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

      WASHINGTON lies in the northwestern part of the county in latitude 44° 4' and longitude 4° 35', and is bounded north by Orange, east by Corinth, south by Chelsea, and west by Williamstown. It was granted by Vermont, November 6, 1780, and chartered to Maj. Elisha BURTON and sixty-four others, August 8, 1781, and contained 23,040 acres. The territory embraced in this charter was granted by New York by the name of Kingsland, and was constituted the shire town of the county of Gloucester. The grant was made previous to May 29, 1770, probably to William KELLEY and others, and embraced about 24,000 acres. A number of sessions of the court of Quarterly Sessions, and the court of Common Pleas of Gloucester county, were held here previous to 1771, after which they were held in Newbury and Thetford. At the time the last effort was made to hold court in this town, the "court" got lost in the woods, as the following record of very ancient proceedings show: 

      The first meeting of the proprietors under the charter was held June 25, 1783, at the house of Major BURTON, in Norwich, Vt., when Col. John HOUSE was chosen moderator, and Albert CURTIS, Esq., treasurer. A committee consisting of Timothy BUSH, Oliver WILLIAMS, John SLAFTER, Phineas POWERS and Joel MATTHEWS was appointed to "begin a survey of said town and lay out 100-acre lots." They voted to raise a tax of $2 on each right of 300 acres to defray the expense of surveying, and it was to be paid on the first of September following. Maj. SAFFORD was chosen to collect this tax. It was also voted, "as soon as the aforementioned lots shall be laid out any proprietor shall have liberty to go on and pitch any one of said, lots, which shall be appropriated to him, his heirs and assigns forever, provided lie begin and effect a settlement on the same as the charter directs, within twelve months after said lots are laid out." At a meeting of the proprietors held June 15, 1784, it was voted to give Mr. Daniel MOSS 100 acres in the undivided lands as a donation for his moving his family into town first. At thee same meeting it was also voted to give "one lot for benefit of building first saw-mill," with the proviso that the owner must keep the mill in good repair for six years.

      The following petition for the first town meeting was addressed to Thomas PORTER, Esq., of Vershire, and was signed by Eber BLAKESLEE, Silas PEASLEE, Eleazer BARTHOLOMEW, Abel SKINNER, Gideon SMITH, Bela TRACY, Beriah SKINNER, Phineas WRIGHT, Jacob BURTON, town clerk, and others: 

      In 1809 a turnpike was built from Chelsea, the county seat, through Washington to Montpelier, and this was the mail route from Hanover, N. H., to Montpelier. The first mail was carried by General WASHBURN, on horseback. He also carried the newspapers in saddle-bags, and on nearing a house would blow a loud blast on a tin horn and throw out his papers. This continued for only a short time, when a stage line was started.

      On looking through the town records many things are observed that seem strange to the present generation, among which are the records of "ear-marks," of which the following is a sample:

      The scenery, while not majestic, is pleasing in a high degree. There are ,no natural ponds, a feature in which this town differs from most others situated on the height of land between river systems.

      The first burials in town were in the old cemetery near the center of the town, and which is not now in use. Sarah BLISS, wife of Samuel BLISS, was buried here in April, 1789; Lydia INGHAM, in January, 1802; Maj. John STONE, in December, 1807; and Bashaba WHITE, wife of Thaddeus WHITE, in February, 1809.

      Among the first clergymen to hold services in the town the records show that Benjamin K. HOYT was ordained June 3, 1813, by Rev. William M. KENDIE, bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church at Colchester, Conn. He came here soon after his ordination. In 1815 Amasa TAYLOR, also a Methodist, located here. Revs. Nathaniel BOLLES and George HACKETT were located here about 1815 and 1816.

      The first physician to settle here was a Dr. STYLES, who located near the center of the town. He was followed successively by Drs. EMMONS, BLODGET, FOSTER, BURTON, BRALEY, FIELDS, FIELDS, JR., BAILEY, SCRIBNER and Charles NEWCOMB, the latter still a practitioner here, and to whom we are indebted for much valuable information.

      The population of Washington in 1880 was 922. In 1886 the town had twelve school districts and an equal number of common schools, taught during the year by three male and seventeen female teachers, who received an average weekly salary, including board, of $6.50 and $3.96 respectively. There were 186 scholars, four of whom were attending private schools. The entire income for school purposes was $1,192.01, while the total expenditures were $1,312.47, with H. G. CARPENTER, superintendent.

      The first settlement in the town was commenced in 1785, by Daniel MORSE, who was soon joined by his brother, John MORSE. A son of John MORSE was the first child born in the town, and received from the proprietors fifty acres of land in consequence. The population increased but slowly, and it appears that many of the inhabitants, soon after the courts left the town, abandoned it also.

      Capt. Eleazer BARTHOLOMEW, one of the first settlers, located about two, miles southeast of the present village. In making his first chopping he lived under a large, shelving rock, which helped to form a sort of cave. Here he lived until his log house was finished and ready for occupancy. It is related that on one occasion Gov. CHITTENDEN started on foot for Newbury, then the state capital, and night overtaking him at Capt. BARTHOLOMEW's, he begged a. night's lodging of him, without making known who he was. The Captain consented to keep him provided he would be satisfied with a bunk on the floor, which the Governor readily accepted. During the night a terrific thunder shower came up, and an old sow with a litter of pigs, not knowing that she were intruding upon so distinguished a guest, rooted open the door, and, with her numerous progeny, proceeded to share the Governor's couch. In the morning His Excellency awoke before the other inmates of the cabin, discovered who his bed fellows were, and, laying twenty-five cents upon the table, started on his journey. The next day Mr. BARTHOLOMEW concluded to go to Newbury to election, and seeing his guest of the previous night at the head of the procession, asked who he was; and, being told, said. "I guess I won't have anything to say if he don't." But it was too good to keep, and the Governor told how he was compelled to sleep with the swine in Washington, and it was the subject of many a joke during the legislature.

      Bether BARTHOLOMEW, a nephew of Capt. Eleazer, came here with his uncle. He married Rachel BARRON, daughter of Lieutenant BARRON, and reared a large family of children. One of his sons, Bether Willard, who resided in Washington, never married. He accumulated a large fortune, dying in 1873. He held various offices of trust, and represented the town in both branches of the legislature. He was president of the Orange County National bank for several years, and was a thorough business man.

      Thaddeus WHITE was born in Spencer, Worcester county, Mass., about 1760. When but sixteen years of age he enlisted in the Colonial army, and served as one of the "picked men” under General LaFayette. He was twice married, first to the widow of Lieut. BARRON, about 1786, by whom he had five children, George, Polly, Betsey, Charles and Bashaba. He married for his second wife Rebecca GLEASON, who bore him four children, viz.: Maria, Thaddeus Gleason, John Bradshaw, and Heman Allen. George, a son by his first wife, married Irene DICKINSON; Polly married Joseph BOWLES; Betsey married Thomas BROWN and removed to New York, where she died; Charles never married, but lived in this town all his life, accumulated a handsome property, and died in 1869; Bashaba married John BEARD, and by him had four children; Maria died in 1839.

      Thaddeus G. WHITE, son of Thaddeus, married Esther CALEF, in 1841, and had born to him two sons and two daughters, as follows  Delia Maria, born August 22, 1843, resides in Montpelier; John Wayland, born March 14, 1845, married Jane E. PEPPER; Flora W., born August 28, 1846, married E. C. SMITH and lives in Williamstown; Heman G., born May 12, 1849, married Alice SHAW, and lives in Denver, Col. Thaddeus G. has lived in this town all his life and has been honored by his townsmen with many offices of trust, having served as representative during the terms of 1852 and 1853.

      William HUNTINGTON, born in Lebanon, Conn., came to Washington from Hartford, Conn., about 1795, first locating in the then forest where the village of Washington now is, later purchasing land and locating upon the hill east of the village. His wife was Elizabeth DERBY, sister of Jedediah DERBY who settled in Lyme, N. H. His eldest son, William, was born in 1796, his first ten children being born on the farm where he first located, now the site of Washington village, and three after he located on the hill. He served as selectman, representative, etc., and died aged about eighty-eight. Of his children, William M. is a farmer; Benjamin died at the age of twenty-four, Cyrus in infancy, and Nathaniel at the age of eighteen; Dana, Warren and Harry are farmers, and John is a carpenter.

      Ezra PEPPER came from Worcester or Braintree, Mass., to Washington, soon after 1800, locating about a mile southwest from Washington village, where he reared a family of three sons and five daughters, dying in Williamstown. His wife was Sally BELL. He was a volunteer at the battle of Plattsburgh, and afterwards received a land warrant for his services. His children were Sophronia, who married Samuel LADD; Lucy, who became the wife of Daniel PEASLEE; Willard; Eliza, the wife of Caleb EMORY; Warren, who wedded with Susan BEARD, has three daughters, served three years in the Rebellion, and is a resident of this town; Mary (Mrs. WHITNEY), and Lyman. Willard A. PEPPER, the present postmaster at Washington, is a grandson of Willard.

      Shubael SMITH, born in Rehoboth, Mass., in 1762, came from Grafton, N. H., to Washington, about 1794, where he reared a family of five sons, viz.: Shubael, Jr., Barak, Zenas, Cyrus and Eleazer. He served in the Revolution, and attained the age of nearly ninety-two years. Shubael, Jr., passed his life in this town, where he married and reared two sons, Wait S. and Daniel, and several daughters. Barak, who died at the age of ninety-four, was a farmer, married Mehetable JONES, and resided in the northwest corner of the town, where he reared one son, Abel J., and two daughters, Elizabeth (widow of John HUNTINGTON), and Lydia (Mrs. Warren HUNTINGTON). Cyrus passed most of his life in this town. Zenas married, reared two sons and two daughters, and died in Topsham. Eleazer married Anna PETERS, of Bradford, removed to Haverhill and later to Wentworth, N. H., where he died. He was a hotel-keeper for fifty years. Wait S. SMITH married Smilaxa CHENEY, was a carpenter, and did much building in the vicinity of Washington village, dying at the age of seventy-three. He was the father of four sons and four daughters, three of the sons, Shubael, D. P., and Cyrus H., serving in the late war, where Shubael died.

      Fifield BOHONAN was born in Salisbury, N. H., June 5, 1 785. He removed to this town when very young, where he died November 5, 1865. Of his family of fourteen children, -- six boys and eight girls, -- four sons and two daughters are living. One son, Alpheus G., born December 3, 1812, moved onto his present farm, which is in the central part of the town, more than twenty years ago. On this farm was the site of the old log jail, of which we speak in another place. Mr. BOHONAN married Henrietta C. GODFREY, in 1842, by whom he has had six children, equally divided as to sex, as follows Alba F., Harriet C., Henrietta M., Charles M., George A. and Cora A. Mr. BOHONAN has a fine farm of 210 acres, well stocked, and under a good state of cultivation. Alba F., who is an equal owner in the farm with his father, enlisted in Co. D, 12th Vt. Vols., for nine months, and in Co. I, 9th Vt. Vols., for three years, or during the war. He served his country faithfully, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war.

      Rev. H. F. DICKY was born in Topsham in 1809. He began his labors in the ministry in North Orange, in 1843, and was ordained in 1847. He labored in East Orange twelve years, in New Hampshire ten years, when he removed to Washington, where he has since resided. He married and reared a family of four children, two sons and two daughters. Of his sons, Chester DICKY was elected justice of the peace in the town of Orange, in 1860, and has since acceptably filled that office with the exception of about two weeks, during which time he was a resident of this town. He was county judge from 1874 to 1876, has been lister two years, selectman seven years, overseer of the poor two years, and has held other offices of trust in the town and county. He has been married four times, his present wife being Mary Jane DIVOLL, and has had born to him five children, four of whom are living.

      Ichabod E. WORTHLEY was born in 1806, and removed to this town in 1830. He married Clarissa EMERY, of this town, in 1827, by whom he had two children, a son and a daughter, the latter of whom is dead. The son, William E., is proprietor of the popular Washington House. Mr. WORTHLEY is one of the oldest residents of the town, and is highly respected by all.

      Henry GODFREY became a resident of this town in 1807, when he was but four years of age, his parents removing here from Fairlee. In 1825 he married Elizabeth LITTLE, of Chelsea, who bore him three sons and three daughters. In 1826 he removed to Hardwick, Caledonia county, where he bought and cleared land, and made for himself a comfortable home in the then wilderness country. Here he remained for ten years, when he removed to Chelsea, where he remained but one year, when he again located in this town. From 1858 to 1868 he resided in Wisconsin, since which time he has resided in Washington. He has held nearly all the offices of trust in the gift of his townsmen.

      Joseph CALEF, one of the early pioneers of this town, located here in October, 1794, and pitched upon a farm about one mile and a half west of the village, where he, resided until his death, in July, 1824. He reared a family of eleven children. Cutting S., son of Joseph, was born November 27, 1796. He was twice married, his second wife being Martha H. PAINE, whom he married in 1822, and who bore him twelve children, as follows: Ezra P., who resides in Illinois; Alden D., in Boston; Elmer N., in Oregon; George, in Providence, R. I.; Cutting S., Jr., and Martha N. are dead; and Harrison W., Ira C., Quincy O., Mariette A., Lucie A. and John F. are residents of this town.

      Cutting C. CHENEY was born in this county. February 10, 1846, he was married to Sarah CURTIS, of Orange, and in March of the same year he removed to this town, where he has since resided. He has had born to him six children, as follows: Lorette E., Orville S., Clara E., Flora E., Lucy A. and Delia L., all of whom are living except Clara E„ who died September 9, 1872. Lucy A. is the wife of W. E. WORTHLEY, proprietor of the Washington House. Mr. CHENEY has, through industry and economy, accumulated a competency, having a well stocked farm of 175 acres in a fine state of cultivation.

      N.C. TAYLOR was born in this town, married Miss L. N. LORD, of Orange, by whom he has had one child, a daughter, born in October, 1880. Mr. TAYLOR has represented the town in the state legislature, and has held many other .offices of trust in the gift of his townsmen.

      The Universalist church, located in the central part of the village of Washington, was organized in 1836. John E. PALMER was the first pastor. Their first house of worship, the present frame building, was erected in 1848, at a cost of $2,600, about its present value. It will comfortably seat 300 persons. There are twenty-four families in the parish, under the pastoral charge of Rev. J. F. RHOADES, of Barre, who preaches here on alternate Sabbaths. The Sunday-school has an average attendance of sixty.

      The Union church, owned by the Methodists, Congregationalists and Freewill Baptists, was built in 1848 and will comfortably seat about 200 persons. The first settled Baptist minister was Gillman SANBORN; the present one is Rev. Mr. CROSS. At an earlier date there were two churches built, one in 1823, located one mile from the present village and called the Union church, and one in 1824, by the Congregationalists, located in the southern part of the town. These have both been torn down, and a new one was erected in the southern part of the town about twenty years ago. 

Gazetteer Of Orange County, Vt. 1762-1888.
Compiled And Published by Hamilton Child,
The Syracuse Journal Company, Printers and Binders. 
Syracuse, N. Y., 1888.
Page 499-506.

Transcribed by Karima Allison ~ 2004