USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Pittsford > History of the town of Pittsford, Vt., with biographical sketches and family records > Part 46
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He had eight children : 1, Louisa, married John F. Gould; 2, Mary Ann, married Henry A. Mott, Esq., of New York ; 3, James Lorimer, married Julia, daughter of Charles Graham,
* Eclectic. t Homopathic.
603
LAWYERS.
Esq., of New York; 4, Nathan B., married Marie Antoinette McCaskay, of Scotland ; 5, John A., married Helen Beckman, resides in Maryland; 6, Henry Montrose, married Rebecca Porter ; 7, Edward Chauncy, married Elizabeth Bacon, resides in New York; 8, Susan Matilda, married Joseph B. Varnum.
Gordon Newell, Esq., commenced practice here in 1804. His educational advantages were limited, but his strong, native intellect and indomitable energy secured for him an honorable rank among his professional brethren. He studied law with Seth Storrs, Esq., of Middlebury, and was admitted to the bar in 1801. For some years he had quite an extensive and lucrative practice, and was honored with many offices within the gift of his fellow-citizens. He represented the town in the Legislature of the State in the years 1818-9, and was Assist- ant Judge of the County Court in 1847-8. He continued to practice his profession till old age and feeble health com- pelled him to retire. He died July 3, 1865, in the 86th year of his age.
Ebenezer N. Briggs, Esq., was the third lawyer who located in this town. He was born in Middleboro, Mass., in 1801, and was educated and graduated at Pierce Academy, in his native town. He studied law with Gorden Newell, Esq., of Pitts- ford, and was admitted to the bar in Rutland County in Decem- ber, 1823. He at once commenced the practice of law in Pittsford, and remained here till April, 1825, when he removed to Salisbury, Addison county, and practised his profession there till January, 1839, when he located in Brandon, where he is now in practice. He has for some years been a prominent man before the public. He was State's Attorney in Addison county eight years, and a member of the Legislature from Salisbury five years, and Speaker of the House of Representa- tives in 1834-5, and Senator from Addison county in 1836- 7-8. He represented Brandon in the Legislature in 1845-6, and was Speaker of the House in both of those years. He
604
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
was a member of the Senate from Rutland county in 1842- 3-4.
Lyman Granger, Esq., opened a law office in this town in the spring of 1824. After pursuing the usual course of study, he was admitted to the bar in Rutland county in December, 1821, and immediately formed a co-partnership in practice with Moses Strong, Esq., then a prominent attorney in Rutland. At the expiration of two years after coming to Pittsford, he relinquished the practice of law, and engaged in other pursuits. [Sce page 379.]
John Pierpoint, Esq., commenced the practice of law here in 1827. He was born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1806, studied his profession at the Litchfield Law School, and was admitted to the bar in Rutland county, Vt., in April, 1827. After practising law in Pittsford about three years, he removed to Vergennes, Addison county. He is now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Vermont.
John G. Newell, Esq., the elder son of Gordon Newell, was born in Pittsford in 1807, studied law with his father, and was admitted to the bar in Rutland county in March, 1831. He opened an office in this town, and continued in the practice of law here till ill health compelled him to retire from active labor. [See page 423.]
James R. Newell, Esq., the younger son of Gordon Newell, was born in Pittsford, September 5, 1809, graduated at Williams College in 1830, and studied law with his father. He was admitted to the bar in Rutland county in September, 1832. He entered upon the practice of law in company with his father, but continued in business but a few years. He died August 20, 1864.
MERCHANTS.
The early merchants of the town were men of limited means, and did business on a small scale. Their stock in trade
605
MERCHANTS.
consisted mostly of a few groceries, and as it was a time when the credit system was in vogue, it is not strange that some of them were soon compelled to suspend their business. The first merchant in the town is supposed to have been Augustine IIibbard, and his store was kept in the east room of the house* built by Nathan Webster. At what time he commenced trade here is not known, though it was probably about the year 1790. It appears that for a time the room occupied for a store was rented of Mr. Webster, though in February, 1792, Mr. Hib- bard bought the house and twenty acres of land in the vicinity. He traded here till the fall of 1794, when he sold the location to Jedediah Lee.
The second store was probably opened in 1797, by George Walton, who had been a school teacher at the center of the town. He traded a little more than a year in a store which had been built by Elisha Ladd, about where the brick store now stands in the village. After the death of Walton, in 1798, the store was purchased by Stephen and Elijah Avery, who traded in company till the death of the latter, in 1803, when the former became the sole proprietor, and continued the busi- ness till 1807, when he sold the store to John Merriam, and, for a time, left the town.
About the year 1808, Sturges Penfield opened a store at Mill Village, near the junction of the Rutland and Chittenden roads. He traded there about ten years.
In August, 1809, Gilbert Evans bought of Nathaniel Free- man a small building lot, and erected, a store near where J. A. Randall's shoe-shop now stands. After trading there about ten years he removed from the town.t
About the year 1809, Samuel Gordon and his son John, from Rutland, located on the Dr. Alexander Ewings' place,
* It will be remembered that this house occupied the site of the present " Otter Creek House."
+ Mr. Evans married a daughter of Rufus Wheaton.
606
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
and traded in a small building which stood on the southwest corner of the lot, and a few feet south of the house. They traded there till about the year 1818, when they left the town. Samuel, the father, removed to Troy, N. Y. From 1818 to 1822, the Gordon store was occupied by Thomas Tiffany and Asher Southworth. Mr. Tiffany held the office of postmaster from February, 1819, to November, 1821.
Isaac Hayden commenced trade in the Gordon store in 1822, but sold his stock of goods to Benjamin Hart the follow- ing year. Simeon Granger bought the house and store in 1824, and his son, Lyman, traded there a few months. The store was afterwards removed.
In 1819, J. Simonds & Co. bought the Merriam store, and the sale of goods was there prosecuted by some members of the Simonds family till 1870. The last of the family who traded there was George H. Simonds, the youngest son of Henry, a young man of excellent business habits and of extra- ordinary promise. He became the proprietor of the store on the death of his father, in 1865, and by strict integrity, close application to business and courteous manners, he secured the confidence of the community, and, consequently, a liberal share of patronage. He died, after a protracted illness, September 21, 1870. His death was felt to be a public calamity. P. Bristol & Co. now occupy the Simonds store.
In 1827, Addison Buck purchased the Mott place, now owned by Bradley Burditt, built a store a few rods south of the house, and went into mercantile business. IIis store was burnt in the winter of 1827-8, and he built another one upon its site, and traded there till 1853, when he relinquished the business.
In May, 1832, Dr. K. Winslow and Hitchcock opened a store in a building a few feet south of Dr. Winslow's house. The following year Mr. Hitchcock withdrew from the firm, and Dr. Winslow continued the mercantile business till 1839, when
607
MERCHANTS.
his son, Samuel Dana, succeeded him in the store, and con- tinued to trade till December 3, 1851, when he relinquished the business.
In 1838, Seneca D. Townsend and Ira Button bought the lot and built the store now owned by R. S. Meacham. They traded there till 1842, when they sold the store and land to Lyman Rockwood. Mr. Rockwood kept the store till 1850, when he sold the location to Thomas F. Palmer. After trad- ing there about five years, Mr. Palmer sold the store to James T. Gorham, who prosecuted the mercantile business there about four years, and then sold the location to Marcus C. Bogue. Rollin S. Meacham, the present proprietor, bought the place' of Mr. Bogue in 1867.
In 1839, William F. Manley and German Hammond built the brick store now owned by William B. Shaw, and traded there several months. They left the store, and a Mr. Bullard succeeded them in trade there, but did not long prosecute the business. This store soon became the property of Howard Lothrop, of whom William B. Shaw purchased it in 1848.
In 1842, Robert R. Drake opened a store in a small build- ing, which, at that time, stood one or two rods north of his house. In 1860, he sold his location to James T. Gorham, who built the new store south of the house, and traded in it a few months. Mr. Drake repurchased this property in 1861, and resumed the mercantile business, which he continued till 1871, when he was succeeded by the present proprietors, Den- nison & Rice.
In 1850, William F. Manley built a store near the junction of the two roads, opposite the Methodist Church. After trad- ing there a few years he discontinued the business.
In 1858, Joseph H. Peabody opened a store on the Manley place, in Hitchcockville, where he is still in business. He does not keep a very large stock of goods.
A store was kept for some time at Furnace Village ; another
608
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
was kept near the depot. But the goods in these consisted mostly of groceries, and neither did a large business.
TAVERNS.
There was but one public house in the town before the Revolutionary war. This was kept by Samuel Waters, on the west side of the Creek, near the military road, and a little east of the present residence of Abel Morgan. At what time it was opened for the accommodation of travelers cannot now be determined, though it was known as a public house in 1774 .* Mr. Waters kept this house till about the time of Burgoyne's invasion, in 1777, when he fled with his family to Shaftsbury, where he afterwards died.
The first public house in the town after the war was kept by Dea. Caleb Hendee, on the site of Fort Vengeance. On his return from Clarendon, in 1782, he repaired his house, and the following year he opened it as a tavern, and continued it as such until 1808, when he closed it to the public.
The third public house in the town was opened by Nathan Webster, in 1786. This house occupied the site of the present " Otter Creek House." In 1792, Augustine Hibbard bought the location, and while he used the east room as a store, he continued to entertain travelers. Stephen Hopkins became the landlord here in 1794, but was succeeded by Capt. Kim- ball in 1796, and the latter was succeeded by Abraham Anthony in 1798. Reuel Keith and his wife, Abigail, bought the tavern about the year 1800, and soon afterwards they removed the old house and built another and a larger one upon its site. This has been continued as a public house to the present time, and has had the following owners or occupants :
Reuel Keith
commenced 1800
Oliver Keith
1807
William Baxter
66
1808
Isaac Wheaton
66 1812
* Bickerstitche's Boston Almanac of this year mentions this house as one of the taverns on the military road from Charlestown to Crown Point.
.
TAVERNS.
Dr. K. Winslow
commenced
1814
Luther Hurlbut
1815
Haywood & Chapin
1818
Asher Southworth
1819
Isaac Hayden
1823
G. F. Hendee & J. Perry
1824
Whipple Spooner
66
1827
Elijah Brown, Jr.
1828
A. W. Titus
1838
H. G. Sessions
1839
Elijah Wood
1842
Thomas Mclaughlin
66
1844
Milo June
1845
Elisha Orcutt
1848
D. P. Bartlett
66
1849
Edward Mallory
1852
J. V. Sheldon
66
1854
R. H. Mead
1857
J. V. Sheldon
1858
Julius Scofield
66
1865
Lewis F. Scofield
1868
The fourth public house in the town was opened in 1789, by James Ewings. He sold his location at the south part of the town, and purchased of Jonathan Fassett three and three- fourths acres of land on the west side of the road, and south of the town plot. This included the easterly part of land now owned by J. A. Randall and E. B. Rand. He built a house a few feet south of the present residence of Mr. Rand, and kept this as a tavern till 1795, when he built the house now known as the Rand House. This house has been kept by the follow- ing persons :
James Ewings
commenced
1795
Abraham Anthony
1800
Eli Keeler
1804
Jonathan Kendall
66
1807
John Barnes
1810
Cary Allen
66
1814
Gilbert Evans
1816
Ebenezer Brooks
66
1817
David Hall, Jr.
66
1819
40
609
1843
J. C. Harmon
610
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
Ebenezer Brooks
66
1826
Rufus Frost
66
1837
Ebenezer B. Rand
66
1840*
The fifth public house was opened about the year 1790, by Thomas Hammond. This was on what is now the town farm, and the house stood on the west side of the road, some fifteen rods north of the brook. Mr. Hammond kept this house till 1796, when he was succeeded by Vinton Barnes. The latter removed from the town in 1805, and the house was never after- wards kept as a tavern.
The sixth public house was opened in the fall of 1796, by John Penfield. This was the dwelling house now owned by William B. Shaw. Deacon Nehemiah Hopkins began the con- struction of this house, and Mr. Penfield finished it, and used it as a tavern till 1809, when he retired from the business. Allen Penfield took his father's place in the tavern in 1811, and kept it till 1817. This house was no longer used as a tavern.
The seventh public house was opened about the year 1798, by Hammond Ladd. It was on that part of the Waite farm now owned by Royal Hall. He built a house and kept it as a tavern till the spring of 1804, when he sold it to Stephen Mead. The latter kept the house till 1810, when he sold it and removed from the town.
The eighth public house was built about the year 1804, by Abraham Drury. This was the house which is now the resi- dence of F. B. Barnes. Mr. Drury kept this as a public house till 1816, when he sold it to Timothy Boardman, whose son, Charles G., became the landlord .; He continued to keep the tavern till 1837, when he sold his real estate here and removed to Rutland. This house has not since been used as a tavern.
* Mr. Rand died January 3, 1851, since which time this house has not been kept as a tavern.
t He became the proprietor in 1823.
.
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ECCLESIASTICAL.
CHAPTER XIX.
ECCLESIASTICAL.
Recognition of the Importance of Religious Institutions ; Congregational Church organized ; Its History and Ministers ; Baptist Church organized ; Its History and Ministers; Orange Parish ; Its History and Ministers ; Introduction of Methodism ; Its Pro- gress ; List of Ministers ; Religious Revivals.
The religious element entered largely into the character of people who settled New England ; and wherever they went they sought to establish the institutions of the Gospel. They understood that the nearer their civil institutions approximated the standard of moral rectitude embodied in the divine law, the better would they be adapted to human wants. And fealty to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe was regarded as funda- mental to that elevated manhood which they were supremely desirous of establishing.
The charters of these Vermont townships recognized in a signal manner the importance of the Christian ministry, by set- ting apart one right or share of land in each for the first settled minister. And as soon as the inhabitants of these townships became sufficiently numerous, their first care, after providing for themselves comfortable quarters, was to procure a " Gospel Minister," and a place for public worship.
For some years after the first settlers located in Pittsford, the inhabitants were so few and scattered that no effort was made, so far as we can learn, to settle a minister. But public worship was not altogether neglected; for some part of the inhabitants united with the people of Rutland in the support of a minister, and the maintenance of church privileges.
612
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
Indeed, two citizens of Pittsford, Ebenezer Hopkins, Sen., and Samuel Crippen, were among those who organized the first church there, October 20, 1773.
No successful effort to organize a church in Pittsford appears to have been made till April 14, 1784, when the Con- gregationalists organized with fifteen members, as follows :
Thankful Drury, Joshua Morse,
Tryphena Hopkins,
Elisha Adams,
Abigail Morse,
Eleazer Harwood,
Molly Fassett,
Ebenezer Drury,
Sarah Adams,
Ebenezer Hopkins,
Nehemiah Hopkins,
Elias Hall,
Simeon Tupper,
Jonathan Warner,
Jonathan Fassett.
Eleazer Harwood was chosen deacon. "A minister by the name of Hawley officiated at the organization, wrote their articles of faith and covenant, and preached a few Sabbaths, after which the responsibility of conducting public worship fell principally on Deacon Harwood, who read printed sermons, and led the devotional exercises for nearly two years."*
In the latter part of this year occurred the first consider- able revival of religion in the place. The church at this time being without a pastor, the need of some one who should devote himself to the instruction of the anxious and inquiring mind was deeply felt. Deacon Harwood, upon whom the church relied to conduct its meetings, was very active, and exerted himself to the extent of his ability, to lead anxious sinners out of the moral darkness in which they were groping ; and it was probably during this revival that he had the first serious thoughts of entering the ministry. His brethren in the church had become somewhat accustomed to look to him as their spiritual guide, and they now urged the desirableness of his being properly authorized to administer to them in holy things. After seeking Divine guidance, Mr. Harwood felt constrained
* Manuscript of the late Rev. P. H. White.
613
ECCLESIASTICAL.
to attend the meeting of an Association about to be held on the east side of the mountain,* and he was there examined and licensed to preach.
He now prosecuted his ministerial labors with increased earnestness, and in the course of a few months sixty-five were added to the church. The success which attended his labors made it evident to the people that it was his duty to accept of the pastorate, and by their solicitations, and the advice of neighboring ministers, he was induced to accept the call. He was accordingly ordained and installed .;
Of the ancestry of Mr. Harwood very little is known. According to tradition, he was born in Hardwick, Mass., about the year 1737. His early advantages for mental improvement were exceedingly limited, but by diligence and perseverance he acquired a very good English education, and as he possessed a vigorous and well balanced mind, he soon became a man of influence. His strong points were sound judgment and ardent piety.
While a young man he became a weaver by trade, and was intending to follow this occupation for a livelihood. He mar- ried Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Montague, May 28, 1761, and either then, or soon after, located in Bennington, Vt. Both he and his wife became members of the Bennington church at the time of its organization, in 1762, and a few years later Mr. Harwood was elected one of the deacons.
As stated elsewhere, he removed to Pittsford in 1780, and for a few years his time was divided between his trade and the cultivation of the land. He was one of the most active and influential in organizing the church here, and when he assumed the pastoral care his whole soul was engrossed in the duties of his new calling. As a pastor he was very successful, and he was blessed with very extensive and powerful revivals of re-
* Woodstock.
t The Congregational Society of Pittsford was not organized till Jan. 1, 1827; but a few members of the church pledged Mr. Harwood a salary of $200 annually.
614
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
ligion. One, in 1803, is still remembered by a few of our older inhabitants. He died May 19, 1807, much beloved by all who knew him.
On the 7th December next after the death of Rev. Mr. Harwood, the church gave Rev. Holland Weeks a call to be- come their pastor. The call was accepted by Mr. Weeks, and he was installed on the 30th of the same month. The follow- ing was the assignment of parts in the installing service :
Introductory Prayer,
Rev. Silas Parsons, of Castleton. -
Sermon,
Rev. Lemuel Haynes, of Rutland.
Consecrating Prayer,
- Rev. Ebenezer Hibbard, of Brandon.
Charge,
Rev. Heman Ball, of Rutland.
Right Hand of Fellowship, - - Rev. Elisha Smith, of Castleton.
Concluding Prayer, -
Rev. Jedediah Bushnell, of Cornwall.
Mr. Weeks was born in Brooklyn, Conn., April 29, 1768, and removed to Salisbury, Vt., with his father's family, in 1789. His ancestry can be traced back as follows :
Rev. Holland Weeks, the son of Holland Weeks, the son of Ebenezer Weeks, the son of Joseph Weeks, the son of - Weeks, one of three brothers that came from England about 1630, and settled in the vicinity of Boston, Mass. Hannah Weeks, the mother of Rev. Holland Weeks, was the daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah Mosely, daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah Capen, daughter of Ephraim and Sarah Thayer, daugh- ter of John and Ruth Bass, daughter of John and Priscilla Alden. Alden was a passenger in the Mayflower, and one of the number who first stepped upon Plymouth Rock, in 1620.
Young Weeks went through with a preparatory course of study with Rev. Mr. Barnet, the first settled minister of Middle- bury, and entered Dartmouth College in 1791, at which insti- tution he graduated in 1795. He studied divinity with Rev. Dr. West, of Stockbridge, Mass., and was ordained and settled as pastor over the church at Waterbury, Conn., in the autumn of 1799. He was dismissed from his charge in Waterbury in 1807, and after spending a few months laboring as a mission-
615
ECCLESIASTICAL.
ary in the northern parts of Vermont, he accepted the call to settle in this town, as before stated .* "He was a man of strong intellectual powers, of sanguine and erratic temperament, of untiring industry, and an earnest and effective preacher. During the most of the time while he remained in Pittsford, he had, in addition to his pastoral labors, a number of students, some of whom were studying the classics, preparatory to enter- ing college, and others were engaged in studying theology. His theological students, some of whom had not the advanta- ges of college education, have all been respectable and use- ful ministers of the Gospel, and some of them have risen to eminence in their profession.
All of them, it is understood, regarded Mr. Weeks as hav- ing peculiar qualifications for the business of instruction ; and several of them, who have long been useful ministers of the Gospel, consider him as the chief instrument in preparing them for the successful prosecution of their work."
His ministry in this town was very efficient, and we should judge by the fragmentary records of the church at that period, that it was considerably enlarged by accessions to its member- ship. Certain whimsical ideas which he entertained, together with the partisan views which he proclaimed on the subject of politics, in the excited times of 1811-12-13, led to his dis- mission early in the year 1814.
The following year he was installed pastor of the Congre- gational Church in Abington, Mass., where he continued till 1820, when he was dismissed.
In 1821, he removed to Henderson, Jefferson county, N. Y., where he preached the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg, which he had embraced, and continued a steadfast believer in the doctrines of the New Church until his death, which occurred July 24, 1843.
* The salary of Mr. Weeks was fixed at $400, for which individuals in the church became responsible.
616
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
After Mr. Weeks was released from its pastoral care, the church in Pittsford was temporarily supplied with preaching by different ministers until January, 1818, when a call which had been given to Rev. Asa Messer was accepted, and he was ordained and installed as pastor on the 29th of that month .* The order of service was as follows :
Introductory Prayer, Rev. Elihu Smith, of Castleton.
Sermon, -
Rev. Josiah Hopkins, of New Haven.
Consecrating Prayer,
Rev. Lemuel Haynes, of Rutland.
Charge to the Pastor elect,
Rev. Heman Ball, D. D., of Rutland.
Right Hand of Fellowship, -
- Rev. Mason Knappin, of Orwell.
Charge to the Church and People, Rev. Ebenezer Hibbard, of Brandon.
Concluding Prayer,
. Rev. Justus F. Hough, of Addison.
The new pastor was the son of Moses Messer,t and was born at Newport, N. H., August 14, 1793. When he was ten years of age, his parents removed to Orwell, Vermont. At the age of seventeen he commenced the study of the Latin and Greek languages, and, upon the usual examination, he was admitted to the Freshman class of Middlebury College in August, 1812. He graduated in 1816, and immediately com- menced the study of theology with the Rev. Josiah Hopkins, D. D., of New Haven. In February, 1817, he was licensed to preach by the Addison County Association. He commenced ministerial work in Norwich, Chenango county, N. Y., where he labored about three months ; next supplied the pulpit of the Congregational Church in Sudbury for a similar period, and then accepted the call to settle in Pittsford.
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