Willard and Charlotte

 

Willard Stickney Gladden was my husband's great grandfather, and he was born March 1st 1836 in Franklin, Vermont, to Samuel Gladden and Cyrenia Hefflon Gladden. He was the 3rd oldest of their nine children, and the oldest of their four sons. I have heard no family stories as to how they met, but it is believed that Willard married Charlotte Randall in 1858 and that their first child, a son Loren, was born in 1859 in Jay, Vermont, where Willard was farming, like his father before him. However, the tensions that had been simmering for decades between the northern and southern states was reaching a boiling point, and on April 12th, 1861, Civil War broke out. 

Atwood Mark Gladden 1840-1885

In July of 1863, two years into the war, Willard's brother Atwood Mark enlisted as a private in the 6th Vermont Volunteer infantry. Atwood was wounded at the Battle of Cedar Creek, but survived to serve the duration of the war. He was later listed as a carpenter/joiner in the Franklin Directory and part owner of a sawmill.

Atwood did not, sadly, live to be an old man, nor did he leave any children to carry on after him.

Willard enlisted after his younger brother, in December 1863. He became a private in the 8th Vermont Voluntary Infantry, having enlisted in Newport, Vermont. Realizing that this war was having a high human cost and that it might not be soon over, it must have difficult for him to leave his young wife and son. 

A portion of the enlistment document

Documents from Willard's service file give a snapshot of Willard's appearance; dark complexion, hazel eyes, dark hair; 5 feet 5 inches high. They also show that Willard did not go through the war unscathed, but had at least 3 hospital stays. Considering that a large percentage of deaths attributed to the Civil War were not from wounds but from disease, Willard was fortunate to survive.

It is interesting that just short of 100 years prior, Willard and Atwood's great-grandfather Azariah Gladden fought in the Revolutionary War. Documents from his service file show that his pay was 2 Pounds, and that part of his time was served as a marine on the USS Montgomery. A deposition documenting his service was entered on Azariah's behalf so that he could receive a pension from his war service. "I have also heard him (Azariah) speak of being on board a ship in said service in the North River near Fort Montgomery, of being fired upon from the fort (British), of their cutting their cables to float down stream, of being driven back by the wind & running the vessel on shore & setting fire to her."  The purpose of this action was to prevent the British from gaining possession of the ship and was a well documented fact. 

Co G, 5th Connecticut

Excerpt of Brief from 1833; dates referred to on the left are 1776 & 1777

Willard was mustered out on the 28th of June 1865, from Washington DC. He had been in Louisiana, Virginia, Washington DC, and New York State; a lot of travel for a farm boy from Vermont and certainly a wealth of memories of sights and sounds that would remain with him forever.

By the time that the 1870 census was taken, life had returned to some kind of normal. Willard and Charlotte were farming in Jay, Vermont, and now had a family of three children. The following census was in 1881, and the family, now in Glen Sutton, Quebec, had grown with the birth of 5 more children, but also been diminished by the loss of their son Simon in 1880, and the marriage of oldest son Loren. When Willard brought the family to Quebec, he was the only Gladden of his family to do so, but it certainly was not an uncommon move as most of the early settlers to the region were from the New England states. Charlotte's parents, Shepard Randall and Lorena Heath Randall were also now in Quebec, in the Mansonville area, so perhaps this was a reason for the move. Glen Sutton is about 18 km away from Mansonville; not far by car on today's roads, but it would have taken much longer in 1875 by cart or on horseback on the dirt roads through the hills.

Chapel Hill Cemetery near Mansonville, QC

In 1891 the census shows only four children remaining at home, with 17 year Caleb listed as 'farmer' along with his father.  Oldest daughter Gertrude was now married and had children, and daughter Sarah was newly married and living in Melbourne, QC. An interesting change on this census, was that the religion given was Seventh Day Adventist instead of Church of England. Seventh Day Adventism stemmed from the Millerite Movement in the US in 1830's and crossed over into the Eastern Townships over the next decade. The first Adventist church was organized in 1877 at South Stukely so this was a fairly recent, as well as minority, religious organization.

from Canadian Union Messenger 2 Jan 1952

It is a notable change because it changed the religious direction of the Gladden family to this day, but seems to have pertained to that section of the family tree alone. My husband and his twin were raised for many years by Willard's daughter Nettie, my husband's Grandma. He remembers going to church as well as tent meetings with her, and not being allowed to eat bacon because it was considered 'unclean'.

Tent meetings in South Stukely

Sometime before 1901 something happened that changed circumstances for Willard and Charlotte. It seems that they may have fallen on hard times because Charlotte has gone to live with Nettie and her husband, Stephen Bryant in Stanstead County. I have searched for Willard on the 1901 census, but not as yet found him. He was not listed with Loren and his family in Glen Sutton, although I believe he was there. He may not have had a usual residence at this point at which to be counted. 

Loren Merton Gladden 1859-1929

Charlotte pens a letter to Willard in March of 1903 which seems to point to this possibility. She is still with Nettie and Stephen and describes some daily activities; 'Nettie is burning  bones for the hens' and 'Stephen is in the woods today chopping' and 'he has been having the toothache lately'. It is clear that she longs to be together again and that he does not yet have 'a place'.

Between the writing of this letter in March, and May of the same year, Charlotte has travelled to her daughter Gertrude's near Flodden, QC. This would have been quite a journey from Beebe Plain, where in 1903 Nettie is expecting her second child, to Flodden which is just south of Richmond. Charlotte's health must have further deteriorated because she passed away in Flodden, on the 14th of May, 1903, aged 63. It would seem likely that she never saw Willard again and I do not know how many years had passed since she had been in his presence. Sadder still, Charlotte is buried in a tiny Pioneer Cemetery in Flodden and not in Glen Sutton where her son Simon was buried, and where Willard was later laid to rest.

burial record shows cause of death as pneumonia

Aunt Ina (daughter of Nettie and Stephen) thought that this might be Charlotte, but no one presently living knows for certain. I would like to think it is.

I don't know much more of Willard's story, except for the fact that 2 years after that letter was written, he died in Glen Sutton and was buried in Brock Memorial Park near Simon. It is so unsatisfactory to be missing so many details of this story. It seems such a sad ending to a 40+ year love story; to be separated in life then not even be laid to rest together. 

Epilogue

    After Willard died, Loren and his family moved back to the States where he worked for almost twenty years as a carpenter on the Boston & Maine RR. Loren and his wife Ruby were however brought back to Glen Sutton to be buried with Willard.

Gertrude Gladden Clark 1867-1922

Gertrude married George Washington Clark and had 5 children. After her death George remarried and is buried with his second wife in Sherbrooke. She is buried in Flodden with her mother which is rather poignant; two married women women buried apart from their husbands.

Gertrude, Homer Clark and Sarah Gladden Clark (1871-1960)

Sarah married Homer Willis Clark, younger brother of George Washington Clark. Homer and Sarah moved to Vermont at the turn of the century and the last of their four children was born in Corinth. Later in life Sarah wrote a poem for her mother. This is a portion of it.

Julia Gladden (1880-1933), Caleb Gladden (1874-1960)

 Alta Gladden (1876-1958)

Caleb also moved to Vermont. He married Matilda Miller in 1904, settled in Berkshire and raised three sons on their farm there. He was known as 'Uncle Calley' in the family and was well loved. He was a farmer, school teacher, poet and staunch Adventist. 

One of Calley's poems submitted by Nettie's daughter Evelyn and printed in The Record 18 Oct 1994

Alta Elmira Gladden Sims (1876-1958)

Alta, not yet of age, became the 2nd wife of widower Matthew Sims of the  Melbourne area in 1886. This union made her step-mother to 5 children, the oldest of whom was a scant 8 years younger than herself. she then became a mother to eight children of her own, six of them girls. Matthew predeceased Alta by almost 20 years and is buried in Melbourne Ridge Cemetery but is also commemorated in the Windsor Cemetery where Alta is buried. 

L to R - Julia Gladden Darby, Charles Darby, Caleb Gladden, Alta Gladden Sims, Matthew Sims - front Allen Darby and Edward Gladden, Caleb's son

Julia Gladden, clearly a petite woman, seemed to be asked to carry a large portion of heartbreak on those small shoulders. Married to Wesley Flanders in August 1900, she gave birth to a daughter, Vera, the following month. As Julia and Vera are not shown with Wesley a few months later on the 1901 census, might indicate that the marriage was only to legitimize Vera's birth. In Charlotte's letter in Mar 1903, she says 'Julia is now here'. Whether Julia was living there or just visiting is not clear, but she was still there in May when her daughter dies on the 7th, only to be followed by her mother Charlotte's death on the 14th. As for Wesley, according to his death record of 1907 in Manchester, NH, he had already been in New Hampshire for two years and his marital status was listed as single. Julia did remarry in 1911 and had a son Allen, with her new husband, Charles Darby. Unfortunately she had a short thirteen years with Charles and only lived to be 52 herself. 

Nettie Mae Gladden Bryant (1881-1957)

The youngest of Willard and Charlotte's children was my husband's grandmother Nettie. Her story is for another blog, but suffice it to say that Nettie was adored by her children and grandchildren. I think that this tells us something about her parents and upbringing, because they were the roots from which she grew into the woman she was. willard and Charlotte's story is poignant yet they clearly laid the strong foundations upon which their children built.