221 North Winooski Avenue

The year was 1848, the season was autumn; Burlington now had two railway lines, as well as its busy lake commerce, and a young builder from Williamstown, VT was looking to make a new home for his family in the fast-growing section of Burlington north of Pearl Street. Burton Seaver had come to the town, had met and married Celestia Hamilton of Essex Center, and had started a family, a boy, Osman, and a girl, Emma. At some point, he became a deacon of the Methodist (or Methodist Episcopal?) Church, and was evidently much beloved and respected.

On September 26, 1848, lawyer Wyllys Lyman formulated a deed describing “a building lot, situated on the New Road leading from village of Burlington to the Falls”, “it being the corner lot opposite the land I sold Isaac L. Smith, where said Smith is now building”. Seaver was to be full owner when payment was complete, A note on the deed gives the completion date as November 9th, 1854, when Seaver had fully paid his debt to Lyman, his house long built.

In August of 1862, the Civil War was on; Burnham Seaver was 42; he and his only son Osman, a student at UVM, enlisted as privates in the infantry for a 9 month period. They were part of the Howard Guard of Burlington, Company C of the 12th Regiment, which became part of the Second Vermont Brigade, later commanded by General  Stannard. The group was enlisted on October 4th of that year and sent to Virginia. Their unit saw action at the Fairfax Courthouse, repulsing the forces of  J.E.B. Stuart. In July of 1863, after a hard march, they wound up at Gettysburg, where their unit was placed on guard duty. They survived the battle and were sent to Washington on a train, guarding 2500 Confederate captives. They were mustered out on July 14, 1863, and returned home.

Burnham resumed his work, and Osman went back to UVM. Sadly, Osman died of a respiratory illness just before Christmas of that year. He was buried in Elmwood Cemetery, in his parents’ plot.

In 1865, Burlington became a city and started publishing a city directory with information about its residents and their business and professional activities.  In the first directory, the Seavers are listed at Winooski Avenue, north of North Street. On October 3rd, 1865, the Seavers deeded their house  To Cyrus A. Payne also of Burlington. However, Cyrus Payne is not listed in the city directory for that year or for following years. The Seavers are listed at their same address in the 1866-1867 directory, with his carpenter shop at the corner of Winooski Avenue and Pearl Street.  In the 1867-1868 directory, the Seavers are living at the same address as the shop. 

Meanwhile, on March 14th, 1866, Mr. and Mrs. Payne sold the house to the Home for Destitute Children, formerly located at the southwest corner of Home Avenue and Shelburne Road.  During the war the building had been the Baxter Hospital for sick and wounded soldiers. Since there was already a Catholic orphanage at the southwest corner of Pearl and Prospect Streets, and plenty of local waifs to protect, the former hospital became a favorite charity for the good church people of the city. The house on North Winooski was probably seen as a contribution to the cause.

In the spring of 1867, Mary C. Baker bought the house from the Home for Destitute Children. She was the wife of Jonathan D. Baker, a carpenter. They are listed in the house in the 1867-1868 directory. He is first listed as a carpenter or joiner; from about 1877 to 1885 He is a partner with Mr. Hosmer, an undertaker, at the corner of Main Street and Pine. Since at the time, undertaking was commonly associated with furniture stores, this probably wasn’t unusual. Also in this period we first see the Baker house listed as 221 North Winooski  Avenue.

By the late 1880s, Jonathan Baker was working for Mason & Co. in Winooski., a company with offices in  Concord, NH and on Madison Avenue in New York, as well. They made specialty items like church pews, mantels, store and office fixtures, windows, and blinds.

Both Bakers had died by 1894. Their son Hubert sold the house to Elias B. Collins, a shipping clerk for Arbuckle & Co. (tobacco and candy, corner of Maple and South Champlain Streets). Later he worked for Spaulding, Kimball & Co. wholesale grocers at the Old Stone Store on Battery Street.

In 1904 the new owners were David J. Nieburg and his wife Jennie. David was co-owner with Leslie R. Brown of a general merchandise store in Winooski. By 1908 they had a branch store on Church Street, and the Nieburgs had moved to 60 School Street.  

Next (1908) came the Levins. Isaac worked at the flour and feed store at 296 North Winooski Avenue; Harry was a clerk at the Syndicate Clothing Co. at 129 Church Street. They were joined the following year by Jacob, a traveling salesman. In 1910, Harry moved to Cedar Rapids IA and Jacob moved to Herkimer NY. They sold their shares to Isaac. Isaac stayed on until 1912. He sold the house to William B. Johnson as a rental. In 1913 and 1914 Alex Feinberg, a clerk at the Globe Department Store, 19 Church Street was at #221. 

For the next two years, the building is listed as vacant. However, in April of 1916 George G.  Munson, Jr. bought the house from William B. Johnson. George was a locksmith and gunsmith; his father, George Sr., was a gunsmith (and more) who lived at 30 Decatur Street. The family “homestead” was at 111 North Winooski Avenue, and George Sr., who was actually born in a log cabin in Williston VT in 1852, is featured in a section of Volume III of the Historic Guide to Burlington Neighborhoods (pp.32-33). Ruth Isabell Munson was George, Jr.’s wife. Like Celestia, the first mistress of the house, she had been born in Essex, VT.  It was under Munson's ownership that the house was converted to first two, then three units, becoming #221-223. Munson's descendants owned the house until it was sold to its present owner.

The young Munsons moved into their new home. Their time together there was brief. On December 4, 1918, George died in the devastating “Spanish” influenza epidemic. Less than a week before, his cousin, Frank E. Munson, had lost his young wife Celia. Her diagnosis was heart failure. (More on this later.)

The 1919 city directory still lists George’s name, and, for the first time, shows #223 on North Winooski Avenue. H.T. Austin, a cashier at Texaco Oil Company, was the first resident. The next year #223 is empty, and Mrs. Ruth Munson, widow of George G, Jr. is in #221. Moses Perelman, proprietor of the Pearl Garage, is at #223 in 1921,then the apartment is vacant for the next two years. 

 On June 26, 1923, Ruth Munson and Frank E. Munson were married. She was 28, he was 42. He was a painting and paper-hanging contractor. Had he worked on the changes in the house?  He was her husband’s first cousin. So life goes on at #221-223 for almost 40 years, with various renters at #223.

Frank died on New Year’s Day, 1963. He was buried in the Mountain View Cemetery, Essex Center, VT. Ruth Huntley Munson remained in her apartment. It seems from the city directories that she had her living space altered so that two apartments had the address #221. In 1972 her four daughters had the original 1916 deed altered so that their mother was the true owner.

Ruth died in Colchester on December 1, 1978. She was buried with Frank in the Mountain View Cemetery.  The family, first children and then grandchildren, retained ownership, continuing the house as rental property until its sale to the present owner.

So this pre-1850 Greek Revival house (with later additions) continues to contribute to the neighborhood atmosphere of the Old North End. It has been the home of some remarkable people!

Image Credit: UVM