The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-02-19
HISTORICAL "REMINISCENCES.


rods due east from Caleb Deans
present residence. The old cellar
may still be seen. A man by the
name of Woodcock lived there before
him. Hazen was quite hunter and
the Glebe wilderness was a good
hunting ground. The tussle with
bruin, that has given him some celeb
rity, occurred about twenty rods back
of the Daniel Harrington house, re-
Gently occupied by ii. b. Smith,
near large rock nearly the size Of a
small house. Hazen saw the bear
while he was moving and with his son
armed with an axe-it does not APP
pear that he took a gun-ascended to
the rear of the bear, and was driving
him down when he came to this large
rock. Hazen went on one side and
the boy on the other. But the bear
took a notion to return and meeting
Hazen, rose on his hind legs for a
clinch, and with open mouth approach
ed him. Hazel saw no other way to
defend himself but to push both his
hands down the bears throat, which
he did and cried for help. His son
came as soon as possible and struck
the bear upon the head and stunned
him, but bruin closed his jaws upon
Hazen's hands and mutilated them
fearfully. Nahum Goddard, who
was not far off, hearing the cries, was
soon on the ground and helped dis
patch the bear. Hazen was never
able to do much labor afterwards but
his hunting instincts did not leave hin
and it is said he freed two cubs moi
long after. He had six children,
David Jr., Charles, Luther, William
Zacheus, and Daniel. He afterwards
lived in log hut 80 rods beyond the
late Winfield Wright's and six Oh
eight rods from the road, on the south
side. Disaster seemed to follow the
family for while living here his wife,
who was a large and heavy woman,
was killed down on the flats near the
river. She was assisting her sons
piling logs when the skid flew up and
struck her breaking her neck. Hazen
finally went to Pennsylvania where
he died. One of his sons visited this
town some ten years ago to look over
the ground and try to locate his
mothers grave but without success.
She was probably buried somewhere
on the present Geo. Babbitt farm.
The Glebe mountain received its
name in the early history of the town
by reason of the land, or at least q
large portion of ii being set apart fol
religious purposes. The word glebe
from the latin gzeba signifies soil Oh
ground. In early English ecclesias,
tical law it was applied to land be-
longing to a parish church or ecclesi.
astical benefce. When the Vermont
legislature on the Goth of April 17SC
changed the name of this town from
Kent to Londonderry, it at the same
session chartered the town to Edward
Aiken, Samuel Fletcher and JOSEPH
Tyler reserving five sixty-fifths fol
religious and educational purposes
The grant had previously been hel6
by James Rogers who was tory ant
colonel of militia under King Georg'
Ill. At the breaking out of thu
Revolutionary war he had fled t.
Canada and his land had been con
fiscated. 1t had been granted to hin
by New York. There are at preseD
in this town $50 acres so set apart t.
religious purposes yielding an annua
income of about $57 which is divided
annually between the three churche
of the town. Most of this land lie
on the west side of the mountain 0
at it's base. The farms, in whole o
in part, owned by the following citi
zens are of this class, viz: Cyru
Babbitt, S. 5. Lyon, II. L. Thomp
son, Walter Thompson, f. F
Churchill, B. L. Howe, Edgar S
McAllister and Geo. c. Robinson
There are fourteen of them in all
There are other farms in town Sc
apart in similar way for the use o
grammar schools in town and still
others for Middlebury college.
! "Enquirer" wishes also to kno,
the height of Glebe mountain. Dl
Marden is authority for saying tina
Brattle5oro and Burlington are eac
222 feet above tide water. The Pea
body House piazza is 1865 feet abov
Brattleboro and the Glebe is 181
feet higher than the Peabody Hous
piazza making the Glebe 3104 fee
above tide water. The doctor obtain
ed these figures some years ago fror
the railroad survey and the U.
Signal Survey.
HIsToRICUs.