Windsor County VT Genealogy – Page 6 of 8

Biography of Hon. Chester Pike

Hon. Chester Pike, a prominent citizen of Sullivan County, New Hampshire, residing in Cornish, his native town, was born July 30, 1829, son of Ebenezer and Judith (Bryant) Pike. On both his father’s and his mother’s side he is descended from distinguished ancestry, and from families that have been conspicuous, not only in the history of New Hampshire, but in the history of the nation. His grandfather Pike was born in Newbury, Mass., and came to Cornish in early manhood, the first of the name to settle here. He bought a farm and a mill on Blow-me-down Brook, and devoted … Read more

History of the Baptist Church at Norwich Vermont

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 earliest settlers were of that faith. The following documents are transcribed from the town records: Willington [Ct.] October ye 6, 1780. “This may Certify all Persons whom it may Concern that Calvin Johnsen of Wellington is of the Baptist Persuasion and is one of the society of the Baptist Church in said Willington … Read more

Biography of George Edward Reed

GEORGE EDWARD REED – Laundry interests in Western Massachusetts have a most satisfactory representative in the Amherst Laundry Company, of which George Edward Reed is the president, and whose prominent place in Amherst industry he was the means of securing, through a far-sighted and successful endeavor to establish an up-to-date plant. Mr. Reed is an expert man in his calling; he has spent practically all his career in the one line of business; and he is highly regarded by his associates and by the general public. He is of Vermont parentage and ancestry, his grandfather, David Swan Reed, a farmer, … Read more

Curtis Family of Norwich Vermont

Simeon Curtis came to Norwich from Lebanon, Connecticut, as early as the year 1773, in which year he was elected one of the town assessors, and located near the south line of the town, on the farm where Henry S. Goddard now lives. Mr. Curtis died in 1779 at the age of fifty-eight years, and his grave is found in the old cemetery at Norwich village among the graves of other early settlers and near that of his gifted son, Abel Curtis, who survived his father only four years. But little is now known of the Curtis family, as its … Read more

Norwich Vermont an Independent Township

In America the germ of political organization is the Township, older than the County, older than the State. In New England we find towns established as independent communities, endowed with distinctive rights and privileges, as early as the middle of the seventeenth century. It is to these town governments that we must look for the foundation of republican liberty, to the town meeting, where all citizens meet on a plane of equality to choose their local officers and manage their local affairs. Here is the firm basis upon which all free institutions can rest. Ralph Waldo Emerson once proposed that … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Doctor Enos Lewis

The youngest son of Dr. Joseph and Experience (Burr) Lewis, was born at Norwich, Jan. 19, 1784; studied medicine with his father and at Dartmouth Medical College, where he graduated in 1804; surgeon in the U. S. Army, 1808-1810; afterwards practiced his profession in Norwich. He married Katurah, daughter of Beebe Denison of Stonington, Connecticut, at Norwich, June 28, 1812, by whom he had five children. Doctor Lewis died at his home in Norwich, on the site of the residence of the late George W. Kibling, September 14, 1823. He was a scholarly man, of sterling integrity, and took a … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Joseph Savage

Joseph Savage, born in Hartford, Vt., came to Stowe in 1812, where he resided until his death, in 1838, aged fifty-seven years. R. A. Savage, son of Joseph, born in this town, is a deacon of the Congregational church, at Stowe village. He has served two terms as associate judge. Joseph and his wife were among the original members of the Congregational church.

Biography of Doctor Ira Davis

The son of Moses Davis, Esq., was born at Dracut, Mass., probably about the year 1797 or 1798. He established himself in the practice of medicine at Norwich Plain in 1830 or 1831, and there continued till his death in March, 1873. He was in constant practice of his profession for more than thirty years.

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, … Read more

Biography of George Musalas Colvocoresses

Born in Scio, Grecian Archipelago, October 22, 1816. During the Greek Revolution the Turks invaded that island in 1822, and after narrowly escaping the massacre that followed, George with his mother and two young sisters were carried captives to Smyrna. Through friends in that city he was ransomed and sent in an American brig to Baltimore; much kindness was shown him by members of the Greek Relief Committee, and the story of his misfortunes excited the sympathy of Captain Alden Partridge, head of the military academy then at Norwich, who offered to receive and provide for young Colvocoresses as his … Read more

Biography of Doctor Horace Hatch

The son of Honorable Reuben and Eunice (Dennison) Hatch, was born at Tunbridge, Vermont, May 23, 1788. He was educated at Dartmouth College, where he graduated in 1814, and studied medicine at the same institution, receiving the degree of M. D. in 1817. He settled in the practice of his profession at Norwich the same year, where he pursued the active and laborious duties of a country physician for twenty years. He married January 9, 1821, Mary Yates, daughter of Thomas Smith. His children were born here. In the year, he built upon nearly the same ground where Captain Joseph … Read more

List of the Principal Pioneer Settlers in Norwich Vermont

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 Windham and Windsor Counties, as now constituted, belonged to Cumberland County; the remaining portion of the state to the north-ward, then mostly unsettled, was called the county of Gloucester. By the census of 1771, the population of the two counties of Cumberland and Gloucester was returned as 4669, (Cumberland, 3947; Gloucester, 722). Norwich … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Abial H. Slayton

Abial H. Slayton, from Woodstock, Vt., came to Stowe about the year 1821, and located on road 48, where his son, Abial H., now lives. He died here in 1831, aged thirty-five years. Three of his sons, Jerome B., Azro C., and Abial H., are residents of the town.

Cook Family of Norwich Vermont

Three brothers, Samuel, Francis, and Lyman, with their two sisters, (children of Jonathan and Lydia [Aldrich] Cook), ran away from the Shaker settlement at Lancaster, Mass., where they had been placed by their parents before 1800, and came to this vicinity at an early day. Samuel settled in Norwich, and married Anna Pratt, by whom he had nine children. From Samuel the later generations of Cooks in town were descended. Francis also located in Norwich, on the farm now occupied by David Sargent, and there he lived and died. He was never married. Lyman Cook settled in Thetford. Another brother, … Read more

Biography of Fairbanks Bush

It is probable that Fairbanks Bush, son of Captain Timothy Bush, came to Norwich with his father when the latter settled in town. His place of birth is not known to us. He first appears as a voter in town in 1807. He married Amy Yeomans. Previous to 1796 he removed to Orange, Vt., but later returned to Norwich, where he died February 24, 1873, lacking but twelve hours of having rounded out a life period of one hundred years. Fairbanks Bush was Norwich’s minstrel poet. We are told that the spirit of our modern age is unfavorable to poetry. However … Read more

Windsor County, Vermont Census

1790 Windsor County, Vermont Census Free 1790 Census Form for your Research Hosted at Ancestry.com – Ancestry Free Trial 1790 Windsor County, Census (images and index) $ Hosted at Census Guide 1790 U.S. Census Guide 1800 Windsor County, Vermont Census Free 1800 Census Form for your Research Hosted at Ancestry.com – Ancestry Free Trial 1800 Windsor County, Census (images and index) $ Hosted at Census Guide 1800 U.S. Census Guide 1810 Windsor County, Vermont Census Free 1810 Census Form for your Research Hosted at Ancestry.com – Ancestry Free Trial 1810 Windsor County, Census (images and index) $ 1810-1890 Accelerated … Read more

Biography of Honorable Daniel Azro Ashley Buck

Daniel Azro Ashley Buck, the eldest son of Honorable Daniel and Content (Ashley) Buck, was born at Norwich, Vt, April 19, 1789. He received a collegiate education, graduating at Middlebury in 1807, in the same class with William Slade and Stephen Royce, a class which is said to have contained more eminent men in proportion to its numbers than can be matched in the record of any American college. The following year he graduated from West Point Military Academy, and was appointed second lieutenant of engineers, to date from January 25, 1808. Oliver G. Burton, a native of Norwich but … Read more

History of the Merchants of Norwich VT

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 the first to open trade at Norwich Plain, prior to the year 1800. Ichabod Marshall of Hanover, also a Dartmouth graduate in 1790, is understood as having been engaged in mercantile business in Norwich (possibly in partnership with Stephen Burton) for several years. Both these young men emigrated to the West early in … Read more

Biography of Edward C. Willis

Edward C. Willis, superintendent of the State Orphans Home at Atchison, is a graduate of Dartmouth College and came to kansas nearly forty years ago with the equipment and training of a oultured New Englander. His work in this state had been largely of an educational nature, and he had taught, had been superintendent of schools, and was finally appointed to his present post at Atchison, where he had served with the exception of two years since 1907. Nearly all of Mr. Willis’ ancestors were colonial families of New England. The Willis family came originally from the northern part of … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Captain Joseph Hatch

Captain Joseph Hatch came to Norwich with his elder brother, John, and located at the south end of Norwich Plain, where he built himself a log cabin on a site near the building now standing and formerly used by the late David Merrill for a paint shop. Subsequently, in 1771, he built the house on the opposite side of the way (now known as the Messenger house) which is believed to have been the first frame dwelling house erected at the Plain. He became the owner of a large amount of land, embracing much of the southern and eastern parts … Read more