Last Updated on January 29, 2014 by Dennis “George the Third by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc. To all Persons to whom these Presents shall come, greeting, Know ye, that We of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, for the due encouragement […]
Hon. Thomas Murdock removed to Norwich from Preston, Connecticut, as early as 1767 (in which year he was recorded a voter in town), and located on the farm a little north of Norwich Plain and subsequently occupied by Jared Goodell, George Blanchard, Harvey Knights, and now by Judd Leonard. He married Elizabeth Hatch (sister of
Last Updated on March 13, 2014 by Dennis At the first enumeration of the inhabitants of eastern Vermont, as made by the authority of New York in 1771, Norwich was found to be the most populous of all the towns of Windsor County, having forty families and 206 inhabitants. Windsor followed with 203, and Hartford
Last Updated on April 10, 2014 by Dennis Nathan and Nathaniel Messenger were in Norwich at an early day, the former as early as 1765, at which date he built his cabin in the meadow a little south and west of the Norwich terminus of the bridge leading to Hanover, New Hampshire. It was from
Last Updated on May 1, 2021 by Dennis One of the farms in Norwich still (1904) owned and occupied by descendants bearing the name of the original settlers, belongs in the Loveland family. Joseph Loveland was born in 1747, in Connecticut; moving from that state to Dartmouth College, Hanover township, New Hampshire, where he enlisted
Jonathan Lord, Jr., and David Lord, the first of the name to locate in Norwich, came from Colchester, Connecticut, (in what year is not definitely known, probably about 1773). They were two of several children born to Jonathan and Ruth Lord of that place. Jonathan, Jr., was born February 17, 1752; was a voter in
Last Updated on January 29, 2014 by Dennis The counties of Cumberland and Gloucester had been organized by New York in 1766, out of the territory lying between the Green Mountains and Connecticut River. In the year 1771 a census of these counties was made under the authority of that province. All the towns in
List of the Principal Pioneer Settlers in Norwich Vermont Read More »
William Lewis and family, consisting of his wife, Naomi, five sons and three daughters, (Joseph, his eldest son, having been a citizen of the town for some years) came to Norwich in 1781 or 1782 from Windsor, Hartford county, Connecticut, and settled on a farm now owned by Benjamin Clifford, where he resided for a
The Johnson Family were numerously represented in the early history of the town. Of this family there were several branches. Captain Hezekiah Johnson was an original proprietor of the town and one of its earliest settlers. He settled on the north bank of the Pompanoosuc River near its mouth and fixed his residence where Mr.
Hutchinson is an old and numerous family in Norwich, as well as in other parts of the country. They were among the early settlers of Massachusetts and were in Lynn and Salem in that colony as early as 1628, or 1629. A descendant of these early colonists, named Abijah, who was a tailor, removed from
Last Updated on September 26, 2016 by Dennis Prior to the year 1800, Methodism had scarcely gained a foothold in Vermont. The first Methodist society in the State is said to have been formed at Vershire by Nicholas Suethen in 1796. Two years later, only one hundred church members were returned as residents in the
History of the Methodist Church at Norwich Vermont Read More »
Last Updated on September 28, 2016 by Dennis Peter Olcott had a store near his residence at the Center, in the time of the Revolutionary War. Abel Curtis was for a time associated with him in this business. Stephen Burton, eldest son of Elisha Burton and a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1790, was probably
Last Updated on May 1, 2021 by Dennis Although the products of the industries in Norwich have not been of great magnitude they have been quite varied in character. Such information in regard to these callings as we have been able to obtain we will present to our readers, though not in strict chronological order.
Last Updated on January 29, 2014 by Dennis A small Episcopal church was organized at Norwich as early as 1835, chiefly through the exertions of Doctor Ira Davis. Between 1846 and 1850, services were held occasionally in different parts of the town, conducted by Professor Hill of Dartmouth College, and others. In 1851 Doctor Edward
Last Updated on May 1, 2021 by Dennis The Congregational Church of Norwich is among the oldest of the Congregational churches of Vermont, only four others having preceded it in the date of their organization, viz.: those of Bennington, Newbury, Westminster, and Windsor. It was the earliest and for many years the only ecclesiastical organization
History of the Congregational Church of Norwich Vermont Read More »
Last Updated on January 29, 2014 by Dennis The earliest form of transportation across the Connecticut River between Norwich and Hanover of which we have any information was the canoe of Nathan Messenger, who sometime in the summer of the year 1765 established a hunting camp near the bank of the river, a few rods
History of the Bridges Between Hanover NH and Norwich VT Read More »
Last Updated on January 29, 2014 by Dennis In Norwich, as elsewhere, the Baptists were the first of the dissenting sects to contest the ground with the dominant New England orthodoxy. Soon after the settlement of the town we find mention made of Baptists here, and it is probable that a few of the very
History of the Baptist Church at Norwich Vermont Read More »
Last Updated on May 1, 2021 by Dennis From the town records it appears that the first attempt to divide the town into school districts, was at a town meeting held November 19, 1782, when John Slafter, Elijah Brownson, Ithamar Bartlett, Joseph Loveland, Paul Bingham, Joseph Hatch, Daniel Baldwin, Abel Wilder and Samuel Brown, Jr.,
Last Updated on March 13, 2014 by Dennis Of the little settlements in the township of Norwich which seem to be existing in the sunset of their former glory, may be mentioned Beaver Meadow, or West Norwich. This place presents a notable instance of that decline in population and decay of business interests in a
Last Updated on May 1, 2021 by Dennis It does not appear that any Masonic Lodge has ever existed in Norwich. Quite a number of our citizens, however, as might be expected, have at different times belonged to lodges in adjacent towns. In the list of members of Franklin Lodge, established at Hanover, N. H.,
