The widow of interest was one Lucina (Billings) Chatfield, 1818-1897. While Lucina was born in Tunbridge, she married Alonzo Chatfield in Middlebury in 1838. They moved up to his home in Ripton, and in 1859 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, but it is clear that Lucina 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 Lucina 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 Lucina 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, Lucina, 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.
Source: The Middlebury Trailrunner
Jun 5, 2010, by Jeff
=============
In 1840, Alonzo bought 50 acres of land in Ripton. The same year, Lewis Chatfield of Roxbury bought 100 acres in the same lot as Alonzo. Alonzo sold 10 acres in 1845 to Amasa French. Then in May of 1949, he sold his remaindering 40 acres to Lewis. In Oct 1849, Lewis sold the land to Lucina and her children. He was in Ripton in 1850 according to the census and in 1851 a timber transaction is recorded (in conjunction with Lucina). In 1855, Alonzo sold 10 more acres. Then right after being elected assistant superintendent of schools, Alonzo left Ripton very abruptly.