Vermont

Biography of Zadock Everest

Zadock Everest came to Addison in the summer Of 1765 and began his clearing, as before mentioned. On his place he built a log house and there kept the first public house in the county. After the breaking out of the war he fled his family to Whitehall, and from thence sought refuge in Pawlet, Rutland county, where he was elected representative in March, 1784. During that year he returned to Addison, and represented the town of Panton in 1785 and Addison in 1788, 1789 and 1795; he also held the prominent town offices through a series of years and … Read more

Biography of Elijah Elmer

Elijah Elmer, from Amherst, Mass., came to Addison in 1783, locating upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Wright Elmer. He had a family of four sons, only one of whom, Chester, attained mature age. He married a sister of Governor Silas Wright.

Biography of Arnold Gulley

Arnold Gulley, from Rhode Island, came to Addison in 1804, locating upon the place now occupied by his son Erasmus.

Biography of John Strong

The Strong family has been a prominent one in this town. The Hon. John Strong was born in Salisbury, Conn., in 1738 and came to Addison in February, 1766, as before noted. After he was driven away from his settlement by the British he went to Dorset, which town he represented in the Legislature from 1779 to 1782, and in 1781 he was elected assistant judge of Bennington county, and re-elected in 1782. In 1783 he returned to his former home in this town. His first dwelling here was built near the lake and destroyed by the British. In 1796 … Read more

Biography of James Stickle

James Stickle, born in New Jersey in 1769, came to Addison in early life, locating in the eastern part of the town, where he died December 18, 1850. The homestead came into Charles Stickle’s possession in 1847, who was born in 1807, and in 1878 reverted to H. A. Stickle, the present owner, it having never left the family since it was reclaimed from the wilderness.

Biography of John Fisher

John Fisher, from Massachusetts, located in the eastern part of the town, upon the farm now owned by Osman H. Fisher, at an early date. The homestead passed into the hands of his son Henry, and from him reverted to Osman H. John, whose remains rest in the cemetery near Olin Smith’s place, had a family of five children.

Biography of Samuel J. Benedict

Samuel J. Benedict is a son of John Benedict, an early settler in Weybridge, who died in Cornwall in 1873, aged eighty-seven years. S. J. Benedict has been in Addison thirty-four years, thirty-one of which on this place, which he sold to his son-in-law, Frederick P. Owen, in the spring of 1883.

Biography of James Hindes

James Hindes came from New Jersey in 1800, locating upon the farm now owned by Aaron Hindes, in that part of the town known as “Nortontown.” The homestead descended from James to Aaron, and thence to Aaron, jr., who has been a prominent man in town affairs, being now upwards of seventy-five years of age.

Biography of Wheeler French

Wheeler French located in Addison in 1833, and his father, Nathaniel, was one of the early settlers in New Haven. George, son of Wheeler, now resides here, one of the ex-representatives of the town in the General Assembly.

Biography of John Vanderhoof

John Vanderhoof, from New Jersey, located upon the farm now owned by his grandson, Oliver Vanderhoof, early in the present century.

Biography of Asahel Barnes

Asahel Barnes was a native of Bristol, Conn. From there he removed to New Haven, where he remained about seven years, then went to Canada and remained two years, and finally in 1823 came to Addison, locating upon the place now occupied by his son Asahel, Jr. The earliest settler on this place was Benjamin Paine, though Mr. Barnes bought it of James Lewis, whose wife was an adopted daughter of Paine. Mr. Barnes died In June, 1859, in his eighty-second year, while on a visit to his daughter, Mrs. Alfred Roscoe, of New Haven. Asahel, Jr., was born in … Read more

Biography of Arzah Crane

Arzah Crane came from Burlington in 1814 and settled on the farm now occupied by Shepard Olcott, about one and one-fourth miles north of Asahel Barnes’s. His daughter E1len is the wife of Asahel Barnes. He died at Essex, N. Y., in 1861.

Biographical Sketch of James Gorham

James Gorham came on foot from Massachusetts in 1810, locating upon the farm now owned by his son Edward. He was a carpenter and joiner by trade, and was ever respected as an upright, industrious citizen.

Biographical Sketch of Gideon Carpenter

Gideon Carpenter, from Bennington, Vt., located in 1802 upon the farm now occupied by his son Isaiah. He had four children, viz. Ruth, who married Daniel Jackson ; Roxana, who married Erasmus Gulley Truman, a resident of Vergennes, and Isaiah. Gideon died in 1803 or ’04, aged eighty-four years.

Biographical Sketch of Asaph Haywood

Asaph Haywood, who settled in Weybridge in 1805, upon the farm now occupied by Joseph Brown, was the grandfather of Benjamin Haywood, who resides in the northeastern part of this town.

Addison Vermont – Postmasters

The first post-office in the town was established at Chimney Point about 1823, with Amos B. Chubb, postmaster. He held the office about two years, and was succeeded by Byron Murray, and he by Asahel Barnes, sr., who held the Office until he went to Burlington, in 1841, when Dr. Prentiss Cheney had it for a time; then Dr. David C. Goodale, and finally, in the autumn of 1847, it was taken by Asahel Barnes, Jr., who has been continued in the office up to the present time. At the Corners a very early postmaster was Gideon Seeger. The present … Read more

Addison Vermont – Churches

The Grandview House, located upon the summit of Snake Mountain, was built in 1874 by Jonas N. Smith, the present proprietor. It has an observatory sixty-eight feet in height, from which an unexcelled view of the surrounding country may be obtained, showing quite distinctly the old forts at Ticonderoga and Crown Point, a fine view of Lake George, South Bay, West Whitehall, Lake Champlain from South Bay to Cumberland Head, Crown Point village and furnaces, Port Henry and its two furnaces, Moriah Four Corners, Moriah Center, Mineville, Westport, Split Rock, Point Essex, the spires of churches in Plattsburgh, Middlebury, Vergennes, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Henry Brevoort

Henry Brevoort came from West Haven, Vt., in 1811, and located upon the farm now owned by his son Henry F. He was a tanner and shoemaker by trade, and a very public-spirited man. He represented the town in the Legislature in 1825-26; was a justice of the peace thirty years, and died here in 1880, aged ninety-two years.

Addison Vermont – Town Organization

The town was organized and the first town meeting held March 29, 1784, when the following list of officers was chosen to govern its affairs: Captain Zadock Everest, moderator; Colonel John Strong, clerk; Colonel John Strong, Zadock Everest and Joshua Whitney, selectmen; Colonel John Strong, treasurer; Lieutenant David Vallance, constable; Benjamin Paine, Benjamin Everest and Lieutenant Joshua Whitney, listers; David Vallance, collector; Colonel John Strong, leather sealer; John Ward and Ebenezer Wright, grand jurors; Joseph Chilson, tithingman; Timothy Woodford, brander of horses; Samuel Strong, pound-keeper; and Benjamin Everest and David Whitney, fence viewers. It was also voted at this meeting … Read more

Addison Vermont – Military

The part taken by the early inhabitants of this town in the wars of the Revolution and 1812 has been described in preceding pages; but it may be added that the descendants of Addison’s pioneers fully sustained the records of their ancestors for bravery and patriotism, when the country was threatened with internal war. Men and money were freely supplied for the preservation of the Union, and many fell in defense of their country. The following list gives the names of those who enlisted in the town in Vermont organizations, as compiled by the adjutant-general Volunteers for three years credited … Read more