History of Newbury, Vermont, from the discovery of the Coos country to present time, Part 18

Author: Wells, Frederic Palmer, 1850- ed
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: St. Johnsbury, Vt., The Caledonian company
Number of Pages: 935

USA > Vermont > Orange County > Newbury > History of Newbury, Vermont, from the discovery of the Coos country to present time > Part 18

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Beside the tanneries mentioned elsewhere, and that of Webster Bailey, one was conducted at West Newbury by Oscar Blake, on the farm now owned by W. C. & D. Carleton. One of the old barns on that farm was one of the tannery buildings.

The house in which Joseph Sawyer lives at West Newbury, was built for a chair factory, by two brothers by name of Caswell.

The question is often asked, Was there more wealth in Newbury sixty years ago than now? It cannot be precisely answered. Wealth has a relative rather than a positive value. The changes of the last half century have been so great and so various that the measure of value which served in 1840, hardly answers the purpose now. Still the changes of the intervening time are rather with individuals than with the whole community. There are families in this town whose habits and manner of life differ very little from those of their predecessors here seventy years ago.

But the comforts and conveniences within the reach of the farmers of moderate means in Newbury at the present time are far greater in number and variety now than then.

Life is what people make it for themselves, and the study of past conditions is of value if it makes us more content with the world as we have it in our time.

NOTE. Mr. Swasey thinks that he brought his first mowing machine into town in 1854. It was a Ketchum mower, of the kind described on page 152, and sold for $100. The year before, Mr. Edward Hale, on the upper meadow, used something resembling a mowing machine. The cutter bar was of wood, two inches thick, and could cut only tall grass.

The late Deacon Wells helped start the first revolving horse rake in town, about 1836, on Col. Tenney's farm. They were afraid that the horse would take fright and run away, so the Colonel grasped the handles, Timothy Haseltine held the horse firmly by the head, while Mr. Wells took a strong grip on the reins. The rake revolved, and came down with a clatter, the men braced themselves for the catastro- phe; the horse stopped, put down its head and took up a mouthful of hay. "Oh, if that's the way you are going to act," says the Colonel, "we'll stop and put the boy on !"

CHAPTER XXIV.

REMINISCENCES OF EARLY WELLS RIVER.

BY HON. CHARLES B. LESLIE.

RIVER NAVIGATION .- BOATS .- STEAMBOATS .- ROADS .- EARLY TAVERNS .- THE COOS- SUCK HOUSE .- MERCHANTS IN THE BACHOP BLOCK .- SUPPLIES FOR THE WAR OF 1812 .- THE MARSH STORE .- THE BURBANK STORE .- THE EAMES STORE .- TIMOTHY SHEDD .- TANNERY .- PETER BURBANK .- G. G. CUSHMAN .- JUDGE UNDERWOOD .- E. FARR .- ISAAC W. TABOR .- D. A. ROGERS .- C. C. DEWEY PAPER MILL .- IRA WHITE .- PAPER MAKING .- JOHN L. WOODS .- THE LESLIES .- ABEL WELLS AND SONS .- FIRST PHYSICIANS .- THE GALES .- THE SCOTTS .- SINGULAR LOSS OF MONEY .- THE FLOOD OF 1828.

W ELLS RIVER Village is in the northeastern corner of the town of Newbury and also the county of Orange, on the Governor's right. Five hundred acres were granted to Governor Benning Wentworth, which right came into the hands of Er Chamberlin by purchase, and he built the first grist-mill.

The village is at the head of boat navigation. The boats spoken of and once used on the Connecticut river, would carry about twenty-five tons of merchandise, and they went down the river loaded with lumber, that is clapboards and shingles, etc., and brought back heavy goods like iron, salt, rum, molasses, and that class of goods. They could not come any farther up than Stair Hill, at the lower side of the village, where they unloaded. These boats were built for the use of square sails, set in the middle of the boat. They had a crew of seven men to propel them up the river, six spike pole men who worked three on a side, by placing one end of the pole on the river bottom, the other end against the boatman's shoulder and walking back about half the length of the boat, pushing on the polc. The captain stcered with a wide bladed oar at the rear. Rafts of lumber were made up here, to be piloted

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REMINISCENCES OF EARLY WELLS RIVER.

to Hartford, Conn., in boxes sixty feet long, and thirteen feet wide, just the right size to go through the locks at the falls on the river, singly. There was a sawmill at Dodge's falls, where timber was sawed, and floated down through the narrows, to Ingalls' eddy, where they put six boxes together, making what was called a "division." The boxes could not be floated by this village, except at high water, because of the sand bars.

About 1835, a Transportation Company was formed for propelling these boats up stream by means of steam-tugs, which were built with a stern-wheel; these tugs were too large to pass through the locks, which necessitated a boat between each lock. One steamboat too big to pass through the locks was built here, near where the Henderson block now stands, and was used as a passenger and tow boat as were those previously mentioned. This last boat operated between Wells River and White River Falls. This boat was called the Adam Duncan, and finally blew up one fourth of July at White's Eddy just below the bridge at Newbury street. One Dr. Dean, of Bath, was on board, and jumping overboard, he was killed by the paddles or was supposed to have been. After the explosion the boat floated down stream to White River Falls, where it lay till it rotted. Before these longer boats were put on the river, one boat small enough to pass through the locks, called the John Ledyard, came up from Hartford, making one trip as far as Wells River.

Prior to the building of high dams on the river, salmon used to run up as far as Wells River and were caught here. Undoubtedly the Indians used to come by way of Wells River from Lake Champlain and fished here for salmon in the Connecticut river, and probably met Indians of other tribes who came down the Connecticut river from the north part of the state. Their arrowheads and flints have been found on the hills north of Wells River Village, back a little from the Connecticut river.

Before the days of railroads, Wells River was quite a junction for the stage roads and market routes. The writer has seen as many as fifty loaded two-horse teams in the streets of Wells River, at one time. The highway going north turned off at the top of Ingalls' hill and kept back just on top of the hill till it came out on the meadow up here at Stair hill, and all farm buildings below Stair hill were on the hill. From Stair hill the road passed through Wells River, and up the paper mill road to the willow tree just below William Buchanan's house, where the old grist-mill was. The road then crossed the Wells River, going to Ryegate. There was no road west of the paper mill. The road ended at the paper mill, until about sixty years ago, but the road to Leighton hill went up the high hill just opposite the house of Mr. William Buchanan, and all persons traveling that way were obliged to climb this immense hill. About sixty years ago a Spanish doubloon, (about twenty dollars),

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HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.

was picked up on land now owned by Mrs. Moore. Doubtless this coin was lost there by some one in one of the military expeditions which was on the way to Canada.

The first hotel was kept by Mr. Benjamin Bowers, I think, who came here before 1796. He died, and was buried in the field near where Mr. Newton Field now lives. The hotel was on the spot where the Baldwin block is situated. It was a small house, and after Joshua Hale succeeded Bowers, it was used as an ell to the front which Hale put up, which was just like the house now kept by Johnson, called the Wells River House. This last named house was also erected by the Hales, for Mrs. Hale's sister, Mrs. Barstow. The Hales kept the hotel for many years, and accumulated a good property. After the Hales, the same hotel was kept by various persons-one Pickett, Justus Gale, Jesse Cook, Simeon Stevens, Young and Hobbs, Sawyer and Chaplin, Jacob Kent and Harry B. Stevens.

The Coössuck House was situated where the new hotel now is and was kept by Jacob Kent, Henry F. Slack and William R. Austin and by Slack alone. After Slack quit the Coössuck House he kept one situated on the land north of S. S. Peach's present dwelling. This house is now gone, having been destroyed by fire some years since, and while Slack owned it he leased it to one John A. Bowen. Slack went back into the Coössuck House and kept it till he died, having bought it of Colonel Kent. It has been kept by one Hartshorn, and by Durant & Adams and by one Fry, and was burned down in 1892 and the present one built on its site. This hotel was built by Col. Kent.

The early general merchants were: Josiah Marsh, who became quite a land owner in the village of Wells River. I am very sure he came from Connecticut. He traded in the south end of the building, now called the Bachop block, but formerly known as the Hutchins & Buchanan store, and which they enlarged by adding about half of its present size on the north end of it, about forty-five years ago. Mr. Marsh had a large trade, and must have come before the war of 1812. The land records in Newbury will tell when he first became a land owner. Mr. Marsh had a large storehouse on the west side of Main street, opposite his store, standing where the present Hale's Tavern stands. It was built for storing heavy merchandisc.

In the war of 1812 there were many army supplies furnished from Wells River, to wit: Beef from cattle slaughterd here-there were two slaughter-houses-one opposite the house now occupied by Dr. J. F. Shattuck, and upon the same side of Wells River that his house stands; the other was down on the bank of Connecticut river, and near where Richard Henderson's house now stands. The flour was ground in the grist-mill, which stood near the large willow tree back of Mr. W. G. Buchanan's dwelling-house, just

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above the present dam across Wells River. The dam which furnished the power to that grist-mill, was above Mr. Buchanan's house and nearly opposite to Hon. E. W. Smith's residence. This dam turned the water into a canal which was thus taken to the grist-mill. The site of this canal is now visible. This grist-mill doubtless was built by Er Chamberlin. Probably Mr. Marsh was engaged in the slaughtering of cattle and grinding flour, and furnishing them to the American army. Mr. Marsh gave to the town the old burying ground, but which ceased to be used for burial purposes a few years since, the bodies interred there having been removed to the new cemetery.

Those merchants who occupied the Marsh store were: Samuel Hutchins, and his son Samuel, from Bath, N. H. The firm name was Samuel Hutchins & Son. This firm was succeeded by Hutchins & Goodall. This firm was composed of the above named Samuel Hutchins, Jr., and one Alexander Goodall. Then there was a younger Hutchins came into the concern by the name of William. He stayed only a short time and went West. Then Mr. Samuel Hutchins took in the late Moses Buchanan, and they did business under the name of Hutchins & Buchanan. Afterward Col. James Buchanan, a brother of Moses, having been a clerk for Hutchins & Buchanan, was taken into the firm, and I think the firm name of this company was Hutchins, Buchanan & Co. Afterwards Moses Buchanan sold out to his younger brother, William G. Buchanan, Mr. Hutchins having gone out of the firm, and the Buchanan's did business under the name, style and firm of J. & W. G. Buchanan. The Hutchinses, Goodalls, and Buchanans, one and all, were good sharp and well trained business men, did a large business, and accumulated large properties. Those who have occupied that store since are W. G. Buchanan and Gilbert Child-Buchanan & Child; Then came Mr. Archibald Bachop, who married a sister of the above named Buchanans, and he took in as a partner, Mr. A. S. Farwell. This last named company failed, and Mr. Bachop, by trusting irresponsible customers lost his property.

There came here from Connecticut, about the same time Marsh did, Mr. G. A. Burbank, a relative of Peter Burbank, who also was a merchant. He built the dwelling-house which has since been rebuilt and remodeled, and is now the fine residence, owned and occupied by Colonel Erastus Baldwin. His store was a little east of Colonel Baldwin's dwelling-house and abutted on the highway leading to McIndoes Falls. It was removed many years ago. The writer hereof remembers the store, and his first pair of boots, being trimmed with red morocco, and a hat to match, were purchased for him of one Averill, who was the proprietor of, or a clerk in, said store. After the store building ceased to be used as a store, it was used in manufacturing from cattle's horns, horn combs, to be worn in those days by women, and afterwards the building was used for a dwelling-house.

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HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.

Another merchant came here early from Northumberland, N. H., by the name of William Eames. He traded in the store which until very lately stood where W. G. Foss' dwelling-house stands. It was customary in those days for country merchants in this section of the country to take of their customers and debtors, in the fall of the year, neat cattle, and take them afoot to Brighton market. This was done by the merchants hereabout, Mr. Eames, Hutchins & Son, Hutchins & Goodall, and Hutchins & Buchanan, and Mr. Eames went to Brighton with a drove of cattle and was taken sick there and died. I well remember the time, and that his death was greatly lamented, he being highly esteemed here. Mr. Eames was in company in the tailoring business with Stephen Meader, the father of the late A. S. Meader, the long-time tailor here. This copartnership did not include the store trade at all. The tailor's shop was in the second story of the store which was reached by a flight of stairs, out-of-doors, on the south side of the store. J. L. Woods settled the Eames estate. After the death of Mr. Eames, the store was occupied by Moore & Shurtliff for a while, then a firm, Baxter & Hunter traded there and this firm was succeeded by Timothy Shedd and Hiram Tracy, under the firm name of Shedd & Tracy. After a year or two Shedd & Tracy moved out of the Eames store into Mr. Shedd's large building, which Mr. Shedd had used as a shoe and leather store, which stood on the west side of main street, and just south of the street now leading from Main street to the creamery. This has been removed and is the same now occupied by F. Deming. Since Shedd & Tracy moved out of the Eames store, it has been occupied by Mr. A. S. Farwell for sale of dry goods and also tailoring business, carried on by Mr. Farwell. Shedd & Tracy traded in the Shedd store for many years. Finally Mr. Tracy traded there alone, succeeding the firm of Shedd & Tracy, but he became badly involved, and failed. Mr. Tracy came here as early as 1828 from Woodstock, Vt., and for his first wife married a daughter of Mr. Shedd.

After Mr. Tracy ceased trading, Timothy Shedd and his son, William R. Shedd, went into business in trade, and also milling business, remodelling the bark mill into a grist-mill. They did business under the firm name of T. & W. R. Shedd and they moved the store, which had till then always been the property of Mr. Shedd, to its present situation, where it is now owned and occupied by Mr. F. Deming, and where Mr. Deming has traded for 40 years, having during that time, had one partner for a short time, viz: the late A. T. Baldwin, and has within the present year associated with him, S. E. Clark.

Timothy Shedd came to Wells River from Rindge, N. H., at an early date of its settlement. He was a tanner by occupation and by his great industry and energy, accumulated a good cstatc. Hc was man of large stature, and capable of doing the work of his

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REMINISCENCES OF EARLY WELLS RIVER.

occupation, at first alone, which, as we all know, is of a very laborious nature. He was of abstemious habits, as well as very close in his dealings. He was an influential member of the Congregational church, first at Newbury, and later at this place. His first work, he told the writer, was done under a shed near the present grist-mill, and his bark house was at the mouth of the canal, through which the water passes, which carries the grist- mill. I well remember the old bark house. After it ceased to be used, he erected the building which has since been remodelled and made into the present grist-mill, and in which were stored large quantities of hemlock bark, and therein ground up to be used in vats, to tan the hides with. In my early boyhood Mr. Shedd had so extended and enlarged his tannery business, that he had not only a large number of vats at the mill where he ground the bark as aforesaid, but he had, also, a large number near where the store, now occupied by Mr. Deming now stands. These vats were out-of-doors and uncovered. The rear part of Mr. Deming's store, which is now used for a back-store and barn, the lower story was then used for limeing and beaming hides, to take the hair off, and run over the flesh on them, and had vats therein, in which the hides were limed, and also to soften and remove the ill effects of the limeing, by putting them into a vat, containing hen manure. The upper part of this building, over the tannery, was used for the finishing of leather. Where the front part, or salesroom of Deming's store is, was used as a dwelling. (Probably used by Mr. Shedd when he was first married). Mr. Shedd also manufactured harnesses and boots and shoes, keeping several men at work making them. The modus operandi of tanning sole leather was this: After the hair was taken off they were fulled in a fulling-mill, and then put into vats, a layer of bark and then a hide, and then bark and hides, alternately, till filled, then filled with water and allowed to remain six or eight months, when they were taken out, dried and rolled with a brass roller heavily loaded down, and which was propelled by water, back and forth over the hide, which had become leather, until it was made hard and compact, when it was ready for market.

Mr. Shedd also during his busy life was engaged in the lumber business, owning and operating a sawmill on the north end of the present dam across Wells River, in this village. The country here- abouts was, at the the time of the early settlement of Wells River village, heavily timbered with large pine trees, hemlock and spruce as well as hardwood. The pine, hemlock and spruce was much of it sawed into lumber, but a considerable quantity was floated in the log, down the Connecticut river. At first, hemlock and spruce was not valuable timber, but have become so since the pine has been cut off.

Peter Burbank was the first lawyer who located at this place.

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HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.

He came from Somers, Connecticut. He was a strong and well read lawyer, endowed with a great memory and strong common sense, which means that he was broad minded, and could apply his knowledge in a manner to influence judges and jurors in his favor. He was a careful and wise counsellor and looked cases well over before commencing a suit, and when his suit was begun he left no means unemployed to carry his cause to a victory for his client, and the same was true of his efforts if he was called to defend a cause. His office was a building about 15x15, and stood pretty near where Robert Nelson's store and dwelling-house now is. Mr. Burbank did a large and successful law business, and was a hard antagonist in the trial of suits. He was in politics a Jeffersonian and Jackson democrat and was elected to the legislature of the town of Newbury in the years 1829 to 1831. He was untiring in his law practice. He procured the charter to be granted of the Bank of Newbury while a member of the legislature in the latter year, and was its first president. He was fifty-five years old when he died, January 13th, 1836, at his home in Newbury near South Ryegate, which he called "The Hermitage", and is the same place occupied by the descendants of the late William Nelson. Mr. Burbank liked farming pursuits, was a lover of good horses, and owned the Morgan stallion called the Woodbury horse and afterwards the Burbank horse. This horse made the best appearance under the saddle of any horse in the country.

Gustavus Grant Cushman was born in Barnet, Vt., Nov. 6, 1804. At the age of twenty years he entered the office of Messrs. Paddock & Stevens, at St. Johnsbury, and finished his legal education with Peter Burbank, and was admitted to the bar at Danville, April, 1827, and began practice at Wells River, and I am quite sure, as a partner with Mr. Burbank, and in 1829 he removed to Bangor, Me. He held various public offices there up to the time of his death about 1875.

Hon. Abel Underwood was born in Bradford, Vt., April 8, 1799. He determined early to have a liberal education, and he was graduated from Dartmouth College in the class of 1824. He read law with Hon. Isaac Fletcher, at Lyndon, Vt., and was admitted to the bar, at Danville, in 1827. He was, for a short time, in company with Mr. Fletcher when he came to Wells River, and located in the practice of his profession. In 1828 clients were not numerous for the young lawyer, with Peter Burbank, who was then considered a giant in the practice of the law, as a competitor, and so he went to Dexter, Me., but his clients there were not numerous, and he came back to Wells River, after a short residence in Maine, and made Wells River his final abode till his death, which occurred April 22, 1879. After his return to Wells River, his old antagonist, Peter Burbank, had ceased to practice, and Mr. Underwood began to have clients in plenty, and in a few years

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had a lucrative business. He held various offices, representing Newbury in the legislature in 1861 and 1862. He was also state's attorney for Orange County in the year 1839, which office he filled for two years. He was United States District Attorney for Vermont in the years, 1849 to 1853. He was a Judge of Circuit Court from 1854 to 1857. He was also a Register of Bankruptcy under the bankrupt law, and held various offices of trust both in his profession and out of it. He was of industrious habits, and persevering and determined in the prosecution of his business, whatever it was, and conscientious and honest in all of his relations in business intrusted to his care. He was president and director of the Bank of Newbury for many years.

Elijah Farr, lawyer, was born in Thetford, Vt., August 14, 1808, but his parents, soon after his birth, removed to Bradford and he always called that town his home. He was a remarkably tall man, being six feet, five inches in height and of a very slim build. His education was acquired in the common schools of the town and Bradford Academy, preparatory to the study of the law. His law preceptor was Hon. J. F. Redfield, of Derby, Vt., and who was for many years, twenty-five I think, a judge of Supreme Court of Vermont and for a large part of that time its chief justice. He was admitted to the bar in Orleans County, June 3d, 1835. He came immediately to Wells River, and entered into copartnership with Peter Burbank, the copartnership being dissolved by the death of Mr. Burbank. Mr. Farr was one of the executors of Mr. Burbank's will. He was a good lawyer, an eloquent and powerful advocate. He was in politics a democrat and was state's attorney for Orange County in 1839 and 1841 and state senator for the years of 1843 and 1844. He was postmaster at Wells River under several administrations. His law practice was extensive and he was successful therein. He died July 2nd, 1845. He had the year before, taken into copartnership, a young man, who had read law with him, the present writer, who was admitted to the bar in December, 1843, at the Orange County Court, which copartnership terminated by the death of Mr. Farr, and I took the firm's business and helped settle his estate.

Isaac W. Tabor, a Bradford man, practiced law at Wells River, from 1830 to 1833. He was a good lawyer but his business was not large here. He removed to Houlton, Aroostock County, Me., where he took a high position as a lawyer and man. He represented Houlton in the legislature and died there, January 23, 1859.

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History of Newbury, Vermont, from the discovery of the Coos country to present time, Part 18

Author: Wells, Frederic Palmer, 1850- ed Publication date: 1902 Publisher: St. Johnsbury, Vt., The Caledonian company Number of Pages: 935

Author: Wells, Frederic Palmer, 1850- ed
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: St. Johnsbury, Vt., The Caledonian company
Number of Pages: 935