History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 60

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass. ed. cn; Holmes, Frank R
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1260

USA > Vermont > Windsor County > History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 60

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CHAPTER XXVIII.

HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF BRIDGEWATER.

A MONG the several towns that comprise the county of Windsor, Bridgewater occupies a central north and south location, while its east and west situation places it on the western border. The town is bounded on the north by Barnard, and a small part of Pomfret ; east by Woodstock, and slightly by Pomfret ; south by Plymouth and Reading ; and west by Sherburne in Rutland county. Its latitude is forty-three degrees, thirty- seven minutes, north, and longitude four degrees, twenty- two minutes, east.

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

In common with the majority, and in fact all, of the towns of the county the surface of the land in Bridgewater is quite hilly, and some of the ele- vations partake of the character of mountains. From its geographica position, so near the main mountain chain, the land is perhaps more broken and uneven than is characteristic of the towns farther east and nearer the valley of the Connecticut River. Nearly all of the larger hills or in- dependent elevations of land in the town are designated by name, and the largest of these are Bald Mountain in the southern portion, and Mount Hope slightly to the northwest of the center of the town. Other goodly elevations are Southgate Mountain, so called from one of the pioneer families of the locality ; Woods Hill, in the extreme southeast part of the town ; Rugged Hill, Montague Hill, Raymond Hill, and the Pinnacle, and possible others, all of which are familiar names to the older residents of the town, and with some of which there are associated some interest- ing incidents, especially the vicinity of Mount Hope, concerning which mention will be found on subsequent pages of this chapter.

While the rough and rugged character of the earth formations of Bridgewater may have worked to the disadvantage of the town as an agricultural district, other natural characteristics have in a measure com- pensated for this condition and afforded an excellent system of drainage, and superior water-power privileges. But this is not saying or inti- mating that the town has no good farming land, for it has, and splen- did, too, especially in the valleys of the streams. The Otta Quechee, or as commonly called Quechee, courses across the town from sonthwest, bears to the northeast, and enters Woodstock. This is the largest stream of the town, and drains the whole southern portion thereof. Its most im- portant tributary is the creek or river called the North Branch, which re- ceives the greatest part of the drainage water of the northern sections of the town, and discharges into the Quechee at Bridgewater Corners. And the North Branch has a somewhat important auxiliary stream, which drains the central western portion of the town.

These more important streams have proven of the greatest benefit to the town of Bridgewater, affording water-power privileges along almost the whole distance of their course; and this has been utilized to a vast extent in years gone by, but more latterly there has been a decline in the number of mill industries along these waters.

603

TOWN OF BRIDGEWATER.

The town of Bridgewater was chartered on the 10th day of July, 1761, by Governor Wentworth, of New Hampshire ; but the pioneer set- tlement of the town did not commence until some eight or nine years later. This explains why it was that no conflict occurred over the right to possession of these lands, for the New York authorities rarely granted a charter east of the Green Mountains of any district not then attempted to be settled and occupied under the grants of New Hampshire. And when Bridgewater received its first pioneers, Deacon Asa Jones and Amos Mendall, the whole country was in a disturbed condition on account of he war then in progress. Deacon Jones made his survey in 1779, but did not make a permanent settlement until the next year, 1780, which year witnessed the arrival of young Mendall, who soon afterward married the daughter of the Deacon. Thus it was this event that recorded the first marriage of the town ; and the principal parties to that transaction were also connected with another "first event"-the birth of their child, Lucy Mendall.

The early settlement of Bridgewater was exceedingly slow, and it was not until the year 1785 that the town had acquired a sufficient population to become organized ; but prior to that time the proprietors held meet- ings and made such provision as was deemed necessary for the temporary government of the town, and such improvements as should tend to en- courage settlement within its borders. The first meeting of the proprie- tors of the town was held in pursuance of an order issued by Justice Ben- jamin Emmons, of which the following is a copy :

"State of Vermont, County of Windsor, whereas application hath been made to me, one of the justices of the peace of this State, by more than one-sixteenth part of the proprietors of the township of Bridgewater, to call a proprietors meeting for said township on Tuesday the Ioth day of July next, to meet at the house of Captain John Strong, innholder in Woodstock, at nine o'clock in the forenoon, to act on the following arti- cles, etc.

" BENJAMIN EMMONS, assistant.

"Woodstock, May 18, 1781."

In pursuance of this order the first proprietors' meeting was held, as stated, on the 10th of July, at the public house then kept by Captain Strong. Asa Jones, the pioneer of Bridgewater, was chosen moderator;

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

John Ransom, proprietors' clerk ; Asa Jones, proprietors' treasurer ; and James Cady, proprietors' collector. The assembled proprietors then pro- ceeded with the business of arranging for the regular survey of the town, and its division into hundred-acre lots. For this labor a committee was chosen, consisting of settlers Asa Jones, James Cady and Amos Mendall.

The next meeting of the proprietors was held at Deacon Jones's house in Bridgewater on the 24th of November, 1783. Among other things it was voted, at this time, to give Isaac and Richard Southgate two whole town rights (lots) in one body, provided they build two good mills, one a saw-mill and the other a grist-mill, within one year ; but a subsequent meeting extended the time of building these mills to two years. The Southgates were further required to give the mills "good attendance " for a term of twenty years. Other hundred-acre lots were also granted to George Boyce and Captain John Hawkins, in consideration of their build- ing saw-mills in the town.

At a meeting held at Woodstock in September, 1784, the proprietors appointed Captain Strong, Jesse Williams, Cephas Shedd, John Hawkins and Richard Southgate as a committee to lay out a road through the town. And at this same meeting the proprietors granted to Deacon Asa Jones the privilege of selecting and laying out for himself a hun- dred-acre lot, to compensate him for the hardships experienced in mak- ing the first settlement, and the interest he had taken in promoting set- tlement by other families in the town.

As a result of these several preliminary proprietors' meetings the town was divided and surveyed, and the owners made their selection of lands. The manner of selecting was called " making a pitch of land "; and it was not an uncommon thing for lots to be measured by "perambulating," or, to be better understood, by " pacing them off." All the pitches having been made, or at least all that were then taken, the town was found, in 1785, to have a sufficient number of residents to warrant its complete organization by settlers of the land, although during the pre- ceding year John Hawkins had been chosen to represent the town in the General Assembly of the State.

The first meeting of the freemen of Bridgewater was held on the 30th of March, 1785, and there the first town officers were elected. Who were present and the extent of attendance upon that important occasion

Isce Raymond

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TOWN OF BRIDGEWATER.

cannot now be ascertained, but it would form an interesting record if there could be drawn even a pen picture of that assemblage. The re- cording officer of that meeting, however, only furnishes us with the pro- ceedings had at the time, chief among which was the selection of the following town officers : Asa Jones, moderator ; John Hawkins, town clerk; Richard Southgate, James Fletcher and Isaiah Shaw, selectmen ; Joseph Hawkins, town treasurer and first constable; Bliss Hoisington, James Fletcher and Joseph Boyce, listers; Richard Southgate, grand juror ; Joseph Boyce, Amos Mendall and James Topliff, surveyors of highways.

The officers chosen for the year 1786 were as follows : Richard South- gate, moderator; John Hawkins, clerk ; James Fletcher, Richard South- gate and Joseph Boyce, selectmen ; James Fletcher, treasurer ; Asa Jones, first constable ; James Topliff, Cephas Sheldon and John Palmer, listers ; Joseph Boyce, grand juror.

There is probably no manner in which can now be accurately deter- mined the names of every one of the pioneers of the town of Bridge- water. After the lapse of more than 100 years from the time the town was first occupied, all tradition (for all information concerning the set- tlers must necessarily be based on tradition) is become unreliable ; and the oldest inhabitant would scarcely attempt to reveal the names of all the settlers prior to the year 1800. The task is practically impossible of performance. But, fortunately, the ancient records of the town do throw some light upon this matter, and enable the reader to learn of many of the families who came to the town prior to the year 1800. Among the old books in the clerk's office is one that purports to con- tain the names of resident families, a record of marriages, births and deaths; but whether or not all the families are recorded there is, per- haps, a question. From that record we have extracted the names of all who were married, whether within the town or elsewhere, and resided in Bridgewater prior to the year 1800, together with the names of their children, in the order of their birth. But in explanation of the list fol- lowing it may be stated that there will be found frequent repetitions in the christian names of children in the same family. In such cases the reader will understand that the first child so named died before the birth of the other bearing the same name. The order giving these records is

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

the same as found in the clerk's book, and not chronologically arranged. Further, it may be stated that no record appears of the marriage of Amos Mendall and the daughter of Asa Jones, nor of the children born of that marriage.

Elijah Walker and Anna Jones were married May 28, 1789. Chil- dren : Electa, Rena, Anna, Patty, Sally, Demis, Elijah, Roene, Edwin and Edson. Elijah Walker, the pioneer, died on the 26th of February, 1813. Ariel Jones and Polly Hayes, married September 21, 1787 (at Woodstock). Children : Lydia, Polly, Lyman, Betsey, Betsey, second, and Ariel, Asa Green and Achsa Sanderson, married April 26, 1783. Children : Ephraim, Lucy, Asa, Elias, Oliver, Benjamin, Elias, Rachel, Achsa and Irenus. Joseph Perkins and Patience Hayes were married in Lyme, Conn. Children, born in Bridgewater, Polly and Mehetable. Patience Perkins, wife, died August 6, 1792. Second wife of Joseph was Patience Denison, whom he married February 19, 1793. Children : Patience and Joseph. "Progney " of James Topliff' by Abigail, his wife : Calvin, Joseph, Abigail, Salla, James, Jerusha, Eunice and Anna. Family of Jonathan1 and Abigail White : Lyman, Laura, Gilman, Alan- son, John, Alfred, Sullivan, Saphrona, Fanny, Juliana M. and Andrew Jackson. Challis Safford and Sally Jones, married February 26, 1789. Children : Robert, Dennis, Joseph and Orrin. Ephraim C. French and Rhoda Dike, married June 6, 1785, at Worcester, Mass. Children born in Bridgewater : Anna, Pamelia, Octava and Carter. Benjamin Perkins married Demis Jones, June 10, 1784, in Colchester, Conn. Children : Demis, born in Colchester ; Fanny, Betsey, Irene and Melvine, born in Bridgewater. Benjamin Perkins died February 25, 1813. Samuel Haw- kins married Betsey Miller, May 4, 1796. Children : Lucy, Laura, Ann, Julia, Betsey. James Walker married Reny Parmenter, February 6, 1794. Children: Roswell, Horace, Rodolphus, Orrin, Alden, Fanny, Nelson, Man- dana, and Fanny. David Thompson married Betsey Leech, December 17, 1795, in Massachusetts. Children, born in Bridgewater: Alvinzy, Eunice, Edwin, Calista, Ovid and Roxelona. Abel Thompson married Polly Stacy, December 5, 1799. Children : Patty, Hosea, Anna, Oliver H., Noah, Elihu and Polly. Thomas Vickory Vose and Sarah Little were married December 20, 1781, in New Hampshire. Children : Elizabeth, Phebe

' No record given of date of marriage.

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TOWN OF BRIDGEWATER.

V., Samuel, Roger I., Thomas V., (last three born in Hartland, Vt.,) John, Sally H. M., Esther, Joseph and Gilman. Isaiah Shaw married Abigail Tinkham. Children : Isaac, Rebecca, Abijah (daughter), Isaiah ; by second marriage, with Anna Stacy, (ceremony performed by Benja- min Perkins, J. P.,) Michael, Moses, Enoch, Rufus, Ansel, Gideon, Franklin, Alonzo and John, all boys. Elihu Smith married Susanna Grow, November, 1799. Children : Lorenzo, Minerva, William and Philander. Samuel Vaughn and Ruth Bowker were married February 14, 1799. Children : Elizabeth, Samuel, Mary, Marcy, Joanna and Jer- emiah. Selah Montague and Electa Winter were married January II, 1787. Children : Betsey, Clarissa, David, Moses, David, Daniel, Otis, Electa, Rosena, Laura. Selah Montague died May 17, 1812. Richard Southgate and Phebe Raymond were married March 1, 1799. Children : Richard W., Phebe, Napoleon B., Marquis L., Caroline E., Julia, Will- iam B., Giles, Winfield Scott, Peter B., Porter and Mercy Emily. Na- thaniel Miller and Betsey Lewis were married in Massachusetts, October 20, 1794. Children : John, Ansel, Abigail, Lewis, Betsey, Nelson, Nathaniel, John, Oliver H. P. and James Monroe. "Progney " of Joshua Woodbury and Eunice, his wife: Nancy, Polly, Eunice, Lucy, Sally, Melinda, Eunice, Joshua, Betsey, and one other that died un- named.

These, then, were the pioneers of Bridgewater, and, it is believed, the majority of them. But, in order to present them to the reader, the names of as many as possible of those who dwelt in the town during its pioneer period, who took part in its earlier affairs, and from whom were descended the great multitude of residents of after years, and many of the present day, there has been prepared the following list. It purports to be, and is a roll of, the qualified freemen of the town, prepared by the authorities of the town, to show who were entitled to vote at the town elections. Similar lists to this are prepared prior to the State elections, by the board of civil authority. The list copied here was dated Sep- tember 1, 1801, and is believed to contain the name of each qualified elector of Bridgewater entitled to vote at the election next ensuing, and is as follows :

Amos Mendall, Joseph Hawkins, Thomas Southgate, James Topliff, Thomas Palmer, Benoni Shaw, Isaiah Shaw, John Palmer, Eleazer Mea-

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

cham. William Grois, James Southgate, Joseph French, Isaac Jones, Jonathan White, Jeremiah Thomas, Zebulon .Thomas, Benjamin Perkins, James Pierce, Ariel Jones, Selah Montague, James Fletcher, Zachariah Barrett, Joseph Perkins, Ariel Jones, jr., Barnabas Thomson, Robert Palmer, Ivory Bostworth, Zebina Eaton, Thomas Eastman, George Wash- burn, Abner Jones, John Walker, James Walker, John Foster, Elijah Walker, Elkanah, Job and Daniel Shaw, George Boyce, Stephen Rice, Aaron French, Elisha Gillette, Joseph Boyce, Cephas Sheldon, Challis Safford, Gideon Maxham, John Gaylord, Richard Southgate, jr., John Strong, Lemuel Gibbs, David Maxham, William Lamb, Jedediah Damon, Nathaniel Miller, Jonathan Pratt, Cyrus Perkins, David Thomson, Noah Thomson, jr., Renel Simmons, John Ayres, Stephen Woodward, Enoch Young, Wade Jones, James Woodward, Ezra French, Ichabod Churchill, Joseph Benson, Aaron Lamb, John Harris, Samuel Harris, Stephen Gibbs, William Pierce, Josiah Gibbs, Henry Hakett, Nathan Avery, Willard Lamb, Abisha Bingham, Reuben Washburn, Abner Woodward, Samuel Babcock, Isaac Osgood, Abel Thomson, Joshua Leonard, Phineas Sanderson, jr., Abithar Polland, John Pratt, second, Samuel Keech, Job Hoisington, Stephen Slater, William White, Noah Thomson, Abel Tracy, John Hawkins, jr., and Daniel Barrows.

In 1780 the town had a population of not more than six or eight fam - lies, perhaps less ; but in 1791, the time of taking the first Federal cen- sus, there were two hundred and ninety-three persons in Bridgewater, or, in families, about fifty. From this time settlement increased rapidly for many years, each census showing a greater number of residents than that preceding, until the year 1840, at which time the maximum of 1, 363 was reached. Since the last named census, that of 1840, the population of the town has been gradually diminished until the enumeration of 1880, which showed the town to have but 1,084 inhabitants. The greatest ratio of gain was between the years 1791 and 1800, the increase being from 293 to 781.

Thus it was during the first half century of the town's occupation by settlers and their descendants that its greatest strides of advancement and improvement were made. During the last fifty years hundreds of people, most of them young and energetic men, have left their native homes and taken up their abode in other States, mainly in the great

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TOWN OF BRIDGEWATER.

western country. In this decrease of population Bridgewater does not stand alone, for a majority of the towns in the county, and perhaps in State, have experienced a similar reduction.

The history of the growth, progress and development of the town of Bridgewater during the present century has been much the same as of other towns similarly situated. During the period of the Revolutionary war the locality was so sparsely settled as to attract no notice from the civil and military authorities of the new State, and it is not known that any volunteers were sent from the town during that contest; but it is known and understood that some of the men who were engaged in the service during that time afterward became residents of Bridgewater. However, in the second war with Great Britain there was the same dis- cussion here as elsewhere throughout the State, and the town contrib- uted of its militia and other men for that service, as well as to raise ad- ditional funds for the purpose of supplying recruits and other necessaries for military operations.

But the town of Bridgewater enjoyed one period of excitement not experienced by any other of the towns of the State; and that promised to rival the agitation occasioned by the outbreak of the gold fever in the far West. In fact, the feeling at that time was said to have been some - thing the same as in California, but it is doubtful if the local excitement had any noticeable effect in staying the westward tide of emigration. It seems, according to the oft-repeated tale of this wonderful discovery, that one Matthew Kennedy by accident became possessed of the fact that gold lay hidden in the depths of Mount Hope, but shrewdly kept the matter secret until he was able to possess himself of the title to the val- uable tract. Then the fact leaked or rather poured out, and each state- ment of the extent of the deposit doubled upon its predecessor, until, at length, it became understood that the golden treasures of the town were of incalculable value, all of which brought the greatest gratifica- tion to the crafty Kennedy. But the gold deposits of Bridgewater were not wholly imaginary, for the precious metal did lay hidden there, but the quantity of it was-well, never underestimated.

Mr. Kennedy was induced to sell out, and soon thereafter a mining company was organized, built mills and crushers and what not of the necessary appendages for extensive mining operations, and then the

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

practical work was commenced. Affairs progressed well for a time- all such do -- but soon there came a decline, and finally an end. Some gold was found, but the general public never learned of its quantity- and probably never will. But these were glorious years for the town, and were enjoyed to the fullest extent by the merchant and farmer alike; but when the tide once turned, Bridgewater resumed much of its former condition.

During the war of 1861-65, more commonly known as the war of the Rebellion, the town of Bridgewater is credited with having furnished the aggregate number of one hundred and twenty-five men, who were scattered through some fourteen or fifteen different regiments, and sev- eral in the navy. Of this number seventy-seven were recruits for the three years' service; six for one year ; twenty-seven for nine months ; eight in the navy and seven more were credited, but not named. Six men in the town furnished substitutes, and fifteen were drafted and paid commutation. A complete roll of the men of Bridgewater, who entered the service during the war, will be found in Chapter X. of this volume.

Agriculture and manufacturing have been the leading pursuits of the people of Bridgewater from its very earliest occupation ; but it would be a thing impossible to recall the names of each and every person en- gaged in either of these industries in the town, nor would it be deemed advisable to do so could it be accomplished. There is hardly a stream, great or small, within the bounds of the town but had on its banks some kind of a mill or factory, and these have come and gone with each suc- ceeding generation.

In the town at the present time are no less than a dozen manufactur- ing industries, some large and others small, but all, nevertheless, add to the town's wealth and prosperity. At the little village of Bridgewater are the industries owned and carried on by F. S. Mackenzie, the one an extensive woolen manufactory, and the other a lumber-mill. At Bridge- water Corners, so called, are the chair-stock factories of W. C. Bugbee, Mansell Heselton & Sons, H. G. Ashton, G. & A. O. Dailey, and H. H. Hubbard, and the lumber-mills of Austin Howard, A. D. Barrows, and the scythe-stick factory of Herbert Johnson. And at West Bridgewater are the chair-stock factories of J. N. Madden and R. D. Bridge.

Bridgewater is a small village situate in the southeastern part of the

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TOWN OF BRIDGEWATER.

town, near the Woodstock line, having a school, post office, and the shops and stores usually found in the smaller and less thickly populated towns of the State.

Bridgewater Corners is another hamlet, situate about one and one- half miles farther west than the village last named, and is, perhaps, the more important of the two in point of number of industries.

West Bridgewater lies in the extreme southwest corner of the town, and has a post-office, the two industries above mentioned, and one or two stores.

The little settlement located in the central part of the town, and known as Bridgewater Center, was once a scene of busy activity, and that during the days of the gold mining operations. Then it was the most important hamlet of the town, but with the decline of the excitement and the abandonment of the mines the settlement relapsed into its former state. All of the villages of the town, except the Center, are located along the Quechee River, from which excellent water power is derived by diverting the waters of that stream; still, to some extent, steam is used as an auxiliary power.

Bridgewater Mills .- The first person to utilize the waters of the Que- chee River at Bridgewater, for manufacturing purposes, was Richard Southgate. He was from Massachusetts and came to Bridgewater in 1784, and took an active part in developing the early settlement of that town. In 1786 he built a dam across the Quechee, which was situated about ten rods west of the present dam at Bridgewater. He there car- ried on for a number of years a saw and grist-mill. Mr. Southgate had a family of six children, of whom three were sons, viz .: Richard, Thomas and James, who were at different times connected with their father in business. The property finally passed into the hands of B. F. South- gate, a son of the Thomas mentioned above. About 1825 he built a new dam across the river, which was located on the site of the present one, and also erected a building which was equipped with wood-working machinery. There was just east of this building at this time a black- smith shop and in 1828 Mr. Southgate, with a Mr. White, built a build- ing on the site of the present mills and manufactured cotton yarn, which they continued till 1835. This enterprise did not prove a success, and after remaining idle a short time the premises were occupied by Samuel

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

Ford and Samuel Moulton under the firm name of Ford & Moulton, a Mr. Hutchinson also being a member of the firm. At this time the building then used as a dry-house and which is now the west wing of the building was built. Mr. Southgate continued to own the saw-mill till February 4, 1871, when he sold it to Dartt & Goldsmith, who disposed of it August 27, 1872, to Frank S. Mackenzie, the present owner. The grist-mill property was purchased by a number of different parties and finally was bought by Mr. Mackenzie. The building built by Mr. South- gate and used by him in the wood-working business, with the blacksmith shop, also the dam, was carried away in the flood of 1869. Ford & Moulton continued to manufacture cloths for a number of years and mills were afterwards operated by New York parties. In 1845 Ammi Williard and William H. Lemmex came into possession of the property. The former was a resident of South Woodstock ; the latter was a manufacturer at Hartland, but relinquished his business in that town and became a res- ident of Bridgewater in 1848. The mill, excepting what is now the west wing, was totally destroyed by fire in the winter of 1852, and was re- built the succeeding summer. The mill at this time had two sets of cards and black doe skins were manufactured. Mr. Williard subse- quently disposed of his interest to his partner, who sold it in 1866 to Luther C. White of Windsor. The business was continued from this time till January 1, 1872, by Mr. White, he having during a part of the time James C. Converse, of Boston, as partner, though the latter held no interest in the real estate. On the date mentioned above Frank S. Mackenzie of Woodstock formed a co-partnership with Mr. White under the firm name of White & Mackenzie. This firm manufactured black doe skins and flannels, but after the first year the former article was dis- continued. The co-partnership was dissolved January 1, 1880, Mr. Mackenzie becoming sole proprietor and has since that time continued to run the business. In 1873 another set of cards was added and in 1875 the fourth set was put in operation ; also in the same year the brick building located at the south end of the mills was built and the change was made from narrow to broad looms. Increasing demand for the prod - ucts of the mill required the purchasing of another set of cards in 1880, and in 1887 the mills were supplied with the sixth set. The capacity of the works was doubled in 1885 by the erection of the new wooden build -

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History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 60

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass. ed. cn; Holmes, Frank R Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 1260

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass. ed. cn; Holmes, Frank R
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1260