Rosetta Lois Griffin- Eleazer Hunt, Essex, Vermont

Rosetta Lois Griffin was born in Essex, Vermont, according to her headstone, on March 20, 1818. She was the daughter of Samuel Griffin and Sylvia Bradley. Her father was a successful farmer. His farm was centered on the beautiful bottomland along Indian Brook. The last three children born into the family were girls, Rosetta, Sylvia and Electa. The Griffin family letters paint a picture of a very close association between the three sisters that lasted throughout their life. The collection of letters written by the family was to their brother, Albert, who was living in Utah. Rosetta was the primary author passing on the family news to a long missing but not forgotten brother. --------- Letter dated 1870; ---------- “I am blest with a kind husband good home and enough of the world to make me comfortable which is worth a great deal to me. Dear brother let us live the life of the Christian that we may dwell together in the world to come is the prayer of your sister it is the heart that God looks at and not the name. I enjoy that peace of mind this world can neither give nor take away and it is a great help to me in getting through this world of sin and sorrow.” ---------- The Essex town records contain marriage records for many of the girls of Rosetta’s generation but one for her marriage to Eleazer Hunt has not been found. With their first child, Jason, born in 1841 it would seem that the marriage probably took place in 1839/40. ---------- Where Rosetta and Eleazer married is not the only mystery surrounding the early days of their marriage. Family records place the birth of their first two children, Jason and Julia, in Hopkinton, New York. Hopkinton is 130 miles from Essex. The area was first settled in 1805 primarily by people from Vermont. Nestled in the foothills of the Adirondacks its key attraction was the streams that could be used to power mills. Those mills must have been a lure for a young husband seeking a way to make a living. ---------- By 1845 the family was again living in Essex where their daughter Lucy was born June 19, 1845. The census records place the family in Essex from 1850 to 1900. Although the census records are entered under Essex the family actually lived in what is now Essex Junction. ---------- Biographies for Jason, Julia and Lucy have been posted on the Blog. ---------- A fourth child, a daughter, Amelia first appears in the 1860 census at the age of 8. In the 1870 census she is listed as age 18. The marriage of Amelia to Henry M Page of Lunenburg, Mass. is found in the Essex records. The marriage date is January 1, 1871. The record indicates that his current residence was Omaha, Nebraska. There are census records dating 1880 and 1900 from Omaha, Nebraska that are a match for Amelia and Henry. The 1900 census offers a date of birth November 1852. There are also hints from the census records that they may have ended up in California. ---------- The death record for Lois Rosetta Griffin Hunt is published in the Essex records. Dated February 25, 1898 if gives her age as 79 years 11 month and 7 days. Her cause of death is listed as Exhaustion for a broken thigh. Her parents are listed as Samuel and Sylvia Bradley Griffin. ---------- Rosetta and Eleazer are buried in the Essex Common Burial Ground. Their family marker is handcrafted with stones set in cement. The plaque for Rosetta includes the dates March 20, 1818 and Feb 23, 1898 the plaque for Eleazer, Apr 15, 1809, Sept 19, 1908. Three of Lucy’s children are buried in the family plot. --------- There is an entry in the Norwich, Vermont early town records for the family of Eliphalet Hunt. --------- “Lory Hunt daughter of Eliphalet Hunt and Lucy his wife was born Sept 14th 1807. Elelyn or Eleazer Hunt their son born April 15th 1810.” ---------- The census records and his death record place the date in 1809. In 1906 the city of Essex published a memorial. One of the entries was a list of the birth dates for its older citizens. Included was Eleazer Hunt age 97 on April 15. --------- Land records from Essex show that Eleazer was actively buying and selling property for most of his life. He purchased property from Rosetta’s father, Samuel. There are deeds between Ezeazer and Hannah Griffin, Orlo Griffin’s wife, again for property that originally belonged to Samuel Griffin. When each of his children began buying property deed records show that Eleazer would put up the money and then take a mortgage from his children. Indications are that he was a successful farmer. We previously published a newspaper article. The article reported a fall take by an elderly Eleazer. The cause of the fall was a result of him being tired from watching the men cut hay on his old farm an activity that he frequently engaged in. ---------- There is a deed registered on August 14, 1893 between Eleazer Hunt, Rosette L Hunt and their daughter Julia R Booth for what was their home lot.--------- “Ten dollars paid to our satisfaction by our daughter Julia R Booth”. ---------- The property is described as being bounded, ---------- “East by the Highway leading from Essex Junction to Butler Corners. 14 acres of land …. Also farming tools, wagons, carriages and sleds… being the home place where we now reside.” ---------- The sale price indicates that is more of passing on of an inheritance than a pure sale of a piece of property. Further evidence of the fact is the 1900 census, which shows Eleazer as part of the household of Cassius and Julia Booth in all likelihood in his old home. ---------- In 1900 Eleazer is living with Julia. In 1907 he is living with Jason’s son Willie/William. His death is recorded September 19, 1908 in Athol, Massachusetts. Athol was the home of his daughter Lucy Richardson. Lucy is listed as the “Informant” for the information on his, Return of a Death. The record lists his age as 99 years, 6 month, 4 days, born in Norwich, Vermont the son of Eliphalet Hunt and Lucy Goodrich. ---------- Eleazer’s father, Eliphalet Hunt in found in the census records in Johnson, Vermont from 1830 to 1860. The 1830 census shows an older son who is probably Eleazer. In the absence of any birth records in Essex for Rosetta’s two oldest children, Jason and Julia, early family historian made the assumption that they must have been born in the Hunt family home of Johnson, Vermont. We now understand that they were born in Hopkinton, NY. Eliphalet’s death is recorded in Johnson in 1861 at the age of 83, a farmer born in Connecticut. ----------------------------------- Rosetta Griffin / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin of Kllingworth. ---------------------------------- Reference; Samuel Griffin Genealogy Blog