USA > Vermont > Windsor County > History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 47
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As early as 1799 the town records show the existence of an organ- ized society of Baptists in Norwich. Asahel Lewis was at that time clerk of the society, and his certificate is on record showing the follow- ing members : Israel Brown, Elias Partridge, Jesse Geer, Jude Allen, John Lewis, Baxter Newton, Eli White, William Winslow, Nicholas Allen, William Wade, Amos Phillips, Martin Brown and Elisha White. There is no evidence that this society ever had a meeting-house or a set - tled minister. Through the efforts of Rev. John Hibbard, a pioneer Baptist missionary, a church was formed in the northern part of Sharon in 1792. The Rev. James Parker was ordained in 1805, and mainly through his efforts the organization was kept alive. Its meetings were held in school-houses and private dwellings until 1833, when a small meeting-house was built at Beaver Meadow. Mr. Parker's death oc- curred in 1839 and Rev. J. S. Herrick became the next pastor, remain- ing until 1842, and was succeeded by the following : Revs. J. Crowley, 1842 to 1846; Phillip Chamberlain, 1846 to 1860; A. W. Boardman,
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TOWN OF NORWICH.
1862; W. L. Colburn, 1864 to 1865 ; C. D. Fuller, 1868 to 1869. In 1871, the society having diminished by death and removals, meetings were discontinued and the following year the church was permanently removed to Sharon village. The church building was taken down in 1875 and the material used in the construction of a parsonage at Sharon.
A small Episcopal society was organized in Norwich in 1835, chiefly through the efforts of Dr. Ira Davis. Between 1846 and 1850 services were occasionally held under the ministrations of Prof. Hill, of Dart- mouth College. During the time that Dr. Edward Bourne was presi- dent of Norwich University regular meetings were held in the chapel connected with that institution, down to 1863, when a church was erected just south of the parade grounds. Since the removal of the university services have been held only occasionally in Norwich.
The Methodists organized a society in town early in the nineteenth century and a church was built a mile and a half south of Union village. The present church in the village was built about 1830.
Educational .- The first action towards the division of the town into school districts was at a town meeting held November 19, 1782, when a committee was appointed to divide the town and to build school houses, etc. This committee was subsequently discharged, after reporting " that they could effect nothing on the business of their appointment." At the annual March meeting in 1785, upon the request of the inhabit- ants in the southeastern part of the town, that portion was set apart for the purpose of building a school-house and supporting a school; it was named the First School District. At the annual meeting held in 1797, on the report of a committee of sixteen, the town was divided into twelve districts. The following year District No. 13 was created, located in the southwestern part of the town. In 1808 District No. 14 was organ- ized, and since then, at various times, other districts have been formed, until the number reached twenty-one. At the first return made in 1799 there were five hundred and fifty-two pupils between the ages of four and eighteen years in the town. In 1886 fifteen districts supported schools and there were two hundred and twenty scholars in attendance.
The first school-master in town was Ashur Hatch, and among his scholars were John Bush, Roswell Olcott, Thomas Brigham, M. D.,
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
Stephen Burton, and Mills Olcott. The school was known as the Wind- sor County Grammar School, and in October, 1788, an act was passed by the Legislature granting a lottery for the purpose of raising money to complete the school-house. Mr. Hatch taught the school from 1785 to 1791. The building stood on the present site of the Congregational church until about 1830.
The brick school-house near the site of the old meeting-house was built previous to 1809. In 1833 Rev. Amasa Buck, a Methodist clergy- man, with others, had a school of academic grade at Norwich village, which was known as Franklin Seminary. The Misses Rockwood taught a ladies' school, and from 1855 to 1860 Miss Mary Bugbee conducted a school known as Norwich Female Seminary. In 1860 and '6r Miss Lucy Morris taught a school for young ladies. By an act of the Legis- lature passed November 8, 1867, the " Norwich Classical and English Boarding School " was incorporated with the following as incorporators : William Sewall, Henry Blood, Henry Hutchinson, John Dutton, Sylves- ter Morris, William E. Lewis, Joseph T. Loveland, James Burnham, Samuel Goddard, and Franklin Olds. The school was opened in De- cember, 1867, in the building known as the North Barracks, formerly belonging to the Norwich University. The building was repaired at an expense of about $3,000. Though the school opened with encourag- ing prospects, the patronage steadily declined and the project was aban- doned in ten years. The following is a list of its principals : 1868, Will- iam H. Gilbert; 1869, C. P. Chase ; 1870-73, C. E. Putney ; 1874, E. P. Sanborn; 1875, W. W. Morrill; 1876, W. H. Ray ; 1877, D. S. Brigham.
The American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy .- This insti- tution was established at Norwich by the late Captain Alden Partridge. The original subscription paper bore the date of October 20, 1817, and is signed by the following: Thomas Emerson, $1,000; A. Partridge, $1,500 ; John Wright, $1,500; Cyrus Partridge, $100; Joseph Emer- son, $600 ; Aaron Loveland, $100; Samuel Partridge, $100; Isaac Partridge, $100 ; Abel Partridge, $100; Elihu Emerson, $100. It was the parent home of a new system of education, the result of many years of study of its founder. The corner-stone of an elegant brick building of four stories was laid August 6, 1819. The academy was opened with
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TOWN OF NORWICH.
about one hundred cadets September 24, 1826, and so popular became this new system of education that during the time the academy was located at Norwich the names of four hundred and eighty cadets appear upon its rolls. Students were received from nearly every State in the Union, and some from foreign lands. During the early part of 1825, Captain Partridge having received overtures from the leading citizens of Middletown, Conn., and believing that city offered superior advantages for the dissemination of his system of education, decided to remove the academy to that location. This change was made April 11, 1825, and while Captain Partridge retained the presidency, its success was more than its most sanguine friends had anticipated. The number of cadets in attendance during the first three years was over seven hundred and ten. Under Captain Partridge's supervision the cadets made pedestrian expeditions, upon which they received practical instruction in surveying. Military excursions were also taken, the cadets visiting New York city, Washington, and other points of interest, marching in the aggregate about two thousand miles, and making from thirty to fifty miles per day. After the retirement of Captain Partridge from the presidency the school attendance declined and it was finally discontinued. Among those that were at different times connected with the academy as professors were the following: George P. Marsh, in 1820-21, instructor in languages ; Rev. Rufus W. Bailey, chaplain and professor of ethics and belles-lettres, 1822-23; Rev. J. W. Woodward, professor of geography and history, etc., 1823-25 ; James Freeman Dana, professor of chem- istry, 1820-22; E. B. Williston, professor of Greek and rhetoric ; John M. Partridge, professor of geometry, topography and sword exercise.
Norwich University .- While a member of the Legislature in 1834 the late Captain Partridge obtained a charter for this institution and the act was passed November 6, 1834. The corporation was to consist of twenty five persons, besides the president, who was an ex-officio member. The board of trustees was empowered to fill their own vacancies, and re- quired to provide for a constant course of instruction in military science and civil engineering, and prohibited from establishing any regulations of a sectarian character either in religion or politics. The present build- ing was begun in 1883, and was erected for a boarding-house. The first meeting of the trustees was held in January, 1835, and the following
62
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
faculty was elected : Alden Partridge, president and professor of moral and intellectual philosophy, history, science of government, political economy, military science, and tactics; Truman B. Ransom, vice-presi - dent and professor of natural and experimental philosophy, mathematics, and civil engineering ; M. Noras, professor of ancient and modern lan- guages ; Franklin Marsh and J. W. Horr, assistants in the English de- partment. The school went into operation in May, 1835, the price of tuition being thirty-two dollars a year. The attendance from the open- ing to August, 1841, was two hundred and twenty-six, and the buildings owned by Captain Partridge, and formerly used by the A. L. and S. Academy, were occupied. The future of the institution bade fair to be prosperous, but owing to dissensions the school became unpopular and gradually wasted away. In 1844 Captain Partridge resigned the presi- dency, and was succeeded by Colonel T. B. Ransom, who, in 1847, re- signed to take part in the war with Mexico. After Colonel Ransom's resignation the school was for a short time in charge of Rev. J. D. But- ler, but in 1848 Prof. Henry S. Wheaton was elected president. He filled the office until 1850, and in the following year Rev. Edward Bourns became president, and remained until 1865. On March 13, 1866, the building known as the South Barracks was destroyed by fire, and the following autumn the town of Northfield, Vt., having raised $16,500, the academy was removed to that point. It continued to bear the same title until 1880, when the name was changed to " Lewis Col- lege"; but the school is now known by its old name.
Among those who were at different times members of the faculty, and not previously mentioned, were the following: Simon Preston, Alonzo Jackman, Clinton D. Averill, David Richardson, James V. A. Shields, Hiram P. Woodruff, Thomas W. Fredon, Henry V. Morris, Thomas R. Crosby, L. S. Coburn, Zerah Colburn, Alvin E. Bovee, W. C. Belcher, Charles A. Balch, George H. Bissell, and Josiah Swett. The number of students belonging to the university between 1835 and 1866 was about 1,025, of which 206 became graduates.
The Great Freshet of 1869 .- About five o'clock on the morning of October 3, 1869, it began to rain, the wind being in the northeast ; the storm continued until about noon of the 4th, the wind changing on that morning to the southwest. The rain fell in torrents, causing one
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TOWN OF NORWICH.
of the greatest freshets ever known in Norwich. All but one bridge on Bloody Brook were carried away, and numerous other bridges in town. The storm also did great damage to the highways, mills and lands on the banks of the stream; also to the railroad, interrupting travel for nearly two weeks; the damage in the town was from $4,000 to $6,000.
Norwich Library Association .- This association was organized in De- cember, 1880, and was opened to the public in January, 1881. It has about fifteen hundred bound volumes.
Newspapers .- A paper called the Vermont Engineer was published in Norwich, from March, 1829, to 1831, by Davis & Porter. The first number of the Citizen Soldier, a weekly edited by Professors Jackman and Swett, was issued July 22, 1840. This paper was devoted to national defense, military science and interests of the volunteer militia. The office of this publication was removed to Windsor early in 1841, where its last number was issued in July of that year.
Railroads .- The Connecticut and Passumpsic River Railroad passes through the town from north to south, along the course of the Connecti- cut River most of the way. There are two railroad stations in the town : one a half mile from Norwich village, for the accommodation of Norwich and Hanover ; the other five miles farther north in the northwest corner of the town, at the mouth of the Pompanoosuc River, and bears its name.
Important Events .- The first Council of Censors convened in Norwich on the first Wednesday in June, 1785. In the first organization of Cum- berland county by New York, in 1766, Norwich was placed in that county, but in March, 1772, a change was made which placed Norwich in Gloucester county. The first male child born in the town was John, son of Daniel Waterman, on July 2, 1768. The first female child born in town was Lydia, daughter of John Hutchinson, on June 6, 1877. Samuel White died June 2, 1822, aged one hundred years. John, son of Jonathan Lord, died June 19, 1882, lacking forty-two days of being one hundred years old. Fairbanks, son of Captain Timothy Bush, born February 25, 1773, died February 24, 1873, lacking twelve hours of be- ing one hundred years old. Elihu Emerson, born in Westfield, Mass., July 20, 1771, died at Leicester, Mass., aged one hundred and two years, three months, and nineteen days. He passed most of his life in
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
Norwich. The first town meeting held at Union hall was on March
20, 1855. The freemen's meetings continued to be held at Center Meeting-House until 1858. Union hall was destroyed by fire Decem - ber 18, 1889.
Norwich Village .- This village, sometimes called Norwich Plains, is located in the southeast part of the town, about one-half. mile from the Connecticut River. It is about one hundred and fifty feet above the river, and five hundred and twenty-five feet above tide water at Ports- mouth, N. H. The situation of the village is pleasant, the main street being broad and straight and about half a mile in length, beautifully shaded with trees. The place was originally known as Burton's Plains, from Jacob Burton, who, with his sons, made the first settlement in 1776. Jacob Burton and his son Elisha built the first saw-mill in 1766, on what is now Bloody Brook. It stood on the opposite bank from Messenger & Hazen's tannery. This mill was carried away in the freshet of 1869, after having been operated for over a century by the Burton family. Elisha Burton built a grist-mill on the brook near the present location of A. G. Knapp.
The first house in the village was erected in 1771 by Captain Joseph Hatch. It is still standing and but few changes have been made in its interior or exterior. As late as 1788 there were only three houses on the plains-the one mentioned, Jacob Burton's dwelling, now occupied by T. A. Hazen, and Elisha Burton's house, now owned by S. A. Arm- strong. Stephen Burton, son of Elisha, opened the first store on the plains in 1790. The hotel building, lately destroyed by fire, was built in 1797 by Colonel Jasper Murdock.
The village began to grow about the beginning of the present century, and in 1824 there were about thirty dwelling houses. There are at pres- ent about seventy dwellings, Congregational and Episcopal churches, a hotel, a tannery, a store and several mechanics' shops. The population by the census of 1880 was 276. The post-office was first established in Norwich in 1805, and Joseph Burton, son of Elisha, was the first post- master. He was a saddler and haness-maker, and the office was kept in his shop, which stood on the east side of the main street, about oppo- site the present residence of Colonel William E. Lewis.
Following is a list of the postmasters and their terms of service:
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OLD FAMILIES.
Joseph Burton, July 1, 1805 ; George Riley, November 9, 1814; Cyrus Partridge, January 1, 1818 ; Jason Allen, April 17, 1820; Cyrus Part- ridge, November 22, 1821 ; Roswell Shurtleff, 1834 to 1836; John Wright, 1836-39; Baxter B. Newton, 1839-41 ; Harvey Burton, 1841- 45 ; Ira Davis, 1845-49; John Wright, 1853-55 ; Lewis S. Partridge, 1855-57; Edward M. Lewis, 1857-61; Franklin L. Olds, 1861-85 ; Lewis S. Partridge, 1885 till his death in May, 1886; Josiah T. Morri- son, July 1, 1886, to May 1, 1889; Edward W. Olds, the present incum- bent.
Union Village .- This is a hamlet in the northern part of the town, about half of the village being located in Orange county. The part within the town of Norwich contains a Methodist church and about a dozen dwellings. A post-office was established here January 1, 1831, with J. Walker as postmaster. He held the office until 1856, and the following persons have been his successors: R. M. Gleason, 1856-61 and 1864-73; S. M. Gleason, 1862-63; Anson West, 1874-76; J. R. Blaisdell, 1877, and now in the office.
Pompanoosuc .- This is a small hamlet in the northeastern part of the town, containing a few dwellings and a chair factory. A post-office was established here in 1849, with Benjamin Preston as the first postmaster. He held the office until 1851 and has been succeeded by the following : W. W. Reynolds, 1851-54; Benjamin Preston, 1854-57; C. B. Rey- nolds, 1857-59; Isaac Pierce, 1859-62; H. F. Reynolds, 1862-68 ; J. M. Flint, 1868-76; H. E. Kendall, 1876 to present time.
Beaver Meadow .- This is situated in the western part of the town near the Sharon line. In early times there was some business done here, but at present it is simply a cross-road. A post-office has recently been established here.
OLD FAMILIES.
It would be impossible within the compass of this work to give a genealogical sketch of each family that has been connected with the town. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to those who feel and have manifested an interest in preserving the records of their ancestors. For sketches received too late for insertion in this chapter please refer to a later chapter of this work.
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
Bicknell, John, was born in Tunbridge, Vt., November 12, 1802, and was married De- cember 4, 1824, to Letita Bean. She was born June 21, 1802. They had four children : Sarah, married Jerome Slayton, of Stowe, Vt., September 3, 1843, died January 10, 1845; Harvey, resides in Barnard, Vt .; Abel C .; and William, a resident of Norwich. John died April 14, 1869, and his wife May 9, 1887. Their four children were born in West Fairlee, Vt., where they resided until the youngest child was two years old, when they removed to Stowe, Vt. In 1845 they came to Norwich, where they remained the rest of their lives.
Bicknell, Abel, son of John, was born in West Fairlee, Vt., June 2, 1830, and married November 24, 1857, Charlotte A. Cummings. They have two children : Henry, born September 26, 1863, married Gertrude Slack, and resides in Norwich ; and Julia E., wife of Myron Pierce, of Norwich. Mr. Bicknell has been a resident of Norwich since 1845.
Burton, Jacob, came from Stonington, Conn., in the summer of 1764, to Norwich, in- tending to locate, but finding no inhabitants in the town he returned to Connecticut. In the following year he helped lay out a part of the town into lots, and in 1766, in com- pany with his son Asa, and several hands, came to Norwich, and erected a saw-mill on the site now occupied by the Messenger & Hazen tannery. Mr. Burton was a member of the Committee of Rules and Regulations of the first General Assembly of Vermont, and was elected at that session second county judge for the shire of Newbury. He was the first town clerk in Norwich. He married Rachel , and had the following family : Elisha; John, removed to Cazenovia, N. Y., in 1809, where he died; Asa; Josiah, died in Norwich; Anna, married Simeon Carpenter; Sarah, married Alden Spooner; Eliza, died young. Jacob died July 12, 1798.
Burton, Elisha, son of Jacob, was born November 7, 1743, and married April 28, 1767, Susanna Burton. They had three children: Levi, died in the West; Elisha, died un- married; Stephen, died in the West. His second wife was Sarah Cogswell. Their chil- dren were Sarah, married Jesse Stoddard; Jacob, died in Norwich; Joseph, born in 1781, died in 1814; Susanna, died in childhood; Polly, married Rev. Samuel Bascom ; John B. C., died in Norwich ; Harvey ; Fanny, married Ammi B. Allen. Elisha mar- ried for his third wife Mrs. Mercy Loveland, and died May 3, 1819.
Burton, Asa, son of Jacob, was born August 25, 1752, in Stonington, Conn., and re- moved to Preston, Conn., with his parents. At the age of fourteen his father removed to Norwich, and from that time until he was twenty he was employed in labor inci- dental to the settlement of a new country. With impaired health he was admitted at the age of twenty-one to Dartmouth College. After graduating he studied theology, and after preaching occasionally in various towns in Vermont and Connecticut, he was settled in January, 1779, over a church in Thetford, Vt., where he preached for fifty years. When he took charge of the church there were only sixteen members, and when he delivered his semi-centennial sermon the membership had increased to three hundred and twenty. He was the author of a number of publications, and during his life grad- uated sixty students for the ministry. Dr. Burton's first wife was his half cousin, Mercy Burton, and their two daughters died before maturity. His second wife was Mary Childs, of Thetford, and their child, Mercy, became the wife of George West, a promi- nent lawyer of Manchester, Vt. Dr. Burton died May 1, 1836.
Currier .- The family of this name in Norwich are descended from Richard Currier, a native of England, born in 1617. The records of Salisbury, Mass., dating back to 1640, give his children as follows: Richard; Hannah; Thomas; Sarah, who married Samuel Fogg; Hannah, who married Samuel Foote; and Samuel. The line of descent from Richard is as follows: Second, Thomas, born 1646 ; third, Benjamin, born 1688; fourth, Gideon, born 1712; fifth, Simeon, born 1745, who was the father of Abel, born in Lon- donderry, N. H., in 1782, and became a resident of Norwich in 1825.
Johnson, John, a native of Connecticut, was among the early settlers of Norwich. He married Priscilla Armstrong. Their children were Sarah (deceased), married Joel
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OLD FAMILIES.
.
Yarrington ; John B. C .; Sophia (deceased), married Caleb Clough ; Harriet (deceased), married Turner R. Wing ; Mary (deceased), married Brazilla Pennock; Susan (deceased), married Daniel Waterman.
Johnson, John B. C., son of John, was born in Norwich, where he died in December, 1883, aged eighty-five years. He married Thriphena Elmore. They had ten children : Chestinia, wife of George Woodworth, of St. Charles, Minn .; Charles, born in Norwich, June 1, 1823, married Christinia Pennock, has no children, and resides in Norwich ; George, lives at Hanover, N. H .; Jeanette, wife of Joseph Pennock, of Norwich; Harriet, died young ; Sarah (deceased), married Charles Adams; John, resides in Lyme, N. H .; Daniel Jackson ; Albert, lives in Newbury, N. H .; Ellen Udora, wife of Tread- well Seaver, of St. Charles, Minn.
Johnson, James, was born in Norwich, Conn., August 21, 1761, and married for his first wife, March 3, 1782, Olive Armstrong. She was born October 16, 1763, and died June 26, 1803. The children of this marriage were John W., who died young; Olive (deceased), married Neil Sawyer; and John W. James married for his second wife, September 15, 1803, Rhody Ranstead. She was born April 6, 1774. They had six chil- dren: James, was in the United States regular army, and died during the Seminole War ; Wayne; Ranstead, a seafaring man, died at New Bedford, Mass .; Roslinda (de- ceased), married Cyrus Trussell; Hannah, died at twenty years of age ; Julia (deceased), married Robert Floyd. James died January 3, 1835.
Johnson, Wayne, son of James, was born in Norwich, May 25, 1806, and married Sep- tember 28, 1827, Olive Armstrong. She was born in Norwich, September 28, 1804. They had seven children : Fanny, died young ; Jason O .; Thaddeus, died young; Rhoda Ann, wife of Dexter Hawkins, of Woodsville, Vt .; Albina (deceased), married, first, Marshall Little, and second, Mansel Brown; Anthony Wayne ; Clymena, wife of Ira Arlen, at Hudson, N. H. Wayne died July 29, 1855.
Johnson, Jason O., son of Wayne, was born in Norwich, August 1, 1829, and married March 1, 1849, Ruth Tilden. They had four children : Jason Franklin, born June 20, 1850, married Effia Howard, and has four children : Francis, Afta F., Eliza, and Jason Howard, resides at Norwich; Milliard Wayne, born June 4, 1852, married Sarah Bick- nell, and has four children : Ole Maude, Alice, Nellie, and Ruth, resides at Hanover, N. H .; Marcus De Lafa, born December 12, 1854, married Maggie White, and has one child, Nina, resides at Lebanon, N. H .; Ruth L., lives at home.
Johnson, Anthony Wayne, son of Wayne, was born in Norwich, January 18, 1837, and married June 3, 1856, Jane L. Tilden. They had four children: Clymena J., wife of Clarence A. Root, of Thetford, Vt., born September 23, 1858; Hatie E. and Hattie E., were born July 10, 1862: Hattie E. died March 20, 1863, and Hatie E. died June 21, 1863 ; Lucian Wayne, born November 15, 1866, married Addie Waterman, Septem- ber 24, 1890.
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