Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-09-10
"Reminiscences Of an ostogeaarian.
SOME OF TIE EARLY SETTLERS Oh CHARLOTTE
THE CHURCHES AND CHANCES.

SOME OF TIE EARLY SETTLERS Oh CHARLOTTE
THE CHURCHES AND CHANCES.
CHARLOTTE, August, 1880.
To the Editor OF the Free Press and Times:
Once you allowed NC place in your COL
umns as an octogenarian, touching some
items of past history and since am little
further up In the eighties, and making prob
ably nv last visit to my native town and
State, it occurs to me that might write
down few more recollections Of the past,
that there is not another living man to record.
Among the first settlers Of Charlotte were
John and Charles Mcneil. brothers that set
tied ON the lake shore both started farming,
but the one nearest Thompson's Point run
down in few years. Jonathan and Francis
Breckenridge, John Sharpe. Daniel Hubbell,
james Hill, Elijah Keller and Others includ-
ing the family of Newells, were nearly all
young men, and by industry and economy
acquired competency and left for their
descendants reasonable amount of worldly
goods. Nathaniel Newell for many years
was prominent business man in the town !;
dealer in stock, drover, merchant,
supporter Of religious institutions, an honest
man and gentleman.
Many of the pioneers Of Charlotte were
Calvinistic In their religious opinions (as Tar
as they had any and carly called the Rev.
d. o. Gillett as their first pastor During his
pastoratc the eccentric Methodist preacher,
Lorenzo Dow, came this way ant offered to
preach to the people, but was denied the or
dinary preaching place But Reuben Martin,
Sen, on Nation Hill, opened his door to the
cosmopollte, and here he preached (probabiy)
the frs, or nearly the first Methodist ser
mon ever preached in Charlotte. In MS
prayer he prayed Though not prophet
that God would remove the "hireling from
Charlotte. which prayer was answered soon
after for immoral conduct.
After few years the good people OF Char
lotte located church between the MIS-
and their next settled pastor was Freeman
Baldwin, who for eight years entertained the
people with long, dull prayers and short ser
mons. Two sermons on the Sabbath VIII
recess of "A hour or more, were the estapiish-
ed church regulations at this time, during
which the people (some oil them "ouiu
sit under the shade, talk politics, anu ABOUT
the crops, and sometimes walk over to the
BARNES House" and take little toddy or
some other stimulant to help them digest The
the potions of Calvinism or whatever else
might be dealt out to them in the afternoon
but this was no infringement upon Christian
de corum. for all were allowed this privilege
by public opinion, for temperance societies
were We, 10 be born and total abstinence doc
trines were yet to be promulgated
The next who came to minister 10 the
people in the church between the hills was
Calvin Yale, an awkward, ordinary preacher
wha held the people for his support some
fifteen or sixteen years Without extra lit
.rary requirements, would he but an ordln-
airy man anywhere, his long stay in Char
lottc was no great credit to the pulpit or the
people. am not disposed to put too low
u estimate Gin other things OF the sagacty
apSi good sense Of these supporters anu iis'