Abithar Codding, one of the earliest permanent settlers, came to Waterville from the southern part of the State, in company with his brother-in-law, a Mr. Fletcher. They settled on adjoining farms, on road 9. Mr. Codding reared a family of eight children, six of whom are now living. Joel B. Codding, residing on road 9, is a son of Jonas, and grandson of Abithar.
Name Page Bailey, Richard 41 Barn, Ephraim W. 42 Bell, Eli 40 Benam, Parden 42 Bermin, Wilson L. 42 Boger, Benedict, Jr. 40 Botch, Saliman, Jr. 41 Bratty, Joseph 42 Brown, Asahel 44 Brown, Lobeus 42 Brush, Eliphalet 40 Bulle, Francis 44 Bumas, Josiah 45 Buron, Samuel 44 Call, Stephen G. 43 Carpenter, Betcher R. 43 Carpenter, John S. 44 Carpenter, Joseph G. 44 Carpenter, Josiah G. 43 Carpenter, Louis 44 Carpenter, Lucy 40 Carpenter, Phineas 44 Carpenter, Roswell 43 Carpenter, Timothy 40 Chaney, Peter 41 Chapie, Alva 44 Cheney, Thomas 42 Chenry, Joseph 43 Chiney, Samuel B. 41 Church, … Read more
Jacob Locke, from New Hampshire, settled in the central part of the town in 1808, where he remained until his death, in 1854. He reared a family of ten children, two of whom settled in the town. Thomas J., his third child, born in 1808, is now among the oldest inhabitants of the town.
Amos Page, from Massachusetts, was an early settler in Waterville. He located in the eastern part, where he died in 1840, aged eighty-four years. His family consisted of four sons, one of whom, Aaron D., settled in Waterville. Several of Amos’s descendants now reside in the town.
Martin Shattuck, son of Randall and Mary Ann (Thomas) Shattuck, Randall being the youngest son of Moody, was born in this town in Feb. 5, 1842. Mr. Shattuck received his intellectual training at the common schools of Belvidere, but his practical education was derived from hard labor upon his father’s farm where he remained till he was twenty-two years of age, when he entered his cousin’s store at Waterville as clerk. After two years at Waterville he married and went home to reside. Mr. Shattuck married, Jan. 31, 1866, Meribah Esther Hyde, daughter of William and Betsey (Fuller) Wilbur of … Read more
Osgood McFarland, a son of Major Moses McFarland, of the revolutionary war, a Scotch-Irish immigrant, together with his wife, Mary Bartlett, came to town from Haverhill, Mass., in 1809. A few years afterwards he removed to Marietta, Ohio. He remained there seven years, when, on account of his health, he returned to Vermont, driving his own team the whole distance, as he had done on the outward journey. On his second coming to Waterville he located upon the farm on East hill, known as the “Tobin place,” whence he removed, after a few years, to West hill, and tilled the … Read more
WATERVILLE, an irregular outlined town lying in the northwestern part of the county, in latitude 44 33′, and longitude 4° 11′ bounded north by Belvidere, east by Belvidere and Johnson, south by Cambridge, and west by Bakersfield and Fletcher, in Franklin county, was chartered by Vermont to James Whitelaw, James Savage, and William Coit, Oct. 26, 1788, by the name of Coit’s Gore, with an area of 10,000 acres. On October z6, 1799, a part of this Gore was annexed to Bakersfield, and again, November 15, 1824, an act was passed by the legislature, “forming a new town out of … Read more
Jesse C. Holmes, from Petersboro, N. H., came to Waterville at an early date, and located where the village now is. Here he resided until 1860, then went to live with his son-in-law, Ober D. Rogers, on road 13, where he died in April, 1876, aged ninety years. Mr. Holmes was among the first advocates of the “free soil ” issue in the town, which claims the honor of sending the first “free soil” representative to the legislature.
Solomon Manchester, from Barnet, Vt., came to Waterville in 1839, and located in the southern part of the town, on road 16. He has had a family of six children, three of whom now reside in the town.
Timothy Brown and wife, Meredeth Ward, were the first settlers in the town, coming from Westmoreland, N. H., in the year 1797. He bought 450 acres of land on West hill, embracing the Stephen Leach farm and adjoining lands. Here he lived until 1829, when he removed to Ohio, where he passed the remainder of a long life. Four children survived him, Timothy, Bartlett, Rhoda, the wife of Thomas Potter, and Asenath, the wife of Stephen Leach, all of whom attained a ripe old age. The first two died in Ohio, the last two, in Waterville. The year before Mr. … Read more
Moses McFarland was born in Marietta, Ohio, June 25, 1821, coming to Waterville when about three years old, where he has since resided. He married Livonia, oldest daughter of Stephen and Asenath Brown Leach, and settled upon the home farm. In 1854, he removed from West hill to the village, his father and mother accompanying him, where he was successively engaged in manufacturing, hotel-keeping, and farming, always putting that energy into whatever he did that roused all other business of the village into renewed and greater activity. In 1861, he enlisted as a volunteer in the Eighth Vermont regiment, serving … Read more
The second family that located in the town was that of Abiathar Wetherell, who came from Westmoreland, N. H., in 1798. In 1803, there came from the same place Zephaniah Leach and his four sons, Stephen, Nathan, William, and Jacob. He first settled on East hill, above where Nathan Page now lives , but afterward removing to the village, in connection with his son Nathan he built the first saw and grist-mill in town.
Joel Brown came from New Hampshire about the year ,808, and located in Underhill, where he remained about fourteen years, then removed to Cambridge, where he died in 1858. Samuel H., the second of his eight children, born in 1815, has been a resident of Waterville since 1854.
Freeborn White, from Northbridge, Mass., came to Eden in 1830, after a short residence in Waterville. He located upon a farm on road 19, where he resided about fifteen years, then resided with his several children until his death. Charles A., the second of his eight children, born in 1812, has been a resident of the town since his parents settled here, and is now actively engaged in the manufacture of lumber and starch.
(For explanations, etc., see main page) Railroad station is Cambridge junction, 4 miles south, on St. J. & L. C., and B. & L. R. R. Daily stage. Adams Lyman W., (Waterville) r 18, blacksmith, runs turning lathe. Alford Adial, (Waterville) r 13, farmer, leases of Elias Willey 75. Atwell Franklin, (Waterville) r 19, farmer 26. Balch Maria M., (Waterville) r 19, widow of Solomon, resident, h and lot. Beard B. Willis, (Waterville) r 12 1/2, with Curtis A., farmer. BEARD CURTIS A., (Waterville) r 12 1/2, sugar orchard 1,000 trees, and farmer 130. Beard Homer S., (Waterville) r 13, … Read more
Norman M. Cheeney, the second son of Joseph Cheeney, an early settler in Waterville, was born in 1820, and has resided in Belvidere about twelve years, during which time he has held most of the town trusts.
McFarland, Henry Moses, of Hyde Park, son of Moses and Livonia (Leach) McFarland, was born in Waterville, August 5, 1852. Mr. McFarland’s great-grandfather served in the war of the Revolution, coming out of the service with the rank of major. His father also served his country in the civil war as captain of Co. A, 8th Regt. Vt. Vols., and was a brave and resolute officer, having at various times received honorable mention for meritorious conduct on the field of battle. He received his preliminary educational training in the schools of Waterville and the People’s Academy, working his way through … Read more