YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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HISTORY O
WATERBURY, VT

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1916

HISTORY OF WATERBURY
VERMONT

1763-1915

EDITED AND COMPILED
BY
THEODORE GRAHAM LEWIS

PUBLISHED BY
HARRY C. WHITEHILL

THE RECORD PRINT
WATERBURY, VERMONT

Copyright, 1915
By harry C. WHITEHILL

this volume is dedicated to the memory of
Justin W. Moody, with grateful recollec
tions OF HIS LONG AND FAITHFUL SERVICE TO
HIS TOWNSMEN AS PUBLIC SERVANT, CITIZEN,
NEIGHBOR, AND FRIEND.

FOREWORD
Conscious that there are many imperfections in this volume,
the Editor nevertheless ventures the hope that it may be found
to contain in convenient form matter concerning the more
important periods of Waterbury's history, biographical data
of a certain interest and information about some of the men
whose words and deeds have earned distinction for the town.
No pretense is made at giving full genealogies and many of the
biographical sketches are regrettably incomplete. Omission
of much that might properly have been included is, of course,
one of the inevitable incidents to the undertaking. Acknowl
edgments are made to Mr. Harry C. Whitehill, Senator
William P. Dillingham and Mr. O. A. Seabury for their
effective assistance and unwearied interest without which the
work could not have been accomplished. Thanks are also
due the members of the staff of librarians at the Waterbury
Public Library and the Vermont State Library for their help
ful courtesy. Many others have evinced a kindly disposition
to assist in the compilation of military and biographical data;
to all such the Editor expresses his sense of obligation. It will
be apparent that material in many instances has been verified
by recourse to such sources as Hemenway's Gazetteer, Child's
Gazetteer and Thompson's Vermont. The subscriber takes
this occasion to hazard the remark that some such paraphrase
as "happy is the town that has no history" is of no assistance
to one attempting utter justice to Waterbury's.
April i-November i, 191 5. T. G. L.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter I
Aboriginal Trails — Period 1763-1800 — Introduction — Town
Charter— Contemporaneous Events in State and Nation —
Survey — Geographical Description — First Settler, James
Marsh — Incredible Hardships — Second Settler, Ezra But
ler — Other Early Settlers and Holdings — First Town Or
ganization — ^Side Lights on Town Meetings — Farm Loca
tions — Revolutionary Soldiers  1-31
Chapter II
Period 1800-1830 — Contemporaneous National and State Events
— Local Sentiment — Chittenden County — Capital Location
Dispute — ^Act Establishing Capital at Montpelier — Presi
dential Electors — Church Matters — Tax Redemption In
cident — Highways and Turnpikes — Amasa Pride — Farms
and Families — Butler-Hovey Controversy — Ezra Butler's
Political Activities — Correspondence — War of 1812 — Gen
eral Peck — Sanders' Letter — Waterbury's 1812 Volunteers
— Butler in Congress — Daniel Webster's Resolution — But
ler's Speech — ^Wells Family — Calkins Family — Kennan
Family — Dan Carpenter and Family — Calkins' Reminis-
censes — "Era of Good Feeling" — State under M. Chitten
den, Galusha, Skinner and Van Ness Administrations — La-
Fayette's Visit— Governor Butler's Terms — ^Anti-Masonic
Movement  33-62
Chapter III
Period i 830-1 850 — Contemporaneous State Political Affairs —
Henry F. Janes, Postmaster — Mr. Janes in Congress —
Legislative Lamentation — Leander Hutchins — The "Corner
Store" — Harrison & Tyler Campaign — Death of the Presi
dent — Tyler's Succession — Anti-Slavery Convention — ^The
Dillingham Family — Deacon Paul Dillingham — Paul Dil
lingham, Jr. — Political Career — Saxe's Poem — Mr. Dilling
ham IN Congress — ^As Lieutenant-Governor and Governor —
Personal Characteristics — Anecdotes — Luce Family —
Mexican War — Mr. Lucius Peck in Congress — "The Free
Mountaineer" — Central Vermont Railway — License Laws
and Votes — Moody Family— Chauncey Lyon — Dr. Thomas
B. Downer — ^John D. Smith Family — Dr. Will F. Minard —
The Henry Family — ^Various Families — Longevity  63-103
Chapter IV
Period i 850-1 875 — Population and Grand List — Merchants and
Business — Town Meetings — Pierce Administration — Bio
graphical of Warren and Parker — Politics — ^Alternation
vU

via TABLE OF CONTENTS
OF Voting Places, Village and Center — ^Arch Bridge — Mer
chants — Premonitions of Disunion — R6suMi; of Water
bury's Votes — Abolition Sentiment — Lincoln's Early Ad
ministration—First Call for Troops — Waterbury's Re
sponse—Representation IN Various Regiments — Different
Battles— List of Commissioned Officers — Non-Commis-
siONED Officers — Privates — ^Action at Town Meetings —
General Wells — General Henry — Major Dillingham —
Colonel Janes — March of Events — Readjustment and Re
construction — Presidential Vote in 1868 — Biographical —
Post-Bellum Memories — Business in Waterbury — Reca
pitulation of Town Vote  105-153
Chapter V
Period 1876-1900 — Town, Gubernatorial and Presidential Elec
tions — Mount Mansfield Railroad Appropriation — Colum
bian United Electric Franchise — Incorporation of the Vil
lage IN 1882 — First Village Officers — Tax Rates — ^Street
Lights — Water Supply — Bond Issue — Telephone and Tele
graph Franchises — New Additions to Village — List of Vil
lage Officers to Date — Recapitulation of Improvements —
First Telephone — ^Senator William P. Dillingham — Ver
mont State Hospital — Dr. Don D. Grout — Seabury Family
— Moses Knight — Edwin F. Palmer — Dr. Emory G. Hooker
— George W. Randall — Other Sketches — Waterbury Rec
ord — Spanish War — Century End Events  I55-I94
Chapter VI.
Period 1900-1915 — Senator Dillingham's Election — Guberna
torial and Presidential Votes— License and No-License
Votes — Miscellaneous — RfesuMfe of Industrial Life — Early
Manufacturers — Town Litigations — Various Legislative
Acts — Religious History and Churches — ^The Library
Beginnings and Present Condition — Horace Fales Fund —
Biographical Sketch of the Fales Family — Mark Carter
Canerdy's Gift — Dr. Henry Janes' Gift — Early Efforts at
Securing Public Schools — Present High School — ^Water
bury Alumni and Students from the State Universities
AND Colleges — Green Mountain Seminary — ^Women's Clubs
— ^Waterbury's State and Federal Officers — Town Rep
resentatives — State Senators — Town Clerks — Sheriffs —
Banking History — Professional and Business Firms of
Today— Lodges, Organizations, etc. — Fire Record — Soldiers'
Monument — Conclusion  195-272
Appendix — Memorial Day Address  273-286

CHAPTER I
I 763-1 800
The site of the town of Waterbury lay in the track of the
murderous French officer, Hertel de Rouville, who with other
French officers led a band of Indians upon an expedition of
plunder and massacre against the ill-fated town of Deerfield,
Massachusetts, in the early part of 1704. The expedition
came down from Canada by the way of Lake Champlain.
They branched off at the mouth of the Winooski River and
followed the trail of that river through its peaceful valley until
they came to the upper waters of the stream, from which they
again branched off through a gap in the Green Mountains and
followed the White River Valley until they debouched upon
the Connecticut River, the frozen surface of which served as
a highway directly to their objective point. The march was
made by easy stages until at length they reached a bluff above
the doomed town and prepared for their unspeakable orgy of
blood. The horrible story of massacre, pillage, rapine and
burning of that night of February 28 and morning of the 29th
is familiar to every New England school boy. What is not
often mentioned, however, is the main object of the expedition
as tradition gives it. It is related that the chief purpose, to
which other plunder and captives were merely incidental, was
to recover the church bell from the Deerfield Meeting House.
This bell was said to have been taken from a French vessel by
a Colonial privateer while it was being transported to its
destination, one of the Catholic churches of Canada. On
this raid the 340 French and Indians secured the bell and
carried it back to Canada by the same route, up the Connecti
cut, across to the Winooski headwaters and thence down the
valley repassing the site of Waterbury, to the river's mouth.
The bell was hung in the Chapel St Regis and was used to call
the Children of the Faith to the Jesuit services (3 Sylvester's
Indian Wars of New England, p. 54). No authentic records

2 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
are extant of the occupation of this part of the Winooski
Valley prior to the date of the coming of a surveying party in
1782. As the river valley afforded a natural trail to Indian
war and hunting parties passing over southeasterly from Lake
Champlain to the Connecticut, there is little likelihood of the
region ever being for long the home of the less nomadic off
shoots of the Iroquois tribe (well known to have had a bent
for agriculture and peaceful pursuits), lying as it did directly
in the pathway of hostile marauders. To be sure, here and
there in the Winooski Valley are evidences of aboriginal efforts
at agriculture, but nothing has been found that would indicate
a prolonged sojourn in the region. The usual earthenware
vessels, flint arrow heads, axes, pottery, fire-stones, and even
rudely cultivated corn patches and sites of lodges have been
encountered just as they are found almost everywhere in the
United States. There are Indian earthworks too, now and
then, and burial places. We are told with great circumstan
tiality the story of the tapped maple trees on the Moss place,
and the theories about a permanent occupation of North Hill
by the Indians as evidenced by these tapped trees. It was
not, however, until after the Indian mission was established,
following the subjection of Canada to British rule, that the
Indians in this part of Vermont evinced any pronounced desire
for a domestic or sedentary life. In scattered villages were
a few on both the Lamoille and Winooski rivers who kept
fowls and cattle. It is stated upon no less an authority than
Mr. Joshua Merriam of Waterbury Center that the hens kept
by these domesticated Indians were marvelous layers, besides
being the object of awe-struck admiration for their supernatural
gifts as soothsayers. " It was a type of these hens, " says Mr.
Merriam, "that crowed near Captain Miller's camp during
the battle (at Plattsburg) of September 11, 1814, and Captain
Miller being of the same faith had those hens sent back near
Montpelier as fatidic fowls." The allusion, of course, is to
the crowing of a hen upon the mast as prophetic of victory and
the particular type was known as a "buff Coossuck." Upon
the whole, it is a safe inference that the Winooski Valley was
used chiefly by the Indians as a highway or trail way.

PERIOD 1 763-1 800 3
At the date of the granting of the royal charter by George
III through his "Trusty and Well-beloved Benning Went-
worth, Esq. " to "Our loving subjects, " etc., on the 7th day of
June, 1763, the township of Waterbury came into documen
tary existence, though its municipal and civic life did not
begin until nearly twenty-seven years later, March 31st, 1790.
That the phrase, "our loving subjects," as used in the royal
grant was merely in conformity with the stilted style and
grandiose verbiage of kingly usage is grimly evidenced by the
attitude of New Englanders and other colonists at the date of
the charter. The almost absolute isolation of this region at
that time from the gathering storm between the Colonies and
England was sufficient to set apart this geographical portion of
what later became the State of Vermont from any participation
in the ante-revolutionary doings of historical interest, but the
embers of discontent and rebellion were being fanned into
flame in New England and to a lesser degree even in New York.
It was as if Waterbury town were segregated with others in
this part of Vermont from the eddies and whirlpools of insur
rection and her lovely valleys, hills and streams preserved in
peace for the important part in the building of a common
wealth she was destined to play.
Patrick Henry at this time was inflaming the people of
Virginia in the famous tobacco cases involving the royal right
of veto of Colonial acts, wherein "a lowly parson's private
right was obscured by the gathering shadow of a public wrong."
James Otis in Massachusetts was carrying conviction by sheer
force of logic and knowledge of government and law. The
"loving subjects" of George III were strangely averse to his
enforcement of navigation laws authorizing arbitrary seizures
of merchantmen, the imposition of direct and indirect teixes
for the raising of revenue and the use of this revenue for the
maintenance of standing armies of royal troops in Massachu
setts. Such, then, was the outside situation when the charters
of Waterbury, Burlington, Colchester, Essex, Williston, Bolton,
Duxbury, Moretown, Jericho, Underbill, Middlesex and Berlin
were granted by Governor Benning Wentworth at Portsmouth,
New Hampshire, the then seat of government of the Grants.

4 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Following a general policy, of encouraging settlement by
Connecticut citizens who sought to transplant pioneer stock
in virgin territory, the grant of land for Waterbury township
was made to John Stiles and sixty-five other individual pro
prietors, nearly all of Connecticut and New Jersey, in the
quaint phraseology following:
waterbury \ _ _
> George the Third,
p.s. j
By the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, De
fender of the Faith ect.
To all Persons to whom these Presents shall come. Greeting.
Know ye. That We of our special Grace, certain Knowledge, and meer
Motion, for the due Encouragement of settling a New Plantation within
our said Province, by and with the Advice of our Trusty and Well-beloved
Benning Wentworth, Esq; Our Governor and Commander in Chief of our
said Province of New Hampshire, in New England, and of our Council of
the said Province; Have upon the Conditions and Reservations hereinafter
made, given and granted, and by these Presents, for us, our Heirs, and
Successors, do give and grant in equal Shares, unto Our loving Subjects,
Inhabitants of Our said Province of New Hampshire, and Our other Govern
ments, and to their Heirs and Assigns forever, whose names are entred on
This Grant, to be divided to and amongst them into Seventy two equal
Shares, all that Tract or Parcel of Land situate, lying and being within
our said Province of New Hampshire containing by Admeasurement,
23040 Acres, which Tract is to contain Six Miles square, and no more; out
of which an Allowance is to be made for High Ways and unimprovable
Lands by Rocks, Ponds, Mountains and Rivers, One Thousand and Forty
Acres free, according to a Plan and Survey thereof, made by Our said
Governor's Order, and returned into the Secretary's Office, and hereunto
annexed, butted and bounded as follows, "Viz. Beginning at the South
Easterly corner of Bolton on the Northerly side of Onion or French River,
from thence Easterly up said River (& bounding on the same so far as to
make Six Miles on a streight Perpendicular Line, with the Easterly Line
of said Bolton, from thence Northerly on a Parrallel with the East line of
Bolton six Miles, from thence Westerly about six Miles to the North East
erly Corner of said Bolton, from thence southerly by said Bolton East line
six Miles the place begun at — And that the same be, and hereby is Incor
porated into a Township by the name of Waterbury And the inhabitants
that do or shall hereafter Inhabit said Township are hereby declared to be
Enfranchised with and Intitled to all and every the Priviledges and Im
munities that other Towns within Our Province by Law Exercise and En
joy: And further, that the said Town as soon as there shall be Fifty
Families resident and settled thereon, shall have the Liberty of holding
Two Fairs, one of which shall be held on the And the

PERIOD 1763-1800 5
other on the annually which Fairs are not to continue
longer than the respective following the said
and that as soon as the said Town shall consist of Fifty Families,
a Market may be opened most advantagious to the Inhabitants. Also,
that the first Meeting for the Choice of Town Officers, agreable to the Laws
of our said Province, shall be held on the 20th Day of July next, which said
Meeting shall be Notified by Cap Isaac Woodruff Jun' who is hereby also
appointed the Moderator of the said first Meeting which he is to Notify
and Govern agreable to the Laws and Customs-of our said Province, and
that the annual Meeting for ever hereafter for the Choice of such Officers
for the said Town, shall be on the Second Tuesday of March annually. To
Have and to Hold the said Tract of Land as above expressed, together
with all Privileges and Appurtenances, to them and their respective Heirs
and Assigns forever, upon the following Conditions, viz.
I That every Grantee, his Heirs or Assigns shall plant and cultivate
five Acres of Land within the Term of five Years for every fifty Acres con
tained in his or their Share or Proportion of Land in said Township, and
continue to improve and settle the same by additional Cultivations, on
Penalty of the Forfeiture of his Grant or Share in the said Township and
of its reverting to Us, our Heirs and Successors, to be by Us or Them Re-
granted to such of Our Subjects as shall effectually settle and cultivate the
Same. II That all white and other Pine Trees within the said Township, fit
for Masting Our Royal Navy, be carefully preserved for that Use, and none
to be cut or felled without Our special Licence for so doing first had and
obtained, upon the Penalty of the Forfeiture of the Right of such Grantee,
his Heirs and Assigns, to Us, our Heirs and Successors, as well as being
subject to the Penalty of any Act or Acts of Parliament that now are, or
hereafter shall be Enacted.
Ill That before any Division of the Land be made to and among the
Grantees, a Tract of Land as near the Centre of the said Township as the
Land will admit of, shall be reserved and marked out for Town Lots, one
of which shall be allotted to each Grantee of the Contents of one Acre.
IV Yielding and paying therefor to Us, our Heirs and Successors for
the space of ten Years, to be computed from the Date hereof, the Rent of
one Ear of Indian Corn only, on the twenty-fifth Day of December annually,
if lawfully demanded, the first Payment to be made on the twenty-fifth
Day of December, 1763.
V Every Proprietor, Settler or Inhabitant, shall yield and pay unto
Us, our Heirs and Successors yearly, and every Year forever, from and
after the Expiration of ten Years from the above said twenty-fifth Day of
December, which will be in the Year of Our Lord 1773 One shilling Procla
mation Money for every Hundred Acres he so owns, settles or possesses,
and so in Proportion for a greater or lesser Tract of the said Land; which
money shall be paid by the respective Persons above said, their Heirs or
Assigns, in our Council Council Chamber in Portsmouth, or to such Officer

HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT

or Officers as shall be appointed to receive the same; and this to be in Lieu
of other Rents and Services whatsoever.
In Testimony Whereof we have caused the Seal of our said Province to
be hereunto affixed. Witness Benning Wentworth, Esq; Our Governor
and Commander in Chief of Our said Province, the Seventh Day of June
In the Year of Lord Christ, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty three
And in the Third Year of Our Reign. B. Wentworth.
By His Excellency's Command,
With Advice of Council,
T. Atkinson Jun' Sec'y
Prov" of New Hamp' June 7th 1763
Recorded According to the Original Charter under the Pro^ Seal
T Atkinson Jun' Sec'^
THE NAMES OF THE GRANTEES OF WATERBURY

John Stiles Esq'
Josiah Crane
Hezekiah Thompson
Jesse Muir
Abner Frost
Nathi Potter
Kennedy Vance
David Ball
Manen Force
Jeremiah Mulford
Joseph Bagdly
Sam' Bedford
Jere'**' Pangboon
David Baker
Will" Pierson
Jon» Dayton 3d
Abra™ Rool
Eben' Price
Ichabod Deane
WUl" WUlcocks
Hon^ie James Nevin ]
Jos^ Newmarch ^ Esq'"
Nath> Barrel! j

Jon» Crane Esq'
John Nixson
Zophar Squire
David Potter
John Dickinson
Daniel Bedford
Joseph Abbets
Thomas Gardner
Charles Gillam
Thomas Miller
Nath' Salmon
Nathi Wade
Nath' Baker
Henry Baker
Will" Pearson Jun'
WUl" Mills
Thos. Wmis
Jesse Clark
Elias Bedford
Patridge Thatcher
Meshech Wear Esq.
John Page Esq'
Cap' Ezekiel Worthen

Isaac Woodruff Jun'
Isaac Roll
John Boyle
David Lacey
Jonath" Stiles
James Cory
Will" Connet
James Puflosey
James Osborn
Joseph Osborn
Steph" Bedford
James Scudder
David Meeker Jun'
Daniel Baker
John Meeker
John Mills
Bernerdus Van Neste
John Marsh
Benj" WiUiams
Sam' Averill

His Excellency Benning Wentworth E^q' a Tract of Land to Contain
Five Hundred Acres as marked B-W in the plan which is to be Accounted
two of the within shares, One whole Share for the Incorporated Society
for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, One Share for a Glebe
for the Church of England as by Law Establish'd one Share for the first
settled Minister of the Gospel, And one Share for the benefit of a schooi
in said Town
Province of New Hamp' June 7"" 1763
Recorded According to the Back of the Original Charter of Waterbury
under the Pr° Seal T Atkinson Jun' Sec'y

PERIOD 1 763-1 800 7
To the tract described in the charter were added strips
from Bolton and Middlesex which became annexed to Water
bury under the Laws of 1850 and 1851. The boundaries of
these additions were described in the following Acts:
So much of the town of Middlesex, as is contained in lots numbered
fifty, fifty-five, fifty six, fifty-seven, fifty eight, sixty-three and sixty four,
in the fourth division, and lying on the westerly side of Hog-back mountain,
and so much of the undivided land in said Middlesex as lies westerly of a
line commencing at the most south-Easterly corner of the aforesaid lot
number sixty-four and running south, thirty six degrees west, and parallel
with the present line between Waterbury and Middlesex to the northerly
line of the Governor's right, so-called, and thence on the northerly line of
the Governor's right to Waterbury line, is hereby annexed to said town of
Waterbury, and shall hereafter constitute a part of the town of Water
bury, the same as if it had been included in the original charter thereof.
[Approved October 30, 1850, Sess. Laws 1850, p. 46.]
So much of the town of Bolton in the county of Chittenden as is here
inafter described, to wit: beginning on the north-Easterly corner of lot
number one hundred and nine in the first division; thence westerly in the
northerly line of lots number one hundred and nine, one hundred and ten,
one hundred and eleven, and one hundred and twelve to the northwesterly
Corner of said lot one hundred and twelve; thence northerly, in the west
erly line of lot number one hundred and five, and the other lots in the fourth
tier of lots, to the southerly line of that part of Stowe, which was formerly
Mansfield; thence easterly in the southerly line of said Stowe, to the cor
ner of Waterbury; thence southerly in the line between said Bolton and
said Waterbury, to the northeasterly corner of lot number one hundred
and nine, the place of beginning, is hereby annexed to the town of Water
bury, in the county of Washington, and shall hereafter constitute a part
of the town of Waterbury, the same as if it had been included in the origi
nal charter thereof. Said piece, so annexed to said Waterbury, contains
forty-four lots of land; Provided, the rents and proceeds of lot number
ten (back lot) and lot number one hundred and eight, be and remain pay
able to the town of Bolton, in the same manner as though said lots had
not been annexed to the town of Waterbury.
[Approved October 30, 1851, Sess. Laws 1851, p. 64.]
The next date of importance in the history of the town was
May 10, 1770, when at a meeting of the proprietors in New
Milford, Connecticut, it was voted to lay out the township
by survey; this meeting was adjourned to September 25, 1770,
and again to October 25, 1770, at Newark, New Jersey, where,
at another meeting, November 15, 1770, the various portions
or divisions of the original tract granted to the proprietors were

8 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
allotted by number. Thereafter there were meetings of the
proprietors April 13, 1773, and the second Tuesday in May,
.1773, at Kent, Province of New York (now Londonderry,
Vermont) , at which a second division or apportionment of lots
was made. Little or nothing affecting Waterbury as a town
occurred between 1773 and the close of the Revolution, but
mention must be made of the alternate ebbings and flowings
of the fortunes of the political division of which the town was
soon to become an integral part. Pending the carrying out
of the plan of confederation, the Continental Congress was
torn with sectional strife and jealousy. New England states,
particularly those whose land grants were extensive, were the
objects of many bitter attacks of a polemic and forensic kind ;
these emanated for the most part from southern sources but
in all their clashings the respective adversaries could not excel
in bitterness those doughty protagonists of New Hampshire
and New York, who came almost to sword's points over
possession of the Green Mountain Territory. Not quite a
year after the Declaration of Independence Vermont petitioned
the Continental Congress to be admitted as a state into the
Union. Then began a series of backings and fillings; the
people of Vermont, almost at the point of fruition of their
hopes for admission, saw them dashed to earth repeatedly;
meanwhile the struggle for the territory west of the Connecti
cut River and the southwestern part of what is now Vermont
waxed furious; New York had been and remained insistent
upon her claim to what was then called the New Hampshire
grants. An attempt had been made at an amicable test of
title to the disputed territory under the Bennington grant by
Governor Wentworth in pursuance of an arrangement with
the Royalist Governor of New York, by which it was agreed
that no further grants should be made until the boundary
question then pending should be settled. But Governor
Wentworth continued to grant charters, so that by the end
of 1763 he had chartered one hundred thirty-eight towns all
coming under the political power of New Hampshire, among
which was the township grant of Waterbury. The claims of
New York Tories and the counter-claims of settlers holding

PERIOD 1763-1800 9
under the original grants in resisting regrants continued to
vex the people, even during the Revolution, until over forty
years had elapsed from the date of the Bennington charter to
a final settlement.
Still remote from the stirring scenes that were being enacted
along the shores of Lake Champlain and in the southern,
southwestern and more populous parts of Vermont, the valley
of the Winooski remained sparsely settled, and the valley was
peaceful until October, 1780, when a band of three hundred
Indians, bent upon the capture of one Whitcomb at Newbury,
ascended the Winooski River from Lake Champlain. Passing
through the valley and probably over the site of Waterbury,
the band of marauders came at length to the spot where Mont
pelier now stands; through the representations of certain
white captives the Indians were diverted from their original
purpose and made a descent upon the town of Royalton, then
a thriving settlement, though it had received its charter only
the year before. After killing two men and capturing over a
score of prisoners, they put women and children to flight,
burned the village, seized and drove off many cattle and horses
and returned on their way to Canada through the Winooski
Valley. The first survey of the town is ascribed to Colonel Partridge
Thatcher in 1782, by Reverend C. C. Parker in his discourse of
February 10, 1867. Mr. Thatcher was prominenjt among the
original proprietors and presided at their meeting in New Mil-
for^,_gonnecticut, and afterwards at Arlington. The oeauti-
mKtributary of the Winooski River, known as Thatcher's
Branch, takes its name from the pioneer from Connecticut who
built his surveyor's camp at a spot in the rear of the double
tenement building now owned by Thomas O'Neill, between
the branch and the railway line, a few rods northwest of the
twin bridges. A later survey on record in the Town Clerk's
office in Waterbury, dated in 1774, is there attributed to
Jabez Pritchard, Isaac Hitchcock, William Daviss, Partridge
Thacher and Paul Averill, in which the last four men, including
Mr. Thacher, are described as "Chain Bearers, Markers, etc."
A copy of the record is given herewith:
2

ID HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
A Survey of the Township of Waterbury
Lying on Onion River, A Township Lately Granted by his Excellency
Benning Wentworth Esq' Governor of The Province of New Hampshire
Bounded as foUoweth: Beginning at the south East Corner of Bolton on the
North east Bank of "* River from thence Run North 36 Degrs and 33
East six Miles by said Town Numbring each Mile as was run then
Beginning at the aforesaid Corner at the River and runing by said River
untill it makes six Miles on a Right angle from the aforesaid Bolton Line
to the South East Corner of said Waterbury which is a Pine Tree standing
on the Bank of said River Marked Jabez Pritchard Partridge Thacher
Dale &c from thense Running six Miles on a Paralel Line with the first
described Line Between Bolton and Waterbury Marking Each Number of
Miles as run then Proceeding to Lay out a division of Land of one Hundred
acres. Each original Right Said Division Lying in the Teer of Lots being
Twenty four Lots in Each Teer being 20 Chains Wide and 51 Chains and
50 Links of said Length Being Allowed For highways the First Teer of
Lots Butting on a . . Running Back of the Entervail said Line
Beginning at the Town Line Between Waterbury & Bolton 20 Chains From
the River runing a Right Angle from said Town Line Beginning to N" the
First Teer of Lots at the West side of the Intervail Numbering on to N" 24
E^ch Lot being Numbred at the S. E. Corner of said Lot the Second Tear
of Lots being Numbred at the North East Corner of said Lots beginning
with No. 25 . . . East Side of said Town and so on in succession
48 The Third Teer being Numbered at the South
Corner of Ekch Lot begining with N° 49 so on through said Town ending
with N° 72 Said Work was done in the year 1774.
By Jabez Pritchard

Surveyor
Chain Bearers
Markers &c.

Partridge Thacher
Isaac Hitchcock
William Daviss
Paul Averill
Recorded by Samuel Averill Jun' Register.
At this point it is deemed appropriate to advert to the early
geographical divisions of the town. The original intention
was to have the Waterbury tract six miles square and to con
tain about 23,040 acres. We have already described the
annexations from Middlesex on the east and Bolton on the
west, which, of course, enlarged that first tract. A survey
was made in three divisions ; this soon gave rise to confusion
and uncertainty regarding true boundaries. One hundred
acres were included in the first division lots ; thirty-one in the
second and one hundred and twenty-four in the third, leaving

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PERIOD 1 763-1 800 II
an undivided parcel of forty-seven acres to each right. Recog
nizing the value of river land, the proprietors evidently had
it in mind to set off to each right an interval area of thirty-one
acres on the Winooski. With this in view they started with
a point or place of beginning on what was erroneously taken to
be the east line of Bolton for the first division. The river
land was found to be insufficient when the second division Wcis
lined out and the other small lots were located in the center
part of the town. The third division lay north of the first
and ran nearly to the Stowe line ; the Governor's plot (marked
B. W.) of five hundred acres is described by Mr. H. F. Janes
in his supplementary paper to the Parker historical sketch as
having been surveyed in the southeast corner of the town;
adjacent to this was one portion of undivided lands and the
other part lay between the third division and the south
Stowe line. The mistake of the surveyor of the first division
consisted in taking in the width of two Middlesex lots when
he sought a place of beginning. This error with others was
subsequently rectified but the falls which are located in the
territory of Waterbury properly and should be known as-
Winooski Falls were always known as Bolton Falls.
The town is bounded on the south by the Winooski River.
This beautiful stream is broken by the falls three miles below
the village and is described in Thompson's Gazetteer of Ver
mont as having worn "a channel through the rocks, which, in
times past, undoubtedly formed a cataract of no ordinary
height below, and a considerable lake above. The chasm is
at present about one hundred feet wide and nearly as deep.
On one side the rocks are nearly perpendicular, some of which
have fallen across the bed of the stream in such a manner as
to form a bridge, passable, however, only at low water. On
the same side the rocks, which appear to have been loosened
and moved by the water, have again rested and become fixed
in such a position as to form several caverns or caves, some of
which have the appearance of rooms fitted for the convenience
of man."
The water power was first utilized for saw mill purposes by
Benjamin Palmer who built a dam and erected a mill. This
was afterwards carried away by a flood.

12 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
A lesser stream is the Waterbury River, flowing from its
source in Morristown in a southerly direction through Stowe
and the westerly part of Waterbury until it debouches into
the Winooski one mile below town.
Thatcher's Brook, or Branch, has its source in Stowe and
nearly divides Waterbury in two parts emptying into the
Winooski at the northwesterly end of the village, flowing
through lands owned by Doctor Henry Janes, at his death.
This stream has been mentioned as having taken its name from
one of the surveying party. The name was indifferently spelled
"Thacher" and "Thatcher" in the early records. In Stowe
is also the source of Alder Brook which empties into the Water
bury River near where the Free Will Baptist Meetipg House
stands. Saw mills and factories of various kinds were located
on this brook. The stream has a precipitous descent at the
picturesque falls. Other streams on which mills have been
erected at different times are Cotton Brook and Ricker's
Brook. The general contour of the township is suggestive of an
oblong amphitheater, situated, as it is, in the beautiful vale
or depression between the Green Mountain Range on the west
and the mountainous spur on the east called the Hogbacks.
The soil is all tillable in the valleys and peculiarly adapted to
grazing purposes on the uplands. Roughly speaking, as has
been indicated, the town is bounded on the north by Stowe,
east by Middlesex, south by the Winooski River and west by
Bolton and lies in longitude 4° 17' and latitude 44° 23'.
In nearly every instance the immediate grantees from
Benning Wentworth were not bona fide settlers on the tracts
covered by the grants ; for the most part they were land specu
lators who parted with their rights to those who assumed the
burdens of pioneering with the titles they purchased. Of
course there were many instances of the chain of title passing
through several grantees before it reached one willing to face
the perils and hardships of an unbroken wilderness. Such a
person was the first settler of Waterbury, James Marsh, a
native of New Canaan, Connecticut, whose early struggles
and almost superhuman endurance in his battle with the

PERIOD 1 763-1 800 13
wilderness have already been made the subject of a thrilling
and pathetic narrative by the gifted clergyman. Reverend
C. C. Parker, in his discoucge on the early history of Water-
bury. Indeed, this mention of James Marsh's share in the
settlement of Waterbury is made with great hesitation in the
light of the simple but soul-stirring account of Mr. Parker.
That James Marsh was of the best quality of pioneer timber
is attested by his early experiences as a trooper in the French
wars. Ever alert for seasoned veterans who knew how to
fight and endure, the drafting officers for the Colonists marked
him as their prey in the early days of the Revolution. Having
removed with his family from Canaan to Cornwall, Connecti
cut, he found that his wife's enfeebled condition and his large
family of children of tender years required his personal care
and attention; doubtless thinking that his previous military
service had gained for him the right to turn his attention
to the needs of his family, he sold his home in Canaan and
hired as a substitute, for f 100, a man to respond in his place
and stead to a call for minute men. Then to put himself
beyond the reach of the draft, he sold his Cornwall place
and purchased, rather too hurriedly it would seem, a right
of land in Bath, New Hampshire, and one in Waterbury,
Vermont, in 1780, this latter from a Mr. Steele whose name
does not appear in the list of original proprietors but whose
title was derived from some one in that list. Leaving Corn
wall with his family, Mr. Marsh proceeded to Bath, New
Hampshire, where he remained long enough to discover that
his title to his land purchase there was defective. Upon the
assurances of others who professed to be willing to begin a
settlement in Waterbury, Marsh again braved the uncer
tainties of a new move and came to the site of Waterbury
in the spring of 1783 and selected his holding, cleared a plot
of ground on the northerly slope of what is now the cemetery,
extending toward the river, and planted it to corn. He
returned and awaited the ripening of his crop, which he
gathered on a second visit in the fall, storing it in a roughly
built corn crib against his needs for the following year. Mind
ful of his family's dependence he brought his wife and eight

14 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
children with him, in the early part of 1784, as far as the
fort at Corinth, where he left Mrs. Marsh and five children
for the time, while he with two young sons and a daughter
proceeded to his holding in Waterbury. This journey was
made on snowshoes under extraordinary difficulties; what
with the care of the three children and the labor of hauling
sufficient provisions for the journey on a hand sled, the sturdy
pioneer's task might easily have daunted the spirit of a stronger
and younger man.
Upon his arrival he took his children and what was left
of his provisions to the Thatcher cabin, which the surveying
party had erected for temporary use two years before. After
a life of hardships, laboring under a burden of poverty inci
dental to his wanderings, ever mindful of his duty as a father
and husband, the prospect of a fixed place of abode, however
humble, must have cheered the heart of the lonely settler,
when suddenly he was confronted by the paralyzing fact
that his small store of corn, so carefully harvested and hoarded
on his last visit, had nearly all disappeared. Having relied
upon this store to eke out temporarily a scanty sustenance
for himself and his family, he had provided for little more
than was sufficient for his needs on his journey. His immediate
necessities he managed to relieve precariously by hunting
and fishing; no grain was to be had nearer than Corinth,
about thirty miles away over a rough and dangerous trail.
In his dilemma Marsh set about laying in a week's store
of provisions from hunting and fishing; after working on his
clearing and replanting his crop from his scanty supply of
seed, he set out to return to Corinth for the other members
of the family, leaving alone his son, Elias, aged fifteen, his
daughter Irene, of twelve, and James, a small boy. Incredible
as it now seems, such absences of their elders were not un
usual in the days when self-reliance was the heritage of all
children of the wilderness. The story runs that the week's
supply of provisions had been too nicely calculated and the
week end brought with it an end of available food for the
three growing youngsters. As if to vindicate their father's
judgment in their self-reliance, the children started for the

PERIOD 1 763-1 800 15
falls to catch fish for food ; in attempting to cross Waterbury
River on a pole of buttonwood, little Irene lost her balance and
fell into the river, whence she was rescued by her two brothers.
For a week the brave youngsters subsisted on what wild
vegetables they could find and finally started for the home of
Mr. Jesse McFairlane, near Richmond, thirteen miles north
west of the Marsh holding. The wonderful courage and en
durance of the children of the wilds has been made the subject
of many a household talk with the youngsters of Waterbury
and the grown-ups, as well. The tale of how they met a bear
on this memorable journey, how their faithful hunting dog that
had shared their hardships put the huge beast to flight and
how, after a long weary tramp without food, they came at last
to a haven of rest, safety and plenty, in the home of Mr. Mc
Fairlane has been told and retold and still remains ever new.
Meanwhile the elder Marsh had arrived at Corinth and
attempted an immediate removal of his wife and the remain
ing members of the family to Waterbury, but was obstructed
by delays of various kinds so that three weeks elapsed before
the family was able to make a start. Meanwhile the father
was desperately frantic with anxiety for the safety of those he
had left alone — an anxiety that gave way to despair when,
upon arriving at the surveyor's cabin in Waterbury, he found
it empty and deserted and no signs of recent occupancy visible.
A prey to the most poignant distress, the unhappy father dis
patched a youth, who had returned with his party from Corinth,
to the McFairlane farm on the bare chance of learning some
thing about the children ; the finding of the children in a place
of safety tenderly cared for, the joyous return and the affecting
family reunion in the rude cabin near Thatcher's Branch, all
combine to round out the rough epic of the early attempts at
settlement in Waterbury.
But James Marsh was not destined long to be favored of
Fortune ; the problem of subsistence for those dependent upon
him was ever uppermost; obliged to wait for the harvest of
his corn crop before Indian meal could be ground, the family
lived on what wild onions could be found growing in the
vicinity, while Marsh was beating the woods and fishing the

I6 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
streams for food ; now and then a chance moose, buck or bear
would be added to the larder. What time could be spared
from the providing of food was devoted to the building of a
log house on the site already cleared, which is described by
Mr. Parker as "a little to the west of the grave yard hill";
after the permanent home had been erected, the family moved
in and began preparations for the coming winter. One can
imagine the glow of hope that warmed the breast of James
Marsh when he observed that his corn crop raised on the river
bottom land promised to be bountiful ; nor need the imagina
tion be strained at the luckless man's discouragement when a
sudden flood rendered useless all but twenty bushels of the
corn that promised so well,
By dint of taking such spoils of the hunt as moose, deer
and bear, and fish from the streams, the Marsh family kept
starvation at bay, though the problem of getting grain for
bread was ever present. At times it was possible to exchange
bear, deer and beaver skins for grain in the distant settlements
of Jericho, Williston and Richmond. With the arrival of the
spring of 1785 the loneliness and isolation of the Marsh family
was greatly lessened by the coming of another hardy settler
who was the second in order of arrival. The name of this
second settler was Ezra Butler, a man destined to stamp him
self indelibly on the history of Waterbury and Vermont.
I Mr. Butler, however, did not remain very long on the occasion
\of his first visit before returning whence he came to remain
until the following spring of 1786, at which time he again
returned to Waterbury. An interval of one year and a half
elapsed before another and third settler, Mr. Caleb Munson,
joined the infant colony.
With the arrival of Mr. Munson and his family ends the
sombre chronicle of the ill-starred James Marsh. Overjoyed
as he was at the prospect of Mr. Munson's coming. Marsh
went to the settlement of Richmond to meet and escort his
new neighbor to his home site, March 29, 1788; he crossed the
river to the home of a Mr. Brownson for the purpose of re
molding some pewter spoons; waiting until nightfall, he
attempted to recross the river then filled with floating ice-

PERIOD 1 763-1 800 17
cakes, only to fall into an open space and drown. Upon the
recovery of his body several days later, the funeral and burial
was held at Richmond. It was as if James Marsh had been
marked out as the sport and plaything of a malign influence,
diabolical in ingenuity and remorseless in purpose. No sooner
had the possibilities of a permanent settlement in his wilder
ness began to assume actual form than he was removed from
the scene of his hardly won, puny success. The part James
Marsh played in the history of the town is valuable, not only
because he happened to be the first settler but also for the evi
dence it furnishes of the unconquerable spirit which, left un
dismayed in the face of almost insuperable obstacles, still
animated the pioneers of those days and remains to us as an
example of self-reliance, persistence, industry and courage.
The building of a new community involves something more
than mere physical endurance and capacity for gruelling toil;
it brings out whatever latent powers of leadership may be
possessed by the builders. It is no small task to reduce to
something like an orderly system the government of the smallest
hamlet, and yet this task must be undertaken from the sheer
necessity conditions impose. The town of Waterbury was
fortunate in having in the person of its second settler, Ezra
Butler, a veritable tower of strength; indeed, the first fifty-
three years' record of the town's life has to do largely with the
sayings and doings of this remarkable man, directly or indi
rectly. Mr. Butler, though a native of Worcester County, Massachu
setts, spent his early life in West Windsor, Vermont, and
Claremont, New Hampshire. He was born in the town of
Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, the fifth of
seven children, to Asaph and Jane (McAllister) Butler, Sep
tember 24, 1763, just three months and seventeen days
after the date of the charter of Waterbury. Before Ezra
Butler had completed his seventh year, his father brought
his family to West Windsor, Vermont; shortly afterwards his
mother died and he went to live with the family of his eldest
brother, Joel, with whom he spent about seven years. At the
age of fourteen young Butler's business in life began in earnest;

1 8 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
according to the custom then widely prevalent he "bound him
self out," or became an apprentice under a formal indenture of
apprenticeship to Doctor Thomas Sterne of Claremont, New
Hampshire, "to learn the art, trade and mystery of a hus
bandman." An indenture in those days was a legal instru
ment written in duplicate, the line of division of whose parts
was literally "indented" ; both parts were signed by the parties
to the agreement and duly exchanged. The text of the instru
ment under which Ezra Butler served as an apprentice is
given here as throwing a vivid side light on the obligations of
a person so bound to his master, who, on his side, undertook
to stand in loco parentis in many respects to the other party to
the agreement:
This Indenture Witnesseth that Ezra Butler a minor aged fourteen years
years* the twenty forth day of September last, son of Asaph Butler of
Wethersfield in the county of Cumberland in the State of New York other
wise called the State of Vermont . . . hath put himself and by these
presents doth voluntarily and of his own free will and accord and with the
Consent of his said Father the said Asaph Butler put and bind himself as
apprentice to Thomas Sterne of Claremont in the County of Cheshire in
the State of New Hampshire Physician to learn the art, trade and mystery
of a husbandman & with him the said Thomas Sterne his executors or
administrators after the manner of an apprentice to serve from the said
twenty forth day of September last for and During the Term of seven years
from thence next insuing to be compleat and Ended: During all which
Term the said Apprentice his s* master faithfully shall serve, his secrets keep
and lawful! commands everywhere Gladly Obey. He shall do no Damage
to his said Master nor suffer it to be done by Others, without letting, or
giving notice thereof to him the s'^ Thomas Sterne, he shall not waste the
Goods of his said master nor lend them unlawfully to any. He shall not
Commit fornication, nor Matrimony contract within the said term. At
cards, dice or any other unlawful! Game he shall not play: He shall not
absent himself by Day or by Night from the service of his said master
without his Leave; nor haunt Ale Houses, Taverns or play Houses but in
all things behave himself as a faithful! Apprentice ought to do towards
his said master and all his, during said Term. And the said Thomas Sterne,
for himself, his executors and administrators doth hereby covenant and
Promise to Teach & instruct, or cause the said Apprentice to be taught &
instructed in the trade, art & Business of Husbandry by the best way or
means he may or can (if said Apprentice be capable to learn) and to find &
provide unto said apprentice good and sufficient meat. Drink, Washing and
lodging & apparril (and in sickness medicine & attendance) and Teach him
to read, write & Cypher so as to transact Common business among men

PERIOD 1 763-1 800 19
during s* Term: And at the Expiration thereof to give unto the said Ap
prentice Two suites of apparrel for all parts of his Body, One of them to be
suitable for Lord's Day: and also to pay unto the said apprentice so much
lawful! money (then passing) as shall be equal in value to sixty ounces Troy
weight of Silver; or otherways as shall be Equivalent to Eighty Bushels, of
good Merchantable Wheat at the price it shall then be Comonly sold at.
In Testimony whereof the Parties, to these presents have interchangeably
set their hands and seals the Ninth day of July Anno Domini 1778
(sgd.) T. Sterne \ Seal \
Sign"* Sealed & Delv^ in presence of
'allowing that he began his service from s'd
twenty forth Day of September, this wrote
before signing & sealing.
Seth Lewis
James Goodwin
Indorsed: " December 31st 1784. this may certify that we the Subscrib
ers have settled all matters relative to the Indenture and all accounts to
this Day." (sgd) T. Sterne.
Ezra Butler.
It appears from the indenture and the indorsement thereon
that his formal term of service was about seven years and
three months; Mr. Parker's sketch refers to a period of six
months during this term when the young apprentice served in
the Revolutionary army and says that, but for this interval, he
continued with Doctor Sterne until he came of age. Leaving
the service of Doctor Sterne, young Mr. Butler, after a few
months spent in Weathersfield, started with his brother Asaph
for Waterbury in March, 1785. The first part of the journey
was made with a team of oxen as far as the home of Judge
Paine of Williamstown, the remainder on snowshoes with a
handsled to carry their necessary outfit. Arriving at Water
bury on the 20th of March, they were warmly greeted by the
Marsh family whose nearest neighbor for two years had been
Thomas Mead in Middlesex, seven miles away. Allowing no
precious time to elapse the young brothers set about the
business of home-making. They selected a plot of ground,
suitable to their purpose, probably without much thought
as to the validity of its title.
After clearing the ground and putting in a planting of corn,
they -returned to their former home in Weathersfield where

20 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Ezra Butler was married, in June of that year, to Miss Try-
phena Diggins. The newly married pair came to Waterbury
shortly after the wedding, making the .trip and carrying
necessary household utensils on horseback. It is easy to
understand what uncertainties attended the slipshod methods
of conveyancing in those early days ; defective land titles were
the rule rather than the exception, as the unfortunate James
Marsh had found, and as Ezra Butler discovered with reference
to his original selection. Mr. Butler's brother, Asaph, having
settled for himself in Richmond, was no longer able to assist
in the selection, clearing and improving a new home site.
This time Mr. Butler picked out a plot situated on the right-
hand side of the main road near the present residence of Mr.
George Wells, at the base of the hill, on what is now the
Burlington road.
Here to his log cabin he brought his wife and, with his
meager effects, took possession in September, 1786. This
last property remained his home for the rest of his life and
somprised a tract including that afterwards owned by the
ctate for the purposes of a Reform School, as well as the land
on which Doctor Henry Janes lived and died. The whole tract
was divided after Ezra Butler's death, the portion farthest
northwesterly going to Russell Butler and that nearest the
village to Mrs. Henry F. Janes.
The first framed house built in Waterbury was erected by
Ezra Butler; the building still stands with its steep roof and
central chimney designed to furnish open fireplaces for four
rooms, a few rods to the southeast of Mr. Butler's first home-
site. For many years it was occupied by Mr. Russell Butler,
afterwards by Deacon Parker, and now by George Wells.
Here was born Polly Butler, the first white child in Waterbury,
October 23, 1788. The tale of the days of the first three years
of Mr. Butler's residence in his new home was nearly identical
with that of the Marsh family; there were the same insistent
problems of subsistence; there was the same monotonous
round of toil and hardship; there were the same dangers of
isolation, but with all these there was the exultation of a strong
man who has tangible evidence of his prowess in accomplished
facts.

Ezra Butler Frame House

PERIOD 1 763-1 800 21
The next important date in order is the year 1790, when
a warrant was issued to Ezra Butler to convoke a meeting of
freemen to perfect the town organization of Waterbury, at
which he was chosen as town clerk in March, 1790. Mean
while, Vermont had undergone certain vital governmental
changes. The Revolution had ended in 1783, the year of
Marsh's advent to Waterbury. Approximately, the period
of state incubation was from 1776 to 1791 ; the new common
wealth had passed successively through the travail of a decla
ration of independence, the adoption of a constitution, the
election of state officers and the long-desired adjustment of
the rival claims of New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New
York, to Green Mountain territory. Nationally, the Articles
of Confederation of the thirteen original states had been
replaced by the Constitution of 1789, and the Federal Congress
declared finally on the i8th of February, 1791, that on the
4th of March, next ensuing, Vermont should be admitted "as
a new and entire member of the United States of America."
Thomas Chittenden had served as governor since 1778, first
as chief executive of the independent state, and after 1791
continuing as the head of the new member of the Federal
family of states until his resignation in 1797. The civic
birth of Waterbury, then, occurred in 1790, the year before
Vermont's admission to the Union, and during Governor
Chittenden's administration. Up to and including the year
1799, the name of Ezra Butler appears successively in the
town records in one or another official capacity, and always
in connection with some local movement for growth and
improvement. The town started its municipal life with Richard Holden,
Caleb Munson and E. Butler as the first selectmen,
Munson serving as treasurer, Elias Marsh, son of James
Marsh, as constable, and Phineas Waters, first highway
surveyor and fence viewer. At a point near where Stowe
Street crosses the railway the first school building was located.
The daughters of Mr. Reuben Wells were teachers in a private
school at or about this time. It was not until after the new
century was ushered in that any attempt to build a county

22 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
grammar school was made. This attempt proved abortive
in the end for the town declined to finish the work already
undertaken and carried forward in the building by private
subscription. Apparently this official precedent must have
had undue weight for many years afterwards as to adequate
housing for the town's schools.
At the March meeting of the town in 1793 it was voted
that "Swine may Run at large Being well Yolked and
Wringed," but this piece of municipal legislation suffered
the fate of other ill-considered measures, for at the town
meeting in 1794 it was voted that "Swine shall not Run
at large." A peculiarly tough Gordian knot was required to
be summarily cut at the town meeting, March ist, 1796, in
which the office of constable was involved. It was voted:
"We will set up at Vendue the Office of Constable — and it
was struck off to Robert Parcher who Bid three Shillings and
Six pence for the Office — and procured Richard Holden for
his Bondsman who was accepted by the Town"; but local
patriotism triumphed temporarily for we read in the record
of March 4, 1799: "Voted that we Set up the Office of Con
stable at Vendue and John Peck offered to serve as Constable
without any compensation from the town and at the same time
procure Good Bonds." John got the job and a new era of
civic virtue began. But this era proved short-lived, for at
the meeting on the loth day of March, 1800, it was again
voted: "That we set up the Office of first constable at Vendue
and it is struck off to Isaac Woolson who is to receive Ninety
five cents for his services and procure Good Bonds. " Ephraim
was joined unto his idols. Conservatism held sway in the
councils of the town fathers, as witnesseth the following from
the minutes of town meeting of September, 1802: "Voted not
to grant to Doc*' Daniel Bliss the priveledge of seting up a
Pest House or Houses the insuing season for the enoculation
of the small Pock." To make assurance doubly sure, at the
town meeting of January, 1803, it was voted: "Not to intro
duce the small Pox into this town by inoculation."
Education was not overlooked. At the March meeting of
1803 it was voted "to raise two Cents on the Dollar on the

PERIOD 1 763-1 800 23
Grand List of 1800 for the support of schools payable in good
Wheat and six Shillings per Bushel, Rye at four & In"* Corn
at three shillings the Bus'." Also "that the sum of Money
received for the support of Schools be Apportioned on the
Schollors from four to Eighteen years old." These excerpts
from the town records are given as tending to illuminate the
conditions of that trying first decade of town government.
It must be remembered that the town builders were more
intent upon carrying out their practical object than upon the
niceties of system and cut-and-dried methods. They realized
that they were confronted by a solemn duty and were looked
to for results, which they undertook to accomplish without
any unnecessary red tape or ceremony. They realized that
there would still be plenty of time for that sort of thing after
the town had emerged from its swaddling clothes.
The town was first represented in the General Assembly by
Daniel Bliss in 1792. Though the government of the state
approximated very closely to a true democracy, the arbitrary
designations of republicans and federalists as then applied to
the two great political parties, convey no distinctive signifi
cance today. The legislative power was reposed in the House
of Representatives but each bill passed by the House was
required to be submitted to the Governor and the Council of
twelve persons for their action. If this checking body opposed
any measure in its executive capacity, its passage was sus
pended until the next legislative session and the people in this
way, expressed by a modified sort of referendum their approval
or disapproval.
Seemingly there was no representative for Waterbury in
1793, but the line appears to have remained unbroken from
the year 1794, when Ezra Butler was first chosen. Mr. Butler
was reelected for each successive session to and including 1807,
except the years 1798 and 1805, when George Kennan, of
whom more anon, was the choice of the freemen of Waterbury.
The last decade of the eighteenth century witnessed the
town's growth from fifteen families and a population of about
ninety-three to six hundred forty-four souls. A thrifty and

24 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
permanent air was given the growing town by the rapid estab
lishment of the homes of constantly arriving settlers.
Caleb Munson, the third settler came here from Torrington,
Connecticut, in 1788 and made his selection of a tract on the
large meadow above the town, through which the railroad
passes and a part of which is now owned by Emerson L. John
son. Richard Holden, who afterward was sent in 1 793 as a dele
gate to the Constitutional Convention, planted his household
gods on the spot where the State Hospital Nurses' Annex
now stands, known in early days as the Peck, Sheple or Doctor
Fales place. The interval or property now occupied by A. M.
Brigham was the home site of Amos Waters in 1788. The
next place west of this at the mouth of the Waterbury River,
on the east side, was the home of Doctor Daniel Bliss, the first
physician and first representative of the town (1792), and
afterwards became the shop site of Seth Chandler, the first
blacksmith, who was killed there by a falling tree.
The widow of the unfortunate James Marsh was married to
Mr. Phillip Bartlett. They occupied a house on the property
known as the Henry farm, taking its name from Sylvester
Henry, an early settler, the grandfather of Mrs. Albert Spen
cer, and, after his death, owned by Sylvester Henry, his son,
the father of Franklin S. Henry, who was the donor of the
Soldiers' Monument. Elias Marsh, a son of James Marsh, had
married and established his home where Miss Electa Corse's
residence was afterwards built, now occupied by Mrs. Thad-
deus B. Crossett. In the year 1796, Deacon Asaph Allen and
Mr. David Austin, coming from Massachusetts and Connecti
cut, took up residence, the one near the Center on what is now
Mark H. Moody's farm; the other on the place now occupied
by B. G. Webster, on Blush Hill.
Deacon Asaph Allen's lifewas reflective of the stern, vigorous,
sturdy stock and the grim conditions from which he sprung.
Born in the famous old fort at Deerfield, Massachusetts,
October 25, 1751, — a circumstance in itself that might speak
volumes — ^he went with his father's family to Bernardstown,
Massachusetts. Here he became a deacon of the Orthodox

PERIOD 1763-1800 25
Congregational Church. It was not long before his service
was required in the militia. He also served as a soldier in the
Revolutionary War, for which service he received a pension
from the government. His marriage to Persis Sheldon oc
curred in 1773 or 1774 in Bernardstown. Coming to Water
bury in 1796, he settled on the place described one-half mile
east of Waterbury Center Village. After an upright, honor
able life he died March 19, 1840. His wife survived him nearly
twelve years and died at the advanced age of ninety-four years
and ten months. Nine children were born of the marriage:
Roxana, born August 16, 1777; Zebulon in 1779; Sophia,
December 10, 1781; Eliakim, February 24, 1785; Asaph in
1788; Horace, August 15, 1792; Charles S., February 24, 1795;
Persis, born in Waterbury, July 2, 1797, and Seba, born in
Waterbury, August 16, 1801 . Of these Roxana (Allen), George
and Eliakim who married Deborah Godfrey May i, 1808,
made their homes in Waterbury. Eliakim continued the
conduct of the farm near the Center until the year 1846 when
he came to live in the Village. Mr. Allen was town represen
tative in the Legislature and was a member of the Methodist
Church for over fifty years. Mrs. Deborah Allen died Octo
ber 19, 1857. Eliakim Allen was married for the second time
to Achsah Kingsbury of Stowe, who was born in 1803. By
his first marriage there were seven daughters. Of these Har
riet Allen, Julia, Pamelia, Aurelia and Alma were married in
Waterbury, the first to Elymas Newcomb; Julia to True B.
Colby, a farmer; Pamelia to Lucius Marshall; Aurelia twice,
to George Calkins and Charles Hicks, and Alma to Storrs
Clough. Horace Allen, one of the sons of Deacon Asaph Allen, was
a farmer near Waterbury, and married Polly Field. He died
in Waterbury Center, leaving one son, Charles S., who died in
the United States' service in the Mexican War. Charles S.
Allen, another son of Asaph Allen, married Nancy Hale.
Three daughters were Cornelia (Mrs. Cornelius Eddy of the
Center), Romelia (Mrs. O. W. Stearns), and Persis (Mrs. C. F.
Clough), all of the town of Waterbury.
Prominent among the citizens of Waterbury at this time
3

26 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
was General John Peck, an uncle of Governor Asahel Peck.
General Peck came directly from Calais, though a native of
Massachusetts. He soon fell into the stride of affairs and was
chosen town representative in 1811 and 181 8. He also served
as chief judge of the County Court and as high sheriff. He was a
particularly active candidate for Congress on the general ticket
nominated by the legislative caucus, but was defeated through
the efforts of Mr. Van Ness who afterwards became Governor.
General Peck held office under the Federal Government as
assessor of Federal taxes and later was chosen as a member of
the state council in 1826, and died soon after the adjournment
of the session in December of^ that year. General Peck was
held in wide esteem for his store of common sense, quick in
telligence, affability, dignity and public spirit. His part as
brigadier-general in command of the Vermont Militia at the
Battle of Plattsburgh, September 11, 1814, is noticed else
where. The parcel of land on which Ezra and Asaph Butler
first made their pitch, which they afterwards relinquished,
passed in due course to Richard Holden, then to Judge Dan
Carpenter, and then to General John Peck; under General
Peck's occupancy and ownership, the place by additions and
improvements came to be the show place of the town. The
property was sold by Peck's administrator to D. G. Sheple,
thence it passed to Sheple 's son-in-law. Doctor Horace Fales.
This old colonial residence was on the south side of Main
Street, the second from the present site of the Roman Catholic
Church, easterly. It was burned while occupied by Doctor
and Mrs. Horace Fales. Doctor Fales afterwards built the
brick house, known as the Hospital Annex, on the site.
Massachusetts continued to furnish new settlers for Water
bury. In March, 1790, Jason Cadyof Sheldon, Massachusetts,
built a home near the arch bridge on South Main Street, lead
ing to Duxbury. About the year 1788, one John Craig began
a clearing on the meadow above the Winooski Falls and put
up a small dwelling house. Craig removed to Ohio after a few
years and the property passed to Joseph Palmer, then of rather
more than local fame as a bridge builder. Mr. Palmer added
to the tract by purchase and on his death it was divided into

PERIOD 1763-1800 27
parcels which included the farms afterwards known by the
names of Davis, Remington and Randall — the Randall farm
now being conducted by Doctor W. L. Wasson. Another early
settler, who afterwards became prominent in the town history
as a public official and town representative, was George Ken
nan, the great-grandfather of the widely known American
traveler, lecturer and writer on Russia and Siberia, of that
name. Mr. Kennan's home was on the site of the old Elisha
Moody place, now occupied by Richard N. Demeritt. Isaac
Wilson occupied a piece of ground near the present site of the
Waterbury Inn.
Attracted by the outlook. Stiles Sherman and his brother-
in-law, Jonathan Wright, came to the town in 1788 and were,
respectively, the fourth and fifth settlers in the order of arrival.
Imbued with the true pioneer spirit Sherman and Wright
lived, worked and died at advanced years on the sites where
they first settled. Both were public spirited, enterprising,
substantial citizens. Mr. Sherman dispensed hospitality as
Boniface in Waterbury's first tavern and endeared himself to
the community for his unselfish, generous and thoughtful
care of those ill and in need. Mr. Wright's home, at what is
now known as Colby ville, was on the property recently sold
by Warner L. Moody to C. C. Abbott, and was probably the
first settled away from the river valley, although Mr. Parker's
pamphlet admits the possibility of an earlier pitch on the hill
"near the residence of George Stearns," while Mr. Sherman's
selection was the site of the present town farm, to which he
brought his family in 1789. Mr. Wright's cabin was situated
on the strccun above the Oliver C. Rood place; this was the
birthplace of Tilman Wright, the first male child born in
Waterbury. The Wright property was sold to James Green
by the administrator of Tilman Wright and remains to this
day in the Green family. Oliver C. Rood came to Waterbury
in the full flush of strong manhood and set his brawn and
brain at work in road making, bridge building, clearing and
house raising; he built the grist mill which was afterwards
rebuilt by W. W. Wells.
The first settler on Loomis Hill was Silas Loomis who, born

28 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
in Torjiagton,^ Connecticut, April 12, 1 771, came to Water
bury about the year 1796; the following year he selected a
place for a home on the hill named for him two miles from the
Center. Here he cleared a home site in the forest, built a
substantial log cabin and returned to his former Connecticut
home for his wife, two children and personal effects. He is
said to have announced his determination to live, die and be
buried in his new home. Mr. Loomis, though never a large
or robust man, was a hard worker and soon added to his hold
ings until his original home place comprised four hundred
acres. An interesting description of the man is given in Child's
Washington County Gazetteer:
He was small in stature, never weighed one hundred and twenty-five
pounds, very light complexion, large, lustrous, dark hazel eyes and bright
red hair, which he never had cut but wore it in a queue to the close of his
life. He dressed in homespun garments in winter, made by the deft hands
of his competent wife, and linen in summer. His stockings were long,
reaching above the knee, and over all he wore a long frock. He was scru
pulously neat, and his farm, bams, sheds and tools were kept in perfect
order. He was opposed to buying and maintained that farmers should
raise their own provisions and clothing. . . . He despised fraud,
deception and dishonesty. . . . He had a mind of his own and never
endorsed an opinion because some one else had. At the call of his county
in the War of 1 8 12 he hastened to its defense. . . . He died March
2, 1853, aged eighty-two years.
Kneeland Flat was first occupied by Richard Kneeland
(known as "Little Dick"). Bom in Westford, Massachusetts,
April I, 1778, he married Katherine Knights of Claremont,
New Hampshire, and came to Waterbury in 1803. His occu
pation was that of a house joiner and builder and farmer. He
carried on farming operations on the property formerly owned
by John Parker in 1813. He died in February, 1868. Mr.
Kneeland served as justice of the peace, presiding, as trial
justice in many cases, and by virtue of his office he became
known as the "marrying justice." He was wonderfully well
informed on matters pertaining to ancient and Biblical history
and naturally was something of a controversialist. He was
wont to emphasize his somewhat dogmatic statements by
adding the word "faithful " in much the same way as the locu-

PERIOD 1763-1800 29
tion "honestly" is used. His boast was that he alone in the
community knew how to draft plans and specifications for
winding stairways. The sons of Mr. and Mrs. Kneeland were :
Willard H., who died at the age of ninety-one; William, who
married Dorothy Jackman, and settled on the old farm until
it was sold in 1853; Henry, a Waitsfield farmer, and Doctor
Lucius Kneeland, who went to Florida and died at the age
of thirty years. The daughters were: Ortensia, who died at
the age of fifty -one years; Martha (Kneeland) Parker, who
died at the age of forty years; Mary A. (Kneeland) Whitney,
who died at the age of seventy-three years; Catherine, who
died at the age of twenty-one years, and Adaline (Kneeland)
Wade of Colby ville.
Mention has already been made of the old Governor Butler
place. This tract of between two hundred and three hundred
acres included one hundred and thirty acres which was for
merly the farm of the State Reform School. The first framed
house, a photograph of which is in this book, stands on the
seven-acre homestead plot. The larger part of the tract be
longs to the Doctor Henry Janes estate. Mr. Russell Butler,
son of Governor Butler, formerly owned a parcel of four acres
at the mouth of Thatcher's Branch, the site of the surveyors'
camp built in 1782. Mr. Russell Butler, was the youngest
member of the family. He was born February 17, 1807, in
Waterbury, and made his native place his home. After a col
lege preparatory course at the Montpelier Academy he entered
the University of Vermont in 1825. Ill health precluded his
finishing the course and he left the university at the end of
Sophomore year. Mr. Russell Butler imbibed a great love
for books and was remarkably familiar with literature and
bibliography. Unlike his father, he avoided political life.
Indeed, he is said to have peremptorily declined to permit his
name to come before the public for political preferment, either
by way of an elective or appointive office. Though personally
averse to holding office he was, nevertheless, an ardent student
of government, a protagonist for the cause of the public welfare,
and a champion of educational and religious training. Mr.
Butler's influence in the community was such as might be

30 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
looked for from a man of unquestioned purity of life, morals
and motives. He died , February 7 , 1 883 . His wife , Elizabeth
M., was born in 1815 and died in 1844.
Stephen Guptil (whose name appears in the town records
spelled Guptail) owned the farm that afterwards came into the
possession of Jared George, whose barn did duty at times for
many years as a meeting house for religious services, dating
back to 1798. Another well-tilled farm was known as the
Eddy place. It was owned by David Adams, William Eddy
and Harvey Eddy, in succession, and was situated with its
meadow land on the branch below the property first located
by Deacon Asaph Allen in 1796. The Allen place, in turn,
passed into the possession of Eliakim Allen and was by him
transferred to parties out of the family. Most of the upland
farms had their beginnings at a later date than those men
tioned. These included the old Silas Loomis place, the Clough
place on Indian Hill, the Raymond Huse place on Alder
Brook below the falls, and others.
In 1791 Joshua Hill started his farm in the south part and,
as it was on the m9,in traveled thoroughfare or hill road running
north, his farm house served as a wayside tavern. Another
tavern situated near the southern boundary of the town on this
road was opened and kept for some years by George Kennan.
The upland farms were particularly well adapted to stock
racing and dairying, and nearly all had thriving maple
orchards, Irornthe sap of which the far-famed Washington
County maple sugar and syrup were produced. On land in
Waterbury Center, near the chapel, James Bryant settled in
1793; Stephen Jones followed him four years later on a lot of
land adjacent on the north ; George Scagel took up his residence
on a Center plot in 1794, and spent his life there. Mr. Jones
and Mr. Scagel were prominent members of the Methodist
Church. As to those residents of Waterbury who had seen service in
the War of the Revolution, next to nothing is obtainable con
cerning the dates of enlistment, terms of service, actions par
ticipated in, and the like. There are buried in the Waterbury
Cemetery the following Revolutionary soldiers: Captain

PL.

PERIOD 1 763-1 800 31
Thomas Jones, Aaron Wilder, Ezra Butler, Zachariah Bassett,
Moses Nelson, David Towne, John Hudson, D. Sloan, Benja
min Conant, Paul Dillingham, Asaph Allen, Isaac Marshall,
Thomas Eddy, Alphas Sheldon, Joseph Hubbard, Stephen
Jones, Asa Poland, George Kennan.
The close of the eighteenth century found Waterbury fairly
started on its course. There had been town representation in
the General Assembly since 1792; the townspeople were
energetic, thrifty and industrious; the farms were being tilled;
shops, stores, taverns and mills had been erected ; town govern
ment had been organized, and the first or formative period in
the State, Chittenden County and town of Waterbury, had
fairly passed. Washington County had not yet been organ
ized. Montpelier had begun town government on March 29,
1791, a year later than Waterbury, and so we are brought to
the epochal nineteenth century.

CHAPTER II
I 800-1 830
The year 1800 was not particularly noteworthy in the
town's annals. To be sure the people of Waterbury were
keenly interested in matters political. George Washington
and John Adams had earned the approval of the Vermont
Legislature; Governor Isaac Tichenor appropriately praised
their respective administrations in his speech to the General
Assembly. It is a fair assumption that a majority of the
electorate of Waterbury favored the reelection of John Adams
to the presidency, although he was the choice of the federalists.
Thomas Jefferson was the then republican-democratic candi
date and was stoutly supported in the General Assembly when
it was sought through a formal measure by republican mem
bers, to secure a choice of presidential electors by districts rather
than by appointment by the Council and Legislature. This
bill was defeated but the vote of ninety-five to seventy-three
showed a decided republican increase within the year. Mr.
Jefferson's success and his candid avowal that a difference of
political opinions was not a difference of principles led many
good Vermonters, and presumably citizens of Waterbury, to
be misled as to his course regarding political patronage, but
they probably profited by the lesson.
Chittenden County had been incorporated in 1782 and
within its borders were included Stowe, Waterbury, Duxbury,
Fayston, Waitsfield, Moretown, Middlesex and Worcester,
which were afterwards taken into Washington County upon
its organization in December, 181 1, with Ezra Butler as
county judge and John Peck as sheriff.
A story is rife at this writing concerning the choice of a
State Capital which is not without interest. Among the
towns bidding for the honor of becoming the seat of govern
ment was Waterbury; the story runs that an entirely unex
pected local opposition arose among some of the more promi-

34 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
nent residents and settlers and effectually put a quietus upon
the movement. It is fair to say that the compiler has not
succeeded in verifying the story and it is given here for what
it is worth. The Act fixing the capital at Montpelier was
passed by a session of the Legislature held at Danville in
October, 1805. At the two succeeding sessions in Middle-
bury and Woodstock vigorous efforts were made to bring
about a change in location, but the counter efforts of Secre
tary of State David Wing and Montpelier's town representa
tive, Honorable Cyrus Ware, prevailed and the Act remained as
here given from the original certified copy now among the
effects of the late Doctor Henry Janes, a grandson of Ezra
Butler, named as one of the committee in the Act :
An Act establishing the permanent seat of Government at Montpelier.
Section i. It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State
of Vermont, that Elijah Paine, Ezra Butler, and James Whitelaw, be and
they are hereby appointed a Committee to fix upon a place in the town
of Montpelier for the erection of buildings for the accommodation of the
Legislature of this State, and to prepare a plan for such buildings
Sec. 2. And it is hereby further enacted, That if the town of Montpelier,
or other individual persons, shall, before the first day of September, which
will be in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and eight,
erect such buildings on the place designated by the aforesaid Committee,
to their acceptance, and shall compensate said Committee for their serv
ices and, also convey to the State of Vermont, the property of said build
ings and the land whereon they shall stand, and lodge the Deed of Convey
ance duly executed, in the Secretary of State's Office, then and in that
case, said Buildings shall become the permanent seat of the Legislature,
for holding all their sessions.
Sec. 3. Provided nevertheless, and it is hereby further enacted. That
if any further Legislature, shall cease to hold Their sessions in said Town
of Montpelier, Those persons, who shall erect said Buildings, and convey
the property of the same, and of the land as aforesaid, shall be entitled
to receive from the Treasury of this State, the full value of the same
as it shall be, then, fairly appraised. —
State of Vermont.
Secretary of State's Office.
Montpelier, 19 November, 1805.
I hereby certify that the above and foregoing, is a true copy of an Act
of the Legislature of this State passed on the eighth day of November
instant. Attest: Dav. Wing Jr. Secry.

PERIOD 1800-1830 35
At about this time it became necessary to commission the
presidential electors who had been chosen at the general elec
tion in the autumn of 1804. Governor Isaac Tichenor, there
fore, executed a formal commission, a true copy of which is
given : STATE OF VERMONT.

f VERMONT 1 By His Excellency
\ seal j Isaac Tichenor, Esquire

Governor in and over said State.
To All Persons to whom these Presents shall come: Greeting.
Know Ye,
That the Honorable Josiah Wright, Samuel Shaw, Ezra Butler, Nathaniel
Niles, William Hunter and John Noyes of Guilford Esquires, have been
duly elected, by the joint Ballot of both Houses of the Legislature of the
State of Vermont, Electors of President and Vice-President of the United
States agreeably to the Constitution of the United States and the Laws of
the State, for the purpose of Electing a President and Vice-President of
the United States for and during the Term of Four years commencing on
the Fourth day of March which will be in the Year of our Lord, one Thou
sand eight Hundred and five.
In Testimony whereof, I have caused the Seal of this State to be here
unto affixed.
Given under my Hand at Rutland this Third day of November in the
year of our Lord, one Thousand eight Hundred and four and of the Inde
pendence of the United States, the Twenty-ninth. (Signed)
By His Excellency's Command Isaac Tichenor.
William Page, Sec'y.
All this while religious instruction, as promulgated from
the pulpits of churches, had languished not only in Water
bury but in the surrounding towns. Religious services were
held when and where circumstances permitted. A copy of a
subscription agreement entered into by some citizens of Rich
mond is given, which sheds more lustre on the intention of the
signers than it does upon the ability to draft contracts then
available. It is questioned whether the "somes hereafter
annexed" would tempt a money -making twentieth century
evangelist : Richmond Decern' 4* A.D. 1804
Whereas Richmond, at present is destitute of Gospel preaching and it
is the indispensable duty of all Parents and heads of familys to encourage

36 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
the preaching of the Gospel, for the good of the rising Generation, in order
to reform their morals as well as to give edification to those of Mature
Years, —
We, the subscribers therefore do covenant and agree with Elder Samuel
Webster, of Bolton to preach one half on every other Sabath for the term
of three Months from the time of commencing in the School House, near
Cap't Hodges' farm on the East side of Onion River in S* Richmond; and
if the somes hereafter annexed to our names may be sufficient encourage
ment to encourage the said Elder Webster, we promise (on condition that
the s'd Elder Webster, do fulfil the aforesi* agreement, to pay him severally
the sumes which we shall sever'ly annex to our respective names at or before
the expiration of s'd term in Grain delivered at our respective places of
abode, witness our hands.
Names of Subscribers.
Ezra Moore X $0.75 James Butler $0.50
Abraham Ford X 0.75 Asaph Butler 0.75
Thos. Hall 0.75 Benoni Thompson 0.50
John Stacy 0.50 Joshua Beardsley l.oo
Reference has been made to a few instances of invalid land
titles. Tax sales were not frequent and when land passed in
this way it was generally redeemed, — sometimes at consid
erable risk and hardships as in the case of Colonel Sumner, a
citizen of New Hampshire, owning land in Waterbury. The
time to redeem was on the point of expiration when Sumner
sent his son, David H., a youth, with money to redeem
the land, by horseback, from his home in New Hampshire,
seventy-five miles away. The way led through practically a
trackless forest for much of the distance. The youth arrived
safely in Montpelier at the home of Colonel Davis at sundown.
After a brief stop there to rest and feed his faithful mare, he
started on the last bit of his journey to Waterbury; mean
while, it grew dark and the going became rough and difficult;
at a place near the foot of Rock Bridge, the mare stopped,
refusing to move forward. Through the dusk David was
able to see a huge bear, disputing the right of way, standing
erect on his haunches. The sight was not one to lighten the
difficulties of the situation, but young Sumner screwed up his
courage and bided his time; having satisfied his comic curi
osity. Bruin departed leisurely through the undergrowth at
the road side, allowing the boy and mare to pass to the river.

PERIOD 1800-1830 37
which they forded. Arriving at the house of the tax collector,
Mr. Holden, the plucky boy found that he had just one hour
in which to redeem the land by payment of the taxes.
The problem of building and maintaining passable high
ways in the town was then as now most burdensome. The
early roads were little better than mere trails. One ran along
the river through the Hog Backs to Middlesex, but was dis
continued for a better thoroughfare on the other side of the
river. The old hill road to Stowe, and thence to the Lamoille
River, was used as an artery of travel until a more level grade
was found through the Center. The Waterbury River road
to Stowe lay along the old hunters' trail and is still a pictur
esque traveled way.
The Legislature granted a charter, in 1805, to a turnpike
company for a road between Montpelier and Burlington.
Little difficulty was encountered in disposing of sufficient stock
to build the road which ran through the Village from the upper
end down to Bolton. This turnpike was not a profitable
enterprise after the ravages of a flood in the summer of 1830,
which swept away its bridges and grading in various places.
Two brothers, Thomas and Hezekiah Reed of Montpelier,
took over the property, paying $10 a share for stock which
had previously sold for $175. The Reed brothers rebuilt the
bridges and regraded the road which became the main thor
oughfare for freighters from Boston and other eastern points.
At that time freight wagons were drawn by oxen as well as
horses, and a single trip would require between two and three
weeks from Boston by way of Montpelier to Waterbury. After
water routes were made possible by cutting the canal between
the Hudson and Lake Champlain, teaming and traffic between
Burlington and Montpelier were greatly increased and the
turnpike became profitable. The charter of the Vermont
Central provided for a purchase of the turnpike franchise.
Under the terms of a settlement with the road company, the
railroad applied the tolls to its own use after taking over the
pike. Soon after the railway line began operations the turn
pike was abandoned to the towns through which it passed,
and they have received the benefit of the road ever since.

38 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
One of the early pioneers in mercantile life in the town was
Amasa Pride who came here from Brookfield, Vermont, in
1802; he entered mercantile business and was the first suc-
. cessful merchant in the new village ; he also opened a tavern
I on the site of the Eugene Moody place which was one of the
few houses of entertainment in the place. Subsequently he
acquired a tract of land extending from the north side of the
river across what is now Main Street to the rise across the
railway tracks, known as "Pride's Pinnacle," west to the Ran
dall property and east to the Atkins corner. His residence
was on the site of the present Waterbury Inn; from there he
removed to the brick house now facing the common where
his daughter, Mrs. D. C. Caldwell, now lives. In common
with other citizens, Mr. Pride was enthusiastic over the build
ing of the Vermont Central Railway through the Village and
was a subscriber to the stock offered by the road as a condi
tion of its extension from Middlesex.
The "common " between Main Street and the railway tracks
was formerly known as the Doctor Drew place. This was pur
chased by Mr. Pride to be transferred by him to the railroad
company. The negotiations for the station site and the other
surrounding property were conducted through Governor
Charles Paine and the conveyance has been erroneously re
ported to have been made on condition that the "common"
should not be built upon so that a free and unobstructed view
of the station might be had from the Pride residence. Mr.
Pride was married twice; his second wife was Miss Polly Hill,
to whom he was married September i, 1836. Two daughters
were born to them, Mary, who died unmarried, and Martha
L. (Mrs. D. C. Caldwell), who still occupies the old Pride
residence. The following obituary, printed in 1862, reflects
the high esteem in which Mr. Pride was held by his towns
men: Died in Waterbury, August 16, 1862, Amasa Pride, Esq., aged 85 years,
10 months and 3 days. Mr. Pride was born in Lisbon, Conn. In his four
teenth year he came to Brookfield, Vt., to which place his father had moved
two years before. In 1802, in his 26th year, he opened a store in Water
bury, and became the first permanent and successful merchant in the place.
He commenced business with very little capital, but, by his sound judg-

PERIOD 1800-1830 39
ment, sterling integrity, and great energy and enterprise, he accumulated
a large property and became one of the most substantial and valuable men
in the community. His hand was open to every call of charity and the
public good. He had been a consistent member of the Congregational
Church twenty-six years.
The property, formerly known as the Loomis Hill farm,
occupied by Silas Loomis in 1797, lay south of a farm settled
and cleared by Timothy Claflin from Croydon, New Hampshire,
in 1802 or 1803, which is now owned by Henry F. Hill, the
Loomis place being occupied by Edward Woodward. In
1805 or 1806 Abel De Wolf, coming from Conway, Massa
chusetts, took the farm now owned or occupied by Charles
Stevens and son. Simeon Woolson was another farmer who
began in 1798 on the place now owned by Henry Thurston.
The Frank Morey place was the farm of William Kneeland in
1796. What is now known as the Bradley Shaw estate was
the farm of Israel Thatcher in 1808. This was afterwards
known as the Robert Broderick place. Solomon Newcomb
took the place now owned by Nathaniel Sawyer in 1809 and
lived there on an unimproved lot until his death in 1845.
Otis Whitney began on the Fred Marks property in 1807,
and Robert Parcher on the property of C. C. Robinson, Jr.
If it be thought that undue space is being given to Ezra
Butler in these pages, the reader is reminded that he was so
indissolubly connected and bound up with the first half cen
tury of Waterbury's life that he literally made the town's
history, assisted, of course, by his neighbors and fellow pio
neers. It is difficult to conceive how a staid Elder of the Bap
tist Church, ordained in 1801, could have run the gamut of
judicial, legislative and executive experiences and yet remain
always a person of Christian meekness, dignity and propriety.
Indeed, it must not be supposed that his meekness was of the
sort that deprived him of controversial force when he thought
his rights were being infringed, nor did it paralyze his political
acumen in any noticeable degree. For example, when a
question arose as to who was "the first settled minister"
within the meaning of the charter provision as to the ministerial
right of land, the question of priority of ordination arose be-

40 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
tween Reverend Ezra Butler and Reverend Jonathan Hovey.
Mr. Butler had been ordained in l8oi; the church called
Reverend Hovey to settle over them in 1802; Mr. Hovey
questioned the regularity of Mr. Butler's ordination, which
Mr. Butler vigorously upheld; he laid claim to the right of
land, not because he wanted it for himself but because he
wanted to see it applied for school purposes. At a town
meeting in 1802 it was voted: "that we do consider the right
of land granted to the first settled minister to be Elder Butler's
in consequence of his ordination in this town. Voted to
choose a committee to wait on the council that is to ordain
Rev. Jona. Hovey. Voted that the committee consist of
these persons: Ezra Butler, Richard Holden, David Atkins,
George Kennan and Daniel Bliss. Voted that the committee
state to the council the proceedings of this meeting and the
difficulty that may arise in town, and with a request that the
ordination might not take place unless that Mr. Hovey will
agree to quit claim the right of land granted the first settled
minister to the town of Waterbury for the use of the common
school." In 1806 the selectmen were directed to take "the
most wise and prudent manner to get and keep the possession"
of the ministerial lot. And that the selectmen "lease out the
right, etc., also to choose a committee to Council with the
Selectmen," upon which were Ezra Butler, Isaac Woolson,
Thomas Gubtail, Isaac Parker and David Austin. Mr.
Hovey was dismissed, December 31, 1807, for lack of adequate
support and removed to Piermont, New Hampshire, whence
he continued to wage battle for his claim. In 1811 a settle
ment was proposed whereby Dan Carpenter and Humphrey
Gubtail were authorized to pay Mr. Hovey for betterments
and improvements not to exceed $250, and to take a deed from
him. Mr. Hovey's tenacity drove him finally to bringing suit
in the United States Court, nominally against Lemuel Lyon,
to recover possession of the ministerial lot, and, as late as 18 14,
the town voted to appoint John Peck as agent to defend the
suit, which ultimately resulted in the title being vested in the
town for school purposes. Throughout this controversy the
fine Italian hand of Mr. Butler is visible; he was resourceful

PERIOD 1800-1830 41
and astute in counsel and vigilant and untiring in watching the
moves of his opponents. Wherever the political storm center
happened to be located, one had not far to seek for his aggres
sive presence and personality.
Mr. Butler divided the honor of being town representative
with Mr. George Kennan for the first fifteen years of the town's
representation in the General Assembly, Mr. Butler serving
from 1794 to 1798, Kennan in 1798, Butler again from 1799
to 1805, Kennan again in 1805 to 1806; Butler was reelected
in 1807 and 1808, and the latter term must have been divided
by him between the House of Representatives and the Council,
for the records show that he was elected to both bodies in the
same year. Mr. Parker suggests, as an explanation, the fact
that the Council was elected by a general ticket, votes for
which were enumerated by a committee of the General Assem
bly and that Mr. Butler probably remained in the House until
after the result of the vote became known when he took his
seat in the Council.
Not the least important of Ezra Butler's official functions,
and always along the lines of sound public policy, were the
ceremonies of marriage he performed in his several capacities
of justice of the peace, chief judge of the County Court, regu
larly ordained minister of the Gospel and member of the State
Council. There is reason to believe that his official action in
this regard, evidenced by the town records of some thirty-five
marriage ceremonies, was of vastly greater service to the state
than if he had signed so many decrees of divorce. It is not
unlikely that he adopted the graceful course of presenting the
marriage fees to the brides, afterwards followed by other
Waterbury justices.
Mr. Butler's fame and influence increased steadily and so
when a chairman was required to preside over the war meeting
at Montpelier, which had been called by the Democratic
friends and supporters of President Madison's war policies to
take appropriate action thereon, almost, as of course Ezra
Butler, a good Democrat (or then a Republican) and member
of the ascendant party in the state and county, was chosen
as chairman. The war measure referred to in the Robinson

42 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
letter to Butler, given below, had passed in January and its
ratification was sought at this meeting the following month.
If accounts of that occasion now available may be trusted, Pat
rick Henry's fiery utterances of treasonable sentiments in the
Virginia House of Burgesses were merely mild remonstrances
as compared with the vitriolic, vituperative charges and coun
ter-charges of treason in that Montpelier meeting. With that
never-failing sense of observing due decorum at the beginning
of the meeting, one of the committee was despatched to request
the then settled minister of Montpelier to open the meeting
with prayer. The committeeman soon reported that the
ministerial gentleman had declined on the score of conscientious
scruples. In this situation Reverend Ziba Woodworth re
sponded to a call for an opening prayer, which was a master
piece of contumelious satire and downright abuse of the Feder
alists as "enemies of our blessed country" and as being guilty
of "treasonable opposition to the wise measures of our God-
appointed rulers." Meanwhile, Mr. Butler had resigned the
chairmanship of the meeting and, although succeeded by
Esquire Bulkeley, a strong Federalist, as chairman, he saw the
war party carry everything its own way, even to the affixing
of the chairman's signature to the very resolutions Bulkeley
meant to defeat.
The war of 1812 loomed threateningly as the first rock of
importance upon which the hitherto comparatively harmoni
ous General Assembly was destined to split. The Federalists
deemed the war premature and impolitic, while the Republi
cans favored it as a wise and far-sighted policy declaring it
their duty as citizens to support the declaration of war ; other
wise they would identify themselves with the enemy "with
no other distinction than that of locality." We are able to
give the text of a letter dated January 10, 1812, from one of
Vermont's United States Senators, Jonathan Robinson, to
Ezra Butler, which, while breathing sentiments of the loftiest
^ patriotism, betrays a certain anxiety as to how the people
would receive the joint action of President Madison and the
Congress, as will be seen:

A

¦m:':it

^-

^ BY HIS E»CELLENCV

JONAS G^LUiHA, EsquifiE,
. . -.  .vn, .-ov,«AMT>v« .01 THIEF. IN AND OVER. THE STATE OF

CArrA,N.OENEKAL, GOVERNOR. AND CO^NBER ¦« CHIEr, W AND OVER ^E ST^TE OP VERMONT.
-,^,^,^ ^/i.C,/l^ ¦ " :,k^ esq; GHBETING. ^
YOt

TO

and emiower you, the faid ^<,.,i-.^ y^/c> /.-..^^^ -^^ „ ^ / 1 ^ \n . £ "^^-^^ c
t OU WILL, therefor., -K a.d dl,|ge„^y dlfc^^^^^^^^
every Matter and thing thereunto re'latint You vvjl oMerve and t'>"°"/"^j^ "/^""^^"^^^^^^^ to military

duTraie".;ce";o >w oVder., a, tU^r ,€.^^,,1, ,- .. in puriuance of the truft m yoa r^f«l,
W TESTIMONY WHEREOF. 1 HAVE tffuSEp THE SEAJ. 07 THIS STATE TO^E^UNTO ArEDCED.
Cte, onto o., ha»d m co™.;! thamte. at MoDipdJ.^ii' l. ^ i„j,p^S'Jf th. Umtrf Sa«th. Sarty
Lord, Om Thoufrod Eshl Hiiodtnl md ^^^.jja^ ""i <" ™ i»u«l»u"
BY HIS E5i:CELLENCV'. COMMAND.
Seoretarv.

Ycarot Oi»

;^..^^'-^

PERIOD 1 800-1 830 43
Washington, Jany 10 th 1812
My respected old friend.
Sitting in the Senate this morning and having answered all my corris-
pondents my mind turned on the . . . conversations we held in the
Capital at Montpelier. The President & both Houses of Congress have
united in their Opinion at last that the accumilated Injuries and aggravated
Insults of the English government ought no longer to be borne by a Gener
ous but brave people whose conduct has for years exhibited a forbearance
unequalled in the annals of Civilized Nations. The blood of our brave
countrymen lately murdered on the Wabash by Indians excited to murder
and desolation by that unprincipled Nation call for Vengeance and I
think I can lay my hand on my heart and appeal to the God of armies with
an honest conscience and ask his protecting aid in our measures. We have
this day passed the long contended and delayed Bill to raise 25,000 men
and nothing but the President's signature is wanting to its becoming a Law.
We, of course, call on you all to recommend to us good, firm, patriotic and
brave men as officers for captains and subalterns and we do most ardent
hope every effort will be made by our friends to aid inlistments that we
may have a short war and a popular one; before next summer I hope you
will see an army marching to the North; if Canada is ours war with the
Indians under the Jeffersonian policy is forever at an end. Your wishes in
a postmaster is gratified. Recollect me to friends. Your cordial friend.
Jonathan Robinson
Hon. Ezra Butler Esq'.
as we have passed the Rubicon we wish to know how the public Pulse
beats J.R.
Apparently as a result of this request for a recommendation
of officers and subalterns Henry Fisk Janes of Waterbury,
later to become the son-in-law of Ezra Butler, and father of
the late Doctor Henry Janes, received a commission as ensign
in Captain Gideon Wheelock's company from Governor
Galusha. A letter bearing date, February 14, 1814, from President
Daniel C. Sanders of the University of Vermont to Mr. Butler
contains some interesting information about the progress of
the war from which the following is an extract :
Two hundred sleighs are hiving in this vicinity (Burlington) to go to
the French Mills to wait further orders, the object not yet known to us.
The British are said to be engaged in building new vessels on Lake Cham
plain and if our government should not keep pace with equal steps, with
them, it is feared, that the next campaigne will prove most disastrous

44 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
to our country in the vicinity of this Lake. I trust the Government will
not long remain unmindful of an interest so highly important to the issue
of the contest in which our country is engaged.
Waterbury was ably represented at the Battle of Platts
burg by General John Peck, who, as brigadier-general of
Vermont Militia, participated with his command in that
engagement. Forty officers and privates in command of
Captain George Atkins of Waterbury, belonging to the
Fourth Regiment of Vermont Militia under Colonel Peck,
about September 7, 18 14, volunteered to go to Plattsburg.
These participated in the battle of September 1 1 , and remained
in Plattsburg a day or two after the battle, their service
extending over the period of September 7 to September 17.
The list taken from the rolls in the Adjutant-General's Office
includes: Captain George Atkins, Lieutenant John G. Knights,
Ensign Davis Marshall, Sergeant Guy J. H. Holding, Ser
geant |David A. Towne, Corporal Luther Cleaves, Corporal
Ezra O. Button, Corporal Abijah Towne, Privates Moses
Coffin, Giles H. Holding, Asa Stearns, Ebenezer M. Man,
Asa Austin, Richard W. Holding, Moses Nelson, Nathaniel
Gublait (meaning Guptail or Guptil), John De Wolf, Benja
min Parry, Hosea Towne, Humphrey Gublait (Guptil), Oliver
C. Rood, Truman Murry, Orin Austin, Israel Straw, Salem
Towne, Edmond Towne, Johnson Bates, Nathaniel Perkins,
Waldo ,H. Field, William Huckins, Joel Kilburn, Sylvanus
Parker, David Austin, Justus Kenman, Bartholomew Knee
land, David Adams, Daniel Demon, Daniel H. Austin, Jotham
Robbins. The records in the office of the adjutant-general at Mont
pelier contain a statement made at Waterbury September
27, 1850, by Captain Chester Marshall, in which he says
that when the Fourth Regiment was ordered out by Colonel
John Peck, he himself was not ordered out but on Saturday,
the day before the Battle of Plattsburg, the members of his
company residing at Waitsfield rallied as volunteers. On
Sunday he took command and marched his men to Burlington
where he was ordered to attempt to get to Plattsburg, via
Cumberland Head. Obeying this order, he with his command

PERIOD 1800-1830 45
reached the American forces at Plattsburg, Tuesday, Sep
tember 13. Captain Marshall made another sworn state
ment at Waterbury, October 12, 1850, verifying a statement
of one Orson Skinner of Waitsfield that he. Skinner, had
served in a company of cavalry. Fourth Regiment, Second
Brigade, Third Division of Vermont Militia, commanded by
Marshall. Among those named in the list of forty volunteers is Moses
Coffin, Sr., who lived on Blush Hill with his wife, Lydia Dustin
Coffin, his two sons, Moses, Jr., and Daniel, and a daughter.
Electa. The two sons died in the second year of the War
of 1 8 12, one (Moses, Jr.) at Fort George, Upper Canada, and
the other (Daniel) at Plattsburg, New York, November 15,
1813. The daughter of Moses Coffin, Sr., Electa, was the
mother of Mr. George W. Randall, the greater part of whose
long life has been spent in Waterbury. Electa (Coffin)
Randall, on her part, was the granddaughter of Hannah
Dustin, whose heroic exploits in that stressful period of Massa
chusetts history, closing the Seventeenth century, gave her
immortality. Nearly every schoolboy is familiar with the
story of how the Indians swooped down upon the Dustin
home at Haverhill, March 15, 1697; how the father managed
to get seven children out of harm's way, fighting off the Indians
single-handed; how the mother, Hannah Dustin, lying in
bed with an infant daughter, one week old, and a woman
attendant were taken captives by the Indians who forced
the two women, with the infant, to take the rough trail lead
ing to a spot near the present site of Concord, New Hampshire.
On the way, the Indians, not wishing to be burdened with
the infant, dashed out her brains against a tree. The heroic
mother, assisted by her woman companion and a fourteen-
year-old captive boy, tomahawked ten of the twelve Indians
comprising the party, while they slept, leaving a squaw and
papoose to escape, and made her way with her companions
back to Haverhill and Boston, where she was suitably rewarded
for her bravery. Her name is still a household word in Con
cord, New Hampshire, where a monument was erected to
her memory.

46 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Among those whose army record, if fully available, would
make good reading was Levi Gleason, soldier in the Revolu
tionary War, the War of 1812, and the Mexican War. Gleason
was a son of James Gleason of Westmoreland, New Hamp
shire, and grand-uncle of Mrs. G. W. Randall. He is described
as "short and stout with dark straight hair. " He was known
familiarly as "Tip" Gleason from his being in the Battle of
Tippecanoe, November 7, 181 1, and lived in Waterbury
for some years.
Captain Chester Marshall was the son of Amasa Marshall,
who lived where the condensed milk factory now stands on
South Main Street, also owning the meadows below that
place and the high land back of it on the same side of the
river. Captain Marshall, as a young man, was noted for
his deeds of daring. At the time of the great freshet in the
early 30's, the Middlesex gorge became dammed with debris
of all sorts. It was found that the key obstruction was a
huge millstone which, lying submerged in the narrow channel,
effectually blocked it. Marshall dived into the swirling
stream and passed a chain through the hole of the millstone,
enabling those on shore to remove it. Chester Marshall lived
in Waterbury for the greater part of his life, removing to
Stowe toward the latter part where he died at the age of
eighty-four. He was the father of Mrs. William Deal of
South Main Street.
Nathaniel and Humphrey Guptil, named in the list of forty
volunteers from Waterbury at the battle of Plattsburg, were
sons of Thomas Guptil, Jr., and grandsons of Thomas Guptil
who came to Waterbury one hundred and thirty years ago,
settled on Guptil Hill, there lived and died, and was buried in
the Guptil family lot on the hill. All the Guptils were farmers,
and Humphrey acquired some local reputation as surveyor.
Another was Stephen J. Guptil, born February 11, 1816, and
died April 10, 1891. His first wife was Mary (Wallace)
Guptil, born April 21, 181 7, and died April 8, 1847; his second
wife was Hannah (Reed) Guptil, born November 10, 1811,
and died January 26, 1894. Of this marriage was born Walter
E. Guptil, May 10, 1851, who died March 3, 1895, also Eleanor

PERIOD 1800-1830 47
born July 11, 1852, and Martha born April 10, 1856, who died
August 7, 1857. The wife of Walter Guptil was Florence E.
Stevens, born April 14, 1856, now living in Waterbury.
Guy Holden, a son of Richard Holden, was a teacher in the
district school of Waterbury in 1810-1812. Attributed to him
is an incident about the Battle of Plattsburg related by one of
those furnishing matter supplementary to Mr. Parker's ad
dress in Hemenway's History of Washington County. On the
day before the battle was fought, Holden, with a number of
young boys, climbed a hill near the town to listen for the sounds
of cannonading at Plattsburg. The narrator says: "On the
day of the battle, Sunday, September 11, 1814, there was no
need of listening to hear the broadside discharges of artillery
in the lake action, to which a hundred of Waterbury boys were
witnesses," meaning, doubtless, that one hundred boys could
have testified to the fact that the cannonading could be heard
in Waterbury.
Some confusion has arisen as to the name of three of the
volunteers in Captain Atkins' company of forty who went to
Plattsburg about September 7 and took part in the battle
September 11. They are given in the list as Sergeant Guy
J. H. Holding, Giles H. Holding and Richard W. Holding.
These are, undoubtedly, sons of Richard Holden (so spelled),
whose name appears so often in the town records as selectman,
moderator, justice of the peace and as a member of the Con
stitutional Convention. The Guy Holden mentioned as
having heard the cannonading from Plattsburg, September 11,
must be the Sergeant Guy Holding listed with the forty vol
unteers, in which case he could hardly have listened to the
artillery fire in Waterbury and yet have taken part in the
battle of Plattsburg.
Colonel (General) John Peck, commanding the Vermont
troops, and Anna Peck were the parents of Emily, born June
17, 1801 ; Lucius B. (member of Congress), born November 17,
1802, and JuHus C, born November 10, 1806. General Peck
died at Burlington, Massachusetts, December 22, 1826.
It was too much to expect that the Madison administration
should be exempted from being saddled with the responsibility

48 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
of the War of 1812. Indeed, it was sought to fix its ultimate
cause upon certain alleged omissions to keep the country
informed as to the terms of certain decrees promulgated by
the French government. The intimation by the Federalist
leaders in and out of Congress was that these decrees had
either been purposely delayed or temporarily suppressed by
the administration and that an earlier knowledge in respect of
them might have put a different face upon the necessity for
war. Supporting this contention was no less a person than
Daniel Webster of New Hampshire who took his seat in the
House of Representatives in May, 1813. It will probably
come with some surprise to the readers of this book that the
very first measures introduced in Congress by Daniel Web
ster, were a series of resolutions calling upon President Madi
son for a statement of the time and manner in which Napo
leon's pretended revocation of his decrees against American
shipping had been announced to the United States and that
these measures were vigorously opposed by Ezra Butler of
Waterbury in his initial performance in Congress. As a mat
ter of historical interest it may be well to record here the fact
that these resolutions were introduced by Mr. Webster, June
10, 1813. Thus it appears that the two men took their seats in
Congress in the same term and their first legislative efforts there
were directed to the same subject matter. The order of the day
was called up on the second resolution, June 21, and at once
engaged the attention of Ezra Butler in opposition. Mr.
Butler's congressional career was not long, but it is doubtful
if, during his incumbency, a more forceful speech than his on
this occasion were made. He said in part:
Sir, I see no necessity for the information required, and to call on the
President for documents that can be of no use would be improper. We
may ask for information without giving the President the reasons, but we
certainly ought to have good reasons ourselves for so doing. It has not
once been intimated, that any act of the Legislature can be founded on the
answer expected; much less that we should now declare war against France;
I, therefore, can discover no profitable use that can be made of any answer
in the power of the President to give.
It has been said that this inquiry ought to have been made by the friends
of the administration; but as they have neglected their duty, these resolu
tions were introduced to give the President a fair opportunity, by his

PERIOD 1800-1830 49
answer, to remove the suspicions under which many of the people are
laboring. Sir, if that unfortunate class of the community had believed the most
solemn assertions of the President, or even of their own senses in relation
to his conduct for forty years past, they would not now be laboring under
these painful suspicions. As no part of his conduct has laid the foundation
for or given any support to these suspicions, nothing that he can do, nothing
that he can place on paper will remove them. Should the President give
the most satisfactory answer, it would only leave his character on the same
high ground on which it now stands, and therefore would contribute nothing
to his reputation. . . . As to the motives of the honorable gentleman
from New Hampshire [Mr. Webster], who introduced all these resolutions,
I shall say nothing; I shall treat with equal charity all the arguments
offered in their favor. It is sufficient for me to be fully satisfied that they
can produce no other consequences than those that are deeply to be la
mented. According to all the arguments advanced by gentlemen on the
other side of the House, it would appear that either the Government of
France, or that of the United States, is responsible for all the blood and
treasure that may be wasted in our war with Great Britain. They might
as well say, in plain English, that the President and majority in Congress
have been the sole cause of the war. It is only a circuitous course taken to
enforce the charge with more effect. Through you all the people of the
United States may be told this, and much sophistry urged to support it.
I shall not say that the motives were bad; but that the effect must be so, is
certain. . . .
Sir, after having heard so many charges brought against our own Govern
ment, it may not be improper to inquire whether individuals in our country
may not be, in one degree, chargeable with the consequences of this war.
And in order to this, I will call your attention to two or three notorious
facts. Near the commencement of that Congress, who afterwards declared
war to exist, a number of resolutions were introduced, authorizing prepara
tions for war. Those resolutions were adopted almost unanimously by
this House. The opinion of the Senate and of the President were also
known. The faith of this Government was now pledged to resist the en
croachments of Great Britain unless she should abandon the ground she
has taken, before we were prepared to resist her. This ought to have put
all contention to rest; the benefits that would result to our country from
union, must be obvious to all.
But here, sir, you find yourself in open view of conduct long to be la
mented — conduct that must enkindle emotions of shame, grief, and anger.
You were told to your face, that there was no sincerity in your words and
acts; that all was meant only to deceive, delude and scare. That the
British had nothing to fear, and our own country nothing to hope from those
in power. That you had not the least intention to declare war. That
you had become too tame to resent any injury, however great. That you
could not be kicked into a war. . . .

50 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Sir, you will now permit me to ask you one or two questions. Do you
not believe that the conduct just mentioned was an encouragement to
Great Britain to persist in her aggressions on your rights? Do you believe
that Great Britain would have continued trampling on your rights if our
country had been united to a man in the support of our own Govern
ment? Would she have risked a war with this country under such cir
cumstances? . . .
I have stated some of my reasons for voting against the resolutions before
you, and some of the objections I have against the arguments advanced in
their favor. I shall now submit to your decision, whatever it may be,
when I have placed my name where it will forever be pleasing to have it
standing. Neither am I troubled at the thoughts of being in a minority;
for, sir, I would give my vote in the negative, did I know it would stand
entirely alone.
In spite of Mr. Butler's strong speech, Mr. Webster's
measures passed.
It may not be amiss to observe here that the end of the War
of 1 812 saw the end of the Federalist party as such. Fac
tional strife was succeeded everywhere throughout New
England by the "era of good feeling" and the dominant idea
was that the ideal citizen should measure up to a standard
later fixed by the ex-Federalist Daniel Webster: "He is to
have no objects in his eye but American objects and no heart
in his bosom but an American heart." These noble senti
ments so at variance with the attitude of Congressman Webster
in 18 13 were called forth by the action of Secretary of State
Van Buren, of President Jackson's cabinet, in seeking to
compose differences with the British government arising dur
ing John Quincy Adams' administration.
Another of the leading families of this period was the Wells
family, the members of which will always be associated with
the early beginnings, growth and maturity of the town.
Roswell Wells, Sr., the head of the Waterbury family, was
born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, September 6, 1769, and
came to Waterbury in 1805, where he died July 26, 1826. He
married Pamelia White, a descendant of the first white person
boril in New England. Two sons were born of this marriage,
William Wellington and Roswell Wells, Jr. William Welling
ton Wells was born in Waterbury October 28, 1805. Studious
in his youth, he was graduated from the University of Vermont

PERIOD 1800-1830 51
in 1824 and began the study of law in the Burlington office of
Charles Adams, Esq. After his admission to the bar of
Chittenden County, he found that his presence was required
in Waterbury in connection with the administration of his
father's estate; in this way he became immersed in business
pursuits which left small time for the practice of his profession.
He had business affiliations both in Burlington and Water
bury, holding a large interest in a leading dry goods firm of the
former city and a membership in the firm of Hutchins, Wells
& Company, at Waterbury. Here he also became interested
in the business of a tannery, a grist and flouring mill, north of
the village and near the tannery and a dry goods store at
Waterbury Center. Business life, however, did not engross
his attention to the extent of blinding him to public duties.
He served as town treasurer and selectman several years;
was town representative in the Assembly in 1840, 1863, and
1864, besides being a member of the Council of Censors in
1855. When the War of the Rebellion broke out Mr. Wells
was fifty-six years of age, but found a way of rendering devoted
service as chairman of the board of selectmen for the four
years of the war, seeing to it that every call for soldiers was
promptly filled and so administering the town's finances that
Waterbury emerged from the war period free from debt.
Not content, however, with this necessary civil service he
presented himself for enlistment, joined a company in Ran
dolph in the fall of 1862 and drilled for two weeks, only to be
rejected as being over age and of impaired vision. Mr. Wells'
ardor ih the cause of temperance gave it an impetus in this
community that is felt to this day; and so with every move
ment in which he became interested, giving lavishly of his time
and means to accomplish any worthy public object. Mr.
Wells was a man of rare intellectual attainments and learning.
His intelligent interest in the town schools never flagged, and
by precept and example he sought to impress the young with
the necessity for habits of industry and self control. He had
no patience with cant or hypocrisy but lived a life of sterling,
unpretentious honesty in the sight of all men. His marriage
with Miss Eliza Carpenter, second daughter of Judge Dan

52 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Carpenter, January 13, 1831, was a remarkably happy union.
Of this marriage seven sons and one daughter were reared;
two children died in infancy. Roswell White Wells was born
November 14, 1833, died February 4, 1883; Edward Wells,
born October 30, 1835, died February 19, 1907; William Wells,
born December 14, 1837, died April 29, 1892; Curtis Wells,
born February i, 1840, died March 16, 1898; Charles Wells,
born June 22, 1845; Sarah Carpenter Wells, June 22, 1845;
Henry Wells, born February 15, 1848, died January 7, 191 1;
Frederic Howard, born September 27, 1851. The father,
William Wellington Wells, and the mother, Sarah Carpenter
Wells, of this remarkable family, died respectively April 9,
1869, and August 5, 1873, in Waterbury. Four of the sons
served in the War of the Rebellion in the Union army: Ed
ward, William, Curtis and Charles, William attaining to the
rank of brevet major-general of volunteers. General Wells'
career will be dwelt on more at length in its proper place.
Roswell Wells, the eldest of the family, went to Waupun,
Wisconsin, where he entered upon a business life. Curtis
became the cashier of the Waterbury National Bank, while
Edward, Henry and Frederic were associated in the old whole
sale drug firm of Wells, Richardson & Company of Burlington.
Charles for a time was employed in the Customs Department
of the Government and lived in St. Albans. Mrs. Sarah Car
penter (Wells) Brock lived in Montpelier where she died on
the 1st day of July, 1914. Charles Wells now resides in Bur
lington. One of those who came to Waterbury from Connecticut,
via New Hampshire, was John P. Calkins of New London.
Mr. Calkins left his home town for Canaan, New Hampshire,
but decided to throw in his lot with the new settlement at
Waterbury, Vermont. He settled here on the river in 1796,
and raised a large family of eight sons and three daughters.
Most of the descendants removed to Ohio. Harris, the second
son, settled in Waterbury where he died, leaving two sons and
a daughter; Clarissa died in Ohio, aged eighty-nine. Mr.
Calkins, Sr., died in 1877, aged ninety-four, while his wife
(of the New Hampshire Gilmans) died a few years before.

PERIOD 1800-1830 53
aged eighty-six. Mr. Charles Calkins, whose reminiscences
are given later in this book, writing in April, 1879, of the
family's longevity says: "So there are living, George aged
ninety-two, Jesse eighty-four and Jedediah eighty-two, and
his wife; and but a few years ago, Clarissa died aged eighty-
nine, Charles, ninety-four and my mother, eighty-six." John
P. Calkins is mentioned as one of those who supplied the pulpit
in the meeting house before the coming of Mr. Warren.
Allusion has been made to George Kennan, whose long term
of public service in town and state government made him a
considerable factor in Waterbury's early history. He served
as moderator and selectman in 1794, 1797 and 1804; he was
justice of the peace and town representative. Mr. Kennan
was the father of three sons: George, who was constable in
1802 and selectman in 1809; Thomas, a clergyman, who
married Sally Lathrop February 19, 1795; and Jairus, de
scribed by a University of Vermont classmate in these words :
"His intellectual powers were of a high order and he cultivated
them with untiring devotion. He was distinguished for
warmth of feeling, and kindness of manner, and, had he lived,
would have taken high rank as a philanthropist. He was a
bright example of what energy and ambition may accomplish."
It has been said with truth, too often mixed with cheap
cynicism, that among the evils following in the wake of civili
zation is the lawyer. He is usually hailed as a harbinger of
trouble by those who are the first to crave his assistance in
sparsely settled communities. They succumb reluctantly to
his ministrations but they ultimately are forced to recognize
him as an institution. This, no doubt, was the early experi
ence of Dan Carpenter who came as a lawyer to Waterbury in
1804 from Norwich. Mr. Carpenter had a virgin field in the
Mad River Valley, Duxbury, Stowe, Mansfield and Water
bury ; his nearest rival was in Williston.
In due course Mr. Carpenter soon began to fill places of
trust and confidence. He was known and described as a
sound lawyer, of excellent practical judgment and a safe and
conservative adviser. He was married, January 27, 1805, at
Norwich to Miss Betsy Partridge and with her commenced

54 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
housekeeping in a modest one-story dwelling. In 1815 he
built the two-story building which has been occupied for so
many years by his grandson, Franklin Carpenter. Eight
children were born to Judge and Mrs. Dan Carpenter, four of
whom died in infancy; those reaching maturity were William,
born October 25, 1805, and three daughters, Sarah P. (the
first wife of Paul Dillingham, Jr., by whom there were two
daughters), born May 18, 1807; Eliza, December 11, 1810, and
Julia, December 3, 1812. After the death of Sarah (Carpen
ter) Dillingham, Paul Dillingham, Jr., married Julia Carpenter
who died September 15, 1898.
In these days when an Act of the Legislature is found
necessary to simplify legal procedure by making it still more
incomprehensible we read with astonishment that the limits of
a justice's jurisdiction in the first part of the nineteenth cen
tury was $13! Naturally the county courts were made the
tribunal where most cases were tried and Mr. Carpenter's
professional life was a busy one. The second lawyer. Honorable
Henry F. Janes, had not then come into the field nor did he
until 181 7. The^high estimation in which Mr. Carpenter was
held is evinced by his public service as town clerk from 1808
till 1828 in successive terms, excepting one; he was first select
man most of this time and town representative from 181 7 till
1827, except for the 1818 term. He became an assistant judge
of Washington County Court in 1827 and held that post for
eight successive years. As a presidential elector in 1824, he
carried the state ballots to Washington. In 1823 Mr. Car
penter took as law partner Paul Dillingham, Jr., who
succeeded to the practice on Mr. Carpenter's taking the
bench. Notwithstanding his manifold interests, Mr. Carpenter
embarked in mercantile pursuits with Charles R. Cleaves in
1820. Acquiring Mr. Cleaves' interest, he took as partner his
son, William Carpenter, in 1824. Ten years later the firm
erected the brick store now occupied by Brisbin & Brisbin.
W. E. Carpenter, a grandson, succeeded to the business.
Judge Carpenter died December 2, 1852, and his wife, Betsy
Partridge Carpenter, surviving him many years, passed away

F CARPENTER RESIDENCE
Erecterl in 1816
Now occupied by ^[r, Franklin Carpenter

PERIOD 1800-1830 55
in 1875 at the age of ninety-two. His son, William, died
March 17, 1881. Any estimate of the worth of Judge Car
penter as a citizen would fall far short of adequacy if it omitted
to mention his kindly, courteous and respectful demeanor; his
conscientious habits of life and his quick and practical sym
pathy for those in distress. He is described as a man of fine
personality, nearly six feet high, slim, lithe and graceful.
Of the third generation of Carpenters, sons and daughters
of William and Mary E. (Partridge) Carpenter, there were:
Sarah Louisa, born October 28, 1832, who married Erastus
Spicer, December 24, 1864, and died February 17, 1887 ; George
Henry, born September 25, 1835, who married Helen Wallace
of Aurora, New York, January 23, 1866; Mary Partridge, born
October 7, 1838, who married M. O. Evans of Waterbury,
May I, i860, and died November 15, 1872; Julia EHza, born
June 10, 1842, who married George W. Wheeler of Burlington,
Kansas, November 12, 1867 ; Franklin, born June 19, 1845, who
married Ellen Eliza Shurtleff September 22, 1868, and now
occupies the old Carpenter residence on Main Street erected
in 18 16, and William E., who married Sarah Moody June 4,
1872, and now resides across Main Street from the old Car
penter residence, the home of his brother Franklin.
Interesting reminiscences of the decade between 1823 and
1833 are still extant, which were reduced to writing by Mr.
Charles G. Calkins, whose boyhood was spent in Waterbury
and whose later life was passed in Ohio. At this time the
"street" or what is now Main Street was the main artery of
traffic and travel. A small settlement had sprung up on the
Mill or Thatcher Brook; a turnpike led across the "interval"
over the farms of General Peck, Amasa Pride and the Wells
estate. This turnpike crossed the river near Deacon Mun
son's and continued up a slight hill to the level place where
was located the old-time "tavern." Mr. Calkins also speaks
of the small common which later became the site of the meet
ing house built in 1824. East of this stood the stores of Car
penter & Cleaves and other firms, as that of Pride & Hutchins
near the brow of the hill facing on the Stowe road. The post
office was maintained in the law office of H. F. Janes, Esq., from

56 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
which issued quarterly bills for postage which were described as
"models of neatness and economy of ink and paper." Stamps
and envelopes were yet to make their appearance ; postage was
rarely prepaid and "used to range from six and one-fourth
cents to twenty-five cents on single pieces of paper."
Other homes on the street were those of Esquire Carpenter,
Doctor Pierce and neighboring families. The "interval" was
occupied by a tannery and a few other shops and later the
brick dwellings of L. Hutchins on the Stowe road and of Es
quire Janes on the south side of the road, on the lower plateau
west, near the brook. The tavern on this plateau was erected
later by a Mr. Allen and was a building of three stories and
was a famous landmark with its dead black barns, sheds and
outbuildings. Wholesome cheer was furnished man and beast
by the owner and landlord, Mr. Parmalee. Important build
ing additions made toward the end of this decade were the
brick dwellings of Mr. Pride and Mr. Charles Cleaves, which
latter stood next east of the meeting house. (This was sold to
Paul Dillingham, Jr., about 1830-1835 and is now occupied
by Mrs. W. F. Minard.) This place of worship was built in
1824 and is described by Mr. Calkins from memory as
A substantial and capacious two-story building with a steeple comprising
a square section, then an open belfry, surmounted by a cupola with blinds
covered by a tinned dome above which was a spire with a vane from which
extended a lightning tractor to the ground. The interior was nearly square,
with two ranges of body pews and one next each wall. The pews were
finished with pine unpainted and were a medium between the high built
box pews of older times and the modern slips. Each had a panel door with
a wood button and they were not numbered. They were all private prop
erty held as real estate. There was a gallery all round; the choir occupying
the semi-circular section towards the front of the building and the commo
dious pulpit was in front of and below the choir and had a crimson curtain
inside of small turned half-columns inclosing all the semi-circular front,
with crimson tassels hung around the cornice and a somewhat gorgeous
cushion with tassels surmounting the book stand. The front of the pulpit
was supported by a single pillar and the communion table stood in the
open space underneath.
It seems that attendance on the services at the new meeting
house included a few families of the Congregational persuasion
as well as a number of non-communicants. Reverend Daniel

PERIOD 1800-1830 57
Warren was the first minister to occupy the pulpit as the regu
lar incumbent. Mr. Calkins describes with photographic
accuracy the impressions produced upon the retina of his
youthful memory by these awesome services ; how Judge Butler
would enter alone usually and walk solemnly to his pew ; how
Esquire Carpenter with his mother and daughters and Paul
Dillingham, Jr., his law partner and son-in-law, were wont to
be in attendance; how Mr. Pride and his wife sat in front of
these in the same tier and how distinctly were remembered
the locations of the pews of Doctor Drew, Deacon Dutton, Pitt
Butler, Asa Austin, Enoch Bean, Deacon Allen, Deacon Mun
son, John Stearns, Luther Cleaves, Sayles Hawley, the Wells
families, and others. Speaking of the performances of the
choir, Mr. Calkins whimsically and feelingly remarks that
they were "never listened to critically then but now it seems
no choral effort could or need transcend its effect on the soul
of a half-awakened boy."
Mr. Calkins speaks entertainingly of visits to his home near
the mills in Waterbury, of Governor Butler and how, as a
boy, he sought to propitiate the governor into relating his
experiences by running out to feed his fine, fat bay chaise
horse till Elder Butler forbade him, saying, "a horse don't
want to eat all the time more than a man."
The meeting house described by Mr. Calkins was the edi
fice erected thirty-four years after the town's organization.
Meetings had been held in schoolhouses, residences and barns
before this. Every project for a union meeting house had
proved abortive. It was not until Judge Carpenter, Amasa
Pride and Roswell Wells took the matter in hand that the
building of the Congregational Meeting House became an
assured fact.
With the year 1820 the population of Waterbury had at
tained to 1,269 souls. The "era of good feeling" had arrived
at its apogee under the administrations of Presidents Monroe
and John Quincy Adams and the State Governors from Martin
Chittenden to Samuel C. Crafts. Political capital was sought
to be made over the circumstance that Governor Martin
Chittenden declined to order out the militia for the defence of

58 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Plattsburg, instead of calling upon them as volunteers. Chit
tenden's answer to this must have effectually stopped the
mouths of the malcontents when he pointed out that "as no
portion of the Vermont militia had been detached by the
President for the service of the United States, a call .upon pa
triotic citizens for their voluntary services was, in this case,
considered to be the only mode by which efficient and timely
aid could be afforded."
Martin Chittenden was no weakling as his record attests.
While acknowledging with gratitude the providential inter
position which frustrated the hostile attempts of the enemy and
averted from our borders the horrors of war, he stoutly ad
hered to his original opinion as to the propriety of the war,
declaring that he "conscientiously disapproved of it as un
necessary, unwise and hopeless in all its offensive operations."
The several terms of Governor Galusha, succeeding Martin
Chittenden, were comparatively uneventful. When Richard
Skinner became governor in 1820, Waterbury's sterling citizen
and able town representative. Judge Dan Carpenter, improved
his opportunity of voting for a resolution of remonstrance
against the admission of Missouri into the Union with a con
stitution "legalizing slavery and the cruel and unnatural traffic
in human blood, and instructing Vermont's senators and repre
sentatives in Congress to exert their influence and use all legal
measures to prevent it." The succeeding administrations of
Governors Skinner and Van Ness were noteworthy for legis
lative attempts at securing to Vermont the passage of an act
of Congress appropriating to the use of the state, for the pur
poses of education, such portions of the public lands as should
be equitable and just; also in 1824 on the recommendation of
Governor Van Ness the Legislature passed an Act giving the
choice of presidential and vice-presidential electors to the
people by a general ticket, which measures were supported by
Waterbury's representative. Judge Carpenter.
It was during Governor Van Ness' administration that the
Marquis de La Fayette made his memorable visit to Vermont
upon invitation extended by the governor at the instance of
the Legislature. The distinguished guest entered the state

PERIOD 1800-1830 59
at Windsor June 28, 1825, and came to Montpelier where an
enthusiastic reception was given him. On his way to Burling
ton, through Waterbury, he passed the Butler home and tar
ried to greet Miss Fannie Butler (afterwards Mrs. Henry F.
Janes), to whom the state's distinguished guest was presented
by Governor Van Ness.
When, upon the expiration of Governor Van Ness' last term
as chief executive, Ezra Butler was elected governor in 1826,
the lottery traffic had become rampant, Mr. Butler sought to
curb the evil and made strong recommendations in his speech
to the Assembly. A law was passed prohibiting the sale of
lottery tickets without a license under penalty of a heavy fine.
His next term for the year 1827 marked the first attempt at a
systematized department of education in the state. Governor
Butler recommended the appointment in each town or county
of commissioners whose function it should be to examine teach
ers and to exercise general supervision over the schools. Ac
cordingly, a new plan tending to improvement of the schools
and insuring uniformity in methods of instruction was adopted
by the Legislature. This provided for the appointment of a
superintending committee annually in each town; that no
teacher should be employed in the public schools who had not
been examined by the committee and who had not received
from them a certificate of his qualifications for teaching
(II Thompson's Vermont, page 100). Five commissioners,
having general supervision of educational matters in the state,
were also provided for. They were required to procure and
circulate information on the subject, recommend suitable books
to be used in the schools, inquire into the necessity for
changes in the school laws and file an annual report addressed
to the Legislature.
Perhaps no written or printed words of Ezra Butler reflect
the uncompromisingly devout spirit of the man as do those of
his Thanksgiving proclamation dated October 25, 1827, which
runs in part as follows:
If the inspired Psalmist deemed it important to pay his vows of thanks
giving and praise unto the Lord, in the Courts of the Lord's House,
and in the presence of all the people, for the individual blessings

6o HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
which he had received, how much more becoming it is for a whole com
munity, when they enjoy common blessings, to unite at one time and with
one consent, in publick and social acts of thanksgiving and praise, to the
common author of all their mercies? Such common blessings are enjoyed
by us as a commonwealth and therefore, such social acts of praise, such a
concert of thanksgiving highly becomes us as a community.
In conformity, therefore with the usage of our forefathers, and with the
fullest conviction of the fitness of that usage, I do hereby at the request of
the General Assembly, and by advice of the Council, appoint Thursday,
the sixth day of December next to be observed, throughout this state, as
a day of Publick Thanksgiving and Praise. . . . With the spirit
of thanksgiving, stands connected also, a sense of dependence, and a con
viction that all our future blessings must come from the same merciful
hand that has hitherto supplied us. Our praises, therefore, should be
mingled with prayer, that the God of love would, for the sake of his Son
Jesus Christ our Lord still continue his favors; that he would continue
to bless our state, its officers and its citizens; that he would bless the United
States, the President, and all the officers of the general and several state
governments; that he would bless and prosper the cause of political liberty,
in this and the other hemisphere; and especially that he would bless the
gospel of his Son, and extend and strengthen its influence through the
whole earth, until the Kingdoms of this world, shall become the Kingdom
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Given under my hand, in Council Chamber at Montpelier this twenty-
fifth day of October, in the Year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred
and twenty-seven, etc., etc.
By his excellency the Governor
{seal] Ezra Butler.
Daniel Kellogg, Secretary.
Attempts were made as early as 1829 to crystallize the anti-
Masonic sentiment in the state into party issues and to nomi
nate a complete list of state officers at an Anti-Masonic State
Convention, held August 15, 1829. This movement took its
origin in the alleged abduction of William Morgan in 1826 for
certain disclosures he was supposed to have made regarding
Masonry. A letter to Ezra Butler, a delegate to the State
Convention, from Royal Makepeace Ransom of South Wood
stock, dated July 23, 1829, is interesting as showing that
,. though the writer himself was personally opposed to Masonic
candidates for office yet he deplored pressing the nomination
of an anti-Masonic ticket. "It appears to me," says the cor
respondent, "that such a course would be very impolitic to

PERIOD 1800-1830 61
say the least of it. If we are to make a ticket . . . what
do we attempt to do but to act on the same principles that we
believe govern Masons? That is, to bias the votes which
should be free, and set up our standard for others to be gov
erned by in the discharge of a duty concerning which they have
sworn to follow the dictates of their own consciences, alone,
guided to be sure by their oaths to support the Constitution.
Besides, shall we not in that case plead guilty to a very serious
charge of opposing Masonry as a hobby to ride into office upon
and ought we not to give a clear, unequivocal and full denial of
such a charge and to act accordingly? It appears to me that
these questions should be answered in the affirmative and, if
so, some measures I think should be taken to bring the minds
of the convention to the subject and . . . above all
things avoid acting out the sarne principles we condemn in
others." Feeling on the subject ran high and many unavoidable
clashes occurred; indeed, the subject was uppermost in the
minds of the clergy, as well as the laity, as is shown by the
following extract from a letter from a correspondence committee
to Ezra Butler asking his presence at a meeting in June, 1830,
in Randolph : "The object of this meeting is to bring Specula
tive Free Masonry, before an ecclesiastical tribunal, for public
examination. The object is, or ought to be interestingly
dear to every Christian and one in which the churches, under
present circumstances are deeply interested. Some of the
most wealthy and reputable gentlemen in Randolph are afford
ing us all aid in their power in making arrangements to ac
commodate the meeting, etc., etc."
Governor Butler's public life practically closed with his
second term as governor. During a busy political and public
career he continued pastor of the Baptist Church without
salary or remuneration until within a few years of his death.
No authentic likeness of him has been preserved, but he is
described as having a slightly stooping form, dark and sallow
complexion, keen black eye, calm, authoritative tone and
intellectual cast of countenance. When he died, July 12,
1838, at the age of seventy-five years, he left an invaluable

62 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
bequest to Waterbury in the example of a life well spent in the
faithful service of the community.
Governor Samuel C. Crafts, who had been chosen in 1828
and 1829, was again chosen in 1830, — ^though his choice was
possible only after thirty- two ballots in the Legislature, and
this date brings us to the beginning of the last half of Water
bury's second historical period.

CHAPTER III
I 830-1 850
Politically, the injection of the anti-Masonic issue was
directly the cause of three successive failures by the people to
elect a governor. In 1830, as we have seen, the National Re
publican and Masonic candidate was Mr. Crafts; the anti-
Masonic candidate was Mr. William A. Palmer, and the ad
ministration candidate was Mr. Meech. In the Legislature,
where the choice rested, Mr. Crafts was the successful candi
date. The same routine was undergone in 1831 and Mr. Palmer
was chosen by the Legislature. Again in 1832 the Legis
lature was obliged to intervene and chose Mr. Palmer as
governor on the forty-third ballot. In 1833 Mr. Palmer was
again elected, this time by the people, but in 1834 there was
another failure of election by popular vote and Mr. Palmer
was reelected by the General Assembly. Apparently the
elective function of the people had fallen into partial disuse,
for the year 1835 still found the three parties an obstacle to a
popular election, excepting that of Lieutenant-Governor Jeni-
son and the state treasurer. Fruitless attempts were made
for the greater part of three weeks by joint committees of the
Assembly to agree upon a governor, but they were finally
obliged to call on the lieutenant-governor to fill the office of
chief executive. The year 1836 was important from the fact
that it marked the abolition of the Council which, with the
governor, had come perilously near to usurping coordinate
legislative powers with the House of Representatives. The
Constitution was so amended as to provide for a Senate in the
place of the Council, having powers similar to those of the
senates of the several states.
Silas H. Jenison was elected this time, by the people, as
governor and again in 1837 and 1838. Meanwhile the nucleus
of the Whig party had been formed with the choice of presi
dential electors in 1832, under the anti-Masonic designation.
63

64 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
The combination of the national Republicans and the anti-
Masons formed the Whig party, which soon came into control.
There had been an acute financial panic, an abortive rebellion
in Lower Canada which some of our too eager Vermonters
were reckless enough to support, and the first concerted efforts
of those who afterwards formed the anti-slavery party. These
were some of the matters engaging the attention of the people
of Waterbury during the successive administrations of Gover
nor Jenison, down to and including the year 1840.
Properly of this period, though born in Brimfield, Massa
chusetts, October 18, 1792, was the Honorable Henry F. Janes,
the third son of Solomon and Beulah Fisk Janes. When a
mere lad he came with his father's family to Calais where his
boyhood was passed, and from which town his brother, Pardon,
was representative in the Assembly. Henry F. Janes studied
law in Montpelier, and it was during his residence there that
he received his commission as ensign with the Vermont troops
in the War of 1812, going with his company to the Battle of
Plattsburg. He came to Waterbury in 1817, where he made
his home and lived for sixty-two years. "Esquire" Janes, as
he was known, practiced law here, having as a rival practi
tioner Judge Dan Carpenter. He was married in 1826 to
Miss Fanny Butler, the daughter of Ezra Butler, who was
born in 1800 and died in 1881.
Mr. Janes received the appointment of postmaster soon
after coming to Waterbury and held the office till about 1829.
He was one of the State Council five years, commencing in
1830; a member of Congress three years, commencing in 1834;
state treasurer, three years, commencing in 1838; a member
of the Council of Censors in 1848, and town representative
in 1854, 1861 and 1862. His postmaster's appointment reads:
Return J Meigs, Jun. Post Master General
OF the
United States of America
To All Who Shall See These Presents, Greeting:
Know ye. That confiding in the Integrity, Ability, and Punctuality of
Henry F. Janes Esq. I do appoint him a Post-master, and authorize him
to execute the duties of that Office at Waterbury, Washington County and

PERIOD 1 830-1 850 65
State of Vermont according to the laws of the United States, and such
Regulations conformable thereto, as he shall receive from me: To Hold
the said office of Post-master, with ail the Powers, Priveleges and Emol
uments to the same belonging, during the pleasure of the Post-master
General of the United States, for the time being.
In Testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal
of my office to be affixed, at Washington City, the twenty ninth day of
March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and Twenty and
of the independence of the United States the Forty fourth. R. J. Meigs Jr.
Registered 19th day of April 1820
Thos. Arbuckle Clerk.
Mr. Janes is described as a man who "without avarice
acquired a competent fortune; and without lust for power or
a resort to sinister means, but solely through the solidity of
his judgment and the unquestioned probity of his character,
early attained a commanding influence in his town, his county
and his state." Mrs. Janes is said to have been a lady "of
the gentlest refinement without the least affectation, or love of
display, inheriting the religious traits of her father and was
greatly beloved and esteemed by all who knew her."
An appreciation of Mr. Janes, by Edwin F. Palmer, Esq.,
sums up his character in the following striking manner: "No
man ever saw more clearly than he, that in the very nature of
God's moral government nothing is, or can be even expedient,
that is not intrinsically just; and no man ever pursued more
willingly or tenaciously what his conscience, illumined by a
powerful judgment, taught him was just."
The Janes home was on the site of the residence so long
occupied by Doctor Henry Janes and devised by him to the
Library Association.
Henry F. Janes was elected to represent the Fourth Congres
sional District in Congress for the term of two years, from
March 3, 1835, and also to fill the vacancy occasioned by the
death of Benjamin F. Deming. His certificates of election
were both dated November 25, 1834, one of which reads:
State of Vermont.
Be it remembered that at a freeman's meeting legally warned and
holden in the fourth Congressional District in said State on the second

66 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Tuesday of November A. D. 1834, Hon. Henry F. Janes was duly elected
a Representative to represent this state in the Congress of the United
States for the term of two years from and after the 3rd day of March
next. In testimony whereof I have, as Governor of the State aforesaid,
[seal] caused the Seal of the State to be hereunto afl[ixed and subscribed
my name at Danville, this 25th day of November Anno Domini,
one thousand eight hundred and thirty four. H. A. Palmer
By His Excellency's command
Geo. B. Manser. Secretary.
Honorable Henry F. Janes took his seat in the National
House of Representatives December 2, 1834. He voted in
favor of the resolution calling upon President Andrew Jackson
for all communications between this country and Great Britain
since the rejection of the advisory opinion of the King of the
Netherlands relating to the disputed northeastern boundary
between New Brunswick and Maine. He favored tabling a
resolution inimical to the abolition of slavery in the District
of Columbia and was active in the matter of securing pensions
for soldiers in the War of the Revolution. He presented a
resolution, March 21, 1836, that the secretary of war be
directed to lay before the House a report of the United States
engineer relative to the survey of a canal from Wells River to
Burlington, Vermont. He voted for a suspension of the rules
to take up the bill repealing the fourteenth section of the Act
incorporating the subscribers to the Bank of the United States.
Mr. Janes made appropriate remarks upon the passing away
of Honorable Benjamin F. Deming of Vermont, who died July
II, 1834. Among his colleagues were such men as Hiland
Hall, Horace Everett and Heman Allen of Vermont, Franklin
Pierce of New Hampshire, and Rufus Choate, John Q. Adams
and Edward Everett of Massachusetts.
After Mr. Pride's term as town representative in 1836, above
referred to, a poem attributed to William C. Bradley of West
minster, was given wide publication. The poem bemoaned the
departure of the various members of the Legislature from
Montpelier after the adjournment of the session of 1836 and
is entitled "A Lamentation." It contains eight stanzas and

PERIOD 1830-1850 67
cleverly plays upon the names of the members. Four stanzas
are given: Montpelier mourns — her streets are still.
Save when the street-yarn ladies spin.
And scarce a stranger's seen at Mann's
Or Campbell's, or at Cottrill'sinn.
The guardians of the people's rights
Have done their work, gone home to prove it;
And let the State House stand, because
Barnum and Bailey could not move it.
* * * * ^f
Their Forest and their 'Woods are filled.
The Major who their forces led.
Has broken up his glittering Camp,
And friendly Scott and French are fled.
Yes, all is lost — and those who've gone
Have long e'er now perchance forgot 'em —
They've lost their Solace, lost their Child,
And lost their Pride, and Hyde, and Bottum.
Mr. Russell Butler, in his supplemental papers to the Water
bury sketches in Hemenway's History of Washington County,
gives some interesting facts about the place filled by Leander
Hutchins in the town. He was born in Montpelier June 27,
1798, and there grew to manhood. At an early age he entered
commercial life in the West and South. In 1822 he came to
Waterbury; shortly thereafter he associated with him, in a
mercantile copartnership, Amasa Pride and Roswell Wells,
under the firm name and style of L. Hutchins & Company.
The store was in a small wooden building on the site of the old
"corner store" building on the southeast corner of Main and
Stowe Streets. This latter was erected by Mr. Hutchins in
1833, also a dwelling adjoining Knight's block on the east.
In 1826 the firm name was changed to Hutchins & Pride;
subsequently to Hutchins, Wells & Company; then L. & Geo.
W. Hutchins in 1835. In 1845 Mr. Leander Hutchins erected
and equipped a starch factory near the Center; this was
destroyed by fire and not rebuilt.
Mr. Hutchins became interested with Esquire Janes in the

68 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
purchase of a tract of Vermont wild lands owned by the Board-
man Brothers of New York and, in addition to his other enter
prises, undertook the personal management of his farm on the
hill road to Stowe, about one and one-half miles from Water
bury Village. He married Miss Martha Pride January 30,
1826, who died in December, 1834, leaving two daughters,
Mrs. C. W. Arms and Mrs. Doctor Woodward. Mr. Hutchins
remarried, in 1837, Miss Martha Atkins becoming his second
wife. Mr. Hutchins died February 17, 1879, aged eighty years.
He was the type of conservative, substantial business man
whose sound judgment, careful counsel, and strong coopera
tion were always sought in matters affecting public interest.
His sturdy support to any cause to which he loaned his name
was a reliable prop. A member of the Congregational Church,
Mr. Hutchins contributed largely to its support. He is
described as being reserved in manner, opposed to ostentation,
and modest and retiring in tastes and habits. He preserved
a consistent aloofness from political office, notwithstanding
the preferment that was his at his slightest sign. As a busi
ness man of ready familiarity with fiscal affairs, he served the
town as treasurer for twelve years and, when the bank of
Waterbury was organized, became its president and ceased
to hold that office only when he requested to be relieved from
its responsibility. A sketch of Mr. Hutchins may be fittingly
rounded out by giving at this point some reminiscences of
Mr. O. A. Seabury relating to the old corner store.
The "old corner store," a venerated landmark to generations
of Waterburyites, was built in 1833 by Leander Hutchins and
occupied by him as a general merchandise store until it passed
under lease to C. N. Arms who, with J. G. Stimson under the
firm name of Stimson & Arms, had conducted a general mer
chandise business at another stand on the opposite side of the
street known as the Stimson block, now a fruit store. After
this firm dissolved, Curtis N. Arms went into business in the
Leander Hutchins store. Mr. Arms was a very popular man
and had the rare gift of drawing trade. He rarely refused
credit and never was obliged to resort to law for his collections.
In time the old store became a general rendezvous or exchange

PERIOD 1830-1850 69
resorted to by the fun-loving element as well as the disputa
tious and serious minded of the community. The group of
daily habitues included lawyers, physicians, merchants and
men of various occupations, of varied habits of thought and
trends of mind.
The fact that marks the old store as worthy of serious regard
in the community is the part it played as an early training
school for a remarkably large number of successful men.
Among those who early came under the notice of Mr. Seabury
was John F. Henry who afterwards was prominent and success
ful in the patent medicine business in this village, Burlington
and New York, where he bought out Demas Barnes, then at
the head of the largest patent medicine house in the world.
He formed the firm of Henry, Curran & Company, with B. H.
Dewey as cashier and bookkeeper.
John R. Foster was another whose early training was
received in the old store. Mr. Foster became the head of the
Foster Combination Clothing Stores scattered through New
England and lived and died in Clinton, Massachusetts, where
he was known as the wealthiest man of the place, having laid
the foundation for the Foster Besse Company which does a
large and profitable business throughout New England. F.
Chickering Stone is another graduate of the old store business
school. Mr. Stone, familiarly known as Chick, went to
Saginaw, Michigan, and acquired a fortune in the business of
lumbermen's supplies associated with ex-Secretary of War
Alger. The name of Horatio Hutchins naturally suggests
itself as one of the successful men whose early experiences were
gained in the old store. Mr. Hutchins became a member of
the great shoe manufacturing concern, known as the Rice
Hutchins Company, and left an estate valued at $1,000,000.
Mr. Hutchins was a brother of Myron Hutchins, now of
Waterbury Center.
Henry Smith, another successful merchant and associate of
J. R. Foster above-named, met a sudden death on the street
in North Adams, Massachusetts.
Charles Dillingham, afterwards colonel, was a clerk in the
old store when the Civil War broke out. Subsequently he

70 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
removed to Houston, Texas, where today he is president of one
of the prominent banks of that city. Edwin Parker, now the
proprietor of a large department store in Minneapolis ; George
Adams, who became the head of Adams & Company, dealers
in patent medicines in Prescott, Canada; David Warden,
formerly connected with a department store as buyer in
Minneapolis and now retired, and Homer Remington of the
Foster Besse Company in Willimantic, Connecticut, were all,
in their turn, disciples of business in the old store.
Among the early frequenters of the place were Elisha Moody
and Esquire Joseph Smith. Honorable Paul Dillingham's law
office was in the rear of the store building and accessible by a
walk between this building and the drug store adjacent.
This walk was rarely used, however, as visitors much pre
ferred walking through the store for the interest its frequenters
might possess for them ; in this way the roster of the elect was
augmented. Another of this group was Fred E. Smith, now
living in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and known as one of the
most successful salesmen and department heads with the
Wyman Partridge Company, a large and prosperous business
concern in that city. Mr. Smith is a brother of Frank N.
Smith and Mrs. Minard.
There were also Jesse Perry, Philo Arms, Alpha Atherton,
Newton Atherton, A. D. Hawley, Major Carpenter, Luther
Henry, Heman Sherman, Cornelius Sherman, the village
blacksmith, George H. Lease and others, members of the
coterie that was wont to assemble in the old store for the
exchange of views on matters mundane and celestial. Every
American village worthy the name has its "old store" to
which innumerable memories grave and gay attach. There
questions of local, state and federal interest were wont to be
threshed out, public opinion crystallized, charitable movements
initiated, and the rights and the wrongs of the community
canvassed. Who can fix a boundary to the influences that
have emanated from the "old corner stores" of the villages of
the nation? While nearly every corner store boasts a similar
record, differing only in degree of influence from its fellows.

PERIOD 1830-1850 71
it is doubtful whether any other village in the country can
boast one with such a roster of graduates.
The anti-slavery movement did not lack for propagandists
in Waterbury, even before the Harrison and Tyler campaign.
Its chief opponents naturally were aligned with the regular
political organizations, until such time as the movement itself
became strong enough to draw to it political strength from all
parties. The preachments of William Lloyd Garrison found
ready converts in Waterbury. The State Anti-Slavery
Society found itself in need of funds and, in response to a call
made in 1839, one delegate, according to Mr. Russell Butler's
papers, pledged $100 from Waterbury and Duxbury, the same
to be raised within a year. This comparatively small sum, as
such a subscription would now be regarded, was the largest
from any one town in the state and was one-twentieth part
of the whole amount required from the state. It is related
by Mr. Butler that two individuals in Waterbury each sub
scribed $100, and other subscriptions increased the total to
nearly $500. In the light of other praiseworthy instances of
support to good causes afforded by those individuals, it is not
surprising to read that they were Amasa Pride and Erastus
Parker, who later became the chairman of the Anti-Slavery
Convention. In the campaign of Harrison and Tyler, Waterbury, in
common with other towns in Vermont, was the scene of great
political activity. There were the "log cabin" rallies, the
campaign songs, the speech-making and other concomitants
of the liveliest presidential campaign experienced up to that
time. Martin Van Buren and Richard M. Johnson were
candidates for reelection. Then, as now, hard times and
monetary derangement were the ostensible issues. The
triumphant election of "Old Tippecanoe and Tyler, too"
followed. In 1841, the Anti-Slavery party ticket caused
another failure of a popular election of governor, and the
Legislature chose Charles Paine by a majority of forty- two
votes. The candidates were Nathan Smilie on the Democratic
ticket. Judge Titus Hutchinson on the Anti-Slavery ticket and
Charles Paine on the Whig ticket. The Legislature of 1841

72 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
was responsible for the offset feature of the listing laws of the
state. Not for long was the newly elected President Harrison
destined to occupy the presidential chair. His untimely death
and the succession of John Tyler were in solemn contrast with
the exuberant demonstrations of the preceding year. Through
the courtesy of Mrs. Myrtle (Caldwell) Redmond of Enos-
burgh Falls, granddaughter of Amasa Pride, extracts from the
fVatchman and State Journal of Montpelier are given :
THE FUNERAL Washington City, April 4, 1841.
The circumstances in which we are placed, by the death of the President,
render it indispensable for us, in the recess of Congress, and in the absence
of the Vice-President, to make arrangements for the Funeral Solemnities.
Having consulted with the family and personal friends of the deceased,
we have concluded that the funeral be solemnized on Wednesday, the 7th
inst. at 12 o'clock. The religious services to be performed according to the
usage of the Episcopal Church, in which church the deceased most usually
worshipped. The body to be taken from the President's House to the
Congress burying ground, accompanied by a military and civic procession,
and deposited in the Receiving Tomb.
The military arrangements to be under the direction of Major-General
Macomb, the General Commanding in Chief of the Army of the United
States; and Major-General Walter Jones, of the militia of the District of
Columbia. Commodore Morris, the senior Captain in the Navy now in the City, to
have the direction of the naval arrangements.
The Marshal of the District to have the direction of the civic procession,
assisted by the Mayors of Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, the
Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States, and such other citizens
as they may see fit to call to their aid.
John Quincy Adams, ex-President of the United States, members of
Congress now in this city or neighborhood, all the members of the Diplo
matic body resident in Washington, and all officers of the Government, and
Citizens generally, are invited to attend.
And it is respectfully recommended to the officers that they wear the
usual badge of mourning. Daniel Webster, Secretary of State.
Thos. Ewing, Secretary of Treasury.
John Bell, Secretary of War.
J. J. Crittenden, Attorney General.
Francis Granger, Postmaster General.

PERIOD 1830-1850 73
THE NEW PRESIDENT
John Tyler, the constitutional successor of the late President, arrived in
Washington on Tuesday the 6th inst. and took lodgings at one of the hotels.
He expressed in a becoming manner his sympathy with the bereaved family
of Gen. Harrison, and desired them to occupy the President's house so long
as they might choose to remain at the seat of government. It is also stated,
that at a meeting of the Cabinet, he signified his wish that they should
retain their respective offices. He subsequently received the oath of office,
as President, and assumes that title in his official acts. The National
Intelligencer of the i8th contains his introductory address to the People of
the United States, which is given in our columns. It will be found to con
tain a general outline of the principles which are to guide the Executive
during the residue of the Presidential term. The new President does not
allude, in direct terms, to the question of slavery, but the import of the
last two paragraphs, coming from one who is himself an extensive slave
holder and whose views are so well understood, is sufficiently apparent. —
The official influence of the Executive Department, as heretofore, will with
out doubt be thrown into the scale in favor of the Slave Power.
If anything, the succession of President Tyler stimulated
the Anti-Slavery party to renewed activity, for we find that
Waterbury was chosen as a desirable place and July i and 2
as a suitable time for an Anti-Slavery Convention. The fol
lowing advertisement appeared and was widely circulated
throughout central Vermont:
A CARD
The friends of Abolition, in Waterbury and vicinity, apprise their friends
through the State, that entertainment will be provided for those who come
from abroad to attend the Anti-Slavery Convention, notified to be holden
at said Waterbury the ist and 2nd days of July, 1841. Should any come
into town on Wednesday evening to attend said convention, those coming
from the North will call on Rev. Mr. Hall at Waterbury Center, who will
direct them to places of entertainment ; and those coming from other direc
tions will find some friend at the public house in Waterbury Street, who
will give them like directions.
By order of the Executive Committee of the Waterbury and Duxbury
Anti-Slavery Society. Erastus Parker
Chairman.
It has been truly said that the New England way of propa
gating social or political innovations was not at once through
political parties; that there was necessary just so long a period
6

74 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
during which the propaganda was committed to societies.
The Anti-Slavery Society was a fair example. Still, after the
Tyler and Polk administrations, Vermonters favoring the
abolition of slavery grew impatient and cast about for swifter
and more certain results. The Wilmot Proviso was not
working out in accordance with expectations; the question of
whether the recently acquired southwestern territory should
be the home of involuntary servitude arose again. The new
doctrine of "Squatter Sovereignty" recognizing the power of
a state to determine its own status as between freedom and
slavery after admission to the Union, was gaining adherents
in spite of the Missouri Compromise of 1820. But slavery
was abhorrent to Vermonters — ^Democrats and Whigs alike;
while not approving the arbitrary counsels of the Abolitionists,
many northern Democrats were ready to resist the sweeping
away of the Missouri Compromise as affecting the territory
west of the Mississippi. Vermont was not behind-hand in
her protest. A State Democratic Convention was held in
Montpelier in April, 1848, and it was apparent at the outset
that differences were likely to arise over the relative claims
of the Wilmot Proviso and "Squatter Sovereignty." Six
sturdy Democrats held a conference the evening before the
convention was called; among these, and the spokesman for
the six on the floor of the convention, was the eloquent Lucius
Eugene Chittenden. This devoted band sought to stem the
tide, protesting against the abandonment by the party of its
principles. Finding protest useless, they withdrew to the
Pavilion Hotel and organized the Free Soil Party, committed
to an uncompromising resistance to the extension of slavery.
This was the first Free Soil Party started as such and antedated
the Free Soil Party of the Buffalo Convention in August by
six weeks. According to Mr. Chittenden, it was from the
loins of the embryonic Free Soil Party, organized by six dis
gruntled Democrats at the Pavilion Hotel in Montpelier in
April, 1848, that the great Republican party sprang. Who
shall say that it did not originate from the influences at work
in Waterbury and Washington County ten years earlier and

PERIOD 1 830-1 850 75
from that time on including the date of the Anti-Slavery Con
vention in Waterbury July i and 2, 1841?
(See Personal Reminiscences of L. E. Chittenden, pp. 8-10.)
The Dillingham family, in Waterbury, begins with Deacon
Paul Dillingham of the sixth generation in direct line of the
family that began with Edward who came to Lynn, Massachu
setts, in 1630. Deacon Paul came to Waterbury from Shutes-
bury, Massachusetts, in 1804 and settled at the Center. He
had served in the militia in the Continental army between 1777
and 1780. He was married to Hannah Smith in 1784. Of
this union were born twelve children of whom Governor Paul
(3) Dillingham was the third son; Deacon Paul (2) died in
Waterbury, July 14, 1848.
Governor Paul (3) Dillingham was born in Shutesbury,
Massachusetts, August 10, 1799, coming to Waterbury when
he was about five years of age. After attending the public
schools and the Washington County Grammar School in
Montpelier, he began the study of law in the office of Honor
able Dan Carpenter of Waterbury. He was admitted to the
bar in 1823 and became a law partner of his preceptor one year
later, remaining as member of the firm until the senior member
was elevated to the bench. He continued in practice for
fifty- two years, retiring in 1875. Mr. Dillingham had essen
tially a legal mind; his powers of analysis were singularly
acute and his ability as an advocate brought him to the head
of his profession in the state. The town records of Waterbury
bear witness to the almost incalculable work done by him in
various official capacities during many years of arduous pro
fessional endeavor. He was town clerk from 1829 to 1844,
town representative in the Legislature in 1833-34, 37~38-39,
and was state's attorney for Washington County from 1835-
1837. His services in the Constitutional Convention of 1836
were so signally valuable that he was selected as member of
the Constitutional Conventions of 1857 and 1870. He was
state senator from Washington County in 1841-1842 and 1861.
In 1840 he was the Democratic candidate for governor but was
defeated by Silas Jenison. His congressional career, though
not wholly congenial, was one of intelligent and patriotic labor.

76 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
In 1842 Congress passed a law entitled "an act for the ap
portionment of representatives among the several States ac
cording to the sixth census." A controversy arose in Congress
over the construction of the act which, in a later section,
seemed to be ambiguous^ The debate on the floor of the
House was naturally exhaustive and technical. Paul Dilling
ham made an unusually masterly and able presentation of the
arguments favoring the constitutionality of the act. Indeed,
the speech in its entirety was a lucid exposition of the inten
tion of the framers of the Constitution and, despite its tech
nical character, makes excellent reading not only for students
of constitutional law but also for those interested in the devel
opment of our system of representation and apportionment.
Probably the most important position taken by Mr. Dil
lingham in Congress was upon the admission of Texas. Mr.
Dillingham was of the famous coterie of Vermont Democrats
in the early 40's that included such men as United States
Judge David B. Smalley, Chief Justice Isaac Redfield, Tim
othy P. Redfield, Charles G. Eastman and the poet, John G.
Saxe. Mr. Dillingham's duty as a representative required that he
should present the petitions forwarded by his constituents
against the admission of Texas. Abhorring slavery as utterly
as any of the protestors in his congressional district, he still
could see no way consistently with the Constitution whereby
Texas could be admitted as an anti-slavery state. The joint
resolution, presented December 16, 1845, calling for the ad
mission of Texas, was the subject uppermost in the minds of
men of all parties. The vote upon the main resolution was
taken after the usual obstructive tactics had been resorted to
by various members of the House, Mr. Dillingham voting in
the affirmative. This position on such a question at that
time was far from being a popular one in Vermont, but it was
firmly rooted in conscience and logic.
Believing, as he did, in the doctrine of manifest destiny, he
foresaw territorial expansion as a logical sequence. These
considerations moved his support of the admission to state
hood of Texas and of President Polk's policy, which brought

PERIOD 1830-1850 77
on the Mexican War. Mr. Dillingham's close analysis of the
Federal Constitution confirmed him in his opinion as to the
retention in the Union in harmonious relations with the South
ern States. But, like Stephen A. Douglas, when Fort Sumter
was fired upon, he uncompromisingly espoused the Union
party's cause and advocated the preservation of the Union by
other than merely temporising measures. In the state Senate
in 1 861 he was foremost in planning and upholding ways and
means for the support of the government and the organiza
tion, arming and equipment of Vermont regiments were due
largely to his energy and sound judgment.
At the outbreak of the Civil War the Vermont Legislature
was called in special session to meet on the 25th of April. The
House consisted of 211 Republicans and 25 Democrats, the
leader of whom was Stephen Thomas of West Fairlee. The
following account of their action is given by Mr. Benedict in
"Vermont in the Civil War":
The Democrats in the Legislature, and in attendance upon the session,
held a private meeting the evening before to decide upon their course. Sev
eral were in favor of resisting all war measures from the start. Hon. Paul
Dillingham of Waterbury told them that would never do. " If the Repub
licans propose to raise five regiments," said he, to Mr. Thomas, who was
the leader of the Democrats on the floor, "do you call for raising ten? If
they want half of a million dollars for troops, do you move to make it a
million? "
Mr. Thomas showed the quality of his Democracy and
patriotism by promptly acquiescing and the greater appro
priation of $1,000,000, authorized by the Vermont Legislature,
originated with "Union" Democrats.
Shortly after the special session of the Legislature came the
so-called Republican Convention. The politics of those par
ticipating were varied as, indeed, might have been expected
from the broad terms of the call. Many Union Democrats
attended. A resolution offered by Honorable George F. Ed
munds was adopted, whose preamble settled the political
complexion of the convention by using the phrase, "We the
freemen of the state of Vermont," instead of "We the Repub
licans (or Democrats) of the state of Vermont." The resolu
tion pledged to the administration the whole power and

78 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
resources of the state "to aid in putting down the rebellion
by force of arms, and in bringing its wicked leaders to justice."
Among the Democrats present at this convention, and tak
ing part in the same, was Paul Dillingham. Referring to this
the Rutland Herald editorially said, " the remarks of Honorable
Paul Dillingham of Waterbury, and Mr. Carpenter, and
Nicholson and others in this convention, will be remembered;
and the day is not far distant when, in Vermont, a proper
reward of praise will be given to the true patriot from what
ever party he may spring." The Montpelier Freeman said,
"Democrats who came into the convention purely from patri
otic motives went away satisfied, while those who came for
office went away in wrath."
Honorable Thomas Powers of Woodstock, a Republican of
the most radical type, was so dissatisfied with the adoption of
the Edmunds resolution, and the permission to Democrats to
take part in the convention, that he withdrew from it with
about thirty followers and held a meeting on the State House
Common. This was followed by a convention of the Democratic party
held at Montpelier on the 24th of July, 1861. As in the case
of the Republican State Convention, considerable discussion
was had as to what the convention represented. Some under
stood that the call was for a "Union" convention, while others
contended that it was a Democratic Convention in the strict
est sense. The significant result of the convention was found
in the following: "Resolved, that as loyal citizens we will
support all constitutional acts of the present National Gov
ernment to maintain the Constitution and laws in all the
states." Paul Dillingham of Waterbury was nominated for
governor, and Stephen Thomas of West Fairlee for lieutenant-
governor. Neither of these gentlemen were present, and
Mr. E. M. Brown, in behalf of Mr. Thomas, withdrew his
name. Notices afterwards appeared in the public press that Messrs.
Dillingham and Thomas declined to accept the nomination
tendered them by the convention, and the Democratic State
Committee, who were empowered to fill in any vacancies that

PERIOD 1830-1850 79
might occur, nominated B. H. Smalley of Swanton for gov
ernor, and Erastus Plympton, lieutenant-governor.
Early in August the Washington County Republican Con
vention placed in nomination Honorable Charles W. Willard
and Paul Dillingham for county senators, and on the same
day the Union Convention, held for the avowed purpose of
"uniting all friends of good government in an unbroken line
of defense" recommended that "in selecting candidates for
public office all party lines be disregarded and reference be
had to only the welfare and safety of our distracted country."
The Union Convention also nominated the same two men,
Messrs. Willard and Dillingham, for county senators and they
were subsequently elected. From that time on Paul Dilling
ham acted with the Republican party until his death.
It was with reference to his own unsuccessful Democratic
candidacy for governor in i860 that the poet, John G. Saxe,
indited to Paul Dillingham, Democratic candidate of the con
vention of July 24, 1861, the following witty lines:
Albany, N. Y., July 26, 1861.
To Hon. Paul Dillingham:
Dear Paul: I'm extremely delighted at learning
The recent Convention has proved so discerning.
And given your servant — ^an honor indeed —
At least a successor who ought to "succeed";
A patriot, orator, gentleman; strong
In upholding the right, and resisting the wrong;
And here let me add, while I'm thinking upon't,
The best looking man in the State of Vermont !
If they don't put you into the Governor's chair.
The people will make, I am free to declare,
A blunder this year which will quite have surpassed
The similar one they committed the last !
Yours cordially,
Jno. G. Saxe.
P. S. I have sent a copy of the above to the Burlington Sentinel.
Before publication, however, the poet inserted as ninth and
tenth lines of the stanza, respectively, the following :
O eloquent Paul ! venerabile nomeni
Thy name in itself is an excellent omen ;

8o HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
In 1862-1865 Mr. Dillingham was elected three times suc
cessively lieutenant-governor, and to the governorship in
1865 by a majority of 16,714, and again in 1866 by a majority
of 22,822.
Governor Dillingham's first message in 1865 recommended
the establishment of a State Reform School ; at the Legislative
session of that year an act was passed providing for the estab
lishment of such an institution and for the appointment of
three commissioners to purchase a farm not exceeding two
hundred acres, suitable for the purpose. Accordingly Rev
erend A. G. Pease, Reverend L. A. Dunn and Charles Reed,
Esq., were appointed from the Legislature. In their
report the following year the commissioners detailed the con
ditions and considerations, moving them to select a site for
the Reform School in Waterbury. Among other things they
said: Hence as a third condition, we determined that our location be near the
railroad, and not more than one mile from a depot, and we concluded that
a thriving business village, and a live depot, were much to be preferred to a
place of little business, and a depot where ready conveyance for visitors
could not be found. We thought it very desirable (and have found it so),
that we should be within easy walk of the station, and the churches and
business center of the town. Finally, if the place answering these condi
tions should be near the center of the state it would be so much the better
for that.
Not ten years later the Reform School, so auspiciously
established, burned to the ground, December 12, 1874. At
the time there were one hundred and sixty inmates, who
escaped with their lives. The fire led to the substitution of
Vergennes as the place for the reestablishment of the institu
tion. This was not accomplished without some wire pulling
and political methods of the sort that smacked of devious
and reprehensible practices.
Mr. Dillingham's vote for governor in Waterbury on the
first Tuesday of September, 1840, was 199 as against Silas
Jenison's 188. Again in 1847 he received 167 votes as against
Horace Eaton's 106. In 1841 his vote in Waterbury for state
senator was 212, Nathaniel Eaton receiving 210 and A. Cush-
man and O. Smith receiving each 150. Upon his election to

PERIOD 1 830-1 850 81,
the National House of Representatives in September, 1843,
Mr. Dillingham's home town gave him 205 votes, George P.
Chandler receiving 118. In 1845 Mr. Dillingham was again
elected to Congress, receiving in Waterbury 201 votes, G.
Chandler, 153, and G. Putnam, 13.
In Governor Dillingham was united an imposing presence
with a grace of person ; a magnetic manner with a wonderfully
modulated voice; these with a command of forceful, apt and
harmonious language, a resourceful gift of pertinent quotation
all contributed to his preeminence as an advocate, legislator
and chief executive. Honorable B. F. Fifield happily phrased
his impressions of Mr. Dillingham in these words:
When in his best mood he played upon the strings of men's hearts with
the facility that a skilled musician plays upon the strings of a guitar, and
made them respond to emotions of laughter, anger, sympathy or sorrow,
whenever he pleased, and as best suited the purpose of the case.
Speaking of Governor Dillingham's ability as a lawyer.
Honorable Hiram A. Huse, in his Vermont Bar Association
paper of October 20, 1891, said:
His strong common sense made him a good adviser, so that his office work
was well done. . . . The power by which he won verdicts and his
fame defied analysis. Perhaps much of the secret of his winning speech
lay in the sympathy his big heart held for all sentient beings. Once on his
feet in the full advocacy of his client's cause, that client's rights and wrongs
welled from the depths of his being, and poured in a flood upon the jury,
who thereupon established the rights and redressed the wrongs. . . .
Doubtless he who read other men so well was conscious of his own power;
but consciousness of power does not blind the clear-eyed man to the magni
tude of difficulties to be overcome; and, while his method was his own
and inimitable, he went into each contest with no reckless assurance of
success but with fixed will to do his best.
And the more danger threatened, the more brightly burned this resolve,
as once, when associated with T. P. Redfield in the trial of a cause, and the
blackness of darkness seemed gathering about their legal bark, he leaned
over the table and whispered, " Do thou, Timothy, preach; and I, Paul, will
pray. " Then Timothy Redfield knew that Dillingham was girding himself
to ask mightily of the jury, and watched with renewed zeal; — and what
with watchfulness and prayer they saved the case — as, indeed, they did
every case they ever tried as associate counsel.
Those now living who recall the peculiar abilities of each of

82 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
these forensic giants appreciate the aptness of the Biblical
admonition quoted by Governor Dillingham.
Governor Dillingham was an influential layman in the
Methodist Church and went as the first lay delegate from the
Vermont Conference to the Quadrennial General Conference
in Brooklyn in 1872, in which body he took a high position.
He lived for fifteen years after his retirement and died in
Waterbury, July 26, 1891.
Governor Paul Dillingham married (first) October 4, 1827,
Sarah Partridge Carpenter, daughter of his former partner,
Judge Dan Carpenter. She died September 20, 1831, and he
married (second) September 5, 1832, Julia Carpenter, born
at Waterbury, December 3, 1812, sister of his first wife, who
died September 15, 1898. There were children of his first
marriage : Eliza Jane, born October 21 , 1828 ; Ellen S., Novem
ber 22, 1830, married Joshua F. Lamson, died December 15,
1875. Children of the second marriage were: Caroline, born
February 21, 1834 (married Honorable Matthew Hale Car
penter, a distinguished member of the Wisconsin bar and
United States Senator, born in Moretown, Vermont, December
22, 1824). Mrs. CaroHne (Dillingham) Carpenter died at her
home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 10, 1915. The Milwaukee
Evening Wisconsin said :
In 1869 when amid a whirlwind of popular enthusiasm he (Hon. M. H.
Carpenter) was sent to represent this state in the Senate, where he rose
with incredible swiftness to his place of precedence, his wife was by his
side and equal to her task as a close friend of President and Mrs. Grant
and one of the foremost personages in the international society of the
capital. Her position in her home city was commanding during the
period of more than half a century in which she was a resident of Milwaukee.
Since the death of her husband in 1881, she had kept in touch with what
was best in the city's intellectual and social life. She had served more
than once as president of the Society of Colonial Dames, and at the time
of her death was honorary president of that organization and honorary
regent of the Milwaukee Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution.
The house in which she lived is regarded as a historic shrine by all who
cherish the memories of old Milwaukee. Within its quaint precincts is
the large and choice library in which Senator Carpenter held high converse
with the mighty minds of the ages, and also a treasury of manuscripts,
including, many letters from President and Mrs. Grant. Shortly after
her husband's death Mrs. Carpenter became a convert to the Catholic

PERIOD 1 830-1 850 83
faith, and for twenty-three years she had been a devout member of the
congregation of St. John's cathedral. Her passing from life at the ripe
age of 81, occurred on the 34th anniversary of the burial of her husband,
and was due to a weakness of the heart from which she suffered for more
than a year. She is survived by her son. Judge Paul D. Carpenter, her
daughter. Miss Lillian Carpenter and three grandchildren, Agnes M.,
Matthew A. and Paul V. Carpenter of this city; also by her brothers,
William P. Dillingham, United States senator from Vermont; Frank
Dillingham, consul general at Christiana, Norway, and Colonel Charles
Dillingham of Houston, Texas.
(Colonel) Charles, February 18, 1837, an officer in the Civil
War, railroad president and banker in Houston, Texas, mar
ried Fanny M. Cutter; Major Edwin, May 13, 1839, a lawyer,
and officer in the Civil War, mortally wounded at Winchester,
September 4, 1864; (Senator) William Paul; and Frank, born
December, 1848, who has been in the United States consular
service for twenty-five years, married Minnie L. Sneath, June
3- 1882.
Rarely has a literary and marital copartnership proven so
felicitous as that of Hannah Gale (born in Waterbury, the
daughter of Peter and Hannah Gale, December 28, 1824) and
Samuel Slayton Luce. This gifted pair has left a small
volume of verse fairly redolent of Vermont atmosphere and
homely things of sacred beauty. Samuel Slayton Luce was
born in Stowe, February i, 18 19; of patriotic ancestry, his
grandfather having served in the Revolutionary War and his
father in the War of 18 12. He was educated in the Stowe
public schools and in Craftsbury. Later he studied archi
tecture under G. P. Randall. At about the time the
Vermont Central was being built between Montpelier and
Burlington, Mr. Luce and Hannah Gale Luce, whom he had
married December 7, 1847, removed to Waterbury to facili
tate Mr. Luce's access to the railway stations, for the building
of which he was under contract. During his life in Water
bury, Mr. Luce had many important building contracts.
Mr. William Deal speaks of him today as a man of unusual
mental power and of great kindness and consideration to those
who worked under him. In 1859 Mr. and Mrs. Luce moved
to Galesville, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, where Mr.

84 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Luce established and edited the Galesville Transcript and
became interested as owner and editor in various newspapers
until he was stricken with blindness in 1895. He served as
county superintendent of schools and as secretary of the
board of trustees of Galesville University. Their married
life was broken by the death of Mrs. Luce, December 11, 1907,
a few days after the sixtieth anniversary of their wedding. Mr.
Luce survived his wife until February 16, 1908, when he was
summoned. On the occasion of their last visit East, in 1881, they left
with old neighbors and relatives in Waterbury and Stowe
copies of a privately printed volume of verse from their respec
tive pens. This volume bears the imprint: "Trempealeau,
Charles A. Leith, PubHsher, 1876," and contains fifty-five
poems by Mr. Luce and thirty by Mrs. Luce. Among the
more popular of Mr. Luce's poems was "The Hunter of Cha-
teaugay," wherein appears Tenas Wright, the first settler of
Stowe, as the doughty hunter. "The Legend of Smuggler's
Notch" is an epic of the wild days when the Lake Champlain
smugglers sought a hiding retreat. The proposed state road
will pass through the gorge described in the poem. "The
Village Doctor," some stanzas of which are given later in this
book, refers to Doctor Thomas C. Downer of Stowe, and is much
in the vein of Whittier's " Snow Bound," being vividly descrip
tive of the fidelity of an aged country practitioner who toils
through snow drifts and impassable roads on his errands of
mercy. There are those now living in Waterbury who recall fugitive
stanzas of an unpublished song of Liberty written by Mr.
Luce and sung by one D. Lothian at the Anti-Slavery Con
vention at West Randolph in 1845. Among Mrs. Luce's
contributions to the volume are included "The Green Moun
tains," a poem of delicate, graceful sentiment and descriptive
of the scenery hereabouts; "More Boys for the War," "Mor
gan's Retreat," and "The Coming Man." The offerings of
Mr. and Mrs. Luce deserve a proud place in any anthology of
Vermont verse.
The Mexican War was never popular in New England.

PERIOD 1830-1850 85
President Polk's policies were scouted as unnecessary and ill-
advised. Included in the only regiment, the Ninth, recruited
in New England for the war under the command of Colonel
Ransom, was a single company (D) from Vermont. In this
company was Luman M. Grout, father of Don D. Grout.
With the exception of Major Grout, Levi (Tippecanoe)
Gleason, John D. Robinson, father of Charles Robinson, who
went from Williamstown in Company D, but returned to
Waterbury and Charles S. Allen (son of Horace Allen) who
died in the service, there are no other known Waterbury
participants in the war, although, as in one known instance,
other Mexican War veterans might have come to Waterbury
after the war. An exhaustive search fails to disclose the
names of any others who went from the town. In this con
nection an interesting letter from ex-Governor Samuel E.
Pingree is given : White River Junction and Hartford, Vt.,
July 2, 1915.
Theodore Graham Lewis,
Waterbury, Vt.
My dear Mr. Lewis: Yours of yesterday received this morning. I
regret very much that I am unable to give you any information in regard
to the Waterbury Contingent in the Ninth New England Regiment raised
by Franklin Pierce. I lived in Salisbury, New Hampshire, at that time and
was quite familiar with a few volunteers in that vicinity, was one myself
but my father fired me out because I was a minor and I lost the fun, but
probably saved my life.
I think the Adjutant and Inspector General's Office at Montpelier will
have a record which will show you a list perhaps of every man that went
from any town in Vermont, and if it cannot be had there I think it could be
had from the records of Norwich University, as the Colonel Ransom, some
time President of Norwich University, was a colonel in command of the
Ninth Regiment and was killed at the Battle of Chapultepec, so I think
the record will show the muster roll of every soldier under his command and
probably where they were from.
I regret very much that I cannot be of service to you because I can
appreciate your great desire for a full as well as an accurate history of the
noble town of Waterbury. I know its record in the Civil War was beyond
compare with any town, if not in numbers at least in quality of its volun
teers. Sincerely yours,
Sam'l E. Pingreb.

86 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Mr. Lucius B. Peck, a native of Waterbury but resident of
Montpelier, took his seat in the Hou^e of Representatives
December 6, 1847. On March 13, 1848, he introduced a
resolution that the Committee on Military Affairs'be instructed
to inquire into the propriety of passing an act for the settle
ment of claims of the Fourth regiment. Second Brigade and
third division of the Vermont Militia for services at the Battle
of Plattsburg, and that they report by bill or otherwise. He
also presented a resolution by the Legislature of the state of
Vermont approving Asa Whitney's plan of a railroad from
Lake Michigan to the Pacific Ocean. August 3, 1848, Mr.
Peck commented on the uncourteous terms in which one de
partment of this government (the Executive) was frequently
spoken of by gentlemen on the floor and then examined into
the position of gentlemen of the South, that it was unjust to
them to prohibit their going to the new territories with their
slaves. He denied that it was unjust. He reminded them
that slavery existed by municipal laws, and quoted decisions
of southern judges to show that a slave taken by his master
voluntarily beyond the jurisdiction of the municipal laws of
the state in which he lives, becomes a free man.
On January 22, 1850, Mr. Peck asked unanimous consent
of the House to introduce a resolution that the Committee on
Military Affairs be instructed to inquire into the propriety of
refunding to the state of Vermont the money expended by
that state in her endeavors to maintain our neutrality in the
Canadian difficulties; and that the committee report by bill
or otherwise. Those who believe that the propagandists of
peace are of recent origin will be interested to know that Mr.
Peck voted, January 28, 1850, to refer a memorial of the
American Peace Society to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
This memorial prayed Congress to inquire into the expediency
of entering into international treaties stipulating for the settle
ment of international disputes by arbitration and also into the
expediency of holding a Congress of Nations.
April 25, 1850, Mr. Peck spoke at length in answer to objec
tions urged against the admission of California as a state into
the Union. He disposed of these objections seriatim as pre-

PERIOD 1830-1850 87
senting, in his judgment, no valid arguments against her
admission, whether considered with reference to their own
intrinsic weight, or to the prior action of the government in
the admission of new states into the Union. Mr. Peck, during
his term, was flooded with petitions and remonstrances against
the admission of more slave states, the extension of slavery
generally and the repeal of laws favoring slavery in the Dis
trict of Columbia. Then, of course, there were the usukl bills
for pensions and private relief and innumerable petitions for
cheaper postage from Vermonters. In the autumn of 1846,
Mr. Peck received 161 votes for Congress in Waterbury and
again in 1848 he received 102, Mr. John L. Buck getting 61,
this, though Mr. Peck was then a resident of Montpelier,
having given up his residence in Waterbury.
The Free Mountaineer was a newspaper of Waterbury and
Montpelier, edited by J. A. Somerby, which made its initial
appearance in 1849. It is regrettable that it scarcely could
be said to have had even an ephemeral existence, not to men
tion a diurnal prosperity, devoted, as it expressed itself to
"News, Education, Agriculture, Mechanic Arts, The Interests
of Workingmen, Temperance, Health, Anti-Slavery, Morality,
Cheap Postage, Literary and Miscellaneous Reading, etc."
The editor's salutatory of June 14, 1849, addressed to the
citizens of Waterbury is peculiarly captivating to the twentieth
century journalistic craftsman. The optimism expressed by
the devoted publicist might well be indulged by many latter
day editors with profit. The salutatory is deemed worthy of
space :
We lay before you today, the first Newspaper ever printed in Waterbury.
We have enlisted in the enterprise of establishing a Printing Office and
publishing a Journal of News, etc., every week, in Waterbury Village, at
the suggestion and solicitation of a large number of the citizens of Water
bury and vicinity — every party and sect uniting together, to a considerable
extent to bring about the desired result — and we shall consequently,
depend upon their united influence and assistance for support. We shall
make every reasonable exertion to obtain the latest intelligence from our
own country, as well as from abroad, and keep our readers well informed
in relation to local events. When we have occasion to express our own
opinions, we shall endeavor to be "Unawed by Influence and unbribed by

88 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
gain" independent alike, of sectarian or party views — seeking to benefit all
our readers.
We shall endeavor to promote morality and temperance, and a noble
forbearance between man and man, that shall be fully equal to the pro
gressive spirit of the age.
Waterbury needs a Fire Engine, an Academy, a Plank Road to Hyde-
park, and many other improvements, to procure which, we shall gladly
cooperate with our fellow citizens, and rejoice with them at the success of
every enterprise that will benefit the community generally.
Our columns will be open to the free discussion of all topics of general
interest; but, communications must be short, to the point, and couched in
respectful language.
The same issue contains a prospectus of the New York
Tribune, signed by Greeley, & McElrath, reflecting in Horace
Greeley's inimitable style the policy of his famous journal and
dealing vigorously with matters of public moment in this
language :
A year of change and convulsion draws rapidly to its close — a year
destined to be memorable in the history of Europe and of America. In
this country it has witnessed the casting down of that delusive idol which
made the mantle of Democracy a cloak for the most audacious crimes
against Liberty and Humanity — against Freedom of thought and action —
against outspeaking Integrity and fearless Manhood. Come what may in
the future, we are justified in believing that the power of a Name over the
Nation's impulses and fortunes — the indolent credulity which empowered
whatever was called "Democratic" to pass triumphant and almost un
questioned — has passed away forever. New circumstances will, doubtless,
evolve new perils for the country; but the great peril of blind adherence to
party — of government by the potency of words and names — has passed
away forever. Europe, too, has experienced unwonted convulsions and
the signal fires of Freedom, relighted in February by the laborers of Paris,
have swept over France, Germany, Hungary, Italy and been kindled only
to be quenched in unhappy Ireland. They still blaze with cheering bril
liancy from the watch-towers of dauntless Berlin; they gleam and flash, it
may be, with dying but surely with glorious radiance, from the battlements
of heroic Vienna. Throughout the length and breadth of Christendom,
there are indications not to be mistaken, of the stern uprising of the long
abused people against the tyrants who have so long oppressed and crushed
them. Happy were it for all if the despots and aristocrats, so long gorged
with the plunder of unrewarded toil, would but seasonably realize that the
old sorceries, whereby nations were lulled to sleep in wretchedness and
chains, have lost their power and that Liberty and Justice are now de
manded with a unanimity and earnestness which will not be over ruled,
trifled with, nor turned aside from its purpose. But the Few will not see

PERIOD 1830-1850 89
what the Many have learned of their rights and wrongs; wherefore blood
will flow like water and misery and desolation darken the face of the civil
ized world. But this will not endure. . . . So, while resisting sternly
the claim of portions of our people to arrogate to themselves the designa
tions "Republican" and "Democratic," plainly implying that those who
dissent from their view of the current topics of party controversy are
hostile to Republican Liberty — we shall none the less reverence and uphold
those great principles of Democracy and Equal Rights which no abuse,
no perversion to sordid, ignoble ends, can ever render other than vital
elements of Human Well-being. . . . Hoping much from the New
Administration [President Taylor's] which the people have decreed, we
shall yield it a hearty support so far as our judgment shall approve its
acts; but should we find it in any respect unfaithful, we shall not hesitate
to expose and denounce its short-comings. We support men for the sake
of measures not measures for the sake of men.
Like most prophets', Mr. Greeley's vaticinations were partly
accurate and partly wrong, as those of us know who lived to
see the great journalist himself recant in part. For example,
there is a greater measure of liberty today in "unhappy Ire
land" than in either "dauntless Berlin" or "heroic Vienna."
Even at that early day, in 1849, the Free Mountaineer was
moved to protest valiantly against our chaotic immigration
laws, under which an influx of nine hundred foreign immi
grants at one port in a single day were permitted. The
editor called upon the people to see to it that such men be
sent to Washington to make laws as would protect American
laborers in their rights. How well the people of Waterbury
have responded to this appeal is today a matter of national
history. The completion of the Vermont Central Railroad into Water
bury from Middlesex, and the arrival of the first train, October
I, 1849, just one year later than the railway's completion into
Northfield, naturally were hailed with satisfaction by the citi
zens, especially those who had purchased stock in the enter
prise; to them there was at least ocular evidence of some of
the concrete results of their investment and the subject of
dividends was allowed to remain in abeyance. The con
ductors and station agents were recruited at first from stage
drivers and other employes of the old turnpike company.
Railroading in those days was not the highly specialized
7

90 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
occupation it came to be within the next quarter of a century
and train crews were rather a happy-go-lucky lot.
Prior to the Prohibitory Law, accepted in 1853 by a majority
vote of 88, there was an Innkeepers and Retailers License Act.
Under this, the question of voting for license or no license was
determined each year at the March town meeting. In 1847
there was a majority of 57 against license. In 1848 license
prevailed by a majority of 35, and in 1849 the vote was 109 to
108 in favor of no license. Apropos of the lax conditions pre
vailing in Waterbury prior to the passage of the Prohibitory
Law of 1853, modeled on the Maine Act, Mr. Russell Butler
once remarked to a friend that there was not a single farm on
the hill road to Stowe that had not changed hands, within his
memory, on account of the effects of intemperance.
The Moody family's place in Waterbury's history begins
with the coming of Joseph Moody, Sr., and his wife. Avis, from
Vershire in 1834. There were six sons and three daughters:
Daniel Moody who died March 23, 1887, was a farmer. Na
thaniel Moody was a successful business man, buying and
selling stock, and was known as a shrewd, careful trader; he
died January 9, 1893. William was a prominent resident, the
keeper of a tavern, real estate operator and trader, industrious
and energetic; he died in 1865, aged fifty-seven years. Elisha
was also a trader, real estate owner and promoter. He was
widely celebrated for his wit, and his sayings were quoted
throughout central Vermont ; he lived to be ninety-four years
of age and died in 1906. His chief delight was deliberately to
excite and baffle the ever-ready curiosity of his townsmen.
He was impervious to the ingratiating hints thrown out in the
obvious formulae beginning: "I was just a-wonderin'," or
"I didn't know but what," etc. Such coarse work left him
unmoved and his interrogators unsatisfied.
Betsy (Moody) Reynolds, a sister, died in Waterbury
December 22, 1887; her husband, Samuel Reynolds, died in
1875. Avis (Moody) Kenny died at the age of twenty-four,
January 17, 1842. Angelina (Moody) Duncan, a sister, re
sided in the West.
The Moody men are described as being of an average height

PERIOD 1 830-1 850 91
of six feet, one inch, and weight of two hundred and twenty-
five pounds. They were all keen business men and careful
traders. Of the present generation, G. E. Moody, Reverend Calvin
Moody of Oklahoma, and Edward Moody of Waterbury,
Mrs. William Carpenter of Waterbury, and Miss Nettie
Moody of Poultney Academy are the children of George
Moody. George F. Moody of Burlington is the son of Elisha.
Of William Moody's family there were: Justin W. Moody,
Mrs. N. K. Brown of Burlington, Jane (Moody) Town,
Lavina (Moody) Robinson of Stowe, and Mrs. Frances
(Moody) Atherton of Burlington.
It is said that Nathaniel Moody was the one of the six sons
of Joseph Moody, Sr., who was a Republican. All the rest
were War Democrats, but, with the coming of the third gene
ration, there was a sort of political throw-back and the sons
of Democratic fathers became Republicans.
Of the six brothers, George was known familiarly as " Gov
ernor," it is said, because of his imposing appearance, immense
girth and ponderous dignity. Ex-Senator George Eugene-
Moody was born in Waterbury, January 6, 1845; he was
educated in the public schools and entered upon a business.
career in his native town. He has been a successful dealer in
real estate, live stock, lumber and the promoter and half
owner of the Waterbury Light & Power Company. He was
town representative in 1886 and 1900, and state senator in
1906. Mr. Moody is held in high esteem for his invincible
courage, his optimistic confidence in humankind, his kindly
helpfulness and his shrewd business sense.
Joseph W. Moody was a member of the state senate in 1853.
Soon after his term expired in 1854, he removed to Sauk
Rapids, Minnesota, and died there, November 23, 1884.
Mark H. Moody, a son of G. E. Moody, served the town as
postmaster twelve years and now is an operator of several
farms and a breeder of Guernsey stock.
Justin W. Moody was born in Strafford, Vermont, Novem
ber 24, 1844, and died in Waterbury, February 4, 1915. He
came to Waterbury when he was a child of two years and

92 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
received his early education in the public schools of the village.
He married Miss Harriet Brown of Montpelier, November 5,
1868, and of the marriage were born: Mary (Moody) White-
hill, wife of Mr. Harry C. Whitehill, and Julia (Moody) Perry,
wife of Mr. C. A. Perry. Mrs. Moody, Justin Moody's
widow, still lives in Waterbury at the old home. Mr. Moody
was an ardent Republican and served the village as post
master for twenty-four years successively, having received his
first commission from President Andrew Johnson. Mr.
Moody was also the proprietor of a book and stationery store,
but spent the last fifteen years of his life in the place of busi
ness of his son-in-law, Mr. H. C. Whitehill, where he held an
open court and reception for his many warm friends and
neighbors. For many years Mr. Moody was a director of the
Waterbury National Bank (now the Waterbury Savings Bank
and Trust Company), school director, and a member of the
Board of Listers. Mr. Moody was essentially a home man,
preferring home associations to the diversions presented by
social organizations of different sorts. He was, however,
quick to render aid and counsel to many local organizations,
particularly the Methodist Church, in which the Moody family
of Waterbury had been always prominent. An omniverous
reader, Mr. Moody kept abreast of the publications dealing
with topics whether of political, governmental, economic or
industrial interest or of the more intimate sociological problems
of present day discussion.
It would be a labor of love for any one of his acquaintances
to bear testimony to his singular power of drawing to him and
retaining, as it were, by bands of steel, those who knew him.
This power was beautifully illustrated in his association and
relations with small children and young people. Mr. Moody
was modest and retiring, but, in his quiet way, was quick at
repartee, showing a keen sense of humor. The Waterbury Rec
ord's obituary notice of Mr. Moody closed with these words :
"After all, what the people of Waterbury and vicinity will
remember with the greatest comfort and satisfaction were
those traits of their dead friend which were evidenced by an

PERIOD 1830-1850 93
invariable neighborliness, kindliness and thoughtfulness for
others, especially in times of adversity or trouble."
For weeks after Mr. Moody's death the sorrow of old friends
was manifested in a pathetic way, when upon inquiry at his
accustomed place, they learned first of his passing. Especially
touching were the inquiries of little children for their old
playmate. One of the old-time residents of Waterbury Center was
Chauncey Lyon. Mr. Lyon was born October 11, 1835, on
the same farm that was cleared by his father and grandfather,
and which is now owned by his son, Arthur Lyon. After he
began to feel the weight of years he moved from the farm to
the Center. He married Miss Maria Emeretta Hopkins of
Enosburgh in 1858. Of this union eight children were born,
the eldest son dying in infancy. Of the living children Mrs.
M. A. Thurston (Martha A. Lyon) lives at the Center;
Arthur on the Lyon farm; Frank "Chancy" is in business in
Burlington; Mrs. Frank A. Fish, the wife of Superior Judge
Fish, lives in Vergennes; Mrs. Warren, in Morrisville; Jesse,
in Chicago, and Mrs. Carsley, in Palmer, Massachusetts.
By occupation Mr. Lyon was always a farmer. He paid
especial attention to horse breeding and to this branch of
farming he ascribed what success he met. Of industrious
habits, he could not tolerate an idler and was too frugal to
permit waste or slackness. Strictly honest and upright, he
held all to the same line. He died May 3, 1914.
Among Waterbury's physicians of this period was Doctor
Thomas B. Downer who came to the Center in 1840, or there
about. The circumstances attending his removal from Stowe,
where he had practiced, to Waterbury Center, well illustrates
the Doctor's tenacity of opinion. When the County of La
moille was carved out and the town of Stowe was included
within the new boundaries. Doctor Downer declared that he
would not pay taxes to the substituted county organization;
rather than to do this, he removed to Waterbury Center.
Doctor Downer was nothing short of a public institution,
sometimes called a "character" (as if that word were inclusive
of all personal peculiarities). He is described as rather cor-

94 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
pulent, with a deep bass voice, brusque and abrupt in manner,
with a kindly heart and ready sympathy for all. Like most
country physicians. Doctor Downer set little store by insisting
upon his professional fees. He rendered service to rich and
poor with fine impartiality. He died in 1851 and, twenty
years later, appeared the poem of Samuel Slayton Luce, whose
beautiful appreciation of the, kindly old practitioner remains
as a fitting tribute to the memory of the friend of the country
side. Clarissa Downer, daughter of Doctor Downer, married
Lyman Smith. Three children of this marriage were John D.,
Clarissa and George Edward Smith.
John D. Smith married Mary Jane Camp in Stowe and came
to Waterbury Center in the early 40's. He held the office of
town clerk from 1851 until his death in 1873. John Downer
Smith was a type of that class of men known in small commu
nities whose sound judgment and temperate counsel are in
stinctively sought.
At perhaps too early a period in life he was invested with
the responsibilities of a family head, when, after the death of
his father, he assumed that place in the household. From his
youth his predilection for books and reading continued to
grow stronger. He was especially devoted to historical re
search and was no mean antagonist in doctrinal discussion,
having emerged from the confines of orthodoxy into the, to
him, more congenial fields of Universalism. His frequent
visits to Boston brought him into contact with the various
advance movements of the time and he became familiar with
their progress. He was alert and vigilant to keep abreast of
advanced thought. The very night before his death he read
aloud, to a number of his friends, certain extracts from some
recent publication dealing with psychic phenomena and talked
far into the night about the possibilities which the opening of
such a new field of investigation entailed. With all his strong
convictions and his uncompromising nature, he still was a
warm friend and comrade of many who differed radically from
him. He served as town lister, justice of the peace, land sur
veyor, conveyancer and general settler of local controversies.
He represented the town in the Legislatures of 1856 and 1857.

PERIOD 1 830-1 850 95
Mr. Smith was a book-lover and student, possessing one of the
few really good private libraries in the town. He was an
avowed Universalist and was logically translated from the
old-line Whig to the rejuvenated Republican party.
Frank N. Smith, the son of John D. Smith, succeeded his
father as town clerk and continued the business of conveyanc
ing, settling estates, etc., until he went to Montpelier where he
is now the treasurer of the Capital Savings Bank. His sister,
Clarissa (Smith) Minard, still lives in Waterbury Village with
her daughter. Miss Marguerite Minard.
Doctor Will F. Minard, husband of Clarissa (Smith) Minard
was born in Hinesburg, May 13, 1867, the son of R. M. and
Marguerite (Kenyon) Minard. His preparatory education
was had in the Hinesburg and Bristol schools and the Green
Mountain Seminary at Waterbury Center. He spent some
time in preliminary medical study with Doctor Sparhawk of
Burlington and as an assistant in a Hanover, New Hampshire,
drug store. Thereafter he attended the Hahnemann Medical
College in Philadelphia, from which he was graduated at the
head of his class in 1887. He practiced in Burlington with
his old preceptor. Doctor Sparhawk, for a short time coming
from Burlington to Waterbury within a year. He purchased
the old Dillingham residence on Main Street and conducted a
sanitarium there for some years. While still a student in
Waterbury Center he met Miss Clarissa Smith, a member of
his seminary class. They were married September 30, 1886.
Doctor Minard was a man of singularly attractive address,
winning and courteous manners and agreeable personality.
He was an enthusiastic student and practitioner, a kind and
helpful friend and an energetic, public-spirited citizen.
The best available information about the origin of the Water
bury branch of the Henry family begins with Samuel Henry of
South Hadley and Amherst, Massachusetts. The next in
line is Sylvester Henry, who married Sybil Proctor about
1800. This Sylvester Henry was born in Amherst, Massachu
setts, November 20, 1776. He followed an uncle, Jason Cady,
to Vermont. The following biographical sketch by Mrs.
Sarah (Henry) Jewett, a daughter of Sylvester Henry and

96 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Sybil (Proctor) Henry, is taken from Eldridge's "Henry
Genealogy" (1915):
Of my father's early years we know very little. At fourteen he left
home to learn the carpenter's trade, and served an apprenticeship of seven
years, having three months' schooling each year. During this time his
food and clothing were very scanty. His evenings were spent in studying
and reading history by torch-light made of pine knots; and such was his
love of knowledge and diligence that he became well informed for those
times. At the age of twenty-one he took what little he had, and in company with
his brother, Samuel, started for Vermont. The country was nearly a
wilderness with few settlements and few people. The roads were marked
trees. He came to Waterbury. There were two or three framed houses
and several log cabins. He liked the country, but as he could not obtain
work here, he pushed on to Burlington, Vermont. There he had all the
work he could do and remained there four or five years, often visiting
Waterbury in that time, and finally bought a house and several acres of
land where William Carpenter's house stands (1876). There are two
houses yet standing in Burlington that he and his brother, Samuel, built.
He was married to Sybil Proctor, daughter of Isaac Proctor, a kind hearted
and excellent man. They were poor in purse but rich in good health, in
industrious and frugal habits and a disposition to overcome obstacles.
In March, 1807, he traded his home in the village for this (Henry) farm
and moved into a poor cabin situated where the garden now is. The snow
was very deep and father made steps down into the cabin, and his youthful
wife went down with her baby and all her dishes in her arms. She thought
it was like going out of the world to come way down here in the woods to
live. She was, however, cheerful and hopeful, and set about making her
home as comfortable as possible. She pinned sheets and towels against
the logs; washed the one window; scrubbed the floor; and by night, as the
fire blazed up in the big fireplace, her cabin seemed quite cozy and home
like. In this humble home there were born to them a son and a daughter,
James M. and Betsey. In the course of time they got up a frame house and
moved into the kitchen, — that, with the bedroom and buttery, being all
that was finished. She spun and wove her sheets, towels, and tablecloths,
her coverlets and blankets, to furnish her new house, and made full clothes
and flannels to clothe her husband and children. She brought water from
the brook, and in a hurrying time would help on the farm. Father was
ever busy, working at his trade winters, and on the farm summers. He
built the house, woodshed, and barn; built the church and many of the
houses at the village, cleared the land, planted the orchard, made roads,
bridges, and fences. He also had much town business to do, and some for
the state. He was elected to the Legislature. He was a Whig in politics
and a great lover of his country. He attended the Congregational Church.

PERIOD 1830-1850 97
He was dignified and stern in manner, and not at all familiar with his
younger children. He was ever adding to the farm, always in debt for
land, and when mother wanted anything for the house, the answer was,
"Wait until we are out of debt." Mother had a cheerful, hopeful disposi
tion, a hand and heart ready to help those who wanted help, and was
very useful among the sick. She brought up her girls to spin, weave, make
cheese and butter, make their own clothes and knit their own stockings.
These industrious habits and frugal ways have been a rich legacy to them,
and now, after she has been dead thirty-six years, they rise up and call her
blessed. Sylvester with his brother Samuel, both carpenters, came
to Burlington and built the two Englesby houses on the corner
of St. Paul and College Streets about 1800. He was paid off
in silver quarters and with that money came to Waterbury
and bought the tract known since as the Henry farm above
referred to.
Sylvester Henry, son of Samuel, was for many years a
prominent citizen of Waterbury. He served for several years
as a selectman, justice of the peace, and town representative
in the Assembly for two years (1812-1813). He is described
as a man of wide reading and literary taste, added to which
was a singularly shrewd and accurate knowledge of land
values. He died in 1840. Sybil (Proctor) Henry, wife of
Sylvester, was a woman whose delight it was to be of service to
those of her neighbors needing assistance of a practical kind
when in trouble or illness. An unusual coincidence occurred
in the fact that of this family of four sons and four daughters,
two sons each reared a family of the same size, one of these
being a family of four sons and four daughters. These were
the families of Sylvester (second son of Sylvester, Sr.) and
James M., respectively.
James M., eldest son of Sylvester, was born in Waterbury in
1809. His early education was obtained in the public schools.
He, like his father, was a diligent reader and close observer.
His philosophy of life, born of reading and observation, seemed
to be to take men as he found them and not to undertake the
impossible task of recreating them. Mr. Henry found farm
life unsuited to his tastes and disposition and attempted with
success endeavors in other fields. He identified himself in

98 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
middle age with the cause of temperance and, like his father
again, served the town as a justice of the peace, and town
representative in the Assembly (1859-1860). He died, aged
about fifty-five years. James M. Henry had eight children:
William Wirt, (General) Henry, Delia M., John F., Eliza,
Sybil Proctor, James Edwin, Sarah and George.
John F. Henry, brother of General Henry, went from Water
bury to Brooklyn, New York. He married for the first time
Josephine Barrett. Two children were born of this marriage,
William and John. His second wife was Lydia Delphine
Hart. A son, John F. Henry, resides at Saranac Lake. Delia,
sister of General Henry, married Doctor Anderson Miller of
North Carolina, who fought on the side of the Confederacy
during the Civil War. She had five children: Eliza Henry
married Emery Scagel. They had two children, Dora and
Flora. Sybil Henry married Lyman Hinkley, one-time
lieutenant-governor of Vermont; they had one child. James
Edwin was killed fighting for the Union in the Battle of Peters
burg. Sarah married Salmon Green of Richmond; their
children were Henry, William, Edwin, Sybil, Harriet, Sarah,
Nellie, Delphine, Roscoe and Lyman. George Henry, young
est brother of General Henry, died comparatively young after
serving through the Civil War.
In the family of Sylvester Henry, Sr., besides James M.,
there were Mary (Mrs. Newton Atherton), Ann (Mrs. Corne
lius Sherman), Sarah (Mrs. Jewett) and Luther. John F.
Henry went to Brooklyn and built up a large business in drugs
and medicines from small beginnings in Waterbury; he was a
candidate for the mayoralty and is said to have run ahead of
his party strength.
Sylvester, second son of Sylvester, Sr., accumulated a
modest fortune; was, for a time, constable in Waterbury.
Three of his sons served in the Union army in the Civil War.
He died in 1871, aged about fifty-eight.
Luther, fourth son of Sylvester, Sr., was born in Waterbury
in 1826. When he was fourteen years of age his father died,
leaving his minor son's guardianship to the village selectmen,
whose fidelity and ability in administering trusts were well

PERIOD 1830-1850 99
established. Luther's education was had at Newbury Semi
nary. Upon attaining his majority he made some unsuccess
ful speculations in dealing in patent rights. In common with
many other young law students, he entered the office of Hon
orable Paul Dillingham and was admitted to the bar of
Washington County in May, 1849. He is described by a
fellow member of the bar, L. L. Durant, in this language:
"As a lawyer, he was never learned in the books; but in a
knowledge of men and things, he was not to be excelled. With
keen discrimination and quick discernment, he readily grasped
the strong points of a case, and, bringing all his efforts to bear
upon them, could not easily be led away. He was, so to
speak, a natural lawyer, as all who entered the lists with him
can testify." Mr. Henry was instrumental in building the
Waterbury and Duxbury bridge across the Winooski. He
was twice married; the first time to Miss Flora Taplin; the
second, to Miss Kate Royce. Three children were born to
him. He died January i, 1867, aged forty.
Franklin Sylvester Henry was the son of Sylvester Henry,
second, and brother of Mrs. Albert Spencer. He served with
the Seventeenth Regiment of Vermont Volunteers which went
to the war in 1864. In the same regiment was Lieutenant J.
Edwin Henry, his cousin, who was killed at Petersburg.
Franklin Sylvester Henry was the loyal son of Waterbury who
carried into effect the long discussed project of erecting a
suitable monument to the memory of the brave soldiers of
the town, whose deathless glory it was to outnumber any
other town in the state in her ever-ready quotas of men. Pres
entation of this noble gift of Mr. Henry devolved upon Gen
eral William W. Henry (his cousin). Senator William P.
Dillingham, O. A. Seabury and H. C. Whitehill, as a Board
of Trustees in response to a request made the preceding year
by Mr. Henry, before his death. Franklin Sylvester Henry
became associated as traveling salesman with Henry, Curran
& Company of New York, large dealers in drugs and medicines,
after his return from the Civil War. He made his home in
Cleveland, Ohio, and later engaged in business on his own
account in that city, where he soon demonstrated his ability

lOO HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
to handle large affairs. A few months after preferring his
request that a monument committee be appointed, his health
failed and he was obliged to seek relief at Hot Springs, Arkan
sas. A telegram was received in Waterbury, February ii,
1914, announcing his death from pneumonia, just four days
after the setting of the beautiful monument, so near his heart.
Mr. Henry was a fine type of business man and was peculiarly
adapted to cope with undertakings of magnitude. He was a
strong man, of kindly impulses and sympathetic nature. He
died at the age of sixty-eight years, leaving a wife, Mrs.
Franklin Sylvester Henry (Mary Kirkpatric Wilson), a sister,
Mrs. Albert Spencer of Waterbury, and a brother, Frederic
Henry of Cleveland.
Stiles Sherman properly belongs to an earlier period. He
was the father of twelve children, several of whom died in
early youth. His youngest daughter was Mrs. Lyman Beebe
of Burlington; her daughter, Mary Jane Beebe, became the
wife of General Henry. The youngest son was Seth Chandler
Sherman who was graduated with honors from the University
of Vermont in 1829, and removed to Quincy, Illinois, where
he married and died. Besides a brother of Seth Chandler,
who went to central New York early in life, there was Heman
Sherman, who died in Ogdensburg, New York, and was buried
in Waterbury. An elder sister married Elam Carpenter,
brother of Judge Dan Carpenter, and, on his death, married
Luther Cleaves. There were a son (Sherman) and two daugh
ters of this family, who, with their parents, removed to St.
Louis. Many interesting stories are told of the old time festivities,
incidental to corn huskings, sugar parties and the like, enjoyed
by the young blades and damsels of Waterbury at the hospita
ble Beebe farm.
Among the famous wheelwrights of this region was Jesse
Perry, whose daughter is Mrs. B. R. Demeritt.
"Perry Hill" is named for Benjamin Perry, the founder of
the Waterbury family.
One of the eccentric village institutions was Sayles Hawley,
keeper of a hotel on the site of the old Pride tavern. He was

PERIOD 1 830-1 850 lOI
an incorrigible wag, whose wholesome good humor fairly radi
ated from his countenance. Two prominent politicians were
once engaged in a wordy wrangle, which bade fair to end in
fisticuffs, when Sayles Hawley, then a mischievous youngster
of eighty years, quelled the row by quoting in his inimitable
fashion the old rhyme admonishing little children "not to let
their angry passions rise." Mr. Hawley married Miss Hub
bard of Montpelier.
Two postmasters were Thomas B. Scagel and his son, Emery
D. Scagel. The first named lived where Doctor Bid well's
house stands. The son engaged in the drug business.
Daniel Demmon, a farmer, was the father of two sons.
Daniel, Jr., and Jared Demmon, for a short time a law partner
of Paul Dillingham.
The Atkins family was a numerous one and boasted several
giants. They were locally known and sometimes feared as
wits and jokers, particularly Henry and Albro. Horace and
Henry were house builders and carpenters. Capteiin George's
name is in the list of the famous forty volunteers recorded as
being at the Battle of Plattsburg. David was a deacon and,
like most deacons, a town officer. John very early incurred
the reputation of being "queer" because he was said to gather
sap with one pail, whereas most sugar makers used two if
working without a team. John's method was too revolu
tionary to escape comment. Jerum Atkins, son of John, was
by way of being a mechanical genius. He put in his early years
with Henry Carter, a wheelwright; then he went West and
became the inventor of the first grain raking attachment to
the famous McCormick reaper. Like many inventors,
Jerum Atkins sowed for others to reap. Lack of means, ill
health, bad business management and sordid over-reaching
on the part of patent pirates, all contributed to deprive Atkins
of the fruits of his genius.
One of the old time medical practitioners was Doctor
Oliver W. Drew, who came from South Woodstock to Water
bury in 1820. His father before him was a physician and his
son, Frederic, also. Doctor Oliver Drew practiced medicine
in Waterbury for fifty-five years and, upon his retirement,

I02 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
took up his residence with his only daughter, the wife of a
clergyman in Acton, Massachusetts. He died in Massachu
setts in 1878, and his remains were interred in the cemetery
here. His first wife was Lucretia Arms, the mother of Doctor
Frederic Drew and one daughter; his second wife was Mar
garet Woodward, daughter of Doctor Woodward of Mont
pelier, and one time resident of Waterbury ; his third wife was
Olivia L. B. Atherton.
Doctor Frederic Drew pursued a classical course in Burling
ton at the University of Vermont and acquired his professional
training at the Woodstock Medical College and the College of
Physicians and Surgeons in New York, from which he was
graduated in the spring of 1857. He started in practice in
Attica, Indiana ; thence he removed to Junction City, Kansas,
in 1859. After two years he was made postsurgeon at Fort
Riley, where he remained until his death at the age of thirty-
five years, during the Civil War. He left a widow, Nelly
(Cheney) Drew, whom he had married in Attica, Indiana, in
December, 1861.
The elder Doctor Drew was one of Waterbury's sturdy
oaks; dependable, sensible, practical, trustworthy, conscien
tious and industrious, he realized to the full the highest type
of physician, adviser and public-spirited resident. Doctor
Frederic Drew's reputation as a surgeon had already become
widely known in Kansas when he died. He was also regarded
as a man of well-disciplined, scientific mind, gentle culture,
kind sympathy and generous heart.
Among the lawyer graduates from the office of Paul Dilling
ham was Columbus F. Clough, son of Thaddeus and Clarissa
(Morse) Clough, formerly of Stowe, but latterly of Waterbury.
Thaddeus Clough was a farmer and man of affairs. He served
as selectman twelve successive years and was town representa
tive in the General Assembly in 1836, 1847 ^^^ 1848. He died
November 28, 1883, aged eighty-two years. His wife died
September 30, 1876, at the age of eighty-four. Columbus, the
son, was born June 28, 1833. His early life and training was
much the same as that of his boy companions, — doing farm
work and attending school. Later he attended Bakersfield

PERIOD 1830-1850 103
and Morrisville Academies in preparation for college. He was
dissuaded from pursuing a college course and began his law
studies in the office of Paul Dillingham. The four years spent
under the tutelage of so experienced a preceptor fitted him for
admission to the bar at the age of twenty. He was obliged to
wait until he attained his majority before applying for admis
sion. After being admitted to practice, March 11, 1856,
Mr. Clough became immersed in business and legal practice
until he removed to Waitsfield January 26, 1861. Here he
remained attending to a growing practice in Washington,
Windsor, Orange, Chittenden and Lamoille Counties, until
October 17, 1867, when he returned to Waterbury. At differ
ent times he was associated in legal partnerships with Judge
Hiram Carleton and Edwin F. Palmer, Esq. Mr. Clough
married Persis L. Allen (daughter of Charles S. and Nancy
Allen, and granddaughter of Deacon Asaph Allen) July 29,
1 861, who now lives in Randall Street, Waterbury. Mr.
Clough was a painstaking, careful adviser and soon acquired
prominence as an advocate. He was a man of strong con
victions and belonged to the then justly celebrated group of
Union Democrats. He was accidentally killed by an electric
car near Mill Village, July 27, 1899.
It were almost supererogatory to ascribe to the climate and
environment of Waterbury the great longevity of its residents
when the same might with equal truth be predicated of every
other town in Vermont. At all events, Waterbury has not
derogated from the reputation of the rest of the state in that
respect. Among the early families, Betsy (Partridge) Car
penter, widow of Judge Dan Carpenter, lived to the age of
93 years; a Mrs. Woodward, to the age of about 95; Elizabeth
Corlis, 94; Mr. Heaton, 96; D. Stowell, about 92; John Mont
gomery, over 85; Enoch Coffran, over 87; Moses Nelson, over
85; Nancy Frink, 86; Mrs. Daniels, about 97; Henry F. Janes,
87^ ; Mrs. Janes, nearly 82 ; Doctor Henry Janes, over 83 ; John
Seabury, 87 ; L. Hutchins, about 80. (These ages are taken for
the most part from Hemenway's History of Washington
County, p. 871.) At this writing, George W. Randall is 90
years of age. Governor Paul Dillingham was 92 at the time
of his death.

CHAPTER IV
I 850-1 875
From a population of 1,992 souls in 1840, the growth of
Waterbury in the decade of 1 840-1 850 was not especially en
couraging. The tovs/n with a grand list of $5,304.78 showed a
population of 2,352 in 1850. During the Taylor-Fillmore ad
ministration (i 848-1 852), the Anti-Slavery, Free Soil and
Abolition agitation continued locally as in other towns of the
state. Business recovered slowly from the stringent period of
the late 30's. The merchants of the town were Goss & Delano,
S. C. Hutchins, Stimson & Arms, James Cristy, E. G. Scott
& Company, J. D. Smith, D. Tarbell & Company, A. Prime,
W. H. Woodward, J. C. & S. Brown, S. D. Sturtevant. The
manufacturers were Thompson, Seabury & Blanchard, woolens.
V. R. Blush, S. S. Spicer, leather. Lucius Parmelee, S. G.
Howe, E. W. Bates, boots and shoes. Hutchins & Wade,
starch. A. A. Atherton, Horace Atkins, furniture. C.
Graves, stoves and tin ware. O. Howe, G. H. Lease, trunks
and harness. H. W. Wells, A. Hills, G. P. Hills, D. D. Wood
man, C. Simmons, wagons and sleighs. D. Stowell, planing
machine. Mill Village, lying at the lower falls of Thatcher's Branch
on the Stowe road, derives its name from the early mill sites
located there. The water power has its source in a succession
of three falls within a quarter of mile, affording an equal num
ber of mill privileges. The first mill is now a flour and feed
mill, owned by and conducted for the E. T. Seabury estate,
under the management of W. H. Seabury. There is no
authentic record showing who the first builder was, but it is
believed that Isaac Woolson built it in about 1807; a deed
from him of a mill of its description to Oliver C. Rood, dated in
1 8 10, is still in existence. William W. Wells bought the prop
erty of Dutton and improved it inside and out, remodeling it for
a flour mill. The chain of title appears to be as follows : Isaac
8 105

I06 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Woolson to O. C. Rood, 1810; O. C. Rood to Carpenter &
Eddy, 1826; Carpenter & Eddy to David Dutton and Atkins,
1827; David Atkins to William W. Wells, 1835; Wells estate
to John Q. and E. T. Seabury, 1870. In 1857 new model
waterwheels were installed in place of the huge old twenty-
four foot over-shot wheel ; these were soon replaced by others.
Mr. Wells undertook to do a large business in manufacturing
and dealing in flour and feed without a suitably adapted
water-power. His successors, J. Q. and E. T. Seabury, ran
the mill for ten years. J. Q. Seabury then sold his share to
his brother and went to California, where he died in 1908.
E. T. Seabury died in 1899, since which time the mill has been
conducted as above described. The village found it necessary
to take certain springs for its water supply from the sources of
the mill stream and thereby lessened its flow. It soon became
necessary to build a dam for the conservation of the water, to
replace the water-wheels with others better adapted to small
streamsand to increase the head by several feet to offset the loss
of the spring sources ; these improvements were made in 1903.
The first grist mill in Waterbury is said to have been erected
by Caleb Munson, the third settler in the town, about fifty
rods above the Seabury mill and on the opposite side of the
stream. This mill was destroyed by fire sometime in the 30's.
I. C. & S. Brown began business, in a small way, in a con
fectionery and grocery shop immediately after the advent of
the railroad in a part of the old Washington House on the old
site of the present inn. Thereafter they built a store on Park
Row, which burned in 1857, but was rebuilt. The firm dealt
largely in flour, food stuffs and produce, and was the first to
ship fruit from Vermont markets to Montreal. They also
shipped large consignments of fresh fish there. Sidney Brown
was a shrewd buyer. On one occasion he cornered the New
England market for salt salmon. The brothers came from
Williamstown and began very early to deal in fresh fish, which
they would freeze and supply to the surrounding markets.
Apples were bought in standing crops by the buyer for the
firm — an innovation that compelled the wonder and admira
tion of the growers.

PERIOD 1850-1875 107
At a town meeting, February 21, 1850, it was voted:
That the town will surrender to the Lamoille County Plank Road Com
pany the present travelled road from Winooski Turnpike, northerly by
Dea. Parker's, the Methodist Chapel and Silas May's to Stowe; and that
Harvey Prescott, Henry F. Janes, James Greene, E. S. Newcomb and
Richard Demeritt be a committee on the part of the town, to agree with
said Plank Road Co. on the conditions upon which the surrender shall be
made and that the said agreement when made, reduced to writing and
recorded, shall be final.
Final action by the town was not taken until the March
meeting 1857 when it was voted:
That this town will pay^to the Lamoille County Plank Road Company
at the end of each year from this date the sum of $450.00 while said Com
pany keep their road open for travel on condition and in consideration that
the inhabitants of this town be allowed to travel except staging and per
manent teaming on said road its entire length free of toll and also that said
Company from year to year keep the town harmless from damages for
want of repair and further that they repay to those who have purchased
passes for 1857 in proportion for the unpaid (unused?) time of said passes.
At the March (5th) meeting in 1850 it was voted "that the
selectmen be instructed to take charge of the liquor business
and procure pure liquor and employ an agent to sell the same
at a low price, if the state vote is 'no licence' this year." This;
Utopian state of affairs could not last; in the first place, the
vote raised an unexpected difficulty regarding the necessary
qualifications of selectmen. Doubtless, the Doctor Wileys of
the day would have scouted the very possibility of a select
man's knowing pure from impure liquor whatever he might
know about low prices; added to this, there was the growing
Washingtonian temperance influence everywhere throughout
the state. So it was that all previous experiments in dealing
with the liquor traffic were merged in the operation of the
modified Maine Prohibitory Law which was enacted in 1853.
Owing to the pronounced anti-slavery sentiment in Water
bury, the election of Franklin Pierce to the Presidency and his
administration were distinctly unpopular. Brave, indeed,
would that protagonist have been who dared to point out the
disinterested character of President Pierce's public service.
There were those who suspected the motives of a man who

I08 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
not only resigned from the United States Senate but declined
an appointment to fill a vacancy in that body, declined the
nomination as governor of New Hampshire, declined an
appointment as attorney-general of the United States, the
Secretaryship of War and accepted, under protest, the nomina
tion of the Baltimore Convention for the Presidency. Water
bury, however, even in those days of smoldering political ani
mosities, was not without her heroes of peace who were willing
to lend their support to the administration and, incidentally,
enjoy the usual emoluments.
After President Pierce had become fairly settled in the
White House, the burning question in Waterbury was that
relating to the probable successor of Rufus C. Smith as post
master. Among the ardent Democrats of the town was O. C.
Howard. The popular proprietor of the Washington Hotel,
Mr. Howard boasted a wide acquaintance with all sorts and
conditions of men; in fact, he had repeatedly qualified as a
charter member of the "I-Knew-Him-When" Club. Mr.
Howard claimed a close acquaintance with President Pierce
and told tales of how he and "Frank" Pierce used to take
fishing and other excursions in New Hampshire, long before
General Pierce had become a figure in national life. So great
was Mr. Howard's admiration of the President that he caused
the walls of his hotel rooms to be decorated profusely with
portraits of his distinguished friend and, by this means, inci
dentally he himself appeared by a reflected light.
To those interested in securing the influence of some local
person with the appointive power in Washington, Howard
appeared as a god-send; here, obviously, was the very man.
Accordingly Mr. Howard made the trip, nothing loath to
renew his acquaintance and intimacy with the Chief Execu
tive and, quite casually, prefer his modest request. Upon
arrival in the Presence, to his incredulous dismay and hopeless
mortification. President Pierce not only failed to recognize
him but declined to recall the fishing and other excursions
cherished in memory so dearly by Mr. Howard. Returning
home mortified and chagrined, Mr. Howard ripped the Pierce
portraits from the walls of his hotel and, walking to the head

PERIOD 1850-1875 109
of the cellar staircase, kicked each picture into the cellar, in a
frenzy of righteous indignation. Thomas B. Scagel was made
postmaster. Waterbury has not been able to boast many latter day
Democrats of prominence. In the case of Joseph Warren,
born in Waterbury, July 24, 1829, it must be said that he left
his native town before taking up his life work as a journalist.
Mr. Warren was graduated at the University of Vermont with
the class of 1851 ; going to Albany, he became assistant editor
of the Country Gentleman, a widely-read publication of high
class. As early as 1853 he became associate editor of the
Buffalo Courier. Five years later he became editor-in-chief
and continued in that capacity until his death. Mr. Warren
succeeded that old Democratic war horse. Dean Richmond,
as leader of the Erie County Democracy in New York. He
was on the board of managers and chairman of the Executive
Committee of the State Asylum for the insane, a member of
the Board of State Normal School Trustees, a projector of the
Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, a president of the Buffalo
Y. M. C. A., member of the Council of Buffalo Medical School,
president of the New York State Associated Press, and a
member of Ancient Landmark Lodge of Masons. He left a
wife and son.
It would be poor requital to Reverend Charles Carroll
Parker, to whom we are indebted for his interesting historical
address on Waterbury, even to seem to minimize his proper
place in these pages. He it was who first urged the erection
of a suitable monument as a memorial to the soldier dead of
Waterbury. That this plan was not carried out until many
years after Mr. Parker's death long remained a matter of
keen regret, though the omission has since been nobly re
paired. Mr. Parker was born in Underbill, September 26,
1814, the son of Edmond and Hepzibah (Curtis) Parker. His
early life was much the same as that of all farmers' boys,
working on the farm and attending school during the winter
and spring until he attained to eighteen years of age. At
nineteen he began a long period of school teaching; for eight
successive winters his work was that of a country school

no HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
teacher. He prepared for college at Jericho Academy, Brad
ford Academy, and under the private tutelage of Reverend
Samuel Kingsbury in Underbill.
After a four years' course at the University of Vermont,
during which Mr. Parker received no pecuniary aid from
sources other than his own efforts, he was graduated in 1841,
taught in the boys' high school of Burlington two years,
entered Union Theological Seminary, New York, in the
autumn of 1843, and taught the following year in Burlington.
He acted as financial agent of the University until 1847;
resumed the study of theology, and was ordained in Tinmouth
in 1848.
Coming to Waterbury upon an invitation to preach, in the
spring of 1853, he gave up his connection with the Tinmouth
church and was installed as pastor of the Congregational
Church in Waterbury, June 7, 1854. In the autumn of 1866
he was elected principal of the Ladies' Seminary in Gorham,
Maine, and left Waterbury to take up his duties there. Mr.
Parker's historical address on Waterbury was delivered Feb
ruary 10, 1867, within a month after his dismissal by the local
Congregational Council.
After preaching three years in the Congregational Church
in Gorham, Maine, he labored as a pastor successively in the
Congregational Church in Orient, Long Island, and the Presby
terian Church in Passippamy, New Jersey. Mr. Parker was
married, November 28, 1844, to Elizabeth McNiel Fleming of
Burlington, and by her had one son and three daughters. He
died at Passippamy, New Jersey, February 15, 1880.
Mr. Parker's name will always be held in grateful remem
brance not only for the intelligent service he rendered his
townsmen in the preparation of his historical address but for
many other acts flowing from his all-embracing public spirit.
Official notice was taken of Mr. Parker's recommendations
regarding a soldiers' monument in the following way: At
the March (5th) town meeting in 1867, a vote pf thanks was
given Reverend C. C. Parker "for his able remarks favoring
the erection of a soldiers' monument in this town," and also
it was voted "to perpetuate the sentiments contained in the

PERIOD 1850-1875 III
remarks of Reverend C. C. Parker favoring the erection of a
soldiers' monument." Beyond this formal official action
nothing was done toward carrying out the long cherished
project until Mr. Franklin Sylvester Henry of Cleveland, Ohio,
infused new life into the plan and, by his own personal interest
and munificence, accomplished in 1914 what was first proposed
in 1867.
A political rally in the Fremont campaign was held in the
large hall of the Washington House, at which the new Repub
lican doctrines were expounded. Many who had been Demo
crats were present; among the speakers were Luther Henry,
Esq., and E. P. Walton of Montpelier, candidate for Con
gress. If Franklin Pierce's election were received in Waterbury
with mistrust and foreboding, James Buchanan's choice as
President aroused bitter enmity. His non-coercive policy was
regarded as little short of treason. To one reading Buchanan's
messages and protests of the last year of his administration it
is apparent that, though he stood with his back to the wall
and buttressed by the decisions of the United States Supreme
Court regarding powers of a territorial legislature, yet popular
clamor and factional resentments, were too strong for him on
the question of the right of the Southern States to secede.
Waterbury was no exception regarding this attitude.
The convenience of the voters at the March meetings had
not received the attention so important a matter as the sub
ject demanded. Farmers residing at the farthest removed
point from the "Street" and Center had been obliged to drive,
ride horseback or walk to the single polling place at the Center
each year in order to record their wishes and preferences at
town and freemen's meetings. It may be said that this duty
for the most part was uncomplainingly performed in all kinds of
weather and under all kinds of difficulties in the way of bad
roads and inadequate transportation. The same spirit might
well prod our latter day electorate into a similar sense of public
obligation. With this matter of convenience in view at the
March meeting in 1859 it was voted: "That the town and free
men's meetings be hereafter held alternately at the Street

112 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
and at the Center — that is, one year at the Street and one
year at the Center, commencing at the Street at our next
March meeting." At a town meeting. May 14, i860, it was
voted: "To instruct the selectmen to act in conjunction with
the selectmen of the town of Duxbury in building and estab
lishing a good and substantial Arch Bridge across Onion River
(at the south end of the public highway on H. F. Janes' land),
provided that the town of Waterbury shall be subject and
obliged to pay only five hundred dollars for building said
bridge and for the land damage of Albert Stern."
The decade of 1 850-1 860 marked no changes of importance
in the business life of the town. The merchants in 1859 were:
J. G. Stimson, C. N. Arms, Leland & Ashley, dry goods and
groceries. I. C. & L. Brown, D. M. Knights, O. A. & C. C.
Morse, groceries. W. W. Wells, flour and grain. C. & J. S.
Graves, hardware, stoves, etc. J. F. Henry, drugs. D. E.
Lucy, jeweller. J. M. Henry & Sons, wholesale patent medi
cines. Miss J. M. Cooke, millinery, Waterbury Village.
W. W. Wells, Woodworth & Lyon, dry goods and groceries,
Waterbury Center. Manufacturers: Thompson and Seabury,
woolens. V. R. Blush, Henry Kneeland, leather. Hewett &
Jones, stoves and hollow ware. James Crossett, lumber.
M. W. Shirtliff, clapboards. E. W. Ladd, marble. Daniel
Stowell, T. P. Glover, machinists. J. G. & E. A. Colby,
machine shop, willow peeling machines and willow ware.
J. M. Henry & Sons, Down's Elixir. There were five lawyers,
four physicians, one dentist and six clergymen in the village
and Center.
The daily village life was outwardly serene and undisturbed,
but a slowly growing undercurrent of anxiety was felt among
the groups of friendly disputants in the "old corner store"
and other places where the townsmen gathered to talk over
the ever- widening breach between the North and the South.
It was as if the first faint, distant premonitions of what Water
bury would so soon be called upon to undergo were becoming
gradually insistent. Nor was this anxiety allayed by the
Buchanan administration. The Lincoln-Douglas debates
had been eagerly followed by the people of Waterbury and

PERIOD 1850-1875 113
gave rise to minor local schisms as the grave issues of the day
were unfolded. And so the decade ended, while the thought
ful were gravely considering the signs of the times and the
wise-acres, no less in evidence then than now, were vociferously
predicting disaster.
A resume of Waterbury's vote at Freeman's meetings will
indicate the revulsion of feeling from the comparatively indif
ferent Whig attitude to the solidified Republican or new party
sentiment. In 1852 at the September meeting, Governor John S. Robin
son received 135 votes in Waterbury; Erastus Fairbanks re
ceived 106, and Laurence Brainard the same number. The
presidential electoral vote in November of that year gave the
Franklin Pierce electors, in Waterbury, 66 as against Winfield
Scott's Whig electors' 92, and this in spite of Pierce's unpopu
larity. A third set of electors received each, 55.
In 1853 Governor Robinson succeeded himself, receiving
locally 217 votes, to Erastus Fairbanks' 105 and L. Brainard 's
95- In 1854 Governor Stephen Royce received 191 votes, as
against Merritt Clark's 129.
In 1855 Governor Royce succeeded himself, receiving Water
bury's 238 votes, to Merritt Clark's 158.
In 1856 Governor Ryland Fletcher had 260 votes locally,
to Henry Keyes' 125. At the November meeting, 1856, the
Fremont Republican presidential electors received each 289,
as against 113 for the Democratic group representing the
local strength of James Buchanan, the successful Democratic
candidate. In 1857 Governor Ryland Fletcher received 210 votes, to
Henry Keyes' 121.
In 1858 and 1859 there are apparently no records in the town
clerk's office of the gubernatorial votes of those years.
With the approach of the spring of i860 the Anti-Slavery
sentiment had become so strong that the nomination of Abra
ham Lincoln in May and his election in November caused dark
forebodings among the more radical of the Abolitionists in
Waterbury and the surrounding towns. They remembered

114 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
that Mr. Lincoln had declared: "I have no purpose, directly
or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the
states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to
do so, and I have no inclination to do so." This was not at all
to the taste of those who had been fed up with William Lloyd
Garrison's propaganda — and there were many such in this
town and Washington County.
It is hardly possible at this day to give an adequate idea of
how high party feeling ran among Waterbury's 2,198 souls
during the early part of Lincoln's first administration. In
some instances the radical Abolitionists were even louder in
their denunciation of the President than the Democrats.
When the first company of troops was about to leave Waits
field for the front, a certain Abolitionist Lincoln-hater was
ridden on a rail by the boys of the company. Realizing that
the state of public feeling at the time precluded any form of
substantial legal redress, he waited until the war was over and
then sued the captain of the offending company and recov
ered damages in $700. In the old "corner store" in Water
bury a merchant became involved in a wrangle with a com
mercial traveler, in which the merchant made some slighting
reference to the President. He was promptly knocked down
by the irate drummer. Being a very dignified man he con
sulted with a friend about seeking legal redress for the assault.
His friend advised him to do nothing because it would be
impossible to find an unprejudiced jury in the community at
that time. He saw the reason and swallowed the affront.
The first call for troops by the President was for 75,000
militia of the several states to suppress the combinations
against the execution of the laws of the United States in South
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana
and Texas. This call was made in the form of a proclamation,
dated April 15, 1861, in which Congress was called to convene
in special session July 4, "then and there to consider and
determine such measures as, in their wisdom, the public safety
and interest may seem to demand." How promptly Water
bury responded to the call for troops may be gathered from the
fact that a company was recruited and drills were begun in the

PERIOD 1850-1875 115
early days of May. This was one of the ten companies se
lected by Adjutant-General Baxter to make up the Second
Regiment, the first of the three years regiments. This first
move at raising troops in Waterbury was made by Captain
Charles Dillingham, afterwards lieutenant-colonel of the
Eighth Vermont. Through his efforts the first company was
raised and drilled which should have been Company A,
by reason of its priority, but which went out as Company
D in the Second Vermont Regiment of Infantry, owing to
delay in the adjustment of the minutiae of the official national
muster. The ten companies comprising the Second Regiment
were recruited from the towns of Bennington, Brattleboro,
Burlington, Castleton, Fletcher, Ludlow, Montpelier, Tun-
bridge, Vergennes and Waterbury. The history of this famous
regiment makes stirring reading, taking part, as it did, in
twenty-eight engagements from Bull Run, July 21, 1861, to
Sailor's Creek, April 6, 1865, inclusive.
Mr. Franklin Carpenter, a mere lad of between fifteen and
sixteen years when the war broke out, relates how, after
obtaining the consent of his parents, he enlisted as a drummer
with Company D. Drills were had first in Waterbury, then
for a short time in Northfield and finally at the mobilization
camp in Burlington, known as "Camp Underwood" on the
old fair ground. Here the oath of allegiance was administered
to the troops by United States District Judge Smalley. One
unfortunate recruit declined to take the oath at the last minute
and was given a taste of military sentiment in the practical
form of being drummed out of camp. From Burlington the
regiments were transported to Washington with stops in Troy,
New York, and New York City. On the 26th of June the
regiment went into camp on Capitol Hill, Washington, where
it remained two weeks occupied in daily drills.
Mr. Carpenter recalls the impressions made on his youthful
mind by the magnificent appearance of the New York Zouaves,
under Colonel Ellsworth at Alexandria, Virginia, where the
Vermont Second was quartered at Bush Hill. The aggregate
number of officers and men, including gains in recruits of the
Second Regiment, was 1,858; there were killed in action, 4

Il6 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
officers and 134 enlisted men; of those dying of wounds there
were 2 officers and 80 enlisted men; deaths from disease were
139; deaths in Confederate prisons, not of wounds, were 22,
and deaths from accidents were 3.
The history of the various Vermont regiments in which
Waterbury was represented has already been written with such
telling force as might well be inspired by the deeds the histo
rian chronicled. The list of officers and men who entered the
service as from Waterbury numbers approximately 250. These
were divided up among the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth,
Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Thirteenth, Fifteenth
and Seventeenth Regiments of Infantry, also C Cavalry. As
we shall see, there were more Waterburyites in the Second,
Tenth, Thirteenth and Seventeenth Regiments than in the
others named. The number of engagements in which the
Third Regiment had honorable part between Lewinsville, Sep
tember II, 1861, and Petersburg, April 2, 1865, were twenty-
eight — with two exceptions the same battles in which the Sec
ond Regiment was also engaged. This is true also of the Fourth
Regiment, the Fifth Regiment and the Sixth Regiment. The
Seventh Regiment's list of engagements included Siege of
Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, Gonzales Station, Mobile, Spanish
Fort, and Whistler. The Eighth's list numbered eleven
between the occupation of New Orleans, May, 1862, and
Newtown, November 12, 1864. The list of the Ninth's battles
included Harper'.s Ferry, September 13, 1862; Newport Bar
racks, Chapin's Farm, Fair Oaks and Fall of Richmond, April
3, 1865. The Tenth Regiment was made up of companies
recruited in Bradford, Burlington, Waterbury, Rutland,
Swanton, St. Albans, Derby Line, and Ludlow. Company
B was from Waterbury and was organized August 4, 1862, by
Captain Edwin Dillingham.
As a spur to the gaining of recruits, large bounties were
personally pledged by private individuals and premiums
offered of $2.00 per capita of recruits by the general govern
ment to recruiting officers. By the first of September, 1862,
the Tenth Regiment of 1,016 officers and men was mustered
into service in the camp at Brattleboro. Several of the

PERIOD 1850-1875 117
officers had already seen service, notably Colonel Jewett, who
had previously served as first lieutenant with the First Regi
ment, Major William W. Henry, who had been lieutenant of
Company D, Second Regiment, and Surgeon Child of the
First Regiment. From the time when the Regiment went into
its first engagement (Orange Grove, November 27, 1863) until
it emerged from its last (Sailor's Creek, August 6, 1865), its
record was unvarying as to its readiness, courage and efficiency.
The esprit de corps remained intact throughout the inevitable
epidemic of regimental politics. The total deaths of the
regiment, including those killed in action (83) , those who died
of wounds (58), who died of disease (153), those who died in
Confederate prisons (38) and deaths by accident (2), were 332.
The Battle of the Opequon on the 19th of September will
long remain in the memory of loyal sons of Waterbury as the
historic engagement in which the brilliant, gallant young
Major Edwin Dillingham Wcis struck by a solid shot and killed.
The Battle of Cedar Creek on the 19th of October was a
decisive engagement in which Colonel William W. Henry,
though hardly convalescent from a sharp illness, was in com
mand. At the critical point in the ebbing and flowing of
advantage to the Union forces, and when, hardly pressed
along the whole line, they began to retreat slowly, exposed to a
cross-fire of musketry and artillery. Captain Lucien D. Thomp
son of Waterbury was killed. Captain Thompson assisted
Major Dillingham in the recruiting of Company B. In
December, 1862, he was promoted to a first lieutenancy in
Company G. He was reserved and retiring and his almost
painful modesty made him hesitate to accept promotion, but
it came when he was made captain of Company D, after a
baptism of fire in a dozen battles. His body was allowed to
remain on the battlefield for several hours and when found it
had been partially stripped by the enemy. It was brought to
Waterbury for burial. Speaking of the morale of the regiment
in this battle. Colonel Henry says in his report: " It is impossi
ble to particularize any officers or men, where all so fully per
formed their duty and behaved so nobly. "
The Seventeenth Regiment, although the last recruited in

Il8 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Vermont and necessarily having the briefest history in point
of time, nevertheless crowded into its eleven months of active
service in the field 13 fiercely fought battles, in which of the
aggregate of 1,118 officers and men, 70 were killed in action;
61 died of wounds ; 57 died of disease ; 279 total wounded, and
32 died in Confederate prisons. Of the twenty-two men from
Waterbury in the Seventeenth Regiment two were commis
sioned officers. Second Lieutenant J. Edwin Henry of Com
pany K, and Second Lieutenant Wilbur E. Henry of Com
pany K. In the final assault on Petersburg, April 2, 1865,
the regiment had about three hundred men in line in com
mand of Major Knapp. It made a first assault on the works
at the right of Fort Mahone but was compelled to fall back
to the rifle pits. Rallying for the second time the regiment
advanced to a second assault. During this battle, which was
the last the regiment was to engage in. Second Lieutenant
J. Edwin Henry of Waterbury was killed. He was a brother
of General William^ W. Henry and is described in these words
by the historian, Benedict: "Though a youth of but nineteen
years, he had already shown himself to be a capable and gal
lant officer. " His body was brought back to Waterbury and
buried April 30, 1865.
The Waterbury contingent in the single cavalry regiment
from Vermont appears to have numbered less than a dozen
men. The history of the regiment shows that it comprised
from the beginning to the last 2,297 officers and men and was
raised under the direct authority of the United States, instead
of being recruited under the state authorities. Company C
was recruited in Washington County and was captained by
William Wells whose genius as a cavalry commander was
afterwards extolled by such chieftains as General Sheridan
and General Custer. The number of killed in the regiments'
seventy-five engagements were 63 officers and men; those
dying of wounds were 39; those dying of disease were 112;
those dying unwounded in Confederate prisons were approxi
mately 130. The regiment averaged participation in two
engagements each month between Mount Jackson, April 16,
1862, and Appomattox Court House, April 9, 1865, inclusive.

PERIOD 1850-1875 119
The rapid rise to promotion and distinction of Captain William
Wells will be noted later in a brief sketch of that intrepid leader.
Time has softened many asperities and mellowed many a
disposition to criticise and find fault. If President Lincoln
found it in his heart to make allowances for dereliction in
mihtary duty and to intercede for unfortunate offenders,
it ill becomes us at this late day, without any knowledge of the
merits of each case, to condemn those Waterbury soldiers
whose shortcomings have been officially recorded. "There
was glory enough to go 'round, " as Admiral Schley said of the
naval battle of Santiago in 1898. The frailties of the brave
men who went from Waterbury have been bathed in the lustre
of their achievements as a whole. A far abler panegyrist has
eloquently spoken on Waterbury's soldiers in the language of
affectionate regard that can be commanded only by one having
had intimate and neighborly association with them. Indeed,
when all is said, the Memorial Day offering of May 30, 1914.
will stand as a masterpiece in that regard.
List of Commissioned Officers
Brevet Major-General William Wells, age twenty-three,
C Cavalry. (Com. ist Lieut. Co. C, Oct. 14, '61 ; Capt.,
Nov. 18, '61; Maj., Oct. 30, '62; Col., June 4, '64; Bvt. Brig.
Gen., Feb. 22, '65; Brig. Gen., May 19, '65; Bvt. Maj. Gen.;
wounded, July 6, '62; Sept. 13, '63.)
Brevet Brigadier-General William W. Henry, age thirty.
Company D, Second Regiment. (Com. ist Lieut., May 22,
'61; Maj. loth, Aug. 26, '62; Lieut. Col., Oct. 17, '62; Col.,
April 26, '64; Bvt. Brig. Gen., March 9, '65; wounded. Cold
Harbor, May, '64; res. Dec. 17, '64.)
Colonel Henry Janes, Surgeon, age twenty-nine. (Com.
surg. 3rd, June 24, '61; Surg. U. S. V., March 26, '63; Bvt.
Lieut. Col. U. S. V., March 13, '65.)
Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Dillingham, age twenty-four.
Company D, Second Regiment. (Com. Capt., May 21, '61;
Maj. 8th, Jan. 18, '62; Lieut. Col., Dec. 24, '62; res. Dec. 12,
•63.) Major Edwin Dillingham, age twenty-two. Company B,

120 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Tenth Regiment. (Com. Capt., Aug. 4, '62; Maj., June 17,
'64; killed in service at Winchester, or Opequon, Sept. 19, '64.)
Major Frederic P. Drew, Surgeon. (Died in service.)
Major James B. Woodward, Surgeon.
Captain George H. Carpenter.
Captain Lucien D. Thompson, age thirty-one. Company
B, Tenth Regiment. (Com. 2nd Lieut., Aug. 4, '62; ist
Lieut. Co. G, Dec. 27, '62; Capt. Co. D, June 17, '64; killed
at Cedar Creek, Oct. 19, '64.)
First Lieutenant Charles E. Bancroft, age thirty-two,
Company I, Thirteenth Regiment. (Com. ist Lieut., Sept.
23, '62; res. Jan. 8, '63.)
First Lieutenant Mason Humphrey, Company — , N. H.
Fifth Regiment. (Killed at Cold Harbor, June, '64.)
First Lieutenant Don D. Stone. (Died in service.)
Second Lieutenant Justin Carter, age twenty-three. Com
pany B, Tenth Regiment. (Com. 2nd Lieut., Jan. '63; res.
Feb. 4, '64.)
Second Lieutenant Charles G. Gregg, age twenty-one,
Company D, Second Regiment. (Com. 2nd Lieut., May 21,
•61.) Second Lieutenant J. Edwin Henry, age nineteen. Company
K, Seventeenth Regiment. (Com. 2nd Lieut., Sept. 22, '64;
killed at Petersburg, April 2, '65.)
Second Lieutenant Wilbur E. Henry, age twenty. Company
K, Seventeenth Regiment. (Prom. 2nd Lieut., July 2, '65.)
List of Non-Commissioned Officers
Asa C. Atherton, age twenty-four. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. (Serg. ; dis. Jan. 15, '63.)
Quincy A. Green, Company B , Tenth Regiment. (Wounded,
Cold Harbor; prom, serg., April 11, '65.)
Charles C. Guptil, age twenty-one. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. (Reenlisted 3rd, Bat. serg.; red. Sept. i, '64;
prom. Corp., Oct. i, '64.)
Thomas Brudenell, age eighteen. Company I, Ninth Regi
ment. (Corp.; red.)
George Center, age twenty-four. Company D, Second Regi-

PERIOD 1850-1875 121
ment. (Corp.; wounded at Fredericsburg; transferred to
invalid corps.)
Augustus L. Fisher, age twenty-two. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. (Corp.)
Warren C. Oilman, age twenty-nine. Company D, Second
Regiment. (Corp.)
Darius A. Gray, age twenty-one. Company E, Sixth Regi
ment. (Drafted; corp.)
Allen Greeley, age twenty. Company B, Tenth Regiment.
(Corp. ; wounded at Cold Harbor; died in service July i , '64.)
Hugh H. Griswold, age nineteen. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. (Corp. red.; prom, serg.; reenlisted Co. E, 17th
Reg't.;serg.) Lorenzo B. Gubtil, age twenty-two. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. (ReenUsted Co. K, 17th Reg't.)
Frank Hart, age eighteen. Company D, Second Regiment.
(Reenlisted April 19, '64; corp.)
Willis G. Hawley. (Corp.)
Daniel J. Hill, age thirty-one. Cavalry C. (Serg.; wounded
at Gettysburg; transferred to invalid corps.)
Pliny H. Moffitt, age twenty-one, C Cavalry. (Reenlisted
Dec. 28, '63; prom, serg., Nov. 19, '64; prom. com. serg., Jan.
21, '65; transferred to D.)
Henry G. Phillips, age twenty-six, C Cavalry. (Serg. red.;
prom, serg.)
Charles O. Humphrey, age twenty-three. Company I,
Thirteenth Regiment. (Corp.)
Charles B. Lee, age tw;enty-three. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. (Corp. ; died in service in 1863.)
Henry L. Marshall, age twenty-four. Company B, Tenth
Regiment. (Corp.; wounded, Cold Harbor, June i, '64.)
James W. Marshall, age thirty-five. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. (Corp.)
Tabor H. Parcher, age twenty-four. Company B, Tenth
Regiment. (Corp. ; dis. July 6, '64.)
Edwin Parker, age eighteen, Company B, Tenth Regiment.
(Corp.)

122 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Edward N. Phelps, age twenty-two. Company I, Ninth
Regiment. (Corp. red.; transferred to veteran corps.)
Tilton C. Sleeper. (Corp.)
Sidney H. Woodward, age eighteen. Company B, Tenth
Regiment. (Wounded, Cold Harbor, June, i, '65; prom.
Corp., April 3, '63.) List of Privates
Charles Arms.
Eli Ashley, age twenty-four. Company I, Ninth Regiment.
Alfred Y. Ayers, age nineteen. Company D, Tenth Regiment.
(Prisoner, June 12, '64; died at Salisbury.)
Asa C. Atherton, age twenty-four. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. (Serg.; dis. Jan. 15, '63.)
Dennis A. Bickford, age eighteen. Company A, Eighth
Regiment. (Died in service, Oct. 6, '62.)
Hiram R. Bickford, age forty. Company D, Tenth Regi
ment. Riley M. Bickford, age twenty-four. Company D, Second
Regiment. Dennis Bissonnette, age thirty. Company K, Seventeenth
Regiment. (Wounded.)
Alonzo Bragg, age twenty-six, Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. Edmond C. Bragg, age twenty-two. Company G, Second
Regiment. (Killed at Cold Harbor, June 3, '64.)
James Bragg, age twenty-eight. Company G, Second Regi
ment. James Briggs, age forty. Company B, Tenth Regiment.
(Dis. May 15, '65.)
Consider W. Brink, age twenty-six. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. William F. Brink, age twenty, Company D, Second Regi
ment. (Reenlisted Dec. 21, '63.)
Carmichael A. Brown.
Christopher B. Brown, age twenty-two, Company D,
Second Regiment.
George Brown, age thirty-eight, Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. (Died in Andersonville, July 26, '64.)

PERIOD 1850-1875 123
George W. Brown, age twenty-eight, Cavalry C.
Haverhill S. Burleigh, age thirty-nine. Company B, Tenth
Regiment. (Died of wounds at Cold Harbor, June 20, '64.)
Henry B. Burleigh. ;Killed.)
Martin Cane, age eighteen. Company B, Tenth Regiment.
(Died in service at Danville, Jan. 29, '65.)
Oscar Camp, age twenty-eight, Company G, Eighth Regi
ment. William C. Canning.
Franklin Carpenter, age seventeen. Company D, Second
Regiment. Michael Carr, age eighteen. Cavalry C. (Reenlisted Dec.
28, '63.)
Patrick Carver, age twenty. Company D, Fifth Regiment.
Ransom Chaffee, age twenty-five. Company A, Second
Regiment. (Drafted.)
Amos C. Chase, age forty-four. Company C, Seventeenth
Regiment. (Lost arm at Weldon R. R., Sept. 30, '64.)
Cassius G. Chesley.
William Clark.
Charles N. Collins, age sixteen. Company D, Second Regi
ment. (Died in service, Dec. 17, '61.)
Ezra W. Conant, age nineteen. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. (Wounded, Nov. 27, '63.)
Joseph B. Conant, age twenty-one. Company C, Fifteenth
Regiment. (Died in service, April 12, '63.)
George Colby, age nineteen. Company D, Second Regiment.
(Corp.; reenlisted Dec. 21, '63; wounded; dis. Feb. 5, '65.)
James Crawford, age twenty -two. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. S. Evander Cree, age twenty-one. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. Edwin C. Crossett, age eighteen. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. Willis H. Crossett, age eighteen. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. (Wounded; reenlisted in Regulars.)
Daniel Dalley, Company B, Tenth Regiment. (Transferred
toD.)

124 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Edwin H. Dana, age thirty-two. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. (Wounded, Nov. 31, '64.)
Oliver W. Davis, age twenty-eight. Company C, Fifteenth
Regiment. Albert Define, age twenty-five. Company 13, Second Regi
ment. John Define, age twenty-five. Company E, Seventh Regi
ment. (Dis. Oct. 15, '62.)
Joseph H. Demeritt, age twenty-one. Company I, Thir
teenth Regiment.
Harper A. Demmon, age forty-two. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. (Transferred to C, Oct. 11, '62.)
Henry B. Demmon.
Henry Dillingham, Company E, Seventeenth Regiment.
{Died in service, July 13, '64.)
Richard D. Dodge, age forty, Company K, Seventeenth
Regiment. Alba D. Dutton.
Thomas F. Dwyer, age thirty. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. Wilber Foster, age twenty-one. Company D, Second Regi
ment. (Dis. Oct. 20, '62.)
Patrick Flaherty, age thirty-four. Company D, Second
Regiment. (Dis. Dec. 18, '62.)
Joseph O. Freeman, age twenty-one. Company B, Tenth
Regiment. (Wounded, July 9, '64.)
Daniel N. French, age twenty-eight. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. Henry E. French.
Martin E. French, Company I, Thirteenth Regiment.
(Wounded.) Joseph Gabaree, age thirty-three. Company K, Seventeenth
Regiment. George Gale.
Benjamin Gagnon.
Isaac Godfrey, age twenty-two. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. Jacob Godfrey, age nineteen, Conipany B, Tenth Regiment.

PERIOD 1850-1875 125
Lyman Godfrey, age twenty-five. Company C, Fifteenth
Regiment. (Reenlisted in Co. C, 17th Reg't; died in service,
Salisbury, Oct. 2, '64.)
Nobles Godfrey, age twenty-five. Company C, Seventeenth
Regiment. Timothy C. Godfrey, age thirty-one. Company D, Second
Regiment. (Dis. June 2, '62.)
William Goodwin, age thirty-four. Company K, Seventeenth
Regiment. Hamilton Glines, age forty. Company B, Tenth Regiment.
(Wounded, Cold Harbor, Va.; died in service, June 18, '64.)
Ira S. Gray, age twenty-four, Company D, Fifth Regiment.
(Killed, Savage Station, June 29, '62.)
Milo K. Gray, age twenty-two. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. Charles Greeley.
Almon D. Griffin, first S. S. F. Music.
Horace M. Griffith, age eighteen. Company K, Seventeenth
Regiment. Emery Guptil, age eighteen. Company D, Fifth Regiment.
(Reenlisted; wounded.)
Edmund Guinan, Third Battery.
George Hakey, age eighteen. Company K, Seventeenth
Regiment. William Hall, age twenty-six, Company D, Second Regi
ment. Isaac Harris, Jr., age thirty-five. Company C, Fifteenth
Regiment. (Dis. June 19, '63.)
Leonard Hart, Company C, Fifteenth Regiment.
Alonzo Hart, age thirty-seven. Company D, Second Regi
ment. Frederic A. Hart, age twenty-five, Company D, Second Regi
ment. Benjamin L. Hawley, age twenty-two. Company H, Seven
teenth Regiment.
Franklin S. Henry, age twenty. Company K, Seventeenth
Regiment.

126 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
George S. Henry, age nineteen. Company K, Seventeenth
Regiment. Martin L. Henry, age nineteen. Cavalry C. (Reenlisted,
4th Hancock Corps.)
Franklin J. Hill
George W. Hill, age forty-four. Company G, Fourth Regi
ment. (Dis. June 3, '62.)
Martin Hogan.
James O. Hovey, age twenty. Company D, Second Regi
ment. (Reenlisted Dec. 21, '63.)
George Hubbard, age twenty-two. Company D, Second
Regiment. (Reenlisted Jan. i, '63; killed, Spottsylvania,
May 12, '64.)
Robert Hunkins, age twenty-two. Company D, Second
Regiment. (Reenlisted Jan. 31, '63; killed. Wilderness, May
5. '64-)
Frank Huntley, age eighteen. Company D, Second Regi
ment. Charles A. Hutchins, Company E, Seventeenth Regiment.
(Reenlisted Feb. 15, '64.)
Henry D. Hutchins, Company D, Second Regiment.
William H. Hutchins, age nineteen. Company K, Seven
teenth Regiment.
Andrew Jackson.
John Jerome, age thirty-two. Company B, Tenth Regiment.
(Dis. April 16, '63; reenlisted Co. K, 17th Reg't.)
Allen Jewitt, age eighteen, Company G, Fourth Regiment.
(Dis. March 2, '62.)
Cornelius Jocko.
Marcellus B. Johnson, age twenty-one. Company G, Fourth
Regiment. (Died Oct. 7, '62, of wound received Sept. 15,
'62, South Mountain.)
Daniel Jones, age twenty-nine. Company E, Eleventh Regi
ment. James W. Jones, age thirty-five. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. (Wounded and dis. May 15, '65.)
Edwin Joslyn, age seventeen, S. S. E. 2. (Died in service,
July II, '62.)

PERIOD 1850-1875 127
John Kellogg, Company I, Thirteenth Regiment. (Dis.
Nov. 28, '62.)
Edward Kirby, age twenty-two. Company A, Seventh
Regiment. (Mustered out, Aug. 30, '64.)
Charles La Page, Company K, Seventh Regiment.
Henry Lee. (Died in service.)
James Linnehen, age forty-four. Company D, Fifth Regi
ment. (Mustered out, June 29, '65.)
Henry L. Locke.
Burton G. Locke.
Sayles H. Locke, age twenty-three. Company D, Second
Regiment. (Died in service, April 26, '62.)
Austin J. Loomis, age thirty-four. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. Or lin W. Loomis.
James Madigan, age eighteen. Company I, Ninth Regiment.
Ira A. Marshall, age thirty-eight, Company D, Second Regi
ment. (Dis. July 16, '62.)
Dennis Martin, age eighteen. Company H, Sixth Regiment.
(Reenlisted March i, '64.)
John Martin, age twenty-one. Battery 3.
Patrick Martin, Company H, Sixth Regiment.
William P. Mason, Jr.
Hatrison Maynard.
John McCaffrey, Company A, Sixth Regiment.
Luther Merriam.
Charles Moody, age twenty-one. Company K, Seventeenth
Regiment. Dexter Moody, age twenty-seven. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. Hartwell Moody, age thirty-one. Company D, Second Regi
ment. Samuel Morey, age twenty-three. Company D, Second Regi
ment. Michael Morrisey, age eighteen. Company G, Second Regi
ment. (Reenlisted in Cowans Battery.)
Joseph B. Morse.

128 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Thomas Morway, age twenty-nine. Company H, Thirteenth
Regiment. Lucian M. Murray, age twenty-one. Company G, Fourth
Regiment. (Died in service, Nov. 8, '62.)
Walter H. Nelson, age eighteen. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. (Wounded, Nov. 27, '63, June i, '64.)
James Nichols. (Died in service.)
John O'Connor, age eighteen. Company I, Fourth Regiment.
Patrick O'Connor, age sixteen. Company K, Seventeenth
Regiment. (Music.)
Henry F. Parker, age twenty-one. Company D, Second
Regiment. (Dis. May 29, '62.)
Lucius L. Pollard, age twenty-five. Company G, Third
Regiment. (Drafted.)
Philander A. Preston, age twenty-seven, C Cavalry; born
in Waterbury, Nov. 27, 1833. (Enlisted Vt. Cav., Sept. I , '61 ;
with Reg't till July 6, '63; wounded; in hospital till Dec;
returned to duty; reenlisted Jan. '64; taken prisoner. Stony
Creek Station; thence to Andersonville and Charleston;
finally to Florence where he was literally starved to death.)
Carlos Prescott, age twenty-three. Company D, Second
Regiment. (Dis. July 24, '62; died of disease contracted in
service.) Leroy Prescott, age nineteen. Company I, Thirteenth Regi
ment. George Ray, Company D, Fifth Regiment.
George C. Rice, age eighteen. Company G, Tenth Regi
ment. (Died at Alexandria, before joining regiment in
field.) Winslow C. Rollins, age twenty-six. Company D, Second
Regiment. Alva Rowell, age twenty-six. Company I, Thirteenth Regi
ment. (Reenlisted; killed at Wilderness.)
John W. Sawyer, age twenty-nine. Company B, Tenth
Regiment. Calvin E. Seaver, age twenty-seven. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. Henry G. Sherman.

PERIOD 1850-1875 129
Curtis C. Sleeper, age nineteen. Company C, Second Regi
ment. (Dis. Nov. I, '62; wounded, June 29, '62.)
David D. Sleeper.
James W. Sleeper.
John R. Slowcum.
Clifford Smith, age twenty-one. Company A, Seventh Regi
ment. Charles Smith, age forty-five. Company B, Tenth Regiment.
(Transferred to invalid corps, July i, '63.)
Jerry Smith, age twenty-six. Company A, Seventh Regi
ment. George E. Smith, age nineteen. Company D, Second Regi
ment. Herschall F. Smith, age twenty -six. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. William C. Smith, age eighteen. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. William D. Smith, age twenty-two. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. William H. Stimson, age twenty-four. Company C, Third
Regiment. (Jan. 29, '62; dis. Feb. 3, '63; wounded, June 29,
'62.) Frank Stearns, age eighteen. Company C, Seventeenth
Regiment. (Died Jan. 6, '64, of wounds received in action
May 12, '64.)
Benjamin F. Stone. (Died in service.)
Horatio G. Stone, age nineteen. Company D, Second Regi
ment. (Died of wounds received at Wilderness, May 4, '64.)
John Stone, M Cavalry. (Saddler.)
Orvand A. Stone, age thirty-two. Company I, Thirteenth
Regiment. Willard S. Stone, age twenty-four. Company D, Second
Regiment. (Killed at Wilderness, May 5, '64.)
Wayland A. Strong, age twenty-two. Company K, Seven
teenth Regiment..
Ekiward Taylor, age eighteen. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. Joseph Tate, Company D, Fifth Regiment.

130 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
John Toban, Company D, Fifth Regiment.
George Tatro, age twenty-eight, Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. (Died Dec. 28, '64.)
Burton C. Turner, age eighteen. Company D, Second Regi
ment. (Died in service, Nov. 5, '64.)
Chauncey Turner, age twenty, Company D, Second Regi
ment. (Drafted.)
Alexander Warden.
Charles Wells.
Edward Wells, age twenty-five, Fifth Regiment. (Band;
dis. Feb. 20, '62.)
Edwin H. Wells, age twenty-two. Company K, Seventeenth
Regiment. Henry Wells, age twenty-five. Company A, Seventh Regi
ment. (Died Aug. 9, '62, in service.)
Liberty White, age forty-fb^ur, Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. George S. Whitney.
George I. Wilson, Company D, Second Regiment.
Henry M. Wood, age eighteen. Company E, Eighth Regi
ment. (Died in service, Sept. 13, '63.)
William W. Wood, age nineteen. Company E, Eighth Regi
ment. (Died in service, July 14, '63.)
Theodore Wood. (Killed in service.)
George S. Woodward, age twenty-two, C Cavalry. (Killed
in service, April 3, '63.)
Ira S. Woodward, age eighteen. Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. William Woodward, age nineteen, Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. William Charles Woodruff, age twenty-six. Company I,
Thirteenth Regiment.
Charles B. Wooster.
B. Franklin Wright, age eighteen. Company D, Second
Regiment. Hiram P. Wright, age twenty-eight, C Cavalry. (WoiJnded
himself.) Charles S. Wrisley, age twenty-eight. Company C, Fifteenth
Regiment.

PERIOD 1850-1875 131
Jacob Wrisley, age nineteen. Company D, Second Regiment.
Warner W. Wrisley.
George W. York, age thirty-three. Company K, Second
Regiment. (Drafted ; died of wounds received at Wilderness.)
John W. York, age twenty-one. Company D, Second Regi
ment. (Reenlisted as color bearer for Gen. Wright com'd'g
6th Corps.)
Gustavus S. Young.
Hiram Young, age forty-four. Company B, Tenth Regiment.
(Died in service.)
Joseph E. Young, age thirty-six, Company B, Tenth Regi
ment. (Wounded at Spottsylvania.)
Nathaniel J. Young.
At the May (6th) town meeting in 1861 it was voted : "That
the selectmen are hereby authorized to draw orders on the
town treasurer for the purpose of defraying the expenses of
the drill now going on in Waterbury and for furnishing an out
fit and necessary clothing of such volunteers from said town
as shall be mustered into the military service of the state or
the United States not to exceed the sum of six hundred dollars
in the whole. Said selectmen to examine and audit all accounts
presented and allow such as they deem just and equitable."
At the town meeting, September, 1862, it was voted : " That
the town do pay to each man who has or shall volunteer and
who is accepted, mustered in and shall serve as a nine months'
militia man to the number that is the town's quota under the
call of the President for three hundred thousand militia to
serve nine months in the present war, the sum of twenty-five
dollars each bounty and seven dollars per month for such time
as they serve provided the State or General Government does
not assume the payment of the same."
At a town meeting, October 27, 1862, it was voted: "To
pay Isaac Harris, Jr., Oliver W. Davis, Charles S. Wrisley,
Joseph Conant, Leonard Hart and Lyman Godfrey seventy-
five dollars each in addition to the twenty-five dollars already
voted by the town or county for enlisting into the military
service of the United States from the town of Waterbury."

132 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
At a town meeting, November 30, 1863, it was voted: "To
pay each volunteer from this town a bounty of three hundred
dollars when mustered into the United States service."
At a town meeting, December 14, 1863, at which W. W.
Wells presided as moderator, it was voted: "That there be
raised, levied, collected and paid into the town treasury on or
before the ist day of January, 1864, one hundred and fourteen
cents on the dollar of the Grand List of the town for 1863 to pay
the bounties to volunteers," and "Voted: That the selectmen
are instructed in their discretion to borrow not to exceed seven
thousand five hundred dollars for the purpose of paying the
bounties to the volunteers."
At a town meeting, June 18, 1864, it was voted: "That the
selectmen be instructed to raise men sufficient to fill the
expected call at a sum not exceeding three hundred dollars
each and that the selectmen raise the money to pay said sum
on the credit of the town, provided said persons are accepted
and mustered into the service of the United States."
At a town meeting, August 4, 1864, it was voted: "That
the selectmen pay to the men enlisting and are accepted and
mustered into the United States service the sum of two hun
dred dollars each in addition to the three hundred dollars
heretofore voted for the same purpose and that they pledge
the credit of the town in such manner as they deem best to
meet said expense," also "Voted that the above sum of five
hundred dollars be paid to such volunteers only as are mus
tered into the United States service for three years and all
those that are mustered in for a less time are to be paid in that
proportion for the time that they are mustered in for and that
the selectmen borrow the money for four months at six per
cent interest of individuals or the bank as in their discretion
they shall deem best for the interests of the town."
At a town meeting held August 4, 1 864, it was voted : " That
the selectmen be and they are hereby instructed to deposit
twenty seven hundred dollars in the Bank of Waterbury to the
credit of the adjutant general of the state of Vermont to be
paid for men enlisted by the commissioner from this state, in
states in rebellion under the late act of Congress and mustered

PERIOD 1850-1875 133
into the United States service and credited on the quota of
this town."
At a town meeting held January 26, 1865, it was voted:
"That the selectmen be and they are hereby authorized to
raise the quota of the town under the call of December 19,
1 864, and to pay such bounties as in their discretion they may
think proper and also that the selectmen be and are hereby
authorized to enlist men at any time and to pay such bounties
as in their discretion they may think proper."
Between the town meeting of June 18, 1864, at which it was
voted to raise men to fill the expected call at a sum not exceed
ing $300 each , and authorizing the selectmen to raise the money
on the town's credit, and the meeting of August 4, 1864, when
it was voted to pay $200 in addition to the $300 already voted,
an indemnity agreement was circulated in Waterbury for the
signatures of those willing to save harmless the selectmen,
each in the sum of $200, until the next town meeting August
4, 1864. This indemnity agreement, bearing date July 22,
1864, was signed by one hundred and two substantial citizens.
At a town meeting November 25, 1865, it was voted: "To
instruct the selectmen to proceed and build the bridge recom
mended by the Courts' committee and ordered by the Wash
ington County Court to be built across the Winooski River, in
conjunction with the town of Duxbury, by contract or other
wise as in their judgment will be the best for the town."
What adequate eulogies can there be of the patriotic spirit
which permeated large Waterbury families; of that devo
tion animating men like the Wells brothers, to lay every
thing on the altar of the Union's cause? Four sons of William
W. Wells responded to the call for troops, Edward William,
Curtis and Charles. The common schools of Waterb'ury,
Barre Academy and Kimball Union Academy of Meriden,
New Hampshire, afforded such educational opportunities
as were available to William Wells outside of the practical
training he received in making a survey of Washington County
and as assistant to his father in his extensive business. At
the age of twenty-three, September 9, 1861, William Wells
enlisted as a private soldier and busied himself in helping to

134 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
raise Company C, First Regiment, Vermont Cavalry. He
was sworn into service October 3, i86i ; on the 14th he received
a first lieutenant's commission; on the 1 8th of November he
attained his captaincy and the following day mustered with
the Field and Staff of the First Regiment, Vermont Cavalry,
to serve for three years. His commission as major came
December 30, 1862, and he was mustered the same date. A
unanimous recommendation of the officers of his regiment
resulted in his being commissioned colonel June 4, 1864.
Then came his appointment as brevet brigadier-general of
volunteers, February 22, 1865, and brevet major-general,
"for gallant and meritorious service," March 13, 1865. Prob
ably the most authoritative cavalry officers in that branch
of the service were Generals Sheridan and Custer. It was
upon their joint recommendation that General Wells received
his commission as full brigadier-general May 19, 1865, Gen
eral Sheridan characterizing him as his "ideal of a cavalry
officer." In March, 1864, he was placed in command of the
Seventh Michigan Cavalry, by order of General Kilpatrick,
and continued in command for several weeks on Kilpatrick's
Raid, near Richmond.
As major on Wilson's Raid, south of Richmond, he was
in command of his regiment from date of muster as colonel
until September 19, 1864, at which time he was placed in com
mand of the Second Brigade, Third Division, Cavalry Corps,
Army of the Potomac. He was still in command of this
brigade when Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox,
Virginia, April 9, 1865, remaining so until he took over the
command of the Third Cavalry Division, May 22, 1865. He
had taken this same command several times between Septem
ber 19, 1864, and April 9, 1865. Trouble in Texas took both
cavalry generals, Sheridan and Custer, away from Virginia;
their departure left General Wells as ranking officer of the
cavalry corps from June i, 1865, to June 24, 1865. He was
the last commander of Sheridan's Corps. He was in com
mand of the First Separate Brigade, Twenty-Second Army
Corps, from June 24, 1865, to July 24, 1865, and was mustered
out of service January 15, 1866.

PERIOD 1850-1875 135
General Wells had to his credit an active and foremost
participation in the, following battles and skirmishes while
campaigning with the First Regiment Cavalry: Middletown,
Winchester, Luray Court House, Culpeper Court House,
where he charged the enemy's artillery, captured a gun and
was wounded for the second time by a shell. Orange Court
House, where he was in the thickest of the fight, Kelly's Ford,
Waterloo Bridge, Bull Run, Warrenton, Hanover, where he
commanded the Second Battalion of Cavalry of the First
Vermont in a repulse of J. E. B. Stuart's Cavalry, Hunters-
town, Gettysburg, where July 3, 1863, he commanded the
leading battalion charge on Round Top, riding by the side of
General Farnsworth, the Brigade commander, who was
killed. How General Wells escaped was miraculous as the
charge penetrated the opposing lines for nearly three quarters
of a mile. Other engagements in which General Wells took
part were Monterey, Leitersville, Hagerstown, Falling Waters,
Port Conway, Somerville Ford, Raccoon Ford, James City,
Brandy Station, Gainesville, Bucklam Mills, Falmouth,
Morton's Ford, Mechanicsville, Piping Tree, Craig's Meeting
House, Spottsylvania, Yellow Tavern, Meadow Bridge, White
Oak Swamp, Riddle's Shop, Ashland, Hawe's Shop, Bottom
Bridge, Malvern Hill, Ream's Station, Nottoway Court House,
Roanoke Station, Strong Creek, Summit Point, Charlestown,
West Virginia, Kearneysville, Boonsboro, where he was
wounded by a sabre cut. He was in command of a battalion
of General Sheridan's Cavalry Corps at Yellow Tavern, Vir
ginia, May II, 1864, when his great cavalry opponent. General
Stuart, was killed. He commanded a brigade of Custer's
Division at Tom's Brook October 9, 1864.
The momentous and decisive battle of Cedar Creek, im
mortalized in the poem "Sheridan's Ride," and the war melo
drama of Bronson Howard, "The Shenandoah," was another
of the great battles in which General Wells took part. In
this battle, fought October 19, 1864, his brigade took a
leading part in turning the rout of the Federal troops in the
morning into a victory at night. Of General Early's forty-
five pieces of artillery captured, the First Vermont took

136 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
twenty-three, this being the heaviest capture attributed to a
single regiment during the war. Other engagements were
Middle Road, Lacey's Springs, Waynesboro, Five Forks,
Scott's Corner, Namozine Creek, Winticomack, Appomattox
Station and Appomattox Court House. On the morning
of Lee's surrender, his brigade had started on its last charge
and was stopped by General Custer in person. The total
number of his engagements of cavalry were seventy, in eighteen
of which he led either a brigade or division. He was a prisoner
of war in Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia, from March 17,
1863, to May 6, 1863. His biographer says of his record:
"The official record speaks for itself, and General Wells's
military career throughout four years and a half in the War of
the Rebellion evinces the highest personal qualities of a
cavalry commander, combining coolness, promptness, and
dcU"ing intrepidity with most thoughtful consideration for his
men." The Vermont Legislature of 191 2 appropriated $6000 to
commemorate the services and perpetuate the memory of
Major-General William Wells and the officers and enlisted
men of the First Regiment, Vermont Cavalry, near the spot
where the regiment began its desperate charge July 3, 1863,
on the battlefield of Gettysburg. A heroic bronze statue of
General Wells, surmounting a base of two boulders, each inset
with appropriate bronze tablets, now marks the historic spot.
The unveiUng of the statue, July 3, 1913, was an occasion
of elaborate ceremony, to which was invited a long roster of
distinguished guests. Among the speakers was Senator Wil
liam P. Dillingham who tellingly pointed out that in a period
of less than five years and at a time in life when young men
are commonly found in colleges and universities. General
Wells had passed from the rank of private to that of
brigadier-general and brevet major-general of Volunteers of
the United States Army ; and that "at an age when most men
are but entering the activities of life, he had made a record,
the brilliance of which fifty years of time have failed to lessen,
and which is now recognized by those not then born."
A second statue of General Wells was dedicated at Battery

PERIOD 1850-1875 137
Park, Buriington, May 30, 1914. The bronze figure is a
replica in bronze of the statue at Gettysburg. A replica of
the cavalry charge in bas-relief was presented by Mr. Frank
Richardson Wells, a son of General Wells, for placing upon the
pedestal. October 5, 1910, a bronze medallion portrait of
General Wells was dedicated in the State House at Mont
pelier. General Wells was married, January 18, 1866, to Miss
Arahanna Richardson, who was born July 20, 1845, in Fitch-
burg, Massachusetts. Children of the marriage were Frank
Richardson and Bertha Richardson. Frank Richardson Wells
was born February i, 1871, in Burlington, and was married
in California November 7, 1900, to Miss Jean Mary Hush of
Oakland, California. Bertha Richardson Wells was born
April 23, 1873, and was married in Burlington July 6, 1899,
to Doctor Horatio Nelson Jackson, of Burlington. Mrs. Wells
died suddenly in BurHngton, June 12, 1905.
With characteristic energy General Wells threw himself
into the pursuits of peace after the Civil War. He entered a
firm of wholesale druggists in Waterbury, which soon removed
to Burlington in 1868. He was town representative of Water
bury in the Legislature of 1865-1866. In 1866 he was elected
adjutant-general of Vermont and held the office until 1872.
In 1872 he was appointed collector of customs for the District
of Vermont; in the thirteen years of his incumbency he did
much to increase the importance of the post and brought to
his administration rare efficiency and system; at the expira
tion of thirteen years he returned to the firm of Wells, Rich
ardson & Company. He was state senator from Chittenden
County in 1886, and at different times became identified or
associated with such large interests as the Burlington Trust
Company (president), Burlington Gas- Light Company (pres
ident), Burlington Board of Trade (president), Burlington
Cold Storage Company (director), Rutland Railroad Company
(director), and Champlain Transportation Company (direc
tor). He was a member and a vestryman of St. Paul's
Church, a trustee of the Y. M. C. A. of Burlington, and one
of its enthusiastic supporters. He died of angina pectoris
10

138 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
in New York April 29, 1892, and was buried in Lake View
Cemetery, Burlington.
William Wirt Henry, son of James M. and Matilda (Gale)
Henry, was born November 21, 1831, in Waterbury. His
school training was confined to the district schools and one
term in People's Academy of Morrisville. He was fired with
the same ambition that sent so many Argonauts from New
England to CaHfornia in 1852. He returned to Waterbury in
1857 and joined his father and brother in business. He
disposed of his interest in 1861, and promptly enlisted as a
private in Company D, Second Vermont Volunteers. Soon
he was promoted to a first lieutenancy and took part in the
first battle of Bull Run. Mustered out on a surgeon's cer
tificate a few months afterwards, he returned to the service
August 26, 1862, as major of the Tenth Infantry, Vermont
Volunteers. His gallant and meritorious service advanced
him rapidly to the grades of lieutenant-colonel, colonel and
finally brevet brigadier-general. He commanded his regi
ment at the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North
Anna, Totopotomy Creek, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Cedar
Creek, Virginia, and Monocacy; he was hit four times at
Cedar Creek. Congress granted him a medal for gallantry
at Cedar Creek.
While in California General Henry was appointed constable
in White Oak township, Eldorado County, in 1856. He was
chosen state senator from Washington County twice after
the war, and once from Chittenden County in 1874. He was
appointed United States marshal for the district of Vermont,
during the administration of President Hayes; he retained this
office for seven years. In 1887-1888 General Henry served
as mayor of Burlington and was appointed immigrant in
spector in 1892.
General Henry was married August 5, 1857, to Mary Jane,
daughter of Lyman and Mary Beebe. Five children were
born to them: Bertram, Mary Matilda, Ferdinand Sherman,
Katherine and Carrie Eliza. General Henry was married
for the second time to Valera, daughter of Timothy J. and
Susan (White) Heaton, December 3, 1872. Coming back to

PERIOD 1850-1875 139
Waterbury after his military service and career. General
Henry reentered the old firm which removed from Waterbury
to Buriington. From the dissolution of this firm in 1870,
sprung the firm of Henry, Johnson & Lord. General Henry
was prominent in Masonic affairs and was a member of the
Loyal Legion, the Society of the Army of the Potomac, and
Knights of Pythias. He received his first degrees in Masonry
in Aurora Lodge, Montpelier, in 1858 ; he was a charter member
and past master of the lodge at Waterbury; also charter
member of the Burlington Lodge. He was past grand
master of the lodge of the I. O. O. F. and department com
mander of the G. A. R. of Vermont. General Henry was a
resident of Burlington for many years.
General Henry's love for outdoor life and the vigorous
sports of hunting and fishing was well known and shared
among his intimates. He was one of the first to discover the
possibilities of Cedar Beach as a camping ground and, with
such kindred spirits as Senator Proctor, General Foster,
General Wells, General James Peck of Montpelier, J. G. Reed
and others, he developed the possibilities of the Quebec
wilderness as a fruitful fishing region for Vermonters. The
St. Bernard Club which General Henry helped to found and of
which he was honorary president was the outcome of his fishing
excursions to those streams.
General Henry's career as United States Consul at Quebec
called forth ungrudging praise and appreciation from our
neighbors across the border. At the time of his resignation,
the Quebec Chronicle had this to say editorially: "His twelve
years' service has been marked by singular ability and energy,
and by a tact and courtesy which have won golden opinions
from all with whom he came into official contact. In his
private capacity he has attracted the esteem and cordial good
will of all who have had the pleasure of his acquaintance.
Genial and unassuming, and of great kindliness of disposition,
he has entered heartily into our private life, and has become
one of ourselves. The government of the United States will
lose a valuable servant here."
It was quite apparent during a brief visit to Waterbury in

140 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
the spring of 1915 that General Henry's health was breaking
rapidly. He was confined to his home in Burlington during
the summer, suffering from jaundice, but cheerful and genial
in his intercourse with old friends and acquaintances who
called to see him. The end came at his home, 29 Wilson
Street, Buriington, Tuesday, August 31, 1915. The funeral
was held from St. Paul's Church, Thursday, September 2.
Many friends from Waterbury were in attendance.
Of the five children of General W. W. Henry and Mary
Jane (Beebe) Henry who died in 1871, Mary Matilda (Henry)
Pease, wife of F. S. Pease of Burlington, alone survives.
General Henry's second wife, Valera Y. (Heaton) Henry,
whom he married in 1872, survives, together with an adopted
daughter, Mrs. G. W. Benedict of Providence, Rhode Island.
Major Edwin Dillingham, second son of Honorable Paul and
Julia (Carpenter) Dillingham, lives in the affectionate regard
and the loving memory of those still with us who were wont to
meet him in his daily avocations and intimate village life.
He was born in Waterbury May 13, 1839. His early life was
spent in and about his native town until he left to pursue his
academic education in preparation for his ultimate study of
law, his chosen profession. Before beginning his legal studies
he, in common with many another young man in Waterbury,
had the practical benefit of a business training in the "old
corner store." Here he was accustomed to meet all sorts and
conditions of people and it is related of him that he preserved
the same courteous, chivalrous demeanor in dealing or speaking
with some humble countrywoman as with the fashionable
wives or daughters of the more fortunately circumstanced.
He studied law in the office of his brother-in-law. Honorable
Matthew H. Carpenter, afterwards United States Senator
from Wisconsin, beginning under his preceptorship in the
Milwaukee office of the Senator in 1858. From this office Mr.
Dillingham entered a law school in Poughkeepsie, New York,
from which he was graduated with honor the following year.
Supplementing these preliminary studies by a term of service
in the law office of his father (Dillingham & Durant) in Water
bury, he was admitted to the Washington County bar in Sep-

PERIOD 1850-1875 141
tember, i860, and was then known to be the youngest though
one of its most promising members. His all too brief period
of practice was spent as a professional associate of his father.
Not for long, however, was Edwin Dillingham destined to
pursue the peaceful pursuits of congenial professional life.
Like the loyal son of Waterbury he was, he made prompt and
intelligent response to the President's call of July, 1862, for
300,000 troops.
His work as a recruiting officer in the western part of Wash
ington County bore fruit in the forming of Company B of the
Tenth Regiment of Volunteers, of which he was elected captain.
Not long after the Tenth had taken its place in active service.
Captain Dillingham was detailed as assistant inspector-general
on the staff of Brigadier-General Morris, commanding the
First Brigade, Third Division, Third Army Corps, Army of
the Potomac.
While serving as aide-de-camp to General Morris at the
Battle of Locust Grove, November 27, 1863, and while carry
ing orders to his own regiment, his horse was shot under him
and he was taken prisoner, marched to Richmond and shut up
in Libby Prison. After four months of prison life, amid sur
roundings and in an atmosphere trying to the stoutest hearts
and souls, he was paroled, exchanged and finally returned to
his regiment. Soon he was placed in command of a battalion
of exchanged prisoners and enlisted men to be restored to their
respective commands at the front between the Rapidan and
Petersburg. Having completed this task he reported for
duty June 3, 1864, at Cold Harbor — the name fraught with
such fatal significance to so many Waterbury homes. Here
he found that Colonel Jewett had resigned and his townsman,
Lieutenant-Colonel Henry, with Major Chandler, had been
promoted to the first and second places in command, respec
tively. Both Colonel Henry and Major Chandler were dis
abled, the former by a wound received early in the campaign
and the latter by illness. The command of the regiment then
devolved on Captain Dillingham who held it until the return
of Lieutenant-Colonel Chandler to duty and his own (Dilling
ham's) promotion to his majority. He accompanied his regi-

142 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
ment as major successively to the James River, Bermuda
Hundreds and (July 8, 1864) Frederic City, Maryland. At
the Battle of Monocacy, fought on the 9th, Major Dillingham
was second in command, with Lieutenant-Colonel Chandler
detailed to command the skirmish line and Colonel Henry
in command of the regiment.
The regiment was called upon to march about six hundred
miles between July 21, 1864, and August 22, 1864. On the
2 1st, Major Dillingham was invested with full command of
the regiment at Charlestown and remained in command until
the day of Winchester or Opequon, September 19, 1864, when
he led a regiment of about three hundred and fifty men (sadly
reduced by a sick list of over three hundred) into action. At
about noon, in the advance of the brigade and division to the
assault, the troops were exposed to a raking fire of Braxton's
Artillery. Here the intrepid major was struck by a solid shot
which almost tore off his left leg. He was borne, bleeding, to
the rear and died in three hours, not, however, before he had
found strength and courage to say: "I am willing to give my
life for my country and I am not afraid to die."
After all, it were better, perhaps, to giVe here the words of
one of Major Dillingham's comrades, who knew whereof he
spoke, when he described the dead officer thus : " He was young,
handsome, brilliant, brave amid trials, cheerful under dis
couragements, upright and with the kindness of heart which
characterizes the true gentleman, combined with firmness and
energy as a commander; respected by all his command and
loved by all his companions." Major Dillingham's body was
brought home for interment to the Waterbury cemetery, to
which spot repaired members of the Tenth Regiment on the
4th of September, 1893, at their eighth annual reunion to pay
.appropriate honors to their dead comrades.
During the preparation of this compilation Doctor Henry
Janes, Waterbury's foremost citizen, passed away June 10,
1 915. Though not unexpected, the death of Doctor Henry
Janes came as a shock to all ages and classes of his townspeople
by whom he had always been venerated and beloved. The
last of a distinguished family on both the maternal and pater-

PERIOD 1850-1875 143
nal sides, his life has ever been one reflecting that family's
best traditions. The love he bore his native town amounted
almost to a passion and this devotion was returned in full
measure by the people of Waterbury so that when the end
came Thursday night June 10, 191 5, after weeks of his rapidly
waning vitality, the people's grief was in no sense mitigated by
reason of its expectancy.
Henry Janes was born in Waterbury January 24, 1832,
the son of Honorable Henry F. and Fanny (Butler) Janes.
His father was an early resident in Waterbury, coming to the
town in 1 817; he was one of the two lawyers the town then
boasted, the other being Judge Dan Carpenter. "Esquire"
Janes served as state treasurer and was elected to fill the
unexpired term of Benjamin F. Deming in Congress in 1834.
Doctor Janes' mother was the daughter of Governor Ezra
Butler, the second settler of Waterbury, the town builder,
clergyman, judge, presidential elector, town representative,
congressman and Chief Executive of Vermont.
Doctor Janes received his academic education at Morris
ville and St. Johnsbury Academies. He commenced his
medical studies under Doctor J. B. Woodward in 1852 at
Waterbury. He attended medical lectures at Woodstock
College in 1852, and two years after at the College of Physi
cians and Surgeons in New York City where he was graduated
an M. D. in 1855. He served there as an assistant physician
and house physician in Bellevue Hospital for nearly one year.
He removed to Chelsea, Massachusetts, in 1856, and returned
to Waterbury in 1857, where he soon acquired a large and
lucrative practice.
In 1861 Doctor Janes entered the army, surgeon of the
third Vermont Volunteers; he was commissioned surgeon
of the United States Army in 1863. In 1865 he was brevetted
lieutenant-colonel. By far the greater part of his military
service was in hospital duty successively at BurkettsviUe, in
the fall of 1862, where he was placed in charge; at Frederic,
Maryland, in the winter and in charge of the hospitals of the
Sixth Army Corps the following spring. In the summer and
fall of 1863 he was in charge of the army hospitals in and about

144 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Gettysburg and the Letterman General Hospital, where 20,000
wounded soldiers from the field of Gettysburg were being
cared for. Here he was afforded an opportunity of studying
treatment of fracture and amputations. He spent the winter
and spring of 1864 in the South Street General Hospital in
Philadelphia. In the summer of 1864 he was in charge of the
hospital steamer Maine. Going to the Sloan General Hospital
at Montpelier in the autumn of 1864, he remained there until
the close of the war. He left the army in 1866 and spent a
short time in New York, studying injuries to the bones and
brain. He returned to Waterbury in 1867 and resumed his
practice there, which he interrupted long enough to enable him
to travel abroad during a part of 1874. He published in the
Transactions of the 'Vermont Medical Society, a paper on the
treatment of gun-shot fracture, especially of the femur; in
1871, 1872 and 1873 various papers on some of the incidents
following amputations; in 1874 other papers on amputations
at the knee joint followed; in 1877 he wrote a paper on spinal
hemiplegia. Doctor Janes was a member of Washington County Medical
Society, the American Medical Association, the Vermont
State Medical Society, of which he was president in 1870 and
whose representative he was at the meetings of the American
Medical Association in i860, 1866, 1871 and 1880. He was a
member of the Massachusetts Medical Society and an honor
ary member of the California State Medical Society. He
served as consulting surgeon at the Mary Fletcher Hospital
in Burlington, Heaton Hospital in Montpelier, surgeon-general
of Vermont National Guard, chairman of Vermont State
Board of Medical Censors, president of Vermont State Board
of Medical Registration, trustee of the University of Vermont
and president of the Board of Waterbury Village Trustees.
He also served a term as a member of the Vermont Legislature
in 1890. He was a member of Bellevue Alumni Association,
the G. A. R., the Loyal Legion, and Sons of the American
Revolution. Doctor Janes was actively interested in the Congregational
Church of Waterbury and for a long time took pride in personal

PERIOD 1850-1875 145
efforts at maintaining good music there. His charming home
in Waterbury was a delightful storehouse of many historical
documents of peculiar interest to people of his native town.
He was an affable host, an entertaining conversationalist,
cheerful companion and staunch friend. His self-effacing
modesty was so pronounced that the successive honors which
came his way were only discovered by his friends when con
cealment was no longer possible. To a certain few of his life
long friends he would occasionally mention striking incidents
of his military life such, for example, as his being present on
the speaker's platform when Mr. Lincoln delivered his mem
orable address at Gettysburg.
Doctor Janes is survived by no near relatives. One cousin,
George Butler, and his son, I. Butler, live at Battle Creek,
Michigan. Other cousins are Mrs. Ella Roscoe, formerly of
Wisconsin and Minnesota, who has made her home at Doctor
Janes' residence for the past four years, and the Misses Thomas
of Stowe. Mrs. Henry Janes, who was born Frances Bergin
Hall, of Boston, Massachusetts, died in 1909.
On Sunday afternoon, June 13, brief but impressive funeral
services were had in the old Congregational Meeting House.
Rev. W. L. Boicourt spoke of the devotion of Doctor Janes to
science and his long life of untiring professional and social
endeavor. Senator W. P. Dillingham and ex-Governor
Samuel Pingree each paid eloquent tributes to their departed
friend, the former foreshadowing the generous intentions of
Doctor Janes as to the town's participation in his estate.
Cold type never emphasizes its utter inadequacy so markedly
as when its aid is sought to set forth the emotions of a common
grief such as was felt in Waterbury and yet the reasons for
this grief and sense of loss are not far to seek. The record a
good man leaves in a community may be mute but it has an
insistent eloquence that tongue or pen cannot compass.
From the remarks of ex-Governor Pingree and Senator W.
P. Dillingham at Doctor Janes' funeral it was apparent that
each speaker felt with their hearers; the words they chose
instinctively brought them at one with all other friends of
the man who had gone. Senator Dillingham's allusion to the

J46 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
practical form Doctor Janes' devotion to his townspeople
might develop was afterwards illuminated by the splendid
provision made in his last will and testament. After certain
specific bequests to legatees named. Doctor Janes gave all his
real estate, including the residence on Main Street, to the
Waterbury Public Library Association, subject to a life interest
in certain portions designated under certain conditions. He
also named the Waterbury Public Library Association as
residuary legatee. The gift to the Library Association, was,
to use the language of the will, "in pursuance of a long-cher
ished desire to aid such association in its educational work and
as a tribute to the memory of my wife, Frances B. (Hall)
Janes, whose earnest interest in the maintenance of the library
and whose educational influence in the community ceased
only when she departed this life. And I have done this in the
hope that eventually the entire premises devised to such asso
ciation may come under the wise management of its trustees
and be so utilized as to promote a higher culture and an increas
ing intellectual and moral development among the people of
Waterbury and adjacent towns for generations to come and
that the scope of its work may be enriched and enlarged by
gifts from other citizens." That latest evidence of devotion
coming as it did made it appear as if the dead hand of the
generous donor continued its lifelong accustomed deeds of
well-doing. It was the editor's never-to-be-forgotten privilege to see and
talk with Doctor Janes in his home several times during May,
1915. Indeed, his kindly interest in this present undertaking
was evinced in many ways. On one occasion he alluded
feelingly to a poem from the collection of S. S. & H. C. Luce,
already spoken of in these pages, and insisted upon rising
from his place and getting the volume from the book case.
The poem's title is "The Village Doctor," and was written in
January, 1871 , by Samuel Slayton Luce. The four last stanzas
run: Far up the winding mountain road,
Through forest dark and blinding snow.
He reached the desolate abode
Of sickness, poverty and woe.

Blush Hill Ro.\d in Winter

PERIOD 1850-1875 147
Long years have passed; yet oft I ask,
As howls the tempest in its might.
While sitting by the evening fire,
"What faithful doctor rides tonight?"
Yes, faithful; though full well I know
The world is sparing of its praise;
And these self-sacrificing men
But seldom tempt the poet's lays.
And yet, I trust, when at the last
They leave the world of human strife.
Like him "who loved his fellow men,"
Their names shall grace the " Book of Life."
It is as if the writer of the lines had prophetically epitomized
the great life service of Doctor Janes to the community, no
less than that of Doctor T. B. Downer of Waterbury Center,
the particular person held in mind by the poet.
The march of events was rapid after the capitulation of
General Lee in the historic McLean house at Appomattox
Court House April 9, 1865. Coincidently with this decisive
act the fierce and unnecessary Battle of Mobile was
raging. Johnston surrendered April 26. President Lincoln
made his last public address to a company gathered in the
White House, Tuesday evening, April 11. The tragic hap
penings at Washington of April 14 came with a benumbing
shock to the whole country. When the news of President
Lincoln's assassination reached Waterbury, Saturday, April 15,
it foimd a community almost apathetic through the dull
insistence of rapidly recurring bereavements in the war just
ended. It is said by one recalling the incident that there was
really more excitement over the killing of Colonel Ellsworth
at Alexandria in 1861. It was as if the town had suffered so
much that it received what came with a sort of despairing
fatalism and sense of hopeless impotency, but this inability to
give expression to a profound grief at the President's hideous
murder did not argue that it was felt the less keenly.
But the war was over; the Vice-President had been installed
in office and Waterbury, like all other towns, pulled herself
together to take account of stock; to readjust herself to the

148 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
immediate demands of peace ; and to repair the indirect ravages
caused by the war so far as possible. This meant a recogni
tion of certain grave conditions. The town was not growing
by an encouraging ratio. Between the years i860 and 1870,
there was an increase of from 2,198 to 2,634 — only 436 souls —
whereas the population of the town in 1850 was 2,352. So
work commenced.
Johnson's administration was regarded in Waterbury as a
sort of judgment upon the Republican party for having taken
even a loyal Democrat from the South so closely into the
councils of the nation. The war governors of Vermont had
all been uncompromising and unswerving in their sentiments
of loyalty to the Union, but with them that meant something
more than a hasty reconstruction policy that would unwisely
put too much power into the hands of the so recently defeated
South. It was reasonably feared that the Democratic party's haste
to restore all the states to their former status in the Union
was ill-timed and badly advised. General amnesties were still
regarded with suspicion in New England. Regulation by
the Southern States of their several elective franchises seemed
to the Northern Republican the height of folly, or worse.
The unrestrained expressions of leading Democrats regarding
"the debt of gratitude owing Andrew Johnson by the American
people" found no answering chord in Vermont or Waterbury.
Yet all these pronouncements were found in the Democratic
platform in 1868, so that, when the electors or Freemen of
Waterbury were called upon to register their choice of electoral
candidates in November, it was not at all surprising that
they should have given the Ulysses S. Grant Republican
electors 419 votes as against the Horatio Seymour Democratic
electors' 99.
As may have been intimated before. Democrats were not
numerous in Waterbury, at least they were not so many as
to be taken by their political opponents as a matter of course.
Among these was John Montgomery. Mr. Montgomery
owned Duxbury as his birthplace and November 19, 1794,
as the date of his birth . His father was Thomas Montgomery,

PERIOD 1850-1875 149
also of Duxbury ; his mother was Lucy (Blanchard) Montgom
ery. John married Miss Tryphena Towle and settled on the
homestead. He gave up Duxbury for Waterbury where he
came to live on Perry Hill in 1836. From this farm site he
moved again to a much larger place at the mouth of Cotton
Brook on Waterbury River, where he passed the remainder of
his days, dying May 7, 1887, at the advanced age of nearly
ninety-two and one-half years. As the Nestor of his party
in the community his judgment was respected and valued
highly. His life-long record as a citizen and neighbor, how
ever, was far from being bound by party limitations. His
retentive memory is said to have remained practically un
impaired at the close of his life. There were born to Mr. and
Mrs. Montgomery, Lucy (Mrs. Samuel Lewis), John E., George
R., who married Sylvia Farr, Mary A. (Mrs. Doctor Huse),
Eliza (Mrs. Silas Perry), deceased, and Charles C, who married
Carrie Lewis. Charles took over the farming operations on
his father's estate but removed to Hadley, Massachusetts,
where he died.
Another Democrat was Charles C. Robinson, son of Noah
and Calista (Russell) Robinson, who was born in Stowe, No
vember 21, 1833. Mr. Robinson went through the usual
routine of common schools and finished at the academy of
Bakersfield. He married Mary Jane Prescott of Waterbury,
February 18, 1864, and went to live at the Center on a farm.
Mr. Robinson served his fellow citizens as selectman, overseer
of the poor, and auditor. He was candidate for town repre
sentative and ran ahead of his ticket. Children of the mar
riage were Harvey P., Carrie E., Ethel C. and Charles C.
Memories of by-gone political campaigns in the town and
the incidental rallies of early post bellum days are not so easily
evoked as might seem possible. This is probably due to the
matter-of-course results of those campaigns. A citizen, who
would instantly resent the imputation that his memory is
anything but photographic, expresses wonder why one should
be interested in knowing about the various national and state
administrations succeeding the war. Yet interesting inci
dents occurred. Once Honorable Edward J. Phelps, later

150 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
ambassador to the Court of St. James, delivered a political
speech from the steps of the Congregational Church, in which
his disparaging remarks on the subject of the negro as a possii-
ble citizen aroused much rancor and disapprobation, even
among the Democrats in the audience, and afforded an oppor
tunity to an interested auditor, Mr. O. A. Seabury, to make an
inimitable and speaking cartoon of the orator.
Some reminiscent citizens recall the advent to the town of a
typical South Carolinian ex- Confederate officer and spell
binder. Now ex- Confederates were not popular in Water
bury, whatever their oratorical powers might be. The par
ticular speaker was one whose reputation as an orator had
preceded him and it was readily admitted on all sides that he
deserved it, but- to the bewilderment of the people this ex-
Confederate did not seek to win them by oratory; moreover,
he actually did win them by his natural courtesy, charming
manners and liberal give-and-take attitude in argument. To
many this first rebel seen out of captivity or hostile engagement
was an agreeable disappointment.
The baseball enthusiasts of today in Waterbury may be
interested to know that the national game was not overlooked
locally forty-eight years ago. There is now in existence a re
port of a game between the Green Mountain team of Bolton
and the Annulet team of Waterbury, played at Bolton on the
31st of May, 1867. It goes without saying that the team from
Waterbury won, but the grotesque score of 115 to 46 runs is
not quite understandable. In the Annulet roster are found
such names as William Deal, pitcher; FuUerton (Judge),
first base; J. J. Colby, second base (now of Los Angeles,, Cali
fornia) ; Charles Atherton, catcher (now of Essex) ; Leander
Kirby, center field; Proctor, short stop; Canning, third base;
William Guptil, right field; and E. Hutchins, left field.
The year 1870 found Waterbury with a population of 2,633.
The town government included such tried officials as John D.
Smith, clerk; Horace Fales, C. C. Robinson and S. R. Huse,
selectmen; C. N. Arms, treasurer; Daniel Hopkins, constable,
and Melville E. Smilie, superintendent. The listers were
Nathaniel Moody, John D. Smith, and Andrew J. Brown;

PERIOD 1850-1875 151
overseer, P. L. Muzzey; agent, Noah Robinson; postmasters
were Justin W. Moody and (Center) John D. Smith. The
bar was represented by Paul Dillingham, William P. Dilling
ham, C. F. Clough, E. F. Palmer, George W. Kennedy and
M. E. Smilie. Physicians were Henry Janes, Horace Fales,
J. E. Frink, L. H. Thomas, G. T. Flanders, and P. W. Thomas,
oculist. E. F. Skinner was the local dentist. There were
about thirty merchants of all sorts and dealers in staple arti
cles. The manufacturers numbered about a dozen. The
hotels were the Waterbury Hotel, kept by W. H. Skinner;
Village Hotel, by J. Brown, and Green Mountain House, by
H. J. Campbell. There were eight churches in the Village
and the Center. Leander Hutchins was president of the
Waterbury National Bank, and Curtis Wells was cashier.
Few changes occurred between 1870 and 1875 in the business
life of the town. There was a change in the roster of bank
officials when Paul Dillingham succeeded Leander Hutchins as
president of the Waterbury National Bank. The leading
names of those in professional, commercial and manufacturing
circles were much the same as those given before.
The list of manufacturers included B. F. Peckett, boots
and shoes; A. H. Selleck, cassimeres and flannels; Fairbanks
& Smith, chair seats; O. E. Scott, clocks and watches; Colby
Wringer Company, clothes wringers, etc.; H. W. Smiith &
Company, inks; C. C. Warren, leather; G. W. Randall, Shurt
leff & Fullerton, leather. The merchants were : M . M . Knight ,
Richardson & Fullerton, C. E. Wyman; books and stationery,
J. W. Moody; boots and shoes, L. Parmalee; butter and pro
duce, J. A. Burleigh; drugs and medicines, W. E. Carpenter,
M. O. Evans; flour, meal and grain, Zenas Watts; furniture,
A. A. Atherton, F. B. Taylor; hardware, Cecil Graves; milli
nery, Mrs. H. J. Parker, Mrs. A. C. Stebbins; picture frames,
caskets, etc., G. H. Atherton; wholesale groceries. Arms &
Haines. There were about four stores at the Center at this
time, 1875.
A recapitulation of the town vote in gubernatorial and
presidential elections between i860 and 1875 is given: the
Freeman's meeting in November of i860 gave, respectively,

152 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Governor Erastus Fairbanks 240 votes as against John G.
Saxe's 140, and the Abraham Lincoln Republican electors 227,
as against the John C. Breckenridge Democrats' 116.
In 1 861 the town polled 195 for Governor Frederick Hol-
brook, as against Andrew Tracy's 102, Benjamin H. Smalley's
II, and Paul Dillingham's i.
In 1862 Governor Holbrook was reelected, receiving from
Waterbury 183 votes to Benjamin H. Smalley's 12.
In 1863 Governor John Gregory Smith received Waterbury's
offering of 226 votes, to Timothy P. Redfield's 88.
In 1864 Governor John Gregory Smith succeeded himself,
obtaining from Waterbury 237 votes, as against Timothy P.
Redfield's 109.
Waterbury repeated her emphatic testimony in favor of
the Abraham Lincoln Republican electors by giving them 316
votes, as against 115 for the McClellan Democrats at the
November election in 1864.
In 1865 Waterbury, the home town of the (Union) Republi
can gubernatorial candidate, Paul Dillingham, gave him 289
votes to 62 for Charles N. Davenport.
In 1866 Governor Paul Dillingham succeeded himself,
receiving in Waterbury 239, to Charles N. Davenport's 52.
In 1867 Governor John B. Page received in Waterbury 237
votes, to John L. Edwards' 77.
In 1868 Governor Page was reelected, Waterbury giving
him 387 votes, as against J. L. Edwards' 128. This being
the presidential year, the vote was heavier at the September
elections than ordinarily.
In 1869 the town gave Governor Peter T. Washburn 228
votes, as against 57 for Homer W. Heaton.
In 1870 Governor John W. Stewart received 203 votes,
against Homer W. Heaton's 78.
In 1872, the first biennial gubernatorial election. Governor
Julius Converse received from the town 327 votes, as against
121 for A. B. Gardner.
The political wiseacres argued from these figures, as usual,
a substantial ballot for the Republican Grant electors in No
vember, nor were they disappointed; but this vote exceeded

PERIOD 1850-1875 153
the Republican gubernatorial vote by only 2, the Grant elect
ors receiving 329, as against the Greeley (Liberal Republican)
electors' 80. President Grant at this time was at the very
apex of his personal popularity. The unfortunate scandals of
his first administration made possible by designing politi
cians had not served to alter Vermont's loyalty toward him.
It was not surprising that the candidacy of Horace Greeley,
running as a Liberal Republican on the Democratic ticket,
should have caused some anxiety to old-line Republicans in
Waterbury. The Nenu York Tribune, either in its weekly or
semi-weekly edition, had long been accepted as a sort of po
litical bible by many subscribers who had followed Greeley's
uncompromising hostility to every thing Democratic, up to
1872, with unconcealed approval. They argued that if
Greeley, whose honesty and purity of motives were unassail
able, should desert the regular organization there must be
some good reason for it, but when the candidate in his Maine
speeches called for Southern support, the inevitable reaction
set in. Waterbury did not hold Southern support in high
esteem in 1872.
In 1874 Governor Ashael Peck received 259 votes in Water
bury, as against W. H. H. Bingham's 113. It was during
Governor Peck's term that William P. Dillingham served as
Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs and this administration
brings us to 1876.
All this while Waterbury was largely dependent for her news
service on semi-weekly New York and Boston newspapers for
outside news. Nearer at home were the daily and weekly
Burlington Free Press, Burlington Times, St. Albans Daily
Messenger, Montpelier weeklies. Watchman and State Journal,
Argus and Patriot, Green Mountain Freeman, Burlington Sen
tinel and St. Albans Transcript. These newspapers, for the
most part, were repositories of political and miscellaneous
information; they were well edited and some gained wide cir
culation beyond the state boundaries. A few were indelibly
stamped with the characteristics of their editors and were
sources of much entertainment as well as bald information.

11

CHAPTER V
1876-1900
This period, beginning with Centennial year, brought little
to disturb the placid serenity of Waterbury. Quite naturally
the fall Freeman's meetings remained the never-failing boon
for public interest in dry times — dry in the non-technical
sense, be it said. The people of Waterbury did not permit
themselves to become aroused over the presidential campaign.
It remains very distinctly to the everlasting credit of the sound
sense of village communities like Waterbury that they were
able to discount such inflammatory matter as was put before
the people in the platforms of both leading parties of that year.
The Tiiden Democracy on the one hand was denouncing
the Republican administrations for a profligate waste of public
lands, the failure to make good legal tender promises, the
financial "imbecility" which had made no advance toward
resumption of specie payments, attempts at enkindling sec
tional hatred by false issues regarding the public schools, and
all efforts at blocking a national reform "necessary to estab
lish . . . the Union now to be saved from a corrupt cen
tralism." They cried aloud that "all these abuses, wrongs
and crimes, the product of the sixteen years' ascendency of
the Republican party, create a necessity for reform, confessed
by the Republicans themselves."
On the other hand, the Hayes Republicans were declaring
for the permanent pacification of the Southern section of the
Union, vaguely for duties from which revenue must be largely
derived which should be adjusted to promote interests of
American labor and advance the prosperity of the whole
country; that the honest demands of women for additional
rights, privileges and immunities should be treated with
respectful consideration. While "sincerely deprecating" sec
tional feeling, the Republicans noted "with deep solicitude"
that the Democratic party counted upon the electoral vote of

156 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
a united South and charged that party with "being the same
in character and spirit as when it sympathized with treason."
Here were two great parties, each vying with the other in
seeking expression for thankfulness for a reunited country, and
each apparently doing its best to undo everything that had
been accomplished in that regard at terrible cost of life and
property. There was nothing abnormal, then, in the vote
given by Waterbury of 358 for Governor Horace Fairbanks and
163 for W. H. H. Bingham at the September meeting, nor was
this normality disturbed in November when the Tiiden Demo
cratic electors received 194 votes, to the 345 for the Hayes Re
publican electors. Well within the memory of many citizens is
the tense national situation immediately succeeding Novem
ber elections and during the electoral count of the returning
board and the sittings of the electoral commission. With that
sense of justice characteristic of composite village sentiment,
political opponents in Waterbury generously accorded to Mr.
Tiiden unqualified admiration for his indignant rejection of
corrupt and venal overtures for the sale of Louisiana's elect
oral vote and for his dignified acquiescence in an official
finding that remains questionable to this day. They realized
how that acquiescence prevented a recurrence of the horrors
of civil war — an eventuality that Waterbury had good reason
for dreading, if ever an American town had.
The town had held its usual March meeting on the 13th, in
the Centennial year, 1876, with the result of electing W. P.
Dillingham as moderator; Frank N. Smith, town clerk;
Luther Davis, John B. Parker and George W. Warren, select
men; James K. Fullerton, treasurer; James A. Burleigh, over
seer of the poor; Oscar W. May, constable and tax collector;
Oscar W. May, A. B. Remington, I. Remington, listers; Daniel
Hopkins, W. P. Dillingham, S. R. Huse, auditors; William
Carpenter, public trustee; Noah Robinson, George W. Moody,
Horace Fales, fence viewers; John S. Batchelder, E. F. Palmer,
Daniel Hopkins, grand jurors; Lucius Parmalee, inspector of
leather; E. H. Wells, pound keeper; twenty-five surveyors;
Edwin F. Palmer, agent; George C. Washburne, superintend
ent of schools; George W. Randall, inspector of lumber.

PERIOD 1876-1900 157
Governor Redfield Proctor's vote in the town at the Septem
ber meeting in 1878 was 253 to W. H. H. Bingham's 94, while
Mr. C. C. Martin polled 104 in the same race. The two suc
cessful candidates for state senate were William P. Dillingham
and Albert Dwinnell, each receiving 254 votes; James K. Tobey
and Goin B. Evans each received 88, and George W. Randall
and Medad Wright each 104, Waterbury furnishing three of
the six senatorial candidates.
Governor Roswell B. Farnham's vote at the Freeman's
meeting in September, 1880, was 327; his opponent, Edward
J. Phelps, later to become ambassador at the Court of St.
James, receiving 130. Messrs. Dillingham and Dwinnell were
reelected state senators, receiving 325 votes, as against 129
for Homer Heaton, and 128 for L. A. Joslyn. At the Novem
ber Freeman's meeting in 1880, the five Garfield Republican
presidential electors received a town vote of 346. The two
other groups of electors receiving 59 and 173 votes respectively,
showing a remarkable disparity between the Democratic and
Greenback vote in the town.
Governor John L. Barstow drew from Waterbury 206 votes,
as against George E. Eaton's 48 in September, 1882. On the
county ticket, Hiram A. Huse received a town vote for state's
attorney of 206, to John H. Senter's 48, and C. F. Clough's 61,
the latter a Waterbury lawyer. It is not without interest to
note that in the Congressional election the town vote gave
Luke P. Poland 184, George L. Fletcher 47, William W.
Grout 20, WilHam P. Dilhngham 12, and H. D. Dunbar 54.
Governor Samuel E. Pingree polled 266 town votes in Sep
tember, 1884, to Lyman W. Redington's 96. Mr. C. F. Clough
of Waterbury was again a candidate for state's attorney,
receiving 29 votes, the successful candidate, Harlan W. Kemp,
receiving 263. Frank Atherton, candidate for sheriff, received
263 votes.
The historic Blaine-Cleveland campaign of 1884 found and
left Waterbury characteristically imperturbable. The Blaine
Republican electors received a town vote of 308 to the
Cleveland Democratic electors' 158. The two remaining
grou ps of electors received 1 8 and 22 votes, respectively. This

158 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
was the first presidential election under the new apportionment
which gave four electors to the state, instead of five as hereto
fore. Governor Ebenezer J. Ormsbee polled 244 town votes in
September, 1886, to Stephen C. Shurtleff's 114.
Naturally the gubernatorial campaign of 1888 possessed,
for Waterbury, something far greater than a perfunctory
interest. The candidates were William P. Dillingham, who
received a town vote of 319 ; Stephen C. Shurtleff, who received
97; Henry Seely and C. C. Martin, each receiving 2. Gover
nor Dillingham's election was duly and appropriately cele
brated in the town with a torchHght procession, speech making
and music.
The Harrison Republican electors received a town vote that
year of 296, to the Cleveland Democratic electors' 103.
The early part of President Garfield's administration, in the
first part of the decade 1880-1890, brought the usual confidence
to Waterbury that the nation's affairs were in good hands.
Besides Mr. Garfield's many qualifications as a statesman, he
was known in Waterbury to have been a brave soldier and the
soldier-suffrage habit was naturally strong locally. When, for
the second time in sixteen years, the town was called upon to
mourn the loss of a stricken President and to deplore its
impotency against the assassin's stealth, it was with poignant
sorrow and regret that the people turned again to the demands
of the workaday world.
At the September Freeman's meeting in 1890, Governor
Carroll S. Page received 174 votes, as against Herbert L.
Brigham's 100.
The next candidate on the Republican side was Levi K.
Fuller who received a gubernatorial vote at the September
(1892) Freeman's meeting of 295, as against 154 for Bradley
B. Smalley.
At the November Freeman's meeting of the same year,
1892, Waterbury gave the Harrison Republican electors an
average of 255, as against the Cleveland Democratic electors'
105, this year marking the first presidential election in Ver
mont under the modified Australian ballot system and a de-

PERIOD 1876-1900 159
parture from the custom of voting for the several groups of
electors as unit groups.
At a special town meeting, April 30, 1894, a resolution was
passed granting the petition of the Columbian United Electric
Company for a franchise to occupy a portion of the side of
the right of way of the highway and for crossings, widening, etc.
The gubernatorial vote in September, 1894, at the Free
man's meeting gave a town vote of 239 to Governor Urban A.
Woodbury, as against George W. Smith's 75.
The successor to Governor Woodbury was Governor Josiah
Grout, who received a town vote in 1896 of 381, as against
John Henry Jackson's 115.
At the November (1896) Freeman's meeting, the McKinley
Republican electors received 327I votes, as an average, against
67 for the Democratic electors.
At the September Freeman's meeting, 1898, Governor Ed
ward C. Smith received 237 town votes, as against 93 for
Thomas W. Maloney.
Governor William W. Stickney in 1900 received 351 votes,
to John H. Senter's 100 in the town.
At the November Freeman's meeting the McKinley Repub
lican electors received 272 town votes, as against 93 for the
Democratic electors. Again, in 1901, Waterbury was called
upon to mourn the untimely death of a President taken off
by the bullet of a madman.
The village of Waterbury remained unincorporated until
the Legislative session of 1882 when it obtained a charter
entitled "An Act to Incorporate the Village of Waterbury,"
approved November 20, 1882, under which fire district
Number i was embraced within the designation "Village of
Waterbury." At a meeting of the fire district, December 20, 1882, it was
voted to accept the charter passed and approved as above.
The first roster of village officers were elected at this meeting
as follows: president, C. F. Clough; trustees, George F. Ran
dall, Joseph Somerville, John Seabury, G. E. Moody; clerk,
George C. Washburn; treasurer, James K. Fullerton; collector,
Zenas Watts; auditors, William Wade, W. P. Dillingham,

l6o HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
George W. Morse; chief engineer, Andrew J. Brown; first
assistant, Charles D. Robinson; second assistant, William
Deal; fire wardens, C. N. Arms, C. E. Richardson, Edward
Shiple, Edward Farrar. It was voted that a committee of
three be elected to draft by-laws for said village. The com
mittee elected consisted of C. F. Clough, William P. Dilling
ham and Henry Janes. The village next was duly divided
into four wards by the fire wardens. The first included that
part between the bridge at east line of the village and D. C.
Caldwell's and the depot east ; the second included Park Row
to the east side of Stowe Street to the dry bridge; the third,
from the west side of Stowe Street to the dry bridge including
all west of the railroad and Thatcher's Brook to the tannery ;
the fourth included all east of the railroad and Thatcher's
Brook from the tannery.
The question of aiding the construction of the Mount Mans
field Railroad under its charter passed by the Legislature in
1888 arose at a duly called town meeting February 11, 1889.
The following was voted: "That the sum of seven thousand
dollars be appropriated to aid in the construction of the Mount
Mansfield Railroad under the charter granted to the Mount
Mansfield Railroad Company by the Legislature of Vermont
at its October session, A. D. 1888, such road to be constructed
from Waterbury Village to Stowe Center Village by way of
Waterbury Center Village. And that the selectmen are hereby
authorized and directed to draw their orders in favor of said
company, its successors or assigns, on the treasurer of the
town for the said sum of seven thousand dollars, the same to
be payable in two installments of thirty-five hundred dollars
each, one in thirty days after regular passenger trains shall
run to Waterbury Center Village and the other in one year
thereafter. And that said selectmen, on the payment of such
aid and in satisfaction therefor, are directed to subscribe for
and take in the name of said town the capital stock of our
said Railroad Company to the amount of said seven thousand
dollars." For many years prior to the incorporation of the village the
tax rate was about $1 .05 on the grand list of the town. After

PERIOD 1876-1900 161
the incorporation of the village the rate by degrees ran from
$1.50 to $2.00 on $1.00 of the list. This increase cannot be
said to be due wholly to the incorporation of the village but
coincidently with it began a steady rise in farm products and
outside values increased. Within the corporate limits of the
village, moreover, the real estate valuations have increased
by more than 50 per cent. The increase of about the same
amount on farm property within the town limits, though not
due to village incorporation, has been coincident with the
village realty increase. Naturally, the practical efforts at
securing good roads and their maintenance and the erection
of new bridges within and without the corporate limits have
had their effect. Concrete sidewalks received attention at
the village meeting, August 16, 1889, at which it was voted to
begin "on Main Street, north side from B. Barrett's Hotel,
to corner of C. E. Wyman's store, and one or more crossings
and as much more as in their (trustees') judgment the appro
priation will warrant."
At a special town meeting, April 30, 1894, a resolution was
passed granting' the petition of the Columbian United Electric
Company for a franchise to occupy a portion of the side of the
right of way of the highway and for crossings, widening, etc.
The village had been inadequately lighted by oil lamps,
requiring a disproportionate amount of care and attention so
that when the Vermont Electric Company submitted four
different propositions for lighting the streets, March 9, 1891,
there was little opposition at this meeting to the acceptance
of a proposition calling for sixteen arc lamps, each of 1,200
c.p. to burn from dusk until 11 p. m. At a subsequent meet
ing (March 23, 1891), however, it was voted to rescind the
authorization of the trustees to contract with the Vermont
Electric Company, passed March 9, and further consideration
of electric street lighting was deferred temporarily.
An elaborate and exhaustive report was submitted at a
special village meeting August 27, 1895, touching on water
supply in and about Waterbury, the cost and feasibility of
bringing water to the village for fire, domestic and other pur
poses. Appropriate resolutions were thereafter (December 9,

l62 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
1895) adopted authorizing the village to take and hold, under
Act 195, Laws of 1894, certain springs and streams, in the
towns of Waterbury and Stowe, to issue bonds to the amount
of $20,000, payable in twenty years, redeemable in five years,
bearing 4 per cent interest, and authorizing the treasurer to
borrow on temporary loans not exceeding $14,000.
The rules and regulations governing the Village Water
Works were adopted September 24, 1896.
In a communication dated May 10, 1897, the Mount Mans
field Electric Railroad Company gave notice of its purpose to
begin construction from Waterbury to Stowe and described
therein the section to be built in the village.
On April 12, 1898, notice was given by the village, through
the village clerk, to the Vermont Telephone and Telegraph
Company of its authorization to erect and maintain poles and
wires thereon in certain streets.
At a special village meeting, April 13, 1900, a resolution
was adopted empowering the trustees to contract with the
Consolidated Lighting Company to furnish two arc lights of
2,000 c.p. each and one hundred or more incandescent lamps
of 32 c.p. each as they find necessary at a price not to exceed
$50 each for arc lights and $6 for each incandescent light
per year for a period of five years, the lights to burn from dusk
until one o'clock a.m., three hundred nights in the year.
Permits were granted by the Village Trustees to the New
England Telephone and Telegraph Company and the New
England Telephone Company to erect poles, wires and supports
in Stowe, Main, Randall and Foundry Streets, February 9,
and March 2, 1901.
Thirteen applications by land owners for the admission of
their several tracts to the village of Waterbury were filed for
record March 3, 1902. It was voted to admit and set over to
the village certain described lands of : Edward Farrar, F. W.
Powers, L. F. Ricker, Moses Labell, A. P. Foster, William P.
Mason, F. A. Grout, I. H. Ather, William M. Strong, J. W.
Keefe, H. Dillingham, W. L. Moody, Mrs. K. A. Demmon.
Under due authority, the trustees advertised for sealed bids
until May 8, 1915, at 12 m. for $38,000 of the village of Water-

PERIOD 1 876-1900 163
bury, Vermont, four per cent coupon or registered bonds
issued to retire a previous issue of water bonds, also to retire
orders paid for water system extension and permanent road
and sidewalk construction, under authority of No. 281, Acts
of 1908, approved December 18, 1908. This issue was taken
by the Boston house of N. W. Harris & Co.
The village officers elected December 26, 1883, for the fol
lowing year were: President, Henry Janes; trustees, George
W. Randall, George E. Moody, Charles C. Warren, James A.
Burleigh; clerk, George C. Washburne; treasurer, James K.
Fullerton ; collector of taxes, Zenas Watts; auditors, George W.
Morse, Luther Davis, M. O. Evans; chief engineer, William
Cooley; first assistant, O. E. Scott; second assistant, Edward
Farrar; fire wardens, John J. King, Edward Wells, Charles
Keene, L. Morse.
The village officers for 1885 were: President J. W. Moody;
trustees, J. A. Burleigh, L. P. Morse; clerk, George C. Wash
burne; treasurer, N. Moody; collector, Zenas Watts; auditors,
George W. Morse, G. E. Moody, C. F. Clough; chief engineer,
William Conley; first assistant, Edward Farrar; second assis
tant, J. J. King; wardens, J. E. Sheple, T. B. Crossett, Charles
Keene, S. H. Stowell. C. F. Clough was elected president in
place of J. W. Moody who asked to be excused from service.
Nathaniel Moody resigned as treasurer and J. E. Sheple was
appointed by the trustees in his place.
The village officers for 1886 were: President, George W.
Randall; trustees, C. F. Clough, A. J. Brown; clerk, George C.
Washburne; treasurer, James E. Sheple; auditors, G. E.
Moody, M. O. Evans, George W. Kennedy; chief engineer,
G. E. Moody; first assistant, Joseph Somerville; second assis
tant, Edward Farrar; wardens, G. E. Moody, E. Towne, George
C. Demmon, Charles Keene.
For the year 1887 the village officers were : President, C. F.
Clough; trustees, M. O. Evans, Curtis N. Arms; clerk, George
C. Washburne ; treasurer, J. E. Sheple ; collector, S. H. Stowell;
auditors, G. E. Moody, J. A. Burleigh, C. D. Robinson; chief
engineer, G. E. Moody; assistants, C. D. Robinson, Edward

l64 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Farrar ; wardens, E. Farrar, John Carroll, Charles Keene, G. C.
Demmon.
For the year 1888 the village officers were : President, C.N.
Arms; trustees, J. A. Burleigh, George W. Atkins, C. E. Wy
man; collector, W. B. Clark; auditors, G. E. Moody, L. H.
Haines, H. Hazeltine ; chief engineer, M. O. Evans; assistants,
C. D. Robinson, Edward Farrar; wardens, Edward Farrar,
John Carroll, Charles Keene, G. C. Demmon; clerk, G. C.
Washburne. For the year 1889 the village officers were : President, C. F.
Clough; clerk, G. C. Washburne; trustees, James A. Burleigh,
J. E. Sheple; treasurer, C. E. W5anan; collector, W. B. Clark;
auditors, J. W. Moody, H. Hazeltine, C. N. Arms; chief engi
neer, M. O. Evans; assistants, C. D. Robinson, Ed. Farrar;
wardens, Ed. Farrar, Charles Keene, Charles H. Lease, G. C.
Demmon. For 1890 the village officers were: President, Frank H.
Atherton; trustees, George W. Atkins, John C. Griggs, C. E.
Wyman; treasurer, George C. Washburne; clerk, W. B. Clark;
collector, C. N. Arms; auditors, J. W. Moody, C. F. Clough;
chief engineer, C. D. Robinson; assistants, Edward Farrar,
William Deal ; wardens, Edward Farrar, Charles Keene, C. H.
Lease, G. C. Demmon.
For 1891 the village officers were: President, Frank H.
Atherton; trustees, George W. Atkins, J. C. Griggs; clerk,
George W. Morse; treasurer, C. E. Wyman; collector, H.
Sheple; auditors, C. N. Arms, J. W. Moody, C. F. Clough;
chief engineer, C. D. Robinson; assistants, William Deal, E. H.
Farrar; wardens, Charles Lease, J. H Carroll, E. H. Farrar,
G. C. Demmon.
For 1892 the village officers were: President, William
Cooley; trustees, John J. King, George H. Dale; clerk, George
W. Morse; treasurer, C. E. Wyman; collector, H. S. Sheple;
auditors, G. E. Moody, George W. Randall, C. F. Clough;
wardens, Edward Farrar, George C. Demmon, WilHam Deal,
M . O. Evans. Vacancies occurring in the offices of president
and treasurer, at an election held at a special village meeting

PERIOD 1 876-1900 165
January 22, 1892, the vacancies were filled by electing G. E.
Moody, president, and George W. Morse, treasurer.
The village officers for 1893 were: President, George H. Dale;
trustees, John C. Griggs, Doctor D. D. Grout; clerk, George
W. Morse; treasurer, same; collector, H. S. Sheple; auditors,
C. F. Clough, G. E. Moody, M. O. Evans; chief engineer,
Edward Farrar; assistants, Erwin Cooley, L. H. Atherton;
wardens, C. D. Robinson, C. S. Wrisley, J. C. Griggs, H. E.
Boyce. The village officers for 1894 were: President, CD. Rob
inson; trustees, J. W. Moody, William Cooley; clerk and
treasurer, George W. Morse; collector, H. S. Sheple; auditors,
C. F. Clough, J. A. Burleigh, G. E. Moody; chief engineer,
Edward Farrar; assistants, Erwin Cooley, L. H. Atherton;
wardens, J. H. Carroll, Edward Farrar, Charles Bailey, James
Green. For 1895 the village officers were: President, George W.
Randall ; trustees, O. E. Scott, G. E. Moody; clerk, J. J. Colby;
treasurer, H. S. Sheple; collector, C. C. Graves; auditors,
J. S. Batchelder, Henry James, L. H. Atherton; chief engineer,
Edward Farrar; assistants, Erwin Cooley, L. H. Atherton;
wardens, Joseph Hutchinson, Edward Farrar, J. C. Griggs,
G. W. Randall.
For 1896 the village officers were: President, C. F. Clough;
trustees, H. D. Brown, John Deal; clerk, J. J. Colby; treasurer,
George W. Morse; collector, C. C. Graves; auditors, H. James,
L. H. Haines, Charles Keene; chief engineer, Edward Farrar;
assistants, Erwin Cooley, L. H. Atherton; wardens, Seth
Jones, G. E. Moody, Joseph Hutchinson, James Somerville.
For 1897 the village officers were: President, J. A. Bur
leigh; trustees, H. D. Brown, Edward Farrar; clerk, J. J.
Colby; treasurer, J. W. Moody; collector, C. C. Graves;
auditors, G. E. Moody, G. W. Randall, W. V. Bryan; chief
engineer, Edward Farrar; assistants, L. H. Atherton, Erwin
Cooley; wardens, Joseph Hutchinson, James Somerville,
Charles Keene, Will Seabury.
For 1898 the village officers were: President, James A.
Burleigh; trustees, H. D. Brown, Edward Farrar; clerk, J. J.

l66 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Colby; treasurer, J. C. Farrar; auditors, G. E. Moody, M.
O. Evans, S. W. Jones ; chief engineer, Edw. Farrar ; assistants,
Erwin Cooley, James A. Hattie ; wardens, Joseph Hutchinson,
S. W. Jones, P. G. Wright, W. H. Seabury; water commissioner,
for three years, James A. Burleigh.
For 1899 the village officers were : President, G. E. Moody;
trustees, G. B. Evans, T. O'Neil; clerk, J. J. Colby; treasurer,
J. C. Farrar; collector, C. C. Graves; auditors, S. W. Jones,
W. V. Bryan, C. M. Griffith; chief engineer, W. H. Carroll;
assistants, John Deal, James Hattie; wardens, S. W. Jones,
Charles Keene, P. G. Wright, Joseph Hutchinson; water
commissioner, for three years, G. E. Moody.
For 1900 the village officers were: President, G. E. Moody;
trustees, W. J. Boyce, O. L. Ayres; trccisurer, J. C. Farrar;
collector, C. C. Graves; auditors, George W. Morse, George
H. Dale, George W. Randall; chief engineer, W. H. Carroll;
assistants, Erwin Cooley, John Deal; wardens, Olin King,
S. W. Jones, P. G. Wright, Joseph Hutchinson.
For 1901 the village officers were: President, W. J. Boyce;
trustees, Erwin Cooley, John Deal; clerk, J. K. Fullerton;
treasurer, George H. Dale; collector, C. C. Graves; auditors,
G. E. Moody, George W. Morse, W. V. Bryan; chief engineer,
W. H. Carroll ; assistants, Olin King, Grant O. Russell ; wardens,
Joseph Hutchinson, S. W. Jones, J. F. Somerville, Heman
Morse; water commissioner, for three years, H. D. Brown.
For 1902 the village officers were: President Charles B.
Clark; trustees, T. B. Crossett, John Deal; clerk, James K.
Fullerton; treasurer, G. H. Dale; collector, C. C. Graves;
auditors, G. E. Moody, George W. Morse, George W. Ran
dall; chief engineer, Olin King; assistants, C. R. Lyman, S.
L. Barber; wardens, Joseph Hutchinson, S. W. Jones, H.
L. Morse, W. H. Seabury; water commissioner, for three
years, G. E. Moody.
For 1903 the village officers were: President, Charles B.
Clark; trustees, W. B. Clark, W. E. Thompson; clerk, James
K. Fullerton; treasurer, G. H. Dale; collector, C. C. Graves;
auditors, George W. Randall, C. D. Griffith, George W.
Morse; chief engineer, Olin King; assistants. Grant O. Russell,

PERIOD 1 876-1900 167
Frank Towne; wardens, S. W. Jones, Joseph Hutchinson,
Frank Towne, Frank Williams ; water commissioner, for three
years, Edward Farrar.
For 1904 the village officers were: President, Edward
Farrar; trustees, G. E. Moody, M. E. Davis; clerk, James K.
Fullerton; treasurer, G. H. Dale; collector, C. C. Graves;
auditors, C. D. Griffith, J. S. Batchelder, G. H. Dale; chief
engineer, Olin King; assistants, S. W. Guptil, Grant O. Rus
sell; wardens, Joseph Hutchinson, James F. Somerville, O.
L. Ayers, Frank Williams; water commissioner, H. D.
Brown. For 1905 the village officers were: President, George W.
Morse; trustees, Charles Keene, O. L. Ayres; clerk, James
K. Fullerton; treasurer, George H. Dale; collector, C. C.
Graves; auditors, C. D. Griffith, James K. Fullerton, F. L.
Knight; chief engineer, Olin King; assistants, Frank Towne,
J. F. Somerville; wardens, Joseph Hutchinson, O. L. Ayres,
F. E. Williams, Fred Towne.
For 1906 the village officers were: President, George W.
Morse; trustees, L. J. Roberts, O. L. Ayers; clerk, James K.
Fullerton; treasurer, G. H. Dale; collector, C. C. Graves;
auditors, F. L. Knight, H. D. Brown, C. H. Haines; chief
engineer, Olin King; assistants, Frank E. Towne, Erwin
Cooley; wardens, C. I. Hatch, Joseph Hutchinson, O. L.
Ayers, J. F. Somerville; water commissioner, for three years,
D. W. Cooley.
For 1907 the village officers were: President, C. C. Graves;
trustees, O. L. Ayers, W. H. Berdan; clerk, James K. Fullerton;
treasurer, G. H. Dale; collector, G. S. Blaisdell; auditors, C.
H. Haines, H. D. Brown, F. L. Knight; chief engineer, Olin
King; assistants, Frank E. Towne, F. C. Evans; wardens,
C. H. Haines, H. D. Blakely, C. F. Bailey, E. E. Campbell;
water commissioner, for three years, H. D. Brown.
For 1908 the village officers were: President, C. C. Graves;
trustees, O. L. Ayers, W. H. Berdan ; clerk, James K. Fullerton;
collector, G. S. Blaisdell; auditors, H. D. Brown, L. C. Moody,
F. L. Knight; chief engineer, Olin King; assistants, A. E.
Edwards, Guy Scott; wardens, F. E. Williams, Arthur John-

1 68 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
son, J. A. Foster, H. L. Morse; water commissioner, for three
years, Charles Keene; treasurer, E. E. Joslyn.
For 1909 the village officers were: President, Harry C.
Whitehill; trustees, E. E. Campbell, F. C. Luce; clerk, James
K. Fullerton; treasurer, E. E. Joslyn; collector, W. J. O'Neill;
auditors, F. L. Knight, L. C. Moody, C. C. Graves; chief
engineer, Frank E. Towne; assistants, B. A. Lavelle, Horace
J. Tatro; wardens, Henry Carpenter, W. J. Redmond, B.
F. Atherton; Frank Williams; water commissioner, for three
years, W. H. Berdan.
For 1910 the village officers were: President, Harry C.
Whitehill; trustees, E. E. Campbell, F. C. Luce; clerk, James
K. Fullerton; collector, W. J. O'Neill; auditors, F. L. Knight,
G. H. Dale, W. B. Clark; chief engineer, Olin King; assistants,
Guy C. Scott, W. N. Gilbert; wardens, Olin King, Guy C.
Scott, W. N. Gilbert, S. W. Guptil; water commissioner, for
three years, G. E. Moody; treasurer, E. E. Joslyn.
For 191 1 the village officers were : President, E. E. Campbell ;
trustees, A. J. Kelley, F. W. Powers ; clerk, James K. Fullerton;
treasurer, E. E. Joslyn; collector, W. J. O'Neill; auditors,
G. H. Dale, F. L. Knight, M. H. Moody; chief engineer,
Olin King; assistants, Guy C. Scott, W. N. Gilbert; water
commissioner, for three years, Morris Daley; wardens, Olin
King, Guy C. Scott, W. N. Gilbert, S. W. Guptil.
For 1912 the village officers were: President, F. C. Luce;
trustees, D. T. Harvey, F. C. Lamb; clerk, James K. Fullerton;
treasurer, E. E. Joslyn; collector, W. J. O'Neill; auditors,
E. E. Campbell, G. H. Dale, F. L. Knight; chief engineer,
Patrick Grace; assistants, Guy C. Scott, W. N. Gilbert; water
commissioners, O. L. Ayers, for two years, W. H. Berdan,
for three years.
For 1913 the village officers were: President, F. C. Luce;
trustees, D. T. Harvey, F. C. Lamb; clerk, James K. Fullerton;
treasurer, E. E. Joslyn; collector, G. S. Blaisdell; auditors,
G. H. Dale, F. L. Knight, E. E. Campbell; chief engineer,
Olin King; assistants, James Dickie, W. F. Gilbert; wardens,
W. F. Gilbert, Guy C. Scott, Olin King, James Dickie; water
commissioner, for three years, G. E. Moody.

PERIOD 1 876-1900 169
For 1914 the village officers were: President, V. L. Per
kins; trustees, C. D. Swasey, J. A. Foster; clerk, James K.
Fullerton; collector, G. S. Blaisdell; auditors, M. L. Thibault,
Earl Boyce, C. C. Graves; chief engineer, Olin King; assist
ants, Guy Scott, W. F. Gilbert; wardens, Frank Williams,
Olin King, Guy C. Scott, W. N. Gilbert; water commissioner,
for three years, O. L. Ayers.
For 191 5 the village officers were : President, CD. Swasey;
trustees, Jesse A. Foster, F. W. Powers; clerk, James K.
Fullerton; treasurer, E. E. Joslyn; collector, G. S. Blaisdell;
auditors, C C Graves, G. H. Dale, E. E. Campbell; chief
engineer, Olin King; assistants, W. N. Gilbert, Dan Guyette;
water commissioner, for three years, W. H. Berdan.

The quarter century of 1 875-1 900 marked the country's
great electrical development and commercial and industrial
application of electricity to the needs of the times. The
first telephone in Waterbury was installed by Colonel Andrew
C Brown, late of Montpelier, in the residence and tannery of
C C Warren. About 1882 a toll line was built from Mont
pelier to Waterbury and a telephone was installed in the store
of M. O. Evans. In 1884 a small exchange was established in
this store and all lines were then connected with the exchange.

William Paul Dillingham was born in Waterbury, December
12, 1843, son of Paul and Julia (Carpenter) Dillingham. Be
sides the public schools, he attended Newbury Seminary and
Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, New Hampshire. He
holds the degree of LL. D., both from Norwich University
and Middlebury College, and that of A. M. from the Univer
sity of Vermont. He was a law student in the office of his
brother-in-law. Honorable Matthew H. Carpenter of Mil
waukee, Wisconsin, and afterwards in the office of his father in
Waterbury. He married Miss Mary Ellen Shipman of Lisbon,
New Hampshire. One son, Paul Shipman is now a resident
of Montpelier, except during the summer months when he,
with his family, occupies the Dillingham home on Blush Hill.
William Paul Dillingham was admitted to the Vermont bar
12

I70 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
in 1867, and maintained an office at Waterbury until 1890.
He was for many years in partnership with his father, and after
the latter's retirement he practiced his profession in an in
dividual capacity. In 1890 at the close of his term as Gover
nor of Vermont he formed a partnership with the Honorable
Hiram A. Huse of Montpelier under the firm name of Dilling
ham & Huse, which was afterwards enlarged by the admission
of Honorable Fred A. Howland, which partnership continued
until the death of Mr. Huse in 1902. Since that time Mr.
Dillingham's activities have been connected with public
life. He was state's attorney of Washington County in
1 872-1 876; secretary of civil and military affairs, 1874-
1876; town representative from Waterbury in 1876, 1884
and 1885; state senator in 1878 and 1880; state tax commis
sioner in 1 882-1 888; Governor of Vermont, 1 888-1 890.
He was elected to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy
occasioned by the death of Honorable Justin S. Morrill,
October 18, 1900, and has been reelected by the Legislature
since — ^to succeed himself in 1902 and 1908, and again by the
people November 3, 1914.
Mr. Dillingham's career as a public speaker was determined
largely by his election to the office of state's attorney. It had
been his intention as a lawyer to devote himself to office prac
tice and to leave advocacy to other members of his firm. Like
many another lawyer, he discovered that his constant court
work as state's attorney developed an unsuspected taste for
advocacy, giving him an impulse along the lines of forensic
work. One of the important prosecutions of his term was
that of a gang of Barre Bank burglars, resulting in the trial,
conviction and sentence to Windsor of the leader of the gang,
after many obstructive and dilatory legal moves in New York
City involving a series of hearings on habeas corpus writs
sued out for the purpose of resisting the respondent's extradi
tion into Vermont. These obstructive tactics in New York
were eloquent of the difficulties entrenched crime could place
in the way of due administration of justice in those days of
pull and public graft.
In his first message Governor William P. Dillingham dealt

PERIOD 1876-1900 171
with the usual overcrowded condition of the State Reform
School and also that of the Vermont Asylum at Brattleboro.
Indeed, the ratio of increase of those demanding admission
had grown so great as to call for immediate relief. The
Governor advocated "the erection of a state asylum at some
convenient point capable of accommodating a part or all of
the insane poor and such private patients as may be desired,
and upon a plan which will permit of additions or extensions
as the needs of the state may require." The prohibitory
liquor law had proven so far ineffective, by reason of lax
enforcement, that its operation had become farcical in many
respects. The Governor asked pertinently in his message
whether the time had not come when a sentence of imprison
ment should follow the first conviction under the law and
when a provision of that character would do more to stop
sales than any other measure yet proposed.
In his valedictory message to the General Assembly at the
October session of 1890, Governor Dillingham dealt with such
subjects as the education of deaf and dumb, blind and feeble
minded children, the agricultural college fund, the work of the
commissioner of agricultural and manufacturing interests, the
chancering of bonds (a practice under which systematic
abuses had grown up in the treatment of bond forfeitures in
liquor law violations), the Nuisance Act, education and
Swedish colonization.
The remarkably interesting experiment had been inaugu
rated of inducing the best class of Swedish immigrants to
come to Vermont and settle on what were then known as
unoccupied or abandoned farms. There had been a steady
depreciation for many years in farm values. Vermont in
common with other Eastern states had suffered from a steady
exodus of young men who were attracted away, either by the
lure of commercial or industrial pursuits in manufacturing
centers or large cities or the call of a semi-adventurous and
wholly speculative career in the West. Many back or hill-
farms were either unoccupied or indifferently cultivated,
though the lands were of good quality and not worn out.
Emulating the example of their neighbors, the American-born

172 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
sons of foreign parents, who had settled in groups here and
there in the back towns, also began to look farther afield than
Vermont. It finally came to the pass where some systematic
scheme of repopulating the sparsely settled farm communities
should be put into immediate operation. A number of Swedes
were induced by the State to settle in the vicinity of Wilming
ton, Weston and Peru. These were of the thrifty well-to-do
class, having sufficient means to make advance pajmients on
their farms. The Governor recommended a patient, careful
and candid study of the problem presented by the commis
sioner of whether the experiment so auspiciously begun should
be further carried out by state aid. A measure for this purpose
appropriating a sum of money was deferred action until the
closing hours of the session, when it was defeated.
It was in May, 1889, the occasion of the celebration of the
centennial of Washington's inaugural in New York, that the
magnificent parade of State and Federal troops was held.
The National Guard of Vermont, with Governor Dillingham
riding a spirited mare, led the, column of Vermonters. The
Kentucky troops followed Vermont's in the order of disposi
tion, with Governor Simon Buckner riding ahead. Upon
breaking ranks, the old Confederate chieftain looked the
Vermonters over admiringly and expressed to Governor Dill
ingham a naive curiosity as to how the Green Mountain lads
came by their great stature and inquired if it were not due to
drinking Hme water!
Since Senator Dillingham became a senator of the United
States, he has served for a long time as chairman of the Com
mittee on Immigration, the Committee on Privileges and
Elections, and the Committee on the University of the United
States, and as a member of the important committees on the
Judiciary, Foreign Relations, Appropriations, District of
Columbia, and Territories. His long service both as chair
man and member of the Committee on Immigration has
given him an exceptional knowledge of the problems connected
with foreign immigration so that when in 1907 Congress au
thorized an exhaustive examination of the whole question he
was made chairman of the commission, which consisted of

PERIOD 1876-1900 173
three senators, three representatives, and three gentlemen
selected from civil life. This investigation covered a period
of three years, and embraced every phase of the subject. It
necessitated travel throughout a large portion of Europe and a
special trip to the Hawaiian Islands, where the labor problems
are important. The printed reports of the commission are
contained in forty-two volumes. His speeches upon this
question delivered in the Senate from time to time are too
numerous to be mentioned and too comprehensive for analy
sis in this place, but they, in connection with addresses which
he has delivered in some of the larger cities of the United
States, have done much to educate the public mind and to
shape its opinion upon this question. In fact. Senator Dilling
ham has an international reputation for his knowledge of
immigration questions, and his reports and speeches are widely
quoted as authentic.
As a member of the Committee on Territories, Senator
Dillingham was a member of the sub-committee which inves
tigated the conditions in the territories of Arizona, New
Mexico, and Oklahoma, and he took active part in the debates
upon the question of their admission to the Union. He
strongly urged the admission of Oklahoma, but recommended
delay in respect to the other two.
As chairman of a sub-committee of the Committee on Ter
ritories he visited Alaska, extending his journey the whole
length of the Ukon river, 2,300 miles, at the mouth of which
the committee was met by a revenue cutter and a visit was
made to Nome, the Pribilof Islands, the home of the fur seal
herds, to the Aleutian Islands, and to all of the Pacific ports
of Alaska. The committee were for over six weeks beyo'nd
the reach of communica:tions ; their report, drafted by Senator
Dillingham, so completely covered all legislative action that it
was accepted as the basis of Alaskan legislation for many
years. As a result of their investiga.tion of the fur seal herds
upon the Pribilof Islands, and of their recommendations to
Congress and to the Department of State, a treaty between
the United States, Great Britain, and Russia, has been entered
into for the protection and preservation of the fur seals in

174 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Behring Sea, and legislation has been adopted to carry the same
into operation.
The limits of this sketch render it impossible, even if ad
visable to refer in detail to the service of Senator Dillingham
in the Senate. It is sufficient to say that as a member of the
Committee on the District of Columbia he has had an active
part in shaping all the legislation both for the Government of
the District and for that remarkable development of Washing
ton along all lines which are fast making it one of the most
beautiful capital cities of the world. In his service as a mem
ber of the Committee on the Judiciary, he has had to deal
with questions both intricate and important, and, as a mem
ber of the Committee on Appropriations, with problems which
readily suggest themselves to every intelligent reader.
As a Senator from Vermont, and having New England's
interests especially at heart, he stoutly opposed President
Taft's scheme for reciprocity with Canada, and in the face of
much criticism he was equally strong in his support of the
protective principle in tariff legislation.
The people of Vermont will not soon forget the judicial
stand taken by Senator Dillingham as chairman of the Com
mittee on Privileges and Elections in its consideration of the
Lorimer case, nor his able, forceful and lawyer-like r4sum6 of
the case in the Senate, July 6, 8 and 9, 1912. Because Mr.
Dillingham disregarded popular clamor and confined himself
to a consideration of all the facts, as brought out in the evidence
taken by the committee, he was subjected to some criticism,
which, however, was only ephemeral. The result of the re
hearing, however disappointing to the courageous few who
resisted popular clamor, in so sense changed the material facts.
William P. Dillingham much prefers the peaceful village
life of Waterbury to the hurly-burly of cities; his love for his
native town amounts to almost an obsession. He takes de
light in participating in town affairs and is known and re
garded by his townsmen as one whose interest in the minutest
matters affecting the town is always keen and suggestive. He
might well be pardoned for the pride he feels in having been
instrumental in the establishment and up-building of the

PERIOD 1876-1900 175
State Hospital, the magnificent high school, and in the long-
worked-for adoption and building of the village water system
together with C D. Robinson and G. E. Moody. He it was
who advocated the first concrete sidewalks for the village, and
it was largely through his efforts, assisted by those of Justin
W. Moody and Reverend W. R. Davenport, fellow commit
teemen, that the fine new Methodist Church was planned
and built. It will long be remembered of him that no
public preferment or distinction could ever displace Water
bury from his solicitous affection and care. This is his home
and here is where he loves to be.
In accordance with the recommendations of Governor
William P. Dillingham and pursuant to the action of the
Legislature a site for the Vermont State Hospital for the Insane
was purchased in 1889 from Mr. C C Warren. The first
board of trustees were W. H. Giddings, M. D., Bakersfield,
Vermont; Don D. Grout, M. D., Stowe, Vermont; H. D. Hob
son, Brighton, Vermont. The superintendents in order were
W. E. Sylvester, M. D., appointed in 1891 and served a little
less than one year; W. H. Giddings, M. D., served four years
and four months; Frank Page, M. D., followed Doctor Gid
dings and served two and one-half years. Doctor Marcello
Hutchinson followed Doctor Page and served six years and
four months, retiring in August, 1905. Don D. Grout, M. D.,
the present superintendent, followed Doctor Hutchinson and
was appointed September 6, 1905. A disastrous fire at the
hospital occurred December 24, 1909, in which the roof of
Hall No. 3 was destroyed, and Halls Nos. i, 2 and 3 were
rendered temporarily unfit for use. The present medical staff
consists of Don D. Grout, M. D., superintendent; W. L. Was
son, M. D., assistant physician and pathologist; E. A. Stanley,
M. D., second assistant physician; T. J. Allen, M. D., third
assistant physician. The number of employes is 147; the
number of patients at present is 768 ; of these 434 are males and
334 females. The hospital farm of seven hundred acres is in
charge of Farmer H. C Douglass.
Doctor Don De Forest Grout, superintendent of the Ver
mont State Hospital for the Insane, at Waterbury, is from old

176 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
New England stock, the English founder of the family. Captain
John Grout coming to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1640.
He was allowed upon petition of the citizens of Sudbury to
"practice the mistery of chirudgery." Of the fifth generation
in the direct line was Don Grout, who settled in Elmore, Ver
mont, and died in 1841. Major Luman M. Grout, the father
of the subject of this sketch, was the son of Don Grout of El
more. Major Grout was born at Elmore March 8, 1823, and
died in Waterbury December 9, 1913. In 1847 he enlisted
in Company D, a Vermont company of the Ninth Regiment,
United States Infantry, for service in the Mexican War. He
received his appointment as corporal at Fort Adams and was
in the battles of Contreras and Cheresbusco, where he was
severely wounded and carried from the field to a hospital.
After his honorable discharge from the army he represented
the town of Elmore in the Legislature in 1857-1858. At the
breaking out of the Rebellion, he first did recruiting and drill
ing duty. His volunteers formed Company A of the Eighth
Vermont Regiment of Volunteer Infantry. He was elected
captain of the company and duly commissioned. He took
part in the taking of New Orleans and was promoted to his
majority to succeed Colonel Charles Dillingham December
24, 1862. After the war he lived in Elmore, Montpelier,
Stoneham, Massachusetts, and finally returned to the home of
his son. Doctor Grout, in Waterbury, where he spent his last
years. He was the last survivor of the Mexican War who
went from Vermont and who also served in the War of the
Rebellion. Doctor Don D. Grout was born in Morrisville, Vermont, April
24, 1849. He was educated at the People's Academy, Morris
ville, and Dartmouth College. He received his professional
training at the Medical School of the University of Vermont,
and was graduated there with the degree of M. D. in 1872.
He was successively an interne at Kings County Hospital,
Brooklyn, New York, a general practitioner in Stowe, Vermont,
and Waterbury. He has been surgeon of the Central Vermont
Railroad, health officer of the town. United States Pension
examiner and consulting surgeon of the Fanny Allen Hospital

PERIOD 1876-1900 177
of Burlington. A Repubhcan in politics, he has served as
superintendent of schools at Walcott and town representative
from Stowe in the Legislature in 1888. A member of the
legislative committee on the insane, he had charge of the
bill providing for the present State Hospital for the In
sane. Subsequently he was placed in charge of the con
struction of the hospital buildings and the removal of patients
from Brattleboro Hospital. He served four years as one
of the three original trustees of the State Hospital,, from
the year 1889. He also served as trustee and chairman
of the school board of the Village of Waterbury from 1900
to 1903. He was chairman of the Republican Town Com
mittee for twenty years. He was chairman of the State
Tuberculosis Commission from 1902 to 1905; delegate to the
Pan-American Tuberculosis Congress in Baltimore in 1903.
He was appointed superintendent and treasurer of the Ver
mont State Hospital for the Insane September 6, 1905, and
has held the post since that time. Doctor Grout is a member
of the Burlington Medical Society, Chittenden County Medical
Society, Vermont State Medical Society and the American
Medical Association. He is past master of Winooski Lodge,
No. 49, Free and Accepted Masons; member of Waterbury
Chapter, No. 24, Royal Arch Masons.
Doctor Grout married (first in 1873) Nettie A. Jones of
Barre, who died in 1880. He married (second in 1881) Angle
Wilkins of Stowe and (third in 1892) Ida E. Morse, daughter
of Daniel J. and Jane (McKee) Morse of Waterbury. Chil
dren of his first marriage are Inez (Grout) Lease, born August
27, 1874; Luman M., born January 4, 1877 (married). Chil
dren by second wife are Annie (Grout) Gilbert; Josephine
(Grout) Magee, born June 11, 1885; Benjamin Harrison,
civil engineer with Southern New England railroad, born
September 20, 1888; Angle (Grout) Gale, born July 18, 1892.
Children by third wife are Don Jackson, born July 31, 1899,
and Frank Morse, October 29, 1901.
Widely as Doctor Grout is known throughout Vermont it
is doubtful if those not living in Waterbury and acquainted
with his work as head of the State Hospital can form an ade-

178 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
quate conception of the vast good he has accomplished. His
broad and tolerant sympathies are never vainly appealed to.
A host of rehabilitated men can testify to the salutary effects
of his intelligent and helpful influence. Practical humanity's
cause has no more forceful exponent in the state.
The Seabury family of Waterbury, whose sketch is given
here, dates back to John Seabury of Somersetshire, England.
He came to Boston in 1639. Samuel Seabury, his son, lived
in Duxbury, Massachusetts, and his son, John, born in Dux
bury in 1680, is believed to be he who married Elizabeth
Alden, granddaughter of John Alden, December 9, 1697,
and was known later at Groton, Connecticut, as "Deacon
John Seabury of Groton." His son, Samuel, born July 8,
1706, was graduated at Harvard and was ordained in England,
in 1 73 1, as an Episcopalian rector. He married Abigail Mum-
ford, a daughter of a vestryman. Their son, Samuel, born
November 30, 1729, also was graduated at Harvard and
entered the church; he received consecration in Scotland
November 17, 1784, and was made Bishop, the first of his
church in America. Caleb, elder brother of Bishop Samuel
Seabury, was born in February, 1728. John, the son of
Caleb, born in 1748, was the great-grandfather of Mr. O. A.
Seabury of Waterbury, and was a sea-captain.
On his return to the port of New London, from a voyage to
the West Indies in 1781, the British, boarding the vessel,
surprised his ship's company and all on board were destroyed
except his seven-year-old son, John, who eluded the attention
of the boarders by hiding. This boy, John, married Mary
Harris and came alone to Stowe in 1794 where he assisted in
the organization of the town; later, in 1797, he brought his
family from Colchester, New London County, Connecticut,
to his new home; making the journey on horseback, the
family party passed through Waterbury, then a straggling
village or hamlet consisting of less than ten houses.
The children of John and Mary Harris Seabury were John,
father of O. A. Seabury, Caleb, Nathaniel, Mary (Thomas),
Elizabeth (Handy) and Emily (Thompson). Hester (Scribner),
Harriet (Lothian) , Salome (Towne) and Joel were children of

PERIOD 1876-1900 179
his wife, Dorothy (Harris). John Seabury, father of O. A.
Seabury, was born in Colchester, New London County, Con
necticut, August 22, 1793. His early youth was spent at
his father's home in Stowe, where he attended the common
schools and worked on the farm, varying this with teaching
school in winter. He, with several brothers and his father,
a colonel of militia, served in the War of 1812; starting for
Plattsburg in September, 1813, they arrived at Burlington
only to find that communication with and transportation to
the other side of the lake had been cut off. Here the Seaburys
stayed until the British withdrew, their service lacking just
one day of entitling them to pensions.
Soon after attaining his majority, John Seabury went to
work in a brick-yard in Montreal, Province of Quebec. After
a few years in Canada, he returned to Stowe as appears by
certain deeds dated in 1823. That same year, he came to
Waterbury and began work for Ariel Thomas in the business
of cloth dressing and wool carding.
In 1822 Ariel Thomas of Bridgewater, Vermont, bought his
mill site of William Eddy and moved from Bridgewater,
bringing with him his wife, Mary (Seabury), daughter of
Colonel John Seabury, and Alvinza Thompson, who afterwards
married Emily (Seabury), second daughter of Colonel John.
Thompson entered Thomas' employ as cloth dresser. In 1823
John Seabury bought another and better equipped site further
down the stream and went into business with his brother-in-
law, Ariel Thomas. The firm conducted both establishments
until the upper mill burned in the early 30's. The business
was thereafter conducted at the lower mill under the firm
name of Thomas, Seabury & Thompson until the retirement
of the senior member. Following, this change, the firm was
known as Seabury & Thompson. The partners enlarged the
plant and installed new and improved machinery and soon
acquired the most extensive manufacturing business in this
part of the state, which continued for over twenty-five years.
The business, was bought by George D. Joslyn in 1858
or 1859, as appears later in this book. By producing an
honest, durable product the firm grew in strength and in the

l8o HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
confidence of the farmers who exchanged their wool for cloth
at a fixed price per yard for manufacture. Up to this time,
the early settlers of Waterbury and vicinity were obliged
to produce their home-made or home-spun cloths as best they
could by recourse to household hand cards, spinning wheels
and hand looms. After the advent of the cloth dressing and
carding machinery came the machinery for finishing off the
product of the hand loom, which product had heretofore been
worn in its rough state just as it came from the loom. This
improved product was called full-cloth ; so, by degrees, power
looms and spinning jacks came into vogue, calling for factories
in which every step of cloth making could be carried out.
To Jonathan Robbins belongs the credit of building the
first carding and cloth dressing establishment in this vicinity.
He built his plant on the site of the first grist mill of Carpenter
& Eddy about 1815.
In 1828 John Seabury married Calista Thompson, the sister
of his partner, who came here from Bridgewater as a school
teacher. The newly married pair occupied the house pur
chased by John Seabury of Jonathan Robbins in 1824. This
property included the mill site of Thompson & Seabury.
The residence, an old-fashioned, three-story, hip-roofed build
ing, burned in 1846. The present Seabury home replaced it
the same year. This was John Seabury's home until his death.
The firm of Seabury & Thompson took into partnership
Henry Blanchard, in the early 40's, and the firm was there
after Thompson, Seabury & Blanchard. Not long after the
first half of the century had passed, the firm began to realize
that their honest product was called upon to compete with
cheap, shoddy material used in the trade for ready made
clothing. Wool declined in price and farmers found it un
profitable to raise sheep — an important industry in itself.
There was a slight reaction at the outbreak of the Civil War
when cotton became dear, but this was only temporary.
The business passed out of the hands of Thompson, Seabury
& Blanchard into those of George D. Joslyn, Selleck & Joslyn,
and A. H. Selleck, successively.
How great a boon the machine for cloth manufacture was

PERIOD 1876-1900 181
to the overburdened housewives of the period may be realized
when it is pointed out that the price in exchange was at the
rate of thirty-five cents a yard and for twenty-two ounces of
wool the factory would return eleven ounces of finished cloth.
For the first time, the busy mother could procure factory
made flannels for household uses, underwear, etc., also cloth
for sheets and dresses. The decline in wool and the competi
tion with shoddy products reacted, of course, upon the families
of the community to their loss.
John and Calista (Thompson) Seabury continued to live
in the old Robbins residence and the present homestead that
replaced it until their respective deaths in 1881 and 1880.
Children born of the marriage were Helen (1830-1903), who
married William Richardson, a lawyer of Waterbury (died
in 1849); Edward Thomas (1832-1899), who married Mary
A. Stevens (died in 1883) ; children of this marriage are William
H., Mae F. and Alice L., who, with a second wife, Julia (Bliss)
Seabury, survive; and Sylindia, who married Francis Joslyn
(now dead) and who still liyes with her daughter, Mrs. Minnie
Farrell at Colbjrville; John Q., who went to Redlands, Cali
fornia; after his death, in 1908, the city of Redlands caused a
bronze tablet to be placed upon his monument with this
inscription. JUDGE J. Q. SEABURY
SON OF JOHN SEABURY, WAS BORN IN WATERBURY,
VERMONT. CAME TO REDLANDS IN 1 887 AND WAS
PROMINENTLY IDENTIFIED WITH THE EARLY HISTORY
AND GROWTH OF THE COMMUNITY, HONORED AND ES
TEEMED BY ALL.
Ovid Arioch (unmarried), who is now living in the old
Seabury homestead with the family of E. T. Seabury; Mr. O.
A. Seabury, besides being a patron of the arts, is a well known
raconteur with a wide acquaintance and hosts of friends
within and without the state; Weltha F. (died in Waitsfield
in 1871), who was the wife of E. E. Joslyn; their two children
now living, are Jesse E. of Montpelier and L. B. Joslyn of
Waitsfield; Martha J. married N. P. Wheeler, and died in
1874 leaving a daughter Jessie, who married F. J. Greene and
now lives in Petaluma, California.

1 82 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
John Seabury, the head of this large family of Waterbury,
was a man of strong religious predilections and became a
member of the prudential committee of the local Congrega
tional Church. Being an ardent Free Soiler, Mr. Seabury
favored the use of the church at a meeting to be addressed by
the first Free Soil speaker to come into the state. This was
refused by other members of the committee, whereupon the
committeeman withdrew and declined to have anything
more to do with the church, although his name was
continued on the rolls. Subsequently he became interested
in the Adventist faith and assisted in maintaining and building
the first Advent Church in Waterbury, while the rest of the
family worshiped at the Congregational Church.
Mr. Seabury was wont to do his own thinking, — sometimes
arriving at conclusions that were not popular, but frequently,
as they developed, ahead of his time. He was accustomed to
express himself in quaint but forceful phraseology though he
was a faultless grammarian, if he so chose to be. He was ever
ready to lend a helping hand to the poor and needy; his home
and table were always open to friends or strangers, sometimes
to the discomfort of the other members of the family, He
belonged to that wing of the Whig party that afterwards
became Republican and voted for Harrison and Tyler in 1840.
He was a bitter opponent of slavery and derived his anti-
slavery gospel largely from the New York Tribune, showing
his practical devotion to the cause by helping along all " under
ground railway" enterprises in Vermont.
In personal appearance Mr. Seabury was tall, but not
erect, — about six feet two inches in height and weighing one
hundred and forty-five pounds. He had a long, swinging
stride and, when walking, moved his arms from side to side,
presenting an ungainly appearance which he sometimes pur
posely affected. He was a kind, indulgent parent and husband,
fond of his children and their pastimes, never seeming to feel
annoyed or irritated at their pranks and noise. His kindness
and forbearance to debtors were also well known. It never
occurred to Mr. Seabury that because a customer never paid
his bills and was never expected to, he should, therefore.

PERIOD 1 876-1900 183
be denied further credit. With such a disposition, it is not
surprising to learn that he never worried. He left the example
to his townsmen of one who was perfectly honest in all his
dealings and whose word was unquestioned.
Mr. and Mrs. John Seabury celebrated their golden wedding
in 1878. Mrs. Seabury died in 1880 and Mr. Seabury one
year later. They passed their married lives on the home
site selected in 1824. Seven of their eight children reached
maturity, one dying in infancy. All are married save one.
There are now living seven grandchildren, nine great-grand
children and five great-great-grandchildren. Of the grand
children, William Henry Seabury is the business manager
of his father's estate (E. T. Seabury estate), engaged in the
wholesale and retail business of flour, feed and general milling.
He lives at the old Seabury home with his stepmother and
sisters. Moses M. Knight came to Waterbury in 1848 and married
Sarah (Blush) Knight in 1854. Mr. Knight was for many
years one of the successful merchants of the town. The only
child was F. L. Knight, born April 5, 1863, who is now con
nected with the mercantile establishment of F. C Luce.
Mr. F. L. Knight married Miss Daisy Clark, daughter of
Orrin L. and Janet (Loomis) Clark, of Georgia, Vermont.
Children of Mr. and Mrs. F. L. Knight are Albert Clark,
Edward Morse, J. Bradford and Sarah Janet.
Edwin Franklin Palmer was born in Waitsfield, January
22, 1836, the son of Aaron and Sarah (Thayer) Palmer. His
father and grandfather before him were early settlers and
residents of Waitsfield, occupying one of the large farms in
Waitsfield Common. Palmer Hill, in the neighborhood, takes
its name from the family. Of the family of eleven, four of
the sons were educated at Dartmouth College. Mr. Palmer's
preparation for college was obtained at Northfield. He
entered Dartmouth in the fall of 1858 and was graduated in
the clciss of 1862. Soon after graduation he entered the
Union army with Company B, Thirteenth Vermont Regiment,
as lieutenant.
Mr. Palmer was one of those whose good fortune it was to

l84 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
have received his legal education and preparation for admis
sion to the bar in the office of Governor Paul Dillingham.
Mr. Palmer practiced his profession in Waterbury ; he was
town representative three times, reporter of the Supreme
Court and editor of eight volumes of Supreme Court Reports.
He served as State Superintendent of Education and was
instrumental in securing to the state many new and long
needed improvements in her educational system.
He married Addie D. Hartshorn, at Guildhall, June 15,
1865. There were seven children, four of whom are liv
ing: Edwin F., Jr., of Duxbury; John H. of Dorchester,
Massachusetts; Robert W. of Cambridge, Massachusetts;
Charles C of Warren, New Hampshire; and two grand
children, Annie Dorothy Palmer and Eber Huntley Palmer.
Mr. Palmer enlisted in Company B, Thirteenth Vermont
Regiment, August 25, 1862, from Waitsfield. He was made
sergeant and afterwards commissioned second lieutenant, No
vember 4, 1862. He was mustered out July 21, 1863. Mr.
Palmer was a careful student of political and educational prob
lems and a ready and interesting speaker. He was the author
of an entertaining volume, "Camp Life by a Volunteer."
Mr. Palmer died October 8, 1914, and his funeral was held
at the Palmer residence the following Sunday, October 11, 1914.
Reverend W. L. Boicourt officiated, assisted by Reverend
W. E. Douglass. John H. Senter, Esq., spoke of Mr. Palmer
as "a friend, lawyer and professional man."
Doctor Emory G. Hooker, an esteemed physician of
Waterbury, was born in Cabot, February 19, 1839, the son
of Mr. and Mrs. Liberty Hooker. After a short period spent
in Massachusetts he went to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where
he entered the University of Michigan, in the Medical School,
and was graduated as one of his class leaders in 1864. He
completed his medical education at the College of Physicians
and Surgeons in New York City where he was graduated with
high honors. He practiced successively in Montpelier and
Waitsfield and came to Waterbury in 1880. His skill as a
physician and surgeon was widely recognized within and with
out the state. Doctor Hooker was a prominent Mason and

PERIOD 1876-1900 185
past grand master of Winooski Lodge. He married Miss
Katharine Kneeland December 28, 1865. Mrs. B. F. Atherton
is a daughter of the marriage. Doctor Hooker died in Water
bury August 13, 1902, and the funeral services were held at
the Methodist Church. An eloquent tribute was paid Doctor
Hooker by Doctor Don D. Grout, a fellow lodge member.
This appeared in the issue of the Waterbury Record of August
19, 1902.
The town builders of Waterbury who had the distinct
advantage of being born here profited by the impetus given
the town by their forbears and carried on the work from the
point where their fathers left off. Such a man is George W.
Randall, now a nonagenarian living in his old home on Main
Street, with Mrs. Randall, and having near at hand. Doctor
Watson Wasson and Mrs. Pearl (Randall) Wasson, his son-
in-law and daughter, respectively. Mr. Randall was born
on Ricker Mountain, September 18, 1825, the son of Oliver
Cromwell and Electa (Coffin) Randall, who was the great-
granddaughter of Hannah Dustin, the heroine of Haverhill,
Massachusetts. Both his father and grandfather had been
the earliest settlers on the mountain, not then named.
After his father's death in 1830, his mother, the daughter
of Moses Coffin, removed to Stowe and married George Akeley.
Mr. Randall spent some years of his boyhood with an aunt,
Mrs. Davis, but at the age of sixteen became apprenticed to
a blacksmith in Waterbury to learn that trade, boarding during
the succeeding three years at the home of R. C Smith. He
soon saw the necessity for schooling and accordingly availed
himself of what could be furnished at the common schools
and the academy at Bakersfield until he was twenty years
of age. He taught school for three successive winters on
Ricker Mountain and "boarded round" as was then the cus
tom for teachers.
Mr. Randall relates with some gusto his experiences as a
young man hunting employment in Boston and the then
new city of Lawrence, Massachusetts. He recounts an inci
dent of having been present in the United States District
Court in Boston when one Crafts, a sea-captain, was on
13

l86 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
trial for murder. He had as counsel Rufus Choate who,
in seeking to impeach the testimony of the vessel's mate,
commented characteristically :
Some truth there was
But mixed and dashed with lies —
To please the fool
And dazzle all the wise.
This court experience may or may not have had something
to do with Mr. Randall's subsequent determination to study
law in the office of Honorable Paul Dillingham.
With the dry humor his old acquaintances know so well,
he gives the details of a dog case he undertook in which par
ticipated as counsel Matthew Hale Carpenter, afterwards
United States Senator from Wisconsin and one of the fore
most constitutional lawyers of his time. Carpenter at this
time, however, was a young lawyer in the office of Rufus
Choate in Boston and was revisiting Waterbury and the office
of his former preceptor, Paul Dillingham. Young Randall
had entered this office as a student of Blackstone, Chitty and
Kent the winter before he became twenty-four years of age. A
part of his clerical duties was to make out the simpler writs,
and copy pleadings and office papers. One day during the ab
sence of his preceptor, Mr. Dillingham, an elderly gentleman
named Hawley applied to him for a writ against the owner
of a dog which had just bitten him. Nothing daunted, young
Randall made out the writ, and when Mr. Dillingham re
turned he said, "Well, George, now that you have made out
this writ, you may as well try the case." Upon a jury trial,
there was a disagreement. Then it was that the brilliant
advocate, Matthew Carpenter, suggested that evidence tend
ing to show that the dog was always a ferocious beast was
lacking and the case should be strenghtened in this regard.
Instead of going to trial for the second time, however, the
young man followed the advice of Mr. Dillingham who said
Mr. Hawley had no money to fool away on law and that there
should be a discontinuance, each party paying his costs.
This was done.
Mr. Randall's early life was much the same as that of all

PERIOD 1876-1900 187
New England country boys. Incidents of attending school
on Ricker Mountain and Nebraska Brook; his boyish triumphs
in penmanship and the spelling class; his all but tragic expe
rience when, at a tender age, he was lost in a snow storm and
was forced to burrow his way into a drift to keep from perish
ing until he was found by the searchers; his employment
on a farm at sixteen; his blacksmithing apprenticeship; his
academic education; his wonderful trip, via the Isthmus, to
California, starting September i, 1849; his experiences en
route and in the mines; his successful ventures there and
his triumphal return only to make a second venture ; his final
return to Waterbury; his subsequent activities in business
and political life, all contribute to round out an inspiring
career of youthful sagacity, shrewdness of young manhood,
courage and industry, and finally the far-sighted thrift, judg
ment and prosperity of middle and old age.
Mr. Randall has prospered largely through real estate
operations, farming and lumbering. His sawmills were for
years the most extensive in the vicinity and have cut i ,000,000
feet of lumber annually, employing a large force of workmen..
Originally a Democrat, Mr. Randall joined the Republican
party at its organization and has been auditor, lister, select
man and town representative several times.
Letters from Mr. Randall to friends and relatives written
from Chagres and Panama on the Isthmus are interesting
commentaries on transportation facilities then in vogue. The
fare from Panama, by the ship Senator, was $200 to San Fran
cisco. He describes his stay in Chagres, during which he
visited* "the old castle, — one mighty mass of ruins, cannon,
grape shot and all the munitions of war which remain in the
same condition as when left after being scattered by the buc
caneers headed by Morgan, Drake, and others in the year
1500; in the midst of the castle stands a magnificent orange
tree. . . . Honorable John T. Van Allen, American
Minister to Ecuador, came out on the Crescent City. He had
papers for an American consul at Chagres, but no consul could
he find. He seemed somewhat chagrined at the mistake of
Uncle Sam's boys; Allen being in a great sweat to get along,

1 88 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
tried to get the natives to show him through, but the darkies
are not to be hurried."
Mr. Randall wrote interestingly from the mines in Cali
fornia, and also from San Francisco. He says of the latter in
a letter of March 19, 1850: "This city is nothing but a frog
pond, although there are many splendid buildings. Men
have died in this city like sheep this winter, although where I
wintered it was very healthy. As regards the gold in this
country . . . the whole earth, for many miles, will
produce gold but it is only the banks or beds of rivers and
ravines that pay for working. . . . We had fifteen days
fair weather in succession in February. I had a good place or
lead meantime and took out between three and four hundred
Dolls, the rest of the time through the winter has paid from
five to twenty dollars per day but remember I only work
when it is pleasant ; my health is too precious to barter off for
gold." Mr. Randall in sending a sum of money home preferred to
send it by a draft in triplicate to provide against loss. He
explained in his letters that if he were coming home himself he
would have brought his gold dust with him to get the increase
at the mint over what he would be obliged to take in Cali
fornia. Writing from the mines in Dry Creek he says : "One
day while prospecting in a ravine we hit on a place where two
of us got eight hundred dollars or 25 ounces in eight hours ; it
is coarse gold; one particle is worth twenty-one Dolls."
Mr. Randall's first wife was Lepha White, who was born
August 12, 1830, and died March 19, 1874. Mr. Randall next
married Miss Belle Gleason of Waterbury. Two children were
born of this marriage, George C Randall, now engaged in
farming and the lumber business near Cotton Brook and the
Stowe line, and Pearl (Randall) Wasson, wife of Doctor Wat
son Wasson of the medical staff of the Vermont State Hospital.
A citizen of Waterbury who has literally been one of her
most conscientious builders is Mr. William Deal, who was born
in PhilHpsburgh, Province of Quebec, December 3, 1833, and
who, though a resident of Waterbury since 1850, did not
become a naturalized American citizen until 1888. Mr.

PERIOD 1876-1900 189
Deal married Miss Asenath Marshall of Waterbury in 1857.
Two children (each married) were born of the marriage, John,
a father of six children, living in Waterbury, and Mrs. Tenie
(Deal) Roberts of Montpelier. Mr. Deal, either by himself
or associated with others, played an important part in the
building operations of Waterbury for forty years. He it was
who erected such buildings as the Waterbury Inn in 1864 to
replace the old Washington House destroyed by fire October
8, 1858. Mr. Deal was well acquainted with and a hunting
companion of John (Ossawatomie) Brown of Harper's Ferry
fame, and his two lieutenants, Samuel and Frank Thompson,
when the four lived out and hunted near North Elba, Clinton
County, New York. Mr. Deal expresses gratification at the
movement now afoot to mark the Brown graves properly in
the obscure burial place at North Elba after fifty-five years
of neglect.
Waterbury's population in 1890 was 2,232, a loss of sixty-
five in the ten years from the date of the preceding census in
1880. This loss was so inconsiderable, however, that the town
might be said to have held its own. There was then, as now,
a certain floating population as was evidenced by the tax
returns. The Legislature of 1890 was the better for the pres
ence in it of the late Doctor Henry Janes as town representa
tive from Waterbury. The personnel of Waterbury's repre
sentatives as a whole, however, had preserved its general level
of ability, as reference to the Hst beginning with Daniel BUss
in 1792 will indicate. From contemporary data of the period
it appears that the town's business, social, religious and educa
tional life remained practically as it had been for the ten years
preceding. The establishment in April, 1895, of the Waterbury Record,
by Fred N. Whitney of Northfield, under the editorship and
management of Harry C Whitehill, was an event fraught with
greater importance to the town than the mere surface fact
might indicate. It is always true of every town that the
advent of the town's own publication, however modest and
retiring, is something of grave importance to the community's
life. There is no need of dwelling upon the insensible influence

190 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
of the possibilities of publicity; there is still less call for doing
more than adverting to the sense of proprietorship each citizen
should feel in his town newspaper. It may be said generally,
with no ulterior purpose, that the ebb and flow of the fortunes
of a town's newspaper is taken, in large measure, as a gauge
of the prosperity of that town. Even the most confirmed
cynic will agree that the one thing needful to intelligent com
munity effort and civic team-work is the local newspaper.
Not to recognize this spells an almost fatal indifference to the
community's welfare. At this point the writer takes occasion
to remark that the foregoing has been rescued from the rigid
censorship of the publisher of this volume only by dint of a
stubborn and insistent opposition and that the responsibility
for the sentiment expressed and the propriety of its expression
rests absolutely with the writer.
Mr. Harry C Whitehill was born in Groton, Vermont, May
9, 1875, the son of Moses H. and Ella Frances (Ricker) White
hill. He was educated at the Groton public schools and the
Montpelier Seminary. He came to Waterbury in April, 1895,
coincidently with the establishment of the Waterbury Record.
He served as president of the village in 1909 and is a director
in the Waterbury Trust and Savings Bank. He was married,
January 19, 1898, to Miss Mary Moody, daughter of the late
Justin W. and Mrs. Harriet (Brown) Moody. Mr. Whitehill's
book store and editorial office goes far to fill the place of
the " old corner store " as a village institution. It has become,
through naturally selective process, the town forum ; the habit
of dropping in has become inveterate. One need not be even
a demi-god to be eligible to this Olympus ; hence the waiting
list. The writer once had some slight knowledge of an insti
tution known as the "Saints and Sinners" corner in the great
Chicago McClurg publishing house, where were accustomed to
gather literary celebrities and bibliophiles; he indulges no
violent presumption when he asserts that the influences of our
local haven for local saints and sinners, in their way, are
working together for just as definite a goal.
It is worthy of note that the Waterbury Record was issued as
a daily newspaper during the Vermont Annual Methodist Con-

PERIOD 1876-1900 191
ference, beginning April 10, 1895; at this time the Record was
printed in the Odd Fellows Block.
The flood or freshet occurring in April, 1895, was the most
destructive one next after that of 1869. The lower end of
Main Street was under water and the Colbyville dam was
carried away. The water overflowed the Winooski banks
and covered the meadow land south of the State Hospital's
power house, coming up even to the house itself and to the
vestry of the Methodist Church.
The much mooted, wearisome and futile controversy was
again revived, in 1895, over that "iridescent dream" reform
of the legislative representation system. The same old argu
ments were adduced with the same old vehemence and with
the same old effect, or lack of it. It would appear from these
old arguments that the word "reform" in this connection must
have been used in a Pickwickian sense. What was urged by
the advocates of the new order was a change. If reform means
"to make over" then, perhaps, the word was used advisedly.
May 20, 1895, was the date of a meeting of citizens to con
sider the building of a carriage road leading to the summit of
Camel's Hump. It was proposed to build a road from John
McNeal's farmhouse on a grade averaging 14 per cent.
It renews youth to read of the old time celebration of the
Fourth of July, 1895. There was a huge bonfire in the depot
park; the usual fireworks and noise; the usual explosion of a
badly loaded cannon, and the usual saddening incident of its
effect in injuring a young boy; there was also a parade of
"horribles," a ball game with Essex, whose team scored 18
to Waterbury's 9 runs; amateur bicycle races, etc.
That the nation's needs were not overlooked by the vigilant
press is attested by the following from the local newspaper
under date of December 3, 1895: "Congress will make no
mistake during the coming session if it authorizes the con
struction of a whole fleet of torpedo boats." If the editor who
penned those lines had the vision of a seer as to conditions
twenty years later, he could not have made a wiser recom
mendation. But preparedness was then, as now, talked about
and preached to little effect. We read in the Waterbury Record

192 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
of March 15, 1898, of the precipitate action of Congress, March
8, in appropriating $50,000,000 for national defense following
the destruction of the Maine in Havana harbor. Twelve
minutes after the bill was reported to the Senate, the Vice-
President announced its unanimous passage; after receiving
his signature it was rushed to the White House where President
McKinley made it a law, and yet even that implied recogni
tion of our fatuous complacency did not prevent the cruel
blundering that followed in preparation for the Spanish War.
The issue of March 22 contains the memorable speech of Sen
ator Redfield Proctor, recounting what he saw in Cuba and
concluding with the pregnant observation: " But it is not my
purpose at this time nor do I consider it my province to sug
gest any plan. I merely speak of the symptoms as I saw
them, but do not undertake to prescribe. Such remedial
steps as may be required may safely be left to an American
President and to an American people."
No Vermonter need be told of the electrical effect of Senator
Proctor's speech. The events that were crowded into the
following five months changed the whole course and policy of
this government. From being a lethargic, unwieldy body
politic, heavily drugged with the soporific anesthetic of com
mercialism, it was suddenly transformed into a world power,
fighting and expanding like other nations. Singularly enough
the lesson of unpreparedness, serious as it seemed at the time,
has borne little fruit. Commercialism has again lulled the
people to sleep while the rest of the world, not actually bel
ligerent, is vigilant, wakeful and busy in preparation. At
this writing, the outcome of a long, tortuous, difficult, diplo
matic correspondence would seem to have averted from the
nation the unthinkable consequences of a rupture of relations
with the most formidable of the present belligerents. Shall
the avoidance of disaster by this narrow margin again go un
heeded? Are we forever and a day to dwell upon a volcano
of unpreparedness?
True to her record, Waterbury is able to say that she was
represented even in the Spanish-American War in 1898. Al
though none of the state towns was required to furnish a

PERIOD 1876-1900 193
quota, there were certain voluntary enlistments either in the
First Vermont Infantry Regiment or in the Regular service
by Vermont recruits. Unfortunately there are no state records
of enlistments in the Regular service, so that it is not at this
time possible to say just how many from Waterbury partici
pated, but this much is known: One Michael McNalley, who
gave his residence as Waterbury, enlisted May 13, 1898, in
Company H, and was mustered out October 27, 1898, at
Montpelier, thus saving Waterbury's record of representation,
though in this case not actual fighting experience, in all our
wars. It would seem that the enthusiasm of some of those who saw
service in the Philippine Islands the following year was consid
erably dampened, if one may judge from a letter received in
Waterbury, bearing date March 5, 1899, in which the writer,
a private of volunteers, says: "What the United States wants
of these Islands and their inhabitants is more than I can see
for they have already cost more lives than the whole group is
worth. I suppose all Vermonters are very proud of Admiral
Dewey and they may well be. . . The only fault I
find with him is that he favors the retention of these Islands.
Bryan has a spark of sense after all for he is not in favor of
annexation." This last may indicate how deeply the iron
had entered the soul of the writer.
Building in Waterbury during the summer of 1899 took an
upward trend. Ten new houses were added to the village
including two business blocks. Perhaps the most important
of all the improvements was the commodious new school
building opened to local pupils in 1899. Main Street grade
was permanently improved. Generally, good prices prevailed
for farm products; the advance in the price for lumber reacted
profitably; and in many ways the town partook of the general
flow of prosperity. Rather more fortunate than many other
towns in the state, its health officers, aided by local physicians,
investigated the so-called Guptil water supply sources with
results salutary to public health.
The location of a copper prospect on the farm of G. B. Smal
ley, near Stowe, aroused local interest in August, 1899. There

194 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
were the usual visits by the usual experts and near-experts;
there were the usual rainbow -hued reports; the usual acme of
excitement and the usual subsidence of interest and oblivion.
The business done in the town during the year warranted
raising the local post-office to the second class, which moved
someone to remark that "C C Warren is to the Waterbury
post-office what Wells, Richardson & Company is, to the Bur
lington post-office."
Spicy ingredients were injected into the liquor traffic stew
from time to time in the way of journalistic condiments.
Waterbury stoutly maintained that good hotels could be
profitably run and maintained on the prohibition plan;
other towns took issue; then followed argument of more or
less relevancy and of vast capabilities for edification.
The wonderful nineteenth century came to an end showing
a gain in population of Waterbury in one hundred years of
only 2,629 or the difference between 644 in 1800 and 3,273 in
1900. But who shall estimate the influence of this small
community upon the state and nation?

Bolton (Winooski) Falls at Consolidated Lighting Company's Plant

CHAPTER VI

1900-1915

The town's general prosperity continued with little to
remind one of the rude financial shocks that were convulsing
the large cities during the first five years of the new century.
There was little to fear from the instability incidental to high
finance in this secluded corner. The population in 1910 of the
town was 3,273 of which the village claimed i ,377. The March
Tneetings were followed in due course by the September and
November meetings. There was naturally a feeling of quiet
and triumphant satisfaction, though not too boisterously ap
parent, at the choice of Mr. Dillingham for the United States
Senate in 1900. The gubernatorial campaign of 1902 is still re
ferred to in Vermont as a history-making date, when private
-cars, negro songsters, rump conventions, sumptuary issues and
bolting candidates were all commingled in a glittering phan
tasmagoria of kaleidoscopic glory. The candidates for
governor were John G. McCullough whose town vote was
291; Felix W. McGettrick whose town vote was 87, and Per-
cival W. Clement whose town vote was 159.
In 1904 Governor Charles J. Bell received a town vote of
401, to Eli H. Porter's 118.
At the November meeting in 1904 the Roosevelt Republican
electors received a town vote of 274, to the Parker Democratic
electors' 66.
The following March meeting, in 1905, was the first to be
held at which a vote on the license question was taken under
the new law. The town at this election pretty clearly dem
onstrated its sentiments by a vote of 186 against licensing
the sale of intoxicating liquors, to 67 in favor of license ; these
figures were 188 against and 72 in favor of license in 1906.
Governor Fletcher Proctor received a town vote in 1906
of 302, to Percival W. Clement's 202, the Democratic and
Independent candidates receiving 123 and 79 respectively.
IPS

196 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
At the March meeting in 1907, the vote against license was
117, and 107 for license.
Governor George H. Prouty received a town vote of 353,
to James E. Burke's 145, and Eugene M. Campbell's 14, in
1908. At the November meeting the Taft Republican electors
received a town vote averaging 290 J, to the Democratic
electors' 86^.
At the following March (1909) meeting the license question
was settled by a vote of 207 against, and 131 for license.
These figures in 1910 were 233 and 146 respectively. Governor
John A. Mead in 1910 received a town vote of 227, to Charles
D. Watson's 136.
In 191 1 the license vote was 221 against and 132 favoring
license; these figures in 1912 were 246, to 112 respectively.
Governor Allen M. Fletcher in 19 12 received a town vote
of 213, to Harlan B. Howe's 178, C F. Smith's 59, and
Frazer Metzger's 93.
At the November meeting in 1912 the Taft Republican
electors received a town vote of 202, to the Wilson Democratic
electors' 103, and the Roosevelt Progressive electors' 171.
In 1913 at the March meeting the vote on the license ques
tion was 128 against, to 70 favoring license. These figures
were somewhat modified in 1914 when there was a vote for
license of 206, to 201 against. The fifth-class license received
143 for, to 164 against. At the special town meeting in March,
1 9 14, the vote for license for malt liquors only was 164, and
for license for liquors of all kinds was 259.
In 1915 the vote stood against license 310, to 199 for license.
At the first United States Senatorial election by popular
vote in^ November, 1914, Senator William P. Dillingham
received a vote in his home town of 436 votes, to Charles
Prouty 's 82, Non-partisan 4, Prohibitionist 14, and National
Progressives 9.
Governor C W. Gates, in November, 1914, received a town
vote of 362, to Harlan B. Howe's 128, and C F. Smith's 24.
In the spring of 1905 an exhaustive report was made by an
investigating committee appointed to inquire into the condi-

PERIOD 1900-1915 197
tion and conduct of the Vermont State Hospital. This report,
made public June 30, 1905, covered such matters as ventila
tion, fire protection, fire escapes, convalescent patients, exer
cises, care and treatment of patients, food, cost of maintenance,
farm, fuel, freight, discount of bills, the superintendent (with
recommendations of a change of the incumbent), medical
staff, trustees, etc.
William Cooley, an inventor and manufacturer, son of
Cassius and Nellie Cooley, died in Waterbury, August 9, 1905.
Mr. Cooley had spent forty years of his life in Waterbury as
a manufacturer. His inventions included a cream separator,
a gasoline engine and other labor-saving devices. Mr. Cooley
was survived by a wife, two daughters and five sons. Though
born in Burlington in 1834, Mr. Cooley retained the vigor and
energy of youth. His death was sudden and entirely unex
pected. The community was mildly fluttered by the arrival at Lake
Mansfield of Rear Admiral Clark of the United States Navy.
With taste and discrimination the admiral chose the lake as a
fitting place at which to celebrate his sixty-second birthday
and the occasion of his retirement from the navy, which fell
on the loth of August, 1905. The famous commander of the
Oregon was born in Bradford, Vermont, August 10, 1843. He
passed much of his youth in, Washington County and was
appointed as a cadet to the United States Naval Academy by
Senator Morrill in i860. He saw service under Farragut in
the West Gulf squadron; after the war he was ordered to the
west coast of South America on the flag ship Vanderbilt of
Commodore Rodgers. Successively the young officer served
on the Suanee, 'Vandalia, Seminole, Dictator, Mahopac, as
instructor at the academy, on the Hartford, Kearsarge and
Monocacy. After service as assistant navigating officer at
the Boston yard, he was ordered to the Ranger; afterwards to
the patrol fleet in the Bering Sea, then to the receiving ship
Independence, next to the monitor Monterey and finally, in
March, 1898, to the Oregon as commander.
The issue of the Waterbury Record of March 13, 1906, pos
sesses a novel interest by reason of the following editorial

198 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
extract: "Colonel George Harvey seems to be very serious in
the suggestion he made at a recent dinner when he named
Woodrow Wilson, president of Princeton University, as a good
man for the Democrats to run for President of the United
States. The suggestion has set people thinking and the com
ments of the press should be very pleasing, both to Mr. Wilson
and Colonel Harvey."
The event showed that the people who had been set thinking,
must have thought to some purpose. Judging from present
indications, however, it is not at all improbable that the his
torians of the first quarter of the twentieth century will
speculate as to the exact reasons why king-making Warwick
Harvey should have evidenced such great dissatisfaction with
his own handiwork when the people of the country were
blessing him for it.
The industrial and commercial life of Waterbury has been
such as might well be predicated of other towns of its size and
make-up in the state. One cannot help deploring, however,
the fact that the fullest and most profitable development of
the easily adaptable water powers on the rivers and streams
flowing through the town could not have been made more
fully to inure to the use and benefit of the town.
The early users of water power did what they could with
what they had and showed very creditable results. Mill
Village and Colbyville were the centers of industrial activity
for many years.
Early in 1800 the lower fall in Colbyville was utilized by a
machine for carding the wool raised by the people of the
vicinity and those living at some distance. It was not long
before the potentialities of the spot appealed to O. C Rood who
there erected a potato whiskey distillery and, as says an un
conscious humorist of the vicinage, "ran it as long as self-
interest or a true sense of moral propriety, in his judgment,
rendered it advisable." One is naturally led to wonder
whether the two considerations named animated the ultra-
respectable grocers who sold the product at retail and if so,
which of the two was deemed by them the weightier. Fol-
owed then the erection, by E. P. Butler and Erastus Parker,

PERIOD 1900-1915 199
of a factory for a less objectionable utilization of the humble
potato — the manufacture of starch. Then Mr. Butler built
a saw mill on the upper fall which was operated for over forty
years. It was at this mill that both Grow Butler, son of E. P.
Butler, and George Rood, son of O. C Rood, lost their lives;
the first by drowning in the mill flume, the second by being
crushed by a log. S. S. Spicer took over the building, after
its use as a starch factory had been discontinued, for the pur
poses of a tannery. Shortly after this the building was burned.
The village took its name from the Colby brothers, George
J. and Edwin A., who came from Bolton in 1856. The broth
ers purchased of Deacon Erastus Parker the old starch fac
tory and a tract of land which the former owner had long
before planted to willow trees. The tract included a water
privilege on the stream and about thirty acres of land. The
purchase price for the whole was $5,500. The young men,
then twenty-three and twenty-one years of age, respectively,
paid $1,000 down and gave notes and a mortgage for the bal
ance. They had already experimented with basket willows
and thought they saw an extension of the market for willow
ware. In 1857 the brothers started in a modest way with a
single small wheel at their plant. Soon they were able, through
Deacon Parker, to get the use of some mill machinery belong
ing to a defunct company in St. Johnsbury, which they trans
ported and set up in the willow peeling plant. After this,
custom machine work began to come in and the business of
manufacturing willow peeling machines, the invention of
George Colby, began in earnest.
Perceiving the utility of willow in the making of willow
cabs, the Colbys engaged the services of a Mr. Landt as an
expert willow-worker and began the manufacture of cab
bodies. From this it was an easy transition to the making of
cab wheels and gearing. The business flourished and a ready
market was found for the finished vehicles.
In the fall of 1859 the firm was reorganized by the addition
of Messrs. Howden and Bosworth, who contributed $5,500
cash capital. In i860 the business was extended to include
the manufacture and sale of the Colby clothes wringer, a

200 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
device well remembered by many as a time, labor and clothes
saving machine invented by George Colby and patented by
him in i860. Soon the infant industry was swamped with
orders. The plant was operated day and night with two shifts
of workmen in order to turn out one hundred wringers per diem.
This period of prosperity was suddenly halted by the breaking
out of the Civil War. Workmen enlisted, orders fell off, or
were countermanded and the business reached a low ebb.
After this, as normal conditions asserted themselves, the
business revived and was reorganized under the name of
Colby Brothers, continuing until 1865 when it was incor
porated with an authorized capital of $75,000, afterwards
increased to $85,000. The board of directors included George
J. Colby, Jesse J. Colby, Erastus Parker and A. Landt. The
whole plant numbered about fifteen buildings besides ten
dwelling houses.
"Enterprise" was the watchword of the Colby brothers.
Not content with their willow ware, wringer and cab products,
they began the manufacture of children's vehicles and equipped
and maintained a job printing establishment. Starting with
practically nothing, the founders built up a business within
ten years that paid from sixty to one hundred employees
$2,000 to $3,000 a month in wages, with sales from December
I, 1863, to June 30, 1867, amounting to over $320,000; the
amount paid for labor for the same period was $96,387.62.
Internal revenue tax to the government from September i,
1862, to June 30, 1867, was $13,282. In these days of fabu
lous receipts and Midas-like industrial operations these figures
may not seem imposing, but the example of persistence, enter
prise and courage under seemingly insurmountable obstacles
has remained to succeeding generations. The business was
literally built up from the putting to work of a certain mechan
ical and inventive gift of one of the brothers, aided by the
energy and business capacity of the other two, with next to
nothing in the way of financial assistance. The business
continued in the hands of the Colbys until their sale to the
Montpelier Manufacturing Company in the early 70's.

PERIOD 1900-1915 201
One of the enterprises that ultimately flourished and brought
wealth and prosperity to its projectors and owners was the
proprietary medicine house of Henry & Company. About
the year 1845 James M. Henry became associated with the
proprietor of certain patent remedies which he sold throughout
the country on a salary. In 1850 Mr. Henry obtained the
general agency for a certain widely advertised liniment and
from this beginning he founded the wholesale drug house of
J. M. Henry & Sons in 1857, having purchased the drug store,
in the village, of J. B. Braley which stood at the corner of
Stowe and Main Streets. The fortunate purchase of all
manufacturing and selling rights of another widely known
proprietary elixir gave an added impetus to the business.
Possibly the fact that the peculiarly curative properties of
the elixir were advertised to have been lost only to be restored
by the then owners did not diminish the sales of the article.
In i860 John F. Henry withdrew from the firm, E. B. John
son taking his place. In 1861 William W. Henry sold his
interest in the firm and entered the Civil War. Various other
changes were made in the firm. In 1866 the personnel of the
firm was John F. Henry, General W. W. Henry, General
William Wells, E. B. Johnson, B. H. Dewey, Doctor Simpson,
E. D. Scagel and A. E. Richardson. Later John F. Henry
withdrew and went to New York where he became associated
with the house of Demas Barnes & Company. The old drug
store in Waterbury was finally purchased by Doctor Horace
Fales and E. D. Scagel in 1867.
The industry of tanning leather has long been operated in
Waterbury in a varying scale of activity. At the site of the
old saw mill, built by N. A. Rhoades in the middle 30's, a
tanner named P. Brown established a tannery on the falls in
Mill Village to supply his principal yard in the village. On the
west side of the branch at the south end of Mill Village Samuel
Dutton started a tannery on a small scale to supply leather
for his boot and shoe business . This tannery on ' ' Peg Isla nd , "
socalled, came into the hands of his sons, Thomas, David and
Harper, and from them passed to William W. Wells who
enlarged the plant and sold out to D. &. V. R. Blush. A
14

202 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
disastrous fire destroyed the works and the real estate, and a
few unconsumed outbuildings then passed to Sylvester Henry.
Mr. Henry and his son rebuilt the tannery on a larger scale
and put into operation a well equipped plant, then considered
to be one of the largest and best of the kind in the state.
In 1870 Mr. C C Warren took over the plant by lease.
From this time until the plant burned, leather continued to
be manufactured at the old site on a much larger scale than
before. Mr. Warren had previously had experience with his
father in the tanning business in Hartland before coming to
Waterbury. When the Mill Village tannery burned in 1899
Mr. Warren organized, in Morrisville, the Warren Leather
Company. He became President of the Company and has
continued the business up to the present time. Mr. Warren
was born at Hartland, Vermont, February 11, 1843, and came
to Waterbury in 1870. Before coming to Waterbury, and
about the time of the discharge of the Civil War regimental
bands, Mr. Warren was leader of the Hartland Brass Band.
He was offered second leadership of the Vermont Brigade
Band, Second Division, Sixth Army Corps, then being or
ganized in Burlington, which was to take the place of the six
regimental bands discharged from this brigade. He served in
this capacity three years. After coming to Waterbury he
became the leader of the local cornet band and continued
leader for more than fifteen years.
In 1889 he assisted in locating the Vermont State Hospital
in town by selling to the state the. farm and grounds they now
occupy. As state fish and game commissioner he located and
erected the state fish hatchery at Roxbury and, with the late
Joseph Somerville, supplied the village of Waterbury with
their first system of water-works.
On December 15, 1873, he was married to Ella F. McElroy.
The family consists of two children: Katherine Grace, who
resides at Mt. Vernon, a suburb of New York, and Charles
Carlton, residing at 136 West 44th Street, with business
address at 7 Wall Street, corner Broadway, New York City.
There were other tanners who began in the early days of the
industry in Waterbury on "Peg Island." Such was Henry

PERIOD 1900-1915 203
Kneeland, and, as early as 1834, M. and J. H. Lathrop were
engaged in tanning in the village. Their works were destroyed
by fire and were never rebuilt.
The firm of Thompson, Seabury & Blanchard was organized
in 1845 to manufacture woolen cloths and flannels. Their
plant was located on the site of the property now owned and
occupied by the W. J. Boyce estate as a box factory. Their
successor was George D. Joslyn, in 1862, and he in turn was
succeeded by Selleck & Joslyn in 1865, and they by A. H.
Selleck until the factory and machinery were destroyed by
fire in 1875. The present building was built by Mr. Selleck
in 1876, he using the first floor for the manufacture of fork
handles and the second as a tenement. The Selleck estate
sold the property to M. Davis in 1905, and he to Boyce &
Perkins in 1908. Mr. Selleck spent a year after the burning
of the plant in 1875 in Montreal, Province of Quebec. The
present butter box factory of the Boyce estate was erected
about one year thereafter. Mr. Selleck died in Needham,
Massachusetts, in 1884 at the age of forty- three. His remains.
were interred in the Waterbury cemetery.
Daniel Stowell was the first machinist in Waterbury. His
shop was situated on the present site of the Methodist Church.
He began here between 1845 and 1850. His business was
in repairs and dressing lumber. He used the first stationary-
steam engine in the town. He joined Henry Carter in the
building of a structure, afterwards the property of the State
Reform School.
C Blodgett & Son started soon after the coming in of the
railroad. They dealt in lumber and shingles, with yards
north of the railway station. They did a large business in
groceries and farmers' supplies, etc. They afterwards re
moved to Burlington where Calvin Blodgett, Jr., became
mayor of the city.
Cook & Thompson built the first foundry in Waterbury,
just south of the passenger station, which still stands. They
manufactured stoves and were in business during the period
of 1857-1862. They were succeeded by Hewitt & Jones and
Hewitt & Meeker. Then came in succession Daniel K.

204 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Adams, Adams & Wells and Horatio Moffitt & Company, all
in the business of manufacturing stoves between 1855 and
1875- J. Crossett and E. W. Corse, both of Duxbury, were both
engaged in the lumber business in Waterbury at about this
period, also M. W. Shurtleff.
Deacon Erastus Parker, besides being one of the early
pillars of strength to the town by reason of his sagacity, judg
ment, energy and good counsel, was also the pioneer manufac
turer of starch at Colbyville. He sold his plant and privileges
to the Colby Brothers and had the satisfaction of seeing his
young friends build up a prosperous business from small
beginnings. Wells & Sherlock were engaged in the flour business, in 1850
and 1855, at the mill now known as the Seabury mill in Mill
Village. Their former storehouse is now occupied by Wallace
Green and O'Brien, the barber, on Park Row.
E. W. Ladd and Walker & Fisher were dealers in monuments
and gravestones at a shop located in the yard of the James
Burleigh place.
W. F. Hutchins was a dealer in boots and shoes, also a
manufacturer of footwear. He built the house where "Peg-
leg" Minor once lived, and now owned and occupied by Mrs.
Maxwell. Another well known maker of boots and shoes and a promi
nent citizen was Lucius Parmalee, whose shop and store ad
joined Lease's harness shop on Main Street. This place was
the home of the first Library Association, the nucleus of the
present Village Library. Mr. Parmalee was the custodian in
charge. Crawford & Townshend were also makers of and
dealers in footwear in 1862.
G. H. Lease succeeded his father in the business of harness
making and saddlery, and occupied a shop adjoining the old
hotel building, long since razed to the ground, on Main Street
and on the site of the present Parker Block. This was moved
to the present site of M. Messer's building and is a part of it.
Here Mr. Lease continued the business as long as he lived.
George H. Atherton, Justin Hinds and M. E. Smilie were

PERIOD 1900-1915 205
respectively engaged in the business of cabinet making, elec-
trotyping and making stoves during a part of this period.
The Waterbury Manufacturing Company manufactured
and dealt in sash, doors and blinds.
The far-famed Thomas inks were first made at the barn on
the George Moody place, now owned by Mr. O'Brien. Thomas
moved to Michigan and continued to make a superior quality
of ink that soon became widely used in the middle west.
O. E. Scott, maker and dealer in clocks and watches, and
optician, began business in the George H. Atherton building.
He then removed his place of business across the street to the
Graves block, now owned by Mrs. Daniel Chase, where he
remained until about two years ago when he moved to his
present store in the Knight Block. Mr. Scott's business house
is said to be the oldest in town today.
The manufacturing firm of Case & Thomas were engaged
in making mops, which business was afterwards merged into
that of the Waterbury Manufacturing Company. They also
manufactured sash, doors and blinds. Their steam mill was
the old one formerly occupied by Carter & Stowell and used
by the Reform School for making chair seats.
Mr. William W. Wells organized the firm of Wells & Mc-
Murphy, makers and dealers in mops and chair stock. The
mill, owned then (1865-1866) by Mr. Wells, was just south
of the Seabury mill and derived its power from the same dam.
It was taken down years ago.
One of the industries of the town which, if properly devel
oped, might well have yielded large returns was that of brick
making. An early pioneer in the industry was J. McMurphy
whose yard and kilns were at Mill Village, near the Perry Hill
railroad crossing.
George C Ames was a monument and gravestone worker
in a shop near the station where Miss Shaw now lives.
A. C Atherton was a maker and dealer in paper, whose place
of business was in a wooden building where Perkins' store
now stand's.
One of those engaged in the iron business was Cecil Graves.
His place was at the present site of Lamb's store. He built the

206 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
block known as the Graves block. He was succeeded by his
son, Charles.
The above enumeration will convey some idea of the prin
cipal industries in Waterbury from the beginning down to a
point well within the memory of those now living.
The town of Waterbury has been singularly free from litiga
tion, at least of the kind that is fought through the Supreme
Court. However, an interesting question arose when John
S. Ladd, a highway surveyor, sought reimbursement for
damages he was obliged to pay for certain acts of alleged tres
pass. The selectmen had given Ladd a tax bill and warrant
for his highway district and described the road on which his
tax bill was to be worked out as follows: "Beginning at the
school house on Demeritt's land at the junction of the roads,
thence to John S. Ladd's house." A part of this road crossed
Rowell's land; he denied that it was a public highway and
objected to Ladd's working out the tax on it upon his land.
The selectmen directed Ladd to proceed under the authority
of his bill and warrant and repair the road. He did so in
good faith. Rowell sued him in trespass and recovered.
Ladd then sued the town upon the ground that the town was
bound to indemnify him. The court held (Aldis J.) that if the
selectmen of a town describe, in the tax bill given by them to
a highway surveyor, as within his district a highway which,
though never legally established as a highway, has been
recognized and repaired as such by the town and used by the
public, and the surveyor proceed to repair said highway, and,
in consequence of its never having been legally established,
is obliged to pay damages in trespass for working the same,
he is entitled to be indemnified by the town for such
damages; and is not obliged to look beyond his tax bill and
warrant to ascertain the extent of his district and the roads
which he is to repair. [Ladd vs. Waterbury, 34 Vermont 426,
1861.] Another case determined by the Supreme Court at the
August term, 1865, was Loren D. Watts vs. Town of Waterbury.
This action against the town was for damages suffered by
the wife of the plaintiff, from injuries received by reason of the

PERIOD 1900-1915 207
insufficiency of a highway. The accident occurred just east
of the railroad track and Doctor Horace Fales was called in
attendance a few minutes later. Upon the trial, counsel
proposed to ask Doctor Fales, upon cross-examination, if, in
conversation with Watts and his wife about the matter, he
did not tell them if they could get $100 they would better
settle it. The question was excluded upon objection. The
judgment against the town was reversed, the court holding
that in this suit for injury on a highway, the physician who
attended the plaintiff for the injury being a witness for the
plaintiff on the trial to show what injury was sustained, may
properly be asked, on cross-examination, the question as to
whether he had not advised settlement for $100.
Wrisley vs. Waterbury (1869), 42 Vermont 228. Jacob
Wrisley was a soldier in the service of the United States in
Virginia in the winter of 1 863-1 864. At this time the govern
ment was offering $402 as bounty and a furlough to those
soldiers who should reenlist; that prior to February i, 1864,
he was informed that the town of Waterbury was paying a
bounty of $300 for volunteers to its credit; that, in consequence
of this information, relying on having $300 from Waterbury,
together with what the United States offered, he reenlisted
February i, 1864. Wrisley soon took his furlough and natur
ally wanted his bounty. Mr. Janes, the first selectman of the
town, told him the quota was full but said if he would let his
name remain to the credit of Waterbury, "if they had another
call and raised any more men and paid a bounty, they would
pay him as much as they did them, and that if they had to
raise any more men, if they paid any bounty, they would pay
the plaintiff as much."
The application for the town meeting in the month of Novem
ber, 1863, was "to see what course the town will take to fill
the quota of men required of the town of Waterbury, under
the last two calls of the general government for soldiers."
The warning was to see if the town will pay any additional
bounty to volunteers from said town, and if any, how much,
and the vote was "to pay each volunteer from this town a
bounty of $300 when mustered into the United States Service. "

208 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
The court held (Wilson J.) that under the circumstances
existing the $300 bounty was confined to such as should enlist
to the credit of the town on the quota under the call or calls
made before the date of the vote, and also that the unauthor
ized promise of the selectmen to pay a soldier such bounty as
the town might pay to others on future calls would not bind
the town, though it paid a bounty to others on future calls.
This very question was raised in the case of John P. Jones
vs. Waterbury, 44 Vermont 113, 1871, and decided the same
way. In Topsham vs. Waterbury, the plaintiff sought to collect
by suit money expended in support of one P. and his family
while in Topsham. P. had resided in Waterbury for three
years and had declined the town's assistance in supporting
himself and family. Repeated offers were made by Water
bury's overseer to support P.'s family in the town poorhouse;
the overseer of Topsham had no notice of the last offer;
Waterbury continued to support the family until October,
1899, and then the family was supported by Topsham. It
was held by the court that a determination by a town that it
will support one of its paupers within its own limits, as upon
its poor farm, will not relieve it from liability for assistance
furnished to such pauper in compliance with the statute by
another town in which such pauper comes to need, unless,
upon receiving the required notice from such other town, it in
return notifies such other town of said determination. [73
Vermont 185, 1901.]
Various Legislative Acts Affecting Waterbury
An Act to incorporate the Waterbury Falls Manufacturing
Company. The following were named in the charter as incor
porators: Ithamer A. Beard, William Carpenter, Ferrand F.
Merrill, George W. Collamer and William Howes. The
company was empowered "to construct and make such dams
and canals and aqueducts on lands owned by said company as
may be necessary for the use and improvement of the water
power at said Falls and to rent the use of such water power or
any part thereof," etc. (October 31, 1849.)

PERIOD 1900-1915 209
An Act to incorporate the Waterbury Quarrying and Mining
Company. The following were named as incorporators in
the charter: S. H. Stowell, S. L. Cole, H. M. Bates, Perley
Belknap, George W. Dana, T. P. Redfield and H. P. Allen.
The object was quarrying and wprking soapstone, lead, and
other minerals and stone in the State of Vermont. (Novem
ber 13, 1856.)
An Act to incorporate The Waterbury Hotel Company.
The following were named as incorporators in the charter:
J. C Batchelder, Sidney Brown, William Moody, Curtis N.
Arms, Paul Dillingham, Luther Henry, W. H. H. Bingham and
L. L. Durant, "for the purpose of purchasing, repairing or
building a house of public entertainment in the village of
Waterbury," etc. (November 21, i860.)
An Act to incorporate the Waterbury Falls and Crouching
Lion Hotel and Road Company. The following incorporators
were named in the charter: Samuel Ridley, Jesse J. Ridley and
Dunning Steward of Duxbury, Eastman W. Case, Cecil Graves,
I. C Brown, Sidney Brown and Curtis Arms of Waterbury,
and Calvin Blodgett, Sion E. Howard and George H. Bigelow
of Burlington, for the purpose of "purchasing, building and
furnishing upon the mountain, called Camel's Hump, or
Crouching Lion, a house or houses of public entertainment,
and of building and repairing a public road from Ridley's
Mills in Duxbury to the summit of said mountain," etc.
(November 6, 1865.)
An Act to incorporate the Waterbury Cemetery Association.
The following incorporators were named in the charter: Paul
Dillingham, J. C Batchelder, J. F. Henry, William W. Wells,
C N. Arms, George J. Colby and Luther Henry. Authorized
"to take by purchase or gift and hold within the towns of
Waterbury or Duxbury, real estate not exceeding forty acres
of land, to be held and occupied for a cemetery for the burial
of the dead, and for no other purpose," etc. (November 8,
1865.) An Act to authorize the towns of Morristown, Stowe, and
Waterbury to aid in the construction of a railroad. Under
this Act each town named was authorized to raise by tax on

210 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
the grand list a sum not exceeding $50,000, etc., to be appro
priated to aid in building the Mount Mansfield railroad, either
by subscription for stock or otherwise, etc. (November 24,
1888.) An Act authorizing the Village of Waterbury to issue bonds.
"The inhabitants of that part of the town of Waterbury em
braced within a survey made by H. F. Smith on the 22d of
October, 1902, and found recorded in Volume 28, at pages
525 and 526 of the land records of the town of Waterbury
. . . are hereby incorporated and made a body politic
and corporate by the name of the Village of Waterbury, etc.,
amending Section i. No. 205, of the Acts of 1882, Village
Charter." (December 3, 1908.)

Naturally religious matters assumed the complexion of and
were regulated largely by the customs and laws prevailing in
the communities or states from which the early settlers in
Vermont emigrated. As the dominant or ascendant persua
sion or sect in Massachusetts and Connecticut, communities
from which the later Vermont communities took their origin,
was Congregational, it was sought to engraft this denomina
tion upon the new Green Mountain settlements by compulsory
support of the gospel ministry. Two laws were passed by the
Vermont Legislature in 1787 and 1789, substantially the same
in effect, binding the inhabitants of each town to be of and to
support "the leading denomination," or to show that they
were of different views and supported the gospel ministry
elsewhere. The Baptists, as might be expected, resented and
vigorously opposed this arbitrary policy. Followed then a
controversy of two years in the Legislature, during which
Elder Ezra Butler became an active member of the State
Council and Aaron Leland, a Baptist clergyman, became
speaker of the House. These influential men had much to
do with the ultimate repeal of the obnoxious laws in 1807,
and Waterbury, in common with other Vermont towns, was
guaranteed her rightful measure of religious liberty thereby.
It must not be inferred, however, from this early local
struggle for religious liberty that Waterbury was an exception

PERIOD 1900-1915 211
to the rule that the church's beginning is far from being coin
cident with the town's inception. Contrary to the prevailing
opinion, frontier settlements in the past were no more predom
inantly religious than those of the present. It is only in
exceptional cases widely noted, and for that reason more or
less misleading, that churches begin with the town. Exi
gencies of frontier life were not conducive to prolonged and
sustained mental activity in the realms of theology and phil
osophy. The doctrinaire of the day was often interrupted
in his dogmatic flights by the prosaic necessity of filling
the larder from the hunt or fishing expedition.
Ezra Butler's narrative of his early religious experiences,
as given by Reverend C C Parker, is a story of doubt, struggle
and triumph. He, by his own confession, came to Waterbury
a profane and irreligious boy, "not a little disposed to quarrel
with certain great doctrines." A period of four years elapsed
during which he was not only irreligious himself but did not
know a reUgious man in the settlement. As for gospel preach
ing, there had not been a single sermon preached in the town.
Mr. Butler's own account graphically sets forth the then con
ditions: "Being obliged to work hard during the week and
there being no public worship in town which he could attend
if he desired, he was in the habit of spending much of the
Sabbath in sleep. On a certain Sabbath, awakening from his
sleep, he found his wife reading a pamphlet, and proposed that
she read it aloud for the benefit of both." Much to his per
plexity, the author was contending that we are justly con
demned for wrong dispositions as well as wrong actions. Mr.
Butler was quite willing to admit the justice of God in punish
ing overt acts, but not wrong propensities, and was unable to
see how a man could be held blameable for a disposition he
did not create. To quote Mr. Parker: "After days of
profoundest darkness and sharpest distress, bordering on
despair, he was brought into the clear light and liberty of the
Gospel. His feet having been set in the way of Life, he walked
circumspectly in that way to the end." Mr. Butler's con
version was followed by his baptism and reception into the
Baptist Church of Bolton.

212 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
A Reverend Mr. Call of Woodstock had, in the meantime,
preached the first sermon in Waterbury. Soon after this,
between 1800 and 1801, the Baptist Church was organized in
Waterbury with Mr. Ezra Butler as first ordained pastor.
Deacon Allen and David Austin brought with them, from
Massachusetts and Connecticut, their love for the discipline
in the straight ways of their home states and soon began to
cast about for assistance of others similarly disposed in order
to make some organized effort at maintaining regular meetings
on the Sabbath. After Waterbury had emerged from her
first revival season in 1800, under the labors of Reverend Jedi-
diah Bushnell of Connecticut and later of Cornwall, Vermont,
the Congregationalists, Baptists and Methodists established
churches, the first named being organized by Mr. Bushnell
in 1801. Mr. Bushnell, as yet unordained and a graduate of
Williams College, came probably as an evangelist at the behest
of the Missionary Society of Connecticut, founded two years
previously. The Congregational Church numbered among
its first members: Asaph Allen, David Austin, Hugh Blair, Ed
ward Bates, Moses Bates, David Towne, Amos Slate, Thomas
Kennan, Zebulon Allen, Mary Austin, Jane Blair, Ruth Rich,
Lydia Towne, Esther Slate and Bathsheba Slate.
We have already seen how Mr. Jonathan Hovey's unfor
tunate propensity for controversy handicapped his ministry.
He was the first called to settle over the new Congregational
Church as its minister, from which fact he was disposed to
argue that he was the "first settled minister" within the
meaning of the Wentworth Charter. His ordination, attended
with certain difficulties raised by his opponents, occurred in
1803. He was dismissed for lack of support in 1807. Mr.
Hovey came by his argumentative habits naturally enough,
having been trained to the law which he practiced in Randolph
before coming to Waterbury. He is described as possessing
"a clear, strong mind — was more remarkable for sternness and
rigor, than for benignity and affability, had more power to
convince than to win, to gain respect than affection. . . .
His meetings were alternately in his own neighborhood (Knee
land district), in barns and private houses and in the school

PERIOD 1900-1915 213
house at the Street, or at 'the River' as the village was then
called." It is not difficult to conjure up in the mind such a
personality — impatient and intolerant of certain mannerisms
easily affected to pass current for affability; rather too direct
and sledge-hammer-like in argument for his politico-religious
opponents but no match for them in diplomacy and finesse;
finally, a sincere man who addressed himself to his calling
according to his lights but ever and anon tripped by his un
fortunate temperament and uncompromising ways.
The period between the organization of the Congregational
Church and the settlement of its next pastor after Mr. Hovey —
eighteen years — ^was filled in by itinerant preachers and local
deacons. Sabbath services were maintained under direction
of Deacon Asaph Allen, with some layman to read a sermon,
often L. B. Peck, Esq., a lawyer.
It has been already noted how the first meeting house was
built forty years after the settlement of the town, by the
Waterbury Meeting House Society. Reverend Daniel Warren
came to the church the following year (December 7, 1825).
He happened to be in Waterbury one Sabbath and resolved
to hear Reverend Mr. Blodgett of Jericho preach. On Mr.
Blodgett's non-arrival Mr. Warren was invited to preach and
was afterwards asked to remain as pastor. He continued
with the church for thirteen years, during which time there
were two fruitful revivals in 1 826-1 827 and 1 835-1 836. The
revival of 1 835-1 836 was inaugurated and conducted by
Reverend Orris Pier, the pastor of the Methodist Episcopal
Church at Waterbury Center, and was most remarkable in
its character. Having its beginning among the Methodists
it soon gained such power and strength that it embraced all
classes throughout the town. The two revivals before men
tioned yielded to the Congregational Church one hundred and
twenty-four new members. The Center churches by this
time had permanent buildings and were given new life and
energy through large accessions.
After Jonathan Hovey and Daniel C Warren (1825-1838)
the incumbent was Reverend John F. Stone, who was installed
January 6, 1839, and was dismissed June 9, 1847. Following

214 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
him was Reverend A. G. Pease, who was born at Canaan,
Connecticut, in February, 1811, son of Salmon and Matilda
(Huntingdon) Pease, born at Norfolk, Connecticut, in 1783,
and Ashford, Connecticut, in 1780, respectively. Reverend
A. G. Pease was graduated from the University of Vermont
in 1837 and Andover Theological Seminary in 1841. He was
married to Miss Anne Page, daughter of Deacon William Page
of Rutland, October 18, 1842. Mr. Pease was installed as
pastor of the Congregational Church in Waterbury in 1849,
after two years' residence. From Waterbury he went to
Norwich in 1853. He came to Waterbury, after supplying the
churches at Royalton and Poultney between the time of leaving
Pittsford in 1845, the place of his first ordination, and the
assumption of his labors here.
The longest pastorate of the Congregational Church was
that of Reverend C C Parker, a sketch of whom has already
been given and whose ministrations during the Civil War
kept at white heat the spirit of patriotism locally. Mr. Parker
also served Waterbury as superintendent of schools during a
part of his incumbency as pastor.
Mr. Parker was succeeded at the Congregational Church
by Reverend Jonathan Copeland, who came from the Presby
terian Church at Champlain, New York, to Waterbury in
answer to a call in 1867. Mr. Copeland was a graduate of
Union College and the Theological Seminary. He married
Kezia Clark of Niskayuna, New York, and was the father of
three sons, Clark, Edward and William and three daughters,
Katharine, Alice and Minnie. Mr. Copeland found no
difficulty in conforming to Congregational usages although
he had been converted, educated, licensed, installed and a
co-worker among Presbyterians. The church in Waterbury
prospered healthfully during his incumbency, which endured
from 1867 to 1875.
In order after Mr. Copeland's term of service, came thecall to
Reverend S. H. Wheeler, who was ordained and installed De
cember 1 6, 1 875 , and continued as pastor until 1 886. During his
pastorate there were one hundred additions to the church mem
bership and the church building was repaired to the extent of
$2,000. Mr. Wheeler was followed by Reverend Charles M.

PERIOD 1900-1915 215
Sheldon, extracts from whose characteristic letter will be
found elsewhere. Mr. Sheldon was ordained and installed in
1886 and remained until December, 1888, when he resigned
to go to the Central Congregational Church at Topeka, Kan
sas. During 1889 Reverend S. H. Wheeler supplied until
December 4, 1892. In 1889 and 1890 the church received a
memorial communion service, stained glass windows, interior
decorations and upholstery, and other needed improvements.
In 1892 the church extended a call to Reverend A. J. Covell
of Flint, Michigan, who was installed pastor February 28,
1893. His ministry of three and one-half years was fruitful
of many additions to the church. Reverend George Ladd suc
ceeded Mr. Covell, after an interval of seven months, and
served from May 2, 1897, until June 10, 1901. Reverend
F. B. Kellogg succeeded Mr. Ladd and served from July, 1901,
until July, 1910. It is said that only three pastors in the
one hundred and twelve years of the church's existence up to
that time had rendered longer service continuously.
Reverend W. L. Boicourt began his pastorate November
I, 1910. In January, 1912, forty-three persons were admitted
to membership in the church, twenty-eight of these on con
fession of faith. Mr. Boicourt was born at Gaylord, Kansas,
July 9, 1877 ; he was married to Sarah R. Huse, September 14,
1904. He received his early preliminary educational training
at the common schools of Kansas. He was graduated from
Baker University of Baldwin, Kansas, A. B. 1901, and from
the Boston University School of Theology S. T. B. in 1904.
Mr. Boicourt came to Waterbury from Cliftondale, Massa
chusetts. He was previously a member, for five years, of
the Cincinnati Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
supplying pulpits in the vicinity of Cincinnati.
The famous revival of 1 835-1 836, inaugurated by the
Methodists under the leadership of Reverend Orris Pier,
resulted not only in large accessions to the Methodist Episcopal
Church at Waterbury Center, but in establishing a large class
in Waterbury Village and the organization of a church so
ciety at that place. In 1841 their first house of worship in
Waterbury Village was erected. Next the Freewill Baptist
Church was to follow five or six years later with a permanent

21 6 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
church building on the Waterbury River. There had been a
Methodist organization as early as 1800, whose founder was
Elder Stebbins. In the roster of members were Thomas Gup
til and wife, John Henderson and wife, Timothy Parcher and
wife, John Jones, David Straw and wife, John Hudson and
wife, Joseph Fiske and wife, Simeon Woolson and wife, George
Scagel and wife, Lemuel Lyon and wife, Moses Nelson, Nathan
Nelson, Samuel Bryant, Benjamin Fiske, Orrin Gregg, Araunah
Lyon and Chester Lyon. These last three entered the Metho
dist ministry from the church. The new church of 1836 num
bered among its members John Lathrop, Paul Dillingham,
C C Arms, William Carpenter, A. A. Atherton and A. S.
Richardson. It has been said that Methodism entered Vermont from the
west side. Waterbury's Methodist genealogy is traced back
to the Cambridge (New York) Circuit in which Ash Grove
Society in Shaftsbury, Vermont, was situated. It is fairly
well settled that Methodism had penetrated beyond the banks
of Lake Champlain into the mountainous district of Water
bury by the year 1799. By this time the district north of the
Onion River was set apart and called the Essex Circuit, to be
changed to the Fletcher Circuit in 1801 and the St. Albans
Circuit in 1813. After this, the south part of the circuit was
called the Stowe Circuit, and Waterbury, as a part of the
Stowe Circuit in 1818, continued to receive the circuit rider
until the town of Waterbury became an appointment in 1853,
and the "Street" finally became separated from the Center in
1856. No history of Waterbury's Methodism would be complete
without mention of Reverend Lorenzo Dow, the zealous young
evangelist who fearlessly rode the circuits when they were
practically trackless wildernesses. This young man is de
scribed as having been fired with something of the zeal of the
flagellants ; no physical hardship, no obstacle of floods, streams,
mountains, storms, or darkness would he permit to stand in
the way of his insistent mission. From his journal it seems
that he preached in Waterbury in 1799 while yet a young man
of twenty-one years. The entry reads: "From hence I came

PERIOD 1900-1915

217

to Waterbury on the Onion River where a reprobationist gave
me the words to preach from : ' No man can come unto Me,
except the Father draw him.' The Lord loosed my tongue
and I think good was done." Lorenzo Dow was succeeded in
the circuit by Reverend (afterwards Bishop) Elijah Hedding,
who was then a mere youth of nineteen.
Methodist ministers stationed at Waterbury from 1836 to
1915 were:

B. M. Hall, 2 years.
P. P. narrower, 2 years.
J. W. B. Wood, I year.
George Whitney, i year.
Charles H. Leonard, i year.
John D. White, 2 years.
W. M. Chipp, I year.
J. F. Craig, i year.
Hawley Ransom, 2 years.
John Kiernan, i year.
D. B. Hulbard, 2 years.
Albinus Johnson, I year.
William A. Miller, 2 years.
Thomas Dodgson, i year.
J. Phillips, I year.
Israel Luce, 2 years.
Richard Morgan, I year.
B. Hawley, 2 years.
D. B. McKenzie, 3 years.

H. W. Worthen (1867), 2 years.
E. C. Bass, I year.
A. B. Truax, 2 years.
W. Underwood, I year.
H. A. Bushnell, i year.
A. L. Cooper, 2 years.
William I. Johnson, 4 years.
D. E. Miller, I year.
G. E. Smith, 2 years.
W. R. Davenport, 4 years.
F. W. Hamblin, i year.
W. M. Newton, 4 years.
L. K. Wilman, 3 years.
P. A. Smith (1903).
W. S. Smithers (1904-1906).
W. C. Johnson (1907-1910).
E. F. Newell (191 1).
W. E. Douglass (1912-1914-1915).
Verne L. Smith 19 15 — .

Methodist ministers stationed at Waterbury Center for the
period named, or those who have preached there, were:
Orris Pier, 2 years.
R. M. Little, I year.
H. Foster.
M. Townsend.
Daniel F. Page.
Thomas Kirby.
Aaron Hall.
Miles Fish.
Samuel Hewes.
Alexander Campbell.
John Haslam.
J. S. Mott.
C. F. Ford.
15

R. McEIroy.
J. A. CanoU.
C. C. Bedell.
S. M. Merrill.
W. H. Tiffany.
A. L. Cooper.
H. N. Munger.
A. Cox.
Reverend Robinson.
I. Luce.
W. R. Puffer.
George Whitney.
J. M. Puffer.

21 8 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Reverend Verne L. Smith, the present pastor of the Metho
dist Episcopal Church in Waterbury Village, was born in
Barrington, Nova Scotia, April 19, 1890; moved to Massa
chusetts when three months old. He married Miss Trena
Brooks and has a family of two children, Marion E. and
Harriet B., aged two and one-half years, and seven months,
respectively. He was transferred to Waterbury from Hing-
ham, Massachusetts, May i, 1915, to take the place of Rev
erend W. E. Douglass. He was formerly a member of the
New England Southern Conference, now of the Vermont
Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Smith is
a graduate of the public schools of Massachusetts and of
Boston University School of Theology.
The present Methodist Episcopal Church, planned and
erected so largely through the efforts of Senator W. P. Dilling
ham assisted by Justin W. Moody and Reverend W. R.
Davenport, was completed and the first services were held
there on the 25th day of December, 1892. The church was
dedicated January 20, 1893.
The Baptist Church began its life in Waterbury in 1800.
The first few members, of course, included Ezra Butler and
Mrs. Tryphena Butler. There were also Mrs. Densmore,
Mrs. Silas Loomis, Deacon David Atkins, Edmund Towne,
Orrin Atkins, Mercy (Nelson) Green, Mrs. E. Towne, Mrs. At
kins, Deacon Paul Dillingham, the founder of the Waterbury
family. Deacon Chester Whitney and Guild Newcombe.
After reorganization in 1819, there were added Polly W.
Whitney, Anna Peck, Isaac Stevens, Richard Kneeland,
Robert Broderick, John Atkins, Temperance Atkins, Mary
Hart, Hannah Dillingham, Sally Broderick, Betsy Parcher,
Silena Brown. The following members were some of
those admitted in 1820: Job Dillingham, Seth Towne, Isaac
Marshall, Jr., Arad Worcester, C C P. Crosby, and William
Smith. The first church edifice, built in 1832, was removed
and another built in 1 859-1 860.
The church of the Free Baptists was erected on the bank of
the Waterbury River, about two miles west of the Center.
At the outset, in 1840, it numbered eighteen members with Ira

PERIOD 1900-1915 219
Gray as pastor. The church building was finished in 1845
and could comfortably seat two hundred and eighty persons.
The present pastor is the subject of the following sketch :
Benjamin P. Parker was born in Kittery, Maine, May 16,
1835. When he was two years old, his parents moved to New
buryport, Massachusetts. He received his education principally
in the public schools of that city. On March 3, 1858, he mar
ried Miss Katie McGinley, daughter of Reverend Edward
McGinley, a Methodist Episcopal clergyman. On June 2,
1859, he was licensed by the Otisfield (Maine) Quarterly
Meeting, and was ordained a Freewill Baptist minister at
Greenwood, Maine, January 18, i860. His first pastorate was
at New Gloucester, Maine. He has had other pastorates in
Maine, New Hampshire, Nova Scotia and Vermont.
Mr. Parker came to Waterbury Center, Vermont, in May,
1909, and is pastor of the Waterbury Center and Waterbury
River Free Baptist churches.
The Freewill Baptist Church at the Center was organized
in January, 1871, with Reverend D. H. Adams as first pastor.
Here, too, a new church edifice was erected at a cost of $3,000,,
with seats for three hundred persons. Before taking possession
of the church building, the worshipers used the seminary
hall as an audience room. The pulpit was supplied at inter
vals by Reverend E. B. Fuller.
The Freewill Baptist Church had its local organization in
1 81 7-1 8 1 8. The membership included Samuel Lord, Deacon
Conant, S. Gaskell, Asa Towne, Mrs. Towne, Ira Towne, Mrs.
Ira Towne, Deacon Abner Fuller, John Cotton, Mrs. John Cot
ton, EHsha Towne. Elder Bowles had charge of the service,
but Elder Lord was shortly afterwards ordained pastor.
Elder Lord was born in Barnstead, New Hampshire, in 1779.
He began his preaching very early in life. He came to Water
bury from Walden, Vermont, in 181 1 and lived the rest of his
life in this village, dying at the age of seventy years.
The Advent Church in Waterbury came into being in 1858
as a crystallization of the hopes (and sometimes the fears) of
those who had previously been influenced by the preaching
of William Miller in 1839. Miller delivered a series of lee-

220 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
tures in Waterbury in which he set forth his theory of the
Second Coming with startling and solemn emphasis. Not
content with vague prophecies, he went so far as to fix the
actual date of the end of the world (1843). His theories were
buttressed by copious citations from the books of Daniel and
Revelation, whose relevancy it was his task to explain.
There is no denying, however, the weight given his preaching
by men and women of mature years and understanding. In
spite of the failure of the long heralded Event to occur,
thousands still remained imbued with the idea that it had been
but temporarily deferred. The movement spread throughout
the middle west and is instructively described in Edward
Eggleston's "The End of the World."
The Waterbury Advent Church was established in May,
1858, commencing with something less than fifty members.
The services were conducted by Elder Joshua V. Himes who
had previously conducted a series of meetings in Washington
House hall. The meeting house proper, afterwards St. An
drew's Church, was dedicated in 1859.
There was a long period of inaction in the Advent Church of
Waterbury. Two women evangelists came to Stowe South
Hollow in November, 1892, and held protracted meetings.
Encouraged by the results of these meetings certain of the
reclaimed and new converts induced Elder H. D. Selby of
Kingscraft, Canada, to reorganize the church. By his assist
ance, June 23, 1893, a new church was organized, called the
Advent Christian Church of Stowe South Hollow. Tent meet
ings were held at Waterbury Center and regular meetings at
the house of Mr. E. C Gibbs. In August, 1894, tent meetings
were held at Colbyville. A new church building at Colbyville
was made possible by the donation of one-half acre of land by
Mr. Francis Joslyn and various donations of lumber, money
and labor. This church was built by the Advent Christian
Society and was presented to the Advent Christian Church of
Stowe South Hollow conditionally upon its changing its name
to the Advent Christian Church of Colbyville. The church
numbered thirty-six in membership, and Elder George W.
Tabor was called as pastor. He began his pastorate in No-

PERIOD 1900-1915 221
vember, 1894, and remained until November, 1897. The list
of pastors since that time follows : Elders W. H. Blount, second
pastor; Elder Smith, third pastor; J. T. McLucas, fourth
pastor; W. G. Knowlton, fifth pastor ; J. T. Meaid, sixth pastor;
W. H. Jackson, seventh pastor; A. D. Page, eighth pastor.
The present pastor. Elder A. D. Page, was born at New
Milford, Connecticut, April 16, 1886. He is married and is
the father of four children. He received his education in the
grammar school there and a short course at the Centenary
Collegiate Institute, Hackettstown, New Jersey. He came
to Waterbury, November i, 191 1. He had previously held
pastorates at Sharon, Connecticut, in 1909-1910, and at Bris
tol, Vermont, in 1910-1911. He speaks hopefully and en
couragingly of his work and pleasantly of his associations and
surroundings. An early Roman Catholic mission in Waterbury was at
tended at intervals by Reverend Father O'Callaghan of Bur
lington, and also by the missionary priest. Father J. Daley.
Also at intervals visits were made by Reverend Hector Drolet,
the Oblate Fathers of Burlington, Reverend Z. Druon and
Father Duglue, who was stationed at Montpelier. The first
church edifice, built by the Roman Catholic Church in Water
bury, was one dedicated to St. Vincent Ferrier in 1857, and
stood on a hill to the east of the railroad and a short distance
from the station. This building was enlarged ten years later
by Father Duglue. Reverend John GalHghan came to take
charge in 1869. Eight years later. Father Gallighan pur
chased a residential property on Upper Main Street and the
Adventist Church property adjoining. This latter was con
verted by him into a suitable place for Catholic purposes.
The house adjoining was turned into the parochial residence,
now the home of Father Robert Devoy.
The church was dedicated as St. Andrew's CathoHc Church,
November 30, 1876, and the church property is valued at
$25,000. The interior of the church presents a pleasing
aspect. The walls, ceilings and altars are tastefully decorated.
The seating capacity is three hundred and fifty. The com-

222 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
municants and Catholic population in Waterbury in 191 5 are
one hundred and sixty-five families.
The first settled priest in Waterbury was Father Gallighan.
He remained here eighteen years. After his departure there
was a fifteen-year interval when Waterbury again became a
mission, attended in order by Reverends Brelivette, McConly,
Father Donahue now of Northfield, Father Blais in 1895,
Father McLaughlin and Father Maillet, until January, 1903.
Those following were: Reverend J. A. Lynch, Reverend J. A.
Cahill in 1904-1905; Reverend P. J. Doheny, 1905-1909;
Reverend Daniel Coffey 1909-19 13. The Right Reverend
Monsignor Cloarec, vicar general of the Diocese, now eighty-
two years of age, said Mass in Waterbury fifty-seven years
ago. The present resident priest is Reverend Father Robert
Devoy. Ordained in Sherbrooke, Province of Quebec, No
vember 29, 1903, Father Devoy became assistant at the
Church of Holy Angels in St. Albans. He was born in the
diocese of Nicolet, Province of Quebec in 1876, and received
his education in Nicolet and St. Laurent's colleges. He
completed his theological studies at the Seminary of St. Charles
Borromee, and was ordained by Bishop Larocque. He was
appointed to his present charge in Waterbury in 1914, and has
charge also of the neighboring churches of Moreitown and
Stowe. Library facilities in Waterbury are good and are growing
better. Mr. A. H. Smith, in a comparatively recent paper,
pointed out that, at the time of which he wrote, Burling
ton, with her number of volumes exceeding Waterbury's seven
fold and her population six times as large, had only four and
one-half times as large a circulation. This in Waterbury, for
the time named, averaged 17,000, or 5,125 more than the
average of 12,125 for the five towns of Barton, Fairhaven,
Lyndon, Northfield and Randolph. These are next in size to
Waterbury, with an average population of 3,220, as against
Waterbury's 3,273.
In tracing the library beginnings, locally, it is necessary to
go back to the time when the Colby brothers came here in

PERIOD 1900-1915 223
1856. George and Edwin A. Colby brought with them some
thing more than a capacity for inspiring their neighbors to
industrial effort. The eldest brother, assisted by the younger
brothers, his mother and sister, set about planning for a place
where the young could derive entertainment of an instructive
nature and foster a love for reading and culture. These early
efforts resulted in the organization of a so-called lyceum at
whose weekly meetings papers were read and momentous
questions debated.
These intellectual festivities were varied from time to time
by the advent of the "platform lecturer" — an institution now
fast passing into a memory. These platform lecturers did not
derive their characterization from the fact that they were at
any time rash enough to attempt to reconcile political plat
forms with performances, but from their custom of speaking
from a platform or rostrum. Naturally the lyceum created a
demand for reading and this was met by the organization of
an association and the purchase of about five hundred books.
The number of accessions was small for the next ten or twelve
years and the inevitable reaction against letters followed their
sudden renaissance, as has been noted elsewhere. It was
neatly put in Hemenway's "Washington County Gazetteer":
"But after the novelty of the first few years had worn away,
the very inexpensiveness of its advantages seemed to diminish
its usefulness, since some estimates value only by cost." The
library was kept alive in some way, however, and in 1882 there
were several hundred books in charge of Mr. George W. Ken
nedy as assistant librarian.
A new impetus was given the movement in 1 887-1 888 under
the leadership of Reverend Charles M. Sheldon, now a noted
Congregational clergyman of Topeka, Kansas. We are en
abled to give something of the details of organization through
the courtesy of Mr. A. H. Smith, from whose paper the follow
ing is an extract:
A corporation was formed under the Laws of Vermont to be known as
the Waterbury Public Library Association. The capital stock was to be
one thousand dollars, to be divided into one thousand shares at one dollar
each. None of the subscription to the stock was to be valid unless five
hundred shares were sold before May i, 1888. The first four subscribers

224 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
to this stock were Mr. Sheldon, G. W. Randall, C. C. Warren and Doctor
Henry Janes. The necessary amount of stock was subscribed for and the
first meeting of the association was called for June 22, 1888. The organi
zation was completed and the real management of the association placed
in the hands of seven trustees to be elected by the shareholders. These
trustees were W. P. Dillingham, C. E. Richardson, L. H. Elliott, Mr.
Sheldon, Mrs. Henry Janes, Mrs. Mary Atherton and Mrs. W. P. Dilling
ham. At the next meeting held July 9, it was voted to receive the books
of the Waterbury Library Association (those bought under the leadership
of Mr. Colby) and to issue to each member of that association one share of
the stock of the Waterbury Public Library Association, and the secretary
was directed to issue said stock to a list of the shareholders. Thus these
books, which had been stored for several years in the office of George W.
Kennedy, were turned over to the present association and became a part
of their stock. The association obtained the room, now occupied by Mr.
Douglass as a barber shop, for the library. Miss Etta Straw was appointed
librarian, and the library was formally opened to the public November 24,
1888. The first report of the circulation of the library was in 1900, when
the records state that 1,000 books had been taken out during the year.
During 1912 over 20,000 were taken out, showing the increased interest
and usefulness of the library. In 1 904 it was voted by the association to
lend the books of the association to the town of Waterbury, if said town
would vote to maintain a Free Public Library. An article containing this
offer was placed in the warning for the town meeting and was passed over
by the voters. The association then offered to receive and care for the
books owned by the town (which had been secured by state aid) and this
offer was accepted. The association also voted, in 1907, "That we extend
to all legal residents of the town of Waterbury the free use of all books
contained in the library, provided that said town shall furnish and maintain
a suitable room for said books and furnish a librarian to care for same."
This was accepted and the present room secured. The munificent endow
ment from the Horace S. Fales Estate became available at this time and the
future prosperity of the association seemed assured. For twenty years it
had been resolutely maintained by an earnest band of book lovers. They
had given of their time and their talents without price. Funds for new
books and current expenses had been raised in various ways — lectures,
entertainments, ice cream sales, and soliciting. Many of the original
founders had passed away and their places had been filled by new recruits.
The history of our library is similar to that of thousands of others scattered
all over our country. Nearly every library in our state has grown up in
this same way. Scarcely one of them had a home ten years ago; very few
had an assured income with which to purchase books.
In response to a request for information from Reverend
Charles M. Sheldon, a letter was received from him from which
an interesting excerpt is given :

PERIOD 1900-1915 225
I think that I can truly say that in some ways the town of Waterbury at
that (1887-1888) time was an ideal town in its social and educational life.
We organized, the first winter, a reading club, composed of all the young
people in the town. We read through aloud Dickens' "Tale of Two
Cities," with historical research work connected, and at the end of the
year the interest was so great that we established the Waterbury Reading
Room and Library. It was that same winter that the people kindly allowed
me the great privilege of boarding about in their homes. I would go home
with a family after the Sunday morning service and take dinner with them;
go back to my room in the hotel ; go back and take the supper meal with the
family; go to church and return with the family after service for a Sunday
evening visit. During the week usually I took dinner and supper every
day with this family, visiting with the members between meals. In this
way I had the great privilege of seeing, in the family life, nearly fifty differ
ent homes in Waterbury. I can never repay the great kindness and cour
tesies shown me during that time. It was an insight into the home life of
the town, rarely permitted to any one outside of the family. I can truly
say that my experience revealed a remarkable condition of social and
educational life among the people.
I have been asked to say a word about the old "sprinkling cart,'" which
ran up and down the Waterbury streets one summer season, laying the
dust. I do not remember myself where I found the cart or who was its
driver, but I do remember the amount of time I spent trying to get water
down from the spring at the lower end of the street and conveying it into
a tank in the upper story of a barn. I spent much valuable time doing
this, which should have been used in the work of the pastorate, but I was
determined to make that sprinkling cart do its work if I spent the last cent
I had. I do not remember now how much it cost, but I am sure it was far
more than it was worth. I feel far more repaid by the establishment of a
library which, I am told, is still in existence.
My memory of my Waterbury pastorate is grateful as I recall the num
berless kind things done for me while I was there. I can never return
these many kindnesses and can only express in this brief article my appre
ciation of them, as I understand now, better than I could then, what it all
meant. The library now has about 5,000 volumes, covering well-
selected fiction, works of travel, biography, history, economics,
sociological subjects, standard reference and the better weekly
and monthly periodicals. The library needs new accessions
of late critical treatises on American History, Constitutional
and International Law and Government — subjects constantly
being investigated at such crucial periods as this. With its
present facilities, the library's affairs are efficiently adminis
tered and the books well chosen. The officers and trustees are :

226 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
president, Willis B. Clark; secretary, A. H. Smith; treasurer,
C C Graves; Doctor W. L. Wasson, Mark H. Moody, Mrs.
George S. Bidwell and Miss Margaret O'Neill. The muni
ficent gift of a home for the library, in the will of the late Doc
tor Henry Janes, has been mentioned elsewhere.
Doctor Horace Fales' name was inseparably connected
with village and town annals from 1848, when he came to
Waterbury, until his death, September 15, 1882. He was born
in Sharon, Vermont, February 16, 1823; was graduated at
Woodstock Medical College in 1848. He had received a pre
liminary academic education at the Kimball Union Academy,
Meriden, New Hampshire. Immediately prior to his medical
course, he studied under the preceptorship' of Doctor Reuben
Spalding, his uncle, in Brattleboro. He sustained himself
through his medical course without outside assistance. In
1 85 1 he was married to Miss Henrietta Sheple, daughter of
David Sheple. The Fales home, as has been pointed out be
fore, was on that tract of land on Upper Main Street, in the
easterly part of the village, where Ezra and Azaph Butler
first made their pitch in 1785; the property passed succes
sively to Richard Holden, Judge Dan Carpenter and General
John Peck. It then passed from General Peck's personal
representative to David G. Sheple, Doctor Fales' father-in-
law, thence to Doctor and Mrs. Fales. The present building,
occupied as the Hospital Annex, was built by Doctor Fales to
replace his burned residence.
Doctor Horace and Mrs. Henrietta (Sheple) Fales were so
much a part of Waterbury that when they died childless
the town was left bereft indeed. It is recalled that Doc
tor Fales' practice was a large and exacting one. His min
istrations as physician were in request from Middlesex,
Moretown, the Duxburys, Stowe and Bolton. He is described
by Miss M. Morrissey, for a long time a member of the Fales
household, as being about six feet in height, of about two hun
dred pounds in weight, having jutting eyebrows overshadow
ing piercing eyes. His forehead was high and massive. He
wore the customary closely cropped beard of the physician.
He was quick and of decisive manner, but not abrupt or

Dr. Horace Fales

Franklin Sy'lvester Heary

Mrs. Horace Fales

Dr. Henry Janes

Mark C. Canerdy

PERIOD 1900-1915 227
thoughtless in demeanor. His voice was pleasant and sooth
ing in a sick room. It is said that his very presence there
charged the atmosphere with healing.
He was an enthusiastic farmer and gave much of his spare
attention to his magnificent farms on the meadows, which are
now the Vermont State Hospital property. He was always
interested in horses and cattle and was never so happy as
when he was busying himself about their care and keep. Many
patients in so large a territory as was covered by Doctor
Fales' practice were unable to pay, at all times, even his mod
erate fees. With cheerfulness and good will he stood as
ready to respond to the calls of such as to those of his more
well-to-do patients. Doctor Fales' professional work and his
farm left him little time for recreation; an occasional visit to
Saratoga, Messina, New York, and Philadelphia, represented
about the extent of Doctor and Mrs. Fales' wanderings from
Waterbury. Though absorbed in his practice and farm. Doctor Fales
still found time to give to public service. He served as select
man for several terms and in other public capacities. The
household consisted at different times, aside from Doctor
and Mrs. Fales, of young Doctor D. W. Lovejoy, a cousin of
Doctor Fales, and a medical student under his preceptorship;
two nephews and one niece of Mrs. Fales who were cared for
in the Fales home, and Miss M. Morrissey.
Mrs. Henrietta Fales {nSe Sheple) was born November 7,
1823, and died in 1906. Mrs. Fales is well remembered as a
woman of remarkable strength of character. Her home and
the care of the members of her household held for her ample
interest and occupation. Keenly alive to the growing needs of
Waterbury along cultural and educational lines, she made
provision in her last will and testament for a trust fund to be
known as the Horace Fales Fund "for aiding in the mainte
nance of a public library in the village of Waterbury in loving
memory of my deceased husband who had a home there during
the major portion of his business life and whose intimate social
and professional relations with its people produced an interest
in and affection for the place which it is my wish to commem
orate."

228 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
The trust fund was in Mrs. Fales' residuary estate and the
income was to be paid over to the trustees, for the time being,
of the Waterbury Public Library Association, to be used in
the purchase of books and periodicals. Upon the failure of
the association to open its rooms for a period of two months
for the distribution and exchange of books, as often as once in
each calendar week, the income shall cease and the principal of
the trust remaining in the hands of the trustee, or his successor,
shall go to the incorporated village of Waterbury "for the ex
press purpose of establishing and helping to maintain a public
library in said village under the authority and provisions of the
statute law of Vermont in such case made and provided."
The estimated value of the fund was found to be $15,000. By
a codicil, Mrs. Fales released Honorable William P Dilling
ham as trustee of this fund and substituted in his place and
stead Mr. George W. Morse who in turn was succeeded by the
Waterbury Savings Bank and Trust Company.
Mark Carter Canerdy's place in the town's chronicles is one
earned by a long life of industry and useful public service.
Born in Duxbury June 4, 1828, the son of John and Hannah
Canerdy, he, with the eight other children, passed his child
hood at his father's home near the Bolton Falls, the present
site of the electric plant of the Consolidated Company. In
1851 he married Louisa M. Corse of Duxbury, a daughter of
Eben and Corina (Huntley) Corse. There were no children.
Mrs. Canerdy died in 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Canerdy started
housekeeping at what was afterwards known as the John
Preston place. They moved into the village from there, and
of their forty years' residence here they spent thirty years in
their Main Street home.
Mr. Canerdy was extensively engaged in dealing in live
stock and was one of the pioneer drovers of this vicinity, often
times driving large herds to the Boston market, an enterprise
attended with great labor and risk. He was chosen selectman
by his fellow townsmen and, during his term, succeeded in
reducing the indebtedness of the town, thereby calling atten
tion to his ability as a financier. While engaged in this work
he was asked by the stockholders of the Waterbury National

Waterbury Public Library Buildini
Gift of the late Dr. Henry Janes

PERIOD 1900-1915 229
Bank to act as a director; he accordingly became a member of
the board in 1899. In 1904 he became the vice-president of
the bank and continued in that office until his death, Septem
ber 20, 1910. It was during his connection with the bank
that Mr. Canerdy's firm friendship for young business men
was. of ten shown in a practical and substantial way. Many a
young man of the community has profited by his advice and
assistance financially. Such a man naturally became influen
tial and the depositary of his neighbor's perplexities and aspira
tions, in spite of himself; but he was ever ready with a kindly
word and helpful hand.
Like many another modest benefactor, Mr. Canerdy chose
to continue to render service to his townspeople after his death.
This he accomplished by his last will and testament, dated
December 20, 1905, under which he devised and bequeathed
to the Congregational Church, located in Waterbury Village,
and the Waterbury Public Library, share and share alike, the
residuary part of his estate, subject to a life estate of its use
and income to Emma A. Manning, who had acted as house
keeper in the Canerdy home after Mrs. Canerdy's death.
Emma Manning died October 24, 1912, and the share of the
residue of the estate in the hands of the trustee for the Public
Library Association was found to be $10,000.
It would be beyond the scope of this attempt to do more
than outline the educational work done in the town. We have
seen how the matter of education lay very near to the hearts
of the early settlers and how difficult it was to make provision
for the housing of the schools. As early as November 3, 1801,
the Legislature passed an act creating the " Corporation of the
Chittenden County Grammar School," and naming Benjamin
Wait, Richard Holding (Holden?), John Cray, Styles Sher
man, John Peck, David Austin, Asaph Allen and William Utley
as trustees; the act contained a proviso that the town should
"build and finish a good and sufficient house of the value of
$700 within two years." It has been noted elsewhere how
far short the town fell of carrying out this proviso. As time
went on, the two original school districts were subdivided into
new districts, these being added as occasion required.

230 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
The action of the Legislature in 1801 erecting the Corpora
tion of the Chittenden County Grammar School had been
preceded by action at the March meeting of the town in 1791
warned "to see if the town would take any measures for the
promotion of schools." A committee, consisting of John
Craig, Reuben Wells and Caleb Munson, was appointed to
set apart the two school districts of the town. Waterbury
River was made the dividing line between the two. For a
long time each district worked out its own salvation as best
it might. The subdivision of the districts was made neces
sary, of course, by the scattered condition of the town's
population. About the year 1872, the town was in receipt of a small
income arising from public land rentals, interest on the general
government surplus money and the state school tax, amount
ing in all to less than $1,200. This was parcelled out among
the districts and was made to go as far as possible. The main
or village district had a graded school for the support of which
a 50-cent tax on the dollar of the grand list was voted. This
school was the first to be housed comfortably. The old school-
house, standing near the Dillingham homestead on Main Street,
was moved away by its purchaser, James Hattie, to a site on
what is now known as Elm Street in the autumn of 1900.
The present beautiful and commodious school building is
the outcome of a resolution offered by William P. Dillingham
at the March meeting of 1898, authorizing the school directors
to purchase a site and erect a school building thereon, in the
village of Waterbury, at an expense not to exceed $20,000, and
to sell the old school building and site. The selectmen were
also authorized to borrow a sum not in excess of $20,000.
By the education code, passed at the legislative session of
1915, a town is made to constitute a school district having a
board of three directors, and the matter of appointing and
regulating the tenure of school superintendents rests with the
State Board of Education.
The Waterbury High School has gradually been develop
ing its courses of study to meet the increasing demands of pres
ent day life. The University of Vermont has had a control-

PERIOD 1900-1915 231
ling influence upon secondary education in this state and,
when that institution joined the Association of Colleges of
New England, many Vermont high schools found their facili
ties inadequate for the new requirements. In 1908, one
teacher was added to the high school faculty and, with the
introduction of new subjects, an effort was made to gain the
certificate privilege for the school. The splendid results ob
tained by the class of 191 1 in college entrance examinations
won for the Waterbury High School the approval of the New
England College Entrance Certificate Board. Since then our
students have entered college without examination.
However, the majority of boys and girls must finish their
education in the public schools and they have a right to de
mand courses of study which will fit them for their chosen
occupations. With suph a purpose in view, the college pre
paratory course was more closely defined and, in 1914, a com
mercial course was successfully instituted. A further im
provement will be made in 191 5 by the establishment of a
course in agriculture, under the supervision of a special teacher.
Thus, the Waterbury High School, with a staff of four instruct
ors, is doing a work which will compare favorably with that
of other similar schools.
The number of students has gradually increased. In 1907,
the enrollment was forty and, in 1914, seventy. During the
past eight years, the High School has graduated fifty-seven
students, seventeen boys and forty girls. Of these students,
twenty-four entered college, seven qualified by examinations
as teachers, two pursued normal teacher training courses,
three became nurses, five entered business college, two studied
music and art, and eleven took up miscellaneous work, such
as business and housekeeping. The school has lost, by the
removal of families to other towns, a number of students who
have entered college after work done in the Waterbury High
School. Furthermore, a number of students who were not
graduated, have used their preparation for teaching, business
and other pursuits.
Now that vocational courses have been established, the

232 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
work of the school will become more intimately connected
with the life of the community.
Teachers in the Waterbury High School, 1899-1915
Principal, E. M. Roscoe, 1899-1904.
Miss Julia Moody (Perry), 1899-1904.
Principal, W. H. Hosmer, 1904-1907.
Miss Delta Collins, 1904-1905.
Miss Jeffries Leete, 1905-1907.
Principal, F. W. Reimherr, 1907-1915.
Miss Ethel Park, 1907-1908.
Miss Vera Powell, 1908-1912.
Miss Effie Wells, 1908-1910.
Miss Belle Anderson, 1910-1914.
Miss Clara Buffum, 1910.
Miss Elsie Hooker, 1912-1913.
Miss Margaret Durgin, 1913-1914.
Miss Stella Farrel, 1914-1915.
Miss Irene Parris, 1914-1915.
A carefully compiled list is given of those who have gone
as students to the University of Vermont, either from Water
bury or claiming Waterbury as a place of residence. This
is made possible through the courtesy of President Guy Potter
Benton and Registrar Kehoe of the University.
Abbreviations
b. = birth at Waterbury.
f.= finished preparatory education at Waterbury.
fr. = frora Waterbury.
d.= death occurred at Waterbury.
¦"Prefixed to a person's name indicates his decease.
Ch. = chemistry course.
CE. = civil engineering.
E.E.= electrical engineering.
CI. =ciassical.
L.S.= literary, scientific.
Eng. = engineering.
Med. = medical.
Ag. =agricultural.
H.Ec. =home economics.
Cm. = commerce and economics.

PERIOD 1900-1915

233

Name

Entrance

Course

Giles H. Holding

1808

fr. W., non-grad.

Guy J. Holding

1808

fr. W., non-grad.
?William Wells
1820
b., d. at W.
*William Carpenter
1822
b., d. at W., non-grad.
Seth Chandler Sherman
1825
fr. W.
Russell Butler
1825
b., d., fr. W.
Mason S. Stone
1879
CI.
b. W. Ctr.
Ferdinand S. Henry
1881
b. W. Ctr.
George R. Huse
1882
CE.
b., fr. W.
Frank P. Lord
1886
CI.
b. W.
*Inez E. Moody
1890
L.S.
b., d., W.
Ida May Fuller
1890
L.S.
b., f., fr. W.
Warner J. Morse
1894
Ag.
b., fr. W. Ctr.
Charies W. Worthen
1889
Med.
b. W.
Clayton G. Andrews
1893
Med.
formerly located at W.
Watson L. Wasson
1897
Med.
now located at W.
Don D. Grout
Med.
now located at W.
George S. Bidwell
Med.
now at W.
Waldo J. Upton
Med.
now located at St. Albans.
Robert W. Palmer
1902
CI.
non-grad.
John F. Tice
1902
specis
non-grad.
Degree Year
A.M.
A.B.
Ph.B.
Ph.B.
B.S.
M.D.
M.D.
M.D.
1824
18291829
1883
1894 1894 18981893 189719011872 1S901898
*The above 5 names are recorded as located at Waterbury and having
belonged to said classes. Where they came from or went to school is not
recorded. 16
234 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT

Name

Entrance

Course

Degree

Year

Clayton W. Guptil

1903

L.S.

non-grad.

Ida Blanche Kennedy
1904
L.S.
non-grad.
Harold Earnest Somerville
1904
L.S.
non-grad.
Andrew J. Brown
1906
CE.
B.S.
1910
Joseph Herschell Smith
1906
CE.
B.S.
1910
Marjorie A. Duflus
1911
L.S.
non-grad.
Lilla C Montgomery
1911
L.S.
Ph.B.
1915
Beulah A. Watts
191 1
L.S.
Ph.B.
1915
Mabel N. Watts
191 1
L.S.
Ph.B.
1915
Amy E. Wheeler
1911
H.Ec
Dean S. Fullerton
191 1
special
Max Fuller
1912
Ch.
left college
Marjorie E. Luce
1912
L.S.
Joseph Ciminera
1912
Med.
Walter LeBaron
1913
Ag.
Norma Marie Perkins
1914
L.S.
Loren Watts
1914
Ag.
Effie Wells fitted for college in Waterbury High School and
was graduated from the University of Vermont. She taught
domestic science in Middlebury College and married William
Duffus.
It is quite in keeping with the traditions of both the town of
Waterbury and Norwich University that the town should
have been creditably represented in that ancient institution
of learning and that the spirit fostered and nurtured in that
splendid school of patriotism should have been Waterbury's
since her beginning. A list of former students and graduates
from Waterbury is given :
William Carpenter, son of Dan and Betsy Carpenter, was
born in Waterbury October 25, 1805; died March 16, 188 1.
He was prepared at Montpelier Academy and entered the old
"Academy," as Norwich University was then known, in 1821,
and was graduated in 1823. He afterwards entered the
University of Vermont with the class of 1826, but was forced
by ill health to discontinue his course.
PERIOD 1900-1915 235
Frederick Perkins Drew, U. S. A., M. D., son of Doctor
Oliver W. and Lucretia (Ames) Drew, was born in Waterbury
in April, 1829, and died at Fort Riley, Kansas, in March,
1864. He prepared in Waterbury and entered the univer
sity in 1844, remaining nearly three years. Thereafter he
studied medicine at Woodstock and was graduated M. D.
from the College of Surgeons in New York in 1859.
Franklin Allen Goss, A. B., son of Benjamin F. and Mary
Jane (Witherill) Goss, was born in Waterbury January i,
1859, and died in Troy, New York, August 12, 1904. He
prepared for college at Highland Military Academy, Worcester,
Massachusetts, and at Phillips Academy, Andover. He en
tered the university in 1864, remaining two years, and served
with the corps of cadets at Newport, Vermont, in October,
1864, during the St. Albans raid troubles. He was gradu
ated from Amherst A. B. in 1871.
Ransom Augustus Gray, son of Darius A. and Louisa P.
(Smith) Gray, was born in Duxbury, Vermont, February 28,
1873, and died of tuberculosis at Sparhawk's Sanatorium in
Burlington, Vermont, in May, 1879. In 1885 his parents.
removed to Waterbury. He fitted for college at Green Moun
tain Seminary, Waterbury Center, and entered the university,.
March, 1894, remaining until June, 1895. He studied law and
taught school in Waterbury until he was stricken with his
fatal disease.
Roy Morse Bachelder, B. S., son of John Sargent and Ella
Abbie Morse Bachelder, was born in Needham, Massachusetts,
January 10, 1885. In 1888 his parents removed to Waterbury
where he was graduated from the high school in 1903. He
entered the university in September of the same year and
was graduated B. S. in C. E. in 1907. He was afterwards
employed in the engineering department of the Missouri
Pacific Railroad, July, 1907-April, 1908. He became in
surance surveyor for the Sanborn Map Company of New
York. He is a member of the Congregational Church in
Waterbury. Earl Albert Boyce, B. S., son of Willard Jairus and Mary
Elna (Robbins) Boyce, was born in Waterbury August 24,

236 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
1887. He received his collegiate preparation in the local
schools and entered the university, September 12, 1905, and
was graduated B. S. in C. E. in 1909. He became an assistant
engineer for the Northern Pacific Railroad on location work in
North Dakota, August, 1909-March, 1910, and afterwards
became engaged in sewer construction work in Kentucky and
Tennessee. He studied osteopathy in Kirksville, Missouri,
for some time after leaving Tennessee.
Earl Asa Parker, son of Frederick and Ida (Colby) Parker,
was born in Waitsfield, Vermont, November i, 1889. He
removed to Waterbury with his family. He prepared at
Montpelier Seminary and entered the university as a cadet and
remained as a student from September, 1908-June, 1910. He
became instrument man with the Morgan Engineering Com
pany in Poplar Bluff, Missouri; assistant engineer with C. R. T.
and P. Railway at Topeka, Kansas, April-October, 191 1, then
with the A., T. & S. F. Railway in New Mexico, from October,
1911. Max Gleason Ayres, son of Orlo Leroy and Bessie (Gleason)
Ayres, was born in Waterbury, Vermont, October 27, 1890.
He prepared at the Waterbury High School and entered the
university in September, 1909.
Alton Grover Wheeler, son of Stedman Cyrus and Mabel
Judith (Grover) Wheeler, was born in Waterbury, Vermont,
March 28, 1891. He was prepared at the Waterbury High
School and entered the university as a cadet in the civil
engineering department in September, 1910.
Benjamin Harrison Grout, B. S., son of Doctor Don De
Forest and Angle M. (Wilkins) Grout, was born in Stowe,
Vermont, September 20, 1888. He was prepared for college
at Waterbury High School and entered the university from
that town in September, 1906. He was graduated B.S. in
C. E. in 1910. He was married, April 19, 1914, to Miss Hazel
N. Brackett, and now resides in Brimfield, Massachusetts.
Harold Price Turney, son of John H. and Maria (Price)
Turney, was born in Waterbury September 10, 1890. He
prepared at Goddard Seminary, Barre, Vermont, and entered
the university from Middlesex in September, 191 1.

PERIOD 1900-1915 237
It is regrettable that only a partial list of those natives or
residents of Waterbury attending Middlebury College is
available. Jeremiah Flint, son of Phineas and Hannah (Clark) Flint,
was born in Hampton, Connecticut, November 16, 1784; was
graduated from Middlebury College in 181 1, and the Andover
Theological Seminary in 18 14; ordained in 18 17. Pastor,
Congregational Church in Danville, Vermont, in 1817-1818.
Lived in retirement in Waterbury and Eden, Vermont, 1818-
1842. Married Jerusha Pratt, April 7, 1830. Their children
were Helen, Abby, George W., Phineas, Jeremiah C, John W.
He died in Eden, Vermont, October 29, 1842.
Reverend Jonathan Hovey, the first regularly installed
pastor of the Congregational Church in Waterbury, received
the honorary degree of M. A. from Middlebury College in 1817.
Calvin Blodgett Moody, son of George W. and Lucia (Eddy)
Moody, was born in Waterbury October 26, 1855. He pre
pared for college at Montpelier Seminary. He was graduated
from Middlebury College in 1877, receiving the degree of
A. B., and afterwards A. M. ; studied at the Hartford Theolog
ical Seminary and was ordained in 1880. He was successively
pastor of Center Harbor (New Hampshire) Congregational
Church, at Barton, Vermont, Osage, Iowa, and of the Ply
mouth Congregational Church at Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Afterwards he went to Syracuse, New York. He was married
to Fanny Ellen Kingsley July 29, 1880. Children: Helen
Lucretia, Fanny Kingsley and Lucia Avis (deceased). The
191 5 address list gives his present residence as Kingfisher
College, Kingfisher, Oklahoma.
Doctor Watson Lowell Wasson of Waterbury was a non-
graduate student in the class of 1886 at Middlebury College.
Sophia Belle Anderson of Waterbury was graduated in the
class of 1909 from Middlebury College.
Edythe May Boyce of Waterbury was a non-graduate
student in the class of 1915 at Middlebury College.
Margaret Gates Pike of Waterbury was a non-graduate
student in the class of 1915 at Middlebury College.

238 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Harriet Edna Boyce of Waterbury was a member of the
class of 1916 at Middlebury College.
Justin Mark Ricker, formerly of Waterbury, now of Bridge
port, Connecticut, was graduated in the class of 1906 from
Middlebury College.
Dan J. Ricker, formerly of Waterbury, was graduated from
Middlebury College in the class of 1909. He spent some time
in Honolulu and is now in New York City.
Robert Hazeltine prepared at Waterbury High School and
was graduated at Middlebury College in 1907; after a post
graduate course, he became a teacher in the Baltimore City
College, Maryland. He is a son of Holden and Jessie M.
Hazeltine. Irene, daughter of Harvey and Ella R. Henry, was gradu
ated from Middlebury College. She was prepared for college
at the Waterbury High School, and now lives in Schenectady.
Among the former students of the Waterbury High School
who attended college are: Charles Warren, Jr., W. H. S.
1905; Dartmouth, 1909; now in business in New York. Wil
liam Duffus, W. H. S., afterwards Leland Stanford University.
Robert Duffus, W. H. S., afterwards Leland Stanford Univer
sity, now a newspaper man in California. John Moran, W. H.
S., afterwards Holy Cross College.
Under the grim shadows of Camel's Hump and Mount
Mansfield, in Waterbury Center, was finally established the
Green Mountain Seminary, founded in 1862 by D. S. Frost,
F. H. Lyford, J. L. Sinclair, Ziba Sprague, Lyman Sargent,
I. P. Moulton, Jonathan Woodman, L. T. Harris, M. C.
Henderson, S. W. Cowell, Obadiah Hall and J. Coffrin, as
incorporators; to this list were added the names of Ezra B.
Fuller, David H. Adams, Roswell Mason Minard, Hawley W.
Judson and David Pratt by an amendment to the act of incor
poration in 1868. The institution was started under the aus
pices and by the hard labor of the Freewill Baptists and it was
empowerd to furnish such education and to confer such degrees
"as are usually conferred by the best Colleges, Academies
and Seminaries."
The first president of the corporation was Reverend J. L.

PERIOD 1900-1915 239
Sinclair; tlie second was Reverend Lyman Sargent. The cor
ner-stone of the seminary building was laid in July, 1868, by
President Angell, then of the University of Vermont. The
building was completed at a cost of $30,000, in 1869, and was
dedicated September i of that year. During the first year
there were five teachers besides the principal, A. J. Sanborn.
For three years following C. A. Moores was principal. Rev
erend R. N. Tozer was principal during the fifth year. The
school was closed during the sixth year from its opening; but
was reopened in 1875.
In 1881, through the munificence of Doctor R. M. Minard,
the Minard Commercial School was opened in connection
with the seminary. A review of the curriculum for 1890
shows that in the English and Classical course and the Col
lege Preparatory Course, about the usual amount of classics,
mathematics, English and history was prescribed. There
was also a Teacher's Course of two years. As time went on,
however, it became only too apparent that the support the
institution richly deserved was not forthcoming; during the
winter of 1905-1906, instruction continued until Miss CoUey,
the preceptress, was called to New Hampshire.
After a precarious struggle, the institution finally closed its
doors permanently in February, 1906, and the seminary build
ing became the property of the town in 1913, pursuant to a
vote at town meeting March 4. The old school bell that for
merly hung in the belfry of the school building was donated to
one of the town churches by a vote passed at the March meet
ing in 1915, "with no string attached." This vote naturally
raised a query duly noted in the record, as to how the bell
could be rung without a string attached.
That Kaiser Wilhelm's now famous alliterative restriction
of woman's sphere to "Kinder, Kuche, Kleider und Kirche"
has not been enthusiastically adopted in Waterbury is dis
tinctly emphasized by the club movement locally. This
began with the Philomathean Club, organized in 1894, which
became federated with the Vermont State Federation of
Women's Clubs in 1899. The Pierian Club, limited to a
membership of twenty-five, was formed in 1904, and became

240 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
federated in 191 1. This is a study club and affords opportu
nities to its members for individual research and the prepara
tion and discussion of papers on subjects of historical, literary,
political and miscellaneous interest. The Hypatia Club, also
a study club, was formed in 1898, and federated in 190 1. Its
membership, until 1914, was limited to twenty-five, since then
to thirty. It has kindred objects with the Pierian as to re
search and investigation.
The officers and members of the Pierian Club for 1915-1916
are: president, Mrs. Abbie J. Foster; vice-president, Mrs.
Sarah M. Carpenter; recording secretary, Mrs. Bertha D.
Campbell; corresponding secretary, Mrs. Nettie L. Fife; treas
urer, Mrs. Elna M. Boyce; critic, Mrs. Laurestine Graves.
In addition to the above-named members the list of active
members includes: Blanche E. Atherton, Bessie G. Ayers,
Sarah M. Carpenter, Marion B. Clark, Martha F. Clair, S.
Jane Edwards, Estella E. Gifford, Ida M. Grout, Nina L. B.
Robinson, Clara K. Swasey, Florence E. Guptil, Ida W.
Hattie, Margaret B. Knowles, Caroline A. Lamb, Eva Luce,
Harriette F. Moody, Maria Park, Belle G. Randall, Beulah
Russell, Nellie R. Thompson.
The list of honorary members includes: Ella M. Batchel
der, Nellie C. Bates, Tamar Boyce, Sarah M. Coburn, Joseph
ine E. Drew, Cora G. Douglass, Minnie L. Haines, Ella R.
Henry, Nellie G. Hoadley, Mary N. Petty, Susie A. J. Smith
ers, Elnora Stalker, Sue G. Stranahan, Lillian Tewksbury,
Jane Trowbridge, Ellen A. Vassar.
The officers and members of the Hypatia Club for 1915-1916
are: president, Mrs. Margaret S. Perry; vice-president, Mrs.
Florence T. Joslyn; secretary, Miss Rose A. Carpenter; assist
ant secretary, Mrs. Maywood P. Perkins; treasurer, Mrs.
Rena Demeritt.
Besides those named the active member list includes:
Jessie H. Atherton, Florence E. Atkins, Katrina L. Bidwell,
Weltha W. Boeker, Lottie C. Cooley, Lillian P. Demeritt,
Laura P. Fowler, Harriet B. Farnham, Annie G. Gilbert,
Etta F. Graves, Fontinelle N. Goodrich, Mabel C. Jones,
Marguerite C. Knight, Inez G. Lease, Lucy G. Moody, Sadie

PERIOD 1900-1915 241
Moore, Alice L. Seabury, Eva F. Stanley, Emilie G. Steele,
Theda W. Twombly, Peari R. Wasson, Mary M. Whitehill,
Maud C. Wood, Mae B. Wheeler.
The list of honorary members includes : M abel H . Andrews ,
Mary W. Berry, Sara H. Boicourt, Bertha D. Bone, Amy G.
Bingham, Beatrice A. Boyce, Lena M. Carpenter, Margaret
Colby, Jasmine S. Cooley, Ella D. Davis, Mary Drew, Nan-
nette D. Evans, Drusilla Fogg, Carolyn W. Frary, Mary F.
Kemp, Clarissa S. Minard, Florence F. Morse, Mertie H.
Palmer, JuHa P. Parker, Mary A. Patterson, Julia M. Perry,
Nella S. Roscoe, Dora C. Sheffield, Bessie F. Whittle, Ida B.
Hatch, Ida B. Houston, Claire D. Hill, Mary K. Kellogg.

Waterbury State and Federal Officers
Governors — Ezra Butler, 1 826-1 827; Paul Dillingham,
1 865-1 866; William P. Dillingham, 1 888-1 890.
Lieutenant-Governor — Paul Dilhngham, 1862, 1863, 1864.
State Councillors — Ezra Butler, 1807, 1808, 1809, 1810,
1811, 1812, 1815-1825; John Peck, 1826; Henry F. Janes,
1830, 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834.
Representatives in Congress-^Ezra Butler, 1813-1815;
Henry F. Janes, 1834-1837; Paul Dillingham, 1843-1847;
Lucius B. Peck, 1848-1852.
United States Senator — William P. Dillingham, 1900, 1902,
1908, 1914.
Members Constitutional Convention — Richard W. Holden,
1793 ; Dan Carpenter, 1814; Ezra Butler, 1822 ; Luther Cleaves,
1828; Paul Dillingham, Jr., 1836; William Carpenter, 1843;
Eliakim Allen, 1850; Paul Dillingham, 1857.
Council of Censors — Ezra Butler, 1806; Henry F. Janes,
1848; WilHam W. Wells, 1855.

List of Town Representatives
Daniel Bliss, 1792.
No representative, 1793, 1831, 1835, 1849, 1850, 1855.
Ezra Butler, 1794-1798, 1799-1805, 1807.
George Kennan, 1798, 1805-1806, 1808, 1810.

242 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Asaph Allen, 1809.
John Peck, 1811, 1818.
Sylvester Henry, 1812-1813.
Dan Carpenter, 1814-1818, 1819-1827, 1829.
Amasa Pride, 1827-1828, 1832.
Charles R. Cleaves, 1830.
Paul Dillingham, Jr., 1833-1834, 1837-1840.
Thaddeus Clough, 1836, 1 846-1 847.
William W. Wells, 1840, 1 863-1 864.
Eliakim Allen, 1841.
Henry Douglass, 1842-1843.
William Carpenter, 1 844-1 845.
Charles C. Arms, 1848.
Calvin Blodgett, 1851-1852.
O. C. Howard, 1853.
Henry F. Janes, 1854, 1861, 1862.
James Green, 1856.
John D. Smith, 1857-1858.
Orson Putnam, 1859.
James M. Henry, i860.
William Wells, 1 865-1 866.
Ezra B. Fuller, 1 867-1 869.
Frank E. Ormsby, 1869-1870, 1872.
George W. Randall, 1872-1874, 1882-1883.
John B. Parker, 1874-1876.
William P. Dillingham, 1876-1878.
Leander H. Haines, 1878-1880.
Edward F. Palmer, 1880-1882, 1888-1889, 1896-1897.
William P. Dillingham, 1 884-1 885.
George E. Moody, 1886.
Henry Janes, 1890-1891.
Lester H. Elliot, 1892.
Frank N. Smith, 1 894-1 895.
H. E. Marshall, 1898-1899.
George Eugene Moody, 1 900-1 901.
Charles Wells, 1902.
James F. Shipman, 1904.
Harvey P. Robinson, 1906.

PERIOD 1900-1915 243

Willard J. Boyce, 1908, 1910.
Richard Demeritt, 1912.
Henry F. Hill, 1915.

List of State Senators from Waterbury
Paul Dillingham, 1841.
WiUiam Carpenter, 1848, 1849.
Joseph Moody, 1853.
James Green, 1854-1855.
William W. Henry, 1865, 1866, 1867.
William P. Dillingham, 1878, 1880.
George Eugene Moody, 1906.

The Supreme Court Reporter for 1882 and 1884 was Edwin
F. Palmer, Esq., who also served as State Superintendent
of Education in 1888-1890. William P. Dillingham served as
State Tax Commissioner in 1886.

List of Town Clerks
Ezra Butler, 1790-1797, 1798, 1799, 1800.
Ebenezer Reed, 1797.
Roswell Wells, 1 801-1806.
Abel Dewolf, 1806.
Dan Carpenter, 1807, 1810, 1812, 1829.
John Peck, 1810, 181 i.
Paul Dilhngham, Jr., 1829-1844.
William Carpenter, 1 844-1 851.
John D. Smith, 1851-1874.
Frank N. Smith, 1874-1896.
James K. Fullerton, 1896.

High Sheriffs
John Peck, 1811, 1812, 1819, 1820, 1821, 1822, 1823.
I. C. Brown, 1859, i860.
Frank H. Atherton, 1884, 1886, 1888.
C. C. Graves, 1898-1902.
G. B. Evans, 1902-1904.

244 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Banking History
Prior to 1854 the people of the town of Waterbury and
the vicinity were without local banking facilities. A period
of steady mercantile and industrial activity demanded that
this state of affairs be remedied. The nearest banks were
located in Montpelier, to which a small number of Waterbury
depositors had recourse ; but it was not an uncommon practice
for local merchants to act as depositaries for their customers,
particularly with regard to temporary or special deposits for
purposes of convenience. The first bank at the state capital
was the Bank of Montpelier, chartered in 1825, and organized
in 1826, of which Elijah Paine was president, with a capital
of $50,000. Upon its recharter in 1840 the capital was in
creased to $75,000, and again, in 1853, to $100,000. This
bank was succeeded by the Montpelier National Bank, under
the National Banking Act in 1865. The second bank in
Montpelier was the Vermont Bank, chartered in 1848 and
organized in 1849 with a capital of $100,000. It became the
First National Bank of Montpelier in 1865.
In the decade preceding the breaking out of the Rebellion,
Waterbury participated in the general business revival follow
ing the lean years of the late 30's and early 40's. By degrees
banking methods were becoming systematized; businessmen
began to appreciate the necessity of coordinating their methods
with the new order of things. There was still much to be
desired in regard to stabilizing issues of state banks and there
was, still, constant irritation and confusion in the matter of
exchange, but upon the whole, order was evolving by degrees.
Added incentives to habitual thrift were found in the rates
of interest and the sense of security afforded by the banks
in each locality. Old time practices of hoarding gave place
to the newer ones of making savings productive. Trans
mission of funds by draft opened new avenues of commercial
and industrial dealings and brought Waterbury into fiscal
relationship with the money centers of the country.
The third banking institution at Montpelier was the State
Bank of Montpelier, organized in 1858. The next was the
Montpelier Savings Bank and Trust Company, organized in

PERIOD 1900-1915 245
1 87 1. Quite naturally these banking houses and others in
Burlington had acquired a number of active and inactive
accotmts from Waterbury patrons so that when the Bank of
Waterbury was established in 1854, and for some time after,
there was the competition of conservative habit to combat, —
conservative habit in this case meaning acquiescence in existing
conditions, but considerations of local needs and convenience
prevailed as the history of the Bank of Waterbury and its
successors clearly shows.
An act to incorporate the Bank of Waterbury was approved
December 5, 1853, with an authorized capital of $100,000,
divided into two thousand shares of $50 each. The institution
created by this act was expressly made subject to the provi
sions in force of chapter eighty-four of the compiled statutes,
"and any other laws of this state relating to banks and
moneyed corporations."
The commissioners named in the charter were William W.
Wells and Paul Dillingham of Waterbury, William H. H.
Bingham of Stowe, V. W. Waterman of Morristown, Timothy
P. Redfield of Montpelier, Rolla Gleason of Richmond and
Dan Richardson of Waitsfield. They were empowered to
receive subscriptions and to make allotments of stock, which
duty they performed and made certificate thereto dated Feb
ruary 13, 1854.
Upon notice duly given, the first meeting of stockholders
was had at the Washington House in Waterbury on Monday,
February 13, 1854, at which the following five directors were
chosen: Leander Hutchins of Waterbury, Paul Dillingham of
Waterbury, William W. Wells of Waterbury, Orrin Perkins of
Stowe and Vernon W. Waterman of Morristown. On the
20th day of February, 1854, at a meeting of the board of
directors, Leander Hutchins was unanimously elected president
of the board, and at a meeting of the directors on the 9th day
of March, 1854, Samuel Haskins Stowell was unanimously
chosen and appointed cashier.
By-laws were adopted by the board of directors on the 19th
of April, 1854. At the annual meeting of stockholders,
January 9, 1855, Samuel Merriam and B. F. Goss were added

246 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
to the board of directors, an amendment to the charter
increasing the number of directors to seven having been
approved November 9, 1854. The first dividend of $2 per
share on the stock of the bank was declared and voted to be
paid, March 22, 1855. Again, at a directors' meeting held
September 13, 1855, it was voted to pay a dividend of $2 per
share on or before October 3, 1855. At the stockholders'
meeting, January 8, 1856, J. H. Hastings was made director
in place of William W. Wells. On March 6, 1856, Mr.
Benjamin H. Dewey was duly appointed cashier of the bank.
Mr. Dewey remained with the bank until April 29, 1865,
at which time he was succeeded by Mr. James K. Fullerton.
Mr. Dewey accompanied the firm of John F. Henry &
Company from Waterbury to New York where he continued
with that firm until he entered the employment of the Standard
Oil Company then occupying the old building at 44 Broadway.
He remained with the Standard Oil Company until his
death. The board of directors and officers remained about the
same for years, with an occasional vacancy to be filled. Asa
R. Camp was chosen director, January 13, 1857, in place of
Orrin Perkins; while H. A. Hodges was chosen, in place of
Vernon W. Waterman, January 1 1 , 1859. On the retirement of
B. F. Goss, January 10, i860, O. W. Drew became director.
At a meeting of the directors, December 26, 1862, upon
a report of an auditing committee, to investigate the financial
concerns of the bank, it was voted to pay a semi-annual
dividend of 4 per cent on the capital stock of the bank, exclu
sive of the government tax on January i, 1863, and, further,
to pay $700 to the directors as salary for the year. An entry
in the record, made April 2, 1863, is significant of the nation's
predicament at that time, when it was voted "that the presi
dent invest, ten thousand (10,000) dollars in U. S. Five-twenty
bonds and deposit fifteen thousand (15,000) U. S. Currency
with the U. S. sub- treasurer of the bank funds." Profits to
June 26, 1863, were shown to be $9,068.16, and a dividend of
4 per cent was voted to be paid to the stockholders on and after
July 1, 1863. C. N. Arms was made director, February 3, 1864,

PERIOD 1900-1915 247
in place of Samuel Merriam, resigned. Profits, up to June 30,
1864, were shown to be $12,348.52. A dividend of 7I per cent,
free of government tax, was voted to the stockholders Decem
ber 27, 1864. At a meeting on January 10, 1865, Healy Cady
was elected director in place of A. R. Camp, resigned.
At a directors' meeting, March 30, 1865, it was voted to
take steps to obtain consent of the stockholders changing the
organization of the bank to that of a national bank, and to
take measures looking to an increase of the capital stock to
a sum not exceeding $200,000. A resolution was duly passed
April I, 1865, by the stockholders, converting the Bank of
Waterbury into the Waterbury National Bank, and continuing
the old board of directors and cashier. The total number of
shares represented were 1,684, divided among 138 individuals.
Appropriate articles of association, under the National Bank
ing Act, were adopted by the directors, June 23, 1865, and
a certificate of organization was duly executed by the directors.
The condition of the Bank of Waterbury June 23, 1864,
showed earnings of $14,421.51.
The Waterbury National Bank was authorized to com
mence business (September i, 1865) under a certificate of the
Comptroller of the Currency, dated July 17, 1865, with a
paid-up capital of $100,000. Mr. Curtis Wells was duly
elected cashier, in place of Mr. James K. Fullerton, March 29,
1870. Nathaniel Moody was elected director, in place of
O. W. Drew, January 14, 1873. On withdrawal from the
board of Leander Hutchins, January 13, 1874, Paul Dillingham
was elected president and W. P. Dillingham was elected a direc
tor. W. H. H. Bingham replaced Healy Cady on the board,
January 12, 1875. The resignation of Mr. Curtis Wells as
cashier became effective February i, 1883, and Mr. Charles
Wells was elected cashier to serve after February i, 1883.
An amendment to the articles of association was adopted
extending its corporate existence to June 23, 1905, under an
act approved July 12, 1882, and the same certified to the
Comptroller of the Currency.
At a meeting held June 30, 1887, it was voted "that the
directors have agreed to lease of Honorable Paul Dillingham,

248 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
rooms to be built on the present site suitable for a banking
house, with a good fireproof vault and safe, for the term of ten
years at the option of the officers of the bank at a rental of
two hundred dollars a year."
The first meeting of the directors in the new banking rooms
was held December 31, 1887. J. W. Brock was elected a
director January 14, 1890, upon the withdrawal of Paul
Dillingham whose letter of resignation bore that date. An
appropriate resolution of appreciation and gratitude to the
retiring president was passed and entered on the record.
William P. Dillingham succeeded to the office of president;
J. H. Hastings was elected vice-president, and W. B. Clark,
assistant cashier; Justin W. Moody was made director in
place of Nathaniel Moody.
Frank N. Smith was appointed assistant cashier to take
the place of Charles Wells, who took leave of absence for his
health, March 5, 1894. Cornelius L. McMahon of Stowe
was elected a director, in place of W. H. H. Bingham, deceased,
December 31, 1894. Mark C. Canerdy was elected director,
in place of J. W. Brock, January 10, 1899. J. F. Shipman
was elected director, in place of C. N. Arms, January 8, 1901.
Charles Wells tendered his resignation as cashier (effective
November i, 1901) and W. B. Clark was appointed cashier
in his stead, October 7, 1902. E. E. Joslyn was made clerk
on the same day, and afterwards (December 31, 1902) assistant
cashier. A. W. Ferrin was elected director, in place of J. H.
Hastings, January 12, 1904.
At a duly called meeting of stockholders, February 24,
1904, it was resolved to reduce the capital stock in the sum
of $50,000, leaving the total capital $50,000. There were
2,206 shares represented, all in favor of the resolution. Cer
tification of approval of this reduction of capital stock was
duly made by the Comptroller of the Currency March 2, 1904.
At the meeting of January 8, 1907, George W. Morse was
elected director in place of H. A. Hodges, who retired, receiving
a vote of appreciation and thanks. W. B. Clark was made
director in place of A. W. Ferrin. On January 12, 1909,
H. D. Brown was elected director in place of Justin W. Moody.

PERIOD 1900-1915 249
Mr. Brown's death left a vacancy which was filled by the
election of C. C. Graves as director on August 24, 1909.
The death of Mr. Canerdy left a vacancy in the board which
was filled by the election of Mr. Harry C. Whitehill. Mr.
C. C. Graves was elected vice-president, in place of Mr.
Canerdy, September 27, 1910. Resolutions upon the death
of Mr. Canerdy were passed and spread upon the minutes
October 4, 19 10.
July 10, 191 1, was the date on which it was voted to establish
a new Savings Bank and Trust Company at the present loca
tion and to purchase the present bank building at the price
of $3,000. Notice of Hquidation, dated May 11, 191 1, was
duly sent to the shareholders and a meeting was called for
July II, 1911. The resolution placing the Waterbury National
Bank in voluntary liquidation under sections 5220 and 5221
of the United States Revised Statutes was passed July 11,
to take effect October i, 191 1, 1,073 shares voting in the
affirmative. Subscriptions were thereafter received by the
commissioners for the stock of the Waterbury Savings Bank
and Trust Company, and notices of allotment were sent out.
The old board of directors and officers were continued with
the addition of W. E. Jones as director, at a meeting September
5, 191 1. The formal instrument of transfer to the Waterbury
Savings Bank and Trust Company, reciting the consideration
of $75,000, was executed by the Waterbury National
Bank September 30, 191 1. A statement of the bank'^ con
dition showed resources to be $634,780.09. Under liabilities
were: capital, $50,000; circulation, $35,000; deposits, $516,-
549.47; profit and loss, $13,230.62; surplus, $20,000. The
appraised value of resources at the close of business, September
30, 1911, was $627,980.09.
Extracts from the act to incorporate the Waterbury Savings
Bank and Trust Company, approved November 24, 1896,
follow :
Section i. The subscribers to the capital stock of the corporation
hereby established, and their successors and assigns are constituted a
corporation and body politic, by the name of Waterbury Savings Bank and
Trust Company; and by that name may sue and be sued, may have a
common seal, and the same may alter at pleasure; may purchase and hold
17

250 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
real and personal estate, for their own use, and such real and personal
estate as may be received in the collection of debts, and may sell and
convey the sarae, and shall have and enjoy all the privileges incident to
corporations ; and said savings bank and trust company shall be established
in the town of Waterbury in the county of Washington.
Section 2. The capital stock of said corporation shall be fifty thousand
dollars, with power to increase the same to an amount not exceeding two
hundred thousand dollars, by a vote of a majority of the whole capital
stock at a meeting of stockholders called for that purpose and shall be
divided into shares of the par value of fifty dollars each to be paid in at
such time and in such manner as the board of directors may provide.
Section 3. William P. Dillingham, Charles C Graves, W. B. Clark,
J. F. Shipman, George W. Morse, H. C Whitehill, J. F. Somerville, W. J.
Boyce, J. W. Moody of Waterbury, Vermont, C L. McMahon of Stowe,
Vermont, W. E. Jones of Waitsfield, Vermont, Frank Gillett of Richraond,
Verraont, are appointed coramissioners for receiving subscriptions for
shares in the capital stock of such corporation, etc., etc.
Section 10. The corporation hereby created shall have power
I . To receive moneys on deposit or in trust at such rate of interest or
on such terms as may be agreed upon, the rate of interest to be allowed
for the deposits not to exceed the legal rate.
2. To accept and execute all such trusts, of every description not incon
sistent with the laws of Vermont as may be committed to it by any person
or persons whomsoever, or by any corporation, or by order of the supreme
court, probate court or any other court of record of this state.
3. To take and accept, by grant, assignment, transfer, devise or bequest,
and hold any real or personal estate or trusts created in accordance with
the laws of this state, and execute such legal trusts on such terms as may
be declared, established or agreed upon in regard thereto; and in case no
terras are established, declared or agreed upon, then the trust property is
only to be invested as provided by the terms of this act.
4. To accept from and execute trusts for married women, in respect to
their separate property, whether real or personal, and to act as agent for
thera in the management of such property.
5. To accept deposits where public officers or municipal or private
corporations are authorized or required by law to deposit money in a
bank, and such deposits may be made by such officers or corporations with
the said Waterbury Savings Bank and Trust Company.
6. To act as agent for the purpose of issuing, registering or countersigning
the certificates of stock or other evidences of debt of any corporation,
association, municipality, state or public authority, and for the collection
of interest and dividends on such terms as may be agreed upon.
7. To purchase and sell stocks, bonds, mortgages and other evidences of
indebtedness. 8. To issue letters of credit upon such terms as may be agreed upon by
the directors.

PERIOD 1900-1915 251
By-laws of the new Savings Bank and Trust Company
were adopted October 2, 191 1. At the first annual meeting
of directors, January 9, 19 12, held after the beginning of
business October i, 191 1, the following officers were elected:
president, W. P. Dillingham; vice-president, C. C. Graves;
clerk, Harry C. Whitehill. These officers were reelected to
office for 1913, 1914 and 1915, Mr. Harry C. Whitehill con
tinuing as secretary from 19 13.
The by-laws provide for eight directors, a board of invest
ment to loan and invest funds, the receipt of moneys as
business deposits subject to check as well as for savings, upon
which latter interest is allowed; compensation of i per cent
for the care and management of estates, or trust property,
in the absence of special agreement, terms and conditions
of loans, monthly statements of loans and condition of bank,
rates of interest, deposit books and the like.
The trust department of the Waterbury Savings Bank and
Trust Company is charged with the administration of all
legal trusts, whether committed to it by an individual, group
of individuals or corporations voluntarily or under order
of court. Vermont has been slow to adopt the trust company
idea as developed elsewhere in the administration of estates.
The old practice of appointing an individual to act as execu
tor, trustee, administrator or guardian persists in spite of
almost daily examples of its peril. The result is found in all
the probate districts of the state; intermediate and final
accountings are long overdue, as a rule; lack of system by
individual representatives in their methods of accounting
prevails; hit-or-miss compliance with statutory requirements
is all too common.
A testator reposes faith and confidence in a personal
friend and, as a mark of his friendship, singles out his friend
as one upon whom to impose the responsibility of administering
his estate. He does this often without considering that such
assumption of responsibility presupposes ample solvency, not
only for the time being, but for the indefinite period of adminis
tration, ample time to give the business, systematic and
methodical business habits, stability of and accessibility to

252 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
the personal representative at all times. In how many instan
ces of individual personal representatives are these qualifications
united? It should be clear that a corporate body, organized
for the purpose, with facilities designed for the purpose, with
a self-perpetuating life, having instant accessibility, unques
tioned solvency and solidity and superior advantages for the
legal investment of trust funds under the strictest supervision,
is much to be perferred to an individual in such a capacity.
It has been argued that in the case of guardianship of minor
children, nothing can supply the "personal touch," or the
individual ability to deal with the problems of youth; the
answer is that under the direction of a skilled and experienced
trust officer, competent persons may be found with the
requisite ability for dealing with all necessary problems without
the danger of the "personal touch," — sometimes a thing to
be avoided.
The officers and directors of the Waterbury Savings Bank
•and Trust Company, elected January 12, 1915, were: W. P.
Dillingham, president; C. C. Graves, vice-president; Harry
C. Whitehill, secretary; W. B. Clark, treasurer; J. F. Shipman,
•C. L. McMahon, W. E. Jones.
An effort has been made by the compiler to secure returns
from those in active professional and business life in the town;
responses have been delayed for one or another cause but
a list is appended containing the names and data of nearly all.
The Consolidated Lighting Company owns and operates
the power plant at Bolton (Winooski) Falls. The water
privilege was secured by the Consolidated Lighting Company
in 1895 and 1896. Construction of the plant was begun in
1898, being finished late in that year. This location is an
extremely irregular gorge of solid rock and very great difficul
ties in construction were encountered. These, however, were
finally overcome so that in 1899 the plant was in fair operating
condition, having a capacity of 1200 horse power, which was
at that time supposed to be sufficient for all time to come.
The capacity of the plant was found to be inadequate as early
as 1903 and in 1905 and 1906 an addition was made to the
power plant building and the capacity increased by about

PERIOD 1900-1915 253
1800 horse power, which has since been found to be sufficient to
take care of all available water at that point, so that the
present capacity of the plant is approximately 2000 horse
power. The plant has been subject to the usual and unusual
recurrences of damage by flood and similar severe conditions
which have necessitated from time to time various changes
in the construction; the result is that at the present time
the plant is in what might very safely be called excellent
operating condition. This is the largest hydraulic plant at
present operating in this territory. The transformer houses
are in Winooski Street and at Duxbury Corners. The pres
ent officers of the Consolidated Lighting Company are:
president, A. B. Tenney; first vice-president, D. E. Manson;
second vice-president, H. T. Sands; treasurer, E. A. Bradley.
The lawyers of Waterbury are : Honorable William P. Dill
ingham, whose sketch appears elsewhere; George H. Dale, Esq.,
and C. B. Adams, Esq., Taking them in reverse order,
C. B. Adams was born in Randolph, Vermont, September
2, 1887, the son of J. B. and Effie (Thurston) Adams. He was
educated at the district schools at Randolph, was graduated at
the State Normal School at Randolph in 1905, the Montpelier
Seminary in 1907, the University of Maine College of Law,
taking the degree LL. B., in 1913. He was admitted to
the Maine bar in August, 1912, and the Vermont State bar
in October, 1914, coming to Waterbury that same month.
George H. Dale, Esq., was born in Moretown, April 18,
1858. He was married for the first time to Hattie L. Sawyer,
July 4, 1880; for the second time to Lettie Lefebvre, April 14,
1903. Mr. Dale was educated in the common schools of
Moretown; he studied law in the office of Columbus Clough,
in Waterbury, and was admitted to practice in October, 1896.
He took up his residence in Waterbury nine years before,
in 1887. Mr. Dale is a justice of the peace and an assistant
judge of Washington County Court. He has served as presi
dent of the village, treasurer of the village and in other town
and village official capacities.
The physicians and surgeons are: George Smith Bidwell,
born in Rutland, Vermont, January 8, 1865. He married,

254 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
first, Louise G. Bartlett of Hartford, Connecticut; two daugh
ters of this marriage are living. He married, second, Katrina
M. Landt of Waterbury, Vermont. Doctor Bidwell received
his early preliminary education in the public schools of Ver
mont ; was graduated from the Battle Creek (Michigan) High
School in 1883; received the degree of M. D. from the school
of Medicine of the University of Vermont in 1890. Doctor
Bidwell was a resident practitioner in the Retreat at Hartford,
Connecticut, and has been connected with the medical staff
of the Vermont State Hospital at Waterbury. He has
been engaged in general practice in Waitsfield and Water
bury since 1897. He is a member of the Washington
County Medical Society, Vermont State Medical Society and
the American Medical Association. Doctor Bidwell specializes
in diseases of the heart and kidneys.
Watson Lovell Wasson was born in Mineville, New York,
January 8, 1874, and married Miss Pearl Randall of Water
bury, Vermont, October 11, 1905. He is a graduate of Sher
man Collegiate Institute, Moriah, New York. He spent one
year at Middlebury College and received his professional
education at the University of Vermont Medical School, taking
the degree of M. D., in 1901. Doctor Wasson also took short
courses at the Montreal Hospital and the Harvard Medical
School ; he began practice in Waterbury in July, 1901 . Doctor
Wasson is a member of Washington County Medical Society,
Vermont State and American Medical associations, member
of New England Society of Psychiatry, professor of Mental
Diseases in University of Vermont, and pathologist in tne
Vermont State Hospital at Waterbury.
Eugene A. Stanley was born June 10, 1875, at Franconia,
New Hampshire; he married Miss Eva B. Fairbrother, August
22, 1901, and has children, Ruth B., Esther R., Margaret G.
and Robert C. He was graduated from Dow Academy in
Franconia; was graduated from Cleveland (Ohio) University
of Medicine and Surgery in 1897 and in 1903 entered Jefferson
Medical College and was graduated from there in June, 1904.
Doctor Stanley practiced in Bradford, Vermont, with Doctor
J. H. Jones from 1897 to April, 1899, when he removed to

PERIOD 1900-1915 255
Waterbury. He was appointed on the staff of the Vermont
State Hospital January i, 1908. He is a member of the
Washington County Medical Society and the Vermont State
Medical Society.
Stewart Louis Goodrich was born in Dorset, July 4, 1882.
He received his preliminary education at Hardwick Academy
and Mount Hermon School. He received the degree of Doc
tor of Medicine from the University of Vermont. Doctor
Goodrich practiced in Burlington before coming to Waterbury
September 13, 191 1. He married Miss Fontinelle Nichols of
Waterbury. He is a member of Chittenden County and Ver
mont State Medical Societies, American Medical Association
and the Alpha Kappa Kappa Fraternity.
Fred Elton Steele, Jr., was born in Stockbridge, Vermont,
September 11, 1883, and married Emilie K. Grow, February i,
191 1 ; there is one son of the marriage, Fred Elton Steele, 3d,
born November 4, 191 1. Doctor Steele received his pre
liminary education at Gaysville High School, his degree of B. S.
at Norwich University, M. D. at Baltimore Medical College
and University of Maryland. He came to Waterbury in
June, 1907, after one year spentin Maryland General Hospital.
Doctor Steele is a member of Phi Chi Medical Society, the
Washington County Medical Society, the Vermont State
Medical Society and the American Medical Association.
Harry Daniel Hopkins received his preliminary educa
tion at the district schools and Green Mountain Seminary.
He was graduated at Montpelier Seminary in 1897, and
at the Baltimore Medical College with degree of M. D. in
1901. He married Miss Bessie B. Crane of Baltimore, Mary
land, April 25, 1901. After an interneship of two years in
Maryland General Hospital, he practiced in Jericho Center until
1910 when he came to Waterbury. He is a member of the
Burlington and Chittenden Clinical Society, Vermont State
Medical Society and American Medical Association. Doctor
Hopkins is the son of C. S. and the grandson of Daniel Hopkins.
Truman James Allen (unmarried) was born in Royalton,
Vermont, May 12, 1888. His early education was had in the
public schools of Royalton and at Montpelier Seminary, being

256 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
graduated from the latter in 1906. Doctor Allen received his
degree of Doctor of Medicine from the College of Medicine
of the University of Vermont in 1912. After serving as an
interne in the Mary Fletcher Hospital at Burlington, Doctor
Allen came to Waterbury December i, 19 13. He is a member
of the Burlington and Chittenden County Medical Society,
Vermont State Medical Society, a Fellow of the American
Medical Association and a member of the medical staff of
the Vermont State Hospital.
Doctor Henry H. Fullerton (unmarried) practices dental
surgery. He was born in Waterbury August 21, 1873; he
received his preliminary education at Waterbury High School
and Montpelier Seminary ; was graduated as Doctor of Dental
Surgery from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in
1908. He served for one year as assistant oral surgeon at
the College ; was for two years dental interne at the Philadel
phia Hospital for Incurables ; was appointed dental interne at
Philadelphia General Hospital for two years, having passed
the state dental board examinations in Pennsylvania and
Vermont. He is entitled to practice in New York and New
Jersey. Doctor Fullerton opened an office in Odd Fellows
Block in the autumn of 1908; in 1910 he removed to the
Knight Block where he maintains his present office, said to be
one of the best equipped in New England. His predecessors
as dentists were Doctor A. S. Wrisley, Doctor J. T. Wheelock,
Doctor Avrill, Doctor A. C. Patterson, Doctor C. M. Bugbee.
James K. Fullerton was born January 2, 1837, the son of
Horatio F. and Sophia (Jeffords) Fullerton, at Berlin, Vermont.
He married Sophia Burnham of Brookfield, Vermont, in 1863,
and came to Waterbury in 1864. Mr. Fullerton became
cashier of the Bank of Waterbury and, when this became the
Waterbury National Bank, he remained with the institution
five years. Afterwards he became associated as junior mem
ber with the firm of Richardson & Fullerton, successors to
Haines & Richardson; after sixteen years he sold out his
interest to his partner and was elected town clerk in 1896.
Mr. Fullerton is one of the local justices of the peace and is
still town clerk. He also served as town treasurer for about

PERIOD 1900-1915 257
fifteen years prior to 1885. There are four children: James
B. of Willimantic, Connecticut (married), Lema (Fullerton)
Somerville, Henry H., and Dean S., of Waterbury.
The firm of W. J. O'Neill and T. C. O'Neill began business
in 1896, dealing in meat and groceries. The business was
organized in 1882 by H. E. Boyce who was their predecessor.
W. J. O'Neill sold out to B. A. Campbell June 4, 1915. W. J.
O'Neill was appointed postmaster June 16, 1914.
The Mount Mansfield Electric Railroad Company operates
the electric trolley line connecting with the Central Vermont
Railway at Waterbury and running northwest through Water
bury to Stowe, Vermont; the road was built in 1897 and
opened December 18, of that year.
P. G. Lord is a dealer in groceries; the business was or
ganized in May, 1910, and is located at Colbyville. Mr. Lord
came here from Shrewsbury, Rutland County, where he served
as postmaster in President Roosevelt's administration.
O. E. Scott, said to have the oldest established business in
town, is an optometrist and dealer in jewelry, watches and
clocks. His business was organized in 1875, April i8th.
His predecessor was E. F. Rand. Mr. Scott has occupied,
in times past, the M. O. Evans drug store, George H. Atherton
building near dry bridge, Cecil Graves building about thirty-
two years, and has occupied a store in the F. L. Knight Block
since September i, 1913.
D. T. Harvey is the proprietor of a livery, feed and sale
stable, organized in May, 1903. He was formerly a farmer
in District Number 13. He was chairman of the board of
selectmen in 1897-1901, and again in 1908. He has served as
first village trustee (1913-1914). '
M. L. Messer is an optician, having his place of business
at 24 Main Street, next door to the millinery parlors of Mrs.
M. L. Messer. Mr. Messer's business was established in
October, 1914, and Mrs. Messer's in the spring of 1905.
The M. Griffith Estate (Mrs. C. M. Griffith, Miss Griffith
and Mrs. Harry Bingham) conducts a harness and saddlery
store, organized in 1890, formerly conducted by Mr. Lease.
The place of business is now in the Palmer Block, formerly in

258 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
the Post-Office Block. The business is soon to pass into the
hands of C. M. Allen who will take it over.
S. C. Wheeler, with Alton G. Wheeler, is a manufacturer
of lumber at Colbyville. Their saw mill was formerly run
by L. J. Roberts but was purchased by them January i, 1895.
Several years ago the Wheelers purchased the Butler box
shop, adjoining the saw mill, from Mr. G. E. Woodard.
Here are manufactured the butter print boxes, the invention
of George Dumas, a Waterbury man. The Wheelers also
operate a portable saw mill in summer situated one and one-
half miles from Waterbury Center.
The White Cross Pharmacy does a retail drug business at
the corner of Main and Stone Streets. The persons interested
are E. R. and J. W. Brisbin and C. D. Vincent. Their pred
ecessors were Moore & Twombley. The business was con
ducted for many years under the firm name of Evans & Bryan.
Charles B. Cheney (now of 107 Warren Avenue, Boston)
operated the photograph studio at Waterbury Center from
1900-1910. Mr. Cheney spent over half his time between
1868 to 1895 at Waterbury, as portrait maker and publisher of
stereoscopic views. His first work in Waterbury was in the
car "Florinda" which he rented of E. R. Ober in 1870-1871.
This car stood on the site of the studio erected later by S. B,
Maxham, where Mr. Cheney afterwards was located in 1881-
1886. E. R. Ober succeeded Louis L. Pollard at Waterbury in
1869. Mr. Pollard's immediate predecessor was one Rand in
the middle 6o's.
George J. Burnham is a dealer in boots and shoes and men's
furnishings. He has been in this business since November 19,
1886. He had no predecessor and occupies the location in
which he started.
A. A. Newcomb, at Waterbury Center, is a dealer in general
merchandise and has been since July i, 1907. His predecessor
was James A. Gilmore.
E. E. Campbell does a general insurance and real estate
business under the business designation of E. E. Campbell's
Agency; the business was organized in Waterbury December i,
1908. The present location in the town is 13 Stowe Street.

PERIOD 1900-1915 259
C. C. Holmes, a retail dealer in meats, groceries, fruits and
fish, organized business about July i, 1914, succeeding
Ketchum Brothers, and is located on Park Row, near the rail
way station. This market contains a sanitary refrigerating
plant and unexposed display cases for meats. There is also
a rendering plant for lard, etc.
J. F. Clair is a practitioner of veterinary medicine, surgery
and dentistry at 10 Union Street. He began practice in
Waterbury April i, 19 10.
Mrs. Annie J. Barry is the owner and manager of a variety
store, dealing in dry goods, notions, china, glassware, etc.
The business was organized in October, 1908; by Mrs. Barry,
soon after the death of Mr. Barry, her husband, seven years
ago. The present location is in Calkins Block, 14 Main
Street. Formerly it was in the two front rooms in Mrs.
Barry's home. Today the business requires the whole of the
first floor of the building. Originally the business was a 5-
and lo-cent store; now it has grown to larger proportions.
Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Picard are dealers in staple groceries
and baking products under the name of Picard 's Home
Bakery. Their predecessors were E. H. Towne, L. H. Smith,
R. J. Knowles, and he in turn by Mr. Waterman. The present
location is in the Parker Block, South Main Street.
A. W. Miller operates the Waterbury Steam Laundry. The
business was organized by his father, E. G. Miller, in the au
tumn of 1901 ; A. W. Miller conducts operations on Elm Street.
A predecessor was J. A. Fife.
Sinclair & Lyon (James A. Sinclair and Jack Lyon) are
engaged in granite cutting in their sheds on the Central Ver
mont tracks below the Drew Daniels plant. This business
was organized February 18, 19 15. Their predecessors were
Peter Blondin, and Kelly, Sinclair & Brown.
W. H. Sleeper conducts a restaurant on Stowe Street which
was organized October i, 191 1. The place is much resorted
to by touring parties in search of good, substantial, sustaining
food, well cooked and cleanly served. Mr. Sleeper's place
was formerly in the corner of Main and Stowe streets.
C. C. Graves conducts a business of general insurance and

26o HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
is a dealer in mileages. The persons interested are C. C.
Graves and William Park. The business was organized in
1893. Their predecessors were Graves & Cheney. Mr.
Graves' places of business are in the Waterbury Bank Block
and at his residence.
P. J. Chase is a dealer in art goods, cameras, and supplies,
under the firm name of Chase's Art Store. The business was
organized October 15, 1909. The present location of the
store is on Main Street, opposite the Waterbury Savings Bank
and Trust Company.
W. Krinowitz is engaged in tailoring and dealing in clothing
and men's furnishings. The business was organized in 1912
and the present location is in the old library building on Main
Street, formerly in the Palmer Block.
F. C. Lamb is a dealer in groceries. The business started
in December, 1905. His predecessor was Julius H. Daniels.
The present location is on the north side of Stowe Street.
The Demeritt Company does a canning business, the prin
cipal product being canned vegetables. The persons inter
ested are R. N. Demeritt, B. R. Demeritt and Roy W.
Demeritt. The business was started by B. R. Demeritt and
E. F. Palmer, Jr., as the first canning factory built and operated
by native Vermonters in the state. The present location is
at the eastern end of the village near the Central Vermont
tracks. This company also manufactures the holdfast spring
clothes pin, variety turnings, etc., and operates the mill for
merly owned by E. W. Huntley.
Brisbin & Brisbin are dealers in drugs, toilet articles, fine
candies and confections, etc. The persons interested are
E. R. Brisbin and J. W. Brisbin and the business was organ
ized March 29, 191 1. The predecessors were C. I. Hatch,
then the Palmer Pharmacy, then William Carpenter. The
present location is in the old Carpenter Block, at the head of
Stowe Street and facing Main.
Edwards & Edwards are engaged in the business of manu
facturing scythe snaths on lower Main Street. The persons
interested are R. J. & W. E. Edwards, and the business was
organized in July, 1911.

PERIOD 1900-1915 261
The Union Granite Company is composed of the following
shareholders: G. Chiodi, F. C. Luce, G. Gattoni, U. Prario,
V. Fracassi, G. Bianchi, E. Campi, F. Giacomini, A. Bai
Rossi, C. Brusa, P. Caranchini, L. Cardazzo, G. Canale, V.
Dominioni, G. Bai Rossi, H. Imbruglia, G. Bastai, A. Del
Guidici, L. Savoini, F. Gattoni. The business was organized
in March, 1909, for the purpose of cutting granite. The loca
tion is in the East side of South Main Street, west of the rail
way tracks.
F. H. Hoglund conducts a photographic studio; besides
specializing in portrait work, Mr. Hoglund devotes considera
ble attention to landscape photography of the higher class.
The business was organized twenty years ago by E. T. Hous
ton. After some years in Stowe Street, Mr. Houston moved
to the present studio in Main Street; he was succeeded by
Howard Rockwood and he in turn by F. H. Hoglund.
Smith & Somerville (A. H. Smith and J. F. Somerville)
Conduct a hardware business on Main Street, at the head of
Stowe Street, in one of the oldest business stands in the village.
The business was organized in 1888 by the firm's predecessors,
Messrs. Harwood & Smith (Charles Harwood and A. H.
Smith). Two years later Mr. Somerville bought out the in
terest of Mr. Harwood and the business has since been con
ducted under its present firm name of Smith & Somerville.
The Waterbury Inn, an attractive hotel and resort for many
touring parties and permanent guests, was built in 1864 on
the site of the old Washington House and Pride home, at the
corner of Main Street and Park Row. Its present proprietor
is W. F. Davis and the persons interested are E. D. & W. F.
Davis. Their predecessors were Ben Barrett and John C.
Farrar. Numerous facilities for enjoyment and comfort are
afforded by the new casino attached to the hotel. The place is
resorted to largely by Canadian guests.
O. L. Ayers conducts a hardware, plumbing and heating
business, organized November i, 1901. His first location
was in the Parker Block, now occupied by Chase's Art Store.
He purchased from James Hattie the blacksmith shop on the

262 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
present location in Elm Street, remodeled it and made addi
tions suitable for his present needs.
W. H. O'Brien is the proprietor of the combination store
and deals in tobacco, cigars, candies, fruit and soda. Mr.
O'Brien also conducts the barber shop at his place of business
in Park Row, which he opened February 3, 1910. His pred
ecessor as barber and the keeper of a pool room was Jesse
Morse. Mr. O'Brien began business as a barber in April,
1899; he occupied premises in the old Post-Office Block, sold
out to Frederic Towne and removed to Burlington in March,
1907, but returned to Waterbury February 3, 1910.
H. J. Ennis, also a barber, conducts a shop and pool room,
three doors above the bank on Main Street, which he bought
July 6, 1915, of A. E. Douglass.
J. H. Ring is engaged in business as the agent for the Ver
mont Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and is also a substitute
carrier on the R. F. D. route. His predecessor was the late
W. E. Marshall, who lived on the village farm now owned by
Mr. Ring.
The Winooski Valley Creamery is owned by A. G. & G. F.
Braley of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. The local manager is
E. G. Grant. The business is that of separating cream and
doing a general creamery trade. Their predecessor was the
Winooski Valley Creamery Association. The business was
organized July i, 1915.
Dow Brothers (L. W. & E. E. Dow) carry on a wholesale
and retail meat and provision business at Waterbury Center.
The business was organized April i, 191 5, and was formerly
in the hands of L. W. Dow who conducted it alone for six
years. The firm supplies local markets with pork products
at wholesale.
V. L. Perkins & Company are engaged in the business of
undertaking and dealing in furniture. The business was
organized in October, 1907, and their predecessor was W. J.
Boyce. Their location is in Main Street, near the Methodist
Church. Parker Brothers do a dry goods, clothing, boot and shoe
business, organized in April, 1906. The persons interested are

PERIOD 1900-1915 263
Barkette T. and Marshall T. Parker. The founders of the
firm were Thomas M. Parker and his son, Wilbert T. Parker.
In 1909 Thomas M. Parker sold out his interest to his sons
mentioned above who, in 191 1 after the death of Wilbert T.
Parker, became the proprietors of the business.
Cooley- Wright Manufacturing Company operates a machine
shop and foundry as successors to Cooley Manufacturing
Company, organized in 1882. The persons interested are
William T. Cooley, E. A. Cooley, Ralph W. Putnam and
William Theriault. Their locations are at Waterbury Center
and in Foundry Street in the village.
J. A. Foster is a dealer in groceries at 1 15 South Main Street.
The business was organized in 1910.
V. K. Ducas conducts a candy and confectionery store and
ice cream parlor in Stowe Street. The business is carried on
under the business designation of the Concord Candy Kitchen
and was founded April i, 1914. Mr. Ducas is a native Greek
from Laconia. He came to America in 1893 and married
Miss Petras, a compatriote from the province of Arcadia,
Greece. L. J. Roberts is a dealer in lumber, laths and shingles, and
enjoys the distinction of succeeding to a business nearly one
hundred years old. His place of business is at the falls on
Waterbury River four miles from the village. His immediate
predecessors were Randall & Roberts.
The Drew Daniels Company owns and operates a granite
cutting plant in Foundry Street, formerly operated by Drew
Daniels, and organized January 14, 1901. The persons in
terested are: W. H. B. Perry, M. A. Perry, R. B. Perry,
A. S. Perry, C. C. Graves and C. W. Clark.
Mrs. A. B. Cooley Greene opened a millinery store in parlors
over the old post-office in the Opera House Block in February,
1898. From there she removed to the Davis Block in 1902;
thence to her present location opposite the Inn in 1913. Mrs.
Greene has her residence in the same building with her millinery
parlors. Leonard Huntley is the local blacksmith and wheelwright
at Waterbury Center. The business was established in 1862,

264 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
and Mr. Huntley's predecessor was George Wilson. Formerly
Mr. Huntley was interested with O. W. Davis in the Waterbury
Nursery. Davis sold his interest to Albert Lyon and the
business was conducted under the firm name of Huntley &
Lyon until 1881, when Mr. Lyon died. Meanwhile Mr.
Huntley continued his business as blacksmith and wheelwright
as he does today.
H. L. Morse conducts a coal and wood business organized
in 1896. The coal sheds are near the Central Vermont freight
station and the wood yard is at his residence in Winooski
Street. The F. C. Luce Company conducts a department store
at 23 Stowe Street. The business was organized March i,
1891. The owner is F. C. Luce. His predecessors were
C. E. Richardson and Richardson & Fullerton. Mr. Luce
carries a large stock of dry goods, notions, clothing, hats and
caps, boots and shoes, haberdashery and outfittings generally.

Winooski Lodge, No. 49, F. and A. M.
Winooski Lodge, No. 49, F. and A. M., held its initial
meeting for organization on May 11, 1859, having received
a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Vermont on the fifth
day of the same month, with Horace M. Bruce, Joseph
Somerville and L. L. Durant named as the three principal
officers of the new lodge.
At this meeting, which was probably held at the home of
Horace M. Bruce, the following officers were elected and ap
pointed: John Poor, treasurer; John F. Henry, secretary; W.
W. Henry, S. D.; A. J. Brown, J. D.; G. W. Atkins, tyler;
N. K. Brown, S. S.; L. F. Warner, J. S.
A committee, composed of J. F. Henry, W. W. Henry and
L. L. Durant, was appointed to draft by-laws to govern the
lodge. The first two petitions for membership ever presented
before Winooski Lodge were presented at this meeting, those
of C. F. Stone and B. F. Dewey.
On January 12, A. D. i860, the charter was issued to
Winooski Lodge by the Grand Lodge of Vermont, with the
following appearing as charter members: H. M. Bruce,

PERIOD 1900-1915 265
L. L. Durant, Gersham Rice, W. W. Henry, Amos Crosby,
N. K. Brown, L. F. Warner, G. W. Atkins, Joseph Somerville,
John Poor, A. J. Brown, E. B. Johnson, and J. F. Henry.
At the date of this writing, only one of the charter members
is living, N. K. Brown, now residing in Burlington.
Such was the inception of Winooski Lodge, No. 49, although
Masonry began its organized existence here as early as 1821,
when a charter was issued to King David Lodge, No. 55. This
lodge held its meetings in Stowe and Waterbury until 1831,
after which there are no records of its existence.
This fact is due to the strong anti-Masonic agitation which
spread over the country at this period, by reason of the mysteri
ous disappearance of a Mr. Morgan, who, it was claimed,
had been put to death by the Masonic fraternity as a penalty
for publishing a book exposing the secrets of Masonry.
Between the years 1837 and 1844, on account of the anti-
Masonic feeling, the Grand Lodge of Vermont convened only
in secret, and then only the three principal officers were
present. During this period, Henry F. Janes, father of the
late Doctor Henry Janes, was elected to Congress on the
anti-Masonic ticket.
It is only fair to state, however, that this charge against
Masonry was never substantiated in any degree whatever. It
has been declared that Morgan was seen years after in a for
eign country, where he had fled for reasons of his own.
It is sad to relate, however, that even to the present day,
we find those who still hold an antipathy against the Masonic
fraternity by reason of this incident, and withhold their support
from this noble and humane organization. No institution was
ever raised on a better principle or more solid foundation, nor
were ever more excellent rules and useful maxims laid down
than are inculcated in the several Masonic lectures.
On June 24, 1909, Winooski Lodge held its fiftieth anniver
sary at Waterbury, at which time an interesting resume was
given of its early history.
The first Masonic hall occupied by the lodge was in the
upper story of what is now the Smith and Somerville Building,
at the head of Stowe Street, and was dedicated on July 12,
18

266 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
i860. Later it moved to the upper rooms of the J. F. Henry
Building on Park Row, the lower part of which is now occupied
by W. H. O'Brien and Wallace M. Green. Several years later
it was again moved to more commodious quarters in the Opera
House Block on Stowe Street, which it has since occupied.
The first Masonic funeral, held by Winooski Lodge, was
that of Sylvester Flagg, who had been a member of the
fraternity only a few months. The services were held in the
Congregational Church, but not without considerable opposi
tion by some of the church members, there being considerable
anti-Masonic feeling even at that date. At the present time,
there are five ministers of the Gospel who are enthusiastic
members of this lodge.
We find that this great fraternity, which had its inception
for the uplift of humanity, was one of the first to place its
ban on the use of intoxicating liquors. As early as 1864
their use was considered an offense against the teachings of
Masonry, and cases are on record where charges were preferred,
the offender found guilty, and reprimanded or suspended.
The history of the lodge would not be complete without the
name of William Deal, a familiar person on the streets of
Waterbury, who was raised to the sublime degree of a Master
Mason August 30, 1859, making him the oldest living member
in town.
Following is a list of the Masters of Winooski Lodge, No. 49,
to date: H. M. Bruce, W. W. Henry, N. K. Brown, B. H.
Dewey, E. A. Newcomb, M. E. Smilie, E. W. Huntley,
Seaver Howard, U. H. Hammon, W. B. Clark, G. S. Blaisdell,
G. H. Dale, E. E. Foss, D. D. Grout, L. C. Moody, C. C.
Graves, F. B. Kellogg, J. F. Somerville, E. A. Stanley, E. E.
Campbell, G. C. Scott and H. H. Fullerton.

Capitular or Chapter Masonry in Waterbury
The first chapter meeting of Royal Arch Masons was held in
Waterbury on February 16, 1870, under a dispensation issued
February 5, 1870, by Charles A. Miles, Grand High Priest of
Vermont, upon the petition of Emory Town, M. C. Stewart,
Warren Skinner, A. J. Brown, Collins Blakely, H. C. Fay,

PERIOD 1900-1915 267
J. L. Farr, H. M. Bruce, Joseph Somerville and A. J. Lawborn.
At this meeting the following officers were elected:
Emory Town, M. E. H. P.; Warren Skinner, E. K.; M. C.
Stewart, E. S. ; A. J. Brown, C. H. ; Collins Blakely, P. S. ; H. C.
Fay, R. A. C; H. M. Bruce, M. ist V.; J. L. Farr, M. 2d V.;
Joseph Somerville, M. 3d V.; Ira W. Sayles, tyler; A. J.
Brown, treasurer, and J. L. Farr, secretary.
At this meeting the petitions presented for membership
were as follows: E. K. Smith, William Deal, G. W. Atkins,
M. E. Smilie and E. A. Newcomb.
The chapter continued to work under the dispensation until
the following June, when they received their charter, issued
by the Grand Chapter of Vermont.
Following is a list of the Excellent High Priests of Waterbury
Chapter: Collins Blakely, E. A. Newcomb, C. F. Clough,
W. D. Hall, E. G. Hooker, W. B. Clark, L. C. Moody, E. W.
Huntley, E. E. Foss, and E. A. Stanley.
Paul Dillingham Lodge, No. 31, Knights of Pythias, was
organized March 31, 1905. The roster of chief officers since
then is: 1905, F. W. Arnold, C. C; H. W. Carr, V. C. 1906,
A. E. Edwards, C. C; W. H. Sleeper, V. C. 1907, F. W.
Arnold, C. C. ; F. D. Backus, V. C. 1908, J. R. Arkley, C. C. ;
Lawrence Wright, V. C. 1909, E. E. Campbell, C. C; W. H.
Sleeper, V. C. 1910, F. C. Luce, C. C; F. D. Backus, V. C.
1911, W. H. Fullerton, C. C; B. A. Lavelle, V. C. 1912,
H. H. Fullerton, C. C; S. E. Ruggles, V. C. 1913, E. E.
Campbell, C. C; N. N. Vassor, V. C. 1914, N. N. Vas-
sor, C. C; George Howland, V. C. 1915, B. D. Edwards,
C.C.;L. A. Willard, V.C.
The Modern Woodmen, local organization, was established
November 9, 1908. The election of officers is held annually.
The trustees for 1915 are H. F. Whitcomb, W. C. Lyon and
C. A. Gibbs. The venerable consul is E. C. Harvey, and
the worthy adviser is W. F. Shontell.
The Mentor Lodge, No. 51, of Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, was instituted in Waterbury, March 28, 1893. The
two leading officers since that date were: 1893, first noble
grand, W. F. Minard, first vice grand, C. D. Robinson. Then

268 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
followed in 1894, W. F. Minard, F. C. Luce; 1895, F. C. Luce,
O. E. Scott; 1896, J. K. Fullerton, Frank Carpenter; 1897,
Frank Carpenter, J. A. Foster; 1898, J. A. Foster, E. F.
Savage; 1899, E. F. Savage, W. J. Boyce; 1900-1901, W. J.
Boyce, E. W. Chesley; 1902, E. W. Chesley, E. E. Joslyn;
1903, E. E. Joslyn, James Hattie; 1904, C. C. Graves, W. B.
Clark; 1905, W. B. Clark, J. F. Shipman; 1906, J. F. Ship-
man, E. E. Campbell; 1907, E. E. Campbell, W. J. Red
mond; 1908, W. J. Redmond, E. G. Miller; 1909, E. G.
Miller, Henry Marshall; 1910, E. G. Miller, G. O. Russell;
191 1, G. O. Russell, R. J. Knowles; 1912, R. J. Knowles,
Henry Marshall; 1913, R. J. Knowles, E. W. Chesley; 1914,
E. W. Chesley, J. H. Ather; 1915, J. H. Ather, M. L.
Messer. The Alhambra Encampment, No. 20, was instituted
October 18, 1894. W. F. Minard was made chief patriarch
and continued for 1895 and 1896. Others holding that office
were: D. C. Turner, 1897; W. F. Minard, 1898; J. A. Foster,
1899, 1900, 1901, 1902; W. B. Clark, 1903; E. F. Savage,
1904; W. J. Boyce, 1905; E. E. Joslyn, 1906; C. C. Graves,
1907; E. E. Campbell, 1908, 1909; E. W. Chesley, 1910, 191 1;
E. E. Campbell, 1912; G. S. Blaisdell, 1913; G. F. Averill, 1914;
R. J. Knowles, 1915.
J. A. Foster was grand patriarch of the Grand Encampment
of the State of Vermont for 1914, also grand representative to
the Sovereign Lodge at San Francisco.
The Emerald Rebekah Lodge, No. 33, was instituted April
30, 1895. The roll of officers has included: Noble grands,
Mrs. Alma Moody, 1895; Mrs. Alma Moody, 1896; Mrs. R.
Crossett, 1897; Mrs. Nina Robinson, 1898; Mrs. E. Farrar;
vice grand, Mrs. J. Shipman, 1900; no officers, 1901 and 1902;
noble grand, Mrs. J. Shipman, vice grand, Mrs. Jesse Foster,
1903; Mrs. J. Shipman, Mrs. Nellie Bates, 1904; Mrs. Nellie
Bates, Mrs. E. E. Campbell, 1905; Mrs. E. E. Campbell,
Mrs. J. Fife, 1906; Mrs. J. Fife, Mrs. W. J. Boyce, 1907; Mrs.
W. J. Boyce, Mrs. Emma Turner, 1908; Mrs. Emma Turner,
Mrs. J. Hattie, 1909; Mrs. J. Hattie, Mrs. Helen Somerville,
1910; Mrs. Helen Somerville, Mrs. O. L. Ayers, 1911; Mrs.

PERIOD 1900-1915 269
O. L. Ayers, Mrs. R. J. Knowles, 1912; Mrs. R. J. Knowles,
Mrs. G. Russell, 1913; Mrs. G. Russell, Mrs. C. Sargent, 1914;
Mrs. C. Sargent, Mrs. H. Marshall, 1915.

Fire Record

The first concerted action at systematic fire fighting was
taken in 1855 when the selectmen duly laid out one square
mile as a fire district. This area afterwards formed the
chartered site of Waterbury Village and included most of the
so-called River Village and a part of Mill Village. By volun
tary subscription a medium sized engine and a limited supply
of hose were bought. It was not until the extensive fire of
1858 that a larger and better engine and additional appliances
were purchased. The old engine house gave place to a new
one in 1871.
It is said that the first building burned in Waterbury was
a tan shop of Cephas Wells, situated opposite the old Fireman's
Hall (date not given). The first district school building
burned in 1810 and the dwelHng house of D. C. Deming in 1816.
In the spring of 1822 Amasa Pride's large tavern at Stowe
and Main streets burned. This was the site of the tavern
kept by George Kennan at an earlier day. Mr. Pride rebuilt
without delay and the new tavern was presided over by
Sayles Hawley as host, remaining as a house of call or public
house until after the coming of the railroad.
In 1834 the tan shops of M. and J.H. Lathrop were burned
and never rebuilt.
In 1838 a factory of Thompson & Seabury, at Mill Village,
was burned and never rebuilt.
In the early 40's a store of J. B. Christy was destroyed by
fire and again one owned by J. G. Stimson in 1856. These
were partly covered by insurance and were rebuilt. The
largest and most destructive fire prior to the breaking out
of the Civil War occurred in October, 1858, when was burned
the large hotel of E. and W. Moody, in one wing of which was
housed the bank of Waterbury; stores of William Wells, D.
M. Knights and I. C. & S. Brown were destroyed, also the
livery stables of Bruce & Ladd. The total loss was $30,000

270 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
and was partially covered by insurance. D. Adams' foundry
and the railway station burned about 1870.
Other fires in later years were: C. C. Warren's Tannery,
November 18, 1899; Perkins Block, Main Street, June, 1907;
Moody Block, Stowe Street, December 16, 1907; G. W.
Randall's barn, October 18, 1908; Mrs. A. Spencer's barn,
March i, 1898; Vermont State Hospital, November, 1909;
Winooski Valley Creamery, Winooski Street, March 22, 1912;
Perry Granite Company's building, December 14, 1914;
Moody Saw Mill, August 3, 1908; John Williams' Livery
Stable, Stowe Street, October 21, 1912; Consolidated Com
pany's Transformer House, August 27, 1908; creamery build
ing, Randall Avenue, March 31, 1915.

A laudable effort was made, September 6, 1915, at giving
a historical pageant on the schoolhouse grounds under the
auspices of the Lecture and Entertainment Bureau, a sub
committee of the local Board of Trade. The pageant scenes
were designed to reproduce, in appropriate settings, important
episodes and incidents of the town's history. The scenes
included an Indian encampment before the white man's
arrival; the first settler, James Marsh, alone in the wilderness;
arrival of the Marsh family with the first cow ever brought
to Waterbury; arrival of Ezra Butler and bride, with their
household possessions; first town meeting, March 31, 1790;
noontime at a barn-raising and dance; company of recruits
ready to march to the front at the outbreak of the Civil War,
the drummer "boy" being Mr. Franklin Carpenter, who,
fifty-four years ago, marched away with the volunteers in
the same capacity. Concluded with singing "America."
Those taking part in the pageant were: Robert J. Burnham,
Max G. Ayers, Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Le Baron, Mr. and Mrs.
Mark H. Moody, H. F. Hill, A. A. Newcomb, M. E. Hutchins,
E. E. Campbell, C. B. Adams, H. P. Robinson, D. C. Jones,
A. J. Kelly, E. J. Foster, A. H. Bailey, Raymond Buzzell,
Miss Mary Guptil, Alton G. Wheeler, S. R. Dady, Franklin
Carpenter, D. D. Grout, M. D., E. G. Miller and W. B.
Clark.

PERIOD 1900-1915 271
The soldiers' monument, a gift to Waterbury of the late
Franklin Sylvester Henry, formerly of Cleveland, Ohio, and
Waterbury, was unveiled with appropriate ceremony Memo
rial Day, May 30, 1914. There was a procession, marshaled by
General W. W. Henry of Burlington, of the various local
orders, the Veterans of Stetson and Dillingham Posts, G. A. R.,
Modern Woodmen of America, members of Mentor Lodge,
I. O. O. F., Woman's Relief Corps, members of Marquis de
Lafayette Chapter, D. A. R., representatives from the
Hypatia and Pierian clubs, Queen Esther Chapter, O. E. S.,
Emerald Rebekah Lodge, and teachers and pupils of the
public schools. The unveiling exercises were had at 2.30 p. m.
at the monument site, which is on the western slope of the lawn
of the high school grounds. The southern face of the monu
ment presents a bronze tablet containing these words :
THIS MONUMENT
WAS ERECTED BY
FRANKLIN SYLVESTER HENRY
MAY 30, 1 914.
IN MEMORY OF THE MEN
FROM WATERBURY, VERMONT
WHO
FOUGHT TO PRESERVE THE
INTEGRITY OF THE
UNION IN THE CIVIL WAR
OF
1861-1865
DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI
The western exposure's tablet bears the names of the
commissioned officers and the northern and eastern tablets give
the names of the non-commissioned officers and privates
from Waterbury participating in the Civil War. The names
of all officers and men who were killed in action, or died in
service, are indicated on the tablets. The monument is
executed in excellent taste and was designed by W. H. B.
Perry, then of the Perry Granite Company. It consists
of a square die of Barre granite, with a base of the same mate
rial; the capstone is surmounted by carved cannon balls.

272 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
Seated on the platform at the unveiling exercises were the
members of the monument commission. General Henry,
Senator William P. Dillingham, Harry C. Whitehill and O. A.
Seabury. The act of unveiling was performed by Miss
Gladys Henry and Fred B. Henry, Jr. The formal presenta
tion speech was made by General W. W. Henry in behalf of
the trustees. The monument was accepted for the town by
Carroll C. Robinson, chairman of the board of selectmen.
Members of the Henry family present were: Mr. and Mrs.
Franklin Sylvester Henry and daughter, Miss Gladys of
Cleveland, Ohio; Robert Henry of Waltham, Massachusetts;
Mrs. Franklin Sylvester Henry of New York City; Miss
Frances Elizabeth Henry of Cleveland, Ohio, and Mrs. Albert
Spencer of Waterbury.
Allusion has already been made to the panegyric delivered
on this occasion by Senator Dillingham; this will be found
reprinted in full in the appendix to this book.

In concluding this volume it seems appropriate to say that
a superficial view of what a town's history consists is largely
held. This is, that unless each day furnishes its peculiar thrill,
there is nothing in the town's life worth recording. The
obvious answer is that events are purely relative; when one
speaks of "eventful happenings," he means "relatively"
eventful. If Waterbury had no other claim upon the world's
attention as a maker of history than was furnished by her in
the years 1861 to 1865 inclusive, the town still would remain
entitled to a very proud place in that regard.

Soldiers' Monument
Un\-eilr'd Ma>- 20, 1914

APPENDIX
MEMORIAL DAY ADDRESS
Delivered by Senator William P. Dillingham, May 30, 1914,
on the occasion of the unveiling of the Soldiers' Monument,
the gift of Franklin Sylvester Henry to the Town of Waterbury.
Upon the tablets of the monument which we have raet today to dedicate,
there appear in iraperishable bronze the names of those who, in the great
struggle for the maintenance of the Federal Union, entered the military
service of the United States from Waterbury; all of them to serve, and some
of them to die that, in the language of the immortal Lincoln, "the nation
shall, under God, have a new birth of freedom and that government of the
people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth. "
In all succeeding centuries generations unnumbered will scan this list with
an earnest desire to trace descent from raen whose naraes are here recorded,
realizing the proud distinction which attaches to one in whose veins runs
the blood of those who had honorable part in the greatest war of the nine
teenth century, and the result of which has demonstrated to the world the
ability of a free people to maintain free institutions upon a scale so gigantic
as to challenge the wonder and admiration of all nations.
This was not a war between nations, nor one in which one people were
arrayed against those of another race. It was a war in which the slave
states were arrayed against the free states of the North; it was an attempt
on their part to withdraw from the Union and establish in the South a
government, the cornerstone of which was declared by Alexander H.
Stevens, vice-president of the Confederacy, to be human slavery.
Speaking of the Confederate government and its constitution, he said:
" Its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests, upon the great truth that
the negro is not equal to the white man; that slavery, subordination to the
superior race, is his natural and normal condition. This, our new govern
ment, is the first in the history of the world, based upon this great physical,
philosophical, and moral truth. "
The denial by the government of the United States of the right of any
state to secede frora the Union, either for that or any other reason, inaug
urated a conflict of states against states, of a brave people against an equally
brave people, a conflict which shook the very foundations upon which free
institutions are established and that upon which the oppressed of all nations
had builded their hopes. It was a conflict intensified and raade bitter by
years of agitation over the question of human slavery which, firmly estab
lished in the South, was seeking to extend its blighting sway over the free
territory of our great northwest ; a raovement which had shocked the raoral

274 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
sense of the North and which had been resisted as one which, if successful,
would turn the wheels of huraan progress back a thousand years! It was
a conflict which extended over a territory greater than all continental
Europe outside of Russia. It was one in which the numbers engaged were
larger than the entire population of the United States at the tirae when the
constitution was adopted; one in which battles were fought greater in
number than those of any one of the modern wars of Europe and in which
the army of the dead alone was four times greater in nuraber than the stand
ing array of the United States today, when we are apparently upon the eve
of a war with Mexico.
It was a conflict which called to battle the flower of Araerican manhood,
and one which brought sorrow to countless homes, both North and South.
But these sacrifices were not in vain: Slavery as an institution has been
abolished; its blighting curse upon the conscience of the nation has been
removed; a new birth in liberty has been accomplished in the nation, and,
most remarkable of all, there has been established an indissoluble Union
representing a present population exceeding one hundred million souls, in
the full enjoyment of liberty under law, and in whose hearts loyalty to the
old flag burns with renewed strength and whose devotion to constitutional
liberty is as uniform as it is deep and abiding.
Today with thankful hearts we make acknowledgment to Almighty God
because that in the fullness of time He has delivered this great people from
the last vestige of the absolutism of the past; because He has enabled them
to throw off the shackles of arbitrary power, to establish a government
which recognizes no sovereign save God, one whose civilization stands as
proof that right is stronger than might, that truth is more powerful than
error and that light always drives darkness before it.
Whence carae the qualities which actuated these men; from which their
distinguished gallantry sprung and which led them to strive even unto
death for the great principles involved? Were they qualities inherited
from generations of liberty-loving men who had participated in the great
moveraent toward the goal of human freedom and which has appealed to
every succeeding generation for three centuries of time?
In answering this question we must remember that they were in the
main "descendants of the sturdy Barons and Comraons who deraanded
and obtained Magna Charta from King John and developed an independ
ent Parliament to direct the Lords and curb the King and who, during the
absolutism of the Tudors, considered well the lessons of the times and who,
during the last three centuries, have succeeded in stripping royalty of every
thing but its fiction and who have established the sovereignty of England
in the House of Comraons forever."
The oppression which centuries of absolutisra iraposed upon the human
race cannot be adequately described. True it is that Christianity existed,
but its principles had been overshadowed by the idea of authority which
all the world had inherited from the dark ages. Down to the occurrence
of the great intellectual movement of the sixteenth century the history of

APPENDIX 275
the world had been one of war and conquest with, as Mr. Bancroft says,
"hardly a sound principle or a grand sentiment to justify the slaughter.
Arbitrary power had been the only principle of government and force its
only instrument." The ignorance which absolutism imposed upon the com
mon people was inconceivable, and we have it upon the authority of Mr.
Macaulay that as late as the fourteenth century not one out of five hundred
of the country gentlemen of England could spell out one of David's Psalms.
Under such conditions, he tells us, there was little general exercise of the
intellectual faculties, no considerable indulgence of the speculative powers;
imagination was confined mostly to the senses and the people had little
conception of the sublime either in thought, morals or nature.
The elements which marked the beginnings of the twentieth century were
found in the Great Movement, so called, of the sixteenth century, when the
intellect of Europe was stirred and quickened as never before to a profound
consideration of the question of the rights of man, socially, religiously and
politically. The century of conflict which followed, between arbitrary
power on the one hand and the assertion of the natural right and privileges
of the English people on the other, marks a period which did raore to
destroy absolutism and to establish constitutional government in Europe
than any other single period in all history, and in it were laid the broad
foundations for free institutions on this continent.
During the reign of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, Elizabeth and James,
a period covering the sixteenth and extending into the seventeenth century,
the effort of the English government was to crush out any exercise of
individual rights. Death was decreed alike to the Catholic who denied the
king's supremacy and to the Protestant who denied his creed. James,
whose reign covered the early part of the seventeenth century, declared:
"I will have none of this liberty of conscience, I will have one doctrine,
one religion in substance and in form." Charles I, who followed him,
was the embodiment of absolutisra, boldly declaring that the throne,
not the people, was the fountain head of all power; that the laws which
he permitted to pass through Parliament were only streams flowing from
this kingly source.
With the marvelous expansion of intellect among the masses to which
I have alluded, life, under such conditions, became intolerable; a desire
for something better was created and grew with each succeeding generation
until it becarae irresistible. A self-consciousness of power was developed
among the people and boldly asserted. Old bonds were broken, old
systems were destroyed and England took her place among the nations
as a government which had been compelled to recognize the people as
represented in Parliament.
The result of the century's work is well stated by Scott in his History
of the Development of Constitutional Liberty in the Colonies, where he
says: "The forces of society acted only in violence and in violence which sent
England reeling to the ground. When the conflict ended and men paused

276 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
to take breath and look around them, marvelous were the changes
wrought. In religion, freedom of conscience held the ground; and
intolerance, or the doctrine that the civil power was at the service
of the ecclesiastical in prescribing faith, in regulating doctrine and in
extirpating heresy, had sheathed its sword. Absolutism the world over
had never recovered frora the shock. Modern England dates from its
extirpation, and with it ended an heroic page. Politically, it was the
revolt of the middle class; intellectually and spiritually, it was a violent,
uncontrollable expansion of the mind and soul; historically, it was the
latest popular development of free inquiry in the British Isles. Taking it
altogether, it was a convulsive effort toward freedom. The middle class
wanted representation in the government. The intellectual class, whose
field had been broadened by free inquiry, would no longer stay pent up
within the schools; and the religious class, stimulated by the sight of the
open Bible and frantic frora the stings of intolerance, insisted upon absolute
freedom of conscience. All three got what they wanted."
In this greffit movement we find the foundations laid for free institutions
in America. Before this grand achievement of their brethren in the mother
country was fully accomplished, a large number of this new and best
element in English life had established themselves and made homes in the
new world. Between 1630 and 1641 two hundred emigrant ships crossed
the Atlantic, and more than twenty thousand liberty-loving English people
found a refuge in New England. Green, the English historian, says:
"They were in great part raen of the professional and middle classes.
Some of them of large landed estate, some men like Cotton, Hooker and
Roger Williams, some shrewd London lawyers or young scholars from
Oxford. The bulk were God-fearing farmers from Lincolnshire and the
eastern counties. They desired, in fact, only the best as sharers in their
enterprise; raen driven forth from their fatherland, not by earthly want, or
by the greed for gold, or by the lust for power, but by the fear of God and
the zeal of godly worship." Our American historian, Fiske, tells us that
in all history there has been no such instance of colonization so exclusively
affected by picked and chosen men. In it there were as many graduates
of Cambridge and Oxford as could be found in any population of similar
size in the mother country.
Desiring that the colony they were forming should be governed upon
principles diametrically opposed to those of all existing governments; that
the laws should be formulated by the people and for the people, and that
every citizen should become a living and potent factor in the affairs of the
state, they realized that every person should become intelligent as well as
virtuous; and to this end and with an inspired vision of the results which
were to be attained, one of their first undertakings was to establish a system
of elementary schools at public expense, a system then absolutely new to
the world, but which has since expanded until it has become the policy of
states and nations.
In the establishment of New England homes, which all agree were

APPENDIX 277
sanctuaries of morality; in their churches, in which reverence was incul
cated; in their town meetings and other gatherings, where citizenship was
recognized and in which every man becarae an active factor; in their pro
pensity for debate upon all questions religious, social and political, and in
their flaraing love of liberty which supplemented all, there was created a
citizenship never before seen nor conceived of.
The effect of this colonial life was to make good thinkers of the masses;
it developed self-respect and individuality; the people learned not only to
act individually but collectively, and they mastered the art of self-govern
ment. Their leaders were statesmen in the strongest and best sense of
the word ; the system thus inaugurated was founded upon public intellectual
culture. The difference between such conditions and those existing in the
mother country has been pointed out by Professor Draper, who, calling
attention to the European system where enlightenment was furnished to
certain classes only, not to the masses, says that the people were left to
grope about in political darkness, not knowing whither they were going and
afraid to look into the future; while, on the other hand, "in America the
sentiment of manifest destiny to imperial greatness gave everyone a
determinate direction and an energetic life."
During the century and a half of their splendid colonial life, there was
built up in our colonies n constructive democracy, the essential elements
of which are embalraed in the Declaration of Independence, and the com
bined wisdom of which found expression in the state constitutions and that
of the United States.
It was from this stock, imbued with all its heroic qualities and actuated
by its lofty motives, that Vermont was settled. It was their sturdy inde
pendence which led thera to oppose the aggression of the crown, and it
was at the Westminster massacre as early as March, 1775, that William
French was killed and the first blood in the momentous contest which gave
birth to a nation was shed upon Vermont soil. It was this independence
and zeal for liberty which led the Green Mountain Boys, two months later,
foreseeing the coming struggle, to make the night assault upon Ticonderoga,
and through their commander, Ethan Allen, demand and receive the
surrender of that fortress in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Con
tinental Congress. It was their instinct for self-government which led
them in 1777 in the courthouse at Westminster, where William French
had been slain, to adopt that immortal declaration that they would at all
tiraes consider theraselves a free and independent state, capable of regulat
ing their internal police, and that the people had the sole and exclusive and
inherent right of ruling and governing theraselves in such raanner and forra
as in their own wisdom they should think proper. And it was the quality
of this eariy citizenship of Vermont that led them, in the adoption of their
constitution in July of the same year, to become the first of all the states
to forever prohibit slavery within her territory — an act which, had it been
adopted by the other states, would have prevented the perpetration of
that great wrong whose cancerous growth affected the very vitals of a

278 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
nation dedicated to the rights of man, and would have left no opportunity
for the conflict which shook the foundations of the government, with all
the sacrifices, the sorrows and the sufferings which it entailed, and of which
we are so vividly reminded today. It was this inheritance which enabled
the people of Vermont, although repulsed by the Continental Congress in
every attempt it made to become a member of the Federal Union, to main
tain an independent government throughout the War of the Revolution,
and which also enabled them to defend even by force of arms the titles to
their homes against the claims of the state of New York. And it was the
same sturdy sense of independence and the same capacity for self-govern
ment which enabled thera during a period of eight years following the
achieveraent of independence by the thirteen original states, to maintain
"the Republic of the Green Mountains" independent of the government
of the United States or that of Great Britain or any other power or poten
tate. They exercised all the functions of a government of sovereign powers ;
they established a standard of weights and measures; coined money and
regulated the value thereof; established a postal service and appointed a
postmaster-general, and in various other ways exercised the functions of
absolute independence, and it was not until 1791 that Vermont surrendered
such sovereignty and became a member of the Federal Union.
And it was from this sturdy, intelligent and self-respecting type of citizen
ship that Waterbury derived her early settlers. It is well to remember that
its first settler, James Marsh, carae in 1783, that the first clerk of the town,
Ezra Butler, came in 1785, and that it was not until 1790 that the town
was fully organized and embarked upon its history of progress and honor.
Has it occurred to you that during all these years none of these raen were
citizens of the United States, either under the confederation or constitu
tion? It is a significant fact that although they had fought for independ
ence side by side with the citizens of the thirteen states, they were citizens
only of the state of Verraont — "the Republic of the Green Mountains" —
and it was not until the year after the organization of the town that the
state becarae the first admitted member of the Union and her people citizens
of the United States.
Among the first settlers and early inhabitants of Waterbury, those who
in the American Revolution had carried arms to establish freedom in this
land of promise, were Ezra Butler, Paul Dillingham, Sr., David Towne,
John Gregg, Stephen Jones, John Hudson, Joseph Ayer, Moses Nelson,
A. Wilder, James Green, George Kennan, Thomas Eddy, and doubtless
others whose naraes I have been unable to discover, and, besides these,
raany others of the same rugged stock — and these were typical of all.
Did the stock hold good? Did the sons and the grandsons of such sires
maintain the characteristics and the principles of those from whom they
sprung, in their devotion to free institutions? Did they, in upholding free
institutions, make sacrifices equal to those required in establishing liberty
upon this continent? Did they have part in the grand record which Ver
mont made in the war for the maintenance of the Union? Fortunately for

APPENDIX 279
us, an answer to these questions can be found in the records both of the
state and of the nation, and a little later I shall have occasion to speak in
no uncertain tone of their devotion to the sacred cause.
But before doing so, let us look at Vermont's record as a whole and ascer
tain whether among the people of any of the states of the Union there was
found a readier response to the call for service, or a service more brilliant
than that of the volunteers from our little mountain state. It is with a
feeling of glowing pride that I approach this subject, and with deep personal
emotion, also, because of the sacred memories which hallow my thoughts.
I am one of the comparatively few among those present on this occasion
who can recall in memory that April day more than half a century ago when
the news that Fort Sumter had fallen stunned the nation, and the powerful
reaction which followed the proclamation of President Lincoln calling for
75,000 troops.
For days my father, strong and resourceful in character, but com
prehending, as few then did, the strength and earnestness of the South, and
foreseeing, as few did, the bloody years of war which were to follow, had sat
with bowed head vainly seeking light where all was darkness. But with
this call to arms he rose in the strength of one who served God and loved
his country, and turning to his first-born son, exclaimed: "Charley, what
are we to do?" The response was: " I shall answer the call and recruit a
company as quickly as I can secure authority." The father, with the sarae
spirit which actuated countless other fathers throughout state and nation,
with outstretched arms and with tears gushing from his eyes, exclaimed:
"Go, my son; and God bless you. If I were of your age, I would go with
you." The news of the fall of Sumter and of Lincoln's call to arms, was received
in Verraont on the 14th of April. Within twelve days frora that time the
Vermont Legislature had met in extraordinary session, had appropriated
$1,000,000 for war purposes and had provided for raising and equipping six
regiments for two years' service.
Not waiting to receive frora Federal authority the official blanks upon
which to secure enlistments, the work of recruiting was iraraediately begun
by Charles Dillingham and was actually completed before the official
blanks were received. I hold in my hand the paper employed, which
contains the original signatures of the first men of Waterbury and sur
rounding towns who volunteered for three years' service in the army of the
United States for the suppression of the rebellion. For fifty years it has
been in my possession carefully preserved, and this is the first occasion
when it has been publicly exhibited. Let me read these names as a whole,
for those from neighboring towns who honor this occasion by their presence
have an interest equal to our own in this historic group.
The contract so entered into by these men clearly indicates their patriotic
zeal to defend the Union, as well as the resolute purpose of the authorities
of the state to prepare in advance for such requisitions as might soon be

28o HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
made upon Vermont by the general government for troops. It reads as
follows : "State of Vermont."
"We, and each of us, who hereunto afiix our names, agree to enlist and be
enrolled in a Company of Volunteer Soldiers, to be raised in the town of
Waterbury and vicinity, subject to the orders of the Commander-in-Chief
of the State of Vermont, or of the President of the United States, and Con
sideration of arms and equipments to be furnished us and each of us by the
State, and of such pay and allowances as are allowed by law, we, and each
of us, agree to serve as such soldiers for the period of three years from and
after the first day of June, 1861, unless sooner discharged agreeably to law.
We enlist and agree to serve for the first two years under and by virtue
of the provisions of an act of the Legislature of this State, entitled ' An Act
to Provide for Raising Six Special Regiments for Immediate Service for
Protecting and Defending the Constitution and the Union,' approved
April 26, 1861, and are to receive the compensation therein provided."
Those from Waterbury were Charles Dillingham, William W. Henry,
Samuel Morey, William Bruidnell, James W. Nichols, George Brown, John
W. York, Wilber Foster, Charles C Gregg, Ira A. Marshall, Frank Huntley,
Edwin Parker, Robert Hunkins, Lyman Woodward, Elihu Wilson, Charles
Prescott, Charles N. Collins, Allen Jewett, Henry F. Parker, Christopher
P. Brown, John Murray, Luther Merriam, Franklin Carpenter, William
Clark, Tilton Sleeper, Hartwell Moody, George E. Smith, Harvey J.
Wilson, George W. Farnham, Patrick F. Flaherty, Lorenzo B. Guptil,
Lorenzo S. Bryant, Harper A. Demmon, George C Sherman.
Those frora our sister town, Duxbury, were: Mason Franklin Atkins,
William Kelley, George C Center, Nathan F. Huntley, Warren C Oilman,
Edwin Turner, Sidney Sherman, Truman M. Dow, Orin Gilman, Chancey
Shonio, Charles H. Gilman.
Those from Stowe were: George W. Colby, Isaac S. Pratt, Albert W.
Russell, Holden S. Hodge, Alexander Warden, Dennis H. Bicknell, John
R. Smith, James S. Perrier, John Knapp, Orlo W. Bickford.
Those frora Middlesex were: John T. Bass, Rufus S. Marsh.
Those from Moretown were: John Travers, Orlando S. Turner, James
Diamond, Edwin Murphy, Henry Newton, Michael Conway.
Those from Montpelier were: Francis Gravlin, Richard Dodge, Andrew
J. Allen, Ira S. Honan, Robert Lamont.
Frora Barre: George W. Goodrich, S. D. Strong, Henry C Jones, Eldon
A. Tiiden, Orin Beckley, Jr., Albert Smith.
Frora Berlin: Daniel K. Stickney, Obadiah W. Hill.
From Marshfield: Chauncey Smith, Alfonzo Lesser, Hiram Hall.
From Calais: James O. Horey, George Soper.
Frora Woodbury: Henry Goodell, Aaron P. Hall.
From Northfield: Charlie C Canning.
From East Montpelier: Samuel Looker.
From Cabot: Andrew Hill.

APPENDIX 281
From Hyde Park: Francis Finnigan, Philo J. Crowell, George W. Perry,
John Roddy.
From Elmore: Edmond Holden.
From Eden: Terrence Roddy.
From Orange county: C. E. Turner, John H. Fuller, Horatio G. Piatt.
From greater distances: H. H. Matthews of Barnet, Edwin M. Suther
land of Montgomery, Josiah Watson of Granville, and John Gowing of
Providence, Rhode Island.
These men constituted, in the main. Company D of the Second Verraont
Infantry. It was officered by Charles Dillingham, William W. Henry and
Charles C Gregg. This regiment was the first body of men enlisted in
Verraont for three years' service. It was organized early enough to have
part in the first battle of Bull Run and its organization was retained
until the last shot had been fired near Appomattox.
This regiment formed the nucleus of the Old Vermont Brigade, composed
of the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Regiments of Verraont In
fantry — a brigade whose service measured by any test suggested by the
exigencies of war was so brilliant as to merit the admiration even of the
army. Its steadiness and dependable character was such that the heaviest
demands were made upon it in every crisis. If the presence of the Sixth
Corps was imperatively deraanded in the neighborhood of Gettysburg to
repel the invasion of Pennsylvania by Lee with his army of veterans, and a
forced raarch was required, General Sedgewick's laconic order to place the
Verraonters at the head of the coluran and keep the ranks well closed up,
told the story of his trust and confidence in these veterans from our rugged
little state. If gallantry and dash in battle ever was required, the Verraont
Brigade never failed to respond to any call, and if stubborn resistance to
the onslaughts of the enemy was necessary to turn the tide of battle, then,
also, they always stood as firm as the rocks upon the mountains among
which they were born. It is not necessary on this occasion to deal in
rhetoric, nor to indulge in any flights of oratory, for deeds speak louder
than words.
In this month of May, just fifty years ago, the Vermont Brigade, which
had crossed the Rapidan with 2,800 effective fighting men, was thrust into
the terrible battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania, where they fought
with a desperation which can never be described but which is in part indi
cated by the losses they sustained. The story is best told to a thoughtful
listener by the statement that out of the 2,800 brave men who entered
that vortex of death, 1,645, or 58 per cent of the whole, had, in a single
week, been killed or wounded or reported raissing.
But the story is not fully told without the added statement that this
Brigade during its long service fought its way out of any class and achieved
a distinction all its own; one so marked, so unequalled in character, that
it comes down in history as the one brigade among all the brigades consti
tuting all the arraies of the United States, both in the East and in the
West, whose losses in killed and raortally wounded in battle exceeded all
19

282 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
others. These brave and gallant sons of Verraont were the first in the
field and the last to leave. From Bull Run to Appomattox, every step in
their history was crowned with glory, and it was the men of the Brigade
who fired the last shots of the Sixth Corps while engaged with the rear
guard of Lee's retreating army in the final battle near Sailors Creek, just
preceding the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. With just pride they
marched together at the grand review in 1865, and then, in the exercise
of the sarae qualities that had made them soldiers of the grandest type,
they laid down their arms to become equally faithful citizens of the coun
try they had helped to save.
The regiments of the Old Brigade were hardly in the field when succeed
ing calls for men were made, and regiment after regiraent was rushed to
the front. The First Cavalry went out in the auturan of i85i, among its
members from Waterbury being Lieutenant William Wells of Company C
In February, 1862, the state equipped and sent to the front for service in
the gulf states the Seventh and Eighth Regiments, Charles Dillingham
having been made Major and later Lieutenant-Colonel of the latter. In
July they were followed by the Ninth Vermont, and in September
by the Tenth, Company B of which was recruited by Edwin Dillingham and
was comprised of men from Waterbury and surrounding towns. It was
officered by Dillingham, Stetson and Thompson, who sealed their devotion
to the cause by giving up their lives, every one of them having been slain
in battle. The Eleventh went out during the sarae raonth, and in October,
following the nine-months' regiments, the Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth,
Fifteenth and Sixteenth and in 1864 another three-year regiment, the
Seventeenth, went out to a distinguished service, and among those enrolled
were Lieutenant J. Edwin Henry and Frank S. Henry, a cousin, whose
action in presenting this monument to his native town is so keenly appre
ciated by all who are gathered here today.
If Vermont was so greatly honored by the achievements of the Old
Brigade, she was not less honored by the men thus later called to the
service. They were equally brave, equally gallant. Not having been
¦brigaded together, comparison with other regiments, all brave and doing
well their part, can only tell the story of their sacrifices, and of the relative
¦rank they achieved among the other organizations constituting the
armies of the Union. Let the records speak in unimpeachable terms.
In the Union army as a whole, there were no less than 2,000 regi
ments in active service. Measured by the actual losses in battle,
there were 300 individual regiments, which specially distinguished
themselves for gallantry as measured by the number of their men left
dead upon fields of battle. These 300 constitute the whole nuraber of
regiraents which lost more than 130 men each in battle. And of Ver
mont's 12 regiments enlisted for three years or during the war, nine
are found in this distinguished list. In the Union armies also there were
many cavalry regiments. All had hard and even desperate service; but,
while all suffered severely, there were nine whose services were such that

APPENDIX 283
they lost more heavily than any others. And among these nine so singled
out for distinction, the First Vermont Cavalry was fifth, while it was first
in the number of guns and prisoners captured in battle. To tell the story
of Vermont's record as a whole and in strictly official language, I again
quote from Colonel Fox, who says: " The percentage of killed in the quota
furnished by Vermont is far above the average, and is exceeded only by
one other state. Its large percentage is easily understood by a glance at
the battle losses of its regiments. "
Nor do we, in speaking of those who served longest, overlook the fact
that the Second Vermont Brigade, composed of the Twelfth, Thirteenth,
Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Regiments, enlisted for nine months'
service, had the honor of being a part of that wall on the hills of Gettysburg
against which the highest tide of the Rebellion struck and from which
it receded never again to reach a similar height. To some of these
regiments fell the lot of flanking Pickett's Corps as it struck the Union
lines at the point where the Vermont state monument now stands, and
to gather in as prisoners the men who, under Pickett's intrepid leadership,
had exhibited a courage, nay, a desperation, never surpassed in the history
of battles, and to hold them as prisoners of war.
But if Verraont as a whole was so greatly distinguished by the valor of
her troops in this great conflict, which demonstrated that they were noble
sons of noble sires, what shall we say of Waterbury's record in that great
struggle? Bear with me in leading up to the subject while I tell you of
the percentage of killed and wounded in the greatest armies of foreign
nations in modern wars and compare them with the losses of the Union
forces during the Civil War.
In the Austrian army of 1866, the losses of killed in battle were 2.2
per cent. In the splendid Gerraan army engaged in the Franco-Prussian
War such losses were 3.1 per cent. In the allied armies in the Crimea
they were 3.2 per cent.
Compare these with the vastly greater losses of the Union army in the
War of the Rebellion, where they amounted to 4.7 per cent. And remem
ber that the losses among the Verraont troops in such army were 6.8 per
cent, which is more than double that of any of the European armies in the
great wars I have mentioned, and almost a third larger than that of
the Union armies as a whole, and larger than that among the troops from
any other state in the Union save one.
But as great as Vermont's loss was upon which her proud record is based,
we remember with sad but enduring pride that Waterbury's loss as a town
was still greater, and that the proportion of the slain was over 8 per cent
of all her sons whora she sent to the field.
Who were these men who were killed or mortally wounded in battle?
Ira S. Gray at Savage Station, Marcellus Johnson at South Mountain,
and George S. Woodward in a cavalry engagement in Virginia. Who
among us whose memories extend back to that period can forget the terrible
year of '64, when the armies both of the North and South had become

284 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
veterans and had entered upon a struggle which must go down in the
annals of war as unequalled either in the desperate character of the battles
fought or in the multitude of those who were slain? For while raen fought,
women wept. In every town, village or hamlet, however small, mothers
mourned for their sons, wives for husbands, and children for fathers.
Thirteen times during that year of sorrow the church bells of this place
tolled out the news that another of Waterbury's sons had been slain in
battle and that another household had been made desolate. Willard S.
and Horatio G. Stone, Alva Rowell, Robert Hunkins-, George Hubbard,
George W. York, and Theodore Wood fell at the Wilderness or Spott
sylvania in the budding month of May. In June Edward C Bragg, Henry
B. Burleigh, Hamilton Glines, and Mason Humphrey closed their earthly
career in the battle of Cold Harbor, and Allen Greeley received wounds from
which he died the following month. Captain Stetson, too, who went out
as one of the officers of Company B, Tenth Vermont, was among the slain.
July brought the news of the death of John Brown at Andersonville, and
with the news of the battle of Winchester, on the 19th of September, came
the announcement that Major Edwin Dillingham had fallen while in com
mand of his regiment. Just a raonth from that day, on the 19th of
October, his comrade and devoted friend. Captain Thompson, was instantly
killed at Cedar Creek; while in the January following, almost at the close
of the war, carae the news that Lieutenant J. Edwin Henry of the Sev
enteenth had fallen in the assault upon the fortifications at Petersburg.
But in recounting the valor of those who fell in the shock of battle, we
must not forget that larger number who, in the hospital and the prison pen,
suffered from exposure, hardships and disease, showing the same soldierly
qualities, and who laid down their lives with equal honor and devotion.
Think of the number of mourners who walked our streets because of the
death of Surgeon Drew, Lieutenant Don D. Stone, Corporal Charles B.
Lee, Dennis A. Bickford, George Brown, H. S. Burleigh, Charles N. Collins,
Joseph B. Conant, Henry Dillingham, Lyman Godfrey, Marcellus B.
Johnson, Edwin Joslyn, Henry Lee, Sayles H. Locks, Lucian W. Murray,
George C Rice, Frank Stearns, Burton C. Turner, Henry Wells, Henry
M. Wood, William H. Wood, Hiram Young.
But if the loss araong all classes representing Waterbury was so great,
what shall be said of that among the officers who originally went out in
command of such brave men? Do not let it be forgotten, write it upon the
tablets of your hearts, that 43 per cent of these gallant officers fell in the
shock of battle and died with their faces to the foe, counting their lives as
naught when the life of the nation was at stake.
This record of sacrifices made by the men of Waterbury in the Civil War
places her in a rank by herself. If the valor of her men has been established
by these terrible losses in battle, their quality as soldiers and comraanders
has been equally deraonstrated by the fact that of the three raen entering
the service with the Vermont troops who, by their ability and gallantry,
reached the rank of brevet major-general of volunteers, Waterbury is

APPENDIX 285
credited with William Wells who, entering the service as a first lieutenant,
passed through every grade by promotion until in the grand review of the
Union arraies at the close of the war he rode proudly at the head of the Sec
ond Brigade of the Old Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac, of which
corps he also becarae the last commander. And of the seven brevet brig
adier-generals of volunteers appointed from among the Vermont troops,
Waterbury was credited with one, in the person of William W. Henry, who,
entering the service as a lieutenant, also passed through each successive
grade and who still lives to tell the story of the gallantry of Vermont men.
May I add, also, that no elements entering into the exercises of this
occasion can so impress the minds of those whose meraories reach back to
the period of the war as the presence with us of Doctor Henry Janes!
The treraendous proportions of the Civil War, the magnitude of its battles
and the awful slaughter of brave raen are indelibly impressed upon the
minds of those who remember that during his service as surgeon of the Third
Vermont and as lieutenant-colonel and surgeon of United States volunteers,
he not only ministered to multitudes of those who suffered from exposure
and disease, but also had directly under his charge and was responsible for
not less than 50,000 wounded men, an army of wounded men twice as large
as the standing army of the United States before our war with Spain. In
the honor that was thrust upon him in being placed in charge of all the
hospitals in and about Gettysburg after the sanguinary battle at that place,
Waterbury was equally honored. Every person within the reach of ray
voice joins with rae in an expression of high regard and deep affection for
Doctor Janes, and, by reason of his record both as citizen and as soldier,
they accord to him the first place in the citizenship of the town.
In tracing to some extent the struggle for individual liberty, the over
throw of arbitrary power, the establishment of free institutions in America
and the successful maintenance of them in the great war between the states,
I have had a definite purpose. In addition to the desire which fills every
heart here present to pay a just and affectionate tribute of praise to the
veterans of the Civil War, whose record has never been equalled and will
never be surpassed, as well as to the few who gather with us as to that
larger number who, having fought the fight and kept the faith of good
citizenship, have gone to their reward, I have desired to impress upon all
who hear ray voice the priceless value of the legacy which has been be
queathed to us and the terrible cost through which it was obtained.
I have done this at the express desire of the man toward whom the
thoughts of this audience are most directed, to whom in his lifetime their
affections went out in generous measure and for whose presence with us
on this occasion we had so fondly hoped. Frank S. Henry was to the
manor born. His love for Waterbury was an inheritance from generations
running back to the time of the settlement of the town, strengthened and
•developed by early associations and later by his military service with the
companions of his boyhood. It was perpetuated through friendships
old and new, resulting from family and social relations which he sustained

286 HISTORY OF WATERBURY, VERMONT
through life with the people of this community. He loved us, he gloried in
our history, and his great desire was to make a lasting impress upon our
future. He remerabered that the boys of the nation fought the War of
the Rebellion, and his great desire was that the boys of the present day and
those of the future should be prepared to do well their part in perfecting
and carrying out the work of the fathers.
It is an astounding fact that out of the 2,672,341 men constituting the
Union armies during the war between the states, 2,157,798 or 81 per cent,
were under twenty-one years of age when they enlisted, and that of this
number 1,151,438 — 43 per cent — were under eighteen years of age. The
miracle of the nineteenth century was the almost instantaneous develop
ment of these boys into strong, rugged, thoughtful, determined men, when
the developing powers of great responsibilities were laid upon them.
No one remembered this fact more perfectly than Mr. Henry, and no one
comprehended more perfectly the importance of having succeeding genera
tions equally well equipped for great national exigencies. His generous
and patriotic action in erecting this raonuraent was born not alone from a
desire to honor those who had been his comrades in that great conflict,
but by placing it in the grounds of the public schools, he hoped that countless
generations would daily look upon it and derive inspiration from the record
it discloses. So strong was his interest in those who are to succeed us in
the responsibilities of citizenship that even when upon a bed of suffering
and when facing that great change in which the mortal puts on immortality,
he asked me to impress upon the heart and mind of this audience today the
value of patriotism, of loyalty, of devotion to free institutions and the
obligation that rests upon every community to keep alive the spirit of the
fathers, and to impress it upon their children; and he was particularly
impressed with the conviction that there should be included in the curricu-
lura of the schools not only proper instruction in the elements of patriotism,
but also in military tactics among the older boys, that there may be aroused
in them an enthusiastic love of country and that there may be developed in
them that military instinct which is so essential as an element of character
in manly men and model citizens.
May the memory of his great generosity, his deep love for his native
town and her people, and his patriotic interest in those who are to follow us,
remain in the hearts of Waterbury's sons and daughters as long as bronze
and granite endure, and God grant that such memory shall ever inspire
them to a high conception and heroic defense of the great principle of
liberty under law which the fathers established, and the maintenance of
which made iraraortal the men of '61 to '65.

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