Atwood, J. Q., Cornwall, was born in Cornwall, Addison county, Vt., on August 13, 1825, and was the oldest son of Benjamin and Cynthia (Eastman) Atwood. Benjamin Atwood was born in Sandown, New Hampshire, on December 5, 1791, and came with his father, Benjamin Atwood, sr., to Addison county, Vt., at the beginning of this century, remaining in Cornwall two or three years, and at the end of that time removing to Rutland county, Vt. He then with his parents started for the State of Pennsylvania, but while on their way there his parents died. Their seven children then made their way back to Vermont in 1803. He learned the wheelwright trade with Luther Tilden, a trade which he followed for eight years. He purchased the Scovell farm, where he lived many years. He had a family of two daughters and three sons, three of whom are now living, J. Q., Amos E., and M—— C. He also read law in the office of Peter Starr, of Middlebury, Vt. He died on September 30, 1882. J. Q. Atwood was educated in the common schools of Addison, and received a very fair education. He was married on September 20, 1849, to Sarah T. E. Steams; who was a daughter of Abijah Stearns, a farmer and well-known citizen of Cornwall, Vt. They have two children, John Walter, who is a farmer and resides on the farm, and Mary E., who died in infancy. After he was married Mr. Atwood had his residence on the place now the home of H. D. Scovell, and remained there two years, when he removed to Bristol and there dealt in real estate, and in 1858 he settled in his present home and built his family residence. He has been lister of the town three years, and is a prosperous and self-made man.
