USA > Vermont > Washington County > Montpelier > The History of Washington County in the Vermont historical gazetteer : including a county chapter and the local histories of the towns of Montpelier. > Part 5
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The cold season of 1816, I have been told by those living at the time, the snow
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fell a foot deep here the eighth of June. The trees full in leaf looked after the freeze as if a fire had over-ran the woods. Many were broken by the weight of the snow, and the apple crop was spoiled, and hardly enough corn raised for seed ; but the ce- reals and the wheat gave abundant har- vest, and there was no famine.
Champlain, on the Lake that took his name, saw mountains to the east covered with snow the 4th of July, 1609. Our winters have considerably shortened since the settlement of the country, and our snow-fall and rain-fall no doubt dimin- ished.
We are aware of our incompleteness in this chapter. We have invited the mem- bers of the Bar and clerks of the County Court to add whatever may be of interest in that direction, receiving some encour- agement it would be done. The social societies of the County are so much of the nature of those already given by others, we have not thought their interest with the repetition, desirable.
Montpelier, 1869.
BARRE.
BY HON CARLOS CARPENTER.
BARRE is situated in the S. E. part of Washington Co., lat, 44° II', long. 4º 31', bounded N. by East Montpelier and Plain- field, E. by Orange, S. by Williamstown and Washington, W. by Berlin, contains 19,900 acres, and was chartered Nov. 6, 1780, to William Williams and 66 others by the name of Wildersburgh, and organ- ized under that name Mar. 11, 1793: Jo- seph Dwight, first town clerk; Joseph Sherman, Joseph Dwight, Nathan Har- rington, selectmen ; Jonas Nichols, treas- urer ; Job Adams, constable ; Isaac S. Thompson, Apollos Hale, Elias Cheney listers. The name of the town was soon after changed. At a town meeting holden Sept. 3, 1793,
Voted, that the man that will give the most towards building a meeting-house in said town, shall name the town, and the town will petition the Legislature for that name. The name of the town vendued and bid off by Ezekiel Dodge Wheeler,
for 62 { lawful money, he being the high- est bidder, and said Wheeler named the town Barre.
At the same meeting,
Voted, to recommend Lt. Benj. Walker to serve as justice of peace.
At the March meeting in 1794, the town
Voted, to vendue the collectorship to the person who will collect the taxes for the least premium, and the collectorship was vendued to Joel Shurtliff, and he is to give the town three pence, three farthings on the pound for the privilege of collecting all the town taxes.
At a town meeting holden June 23, 1794, the town
Voted, to choose a committee of three to procure a preacher of the Gospel. . By vote, chose Benj. Walker, Esq., Apollos Hale and Samuel D. Cooke, committee.
The town at an early day evinced a de- sire to look after the moral, social and religious interests of the people that should come among them to settle on the lands, and clear them up to make a thriving com- munity.
The settlement was commenced about 1788, by Samuel Rogers and John Golds- bury, who came into town with their fam- ilies. Soon after, a number of families came in, and from 1790, the town became rapidly settled by emigrants from Massa- chusetts and New Hampshire. It was first represented in the General Assembly in 1793, by Nathan Harrington. The town lies 6 miles easterly from Montpelier.
The Vt. Cent. R. R. extended its line to Barre in 1875. The first passenger train carried students and those attending Goddard Seminary Commencement ex- ercises, July 1, 1875, since which passen- ger and freight trains have run regularly. L. F. Aldrich, first station agent, appointed in August, 1875, served till June 1, 1878; E. K. Williams, from June I to July 8, 1878 ; and M. C. Kinson, appointed July 20, 1878, is present station agent.
Thos. W. Bailey has been passenger conductor since the road was opened, and Dexter Moody baggage-master ; engineers, James Bowers, Robert Gregg, David Dan- iels, and present engineer, Albert Ças- well. The cars have never but once been
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off the irons, it is said, on this line, and no serious accident has yet occurred. The freight business at Barre depot is ranked about the fourth on the Vt. Central lines. Barre is the present terminus of this line (1881) but it is expected it will soon be extended to Royalton, Windsor Co.
Barre has two flourishing schools-the Academy and Seminary.
BARRE ACADEMY.
BY CHAS. A. SMITH, OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
BARRE ACADEMY was chartered by the Legislature in 1849. Of the first board of trustees, chosen by the corporators, Hon. Newell Kinsman was president, and Hon. Leonard Keith, secretary. In 1853, the board was increased to 25 members, who have full oversight and administration of the affairs of the school. The present of- ficers of the board are : President, Hon. Hiram Carleton, of Montpelier ; Secretary, Chas. A. Smith; Barre Prudential Com- mittee, E.W. Bisbee, Esq., H. O.Worthen, M. D., Hon. R. E. Patterson. The acad- emy building was erected in 1852. The school opened in that autumn, with J. S. Spaulding, A. M., principal, who came from Bakersfield, Vt., where, as Prof. Ben- edict, of Burlington, wrote for the " Free Press " at that time, he had " acquired a high reputation by his superior manage- ment of Bakersfield Academy." Mr Spaulding continued at the head of Barre Academy until his death, which occurred suddenly of heart disease, Apr. 29, 1880, and during all this time he maintained his reputation as one of the ablest and most successful teachers of the State, and by his persistent and self-denying labors made the Academy one which, for excellent dis- cipline and thorough practical training, was unsurpassed by any school in the country. Mr. Spaulding's influence was also felt among all the teachers of the State. He was one of the founders, and for many years the president, of the Ver- mont State Teachers' Association. He was keenly alive to all the material inter- ests of the community in which he resided, by his instruction of the young men, by his conversations with the fathers, and by
the enthusiastic labors and the practical experiments by which he converted the little farm on which he lived and died from a barren hillside pasture to a fertile field, and pleasant grounds, with quiet walks and cooling shades ; he did much to awaken among the farmers of town a higher idea of their calling, and to stimulate a taste for scientific farming in its truest sense. He was chosen a delegate to the constitutional convention in 1870 ; in 1876, elected a representative to the legislature. The degree of L.L. D. was conferred upon him by Middlebury College in 1868.
Dr. Spaulding was born in Tewksbury, Mass., and while a child, removed with his parents to Temple, N. H,, where he lived until he entered Dartmouth College in 1837, graduating in 1841. He was soon after married to Miss Mary W. Taylor, who in his labors was a most interested and efficient co-worker, and who now sur- vives him. They had no children.
The school has since the death of Dr. Spaulding been under the charge of A. N. Wheelock, A. M., a graduate of the insti- tution, class '73, and of the U. V. M., class '78, and under his able management, promises to maintain its high reputation among the educational institutions of the State. There have been connected with the school as assistant principals since its establishment 24 gentlemen : Rev. Sim- eon Gilbert, editor of the Advance, Chi- cago, Ill. ; Rev. A. W. Hazen, of Middle- town, Ct .; I. W. Camp, A. M., Chicago, Ill .; Hon. John M. Thatcher, ex-Com missioner of Patents, Chicago, Ill. ; Hon. Senaca Hasleton, Judge of Municipal Court, Burlington, Vt., and others ; and about 30 ladies, some of whom have been well known teachers in other schools of the land, have been employed as assist- ants. The number of scholars of both sexes who have completed the courses of studies prescribed has been nearly 300, and the honorable record made by some of these, and of the thousands more who have been for a longer or a shorter period connected with the school, afford the surest testimony of the faithful work done by its teachers in the past. Names of a few old
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students who have become prominent in Mr. King, who was, on the departure of the robbers left with his family, bound in his house, nearly half a mile from the village, the localities in which they have settled, and in the calling they have chosen. Wal- worth Z. Mitchell, Esq., Superintendent of but who soon slipped his bonds, and alarm- Schools, Memphis, Tenn .; Hon. John I. ed the officers of the bank. A pursuit was instituted, which resulted in the capture of one of the burglars near Rumney, N. H., the next day, and subsequently two others of the gang were arrested in New York city. One was delivered up to serve out an unexpired term at Sing Sing ; one, Geo. Miles with numerous aliases, was brought to Mont- pelier, tried and sentenced to 15 years in the State Prison. The one first arrested, called Peter Curley, turned state's evi- dence, and was discharged. Gilbert, Malone, N. Y .; Hon. John M. Thatcher, Chicago, Ill. ; Percis A. Thomp- son, teacher, Goddard Seminary, Barre, Vt .; Rev. Geo. P. Beard, Principal S. N. School, Shippenburgh, Pa .; Miss Emily Cook, teacher, Chicago, Ill .; Hon. Geo. L. Godfrey, Des Moines, Iowa ; Hon. Al- bert Clark, St. Albans, Vt .; Rev. J. J. Lewis, So. Boston, Mass .; Hon. M. B. Carpenter, Denver, Colorado ; Hon. Senaca Hasleton, Burlington, Vt. The Academy has always been under the control of those Mr. King resigned his position as cash- ier June II, 1877, and was succeeded by E. D. Blackwell, who resigned Feb. 26, 1881, to become cashier of the National Bank of Montpelier, F. L. Eaton being chosen to succeed him. who are Congregationalists; still there has never been any discrimination with respect to the advantages of the school, and there is nothing in the rules or the discipline of the school which distinguishes between scholars of this and any other re- ligious belief. The corriculum of studies covers a course of 4 years, and is admirably adapted to fit students for any New Eng- land college, or for the active pursuit of a business or professional life. The attend- ance for the school year, ending June 16, 1881, aggregated 175. The graduating class numbered 9-5 gentlemen and 4 ladies.
THE NATIONAL BANK OF BARRE.
CONTRIBUTED BY MR. SMITH.
It was chartered and organized Jan. II, 1873, by the removal of the old Chelsea Bank to this place, effected through the in- fluence of Hon. B. W. Bartholomew, of Washington, Vt., and Dr. Braley, of Barre. Dr. N. W. Braley was chosen President of the first board of directors, and William G. Austin, Cashier. Mr. Austin died of ty- phoid fever in the autumn of the same year, and was succeeded by Chas. A. King till 1877.
On the night of the 5th of July, 1875, an attempt was made to burglarize the bank by compelling the Cashier to disclose the combination of the locks, which was foiled by a chronometer lock that had been placed upon the safe only a few days previous.
By the prompt and courageous action of
There have been chosen II directors of the bank since its organization, of whom only two have died in office : Hon. Luther M. Martin, of Williamstown, died in 1874, and Dr. Braley in 1880. The capital stock of the bank was at its organization $200,- 000, but by a vote of the stockholders in 1880, it was reduced to $100,000. The board of directors chosen at the annual meeting in 1881, were L. F. Aldrich, Jo- siah Wood, Willard S. Martin, B. W. Braley and J. M. Perry. These elected L. F. Aldrich, president, B. W. Braley, vice president, F. L. Eaton, cashier.
NORMAN W. BRALEY, M. D.,
The first President of the National Bank of Barre, was born in Pomfret, Vt., Aug. 14, 1823, and was graduated at the Vt. Medical College at Woodstock, in 1844. He soonafter commenced practice in Wash- ington, Vt., where he remained a few years, and moved to Chelsea, where he lived until he came to Barre. By his skill and suc- cess as a physician, the Doctor in the 25 years of his practice gained an extensive and a lucrative ride and a reputation which placed him in the first rank of physicians in the State. He removed to Barre in 1872, and identified himself at once with the
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business interests of the place, using his influence, and freely contributing of his means to further every enterprise which promised to promote the prosperity of the place. He died Sept. 11, 1880, of ap- oplexy. His wife, Mrs. Armina P. (Ca- liff) Braley, to whom he was married Nov. 16, 1852, and 3 sons, survive him.
GODDARD SEMINARY.
At the annual session of the Vt. State Convention of Universalists in Montpelier, 1863, a committee was appointed to ob- tain a charter for a state denominational school of the highest grade below that of college, and the charter was obtained of the Legislature the same fall, under title of Green Mountain Central Institute ; name changed Nov. 1870, to Goddard Seminary,
The charter has the right to hold per- sonal and real estate to the amount of $100,000. The charter obtained, Prof. Shipman, now of Tufts College, took the field to raise money till Sept. 1864; raised $15,000 ; increased afterwards by Rev. J. J. Lewis, Rev. S. W. Squire and others, to about $50,000, and $10,000 was given by the late Thomas A. Goddard, of Boston. Fall of 1864, location was re- ferred to committee : Rev. A. A. Miner, D. D., Boston, Hon. E. Trask, Spring- field, Mass., Rev. G. W. Bailey, Lebanon, N. H. Springfield, So. Woodstock, Bethel, Northfield and East Montpelier competed for the institution. It is said through in- Huence of Judge Tilden, largely, Barre lo- cation won, a 93 acre lot of land on an elevated plain, a little to the north of Barre village, commanding a wide and beautiful prospect. The building com- mittee was Hon. Heman Carpenter, L. F. Aldrich, Charles Templeton ; T. W. Sil- loway, of Boston, architect. Juglge Car- penter was a devoted friend to the enter- prise, and Messrs. Aldrich and Templeton gave the greater part of their time for 3 years without remuneration. The building was completed in about 4 years. 160 ft. length ; central part, 52 ft. sq. ; wings, 53} ft. length by 43 width ; 9 feet back from central front ; foundation bed, coarse, hard gravel ; walls, split granite, laid in mortar
upward to basement windows ; height, 5 stories ; body of edifice, hard-burnt bricks, best quality ; material taken out of the hill on which the building stands ; manufac- tured on the spot at cost of about 7,000 ; at top of basement story, belt 9 inches width, of hewn granite, with fine cut work 4 inches deep extending completely around the building ; window-sills and edifice trim- mings, all of granite ; over central part, two towers, extending 45 feet above the main building ; but the charm of all, is the scenery amid which it is located. The sweep of view is remarkably fine the site commands. It was opened for instruction Feb. 1870, L. L. Burington, A. M., first principal, for 23 years, now principal of Dean Academy, Mass. F. M. Harris was the second principal, 1} years, now prin- cipal of Somerville, Mass., High School. Henry Priest, the third and present prin- cipal, has now presided over the institution 7 years. The whole number of students to 1881, 831 ; graduates, 132 ; average at- tendance, 275. Rev. C. H. Eaton, class of '70, first class of Goddard Seminary, is pastor of the Church of Divine Paternity, in place of the late E. H. Chapin, New York.
Both the Academy and Seminary at Barre have always been open to the edu- cation of both sexes, and have always main- tained an honorable and high position in the State as educational institutions.
The Seminary has about $80,000 in- vested in school property ; fund of $10,000 just completed-June, 1881. Present board of teachers : Henry Priest, principal, as- sisted by Charles C. Bates, A. M., and J. N. Darling, B. Ph., in fall term; Miss Flora C. Eaton, preceptress ; Misses P. A. Thompson, A. J. Watson, S. C. Tilden, F. A. West, F. J. Hopkins, assistant teach- ers ; W. A. Wheaton, music-teacher ; J. M. Kent, penmanship. Number of trustees (1880) 30 ; President, Rev. W. R. Ship- man, A. M., College Hill, Mass .; Vice President, N. W. Braley, M. D. (deceased) Barre ; Secretary and Treasurer, George Tilden, Barre ; Hon. Harvey Tilden, L. F. Aldrich, Henry Priest, Charles Templeton, David W. Mower, Esq., Miles Morrison,
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Esq., Rev. W. M. Kimmell, trustees re- siding in Barre, other trustees residing in the County: Rev. J. E. Wright, Hon. Chas. H. Heath, Hon. Clark King, A. J. Hollister, Esq., Montpelier ; Hon. Heman Carpenter, John Gregory, Northfield ; I. S. Dwinell, Calais ; S. D. Hollister, Marsh- field. Miss Tilden, teacher, now Mrs. Averill.
The soil of the town is generally very good, producing wheat, rye, oats, corn and potatoes in abundance; along the streams the meadows produce good crops of hay. There is an abundance of sugar maple on the lands back from the streams, from which a large amount of sugar is yearly made.
LIST OF REPRESENTATIVES, AND THE YEARS OF REPRESENTATION.
Nathan Harrington, 1793 ; Asaph Sher- man, 1794, '95, '96; Benjamin Walker, 1797, '99 ; Nathaniel Killam, 1798; James Fisk, 1800, '1, '2, '3, '4, '9, '10, '15; Lu- ther Holton, 1805 ; Nathan Carpenter, 1806 ; John Dodge, 1807, 1808; Nathan Stone, 1811 ; Warren Ellis, 1812, '13, '14, '16, '17, '20, '22 ; Phineas Thompson, 1818, '19, '27 ; Jacob Scott, 1821 ; Peter Nichols, 1823, '26, '28; Denison Smith, 1824, '25, .'29 ; Alvan Carter, 1830, '32, '33; Lucius B. Peck, 1831 ; John Twing, 1834, '35 ; Jacob Scott, Jr., 1836, '37, '38; Newell Kins- man, 1839, '40 ; Leonard Keith, 1841, '42 ; David D. Wing, 1843, '44 ; Webber Tilden, 1845 ; Obadiah Wood, 1846; George W. Collamer, 1847, '48 ; Harvey Tilden, 1849 ; Warren H. Ellis, 1850 ; Jesse Scott, 1851, '52 ; Denison K. Smith, 1853, '57 ; Joseph Sargent, 1854, '55; Joseph C. Parker, 1856; None, 1858, '61, '64; Leonard F. Aldrich, 1859, '60 ; Ira Holden, 1862, '63 ; Geo. W. Tilden, 1865, '66; Frank Staf- ford, 1867; Charles Q. Reed, 1868 ; Wil- liam E. Whitcomb, 1869, '70, '71.
LIST OF TOWN CLERKS.
Joseph Dwight, 1793, '94, '95 ; Gardner Wheeler, 1796, '97; Nathan Carpenter, 1798, '99, 1800, '1, '2, '3, '4, '5, '6; Sher- man Minott, 1807, '8, '9, '10; Warren Ellis, 1811, '12, '13, '14, '15, '16, '17 ; Jo- seph Ripley, 1818 to 1840; Alvan Carter,
1841 to 1862; Albert Johonnott, 1863; Clark Holden, 1864; Carlos Carpenter, 1865, '66, '67, '68, '69, '70, '71.
LIST OF FIRST COSNTABLES.
Job Adams, 1793, '97; Joel Shurtliff, 1794 ; Samuel Scott, 1795 ; Isaac S. Thomp- son, 1796, 1812; Apollos Hale, 1798; James Paddock, 1799, 1800, '1, 10, 11, '13 ; Reuben Carpenter, 1802, 1803; Phineas Thompson, 1804; Ezekiel D. Wheeler, 1805 ; Chapin Keith, 1806,'7, '9; Andrew Dewey, 1808; Peter Nichols, 1814, '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '23, '24, '25, '26, '27, '28 ; Moses Rood, Jr., 1820, '21, '22; Lewis Peck, 1829 ; Otis Peck, 1830, '31, '32, '33, '34, '35 ; Thomas Town, 1836, '37, '38, '39 ; Alvan Drury, 1840, '41, '42, '43, '44, '45, '47, '48, '49, '50, '51 ; Joseph C. Parker, 1852 ; Silas Town, Jr., 1853; David D. Wing, 1854, '55, '56 ; Micah French, 1857, '58, '59 ; N. F. Averill, 1860, '61, '62, '63, '68, '69, '70, '71 ; A. M. Jackman, 1846, 1865; A. A. Nichols, 1864; Ira P. Har- rington, 1866; A. J. Smith, 1867.
COL. BENJAMIN WALKER
was one of the early settlers in Barre. He was born in Rehoboth, Mass., 1751, was a Lieutenant in the Revolution, was at the capture of Burgoyne, and commanded a company of the Massachusetts line, (his captain being sick). He removed to Barre, Mar. 1793; held the office of selectman a number of years; was a Colonel of the militia ; was the first justice of the peace ; represented the town in the General As- sembly, and was called to discharge the duties of arbitrator and committee to settle matters of difference between his towns- men and the towns around him in num- berless instances. He was quite infirm for some years previous to his death, which occurred at Barre, May, 1823.
MAJOR NATHAN HARRINGTON
was the sixth settler in Barre. He came from Holden, Mass., about the year 1790, and settled on the East hill in the town ; cleared the farm on which his grand-son, Ira P. Harrington, now resides ; was one of the first board of selectmen; was the first town representative, and discharged the duties of many of the town offices, with
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great promptness. He was a Mark Antony man-He "spoke right on," was always kind and generous, frank and honest. He was nearly blind some years before his death, which occurred at Barre, July 30, 1828, aged 71 years.
HQN. JAMES FISK
came into Barre about 1796, from Green- wich, Mass. ; was elected one of the se- lectmen in 1799, a member of the Legisla- ture in 1800, and represented the town 9 years : was a judge of the County Court in 1802 ; was 10 years a Member of Congress ; received the appointment of Governor of the Territory of Indiana, which he de- clined ; was a Senator in Congress from 1817 to 1819, when he accepted the ap- pointment of Collector for the District of Vermont, and subsequently removed to Swanton. He was a very able and efficient legislator : could express his views upon almost any subject without previous prep- aration. He was a firm friend of Mr. Madison, and frequently counselled with him relative to the subject of carrying on the War of 1812. Judge Fisk was a Re- publican of that time, and a live Whig in 1840. He died some years since.
HON. WARREN ELLIS
came into Barre about 1803, from Clare- mont, N. H. ; was born May 24, 1777. He was a saddler by trade, and carried on the business very successfully. He gave con- siderable attention to music, was a good performer on the violin, taught singing, and was one of the best vocalists of his day. After he had done singing in public, he took great delight in conversing and in- structing others in the science of music. He held the office of town clerk of Barre 7 years, was judge of the County Court 6 years, and represented the town 7 years in the General Assembly. He has one son, Warren H. Ellis, Esq,, who resides at Waukegan, Ill .; is clerk of the County Court for that county, and one daughter, Mrs. D. H. Sherman, who resides in the West. He died at Barre, June 10, 1842, aged 65 years.
DEACON JONAS NICHOLS
was one of the first settlers in Barre ; took
up the lot of land on which John N. Wilson now resides ; cleared it up, and resided on the same lot until his death, which took place Aug. 26, 1841, aged 96 years.
CAPT. JOSEPH WATSON
settled at an early day in the south-easterly part of the town ; carried on the tanning and shoemaker business a number of years. He became involved in building a part of the Chelsea turnpike in 1808 ; sold out and retired from business, but lived to the age of 99 years. His death occurred June 7, 1862.
HON. DENISON SMITH
came into Barre about 1808, from Plain- field, N. H., and established himself as an attorney, and became eminent in his pro- fession. He was called to many offices of trust ; was 6 years State's attorney, 3 years a member of the Legislature, and one year judge of the County Court. In all his business relations, he was ever true to every trust ; was genial, kind and affable ; never urging suitors into litigation. His health was poor for some years previous to his death, which occurred at Barre, Feb. 8, 1836, aged 51 years. He left one son,
DENISON K. SMITH,
who was a graduate of Dartmouth College ; fitted himself for the practice of law, re- sided in Barre, and became a good book lawyer. He represented the town in the Legislature 2 years, and was State's at- torney 2 years. He was twice married, but was without wife or children at his death, which took place at Barre, Mar. 6, 1860 ; age 38 years.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN BARRE. BY REV. L. TENNEY.
The Congregational church was organ- ized Nov. 14, 1799, consisting of 12 mem- bers. The council called for the organiza- tion of the church was made up of Revs. Richard Ransom, of Woodstock, John Ransom, of Rochester, Jonathan Kinney, of Plainfield, and James Hobart, of Berlin, and Deacon William Wood, delegate from Woodstock. During the first 7 years the church had no settled pastor. February 22, 1807, the Rev. Aaron Palmer was or-
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dained, and his ministry continued until his death, Feb. 7, 1821.
Rev. Justus W. French was ordained over this church May 23, 1822, and dis- missed Dec. 22, 1831.
Rev. Joseph Thatcher was installed Jan. 6, 1835, and dismissed Jan. 31, 1838.
Rev. James W. Wheelock was installed Sept. 17, 1838, and dismissed Nov. 20, 1839.
Rev. Andrew Royce was installed Feb. 24, 1841, and dismissed Sept. 18, 1856.
Rev. E. Ervin Carpenter was installed Dec. 22, 1857, and dismissed Mar. 6, 1867.
Rev. Leonard Tenney commenced preaching for this people in Oct., 1867, and still (1871) continues to be their minister.
The first meeting-house was raised in the fall of 1804, but was not fully finished until 1808. The church and society con- tinued to worship there until 1841, when the present brick church was erected, which has since been very tastefully fitted up inside, by frescoing and carpeting, etc. It has a fine toned bell and a large organ, and the attendance has always been quite large. A large and flourishing Sabbath- school has been kept up for many years past.
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