Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1869-02-04
For the HERALD
Mrs. Melinda ChattcrlOn.

An article in the HERALD of the 2StI
ult., giving some account of this remarks
bic woman, late of Wallingford, contains Sc
many errors that some correction of then
seems most desirable The following
statements were received from her own
} lips, while her memory was still in its full
vigor, and were noted down at the time
She was born in Cheshire, Ct March 10Th
1172, and was just four days younger than
the late Deacon Moseley Hall, who was
born March 18th, of the same year. The
writer well knew the age of Deacon Hall
for he had it not only from himself but
took it also from the family record There
is nc error there in their dates. Had Mrs
Chatterton then continued to live till
March next she would have been 81, and
not 9S years of age Her life, therefore,
commenced little over year before the
first settlement was made in Wallingford,
by Deacon Abraham jackson and family,
i'll the spring or summer of 1913.
When her father, Nathaniel Ives, after
wards first deacon of the Congregational
church, came to Wallingford to settle, she
was in her eth wear, and such was the re-
tentiveness of her memory that she re-
tanned vivid recollection, till past the
aye Of ninety. Of the situation and condi-
ton OF things at that time. The house
vh.r. hor f,tber Ara, l;ve5 was ,a,r ,b,
-not now occn,;na Nv tba residence If
Mrs. Randall. 1t was only "A log cabin.
AZ all the houses of the setttIemcnt then
wore f bod q chimney. u+ro hcar,b
and no door for some time after they
moved into il For a do.r they used 10
HANG M \ eoyerlet till it became conyen-
i3nt 10 ,,at.opc,
There were hut few settlers when her
father came into the town Their near
cst na;,,,hor. ~, the S,pth were Mr. nani
Rr,dl.1- ma family who .lixal ~, 10
,,I,,., fn. IL. b,i,,. ,l,o ,,r...,,,t oa,,,.,-
,,,.,. r,o,.,,,1,. o,,.,,,l J., II, u L NH.
,I.nn. md thor. ,ya,,, no,,o an tla ,,,rtl,
nearer than the Meecham place then oc
cupied bv Abraham Ives, who was after
wards high bailiff for the years 11Sl-2}-
4 and ). and representative from Walling
ford for the years 1919 and 1888. There
was no bridge across Roaring Brook at
that .;,na Whom thav crossed i thav
had a. "a on log,. one side of which were
cut off and made fiat, 50 that they could
walk on them without danger of slipping.
The brook WAS more Of a stream then than
- = L -, -. -.
abundance, and down on the creek tie
mink, muskrat and beaver were in great
plenty.
For some time after she came to Wal
lingford. deer were found in considerable
numbers in the forest, and now and then
she would get sight of Il bear. or moose
Almost every night, too, she used to hear
the bowling Of wolves, and the cries Of
other wild animals, not very far away.
These animals most used to frequent the
thickets down by the creek, and the woods
on the other side. At first, being little
timid. these sounds frightened her: but
getting accustomed to theru after "A while
She minded nothin.. about them.
Speaking Of the condition of things in
her childhood, - Every thing" said she,
.. has changed from what it was then
Even the birds, many OF them are not the
same that they used TO be. W hcn came
here we had the hawk, and the owl, and
the blue-Jay, and the partridge, ana the
Woodpecker, ana wlid pigeon ahd via
duck and sniPe, but we never used to hear
the lark, and there were but few robbins
and eluebirds, and swallows, and orioles
and bobolink7 When l want to realize
how old am, let memory take Journey
BACK 10 the aoorleSS ana hearlhieSS log
house by the Roaring Brook
There was no store IN the town when
her father moved INTO 1T. One was kept
subsequently by Abraham Ives for
several years II they wanted any IRON they
had to 90 to llconderoga Tor IT. But
about the year l'o2, Judge Nathanlei
Chapman and solomon Miller afterwards
a distinguished citizen OF "l'liSton, went
into the IRON business toSether' ana con
tlnued IN 1T some three or four years
when they had all the lr9n they wished
for. They made their own sugar and
most of their cloth in those times, and
thought it a great thing to have garments
not of home manufacture. Mrs. Abraham
Ives had a calico dress which cost fifteen
dollars Mrs. Abraham johnson also had
one.
1t was thought Mrs. Z, experienced re-
ligion when she was nine years old. She /
united with the Congregational church,
under the ministry of Rev. Benjamin /
Osborn, of which church she was most
exemplary member.
She was first married to SimeonW bite In
ADrll, lust dICer SDe was twenty years O1