A HISTORY
OF
f kdfofd,
CONTAINING
SOME ACCOUNT OF THE PLACE— OF ITS FIRST
SETTLEMENT IN 1765, AND THE PRINCIPAL IMPROVE
MENTS MADE, AND EVENTS WHICH HAVE OCCURRED
DOWN TO 1874— A PERIOD OF ONE HUNDRED
AXD NINE YEARS.
WITH
VARIOUS GENEALOGICAL RECORDS, AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS, SOME DECEASED,
AND OTHERS STILL LIVING.
By Rev. SILAS MeKEEN, D. D.
\\
WRITTEN BY REQUEST OF SAID TOWN.
MONTPELTER, VT. :
J. D. CLARK & SON, PUBLISHERS.
1875.
DEDICATION.
To the present Inhabitants
of
BRADFORD, VERMONT,
And Their Posterity ;
Not forgetting Relatives and Friends abroad,
This History, prepared by request of the Town, and con
taining some account of many families and individuals who have
here lived, and of the principal Transactions and Events
which have here occurred during somewhat
over a hundred years past, is
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
by
Their Friend,
THE AUTHOR.
BRADFORD, VT., October i, 1874.
NOTE. — Reminiscences of various other Families and Individuals would
gladly have been included, had the requisite information been furnished ;
as was reasonably and respectfully solicited by the writer.
Printed at Argus and Patriot Office, Montpelier, Vt
HISTORY OF BRADFORD, VERMONT.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Location — Partial Survey, by order of the Governor of New Hampshire
— Charter by King George III — Deed of 30,000 acres from William
Smith, in behalf of the Proprietors, to quiet the Early Settlers — Change of
name, from Moretown to Bradford, by the Legislature of Vermont, and
their grant of the township, in trust, to Smith, Harvey and Whitelaw, on
certain conditions — Disposal of the Hazen Appropriation — Topography of
the Township; W right's Mountain, Wait's River, &c — Incidental notice
of the first settlers.
Page 9.
CHAPTER II.
Transactions of early Town Meetings — A list of Town Clerks and Rep
resentatives, from the first — Roads surveyed, and distances from place to
place — Bridges built — Freshets — Army of Worms.
Page 40.
CHAPTER III,
Ecclesiastical affairs — Meeting-houses — Churches; Congregational, Rev.
J. K. Williams, Rev. L. H. Elliott; Methodist, with list of pastors; Bap
tist — Cemeteries — Present population of the town.
Page 54.
CHAPTER IV.
Educational matters — District schools — Funds for their support — Acad
emy — Scientific society — Newspapers — Home for the Destitute— Town
Hall — Manufactures — Photography — Banks — Various business of the place,
with biographical sketches of individuals engaged in it — Fair grounds.
Page 79.
CHAPTER V. x
The patriotism and soldiery of Bradford — Captain Corliss, a veteran of
the Revolution — Charles May killed in a duel — Bradford Brass Band.
Page 97.
6
CHAPTER VI.
Andrew B. Peters, Esq., and family, with biographical sketches of his
father, Colonel John Peters, and others of historic distinction.
Page 126.
CHAPTER VII.
The Baldwins; with their connections — The Pecketts — Chases — and the
Stricklands.
Page 141.
CHAPTER VIII.
Dea. Reuben Martin and family — Dea. Joseph Clark and family — Rev.
Dr. Martin Ruter — The Fifield boy, that was lost and found.
Page 158.
CHAPTER IX.
Dr. Bildad Andross — Colonel John Barren — General Micah Barron —
Captain William Trotter — Their families.
Page 172.
CHAPTER X.
The Hunkins, Underwood, Bliss, and Wright families.
Page 201.
CHAPTER XI.
The McDuffees— James Wilson, the Globe Maker — David Wilson, Esq.
— Their families.
Page 234.
CHAPTER XII.
The Tabors, Putnams, Pearsons, and Sawyers.
Page 260.
CHAPTER XIII.
The Kimball, Simpson, Colby, Greenleaf, and Corliss families.
Page 277.
CHAPTER XIV.
John B. Peckett, Esq., and family— The Johnsons— Willards— Worth-
leys — Armstrongs and Nelsons.
Page 292.
CHAPTER XV.
The Aldrich, Hardy, and Shaw families,
Page 310.
7
CHAPTER XVI.
The Prichards, Lows, and Ormsbys.
Page 339.
CHAPTER XVII.
Dea. George L. Butler — James I). Clark— Captain Charles Rogers —
John Flanders — David Manson — Their families.
Page 359-
CHAPTER XVIII.
Hon. J. W. Batchelder — Roswell Farnham, Esq., —Adams Preston — Wil
liam B. Stevens— C. P. Clark— B. Hay— A. Osborn— J. K. Davis— Dea.
Israel Cummings — Their families.
Page 374.
CHAPTER XIX.
Physicians — Aubery, Andross, Stebbins, Whiting, Whipple, Putnam,
Colby, Poole, Martin, Carter, Cushiug, Carpenter, Doty, Warden, and
others.
Page 392.
CHAPTER XX.
Rev. S. McKeen and family.
Page 411.
CHAPTER XXI.
Specimens of Bradford poetry, by Thomas Ormsby, Thomas Tabor, Miss
Lydia White, Emily R. Page Catharine McKeen and Rev. S. McKeen.
Page 438.
VALEDICTION.
Page 459.
OF
1 BRADFORD, VERMONT.
CHAPTER I.
Location — Partial Survey, by Order of the Governor of New Hamp
shire — Charter by Kino- George III — Deed of 30,000 Acres From
Win. Smith, in Behalf of the Proprietors, to Quiet the Early
Settlers — Change of the Name, From Mooretown to Bradford, by
the Legislature of Vermont: and Their Grant of the Township
in Trust, to Smith, "Harvey and Whitelaw, on Certain Conditions
—Disposal of the Ha/en Appropriation — Topography of the
Township: Wright's Mountain, Wait's River, &<•. — Incidental
Notices of the first Settlers.
Bradford, in Orange County, lying on the west side of
Connecticut river, opposite .to Piermont in Xe\v Hamp
shire, is bounded S. by Fairlee and West Fairlee, W. by
Corinth, and X. by Newhury: and occupies a position
about midway between the South and North limits of the
State ; lat. 44 ° N., long. 4 ° , 46' , E.
In the year 1760, as stated in the introductory chapter
to Orange County,* the Governor of Ne\v Hampshire com
missioned Joseph Blanchard, of Dunstable in that State,
to make a survey of Connecticut river northward from
No. 4, as Charlestown, N. H. was then called, and -at the
end of every six miles, on a straight line, to mark a tree,
or set a boundary on each side of the river, for a town
ship. This survey, made mainly on the ice, was comple
ted in the month of March, of that year, and extended up
the river to what is now the X. E. corner of Newbury.
The tract of country now embraced in Orange Countv
was then an unbroken wilderness, claimed both by Xe\v
* See Vermont Historical Magazine.
10
Hampshire and New York, unsurveyed, and no part of it
granted either to individuals or corporations. In his sur
vey northward Blanchard made his seventh six miles
boundary on the west side of the river, where the N. E.
corner of Fairlee and the S. E. corner of Bradford now
are ; thence proceeding six miles up the river he made
another corner mark on a tree which stood about one rod
S. W. from the 8. VV. corner of Bedel's bridge, subse-'
quently built, where the bridge* across the Connecticut,
between South Newbury and Haverhill now is ; as was
testified under oath, by said Blanchard and Thomas Cham
berlain,, his assistant, when taken to the spot in 1808 for
the express purpose of determining this point. From that
bound, Blanchard proceeded northward till he came to the
upper end of the great meadows, a distance of seven
miles from the bound last mentioned, and near there, on a
little island opposite to the mouth of the Great Ammon-
oosuc, made another bound, which still marks the N. E.
corner of Newbury ; thus giving to that township, on its
north side, an extra tract of land, a mile in width, and at
least six miles in length. Here lie finished his survey,
and returned to headquarters, to make the requisite re
port. The next year a survey of the same sort was made
under the same authority, by Hughbastis Neel, from where
Blanchard left off to the north end of the great meadows,
called the upper Coos. From these surveys a plan was
made, and three tiers of towns on each side of the river
projected, and several of them chartered without any
further actual survey on the ground. In that year, 1701,
there were applicants for about every township on the
river, so far as then surveyed. .
In 17G3, March 18, Capt. Jacob Bailey obtained, in be
half of himself and Qthers, a charter of Newbury, from
New Hampshire, in accordance with Blanchard's survey
and plan on paper, making the S. E. corner on the river,
seven miles from the N. E., as before stated.
11
About the same time, John Hazen took out a corres
ponding charter of Haverhill ; and in June of that year,
1763, the proprietors of Haverhill and Newbury had a
meeting, with a view to the actual survey and allotment
of the respective townships ; and chose Caleb Willard as
their chief surveyor, who employed Benjamin Whiting as
his assistant. Willard began his survey from the N. E.
boundary of Newbury, as made by his predecessor, and
proceeded down the river to his, Blanchard's, next bound
ary, which he found to be a little over seven miles distant ;
—but without stopping there, he continued directly on
one mile and seventeen- chains further, into the unchar-
tered tract, now Bradford, where he made a new 8. E.
corner of Newbury ; leaving the distance thence to the
N. E. corner of Fairlee but four miles and sixty-three
chains, instead of six miles, as in justice it should have
been. Thus Waits River Town, as they called it, being
unchartered, and having no one to stand up for its rights,
was deprived of a strip of land one mile and sixtv-eight
rods in width, and extending across its northern limit
from E. to W. That this was done by the connivance and
direction of the proprietors above named, there can be no
rational doubt, as Willard, having st»t that bound, went di
rectly across the river and performed the same service for
Haverhill, at the expense of Fiermont, then unchartered,
and Whiting, pursuing the survey of Newbury, ran from
the new boundary N. fifty-nine degrees, W. eight miles
for its southern line or side ; whereas according to its
charter it should have been but six and one-fourth miles,
thus making a great addition on the west, as well as on
the south, and giving the proprietors of that town over
40,000 acres, when entitled to but 27,000, according to
their grant from New Hampshire. This grasp, however,
on the west was subsequently abandoned.
In 1772, Newbury, having resigned her New Hampshire
charter to New York, took out from that government, by
12
royal authority, a new one, dated March 19 of that year,
which coincided with their original charter from New
Hampshire and with the royal charter of Mooretown
granted two years before ; paying no regard whatever to
the Willard and Whiting survey, which had so enormously
and unjustifiably increased the area^ of that township.
This encouraged the inhabitants of Mooretown to insist
more strenuously on their right to the tract on their
northern border in dispute, and the settlers on the same
for some time attended town meetings, voted, and paid
taxes, in that new township. This state of things contin
ued till 1778, when Vermont having declared itself inde
pendent and consequently free from the jurisdiction both
of New Hampshire and New York, Newbury again in
sisted on its claim, and has ever since held it; though not
without occasional remonstrances from their dissatisfied,
but well-disposed neighbor*. Here we see how it came
to pass that Bradford is, in area, so much smaller than
Newbury • so much less than the average of other towns
in Orange County. For these historical facts we are in
debted to a manuscript, prepared evidently with great
care, by John McDuffee, Esq., a distinguished surveyor,
now deceased, but formerly of Bradford.
The first inhabitants of Waits River town, or Waits-
town, its the tract now known as Bradford was originally
called, came as adventurers, and took up for themselves
land by what was styled pitches, without license or au
thority, from any source whatever; and continued along
in this way from the first settlement by John Osmer or
Hosmer, on the North side of Waits river, at its confluence
with the Connecticut, in 1765, to the year 1770;
when, the number of land-holders amounting to thirty,
it -was deemed by them to be high time to obtain,
if possible, some valid title to their lands, and to
have the tract between Newbury and Fairlee constituted
a township. For this purpose., they jointly commissioned
13
Samuel Sleeper, one of their number, to go to New YorkT
and agree, if practicable, with one William Smith, Esq.,
an influential m in of that city, to obtain for them a royal
charter, with a distinct understanding between them and
him that on his procuring the desired charter he should
give them a good title to the lands they had begun to
cultivate, one hundred acres to each, and that he and such
proprietors as lie should engage with him, should hold as
their own all the rest of the township. The mission of
Sleeper was attended with the desired success, as we
shall see by the authentic documents here following.
The substance of the charter might be given in a few
sentences, but as a matter of curiosity, and example of
how matters of this sort were then transacted, it may be
more satisfactory to see a copy of the said charter pre
cisely as originally expressed by royal authority.
" Charter of Hboretown, subsequently called Bradford,
by King George the Third, May 3d, 1770.
" GEORGE the Third, by the grace of God, of Great
Britain, France and Ireland king, defender of the faith
and so forth : To all to whom these presents shall come,
Greeting. WHEREAS our loving subject William Smith
of our city of New York, Esquire, by his humble petition
in behalf of his associates presented unto our trusty and
well beloved Cadwallder Golden Esquire, our Lieutenant
Governor and Commander in Chief of our Province of New
York and the territories depending thereon in America,
and read in our Council for our said province, on the
twenty-eighth day of March, now last past, did set forth
that on the Seventh day of November which was in the
year of our Lord One Thousand seven hundred and severi
ty-six, a petition was preferred to our late trusty and
well beloved Sir Henry Moore, Baronet, then our Captain
General and Governor in Chief of our said province, in
the name of John French and his associates, praying a
grant of certain lands on the west side of Connecticut
14
river — That onr said late Captain General and Governor
in Chief was advised by our Council to grant the pi-ay er
of the said petition, and that a Warrant issued the same
day to the Surveyor General for a Survey thereof — That
the said John French is since deceased, and that the pe
titioner and his associates are the persons intended to be
chiefly benefitted by that application — That the tract that
they desire to take up contains, as it is supposed, about
Thirty Thousand Acres, to the Southward of a tract of
land commonly called or known by the name of Newberry,
and adjoining the same, and w;is granted under the prov
ince of New Hampshire — That there are diverse persons
settled within the limits of the said tract of land, amount
ing in all to Thirty families, to whom the petitioner and his
associates intend to convey, after a Patent is issued, Three
Thousand Acres, to wit, to the head of each family One
Hundred Acres, in such a manner as to secure to them
the parts they have respectively cultivated — and there
fore the petitioner did humbly pray that the lands afore
said might be granted to him and his associates as tenants
in common in fee, agreeable to the directions1 and upon
the terms of our Royal Instructions — Which petition
having been referred to a Committee of cur Council for
our said province, our said Council did afterward on the
same Twenty-eighth day of March, in pursuance of the
report of the said Committee humbly advise and consent
that our said Lieutenant Governor and Ccmmander in
Chief as aforesaid, should, by our Letters Patent, grant to
the said William Smith and his asspciates and their heirs,
the lands described in the said petition according to tie
prayer thereof, under the quit rent pr<,viV< es, limitati< us
and restrictions, presented by our Royal Instructions, and
that the said lands should by the said Letters Patent be
erected into a Township, by the name of MOOEE Towx,
with the privileges usually granted to other Townships
within our saiol Province. In pursuance whereof anol in
15
obedience to our said Royal Instructions, our Commission
ers appointed lor setting out all lands to be granted with
in our said province have set out for the said petitioner
William Smith and his associates, to wit: — James Robert
son, Richard Maitland, William Shereff, Goldsbrow Ban-
yar, Andrew Andersen, Jonathan Mallet, Peter Van Brugh
Livingston, Charles McEvers, Hugh Gaine, Francis Stev
ens. William Bruce, Thos. William Moore, Samuel Yer
Planck, Richard Yates, Abraham Mortier, Abraham Lyii-
sen, Abraham Lott, Hamilton Young, Garret Noel, Eben-
ezer Hazzard, John Aslop, Thomas James7 Thomas Smith,
and Samuel Smith, All that certain Tract or Parcel of
Land Iving and being on the west side of Connecticut
River in the Count}' of Gloucester within our province of
New York, Beginning on the west bank of said river at a
white pine tree blazed and marked for the Northeast cor
ner of a tract of land known by the name of Fairlee, and
runs thence north, sixty-one degrees west, five hundred
and ninety chains, ; then north thirty-two degrees east,
five hundred and twenty chains : then south fifty-nine
degrees east, five hundred chains to the said river; then
down said river, as it winds and turns, to the place where
this tract began ; containing Twenty-five Thousand Acres
of Land and the usual allowance for highways. And in
setting out the said tract of twenty-five thousand acres
of land, our said Commissioners have had regard to the
profitable and unprofitable acres, and have taken care that
the length thereof doth not extend along the banks of any
river otherwise than is conformable to our said Royal In
structions, as by a Certificate thereof under their hands,
bearing date the Seventh day of April now last past, and
entered, on record in c.uv Secretary's Office for our said
province may mere fully ay/pear; which said tract of land,
set out as aft resaid according to cur Royal Instructions,
we being willing to grant to said petitioner and his asso
ciates, their heirs and assigns forever, with the several
16
privileges and powers hereinafter mentioned — KNOW YE,
That of our special grace, certain knowledge, and mere
motion, we have given, granted, ratified and confirmed,
and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors,
give, grant, ratify and confirm unto them, the said William
Smith, James Robertson, Richard Maitland, William Shrr-
eff, Goldsbrow Banyar, Andrew Anderson, Jonathan Mal
let, Peter Van Brugh Livingston, Charles McEvers, Hugh
Gaine, Francis Stephens, William Bruce, Thos. William
Moore, Samuel Ver Planck, Richard Yates, Abraham Mnr-
tier, Abraham Lynseri, Abraham Lott, Hamilton Young,
Garret Noel, Ebenezer Ha/zard, John Alsop, Thomas
James, Thomas Smith, and Samuel Smith, their heirs and
assigns forever, All that, the tract or parcel of bind afore
said ; set out, abutted, bounded and described, in manner
and form as above mentioned, together with all and sin
gular the tenements, hereditaments, emoluments and ap
purtenances thereunto belonging or appertaining, and also
•all our estate, right, title, interest, possession, claim and
demand whatsoever of, in, and to the same lands and
premises, and every part and parcel thereof, and the re
version and reversions, remainder and remainders, rents,
issues, and profits thereof; Except, and always reserved
out of this our present Grant, unto us our heirs and suc
cessors for ever, all mines of Gold and Silver, and also all
white and other sorts of Pine Trees .fit for Masts, of the
growth of twenty-four inches diameter and upwards at
twelve inches from the earth, for Masts of the Royal XHVV
of us, our heirs and successors. — To HAVE A?vr> TO HOLD,
one full and equal twenty-fifth part (the whole into twen
ty-five equal parts to be divided) of the said tract or par
cel of land, tenements, hereditaments and premises, by
these presents granted, ratified and confirmed, and every
part and parcel thereof with their, and ever^y of their ap
purtenances, (except as is herein before excepted) unto
each of them our grantees above mentioned, their heirs
17
and assigns respectively, to their only proper and sepa
rate use and behoof, respectively and forever, as tenants
in common and not as joint tenants, to be holden of us,
our heirs and successors, in free and common socage, as of
our Manor of East Greenwich in our county of Kent?>
within our kingdom of Great Britain, yielding, rendering
and paying therefor yearly, and every year forever, unto
us, our heirs and successors, at our Custom House in our
citv of New York, unto our or their Collector or Receiver
General there, for the time being, on the feast of the An
nunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary, commonly called
Lady Day, the yearly rent of two shillings and sixpence
sterling, for each and every hundred acres of the above
granted lands, and so in proportion for any less quantity
thereof, saving and except for such part of the said lauds
allowed for highways as above mentioned, in lieu and
stead of all other rents, services, dues, duties and de
mand whatever, for the hereby granted lands and premises,
or any part thereof. And we do also, of our special grace,
certain knowledge and mere motion, create, erect, and
constitute, the tract or parcel of land herein granted, and
every part and parcel thereof, a Township, forever here
after to continue and remain, and by the name of MOOKE
TOWN forever hereafter to be called and known : ;md for
the better and more easily carrying on and managing the
publick affairs of said Township our Royal will and pleas
ure is, and we do hereby for us, our heirs and successors
give and grant to the said Township, all the powers and
authorities, privileges and advantages heretofore granted
to. or legally enjoyed by, all, any, or either our other
Townships within our said province. And we also ordain
and establish that, there shall be forever hereafter, in the
said Township, two Assessors, one Treasurer, two Over
seers of the high ways, two Overseers of the pdor, one
Collector, and four Constables, elected and chosen out of
the inhabitants of the said Township yearly, and every
U8
year, on the first Tuesday in May, at the most publick
place in the said Township by the majority of the free
holders thereof, then and there met and assembled for that
purpose ; Hereby declaring- that wheresoever the first
Election in the said Township shall be held, the future
Elections shall forever thereafter be held, in the same
place, as near as may be, and giving' and granting to the
said officers so chosen, power and authority to exercise
their said several and respective offices, during one whole
year from such Election, arid until others are legally chosen
and elected in their room and stead, as fully and amply as
any like officers have, or leg-illy may use or exercise their
offices in our said province; and in case any or either of
the said officers shall die, or remove from the said Town
ship, before the time of their annual service shall be ex
pired, or refuse to act in the offices for which they shall
be respectively chosen, then our Royal will and pleasure
further is, and we do hereby direct, ordain, and require
the freeholders of the said Township to meet at the place
where the annual election shall be held tor the said Town
ship and clmsc other, or others of the inhabitants of the
said township in the place and stead of him or them so
dying, removing, or refusing to act, within forty day's
'after such contingency. And to prevent any undue Elec
tion in this case, we do hereby ordain and require that
upon every vacancy in the office of Assessors, the Treas
urer, and in either of the other offices, the Assessors of
the said township, shall, within ten days next after any
such vacancy first happens, appoint the day for such Elec
tion arid give public notice thereof in writing Minder his
or their hands, by affixing the notice on the Church door
or other most publick place in the said Township, at the
least ten days before the day appointed for such Election;
And in default thereof, we do hereby require the officer
or officers of the said Township, or the e-urvivor of them,
who in the order thev are hereinheforementioried shall
19
succeed him or them so making default, within ten days
next after such default, to appoint the day for such Elec
tion, and give notice thereof as aforesaid, hereby giving
and granting that such person or persons as shall be
chosen by the majority of such of the freeholders of the
said township as shall meet in manner hereby directed,
shall have, hold, exercise and enjoy the office or offices to
which he or they shall be so elected and chosen, from the
time of such election until the first Tuesday in May, then
next folio wing, and until other or others be legally chosen
in his or their place and ste-id, as fully as the person or
persons in whose place he or they shall be chosen might
or could have done by virtue of these presents. And we
do hereby will and direct that this method shall forever
after be used for the filling up all vacancies that shall hap
pen in any or either of said offices between the annual
Elections above directed.
PROVIDED ALWAYS, .and upon condition, nevertheless.
That if our said grantees, their heirs or assigns, or some,
or one of them, shall not within three years next after the
date of this our present Grant, settle on the said tract of
land hereby granted, so many families as shall amount to
one family for every thousand acres of the same tract, or
if they our said grantees, or one of them, their, or one of
their, heirs or assigns, shall not also within three years,
to be computed as aforesaid, plant and effectually culti
vate, at least three acres for every fifty acres of such of
the hereby granted lands as are capable of cultivation:
or if they our said grantees, or any of them, or any of
their heirs or assigns, or any other person or persons by
their, or any of their privity, censent, or procurement
shall fell, cut down, or otherwise destroy any of the Pine
Trees by these presents reserved to us, cur heirs and suc
cessors, or hereby intended so to be, without the Royal
License of us, our heirs, or successors, for so doing first
had and obtained, that then, and in any of these cases.
20
this our present Grant and everything therein contained
shall cease, and be absolutely void ; and the lands and
premises hereby granted shall revert to, and vest in us,
our heirs and successors, as if this our present Grant had
not been made ; any thing herein before contained to the
contrary in any-wise, notwithstanding.
Provided further, and upon condition, also, neverthe
less, and we do hereby for us, our heirs and successors,
direct and appoint that this our present Grant shall be
registered and entered on record within six month there
of, in our vSecretary's office in our city of New York, in
our said province, in one of the books of Patents there
remaining, and that a Poquet thereof shall also be entered
in our Auditor's Office there, for our said Province : and
that in default thereof, this our present Grant shall be
void, and of none offect ; any thing before in these pres
ents contained to the contrary thereof, in any-wise, not
withstanding. And we do, moreover, of our special grace,
certain knowledge, and mere motion, consent and agree
that, this our present Grant, being registered, recorded,
and a Doquet thereof made, as before directed and ap
pointed, shall be good and effectual' in the law, to all in
tents, constructions and purposes whatever, against us,
our heirs and successors, notwithstanding any misreciting,
misbounding, misnaming or other imperfection or omis
sion of, in, or in any-wise concerning, the above granted,
or hereby mentioned or intended to be granted, lands,
tenements, hereditaments and premises, or any part thereof.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, We have caused our Letters to
be made Patent, and the Great Seal of our said rre-
vince to be thereunto affixed.
WITNESS our said trusty and well beloved Cacwallf'er
Golden Esquire, our said Lieutenant Governor and Ccm-
mander in Chief of our said province of New York and
the territories depending thereon, in America, at our Fort
in the city of New York the Third dav of May, in the
21
year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sev
enty : and of our reign the Tenth.
State of New York (
Secretaries Office j
I hereby Certify the preceeding
to be a true copy ol Letters Patent, as of record in this
Office.— July 8th, 1807.
Ben. Ford
Dep. Sec."
By a deed from the aforesaid William Smith, of New
York, to Samuel Sleeper, of Mooretown, dated August 14,
1770, and recorded in the office of the Clerk of the county
of Gloucester, subsequently Orange, December 31, 1770,
it appears that the twenty-four grantees who wore asso
ciated with the said William Smith, whose names are
given in the above recited Royal Grant, or Charter, did,
on the 30th arid 31st day of May in the same year, by a
certain Indenture of Lease and Release, convey and con
firm to him, the said Smith, all their rights and titles to
the lands, and everything pertaining thereto in the said
Mooretown — and that, in accordance with a request from,
and agreement with, the settlers on the said tract, or par-
cjl of land, made in writing, before the Royal Charter was
obtained, and with a view to secure to them their respec
tive rights, the said Smith did, August 14, 1770, by an
i4 Indenture of Lease and Release/' convey arid confirm
to Samuel ^leeper all his right and title to certain tracts
or sections of land, which are particularly described, ly
ing along on Connecticut River, eight in number, not ad
joining each other, but in alternate sections, and reaching
back from said river about one mile and a half, on an av
erage, the same to contain, in the whole, three thousand
acres, more or less. The settlers were then sparsely located,
along near the river, most of them ; and this deed, in ac
cordance with, their agreement with Sleeper, one of their
number, was given to secure to them their claims to the
22
lands on which they had, without any authority, made
settlements. It is obvious that in the transaction Smith
kept a sharp look-out to his personal interest, in the way
of lands, 'and especially water privileges. By the way,
this is the traet of three thousand acres lying in Moore-
town, on Connecticut River, which Thompson's Vermont
Gazzetteer — erroneously — tells us was granted by the
State of New York to Sir Harry Moore, and by him con
veyed to thirty settlers. It does not appear that Sir
Harry Moore ever had any interest in the matter.
The following is a certified copy of the Deed, or as it
was called, " Indenture of Lease and Release," from Wil
liam Smith to .Samuel Sleeper, with a view to quiet the
thirty first settlers in their possessions. As it Avas at the
time a very important document, and somewhat curious
in its specifications, we give it entire.
11 DEED FROM WILLIAM SMITH, ESQ., TO SAMUEL SLEEPER,
ESQ. 3,000 ACRES.
" This Indenture, made the Fourteenth day of August,
in the year of our Lord, One. Thousand Seven Hundred
and and Seventy, Between the Honorable William Smith,
Esq., of the city of New York, Party of the first part,
and Samuel Sleeper, Esq., of Mooretown, County of Glou
cester, Party of the second part ; Whereas our Sovereign
Lord, King George the Third, by his Letters Patent,
dated at Fort George, in the city of New Yrork, on the
Third day of May, in the said year of our Lord, One
Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy, did grant unto
the said William Smith and Twenty-lour other persons,
therein named, all that certain tract or parcel of land, in
the Provincee of New Y^ork, situate, lying and being on
the west side of Connecticut River in the said county of
Gloucester. Beginning on the west side of the river at a
White Pine Tree, blazed and marked for the Northeast
corner of a Tract of land known by the name of Fairlee,
and runs thence, North sixty-one degrees West, Five
Hundred and ninety chains ; then North, Thirty-two de
grees East, Five Hundred and Twenty Chains ; then
South, Fifty-nine degrees East, Five Hundred Chains, to
the river, then down the river, as it winds and turns, to
the place where the Tract first began ; containing Twen
ty-five thousand acres of land, and the usual allowances
for highways — To Have and to Hold one equal Twenty -
fifth part thereof; the whole, in Twenty-five parts to be
divided unto each of the said Grantees, their heirs and
assigns, as Termants in common ; and to hold the same of
our said Lord, the King, his heirs and successors, in free
and common Socage, and upon the terms mentioned in the
said Letters Patent, as by the same, reference thereto be
ing had, may more fully appear; and whereas by Indent
ures of Lease and Release, dated repectively the Thirtieth
and Thirty-first day of May, in the same year of our Lord
One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy, the several
Twenty-four other Grantees, in the same Patent named,
did convey their several parts, shares, and proprieties, to
the said William Smith, to hold the same, to his heirs and
assigns forever, in fee, as by the said Indenture of Lease
and Release, reference thereto being had, may more fully
appear, by virtue of which Letters Patent and Indenture,
he the said party of the first part is now seized in fee of
all that Tract of Land by the same Letters Patent granted,
and hereinbefore described, Now, Therefore, This Indent
ure Witnesseth, That, the said William Smith, for diverse
good causes and considerations, him thereunto moving,
and in full completion of an agreement made previous to
the issuing of the same Letters Patent, for the benefit of
the settlers on the said Tract, and at their request, signi
fied in writing, under their hands, and for the sum of Ten
Shillings, lawful money, to him in hand paid by the said
Samuel Sleeper, as is hereby acknowledged, hath granted,
24
bargained and sold, aliened, released and confirmed, and
hereby doth clearly and absolutely grant, bargain and sell,
alien, release and confirm unto him, the said Samuel (in
his actual possession, by virtue of a bargain and sale for
one year, to him thereof, made by Indenture, dated yes
terday, according to the terms of the statute, for the trans
ferring of uses into possession,) his heirs and assigns for
ever, all those several lots, pieces or parcels of land here
inafter more fully described, being part of the land above
mentioned, and said lots in one certain map thereof made
and hereunto affixed, and known and distinguished by
Lots, number One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven,
and Eight, and respectively butted and bounded as fol
lows, To- wit :
Lot 1st, 510 acres, " The first of the said lots, or Num
ber One, begins at a marked White Pine Tree standing
on the West bank of Connecticut River, about forty-nine
chains and an half distant, on a straight line from the
mouth of Hall's Brook, which empties into the said River;
thence North, fifty-nine degrees West, one hundred and
forty-eight chains ; thence, South, thirty-one degrees
West, thirty chains ; thence South, fifty-nine degrees
East, one hundred and sixty-three chains, to the West
bank of the said River, as it winds and turns, to the place
of beginning ; and contains five hundred and ten acres."
Lot 2d, 299 acres, " The second of the said lots, or
Number Two, begins, ten chains distant from the South
west corner of lot number one, on a course South, thirty-
one degrees West, and runs thence South, thirty-one de
grees West, twenty-five chains and fifty links; thence
South fifty-nine degrees East, one hundred and seventeen
chains, to the said West bank of Connecticut River ;
thence along the same as it winds and turns, to the in
tersection of a line South fifty -nine- degrees East, from
the place of beginning on the south side of HalPs Brook,
thence North fifty-nine degrees West, one hundred and
25
twenty chains, to the place of beginning ; and contains
two hundred and ninety-nine acres."
Lot 3d, 389 acres, " The third of said lots, or Number
Three, begins twelve chains distant from the Southwest
corner of lot number two, on a course South, thirty-one
degrees West, and runs thence, in the same course, twen
ty-nine chains, thence South fifty-nine degrees East, one
hundred and seven chains, to the said bank of Connecti
cut .River ; then along the same as it winds arid turns, to
the intersection of a line South, fifty -nine degrees East,
from the place of beginning ; thence North fifty-nine de
grees West, to the place of beginning; and containing
three hundred arid eighty-nine acres of land."
Lot 4th, 842 acres, " The fourth of the said lots, or
Number Four, begins twenty-four chains distant from the
Southwest corner of lot number three, on a course South,
thirty-one degrees West ; and runs thence on the same
course seventy-four chains; thence South fifty-nine de
grees East, one hundred chains, to the said bank of the
Connecticut River ; thence along the same as it winds
and turns, to the intersection of a line South, fifty-nine
degrees East, from the place of beginning ; thence North
fifty-nine degrees West, one hundred and nine chains, to
the place of beginning ; and contains eight hundred and
forty-two acres."
Lot 5th, 73 acres, "The fifth lot, or Number Five, be
gins twenty-three chains distant from the Southwest cor
ner of lot number four, on a course South thirty-one de
grees West, and runs thence on the same course fourteen
chains and fifty links ; thence South fifty-nine degrees
East, sixty chains to the West bank of Wait's River ;
thence down along the northerly side of the same, as it
winds and turns, to the intersection of a line South, and
fifty-nine degrees East, from the place of beginning ; con
taining seventy-three acres."
Lot 6th, 329 acres, " The sixth of said lots, or Number
26
Six, begins eleven chains and fifty links from the South
west corner of lot number five, on a course South, thirty -
one degrees West, and runs thence on the same course
twenty-six chains ; thence South fifty-nine degrees East,
one hundred and thirty chains, to the said west bank of
Connecticut River ; thence along the said river, as it
winds and turns, to the intersection of a line South fifty-
nine degrees West, one hundred and twenty-five chains
from the place of beginning ; thence North fifty-nine de
grees West, one hundred and twenty-five chains to the
place of beginning and contains three hundred and
twenty-nine acres."
Lot 7th, 280 acres, " The seventh of said lots, or Num
ber Seven, begins fifteen chains and fifty links distant
from the Southwest corner of lot number six, on a course
South, thirty-one degrees West, and runs thence on the
same course twenty chains ; thence South, fifty-nine de
grees East, one hundred and forty-two chains, to the said
West bank of Connecticut River ; thence along the same
as it winds and turns, to the intersection of a line South,
fifty-nine degrees East, from the place of beginning ;
thence North, fifty-nine degrees West, one hundred and
thirty-seven chains and fifty links, to the place of begin
ning ; and contains two hundred and eighty acres."
Lot 8th, 303 acres, " The eighth of the said lots, or
Number Eight, begins twenty-seven chains distant from
the Southwest corner of lot number seven, on a course
South, thirty-one degrees West, and runs thence on the
same course fifteen chains ; thence South fifty-nine de
grees East, four hundred and six chains arid fifty links, to
the said West bank of the said Connecticut River ; thence
along the same, as it winds and turns, to the intersection
of a line South fifty-nine degrees East, from the place of
beginning; thence North fifty-nine degrees West, two
hundred and forty-eight chains to the place of beginning;
and contains three hundred and three acres.
27
And also, All that one equal and individual moiety, or
half part of land to be laid out in a square on both' sides
of the said Wait's River, the middle Easterly side where
of is to be eight rods below that fall in the said river
which is nearest to the mouth thereof; and also all those
spots of ground upon which a Grist-mill and Saw-mill now
are, or may be, or are intended to be erected, nearest to
the foot of the said fall ; And also, all that spot of ground
in the said Wait's River necessarily used, or to be used
in the construction of one dam, across the said river for
the use of the said mills, and all houses, buildings, orch
ards, gardens, land-meadows, commons, pasture-feedings,
trees, woods, underwoods, ways, paths, waters, water
courses, enjoyments, profits, accommodations, advantages,
emoluments and hereditaments whatsoever, to the several
lots and parcels of land above granted, belonging, or any
wise appertaining, or which now are, or formerly have
been, accepted, reputed, taken, known, used, occupied, or
enjoyed, to, or with, the same, or as part or parcel or num
ber thereof, or of any part thereof; and the reversions
and remissions, remainder and remainders, rents, issues,
and services thereof, and of every part thereof, with the
appurtenances — saving and accepting to the said William
Smith, his heirs and assigns forever, out of this grant and
conveyance, such part of the fall on Wait's River afore
said [as is or shall be] " fit for one Grist-mill and one Saw
mill, to be erected by the said William Smith, his heirs
and assigns, other than the spot above granted to the said
Samuel Sleeper for one Grist-mill and one Saw-mill, situ
ate, or to be situated, as aforesaid ; and saving and ex
cepting also, so much of the ground on the said Wait's
River necessarily to be used in the construction of a
dam across the said river, for the use of the said Grist
mill, as to be located at the election of the said William
Smith, his heirs and assigns, with free liberty of passing
and re -passing to the same, by the said William Smith,
28
his heirs and assigns, and all other persons whatsoever ;
To have and to hold all and singular the premises hereby
granted, or intended to be granted, with the appurtenan
ces, excepting as before is excepted, unto the said Samuel
Sleeper, his heirs and assigns forever ; provided always,
and these presents are upon this express condition, that
the said Grist-mill and Saw-mill and dam, hereby granted,
are erected and situated, or shall when erected be situa
ted as aforesaid ; nearest to the foot of the said fall ; and
provided also, if there be not room and convenience on
the said fall for the erection of one or more other Grist
mills and Saw-mills and dams, than the said Grist-mill and
Saw-mill and darn, hereby granted, then so much of this
present indenture as grants and conveys to the said Sam
uel Sleeper, his heirs and assigns, places and spots for one
Grist-mill and Saw-mill and one dam, shall be absolutely
null and void, any thing in the presents contained, to the
contrary notwithstanding.'7
" In witness whereof the parties to these presents have
hereunto interchangeably set their hands and seals, on the
day and year first above written.
WM. SMITH, j
Witness, Gov. MORRIS,
STEPHEN LUSK,
SAMUEL WELLS.
" Province of
New York, SS. f Be it remembered that, on the Fif
teenth day of August, One Thousand Seven Hundred and
Seventy, personally came and appeared before me, John
Watts, Esquire, one of His Majesty's council for the Pro
vince of New York, Samuel Wells, one of the subscribing
witnesses to the written deed, who being by me duly
sworn, did depose and say that he saw the written Grant
or, the Honorable William Smith, Enquire, seal and deliver
29
the written indenture of release, as his voluntary act and
deed ; for the use therein mentioned ; and that this de
ponent and the other witnesses, Governor Morris and Ste
phen Lusk, signed their names thereunto ; and I have in
spected the same, and finding no material erasures or in
terlineations save those that are noted to have been made
before the signing and sealing thereof, I do allow the same
to be recorded. JOHN WATTS,
Gloucester County, ) ^
Province of New York, f k
December 31, One Thousand
Seven Hundred and Seventy, the above was ordered, by
me, JOHN PETERS, Clerk."
The early settlers, twenty-two in number, being thus
virtually made safe in their possessions, entered, March
18, 1771, into a covenant with Ebenezer Martin, Jesse
McFarland, and Hezekiah Silloway, all of the said town,
in the County of Gloucester and Province of New York,
that the said committee should make to the said settlers
such distribution of the three thousand acres of land
which they in common drained, as, in the opinion of the
committee, should be just and equitable ; and the settlers,
on their part, jointly and severally bound themselves,
their heirs, executors, administrators, attorney or attor
neys, to the said Martin and his associates, under a pen
alty of ten thousand pounds, lawful currency, to abide by
the decision in each case. This bond was signed by the
names following : David Thompson, John Martin, James
Aikin, Benjamin Jenkins, William Thompson, Samuel Mc-
Dutfee, Samuel Gault, Ephraim Collins, Matthew Miller,
Nathaniel Martin, Amos Davis, Obadiah Saunders, Jona
than Martin, William Bell, Ephriam Martin, Samuel Thomp
son, David Kennedy, David Davis, Samuel Miller, John
Sawyer, Hannah Sleeper, and Hugh Miller.
Such was the Royal Charter of, and some of the earli
est official transactions in regard to Mooretown ; or, as
30
both its inhabitants and the General Assembly of Ver
mont subsequently, but erroneously insisted on calling it,
Moretown. The original name was, beyond doubt, given
it in honor of Sir Henry Moore, Baronet, and from 1765
to 1769, Captain General' and Governor in Chief, in and
over the Province of New York. But in accordance with
the request of its inhabitants to the General Assembly of
Vermont, then in session at Manchester, its name was
changed, October 23, 1788, as follows :
" It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the
State of Vermont, That the name of the township of
Moretown, in the County of Orange, be forever hereafter
known by the name of Bradford : And that it is hereby
provided that, whenever an advertisement respecting said
Township shall be published, within three years from the
passing of this act, it shall be called l Bradford, heretofore
known by the name of Mooretown, in Orange County. '"
See M. S. Laws of Vermont, 1787, to 1792; Vol. ii, p
260.
Probably the name Bradford was suggested by the
fact that in the near vicinity of Newbury and Haverhill,
Mass., there was, and still is, a highly respectable town,
named Bradford. For apparently a similar reason this
township was, for a while, called Salem, as appears from
a deed given, and a road survey made and recorded in
1786. The first name of all was "Wait's River Town,"
or " Waitstown ;" at which place a petition, signed by
Samuel Hale, John Peters, and others, was dated May 21,
1770.
A grant of the Township of Bradford to Israel Smith
and others, by the Legislature of Vermont.
An act making a grant of the Township of Bradford,
alias Moretown, to Israel Smith, Alexander Harvey, and
James Whitelaw, Esquires, as a committee intrust, for the
purposes in said act specified, passed Jan. 25, 1791, at
Bennington7 is as follows :
31
" It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the
State of Vermont,
" That there be, and hereby is, granted to Israel Smith,
Esq., of Thetford, Alexander Harvey, Esq., of Barnet, and
James Whitelaw, Esq., of Ryegate, all in the County of
Orange and State of Vermont, all that tract or parcel of
land known and distinguished by the name of Bradford,
bounded, South on Fairlee, West on Corinth, North on
Newbury, arid East on Connecticut River ; to be held by
the said Israel, Alexander and James, in trust, for the pur
pose hereafter mentioned. And
It is hereby further enacted by the authority aforesaid
that, the said Israel Smith, Alexander Harvey, and James
Whitelaw be, and they are hereby made, a Committee of
Trust, and also constituted a Board to hear, and according
to equity and good conscience to try and determine the
several claims of the settlers, inhabitants, and claimants
in and to said township, and that it be the duty of said
committee, in their discretion, to appoint a time or times,
and place or places, for the hearing of the said several
claims to said land ; and to give public notice thereof to
the said claimants to, and settlers on, said land ; and, on
any person or persons, claimants to and settlers on said
land, making it appear to said committee that he or they
have an equitable claim to said lands, or any part there
of, in exclusion of all others, it shall be the duty of said
committee, on such person or persons making out his or
their claim, as aforesaid, and paying into the hands of said
committee, for the use of the State, Nine Pence, lawful
money, in silver or gold, per acre, for each acre he shall
vindicate his claim to, as aforesaid, thereupon to eke unto
such person or persons, a Quitclaim Deed of conveyance
to such lands : always giving preference to the actual
settlers on such lands. Provided, nevertheless, that said
committee shall reserve Four Thousand Acres of said
land, on the westerly side of said Town, as laid out by
32
General Moses Hazen ; three hundred acres of which, be
ing part of said four thousand acres, shall be reserved for
the use and benefit of a school, in said town : and three
hundred acres more, being part of the said four thousand
acres, for the benefit of a minister, or ministers, to be set
tled in said town ; which shall be laid out by said commit
tee or their order, in such part of said four thousand
as they shall judge most equitable and just ; and shall be
by the said committee ;deeded to said Town for the afore
said purposes, free of expense or pay for said land. And
three thousand, four hundred acres, being the remaining
part of said four thousand acres, shall be reserved for the
said General Moses Hazen ; and on his paying, or causing
to be paid, into the hands of the said committee, for the
use of this State, the sum of Two shillings, lawful money,
in silver or gold, for each of the said three thousand four
hundred acres, remaining as aforesaid, it shall be the duty
of the said committee to deed the same to the said Hazen
by quit-claim, as aforesaid ; and to no other person or per
sons, or on any other terms whatsoever.
Provided also, That in case the said Moses Hazen shall
not pay or cause to be paid into the hands of the said com
mittee said sum of two shillings, lawful money, in silver
or gold, for each acre of the three thousand four hundred
acres named as aforesaid, by the rising of the Assembly
of this State in October next, or in case any o-r all of the
settlers, or claimants to said lands, exclusive of said four
thousand acres, shall not pay into the hands of said com
mittee, by the First day of April, A. IX 1792, the said
sum of nine pence per acre, for each acre they -claim, as
aforesaid, it shall be the duty of said committee to pro
ceed to advertise said lands for sale ; or any part thereof
that shall so remain unpaid for, in the Vermont Journal ;
and shall thereupon proceed to sell, at public vendue, to
the highest bidder, all, or any part of said lands, so re
maining unpaid for : and shall be accountable to the Treas-
33
urer of this State for all the monies they receive for said
lands. And it is further enacted that said committee, be
fore they proceed on the business of their appointment,
enter into a bond of Two Thousand Pounds to the Treas
urer of this State, for the faithful discharge of their trust.
See M. S. Laws of Vermont, Vol. ii, p 363.
Roads at public expense. In the years 1784 and 1786,
as John McDuffee, Esq., states in his manuscript already
mentioned, by act of the Legislature, and at the expense
of the State, a road was cut out, under the direction of
General Allen, from the falls in Wait's River, where Brad
ford village is now located, by the most feasible route to
Onion or Winooski River; and thence to Burlington:
which is one of the most direct and eligible highways
from Connecticut River to Lake Champlain : and which
was for many years occupied as a stage route. The course
was almost the same as that now in use as the most
direct stage route from Bradford to Montpelier, and is
thence taken by the Central Vermont Railroad, to Bur
lington.
By an act of the General Assembly, at Manchester, Oc
tober 26, 1789, a tax of one penny on every acre of land
in Bradford, (public rights excepted) was assessed, for the
purpose of building highways and bridges in said town.
The grant of this Township, made in trust, to Smith,
Harvey and Whitelaw, having failed to settle all matters
of difficulty among the inhabitants, especially among those
on the Hazen tract, further legislation was demanded, and
an act, entitled, An act for the purpose of quieting the
settlers on a certain tract of land in the western part of
Bradford, was passed by the General Assembly, at Rut
land, November 6, 1792, as follows :
" Whereas the Legislature of this State, at their session
in Bennington, in the year of our Lord One TJiousand
Seven Hundred and ninety-one, passed an act granting
the Township of Bradford to Israel Smith, Alexander
34
Harvey, and James Whitelaw, Esquires, upon certain con
ditions, and restrictions, therein expressed ; and. Where
as, a tract of land of three thousand four hundred acres
of land lying in the western part of said Township was
by said grant reserved for General Moses Hazen, with
the following condition, viz : that the said Moses Hazen
should pay into the hands of the before named grantees,
as a committee for that purpose, for the use of this State,
the sum of two shillings for each acre of land contained
in said tract, 'and that the same should be paid by the ris
ing of the General Assembly in October next ; and that
if the said Moses should not make part payment, that then
the before named committee should proceed to sell the
said tract of land, at public vendue — And, Whereas the
said Moses has failed to fulfill the condition of said grant,
arid the said tract of land is now advertised for sale,
agreeably to the direction of the said act; and it being
now made to appear to this Asssembly that there are a
number of settlers who have made considerable improve
ment on the said tract of land, who will be greatly injured
by the sale thereof;
" Therefore, it is hereby enacted by the General As
sembly of the State of Vermont, that the said Israel Smith,
Alexander Harvey, and James Whitelaw be, and they are
hereby, directed to notify to the said settlers living on
said tract of land, by setting up one advertisement, and
one other advertisement on the Sign Post in the said
town, at least one fortnight before the time of their
meeting, notifying the said settlers to appear and state
their claims to said committee ; and the said committee
shall then proceed to deed to such persons as appear
actually to be settled and making improvements on said
tract of land, the land on which they live, not exceeding
one hundred acres to each settler ; upon their paying
into the hand of such committee, for the use of this
State, the sum of two shillings for each acre of land
35
so deeded ; — and their proportion of the necessary ex
pense of said committee.
" And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid,
that all the remainder and residue of said tract of three
thousand four hundred acres which shall not be deeded to
the settlers as aforesaid, shall, by the said committee, be
deeded to JOHN BARRON, of said Bradford, upon his pay
ing into the hands of said committee, for the use of this
State, the sum of two shillings for each acre of land so
deeded to him, and his proportion of the necessary ex
pense of said committee ;
" Provided, always, that no deed shall be made of this
land in pursuance of this act, unless all the money, for the
whole of the aforesaid tract, shall be paid into the hands
of the aforesaid committee, before the first day of June
next,"
See M. S. Laws of Vermont, 1787 to 1.792 ; vol. ii, p. 453.
In accordance with this legislative enactment, the anx
ious settlers on lands to which they before had no legal
claims, were quieted ; valid titles to lots unoccupied given
to those who were wishing to possess them ; and the gen
eral settlement of the Township accomplished. How the
three hundred acres appropriated to the first settled min
ister or ministers, and the like amount for the support of
schools, were finally disposed of, we shall see when we
come to look into the state of ecclesiastical and educa
tional matters.
The physical topography of this township is, in the
main, like that of most others in the Connecticut valley.
The climate in the course of each year varying from the
piercing cold of Winter, to the intense heat of Summer,
with all degrees of intermediate alternations ; the rich in
tervales, with their annual inundations ; the high lands,
easily cultivated, and good alike for grass or grain; the
tracts of forests, charminglv variegated with birch, beech,
elm, maple, and evergreen trees, now too rapidly disap-
36
pearing ; the various productions which richly reward the
cultivator's toil ; the argillaceous ledges here and there
cropping out, and offering abundant material for cellar
walls and the underpinning of houses ; the inexhaustible
stores of clay and sand of the best quality for the making
of brick, to be used in the erection of buildings ; and the
unfailing water- privileges with which the town is blessed ;
all combine to give animation, courage, and energy, to its
enterprising population. From some of the high places
in this town the prospect on all sides, but especially as
one looks away to the East on the mountains of New
Hampshire, throwing back in a flood of glory the beams
of the declining sun, is not only surpassingly beautiful,
but truly sublime. An admired American author, who had
then recently returned from a tour in Europe, while sit
ting in his carriage and contemplating this scenery, re
marked that he had never seen anything of this nature
either in England or France, which seemed to him so
charming.
A well informed resident of the town, more than twen
ty-five years ago remarked that there were not more than
two one hundred acre lots within its limits which were
not cultivated, and that these were on Wright's Mountain;
and further, that even on that mountain there were not
more than twenty or thirty acres which might not be im
proved as pasturage or woodland.
The small mountain just mentioned, occupies the north
western corner of Bradford, and its summit, according to
Horace G. McDuffee's measurement, is about seventeen
hundred feet above Connecticut River, some three or four
miles distant, towards the East, and two thousand one
hundred above tide water. The sides of the mountain,
West and South, are precipitous, consisting of almost per
pendicular ledges of argillaceous slate, from which, espec
ially on the South side, where there is a deep ravine, huge
fragments of rock in ages past have fallen down, one on
37
another, forming various cavities, the largest of which has
been called " Devil's Den/' but most inappropriately, since
that evil personage, there can be no doubt, greatly pre
fers the society of kindred spirits congregated in cities,
and even coiintrv villages, above any such solitary cave
or den among wild beasts. Be that as it may, it is said
that a singular transaction once occurred in that- cave,
which attached to the mountain the name which it still
bears. The story is, in substance, this — One of the ear
liest settlers on the tract now called Bradford, was a re
ligious fanatic by the name of Benoni Wright, who con
ceived it to be his privilege and duty to prepare himself
for the distinguished honor and service pertaining to a
prophet of the Lord, by letting his beard grow to a great
length, and by keeping a strict fast of forty days and
nights in the wilderness, devoting the time to meditation
and fervent prayer. When about to retire he prepared
himself with a leathern girdle, with a buckle on one end
and forty-two progressive holes in the Dther, designing to
gird himself, day by day, one degree closer, as his size
should diminish. For this purpose it is said he took up
his abode in the cave above mentioned. This process
went on till the imperious demands of appetite became
too strong for his resolution, and in the darkness of night
he was detected far away from his place of concealment
in quest of food to satisfy his hunger, for if he stayed
where he had intended to remain, he was convinced he
must die ; and so his sanctimonious attempt proved a ri
diculous failure. Still he immortalized himself, as his
name has been permanently attached to the mountain
which witnessed his effort so painful to become a distin
guished prophet of the Most High. Let the place of his
retirement be also called by his name — Wright's Cave*
* A carriage road, not a very good one, was once made to the top of the
mountain, and two celebrations of the 4th of July have been held there. The
prospect from that elevation is truly magnificent; and if to be obtained in some
parts of the country, less affluent in beautiful scenery, would be highly appre
ciated by crowds of visitors.
The township is well watered, not only by innumerable
springs and rivulets richly refreshing the hill sides, but
by larger streams. On its eastern border flows the Con
necticut ; through its northeastern corner, Hall's Brook,
from Newbury, passes quietly along ; then as you go South,
Roaring Brook, over its rocky precipices comes dashing
down, to mingle with the other at its confluence with the
Connecticut ; and from the Southwest, RowelPs Brook
makes haste to reach the principal stream, which from
West to East runs though the town, and is dignified by
the name of Wait's River. The two main branches of
this stream soon after entering Bradford unite, and con
stitute a respectable river, which at Bradford Center af
fords a fine privilege for mills, and, on pas-sing through a
rocky channel about a half, a mile above its entrance into
the Connecticut, its course becomes so swift and forcible
that three dams, at a moderate distance from each other,
have been built across it, affording rare advantages for
grinding, sawing, paper-making, and various other kinds
of business requiring water-power. These tails have con
tributed largely to the prosperity of the enterprising and
flourishing village which has grown up around them.
The incidents which gave name to this river, as by tra
dition received, are too interesting and affecting to be
silently omitted. In the course of the old French war a
military force of New England men, under command of
Major Robert Rogers, in the year 1759, was sent to chas
tise and subdue the St. Francis tribe of Indians in Cana
da, who had for a half a century been in the practice of
perpetrating acts of violence and barbarity on the colo
nists. These men of war, stvled Roger's Rangers, on the
5th of October, of that year, struck the fatal blow ; but
were forced to commence a speedy retreat which proved
disastrous to many, on account of the manifold hardships
to which they were reduced while traversing the vast
wilderness between Memphremagog lake, on the border
3!)
of Canada, and No. 4, in New Hampshire. Several, we
know not how many of them, are said to have perished by
absolute starvation. They had hoped to find supplies on
reaching the Lower Coos, but were disappointed. The
men, in their great distress, were there disbanded, and
directed to seek sustenance for themselves, by hunting,
or in whatever way they could. Captain Waite, with a
small squad, pushed on down the river, and within the dis
tance of some ten or twelve miles Avas so fortunate as to
kill a deer, which gave good refreshment to himself and
In's famishing men ; and having reserved a small portion
for themselves, he hung up the remainder conspicuously
on a tree, or trees, for the relief of their suffering associ
ates, who were expected soon to be passing that way.
That there might be no misunderstanding, he cut his name,
Waite, on the bark of a tree from which he had suspend
ed a portion of his life-saving venison ; and as this tree
stood on the bank of a small river, just above its union
with the Connecticut, the grateful men, in remembrance
of their kind benefactor, called it Wait's River, by which
name it has ever since been known.
40
CHAPTER II.
Transactions of Early Town Meetings — A list of Town Clerks and
Representatives from the First — Roads Surveyed, with Distances
from Place' to Place — Bridges Built — Freshets — Army of Worms.
The first town meeting of which any record has been
preserved, was held at the house of Samuel McDuffee, in
the year 1773, probably in the Spring of that year; when
the requisite officers were chosen, and the machinery of
a regular township was put in working order. The list
of officials was as follows : John Peters, Moderator ; Stev
ens McConnell, Cleric ; Benjamin Jenkins, Supervisor •
Hugh Miller and Noah White, Overseers of the Poor • Ben
jamin Jenkins, Treasurer ; Jesse McFarland, Lieut. Jacob
Fowler, and Hezekiah Silloway, Surveyor of Highways ;
Hezekiah Silloway, Constable; Amos Davis, Collector ;
Samuel Gault, and Amos Davis, Tythinymen.
The Samuel McDuffee, at whose house this first town
meeting was held, was unfortunately drowned in Connect
icut river in 1781. He was an uncle of Samuel and John
McDuffee, Esqrs., of later dates.
The first deed recorded in this town, dated August 13,
1773, thus begins : "Know all men by these presents,
that I, Benoni Wright, of Moorstown, so-called, in the
County of Gloucester and Province of New York." This
deed was made to Stevens McConnell, of Newbury, in the
same County.
The next annual town meeting was held May 1, 1775,
at the house of Stevens McConnell ; when, in addition to
the choice of officers, it was voted to expend $300 worth
of labor on the highways ; allowing each man 4s. 6d. per
day for his own labor, and 3s. per day for a yoke of oxen.
Business of a warlike nature . was also transacted. The
battle of Lexington, Mass., which decisively opened the
momentous drama of the Revolutionary war, had been
41
fought but a few days before ; and the state of the
try had become alarming. Therefore,
Voted, To raise a Town stock, to be kept in the Treas-
urv, of one pound of powder, three pounds of leac\, and a
dozen flints, to each man in said town of Mooretown, from
sixteen years to eighty.
Chose Benjamin Jenkins and Haines Johnson, a commit
tee to look out, and procure a stock of powder, lead, and
flints as the above vote directs.
Voted, to raise three dollars in cash, as present expense,
to the Committee for raising said stock ; and the assessors
shall, or may, lay an assessment on each man, as they shall
judge right ; and the Collector of said town of Moore-
town shall, and is hereby empowered to, collect each man's
proportion, as so assigned.
Voted to pay in wheat, at the price the Committee shall
engage, for the town stock.
May 7, 1776. Voted to meet on the 14th inst. to choose
military officers. Adjourned.
At a later date. Voted to raise 10 pounds, lawful
money, for the purchase of powder and lead.
May 29, 1777. Voted to send Bildad Andross and Ben
jamin Baldwin to the Convention at Windsor to take
measures for the organization of a new State.
These acts of the town indicate the state of feeling
prevalent among its earliest inhabitants, in regard to the
public affairs.
A deed, bearing date Feb. 1, 1781, purports to be from
Joseph Thurber, of Mooretown, County of Cumberland,
and State of Vermont, to Robert Hurikiris, of the same
County and State.
Another deed, dated Jan. 24, 1782, from Obededom
Sanders, of Mooretown, County of Orange, and State of
Vermont, is given to John Simons, of Piermont, in the same
County and State, and the acknowledgment is made be
fore Thomas Russell, Justice of the Peace in Piermont,
4
42
Orange County, Vt. Here we see how unsettled for some
time were the names and civil relations of this town,
towards some others in its vicinity. Piermont, at one
time, claimed to be in Vermont.
That domestic police regulations, for the restraint of
misbehaving boys, men, and other animals, were not neg
lected, appears from the appointment of tything men to
keep order in religious assemblies, a'nd such other votes as
these:
" 1786, June 12th. Voted to build a Pound, at the town
cost, by order of the Selectmen ; also Stocks and a Sign-
Post."'
This Sign-Post seems to have answered the double pur
pose of holding forth advertisements and warnings regard
ing public matters, and of serving as a Whipping Post for
the castigation of criminals. These instruments of ter
ror to evil-doers, the Stocks and Sign Post, stood on the
East side of the highway, near where you now turn to go
down to the stone paper mill ; and in a few instances were
employed in the punishment of notorious transgressors.
" March 31, 1794. Voted that swine may run in the
highway, having a yoke on the neck, of the following di
mensions : the depth of the neck above, and half of the
depth below ; and the thickness of the neck on each
side ; with a sufficient ring in the nose." Stray cattle
and horses were to be impounded ; and thus due order be
preserved.
TOWN CLERKS,
WITH THE PERIODS OF THEIR SERVICES.
*773 Stevens 'McConnell,
1774 No record,
1775 Jacob Fowler,
1776 Stevens McConnell,
1777 — i78o, No record,
1781 Stevens McConnell,
1782 Benjamin Baldwin,
1783 — 1785, No record,
1786 Stevens McConnell,
1787 — 1788, No record,
1789 Benjamin Baldwin,
1790 — 1793, John Underwood,
1794—1797,
1798 — 1815,
1816—1820,
1821—1837,
1838
1839—1845,
1846-1853,
1854-1855,
1856—1862,
1863
1864—1869,
1870—1874,
Moses Chamberlain,
Andrew B. Peters,
John H. Cotton,
Andrew B. Peters,
Horace Strickland,
A. B. Peters,
Geo. P. Baldwin.
Geo. L. Butler,
Adams Preston,
Charles H. Harding,
Edward Prichard.
John B. W. Prichard,
REPRESENTATIVES FROM BRADFORD,
TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, WITH THE PERIODS OF THEIR
ELECTION.
1788
1790
1791
1792
1793—1794,
1795—1797,
1798—1799,
1800
1801
1802
1803—1804,
1805
1806—1813,
1814—1818,
1819—1821,
1822
1823
1824—1826,
1827
1828
1829
1830
John Barren,
Asher Chamberlain,
and Col. John Barron
to assist him in ob
taining a Charter.
John Barron,
Nathaniel White and
M. Barron.
John Barron,
Micah Barron,
Andrew B. Peters,
William Simpson,
A. B. Peters,
Daniel Kimball,
A. B. Peters,
Arad Stebbins,
Daniel Kimball
John H. Cotton,
John Peckett,
Geo. W. Prichard,
John Peckett,
Jesse Merrill, 2d,
George W. Prichard,
Jesse Merrill, 2d,
Joseph Clark,
Jesse Merrill, 2d,
1831
1832—1833
1834—1836,
1837
1838
1839
1840
1841—1842,
1843—1844,
1845
1846
1847
1848—1850,
1851- -1853,
1854
1855
1856—1857,
1858—1859,
1860—1861,
1862—1865,
1866—1867,
1868
1869
1870—1873,
1874—1875,
John B. Peckett,
Jesse Merrill, 2d,
Arad Stebbins, jr.,
J.D.Parker,
Arad1 Stebbins, jr.,
J. W. D. Parker,
Adams Preston,
Alvin Taylor,
Geo. P. Baldwin,
No choice,
Arad Stebbins, jr.,
Geo. P. Baldwin,
Hubbard Wright,
No choice,
Richard R. Aldrich,
Hubbard Wright,
Horace Strickland,
George Prichard,
George L. Butler,
Hubbard Wright,
Barron Hay,
Hubbard Wright,
Asa M. Dickey,
Henry C. McDuffee,
Joseph W. Bliss.
44
ROADS SURVEYED.
It may be a matter of curiosity and satisfaction, to
Bradford people, to know the distances from place to place
along several of the roads which they are accustomed to
travel ; as stated in authentic surveys, in times past. Ac
cordingly, I will give a condensed statement, taken from
an old volume of the Town Records, several years ago ;
which since seems to have strangely disappeared.
I. RIVER ROAD, from North to South ; survey by Caleb
Willard, in 1795. Distance from the North line of Bradford
to Roaring brook, 188 rods, that is> one-half mile and 28
rods ; thence to Daniel Collins' house, Sawyer place ? one
mile and 18 rods; thence to Meeting house, near the
Peters' place, one mile ; thence to Wait's River bridge, one
mile, lacking 20 rods ; thence to the Peckett house, Har
vey Nourse place ? one mile and 24 rods ; thence to John
Barren's, or Waterman place, one-fourth of a mile ; thence
to Fairlee, North line, 52 rods ; making the distance
through the town, on this road, five miles, three quarters,
and 16 rods.
II. THE SOUTH ROAD — Surveyed by Aaron Shepherd,
1786. From Peckett's blacksmith shop, near the corner
where the road to Goshen turns off, in the central part of
the village, to the Hazen land, which begins at the brook
a little East of Ira Low's house, four miles and 50 rods ;
thence through the Hazen land to the East line of Cor
inth, one-half of a mile and 74 rods ; making the whole
distance from the village to the West line of Bradford on
that road, four miles and three quarters, and 44 rods, or
five miles, lacking 36 rods.
III. GOSHEN ROAD — Surveyed by Aaron Shepherd, in
1788. Beginning at the School house in the village, near
the falls on Wait's River, by the Tabor place to the junc
tion with the Goshen North road, three miles and 19 rods.
IV. ROAD UP THE BROOK FROM ROWELL'S CORNER —
45
Surveyed by Benjamin P. Baldwin, in November, 1837.
From the guide-board in said corner, to the crossing of
the Brushwood road, called the Four Corners, one mile
and a quarter, lacking one rod ; thence to the John Un
derwood place, one -half of a mile and 36 rods; in the
whole, from Ro well's Corner's to the Underwood house,
one mile, three-quarters and 35 rods.
V. WAIT'S RIVER ROAD — Surveyed by Benjamin P.
Baldwin, October, 1821, under the direction of a commit
tee appointed by the State Legislature. This is the East
ern section of the stage road, and great thoroughfare
from Bradford village, through East Corinth, Topsham,
Orange and Barre, to Montpelier, and so on to Burlington;
also by the South Branch of Wait's River, through Cor
inth and Vershire, to Chelsea. The old roads had been
over the high hills, and to this road decided opposition
was made, at first, by a majority in Bradford, on account
of the expense of making it ; but owing to a strong pres
sure from within, and a stronger from without, it was put
through, greatly to public convenience.
SUMMARY. — From Farnham's Corner (near Mr. Cyrus
Stearns',) on the River Road, across the Saddle Bank to
the West end of the Baldwin bridge, one mile and 34
rods ; thence to John Moore's house, now Russ', three-
quarters of a mile and 11 rods. From the Baldwin bridge
to Cass bridge, at Bradford Center, two miles and one-
half and 9 rods. From Baldwin bridge to Colby bridge,
the next above Bradford Center, four miles and 25 rods ;
thence to the Northwest line of the town, as you go to
wards Corinth, East Village, one mile and 62 rods, making
the whole distance from Baldwin's bridge to that point,
five miles, one-quarter and 7 rods ; and from the great
river road, at the place of beginning, six miles, one-quar
ter, and 41 rods. From Connecticut River, at Piermont
bridge, through the town of Bradford, in this direction, is
six miles, three-quarters and 35 rods ; and thence to Wat-
46
son's Mills in Barre, on the Chelsea turnpike, it is sixteen
miles further, lacking 54 rods.
FROM COLBY BRIDGE, a few miles below the confluence
of the North and South principal branches of Wait's
River, up the latter to the East line of Corinth, is about
one mile and a half. These several places are at the same
distance from the central part of Bradford village as from
Farnham's Corner, lacking about one-fourth of a mile.
VI. SURVEY THROUGH BRADFORD VILLAGE, by Benjamin
P. Baldwin, Esq., August 12, 1841. From the southeast
corner of Deacon Hardy's lot, near the North end of
the village, to the Alfred Corliss' house, now George
Jenkins', 56 rods ; thence to Prichard's store, 58 rods fur
ther; thence to the Town House, 114 rods; thence to the
corner of Pleasant street, 24 rods ; thence to the brow of
the hill West of John B. Peckett's house, now Col. J.
Stearns', 56 rods ; making the Avhole distance through the
village in this direction, one mile, lacking 12 rods, from
the place of beginning.
According to a more recent survey by J. Stratton, Esq.,
the distance from the Trotter House, in the central part of
the village, to the railroad station, Northeast, is three-
fourths of a mile and 41 rods ; and from the same house
to the station, South, at the Piermont crossing, is one mile
and 44 rods. From said hotel to the West end of Bald
win bridge, on the stage road to East Corinth, seven-
eights of a mile.
BRIDGES.
Owing to the rapid current of Wait's River, and its sud
den and great overflowings, sometimes sweeping away
with resistless force vast quantities of ice, the Town
has been subjected to no small amount of labor and pe
cuniary expense to build and maintain the requisite num
ber of some six or seven bridges over it. Still there has
been a praiseworthy effort to do so. As early as 1802 it
47
was voted to build a bridge across this river, near Peter
Severance's, not far from the Corinth line ; also one op
posite to the Southeast end of Wright's Mountain ; also
another further down, near Captain Baldwin's. These
early bridges were built as cheaply as possible ; supported
in the middle by framed work below, and of course very
liable to disaster. While the builders were engaged in
erecting one across the river, near where the brick grist
mill now stands, the structure fell, in 1803, and killed Mr.
John Bliss, one of the workmen. And subsequently either
the same bridge, when finished, or another in the same
place, its underwork being damaged by a freshet, fell, al
most entire, into the roaring current, and was swept
away. The bridge at Bradford Center, in 1832, through
its own weakness, when no such disaster was anticipated,
went down with a sudden crash ! when no one was on it ;
though it had, up to that time, been in constant use. In
March, 1830, it was voted that the Selectmen be author
ized to purchase a patent right for a bridge, or bridges,
as they shall think best for the interest of the town.
Bridges built in accordance with this plan, with strong
support above, and leaving below a sufficiently spacious
and free passage for the river, even when greatly swol
len, and sweeping proudly along, are found to be alto
gether the strongest and best.
Accidents by reason of the unsafe condition of roads
and bridges have occasionally befallen travelers ; whose
claims for damages seem, not much to the credit of the
town, to have been very generally resisted. Take, for in
stance, this, though we have not now all the facts before
us : 1814, September 6. " Voted not to pay for the horse
of Jesse Woodward," which seems to have been killed
in consequence of the bad state of a bridge. But the
case of an unfortunate woman was, at the same time,
treated with a little more favor : " Voted that Mary Me-
Killips be allowed Eight Dollars, and her reasonable sur-
48
geon's bill, for setting and dressing her arm, that was bro
ken by the fall of her horse through the bridge by Peter
Severance's " !
FRESHETS.
Both Wait's River and the Connecticut, annually, and
occasionally more than once in a year, by reason of heavy
rains, aided, especially in Spring time, by dissolving snow,
rise astonishingly, and extensively overflow the low lands
through which they pass ; sometimes to a great depth.
The general effect, like the periodical overflowings of the
Nile, is to enrich the soil, arid render it the more produc
tive. But, on various occasions, bridges and mill dams,
great quantities of valuable lumber, and the rich produc
tions of the grass and grain and corn fields, to the bitter
disappointment of their owners, have been swept away ;
and even the courses of the streams essentially chaifged,
by cutting off the soil from one side, and leaving it some
where below, on the other. Events of unique and thril
ling description have occasionally been experienced, or
witnessed, on some of these occasions.
The Rev. Grant Powers, in his history of the Coos
country, says he had the following account from a Mr.
Wallace, of Thetford, who, at the time the great freshet
of 1771 occurred, was in Bradford, and personally con
cerned in the adventure related. This freshet was re
markably destructive. " Wallace went to the relief of a
family in Bradford, who lived on the place noAv owned by
Mr. Hunkins. It was- the family of Hugh Miller. His
wife was the sister of the far famed Robert Rogers, the
hero of St. Francois. When Wallace reached this habi
tation " — which stood in the meadow — " he rowed his ca
noe into the house, as far as the width of the house would
receive it, took the family from the bed whereon they
stood, and bore them to a place of safety. But Mrs. Mil
ler, the next day, seeing their sheep standing on a small
49
eminence in the meadow, surrounded by water, her hus
band being absent, resolved on Rescuing them from their
perilous situation. She pressed into her service a young
man by the name of George Binfield " — probably Banfidd—
" and they took a canoe and set sail for the sheep. They
reached the place, caught the sheep, tied their legs, placed
them on board, and set out on their return voyage for the
high lands ; but when they came into a strong current, they
were carried down stream, until the canoe struck a pine
stub, and was capsized ! All were precipitated into the
water, of the depth of ten feet. When our heroine arose,
and her companion in adventure, they caught hold of a
stub, standing about five feet out of the water, and main
tained their grasp until another boat was obtained and
they were liberated from their perilous situation; but the
wrecked canoe and sheep were never heard from more.
From this time the people sought more elevated situations
for their habitations."
The above named author proceeds to say : " Jonathan
Tyler, of Piermont, related an extraordinary fact which
occurred in this same great freshet. He said a horse was
tied to a log in a stock-yard, upon the great Ox Bow, in
Newbury, and when the water arose it took away the
horse, and the log to which he was made fast ; and the
horse was taken out of the river alive, at Hanover,"-
some thirty miles below — " but soon died, upon reaching
the shore. He would, doubtless, have perished soon after
breaking from his moorings in Newbury, had not the log to
which he was tied kept his head above the water, and thus
prolonged his life many hours."
Another incident : " Colonel Howard told me that, in
this same freshet, some swine were taken away by the
water, in the North part of Haverhill, and were carried
down to the Ox Bow," — the distance of a mile, or two —
" where they made good their standing upon the top of a
hay-stack, where they remained, capering about ! until the
50
waters subsided ; and the owners procured their property
again." Rather scanty accommodations, one would think,
for much capering about.
In the latter part of the winter of 1866 occurred a
remarkable freshet in Wait's River, Avhich tore up and
swept away the thick ice in a frightful manner ; a great
mass of which, having lodged against Baldwin's bridge,
so obstructed the current of the river as to cause the
water above to rise rapidly to an astonishing height, and
to sweep over the interval between the West end of the
bridge and the adjacent hill- side with great impetuosity.
The four or five houses there were inundated, and in great
peril. At about one o'clock p. M. Mr. Samuel Merrill and
wife thought it high time for them to escape ; which
they did in such haste as to leave all their household ef
fects behind. By half-past seven, the same day, the water
had become so deep around and within their habitation
that it was raised from its foundations, and sailed away
like a ship at sea. The bridge, directly after, gave way ;
the jam of ice went with it ; the accumulated waters went
too, with a mighty rush ; and the floating house went over
the river bank only in season to be left, partly capsized,
in the old channel ; some forty, or perhaps fifty, rods be
low its old position. It was finally raised, by the aid of
machinery, in pretty good condition, and removed to a
more desirable location than its first, where it still stands,
making a pleasant hom.e for another family. By the same
freshet serious damage was done to the dam, and other
works connected with Mr. Low's paper mill, on the same
river, some half or three-quarters of a mile below the
place from which the bridge above mentioned was swept
away.
AN EXTRAORDINARY VISITATION.
In his History of the Coos Country, the Rev. Grant
Powers gives an account of an astonishing multitude of
51
worms, of uncommon size and destructiveness, which
passed through this section of the Connecticut River val
ley in the summer of 1770, overspreading to a great
• breadth the whole surface of the ground ; destroying the
luxuriant fields of wheat and corn, and leaving desolation
behind them. He says he had his information from Rev.
Dr. Burton, of Thetford, who was an eye witness of the
scene. No better testimony could be desired ; for, from
the biography of Dr. Burton, it appears that he was at
that time about eighteen years of age, living in Norwich,
and laboriously engaged with his father in agricultural
business. That was the year in which the charter of this
town was obtained. There were then in this place about
thirty land holders, mainly located in the valley ; who
must, with their neighbors of other towns, have seriously
suffered by the loathsome and distressing calamity. I
will give the account substantially as I find it, though
considerably abbreviated. The army of worms seem to
have commenced as far North as Lancaster, N. H., and ex
tended their ravages as far down as Northfield, Mass., on
both sides of the river. They began to appear the latter
part of July, and continued their ravages until Septem
ber. The inhabitants styled them the Northern Army.
They were multitudinous almost beyond imagination.
Dr. Burton said he had seen whole pastures so covered
that he could not put down his finger in a single spot
without touching a worm ! He said he had seen more
than ten bushels in a heap. They were unlike anything
the present generation has ever seen. They were of dif
ferent sizes, but in their maturity were as long as a man's
finger, and proportionally large in circumference. There
was a stripe along the back like black velvet ; on each
side a yellow stripe, from end to end ; and the rest of the
body was brown. They appeared to be iji great haste, ex
cept when they halted to devour their food. In their
right-onward march they would go up the side of a house,
52
and over it, in such a complete column that nothing of
boards or shingles could be seen! or if any door or win
dow, on the side which they approached, happened to be
open, they would enter and fill the houses of the inhabi
tants, as did the frogs of Egypt. They did riot take hold
of the pumpkin vines, peas, potatoes, or flax ; but wheat
and corn they devoured with the utmost greediness. In
the wheat fields their principal aim was to secure the
bending heads, filled with juicy kernels. To prevent this,
men would " draw the rope," as they termed it ; that is,
two men would take a rope, one at each end, and, pulling
from each other till it was nearly straightened, they would
pass along their wheat fields, and brush off the worms
from the stalks, and by often so doing retarded some
what the work of the destroyers ; but found the effort of
no ultimate importance. There were fields of corn on the
meadows in Haverhill and Newbury, standing so thick,
large, and tall, that in some instances it was difficult to
see a man standing in the field at the distance of one rod;
but in ten days from the first appearance of the Northern
Army, of that corn nothing remained but the naked
stalks ! Men dug ditches around their fields, some foot
and a half deep, hoping this might prove a defence ; but
the worms soon filled the ditches, and the millions that
were in the rear went over on the backs of their fellows
in the trenches, and took possession of the interdicted
food. Every expedient was resorted to by the inhabi
tants to crush, or in some way destroy, their detestable
invaders ; but all in vain. The fields of wheat and corn
were almost entirely destroyed. But of potatoes, and es
pecially pumpkins, great crops were gathered ; and the
inhabitants, somehow, contrived to live.
About the first of September the worms suddenly dis
appeared ; but where, or how, is unknown, lor not the car
cass of a worm was to be seen. In just eleven years af
terward, in 1781, the same kind of worms appeared again,
53
and the fears of the people were much excited ; but they
were comparatively few in number ; and have had, in the
course of now one hundred and three years, no suc
cessors.
54
CHAPTER III.
Ecclesiastical Affairs — Meeting Houses — Churches ; Coiigregation-
al, Rev. J. K. Williams, Rev. L. H. Elliott; Methodist, with
List of Pastors ; Baptist — Cemeteries — Present Population of the
Town.
ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS.
The first settlers of this town, while few and poor, man
ifested a commendable desire to secure for themselves
and families such religious priviliges as they had left in
the various older places from .which they had severally
emigrated ; and, at an early date, put forth the corres
ponding endeavors. The majority were in favor of Con
gregational preaching, and, in accordance with the laws
and usages of that day, when they began to act as a
regularly organized township took in hand, by town au
thority, the business of not only employing and paying
ministers of that persuasion, but of building a meeting
house for their occupancy. Those only who h'led with the
Town Clerk an authentic testimonial that they belonged
to another denomination, and protested against being-
taxed for the support of this, were legally exempt from
such taxation.
In 1782 the town voted to raise £20, to pay town
charges for preaching, &c. Chose Doctor Aridross, Cap
tain Robert Hunkins, and Noah Ford, to procure preach
ing, to be paid for out of the funds above mentioned.
April 2. Voted to hire Mr. Steward or Mr. Store to
preach with us two or three months this Summer. These
were worthy ministers of the Congregational order, and
were employed to preach at Bradford and Fairlee alter
nately.
In May, 1783, at a town meeting, called for that pur
pose, at the house of Widow Grault, it was voted to pay
Colonel Morey, of Fairlee, nine pounds, for boarding min
isters ; and the ministers the, same amount for their ser
vices the past year.
55
1785. Sept. 15. Voted to hire a minister to preach on
probation for settlement, and that ,£10 be added to the
£30 voted for that purpose last Spring • the said tax to be
paid in wheat, at six shillings a bushel. Esq. Bliss, Jo
seph Clark and Capt. McConnell were appointed a com
mittee to carry out the above resolutions.
1788: Nov. 22, the town voted to send a letter to Mr.
Store, desiring him to come and preach and settle with
us as a minister, if we can agree — not without. It would
seem that the lack of such agreement prevented the min
ister's coming.
ACTION OF THE TOWN IN REGARD TO BUILDING
THEIR FIRST MEETING-HOUSE.
1788. Sept. 2, at the freemen's meeting, the town ap
pointed a committee to " drive a stake where to set a
meeting -house" and report at the next town meeting.
October 18, it was decided by the town that the meet
ing house should be set on the flat, near Esquire Peters'
barn, and that it should be fifty feet long, forty feet Avide,
and twenty- three feet posts.
Then arose the serious questions : who should build
said house — who be responsible for the expense, and in
what way the means of payment should be obtained?
Town meeting after town meeting was held, extending
through the lapse of four years and a half, in which a va
riety of plans and methods were earnestly advocated and
opposed — some of them at times adopted, and again re
jected — until, on the 19th day of March, 1793, it was de
cided that the town committee appointed for that pur
pose should go forward, and see the work accomplished.
This committee, having entered into a definite contract
with certain builders, to make the thing sure, after so
much delay and altercation, required and received from
them the following bond :
56
" Know all men by these presents, that we, Joseph
Clark, of Bradford, in the County of Orange, and State of
Vermont, and Edward Clark, of Haverhill, in the County
of Grafton, and State of New Hampshire, gentlemen, stand
firmly bound unto John Barron, Nathaniel White, Robert
Hunkins, and Thomas May, all of said Bradford, in the
County and State aforesaid, Esq'rs, in the sum of two
thousand pounds, L. M. — we bind ourselves, our heirs, ex
ecutors and administrators — which payment to be made
by the 1st day of July, 1795.
The condition of the above obligation is such, that if
the aforesaid Joseph and Edward Clark shall build arid
complete a meeting-house in said Bradford, on the rising-
ground between Edmon Brown's and Andrew B. Peters7,
of said Bradford, fifty feet by forty feet, with a porch at
one- end, and a porch and steeple at the other end, like a
plan that hath been shown to the above said John Barron
and others, aforesaid — said house to be well finished, well
glassed, well underpinned with hard stone, with good hard
door-stones — said house with a steeple with a good
weather- cock — the workmanship in every part to be com
pleted equal to Newbury, or to the acceptance of an in
different committee that shall be chosen by the parties —
said house to be completed by the first day of July, 1795
—When completed, the above obligation to be void and
of none effect — otherwise to be in full force and virtue."
" Dated at Bradford, this 23d day of April, Anno Dom
ini 1793.
EDWARD CLARK, L. S.
JOSEPH CLARK, L. S.
" Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of us,
John Underwood, (_
Levi Collins." j
The builders fulfilled their contract, and the house was
ready for the ordination of the elected pastor on Septem
ber 2d, following.
57
By vote of the town the pews had been sold in advance,
at public auction, before the above contract with the
builders was made, so that the means of defraying the
expense were furnished without resort to general taxa
tion. The pews below sold from 32<£ to 4^£ 11s each:
and those in the gallery from 8£ to 6£ C>s. That was the
first meeting-house the writer of this article ever saw,
and the one in which he was some twelve or fourteen years
after ordained as pastor.
We have now a meeting-house ; let us go back a little,
and see how the first pastor was obtained.
1793. October 1 2, at a town-meeting called for that
purpose :
" Voted to hire some preaching this fall, if some candi
date should chance to come this way"
It seems that Mr. Gardner Kellogg chanced to come
along, and was employed.
1794." March 31. Voted to raise !(><£ lawful currency
to pay for preaching.
July 3d. Voted to hire Mr. Kellogg three months
longer.
Sept. 24, 1794. Voted to give Mr. Kellogg a call to set
tle here in the ministry.
Nov. 10. Voted to give Mr. Kellogg 20()£ in labor and
.materials for a house — part to be paid in a year : part in
two years ; and the remainder in three years. Also, to
give him 50£ for the first year, and to increase by the
addition of 5<£, till it amounts to 75 £ or 8375, which shall
be the regular salary. One quarter to be paid in money
— the remainder in wheat, at 5s. a bushel: — or neat stock
equivalent to said wheat.
1795. Jan. 13. Voted to give Mr. Kellogg, in addi
tion to the above, twenty cords of wood yearly, if need
ed. Also, to give him 200£ settlement, in land., This
offer, considering the times and circumstances, was very
liberal.
4
58 .
March 21, 1795, Mr. Kellogg returned an affirmative
answer to the call which had been given hmi) and at a
town-meeting held June 6, 1795, it was decided that the
ordination of Mr. Kellogg "should be on Wednesday, the
2d day of September next ; and that the ministers called to
unite in the ordaining council should be Rev. Nathaniel
Lambert, of Nevvbury ; Stephen Fuller, of Vershire, Asa
Burton, of Thetford; and Lyman Potter, of Norwich, Vt.;
Rev. Joseph Willard, of Lancaster ; Ethan Smith, of Hav-
erhill ; John Richards, of Piermont ; John Sawyer, of Or-
ford ; William Conant, of Lyme ; Isaiah Potter, of Leba
non, and Seth Payson, of Rindge, N. EL; Joseph Lyman,
of Hatfield • Samuel Hopkins, of Hadley, and — — Kel
logg, of Framingham, Mass.
The council was entertained at the public house of Col.
John Barren, and the ordination services were performed
according to appointment. In all these transactions ev
erything seems to have been done by town authority ;
not the least reference being made to even the existence
of a church. There was, however, such a church, under
the ministry of Mr. Kellogg ; but when it was formed, of
how many members it consisted, or what it did, cannot
now be stated, as no record has been preserved ; and
within a few years after that pastor's dismission, that
church voted to dissolve, arid a new one, consisting partly
of members from the old one arid partly of new converts,
Avas formed in June, 1810, and still exists.
MINISTERIAL LANDS.
In the grant of this township, made in trust to Smith,
Harvey and Whitelaw, there was a reservation of three
hundred acres of land, the same being a part of the four
thousand called the Hazen lands, to be deeded to the town
and reserved for the benefit of a. minister or ministers to
be settled in said town. It was from this reservation that
land to the estimated value of 200X was promised to Mr.
59
Kellogg as his settlement, as it was called. As he was
the first minister settled by the town, it was for a time
maintained that the whole of this land in justice belonged
to him. But as a Calvinistic Baptist church had been
formed about the same time, and built a meeting-house,
and were supporting a minister entirely at their own ex
pense, they claimed that a due proportion of the ministe
rial lands ought to be granted to them. After much dis
cussion, deciding, and reconsidering what should be done,
the town finally came to the conclusion to deed two hun
dred acres to Rev. Gardner Kellogg, his heirs and assigns
forever, and one hundred acres to a committee appointed for
that purpose by the said Baptist Society, for their use and
benefit. Both deeds were made by the Selectmen the
same day, August 4, 1796. The consideration on the part
of Mr. Kellogg, as specified, is 141X 15s.; and on the part
of the Baptist Society, one penny, lawful money, duly
paid. This Society, in the course of a few years became
extinct, their meeting-house, which stood in close prox
imity to the cemetery on the upper plain, on the north
side of the same, was, after standing for a long while des
olate, taken down ; and the land which had been appro
priated to them, or rather the consideration for which it
was sold, is now possessed by another society, calling
themselves Christian Baptists or Christians, in quite a dif
ferent part of the town, and used for the support of their
ministry.
This method of supporting a minister by town taxation
was attended with many difficulties, and finally proved a
failure. In view of his settlement, and during its contin
uance, those who were unwilling to pay for his support
were prompt to give the requisite notice that they be
longed to some other denomination, and did not consent
to be taxed by the town for the support of their minister.
And so the matter grew more and more embarrassing,
both to the minister and his adherents, (stillp called the
60
town) until the town, at their March meeting, 1809, ap
pointed a committee to request Mr. Kellogg to ask for a
dismission. To this application he replied that he would
be ready to join in a Council for his dismission, when
the town should pay up what they were owing him.
April G, 1809, it was voted that the Selectmen be author
ized to make up a tax of $483, to be paid by those not
exempt by law, to settle up with Mr. Kellogg. By the
payment of this balance due, the town seem to have con
sidered the connection between them arid their first,
and in tact only, minister dissolved. There is no record
of the calling of a council, or of any ecclesiastical action
in the case. And thus after a lapse of nearly fourteen
years from its commencement, the ministry of this good
man in Bradford was terminated.
The Rev. Gardner Kellogg was a man of fair, ordinary
ability, well educated, mild, moderate, and conciliating in
his spirit and manners, evangelical in his sentiments, and
without reproach in his Christian and ministerial charac
ter. Not long after his removal from this place he was
constituted pastor of the Congregational church in Wind-
ham, Maine ; where he finished the work on earth which
his Lord had given him to do, and passed away to his final
rest ; leaving an exceedingly amiable family, rich, not in
this world's goods, but in faith and good works.
THE PRESENT CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
in Bradford was organized June 24, 1810, by the counsel
and assistance of Rev. Stephen Fuller, pastor of the
church in Vershire. The new church at first consisted of
but seven members, two men and five women. For over
five years they were without a regular pastor ; though not
without preaching, for much of that time. Rev. Silas Mc-
Keen, their first pastor, commenced his ministry here Ju
ly 25, 1814, on the second Sabbath after having received
license to preach; and October 28, 1815, received ordin-
61
ation, and was duly constituted pastor. After the lapse
of twelve years of various success and discouragement,
for want of competent support, he asked for a release
from his pastoral charge ; and by act of council, October
29, 1827, received a regular dismission. While preparing
his farewell sermon he was unexpectedly invited to an
other field of ministerial labor. He had but fairly com
menced his ministerial work there before he received a
pressing call from his Bradford people to return to them,
as thev had found themselves better able and more strong
ly united than they were previously aware of, and in the
meantime had made what they hoped would be satisfac
tory arrangements in regard to his permanent support.
To this truly warm-hearted invitation he gave a cordial
reception, and January 17, 1828, was again regularly con
stituted their pastor, after an absence of a feAv weeks ;
and a season of precious refreshing* from the Divine
Presence immediately ensued ; and the church was most
happily increased in numbers and strength.
In the Autumn of 1832 Mr. McKeen, without the least
previous consultation or notice, having been called to the
pastorate of the First Congregational church in Belfast,
Maine, by consent of the church in Bradford the matter
was referred to the consideration of an Ecclesiastical
Council, who advised that he should accept the call, which
having been once declined, had been urgently renewed ;
and accordingly he was again released from his pastoral
charge, December 31, 1832.
Rev. George W. Campbell, subsequently pastor of the
Congregational church in Newbury, then preached here
as a stated supply, and was highly esteemed.
Rev. John Suddard was the next preacher. He was
an Englishmen, had been a minister in the Episcopal
church, though at this time a Congregationalist. After
leaving here, it is understood he returned again to his first
love.
62
During the last year of Mr. Suddard's ministry here, in
1836, the first meeting-house of this society, which stood
on the upper plain, near the Peters' place, and had been
occupied for forty years, was taken down ; and the frame,
new modeled, was used in building the present Congre
gational meeting-house, which stands in a very pleasant
part of the village. This house was dedicated to the ser
vice of God in January, 1837. The sermon on the occa
sion was by Rev. Sherman Kellogg, an Evangelist, of
Montpelier ; who, in connection with that service, held a
Protracted Meeting of some thirteen or fourteen days con
tinuance, which resulted in the addition to the church of
aboui forty new members.
The next minister was the Rev. Cephas H. Kent, a
graduate of Middlebury College, who had received his
theological education at Andover, and had for a time been
pastor of the Congregational church in Freeport, Maine.
He was installed December 27, 1837, and continued pas
tor till December 15, 1841 ; when, on account of some dif
ficulties which had arisen, he received, by his own re
quest, a regular dismission ; being recommended by the
Council as an able and faithful minister of the Gospel.
He has been for some twelve or thirteen years officiating
as pastor in Ripton, Vt., where, at this writing, he still re
sides, enjoying the esteem of his people, and much blessed
in his own pious Avife and children.
The church and people at Bradford being thus left in a
somewhat distracted and trying condition, with great
unanimity extended to their first pastor a call to return to
them again, which he accepted. He re- commenced his
ministry here on the first Sabbath in March, 1842, and on
the 25th of May following, was re -installed pastor • sermon
on the occasion by Rev. Dr. Lord, ol Dartmouth College ;
and in connection with a well united church and people,
amid many evidences -of the divine favor, so continued
for a little over twenty-four years more : when, having,
63
from his own impression of expediency, asked for a final
release from his pastoral labors, with the kindest feelings
on both sides still existing, he preached his farewell ser
mon July 29, 1866 ; though his regular dismission, by act
of Council, did not occur till the 21st day of November
following. His whole period of active ministry here was
forty-two years and about eight months, during which
time three hundred and forty-two members^ were add
ed to the church, which consisted of eleven when it first
came under his pastoral care.
After the close of Rev. Mr. McKeen's ministry in Brad
ford, several of his friends, in remembrance of the past,
and still wishing him to reside among them, presented him
and his wife with a life lease, free from rent, of a pleas
ant homestead, near the Congregational church, at an ex
pense of about $2,600. An example truly worthy of the
imitation of other people, in like circumstances. This
house, though newly worked over, both within and with
out, is the same which he first occupied in Bradford, and
in which all his children were born, and the wife of his
youth died.
The next pastor of this church was Mr. John K. Wil
liams, then recently from the Theological Seminary at An-
dover. In him, the first and only candidate in- this in
stance, the church and people were immediately united,
and with the prospect of a comfortable support, and a fail-
field of usefulness, he was ordained to the pastoral service
here, November 22, 1866.
Rev. Mr. Williams' salary was $1,000 a year, including
the use of the parsonage, which was reckoned as paying
$150 of that sum. The people, in addition to this, were
very kind to him and his family. During the first year of
his ministry an interesting revival of religion was enjoyed,
and peace and ordinary prosperity continued up to the
time of his resignation, after a ministry here of six years.
He was regularly dismissed, by act of Council, with cor-
64
dial recommendation, October 22, 1872, when he removed
directly to West Rutland, Vt.
The whole number of members who have ever belonged
to this church from its first organization, June 24, 1810,
to July 6, 1874, has been five hundred and thirty, seven
of whom the second time, to be deducted, leaving five
hundred and twenty-three different members.
It may perhaps as well be mentioned here as elsewhere,
that several valuable donations have from time been made
to this church and society by friends resident in the place.
Captain William Trotter presented the church with a
Communion Service, the plates of Britannia, but the tank
ard and goblets of solid silver.
Mr. Timothy Aver bequeathed money sufficient to pur
chase a desirable parsonage, and a bell for the meeting
house.
Mr. Johnson A. Hardy gave a valuable church clock.
Mr. Nicholas W. Aver bequeathed in his last will, one
thousand dollars to the society ; the interest to be appro
priated to the support of preaching.
Mrs. Betsey 8. Aver, his widow, gave, in like manner
to the church five hundred dollars, the interest to be ap
propriated in the same way.
The Rev. L. H. Elliot immediately succeeded Rev. Mr.
Williams, and without installation, has continued, to the
time of the present writing, to minister here to the gen
eral satisfaction of his people. For some further informa
tion concerning the two ministers last mentioned, see the
appended biographical sketches of them and their families:
REV. JOHN K. WILLIAMS AND FAMILY.
Rev. J. K. Williams was a native of Charlotte, Vt., born
February 2, 1835 ; a son of Mr. William R. and Mrs..
Alice (Adams) Williams, worthy inhabitants of that place,
His minority was chiefly spent with his father, in agricul
tural occupations ; but having a strong desire to obtain a
65
liberal education he so managed that he was enabled to
.enter college in the twenty-second year of his age. Af
ter graduation, he taught lor one year in Castleton Sem
inary, and then complied with a request to engage as a
tutor in Middlebury College, where lie had graduated, and
there officiated in that capacity for two years. He then,
with strong desire to become prepared for the gospel
ministry, entered the Theological Seminary at Auburn,
N. Y., where he remained for one year, and then went in
to the like institution at Andover, Mass., where he finished
his preparatory studies. On leaving that institution he
preached for a few Sabbaths in Townshend, Mass., and re
ceived a call from the Congregational church and society
there to become their pastor. While that was under con
sideration Mr. Williams, by request, visited Bradford, Vt.,
where he was very cordially received, and Avithiii a short
time unanimously invited to the pastoral charge of the
church and society ; then destitute by reason of the re
cent resignation of Rev. Dr. McKeen, their former pas
tor. This call Mr. Williams concluded to accept; and the
formal dismission of the retiring pastor and the ordination
of his successor were performed by the same mutual
Council, November 21 and 22, 1866. In this position Mr.
Williams remained for six years, enjoying in a high de
gree the esteem and love of his people ; during which
time eighty-nine members were added to the church.
Towards the close of that period, his health having in
some measure failed, he requested a permanent release
from his pastoral labors, to which his people reluctantlv
consented ; and by an Ecclesiastical Council, called for
that purpose, he was, November — , 1872, regularly dis
missed, and highly recommended to the churches, and the
public, as a minister who had been tried and found faith
ful. He directly received an invitation from the Congre
gational church in West Rutland, then destitute, to come
to them and officiate in the ministry as he should be able
66
where, with improving health, arid much to the satisfac
tion of that people, he has been actively employed for
now more than a year and a half since his commencement
there.
Mrs. Williams, a very estimable Christian lady, was a na
tive of Castleton, Vt., born December 28, 1841 Her
maiden name was Ann Eliza Denison, a daughter of Ed
ward H. and Sarah A. Denison, his wife, worthy citizens
of that place. She received her education mainly at Cas
tleton Seminary ; taught in Middlebury Seminary for La
dies two years ; also on Long Island, and in Pennsylvania,
for different periods ; and was married to Rev. J. K. Wil
liams, September 25, 18(56, a short time before his settle
ment in the parsonage at Bradford. They have been
blessed with four bright and promising children ; the first
three born at Bradford, and their youngest child at West
Rutland, namely :
Charles Adams Williams was born - - May 28, 1867.
Edward Denison Williams was born - Sept. 15, 1868.
Alice Elizabeth Williams was born - - Dec. 27, 1870.
Sarah McKeen Williams was born - - Nov. 25, 1873.
REV. L. H. ELLIOTT.
Lester Hall Elliott, son of Dea, Ezra and Eliza (Hall)
Elliott, was born in Croyden, N. H., August 1, 1835. In
the winter of 1840-41, his parents removed to Jericho,
Vt., where he spent his youth upon the farm. Being-
anxious to obtain a good education, he fitted for college,
in part, at Essex, under the tuition of the late Rev. A. T.
Deming, and finished his preparation at Johnson, under
Rev. M. T. Parmalee, subsequently a missionary in East
ern Turkey. In jthe summer of 1857, he entered the Uni
versity of Vermont, at Burlington, where he was graduat
ed in August, 1861. Having been led to consecrate him
self to the Redeemer's service, on leaving college he
commenced his theological studies, within a few weeks,
67
at the Union Seminary, New York City, where he com
pleted the regular course, in June, 1864. He had been
licensed to preach, on the 6th of April, of the same year,
by the Brooklyn Congregational Association. For one
year from the following September, he officiated as acting
pastor of the Congregational church at Colchester, Vt.
In October, 1865, he commenced his ministerial work
at Winooski, where he was ordained, and installed pastor,
May 2, 1866.
On the 2d of October, of the same year, he married
Lois M. Tolman, of Greensboro, Vt., who died February 6,
1871. Worn out by anxious watchings, and weighed
down by sorrow at the loss not only of his wife, but two
children, his health had so failed that rest seemed abso
lutely demanded, and, at his request, he was by act of
Council, with due recommendation, released from his pas
toral charge at Winooski, January 30,1872. He spent
the subsequent summer at his old home, and at the sea
shore, in Massachusetts ; occasionally supplying destitute
churches.
On the 15th day of December, 1872, Rev. Mr. Elliott,
by invitation, preached for the first time in Bradford ;
the pulpit having been recently left vacant by the resig
nation, and regular dismissal, of the late beloved pastor,
Rev. J. K. Williams, on account of a partial failure of his
health. The Congregational church and society became
directly so much interested in the services of Mr. Elliott,
that he was engaged as acting pastor for one year from
January 1, 1873 ; and, at the expiration of that period,
the engagement was renewed for another year, now in
progress.
With the beginning of this year, a series of Union Prayer
Meetings, of the Congregational and Methodist ministers
and people, was commenced and held with great interest,
evening after evening, for some eight or ten weeks, and
attended by manifest evidences of the gracious presence
68
and special blessings of the prayer-hearing God. The
churches have been refreshed, and numbers brought,
through grace, to rejoice in- the great salvation. During
Rev. Mr. Elliott's ministry, from June 1, 1874, to July 6,
1874, six members have been added to the church by letter,
and twenty by profession.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN BRAD
FORD.
For whatever information 1 may be able to give in re
gard to the early history of the Methodist church and its
ministry here, I am chiefly indebted to communications,
received several years ago, from Rev. N. W. Aspinwall,
then stationed at Lyndon, and Rev. Labaii Clark, at that
time of Middletown, Conn., both Methodist ministers of
distinction, both, also, long residents of Bradford, and well
acquainted with the rise and early progress of their de
nomination here. These worthy men have both deceased
within a few years past. Mr. Clark's letter was, I think,
obtained by Mr. Aspinwall, expressly for my use, and by
him forwarded to me. It was dated March 23, 1860.
Mr. Clark wrote : " I am not only the oldest living mem
ber of the first class formed in Bradford, but was intimate
ly associated with the introduction of Methodism in the
Vermont and New Hampshire Conferences.
" Your first inquiry relates to the Peckett family. Mr.
Giles Peckett and Bryant Kay, with their families, emi
grated from England, and landed at Portsmouth, N. H.,
about 1774, and settled at North Haverhill, N. H. From
thence they removed to Bradford, Vt., then called More-
town, in 1779 or 1780. Mr. Peckett had two children by
a former wife, namely : James and Edward ; arid four by
his last : John, Margaret, William A. and Ellen — all but
Ellen born in England. Messrs. Peckett and Kay, and
their wives, were members of a Methodist society in En
gland ; and Mrs. Peckett, before her marriage, was for
69
three years Mr. Wesley's housekeeper, and hand-mate
with Mary Bosenquet. Her maiden name was Margaret
Appleton." Mr. C. wrqte Mary, but the Peckett de
scendants have it as above. "The country being new,
Mr. Peckett opened his house for religious meetings of
any Christians, ministers or people, that loved the Savior,
regardless of their denomination. But he remained stead
fast in the doctrine as taught by Mr. Wesley, arid died
triumphantly in the faith, though he did not live to see a
Methodist preacher in America. Mrs. Giles Peckett was
a woman of superior talent, a well-informed, lively Chris
tian. I loved her from my boyhood. Their dwelling was
on what has since been called the Low^er Plain.
" In 1796, Nicholas Sneathen, at the solicitation of John
Langdon, of Vershire, was appointed to form a Circuit in
Vermont, and came to Bradford, in July, 179 7, and preach
ed once, at Mrs. Peckett's, which Avas the first Methodist
sermon ever preached in that town. Rev. Ralph Willis-
ton was his successor on the Vershire circuit, and in the
summer of 1798 preached once in Bradford. I was away
from home, and, hearing of his appointment, started for
home, with intention of hearing his sermon, which he
closed just as I arrived at the place ! but I heard him sing
a hymn, and pray, and my mind was favorably impressed.
I afterwards went to Vershire, fifteen miles, on a Sab
bath morning, to hear him ; where I received my first
deep conviction of sin, and resolved on seeking my soul's
salvation. With an anxious, troubled heart, I tried to
feel my way, amidst gross darkness, but could see no
light. The November following, Joseph Crawford came
to Mrs. Peckett's, and preached, on l Come, for all things
are now ready ; ' and while he showed that the provision
of the gospel made for our salvation is full and free, and
that we must come by faith, as helpless sinners, without
waiting till we are any better, a Hood of light broke in
upon my darkness, and I then first saw how a sinner
70
could be saved by 'grace. Brother Crawford continued
his appointments^ once in two weeks, through the winter,
with success ; and formed the first class in Bradford, con
sisting of five members, namely : Margaret Peckett, Wm.
A. Peckett, Laban Clark, Joseph Clark, and Elizabeth
Warren. A few weeks later, Samuel Aspinwall, Mrs. Jo
seph Olmstead, and her two daughters, Sophia and Sarep-
ta, joined the class ; also, Bryant Kay and wife, although
living at the distance of twelve miles, had their names
attached to our class.
" In 1779, Joseph Crawford was returned to our cir
cuit, with Elijah Chichester. Brother Crawford formed
the first Methodist society in Bradford, which gradually
increased, so that before he left, in 1800, we had about
thirty members. All of Mother Peckett's children be
came members, and she lived to see them all rejoicing in
a free salvation, and in the hope of eternal life. It may
not be amiss to remark, here, that Bryant Kay's daughter
married Stephen Morse, of North Haverhill, who was fa
ther of the late Bryant Morse, a Methodist minister ; and
I think other members of his family became Methodists.
"' Mrs. Margaret Appleton Peckett died in Bradford, in
the spring of 1802, strong in faith, giving glory to God,
and leaving our little society united in heart and mind,
enjoying communion with God, and fellowship with each
other." Thus pleasantly ends the narrative of Rev. La-
ban Clark.
For some fifteen or twenty years longer, the public
worship of this denomination was chiefly at the school
house, near where the Pecketts had lived. In those days,
probably, 110 other man did so much to promote the cause
as Joseph Clark, a local preacher, of very limited educa
tion, but of an excellent spirit, His first wife, whose
maiden name was Fanny Aspinwall, and his second, Su
san Bond, were both excellent Christian women, and
heartilv devoted to the Redeemer's service. The little
71
Church gradually increased in numbers and influence, un*
til a plain, but comfortable, meeting house, in 1832, was
built, in the same locality, but considerably nearer the
village. This house was occupied for public worship for
about sixteen or seventeen years, when, the society hav
ing considerably increased, objection was made, by not' a
few, to its location, and then it was owned in part by the
Universalists, who had helped to build it, and had a stip
ulated right to occupy it with preaching of their own sort
a certain portion of the time. After due consideration,
it was determined to sell that house, by no means an old
one, and to build a new and more commodious one in the
village. The new house was built in the year 1849, in a
desirable location, nearly opposite to the Congregational
house, on the East side of Main street. Their first house
of worship was sold, and, in the spring of 1851, taken
down and rebuilt in the village, where it has since been
occupied for mechanical purposes of different sorts. In
the course of a few years, the new meeting house was
proved to be too small ; and in the autumn of 1849, while
Rev. H. P. Gushing was pastor, it was sawn asunder, the
section most remote from the street moved back several
feet, and the vacancy filled by about twenty new slips ;
since which it seems to have been sufficiently capacious.
The next year the General Conference of Vermont was
held in it.
The growth of this church, like that of the Congrega-
tionalists, has been slow, but healthy. Both have been,
the present year, 1874, blessed with a season of refresh
ing from the presence of the Lord, and increased by the
addition of several new members. The continued and
best efforts, and combined influence, of both these church
es are needed in this community. The present number
of members in this church is understood to be about nine
ty, with a class of twenty-five awaiting admission.
According to Rev. N. W. Aspinwall's letter, above men-
72
tioned, the preachers who supplied the society in Brad
ford until 1834 were appointed to what was called the
Vershire or Newbury circuit, and no one confined his
labors exclusively to this society : though occasionally
there was alternate preaching, by two of the itinerants,
the same year. B. R. Hoyt, in 1834, was the first, he
says, who confined his Sabbath labors to Bradford. Rev.
Mr. Aspinwall gives a list of the ministers who supplied
this society, from its origin to the year 1839, which is as
follows :
1796
1797
1798
1799
1800
1801
1802
1803
1804
1805
1806
1807
1808
1809
1810
1811
1812
1813—1814,
1815
1816
1817
1818—1819.
1820
1821—1822,
1823
1824
1825
1826
1827—1828,
1829
1830
Nicholas Sneathen,
Ralph Williston,
•Joseph Crawford,
J. Crawford and E.
Chichester,
Timothy Dewey,
Truman Bishop and
Thomas Branch,
Solomon Langdonand
Paul Dustm,
Samuel Draper and
Oliver Beat,
John Roberts and Da
vid Goodspeed,
Oliver Beal,
Elijah Hedding,
Benjamin F. Lambert
Eleazer Wells,
Joseph Steele,
N. W. Stearns,
Warren Bannister,
Erastus Otis,
Benjamin R. Hoyt,
Amasa Taylor,
Jonathan Worthen,
Lewis Bates,
Salmon AVinchester,
Eleazer Wells and
Win. McCoy,
Joel Steele,
J. W. McKee,
John Lord,
Isaac Barker,
Paul Richmond,
A. H. Houghton,
C. W. Levings,
S. Chamberlain,
1831
1832
1833
1834—1835,
1836—1837,
1838—1889,
1840
1841
1842
1843
1844
1845—1846,
1847
1848—1849,
1850—1851,
1852—1853,
1854
1855
1856—1857,
1858
1859- -1860,
1861—1862,
1863—1864,
1865
1866
1867—1868,
1869
1870
1871
1872—1873,
1874
Win. D. Cass,
C. Cowen,
R. Newell,
B. R. Hoyt,
R. Bedford,
E. Adams,
E. B. Fletcher and
A. T. Gibson,
E. B. Fletcher and
Win. Mann,
Wrm. Mann,
E. Brown,
Haynes Johnson and
H. T. Jones,
Moses Spencer,
A. T. Billiard,
P. Mason,
W. J.Kidder,
C. R. Harding,
A. J. Copeland,
C. W. Kellogg,
A. Hitchcock,
Isaac Me Ann,
H. P Cashing,
H K. Cobb,
A L. Pratt,
J. Fassett,
J . Le Barron ,
H F. Forest.
R. W. Harlow,
C. Tabor,
H T. Jones,
Supplied by Silas C.
and J. M'Cully Ful.
ton,
J. M'C. Fulton.
The two last named were brothers, and preachers of
ability, from Nova Scotia. J. McC. Fulton, the elder
73
brother, was a graduate of the Allison Wesleyan College
there. He spent the first three years of his ministerial
life in the Bermuda Islands ; the four next years in Noya
Scotia; one year at Prince Edward Island, and from
thence came to Bradford, to take the place of his brother,
who was about removing to the State of Pennsylvania.
Thus we see that in the course of seventy-eight years
from its commencement this church and society have been
favored with the pastoral care and labors of sixty -eight
different ministers of the Gospel.
The society, at this date have a pleasant parsonage, near
their commodious meeting house, and are in a united and
prosperous condition ; having lately shared with their sis
ter church, of the Congregational order, in a season of re
freshing from the presence of the Lord.
For the list of members, from 1834 to 1874, 1 have been
indebted to Mr. Asa Howard, of Bradford, arid Rev. H.
Eastman, of Jacksonville, Vt.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH AT WEST
BRADFORD.
This second Methodist Church in Bradford have a meet
ing-house, and for many years have maintained regular
worship in the Southwest part of the town. For the fol
lowing historical facts I have been indebted to Benjamin
L. Worthley, an intelligent msmber of that church. He
says, " The first class at this place Avas formed in connec
tion with the church at the village, in the year 1831 or
1832, by Rev. William I). Cass; and remained connected
with that church until, in 1841, set off by Conference in
a separate charge, and Elliott B. Fletcher was appointed
pastor. That year a small house of worship was built "—
located on the South road, about four miles West from the
village — " and a few years afterward a parsonage." The
people in that quarter are so situated that the mainten-
6
74
ance of public worship among themselves is at once for
their own, and the public benefit. At the time this church
and society became a separate charge there was a mem
bership of sixty. The same year a Sabbath School was
organized, which has been in successful operation ever
since. The present number of church members is sup
posed to be about .
Mr. Worthley has furnished the following list of their
successive pastors, with the dates of their services :
1841 Elliott B. Fletcher, i 1856 Elliott B. Fletcher,
1842 Zadoc S. Haynes, j 1857—1858, George I. Bailey,
1843 Freeman Q.Burrews, 1859 S. W. VVestgace,
1844—1845, Homer T. Jones,
1846 L. B. Pettengill,
1847 A. T. Bullard,
1848—1849—
1850 Otis D unbar,
1851 Joseph House,
1852—1853, Wm. B. Howard,
1854 Haynes Johnson,
1855 Smith Aldrich,
1860—1861, Ardyn Hay ward,
1862—1863, Philo H. Carpenter,
1864—1865, Selden B. Currier,
1866—1867—
1868 George F. Wells,
1869—1870, M. R. Chase,
1871 D. F. Palmer,
1872 Aaron Ball,
1874 Caleb Fales.
THE CHRISTIAN BAPTIST CHURCH.
There is still another religious society, in the north-west
ern quarter .of the town, and adjacent district called Gosh-
en, which has a meeting house, and has, for many years,
during most of the time maintained separate public wor
ship. Their house of worship is about three miles north
west from the village, very near the south line of New--
bury. This church was organized in or near the year
1810. Not wishing to be considered sectarians, they
adopted no creed but the Holy Scriptures, as each one
for himself understood them, and chose, at first, to be
called Christians ; and under the influence of a new or
ganization, and of zealous preachers, among whom the
celebrated Elias Smith was prominent, were, for some
time, quite flourishing. In the grant of this township,
made in trust to Smith, Harvey and Whitelaw, there was
a reservation of 300 acres of land for the benefit of a min-
75
ister, or ministers, who should be settled in said town.
By agreement, it was arranged that 100 acres of this land,
or the avails of the same, should go to the benefit of the
Baptist (Calvinistic) society, then in a prosperous condi
tion in this town, which, however, in the course of years
became entirely extinct ; when the Christian church, as
suming the name of Christian Baptist Church, came into
peaceable possession of the above named little appropria
tion. The two hundred acres appropriated to the Con-
gregationalists were deeded, as has elsewhere been said,
to their first minister, the Rev. Win. Kellogg. Though
it would seem convenient for several families, enough to
constitute a respectable congregation, to assemble for
worship here, yet, owing to a decline in ability, if not
of interest, and the nearness of the church in West New-
bury, where public service is regularly maintained, this
society for some years past has been less flourishing than
formerly, arid have stated preaching for only a part of the
time.
There are also in this town a considerable number of
Universalists, who have had occasional preaching at the
Town Hall, but have never yet had a meeting house of
their own.
In the midst of all these religious privileges, it is a la
mentable consideration that there are individuals, not a
few, who seldom appear in any worshiping assembly, ex
cept on special occasions, virtually saying, " What is the
Almighty, that we should serve Him ? " Still, by perse
vering Christian endeavors, a great and good work has
been accomplished, and the cause of truth and righteous
ness is destined here and universally to prevail and tri
umph.
76
CEMETERIES IN BRADFORD.
"Our dear old town ! How grand
The views of mountain land
Which here we meet !
We love these verdant hills,
These vales our fathers tilled,
These woods the wild birds filled
With carols sweet.
Our native town ! How dear
Each purling brook so clear,
Each dale and steep —
But there's a dearer spot
Than rock, or rill, or cot,
Which ne'er can be forgot —
Where loved ones sleep."
The principal Cemetery in Bradford is pleasantly situ
ated about a mile North of the village, East side of the
highway, and near the Western bank of Connecticut
River. It is handsomely enclosed, and contains many,
and various kinds of, monuments of the dead there de
posited. The first burial there was that of a little boy by
the name of Andrew McFarland, July 25, 1770, who had
been, by some unfortunate accident, drowned in Wait's Riv
er, near its confluence with the Connecticut. His humble
grave among the pines for a while was solitary ; but in the
course of one hundred and four years the occupants of
that quiet resting place of the dead have become more
numerous than are, at present, the living inhabitants of
the entire township. There was formerly a Baptist meet
ing-house in the immediate vicinity of this grave yard,
which more than half a century since, being past use, was
taken down and removed. The ground, for a long time
was not laid out in any regular order, and every family
buried their dead as best suited themselves ; but within
comparatively a few years past the Cemetery has been
greatly enlarged, particularly on the West and South, and
the grounds laid out as they should be, into lots, with proper
drive-ways and walks between them, and a receiving
77
tomb, to accommodate the deposits of the dead in the
season of Winter, has been duly prepared. A great im
provement has been made. But there ought to be some
definite arrangement made for keeping the grounds, and
graves, and everything pertaining to them, in due and
permanent order, at the expense of the town, from profits
arising from the sale of the new lots, or under the direc
tion of a company formed for that express purpose. An
account of the number of interments in this Cemetery,
each year, from January 1, 1802, to July 1, 1874, a period
of seventy-two years and six months, has been kept chief
ly by Captain James McDuffee, for a long while sexton,
but now deceased, from which the following statement is
an abstract :
YEAR.
1802,
1803,
1804,
1805,
1806,
1807,
1808,
1809,
1810,
1811,
1812,
1813,
1814,
1815,
1816,
1817,
1818,
1819,
1820,
1821,
1822,
1823,
1824,
1825,
1826,
1827,
1828,
1829,
1830,
1831,
1832,
1833,
1834,
.URIALS.
YEAR.
10.
1839,
12.
1840,
12.
1841,
12.
1842,
5.
1843,
6.
1844,
3.
1845,
9.
1846,
14.
1847,
13.
1848,
15.
1849,
21.
185D,
15.
1851,
12.
1852,
13.
1853,
11.
1854,
11.
1855,
13.
1856,
15.
1857,
11.
1858,
12.
1859,
18.
1860,
15.
1861,
5.
1862,
23.
1863,
14.
1864,
16.
1865,
15.
1866,
12.
1867,
16.
1868,
19.
1869,
23.
1870,
18.
1871,
No. OF BURIALS.
29.
11.
18.
42.
29.
27.
17.
13.
31.
20.
30.
30.
26.
29.
31.
34.
37.
17.
23.
22.
22.
29.
33.
22.
49.
46.
33.
25.
24.
29.
27.
78
YEAR. No. OF BURIALS,
1835, 22.
1836, 15.
1837, 14.
1838, 26.
YEAR. No. OF BURIALS.
1872, 46.
1873, 21.
1874, To July 25, 19.
Thus we see that the number buried in that Cemetery
from January 1, 1802, to July 25, 1874, was one thousand
five hundred and nine. But, as the place was occupied
for burial from July 25, 1770, a period of thirty-one years
and a half, very nearly, before the above correct account
begins, we are left in uncertainty in regard to the whole
number there interred. If we allow on an average, even
so small a number as five, each year, during that uncer
tain period, and it was probably over that, the whole
amount, from the beginning, or during the first period of
one hundred and four years, is fully one thousand six hun
dred and sixty-six dead bodies, there awaiting the voice
of the Son of God to call them forth, in the glorious
morning of the final resurrection.-
There are three other burial places in the town, in
which there have been, we know not how many burials —
one near the Methodist meeting-house, on the South road ;
one about half a mile South of Groshen meeting-house, on
or near the Greenleaf place, and another on the West side
of Wright's Mountain, which is said to have been in use
for nearly one hundred years, and in which about one
hundred of the dead have been buried. Their retired
resting places are generally indicated by headstones —
though not all.
" Their names, their years, spelt by th' unlettered muse,
The place of fame and elegy supply,
And many a holy text around she strews
To teach the rustic moralist to die."
The population of the town, at this date, 1874, is esti
mated at about one thousand five hundred. In some past
years it has been over seventeen hundred. While the in
habitants and business of the village have increased, on
the farms there has been a decline. Families, and conse
quently schools, are decidedly smaller now than formerly.
79
CHAPTER IV.
Educational Matters — District Schools — Funds for their Support —
Academy — Scientific Society — Newspapers — Home for the Desti
tute— *Town Hall — Manufactures — Photography — Banks — Vari
ous Business of the Place, with Biographical Sketches of Indi
viduals engaged in it — Fair Grounds.
In the grant of the Township of Bradford, alias More-
town, by the General Assembly of Vermont, January 25,
1791, to Israel Smith, Alexander Harvey, and James
Whitelaw, in trust, for the purposes therein specified, an
appropriation of 300 acres of land, in the western part of
the town, was made, and set apart for the support of a
school in said town. This was, subsequently, understood
to mean not one school, merely, but the district schools
of the township, collectively and individually. From an
early period of the settlement, considerable attention was
given to the instruction of the children, in schools, sup
ported for a few months each year by subscription or
taxation. When the town became so far settled as to
render it expedient, it was divided into six districts, and
for a long time the sum of about $300 was raised annual
ly for the support of schools in these several districts.
In March, 1812, the town entered into a contract with
Jonathan Austin, one of its inhabitants, to lease the above-
mentioned 300 acres of school land to him, his heirs and
assigns, as long as wood should grow or water run, for
the consideration of the interest, at six per cent, per an
num, paid on the sum of $1666.67, amounting to $100
yearly, at the same time allowing the said Austin, his
heirs and assigns, the privilege of paying the above-
named principal, in three equal instalments, at his or
their option. These instalments were in the course of a
few years paid, and the claim of the town to said lands
finally alienated. The amount thus received has since
80
been kept on interest, and the avails used in accordance
with the original design of the appropriation.
In 1826, the sum of $4355.99 was received from the
estate of Capt. William Trotter, deceased, to be held as a
permanent fund, the annual interest of which wa.s to be,
and must ever be, appropriated to the several district
schools in said town — constituting, at six per cent, inter
est, an addition yearly of $261.35 to the annual income of
$100 from the other source, above mentioned. For the
circumstances and manner in which the toAvri became
possessed of this property, the reader is referred to a
sketch of the life of Capt. William Trotter, in the biograph
ical section of this history of Bradford and its inhabit
ants.
From the Treasurer of this State, in the year 1837, this
town received, in three equal instalments, the sum of
$3,597.51, as its portion of the surplus revenue in the
Treasury of the United States, and voted to appropriate
perpetually the annual interest on this sum to the support
of the common schools. The principal was, and contin
ues to be, distributed, in the way of loans, to various in
dividuals, on satisfactory security given. From this
source there is a yearly income of $215.85. The whole
amount of school funds is $9620.27, and the annual in
come therefrom, for the support of schools, $577.21, which
is equitably distributed among them, and the large defi
ciency requisite to sustain them is supplied by district
taxation. According to the report of Dr. J. H. Jones,
Superintendent for the year ending March 31, 1874, the
number of school districts was ten, and of fractional dis
tricts three ; and of scholars who have attended any part
of the year, three hundred and twenty-five. The whole
number in town, between five years and twenty years of
age, 343. The amount of money raised on the grand list
by the school districts, $3100.
The two school districts in Bradford village have uni-
81
ted, and, in conjunction with Bradford Academy, entered
into the graded school system, consisting, in this instance,
of two equal primary departments, an intermediate, and
an academic department ; to all of which scholars belong
ing to the Union district are admitted without personal
charge. Academic students from beyond the limits of
the above dfstrict, having the same advantages as at other
like institutions, pay accordingly.
The number of resident pupils, for the year above men
tioned, was 60.
It is due to the Rev. Joshua Britton, a minister of the
Universalist denomination, who came here from Lyndon,
in 1859, and remained for about ten years, to say that,
whuVhere, he took much interest in the schools, and was
by the town chosen Superintendent in 1861, and for the
next five years ; and each year prepared, with much pains
taking, a report, which by the town was printed and duly
circulated. He removed in 1869 to Fort Dodge, Wiscon
sin, and from there writes, August 28,1874: "During
those years there was a gradual improvement in the con
dition of the schools, and in the cause of education gen
erally." "My intercourse with the teachers, scholars, and
their parents and guardians, and citizens of the town, was
uniformly of a pleasant, agreeable character."
BRADFORD ACADEMY,
Was incorporated and the present buildings for its ac
commodation erected in the year 1820 ; in the spring of
1821, went into successful operation, and during almost
half a century has been of great advantage to the young-
people of both sexes in its vicinity. The institution re
ceives assistance from the Orange County Grammar-
School lands, to the amount of about $100, annually ; and
has other resources yielding about $213 more, indepen
dent of the avails of tuition. The invested fund belong-
82
ing to the institution is about $3,550. Of this sum, $450
were received from a Royal Arch Chapter of Free Ma
sons in Bradford ; $1000 bequeathed by Mr. Nicholas W.
Aver; and about $2100 bequeathed by Mrs. Eliza C. Mer
rill. The interest of the sum last named is to be appro
priated, exclusively, to the purchase of books and appa
ratus for the benefit of the institution. Valuable collec
tions in both departments have been made, and are regu
larly increasing. In addition to the means furnished by
the trustees, the Union district assumes the responsibility
of sustaining the school, and has hitherto given the prin
cipal and his assistants a liberal support. The school at
present under the care and instruction of Mr. Thomas
Martin, a graduate of Dartmouth College, is in a prosper
ous condition, especially as the high school of this village.
Since its commencement, academic institutions have been
started in several of the neighboring towns, which have,
of course, withdrawn from us a considerable sfcare of pub
lic patronage, though none of them, at this time, are in a
flourishing state. The first Principal of this Academy
was George W. Nesmith, then lately from College, and
since well known as the Hon. Judge Nesmith, of Franklin,
N. H. In the course of fifty-three years there have been
a succession of principals, with their assistants, generally
well qualified, who have done good service in the cause
of education in this community.
BRADFORD SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION.
This association, originated by Levi W. Bliss, Roswell
Farnham, Jr., Silas McKeen, George Prichard, and Robert
McKingsley Ormsby, was incorporated by an act of the
General Assembly of Vermont, November 4, 1857, under
the name of the Vermont Geographical Association and
Society of Natural History ; but by request of the cor
porators, their title was changed and established by the
83
same authority, November 24, 1860, as above given. The
fee for admission to the association -was, for some years,
$10 ; but Avas subsequently reduced to $5 ; and the num
ber of the members has been gradually increasing. From
its origin the members have been in the habit of occasion
ally meeting, and during the Winter months generally
once in two weeks, to attend to the reading of articles
previously assigned, on some one or more of the innum
erable topics included within the circle of useful knowl
edge, or interesting speculation ; and in the lack of such
original articles, to discuss any matter of interest which,
from reading or observation, may, at the time, be intro
duced. Occasionally public lectures have been read or
procured. A cabinet of minerals, specimens of natural
history, and various artificial curiosities have been com
menced ; and a good beginning of a valuable library
made.
The Association has been favored by the Smithsonian
Institute with the donation of valuable books ; also by
members of Congress, and various geological and literary
friends in different parts of the country, in like manner.
Recently five large volumes, comprising the results of the
Geological Survey of the State of Illinois, have been re
ceived as a donation from the conductor of that great un
dertaking, Amos H. Worthen, a native of Bradford, and
an honorary member of this Association.
The Association has also lately been increased in num
bers and influence by receiving into its corporation the
several members of the Bradford Agricultural Society,
with their library, consisting of about one hundred and
forty-five volumes, in addition to their previous collection
of books.
The officers of the Association for 1874, are,
John B. Ormsby, M. D., President.
Roswell Farnham, Esq., A. M., Vice President.
Gregory B. Durgan, Secretary.
84
K. Farnham, Esq., Librarian.
Charles H. Harding, Treasurer.
W. T. Dunmore, Esq., A. B., \
Wm. H. Carter, M. D., [-Executive Com.
R. Farnham, Esq., )
It is worthy of remark here, that the first artificial
globes, terrestrial and celestial, known to have been man
ufactured in America, were made in Bradford, Vt., by
James Wilson, Esq., about the year 1813 or 1814; who
also subsequently established, in company with his sons,
a factory of the same in Albany, N. Y., and for years did
a somewhat extensive business there. Wilson's globes
are of an excellent quality, and in point of correctness
and finish suffered nothing in comparison with the best
European. Mr. Wilson died at Bradford, March 26, 1855,
in the ninety-third year of his age. See the biographical
sketch of him -in this volume.
NEWSPAPERS IN BRADFORD.
The first newspaper published in this town was styled
The American Protector; Whig in politics, commenced
in 1843, by A. B. F. Hildreth, its proprietor and editor.
In the course of four or five years this paper became
rather neutral in politics, and its name was changed to the
Vermont Family Gazette. This was continued to about the
first of October, 1852, when it was again changed to- the
White River Advertiser, and removed to White River
Junction.
While Mr. Hildreth was publishing his paper in Brad
ford, he made up from its miscellaneous matter a semi
monthly magazine, called The Green Mountain Gem,
which had a considerable circulation in this vicinity, but
ceased its existence with that of the Family Gazette.
In 1851, The Northern Inquirer was commenced: Dr.
L. W. Bliss, publisher, and R. McK. Ormsby, editor. The
85
press was purchased by Ormsby, who was a Whig of the
Webster and Clay school, for the purpose of advocating
the nomination of Mr. Webster for the Presidency. On
the failure of Mr, Webster to receive the nomination at
the Baltimore Convention, the control of the Inquirer was
resigned for a while, to other hands. From October, 1852,
till March, 1853, it was published by Messrs. Brown &
Grow, A. C. Brown editor, and was an advocate of Gen
eral Scott's election to the Presidency, after which Mr.
Ormsby again took charge of it, until about the first of
December, 1854.
The Inquirer was strongly opposed to the formation of
the Republican party in this State, and soon after the dis
solution of the old Whig party was sold by Mr. Ormsby
to 0. A. Bowe, and the name changed to the Bradford
Inquirer. Mr. Bowe published but a few numbers, when,
early in the year 1855, he conveyed his interest in the
publication to L. J. Mclndoe, who continued it under the
name of the Orange County Journal. This journal was
Republican in politics, and advocated the election of John
C. Fremont to the Presidency. In November, 1857, Mr.
Mclndoe again changed the name of the paper to thd
Aurora of the Valley, and having purchased the Windsor
Journal, united the two papers in one, but under differ
ent names, to accommodate the two different sections ol
its patrons. The Aurora was only nominally published
at Bradford, the editorial and local matters for this town
being furnished by R. Farnham, Esq., associate editor.
The politics of the Aurora were decidedly Republican.
This paper was published at Windsor, and most of its sec
ular matter the same as contemporaneously appeared not
only in the Windsor Journal, but also in the Vermont
Chronicle.
The National Telegraph was commenced at Bradford
in 1856, by Rev. Wm. M. Mann, a worthy Methodist min
ister, and its publication continued by him till his decease,
86
in 1858. The publication was then suspended for some
time, when the press was bought by Dr. Lucius C. Butler,
and a Democratic paper, styled the Telegraph, was pub
lished by him, advocating the policy of that party, and
aiming to support the administration of President Bu
chanan ; but was not of long duration.
A semi-monthly sheet, called The Green Mountain
Farmer, devoted to Agriculture, was commenced in
March, 1852, by L. R. Morris, Esq., but within the year
was discontinued for want of adequate support.
In June, 1866, A. A. Earle issued here the first num
ber of his National Opinion, a very decidedly Republican
paper, and in about six months sold out to D. W. Cobb,
who had been connected with Earle in the publication, who
subsequently continued it for over seven years longer.
This paper strongly advocated the election, once and
again, of U. S. Grant to the Presidency, and the policy
of the Republican party generally.
In the Spring of 1874 Mr. Cobb transferred his interest
in this paper to the Orange County Publishing Associa
tion, when, under their patronage, Mr. Benjamin F. Stan-
ton, a gentleman of experience in such business, succeed
ed as publisher and editor ; the general character of the
paper remaining the same, but its name being again
changed, this time to Bradford Opinion.
HOME FOR THE DESTITUTE.
In the Spring of 1853 a farm, with convenient build
ings on the same, Avas purchased by the Town for the ac
commodation of its poor, at the expense of $1,700. Pay
ment was made by an appropriation to that amount from
the school fund — the interest being still paid and applied,
as before, to the support of schools. This farm, originally
owned by Elisha Newhall, lies about one mile South of.
the Town House, in a rather retired location, and is very
87
well adapted to its intended use. Some man, with his
wife, is from year" to year, under the direction of the
Overseer of the Poor, employed to take charge of the es
tablishment, and due care of the beneficiaries, who have
never been numerous. This method of providing for the
poor is altogether preferable to the old way of setting
them up yearly at public auction, to be distributed in de
tail to the lowest bidders. This experiment, after the
lapse of some twenty years, is considered in a good de
gree satisfactory. The estimated value of this property,
as reported to the Town-meeting, in March, 1874, was:
Real Estate, $2,050 ; Household furniture, $450,21 ; other
personal property, $550; the amount, Three Thousand,
Four Hundred and Fifty-eight Dollars and Twenty-one
Cents.
THE TOWN HALL.
The ground on which this building stands, near the
South-west end of the village, was given for this purpose
by Charles C. P. Baldwin, for some years High Sheriff of
Orange County, and United States Marshal for the dis
trict of Vermont. The site was very near to that of his
own residence. The building — a commodious two story
edifice, with a cupola — was erected in the year 1857, at
the cost of $2,681.21, obtained by direct taxation. This
Town House, or Town Hall, as it is now commonly called,
is used, not only for town meetings, but for public lectures,
occasional preaching, school exhibitions shows, levees,
courts, and all such like purposes.
MANUFACTURES AND TRADES.
Though we have not much of this sort to boast of, yet
the fine water privileges afforded by Wait's River, as it
passes through the village, have been and are of great
advantage, and have contributed to make it quite a busy
place, for one of its size.
88
The first grist-mill in this town was built by Col. John
Peters, father of our well-remembered Andrew B. Peters,
Esq., on the lowest fall in Wait's River, near where the
direct, road from Newbury to Fairlee still crosses said
river, and there a succession of mills of the same sort,
greatly to the public accommodation, has since been main
tained, for over a hundred years. There have been, of
course, a succession of proprietors ; and as new mills have
succeeded the old, new improvements and facilities for
increased business have been introduced. The present
valuable brick grist-mill on that site, was erected by Mr.
Asa Low, about the year 1848, and is now owned by
Messrs. J. B. Peckett, Esq., of this place, and White, of
Nashua, N. H., and is doing a profitable business. There
has also been from the early settlement of the place a
succession of saw-mills, in close proximity, immediately
below the grist-mills, supplied with their motive power
from the same source, in which a large amount of timber,
boards, and other lumber, has been sawed. On the op
posite side of the same waterfall, there has long been a
factory for preparing scythe stones — that is, stones for
sharpening scythes ; the quarry from which the material
is taken being in Piermont, N. H.; also a planing mill ;
and factory of mackerel kits, for transportation ; and of
late the manufacture of butter boxes has been commenc
ed by Henry D. Brown & Co., with fair prospects. For
some notice of the cotton factory, erected on the same
site by Capt. Trotter, see his memorial.
At the next waterfall, some eight or ten rods above
this, there is another dam, and a large stone building for
the manufacture of paper, of various sorts and qualities,
but, of late, especially of wrapping paper, in which a
great amount of business has been done. The manufac
ture of paper was commenced here between sixty and
seventy years ago, and, with the exception of occasional
interruptions by floods and other disasters, has been stead-
89
ily carried on to the present time. This stone building
was erected some thirty years since, by Mr. Asa Low,
who was long the owner and manager of the establish
ment, which has recently, July, 1874, passed into the
hands of Mr. John Anderson, of Boston.
About twenty rods still further up the river is another
fail, on which a dam was long since erected, and where
mills and machinery of various sorts have long been in
successful operation. There a saw-mill, greatly to the
benefit of the early settlers, was built by Benjamin Bald
win, the father of the Baldwin race in this town, in the
year 1774; which was succeeded by another, built and
managed by his son, Capt. Benj. P. Baldwin, and while
timber was plenty a large business in the way of its man
ufacture was there carried on tor about ninety years. Im
mediately below the saw-mill in this locality, a grist-mill
was long since erected by B. P. Baldwin, Esq., and, by
succession, under the management of different owners, a
mill of this sort has there been in successful operation
to the present time. The valuable mill now doing busi
ness there is owned by Mr. A. A. Bowen, lately of Pier-
mont, N. H.
On or immediately above the site of the old saw-mill,
which has passed away, Mr. R. R. Aldrich has a factory
for the making of mackerel kits, on a large scale, for trans
portation ; also of pails, including all the requisite appa
ratus for doing such business with facility. The timber
extensively used for this purpose has been chiefly pine,
of the second growth, so called, which is fast disappear
ing from the surrounding country. The next factory,
above the last named, is that of W. H. Leavitt & Son, for
making doors, sash and blinds, sawing, planing, and get
ting out house finish generally, special attention being-
paid to getting out stair rails, of all styles.
Within a few rods, further up the river, we come to the
iron foundry. Mr. Horace Strickland, the owner of this
7
90
foundry, came to this town from Western New York in
1824, and commenced the furnace business about 1834, by
assisting a man by the name of Sexton, who had previ
ously started the business, furnishing him with iron, etc.,
for a while, but finally, by agreement, taking the whole
concern into his own hands. From time to time he has
added to his facilities for doing work, until now, in 1874,
he has in addition to his foundry a blacksmith shop, a
wood-shop, a large lot of patterns, and machinery, suffi
cient for making all kinds of mill work, together with
farming tools, of various kinds. For several years a some
what extensive business has been done, especially in the
manufacture of ploughs, of different sorts.
In marble work, a somewhat extensive business has
been carried on for several years by Mr. George Jen
kins, and a few words in regard to him arid his family will
not in this place be inappropriate. He was born in this
town, a son of Mr. Elijah Jenkins, then living here, but
now in Piermont, N. H. Mr. George Jenkins married
Miss Sarah A. Crook, of Piermont, April 17, 1850. They
have had three sons, two of whom died in childhood. The
third, Charles E., now in infancy, is healthful and promis
ing. They have also an adopted son, Franklin, some two
or three years of age ; also a daughter, Ella, their eldest
child now living. The family have a pleasant residence,
in the central part of the village.
Mr. Jenkins commenced working in marble here in
1857, and has gone on successfully for about seventeen
years. The marble is obtained, mainly, from West Rut
land, Yt., though a considerable part is imported from It
aly. It is a singular fact that the imported differs very
little in price from from the domestic of about the same
quality. Both are said to be nearly twice as dear as they
were twenty years ago. Mr. Jenkins' sales of work done
in Bradford are understood to be, on an average, about
$7000 dollars worth annually. He has another establish-
91
ment of the same sort, at St. Johnsbury, where more
than twice that amount of work is annually performed and
sold.
Mr. H. M. Griffin, designer and engraver, who wrought
in marble for Mr. Jenkins about thirteen years, has re- ,
cently commenced a like business on his own account, in
this village, and advertised himself as ready to do all
kinds of cemetery work. There may be sufficient em
ployment for both.
The manufacture and sale of household furniture, and
of coffins, is carried on by George L. Butler ; and, also,
by A. P. Shaw.
Carriage making and repairing is done by George
Brown ; and work in tin, sheet-iron and zinc by B. T.
Pillsbury, who also deals in wooden ware, tin and iron
ware, lead pipe, and stoves of various sorts.
Shoe making and mending is done by Charles Swan.
A plentiful supply of boots and shoes, manufactured abroad,
is kept for sale in several stores.
Of tailors' shops, we have two. Mr. L. D. Livingstone,
a good tailor and worthy man, lately come here, carries
on his business in connection with Bailey & Co.'s cloth
ing store.
Mr. Crowell Hatch established himself as a tailor here
May 21, 1833 ; and, after the lapse of forty years, is still
diligently occupied in furnishing the needy with desira
ble garments. He was a native of Portland, Maine ; born
there August 13, 1810. He first married Miss Sophronia
Stearns, March 31, 1836, who died September 25, 1865.
He married Mrs. Jane Freeman, his present wife, July
11, 1869. Mr. Hatch has long been a useful member of
this community.
The millinery business, with stores of goods annexed?
is carried on by Mrs. C. H. Curtis, Mrs. George Andross,
Mrs. C. S. Stevens, and Mrs. A. T. Shaw ^ and dress-mak
ing by several ladies.
92
Of clock, watch and jewellers' establishments there are
three. One belongs to J. A. Hardy, and was the first
opened in this place ; one to J. M. Warden, telegrapher ;
and the other to C. H. Harding, postmaster ; all skillful
and trustworthy in their business.
The harness makers7 business is carried on by Mills 0.
Barber, Esq., and H. B. Kennedy. For blacksmiths, we
have S. E. & M. A. Davis, S. B. Kennedy, and E. G. Ho-
bert. Carpenters, E. R. Aldrich, Geo. W. Fair, and An
drew Sargent. Masons, Geo. F. Morris, and Wm. East
man. Painters, Wm. S. Nelson, and E. T. Clark. Manu
facturer and dealer in patent medicines, C. C. Doty. Ma
chinists and millwrights, H. Gray & Co. The Gray Union
water wheel is recommended by those who have tried it
as one of rare excellence.
At Bradford Center, on Wait's River, there is a saw
mill, and the business of carding wool and of cloth dress
ing has been carried on for many years. At this water
privilege, the manufacture of wooden bowls, from suitable
native timber, is the only establishment of the sort in
this vicinity. They are turned out with great facility.
There is still another sawmill, near the northern line of
the township, on Roaring Brook ; the structure of its
dam being, apparently, copied from remnants of dams
constructed long ago by the beavers.
PHOTOGRAPHY.
Mr. E. H. Allen, our highly esteemed Photographer,
was a native of Rindge, N. H., born September 28th,
1831. He came to Bradford in July, 1858, and fitted up
for his business a gallery in J. A. Hardy's building, where
he has since exercised his ,art to the satisfaction of his
many patrons, and to his own advantage.
He married first, Miss Arvilla Blake, of Rindge, No
vember 1, 1853; to whom was born, October 8, 1856, a
93 -
daughter, Idella M., who died September 10, 1864, in the
eighth year of her age. Mrs. Allen, a very amiable lady,
after a long illness, patiently endured, died at Bradford,
March .30, 1870, at the age of thirty-seven years. Mr.
Allen married for his second wife Miss Maria E. Blake,
also of Rindge, N. H., with whom, at this date, he is hap
pily living.
BANKS.
The first Bank in Bradford was chartered by the Legis
lature at its session in 1853. The stock-holders held their
first meeting for the election of directors February 17,
1854, when the following named gentlemen were chosen :
George W. Prichard, George P. Baldwin, Hubbard Wright,
Henry Keyes, Stephen Thomas, Abijah Howard, Jr., and
Reuben Page.
The Directors, at their first meeting, made choice of
George W. Prichard as President, and Benjamin T. Blodg-
ett as Cashier. Colonel Prichard continued President
during the existence of the Bank, and Mr. Blodgett
Cashier till his decease, in 1863, when George W. N. May,
January 6, 1864, was elected Cashier, and continued till
his resignation, December 31, 1864, when John W. Batch-
elder, Esq., was elected to that office. The affairs of the
Bank, in issuing and redeeming its bills, and transacting
the various business of such an institution, went on with
ordinary prosperity until the new banking laws of the
General Government were producing a change in the
management of such matters, when, at a general meeting
of the stockholders, October 22, 1864, over two-thirds
voted that it was " expedient to close up the affairs of
said Bank, and to surrender the charter of the same at an
early day." The charter was for twenty years, and the
Bank had then been doing business but a few months over
one half of that time. The complete redemption of the
94
currency, and settlement of all the affairs of the Bank, to
general satisfaction, and without loss to any, required
three or four years longer, and was duly effected.
The present " Bradford Savings Bank and Trust Com
pany," chartered by act of the Legislature, November 14,
1870, was duly organized March 11, 1871, by electing
Albert Bailey, L. F. Hale, Joseph W. Bliss, A. P. Gould,
and Charles G. Smith a Board of Trustees.
At the first meeting of this Board, March 15, 1871, Al
bert Bailey was elected President, and L. F. Hale, Treas
urer, of said corporation.
The capital stock of this corporation is Fifty Thousand
Dollars ; which amount has been paid in, and its affairs
have been conducted with success, and to general satis
faction, with one lamentable exception, owing exclusively
to the rascality of a clerk, of previously fair reputation,
whom the trustees had the misfortune to employ. It
would be a sad story to tell ; suffice it to say, that on the
night of March 24, 1874, this young man absconded, tak
ing with him, according to a subsequently published state
ment, $2,900 in Government Bonds, $200 in gold, and
$1,135 in currency belonging to the Bank, and more than
$500 from the private box of the Treasurer. He was pur
sued, arrested, and brought back, when the principal part
of the above amount was recovered ; but when, also, it-
appeared that he had previously long been engaged in
peculation, in the course of which he had abstracted
from the Bank many small sums, amounting in the whole
to $2,250 more, then gone beyond recovery, the young
man was by due authority sent to the county jail, but af
ter a few weeks liberated under bonds to appear at the
time and place appointed for his trial. The session of
the court before which he is bound to appear has not yet,
August, 1874, occurred. Let his deplorable example be a
warning to others in like circumstances of temptation.
The Bank, notwithstanding these losses, and a narrow es-
95
cape from fire at the time of their principal occurrence,
is at present considered in a sound and prosperous con
dition.
THE BRADFORD FAIR GROUNDS.
This locality, near the North end of the village, is ad
mirably adapted to the use to which it has for several
years been appropriated. The grounds, which are suffi
ciently spacious, and enclosed by a high and close board
fence, the boards set perpendicularly, consist of three sec
tions. First, the lower level, of hard soil, provided with a
carefully prepared circular track of precisely half a mile in
circumference, for trying the speed of horses, and various
equestrian exercises ; with a high standby its side, next the
hill, for the accommodation of the judges and public speak
ers, and musicians. The interior of this circle is adapted
to the exhibition of cattle of various sorts, and especially
teams of oxen. From that ground a few years ago, on
one of these occasions, a balloon arose with its aeronauts
and sailed safely away over the high hills of New Hamp
shire, and lighted near the Southern border of Maine.
The second division, East side of the first, and elevated
about fifty feet above it, affords not only a full view of
the lower, but of the village, the neighboring valley of the
Connecticut River, and of the mountains of New Hamp
shire beyond it. This beautiful plateau is encircled with
stalls for the various classes of animals on exhibition, and
contains a spacious Floral Hall, with ample accommoda
tions within and around it for the display of the choicest
productions of the farms, gardens, orchards, and dairies,
with domestic manufactures of all sorts awaiting hoped-
for premiums. There are also tents for the use of those
who have brought articles for sale, and all needful con
veniences for furnishing refreshments to those desiring
them.
96
The third division is the belt of steep hill-side between
these two plains, which, furnished with convenient seats,
affords pleasant accommodation to those wishing to hear
the public speakers, or to see what is going on below.
The Fair tor the present year, which has commenced
this day, October 6, 1874, is published as the twenty-
third which has been held, and it is said that about two
thousand dollars have been expended in the new improve
ments of the grounds and buildings, for this, and future oc
casions.
Under due police regulations, no sale or use of intoxi
cating liquors is allowed, and these gatherings of the
people have hitherto been characterized by the peaceful
and good behaviour of the multitudes assembled.
This Fair is under the conduct of the Orange County
Agricultural Society, including Oroton and Ryegate, Vt.,
and Haverhill, Piermont, Orford, and Lyme, N. H. Mr.
Joseph H. Peters is owner of the grounds, but has leased
them to the above named society for ten years longer.
97
CHAPTER V.
The Patriotism and Soldiery of Bradford — Capt. Corliss, a Veteran
of the Revolution—- Charles May Killed in a Duel — Bradford
Brass Band.
THE PATRIOTISM OF BRADFORD AND HER
SOLDIERY.
We are indebted to Col. R. Farnham for the following -
list, prepared first for the Vermont Historical Gazetteer,
of the men who served for Bradford in the Union Army,
during the Great Rebellion, with the age, rank, regiment,
company, dates of muster and discharge, of each, and such
other facts of interest as could be briefly stated. Those
in italics were not residents of this town, but were enlist
ed for and counted on the quota of the soldiers required of
the town, and are justly entitled to a place in this list.
There may be other Bradford men who served in regi
ments out of the State, but we are not able to add any
such names to this list. The whole number furnished by
Bradford appears to be 258 men, of whom 188 were resi
dents of the town, and 70 non-residents. Of these men
but four appear to have been killed in battle ; seventeen
died in the service, and four survived the wounds they
had received.
The first company sent forth were "The Bradford
Guards," under the command of Dudley K. Andross, as
Captain. On Sabbath afternoon, April 28, 1861, they ap
peared in a body, but without arms, in the Congregation
al church of this village, attended by a great gathering of
sympathizing friends from this and other towns, and lis
tened to an appropriate discourse, by Rev. S. McKeen,
the pastor, from 2d Samuel, X: 12 — Be of good courage,
and let us play the men for our people, and for the cities
98
of our G-od ; and the Lord do that which seemeth Him
good.
This discourse the company had printed, and the same
was afterwards published in the Vermont Historical Ga
zetteer. An extract or two, as a memorial of the deeply
affecting occasion, it is hoped will not be thought inap
propriate here. The company left for the scenes of active
warfare on the subsequent Thursday, May 2, 1861.
" The true soldier is not influenced mainly by any con
siderations of personal advantage ; he is not a pirate,
ready to kill in order to plunder ; a savage, regardless of
all the restraints of reason and humanity, thirsting for
slaughter and revenge : but he acts from a high sense of
duty, and repels force by force, as the only means of sav
ing his country from the hands of her enemies ; of re
establishing peace on the foundation of justice, and of se
curing to its people, both present and prospective, the
enjoyment of their inalienable rights. The soldier should
be a man of uncorruptible patriotism ; a man of sterling
integrity and honor, in whom the highest style of bravery
-is tempered with humanity and the fear of God. In the
army, no countenance should be given to profanity, Sab
bath breaking, gambling, drinking, lewdness, or any of
those vile practices which degrade humanity and provoke
the wrath of Heaven. The soldier, going forth to battle,
surely has reason to be thoughtful, and prayerful, to be
truly religious, and ever ready to die the death of the
righteous. God grant that our citizen soldiers, here ready
to march, it may be to the scenes of deadly conflict, may
all first present themselves as living sacrifices unto Him
in whose hand is the temporal and eternal destiny of every
human being, and heartily enlist in the service of the
glorious Captain of Salvation. Then their highest inter
ests will be secure ; for their lives will be hid with Christ
in God."
99
" Having faithfully performed our duty, it becomes us
all to say, with the old warrior, Joab : " AND THE LORD DO
THAT WHICH SEEMETH HIM GOOD." He who guides the
planets in their revolutions, and causes the seasons to suc
ceed each other in their order, who does His will in the
armies of Heaven above, also controls the affairs of na
tions, and raises them to power and distinction, or pasts
them down and destroys them at His pleasure. To us
His counsels, save as by His word or providence reveal
ed, are inscrutable. Often His way is in the sea, and .His
footsteps not known. Whether He will cause the thunder
clouds which hang over our nation to explode with blast
ing and most destructive effect, or to discharge their light
ning harmlessly and give place to the returning sunshine
of prosperity, — whether he will suffer the rebels to pro
ceed to more outrageous acts, or will bless the strenuous
efforts now making to suppress the insurrection and to
support the Government, — whether our national banner
is destined to be trailed in the dust, and be succeeded by
that of the palmetto and rattlesnake, or is still to be borne
aloft and respected as aforetime, not only at home, but on
the remotest seas and in all foreign lands, — whether we
are to sink amid the tumultuous waves of revolution to
rise no more, or are still to maintain a high and honorable
standing among the nations, — and what will be the result
on the seceding States, whether slavery, as they intend,
shall be firmly established and more widely extended than
ever before, or its utter extinction by this insane move
ment shall be precipitated, and, sooner than the most hope
ful have dared to expect, liberty shall be proclaimed
through all the land to all the inhabitants thereof, — are
questions which it is impossible for the wisest, the most
far-seeing among men, with any well-grounded confidence,
to answer. But we may rest assured that Jehovah will
reign, and do all His pleasure. l The Lord on high is
mightier than the noise of many waters,, yea, than the
100
mighty waves of the sea.' l He will cause the wrath of
man to praise Him, and all things to work together for
good to them that love Him.' He will execute His holy
purposes respecting both individuals and nations, and fill
the whole earth with the most illustrious displays both of
His justice and mercy. Let us, then, whether at home or
abroad, whether occupied in peaceful pursuits, or called
to the field of battle, aim to perform our whole duty,
courageously and manfully, and submit the result entirely
to His infinite wisdom and goodness. Blessed, forever
blessed, are all they who put their trust in Him. While
we feel deeply for our country, and pray and labor ear
nestly for its peace and prosperity, let us not fail to con
fess that it is both right and desirable that the Lord should
do that which seemeth Him good. Let us not fail to lift
up our united voices, with that of the enraptured Psalmist,
saying, ' Be thou exalted, 0 God, above the heavens, and
thy glory above all the earth.'
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112
CAPTAIN EMERSON CORLISS.
A VETERAN IN THE WAR OP THE REVOLUTION.
This old revolutionary hero, as he was sometimes call
ed, was born in Haverhill, Mass., March, 1758. At the
age of seventeen, he went with his father to engage in
the war of the Revolution, arid, the same week, found
himself in the fierce and bloody battle of Bunker Hill.
His heart, as might be expected, when moving forward
with others like himself, unaccustomed to such perils, to
meet the flashing swords, threatening bayonets, rattling
musketry, and roaring cannon of disciplined hosts, at first
trembled with fear. An officer, aiming to inspire himself
and men with courage and resolution, was boasting that
there was never a ball yet cast to kill him, when instant
ly he was cut in sunder, and the bloody fragments of his
body scattered among his men ! Still, there was no way
but to press resolutely on, and fight manfully, be the con
sequences as they might. With the increasing peril, his
courage and that of his comrades increased, and nerved
them with an inspiration and energy unknown before.
The Americans fought bravely ; and through subsequent
life Captain Corliss was proud to tell of his youthful ex
perience at Bunker Hill.
The same year he, with others, was sent to" the aid of
Montgomery, in Canada, and was wounded in a skirmish
with the Indians, near Fort Lachine, though probably not
severely, as he still continued in the army, and we next
see him, at Christmas, 1776, under command of General
Sullivan, in the very heat of the battle at Trenton, in
which between forty and fifty of the surprised Hessians
were slain or fatally wounded, and more than a thousand,
with arms, ammunition and stores, made prisoners, and
spoils of victory. Washington, with his prisoners and
booty, recrossed the Delaware on the evening of the same
day.
113
Shortly alter this, January 3, 1777, our hero was in
the army of Washington, in the battle at Princeton.
When Sullivan's division were yet three miles from the
town they were loudly assured, by the roar of the cannon,
that the battle had already fiercely commenced. Sullivan
called upon them to rush on, with utmost speed, and they
arrived at the very crisis to turn the scale of battle in fa
vor of the American arms. But the brave General Mer
cer was found among our slain. His horse had been shot
under him ; he was on foot, pressing forward his men to
victory, when a British soldier, with clubbed musket,
felled him to the earth. Many other beloved officers were <
lost on that snowy battle-field. The entire British loss
was about three hundred men. The Americans, though
victorious, were obliged immediately to withdraw from
the place.
On the 16th of August, in that same year, 1777, Corliss
was under the command of General Stark in the decisive
battle of Bennington, in which he had seven balls shot
through his coat and one through his hat, without being
wounded. In one rail of a fence immediately before his
platoon he said ninety-seven of the enemy's musket balls
were lodged. He was present, also, in the battles of Still-
water and Saratoga, in October of the same year, which
issued in the capture of Burgoyne, with all his forces and
military stores. Though in the first engagement wound
ed in the leg, when there was a call for volunteers to
move with artillery to a post of special danger, to cut off
the retreat of the British, Corliss promptly offered to be
one of the party, provided he might ride on a cannon,
being unable to walk/ and was permitted to do so. His
hardships and perils during the war were many and ter
rible, but all bravely met and endured, to secure the in
dependence and permanent prosperity of his and our coun
try.
Near the commencement of the second, and it is hoped
114
our last, war with England, a large meeting of the patri
otic citizens of Bradford, Newbury, Topsham and Corinth
was held atr the house of Gideon Tewksbury, on the South
border of Newbury, to consider the state of public affairs,
and was earnestly addressed by John McDuffee, Esq., and
others. This led to another meeting of men who, by
reason of age, were exempt from military service, held in
Bradford, Sept. 28, 1812, at which time thirty-nine of
these men solemnly agreed with each other to form a mil
itary company, with such others as might join them, and
offer themselves as volunteers, in the military of Vermont,
ready for any service, however perilous, to which they
might be called. By act of the Legislature, the subse
quent autumn, the organization of such companies was
duly authorized and encouraged. This company, through
the influence especially of John McDuffee, who had been
commissioned by Governor Galusha as orderly sergeant,
was soon filled up with the requisite number of men, and
then duly officered, the old warrior, Emerson Corliss, then
fifty-five years of age, being constituted Captain. The
company held themselves in readiness for any emergency,
but were not called out during the war, and in 1815 were
disbanded.
Captain Corliss died in the quietude ol his own home,
in Bradford, where he had long resided, December, 1843,
and his remains were laid down to their long repose in
the principal cemetery there, the grave being designated
by rough stones, with no inscription whatever — stones
which he had himself seasonably selected for that pur
pose.
The principal facts above stated were gathered from an
old memorandum, put into the hands of the writer to aid
in preparing an appropriate discourse at the funeral of the
deceased.
115
CHARLES MAY.
KILLED IN A DUEL.
In the early part of this century there lived for many
years in this town a respectable family by the name of
May; Thomas and Mary (Mills) May, and their family of
three sons and two daughters — Mills, William, Charles,
Mary and Sarah. Mr. May owned and occupied the farm
and house ^now (1873) possessed by Mr. Kinney Cum-
mings, on the Upper Plain, and for some time, I know not
how long, kept tavern there. After his decease Mrs.
May became the wife of Mr. Daniel Chase, of Cornish, N.
H., and in 1825 took up her final residence there. The
children, having become men and women, had previously
gone, with perhaps the exception of the youngest daugh
ter, to new homes, and from about that time the old home
stead passed entirely into the hands of other occupants.
Charles May, the youngest son, having, through the in
fluence of the Hon. Mr. Mills, of Northampton, Mass., hi&
mother's brother, received an appointment to a Cadetship
in the Military Academy at West Point, accordingly en
tered that institution, and honorably graduated there, in
the Summer of 1829, and in the capacity of an under offi
cer joined the army of his country. In the course of a
few months, that is, in the following March, I was called,
by his mother and other friends, to the deeply affecting ser
vice of delivering, in this his~ native place, a discourse giv
ing an account of his deplorably tragical death. Some ex
tracts from that discourse I propose here to give, not only
in memory of the interesting young man, but in hope of
making some salutary impression on the minds of others
in regard to the barbarous, absurd, and desperately wicked,
practice of dueling.
The discourse was founded on the passage, " So ye shall
not pollute the land wherein ye are, for blood it defileth
the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood
116
that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it."
—Numbers 35 : 33.
After due introduction, I proceed to say : Our own land
has recently been defiled by the blood of one of its citi
zens, by the blood of one of our fellow townsmen, of one
who in his youthful days was accustomed to meet regu
larly with us in this house of worship. The blood of that
interesting young man, Charles May, has been wantonly
and cruelly shed in a duel, arid is now crying from the
ground for expiation.
On finishing his education at the Military Academy at
West Point last Summer, Charles was promoted to a Lieu-
tenantcy in the United States Army. He was assigned to
the Sixth Regiment of Infantry, stationed at Jefferson
Barracks, near St. Louis, Missouri. The commanding of
ficer, in the letter which conveyed to Charles' mother the
first intelligence of his deplorable death, says : " No
young gentleman ever came to this post who, in the same
length of time, acquired more respect, or gained more
friends. His deportment, both as an officeer and a gen
tleman, was entirely satisfactory to all who knew him."
Late one evening, after May was in bed, one Hamilton,
a clerk in the Quarter Master's department, and son of a
high officer in the army, entered his room in a state of
partial intoxication, and in a humorous way commenced a
scuffle with him. May requested him repeatedly to de
sist ; but he would not. At length, tired out with the in
truder's rudeness, he rose from his bed, and by force put
him out of his room. The consequence was a challenge
from Hamilton to May, to meet him in deadly conflict.
His honor, he felt, had received a stain which nothing
but the blood of the man who had so treated him, or his
own, would wash away. How absurd !
This challenge May was wholly disinclined to accept.
He had not been brought up in a part of the country
where this barbarous way of settling difficulties was com-
117
mon. Mutual concessions^ a reference to a board of honor,
and other fair means of reconciliation were proposed by
him, and by his adversary rejected. Nothing but blood
would satisfy him. In this emergency it was natural for
so young a man — May was then only in his twenty-first
year — to resort to his companions for advice. The na
ture of the advice which they gave appears from a letter
by one of them to Mrs. Chase, soon after the death of her
son. Says he, " A course was to be adopted. It was a
momentous step, and required deep reflection. By re
fusing the meeting, his reputation with the army would
have been ruined. His society would have been avoided,
and his life rendered miserable. The vindictive voice of
public opinion forced him to stand in the face of death
and bid it welcome."
These rash and desperate fellows advised and urged
him to fight. They made him believe that he must fight
or be forever disgraced. No doubt the associates of Ham
ilton had applied a similar stimulus to him.
But how false and cruel their representations were, in
the view of judicious men, even in the army, appears
from the declaration of the commanding officer of that
division, that had he known anything of the intended
meeting he certainly should have prevented it: yet false
and fatal as these arguments were, they prevailed on our
young friend to accept the challenge. And yet, on deep
er consideration, his conscience arid his heart recoiled.
Shortly before engaging in the deadly encounter, he wrote
to his mother, " I shudder when I tell you I am going out
in an hour to fight a duel ! My friends, and I have many,
have done all they could to settle this unjust quarrel, but
to no purpose. As I pray God to forgive me, so do vou
also, dear mother, forgive me. That all my friends may
forgive me, is the last request of your erring son."
The fatal encounter took place on the 18th of January,
1830. The advocate for dueling from whose letter an ex-
118
tract has been already given, says " He repaired to the
field with a calm and meditative courage, supported by an
invincible feeling of right. No rancorous malice pervaded
his bosom." They fought with pistols, ten paces from
each other. May fell at the first fire. A ball entered his
body at the hip and passed through him. He survived
about fifteen hours only.
The coroner of the county was called to view the body,
and gave appropriate judgment in the case ; but the
principal witnesses were not to be found, and Hamilton
had fled. Whether any serious effort was made to pre
vent his flight, or to pursue and bring him to justice, we
have yet to learn. A letter from an officer who attended
Charles in his dying hours, shows that he had at least one
by his side who felt deeply concerned for spiritual wel
fare, and sought to direct his failing vision to the Al
mighty and most merciful Saviour. Writing to the
mother of the deceased, he says: "- Finding him perfectly
cool, collected, and altogether himself, I asked him if he
felt reconciled to die, and drew his attention to the future
on which he was entering. He said, l 0, no ! I am not
prepared to die.7 And added that for him there was no
hope ; that a death-bed was too late for repentance. I
combatted that idea as well as I could, and dwelt on the
Gospel scheme, with its rich and merciful promises to all
who, with a due sense of their entire unworthiness, seek
an interest in them. * * . * I left him for half an hour,
during which he seemed to be in communion with him
self. On resuming the subject he seemed to understand
his situation, and the terms on which the Divine forgive
ness might be obtained. I prayed with him, and he
seemed more and more interested. He declared his
forgiveness of his enemy, and his hope that the Al
mighty would forgive him, also. He expressed to Lieu
tenant Warfield, in my absence, his deep regret that he
had been concerned m a duel, and cautioned him to avoid
119 •
the same error. About two o'clock the next morning he
expressed a desire that I would not leave him. On my
bending over him he took my hand, and requested that I
would again pray for him. Having complied, I asked him
if he had followed me. He answered " Yes, and may the
Lord forgive me. My mother ! my mother !" The effort
almost overpowered him. I said, ' How unspeakably
would this blow be lessened to her by knowing that you
did not die without hope.' The idea seemed to inspire
him with new life, and he said with animation : 4 Will she
believe it ? May we meet in Heaven.' ' It is difficult,'
continues this officer, l to convey the impression which
conduct so noble, in such circumstances, left upon us.
There was nothing of petulance, nothing of vindictive
thought. It seemed as if his better nature and principles
had resisted his call to the field, and having gone there,
because he thought he could no longer stay away, he still
had no angry feelings toward his enemy. Not a word but
of forgiveness and blessing escaped his lips. His mind
was calm throughout, and he seemed to contemplate etern
ity with hope, sustained by a feeling that his prayers had
been answered. He ceased to breathe on the morning of
January 19, the day after the deadly encounter."
Thus ends the sad narration. We turn away from the
death bed of this interesting young man with a feeling of
gratitude to a merciful God, that he was not instantly
killed ; that he was preserved in the exercise of his reas
on long enough to be awakened to a deep conviction of
his guilt and peril ; long enough to warn those about him
to shun the fatal snare in which he had been taken ; and
that he spent his dying "breath in imploring the Divine
forgiveness. Whether the hope which mitigated his dy
ing agony was well founded and sure, or otherwise, it is
not our province to decide. In the final day it will be
seen.
Unfortunate young man ! But a few weeks before his
120
decease his well proportioned frame was full of life and
vigor, his eyes beaming with intelligence ; mildness and
beauty illumined his countenance ; arid his mind was filled
with high resolves and fond hopes in regard to his future
course in the service of his country, and sharing with
other military men in the emoluments and honors which
she delights to bestow on her heroic and meritorious sons.
His excellent mother and other relatives, as often as he
visited them, received him with delight, and in his absence
spoke of him with pride. But now those limbs are mo
tionless and cold ; that countenance pale and ghostly, the
lustre of those eyes has disappeared, and all those pleas
ing anticipations of patriotic services, and subsequent hon
ors, have been suddenly extinguished by the stroke of
death — of death, not in the ordinary course of Divine
Providence, but by the wanton and hateful practice of
dueling ! No wonder that he, anticipating the distress
which the intelligence of his melancholy death must give
to the heart of her who had given him existence, who had
ever cared for him so tenderly, who had early dedicated
him to God, and taught him to pray — I say no wonder
that he, in his dying agony, should groan out, " My moth
er ! my mother !" No wonder that this cry of distress
should pierce her heart like a sharp sword, open every
fountain of grief, and extort from her lips the piteous re
sponse, " 0 my son Charles ! my son, my son Charles !
would to God I had died for thee, oh, Charles, my son, my
son !"
May this first instance of any Bradford man being en
gaged in a duel be also the last. The remembrance of
this tragical affair may, and should, make a salutary im
pression on the minds of our people generally, and es
pecially on the minds of our young men.
It is to be lamented that this young man was ever sent
to learn the art of war. I believe he had at first no par
ticular taste for it, and would very willingly have been
121
excused. The martial spirit , the false notions of honor,
the pride in military tactics and trappings, which he there
imbibed, and the general influence to which he was ex
posed, were all of dangerous tendency. May the day be
hastened when all nations and individuals shall own the
Prince of Peace as their supreme commander, and learn
the art of war no more. The writer of this remembers
that, in the days of his youth, when some young man in
-this Congressional District was to be recommended for
this preferment, he, not knowing of any other available
way to' obtain a liberal education, thought seriously of
offering himself as a candidate, but was deterred by his
venerable instructor in the Latin and Greek languages,
the Rev. Wm. Peckles, saying to me, most impressively,
" Silas, I charge you, if you do not mean to go straight to
destruction, not to do any such thing."
Again we have, in the disastrous tragedy which we are
reviewing, a loud warning to abstain wholly from the or
dinary use of intoxicating liquors. Hamilton, though
young, was intemperate. Had he remained sober, it is
not to be supposed that he would have intruded on May's
retirement at that late hour and treated him so rudely.
This was the immediate cause of the entire trouble which
followed. 0, that our young men would, one and all, take
a decided stand against this most pernicious habit. If
the aged and infirm might be supposed to need some such
unnatural stimulus, it would still be a shame that young
men, glorying in their strength, cannot feel sufficiently
animated to enjoy life without resort to the same misera
ble expedient. The habit is not only degrading and con
temptible, but leads to manifold evils, both natural and
moral, temporal and eternal. It debases the intellectual
faculties, stirs up the worst appetites and passions of hu
man nature, and incites men to commit the most foolish
actions, the most shameful and cruel deeds conceivable,
and often plunges them suddenly into remediless perdi-
9
122
tion. " Who hath woe ? who hath sorrows ? who hath
contentions ? who hath wounds without cause ? " The
lover of strong drink. Had it not been for this, the quar
rel which brought May to an untimely grave, and made
Hamilton a fugitive and blood-stained vagabond in the
earth, would not have occurred. Well might Solomon
say, " At the last it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like
an adder." How astonishing to see men, especially young
men, so fascinated by this serpent as to suffer it to glide
do\yn their throats and eat out their manhood, leaving
them but miserable vestiges of what they once were, and
might otherwise have continued to be. Thank God, it is
riot so with all, but that among our young men are many
of the excellent of the earth.
In the next place, we see here what a sad misfortune
it is for a young man to be intimately associated with un
wise and wicked companions.
The challenge which May received could have done
him no essential injury, had he manfully acted according
to his own convictions of propriety and duty. He was
naturally of a mild disposition, had been religiously edu
cated, and was not at all inclined to meet his challenger
in deadly conflict. But the young officers, and other pro
fessed friends around him, urged him on. They repre
sented to him that if he refused to tight he would be stig-
matixed as a coward, his company be avoided by honora
ble men, and his future life be made wretched ; that it
was better to meet deatli as a hero, to fall, if that should
be his lotj covered with glory, than seek to live by refus
ing to tight. They urged him to do what he said, but an
hpur before he went to the field, he shuddered to think
of; what he knew was not only exposing him to death,
but to the divine displeasure. Alas! that such incon
siderate and reckless associates should be honored with
the name of friends. The most inveterate enemies could
not have acted a more treacherous and cruel part. It
123
was you, ye pretended patriots, who deprived his country
forever of his services ; it was you, ye hypocritical friends,
who led him to the slaughter, and sent him reeking with
blood by his own consent criminally shed to the tribunal
of God. It was you, ye men of boasted honor, who have
wantonly destroyed the quietude and happiness of a lov
ing family, and pierced a sister's and a mother's heart
with anguish inexpressible ! Is this the nature, are these
the appropriate fruits, of your style of friendship, honor
and patriotism ? How true the proverb, " He that walk-
eth with wise men shall be wise; but a companion of
fools shall be destroyed." Multitudes of young men,
and of young women, too, are yearly misled and ruined
through the influence of fawning and corrupt associ
ates. Of such, my young friends, beware ! beware !
Say of them, " 0, my soul, come not thou unto their se
cret ; arid unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou
united." " If sinners entice thee to sin, consent thou
not."
The tragical fate of our young townsman should inspire
us with due detestation of the barbarous practice of duel
ing, and lead us to consider well the means divinely ap
pointed for its utter termination.
After all that can be said in justification of dueling, as
an ancient and honorable custom, abundantly sanctioned
by the example of men of higli distinction, many of whom,
having come off safe and victorious, have been promoted
by their admiring countrymen to still higher honors ; or
of its innocence on account of the mutual consent of the
combatants to thus expose their lives ; or on the ground,
in many cases, of their apparent freedom from any invete
rate malice towards each other ; yet, when stripped of all
disguise, it must be seen to be a truly murderous trans
action. It is always the result of a design, and always
involves efforts to destroy, and that unlawfully, human
life. The weapons employed in it are always the appro-
124
priate instruments of death, and they are used with the
utmost skill which the parties possess, for the direct pur
pose of producing this fatal catastrophe. Duelists aim
with deliberate predetermination, and take the utmost
pains to prepare themselves to kill each other. Their
implied agreement to do so is wholly unjustifiable. The
plea that they have no anger or malice towards each
other, is no better than the highwayman or pirate may
urge in his own defence. What anger or malice have
they towards entire strangers who have never done them
the least harm ? Their only object is plunder, and its
subsequent enjoyment, regardless of the rights and lives
of their victims. And the laws by which their nefarious
business is conducted are esteemed among their respect
ive cliques quite as justifiable as the so-called laws of
honor so highly respected by duelists and their advocates.
The duelist unlawfully and wickedly sheds the blood of
his fellow man. Why, then, should not his own, by judi
cial authority, be shed? In this case, surely, " the land
cannot be cleansed from the blood shed therein, but by
the blood of him that shed it."
The State of Vermont has expressly declared " Every
person who shall, within this state, fight a duel, and there
by kill any person, shall suffer the punishment of death."
In several other states the legal penalty is the same. Now
let those just enactments be universally, invariably, and
inflexibly executed, and this barbarous and abominable
practice must and will cease. But while such murderers
and their accessories are not only suffered to go unpun
ished, but are raised to still higher stations of honorable
distinction, the baleful influence of their evil examples
will be extensively felt, and the earth continue to be de
filed with the blood of many, we know not how many, of
our promising young men, immolated, like our Charles
May, on this accursed altar of barbarism, nor how many
loving families will, year after year, be filled in con-
125
sequence, with anguish inexpressible. A sickly senti-
mentalism in regard to the impartial execution of justice
on murderers, whether in cases of dueling or of secret
assassination, has so pervaded this nation that mur
ders of every sort have become fearfully common/
My country, I tremble for thee ! For thus saith the Lord
God: ." Since thou hast not hated blood, even blood shall
pursue thee. I will make thee perpetual desolations.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord." Many other
great and mighty nations have sunk under the weight of
their guilt, and of the Divine displeasure, to rise no more.
May timely repentance, through reformation, and the uni
versal prevalence of that righteousness which exalteth
a nation, avert our merited doom ! and secure, not only
for ourselves, but for all who may succeed us, the approv
al of Him whose favor is life, and whose loving kindness
is better than life.
126
CHAPTER VI. '
Andrew B. Peters, Esq., and Family; with Biographical Sketch
of his Father, Colonel. John Peters, and Others of Historic
Distinction.
From a long personal acquaintance with this gentle
man, and from the history of his ancestry, by Rev. Dr.
Samuel Peters, and moreover a package ol interesting
manuscript, put into my hand by Mrs. A. B. Peters, sev
eral years after her husband's decease, I have gathered
the following facts respecting him and the Peters family.
"William, Thomas, and Hugh Peters, who were brothers,
emigrated from England to Boston, Mass., about the year
1634.
One of these brothers, the Rev. Thomas Peters, soon
after their coming to this country was settled in the min
istry at Saybrook, Conn., where he patronized an academy,
which, as Yale College, Avas, in 1716, removed to New
Haven, an institution which has been increasing in use
fulness and honor from its origin to the present day.
Rev. Hugh Peters, a brother of the last named, was
settled for about five years at Salem, Mass., then returned
to England in 1640, or 1641, where he warmly espoused
the cause of Cromwell and the Parliament, in opposition
to Charles I, became a man of distinction and influence,
and was forward among those who approved of the exe
cution of that ill-fated king. On this account after the
elevation of Charles II, son of Charles I, to the throne,
the Rev. Hugh Peters, being still in England, was, by
royal authority, arrested, tried on charge of high treason,
and beheaded, October 16, 1660. Through his trial, and
at his execution, he demeaned himself with distinguished
composure and dignity, and laid down his life without ap
parent regret that he had so zealously advocated a cause
which he still esteemed just, though unsuccessful. His
127
widow and daughter returned to their friends in this
country.
William Peters, Esq., of Boston, brother of the two cler
gymen above named, had six sons and four daughters.
He lived to a great age, and died at Andover, Mass, much
beloved and respected for his charities, piety, and bear
ing. From him the race bearing the name of Peters, in
New England, have mainly descended. His sons were
John, Andrew, Thomas, William, Samuel, and Joseph.
William, last named, the fourth son of the emigrant,
had six sons, Bernslee, Samuel, John, William, Andrew,
Joseph, and two daughters.
This William, the third of the name, and a grandson of
the emigrant, was killed in a battle with the Indians in
Andover, leaving his widow, Mary Russell, with an infant
son, named John, then but eleven days of age. This was
in October, 1696.
This John Peters, when of age, removed, in 1717, from
Boston to Hebron, in Connecticut, at that time quite a
new settlement, and by his wife Mary, a grand daughter
of the martyr, General Thomas Harrison, had a large
family of sons and daughters. Distinguished among
these was the Rev. Samuel Andrew Peters, LL. D.7 an
Episcopal clergyman. He sometimes wrote his name
with the middle A, and perhaps more commonly without
it.- He was a graduate of Yale, in the class of 1757, a
classmate with Rev. Dr. Burroughs, afterwards minister
of Hanover, N. H. He was a man of ability, quite an
interesting letter writer, as his manuscripts show, and
during the war of the Revolution a decided loyalist. On
this last account he awakened against himself so much
displeasure that he found it expedient to leave his native
State somewhat in haste, and take a voyage to England,
where he remained for several years, and occasionally in
dulged his feelings and amused the public by writing for
the papers ridiculous caricatures of the laws and customs
128
of the Puritans, especially those of Connecticut. He
wrote also, while there or afterwards, a biographical
account of his relative, Rev. Hugh Peters, who, as we
have seen, was executed in England on account of his
advocacy of the cause of Cromwell and his Parliament.
After the war of the American Revolution was over, Rev.
Dr. Peters returned to this country, and claimed to be, not
only in title but in fact, " Bishop of Verdmont," as this
new State was by him not inappropriately denominated.
From some of his manuscript letters it would seem
that, notwithstanding the course he had taken, he re
mained on friendly terms with such distinguished men as
Judge Niles and General Morey, of Fairlee, the Rev. Dr.
Burroughs, of Hanover, and others in this vicinity.
Margaret Peters, a sister of the Rev. Dr. Samuel, mar
ried John Mann, a farmer in Hebron, whose eldest son,
John Mann, Esq., married Lydia Porter, of Hebron. The
marriage ceremony was performed in the Episcopal church
there, by his uncle, Rev. Dr. Peters, then its Rector, Feb
ruary 17, 1765. On the 16th of the following October
the enterprising young couple set out on their journey
through the wilderness, to Orford, N. H., and arrived on
the 24th of the same month. They were persons of hon
orable distinction among the early settlers of that town,
and raised up a highly respectable family of sons and
daughters, among whom were Major John Mann, long
time a merchant there, and Cyrus and Joel Mann, gradu
ates of Dartmouth, and able ministers of the Gospel of
the Congregational denomination.
John Peters, Jr., who was born at Hebron in 1718, was
the eldest brother of Samuel and Margaret, above men
tioned. His wife, Lydia Phelps, was a direct descendant
from John Phelps, Secretary to Oliver Cromwell. They
had a family of seven daughters and six sons.
Lydia, one of these daughters, married Benjamin Bald
win, Esq., subsequently one of the influential settlers of
129
Mooretown, now Bradford, Vt. They here raised up a
large and respectable family, of whom, more hereafter.
Mary Peters, a sister of Mrs Baldwin, married Joseph
Hosford, Esq., of Thetford. Another sister, Susanna, mar
ried Colonel John House, of Norwich.
General Absalom Peters, a brother of the ladies just
mentioned, was born at Hebron, Conn., in 1754. He was
graduated at Dartmouth College in 1780. He married
Mary Rogers, a sister of Mrs. Col. John Barren, of Brad
ford, and had a family of children of decided ability and
moral worth. Among the sons was Rev. Dr. Absalom
Peters, of New York, long time Secretary of the Ameri
can Home Missionary Society, a graduate of Dartmouth
in 1816. General Peters and family, for many years, re
sided on a farm in Wentworth, N. H., where he took an
active part in public affairs, remaining as he was during
the war of the Revolution, decidedly patriotic. After the
decease of his first wife, Mary Rogers, he, at the age of
sixty-six, married another highly respectable lady, with
whom he had been pleasantly acquainted in youth, the
widow of Rev. John Gurley, of Lebanon, Conn., with
whom he lived happily nearly twenty years. He died in
the city of New York, April, 1840, aged eighty-six years.
He was buried at Hebron, Conn., his native place, being
borne to his grave by aged men, companions of his child
hood and youth.
We come now to Col. John Peters, a brother of Gen.
Absalom, and the eldest son of John Peters, Jr., of He
bron. He was born there in 1740. He married Ann Bar-
net, and by her had one daughter and eight sons. He
emigrated from Connecticut, in the year 1765, to Thet
ford, Vermont, and from that place to Mooretown, now
Bradford, in or about the year 1771. The first grist-mill
in this town was built by him, in 1772. In the troubles
which soon after occurred between this country and Eng
land, and during the war of the Revolution, his sympa-
130
thies were, like those of his uncle, Dr. Samuel Peters, de
cidedly with the British Government. His brother Ab
salom and some or all of the sisters were decidedly in
favor of the independence of the Colonies. This set the
two brothers in strong" opposition to each other, and
caused an unpleasant division in the family. In conse
quence of this state of feeling, near the commencement of
the war Mr. John Peters, with his family, emigrated to
Nova Scotia ; and, on account of his /eal and energy as a
loyalist, he received a commission as Colonel of a regi
ment styled the Queen's Rangers, whence his military
title ; but how much service he rendered as an officer in
the British army does not appear. After the war was
over, leaving his family at Cape Breton, he went to Eng
land, to prosecute his claims on the government, and
died there, at Paddington, near London, January 11, 1788,
in the 48th year of his age. His uncle, Rev. Dr. Peters,
was there to assist him, but the result of their appeal does
not seem to have been very satisfactory. A letter from
this eccentric old clergyman to Mrs. Col. John Peters, in
forming her of his death, is so interesting that I cannot
forbear to insert it here.
'k (jrROVENER PLACE, London, |
February 16, 1788. f
" MY DEAR ANNA : — I now commence a correspondence
with you, as heretofore I have had with your husband.
Col. Peters has often written to you of the bad state of
his health, and of the delays "of administration, and that he
was impatient of these delays and fair promises, as he
was anxious of returning to you and his dear, young and
tender family. His great concern was about you, and
his daily prayers and last Avish were for you and your
children. This attention to you and your family has, no
doubt, secured your love and esteem, and his happiness
will, of course, be yuur greatest worldly comfort.
131
" I am now the informer of his glorious situation ; and
you, that have known that death is and will be swallowed
up of life, will not complain ..that the great Eternal has
seen lit to bestow one Beatitude on your husband which
he has as yet withheld from you ; and if you are just to
yourself, and children, and friends, and submissive to the
good pleasure of God, you will not complain that the pref
erence is given to your husband, for what he first enjoys
you shall enjoy, in God's good time. News from a far
country is pleasant and truly entertaining ; and to comfort
you and your children with such news I write this letter.
" St. Paul told his friends and hearers, You shall see
my face no more. This grieved them; but they were
consoled when they remembered that here we have no
continuing city, but are seeking one to come, where the
blessed dead shall meet and separate no more — shall see
God and one another, face to face, and live forever hap
py, where time, tears, sorrow and want are never known.
" To that bright world set off Col. John Peters, your
fond and tender husband, on January 11, 1788, at seven
o'clock in the morning, prepared for his journey, and ar
rived before the throne of God in the twinkling of an eye !
You may wish to go to him, but he cannot wish to return
to you. Consider this, my dear and lovely woman, and
you will keep silence before the Judge 'of all, who gave,
and has taken away, him whom thy soul loved. During
your husband's last illness, which was the gout arid rheu
matism in his breast and head, and so continued for a
month, everything was done for him which physicians of
knowledge could find out, but all proved in vain. His
body has been decently interred in the new burying
ground belonging to St. George, Hanover Square, and 1
have paid the expense, and all his debts in this country
that I have heard of.
11 1 have sent every article belonging to him, in two
trunks, by ship, to the care of Joseph Peters, postmaster
132
at Halifax. I wish it was in my power to take care of
you and your children. I will do all for you that I can.
I am sorry for your distressed situation, and that of your
family; but who in this world is free from troubles? The
King, Nobles, Bishops, and Merchants, have less happi
ness than I, and the beggars of a half a crown a week. I
suppose the Rebels will rejoice at the death of Colonel
Peters, because they will never see him again ; but I re
joice that he is dead in the Lord, and because I shall see
him again. His .picture, a good likeness of him in life,
and in his coffin, was taken before his illness. I cut off a
lock of his hair, which I intend to have put into a ring, or
locket, for you and your daughter, as you shall direct. I
have written to Governor Fanning to take your son Fan
ning, and bring him up as his God-son, and advise you to
consent, if the Governor will do it."
Mrs. Peters, the widow, to whom the above letter was
addressed, lived a good many years after her husband's
decease, and died at the advanced age of eighty-seven.
Col. John Peters and wife had eight sons and one daugh
ter.
John, born at Hebron, Conn., lived and died in Canada
West.
Andrew B. was the next.
William, born at Thetford, Vt., December 21, 1766, was
killed by a falling tree, in Mooretown, March 19, 1773.
The following simple epitaph on his little gravestone is
quite touching:
" Death took me hence, just as I did begin ;
Thanks be to God ! before I grew in sin."
Samuel was born and died in Thetford.
Henry Moore was born at Piermont, N. H.
Edmund Fanning, born at Mooretown, was named for
the Governor of Nova Scotia.
William Barnet, the seventh son, born at Mooretown,
June 10, 1775, became a physician, practiced in Portland,
133
Maine, and died there in the sixty-seventh year of his
age.
Ann, their sister, was born in Quebec, January 18,
1782 ; married a Watson, and lived for many years in Nova
Scotia. Probably died there.
Joseph Peters was born at Montreal, November 11,
1779. He subsequently resided for some years with the
rest of his mother's family at Cape Breton. When of age
he enlisted into the British army ; was sent with the
forces under Wellington into Spain ; was engaged in va
rious battles, and shared with, others in the honor of the
expulsion of King Joseph Bonaparte and the French
from that country. He married in England, and after a
long absence returned, with his family, to America. He
came to Bradford and lived for a few years near his
brother, Andrew B., engaged in agricultural pursuits, hav
ing willingly exchanged the weapons of war for the im
plements of husbandry. But his English wife longed for
her native land ; and so, taking their children and mova
bles with them, in or near the year 1843 they went back
to London, where the old warrior is understood to have
died, not long after.
On this, their last voyage, an incident occurred which,
for the benefit of young ladies who may happen to fall
into like peril, I will here relate.
Mr. Peters and wife had with them a good-looking
daughter, in the bloom of womanhood, whose name was
Mary Ann. A young man on board the ship became her
warm admirer, and earnestly solicited her hand in mar
riage. He represented himself to be a farmer, in good
circumstances ; and promised, in case of marriage, that
directly on their arrival in port he would take her to a
pleasant home. Having obtained the consent both of the
girl and her parents, he insisted that the marriage should
take place immediately, and that the ceremony might as
well be performed by the captain, as by a magistrate or
134
minister on shore. The captain consented, the marriage
took place, and during the remainder of the voyage things
went on to the satisfaction of all concerned. But on
their arrival in England the villain, for- such, to her bitter
disappointment and the deep mortification of her parents,
he proved himself to be, absconded, leaving poor Mary
Ann to take care of herself as she could ; his pretensions
of love, and promises of fidelity and a pleasant home, all
having been false and wicked. Beware of such men !
ANDREW B. PETERS, ESQ.
We come now to a more full Account of our honored
fellow townsman, Andrew B. Peters. He was the second
son of Colonel John Peters, born at Hebron, Conn., Janu
ary 29, 17G4, and when with his parents he first came to
this town, he was about seven years of age. In prospect
of the revolutionary struggle, his father, being a loyalist,
removed his family from this place to the province of
Nova Scotia, and there, as we have said, was commission
ed a colonel in the British army. In consequence of the
course pursued by his father, Andrew B. became a sub
ject of the royal government during the whole seven
years of war which followed, and was surrounded by in
fluences suited to enlist his youthful ambition and ener
gies on the side which his father, and his father's distin
guished uncle, then in London, had so heartily espoused.
It is no wonder then that he should have, early in life,
enlisted in the same cause. From his seventeenth to his
twentieth year he seems to have been engaged in the
king's service, particularly in the naval inland depart
ment. Under date of September 16, 1783, near the close
of the war, " Commodore r Shank, then at Quebec, gave
him an honorable discharge, saying that from the 27th of
June, 1780, he had served for a time in his majesty's ship
the Wolf, also aboard of his majesty's armed schooner
135
Mercury, and in the year 1781 was ordered upon Lake
Champlain, where he served on board of different vessels,
and frequently commanded them, until the 16th of Sep
tember, 1783. Mr. Peters was then not quite twenty
years of age, but the commander speaks highly of his
conduct, as an officer and a gentleman, and recommends
him to further consideration in his majesty's naval ser
vice.
Within a very few years after the permanent restora
tion of peace, Mr. Peters, having no encouraging prospect
of promotion in the British navy, or urgent call for fur
ther services under the royal government, concluded to
return to Bradford, where his father's family had formerly
resided, and here permanently settled down as a loyal and
good citizen. His great uncle, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Pet
ers, was still in London, and had all along taken a deep
interest in behalf of his promising young relative arid
correspondent. A few extracts from one or two of his
letters will here be appropriate and interesting.
In a letter to Andrew B. Peters, dated at London, March
24, 1795, he writes: " My dear nephew, years have passed
since I saw you in your mother's arms. I am on the wings
of Time, bearing up to God, in whose presence is life,
light, and joy. Here we have no continuing city.
General Cogswell, of Castleton, near Rutland, will have
the goodness to deliver or convey this to you, and will
pay you thirty pounds sterling, on your receipt. The
above I send you, not knowing how soon I may be with
you, or that you might not want it before my arrival. 1
hear you have a wife and children. Heaven prosper you
and yours. * * The reasons of your residing in \rerd-
mont, I doubt not, are the same which will induce all peo
ple in the old world to go there !"
In another letter, dated at London, April 20, 1797, the
doctor writes : " I am glad you received the thirty
pounds sterling from that good man, General Cogswell.
136
* * You must not mind the conduct of Absalom and
John, for they persecuted your father, me, and the proph
ets, before you." He here, evidently, refers to Andrew's
patriotic uncle, General Absalom Peters, but to what
John does not so clearly now appear. " Do good to them
that despitefully treat you, and love them that hate you.
While we were enemies to God, Christ died for us. Ver-
bum sat." In the same letter he refers to " Commodore,77
as he styles him, Shank, " with whom," he continues,
il you served in the Navy, and I tried to have you made a
Lieutenant in the Navy but did not succed, because you
were born in America. The Admiralty treated all Ameri
can born midshipmen in like manner after the Independ
ence of America. Perhaps it is for the best. * * *
Would it suit you to be a Justice of the Peace, or to be a
military officer? General Allen will be able to assist you
with the Governor."
Of Mr. Peters' second wife he pleasantly says : " If I
remember well, Mr. Ellis Bliss had a beautiful daughter,
whose mother was dead. If she is as good as she looked,
or so good as her father and mother, you have great rea
son to be thankful, and must be happy."
In the year 1798 Andrew B. Peters was chosen Town
Clerk of Bradford, and was continued in that office for
forty out of the ensuing forty- six years, there being but
two interruptions, the first of five, and the other of one
year. The early records of the town, while they exist,
will be a memorial of his ability and correctness. It is
well that the books were kept so long by one faithful
man, instead of being bandied about from one place to
another. The same year in which Mr. Peters was first
chosen Town Clerk he was also elected Representative to
the State Legislature, arid served the town in that capac
ity for five years, though not continuously. He also offi
ciated as a Justice of the Peace for many years. For
137
half a century he was occupied in various public services,
and in every department gave general satisfaction.
Esquire Peters was strictly temperate in his habits,
both of eating and drinking. He was accustomed to rise,
and also to retire, at early hours. He was in his temper,
quick and decisive ; in his pursuits, active and persever
ing. And never having broken down his physical consti
tution by excessive labor, or other abuses, his sight,
hearing, memory, and poAvers generally, both of body arid
mind, held out admirably. In his old age he stood erect,
arid walked with a quick arid firm step. But a few weeks
before his decease, he, with his wife, took a journey to
Boston and vicinity, to visit their children there. If men
would abstain wholly from the ordinary use of intoxicat
ing liquor, tobacco, opium, and otherwise observe as they
should the laws of health, instead of becoming old and
broken down at the age of forty-five or fifty, instances of
sprightliness and energy at the age of seventy-five or
eighty would not be at all uncommon.
In early life Mr. Peters united with the Episcopal
church, and, though he seldom had opportunity to enjoy
its forms of worship, he retained his membership to the
last. He was strict in his observance of the Sabbath, and
exemplary in his attendance on public worship, with the
Congregational denomination, whose house of worship
\vas long quite near his residence. He was detained at
home only for two Sabbaths, during his last illness.
Though fully aware that the time appointed for his de
parture was close at hand, his mind remained peaceful.
He did not seem to depend on his morality at all, but on
Christ, and him alone, for salvation. On Sabbath morning,
August 10, 1851, the venerable old man passed quietly
away at the age of eighty-seven years, six months and
twelve days.
On the following Monday, his funeral was numerously
attended by the inhabitants of the town which he had in
10
138
various capacities so long and faithfully served, the relig
ious services being performed by his Congregational
pastor, assisted by the Methodist brother then officiating
in Bradford. His remains rest, with those of his three
wives, in the pleasant cemetery near their former resi
dence.
The first wife of Esquire Peters was Anna White, of
Newbury. They were married January 18, 1787, about
three years after the close of the Revolutionary war,
which shows that he was then resident here. This good
lady, in a little over one year after her marriage, died of
consumption, at Bradford, in the twenty-fourth year of
her age.
December 16, 1790, Mr. A. B. Peters married for his
second wife Miss Lydia Bliss, then of Bradford, but a na
tive of Hebron, Conn., a daughter of Mr. Ellis Bliss. They
lived happily together for nearly twenty-seven years,
when she died at Bradford, March 5, 1816, in the fiftieth
year of her age, leaving a large family. The children of
Mr. Peters and his second wife were,
1. John Peters, born May 6, 1792. He married Dol
ly Howe, and settled in Jay, Vt. Died October 19, 1858.
No children.
2. Anna, born November 2, 1793 ; married Eleazer
Smith ; settled in Haverhill,. N. H.; died in Charlestown,
Mass., June 20, 1848, leaving two sons : Charles Gk, who
married Ruth Morse and settled in Haverhill ; and Wil
liam P., who was killed in Sharon, Vt., while driving a
stage team of -four horses, which went over the bank into
White River.
3. Samuel Peters, born April 16, 1797 ; married Mar
garet Nelson, of Ryegate, Vt., where he settled, and had
two sons and six daughters, the most of whom married
and settled in different parts of the country.
4. Daniel C. Peters, born April 4th, 1799 ; married
Sally White of Bradford, and settled in Peoria, Illinois.
139
They had five daughters, two of whom are at this date
married in that State, and one son, who died young.
5. Hannah, daughter of A. B. Peters, born April 18,
1801, died May 3, 1853.
6. William Peters, born December 14, 1803 ; married
Mary, daughter of Capt. Haynes Johnson, of Bradford,
September 2, 1830. She died in Charlestown, Mass., Feb
ruary 7, 1844, in the forty-first year of her age. They
had two sons and one daughter. William Francis, at this
date residing in Salmon City, Idaho ; Charles Edward
married Lucinda E. Hodgdon, of Piermont, N. H., and is a
livery stable keeper in Bradford village. They have one
son, Charles Henry, and one daughter, Lillie May. Mary
Jane, daughter of Win. Peters, married Thomas H. Moore,
and resides with her husband at Cambridgeport, Mass.
Mr. William Peters, Jan. 19, 1845, married for his sec
ond wife Hannah Johnson, a sister of his first wife, and
settled in Boston, Mass. Both she and her sister Mary
were members of the Congregational church in this their
native town. Mrs. Hannah J. Peters died in Boston, Feb
ruary 5, 1872, in her fifty -ninth year. Mr. Peters had by
this marriage one son, Alvah Henry Peters, who married
Miss Etta Damrell, and settled in Boston ; and one daugh
ter, Martha Nellie Peters, who died April 22, 1869, in her
eighteenth year.
7. Andrew Bliss Peters, born March 14, 1812, mar
ried Susan Jones, of Durham, N. H., and settled in Charles-
town, Mass.; had one son and a daughter, and died March
9, 1857, aged forty-five years, lacking three days.
Mrs. Lydia Bliss Peters, the mother of this large family,
died March, 1816 ; and on the 15th of September, of the
same year, Esquire Peters married, for his third wife, Ke-
ziah Howard, a good lady'ol Tamworth, N. H., born at
Bridge water, Mass., November 25, 1783. On her marri
age with Esquire Peters, she moved directly to her Brad
ford home, where she lived very nearly fifty-six years,
140
and died September 2, 1872, at the age of eighty-eight
years, nine months and eight days. She had long been
a worthy member of the Congregational church here.
Andrew B. Peters had by his third marriage two sons.
1. Joseph Howard Peters, born October 7, 1717, mar
ried Clarissa Culver Washburn, of Lyme, N. H., Nov. 25,
1841, and settled on the old home farm, where, at this
writing, he still resides. Mr. Peters, though mainly de
voted to agricultural pursuits, has been called repeatedly
to serve his native town in different official capacities ;
in 1868-9 as lister, and in 1870-1-2 as chairman of the
board of selectmen. The children of Mr. and Mrs. J. H.
Peters are as follows, namely :
Andrew Barnet Peters, born March 10, 1843, married
Jennie S. Kessler, May 14, 1872, and settled in Fitchburg,
Mass.
Mary Ann, born June 23, 1845, died August 20, 1846.
Mary Ellen, born March 30, 1847, married Charles A.
Leavitt, December 25, 1871, and is settled in this village.
Clara Emma, born June 15, 1848, married Andrew G.
Tarleton, December 20, 1870, and settled in Woburn,
Mass.
Arthur W., born July 31, 1851, married Velma L. Jen
kins, of this town, November 14, 1871, and remains on
the old homestead, with his father.
Minnie S., born June 4, 1855, married Job Clement, of
Bradford, March 17, 1872, and remains in her native
town.
2. Edmund Fanning, the youngest son of Andrew B.
Peters and his third wife, born September 5, 1822, mar
ried Mary Ann Slack, of Wilmington, Mass., has had a son
and a daughter, and resides in Charlestown, near Boston.
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Peters, and their daughters,
M i-s. Leavitt and Mrs. Clement, were all members of the
Congregational church in Bradford.
141
CHAPTER VII.
The Baldwin Family, with Their Connections, The Pecketts, Chases
and Strickland s.
Benjamin Baldwin, Esq., and his wife, Lydia Peters,
were natives of Hebron, Conn. She was a daughter of
John Peters, Jr., of that place, and a sister of General
Absalom and Colonel John Peters, men of distinction in
the genalogy of the Peters family. Mr. Baldwin and
wife, not long after their marriage, emigrated from their
native town in Connecticut, to this Coos country, then
just beginning to be settled. They at first took up their
abode in Thetfbrd, Vt. Among the first settlers there,
were John Chamberlin, Benjamin Baldwin, and Joseph
Hosford. The wives of Baldwin and Hosford were sis
ters. They were there as early as 1765, if not a year
sooner. They all came from Hebron, above mentioned.
The Baldwins remained in Thetford not more than two
or three years, when they removed to Orfbrd, N. H. Their
third child, Benjamin P., was born there, April 23, 1767.
John Mann, Jr., his relative, is said to be the first English
child born in that town, May 21, 1766, and probably Ben
jamin P. Baldwin was the second, as he was born but a
few months later. In the year 1774 Benjamin Baldwin
built a saw-mill in this, then Mooretown, Vt., on the falls
in Wait's River, a half a mile or so above its confluence
with the Connecticut. His wife's brother, Colonel John
Peters, a year or two before, had erected a grist-mill on
the same stream, a short distance below. The desirable
site which Baldwin had selected for his saw-mill was for
many subsequent years occupied in the same way. A
grist-mill, a sash and blind factory, and a shop for the
NOTE.— The likeness in front of this chapter is that of Benjamin F. Baldwin,
Esq., (son of Benjamin Baldwin, the immigrant), and is from the same engrav
ing as were the likenesses of him which appeared on bills issued by Bradford
Bank, years since.
142
manufacture of mackerel kits, etc., have superseded the
old saw-mill, and are full of business, at this writing, in
the same locality. The white two-story house on the
Western bank of Wait's River, about a half a mile above
the falls, and still in good condition, was built by Mr.
Baldwin, and there he lived for many years, and finally
died. In addition to lumber business, he owned and cul
tivated a good farm, and was a good deal occupied in pub
lic affairs. We have not the precise date of his settle
ment here, but it must have been about the time of his
building his saw-mill, in 1774. In the year 1778 he rep
resented this town in the convention at Windsor " to take
measures for the organization of a new State." He also
officiated, at least in 1782 arid 1789, as Town Clerk. For
how many years he performed the duties of a Justice
of the Peace does not at present appear. Having raised
up a large family, and long lived, comfortably and useful
ly, enjoying the respect and good will of all around him,
he quietly passed away, at the age of eighty-five years.
His funeral services were performed by the writer of this,
on Lord's day, February 22, 1818.
Mrs. Lydia Peters Baldwin was a woman highly distin
guished for her cheerfulness, resolution, and energy.
Besides bringing up a large family of her own, and man
aging her domestic affairs in an exemplary manner, she
for many years was extensively, and with remarkable suc
cess, in the practice of midwifery. Her business was
not confined to Bradford, but extended into the neighbor
ing towns, particularly of Corinth, Fairlee, Piermont, and
Orford. When possible for her to go, whether by day or
night, in sunshine or storm, she w'as ready. A great part
of her traveling was on her own side-saddle ; but much
also on her pillion, behind the man on horseback who had
come for her. How it was possible for a woman situated
as she was, to perform such an amount of service in this
143
department of the medical profession, seems strange in
deed.
From an old memorandum of hers, still extant, the fol
lowing summary has been gathered. In the course of
fifty years and six months subsequent to August 18, 1768,
when she must have been living in Orford, this remarka
ble woman assisted in the introduction of nine hundred
and twenty-six children into this state of probation ! Of
this whole number four hundred and eighty were sons,
and four hundred and forty-six were daughters. Of twins
there were ten pairs, or nearly one pair in every one hun-j
dred of children born. Five of these pairs consisted
each of two daughters, one pair of sons, and four pairs of
a son and daughter each. Of the nine hundred and twen
ty-six children, twenty-six were still-born ; fifteen of these,
including one pair of the twins, were females, and eleven
were males, that is, less than three in every hundred.
And of the whole number born, only seven were illegiti
mate ; namely, five sons and two daughters. In all these
cases of birth only one mother died in child-bed. In that
case her infant, female, died with her. Previous to 1773
Mrs. Baldwin had officiated only on eight such occasions,
and her last case was January 26, 1819. She died about
seven years later September 3, 1825, at her old home, in
the family of her son, Benjamin P. Baldwin, Esq., at the
age of eighty-five years. She was, in the days which
tried men's souls, decidedly patriotic, and so continued.
She was, during its existence, a member of the Congre
gational church in this place, under the pastoral care of
Rev. Gardner Kellogg, and is understood to have retained
her hope in Christ to the last. A woman who accom
plished a work so great and good, deserves to be held in
honorable and lasting remembrance.
Benjamin Baldwin, Esq., and wife, were blessed with a
family of four daughters and five sons, all of whom, with
144 •
the exception of one of the sons, lived to marry, and have
families of their own.
1. Lydia, born November 26, 1762, married Andrew
Crook, of Piermont, N. H. He was for many years a
Deacon of the Congregational church there, and was
justly esteemed one of the excellent of the earth. They
had a family of three sons and four daughters. Lydia
married Joseph Root ; Betsey, Daniel Hogaii : Cynthia,
James Robinson, all of Piermont. John married Anna
Dutton, of Orford, and had one son, Andrew, and one
daughter, Sarah Anna, wife of George Jenkins, of Brad
ford. These all had children. Sarah Crook arid her
brothers, Andrew and Isaac, died unmarried. Of the
above named children of Deacon Crook and wife, Mrs.
Robenson, at this writing, is the only individual remain
ing.
2. Elizabeth, born November 20, 1764, married John
Moore, Esq., of Bradford. He built, and with his family
long occupied, the large yellow house, still standing on a
lofty eminence beside the South road, some two miles
West of the village. The original occupants of that
house are now all gone, some to their long home, and the
rest, with their families, scattered widely abroad through
our country. Not one of the descendants is now left in
Bradford. Esquire Moore and wife were worthy mem
bers of the Congregational church in Bradford, and peace
fully departed to their final rest in good old age.
They left four sons and four daughters. John, the old
est son, married Mary Dyke, a good woman, whose intel
lectual powers, after many years, failed, and she died at
the asylum for the insane, at Brattleboro. Mr. Moore was
an honest farmer in Bradford, and a humble Christian,
whose end was peace. He died March 16, 1873, in the
the eighty-fourth year of his age. He never had son
or daughter. His sister Betsey married Timothy Under
wood, of Bradford, and removed to Hard wick : Polly mar-
445
ried Nathaniel Waugh, of Bradford ; Anna married Jo-
siah Moore, of West Fairlee, and removed with him into
the Western country ; Lydia married Jonathan Austin,
of Bradford, and went with him to Michigan ; Roswell
married, and died at Ann Arbor, Michigan ; Benjamin
married Mary, a daughter of Dr. Bliss, of Vershire ; he
was a fine singer, and devoted Christian, arid died of chol
era at Maumee, Irid. William spent some time as a sailor,
returned home, married a Miss Wells, of Newbury, and
removed West. The several members of this family are
understood to have had children of their own, of whom
no particular account can here be given. Most of the
parents, if not all, were esteemed good Christian people.
3. Benjamin P. Baldwin. 01 him and his family, a
separate account hereafter.
4. Theopolis, born August 25, 1769, married Hannah
Mann, a sister of John Mann, Esq., of Orford, N. H. They
lived for several years in Bradford, and thence moved to
the township of Holland, Erie county, New York, where
they died. They had at least four children, John, Han
nah, Harriet, and William.
5. Cynthia, born May 9, 1772. Died young.
6. Lucy, born at Bradford, February 9, 1775, married
William Kendall, of this town. They had one son, Lang-
don, who became a resident of Barnet, Vt. At this date
still living.
7. Absalom, born March 10, 1778, married Miss Lydia
Bliss, of this place, and long resided on his farm in what
is now called West Bradford, keeping entertainment for
travelers. Mr. Baldwin died April 10, 1850, aged seven
ty-two years and one month. Mrs. Baldwin, his wife,
died February 4, 1860, in the seventy-seventh year of
her age. These parents had four sons and four daugh
ters. One of the sons died in childhood. Absalom, Jr.,
born October 2, 1808, died June 1, 1842. Lydia, born
August 4, 1804, married William Clifford, had one or more
children, arid died November 17, 1840. William, born
July 25, 1807, married Judith Bur gin, had one son, went
to California, where he remained for several years, and
then resumed his residence in Bradford, where he died
suddenly, September, 1874. Hannah, born April 11,
1815, married John Shumway, of Bradford. George,
the youngest member of this family, born November 24,
1817, occupied the old homestead of his father, attending
not merely to agricultural pursuits, but being somewhat
extensively engaged for many years in the business of a
drover, buying sheep and cattle in Vermont, and selling
the same in the vicinity of Boston. He married Miss Han
nah Merrill, of the same neighborhood with himself. She
was born there February 13, 1822, and their marriage took
place December 25, 1840. They were blessed with two
sons and two daughters. Abbie W. Baldwin was born
May 24, 1844; Jesse A., June 24, 1847; George W., born
June 25, 1852; Ida H., born January 25, 1855. All still
residents of Bradford ; Miss Ida pursuing a course of ed
ucation at the Abbott Academy for young ladies, at An-
dover, Mass.
8. William, the fourth son of Benjamin Baldwin, Esq.,
and wife, was born September 23, 1782. He had a liking
for the sea, and for some years pursued the business of a
sailor ; but finally settled down in his native place. He
married Miss Hannah Webster, of Massachusetts, by whom
he had one son, Emery, and a daughter, Lydia, who mar
ried Washington Merrill, of Methuen, in that state, arid
died there. Mr. Baldwin, as life was declining, became
melancholy, partially insane, and terminated his mortal
existence by an act of suicide.
And this suggests the remark that there have been,
within the recollection of the writer, eight instances of
that lamentable crime in Bradford — six men and two
women. Of the men, one drowned himself in a small brook,
three hanged themselves, one shot himself, arid one took
147
poison. Of the two women, one hanged herself, and the
other cut her own throat. Three or four other women
have i-n different ways attempted the fatal act, and failed.
In most, or all, of these cases, the individuals were re^
spectable people, in comfortable circumstances ; but who,
under the various trials incident to the present life, had
fallen into a state of Melancholy so criminal that, regard
less of consequences, they committed the fatal act, prob
ably, in most cases, under the false impression that it was
less criminal to take their own lives than it would be to
take the life of any other parson. Let these sad cases be
a loud warning to survivors, to guard against all gloomi
ness of mind, against every thought tending toward self-
destruction. Bear the trials of life with Christian sub
mission, wait quietly on God, humbly and faithfully aiming
to do his pleasure, and all with you will soon be well.
9. John Dennie, the youngest member of the family
of Benjamin Baldwin and wife, was born June 8, 1785.
He married Abigail, daughter of Joshua Barron, of Brad
ford. In- the course of his life he, like many other men,
became deplorably intemperate, in the use both of whis
key and tobacco ; and is said to have been thoroughly re
formed, in a sudden and very remarkable manner. The
story, as told me by a near relative, is, substantially, this :
Mr. Baldwin, in the silence of night, is roused from his
slumbers by a loud knocking at his bedroom door. He
listens and hears, or thinks he hears, an unearthly voice
saying, with authority, " John ! leave off drinking whis
key." With consternation, but firmness, he replies, "I
will, if you will take away my appetite for it." A solemn
pause — then, "John ! quit, entirely, the use of tobacco."
His reply the same as before. Then he is left in solemn
silence to reflect, with fear and trembling, on what he had
heard, and the critical circumstances in which he found
himself. And, marvellous to tell, his appetite, both for
intoxicating liquor and for tobacco also, from that time
148
ceased ! and John became in both respects a thorough
going temperance man. My informant was inclined to
think that there might not have been anything super
natural in the case. Be that as it may, the effect seems
to have been most happy. Mr. Baldwin and wife were
then residing in the Western country, and had previous
ly embraced the religion of the Mormons. While making
arrangements to go and unite with them, at Nauvoo, they
both died, at Racine, Wisconsin, leaving one son, John,
and two daughters. Julia and Lydia.
3. Benjamin Peters Baldwin, the eldest son in this
first family of the name of Baldwin, in Bradford, was born
at Orford, N. H., April 23, 1767. At the age of eight
years he came with his parents to reside in this town,
then almost a wilderness, the year in which the memo
rable battle at Bunker Hill was fought ; and here contin
ued to witness, and take an active part in, the various
endeavors here made for the improvement of society, dur
ing the seventy-eight subsequent years ol his life. His
principal occupation was that of a farmer, on the same place
which had been cultivated by his father, though he had oc
casion to attend to various other kinds of useful business.
His advantages for acquiring a thorough education were,
in the days of his youth, necessarily very limited ; yet he
so managed as to become a successful teacher of common
schools, a business in which, while a young man, lie took
great interest, and gave good satisfaction. He also made
himself well acquainted with the art of surveying ; and
for many years, indeed during his subsequent life, had
many calls for his services in that business, not only in
this but other places. He also owned a saw-mill, at which
an extensive business was for many years carried on. In
town affairs, parish and educational matters, and as Jus
tice of the Peace, his advice and services were deemed
almost indispensible. He was an active man, and always
had his mind and hands full of business.
149
Esquire Baldwin was a happy man ; more happy at
least than most men are ; he was accustomed to meet us
with a smiling countenance : the pressure of his warm
hand was peculiarly cordial, and his words ever affection
ate and kind. He shed sunshine about him, Avherever he
went. He was a man of truth, of strict integrity and up
rightness in all his transactions. You might have com
mitted to him any amount of money, untold, with perfect
safety. He was prudent and charitable in speaking of
others ; a peacemaker in society, cheerfully doing good
to all, as he had opportunity. He honored the Sabbath,
and was strict in his attendance on public worship; and
forward to do his part, not only for the support of the
gospel at home, but for its universal promulgation. He
felt a lively interest in the right training of the rising-
generation, and watched over their progress in useful
knowledge and virtuous ways, with parental solicitude
and satisfaction. He was, indeed, an honor and blessing
to this community, and especially to his own family, and
somewhat numerous relatives.
At the age of twenty-nine, November 17, 1796, Mr.
Baldwin married Miss Mehitable Gordon, of Windham,
X. JELj who continued his faithful companion during the
remaining fifty-seven years of his life. In the course of
the year 1828, Capt. Baldwin and wife, under a deep con
viction of duty, and from love to Christ and his cause, as
they trusted, made a public profession of religion, and
were received into communion with the Congregational
church, with which they had long been accustomed to
unite in public worship. Their path, during the remnant
of their days, was as the shining light : and they both
finally departed this life sustained and comforted by the
consolations which the gospel affords to all the truly
pious. Mr. Baldwin died November 6, 1853, in the eighty-
seventh year of his age ; and Mrs. Baldwin, his wife, Jan
uary 14, 1857, at the age of eighty-three years.
150
This worthy couple, at their decease, left an interesting
family of four sons and four daughters, of whom a brief
account will now be given. One daughter and two sons had
previously died in childhood.
1. Cynthia, born December 3, 1797, married Giles
Peckett, by occupation a blacksmith, who lived in Brad
ford, and died there, leaving a family of four sons and
five daughters. Their eldest daughter, Cynthia Peckett,
married Lewis Brown, of St. Johnsbury ; Mary, Thomas
Brickett, of Boston; Frank pursued the life o'fa mariner,
was promoted to the office of Captain, and was on board
of t he Glasgow, which sailed from Liverpool for Philadel
phia, and was lost at sea, leaving not a solitary individual
to tell by what sad disaster. Ellen married Charles
Browning ; and Maria, Edwin Plympton, both of Boston ;
Edwin married Mary Ann Worthen, of Bradford, but
removed to Boston ; James also married and became a
resident of the same city ; the gentlemen all being pros
perously engaged in various commercial sorts of business ;
John Wesley married and established himself in business
at Brooklyn, N. Y. Louisa married Dana Patten, a liter
ary gentleman and teacher in Winchester, Mass. These
various families take great pleasure in making their good
mother Peckett as happy as possible. Mr. Patten has
since removed to Portland, Maine, engaged in his chosen
profession.
2. Louisa, the second daughter of B. P. Baldwin, born
September 1, 1800, married Epapras B. Chase, eldest
son of Moses Chase, Esq., of Bradford. Her husband,
General Chase, as he was afterwards styled, took up his
residence in Lyndon, Vt., and was there for many .years
engaged in commercial, agricultural, railroad, and banking-
business, and was quite successful in his various pursuits.
Both he and his wife were much respected, and both died
giving highly satisfactory evidence of being prepared for
a better world. They left at their decease two sons,
151
Henry and Charles, with families of their own ; and five
daughters, namely, Charlotte, wife of Dr. Cahoon, since
deceased, Emily, Adaline, Mary and Martha ; all, both sons
and daughters, well educated and highly estimable young-
people, living near each other in Lyndon.
-3. Susan Baldwin, born August 15, 1802, married Hor
ace Strickland, of Bradford, a gentleman for a long time
engaged in the foundry business here ; Town Clerk of
Bradford for one year, Representative for two years, and
Side Judge of Orange County for two years. They had
two daughters. Miss Charlotte spent, not only in Canada
but in France and Switzerland, both time and mone}T in
the diligent study of the French language and literature,
and turned her acquisitions to good account, while offici
ating as a highly esteemed teacher in the Abbott Acade
my for Ladies, at Andover, Mass. Her sister, Lucy Ann,
married Charles B. Botsford, a pious man, and merchant,
in Boston, and took up her residence there. Both Mrs,
Strickland and her daughters were beloved members ol
the same church in Bradford to which her parents had
belonged. Mrs. S. died at Bradford, October-4, 1874, aged
seventy-two years.
4. Benjamin Gordon Baldwin was born May 13, 1806.
When about eight years of age he met with a sad disas
ter. One winter day, when going to the village, he joined
a lumberman's team, moving in the same direction, and,
full of boyish animation to catch a ride, mounted a heavy
timber, the hind end of which was dragging on the ground.
By some mishap one of his feet was caught between the
log and frozen ground, and became horribly crushed. It
was supposed at first that amputation must be the result,
but the conclusion of the surgeons was to make an effort
to save it, which proved successful, though the youthful
sufferer ever after carried with him an effectual memento
of the disaster. This event, it is believed, contributed an
influence to change his whole course of subsequent life
152
and to make him a more distinguished and useful man
than he otherwise might have been.
Gordon, in due season, determined to acquire, if possi
ble, a liberal education, and prepare for the business" of
professional life. He fitted for College under the instruc
tion of his pastor and friend, Rev. 8. McKeen, and gradu
ated at Dartmouth in the class of 1827. Among his class
mates were John K. Converse, Alpheus Crosby, Sewell
Tenney, and others of like stamp. Mr. Baldwin studied
the profession of law, and became established in honor
able and successful business at Pottsdam, N. Y. He
there continued, enjoying the high esteem of his fellow
citizens, to the day of his death, which occurred January,
1873, in the sixty-seventh year of his age. Among other
pleasant things said of him, in the sermon of Rev. Mr.
Furbish, at his funeral, are the following : " Benjamin G.
Baldwin united with the Congregational church in Potts-
dam July 5, 1835. He realized that he was not his own,
but had been bought with a price, and consecrated freely
his unusual powers, of mind, heart and Avill to the Redeem
er's service."
" From this consecration resulted his rare example of
Christian benevolence. He did not save his wealth for
the purpose of giving it away in the hour of death ; but
extraordinary benevolence, directed by great wisdom,
characterized his entire life.
" Another fruit of his Christian life was his conscien
tiousness. In whatever position of life he moved, he im
pressed all about him that he was determined, at all events,
to do right. This stern, unflinching rectitude he exhibit
ed in a marked degree Avhile practicing law, and while he
held offices of trust from his fellow citizens.
" He loved the House of God, and all its ordinances
and here renewed his strength. His place was regularly
filled in the Bible class, and he was a pillar in the church.
He was a diligent man, and felt that he had work to per-
153
form while God continued him here ; work, not only for
himself, but others ; and up to the hour of his last sick
ness he willingly spent, and spared not himself. May his
piety, his rectitude, his patience and well-doing, be emu
lated by us all, and our town shall never cease to bless
him." TJie memory of such a man is indeed precious.
Mr. Baldwin married Miss Emeline Lamphear, of New
Hampshire, an estimable and pious lady, who survived
him. They had no children.
5. George Peters Baldwin, born January 22, 1.808.
Spent the years of his minority with his parents, engaged
chiefly in agricultural and educational pursuits. When
in his twenty-fourth year, he determined to leave home
and make trial of the business and fortunes of a sailor.
In the Summer of 1832 he engaged with Captain Briggs,
of the whaleship Frances, and went on a voyage around
the Cape of Good Hope, into the Indian Ocean. Tin's
voyage was so satisfactory that he went on a second, on
board the same ship, and to the same ocean, in search of
whales. These voyages occupied about two years. He
tlien shipped aboard the Franklin, Captain Davis, for a
voyage around Cape Horn, into the Pacific, in pursuit of
sperm whales ; visited the Friendly, the Navigator's, the
Galapagos, and the Sandwich Islands, the latter group
three times, then went to the Northwest Coast, to Colum
bia River, and thence along the Coast at Cape Horn again,
and reached home after an absence of three years and
five months. He next went out as Mate, aboard the
America, for a cruise in the North Atlantic, especially
around the Azores, and off the coast of Guinea. This
vovage occupied one year ; and the four voyages about
six years and a half. On their Pacific cruise they took
fifty-three sperm whales, affording two thousand and two
hundred barrels of oil.
Having had satisfactory experience of the whaler's life,
he returned to Bradford, and settled down again among
11
154
his kindred and old friends. He married Miss Lydia
Strickland, and, in due course of time, was blessed with an
interesting family of children, of whom further mention
will be made presently.
Mr. Baldwin was called by his fellow citizens, not only
of Bradford, but of Orange County, to fill various official po
sitions of public trust and importance. He was Town Clerk
of Bradford from 1846 to 1855, inclusive; Representative
in the State Legislature during the sessions of 1843, 1844,
and 1847; State Senator in 1851 and 1852; Assistant
Judge of Orange County Court for the years 1847 and
1848, and County Commissioner for Orange County under
the law regulating the sale of spirituous liquors, during
the years 1860, 1861, and 1862. After a release from
these various public services, Mr. Baldwin sold his real
estate in Bradford and bought a homestead in Concord,
Mass., but in the course of a few years, his children all
being settled in new homes, he returned in rather broken
health, to spend with his beloved wife the evening of their
days in the place of his nativity, amid old friends and fa
miliar prospects of peculiar variety and beauty.
At this writing, June, 1873, Judge Baldwin and wite
have one son and three daughters, all happily married, and
pleasantly situated, and what is still better, all, as well as
their mother, professedly and hopefully pious. May pa
rents and children, the entire family, reach at last the
haven of eternal rest.
Children of Mr. George P. Baldwin and wife. Lucy
Emeline, born July 24, 1840 ; married Septembers, 1861,
Edward V. R. Evans, attorney at law, then of Piermont,
X. H., recently of Chelsea, Mass. Lydia Angeline, born
September 30, 1841 ; married Thomas Stanton Brownell,
of Colchester, Vt., by occupation a farmer.
Benjamin George Baldwin, born February 17, 1847,
married Miss Ella Nutt, and is a merchant in Hartford,
Conn.
155
Julia Isabelle, born June 11, 1848, married August 22,
1869, Amos H. Brown, and resides at Fitchburg, Mass.
Two sons and two daughters, whose names are not here
given, died in childhood.
6. James Whitelaw Baldwin, the next son of Benja
min P. Baldwin, and probably named for his father's
friend, James Whitelaw, the Surveyor General of Ver
mont, was born September 12, 1810. His youthful days
were spent at home, in Bradford. He married Miss Han
nah C. Bean, of Piermont, N. H., November 18, 1835.
He has been long and successfully engaged in the mark
eting business of Boston, and owns and occupies a beau
tiful residence in North Cambridge. He was an original
director in the Bank of Commerce, also for several years
President of the Fanieul Hall Bank, both in Boston. Mr.
and Mrs. Baldwin had a family of ten children. Of these,
one daughter and two sons died in their childhood.
Helen Maria, born November 18, 1837, married J.Hen
ry Nason, of Cambridge, and died in the thirty-fourth vear
ol her age.
Benjamin Gordon, born February 29, 1840, was at this
writing in Colorado, engaged in mining business.
Annie Warren, born October 16, 1846; married Henry
W. K. Cutter, of Cambridge, subsequently of Chicago.
Edward Everett, born August 7, 1848, is of the firm of
C. Wright & Co., lard refiners and oil manufacturers, Bos
ton. He married Caroline M. Prichard, of Bradford, Vt.,
September 1, 1874.
Eugene, born December 2, 1850, is with C. <fe D. Cox,
wholesale shoe dealers, Boston.
James W., born August lr 1853, is with H. Mayo & Co.,
fish dealers, Boston. And Miss Hattie Parks, the young
est member of the family, born January 4, 1856, was, at
the same time, 1873, pursuing her course of education at
Abbott Female Academy, Andover, Mass.
7. Charles Cotesworth Pinkney, the next son of
156
Benjamin P. Baldwin, was born December 28, 1812. He
married Miss Sarah Ann Woodward, of Haverhill, N. H.
They long resided in Bradford village, where she died,
January 8, 1867, in the fifty-fifth year of her age. They
had a family of seven daughters and three sons. Of these,
one son and one daughter died in their childhood, at Brad
ford. In the autumn of 1867 Mr. Baldwin removed, with
liis family, to Jessup, in the State of Iowa, where he con
tinues to reside. Of his family, it may be remarked that
at this time, June, 1873, Sarah Mehitabel, born July 8,
1837, is there, living with her married sister, Mrs. Gates;
Lucy Adelaide, born September 1, 1839. is teaching in
NYw Jersey; Mary Elizabeth, born September 11, 1841,
married Theodore White, and lives at Spencer, Iowa;
Jane Hitta, born March 31, 1844, teaching near home;
Helen Caroline, born- - 17, 1846, married Willis H.
Grates, of Sibley, Iowa; James Whitelaw, born April 3,
1850, is married and living with his father; Susan, the
youngest daughter, who is also a teacher, and Charles, the
youngest son, remain with their father, who has a second
wife.
%
Mr. C. C. P. Baldwin, Avhile resident in his native State,
was for several years High Sheriff of Orange County,
and also for a time United States Marshal for the District
of Vermont.
8. Lucy, the youngest daughter of Benjamin P. Bald
win, born January 30, 1815, having a decided taste for
literature, acquired a fine education, and devoted several
of the best years of her life to the giving of instruction
to young ladies, in different Seminaries of high respecta
bility. She was for some time Principal of the female
department of the Academy, at Meriden, N. H., and sub
set (iiently teacher of French, Geometry, and Botany, in
the Ohio Female College, near Cincinnati. November 10,
1842, Miss Baldwin married Mr. Alphonso Wood, a gradu
ate of Dartmouth College, a licensed preacher of the Con-
157
gregational order, arid at that time a teacher in the Acad
emy, at Meriden, N. H. Mr. Wood subsequently pre
pared and published a valuable work on Botany, and was
for some years Professor of natural history and ancient
languages, in the Female College of Ohio, and finally
President of the same. To advance the cause of useful
learning and evangelical religion, and thus do good to all,
as they bid opportunity, appears to have been the perse
vering endeavor of both Mr. and Mrs. Wood, in the vari
ous stations which they were called to occupy. Mrs.
Wood died at West Farms, near New York, where he,
again married, has continued to reside. She left with her
husband one son and one daughter. The son, Frank
Wood, a graduate of the University of the city of New
York, is a missionary under the patronage of the Presby
terian Board in Syria, and the daughter, Lilia, a Christian
young lady, and teacher of music, remains with her
father at West Farms, N. Y. Mrs. Lucy B. Wood died
June 6, 1868, in the fifty-fourth year of her age, and her
remains repose with those of her kindred dead, in Brad
ford, Vt.
9. William Edwin, the fifth son of Benjamin P. Bald-
*"win, born March 1, 1817, died at the early age of eight
years. One other son and a daughter died in their infancy.
Here we take our leave of this large family of the
Baldwins, with emotions both of joy and sadness; of
gratitude and cordial good will, in remembrance both of
the living and the deceased.
158
CHAPTER VIII.
Deacon Reuben Martin and Family — Deacon Joseph Clark and
Family — Rev. Dr. Martin Ruter — The Fifield Boy who was Lost-
ami Found.
DEACON REUBEN MARTIN AND FAMILY.
Reuben Martin must have taken up his residence in
this town within twenty years after its first settlement.
The precise date has not been ascertained by the writer.
He came, while a young man, from New Hampshire, it is
believed from Weare, or some town in its immediate vi
cinity. He made for himself a farm on the highest ele
vation over which the old South road from Bradford Vil
lage to Corinth Center now passes ; where he long lived,
and finally died. His brother Samuel, father of Rev.
Solon Martin, now of West Fairlee, occupied a tarm a little
further West. Reuben Martin was for several years a
Deacon of the first and only Calvinistic Baptist church in
Bradford, wjiose meeting house stood at the North end of
the Upper Plain, nearly opposite to where Mre. James
McDufFee now lives. Both the church and their house of
worship had disappeared long before his decease ; but he
held fast his integrity, and honorably sustained his eccle
siastical title to the day oi his death.
The wife of Deacon Reuben Martin was Sarah White, a
daughter of Hon. Noah White, for some time one of the
Judges of Orange County Court. Her parents emigrated
from Haverhill, Mass., in 1763. They passed through the
then trackless wilderness between Concord, N. H., and
Newbury, Vt., bringing their infant Sarah in their arms,
and camping out at night on the ground, with no roof over
their heads but the star spangled canopy of the heavens.
The family remained at Newbury for a few years only,
when they removed to Bradford, where this daughter sub-
159
sequently united with the Baptist church, married Dea.
Reuben Martin, and became the mother of four sons and
seven daughters ; all of whom lived to years of maturity,
and nearly all married and had respectable families of
their own. This mother in Israel having lived in Brad
ford a little over seventy-two years, on 7th of June, 1840,
at the age of seventy-nine years and nine months, passed
away, sustained and cheered by the hope of a glorious
immortality.
The early settlers with large families were sometimes
reduced to what we should now think rather straightened
circumstances. On one occasion, as we are told, Deacon
Martin, to obtain bread for his family, traveled to Weare,
N. H., a distance of one hundred miles or over, and
brought home, on his horse's back, one bushel of rye and
two bushels of corn.
Dea. Reuben Martin died at his old home, in Bradford,
May 23, 1841, aged eighty-six years, one month and four
days. •
The children of these parents were,
1. William Martin, born December 5, 1782, a man of
excellent moral character, and a highly esteemed physi
cian, who for several years practiced in this town. His
residence was on the South road, some half or three-
quarters of a mile East of his father's. He married Hul-
dah Kidder, of West Fairlee ; and died October 22, 1841,
in the fifty-ninth year of his age, leaving her with four
children. Both the Doctor and hfs wife were members
of the Congregational church in this place.
2. Daniel Martin, born November 6, 1784 ; he remain
ed through life a worthy citizen of Bradford, and died
March 7, 1870, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. I
give here some extracts from an obituary notice, which I
prepared for publication soon after his decease.
Daniel Martin, Esq., married Sophia Tyler, a worthy
woman of Randolph, Vt.; with whom he lived happily for
160
a little over fifty-six years, and who bore to him three
sons and three daughters, and departed from this life Jan
uary 17, 1870, only eight Aveeks before his own decease.
These parents, thus united in life and in death, left but
one surviving child, their daughter Britana, now Mrs.
Samuel T. Shaw ; and one grand-daughter, by an older
sister of Mrs. ShaAv, who married Micah Norcross, Esq.
This grand- daughter is now the wife of Mr. Frescott
Davis. To these two ladies Esquire Martin is understood
to have bequeathed his property, to their entire satisfac
tion. He was a man of correct habits, who wished to
have all matters of business rightly transacted and settled.
On this account, and in view of his well-known integ
rity and capability, he was called by his fellow-townsmen
to the performance of various official trusts and duties.
For some years he officiated as one of the town listers,
overseer of the poor, arid justice of the peace, if not in
other offices. As justice of the peace he is said to have
been chosen for twenty-four years in regular succession,
and then, after a short vacation, for several years more.
Esquire Martin probably knew more, from personal ac
quaintance, respecting the early inhabitants of this town,
and of its by- gone events and transactions^ than any per
son now living ; and it is to be lamented that he did not
leave, as he had been earnestly requested, a written
statement of his vivid and interesting recollections.
One singular incident he once related to the writer of
this notice. He said, on a certain occasion in the early
settlement of this town, about forty horses were sent late
in autumn from Haverhill, Mass., and turned loose into
the meadows along on the Connecticut River to browse on
the wild grass and on bushes through the winter, and take
care of themselves as they would ; and that in the spring
they were taken out in good condition ! Such a saving
of hay and oats and care, on the part of horse keepers is
not, however, likely to be again attempted.
161
Esquire Martin's farm joined on the East that of his fa
ther ; where, devoted chiefly to agricultural pursuits, in
the practice of industry, frugality and strict temperance,
and in pleasant intercourse with his neighbors, he passed
his somewhat protracted life in quietude and comfort.
He did not seem to grow old as many do, but retained
the various capacities and powers, both mental and cor
poreal, of mature manhood remarkably. When over
eighty years of age, he was in conversation still social and
cheerful, and in his movements erect and sprightly. A
neighbor relates that on a certain occasion he saw him.
when thus advanced in years, catch his horse, which had
strayed a little away, put on its bridle, and from the mid
dle of the road spring on to its back and ride off, as if he
had been in the vigor of youth.
He never made any public profession of religion, but
Avas strictly moral, and is understood to have expressed a
hope that in early life he had found his Saviour to be pre
cious; and when, in old age, stricken down by paralysis,
but still blessed with the full exercise of mental po \vi-rs,
he died peacefully, hoping for salvation through Him
alone.
Very few of our inhabitants of an age so great as was
that of this venerable man are now left. All will soon be
gone. May they, without exception, have their lamps
trimmed and burning, ever ready for the coming of their
Lord, however suddenly that momentous event may oc
cur.
" The fathers, where are they? What man is he that
liveth and shall not see death ! "
3. Anna, eldest daughter of Dea. Reuben Martin, born
October 23, 1786, died a worthy maiden.
4. Hannah, born February 15, 1789, became the sec
ond wife of Jeremiah Corliss, of Bradford, had two daugh
ters and one son, and died November, 1867, aged seventy-
eight years and nine months. See the Corliss family.
162
5. Sarah, born December 11, 1791; married John
Crandall, of Lancaster, N. N., and removed West.
6. Rebecca, born December 19,1793; married Wil
liam Mitchell, of'Walpole, N. H.,arid died there, leaving a
large family.
7. Abigail, born August 1, 1795 ; married David Nor-
cross, of Bradford. Had one son and two daughters.
8. Lydia, born December 4, 1796; married Samuel
Merrill, of this town. Had two children.
9. Patience, born April 30, 1798 ; married Orrin Tyler,
of Randolph. Had four children.
10. Moses Hazen, born March 16, 1800 : married Han
nah Huntoon, of Hanover, X. H.
11. Reuben, born May 12, 1804.
THE CLARK FAMILY.
Joseph Clark and wile were among the early inhabi
tants of Bradford, and raised up here a large and influen
tial family. They lived on the Lower Plain, about one
mile and a quarter South of the central part of the vil
lage. The comfortable cottage which they long occupied,
now one of the oldest houses in the town, is still there in
a respectable condition : but the entire family of its origi
nal occupants have passed forever away. For about a
year and a half of my early ministry here having no home
of my own, I boarded with this family; and my study
was a little chamber in that cottage, the look-out from
which was towards the polar star. There I spent many
days, long evenings, and some whole nights, in laborious
and prayerful efforts to prepare for my public services in
the best manner F possibly could : and that under an op
pressive sense of my insufficiency for those things. Par
don this personal reminiscence :* the mention of the old
cottage brought back so vividly that early experience, as a
look up to those old windows when passing by always does.
163
Deacon Clark and wife were members both of the first
Congregational church, under the pastoral care of Rev.
Gardner Kellogg, and also of the present church of the
same denomination, which after the dissolution of the first
was duly organized on a more decidedly orthodox plat
form, in the year 1810. He was generally styled Deacon,
though never regularly so constituted, probably because
he took an active part in religious matters, and for a time
officiated at communion seasons. He died in December,
1835, aged eighty-four years. His wife, Sarah Mussey
Clark, died March 18, 1833, aged seventy-four years.
She was a sister of Esquire Mussey, of Corinth, who was
father of the late Moses Mussey, of Bradford. Mr. and
Mrs. Clark had six sons and three daughters. One of the
sons died in childhood. Of those who lived to be men
and women the following imperfect account is all that the
writer is able at present to give, no individual being left
of whom to inquire.
1. Moody Clark, born August 31, 1776 ; married Susan
Richards, March 20, 1797. Mr. Clark was an honest, in
dustrious man, and spent the remnant of his days at Brad
ford. He died February 9, 1843, in the sixty-seventh
year of his age. Mrs. Clark, his wife, died May 31, 1850,
in her seventy -first year. They had seven sons and three
daughters.
Charles B. Clark, born November 26, 1798; a teacher
of vocal music ; married Augusta Cady, ol Bradford, and
died at Middletown, Conn.
Orliri, born June 2, 1801 ; married Orill Cady, sister of
Augusta, and died at Killingly, Conn.
Wealthy, born June 24, 1803 : married Edwin Fuller,
of Vershire, and died at Fairlee, April 30, 1854. Deacoii
Fuller and wife had three sons and two daughters, name
ly : Susan, Joseph, Dan, Albert and Hannah Maria.
Franklin, born June 18, 1805 : married a Miss Bond, of
Corinth.
164
Cynthia, born March 13, 1808 ; married Samuel Bern its,
of Lyndon, Vt.
Gardner, born August 21, 1812 ; became a preacher of
the gospel, of the Methodist order.
Thomas Russell, born April 8, 1816; died September
20, 1856.
Joseph, bom November 19, 1819 ; died July 8, 1839.
Thaddeus Fairbanks, born July 5, 1822.
2. Labaii Clark, second son of Deacon Joseph Clark,
above mentioned, and brother of Moody, was born July
19, 1778, became a Methodist minister of high esteem;
was stationed for a time in the city of New York, and at
other times in different places of special importance, arid
was for several of the last years of his life employed as
financial agent of the Wesleyan University at Middletown,
Conn., where he died in 1868, at about ninety years of age.
3. Joseph Clark, Jr., born September 6, 1780, was by
occupation both a farmer and a mason, or brick layer.
He was also a local preacher of the Methodist order, and
a truly Christian man. He remained on the old farm, in
a house a few rods South of his father's, and did much in
the way of nourishing and cherishing the Methodist
cl lurch here in the days of its infantile feebleness. He
used to hold meetings with them, in the school house on
the Lower Plain, where the members chiefly resided, and
lived to see them with a good congregation worshiping
in one and then another more commodious meeting-house
of their own. He was called away to his final rest Feb
ruary 22, 1849, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. He
had been twice married. His first wife, Fanny Aspin-
wall, died June 2, 1826, at the age of forty-four. His
second wife, Susan Bond, of Corinth, died April 7, 1847,
at the age of sixty years. Both truly good women. No
children. They had adopted a Miss Bond, neice of the
second wife. She married Rev. Mr. Fisk, a Methodist
minister.
165
4. Edward Clark, born July 6, 1784 ; removed to the
State of New York, married, and spent the remainder oi
his days there.
o. Hannah Clark, born February 6, 1787, was a worthy
woman, a member of the same church with her parents,
and when quite advanced in years became the -second
wife of David Morrison, of Fairlee, whose first wife was
her sister.
(>. Sallv Clark, born July 9, 1789, married David Mor
rison, of Fairlee. They lived near the North end of Fair-
lee Pond. She was an estimable woman, and died leav
ing three sons.
7. Samuel Clark, born July 30, 1791. Lived at Brad
ford a while, then removed to the interior of the State of
New York, and died there. Xo account of his family.
Ho was twice married.
S. Betsey Clark, born April 10, 1794; when mature
in years was still, in person and intellect and lack of
speech, but a child of large size, but very quiet; and al
ways treated by the family with distinguished kindness.
She died in the quietude of home.
9. Gardner Kellogg Clark, born February 28, 1796,
was a young man of fine personal appearance and good
talents. He had a taste for learning, made strenuous ef
forts to obtain a liberal education, and graduated at Union
College, Schenectady, N. Y. Having iii the meanwhile
become hopefully pious, he studied for the gospel minis
try, and was ordained and installed pastor of a Presbyte
rian church at Preble, in the State of New York. He
was an able and faithful worker, and as such highly es
teemed. He married and had a family ; but we are un
able to give any definite information in regard to his
children. He spent some of the last years of his life, we
believe, in the service of the American Home Missionary
Society ; and died at Saratoga, Minnesota, March 19, 1870,
at the age of severity-four years and nineteen days.
166
REV. MARTIN RUTER, D. D.
Of this gentleman, or even of his family name, the pres
ent inhabitants of Bradford are supposed to know but
little or nothing. Still there are good reasons why he
should be remembered with honor among the most distin
guished of our early inhabitants. The family name in the
days of his father, was pronounced with the middle letter
joined to the first syllable, giving the u its short sound,
as if written Rutter ; but when Martin had become a man
of distinction he is understood to have been styled the
Rev. Dr. Ru-ter, thus giving the u its long sound, and
joining the t to the last syllable. The writer of this article
was accustomed, in early life, to hear the name pronounced
only in the way first mentioned. But call it which way
you will, Martin was an admirable man.
Do you ask in what way was he related to Bradford ?
According to information which I consider reliable, he
was born in Sutton, Mass., in April, 1785, and in 1793, at
the age of eight years, came with his parents to reside in
Bradford. His father, Job Ruter, was an honest, hard
working man, by occupation a blacksmith. He for a
while resided in the South-east corner of the town, on a
farm now owned by Elijah Smalley ; but subsequently re
moved to the Western border of the town, and when I
first knew him and his family he was there living, on the
old South road, the last house in this town, next to Cor
inth. My father had a grist-mill and saw-mill about a
mile further on, in the Eastern border of Corinth. And
the first religious meeting that I have any recollection of
ever attending was at the house of this Mr. Ruter, and
the preacher, I am pretty sure, was called " Brother Wil-
liston," one of the first Methodist ministers who had
preached in that neighborhood. Job Ruter and wife had
been members of a Baptist church, but they had then be
come very devoted Methodists, and opened their humble
167
dwelling to the cordial reception of the itinerant preach
ers, and to the holding of religious meetings. Within a
few years after this, the Ruter family removed to Corinth,
and lived about one mile West of my father's place, and
within the same school district : so that Martin, though
some six years my senior, attended for a while the same
schools with myself. T remember him and his brothers,
John and Absalom, and sister Pallas, quite well. He was
a youth full of life and agility, of tine personal appearance,
very pleasant in his manners, and quite ambitious to be
esteemed, as he was? a good scholar. There were in
those days many religious meetings held at his father's
house, much interest was awakened, and numbers hope
fully converted, among whom was this interesting young
man. In the Summer of 1799, in the fifteenth year of his
age, he was divinely moved to consecrate himself to the
service of the blessed Redeemer, and from the first his
desire was to become a faithful preacher of the Gospel.
He at once engaged in religious exercises, praying, exhort
ing, and striving to do good to all, as he had opportunity.
His store of learning at that time was very small ; but his
desire and ability to improve, his natural gift for public-
speaking, his amiable character, and zeal in the good
cause, were all so manifest that his Christian friends, and
especially the ministers of his denomination who knew
him, encouraged him to press on. It was arranged that,
voung as he was, he should directly enter into the pre
paratory work, by traveling as a student and assistant with
one or more of the circuit preachers, and so continue un
til prepared to take a more prominent position. He might
then have been about seventeen or eighteen years of age.
It was not long before he became as wise, or wiser, than
his teachers, and had a charge of his own assigned him.
One of his first locations was the city of Montreal, which
afforded him a fine opportunity to make himself well ac
quainted with the French language. On his return to
168
New England he went on, not only preaching, but avail
ing himself of all opportunities and means of acquiring
useful knowledge. In the course of a few years he went
to Ohio, and by that time he had become so much of a
linguist that in 1824 he published at Cincinnati a Hebrew
Grammar, " compiled for the use and encouragement of
learners, adapted to such as have not the aid of a teach
er," arid dedicated to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
In the introduction to this work he earnestly recommends
to their preachers to make themselves acquainted with,
not only the Greek of the New Testament, but especially
with the Hebrew of the Old. " Every argument for the
Greek original," he says, " cannot fail to apply forcibly in
favor of the Hebrew also ; a language possessing a higher
claim to antiquity than any other, arid so remarkable for
its simplicity and excellence that no translation can do it
justice." While writing this I have that little work on
my table before me, which, if not very complete, is cer
tainly very creditable to its author, considering the many
and great disadvantages through which he had to make
his way, in the acquisition of useful learning.
From what college this distinguished minister and
scholar received his Doctorate we are not informed ; but
we are gratified to be able to say that his talents, attain
ments, and excellent character were highly appreciated,
not only by his own denomination, but by the public gen
erally. In the report of the Vermont Methodist State
Convention for 1870, it is noted that Rev. Dr. Martin Ru-
ter was President of Augusta College, Kentucky, and of
Alleghaiiy College, Pennsylvania, and that, having re
signed this last position, he went as a missionary to Texas,
where he died May 16, 1838. Thus ended a life of use
ful, honorable, and extensive public labors, commenced
here among ourselves.
This brief memorial of one of our own Bradford boys,
\vht) through life pursued a course so highly comrnenda-
169
ble, I have inserted here, with earnest desire and hope that
other boys and young men might be incited to emulate
his excellent example.
0, what a contrast between such a youth as he and the
boy who has no decided love for useful learning ; no re
spect for good morals or manners ; no fear of God, or care
to secure His favor ; but who indulges in idleness, and
rudeness, and pilfering, it may be ; in profane and vile
expressions, sitting in the seat of the scornful ; besotting
himself with the drunkard's drink ; or by the filthy prac
tice of tobacco chewing and smoking, making himself,
even in the days of his youth, a weak arid worthless
stinkard !
Away ! away ! with all such vile practices. Determine
to make the best possible use of your time and talents,
and to set an example alike honorable to yourselves, and '
beneficial to others. If placed in humble and trying cir
cumstances, be not disheartened. Like young Martin Ru-
ter, early dedicate yourself to the service of the King of
kings and Lord of lords : make it your persevering en
deavor to accumulate useful knowledge, and do good to
the extent of your ability ; then through the Divine bless
ing, your course through life will be honorable and useful,
like his ; and its termination in celestial blessedness most
sure.
FIFIELD BOY— LOST AND FOUND.
For several years there lived in the wilderness South
of Wait's River, in the Western border of this town, a
poor, hard-working man by the name of Daniel Fifield,
with his family. On one Saturday of April, 1800, An
drew Fifield, a little son belonging to this family, strayed
away, and when night came, to the great consternation of
his parents, was not to be found. He was at the time but
thinly clad, having on only his little tow shirt, or frock,
as it might perhaps better be called. Great fears were
12
170
entertained that he might perish, by the chilliness of the
night, by falling into the river, or by ravenous beasts of
prey. But all the efforts of the family, and of the few
friends whom they could that night call to their aid, to
find him, were unavailing. The next day, being the Sab
bath, there was a general gathering of the people within
a compass of several miles, anxiously engaged in the
search.
It was taken for granted that the lost boy must be on
the South side of the river ; but by the most dilligent
search he could nowhere in that section of the forest be
found. He could not have waded through the rapid
stream. Was it possible that he had passed over on a
fallen tree which in one place was discovered lying across ?
An extensive and thorough search was made through the
desert on the North side of the river, the side opposite
to Fifieid's residence. The day was becoming lar spent ;
the hearts of the people were sinking in discouragement ;
when, by some one, the little fellow was discovered among
the bushes and rocks, alive and unharmed. Then the joy
ful cry, Found ! Found ! All's well ! resounded through
the wilderness, filling the hearts of the multitude, and
especially of the distressed parents, with gladness and
gratitude the most exquisite.
The boy was found near the Western boundary "of
/Bradford, not far from where Mr. John Sanborn and fami
ly have now, 1873, long lived. He had strayed perhaps
some mile and a half or two miles from his home. I was
myself a boy then, but remember seeing a host of people
passing by our family residence, on the Eastern border of
Corinth, as they were returning from the search, and one
man proudly bearing the little Andrew in his arms, or on
his shoulder, not only in kindness to him, but in demon
stration of their joyful success. They came around that
way to pass over the bridge near my father's mills, and
to return the boy to his home on the South side of the
171
river, a mile or two below. My impression is, that the
weather was then comfortably warm, and the ground dry,
though I have been told, by one who might well be sup
posed to know, that it was in_the month of April, proba
bly near its close. 1 refer to the late Nicholas W. Ayer.
I have been informed by another worthy man, Daniel
Martin, Esq., now deceased, that during the search one
of the young fellows engaged in it, Benjamin Hinkson,
picked up a stray lamb, which had fallen into the river,
and was vainly struggling to get out, and gave the same
to the boy for his own, in memory of the momentous occa
sion. This lamb Andrew very fondly cared for, and highly
prized, until grown up ; when, like himself, it strayed into
the woods and met with a worse fate, being killed and
devoured by an ugly bear !
This version of the story of the lost boy differs in va
rious respects from that given of the same affair in the
History of the Coos Country ; but is as correct as I have
been able to give from my own recollection, and from in
formation gathered from aged people, then young, and
personally acquainted with the Pitields, and with the va
rious and exciting transactions involved in the loss and
restoration of their son.
172
CHAPTER IX.
Doctor Bildad Andross — Colonel John Barron — General Micah
Barren— Captain William' Trotter— and their Families.
THE ANDROSS FAMILY.
Dr. Bildad Andross, one of the earliest practicing phy
sicians in this place, was here as early as 1777, when,
May 29th, the town voted to send him and Benjamin
Baldwin to Windsor, to take measures for the organiza
tion of a new State. His wife, Mary S., was an aunt of
Dr. Arad Stebbins, who succeeded Andross in medical
practice here.
Dr. Andross and wife were members of the Congrega
tional church, under the pastoral care of Rev. Gardner
Kellogg, and held in high estimation. Their residence
was on the Lower Plain, North of the road which now
leads to Pierinont bridge, and near Connecticut River.
They had four daughters and two sons, namely :
1. Naomi Andross, who married Edward Sawyer, of
Piermont, N. H. Joseph Sawyer, Esq., a man of honor
able distinction in that place, was one of their sons.
2. Lucy Andross married Colonel Webb, of Lunenburg,
Vt., and settled there.
3. Cynthia Andross married Thomas Richards, of Pier
mont, N. H.
4. Mary Andross married Seth Ford, also of Piermont.
They removed to Fairfax, Vt., where he died in the course
of a few years, when she returned, with her children, to
Bradford, and passed the remainder of her days. She
died March 15, 1813, of" spotted fever," a malignant dis
ease fearfully prevalent and mortal in this town at that
time. During the same month in which she died, and
within a few days of each other, the following named per
sons, near relatives to her, were swept away : Mrs. Abi-
173
gail Cheney, daughter of Colonel John Barron, died March
the 9th, and her husband March the 10th, and were both
buried in the same grave. Mrs. Ford, as has been said,
on the 1 5th, a child of hers on the same day ; also, Colonel
John Barron, and his son-in-law, Captain John Andross,
within a few hours of each other. For the four last
named there was one and the same funeral service, at the
time of their burial.
5. Levi Stebbins Andross, eldest son of the Doctor,
married Prudence SpafFord, of Fairfax, Vt. They remained
in Bradford, and had three daughters and two sons, name-
ly:
Prudence S., their eldest daughter, married Clement
Chase, of Cornish, N. H., a relative of Chief Justice Chase.
They had one son and one daughter.
Naomi, the next daughter, married William Barker, of
Bradford, a harness -maker, and had three sons and one
daughter.
And Mary Andross married David Tilton, also of this
town.
Bradstreet Andross, son of Levi S., remained in Brad
ford, and married Mary Kimball, of the same place. In
his early manhood he was for several years, in the sum
mer seasons, occupied in rafting lumber down the Con-
necticut River. One day, towards evening, the company,
having made fast their raft of lumber to the shore at
Greenfield, Mass., had just left it to go to their accustomed
house of entertainment for the night, when they heard a
heavy splash in the water. " What is that ? " says one ;
but all kept along. " I will see," says Andross ; and, run
ning quickly back to the raft, he saw a boy helplessly
sinking in the deep water. He instantly plunged in after
him, arid, being a strong swimmer, seized him as he rose
and rescued him from death. The parents of the boy and
himself were deeply affected by this noble deed, and dur
ing life never ceased to remember it with fervent grati-
174
tude. That boy, now a gentleman resident in New York,
has repeatedly visited the family of Mr. Andross, even
since his decease, in grateful remembrance of his saving
him when in such peril ; arid on one of those occasions
presented to Mrs. Andross a splendid goblet, of solid sil
ver, lined with gold, bearing the inscription, " A tribute
of gratitude from John Munn, rescued from drowning by
Bradstreet Andross, A. D. 1816."
Mr. B. Andross and wife had a family of five sons and
three daughters, all natives of Bradford, namely :
1. Stebbins Andross, born October 1, 1813 ; married
Keziah Libbey, of Maine. They had three sons, Leonard,
Charles and William; and two daughters. Adaline, a
very estimable and capable young lady, perished in the
flames at the burning of Charlestown depot, near Boston,
being unable to escape from an upper room where she
had an office as book-keeper. Her sister Ellen married
Rev. Mr. LeBarron, a Methodist minister, and went with
him into the State of New York. Mr. B. Andross for
several years had charge of the Railroad depot at Brad
ford, but finally removed to New York.
2. Harriet K. Andross, born September 24, 1816;
married John K. Horner, of Fairlee, and had two daugh
ters, one of whom, Mary Helen, married Edgar Rowell, of
Bradford. Her sister Harriet has long been a member
of the family of Esq. Preston, of Bradford. The parents
have both deceased.
3. Charles L. Andross, born August 4, 1818, married
Harriet Clark, daughter of Samuel Clark, formerly of this
town. He lost an arm by the accidental discharge of a
cannon, while celebrating the 4th of July.
4. Mary S., born September 14, 1820 ; died at the age
of twenty-two.
5. Dudley K. Andross, born September 12, 1823, gen
erally styled Colonel Andross, having passed through
many perils, is still at this writing a well-known resident
175
of Bradford. With permission, the following incidents of
his life are given : He was the first man from this town
to visit California, where he labored for two. years, in the
gold mines, " with pretty good success."
When, in April, 1861, our company of Bradford Guards
volunteered for three months into the service of our Gov
ernment, for the suppression of the Rebellion, D. K. An-
dross was their chosen Captain. They were stationed
for a short while at Newport News, Va., and took part in
the battle of Big Bethel, June the 10th, in which the
Union force was repulsed. At the expiration of their
term of service this company were honorably discharged.
Captain Andross enlisted again, this time into the 9th
Vermont Regiment, under command of Colonel Stannard,
in which he was raised to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
This regiment was stationed for a time at Washington ;
then sent to Winchester, Va., and were occupied in build
ing fortifications in the Shenandoah Valley, till ordered
to fall back on Harper's Ferry, where they were engaged
in the unfortunate battle of September 15, 1862, in which
the Union forces were overpowered, and 11,500 men were
taken prisoners. These prisoners were sent first to An
napolis, Md., but finally, on parole, to Chicago, where, by
Federal authority, they were set to guard 3,500 Rebel
prisoners waiting there, like themselves, for an amicable
exchange. While thus occupied at Chicago, our friend
Andross was for his- soldierly conduct honored with the
commission of Colonel, and so continued during his ser
vice in the war. In April, 1863, he and his fellow prison
ers were duly exchanged, and permitted to engage anew
in active warfare ; when he was ordered again into Vir
ginia, to exchange the Rebel prisoners then under his
charge, which was, after considerable delay, effected, at
City Point, below Richmond.
At Suffolk, Va., Colonel Andross and his soldiers were
besieged for twenty-three days, but were able to make
176
good their defence. After a patriotic and honorable ser
vice, this time of about two years, he resigned and re
turned home ; since which he has taken interest in town
affairs, and served as one of the selectmen during the
years 1867-8-9.
6. E. Porter Andross. a brother of the Colonel, born
December 25, 1825, married Sarah Whitcomb. They re
side in Piermont, N. H. Have several sons and daugh
ters. Two of the sons have gone to California. Mr. E. P.
Andross served in the 15th New Hampshire Regiment,
for nine months of the late war, and was in the battle of
Port Hudson.
7. Helen L. died in her infancy.
8. Moses C. Andross, the youngest member of this
family, born January 26, 1836, went to California, and
was for some time engaged there in the business of min
ing. Being a man of ability, moral integrity, and in
fluence, he has been much occupied in public affairs, hav
ing served as United States Assistant Assessor in that
State for six years, and as Senator in the State Legisla
ture for four years. He married there a worthy Scotch
lady, and has two sons.
Mr. Bradstreet Andross died at Bradford, Nov. 27,
1838, in his fifty-fourth year.
Mr. Bildad Andross, a brother of Bradstreet, and son
of Levi S., married Lettice Glover, of Topsham, and set
tled in Bradford. While turning over a large flat-bot
tomed boat which he, with others, was building, it fell on
him and killed him. He and his wife had a family of six
sons and five daughters, of whom only five at this date
(1874) are known to be living.
William Glover Andross, the eldest son, by occupation
a farmer, still remains in Bradford, with his good wife,
whose maiden name was Salome Baker, in their nice brick
cottage, pleasantly situated. Fond of reading, as well as
of work, he has long been occupied in seeking from his
177
books and from his fields the appropriate fruits of both
intellectual and manuel diligence — a commendable course
for any farmer or other laboring man to pursue, provided
the one thing needful be -not neglected.
The eldest sister, Martha, a pious maiden lady, has her
home with this brother and his wife.
Elbridge F. Andross, unmarried, also resides in Brad
ford.
Prudence married Jason Horner, and is settled in Fair-
lee.
George married Nancy Kennedy, and lives in Wiscon
sin.
Two sons died in childhood.
Oramel died a young man.
Susan died unmarried.
Mary married a Mr. Scofield, of Rhode Island, and died
there. She died leaving three sons.
Caroline married Thomas Ladd, of Corinth, and there
died, in 1873.
Captain John Andross, the second son of Dr. Bildad
Andross, first married Mary Russell, of Piermont. . They
had one son, John. After the early decease of his first
wife, Captain Andross married Rebecca, daughter of Col.
John Barren, he being thirty and she fifteen years of age
at the time of their marriage. Their home was on the
Lower Plain. They had six sons and two daughters,
namely :
John Barron and DeForrest, who died young.
3. Thomas Russell, of whom more presently.
4. William, who married Susan Child, of Derby, sister
of Daniel Child, Esq., the husband of Lydia Maria Child,
the well-known authoress.
5. Mills married Eliza Peabody, a cousin of George
Peabody, so distinguished for financial success and great
liberality. He went to New Orleans, got involved in the
troubles of Mexico, under the ^dominion of Santa Anna,
178
was taken prisoner, and with twenty-nine others was
massacred there, far from home and friendsi His widow
married Noah Newell, of this town. They removed to
Janesville, Wisconsin, where they, reside, in pleasant cir
cumstances, blessed with a highly respectable family.
6. Noble Andross, having done good service for his
country in the late war, returned again to this his native
place.
7. Mehitable, a worthy young woman, died unmar
ried.
8. Mary R. married Mills O. Barber, then of Lowell,
Mass., October 16, 1832, by occupation a harness maker,
who has for more than forty years been a much respected
citizen of Bradford, and has for several years officiate'd as
a Justice of the Peace. Mr. and Mrs. Barber have been
for more than thirty years highly esteemed members of
the Methodist Episcopal church in this place. They have
had a family of two sons arid four daughters, of whom
Mary B. and Charles Henry died in childhood, and Mills
DeForrest at the age of nineteen years. Ellen Rebecca
married Daniel' W. Watson, of Boston ; Mary S. has re
mained with her parents ; and Martha Jane married M.
Schuyler Smith, of Hartford, Vt.
3. Captain Russell Andross, above named, married
Martha Case, of Piermont, N. H. He had a good farm
and pleasant home in Bradford, in the neighborhood where
his parents had lived before him. Captain R. Andross
and wife were worthy members of the Methodist Episco
pal church, and citizens of good intluerice. Their family
of three daughters and two sons having grown up and
gone away to new homes, the parents disposed of their
place in Bradford, and removed to Lawrence, Mass., where
(in 1874) they are pleasantly settled. Of their children
let the following brief notices suffice :
The eldest daughter, Martha Jane, married D. W. C.
Farrington. They have one son, Willis, now a. young
179
man ; and a very eligible home in Lowell, Mass. Mr. F.
was for some time with General Butler at New Orleans,
during the late war, in the capacity of auctioneer. Since
his return he has become the first successful manufactur
er of Bunting in this country, and has invented a pro
cess, by which the stars and stripes of the American flag
are produced in a single piece, without seams, being in
wrought. He has now the pleasure of seeing his flags
made in Lowell waving over our National Capitol, instead
of those made in England, as was the case until recently.
Sarah M. Andross married John H. Richards, a son of
Rev. John Richards. He having been successful in busi
ness, built a nice brick house directly opposite to the
residence of her parents, in Bradford, where he for some
time lived, but finally sold it to John B. Peckett, Esq.,
and removed to Lawrence, Mass. They have one son,
Wm. R. Richards.
Mary Andross married F. H. Marshall. They have three
children.
George R. Andross married Emeline Taplin, of Corinth
Vt. He has a nice residence in this village ; is engaged
in the mercantile business, and Mrs. Andross keeps a mil
liner's establishment.
John Barren, the youngest member of this family, has
his residence in Boston, and his business in connection
with a mercantile house there.
Captain John Andross, the grandfather of these child
ren of Captain T. R. Andross, died, as has already been
said, in March, 1813. His widow, Rebecca (Barron) An
dross, united with the Congregational church here in
1817, and lived thenceforth in accordance with her pro
fession. In 1820 she was married with Amos Fisk, a
worthy man, of Middlesex, Vt., who came and made his
home with her, here. On the 22d of March, 1847, at the
age of seventy, she came to the close of her useful course
on earth, and peacefully passed away, by Divine grace
180
beautifully sustained and comforted. May her children
emulate her virtues, and in due time meet her, as she
hoped they would, where all are holy and happy.
COLONEL JOHN BARRON AND FAMILY.
Colonel John Barren, a native of Grafton, Mass., emi
grated to Lyme, N. H., in the early settlement of that
town. His first wile was Abigail Derb}^ of Orford, who
died at Lyme, leaving an infant daughter. He married
for his second wife Mehi table Rogers, of Haverhill, a sis
ter of the wife of General Absalom Peters ; by whom he
had a son and daughter who died in infancy, and five
daughters who lived to have families of their own. Hav
ing purchased at a very cheap rate a valuable tract of
land in this town, he came and settled on the same, but at
what time I have not ascertained. His purchase was in
the South-east corner of the township, embracing
the beautiful meadow in the bow of the Connecticut
River, at that place ; also the adjacent island, and land
West, extending far back among the hills. He was living
on the meadow at the time our National Independence
was -declared.
He subsequently came up to the main road, if road it
could then be called, and lived in a log house on the East
side of the same, near the high bank of the river, on what
is now called the Waterman place. Prospering in busi
ness, in the course of a few years he built a house to
be occupied as a tavern, on the opposite or West
side of the road, where he lived and prosecuted the
business of an inn-keeper for a long while. The house
was two stories in front, one story back, and painted
yellow. It has since been removed, and still stands
(1868) in the near neighborhood, a little South of its old
location, on the other side of the highway.
For some years the Barron family, in common with their
few neighbors, were much annoyed by fear of the Indi-
181
ans and Tories. At times they had to hide, as well as
they could, not only their valuables; but themselves. Mrs.
Barron, for safety, used to conceal her pewter dishes in
some sly place in the sand bank of the river close by. Col.
John, as he was afterward called, was then Captain of a
scout, under command of General Bailey, of Newbury. An
alarm on a certain occasion being given that the Indians and
Tories were coming, he rallied his men, only six in number,
and went forth, with others from the vicinity, as far as Wil-
dersburg, now Barre, to meet the enemy ; and lay there in
ambuscade, waiting for them for three days ; but they did
not come. It was said Jacob Fowler, a hunter, gave them
warning, so that instead of pursuing their object to burn
Newbury, thev turned further North, and burned Lancas
ter, N. H.
On this or a similar occasion, a Mr. Young, of Pier-
rnont, came and informed Mrs. Barron that the Indians
were lurking around and she had better be on her guard.
She advised him to go directly home, get his gun, and
join the scout. This he seemed quite reluctant to do,
when the heroic woman said, with decision, " Well, Mr.
Young, bring your gun to me, and stay and take care of
my children, and I will join the scout."
Mrs. Whitelaw, a daughter of Colonel Barron, in addi
tion to the above, related to me the following anecdotes.
She said the first school she ever attended was in her
father's barn, and taught by Mary Rogers, who subse
quently married General Absalom Peters ; and that dur
ing school hours one day an unruly heifer broke into the
barn floor, among the scholars ; when their mistress, with
great energy, seized the little ones and threw them over
into the bay, so that no great harm was done.
Her father, Mrs. Whitelaw said, had the first chaise
ever owned in this place, and when she was seventeen
years of age, which was in 1798, she used to ride in it to
a little school which she was teaching in a corner of a
182
house which Deacon Hardy subsequent!}7 long occupied,
at the North end of Bradford village. That house, with
a large addition to it, is still standing. She further said
that she was the first female who rode in a chaise from
Newbury Street to Ryegate ; that she was then in com
pany with Mr. afterwards Judge Noble, of Tinmouth,
and that their carriage attracted as much attention as
would an elephant passing along.
Mrs. Whitelaw informed me that her father innuenced-
the Vermont Legislature to pass an act that the " Squat
ters," as the first settlers on the Hazeri land, a tract ex
tending through the West part of this town, were called,
should be quieted in their possession, by paying to the
proprietors two shillings on each acre that they claimed.
But the proprietor, disliking the low price, refused to re
ceive anything short of hard money in payment ; which
he knew the poor people had not, and supposed they could
not obtain. They applied in their trouble to Colonel Bar-
ron, offering him one half of their land if he would save
for them the remainder. Certain men who were expected
to share with Barron in this speculation, in almost the last
extremity failed him ; designing, as he suspected, to get
the entire profit to themselves. This roused him to make
a strenuous effort. He went to Colonel Freeman, of
Hanover, N. H., and obtained from him letters of rec
ommendation to men of means in Portsmouth ; and by
riding day and night, he succeeded in getting back with
his specie in season to accomplish his object. She said
she remembered well that her father's saddle bags were
so heavy with hard money that, though a grown girl, she
could not lift them from the floor ; and that her father
gave Colonel Freeman a lot of land for his kindness in
the affair. This lot is understood to be the one on which
Deacon Colby afterwards long lived.
Another incident worthy of remembrance, is that while
Colonel Barron was, on a certain occasion, returning, in
183
company with other soldiers across this State, during the
Revolutionary war, one of the men, an Esquire Button, of
Chelmsford, Mass., fell dangerously sick. There was no
prospect that he would ever be able to go any further.
Barron, moved with compassion, remained with him, act
ing the part of a faithful friend, while the rest of their
company went on. When the invalid had so far recover
ed that he could with safety be left in the family of a
well disposed farmer, his friend came away. The gentle
man recovered ; and through life felt and expressed the
deepest sensation of gratitude and friendship towards
the benefactor who had been so kind to him in a time of
peculiar 'distress. He remembered even the place, which
was Cavendish, with so deep an interest that he pur
chased there a farm, and made it his residence during the
remnant of his days.
When this town was first settled, there was a heavy
growth of pine trees in the eastern part of it, and espe
cially on what is now called the Lower Plain. Many of
them grew on the tract of land owned by Col. Barron ;
and I have been informed by some of the aged people
that, after the close of the Revolutionary war, he and
Gen. Morey entered into a contract with three French
men, to deliver to them in the Connecticut river, oppo
site to Barren's house, one hundred masts, with, no doubt,
a due proportion of smaller timber for yards and booms,
for the royal navy of France, to be floated down the river
to Middletown, where they were to be put on board of
ships, and transported to that country. Pine trees were
then plenty and money scarce. Sticks of timber sixty
feet long were estimated by their average diameter at
the rate of twenty-five cents an inch. According to this
rule a mast sixty feet long and thirty inches in diameter
would come to but seven dollars and a half. One giant
mast, one hundred and sixteen feet long and forty inches
in diameter, was thus delivered. This huge pine trunk
184
at the above rate would be estimated at not quite twenty
dollars. Surely the price of lumber has greatly changed
since that day.
These great trunks of trees were brought by numer
ous men and strong teams to the high bank of the river
near Barren's residence, and on set occasions, of which
due notice was given, there would be a great gathering,
not only of men, but ot women and children, to witness
the log rolling. To see these heavy logs roll rapidly
down the steep declivity and dash into the river throw
ing it into a violent agitation, was riot a little exciting.
But as times of high glee are apt to end in some disaster,
so was it in this case with one of the lively French con
tractors, who on returning home is said to have been
hanged on the yard arm of his vessel, for some attempt
to defraud the government, of which lie had been found
guilty.
Col. John Barron took a very active part in procuring
a charter of the town of Bradford, and for four years rep
resented it in the State Legislature. He was also a dele
gate with Esquire Chamberlin to the Convention held at
Bennington in December, 1790, to deliberate on the
adoption of the proposed Constitution of the United
States. He took a lively interest-in promoting the pros-
perit^y of this town, and was generally regarded as a man
of energy and influence. The Council, gathered from
churches near and remote, for the ordination of the Rev.
Gardner Kellogg, was convened and accommodated Sept.
1st and 2d, 1795, at his house.
Col. Barron died at Bradford on the 14th of March,
1813, in the 69th year of his age. "Spotted Fever" was
fearfully prevailing, and on the occasion of his funeral
three other corpses were carried into the meeting-house
with his. One was that of Capt. John Andross, who was
a son-in-law of Barron, another the corpse of Mrs. Ford,
a sister of Capt. Andross, the third a child of a Mr. Hoyt.
185
The sermon on this peculiarly sad occasion was preach
ed by the Rsv. David Sutherland, of Bath, N. H.
With regard to the family of Col. Barren, I would fur
ther say that his wife, Mehitable Rogers, died Oct. 30,
1803, aged 49 years; and his daughters married respect
able msn, as follows: Abigail married Eiias Cheeney.
She died March 9, 1813, and he the next day, and both
were buried at the same time in one grave. Rebecca
married Capt. John Andross, and after his decease Amos
Fisk; Mehitable married Robert Whitelaw, Esq., of Rye-
gate; Mary, Timothy Farrar, of Lebanon, N. H. ; Relief,
William Nilss, Esq., of West Fairlee ; and Hannah, Dr.
Jacob Goodwin, of Colebrook, N. H.
GENERAL MICAH BARRON AND FAMILY.
Micah Barron was born in Tyngsborough, Mass., March
26, 1763. He was a nephew of Colonel John Barron, who
was an early and distinguished inhabitant of this town,
and was probably induced to come this way on his uncle's
account. His wife's maiden name was Elizabeth Pearson,
a discreet, good, and very estimable woman. They came
here with a view to permanent settlement February 2,
1788. He had, for two years before, been engaged in
lumbering on the Connecticut River, a business which he
followed for some time after. Pine trees, all along on the
banks of this river, in the Coos country and northward,
were then large and abundant, and it was with the early
settlers a great business to get their trunks into the river,
to be floated down and sold for ship timber, or to be con
verted into boards and shingles for building houses. The
business of building flat-bottomed boats for the convey
ance of prepared lumber to market, and to bring up salt,
rum, molasses, iron, and other heavy articles of merchan
dise in return, was early undertaken and continued for
many years. To descend the river was comparatively
13
186
easy, but to return, forcing the boat along against the
current with oars and pike-poles, was hard work. To go
in this way from Bradford to Hartford, Conn., a distance,
by the river, of some two hundred miles, was a labor of
some four or five weeks. But " Colonel Mike," as he was
afterwards familiarly called, was a man of too much spirit
and ambition to wear out his life in such dull and labori
ous navigation.
Writing the above paragraph vividly recalls to mind an
anecdote once related to me by Mr. Moody Clark, which I
think deserving of a place in this connection. He said
as he and a Mr. Kennedy were once going down the river
on a boat or raft, I forget which, they fell into a discus
sion of the difficult subject of predestination and free
agency. The latter maintained that since the Almighty
had pre-determined all things, no effort of man to secure
any good, either in this life or that to come, can be of any
real advantage ; that those who are to be saved will be,
and those who are to be lost will be lost, let them do what
they may. Admitting the fact of predestination, Clark
was not willing to allow the necessity or justice of the
above conclusion, but insisted that in the divine plan
means and ends were as closely united as if all depended
on man's free will and efforts. While thus arguing, as
thousands have done before and since, they were driven
to a very logical and just conclusion, as follows :
K. " Well, we are coming near the falls."
Clark pays no attention.
K. " I say we are coming near the falls, and must pull
hard to get into the canal."
Clark, still apparently indifferent, replies, " If we are
to be saved we shall be, and it is of no use to make any
effort."
K. " Why do you talk so like a fool ? Take up your
oars, instantly, and pull hard, or we shall go over the falls
as sure as fate 1 "
187
They both exerted themselves, brought their craft into
the canal, and were let safely through the locks into the
smooth water below.
" That/' said Clark, " is the way. We were predestin
ated to be saved, but you see we had to work hard to
secure it, after all."
We return from this digression. Micah Barron, leav
ing the river, entered into mercantile business, and from
an humble beginning carried it to a commanding extent.
His first store was in Bradford village, a little North of
the corner where you turn to the right to go up " Goshen
road," on the eastern border of what is now Mr. Low's
garden. The- side of the building next to the street was •
two stories high ; the West side was but one. The base
ment and room directly above were for the store, and the
remainder of the building for the accommodation of the
family. He afterwards built the large and commodious
house, a little further North, which has long been the res
idence of Asa Low and family ; and so extended his busi
ness that at one time he had not only a store in this vil
lage, but one on the line between Bradford and Newbury,
near the present site of Goshen meeting house, one in
East Topsham, and one in East Corinth. The result seems
not to have been very favorable, and in the decline of life
his circumstances were rather straitened.
Our friend was of a military turn, and rose from the
rank of a subaltern to that of Colonel of a regiment, and
then to that of Brigadier General. At general musters
he was in his glory. In his rich uniform, mounted on his
splendid horse, and full of animation, he presented a truly
commanding appearance. He never had occasion, how
ever, to engage in actual warfare.
For twenty-three years Colonel Barron executed the
office of a Sheriff in Orange County, the last four years of
which he was High Sheriff. At that time, especially in
the earlier part of his official career, there was much to
188
be done by that officer, not merely in the collection of
debts, but in criminal prosecutions, and the punishment
of offenders. Then disturbers of the peace were liable to
be set in the stocks, a sort of frame to confine the feet
between two pieces of timber ; and thieves, counterfeit
ers, and such like characters, to be tied up to a whipping
post, and receive a certain number of lashes laid on the
bare shoulders with a cat-o'-nine tails, " an instrument of
punishment," says Webster, " consisting of nine pieces of
line or cord, fastened to a piece of thick rope, and having
each three knots at intervals ; used to flog offenders on
board of ships." In some instances criminals were brand
ed with some ignominious mark on the cheek, as with an
R for rogue, or L for liar, or had the rim of an ear cut
away. Even in this town were a set of stocks and a
whipping-post. They stood on the East side of Main
Street, near where you turn to go down to the paper
mill. These punishments were more generally inflicted
at Chelsea, near the jail, but even here Sheriff Barron
occasionally exercised his authority by laying the lashes
on the back of some luckless culprit tied to the whipping
post. The names of two or three of these transgressors
have been given me, but why should they be perpetuated
with dishonor? It is a matter of rejoicing that such bar
barous corporeal punishments are no longer in use among
us.
As " Colonel Mike " had become famous for arresting
desperate offenders and bringing them to justice, he was,
about the year 1800, induced to undertake the hazardous
enterprise of going into Canada to arrest the notorious
counterfeiter, Stephen Burroughs. This man, a son of
Rev. Eden Burroughs, S. T. D., of Hanover, N. TL, pos
sessed good talents and education, was kind, courteous
and gentlemanly in his appearance and manners, but was
destitute of moral principle, and a most shrewd and ac-
complishecl villain — not in the way of deeds of violence
189
and blood, but in diverting tricks of deception, in cheat
ing, and especially in the business of manufacturing and
issuing counterfeit currency, both in the shape of coin
and bank bills. He had established himself at Shipton, in
Lower Canada, and was deluging New England with his
finely executed bank notes, greatly to the annoyance and
damage of the community, and especially of the banks.
In consequence of this, the officers of several of these es
tablishments entered into an agreement to bear the ex
pense of a strenuous effort to have the great counterfeiter
arrested, and a stop put to his business. Looking about
for a man of the right stamp to accomplish such an un
dertaking, they could see no one so likely to answer their
purpose as Sheriff Barron. They accordingly engaged
him to make the attempt. The thing was not to be done
in a day. He engaged two shrewd men, in whom he had
confidence, to go to Burroughs with pretense of favor
towards him and his business, and a desire to purchase
and deal in his counterfeit currency. As they proved to
be constant and profitable customers, they were gradual
ly admitted into all the secrets of the establishment, knew
everybody, how everything was transacted, where Bur-*
roughs slept, at what time in the morning his guard of
fifteen men were released' from their night watching,
where they placed their guns, and retired for repose.
In the meantime Barron, furnished with all necessary
testimonials, had been holding interviews with the Gov
ernor General of the Canadas, and obtained from him a
warrant for the arrest of the criminal j a commission ex
traordinary, commanding His Majesty's subjects, especial
ly all officers of the government, both civil and military,
to give him support, protection and assistance to any ex
tent he might require, in order to arrest and bring to
trial the said Burroughs. Without having excited any
alarm, Barron was one night, with twenty-two armed
men, in the town of Shipton. He had received full in-
190
formation of everything from his spies. They were prob
ably at that time with him. In the darkness of night he
drew his company near to the house of Burroughs, and
lay concealed till, in the dawn of the morning, his guard
of fifteen men went in, set up their guns, as their custom
was, in the hall, and retired into the attic for sleep. Then
Barren with his company softly entered, and, having se
cured the guns the guard had just before set down, he
directly entered the sleeping apartment of Burroughs
and seized him in his bed ! Burroughs snatched a pistol
from under his pillow to shoot him, and called loudly for
his guard, but the pistol was instantly struck from his
hand, and the guard, hearing many voices and, much con
fusion below, leaped, terror-stricken, from their attic
window and fled away. Burroughs was overpowered and
firmly bound with cords. When, in the clearer light of
the morning, he saw in whose hands he was, for he had
before known Sheriff Barrbm, he complimented his cour
age, and, promising submission, entreated him to unbind
his arms, as the cords had become very painful. " Colonel
Mike," he says, " you are a gentleman, and so am I ; un
bind my arms, and I give you my word of honor that I
will be entirely subject to your orders." Barron trusted
him, but came near losing his life by so doing, for shortly
after, when standing at a little distance from his prisoner,
and looking another way, Burroughs was seen stealthily
pointing a pistol at him, when a sharp click was heard,
but no report followed. It had missed fire! Barron,
being told of his attempt, took the pistol from him, de
manding what he meant by such conduct. The villain
replied, " I meant to shoot you." The sheriff, pointing
the same pistol to a green birch tree, fired it, when a bul
let was discharged with such force as to sink deeply into
the solid wood. The prisoner then being thoroughly
searched, was subjected to the closest vigilance, assured
that if he made any further attempt of that sort he would
191
be instantly shot down. He remained quiet, was taken
to Montreal, and delivered to the authority of the Gov
ernor for trial. Barren, both in Montreal and at home,
was regarded as a hero, who had accomplished success
fully a very hazardous undertaking. Burroughs, how
ever, as is generally the case with accomplished villains,
had many friends, and through their management, after a
confinement of some duration, escaped through the mesh
es of the law with impunity, and returned to his old busi
ness of counterfeiting.
I have been told that Barron was sent a second time to
arrest him, when, coming suddenly upon him, Burroughs
at once thrust his hand into his bosom to seize a deadly
weapon, when Barron cried out, adapting his action to his
word, " If you stir you are a dead man !" Burroughs,
looking up into his determined countenance, replied,
"Colonel Mike, I had as lief see the devil as see you,"
and without resistance submitted. He was again impris
oned, but contrived to escape. In his old age he became
a Roman Catholic, and is said to have been in the habit
of giving good advice to young man, telling them not to
do as he had dons, for he had found the way of the trans
gressor to be hard.
General Barron was in person rather a large man, erect
and strongly built, his countenance open, and expressive
at once of boldness and good nature. On one cheek was
a singular spot, large as the print of ons's finger, and
bright as a ripe English cherry. He wore his hair combed
directly back from his forehead, and did not need a shaggy
beard to give evidence in any company that he was a
MAN. Hs possessed a good share of general intelli
gence, and was in conversation social and interesting.
After the close of active business he lived for some time
in Boston, but spent his last days in Bradford, where he
died November £6, 1839, aged seventy-six years and eight
months.
192
Mrs. Barron died at Bradford, March 10, 1832, aged
seventy-two years. She was a member of the Congrega
tional church, and universally esteemed as an excellent
woman.
General Barron and wife had but two children. Their
daughter Elizabeth married David Hartwell, a respectable
man, then in business with her father. She died early in life,
leaving no child. The son, Colonel William Barron, a gen
tleman well known in this town and vicinity, was in early
manhood occupied in mercantile business with his father,
and for some years traded at Corinth, East Village. He first
married Miss, Bailey, a daughter of Isaac Bailey, Esq., of
Newbury, and by her had two daughters. After her de
cease he returned to Bradford, and was for some years
devoted to the business of a sheriff, and gave so good sat
isfaction that he was promoted to be High Sheriff of Or
ange County. He had also a liking for military affairs,
and was promoted to the rank of a Colonel. He was a
wide awake, very affable and polite sort of a man, fond of
society, and spent more than the first half of his life in
the ways of the world ; to the neglect of one thing need
ful. After the decease of Captain William Trotter, in
1822, he married his widow, a pious lady, who possessed a
considerable estate, which he seems to have managed for
her interest as well as his own, judiciously. In the time
of a powerful revival of religion, about the beginning of
the year 1837, he became hopefully converted, and, with
many others, united with the Congregational church here,
to which his wife had for years belonged. From that
time till the close of his life, some thirty-six years after,
he remained a praying man. After the lapse of several
years Colonel Barron and wife sold their real estate in
Bradford, and purchased a pleasant homestead in Nor
wich, Yt., where they lived for some time, but finally
settled in Hartford, Conn., where, in very agreeable cir
cumstances, they passed their few remaining years, and,
193
sustained by the promises and consolations of the Gospel,
'died about the same time ; Colonel Barren October 25,
1873, in the eighty-sixth year of his age, and Mrs. Bar-
ron on the 28th of the same month, aged eighty-three.
The remains of both were brought for burial to Norwich,
Vt., and there laid down together to their final repose,
where their daughter Isabelle had been laid before them.
By his first marriage Colonel Barron had two daughters,
namely, Elizabeth, who married Joseph M._ Bean, then of
Lyme, N. H., and Mary, who became the wife of Silas
Burbank, a merchant in Montpelier, Vt., both of whom
were left in widowhood before the decease of their par
ents. By his second marriage he had two sons and two
daughters. The eldest son, William Trotter, graduated
at Vermont University, studied law, became settled in
business at Chicago about the year 1852, rose to distinc
tion, was promoted to be a County Judge, accumulated
considerable property, and was esteemed a capable, up
right, and honorable man ; but by a terrible railroad dis
aster was, at about the age of thirty-eight years, suddenly •
killed ; his head being actually severed from his body, and
his person otherwise shockingly mangled. He had never
married, and is understood to have seasonably made his
will in regard to the disposition of his property. This
sad event occurred near Chicago, in January, 1862.
Everett Barron, brother of the Judge, has for years
been a hotel keeper at Fairbault, Minnesota. Remains
unmarried. His sister Charlotte married a Mr. Rogers, of
Massachusetts, was a talented, pious lady, and died in
widowhood at Hartford, Conn., not long after the decease
of her parents ; leaving an only son, Willie. Isabelle died
at Norwich, Vt., years before. Thus families rise, flourish
for a little season, and pass away.
194
CAPTAIN WILLIAM TROTTER.
Captain William Trotter was born in Broughton, Lan
cashire, England, June 29, 1769, but his subsequent home,
during his residence in his native land, was in Working-
ton, Cumberland County. From this port, in the vicinity
of coal mines, great quantities of coal have for a long
time been yearly shipped to Ireland and the Isle of Man.
At the age of nine }^ears he was bound to a ship-master,
engaged in this trade, to be learned the business of a
mariner. His first employment was that of a cabin boy.
Finding his master, as he thought, unreasonably severe,
and the business disagreeable, he made complaint to his
step-father, Matheson, and desired him, if possible, to
procure his release and obtain for him a situation under
some other captain, who would treat him better, but was
silenced by the following laconic and singular reply :
"Bill, it is better for thee to remain in the power of a devil
whose ways thou knowest, than to fall into the hands of
another whose ways thou dost not know." In this busi
ness he continued for about ten years, when, at the age of
nineteen, he emigrated to this country, seeking employ
ment. He soon found favor with Clark & Nightingale, of
Providence, R. I., who were engaged in foreign commerce.
From the rank of a boatswain he rose in a few years to
that of captain, and b"y his ability, activity, and faithful
ness in their service gained the high esteem and full con
fidence of his employers. He made some distant voy
ages, in one of which he visited the Sandwich Islands,
long before the light and manifold blessings of Christian
ity were imparted to them, and many were the anecdotes
which he could tell respecting the manners and customs
of the people. By his kind treatment of them, and the
respect which he paid to their king, Tomahamaha the 1st,
he became a favorite with the people. A spear made of
very hard, heavy wood, curiously wrought, presented to
195
him by that proud savage monarch may probably still be
seen at the house of Col. Barren, of Hartford, Ct. His"
principal business, however, was to carry articles of com
merce from this country to Europe, to exchange for other
articles better adapted to the South American markets,
and sell them there at high prices, taking pay not merely
in hides, and other commodities of lawful traffic, but as
far as possible in gold and silver, which at that time the
Spanish colonists were not allowed to dispose of to the
citizens of any foreign country but their own. It is said
the first United States flag ever seen in the harbor of
Buenos Ayres was raised by Capt. Trotter.
The trade in which he was there engaged was hazard
ous, and. could be conducted only with great caution. On
this account his employers allowed him a liberal per cent-
age on all the profits accruing from his management of
their business. While trading with the South Americans,
he formed intimate friendships with some of the officials
and merchants, who for their own interests were ready to
aid him in the prosecution .of his purposes. At times they
would invite him, with his wife and some of the officers,
to private entertainments at their houses, and then he
would invite them to dine on board of his ship. These
seasons were faithfully improved in carrying specie on
board in a clandestine manner, generally in belts beneath
their clothes. On one occasion Mrs. Trotter had got her
pocket so heavily laden that, as she was about to go on
board, her pocket string broke, and she instantly fell, ap
pearing to have fainted away, when the Captain, with some
of his men, who understood the case, immediately gath
ered her up, taking care to keep her skirts closely wrap
ped about her, and carried her on board without exciting
suspicion. Had hoops then been in fashion, they might
have proved a sad annoyance. In this contraband trade
the Captain was so successful that in the course of a few
years he accumulated the means of a handsome support
196
during the remnant of his days. Mr. Clark remained dur
ing life his fast friend ; and, many years after these trans
actions, died at his house in Bradford.
Capt. Trotter on leaving the sea purchased a beautiful
situation in Attleborough, Mass., where he -resided a few
years, when, travelling through this part of the country,
he was much pleased with the valley of the Connecticut
river, and purchased for himself a situation in Bradford
village, with a large farm adjoining. When he settled
down here, February 2, 1804, he was worth about forty
thousand dollars, which was at that time esteemed by the
people a great fortune. He built a commodious house in
the central part of the village, Avhich has been much en
larged, and for years occupied as a hotel, styled the
"Trotter House." He also built and put in operation a
cotton factory, just above the lowest bridge for ordinary
travel across Waits river, on the south side of the stream,
where the scythe-stone and kit factories now stand. This
business proving unprofitable, was in the course of a few
years abandoned. He also set up an extensive distillery
for converting grain into whiskey, and prosecuted that
business for several years. The long row of buildings for
this purpose stood a little south of his house, on the bor
der of the meadow at the foot of the hill. This under
taking proved in various respe.cts worse than the other,
and for a long time the old, deserted and decaying build
ings stood as a warning to every beholder. The Captain
for some time had a store on the west side of the street,
a little north of where "Prichard's store" now stands, and
afterwards traded on the opposite side. But so far as his
estate in Bradford was concerned, his principal income
must have been derived from his farm and grist-mill.
Probably from his coming into this town to the time of
his decease, a period of eighteen years, his property was
gradually diminishing. By the inhabitants of the town he
was highly respected, and occasionally elected to offices
197
of trust and importance. For a time he officiated as one
of the selectmen, and again had command as captain of a
military company.
Captain Trotter was a man of great natural kindness
and liberality. Some few instances in proof of this I
will mention.
On a certain occasion an Irish boy came along, poorly
clad, selling needles and pins, while diligently seeking
for his father, whom he hoped to find in this part of the
country. The Captain was pleased with the smartness of
the boy, and on learning his condition and business, gen
erously detained him for several days in his house. In
the meantime he sent the little fellow with a good bundle
of materials to a tailoress, who made for him a new suit
of clothes, greatly to his delight. In a few days the fa
ther came along inquiring for his boy, and was over
whelmed with jay and gratitude, when he found how
generously he had been cared for. The name of the boy
was Francis Kelley. He and his father were from Ire
land, seeking, I believe, a home in Canada.
On another occasion a great fire in Newburyport, Mass.,
reduced many persons to distress for food and other nec
essaries of life. Captain Trotter, on learning the fact, im
mediately dispatched a two-horse team, heavily loaded
with flour and meal, entirely at his own expense, for the re
lief of the sufferers. Joseph Jenkins was the man he sent.
A Mr. Ford, a poor man in Bradford, had the misfor
tune to lose his only cow, and on the morning of a town
meeting day came to Captain Trotter with his sorrowful
story, asking if he would be so kind as to draw up a sub
scription, and give it a start to help him buy another cow.
The Captain, always ready for such an emergency, took
his pencil and wrote : " Fellow Townsmen :
Charity never knocked louder than now,
A poor old couple have lost their cow,
The cow belonged to Deacon Ford,
Give to the poor, and lend to the Lord."
198
This he publicly read, to the great amusement of the
men assembled, and signing his name, with a liberal sum
annexed, handed round the paper, when to the great joy
of the poor man enough was shortly subscribed to buy
another cow, and hay to keep her through the Winter.
Captain Trotter, though not a professor of religion, was
ever ready to give liberally towards its support. His
regular subscription towards his minister's salary was fifty
dollars a year. He also gave the minister the use of a
house, barn, and garden, and the privilege of having all
grinding at the Captain's mill, toll free. He made many
other presents besides. The first time the Association of
ministers met in Bradford after my settlement, Captain Trot -
ter and his lady furnished gratuitously the entertainment
in a very handsome manner. Being at church one com
munion day, and observing how poorly the table was pro
vided with furniture, glass vessels being used, and one of
them having got broken on the way, he immediately sent
to Boston an order for silver furniture for the Lord's ta
ble, which he presented to the Congregational church. It
cost him about two hundred dollars. An inscription on
the large tankard indicates that the donation was made
as a testimonial of gratitude to God for his goodness in
the preservation of the life of the giver in the four quar
ters of the globe. May these precious articles of solid
silver long remain a pleasing memorial of his liberality.
He seemed to have a great respect for religion, and for
those whom he esteemed truly pious people, but did not
like to be very closely approached on the subject of per
sonal piety. When his young pastor, at a certain time,
tried to be faithful to him in that respect, he was evidently
much disturbed, and in effect said, " What right have you
to ask me such questions? " A storm seemed to be gath
ering, when, taking my hat and silently bowing him good
bye, I turned toward the door, to leave him alone to his re
flections. Just as I reached the door, I felt some one gent-
199
ly pull the skirts of my coat. I turned to see what was
wanted, when he said to me, with a smile, " Mr. McKeen,
if at any time you should want any favor of me, be as
sured I will esteem it a pleasure to oblige you." My
obligations to him on the score of benefits received, dur
ing the course of some eight years were many and great.
Captain Trotter was in person tall and erect, of light
complexion, blue eyes, and reddish hair, gentlemanly in
his manners, and much given to hospitality, having an in
tolerable dislike of all meanness. He was in the habit of
reading extensively the current news, had been about the
world a great deal, possessed much general intelligence,
and delighted in conversation. He was in most respects
an admirable man.
" Large was his bounty and his soul sincere,
No farther seek his merits to disclose,
Or draw his frailties from their dread abode.
(There they, alike, in trembling hope repose),
The bosom of his Father acd his God."
He died June 11, 1822, lacking but eighteen days of
being fifty- three years of age. His remains repose by the
side of those of his first wife, the lady who voyaged with
him to foreign lands, and assisted him in the acquisition
of his wealth. For some years before her decease she
manifested a deep interest in religion, and died enjoying
its consolations, November 9, 1813, aged forty-four years
and ten months.
The widow of Captain Trotter, whose maiden name
was Hannah D. Brooks, a very estimable lady, married
Colonel William Barren, of Bradford. They continued to
reside here for several years, but finally disposed of their
estate, and purchased a very eligible situation a little West
of the University in Norwich, Vt., for their home. They
finally removed to Hartford, Conn., where she died Octo
ber 25, 1873, aged eighty-three years. See the account
of the Barrons.
At the time of Captain Trotter's decease there was a
200
statute in existence in Vermont to the effect that if a per
son died intestate, leaving no heirs, or a man thus died
leaving no heirs but his widow, his estate, alter the pay
ment of all debts, should escheat to the town to which he
belonged, for the support of schools, allowing in the latter
case the widow the use of one-third of the property dur
ing her life time.
These conditions were all found to exist in the case of
Captain Trotter, as he had left no will, no issue, and no
relatives having legal right --to claim any portion of his
estate. All was left in the hands of the widow. In this
state of affairs the town of Bradford preferred a claim to
what the law above named allowed them. The claim was
resisted as unjust. A suit, involving serious expense on
both sides, ensued, which was finally settled by compro
mise ; the town of Bradford agreeing to take the sum of
$4,355.99 as satisfactory. This sum was duly invested
for the benefit of schools, and the interest is annually ap
plied towards their support. The law was soon after re
pealed, and this is said to be the only case decided under
it. The town have caused the burial place of Captain
Trotter and his first wife to be handsomely enclosed, and
otherwise improved.
201
CHAPTER X.
The Hunkins, Underwood, Bliss and Wright Families.
CAPTAIN ROBERT HUNKINS, AND FAMILY.
Captain Hunkins, one of the earliest settlers of this
town, was universally esteemed an upright, kind hearted,
and truly worthy man. His farm was on the Connecticut
River, in the north-east part of the town. There he long
lived, and on the 1st of April, 1818, died in the eightieth
year of his age. The farm is now (1868) occupied by his
grandson, Asher Emerson Hunkins. For most of the
lacts constituting the following sketch, I have been in
debted to Mrs. James Abbott, of Newbury, a grand-daugh
ter of the Captain.
Robert Hunkins was born in Haverhill, Mass., January
13, 1739. While he was quite young, his father, John
Hunkins, moved with his family to Hampstead, N. H.,
where both he and his wife npt long alter died, leaving
five children, of whom Robert was the oldest. He was
taken to live with Captain — afterwards General — Hazen.
When some sixteen or seventeen years of age, he went
with Captain Hazen and his company into what is now
called " the old French and Indian war,'' then fiercely
raging between the French and Indians 011 one side and
the English North Americans and British Government on
the other.
Hazen and his men were sent to strengthen the force
at Fort William Henry, on the northern shore of Lake
George. That fort, after a brave defence, was taken by
the French commander, Montcalm, in 1757. The English
who survived the slaughter were carried by the French
and their savage allies into Canada as prisoners, and were
there treated with great severity. Hunkins seeing two
Indians dragging away his friend, Captain Hazen, ran up,
14
202
with a fellow soldier, behind them, and gave them so vio
lent a push as to break their hold on Hazen, who escaped ;
but the young men fell into the hands of the savages, and
by them were carried off, instead of their Captain, into the
enemy's country. But to what place in particular, or
how long they were held as prisoners, is not now definitely
known. The time, however, is believed to have been
over six months.
The Indians, Mr. Hunkins said, took away most of his
clothes, and at night would tie his hands behind him, and
require him to lie down between some two of .them, who
were charged with his safe keeping. One night he suc
ceeded in getting his hands loose, and was not long in
untying the hands of his fellow prisoner. They softly
crept away, ran down to the shore, got into a birch-bark
ca'noe, and pushed off to some other point, so as not to be
tracked. On coming to land again, they broke a hole in
the canoe and sank it, then hid in some hollow logs that
happened to be near. They were, however, pursued, and
the Indians several times the next day came to the very
logs in which they were hid, but without discovering
them. At night they started again, and got beyond the
reach of their pursuers. Mr. Hunkins said when he es
caped he had no hat or shoes, in fact no garment but his
shirt, and that with one sleeve missing ! What they
could find in the woods had to suffice for food until they
reached a Dutch settlement, where a kind woman re
freshed them with buttermilk, and gave him an old hat
without a brim. Pressing on through difficulties and hu
miliations, they finally reached in safety their friends at
home, who had long been waiting anxiously for them.
When Mr. Hunkins was twenty -one years of age, he
went on to a farm which had been owned by his father,
in Hampstead, and married Fhebe Emerson, of that town,
as the wife of his youth. He remained there a few years,
when he came to Newbury, Vt., then almost a wilder-
203
ness, and commenced labor on a river lot which subse
quently became the fine farm of Colonel Moody Chamber-
lin. He had been there but a short time when a man
came after him with the sorrowful tidings that his wife
was dangerously sick, when he took the messenger's
horse and with all speed set out for home. For most of
the distance there was but a bridle path, and that so full
of obstructions that he left his horse by the way, and pur
sued his journey on loot. When he reached home he
found to his grief that his beloved wife was dead, and
that the friends were just then returning from the burial.
He returned to Newbury, having disposed of the first
lot taken up, purchased another about a mile North of it,
where the road now turns off to go to West Newbury and
Topsham. In due season he married' for his second wife
Lydia Chamberlin, of Litchfield, Conn. She had previ
ously come from her native State, with some friends, to
visit her relatives in Newbury. Their journey was in the
Winter, and most of it on the frozen river. She was glad
to reach her uncle Chamberlin's, buf in that early stage of
the settlement found everything so different from what
she had been used to, that she hardly knew how to stay,
even -for a night. She soon, however, began to like such a
rustic manner of life much better than she expected ; and
was employe'd during the Summer in teaching a school,
though she had never been to school but one half day in
her life. By her own efforts she had made good progress
in reading and writing, and was somewhat acquainted
with arithmetic. Great things, in those days, were not
expected of teachers in the new settlements. Her uncle
Chamberlin kept a ferry between Newbury and Haver-
hill, and, as there was no looking-glass in the house, when
the school mistress and her lady cousins dressed for,
meeting on pleasant Summer mornings, they were accus
tomed to go down to the ferry, step into the flat-bottomed
boat, and look over on the water to see that their toilets
204
were properly made. The smooth surface of the water
furnished a splendid mirror, larger, too, than the rich, even
now, can show in any of their parlors.
When Mr. Hunkins and wife commenced house keeping
in Newbury, the friendly Indians about there were very
plenty, and almost every night several of them would
come and sleep on the floor of their only room. Mr.
Hunkins had also a lot of land in Bradford, then called
Moretown, on which he had erected a temporary habitation.
The house stood on the bank of the Connecticut, on the
extreme margin of the bow now comprising Johnson's
and Hunkins' meadows, arid he lived there part of the
time. The river has since so worn away the Vermont
side that the foundation of his chimney may now, when
the water is low, be seen near the New Hampshire shore.
Several men of Newbury, and the vicinity, on account
of their active exertions in the Revolutionary cause, had
become so obnoxious to the royalists that bounties had
been offered for their arrest and delivery to any of the
British commanders, and strenuous efforts were made to
seize them. Captain Hunkins was one who had been thus
honored. On this account, for months he dared not sleep
in his own house, but lodged in any shed or other out
door place where he supposed he could with safety ;
changing often from one place to another, to elude the
vigilance of his enemies. Mrs. Hunkins said that many
times the Tories would come in the evening and look in
at the window, to see if her husband was at home, and
that when she was going to bed with her children she
would set the ax near her, resolved that if they meddled
with her she would use it upon them to the extent of her
power. The situation of the family in Moretown at
length became so trying that they thought it best to re
turn to their place in Newbury for a while, where there
were more inhabitants in whom they could place confi
dence.
-205
But even there they were not long at ease. For some
time, either before or after this, Capt. Hunkins was away
in the Revolutionary army, and his wife and daughters
had to work on the farm, as well as in the house, and take
care of themselves as best they could.
In the autumn of 1780, when the Captain was at home
again, a scouting party came in saying that the Indians
and Tories were coming in strong force to destroy the
place, and would be there before morning. There was, of
course, great alarm, and immediate efforts were made to
get the women and children across the river to Haverhill.
A foggy and dark evening was upon them. The men
were resolved to stay and defend the place. Their only
means at hand for taking their families across the river
were dug out canoes, and but few of them. Capt. Hun-
kins hastily constructed a raft of boards, and, while taking
over his first load of passengers, his wife, with an infant
son in her arms, was left with others, anxiously waiting for
his return. At the second passage she with so many
others had come on to the raft that it was overloaded, and
before they could get over was found to be in the utmost
danger. The Captain asked the man assisting him if he
could alone bring the raft to shore, if it were lightened.
He thought he could. "Then, Sister Eaton," said he,
"you and I must take our chance in the river." She knew
that he was a strong swimmer, and trusted in him for help.
The case was urgent; no time for deliberation. He
plunged into the water. She, like a brave woman as she
was, quickly followed him. Their feet would touch no
bottom. He, acting with great self-possession and ener
gy, succeeded not only in keeping her head above the
water, but in bringing her to the desired shore, where the
whole party, to their unutterable joy, soon found them
selves in safety. The women and children were so nu
merous as to throng the houses of their Haverhill friends.
Beds^ compared with the number of visitors, were few;
206
but as the farmers had brought their corn into their hous
es, to be husked by their fire-sides, fine accommodations
were found among the husks on the floor. Mrs. Hunkins
said she got a large pumpkin and sat on it, with her baby,
for awhile, when one of the older children cried, and,
while attending to that, some one of the sleepers acci
dentally kicked her seat into the fire, so that she was
obliged during the rest of the night either to stand or to
take her lot among the rest in the husks.
The enemy were really coming, as had been expected,
but learning that the men of Newbury had been fore
warned and were ready for them, went off in some other
direction, to plunder, burn, seize captives, and commit
other acts of violence upon the patriotic people where-
ever they could. It was just about that time that Royal-
ton was devastated by the Indians and tories, and numbers
of the people murdered or carried into captivity.
The day after the fright at Newbury, the women and chil
dren were brought again to their homes, rejoicing in the
happy deliverance which they and their brave protectors
had experienced. Capt. Hunkins and wife returned to their
farm in Bradford, and there long lived to enjoy peace and
competency as the fruits of their early perils, hardships,
and sufferings, and when satisfied with length of days
quietly passed away, cheered by the hopes and consola
tions of the gospel, leaving a very respectable posterity,
who have ever cherished their memories with sincere re
spect and fillial affection. Mrs. Hunkins, who was univer
sally esteemed a pious, strong-minded, excellent woman,
died Jan. 26, 1831, at the age -of 85 years. She was the
"Mother in Israel" who related to her then youthful pas
tor, the writer of this article, the interesting and true
story subsequently published by the American Tract So
ciety under the title "The Worth of a Dollar." The Dea
con M. therein referred to, was Dea. Murray, of, I think,
Orwell, Vt.
207
Capt. Robert Hunldns and his first wife, Phebe Emer
son, had one son and two daughters, all natives of Hamp-
stead, N. H., namely :
1. John, who married Mary Norris, of Newbury, and
died at Fletcher, Franklin county, Vt., Feb., 1844.
2. Sarah, who married Nicholas Stevens, of Bradford,
and died here in March, 1857.
3. Betsey, who married Samuel Miller, of this town,
and died at Johnson, in Lamoille county, Vt., in 1839.
Capt. Huiikins and his second wife, Lydia Chamberlin,
had five sons and three daughters, most of them natives of
Newbury ; the others of this town, namely :
1. Moses, born in Newbury, married Hannah Seagel,
of that town ; removed to Harmon, St. Lawrence county,
N. Y., where in 1870 he was still living.
2. Lydia, born in Newbury, married Nathan Atwell,
and died at Johnson in this State, in January, 1846.
3. Robert H., born at Newbury, married Hannah Em
erson, of Hampstead, N. H., and died at New Berlin,
Wisconsin, in 1853.
4. Phebe, born in this town, died here in September,
1861, at the age of eighty-four years. She remained
through life unmarried.
5. Asher, born in Newbury, Jan., 1780, married Jane
Emerson, of Boscawen, N. H., in 1805. They lived on the
old homestead in Bradford, where she died October 25,
1827, at the age of forty-six years. They had four child
ren. Their eldest daughter, Phebe H., born February,
1807, was married with James Abbott, Esq., of Newbury,
April 18, 1865, where she resided for a few years, and then,
after her husband's decease, returned to her native place,
and resides with her brother, Asher E., being interested
with him in the ancestral estate. Lydia, her sister, born
October 9, 1811, died December 14, 1838, at the age of
twenty- seven years. The next child, a son, died in his
infancy. Asher Emerson Hunkins, born January, 1823,
208
married Miss Sarah E. Rowe, of Bradford, and occupies
the good old farm which was cultivated by his grandfath
er, nearly one hundred years ago. Where the venerable
old family residence of Captain Hunkins long stood, a
commodious two-story dwelling, recently erected, and
finished in modern style, now appears, and the natural
scenery around has lost nothing of its early freshness and
beauty by the lapse of years. Mr. Asher E. Hunkins and
wife have, at this date, two sons, Thomas A., born October
31, 1862, and James Frank, born June, 1865. Their eldest
son, James H., died in his infancy.
I now go back to say that Mr. Asher Hunkins, in the
year 1833 married for his second wife Miss Hannah Mar-
tin, of Newbury, with whom he happily spent the evening
of his life, and died in March, 1863, in the eighty-fourth
year of his age. His worthy widow, in great feebleness,
was most kindly cared for by Mr. Asher E. and his good
wife till she died, August 30, 1872, at the age of eighty-
three years. In the principal cemetery at Bradford, their
remains, with those of many of their kindred, await the
resurrection unto life.
6. Benjamin Hunkins, M. D., the next son of Captain
Robert, was born at Newbury, in January, 1782. Having
studied his profession, he married Miss Drusilla S. Everett,
of Lancaster, N. H. Successfully practiced medicine
there for many years, and in that place died December,
1868, in the eighty- seventh year of his age.
7. James Hunkins was born in Bradford, in June,
1784; he was an industrious farmer, an honest, kind-
hearted man, who never married, but remained on the old
home place in quietness and contentment until, by a shock
of apoplexy, in November, 1855, his earthly course was
suddenly terminated in the seventy-second year of his
age.
8. Susan, the youngest member of this family, born in
Bradford, August, 1787, married Samuel Chamberlin, of
209
Troy, Vt., and lived for a number of years at Stanstead,
Canada East, where she died in July, 1870, in the eighty-
third year of her age.
It is understood that the several members of this large
family of Captain Hunkins, who married, had families of
their own ; but of their children, except in the case of
Mr. Asher Hunkins, I have had no definite information ;
and indeed, in most cases, no occasion to speak particu
larly. So far as we have ever heard, they have been es
timable citizens wherever their lot in life has been cast.
And to the writer it is a very grateful realization that
Captain Robert Hunkins and his second wife, and their
daughter Phebe, and son Asher, with both of his wives,
all now gone to their final rest, and Mrs. Abbott,' still liv
ing, were all beloved members of the church long under
his pastoral care, and gave so satisfactory evidence of
being true members of the household of Faith, and heirs
of the Great Salvation.
THE UNDERWOOD FAMILY.
John Underwood, Esq., was born at Westford, Mass.,
October 28, 1755. His wife, Mary Fassett, was born in
the same town, or' vicinity, June 15, 1759. They, emi
grated, with their three children, John, Benjamin and
Silas, to Mooretown, Vt., now Bradford, in the year 1784.
They, of course, were among the early settlers. There
were then but two or three families where the flourishing
village of Bradford now is, and, indeed, but few in the
town. The Underwoods stopped, for a short while, on
the top of what has long been called Sharp's Hill, and
then took up their permanent abode on their own place,
in the same school district, quite on the south border of
the town, and adjacent to Fairlee. He had there built a
log cabin, a little east of the pleasant house in which he
and his wife subsequently lived and died. That house
210
still remains, in good condition, though all its former oc
cupants have left it. Mr. Underwood was an industrious,
hard working farmer, and, by the aid of his sons, when
they became of suitable age, succeeded in converting his
wilderness place into fruitful fields, and, assisted by his
not less industrious wife, was enabled to bring up their
large family of children in quiet competency. The writer
of this article had his home for a while, as a boarder, in
that good family, soon after the commencement of his
ministry in Bradford. For how many years Esq. Under
wood officiated as Justice of the Peace does not now ap
pear, but during the years 1790-1-2-3 he sustained the
office of Town Clerk. In his religious belief and charac
ter he was remarkably decided. Both he and his wife
were worthy members of the Congregational church in
Bradford, and so continued unto death. She died October
21, 1821, in the sixty-third year of her age. In the
course of the subsequent year, Esquire Underwood mar
ried Miss Eupheme Moore, a member of the same church,
and a sister of Deacon Daniel Moore and John Moore,
Esq., his friends and near neighbors. With her he spent
the remainder of his days. Both have long since passed
away. He died November 19, 1837, in the eighty-third
year of his age.
John Underwood, Esq., and his wife, Mary Fassett, had
nine sons and one daughter. The first three were born
in Westford, Mass., and all the rest in this town. Their
record is as follows. As to more remote posterity, the
information regarding those who were never inhabitants
of Bradford will be less specific than may be given of
those who were born and have lived in this town.
1. John Underwood, Jr., born. July 10, 1779, died at
Bradford, October 22, 1851, in the seventy-third year of
his age. He was by occupation both a house carpenter
and a farmer. He lived and died on the same farm with
his father, but had a house of his own. His wife was
211
Anna Burt, of Chesterfield, N. H. She was a member of
the Congregational church in Bradford, and died Decem
ber 16, 1853, in the seventy-third year of her age. They
had two daughters and one son.
Annaritta married John B. Corliss, of Bradford, who had
a son, John Corliss, Jr.
Laura married Ira Howard, of Bradford. One son.
John married Susannah McKillips, of this town. He
was a farmer, on the old place occupied by his father and
grandfather, but finally sold it and came to the village to
live. He had, by his first marriage, two sons and two
daughters. John Burt married Lydia Woodward, and
built a nice house on High street, in Bradford village,
doing most of the work himself, being by occupation a
joiner. Amasa went into the Western country to live.
Lucinda died at her father's house, unmarried. Laura
married Andrew Stuart, of Wisconsin, and went with him
to his home in that State. Mr. John Underwood, after
the decease of his first wife, married Miss Sarah Brickett,
and had by her one son, David, who married Augusta
Woodbury, and remained in Bradford ; and one daughter,
Lizzie, who continued to live for years with her father,
after her excellent mother's decease. Mr John Under
wood and his second wife were members of Baptist church
at Post Mills, but worshipped with their Congregational
friends in Bradford. She died February 6, 1871, at the
age of forty-seven years.
2. Benjamin Underwood was born February 3, 1782,
and died at Bradford August 25, 1863, in the eighty-
second year of his age. He owned and occupied a farm
adjoining that of his father, on the west side. His wife
was Lucy Underwood, a remote relative. She died at
Bradford, April 25, 1855, in the seventy-third year of her
age. They we're members of the same church with his
parents, and had six children.
Benjamin, Jr., married Mary Ann Newell, of Bradford.
212
They had three children. One, a son, died in childhood.
Wright married a Miss Waterbury, and lives in Wiscon
sin. His sister, Lucy Ann, married Wm. R. Whitaker,
attorney at law, and lives in New Orleans.
Levi married Diantha Farr. Their children were
Amos, Chester, Benjamin, who died for his country in the
late war, Emma, Nancy, who married John Corliss, and
Lydia.
Mary married John Ruyter, of Holland, Vt.
Lucy A. married first Joseph Southworth. They had
a son, Willie, who died in early manhood. His father
had died before him. Her second marriage was with
Ezekiel Johnson, of Bradford, as his second wife. She
lived but a few years longer.
Miss Harriet, a dress maker, the last member of her
father's family, was, at the time of this writing, remaining
in this place of their nativity.
Nicholas, the youngest son, married, and in a few years
went off into the Western country.
3. Silas, the third son of John and Mary F. Under
wood, was born December 7, 1783. He was by occupa
tion a farmer, and for many years lived in Hardwick, Vt.,
where he died April 24, 1859, in the seventy-sixth year
of his age. His wife was Lucy W. Leslie, a native of
Londonderry, N. H. She died in her eighty -second year.
They had a family of nine sons and one daughter. Their
first two sons, William Trotter and George M., died in
their childhood ; but Silas, Alexander L., George, James
G., Levi, Lucy Ann, John H., and Flavius Josephus, lived
to marry and have families of their own. Levi Under
wood, of this family, studied the profession of law ; prac
ticed successfully in Burlington ; was a man of extensive
business and influence, and for a year or two was Lieu
tenant Governor of Vermont. He married Cornelia V. N.
Chamberlin, of Burlington, and had a family of two sons
and four daughters.
213
4. Mary Underwood, the only daughter in this first
family of the name in Bradford, was born here November
2, 1785 ; married Sans Niles, Jr., a nephew of Hon. Na
thaniel Niles, of West Fairlee. He was by occupation a
farmer, and there they lived, and died in good old age.
They left one son, Benjamin, who occupies the place
which his father left. He has been twice married. Has
one daughter, Nancy.
5. Russell Underwood, born April 9, 1787, was by
occupation a joiner. For many years he pursued his call
ing in Lyman, N. H. ; then removed to Lyndon, Vt., and
after that to St. Johnsbury, where he spent the remainder
of his days. At an early age he became attached to the
Methodist persuasion and people, and so continued stead
fast through life. He died December 23, 1871, in the 85th
year of his age. The name of his wife was Irena Berk
ley, and they had a family of ten children, consisting of
two sons and eight daughters. Four of the daughters
died in childhood. The two sons, Russell and Edward F.,
and their sisters, Mary Jane, Laura N., Caroline, and Han
nah M., lived to marry, and have families of their own.
6. Levi Underwood, born March 7, 1789, went to Jaf-
frey, N. H., when quite young, and spent several years.
He afterwards resided in Goshen, in that State, engaged
in farming business ; has finally settled down in St. Johns-
bury, Yt. He married a Miss Cutter, of Jaffrey, N. H.
7. Timothy Underwood, born May 21, 1791, was a
clothier by trade. The business of fulling and dressing
woolen cloth of domestic manufacture, was in his early
manhood, one ' of great importance. He followed that
trade first at Bradford, and afterwards at Colebrook, or
Stewartstown, N. H. He removed finally to Hardwick,
Vt., and spent the last years of his life in agricultural
pursuits; and died there Dec. 25, 1870, in the 80th year
of his age. The maiden name of his wife was Betsey
Moore ; a daughter of John Moore, Esq., of Bradford, and
214
a member of the same church with her parents. She
died at Hardwick, a little more than two years before the
decease of her husband. They had a family of six sons,
and two daughters, viz: Elizabeth, Cyrus, George, Edwin,
Hazen, Hiram, Julia, and Roswell. Further than this,
our information extends not.
8. Reuben Underwood, born May 24, 1793, came up
an industrious, hard-working farmer, first at Bradford for
several years ; and then at Craftsbury in the same State.
Were it not for the laborious farmers, all other people
would soon find themselves in a deplorable condition.
Reuben married Betsey Litch, and had one daughter, who
married a Mr. Wiley.
9. Joseph Underwood was born Oct. 2, 1796. He re
mained at home engaged in agricultural pursuits till about
eighteen years of age, when he went to Putney, Yt., as
an apprentice to the jeweler's business. During a pow
erful revival of religion there, in the winter of 1815-16,
he was moved to consecrate himself heartily to the Sav
iour, and to unite with a Congregational church in that
place. In this mighty work of the spirit more than two-
hundred were hopefully converted. At Putney his at
tention was seriously turned to the Gospel ministry. His
• desire was to do, thenceforth, the best and most he could
for the cause of Christ. In June, 1817, he entered the
Academy at Meriden, N. H., where he studied for three
years. After this he spent one year at the academy in
Chesterfield, under the tuition of his old preceptor at
Meriden. He had now nearly reached the age of 25 years,
and being destitute of pecuniary means, relinquished the
purpose of a collegiate course, and concluded to go di
rectly, to the Theological Seminary at Bangor, where he
finished his preparatory studies.
On his way to Bangor he saw, for the first time, the
ocean, and at Boston stepped on board of a sea-going ves
sel early in the morning. The voyage was for a few
215
hours prosperous, but in a dense fog, at high tide, their
craft ran, before noon, on rocks near the shore, and
stuck fast, -and at low tide was there lying high out of
the water, in a piteous condition. There they had to re
main during the subsequent night, about eight miles from
Portland. The next morning a train of wagons came out
and took the shipwrecked company into the city. The
Lord being merciful, none were lost or injured. The
ocean that swallows up so many in like circumstances,
spared them every one.
Mr. Underwood finished his course at Bangor Semi
nary on the first of August, 1824. His first settle
ment in the ministry was at New Sharon, Franklin County,
Maine. He was ordained and installed pastor of the Con
gregational church there, April 8, 1826, and continued in
that position for about six j^ears. There was during his
ministry there one great revival of religion, extending
all over the town, and reaching every denomination. It
was a season of great refreshing from the presence of the
Lord. Converts were counted by hundreds. It brought
a large accession to the church under his care.
To young ministers, or others who, in trying circum
stances, are pressed by a conviction of the necessity of
doing something effectual for the promotion of the Tem
perance cause, the following brief account of Mr. Under
wood's early endeavors and remarkable success in that
direction will doubtless be not only acceptable, but very
encouraging.
When he went to New Sharon in 182J-, the inhabitants
were very greatly addicted to the use of intoxicating
liquors. One merchant retailed fifty hogsheads a year,
and another perhaps not quite so large an amount. Al
most everybody seemed to be addicted to the use of the
drunkard's drink, in some or other of its various modifi
cations. This state of things was alarming, yet nobody
216
appeared to be at all alarmed. Leading men in society
were not going to deny themselves of the good things
of this life, because other men made a bad use of them.
Mr. Underwood for a while knew not with whom to
consult, or what to do ; but while building a house for
himself and family, in 1826, accidentally found among his
workmen a thorough going temperance man ; a Freewill
Baptist deacon, he was. With that man he gladly held
consultations in regard to what could be done to stay the
further progress of intemperance in that community. The
Deacon feared that the evil had become so general, and so
deeply rooted in the habits of the people, that very little,
if anything, could be done in the way of reformation.
The minister was more hopeful. He thought the case
was urgent, and that they must make an effort. They
finally agreed to adopt for themselves a total abstinence
pledge, to take each of them a copy of it, and then use
their best endeavors to induce, everybody they should
meet to sign it. This effort, commenced in October, was
attended with so much success that the next Spring, be
fore the snow was gone, a meeting of the subscribers was
held at a school house some two miles out of the village,
a Temperance Society organized, and each member took
a copy of the pledge to invite others, as he or she should
have opportunity, to subscribe and give their aid to the
good cause.
By these means the society prospered wonderfully, and
became exceedingly popular. Under its influence a Ju
venile Temperance Society sprang up, embracing largely
the children and youth of the town. Also a Mercantile
Temperance Society was organized, embracing not only
the liquor dealers of New Sharon, but all other liquor
dealers within twenty miles of it. And the subsequent
autumn the town, without a dissenting voice, voted not
to license any one to sell intoxicating liquor within their
limits. And the people held a grand jubilee over the
217
triumph of the Temperance cause. "Behold how great a
matter a little fire kindleth ! "
In regard to the family of Rev. Mr. Underwood, it may
here be remarked that on the 17th of February, 1825, he
married Miss Lucy Warner Tuel, of Chesterfield, N. H.>
a lady entirely worthy of his choice, who now, in 1873, is
still living, to share in the various trials and consolations
of his declining age. They have four sons, all active
business men, and prospering in the world. The oldest
son, and three of the daughters-in-law, are members of the
church, and the father expresses a strong hope that all
will yet become heirs of salvation.
Mr. Underwood resigned his pastoral charge at New
Sharon, and, under the patronage of the Maine Missionary
Society, engaged in the work of the ministry in the newer
settlements. October 16, 1833, he was installed pastor
of a little church in Williamsburgh, some forty miles
north of Bangor. There was no meeting house in the
place, and I remember preaching, on the occasion, in a
new and commodious barn, belonging to Simon Green-
leaf, Esq. His mother was a daughter of Rev. Jonathan
Parsons, formerly of Newburyport, who, while we were
at her son's house, entertained us with a deeply affecting
account of the last day and night of the Rev. George
Whitefield, who died at her father's house. She, then in
her girlhood, was one of those who listened to the last
public address he ever made, standing on the stairs, as
he was retiring to his chamber to lay down his head on
the pillow of death that night.
Owing to the death of Mr. Underwood's principal sup
porter, which occurred within a few months of his set
tlement there, and the consequent failure of his expected
salary, he felt obliged, sooner than he had anticipated, to
ask for a dismission ; and, having obtained it, accepted of
a call to go to Sebec, a neighboring village, on the bor
ders of the great wilderness in that section of Maine.
15
218
In that new field he drew together a good congregation,
and succeeded in gathering and organizing a church. He
also preached as a missionary in the adjacent towns of
Foxcroft, Dover, Atkinson, Milo and Bradford. After
about two years of laborious and not unsuccessful mission
ary service in that region, his first beloved people gave
him so strong an invitation to return to them that, by
advice of his ministerial brethren, he concluded to do so,
thinking it not improbable that he might spend the re
mainder of his life at New Sharon. But after about five
years more of ministerial labor there, a severe visitation
of chronic bronchitis compelled him to seek a change of
climate and location, with a view to the improvement of
his health; and so, in the spring of 1838, he left his be
loved people of New Sharon, for the second and last time.
At Veteran, in .the south-western part of the State of
New York, he met with a kind reception, and accepted of
an invitation to become, and was installed, pastor of the
church there. He preached for some time in a shabby
old school house, and in an old cloth- dressing mill ; but
in the course of a year or two succeeded in persuading
the people to build a respectable house for public wor
ship. The humid atmosphere of that valley was found
unfavorable to the minister's health, but he labored on
for about five years, when a ruinous financial crash in the
affairs of a firm largely responsible for his support occur
red ; the new meeting-house was attached, shut up, and
the church overwhelmed with discouragement. The pas
tor, again dismissed, determined to try for a while the
business of a farmer, and, having rented a farm for one
year, in a high and salubrious locality, applied himself,
with great physical improvement, to the cultivation of
the earth, preaching, however, as he had opportunity, on
the Sabbaths. The result was complete restoration to
health, and new energy to engage in the work of the min
istry.
219
In the meantime, God had prepared a good place for
him, and in the autumn of 1844 he was invited to the
pastorate of the Congregational church in Hardwick, Yt.
He spent the subsequent winter there, and removed his
family to that new home the next summer. It was over
a year from the time of his coming before his regular in
stallation was consummated. After about five years of
ministerial labor, a blessed revival of religion occurred,
and many precious souls were hopefully converted. The
church was greatly strengthened and encouraged, and a
good influence extended around on every side. In this
good work the Rev. Mr. Gallaher, of Missouri, and the
Rev. Joel Fisk, then of Irasburg, afforded important as
sistance. In 1851 the society took down two old meet
ing houses, and built a new one, in a different locality,
which gave general satisfaction, and healed an old diffi
culty of long standing. Thus pleasantly and prosperous
ly the good minister labored on, for about thirteen years,
in Hardwick, when, being in feeble health, he judged it
expedient for him to resign, and give his people opportu
nity to secure for themselves a new and more vigorous
laborer. He had then numbered his three score years
and ten, and his people, while still attached to him, could
not refuse his request. This was in 1867.
While at Hardwick, Rev. Mr. Underwood represented
that town in the State Legislature of 1856, also in a
special session of February, 1857, likewise in the ses
sions of 1868 and 1869, which is proof of the general es
teem in which he was held by his fellow townsmen.
Alter closing his labors in Hardwick, he preached as
a stated supply for longer or shorter terms in Walden,
Craftsbury, Barnet, East St. Johnsbury, Walton, Barton,
Guildhall, Waterford and Burke. In which last place he
finished an engagement for two years, far advanced in
life, and in poor health ; when he judged it to be not in
consistent with duty to retire from his ministerial labors,
220
and spend the evening of his days at his own beloved
home, among his tried friends, in East Hardwick, doing
good in a more private way, as God should give him
means and opportunity. There, now in the seventy-
seventh year of his age, with the wife of his youth and
faithful companion amid the various trials and consola
tions through which they have been called to pass, they
can testify that goodness and mercy have followed them
all the days of their life, and confidently trust that in
God's own house will be their home forever.
For this somewhat particular account of our friend, the
Rev. Joseph Underwood, I make no apology ; showing,
as it does, that a man of good natural ability, though not
highly educated, and though in many respects placed at
disadvantages, if strong in evangelical faith, with a heart
glowing with love to God and man, and zealous to save
souls, may in the work of the ministry, though destined
to labor in new and hard fields, with but slender pecuni
ary support, accomplish an amount of good which eterni
ty itself will never Ibe able to make fully known. " He
that winneth souls is wise, and they that turn many to
righteousness shall shine as the stars, forever and ever.""
Abel Underwood, the youngest member of this family,
was born April 8, 1799. The first seventeen years of
his life were spent at the old homestead in Bradford. In
1817 he went to Royalton, Vt., and attended the academy
there, under the tuition oi Preceptor Tracy, subsequently
Rev. Joseph Tracy, D. D., of Salem, Mass., until the
Spring of 1819, when he went to the academy in Thet-
ford, Vt., and there, under the tuition of Preceptor Fitch,
continued till August, 1820, when he entered Dartmouth
College, in the Freshman class of that year, and graduat
ed in August, 1824. In a poetic article written merely
for his own private gratification, he characterizes in Hu-
dibrastic style each of his twenty-seven classmates and
himself, in a truly shrewd and amusing way. Take, for
221
instance, the case of Rev. Ephraim W. Clark, missionary
to the Hawaiian Islands :
"Clark, Ephraim "W., short-sighted, and with specs on.
For College sins has nothing to reflect on ;
Like old Marquett, he's gone to Honolulu,
To teach the heathen : Ephraiin was a true blue."
Immediately on leaving college Mr. Underwood entered
the office of Gen. Isaac Fletcher, of Lyndon, Yt., as a stu-
dent-at-law; and, in April, 1827, was, at Danville, where
the Courts in Caledonia County were then held, admitted
to the bar. He went directly into partnership with Gen.
Fletcher, where he continued for one year, when they
dissolved, and he removed to Wells River.
While in practice at Lyndon, Mr. Underwood married,
July 12, 1827, Miss Emily Rix, of Royalton, Vt., who con
tinued to be the chief comfort of his life, till removed
from him to her final rest, which occurred October 15, 1861.
Mr. Underwood commenced business at Wells River,
March, 1828, and there, after the lapse of forty-five years,
was still abiding. His practice has mainly been in Or
ange and Caledonia Counties. He was State's Attorney
for Orange County, for the years 1839 to 1841, and Unit
ed States District Attorney during the administrations of
Presidents Taylor and Fillmore. He was elected Judge
of the Circuit Court of Vermont, in 1854; and continued
in that office until the autumn of 1857, when, by act of
the Legislature, the Circuit system was abolished, and
consequently the office of Circuit Judge ceased. During
the construction of the Vermont Central Railroad, from
1846 to 1850, in company with Judge Adams, of Grand
Isle, and Judge Curtiss, of Westfield, he was a commis
sioner for the settlement of land damages attending that
great enterprise. He was for several years President of
the Bank at Wells River, and for the years 1861 and 1862
Representative of Newbury in the Legislature of Ver
mont.
222
Through all these manifold trusts, responsibilities, and
important business transactions, Judge Underwood has
sustained the reputation of a capable, honest, and reliable
man ; and in his old age, in the midst of competence, if
not of affluence, enjoys the esteem and cordial friendship
of his fellow citizens around him. May his end be peace,
and his eternity blessed.
Judge Underwood and wife had one son and four
daughters. The son, George Eix, a promising young
man, born April 15, 1832, went South, and engaged in
commercial business. He died at Gainesville, Alabama,
October 10, 1856, in the 27th year of his age. His re
mains were brought home to Wells River, Vt., for inter
ment.
Elizabeth, born March 31, 1830, married Benjamin B.
Clark, of St. Johnsbury. Their children were Carrie E.,
Emily L., Susan E., Alice, who died young, and George B.
Emma R. E., died in childhood.
Mary Ellen, born May 12, 1840, married Roscoe Deane ;
had one daughter, who died in childhood. Her second
husband was Dr. Hickok, of Wells River.
Susan A., born September, 1842, married George B.
Damon, who was an officer in the war for the suppression
of the rebellion. They had two daughters, Emily Jose
phine and Ellen. The home of the mother and her
daughters is with her honored father, at Wells River.
In October, 1847, the nine sons and the one daughter
of John Underwood, Esq., and Mary Fassett, his wife,
with their several consorts, constituting a group of twen
ty persons, all in good health and spirits, had a family
gathering in the old homestead, then possessed by the
eldest brother. The parents had both deceased several
years before. These brothers and their sister had not
been all together in the home of their early days for about
forty years till then. On this occasion they came not only
with their wedded companions, but with many of their
223
children ; and the meeting was in several respects one of
rare occurrence^. Few have ever seen so remarkable and
delightful a gathering of this sort. Judge Underwood in
referring to it, says, " After a separation of about forty
years, there we were, at the old home, where was l the
old arm chair,7 and * the old oaken bucket, the iron-bound
bucket, the moss covered bucket still hung in the well.'
We had a sumptuous dinner there, at the same old pine
table where we sat in childhood and youth, and in the
same order as then. We promenaded the fields and or
chards together, and talked over the matters and incidents
of olden times. The Rev. Silas McKeen, on whose min
istry our parents constantly attended, and who once
boarded for a while in their family, was present with us.
The occasion was one of much interest and enjoyment.
Then we separated to return to our several homes, with
out expectation of ever meeting thus again on earth."
At this writing more than half of that original number
have already passed away. May the entire group, of the
departed and the living, be so happy as to meet their pi
ous parents at last in a home incomparably more desirable
and blessed than they, or the most favored of mortals, ever
on earth enjoyed.
THE BLISS FAMILY.
A G-enealogical Chart prepared by Neziah Bliss, Esq.,
of Missouri, traces the descent.of this family from Thomas
Bliss, of England, who emigrated to America and settled
at Hartford, Ct., about the year 1638-or-9; and who, of
course, must have been one of its very early inhabitants,
as its settlement was not commenced till 1635. He died
there in 1640; leaving four sons and six daughters.
Thomas Bliss, Jr., son of the last named, had two sons
and six daughters, all natives of Saybrook, Ct., with the
exception of the two youngest, who were "born at Nor
wich, near by.
224
Samuel Bliss, son of Thomas, had three sons and one
daughter.
John Bliss, a son of Samuel, graduated at Yale College
in 1710. He had but one classmate, Benjamin Colton.
They both became ministers of the gospel. Rev. John
Bliss was the first minister ordained in the town of Heb
ron, Ct. This -was in October, 1717. He was then a Con-
gregationalist. "He declared for Episcopacy in 1734, and
having laid the foundation of a society, a house of wor
ship was erected the next year, for that denomination ;
and Mr. Bliss preached and read service for them for a
number of years afterwards." (See History of Connecti
cut.) He died in 1741, at the age of 51 years. Rev.
John Bliss had been twice married and had a family of
seven sons and four daughters, all of whom, but two,
lived to marry. One of the sons, Constant, was shot in
the Old French war, at Deerfield, Mass., Aug., 1746.
Ellis Bliss, son of Rev. John Bliss, and his second wife,
Hannah Post, was twice married and had eight sons and
seven daughters. One of his sons, Flavel, was drowned
1778, off the ship Trumbull, at New London, while guard
ing British prisoners there. Another son, John, was
drowned at Bradford, Vt., while engaged in building a
bridge across Waits River, in 1803. A daughter, Lydia,
married Andrew B. Peters, of Bradford. The youngest
son, John Flavel, born June 28, 1788, was a minister of
the gospel in Western New York. The father of this
large family remained and died at Hebron, Ct.
Ellis Bliss, Jr., son of the Ellis last named, and his first
wife, Tamar Dewey, was born at Hebron, April 9, 1761.
He served for 9 months in the war of the Revolution ;
married Abigail Taylor; emigrated to Bradford, Vt., and
made, as a farmer, a permanent settlement here, in the
south part of the town, somewhat back from the river.
They had two daughters and six sons. Four of the sons
died in childhood. Their eldest daughter, Abigail, born
225
at Hebron, Ct., June 7, 1787, married Dr. Lockhart
Wright, of Bradford, Feb., 1798, and had two sons, Ne-
ziah and Hubbard, and one daughter, Abigail. Mrs. Dr.
Wright died at the house of her son, Hubbard Wright, in
Bradford, July 3, 1855. Lydia Bliss, born at Bradford,
August 31, 1783, married Absalom Baldwin, May 25,
1801, and died Feb. 4, 1860. See Baldwin Family. Fla-
vel Bliss, born Dec. 11, 1791, married Hannah Corliss,
Dec. 15, 1812; had several children, and died Dec. 7,
1864.
Capt. Ellis Bliss, son of the above named Ellis Bliss,
Jr., born July 25, 1787, married Mary Worthen, Dec. 4,
1807, owned and cultivated a good farm near Bradford
village. Mr. and Mrs. Bliss had thirteen children, two of
whom died in their infancy ; all the rest lived to be men
and women, of activity and usefulness in the world. The
father died May 8, 1851, in the 54th year of his age; and
their mother March 2, 1873, at the age of 83 years. Of
this family we give the following brief notices :
1. Ellis Bliss, born May 10, 1810, married Lucy Rich
ards, ol Piermont, N. H., kept, for several years, a hotel
in Bradford village ; was a man of activity ; engaged in
various business ; and died Nov. 21, 1870, in the 61st year
of his age. He left one daughter, Lucy, the wife of
Charles H. Harding.
2. George, born Oct. 17, 1811. He studied for the
medical profession with Dr. John Poole, of Bradford, and
became established in business in Ohio, where he married,
and at this date has two sons, Newton and Edmund, and
two daughters, Priscilla and Lovie Jane.
3. Edmund P., born October 14, 1813, remained with
his parents till their decease, and was left ~in possession
of the old homestead.
4. Mary A., born August 6, 1817, married Jesse John
son, of Bradford ; by occupation a farmer, who died at
Fairlee.
226
They had six children. Two died in early childhood.
Two daughters, Martha and Sarah, died when young la
dies ; and Ellen and Mary, at this date, are the surviving
comforts of their often and sorely bereaved mother.
5. Abigail, born August 16, 1819, married Manly Har-
riman, then of this town. They had two sons, George
and John, still living ; and two daughters, who died in
early womanhood ; Abbie, and Mary, the wife of Chauncey
Throop Blodgett. Mr. Harriman died October 14, 1840 ;
and his wife May 13, 1857.
6. Susan, born December 23, 1821, married Ira Clark.
They resided some time at Bradford, then at Orford,N. H.,
and finally removed to Illinois. They had two sons and
two daughters.
7. Joseph W., born January 31, 1824; married Cyn
thia Paterson, of Piermont, N. H., who died March 26,
1863, at the age of twenty- seven years.
They had two daughters, Mary and Abbie, who still
survive, greatly to their father's comfort. Mr. J. W.
Bliss, owning a very pleasant homestead, next south of
his brother Edmund's, has remained in Bradford, and been
repeatedly called by his fellow townsmen to fill offices of
public trust and importance. He represented the town
in the State Legislature of 1874.
8. Neziah W., born January 31, 1826, graduated at
the University of Vermont ; studied the profession of
law ; removed to the State of Missouri, and has there been
engaged not only in the business of his profession, but in
superintending the affairs of an enterprising and success
ful mining company. He has the reputation of a man of
intelligence, energy, and moral integrity. He married
Amanda Jessie Andrews, December 1, 1852. They have
had seven sons and three daughters. Two of the daugh
ters died young. The rest of their children at this date
are still living.
9. Lucinda, born February 14, 1828, married Lewis
227
R. Morris, a very respectable attorney at law, who for a
time edited a semi-monthly paper at Bradford, called the
Green Mountain Farmer, but has since for several years
been established in the business of his profession at West
Lebanon, N. H.
10. Julia M., born May 14, 1830, married Robert
Shum, manufacturer of jewelry, cutlery, etc., at Spring
field, Mass. They have four daughters, Julia, Lucy, Nel
lie, and Abbie.
11. Lauretta, born October 8, 1832, married Stephen
Merrill, then of Bradford, but since settled in Illinois.
The following memorial of Mrs. Bliss, the mother of
this large family, which appeared in our village paper, the
National Opinion, soon after her decease, is thought wor
thy of insertion here.
MRS. MARY W. BLISS.
When one who has lived an exemplary and useful life,
passes finally away, it seems fit that some more accessi
ble and satisfactory mejnorial than the inscription on the
grave stone of the deceased, should be preserved ; some,
at least, brief obituary notice, which may contribute to
keep the dear departed in perpetual and loving remem
brance.
The maiden name of Mrs. Bliss was Mary Worthen ; a
daughter of Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Susanna Worthen. She
was born April llth, 1790. Her parents were worthy
members of the Congregational Church, in her native
place, Bradford, Vt., who sought to train up their children
in the way they should go.
Mary, when about eighteen years of age, became the
wife of Mr. Ellis Bliss, of the same neighborhood; then
some three years older than herself. Surrounded by kin-
dred and friends, they directly commenced housekeeping,
and remained in the same habitation during their subse-
228
quent lives. Captain Bliss died May 8th, 1.851, in the
fifty-fourth year of his age; but she continued nearly
twenty-two years longer, thus occupying the same/ com
fortable farm house, on the bank of Waits River, near its
confluence with the Connecticut, for the long period of
sixty-five years.
Mr. and Mrs. Bliss had thirteen children, two of whom
died in their infancy ; all the rest lived to marry and re
move, one after another, to their several new homes, with
the exception of one of the sons, who permanently re
mained with his mother, and at her decease was left still
at the old homestead, the last there belonging of all its
former numerous and happy occupants.
Mrs. Bliss left at her decease four sons and five daugh
ters ; somewhat widely dispersed through this* country ;
among others, Neziah, a graduate of Vermont University,
an attorney at law, in Missouri, and George, a practicing
physician, in Ohio. He, after an absence of thirty-six
years, being informed of his mother's illness, directly tele
graphed that he had set out for home ; but the news,
which but a few days before would have thrilled his
mother's heart with joy, came a few hours too late ! and
when the Doctor, with his two daughters, arrived, her re
mains had been for two da}7s resting in the silent tomb.
A sad disappointment it was to the visitors ; but there
were kind brothers and sisters, with other relatives and
friends, to receive them most cordially, and mingle their
tears of grief and gladness with theirs.
It may not be amiss to say here that Mr. Amos Worth-
en, State Geologist of Illinois, well and favorably known
for his voluminous publications in that interesting depart
ment of natural science, was a brother of the deceased,
and a native of Bradford.
Mrs. Bliss left thirty-two grandchildren and eight great
grandchildren, a posterity of forty-nine persons, to rise up
and call her blessed. Her own children, at least, know
229
with what patience, loving kindness, and perseverance
she labored through all their lives for their comfort ; but the
intense desire and consuming anxiety which she felt for
their spiritual and everlasting good, they can never fully
appreciate. She willingly wore out her life in minister
ing to others ; in doing good to all, as she had opportuni
ty. Solomon's description of the virtuous women, in the
31st chapter of Proverbs, must have been penned with
some such specimen as she was distinctly in view.
But she did not depend on any of these things for sal
vation. During a season of special refreshing from the
presence of the Lord, in the Summer of 1831, she was
moved to consecrate herself heartily to the blessed Sav
iour, and to trust in Him alone for pardon, sanctifi cation
arid life everlasting. With more than thirty others, she
that year made a public profession of her faith and de
termination thenceforth to be the Lord's, and serve Him,
united with the same church to which her parents belonged,
and so continued to the last. She, while able to attend
and hear, delighted in the public services of the Sabbath,
and when deprived of these privileges found great satis
faction in her Bible and hymn book. In her last sickness
she was sweetly resigned to the Divine "will, beautifully
sustained by the promises and consolations of the Gospel ;
and at the close of her last Sabbath on earth, March 2,
1873, at the age of eighty- three years, lacking forty days,
passed peacefully away to her final rest and blessedness
in Heaven. On the subsequent Wednesday her funeral
services were attended at the church where she had long
been accustomed to worship, and her precious remains laid
down to repose with their kindred dead until " all that
are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God
and come forth." God grant that all those for whose sal
vation she so long prayed and labored, may with her arise
to glory, honor, and a blessed immortality. S. McK.
230
THE WRIGHTS.
Mr. Hubbard Wright, though a native of Lyman, N. H.,
was a distinguished citizen of Bradford, Vt., and will long-
be retained in kind and respectful remembrance by at
least the present generation of its people. His father,
Dr. Lockhart Wright, when a young man came, near the
close of the last century, from Northfield, Mass., and stud
ied medicine with Dr. Arad Stebbins, who was then the
principal practicing physician in this place.
Dr. Wright, when prepared to engage in the business
of his profession, married Abigail, the daughter of Ellis
Bliss and Abigail Taylor,- his wife. She was a sister of
Captain Ellis Bliss, and also of Miss Lydia Bliss, who
married Captain Absalom Baldwin. She was married in
the seventeenth year ol her age, the Doctor being about
ten years her senior. They directly removed to Lymari,
N. H., where he practiced medicine for more than twenty
years ; when the parents returned, with their son Hub-
bard and only daughter, to this place, in the year 1824,
and spent the remainder of their days. They lived for a
short while a little out of the village. Mr. Wright after
wards purchased the Dr. Stebbins place, at the north end
of the village, and the family resided there, first in the
old Stebbins mansion, which Mr. Wright rendered more
spacious and commodious, to be used, as indeed it had
before been, as a hotel. It was styled the Vermont House,
and so continued till accidentally consumed by fire, in the
summer of 1871. It had passed through the hands 'of
several proprietors, and was then owned by R. W. Cham-
berlin.
In the year 1849, Mr. Hubbard Wright built a fine
brick house, a little north of the hotel, and soon after took
his parents there, where in the course of a few years they
both died. Dr. Lockhart Wright died January 31, 1851,
in the eightieth year of his age ; his wife died July 3, 1855,
231
at the age of seventy-four years and twenty-six days. Mr.
Hubbard Wright had the supervision of his good farm,
but was not much accustomed to hard work. He was for
years one of the directors of the first Bradford bank, and
there he used to spend a great deal of time. At the call
of his fellow townsmen, he represented them in the State
Legislature during its sessions of the years 1848, '49, '50,
'55, '62, '63, '64, '65 and '68. He was also, from Bradford,
a member of the State Convention for the amendment of
the Constitution of Vermont in the year 1870. In the
prosperity of the town generally he manifested an inter
est. Though he had not been a regular attendant on
public worship, when the subject of building a new meet
ing house, a year or two previous to his decease, for the
use of the Congregational church and society, was under
discussion, he subscribed liberally in furtherance of the
design, though he did not live to see anything effectual
accomplished.
Mr. Wright never married. He had in care, as friends
and helpers, a young girl, Sarah, who remained until she
married ; and a young man who had been brought up in
his brother's family in New York, by the name of Philip
Tally, who gradually became in fact, though not nominal
ly, steward of his household, attending faithfully to its
domestic affairs, and to the management of the farm. Mr.
Wright was an honest and kind neighbor. A very quiet
man, he was ; and, having a competency, he did not wish
to be much disturbed by either the affairs of other people
or his own.
' Feeling, probably, rather lonely when about home, and
being able to do so, he had long been accustomed to walk,
both forenoon and afternoon, six days in the week, to the
central part of the village, and sit for a while, not in any
saloon or bar-room, but in the bank or some store, to see
and hear what was going on, and to have a little conver
sation with any friends whom he should chance to meet.
232
The time at length came when he could go no more.
He then remained quietly in his own pleasant dwelling.
Appetite and strength, and all his physical energies were
failing. He had become prematurely old. Doctors did
the best they could for him, but his infirmities steadily
progressed. His friend and helper, Philip, attended to
his wants faithfully and tenderly, both day and night ; his
sister from New York, and Mrs. Gaffield, (the same who
formerly lived in his family,) of Northampton, Mass., with
hearts full of loving kindness, came to sympathize with
and minister unto him. On the 22d day of July, 1873, at
the time appointed by infinite wisdom, he quietly passed
away, at the age of sixty-four years, ten months and seven
teen days. ' •* '•
Mr. Wright is understood to have possessed a consid
erable estate, and to have just left it to the disposal of his
surviving brother and sister, without expressing any wish
in regard to it.
His funeral was attended at his late residence, on
Thursday, July 24th, by a large company of his relatives
and neighbors, and the fellow townsmen whom he had so
often represented in a legislative capacity, and otherwise
served. The religious services were conducted by Rev.
Dr. McKeen, who had long before attended the funerals
of the parents of the deceased ; in this case assisted by
Rev. Mr. Elliot, acting pastor of the Congregational church
in the place ; when the remains, enclosed in a beautiful
casket, were conveyed to the cemetery, and laid down
with those of his parents, close by the well proportioned
and substantial granite obelisk which he had, years be
fore, caused to be erected, with his name and the date of
his birth engraved upon it.
Mr. Wright left one brother, about four years older
than himself, in the city of New York, the celebrated en
graver, and a prominent member of the American Bank
Note Company, Neziah Wright ; a man well-known and
233
highly esteemed in financial and commercial circles ; who
is said to possess a sufficiency of wealth, acquired by fair
and honorable means. The amiable and excellent wife of
Mr. N. Wright, deceased some years since, leaving no
child but a virtually adopted daughter, Jane ; a worthy
young lady, who married Mr. Phineas Lowndesbury, of
Kidgefield, Ct., a gentleman worthy of such a wife.
There was another brother, next to Neziah, Ellis by
name, who went many years ago into the Western coun
try, and was lost sight of.
The only sister of these brothers, Miss Abigail Wright,
born at Lyman, N. H., Sept. 6, 1813, a lady possessing a
liberal share of good nature, cheerfulness, and energy,
has remained single ; devoting her kindly attentions to
her parents while living ; and subsequently to her broth
ers, in their respective homes ; especially when so great
ly needing her sisterly assiduities.
Some years since she visited London, and other places
of note in Europe ; but her home since the death of her
parents has been with her brother in New York. She
was present at the funeral of her brother at Bradford,
and followed his remains to their final resting place.
16
234
CHAPTER XL
The McDuffees— James Wilson, the Globe Maker— David Wilson,
Esq. — and Their Families.
THE McDUFFEES.
An interesting document giving the genealogy of the
McDuffees has been kindly put into my hands, and duly
examined. It is understood to have been prepared by
John McDuffee, Esq., assisted by his son Charles, in whose
elegant handwriting it appears. Both the father and the
son deceased several years since. It does not consist
with my present object to follow this genealogical account
into all its various and remote ramifications ; but what
I propose is to trace, very concisely, the direct lineage of
the family who settled in Bradford, and then to speak
somewhat more fully of some of its members or descend
ants, as may seem expedient ; but especially of John Mc
Duffee, above named.
In regard to the origin and name of this respectable
class of our citizens, I will quote a few paragraphs from
the old manuscript which I have mentioned.
" The McDuffee family are undoubtedly of Scotch de
scent, and the first that we find of this name is in a book
styled l Memoirs of Scotland.'
" It appears that a man by the name of Duff was a king
or chief in Scotland a short time previous to the Chris
tian Era. This was before Christian names were used,
and from the fact that in Scotland the prefix Mac, abbre
viated Me, was used to indicate son, or descendant, we
infer that the children of Duff were called McDuff. In
Irish names the prefix "0" and in English the termination.
"son," are of the same import.
. " We have but little further notice of the name till we
come to the tragedy of McDuff and McBeth, which oc-
235
curred about A. D. 1050, and is particularly described in
the Memoirs of Scotland, and which by Shakespeare is
made the theme of his thrilling 'Macbeth.'
" McDuff was l Thane of Fife/ one of the noblemen
of Scotland during the reign of King Duncan, who was
assassinated, and for a short time superceded, by the
treacherous McBeth. Under the leadership of the bold
and loyal McDuff, the usurper was dethroned and slain,
and Malcolm, son of Duncan, established on the throne ;
who, in consideration of McDuff 's great services, gave
him a tract of land in the County of Fife, and added fee
to his name, including a gift from the crown ; and thus
McDuff became McDuffee. A further honor bestowed
was a coat of arms, known in Scotch heraldry by the com
bined representation of a lion, rampant with a sword in
his paw, guarding the crown and kingdom of Scotland ;
three hawks under the lion's feet, representing the three
witches whose sorceries had incited McBeth to assassinate
his sovereign; and a thorn bush, in memory of Birnam
Woods, through which, and bearing green bunches from
the same, McDuff and Malcolm, with their English allies,
marched against the rebel in his stronghold at Dunsinane,
who, in personal encounter with McDuff, was slain.
" A picture of this coat of arms was -brought to this
country before the old French war, by William McDuffee,
and subsequently painted on the back of the sleigh in
which Daniel McDuffee came from Londonderry to this
town in February, 1796, and when the sleigh was worn
out, the back, on which was the coat of arms, was for sev
eral years preserved by his daughter Agnes, Mrs. James
Wilson, .but finally disappeared, leaving no vestige be
hind." Sic transit gloria mundi! So passes away the
glory of the world.
" The McDuffees were among the emigrants from Scot
land who settled in the North of Ireland about the year
1612. John McDuffee and Martha, his wife, were in the
236
terrible seige of the city of Londonderry in 1869, where
she acquired the name of the Matchless Martha, for hav
ing carefully kept a quantity of meal, against a time
of great distress lor food, and then freely distributing it
among the starving people. This unexpected relief was
received with gratitude and rejoicing long remembered.
This John and Martha had several children, and among
them a son Daniel.
Daniel McDuffee, son of the above named, having
served an apprenticeship at the business of a lockmaker,
married Ruth Britton, of Colerain, and in 1720, with his
wife and daughter Martha, then about two years old, em
igrated to America ; his pastor, Rev. James McGregore, of
whose church he was a member, with some sixteen fami
lies of his parishioners, having gone a year or two before,
to establish themselves there. Daniel, with his little
family, arrived safely in Boston, and after a few months
residence at Andover, in the Spring of 1721 settled
down among their Scotch-Irish friends in Nutfield, subse
quently Londonderry, N. H. These parents had six sons
and three daughters. Five of the sons were in the army
of their country in the war with France ; three of them
in the decisive battle of Quebec, when that city with the
French provinces in North America passed into the hands
of the British. This early inhabitant of Londonderry
died there in 1768, and his wife died there about two
years after.
Daniel McDuffee, Jr., a son of the above named, was
born in Londonderry, in March, 1739. He was by occu
pation a blacksmith, but owned and cultivated the farm in
that town on which his parents had lived and died. He
married Margaret, daughter of James Wilson, the first of
the name in that place. She had a brother James, who
was father of James, the globe maker. This Daniel Mc
Duffee emigrated to Bradford, Vt, in the month of Feb
ruary, 1796, and settled on a farm at the north end of
237
what is now called the Upper Plain, where several of his
posterity are still living. His house was on the east side
of the highway, near what was long known as McDuffee's
Ferry, across the Connecticut River. The writer of this
article remembers him well ; remembers once, at his re
quest, preaching in his quiet cottage a discourse designed
for his special benefit, when, by-reason of the infirmities
of age, he was unable to attend public worship.- He died
in Bradford, in the eighty-sixth year of his age, December
15, 1824, and his remains were laid in the cemetery close
by. His wife had died several years before — April 1,
1805.
Mary McDuffee, a sister of Daniel, last named, was born
in Londonderry, N. H., married Thomas Highlands, a
farmer of that town, and lived there till his death, then
came to Bradford and lived some fourteen years longer.
She had an interesting family of eight or nine children,
and died May 26, 1821, aged eighty-nine years. From
her have descended our worthy citizens, the Highlands.
Daniel and Margaret W. McDuffee, of whom we have
been speaking, had a family of fifteen children, all natives
of Londonderry. Some of these died in their infancy.
Of those who lived to be men and women, and who were
for some part of their lives inhabitants of Bradford, the
following notices may be given :
1. John McDuffee was born June 16, 1766. Of him
and his family more hereafter.
2. Jennet, born February 1, 1768, married David Bliss,
went with her husband into the Western country, and
died somewhere there.
3. Ruth, born November 5, 1769, married Samuel
Drew, remained here a few years longer, then removed to
Stanstead, Canada East, where she died. They had eight
children.
4. Samuel, born September 7, 1773, married Jane
Wilson. He owned and cultivated a good farm in Brad-
238
ford, at the north end of the Upper Plain, and died there
July 20, 1850, in the seventy-seventh year of his age.
He left one daughter, Annis, at this writing still possess
ing the old homestead ; and one son, James, whose resi
dence was quite near his sister's ; an industrious farmer
and good man he was, who died, strong in Christian faith,
March 22, 1873, in the seventy-third year of his age, leav
ing the beloved wife, Mary P. Sawyer, with whom he had
happily lived for over forty-four years, with one daughter
and four sons, with their wives and children, all in close
proximity, to love and sympathize with their mother and
each other, while passing through the various trials and
comforts of life. Their daughter Alice married Alexan
der Young, who had died, leaving her in widowhood be
fore her father's decease. The eldest son, Ellis, married
Elizabeth Sawyer. Olivia, Louisa Annis, Edward Ever
ett, and Sarah Sawyer, are the names of their four sur
viving children. The second son of James McDuffee,
Horace Everett, married Lucy McDuffee, a remote rela
tive. Their children are Frank and Alice. The third
son, Homer S., married Adelaide Robinson. The names
of their children, Frank and Alice. The fourth son,
James Lewis R., married Carrie Woodward, and they
were living in the house with their father McDuffee at
the time of his decease.
5. James McDuffee, son of Daniel, was born August
21, 1775. He married Susan Sweet, moved to Syracuse,
N. Y., and died there, .leaving five children.
6. Mary, born August 27, 1777, by occupation a tailor-
ess, when about fifty years of age married Peter Frye, of
Windsor, Canada East; lived there several years, and
after his decease returned to this town, and spent the rem
nant of her days. She died in July, 1870, in the ninety-
third year of her age.
7. Margaret, born March 20, 1779, married a Mr. Lee,
239
of Windsor, Canada East, and died there, leaving one
daughter.
8. Daniel, born March 7, 1781, married Martha Bish
op; after a while went off, forsaking his wife, and died,
it is not known when nor where. She was familiarly
styled, by not only relatives but neighbors generally,
"Aunt Patty;" and died at Bradford, in April, 1852.
She requested her pastor to preach at her funeral from
the text, " Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because
they keep not thy law."
9. Agnes, born Februrary 28, 1783, married her cousin,
James Wilson, the globe maker. In her ninety-second
year, March, 1874, she was still living in Bradford. Of
her family see further notice under the title Wilson.
10. Sarah, born March 7, 1786, married Manasseh Wil-
lard, a brother of Captain Israel Willard, of Bradford.
They had six children. She died in Massachusetts.
11. Annis, born April 22, 1790, married Samuel Chap
man, of Newbury, Vt., April 19, 1821, and took up her
residence there.
Three sons and one daughter are now living.
A more particular account of John McDuffee, a distin
guished member of this family, will now be given,
JOHN McDUFFEE, ESQ.
He was a son of Daniel and Margaret (Wilson) McDuf
fee, above named; their second child, the first, who was
also a son, having died in infancy. He was born at Lon
donderry, N. H., June 16th, 1766. When old enough to
assist his father, till about fourteen years of age, he worked
with him, alternately on the farm and in his blacksmith
shop, as the season of the year and state of the weather
guided them ; in his father's double occupation. For some
weeks, or months, during each season of winter, he was
allowed to attend such schools as they had. The teach-
240
ers were paid by the scholars attending, or their parents;
and the books were few, and of a rather low order. Dil-
lingsworth's Spelling Book was more used than any other
book. Books of Arithmetic and Grammar were uncom
mon. Young McDuffee, however, was so fortunate as to
have a teacher who had a "Cyphering Book," containing
various arithmetical rules and problems, and who was able
to give lessons of instruction from the same. This was
quite to the boy's taste ; for he had, as his subsequent
life proved, a real genius and talent for the mathematics.
His health, a great part of the time between fourteen and
seventeen years of age, was poor ; he was too feeble to
work much ; and so, as he would find opportunity, he
studied the more. In his seventeenth year he had ac
quired a thorough knowledge of Fisher's Arithmetic ;
and had commenced the study of surveying, under the
instruction of Master Clark, who had the reputation of
being a good surveyor; and was then teaching in Lon
donderry. In the Spring of 1784 he taught school for a
few weeks, then attended the academy in Andover for a
while, and so worked along as best he could; keeping the
art of surveying continually in view, with the use of the
instruments of which he had by this time become quite
well acquainted.
Before tracing his progress any further, I will go back,
and lor the amusement, especially of my youthful read
ers, relate an incident or two of a singular character, of
which his manuscript makes mention, as occurring in his
boyhood. One of them is this : "When I was a boy I
was not at all timid, but one day, while passing through
the lot, I thought I distinctly saw a lad, with whom I was
well acquainted and had been very intimate, jump behind
a log ahead of me, by which I was about to pass, for the
purpose, as I supposed, of frightening me. I therefore
quickened my steps, designing to get the start of the
other boy, and running up to the log leaned over, crying
241
out, Boo ! but to my surprise there was no one there."
For this he was never able to account, for he was sure if
there had been a boy .there he could not possibly have got
away. This, we too may as well throw into our heap of
unaccountables.
Another anecdote is that when he was quite young an
Irishmen, directly from the old country, came to his fath
er's house, and, being taken into employment on the farm,
made himself very useful. He seemed for a while con
tented and happy. But one day he was very sad, and said
he must leave. On being asked what was the trouble, he
could not be induced to tell. At last when John, for
whom he had taken a special liking, was trying to get
the secret out of him, the Irishman, after much hesitation,
said : "Oh ! ye live so near the chimney of hell I dare not
stay 1" On further inquiry it was found that this son of
Erin, having been out on a low piece of ground near the
house the evening before, had, for the first time in his
life, seen lightning-bugs flying about, which he thought
must be sparks from the infernal pit, and it was not with
out much difficulty that he could be convinced to the con
trary, even when John had caught one of the little flash
ers, and given him occular demonstration of its appear
ance and manner of operation.
We will now resume the main thread of our narration.
When JohriMcDuffee was between nineteen and twenty-
one years of age he taught school for several terms in
different towns in the then province of Maine, particular
ly in Falmouth, Saco, and Brunswick. On his first jour
ney into that part of the country, which was probably in
his nineteenth year, he very narrowly escaped being kill
ed by wolves, in Saco woods. He was making his jour
ney on foot, and towards evening one day inquired at a
house how far it was to Saco Falls, and on being told five
miles pushed on, thinking there would be houses by the
way, as there had been, where he could in case of neces-
242
sity stop during the night. He had not proceeded far
before he found himself in a wilderness, and in the dark
ness of night. While pursueing his solitary way he heard
at a distance behind him a noise which he recognized as
the bark of a wolf, which he was convinced must have
scented his track, He quickened his steps, and, being
young and spry, passed rapidly along. Soon the howl of
the first wolf was answered by that of another. There
seemed to be a pack of them in pursuit of him ! He com
menced running, but, while exerting his powers to the
utmost to escape, the wolves were evidently coming near
er and yet nearer. His courage and strength were be
ginning to fail, when he discovered a light ahead of him,
and pressed on, closely pursued by the monsters, deter
mined still to seize and devour him. He reached the
house ; dashed open the door ; arid, completely exhausted,
fell headlong and senseless upon the floor. A party of
young people, the giris having had what they called a
"wool breaking" in the afternoon, were there that eve
ning engaged in dancing, and were greatly surprised to
receive so dashing a visitant, from they knew not what
quarter. But on going to the door they at once learned
what was the trouble, for the wolves were still within a
few rods of the house. On recovering, McDuffee was told
that but a few days before a man had gone with his team
into the same woods, and not returning when looked for,
search was made for him, when he was found dead, with
several dead wolves lying around him, in one of which
his axe was sticking. The appearance was that while at
his work getting wood, a pack of wolves had rushed upon
him, when, turning his back to a tree with axe in hand, he
bravely fought them, and had killed several. Then strik
ing his axe between the shoulders of a stout and strong
one, the helve had been jerked from his hands, leaving
him defenceless, when the infuriated survivors of the
pack quickly overpowered him ; killed him ; and drank
243
his blood. Having thus had a taste of human blood, they
were the more eager and determined to have another
feast of the same sort. It was of the Lord's mercies that
the young man so narrowly escaped.
Mr. McDuftee having finished his teaching in Maine,
returned home, and came the ensuing summer to Ver
mont, bringing his instruments of surveying and engin
eering with him, not without use by the way. In June,
1788, he made his first visit to Moore town, which by act
of Legislature the following autumn received its present
,name of Bradford. The direct .object of his visit was to
assist, as he had been requested, in the settlement of the
estate of his uncle, Samuel McDuffee, who had been
drowned in Connecticut River, 1781. The widow, Eliza
beth (Rogers), was still living on the desirable farm to
which her deceased husband had become entitled as one
of the first settlers. He was pleased with the farm, and
purchased the same for himself. It was that which his
father, Daniel McDuffee, and family, subsequently occu
pied. He then returned to Londonderry, and there spent
the winter. In the spring of 1789 he came back, and
took up his residence on the place he had purchased, and
thence forward, to the distant day of his death, became a
distinguished citizen of Bradford.
March 24, 1791, Mr. McDuiFee purchased of Uriah
Stone, of Piermont, N. H., the ferry subsequently known
as McDuffee's ferry, a noted crossing place over " the
great river," till superseded by bridges, both above and
below, many years afterwards. Soon after his coming to
Bradford he built a small house near the ferry, a little
north of the one his uncle had occupied, and for some time
kept a small store of various articles wanted by the early
settlers. For a few years his sister Ruth kept his house,
after which he married Martha Dake, a native of London
derry, but then a resident of Bradford ; left his farm near
the river to his father, and moved to a new one, on the
244
eastern slope of Wright's mountain, near the line between
Bradford and Newbury, where he raised up a large fami
ly, and spent the remnant of his days. Of his family some
further information will presently be given.
The Legislature of Vermont, at its session in 1792,
passed an act, as in another part of this history has been
stated, constituting Israel Smith, Alexander Harvey, and
James Whitelaw, a committee to make a survey of the
Hazen tract, in the Western part of Bradford, dividing it
into lots convenient for settlement, and, on certain easy
conditions, securing to each man the due possession of
the lot on which he had been making improvement, and
the like advantage to others who might wish to purchase
lots still unappropriated. The work of making this survey
was, by the said Whitelaw, Surveyor General of Ver
mont, committed to John McDuffee, who no doubt per
formed it faithfully. He was for many years, in all this
region accounted a distinguished master of his art, and
was as such extensively employed.
When the project of building a railroad from Concord,
N. H., through Plymouth, Wentworth and Haverhill, to
Wells River, Vt., began to be seriously discussed, and it
was remembered that Mr. McDuffee had long before sur
veyed through at least the most formidable part of that
route, with a view to a canal, and found it quite feasible,
his counsel and influence were earnestly sought for, and,
proving highly beneficial, were, it is said, very handsome
ly rewarded. He was quite a zealous politician, as well
as a celebrated surveyor ; and when attending a railroad
meeting at Concord, and called upon for a sentiment, or
toast, as it was called, brought out the applause of the
gathering, by the following impromptu : " The political
compass of the United States, with the representative
needle, equally balanced on the pivot of the Union, freely
playing over the four cardinal points — Freedom of speech,
245
freedom of the press, freedom in elections, and freedom
in religion."
The writer of this, when about sixteen years of age,
enjoyed for a short time the instruction of Mr. McDufFee
in his favorite department, not so much with a view to
practice as to mental improvement and satisfaction, and
from that and subsequent acquaintance became quite im
pressed by a conviction of his mathematical genius and
attainments. It is encouraging and delightful to see how
some, indeed many, young men of decision and energy
have, almost unassisted by relatives or pecuniary resour
ces, pressed their way through manifold difficulties to
honorable distinction in the various departments of scien
tific and useful knowledge. John McDuffee, Esq., after a
laborious and protracted life, died at his mountain home
in Bradford, May 4, 1851, in the eighty-fifth year of his
age.
John McDufFee, Esq., as has been said, was a native of
Londonderry, N. EL, born June 16, 1766. He married
Martha Dake, of that town, some time in 1795. They had
six sons and five daughters, all natives of Bradford, Yt.
Of these five, namely, Jennet, Patty, Martha, James,
and Andrew J., died in their childhood. Of the others,
we have the following notices.
1. Margaret McDuffee, born December 26, 1796, mar
ried Mosely Blake, of Bedford, Mass. She, at this date,
(1874) is living in widowhood, with her sister, Mrs.
Bronsden, at Milton, in that State.
2. John McDuffee, Jr., born July 31, 1798, lived for
some time at Sing Sing, N. Y., taught schools for several
years in New Jersey, and was last heard from at Akron,
Ohio.
3. James McDuffee, born October 17, 1806, married
and had three children ; settled at Eel River, Ind.
4. Samuel, born May 7, 1808, married Emily Way, of
Lempster, N. H., and settled in Ackworth. They have
246
six children ; namely, Samuel V., a worthy minister of
the Congregational order ; George W., Charles 0., Louisa
E., and Lucy, wife of Horace Everett McDuffee, of Brad
ford, Yt. Also Martha.
5. William McDuffee, born September 25, 1809, mar
ried Laura J. Carter, of Newbury, January 14, 1836.
They have had six children. Of these, two sons and two
daughters died in their infancy. Their daughter Louisa
married Clement Worthen, of Enfield, N. H. She, with
her brother, George W., and sister, Etta L., at this date
is still living.
6. Louisa McDuffee, born April 11, 1817, married
Lewis Bronsdon, of Massachusetts, February 6, 1844.
They have three children, Louisa, Lewis and Peleg.
Mrs. Martha Dake, the first wife of John McDuffee,
Esq., died at Bradford, May 14, 1822, at the age of forty-
nine years and two days; a worthy woman of the Scotch
Irish race.
Esquire McDuffee married for his second wife, Novem
ber 10, 1833, .Miss Dolly Greenleaf, of Bradford, who was
born there, March 10, 1790. They had six children, all
sons. Of these Daniel, the first, died in the eleventh
year of his age, July 29, 1835; and Mansfield, the second,
and Henry, the fourth, in early childhood.
Charles McDuffee, the third son, born November 19,
1827, was an estimable young man, of ability and good
scholarship ; a professional land surveyor, and trustworthy
agent in the settlement of estates ; and died at the family
home in Bradford, July 31, 1863, in the thirty-sixth year
of his age.
Henry Clay McDuffee, born October 3, 1831, married
Miss Laura Waterman, of Lebanon, N. H., March 12,
1863, who died on the 15th of the subsequent September.
He married for his second wife, June 8, 1869, Miss Rosie
M. Bill, a daughter of Major R. M. Bill, of West Topsham,
Vt. Their son Ernest B. 3vas born November 23, 1870. Mr.
247
H. C. McDuffee represented the town of Bradford in the
State Legislature of 1870 and 1872, and has held several
other offices of honor and trust. Was High Bailiff of
Orange County in 1872 and 1873; one of the Selectmen
of Bradford, etc., and has been much engaged in buying
and selling lands in the Western and Southern States, as
agent for parties in Boston and New York ; also in con
nection with his brothers, Charles and Horace, in settling
several large estates in New Hampshire and Massachu
setts.
Horace G-. McDuffee, the youngest member of this
large family, born December 22, 1833, studied surveying
and civil engineering in the scientific department of Dart
mouth College, and graduated there, in the class of 1861.
He has made his permanent home in Bradford, and been
dilligently occupied in land surveying, the manufacture
and sale of lumber, and as a real estate agent. In 1867
he married Mrs. Ellen P. Smith, widow of James C. Smith,
of Cairo, Illinois. They have one child, a daughter, named
Mabel ; and a pleasant home of their own in Bradford vil
lage.
I here very gratefully acknowledge the courtesy of
Mr. H. G. McDuffee for scientifically ascertaining, at my
request, the height of Wright's Mountain, as stated in
another chapter of this History.
John McDuffee, Esq., the father of this large family,
died in Bradford, at his mountain home, May 4, 1851, in
the eighty-fifth year of his age. His venerable widow,
who had been spending her last years with her son, Hen
ry C., and wife, at the village, having gone out to her old
home on the mountain, where her sister, the Widow Cor
liss, was still residing, was shortly after stricken down by
apoplexy, arid died there May 7, 1874, at the age of
eighty-four years and two months, lacking three days.
Her remains repose beside those of her husband, in the
cemetery near the village.
248
JAMES WILSON, THE GLOBE MAKER, AND
FAMILY.
James Wilson, who has the honor of being the maker
of the first pair ot Terrestrial and Celestial Globes ever
made in America, was a native of Londonderry, N. H.
He was born 1763. He early felt a strong love of knowl
edge, and gave proof of talents of the right stamp for ac
quiring it ; but felt constrained by circumstances to de
vote himself to the laborious occupation of a farmer. Up
to the age of thirty-three he pursued that employment
in the place of his nativity ; not, however, without reading,
observation and reflection. His inclination and genius
turned his thoughts and studies especially to Geography
and Astronomy, with the means of their illustration. In
the year 1796 he removed with his family to Bradford, in
Vermont, and took up his permanent abode on a farm
which he purchased there, on the Connecticut River,
about one mile North of the village.
When about thirty -six years of age Mr. Wilson had the
pleasure of seeing and examining a pair of English globes,
and resolved to imitate them. He commenced with balls
turned from blocks of wood, which he nicely covered with
paper, and scientifically finished off with all the lines and
representations which belong to such apparatus, drawn
upon them.
This rude beginning was followed by a much better
method. The solid balls were thickly covered with layers
of paper firmly pasted together. This shell was then di
vided into hemispheres, which being removed were again
united, and finished with due regard to lightness, strength
and smoothness. But how were these spheres to be cov
ered with maps equal to those of the European artists ?
Mr. Wilson procured copper plates of sufficient size for
his thirteen inch globes, protracted his maps on them in
sections, tapering as the degrees of longitude do from the
equator to the poles, and engraved them with such ad-
249
mirable accuracy of design, that when cut apart and duly
pasted on his spheres, the, edges with their lines, and even
the different parts of the finest letters, would perfectly
coincide and make one surface, truly representing the
earth, or celestial constellations. Though in the use of
the graver he was self-taught, and this species of design
and engraving was incomparably more difficult than plain
work, yet by his .ingenuity and incredible perseverance
he succeeded admirably, and brought forth globes, duly
mounted, and in all respects fitted to rival in the market
any imported from foreign countries. In the. prosecution
of his work and general studies, Mr. Wilson doubtless de
rived important assistance from the Edinburgh Encyclo
pedia, which constituted the principal part of his library.
He published the first edition of his globes in 1814 ;
and personally presented to the people of Boston the first
American globes which were seen there. Quite a sensa
tion was produced among the literati by such a novelty,
and when earnest inquiry was made, " Who is this James
Wilson ? — where is he ? " he has been heard to say that
he felt exceedingly mortified in consideration of his rus
tic garb and manners, when obliged to come out and con
fess himself. But the gentlemen in question knew how
to prize his talents, and were proud of the honor which he
had done to his country. They encouraged him to prose
cute his undertaking, by the assurance that he should
find there a ready market for all the globes he could fur
nish. For a time he pursued his vocation on a small
scale at Bradford, Vt., arid also at Londonderry, N. H.,
but finally, in company with his sons, who inherited a
good share of their father's taste and ingenuity, he es
tablished, about the year 1815, a large manufactory in
Albany, N. Y., and in 1826 brought out from fresh en
graving a still more perfect and splendid edition. These
globes, consisting of three different sizes, so elegantly and
scientifically constructed, are an honor not only to their
17
• 250
makerSj but to the American people. That manufactory
at Albany was sustained for several years, though the
young artists who commenced it went down to early
graves, and their aged lather not long after wholly with
drew himself from the business.
Mr. Wilson, with a remnant of his once flourishing fam
ily still with him, lived to old age, retaining his faculties
remarkably. His love for geography, astronomy, and the
mechanical arts connected with them, remaining unabat
ed. When past eighty years of age he contrived, and
with his own hands constructed, a machine which finely
illustrates the daily and yearly revolutions of the earth ;
the cause of the successive seasons ; and the sun's place,
for every day of the year, in the ecliptic. These move
ments are produced by turning a crank, which causes the
earth to revolve about the sun in the plane of the ecliptic,
always retaining its true relative position. The machine
is also furnished with the means of causing the student
to see and understand precisely what is meant by the
Precession of the Equinoxes ; a difficult thing, without
some such means of illustration.
The large copper plate, on which are printed the
months of the year, with their days, and the correspond
ing signs of the zodiac with their degrees, was engraved
by Mr. Wilson after he was eighty -three years of age !
Can a similar instance anywhere be found ? A specimen
of this curious apparatus may be seen at Thetford Acade
my, at Bradford Academy, or at Mr. Wilson's late resi
dence, which last is an improvement on the others. Every
academy ought to have something of the sort, and the
aged and very ingenious maker deserved to realize some
profit from so scientific and useful a contrivance. The
machine, for the want of a more definite name, is called
Wttson's Planetarium, the latter term being used in a re
stricted sense. If this Planetarium should be thought
clumsy, still it finely illustrates what it was intended to,
251
and it may yet be reduced to any degree of elegance. It
would in any family be an appropriate accompaniment to
Wilson's globes.
Mr. Wilson died at his home on the Upper Plain, in
Bradford, March 26, 1855, at the age of ninety-two years
and twelve days.
THE FAMILY OF JAMES WILSON, ESQ.
James Wilson, when about twenty-one years of age,
married Molly Highland, of his native place, Londonderry,
N. H.
They had one son, James Wilson, Jr., who became Cap
tain of a merchant ship plying between this country and
Europe. .On his third voyage, in 1812, which was for
France, having run the British blockade at Norfolk, Va.,
his vessel, with himself and crew, was lost at sea. He left
a widow and one child.
The first wife of James Wilson, the globe maker, died
young, when he, in due season, married Sarah Donalson,
by whom he had ten children, of whom three died young.
The rest lived to be men and women. Of these, though
much more might be said, the following brief notices must
suffice :
Sally, the eldest daughter, married Stephen Tabor, of
Bradford. She left at her decease a son, Dr. S. J. W.
Tabor, now auditor in some department at Washington.
Samuel married Jane McBride, and died in Albany,
N. Y., where he had for years been engaged in the manu
facture of globes. They had four children. Their son
James W. was educated at West Point, and has for years
been employed in the United States service as a Civil
Engineer.
John, who was considered by the family as particularly
talented, married Rebecca Mandel; was occupied with
two of his brothers in the globe business ; and died at
Albany, leaving his widow with six children. Cyrus
254
DAVID WILSON, ESQ., AND FAMILY.
David Wilson was of the Scotch-Irish stock, born in
Londonderry, N. JEL, December 11, 1768. He was a broth
er of James Wilson, the first American globe maker, who
also lived to be over ninety years of age, and died in this
town. In youth he enjoyed but very limited advantages
for education ; but during his long life so well improved
his fragments of time that he accumulated a good store
of useful knowledge. On leaving the place of his nativ
ity, he resided for a while in Eockingham, and then in
Londonderry, Vt., from whence he removed to Bradford.
He and his wife, Margaret Doak, with a child in her arms,
came up the Connecticut River in company with a gang
of lumbermen returning from market, whom they found
to be rough and unpleasant associates. Their voyage,
in an open boat, propelled by oars and pike-poles, was te
dious and uncomfortable. When they came opposite to
the South end of Fairlee Mountain they were overtaken
by a tremenduous shower. The boatmen pushed their
craft to the shore, and, without fastening it properly, sprang
off, and ran away. Before Mr. Wilson could get his wife
and child out, the boat drifted back into the channel, and
was carried down the river some distance, to the peril of
their lives. They arrived in Bradford some time in June,
1795, and settled down on a lot in the wilderness, near
Wright's Mountain, a little to the North-west of the sum
mit, where he resided for nearly sixty-eight years, till the
time of his death. The first sheep he had he brought from
Newbury, and it had become nearly dark before he got
over the mountain with them. The wolves howled around
him, and threatened to seize on his little flock. On reach
ing home he rejoiced that his- sheep were safe. Not so
safe, however, as he supposed. Before morning he heard
an uproar which convinced him that the wolves were
among his flock. They had leaped into the enclosure, and
255
were seizing and devouring their prey. He sprang up
and went resolutely at them, when they fled, leaving three
of his flock mangled and dead, to him at that time a seri
ous misfortune. One year, a little before wheat harvest,
he thought his neighbor's hogs must have been among
his wheat, he found so much of it trampled down, and de
termined to keep a sharp lookout for them. Not many
days after, seeing the tops of the tall grain violently
agitated he was convinced the swine were at their work,
and ran to drive them out, when suddenly a bear sprang
up before him ! then another ! then another ! three of
those black monsters ready to seize on him as their prey.
He instinctively sprang upon a stump, uttering a tremen-
duous shout. The bears, unaccustomed to such a start
ling outcry, terror stricken fled away, leaving the rightful
owner in possession of his field.
Mr. Wilson early turned his attention to fruit growing,
and planted an orchard as soon as he could get land
enough cleared for that purpose. He planted the largest
orchard in this part of the -State, chiefly of grafted trees,
from which he some years saw gathered from one hun
dred to one hundred and seventy-five barrels of selected
apples. He raised many trees for sale, and did much to
promote fruit growing in this and the neighboring towns.
With him originated the apple known in this vicinity as
the " Wilson Russett." Mr. Wilson served'the town of
Bradford as one of the Selectmen, gratuitously, for six or
seven years, and officiated as Justice of the Peace for
some fifteen years, during which time he transacted a
great amount of business. He was remarkable for his
constant attendance on Freemen's meetings ; after the
lapse of nearly sixty years he was still there, always vot
ing on what is now called the Eepublican side. He was
strongly opposed to slavery, and to the attempt of its
supporters to overthrow the Federal Government. The
fire of patriotism kindled in his youthful mind in the days
254
DAVID WILSON, ESQ., AND FAMILY.
David Wilson was of the Scotch-Irish stock, born in
Londonderry, N. H., December 11, 1768. He was a broth
er of James Wilson, the first American globe maker, who
also lived to be over ninety years of age, and died in this
town. In youth he enjoyed but very limited advantages
for education ; but during his long life so well improved
his fragments of time that he accumulated a good store
of useful knowledge. On leaving the place of his nativ
ity, he resided for a while in Buckingham, and then in
Londonderry, Vt., from whence he removed to Bradford.
He and his wife, Margaret Doak, with a child in her arms,
came up the Connecticut River in company with a gang
of lumbermen returning from market, whom they found
to be rough and unpleasant associates. Their voyage,
in an open boat, propelled by oars and pike-poles, was te
dious and uncomfortable. When they came opposite to
the South end of Fairlee Mountain they were overtaken
by a tremenduous shower. The boatmen pushed their
craft to the shore, and, without fastening it properly, sprang
off, and ran away. Before Mr. Wilson could get his wife
and child out, the boat drifted back into the channel, and
was carried down the river some distance, to the peril of
their lives. They arrived in Bradford some time in June,
1795, and settled down on a lot in the wilderness, near
Wright's Mountain, a little to the North-west of the sum
mit, where he resided for nearly sixty-eight years, till the
time of his death. The first sheep he had he brought from
Newbury, and it had become nearly dark before he got
over the mountain with them. The wolves howled around
him, and threatened to seize on his little flock. On reach
ing home he rejoiced that his- sheep were safe. Not so
safe, however, as he supposed. Before morning he heard
an uproar which convinced him that the wolves were
among his flock. They had leaped into the enclosure, and
255
were seizing and devouring their prey. He sprang up
and went resolutely at them, when they fled, leaving three
of his flock mangled and dead, to him at that time a seri
ous misfortune. One year, a little before wheat harvest,
he thought his neighbor's hogs must have been among
his wheat, he found so much of it trampled down, and de
termined to keep a sharp lookout for them. Not many
days after, seeing the tops of the tall grain violently
agitated he was convinced the swine were at their work,
and ran to drive them out, when suddenly a bear sprang
up before him ! then another ! then another ! three of
those black monsters ready to seize on him as their prey.
He instinctively sprang upon a stump, uttering a tremen-
duous shout. The bears, unaccustomed to such a start
ling outcry, terror stricken fled away, leaving the rightful
owner in possession of his field.
Mr. Wilson early turned his attention to fruit growing,
and planted an orchard as soon as he could get land
enough cleared for that purpose. He planted the largest
orchard in this part of the -State, chiefly of grafted trees,
from which he some years saw gathered from one hun
dred to one hundred and seventy-five barrels of selected
apples. He raised many trees for sale, and did much to
promote fruit growing in this and the neighboring towns.
With him originated the apple known in this vicinity as
the "Wilson Russett." Mr. Wilson served- the town of
Bradford as one of the Selectmen, gratuitously, for six or
seven years, and officiated as Justice of the Peace for
some fifteen years, during which time he transacted a
great amount of business. He was remarkable for his
constant attendance on Freemen's meetings; after the
lapse of nearly sixty years he was still there, always vot
ing on what is now called the Republican side. He was
strongly opposed to slavery, and to the attempt of its
supporters to overthrow the Federal Government. The
fire of patriotism kindled in his youthful mind in the days
256
of the Revolution continued to glow warmly there,
through a long life, and amid all the infirmities of age.
He was blessed with a strong mind in a strong and health
ful body ; and his intellectual faculties held out remarka
bly, to the time of his death ; when he departed peace
fully, trusting in the mercy of his God and Saviour, in
the ninety-fifth year of his age, February 23, 1863. Mr.
Wilson was alike distinguished for his mildness and de
cision ; for veracity and uprightness ; for his domestic
virtues and love of country. He stood firmly for a while,
but at length, like one of the sightly old forest trees of
the mountain, he has fallen ; his time, as he said, having
come.
The above account of David Wilson, Esq., I prepared,
from information, given me soon after his death, about
eleven years ago, and now add some further notices of
him, and especially regarding his family, lately received
from his son, John Wilson, Esq., who still occupies the old
homestead, in 1874.
He says when his father took up that lot on which he
settled in Bradford, of so little estimation had it been
held that at one time it was sold at auction to obtain the
payment of its charter fees, and was bid off for one bushel
of wheat and a gallon of rum. When his parents settled
there no carriage road had been opened across the moun
tain, and their first habitation was a log cottage, the build
ing of which had been commenced by one Caleb Page.
And he had often heard his good mother tell, that when
at one time she had set out to visit her sister, Mrs. Mc-
Duffee, about one mile away, over the mountain, leading
her little son James, and carrying David, the baby, on her
other arm, she, when about half way along, confronted a
huge bear ! sitting directly in her path, and not showing
any disposition to stir ! It was probably at the time not
hungry, and so suffered the good woman with her child
ren to return quickly to her home in safety. Another
257
exploit of Mrs. Wilson was that on one occasion she rode
on horseback with her son William, then about ten years
old, behind her, from her home to Londonderry, N. !L, a
distance of about one hundred and twenty miles, and, af
ter a visit with her friends there of a few weeks, returned
in the same way, safe and sound. And so much of a
walker was Mr. Wilson that he used to go on foot to Lon
donderry in two days, and having accomplished his busi
ness, return home again in the same length of time. The
price of salt in Bradford in those days is an item of some
interest at this time. Mr. J. Wilson says when his father
first came here to live he brought with him in the boat,
up Connecticut River, a tierce of salt, and he has noticed
in one of his father's old accounts a pharge to Peter
Welton of " One bushel of salt, 4 dollars."
The date of David Wilson death has already been
given. Mrs. Wilson, his wife, died March 6, 1853, about
ten years before his decease, at the age of eighty-three.
Their children :
1. Robert, born August 12, 1794, died young.
2. William, born June 13, 1796. He married Anna
Haseltine, who died soon after the death of their first
child, a son. He afterwards married Ann Barker, and
had five sons, all of whom married. His second wife has
deceased, and he lives with his son Robert, at Craftsbury,
Vermont.
3. James, born January 15, 1798, married Sophronia
Closson, and had two daughters, both mother and daugh
ters now deceased. He married for his second wife Bet
sey Corliss, of Windham, N. H., and had five sons and four-
daughters, all of whom, except one of the daughters, mar
ried and have families, and live in Compton, Province
of Quebec.
4. David, born January 1800, married Fanny Rogers,
of Bradford, and had four sons and three daughters. He
lived for some years in Westmore, Vt., and represented
258
that town in the State Legislature. His wife having de
ceased, he went to live with one of his sons in Compton,
above named.
5. Fanny, born in 1800, died young.
6. Samuel, born May 12, 1804; married first Emily
Thompson, of Topsham. They had one son, who went
West, and was never heard from. After the decease of his
first wife, Mr. W. married Martha Godfrey. They had a
son and a daughter. The second wife has deceased, and
Mr. W. lives with his son-in-law at Lancaster, N. H.
7. John, born Aug. 11, 1806, married Nancy Cochran,
June 29, 1834, by whom he had five children, namely :
Mary W., Byron B., Persis A., John D., and Boyd H. Of
these Persis A. jnarried Bailey Avery, of Newbury, and
has three sons and two daughters. Her brother, John D.,
married Melvina Crafts, of Bradford, Jan. 1, 1865, and
lives with his father and brother, Boyd H., on the old
homestead. Mary W. also is still with her parents.
Byron B. Wilson, above named, born Nov. 18, 1836,
was a young man of talent, energy, and decided patriot
ism, a young man of estimable character, and much be-
ioved, not only at home, but among his acquaintances
generally. Early in the war for the suppression of the
rebellion, Sept. 5, 1861, he enlisted as a volunteer in the
service of his country, for the period of three years ; or
while the war should last. His regiment, the 4th Ver
mont volunteers, pertained to the command of Brigadier
Gen. Wm. Smith, of the army of the Potomac. He was
in several bloody battles, and on one ocasion wrote : "No
friend of mine shall blush to think that I feared, or ever
failed, to meet the foe." Again : "There are many chan
ces for me to lay down my life, before my term of service
expires. One thing is certain, I shall try to do my duty,
to meet all contingencies manfully, whatever may be my
fate." Whatever it may be I am content, only that the
Union be preserved." In the great battle of the wilder-
259
ness this beloved and brave young man was instantly
killed, May 5, 1864, by a bullet sent through his head,
and there, with many others, was buried. But they died
not in vain. The Union has been preserved, and liberty
proclaimed throughout the whole land, to all the inhabit
ants thereof.
John Wilson, Esq., has held the office of Justice of the
Peace for several years, hence his title.
8. ' Persis, the youngest member of the family of Da
vid Wilson, Esq., born Nov. 2, 1808, married Eliphalet
Hunt, of Chelmsford, Mass., who died some years ago,
leaving a son, David W., with whom she at this date was
living at Moline, Illinois.
260
CHAPTER XII.
The Tabors, Putnams, Pearsons, and Sawyers.
THE TABOR FAMILY.
The following information in regard 'to this large and
respectable family was mainly obtained from Thomas Ta
bor, since deceased, and from his son, Lorenzo Tabor, Esq.,
now living in Adrian, Mich.
Stephen Tabor and his Avife, whose maiden name was
Comfort Parker, emigrated to this town of Bradford in the
autumn of 1798, bringing with them eleven children, to
whom three more were added after their coming, all of the
same mother, and what is very remarkable the whole four
teen lived to be over thirty years of age. All, with their
families, have now disappeared from this town, and only
two sons and two daughters of the original family are
now, June, 1874, supposed to be living. Mr. Stephen Ta
bor removed his family from New Bedford, Mass., and set
tled on a good farm, or rather on a lot which he and his
sons converted into a good farm, on Goshen road, about
one mile and a half from Bradlord village, the same farm
which is now owned and occupied by Capt. Preston Cham-
berlin. Mr. Tabor died there, Aug. 10, 1852, at the age
of 80, and Mrs. Tabor, his wife, died Aug. 23, 1837, in her
79th year. Their children were :
1. Mary was born March 27, 1767, and died Jan. 10,
1847, in the 70th year of her age.
2. Ruby, born Sept. 7, 1778, married Ezekiel Sawyer,
and died leaving a family (see the Sawyers) March 24,
1813, in her 35th year.
3. Rebecca, born Aug. 2, 1780 ; married Thomas
Highlands, and died July 22, 1852, aged 72, nearly;
left a family.
4. Jeremiah, born April 22, 1782 ; married Dorothy
261
Drew, settled on Indian stream, in the North-west part of
New Hampshire, and died there March 31, 1843, aged 61,
nearly.
5. Phebe, born Aug. 1784; married Thomas Whipple,
and died Aug. 17, 1823, aged 39 years. Thomas Whipple
was M. D., and also a Member of Congress. See fur
ther account of him among the Physicians in Bradford.
6. Thomas Tabor, born May 13, 1786 ; married Abi
gail Drew, of Corinth, who died Sept. 24, 1861, aged 69
years, 5 months and 4 days. Mr. Tabor died at Hudson,
Michigan, Feb. 27, 1863, in the 77th year of his age. Of
him and his family see further notice, hereafter.
7. Paul Tabor, born Aug. 12, 1788; married Waity
Whipple, and is at this writing living in health and mental
vigor near Adrian, Michigan, with his wife.
8. Sarah, born March 12, 1791 ; married Daniel Drew,
of Corinth, and at this date is living still in health and
activity, at Prairie Du Lac, Sauk county, Wisconsin.
9. Stephen Tabor, born March 11, 1793 ; married Sarah
Wilson, daughter of James W., the globe maker, and died
March 27, 1823, aged 30 years and 16 days.
10. Anna, born Feb. 11, 1795 ; married Lewis Mas-
querier, lived with him at Green Point, King's Co., N. Y.,
and died Sept. 13, 1873, in her 78th year.
11. Mercy, born Dec. 16, 1796 ; married John H. Kim-
ball, .of Bradford, and died Aug. 25, 1833, in her 37th
year. See Kimball family.
12. Blisha P. Tabor, born Feb. 26, 1799 ; married Han
nah Kent, and at this writing is living at Prairie Du Lac,
Wisconsin.
13. Patience, born March, 1801 ; a successful teacher
still living, single.
14. Isaac W. Tabor, born November 11, 1804; by
profession an attorney -at-law ; married ; established him
self in business at Houlton, Aroostook Co., Maine ; repre-
262
sented that town in the State Legislature, and died there
Jan. 23, 1859, in his 55th year.
Of the children of these numerous members of the orig
inal Tabor family we have not been furnished with any
account, except in the case of Thomas and his wife, Abi
gail Drew, who had six sons and three daughters, all na
tives of Bradford, namely :
1. Lorenzo Tabor, born February 23, 1815. His early
education, pursued for some years in good district schools,
was finished at Bradford Academy. He commenced the
study of law with Seth Austin, Esq., of this town, and
completed the requisite course in the office of Elijah Farr,
attorney-at-law, at Wells River, Vt., and by Orange Coun
ty Court was duly admitted to the bar in 1838. In May,
1839, he married Miss Maria, daughter of Thomas Orms-
by, of this town, and with her set out to seek a home in
the West. They seem to have been most happily united,
and have lived for many years in prosperity at Adrian,
Michigan. They have had three beautiful sons, all re
moved from them by the stroke of death, in their boy
hood. Esquire Tabor has been not only successful in his
professional business, and accumulated a competency with
which, unlike many others, he seems to be satisfied, and
disposed to be liberal ; but has also gained the reputation
of a capable, upright, and trustworthy man, and as such
has been in various ways honored. On the late occasion
of his resignation of the office of an Alderman of Adrian,
the City Council passed resolutions highly applauding
" the rare ability, honesty of purpose, and the strictest
integrity," ever manifested by him in the discharge of his
official duties, and their regret that, for reasons made pub
lic by him, he should have seen fit to resign.
2. Philander Tabor, the next brother of the last
named, born November 15, 1816, is at this date living in
Independence, Iowa.
263
3. Ruby, born July 1, 1818, married Henry Ames,
with whom she lives in Adrian.
4. Stephen, born January 22, 1820, died August 12,
1867.
5. Phebe Jane, born July 31, 1824, lives near her
brother Lorenzo.
6. Lavalette, born September 24, 1826, is largely and
successfully engaged in mercantile business at Prairie Du
Lac, Wisconsin.
7. Mercy Helen, born November 22, 1828, married
S. S. Wilkinson, a lawyer, and lives in Jefterson, Green
County, Iowa, in good circumstances.
8. Thomas Byron, born September 29, 1830, died
February 19, 1849, in his nineteenth year.
9. Another son, Walter W., born August 11, 1833,
died in his fifth year.
Thomas Tabor, Esq., had a love for the beautiful in
nature, and by the way-sides, near their residence in
Bradford, set out those rows of maples, now so large and
flourishing and attractive to every passer by. He set
them in the spring of 1830, so that they have now been
growing there for forty-four years. He was a trustee of
Bradford Academy for several years, and to him, mainly,
is the institution indebted for the beautiful maples which
adorn its grounds. He set them there in the spring of
1831. Mr. Tabor removed to Michigan in 1837 ; and in
1860 wrote to me, "Here are many trees growing, that
may perpetuate a name that otherwise might become ex
tinct."
In the same letter he gave the following account of his
experience in regard to the business of making whiskey :
" Not far from the year 1810, my brother Jeremiah and I,
the two oldest sons, both zealous members of the Freewill
Baptist church, built a distillery on the Tabor farm, and
N. B. — When individuals are spoken of as now living, the meaning is now at
the time of this writing, which in this case is June, 1874,
264
engaged largely in making whiskey from potatoes, which
we followed for near fifteen years, raising from one thou
sand to four thousand bushels of potatoes yearly, and
buying as many more. This was the most successful es
tablishment of the kind for many miles around, and no
doubt did more real injury in the circle of its influence
than the proprietors have been, or ever will be, able to
atone for by a long life of humble repentance and earnest
efforts to do good. This business finally fell into my
hands, ' and I verily thought with myself7 that I could
make and sell whiskey, and at the same time please God,
pray to Him acceptably and be a blessing to the world.
In this state of mind I attended a temperance lecture at
the village, the first I ever attended, not far from the
year 1825. In this meeting the dreadful and inexcusable
sin of making, selling, or drinking, alcoholic liquors as a
beverage was so forcibly brought home to my conscience
that I felt, with David, that I had sinned ; and was among
the first to come forward and sign the pledge of total ab
stinence, which I have faithfully kept for now thirty-five
years, and intend to keep till I die. The distillery went
to the bugs."
It was probably in 1826 that Mr. Tabor's conversion oc
curred ; as it was then that our earnest temperance effort
was commenced. And, though the fact is not stated by
him, it was said at the time that the horrible murder of a
womanatHaverhill, N. H., by her drunken husband, under
the maddening influence of some of Mr. Tabor's whiskey,
was with him an urgent motive to break off at once, and
forever, from the business in which he had been engaged.
He was ever after an earnest advocate of total abstinance.
Esqr. Tabor was a very sensible and kind-hearted man,
and, withal, quite poetically inclined. Some specimens of
his poetry may be seen, with other Bradford productions
of that sort, in the last chapter of this book.
265
ADJUTANT JOHN PUTNAM AND FAMILY.
For the following brief account of this patriotic man,
and family, I am indebted to Mrs. Hannah Pearsons, of
Lynn, Mass., his daughter, and give it mainly in her own
words :
"My father, John Putnam, was born in Lyndeborough,
N. H., in 1760. He served for seven years in the war of
the Revolution, and was for some time one of the life
guards of Gen. Washington. He, in common with many
others, at times suffered severely from cold and hunger,
and manifold hardships. I have heard him say that at one
time they were so destitute that he and his comrades ate
horse's liver, and he thought it the sweetest mouthfuls
he had ever tasted. In battle his right and left hand men
had been shot down by his side, while he was preserved.
At the close of the war they were paid off in worthless
currency. In his old age he received from the govern
ment a pension of ninety- six dollars annually, which was
very acceptable. He married Olive Barren, of Lynde
borough, a sister of General Micah Barren, subsequently
of Bradford, Vt., and removed to that place in 1787. The
inhabitants were then but few, and subject to the various
trials of early settlers. Soon after the coming of my par
ents there was a scarcity of provisions. Articles of living-
were very dear, and money to buy with hard to be ob
tained. I have heard my mother tell that one evening
when father came home, weary and hungry, she wa&
obliged to confess that they had absolutely nothing to eat.
Almost disheartened, he lay down, and soon dropt to
sleep. She put on her cloak, and went down to Mr. Ich-
abod Ormsby's. The good old lady, with whom she had
never spoken before, met her at the door, with the excla
mation, " You dear woman ! come in." Mother told her
why she had come ; and Mrs. Ormsby promptly gave her
bread and butter and meal, with which she joyfully re-
18
266
turned and furnished her table, and then awoke her hus
band. When he found what she had done, the strong man
wept. They were both not only glad for the kindness of
their neighbor, but very thankful. My father for several
years was much occupied in building bridges and mill-
dams, and in rafting lumber down Connecticut River.
When the last war with England broke out, in 1812,
my father, with his two sons, John and Ephraim, in the
spirit of heroic patriotism, shouldered their muskets and
knapsacks, and went promptly into the service of their
country. In this war he acted both as Lieutenant and
regimental Adjutant. He was a military man, not from
love of dress parade in time of peace, but to render his
best services to . his country in her times of perilous ne
cessity.
My parents had five sons and six daughters, all natives
of Bradford, of whom I give you the following brief
notices :
1. Olive Putnam married Moses Collins, of Bradford,
by occupation a carpenter. They had fifteen children,
and lived to see some of their posterity of the fourth gen
eration. They removed to Michigan, and died there.
2. Sarah Putnam married Eber Jones Chapin, a cloth
ier by trade, at South Newbury, Yt., where he died.
They had nine children, among whom were John P. and
Eber J. Chapin, successful merchants in Chicago. Mrs.
Chapin, after the death of her husband, lived with her
daughter, Sarah Cummins, in Wisconsin, and died there.
3. Jonathan Putnam married Mary Stockwell. They
had eight children. He was a hard-working man, of kind
disposition ; kind to the widow and fatherless, and others
in need of his help. He and his wife remained and died
in Bradford.
4. Rebeccah Putnam married Isaac Stockwell. They
had nine children. Two of the sons are successful mer-
267
chants in Danville, Canada East. These parents both died
there.
5. John Putnam married Mary Peckett, of Bradford.
They removed to Wisconsin, where he became a wealthy
farmer, and was killed in a reaping machine. They had
four children, all now deceased. Their mother was left
the last surviving member of her former family.
6. Micah Barren Putnam died in childhood, at the age
of two years.
7. Hannah Putnam married John Pearsons, of Brad
ford. They had nine children. Of this family further
notice hereafter.
8. Ephraim Putnam married Rachel Stoddard. They
had six children. He died in Bradford, where she, in
1874, is still living.
9. Elizabeth Putnam married Israel Prescott, and had
one son. She died at East Boston. Mr. Prescott married
again, and lives in Bradford.
10. Lucy Putnam married Phelps Bliss, of Fairlee.
They migrated to Iowa. Both died there, leaving nine
children, all settled in that State.
11. William ^Barren Putnam married Esther Brown.
They went to Wisconsin, and with their nine children re
main there. At our last intelligence this brother was
there successfully engaged in preaching the gospel.
Adjutant John Putnam, the father of this large family,
died in Hydepark, Vt., November 5, 1837, at the age of
about seventy-seven years. His remains were brought
to Bradford for burial.
Mrs. Pearsons adds, " My mother, having lived with me
at Hartford, Vt., for sixteen years, died there, in 1858, at
the good old age of ninety-three years and three months.
I conveyed her remains to Bradford for burial beside
those of my father, in the principal cemetery there. She
had been a member of the Congregational church in Brad
ford for more than forty years, and loved both the church
268
and its pastor. She retained her reason to the last, and
died divinely supported and comforted.
JOHN PEARSONS AND FAMILY.
John Pearsons was born in Lyndeborough, N. H., Au
gust 29, 1792. He came to Bradford to live in his twelfth
year. When the war with England broke out, in 1812, he,
then about twenty years of age, volunteered as a soldier,
and remained in the service till, at the end of the war,
honorably discharged. In 1817 he was married with Miss
Hannah Putnam, mentioned in the account of the Putnam
family. For about seventeen years he was engaged in
the lumber business near and on the Connecticut River,
at the proper seasons taking timber, boards, shingles, etc.,
down the river as far as Hartford, Conn., and sometimes
to its confluence with the ocean. He also kept tavern on
the Lower Plain for sixteen years, in the same house
which had been occupied for the like purpose by Colonel
John Barron and family in former years. That old yellow
house, two stories in front and one in the rear, is still
standing, but moved to the east side of the highway. On
its original site Mr. Pearsons built, in 1842, a new and
more commodious hotel, designed to be more comfortable
and enduring, the walls being of sawn timber, laid as
solid as brick walls, and then finished outside and within
in the ordinary style. That house is now owned by a
Mr. Golding, and occupied as a private dwelling. Mr.
Pearsons sold his place in Bradford in 1844, and removed
to Hartford, Vt., where he had bought a good farm on
White River, and for the remainder of his life devoted
himself to its cultivation, and, with his pleasant family,
the enjoyment of the fruits of his labor.
Mr. and Mrs. Pearsons had seven sons and two daugh
ters, all natives of Bradford. Of these, three died in their
childhood ; namely, William Chapin, the third child, Lucy,
the fifth, and Lucius, the sixth.
269
Charles Pearsons, the youngest son, lived to be a prom
ising young man and fine scholar, but died at Hartford,
August 9, 1858, in the twentieth year of his age.
Of the four sons and one daughter now living (March,
1874) the following gratifying notices may be given.
1. John Alonzo Pearsons was born September 8, 1818.
He was married with Hannah Stevens Bailey, of New-
bury, Yt., October 25, 1842. They had four children.
He moved to Evanston, Illinois, and is now engaged in
the lumber business there. He was one of the first set-
lers of that beautiful place, and has contributed in* vari
ous ways to its prosperity. His son, Henry A. Pearsons,
served in the late war as a Lieutenant in the Eighth Regi
ment of Illinois Cavalry, and is now engaged in real estate
agency in Chicago. Isabella, the eldest daughter of Mr.
John A. Pearsons, is the wife of Rev. William Mappin, of
Larimie, Wyoming Territory.
2. Daniel Kimball Pearsons was born April 14, 1820.
He taught school for five Winters, studied medicine,
graduated as M. D. in 1843, practiced for ten years in
Chicopee, Mass., married Miss Marietta Chapin, August
17, 1847, and traveled in Europe. On his return he went
to Chicago and pursued the business of his profession for
some while, and then engaged in real estate business,
dealing largely in farming lands, selling for private indi
viduals and railroad companies, investing money to a
great amount yearly for Eastern capitalists, on real estate
security ; and having secured a high reputation for strict
integrity and successful management, has in the course
of a few years accumulated, and that, it is believed, by
honest means, an ample fortune, which he seems disposed
to .use with discretion and commendable liberality, assist
ing the needy, and promoting good objects generally ; in
all well doing being heartily encouraged and aided by his
benevolent and magnanimous wife.
3. William Barren Chapin Pearsons was born Decem-
270
ber 19, 1824. He taught school for a number of Winters,
studied law, graduated at Cambridge, Mass., Law School,
and opened an office at Holyoke, in that State, where he
has remained in successful practice for twenty-five years.
He married, February 25, 1857, Sarah Elizabeth Taylor,
of Westfield, Mass. They have three children. He has
been a member, both of the House and Senate, of the
General Court of Massachusetts, and served in the late
war as Paymaster. He has been very successful in busi
ness, and is one of the leading men of Holyoke.
4. George Reed Pearsons was born August 7, 1830.
He lived for several years in Hartford, making it his busi
ness to teach in the Winter seasons ; but was by occupa
tion a farmer. In 1856, October the 8th, he married Miss
Welthea Porter, of Hartford, Vt., and finally moved to
Fort Dodge, Iowa, where he still resides, successfully en
gaged in the real estate and loan business. He is at this
date Mayor of the city, and highly esteemed for his moral
integrity and decided ability as a man of business. He
has three sons and one daughter.
5. Hannah Elizabeth Pearsons, born April 25, 1836,
resided in Bradford till eight years of age, when she went
with her parents to live in Hartford, In the twenty-first
year of her age, February 14, 1860, she was married to
Alvin Matthew Gushing, M. D., a practicing physician in
Bradford, of whom more full account may be seen in the
chapter of doctors who have resided and practiced here.
The worthy doctor and his not less worthy wife now re
side in Lynn, Mass., where he is doing a large business
in the line of his profession.
Mr. John Pearsons, the father of this family, an indus
trious, kind-hearted, and strictly honest man, died at Hart
ford, Vt., October 30, 1857, at the age of sixty-five years,
and a marble obelisk erected to his memory in the princi
pal cemetery of Bradford shows the place of his burial.
To Mrs. Pearsons, his widow, now resident with her child-
271
ren, Dr. Gushing and wife, at Lynn, Mass., I have been
indebted for the dates, names, and principal facts given
in the above account. It would not be at all strange if
the good mother should feel somewhat proud of such a
family as the God of all grace and consolation has given
her.
THE SAWYERS.
Captain Ezekiel Sawyer, born May 9, 1743, came to
this town from Rowley, Mass., about the year 1795, and
purchased the farm on Connecticut River next south of
Rowell's ledge, the same which is now owned and occu
pied by his grandson, Deacon John H . Sawyer, to whom
we are indebted for this and the following information.
Captain Sawyer there remained, an industrious farmer
and worthy citizen, the rest of his days. He died Jan
uary 13, 1817, in the seventy-fourth year of his age.
Mrs. Mary (Pay son) Sawyer, his wife, died July 6, 1819.
The venerable old two-story house which they occupied
was succeeded some years since by a nice cottage in
modern style.
Captain Sawyer arid wife on their coming into this
town for settlement brought with them a family of four
sons and seven daughters, who lived to be men and
women, and all, with the exception of one daughter, to
marry and have children of their own.
1. Elliott- Sawyer, born about 1766, married Lucy
Young, and settled in Stanstead, Canada East. They
had but one son, Elliott, Jr., who lived to manhood. -He
married Lydia Abbott, who died in Bradford village.
They had several sons and. daughters, namely : Samuel,
who was drowned at the age of fourteen, while the fami
ly were living in Canada. Homer died in New Orleans."
Emily married Ormand Jenney ; they live in Methuen,
Mass. Elzina married George Peters, of Bradford ; they
have one son, Harry Malcom, and one daughter, Anna
272
Gertrude. Silas Sawyer lives in New Orleans. Maria
married John Bicknell, and settled in Methuen. John
lives in Boston, engaged in livery business. James mar
ried Ellen Cummings, of Bradford. She died in this
place in 1874, leaving one daughter, Carrie. Several of
the members of this family were distinguished singers of
sacred music. Mr. Sawyer, the father, is at this date liv
ing in • Methuen. His parents had several daughters, of
whom one gave these brief notices. Narcissa married a
Mr. Bangs, and died here. Mary married James McDuf-
fee. See account of the McDufFee family. Betsey mar
ried Albert Woodworth, had several children and died.
Mr. W., her husband, was subsequently killed or died in
the service of his country, during the late war. Lucy
died here in maidenhood, having long been unable to
walk. Maria married Ogden Fox, had five children, and
died.
2. Ezekiel Sawyer, the second son of the first of that
name in Bradford, born January 13, 1768, married Ruby
Tabor, of this town ; had two sons, who died in childhood,
and six daughters, who lived to womanhood, namely : Ru
by, Almira, Mary Ann, Hannah, Jane and Harriet. Han
nah became the wife of a Mr. Carr. Captain Benjamin
Celley, a prosperous farmer and highly esteemed citizen
of Fairlee, married Jane Sawyer, and they had a son Wil
liam, and a daughter Mary. William married Jane Moore,
daughter of Jasper Moore, of West Fairlee, and had a
daughter Emma Jane, and Greorgi E. The daughter
Mary married Marshall Rugg, and they have one son.
Captain Celley with his children and their companions
live in close and happy proximity, being all partakers of
the same precious faith. After the death of his first wife
he married her sister Mary Ann ; and after her decease,
so happy had been his connection with these two good
wives that he married for his third wife their no less
worthy sister Harriet, with whom at this date he is still
273
living in prosperity and happiness. He 'attends worship
with the Methodist church in Bradford, as his son and
wife also do. Mr. and Mrs. Rugg worship at Fairlee.
3. Mary Sawyer, of the original family here, born No
vember 30, 1770, married John Gage, of Hopkinton, N. H.,
and had two sons and one daughter. The parents both
died there.
4. Mehitable Sawyer, born March 31, 1773, died in
maidenhood, January 22, 1862, in the eighty-ninth year
of her age. She and her sisters, Elizabeth, Jane, Mercy
and Anne, were all members of the Congregational church
in Bradford.
5. Elizabeth Sawyer, born February 13, 1775, married
Jesse Johnson, of this town, and had four sons and two
daughters. She died May 23, 1855, at the age of eighty
years.
6. Joseph Sawyer, born March 28, 1777, married Azu-
bah Chamberlin, and had four sons and four daughters.
He settled in Newbury, but died here in 1818.
7. Hannah Sawyer, born March 26, 1779, married
Jonathan Johnson, and lived and died in South Newbury.
They had an only son, Haynes Johnson, who was gradu
ated at Dartmouth College in the class of 1822, became a
worthy minister of the gospel of the Methodist order, and
died in 1856, at the age of fifty-five years, leaving two
sons.
8. Jane Sawyer, born December 29, 1781 ; married
Haynes Johnson, of this town, where they remained and
died. They had a family of ten children. And here we
see that three Sawyer sisters, Elizabeth, Hannah and Jane,
married three Johnson brothers, Jesse, Jonathan, and
Haynes, and all spent the remainder of their days in the
same neighborhood. For further notices of the families
of Elizabeth and Jane, see the Johnsons.
9. Mercy Sawyer, born August 1, 1784 ; married Isaiah
Stone and had a family of ten children. They lived for some
274
time on the farm in Bradford now owned by Thomas
Johnson, but finally removed to the State of Ohio, and
died there.
11. Anne Sawyer, born April 8, 1784; married Har
vey Smith, of Bradford, where they subsequently lived
and died. They had four sons and one daughter. Their
eldest son, Charles P., was graduated at Dartmouth, in the
class of 1854 ; went South, and became a professional
teacher ; now residing in Nebraska.
10. John Sawyer, a brother between the two sisters
last named ; born October 27 1786 ; married LydiaW. Dike,
of Bradford, March 19,1816. They spent the remainder of
their days on the old homestead, in the house next South
of his father's. They had a family of four sons and four
daughters.
1. Mary Dike Sawyer, born February 27, 1817; mar
ried George Burroughs, of Newbury, now a worthy dea
con in the Congregational church there. Have, three
sons and three daughters.
2. John Hiram Sawyer, born November 22, 1818 ; mar
ried Sarah Hibbard, of Piermont, N. H. Both members
ot the Congrgational church in Bradford. November 10,
1871, Mr. Sawyer was elected a Deacon in the same, and
in that capacity has since officiated, to the entire satisfac
tion of the church.
3. Emily Paysori Sawyer, born January, 1822 ; mar
ried Charles P. Blanchard, of Concord, N. H., September
3, 1862, and went there to live.
4. Henry Ezekiel Sawyer, born February 2, 1824 ;
married Amanda Chamberlin. They live in Chicago, and
have one son.
5. Lydia Sawyer, born June 13, 1826, has lived for
several years in the vicinity of Boston.
6. Joseph Sawyer, born April 24, 1829 ; married Su
san Sawyer, of Newbury, February 14, 1865 ; went into
the livery business at Chicago, where Mrs. Sawyer died,
275
leaving one daughter and a son. The little daughter died
at the house of her uncle, Deacon Burroughs, of New-
bury, January 9, 1874. The son, Frank E., remains with
his father.
7. Elizabeth Sawyer, born September 14, 1831 ; mar
ried Ellis McDufFee of this town. They had one son and
three daughters. See McDuffee family.
8. Edward Sawyer, born February 20, 1837, lives in
Chicago, engaged in Express business.
9. Jane Sawyer, born February 20, 1837 ; married
Edward Kobie, of Bradford. They have had three child
ren, one son and a daughter still living.
Deacon Sawyer having communicated the above intel
ligence, I said I should like to add some ^appropriate inci
dent or anecdote of interest, if he had anything of that
sort to give me. He thought a moment, and then replied
substantially as follows : "Well, I shall never forget that
when I was a young man I was, on a certain occasion , driving
a team of nine horses attached to a large wagon with a tre
mendously heavy load of merchant's goods on it, around
IngalPs Hill, in Newbury, on my way to Wells River. The
road was narrow, and lay on the very brink of a precipice,
steeply descending into the Connecticut river. To my
amazement, I had perceived my wheels next to the river to
be sinking deeper, and yet deeper, into the ground, and my
wagon, with its load, in utmost danger of going over and
dragging the horses with it into the fiver ! The load had
indeed swayed heavily over, and was resting against a
tree, which was every moment in danger of being up
rooted. There I was in deep trouble, with no one to help
me, when I saw you coming around the hill on horseback,
on your way towards home. You instantly sprang from
your horse, threw off your coat, and promptly afforded me
all the assistance in your power. We got the horses free,
then mounted the load, and persevered in throwing off ar
ticle after article, till all were cleared away, with the ex-
276
ception of two heavy looking barrels at one end of the
wagon, which had been placed at the bottom of the load.
When you said 'John, what have you in these barrels ?'
I replied l something exhilerating, I suppose.' 'Then let
them go into the river !' said you, thinking, no doubt, it
was better the drunkard's drink should go there rather than
down men's throats. I was, however, as a teamster, anxious
to save my whole load, and having again hitched on my
strong team of horses they drew out the wagon, and so,
through your assistance, all was saved, much to my
gratification, and that of the owner of the goods."
277
CHAPTER XIII.
The Kimball, Simpson, Colby, Greenleaf and Corliss families.
DANIEL KIMBALL, ESQ., AND FAMILY.
Daniel Kimball, Esq., was a native of Bradford, Mass.,
born A. D., 1766. He removed to Pembroke, N. H.,
while young, and there lived for several years. He mar
ried Miss Huldah Prescott, November 15, 1792, and in
1796 bought a farm in Bradford, Vt., about two miles back
from the river and near the line of Newbury, and there,
with his wife and two eldest children, settled about that
time. The farm was the same which is now (1874) own
ed by Mr. John Holmes. In 1814 Esq. Kimball purchased
and moved on to the farm next South of that, the one now
owned by his son, H. W. Kimball, where he spent the re
mainder of his days. He was a man highly esteemed by
his fellow townsmen, and by them often called to fill va
rious offices. For how many years he officiated as one of
the Selectmen, or as a Justice of the Peace, we have no
exact account, but he represented this town in the State
Legislature in the year 1802, and again in 1806, and thence
onward, without intermission, for some years more, and fi
nally in 1815, making nine years in the whole.
Esquire Kimball and his first wife had a family of nine
children, who lived to be men and women, namely :
1. Eliza C., born November 13, 1794 ; married Doctor
Thomas Colby, of this town, October 29,1815; the first
couple thus united by the writer, but not the last, by sev
eral hundreds. They had two sons and two daughters, of
whom no one is now living, unless it should be one of the
sons, who is supposed to be dead, not having been heard
of for about forty years. Dr. Colby died here in 1829,
at the age of forty-one years. His widow married John
278
L. Corliss, of Corinth, and died January 10, 1837, in her
forty-third year.
.2. James Kimball, born March 26, 1796; went into
the State of New York; married Sophia Maltby, March
14, 1819 ; had four sons and seven daughters; resided in
Western New York for many years, when he removed to
Florida, and died there in 1871.
3. John W. Kimball, born August 16, 1796; married
Mercy Tabor, of this town, April 8, 1822. He kept the
principal hotel in the village for a while ; exercised the
office of a sheriff; was a stirring, energetic sort of a man ;
moved to Adrian, Mich., some time prior to 1840, and died
there in the winter of 1873 or 4. He had a family of four
children, all natives of Bradford. Charles died in Wiscon
sin. Caroline married Stephen Tabor, of this town, and
at this date was living in widowhood in Wisconsin. Anne
Eliza married in Maine, and died there. Emily married,
and lives in Washington, D. C.
4. Sally Kimball, born August 14, 1801, married Dr.
David Huntoon, of Washington, Vt., October 16,1820;
has six sons and four daughters, and was at this writing
living with her children in Lowell, Mass., being a widow.
5. Hannah Kimball, born February 19, 1804, married
Asa Kimball, of GHlead, Maine, January 19, 1824, and had
two sons and two daughters. She died in 1838.
6. Phebe Kimball, born March 12, 1806, married Dea.
Samuel Dearborn, of Corinth, Vt., March 22, 1837, where
she still resides, a widow ; no children.
7. Waity W. Kimball, born April 13, 1808. At the
age of twenty, on profession of her faith, she became a
beloved member of the Congregational church in this
place. In 1839, April 13, she married T. J. Chapman, of
Bethel, Maine, and died there in 1862. No children.
8. Adeline Kimball, born February 22, 1811, died in
1855, unmarried.
9. Julia A. Kimball, born March 28, 1814.
279
Mrs. Huldah Prescott Kimball, the mother of this inter
esting family of nine children, died at Bradford, Novem
ber 7, 1815, nine days after the marriage of her eldest
daughter, and at the age of forty-five years.
Daniel Kimball, Esq., married for his second wife, March
3, 1816, Miss Susan Huntoon, of Corinth, who was born
April 8, 1790. They had one daughter, Huldah M.; who
died in her infancy, and four sons, namely :
1. Daniel C. Kimball, born February 23, 1819,married
Mary J. Smith, of Northumberland, N. H. They settled
in Maidston, Yt., and had three sons and two daughters.
Mr. Kimball was called while there to fill various offices
of trust and importance, as Constable, Town Clerk, and
Representative of the town for two years in the State
Legislature. He resided in that town some ten or twelve
years, and in 1854 removed to Haverhill, Mass., where he
died in April, 1873, in the fifty-fifth year of his age.
2. Hyram W. Kimball, born July 12, 1822, married,
April 21, 1845, Lydia S. Burnham, of Chelsea, Vt. They
had one daughter and one son, at this date still living,
namely, Abbie L., a member of the Congregational church
in Bradford, and wife of D. S. Johnson, of Fairlee ; and
Frank H., still with his father in Bradford. Mrs. Kimball
died in March, 1864. Mr. Kimball married, June 1, 1867,
Mrs. Mary J. Brock, of Burlington, Wisconsin, whose
maiden name was Mary J. Chamberlin, formerly of New-
bury, Vt. They have one daughter, Alice E., and still
occupy the paternal homestead. Mr. Kimball has had
occasion to be efficient in town affairs, as his father was
before him.
3. Edward L. Kimball, born October 21, 1824, married
a lady in Maine, and resides in Portland.
4. Denison S. Kimball, born July 3, 1834, married Eu
nice Kendall, of West Townsend, Mass. He went to re
side in that State. They had one son and two daughters.
He enlisted in a Massachusetts regiment during the late
280
war, and was killed in the battle of Port Hudson, Louisi
ana, June 13, 1863.
Daniel Kimball, Esq., the honored father of these four
teen children died at Bradford, November 6, 1851, at the
age of eighty-five years.
His widow has since been passing the peaceful after
noon of her useful and somewhat protracted life at her
old home in Bradford, with her beloved son, Hiram W.
Kimball, and his kind family.
THE SIMPSONS.
Alexander Simpson and wife, whose maiden name was
Mary Bryant, were both natives of Windham, N. H., and
moved to this town, with their family of four children, in
the month of March, 1797. They started from Windham
with a yoke of oxen and sled, the only team to convey
the family and goods to Vermont. They also had with
them a cow and heifer. One of the oxen met with a sad
accident, and died by the way. What was then to be
done ? Mr. Simpson yoked his cow and heifer together,
hitched them to the sled, with the surviving ox forward,
to strongly guide them, and so proceeded on his journey.
They crossed Connecticut River at about nine o'clock in
the evening, on the ice, and stopped with Samuel Mc-
Duffee, on the Upper Plain, during the night. The next
morning they took up their abode in a log house near by,
until arrangements could be made to move to a lot which
he had secured on the west side of Wright's Mountain,
where he and his wife spent the remainder of their days.
THEIR CHILDREN.
1. Henry married Abigail Page, and settled in New-
bury. They had three sons and three daughters. Matil
da married Isaiah Woodward, of Haverhill, N. H., and af
ter his decease, G-eorge Whipple. Daniel married Louisa
Baldwin, of Newbury, and settled in Corinth. They had
six children, Abbie, Charles, Francena, George, Hylas
and Lula. Mr. Simpson, their father, died May 17, 1874.
Jemima, daughter of Henry, married Newall Tabor, set
tled in Haverhill, and had one daughter and four sons.
Orrin7 her brother, married Martha Caswell, of Fairlee,
settled in Haverhill, and had a family of thirteen children.
Of Henry F., his brother, we have no account.
2. William Simpson, second son of Alexander, mar
ried Polly Page, a sister of his brother Henry's wife, and
settled in Bradford, near his father, and had twelve chil
dren, namely : Thaddeus, Cornelius, Cordelia, Albert,
Avarissa, Samantha, Adaline, William, Reuben, Alonzo,
and George. Of these it may be remarked that the eld
est son has remained unmarried, with his 'parents, who at
this date (June, 1874) are still living. Harriet married
John Platt, and settled in Haverhill. Cornelius married
his cousin, Susan Simpson,, of Topsham, and has one child.
Cordelia married Amos Flanders, and settled in Manches
ter, N. H. Reuben married Etta Prince, settled in Brad
ford, and has three children. George married Lucia
Hutchins, settled in Newbury, and has one child. Wil
liam Simpson represented tl}is town in the State Legisla
ture of 1800.
3 and 4. Nancy and Jane were twin daughters of
Alexander Simpson and wife. Jane died in maidenhood.
Her sister Nancy married Daniel Page, settled in Haver
hill, and had two sons and four daughters.
5. John Simpson, the next in this original family, mar
ried Lydia Crook, settled in Topsham, and had two sons
and two daughters.
6. Betsey Simpson married Samuel Page, settled in
Corinth, and had a large family.
7. Mary Simpson, the youngest daughter of Alexander
and wife, died unmarried.
A singular incident, related to the writer by Mr. Thad-
deus Simpson, seems worth repeating here. He said it
19
282
once occurred that a horse belonging to his father, having
been turned out to graze, was missing. Diligent search
was made for it, not only on the premises and through
the neighborhood, but more extensively, without success.
After more than a week of search, not the slightest intel
ligence could be obtained of its whereabouts, or of its
having been seen. It was, therefore, but natural to sup
pose 'that it must have been stolen in the night, and taken
to some remote place. But one day when he, Thaddeus,
was out on the farm, he heard a sound which seemed like
the faint neighing of a horse, under the ground. He
listened, and with anxiety approached the spot from which
the sound seemed to come. To his astonishment, he per
ceived the head of a living horse, raised just a little above
the, surface of the earth ! And there, in a deep potato-
hole, he found the lost horse, still alive, though for some
twelve days it had been without any nourishment what
ever, beyond the merest pittance of grass which it had
been able to reach without changing its position. The
earth Avas speedily dug away, so as to give a path of es
cape, the horse was brought safely out, and lived to do
still good service, and, wiser than some released prison
ers, was cautious ever after not to be so venturesome as
to tall again into the same or any similar^. He said
there could be no doubt in regard to the time when the
horse fell into the hole, as they had been using it the very
day before it disappeared.
DEACON JACOB COLBY AND FAMILY.
Jacob Colby was a native of Newtown, Rockingham
County, N. H., born February 15, 1772. He was married
to Polly Huntington, of Lebanon, N. H., in February,
1796. They lived in Hanover till March, 1802, when they
removed to this town, and took up their abode on a pecul
iarity retired, uncultivated lot on the South bank of Wait's
283
River, in the western part of Bradford. Their first habi
tation was constructed of logs, the roof covered with elm
bark, and the floor laid with planks which had been
washed from a bridge in the east 'part of Corinth, and
swept as drift-wood down the stream. In this humble
tenement they lived for about six years, when they en
tered their new and more commodious house^ now (in
1874), still standing, in which they spent the remainder
of their days. In the course of time a well traveled high
way from Bradford village to Corinth, leading on to Chel
sea, was opened along Wait's River and its Southern
Branch, which, passing through the Colby homestead,
made it quite a noted place. Mr. Colby was by occupa
tion a mason, as well as a farmer, and in that capacity
very helpful to the new settlers engaged in building for
themselves better houses. He had invariably sustained
the reputation of a sensible, honest man, and on becoming
hopefully pious, and a member of the Christian church, so
called, in the north-western section of Bradford, was con
stituted a Deacon in the same, and thenceforth bore that
honorable title. Mrs. Colby, his good wife, died in this
town, December, 1850, at the age of eighty years. The
Deacon died in 1858, at the age of eighty-six. They
were the parents of three sons and three daughters, viz :
1. Jacob Curtis, born November 27 1796,
2. Enoch, born December 5, 1798.
3. Lucia, born September 18, 1801.
4. Lorena, born January 4, 1804.
5. Moody, born May 6, 1806.
6. Lavina, born May 26, 1807.
Of the various fortunes of this family we are able to
give only the following brief notices. Enoch Colby be
came a mariner, and died at sea, in the year 1823.
The sisters Lorena and Lavina Colby lived to be young
ladies, but died unmarried.
2S4
Moody Colby married Elizabeth Taylor, of Jaffrey, N.
H. He was for some years Post Master at Bradford, and
owned a house near the north end of the village, where
his widow still resides. Mr. Colby died there July, 1862,
at the age of fifty-six years. They had three children,
two of whom died in infancy. The surviving son, Henry
B., left this place years since, for the life of a mariner ;
but at this date, 1874, is understood to be settled on a
desirable plantation in California.
Lucia married Allen W. Colby, of Plainfield, N. H.
They had three children. The husband and children have
all deceased. She has a grandson, Edward H. Doten, re
siding at St. Johnsbury. The widow is still living in this
village, near the residence of her eldest brother.
Jacob Curtis Colby, the eldest son of Deacon Colby,
has for several years resided in this village, and has spent
not the whole, but fifty-two years, of his life in this town.
His first wife was Sarah D. Johnson, of Meriden, N. H.,
who died in 1850. By her he had four daughters. The
eldest, Mary H., married Rufus F. Ormsby, of this town.
For further notice see the Ormsby family. Sarah J. mar
ried Charles Page, of East Corinth. Lorena and Helen
L., both married, are living in the State of New York.
Mr. J. C. Colby was again married January, 1853, to
Mrs. A. H. Corliss, of Lyme, N. H. They have one
daughter, Zoe E., who as a teacher has rendered impor
tant service to the public.
Mr. J. C. Colby, her father, was also a well known
teacher of common schools. He taught for thirty consec
utive Winter terms ; seven of them in the same school at
Bradford Center He also worked there for fifteen Sum
mer seasons at the business of carding and cloth dressing,
thus ministering to the physical as well as intellectual
wants of the families around him, and has served the
town in the capacity of a Selectman for the years 1848,
285
1849, and 1850, and as a Lister for two or three years.
Honor to whom honor is due.
THE GREENLEAF FAMILY,
Samuel Greenleaf came from Nottingham, N. H., about
the year 1791, and bought a farm here, which is still well
known as the Greenleaf place, about a half-mile south of
what is now called " Goshen meeting house." He built
there a substantial farm house, which was long occupied
by himself and family. His wife's maiden name was
Hannah Rowe. She was a sister of Captain Elijah Rowe,
of the same neighborhood. They had a healthy, enter
prising family of three sons and six daughters, of whom
we are able to give only the following brief notices :
1. Dolly Greenleaf married,- as second wife, John Mc-
Duffee, Esq., and had two sons, well and honorably known
in Bradford. See the McDuffees.
2. Polly Greenleaf died at the age of fifteen years.
3. Lowell Greenleaf married Betsey Davis, of this
town, by whom he had two daughters. Julia married,
and settled in the State of Maine. Her sister Melissa
married Sargeant T. George, a merchant in this village,
whose daughter Orissa J. married John B. W. Prichard, a
merchant here, and her sister Orinda A. married John E.
Shaw, of Summerville, Mass. Mr. Lowell Greenleaf's
second wife was Anne Wyman. They had two daugh
ters, Betsey Anne and Emily ette, and a son, Lowell Green-
leaf, Jr. Mr. G. married a third wife, whose name is not
given.
4. Hannah Greenleaf married Jacob Corliss, of Brad
ford, a son of Captain Emerson Corliss. They had one
son and one daughter.
5. Phillips Greenleaf married Sally Stevens, of the
same neighborhood, and had a son and daughter. He
married for his second wife Eliza Burnet, of Newbury.
286
They had two children, both, with their father, now de
ceased.
6. Silver Greenleaf was by occupation a tanner and
currier. He migrated to the State of Maine, and estab
lished himself in business in the town of Freedom, Waldo
County. He married Miss Rhoda Freeman. They had
three children. Of these, Mary H. died at the age of
fourteen years, and Charles Henry, aged ten years — both
died of diptheria, the same day. Mr. Greenleaf returned
to Bradford in September, 1868, where his only surviv
ing daughter, an interesting and good girl, Olive, died in
June, 1871, at the age of twenty-three years. Mr. Green-
leaf's eyesight, which had . for years been growing dim,
entirely failed in the summer of 1865, since which he has
remained in physical, but not in intellectual or moral,
darkness, habitually manifesting that meek and quiet
spirit which is in the sight of God of great price. To
him it has been a great blessing that ha has had so good
a wife, to lead him to the houses of his friends, and es
pecially to the places of religious worship, where he has
loved to go, and to take in every way such tender and
faithful care of him, under this dark and trying dispensa
tion.
7. Sally Greenleaf married Reuben Kent, of Piermont,
N. H. Mr. Kent subsequently bought the farm formerly
owned by Captain Russell Andross, on the Lower Plain,
in this town, where they now live.
8. La vina Greenleaf married John Celley, of Corinth,
a worthy man and prosperous farmer there. They have
one daughter, the wife of Nelson Worthley, of that town.
9. Melissa Greenleaf married Amos" White, a pious
man and industrious farmer, in Topsham, where he lived
and died. They had two daughters and two sons. Miss
Lydia E. White has been a successful assistant teacher in
Bradford Academy, for several years. Her sister Han
nah married James Woodward, a merchant in Chicago,
287
formerly of this place. They have two children. Carlos
White, a graduate of Dartmouth College, author of a val
uable book on the rights of women, lives in California, is
married, and has two children. His brother, Byron N.
White, entered Dartmouth College, but on the death of
hig father found it necessary to leave before graduation.
He has for some time been engaged in teaching, in Iowa.
Mrs. White, the mother, is expected to take up her per
manent residence in this village.
Mr. Samuel Greenleaf, the father of this somewhat
large family bearing his name, died in Washington, Vt.,
and his wife in Bradford, both in honored old age.
Their son Silver Greenleaf, and five daughters, namely :
Mrs. McDufFee, Corliss, Kent, Celley and White, have
survived them, and all at this date, March, 1874, remain
estimable citizens of Bradford.
THE CORLISS FAMILIES.
The remotest ancestor bearing this name, of whom the
present generation of his posterity have any knowledge,
was George Corliss, of England, born in the year 1617.
He emigrated to Massachusetts in 1639, and married, in
1645, Joanna Davis, who was also from England. He was
by occupation a farmer, and commenced operations on a
lot which he purchased of the Indians, within the sub
sequent limits of Haverhill, a year before the first settlers
secured their corporate right to a tract sufficient for a
township. That town was incorporated in 1645. On
that same farm George Corliss and wife continued to live,
during the remainder of their days ; and by successive
heirs, bearing the same family name, it has since been
owned and occupied for six or seven generations. That
original couple had one son, and seven daughters. This
son, whose name was John ; born in 1647, married Mary
Milford in 1684 ; and had four sons ; John, Thomas, Timo-
288
thy and Jonathan, whose posterity became so numerous
that so long ago as in the year 1819 it was ascertained
that the number of males of this descent then living in
the United States and Canada, was about five hundred.
The genealogy of the three Corliss brothers who emi-
'grated to this town, and settled on farms in the western
part of the same, is reckoned as follows, in a direct line
of descent from father to son: 1. George Corliss, the
emigrant from England; 2. John Corliss, above men
tioned ; 3. Timothy Corliss, son of John, born at Haver-
hill, Mass., in 1793 ; married Sarah Hutchins, and removed
to Weare, N. H.
4. Jeremiah Corliss, his son, born in 1734, at Weare,
probably.
5. Jeremiah, Peletiah, and David, three sons of Jere
miah above named, emigrated to Bradford in the year
1800, and of each of them, with his family, such informa
tion will now be given as we have been able to obtain.
The eldest of these three brothers, Jeremiah, born at
Weare, N. H., July 2d, 1763, married Polly Philbrick.
They had seven children, who lived to marry and have
families of their own, as follows :
1. Hannah, married Edward Austin, of Bradford, and
died, leaving a large family, in Illinois.
2. Isaac, married Abigail Newell, of Bradford, and
died in Wisconsin. They had one son, who was drowned.
3. David, married Dolly Blake, of Andover, N. H.
They live in Wisconsin. Have several children.
4. Evan, married Polly Blake, of Andover. One son.
5. Jeremiah, Jr., married and died in Wisconsin.
6. Lydia, married David McKillips, of this town. They
removed to Indiana.
7. Eebecca went to Indiana ; married there, and re
moved to Kansas. They have a large family.
After the death of the mother of the above named chil
dren, Mr. Jeremiah Corliss married Hannah Martin, a
289
daughter of Deacon Reuben Martin, of this town, and
had two daughters and one son, namely :
8. Mary, married George W. Welton, of Bradford
Center, and had a family.
9. Anna M., married William Aldrich, of this town,
May 28, 1862 ; and her good mother spent the evening of
her days at their pleasant home, near the village, and died
there, November, 1867.
10. Edwin F., married Ellen M. Stone, of Cabot, Vt.,
and migrated to Wisconsin.
Jeremiah Corliss, the father of this large family, died
at his home in Bradford, December, 1841, in his seventy-
ninth year.
Peletiah Corliss, the next younger brother of Jeremiah,
was born at Weare, N. H., in 1770, January the 29th.
He married Sarah Sanborn, and removed to this town in
1800. He purchased and for many years occupied a farm
on the South road, the same now owned by Jesse Wor-
then ; but afterwards bought the Severance place, in the
north-western corner of the town, where he kept a hotel,
as there was then, as well as now, a good deal of travel
on the stage road between Bradford and Montpelier.
Mr. Corliss died there, March 26, 1828, in the fifty-ninth
year of his age. Mrs. Corliss, his wife, died August 18,
1844, at the age of seventy-three. They had a family of
six sons and five daughters, namely :
1. Susan, born December 10, 1790, married Winthrop
Green, of Corinth, and died in July, 1862.
2. Hannah, born June 30, 1792, married Flavel Bliss,
of this town, and died December 3, 1859.
3. Mary, born February 22, 1794, married Michael
Stevens, of Corinth ; died, January, 1827 ; left two chil
dren.
5. Mehitabel, born January 7, 1798, married Goulds-
bourne Taplin, of Corinth. They have several children.
6. John B., born September 24, 1799, married, first,
290
Hepzibah Taplin, of Corinth ; and for his second wife,
Annaritta Underwood, of this town. His homestead was
at the South side of Wright's Mountain, near Wait's
River. He died October 5, 1850. His widow, at this
date (1874), was still living.
7. Daniel, born December 16, 1802. He married a
Miss Caroline Taplin, of Corinth, a sister of G-ouldsbourne
T., above mentioned; became a practicing physician in
Montpelier, and died there, October 17, 1850.
8. William P., born August 24, 1804, died March 27,
1827.
9. George W., born September 10, 1806, died Sep
tember 21, 1825.
10. David Sanborn, born September 25, 1809, married
Emily, daughter of Rufus F. Ormsby, of this town. They
removed to Missouri, where he died April 21, 1863.
11. Sarah Ann, born August 25, 1814, married Jonas
Clark, and died April 5, 1858.
4. Of Peletiah, Jr., the eldest son in this family, let
the following notice, which appeared in our village paper,
soon after his decease, suffice. He was born February
14, 1796.
DIED.
In Bradford, Yt., April 9, 1874, Mr. Peletiah Corliss, in
the 79th year of his age. -
He was a native of Andover, N. H., and, at the age of
four years, came here with his father, Peletiah Corliss,
and family, and thence remained till his decease, a period
of seventy-four years. He was in active life a farmer
and inn-keeper, in the north-western corner of the town,
on the stage road leading to Montpelier ; but for several
years has lived in the village, in delicate health, taking
life, with its infirmities and cares, as quietly as possible.
He was, for the mildness of his disposition, his pleasant
conversation, strict honesty, and exemplary morality,
justly esteemed as a good neighbor and worthy citizen.
291
His last sickness, which was severe and somewhat pro
tracted, was borne with signal patience and resignation
to the divine will, and its end was peace.
The wife of Mr. Corliss, whose maiden name was Mary
Jackman, of Corinth, died in February, 1853. He left at
his decease one son, Charles P. Corliss, a watchmaker
and jeweller, at Memphis, Tenn., and three daughters,
namely : Sabra T., wife of Rodney Richardson, of Corinth ;
Susan J., wife of Samuel H. Grow, of Bradford ; and Miss
Mary Ann, the eldest, who had long taken the most kind
and faithful care of her father, and in his last sickness, day
and night, ministered to him with admirable assiduity
and tenderness.
His funeral was attended at' the house of Dr. Doty,
where he died ; and his remains laid to their long repose,
by those of his wife, in Bradford cemetery — kept in re
membrance there by the handsome marble obelisk which
he had seasonably erected. S. M. K.
David Corliss, the youngest of the three brothers who
emigrated from New Hampshire to this town, in 1800,
was born in 1774. He married Abigail Taplin, of Cor
inth, had by her five children, removed to Topsham, and
died there.
292
CHAPTER XIV.
John B. Peckett and family — the Johnsons, Willards, Worthleys,
Armstrongs, and Nelsons.
JOHN B. PECKETT, ESQ., AND FAMILY.
Mr. Peckett was of English descent. His grandfather,
Giles Peckett, in the year 1774, with his wife and four
children, emigrated from the county of Yorkshire, Eng
land, to Portsmouth, N. H. Having remained there a few
months, he removed to North Haverhill, N. H., and in 1779
or '80 came to Bradford, Yt., then called Moretown, to
find a home for himself and family.
Edward Peckett, a son of these worthy parents, was fif
teen years of age when he came with them to this coun
try. In course of time he married Deborah Barron, of
Haverhill, N. H., and settled in Newbury, Yt,, where he
died, leaving a widow, with six small children, with slen
der means of support. One of these children was John
B., the subject of this notice. He was born at Newbury,
November 29, 1789.
John B. Peckett, after his father's death, at the early
age of two years, was taken into the family of his grand
parents, the Barrons, where he remained until he was
nine years of age, when he came to Bradford, to live with
Mr. Cheney, on the farm now (1874) occupied by Mr. Cy
rus Stearns, and while but a little boy was taught the les
son of earning his bread by the sweat of his brow. It
might be an advantage to many idle boys of these later
days to be subjected to the same Spartan discipline, per
haps somewhat modified. Mrs. Cheney, a daughter of
Col. John Barron, of Bradford, was his mother's cousin,
and with them John B. no doubt found a pleasant home.
During his minority the means of education were ex
tremely limited, but he, having a strong mind, retentive
293
memory, and a liberal share of resolution and persever
ance, obtained an amount of learning which enabled him
to teach a common school with success, and proved high
ly beneficial in after life.
When about twenty-one years of age, Mr. Peckett com
menced the business of rafting on Connecticut river, and
followed it as his principal occupation during the appro
priate seasons of the twenty-seven years next ensuing.
The rafts were chiefly of pine timber, to be sawed or
hewn, and used for house and ship building, the same be
ing not unfrequently piled with boards and shingles, and
dignified with a hut for the accommodation of the rafts
men. Having sold his lumber, generally at Hartford, Ct.,
it was no uncommon thing for him to return on foot, and,
still full of energy, engage directly in preparing for an
other voyage. It is said that when getting his raft to
gether at Haverhill, he would often board at home, on the
lower plain in Bradford, going and returning on foot, a
distance of some half a dozen miles, at least, and be on
hand in the morning before the men on the spot were
ready to begin their labors for the day. Though not of a
large and apparently strong body, he was exceedingly
muscular, tough and energetic. Hard work was his habit
arid pleasure. When at an age when most men feel used
up, he would take his axe, in cold winter weather, and be
off early in the morning into the forest, to take the lead
in the business of logging, and to show the young men
how to work. He also took great satisfaction in the va
rious operations of farming. When almost seventy-nine
years of age, only a few weeks before his decease, he one
day held his plow, drawn by horses, till he had turned
over three acres of soil.
While through life mainly devoted to such laborious
pursuits, he found time to do a great many other things.
At the call of his townsmen he filled various offices of
honor and trust, to their satisfaction. He was overseer of
294
the poor for thirty years, and represented his town in the
State Legislature for the year 1831 ; was elected Select
man and town agent for several years ; was appointed
several times special agent to construct bridges, and for
the building of new highways ; and commissioner on sev
eral occasions, by the County Court, to lay out roads in
this and other towns.
He was also a firm friend and supporter of the cause of
temperance, and held not only to moral but to legal sua
sion. He believed in the necessity of law to restrain in
temperance, as well as other crimes against society, and
was for having such enactments put into execution upon
reckless transgressors, whether drunkards or retailers.
Industrious, economical, and faithful to fulfill all his en
gagements, he wished to see others so, and the prosperi
ty of not only those about him, but that of our entire
country promoted. He was a firm advocate of freedom
and human rights, a friend and supporter of the govern
ment of his country, and rejoiced in its triumphant sup
pression of the slaveholders' gigantic rebellion, and the
universal emancipation and enfranchisement of their
slaves. In the Presidential election of 1868 he took a
deep interest, and wished once more to cast his vote in
favor of the cause with which he had so long been iden
tified, but was not able. He lived, however, to hear of,
and rejoice in, the result. He was then confined to his
house by a prostration which was destined soon to termin
ate his long and active lile. Though he had never been
in the habit of talking much about death or eternity, he
had evidently, for some years been sensible that he was
liable at any time to be called hence, and had arranged all
his secular affairs accordingly. The disease which final
ly broke down his strong constitution, and brought him to
the grave, seized upon his heart, paralyzed his nervous
and muscular powers, and toward the last sadly affected
his once sound and strong intellectual capacities. But
295
without murmuring he seemed resigned to his destiny,
and quietly passed away on the evening of the 16th of
November, 1868, in the severity-ninth year of his age,
having been a resident of the town of Bradford for sev
erity years. On the 19th his funeral was numerously at
tended, especially by those who for more than half a
century had been associated with him in the various cares
and comforts of life and love. But few of his age, in this
community, are now remaining. May the evening of
their lives be serene, and their eternity blessed. " As for
man, his days are as grass ; as a flower of the field so he
flourisheth, for the wind passeth over it, and it is gone,
and the place thereof shall know it no more."
As to the family of Mr. Peckett, it may be remarked
that he was married to Miss Martha Tilton, January 8,
1817, an excellent Christian lady, who died suddenly, De
cember 23, 1858, at the age of sixty-six years. They
were blessed with three sons and two daughters. One
daughter died in infancy ; their son Derrick died in March,
1851; Edward M. in June, 1858, leaving a family. John
B. Peckett, Esq., and family, and his sister, Martha F.,the
wife of Col. J. C. Stearns, still reside in Bradford, and
were able to be with their honored father in his declining
years, and to do whatever could be done for his comfort
when finally passing away.
John B. Peckett, Esq., left at his decease a son bearing
the same name, of whom, and his family, some account
will now be given.
John B. Peckett, Jr., was born in Bradford, Decem
ber 19, 1822. After his school days were over he spent
several years in mercantile business, first as a clerk in the
store of Mr. Asa Low, and subsequently as partner with
Adams Preston, Esq.rthree years.
Mr. Peckett was united in marriage with Miss Caroline
H., daughter of Mr. Asa Low, of this village, September
9, 1847, and in the year 1853 built the nice brick cottage
296
nearly opposite to the Congregational parsonage, and
there resided for several years. In 1854 he became part
ner with Dea. George W. Prichard and George and E.
Prichard in the ownership of the valuable brick grist-mill,
and of the saw-mill therewith connected, in this village,
and has since had the principal agency in the manage
ment of the same. Those mills are not only very benefi
cial to the public, but have the reputation of .being very
profitable to their proprietors. Mr. Peckett, in principle
and practice has been decidedly in favor of temperance
in this community, and by diligence in business, econo
my in his expenses, and uprightness in his pecuniary
transactions, has been prospered in his secular affairs.
In March, 1865, he bought the beautiful homestead
which he has since occupied and still further improved, on
the Lower Plain, about three-quarters of a mile South of
the principal hotel in this village. That nice brick house
was built by Mr. John H. Richards, for his own family oc
cupancy, in the summer of 1858.
Mr. Peckett has not only had business enough of his
own to occupy his time, but has been repeatedly called to
take an active part in public affairs. He has officiated as
Town Treasurer for five years, and as a Justice of the
Peace for about twelve years.
Mr. and Mrs. Peckett have had two sons and two daugh
ters. Their son, Asa Low Peckett, born September 1,
1848, a worthy young man, married Miss Helen M.
Clement, of this town ; and is at this date station agent
on the Concord railroad, at Nashua, N. H. They have one
child, a daughter.
2. Caroline Frances, born September 7th, 1853, grew
up a comely, amiable, well educated, and hopefully pious
young lady ; fond of vocal music, and a competent teach
er of the same ; and on the 8th of April, 1874, became
the wife of Horace Berry, M. D., of Cambridge, Mass.
He took her directly, with fair prospects, to her new
297
home at Cambridge, where he was established in medical
practice. But in less than one month, on the fourth day
of May, 1874, she was, by the stroke of death, suddenly
called away from all the joys and from all the sorrows
which might otherwise have been her lot in life ; called,
it is confidently hoped, into the approving presence and
happy kingdom of that blessed Saviour to whom she had
years before consecrated herself. She died at the age
of twenty years and eight months, lacking three days.
Her remains were brought to her native place for sepul
ture, and her funeral was numerously attended by deeply
sympathizing relatives arid friends.
3. John Barren Peckett, born December 21, 1856, has
been pursuing a course of education at Bradford Acade
my, and to this date has remained at home with his
parents.
4. Martha Lucinda, youngest member of the family of
J. B. Peckett, Esq., born January 27, 1859, died in her
childhood.
Colonel John C. Stearns and wife occupy the pleasant
homestead, now much improved, which was owned by her
father, and are deserving of a more satisfactory notice
here than the writer has been furnished with the means
ot correctly giving.
CAPTAIN HAYNES JOHNSON AND FAMILY.
This Johnson family were of English origin. Their
earliest ancestor who emigrated to this country was Wil
liam Johnson, born at Kent, England, in the reign of
James the I. He was one of the early settlers and mu
nicipal officers of Charlestown, Mass., which was incorpo
rated in 1629. His wife, Sarah Haynes, is said to have
been of Danish descent. This William died in Charles-
town, December 9, 1677, at the age of seventy years. He
left a son Thomas,~who had a son John, whose son Haynes
20
298
lived for a while in Newbury, Vt., but died in Concord,
N. H., September 2, 1775, leaving three sons, Jonathan,
Jesse, and Hajnes, the last named being but twenty days
old at the time of his father's death. He was born in
Newbury, August 13, 1775.
In the summer of 1776. the young widow, then at Con
cord, took her three little sons on the same horse with
herself, and traveled, mainly through a wilderness, about
thirty miles, to Hempstead, N. H., to be more out of the
way of the Indians and tories. She returned again to
Newbury, Vt., and there married Mr. Remembrance
Chamberlin, by whom she had several sons and daugh
ters, who became people of honorable distinction in New
bury and Bradford.
Her son Haynes, afterwards generally styled Captain
Haynes Johnson, came to Bradford to live in 1798, when
about twenty-three years of age, and for two or three
years cultivated the farm in Goshen district which Mr.
John Hardy at this date owns and occupies. In 1801 he
bought the fine river farm, in the north-east part of the
town, on which he remained an honest, industrious and
hard-working farmer, during the remainder of his life.
He married Miss Jane Sawyer, April 8, 1802, a daughter
of Captain Ezekiel Sawyer, then of Bradford, but former-
ly of Rowley, Mass. Captain Johnson and wife became
members of the Congregational church in Bradford. He
built the large house on his farm which still stands there,
now forsaken of all its former inmates.
Captain Haynes Johnson died November 1, 1863, aged
eighty -eight years ; Mrs. Jane S. Johnson, his widow,
died May 21, 1869, at the age of eighty-seven.
They had a family of ten children. One of the daugh -
ters died in childhood. Of the four sons and five daugh
ters who lived to maturity, the following notices are
deemed worthy of insertion here. Their children were
all natives of Bradford.
299
1. Ezekiel Johnson, the eldest son, born September
26, 1803, married, February 27, 1827, Miss Nancy Rod-
gers, daughter of Samuel Roclgers, of Newbury. She
was born there, December 12, 1807. His children by
this marriage were seven; all, with exception of the
youngest, natives of Bath, N. H., where Mr. Johnson set
tled soon after his marriage, and remained for about twelve
years ; namely :
Mary Elizabeth, born January 19, 1828, was married,
at St. Albans, Vt., to Roswell Fariiham, of Bradford, De
cember 25, 1849. Of Colonel Farnham and family see
further notice elsewhere in this history.
Ruth Ann Johnson, bom January 26, 1830, married
Benjamin B. Chadwick, of Bradford, April 11, 1850. He
at this date is engaged in the lumber business in North
ern Michigan.
Jane, born January 14, 1832, died in her third year.
Nancy Jenny, born April 19, 1835, married John H.
Ruckel, Esq., of Buffalo, N. Y., March 27, 1856. They
have five children, Mary E., Adelaide M., John B., and
Louise B. Mr. Ruckel is engaged in the manufacture of
copper work for vessels and steamers on the Lakes.
Harriet B., born December 19, 1837, married Mortimer
Bradley, Esq., of Buffalo, N. Y., June 6, 1867. Their
children are two, Jennie Louisa and Henry H.
Ezekiel Thomas Johnson, born May 19, 1839, before he
became of age entered the office of the Windsor Journal
(Vt.), where he became an accomplished printer, and
worked at that business till the breaking out of the war of
the Rebellion, when he enlisted as a private, August 6,
1862, in Company H of the Tenth Vermont Regiment, at
the age of twenty-three years. While in command of a
portion of the skirmish line, in the battle of Monocacy,
Maryland, July 9, 1864, he was severely wounded by a
minnie ball, which struck the top of his head, cutting-
through the flesh to the bone as it passed on. He was
300
sent to a hospital, where he remained for several months ;
and as soon as able returned to his regiment, was com
missioned Second Lieutenant of Company E, and the
next year, March 22, 1865, was promoted to the rank of
First Lieutenant of Company G. Amid many perils and
hardships, he served his country bravely, and persevered
till the war was successfully terminated. Was honorably
mustered out of the service, June 22, 1865. He then
went to Buffalo and acquired a knowledge of book-keep
ing, at the Commercial College there, and is at this date
book-keeper for a firm of ship-builders. He married
Sophia Louise Bailey, of Newbury, Vt., who died at Buf
falo, May 17, 1870, at the age of twenty- six years.
William Henry, youngest son of Mr. Ezekiel Johnson
and his first wife, born March 7, 1840, at Bradford, Vt.,
married, first Virginia Hartly, daughter of Dr. W. H.
Hartly, of New York City, by whom he had one daugh
ter, Ann Eva Dene. His second wife was Mary Adelia
Lord, of Western New York, who died at Buffalo, July
27, 1874, aged eighteen years, leaving an infant son,
named Harrison Foster.
Mr. Ezekiel Johnson, while living in Bath, was called
to the command of a military company, and generally
styled Captain, as was his father before him. He re
turned to this, his native town, in 1839, where he has
since continued, an industrious, hard-working and devot
edly Christian man. His pious and excellent wife, Nancy
Rodgers, died here, September 11, 1850, at the age of
forty -two years.
The children of these parents have all become hopeful
ly pious, and members of different churches : Mrs. Farn-
ham of the Congregational church; Mrs. Ruckel of the
Episcopal ; and all the rest, with their father, are mem
bers of the Methodist Episcopal ; but all united in love.
Mr. Johnson married for his second wife, March 15,
1857, the widow Lucy A. Southworth, daughter of Benja-
301
min Underwood, with whom he lived happily for sever
al years. After her decease, he married Miss Ann Bar-
net, of Newbury, April 4, 1867, with whom he is spend
ing the evening of his life. The marriage rite in all
these three instances was performed by the same minis
ter, Rev. S. McKeen, Mr. Johnson's almost life-long
friend. We now return to the original family.
2. Mary, twin sister of Ezekiel, born September 26,
1803, married William Peters. See the Peters family.
3. Eliza, born February 18, 1808, married Earle Paine,
of Washington, Vt., April 26, 1835. She had a son,
Haynes J., and a daughter, Helen E., who married Dan
iel Grant, of Washington, June 6, 1868. He was a widow
er, having at that time three children, all of whom, with
their father, died of diptheria, in the course of one week,
in August, 1874. Mr. Grant left by his second marriage
two young daughters, Anna Evaline and Eliza Emma.
4. Haynes C. Johnson, born April 4, 1811, married
Harriet Willard, daughter of Captain Israel Willard, of
Bradford. She was born December 26, 1816, and mar
ried February 9, 1843. Mr. H. C. Johnson owns the
northern half of the large farm formerly possessed by his
father, and has there on the river road built a nice brick
cottage, with good outbuildings, and has a pleasant home.
He has two sons. Walter Haynes, born July 15, 1847,
remained at home, working, when of suitable age, on the
farm summers, and attending the district school winters,
until 1866, when he entered the Commercial College at
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and there finished the regular
course ; after which he returned home, taught two win
ters, and in the spring of 1868 accepted the office of Su
perintendent of the motive power business at St. Albans,
Vt., where he has since remained connected with rail
road affairs. He married, June 29, 1870, Miss Lizzie S.
Whitcomb, of Bradford. They have one child, Mabel
Lizzie, born September 7, 1872.
302
Arthur Franklin, second son of Mr. H. C. Johnson, born
December 16, 1849, at home schools and Montpelier
Academy obtained a good business education, taught
school for three winters, and then went into business in
connection with his brother at St. Albans. Mrs. Johnson >
with her two sons and the eldest son's wife, were all mem
bers of the Congregational church in Bradford.
5. Hannah, born October 10, 1813, married William
Peters, widower of her deceased sister Mary. See Peters
family.
6. " Thomas Johnson, born December 13, 1816, married
Miss Hattie Avery, of Corinth. They have three sons,
Frank, Charles and Herbert T. Mr. Thomas Johnson
owns the valuable river farm long known as the Rowell
place, overlooked by the celebrated RowelPs Ledge,
which gives also a fine view of the surrounding moun
tains of this section of the Connecticut river, with its fer
tile meadows and thriving villages.
7. Jane Ann, born February 22, 1819, married Mr.
Dan W. Shaw, of North Cambridge, Mass. See the Shaw
family.
8. Clarissa P., born July 18, 1825, married Mr. John
Richardson, of Orford, N. H., November 10, 1858. They
have a pleasant homestead on the river road in that town,
and a family of five interesting children, namely : Clara
Alice, John Fred, Arthur Johnson, Willie Martin, and
Emma Louisa.
9. Edmund Elliot, born November 27, 1827, owns and
resides on the. southern half of the old farm formerly pos
sessed by his father, on which he has built a nice -cottage,
and is pleasantly situated. He married Miss Mary Smith,
of Newbury, and has one daughter, Lizzie. He is leader
of the choir in the Methodist Church, and at this date
one of the Selectmen of Bradford to whose care the pub
lication of this History is by vote of the town entrusted.
Thus end our reminiscences of this family.
303
i
FAMILY OF JESSE JOHNSON;
Jesse Johnson, the next elder brother of Capt. Haynes
Johnson, of whom some account has just been given,
was a son of Haynes Johnson and wife, born at Newbury,
Vt., March 27, 1773. He married Elizabeth Sawyer, a
daughter of Capt. Ezekiel Sawyer, of Bradford. They
were united in marriage by Rev. Gardner Kellogg, March
19, 1807. She was a native of Rowley, Mass., born Jan
uary 13, 1775. Mr. Johnson owned and occupied a good
river -farm in Bradford, bordering on the south side of
Newbury, and there kept a house for the entertainment of
travelers for several years, and died there, July 18, 1830,
in the 54th year of his age. Mrs. Johnson, his widow,
died at the house of Moses Chamberlin, her son-in-law,
May 23, 1855, in the 81st year of her age.
These parents left four sons and two daughters. The
first foifr of their children were born in Newbury, and
the last two in this town. Of these children we are able
to give only the following brief account.
1. Jesse Johnson, Jr., born May 6, 1808, married Mary
A., daughter of Captain Ellis Bliss, of Bradford. He pur
chased a valuable farm in Fairlee, and there lived till his
decease, which occurred March 2, 1866, in the fifty-eighth
year of his age. Mr and Mrs. Johnson had four daugh
ters and two sons, namely :
Martha Elizabeth, born September 22, 1845, died April
10, 1869, in her twenty-fourth year.
Mary Ellen, born April 16, 1847.
Sarah French, born May 11, 1849, died April 4, 1868,
in her nineteenth year.
Jesse R., born March 20, 1852, died in infancy.
Abby Wright, born June 3, 1854.
Penniman, the youngest child, born June 6, 1856, died
June 10, 1860, at the age of four years.
After the decease of her husband, Mrs. Johnson re-
304
turned, with the remnant of her family, to Bradford, where
at this date she is still living ; her daughters Mary E.
and Abby W. having their home with her.
2. Elliot P. Johnson, born December 19, 1809, married
Sarah, daughter of Alva Taylor, of Bradford, May 6,
1841, and removed to Orford, N. H., where he possesses,
at this date, a good farm on the river, below the village.
They have at this writing three sons and one daughter.
Jesse, the eldest son, graduated at Dartmouth College,
studied law, and is settled in the practice of it in the city
of New York.
Alva T. and Edmund, his brother, reside in the same
city, engaged in the market business.
Orpha, the daughter, remains with her parents at Or
ford.
3. Elizabeth A., born August 27, 1811. Since the
death of her parents has had her home with her sister,
Mrs. Chamberlin, of Bradford.
4. Jonathan Johnson, born August 22, 1813, married
Abigail Willard, daughter of Captain Israel Willard, of
Bradford, February, 1845. She died in the fifty-third
year of her age, March 13, 1872, leaving two sons and
three daughters, namely :
Willard C., born April 4, 1846. He married Mary
Smith, of Corinth, resides in Bradford, engaged in agri
cultural pursuits with his father.
Julia A., born April 3, 1848, still at her parental home.
Moody, born July 22, 1851, a clerk at mercantile busi
ness.
Laura L., born October 24, 1853, married E. S. Peaslee,
who is engaged in livery business here.
Eva E., the youngest member of this family, born Jan
uary 25, 1858, at home with her father.
5. Remembrance C. Johnson, born in Bradford, No
vember 28, 1814, was for several years proprietor and
305
keeper of the Vermont House in this village^ and is still
resident here.
6. Ruby S. Johnson^ born here January 29, 1819,
married Moses R. Chamberlin, September 24, 1840, who
owns and occupies the valuable homestead formerly pos
sessed by his father, on the Upper Plain in Bradford.
They have at this date one son, Benjamin Franklin, who
married Abby, daughter of George Monson, of this place.
He is engaged in farming business with his father. The
daughters, Martha, Elizabeth, and Ruby, are still with
their parents. John Westly, a promising boy, came to his
death by accidental drowning.
It seems proper to add here that Jonathan Johnson,
brother of Jesse and Haynes, early settlers in Bradford,
married Hannah Sawyer, a sister of the wives of his two
brothers, and settled in the same neighborhood with them,
though within the limits of Newbury, where they lived
and died, leaving one son, Haynes Johnson, who gradu
ated at Dartmouth College in 1822, became a worthy min
ister of the Methodist order, married a Miss Stevens, of
Newbury, and died in 1856, at the age of fifty-five, leav
ing two sons, Jonathan and Simeon Stevens, the latter of
whom became an attorney-at-law, married Miss Ellen
Bailey, formerly of Fairlee, and is settled at Jefferson,
Indiana.
CAPT. ISRAEL WILLARD, AND FAMILY
Israel Willard was a native of Sterling, Mass., born
March 2d, 1777. He remained with his father, engaged
in agriculture, till very nearly twenty-one years of age,
when he learned the business of chair-making, and com
menced operations here in *1804 or 5. His shop was on
Roaring Brook, near its confluence with the Connecticut.
Being very devoted to his occupation, and having no com-
.petitor, he did quite a large and profitable business for
306
many years. He was a man decidedly honest, very kind-
heartedj strictly temperate, and very exemplary in con
versation and conduct. He married Miss Abigail Cum-
mings, of Leicester, Mass., March 2, 1806, with whoin he
lived happily nearly twenty-four years, when she died
May 13, 1830, in the fifty-second year of her age. They
had seven children, namely :
L Laiira^ born February 5, 1807; married John E.
Chamberliri, of Newbury, where she resided during the
remainder of her life, and had four sons and two daugh
ters.
2. Israel Cummings Willard, born July 2, 1809 ; mar
ried Miss Ruth Jane Colby, of Bradford, September 1,
1852. She died April 11, 1855.
Mr. Willard married for his second wife Mrs. Apphia
Durgan, widow lady, a sister of Capt. B. Celley, of Fair-
lee, June 27, 1861. They own and occupy the pleasant
homestead formerly possessed by his father. . That brick
dwelling house was buiit by Capt. Willard in the year
1822. Mr. I. C. Willard, a worthy man, was by occupa
tion a farmer.
3 and 4. Two daughters, who died in their infancy.
5. Harriet Wilhrd, born December 26, 1816; married
Haynes C. Johnson, of Bradford. See the Johnson fam-
iiy-
6. Abigail, born October 15, 1819; married Jonathan
Johnson of this town. See Johnson family.
7. Lydia Willard, born October 15, 1823; died Janua
ry 4, 1850 in the twenty-seventh year of her age. She
was a fine singer, had remembered her Creator in the days
of her youth, and was much beloved by those who knew
her.
Capt. Israel Willard, the father of this family, married
for his second wife, October 6, 1831, the widow Mehitable
Sanders, of Newbury, a sister of Capt. Moses Chamber-
lin, of this town, and an estimable lady. She died March
307
13, 1849, aged sixty-five years. Capt. Willard spent the
remainder of his days With his son and Wife, kindly cared
for, and died August 16, 1865, in the 89th year of his
age. His mental as well as bodily powers had considera
bly failed, but he still ielt that his Saviour was most prec
ious, and peacefully died, trusting in Him. This good
man, and both of his wives, and his daughter Harriet, and
his son Israel C., were all members of the same church,
Congregational. The son's wife is a worthy member of
the Methodist church in this place, but of the same spirit
with her husband.
THE WORTHLEYS.
Jesse Worthley, of Weare, N. H., married Judith Calif,
of Kingston, in that State, and removed to Bradford, Vt.,
about the year 1798. He bought and settled on a farm
some four or five miles back from the village, in the South
west part of the town, and there raised up a family of
three sons and as many daughters, namely :
1. Mary, who married Samuel Graves.
2. Jesse, Jr., married Lavina Ainsworth, and had two
sons and three daughters.
3. Benjamin Lewis, who married Eliza Ann Dearborn,
and by her had two daughters. The elder of whom, Su
san Green, married George S. Howe, of Concord, Vt., and
the younger, Lucy Ann, married Ira A. Merrill, of Cor
inth.
After the decease of their mother, Mr. Worthley mar
ried for his second wife the widow Osmore, whose maiden
name was Emily Coburn, and had a daughter Emily, mar
ried, and a son, John Lewis. After the decease of his
second wife, Mr. Worthley married the widow Susan Tap-
lin, of Corinth, with whom (August, 1874) he is still hap
pily living on the old homestead in Bradford, occupied in
agricultural pursuits.
308
4. Joseph Worthley, the next son, married Eliza San-
born, of Bradford.
5. Hannah, his sister, married John Sanborn.
6. Roxalana Amanda, married John Capper, of Bos
ton. Further notices of these worthy families have not
been received.
JAMES ARMSTRONG AND FAMILY.
James Armstrong, by occupation a farmer, and in life
an honest man and worthy citizen, was born at Westport,
Ireland, in 1799. He emigrated to America in 1824;
married Elizabeth Liscomb, of Ackworth, N. H., in 1829 ;
resided for a few }^ears in Fairlee, Yt.. and removed thence
to Bradford in 1836. They have one daughter, Ann, and
an only son, James H. Armstrong, who, October llth,
1864, married Mary Jane Snow, of Bradford, and is set
tled on the farm with his father, engaged in agricultural
occupations, and has recently been elected by his fellow-
townsmen a Justice of the Peace. The family have a
pleasant homestead and farm, on the south road, two or
three miles west of the village. Mr. James Armstrong
and wife, with their daughter and son, are all members of
the Congregational church in this place.
' t
WILLIAM S. NELSON AND FAMILY.
W. S. Nelson was a native of Reading, Mass., as was
also his father, William Nelson ; a devoted and faithful
minister of the gospel, of the Methodist Episcopal de
nomination, who died at Hebron, N. H., January 2, 1859,
in the sixty-ninth year of his age. He had officiated as
pastor in many places, and for an undetermined period in
Bradford. By his industry and good economy, he had
acquired a considerable property, and at his decease left
a family consisting of his widow, seven sons and three
309
daughters. His first wife and two children had passed
away before him.
Of his surviving children William S. was the oldest.
He was born at Reading, August 17th, 1815, and in the
year 1832 became a resident of this town, where he has
since continued, for over forty years, industriously occu
pied in the business of a painter and glazier. Mr. Nelson,
January 17, 1837, married Miss Persis S. Brewster, of
Topsham, Vt., who was born there May 22, 1817. They
have one son, William H. Nelson, born October 21, 1840.
He settled in St. Johnsbury, and was for years in the
employment of the Messrs. Fairbanks, and has been there,
as he was here, called to officiate as church organist. He
married Lydia Spooner, of St. Johnsbury, February 21,
1867. He at this writing is a dealer in musical merchan
dise of all kinds.
Mr. and Mrs. Nelson, of Bradford, have also two daugh
ters, namely, Charlotte Isabella, a teacher of painting and
drawing, born September 18, 1849 ; and Lucy Elizabeth,
born September 15, 1853. These daughters reside with
their parents, and are, with their mother, members of the
Congregational church here.
Mr. William S. Nelson has two surviving brothers,
namely, B. Nelson, M. D., at Laconia, N. H., and Simeon
B. Nelson, of Peshtigo, Wis., who lost almost everything
that fire could consume in the great fire of 1871, when
eight hundred persons perished in one night.
Mrs. Persis B., wife of William S. Nelson, a very decid
edly pious woman, died at Bradford, October 25, 1874, in
the fifty-seventh year of her age.
310
CHAPTER XV.
The Aldrich, Hardy, and Shaw Families.
THE ALDRICH FAMILY.
Tradition, which in this case is believed to be reliable,
says that three brothers by the name of Aldrich emigrated
from England and settled in Oxford, Mass., but in what
year we have no information. The first of the name who
settled in Bradford, Vt., was Silas Aldrich. The under
standing is that he belonged to the company of Major
Rogers, who was sent, in the autumn of 1759, with a
force of two hundred men, to chastise the Indians at St.
Francis, in Canada East, who had committed many dep
redations and cruelties upon our border inhabitants.
That work being accomplished, while the Rangers, as
they were styled, or- a division of them, were returning
through what is now the northern part of Vermont, and
had reached the locality now called Hardwick, they were
early one morning attacked by a party of Indians, and
overwhelmed by disaster, numbers being killed or taken
captive, and the rest put to flight. Aldrich, who could
not then have been more than sixteen or seventeen years
of age, was one of those who escaped. He made his way
to the Connecticut River, and, following down through
the lower Coos region, was so impressed by the natural
beauty of the scenery that he resolved, when the war
should be over, he would return and settle in that locali
ty. He accordingly, in due season, came back to what
was then called Moretown, now Bradford, and settled on
a place which still bears the family name, in the north
ern part of the township, about two miles back from the
river. The precise date of his coming is not known, but
in 1774 he was here, united in marriage with Miss Alice
Collins, then, like himself, residing in this place, who is
311
said to have been a woman distinguished lor decision and
energy of character. Mr. Aldrich was a man of an even,
peaceable disposition, and of strictly temperate habits,
even in those days, when the use of intoxicating liquors
was well-nigh universal. He built for his residence a
humble log cottage, and there with his wife raised up a
family of four sons and four daughters, all of whom lived
to marry and have families of their own.
Silas Aldrich died, November 28, 1811, aged sixty-
eight years, having made his will and appointed his son
Richard sole executor. His widow married a Mr. Hunt,
and lived on the same farm till her death, in 1823, at the
age of seventy-three.
Children of Silas Aldrich and wife :
1. Phebe, married James Martin, and lived and died in
Bradford.
2. Betsey, married John Muzzey, and settled in Cor
inth.
3. Richard ; of him more hereafter.
4. Abigail, married John Chase, and remained in this
her native town.
5. Elsy, married Joshua Barren, and went West, and
was lost sight of.
6. Silas Aldrich, Jr., married a Miss Carter, of Brad
ford, and moved to Compton, in Canada East, where both
died, and some of their descendants still remain.
7. Asa Aldrich married Lucy Maynard, a sister of his
brother Richard's wife, a native of Marlborough, N. H.,
who had come to visit her sister and seek her fortune.
They lived on the West side of Wright's Mountain, and
had three daughters, namely : Emmeline, who married, a
Mr. Caswell, and went with him into the Western country ;
Sally, who married Charles Johnston, of South Newbury,
and died at the age of about twenty-two, leaving two
sons ; and Mary, who became the second wife of Adams
312
Wilson, of Bradford, and died, as her sister died, of con
sumption.
Mr. Asa Aldrich retired to his rest one night in, as
was supposed, perfect health, and when his wife awoke
she was horror-stricken to find that his spirit, in silence,
had forever departed. He, like his father, was a man of
mild and pleasant disposition, without great force of char
acter.
His widow married Calvin Cowdry, of Newbury, where
she lived several years, and finally died, of consumption.
8. Ephraim Aldrich, the youngest son was physically
perhaps, as powerful a man as was ever reared in Brad
ford. In^ early youth he grew not only fast, but strong ;
taking great delight and pride in athletic exercises. He,
indeed, through life gloried in his great strength. At the
age of eighteen he was married with Sarah Hilliard, of
New Hampshire. But in moral strength and stability he
was so deficient as to cause those who loved him most
not a little concern and grief. At the age of twenty-one
he enlisted into the United States Army, expecting to be
stationed at Portsmouth, but was ordered to New Orleans,
and became so utterly dissatisfied with his position and
employments there that, at the peril of his life, he de
serted, and, through hardships and dangers the most form
idable, returned to his family and friends at the North;
but not daring to stay, went on to the disputed territory
of Indian Stream, where he resided for a while ; but
finally, at the age of seventy-five, died at Pittsburg, N. H.,
a new settlement north of the White Mountains, where
some of his descendants are understood to be still resid
ing. His wife died several years before him.
3. Richard Aldrich, the third child and eldest son of
Silas and Alice C. Aldrich, was born April 8th, 1780. By
the will of his father, he came into possession of the old
homestead, on condition of paying off the other heirs. In
313
the log-tiouse built by his father, he spent the days of his
youth, and there, on being married, brought his young
wife to commence housekeeping by themselves. His ad
vantages in youth for a school education were very lim
ited, but the lessons of industry, frugality, kindness to
the suffering, and of heroic patriotism in which he was
thoroughly drilled, had much to do in forming the charac
ter for which he was distinguished in after life.
He married at the age of twenty-one Miss Anna May-
nard, then residing in the family of Andrew B. Peters,
Esq., of this place, but a native of Marlborough, N. H.
There is a little anecdote connected with the occasion of
her coming to this town which seems worth relating here.
Anna Maynard, at an early age was left without a moth
er, and thrown for support on her own industry. At the
age of sixteen she came to this town with a Mr. Norcross,
as a companion for his wife, who was dissatisfied with her
situation in this then new country ; and having gone to
her old home could be persuaded to return only on condi
tion that Miss Anna would come with her. She accord
ingly came, but Mrs. Norcross after a while again grew so
discontented and homesick that she determined to go
back to her old home. In this distress Mr. N. besought
Anna to stay and keep house for him. Her reply shows
in what estimation she held her. reputation : " A pretty
story that will be, to go back to my father, brothers and
sisters, that' I have parted husband and wife ! " Mr. N.
urging the matter a little more strongly, she said, with
decision, " No, sir ; I will see you in the bottomless pit
first ! " So she left, and was taken into the family of
Esquire Peters, where young Richard Aldrich found her,
and easily persuaded her to become his wife. She ever
after remembered the Peters family with gratitude for
their kindness to her.
Mr. Aldrich and wife lived happily in their log cottage
till after the birth of their second child, when they moved
21
314
into their new framed house, in which all the rest of their
children were born. They were industrious, hard-work
ing people, and it is believed that the destitute and hun
gry never applied to them for relief in vain. They both
became hopefully pious in the maturity of their powers,
and united with what was then styled the Christian
church, and so remained during their subsequent lives.
In 1807, Mr. Richard Aldrich was elected Captain of
the Second Company of the First Regiment of the State
Militia. Hence the military title by which he was ever
after designated. He also filled several civil town offices
acceptably. About the year 1856 he sold his farm to his
son, John D. Aldrich, and moved into a house which he
had bought in Bradford village, and there died, November
25, 1856, aged seventy-seven years.
Captain Aldrich seasonably and with entire composure
prepared for his departure to his final rest. Some years
before he died, he requested the writer of this article to
preach his funeral sermon. He also seasonably made his
will, disposing of his property as he thought best, appoint
ing his eldest son sole executor, and leaving his aged
widow under his care.
And so, trusting in the blessed Saviour, when his time
came he had nothing to do but to bid his friends farewell,
and, like aged Simeon, depart in perfect peace.
His aged widow still survives, though greatly debili
tated both in body and mind.
Captain Richard Aldrich and wife had ten children —
four daughters and six sons — of whom some brief account
will now be given.
1. Almira, the eldest, married Levi Hazelton, of New-
bury ; they had a family of children, and finally settled in
the State of New Hampshire, where she died. Their
youngest son, during the late war died in the service of
his country, at Hilton Head.
2. Lydia S. married Josiah Rodgers, of Newbury, and
315
was the mother of nine children, viz : six sons and three
daughters. Mr. Rodgers died in 1843. His widow mar
ried William Bolton, of Newbury, and had another son
and daughter.
Alniira and Lydia Aldrich became hopefully pious in
their youth, and united with the Methodist church. The
eldest died happily, several years since. Her younger
sister, Mrs. Bolton, still lives, striving to make her calling
and election sure.
3. Sally, died at the age of five years.
4. Eliza Ann, in 1833 married James R. Brown, ol
Chelmsford, Mass., but died at Wells River, Vt., leaving
one son and two daughters.
5. William Aldrich, the eldest son of Captain Richard,
married Rebecca Highland, of Bradford ; bought a farm
near his father's, where he lived several years, and his
only child, Rebecca Ann, was born. He was a deacon in
the Christian church, in Goshen, the same to which his
parents belonged. In the year 1861, his wife died of
consumption. . She was a woman highly esteemed and
much beloved by her relatives and neighbors. Mr. Al
drich, after his wife's decease, built a house at Bradford
village, and, May 28, 1862, married Miss Anna M. Corliss,
a native of this town. His only daughter married a Mr.
Leonard B. Fletcher, who has deceased, and she has re
turned to her paternal home.
6. Richard Ransom Aldrich had no taste for agricul
tural pursuits, but early manifested a decided genius for
the manufacture of articles of wood. He first learned
the carpenter's and joiner's trade, and was the first to in
troduce the board-planing machine into Orange County.
He was also the first in this County to manufacture
wooden ware, and send it in quantities to a Boston mar
ket. -At South Newbury he carried on quite an impor
tant business of this sort.
He had married Miss Emma. Heath, of Lowell, Mass.,
316
and was living at South Newbury when, in 1851, his dwell
ing house there, with five others, was consumed by fire,
which induced him to sell his remaining property there
and come to Bradford, where he bought a half interest in
the Baldwin Mill Privilege, commenced business afresh,
and has manufactured a great amount of mackerel kits,
wooden pails, and other articles; and, in partnership with
his son-in-law Barrett, at this writing is still going on, not
withstanding the recent loss of his left hand by a circular
saw.
In 1854 Mr. R. R. Aldrich represented this town in the
State Legislature. He and his wife became members of
the Methodist church in Newbury soon after their settle
ment there, and here he has been a steward in the church
of the same order, and one of the liberal supporters of
its ministry for over twenty years.
Mr. and Mrs Aldrich had two sons and two daughters.
Charles and Richard I)., both promising young men, died
at nearly the same age, of twenty years. The first named,
who showed a remarkable genius for mechanical pursuits,
died of typhoid fever ; and his brother by an act of sui
cide, owing, it is believed, to aberation of mind, caused
by rheumatic fever settling on his brain. To the bereaved
parents these were wounds which, earth could not heal ;
but which grace has helped them to bear.
The eldest daughter, Eliza A. Aldrich, in 1865 married
Norman W. Barrett, of Connecticut. Mr. Barrett resides
in Bradford village, engaged in business with his wife's
father. They have one son, Richard A. Mrs. B. is a
member of the M. E. church.
Josephine E. Aldrich married Josiah H. Benton, Jr.,
attorney-at-law, May 19, 1866. J. H. Benton, Esq., a
young man of talent, energy, and moral integrity, then of
Lancaster, after a few years of prominence in New Hamp
shire politics and office, opened a law office in Boston,
where at this date he is understood to be doing a fair
317
amount of business. His young wife, Josephine E., after
a short but happy life, died at her father's house in Brad
ford, in April, 1872.
Mr. Aldrich has been successful in business, and his
good wife still lives to aid and comfort him, as in years
that are past.
7. Edwin R. Aldrich married Harriet Hazelton, of
Newbury, in 1835. Two of their children, a son and
daughter, died in infancy. Their only surviving child,
Miss Olive Ann, married Mr. Benjamin P. Baldwin, and is
pleasantly settled near her parents. Mr. E. R. Aldrich, an
honest man and good citizen, a house carpenter and joiner
by trade, assisted by his son-in-law, Mr. Baldwin, has
done much in the way of house building here, and each
occupies a nice new house, both near each other on Main
street. Mrs. Aldrich is a member of the Congregational
church in this place.
8. Smith Aldrich married Elsie Muzzey, and lived for
some while in Corinth, engaged in farming ; then moved
to Northumberland, N. H., where he and his wife united,
on profession of their faith, writh the Methodist E. church.
He almost at once felt it his duty to preach, and set about
it in the fear of God. As a preacher he has endeavored
to declare the truth, without attempting any great dis
play of rhetorical eloquence. About 1854 he went West,
where he has since been preaching. Some three years
since his wife died very suddenly, of heart disease. Their
daughter married William H. Anderson, and lives in Sib-
ley, Osceola County, Iowa. Rev. Mr. Aldrich has since
married a Western woman.
9. John D. Aldrich married Harriet H. Highland, in
1845. Their only child, a daughter, died in her infancy ;
her mother died of consumption in 1851. Three years
afterward Mr. Aldrich married Philinda Williams, also of
Bradford. He owns and occupies the pleasant homestead
on Main street which formerly belonged to Judge Steb-
318
bins ; he also is owner of the old place in Goshen district
on which his father and grandfather lived for so many
years. Mr. J. D. Aldrich and wife have two sons, yet in
their minority, namely, John Albert and Charles Richard,
the only representatives of the third generation from the
first Aldrich settler here to bear up the family name.
10. Levi M. Aldrich married Sarah George, of New-
bury. They had six children, all daughters. One died
in her infancy, and all the rest at this date are living.
All were born in this town. • Mr. Aldrich and family left
this place about five years ago, and moved to Lowell,
Mass., where he still resides, and where all his surviving
daughters but one are married and settled.
For the substance of 'this account of the Aldrich fam
ily I have been almost wholly indebted to Mrs. Barrett,
daughter of Mr. R. R. Aldrich, although the manuscript
furnished by her has been wholly rewritten, and some
what abbreviated.
DEACON OLIVER HARDY AND FAMILY.
Oliver Hardy was born of respectable parents, in
Weare, N. H., September 19, A. D., 1779. During his
minority the means of education were extremely limited ;
and he had his share with others in the common misfor
tune. He was, however, early trained to a life of indus
try, honesty and prudence. After finishing an appren
ticeship in the business of a tanner, currier and shoemak
er, he came to Bradford, Vt, in the Fall of 1802, and se
lected for himself a permanent location on the small brook
at what is now the North end of the village. He that
Fall commenced clearing away the trees from his pur
chase, and preparing facilities for the prosecution of his
business. The next Spring he put down more vats, and
commenced the erection of a building to accommodate
his operations, and of a dam to hold water to drive the
319
requisite machinery. He boarded in the neighboring
families of Andrew B. Peters, Esq., and Dr. Arad Steb-
bins, until the winter of 1805, when he married Miss Sal
ly Johnson, of Enfield, N. H., who came and lived with
him in the same house, until the day of his death, a peri
od of sixty-two years and a few months over.
Deacon Hardy was a man of ingenuity, who could work
to advantage not only in his appropriate sphere, but had
a blacksmith's forge and tools, which he used as occasion
required, and when there was no other man in the vicini
ty to clean and repair clocks and watches they were car
ried to him, as it was understood he could do almost ev
erything, and had a corner in one of his buildings for
this particular purpose. He was also a farmer in a small
way, and in the winter was accustomed to go with his
sleigh load of leather and other commodities to some one
of the seaports, and bring home a supply of desirable ar
ticles for his family. In these and like ways he accumu
lated a nice little property, sufficient for himself and wife
in their old age, and to leave something comfortable for
his beloved daughter, to say nothing of other relatives.
After the lapse of many years, the fire seized the old
tannery, with its various appurtenances, and so thorough
ly swept them away that scarcely a vestige no^t remains.
But one' thing more in regard to that old establishment I
must not omit to mention. While a fine boy was one day
superintending the grinding of bark there, he by mistake
got his foot where the bark should be, and was thus crip
pled for life. But the loss of his foot awakened his inge
nuity to supply, so far as possible, the want, and led to
the making of artificial limbs so superior to any ever
before known as to bring him high renown, not only in
America, but Europe, and wherever the name of Profes
sor Palmer is known ; not only renown, but also it is said
wealth. Thus a serious calamity proved to be but a bless
ing in disguise.
320
Deacon Hardy was not ambitious of political distinc
tion, but for several years sustained, much to the satis
faction of his fellow townsmen, the office of a Justice of
the Peace. He had always been a man of kind disposi
tion and exemplary morality, but did not become an ex
perimental and professed Christian until he had attained
to what is deemed the meridian of human life. Then
there is reason to believe he became divinely illuminated,
a sincere penitent, a hearty believer in the blessed Sav
iour, and commenced a life of obedience to the gospel.
At the age of thirty-six, in the year 1815, he professed his
faith, and was received as a member of the Congrega
tional Church in the place of his residence, then in its in
fancy, and continued faithful to his dying day, more than
half a century after.
In March, 1830, he was elected and constituted a Dea
con in the same church, and continued to perform the
active duties of the office for some nine or ten years ;
when, by his request and that of Deacon Bliss, his aged
associate, younger brethren were chosen to relieve them ;
but they both remained beloved and honored Deacons
during the remainder of their days ; having "purchased
to themselves a good degree and great boldness in the
faith which is in Christ Jesus."
Deacon Hardy revered the Sabbath as a holy day, and
delighted in the worship of God, at home, in the social
prayer meeting, in the monthly meetings of the church,
and in the more public congregation. He was a man of
strict honesty, of firm integrity, and at the same time of
uncommon humility and meekness. His heart was full of
good will towards all men. Seldom or never was he heard
to speak unkindly of any human being. His patience
and sweet resignation to the will of God, were admirable.
He had followed the remains of six sons and one daughter
to the grave, and experienced many other trials, but ever
bowed submissively to the divine will, and failed not to
321
manifest that meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight
of God of great price. During his long and painful ill
ness he had a strong hope in the covenant faithfulness of
God, and found his Saviour to be to him most precious.
When the time for his departure came, he was fully
sensible that he was going home ; and, having spoken im
pressively to the aged companion of his life, and to his
surviving son and daughter, attending physcian, and
others about him, each separately, with a wave of his
hand he bade them all adieu ; resigned his spirit into his
almighty and most merciful Saviour's hands, and, beyond
all doubt, entered into life eternal.
Deacon Oliver Hardy died at Bradford, Vt., August 1st,
1867, aged eighty-seven years, ten months and twelve
days. "Mark the perfect man, and* behold the upright,
for the end of that man is peace."
Mrs. Sally J.7 widow of Deacon Oliver Hardy ; born at
Enfield, N. H., May 16, 1786; died at the house of her
son, J. A. Hardy, July 26, 1870, in the eighty-fifth year
of her age.
These parents had seven -sons and three daughters. Of
these, two of the daughters and three of the sons died in
childhood. One son, Jesse, from his infancy of feeble
intellect, but of a quiet disposition, died in 1855, at
the age of forty-three years, having been through life
treated by his parents and the entire family with exem
plary consideration and tenderness. Of the three other
sons and their sisters, let the following notices suffice :
1. Johnson Arad Hardy, born July 29, 1806, still re
mains a worthy citizen of Bradford. January 3, 1830, he
married Miss Sybil Clark, of this place, by whom he had a
family of four sons and one daughter, of whom some fur
ther account presently.
Mr. J. A. Hardy opened the first scientific clock, watch
and jewelry establishment in Bradford, in October, 1829.
He commenced in a shop near his present residence, but
322
in 1836 moved that building, and his business with it, to
a more central location in the village, and there went on
prosperously, till able to erect a more costly edifice, af
fording not only ample accommodations for his own busi
ness, but to let, for a store of dry goods, an express office,
a law office, post office, a photograph gallery, and the
business of dentistry, a music, hall, etc. Into this build
ing he removed his business in 1851, and, having gradu
ally gained a high reputation as a skillful and reliable
workman, and fair dealer, was extensively patronized,
and accomplished a great amount of profitable business.
In 1858, Mr. Hardy, finding such close application injuri
ous to his health, sold his goods and rented his store, with
its fixtures, to Mr. Charles H. Harding, for the term of
five years, reserving the privilege of having a work
apartment in or near his own house, during the same
time. At the expiration of this period, William G. Hardy
went into the same business in the new store, and being
assisted by his father was very successful. At length, in
consequence of failing health, he felt obliged to exchange
this, his favorite occupation, for out-door air and exercise,
and so purchased for himself a nice homestead in Fairlee,
next north of the residence of Mr. Lewis Jenkins, his
wife's father. He disposed of his goods and business to
Mr. C. H. Harding, who there keeps an excellent clock,
watch and jewelry establishment, in juxtaposition with
the office of which he is the highly esteemed Postmaster.
Mr. J. A. Hardy continues, June, 1873, business in his
pleasant retirement, both to meet the wants of many of
his former patrons, and for his own gratification, it being
a pleasure to him to be actively and usefully employed.
His books show that in the course of now nearly fifty
years he has cleaned, repaired and attended to the real
wants of thirty-three thousand watches. The largest
number repaired in any one year was thirteen hundred
and thirty-three. In March, 1851, his shop door had
323
seventy-two holes bored around one of its panels, which
was removed, and his store robbed of about one thousand
dollars worth of goods, no part of which was ever re
covered.
Mr. Hardy occasionally made time-pieces, clocks, and
regulators, of different styles and prices. Among others,
he calculated and made a valuable clock which requires
winding but twelve times in a year, and as a donation to
the Congregational society placed the same in the breast
work of their church gallery, where it. still remains, a
memorial of his liberality, and a faithful monitor of pass
ing time.
As to the children of these parents, William C., the
eldest, died at the age of two years ; Milo, the second,
died at the age of nine years.
Oliver J., the third son, born February 6, 1835, an en
terprising young man, of the same occupation as his fa
ther, married Miss Louisa Ladd, of Haverhill, H. H., and
established himself in a prosperous business at Haynes-
ville, Alabama. He was esteemed a safe and very nice
workman, but in early manhood was called away. He
died at Haynesville, of consumption, February 26, 1858,
at the age of twenty-three years. His remains were
brought home to Bradford for burial, and the discourse
delivered on the occasion, by the Rev. S. McKeen, was
published, lor the satisfaction of his numerous relatives
and friends.
Sarah Jane, daughter of J. A. Hardy and wife, born
February 17, 1837, married Edwin Kilbourne, then prac
ticing dentistry in Bradford, January 3, 18CO, and died
at her father's house, August 27, 1866, in the thirtieth
year of her age. Let the following correct, though brief,
sketch of her character, from the pen of her pastor, im
mediately after her decease, be her memorial:
Mrs. Kilbourne, the only daughter of kind< and Chris
tian parents, who had ever earnestly sought to promote
324
her highest good, was a young lady universally esteemed
and beloved by those who knew her. In person sym
metrical and pleasing, but too delicate to be strong and
enduring ; in attire, ever neat, and modestly elegant ; in
manners, unassuming, but uniformly correct and winning ;
at home and abroad she habitually exhibited that meek
and quiet spirit which is, in the sight of God, of great
price. She had a fine taste for music and drawing, in the
practice of which she had attained to excellence. For
years she was .the admired organist in the choir with
which she worshipped. For fifteen years she had been a
member of the Congregational church in her native vil
lage, and very exemplary in her attendance on all its
meetings, ordinances and worship. Greatly beloved by
her husband, parents, and other relatives and friends, she
loved them dearly in return. Life was pleasant to her ;
she would have been happy to have continued here long
er, but when she evidently perceived that it was her
Saviour's pleasure to take her to her heavenly home, she
was not only perfectly reconciled to leave all, and depart,
but esteemed it gain to die. In nature's last extremity,
her faith and hope in Christ, the Lord, were strong ; and
while passing through the valley and shadow of death,
she feared no evil, being divinely sustained and most
sweetly comforted. Her peaceful and happy departure
was a most fitting termination of her exemplary and
beautiful life. " Precious in the sight of the Lord is the
death of His saints." S. M. K.
William George Hardy, the youngest son of Mr. J. A.
Hardy and wife, born March 8, 1840, married Miss Maria
L. Jenkins, of Fairlee, February 9, 1864, and being thor
oughly acquainted with the business of a watchmaker
and jeweller, succeeded his father in that occupation, and
went on prosperously until he found it necessary, as has
been stated, to engage in agricultural pursuits, and pur
chased a pleasant farm and homestead in Fairlee, where
325
he spent the remnant of his days. He died of pulmonary
consumption at his home in Fairlee, on Saturday morning,
April 18, 1874, in the thirty-fifth year of his age, leaving
the beloved wife of his youth, with an only child, an in
fant son. He was a young man of kind disposition, of
mechanical genius, good sense and unblemished moral
character. He had for about seven years been a consistent
member of the church to which his parents, and also wife,
belonged. He was in life much attached to his mother,
and by death only five days separated from her. He was
blessed with the exercise of his reason to the last, and
died beautifully sustained by the promises and consola
tions of the Gospel. His funeral services were attended
at his late home in Fairlee, on Monday, the 20th inst., and
his burial was with his kindred dead, in the cemetery at
Bradford. He had been for some years to his parents,
their last surviving child, very dutiful, affectionate, and
much beloved.
Mrs. Sybil C., wife of Mr. J. A. Hardy, died at her
home in Bradford, April 13, 1874, in the sixty-sixth year
of her age. Her departure was thus but five days in ad
vance of that of her last son. She died of a chronic dis
ease of the heart, ending in general dropsy.
She was a native of Clinton, Kennebec County, Maine,
a daughter of William Clark and wife. Her mother, whose
maiden name was Sybil Heald, died at Troy, N. Y. Her
father, after living for a while in Mobile, where he buried
his eldest daughter, Sally, went to Florida and there died,
leaving this daughter, and his two sons, William and
George, both younger than their sister. The sons re
mained and became men of business in that part of the
country, and died in Lowrndes County, Alabama. The
climate not suiting the daughter's health, she had re
turned before her father's decease, to live with her aunt
Hartwell, in this place, who had been to all these orphans
as a mother for some years -before they went to their
326
father in Florida. Sybil grew up an amiable, interesting
young lady ; remembered her Creator in the days of her
youth ; and at the age of about nineteen became hope
fully pious. In the year 1828 she, with more than twenty
others, united with the Congregational church in this
place. Of those then received Mr. Hardy was one ; so
that this destined couple, by a happy coincidence, com
menced publicly their heavenward journey together.
They were married by their pastor January 3, 1830, and
directly commenced house-keeping in a new building, de
signed both for a family residence and to accommodate
-the business of its proprietor as a watchmaker and jewel
ler. This building was subsequently removed, to give
place to the commodious brick residence in which she
spent the principal part of her married life.
Mr. and Mrs. Hardy had one daughter, Sarah Jane, a
very amiable and good young lady, who became the wife
of Dr. E. A. Kilbourne, and died at her father's house ;
and two sons, worthy young men, of the same occupation
as their father, namely, Oliver, who married Louisa Ladd,
of Haverhill, N. H.? went South and died in Hayneville,
Alabama, and William G., who married Maria L. Jenkins,
of Fairlee, where for a few years past he has resided on
a farm, with a view to the improvement of his health,
which had become delicate and precarious. He was un
able to attend his mother's funeral. They have an infant
son.
The state of Mrs. Hardy's health had been for several
years very imperfect, and of such a nature as to affect
seriously her nervous system, and to weigh heavily on
her accustomed cheerfulness. But this, with her repeated
bereavements, she endured with quiet resignation ; habit
ually aiming to do, in all circumstances, the best she
could.
She was much attached to the quietude of her home,
but had, been repeatedly benefited by being taken to the
327
sea-shore to spend a few weeks at a time, and the last
Summer and Autumn was wonderfully revived and invig
orated by a journey with her husband, of some months, in
the western country, including a visit to the medicinal
springs of Saratoga, and especially of Clarendon, Vt.
This improvement, however, was not of long duration.
As her health again declined, and her journey through life
was evidently drawing near its end, she seemed not to be
much disappointed, or at all alarmed, but was enabled to
trust in the precious promises of the Gospel with sweet
composure, and was greatly comforted in view of eterni
ty by the belief that she should soon be with her prec
ious Saviour, re-united with her dear ones who had died
in the Lord, and that those whom she was leaving would,
in God's good time, be with them there, in perfect and
everlasting blessedness. She had for about forty-six
years been aiming to live in obedience to the Gospel, and,
as might be expected, the end was peace. She left her
husband solitary in the pleasant home which they had so
long enjoyed together, deeply afflicted, but still able to
say : "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away ;
blessed be the name of the Lord."
Mr. Johnson A. Hardy, the last survivor of his own
family, died at the house of his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Ma
ria Hardy, in Fairlee, October 17, 1874, in the sixty-
ninth year of his age. He was a worthy man, and in his
last will remembered generously the church of which he
had long been a member.
2. George W. Hardy, son of Deacon Oliver Hardy,
born March 8, 1809, in early manhood was, with his fa
ther, occupied for several years in the business of a tan
ner and currier of leather. After the burning of that es
tablishment, he engaged in the manufacture of boots and
shoes for sale, ancj mercantile business in this, his native,
village, and so continued during the remainder of his
life. He built and occupied a pleasant brick house, a lit-
328
tie north of that of his brother, on the same street, which
is now (1874) owned by Mr. James Woodward, of Chi
cago, and undergoing important improvements. Mr. GL
W. Hardy married Miss Sophronia Buswell, of Lebanon,
N. H., and died January 26, 1866, in the fifty-seventh
year of his age. They had one son, John, who married
Miss Josephine Doe, of Newbury, Vt. He owns and' oc
cupies a farm which formerly belonged to his grandfather,
but on which he never lived, in that part of Bradford
called Groshen. They have but one child, a son, whose
name is Frank Everett.
3. John, the fourth son of Deacon 0. Hardy, born
January 17, 1814, learned the clock, watch and jewelry
business of his brother J. A., and at the close of his ap
prenticeship went South, and was very successful in his
chosen occupation. He married a Southern lady, Miss
Susan Crenshaw, by whom he had three daughters, Ala
bama, Virginia, and Sarah Jane. He died of congestive
fever, September 11, 1843, at Haynesville, Alabama, in
the thirtieth year of his age, leaving, as the result of his
skill and industry, about $6,000 for the comfort of his be
loved wife and daughters. Mrs. Hardy has since died,
but the daughters are understood to be still living at the
South.
4. Harriet Maria, the only surviving daughter of Dea
con Hardy, born April 26th, 1827, married Jasper M.
Hardy, of Hopkinton, N. H., April 12th, 1866, and so
became a resident of the native State of her parents.
It is here worthy of remark, that the descendants of
good Deacon Oliver Hardy and wife have been, not only,
in a temporal view, but also religiously, signally blessed.
The daughter just mentioned, also her brother, J. A. Hardy
and wife, their daughter, Mrs. Kilbourne, her brother
William G-. and wife, Mr. George W. and wife, their son
John and his wife, all became members of the same
329
church to which Deacon Hardy and wife belonged, and
in which he had so long and acceptably officiated.
THE SHAW FAMILIES.
The Shaws were of English descent. The first of the
name in this country of whom we have any account was
Benjamin Shaw, of Abington, Mass. His son, William
Shaw, born February 22, 1730, married Hannah West,
and settled in Bridgewater, in that State. He was a man
in humble circumstances, by occupation a tanner and shoe
maker ; but of excellent moral and religious character,
and withal of very industrious habits. He and his wife
had a large family, whom they seem to have faithfully en
deavored, and not without success, to train up in the way
they should go. Mrs. Shaw, their mother, died in 1772.
Mr. Shaw married again ; had by this marriage one daugh
ter, and died in January, 1810, in the eightieth year
of his age. Two of his sons, namely, Colonel Dan Shaw
~and Rev. Naphtali Shaw, when quite advanced in life, re
moved to Bradford, Vt., and here died, leaving families ;
and it is of them particularly that I shall now have occa
sion to speak.
Their brothers and sisters, generally married, settled
elsewhere, and left posterity in the country.
Colonel Dan Shaw was born at Bridgewater, Mass., No
vember 15, 1758. His first wife was Joanna Perkins, a
daughter of Deacon Isaac Perkins, of Middleborough, in
that State, born January 5, 1761. They were married in
March, 1780, and removed to Lyme, N. H., where she died
November 22, 1803, in the forty-second year of her age.
The Rev. Dr. Burton, in his sermon at her funeral, after
wards published, speaks highly of her good qualities and
Christian character. For his second wife Colonel Shaw
married the widow Mary Bliss, of this town, who survived
22
330
him, and became the wife of Colonel Freeman, of Hanover,
N. H.
In the sixteenth year of his age Mr. Shaw became, on
profession of his faith, a member of the Congregational
church in his native place, and was through life a remark
ably strict keeper of the Sabbath.
At Lyme he united with the Orthodox church, and was
constituted a deacon in the same.
He was also for a time one of the Selectmen of that
town ; and in a military line was, by regular gradation,
promoted from the office of a Lieutenant to that of com
mander of a regiment ; whence the title by which he was
ever after designated. After the death of his first wife
he removed from Lyme to this town, and purchased a
farm on the West side of the River road, bounded on the
South by the line between Bradford and Fairlee, the same
on which Amos Clement now lives.
Colonel Shaw when over fifty years of age became un
settled in his mind in regard to the correctness of the
Orthodox belief that those who die in their sins are for
ever lost, and finally embraced fully the docjtrine that all
without discrimination will be saved. And so zealous
was he in his new belief that in the year 1809 he obtained
approbation from due authority to go forth as a preacher
of universal salvation, and in the course of four or five
years preached occasionally, in many places. He was
undoubtedly sincere in his belief, and so conscientious
that when, again fearing he might be wrong, he ceased to
preach, became unhappy, and so disturbed in his mind;
about that and other things, that he terminated his life by
drowning himself in a small brook near his home, greatly
to the grief of his family and many friends, November
14, 1814, at the age of fifty-six years. He was an ami
able man, in life well esteemed, and there can be no doubt
but he had become truly insane.
331
Colonel Shaw and his first wife had a very respectable
family, of whom some account will now be given.
1. Nanny P., the eldest daughter, born December 16,
1780, married Joshua Balch, of Lyme, June 15, 1800, and
died there, leaving a family of children, January 24,1850.
2. Dan, born October 13, 1782, died May 4, 1805.
3. Samuel W., born November 12, 1784, died March
31, 1803.
4. Joanna, born April 3, 1787, married Abel Kent, Jr.,
of Lyme, January 1, 1806, and died November 4, 1856,
leaving a family.
5. Asa, born February 20, 1789, married Eliza T.
Slade, of Hanover, was a merchant at Lyme, and died
there July 4, 1861, leaving one daughter, Eliza P., and
one son, Asa, with their mother. This son is a merchant
in Hartford, Conn.
6. Abraham Perkins, born June 20, 1813, married
Mary, daughter of Joseph Jenkins, of this town, June
20, 1813, who died here August 6, 1855. Mr. A. P. Shaw
and wife were both members of the Congregational
church in this place, and valuable members of society.
He was by occupation a cabinet maker, and is at this date
still living in this village, in circumstances of comfort.
THEIR CHILDREN.
Joseph Wright Shaw, born April 3, 1814, married Al-
mira Tisdale, was of the same occupation as his father,
removed to Summerville, Mass., and died there, March 1,
1870.
Dan W. Shaw, born March 12, 1816, married Jane A.,
daughter of Captain Haynes Johnson, of Bradford, and
engaged in the manufacture and sale of furniture at East
Cambridge and Boston, Mass., on a large scale, in which
business he has been very prosperous. He has a commo
dious and delightful residence at North Cambridge. Mr.
332
and Mrs. Shaw are very estimable people, and have a
pleasant family , as follows : Ella J., born July 19,
1846; Emma L.7 born November 27, 1848, died January
22, 1854 ; Susie E., born November 30, 1854, was married
with Mr. George A. Keeler, June 4, 1874 ; Adna B., born
December 8, 1856, and his brother, Edward L., January
24, 1860.
Mary E., eldest daughter of A. P. Shaw and wife, born
June 9, 1818, died February 28, 1826.
Abram Perkins, Jr., born May 3, 1821, remains at this
date a citizen of Bradford, usefully engaged in the man
ufacture and sale of furniture, and caring for his father,
now far advanced in age.
Arad K., a younger brother, born April 16, 1825, by
reason of severe sickness in childhood became deaf and
mute, though still bright in intellect, and died April 14,
1854.
Julia A. B., born September 25, 1827, married Olin
Partridge, January 16, 1853, who died in Ripon, Wiscon
sin, August 16, 1861. Their son Willie Oliri was born at
Ripon, September 22,1858. After her husband's decease,
Mrs. P. returned, with her son, to this her native place.
Mary J., the youngest member of this family, born May
25, 1831, married William Miller, then of Bradford, a
worker in marble, October 23, 1853, and died here April
12, 1855.
7. Naphtali, the next son of Colonel Dan Shaw, was
born May 20, 1793. He married Hannah Worthen, of
Bradford, January 21, 1817. He was a man highly es
teemed for his intelligence, ability, and moral worth ;
was for many years occupied here in mercantile business,
and died September 3, 1861, in the sixty-ninth year of
his age. His good wife died August 16, 1844, in the
forty-fifth year of her age. They were both exemplary
Christians', and members of the Congregational church in
this place. They had two daughters and one son. The
333
youngest daughter, Julia B., died in her infancy. Han
nah Maria, born November 27, 1817, married Olin Part-
ridge, June 21, 1840, and died December 20, 1847, leav
ing one daughter, Arabelle Maria, born May 29, 1841.
Asa Thaddeus, the only son, born February 9, 1820,
married Maria L. Putnam, November 9, 1843, removed to
Elmore, Vt., and died there, January 5, 1855, leaving a
family of three daughters and two sons, with their mother.
Their eldest son, Asa Balch, had previously died in child
hood. Mrs. Shaw with her family returned to Bradford,
and for years has kept a respectable millinery establish
ment here. Her daughter, Harriet Arabelle, born De
cember 3, 1846, died June 27, 1867, in the twenty-first
year of her age. Julia Laurette, born October 22, 1848,
an industrious young lady, to whose influence we are in
a great measure indebted for the monument at her grand
father's grave. Mary Ann, born November 12, 1850,
married Victor Wallace Bagley, September 16, 1871, a
merchant, in partnership with William B. Stevens, of this
place. Asa T. Shaw, Jr., born February 14, 1855, a clerk
in that establishment. And, lastly, William West, born
October 22, 1852, engaged in the business of a livery-
stable keeper.
8. Pollycarpus, the sixth son of Colonel Dan Shaw,
was born February 25, 1797. Went to Indiana, devoted
himself to teaching, married, and died February 1, 1849,
leaving a large family. And, finally,
9. Mandana, youngest member of Colonel Shaw's fam
ily, born April 9, 1799, died June 6, 1801, at Lyme, N. H.
Of this large and respectable family, Abraham P. Shaw
at this writing is the only survivor, now eighty-three
years of age.
Rev. Naphtali Shaw, the third son of William, of Bridge-
water, Mass., and brother of Colonel Dan Shaw, was born
there, June 20, 1864, and was from his childhood trained
up in habits of industry, sobriety, and Christian morality.
334
He had naturally a strong desire for the acquisition of
useful knowledge, and fondness for reading, but his ad
vantages were very limited. He was in his youth, as
well as in mature manhood, a lover of his country, and at
the age of fifteen, with his father's consent, enlisted for a
limited period in the Revolutionary service. He re
turned in safety ; and at the age of twenty, by agree
ment with his father, entered on a decided course of
preparation for college, and persevered amid difficulties,
paying his expenses in part by manual labor, and was ad
mitted a freshman, at Dartmouth, in the autumn of 1786.
He found his preparation had not been equal to that of
most of his classmates, but by hard and persevering
study gained and held an honorable standing among them.
He graduated in 1790, his appointment at commencement
being a discussion of the question, " Does moral obliga
tion arise from the revealed will of God, or from the fit
ness of things ? " Among his fellow graduates were Rev.
Ethan Smith, Mills Olcott, Esq., Asa Lyon, Member of
Congress, and General William Eaton, United States
Consul at Tunis, in North Africa — men of distinction in
their day. On leaving college Mr. Shaw, having taught
in Boston and other places for a year or two, to pay up
his college expenses, studied theology, for about seven
months, with Rev. Dr. Sanger, of Bridgewater ; when,
being approbated by Plymouth Association as a qualified
preacher of the gospel, he was invited to preach for four
Sabbaths, as a candidate, at Kensington, N. H. About
the same time he received his second degree at Dart
mouth. With much diffidence, he consented to go to
Kensington, having no expectation of giving them satis
faction, as that church had already tried twenty or thirty
candidates without success, and were in a deplorable con
dition. He preached his first sermon there September
9, 1792, and in the course of eight weeks, to his great
surprise, received an urgent call from the church and
335
society to become their pastor. He felt that he must not
refuse; and on the 30th of January, 1793, was duly or
dained, and constituted the settled pastor of the Congre
gational church and society in Kensington. And so con
tinued, in love and peace, and with moderate success in
his ministerial labors, for about twenty-one years, when
his health had become so seriously impaired that a re
lease from study and preaching could no longer be de
ferred, and, with great cordiality on both sides, his minis
terial connection with that people was, by act of council,
honorably terminated, January 13, 1813. He then set
tled up his secular affairs, bought a farm in this town,
adjoining that of his brother, Colonel Shaw, on the east,
and settled here with his family, in October of the same
year, designing to spend ^ the remainder of his days in
agricultural employment, and from that time wholly ceased
to officiate as a preacher, but continued through life to
maintain an excellent Christian character. For five or
six years after Mr. Shaw's ordination, he remained a
bachelor; but on the 10th of June, 1798, he married
Mary Crafts, a daughter of Dr. John S. Crafts, of North
-Bridgewater, a companion altogether suitable for him.
They were blessed with a family of four children. Mrs.
Shaw died at Bradford, January 14, 1840, aged seventy-
five years. Rev. Naphtali Shaw, her husband, died here
also, October 10, 1853, in the ninetieth year of his age.
Their remains repose side by side in Bradford cemetery.
They were both members of this Congregational church.
THEIR CHILDREN, ALL NATIVES OF KENSINGTON.
1. Thomas Crafts, was born June 7, 1799, and under
good parental influence grew up a very worthy young
man. It is not known that he ever contracted any of the
bad habits so common among young men. The ordinary
use of tobacco and intoxicating liquors, Sabbath breaking,
profane swearing, lounging about in places of public re-
336
sort, and wasting time and money in dissipating amuse
ments, were practices that he abhorred. He was always
to be found on the side of morality and good order. His
candor and kindness, and strict regard for veracity, jus
tice, fairness and faithfulness, in all transactions with his
fellow men, were admirable. He had through life a
healthy appetite for reading, and in that way acquired a
good store of useful knowledge. He was in his youth a
successful teacher of common schools, and through life
felt interested in the right education of the rising gener
ation. For twenty-three years he officiated as a trustee
of Bradford Academy, and for six years of that time as
treasurer. Mr. Shaw was married, December 2, 1819,
with Miss Sarah B., a daughter of Joseph Jenkins, an
estimable young woman of the same neighborhood, a few
years older than himself. They remained, taking care of
his parents, at the old homestead, till their decease, after
which Mr. Shaw sold that place, and bought a pleasant
residence in the village, near his ordinary place of wor
ship, and there they spent their remaining days. During
a series of religious meetings, attended with great power,
about the beginning of the year 1837, Thomas C. Shaw
and wife became hopefully converted, and united with
the Congregational church, in which he was in 1839
chosen a deacon, and for about twenty-seven years so
performed the duties of the office as to purchase to him
self a good degree, and great firmness, if not boldness, in
the faith which is in Christ Jesus. A failure of his health
induced him to resign, about five years before his de
cease. Mrs. Shaw died, stricken down by apoplexy, De
cember 30, 1869. Deacon Shaw, after a protracted fee
bleness of some two or three years, in which his eldest
daughter, the only surviving member of his family, with
admirable loving kindness ministered most faithfully unto
him, died March 247 1871, aged seventy-one years.
These parents had been blessed with three children.
337
Sarah Jane, the eldest daughter, born December 14, 1820,
at this date still survives, occupying, with competent
support, the pleasant home which her father left to her
in this village. She is a member of the same church to
which her parents belonged. The next child of her pa
rents, a son, died in his infancy. The younger daughter,
Mary Ann, born June 6, 1825, died February 10, 1848, in
her twenty- third year.
2. Eliza Parks, eldest daughter of Rev. N. Shaw,
born April 19, 1801, became hopefully ^pious when about
fifteen years of age, and made a public profession of her
faith. She married Randall H. Wild, of West Fairlee,
then resident in Bradford, March 15, 1824. They re
mained here for a while, and Mr. Wild was chosen a dea
con in the Congregational church, October 4, 1827. They
removed to West Fairlee, and had two daughters, Mary
Elizabeth, the eldest, married Rev. Orpheus T. Lan-
phear, now D. D., and pastor of the Congregational
church in Beverly, Mass. Her younger sister, Emily,
died in her maidenhood, an amiable young lady, x Mrs.
Wild, their mother, owing to a softening of the brain, or
some other physical cause, suffered a sad failure of her
intellectual powers, though still remaining quiet, and by
agreement was taken home again by her parents, and, by
accidentally falling into an open fire, was so seriously
burned as to cause her death, which occurred December
22, 1841, in the forty-first year of her age. Though thus
in the decline of, her life unfortunate, there can be no
doubt but she was a truly good woman, and her immortal
interests secure.
3. Samuel West, the second son of Rev. N. Shaw,
born June 1, 1803, grew up a very worthy young man,
and married, November 23, 1830, Jerusha Bliss, daughter
of Deacon Solomon Bliss, of Fairlee. They were both
good Christians. He lived in a house near his fathers'
for a few years, and died March 10, 1832. His widow
338
married Deacon John Metcalf, of Piermont, N. H. ; had
several children, and at this date is still living, again in
widowhood.
4. Mary Ann, the younger daughter of Rev. N. Shaw,
born May 21, 1807, died in childhood.
In closing this genealogical record it is deeply inter
esting to notice how the divine blessing has come down
from a pious ancestry upon children's children, unto the
third and fourth generation. So may it be till earth and
time shall be no more.
339
CHAPTER XVI.
The Prichards, Lows, and Ormsbys.
THE PRICHARD FAMILY.
Col. George W. Prichard was born at New Ipswich, N.
H., December 4, 1792. His parents were Jeremiah and
Elizabeth Prichard, of that place. His father was for sev
eral years an officer in the war of the Revolution, and
bore the title of Captain. He died in New Ipswich .in
1813, at the age of fifty-eight years. His widow died at
the house of her son, in Bradford, Vt., March 1836. The
parents had four sons, all worthy men, of whom the sub
ject of this notice was when visited with his last sickness
the solitary survivor.
George W., while rather young for a clerkship, came to
live with Captain John B. Wheeler, of Orford, N. H., in
whose store a large amount of business was in those days
transacted. Capt. Wheeler, who was a shrewd business
man, and would have none but the capable and trustwor
thy about him, was so much pleased with this young man
that he not only kept him as a clerk, but in due season
took him into partnership, and committed to him the
management of the mercantile business which he had es
tablished in Bradford. When about twenty years of age,
in the year 1812, Mr. Prichard took up what proved to be
his permanent residence here. Nor was it long before he
became the sole proprietor of the establishment. He
here continued in very successful mercantile business for
about half a century, when, having acquired a competen-^
cy, and being far advanced in life, he retired, leaving his
almost life-long business to two of his sons, to the prac
tice of which they had from early youth been trained.
His first store was a low wooden building on the west
side of Main street, in the central part of the village,
340
where the two story brick building which he subsequent
ly erected now stands, and continues to be occupied for
the same purpose.
That Col. Prichard was a very capable, upright, and
honorable man in his various transactions, is evident from
the manifold official duties which he was called to per
form, and the entire confidence which all who knew him
invariably reposed in him. By the election of his fellow
townsmen he officiated for three years as one of their Se
lectmen ; twice he represented the town in the State
Legislature ; executed the office of a Justice of the
Peace for some thirty years ; and for some thirty-seven
years was entrusted with the town moneys, as Treasurer.
On resigning the latter office, at the last annual meeting
preceding his death, a vote of thanks was unanimously
passed, testifying that he had invariably kept the funds
committed to him with fidelity, and discharged the vari
ous business of his office as Treasurer to the entire satis
faction of all concerned. He performed the duties of
Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Bradford Acade
my for, it is believed, more than forty years. He also
bore for some while the commission of a Colonel, in a
time of peace. He was also the efficient, reliable, and
only President of the first Bradford bank, whose business
was honorably closed, without loss to any, about two
years before his decease.
Col. Prichard had also important trusts committed to
him in the way of settling the estates of deceased friends,
and was remarkably successful in giving good satisfac
tion. Even when the amount of property in one case
was large, and the claims of the heirs in conflict with
each other, they were all alike ready to acknowledge and
thank him for his perfect impartiality, and strict justice.
With regard to domestic relations and affairs, it may be
remarked that Col. Prichard was united in marriage with
Miss Elizabeth Pearsons, of Bradford, March 16, 1817, a
341
lady in person, manners, domestic habits, and character,
truly amiable and estimable. They were married by
their then youthful pastor, who in years long after at
tended the funerals of them both. They wisely com
menced housekeeping in a style corresponding with their
then somewhat limited means, for some years living in a
humble cottage, made pleasant by love and contentment,
nor wished to remove till able, without inconvenience, to
build and furnish to their liking the commodious residence
in which they spent the remainder of their days. They
had a family ol one daughter and six sons, of whom fur
ther notice will be given. All were living at the time of
their mother's decease, which occurred March 5, 1853, in
the sixty-second year of her age. She had been a mem
ber of the Congregational church for sixteen years, and
by her exemplary life had evinced the sincerity of her
profession. In view of death, she was beautifully sus
tained and comforted by the assured prospect of a near
and blessed immortality,.
Colonel Pri chard's second marriage was with Miss
Mary P. Sutherland, February 7, 1854, a daughter of the
late Rev. David Sutherland, of Bath, N. H. She faith
fully ministered to his comfort during his declining years,
and was rewarded with not only worldly substance
enough, but with the strong assurance of his high esteem
and grateful love.
Although Mr. Prichard had been from his youth a moral
man and regular attendant on public worship, and for
years entertained a trembling hope of the divine accept
ance, .he had passed the meridian of life before he made
any open profession of religion. It was during a pro
tracted meeting of great power, held in connection with
the dedication of the present Congregational meeting
house in this village, in January, 1837, that he and his
wife, in company with several others, were brought to
consecrate themselves heartily and openly to the Sav-
342
iour's service, and to become living members of his visi
ble church. Thence onward their path was like the light
of the morning.
About three years after this season of refreshing, the
aged deacons of this church wishing to be relieved,
George W. Prichard and Thomas C. Shaw, who had to
gether been received as members, were unanimously
chosen deacons, and, to the great satisfaction of the
church, continued to perform the duties of that office un
til, by reason of advanced age and bodily infirmities,
they in their turn thought it their duty to resign. Their
resignation was accepted so far only as to excuse them
from officiating, except in cases of special need of their
services.
Deacon Prichard was a firm believer in divine revela
tion, and made the Holy Scriptures the guide of his faith
and conduct.. He delighted in public and social wor
ship, and his fervent prayers and pathetic remarks in
social meetings were truly elevating and refreshing. In
the Sabbath school he was also deeply interested. He
for several years officiated as superintendent, and after
that continued as teacher of a class, while he had strength
to perform the arduous, but to him grateful, service. He
took a lively interest in the support of public worship,
ever ready to do his part. He was not only a liberal
subscriber and prompt payer, but a cheerful giver.
Great pleasure he evidently took in attending the annual
" donation visits " to his pastor and family, and never
failed to bring on such occasions substantial proofs of his
friendship. And when, after a long, peaceful, and not
fruitless ministry, the pastor esteemed it his privilege
and duty to resign, this good man was prominent among
the considerate and kind-hearted friends who undertook
to provide for him a comfortable home, that he might
continue to live, and finally die and be buried, with his
beloved people.
343
Such men are a blessing, not only to their own fami
lies and to the communities around them, but to the
world. But the most upright, benevolent, exemplary
and useful members of society must with others pass
away. The ailment of which Deacon Prichard died was
similar to that of the good king of whom it is said, that
he " did that which was good and right in the eyes of the
Lord his God," but who in his old age " was diseased in
his feet, until his disease was exceeding great ; " and in
addition to this, dropsy in the chest, sa that for months
before his decease he could not lie down at all. During
this whole season of bodily infirmity and distress, his pa
tience and sweet resignation to the divine will were most
admirable. During those wearisome days and nights,
sitting almost constantly in his . chair, often pierced with
intense pains, he was not only reconciled and submissive,
but said he loved to be in the hands of his Heavenly Fa
ther, who knew just what was best for him. To him the
Saviour was inexpressibly precious, and in Him he re
joiced at times with joy inexpressible and full of glory.
His children, with their companions, from near and afar
had gathered around him, to receive his dying benedic
tion, and express to him their sympathy, gratitude, and
filial love, when on one Thursday evening, August 8,
1867, at the age of seventy-four years, eight months, and
four days, he, at the call of his Lord, exchanged Earth for
Heaven, leaving his lifeless body still reclining in the ac
customed chair, presenting even in death a placidity of
countenance expressive of the most perfect satisfaction.
The burial service was attended on the subsequent
Saturday, towards evening, and at the church on the fol
lowing Sabbath an appropriate funeral discourse was de
livered by his pastor and almost life-long friend, in the
presence of the united congregations of Bradford village,
and numerous other friends from -places more remote.
" Blessed are -the dead who die in the Lord."
344
The children of George W. and Elizabeth P. Prichard,
his wife.
1. Adeline, born December 22, 1817. She became
hopefully pious while young, and united with the same
church with her parents. She was a well educated young-
lady, and became the wife of Rev. B. B. Newton, then
pastor of the Congregational church in Chelsea, Vt. Af
ter several years of ministerial service as a Congrega-
tionalist, Mr. Newton withdrew from that denomination,
united with the Episcopal church at Brooklyn, N. Y., and
received ordination as a clergyman of that, order. Mrs.
Newton had for several years charge of a female board
ing school at Brooklyn, and has done much good ser
vice, not only for those under her immediate care, but for
the world, as an educator of young ladies.
Rev. Mr. Newton had by this marriage eight children,
of whom four died early j and at this date two daughters
and two sons still survive, namely, Elizabeth P., wife of
George H. Goddard, Adeline, Benjamin, and Edward
Prichard.
2. George Prichard, born November 19, 1819, mar
ried Elizabeth F. Brooks, of Worcester, Mass., and with
his brother Edward was for years actively and extensively
engaged in mercantile business in the same store which
had been occupied by their father for the same purpose.
He had also a pleasant homestead next South of the
Academy, and near the churches in Bradford village. Mr.
and Mrs. Prichard were members of the Congregational
church here, and took a lively interest, not only in its
prosperity but in the general advancement of the best
interests of society. Mr. Prichard, like his father be
fore him, was a highly esteemed deacon in the church to
which he belonged, and so continued until, owing to em
barrassing reverses in his mercantile affairs, he closed up
further business here, left the place, and late in the Au
tumn of 1871 removed with his family to Worcester,
345
Mass. While resident in Bradford, he was for several
years a Trustee of Bradford Academy, and Secretary of
the Board, and also represented the town in the State
Legislature of 1858-59.
Deacon George Prichard and wife had three daughters
and four sons. The eldest son, Charles, died in early life;
at the house of his maternal grandmother at Worcester,
in 1851.
Eva Frances, the second daughter, died at the same
sweet ancestral home, December 6, 1868, at the age of
eighteen years and seven months. She had gone there
in health, to visit her grandmother, and to spend the Win
ter with her uncle and aunt Anderson in Boston ; but
soon after her arrival was visited with disease of a gan
grenous nature, painfully affecting especially one of her
feet, which no medical treatment could relieve ; amputa
tion became a matter of necessity ; the disease still lin
gered in the system, and within a few days reached the
mainsprings of life. The dear girl knew she was going
— going to leave her beloved father and mother, who
were with her, and the dear ones at their home ; but bore
all with sweet resignation to the Divine will, and, with
entire confidence in her blessed Saviour, peacefully
passed away to her final rest. Nearly a year before her
decease she had made a public profession of her faith, and
united with the same church to which her parents and her
two sisters also belonged. Her funeral was numerously
attended at Bradford, and her precious remains followed
to the tomb by a full representation of the Sabbath school
to which she had from childhood belonged.
The surviving children are Mary Addie, Annie Eliza
beth, George Brooks, William Frederick, and'Arthur An
derson.
3. Moses Smith Prichard, born April 8, 1822, graduat
ed at the University of Vermont in 1841, studied law,
and opened an office in Janesville, Wisconsin, where af-
23
346
ter the lapse of some thirty years he was still remaining,
pleasantly located. He was for a term called to the office
of Judge of the County Court, holding its sessions there.
He married Miss Betsey Ann True, of Janesville, and the
names of their three children are Mary, George W., and
Anna.
4. Edward Pricharcl, born November 29, 1824. He
was in youth favored with the requisite advantages
for acquiring a useful education, which he duly improved
and became, as he advanced in life, well qualified for the
various mercantile and official transactions in which he
was^called to engage. At the old stand in Bradford vil
lage, in company with his brother George, he was occu
pied in commercial business for several years. During
a part of this time, and subsequently, he was called to fill
various civil offices of trust and importance. As one of
the town Listers, one of the Selectmen, Town Clerk, and
Justice of the Peace, he had much to do. The records
which he made will long remain, should no accident pre
vent, an honorable memorial of his fidelity and penman
ship. He officiated for a time as Cashier of Bradford
Bank, was for years a Notary Public, and at the time of
his decease an Assistant Assessor of the United States
Revenue, and a Trustee of Bradford Academy. He was
a man so modest, kind-hearted, seriously inclined, and
withal so winning in his ways, as well as capable and
trustworthy, that his fellow townsmen were very natur
ally disposed to respect and honor him. Mr. Prichard
built the store on the East side of Main street, at this
date occupied by Bailey & Reding as a clothing store, and
also the commodious house on Pleasant street in which
his family continue to reside.
In his domestic relations Edward Prichard was very
happy. At the age of twenty-six he was united in mar
riage with Miss Anne Merrill, of Pittsfield, N. H., who
did him good all the days of his subsequent life, and by
34:7
whom he was blessed with a somewhat large, for these
days, and very interesting family of children, consisting
of. two sons and eight daughters.
The eldest son, Edward Payson, a beautiful and prom
ising boy, was so unfortunate as to be drowned at the age
of thirteen years. Towards evening July 29, 1867, this
dear boy had gone quite alone to bathe in Wait's River,
a little below the brick mill. at the village. Not return
ing, as was expected, in the evening, the most dilligent
search was made for him ; but in vain, until early the next
morning the lifeless body was discovered reposing in
death's profound sleep on the river's bed ! The entire
community seemed to be moved with deep sympathy for
the family in their sore bereavement.
About five weeks before Mr. Prichard's decease, his
eyes were blessed with the sight of another son, to be,
with the eight lovely daughters, to their mother, as he
hoped, a rich blessing when he should himself have passed
away. This son, born October 20, 1870, is named James
Edward. The names of the daughters are Caroline Mer
rill, Elizabeth Pearsons; Julia, Jane Hallet, Anna Lois,
Ellen Catherine, Mary Sutherland, and Adaline Frances.
The disease of which Mr. Prichard died was of the
heart. In the action oi that vital organ there had been
more or less irregularity through life. For some weeks
immediately preceding his decease this trouble had be
come most serious and alarming. Its progress to a fatal
termination was rapid and irresistible. Of this he was
duly aware, and quietly awaited the eve at. His decease
occurred November 28, 1870, at the age of forty-six years,
lacking one day.
Mr. Prichard, though seriously inclined, evangelical in
his belief, and very exemplary in his observance of the
Sabbath, and attendance with his family on public wor
ship, had never seen his way clear to make a public pro
fession of religion by uniting with the church. In the
348
near prospect of death, he utterly disclaimed all depend
ence on any ground of hope save Christ, and Him alone,
for salvation, and so quietly passed away, hoping that to
him it would be a gain to die. At his funeral an earnest
appeal was made by the beloved pastor, the Rev. Mr.
Williams, to the men of Bradford to be wise and consider
their latter end, to consecrate themselves heartily and
openly to the service of God, and to do so without delay,
seeing the night of death cometh, and may come with un
expected suddenness.
Miss Caroline M., daughter of Edward Prichard, and
Edward E. Baldwin, of Cambridge, Mass, were married
September 1, 1874.
5. Amos Prichard, born May 26, 1827, graduated at
the University of Vermont in 1847, studied for the pro
fession of law, and directly after became established in
successful business at Janesville, Wisconsin. In due sea
son he was constituted a Judge of the County Court
there, for the term of four years, and at this date is offici
ating on his fourth term of election to the same office, a
sufficient proof of the esteem in which he is held by his
fellow citizens of that County. He married Miss Augusta
Dearborn, and they have been blessed with three chil
dren, Charlotte Augusta, Lyman, and Abby Elizabeth.
6. Arthur Prichard, born April 27, 1835. Some years
of- his early youth were spent in acquiring a business ed
ucation, arid as a clerk in his father's store. In his
twenty-first year, with his father's consent, he went away
to seek his fortune, as many other young men do, in the
West. In the course of a few weeks, while boarding at a
hotel in Ripon, Wisconsin, he was visited with danger
ous sickness, but by the aid of a friend succeeded in
reaching Janesville, the residence of his two brothers,
and there, at the house of the Hon. Moses S. Prichard, re
ceived whatever kindness loving hearts could render.
He seemed to revive a little, hopes of his recovery were
349
beginning to be entertained; but while his brother's
wife was giving him some nourishment, his head sudden
ly declined, his heart ceased to beat, and life was extinct !
His immortal spirit had returned to God. He died March
6, 1856, hardly twenty-one years of age. The same day
the sad intelligence was glanced over the telegraphic
wires, causing the friends at home to sympathize and
mourn with those afar oif. Arthur was an active and
amiable young man, whose loss was deeply felt. His
burial occurred at the place of his decease, but a discourse
by his former pastor, in memory of him, and addressed
particularly to young men, delivered March 30, 1856, at
Bradford, was by their solicitation printed, and some
what widely circulated. A post mortem examination
showed that the disease of which he died was of the
heart.
7. John Brooks Wheeler Prichard, born September
26, 1839, married Miss Orissa George, of Bradford, and,
in company with Mr. Barron Hay, succeeded the firm of
George and Edward, his brothers, at the old trading
stand in this village, encouraged by a due share of pub
lic patronage. Mr. J. B. W. Prichard, since the death of
his brother Edward, in the autumn of 1870, has filled the
office of Town Clerk of Bradford. He- built the commo
dious house which he owns and occupies on Pleasant
street. He and his wife have been blessed with four
children. A son and a daughter died in early childhood.
The two survivors are Fred Elmer and Henry Warren.
ASA LOW AND FAMILY.
Mr. Asa Low was a native of Sanford, in the State of
Maine, born January 13, 1796. He came to this town
about 1820, and engaged in the business of paper mak
ing. This business had before been carried on in the
same place by others, but in the hands of Mr. Low it was
350
much increased, and through various vicissitudes of pros
perity and adversity continued for about a half century.
Mr. Low was a man of enterprise and energy in various
directions, and did much for the prosperity of Bradford,
especially of its village. He for a time owned and much
improved the hotel called the Trotter House ; he erected
and for }^ears occupied the large stone paper mill, which
is still used for the same purpose ; built also the substan
tial brick grist-mill, a few rods below, but subsequently
sold it ; also built the two-story brrck store, nearly oppo
site the paper mill, on Main street, and was extensively
engaged there in various commercial transactions. His
family residence was the commodious two- story white
house, directly opposite the Trotter House, formerly
owned by General Micah Barron. Mr. Low was for a
long time a trustee of Bradford Academy, and took a live
ly interest in the cause of education, and in the support
of public worship, on which he regularly attended. He
was also an earnest and persevering advocate of total ab
stinence from the common use of all intoxicating liquors.
He was in favor of whatever he judged to be for the ben
efit of society ; and did probably more than any other
man to encourage the building of the Connecticut and
Passumpsic Rivers Railroad, opening a communication
from the seaports to this place, whence it has since been
extended to Canada East, and secured railroad connec
tions with Quebec, Montreal, and the far West. At times
this man of business seemed to be borne along on the
full tide of prosperity, but at other times met with seri
ous disappointments, losses and embarrassments, till at
length, in broken health and exhausted energy, he re
tired, in 1873, from , his former rush of business, to the
quietude of his own pleasant home and loving family.
In his domestic relations Mr. Asa Low has been signal
ly blessed. September 21, 1824, he married Miss Lucin-
da Brooks, a daughter of Deacon Samuel and Mrs. Anne
351
Butler Brooks, formerly of Worcester, Mass., but at that
time of Canada East, with whom he has been living hap
pily for now almost fifty years. Their union has been
blessed with three sons and seven daughters. Two of
the sons and three daughters, one "half of their children,
died in childhood.
Of those at this date still living the following brief no
tices must suffice.
1. Helen Mary, born May 14, 1826, remains at home,
greatly to the comfort of her parents.
2. Caroline Henrietta, born November 24, 1827, mar
ried Mr. John B. Peckett, of Bradford. They have a
pleasant residence on the Lower Plain. See J. B. Peck
ett and family,
3. George Azro, born December 16, 1833, married
Marcia Cutler, a daughter of Rev. Calvin Cutler, formerly
of Lebanon and of Windham, N. H. Mr. George A. Low
graduated at Dartmouth College in 1857. He taught for
some years after his graduation at Chicago, 111., St. Paul,
Minn., and -at Bradford AcadeinyrVt., and has subsequent
ly been engaged in various business, in connection with
his father. In the meanwhile he has taken a deep inter
est in the cause of education, temperance and religion,
in the best interests of society generally, and for several
years, much to the satisfaction of his fellow communi
cants, has filled the office of Deacon in the Congregation
al church, to which he and Mrs. Low still belong. They
have had four children. One died in infancy. The names
of those still living are Walter Carroll, James Herbert,
and George Evarts. At this date (November, 1874) Mr.
George A. Low and family are living at Brooklyn, N. Y.
4. Adaline Pri chard, born December 22, 1839, mar
ried David Blakely, Esq., Editor of the Chicago Evening
Post. Their residence is at Chicago. They have three
children — Jesse, Bertha, and Daisy. Mrs. Blakely, since
her marriage, has spent some time in Germany, to accom-
352
plish herself more to her own satisfaction in the science
and art of vocal and instrumental music, in which she was
previously quite proficient.
5. Martha Ann Rogers, born July 5, 1842, remains
with her parents, contributing much to their happiness,
amid the infirmities and trials attending declining age.
Mrs. Low and all her surviving children are beloved
members of the household of faith. May both parents
and children, with their entire families, reach the land of
pure delights at last.
Mr. Ira Low, a farmer in West Bradford, is a twin
brother of Mr. Asa Low, above mentioned. The wife of
Mr. Ira Low was removed from him by death, a year or
two since. They had four children, of whom only Ira
and Emeline are at this time (July, 1874) living.
THE ORMSBY FAMILY.
The original spelling of this name was Ormsbee, and
so continued till within a few years past ; but is now by
general consent as abovq given.
The first man of this name who settled in this vicinity
was Ichabod Ormsby, from Woodstock, Conn. We have
not the exact date of his coming, but it was within a few
years after the first settlement of Fairlee, where he pur
chased real estate to a considerable extent, and became a
permanent resident. Having determined on removal, he
returned to Woodstock, and gave his friends a glowing
description of the fertility of the soil in this locality, and
the prospective advantages of early possession, repre
senting that the lands were not only very productive but
cheap ; that the meadows for quite a distance above Fair-
lee Mountain had been cleared up by the Indians, and in
times past planted w^ith corn ; that rows of corn of a mile
in length might be planted in that rich soil, he might
truly add, without a stone of any size to interfere with
the ease of cultivation. Several families removed about
353
that time from the old State of Connecticut to homes in
this happy valley. On the return of Ichabod Ormsby he
settled on the farm now owned and cultivated by Captain
Benjamin Celley, and his son William, a little North of
Fairlee Mountain. Two of Ichabod's brothers, namely,
Joseph and Thomas, came with him, and settled on lands
which he had previously purchased. In the account of
Fairlee in the Vermont Historical Magazine it is incident
ally mentioned that at a town meeting held there, August
2, 1 774, Ichabod Ormsby was elected one of the Assess
ors of the sum of two hundred and fifty- seven pounds,
eight shillings, voted by the town to be raised " to defray
the expense of allotting the township, cutting out and
clearing roads, and other necessary expenses." And also
to be, with Israel Morey, Esq., and Jonathan Child, a com
mittee to lay out and make the necessary roads through
the township," in 1780. He was also one of a committee
" to provide necessary materials, erect and complete a
House of Public Worship, at the expense of said town."
By these records it is manifest that he was an influential
and well esteemed member of that community. Of the
time of his decease, or of his family, we have no account.
They were not inhabitants of this town.
Rufus F. Ormsby, eldest son of that Joseph who was a
brother of Ichabod, moved with his family into Bradford
in the year 1817. He was a native of Woodstock, Conn.
His wife was Elizabeth Young, of Piermont, N. H., and
died here February 6, 1847, in the seventieth year of her
age. Mr. Ormsby's farm was on the West side of
Wright's Mountain. He died in the family of Lewis Jen
kins, his son-in-law, at Fairlee, October 22, 1861, at the
age of eighty- seven years. He had a family of ten child
ren, namely:
1. Timothy Ormsby, born November 14, 1799.
2. Mary, born August 18, 1802, married a Mr. Gate.
354
Years after his decease she went with her son into the
Western country, and at this date is still living.
3. Eliza, born October 6, 1804, married Lewis Jenk
ins, of Fairlee, and there resides, having a pleasant family
and situation. She and her sister Mary when young be
came members of the Congregational church in Bradford.
4. Nancy, born February 28, 1807, married Daniel
Rowe, and died at Manchester in 1870.
5. Emily, born March 20, 1809, married Sanborn Cor
liss, and lives in Missouri.
6 and 7. Charlotte and Annah died in childhood.
9. Charlotte, born July 27, 1818, married John Row
land, and settled in Topsham, Vt.
10. Joseph, born September 7, 1820, married Orissa
Dickey, who died in 1850. He subsequently married a
Miss Daniels.
8. Rufus F. Ormsby, Jr., born October 7, 1815, mar
ried December 14, 1848, Mary H. Colby, daughter of Cur
tis Colby, of Bradford, where they at this date continue
to reside, blessed with four daughters.
Sarah E., born December 8, 1849, married April 7, 1873,
Gregory B. Durgin, of this town, where they continue to
reside.
Jennie N., born January 21, 1852, married Horace P.
Emerson, January 2, 1871. They have one son.
Emma M., born November 2, 1854.
Etta C., born May 8, 1857.
Mr. Rufus F. Ormsby, Jr., and family, lived for several
years on the farm which his father had occupied before
him, west of Wright's Mountain; but in 1860 moved to
the meadow farm, which he at this date still occupies,
called the Albee place, in the south-east corner of Brad
ford, and bordering on Connecticut River. In that some
what retired but pleasant location, Mr. Ormsby enjoys the
esteem and confidence of his fellow townsmen, and is at
this date one of the Selectmen of Bradford.
355
Another son of Joseph, and brother of Rufus, the first
of that name above mentioned, was Thomas Ormsby, born
Jan. 13, 1784. He married Susan Leslie, of Bradford,
December 4, 1806. They had four children, namely,
Charity, born October 2, 1807, died September 11, 1854.
Christiana, born February 2, 1810; Joseph W., born
February 2, 1812, and died September 3, 1857, and
Susan M., born December 11, 1815. She married Lor
enzo Tabor, Esq., of Bradford, and removed with him
to Adrian, Michigan, where they at this writing are
still living. See account of the Tabor family. Mr. Thom
as Ormsby was by occupation a farmer, a man of decidedly
Christian character, and withal quite a poet. A specimen
of his versification, styled " The Bower of Prayer," may
be seen in the last chapter of this book. He died at
Bradford, May 21, 1824, in the forty-first year of his age.
His widow died at Adrian, February 13, 1863.
Joseph Ormsby, M. D., a skillful physician and man of
ability, who practiced for several years in Corinth, and
died there, was a brother of Thomas, last named.
ORMSBY.
Robert McKinsley Ormsby, attorney-at-law in the
city of New York, was a native of Corinth, Vermont.
His father, Dr. Joseph Ormsby, for several years a prac
ticing physician in that town, was a son of Joseph Orms
by, of Fairlee, who was a son of Ichabod Ormsby, of
Woodstock, Conn. Dr. Joseph Ormsby married Miss Mar
tha Soule, of Piermont, N. H., October 29, 1809, and at
Corinth continued to reside during the remainder of their
days. They were a couple of decided talent, vivacity,
and energy of character. The doctor was esteemed
well read and skillful in his profession. They had a fam-v
ily of six sons, all natives of Corinth. Of these two died
in their childhood. Thomas, the eldest son, died unmar-
356
ried, in his twenty-ninth year. Rufus, the fourth son,
died some five or six years later, at about the same age.
Robert McKinsley, of whom we now propose to speak
somewhat more particularly, was born June 29, 1814. On
the death of his father, which occurred September 6, 1822,
in the forty-sixth year of the doctor's age, this son,
then in his ninth year, went to live with Mr. Ezra Childs,
of Bath, N. H., where he remained, receiving the advan
tages of common school instruction, till fifteen years of
age. In 1831 he attended Bradford, Vt., Academy three
terms. In 1833 he went to Massilon, Ohio, where he re
mained till 1836, when he went to Louisville, Kentucky,
and resided there till 1842. At Louisville he studied law
with the late Hon. I. I. Marshall, and was admitted to the
bar in 1840. In 1842 the death of his mother occasioned
his return to Vermont. She died on the 14th of July,
1842, in the fifty-ninth year of her age, having remained
in widowhood nearly twenty years.
Esq. R. McK. Ormsby opened a law office at Bradford,
Vt., in 1844, and there continued in successful business
for more than twenty years, when in 1866 he removed to
the city of New York. The year in which he commenced
business in Bradford, at the request of Mr. Asa Low, a
large dealer in school books, Mr. Ormsby prepared a spell
ing book which has been used to some extent, especially
in Vermont. Desirous that Mr. Webster should be nomi
nated for the Presidency in 1852, Mr. Ormsby for a short
time previous to that date published in Bradford a news
paper called the Northern Enquirer, and in 1859 he pub
lished in Boston a volume of some 370 12mo. pages, enti
tled "A History of the Whig Party," a work prepared
with painstaking and ability, but, like the party itself,
now almost forgotten amid the tumultuous strife of later
organizations. Since the publication of the work last
named, the author has devoted his attention more exclu
sively to the appropriate business of his legal profession.
357
On the 14th of September, 1857, Robert McK. Ormsby
and Miss Lucy Jane Murphy, of Bradford, were by Rev.
S. McKeen united in marriage. There have been born to
them two sons and two daughters.
Edward Everett was born November 11, 1858.
Laura Arabella and Lucy Malvina, twin sisters, were
born July 22, 1860. The last named died February 14,
1861.
Charles Arthur, born January 9, 1863, died April 25,
1864.
Edward E. Ormsby, when in his "fifth year, was by scar
let fever rendered totally deaf. His health has since been
delicate. He is a bright and pleasant boy, in whose due
education his parents feel deeply interested. He is a pu
pil in the Institute for the deaf and dumb in New Ybrk
city, and his parents have established themselves so near
that they can have him with them two days in a week.
He is understood to be making fine improvement, and to
be quite a favorite with his Principal and Teachers.
Such institutions are surely among the- richest blessings
of the age in which we live.
John Bliss Ormsby, M. D., the youngest son of Dr. Jo
seph and Martha S. Ormsby, of Corinth, was born there
January 2, 1821. Before he reached the age of two years
his father died, and he remained with his mother till ten
years of age, when he was taken to a friendly family in
Bath, N. H., where he resided till sixteen. In 1838 he
commenced work at the carding and cloth dressing Busi
ness, at which he labored till 1846, when, at the age of
twenty-five, he commenced the study of medicine. He
entered the private class of Prof. Benj. R. Palmer, of
Woodstock, Vt., and graduated at the Vermont Medical
College in June, 1849. In October of that year Dr. Orms
by began practice in his native town of Corinth, and in
February, 1850, he married Miss Malina L. M. Baker,
daughter of Enoch Baker, Esq., of Shipton, Canada East.
358
The consumptive condition of his wife rendering a change
of climate necessary, he removed in 1854 to Wisconsin.
In 1865 occurred the death of his wife. In 1867 his own
health, under the malarial influence of that climate, hav
ing failed, he returned East, and in 1868 came to Brad
ford, where he has continued to reside, in the practice of
his profession, esteemed a skillful physician, but in feeble
health. He has at this writing three children, namely :
Clara Martha, born March 31, 1852 ; Thomas Edwin, born
April 13, 1855 ; and Robert Silas, born November 26,
1865. Dr. Ormsby is at this date (1874) President of the
Bradford Scientific Society,
359
CHAPTER XVII.
Deacon George L. Butler — James D. Clark — Captain Charles Rog-
erk — John Flanders — David Manson — and Families.
DEACON GEORGE L. BUTLER AND FAMILY.
George Little Butler was a son of John P. and Aphia
B. Butler, his wife, of Plymouth, N. H. The family of
these worthy parents consisted of eleven sons and daugh
ters, among whom George L., the first, was born August
22, 1817. During his minority he remained at home with
his parents, but in April, 1839, came to Bradford, Vt.,
and lived for some time in the friendly family of Mr.
John B. Woodward, of this place. His main object in
coming was to attend the Academy here, as much of the
time for two or three years as he could, consistently with
paying his expenses in the meanwhile by manual labor
and teaching, for some part of each year. But a long
and expensive sickness, in the course of the first year,
with its consequent pecuniary embarrassments, compelled
him to abandon that worthy object, which he has ever
since deeply regretted. On ^recovering his health in a
good degree, he engaged in the business of carriage mak
ing and painting, which he followed with fair success for
fifteen years, when, finding the occupation too laborious
for his not very firm state of health, he gave it up for
that of a furniture dealer and undertaker, in which at
this writing he still continues, his establishment being
the next immediately south of the Trotter Hotel.
Mr. Butler was from early youth extremely fond of
music, arid being possessed of a good voice, and using to
the best advantage his limited means and opportunities
for acquiring a knowledge of that interesting science and
art, he became in early manhood a competent choir lead
er and successful vocal music teacher, and was thus oc-
360
cupied in his native town for two years. In Bradford
and adjacent towns he taught with good success, general
ly in the winters, for twenty-five consecutive years, and
led the choir of the Congregational church in this place
for thirty years, without a quarrel !
Mr. Butler, enjoying in a high degree the respect and
confidence of his townsmen, was elected Town Clerk in
1851, and Representative to the State Legislature in
1860-61, serving not only in the regular sessions of those
years, but also in the extra session of April, 1861, in view
of the impending war of the rebellion.
In youth Mr. Butler was divinely led, as he then and
has subsequently believed, to consecrate himself to the
blessed Saviour, and at the age of eighteen united with
the Congregational church in his native town, and so
continued until in 1844, July the 5th, his membership was
duly transferred to the church of the same denomination
in Bradford. In July, 1866, he was elected a deacon in
this church, and also its treasurer, in which offices he has
given good satisfaction.
In his domestic relations, Deacon Butler has been for
tunate and happy. His first wife was Miss Jane Clark, a
daughter of Mr. Charles and Mrs. Harriet Baton Clark,
formerly of this town. They were united in marriage
October 30, 1844. Mrs. Butler had united with the Con
gregational church here the year before her marriage,
and continued a beloved member during the remainder of
her days. She was a kind and affectionate friend, a
cheerful, loving wife, a devoted and withal truly Chris
tian mother, and in declining health and the near pros
pect of death was divinely sustained and comforted. She
died of consumption, June 7, 1855, in the tbirty-ninfti
year of her age, leaving two children, George C. and
Alice Jane, both of whom became hopefully pious in their
youth, and united with the same church to which their
mother had belonged.
361
George Clark Butler, born December 3, 1849, was unit
ed in marriage with Miss Addie B. Taplin, of Corinth,
December 3, 1872, and has subsequently been employed
as clerk, or book-keeper, in a railroad office at St. Albans,
Vt., where he and his wife reside. They have one daugh
ter.
Miss Alice Jane Butler, born July 1, 1851, married,
December 4, 1871, Mr. John T. Cutter, Jr., a grain and
flour dealer of Plymouth, N. H., and there has her home.
In the course of two or three years after the death of
his first wife, Deacon Butler married, April 6, 1858, Mrs.
Laura A. Eastman, an estimable widow lady of Newbury,
Vt., who proved to be a great blessing, not only to him,
personally, but to his children also, whom she cordially
received as her own, and by them was at once and per
manently highly esteemed in filial love and confidence.
Mrs. Butler is a beloved member of the same church with
her husband. They at this date are happily living, as
for years they have been, in their pleasant " Suburban
Cottage," a little north of Bradford village, built in 1859,
from a draft entirely his own.
*
JAMES DATON CLARK AND FAMILY.
With regard to the parentage and relatives of Mr. J. D.
Clark, it may be remarked that Mrs. Lois Clark, his fa
ther's mother, became a resident of Bradford early in the
present century. Her husband was a wool dealer in Bos
ton, where he died in 1802. She was left with an in
teresting family of four sons and three daughters, wor
thy of individual notice in this connection.
1. Calvin Clark, became a merchant in Boston, of the
firm of May & Clark. Retired from business, he is at this
time residing at Boston Highlands.
2. William Clark, removed to Alabama, and died there.
His daughter, Sybil, remained in Bradford, and became
24
362
the wife of Mr. J. A. Hardy. See account of the Hardy
family.
3. Thomas Clark, Esq., settled in Paris, Maine, and
was for some time Clerk of Oxford County Court.
4. Abigail Clark, married William Stratton, a farmer
in Winslow, Me. They have an interesting family of five
sons and five daughters. She at this writing is still liv
ing.
5. Lois Clark, married David Hartwell, a respectable
merchant and hotel keeper in Bradford, removed to Ala
bama, and died there. She was a member of the Congre
gational church in Bradford, and a very estimable lady.
6. Miss Elizabeth Clark, married Jesse Merrill, Esq.,
for many years a practicing attomey-at-law in Bradford,
and for seven years, not consecutive, a Rspresentative of
this town in the State Legislature. Mrs. Merrill, after
the decease of her husband, and in view of her own de
parture, bequeathed in trust to the trustees of Bradford
Academy two thousand dollars, and something over, to be
safely invested, and the interest annually applied to the
purchase of books and apparatus for the benefit of that
institution. Hence the " Merrill Library/' which, already
valuable, is yearly increasing. May it long continue, an
honor to its worthy founder, and a blessing to successive
generations of the young people who may be favored with
its advantages. She died January 5, 1859, aged sixty-
four.
6. Charles Clark, a brother of the above named, was
for some years a merchant in Bradford, of the firm of
Clark & Moore. He married Harriet Dayton, daughter of
James Daton, Esq., of Orford, N. H. They had one. son,
James D. Clark, and one daughter, Jane, who became the
first wife of Mr. George L. Butler, of Bradford. Mr.
Clark, being unsuccessful in mercantile business here,
went to Alabama, and after a short residence there, in de
clining health set out on a journey to his home in the
363
North ; but died at Petersburg, Virginia, in or near the
year 1819. His widow subsequently married Mr. Elisha
Corliss, of Orford, N. H., both now deceased. They had
four children. Harriet Dayton ; Elisha M., who is now
married and living in California ; Charles, who died at
the age of seven, and John, now living in Fairlee, Vt.
His very estimable and pious sister, Miss Harriet Cor
liss, died at his house some years since.
Mr. James Daton Clark, son of Charles, the merchant,
was born at Bradford, May 22, 1817. After his father's
decease, he lived with his mother and her relatives for
several years, when he went to an apprenticeship at the
book binder's occupation in Concord, N. H. Thence he
returned to Bradford, and successfully prosecuted that
business here for a long time. During the great anti-slav
ery conflict Mr. Clark was firm and zealous for the right,
and so continued until, by means unexpected, the great
object was secured, and liberty proclaimed through all the
land to all the inhabitants thereof. In 1861 Mr. Clark re
moved to St. Albans, Vt., and from there, in 1864, to
Montpelier, where for the ten years past he has continued
to reside, engaged still in his accustomed occupation.
Mr. J. D. Clark married Miss Mary Sexton, of Bradford.
Her father, Major Sexton, was an officer in the troops
called out for the defense of our Northern Frontier in the
war of 1812. He came to Bradford in 1830, and built an
iron foundry in this village, which in the course of a *few
years passed into tlie hands of Horace Strickland, Esq.,
and has since been successfully Occupied under his man
agement. Mr. Sexton died in Bradford in 1836, leaving
five children : Emeline, Philo, John, Mary, and Hiram.
Mr. and Mrs. Clark were both members of the Congre
gational church in Bradford. They had four sons, all na
tives of this town.
1. Dwight Sexton Clark, born April 10, 1841, a print
er in Boston, Mass.
364
2. Charles Edgar Clark, born August 10, 1843, through
the influence of Hon. Justin S. Merrill, Member of Con
gress from this district, was appointed a Cadet Midship
man to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis,
Maryland in 1860, and in 1863 was ordered into active
service. From that time until the close of the war he
was attached to the Western Gulf Blockading Squadron,
under Admiral Farragut, participating in the battle of Mo
bile Bay, August 5, 1863, in the attack upon and capture
of Fort Morgan, on the 23d of the same month, and in
several minor affairs on the Mississippi River and the
coast of Texas.
Since the war Lieutenant Commander Clark has been
employed mainly on the Pacific and West India stations,
and has made sevefal short cruises on the coasts, not only
of our own country, but of Europe. He has also been on
duty at the Navy Yards of Brooklyn, N. Y. and Ports
mouth, N. H., and during the years 1870-1-2 and 3, was
Instructor in the Naval Academy, and assistant to the
Commandant of Midshipmen. He was attached to the
flagship of Admiral Thatcher when Queen Emma was car
ried home to the Sandwich Islands, and to the flagship of
Commodore Rodgers when that officer urged in vain the
English Admiral to unite with him and prevent the bom
bardment of Valparaiso. He witnessed also the severe
engagement between the Spanish fleet and Peruvian bat
teries at Callao. He was on board the United States
ship Suwanee when that vessel was lost near the coast of
British Columbia, July 7, 1868, and when the larger por
tion of the officers and crew were taken by Her British
Magesty's ship Sparrow-Hawk from Hope Island, on
which they had landed, he remained in command of the
party which was left to protect from the Indians what had
been saved from the wreck, until relieved by a steamer
sent for that purpose by Admiral Thatcher.
Mr. Clark was promoted, October, 1863, to the grade of
365
Ensign; May, 1866, to that of Master; February, 1867,
to that of Lieutenant; and March, 1868, to that of Lieu
tenant Commander; which position, after the lapse of six
years, he stiil holds. He seems to have acquitted himself
with honor in the various positions which he has been
called to occupy, and is believed to be the only young
man from Bradford who has been duly educated for office
in the United States Navy. He was married April 8,
18 69, to Miss Maria Louisa Davis, daughter of W. T. Davis,
Esq., of Greenfield, Mass. They have two daughters,
Mary Louisa, born March 10, 1870, -and Carrie Russell,
born January 7, 1872.
3. The third son of J. D. Clark and wife, named
George Butler, died in his infancy.
4. Grenville Loyd Clark, born October 20, 1850, has
remained with his parents, and at this date is actively en
gaged, in company with his father, in the useful business
of book binding, paper ruling, and blank book manufactur
ing, at Montpelier, Vt.
CAPTAIN CHARLES ROGERS AND FAMILY.
Captain Charles Rogers was a native of Orford, N. H.,
born October 7, 1795. His father, Nathaniel Rogers, was
a descendant of John Rogers, the martyr, and his mother,
wife of Nathaniel, was Eunice Allen, a near relative of
Colonel Ethan Allen, of Vermont. Captain Charles Rog
ers married Permelia H. Ramsey, a descendant of the
fifth generation from Mrs. Hannah Dustin, the heroic In
dian captive of New England feme. Captain Rogers re
moved with his family from Haverhill, N. H., to this town,
in the spring of 1846. These parents had eight sons and
three daughters, of whom all, with the exception of two,
lived to the age of maturity. Five sons and two daugh
ters at this date, August, 1874, are still living.
Nearly all these children received instruction in Brad-
366
ford Academy, and in the business of life have had a fair
degree of success. Four of the sons, Charles, James,
George and William, are lawyers. The two first named
are located at Burlingame, Kansas ; George, at Eureka,
in that state ; and William at Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin.
James was a graduate of Dartmouth College, in the class
of 1851. In his adopted State he has several times been
a member of the State Legislature, both of the House and
the Senate, and for some years a member of the State
Board of Education.^ The other son, Barton, is a clergy
man, now located at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Jefferson
Liberal Institute, a flourishing seminary of learning, lo
cated at Jefferson, Wisconsin, owes its origin to him.
In 1862, Lambard University, of Illinois, conferred on him
the honorary degree of A. M.
On the breaking out of the Rebellion, Captain Rogers
had six sons living, all patriotic young men, who devoted
themselves to their country's service, and were all in the
war at the same time. George, who enlisted as a private,
was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. He was
in several hotly contested battles, and several times
slightly wounded. Barton served as Chaplain of the
Fifteenth Illinois Infantry for nearly three years. All,
with the exception of Thomas, survived the hardships
and perils of the war, and lived to see the independence
and integrity of our country preserved and firmly estab
lished ; he, 'brave fellow, lost his life in Arkansas.
As it regards the marriages and domestic relations of
the sons and daughters of Captain Rogers, we are able to
give only the following brief account :
Charles married Miss Fannie Clark, of Patterson, N. J.
They have four sons and one daughter.
James married Mary Harper, of Sandwich, Mass. They
had one son and one daughter. After the decease of this,
his first wife, he married a lady from Kinderhook, N. Y.
367
Barton married Miss Elizabeth C. Vedder, of Berlin,
Wisconsin. They have two sons and two daughters.
George married Miss Josie Carey, of Chicago, Illinois.
They have one son.
William married Miss Nettie Horton, of Bradford, Vt,
They have two sons.
Thomas, who died in the army, never married.
Elizabeth, a sister of the above-named sons, married
John L. Fitch, of Manchester, N. H. They had three
daughters. The remains of this entire family repose side
by side in the cemetery of Manchester.
Mira married Eleazer M. Hall, of St. Johnsbury, Vt.,
and is settled there.
And Miss Emma is at this date still with her father in
Bradford.
Mrs. Rogers, mother of this family, died December 15,
1870, at the age of sixty-nine years. .
Captain Charles Rogers, at the age of seventy-nine
years, still in very comfortable health, has through life
been an honest, hard working man; from the beginning
of the anti-slavery movement, one of its earnest promot
ers ; and in him the temperance cause has invariably had
a warm and steadfast friend. He is still living in the
nice stone cottage, the only one in this village, which he
built several years ago, enjoying the kind regards of all
around him.
THE FLANDERS FAMILY.
The first settler of this family name in Bradford, was
John Flanders, a son of Ezra Flanders, of Hawke, now
Danville, N. H., born there January 24, 1769. He mar
ried Rebecca Pettingill, February 24, 1794. She was a
native of Salisbury in that State ; born March 11, 1772.
They removed to this town in 1798, and settled on the
farm now owned by Thaddeus Simpson, where they lived
368
for several years and most of their children were born.
At the time of their settlement here on their mountain
farm, flour, and all kinds of meaj, were so difficult to be
obtained, that for the first six weeks they lived on pota
toes and meat, without bread, when their father, Ezra
Flanders, then a resident in Salisbury, N. H., sent his
youngest son through the woods and new settlements, the
distance of some seventy miles, on horseback, with two
bushels of corn, for their relief. Let us not in these days
complain of hard times. Mr. John Flanders and wife had
a family of four sons and three daughters, namely :
1. Andrew Pettingill Flanders, born in Warner, N. H.,
September 19, 1796, came to Bradford with his parents.
As he grew up he was engaged in agricultural pursuits,
and, when of age, married Sally Crane, of Bradford, Sep
tember 11, 1825. They remained in this town and had a
family of three sons and three daughters, all now de
ceased but one.
Amos married, and died here but a few years since.
Benjamin married Miss Mary E. Chamberlin, of this
town, built a nice residence at Bradford Center, and died
young. His widow married Cyrus Curtis, and with her
husband has for several years been keeping a fine millin
ery establishment in this village. One of the daughters,
Julia A., married Edwin Rodgers, of Newbury, but has
deceased, and her sisters, Rebecca, Ruth, and Sarah, died
young,
Mr. John Flanders, now the only surviving member of
this family, graduated at the Vermont University ; stud
ied law ; married Miss Jenney Hutchinson, of Canaan, N.
H., and has for years been engaged, it is understood, ex
tensively and profitably in the practice of his profession
in the city of New York,
2. Sarah was born in Bradford, January 15, 1798, died
September 30, 1864.
369
3. Moses Flanders, born June 19, 1801, married Abi
gail Cass, December 6, 1827.
4. Elias S. Flanders, born January 17, 1807, married
Matilda Heath, and continues at this date to reside in Brad
ford. They have two sons and a daughter. Their eldest
son, Edmund Gr., a carpenter and joiner by occupation,
married Miss Clemantine Richardson, of Orford, N. H.,
where they reside. Mary Abbie, his sister, married Jesse
A. Warren, a dealer in boots, shoes, etc., in this village.
They have two children. Thomas Jefferson Flanders
spent several years of his youth as a clerk in different
stores in this village. In June, 1865, he was appointed
Postmaster, in which office he continued till his death,
which occurred February 14, 1870, in the thirty-third
year of his age. In this office, as in all others which he
was called to occupy, he gave high satisfaction. While
holding the office of Postmaster he was also, for the last
year or two of his life, in partnership with Mr. Charles H.
Harding, in a jeweler's and fancy goods establishment, in
which they did a profitable businese. Mr. T. J. Flanders
married Miss Kate P. Fabyan, a very estimable young la
dy, then of this village, who died of consumption but a
f3w months before him, leaving an only son Albert, a
promising boy, who on the death of his lather was adopt
ed by his uncle, Edmund G., and his wife, as their own.
Mr. T. J. Flanders and wife were members of the Con
gregational church here, as are also Mr. and Mrs. Warren.
The wife of Mr. Elias S. Flanders died July 12, 1862.
5. Mariam, born February 8, 1810, married Seneca
Dickey, removed with her husband into the Western
country, and has there lately deceased.
6'. Peter Flanders, born January 14, 1813, by occupa
tion a farmer, married Miss Mary Cass ; resided for sev
eral years in Bradford ; and finally settled in Haverhill,
N. H. They have one son, Nelson Flanders, who was
graduated at Dartmouth College, and at Andover Theo-
370
logical Seminary, and is a highly esteemed young minis
ter of the Gospel of the Congregational order.
7. Abigail Flanders, born March 20, 1815.
Of this first Flanders family in Bradford only two mem
bers at this date survive, namely : Elias S. Flanders, of
Bradford, and his brother, Peter Flanders, of Haverhill.
All the rest, with many of their children, years since fin
ished their course and passed away.
DAVID MANSON.
Though Mr. Mauson had for some years immediately
preceding his decease lived in Newmarket, N. H., more
than one half of his long life was spent in Bradford,
where one son still remains, and by some at least this
worthy father will be long and respectfully remembered.
David Manson was a native of Kittery, Maine, near
Portsmouth, N. H., born there May 30, 1782. In his
youthful days he had some experience of the sailor's life ;
but his principal occupation during early manhood was
that of a ship carpenter. At the age of twenty-eight
years he emigrated with his family to Bradford, and set
tled down on a farm in a rather retired locality, industri
ously devoting himself there to agricultural pursuits.
He came in the Spring of 1810, and continued a resident
of the' town for forty-six years. Several of the last years
of this period were spent, not on his farm, but in Bradford
village.
The beloved wife of his youth and mother of his child
ren, Sally Tarlton, died in 1835. He subsequently mar
ried a very estimable lady, Miss Sarah Tarlton, a niece of.
his first wife, who proved to be to him a great comfort
and blessing during his declining years. With her he
removed, 1856, to Newmarket, the place of her former
residence ; and finally died there as above stated, at the
good old age of eighty -nine years, six months and fifteen
days.
ffi
Though during the days of his youth and early
hood, Mr. Manson, like too many others, lived in neglect
of the great salvation, he became at length deeply im
pressed by religious considerations, obtained a comforta
ble hope of Divine forgiveness, and heartily consecrated
himself to the Redeemer's service. He first united with
the so called Christian church, but on coming to live in the
village became a member of the Methodist church, and so
remained.
During most of the last two or three years of his life
there was a sad failure of his intellectual powers ; his
memory was almost gone ; his mind was weak and wan
dering ; but he was to the last m-ide as comfortable as
conjugal and filial loving kindness, the most devoted,
could possibly render him. What a satisfaction, too, it is
to be assured that in such a state, or when still more de
plorably bereft of reason, the life of the real Christian is
still secure, being " hid with Christ, in God."
Before this calamity occurred Mr. Manson had present
iments of its coming, and did what he could to be in read
iness for it. He set his secular affairs in due order, and
aimed to be habitually prepared to meet his God.
In his last will and testament he, like Joseph of old,
" gave commandment concerning his bones," that they
should be conveyed to the place of his former abode, and
laid to rest with their kindred dead, until called forth
to life by the voice of the Son of God, in the morning of
the general resurrection. He even gave directions in re
gard to the religious exercises at his funeral, so far at
least as that " the aged Congregational minister in Brad
ford, Rev. Dr. McKeen, if living and able," should be re
quested to preach his funeral sermon. With him he had
been long and pleasantly acquainted, while of any other
minister who might be officiating in the place, he of
course could have no knowledge. To all of which re
quests his widow and sons paid the most respectful attention.
372
Mr. Manson died at Newmarket, N. H., December 15,
1871, in the ninetieth year of his age.
His funeral was attended in the Congregational church
on Wednesday, the 20th day of December, by a respect
ful gathering of old friends ; and in the religious exer
cises the officiating pastors of the Methodist and Congre
gational churches rendered fraternal assistance. The
precious remains, tastefully prepared for the occasion, and
still remarkably retaining their natural and life-like appear
ance, were gently laid down to their long repose by venera
ble men, former neighbors arid friends of the deceased.
Beside his widow , Mr. Manson left two sons and a daugh
ter ; Mr. George Manson, of Bradford, Mr. John T. Man-
son, of Boston, and Mrs. Ira Hiland, also of Boston • who
have families of their own.
1. George Manson was born at South Newmarket, N.
H., September 22, 1828. He was brought here by his
parents on their removal to this place in the Spring of
1830, and has here remained a worthy inhabitant for some
what over forty-four years ; being chiefly engaged in ag
ricultural pursuits. On the 4th of July, 18 — , he was mar
ried by Rev. S. McKeen with Miss Betsey Wilson, of this
town. .These parents had one daughter, Sarah Ann, who
married John M. Warren, of Swanville, Maine, and had
two sons.
After the decease of his first wife Mr. G. Manson married
Miss Mary Taplin, of Corinth, who lived but a few months
after their marriage.
He then married Miss Rebecca Heaton, of Hanover, N.
H., who deceased, leaving two daughters and one son.
The eldest daughter married Gardner Gaffield, of Brad
ford. They have two sons and two daughters. Charles
A. Manson married Evelyn Lund, of Piermont, N. H.
They have one son and one daughter. His sister, Abbie
F., married Frank Chamberlin, of this town. They have
one daughter.
373
Mr. G. Manson married for his fourth wife the widow
Bean, a worthy lady, then of Bradford, whose maiden
name was Amanda Tibbets.
2. Martha, daughter of David Manson, a native of
Bradford, married Ira Hiland, of this town, formerly ; but
subsequently of Boston. They have one daughter.
3. John T. Manson, born in Bradford, married Mary
Sawyer, of Litchfield, Maine. He is engaged in the mar
ket business in Boston. They have two daughters.
374
CHAPTER XVIII.
Hon. J. W. Batchelder — Roswell Farnham, Esq. — Adams Preston —
William B. Stevens— C. P. Clark— B. Hay— A. Osborne— J. K.
Davis— Dea. Israel Cummings— and Families.
HON. JOHN W. BATCHELDER, AND FAMILY.
Mr. Batchelder was a native of Bradford, a lawyer by
profession, and for years filled various offices of trust and
importance in this community, with credit to himself and
public satisfaction.
His grandfather, Isaiah Batchelder, and family, removed
from Warren, N. H., to this town, some time near the
close of the last century, and settled on a farm on the
west side of Wright's Mountain. After a residence there
of twenty years or more he removed to Springfield, Erie
County, Penn. His son, Samuel Batchelder, remained in
this town, and in 1809 married Jane Wilson, a native of
Windham, N. H., daughter of Thomas Wilson, who had
for several years been a resident of Bradford. These
were the parents of John W. Batchelder, and at the time of
his birth were dwelling in a house with Mr. John Flan
ders, on the farm in the western part of the town, which
Mr. David Norcross now occupies. He was born Decem
ber 9%1812, and when he was six months of age his pa
rents removed to Topsham, and settled on a farm about
one mile and a half north of the East village. There in
his youthful days John was accustomed to work during
the summer seasons on the farm, and in the winters to
attend the district school at the village. At length, anx
ious to avail himself of better advantages, he attended
Bradford Academy for a term, and that at Norwich for a
while, which he was obliged to leave sooner than he in
tended, on account of a visitation of sickness. Having
recovered from this prostration, he pursued his studies
375
with Dr. Hinckley, of Topsham, for a while, and after that
for a year with Rev. James Milligan, the talented Presby
terian minister of Ryegate.
In 1840 he commenced the study of law with P. H.
Baker, Esq., of Topsham, who died in about a year after-
Mr. Batchelder entered his office. Then, by advice of
two of the neighboring lawyers, who knew the circum
stances of the young man, and were disposed to assist him,
he opened a law office in Topsham, and so, in a small way,
uniting practice with study, persevered till duly admitted
to the bar of Orange County Court, at their December
term, in 1843.
January 15, 1844, J. W. Batchelder, Esq., was united in
marriage with Miss Sarah Clark, an estimable young lady
of Newbury, and thence onward continued in business at
Topsham, till November, 1854, when he moved to New
bury and opened an office there. While in Topsham, he
not only did a fair amount of business as a lawyer, but
enjoyed in such measure the favor of his townsmen that
they annually elected him Town Clerk and Town Treas
urer for seven years ; Town Agent, seven years ; Justice
of the Peace, ten years ; Representative to the Legisla
ture, two years ; and a member of the Constitutional
^Convention for its one term. During his residence there,
he also held the office of Register of Probate two years,
and that of a Judge of the Court of Orange County for
two years. So that he had no lack of honorable and
profitable employment. At Newbury he remained till
March, 1856, when he moved to Bradford, and became
established as an attorney here, doing a fair business in
the way of collecting debts, settling estates, and acting
as Town Agent for several years. In 1863 he was ap
pointed one of the Directors of Bradford Bank, and from
January 1, 1865, was Cashier of the same, till its corpo
rate existence was honorably terminated.
In October, 1867, Esquire Batchelder left Bradford, and
376
with his family resided for the four subsequent years at
Alrnont, Lapeer County, Michigan. He was there chiefly
engaged in buying and selling real estate, especially pine
lands, in which business he had fair success. In October,
1871, he returned to Bradford, found his old friends still
cordial, and business in the line of his profession much as
formerly ; but after a residence this time of two years, he
was induced to remove again to Michigan, and at this
date (May, 1874,) is a citizen of Detroit.
In his family Esq. Batchelder has been highly blest.
The wife of his youth, an estimable Christian lady, and
while here a member of the Congregational church, and
their only daughter and son, worthy young people, still
live to comfort him and each other. The son and daugh
ter were both natives of Topsham.
The daughter, Mattie J., born October 19, 1846, grew
up an amiable young lady, having taste and talent for
music, but being specially fond of penciling and painting,
in which she was quite proficient, and competent to give
instruction. She was married August 13, 1873, at Brad
ford, with Mr. Charles B. Kidder, of Almont,, Michigan,
and at this date is residing with her husband, at Armada,
Macomb county, in the same State, where he, as Princi
pal of the Union School in that place, and a man of intel-
lectual 'and moral worth, is highly esteemed.
John C. Batchelder, born June 20, 1850, became a
young man of decided gejiius for instrumental music, and
skill as a player, especially of the piano and organ. He
availed himself ol the best advantages for improvement
within his reach, and after years of practice commenced
giving private instructions to learners in this and some of
the neighboring towns, and was also employed as organ
ist here in the choir of the Congregational church. Asa
teacher and performer of instrumental music he early
gained a desirable reputation.
On the removal of his parents to Detroit, in the autumn
377
of 1873, he went with them, and though a stranger in the
city, with no influential musical friend to introduce him,
he soon obtained one scholar, and that in a little while
prepared the way for another, and yet another, until with
in the course of a few months he had as many as he could
possibly attend to, and was also employed as organist in
St. Paul's (Episcopal) Church, his services in all cases be
ing highly appreciated and handsomely compensated.
Mr. Batchelder has made no attempt to play showy music,
or anything of the flashy kind, but his aim has been to
play, and to teach his scholars to play, truly good music,
with scientific correctness, appropriate spirit, and due
effect. And as a correct, tasteful performer he has ac
quired among his scholars and their friends, and the
church choirs who have become acquainted with him, an
honorable reputation.
ROSWELL FARNHAM, ESQ., AND FAMILY.
In the first place, a brief sketch of his ancestry. And
here it seems appropriate to remark that there has been a
change in the spelling of this family name, from Farnum
to Farnham, by general consent, as will hereafter be
seen.
The Farnums are of English descent. The first of the
name in this country came from England, settled in An-
dover, Mass., where he was married in 1658, only fifteen
years after the first settlement of that township. His
name was Ralph Farnum. Roswell Farnum. a descend
ant of the sixth generation from that early emigrant, was
born in Plymouth, N. H., in 1792. He married first, Ruth
Bixby, of Piermont, by whom he had one son, Cyrus Co-
nant Farnham, born at Haverhill, N. H., June 27, 1818.
This son died at Memphis, Tennessee, February 26, 1863,
while in the employment of the United States Govern
ment, in the Military Telegraphic Department.
After the decease of his first wife Mr. Roswell Farnum
25
378
married Nancy Bixby, a sister of the deceased, April 29,
1822, by whom he had a son, Roswell Farnham, born in
Boston, Mass., July 23, 1827, and a daughter, Laura Ann
Farnham, born in Haverhill, Mass., who now resides in
Boston.
In 1830 Mr. Farnum removed with his family from Bos
ton to Haverhill, in that State, where they resided about
ten years, and in 1840 became residents of Bradford, Yt.,
where the parents spent their remaining days. Mrs.
Nancy B. Farnum, a pious lady and worthy member of
the Congregational church, died here January 30, 1860, in
the sixty-sixth year of her age. The sermon preached
at her funeral by her pastor was published. Mr. Farnum,
her husband, a worthy citizen, died December 20, of the
same year, at the age of sixty-eight.
About this time, or not long after, by mutual under
standing and agreement among the younger members of
the Farnum family, through nearly all of its branches,
what they believed to be the original and correct spelling
of their name was resumed ; that is, Farnham, instead of
Farnum ; and this spelling has since been followed.
Mr. Roswell Farnham, Jr., fitted for college at Brad
ford Academy, and in 1847 entered the junior class of
the Vermont University, where he graduated in 1849.
On leaving the University he went immediately to
Dunham, in the Province of Quebec, and taught the
Academy there for a little over a year. While in Dun
ham, he was married to Miss Mary E. Johnson, eldest
daughter of Ezekiel Johnson, of Bradford, Vt. From
Dunham the}7 were called to Franklin, in this State, where
they taught the Academy for more than three years, hav
ing a very prosperous school. In 1854 they were called
to take charge of Bradford Academy, which they taught
for somewhat over two years.
In 1857, Mr. Farnham was admitted to the practice of
law, at the bar of Orange County.
379
In 1859, he was elected State Attorney for Orange
County, and held that office for three years.
At the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, in 1861,
Mr. Farnhara was a Corporal in the company of Bradford
Guards, but when the company was re-organized, to go
into the field, he was elected and commissioned second
Lieutenant, and served as such, during a term of three
months, at Fortress Monroe and Newport News, Virginia,
in the First Vermont Regiment, of which the Bradford
Guards formed a part. He was present at the battle of
Big Bethel, and acted as Provost Marshal of all the forces
at Newport News, all the time he was there.
On his return to Vermont, in August, 1861, he resumed
the practice of law; but in 1862 ho resigned his position
as State Attorney, was elected Captain of the Bradford
Guards, and recruited that company to the full number
required by Government. Upon the organization of the
Twelfth Regiment, the Guards enlisted into that Regi
ment, and were styled Company H, of Regiment Twelfth.
Captain Farnham was then appointed by Governor Hoi-
brook, of Vermont, Lieutenant Colonel ; and, there being-
some question raised whether the Governor had the right
to appoint the field officers of a Militia Regiment, an elec
tion was held, and Captain Farnham was duly elected to
the same position, and in that capacity acted during the
service of this Regiment. Mrs. Farnham, influenced
alike by patriotism and concern for her husband's com
fort, spent several months with him amid the exciting
scenes of active warfare. At the close of this, his second
term of service, he returned to the practice of law in
Bradford, where he has ever since resided. He was
elected to the State Senate in 1868 and 1869.
Colonel Farnham and wife have for years been active
members of the Congregational church in this place, arid
persevering advocates and promoters of the best inter
ests of society generally. In 1868 the Colonel built for
380
his family residence one of the best houses in this village.
These parents have at this date three children, namely :
Charles Cyrus, born May 9, 1864; Florence Mary, born
October 30, 1866 ; and William Mills, born July 5, 1869.
PRESTON.
Adams Preston, Esq-., was a native of Romney, N. H.,
born June 16, 1801. His father, William Preston, became
a resident of that town when but fourteen years of age,
and rendered faithful service to his country during the
war of the Revolution. He was with Montgomery in
Canada, and was there, with others, taken captive ; but
was exchanged, and again joined the army. He subse
quently fell into the hands of hostile Indians ; but had
the good fortune to escape, and lived to see the war suc
cessfully closed, and the independence of his country
firmly established. His office in the army was that of a
Sergeant.
Mr. Adams Preston married, February 15, 1827, Miss
Jane Parkinson, of Canterbury, N. H., and came to this
town to reside in the year 1830. He first served as a
clerk in the store of Mr. Asa Low for about ten years.
He then traded in partnership with Mr. John B. Peckett
&* Son for ten years longer, after which he prosecuted
mercantile business here by himself till 1860, when he
retired, to spend the remainder of his days in the frugal
use of the competency which he had honestly acquired.
That Mr. Preston enjoyed in a good degree the confi
dence and respect of his townsmen, as a man of intelli
gence, good judgment, and honesty, is evident from the
facts that for seven years he was annually chosen and
acted as Town Clerk ; and for fifteen years was called to
officiate as Justice of the Peace. Surrounded by kind
friends, he still remains at this writing a citizen of Brad
ford. .
Mrs. Preston, having lived with her husband in love,
381
quietude and comfort for over forty-seven years, and hav
ing by her neighborly kindness secured the good will of
all around her, was, on Sabbath morning, March 1, 1874,
stricken down by apoplexy, and remained in a state of
speechless insensibility till she expired on the subsequent
Tuesday afternoon, in the seventy- seventh year of her
age. She had never made a public profession of religion, .
but is understood to have been a very diligent reader of
the Holy Scriptures, evangelical in her faith, and for years
preceding her death trusting that she had secured the
pearl of great price.
WILLIAM B. STEVENS AND FAMILY.
Mr. W. B. Stevens was a native of Newbury, Vt., where
his father, Caleb Stevens, resided for more than half a
century, and died in 1868, at the age of seventy-seven
years, leaving his widow, whose maiden name was Mary
Matthews, with three sons. George, born in 1820, has
for many years resided in this village, in various ways
usefully employed, and is a member of the Congregational
church. William B., born in 1822, after arriving at the
age of fifteen, spent his minority as a clerk in mercantile
business in Newbury. In the year 1851, in partnership
with his brother Charles, he opened a store in Bradford,
and after the lapse of some twenty-three years is still
here, engaged in commercial transactions, favored with a
due share of patronage and success. In 1856 he married
Miss Harriet E. Ladd, a daughter of Mr. Austin Ladd, of
Haverhill, N. H., born there in 1833. They have at this
writing three daughters living ; namely, Carrie B., born
in 1858; Annie E., born 1860; and Mary L., born in 1863.
Helen Luella died in 1872, aged four months. The first
two of the above named, with several other young per
sons, on profession of their faith and hope, were, on the
first Sabbath of July, 1874, received as members of the
Congregational church in this place, of which Mrs. S. had
382
for years been a beloved member. Mr. Stevens, in the
year 1857 built, and has since occupied, the nice house
next north of the Congregational meeting house in this
village.
Mr. Charles Stevens, in 1856, married Miss Harriet
Brown, of Boston. He subsequently built a good house
on Pleasant street, in which his wife, son, and daughter
subsequently died. He married for his second wife Miss
Martha Brown, from Canada East ; had two daughters,
and died in the same house in November, 1872. His
widow disposed of her homestead in Bradford, and re
moved in the Autumn of 1873, with her children and
wrorthy parents, Deacon Alba Brown and wife, to a desir
able river farm which she had purchased in Piermo"ht,
N. H.
About two years before the death of Mr. Charles Stev
ens, Mr. Victor W. Bag-ley ways taken into partnership in
this firm, and, with the surviving brother, so continues
actively engaged. He purchased, and at this date, with
his family, occupies the pleasant homestead formerly
owned by the deceased.
CALVIN P. CLARK.
Was a native of Newbury, Vt., born March 5, 1826.
His parents, Jonathan and Martha F. Clark, came from
Hopkinton, N. H., to Newbury, about the year 1816, and,
after a residence of more than fifty years, died there, the
father in 1867, aged eighty years, and the mother in 1871,
at the same age. Their family consisted of eight chil
dren, seven of whom are now living. Calvin spent his
minority mostly in Newbury, working on the farm sum
mers, and, after he was fifteen, teaching district schools
winters. In 1847 he went to Boston, and, after working
three years in the brewery of Dea. John Simonds, in the
year 1850 went into business for himself. In January,
1851, he married Miss Sarah E. Martin, daughter of Peter
383
and Catharine Martin, of Newbury. In 1857, by reason
of his wife's failing health, and with hope that a change
of location and atmosphere might prove beneficial to her,
he sold out his business in Boston, and for a year or two
resided in Newbury, their native place. The result was
favorable, and in 1859 he moved to Bradford, and in Au
gust of that year purchased the store and goods owned
by S. T. George, in this village, and formed a partnership
in trade with Mr. John Bascom, under the name of Bas-
com & Clark. Mr. Bascom has since deceased. In Oc
tober, 1862, Mr. Clark was called to part with his wife, a
pious and very estimable lady, who died of consumption,
after long feebleness and suffering. December 25, 18G3,
Mr. Clark was united in marriage with Miss Julia A.
Winship, a daughter of Mr. Joseph Winship, formerly of
Bradford. In March, 1868, he purchased Mr. Bascom's
interest in the store, and thence to this date has contin
ued business there, under his own name. In 1871 he
built a nice house, on elevated ground, on the west side
of Main street, near the north end of the village, where
he has since resided. But his pleasant home was again
made desolate by the presence of death ; his second wife
dying January 8, 1873, of consumption, as did the first.
She left an only child, Mason Bowditch, four years of age.
Since then, Mr. Clark has done business still at the old
stand, to the extent his health would allow, enjoying the
esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens.
The following notice of Mrs. Clark, which appeared in
our village paper, soon after her decease, is thought wor
thy of insertion here :
Died; in Bradford, Vt., January 8, 1873, Mrs. Julia A.,
wife of Mr. Calvin P. Clark, lacking but ten days of being
forty-two years of age. Her maiden name was Julia A.
Winship. She was the only daughter of Joseph Winship
and wife, persons of excellent Christian character, who
for many years lived and finally died in this place. This
384
daughter remembered her Creator in the days of heo*
youth ; and, being blessed with health and strength, and
a kind heart, at the same time wishing to earn for herself
,a competent support, while doing as much good as possi
ble to others, she accepted heartily of the position of a
nurse in the female department of the Massachusetts
General Hospital, in Boston, where, greatly to the satis
faction of all, concerned, she continued ministering to the
sick and suffering for some ten or a dozen years. The
managers gave substantial evidence of their high appre
ciation of her worth, not only by their kindness to her
while with them, but by a permanent liberality, alike
honorable to themselves and to her.
As a wife and mother, and manager of her domestic
affairs, Mrs. Clark was the light and joy of her household.
Of fine personal appearance and pleasing address, pru
dence, .and kindness towards all, she had no lack of admir
ing and steadfast friends.
But the crowning excellency of her character was her
decided piety. When young, she devoted herself to her
Saviour, and confessed Him publicly, by uniting with an
evangelical church in Boston, but for nine or ten of the
last years of her life had been a beloved member of the
Congregational church in Bradford.
For several months immediately preceding her decease,
her health had been in a precarious condition. Still she
hoped to live, and assist her husband in training up their
little son in the way he should go. The thought of being
taken away in the midst of her days and usefulness was
unwelcome to her.
But when convinced that the time by infinite wisdom
and goodness appointed for her departure was evidently
near, the blessed Saviour gave her light, faith, grace and
strength, equal to the exigency, and enabled her to de
part rejoicing in the God of her salvation. Dearly as she
loved those whom she was leaving, she felt that to her
385
death would prove unspeakable and eternal gain. With
perfect composure she expressed her wishes in regard to
her funeral services, which were accordingly performed,
in the presence of a large circle of loving friends, when
her precious remains were laid down to rest till called
forth by the voice of Him who is the resurrection and the
life, to a glorious immortality. Surely, blessed are the
dead who thus die in the Lord. S. M ' K.
I add in this connection a brief notice of Mrs. Winship,
the mother of Mrs. Clark, for such a woman as she was
ought to be held in affectionate re'membrance.
Mrs. Nancy Winship, whose maiden name was Nancy
Keyes, was born at Mason, N. H., September 30, 1784,
but spent her youthful days in Milton, Mass. She there
enjoyed the ministry of Rev. Joseph McKeen, D. D., sub
sequently Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard.
For that eloquent and good man she retained an affection
ate remembrance and high respect to the day of her
death. Impressions deeply fixed in the youthful mind
are apt to be enduring. At the early age of about thir
teen years she was divinely led to receive Christ Jesus
as the Lord her righteousness, and to consecrate herself
most heartily to His service. That the change was genu
ine her subsequent life abundantly proved. The princi
ple of faith and love then implanted in her young heart
was indeed a fountain of living water springing up into
life everlasting.
At the age of about twenty she was married to Mr.
Joseph Winship, then a young farmer, with whom she
came to Bradford, Yt., and settled down on a wilderness
place, in the deep valley of Waits River, through which,
for a long time after, no road passed, though now inter
sected by a great thoroughfare. In that solitude they
cheerfully lived and walked with God, until many years
after he finished his course with joy, and triumphantly
passed away, leaving one son, Mr. Warren Winship, now
386
of Barnet, and one daughter, Mrs. C. P. Clark, of Brad
ford, both partakers of the same precious faith. At the
house of Mr. Clark, enjoying the tender care of himself
and her daughter, Mrs. Winship, full of sweet content
ment, with every want bountifully supplied, passed the
evening of her mortal life. That religion which amid
the various changes and trials of life had sustained and
comforted her and made her a blessing to all who came
within her influence, in nature's last extremity, amid the
infirmities of age and great bodily sufferings which pre
ceded her final prostration, appeared in its strength and
glory.
Her victory over death and the grave was complete,
and most admirable. Surely such a religion is of price
less value. God grant that we may all possess it. On the
4th of January, 1867, in the eighty-third year of her
age, this excellent woman passed thus sweetly away
from the sorrows and joys of life, to her everlasting rest.
BARRON HAY was born in Bradford, Vt.. September 26,
1828, and lived here till ten years of age, when he went
to Orford, N. H., and lived with Levi D. Corliss, Esq.,
working on the farm summers and attending district school
three months each winter, for seven years, when he return
ed to Bradford,, where he has since remained, with the ex
ception of the autumn of 1850 and the next winter, which
he spent in Boston as porter in a hotel. In November, 1851,
he entered the store of George and Edward Prichard as
clerk, and at this writing has been in the same store ever
since, a period of twenty -three consecutive years, the
last five, however, as partner with John B. W. Prichard,
under the style of Prichard & Hay.
On the 16th of October, 1854, Mr. Hay married Miss
Janette C. Smith, youngest daughter of Levi and Almira
A. Smith, of Middlebury, Vt., where she was born Sep
tember 6, 1830. They have two sons, Fred E., born
August 14, 1855, and John Barren, born May 4, 1861.
387
Mrs. Hay, and her husband's mother, who lives with
them, are highly esteemed members of the Congregation
al church in this place. Mr. Barron Hay, in addition to
the honor of being considered a capable and upright man
in his mercantile transactions, has been called once and
again to represent his native town State in the Legisla
ture namely, in the sessions of 1866 and 67.
ADELBERT OSBORN, merchant, son of Cyrus Osborn, of
Pierrnont, N. H., was born there January 15, 1835. He
married Miss Lizzie R. Towle, also a native of Piermont,
a daughter of Mr. F. M. Towle, born Oct. 26, 1838, a lady
highly esteemed for her intelligence and good influence.
They have one son, Walter T., born September 18, 1864.
Mr. Osborn commenced mercantile business here in No
vember, 1856, and since May 1, 1871, has held the office
here of Agent of the U. S. and Canada Express Compa
ny, and performed its duties to public satisfaction. In
1871 he built a commodious and nice house in the north
ern part of the village, in which he and his family have a
pleasant home.
JACOB DAVIS AND FAMILY.
Jacob Davis was a native of Amesbury, Mass., a man
of decidedly good moral and religious character, by occu
pation a farmer. In the' year 1818 he removed with his
family to this town, and settled on a farm, which he had
purchased, on the South road, about two miles west of
the village, where he passed in comfort the remainder of
his days. He died in April, 1842, at the age of sixty-
four years.
That he was a man of decision, may be illustrated by
the following little incident : It had been common for
farmers to furnish rum to their laborers, in the time of
haying and harvest, and to unite with them in the moder
ate use of it. But on one occasion Mr. Davis' hired men,
388
under the influence of intoxicating liquor, became some
what noisy and disorderly. This led him to reflect more
seriously than ever before on the evil consequences of
the common use of such liquor, and he determined then
and there never to furnish another drop to his men, but
thenceforth to act on the principle of total abstinence,
however singular or inexpedient his course to his neigh
bors might appear, and ever after firmly adhered to his
resolution. To do so then was by no means so easy and
popular as to pursue a similar course at the present time.
Mr. Davis and his then second wife were both substan
tial members of the Congregational church in Bradford.
The first wife of Mr. Davis, Polly Sargeant, was, like
himself, a native of Amesbury, Mass., where she died in
1817, at the age of about thirty- six years. She left at
her decease two sons and two daughters, who came with
their father and his second wife to Bradford, in 1818,
namely :
1. Hezekiah. He lived with his father until about
thirty years of age. He was a well esteemed teacher of
common schools ; taught for nine winters in two districts.
He married Jerusha Davis, of West Fairlee, Vt., and re
moved to Northfield, in this State, and settled on a farm
so distant from any school house that he educated his
children at kome, in quite a methodical manner, having
regular hours for study, as well as for other exercises.
In 1863 he removed to Vineland, N. J., where he died the
next year, at the age of fifty-nine. His death is said to
be the first which occurred in that remarkable settlement.
After his decease, his family came to Lowell, Mass., and
at this date are there pleasantly located. He had nine
children. His second wife was Eliza Leonard, of North-
field.
2. Grilman Davis was also a farmer, and accustomed in
winter to school teaching. He married Mary Ann Dodge,
of Fairlee, and in 1842 removed to Northfield, where he
389
died in 1873, leaving his second wife in widowhood, with
one child, a daughter.
3. Martha Davis died in 1834, in her youth.
4. Mary Davis married Enos Taylor, of this town,
where she died, leaving one son, George H., who became
a patriotic young man; served with honor in the late
war, returned home in safet}7", but immediately after was
taken sick and died. His father, thus bereaved, has re
mained solitary.
Mr. Jacob Davis, after the decease of his first wife, in
1817, married, the same year, Sally Kelley, a native of
Amesbury, and sister of Rev. John Kelley, who was for
more than forty years the faithful pastor of the Congre
gational church in Hampstead, N. H. She came with him
and his children to this town in 1818. She was a truly
good woman, lived to have four children of her own, and
died in October, 1860, at the age of eighty years, having
remained in widowhood for about eighteen years and six
months.
Two of the children by this marriage died in early
childhood.
Elizabeth, the eldest, died in 1835, at the age of sixteen
years.
Jacob K. Davis, at this date the only surviving member
of his father's family, owns and occupies the farm on
which he was born and brought up. Though by occupa
tion a farmer, he has for some years been engaged in dif
ferent agencies, especially in behalf of book publishers,
which have taken him much of the time from home. In
December, 1850, he married Clara L. Morrison, of this
town, and they have at this date five children still with
them; namely, Millard F., George M., Clara A., Arthur L.
and Henry E.
Mr. J. K. Davis and wife, and second son, are members
of the Congregational church in Bradford. Indeed all
the children of Mr. Jacob Davis who lived to become men
390
and women, are believed to have become also joint par
takers with their pious parents in the same precious faith
and promises.
ISRAEL CUMMINGS.
Deacon Israel Cummings was a native *of Woodstock,
Vt,, born March 14, 1791. His father removed with his
family into the south-east part ot Thetford, in the
year 1798, and made a permanent settlement there
as a farmer. His son remained with him, and at the
age of about twenty-three married Miss Ruth Kinney,
a daughter of Deacon Kinney, of Thetford. In the
course of the last war with England he offered himself
to his country's service, and for months stood with a com
pany of others as a volunteer minute man ; but was not
called into the army. When about thirty years of age he
became deeply impressed by religious considerations, ob
tained hope of an interest in the great salvation, and made
a public profession of his faith by uniting with the Bap
tist church at Post Mills, in Thetftrrd, and was for years a
deacon in the same.
In 1848 he sold his farm in Thetford, and bought a
good farm on the Upper Plain in Bradford, long known
as the May place, and there continues, in 1874, to reside,
with his eldest son, who is devoted to agricultural pur
suits. Mrs. Cummings died June 26, 1861, at the age of
sixty-six years.
These parents were blessed with two sons and one
daughter, who lived to marry and have families. The eld
est son, David Kinney Cummings, married Maria Jewell
(rightly named), of Norwich, Vt. They had a daughter,
Ellen Maria, who married Mr. James Sawyer, of this vil
lage, and died in the Autumn of 1873. Also a son, Wil
liam Frederick Cummings, who was married by Rev. S.
McKeen, April 2, 1874, with Miss Ada Lillie Barrett,
daughter of Mr. S. C. Barrett, of Bradford.
391
Lovel Cummings, second son of the deacon and wife,
married Sarah Arnold, of Boston, kept the Vermont House
here for some time, and at this date is engaged in mer
cantile business in Brooklyn, N. Y.
Harriet Cummings, the only sister of the above named,
married Mr. George Wright, of Bradford, and with her
husband occupies the pleasant homestead next north of
her father's.
Mr. I). K. Cummings and wife are members of the
Methodist church in this village. The venerable deacon,
at the age of eighty-three, retains his intellectual and
physical powers very well, and still feels deeply interested
in the prosperity of the Redeemer's kingdom.
392
CHAPTER XIX.
Physicians — Aubrey, Andross, Stebbins, Whitney, Whipple, Put
nam, Colby, Poole, Martin, Carter, Gushing, Carpenter, Doty,
Warden, and Others.
PRACTICING PHYSICIANS IN BRADFORD.
It is proposed to give in this chapter some account of
the several physicians who have been established in their
professional business here, with such notices of their fam
ilies as may be considered of general interest. The ar
rangement will be with reference to the various dates of
their commencing medical practice among this people.
Pursuing this order, we notice, first,
DOCTOR AUBRY.
Dr. Frederick Aubry, one of the early physicians in
this town, a German by birth and education, claimed to
have been a surgeon in the British army during the " Old
French war," and to have dressed the wounds of the brave
General Wolfe, who in 1759 fell at the siege of Quebec.
He was an expert fencer, and took pride in displaying his
skill in the use of the sword. It is said he could with his
sword strike out a pin from a man's shirt collar without
injury to his throat. His temper was hasty and violent,
but in its paroxysms not lasting. At one time, when he
was having an arch laid, his wife came out to give her
advice, which led to a violent altercation between them.
In his anger he caught up a brick and threw it at her,
exclaiming as it went from his hand, " Dodge, Sally, my
dear ! " Being slack in regard to paying his debts, one
of the traders at the village went to him with his store
account for collection, when the Doctor bitterly said,
" You traders, when we go to your stores, are all aingels,
but when ye want your pay ye are very deevils." Of his
393
professional skill there was quite a diversity of opinions,
some thinking him a wonderful doctor, and others unwilling
to employ him. He was severe in his condemnation of
our native doctors, as men without knowledge or skill in
their profession, which, of course, set them against him.
He was sometimes unreasonably exacting in his charges,
as well as needlessly persevering in his visits ; but now
and then in his dealing with his Yankee employers found
that he had " caught a Tartar.7' Some instances, quite
amusing, are still remembered. The doctor having been
once called in to see a sick man in the south part of the
town, came of his own accord many times more. The
patient having after a considerable time recovered, the
doctor presented his bill for "visits, medicines and smi-
dries" running up to an amount far beyond the man's ex
pectation. He, however, taking it coolly, sat down and
made out an account of various things which he had let
the doctor have ; but finding himself far in the rear, he
made up the deficiency with " sundries," and thus brought
out an amount equivalent to the charge against him. The
doctor, on looking at this account, instead of flying into a
passion, as might have been expected, said, " Let's pass
receipts ! let's pass receipts ! " and so the matter was
easily adjusted.
On another occasion the doctor was called to attend to
the case of a boy in a very suffering condition ; a fly
some time before having got into one of his ears and de
posited there its eggs, a hateful progeny, giving the suf
ferer great distress, had been the result. The doctor,
having ascertained the cause of the trouble, by a simple
remedy, directly applied, effected a cure. The boy was
soon well again, to the great joy of himself and family.
The father, on inquiring what would be the doctor's charge
for this service, was told to his great astonishment that it
would be one hundred dollars ! which the old physician
attempted to justify on the ground that the bo v's life was
26
394
worth more than a hundred dollars, and that he would
have died if he had not thus by his medical skill saved
him. Remonstrance was of no avail. The father of the
boy subsequently brought in his account, proposing to the
doctor to look over and come to a settlement. This ac
count Avas a very short one, for two bushels of wheat at
fifty dollars a bushel, amounting to one hundred dollars.
The doctor on looking at it gravely, said, " I will dispute
no man's account. We will pass receipts."
Dr. Aubry first settled in the part of the town called
Goshen, but subsequently on a farm West of Wright's
Mountain. He afterwards, about the year 1813, removed
with his children to Pennsylvania, and died there at an
advanced age.
The above is from the recollection of several gentle
men who personally knew him.
DOCTOR ANDROSS.
Of him and his family see some account under the title,
The Andross Family.
DOCTOR STEBBINS.
Dr. Arad Stebbins was born at Hinsdale, N. H., March
21, 1760. He studied medicine with Dr. Dickermond, of
Brattleboro, Yt., and surgery with Dr. Goodhue, of Put
ney. Nathan Smith, subsequently Professor of the The
ory and Practice of Medicine at Dartmouth College, was
his fellow student. We have not the date of his com
mencing business in Bradford, but it was some time be
fore 1790, as a town meeting was held that year at his
house, and it is known that for some time after his coming
here he boarded in the family of Dr. Andross, whose wife
was his aunt. Dr. Stebbins was a sensible, affable, wide
awake, energetic man, and had an extensive medical
practice here, for about thirty years. He married Mary
395
S. Kent, of Newbury, and had a family of one son and
eight daughters. The doctor built a large, and for those
days fine, house near the north end of this village, to be
occupied, not only as a family residence, but for the ac
commodation of travelers and boarders, which after his
decease was known as the Vermont House, and by suc
cessive proprietors kept as a hotel, till June 18, 1871,
when, in the ownership of R. W. Chamberlin, it accident
ally took fire and was consumed. A fine residence on
the same spot is at this writing in progress of erection,
under the care and at the expense of Mr. Harvey Nourse,
of this place. Dr. Stebbins represented this town in the
State Legislature of 1805. In the course of the first
year of the writer's ministry here the doctor and his wife,
on profession, became members of the Congregational
church, and so continued during the remainder of their
lives. One dark evening, while the doctor- was walking
homeward and alone, from the house of his father, where
he had been attending a Library Society meeting, he had
the misfortune to step off the side of a bridge across a
ravine, since filled with earth, near the residence of J.
A. Hardy, by which fall he received a concussion of the
brain which put an end to his medical practice, and from
which he never entirely recovered. He lived, however,
in a state of quiet feebleness, both of body and mind, for
some ten or eleven years longer, and died April 30, 1828,
in the sixty-eighth year of his age. Mrs. Stebbins died
October 29, 1835, in her sixty-ninth year.
CHILDREN OF DR. STEBBINS AND WIFE.
Their first daughter, Polly, died young, but all the
others lived to years of maturity. Mary married Alfred
Corliss, for many years a harness maker, arid also Postmas
ter in this village, and had three sons and two daughters.
Lucy married Theodore Dame, of Orford, N. Hv and had
\
396
a son and two daughters. Betsey married Nicholas W.
Aver, of this town, and in her widowhood, when drawing
nigli to death, made several valuable bequests to various
individuals and religious societies, one of five hundred
dollars to the Congregational church here, the annual in
terest to be applied towards the support of public wor
ship. Sophia remained and died single. The four sis
ters last named, and also their youngest sister, Harriet,
were all members of the same church here to which their
parents had belonged. Louisa married a Mr. Moulton,
and Harriet, Mr. Ward, of Plymouth, N. H. All these
have deceased, with the exception of Mrs. Dame, who, in
widowhood, is living (1874) with her son in Newbury,
Vt.
Arad Stebbins, Jr., the doctor's only son, married Eliza
Stoddard, of Fairlee, remained in this village, and had a
family of several children. He was esteemed an intelli
gent, capable, and honest man, and as such was much em
ployed in public business. He had been Overseer of the
Poor and a Justice of the Peace, in Bradford, for several
years ; had represented the town in the State Legislature
for five years ; had filled the office of Judge of Probate
for this district for one term ; and had been much em
ployed in the settlement of estates, and as guardian of
orphan children, in which capacities he seems to have
given general satisfaction. He had a competency, loved
his family, was free from pecuniary or other embarrass
ments from without ; but his health at length began to
fail, his mental powers also, a melancholy gloom came
ever him, and he seems to have been overwhelmed with
the fear that he might become permanently insane ! and
in this state of mind he, on a certain sad day, retired to
his barn and terminated his life by deliberately hanging
himself. This mournful event occurred January, 1862,
he tjien being a little over fifty-nine years of age, and
cast a deep gloom over this entire community. His pas-
397
tor's text at his funeral was, " Let him that thinketh he
stand eth take heed lest he fall." The widow and her
children subsequently removed to Summerville, Mass.
DOCTOR WHITING.
Dr. Jeremiah Whiting practiced medicine for a tew
years in Bradford. He resided in the part of the town
called Goshen. He came here from New Bedford, Mass.,
or its vicinity, about the year 1798. He had a good pre
paratory education, and was well read in his professional
studies. He was considered a man of good judgment,
and a successful practitioner. He distinguished himself
somewhat in the judicious treatment of scarlet fever,
which prevailed, of a malignant type, at one time espec
ially during his residence in Bradford. He left this towif
about the year 1807, and went into practice in the north
ern part of New York. His wife was a daughter of Dea-
cori Sweet, of Bradford. Of his death we have no ac
count.
DOCTOR WHIPPLE.
Thomas Whipple, M. D., was born in Hanover, N. H.,
in the year 1785. His father was a Baptist minister.
Thomas was thrown almost entirely on his own resourc
es in his efforts to obtain an education, but, possessing a
strong mind and resolute determination, he early acquired
a good knowledge of English literature, and a valuable
acquaintance with the Latin and Greek languages. He
became a popular teacher, and for several winters taught
the school here in Goshen district, consisting of nearly a
hundred scholars, with great success. He attended the
Medical Institution at Hanover, N. H., and received from
Dartmouth College the degree of M. D., in the year 1814.
He commenced medical practice in the part of this town
where he had been teaching, but soon after located him
self at Wentworth7 N. H.; where he rose to distinction as
398
a successful practitioner of medicine and surgery. He
married Phebe Tabor, of this place, and was sent from the
State of New Hampshire to Congress, where by his tal
ents he gained notoriety. But, like many other men of
ability and high promise, he gradually fell into habits of
intemperance, and thereby did himself great injury. He
died in the year 1835, aged fifty years.
DOCTOR PUTNAM.
Dr. Samuel Putnam was born in Salem, Mass., in 1782.
While he was young he came with his father and family
to Vermont, and resided for some years in Topsham.
Samuel made good use of his limited advantages for ac
quiring an education, and studied the medical profession
with Dr. Richard Huntley, of Topsham. He commenced
practice in the town of Burke, in this State, where he re
mained but a few years, when he located himself in this
town, near the south line of Newbury. He practiced
about equally in the two towns, until the year 1816,
when, his health failing, he moved into Newbury, and
died there, of pulmonary consumption, in the summer of
1817, aged thirty-five years. His wife was Betsey Bai
ley, daughter of Colonel John Bailey, of Newbury. They
had one son and one daughter, Samuel and Angelina.
DOCTOR COLBY.
Dr. Thomas Colby, a native of this town, was born in 1788.
He worked at farming in his youth, and his advantages
for acquiring a good education were very limited. Being
unable to pursue the business of agriculture, from poor
health, he felt strongly inclined to try the medical pro
fession, and after some effort at preparation entered on
the study of medicine, and pursued it chiefly with Dr.
Wellman, of Piermont, N. H., and Dr. McKinstry, of New
bury. He commenced practice in this village in the
year 1812. In the autumn of 1815 he located himself on
399
the Upper Plain, near the cemetery, and there continued
in his professional business till near the time of his death,
which occurred December 26, 1829. Dr. Colby was by
many considered a skillful physician, especially in fevers,
and for several years did a fair amount of business. He
died at the age of forty-one. His wife was Eliza Kimball,
daughter of Daniel Kimball, Esq., of this town. They
had two daughters and a son, no one of whom is known
to be living now.
DOCTOR POOLE.
As he was long here and extensively known, of him a
somewhat more full account may be expected.
Dr. John Poole was born at Plaintield, N. H., February
22, 1792. Blessed with a firm physical constitution and
good intellectual powers, he grew up to be an energetic,
intelligent, and worthy young man. Having acquired a
good academic education, and being inclined to the medi
cal profession, he entered as a student the medical de
partment of Dartmouth college, and having pursued a
regular course, under the instruction of such men as Pro
fessors Muzzey, Perkins, and Dana, graduated with honor
in 1817.
The next year, 1818, at the age of twenty-six years, he
established himself as a physician and surgeon in Brad
ford, Vt., where he continued in the practice of his pro
fession for fifty-one years, or within a few weeks of his
decease, which occurred April 14, 1869, when he was a
little over seventy-seven years of age. When he came
here Dr. Arad Stebbins, who had long been the principal
physician in the place, was drawing near to the close of
his active life, and "Dr. Poole, without any particular
agreement or unpleasant collision, gradually became his
well-received successor.
During the half century of his practice Dr. Poole per-
400
formed a vast amount of professional business in this and
the neighboring towns. Possessing firm health, being
strictly temperate in all his habits, and wholly devoted to
his profession, he was habitually ready to go, when call
ed, whether by day or night, and however uncomfortable
the weather or the traveling might be. Whether he was
to go with a fair prospect of compensation, or to attend
on those who were known to be too poor ever to reward
him for his services, made no difference in regard to his
prompt attendance and persevering visitations. Whatev
er help he could afford the sick and suffering he was happy
to render, and was, no doubt; quite as successful in his
practice as the generality of physicians are. Many who
have been carried by him through trying scenes of phys
ical prostration and distress, still live to remember him
with affectionate gratitude during the remnant of their
days.
As the Doctor was accustomed to keep himself well-in
formed by the reading of the new publications in the line
of his profession, and had acquired much knowledge by
experience in the course of his long practice, he, perhaps
rather insensibly to himself, became so firmly assured of
his own ability and skill as a practitioner as to be rather
intolerant of any person or thing that he viewed in the
light of rivalry, or interference in any way with his
customary business, and consequently was not apt to be
on very good terms with other physicians, who thought
they had as good a right as he to locate themselves here,
and minister to such as might call for their services. The
Doctor was particularly disturbed by any departure from
the old line of practice, and unsparing in his censures of
everything which he denominated quackery. It gave
him great dissatisfaction also to have any of his old friends
turn away from him and patronize those whom he esteem
ed less worthy of their confidence. Being a man of rath
er excitable temperament, and of strong will, these views
401
and feelings caused him much unhappiness, and not un-
frequently proved very annoying to others, The fact is,
physicians, like other professional and business men,
while aiming to make themselves worthy of public confi
dence and encouragement, must— at all events should
—be willing that the people, their old employers as well as
others, should enjoy the privelege of acting according to
their own choice in regard to giving or not giving them
their patronage. When one's health and life are at stake
he, if competent, and if not competent, his friends, must
be left free to employ whatever medical counsel or means
of cure they prefer, inasmuch as they are mainly con
cerned in the consequences. True merit will not fail in
the long run to maintain its ground and respectability.
Dr. Poole was, not only in his profession but outside of
it, a worthy and valuable citizen. Strictly temperate
himself, he wished to see the cause of temperance promo
ted, in the use of the wisest and most efficient means.
The vulgar use of tobacco, and such like narcotics and
stimulants, received from him no countenance. With the
company of the vicious and profane he had no affinity;
you would find him not walking in the way of sinners, or
sitting in the seat of the scornful ; but associating with
those who were endeavoring to promote the interests of
intelligence, morality, good order, and religion in society.
The doctor took a lively interest in the due education
of children and young people, and wished to see the
schools well conducted and prosperous. For some twen
ty-three years he had been clerk of the school district to
which he, during the latter part of his life, belonged ; and
one dark evening, about two weeks before his decease,
when his bed or an easy chair would seem to be the most
suitable place for him, came out and attended an annual
meeting of this sort, and was reappointed to his clerkship.
He had also acted as a Trustee of Bradford. Academy lor
about thirty-six years, and for most of the time in some
402
special official capacity. In the affairs of the religious
society to which he belonged he was also an efficient
member ; and with faithfulness filled some official station
for twenty-five years. During a considerable part of this
time he' performed the somewhat self-denying, but very
important, service of collecting his pastor's salary, and
thus securing to the people the permanent preaching of
the gospel, with its attendant blessings. In these arid va
rious other ways he seemed to take real pleasure in doing
good. He evidently wished to see the best interests of
the community about him promoted, and was ready to do
his part.
As it regards the domestic relations of Dr. Poole, it
may be remarked that the wife of his youth, his only
wife, was Mary Evans, with whom he was united in mar
riage May 27, 1821. She was a lady of pleasing personal
appearance, devoted to home duties, but benevolent to
ward all, and a beloved member of the household of faith.
With several others, she united with the Congregational
church here in the year. 1831, and so continued to the
close of life. She died away from home, at the house of
her youngest daughter, near New York, August 19, 1861,
at the age of sixty- five years. Her remains were brought
here for interment. Dr. Poole and wife had eight child
ren, of whom three died in infancy. Horace B., a young
man who had been engaged in the business of a druggist,
died at the house of his father, September 17, 1857, at the
age of thirty-two years. Three daughters and one son re
main. The eldest of these, Mary L., married A. G-. Rich
ardson, of California, and resides there. Her husband
died a few months or weeks before her father. Julia S.
married Henry C. Bidwell, also of California, and there has
her home. Cornelia Frances, the youngest daughter, was
the wife of Wm. D. Skidmore, now deceased, and lives at
Mount Yernon, near New York. Charles Carroll, having
been preserved through many hardships and perils in the
403
service of his country, was the only member of the family
who had the privilege of ministering to his father in his
last sickness, or of appearing as a mourner at his funeral,
Mrs. Poole, his wife, being with him. He is by occupa
tion a house carpenter. They now, 1874, reside in St.
Johnsbury.
Dr. Poole became hopefully pious and united with the
Congregational Church during the great revival which
was here enjoyed in the beginning of the year 1837, and
so continued. He was strictly evangelical in his senti
ments ; took a deep interest, especially during the latter
years of his life, in the Sabbath School, having charge of
a class of intelligent men ; he loved to attend social meet
ings ; and was, not only a dilligent student of the holy
Scriptures, but a man of prayer. For months, if not
years, before his decease, he seemed to be deeply impress
ed by a conviction that he was a great sinner, who need
ed a great Saviour ; and on this theme he dwelt continual
ly, with apparently the utmost seriousness. Hope gener
ally prevailed that through Christ he should find forgive
ness and salvation ; but his hope at times was not without
fear and trembling. He said he wanted clearer evidence
that he had been really created anew in righteousness and
true holiness, and was indeed united to the blessed Sav
iour by a living faith ; that he must at all events cling to
Him, and to Him alone, as the Lord his righteousness.
As he drew near to death he expressed good will tow
ards all men, without exception ; and deeply regretted that
he had ever exhibited or felt any measure of a different
spirit.
The Doctor was ver}r tenacious of life. It was unpleas
ant to him to have his friends ever allude to his failing
strength ; he did not like to talk about death ; he kept about
as long as he possibly could ; but at the time appointed all
his powers, both physical and mental, gave way ; and he
passed quietly to that land from which no traveler returns.
404
We cannot doubt that, notwithstanding all those imper
fections of which he was so painfully sensible, to him
death has proved immense and eternal gain, arid that he
is now most fervently thankful to God who has given him
the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.
'Brother tbou art gone to rest,
Thy cares and toils are o'er !
And sorrow, pain, and sufferirg now,
Shall ne'er distress thee more."
DR. WILLIAM MARTIN.
See the account of the family of Dea. Reuben Martin.
DOCTOR ROGERS.
Dr. John L. Rogers was born in Northrield, N. H., in
1803. He studied his profession with Dr. T. Haynes, of
Hardwick, Vt., and commenced the practice of medicine
at East Corinth, in May, 1839. In the year 1848 he
moved to Bradford Center, where he continued in pro
fessional business for several years. His mode of prac
tice was Eclectic, and he had patients, at different times,
in most of the towns in Orange County. He removed
from Bradford Center to Canaan, N. H., and at this writ
ing is understood to be in successful business there.
DOCTOR CARTER.
Dr. William H. Carter was a native ol Newbury, born
May 28, 1801. His father, Dea. William Carter, was a
native of Kingston, N. H. He migrated to Topsham, Vt.,
soon after the close of the Revolutionary war, and \vas
the third settler in that town. He subsequently removed
to Newbury, and in the year 1806 to Bradford. William
H. was the youngest of the family. He worked at farm
ing, with only common school advantages for education,
until the age of nineteen. He then attended Bradford
Academy for some time, commencing with its first term,
405
in the spring of 1821. He there acquired sufficient
knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages to enable
him to enter with advantage on the study of medicine.
Being destitute of pecuniary help, he was obliged to rely
on his own earnings to defray his expenses ; obliged, also,
to forego many advantages now generally enjoyed by
medical students. His professional studies were pursued
under the instruction of James Petrie, M. D., of Topsham,
and Calvin Jewett, M. D., of Newbury. He attended
medical lectures at Dartmouth College, and received
there the degree of M. D. In 1827 he located himself in
business at West Newbury, where for twenty-six years
he had an increasing and successful practice. In 1853
he removed to Bradford village, and thence onward to
this date, a period of over twenty years, his professional
services have continued to be, and still are, in good de
mand. He has now been in medical practice for nearly
forty-seven years. Doctor Carter married Miss Hannah
H. Eastman, daughter of David Eastman, Esq., of Tops-
ham. The doctor and his wife have for years been mem
bers of the Congregational church in this place. In 1829
they became, by profession, members of the Congrega
tional church in Newbury. They have two daughters,
Susan E., wife of Dr. A. A. Doty, of this village, and Jen
nie A., wife of Dr. Eugene L. Boothby, of Fairlee. Dr.
Carter's influence in society has been in all respects de
cidedly salutary.
Mrs. Boothby, daughter of Doctor Carter, died at the
house of her father, September 18, 1874.
DOCTOR GUSHING.
Dr. Alvin M. Gushing was born at Burke, Caledonia
county, Vt., September 28, 1829. He graduated from
the Homcepathic Medical College of Pennsylvania, March
1, 1856, and located in Bradford directlv after, in the
406
month of May. He was the first to introduce Homoepa-
thy into this town, and the first, as he says, to practice it
exclusively in this County of Orange. He came a young
man, a stranger to all, and, though strongly opposed by
doctors, and many others, on account of this then new
way of practice, yet, as Dr. Poole said, "believed in it
and stuck to it," and was successful in gaining a large
practice. His residence was in the same house which
the writer of this now occupies. He married Miss Han
nah Elizabeth, daughter of Mr. John Pearsons, then of
Hartford, Vt., but formerly of Bradford. The doctor
practiced here for nearly five years. In the autumn of
1866, while riding in the western part of this town, he
met with an accident, injuring his spine so seriously that
he was obliged to abandon his large practice for a while,
and he removed to Lansingburg, N. Y. After about four
years there, the failure of his wife's health compelled him
to leave his pleasant home and lucrative practice there
and seek a residence near the ocean. He finally settled
in Lynn, Mass., where he at this date is understood to
have an extensive practice. He has written several
medical works which have been well received by the pro
fession. Dr. Gushing and wife have three sons, and many
reasons to be contented and happy.
DOCTOR CARPENTER.
Dr. William S. Carpenter was a native of Moretown,
Vt., born March 31, 1818. He studied his profession un
der the instruction of Dr. Sanborn, of Lyndon, and grad
uated at Dartmouth College as M. D. in the class of 1842.
He commenced medical practice here soon after, and
continued with good success for more than ten years.
He married Miss Helen Louisa Ladd, a daughter of Mr.
Austin Ladd, of Haverhill, N. H., where she was born
December 7, 1825. They were married October 1, 1845.
They had but two children, both of whom died early.
407
The Doctor while here. built a nice cottage on Main
street, in or near the year 1850, the same which Dr. Car
ter now owns and occupies, and lived there during the
remainder of his stay in Bradford. He removed to Chi
cago, and there settled May 1, 1854, with fair prospects.
He had, however, but fairly commenced practice there
before his very estimable wife was taken dangerously
sick, and on the 5th of June died, in the twenty-ninth
year of her age. Mrs. Ladd, her good mother, died there
soon after, arid the Doctor himself died in the same city,
August 31, 1855, in the thirty-eight year of his age. His
remains, with those of his wife, were brought to Brad
ford for burial, their final resting place in the cemetery
being designated by a marble obelisk.
DOCTOR A. A. DOTY AND FAMILY.
A few words first in regard to his parentage. His
father, Abner Doty, was a native of Rochester, Mass.,
and with his parents moved to East Montpelier, Vt., March
15, 18 — , he being at that time six year of age. The mode
of conveyance was by an ox team, and it took three weeks
to perform the journey. Quite a contrast with railroad
speed. In early manhood Abner Doty married Betsey
Putnam, a direct descendant of General Israel Putnam, of
historic renown. After the birth of two children, he
moved his family to Elmore, in Lamoille County, then a
sparsely settled town. He was promoted to the highest
office of the town, for many years, and was kept in the
performance of some official duty to the time of his death,
which occurred in 1847.
His son, Dr. Abner A. Doty, was born in Elmore, March
15, 1828, and commenced the study of medicine in the
Spring of 1851, with William H. Carter, M. D., then of
Newbury, Vt., and graduated at Hanover, N. H. Medical
College in 1854. He commenced practice in Newbury,
408
and continued there for two years, when he went to New
York, where he spent some months in attending lectures,
and at the hospitals, and then came to Bradford and com-
mencerl medical practice here in 1856: where for eighteen
years he has devoted himself closely to his professional
business, and found full employment. Although most of
the time in delicate health, so entire has been his attention
to' his home practice that he has never, he remarks, left it
for a day, except to visit sick friends abroad, or on ac
count of his own sickness.
Soon after his settlement in Bradford, he united with
the Methodist Episcopal church, and was chosen one of
its Stewards, and has served in that capacity ever since.
He has also been for several years Chairman of the Com
mittee of the Graded School in this village, embracing
Bradford Academy.
As it regards the domestic relations of Doctor Doty,
we remark that at the commencement of his practice he
married Miss Susan Carter, daughter of Dr. W. H. Car
ter, a worthy lady, and they have had four children, all
daughters, namely :
Jennie Kathrinne, born January 16, 1857.
Minnie, born July 29, 1859. Died November 22, 1872.
Susie Isabelle, born March 26, 1866. •
Marion Gertrude, born April 24, 1872.
DOCTOR WARDEN AND FAMILY.
Jonathan Warden was a native of Greenock, Scotland,
born September 30, 1795. His wife, whose maiden name
was Joanna Ferguson, was also a native of the same coun
try, born November 15, 1798. They were united in mar
riage January 15, 1827, and emigrated to this country in
1842, arriving September 1st, They spent their first
winter at Ryegate, Vt, They removed thence to Haver-
hill, N. H., in the spring of 1843, and there remained until
400
the autumn of 1848, when they came to Bradford, Vt.,
and here remained during the remainder of their abode
on earth. Mr. Warden, though not a practicing physi
cian, was universally styled Doctor, as his principal occu
pation consisted in preparing and selling medicines,
which by many families and individuals were highly ap
preciated, and somewhat extensively used in this vicinity.
Both the doctor and his wife were much esteemed by
those who knew them. Mrs. Warden died July 24, 1856,
in the fifty-eighth year of her age ; and his decease oc
curred June 3, 1869, in his severity-fourth year. Their
remains repose side by side in Bradford cemetery.
They had one daughter and two sons, all natives of
Scotland, namely :
1. Joanna, who grew up an amiable and good young
lady, and September 28, 1872, became the wife of Mr.
Daniel Carpenter, of St. Johnsbury, Vt., with whom she
has there a pleasant home.
2. Peter Warden, learned the business of a watch
maker and jeweller, went South, and settled at Tallahas
see, Florida ; married there a Miss Gibson, had two chil
dren ; in 1863 went, in feeble health, to Cuba, and died
there November 13th of that year. A very worthy young-
man he was.
3. Joseph M. Warden, born 1840, November 23, be
came, like his brother, a watchmaker and jeweller, re
mained in Bradford, and has for years been diligently en
gaged in his favorite business ; also as a telegraphic ope
rator ; giving general satisfaction in both employments.
J. M. Warden, April 28, 1861, was united in marriage
with Miss Fannie A. Flanders, daughter of Mr. Josiah
Flanders, of Vershire. They have a desirable homestead
on Pleasant street, in this village. Mr. and Mrs. Warden
are members of the Congregational church here, as was
their sister, Mrs. Carpenter, before her removal to St.
Johnsbury.
27
416
Doctors J. N. Clark and 0. H. Stevens, well-known and
highly esteemed dentists, in the use of all modern im
provements, are established here, in the successful prac
tice of their professional business.
Of Doctors Barnabas Wright, Hiram Bliss, and Henry
Hays, who for years successfully practiced here, but long-
since removed, and have deceased, we have no particular
account to give. Neither have we been able to obtain
any from Doctor Julian H. Jones, homoeopathist, now in
successful practice in this town and vicinity.
411
CHAPTER XX.
Rev. Silas McKeen and Family.
REV. SILAS McKEEN AND FAMILY.
Some time ago> at the solicitation of my daughters, I
commenced and persevered in writing out a somewhat
extended account of our McKeen race^ beginning far back
in Scotland, and coming down, through Ireland and the
emigration, to Londonderry, N. H., and thence to Ver
mont, with the collateral branches extending East, West,
arid South. This account, though of interest to us, must
be reduced to comparatively narrow limits in such a book
as this. I am still in danger of saying too much.
James McKeen, Esq., commonly called, in his latter
days, and by his posterity, Old Justice McKeen, a leading
man in the little colony from Ireland which settled in the
Spring of 1719 at Nutpelee, subsequently Londonderry,
N. H., was my great grandfather. His second wife, the
one who came with him to this country, was Annas Car-
gill, a sister of Mary, wife of Rev. James McGregor, their
minister.
Their son, James McKeen, born within a year after their
arrival in this country, was my grandfather. He married
Elizabeth Dinsmoor, who died young, leaving one son,
David McKeen, who was my father. He married Margar
et McPherson, and continued a few years with his father
on the old home place, where their first four children
were born, and then removed to Corinth, Vt., about the
year 1781, where they had eight children more. In the
whole, six sons and six daughters, happily interspersed.
Elizabeth married Nathaniel Ingalls ; - Mary married Wil
liam Johnson, and after his decease, James Richardson;
Daniel McKeen married Sarah Libbey; John married
Sally Collins ; Jenney married Henry Doe ; Sally married
412
James Annis; and Robert, Almira Paine; all of whom had
children, now, with their posterity, widely scattered over
the country. My brothers James and David, and sisters
Margaret and Annis, died in their youth, unmarried. My
truly good mother died of fever at Corinth, in the fifty-
fifth year of her age. My father subsequently married
Lydia Ingalls, of Methuen, Mass., by whom he had a son,
David, and a daughter, Lydia, who died in early life.
Their mother died of small pox at Corinth, in the Autumn
of 1810, at the age of forty-three years. My father,
David McKeen, Esq., died suddenly of heart disease, De
cember 2, 1824, on a Thanksgiving Day morning, at the
age of seventy-five years.
I am at this writing, and for years have been, the only
surviving member of this once large and flourishing fam
ily. Having long been an inhabitant of Bradford, arid
my children all natives of the place, some more particular
account of myself and family will naturally be expected.
I was born in Corinth, Vt., March 16, 1791; my place
in the order of my mother's children being the tenth.
One does not love to say much about himself, though he
of course knows more about himself than any one else
does or can. And I am the more inclined to give a sketch
of my early history, hoping it may encourage some other
poor boy, anxious to acquire useful knowledge, to perse
vere, amid whatever difficulties, in doing the best he can.
The fear of the Lord, we are divinely assured, is the
beginning of wisdom; and I can truly say that from my
childhood I was habitually impressed with such reverence
for Him that I was accustomed in my humble way to im
plore His guidance, forgiveness, and blessing. This early
habit, I am satisfied, was of inestimable benefit to me. I
also felt a profound respect for the Holy Scriptures, and
for the Lord's Day, though I had become a lad of perhaps
a dozen years of age before we had any regular public
413
worship that I could attend. At home we had family
prayers, and were taught the Westminister Catechism.
I do not remember any of my youthful associates who
habitually manifested any special interest in religious
concerns. They were generally full of fun and frolic, and
were by their parents suffered to run merrily on, in their
chosen ways, with but little restraint. Some of the boys
and young men of my acquaintance were profane, and
otherwise immoral ; but as for profanity, it was no temp
tation to me, for I always abhorred it ; and for card-play
ing, or any other sort of gambling, I had no inclination.
Of social gatherings, and exhilerating plays, I was suffi
ciently fond, but all along felt that these were not the
things of chief importance. Boys in those days were re
quired to work more than they do now, and then I had
such a desire for reading and mental improvement that
time seemed too precious to be wasted.
• The first school I ever attended was in my father's
barn, then new, but now old. There I began Webster's
spelling book, under the tuition of Miss Betsey Morrison,
for whom I ever after entertained a very cordial respect.
After that I used to go, summer and winter, to a school
house away over the hills, about a mile distant. Such
was my desire to attend, I think it must have been the
first winter of my going, that I could not quietly wait for
shoes, which at the time could not easily be obtained, and
so my mother furnished me with cloth moccasins, greatly
to my gratification. Some of the schoolboys, looking
down on my teet, laughed at me ; but I was not to be thus
disheartened, conscious that I could make those of my
age feel that in the main thing I was not their inferior.
I believe I made very good progress in learning, and it
was not long before I was as well furnished with shoes as
my associates. I remember that my progress in arithme
tic, when I came to it, at the age of fifteen or sixteen,
was quite unusual, it seemed to me so easy. Instead of
414
spending winter after winter upon it, as in our school
was customary, in one and the same winter 1 went pretty
thoroughly through the system then in use.
About this time it became necessary that, except in the
time of winter, I should stay at home and work, both on
the farm and in my father's mills. He had both a grist
mill and a saw-mill, in the same large building. My main
employment for one or two summer seasons was tending
the grist-mill, and, as that business among a sparse popu
lation was not regularly urgent, I found some opportuni
ty in the course of almost every day for a little reading
and mental improvement. It was in that old mill that I
commenced the study of Latin, and became interested in
it. By some good fortune I also obtained an old, tattered
book of navigation, which, among other things, contained a
diagram of a quadrant, with rules for its use in finding
the latitude of places, by the aid of which I made one of
wood, which enabled me to determine pretty accurately
the latitude of my old grist-mill, at forty-four degrees and
ten minutes North. Another different kind of a quadrant
I also made, by the aid of which, and some knowledge of
trigonometry, I could ascertain the height of the tallest
trees standing around me.
Finding me so much inclined to study, my father con
cluded to let me go, and do for myself the best I could.
Situated as he was, he could help me but little. He, how
ever, made arrangements for me to study Surveying with
John McDuffee, Esq., of Bradford ; who was justly es
teemed a distinguished master of the art. This was to me
an unexpected gratification. In the Winter of 1807-8, in
the 17th year of my age, I commenced school teaching in
Topsham, with satisfactory success.' This business I fol
lowed during six succeeding Winters ; two in Corinth,
three in Piermont, N. H., and one in Bradford village.
By so doing I obtained some means for the purchase of
books, chiefly old ones, and for prosecuting my studies
415
during the rest of the time ; with the exception of some
weeks at home each Summer, occupied on the farm at hay-
ing.
At the age of 17, I went to study Latin, and subse
quently Greek, under the instruction of our minister, the
Rev. William Pickles, originally from England, but then
preaching at Corinth. He was a remarkably large man, of
venerable appearance, but very social, and, in my estima
tion, very learned. I am sure his teaching was very ben
eficial to me. My cousin, Joseph McKeen, afterwards L
L. D., and Superintendent of Schools in the City of New
York, arid Aaron Smith, subsequently a distinguished phy
sician in Hardwick, Vt., were for a part of my term with
Rev. Mr. Pickles my fellow students. Under his tuition
I read Virgil straight through, without the help of any
translation ; and it became quite familiar to me. In the
same way I read Cicero, and Gratius on the truth of Chris
tianity, and some other Latin authors. He also drilled me
pretty thoroughly in the making of Latin. The intro
duction which he gave me to Greek was in the use of a
Grammar the text of which was in Latin ; I never saw
another like it ; and my Lexicon was of the same sort.
With him I became able to read the Greek Testament with
tolerable ease ; and was much interested and profited by
the study of Logic, for which he had a special liking.
Mr. Pickles was not only an able teacher, but an elo
quent preacher of the Gospel, though often in-feeble health.
He in the Summer seasons preached in the new, unfinish
ed meeting house, in the central part of Corinth ; still
standing, but new modeled, and in good condition. On
one occasion, when the house was well filled, and I was
sitting away in the back part of the assembly, I was
startled to hear him call out, "Silas, I must ask you to come
up here, and read my hymns for me !" I dreaded to do it,
but dared not refuse ; and that was my first introduction
to a pulpit ; which was in fact but a joiner's bench, with
416
some necessary fixings attached to it. While I was away
teaching, at Piermont, the subsequent Winter, my good
friend died, January 1, 1811, at the age of 56 ; and his re-
mains were laid in the cemetery at Corinth, near the meet-
ing house in which he used to minister. His widow, an
exceedingly amiable and intelligent Christian lady, also
from England, removed to Montville, Maine, where he had
left some real estate ; and where, in thirty-two years after
the decease of her husband, she died at the age of' 82,
in the family of a Mr. Spring, a farmer, who had for the
property undertaken her support. They had never had
any children.
After the death of Mr. Pickles I pursued my studies
preparatory to college at Haverhill, N. H., academy, until
my preceptor told me I was prepared to enter two years
advanced, but about that time I was taken sick, and all
my prospects became dark and discouraging. I went to
the house of my sister, Mrs. Doe, and her kind husband,
at South Newbury, where I was kindly received, and lay
through the course of a long fever, which brought me
very near indeed to death. This was in the Summer of
1812. I had previously been very thoughtful on the sub
ject of religion, but was in doubt whether I had really
passed from death to life, and found acceptance Avith God
or not. During that sickness the way of salvation re
vealed in the gospel appeared beautifully plain to me, ex
actly adapted to my wants ; and the blessed Saviour so in
expressibly precious that I could not but most heartily
devote myself to him, whether for life or death, and felt
that he had received me into an everlasting covenant
with himself. Nor have I from that day to this ever had
the least disposition to build my hope of heaven on any
other foundation.
From that severe sickness I was through divine good
ness raised up, as my life work was still before me. My
relatives who had taken such tender and faithful care of
417
ine neither asked or would receive any pecuniary recom
pense, but the bill of my physician, Dr. Stebbins, of
Bradford, though not at all exorbitant, was so considera
ble as to require not only what little money I then had,
but most of my next Winter's wages, for its payment, and
of course to discourage me from further efforts to make
my way through college. I went home to recruit, and in
the meanwhile to study by myself as I might be able.
After teaching in Piermont the subsequent Winter, I
concluded to go and study Theology with Rev. Stephen
Fuller, of Vershire, who, after years of successful prac
tice, had acquired a good reputation as a theological in
structor, and educator of pious young men .preparing for
the gospel ministry. I went to him early in the Spring
of 1813, and closed my studies under his care in July of
ths next year, having in the meanwhile taught school
during a Winter term at Bradford village. Soon after
going to study with Mr. Fuller, I united, by profession,
with the Congregational church under his pastoral care,
as there was at that time no such church in Corinth.
Henry Fuller, the minister's eldest son, and a graduate of
Middlebury college, subsequently an able minister on
Long Island and in Connecticut, was my fellow student.
With the instructions of my teacher I was well satisfied,
;uid will here give some idea of his method.
Mr. Fuller, after graduation at Dartmouth, had studied
for the ministry under the instruction of the famous the
ologian, Rev. Dr. Burton, of Thetford, and in his teaching-
pursued essentially the same course. I remember that
Judge Buckingham, of Thetford, who was well acquainted
with them both, once said to me that he thought Mr. Ful
ler understood Dr. Burton's system rather better than the
doctor himself did. His method was to have a series of
questions on topics embracing a complete system of doc
trinal theology, including also the organization of the vis
ible church, with its ordinances, officers, and discipline,
418
investigated by the student in their consecutive oider, in
the light of all available information, especially that of
the divine oracles, when the result in each case was re
quired to be reduced to writing, and read to the instruc
tor, who, after attentive hearing, would give, with as
much clearness as possible, his own views, with three
reasons approving of what he considered well done, help
ing out what was essentially correct but imperfectly ex
pressed, and correcting any thing he might judge erroneous.
Toward the close of his course some practice in prepar
ing sermons was also required. Students were also ex
pected to attend and assist in conducting devotional meet
ings in the parish.
Having in this way gone through the prescribed course
of my teacher, I was by him recommended to the favora
ble consideration of Orange Association, and, after due
examination, I was by them, at Windsor, July 14, 1814,
licensed to preach the Gospel. Of all present on that, to
me, trying occasion, I have for years past been the only
survivor. My first attempt at preaching was on the next
Sabbath, at J^ershire, on the subject of evangelical re
pentance, its nature, reasonableness, arid absolute neces
sity in order to the divine forgiveness, and then I came
directly to Bradford ; my services having been for months
pre-engaged, or at least spoken for. I had but slender
preparation, and did not expect to continue long; but
God gave me favor among the people, and united my
heart with theirs in lasting love. I was then but a little
over twenty-three years of age. I will here say that the
great amount of writing requiring close consideration,
which in my preparatory course I had been obliged to
perform, I subsequently found to be of great benefit to
me; not so much indeed in its outward results as in the
mental discipline and habit thus established.
The Congregational church in Bradford at the time of
my coming consisted of but eleven resident members, of
419
whom only three were men. But as there was no other
regular gathering for religious worship in the village, our
congregation on the Sabbaths was, I think, nearly or quite
as large then as now. It seems wonderful that people
should have attended as they did in the Winter seasons,
when, for some year or two, we had no means of warming
our meeting house. It was mainly through my influence
that such a questionable improvement as that of making
a church, even in Winter, as comfortable as one's friends
at home was here first introduced.
After preaching here somewhat over a year as a candi
date, I accepted of a call to become the settled pastor of
the church and congregation, and was so constituted Octo
ber 28, 1815, by an ecclesiastical Council convened for that
purpose. My salary was to be four hundred dollars a year,
with firewood in addition. There was no provision by
the society for a dwelling house, but Capt. Trotter, of his
own accord, freely gave me the use of the homestead
which I now occupy, from June, 1816, till he died in 1822,
a period of a little over six years. Thus settled, with the
exception of a release of two or three months in the Au
tumn of 1827 and beginning of the next year, as related
in my account of this church, I remained its pastor till
December 31, 1832, a period of eighteen years and near
ly six months from my commencement here in 1814.
This second dismission I had asked for on account of
a very unexpected call which I had received from the
First Congregational church in Belfast, Maine, to become
their pastor, a call at first declined, but which had been
repeated and rendered stronger by the influence of dis
tinguished ministers in that neighborhood in favor of its
acceptance.
During this first portion of my ministry in Bradford
our little church of eleven members when I came had
been' increased by the addition of one hundred and seven
ty four others.
420
«
After about nine years of pastoral labor in Belfast,
during which we were blessed with repeated seasons of
refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and one hun
dred and forty-one members were added to that church, I
accepted of an urgent and unanimous call to return to
my then destitute people in Bradford, and on the 25th of
May, 1842, was by an act of Council constituted for the
third time their settled pastor, and so continued for a lit
tle over twenty-four years longer, when, having attained
to the age of seventy-five years, I finally resigned, and
by the same council which ordained my worthy and be
loved successor, in perfect harmony still with my people,
I was again dismissed, November 22, 1866. I had indeed
closed my regular services among them on the last Sab
bath of the preceding July, after a ministry here of about
forty-three years.
After my return from Maine, our God had repeatedly
manifested His gracious presence and power among us,
and the church had been increased by the further addi
tion of one hundred and sixty-eight members, making in
the whole during my ministry here three hundred and
forty-two by profession and letters received, some five or
six of whom were received for the second time.
And here I will say, with gratitude to the God of my
life, that before closing my labors at Bradford I was in
vited by the church in the neighboring town of Fairlee
to supply their pulpit on the alternate Sabbaths for the
following year, and in perfect harmony with our Metho
dist friends there so continued for about six years, during
which we were signally blessed at one time with a glori
ous revival of religion, and both the churches were in
creased and strengthened by the addition of living mem
bers. Both churches worshipped harmoniously together,
and their Sabbath school was one and the same.
During that period, to the Congregational Church about
30 members were added.
421
During my long pastorate in Bradford I was in the con
stant practice of preaching twice on each Sabbath, and
conducting a social meeting each Sabbath evening, beside
one or two others in the course of each week.- In the
early years of my ministry here, several of the neighbor
ing towns were destitute of stated preaching, and I had
many requests to preach, especially at funerals, away from
home, which I was ever ready to do, to the extent of my
ability, though for these services I seldom received any
pecuniary compensation. People have since become more
considerate. Thus situated, I was under the absolute ne
cessity to be a diligent student of the holy Scriptures,
and to work hard, both early and late, as I could find op
portunity, in preparing my sermons ; which, for several
years, I was in the habit of writing in full; afterwards,
generally, but in part ; though not without studious pains
taking.
When I commenced preaching, I was entirely unac
quainted with the original of the Scriptures of the Old
Testament ; but felt so much dissatisfied with myself to
remain so that, after a few years, I obtained an elementa
ry set of Hebrew books, and without a teacher commenc
ed, with determination, the study ot them ; and persever
ed with gratifying success. I have ever since been glad
that I did so. N"o one knows what he can do in the way
of study till he faithfully tries. After a while several,
then young, ministers in this vicinity united with me in
what we called a Biblical Association, for the express pur
pose of aiding each other in the diligent study of the
original scriptures ; and for years we regularly met, at set
times, with our lessons prepared, both in the way of trans
lation and exegesis. This was of great advantage, not
only to me, but to us all. These exercises in no way
interfered with our duties or privileges as members of
the larger circle of ministers, styled the Orange Asso
ciation, whose meetings we also, with no little inter-
422
est, constantly attended. My Biblical Associates were
Rev. Baxter Perry, of Lyme,and J. D. Farnsworth, of Or-
ford, N. H., Clark Perry, of Newbury, Charles White, of
Thetford, afterwards D. D., and President of Wabash Col
lege, and Joseph Tracy, then of Post Mills and West Fair-
lee, afterwards editor of the Vermont Chronicle, and as
Rev. Dr. Tracy, of Beverly, Mass., well-known for his
History of the American Board of Commissioners for For
eign Missions, History of the Great Awakening, and oth
er valuable literary productions, all now, with the excep
tion of myself, gone to their final rest. Indeed I do not
know or suppose that, one of all the ministers who were
laboring in the Connecticut Valley, between the Green and
White Mountains, on my first coming to Bradford, can now '
be found on earth ; all have passed away, and others have
entered the fields they once cultivated ; many of whom
have been succeded by still others. Ministers, as well as
their people, are continually passing away; but none of
the truly faithful ever have labored, or ever will labor for
the cause of Christ in vain. Their good influence will in
its consequences be as enduring as immortality.
In the course of my ministry I have repeatedly rejoiced
with trembling amid seasons of refreshing from the pres
ence of the Lord among my own people, and not unfre-
quently been called to assist away from home in " Pro
tracted Meetings," held for the express purpose of awak
ening the minds of the people more thoroughly to the
great concerns of religion, and to win souls to Christ, and
have generally seen the power and glory of God mani
fested on those occasions, sometimes in a way and measure
truly marvellous.
I early espoused the cause of Temperance and of Anti-
Slavery, and through evil and good report held on with
the many others like minded, and am thankful that I was
ever inclined to do so. Behold what God hath wrought !
I have united three hundred and thirty couples in
marriage, and ministered at funerals very many, but of
which for more than fifty years past I have kept no ac
count. I have attended numerous Ecclesiastical Coun
cils, especially in Vermont and Maine, and been called to
preach on about twenty ordination and installation oc
casions, and to perform other important parts on probably
still more.
Hoping to do some good in yet another wa}7, I have
written in the. course of my ministerial life articles, I will
not say innumerable, on religious and other topics of in
terest, which, generally without lull signature, if any,
have appeared in newspapers, and other publications, in
various parts of the country. And here it seems in my
way to mention that, while resident in Maine, the duty
on a certain occasion was devolved on me to prepare a
reply, in behalf of the General Conference of that State,
to a Southern Presbytery which had addressed an earnest
remonstrance to that Conference, on account of our in
terference with what said Presbytery claimed to be the
divine institution of slavery. My article, which cost me
a good deal of labor, was so well appreciated at the North
as to be published, long as it was, in several newspapers,
and also in pamphlet form, for better preservation ; but,
through some mistake, its authorship, after the decease of
Rev. Dr. Cummings, of Portland, was by his biographer
ascribed to him, though he never wrote a word of it. He
was on the same committee with myself and others, and
with approbation published the reply in the Christian
Mirror, of which he was then the editor.
A considerable number of sermons which I have
preached on various occasions have, by request of the
hearers, been published, of which I will here give a brief
memorandum.
- 1. A Thanksgiving sermon : Watchman, what of the
night?
2. The friends of good order called to combined ex-
424
ertion : Who will stand up for me against the evil doers ?
3. A farewell sermon.
4. A sermon before the Vermont Colonization Society,
at Montpelier.
5. A sermon before the Orange County Conference,
on the duty and proper management of family worship.
6. A sermon before the Legislature of Vermont : Civil
government a divine institution.
7. A sermon before the General Convention, at Ben-
nington : The claims of Vermont. 4
8. A sermon before the General Conference in Maine :
The triumph of Christ's enemies no cause of discourage
ment.
9. A Fast sermon, at Belfast : God our only hope.
10. A sermon before the American Missionary Associ
ation, at Meriden, Conn. : Christ the conqueror.
11. A sermon before the Bradford Guards, when called
to engage in their country's service.
12. A sermon in the National Preacher : Sinners en
treated to seek the Saviour while he may be found.
13. A sermon in the Covenanter, Philadelphia, on Ro
manism.
Also funeral sermons at Bradford and vicinity, a con
siderable number, on such topics as these :
14. The memory of the just is blessed.
15. The nature, duty, and benefits of a pious confi
dence in God.
16. Activity in duty urged from the brevity of human
life.
17. The responsibilities of young men.
18. The Bible the young man's perfect guide.
19. God's way in the sea ; at the funeral of one of our
young men, lost at sea.
20. Our Heavenly recognition.
21. To die is gain.
22. She hath done what she could.
425
23. The attractions of Heaven overcoming those oi
the earth.
24. An example of ministerial fidelity and success ; in
memory of Rev. Increase S. Davis.
Also a Scriptural argument in favor of withdrawing
fellowship from churches and ecclesiastical bodies prac
ticing or tolerating slaveholding among them; published
by the American Anti-slavery Society, at New York,
The Worth of a Dollar, a small tract translated into
German.
A Review (twenty-six pages) in the New Englander,
of Rev. Dr. Lord's letter of inquiry to the ministers, on
the subject of Slavery.
And, to mention no more, An Address on the Right Ob
ject and Use of Religious Investigation, before the Socie
ty for Religious Inquiry in the University of Vermont, at
Commencement in 1828, on which occasion that University
conferred on the speaker the honorary degree of A. M.,
as Dartmouth College had six years before. In 1861 the
same college saw fit to attach to my humble name the
further title of D. D. For these titles I never either directly
or indirectly sought; but was content in silence to re
ceive them, as expressive of the respect of the worthy
men who had bestowed them. Every man is just what
he is ; and, whether with or without titles of any kind, is
likely to be estimated accordingly. In promoting the
work in which our religious, moral, and educational socie
ties are or have been engaged, I have also had something
to do.' For years, both in this State and in Maine, I have
belonged to their Domestic Missionary Boards, have acted
also as Secretary of the Vermont Education Society, aux
iliary to the American, and Secretary of the Vermont
Temperance Society ; and, in behalf of the General Con
vention, Treasurer of the Fairbanks fund to assist young
men in their preparation for the Gospel Ministry. I have
at home taken a. deep interest in the prosperity of Brad-
28
426
ford Academy, and as President of its Board of Trustees
served for nearly forty years, when I thought I had a
right to be excused.
I have never had to go seeking for a parish, or employ
ment, have always had work enough to do from my youth'
to old age, for which I am thankful ; and only regret that
I have not done more and better ; but am satisfied that I
have not been doomed or left to labor or live in vain.
I have not in a pecuniary view sought great things for
myself; my stipulated salary has always been rather
scanty, and sometimes not well paid; but through the lib
erality of friends, at home and abroad, unsolicited, we
have been most kindly remembered, and probably have
been as comfortable and happy as we should have been
had we possessed ten times as much. God's promises to
those who love -and trust in Him are sure.
For a year or two past I have preached only occasion
ally ; but with mental faculties, so far as I know, unim
paired, and remarkable health for one of my age, and with
eye-sight nearly as good as in the days of my youth, I
still find enough to do, and have been mainly occupied in
preparing some historical account of Bradford and its
people, which I hope may be of interest and use, not only
to those of them now living, but to their posterity. This
work I feel in haste to finish, being fully aware that my
time must now be short. It is, however, to me a sweet
thought that it will be neither shorter or longer than the
God of my life, in His infinite wisdom and goodness, has
absolutely determined.
This sketch of autobiography would be very incomplete
without some account, though brief, of my dearly beloved
family.
My first wife was Miss Phebe Fuller, eldest daughter
of Rev. Stephen Fuller, of Vershire. She was born De
cember 18, 1794. We were married by Rev. Calvin No
ble, of Chelsea, June 4, 1816, a few months after her fa-
427
ther's decease ; and the next day commenced house
keeping at Bradford, in the same cottage which I now oc
cupy, though since that day considerably improved. She
was in person somewhat below medium stature, slender,
delicate, and of countenance prepossessing ; in mind and
manners cultivated, of sweet disposition, and decided
piety. We lived, and in the days of our youth, happily
together for four years and nearly a half, when she was
called away to her heavenly home. She died of pulmon
ary consumption, during the progress of which her sweet
resignation to /the clivine will, deep humility, loving con
fidence in the blessed Saviour, and strong hope of eternal
blessedness, were most admirable. She passed away on
the last day of November, 1820, in the twenty-sixth year
of her age, leaving three precious little daughters, and
firmly trusting that God would be very gracious to them,
and in His own good time bring them adorned in the beau
ties of holiness to enjoy with her the perfect happiness of
the saints in Heaven. Nor has this consoling hope been
disappointed. Those children all became hopefully pious
in early youth, and after beautiful, though brief, lives of
usefulness, died divinely sustained by the hopes and con
solations of the gospel.
As it regards education, I will here say, as it was our
good fortune to live close by a respectable academy, bot]i
in Bradford and Belfast, my children \vere all favored
with good school privileges while at home, and when of
suitable ages were prepared to go abroad to other insti
tutions, possessing, in some respects at least, for them
superior advantages. They were all natives of Bradford,
Vt, and born in the same house, which I now occupy.
1. Marianne, my eldest daughter, was born April 14,
1817. She and her next sister, Serena, while young
misses, applied themselves, among othet studies, to that
of the Greek language, with so much success as to be
able to read the gospels, with satisfaction, in their origi-
428
nal. She studied French, and some other branches of
knowledgB, at a Ladies' School in Bucksport, Me., and at
South Berwick Academy, made fine progress in the study
especially of astronomy, and finished there her academic
course, receiving from the trustees a well-deserved diplo
ma. After that, she taught for about three years in the
female department of Gorham Academy, and subsequent
ly for a year or two in Belfast Academy, of which Mr.
Greorge Field, now Rev. Dr. Field, of Bangor, Maine, was
then the Principal. After our return to Bradford, she
accepted, in the spring of 1843, of an invitation to take
charge of the Ladies' Department of the Academy at
Meriden, N. H., an important institution. In that posi
tion she was expected not only to teach several hours in
a day, but to take the entire care of the young ladies in
their common boarding house ; to distribute their work,
after the fashion of Mount Holyoke, and see that it was
properly done ; and moreover to purchase the provisions
for their tables, and, as agent for the trustees, pay the
bills for the same ! .Work enough, surely, for at least two
energetic ladies to perform. She endured it bravely for
some time ; but, while all was apparently moving on suc
cessfully, her health and strength, before the close of her
second year, were so evidently failing that she was per
suaded to resign and come home, to rest and recover her
accustomed physical energy, but, as the result proved, to
die. She came in the autumn, and during the subsequent
winter everything was done for her which could be done
by the family, Avho loved her as they did their own souls,
and by skillful physicians ; but on the 24th of March,
1845, in the twenty-seventh year of her age, she peace
fully passed away to that perfect blessedness for which,
through grace, she was admirably prepared. In early
youth she heartily devoted herself to the blessed Saviour,
and thence onward her path of usefulness and happiness
429
had been like the rising light, which shineth more and
more unto perfect day.
2. Serena McKeen, my second daughter, was born
January 23, 1819. She was a lovely child, and became
decidedly pious while quite young. A few years after
finishing her academic course with her elder sister, at
South Berwick, Maine, she became, September 16, 1841,
the wife of Rev. Charles Duren, a graduate of Bowdoin
College and Bangor Theological Seminary, a worthy,
kind-hearted man, and very devoted minister of the gos
pel. In the various places in which he was called to la
bor, Mrs. Duren, though for years in the latter part of
her life an invalid, invariably exhibited such a beautiful
example of all the Christian graces, that her influence
was most blessed, and failed not to secure the admiration
and love of the many who became acquainted with her.
Amid the various trials of life through Avhich she was
destined to pass, she was so restrained by divine grace,
and by the great kindness of all around her, that she en
joyed an unusual degree of real happiness ; and at West
Charleston, Vt., August 6, 1862, in the forty-fourth year
of her age, died as she had lived, confidently trusting in
the blessed Saviour. Her remains, with those of her
daughter, Elizabeth F., repose in the principal cemetery
there.
Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Duren had one son and two daugh
ters. Little Marianne, their youngest child, died at Waits-
field, August 31, 1853, at the age of two years and two
months, and was buried there. Elizabeth Freeman, an in
telligent, pious and very amiable girl, died at West Charles
ton, December 30, 1860, in the 15th year of her age.
Charles McKeen Duren was born at Sang^rville, Me., No
vember 26, 1842. In his youth he was divinely led to
consecrate himself to the Saviour, not only in heart, as
he believed, but openly. He received a course of educa
tion qualifying him for commercial and banking business,
430
and has for several years held the position of Cashier in
Hardin County Bank, at Eldora, Iowa, to the satisfaction
of his employers and the public. In the 26th year
of his age he married Miss G-ertrude Eliza Whiting,
daughter of Rev. Lyman Whiting, D. D., then of Du-
buque, an estimable lady. They have had two sons,
twins, who died under two years of age ; and now (1874)
have two daughters, Alice Serena, born July 23d, 1871,
and Mabel, September 7th, 1873 ; both promising chil
dren.
The Rev. Mr. Duren married for his second wife Sarah
Atherton, a widow lady, of Sheldon, Vt., and at this date
is officiating as acting pastor of the Congregational church
at Plover, Wisconsin.
3. Julia McKeen, my third daughter, born April 16,
1820, was left, at the age of seven months and fourteen
days, a motherless infant. She inherited a very delicate
constitution, with a remarkably mild and affectionate dis
position ; and from childhood was very attentive to relig
ious instruction. At the age of fourteen, she gave good
evidence of true piety, and became a beloved member of
the church in Belfast, of which her father was pastor.
After having enjoyed for several years such education
al advantages as she there had, early in the autumn of
1839 she went, with her next younger sister, to the Acad
emy at Gorham, Me., in which their eldest sister, Marianne,
was principal of the Ladies' Department. She continued
there until the next Spring, when her health had so failed
that it was not without difficulty she could be brought
safely home from Portland to Belfast by steamboat. Be
ing at home most tenderly cared for, she partially recov
ered ; but within a year went into a settled decline, which
terminated in death, June the 9th, 1841, in the 22d year
of her age. Her lingering and not unfrequently painful
illness she endured with admirable resignation to the di
vine will; invariably presenting an example of person-
431
al piety very affecting and beautiful. Precious in the
sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Her funeral
services were conducted by our dear friend, the Rev.
Stephen Thurston, of Searsport, and her precious remains
were laid down to their long repose in the ministerial lot
in Belfast Cemetery.
I will now go back so far as to say that these three
daughters, though bereft in childhood ot their own moth
er, were within the course of a year blessed with anoth
er, entirely suited to their condition, who took them at
once to her heart, and to whom they in filial love clung as
their own dear mother, as long as they lived.
My second wife was Hannah Johnston, daughter of
Captain Michael and Mrs. Sarah (Atkinson) Johnston, of
Haverhill, N. H. Her father was son of Colonel Charles
Johnston, honorably distinguished among the first settlers
of that town. She was born at Haverhill, June 17, 1793.
We were united in marriage by her pastor, Rev. Grant
Powers, June 13, 1821 ; and a rich blessing she proved to
be, not only to myself and family, but to our friends, dur
ing the twenty-seven and a half years of her subsequent
life. By this marriage I had three daughters and one son,
of whom some brief notices will now be given.
4. Philena McKeen, my fourth daughter, was born June
14, 1822. With the exception of a few months spent
with her sister Julia at Gorham Seminary, she pursued
her studies at the Academy in Belfast, where we then liv
ed. But, having talents and taste for vocal and instru
mental music, she subsequently availed herself of the
best instruction to be had in Boston, and also in Brooklyn,
N. Y., and was for several years employed as a teacher,
with special reference to music, at North Bridgton, Me.,
Hanover, N. IL, St. Johnsbury, Vt., in Ohio Female Col
lege, of which Alphonso Wood, the Botanist, was then
President, and for three years in the Western Female
Seminary, at Oxford, Ohio. From that position she was
432
\
called, in 1859, to take charge, as Principal, of the Abbott
Academy for Ladies at Andover, Mass., where at this date,
April, 1874, she still remains; enjoying- the satisfaction of
seeing the institution under her care in a very prosperous
condition. She early became a member of the household
of faith.
5. Catherine McKeen, born February 5th, 1825, like
her sisters became hopefully pious while young. In her
academic course she was classmate with her brother until
he entered Dartmouth college, one year advanced, when
she commenced teaching, but continued her classical studies
as she had opportunity. She taught in Haverhill, N. H.,
and St. Jolmsbury, Vt., academies, and for several years
at Mount Holyoke Ladies7 Seminary, Mass. Though not
educated there, her services had been sought, not only on
account of her general scholarship, but with special ref-
ference to her reputation as a very competent teacher of
Latin. Her services and influence as a teacher were high
ly appreciated, and in that way of doing good she found
great satisfaction, but when declining health admonished
he'r that she must retire for rest, and, if possible, the re
covery of her accustomed strength, she quietly yielded
to the necessity. After two or three years spent partly
at home and partly with her sisters, Mrs. Duren, at
Sheldon, Vt., and Philena and Phebe F., at Oxford, Ohio,
she went from there to her aunt and uncle Atkinson's, at
Mount Leon, West Virginia, where, after months of the
kindest care by them and their family, her peaceful de
parture to her final rest occurred July the 20th, 1858, in
the thirty-fourth year of her age. I had visited her a
few weeks before, and her sisters from Oxford were with
her on the affecting occasion. Her remains repose in
the burial lot of her kindred at Elm Grove, near Wheel
ing, West Virginia. Catharine possessed real poetical
genius and taste, of which some specimens may be seen
near the close of this book.
433
6. George White field McKeen, my only son, was born
January 26, 1827. He was a bright, promising boy, and
became hopefully pious and united with the church when
about twelve years of age. He early fitted for college,
and graduated at Dartmouth in 1846, in his twentieth
year. Among his classmates and beloved friends still
surviving, were Professors Charles C. Aikin, of Prince
ton College, and J. J. Blaisdell, of Beloit, also Rev.
Drs. J. W. Wellman, and A. H. Quint, of Mass. While in
college his health became, through too intense applica
tion to study, seriously impaired, but on leaving he
taught for a while as assistant to his friend, Jonathan
Tenney, then Principal of Pembroke, N. H., Academy,
studied medicine some, both at home and at Bangor, Me.,
and spent a year or two with main reference to physical
improvement. He had hoped to become a good minister
of the gospel, but under an impression that the practice
of medicine would be more favorable to his impaired
health, he entered the University of New York as a med
ical student, and for some time went on successfully
there, until about the middle of February, 1850, when, un
der the influence of a severe bronchial affection, he came
home to his anxious father and sisters — his beloved mother
had previously died — and after the best possible care and
medical treatment his disease in the course of a few
months came to a fatal termination. His mind retained
its clearness and strength to the very last, and was kept
in perfect peace, being stayed on God, his Saviour. He
died June the 9th, 1850, at the age of twenty-three years,
four months and fourteen days. His funeral was attend
ed by a great congregation. The Vermont Conference of
the Methodist Episcopal church being at that time in ses
sion at Bradford, adjourned and united in the services. A
sermon of great excellence and appropriateness was
preached on the occasion by Rev. President Lord, from the
434
passage "Open them mine eyes that I may behold won
drous things out of the law."
The venerable preacher said, "What have we that we
have not received ?" Our young friend had a firte intel
lect, but God gave it to him, and a believing heart, but it
was the product of the Holy Spirit, and sound principles,
but they were instilled into him out of the Holy Scrip
tures, and an ardent thirst for good things, but it was be
cause a divine power had attended him to the great
source of light and life. He was beloved at home, great
ly beloved at College, too, and honored, as I well remem
ber, and abroad in the busy world, but it was for quali
ties which he would not have posessed if God, for Christ's
sake, had not produced them. He was peaceful, hopeful,
in death, but he would have died in despair, and been
miserable forever, if Christ had not had mercy upon him.
Wherefore I praise him not, but God."
7. Phebe Fuller McKeen, my seventh and last child ,
was born July 21, 1831. She obtained her school educa
tion mainly at our home Academy. She remembered her
Creator in the days of her youth, and at the age of six
teen or seventeen heartily consecrated herself to His ser
vice. Her first attempt at teaching was in a district
school at Haverhill Corner, N. H. Then, after one term
as an assistant teacher in Peacham, Vt., Academy, she was
invited to Mount Holyoke Seminary, where, with her sis
ter Catherine, she taught for about three years, after
which she taught with her sister Philena for about three
years in the Western Female Seminary at Oxford, Ohio.
From that position she was called, with her sister, to Ab
bott Female Academy at Andover, Mass., in 1859, where
they, my only surviving daughters, are still (April, 1874)
actively, and not without due appreciation, most usefully
employed. While teaching, Phebe F. has found time to
write somewhat extensively, under the name of " Jenny
Bradford," for newspapers and other publications, and to
435
prepare a small volume entitled Thornton Hall, with spe
cial reference to young ladies at boarding schools, published
at New York in 1872, which has been received with pub
lic favor. *
If the work of professional teachers, seeking the high
est good, temporal and eternal, of all under their care is
great; so also are, and will be, the results of their abun
dant labors.
Having said thus much of these children, I go back to
say a few words with regard to the death of the excel
lent mother who, from their infancy, had most tenderly
cherished them, and faithfully endeavored to train them
up in the way they should go. Her call from this to the
eternal world came suddenly, at a time and in a way wholly
unexpected.
On Wednesday, the 28th day of December, 1848, we
were returning from a pleasant visit to our relatives in
Vershire. There was no snow on the frozen ground, and
we were in a covered wheel carriage, drawn by one horse.
While descending the steep hill immediately north of the
deep ravine styled Eagle Hollow, a holdback of the har
ness brol^e, the carriage suddenly dashed against the
horse, which at once started on a run; to hold the strong
and terribly frightened animal was impossible, and as the
way was narrow, with sides rocky and precipitous, to
turn either way would be instant death. There seemed
to be no way but to keep still, and await our destiny:
Having descended the hill she, in tremulous voice, said,
" What shall I do? Shall I spring out?" My reply Avas,
"Oh, I don't know ! I think not!" The horse dashed on
with fearful power. In a minute or two she was gone !
I then dropped the reins, arid threw myself out. Though
bruised, and on my head gashed, I was enabled to rise
and return to her, some ten or fifteen rods distant. She
was lying in the first spot by the wayside which had pre
sented itself to her eyes as affording the least possibility
436
of safety in case of springing out. But oh, what a spec
tacle ! She breathed, but was speechless and insensible.
No bones were broken, but the brain had received a fatal
concussion. A friendly man was quickly present. At
his call others came, and on a bed conveyed her to a
neighboring house, where we were kindly received.
Friends rapidly gathered; skillful physicians, good minis
ters, and kind hearted women. All was done which could
be; but slie never spoke again, or appeared conscious of
her condition. She languished till Saturday morning,
nearly three days, when, at the house of Mrs. John Gor
don, of Vershire, but surrounded by her own family, and
some other relatives, she expired December 31, 1848, at
the age of fifty-five years. Her remains were taken di
rectly home to Bradford, a distance of some twelve miles,
and her funeral, on the subsequent Wednesday, was num
erously attended by deeply sympathizing friends. Our
friend, the Rev. Solon Martin, then of Corinth, conducted
the services, and preached an appropriate sermon on the
affecting occasion. She, beyond doubt, had found it gain
to die. Her path through life had been continually grow
ing more and more luminous, and must have terminated,
not in the darkness of the grave, but in the perfect light
of eternal glory and blessedness.
My third wife was Miss Sarah Parmelee, of Guilford,
Ct., a daughter of Mr. Jonathan and Mrs. Elizabeth (Hart)
Parmelee, of that place ; both of decidedly Puritan de
scent, principles, and manner of life. In early woman
hood she became a member of the Congregational church
of which the Rev. Aaron Button was then pastor, and to
which her parents, sister, and two brothers all belonged ;
and for some thirty years or more had devoted herself to
the good work of teaching various schools in her native
town. She remained with her parents to the close of
their lives, then resided for a time with her beloved sis
ter, Mrs. Fowler, in the same village ; but finally became
437
the wife oi a minister away here in the State of Vermont.
We were married by Rev. David Root, her pastor, April
30,1851, and came directly to Bradford, where she was
cordially received by her husband's family and parishon-
ers, and has since had her home. We are at this writing
quietly living in the same cottage in which I first com
menced house-keeping, the same in which all my children
were born, now, through the liberality of our people,
made our own for life ; and, still surrounded by kind
friends, are aiming to finish whatever work our Heavenly
Father has for us to do, and be ready to remove to our
heavenly home at whatever time He, in His infinite
wisdom and goodness, shall see best to call us away.
438
CHAPTER XXI.
Specimens of Bradford Poetry — By Thomas Ormsby, Thomas Ta
bor, Miss Lydia White, Emily II. Page, Catharine MeKeen, and
Rev. S. MeKeen.
THE BOWER OF PRAYER.
Written by Mr. Thomas Ormsby, a praying man, in 1821, when about
leaving his retired homestead, and favorite retreat for private devotion, to
remove to another home, though not remote. For further notice of him,
see the Ormsbys.
1. To leave my dear friends, and with neighbors to part,
And move from my home, afflicts not my heart
Like the thought of absenting myself, for a day,
From the blessed retreat I have chosen to pray.
2. Dear bower! where the pine and the poplar have spread,
And woven their branches a roof o'er my head ;
How often I've knelt on the evergreen there,
And poured out my soul to my Saviour in prayer.
3. The early shrill notes of a loved nightingale,
That dwelt in the bower, I observed as my bell
To call me to duty ; while birds of the air
Sang anthems of praise as I went to prayer.
4. How sweet were the zephyrs, perfumed by- the pine,
The ivy, the balsam, and wild eglantine !
Yet, sweeter, O, sweeter, superlative were
The joys I there tasted in answer to prayer.
5. For Jesus, my Saviour, oft' deigned to meet
And grace with His presence my humble retreat ;
Oft' filled me with rapture and blessedness there,
Inditing in Heaven's own language my prayer.
-6. Dear bower! I must leave thee, and bid thee adieu,
And pay my devotions in places all new ;
Well knowing my Saviour resides everywhere,
And can in nil places give answer to prayer.
439
THE SONG OF SEVENTY YEARS ;
OR
THE YOUNG OLD MAN.
BY THOMAS TABOR.
(For some account of whom, see the Tabor Family.)
1 . Though three score and ten, I am not very old,
For neither of death's warnings three
Have come to remind me — yet I'm fast growing old,
And soon with my fathers must be.
2. No, I cannot be old, for my form is erect,
Elastic and^steady my tread ;
Youth's rapturous emotions my heart still aftect,
And few of life's pleasures are fled.
3. It cannot, surely, be long since I was a child ;
It seems but a day, or a week,
Since I joined my companions, gay, noisy, and wild
In playing at "Hide and go Seek."
4. Old Time, in his swift course so light footed has sped,
He' s made no deep tracks in his way ;
Nor yet very much frost has he strewn on my head,
Nor made my affections his prey.
5. No, I am not very old, that cannot be true;
Else why are my feelings so young?
My enjoyments so many, my suff'rings so few,
And melody still on my tongue ?
6. The sweet, pretty maiden whose undisplayed charms
First kindled a fire that still burns ;
It seems but yesterday she was first in my arms ;
I smile as the vision returns.
7. The innocent freedom she so modestly gave,
I cannot begin to forget ;
If age blots from memory the records we save,
I'm sure I'm not aged yet.
8. My grandparents, venerable, died long ago,
Their children, my parents, are dead ;
My brothers and sisters have heads white as snow,
And are half to eternity fled.
440
9. Of six generations I have seen in my day,
The two first are gone, every man ;
And now, me they call old! I know I'm somewhat gray,
But prove that I'm old, if you can.
10. For the fancies of boyhood as bright as of yore,
Still cluster round memory's shrine ;
And the loves and the synip'thies felt long before,
To-day are as vividly mine.
11. I see not my dear wife as she is seen by you,
All toothless, and wrinkled, and gray,
But with cheeks fresh with roses, and lips moist with dew,
Her December has blossoms like May.
0
12. She still has the maiden coyness that, in her youth,
My wooings could scarce overcome ;
So recalling the vows I then made her in truth,
I'm sure that we both are still young.
13. The roses I planted in the Spring-time of life,
By temp'rance and justice, now bloom ;
And shed a sweet fragrance around me and my wife,
And hide t^e dark gate of the tomb.
14. As a rock in the main, as an oak on the plain,
Long-battles the surge and the blast,
And although they may seem to remain firm and green,
Are destined to fall at the last.
15. So each year, month and day, though they seem but in play,
And have failed to make me feel old,
Yet I know that in the end to their force I must bend,
And pass like a tale that is told.
16. As a stone that is moved from the mountain's high top,
Moves slowly along in its course,
And at times in its progress seems almost to stop,
Near the base gains terrible force,
17. So have I been moving down life's declining way,
But can't have grown old very fast,
Yet I've gained an impetus, and no one can say,
How long my course downward will last.
18. Still I cannot feel old, though I know death is near ;
Death I'll view but as a sweet rest
441
For this weary body, when all its labors here,
Shall cease, and I be with the blest.
19. As the crawling worm dies, and a chrysalis lies,
Yet wakes a winged, beautiful form,
So with glorious bloom man shall wake from the tomb,
As order comes out of the storm.
I CANNOT DIE.
BY LYDIA E. WHITE,
Preceptress in Bradford Academy.
" I cannot die,11 said the maiden fair,
Twisting the locks of her golden hair;
" My cheek is warm, and my eye is bright;
O, speak not to me of death to-night.
Speik of the earth, and its pleasures sweet,
Of the festive hall where gay ones meet,
Arid of pleasant lands, and shady trees,
Arid of spicy isles and sunny seas ;
Of music clear, on the liquid air —
O, earth is beautiful, bright arid fair.'1
Night came again with its shadows deep —
The maid was wrap'd in wakeless sleep,
"I cannot die,11 sighed the joyous bride.
She stood by the strongman, in his pride,
And gazed in his dark and pleasant eye,
And thought 'twould be hard, O, hard, to die :
For life, like a sunny landscape fair,
Without one shade of cankering care,
O'erspread with a blue and cloudless sky
Appeared to her bright, enchanted eye ;
But she dreamed not earth is full of woe,
A fleeting dream and a passing show.
Spring came once more to the rose's bed ;
But the bride ; the bride ; ah ! she was dead !
" I cannot die,11 the strong youth said,
" For the paths of science I must tread ;
And I must gain me a noble name,
And write it high on the roll of Fame.
29
442
Now ray life in clear prospective lies,
Like pictures rare in the cloudless skies,
And laurels fresh on my brow I'll wear,
For honors of earth are not a snare.
My head is clear, and my lie art is strong.
I feel that my time on earth is long."
That night he sat o'er his page of lore ;
But on it he gazed no more.
" I cannot die," breathed the mother pale,
As she heard her first-born infant's wail.
" O, I cnnnot die, for I am young;
And O, my babe on the cold world flung,
Will be left alone to pine and weep,
For who will a mother's vigils keep.
The loved ones all — can I leave them here ?
Those who to my heart as life are dear !
O, I cannot die in youth's glad prime,
And leave forever the scenes of Time."
Through the window-blinds the soft air stole,
And gone was the mother's deathless soul.
" I cannot die," sighed the man of care,
And he hurried forth to do and dare ;
For his soul was merged in business schemes,
And his sight obscured by lofty dreams ;
And his plans were formed for future years.
Yes, they must be wrought, though wrought in tears.
His heart was bound by a magic chain
To that luring hope, the hope of gain ;
And the thought of death he forced away,
Saying "I'll listen some other day."
A few months passed to the land of shade —
The man of care with the dead was laid.
Mortal, whatever thy lot below,
Be it light or darkness, joy or woe,
So live that when thou art called to die,
Thou then mayest go without one sigh,
Like one who goes to a much loved home,
Never again from its joys to roam ;
Like one who his work hath all well done,
And who with patience his race hath run.
443
SOME SPECIMENS OF THE POETRY OF EMILY
R. PAGE.
Emily Rebecca Page was born in Bradford village, Vt.,
May 5th, A. D. 1834. Her father, Casper Page, by occu
pation a shoemaker, was formerly of Greensboro, Vt.
His wife, her mother, Emily A. Alger, Was daughter, by
a former marriage, of Mrs. Eugene Baker, and died when
this, her infant daughter and only child, was but two
weeks of age. The dying young mother gave her child
to Mrs. Baker, her own mother, who tenderly received
her as her own. Emily's father died while she was under
two years of age — died of consumption, while quite a
young man.
Mr. Eugene Baker was toll-gatherer at Piermont bridge,
across Connecticut River. His toll-house, in which Emi
ly was brought up, was at the west end of the bridge,
and of course in Bradford, -her native place. Her com
memoration of The Old Bridge, in general use, was there
fore perfectly natural.
Her earlier teachers, both since distinguished for abili
ty and aptness to teach, were her aunt, Maria R. Baker,
and Miss Mary Belcher, under whose training she made
wonderful progress. Later she attended Bradford Acad
emy, and for a term or two that at St. Johnsbury, Vt.
Emily wrote verses while yet a child, and when about
a dozen years of age some of her poetic effusions found
their way into the local paper, much to her regret in after
years. Miss Hemmenway, Editor of the Vermont His
torical Gazetteer, speaks of Emily's poetic genius and
productions in the highest terms, and says she had the
honor, while living, of being one of the only two in Ver
mont admitted by Mr. Dana into his compilation of the
Household Poets of the World. Several of her poems ap
pear in said Gazetteer, and also in the volume of Ver
mont Poets.
444
After the death of Mr. Baker, her grandfather, Emily
went with her grandmother Baker and aunt Maria to
Chelsea, near Boston, where she was connected editorial
ly with one of the Boston weekly papers, and as poetical
editress of Gleason's various publications. Always frail
and delicate, she died at Chelsea, Mass., February 14,
1862, where she had for several years resided with her
grandmother and aunt. She died in the thirty-second
year of her age. Her grave is in Woodlawn cemetery,
her only epitaph being her own words, " Through the
darkness into light."
THE OLD BRIDGE.
BY EMILY K. PAGE.
Bowered at either arching* entrance
By a wilderness of leaves ;
Clustering o'er the slant old gables,
And the brown and mossy eaves,
Is the dear old bridge, which often,
Often in the olden time,
Echoed to our infant footfalls,
And our voice's ringing chime.
Where from out the narrow windows
We have watched the day go down
Till the air was full of twilight,
Soft and shadowy and brown ;
Till the river, gliding past us,
Gloom upon its bosom wore ;
And the shadows, deep and deeper,
Crept along the winding shore ;
Till the pale young moon grew brighter,
And the silver-footed night
Scattered stars along the pathway
Of die eve's departing flight.
Oh! the dear old bridge Jias echoed
To the tread of many feet,
Whose sweet music long has slumbered,
Muffled in the winding; sheet.
445
Many voices, too, have sounded,
Clear and soft and full of song',
Like the ripple of a bird-note,
All the ringing roof along.
But the silent angel hushed them
Many, many years agone,
Yet an echo 'mong its arches
Seemeth still to linger on ;
And as now within its shadow
I am sitting all alone,
Flows the river down beneath me
With a sad and ceaseless moan,
As if grieving for the lost ones —
They who listened long ago,
Leaning from the narrow windows
To the light waves' lulling flow.
And the elm trees, swaying lightly,
Let their shadowy dimness fall
Far in on the frowning columns,
And along the darkened wall ;
Like the shadows which have drifted
From the death-damps of the tomB",
Wrapping up my glad young- spirit
In the mantles of their gloom.
And the golden -fingered sunbeams
Sifting through the broken roof,
Weave upon the dusty flooring
Here and there their shimmering woof;
Seeming like the golden vista
Where my hopes reposed secure,
When the dew of life's young morning
O'er my heart lay fresh and pure.
Now, though years have swept me onward
Down the hurrying tide of time,
Leaving childhood far behind me,
Like a pleasant matin chime —
Yet from youth's deserted gardens
I am gathering up the flowers,
Whose sweet fragrance floateth to me,
Cheering all the languid hours.
446
For again the shining pageant
Of the long-forgotten past
Floats before me, with no shadow
O'er its sunny surface cast.
1 forget the many grave-mounds
That lie dark and cold between,
For the "silver lining" only
Of the frowning cloud is seen.
With the sunlight round about me
Bright and glad as long ago,
And the river down beneath me,
With its soft, continuous flow,
With the old familiar places,
All about me everywhere,
Come again the pleasant faces
That made earth so bright and fair:
And, as then, each passing cloudlet
Seems to wear a golden edge,*
As I muse within the shadow
Falling from the dear old bridge.
BE NOT WEARY.
BY EMILY R. PAGE.
Laughing, down the misty valleys,
Where the morning faintly falls,
Go the sowers, in life's Spring-time,
Scattering where the spirit calls.
But, while yet the dew is weeping
From the flowers along the way,
They are pausing — spent with labor,
Ere the noon-tide of the day.
Be not weary, Spring-time sowers
Through the valleys' level sweep, —
If ye be but faithful doers,
In the Autumn ye shall reap.
When the heavenward lark uprising
On the air her matin leaves,
In life's field swart hands are busy,
Binding up the golden sheaves.
447
Up and up'the sun is climbing,
And the day grows faint with heat,
And along the harvest meadows
Faltering fall the reapers' feet.
Be not weary, sturdy gatherers
Of the full and golden store ;
In the season that is coming
Ye can sow nor reap no more.
Ye who keep on Zion's mountain
Watch, to tell us of the night ;
Who, in Truth's victorious army,
Battle bravely for the right ;
Ye who stand on life's proud summit,
Whence your way lies down and down,
'Mong the shadows of the valley
AVhere Earth's empty echoes drown ;
Ye who struggle, — ye who suffer,
Be not weary doing good ;
Ye shall wear the shining garments
That are fitting angelhood.
IN MEMORY OF MRS. ELIZABETH PRICHARD,
Wife of Deacon George W. Prichard, who Died at Bradford, Vt.
March 5, 1853, aged Sixty-one Years.
BY MISS EMILY R. PAGE.
She is sleeping — lowly laid
To her last and dreamless rest ;
With the heart so pure and meek,
Stifled within her throbless breast.
Raise ye, with the hand of love,
Sculptured marble o'er her head ;
Let the graven tablet tell
Of the virtues of the dead.
Yet in many a lowly heart,
Laden with its weight of care,
Is her proudest monument,
Cherished with a blessing there.
448
Hers have been the pleasant paths
That the blessed Master trod ;
Hers has been the sweet reward
Of the faithful unto God.
And her memory, like a gem
Set in Glory's coronal,
Still shall be, undimmed and bright,
Fadeless in the hearts of all.
Ye who weep above her dust,
Grieving for the gentle gone,
Let your high and holy trust
In the Father bear you on.
For, though Death's relentless hand
Tender ties hath sternly riven,
God hath called her from our hearts
To her happier home in heaven.
ONLY WAITING.
BY MISS EMILY K. PAGE.
A very aged Christian, who was so poor as to be in an almshouse, was
asked what he was doing there ? He replied "Only Waiting."
Only waiting till the shadows,
Are a little longer growrn ;
Only waiting till the glimmer
Of the days last beam is flown ;
Till the night of earth is faded
From the heart once full of day;
Till the stars of heaven are breaking
Through the twilight, soft and gray.
Only waiting till the angels
Open wide the mystic gate ;
For which full long I have lingered,
Weary, poor and desolate.
Even now I hear their footsteps,
And their voices far away.
If they call me I am waiting.
Only waiting to obey.
449
Only Waiting till the reapers
Have the last sheaf gathered home ;
For the Summer time is faded,
And autumn winds are eome.
Quickly reapers, gather quickly
The last ripe hours of my heart ;
For the bloom of life is withered,
And I hasten to depart.
Only waiting till the shadows
Are a little longer grown ;
Only waiting till the glimmer
Of the day's last beam is flown : —
Then from out the gathered darkness
Holy, deathless stars shall rise,
By whose light my soul shall gladly
Tread its pathway to the skies.
The following pieces, signed C. McK.. were written by Miss Catharine
McKeen, Associate Principal of Mount Holyoke Seminary, who died at
the home of her uncle and aunt Atkinson, Mount Leon, Virginia West,
July 20, 1858. They need no commendation. For further notice of the
author, see the preceding chapter.
The first of these articles is an extract from a poetical effusion of her
heart, on the day of the death of her beloved sister Marianne, March 24,
1845-
And art thou gone, my angel love,
So soon to heav'n thy home above?
Oh! wherefore haste thee thus away?
Wast weary with so brief a stay? —
Some call this earth a desert drear ;
But, sister, thou wast happy here ;
And here were friends thou lovedst well ;
How loved thyself, no words can tell.
*****
Yet Jesus called ; and thou hast flown
To join thy kindred round the throne.
Oh! what a rapt, ecstatic thrill,
Did thy whole soul and being fill,
When first on thy unclouded eyes
Burst all the glories of the skies !
How didst thou view the vision bright?
Till ev'ry doubt was lost in sight ;
450
Then lightly tread the golden street,
To how before thy Saviour's feet;
While thousands and ten thousands raise
High anthems of enraptured praise,
And sound through all the heavenly plain
Hosannahs, to the Lamb, once slain.
*****
C. McK.
TO HER MOTHER IN HEAVEN.
Mother dearest, I am kneeling
Close beside thee, as before ;.
But I cannot see thee —
Ah ! the bitter Nevermore !
Precious mother I am waiting .
For thy hand upon my head —
Oh, my mother, vainly waiting
For a blessing from the dead.
Oft upon thy gladsome birth-days
How I blessed my God for thee —
For thy spirit's light, so holy,
Ever beaming down on me.
And to-day my anguished spirit,
With a deeper, chastened love,
Blesses God I have a mother
For my angel guard above.
C. McK.
Written June 17, 1849, on her beloved mother's birth-day, and at her
grave.
The following beautiful and affecting lines were written by Miss C. Me
Keen, more than a year preceding her decease, but immediately after an
attack of bleeding from the lungs, when she was expecting to go soon :
GOING HOME.
Going Home! Going Home!
To my Father's own embrace ;
Home, to see my Saviour's face !
Weary pilgrim, for my feet
451
Waits at Home a blest retreat,
Wrought for me with skill divine
Ere the stars began to shine !
Homeward from the whitened field,
Where the harvests richly yield,
Slowly with repentant grief,
Must I bear my meagre sheaf; —
But when at the door I stand,
Christ will take it in His hand,
And, for His dear sake forgiv'n,
Bid me welcome Home to heav'n.
Then, with joyful welcoming
Shall all harps and voices ring
To the high celestial dome,
For a wandering child come Home.
Going Home ! Going Home
To the blessed land above ;
Children of one Father's love ; —
Many I have loved below,
Many I have longed to know ;
Blessed union, sweet and strong,
Binding all that countless throng !
O, the joy of loving there,
Purely, fully, without fear ;
Not a loved one e'er shall die,
Naught can hi ing one tear or sigh ;
Richest fellowship of mind
Shall my longing spirit find.
List'ning from some humble place,
I shall catch the words of grace
Which from Israel's Psalmist fall,
Or the eloquence oi Paul ;
See the great in faith and love
Great in all that's great above ;
And the music I shall hear
Never fell on human ear ;
Sweetest theme of thought and song,
Kindling all the raptured throng,
Shall be Christ, the Lord, once slain ;
Christ, the Lord, now ris'n again.
452
Going Home! Going Home!
There from all unrest to be
Sweetly and forever free ; —
Free from weariness and pain,
Free from cares that vex in vain,
Free from sin ; the conflict o'er,
Pure in heart forevermore.
O, the blissful, wondrous change !
Sli all I know myself, so strange?
But a richer joy than rest
Is employ among the blest;
Thought so clear and strong and free,
Tireless, through eternity
Roaming with intense delight,
Where the vision feels no night;
Beauty shall the spirit fill ;
Wondering joy its being thrill!
Yet that spirit ne'er shall know *
Linking fetters, felt below ;
All my soul, with growing pow'r,
Serving God from hour to hour,
SliM.ll its highest pleasure win
In the deepest love to Him.
I am going — going Home !
Father, when thy call I hear,
Let me neither shrink or fear ;
Gladly would I come to Thee,
Painful though the way may be ;
All thy children, gathering fast,
Shall encircle Thee at last ;
All at Home ! Yes, all at Home !
Never, nevei? thence to roam !
C. McK.
ELEGY.
[On a sister's favorite Canary Bird, which had died at night, alone in its
cage ; by Miss CATHERINE McKEEN, then in failing health.]
Wert thou lonely, Darling Birdie,
In the dark and solemn night,
When cold Death came creeping round thee,
453
And put out thy Spirit's light?
Thou wert not alone, sweet Birdie ;
Gentle hands received thy breath :
For the God who made and loved thee
Willed and watched His Birdie's death.
Rig-id lies thy little body,
In its golden, downy nest : —
Where is that which woke to motion,
Which should break this peaceful rest?
Where is that which danced and sparkled
In thy cunning ebon eyes ?
Stirred thy wings to mount and flutter
Free and joyous, toward the skies?
Where is now the fount of music
Welling once from out thy throat,
Softly trembling, richly swelling,
In triumphant, liquid note ?
Where the consciousness that answered
To thy lady's voice and sight,
Gave thee joy, anon, and sorrow,
Thinking, feeling little sprite ?
Strange and solemn is the silence
Wrapped around thy spirit now :
God has never told us, Birdie,
Where he treasures such as thou.
Soon my form will lie, sweet Birdie,
Tenantless and still as thine ;
But I know, for God has told me,
/ shall spring to life divine!
C. McK.
Mount Leon, Va., March, 1858.
THE SPECTRE HORSE.
BY THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOK.
The following poetic effusion, first published in the Christian Mirror at
Portland, Maine, was occasioned by an eloquent temperance address by a
Universalist minister, who graphically described intemperance as a mighty
steed, rushing with his great car loaded with drunkards, down a steep de-
454
clivity into a rapid river, or deep gulf, below ; and pathetically called his
hearers to the rescue of their fellow mortals who were in such fearful peril.
This call I forthwith, in this manner, attempted to obey. Whatever in the piece
is contrary to the idea that such a load of drunkards would not in their first
plunge into the dark waters of Death find themselves infinitely better off
than they would have been if stopped in their downward course, must be
ascribed to the writer, and not to the orator, who stayed not at all to settle
that question The representation of Satan as driver of the Spectre Horse,
with his drunkard's car, was not contained in the original picture ; but no
one can dispute his title to that position.
THE SPECTRE HORSE.
A wondrous steed I saw, of size and height
Which ne'er before, I ween, met human sight :
His head, high raised, was in a tempest cloud ;
His snorting seemed like startling thunder loud;
Right on the huge, tremendous monster dashed —
From out his nostrils streams of lighthing flashed !
Beneath the prancing of his ponderous feet
Earth trembled, e'en to Pluto's fabled seat.
With more than lurid comet's mighty force
He, mad, pursued his daring, headlong course,
Straight down a mountain's steep, declining side,
Against whose base dashed the rolling tide —
The fearful tide of death! A car he drew
With wheels more high than rapt Ezekiel knew ;
With body vast, arranged in such a mode
As to receive some thousands at a load.
The force of Mars, the strength of Juggernaut,
Were in this strong machine together brought.
A shout more loud, more dread, than shout of war
Outflew this huge and quickly coming car,
Whose pealing, startling sound awoke my ear,
And filled my trembling heart with sudden fear.
By pity moved, and nerved with vigor new,
To help the wretches I determined, flew.
But oh ! believe who can ; I quickly found
That shout was not of grief, but joy, the sound!
On, on, with banners streaming high they came,
Inscribed with every Alcoholic name.
Amid this car a cauldron fiercely boiled,
From whose infernal fumes not one recoiled;
455
But through long winding- things, called worms, conveyed,
The deadly liquid was in bars displayed ;
To which all thronged, resolved to get their fill
Of drunkard's drink fresh pouring from their still ;
And while some trembling lay, some reeling stood —
All all, with one consent, pronounced it good.
Lewd men, with mates as lewd, both dark and fair,
Dishonest men, with men of blood, were there ;
Dark minded, crafty men, of deeds untold,
With gentlemen, lured on through love of gold,
Who seldom drank, themselves, but understood
How best to sponge the fools that would.
And from this numerous, motley, drunken crowd.
Rose execrations dire, and laughter loud ;
With jests and scoffs profane, and ribald song,
As down to death they gaily swept along.
Stop! desperate mortals, stop! i loudly cried,
See there a gulf; try not its roaring tide !
Behold its treacherous service covered o'er
With bodies dead of those who've jumped before !
Stop ! madmen, stop ! turn back ! or I foretell
You'll quickly plunge into the gulf of liell !
A vaunt ! cried some ; to man the lot is given
To drive through hell to seats of bliss in heaven .
The mighty driver of that wondrous steed
Then cracked the whip and urged his headlong speed ;
And while at me a fi'ry dart he threw,
Most fondly said to his confiding crew :
" Fear not; no hell there is, why trouble buy?
"Enjoy yourselves; Ye shall not surely die;
"That flood at which the dastard terror feels
"Can never reach the axles of our wrheels;
" The sooner in, brave boys, the sooner through,
" And all beyond is joy, is heaven for you !
u Not one of you, I gospel truth declare,
" Do what you will, shall be excluded there."
A thund'ring shout of joy they quickly raised,
In paeans loud, loud their loved driver praised ;
On still they drank, and danced, profanely swore ;
On- flew the horse, and quickly reached the shore ; —
In plunged the monster, with his cumbrous load,
And heedless of their shrieks still onward strode ;
456
Down, down went horse and car, and frighted crowd,
To ocean's depths, overwhelmed by billows proud !
I, breathless, viewed the gulf, both near and far;
Up came the hated horse, with empty car!
There sat the fiend ! with sly, infernal leer ;
He looked around, and back was seen to steer,
To take of drunkards yet another freight,
Consigned to dread perdition's yawning gate !
All such he boldly claims, and knows full well
How easy 'tis to wheel them down to hell.
THE GOD OF NATURE.
AMOS, 5 : 8, 9.
The floating clouds, the falling rain,
The rolling earth, the starry plain,
The good, the mighty God confess,
And counsels wise to man address —
Seek Him who lias the Pleiads made:
Orion, too, — who death's dark shade
Converts to morning's welcome light,
And turns the joyous day to night;
Who bids the ocean vapors rise,
Supply the cisterns of the skies,
And thence descend in genial show'rs,
To clothe the earth with smiling tiow'rs, —
With fruits and fields of bending grain ;
The Lord! The Lord's! His holy name!
He aids the weak against the strong ;
Praise, Praise Him, in sublimest song.
S. Mck.
THIRSTY SINNERS INVITED TO CHRIST.
•
JOHN, 7: 37.
Originally written for the last day of a " Protracted Meeting."
1. Come now, dear friends, the Saviour calls;
On thirsty souls His notice falls ;
From broken cisterns turn away ;
Death hastens, you must not delay.
457
2. Pure living water Jesus brings ;
From Christ, the Living Rock, it springs ;
Your raging thirst it will control,
And make the wounded spirit whole.
3. To all who thirst this water's free ;
It's free for yon, and free for me ;
The offer's kind, the day is great,
To see you come the angels wait.
4. No sword gleams by this water's side ;
Come, say the Spirit and the Bride ;
And here the blessed Jesus stands,
With tearful eyes and outspread hands !
5. This day of grace may be your last ;
Tt flies ! — soon, soon it will be past !
The day of wrath ! when that's begun,
No water cools the fervid tongue.
S. M. K,
THE JUDGMENT DAY.
1. Lo it comes! the day expected!
Lightnings flash, and thunder roars ;
Christ his throne has now erected !
Down the skies his glory pours ;
Earth, affrighted,
Trembles throughout all her shores !
2. Hark! the trump of God is calling
Adam's race, both quick and dead ;
Tombs are cleaving, towers falling;
Slumb'ring nations lift the head,
And are rising,
Both from earth and ocean's bed !
8. Harden'd sinners are confounded;
They have heard Him, from afar,
Christ, with glories bright surrounded,
Calling, Come, now, to my bar !
Oh ! how dreadful,
To receive their sentence there !
458
4. But ye Saints, who died believing,
Hoping;, 'mid the gloom of night —
Crowns of life from Christ receiving.
Crowns and robes with glory bright,
Ye are destin'd,
Hence to shine in realms of light.
S. M. K.
459
VALEDICTION.
My work is finished. Amid many hindrances I have
done the best I could. If those for Whose gratification
this service was undertaken should generally be satisfied,
I shall feel that 1 have not labored in vain. While medi
tating on, and writing of, friends and scenes long since pass
ed away, and preparing some account of our present peo
ple and affairs, for the information of those who shall come
after us, I am moved to say, 0, Bradford, Bradford ! field
of my early and late ministerial labors ; resting place of
my nearest and dearest kindred, and venerated parishion
ers ; abode of many tried and faithful iriends ; endeared
to me by ten thousand fond and tender recollections ! So
long as the beautiful Connecticut shall flow by thy side,
and the lofty mountains which skirt thy horizon shall
stand as monuments of the great Creator's power and im
mutability, and thy charming scenery continue to delight
the eyes and the heart of every lover of the beautiful,
may Heaven's blessing rest upon thy sons and daughters ;
vice and crime find no place among them ; but intelligence,
and virtue, good order, and, above ail, true religion, with
all its attending and consequent benefits, be their inher
itance and pre-eminent glory.
ERRATA AND OMISSIONS.
Page 2, for conainiug read containing; and for reasonable, seasona
ble.
13, line 13, for seventy-six, sixty-six,
17, line 26, insert inhabitants of before said Township.
20, line 10, for six month, six months fr,om the date.
27, lines 20, 21, for reversions and remissions, reversion and rever
sions.
28, line 2 from the bottom, for written, read within.
31, for eke, execute.
37, for forty-two, forty.
49, for stock-yard, stack-yard.
61, for Englishmen, Englishman.
68, for June, January.
74, after 1867 supply and. .
75, for Rev. Wm., Rev. Mr.
120, for ghostly, ghastly.
121,forPeckles, PicMes.
125, line 12, for through, thorough.
127, line 6, for bearing, learning ; line 11, for Bernslee, Bemslee.
141, line 7, for gen&logy , genealogy ; in the foot note for Benjamin F.,
Benjamin P.
147, line 7, for criminal, dismal.
150, for Epapros, Epaphras.
153, line 11, for at, to.
226, omit the comma after Mary.
227, for Shum, Shumway.
235, for including, indicating.
243 ,-5 ,-6, for Dake, Doke.
260, atter Their Children omit were, and for 1767 read 1777.
270, line 23, for twenty-first read twenty-fourth.
271, Elzina, Elsina.
278, line 8, for 1796, 1799.
285, last line, for Burnet, Barnet.
298, for Hemstead, Hampstead.
305, line 8, for Monson, Manson; line 11, after Martha omit the
comma.
331, line 17, for June 20, 1813, read June 22, 1791.
372, line 17, for 1828 read 1808 ; line 19, for 1830, 1810 ; line 21, for
18—, 1831.
395, line 18, for father, pastor.
405, for Homoepathie, Homeopathic; and on page 406, for Homoepa-
thy, Homeopathy.
407, line 19, for 18—, read 1790.
411, for Nutpelee, Nutfield.
415, for Gratius, Grotius.
418, line 6, fcr three, their.
419, line 9, for friends, fireside.
419, line 18, for restrained, sustained.
436, for Mrs., Mr.
443, line 18, for general use, read graceful verse.
455, line 19, for service, surface ; line 20, for jumped, plunged.
In chapter V the following should have appeared, immediately after
"Charles May Killed in a Duel :"
BRADFORD BRASS BAND.
This company of musicians, incorporated by act of the
Legislature, have a commodious hall for their social gath
erings, and an elegant stand in a central part of the vil
lage, from which, under their accomplished leader, Capt.
R. E. Whitcomb, they occasionally, on pleasant evenings,
discourse sweet music, to the high gratification of numer
ous listeners. They are also accustomed to favor the
public with their performances in this and other towns,
on various occasions. Their leader was a distinguished
bugler in a cavalry regiment during the late war for the
suppression of the rebellion.
At the close of Chapter XVIII should have been printed the follow
ing :
An important Drug and Medicine store has been here
kept for several years by H. G. Day.
Books and Stationery by Mrs. J. D. Clark.
Hardware, Iron, Steel, Coal, Nails, Cutlery, Glass,
Farmers' Tools, etc., etc., wholesale and retail, by Eaton
& Co.
Various other stores not here particularly mentioned.
Bradford village is a center of trade for a populous
surrounding community.
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