USA > Vermont > Windsor County > History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 29
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104
307
TOWN OF WINDSOR.
Thankful, born December 28, 1782 ; Fanny, born July 24, 1786. Briant Brown died at Windsor, February 15, 1798, aged fifty-four years. Molly Brown, widow of Briant, died at Windsor, September 27, 1802.
Colonel Nathan Stone and Mrs. Mary Spafford married at Charlestown, N. H., July 16, 1764. Children : Relief, born May 3, 1765 ; Polly, born at Windsor, April 26, 1767 ; Zedekiah, born July 17, 1769 ; Sarah, born August 21, 1771 ; Dorotha, born August 26, 1773 ; Susanna, born May 19, 1776; Hannah, born November 14, 1778 ; Elizabeth, born October 16, 1781; Nathan, born June 4, 1784. Mary, wife of Colonel Stone, died May 27, 1785. Colonel Nathan Stone died October 27, 1795.
Ebenezer Burnham and Betsey Packard, both of Windsor, married September 7, 1784. Children : John, born May 23, 1785 ; Samuel, born May II, 1787 ; Betsey, born February 24, 1789; Philander, born July 18, 1791 ; Ebenezer, born June 30, 1793; Allen, born July 11, 1796; Lyman, born August 17, 1798 ; Billy, born August 28, 1800; Cyntha, born September 20, 1803; Rosanna, born December 29, 1808.
Joseph Woodruff and Phebe Norton married at Windsor, November 5, 1772, by James Wellman. Children : Cyprian, born May 16, 1773, died March 13, 1776; Rebekah, born November 3, 1775, died September 18, 1777; Andrew Norton, born January 14, 1778 ; Bela, March 22, 1780 ; Martha, January 14, 1782 ; Huldah, April 16, 1784; Anna, August 7, 1786; Susanna, December 31, 1788 ; Rebekah, April 17, 1791 ; Alvan, January 14, 1794.
Silas Banister and Thankful Ely married January 25, 1779. Children : Fanny, born January 25, 1780 ; Warren, July 26, 1781 ; Bathsheba, Oc- tober 28, 1782; Lucy, January 21, 1784; Osmond, February 7, 1786; Heman, May 11, 1788; Pliny, February 5, 1790; Roderick, December 15, 1791 ; Wayne, January 21, 1794 ; Theodosia, March 9, 1796 ; Anna, August 23, 1798 ; Roena, September 19, 1801.
Alexander Parmele and Mary Davis married at Walpole, February 18, 1766. Children : John, born August 14. 1767 ; Anna, January 14, 1769 ; Rosamond, February 18, 1771 ; Josiah, born at Windsor, April 18, 1773 ; Samuel, May 10, 1775 ; Sarah, December 18, 1777; David, July 27, 1780; Phineas, February 13, 1783. Mary, wife of Alexander Parmele, died December 15, 1788. Alexander Parmele and Mrs. Elizabeth Dana married March, 1790. Alexander Parmele died April 20, 1798.
308
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
Samuel Burnham and Lucy Hawley married December 4, 17.88. Chil- dren : Riley, born August 24, 1789 ; Horace, March 25, 1791 ; Marnava, February 24, 1793 ; Polly, April 2, 1795 ; Ofen and Oren, sons, born July 12, 1797.
John Blood and Asenath Powers, both of Windsor, married February 28, 1781. Children : Asenath, born July 8, 1782; Polly, March 25, 1784 ; Samuel, March 3, 1787 ; Marshall, April 27, 1791 ; Marvin, Jan- uary 8, 1793 ; Sylvester, June 17, 1797.
Thomes Cooper and Peace Dean married November 17, 1767. Chil- dren : Abigail, born September 1, 1768 ; Sarah, February 3, 1770 ; Ruth, May 17, 1772 ; Rhoda, January 22, 1775 ; Lucy, October 16, 1776; Thomas, August 13, 1778; Ebenezer, May 8, 1780; Jabez, January 25, 1783, died January 28, 1785 ; Ezra, January 25, 1786.
John Curtis and Patty Hannars married December 29, 1793. Chil- dren : Joseph, born November 20, 1794; Patty Ruggles, May 24, 1797 ; Simeon, September 23, 1799.
Children of Jacob and Rosamond Choate : Mary Ann, born June 29, 1800; Catharine, March 17, 1804; Harriet, December 30, 1805.
" Be it remembered that at Windsor, in the county of Windsor, and State of Vermont, on the evening of the 20th of March, in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred and ninety-one, Nathan Coolidge of said Windsor, and Elizabeth Curtis of Windsor aforesaid, having produced a certificate from the clerk of said town, that their intention of marriage had been legally published, and receiving the consent of the mother of said Elizabeth, were legally joined in marriage by " - "Stephen Jacob, justice peace." The children of this union were Carlos Coolidge, born July 25, 1792; Mary Coolidge, born October 15, 1793 ; Betsey Coolidge, born November 17, 1801.
Children of Zebina and Martha Curtis: Lucia, born March 3, 1784, and died May 5, 1785; Israel, January 19, 1786; Lucia, March 10, 1788; Joseph Wait, April 8, 1790; Charles, April 23, 1792; William, March 9, 1794; Isabella, March 3, 1796; Timothy, December 7, 1797 ; George, September 19, 1799 ; Edward, October 25, 1801 ; Susan, August 1, 1805.
Sylvester Churchill was born August 2, 1783 ; married Lucy Hunter, daughter of William and Mary. Children: Helen Susan, born at Fort
R.L. ITTI E
DANIEL STEARNS.
-
309
TOWN OF WINDSOR.
Columbus, on Governor's Island, May 29, 1817, died September 27, 1818; William Hunter, born on Bedloe's Island, N. Y., July 8, 1819; Mary Helen, born in Windsor, August 30, 1821 ; Franklin Hunter, born at Fort Lewis (Fort Hamilton), April 22, 1823; Charles C., born at Allegheny Arsenal (near Pittsburgh, Pa.), July, 1825.
Sewall Cutting, son of Jonas and Sally Cutting, married Mary, daughter of William and Mary Hunter, on August 3, 1806. Children: William Jonas, born May 27, 1807; Franklin Hunter, May 27, 1809; Mar- sellas Trask, born June 14, 1811, died December 25, 1811 ; Sewall Syl- vester, born January 19, 1813 ; Andrew Jackson, born March 14. 1815, died April 17, 1816; Wallace, born March 31, 1817; Mary Hunter, August 4, 1818; Lucy Churchill, born May 5, 1820. died August 9, 1828; Dan Smith, born May 23, 1823; Guy Hunter, born April II, 1826, died March 18, 1827; Guy Hunter, born February 8. 1828.
Children of Jabez and Anna Delano : Clarissa, born February 25, 1803; Laurenda, August 29, 1804 ; Albourn, September 4. 1808.
Abner Forbes, son of Absalom and Martha, was born in Sutton, Mass., February 29, 1772. Elizabeth West, daughter of Elijah and Hannah, was born in Windsor, January 29, 1776. Abner Forbes mar- ried Elizabeth West September 24, 1797. Children: Charles, born November 24. 1798; Elizabeth West, born November 14, 1800. Eliza- beth, wife of Abner Forbes, died January 1, 1801. Abner Forbes married Sarah, daughter of Alden and Sarah Spooner, September 4, 1805. Children : Sarah S., born March 20, 1807 ; Edward, October 22, 1808; Martha Hall, April 23, 1810; Frances, June 24, 1812; Maria, June 7, 1814 ; Arabella, April 18, 1816; Spooner, May 26, 1818; Susan, August 9, 1820; Abner, December 10, 1822.
Page 214 of the first record book has this entry: "In memory of Mrs. Elizabeth, wife of Capt. William Dean, died Dec. 22, 1764, in the 64th year of her age. The first death in Windsor."
Dr. Isaac Green married Anna Barrett, January 17, 1792. Children : Samuel Barrett, born December 17, 1792; Eliza Salisbury, May 17, 1794; Charlotte, May 17, 1796; George, April 14, 1798; Harriet, February 16, 1800; Charles, September 1, 1803; Caroline, September 26, 1811.
Elisha Hawley and Azubah Russell married November 19, 1767.
310
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
Children : Thomas, born September 28, 1768; Lucy, March 2, 1770 ; Erastus, December 26, 1772 ; Rebekah, March 8, 1774; Polly, Novem- ber 23, 1775. Azubah, wife of Elisha Hawley, died April 1, 1777. Elisha Hawley and the widow Hannah Sayles married July, 1777. Children : Azubah, born May 26, 1778; Sayles, December 14, 1780; Elisha, August 30, 1781 ; Ira, January 5, 1783 ; George, February 17, 1785.
William Hunter and Mary Newell married January 31, 1777. Chil- dren : Guy, born October 21, 1777 ; William, February 5, 1781 ; Mary, August 16, 1782 ; Jonathan, July 16, 1784; Lucy, July 17, 1786; Mary, February 27, 1788 ; Franklin, February 11, 1790; Sally, Febru - ary 7, 1794 ; Rebekah, April 3, 1796; William Guy, September 27, 1798.
Jabesh Ilunter and Mary Savage married November 1, 1795. Chil- dren : Horace F., born August 30. 1796; Galen, January 21, 1800; David, April 1, 1803; John, August 1. 1804; Emily, March 4, 1807 ; Mary, February 25, 1809; William, February 13, 1812.
Thomas Hunter married Abigail Powers February 10, 1777. Chil- , dren : Thomas, born September 13, 1777 ; Nabby, November 30, 1779; Rebekah, October 25, 1781 ; Richard, June 14. 1784; Thankful, Sep- tember 10, 1786; Millison, March 12, 1788. Abigail, wife of Thomas Hunter, died June 12, 1790. Thomas Hunter married Tryphena Thacher January 27, 1791. Children : Mary, October 13, 1794; Henry, March 14, 1795 ; Eli, August 22, 1796; Maria, December 20, 1798; George, February 13, 1801.
Samuel Hedge married Miriam Parsons May 23, 1793. Children : Samuel, born July 30, 1794 ; Frank, July 5. 1795; William, July II, 1796; George, April 11, 1799; Lucy, June 2, 1800.
Jeremiah Hubbard, son of Elnathan and Sybil Hubbard, married Nancy, daughter of Watts and Lois Hubbard, on December 6, 1810. Their child, Harriet, was born December 6, 1811.
Children of Captain William and Lucretia Leverett : Mary, born July 14, 1792; Elizabeth Hallam, July 10, 1796; Lucretia Ann Coit, April 30, 1805.
Children of Thomas and Susan Leverett : John, born March 31, 1792 ; Charles Johnson, October 12, 1793; William, July 6, 1797 ; Susan,
3II
TOWN OF WINDSOR.
March 8, 1800; George, January 17, 1802 ; Caroline Hallam, March 5, 1804; Thomas, February 12, 1806
Joel Lull and Thankful Dodge married April 27, 1794. Children : Joel, born December 20, 1796; Laura, September 2, 1798 ; Lyman, March 4, 1801.
"Captain Steele Smith, the settler of the town of Windsor, died April 5, 1812, in the eighty third year of his age."
Samuel Patrick and Anna Spicer, of Windsor, married April 15, 1773. Progeny : Isabel, born November 30, 1773 ; Sarah, November 5, 1775 ; Lemuel, July 24, 1779; Samuel, August 10, 1781 ; Freedom, May 21, 1784; Fanny, August 22, 1786; Reuhama, March 4, 1789. Anna, wife of Samuel, died March 28, 1789. Samuel Patrick and Isabel Alex - ander married October 27, 1790. Children : Harriet, born June 5, 1792; Matthew Alexander, April 13, 1794; Nancy, October 22, 1796 ; Sophia, March 15, 1799.
Samuel Smith, the first male child, was born in Windsor, July 2, 1765, the son of Steele and " Louis " (Lois) Smith. Samuel Smith married Lucy Woods, September 1, 1784. Children : John Spooner, born Au- gust 25, 1790 ; Betsey, March 18, 1792; Cyllinda, September 15, 1794 ; Samuel Newell, October 30, 1796; Lucy, February 22, 1799; Sophia, February 14, 1801; Miry, December 25, 1802; Hart, October 14, 1804.
Children of Samuel Stow Savage and Mary Cole Savage, his wife: Samuel Stow, born June 23, 1770; Cyprian, June 4, 1772; Mary, July 27, 1774; Lemuel, November 19, 1776; Ruth, December 13, 1778; Prudence, January 25, 1781 ; Sally, May 26, 1783 ; Joseph, De- cember 28, 1785.
Silvanus Watriss and Rhoda Field married August 2, 1780. Chil- dren : Asa, born June 10, 1781 ; Henry, October 1, 1782; Martha and Rhoda, (twins) February 7, 1786; Charles, December 31, 1788.
Children of John and Susanna (Powers) Dake: Sophia, born Febru- ary II, 1775 ; Susanna, October 26. 1777; John, September 23, 1779; Mary, December 16, 1782 ; Abigail, March 22, 1786; Keziah, Au- gust 22, 1790. John Dake, the pioneer, died March 22, 1791.
Leonard Taylor and Eunice Parker married January 21, 1779. Chil- dren : Leonard, born October 31, 1779; Eunice, April 12, 1782 ; Eunice, 2d, May 14, 1784; Esther, March 29, 1789; Parker, Decem-
312
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
ber 21, 1790; Peter, February 2, 1793 ; Polly, June 16, 1797 ; Sally, August 7, 1800; Laura, June 13, 1802.
Children of Phineas and Elizabeth Hemenway: Betsey, born Septem- ber 1, 1776; Phineas, January 23, 1781 ; Joshua, December 26, 1792.
James Langworthy and Anna Dean married April 13, 1775 ; moved to Windsor, February 5, 1776. Children : Sarah, October 29, 1776; Stephen, October 4, 1777 ; James, April 20, 1779; Anna, October 3, 1780; Phineas, February 7, 1782; Jonathan, October 5, 1783 ; Han- nah, November 10, 1784; Laura, January 9, 1786; Reodolphus, July 12, 1787 ; Augustus, November 29, 1788; Benjamin, January 27, 1790.
Children of Stephen and Jane Cady : Jane, born April 1, 1781; Sarah, February 23, 1783 ; Anna, November 4, 1784; Matthew Patrick, October 16, 1786; Betsey, September 19, 1788; Polly, August 9, 1790; Lucy, November 24, 1792. Jane, wife of Stephen Cady, died Febru- ary 6, 1794. Stephen Cady married Esther Parker, September 23, 1794. Children : Pluma, September 7, 1795; Esther, January 28, 1797 ; Laura, April 16, 1798; Stephen P., January 10, 1805.
Children of Jerahmeel and Deborah Cumings: Jane, born Febru- ary 28, 1777 ; Jerahmeel, January 24, 1779; Joseph, January 15, 1781 ; John, October 20, 1782 ; Asa, August 9, 1784; Bera, April 9, 1786; Hannah, November 15, 1787 ; Polly, August 17, 1789.
Children of Solomon and Keziah Burke: Caleb, born May 7, 1773; Benjamin, February 21, 1775; Rachel, March 5, 1778; Jonathan, July 7, 1780; Solomon Wait, July 11, 1782 ; Alice ; Moses; Nahum, July 13, 1789; Abel, March 27, 1792.
Children of Solomon and Mary Emmons : Patty, born January 27, 1770; Eunice, born May 9, 1774.
Children of Joseph and Rhoda Thomson: Daughter, born Febru- ary 13, and died February 14, 1775; Joseph, June 26, 1776; Rhoda, May 25, 1778; Thurza, March 19, 1780; Sibbille, August 25, 1782; Seth, May 17, 1784; Samuel, June 18, 1786; Annas, July 25, 1788 ; Claria, February 1, 1791 ; Hannah, October 31, 1792; Joseph, Janu- ary 17, 1796.
Children of Charles and Lydia Leavens: Mary, born March 15, 1774; Penuel, April 25, 1777; Ira, February 28, 1779; Charles, March 13, 1781; Calvin, August 18, 1784 ; Darius, June 17, 1786; John Grover,
R.LITTLE
313
VILLAGE OF WINDSOR.
March 2, 1788 ; Chloe, November 3, 1789; Jacob, January 7, 1792 ; Mason, December 8, 1793.
THE VILLAGE OF WINDSOR.
So much has already been said that pertains to the history of the vil- lage of Windsor, as well as to the town at large, that it appears exceed- ingly difficult to separate the municipality from the town for the purpose of further narrative. In fact, it cannot be told with certainty when the history of the town ceased and that of the village commenced. The latter cannot be assumed to have been in existence when Steele Smith and his handful of pioneer associates commenced their improvements during 1764 and 1765, but when the first convention of delegates from all parts of the New Hampshire Grants met in the town in June, 1777, there was a considerable settlement, a tavern, at least one store, and dwellings to the number of a score or more. At all events, it is nowhere recorded that the visiting delegates were permitted to suffer for want of accom- modations, or on account of any lack of generous hospitality on the part of the inhabitants of the village or town.
And the location of the village seems to have been made with refer- ence to the greatest convenience of the people of the whole town, and upon lands especially suited to the purpose. The topographical situation of the land is somewhat peculiar, being a succession of elevations back to the westward from the Connecticut; and each of these elevations has a considerable area, that farthest west being, perhaps, the most extensive, and any of them sufficiently large to accommodate buildings for a popu- lation of three or four hundred. When Windsor was fixed upon as the shire town of the county, soon after the latter was erected, there was a considerable influx of people, for that designation not only assured the erection of a court-house and other county buildings, but brought to the town a number of lawyers, who were, of course, desirous of locating at the county seat. By 1783 the population of the place had so in- creased that George Hough and Alden Spooner felt assured of success by the establishment of a newspaper at Windsor, the Vermont Journal; and this paper, although it has experienced all the vicissitudes known to journalism, is still in existence as one of the enduring institutions of the region. In 1787 the independent State of Vermont, knowing the neces-
40
314
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
sity of having the means of ready communication between the more important points of the State, established therein several post-offices, one of which was at Windsor.
But each of these, and other of the early institutions of the village, have been frequently and sufficiently alluded to in this and preceding chapters, therefore need no further presentation in these pages. With the close of the first score of years of the present century the village proper was estimated to contain a population of some five or six hundred souls, and had, besides, all the attributes and essential elements of a flourishing municipality of the lesser class, there then being, according to a statement in the Vermont Journal of March 17, 1823, " about eighty dwelling houses, mostly well built and commodious; and the shops, stores, etc., are many of them of brick, and large, so that the business part of the town has an air of dignity rarely met with in the country. Here are employed three physicians, eight attorneys, two printers, three booksellers, two book-binders, several merchants and druggists, three cabinet-makers, one chairmaker and painter, four boot and shoemakers, one hatter, one coach and chaisemaker, one wheelwright, two coopers, two tin-plate workers, one watchmaker, one jeweler, two tailors, one milliner and mantuamaker, two masons and brick-layers, one barber, one grist-mill, carding- machine and woolen manufactory." The churches then in the village are still here, with some added, as also may be said of other public buildings. But, while not wishing to invite comparison, let the citizen of Windsor of the present day look at the population, busi- ness enterprises, industries and other institutions of the place, compare records with the year 1823, and then observe how much Windsor is now in advance of the situation as it then existed. To be sure, in the south part of the village, along the stream Mill Brook, there stands a number of splendid, large buildings, but the noise of machinery is no longer heard in many, too many, of them; they are mostly but " wrecks of former greatness." And their idleness is not by any means the fault of the people of Windsor, nor of the people of the locality ; but it is the re- sult of over-production and the vast extent of competition noticeable in almost every branch of trade and manufacture in the land. And Wind- sor, being unfortunately remote from large manufacturing centers, hav- ing no advantage in the way of cheap labor, having no ready shipping
315
VILLAGE OF WINDSOR.
facilities without unwarrantable expense, cannot compete with the vil- lages in the southern New England States, nor with those in the eastern and middle Atlantic States. Therefore her factories have become un- profitable and are no longer operated.
Windsor became and was of the character of a village when, in 1786, or thereabouts, the inhabitants in meeting laid out the territory of the town into school districts, under which proceeding the lands here were formed into district number three. This was for school purposes only, but the name District No. 3 was destined to play a prominent part in the affairs of the subsequent village. It so happened that during the early years of the present century this locality suffered seriously from the ravages of fire, and the inhabitants were powerless to resist the de- struction. Therefore, that the proper measures might be taken to pro- vide means and apparatus for fighting fire, the people of the hamlet had recourse to the Legislature, with the result of an act of incorporation, by which it was declared " That the freeholders and inhabitants within the present bounds of the Third School District, in Windsor, in the county of Windsor, and their successors forever, are hereby constituted and appointed a body politic and corporate, in name and in fact, by the name of the WINDSOR VILLAGE CORPORATION ; and by that name shall be capable, in law, of suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, answering and being answered unto, defending and being defended, in all courts and places whatever," etc.
The same section and others subsequent provided for the property and government of the corporation, which was intended and understood as being a corporation for fire purposes only, but which was, in fact, a municipal corporation, with powers of electing officers and fully con- trolling the fire department. But the corporation was not clothed with the powers of government for all purposes, independent of the outside town, and from that body the village has never become entirely sepa- rate, although the act of 1884 increased the municipal power and regu- larly incorporated the village as such. The effect of the latter act was to permit the village to control itself, its schools, its highways, and its in- ternal institutions of every kind ; elect its own officers and make such improvements as the people were pleased to vote for ; but, at the same time, the village and town join in electing town officers. The electors
316
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
of the village still retain the right to vote on town affairs in town and freemen's meetings, but the townspeople have not the right of a voice in village affairs. Under the corporate act of 1832 the power of the village was vested in its officers and nine fire wardens authorized to be elected, the wardens being the power, the legislative body of the mu- nicipality ; but under the act of 1884 the wardens have charge exclu- sively of the affairs of the fire department, and are in control at times of fire, and the legislative power of the village is vested in the board of trustees, the latter having, with the corporation officers, supreme control of the municipality and its government.
In January, 1833, the village of Windsor was organized agreeable to the provisions of the act of incorporation, and the officers chosen at that time were these : President, Thomas Emerson ; vice-president, Ed- ward R. Campbell ; secretary, Charles Hopkins ; treasurer, Caleb Ken- dall; collector, William Colston; wardens, Allen Wardner, Samuel Patrick, William Tileston, Francis E. Phelps, Isaac W. Hubbard, Darius Jones, John P. Skinner, Shubael Wardner, and Albert G. Hatch.
These officers of the fire corporation immediately caused to be fur- nished a complete outfit of fire apparatus and other needful equipments for the extinguishing of fires, and organized a trained fire department, and one that showed its efficiency on more than one occasion. The en- gine-house was erected on Main street, about midway between what is termed the north and south villages. The south part of the village was the manufacturing district, while the north part was more used for mer- cantile and dwelling purposes. And the old fire department continued an active and useful organization until within a couple of years, when the village purchased the water supply company's property and rights, and so increased the system in efficiency that the necessity of hand-engines was no longer required, and they were therefore replaced with hose companies ; and these, with the hook and ladder company, comprise what there is of the present village fire department.
Schools .- Whatever of causes may have had the effect of changing the municipal character of the old Third School District, so far as per- tains to village corporations, none of these liave ever caused the district to lose its identity for the purposes of schools, although the limits of the district may have been enlarged or curtailed agreeable to the wishes of
G. A. DAVIS.
317
VILLAGE OF WINDSOR.
the people. The old district was created by the committee appointed to divide the town about the year 1786, and soon after that time, but just when, from the loss of the records, we are unable to state, a school was built in the district, and at the village as the most central part. A fair description of the old building we have not, but it is known to have continued in use until about the year 1810, when, the village having become too large for the school to accommodate the pupils of the place, it was necessary to erect another and larger building. This matter was the subject of considerable discussion in the school meetings, and the result was that Luther Mills was chosen agent of the prudential com- mittee, and of the district, to cause the new brick school-house to be erected. It was in time done, and stood on the site now occupied by the high school. The building was of brick, a plain though substan- tial structure, and cost the district something like twenty-five hundred dollars. Among the early teachers in the old brick school the names of some are disclosed by the records. In 1811 Eunice Hawley taught there ; in 1812, and for a number of years, Mary Robinson; in 1816, Dr. J. Forbes; in 1817, John Smith; 1818, Richard M. Ely ; 1820, Harriet Fox, Laura Craige, Lydia A. Spooner, Mr. Edgerton, and prob- ably others.
In 1841 the town district voted to lease the brick school to Sweet & Jackman for two years, and in 1843 extended the term for three years more. In 1847 Mr. Prouty kept singing school in the building, which some of the older citizens of the village will probably remember. In 1838 it was found advisable to divide the schools of the district, that the younger pupils might be separated from the older. This led to the es- tablishment of what in later years has been known as the South Primary and the West Primary schools of the district, both of which are among the present institutions of the village.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.