USA > Vermont > Windsor County > Springfield > History of the town of Springfield, Vermont : with a genealogical record > Part 18
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I. Stillman L., b. Feb. 13, 1836; m. Ist, Lucy (Beckley) Hatch; she d. Jan. 10, 1884; m. 2d, Maria E. Flanders, daughter of Stephen and Theda (Sanderson) Flanders.
MOSES S. BARRETT, son of Robert and Abigail (Smith) Barrett, b. in Cavendish, Aug. 12, 1817. He was for many years a resident of Springfield, a manufacturer and dealer in lumber, running a mill and shop on what was the paper-mill site at the upper dam. He was a man respected and beloved by all. He m. March 1, 1841. Sarah C. Smith of Plymouth. In 1893 Mr. and Mrs. Barrett went to California to live with their children, and he d. there in 1893. Ch .:
I. Emma M., b. Jau. 3, 1844; m. Dec. 10, 1865, Noah Wooley.
II. Orban J., b. Jan. 25,, 1847; m. Etta Pierce; res. in California.
III. Jenuie B., b. July 7, 1855; m. -; res. in California.
COL. JOHN BARRETT, b. in. Boston, Mass., Dec. 7, 1731, was son of John and Rebecca (Collins) Barrett. He m. June 19, 1755, Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Edwards of Boston, a descendant of the Thomas Edwards who was an original proprietor of the town of Dunstable, Mass. He moved to Middle- town, Conn., about the time of his marriage, where he lived until about 1771, engaged in trade. In 1771 or 1772 he moved to Springfield and located on the Blockhouse farni, afterwards owned by Judge Whipple, and now belonging to .J. M. Butterfield's estate. He at once built the house now standing, which he
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OF SPRINGFIELD, VT.
occupied until his death, Dcc. 3, 1806. It was quite a pretentious house for the times. At a proprietors' meeting, Nov. 10, 1762, the above lot was voted or granted to Gideon Lyman; and March 2, 1771, Lyman and others deeded this and many other lots to Gale Bishop and John Barrett. Bishop conveyed his interest to Gideon Lyman and others, Dec. 2, 1772; and they con- veyed to Stephen Ward, who conveyed to Richard Morris, Feb. 22, 1773; and Morris, by deed dated Feb. 22, 1773, conveyed the same to John Barrett. This took place partly under the original charter. When the confirmation charter was obtained from New York in 1772, Col. Barrett was named as au original proprietor. These transactions and many others show that there was in those days a great deal of trading in land. He owned a great deal of land in Skitchewaug meadows, in Black River meadows on both sides of the river, timber lots, and pasture lots a gristmill and sawmill. His real estate was appraised after his death at $22,500.
Col. Barrett was a very active and influential man in the business affairs of the towu and Colony. He took au active part in the stirring times growing out of the contest over the New Hampshire grants. He was captain in Col. Seth Warner's regiment, and was at Ticonderoga, and in 1776 went on the Quebec expedition. The pay roll of his company at that time bears the following names : -
John Barrett, captaiu. Thomas Edwards, drummer.
William Daua, senior lieutenant.
Abel Lymau.
Jedediah Hebbard, sergeant.
Eleazer Woodward.
David Powers, sergeant. Barnaby Perkins.
Samuel Remington, corporal.
Asa Colburn.
Ezra Perkins.
Daniel Bliss.
Nathan Durkee.
Thomas Duncan.
Elkanah Sprague.
Daniel Wright.
Nash Bugbee.
Seth Johnson.
David Wellingtou.
Asahel Powers.
Stephen Colburn.
Timothy Spencer.
Samuel Bailey, Jr. David Hough.
Pompey Green. John Colburn.
Later he was chosen lieutenant-colonel of the upper regiment of the Cumberland. He was a prominent man in town affairs in those early days, serving as town clerk, justice of the peace, and on most important committees. He was master of the first Masonic Lodge in Vermont, which was located at Springfield in 1781. In 1778, 1781, and 1782 he was representative from this town in the General Assembly, and was intrusted with important duties. He was one of the original members of the Congregational Church, and took an active part in its work. Col. Barrett was a worthy compeer of Simon Stevens, and like him contributed in no small degree to the prosperity of the town. He had four ch., all born in Middletown, Conn.
I. John, b. Aug. 16, 1756. He entered Dartmouth College, but left there and graduated at Harvard College in 1780; studied law with Benja- min West of Charlestown, N. H. ; located at Northfield, Mass., where he practiced, and died in 1816. He m. Martha Dickinson of Hatfield, Mass., and had four ch .:
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN
1. Mary, b. 1791; m. Woodbury Storer of Portland, Me.
2. Another daugliter, m. Franklin Ripley of Greenfield, Mass.
3. Another daughter, m. Rev. Dr. Shepard of Bristol, R. I.
4. Charles E., b. 1803. Graduated in 1822 from Bowdoin College, and now lives in Portland, Me. To his son, George P. Barrett of Portland, Me., the writer is indebted for valuable assistance in preparing this sketch of the Barrett family.
II. Thomas, b. Feb. 10, 1760. He was educated at Yale College; studied surveying with Col. Simon Stevens, and after the death of the latter did most of the surveying in Springfield, besides being county surveyor. He was town clerk and selectman for several years, and was prominent in town affairs, and much respected. He m. July 25, 1791, Betsey, daughter of Lieut. Roger Bates, and lived on the Cook farm, now owned by Henry H. Mason, north of Lincoln J. Ellis's farm. He d. May 31, 1838. Betsey, his wife, d. Sept. 23, 1850. They had seven ch. :
1. Thomas T., b. Jan. 22, 1792. He graduated at the medical department of Dartmouth College, and studied medicine with Dr. Moses Cobb. He located in Walpole, N. H., and moved from there to Chester, Vt., where he became a successful practitioner and prominent man. He was associate judge of Windsor County Court from 1845 to 1849. He m. Nancy Grout, and had three ch. :
(1). Rockwood, b. Aug. 5, 1820.
(2). William G., b. Dec. 12, 1822.
(3). Juliette P., b. Aug. 30, 1826; m. Foster Howe.
2. Elizabeth, b. Aug. 7, 1794; d. Aug. 10, 1875. Aunt Betsey, as she was familiarly and affectionately called by the old and young of two generations, was a noted woman in Springfield In her youth she attended school on the Common and in the famous school at Eureka, walking from her father's house above Otis B. Litchfield's every day, and fitted herself for teaching. She was a very proud, ambitious, and gay young lady, fond of parties and balls, and a great favorite with the young. About this time she made a visit of some length to her aunt, Mrs. McLellan of Portland, Me. During this visit she became interested in religion through the preaching of that remarkable man, Rev. Dr. Edward Payson, and united with his church. On her return she took a letter to the Congregational Church in Springfield, of which she was ever after an active member. She was for many years a successful teacher in the district schools. Never forming family ties of her own, the overflowing bounty of her loving heart found its recompense in doing good in the families of others. If she was a little domineering *sometimes, she was a very pleasant and efficient autocrat, and most people were willing to submit to her ways for the sake of her service.
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OF SPRINGFIELD, VT.
Miss Barrett possessed a strong, active mind and a warm, sympa- thetic heart. She had the courage of her convictions, which so many of us lack. To believe a thing was right and ought to be done with her was to do it with all her might. It is related of her that a fire broke out on a Sunday in a building near the river, west of the falls bridge, and the men, not liking to wet their Sunday clothes, were very dainty in handling the water buckets. Aunt Betsey, seeing where the trouble lay, took a bucket and sprang into the mill pond where the water was waist deep, and, filling the pail, called on the men to pass the water along.
In those days it was the custom for a large portion of the tax- payers outside of the village to pay their highway taxes in labor, or " work it out," as it was called, which was sometimes inter- preted to " loaf it out." Aunt Betsey, as the owner of the homestead, had a small highway tax to pay, which, in view of her small income and defenceless condition, she asked to have abated. This being refused, she declared that she would pay it as easy as the men did, and, when the neighbors in the district assembled to work on the roads, Aunt Betsey appeared promptly in the morning with her hoe, and proceeded to work out her tax. Now Aunt Betsey never knew what it was to shirk, and she set the men an example of industry in " mending the ways" such as they were not accustomed to. The tired face with which she came into Mr. Litchfield's to dinner showed that it was too hard for her, but she had no idea of giving up. After dinner they told her to go home and they would work out the rest of her tax, and the matter was in some way ar- ranged.
She was a believer and earnest worker in the cause of temperance, when but a very few had the courage to take a bold and un- compromising stand against intoxicating liquors. Her heart was filled with sympathy with the oppressed wherever in the world they might be. She was an ardent antislavery woman always. So deeply seated was her abhorrence of human slavery, that it was with reluctance that she was com- pelled to use any product of slave labor. She used to say, " Three things I hate, plants in houses, birds in cages, and slaves in chains."
Her memory will be blessed to the last day of their lives by those who had occasion to experience the unselfishness and sweetness of her character. She d. Aug. 10, 1875, aged 81. Three days before, her sister Mary, a woman of exemplary Christian character, had also died. They had lived together most of their lives.
3. Mary, b. March 24, 1799; d. Aug. 7, 1875.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN
4. Samnel, {
5. Sarah, twins, b. May 20, 1802.
Sarah d. Nov. 9, 1803. Samuel m. Sarah Blake of Boston ; moved early in life to New Orleans, La., where he became a noted cotton dealer; was mayor of the city ; d. Aug. 24, 1888.
6. George Washington, b. Ang. 5, 1804; d. Feb. 5, 1813.
7. Sally, b. Sept. 8, 1806; m. Jonathan Stickney Pettengill of Graf- ton; they had five ch. :
(1). Edward H., b. May 14, 1837 ; m. Rhoda J. Wilder of Keene, N. H .; lives at Saxton's River.
(2). Samuel Barrett. b. July 7, 1839; m. Susan Claggett .; moved to Tacoma, Wash.
(3). John Adams, b. Nov. 23, 1840; m. Helen Bradford; lives in Grafton.
(4). George Thomas, b. March 28, 1845; d. April 10, 1867.
(5). Sarah Elizabeth, b. May 12, 1847; d. in 1849.
8. Nancy, b. Sept. 21, 1808; m. Oct. 20, 1834, Thomas Harkness Smiley. (See Smiley family.)
III. Elizabeth, b. Aug. 10, 1758 ; m. Rev. Isaiah Potter of Lebanon, N. H.
IV. May, b. Oct. 27, 1765 ; m. Arthur Mclellan of Portland, Me.
LEONIDAS BARRY, son of Aldis and Luthera (Lovell) Barry, was b. in Rockingham, Vt., Dec. 29, 1844. His ancestors have been residents of Rock- ingham since 1776. He came to Springfield in 1875, and purchased the old Gen. Lewis R. Morris farm on Connecticut River, and lives in the old mansion which was built in 1795. Mr. Barry m. Jane A. Britton, daughter of Hiram and Sophronia (Blanchard) Britton. Ch. :
I. Lena L., b. Dec. 21, 1877.
II. Leon H. W., b. Nov. 8, 1881.
PHINEAS BATES, son of Joshua and Grace (Lincoln) Bates, was b. in IIingham, Mass., May 23, 1766. He was a descendant of the fifth generation from Clement Bates, who with his wife, five children, and two servants, came from England to Hingham in 1635. The other ch. of Joshua Bates were, Levi, Zealous, Ambrose, Theophilus, and four danghters. Zealous and Am- brose enlisted under Gen. Lincoln, and were in the battle of Saratoga. There. was long present in the Bates family a letter written by them after the surrender of Burgoyne, which read as follows : -
" We this day had the pleasure of seeing the British army march through the lines of the American army without their arms."
(Signed) ZEALOUS BATES. AMBROSE BATES.
Zealous Bates was the father of Dr. Joshua Bates, formerly president of Middlebury College.
In 1788 Phineas Bates m. Abigail Lincoln of Cohasset, Mass., and with his wife and one child came to Springfield in 1790. They were accompanied by his brother Theophilus, his wife, and two children. The two families with their goods came on a sled drawn by a yoke of oxen and one horse, and a deep
DAVIS BATES.
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OF SPRINGFIELD, VT.
snow, badly drifted, made the journey very tedious. They were two weeks in making the journey of one hundred and twenty miles. A few years later the oldest brother, Lieut. Levi Bates, came to Springfield with his family, and lived here until his death in 1832.
Phineas Bates was chosen deacon of the Congregational Church in April, 1811, and held the office until his death, Nov. 1, 1843. He was always known as Dea. Bates. Ch .:
I. Anna, b. Dec. 17, 1789; m. 1810, Allen Bates. Ch .:
1. George L.
2. Daniel T.
3. Mary Ann, m. George Woodbury. (See Woodbury family.)
4. Catherine G.
II. Davis, b. Sept. 5, 1792; m. Dec. 31, 1818, Rachel, daughter of Isaac Tower. He was a man of stalwart frame, of large ability, and of a very genial and happy temperament, possessing in an unusual degree the social qualities for which the family were so noted. He was a man whom it was a pleasure to meet, always having some- thing to say that made life seem pleasanter and more endurable. Ch. :
1. Thomas, d. in Mexican War.
2. Samuel D., res. in Louisburg, Pa .; a prominent business man, manufacturer of agricultural and other machinery; State senator.
3. Abby, m. - Wood; d. in Springfield.
III. Sally, b. Dec. 16, 1794; m. Oct. 20, 1819, Stoddard Tower.
IV. Lincoln, b. Feb. 24, 1797; m. 1829, Margaret Mackay.
V. Abigail, b. July 4, 1799; m. Dec. 12, 1820, Jacob Ellis. (See Ellis family.)
VI. Sybil, b. May 10, 1802; m. Dec. 16, 1828, Ormus M. Whipple. (See Whipple family.)
VII. Phineas, b. Jan. 29, 1805 ; m. 1838, Nancy Sherwin, who d. Oct. 26, 1854. Phineas d. in California, March 20, 1859. Ch. :
1. Frederick A., b. May 2, 1843; m. Oct. 27, 1885, Luna A. Bowman ; res. in Lowell, Mass.
2. Charles L., b. May 26, 1846; m. 1876, Belle Dixson. Ch .:
(1). George F., b. Nov. 8, 1877.
(2). Charles T., b. Oct. 8, 1879.
(3). Harriet M., b. Dec. 2, 1881.
(4). Elroy D., b. Dec. 13, 1883.
3. George F., b. May 26, 1846; enlisted Sept. 20, 1863, in Co. M, 11th Vermont Volunteers; wounded Aug. 21, 1864; d. at Sandy Hook, Aug. 23, 1864.
4. Isabella M., b. June 6, 1848; m. Aug. 3, 1872, Willis Benson.
5. Harriet E., b. April 2, 1850; res. in Springfield.
VIII. Gracia, b. May 10, 1808; m. Nov. 10, 1829, John Chipman. : (See sketch.)
IX. Theophilus, b. in Springfield, Feb. 14, 1810. He remained on the home farm until his twenty-first year, when he took the agency of
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN
the Morris Mills, now called Gould's Mills, holding this position four years. Jan. 2, 1835, he went to New York, and during his residence in that city he was chiefly engaged in hotel business. He served six years on the Old Men's Whig General Committee of the city of New York. June 14, 1849, he joined the American Insti- tute of the city of New York, and in 1854 the New England Society of , the city, being a life member of both organizations. He left New York, May 7. 1866, and two years later chose Springfield as his political headquarters, keeping it as such until 1880, when he moved to New York. He d. Jan. 9, 1892, at West Brattleboro, Vt., where he had res. the last few years of his life. The grandparents of Theophilus Bates on the maternal side were Abram Lincoln, b. at Cohasset, Dec. 12, 1740, and Sarah Lincoln, b. at Cohasset, Sept. 17, 1749. Abram Lincoln d. Sept. 29, 1823 ; Sarah Lincoln d. Sept. 4, 1818.
X. Esther, b. Sept. 24, 1812; m. 1840, Stoddard Tower.
XI. Nancy, b. Feb. 28, 1815; m. 1846, Rev. George O. Atkinson, who was b. in Newburyport, Mass., May 10, 1819; graduated from Dart- mouth in 1843. In October, 1847, they sailed for Oregon by the way of Cape Horn and the Sandwich Islands. Mr. Atkinson estab- lished the first church iu Oregon at Oregon City, and lived to see it grow into ninety-three churches in the State, with a membership of 2,719. He was alert in all educational matters, and founded an academy, which afterward became the Pacific University. After six years he went to Portlaud from Oregon City, and in 1872 became general home missionary superintendent of Oregon and Washington Territory. He d. Feb. 25, 1889, leaving a widow and six children.
XII. Lydia C., b. Aug. 16, 1818; m. Oct. 8, 1846, Rev. Lewis Grout, who was b. in Newport, Vt., Jan. 28, 1815, and graduated from Yale College in the class of 1842, and from Andover Seminary in 1846. Oct. 10, 1846, he and his wife sailed from Boston for South Africa, and arrived at Natal, Feb. 15, 1847. They labored here as missiou- aries of the American Board among the Zulus for fifteen years. This was in the early days of missionary work, and the labors of Mr. and Mrs. Grout were most arduous aud trying during these years, among a people where there had never been a trace of any- thing civilized. Mr. Grout was obliged to be student, teacher, architect, builder, farmer, dentist, physician, and magistrate all in oue. His health becoming impaired, he was compelled to return to America, and after a season of rest became agent for the American Missionary Association, and continued in this work nineteen years. He was afterwards pastor of the church in Sud- bury, Vt., for several years. His literary labors and published works are varied and numerous. While in Africa he prepared a grammar, and translated the Scriptures and other books into the Zulu tongue. A book on the Zulu Land, and several others, and many of his discourses, essays, sermons, and pamphlets have been
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GER.H.WALKER & CO. LITH. GOSTON.
Theophilus Butis
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OF SPRINGFIELD, VT.
published, and he has given at different times numerous addresses and papers on carly church history and other subjects of interest and importance. He res. at West Brattleboro.
THEOPHILUS BATES, brother of Dea. Phineas, b. in 1763, came to Spring- field in 1790 with his wife and two ch. His second wife was Esther Chandler of Chester. Ch. by 1st marriage :
1. Job, m. Lamira Field.
II. A daughter, was the wife of George Johnson. (See sketch.)
LEVI BATES, also a brother of Dea. Phineas, came to this town about 1794. He and his brothers were seafaring men, and he was always called Master Levi Bates. He m. Hannah -, who d. Feb. 1, 1810. Ch. :
I. Rebecca, m. James Litchfield.
II. Dexter, b. in 1778; m. Mehitable Ladd Gale. He was a Methodist clergyman. (See history Methodist Church.)
III. Lewis, b. March 20, 1780; m. Eliza -. He was a noted preacher and revivalist. (See Methodist Church).
IV. Zintha, b. July 22, 1786.
V. Levi, b. Dec. 20, 1790; m. Anna Harlow.
ROGER BATES, originally from Scotland, lived in Hingham, Mass., moved to Boston, thence to Winchendon, and came to Springfield in 1777 or 1778. He bought of Joseph Little the farm that is now known as the Christopher Ellis place. He sold it to Joseph Ellis in 1797. This house was kept as a tavern, and was in those years the most convenient place for town meetings and church services. He had two brothers in Springfield, James and Moses Bates, and two sisters, Merrail, who m. Elisha Brown, and Thankful, who m. Major John Gill. Mr. Bates had served in the army, and was known as Lieut. Roger Bates. His wife was Hulda Stoddard. When Roger Bates sold his farm in 1797, he went to Canada, where he d. at the age of 80 years. His wife lived to be over 90. There were thirteen ch., three of whom d. in infancy :
I. Adna, b. in Hinghamn, Mass. ; Sept. 2, 1769, m. Beulah -. Ch. :
1. Roger, b. Nov. 17, 1792.
2. Ira, b. June 15, 1795.
II. Betsey, b. Nov. 25, 1770; m. June 25, 1791, Thomas Barrett.
III. Sarah, b. Oct. 15, 1772; m. Dec. 30, 1790, Amos Gill.
IV. Huldah, b. Oct. 14, 1776; m. Aug. 17, 1794, Joseph Selden.
v. Polly, b. Sept. 7, 1779.
VI. Stoddard, b. Aug. 4, 1780.
VII. Levi, b. April 8, 1782.
VIII. Theodosia, b. June 16, 1786.
IX. Nancy, b. June 14, 1788.
x James, b. Aug. 31, 1790.
REV. OSCAR BECKWITH, son of Rufus and Rhoda Ann (Lyman) Beckwith, was b. at Washington, Vt .. Dec. 15, 1834; pastor of Second Advent Church at North Springfield; m. 1st, Roxanna Ricker ; she d. Oct. 8, 1866; m. 2d, Louisa M. Silloway, daughter of Elisha A. and Rhoda (Hill) Silloway of Moretown, Vt. Ch. by second marriage :
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN
I. Oscar R., b. July 15, 1873.
II. Cora M., b. Jan. 10, 1875.
III. Daniel J., b. Sept. 29, 1880.
ALPHEUS BATCHELDER, b. May 8, 1815. Was for some years in business in Springfield, and, in company with Moses Bates, owned the sawmill and old gristmill on the present site of R. J. Kenney's shop. The gristmill was sold o Daniel Cushing, and both gristmill and sawmill were carried away by the freshet of 1869. He was also engaged in the manufacture of shoe pegs. He d. in Springfield, Feb. 1, 1871. His wife was Orinda Cady, who d. Jan. 26, 1871. Ch. :
I. Frank Erving, b. in Springfield, March 1, 1851. He m. March 4, 18"1, Louisa M. Marcy, daughter of Stephen and Melinda (Mason) Marcy of Weathersfield. She is still living in Springfield (1895). He d. July 20, 1876. Ch. :
1. Frank Erving, b. Feb. 7, 1872; m. Myra Foss of Charlestown, N. H. Ch .:
(1). Hazel Alice, b. Dec. 21, 1891.
AMOS BELKNAP, son of Reuben and Lucy Belknap, was b. May 5, 1818; m. 1st, Amanda Cady; m. 2d, Jerusha (Sargent) Noyes, daughter of Amos and Judith (Gooding) Sargent. Ch. by 1st m. :
I. Laura, m. George D. Graham ; res. in Springfield ..
II. Catharine.
ABNER BENNETT was b. in West Boylston, Mass., in 1764. He m. Mary Moore of that town, and moved to Charlestown, N. H. They had seven ch., six girls and one boy, Horace, now (1894) living in Nashua, N. H., aged 80 years. Mr. Bennett came to Springfield in 1826, and lived in the house now (1895) owned by Napoleon Greenwood. He was a farmer, and at one time the village sexton. He d. Feb. 8, 1840; his wife d. Aug. 11, 1858, aged 85 years.
JOHN C. BINGHAM came to this town during the Revolution and enlisted in the jarmy in Capt. White's company; Ira Allen was recruiting officer. He signed the papers in a hotel which stood on the east side of the river at Gould's Mills. He m. Oct. 28, 1810, Silence Harlow, daughter of Levi and Silence (Cobb) Harlow. Ch .:
I. Caroline, m. Asahel Dodge.
II. Lyman.
III. Fanny, res. in Springfield.
IV. Abner C., b. Dec. 16, 1815; is a carpenter by trade, has always res. in Springfield. He m. Nov. 20, 1838, Adeline Osgood, who d. Nov. 14, 1848, aged 32. Ch. :
1. Annette Clara, d. in infancy.
2. Abbie Clara, b. December, 1846; d. July, 1847,
3. Asher, b. 1848; m. Lizzie Currier. He m. 2d, Rosina Staples. Ch. :
4, Byron, b. Aug. 27, 1850; m. Etta Cooledge. Ch .: (1). Adin, b. May 8, 1875; d. Jan. 25, 1877.
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OF SPRINGFIELD, VT.
5. Clara Lizzie, b. Oct. 20, 1852; m. May 8, 1872, Frank E. Johnson, son of Levi and Marietta (Leet) Johnson. He learned tinsmith trade of Harlow & Kirk in Springfield; worked in oil-stove shop at Gardner, Mass. ; has worked for most of the different firms in stove and tinware business in Springfield; now works for Pond & Gridley. Ch. :
(1). Jessie Gertrude, b. Aug. 10, 1887.
6. Ida, b. April 2, 1855; d. Sept. 5, 1856.
7. George Everett, b. Aug. 19, 1856; m. Nellie Pierce (deceased). He m. 2d, Luella Pntnam ; res. in Springfield. Ch. by 1st m. :
(1). Ida May, b. Jan. 1, 1878.
8. Annie, b. Jan. 12, 1859; d. May 1, 1864.
9. Albert, b. Jan. 29, 1865 ; m. Ethel McIntyre; res. in Springfield.
10. Arthur, b. Oct. 16, 1867; d. March 22, 1888.
V. Sarah, res. in Springfield.
VI. Sophia.
THE BISBEE FAMILY.
THOMAS BISBEE, the common ancestor of the New England family of Bisbees, came to this country soon after the landing of the Pilgrims. The records show that he sailed from Sandwich, Eng., with his wife and six children in the ship " Hercules," John Witherly, master, and landed at Scituate, Mass., in the spring of 1634. He afterwards moved to Sudbury where he d. March 9, 1672.
ABNER BISBEE, the paternal ancestor of the Springfield branch of the Bisbee family, and one of the first settlers in town, was the son of John and Mary (Oldham) Bisbee, b. in Pembroke, Mass., July 31, 1734. He was an officer in the French and Indian War, having received his commission from George III., and was ever after known as Capt. Bisbee. On account of his prudence and sagacity he was placed in command of a company of scouts to watch the Indians, and in this capacity he served nearly through the war, enduring many hardships and having many hairbreadth escapes. There is a tradition that he piloted a small company of soldiers through the wilderness on snowshoes from Crown Point to Charlestown, N. H., in February, 1759, and marked out the Crown Point Road east of the mountains, which was cut through the next summer by Col. Goffe and his regiment, and that he then selected the lot of land where he afterwards built his log-cabin in 1763. When this war closed, which had been such a terror to the infant settlements of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and made" Vermont a highway over which the Indians carried men, women, and children into captivity, or to a cruel and barbarous death, these warworn soldiers, as well as the whole country, hailed with gladness the day of peace and security. Canada having now passed from the control of the French, and the Indians having been driven back, the settlements of Vermont rapidly increased. Capt. Bisbee came into town in 1763 on horseback with a bed of sea-fowl feathers and a few household utensils strapped to his horse. He crossed the Connecticut at
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