Trails to the Past

Vermont, Windsor County

 

 

 

Old Families of Rochester

History of Windsor County Vermont
Lewis Cass Aldrich published in 1891

Angell, Gideon W., was born in Stockbridge, Vt., August 4, 1831. Stickney, his grandfather, born in Rhode Island, was the first of the family who came to Vermont. He first settled in Bridgewater, and died in Rochester about 1840. His son Eber married, in Barnard, Prudy De Wolf and had eleven children as follows: Lucinda, wife of Abner B, Carr, died in Brandon; Eber, married Margaret Smith, and their children were John R., Jennie and Willie; Sarah, wife of Cephas Harding, lives in Woodstock; Olive, widow of Jesse M. Huntington, lives in Pomfret; Gideon W.; Alvin N., twice married, first, Ruth Webster, second, Amelia Webster, have one child living, Frank C, lives in Randolph; Rufus M., married, first, Harriet Ferris, second, Tamar Hutchinson, have one child, Harriet, lives in Randolph; Eliphalet J., married Celestia Davis, one child, Arthur: Eliza, died unmarried. Eber Angell died in Pomfret, July 1872, and Prudy, his wife, in 1840 or 41. Gideon W. married, first, March 8, 1857, Maria C, daughter of Makepeace and Eunice (Emerson) Richardson, born March 27, 1836, died April 29, 1877. They had two children, viz.: Charley M., born December 20, 1861, married, December 25, 1886, Maud Washburn, and Nina M., born July 21, 1871, lives at home. Mr. Angell married, second, April 24, 1883, Mrs. Harriet G. Towles, nee Johnson, born September 3, 1836. Mr. Angell has lived in Rochester since he was eight years of age, and since 1865 has owned and carried on the farm where he now lives, situated on the Branch. He has served as lister three terms and as selectman four terms,

Austin, Truman D.. was born in Rochester, December 24, 1837, the eldest in a family of three children of Joseph and Judith (Lyon) Austin. John, his great-grandfather, moved from the East and settled in Rochester on a farm now owned by Walter Scott, situated on what is known as Austin Hill. He died in Rochester. April, 1838. His son Robert married, first, Betsey Carpenter and had children as follows: Joseph, Benjamin, Elvira, Armenia and Eliza. He married, second, Polly Eastman. Their two children were John and Harriet. He married, third, Phebe Mosher. They had one child, Phebe Jane. Robert died in Rochester, November, 1861. Of his children, Joseph, father of Truman D., and the eldest by the first marriage, was born in Rochester, February 4, 1809. He married, first, Judith Lyon. Their children were Truman D., Mary Elizabeth, died single, and Milan D. lives in Breckinridge, Minn. He married, second, Mary Lucas. They had no children. His third wife was Betsey King. The children by the latter union were George E.; Amelia R., the wife of Stillman J. Perkins, died in Minnesota; Mary E., married, first, Charles Livermore, and second, Henry Livermore. She lives in Hopkinton, N. Y. Harriet died young, and Joseph Adelbert lives in Rochester. Joseph died March G, 1862; Judith, his wife, February 29, 1842. Truman D. Austin married, December 14, 1861, Clara M., daughter of Abraham and Lucy (Pickett) Hook. She was born July 18, 1843, in Washington, N. H. They have three children : Henry T., horn September 29, 1862 ; Emma J. born July 28, 1865; Fred H., born November 17, 1870. All lived at home. Mr. Austin owns and occupies the farm on Austin Hill, in Rochester, formerly owned by his father. He has served the town as lister and selectman.

Bailey, Thomas, came from Westminster, Vt., in 1790, and located at the North Hollow, in the town of Rochester. Of his ten children, seven reached adult age and were as follows: Hubbard; Ira, died in Granville, Vt.; Clark, died in Hancock, Vt.; Ora; Matilda; Daniel, died unmarried; Sally (deceased), married James Bemis. Ora, of this family, was born in Rochester in 1792, and died March 27, 1864. He married Hannah Thatcher, and had the following family: Harriet, died twenty-eight years of age; Sophronia, wife of James West, of Alexandria, Neb.; James, died aged two years; Clark, died at Randolph, Vt; George, resides at Onarga, 111.; Sarah (deceased), married James Pond; Lorenzo Dow; Diantha and Adolphus, twins. The former is the wife of William Gove, of Alexandria, Neb., the latter died young. Lorenzo Dow, son of Ora, was born in Rochester, November 3, 1828, and married March 16, 1852, Rosalinda, daughter of Calvin and Cynthia (Morse) Pond. She was born in Rochester, November 23, 1827. They had two children, Luton Elmer and George Ora, born in Rochester, June 13, 1871. Luton B. was born in Rochester. April, 1862, and married, January 1, 1886, Luna, daughter of Cummings and Diana (Richmond) Martin. She was born in Rochester, May 25, 1863. They have two children, Jessie Rose and George Dow. Lorenzo Dow died September 9, 1884.

Beckwith, Orin L., was born in Reading, Vt., December 29, 1838, was a soldier in the late war in Company E, Fourth Vermont Regiment, and served three years. His father, Harris, born in Leominster, N. H., August 18, 1797, was a soldier in the War of 1812. He married Zilpha Beckwith, born January 8, 1800. Harris died in Hancock, August, 1875. His wife Zilpha died November 28, 1863. They reared a family of eleven children, as follows: Arvilla, born January 27, 1820, married, first, Levi Kidder second, Samuel Harlow, lives in Rochester; Melissa, born November 22, 1822, married first, Joseph Kidder, second Howard Piper, and died in Hancock, January, 1886; Justin, born September 29, 1824, married first, Mary Coleman, second Widow Bemis, and died in Rochester, September 1886 ; Lyman, born November 21, 1826, married first, Orcelia Hodgkins, second Olive Stevens, and lives in Rochester, Vt.; John, born December 17, 1828, married Catharine Philiater, and lives in Columbus, Wis.; Gerdin, born January 1, 1830, was a soldier in the Twenty first Wisconsin Regiment, and was killed in battle; Charles, born August 23, 1832, married Julia Rumwell, was corporal in Company E, Fourth Vermont Regiment, and was killed at Warrenton, Md.; Eliza, born August 11, 1834, married first, Frank Hopkins, second Samuel Somerville, and lives in Duxbury, Vt.; Kneeland, born April 23, 1836, married, first, a Robins, second,---------- , and lives in Larned, Kan.; Oren L.; and Maryetta, born September 30, 1841, wife of Evander Whittier, is living in Lincoln, Vt.

Chaffee, Henry H., was born in Rochester, December 12, 1840, the eldest in a .family of four children of John and Roselle (Lowell) Chaffee. John, his grandfather, born in Connecticut, married Sally Evans, and had eight children, viz.: Fanny, wife of William Hunter, died in Rochester in 1849; Marcia, widow of Washington Tower, lives in Rochester; Lyman went West as a teacher, and was never heard from; Leonard, died in Rochester in 1848; Amos, also died in Rochester in 1848; Anna, widow of E. K. Richmond, lives in Newport, Vt.; and Esther, wife of William Stone, lives in Rochester. John, his father, was born in Rochester, May 11, 1813, and married Roselle Lowell, January 1, 1840. Their four children were Henry H.; Alice R., wife of Gilman Wright, lives in Rochester; Edna J., wife of Dr. H. S. Noble, of Middletown, Conn.; she is the principal of the Detroit Training School of Elocution and English Literature; Edwin J., a Universalist clergyman, in Galesburg, III. John died in Rochester, April 17. 1883. His widow resides with her son, Henry H. The latter married, January 1, 1867, Augusta, daughter of Thomas and Ann Eliza (Stevens) Smith. She was born May 7, 1847. Their four children are Nellie, teacher in the Detroit Training School; Alice, teacher in the same institution ; Harry, a student in that institution ; and Annie, died aged six.

Chaffee, Henry H., entered as corporal in Company E, Fourth Vermont Volunteers, August 30, 1861, and received his discharge as sergeant of the same company June 26, 1865. He lost his right arm at the battle of Cedar Creek, Va., October 19, 1864. Mr. Chaffee owns and occupies the Chaffee homestead farm in Rochester. He has served as lister of the town many years, and as selectman four years.

Cushman, Major-General Artemas, was born in Braintree, Vt., September 15, 1800. He descends in the eighth generation from Robert Cushman, who embarked with his only son Thomas, then a lad fourteen years of age, in the Mayflower but alter three days' sailing returned to England in the Speedwell, on account of the inefficiency of the latter vessel to make the voyage. He was the leader of the party who were obliged to return, but in the following year he embarked again on the Fortune, and arrived at Plymouth in November, 1621. He went back to England on the return trip of the Fortune, as agent of the colony, with the intention of returning to America, permanently, but he died there in January or February, 1625. During his short stay at Plymouth, though not a clergyman, he preached December. 1621, " the first sermon in New England that was printed." Text, 1. Cor., x. 24: '' Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth." The sermon was first published in London in 1622, and reprinted in Boston in 1724. His son, Thomas, born 1608, was left by his father on his return to England in the care of Governor Bradford. He married, in 1635 or 1636, Mary Allerton, and died in Plymouth, December 10, 1691. His wife survived him nearly ten years. He was prominent in the colony, and was popularly known as " Elder Thomas." Of his eight children the Rev. Isaac Cushman was born in Plymouth, February 8, 1647, married Mary Rickard, born 1654, died September 27, 1727, aged seventy-three. He died October 21, 1732, aged eighty-four, and was thirty-seven years in the ministry. Ichabod, his son, born October 30, 1686, married, first, Esther, daughter of Jonathan Barnes. He married, second. Patience Holmes. He lived in Plymouth and Middleboro. His estate was settled by his widow, Patience, in 1736. William, second son by the last marriage, was born October 13, 1715, died August 27, 1768. He married, first, December 25, 1731, Susanna Sampson, and second, Priscilla Cobb, in 1751, and had five children by the first wife, and seven by the last. William, the third child by the first marriage, born April 12, 1741, married March 4, 1762, Susanna Pratt. They had four children, of whom Artemas, born at Middleboro, April 7, 1781, married July 10, 1803, Phebe Spear of Braintree, born March 6, 1783. He died in Braintree in 1852. Their children were Holmes, Major-General Artemas, William, Content, Phebe, Philenda, Emily M., Minerva E., and Earl. Artemas lived in Braintree till he was ten years of age. He was educated in the schools of Rochester, and taught school six years. He then began merchandising in Warren, Vt., where he remained twelve years. He commenced mercantile business in Rochester in 1845, and continued in it until 1868. Since then he has employed his time in looking after his landed and other property interests. He has always taken an active part in the military and civil affairs of the State. In 1828 he was commissioned as brigade-inspector (rank of major) in the militia of Vermont; in 1830 the commission of lieutenant-colonel, in 1835 colonel, in 1841 brigadier-general, and in 1847 was elected major-general. He held the office of justice of the peace from 1835 to 1851 ; member of the House of Representatives in 1835-36, 1842, 1861-62; member of the Constitutional Conventions of 1836 and 1847; and State Senator in 1846-47 and 1876-77. He married November 3, 1853, Clara, daughter of Henry and Ann (Rogers) Chandler, born August 17, 1826. They have two children, Henry Herbert, born April 17, 1860, married October 22, 1889, Jessie Tupper, born June 28, 1865 ; he is a merchant in Rochester ; and Lizzie, born April 11, 1865, married October 7, 1886, Charles E. Townsend of Burlington, Vt. They have an infant child, born May 28, 1890.

Emerson, Enoch, a native of New Hampshire, came to Rochester, Vt., in early life, where he lived and died in 1831. He married Eunice Dana, by whom he had nine children, viz.: Stillman, died in Illinois; Asa, died in Rochester; Enoch, died in Rochester; Lyman, died in Rochester; Ezekiel, died in Rochester; Eunice, married, first, Alanson Mosher, second. Makepeace Richardson, and died in Rochester; Orpha, unmarried, died in Rochester; Achsah, married William Powers, and died at Silver Creek, N. Y.; a son died in infancy.

Emerson, Lyman, was born in Rochester in 1792. He married, first, Anna Warren, by whom he had three children, viz.: Lyman, Mary Ann and David. Lyman and David are living in Wisconsin. Mary Ann married Barna Cooper, and they both died in Rochester. He married, second, Olive Warren, sister of his first wife. By this union there were nine children, viz.: Louisa, widow of Eaten Martin, lives in Rochester; Ezekiel, lives in Rochester; Anna, married F. D. Ely, lives in Dedham, Mass.; Lucy, died young; Enoch, lives in Rochester; Jane 0., married Horatio Morrow, and they are missionaries in British Burmah, India ; Eunice, unmarried, lives in Rochester ; Ellen, died in infancy; Edna F., widow of William F. Chase, lives in West Newton, Mass.

Emerson, Ezekiel, was born in Rochester, Vt., September 14, 1830. Enoch, his grandfather, was a native of New Hampshire. He married Eunice Dana, and reared a family of nine children, as follows : Stillman, died in the West ; Asa, died in Rochester ; Lyman, father of Ezekiel; Ezekiel, died in Rochester; Eunice, married, first, Alanson Mosher, second, Makepeace Richardson; Orpha, unmarried, died in Rochester; Achsah, was the wife of William Powers, and died at Silver Creek, N. Y.; Enoch, died in Rochester ; and an infant died not named. All, except Ezekiel and Orpha, married and raised families. Enoch died in Rochester. His widow married again and moved to Illinois, where she died. Ezekiel lived at home in Rochester until twenty-one years of age. In 1853 he went to Wisconsin, where he engaged in lumbering eight years. He enlisted a private in Company A, Fifth Regiment Wisconsin Infantry, May 10, 1861, and receive his discharge July 27, 1864. At the close of the war he returned to Rochester, where he has resided ever since. He owns the Emerson homestead farm situated on the '' Branch.'' He has filled the offices of constable nine years, and selectman one year.

Hubbard.- The families of this name in Rochester are descended from three brothers who settled in Massachusetts. Elisha, a descendant of one of these brothers, was born in that town, and married in Putney, Vt., Tamar Moore. They had a family of sixteen children as follows: Abizah, Eunice, Susannah, Elisha, Tamar, Dolly, Abel, Otis, Arna, Peter, Sally, Rosalinda, Delano, Betsey, Abigail M., and George. Elisha and his wife died in Rochester, and of their family the first thirteen children were born in Putney, Vt., the last three in Rochester. Abel, son of Elisha, was born February 18, 1785, and married Susan Thatcher. He died February 21, 1866. He had a family of twelve children, viz.: Amanda, Joseph, Hannah M., Sally, Howard, Samuel, Benjamin, William T., Philioda, Susan, Chastina and Tamar. Abel became a resident of Rochester in 1794, and lived upon the farm now owned and occupied by his son William T. His wife was born October 18, 1788, and died April 23, 1882. William T., son of Abel, born in Rochester, December 1824, married, January 6, 1853, Harriet, daughter of Thomas B. and Harriet (Eaten) Martin, born in Rochester, January 6, 1826. They have three children, Emma V., born October 13, 1853; Ida L., born December 15, 1855; and Enola, born February 10, 1859. Peter, son of Elisha, born September 13, 1789, married, in 1820, Anna, daughter of Isaac Trask. They had nine children: Iva M.. Varsil M., Otis, Isaac T.. Harriet A., Emeline 0., Peter A., Clementine, Hiram F. Peter died November 1, 1853, his wife January 1, 1864. Varsil M., son of Peter, born in Rochester, Vt., January 31, 1815, married, June 21, 1841, Susan Jane, daughter of Leonard and Mary (Steele) Taylor. Her father was born in Windsor, October 31, 1779, and died in Rochester. Her mother was born in Weathersfield, December 23, 1788. They had ten children. Mrs. Hubbard being the eighth, and was born in Rochester, December 18, 1824. They had twelve children, viz.: Charles L., born June 30, 1842, married Susanna Madigan, had four children, Florence E.., wife of Charles Barton, Henry, Susie and Josie ; Charles L., lives in Orange, Mass.; Mary Jane; Isaac T., born February 4, 1847, married, June 11, 1872, Arabella Holton, born in Middlebury, October 15, 1841, and had two children, Harry Varsil, born September 14, 1873, and Lewis Ives, born December 20, 1885 ; Isaac T., owns with his father the home farm and runs it; Winfield Scott, born March 24, 1849, married Rachel Gambell, and has one child living, Winfield Scott; Harry D.; Frank L., born July 28, 1853, married Delia McCullum, has four children, Rena K., Amisa T., John E. and Richard S., and lives in Rochester; Abbie E., born September 27, 1855, wife of Will Tupper of Rochester, and they have two children, Robbie W. and Helen A.; George E., born March 11, 1858. died November 2, 1859; Varsil Fred, born June 6, 1860, married Mrs. Eva Johnson, nee Bass, and has one child, Edna; Carrie E., Arthur W., and Katie T. Mr. Hubbard has resided on his present place since 1841. He has served as lister five terms, and selectman three terms.

Hubbard, Benjamin F., born in Granville, Vt., September 27, 1829, the youngest in a family of seven children of Arna and Philomela (Gilligan) Hubbard. The children were Harvey, lives in Willimantic, Conn.; Joseph, died aged twenty-one; Charles, was killed, aged thirty-seven; Rufus, lives in Randolph, Vt.; Benjamin F.; and two who died young. Benjamin F. married April 19, 1848, Nancy E., daughter of Hezekiah and Nancy (Martin) Howe. The mother of Mrs. Hubbard was born in Rochester, the daughter of Major Thomas and Nancy Martin ; the former died suddenly, and his widow died at the home of Colonel Thomas Martin in Rochester. Mrs. Hubbard was born in Westford, Chittenden county, Vt, July 24, 1828. They had two children of their own, viz.: Benjamin F., born February ;-i, 1854, married July 4, 1881, Welthea A., daughter of Austin and Sylvia A. (Wright) Field, who have had two children, an infant, born October 8, 1883, died unnamed, and Eva May, born September 13, 1887; Hattie E., born September 27. 1862, died August 3, 1875; and one adopted child, Samuel Wing, born January 29, 1876. Benjamin F. died July 4, 1887. He moved from Granville and settled on the farm in Rochester still owned by his widow and son, Benjamin F. By a fall from a bridge in 1863 he received an injury which crippled him for life. He was a prominent man in the M. E. Church of Rochester, and was one of its stewards.

Huntington, Dr. Daniel, was born in Lebanon, N. H., July 17, 1781. James Huntington, his father, a sergeant in the War of the Revolution, married Hannah Curtis, and they had eleven children, of whom seven reached adult age. The latter were all married, and, except one, raised families. Three besides the doctor became residents of Rochester, viz.: Mrs. Frank Washburn, John and James D. The doctor studied medicine with Dr. Joseph A. Denison, of Royalton, and commenced the practice of his profession in Stockbridge in 1805. In 1807 he went to Albany, N. Y., where he remained one year. In 1808 he settled in Rochester and continued the practice of his profession in that town until his death, which occurred September 13, 1854. He married Mary Davis, born in Bascowan, N. H., March 26, 1771, and they had the following children, viz.: Daniel N., born January 1, 1815, living in Malone, N. Y., a justice of the peace there for twenty-five years; John died in Rochester, March 12, 1853 ; Mary G., born June 15, 1816, was the wife of Uriah Rice, and died in Carlton, 0., in 1848; William M., born in Rochester, October 21, 1819; Olive Gr., born in Rochester, October 21, 1820, wife of George G. Wilson, living in Malone, N. Y.; Sarah Jane, born June, 1824, wife of F. F. Washburn, of Rochester; James D., born November 1 1827, died February 3, 1887. Dr. William M. Huntington has always been a resident of Rochester. After the district school he attended the Brandon Seminary. He began the study of medicine in 1840 with Dr. Daniel Barnes, of Brandon, and continued with him one year. He then studied with his father three years. He attended his first course of lectures in Hanover, N. H., and was graduated from the Medical Department of the University of New York March 4, 1845, and has practiced his profession in Rochester ever since. The doctor represented the town in the Legislature in 1863 and 1864. He married, June 18, 1848, Arvilla, daughter of William and Lucy (Chandler) Baker. Mr. Huntington was born in Rochester, February 28, 1827. They have but one child living. Dr. William Daniel Huntington, born in Rochester, June 15, 1857. He was educated in the Barre Academy, and was graduated from the University of Vermont in 1881. He studied medicine with his father, and with the exception of one year in Niles, Mich., and one year in Chicago, he has practiced his profession in company with his father, in Rochester. He married Lizzie A. Pater, who was born in Burlington, January 7, 1860. They have one child, William M., born April 17, 1888. Dr. William is a member of the National Medical Association, a member of the Vermont State Medical Society, also a member of the White River Valley Medical Society. Dr. William D. is also a member of the State and White River Valley Medical Societies. Both the doctors are members of Rural Lodge, No. 29, F. and A. M., of Rochester, also of Mount Zion Commandery of K. T. Dr. William D. is a member of the Shrine.

Kezer, Fayette A., was born in Wentworth, N. H., May 1, 1848, the second in a family of three children of Ferdinand 0. and Hannah (Weeks) Kezer. Lemuel, his grandfather, born in New Hampshire, married Eliza Preston. Their children were Eliza Ann, born in Wentworth, December 18, 1809, died November 21, 1828: Emele and Emelees, twins, born November 5, 1811, died, the former November 15, 1811, the latter November 19, 1811; Ferdinand Columbus and Fayette Columbia, twins, born August 29, 1812 ; Hortensia M., born November 2, 1814, died January 9, 1815. Hortensia, wife of Ezra Currier, died in Wentworth. Lemuel died November 18, 1815; his wife June 18, 1847. Ferdinand C. was born in Wentworth, August 29, 1812, and married May 17, 1840, Hannah Weeks, born March 11. 1819. Their three children were Eliza A., born January 3, 1845, married June 20, 1864, Jeremiah Howard, a farmer living in Rochester, and have two children, John L. and Cora B.; Fayette A.; and Mary Cordelia, born May 1, 1848, died October 4, 1853. His wife. Hannah Weeks, died in Wentworth, N. H., May 30, 1857. He married second. May 12, 1858, Marcia Currier, of Wentworth, and by this marriage had one child, Adams C, who died January 29. 1882. Ferdinand C. died in Rochester, September 15, 1883. His second wife died in Rochester, March 29, 1881. Fayette A. was sixteen years of age when his father moved from New Hampshire and settled in Rochester on the farm now owned and occupied by J. F. Howard, his son-in-law. In 1869 Fayette A., in company with his father, purchased the grist and saw-mills located in the village of Rochester, and upon the death of his father Fayette A. became the sole owner and continues to operate them, making a specialty of ash dowels for bending purposes, used for rattan and reed chairs. Mr. Kezer represented the town of Rochester in tlie General Assembly of the State of Vermont in the year 1890. He married, June 17, 1874, Laura, daughter of John and Olive (Walbridge) Pierson, who was born in Rochester, February 28, 1850. They have two children, Frank F., born June 21, 1878, and Alice, born February 7, 1883.

Martin, La Roy, was born in Rochester, Vt., June 13, 1860, the youngest in a family of four children of Mervin and Harriet (Barnes) Martin. Thomas B., his grandfather, married, first, a Miss Eaton and had nine children, viz.: Mervin ; Thomas, a farmer living in Hancock, Vt; Eaton, died in Rochester; Oscar, a farmer living in Rochester; Harriet, wife of William F. Hubbard ; Abigail, wife of Alonzo T. Briggs; California, wife of Dr. John McDuffee; Eugene, died young; and Emroy, wife of Mr. Etz, living in Mendon. Mervin, his father, was born in Rochester, August 9, 1824, and died June 3, 1865. His wife, Harriet Barnes, was born in Rochester, June 20, 1826 Their four children were Abbie Isabel, born May 22, 1853; Clarence Eber, born September 22, 1854, a farmer living in Hancock ; Angle Adella, born August 22, 1857, wife of Allen Jones, living in Randolph, Vt.; and La Roy F. Mrs. Martin resides with her son, La Roy F. The latter married March 25, 1884, Carrie, daughter of John and Kate (McClintock) Flanders. She was born February 19, 1861. Mr. Martin has always resided in Rochester, and since 1884 on the farm which he owns and carries on.

Messer.-The families of this name in Rochester are descended from Richard Messer, who married Hannah Shotwell. Their son, Abial, born December 27, 1670, married Abigail Marsh and had a son, Richard, born November 9, 1695, who married Mehitable Smith. From the last named marriage came Samuel, born June 30, 1730, who married Sarah Howe. Jacob, a son of the last named couple, was born in Methuen, Mass., September 22, 1778. He married September 23, 1802, Catharine Smith, who was born at New London, N. H., March 15, 1783. He became a resident of Rochester in 1804, but died at Northumberland, N. Y., January 11. 1814. His wife died April 18, 1863. Their children were Deiadamia (deceased), born June 15, 1803, married James Kimball; Lyman ; and James S., born April 1, 1811, emigrated to Illinois, where he died.

Messer, Lyman, son of Jacob, born in Rochester, June 24, 1805, married December 13, 1833, Mary Morse. She was born March 4, 1808, and died January 4, 1882. Of their eight children, all of whom were born in Rochester, one died in infancy. The others were Jacob, born January 17, 1839, was a member of Company E, Fourth Vermont Volunteers, and died at Manassas Junction, Va, February 13, 1862; Julius C, was born November 27, 1840, and resides at Rochester; Alpha, was born July 6, 1842, and resides at Rochester; Alton, was born June 27. 1844, and resides at Lincoln, Vt.; Mary F., was born April 29, 1846, and died March 16, 1868; Maria F., was born March 14, 1848, married Joseph G. Sargent, and resides at Bethel, Vt.; Clarence, was born March 28, 1854, and resides at Humboldt, La. Alpha, of the above family, married, July 5, 1871, Lizzie P. Bond, who was born in Thetford, Vt., January 15, 1843. They have one child, Annie L., who was born September 8, 1874. Mr. Messer is a farmer, and also Master of the Vermont State Grange ; was engaged in teaching in his early life in the common schools in Vermont and also in Illinois. He was for two years master of the Armstrong Grammar School at Manchester, N. H., has been connected with the press for many years and is a member of the editorial staff of the New England Farmer, published in Boston, Mass.

Morse, Calvin, was born in Stockbridge, Mass., April 6, 1774, and died March 27, 1837. He married first, in September, 1798, Mary Dutton, who was born November 10, 1773. The children by this marriage were Almira, died single; Melinda (deceased), married Charles Gary; and Calvin, died in Royalton. He married, second, January 26, 1806, Abigail Webber, who was born September 27, 1778. The issue of this marriage was Mary (deceased), married Lyman Messer; Alpha; Maria (deceased), married, first, Oscar Morse, second Daniel Bugbee. Alpha, son of Calvin, was born in Rochester, April 14, 1812, and married, December 19, 1836, Matilda Washburn. She was born in Rochester, November 28, 1812, and died July 20, 1864. Of her eight children, two died in infancy. The others were Francis, died at two years of age; Edward, a member of Company B, Sixth Vermont Volunteers, killed on picket duty; Alanson, resides in Sac City, la.; Calvin, resides in Rochester; Abigail, died three years of age; and Francis, a resident of Iowa. Mr. Morse married, second, Mrs. Lucy I. Cheney, nee Chamberlain.

Mosher, Francis T., was born in Rochester, October 7. 1818, the eldest in a family of four children of Alanson and Eunice (Emerson) Mosher. His father died in Rochester, November 1824, aged forty-five. His mother died in Rochester October 1868. Their children were Francis T., Charles E., George C, and Harrriet. The latter two are deceased. Charles E. lives in Iowa.

Mosher. Francis T., married, January 12, 1841, Roxa, daughter of William and Lucy (Chandler) Baker. Mrs. Mosher was born in Rochester July 2, 1819. They have had five children, viz.: Francis J., born May 16, 1842, married, first, Kate E. Brien, second, Jennie Holbrook, and third, Eugenie Dyer, and lives in Rochester; Diana R., born December 29, 1848, widow of Dr. Charles W. Chaffee, lives in Chicago, and has one child, Francis Charles; George B., born October 22, 1849, married, December 31, 1873, Luna L., daughter of Arnold and Martha (Chaffee) Huntington, she was born in Rochester, September 27, 1854, and they have one child living, Ella F., born October 1, 1875; George E., lives with his father, and helps carry on the home farm; Lucy M., born November 2, 1851, wife of Alonzo C. Harlow, photographer in Montpelier; Eunice A., born April 21, 1855, married Joseph W. Sault, and died May 31, 1883, m Rochester; they have one child, Albert C, born October 4, 1881. Mr. Mosher was one year old when his father moved from Rochester village and settled on the farm situated on the "Branch," now owned and occupied by him. He has served the town as its selectman seven years, and overseer of the poor eleven years. In politics he is a Democrat.

Pierce, Chester, was born in Royalton, Vt., January 2, 1819, the youngest in a family of thirteen children of William and Hannah (Baker) Pierce. Joseph, his grandfather, moved with his family from Connecticut, settled in Royalton, and he and his wife died there. Their children were William, Elisha, Ebenezer, Mrs. Mary Tracy, Susan and Lucy. William, born in Connecticut, September 5, 1770, was under age when his father moved to Royalton. He married December 27, 1796, Hannah Baker, born March 6, 1777. Their thirteen children were Esther E., Desire W., William, Bester, Ira, John, Levi W., George, Hannah, Charles, Harvey B., Harriet and Chester. William died in Royalton, July 18, 1854, and his wife October 3, 1863. Chester married, first, October 26, 1842, Caroline R.. daughter of Ephraim D. and Eliza (Hodgkins) Briggs, born June 24, 1822, in Rochester. Edward L., born July 26, 1843, is their only child. He married Julia A. Ashley. They have two children, Leslie Dean and Chester Earl. Caroline R., the first wife, died March 1, 1869. Chester married second, December 18, 1883, Ellen L., daughter of James M. and Hannah (Jewett) Ashley, born March 30, 1843, in Barnard. There are no children by this union. Mr. Pierce lived in Royalton until he was twenty-two years of age. When eighteen years of age he became clerk in the store of George Lyman in Royalton and continued with him three years, salary one shilling per day. He was employed one year thereafter as clerk in the store of Denison & Gleason, Royalton. For the next two years he carried on merchandising in Bethel, in company with H. N. Smith, under the firm name of Pierce & Smith. In the spring of 1843 they divided their stock, Mr. Pierce removing to Rochester, where, in company with E. D. Briggs, his father-in-law, he continued in trade eleven years, under the firm name of Briggs & Pierce. At the end of this time Mr. Briggs withdrew, and for the next thirteen years it was conducted by Mr. Pierce alone. He then sold out to Harkin, Pierce & Tilden, and withdrew from active mercantile business, and has devoted his time to the care of his property. Mr. Pierce has served as selectman, town auditor for thirty years, and represented the town in the Legislature in 1865-66, and was State Senator in 1886, on the committees of banks, elections, and House of Correction.

Robinson. Eleazer, came from Connecticut to Bridgewater, Vt. He was a Revolutionary soldier and married Mary Backus. Their children were Nathaniel, died in Bridgewater; Luther, died young; Horatio, died in Bridgewater; Luther; Lucy, died single; and Eunice (deceased), married Sylvanus Pratt. Eleazer died m November, 1821.

Robinson, Luther, son of Eleazer, was born in Bridgewater and went to Granville to live in 1833 where he died October 17, 1882. He married Polly Moore, who was born June 30, 1792. They had four children, viz.: Luther, Alary (deceased), married Benjamin Cady ; Eliza, wife of Aaron Bagley, resides in Granville; and Lucy, wife of Oren Sabin, of Hill, N. H.

Robinson, Luther, son of Luther, was born in Parker Gore, now the town of Little Sherburne, Vt., December 2, 1817, and married September 27, 1841, Marcia Briggs, who was born in Plymouth, Vt., May 17, 1819. They had two children, Albert N., born in Granville, September 4, 1843, married Mrs. Ellen Abbott, nee Ford, and had four children, Alice, Eugene, Clinton and Sarah, and resides in Rochester; Joseph 0., born in Granville August 24, 1845, married, October 31, 1867, Ford, and they have one child, Fred J., born in Rochester July 21, 1871. Mr. Robinson since 1867 has been a resident of Rochester, and in that year bought of Mr. Ralph the saw-mill situated at West Rochester. He employs eight hands and manufactures 700,000 of clapboards and 400,000 feet of coarse lumber.

Sparhawk, Rev. Samuel, was born in Rochester, Vt, January 1. 1802, and was the second son of Ebenezer and Azubah (Jefterson) Sparhawk. His father was a native of Templeton Mass., and was among the first settlers of Rochester. He had nine children, one of whom died in infancy. The others were George, who died in Rochester; Priscilla (deceased), married Rev. Daniel Warren; Mary (deceased), married Luther Tucker; Naomi (deceased), married Luther Tucker; Ebenezer, died in Rochester; Louisa (deceased), married Edward Terry ; Martha (deceased), married William Allen ; and Samuel. The latter attended Chelsea Academy, and was ordained a minister in the Congregational Church at Pittsfield, Vt. He preached four years at Pittsfield, sixteen years at West Randolph, three years at Randolph Center, three years at Gaysville, and five years at Pittsfield, where he died November 9, 1879. He married, November 6, 1830, Laura, daughter of Israel and Sarah (Cook) Fitts. She was born at Leicester, Vt., January 5, 1805. They had eight children, viz.: Priscilla, died three years of age; George, a doctor, resides at Burlington, Vt.; Luther T., an artist, resides at West Randolph, Vt.; Martha, born in Rochester, Vt, February 15, 1834, wife of Guy E. Graham, of Bethel; Mary, died seventeen years of age ; Sarah, died in infancy ; Ellen, married, first, Charles Gibbs, second, George Rockwell, who resides in Medford, Mass.; Samuel Henry, a doctor, who resides in St. Johnsbury, Vt.

Wyman, Elijah, a native of Connecticut, came to Weathersfield, Vt., and married Abigail Worcester of that town. They had seven children, viz.: David, died in West Randolph ; Abigail, married a Mr. Evans, and died in Newark, N. Y.; Frank, died young; Asa, died in Granville, Vt.; Elijah, died in Rochester, Vt.; Pliny, died at Berea, 0.; and Walter, died at Rochester, Vt.

Wyman, Elijah. of above family, was born in Weathersfield, July 25, 1807, and married, November 15, 1831, Diadamia Knowlton, who was born in Weathersfield, July 26, 1809. They had a family of four children, viz. : Angeline, wife of Henry Lewis, of Springfield, Vt.; Cyrus G.; John; and Lucian M., died in Washington, D. C, in December, 1863, in the service of his country. Elijah became a resident of Rochester in the spring of 1832, where he died March 5, 1880.

Wyman, Cyrus C, son of Elijah, was born in Rochester, October 5, 1835, and married Ellen P., daughter of Ezra Washburn. They have five children, viz.: Addie, born March 24, 1860, wife of Frank Fuller, of Rochester ; Fred, was born February 18, 1872; Lena, born March 2, 1874 ; Effie, born August 23, 1876 : and Leon, born August 16, 1884.

Wyman, John K., son of Elijah, was born in Rochester April 1, 1838, and married. May 17, 1869, Alice Nason. They have one child, Gretta, born March 4, 1870.

 

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