Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1864-02-17
COMFORT oLDs, OF MoRRIsrowN.


tier" was handed US by Cephas Fassett.
of this town. By whom prepared. we do
not know. We wish. however. the writer
would give us more Of the same sort:
Comfort Olds, one of the first settlers
of Morristown, was born in Brook6eld,
Mass, July 29th, 1850. He moved from
Brookfeld to Morristown, VT, March.
1891. He came with an ox.tean; he
had wife and two small children.
| The distance was little short of two
hundred miles, and he was about four
weeks on the way. There was no road
through Morristown or Stowe--nothing
but marked trees to go by-so that he
had to 90 around upon the other side of
the mountain, through Underhill, Cam
bridge and johnson, to get to Morris
town. He had previously bought lot
of land. the place afterward called the
George Poor farm, now owned by H Bing-
ham, S Rand and - Griswell. on the
Layport road in said town. AS there
was no prospect of there ever being road
near him. he without doing much on the
place, exchanged it for the place where he
afterwards lived and died. His was the
FIRST family that wintercd in town. His
nearest neigh hor south was ten miles from
him. After few years. man by the
name of Luce moved into Stowe, with his
family-distance. three miles from him
which was comparatively about near
enough. By that time he had got some
thing of a road. His nearest neighbor
north, for while vas two miles from
him. He was the first town-clerk chosen
in town, which was in March 1896. and
he held the Office for six years, He was
regular member of the Methodist de-
nomination from 1900 as long as he lived,
and class leader for more than thirty
years. He died April 22d, 1889, aged
70 years.
One or two incidents to show how the
, first settlers got along with their hard
ships: To get their grinding done, they
had to 90 to Cambridge to mill. Mr..
Olds had lost one of his oxen soon after
he came into town. He borrowed pair
of one Mr.. Goodale to 60 to mill with, ex-
pectipg to get back about the middle of
the week, but severe snow storm pre-
vented. Thinking he had only wood
enough to last few days, he must return
himself and leave the team. So on
Wednesday night, though late, he arrived
at his home. Mrs. Odds had sat up late
waiting for him, till she had burnt up
all the wood she had. and went to bed
with her two little children fearing the
consequence of the storm. After she had
J been in bed awhile, he came to the door
and called to come in At first she was
sd startled that she did not know his
voice. She supposed somebody had come
to tell her that Mr. Odds had persisted in
the storm. She let him in and he cut
wood enough to make fire to get warm
by. Next morning he got wood enough
to last through the remainder of the week,
and started back for Cambridge to get
| his team and on Saturday he got home
with his grist.
Soon after Mr.. Odds came into TOWN.
the next spring | think, as he used to tell
| the circumstance--he lost his only COW.
He had a brother living in Randolph. and
| in order to get another COW, started for
his brothers by marked trees, through
Stowe and Waterbury. to his 6rst neigh.
t boris ten miles distant. From there he
= crossed what is called the "Hoghack,
: keeping on the north side of the river
till he got to Montpelier. as there was nc
e bridges in Middlesex and Waterbury
: He went on to his brothers in Randolph
e hoping be could find COW that he could
e buy. He bought heifer His brother
i told him that the heifer would not do t.
t take into the woods; so no exchanged
t with him. lettil & him have an older COW
: with bell on her. He told him to le
t the COW 60 with that on, US he would wan
it in the woods. He drove the COW alon,
for home; when he got back to Water
; bury to his last peighbor Mr. Hill