Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1894-03-23
NBwFANE's EARLIEST SETTLERS.


Some Suggestions Regarding the Plan
TO Mark their Graves and Fix HIstOri-
cal spots.
The plan mentioned in the Newfane
| correspondence of The Phoenix of mark
ing historical places on Newfane hill and
setting memorials at the unmarked graves
Of the early settlers of Newfane by the
southeast corner of the old fair ground
seems very commendable. OF course pains
should and will be taken to have the right
names put upon them. In the article upon
Newfane in Thompson's Gazetteer, writ
ten by Gen. Martin Field, man of great
accuracy, about 1928, the name of Mr..
Dyer, one of these settlers, was by some
mistake given as Ebenezer. That his
name was, however, Joseph, and not Eben-
ezer, appears very clear from records made
very early, about which mistakes would be
improbable. A census was taken in I'LL
under an order of William Tryon, royal
governor of the province of New York, by
the sheriffs through deputies and consta-
bles. Here is the return for Newfane, then
within the jurisdiction of that province:
GA true list of the names of the head of
every family in the town of New Fame:
Hezekiah Boyden, Joseph Dyer, Joseph
Dyer, Jr., Ebenezer Fletcher, Thos. Green,
Ebenezer Merrick, Jonathan Park, Sam'l
Richardson.
Males under 10, -
Males above 16 and under 80, Ia
Females above 10, II
Females under 10, IA
Males 60 and upwards,
Blacks None
Total, 80
No. of heads of families, 8
''Sir. l have gone through the business
assigned me in your warrant with as much
care as possibly could, and if there be any
errors please to excuse them.
From your humble Serv't,
NATHANIEL STEDMAN,
Constable.
New Fame, April ye goth, I'LL.
To Daniel Whipple, Esq"
The names of the first settlers would be
in this return, and that of Mr.. Dyer was
placed there as Joseph by Mr.. Stedman,
who, among the few people then here,
must have been an intimate neighbor and
acquaintance. Mr.. Dyer died Sept. 2,
1890, aged 90, and his death is recorded as
that of Joseph Dyer. This error as to the
given name of Mr.. Dyer has been brought
along into the history of Newfane, al
though the want of any Ebenezer Dyer in
the records of the town has been noticed
by the historians. This want is account
ed for by the name of this first settler be-
ing Joseph and not Ebenezer.
At the time of this census Ebenezer
Merrick lived at the Daniel Fisher place,
the next but one below Dyer's on West
river. He sold out there to Daniel Fisher
II. e. l.. IL.
neighborhood, was killed by the falling of
a tree Jan. Q, 1879, and probably was bur
led at that place with these other early set
tiers. Hezekiah Boyden lived on the side
hill east of the road and north of the COM
mon; Ebenezer Fletcher west of the road
at the first forks south of the common;
Jonathan Park north of the road down the
first hill east of the common; Samuel
Richardson south of the road at the sec
ond place below the first fork east of the
common; Nathaniel Stedman, then single,
east of the road by little brook nearly
half mile north of the common; and
Thomas Green south of the road about
mile further northeast, near the Judge AL
len place, all on Newfane hill The histO-
ries mention the Westinghouse started in
1892 and built on top of the hill at the
southeast corner of the common, as the
first meeting house; but the record of a
deed from Aaron Mortified to Andrew
Grimes, dated Dec. s, 1875, describes lands
on ''the road from the Westinghouse to
Mr.. Thomas Green s." and the road from
the Westinghouse to marlborough is
mentioned in deed from Judge Knowlton
to DR.. Stone of the first place north of
that road below the first forks, dated Aug.
10, 1887. This shows that there was a
Westinghouse before that one. There was
a graveyard at the northeast corner of the
common, and this Westinghouse was
probably built early, or it would have
done later, and soon after the church was
organized in 1774 on the east side of the
common near the graveyard.
Nathaniel Stedman was married proba-
bly, in 1872 and then settled on the Sted-
man farm on the hill east of Fayetteville;
and Jonathan Park moved at about that
time to where the savings bank stands
north of the tavern in Fayetteville. They
were buried in the cemetery there. The
settlers who died on the hill were probably
buried in the graveyard at the northeast
| corner of the common, from which the
bodies were moved to where the cemetery
now is on the south side of the road about
half mile east of the common.