The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1870-11-01
Leicester.

The town Of Leicester was granted by
charter in the name of King George the
Third, by his Excellency, Benning Went
worth, the Governor of New Hampshire,
to Aaron Brown, Daniel Pond Jonathan
Hammond, Jonathan Houghton, Abncr
Osgood, Robert Powers, Glasher Wheel
er. Peter Wheeler, Abijah Powers james
MAXWELL Luke Brown, Abraham Hough-
ton, Mathew Powers, Stephen Shadrick
David Taylor and 40 others, in l76l.
The original charter is now in the office
of the town clerk, A. +. Stanley, ESQ, in
tolerable state Of preservation. None
OF these grantees were at that time set
tiers, and there is no evidence that they
had ever seen the land they thus became
proprietors Of n
The first settler was Jeremiah Parker,
who located on the east bank of Otter
Greek, in the northwest part Of the town,
now known as Jerusalem" in 1878.
Parker's annoyances were severe during
the Revolutionary war and at one time
he was carried a prisoner by the Indians
to Whitehall. but be weathered all his
trials and lived in peace on the old place
some years. Chloe Parker, his daughter,
born in TIT, was the first white person
born in town. She married Capt. Ebe.
nezer Jenny and one of her sons still
lives in the neighborhood Two large
old apple trees on the old Parker farm
are still pointed out as the monuments Of
Jerry Parker's provident industry. But
few IT any others came to make this town
their permanent home prior to the war.
But in October, 1854, on the survey
Of the town BY the proprietors, We find
that the following persons had become
actual settlers with their families
John Mark, Ephraim Steveus,J. Fits,
George Moore, Joseph Woodward, DR..
Cook, Thomas Morrison, James Dow,
Asa Bacon, John Ripley, Perley Child,
Ebeneser Child, James Round, Emanuel
Chase, John Barker Samuel Adams,
John Fiier, Luther Drury, Benjamin
fairfield, WIN. Plat, Elijah Plat, Capt.
Osgood, Peter Putnam. Capt Jonathan
Powers, VIM. Kendall, Elijah Skeele,
Widow Flagg, Aaron Adams.
The town of Leicester was organized
ia March, 1876, with Ebenezer Child MS
the first Town Clerk. After year or
two Of service in this capacity he was
succeeded by William Gle, who served
IS town clerk for 81 years. The first
Justice Of the Peace was John Smith,
who was also the first town representa-
tive in 1886, when the Legislature held
the annual session in Windsor. Among
the early Justices, we're Benjamin Whit
man, William Gle, Ebenezer B. Jenny,
Silas w. Stanley. Leicester was repre-.
sented by John Smith, four years, Thom-
as Sawyer three yelrs, Benjamin Whit
man Ave years, Henry DIN twenty-five
GEARS, Abijah Perry one year, Isaac
Morse one William Gle FIVE, Perley
Enos 8, John Bullock 5, Otis Capron 2,
James s. Messer 2, Moses Wright2, John
l.. Perry 2, Leonard d. Jenny 2, w. +.
Wright 2 and Ira Is. Farr was represen-
tative in 1850, since which date we have
not taken the trouble TO compile.
The towns of Leicester and Salisbury
we're originally chartered the usual size
u six miles square, but on making the
survey it was found that there was only
eight miles between Brandon and Mid
dlebury on which to locate the two towns,
each claiming the six miles, leaving the
other but two, This dispute caused hot
controversy for a number of years, but in
1893 the matter was adjusted by giving
equal portions to each town. The vii.
kss ofSalisbury stands upon the disput.