Hartland News, Vermont Journal, June 24, 1884

John SPEAR, one day last week, hitched his horse, with buggy attached, at Labaree’s store, by the wrong end of the driving reins, thus making it easy for the animal to take a circle round the hitch-post. Seeing the opportunity, the horse improved it. Wheelwright RUSSELL put in a new reach, thill, and cross-bar, and the buggy was again in running order.

The business of the Vermont Farm Machine Company, as we are informed by an officer of the company, was $140, 000 for the past year. The recent fire was confined to the old wood building and only caused a suspension of work for two or three days. The last order sent by general agent BATES, only last week, was numbered 24704.

Mrs. Prescott WRIGHT of Pepperell, Mass., daughter of Lewis PATRICK, an old time resident of the Forur Corners, has made a recent visit among her many friends and relatives in this town and Windsor, where all were pleased to welcome back to ttheir homes one so well and favorably remembered. Mrs. WRIGHT is a sister of O. L. and N. W. PARTRICK, of Windsor.

W. R. STURTEVANT, as executor of the estate of Sam’l CONANT of this town, sold at the house of Albert AIKENS, in Barnard, June 12, the following named real estate, 82 acres pasture, mowing and woodland to A. B. STEWART for $300, and 12 acres woodland, not easily reached, for $10 to Elmer F. ABBOTT.

Delegates to the republican convention at Montpelier, June 18: A. A. MARTIN, O. W.WALDO, J. H. EASTMAN.

The Methodist parsonage has been much improved in appearance by moving the barn.

John HARDING, of White River Junction was in town last week with two more stones for Hartland cemetery. One of Italian marble, was set over the remains of Mrs. Cyrus W. ROGERS, and the other, of Tennessee marble, over the remains of E. W. PERRY. This cemetery owes much of its best work to Mr. HARDING.

The old historic brook, that winds around the green slopes and through the rich meadows of Hartland village, has yielded uncommonly satisfactory results to the fishermen of late, and the honors are about even with H. L. DICKINSON, F. C. CARPENTER, Geo. DAVIS and Julius LAMB. But the best of all is, two little girls, Florence STURTEVANT and Addie BRITTON, took it into their heads that they “would a-fishing go,” and after a brief stay at
the brook they came home, each with a half pound trout, less but a very small fraction.

Taylor ALEXANDER, a well known citizen residing in Hartland village, was married the 11th inst to Miss Martha E. PIERCE, of Claremont, N. H. The marriage services were performed at the house of Judge E. VAUGHN, in Claremont village, by Rev. Frank A. THOMPKINS.

The young men of this village have organized a skating rink which is to be known as The Hartland Skating club. The officers are: Elmer SLADE, president;  W. T. RICHARDSON,  Secretary and Treasurer; Building Committee, Jesse V. JOHNSON and Frank P. MARTIN.

George F. STURTEVANT is painting his house in this village. The color, formerly pea green, is to be pure white. Frank, his son, is putting a part of his summer vacation to good use by doing the work.

During this writing several artists are engaged in applying “Brandon brown” to the outside surface of WALDO & DICKINSON’s block.

Good specimens of carriage work were taken from WALDO’s paint shop this week. Among these was the covered carriage of H. B WATRISS and a buggy belonging to A. C. MARCY, both of the Four Corners. WALDO has been obliged to keep two or three men a part of the time tokeep out of the way of his orders. A. A. MARTIN has work enough for one painter nearly all the time.

Mrs. F. P. BARSOW is not altoghether pleased with her pure blood stock of swine, introduced on the farm by her son, the Judge, while on a visit here from California. She has had no increase in the herd owing to the pig-eating proclivities of the mother who, for two succeeding years, has swallowed the whole of the progeny as soon as born.

One day last week, while planing hard wood plank at the mill of MARTIN & STICKNEY, the cutter, revolving at an uncommonly high rate of speed, burst into three parts, the fragments being projected with fearful velocity by the heads of F. P. MARTIN and Charles BAILY who were tending the machine at the time.

June 8, rye stands on the farm of J. C. HOLT 5 feet 4 inches, as shown in the news room by his son J. H. HOLT.

The young men interested in the skating rink at Martinsville, have organized under the name of The First Skating Rink Association of hartland. The officers are: A. A. MARTIN, Pres.; John STRONG, Secretary and Treasurer:  Lucian SMALL, Geo. SPAULDING and A. E. HILL, business committee.

Transcribed by Ruth Barton

Hartland News, Vermont Tribune, March 29, 1889

A. L. DAVIS has purchased the Silas WILDER farm on Densmore hill, paying therefor $500.

Mrs. BARSTOW’s farm at the Four Corners has been sold to Frank E. KING of Lebanon, N. H., for $4,500. The family have moved in.

Curtis FLOWERS and Marvin WHITCOMB have just bought, cut and drawn an elm tree from A. L. DAVIS’ farm , which yielded over five cords of wood.

John P. STILSON has hired the Dan SEAVER farm in West Windsor and will soon move on it.

Mr. RICHARDSON of Olcott Falls has moved into Mrs. SUMNER’s house. Mrs. SUMNER goes to Hartford, Conn., to live with her daughter.

Mrs. Ellen B. KETCHUM and son Henry leave, Wednesday, for Denver, Col. Charles BACKUS, who has been in their employ the past year, is to accompany them.

The Methodist Seminary at Montpelier will have as students from this town, during the next term, A. C. STEVENS, Miss Mary STEVENS, and Miss Gertrude SMITH.

Miss Carrie E. PERRY is home from Middletown Springs, stopping at J. H. EMERSON’s.

Allen SLADE of Proctor is stopping at B. F. LABARREE’s.

Milo HEADLE, a well-known teacher, is at home with his father, R. W. HEADLE.

Mrs. L. WHITMORE and son Frank, from Nebraska, are visiting at J. A. McARTHUR’s.

Abbie JONES is home from Haverhill, Mass.

Mrs. LAWRENCE and daughter Lottie, of Malden, Mass., are spending a few weeks with C. V. N. WINSLOW.

The concert given a Pavilion hall by the “little old folks” was a decided success. The only bad thing about it was sore sides from laughing.

Mrs. E. S. SLADE of Proctor is at her old home in this village.

Mrs. Will SPAULDING of St. Albans is at George SPAULDING’s.

Mrs. Oliver BROTHERS died very suddenly at North Hartland, last week, at the age of 76 years. She retired in good health at night and was dead in the early morning.

A little grandchild of Amon ROYCE died of pneumonia, last week, aged three months.

Mrs. Catherine SHEPARD died last Wednesday and was buried Saturday, Rev. C. M. CARPENTER officiating.

William SHORT, for many years a farmer in this town, but who has of late been with his daughter in Concord, N. H., died in that city and was brought here for burial, the 16th.

Mrs. Huldah HAMMOND died at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Z. WALKER, Tuesday night, funeral on Thursday. There are many more sick, and it seems as if the death angel was hovering over this town.

The snow is fast disappearing and the traveling is quite good in some places; on the hills the mud is deep yet. The blue birds, robins and ground birds, are again with us telling us spring has come once more.

Miss Luna JOHNSON has gone to Sunapee to work for Mrs. MARTIN.

Miss Alice SPAULDING has gone to Claremont, N. H., to work in a millinery store.

Charles St. CLAIR has moved from Martinville to Mrs. LADD’s house on the plains.

Transcribed by Ruth Barton

Hartland News, Vermont Tribune, June 28, 1889

George D. WOOD of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, is with his mother at the Four Corners.

Grand list of 1889: Real estate, $5,807.93; personal, 1578.11; polls, $750; total, $8,136.06. The list for 1888 was: Real $5,782.70; personal, $1,709.06; polls, $756; total, $8,247.76.

Fred E. CRANDALL has been engaged, the past week, in placing guide-boards along the highways through the town. No excuse now for anyone to get lost.

A new bridge has just been completed across Lull brook, near A. A. MARTIN’s shop.

Dr. D. F. RUGG is attending the American Medical Association in Newport, R. I., this week.

Dr. S. E. STEVENS can be found at the residence of Nathaniel GILSON, near the depot.

The remains of William ALLEN, better known as “Father ALLEN,” were buried from his late home near Hartland Falls, Sunday, the 16th, Rev. C. M. CARPENTER officiating. The large gathering of friends and neighbors testified to the love and respect in which he was held as a citizen. He was 82 years of age.

A horse owned by Frank GILBERT, valued at $200, was recently so terribly cut by wire fence in the pasture that it was found necessary to kill him.

The factory at North Hartland has closed for a short time.

Misses Gertie SMITH and Mary STEVENS are home from Montpelier Seminary.

Transcribed by Ruth Barton

Hartland News, Vermont Tribune, July 26, 1889

Rev. Allen HAZEN has moved with his family into the Congregational parsonage, and now preaches regularly. He is liked very much.

Rev. C. M. CARPENTER and family are away on their annual vacation, at Lynn, Mass.

Mrs. FARNSWORTH and daughter May, and Miss Adele CHAPIN of Leominster, Mass., are at Albourne LULL’s.

Mr. and Mrs. Elmer S. SLADE of Proctor, and Dr. Charles SMITH of Dakota, are at P. B. SMITH’s.

Mrs. E. E. ESTERBROOK of Lowell, Mass., is at Albert GIBSON’s.

Miss Florence HEMENWAY and Miss May SHORT are at Oscar HEMINWAY’s.

Geo. HOYT, wife and child, are at M. C. HARLOW’s.

Fred E. HARLOW and wife of Cleveland, Ohio, are at his father’s — Nathan HARLOW.

Mrs. Jane GOVE of Springfield, Mass., is visiting her many friends in this place.

Mrs. Clarence HARRIMAN and daughter Florence, of North Walpole, N. H., visited at Geo. A. DUNBAR’s the past week.

Mrs. George H. FLETCHER, vocal teacher and soloist, of Boston, is at L. A. SHEDD’s for the summer.

Mrs. Alice BENJAMIN, accompanied by Dr. RUGG, was taken to the insane asylum at Brattleboro last week, Monday.

Haying is progressing very slowly, on account of the wet weather.

Ethan GILES, while loading hay, Monday afternoon, dropped dead on the load; from heart-disease.

Mrs. George LEONARD who has been sick a long time with consumption, died Tuesday morning; and Miss Lena PERKINS died Tuesday afternoon; making three deaths in twenty-four hours.

Transcribed by Ruth Barton

Hartland News, Vermont Tribune, June 21, 1889

A. E. GILSON, the noted farmer and gardener, at Hartland Falls, is first in the market with peas and strawberries.

E. A. GILES has been allowed a pension of $8 per month and arrearages of $344.

The Hartland drum-corps gave W. R. STURTEVANT a very pleasant serenade, Friday evening of last week, and duly installed him as postmaster at the village. The compliment was handsomely returned by the official, the corps being invited inside the house, where vocal music with piano accompaniment, and an abundance of the best coffee and cake, formed a pleasant supplement to the outside performance.

George MARCY has, by common consent among all his brother farmers, the best field of corn to be found within the town limits. It was planted the second day of May.

A. A. MARTIN and Julius LAMB have gone on their annual fishing-trip to Sunapee Lake, N. H.

The few services held by Rev. Allen HAZEN in the Congregational church have made a good impression here. May he find it pleasant to labor and live in the midst of this people.

Albert A. STURTEVANT, whose business headquarters are New York city and Chicago, arrived at his home in this village, last week Monday, for a short time.

Mr. and Mrs. William YORK and Charles DUTTON have gone to Nantucket Beach, Mass., as saloonist.

C. V. N. WINSLOW and C. A. STURTEVANT have bought of Arthur ALEXANDER his interest in the wheelwright-shop, and will continue the business.

Wilson BRITTON is in Boston, this week, on business.

Transcribed by Ruth Barton

Hartland News, Vermont Tribune, March 15, 1889

Town Meeting Results

Moderator, J. H. EASTMAN; clerk, W. R. STURTEVANT; selectmen, Asa WEED, J. H. EASTMAN, C. C. GATES; listers, E. S. AINSWORTH, Geo. W. SPEAR, Wilson BRITTON; auditors, E. S. AINSWORTH, W. R. STURTEVANT, B. F. LABAREE; street commissioners, selectmen; treasurer, E. W. BILLINGS; overseer, C. P. BURK; agent, E. M. GOODWIN; constable, J. S. SLEEPER; grand juror, A. J. WEED; trustee U. S. revenue, E. W. BILLINGS; school board, D. F. RUGG. Transcribed by Ruth Barton

Hartland News, Vermont Tribune, August 9, 1889

George P. EASTMAN has been appointed town grand jury-man in place of Ira J. WEED, resigned.

George P. STURTEVANT of Hartford, Conn., in stopping a few days in town.

Leslie HATCH, wife and child, are at M. BALCH’s.

J. M. M RICHARDSON and family have left town and gone to Barre.

Charles and Elliott HOWARD of Brooklyn, N. Y., are at L. A. SHEDD’s.

John C. BOYNTON and W. E. BRITTON were the only ones in this town, out of sixty tickets sold, to draw prizes at the Montpelier fair–the former a cash prize of two dollars, the latter a family jewelry case.

About thirty took in the excursion to Providence Island, last Tuesday, and all report a good time.

Rev. C. M. CARPENTER and family returned to their home, last Saturday, after a three weeks vacation.

Rev. Wm. H. RUGG, wife and son, of Perkinsville, are guests at Dr. RUGG’s this week.

Mrs. Dr. FULLER, children and servant, of Brooklyn, N. Y., are stopping at B. F. LABAREE’s.

Mr. CRANS, the popular station-agent at this place, leaves here, this week, and goes to Swanton. He will be missed very much by many friends.

Rev. C. M. CARPENTER has tendered his resignation to the M. E. church, to take effect the first of September.

Transcribed by Ruth Barton

Daniel Willard – Historically Speaking

150 years ago, on Jan 28, 1861, one of Hartland’s most famous sons, Daniel Willard was born in North Hartland. His ancestors were here at the very birth of this town.

He went to the church still standing in No. Hartland and attended school in a building on the green. At fifteen he taught in a one room school where he met Mrs. Samuel Taylor, who was to influence his entire life. She taught him to love books and he was ever after an ardent reader. Daniel attended a term and a half at Windsor High School and wanted terribly to attend Dartmouth College, but couldn’t afford it. He did attend Mass. State Agriculture College In Amherst for a time but had to give it up because of poor eyesight.

Running through the family farm were the tracks of the Vermont Central Railroad, and young Dan’s imagination was fired by the idea of piloting one of those shiny, wood-burning engines, especially the old Governor Smith which he never ceased to love.

At eighteen, Daniel got his first job on the railroad on a section gang at 90 cents a day, for 10 hours, on the Vermont Central. He soon went to the Connecticut and Passumpsic where he was a fireman. He weighed only 125 lbs but managed to feed the old engine the 10 to 12 cords of wood she consumed in a long day. At nineteen, he was an engineer on the line, respected by the men he worked with for his burning ambition and keen mind. He always had a good book in his pocket.

Soon after this he was lured to the level track and higher pay of a western road, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. This proved temporary and he went to the Minneapolis and Sault St. Marie which was being built. Here he became trainmaster and in fourteen years was superintendent. From here he went to the Baltimore and Ohio, then to Erie, then operating V.P. of the Burlington and Quincy then back to the B&O as President, a job he kept from then on.
Willard understood the problems of workers and fought for their interests. Against the desires of many another President he helped to get an 8 hour day. He remembered only too well the times he had fallen asleep and bumped a train in front of him when he had been forced to operate beyond the limit of human endurance.
Besides President of the B&O, he became Chairman of the Advisory Commission of the Council of National Defense in WW1. It was made of distinguished men such as Bernard Baruch and others and the War Industries Board.

Daniel fought off a serious strike and organized the RR Presidents to try to fight off government ownerships which worked for a while. President Wilson did take over while Willard continued his war job.
At the end of the war, the B&O had to be built up again from near bankruptcy and later fought the great depression. He was no longer a young man, but took on such jobs as member of the board of Johns Hopkins University and this self educated man finally became president of the board.

In 1937, the B&O held the “Fair of the Iron Horse”, a great entertainment and show of railroading past and present. That kept Willard from speaking at the Hartland celebration of the sesquicentennial of Vermont but he had not forgotten Hartland. In his last years he visited his old home and asked to see the old steep back stairs he had remembered from early boyhood.

Taken from unknown source… Maybe a speech. C.Y.M.

Reprinted from the Vermont Standard, 2012, “Historically Speaking” by Carol Mowry.

Katherine Isabel Hay (Hayes) – Historically Speaking

A few years ago, Connie Tessier and I were going through some papers at the Hartland Historical Society when we came upon a packet of letters to “My Dear Lass”, signed with the above initials. Eventually we discovered that the initials belonged to one of the most outstanding women of the 19th (and 20th) century. Katherine Isabel Hay or Hayes lived in Hartland from infancy to the age of 12. She first married William Wilberforce Chapin, a missionary in India. They sailed with a cargo of ice in Jan. 1864 to Bombay. He died in India in March of 1865 and in Sept. she set sail alone for home. She then married Congressman Rev. Samuel Barrows.

There is a biography “So much in a Lifetime” by Madeline Stern and a section for her in the book, “We the Women; Career Firsts of the 19th Century America”. Isabel was the first woman to attend the University of Vienna Medical School (she had to learn the language, as well);the first to perform eye surgery in the U.S.; the first woman ophthalmologist and the first woman to work as a stenographer on Capitol Hill – for William Seward. She was a lecturer at Howard University and a pioneer penologist.

Isabel collaborated in writing “The Little Grandmother of the Russian Revolution with Alice Stone Blackwell and wrote a biography, “A Sunny Life”,of her husband. Samuel June Barrows was a pastor in Dorchester, Mass.- and edited “The Christian Register, a Unitarian weekly. In 1895 he was appointed by President Cleveland to represent the U.S. on the International Prison Commission.

Isabel’s father, Dr. Henry Hay was convinced to come to Hartland from Irasburg to set up a medical practice. The family lived in Hartland from 1847 to 1858. Because there were no boys for boys work, and because there were two older girls to help their mother, Isabel became the boy of the family. She did the boys chores and accompanied her father on his medical rounds. She was home schooled. She remembers her first day here, under a plum tree.

Tolstoy said to me this summer when we were visiting him in Russia (she learned Russian also). Whether I shall know myself for myself after death I know not. Nor do I, but I know the exact moment I knew myself for myself in this life. It was in the Fall of 1847, out under the plum tree in the garden. Our new home on the hill was our very own. We lived in it as long as we remained in Hartland and it was disposed of after my father’s death. It stood on a plateau that broke a beautiful hill which was crowned with a grove of beautiful pines. The view from the hill was exquisite. Mt. Ascutney was only 10 miles away and the valley of the Connecticut swept down toward the east. Beyond it lay the hills of New Hampshire, that ungodly state (I don’t make this stuff up. C.Y.M.) as it seemed to me as a child because they allowed liquor to be sold there and the vote was democratic. From that time the two things have seemed to me to go together.

One day while playing in the yard Isabel remembers, “A big man leaning on the fence broke into our fun by saying, ‘What game is that you are playing?’ I explained it to him and he said it was a very nice way to play for he had been watching us, though we had not seen him and, ‘Are you Mrs. Hay’s little children?’ he asked. ‘Run and tell your mother that Henry Ward Beecher would like to see her’. Mr Beecher had lectured the night before in Woodstock and stopped to call on my mother, with whom he had had a correspondence and who had heard him lecture the night before.”

                                                                                               Katherine Isabel Hayes

 

Reprinted from the Vermont Standard, 2012, “Historically Speaking” by Carol Mowry.   Picture added by Brad Hadley from HHS archives.

Lucia Hazen Webster letter to her late husband, Part 2

As promised, I am giving you the second installment of a letter from Lucia Webster to her husband Dan after his death in 1943.

With all you cared for music it was astonishing that the radio didn’t seem good to you but I could never interest you in having one of our own and you often hated to go out to Sally’s to listen to theirs. It was a long time before I could find out what was wrong with it but finally I discovered you hated to hear all the strange (but to me most fascinating) sounds when one was hunting for the right station.

While the Ford Hour was to be heard on Sunday evenings we used to sit up for it and the two of us enjoyed it after the Comstocks had gone to bed. I could not always be sure whether you were enjoying the concert or enjoying my enjoyment but there was no question when Marion Anderson or Richard Crooks sang or there was band music. Then it surely seemed as good to you as to me.

I wonder how many times we had a neighborhood sing, sometimes at our house, once in awhile at John’s but more often at Sanford Shepard’s. Whenever Mr. Perkins came to visit at our house or Sanford’s (and even sometimes when he was not there at all) the Shepards and Websters gathered for a grand evening. We sang everything from rounds to hymns, sometimes as solos, sometimes as duets, often as a grand chorus. Sanford had paper-covered song books he had bought just for those sings and Mr. Perkins brought some of his, so we had a large number of songs from which to choose – and we sang until we were really tired out. But do you remember “The Little Bronze Button”? Mr Perkins always asked either Cora or me to sing it to the tune of “The Old Wooden Bucket” in memory of his brother.

If I could remember all you told me about the singing schools and the “singing conventions” you used to enjoy in your boyhood I’d be glad indeed. I think you told about Mr. Perkins or his brother going from one place to another to hold “conventions”, gathering together all who were interested in music, having a school for several nights, perhaps two or three weeks, then finishing with a big concert where the pupils showed what they had learned and some distinguished musician from outside had the leading part.

It was before John Randolph was born (1907) that Henry Ketchum had his choral – some things I remember to this day. The rehearsals, just like the singing school of older time, lasted some weeks and as a grand finale we gave a concert in the Methodist church with the Claremont band to assist. And before we were married Helen Dudley had a real singing school that we attended when she tried to teach us to “pulsate” and all you got out of it, or I either for that matter, was good wholesome fun.

Do you remember how you always loved to hear me sing “I am sitting on the style, Mary where we stay side by side”? You would stop everything to listen and I heard you telling the children once that it was the most beautiful song ever written. You did love simple happy music – bits from “Robin Hood”, Henry Lauder’s songs, “The Owl and the Pussycat”, and “Lassie O’ Mine”, for instance and music was a force in your life.

Then that afternoon in April when we took your casket to the church for the last service Della Merritt and Rebecca (Merritt) played on the piano and violin for you while friends were entering and again when they were leaving. Did you hear them play “Crossing the Bar”? Nothing could have been lovelier and nothing could have pleased you more.”

Reprinted from the Vermont Standard, 2012, “Historically Speaking” by Carol Mowry.