The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1904-10-14

DESCENDANTS
One Of the Best Known Families
in This Section.

Consider the influence OF tne lives OF
a pious and intelligent ancestry as ii
widens out like the ripples on the lake,
then multiply this correlation of in
fluence indefinitely as it extends to the
reduplication of homes on to the in
dividual becoming a factor of an Or
ganization-consider again the multi
piled strength and power of the poten-
TALLY and we gain more profound
| realization of the effect produced by
our environments.
Concord, Mass, was settled and
named in 1885. Fifty years later Cot
ton Mather writes of pious man, Rev
Mr. Bulkely as having rejected the of.
fer of a profitable living in the Eng
fish church to cross the Atlantic and
settle in the wilderness" at Concord.
Other eminent ministers OF the gospel
followed him. There was an atmos-
phere of piety pervading the town in
those times. They were patriotic too
and early engaged in the struggle for
independence. Here the embattled
farmers stood, and fired the shot heal d
round the world" The soil of
Concord is hallowed ground. In the
cemetery of that classic old town my
great great grandfather, Peter Har-
wood lies buried and with him his wife
whose former name is unknown.
There, benjamin Harwood, my great
grandfather was born April 80, 17l3.
There he married Bridget Brown in
May, 1733. She was born April 20,
IT'S atlCorcord, Mass. There, my
grandfather, PeterHarwood, was born
July IA, 1875. They removed to Hard
wick, Mass, in 1876. BENJAMIN Har.
wood died at Amherst, August 10, lT5S.
Mrs Bridget HARDWOOD removed to
Bennington from Amherst June Is,
1861 with ten children and accompan-
led by the families of Robinson, and
Pratt brothers of Amherst. During
their removal when the party neared
Bennington they stopped for refresh
ments but Mrs Harwood decided not
to tarry but rode on into the town on
horse back half hour in advance,
thus gaining the distinction of being
the first settler in town.
When she arrived at the place which
afterward became the HARDWOOD farm,
she pla tied a switch or wand, cut from
an apple tree which had been used r
a riding whip, in a moist piece of
ground, near brooklet formed from
spring running through the farm, that
issued from beneath rock at the base
Of Mount Anthony. The wand became
a tree and lived and hourished and
bore many a crop of fruit, living l07
years.
Mrs Harwood was the mother of nine
children. In the succession that fol-
owed there were &C grandchildren. All
through the succeeding generations,
here has been a noticeable interest in
he cause of education and devotion to
he church. Eleazer H., the father of
en- children, as a minister of the Sec
md Congregational church, was the
enter of large sphere of usefulness.
dairy HARDWOOD Smedley was efficient {
n helping to lay the foundation of {
Williams college and eminent in all
he Christian virtues. Three of the
randsons became ordained ministers. G
Mrs Harwood's death occurred the ]
ear following her arrival at her new
ONE, November, s, 1862. Her work
as finished early but not until she Il
ad given to the world six stalwart "
ons, lone, the seventh, had died early j
nd half as many daughters to grace n
le firesides of the coming settlers
ONE.
The settlers, while earnestly endeav- l.
ring to provide for their families and s.
with the roughness of the Ii
soil and therigors of cold
innate were compelled to ward off the
OF New York officials who
without any show of justice 4,
xes on their lands. They resisted
and the work ofclearing
i'd planting and fighting was carried ar
/ simultaneously. II
When the British invaded the coup- st