Shadrach Norton settled in 1784 on the farm now owned by Charles Stevens. In 1787 Benjamin Hall bought of Joseph Plumb and located on the place now owned by J. M. Stevens. Three years earlier Barzillai Stickney settled on the next farm south. He was chosen constable at the organization of the town. The same […]
In 1788 David Sperry came from Wallingford, Vt., where he had resided during the war, and settled on the farm now owned and occupied by William Delong. He came originally from New Haven, Conn and was a man of unusual ability. It was his custom, it is said, to wake his sons in the morning
Dr. Nathan Foot, from Watertown, Conn., made his first pitch in the extreme east part of the town, on the verge of the swamp. The farm is not now occupied, but was afterward owned by his son Nathan, and in 1862 and later by Maria Foot and William Turner. A few years after his arrival
Rufus Mead, brother of Ezra and Isaac, in 1786 bought of Abel Wright the farm now occupied by Mrs. W. W. Wright, and built, first at the base of the hill and afterward on the present highway. Of his sons, three, Hiram, Martin L. and Charles M., were graduated from Middlebury College, and another, Rufus,
The following are the officers elected at the March meeting for 1885: Town clerk, C. H. Lane; selectmen, P. N. Cobb, E. D. Searle, A. S. Bingham; listers, C. H. James, N. B. Douglass, R. A. Foot; constable and collector, A. W. Frost; second constable, H. E. Taylor; treasurer, W. H. Bingham; overseer of the
The first settlers of Cornwall were Asa Blodget, James Bentley, James Bentley, jr., Thomas Bentley, Joseph Throop, Theophilus Allen, William Douglass, Samuel Benton, Eldad Andrus, Samuel Blodget, Sardius Blodget, Solomon Linsley, Aaron Scott and Nathan Foot. They arrived and made their pitches in 1774. The eight first named selected their lands in the east part
Eldad Andrus first settled on the farm now occupied by Mrs. T. B. Holly, and afterwards exchanged farms with Zechariah Benedict, whose pitch lay in the west part of the town bounding on Lemon Fair. His first house was built a few rods east of the present buildings. He was taken prisoner in May or
Many of the lawyers and physicians who have practiced in Cornwall in times past will receive more particular mention in general chapters devoted to their respective professions. Among the former Martin Post stands alone; while representatives of the latter profession are numerous, viz., Drs. Nathan Foot, Frederick Ford, sr., Frederick Ford, jr., Solomon Foot, Abraham
James and Nathan Campbell settled in 1793 on a lot embraced in the well known Benjamin Stevens farm, and remained there, each in a log house, until 1793, when they sold to Benjamin Stevens and removed from town. Stevens came to Cornwall from Pittsford, Vt. He suffered a cruel imprisonment of three years’ duration at
William Slade came from Washington, Conn., to Clarendon, Rutland county, about 1780, and three or four years later removed to Cornwall and made his pitch on the land now owned and occupied by John Towle, where he continued to reside until his death in 1826, at the age of seventy-three years. Being of vigorous and
The most prominent industry in town, and one for which her people are most widely known, is the raising of sheep. Immediately after the importation of Merino sheep from Spain, by Colonel Humphrey, of Connecticut, and later by Consul Jarvis, of Wethersfield, Vt., some of the farmers of Cornwall procured some of the variety for
The same year James Marsh Douglass, from Cornwall, Conn., pitched in the south part of the town on a lot afterwards occupied by Elias Douglass, and later still by Eli Stevens. He probably remained here most of the time until 1784, when he brought his family from Connecticut. He owned about five hundred acres in
Deacon Jeremiah Bingham, who has already been mentioned, was one of the original members of the Congregational Church, and was chosen one of the first deacons. He was a soldier of the Revolution, and took an active part in the battle of Bennington, and was connected with the quartermaster’s department of the garrison at Ticonderoga
The Congregational Church of Cornwall, the first religious organization in Cornwall, was formed on the 1st of July, 1785, with the following members: Jared Abernathy, Stephen Tambling, James Marsh Douglass, Jeremiah Bingham, Roswell Post, Daniel Sampson, Mary Chipman, and Elizabeth Ives, and during the few weeks following August 21 Jesse Chipman, Mrs. Post, Mrs. Tambling,
Solomon Mead bought of Abel Wright in 1795 the farm now occupied by Azial Hamilton. From him the farm passed to Timothy Turner, Zenas Skinner, and Reuben P. Bingham. Silas Mead was located farther north on the present farm of S. S. Andrus.
John Douglass lived on the place now owned by C. and C. E. Ward; Colonel Benajah Douglass on the place where his son N. B. Douglass now lives. N B. Douglass and his three children, James, Maria, and Lilian, are the only descendants in town of James Marsh Douglass.
The town was organized on the 2d of March, 1784, by the election of the following officers: Moderator, Jeremiah Bingham; town clerk, Joel Linsley; selectmen, Samuel Benton, Jeremiah Bingham, Eldad Andrus; treasurer, Hiland Hall; constable, Barzillai Stickney; listers, Nathan Foot, Roswell Post; highway surveyors, Eldad Andrus, Stephen Tambling, William Jones, Isaac Kellogg. Other officers were
William Samson, from Londonderry; N. H., at a very early date pitched on the farm afterward known as the Benjamin Sherwood place, now occupied by H. E. Taylor, and built his first cabin near the site of the present dwelling. He had a large family, was an early deacon of the Congregational Church, and died
Jacob Peck located on the east side of the road north of the Reeve farm in 1786, and remained there until his death in 1837, aged eighty-four years. He was born in Farrington, Conn., in 1753. He reared a numerous and respectable family and left many descendants, some of whom still reside in town. Captain
Samuel Blodget pitched on a lot of one hundred acres on the old North and South road from Cornwall to Middlebury, which was destroyed some time before 1860. M. B. Williamson, R. A. Foot, A. M. Williamson, Mrs. M. M. Peet, and Mrs. Alberton S. Bingham are his grandchildren. He was taken prisoner at the
