Spouse: Julia Charlotte MACCARTIE. Children were: Grace Mildred BICKNELL.

Spouse: George Ernle CHATFIELD. Grace Mildred BICKNELL and George Ernle CHATFIELD were married on 8 October 1923 in Poona, Maharashtra, India. India, Marriages
Name: George Ernle Chatfield
Birth Date: 1875
Age: 48
Spouse's Name: Grace Mildred Bicknell
Spouse's Birth Date: 1895
Spouse's Age: 28
Event Date: 08 Oct 1923
Event Place: Poona, Bombay, India
Father's Name: Kyrle Mitford Chatfield
Spouse's Father's Name: Charles Harold Bicknell
Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M00212-4
System Origin: India-EASy
GS Film number: 527694
Children were: Major John Ernle CHATFIELD.

Spouse: Living. Children were: Living.

Spouse: Sophia CHATFIELD. Sophia CHATFIELD and Alvah BIGELOW were married on 12 February 1843 in Grand Blanc, Genesee Co., Michigan, USA. Children were: Florence Adelaide BIGELOW.

Spouse: Living.

Spouse: Mary Augustine CHATFIELD. Children were: Living, Living.

Spouse: Lyman Thompson CURTIS. Florence Adelaide BIGELOW and Lyman Thompson CURTIS were married on 20 September 1864 in Mundy, Genesee Co., Michigan, USA. Children were: Effie Mae CURTIS, Wallace William "Wallie" CURTIS, Martha Sophia CURTIS, Alvah Joseph CURTIS.

Spouse: Lovantia GORDON. Lovantia GORDON and Hiram BIGELOW were married in 1827 in USA. Children were: Living.

Spouse: Lucinda MAINE / MANE / MAYNE. Children were: Hiram BIGELOW, Alvah BIGELOW.

Spouse: Living. Children were: Living.

Spouse: Samuel Brown SANFORD. Sophia M BIGELOW and Samuel Brown SANFORD were married on 15 July 1858 in Bennington, Bennington Co., Vermont, USA. Vermont Vital Records
Name Samuel B Sanford
Event Type Marriage
Event Date 15 Jul 1858
Event Place Bennington, Vermont
Gender Male
Spouse's Name Sophia Bigelow
Spouse's Gender Female
Spouse's Father's Name Wm Bigelow
Spouse's Mother's Name Dorinda
Children were: Mary Robinson SANFORD.

Spouse: Living.

Spouse: Living. Children were: Living.

Spouse: Ethel Hazeltine CHATFIELD. Children were: Living, Ethel Mary BIGGS, Living, Living.

Spouse: Elizabeth CHATFIELD. Children were: Living, William C BIGGS, Living, Living, Jesse R BIGGS, Living, Elizabeth Jane BIGGS, Solomon D BIGGS.

Spouse: Living.

Spouse: George F LAFOLLETTE. Children were: Living.

Spouse: Henry John EBSWORTH. Mary Elizabeth BIGGS and Henry John EBSWORTH were married in 1868 in Isleworth, Middlesex, England. Marriages GRO 4th qtr 1868
EBSWORTH, Henry John Brentford 3a 67
Biggs, Mary Elizabeth Brentford 3a 67
Children were: Albert EBSWORTH, Elizabeth EBSWORTH, George Edward EBSWORTH, Living.

Spouse: Living.

Spouse: James Acquilla CAINES. Sarah BIGGS and James Acquilla CAINES were married on 1 February 1834 in St James, Poole, Dorset, England.

Spouse: Frank Hobson HUBBARD Jr.

Spouse: Living. Children were: Living.

Spouse: Mary NETTLETON. Children were: Living, Living, Phoebe Susan BIGHAM.

Spouse: Jacob V/W MOSHIER. Children were: Mary Elizabeth MOSHIER.

Spouse: Alfred OLDHAM.

Spouse: William Pinnick GREGORY. Harriet BILES and William Pinnick GREGORY were married in 1873 in New Forest, Hampshire, England. Marriages GRO 3rd qtr 1873
GREGORY, William Pinnick N. Forest 2b 1007
BILES, Harriet N. Forest 2b 1007
Children were: Living.

Spouse: Nicholas GREGORY. Mary BILES and Nicholas GREGORY were married on 23 April 1668 in Beaulieu, Hampshire, England. Children were: William GREGORY, John GREGORY, Nicholas GREGORY.

Lucinda (Billings) Chatfield, 1818-1897.
While Lucinda was born in Tunbridge, she married Alonzo Chatfield in Middlebury in 1838. They moved up to his home in Ripton, and in 1839 they started farming the plot of land which we now call "The Widow’s Clearing". Local records indicate that their farm was rather poor, even by Ripton hill farm standards. When this site became known as “Widow’s Clearing” is not in the information which I have at my disposal, but it is clear that Lucinda was not widowed immediately – she was abandoned by her husband! In 1855 Alonzo left her and their four children, and moved to Michigan where he lived the rest of his life with his second wife. Accounts from that time also indicated that Lucinda was not openly distraught about this. Whether this was stoicism on her part, or a case of “good riddance”, we can only speculate. She owned and operated the farm until 1882, in later years with her son Parsons and his family, although it is not clear if she actually lived there all those years. It must have been a challenging hardscrabble existence for Lucinda and her family, as an 1871 map of Ripton shows “Mrs. Chatfield’s farm” as the most remote, and probably highest altitude farm in Ripton. Nonetheless, local records also show that by this time, the farm was more successful than it had been during the years of her marriage. In 1882, Lucinda, Parsons, and his family relocated to Middlebury, and there is no record of anyone living at the clearing after that time. The widow passed away in East Bethel, VT in 1897 at the age of 79, and was buried in the Galvin Cemetery in Ripton alongside her parents. Kind of an interesting little story of the challenges of mountain life in Vermont!
-----
"A poem about Martha Lucinda Billings Chatfield called 'The Widows Clearing'."
THE WlDOW‘S CLEARING

Aunt Lucina Chatfield lived on Chatfield Hill,
But no one lives there now and no one ever will.
There broken fields of stump and stone
With fresh green trees are now o‘ergrown
While summer breeze and winter blast
Worn, "Nothing here can ever last."

Their youthful dreams have vanished, their brightest hopes have fled,
And those who made their clearing are numbered with the dead.
They built a house, a barn they made,
Their children came and romped and played.
Here they toiled, laughed, suffered, cried,
Then some of them left and some died.

But Aunt Lucina lived there still,,
Alone woman on a lonely hill.
Why she stayed I cannot tell;
She seemed chained by a magic spell
As hoping those who had gone away
Would soon return and with her stay.

But those she looked for never came.
Now all that's left is Lucina's name
On a slab of marble cold and bare—
All that's left of a mother's prayer.
It tells so little what is past,
But speaks so loud: "We cannot last."

If you find the Widow's Clearing,
Mute your voices, strain your hearing.
At fall of night near close of day
Perhaps you'll hear Lucina pray:
"Dear Lord God, if it be thy will,
I'll die right here on Chatfield Hill."
-----
There is a road in Ripton named "Billings Farm Road"
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The Middlebury Trailrunner
A blog for runners in and about Addison County, VT, USA
June 5th, 2010 at 10:15 am
The Widow’s Clearing
Posted by Jeff in Running

Between numerous signs labeling the Widows Clearing trail, the Widow’s Clearing trailhead, and the Widow’s Clearing itself, upon my return to my vehicle, I began to wonder, who was the eponymous widow? I was not able to find any information on my own, so I emailed my favorite expert on local history, Jan at the Sheldon Museum. She was not familiar with this mysterious widow, but she did some research, and eventually connected me with William J. Powers, Jr. of Lake Dunmore and Rutland. All of the following information comes from Bill and is the result of his unpublished research on the topic. This is just a brief synopsis of a much larger body of his work. Bill has also authored a history book on another of my favorite running destinations, Silver Lake, and those who are interested in learning more about the history of the lake and its surroundings can purchase his book at the Sheldon Museum.

Finally, Bill’s research also uncovered a picture of the view from the Widow’s Clearing, circa 1870. The wide open land stands in sharp contrast to the fully recovered forest of modern times.

Elmer Luther Chatfield was the great grandson of the widow of Widow’s Clearing. He passed away in 1997.
Parents: Parsons BILLINGS and Eunice ALDEN.

Spouse: Alonzo CHATFIELD. Martha Lucina BILLINGS and Alonzo CHATFIELD were married on 31 December 1838 in Middlebury, Addison Co., Vermont, USA. Vermont, Vital Records
Name: Alonzo Chatfield
Event Type: Marriage
Event Date: 31 Dec 1838
Event Place: Middlebury, , Vermont, USA
Gender: Male
Spouse's Name: Lucinda Billings
GS Film number: 27478
Digital Folder Number: 004542955
Image Number: 00076
Children were: Laura Elizabeth "Lizzie" CHATFIELD, William Horace CHATFIELD, Anna B CHATFIELD, Parsons Alden CHATFIELD, Lewis Israel CHATFIELD.

Spouse: Eunice ALDEN. Children were: Martha Lucina BILLINGS, Living.

Spouse: Sallie J ?.

Spouse: Mary Coats CHATFIELD. Children were: Mary BILLINGSLEA, Cyrus BILLINGSLEA, Francis J BILLINGSLEA Sr., Cyrus BILLINGSLEA, Mary F BILLINGSLEA, Louisa J BILLINGSLEA, John P BILLINGSLEA, Clement G / J BILLINGSLEA.

Spouse: Nellie E WILSON. Nellie E WILSON and Cyrus Clement BILLINGSLEA were married after 31 March 1880 in USA. Children were: Elmer Oscar BILLINGSLEA, Ralph C BILLINGSLEA.