USA > Vermont > Addison County > Cornwall > History of the town of Cornwall, Vermont > Part 5
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Mr. Bartholomew was accounted among his neighbors a man of eccentricities, some of which, as his farm adjoined my father's, I had in my childhood many opportunities of witnessing. In a spring near his house, he kept some fishos which were trained to come at his call, to Le fed. ITis cows also were trained to come at his call, whenever he took his stand at his back door and repeated their names. His haying he was accustomed to do with his own unaided hands. Sometimes he would cut and put up, in compact and well trimmed cocks, nearly his whole crop before moving any part of it. This done, he would tie up a cock at a time, and carry it upon his back to his stack, for his hay was too remote from his dwelling to be conveyed thither with his facilities for transportation, he returned for another and another to the end of his labor. When his stack became too high for him to place his hay upon it while standing on the ground, he used a ladder. When his hay was all gathered, and his stack completed, he was accustomed to go to the mountain, and bring thence a back load of white birch bark, with which he roofed it over. It used to be said that on one occa- sion, when he saw a shower approaching, he hastened to his house, brought his wife's umbrella, and stuck it in the top of his newly finished stack.
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
Mr. Bartholomew had a peculiar aversion to being dependent on others for aught that he could accomplish unaided. As an illustra- tion the following incident may be mentioned. On one occasion, my father with several men were at work in a field adjoining the mead- ow of Mr. Bartholomew, in which nearly his whole crop of bay was ready for the stack. As our team was standing unemployed, my father said to Mr. Bartholomew who was carting his hay after his fashion, upon his own back : " My team is standing idle, and if you please, one of my men may go over with it and help move your hay. It will save you much time time and labor."' -... "No, I thank you," was his reply, "I shall accomplish it myself very comfortably."
Mr. Bartholomew was attached to the Methodist denomination, and was accustomed to attend meeting in Middlebury, there being at the time no meeting of the kind in Cornwall. He always walked to meeting, and in summer, carried his shoes in his hand until he neared the place of meeting, when he put theni on as respectful to the place and the company.
He was a social man, and possessed much general intelligence .- Often he spent his winter evenings at my father's, always taking the precaution before leaving home, to fill his pockets with luscious apples, by way of indulging his fondness for contributing to the enjoyment of others.
Mr. Bartholomew was much given, withal, to writing poetry. In the loft of his barn which was rarely used for any other purpose, ho Was wont to court his Muse, and record the measures she indited.
He early published a volume of poetry of nearly a hundred pages, entitled "Will Wittling, or the Spoiled Child."#: It exhib- its in homely phraseology, but mostly in euphonious rhymes, a cor- rect picture of the effects of foolish parental partiality and indul- gence, as sometimes seen in fostering the passions of the child, which, unrestrained lead to crime, to infamy and sometimes to the scaffold. I quote a few lines :-
* Of this volume, I know of but a single copy, and that in a dilapidated con- dition. He composed another volume, it is said, which was never printed.
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" When truant fancy gains ascendlence Blind guides will offer their attendance ; And reason grown as blind as they, No more can hold its proper sway, Nor will, if blinded, interpose. Credulity a leader grows, And representing falsehood truc, Assent is given thereunto.
" This guide babituates the mind To follow, as it is inclined, Deceptive cheats, without suspense, And scorn impartial evilence.
" If lying fancy is our guide,
. And Reason's dietates laid aside, We willingly become deceived,
" Nor seek to have our minds relieved."
A specimen of Mr. Bartholomew's impromptu rhymes is pre- served in Judge Swift's history of Middlebury, which I take the liberty to copy. It was offered at a Christmas festival at the house of Judge Painter, in 1787.
" This place called Middlebury Falls, Is like a city without walls ; Surrounded 'tis by hemlock trees, Which shut out all its enemies. The pow wow now on Christmas day Which much resembles Indian's play, I think will never be forgotton, Till all the hemlock trees are rotten."
Having been disappointed in raising the fruits he desired, especi- ally peaches and grapes, Mr. Bartholomew removed about 1812 to Kentucky, where he resided until his deccase several. years after- wards, his only daughter having become the wife of one of the Gov- orners of that Commonwealth. Mr. B. sold to a Mr. Breckenridge of Charlotte, who soon sold to Abraham Williamson, in whose hands the farm remained until his death. In the settlement of his estate, it was assigned to his daughter, Mrs. Fisk.
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
CHAPTER VII.
1 LOCATION OF SETTLERS, -- ELIJAH DURFRY -- ELISHIA HURLBUT --- > THOMAS PRITCHARD-JAMES LANE-THOMAS TOLMAN, FIRST . SETTLED MINISTER -- SAMUEL BENTON -- JEREMIAH ROCKWELL- DAVID PARKILL-JOHN ROBBINS-ABRAHAM BALCOM-STEPHEN HOLLEY -- ASA WOODWARD-CALVIN TILDEN-LUTHER TILDEN -- WM. BAXTER-DAVID DAGGETT -- ISAAC KELLOGG-ABIAL ROGERS, ABIAL LINSLEY -- LEMUEL PEET-DANIEL RICHARDSON-STEPHEN TAMBLING-ISAIAHI GILBERT-LEMUEL TAMBLING.
On the west side of the road, between the land of Mr. Bartholo- mew and Nathan Foot Jr., Elijah Durfey settled at a very early day. Durfey was a cooper and was devoted to that business. IIc sold a part of his lot to Daniel How, who built just north of Mr. Foot, on land now belonging to Charles R. Ford. . The traces of both houses are still visible.
The farm on which Julius Hurlbut now lives, was originally pitched by Nathan Foot sen., and his son Daniel. Most of it was sold by Nathan Foot to Elizabeth Avery in 1786, and the remain- dler she bought of Daniel Foot the year following. In 1789, she sold to Elisha Hurlbut, the deed having the joint signatures of herself and her husband, Roger Avery.
Elisha Hurlbut was from Canaan, Conn. He first settled in the west part of the town, but having purchased the farm above named, removed to it, and lived upon it until his decease. He was in mil- Itary service in the revolutionary war, but the character or duration
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL,
of his service, I have not been able to ascertain. His widow draws a pension. He reared a large family of children. He was drown- ed near the "three mile bridge" in Middlebury, in 1824, aged 64 years.
Timothy Baker settled on the lot opposite Elisha Hurlbut, which was originally surveyed to Truman Wheeler. He had a large family. After his decease, which occurred about 1812, his farm was sold to William Hurlbut, its present owner. The first house of Mr. Baker was located on the old road elsewhere mentioned, some twenty or thirty fods cast of the present highway, after the opening of which he sold the land cast of it to Elisha Huribut, and built the house in which William Hurlbut now lives.
The small lot next south of Elisha Hurlbut, now owned by Shu- bael Ripley, was settled in 1791, by Thomas Pritchard, from Water- bury, Conn., who purchased of Timothy Baker and Daniel Foot. Mr. Pritchard built his first house on the east side of the lot upon what was then the main road. He was a blacksmith, and estab- lished himself in that business. He sold to Daniel Huntington in 1805, who soon sold to Ambrose Judd, also a blacksmith, who was succeeded by the present owner,
The farm of IIenry Lane, next south of Mr. Ripley, has already been mentioned as made up mostly of the pitch of Daniel Foot, who. sold to James Lane from Mansfield, Conn., in 1800. Mr. Lane died in July of that year, and was succeeded by his son Job, who died in 1860 at the age of 72, having been a cheerful and firm supporter of secular and religious order, and a valuable citizen. It may be remarked in regard to this farm, that the portion of it about thirty or forty rods in width, lying east of the present high- way, belonged originally to the ministerial right, the northern part of which bounded on the east by the line of the old road, embraced also the lands now owned west of the present road, by Henry Lanc, I. and A. Scarls and Dr. Porter.
The minister's lot of three hundred acres, assigned to Thomas Tolman as the first settled minister, besides the lands just men- tioned, embraced the farm now owned by Elias D. Pritchard. This was sold by Mr. Tolman to Joseph Daggett, from whom the title
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
passed through several hands to its present owner. Mr. Tolman's surveys also covered the farm of the late Thompson Potter, with a reservation of two and a half acres for a "meeting house green, or common." This farm was sold by Mr. Tolman to Lewis and James McDonald ; by them to Winant Williamson; by him to Sylvester Scott ; by him to Rev. Jedediah Bushnell. Each of these convey- ances recognizes the reservation of the " mecting house green," down to that which transferred the land to Mr. Bushnell.
Mr. Tolman built on that part of his land near the common, supposing evidently, as that was the proposed location of the meet- ing house, it would, of course, be the site of a village. His house was occupied by Mr. Bushnell till about the year 1816, when, with liberal aid from his people in the way of materials and labor, he erected the house which he afterward occupied, and which is now occupied by the family of the late Thompson Potter.
Samuel Benton in 1787 bought of Mr. Tolman all the "minis- terial right, pitched and unpitched, excepting two hundred acres." Relying upon this title he pitched fifty acres of land lying north of the road leading to David Parkill's, now owned by E. R. Rob- bins, the heirs of Thompson Potter and Dr. M. O. Porter, and about the same quantity west of the main road, running north to Tru- inan Wheeler, and west to Dr. Ford sen. Near a spring on the north side of the road to Mr. Parkill's and just east of Dr. Por- ter's orchard, he built a log house in which he lived a year or or two, and in 1789 sold to Jeremiah Rockwell. He also built on the opposite side of the road the spacious but somewhat dilapidated barn, which still remains, at present in the occupancy of Mr. Pot- ter's family. Samuel Benton first settled on the Creek, and is on that account reckoned an early settler of Middlebury. He remain- ed there, however, but a short time, when he removed to this town. He is mentioned in the records, at different periods, as Captain, Colonel and General Benton, and was for several years very active in town offices. No other inhabitant of Cornwall perhaps ever owned so much land. His surveys of pitches, in all parts of the town, based upon original rights which he claimed to have pur- chased, wholly or in part, cover pages of the Proprietors' records,
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL,
and his deeds given and received would fill a considerable volume. He was also the claimant of numerous lots of land in some of the adjacent towns.
He became eventually involved in perplexing and expensive liti- gation, growing out of his land speculations, and though he lived to advanced age, his last days were attended with embarrassment and depression. He removed from town many years before his de- cease. There will be frequent occasion to mention his name in noting the location of other settlers.
Jeremiah Rockwell became a permanent settler on the farm which he purchased of Benton, and built on the west side of the road. His first frame-house gave place, many years since, to that which Dr. Porter has recently remodeled and greatly improved. Mr. Rockwell, if living, resides in Canada, Two of his sons entered the ministry-Rev. Daniel Rockwell, a Congregationalist ; and Rev. Orson Rockwell, a Baptist.
In May, 1784, David Parkill from Weston, Mass., pitched one hundred acres, on which his son David now lives. He first settled in Rutland, but finding the title to his purchase defective, he fell in with the current of immigration which that year was setting strongly toward Cornwall. IIe built his first cabin near the site of the present buildings. In selecting his farm, and erecting his first house, he supposed he was upon the line of what would be the main north and south road through the town.
Mr. Parkill was soveral years in the army ; served with Massa- chusetts troops eighteen months ; was in New York on the arrival of the British forces, and was at the battle of Bennington. Ile enlist- ed a second time, and for his protracted services, his widow, who lived to the very advanced age of 91 years, received a pension, his own death having occurred before the tardy gratitude or justice of our country had offered this provision for the comfort of her brave defenders. A beautiful elm tree now stands near the house of Mr. Parkill, towering some sixty feet or more in height, on which Mrs. Parkill for many years after she commenced housekeeping, used to spread articles of clothing to dry. Though she lived near a century,
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
the tree which began life about the same period as herself, still lives in vigorous and hearty growth,
The farm of John Robbins, now owned by his son Ebenezer R. Robbins, situated just north of David Parkill's, was, as already intimated, a part of the pitch of Daniel Foot. Mr. Robbins was born in Killingly, Conn., but came to Cornwall from Amherst, Mass., and made his purchase in 1798. He died in 1831, aged 75 years.
The small lot on the east side of the road, now owned by Chas. R. Ford, just south of the school house, was a part of the farm of John Holley. This lot was sold by Mr. Holley to Winant Wil- liamson ; by Williamson to Cone Andrus, a house carpenter, and by him sold to Abraham Balcom who followed the same employ- ment. The dwelling was the first meeting house, erected by the town on the common already noticed as reserved for that purpose. After it ceased to be used as a house of worship, it was sold to Abrahain Balcom, who removed it from the other side of the way and converted it into a dwelling-house.
To the farm of John Holley, now occupied by Benj. Parkill, I again allude merely to notice, for the amusement of the reader, the transitions through which the title has passedl. It was pitched by Samuel Benton, and sold by him to Isaac Kellogg ; by Kellogg to Ashbel Cone; by Cone to Wm. Crocker ; by Crocker to Stephen Holley ; by S. Holley to John Holley : by John Holley to Eli Everts ; by Everts to Ephraim Andrus ; by Andrus to Wm. Slade ; assigned to Rebecca Slade as alimony, aul inherited by her son Norman B. Slade ; by him was sold to Daun'! B. Kinney ; by Kin- ney to Truman Eells, and by Eells to Benj. Parkill.
It would be possible to present a similar list of changes in regard to several other farms, which might interest some readers, but the perusal of the record would require more time and patience than most readers can command.
The farm cf Stephen Holley is now owned by David Parkill and E. R. Robbins. Mr. Holley possessed an athletic frame, and great ariness of purpose. He was one of the detachment of soldiers who accompanied Arnold in his perilous and exhausting march
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
through the wilderness of Maine to Quebec. He was in early life a carpenter, and many of the ancient buildings still exhibit the traces of his vigorous hand. He died in 1835 aged 79 years.
The farm on which C. B. Baxter and his mother now live, was settled by Asa Woodward, who bought of Samuel Benton in 1787 .* From his hands it passed to Luther Baxter, thence to his widow and son, the present occupants.
The original farm of Capt. Calvin Tilden, on what is known as " the island," was obtained by vendue title, and to it large ad- ditions were subsequently made. At a time when spinning wheels for flax and wool were indispensable in every family, Capt. Tilden was largely engaged in their manufacture, in which he was suc- ceeded by his son Luther. They were adapted, like those who used them, for service, and wherever in the vicinity these useful implements are found, they usually bear the indelible stamp of " Tilden." The southern portion of the farm having been deeded by Calvin Tilden to his son Luther, the remainder, after the decease of the father, passed under the management of another son, Levi F. Tilden, after whose death the whole became the property of the present owner, Hon. C. G., a son of Luther Tilden. Judge Tilden, after having served two years as assistant Judge of the County Court, was elected Judge of Probate for the District of Addison, of which office, by repeated re-elections he still remains the incum- bent.
South of Luther Tilden, William Baxter settled on a lot which he bought of Mitchel Kingman, in 1800; since owned by his son Chauncey Baxter, by the Messrs. Rufus, Horace J., and Lorin C. Mead, and now by the Hon. Rollin J. Jones.
On the extreme south part of the island, David Dagget bought a lot of Mitchel Kingman in 1798, and settled upon it. It was also
*Woodward had a deel in usual form from Samuel Benton. He also had a deed of the same land from a collector of a land tax, in consideration of his having bid it off for the tax, at an auction sale. Several similar cases occurred, from which we may infer that settlers when doubtful respecting the validity of their titles, choce to make them secure, by acquiring what was commonly called a " vendue title." This, when given in conformity with law, no one presumed to question.
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL ..
temporarily occupied by Henry Dagget. This lot was afterward owned by Luther Tilden, and now belongs to his son Rev. Lucius L. Tilden.
The earliest settler of whom I find any mention as residing on the place of the late Linus Everts, is Isaac Kellogg, He was there as early as 1785, but the time of his continuance there I cannot ascertain. Mr. Everts resided there many years, repeatedly serving the town as constable and collector. At the time of his death he had scarcely passed the period of middle age. His widow still survives.
The farm of Judge Linsley, whose location has already been mentioned, embraced the land on which the meeting house stands, together with the common adjoining, and the burying ground. The common and the site of the meeting house were his gift. For the burying ground as originally laid out, (it has since been enlarged) he received from the town "thirty-five shillings per acre."
He sold to Abial Rogers the lot north of the burying ground, which is now occupied by the store and dwelling-house, and by the buildings of Samuel Everts, Esq. The house connected with the store was built by Rogers, who established himself as a saddler and harness maker. The house of Mr. Everts was subsequently built by Julius Delong, who purchased a part of the lot as a build- ing site, and established himself in the business of tanning and shoemaking. His tannery was located on the spot now occupied by the aged Mr. Walker Linsley, and his son-in-law Mr. Guernsey, and his shop transformed and enlarged, was for several years occu- pied by Joseph Myers as a dwelling, and is thus used by its pres- ent occupants.
The lot on which Zebulon Jones now lives, was bought of Judge Linsley by Nathan Stowell, from Ashford, Conn., who came to Cornwall in 1796. He kept a tavern on the premises until his death. He was succeeded by John Alvord, C. H. Stowell, Col. Harmon Samson and several others for short periods. Chauncey II. Stowell, a son of Nathan Stowell, erected the present buildings, which, however, have been differently arranged, modified and im- proved by subsequent omnors, particularly by Col. Samson, and
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
Sylvester B. Rockwell. For some years past the house has not been kept open as a tavern.
About the time of Judge Linsley's return to Cornwall after the war, his father, Abial Linsley and his brother Abial, became his fellow-settlers. Ilis brother at first joined him in building a log house sufficiently spacious to accommodate two families, and when, Le Clinton at length, Judge Linsley built the house in which A. J. Benedict halo.v. (now lives, his brother Abial built nearly opposite, on the site recently occupied by Norman B. Slade, and now by Joseph Robbins. After a few years residence in Cornwall, Abial Linsley removed to Augusta, Oneida Co., N. Y.
Abial Linsley sen., as I am informed by his grandson, Horace Linsley, Esq., now of Barre, N. Y., was engaged before the revolu- tionary war, in trade with the Indians, on the borders of Lake Erie. At the time of his removal to Cornwall, he was considerably advanced in years. He died in 1800, aged 70 years. He built a house on a small lot just north of Esq. Slade's, now Reuben P.Hall's, on the west side of the road. The house has long since disappeared.
On or near the spot now occupied by Frederic Frost and son, Lemuel Pect, a son-in-law of Ebenezer Stebbins, built a house at an early day. He died recently at advanced age. Ilis widow to whom I have already had occasion to allude, at the age of 84 years still lives, the occupant of her father's dwelling. Lemuel Peet was the father of Rev. Lyman B. Peet, a missionary in China.
The homestead of Mr. Stebbins now mostly the property of his grandson, Lorin S. Peet, who resides upon it, is situated about half a mile eastward of the school house, No. 3.
The house now occupied by Anna Foot was built by Daniel Rich- ardson, a blacksmith, a son-in-law of Mr. Stebbins.
The house recently owned and occupied by Chauncey Baxter, was built by Stephen Tambling, who came to Cornwall and made a pitch the year after the war. This has since been owned by Josiah T. Scott and others.
Very nearly opposite on the east side of the road, a house was erected at an early day by Isaiah Gilbert, for many years an active and useful citizen. Mr. Gilbert lived to extremely advanced.
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
age-beyond 90 years. He spent his last years with his dutiful daughters, Mrs. Luther Tilden and Mrs. Joel Linsley.
On the corner south of Stephen Tambling, made by the main road and that which leads to Mr. Stowell's, Lemuel Tambling erected a house which he occupied temporarily, but which has dis- appeared.
The farm now owned by Chauncey II. Stowell was embraced in . the original surveys of Stephen Tambling, and Abial Linsley sen. It may, however, be remarked, that it is apparent from an exam- ination of the surveys and deeds of these farms, as of many others, that but little can be learned respecting their original boundaries from those at present existing. When in a new country, the only land marks noted in surveys, are perishable "staddles" or trees, without even a rock, or spring, or any other permanent object, to aid in fixing the starting point : however clear the boundaries may have been to the surveyor and those who were familiar with the ground, it is obvious that to all others, they must, in the lapse of years, become undistinguishable, and of course uncertain.
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL,
1
CHAPTER VIII.
LOCATION OF SETTLERS CONTINUED -- WM. SLADE-JESSE CHIPMAN -JAMES AND NATHAN CAMPBELL-DR. SOLOMON FOOT -BENJ. STEVENS - WAIT AND TIMOTHY SQUIER- SOLOMON PLUMB - SHADRACH NORTON - BENJ. HALL - BARZILLAI. STICKNEY DANIEL AND EZRA SCOVEL ~~ JAMES M. DOUGLASS AND HIS SONS -- ELIAKIM MALLORY- ELISHA FIELD, SEN .- DEA. ASAHEL FIELD --- ELISHA FIELD, JR. - EBENEZER NEWELL - RICHARD MINER HARVEY BELL. .
William Slade made his first pitch where he continued to reside until his death, on the farm now owned by Reuben P. Hall. He came from Washington, Conn., to Clarendon, Rutland Co., where he resided two or three years, and in 1783, or early in 1784, he removed to Cornwall. His farm in the course of years became extensive, made up in part of pitches, and in part of such sections " of land from the neighboring farms as he could purchase. His first cabin was built south-east of the present dwelling, near the anti- quated barn which still remains. In this cabin was born in 1786, his oldest son, the late Governor Slade. After the erection of the dwelling, in which he afterward lived, he opened, and kept, for years, a house of public entertainment.
Esq. Slade, sometimes called Col. Slade from his having once been a militia officer, possessed vigorous bodily as well as mental powers, and indomitable energy. By the choice of his townsmen, he carly took an active part in the management of town affairs,
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
and in almost every official station rendered valuable service to his follow-citizens. He was regarded by them as competent to fill any office in which his services might be required. He was Sheriff of the County from 1801 to 1811, and in the only instance in which it has been my lot to witness the barbarous punishment of whip- ping criminals with the "cat o' nine tails," the blows were laid on by his order, and the streaming blood left no room for doubt respecting his official faithfulness.
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