GAZETTEER OF TOWNS
GAZETTEER OF ORANGE COUNTY, VT.
1762-1888.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF 
BRADFORD

      BRADFORD occupies a beautiful position on the west bank of the Connecticut river, opposite Piermont, in New Hampshire. It lies about the center of the eastern border of the county, and is also midway between the north and south limits of the state, in latitude 44  and longitude 4  46',* and is bounded north by Newbury, east by the west bank of Connecticut river, south by Fairlee and West Fairlee, and west by Corinth.

      The topography of this township is, in the main, like that of most others in the Connecticut valley. The intervals are abundantly productive, and the highlands easily cultivated, and good alike for grass and grain. The tracts of forests are charmingly variegated with birch, beech, elm, maple and evergreen trees. Wright's mountain occupies the northwestern corner of the town, and its summit is about 1,700 feet above Connecticut river, some three or four miles distant towards the east, and 2,100 above tide water. The sides -of the mountain, west and south, are precipitous, consisting of almost perpendicular ledges of argillaceous slate, from which, especially on the south side, where there is a deep ravine, huge fragments of rocks in ages past have fALLEN down, one on another, forming various cavities, the largest of which has been called “Devil’s Den."

     The township is well watered, not only by innumerable springs and rivulets, richly refreshing the hillsides, but by larger streams. On its eastern border flows the Connecticut; through its northeastern corner Hall's brook, from Newbury, passes quietly along; then as you go south, Roaring brook comes dashing down over its rocky precipices to mingle with the others at its confluence with the Connecticut; and from the southwest comes Rowell's brook to reach the principal stream which from west to east runs through the town and is dignified by the name of Wait's river. The two main branches of this stream, soon after entering Bradford, unite, and constitute a respectable river, which,' at Bradford Center, and on passing through a narrow rocky channel about half a mile above its entrance into the Connecticut, affords many fine mill privileges.

      In 1880 Bradford had a population of 1,520. In 1886 the town had twelve school districts and thirteen common schools, with an attendance of 331 scholars, taught during the year by one male and seventeen female teachers, to whom was paid an average weekly salary, including board, of $25.40 and $5.47 respectively. The entire income for school purposes was $2,938.06, while the total expenditures were $3,640.79, with F. E. HILAND, superintendent.

BRADFORD ACADEMY

      This institution was chartered by act of the legislature of Vermont, on the 2d day of November, 1820, under the name of Bradford Academy, and William TROTTER, Rev. Naphtoli SHAW, Benjamin P. BALDWIN, John H. COTTON, Oliver HARDY, George W. PRICHARD, Thomas TABOR, Israel WILLARD, James WILSON and. Alfred CORLISS are incorporated under the name of the Trustees of Bradford Academy, with the usual powers of corporations. The above named incorporates met on notice given by Benjamin P. BALDWIN, John H. COTTON and George W. PRICHARD, as provided in. the charter, at the academy, which was then nearly finished, on the 21st day of November, 1820, for the purpose of organization, and a quorum being. present they chose Naphtoli SHAW, moderator, George W. PRICHARD, clerk protem., and Moses CHASE, John H. COTTON and Benjamin P. BALDWIN, a committee to draft a code of by-laws. They also authorized the same committee to hire, a teacher, and to adopt ways and means to pay him. It will be noticed that Moses CHASE was not one of the corporators, but he was a lawyer in town, and was undoubtedly made one of the committee for the benefit of his legal knowledge. The committee made their report at a meeting held at the store of John WHEELER, December 16, 1820, and the trustees then and there adopted a code of by-laws of twelve articles. At the same meeting they filled the board of trustees to the number of fifteen, as provided by the charter, by electing Silas MCKEEN, Samuel MCDUFFEE, John RAND, Jonathan JENNISS, of Topsham, and Moses CHASE as additional trustees. But John H. COTTON and William TROTTER declining to serve, William SPENCER, of Corinth, and Jesse STODDARD were chosen in their places. They then completed the permanent organization of their body by electing Rev. Silas MCKEEN, president; James WILSON, vice-president; Moses CHASE, secretary; Oliver HARDY, treasurer; and Benjamin P. BALDWIN, Samuel MCDUFFEE and Moses CHASE, an executive committee. It was then voted that the committee hire a teacher and commence the school as soon as may be convenient.

      The first regular annual meeting was "held on the third Wednesday of December, 1820, and the same officers were elected except that Naphtoli SHAW was put upon the executive committee in the place of Moses CHASE. At a meeting held at the dwelling house of Arad STEBBINS, on the 12th of March, 1821, it was voted:

      He began to teach in this school in March, 1821, before he was twenty-one years of age, having graduated at Dartmouth the year before. He continued as principal of the academy until the middle of July, 1822, when he was compelled by ill health to give up the position. This was not Mr. NESMITH's first experience, as he had taught at Antrim, Peterboro and Concord, N. H., before coming here.

      Mr. NESMITH was succeeded by Mr. Adams MOORE, then of the senior class in Dartmouth college. How long Mr. MOORE taught does not appear. He was from Bradford, N. H., and after he graduated, was tutor at Dartmouth for a year, then studying medicine, he settled as a physician at Littleton, N. H. It is not certain who immediately followed Mr. MOORE, but Judge NESMITH names E. P. HARRIS and a Mr. CLEVELAND from Salem, Mass., but Mrs. A. P. NEWTON thinks that Mr. HARRIS came later, and Mr. Jona. Johnson believes he was here twice. Mr. CLEVELAND was afterward an author to some extent.

      Boyd Hopkins WILSON, who graduated at the University of Vermont in 1824, was the preceptor in 1826, and probably from the time he graduated.

      Mr. F. COGGSWELL took charge of the school probably in September, 1826, but for how long a time cannot be ascertained. On the 17th of August, 1827, the trustees voted to pay him $8.80 for fuel and $100 towards services.

      Cyrus LANCASTER, as principal, and George STONE, as assistant, had charge of the academy in 1829. A catalogue published during that year shows but one change in the trustees, viz.: John RAND is dropped out and Naphtoli SHAW, 2d, is elected in his place, and one hundred and twenty-six pupils, forty-nine girls and seventy-seven boys, but whether for a single term or for the year does not appear.

      Mr. Charles WINGATE succeeded Mr. LANCASTER in the fall of 1831. Mr. HOBART came next. Mr. Edward P. HARRIS came next after Mr. HOBART, according to the recollection of Mrs. NEWTON.

      Joel BLACKMER, who graduated at Dartmouth in 1834, and received the degree of Master of Arts at the University of Vermont in 1837, probably taught two years, from September, 1834, to July, 1836.

      Franklin BUTLER, who graduated at the University of Vermont in August, 1836, began to teach the Bradford academy in September of the same year, and taught until July or August, 1839. Miss Adeline PRICHARD was preceptress under Mr. BUTLER. The catalogue of 1837, when these teachers were in charge of the school, shows one hundred and one students in all.

      Moses P. CASE, who graduated at U. V. M. in 1839, succeeded Mr. BUTLER in September, 1839, and was assisted by Miss Martha A. ROGERS. They were both here as late as the summer of 1842.

      J.S.D. TAYLOR, also a graduate of U. V. M. in 1840, succeeded Mr. CASE in September, 1842, and remained three years. He was assisted by Miss Martha A. ROGERS and her sister, and also by a Miss CHASE.

      William C. BELCHER, who graduated at U. V. M. in 1843, taught from September, 1845, until July, 1849, when, owing to some trouble with the trustees, he opened a select school in the village, which he taught several terms. While in the academy he was assisted by Isaac S. BELCHER, his brother, and by Miss Mary J. BELCHER, his sister, and some others.

     Justin W. SPAULDING, a graduate of Dartmouth, succeeded Mr. BELCHER, and taught two years. Miss Fidelia WELLMAN was preceptress, Miss Mary Ann BRACKETT, associate preceptress, and Mrs. Caroline H. PECKETT, teacher of music, with Mr. SPAULDING as principal.

      Mr. Charles CUTLER, a graduate of Dartmouth in 1852, taught in 1852 and 1853. He was assisted by Miss Marcia L. PIERCE, preceptress, Miss Mary D. SAWYER, Miss Marcia A. CUTLER and Mrs. Caroline H. PECKETT, teacher of music the first year, and by Miss M. Elizabeth DENNY and Miss Fidelia WELLMAN, preceptresses, Miss Marcia A. CUTLER and Mrs. Caroline H. PECKETT, teacher of music the second year.

      Benjamin M. REYNOLDS, a graduate of Dartmouth of the class of 1852, taught the winter and spring terms of 1854, assisted by Miss Fidelia WELLMAN, preceptress; Miss Phebe MCKEEN, assistant; and Miss A. E. EASTMAN, teacher of music and painting.

      Roswell FARNHAM, a graduate of U. V. M. of the class of 1849, taught from the beginning of the summer term 1854, until the end of the summer term 1856, assisted by Mrs. Mary E. FARNHAM, preceptress and teacher of music and painting; Miss Mary J. BELCHER, Mrs. Caroline H. L. PECKETT, teacher of music; and Miss Ellen P. WOODWARD, teacher of painting.

      Edward E. HERRICK, a graduate of U. V. M. of the class of 1856, taught two years, from September, 1856, assisted by Mrs. Mary E. FARNHAM, preceptress, and by Roswell FARNHAM, assistant teacher and teacher of French.

      George N. LOW, a graduate of Dartmouth in the class of 1857, taught one year, from September, 1858, assisted by Miss M. J. CARLETON, preceptress and Miss S. J. HARDY, teacher of music.

      Edward R. RUGGLES, a graduate of Dartmouth in the class of 1859, taught two years, from September, 1859, assisted by Miss Mary M. CLOSSON and Miss L. Jennie MASON, preceptresses, and Miss Lucy A. STRICKLAND, teacher of music, French and drawing.

      George A. LOW returned and taught three years, from September, 1861, assisted by Mrs. Marcia C. LOW, preceptress; Miss Lucy A. STRICKLAND, teacher of French, and Miss Martha A. R. LOW, teacher of drawing and painting.

      Earl W. WESTGATE, a graduate of Dartmouth in the class of 1860, taught two years, from September, 1864, assisted by Miss Charlotte E. STRICKLAND and Miss L. W. JOHNSON, preceptresses, and Mrs. Julia M. WESTGATE, teacher of music and painting. Miss SMILEY taught during this term.

      Mr. WESTGATE was the last preceptor of the academy, proper. It had been gradually becoming evident that the institution could not support itself if the instructors must depend upon the tuitions received for their wages. It was also very desirable that the pupils in the village of Bradford should have the advantages of education in the higher branches without paying tuition. An arrangement was finally made between the trustees of the academy and the prudential committee of the Union district, which included the whole village, by which the Union district might have the use of the academy property, including the building, library, apparatus and income of the general funds on the easy condition that they keep the property in repair and have a man at the head of the school of liberal education, thus affording an opportunity to the poorest scholar within the district, to fit himself for college without the payment of tuition. The arrangement was entered into in 1866, and has continued now for twenty-two years, greatly to the advantage of the village and the town.

      The teachers under the Union were as follows, viz.:

      Francis F. FARRELL, a graduate of the University of Vermont in the class of 1866, taught one year, assisted by Miss Sophia B. WOODWARD, preceptress. James W. PALMER, a graduate of Dartmouth class of 1867, taught three years, assisted by Miss WOODWARD, preceptress. T. R. GROW, preceptor, 1870-71; Miss N. M. WING, preceptress. Watson T. DUNMORE, graduate of Middletown, Conn., preceptor, 1871-73; Miss Lydia WHITE, preceptress. Thomas MARTIN, Dartmouth, 1871, preceptor, 1873-74; Miss Lydia A. WHITE, preceptress. Mr. MARTIN was compelled to give up the school before the close of his last year, and Mr. CUDWORTH taught the last term. Frank P. MCGREGOR, Dartmouth, 1875, preceptor, 1875-77; Miss Martha B. POWERS, preceptress. Benj. M. WELD, Middlebury, preceptor, 1877-79; Miss Martha B. POWERS, preceptress. Wm. H. CUMMINGS, Dartmouth, 1879, preceptor, 1879-1884; Miss Martha B. POWERS and Miss E. F. MORSE, preceptresses during different years, and Miss Abbie F. MCLANE, Miss Edna N. ELLIOT, Miss Lucy E. NELSON, Moses L. BROCK and W. E. EARLE, assistants at different times. William E. SARGENT, Dartmouth, 1884, preceptor, 1884-87; Miss Fida H. SMITH and Mrs. L. E. WILSON, preceptresses; Miss Tillie A. LOWELL, Miss Mary Grace WOODWARD and Miss Sue S. WORTHEN, assistants. David B. LOCKE, Dartmouth, 1882, preceptor, 1887-88; Miss M. Grace WOODWARD, preceptress; Miss Lucy E. NELSON and Miss Mary E. SMITH, assistants. At the time of this writing (March, 1888) Mr. LOCKE, Miss WOODWARD and Miss NELSON are the teachers of the school.

      The institution is in possession of a well selected library of over sixteen hundred volumes, due to the generosity of Mrs. Elisha C. MERRILL, who gave by will $2,090 to the trustees of the academy, the income to be used for the purchase of a library and apparatus for the use of the scholars. The principal is now increased to $2,500. Mr. Nicholas W. AYER also gave to the school $1,000. The trustees also have $450, which was given by the Masons, and annually receive from $75 to $100 from the county grammer school fund.

      In 1865 the trustees were Rev. Silas MCKEEN, D. D., John POOLE, M. D., Col. Roswell FARNHAM, Dea. Geo. W. PRICHARD, George PRICHARD, Hon. Horace STRICKLAND, Asa LOW, Esq., John B. WOODWARD, Esq., Hon. George P. BALDWIN, Dea. Thomas C. SHAW, James MCDUFFEE, Esq., Zeeb GILMAN, M. D., Jonathan JOHNSON, Esq., John B. PECKETT, Jr., Esq., and Abner A. DOTY, M. D., thus but two of the original trustees were in the board. At the present time not one is left. They are as follows, viz.: Dea. Geo. L. BUTLER, prest.; Capt. P. S. CHAMBERLIN, vice-prest.; Wm. B. STEVENS, sec'y.; Roswell FARNHAM, treasurer; H. G. DAY, J. H. SAWYER, H. C. MCDUFFEE, J. W. LEES, J. H. WATSON, Geo. F. MORRIS, J. B. W. PRICHARD, J. C. STEARNS, H. A. WINSHIP, E. H. ALLEN, W. E. S. CELLEY.

      The original building was built by subscription, and until the union of the two schools it was mainly kept in repair in the same way.

      The following letter will show how the academy became the possessor of a bell: 

      Bradford Mills, built by Asa LOW, about 1847, and now owned by PECKETT & Co., are located on Wait's river, about half a mile west of its confluence with the Connecticut. They are operated by water-power, and have been in the possession of the present company since 1854. These mills manufacture flour and feed and do general custom grinding. They are -furnished with five runs of stones and have a plaster mill attached. Their capacity of grinding is 1,000 bushels per day. The saw-mills in connection manufacture dimension lumber from pine, spruce, ash, hemlock and hard wood, and turn out about 500,000 feet per annum. About one-fourth mile above they have another mill where are manufactured lumber and shingles. The whole concern gives employment to about ten men.

      Wait's River Paper Company, Warren MOORE and Albert F. COLBURN, proprietors; Warren MOORE, manager; A. F. COLBURN, treasurer; has mills located in the flourishing village of Bradford, on Wait's river, which furnishes ample power. This company was organized October 1, 1886, and occupies the stone structure erected for paper making over forty years ago by Hon. Asa LOW. The company now runs three 500-pound engines, one 44 inch -cylinder machine, and manufacture tissue and manilla paper. The capacity -of these mills is 2,000 pounds in twenty-four hours. They employ about fifteen hands.

      The J. W. Bliss Co., H. A. WINSHIP, manager, manufactures sash, doors, blinds and round butter boxes, in Bradford village, on Wait's river, which furnishes the power. The company was organized in the spring of 1887, and occupies spacious and convenient buildings previously built and used for the same purpose. The present company has the best modern machinery, employs skilled workmen, and is turning out goods of the first quality.

      To detail the circumstance, etc., which led to the granting of the charter under which the titles to the land now comprising the township of Bradford are held, one must go back to the very beginning of settlements in this section: The first settler within the limits of the present town was one John OSMER, or HOSMER. He located upon the north side of Wait's river at its confluence with the Connecticut, in 1765. During the succeeding five years he was followed by others, so that in 1770 the land-holders amounted to thirty. The locality took to itself the name of "Wait's River Town," or, “Waitstown." These settlers had the character of squatters or adventurers, as they had no valid of legal title to the land, simply holding it by a system of "pitches"; among themselves. By this time, however (1770), it was deemed expedient by them to seek for some legal title to their lands, and to have the section between Newbury and Fairlee constituted a township. For this purpose they jointly commissioned Samuel SLEEPER, one of their number, to go to New York, and agree, if practicable, with one William SMITH, an influential man of that city, to obtain for them a royal charter, with a distinct understanding between them and him, that on his procuring the desired charter, he should give them a good title to the lands they had begun to cultivate, one-hundred acres to each, and that he and such proprietors as he should engage with him, should hold as their own all the rest of the township. That this was accordingly done is manifest from the following extract from the original charter of Moore Town, granting to the persons therein named thirty thousand acres on the west bank of the Connecticut, as therein set forth, viz.:

“Charter of Moore Town, subsequently called Bradford, by King George the Third, May 3d, 1770. "GEORGE the Third, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, defender of the faith, and so forth: To all to whom these presents shall come, Greeting, WHEREAS our loving subject, William SMITH of our city of New York, Esquire, by his humble petition in behalf of his associates presented unto our trusty and well beloved Cadwallader COLDEN, Esquire,. our Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief of our Province of New York and the territories depending thereon in America, and read in our Council for our said province, on the twenty-eighth day of March now last past, did set forth that on the Seventh day of November which was in the year of our Lord One Thousand seven hundred and sixty-six, a petition was, preferred to our late trusty and well beloved Sir Henry MOORE, Baronet, then our Captain General and Governor in Chief of our said Province, in the name of John FRENCH and his associates, praying a grant of certain lands on the west side of Connecticut river. That our said late Captain General and. Governor in Chief was advised by our Council to Grant the prayer of the said petition, and that a Warrant issued the same day to the Surveyor General for a survey thereof -- That the said John FRENCH is since deceased, and that the petitioner and his associates are the persons intended to be chiefly benefited by that application -- That the tract which they desire to take up contains, as it is supposed, about Thirty Thousand Acres, to the southward of a tract of land commonly called or known by the name of Newberry, and adjoining the same, and was granted under the province of New Hamphshire -- That there are divers persons settled within the limits of the said tract of land, amounting in all to Thirty families, to whom the petitioner and his associates intend to convey, after a Patent is issued, Three Thousand Acres, to wit, to the head of each family One Hundred Acres, in such manner as to secure to them the parts they have respectively cultivated-and therefore the petitioner did humbly pray that the lands aforesaid might be granted to him and his associates as tenants in common in fee, agreeable to the directions and upon the terms of our Royal Instructions. Which petition having been referred to a Committee of our Council for our said province, our said Council did afterwards on the same Twenty-eighth day of March, in pursuance of the report of the said Committee humbly advise and consent that our said Lieutenant Governor and Commander in Chief as aforesaid, should, by our Letters Patent, grant to the said William SMITH and his associates and their heirs, the land described in said petition according to the prayer thereof, under the quit rent provisos, limitations and restrictions, presented by our Royal Instructions, and that the said lands should by the said Letters Patent be erected into a township by the name of Moore Town, with the privileges usually granted to other Townships within our said Province. In pursuance thereof and in obedience to our said Royal Instructions, our Commissioners appointed for setting out all lands to be granted within our said Province have set out for the said petitioner William SMITH, and for his associates, to wit: James. ROBERTSON, Richard MAITLAND, William SHERREFF, Goldsbrow BANYAR, Andrew ANDERSON, Jonathan MALLET, Peter Van Brugh LIVINGSTON, Charles MCEVERS, Hugh GAINE, Francis STEVENS, William BRUCE, Thomas William MOORE, Samuel VER PLANCK, Richard YATES, Abraham MORTIER, Abraham LYNSEN, Abraham LOTT, Hamilton YOUNG, Garret NOEL, Ebenezer HAZZARD, John ALSOP, Thomas JAMES, Thomas SMITH, and Samuel SMITH, All that certain tract or parcel of land lying and being on the west side of Connecticut River in the County of Gloucester, within our province of New York, Beginning on the west bank of said river at a white pine tree blazed and marked for the Northeast corner of a tract of land known by the name of Fairlee, and run thence north, sixty-one degrees west, five hundred and ninety chains ; then north thirty-two degrees east, five hundred and twenty chains; then south fifty-nine degrees east, five-hundred chains, to the said river; then down said river, as it winds and turns, to the place where this tract began; containing Twenty-five Thousand Acres of land and the usual allowance for highways. And in setting out the said twenty-five thousand acres of land, our said Commissioners have had regard for the profitable and unprofitable acres, and have taken care that the length thereof doth not extend along the banks of any river otherwise than is conformable to our said Royal Instructions, as by a Certificate thereof under their hands, bearing date the Seventh day of April now last past, and entered on record in our Secretary's Office for our said province may more fully appear; which said tract of land, set out aforesaid according to our said Royal Instructions, we being willing to grant to the said petitioner and his associates, their .heirs and assigns forever, with the several privileges and powers hereinafter mentioned."

      In the then unsettled state of land titles New Hampshire made some grants here, and much contention among the settlers, lasting through a series of years, was the result. Taken to the legislature, that body appointed Israel SMITH, Esq., of Thetford, Alexander HARVEY, Esq., of Barnet, and James WHITELAW, Esq, of Ryegate, January 25, 1791, a committee to regulate the difficulty and deed the lands to the settlers. This committee, having failed to settle all matters of difficulty among the inhabitants, especially among those on the Hazen tract, further legislation was demanded, and an act, entitled, "An act for the purpose of quieting the settlers on a certain tract of land in the western part of Bradford," was passed by the General Assembly at Rutland, November 6, 1792. In accordance with this legislative enactment the settlers who before had no legal claims to the lands they occupied, were quieted, and valid titles to lots unoccupied were given to those who were wishing to possess them, and the general settlement of the township was accomplished.

      The original name of the town was, beyond doubt, given it in honor of Sir Henry MOORE, Baronet, from 1765 to '69, captain-general and governor-in-chief in and over the province of New York. But, in accordance with the request of its inhabitants to the General Assembly of Vermont, it was changed, October 23, 1788, as follows:

"It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, 'That the name of the Township of Moretown, in the County of Orange, be forever hereafter known by the name of Bradford:-And that it is hereby provided that whenever an advertisement respecting said township shall be published within three years from the passing of this act, it shall be called Bradford, heretofore known by the name of Moretown, in Orange county."

      The town was organized May 4, 1773. The first town meeting of which any record has been preserved, was held at the house of Samuel MCDUFFEE, at which the following list of officers was elected: John PETERS, moderator; Stephen MCCONNELL, clerk; Benjamin JENKINS, supervisor; Hugh MILLER and Noah WHITE, overseers of the poor; Benjamin JENKINS, treasurer; Jesse McFarland, Lieut. Jacob FOWLER, and Hezekiah SILLOWAY, surveyors of highways; Hezekiah SILLOWAY, constable; Amos DAVIS, collector; Samuel GAULT and Amos DAVIS, tithingmen.

      William, Thomas, and Hugh PETERS were brothers, who emigrated from England to Boston, Mass., about the year 1634. Rev. Thomas, soon after their coming to this country, was settled in the ministry at Saybrook, Conn., where he patronized an academy which became Yale college, and was removed to New Haven in 1716. Rev. Hugh PETERS was settled in Salem, Mass., about five years; returned to England in 1640, or 1641, where he earnestly espoused the cause of Cromwell and the Parliament, in opposition to Charles I., became a man of influence and distinction, and was among those who .heartily approved of the execution of that ill-fated king. After the elevation of Charles II., son of Charles I., to the throne, he was by royal authority arrested, tried on a charge of high treason, and beheaded October 16, 1660, William, brother of the two clergymen above named, had six sons and four daughters. He lived to a great age and died at Andover, Mass. From him the race bearing the name of PETERS, in New England, have mainly descended. William, Jr., his fourth son, had six sons and two daughters. William, son of William, Jr., was killed in a battle with the Indians, at Andover, leaving his widow, Mary RUSSELL, with an infant son named John, then but eleven days of age. This John PETERS, when he became of age, in 1717, removed from Boston to Hebron, Conn., and by his wife, Mary, a granddaughter of the martyr Gen. Thomas HARRISON, had a large family. Distinguished among these was the Rev. Samuel Andrew PETERS, LL. D., an Episcopal clergyman, who was a man of ability, and during the Revolutionary war a decided loyalist. He became so offensive on this account that he found it expedient to leave his native state in haste and take a voyage to England. After the war was over he returned to this country and claimed to be, not only in title but in fact, "Bishop of Verdmont," as he denominated this new state.

      Margaret PETERS, a sister of the Rev. Samuel, married John MANN, a farmer, February 17, 1765 On the 16th of the following October this enterprising young couple set out on a journey through the wilderness, to build up a home in Orford, N. H., where they arrived on the 24th of the same month. They were persons of honorable distinction among the early settlers of that town.

      John PETERS, Jr., the eldest brother of Samuel and Margaret, was born in Hebron, Conn., 1n 1718. His wife, Lydia PHELPS, was a direct descendant from John PHELPS, secretary to Oliver Cromwell. They had a family of six sons and seven daughters. Lydia, one of the daughters, married Benjamin BALDWIN, subsequently one of the influential settlers of Moretown, now Bradford. Mary PETERS, a sister of Mrs. BALDWIN, married Joseph HOSFORD, Esq., of Thetford, and Susanna, another sister, married Col. John HOUSE, of Norwich. Their brother, General Absalom PETERS, was born in Hebron, Conn., in 1754, and graduated at Dartmouth college in 1780. He married Mary ROGERS, a sister of Mrs. Col. John BARRON, of Bradford, and resided on a farm in Wentworth, N. H, for many years, where he took an active part in public affairs. He was, during the war of the Revolution and to the close of his life, decidedly loyal and patriotic. He died in the city of New York, in April, 1840, aged eighty-six years.

      Col. John PETERS, brother of General Absalom, and eldest son of John PETERS, Jr., was born in Hebron, Conn., in 1740. He married Ann BARNET, and their children were one daughter and eight sons. He emigrated from Connecticut to Thetford, Vt., in 1765, and from Thetford to Bradford in 1771. In 1772 he built the first grist-mill in the town. In the troubles which soon after occurred between this country and England, and during the war of the Revolution, like his uncle, Dr. Samuel PETERS, his sympathies were decidedly with the British government, while his brother, Gen. Absalom, and some or all of his sisters, were as decidedly in favor of the independence of the colonies. This set the two brothers in strong opposition to each other, and caused an unpleasant division in the family. Near the commencement of the war he emigrated to Nova Scotia, and received a commission as colonel of a regiment styled the “Queen’s Rangers." After the war closed he left his family at Cape Breton and went to England to prosecute his claims on the government, and died there January 11, 1788.

      Andrew B. PETERS, the second son of Col. John, was born in Hebron, Conn., January 29, 1764, and by the. course taken by his father he became a subject of the British government. From his seventeenth to twentieth year he was engaged in the king's service in the inland naval department. Soon after the close of the war he settled in Bradford, and, January 18, 1787, united in marriage with Anna WHITE, of Newbury, who died at Bradford a little over a year after their marriage. Mr. PETERS married for his second wife Miss Lydia BLISS, then residing in Bradford, a native of Hebron, Conn., and daughter of Ellis BLISS, December 16, 1790. Mrs. PETERS died in this town March 5, 1816, in the fiftieth year of her age, leaving a large family. In 1798 Mr. PETERS was chosen town clerk, and held that office forty years of the ensuing forty-six years. He also represented his town in the state legislature in 1798, which position he held five years, was justice of the peace for many years, and served his town in various positions with general satisfaction for half a century. The children of Mr. PETERS and his second wife (Lydia BLISS) were John, Anna, Samuel, Daniel, Hannah, William and Andrew B. Mr. PETERS married Keziah HOWARD, of Tamworth, N. H., his third wife, September 15, 1816. She was a native of Bridgewater, Mass., was born November 25, 1783, and resided in Bradford after her marriage for nearly fifty-six years. She died September 2, 1872, aged nearly eighty-nine years. Andrew B. had by this third marriage two sons, viz.: Joseph Howard, and Edmund Fanning. The former was born October 7, 1817, married Miss Clarissa Culver WASHBURN, of Lyme, N. H., November 25, 1841, and settled on the old homestead, where he still resides. He is giving his attention to the cultivation of his fine farm, the rearing of high blood cattle and sheep, with a specialty for full blood Morgan horses, of which he has as fine stock as are found in Vermont. Mr. PETERS has been called by his townsmen to serve in various official capacities. His children are Andrew Barnet, born March 10, 1843, married Miss Jennie S. KESSLER, May 14, 1872, and settled in Fitchburg, Mass.; Mary Ann, born June 23, 1845, died August 20, 1846; Mary Ellen, born March 30, 1847, married Charles A. LEAVITT, December 25, 1871, and resides-in Bradford village; Clara Emma, born June 15, 1848, married Andrew G. TARLETON, December 20, 1870, and settled in Woburn, Mass.; Arthur W., born July 31, 1851, married Velma L. MCFARLAND, of Bradford, November 14, 1871, and remains on the home farm with his father; and Minnie S., born June 4, 1855, married Job CLEMENT, of Bradford, March 17, 1872.

      Edmund Fanning, the youngest son of Andrew B. and Keziah (HOWARD) PETERS, was born September 5, 1822. He married Mary Ann SLACK, of Wilmington, Mass., and has had born to him a son and daughter, and resides in Charlestown, Mass.

      Daniel MCDUFFEE emigrated with his wife and daughter Margaret, then about two years of age, to America, from the North of Ireland, in 1720, and settled in Londonderry, N. H., among their Scotch-Irish friends. They were parents of six sons and three daughters. Five of their sons were in the war with France, and three of them were at the decisive battle of Quebec. One son, Daniel, Jr., was born in Londonderry, in March, 1739 He married Margaret WILSON, whose brother James was father of James, the globe maker. Mr. MCDUFFEE and his wife emigrated to Bradford, Vt., in February, 1796, and settled on a farm at the north end of the "Upper Plain." His house was on the east side of the road, and near what was a long time MCDUFFEE's ferry, across the Connecticut river, and where several of his posterity are now living. They were parents of fifteen children, all of whom were born in Londonderry. Of those who lived to mature age, John was born June 16, 1766, and, when old enough, assisted his father on the farm and in the blacksmith shop, attending the district schools. In his seventeenth year he had mastered Fisher's arithmetic, and commenced the study of surveying. In the spring of 1788 he taught school a few weeks, then attended Andover academy for a time, the meanwhile prosecuting the study of surveying. He taught several terms in the towns of Falmouth, Saco and Brunswick, Maine. When about nineteen years old, on his first journey into that country, he had a narrow escape from wolves in Saco woods. He was on foot, and near evening inquired at a house the distance to Saco Falls. Being told it was five miles, he pushed on, thinking that there were inhabitants along the route as there had been on the road just passed. He soon found himself in the wilderness and in the darkness of night. Presently he heard the barking of a wolf scenting his track in the distance behind him. Being young and spry he quickened his steps. Soon the howl of the first wolf was increased by a pack of them in hot pursuit. He ran with all his might and exerted his strength to his utmost to escape; but the wolves were coming nearer and nearer; and just as his courage and strength were failing, and the monsters were about to seize and devour him, he discovered a light ahead, and with one last effort for his life, pressed on, reached the cabin, and, dashing open the door, fell exhausted and senseless upon the floor. In June, 1788, Mr. MCDUFFEE made his first visit to Bradford. The object of his visit was to .assist in the settlement of the estate of his uncle, Samuel MCDUFFEE, who had been drowned in the Connecticut river in 1781. The widow was still living on the desirable farm to which his uncle became entitled as one of the first settlers; and being pleased with it he bought it. In the spring of 1789 he took up his residence on this place and continued a distinguished citizen of Bradford until his death. In 1791 he purchased of Uriah STONE, of Piermont, the ferry, which was for many years a noted crossing place over the river, until bridges were built above and below it, and where he kept a small store for some time. He married Martha DAKE, then a resident of this town, but a native of Londonderry. He left this farm for his father and removed to another one on the eastern slope of Wright's mountain, and near the line of Bradford and Newbury, where he reared his family and spent the remainder of his life. He was celebrated as a surveyor and was extensively employed by all the towns about. He was employed by Mr. James WHITELAW, surveyor-general of Vermont, to survey and divide into suitable lots for settlement, the Hazen tract, in the western part of Bradford. He aided efficiently in the construction of the railroad from Concord, N. H., to Wells River, through the towns of Plymouth, Wentworth and Haverhill, having previously surveyed over the most formidable part of this route with a view to constructing a .canal. He was a zealous politician, and at a railroad meeting at Concord, when called upon for a sentiment or toast, called out the applause of the assemblage by giving, impromptu, this sentiment: "The political compass of the United States, with the representative needle equally balanced on the pivot of the Union, freely playing over the four cardinal points freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom in elections and freedom in religion." Mr. MCDUFFEE died at his mountain home in Bradford, May 4, 1851, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. His first wife, Martha. DAKE, died at Bradford, May 14, 1822, at the age of forty-nine years. They had six sons and five daughters, all natives of Bradford. Mr. MCDUFFEE married for his second wife Miss Dolly GREENLEAF, of this town, November 10, 1833, who was born March 10, 1790. They had six sons, of whom Daniel, Mansfield and Henry died in childhood. Charles, the third son, was born November 19, 1827. Like his father, he was a fine mathematician, a professional civil engineer and land surveyor, and his aid was much sought as an efficient agent in the settlement of estates. He died at the family home on the mountain, July 31, 1863. Henry Clay, their fifth son, was born October 3, 1831. March,12, 1863, he married Miss Laura WATERMAN, of Lebanon, N. H., who died on the 15th of the ensuing September. Mr. MCDUFFEE married his present wife, Miss Rosie M. BILL, daughter of Major R. M. BILL, of West Topsham, June 8, 1869. Their only son, Ernest B., was born November 23, 1870. Mr. MCDUFFEE is also prominent as a practical civil engineer and surveyor. In politics he is an uncompromising Republican, always loyal to his convictions, and by no means without political honors. He represented Bradford in the state legislature in 1872-73, and has held other offices of honor and trust. He was high bailiff of Orange county in 1872-73; has been a selectman of Bradford, etc.; and served his county as state senator in 1885-86. He has, as an agent for parties in New York and Boston, conducted a large business in buying and selling lands 'in the Western and Southern states, and has also settled some large estates in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Horace G. MCDUFFEE, the youngest son of John, was born December 22, 1833, graduated in the scientific department of Dartmouth college, in the class of 1861, and has given his attention to real estate, surveying and the manufacture and sale of lumber. In 1867 he married Mrs. Ellen P. SMITH, widow of James C. SMITH, of Cairo, Ill., and they have one daughter, Mabel.

      Samuel MCDUFFEE, son of Daniel, Jr., married Jane WILSON, September 7, 1773, and settled on a farm on the "Upper Plain," where he died July 20, 1850. He left a daughter, Alice, and a son, James. The latter married Mary P. SAWYER, with whom he lived over forty-four years, dying March 22, 1873, in the seventy-third year of his age. Of their children, Alice married. Alexander YOUNG; the eldest son, Ellis, married Elizabeth SAWYER, and their children are Olivia, Annis, Louisa, Edward E. and Sarah S.; Horace Everett married Lucy MCDUFFEE, a remote relative, and their children are Frank and. Alice; Homer S. married Adelaide ROBINSON; and the fourth son, James L. R., married Carrie WOODWARD.

      James WILSON, a native of Londonderry, N. H., was born in 1763. To him belongs the honor of making the first terrestrial and celestial globes in America. He possessed, talents of high order, and his genius or inclination turned to the investigation of the science of astronomy, and included geography; but his circumstances in life compelled him to devote his energies to, farming until he was about thirty-six years of age. In 1796 he removed with, his family to this town and purchased a farm on the Connecticut river about one mile north of the village, which became his permanent home. Here in 1799 he constructed his first globes. These were balls turned from blocks of wood, nicely covered with paper maps, and were heavy and clumsy. He persevered and in time produced them of fine quality. He became a skillful engraver and protracted his maps on copper plates, the impressions from which fitted with perfect accuracy when pasted upon the light but durable hollow paper spheres which he then constructed. In 1814 he personally exhibited to the people of Boston the first American globes which were seen there. He was encouraged in his project by the assurance that they would take all the globes he could furnish. For a time he continued their manufacture on a small scale in this town and in Londonderry, N. H., until about 1815, when, in company with his sons, who inherited from their father like tastes and genius, he established a large manufactory in Albany, N. Y., which continued and flourished for several years. The younger artists who commenced it went to early graves, and the aged father not long after withdrew from business. When past eighty years of age he invented and constructed with his own hands a machine or instrument, which finely illustrates the daily and yearly revolutions of the earth; the cause of the change of seasons; and the sun's place for every day of the year, in the ecliptic. The large copper plate for the printing in constructing this instrument (Wilson's Planetarium) was engraved by Mr. WILSON after he was eighty-three years of age. He died at his home in Bradford, March 22, 1855, at the age of ninety-two years and twelve days.

      Moses SWASEY, Sr., who married a Miss PAGE, was born in Haverhill, Mass. Their son Moses, also born in Haverhill, August 5, 1768, emigrated to Newbury early in life, where he engaged in mechanical business a number of years. Later he bought a farm on the Ox Bow, and continued the mechanical business, cultivating his farm at the same time. He married, at the age of twenty-five years, Miss Elizabeth MERRILL, daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (HAZEN) MERRILL. Nathaniel MERRILL, also a native of Haverhill, where he was born March 2, 1747, emigrated to Newbury when quite a young man and settled on the Ox Bow. In a few years he built a house on his farm across the river, in Haverhill, N. H., where Hubbard EASTMAN now lives, to which he removed, carrying on the farms on both sides of the river. Later Mr. MERRILL sold these farms and removed to the farm where Benjamin Hibbard now lives, in Piermont, N. H., where he resided the remainder of his life. George SWASEY, son of Moses, Jr., was born in Newbury, August 3, 1818, and was educated in the common schools and Newbury seminary. He married, first, December 25, 1844, Miss Louisa LANG, of Bath, N. H., who died December 25, 1881, on the thirty-seventh anniversary of her wedding day. Their children are Elizabeth M., born in Newbury, September .30, 1845, married Joseph POOR, a merchant of Haverhill, where she now resides; and Sherburn L., born March 3, 1850, married Leona A. WORTHEN, of Newbury, and is a druggist and jeweler doing business in his native village. January 18, 1883, George SWASEY married for his second wife Mrs. Mary B. (PARKER) HOLT, of Willington, Conn. After his first marriage he settled on the "Ox Bow," and conducted his fine farm and dealt in agricultural implements, until March, 1867, when he sold the farm and located in the village where he is now engaged in the fire insurance business. Mr. SWASEY is .a member of the Congregational church and has been its clerk for many years. In politics he is a decided Republican but not an "offensive partisan.”

      Dr. Bildad Andross settled in Bradford previous to 1777, and was one of the earliest practicing physicians of the town. May 29, 1777, the town -elected him and Benjamin BALDWIN to attend a convention of delegates at Windsor to take measures to form a state government for Vermont. His wife, Mary S., was an aunt of Dr. Arad STEBBINS, who succeeded Dr. ANDROSS in practice in this town. Their residence was on the lower plain north of the road that leads to Piermont bridge, and near the Connecticut river. Their children were Naomi, Lucy, Cynthia, Mary, Levi Stebbins and John Levi Stebbins ANDROSS, eldest son of the Doctor, married Prudence SPAFFORD, of Fairfax, Franklin county, settled in this town, and they were the parents of .children as follows: Prudence S., Naomi, Mary, Bradstreet and Bildad. Bradstreet married Mary KIMBALL, of this town, and during the summer months, for several years, was engaged in rafting timber down the Connecticut river. One evening at Greenfield, Mass., when he and his companions had secured their raft to the shore, and were about leaving for their hotel, he beard a splash in the water, and, on going to see the cause, discovered a boy helpless and sinking in the river. He unhesitatingly plunged in, seized him, and rescued him from drowning. The boy, when grown to manhood, repeatedly visited Mr. ANDROSS, and after the latter's death presented Mrs. ANDROSS with a silver goblet, on which was engraved, "A tribute of gratitude from John MUNN, rescued from drowning by Bradstreet ANDROSS, A. D., 1816." The five sons and three daughters of Mr. and Mrs. ANDROSS were natives of this town, and were as follows: Stebbins, born October 1, 1813, married Keziah LIBBEY, of Maine, and later removed to New York; Harriet K. (deceased) married John K. HOMER, of Fairlee; Charles L., born August 4, 1818, married Harriet CLARK; Mary S., born September 14, 1820, died at the age of twenty-two years; Col. Dudley K., born September 12, 1823, of whom more will be said hereafter; E. Porter, born December 25, 1825, married Sarah WHITCOMB, served nine months in the late war, in the 15th N. H. Vols., and now resides in Piermont, N. H.; and Moses C., born January 26, 1836, emigrated to California, and engaged in mining. The latter served as United States assistant assessor six years, and as senator in the state legislature four years.

      Col. Dudley K. ANDROSS, before mentioned, was the first man from Bradford to visit California, and there labored successfully in the gold mines for two years. At the call of Governor FAIRBANKS for volunteers, in April, 1861, the Bradford Guards, as a company, responded, and entered the service for three months, with Col. ANDROSS as their chosen captain. They were stationed at Newport News, Va., were engaged in the battle of Big Bethel, June 10, 1361, and were honorably discharged at the expiration of their term of service. Capt. ANDROSS again enlisted, in the 9th Vt. Regt., commanded by Col. STANNARD, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. This regiment was eventually engaged in the unfortunate battle of Harper's Ferry, where 11,500 of the Union forces were taken prisoners. They were sent to Annapolis, Md., and thence on parole to Chicago, where they were employed to guard 3,500 rebel prisoners waiting, like themselves, for an exchange. Lieut.-Col. ANDROSS, for his gallant conduct at this time, was honored with the commission of colonel, and in April, 1863, was duly exchanged, and again engaged in active warfare. Col. ANDROSS resigned his commission and returned home, after an honorable service of two years, and was united in marriage with Mrs. Marcella WASON, widow of George WASON, and daughter of Rev. Horatio HARRIS, by whom he has had two children, viz.: Mary Kimball and Walter HARRIS.

      Ephraim MARTIN, born in Goffstown, N. H., was one of the first settlers in this town. He first located where Bradford village now stands, and owned the lands from along the main street, from the residence of George MCFARLAND to that of Joshua GERRY, and including a large portion of the meadow along Wait's river easterly. He also owned the first grist-mill where the present fine brick mills of J. B. PECKETT now stand. His residence was on the site of what was afterwards the BLISS tavern, and his orchard on the opposite side included the site of the savings bank. His son Jonathan settled where Frank CHAMBERLAIN now lives, where he worked at his trade of carpenter and also engaged in farming. He was married three times. His first wife, a Miss BOWEN, was the mother of six children, viz.: Loraine, Ira, Sally, Christopher, Jonathan and Jacob. His second wife, Dinah BAILEY, bore him eight children, viz.: Benjamin, Susan, Mary, Mehetable, Lydia, William B., Hiram and one who died in infancy. His third wife was Lydia STEARNS, who survived a few years after his death, which occurred in 1832, at the age of eighty-five years. The only survivor of this large family is William B., who resides with his son-in-law. J. F. CUSHMAN, at the great age of eighty-six years.

      William B. MARTIN, mentioned above, married, first, Hannah BANFIELD, with whom he settled in the west part of the town, where he lived fifteen years, when he removed to the place where he now resides. His first wife died in. 1857, and, in 1860, he married Miss Frances J. WILMOT. Of his children, Sarah B. (Mrs. James KELLY), of this town, and Prunella (Mrs. Nelson MARTIN), of Randolph, daughters by his first wife, and Alice A. (Mrs. J. F. CUSHMAN), a daughter by his second wife, are living, the latter on the homestead with her aged parents.

      David WILSON, of Scotch-Irish descent, and brother of James WILSON, the first American globe maker, was born in Londonderry, N. H., December 11, 1768. He married Margaret DOAK, and they came up the Connecticut river in an open boat propelled by oars and a pike-pole, landing in Bradford in June, 1795, settling in the wilderness a little northwest of the summit of Wright's mountain, where he resided about sixty-eight years, dying here February 23, 1863, in the ninety-fifth year of his age. The lot upon which he settled was then considered of so little value that it was sold at auction to pay its charter fees, and was bid off for one bushel of wheat and a gallon of rum. No wagon road across the mountain had been opened at this time, and his first habitation was a log cabin. Many narrow escapes from wild beasts occurred to the early settlers. At one time Mrs. WILSON had set out to visit her sister, Mrs. MCDUFFEE, about one mile distant over the mountain, leading her little son James and carrying David, then a baby, when she was confronted by a huge bear, who was setting in the pathway and disposed to be master of the situation. Mr. Bruin allowed her to return home, however, which she did without much hesitation. On another occasion, a little before harvest time, Mr. WILSON found so much of his wheat trampled down that he concluded his neighbor's hogs had paid it clandestine visits, and decided to keep a sharp lookout for them. A short time after this he saw the grain in rapid motion and ran to drive away the supposed swine, when a bear sprang up before him, then another, and still another. He sprang upon a stump and gave a terrific shout, when the equally terrified bears ran away and left the field in possession of its rightful owner. The first sheep he had he brought from Newbury, and as it had become nearly dark before he got over the mountain, the wolves howled around him in pursuit of his little flock. He reached home in safety, however, but before morning he heard an uproar that convinced him the wolves were among his sheep. He was not mistaken, and bravely went to their rescue, succeeding in driving the wolves off, but not before they had killed and partially devoured three of his choicest sheep. As soon as he had cleared land enough, Mr. WILSON planted the largest orchard in that part of the state, chiefly grafted trees, from which he harvested from 100 to 175 barrels of choice apples annually. He sold a great many young fruit trees, thus promoting fruit growing in this and adjoining towns. He served his town gratuitously as selectman for six or seven years, and officiated as justice of the peace fifteen years. He was constant in attendance at the Freemen's meetings for more thin sixty years, always voting. He was always opposed to slavery, and his patriotism born with him and inspired in his youth by the stirring times of the Revolution, ceased only at his death. Mrs. WILSON died March 6, 1853, about ten years before her husband, aged eighty-three years. Their children were Robert, William, James, David, Fanny, Samuel, and John. The latter was born August 11, 1806, married Nancy COCKRAN, June 29, 1834, and their children were Mary W., Byron B., Persis A., John D. and Boyd H.

      Byron B. WILSON, mentioned above, was born November 18, 1836. He enlisted in the War for the Union, September 5, 1861, for three years service, or until the close of the war, and was with the 4th Regt. Vt. Vols., participating in several bloody battles. On one occasion he wrote: "No friend of mine shall blush to think I feared or failed to meet the foe." This patriotic and talented young man was instantly killed at the battle of the Wilderness, May 5, 1864, a bullet passing through his head.

      Boyd H. WILSON owns and occupies the old homestead, which has been in the possession of the WILSON family since 1795. Mrs. John WILSON died June 20, 1885, aged eighty years.

      Capt. Ezekiel SAWYER was born May 9, 1743, removed from Rowley, Mass. to Bradford about 1795, and purchased the farm on the Connecticut river which is now owned and occupied by his grandson, Dea. John H. SAWYER, where he resided to the close of his life, January 13, 1817. Mary (PAYSON) SAWYER, his wife, died July 6, 1819. They were parents of four sons and seven daughters. Their son John, born October 27, 1786, married Lydia W. DIKE, of this town, March 19, 1816, and they spent their days on the old homestead. Of their children, Mary Dike, born February 27, 1817, married Dea. George BURROUGHS, of Newbury; John Hiram, born November 22, 1818, married Sarah HIBBARD, of Piermont, N. H., and as before stated, resides on the homestead; Emily Payson, born in January, 1822, married Charles P. BLANCHARD, September 3, 1862, and removed to Concord, N. H.; Henry Ezekiel, born February 2, 1824, married Amanda CHAMBERLIN, and removed to Chicago, where he now lives; Lydia, born June 13, 1826, has lived in the vicinity of Boston several years; Joseph, born April 24, 1829, married Susan SAWYER, of Newbury, February 14, 1865, removed to Chicago and engaged in the livery business; Elizabeth, born September 14, 183x, married Ellis MCDUFFEE, of this town; Edward, born February 20, 1837, resides in Chicago, and is engaged in the express business; Jane, born February 20, 1837, married E. ROBIE, of this town. John Hiram SAWYER, in addition to his farming interest, carried freight to and from Boston up to 1848, his team consisting of eight horses with a huge wagon carrying eight tons. This industry he abandoned when the Passumpsic railroad was built, and was engaged as a contractor in its construction until 1854. Since November 10, 1871, Mr. SAWYER has officiated as deacon of the Congregational church of Bradford. He has also held the position of selectman, is a man of sterling worth, a good citizen and an obliging neighbor.

A History of Bradford, Vermont, by Silas McKeen 1791-1877

Bradford, Vermont Library

Bradford Historical Society

Bradford Township, Orange County