126 



GAZETTEER OF VERMONT. 



Part III. 



NEWFANE. 



NEWFANE. 



buck-wheat, 1,099 ; Indian corn, 11,297 ; 

 potatoes, 91,689; hay, tons, 5,616; sugar, 

 lbs. 32,755 ; wool, 20,75d. Population, 

 2,579. 



Nevvfase, a post town, and the seat of 

 justice in Windham county, is situated 

 10 miles west of Connecticut river, inlat. 

 42'' 58' and long. 4° 12" and is bounded 

 north by Townshend, east by Dummers- 

 ton, Putney and Brooliline, west by 

 Wardsborough and Dover, and south by 

 Marlborough. It contained, b}^ charter, 

 six miles square, but has been reduced by 

 contributing to Brookline a small part of 

 said township, which lies on the east side 

 of West river. It is, as the roads are 

 traveled, 110 miles from Boston, 80 from 

 Albany, 110 from Montpelier, and 50 from 

 Windsor. In 1753, a charter of this 

 township was granted by Benning Went- 

 worth, tlien governor of the province of 

 New-Hampshire, to Abraham Sawyer and 

 others, bj' the name of Fane. In 1761, 

 the former charter was returned to gover- 

 nor Wentworth, and a new one granted 

 to Luke Brown and his associates. On 

 the 11th of May, 1772, the governor of 

 New-York made a grant of said township 

 by the name of " Newfane," to Walter 

 Franklin and twenty other persons, prin- 

 cipally residing in the city of New-York. 

 On the 12th of iMay, 1772, the said W. 

 Franklin and his associates conveyed their 

 right, in said township, to Luke Knowl- 

 ton and John Taylor, Esqrs., of Worces- 

 ter county, Mass. The titles of all the i 

 lands, in said town, are derived from the I 

 New-York charter. In 1772, a survey I 

 was made of the whole township, and on 

 the 17lh of May, 1774, said town was du- 

 ly organized, but was not represented in 

 the General Assembly of this state, till 

 1780. Col. Wm. \V^a^d was the first rep- 

 resentative. Luke Knowlton, Esq., was 

 chosen first town clerk, which ofl'icc he 

 held till 1790. In 1792, Nathan Stone, 

 Esq., was chosen town clerk, which office 

 he continued to hold till about 1835. The 

 settlement of the town was commenced 

 in the month of May, 1766, by Dea. Jon- 

 athan Park, Nathaniel Stedman and Ebe- 

 nezer Dyer, who emigrated from Wor- 

 cester county, Mass. For several years, 

 they suffered all the hardships and^iriva- 

 tions incident to the settlement of a new 

 country. Without roads, horses, or oxen, 

 they were under the necessity of convey- 

 ing, by their own strength, all their pro- 

 visions, &C. from Hinsdale, a distance of 

 20 miles, through a pathless wilderness. 

 The first child born in town, was Lucy, 

 a daughter of Dea. J. Park, August 15, 

 1769. The people of this town have been 

 highly favored with religious privileges. 



During half a century they were des- 

 titute of a settled minister but only 

 eighteen months ; and they were supplied 

 with preaching, one year, within that 

 time. The Rev. Hezekiah Taylor gradu- 

 ated at Harvard College, in 1772, and 

 having prepared himself for the ministry, 

 came to this town, in 1774. There were 

 but six families then in the town, but a 

 Congregational church was formed, con- 

 sisting of nine members, and in August, 

 the same year, Mr. Taylor was ordained, 

 and took charge of his little flock. He 

 continued to preach till May, 1811, and 

 died, August 23, 1814, aged 66 years. 

 The Rev. Jonathan Nye was installed, 

 colleague with Mr. Taylor, in November, 

 1811, and was dismissed in January, 1820. 

 The Rev. Chandler Bates was ordained 

 July 4, 1821, and dismissed in 1830; the 

 Rev. John F. Griswold, April 10, 1834, 

 and dismissed July 31, 1839; and the 

 Rev. L. S. Coburn, the present minister, 

 October 2, 1839. The other denomina- 

 tions are Methodists, Baptists and Univer- 

 salists. Among the early inhabitants, the 

 Hon. Luke Knowlton distinguished him- 

 self by his talents and enterprise. He 

 emigrated from Shrewsbury, Mass. and 

 came into Newfane, in 1772. He was 

 promoted to several important civil offi- 

 ces ; was once a judge of the supreme 

 court, and many years, councillor and 

 chief judge of the county court. He died, 

 December 12, 1810, aged 73 years. Cal- 

 vin Knowlton, Esq. son of the Hon. L. 

 Knowlton, graduated at Darmoutli Col- 

 lege, in 1788, and was educated to the 

 law. He sustained several civil offices, 

 was a distinguished lawyer and a worthy 

 man. He died, January 20, 1800, aged 

 39. The Hon. Ebenezer Allen was an 

 early settler, and, for many years succes- 

 sively, represented the town in the gen- 

 eral assembly. He was a judge of the 

 county court, and judge of probate, and 

 much in public business till his death, 

 December 16, 1805, aged 46. The Rev. 

 Mr. Taylor contributed, eminently, to the 

 happiness and prosperity of the early in- 

 habitants of the town. Being possessed 

 of a firm and vigorous constitution, and a 

 resolution of mind, unshaken by hard- 

 ships and misfortunes, with a liberal edu- 

 cation, with the most industrious habits, 

 and a disposition of kindness and benev- 

 olence towards all those, with whom he 

 was in any wise connected, while he faith- 

 fully ministered to the spiritual and tem- 

 ])oral wants of his people, he was the de- 

 light of the social circle, and an ornament 

 to general society. We have no account 

 that the early settlers of Newfane were 

 ever molested by the Indians. But tra- 



