USA > Vermont > Windsor County > History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 70
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
Kingsbury, Homer S., son of William, was born in Chester, June 24, 1853, and mar- ried Lorette A. Woodbury. They have six children : Trazer W., Alfred W., Bradley L., James J., Ede L., and Marietta A. Mr. Kingsbury resides in Cavendish.
Marsh, Jacob, was born November 26, 1771, and married Lydia Kingsley. About the first of the present century he came to Plymouth, Vt., where he died December 1, 1833. His children were Jacob, who died at Sugar Grove, Pa .; Daniel, died at the age of thirty-two years, single; Levi, died at Sugar Grove, Pa .; Ara, died in West Brattle- boro, Vt .; Jared ; Susan (deceased), married David French; Lydia (deceased), married Samuel Earl; Hannah, died young; Horace, died at Plymouth, Vt .; Alden, died at Youngsfield, Pa .; Laura (deceased), married Hugh Kennedy ; Andelina (deceased), was twice married, first to Leonard Baldwin, second to David Conant; James Kingsley. who resides at North Hadley, Province of Quebec, Canada.
Marsh, Jared, son of Jacob, was born in Guilford, Vt., April 2, 1800, and left Ply- mouth in 1867, and became a resident of Chester. He married Almira, the widow of his brother, Horace. They had three daughters: Viola, wife of Dr. D. F. Cooledge, of Ludlow, Vt .; Lydia Ella, wife of Henry W. Spafford, of Rutland, Vt .; Myra, wife of B. F. Whelden, of Ludlow, Vt. He died May 7, 1885.
Marsh, Horace, son of Jacob, was born in Plymouth, Vt., March 30, 1807, and mar- ried Almira Eaton. They had one child, Jacob H. Horace died June 4, 1843.
Marsh, Jacob II., son of Horace, was born in Plymouth, Vt., April 18, 1842. Losing his father when he was only thirteen months old, he was brought up by his stepfather. lle married Hattie M., daughter of William Kingsbury, October 26, 1870. They have one child, Gertie Winifred.
Marsh, Frederick W., the third son of Asa and Elizabeth (Hall) Marsh, was born at Chesterfield, N. H., January 14, 1831. He engaged in mercantile business at London derry, Vt., in 1852, and became a partner in the firm of J. L. Pierce & Co. This part- mership continned until 1859. In the spring of 1864 he became a resident of Chester, and in the following year became a partner with P. H. Robbins, under the firm name of Robbins & Marsh, which continued twenty-four years. Mr. Marsh married for his first wife Mary Jane Robinson, of Boston. His second wife was Ellen M. Allen, of Boston They have one child, George F.
Sargent, Ezra, a son of Ezra, one of the early settlers of Chester, was born May 24. 1777, and died May 25, 1856. He married Betsey Putnam and had ten children, viz .: Edward O .; Eliza, died young; Eliza (deceased), married, first, Abner Field, second, Ezra Dean; Mary (deceased), married Weber Andrews; Harriet (deceased), married John F. Hawkes; Alfred ; Esther, widow of Silas Richardson, resides in Waukesha, Wis .; Ezra Putnam, died in Chicago. Ill .; Julia, wife of Silas Sawyer, of Waukesha, Wis .; and J. Harvey, a resident of Westminster, Vt.
Sargent, Edward O., son of Ezra, was born in Chester, August 4, 1801, and married Joanna Atwood. They had five children, viz .: Augusta B., wife of Abraham Dodge, of Chester ; Edward, resides in Omro. Wis .; Ellen, wife of N. A. Child, of Temple, N. H .; Mary Jane, died young ; and Atwood. Edward O. died February 26, 1872.
Sargent, Atwood, son of Edward O., was born at Chester, November 26, 1841, and married Mary F. Wyman, of Granville, N. Y. Their four children are Ruth, Alice A., Mary G. and Julia.
697
TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD.
Sherwin, David A., was born at Windham, Vt., October 9, 1814, and married for his first wife Caroline Perry, by whom he had one child, Ann, who married Henderson Blanchard. He came to Chester in 1838, and engaged in the mercantile business. Ile died August 20, 1865.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD.
T HIS town derived its name from the town of the same name in Con- necticut, though there is a difference in the spelling of the names of the two towns. The fact that the early settlers were from that part of Connecticut establishes beyond a doubt the origin of the town's name. It is located in the southeastern part of the county, being north of Springfield, east of Baltimore and Cavendish, south of West Windsor and Windsor, and west of the Connecticut River. On the banks of the latter there are located in the town large tracts of arable lands which constitute some of the best farms in the State. Towards the northern and western parts of the town the surface becomes more broken and mountainous, a part of the Ascutney Mountain, which has a height of 3,320 feet, being located in the northern portion, while the Little Ascut- ney Mountain with a height of 1,200 feet is situated in the northwest corner. In the western part of the town is located a part of the Hawks Mountains. Besides these there are a number of hills, the most prom- inent being Golden, Downer's and Camp. In the southeastern part of the town the Connecticut River makes a bend, which is called " the Bow," on account of its resemblance to an ox-bow. Throughout the town small water-courses abound, those located in the eastern part emptying into the Connecticut, while in the western portion they empty into the Black River, the course of the latter extending over several miles of the town.
Early History .- Weathersfield was granted by King George III., through Benning Wentworth, on August 20, 1761, to the following per- sons : Gideon Lyman, Daniel Lyman, Daniel Lyman, jr., Joseph Little, Samuel Miles, Samuel Miles, jr., Enos Alling, James Rice, Joseph Trow- bridge, Roswell Woodward, Thomas Trowbridge, Abraham Thomp-
88
698
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
son, jr., Phineas Lyman, Abraham Thompson, Jacob Thompson, Ste - phen Alling, Gideon Lyman, jr., James Stoner, Silvanus Bishop, John Mix, John Pierrepont, John Bradley, jr., Phineas Bradley, Elijah Lyman, John Cornell, Benjamin Alling, Lemuel Hotchkiss, John Nelson, Josiah Bradley, Hezekiah Parmele, jr., John Austin, Israel Munson, Joel Gil- bert, Joseph Thompson, Caleb Gilbert, Joseph Dorman, Timothy Potter, Ebenezer Johnson, Silas Wright, Phineas Lyman, of Hadley, Naomi Lyman, John Lyman, jr., George Lyman, Benjamin Sheldon, William Kennedy, Reuben Wright, Eleazer Burt, Elnathan Wright, Ephraim Wright, jr., Theodore Aktinson, M. W. Wentworth, Bildad Wright, Elias Lyman, Nathaniel Phelps, Benning Wentworth, John Nelson, H. Hall Wentworth, Wiseman Claggett, Samuel Bishop, jr., Joseph Woos- ter, and Theodore Atkinson, jr.
The original grant, after setting forth the boundaries, stated that it contained 23,000 acres, and was subject to a number of conditions, some of which are the following: When the town had a population of fifty families a public market was to be held one or more days each week, at a place most advantageous to the inhabitants. Liberty was given to hold fairs ; also, the first meeting of the grantees should be held on the third Tuesday in September, 1761, Gideon Lyman being appointed modera- tor. Annual meetings were to be held on the second Tuesday in March thereafter for choice of officers. Every grantee was obliged to cultivate five of every fifty acres granted every five years. All the white and pine timber fit for masting the royal navy was to be carefully preserved for that purpose, nor could it be cut without a special license. A portion of the grant near the center was to be laid out into town lots. A tax of one ear of corn was levied for ten years, first payment to be made De- cember 25, 1762, upon the grant, and after that time each proprietor, settler, or inhabitant to pay one shilling for every hundred acres, and for a greater or less quantity the proportional part of such tax. The grant was divided into sixty-eight shares, and 500 acres were set aside for church and school purposes.
The persons who received the patent were principally residents of New Haven, Conn., and Northampton, Mass., and in pursuance of the requirements of the charter their first meeting was held on Sep- tember 16, 1761, at the dwelling house of Daniel Lyman, in New Ha-
699
TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD.
ven. Samuel Bishop, jr., was elected clerk and treasurer, and a com- mittee consisting of Phineas Bradley, Abraham Thompson, and Joseph Thompson, of New Haven, Phineas Lyman, of Hadley, and Silas Wright, of Northampton, were appointed to view and lay out the town according to the charter, and a tax of twelve shillings on each right was voted to defray this expense, payable October 10, 1761. At another meeting held at the same place on December 3, 1761, a committee ap- pointed at the previous meeting, consisting of David Lyman and Sam- uel Bishop, jr., reported that they had made arrangements with Captain Eliakim Hale, of Wallingford, Conn., to go to Portsmouth, N. H., and for him to take all means possible to prevent any waste of timber located in the town, and to secure the same from any depredations, or from any person cutting masts for the royal navy. This action of the committee was approved, and money was voted to defray all expenses of the same. At various meetings held during the latter part of 1761, and early in 1762, an allotment of the town was made, it being divided into three divisions. The first division was to consist of thirteen acres, the second of fifty acres, and the third of one hundred acres, and the town was afterwards surveyed and a plat made and duly recorded. A tax of one pound four shillings was levied on each right, payable January 1, 1762, John Austin being appointed collector for the proprietors of New Ha- ven, and John Lyman, jr., for all others. The first annual meeting of the proprietors was held March 22, 1762, at New Haven. Phineas Bradley was chosen moderator, and Samuel Bishop, jr., clerk. It was resolved that action should be taken looking to an actual settlement of the town. Clearings were to be made, two public highways laid out, and a saw-mill built. Daniel Lyman, Thomas Wilmot and David Aus- tin were appointed assessors.
For a number of years afterwards no actual settlements were made, though the proprietors continued to hold meetings and offer as induce- ment to settlers a twenty-acre lot free to any one building a house in the town ; also, to any one starting a saw-mill, a set of irons delivered at the block-house in Springfield, and a thirteen-acre lot, on condition that the saw-mill be kept in operation fifteen years. The rights were taxed at various times, but at a meeting held in March, 1764, it was voted that a tax of nine shillings on each right be levied for the purpose of paying
700
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
Benjamin Alling for work he had done on the road from the river up- wards of three miles in the town. Also to continue the road to the Crown Point road, and lay out highways north and south. At this time the famous controversy arose between the provincial government of New Hampshire and that of New York in reference to the territory ly- ing west of the Connecticut, which was decided by George III. in favor of New York. The provincial governor of that province thereupon created Cumberland county, and began issuing patents for land. A pe- tition was addressed by the proprietors of Weathersfield, October 17, 1766, to Lieutenant-Governor Colden, of New York, claiming that they had been to a great expense in allotting the town, had cleared and cul- tivated a portion of the lands, erected a number of houses, and asked to be protected while accomplishing the work incident to a pioneer settle- ment. A census of Cumberland county, taken in 1770, shows that the population of Weathersfield was twenty souls.
By the foregoing facts it will be seen that there were but a few set- tlers in Weathersfield previous to 1770, and the first settlement could not have taken place in 1761, as has been stated in other works. On April 30, 1772, the territory comprising Weathersfield, and calling for 21,000 acres, was by letters patent, given by Governor William Tryon, of New York, granted to the following persons : Daniel Lyman, Medad Lyman, Enos Allen, James Rice, Roswell Woodward, Abraham Thomp son, jr., Samuel Bishop, jr., John Mix, John Pierrepont, John Bradbury, jr., Phineas Bradley, John Cornell, Samuel Hotchkiss, Jonah Bradley, Hezekiah Parmele, jr., John Austin, Israel Munson, Joel Gilbert, Joseph Thompson, Caleb Gilbert, Abraham Thompson, and Joseph Dorman.
The last meeting of the proprietors was held March 16, 1773, and Dan Tuttle, of Wallingford, Conn., was given the privilege to erect a saw-mill on the conditions heretofore described. Benjamin Alling, Moses Alling, Gershom Tuttle, William Rexford, and Aaron Blackslee, having become settlers and fulfilled the conditions, were granted the twenty acres promised and their titles confirmed.
The First Town Meeting .- Below is given a copy of the warrant is sued to call the first town meeting :
"Record of a Warrant for a Town Meeting :- These are to notify and warn all the freeholders and other inhabitants of the Township of Weath- ersfield, that they elect and meat at The Dwelling house of Garshom
S .. IlT.L.
Intra the Mexsich 0
701
TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD.
Tuttle in The town afore said and County of Cumberland To chuse such officers as are mentioned viz. one Supervisor, two Assessors, two Col- lectors, Two Overceyers of the poor, three Commissioners for laying out hiways, also so many Surveyors or overseers of hiways as the inhabit- ents shall see Necessary, two fence Vewers, and four Constables. You are to meat the third tuisday Instant to chiuse said officers and the fourth Tuisday to send your Supervisor to the County House in Chester hereof fail not. Given under my hand this Eleventh Day of May, in twelfth yeare of his Majesty Reign Anadominy 1772.
" SIMON STEVENS Justis Peace."
In obedience to this warrant the voters of Weathersfield assembled on May 19, 1772, and elected the following officers: Dan Tuttle, mod- erator ; William Upham, town clerk ; Dan Tuttle, supervisor ; Elipha- let Spafford and William Richardson, assessors; Benoni Tuttle and Gershom Tuttle, collectors ; Benjamin Alling and Aaron Blackslee, overseers of the poor ; Dan Tuttle, William Richardson and William Upham, commissioners for laying out highways; Benjamin Alling, Aaron Blackslee and Joseph Douglass, surveyors of highways ; Will- iam Upham and Moses Alling, fence viewers ; Timothy Parkhurst, Be- noni Tuttle, Eliphalet Spafford and Gershom Tuttle, pound-keepers.
While the Revolutionary war was in progress the controversy over land titles was in a measure suspended. The affairs of the settlers were managed by committees in the various towns, who, when occasion re- quired, met in general convention to provide for common defense and general welfare. Weathersfield was represented in these conventions in 1775 and 1776 by Oliver Kidder, Hezekiah Grout, Israel Burlingame and William Upham. The decrees of these conventions were regarded as law, and violations were severely punished.
As the country became more thickly settled it was apparent that bet- ter organization was necessary, and a convention was called to meet at Windsor on June 4, 1777. Weathersfield was represented by Hezekiah Grout. Before this, Congress had been addressed by the settlers who had declared they were unwilling to any longer be regarded as subjects of New York. The convention favored forming an independent State, but when this action was submitted to the inhabitants of Weathersfield, June 23, 1777, they voted to yield obedience to the laws of New York, until by some legal authority, or by advice of the Continental Congress,
702
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
they were put into some other State. In the latter part of 1777 they refused to send any delegate to the county committee. But, notwith- standing this, the independent State of Vermont was organized and the town meeting of April 8, 1778, was under the laws of that State.
The first representative to the General Assembly was Israel Burlin- game, elected in 1778. He held the office for a number of successive years.
The first State tax, which amounted to ten shillings on every one hun- dred acres, and in the same proportion for a greater or less quantity, was levied by the General Assembly of 1781, and on May 21, 1782, at the house of Daniel Graves, a public vendue was held and a large num - ber of lots disposed of for non-payment of taxes.
After the close of the war settlers were attracted to the town and Weathersfield gradually increased in population. At a meeting held in 1785 there were fifty-seven votes cast on important measures, and in 1786 hogs, which had heretofore been permitted to run at large with a ring and yoke, were by law restricted and roamed no more of their own free will. The population continued to increase, and when the census of 1791 was taken there were 1, 146 inhabitants.
The census of the three years, 1800, 1810, 1820, shows a healthy growth, the population being in those years 1,944, 2, 115 and 2,301, respectively. From this time to the present there has been a gradual decrease, there being nothing to attract new settlers and little to retain her own enterprising sons and daughters. The following are the census returns : 1830, 2,213 ; 1840, 2,002 ; 1850, 1,851; 1860, 1,765; 1870, 1,557 ; 1880, 1,354.
According to the taxes levied in 1889 there were 290 persons who paid poll tax. The area of the town was 25, 192 acres. Value of real estate, $493,012 ; value of personal property, $213, 146 ; making a total of $764,218.
Early Settlers .- As before stated the first person located within the town was Benjamin Alling, who in 1764 did some work on a road from the river to the center of the town. No actual settlement was made at this time, and it was not until 1769 that he, with Moses Alling, Gershom Tuttle, William Rexford and Aaron Blackslee, made a permanent settle- ment, locating in the eastern and southern portions of the town.
703
TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD.
From the time of the first settlement to the breaking out of the War for Independence the town was settled slowly ; but by the town records we find that Captain William and Asa Upham came from Sturbridge, Mass., settling in the center of the town in 1772. Also, Dan Tuttle, Eliphalet Spafford, William Richardson, Benoni Tuttle, Joseph Doug- lass and Timothy Parkhurst became residents of the town about this time. The next year the names of Amos Richardson, Christopher Brookett, Tucker Hart, Israel Burlingame, Oliver Kidder, Hezekiah Grout, John Marsh, Edward Grannis appear. Of these Oliver Kidder, Israel Burlingame and Hezekiah Grout took a very active part in town affairs. The latter located in the western part of the town and his wife was captured by the Indians, and re.nained a prisoner at Montreal for three years, but was finally ransomed and returned home.
William Dean, from Connecticut, settled in the northeastern part of the town in 1774, and was soon afterward arrested and taken to Albany for violating the conditions of the charter of the town in cutting down pine timber without a permit from the king's officers.
The war seems to have stopped all settlement, as only a few new set- tlers made their appearance between 1775 and 1780, the only new names found on the records being Asaph Butler, Levi Stevens, John White, Samuel Lewis and Abraham Downer. Of these the first two were elected members of the first board of selectmen of the town.
During 1780 and the two following years a number of new settlers located in different parts of the town. Among them were Thomas Hutchins, Abijah White, Josiah Hatch, Ambrose Cushman, Waters Chilson and Joseph Hubbard, the latter two being the first justices of the peace in the town. Nathaniel Stoughton came from Windsor, Conn., in 1780, and located in the western part of the town. About the same time Josiah and Daniel Dartt located in the center of the town. There were also a Joshua and Justus Dartt among the early settlers. The four Tolles brothers, Clark, David, Henry and John, located in the same year in the center of the town. About 1780 Oliver Diggins set- tled in the northwestern part of the town, and Stephen Steel and John Bennett located in the southeastern part. Edward Goodwin, in 1781, operated the only grist- mill.
Oliver Chamberlain, Samuel Newton and Thomas Dunphy located in the southwestern part of the town in 1781, and in the same year Joseph
704
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
Mason, Daniel Graves, Colonel Elijah Robinson, Thomas Prentice, Ger- shiom Clark and Benjamin Wooster also became residents.
In 1782 Captain John Williams came from Marlboro, Vt., and located about a mile from Perkinsville. In the same year the names Joseph Joslin, Gideon Lyman, Daniel Babcock, Asa Field, Samuel Cummings, David Polk, John Hill and Elijah Cady appear on the records as being residents of the town.
In the following year Amos Boynton, Gideon Chapin, David Paulk, Benjamin Warner, Samuel Sherman and Jonathan Nye moved into the town, and Colonel John Boynton and Levi Field located in the town in 1784, the latter settling about two miles west of Ascutneyville.
There were doubtless others who settled in the town during this term of years, but these are the most prominent and the ones who by their energy and industry accomplished much of the hard, laborious work in- cidental to the settlement of the town.
Early Religious Efforts and History of Churches .- As the early set- tlers became more numerous, endeavors were made at various times to establish a public house of worship in the town. If the early settlers wished to attend church they were obliged to cross the Connecticut River to Claremont, N. H. We find in the early town records certifi- cates from elders of the Baptist church of that place, claiming that Israel Burlingame, Asa Upham, William Deane, Abel Nutting, besides many others, were members of their congregations.
As early as 1780 a site for a church building was chosen and efforts inade to build. The matter was agitated at nearly every town meeting. In 1784 an invitation was extended to a Mr. Haskell to come and preach on probation. lIe did not accept and probably was not looking for that kind of an engagement. In 1785 a call was extended to Rev. Dan Foster, which was accepted, and he became in 1787 the first settled min- ister of Weathersfield, though Rev. James Treadwell preached in the town between 1779 and 1783.
Even in their religious bargains the early settlers seemed to have the spirit of making a good trade. Mr. Foster was to receive as a salary the sum of forty five pounds a year, to be paid one-third in cash; the balance in beef, pork and wheat. He was to receive an annual increase of five pounds until the salary amounted to seventy -five pounds a year, and was also allowed his fire wood, or, instead of that, an additional sum of
Francs Botayes
705
TOWN OF WEATHERSFIELD.
five pounds was paid. If for any cause the town did not live up to its agreement in the matter one hundred pounds was to be paid to Mr. Foster, in two years from the date of his installation. A tax of sixty pounds was raised to build a house for the reverend gentleman ; this residence was finished in the year 1785, and the first of January was named as the day on which he should receive his annual salary.
Though the inhabitants had thus built a parsonage and settled a min- ister they had not as yet any public house of worship. During the year 1786 certificates were recorded of Amos Boynton, Jonah Blackslee, Levi Hicks, Samuel Dike, John Burlingame, John Williams, Captain William Upham, and many others, showing that they were good and honorable members of the Baptist church.
The first church in the town was built at Weathersfield Center, the funds being raised by a land tax. Rev. Dan Foster continued to fill the pulpit until 1799, and was succeeded by Rev. James Converse, who was ordained February 10, 1802, and was pastor until his death, Janu ary 7, 1839.
In March, 1821, the meeting-house was destroyed by fire, and in the same year the Congregational society, which had been organized, built a brick edifice on the same site. Rev. Nelson Bishop was settled in 1840, but was dismissed in 1842. Since that time the pulpit has been supplied by Rev. C. W. Piper, Rev. Thomas H. Canfield and Rev. Alvah Spaulding; but for a large part of the time there was no settled minister.
From 1877 to 1889 the church was supplied by the Vermont Metho- dist Conference, the Revs. Olin Sherburne, L. E. Rockwell, F. W. Lewis, and J. S. Little being resident preachers three years each, excepting Mr. Rockwell, who remained over two years. During their pastorates these gentlemen supplied the pulpit of the Methodist church at Perkins- ville, preaching alternate Sundays in each place. Since the spring of 1889 the Domestic Mission Society has supplied the pulpit. The pres - ent membership including non-residents is forty-two.
The East Congregational Church of Weathersfield, located at Weath - ersfield Bow, was organized by a council of ministers, with fifty-seven members, April 11, 1838. The church edifice was built the previous year. Rev. Benjamin Holmes was the first pastor, and was succeeded
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.