The house is one of the grand old family mansions of the town.
”H. B. Ware.
Ariel Ware was one of the early settlers near Lake Raponda and by two marriages, reared a large family. His son Ariel, married Mary A. Tanner and moved soon after to the May farm, two miles from the village, where they lived some thirteen years. He bought the old Castle farm, one mile south of the village in 1864, where he resided until his death ten years later. He was a zealous member and a deacon of the Baptist church.
Heman B. Ware was born in 1851 in Wilmington and is a life-long resident. He was the only son and naturally early became the trusted assistant of his father in the cares and labors of the farm. The homestead contains 150 acres and the tillage is mostly level, arable and productive interval land.
Mr. Ware keeps a dairy of six or eight cows and as many young cattle of grade Durham stock; but the most important feature of this cozy homestead is the excellent sugar place of about 1100 buckets. He sends nearly all of his product to spectal customers at remunerative prices and usually makes from two hundred to three hundred gallons of syrup.
Mr. Ware married Emma, daughter of Charles F. Griffin, a prominent and honored citizen of Halifax. Miss Griffin was a well known, successful teacher. Both Mr. and Mrs. Ware are members of the Baptist church.
H. B. Ware was for several years, chairman of the Republican town committee.
Mr. and Mrs. Ware are both members of Victory Grange. P of H. and enjoy the esteem of a wide circle of friends.”
Source: Wilmington, Vermont, by John Hill Walbridge, The Times Press, Wilmington, Vt., 1900, page 53
Cows were milked by hand back in those days and I can add an interesting fact about this. My father was a dairy farmer milking 50 head of dairy cows with the help of a hired hand. This was back in the late 1930’s, early 1940’s before the barn was wired for electricity and milkers were installed. The veins on his forearms stood almost on top of his skin and the muscles bulged in his forearms also. Try squeezing a tennis ball that many times each day and watch your forearms grow.
Wayne