USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Wallingford > People of Wallingford, a compilation > Part 15
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In 1815 Dyer was made first constable and records show that he was first constable again in 1854. He probably served at inter- vals between these two dates. The writs he served were largely for poor debts. In 1857 he was elected first selectman and served consecutively for five years.
Depot Street was opened and surveyed by Harvey Shaw at a cost of $350, including damages to Abraham Adams. A bridge across the Creek near D. E. Nicholson's, now Miss Huldah Hopkins', was built in 1859 at a cost of $215, aside from the
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stone work. In 1861 two hundred fifty town reports were printed by George A. Tuttle of Rutland for $5.
Dyer had many items in his account books as Overseer of the Poor. In 1855 the cost of the town poor was $1,084. Even in those days there were occasional "trancients," as they were called. In 1860 the price of pork was 121/2 cents, butter 20 cents and eggs 15 cents, but sugar was 8 cents a pound.
In 1861 the town bought a farm for the poor. Then Dyer had to buy everything from candles to cows. He certainly had a soft spot in his heart for he bought a little opium for a poor old woman, a bit of tobacco, and a half pint of liquor for others; but the cost was all made up when the town poor were buried. This cost only five dollars; three dollars for the coffin and two dollars for digging the grave. In the early days there was a gruesome custom of nailing the lids of the coffins down, and, as each nail was driven, the friends groaned and sometimes even shrieked. Dyer directed many funerals and has been known to say this was one of the most trying things he ever did. Later screws instead of nails were used.
Dyer was guardian for the Thrall boys, Chauncy and George, after the death of their father in 1852. He was also guardian for Amy Carpenter, and Abram and Mary Cronkright. The last two were brother and sister with a good bit of money for those days. He settled the estate of his father, Samuel; also those of his brothers, Samuel, Jr. and Calvin.
In 1861, '62 and '63 he received money from the State Treasurer for soldiers in the Civil War who went from Wallingford. The amount of money and the names on the list varied but that of Austin Wellman was always there.
October 4, 1869, there was a flood in the Otter Creek valley. Dyer gauged the water and said it was higher than he had seen it in fifty years.
In 1870 he paid $10 and became a life member of the Rutland
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County Agricultural Society. He was member No. 366 and for a number of years was one of the vice-presidents of the society.
All of his life he was a subscriber to the New York Tribune and The Rutland Herald.
In 1875 and for several years previous Dyer and his wife Betsey spent a week in the summer at Saratoga. They even went to the races and on one occasion when returning to their hotel in a crowded bus Dyer took out a large roll of bills and counted them. His wife was horrified, but nothing happened. He was entirely honest and believed every one else to be the same.
In September, 1875, they took a trip west to Ann Arbor, Michi- gan, where Dyer had a sister living; then to Detroit, Cleveland and Bowling Green, Ohio, where another sister lived. He kept a very strict account of all expenses on these trips and we often find this item, "boots and barber," usually 25 cents, but in Cleveland, 35 cents. When "dressed up" he wore a black broadcloth suit, cut along "Prince Albert" lines, a black silk stock and a high silk hat.
He was rather tall and thin with extremely light blue eyes. His manner was inclined to be abrupt, but underneath he really had a heart of gold. He enjoyed horseback riding and even after he had passed ninety years, Old Gray, as the horse was named, carried him in safety to the village and all over both of his farms.
Dyer never became a member of any church but always gave financial aid to them. Among his papers was found a deed, dated 1828, to Dyer and his brother Samuel, Jr., $8 for slip No. 31 in the Baptist Meeting House. This deed was signed by William Marsh, Lent Ives and Joseph Parker. For many years he rented a pew in the Congregational Church. This rent was usually paid to his neighbor, Mr. Childs, and his contribution to the Mis- sionary Society to Mrs. Childs. In 1882 he gave toward repairs on the parsonage and to Miss Hilliard for the music.
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After Dyer's death and when his estate was settled in 1886, The Rutland Herald printed the following:
"The personal property of the late Col. Townsend was sold at auction last week. The cows averaged about $40 each. The Merino sheep were bid off by John W. Cramton, A. J. Newton and D. T. Holden of Pittsford. For the past fifty years the best blooded sheep in Vermont, or in this country, have been bred on this farm. They found a ready market in nearly all the states in the Union, from the lake-chain to the golden sands of the Pacific. Father and son have passed away and today the last descendants of this celebrated flock are sold under the auctioneer's hammer and the farm only remains as a last memento of its centenarian owner."
During the latter years of his life Dyer read the Bible through many times and considered it an inspired document. His long life was lived by the Golden Rule.
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IX. THE HOME OF THE HULLS
1786-1885 By MINNIE STAFFORD KLOCK
"There was a time before our time It will not come again."
N June 9, 1786, "Abraham Ives of Cheshire in New Haven County, state of Connecticut, for 90 Pounds Lawful Money re- ceived of Zephaniah Hull of Wallingford, Rutland County, Vermont, deeded the s'd Zephaniah Hull a parcel of land bounded on the N. W. by Samuel Hull's land and on the South by Lent Ives land-East on third teer of Lots on highway as ex- pressed in the Survey of Lots, North by Samuel Hull's land, and contains 29 acres." This deed was recorded the same day by Joseph Randall, Town Clerk.
On April 17, 1790, Samuel Hull for "50 Pounds Lawful Money" deeded to Zephaniah Hull a parcel of land on the high- way "that runs through my farm-the County road that runs North and South and the cross road that runs East and West- South side of this road until it comes to Lent Ives north line." The north and south road is now known as Main Street, or Route No. 7. The east and west road is now named Hull Avenue from Main Street to Prospect Street. Formerly it ran up the hill and joined the East Street road which runs nearly north and south.
On April 4, 1798, Lent Ives deeded to Zephaniah Hull, for the consideration of Five Dollars, a certain piece of land which lies on the East side of the Main Road leading from Clarendon to Danby "reserving the Land which the School House
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now stands upon with sufficient Room to pass around said School House" [the site of the present Rotary Building]. This deed was signed "In the Presence of Wm. Fox."
In 1801 Lent Ives deeded to Zephaniah Hull sixty acres of land on West Hill, the eastern boundary being "land owned by Phaus Jackson and the Pond." The price paid was $160.
Upon the land lying on "the East side of Main Road." Zepha- niah Hull built part of the house now owned by Mrs. W. P. Cary, and the one owned by Byron Leonard, the latter being the ell of the main house. Behind the ell was a long woodshed. Upon the corner now owned by Mr. Senif were the cow barn and the build- ing used for both pigs and poultry. The horse barn and the sheep barn were east at the rear of the long woodshed. There were other out buildings, a corn barn, a tool house, a cheese house, an ice house and a smoke house. On the side road was a house for a hired man with a family. This house is now occupied by Ernest Chase. It was the only house on the south side of the road until after the Hull home was purchased of the writer by W. P. Cary in 1907.
Zephaniah Hull and his wife Polly Hammond, had four children, Alfred, Marcus, Electa and Minerva. Alfred lived the eighty and one-half years of his life in the house where he was born.
Marcus settled in Hinesburg, Vermont, married and reared a family. He had a general store for many years. After his death, his son and son-in-law moved to Burlington, where a grandson, another Alfred Hull, lives at the present time.
Electa died at the age of seven years and is buried in the Hull lot in Green Hill Cemetery.
Minerva became the wife of Royal Avery, and spent the greater part of her married life in Gloversville, N. Y., where some of her descendants still abide.
Zephaniah Hull was a devout man. Every evening he gathered
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the members of his household about him and conducted family prayers.
The names of "Zephaniah Hull" and "Mrs. Zephaniah Hull" stand third and fourth in the list of names of members of the Con- gregational Church who joined "prior to 1798." Mr. Hull's name is on the list of the thirty men who met in 1802 to form a Con- gregational Society which has continued until this day.
He left $100 to the Society, the income to be used to provide a seat for widows of the Congregation, hence the item that ap- pears in the annual reports "Hull widows' slip, $6.00."
Zephaniah Hull was a very hard working man. Men of his generation living on farms had to be. He was honest, sincere and mild in speech. He abhorred waste of either time, opportunity, goods or money. At times this propensity came near to getting him into serious trouble.
Mr. Hull had a yoke of oxen that he greatly desired to sell. One Sunday afternoon, two men came along buying cattle and Zeph- aniah Hull sold his oxen and received cash for them. When this transaction was noised abroad, he was waited upon by a Commit- tee from the Church. They came to tell him that, unless he would say he was sorry he sold his oxen on Sunday, there would probably be some action taken by the Church. After considering a few mo- ments, Mr. Hull replied, "I am sorry, brethren, I am amazing sorry, but I want to say it a little different from what you do. I am sorry it was Sunday when I sold the oxen." He could not be induced to change that statement, being too upright to profess what he did not feel. There was never any action taken by the Church. His name still stands on the roll with an asterisk before it, indicating that he was a member of the church at the time of his death. (The writer told this story to Walter Hard a few years ago for use in his column in the Rutland Herald. He wrote it up in his inimitable way, and it appeared under the title "Zeph- aniah's Repentance.")
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The smooth meadows east and south of the Hull house when Zephaniah died had been covered with stone when he bought the land. These stones were made into fences, always spoken of as stone walls, and placed to divide garden from door yard, meadow from pasture and orchard.
A story handed down in the family tells how Zephaniah tried a different plan in one of the first years on the farm. He and his men started to dig a great pit into which the surface stones could be dumped. After a couple of days, they had dug up so many stones that he realized it was a hopeless task and decided to give it up and just put back that which lay beside the pit, only to find that nature had been a better packer than he, and some of these stones actually had to be added to the walls.
Life was easier the last ten or twelve years. His elder son, Al- fred and his daughter-in-law, Rebecca, took more and more re- sponsibility, although the old folks still held the reins, as the young couple never had a deed of anything. This fact was a source of much satisfaction to "Mrs. Zephaniah" all her days. She fre- quently reminded them of it in these words-"I am in my own house, and I'm glad I be, if others do well maybe they can stay here too."
The spring after Rebecca Hull came to Wallingford to live, she went to the attic one morning to clean. Finding an accumula- tion of worthless things there, she filled the largest basket she could find with broken earthen-ware and glassware and iron skillets with holes in them, and not knowing how else to dispose of this rubbish, she carried the basket some distance from the house and scattered it at the base of one of the stone walls. The following day Zephaniah discovered it and brought it all back, saying to her as he passed through the kitchen on his way to the attic, "You will ruin me with such waste."
The following summer, Rebecca Hull had another experience that she never forgot, yet never recalled with any ill will. She
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was as usual very busy in the kitchen, when Zephaniah suddenly appeared, and seeing a great fire on the hearth, he dashed a bucket of water on it saying, "I shall be ruined if you burn so much wood." Too dismayed to be angry, she simply said, "Father Hull, I can't have dinner ready now when the men come in from the field." They stood for an instant looking at each other, and then Father Hull said, "I didn't think of that, Rebecca. I am amazing sorry." Father Hull hastily split some very fine kindling, and brought a handful of chips from the wood yard. His daughter-in- law raked together some coals left on the edges of the hearth and fanned them into flames. Thus they had the fire going again under the kettles, but when Alfred came in from the hay field with a line of hired men following him (all mowing was done with scythes in those days), the dinner was not ready to dish up. Such a thing had not happened before since Rebecca took charge, and Alfred did not hesitate to voice his disapproval. Great was his astonishment when his father interposed with, "Well, well, Al- fred, never mind; it will do the hired men good to rest awhile. They will work all the better for it." Never before had son Alfred heard such a sentiment expressed by his hard working, hard driv- ing parent.
In the Rev. Walter Thorpe's "History of Wallingford," the name of Zephaniah Hull is included in the list of those soldiers "who fought in the stirring days of '76 and in 1812" and are buried in the village cemetery.
Zephaniah Hull died in 1840 in his eightieth year. His wife, Polly, lived sixteen years more.
Some facts and some surmises about the relatives of Zephaniah Hull.
Zephaniah's father's name was Samuel, and his grandfather's name was Caleb, according to family records owned by Alfred Hull, now of Burlington. These men lived in Wallingford, New
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Haven County, Connecticut, in New Cheshire Parish. Caleb was undoubtedly buried there.
In Green Hill Cemetery in Wallingford, Vermont, there stand side by side two headstones erected, one to the memory of Mr. Samuel Hull who died in 1791 in the 62nd year of his age, the other to the memory of Eunice Hull, consort of Samuel Hull, who died in 1803 in the 68th year of her age. On this stone are these words, "They both belonged to the same church in Cheshire in Connecticut & appeared to be persons of real piety."
In line with these stones, with an intervening space for one grave, there is another stone bearing the name of Josephus Hull, who died in 1813 in the 41st year of his age.
The Hulls were owners of land, as evidenced by many deeds still extant. Several of these deeds gave Sam'l Hull Jun. of Wall- ingford, New Haven County, Connecticut, title to tracts of land in said Wallingford in the Parish of New Cheshire. These deeds are dated 1769-71-73-76-77-79. There are also deeds from Caleb Hull "to my son Sam'l Hull Jun." dated 1774 and 1776. The first transaction was "For the consideration of One Hundred Pounds Lawful Money" and the second "For the consideration of Love, Goodwill & Natural Affection that I have for my son."
A third deed is from one John Atwater to Sam'l Hull Jun. of land "adjoining onto said Samuel Hull's land and his Honored Father's, Mr. Caleb Hull's land." This deed is dated 1766.
Seventeen hundred eighty-five is the date of the first deed of land to Sam'l Hull Jun. in Wallingford, Rutland County, Ver- mont. Seventeen hundred eighty-six the date of the second deed. Both are from Abraham Ives. The western boundary was Otter Creek, beginning at the Grist Mill. One tract of land was pur- chased "with all the buildings thereon." These buildings were probably the home of Samuel Hull, but no one knows where they stood.
There has been preserved a document which states that Zeph-
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aniah Hull was one of the executors of Samuel Hull's estate, and also a list of articles of personal property which Samuel's widow agreed to accept as her third and signed by her, Eunice Hull.
There is a bond dated 1793 that binds Jeremiah Whipple & Eunice Whipple, David & Hannah Meacham and Josephus Hull, all of Wallingford, Vermont to pay unto Zephaniah Hull and Caleb Hull, both of Wallingford aforesaid, the sum of five hundred pounds for a good authentic deed of half a right of land in the township of Stowe in Chittenden County, Vermont.
In 1795 the Meachams and Josephus Hull paid their obliga- tion, and in 1796 the Whipples paid theirs.
There is no mention made of any relationship between any of these parties. One wishes they had been as considerate of future generations as the elder Caleb was down in Wallingford, Con- necticut.
It seems probable that Zephaniah, Caleb and Josephus were brothers and that the women Hannah and Eunice were their sisters. We know that Hannah's maiden name was Hull. One wonders for whom that space between the graves of Eunice Hull and Josephus Hull was intended. Did he leave a widow who mar- ried again? We know that Caleb Hull went to Hinesburg, Ver- mont and died there.
It seems so much better to surmise than to state as facts such misstatements as are printed in the County Gazeteer, Directory of Rutland County, Vermont, compiled and published by Hamilton Child, 1881-82. A copy of this Gazeteer is in the Town Clerk's office and there one may read this about the Hulls:
"Zephaniah Hull came to Clarendon from Cheshire, Connecti- cut at an early date; locating upon the place now owned by his granddaughter, Rebecca F. Hull at Wallingford village. Rebec- ca's father, Alfred Hull, was born September 10th, 1794 and re- sided upon the old homestead all his life, dying March 28th, 1875."
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Even at this date, 1937, there are many persons living who knew both Alfred and Rebecca Hull; knew that they were hus- band and wife and that Rebecca was Alfred's widow at the time the Gazeteer appeared in Wallingford. We laughed at the mis- takes then. They do not seem funny now, rather they make us realize anew how inaccurate we are prone to be.
Alfred Hull was born in 1794 and lived all of his eighty and one-half years on the farm where he was born. Not much is known about him until after his marriage in 1827. He was a tall, broad- shouldered, well proportioned man, with dark curling hair, dark eyes, high forehead and regular features. He was always smooth shaven. His wife thought he was the best looking man in town. He was a good farmer, and a good business man. A masterful man, he expected others to do as he desired, and for one reason or another, they usually did.
His one expletive, used so frequently as to render it impossible to recall him without also recalling that, was "condemit." This indicated either anger or annoyance. Many times it was uttered just because it had become a habit.
The town records show that he was first selectman in 1842-43- 44-45-47 and -48.
Alfred was not a devout man like his father, Zephaniah. He never united with any church, although he attended and helped support the Congregational Church. He was a member of the society and often served on committees appointed to transact business of various kinds-as shown by the following items copied from the society records, 1844: "Mosley Hall, John Fox, Alfred Hull appointed a committee to settle with the executors of Alexander Miller for the legacy in the last will and testament of s'd Miller for the support of Congregational preaching in Wallingford, North Village." 1846: "Society voted to have Al- fred Hull see Mr. Benton about teaching singing school." (A
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Miller fund provided the money.) 1848: "Voted I. M. Hill, Al- fred Hull and Harvey Button a committee to consult with the family of the late Rev. Stephen Martindale and procure a monu- ment for his grave." 1852: "Voted a committee of three, H. But- ton, Alfred Hull and Samuel Townsend to amend the constitution and fix a sum to each members name to raise a tax to support preaching for the year ensuing." 1854: "Voted Alfred Hull and P. G. Clark building committee, whole matter of repairs to be left to them when the money is raised."
The subscription paper that was circulated to find out how much money could be secured for the repairs was found recently in an attic in the village. There are thirty-three names in the list, and as of old, some gave of their abundance and some of their need, the sums ranging from $2.00 to $125.00. Those who gave $50.00 or more were Elizur Munson $125.00, Alfred Hull, P. G. Clark, I. B. Munson and I. M. Hill each $100.00. H. Button, E. W. Kent and E. Martindale $75.00. R. Hall $65.00. John Miller $55.00. Joel Hill and H. Harris $50.00. The whole amount sub- scribed was $1,284.00.
Mr. Hull continued to be active in church affairs until in 1869 we find this item: "Alfred Hull asked to be excused from serving" on a committee. The name of a younger man was substituted and the Hull name does not appear on the records after that date.
Outside of his family, his chief interests in life were always farming and accumulating money.
His wife worked harder and more hours than he did, but she had to have a little fun now and then. She went one afternoon to David Sabin's store South of Roaring Brook bridge to buy some goblets. After she had made her purchase, Mr. Sabin showed Mrs. Hull some new designs in Bennington ware that he had just added to his stock. One was a milk pitcher in the form of a cow, the milk was poured out of the cow's mouth and the tail switched up over her back formed the handle. Mrs. Hull was interested
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but not in the way Mr. Sabin had expected. She said to him "I am going to send Mr. Hull down here to buy your cow-when he comes you show him this one." So when she reached home she told Alfred that David Sabin had a fine cow that he wanted to sell, she had seen it, a very glossy, brown cow; and Mr. Hull, who was always willing to buy a good cow, went to see Mr. Sabin at once, taking a whip with which to drive the cow back. He re- turned owning no more live stock than when he left home-and as he entered the kitchen door he looked pretty grim and raised that whip saying to his wife, "Condemit, I've a great mind to," but of course he didn't.
If Alfred Hull had bought that "sleek, brown cow" of David Sabin, and it had been preserved intact until this day, doubtless it would be more valuable than several cows in his herd at that time.
Probably the Merino sheep industry brought more money into the Hull coffers than any other branch of farming.
There was a time when a fleece was worth from $2.50 to $3.50 and washed wool from fifty to seventy-five cents a pound even from a herd of not the very highest grade.
Sheep raising called for hard work in lambing and in shearing time. In the spring time, before the shearing, came the washing of the sheep in some stream; a very cold, hard job. The sheep owner dealt out a portion of rum to each worker to prevent his taking cold. The wool and the fleeces were stored in the wool room at the top of the house. Hospitality was extended by the Hulls to very many persons. Once this was abused by a cousin of some degree to Mr. Hull; fleeces were found to have mysteriously disappeared. Later it was discovered that the visiting Electa had been slipping up to the wool room after dark and throwing them out of the window into the driveway, where they were caught, or picked up by the waiting Eustace. He was a much younger and less intelli- gent person whom the cousin had decided to marry, and even-
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tually did. The couple lived and died in the house adjoining the school yard now owned by Miss Anna Cole.
There were amusing incidents connected with the sheep rais- ing. In cold weather the ewes were kept at night in the large sheep barn where the floor was of earth covered thickly with straw. A visiting city lady was taken out to see them and after peering around she said to her host; "Oh! Mr. Hull, do show me which is the little lamb's Pa." He explained that the sire of the flock abode in the sheep pen.
It always seemed a most appropriate design for the iron fence around the cemetery lot to be a lamb lying down under a small tree on each picket, and on the two gates a large spreading tree with a sheep on either side. This design might be said to typify the farming business and also that part of it which provided money for the fence. This fence was placed in the sixties; the monument of Barre granite in the center of the lot in the next decade.
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