Chittenden

CATLIN, Moses & Guy

Vermont Historical Magazine, No XI, October 1867, pp 593-594

Biography of Moses CATLIN - p 593 (brother of Guy)

Moses CATLIN, one of the first inhabitants of Burlington [Chittenden County, 
Vermont], was born in 1770 in Litchfield [Litchfield County], Connecticut. 
He married early in life, Miss Lucinda ALLEN, daughter of Capt. Heyman ALLEN 
(a brother of General Ethan ALLEN) who died from a wound he received at the 
battle of Bennington. Miss ALLEN inherited from her father a large fortune; 
the land lying between Vergennes [Addison County] and Highgate [Franklin 
County] was part of this inheritance, and Mr. and Mrs. CATLIN decided to 
remove to the township of Burlington [Chittenden County] and make it their 
future home. A journey in those days, of that length, was accomplished with 
much difficulty, but Miss ALLEN possessed much of the energy and intrepidity 
of her father's family, and nothing daunted, performed it on horseback, much 
of the way being still but a bridle path. They found the beauty of the 
locality such that there was no reason to repent them of their undertaking, 
and they soon made for themselves a home in this new and wild country.

The first house built by Mr. CATLIN was upon the Court House square, where 
they remained several years (it afterward became the residence of the late 
Mr. Samuel HICKOK), but Mrs. CATLIN, being a great lover of the beautiful in 
nature, desired a residence where she could look on the beautiful blue waters 
of [Lake] Champlain. Mr. CATLIN then built upon the College Green, the 
residence now of Mr. Dana ALLEN. But Mrs. CATLIN was not quite content, and 
she chose an eminence back of the college, the view from which can scarcely 
be surpassed. She begged of Mr. CATLIN at that time to climb a tree and see 
if Champlain's blue waters could be seen. The height to which he climbed 
enabled him to behold a most beautiful panorama spread out before him. The 
lake with its cluster of distant islands, hills and dales, through which the 
Winooski River wandered to its outlet in Champlain, and the whole enclosed in 
a perfect amphitheatre of mountains. They decided then to make this their 
home, and Mr. CATLIN enjoyed for many years the varied landscapes, 
discovering each year some new beauty that enhanced the value of the 
enchanting view.

Many will remember, with pleasure, the pleasant reunions on the fourth of 
July in this enchanting spot, and the kind and cordial greeting with which 
Mr. CATLIN welcomed the young ladies of the seminary, the professors and 
students of the university, and the principal inhabitants of the town. It is 
now the residence of his nephew, H. W. CATLIN, Esq.; and some of the original 
pines are still standing, grouped upon the lawn, ever fresh and green through 
the snows and frosts of winter or the balmy airs of summer. To one 
unaccustomed to mountain scenery, those eastern hills with the sun just 
risen, the view is most glorious.

Mrs. CATLIN was a woman of perfect uprightness of character and exemplified 
the Christian in her every day walk. It was under her roof that the first 
Calvinistic Congregational church was formed in Burlington. Mr. CATLIN was a 
man universally esteemed and well respected. He possessed a great fund of 
anecdote, and his friendly greetings were always accompanied by a certain 
humor that played upon the mirthfulness of all. The mills and manufactories 
which he erected at Winooski falls, gave the first impetus to the flourishing 
little city, and was the means of subsistence for many families for a long 
number of years. In his domestic relations he was most kind and gentle; he 
was also a man of active benevolence; having no children of his own, he 
adopted three orphans, one of whom died early in life, receiving from Mrs. 
CATLIN and himself all the care and attention of an own child. He was a 
cheerful and liberal contributor to all benevolent objects; was associated 
with his brother-in-law, Col. Ozias BUELL, in the erection of the first 
church edifice in Burlington; though at that time not a professor of 
religion, his place was never vacant in the church of worship, except under 
extraordinary circumstances. His Christian character developed itself at a 
late period of life, and shone brighter and brighter as he approached the 
limit of life. In his last sickness, while his mind was wandering with the 
effect of disease, his voice was often heard explaining some passage of 
scripture, or raised in prayer, until the lamp of life gently expired in the 
year 1842, at the age of seventy-two.



Biography of Guy CATLIN - pp 593-594 (brother of Moses)

Guy CATLIN, a younger brother of Moses, was also born in 1782, also in 
Litchfield [Litchfield County, Connecticut], and while a young man, emigrated 
to Burlington [Chittenden County, Vermont]. He married Miss Melinda WADHAMS 
(a half sister of Mrs. Moses CATLIN), a woman who in every relation of life, 
as wife, mother, member of society, and the Christian church of which she was 
a bright ornament, fulfilled the high order of her being in a manner most 
worthily. An obituary notice of her death in the "Burlington Free Press" of 
that date says: "Seldom does death by a single stroke afflict so many 
hearts, disappoint so many hopes, or take from the walks of private life an 
individual charged with such peculiar responsibilities. Seldom does he take 
from among us one whose example was so bright, whose preparation was so 
mature, or whose existence seemed so necessary to the happiness of others. 
As a neighbor, a Christian, a wife, a mother, she was a rare example of 
excellence. All who knew her will feel that it is not the language of mere 
eulogy when we say that she filled all these relations with peculiar dignity, 
kindness and grace. All who have ever dwelt by her as a neighbor will 
remember with gratitude her generous kindness, her deep sympathy in their 
afflictions, her prompt and efficient aid in trouble, and her safe counsels 
in the hour of perplexity." She died in 1843, at the age of forty-five.

Mr. [Guy] CATLIN was a man of liberal mind and public spirit, ever ready to 
cooperate in anything that would tend to the advancement of learning or 
improvement and beauty of the town. The University of Vermont, in which he 
took a deep interest, found in him in its time of need one ever willing to 
contribute for its advancement and prosperity. His business interests were 
intimately connected with those of his brother Moses, in the manufactories at 
Winooski, and the poor of that place will have occasion to remember for life 
the kindness received from the two brothers, who first settled and started 
into life the little city of Winooski [Chittenden County, Vermont]. Mr. 
[Guy] CATLIN died in 1853, at the age of seventy-two.

Submitted by Cathy Kubly