Vermont AHGP
Part of the American History and
Genealogy Project
Range 9 ~ Lots
Lot 1, is no rods long, and 7 rods wide at one end, and a point at the other. It was never sold by the original proprietors.
Lot 2, was a part of Stephen Perkins' purchase, and is now owned by his grandson, Emory F. Perkins.
Lot 3, was settled by David Reed, of Hanover, N. H., in 1809, and is now owned by David Perkins.
David Reed and Ralph Chamberlain married sisters of Israel Goodwin, who lived many years in this town, but removed to East Montpelier. T. Goodwin Reed is David's son.
Lot 4, now owned by Erastus Batchelder, was settled in 1796, by James Boutwell, of Barre, a relative of Col. Levi Boutwell, of Montpelier.
Oct. 9, 1804, snow fell to a great depth, some 3 or 4 feet. One Richardson, of Orange, started a bear out of his corn-field, and followed it to Capt. Boutwell's and returned. Boutwell, Robert Carson, and Jeremy Stone, pursued it to the round mountain, north or east of Pigeon pond, where they treed her. Boutwell fired, wounding it in the neck, it ran by Carson who fired and missed. Stone followed after with an ax, having no gun, setting on the dogs. Stone soon saw the bear returning, perhaps to defend her cubs, and got upon a rock, and when the bear attempted to get on, tried to split its head open with the ax, but the bear instantly knocked it from his hand, mounted the rock, pushed Stone off from it into the snow, and then over on to his back, getting top of him. Stone put up his hand to push its head away from his, when his little finger went into the bear's mouth, which began to chew it. At this moment, Boutwell, who had reloaded and come up, fired, the bear's head being only a few inches from Stone's, and bruin fell dead.
Another time Boutwell went up on to the high, round topped hill north-east of his house, after partridges. He found a bear up a tree. His gun was loaded with shot and he had no ball. He drawed the shot and whittled a beach plug, with the end pointed, and loaded with this. The first shot had no effect, but the second killed the bear.
He was captain of the first militia company in town; was one of the selectmen from 1799, until his death, in 1 813, of typhoid fever, at that time very prevalent and fatal. He was a man whose character was almost above reproach; but his dog was even more strict in his faith and practice than his master. The dog had learned to observe the Sabbath, as intelligent dogs in Christian families often do, and never attempted to follow his master on that day. Once when Boutwell was on his way to church, he met a party in pursuit of a bear, and they wished for the dog, which was a famous hunter. Boutwell went back with them to the house, and ordered the dog to follow them, but it refused. He called it to follow him, but it would not. He then took off his Sunday clothes and put a gun on his shoulder when the dog, probably thinking that it was not Sunday after all, followed. Boutwell was justly punished for his duplicity by not getting the bear. The dog afterward followed a deer into the woods, and was never seen again.
Lot 5, was first purchased of Heman Allen by Eathan Powers, who hired men to cut and burn wood for the ashes. Sylvester Grinnel, a Quaker, first resided upon it.
Lot 6, was settled by Moses Bancroft's son, John. Charles Morse owns a portion of it.
Lot 7, was settled by Jeremy Stone, of Ward, Mass., in 1796. He chose this place because he expected it would be near a good road. The legislature, in 1797, appointed a committee to work a road from Chelsea court house to Danville court house. This committee reported to the county court at Chelsea, in 1799, that they had built the road through Washington and Orange. A little work was done on it in Goshen gore, near Plainfield line, and the work abandoned. Ira Stone, Rev. Jesse Stone of Maine, and Jeremy Stone are his sons; Mrs. Hial P. Chamberlain and Mrs. Marian Stone Tarbell, his daughters. His farm is now owned by Ira Robinson.
Lot 8, was settled by Daniel Rice, of Barre, in 1825. Dudley Marshall now resides upon it.
Source: History of Washington County Vermont, Collated and Published by Abby Maria Hemenway, 1882.
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