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Location: Grafton County NH

Free Masonry in Norwich Vermont

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., in 1796, we find the names of the following Norwich men, with the year of their admission: Reuben Hatch, Freegrace Leavitt (1798), William Sumner (1799), Thomas Brigham, Erastus Leavitt, and Moses Hayward (1800), Reuben Partridge, Andrew Dewey, William Little, Levi Richards, Aaron West (1801-1807), Lyman Lewis, Elijah Slafter, Simon Baldwin, Enos Lewis, Jasper

Migration of Families out of Norwich VT

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 was third with 190. The aggregate population of the county (ten towns reported) was then but 1,205, mostly confined to the first and second tiers of towns west of the Connecticut River. Twenty years later, in 1791, Hartland led all the towns of the county with 1,652 inhabitants, Woodstock and Windsor coming next

Norwich-Hanover covered bridge

History of the Bridges Between Hanover NH and Norwich VT

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 south of where the west end of Hanover bridge now is. In this canoe the family and household goods of John Hutchinson were brought over from the Hanover side in the late fall of the same year, at the completion of their long journey from Ashford, Conn., to their new home. This family

Norwich Vermont and Dartmouth College

Notwithstanding the fact that Norwich had for many years within its borders a collegiate institution of its own, founded and directed by its most distinguished son, the relations of their people towards Dartmouth College on the opposite bank of the Connecticut were always intimate and friendly.

First Settlements in Norwich Vermont

Having glanced thus briefly at the action of the Norwich proprietors in opening a way to reach their new township in the wilderness, and in dividing up a portion of its surface into lots suitable to become the homesteads of future settlers, let us pause a moment and see what had meantime been done in the work of actual settlement. I am indebted to Rev. Edmund F. Slafter of Boston for an interesting account of what was unquestionably the first attempt at settlement made within the limits of the town. I quote from the Slafter Memorial: “Samuel Slafter [of Mansfield,

Biography of Amos Richardson

Amos Richardson, an influential resident of Cornish, was born here, November 27, 1817, son of Amos and Sophia (Cummings) Richardson. He is a descendant of Dr. Amos Richardson, who was a physician of note in Pelham, N.H. Dr. Amos’s son, Joseph, was grandfather of the subject of this sketch. Joseph’s children were: Miriam, Joseph, David, Josiah, Sarah, Mercy, Rebecca, and Amos. Miriam, now deceased, was the wife of Joshua Wyman, of Pelham, and the mother of seven children; Joseph married Polly Hilliard, of Cornish, and had a family of twelve children; David, now deceased, married Sarah Ford, and was the

Biographical Sketch of Robert H. Rolfe

Robert H. Rolfe, the courteous and efficient cashier and advertising manager of the Republican Press Association at Concord, N.H., was born here, October 16, 1863, and is the son of Henry Pearson and Mary Rebecca (Sherburne) Rolfe, of this city. In his boyhood he attended the public schools of Concord, and, after graduating from the high school, entered Dartmouth College, where he was graduated in the class of 1884. He then for a short time engaged in the study of law; but, feeling more inclination for a business career, he abandoned the thought of a profession, and entered the employ

Biography of John P. Rounsevel

John P. Rounsevel, formerly a well-known wool buyer of Claremont, was born in Unity, N.H., January 2, 1815, son of Royal and Betsey (Sweat) Rounsevel. Rounseville, the original spelling of the name, was changed to the present form by Joseph Rounsevel about the year 1768. In 1749 Thomas Rounseville wrote from Ottery St. Mary to Philip Rounseville, of England, who afterward came to this country. He settled in Freetown, Mass., and was called by the townspeople King Philip. His son Joseph, who, born January 3, 1737, died in 1827, went to Washington, N.H., between 1768 and 1772, from Middleboro, Mass.,

Biography of Captain Eleazar L. Sarsons

Captain Eleazar L. Sarsons, a well-known resident of Acworth and a veteran of the Civil War, was born in Lyme, N.H., August 9, 1836, son of Leon and Flora Ella (Prue) Sarsons. His father, who was born in France in the year 1800, emigrated to Canada in 1828, and in 1834 moved to Sheffield, Vt. He was a shoemaker by trade, and followed this handicraft in connection with farming for some time. He later plied his calling in Lyme, N.H., and other places; and in 1871 he came to Acworth, where he spent the rest of his life. He married

Biography of John W. Staples, M.D.

John W. Staples, M.D., a prominent physician of Franklin Falls, N.H., and a native of Wells, Me., was born January 25, 1855. His parents, John and Ann (Wells) Staples, also natives of Wells, belonged to families that had lived in that town for a number of generations. John Staples, who was a farmer, spent his life in the place of his birth, and died in 1879. His wife had died in 1877. They had four children, one of whom died in infancy. The others were: Albert, who died when nine years old; Moses, a farmer in Wells; and John W.,

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