Vermont

Biographical Sketch of Nathan Robinson

Nathan Robinson, from Westminster, Vt., came to Stowe in 1798, and purchased a farm of Amasa Marshall, where a log house was erected, 20×40 feet, one story in height. In this house Mr. Robinson kept a hotel for many years, then built a more commodius hotel, where he died at the advanced age of eighty-seven years, having lived a useful and exemplary life. He was the first representative of the town, holding the office fourteen years, and also was a justice of the peace many years, in which capacity he conducted himself so judiciously as to obtain the name of … Read more

History of Wolcott, Lamoille County, Vermont

WOLCOTT, located in the eastern part of the county, in lat. 44° 34′, and long. 4° 31′, bounded northeasterly by Craftsbury, southeasterly by Hardwick, southwesterly by Elmore, and northwesterly by Hyde Park, was granted by the State, November 7, 1780, and chartered to Joshua Stanton and sixty-one others, August 22, 1781, as a township of 23,040 acres. Its name was given in honor of Maj-Gen. Oliver Wolcott, one of the original proprietors. The names of the other proprietors were as follows : Joshua Stanton, John Fellows, Matthew Mead, Aaron Comstock, Samuel Middlebrooks, Isaac Lewis, Clap Raymond, Abijah Taylor, Levi Taylor, … Read more

Early Remembrances of Wolcott, Lamoille County, Vermont

No more earnest lesson of what energy and perseverance can accomplish could be found, perhaps, than in Mr. Hubbell’s sketch of his trials and triumphs in those early days, found in the following narrative, written by him and published in 1829. We are indebted to the kindness of Mr. Justus Hubbell, one of the descendants, for a copy of the pamphlet, which we deem of sufficient interest to warrant an entire reprint: “This narrative was written for the private use and gratification of the sufferer, with no intention of its ever appearing before the public, but certain reasons connected with … Read more

History of Waterville, Lamoille County, Vermont

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

History of Stowe, Lamoille County, Vermont

STOWE is situated in the southern part of the county, in lat. 44° 28′, and long. 4° 20,’ bounded northeasterly by Morristown, southeasterly by Worcester, southwesterly by Waterbury, and northwesterly by Cambridge and Underhill. The town originally contained an area of 23,040 acres, chartered by Benning Wentworth, governor of New Hampshire, June 8, 1763, to Joshua Simmons and sixty-three associates, in seventy shares. It was named after a town in England, and originally spelled S-t-o-w, the a having been annexed during the last forty years. In 1848, the legislature passed an act annexing to its territory the town of Mansfield, … Read more

History of Morristown, Lamoille County, Vermont

MORRISTOWN, an irregularly outlined town in the central part of the county, lies in latitude 44 32′, and longitude 4° 20′, bounded north easterly by Hyde Park, southeasterly by Elmore, southwesterly by Stowe, and northwesterly by Johnson and Cambridge. It was granted November 6, 1780, and chartered to Moses Morse and sixty-four associates, August 24, 1781, containing 23,040 acres, until November 14, 1855, when a portion of Sterling was annexed to its territory. Sterling was a township chartered February 25, 1782, and settlement commenced therein in 1792. The people, however, soon grew tired of a separate organization. The first division … Read more

History of Johnson, Lamoille County, Vermont

JOHNSON lies in the central part of the county, in latitude 44 40′, and longitude 4° 19′, bounded northeasterly by Belvidere and Eden, south easterly by Hyde Park and Morristown, southwesterly by Morristown and Cambridge, and northwesterly by Waterville and Cambridge, containing an area of little over 23,040 acres. The tale of its charter breathes somewhat of romance. As early as 1780, a Mr. Brown, an early settler in Jericho, Vt., secured a grant of the township. He caused the outlines to be run, and commenced the allotment in the eastern part of the town, and gave to it the … Read more

History of Hyde Park, Lamoille County, Vermont

HYDE PARK, the shire town, and geographical as well as political center of the county, lies in lat. 44° 37′, and long. 4° 26′, bounded northeasterly by Eden, southeasterly by Wolcott, southwesterly by Morristown, and northwesterly by Johnson. It has an area of 23,040 acres, its boundary lines being each about six miles in length, thus forming a square, which is set diagonally, north and south. No changes have been made in the territorial limits of the town since its original survey. It was granted by the State, November 6, 1780, and chartered August 27, 1781, to Jedediah Hyde and … Read more

Civil War Soldiers from Elmore, Lamoille County, Vermont

During the late civil war Elmore furnished sixty-four soldiers as follows: Stephen C. Albee David P. Barnes Jos. Bashaw Henry J. Bagley John P. Bedell Wm. Biscomer, May 20,’64, died of wounds Lewis Belville, deserted, Jan. 1,’63 Albert J. Biddell, prisoner June 23,’64 Clesson Cameron Lyman L. Camp Charles Carter, deserted Dec. 18, ’62 W. B. Chandler Rufus H. Clark Seth L. Clark Chas. Clement Chas. S. Cooper John A. Camp Luman M. Davis, May 12, ’64, killed, Spottsylvania James P. Davis Solon W. Davis Learnard W. Davis Hiram Dwyer, Jan. 17,’64, died Edwin R. Dodge, April 16,’62, killed tee’s … Read more

History of Elmore, Lamoille County, Vermont

ELMORE, located in the southeastern part of the county, in lat. 44° 29′, and long. 4° 29′, is bounded northeasterly by Wolcott, southeasterly by Woodbury, southwesterly by Worcester, and northwesterly by Morristown, thus lying seventeen miles north from Montpelier, and thirty-three east from Burlington. The township contains an area of 23,040 acres, granted by the State to Samuel Elmore, from whom it derived its name, and sixtyfour others, November 7, 1780, though the charter was not issued until August 21, 1781. The surface of the town is somewhat uneven and broken, especially in the western part, where the territory is … Read more

History of Eden, Lamoille County, Vermont

EDEN, a lumbering town located in the northern part of the county, in lat. 44° 22′, and long. 4° 25′, bounded north by Lowell, in Orleans county, and Montgomery, in Franklin county, east by Craftsbury, in Orleans county, south by Hyde Park and Johnson, and west by Belvidere, was granted November 7, 1780, and chartered August 28, 1781, the charter deed reading as follows: “The Governor, Council, and General Assembly of the Freemen of the State of Vermont: To all people to whom these presents shall come, Greeting : Know ye, that whereas Col. Seth Warner and his associates, our … Read more

History of Cambridge, Lamoille County, Vermont

CAMBRIDGE, located in the the extreme western part of the county, in latitude 44° 38′, and longitude 4° 7′, bounded north by Fletcher, in Franklin county, and Waterville, east by Johnson, Morristown and Stowe, south by Underhill, and west by Underhill and Fletcher, was granted Nov. 7, 1780, and chartered August 13, 178r, to Samuel Robinson, John Fassett, Jr., Jonathan Fassett, and sixty-four others. The town originally contained 23,533 acres, but two miles from the western part of Sterling were annexed to its area, Oct. 30, 1828, and again, November 1, 1841, all that portion of Fletcher which lay upon … Read more

History of Belvidere, Lamoille County, Vermont

BELVIDERE, a very mountainous, pentagonal shaped town, located in the northwestern corner of the county, in 44° 47′ north latitude, and in longitude 4° 19′ east from Washington,* is bounded north by Avery’s Gore, and Montgomery, in Franklin county, east by Eden, south by Johnson and Waterville, and west by Waterville. It was granted to a Mr. John Kelley, of New York city, March 5, 1787, and chartered by Vermont, November 14, 1791, by the name of Belvidere. The town originally contained an area of 30,100 acres, but was shorn of its limits November 15, 1824, when a portion of … Read more

Biography of Curtis Brown

Curtis Brown of Belvidere, son of Lybeout and Betsey W. (Ward) Brown, was born in Coventry, Oct. 16, 1825. His father was the first Republican representative in the Legislature of the state, to which both his son and grandson have been elected. Mr. Brown was educated in the common schools of Coventry and afterwards at Waterbury, N. Y., residing with his parents till the age of twenty-one. At that time he purchased a farm in Belvidere, and in order to pay for it went to Massachusetts, where he worked industriously in a mill for several years until he had accomplished … Read more

Biography of Horace Waite

Waite, Horace, of Hyde Park, son of Smith H. and Lucinda (Goodenough) Waite, was born in Fairfield, May 16, 1826. His education was obtained in the common schools of Sheldon and at Bakersfield Academy. Left an orphan at the age of five he found a home with Asa Grant with whom he remained till he arrived at man’s estate and for whom he worked seven years after attaining his majority. In 1854 he invested his carefully saved earnings in the purchase of a large farm in Eden, where he resided until 1877 when he removed to Morrisville to secure better … Read more

Biography of Jonas T. Stevens

Stevens, Jonas T., of Hyde Park, son of Amasa and Martha (Smith) Stevens, was born in Eden, June 3, 1842. His father, Amasa, was a long-time resident of Eden, was prominently connected with public affairs, and for a considerable period was associate judge of the county court. Jonas T. Stevens obtained his education in the common school, and for a time gave his services to neighboring farmers, being also employed in mills in the vicinity of his birthplace. Acquiring a small but well-earned capital, he invested it in a saw mill, when his business plans were suddenly interrupted by the … Read more

Biography of Edward Bertrand Sawyer

Edward Bertrand Sawyer of Hyde Park, son of Joshua and Mary (Keeler) Sawyer, was born in Hyde Park, April 16, 1828. His education was obtained in public and private schools, to some extent under the care of a tutor, and during one term at the People’s Academy. His father was his first instructor in the law, the study of which he commenced at eighteen years of age, reading also in the office of Hon. W. W. White, then of Johnson. Appreciating the defects of his early schooling, he adopted a system of self-education, taking Fowler’s “Self Education, Complete” for a … Read more

Biography of Carroll Smalley Page

Carroll Smalley Page of Hyde Park, son of Russell S. and Martha Malvina (Smalley) Page, was born in Westfield, Jan. 10, 1843. He was educated at the People’s Academy at Morrisville, the Lamoille county grammar school of Johnson, and the Lamoille Central Academy of Hyde Park. Governor Page is identified with many of the important business enterprises of his county and state, being president of the Lamoille County Savings Bank and Trust Co., of the Lamoille County National Bank, of the Hyde Park Hotel Co., and of the Fife Lumber Co. He is the treasurer of the Hyde Park Lumber … Read more

Biography of Henry Moses McFarland

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

Biography of Zina Goldthwait Chase

Zina Goldthwait Chase late of Cambridge, son of Alden and Abigail (Chase) Chase, was born in Cambridge, August 9, 1830. His educational advantages were derived from the common schools and he steadily followed farming as an occupation, at the same time dealing largely in cattle. Mr. Chase twice enlisted in the ranks of his country’s defenders and in his first attempt was advanced to the grade of orderly sergeant [p.71] of Co. H, 2d Regt. Vt. Vols., but unfortunately he was mustered out for disability. After holding many minor positions of trust in the town, he was elected by a … Read more