The history of Washington county, in the Vermont historical gazetteer:, Part 94

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890, [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Montpelier, Vt., Vermont watchman and state journal press
Number of Pages: 1066

USA > Vermont > Washington County > The history of Washington county, in the Vermont historical gazetteer: > Part 94

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Soon after 1810, Mr. Davis commenced what is now the village of East Calais, by building at that place, a grist-mill, saw- mill, nail factory, a scythe factory, and opening a store ; subsequently this prop- erty was surrendered to 2 of his daughters, having married the Hon. Shubael Wheeler and Samuel Rich, Jr. Esq. Another daughter, who married N. C. King, Esq., was equally as well provided for.

In 1825, Mr. Davis having closed his mercantile business, and disposed of his outside property, as above, in connection with his son commenced doing a more ex- tensive farming business, by buying farm after farm, till they were able to sell more than 100 head of beef cattle per annum.

In 1838, they built the large woolen fac- tory at North Montpelier, which, in con- sequence of an unfortunate partnership, entered into at the completion of the build- ing, was a very disastrous enterprise. He died in 1843, aged 74 years.

(From Thompson's History of Montpelier.)

GEN. PEARLEY DAVIS,

a son of Nathaniel and Sarah Davis, was born in Oxford, (in the part afterwards becoming Charlton, ) Mass., Mar. 31, 1766, and, after receiving rather an unusually good English education, at the then new academy in the neighboring town of Lei- cester, including a knowledge of survey- ing, he came into town with Col. Davis,

Among the men of business prominence in the early history of the town, none were more conspicuous than Nathaniel Davis. He was born at Oxford, Mass., Nov, 25, 1769 ; in 1789, he came to Montpelier and purchased a tract of land in the north-east part of the town, and commenced a clear- I bringing his set of surveyor's instruments.

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and at once engaging in the original sur- veys of the township, first as an assistant and finally as a principal surveyor of the town and county.

It was while thus employed, as he once told the writer of this sketch, that, coming on to the splendid swell of forest land then crowning the elevation at the center of the town, he was so struck with the general indications of the soil and the natural beauty of the location, as seen beneath the growth of stately maples, cumbered with little underbrush, that he resolved he would here make his pitch, feeling confident that this must be the seat of town business, and then believing even that it would become the site of its most populous village.

The mistake of Gen. Davis, so far as regarded the growing up of much of a village on the highlands of the town, ap- pears to have been quite a common one with our early settlers. Impressed at first, as he was, with the inviting appearance of the higher parts of their respective town- ships, when contrasted with the forbidding aspect of the dark and tangled valleys, the most able and enterprising of them, for a general thing, made their pitches accord- ingly, as in the instances of the settlements of Randolph, Danville, and dozens of other towns in this State. But they soon found their anticipated villages slipping down into the valleys, to leave them, in that respect, high and dry on the hills, with the most traveled roads all winding along the streams. First, there must be mills ; then a place near to shoe horses ; then a place for refreshment of both man and horse ; and while all this is going on, it is a convenience and a saving of time to be able to purchase a few family necessa- ries; thence, to meet these calls, first comes the blacksmith's shop, then the tav- ern, then the store; and you have the neucleus of a continually growing village already formed ; while people soon find out it is easier going round a hill than over it, and build their roads accordingly.

So far, however, as regarded the seat of town business, Gen. Davis' predictions were fulfilled ; for he, having pitched on a tract of 300 acres of land at the center, and built a commodious house, had the satisfaction of seeing it the receptacle of all town meetings till a public house was erected ; and the latter was the place of such meetings, either for the whole town or his part of it, up to the day of his death. At all these town meetings he was always an active and influential participator. And in looking over the records of the town for the first half century of its corpo- rate existence, we can scarcely find a page on which his name does not appear coup-

led with some of its most important trusts or offices.

In 1794, he was elected captain of the first military company ever organized in town ; and before the year had closed he was promoted to the office of major of the regiment formed from the companies of the different towns in this section. In 1798, he was elected a colonel of the regiment ; and in 1799, he was still further promoted to the prominent post of general. In 1799, he was also honored by his townsmen with a seat in the legislature, and received from them 2 elections as their representa- tive in the General Assembly.

In 1794, Gen. Davis married Miss Re- becca Peabody, daughter of Col. Stephen Peabody of Amherst, N. H., the lady of whose medical skill and general usefulness we have particularly spoken while treating of the incidents and characters of the early settlement. From this union sprang 7 daughters, most of whom lived to connect themselves with the best families of this or other towns; and one of them, (now (deceased,) Mrs. Truman Pitkin, whose family occupy the old homestead, was the mother of Perley P Pitkin, Esq., the present representative of East Montpelier ; while of the surviving, one, endowed with high gifts of poesy, is the widow of the late Hon. S. Pitkin, and another the wife of the Hon. Royal Wheeler.

Gen. Davis, in the expanded benevolence of his mind, appeared to take an interest in the welfare of all his fellow-men, and par- ticularly so of the young, for whose im- provement in knowledge he labored earn- estly and always. He was one of the most active and liberal in establishing a Town Li- brary. He was ever anxious to see our com- mon schools supplied with competent teach - ers ; and in subscriptions, and in the educa- tion of his daughters, he largely patronized our academy. He was one of the most pleasant, animated and instructive of com- panions, one of the best of neighbors, and one of the most public spirited and useful of citizens. In short, with his strong, massive person, prepossessing face, intelli- gent eye, genial and hearty manner, and earnest tone of conversation, he was one whom the world would unite in calling a grand old fellow, and as such he will be remembered till the last of the generation who knew him shall have followed him to the grave.

He died April 14, 1848, at the age of a little over 82 years. His relict, Mrs. Re- becca Peabody Davis, died Feb. 5, 1854, aged about 83 years and 6 months.

CLARK STEVENS

was born in Rochester, Mass., Nov. 15, 1764. At the age of 18, he was drafted as

Clark Stevens is my name From youth to age its been the same

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EAST MONTPELIER.

a soldier, and served in that capacity sev- eral months during one of the last years of the American Revolution. After leav- ing the army, he engaged himself as a sea- man at the neighboring port of New Bed- ford, and spent several years in the ven- tures of the ocean. But the perils he had here encountered in the whaling and coast- ing trade, not only revived the religious impressions formerly experienced, but led him to resolve on the quiet pursuits of husbandry, and to remove, with that object in view, to the new town of Montpelier in Vermont. Accordingly he immigrated in- to this town in 1790, in company with David Wing, the elder, and his sons, pur- chased and at once began to clear up the valuable farm near Montpelier East village, which has ever since been the family homestead. After effecting a considerable opening in the wilderness, and building the customary log-house and barn, he re- turned to the land of his fathers, and, Dec. 13, 1792, married Miss Huldah Foster of his native Rochester ; brought her imme- diately on and installed her as the mistress of his heart and household.

Soon after his marriage, Mr. Stevens appears to have been more deeply than ever exercised with his religious convictions ; when soon, by the aid of some neighbors who, like himself, had previously united themselves with the Society of Friends or Quakers, he built a log-meeting-house on the bank of a little brook a short distance to the north-west of his dwelling. And here, under his lead, that little band of congenial worshipers established in the wilderness the first altar for the worship of the living God ever erected in Wash- ington County. Subsequently this band was received into membership with the New York Society of Friends, who held monthly meetings in Danby, in the south- western part of Vermont, which meetings were eventually established at Starksboro, in this State. Of the latter, he became a regular monthly attendant, and in 1815, having, besides being the leader and teacher of his Society at home, travelled, each year, hundreds of miles to attend monthly, quarterly and yearly meetings in Vermont, New York, and in the different States of New England, and everywhere evinced his faithfulness as a laborer, and his ability as a religious speaker and teach- er, he was publicly acknowledged by the Starksboro Association as a regular and accepted minister of the gospel. Years before this, through his instrumentality, and that of his worthy and perhaps most energetic fellow-laborer in the cause, the late Caleb Bennett, his Society at home had been considerably enlarged, and a

commodious meeting-house erected a half mile or more distant from the first primi- tive one above mentioned.

But if Clark Stevens was a man of the intelligence and virtue which caused him to be placed in such a prominent position in his religious connections, why was he not, as well as other citizens of his town of the same grade of capacity, promoted to posts of civil trusts, or other wordly hon- ors ? It was because, after having been made the second town clerk of the town, and reluctantly consented to serve in that ca- pacity one year-it was simply because he ever uniformly declined to accept them. Time and again would the town gladly have made him their representative in the Legislature. But all movements of that kind were by him promptly discouraged and stopped at the outset. On the organ- ization of the new county of Jefferson, in such high esteem were his worth and abili- ties held by the leading men of the county at large that, on their united recommenda- tion, he was, without his knowledge or consent, appointed by the Legislature to the more important and tempting office of a judge of the court. But this he also promptly declined, and gave the public to understand that civil honors had so few charms for him that it would thereafter be in vain for them to offer them for his acceptance.

Thus, " he had wrought out his work, and wrought it well." Thus he lived, and thus, at the ripe age of nearly ninety, he peacefully passed away, at his old resi- dence, on the 20th of December, 1853, with the characteristic words on his lips : " I have endeavored to do what I appre- hended was required of me. I have nought but feelings of love for all mankind ; and my hope of salvation is based on the mercy of God through his Son Jesus Christ."

Personally, Clark Stevens was one of the finest looking men of his times. Full 6 feet high, and nobly proportioned, with a shapely contour of head and features, dark eyes and a sedate, thoughtful counte- nance, his presence was unusually impos- ing and dignified. He was a prince in appearance, but a child in humility. He was unquestionably a man of superior in- tellect, and that intellect was, in all its traits, peculiarly well balanced. But it was his great and good heart which shown out the most conspicuously through all the actions of his long and beneficent life. In fine, Clark Stevens, in the truest sense of the term, was a great man. D. P. T.

** Goodness without greatness Is but an empty show ; But. O, how rich and beautiful! When they together grow."

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ISAAC GRAY

died in East Montpelier, Oct. 7, 1874, aged 97 years, 2 months, 16 days. He was the oldest man in the county at the time of his death, having resided in the town where he died one day over 80 years. He was born in Rochester, Mass., July 22, 1777. John and May Gray, his parents, started with their 9 children for Vermont, Sept. 14, 1794, and arrived at Caleb Ben- nett's, in Montpelier-now East Montpe- lier-Oct. 6, following, having been 22 days on the road, their only means of con- veyance of family and goods having been an ox-cart drawn by two pairs of oxen. Mr. Bennett had come from New Bedford, Mass., two or three years earlier, and with him Mr. Gray and family. being old ac- quaintances, stopped a number of days, as did Thomas Allen and family, who had traveled with the Grays from the old Bay State ; this made a pretty thick-settled family, but large houses were not such a necessity then as now.

SAMUEL TEMPLETON,

born at Peterboro, N. H., Nov. 15, 1788, came to East Montpelier in March, 1789. He was at the time of his death one of the oldest residents of East Montpe- lier,-aged 89 years, 7 months, 15 days. When the deceased was but 4 months old, his father, John Templeton, in company with Solomon Dodge, removed to East Montpelier from Peterboro, N. H., at that time there being no families in that local- ity, and but one, Col. Jacob Davis, in the then limits of Montpelier. On their arri- val here the snow was so deep that they were unable to proceed further, and were compelled to stop with Col. Davis a week. Reaching their new home, they discovered that the roofs of the rude shanties which they had erected the year previous had been blown off, and the snow was as deep in their houses as on the ground, they be- ing compelled to shovel the snow out, and make their beds as best they could. The two men had married sisters, named Tag- gart, and cleared farms adjoining, that on which Sam'l Templeton died being the one cleared by his father, while a daughter of Mr. Solomon Dodge, Mrs. John R. Young,

resides on the one which her father clear- ed. The deceased was a good, reliable citizen, and leaves one son and a daugh- ter-Austin Templeton, of East Montpe- lier, and Mrs. James M. Howland, of Montpelier. Although Mr. Templeton had always lived on the same place, yet he has resided in four counties and two towns, and paid taxes in three counties.

DR. NATHANIEL CLARK KING, [BY DR. SUMNER PUTNAM.]

came to Montpelier, now East Montpelier, about 1812. He was born in Rochester, Mass., July 19, 1789, being one of five brothers, and the third son of Jonathan King and Mary Clark King.

In his boyhood he attended district school until fifteen years old, when his father gave him his time, and he was to provide for himself. He immediately en- tered a private school to fit himself for teaching, and the study of medicine. He studied the languages, Greek and Latin, and made such progress that he taught school the winter after he was sixteen, and began to read medicine in 1808; and con- tinued to teach, and read, until the fall of 1811. Having studied, mixed medicines, and visited patients more or less with Dr. Foster of Rochester for 3 years, he attend- ed medical lectures at Hanover, N. H., Dr. Nathan Smith being at the head of the medical department of Dartmouth College at that time.

He began practice at North Montpelier about 1812, having a sister residing in that vicinity, and in 1814, at the call for volun- teers he went, as surgeon, with others, to Plattsburgh when the British invaded that place. In 1817, he married Miss Fanny, second daughter of Maj. Nath. Davis, one of the foremost settlers in town, engaged in mercantile pursuits. About this time his father-in-law Davis offered him a good chance to go into trade, which he accept- ed, and gradually ceased to visit the sick generally, prescribing for and visiting only those who were especially anxious for his counsel. After years of trade and careful investment of savings, he became perhaps the wealthiest resident in East Montpelier. In 1849 and 1850, he represented the town

Nath, le King

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in the legislature, and for many years did a large justice business ; many sought his advice in matters important to them, and being a well-informed, social man, of large acquaintance, many couples formerly ap- plied to him to join them in marriage.

Between 1818 and 1835, six children were born to him, only three of whom reached maturity, and are living at the present time-two of them at Montpelier, with one of whom he now resides at the age of 92, and until within a few months retaining his faculties in a remarkable de- gree. Naturally a man of strong mind, a place in his heart.

capable, honest and conscientious, yet full of pleasantry and anecdote, he has endur- ed with fortitude and even cheerfulness whatever misfortunes came upon him, and in the course of a long life has made nu- merous friends, many of the younger class of whom yet often call to see him, while few or none of his earlier associates now remain.

Although his father was an orthodox deacon, and his oldest brother a clergy- man of the same denomination, views broader and more hopeful have ever found

EAST MONTPELIER LONGEVITY LIST.

Persons over 80 years of age who have lived and died in East Montpelier. Dec. Ist, 1881.

Molly Gould,

1023

Lucy Templeton, 88

Nicholas D. Bennett, 83

Mrs. Chamberlain,

IOI

David Wing, Sr., 88

Daniel Russell, Sr., 83

Triphina Shepard,

993

Mary Stevens, 88

Rebina Davis,

Betsy Carroll,

Sally Merritt,

88 Gen. Parley Davis, 82

Simeon Gould,

Lucinda Sanders,

88 Caleb Bennett,

Isaac Gray,

973

Freeman Snow,

Esac Howland,

Benjamin Ellis,

George Clark,

87 Joseph Gould,

Elias Metcalf,

John Upton,

Abial French,

Bethiah Parker,

Rebecca Giles,

Ezra Bassett,

Phœbe Dudley,

Susanna Clark,

Jeduthan Doty,

Mary Gould,

Ruth Bennett,

Sarah Wing,

Daniel Gould,

Oliver Merritt,

Paul Hathaway,

Samuel Davis,

Pauline Davis,

Cyrus Stoddard,

Rachel Bliss,

Jesse Bassett,

Abigail Beckley,

Lorane Templeton,

Huldah Wheeler,

Polly Nelson,

Isaac Vincent,

933

Hezekiah Tinkham,

Sally Parker,

Theophilus Clark, Sr.,

933

Edward West,

Betsy Phinney,

Elisha Cummins,

Reliance Stevens,

Moses Parmenter,

James Foster,

John Gray, Sr ..

Shubael Short,

Lucinda Cutler,

Anna Gray,

Temperance Russell,

Eunice Vincent,

Reliance Stevens,

Polly Peck,

Polly Waters,

George Clark,

Lot Hathaway, 2d.,

Samuel Patterson,

Ezra Paine,

Lot Hathaway, Sr.,

Joanna Wakefield,

Nathaniel Ormsbee,

Smith Stevens,

Jemima Morse,

9.I

Lovina Tracy,

Sally Parker,

Margaret Holmes,

Timothy Davis,

Jonn Stevens,

Abigail Cutler,

Annis Tabor,

David Gould,

Clark Stevens,

David Daggett,

Susanna Ellis,

Sylvanus Morse,

Abigail Hathaway,

Arthur Daggett,

John Chase,

John Putnam,

Eunice Hammett,

Elizabeth Boyden,

Caty West,

Eunice Williams,

Edward Clough,

Sally Parmenter,

David French,

Willard Shepard,

Sally Ormsbee,

Polly Stoddard,

Reuben Waters,

90 Daniel Russell, Sr.,

Nancy Holbrook, 80

Harriet Hamblin,

Jesse Bailey,

Barnabas Hammett,

Samuel Templeton,

89₺

Elijah McKnight,

Job Macomber,

Daniel Bassett,

John Boyden,

Nahum Kelton,

79₺

Ruth Daggett,

Benajah Putnam,

Nathaniel Cutler,

Abigail Nash,

Abigail Lawson,

Wm .Templeton, Jr.,

William Gray,

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EAST MONTPELIER LONGEVITY LIST.

Living in town Dec. 1, 1881. BY CHAS. DE F. BANCROFT.

Anna Gould,

Stephen Gould,

Eunice Parmenter, 73

Polly Gould,

Joseph Richards, 77

Polly Gould, 2d,

Sally Vincent,

89 Nahum Templeton, 77

Marcus B. Hamblin,

Lydia P. Parker,

87 Mirinda Dodge, 76

Prentiss M. Shepard, 72

Cyrus Morse,

Lawson Hammett, 76

Freeman N. West, 72

Belinda Paine,

Lorenzo D. Gray,

Hosea Gould,

Harriet P. Goodwin,

Phebe Perry,

Polly Burno,

Polly Richards,

84 Relief M. Stewart,

Lucy B. Clark,

William Holmes,

83 John R. Young,

Jefferson F. W. Dodge, 71

Harriet Choate,

81 Timothy Blake,

Mary F. Sibley,

Catherine Stevens,

8 1

Samuel Davis,

Alonzo Snow,

Mahala Templeton,

Dulcena Edwards,

Ann Blake,

Culver W. Lane,

Almira Wheeler,

Lucius Cummins,

Eleanor Norcross,

80 Willard Sanders,

Almira Fleming,

Abigail Southgate,

Edward G. Davis,

Philura D. Hamblin,

Theophilus Clark,

Samuel Edwards,

Harriet H. Peck,

Rodney Cummins,

Betsey Harvey,

Sherlock Peck,

Fanny Gray,

Aurelia Jacobs,

William Templeton,

Betsey Gray,

Abigail Lawson,

Squier Bailey,

Hannah Bliss,

Luther M. Parmenter,

Mercy E. Clough,

Putnam McKnight,

Betsey M. Sibley,

74 Diana Holmes,

Margaret McKnight,

Lydia Young,

74 Ezekiel D. Nye,

Polly Hathaway,

78 Almira Warner,

74 Joel Ormsbee,

Willard Cutler,

Chester S. Guernsey,

Harriet Stevens,

Ralph W. Warner,

Elhanan Norcross,

Mary B. Southwick,

Amasa Cummings, 77

A very remarkable instance of longevity, is, of a Mrs. Betsy Carroll and her three daughters of this town. Mrs. Carroll died at the age of 99 years ; one daughter, Mrs. Lucinda Cutler at the age of 93; the second, Mrs. Abigail Cutler at the age of 91, and the other now living in town, Mrs. Polly Gould at the age of 90 years.

SUICIDES AND CASUALTIES

Within the present limits of East Montpelier from its settlement to Dec., 1881.

BY TRUMAN C. KELTON, TOWN CLERK.

A little girl, daughter of B. Nash, was killed by a falling tree in the east part of the town previous to 1800.

A man by the name of Chamberlin, about 21 years of age, was killed by a fall- ing tree during the year 1801, near the center of the town, and another the follow- ing year by the name of Robinson, in the north part of the town.

The wife of John Cutler hung herself in 1801.

The foregoing are taken from D. P. Thompson's History of Montpelier.

A man by the name of Alonzo Kingsley was killed by a tree on the farm now owned by George H. Chase, about 1800; and Daniel Blanchard was killed by a falling

tree Sept., 1803, near the site of No. 5, or four corners school house.

A child of Jonathan Edwards fell from a raft and drowned in the lower pond of N. Montpelier, about 1825.

Charles Plumb was drowned while bath- ing, about 1819, just below the Clark Ste- vens bridge, aged 16 years.

Nancy Waugh committed suicide by drowning in the brook east of George Da- vis' residence, about 1829.

Elisha Gray, aged about 28, drowned or died in a fit occasioned by plunging in the water when over-heated, Aug. 19, 1831. A child of Heman Powers was drowned by falling from a raft, at East village mill-pond.

The wife of Henry French committed suicide with the razor, near East Village. Also a man by the name of Ladd.

William Stoddard committed suicide by

Ann Cummins,

Anna Beckley, 75

Joseph Gray,

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EAST MONTPELIER.

hanging, at the present residence of Aro P. Slayton.

A child of Theophilus Clark died from being scalded by sitting into a pail of hot water.

William Alger died from a gun shot wound, (accident) April 5, 1844, on the farm now known as the Norcross farm.

Charles Pitkin died at A. J. Hollister's from accidental gun shot wound.

Dec. 22. 1857, George W. Jacobs died from poison by taking a solution of corro- sive sublimate by mistake.

June 25, 1860, Abner Chapman, aged 13 years, and Herbert L. Nye, aged 7 years, son of George G. Nye, were drown- ed while bathing in the Branch below N. Montpelier.

July 5, 1862. Nathan Parker, aged 72, died from being gored by a bull.

Oct. 31, 1863, Ellison Albee, aged 26, fell from a loaded wagon and was run over and killed, while at work for Elon O. Hammond.

Feb. 15, 1866, Eustice Morris, aged 53, was killed by a falling tree while chopping for T. C. Kelton.

July 13, 1868, Zadock H. Hubbard, aged 25, died from sun-stroke, while at work for Charles A. Tabor.

Nov. 9, 1873, Pliny P. Pearsons, aged 34, died from a cut on the head by a circu- lar saw, while working under the mill at N. Montpelier.

Nov. 22, 1875, Bessie K. Lord, aged 5, daughter of Rev. W. H. Lord, of Montpe- lier, was thrown from a carriage and killed in the west part of the town.

Arbuckle murder .-- Hiram W. Arbuckle, aged 27, living with his mother at East Village, April 13, 1877, shot George Shortt, a young man of 16, who was sitting on a bench by the stove in the grist-mill. The ball striking the breast bone, glanced down to the left side. Shortt starting to leave by a back door was hit in the arm above the elbow by a second ball, after its passing through the stove-pipe, he at the same time stumbling over some wood on the floor. The appearance was that the last shot was fatal. Arbuckle immediately left the mill and went to the black-smith shop

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The history of Washington county, in the Vermont historical gazetteer:, Part 94

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890, [from old catalog] ed Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Montpelier, Vt., Vermont watchman and state journal press Number of Pages: 1066

Author: Hemenway, Abby Maria, 1828-1890, [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Montpelier, Vt., Vermont watchman and state journal press
Number of Pages: 1066