Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-07-06
AN 0LD-TIME LAND BARON,
Squire STEPHEN Greenleaf and
His 500 Acres

correct statements In n We'll known
Novel.
The writer of "The Rangers, or the To-
ry's Daughter" describes a party of tories
travelling on March r. 1918, from Bennng-
ton through West Bratteboro village to
Greenleafs store in Brattleboro village,
and then turning north to Westminster.
There was no village of West Brattleboro
or of Brattleboro then, and no road from
where West BrattlebOro village now is
to where Brattleboro village is, and
traveller from Bennington through Brattle-
boro to Westminster would have to go
north of West Bratteboro, over meeting
house hill, past the Westinghouse there,
and down past Judge Wells's, where the
women's summer retreat is and across the
river and meadows there to the Putney
road, over where there is no road now ex-
cept little part of the way down the hill
below the cemetery.
Stephen Greenleaf had been an extern
sive merchant in Boston, and through
losses or other misfortunes had got into
debt; he came to Brattleboro in the spring
of I'LL and probably lived at first where
the buildings at Mr.. Richardson's ice pond
are, just south of the fair ground and
owned part of what is now the Richard
son farm. The road from Guilford turned
there and led down Nenters brook the lit
| tie brook which makes the cascade, and
across the Great river road to Fort Dunn
mer In August of that year Mr. Green
leaf bought of Judge Wells the governors
! right OF 800 acres reserved in the New
| Hampshire charter of the township of
| BrattlebOro, which extended on the river
from the rocks at the lower end of the de
| pot yard nearly to the foot of Walnut
| street, and that breadth westward to
about at the watering trough beyond Cen
treville, and upon which were a saw-mill
and grist-mil west of the lower bridge
over Milestone brook. He paid El00
down and was to pay GOO lawful money
of New York on the first days of May in
1772-3-4, and 600 lawful money of
Massachusetts Bay, sin good merchanta-
BILE White pine boards at the cash price"
on the 18th days of August in 1913 4-j-6. !,
! t1200 in ALL He sold rs acres and three
rods in the northeast corner to Samuel
Knight, who, probably in 1773, built
house upon it where Mrs. Cune lives next
north of the library. This was the first
stable house, and perhaps the very first
house ever built in what is now Bratte-
boro village. This is all that the records
shO that Mr.. Greenleaf ever sold from
this tract
In 1772 he built a new saw-mll, which
has been stated in The Phoenix to have
been situated where the Estey mill is; but
the records show this to have been a mis-
take; it stood about where the factory is
at Centrevillc. The town was divided into
highway districts soon after this, and the
line between districts No. and , ran from
the northeast corner of Guilford to Esquire
Greenleafs new saw-mill, and thence to
the centre line by Ebenezer Fishers, which
was where Mr.. Brown lives. This line
must have run to Centreville to include in
No. those who lived in that district, and
a later deed shows the saw-mill to have
been at that pace. He was made a JUS
tice of the peace by the governor OF the
province of New York, April II, 1772, and
soon afterwards became known as Esquire
Greenleaf On the 18th of August, Il 49,
he mortgaged the west 600 acres, on which
the new saw-mill stood, to Judge Wells tC
secure the balance of the purchase money
for the whole; and on the 18th of thai
September, the east 200 acres, except wha
had been sold to Mr. Knight, to includ,
zone Grst Mill and one saw Mill stand
ing on the premises on Milestone Brood
with sundry small dwelling houses etc.
''to Peter Johonnot, Distiller, to secur,
GIG Us, and to Joseph Green, Merchant
to secure el73 IS, lawful money of Massa
} chusetts Bay, both of Boston, and paya
Bile one-iifth part in each year for tv
years" This description does not indi
cate that he then had any store or lived OF
these premises.
I The land probably went on the mort
: cages, for Judge Wells was soon sellin
: that in the west part and others that il
the east part, and he not any of ii
Matthew Martin soon had the mills on tn
east part. lie owned the 5O-acre lot OF MI
Herrick's farm south Of o. l.. Miners an
went there to live at about that time, an
perhaps before he built the saw-miil, to b
near it, and sold the place toward Gui
ford April 3, l776. lie probably built tn
house now on the Herrick place which
y lust above the junction of the roads, nov
" marked Elm Corners; and in 1888 Ii
Il he bought 20 acres more of Benjami
Baker of the north side of the Il
o next south. There was his home af e
( wards. He has been stated in The Pho
e nix TO have lived at the Greenleaf plaC
a of his son and namesake, Major Stephe
e Greenleaf, beyond West BrattleboIo, bI
re that, too, was an error. In 1854 /
e morgaged his farm to stephen Gle
erly of Boston to secure Joseph Web
Thomas Lee, JOlll 1 tlhlllS. UOlll DtOllt
ESQ, Micae jackson, James WessOn, j,
seph Bradford, john Green, Joseph To
40 rey, mostly or all Of Boston, and Samu
70 Wells, Esq, and Matthew Martin OF Bra
n tlebOro, for wha. he stood justly indebtt
W to them. The title to this farm probab
~ soon went on the mortgage, for it soon b
- gan to be described in deeds of adiOinl
'' lands as the farm upon which Esqui
Greenleaf lives.
On October 10, 1916, Judge Wells so
Id the saw-mll and 100 acres of land eXten
e. ing north and eastward, including what
n now Mr.. Carroll farm, to John Houghto
a whose house stood in what is now d
he south side of the road opposite Mr.. Ca
nd rolls barn. Seth Smith lived where NJ
ST. Crouch does in the first house beyond L
watering trough, and had a grist-mill
the south side of the brook near the end
the bridge by the cheese factory. Il
wharfing of the road in from. of Mrs. BE
- sons is in what was the mill pond; a
,i' the bridge across the brook was lit
~ farther east than it now is. Lie
III Samuel Root lived near where Mr. Thu
'ot Der now does east of the lower bridge
,uS West Brattleboro, and Lemuel Kendri
Nv lived on the hill north of him. In II
Vi John Dickerman came from New Hav,
W Conn.,, and settled where o. l.. Miner liz