42 



GAZETTEER OF VERMOiNT. 



Fart III. 



a mere rude hut, constructed of logs 20 

 feet in length, with but one apartment, a 

 back built at one end for a fire place, and 

 covered with bark, with a hole left in the 

 roof for the smoke to escape ; and this on 

 their arrival they found to be pre-occu- 

 pied by several families, emigrants from 

 Petersboro', N. H. ; and in that mansion 

 of felicity tiiere dwelt for about a fort- 

 night three families witli children in each, 

 one m^n and his wife, recently married, 

 three gentlemen then enjoying a state of 

 single blessedness, and a young lady ; 

 and among the happy group were some 

 of the first settlers of Calais. On the 13th 

 of April, racket paths having been pre- 

 viously broken, Messrs. 'Wlieelock, Twiss 

 and Stone prepared handsleds, loaded 

 thereon their beds and some light articles 

 of furniture, accompanied by Mrs. Wliee- 

 lock and Mrs. Twiss, and Gen. Davis, 

 proceeded to this town over snow three 

 feet in depth, Mrs. Wheelock travelling 

 the whole distance on foot and carrying 

 in her arms an infant four months old, 

 while their son about two years of age, 

 was drawn upon the handsled. Mrs. 

 Twiss, the recently married lady, also 

 performed the same journey on foot, ma- 

 king use of her broom for a walking cane. 

 During the day the snow became soft 

 and in crossing a marshjr piece of ground, 

 Mrs. Twiss slumped with one foot, and 

 sank to considerable depth and was una- 

 ble to rise ; Gen. Davis, with all the gal- 

 lantry of a young woodsman, jiawed away 

 the snow with his hands, seized her be- 

 low the knee and extricated her. This in- 

 cident was a source of no small merri- 

 ment to the party generally, of mortifica- 

 tion to the amiable sufferer, and of grati- 

 fication to Mrs. Wheelock, who felt her- 

 self secretly piqued that Mrs. Twiss did 

 not at least offer to bear her precious bur. 

 then some partof tiie distance. They ar- 

 rived in safety the same day, and com- 

 menced the permanent settlement of the 

 town. A large rock, now in the orchard 

 on the farm owned by Dea. Joshua 

 Bliss, once formed the end and fire place 

 to the Log Cabin of the first settlers of 

 Calais. In September of this same year, 

 1789, Peter Wheelock moved his family, 

 consisting of a wife and six children, to 

 this town. In 1790, James Jennings ar- 

 rived with a family. Lucinda, daughter 

 of Peter Wheelock, was born this year 

 and was the first child born in town. 

 On this occasion it is said one woman trav- 

 elled 4 miles, on foot, through the woods 

 in a very dark night. In 1793, the first 

 saw and grist mill were erected near the 

 centre of the town, by J. Davis, of Mont- 

 pelier, and Samuel Twiss. During this 



and the succeeding year, considerable ad- 

 ditions were made to the settlement. In 

 the winter of 1794, Mr. Jennings, of this 

 town, being upwards of GO years of age, 

 lost his life by fatigue and frost, while on 

 his return through the woods from Mont- 

 pelier to this place. There was not at 

 this time a sufiicient number of men in 

 town to constitute a jury of inquest. It 

 was in this town that the Hon. Timothy 

 Stanly lost his foot by frost, in 1788. The 

 town was organized March 23, 1795. Pe- 

 ter Wheelock was first town clerk, Jona3 

 Comins, first constable, Joshua Bliss, first 

 select man, by the unanimous suffrage, 

 of 17 legal voters. The town was repre- 

 sented in October following by Peter 

 Wheelock. The first settlers of Calais 

 experienced all those privations and hard- 

 ships which are incident to the settlers of 

 new townships generally. They located 

 themselves at some distance from each 

 other, and it was not uncommon for a 

 woman to travel several miles to visit 

 a neighbor and return home after dark 

 through the woods, brandishing a fire- 

 brand to enable her to discover the mark- 

 ed trees. For one or two years the set- 

 tlers brought the grain for the support of 

 their families, and for seed from Williams- 

 town, Brookfield and Royalton a distance 

 of 30 miles or more. After they began to 

 raise grain in town, they had to carry it 

 15 miles to mill. This they did in winter, 

 by placing several bags of grain upon the 

 neck of an ox, and driving his mate be- 

 fore him to beat a path. There are here 

 five religious societies, viz. Baptists, Con- 

 gregationalists, Universalists, Methodists 

 and Freewill Baptists, and the greatest 

 harmony prevails among them. There is 

 also a society of Free Enquirers in this 

 town, which was organized March 1, 1635. 

 There is but one meeting house in town, 

 and that is occupied alternately by the 

 difierent religious sects. There is, how- 

 ever, a spacious town house and 15 com- 

 modious school houses, all of which are 

 occasionally used^br tJie purpose of hold- 

 ing meetings. For some time after the 

 settlement of the town, there was no phy- 

 sician witliin 25 miles of this place. The 

 people here have been generally healthy. 

 Abijah Wheelock and wife, heretofore 

 mentioned as principals among the first 

 settlers, now, at the advanced age of 76, 

 reside in town, surrounded by 11 chil- 

 dren, death never having occurred in the 

 family ; they still are hale, comparatively 

 vigorous, and withal very laborious. The 

 old gentleman has repeatedly, after hav- 

 ing cleared and improved a farm, exchang- 

 ed it for a new one, and within a few 

 years commenced on a lot almost wild. 



