Lucy J Hunt / Burton C Richardson

Lucy Jeannette Hunt was the fourth of five children born to Rosetta Lois Griffin and Eleazer Hunt. Lucy was born in Essex, VT, 19 June 1845. She grew up in what family letters describe as a close family circle. She would have been about the age of six when her grandfather, Samuel Griffin passed away. The 17-year-old Lucy Hunt of Essex married the 21-year-old Burton C Richardson of Jerico on September 6, 1865 in Essex. ---------- The family was living in Brookfield, Orange County, VT in 1868 when twins Nellie and Nettie were born. The birth is found in the Brookfield records dated March 28, 1868. ---------- Winnie M Richardson was born August 16, 1870 in Underhill, VT. The family was living in Ft. Edwards, NY when she died on August 15, 1871. Ft. Edwards is at the southern end of Lake Champlain just across the border into New York. ---------- Willie Burton Richardson was born in Underhill February 15, 1872. ---------- May Lucy Richardson was born in Essex in May 1874. ---------- Nellie, Willie and Winnie share a headstone with their grandparents Rosetta and Eleazer Hunt in the Essex Common Burial Ground. ---------- The headstone for Nellie reads, “ August 16, 1868, twin dau. of B.C. & L.J. Richardson, AE 5 mos.” ---------- The headstone of Winnie reads, Aug 15 1871, dau of B.C and Lucy J. Richardson, died at Ft Edwards, NY, AE 1 yr.” ---------- The headstone for Willie reads; “Feb 16, 1877, son of B.C. & Lucy J. Richardson, AE 5 yr, 1 da.” ---------- The family moved to Athol, Massachusetts in 1891. Athol is in the western part of the state not too far from the Vermont border. The census records indicated that Burton worked for the US Postal Service. That may explain the number of moves made by the family. ---------- The Richardson family is buried together in a family ploy in the Highland Cemetery in Athol. Lucy J. Hunt Richardson, b. 1846 d. 1937, Burton Clark Richardson b. Feb 22, 1845 d. Aug 8, 1913, Nellie Amelia Richardson Wood, b. 1868 d. 1919 and Maybird Lucy Richardson Twitchell b. 1874 d. 1948. ---------- We have not found an official death record for Lucy that provided us with a more definitive date for her death. However the date comes to us from an unusual source the Athol City Directory. Lucy had appeared in the director each year for a number of years. The 1938 directory had the following entry. ---------- “Richardson, Lucy J wid Burton C died May 25, 1937 age 91” ----------Update; recently we recoverd a Certificate of Death for Lucy R Richardson. It is found in West Lafayette, Indiana. It identies Lucy R Richardson of Athol, Mass. Her parents are listed as Eleazer Hunt and Rosetta Griffin. It makes note that she is to be buried in Athol. The informant for the information is "Mrs Charles Burnaham" the wife of her grandson Charles.----------- The obituary for Burton Clark Richard is posted in the Find A Grave entry for him in Athol. The obituary notes that he was born in Cambridge, VT the son of Martin Richardson. The obituary proves details of his Civil War service. He joined early on in the war. He was discharged because of disability quite likely from wounds. On his recovery he reenlisted and served until the end of the war. The 17th Vermont was part of General Grant’s forces that pushed General Lee back to Richmond. The history of the 17th places them in the battles as General Grant tried to break the Richmond stalemate. Burton was involved in the battle of Popular Spring in September 1864 in Grant’s offensive to turn the flank of the Confederate Army. We have posted a description of the Popular Spring Battle below. You can follow what happen to Burton by following the actions of his commanding officer Robert B. Potter. Burton was capture at Popular Spring and spent the next five months in the infamous Libby Prison in Richmond. He was moved to North Carolina and eventually paroled in February 1865. His “Personal War Sketch” is part of a collection put together by Lamoille County, Vermont for its native sons who served in the war. ------------------------------------------------------- Lucy Hunt / Rosetta Griffin / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin /Samuel Griffin of Killingworth. ------------------------------------------------

Sylvia Griffin and Willard Fuller

Sylvia Griffin was born in Essex, VT 26 November 1814 to Samuel Griffin and Sylvia Bradley. She died in Essex 12 December 1890. Sylvia married Willard Fuller of Westford, January 1, 1840 in Essex, Vermont. The couple became the parents of five children; Lamira, Bailey Willard who carried his grandmother Mercy Bailey’s name, Electa, named after an aunt, Roscoe Samuel who carried his grandfather’s name and Lettie. Sylvia and Willard are buried in the Village Cemetery in Essex Junction, VT. They share a large family marker with their daughter Electa who died 25 Sptember 1851 at the age of 2.----------- The family lived in Lamoille County, Vermont. Early in the marriage they lived in Eden. Later they lived in Cambridge/Jeffersonville. Late in their life to moved to a farm in Essex. Their death records are found in the Essex town records.---------- The Griffin family letters hint that Sylvia and Willard were economically very successful. In a directory published in Lamoille County in 1888 there are three separate references to men who were leasing farmland from Willard Fuller. One was for 350 acres another 300. At the same time the Fuller’s were living on a large farm in Essex. A description of the Essex property is recorded on a page in his will relating to his daughter Lettie. This was in a day when 200 acres was a large farm for a single farmer.----------- There are a number of references to Sylvia in the Griffin family letters. We have posted a few examples, two are written by Sylvia, two by her sister Rosetta.------------------ Sylvia Griffin Fuller / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin of Killingworth.

Lettie Lucinda Fuller / Hiram John Fuller

Lettie Lucinda Fuller was the daughter Sylvia Griffin and Willard Fuller. Sylvia Griffin of Essex and Willard Fuller of Westford married in Essex, VT on January 1, 1840. The census records place the Fuller family in Lamoille County, which is just north of Essex. The census lists Lamolle County or Cambridge, Lamoille Co. as their place of residence. The Griffin family letters mentions the family in one of three places, Cambridge, Jeffersonville or Eden. Cambridge is in fact a neighborhood in the larger Jeffersonville. Eden is a short buggy ride away. It seems that Cambridge was used as the reference point for the three communities in the census records. Deed records show that Willard Fuller owned large farms in each of those communities. In information gathered from a number of records we can place Lettie’s birth in Eden on August 12, 1856. ----------- There is a marriage listed in the Cambridge, VT town records for Lettie Fuller and Hiram J Fuller dated November 30, 1875. It can get confusing when two people with the same last name marry. ---------- Hiram John Fuller was the son of Daniel Fuller and Prudence Baxter. Gathering the hints from a number of records we can place his birth in Bangor, Franklin, New York June 11, 1852. Identified as Hiram “J” Fuller in the census records on the marriage certificate for his second marriage he signed his name “Hiram John Fuller” Even through he was born in New York his parents made their home for most of their years in Jerico, Vermont. ----------- The census records place the young couple in Underhill, VT in 1880. Listed are Hiram-28, Lettie-24, Willard L-2 and Fern, a male, age 9/12. ---------- There is a birth recorded for Willard Fuller in the Underhill town records. Dated September 27th, 1878 his parents are identified as Hiram Fuller and Lotty Fuller. ---------- We also find a birth record for a second son in the Underhill records. Dated November 8, 1879 it does not register his name instead it reads “(no name) Fuller, Male”. His parents are listed as H J & Lotte Fuller. His name is written as "Fern" the 1880 Census. ---------- Tracing the history of the Fuller family is hampered by not having access to the missing 1890 census. However we do have a record of them in the 1900 census taken in Essex, VT. On the death of her father, Willard Fuller, Lottie had inherited a farm in Essex. The 1900 census registers; Hyrum- June 1854, Lottie- Aug 1856, Willard L -Sept 1878, Floyd F-March 1888, born in Nebraska, Max- May 1892. Another key hint that we get from the 1900 Census is the record of births entered for each mother. In this case the census notes that Lottie had given birth to 4 children with the 3 still surviving. The 3 survivors are listed in that 1900 census. Missing is the "Fern" listed in the 1880 census. ---------- In a time when there was very good record keeping we do not have a birth record for Floyd F Fuller in Vermont. This supports the idea that he was truly born in Nebraska. This argument is supported by the fact that the census records consistently record Nebraska as his place of birth. His marriage license further defines his place of birth as Omaha, Nebraska. When Floyd registered for the military draft he listed his date of birth as March 24, 1888. There is nothing in the surviving family history that explains the how and why of the family being in Nebraska. Recorded as "Floyd F" in the 1900 census we find Floyd's full name in both his draft registration and marriage license. Both give his name as Floyd Fern Fuller. ------------ The "Fern" found in the 1800 census and missing in the 1900 census is missing in a number of different ways. His birth record was written "no name". Referred to as "Fern" in 1880 his death record lists his name as Wayne Miner Fuller. It seems that his name evolved over some time. His death is recorded in the Essex town records. Dated February 22, 1889, the record lists a son age 9 years, 6 months and 16 days old the son of Hiram and Lettie Fuller. The age listed by the clerk is an approximate match for the "Fern" born in Underhill in 1879.---------- The birth of the “Max” found in the 1900 census is found in the Essex, VT town records; May 6, 1892 Shirley Max Fuller, parents; Hiram and Lettie (Fuller) Fuller. The birth record is one of the few times we see the name “Shirley” used. For the rest of his life “Shirley” referred to himself as Max Day Fuller. ---------- We get a confirmation of the children and their names from their grandfather, Willard Fuller’s, will; ---------- “And whereas said Lettie J. Fuller deceased at said Essex on June 12, 1905 leaving Willard L. Fuller, Floyd F. Fuller and Shirley Max Fuller now known as Max Day Fuller her only children then living”. ---------- For a long time Griffin family histories has used the name Lettie Lucinda Fuller. In many places she is referred using variants on Lettie such as Lotty. However in the formal legal document of her father’s will she is referred to as Lettie J. Fuller. That is in contrast with her Death Certificate that lists her name as Lettie L. Fuller. The Lettie L spelling is also used on a number of other documents. Her Death Certificate is filed in Essex. It gives her death as June 12, 1905 after a 3 ½ year battle with cancer. The clerk miswrote her birth as August 12, 1865 instead of the 1856 indicated in all of the census records. Given that mistake he miscalculates her age as 40 instead of 50. Her parents are identified as Willard Fuller and Sylvia Griffin. The certificate notes that she was buried in Essex Junction. Her parents and sister Electa are buried in the Village Cemetery in Essex Junction. There is no listing for her there but I suspect that somewhere in the cemetery she and her son Fern are buried. ---------- Hiram John Fuller was born in Bangor, Franklin, NY. June 11 1852. The 1900 census list the date as June 1854. The other census records consistently suggest a date of birth in 1852. After Lettie’s death Hiram took a second wife. The marriage of Hiram John Fuller and Eluisa Rogers in recorded in Essex Aug 3, 1907. Hiram signed the document, “Hiram John Fuller”. Hiram is found in the 1910 and 1920 census records living in Moretown, Washinton, VT with his son Floyd F. Hiram and Eluisa / Lovisa are buried in the Watertown Cemetery. Hiram’s death certificate records his death on August 11, 1929 in Watertown, VT. Eluisa / Lovisa died in 1937. ---------- We have previously posted a biography for Willard on the Blog (Jan 2017). Willard Lynn Fuller was born in Underhill September 27, 1878. He died in Portsmouth, Ohio October 5, 1960. ---------- Wayne Miner (Fern) Fuller was born in Underhill November 8, 1879. Wayne died in Essex, February 22, 1889 --------- Floyd Fern Fuller was born March 24, 1888 in Omaha, Nebraska. Floyd married Fanny Lovisa Rogers October 30, 1908 in Essex. Floyd lived in Washington Co, VT through the 1940 census. Late in his life we find him in living in North Carolina. The death of Floyd Fern Fuller is registered in the North Carolina Records. His date of birth is give as March 24, 1888 and his date of death as May 14, 1991 in Henderson, Henderson Co, NC. Floyd and Fanny are buried in the Bethel Wesleyan Church Cemetery in Henderson County. --------- Shirley Max Fuller was born in Essex May 6, 1892. Born before the original township was subdivide Max was born in what is now Essex Junction. Using the name Max Day Fuller, Max married Laura Porter Aug 9, 1917 in Burlington, VT. The name of Max Fuller is found in the University of Vermont yearbook, The Ariel. By 1920 Max and his wife are living in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Records indicate that he worked for the State Department of Health. He died January 4, 1970 in Chester, Virginia. His death certificate lists his father as Hiram John Fuller and his mother as Lettie Fuller Fuller. ------------------------------------------------------------- Lettie Fuller / Sylvia Griffin/ Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin / Samuel Griffin of Killingworth