NVPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES 3 3433 06253861 t' [X ? \i Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2008 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/berkshirevermontOOelli o V The Berkshire, Vermont, Chaffees AND THEIR DESCENDANTS 1801-1911 COMPILED BY ALMER J. ELLIOT RICHFORD, VT. A short biography of Comfort Chaffee and hi;5 v/ite., Lucy Stow, early settlers of Berkshire, with a full record of their descendants for six generations, and also an account of the ancestr>' of Comfort and Lucy (Stow) Chaffee in nearly all lines to the immigrant ancestor, and in some lines to generations living in England. TO NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 1.^771 62A ASTOR, L'»\-OX AVO THE GILPIN PRINTIKG COMPAJSTY RICHFORD, VERMONT 19 11 TO THE MEMORY OF MY MOTflER, WHO IN MY BOYHOOD DAYS TOLD ME TALES OF HER EARLY HOME IN BERKSHIRE AND OF HER CHAFFEE KINSFOLK, THUS AWAKENING AN INTEREST IN THE BERKSHIRE CHAFFEES THAT INCREASES WITH PASSING YEARS. THIS LITTLE VOLUME IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. TABLE OF CONTENTS. Introduction Five Gknurations ok Ciiakkkk Ancestors Origin oi- thk Xamh oi- Cmafkkk Comfort Chai'fkii:--Sixth C^knkration SKVKNTH (iHNKRATION .... Eighth Generation .... Ninth Generation .... Tenth Generation .... Eleventh Generation Comparative Numbers The Braddock Chaffee Link The Bliss Family . ... The Carpenter Family The Mason Family .... The Stow Family .... The Danforth Family The Kendall Family The Cummings Family The Towle Family .... Additions and Corrections Ancestral Chart-Comfort Chaffee Ancestral Chart—Lucy Stow The Chaffee Genealogy (.Announcement) Index INTRODUCTION. "TIk- Rirkshirc ChafTet-s" is a rt-cord of one line of tlu- sixtli i^tneration of ChalTees descended from Thomas ChafTe, the iminijjrant ancestor. Comfort ChafTee, of Berkshire, Vt.. was but one of nearly or quite one hundred and fifty male descend- ants in the sixth generation bearing the name of ChafTee (under its varied spellinj?s) who married and raised families, nearly all of whom to-day have livins? descendants by the name of ChafTee. Perhaps no other of these numerous lines of ChifTees, however, has as many descendants bearincf the name of ChafTee, for Comfort ChafTee was almost the oldest one of his sreneration, and he had eia:ht sons, six of whom raised larofe families. This volnm? is in m wav a record of the Chaffee family in its broad smse, "The Chaffee Genealoery" havin? done that work, but it is a record of one branch that earlv in the nineteenth centurv settled near the Canadian border in northern New Rnjrland, and became quite isolated from other ChafTees. In Aucfust, 1S85. the comniler of this work bec:an collectincr the family records of his maternal crrandfather, Aaron Stowe Chaffee, and his eleven children, crradually extendinKj the work to include the families of the married prandchildren. More than twentv years aero he contemplnted puWishine a small pamphlet, eivine therein the famtlv record of .Aaron S. Chaffee and descendants down to and includinsr jrrcat- orandcbildren. At this time the compiler secured records of the birth, death and marriacre of Comfort Chaffee and his wife, the birth records of their nine children, and an outline of five crenerations of Chaffee ancestors. From his mother, Polly H. (Chaffee") Klliot, the oldest child of Aaron S. Chaffee, he received a eeneral idea of the names of her cousins, the irrandchildren of Comfort Chaffee, and .some account of manv of these families. Consideration of the matter finallv led to the conviction that the scope of the pamnhlet, if one was to be comniled and published, should be broadened to include all of the descendants of Comfr^rt Chaffee, rather than iust those of his younee.st son. .\aron S. Chaffee, as all were of Berkshire, and the only Chaffees of Berkshire. The pamphlet, however, was never published, and for many years the idea lay dormant, except that minor additions were made to the records from time to time. In October, 1908, the compiler passed a few days in Boston, and secured copious notes concerning the ancestors of Comfort Chaffee, in various lines, from the verv larcre and excellent library of the New Entjland Historic-Genealotncal Society. In May, 1909, nearlv two weeks were passed in West Berkshire, Vt.. and diirin? that time the tombstone inscriptions of Chaffees and Chaffee descendants buried in the cemeteries near West Berkshire and Berkshire Center were copied, and .some other data secured. In Tulv of the same year, the compiler was priviletred to read and peruse a copy of "The Chaffee Genealoc^'," published in the preceding April. In this splendid work there are some lines of de.scent from Comfort Chaffee not carried out at all, the record of the tenth generation is quite, meaere, and there is no record of the eleventh and twelfth eenerations. Coupled with this incompletenes.s was the fact that but two or three descendants of Comfort Chaffee bought the GenealoeN'. There seemed to be a general demand for a low-priced family record of the Chaffees of Berkshire and their descendants, and this aroused the early desire of the compiler to collect the necessary material and publish such a work, including therein not merely those bearing the name of Chaffee, but the desendants in the many female viii THE BERKSHIRE CHAPFEES. lines. In the autumn of 1909, this desire had developed a determination to verify existing records, collect those necessary to make an unbroken record, and push the work to completion, although it was not until February, 1910, that the compilation was begun in real earnest. So many of the descendants of Comfort Chaffee have furnished records for "The Berkshire Chaffees" that space will not permit of a mention by name, but the compiler wishes to thank all for the good help given, and without such assistance the work conld not have been compiled. Interesting facts were brought out through conversation with the more aged among the descendants, especially Mrs. lyucy S. Chaffee, of Berkshire, Vt., and Mrs. Lovina F. Wheeler, of Fairfax, Vt. The wide acquaintance of Mr. John J. McCarty, of West Berkshire, Vt., with the Chaffees of Berkshire and their descendants, together with his retentive memory, very materially aided the compiler in getting into communication with the various famiHes at the outset. Mr. A. B. Chaffee, of Montreal. Que., supplied records of the descendants of his father, Azro B. Chaffee, furnished old records and papers, and helped in other ways. Mr. S. R. Chaffee, of Providence, R. I., whose father was a second cousin of Comfort Chaffee, of Berkshire, aided in the work. Thanks are due to Miss I^ottie L/. Scott, of Burlington, Vt., for compiling the very complete index. Thanks are also due to the compiler's friend, Mr. D. P. Cary, of Somerville, Mass., for assistance in tracing the ancestry of Lucy Stow, the wife of Comfort Chaffee. Material aid was received from the library of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society, No. 18 Somerset St., Boston Mass., and from its officers and assistants. The genealogical department of The Boston Transcript was of service, and thanks are due its editor and correspondents. The town clerks of Berkshire, Enosburg, Richford, Clarendon, Newport and Coventry, and the city clerks of Rutland and St. Albans, in Vermont, and several town and city clerks in other states, were very courteous and helpful. Postmasters and other officials rendered aid in locating families whose address could not be found otherwise. The adjutant generals of several states aided in the military records of Civil War soldiers. Credit is due in large measure to the Chaffee Genealogy, and to its author, William H. Chaffee. Credit is also due to the Bliss Genealogy, the Carpenter Genealogy, the Mason Genealogy, the Rice Genealogy, the Danforth Genealogy, the Cummings Genealogy, the Towle Genealogy, and Savage's Genealogical Dictionary. From a manuscript by Dr. B. J. Kendall, of Geneva, 111., the family records of the Kendall ancestors of Seth Kendall, Sr., were compiled. In a lesser degree, credit is due to other historical and genealogical works not listed. The compiler has used great care to have the work as free from errors as possible, and to have the records authentic, but he does not hold himself responsible for any mistakes or omissions. There are so many chances for errors in copjnng and arranging the records, and in printing the same, that absolute accuracy is next to impossible. A difference in date or place or in the spelling of a name is often found between family records, town records, tombstone records, etc., and even between records furnished by individuals in the same family. In such cases the more prob- able record has been used. In several cases an error of one year has been discovered in the records furnished, and in a few cases an of error two or three years, or even ten years, was found and corrected. The compiler hopes that all omissions or mistakes noticed will be sent to him in a spirit of kindly forbearance. ABBREVIATIONS AND EXPLANATIONS. b. for born, The following abbreviations have been used throughout the book, viz. : bap. for baptized, d. for died, dau. for daughter, m. for married, prob. for probably. INTRODUCTION. U Unra. for uiunarrieil, and the usual abbreviations for the longer months of the year, the several states of the United States, the ])rovinces of Canada, etc. A figure in parenthesis following "m." denotes first marriage, second marriage, etc. A surname in parenthesis, used with a woman's name, is the maiden name of that woman. Each descendant of Comfort Chafleo, who settled in Herkshire, Vt.,in 18i>2, has been given a number in this volume, these following consecutively through the lx>ok.