USA > Vermont > Grand Isle County > History of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vermont : With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers. > Part 45
USA > Vermont > Franklin County > History of Franklin and Grand Isle counties, Vermont : With illustrations and biographical sketches of some of the prominent men and pioneers. > Part 45
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The Bellows Free Academy .- The late Hon. Hiram Bellows, of St. Al- bans, but formerly a resident of Fairfax, in his will devised four acres of land, situated at the corner of Hunt and Spring streets, in Fairfax vil- lage, to certain persons in trust for the future erection of a free acad- emy ; and at the same time he bequeathed to the trustees certain shares of Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad stock, of the par value of $25,000, to be invested as a trust fund by the trustees and their succes- sors, and so continued until the same aggregated $150,000. . It was the purpose and direction of the testator that this sum be devoted to the erection on the land of a free academy for the use of the town, and if the millenium is not too near the purpose may yet be carried out. By judicious investment the fund is now increased to the gross sum of $90,- 053.20, and is now under the charge of James M. Beeman, president ; F. Wayland Shepardson, secretary and treasurer ; I. F. Wilcox, I. T. Beeman, and C. A. Hawley, board of trustees.
Lamoille Lodge, No 25, F. and A. M., is one of the oldest institutions of the village and town, and was charted by the Grand Lodge, October 8, 1806, to Zerah Willoughby, Simeon Lester, Elias Fassett, Eli Green, Thaddeus Murdock, Theopholis Blake, Phineas Page, Isaac Warner, James Farnsworth, Asa Stone, and Isaac Farrar, as charter members. The first officers were James Farnsworth, W. M .; A. W. Robinson,
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TOWN OF FAIRFAX.
S. W .; Isaac B. Farrar, J. W. The lodge has a present membership of forty-four persons, and is in all respects a prosperous fraternity. Its officers are as follows : N. C. Dermnich, W. M .; C. E. Mudgett, S. W .; George Northaway, J. W .; F. W. Shepardson, treasurer ; A. B. Bee- man, secretary; A. H. Bell, S. D .; H. L. Pease, J. D .; L. B. Hunt, Will- iam A. Decker, stewards ; Sidney Bascom, tyler.
General I. B. Richardson Post, No. 92, G. A. R., of Fairfax, was or- ganized November 20, 1885, with the following officers and charter members : L. B. Hunt, P. C .; Page Ufford, S. V. C .; George Hunt, J. V. C .; E. G. Minkler, adjutant ; Fred S. Hunt, quartermaster ; J. S. Howard, surgeon; A. M. Storey, chaplain; S. Sturgis, O. D .; B. S. Davison, O. G. The post was named as above in honor of General Israel Bush Richardson, a native of Fairfax, and a veteran of both the Mexican war and the late Rebellion. In connection with and auxiliary to the post is the I. B. Richardson Drum Corps, under the captaincy of Charles H. Watson,-a uniformed organization which, on proper occa- sions, furnishes martial music.
In the matter of schools the town of Fairfax will bear favorable com- parison with any town in the county, and as a rule the school buildings are of better appearance than shown in many other towns. Since the early years of the present century, when the town was divided into dis- tricts, there have been frequent alterations both in number and size of dis- tricts, making it quite difficult to correctly follow the changes. At the present time the town comprises fifteen districts, each of which is very well provided with school buildings, and in charge of a competent teacher. The schools are maintained on the district plan. District No. I is com- monly known as the Huntsville district; No. 2 is at Sanderson's Corners; No. 3 is in the Leach neighborhood ; No. 4 is the Buck Hollow district ; No. 5 is in the village ; No. 6 is on the Plain; No. 7 is at the falls ; No. 8 is located in the Spafford neighborhood, so called ; No. 9 is the North Fairfax district ; No. 10 is in the extreme southeast corner of the town, joint with part of Cambridge town; No. II is in the Bellows neighbor- hood; No. 12 is in the southwest part of the town; No. 13 lies between North Fairfax and Buck Hollow; No. 15 joins the Safford district ; No. 16 lies partly in Fletcher ; and No. 17 includes the " Hill " part of Fair- fax village.
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
Revolutionary Soldiers who afterward lived in Fairfax .- Captain Oli- ver Farnsworth, Nathan Murray, Stephen England, Thomas Stickney, Josiah Brush, Stephen Holmes, Jonathan George, James Keeler, Zelda Keyes, Jonathan Major, Arad Joy, Hampton Lovegrove, Philip Blais- dell, Eunice, widow of Captain John Stark, Robert Wilkins, Ward, Oliver Farwell, Edmund Goodrich, James Crissey, Briar Beeman, Brigham Rood, Anthony Cline, Stephen Howard, Stephen Holmes, and Joseph Starkweather.
Fairfax Company of Eleventh Regiment, U. S. Infantry, War of 1812-15 .- Joseph Beeman, jr., captain ; George Myers, Stephen How- ard, William Blake, Austin Root, Z. C. Howard, Elisha Hoit, Samuel Storey, Joel Tucker, Nathaniel Parker, J. Baker, R. Hubbard, Cary Edwards, Bates Chittenden, Joseph Clark, John Bissell, Stephen How- ard, jr., Joseph Butler, Peter Jesmyer, Elijah Chapman, John Sampsie, John Fox, Frederick Burnham, Thomas B. Read, James Collis, D. W. Collin, Timothy Burdick, Robert Miller, Ansel Follett, R. Estus, Asahel Lyon, Reuben Brown, Ansel Lebanon, Orson Bryant, John Martin, Benjamin Stevens, B. Watson, Noel Frisket, Peter Morse, George Ma- jors, Ephraim Wood, Joseph Wilcox, Benjamin H. Estus, Lewis Mar- berds, John Noles, William Michelon, William King, William Shampar, Ezra Eastman, William Garland, Joseph Gale, Gardner Wright, Thomas Dukeman, Rufus Austin, Jared Camp, Cyrus Pierce, Amos Casey, George Bates, John Bussels, Stephen Howard, Thomas B. Rood, Nich- olas Turman.
Fairfax Company at the Battle of Plattsburgh .- Joseph Grout, cap- tain ; Asa Wilkins, lieutenant; Abner Holmes, ensign ; Hiram Storey, David Wilkins, Lemuel Scott, jr., sergeants; Jesse Higgins, Benjamin Holmes, Joseph Webster, Isaac F. Storey, James Wilkins, corporals ; privates Phineas Chapman, James and Joseph Robinson, Cyrel Cull, John Town, John Randall, Noah Richardson, Samuel Wright, Joseph Cox, Amos Fisk, Marshall Howard, John Andrews, Ebenezer Smith, Sylvanus Crissey, Joseph Story, Allen Loveland, Joseph Kingsbury, Eben Bellus, Joseph Ellsworth, Jonathan Scott, Parker Ingalls, Samuel Bigsby, Levi Lockwood, Andrew Story, David Palmer, Joseph Hunt, George Major, jr., Ezekiel Richardson, Peter Smith, John Major, Samuel Crissey, Samuel Webster, Zacheus Kinney, Elijah Story, Hopkins
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TOWN OF FAIRFAX.
Webster, R. B. Wilkins, Elnathan Burdick, Asahel Farnsworth, John Crissey, Isaac Webster.
Representatives in General Assembly .- Thomas Russell, 1787-92 ; Josiah Spafford, 1788; Nathan Spafford, 1789-90; James Farnsworth, 1791 ; Jonathan Danforth, 1793-95, '97, and 99; Ross Coon, 1796; Joseph Beeman, jr., 1800-04; Asa Wilkins, 1805-06; Erastus Safford, 1807-10; Benjamin Gale, 1811; Samuel Ufford, 1812-13; Joseph Holmes, 1814; Stephen Holmes, 1815-16; Erastus Safford, 1817; Samuel Parmalee, 1818; Elias Bellows, 1819-20; Joseph Beeman, 1821; Luther B. Hunt, 1822-24; Reuben Wood, 1826; Erastus Safford, 1827 ; James Farnsworth, 1828; James Bellows, 1829 and '31 ; Joseph Kingsbury, 1830; Joseph Learned, 1832-33 ; Alanson Webster, 1834- 35 ; Alfred Wheeler, 1836-37 ; James Bellows, 1838; Lyman Hawley, 1839-40; James H. Farnsworth, 1841; Asa S. Gove, 1842; Joseph Leonard, 1843 -- 44; Reuben Dewey, 1845-46; Homer E. Hubbell, 1847-51, '61; Anson Soule, 1852-53, 1862-63; George Buck, 1854-55 ; Albert Ufford, 1856-57; Lucius Kingsbury, 1858-59; Julius Halbert, 1860 and '67 ; Rev. L. A. Dunn, 1865-66 and '68 ; George A. Ballard, 1869-70; Curtis F. Hawley, 1872 and '74; Harry S. Ufford, 1876; G. G. Orton, 1878; David A. Shephardson, 1880; A. J. Merrill, 1882; Jude Fairman, 1884; Adelbert B. Beeman, 1886; George Hunt, 1888; F. Wayland Shepardson, 1890.
Family and Personal Sketches .- Captain Broadstreet Spafford was the first white settler in the town. He came from Pierpont, N. H., in 1783, and settled on the farm now owned by F. H. Shephardson, where he died. Of his descendants none are now living in town.
Thomas Russell came about the year 1786 and made the first clear- ing on what is now known as the Swift farm, owned by Solomon Marsh. This is one of the best stock farms in town. Afterwards, at tax sales, he bought several other pieces, so that at one time he was the owner of a large tract of land. In 1804 or '05 he moved to St. Albans.
Joseph Belcher came to town in 1787. He was a migratory person, a hunter, and a trapper. He made the first clearing in that part of the town known as the village. He cleared a spot and built a log cabin for himself and one for each of his two boys, near the stone house now owned by Lewis Story. Thus the name " The City of Fairfax " origi- nated. He never owned any land.
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
Gideon Orton was born in Farmington, Conn., and with his wife, Phebe, came to the town in 1789, locating in North Fairfax. On his farm was the head of Beaver Pond. His son Aaron was born the year he came to town, and lived on the old farm until his death. His wife survived him several years, dying in 1889. The farm than passed into the hands of his son, Gardner G. Orton.
Stratton B. Hunt, a son of Caleb and Lydia Hunt, was born in Al- stead, N. H., January 12, 1799. At the age of twenty-one years he took his pack upon his back and started for Fairfax to join his brother, Hon. Luther B. Hunt, who was established in business here. He walked the entire distance. He remained here five years, teaching and helping his brother. He then went into the store of Runnels & Hunt, at Cambridge, Vt., as a clerk. On the 8th day of October, 1826, he was married to Abigail C. Parmalee. In 1830 he returned to Fairfax and bought the farm on the Lamoille River where he lived until 1840, when he bought a place in the village, on Hunt street, where he lived and died June.I, 1881.
Asa Wilkins came to Fairfax from the town of Reading, in this state, about 1797, and settled on the farm now owned by John S. How- ard, Ist, in consequence of its being lease land and hardwood timber. He built the house and barn now standing on the place. He had nine children, John, James, Robert, Daniel, Asa, Polly, Alice, Hannah, and Lucy. Polly married Joseph Hunt; Alice married Palmer Hunt; Han- nah married William Crane ; and Lucy married William Parker.
Thomas Story came from Bennington, Vt., to Fairfax in 1796, and made the first settlement on a farm near Buck Hollow. His son, Thomas, was then six years of age. Thomas Story, jr., married Han- nah Sylvester, of Georgia, in October, 1814, and on the death of his father succeeded in the ownership of the farm. He died February, 1864. His wife died June, 1858. The farm is now owned by his son, A. M. Story.
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TOWN OF FRANKLIN.
CHAPTER XXIV.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF FRANKLIN.
T' n HIS town is situated in the northern part of Franklin county, in lat- itude 44° 58' and longitude 4º 2', and is bounded north by St. Armand, P. Q., east by Berkshire, south by Sheldon, and west by High- gate. It contains 19,040 acres, and in form is somewhat irregular, as the surrounding towns were surveyed first, leaving this tract somewhat defi- cient in measure and outline. The surface is somewhat uneven, but not abrupt. There are only two hills worthy of note : Bridgeman Hill, lying west of the Center village, and Minister Hill, about a mile north. The former, according to Prof. Hitchcock, is a peak or "uplift" of the Red Sandrock Mountains, a distinct range running through the northwest part of the state. The soil is generally a gravelly loam, with an occa- sional mixture of clay and sand, and is well adapted to most purposes of agriculture. Stock raising is followed to a limited extent, but the principal business is dairying. The timber consists of maple, beech, hemlock, pine, etc. There are several swamps abounding in cedar and ash that have furnished large amounts of fencing material. There is plenty of stone, but little of it is suitable for building purposes. Slate, limestone, and granite are occasionally found. The only mineral yet discovered is hematite, a species of iron ore.
Rock River, a small stream that passes through the western part of the town, and the outlet of Franklin Pond furnish the available water- power, which is rather limited. There is now a saw-mill on each of these streams. Formerly there were half a dozen of these with carding- mill, tannery, and machine shop, but these have all disappeared in the march of events. There is a grist-mill a mile to the north of the Cen- ter village. A little east of the center of the town is Franklin Pond, or Silver Lake as it was known among the Indians. This is a fine body of water pleasantly surrounded, about two and a half miles in length from north to south, and one mile wide. Connected with this by a brook on the east line of the town is what is known as Little Pond, sur-
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
rounded on three sides by a marsh which is gradually extending into the water, the pond being only about one-half as large now as in the early settlement of the town. In the north part of the town there is quite an extensive marsh containing 224 acres. There are no natural curiosities worthy of mention.
This town was not inhabited permanently by Indians previous to its settlement by white men, but the St. Francis, a Canada tribe, employed it as a summer hunting-ground where, game being plenty, they procured their winter's supply of provisions. They used to drive the moose and deer from the hills adjoining Little Pond into the marshes, where they succeeded in killing them, and then prepared their flesh with that of other animals for transportation by drying on racks in the sun. There were plenty of deer, and for a time after the first settlement of the town they were so tame as to frequently feed in the meadows. Bears and wolves were also quite numerous, and made serious havoc in the corn- fields and sheep-folds, and afforded many occasions for the rally and spirited hunt, but these animals have long since disappeared. Otter have been taken in the town, and the remains of beaver dams are conclu- sive evidence that that animal once inhabited these regions. The mink, muskrat, fox, and raccoon are still found, but are gradually disappear- ing, and ere long will very likely become extinct.
There have been quite a quantity of Indian relics, consisting of vari- ous kinds of arrowheads, hatchets, hammers, gouges, etc., all made from flint, found at the north end of the pond just west of the outlet bridge. These would indicate that the Indians camped here quite ex- tensively at some time previous to the coming of white men. Edward Powers and Lewis Demarah possess most of these relics.
From the records it appears that the town of Franklin was granted October 24, 1787, and chartered by Governor Chittenden to Jonathan Hunt and his associates, March 19, 1789, by the name of Huntsburgh. The town was, according to charter, to be divided into sixty-nine equal parts and shared by the proprietors as follows, with the reservations for public purposes : Jonathan Hunt, thirty-one shares ; Samuel Hub- bard, eighteen; Joseph Fay, seven; John Bridgeman, jr., four; Eben- czer Waldbridge, three; Dr. Ebenezer Marvin, one. Three equal shares were reserved for educational and two for religious purposes, making sixty-nine in the whole.
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TOWN OF FRANKLIN.
At a meeting of the proprietors of Huntsburgh, held at the house of Joseph Fay in Bennington, March 18, 1789, all being present, the fol- lowing business was transacted :
" Ist. Made choice of Hon. Ebenezer Waldbridge, Moderator.
" 2nd, Made choice of Joseph Fay, Esq., Clerk.
" 3rd. Agreed to pitch the Public rights, or shares, according to charter.
" 4th. Agreed to allow Jonathan Hunt to pitch lot No. 2nd in the 8th range, and No. 2nd in the 7th range; and John Bridgeman, jr., lots No. 2nd and 3rd in the 6th range; to encourage them to make im- mediate settlement, erect mills, etc.
" 5th. Proceeded to make a division of the township, as the law di- rects, having sized the lots for the first division.
"6th. Voted to adjourn without date.
" EBENEZER WALDBRIDGE, Moderator. " JOSEPH FAY, Clerk."
The first and second division of lots among the proprietors was made at this time, according to charter. The first survey of the town is thought to have been made by a Mr. Waldbridge, under the superintend- ence of Samuel Hubbard. Jonathan Hunt, of Vernon, Vt., the principal grantee, and from whom the town derived its name, was never a resident. He was a prominent citizen of the state, having been elected lieuten- ant governor in 1794 and '95, and besides held several other important offices. Ebenezer Waldbridge and Joseph Fay, proprietors, were never residents of the town.
The first settlement in town was made by Samuel Hubbard in 1789. He left Northfield, Mass., in March of that year with three hired men, one yoke of oxen, and one cow, and came by way of Skenesboro-now Whitehall, N. Y .- down Lake Champlain to Missisquoi Bay, C. E., where he found a few settlers, and ten miles to the eastward of here, in this town, selected the site so long occupied by his son, Hon. J. H. Hubbard, and now in possession of J. E. Wilder. He at once com- menced to clear land, sowed ten acres to wheat, and then returned to Massachusetts. The following spring he came back again, accompanied by his newly married wife and John Webster and wife. The women remained at Missisquoi Bay until suitable habitations could be con-
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
structed in the wilderness. Mr. Hubbard constructed the first log house, frame barn, grist and saw-mills, took an active part in all matters of private or public importance, and, being a large landed proprietor, must have had business transactions with most of the early settlers of the town. John Webster settled on lands at the center of the town, where his descendants down to the fourth generation continued to live.
For fuller information concerning these leading early settlers the reader is referred to the biographical sketches.
Samuel Peckham settled a little to the west of Mr. Hubbard, where he kept the first public house. He remained here a few years, and then with his son, Samuel, jr., commenced a settlement at the Center, where he resided until his death.
John Bridgeman, jr., proprietor, made a selection a little to the west of the Center, near the hill that bears his name-time unknown.
Dr. Ebenezer Marvin, proprietor, was the first physician in town, and a very prominent man. He built the first frame house about a mile north of Mr. Hubbard's, near the province line, which is still standing, although fast going to decay.
Uri Hill, of Tinmouth, and Stephen Royce, father of ex-Governor Royce, first came to town in 1789, and settled near the Province line, north of the Center. They did not remain here long, as Stephen Royce was the first representative from the town of Berkshire in 1796, and Mr. Hill went either to Canada or Highgate. They had quite an adventure on first coming to town in trying to find their " pitch," as related by Ebenezer Hill, of Highgate. They first came upon the northwest cor- ner of the town, and, proceeding a short distance to the east, turned southward, passing through a low hemlock-timbered region; thence over Bridgeman's hill into the lowlands since occupied by the mill- pond, in the vicinity of the Center village, from which, taking a turn eastward, they came to a "stand-point " in "Cranberry Marsh." Not suited with the "lay of the land," at least of that portion through which they had passed, Royce climbed a tree for the purpose of making any discovery that promised to lead them out of the labyrinth of swamp and hill in which they had unwittingly become involved. After survey- ing the surrounding prospect for a time Hill asked Royce "what he saw." "I hardly know what I see," replied Royce, " but I know what I
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TOWN OF FRANKLIN.
think. I wish the first man that ever visited Huntsburgh had had his tongue cut out before he had the opportunity for telling any others what he saw," so vexed was he at the unfavorable country through which they had passed, and not knowing but the rest might be something of the same character. Taking a different course they next passed over " Minister Hill," and finally came upon a hardwooded tract of land, the finest they ever saw, found their "pitch," and proved the truth of the adage that " all 's well that ends well."
Paul Gates, a native of Worcester, Mass., came into town from Or- well, this state, about 1790. He settled a mile south of the Center, where his descendants now reside. He drove the first sleigh into town.
Samuel Hitchcock lived in town previous to June, 1792, as the.pro- prietary records show that the first proprietors' meeting in town was called by him as justice of the peace, and run as follows :
" Whereas, application has been made to me by more than one-six- teenth of the proprietors of Huntsburgh, in the county of Chittenden, to warn a meeting of said proprietors. This is therefore to warn them to meet in said Huntsburgh, at the house of Samuel Hubbard, on the first Wednesday in October next, at one o'clock P. M., to act on the fol- lowing articles, viz. :
" Ist. To choose a Moderator and Clerk.
"2d. To see if they will establish the boundaries of the late survey and draught of lots in said town.
" 3d. To see if they will vote an allowance to those proprietors whose lots have been drawn or laid, partially in the pond, or are otherwise defi- cient in quantity.
"4th. To see if they will provide ways and means to complete the survey, and divide the commonage into severalty, and to do any other business proper to be done when met.
"Signed, SAMUEL HITCHCOCK, Justice of the Peace." " Huntsburgh, 12th of June, A. D. 1792."
At the meeting Samuel Peckham was chosen moderator, and Samuel Hubbard, clerk.
" Voted, to establish the boundaries of lots agreeable with the late survey.
" Voted, to establish the late draughts of lots in said town.
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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN AND GRAND ISLE COUNTIES.
" Voted, an allowance to those persons who drew lots in the pond, by taking a like quantity on the south and east sides of the Great Pond, so called, if there is a sufficiency, if not, out of the other commonage on an average.
" Voted, to complete the survey for the division of the commonage in said town.
" Voted, to choose a committee of three to procure a surveyor to scale the two ponds and pay him.
" Voted, to choose a Collector, and made choice of Samuel Peckham.
"Voted, to choose a Treasurer, and made choice of John Bridge- man, jr.
"Voted, to adjourn this meeting to the last Wednesday in May next, to again meet at this place.
"SAMUEL PECKHAM, Moderator."
The proprietors met according to adjournment, but there is no record of the proceedings of that meeting. As there is no record of any meet- ing of the proprietors of interest until 1807 something more in relation to the early settlement of Franklin will be given here.
The town was organized in 1793, Ebenezer Sanderson being first town clerk, Paul Gates first treasurer, and Samuel Peckham first repre- sentative in 1794. As there are no town records in existence previous to 1802 it is possible that some matters of interest are thus rendered unavailable. Clark Rodgers settled early at the Center, and built the first tavern stand at that place, near where the store occupied by Hill Brothers now stands, where many of the proprietary meetings were held.
Dr. Enoch Pomery came to the town from Southampton, Mass., in 1794, taught school, and practiced medicine for a time. He afterwards settled on a farm two miles south from the Center, where Judge Cleave- land now lives. Hezekiah Weed settled in the south part of the town, and was justice of the peace and town representative in 1811. William Felton, father of the now venerable Charles Felton, came to town in 1806 and settled at the Center. He was a prominent and respected citizen. The eastern part of the town was early settled by quite a num- ber who only remained a few years and then removed West. The time of settlement of these is not definitely known, but probably extended from 1794 down until 1800, or perhaps later.
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TOWN OF FRANKLIN.
Captain William Kendall settled on the farm later occupied by John Hammond, and now by M. L. Kendall. He was killed by the falling of a building a little south of here in the edge of Sheldon in 1798.
Daniel Dean, or "Elder Dean " as he was familiarly known, (for the reason that in those early days he sometimes officiated on funeral occa- sions in absence of a clergyman,) lived on the farm since occupied by Oliver and his son, William Stanley.
Salmon Warner, or 'Squire Warner as he was known, settled where Mrs. Lydia Hibbard now lives. He was the first school district clerk in this part of the town, and representative in 1806.
Captain Lemuel Roberts lived on the farm now owned by Dolphus Dewing. He was in the Revolutionary war, and while a resident of the town published an account of his life and adventures. It is to be re- gretted that a copy of this work has not been preserved, for doubtless matters of interest would have been found therein.
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