Addison County VT

Addison County, Vermont is a county in western Vermont, established by act of the legislature on October 18, 1785, from a portion of Rutland County during the period of the independent Vermont Republic (prior to Vermont’s statehood in 1791), with its shire town (county seat) at Middlebury, making county court and land records available there from the late 1780s onward—vital for genealogical research. The area lies in the Champlain Valley and is drained primarily by Otter Creek; Native American presence by Iroquoian and other tribes along Lake Champlain predates European exploration by Samuel de Champlain in 1609 and later French and British colonial activity at sites such as Chimney Point. Early towns within the county, many chartered in the 1780s and 1790s, drew settlers largely from New England states after the American Revolution, with township land records, early census returns, and town meeting minutes beginning in this period; resources for genealogy include county town clerk records, Probate and Deed offices in Middlebury, local historical societies, libraries, and numerous cemetery transcriptions.

Biographical Sketch of William Ellery Greene

William Ellery Greene was born on August 2, 1810, in Vergennes, Vermont. He took part in local governance and served in the militia before apprenticing as a tailor for five years. After working as a journeyman in New York City, he returned to Vergennes in 1833 to establish a merchant tailoring business and engage in the lumber industry and livestock breeding. He married Ann Jane Sherrill in 1836, with whom he had ten children. Greene descends from notable local families, with his roots tracing back to early settlers in the region.

Biographical Sketch of Hiram C. Johnson

Hiram C. Johnson was born in Rome, New York, in 1825 and moved to Vergennes, Vermont, in 1855. He served as a journalist, publishing the Vergennes Vermonter for twenty-five years. Johnson was appointed postmaster in 1871, a position he held for fourteen years. He was married twice, having five children from his first marriage and two from his second.

Biographical Sketch of William N. French

William N. French, born on June 20, 1835, in New Haven, Vermont, is a prosperous farmer with a 125-acre farm and a registered flock of 125 Spanish Merino sheep. He married Mary J. Dorson in 1868. His lineage includes his parents Nathaniel and Samantha French, and his paternal grandfather Nathaniel H. French, a War of 1812 veteran. William N. is one of seven children, with several siblings deceased and others married. His maternal grandfather was John Kipp from Middlebury.

Biographical Sketch of Royal D. Farr

Royal D. Farr was born in Middletown, Vermont, on November 27, 1808. He received a common school education and learned farming and foundry work from his father. In 1830, he moved to Middlebury and worked in a foundry for sixteen years before running a stove and tin business. In 1849, he joined Slade, Farr & Co. and later managed the East Middlebury hotel until his retirement in 1881. He married Mary A. Childs in 1830, and they had five children. Farr also had a notable involvement in military affairs.

Biographical Sketch of Franklin K. Haven

Franklin K. Haven, born in 1826 in Bethel, Vermont, moved to Vergennes in 1849 to work as a clerk before establishing his own mercantile business in 1850, specializing in men’s clothing, shoes, and groceries. He married Eliza H. Strong in 1852, and they had three children. Franklin was the son of Rev. K. Haven, a Universalist clergyman who served in Vermont, and Ruth Harrison. The family had nine children, with Franklin and his sister Charlotte being the only survivors at the time of his biography.

Biographical Sketch of Adolphus A. Gravline

Adolphus A. Gravline was born in Quebec, Canada, on June 16, 1847. He moved to Vergennes, Vermont, on July 25, 1874, where he established a successful business in smithing, wagon, and carriage manufacturing. Gravline married Mary Agan in September 1873, and they had five children together. He died in 1882, leaving behind a large family, having had a total of nineteen children from two marriages, with fifteen surviving at the time of his death.

Biographical Sketch of Curtes H. James

Curtes H. James was born on June 21, 1848, in Weybridge, Vermont, to Samuel and Salome James. Educated at local schools and briefly at Burr and Burton Seminary, he engaged in farming, marrying Catherine C. Jewett on March 9, 1871. That same year, he bought a 130-acre farm previously owned by Rev. Jedediah Bushnell. Active in local governance, having served multiple terms as lister, he fathered one son and three daughters, continuing the family legacy in the area.

Biographical Sketch of Walker B. Field

Walker B. Field, born in 1840 in Ferrisburgh, Vermont, served in various town offices, including selectman and justice of the peace. He married Carrie Higbie in 1861, with whom he had five children: Cora, Helen, Park, Charles, and Guy. He is the son of George Field, a prominent local farmer and public servant, and the grandson of Benjamin Field, who descends from Anthony Field, the first settler of Ferrisburgh. Walker B. is the last surviving child of George and Sylvenia Field.

Biography of Wilbur S. Holcomb

Wilbur S. Holcomb was born on May 10, 1840, in Starksboro, Vermont. He was the son of S. D. Holcomb, a successful farmer and former state senator. Wilbur was educated at local schools and taught for a year before marrying Mary E. Livermore in 1867. They had two children and moved to Addison in 1868, expanding their farm from 77 to 170 acres. Holcomb has established himself as a successful farmer and stock raiser, and he remains active in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Biographical Sketch of Giles T. Hatch

Giles T. Hatch, born in 1848 in Ferrisburgh, Vermont, married Sarah Stimpson in 1871. The couple had five children, with two surviving: Westley T. and William I. Sarah was the daughter of John Stimpson, an English immigrant. Giles was the son of Isaac and Ursula Hatch, who married in 1840 and had four children. Isaac T. Hatch served in the First Vermont Cavalry. The Hatch family has deep roots in the region, with connections to Hinesburg, Vermont.

Biographical Sketch of Thaddeus N. Dean

Thaddeus N. Dean was born in Monkton, Vermont, in 1816 to Charles and Loretta Dean. He married Phydelia Alford in 1842; their family included two sons, both of whom died young. Charles Dean, Thaddeus’s father, was a carpenter who settled in Starksboro, Vermont, in 1794 before moving to Monkton in 1800, where he constructed several significant buildings. The Dean family has a military lineage, as Thaddeus’s grandfather Nathaniel served in the War of 1812.

Biographical Sketch of Aaron A. Farnsworth

Aaron A. Farnsworth, born on March 15, 1818, in New Haven, Vermont, is a farmer who has managed his family’s farm since 1828, originally settled by his grandfather in 1785. An extensive breeder of Atwood Merino sheep, he possesses a registered flock of 170. He married Harriet Sprague in 1851, with whom he had seven children. Farnsworth is the son of Silas and Amelia Farnsworth, and his family lineage includes early pioneers of New Haven.

Biography of Franklin H. Dean

Franklin H. Dean was born on July 9, 1810, in Monkton, Vermont. He was the son of Ashbell Dean, a successful farmer who owned significant land before his death in 1824. Educated in public schools, Franklin married Tarner Field in 1832, with whom he had three children. After moving to Cornwall in 1838, he expanded his land holdings and built a residence in 1859. He later married Harriette Murray in 1845 and had one daughter. Dean served as the town lister and prospered through hard work.

Biographical Sketch of Edward Grant

Edward Grant was born in County Antrim, Ireland, on March 14, 1810, to Dennis and Martha Dallis. He immigrated to America in 1847, settling in Middlebury for six years, then moving to Burlington and Leicester, before finally residing in East Middlebury in 1867. A skilled weaver and later a businessman, he was married in 1830 to Hannah McAuley, with whom he had nine children, six of whom survived. Grant’s family has since been involved in various local enterprises, including lumbering and farming.

Biographical Sketch of Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson was born in Addison, Vermont, in 1822. He served as a representative for his town in 1868 and 1869 and was involved in local governance as selectman and lister. A general farmer and dairyman, he owned a 230-acre homestead. He was first married to Eliza Clark, with whom he had two children, before marrying Emily Frances Collins in 1880. His father, Hezekiah Jackson, was a War of 1812 veteran and an early settler in Vermont.

Biographical Sketch of Stephen W. Field

Stephen W. Field was born in Ferrisburgh, Vermont, in 1817 and passed away in September 1871. An accomplished farmer, he retired in 1865 and was actively involved in local governance. In 1840, he married Eliza Jane Killmer, with whom he had three children, including Edgar M. and Dwight E. Field. Stephen’s ancestry traces back to Dutchess County, New York, where his father, Stephen Field, Sr., settled in Ferrisburgh in 1785, contributing to a large lineage.

Biographical Sketch of James L. Hoag

James L. Hoag was born on May 24, 1805, in Lincoln, Vermont, to Nathan and Esther Hoag. He married Eunice Hanson in 1839, with whom he had five children. William, one of their sons, was born on September 27, 1842, and later married Clara Colby. Hoag served as a selectman and lister in his town, and held various commissions in the militia. He passed away in 1878, leaving behind a legacy of community service.

Biographical Sketch of W. G. Fairbanks

W. G. Fairbanks, born in Sterling, Massachusetts, in 1840, was a dedicated educator and administrator. After graduating from Bridgewater Normal School in 1860, he began teaching at the Farm School and soon became principal of the Massachusetts Reform School. In 1869, he became the general superintendent of the Vermont State Reform School in Vergennes. Married in 1863 to Margie E. Lefler, also a Bridgewater graduate, they had one son and one adopted daughter, contributing to the educational community in Vermont.

Biographical Sketch of Corydon S. Harris

Corydon S. Harris was born in Panton, Vermont, in 1812 and raised by Norman and Sally Munson. After their deaths, he inherited their 272-acre farm. His political career included serving as a representative for Panton in Montpelier during 1872 and 1873. He first married Annie O. Goodrich in 1850, who died shortly after, and later married her sister Achsa Maria Goodrich, with whom he had four children. Harris’s son, Sidney, is a preacher and farmer, while his daughters are married, and his youngest son, Milo, works on the farm.

Biographical Sketch of Ira M. Knowles

Ira M. Knowles was born on December 31, 1823, in Monkton, Vermont, and moved to New Haven, Vermont, in 1856. He married Delia Stearns and later Laura Carter, with whom he had two children. Knowles farmed extensively, managing a 375-acre farm and a dairy herd of 30 high Durham cattle, along with owning another farm in Bristol, Vermont. His father, John Knowles, was a pioneering farmer and wheelwright in Monkton. The Knowles family has deep roots in the region, contributing to its early development.