Genealogy – Hartland Historical Society

2017-03-232022-01-23

The Willard Cemetery

This document was compiled by Howland Atwood in 1991. Except for some minor typographical and editorial corrections, what follows is exactly as he filed it in the Hartland Historical Library.

The Willard Cemetery is primarily a private family cemetery, located on the left, part way up Mace Hill. As in other cases, some neighbors were permitted to bury their dead there. Byron P. Ruggles made his survey of the Quaker Willard Grave-yard in August 1907 and he recorded nineteen gravestones. There are probably a few unmarked graves. The oldest gravestone appears to be that of Betsey, daughter of James N. and Abigail Willard, who died in 1800.

The Willard farm was the one owned and occupied by Willis Curtis. Whether or not the land once extended as far up Mace Hill as to include the cemetery lane is not presently known, although it would seem likely that it did. The farm now extends up to the Cobb Hill road, up to the Cobb place, which was probably sold off from the original farm. Just when the Billards came to that farm is not known either.

James Nutting Willard is not listed in Densmore’s Census of April 5, 1771 for Hertford (Hartland) in Cumberland County, Vermont, but his name does appear in the list of “Poles & Notable Estate of Inhabitants of Hertford” in 1778. (Hertford was changed to Hartland by vote of the legislature in 1782).

James Nutting Willard was of the fifth generation to live in America. His immigrant ancestor, Major Simon Willard emigrated from County Kent in England in 1634. Simon’s eleventh child, probably by his third wife, Mary Bunster, was Henry 2 Willard, who married, first, Mary Lakin of Groton. Their second child, Simon 3 Willard was born in Groton, Mass. Oct. 6, 1678. He married Mary Whitcomb and they lived in Lancaster, Mass., where he died in 1706. On Dec. 12th 1706, his widow married Samuel Farnsworth and she was the mother of Samuel, David, and Stephen Farnsworth, the first settlers of Fort No. 4 or Charlestown, New Hampshire. Moses 4 Willard, the second son of Simon 3, was born at Lancaster about 1702 or 3 and along with his half-brothers, the Farnworths, also became an early settler of Fort No. 4, removing there permanently by May 1742. Moses 4 Willard married at Groton, Mass. Sept 28, 1727, Susana Hastings. They had four children. Their second daughter, Susanna, married Capt. James Johnson. She became the mother of Elizabeth Captive Johnson, who was born in Cavendish near Reading, Vermont, while Mrs. Johnson was a captive of the Indians. The fourth child and only son was James Nutting 5 Willard of the fifth generation.

James Nutting 5 Willard married Abigail, daughter of Capt Ephraim and Joanna (Bellows) Wetherbee. The children of James Nutting and Abigail (Weatherbee) Willard, the first six probably born in Charlestown, N. H.:

James Willard, born April 30, 1762, died Dec 4th 1762
James Willard, born Nov. 9, 1763
Edward Willard, born Dec. 9, 1765
Betsey Willard, born Oct. 28, 1767
Abigail Willard, born Jan. 25, 1770
John Small Willard, born Jan. 31, 1772
Joanna Willard
Susanna Willard
Thales Willard

Since the last three children are said to have been born in Hartland, James Nutting Willard must have brought his family to Hartland later in the year of 1772 or early in 1773. At least three of the James N. Willard children are buried in the Willard Cemetery, perhaps four or five.

Oliver Willard, one of the earliest settlers of Hartland was a first cousin of Moses 4 Willard, the father of James Nutting 5 Willard.

At some time in his earlier life James Nutting Willard became a Quaker and in his later years was usually referred to as Quaker Willard. The farm dog population gradually increased up to the point that Quaker Willard thought that he must destroy some of them, but he first told his children that each one could select his favorite dog to keep. So each child took a stand beside his favorite dog, saying, “Thee must not kill this one” and “thee must not kill this one” until there was only one left. Mr Willard called the remaining dog to him and said “Hast thou no friend among the children? Thou shouldst have a friend; I will therefore be thy friend”. So all the dogs continued to live.

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Note: the copy is not clear in many places, so some of this may be incorrect.

Lewis G., son of J. S. & C. Willard Died Oct 16, 1852 AE 19.
Nancy N., dau. of J. S. & C. Willard Died Oct. 12, 1852 AE 17.
Celendia W., dau. of John S. Jr. and Celindia Willard, died Sept 8, 1826 AE 7 years.

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In Memory of James Willard Son of Mr. Ed. & Polly his wife. He died July 3, 1821 aged 2 years & 3 days.

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Edw’d Willard Vt. Mil. Ref. War (A government marker) Since Edward was but 10 years old in 1775, he must have entered service towards the end of the war.

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In Memory of Betsey Daughr. of James N. & Abigail Willard, died Sept. 29, 1800 AE 32 y. 11 m.
In Memory of Mrs. Abigail Willard, wife of Mr. James N. Willard, who died March 4th 1816, aged 76 years.
In Memory of James N. Willard, who died April 21, 1818 aged 83 years & 11 months.
Memento James Willard, died April 16, A. D. 1839 in the 76 year of his age.

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In memory of Nancy, wife of John S. Willard, died Sept. 26, 1845 in the 75 year of her age.
John S. Willard Died Mar. 16, 1852 AE. 80.

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In Memory of John S., Son of John S. and Nancy Willard, aged 1 year, 9 months, and 26 days.

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Thales Willard, died Sept 10, 1829 in his 56 year.
Thales Willard died 1839, aged 75. (Ruggles record [1907], this gravestone not found in 1991).

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Edwin Smith, Died Sept. 27, 1828 AE. 23 years.
Susan Lane, daughter of Capt. Samuel & Amelia Whitney, died Aug. 8, 1833.

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Eliza C., Wife of Martin L. Peterson, died July 1, 1828 AE 29 years.
(This gravestone is half imbedded in a large pine tree on its left.)
The Christian names were supplied by the B. P. Ruggles record.

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Azubah, wife of Aaron Hunt Died Oct. 1, 1828 AE 52 years.

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2017-03-23

Weed Cemetery Survey, 1991

The following is a transcription of the prologue to the 1991 survey of the Weed Cemetery done by Howland Atwood. Virtually all of the information from the survey has been incorporated into the data in the Hartland Historical Society’s website. A copy of the original is available in the Society’s library.

The survey has seven pages of transcriptions and notes. It is supplemented by three pages of names, dates, and ages labeled, “Weed Cemetery – Town Highway #22, Hartland, Vt. (1989 Survey).

THE WEED CEMETERY

Byron P. Ruggles compiled a record from the gravestones in the Weed Graveyard on August 3, 1907. He reported the condition of the cemetery as “now a complete hedgerow of trees, brush, briars and weeds.” The town officers fro many years have taken an interest in the proper maintenance of its cemeteries and new flags are still placed in the metal flagholders on each soldier’s grave every Memorial Day.

The oldest gravestone is probably that of Moses Currier, who died March 20, 1791, ages 77 years. There are dated gravestones in every decade up through the nineteenth century to Dec. 31, 1893, the date of Augustine W. Rodgers, a civil war soldier. There was a gap of 77 years before burials were resumed.

George Crandall was buried there in 1970 and George Spear in 1978. Two boys, born the same year (1908), the youngest in their families, who were lifelong friends and grew up on adjoining farms in the Weed neighborhood. George Crandall wasn’t born in the neighborhood Crandall farm, but came there to live when he was about six years old. His mother, Myrta Crandall exchanged her farm (the Blodgett place on County road) for the farm of Frank Burke on the Weed road in the spring of 1914. George Crandall and George Spear were very successful in life. Both retired in the same neighborhood. George Spear on the farm settled on by his Gates ancestors and George Crandall on the Ahira Flower farm that adjoined the farm wher he spent most of his boyhood. His retirement home farm may have adjoined the Weed farm. George Spear’s wife Celia was buried in the Weed cemetery in 1986.

Later generations of the Weed family were buried in the Hartland Village cemetery (see pages 17 and 66A of the record of that cemetery). The Weed family farm was probably sold out of the family in the early 1900s. The descendants removed to Massachusetts. Many descendants of original families in Vermont towns have moved out of state for better opportunities for over 150 years and still will.

Weed cemetery was a part of the old Weed farm. Evaline (Darling) Morgan, who was a Weed descendant, wrote a very interesting article about a walk she took on June 20, 1943 from her family home on Hartland Hill — the next place beyond Lillian Marcotte’s. She described her walk “across lots” and down through the Mose Weed hollow at one time. The mill pond or what remained of it was aftwards used for a “sheep dip”. The brook wound down through the hills to join Lull brook at Fieldsville.

From this point, about 3/4 of the way down page one of the survey, are entries about the people buried in this cemetery and the markers left on their graves.

Transcribed by Brad Hadley, November 2011.

2017-03-23

Weed Cemetery: Chloe, Chloe, and Chloe

There are three people buried in Weed Cemetery with the name Chloe (or Chloa). They are a mother, daughter, and granddaughter.

Chloe Peabody was born July 20, 1789, in Reading, VT, the daughter of Daniel Peabody. Her mother’s name is not on the birth record, but the death records says that her mother’s name was Abigail. Chloe married William Rogers, likely his second wife, and had nine children between 1815 and 1834. She died December 8, 1864 of lung fever. She was buried in Weed Cemetery, and her gravestone is included in the 1907 survey, but it is listed as no longer there in the 1991 survey.

Her first child was Abigail Rogers, who was born about 1815. Abigail married George Bagley in 1841. She died November 3, 1863. Abigail and George Bagley had a daughter Chloe Ann (Chloa Ann on the gravestone) Bagley around 1842, apparently named after her grandmother, Chloe (Peabody) Rogers. Chloe Ann died at age 12 in 1854 and is buried in Weed Cemetery.

Chloe (Peabody) Rogers also had a daughter named Chloe Ann Rogers, born around 1831. She married Cornelius F. Person March 27, 1848 at Hartland. She died March 25, 1849, at the age of 18. No cause of death is given in her death record. Her gravestone is in Weed Cemetery.

So the three Chloe’s buried in Weed Cemetery are a mother (Chloe (Peabody) Rogers, 1879-1864), her daughter (Chloe Ann (Rogers) Person, about 1831-1848) and a granddaughter through the first child of Chloe Peabody Rogers, Adeline, Chloe Ann Bagley (about 1842-1854).

The information above is from Hartland Historical Society notes confirmed through Vermont Vital Records.