Vermont

Biography of Colonel Stephen N. Warren

Warren, Colonel Stephen N., Orwell, was born in the town of Schroon, Essex county, N. Y., on May 26, 1815. He has been a resident of the town of Orwell, Vt., since the year 1817. His father, Captain Philip Warren, was an officer in the War of 1812, and commanded an artillery company at the battle of Plattsburgh. He was a native of the town of Townsend, Windham county, Vt., where he was born on July 19, 1788. He moved to the town of Lanesboro, Berkshire county, Mass., and from there he went to the town of Schroon, N. Y., … Read more

Biography of Martin W. Winans

Winans, Martin W., Ferrisburgh, Vergennes p. o., was born in Ferrisburgh, Vt., on February 12, 1823. He was married in 1865 to Ida A. (Newton) Webster. Mr. Martin W. Winans died on May 19, 1885, leaving three sons — James F., born 1869; Herbert W., born 1874; and Frank L. N., born June 15, 1877. Mrs. Ida Winans married for her first husband Doctor Jonas Webster, in 1856. He died in June, 1863. She was born in Ferrisburgh, Vt., in 1833, and was a daughter of Joseph and Abigail (Smith) Newton. Joseph was a native of Dutchess county, N. Y., … Read more

Addison Vermont

THE town of Addison lies on the shore of Lake Champlain, in the western part of Addison county, and is bounded on the north by Panton; east by Waltham and Weybridge; south by Bridport, and west by Lake Champlain. The surface of the town is level or with a gradual slope towards the lake, except the extreme eastern part, which becomes hilly or mountainous, the highest elevation being Snake Mountain (or Grandview Mountain, as it is now called; this elevation rises to a height of 1,310 feet above sea level, and is the highest point in the county west of … Read more

Addison Vermont – Early Settlements

One of the soldiers of Amherst was named Benjamin Kellogg, from Connecticut. It is said that while stationed at Crown Point he frequently visited the Salt Licks, near where the mansion of General John Strong was subsequently built, to procure venison for the officers of the army. It is believed that the clearings made by the French, and the promising character of the locality, made an impression upon his mind, and that when lie returned he told his acquaintances of the advantages of the place for settlement. He returned to his old hunting grounds in the fall of 1762, and … Read more

Biography of Amos Smith

Amos Smith came here in 1788, locating upon the farm now owned by Olin A. Smith. He died soon after, leaving a family of eight children, four of whom, Henry, Daniel, Rufus and Russell, located in the eastern part of the town. The four eldest sons were all at the battle of Plattsburgh, and were prisoners of the War of 1812. Truman, son of Henry, aged over eighty years, is still a resident of the town. Olin is a son of Daniel. Henry Smith, son of Amos, was born in Cheshire, Mass., October 6, 1769. He married Anna Blanchard, daughter … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Israel Taylor

Israel Taylor came to Addison from Middlebury in 1816. He followed the carpenter and joiner trade; reared nine children, two of whom, Cyrillo H. and Esther, now reside here.

Biographical Sketch of Ebenezer Merrill

Ebenezer Merrill and his sons, Aaron and Correll, were early settlers in the northeastern part of the town. He died here March 8, 1827, aged eighty-two years. Correll reared a family of eight children, of whom Charles is the only one now living, and died August 29, 1849, in his eighty-third year. Hiram Merrill is a son of Aaron.

Biographical Sketch of Asa Willmarth

Asa Willmarth, one of the five brothers of John Willmarth, and the progenitor of the Willmarth families now in Addison, was born in Providence, R. I., April 27, 1746, and married Chloe Peck, September 20, 1770. They resided in North Adams, Mass., for a time, then immigrated to Addison in 1788, locating in the eastern part of the town. The country was then nearly an unbroken wilderness, the road to Vergennes being simply a bridle path marked by blazed trees. Asa died February 8, 1830. At the time of his wife’s death, October 22, 1829, they had lived together fifty-nine … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Peleg Whitford

Peleg Whitford, the founder of the Whitford family in Addison, was born in Rhode Island in 1744, and after three months’ schooling was apprenticed to a tailor. He married in the town of Coventry, and removed to Lanesboro, Mass., living for a short time near a place called “Cheshire Meeting-House,” and since known as “Whitford’s Rocks.” In the spring of 1781 he again moved, this time to Shaftsbury, Vt., where he remained until February, 1802, when he sold out and came to this town, and resided here until his death, at the age of eighty-eight years. His only son, William, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Levi Meeker

Levi Meeker came to Addison from Elizabethtown, N. Y., in 1806, locating in the southeastern part of the town upon the farm lately owned by Horace Meeker, deceased, and now the property of his nephew. He held various town offices, and died at the age of seventy-eight years.

Biographical Sketch of Jonah Case

Jonah Case located in the northeastern part of the town, on the old “‘Squire Arzah Crane place,” where William J. Conant recently resided. The old brick house is still standing, built by him in 1780 – the first brick dwelling erected in the county. Here he kept a public house for a long time, and the county courts were held here for several years. It is said that Case first built a log house but while putting on the roof the building was blown down, and that he then built the present house of brick manufactured on the farm. In … Read more

Biography of Benjamin Southard

Benjamin Southard, from New Jersey, settled upon a farm in the southern part of the town; married Cynthia Mason, reared fourteen children, and died August 7, 1845. Ransom Southard is the only descendant now in the town.

Biographical Sketch of Abel Norton

Abel Norton, from Connecticut, located upon the farm now owned by Hiram Norton, in 1790, and died here in 1833, aged fifty-six years. Hiram has eight children, all of whom except Lucy (Mrs. F. M. Moulton, of Vergennes) reside near the old farm.

Biography of Gideon Seeger

Gideon Seeger, from Shaftsbury, Vt., located upon the farm now owned by Byron Smith in 1791. He was one of the early postmasters, an office he retained for many years, and which was afterwards held for a long time by Gideon, jr. Luman Seeger, here now, is a grandson of Gideon.

Biography of Lieut. Benjamin Everest

Lieutenant Benjamin Everest came with his father to Addison when he was sixteen years old; his father’s name was also Benjamin, and Zadock was his brother. He is said to have been a man of prowess and courage, and with his brother was conspicuous in aiding Allen and Warner to drive out the “Yorkers” from the county. On receipt of news of the battle of Lexington, Everest repaired to Allen’s headquarters, and was given a lieutenant’s commission. He was with Allen when he entered the fort at Ticonderoga, and went with Warner to the capture of Crown Point. After Allen … Read more

Biography of Gen. David Whitney

General David Whitney came here soon after the Revolution and located upon the farm previously owned by Kellogg; but subsequently removed to a farm on the north bank of Ward’s Creek, where lie resided until a few years previous so his death, when he removed to Bridport. He died May 10, 1850, aged ninety-three years. He was a member of the constitutional conventions of 1793, 18I4, 1836 and 1843; represented Addison in the Legislatures of 1790, ’92, ’93, ’97, 1808 to 1815 and ’24, and was during his long life here one of the leading men of the town.

Biography of Frank Adams

Frank Adams, from Salisbury, one of the original proprietors, was an early settler. His father, Benjamin, came on subsequently, locating upon the farm now owned by his great-grandson, William Adams. Benjamin was commissioned a second lieutenant by President Hancock in 1776, and afterwards took a prominent part in the war.

Biography of William Allis

William Allis, from Massachusetts, came to Addison in 1785, locating upon the farm now Owned by Edgar, son of the late Nathaniel Allis, who was his last surviving child. The present house was built by Nathaniel in 1831, succeeding the old log house.

Biography of Daniel Champion

Daniel Champion, a Revolutionary soldier, was an early settler, locating near Chimney Point Newell B. Smith, who came here in 1800, and afterward served in the War of 1812, married Electa, one of Daniel’s twelve children. Austin Smith is the only one of their children now living.

Biography of Benjamin Kellogg

Benjamin Kellogg brought his family into the town in 1766. He traded his farm of one hundred acres in Connecticut for 3,000 acres lying in Addison and Panton. When the settlers were driven off, Kellogg went to Mount Hope, N. Y., with his family, and subsequently to Bennington, where he took part in the battle there. Subsequently he and Lieutenant Everest came back to Addison to look after the cattle they had left here, and found that a Mr. Gale had sold them to the British, and had also reported their owners as spies. They were both captured on the … Read more