The Eastman family were prosperous New Englanders who left jobs and family behind to move as LDS pioneers to Nauvoo, where father James died during the Winter Quarters hardships. Mother Clarissa continued west with her children, and lived with daughter Sylvia Eastman Hatch in Idaho. Seeing their Vermont hometowns was a fascinating new window into their lives.
James was born in Walpole, New Hampshire, a charming village a couple hours northwest of Boston. There's a fountain in the roundabout, a historical society, hydrangeas, and a historic white timbered Unitarian church from 1761 they would have known.
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| Walpole NH Unitarian church |
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| Walpole historical society |
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| street roundabout |
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Wheeler Cemetery
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Although we explored the cemetery where some of his ancestors are buried, it was larger than expected and we didn't find their headstones. However, when we drove to Wheeler Cemetery outside of Newfane (up a gravel road into a wooded hill with no WiFi), we found his parents, James and Esther Eastman.
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| wonder who put up the flag for James? |
His wife Clarissa Goss was born in Dummerston, where you can drive through one of Vermont's many quaint covered bridges. The town is on a river, with spongy moss and wooded windy roads. Houses all have stacks of firewood waiting for winter, and renowned cheese is the by-product of sheep and cows in nearby fields. Yellow wildflowers decorate the views.
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| Clarissa back in Dummerston, Vermont |
James and Clarissa were married in this town on New Year's Day of 1812: that must have been cold and snowy! Tradition from a nearby town says that in the horse-and-buggy days, a boy would stop halfway across a covered bridge where it was quiet to give his girl a kiss. Old-timers used to call all covered bridges “kissing bridges”--so we'll assume this might have been a romantic spot for the Eastmans here (this particular bridge was built in 1872, a little after their time, but replaced an earlier version).
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| Asa Knight Store at Old Sturbridge Village |
The other exciting historical connection is that the Dummerston General Store from 1810 is at historic Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, so you can see how that would have looked, and walk where Clarissa walked inside! |
| photos of the Knights and the store |
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| excited to stand where Clarissa stood! |
We thought Walpole was charming--but then we got to Newfane, Vermont (25 miles away) and were blown away by its quaint atmosphere of historic white buildings surrounding a village green with a fountain.
James and Clarissa lived in Newfane when their four children (including daughter Sylvia Savonia) were born. Newfane has a Four Columns Inn from that era and a General Store from 1822 they would have known! We noticed afterwards that many Vermont buildings feature four white columns in front, a Grecian revival architectural style popular in the mid-1800s.
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| Sylvia returns--this store was built four years before she was born |
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| village green |
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| the courthouse on the green |
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Newfane's churches and an example of the interesting four horned steeples
we saw all over Vermont--
reminiscent of the Old Testament four-horned sacrificial altars |
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| Four Columns Inn and restaurant |
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| coach from the era at Shelburne Museum, with Boston as a route destination |
James joined the church while on a business trip to Boston. We had also traveled up from Boston, but this coach travel probably took longer and was less comfortable for the 125 mile journey to Newfane. |
| old hitching post |
When Sylvia met her future husband Lorenzo Hill Hatch in Utah, they bonded over their common Vermont heritage. What a privilege to get a glimpse into what that looked like on our visit there!
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