, and the only one from Chittenden county. He was re-elected in 1847, and the following year he was chosen by the Legislature judge of probate for the district of Chittenden. In 1852 he was elected judge of probate by the people, and at their hands received eight successive re-elec- tions. He was deeply interested in the famous underground railroad, by which
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S. H. Talcott
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TOWN OF WILLISTON.
fugitive slaves were enabled to escape to Canada, and frequently opened his doors for some persecuted and fleeing negro. He was a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity and a prominent Knight Templar, having held the office of grand captain-general in the Commandery of the State. He died on the 29th of May, 1866.
Beriah Murray came to Williston at an early date from Claremont, N. H., together with his son Calvin, who afterward died in Hinesburg. He passed his life in the southern part of the town.
Deacon David Talcott, born in Connecticut on the 5th of January, 1740, came to Williston previous to 1786, from Tyringham, Mass., with his five sons and two daughters, and settled on the hill that now commemorates his name, the farm including the present property of Isham Talcott. He was one of the first selectmen of the town in 1786, and was frequently called upon to serve the town in some public capacity. Immediately upon coming to town he erected a large framed house on the top of the hill, and opened the first tavern in Wil- liston, which he kept until his death in 1810. His sons were all farmers save one, David, jr., who was a tanner and currier, and built the first framed house in the village, still standing, the second building east of Warren's store. The tannery was on the brook back of the house, and was operated for many years. His son Johathan was born in 1773, and died in 1802, leaving two children, one of whom, Roswell, is now a resident of the town. (See sketch of Lewis H. Talcott, in later pages.)
John Bushnell came from Connecticut to Williston previous to 1795, and settled in the north part of the town on the present road to the railroad sta- tion. After a long and useful life he died here in 1821. His son Hiram, born in 1798, is at the present writing (1886) a resident of the town.
Obadiah Walston was an early settler in the south part of the town, coming from Connecticut. Two grandsons, Obadiah and Charles, are still in Williston.
Elisha Bradley immigrated to Huntington from New Haven, Conn., to- ward the close of the last century, and thence, soon after, to this town, set- tling on the place now occupied by Oras Bradley, about two miles south of the village. He died in November, 1848. His brother Joseph came about the same time and settled nearly a mile north of the village. They were both soldiers of the Revolution, and were both original and eccentric in manners. Sylvester, son of Elisha, died here on the 5th of February, 1873.
Stephen N. Warren was an early settler in "Jackson Hollow," in the south part of the town. He died in Fairfax. His son Charles E. is now a resi- dent here.
Daniel Shaw came from Taunton, Mass., to Williston in 1790, and settled about a mile east of the village, where he died in 1804. His son Daniel, jr., who came with him, died in 1810, after building, in his occupation as carpen- ter and joiner, some of the first houses in the village. His daughter, Mrs. Lockwood, is still a resident of Williston.
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
John Brown, from Massachusetts, settled in the western part of Williston in 1800, and afterward on the farm now owned by his grandson, Wm. Whitney. Here he died in 1855, at the unusual age of ninety-seven years. He was a blacksmith by trade. At the present writing his son William is still resid- ing in town.
Edward Brownell came to Williston about 1800, and settled on the place now occupied by his grandson and namesake. He died at the age of seventy- eight years, leaving a family of eight children.
Eldad Taylor came to Williston from Sunderland, Vt., in March, 1786, and died here in 1796, aged sixty-three years, leaving a family of eleven children. By repeated intermarriages they became the most numerous in name of any family in town, but none of the name now lives in town. Among many de- scendants of different names, however, are Alfred C. and Roswell B. Fay, also descendants of the famous Fay family, of whom a more extended notice ap- pears in the biographical sketch of John Whitcomb, in the latter portion of this work.
Among other settlers who are mentioned in early records, and many of whom have honorable descendants in town at the present time, are Joel Brown- son, who lived on the tract set off to Richmond, and had a large family ; Sam- uel Brownell, whose son, Chauncey W., was born in this town on the 13th of September, 1811, married in March, 1841, and has held many important offices in town and county, among them being that of representative in 1860 and 1861, and county senator in 1870, and who now lives in Williston ; Nathaniel Winslow, who lived about one mile north of the village of Williston, and Lemuel and Fitch Winslow, who lived about one mile west of Nathaniel ; Felix Auger, who lived in the southwestern part of the town, and held a conspicuous station among the early settlers ; Timothy Tuttle, who settled the farm now occupied by Samuel Loggins ; Nathan Allen, who occupied a tract embracing a part of the present farm of Lewis H. Talcott, and lived a little southeast from the present house of Roswell Talcott ; John Washburn, who lived on the site of the house now occupied by William Miller, before 1813, and who made potash back of his house, was something of a butcher, and in later years ran a distillery ; Josiah N. Barrows, a saddler, who lived and had his shop in the frame of the house now occupied by Mrs. Philo Clark ; Simeon Lee, who owned a farm east of the village on the road leading south from the old turn- . pike ; Roswell Morton, a farmer, who lived east of the village on the place now owned by John Johnson, the present house being built over from the old one ; Deacon Thomas Barney, who married a daughter of Governor Thomas Chittenden, and lived about one-half a mile west of the village on the turnpike road, where Mr. Metcalf now lives ; Linus Atwater, a farmer, who lived in the center of the village, near the present site of the Congregational Church ; Joshua Isham, who lived in the south part of the town, near the line of St.
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TOWN OF WILLISTON.
George ; Samuel, son of Caleb B. Smith, who traded awhile in the village, and in company with his father operated clothing works at the west end of the vil- lage (Frederick Smith, now of Burlington, is a son of Caleb B. Smith) ; Calvin Morse, who kept a tavern in the western part of Williston, at the four corners of the turnpike, as they are called, and who died in the village; Daniel Isham, who lived near St. George, in the southwestern part of this town; Elisha Thatcher, a near neighbor of Daniel Isham ; John and Reuben Hall, farmers, in the south part of the town ; Phineas Randall, in the south part of Williston ; Selah Murray, who lived in the east part of the town, about half a mile south from the turnpike road ; Jonathan Alexander, who lived about two miles south from the village; Luther Loomis, who for a short time lived in the village in the house now occupied by Mrs. Paddock, and operated a large tannery near his house, and afterward removed to Burlington, where he died ; and Chester Root, who lived about a mile and a half north of the village, on the road leading directly north.
Of course there were others that are entitled to the honor of being called early settlers, and a few, perhaps, of more prominence than some who have been mentioned ; but here are included about all that the records mention, that can be remembered by the oldest inhabitants, or that have received notice in former works of history. We have reserved for this place a sketch of the most eminent man who ever lived in the town, Hon. Thomas Chittenden, the George Washington of Vermont, who gave this county its name. He was born at East Guilford, Conn., on the 6th of January, 1730. He was obliged to devote ' the most of his time during his youth to labor on his father's farm, and received but the rudiments of an education in the common schools of his native place, and it is said that even from his supposed hours of study he was wont to steal many a moment to indulge in his favorite athletic sports, receiving thus, per- haps, just the training needed for his future career in a new country in the presence of powerful enemies. Finding the employments of his father's farm becoming irksome, at the age of eighteen years he enlisted as a common sailor on a merchant vessel bound from New London to the West Indies. This was during the war between the English and French, and young Chittenden and his associates had scarcely passed the Bahama channel on their way to their destination before they were picked up by a French man-of-war. The captors appropriated the greater part of the cargo, destroyed the vessel, and then, as a matter of convenience landed the prisoners upon one of the West India Islands and left them. After enduring untold sufferings, the subject of this notice se- cured an opportunity of working his passage home, which he seized upon with alacrity.
In October, 1749, he married Miss Elizabeth Meigs, a young lady of congenial tastes and education, of a strong constitution and an independent mind, who paid little regard during her whole life to the distinctions of rank and wealth,
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HISTORY OF CHITTENDEN COUNTY.
and treated all that were well disposed with the same courtesy and hospitality. They lived for twenty-four years in Salisbury, Conn., where Thomas Chitten- den was early a leading man. He was always interested in town affairs, rep- resented the town in the Legislature for six years, was colonel of militia, and held other minor offices. He steadily pursued his farming business for an em- ployment, and as a natural consequence of his industry and economy acquired a handsome property. During his residence in Salisbury he began the custom of granting out new townships in Vermont, or the " New Hampshire Grants," which resulted from the cessation of hostilities between the two belligerent countries - France and Great Britain. Appreciating the advantage of these opportunities, Thomas Chittenden, with his friend, Jonathan Spafford, pur- chased two tracts of land on Winooski or " Onion " River, the farm of Thomas Chittenden embracing the present estate of the late Hiram Clark, of Williston. The first shelter which he erected for his family was a hut covered with bark and hemlock boughs, which sufficed until he completed his more comfortable log house - his family of children, numbering ten, besides the several work- men which accompanied him. They had four sons and six daughters. The sons were Noah, Martin, Giles and Truman. Noah was a farmer, and lived not far from his father, in Jericho ; he was first sheriff of Chittenden county, judge of the County Court, judge of probate, town representative and councilor. Martin was graduated from Yale College, and settled on a farm in Jericho, near his brother Noah ; he was for several years town representative, clerk of the court, judge of the County Court, member of the corporation of the University of Vermont, ten years member of Congress, and two years governor of the State. Giles was a farmer and passed his days upon the inter- vale on the Williston side of the river, below his father's farm ; he was town representative and colonel of militia, but was not so much in public office as were his father and brothers. Truman, the youngest son, was also a farmer, and settled on the place adjoining his father's farm on the west ; he was justice of the peace thirty years, judge of probate eleven years, judge of the County Court seven years, State councilor twelve years, town representative for four years, and twenty-six years a member of the corporation of the University of Vermont. The eldest daughter, Mabel, married Thomas Barney, as before stated ; Betsey married James Hill, of Char- lotte; Hannah married Colonel Isaac Clark, of Castleton; Beulah was first married to Elijah Galusha, of Arlington, who died in about two years, and she was afterward married to the famous Matthew Lyon, of Fairhaven ; the fifth daughter, Mary, was married to Jonas Galusha, of Shaftsbury ; Electa became the wife of Jacob Spafford, of Richmond, son of Jonathan Spafford.
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When Thomas Chittenden came to Vermont in 1774 the controversy with the province of New York was fairly begun, and the bitterest of the struggle was yet to come. The details of this controversy are set forth in Chapter IV,
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TOWN OF WILLISTON.
and nothing need be stated here, except a few brief references to the part taken by Governor Chittenden in the matter. In two years the Revolution burst upon the colonists. It has been estimated that there were at this time about forty families along " Onion River " and the lake shore, and a small block- house in Jericho, on the opposite side of the river, below Colonel Chittenden's, had been erected and garrisoned. Upon the advance of the enemy up the lake, however, the garrison became alarmed and abandoned the fortification, leaving the settlers no alternative but that of fleeing south for protection among their friends. Colonel Chittenden, with his wife and ten children, trav- eled on foot by marked trees to Castleton, carrying their provisions and other effects upon two horses, except the heavy iron-ware, etc., which was sunk in the duck-pond before leaving. They lived in Arlington most of the time until their return in 1787 to Williston.
Colonel Chittenden was strongly in favor of the measure which then began to be discussed, of making the grants a free and independent jurisdiction, the more effectually to settle to their own satisfaction the dispute between New Hampshire and New York as to which of those colonies or States was entitled to the controverted territory. In 1776 he was elected a delegate to the con- vention at Dorset, convoked to consider the propriety of this measure. At this convention he was chairman of the committee which drew up and pre- sented the first governmental compact ever acted upon by a convention of the people of this State, which was unanimously adopted and signed by each member of the convention. At an adjourned meeting, held at Westminster on the 15th of January following, he was one of a committee chosen to present a form for a declaration of independence ; and on the morning of the 16th they made their report, proclaiming the declaration of independence of " New Con- necticut, alias Vermont," which was unanimously adopted. Colonel Chitten- den was also a member of the convention that adopted the first constitution at Windsor, July 2, 1777. He was president of the Council of Safety, which held its first meeting at Manchester July 15, 1777. At the general election which took place under the new constitution on the 3d of March, 1778, when the first State officers of Vermont were chosen, Thomas Chittenden was elected by a large majority ; at the second general election, on the second Tuesday of the following October, he was again elected governor, and was afterward annually re-elected to that high office to October, 1797, excepting one year. During all the embarrassing and dubious situations of the State while he was its chief executive, resulting from the complications of the difficulty with New York, with New Hampshire respecting the towns in Eastern Vermont, and with Con- gress respecting the admission of this State into the Union, Governor Chitten- den was ever found equal to the tasks which the duties of his office placed upon him, and, by the rare union in his character of caution and independence, of the general and the diplomat, contributed probably as much as any one man in Vermont to secure the object for which her people had so long struggled.
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